Category: Tastings
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Alishan Oolong Black
This morning’s treat was to share some waffles and a pretty unique tea with my wife as we watched the snow gently fall outside. This is one of the teas I bought from a small shop in Taipei called DigniTea, which is a family-run artisan tea company that grows (as far as I know) all…
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San Lin Shi Winter Sprout 2014
What an interesting oolong that I discovered in a small package I brought back from my trip to California. I remembered good things from this tea, and today’s snowy conditions seemed like the perfect day to bring back some memories of sunlight. The first thing that hit me upon opening the package was the scent.…
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Old Man Camphor
What a great name Wu De and associates have chosen for this month’s tea. The gift from Global Tea Hut this December is a bit of loose Spring 2007 Shou Puer they call “Old Man Camphor” (老夫樟 or Lǎofū Zhāng). Earthy and with a wonderful aroma. Just by the smell it makes me think of…
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Baozhong observations
Baozhong (包種茶, literally “wrapped item”) is a very interesting tea to categorize. It balances on the border of being Green and Oolong. Very lightly oxidized, bright and floral, green and tan, it is one of the oldest styles of tea produced in Taiwan. When I think of Taiwanese oolongs, I usually imagine the sweet roasts…
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Teance Tea Time
After the fashion of my last post on Song Tea I wanted to highlight another exceptional tearoom that I encountered in San Francisco, Teance. This shop is a little different than Song Tea, for while they also sell their leaves for home consumption, they also have a bar (and tables) at which everyone can sit…
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Sing a Song of Song Tea
There were a few wonderful moments in China and Taiwan where I was able to sit for an hour or more, sipping tea with people who were complete strangers when we entered their shop, chatting about the qualities of tea and about the world as gaiwan after gaiwan was poured. A wonderfully forthright lady in…
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Four Heavenly Hong Shui
For my birthday I ordered some lovely tea from Stéphane over at Teamasters. Most of what I ordered was one of my favorite tea styles, Hong Shui (“red water”) Oolong. 红水乌龙茶 is a style that has fascinated me ever since I first encountered it in Taiwan some three years ago and it’s not a type of…
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First Anniversary Tea
To celebrate the one-year anniversary of my wedding, we had a small gathering with tea and friends. We started with bowls of Matcha prepared using the same tools we used during our wedding ceremony. The chawan (bowl) was custom made by Petr Novak. After a few rounds, we switched to a 1998 Jinuoshan Sheng Puer that…
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Tri Roasted Ali Shan
Not too long ago I had a chance to attend a tea class held by John at Stone Leaf Tea. The topic was Taiwanese tea, since he had just returned from travels on that venerable island. When we were there we tasted a tea that was stunning in both its creation as well as its flavors.…
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Short, Medium, and Long Jing
Recently I had the pleasure to receive a sample set of three 2014 Long Jing (Dragon Well) teas from Teavivre, so naturally I had to taste them all together. My first impression is that the dry leaves look mostly the same. All have the typical Long Jing blade shape. A few white haired leaves appear…