There are books that are enjoyable to read because they are about tea, and books particularly well-suited to a read accompanied by a cup of tea. Katrina Avila Munichiello’s recently published anthology of non-fiction writings about tea, “A Tea Reader,” is both of these. The 52 essays in the book are arranged thematically into five [...]
Confining scope to just the teas of China, it seems to me that tea drinkers in the United States tend not to approach green teas with the same level of seriousness that they afford rare aged pu’er teas or high quality oolongs. But there are indeed some fabulous and exquisite green teas from China, some [...]
Hong Yue (红玉, “Red Jade” in Chinese) is unlike any other black tea you’re likely to drink, but it’s one I recommend trying when you can get it. It’s not commonly available outside of Taiwan, due to the small amounts produced each year and the relative lack of awareness among worldwide tea drinkers. That said, [...]
In my opinion, the best response to a day-long compulsion to drink Longjing (龙井, Dragon Well) is to yield to it as soon as possible. Longjing is a tea that I prefer to savor with full attention, so it is not typically a tea that I would drink while I am working. So the earlier [...]
Chicago Tea Garden is the name of the company opened recently by Tony Gebely, the blogger who writes World of Tea, and his partner Erin Murphy. Through a set of exceptionally wonderful circumstances they have connected and joined forces with David Lee Hoffman, procurer of great Chinese teas, who was profiled in the film All [...]
I anticipated that Puerh Special Grade, a loose leaf pu’er from TeaSource, would brew into a nice liquor after I smelled the intense sweet aroma of the dry leaf. I was not disappointed. In general, but especially in the initial steep, it was very malty, almost like graham crackers or Ovaltine. It opened up more [...]
There’s a certain set of scents that I (and probably a whole lot of other people) associate with Christmas. Mighty Leaf’s Holiday Blend tastes like Christmas smells: like the decoration aisle of a craft store in winter, like candles, fireplaces, and red and green and gold glittery stuff. The dominant flavors that contribute to this [...]
Teas Etc.’s Plum Blossom Reserve Oolong (Dong Fong Mei Zen), a Bai Hao style oolong from Taiwan, is an exceptional and fabulous tea. It is one of a small number of teas that Teas Etc. has started importing from an award-winning Taiwanese grower. If you’ve tasted any Bai Hao oolong and are capable of calling [...]
A while ago I reviewed a Formosa Shanlinxi high mountain oolong from auraTeas. Not terribly long after that I received a sample of Rishi Tea’s Shan Lin Xi Gao Shan Cha Oolong, and I was quite interested in finding out how different the teas would be from each other. They are both from the Shan [...]
Looking at the pictures I took of Tea Source’s Golden Spirals I’m tempted to describe the experience as a strange art project instead of a tea tasting, but the visuals are half or less of the story of this unusual tea. Tea Source’s description: “This hand-tied display tea is made of long golden/brown tea leaves [...]
