I think that every tea drinker has the same problem. What is the best way to store all of the tea that we accumulate? The main enemies of tea leaves are heat, light, and moisture. There’s a handful of exceptions to that rule but this applies to most categories of tea. I find that a […] [Read more]
You read that right. There is a tea called duck shit oolong! Ya Shi Xiang is a cultivar used to make a Dan Cong oolong by the same name, A lot of people in the US first learned about this tea when it was written about by Forbes in 2015. Unfortunately, they did not bother […] [Read more]
Tencha is a Japanese green tea that is ground into a powder to make matcha. Ten can be translated as mortar or grind, and cha is the word for tea. The processing is similar to other shade-grown teas like gyokuro, but there are some key differences. It is not common to drink it in its […] [Read more]
Tie Guan Yin goes by various spellings but it is probably the best known Chinese oolong tea. It is commonly referred to as Iron Goddess of Mercy and there are many legends about how this tea got its name. Traditionally it was made as a strip style tea with heavier roasting but that changed after […] [Read more]
Tai Ping Hou Kui has long been one of my favorite Chinese green teas. The distinctive leaf shape was what initially drew me to it but I also love its sweet, mellow character. It is usually featured on the lists of China’s most famous teas and its history dates as far back as the Qing […] [Read more]
Sencha is a style of green tea that can be found in every tea growing region of Japan, so much so that it actually accounts for 80% of all of the tea grown there. The name literally translates as infused tea. This was to differentiate it from whisked tea, like matcha, which had been more […] [Read more]
The ability to discern what you’re tasting is a learned ability. Although some individuals may have been born “supertasters” the majority of us have to take the time to improve our taste buds. In China, professional tea tasters are a highly paid profession. They can earn a good amount of commission just by drinking tea every day. And behind all this is their tireless study and hard work. If you think you are talented, I think you can soon be just like them. [Read more]
Cast iron teapots are an elegant method to make tea. But it is crucial to understand how to make use of them and maintain these pots. Here are some helpful tips and tricks to ensure that you’ll have many years of tea-making together. [Read more]
