Tag: china
-
Bai Mu Dan (White Peony)
Today I went back to one of the first loose leaf teas that I ever fell in love with: Bai Mu Dan or White Peony, a fairly high quality white tea from Fujian, China. As with every style of tea, white tea exists in a wide range. There are cake-pressed and aged white teas like…
-
Yunnan green tea
I am always amazed by the variety of tea grown in Yúnnán province, the most south-western area of China. It’s extremely mountainous in the north and a tropical jungle in the south. In that large swath of land, they make every kind of tea. Although they are probably most well known for Puer, their red…
-
Cacao and Berries: A comparison of Yunnan Hong Cha
Ever since I was fortunate enough to spend two weeks wandering around Yúnnán Province in the South-West of China, I’ve been in love with that region’s unique black tea (or more specifically 红茶 – Hōng Chá). When I came back from that trip I brought with me several hundred grams of tea made in the…
-
The Humble Tea Pet
I saw my first tea pet the first time that I saw someone brew gongfu tea. It was a smooth stone turtle, serenely resting on the bamboo brewing tray, the tea flowing gently off its back as the tea master doused it with a rolled oolong. “A gift for the tea gods”, he said, or…
-
Ales visits Burlington
Ales Jurina, one of the two founders of Dobrá Čajovna (“Good Tearoom”) in Czech visited Burlington this week. Of all the people that have taught me about the way of tea, I think that Ales has affected me the most. He is a kind soul and a true tea devotee. Along with his partner and…
-
Bada Mountain Fermented Puer
I recently subscribed to Jalam Tea’s monthly deliveries, and since the current month’s bing was already sold out, I received a hoard of samples of previous puer selections. Last week I had a go at the Meng Song. Today I tried the 2012 Bada Mountain Fermented (it seems that Jalam refers to their Shou puer as “fermented”…
-
Cultivars and Places in Tea Names
Tea naming is an interesting art, and it’s easy for us Westerners to be confused by the plethora of naming conventions out there. I think a little primer might be helpful. Let’s take a tea name like Gao Shan Ali Shan Jin Xuan Milk Oolong. That’s a lot of words! But we can break it…
-
Shui Mi Xiang from Camellia Sinensis
This is a tea I haven’t had before. Shuǐ Mì Xiāng (水蜜香) means “Water Honey Aroma”, or perhaps more lyrically, “Honey-water scent” and it’s easy to see why. The dark twisted leaves give forth a dusty sweet aroma that gave away the family of this tea even before I knew what it was: Guandong oolong. This…
-
What is Puer?
I’ve been drinking a lot of Puer tea lately. Possibly more than any other style. Back in the old days I wrote a post on Dobra Tea’s blog about Puer to help with demystifying this wonderful beverage. Since then there has been a lot more accurate information published on the Internet regarding Puer and Hei Cha in…
-
Mysterious Ku Fu Phoenix
Ming Tao Xuan in Montréal, where I purchased this tea in 2011 has labeled it as “Phoenix Ku Fu Cha (Chinese Red Tea)”, which is confusing in many ways. Its mystery, however, can still be unraveled with some careful tasting. And the process can be so rewarding. My taste buds tell me that this is…