Author: payton
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Master’s Collection Hsinchu Oriental Beauty from Adagio
As I mentioned last week, I recently was given a gift certificate to review some teas from Adagio. A long time ago I was a regular on their sleek website with all its tea information and community resources, but since then I’ve been more drawn to smaller specialty shops. To really see what they could…
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Master’s Collection Formosa Pouchong from Adagio
Back when I first fell in love with loose leaf tea, I quickly discovered Adagio. Compared to my other favorite of the time, Upton Tea Imports, Adagio had a sleek website, a more curated selection, and excellent packaging. Their online communities provided a space for tea discussion long before Steepster. While their selection is great,…
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A short tea adventure in Vancouver
Last week I had the opportunity to visit Vancouver for a couple of days and so naturally I had to know: what’s the tea scene like? Short answer? It’s amazing. I need to go back. I got some fantastic recommendations over Instagram from the Vancouver Tea Society, and did a little planning. It was a…
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Marshmallow Puer: 2005 Yunnan Sourcing Bo Wen
Recently I had the pleasure to order a pile of tea from Yunnan Sourcing, a company I’ve admired for a long while but from whom I had never ordered. This chronicles my first tea from that order, a 2005 Bo Wen “Yue Chen Yue Xiang” Ripe Pu-erh. This is a 12 year-old Ripe (Shou) Puer,…
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A Calm Fragrance in Autumn
A lazy trail of incense drifting over the pot, the tea steeps in silence, peacefully abiding. This month’s Global Tea Hut offering is a relatively unique creation, a Honey Scent Oolong (Mì Xiāng, 蜜香, also titled “Calm Fragrance”, Yǐ Xiāng Rù Dìng 以香入定). This leaf was crafted from the Four Seasons cultivar (Sì jì chūn,…
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2016 Dong Ding from Wistaria
This was a gift from the incomparable Tammie from her recent trip to Taiwan. In Taipei there’s a well-known teahouse called Wistaria (紫藤廬) which I have been privileged to spend time in. Their tea is superb and they know it very well. The tea house is situated inside an old Japanese mansion that dates back to…
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Puer is the New Black
It’s no secret that I love a good Shou Puer (熟普洱茶). Misty Peak Teas just began offering a new cake they call “The New Black”. Even though the name is light on information (region, factory, etc.) I’ve come to appreciate these elegant names for Puer cakes; they give a little personality to the tea and…
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2003 Tong Qing Hao Sheng Puer
This afternoon my wife found a nice-looking little bag of Puer leaves in our Sheng Puer box. It was labeled (in my handwriting) “2003 Tong Qing Hao”, but had no other information. What was this mystery tea? We decided to drink it to find out! We were originally going to do a rinse, but the…
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An Ordinary Treasure
I’d like to share my experiences recently with a 2004 “Ordinary Treasure” Sheng Puer from Global Tea Hut. I had tried this small package of Puer once casually when we got it in the mail, and I enjoyed it immensely. I love a good raw Puer (Shēng chá, 生茶) now and then, but most of my collection is…
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Misty Peaks 2016 Mao Cha
Spring rain, dappled sunlight on leaves, and fresh tea: these things come together in my cup, a gift from the hundred hands of the earth. Last month I received an exciting gift! Nicholas from Misty Peaks tea sent me a small package of their 2016 spring harvest. Misty Peaks is a unique and fascinating tea…