Qimen (Keemun, Keemum, Pinyin 祁门), grown in Qimen County, in Anhui Province, is a tea I haven’t given enough attention to. Every time I drink it I find that it’s much more interesting and complex than I think it’s going to be, and Keemum Panda #1 from DAVIDsTEA is quite a nice example of a [...]
I have not encountered very many black teas that were suitable for brewing using the gongfu method, but as the name would suggest, Canton Tea Co’s Bai Ling Gong Fu is one of them. It is quite a marvelous tea, with a rich, velvet-like character much smoother than most black teas, even Yunnan Gold (Dian [...]
While hot tea can be a great way to warm up on a winter day or even during a summer thunderstorm, it isn’t always the first choice for a summer beverage, especially in the hottest months of the year. There are some ways that you can take your love of tea into the summer without [...]
Black teas from Yunnan Province are my standard everyday comfort teas, and I generally drink them several times a week, so I was interested in trying narienteas’ Yunnan Golden Tips. The first time I brewed a pot of it I was a little surprised by the initial taste because it had none of the carmel, [...]
In addition to my writing here, I am also a contributing writer for The Taste of English Tea Blog, which is connected to the English Tea Store. This has led me to pursue avenues of tea and tea research of a more English flavor. One recent example was that I started finding out more about [...]
Teatulia’s Tulsi Infusion is very different from any other tea or tisane that I have tasted. Inexplicably, for me the scent of the brewed liquor is evocative of childhood summers and corn on the cob oozing with butter. This is a little odd because the tea does not taste anything like corn or butter or [...]
As a rule, I do not buy or drink blended teas, but during the holiday season unexpected items ended up in my hands, one of those being a tea blend given to me by a co-worker. Despite the name, The Teacup‘s Snow Leopard Blend is not camellia sinensis flavored with snow leopards. It is not [...]
Sometimes a full gongfu cha ceremony is beyond the scope of time or practicality or attention span. One method that I use at times like this employs two gaiwans. I use the first one to brew the tea. Then after the requisite steeping time, which is dependent on how many infusions I have already brewed, [...]
I hardly ever drink Ceylon tea, so when I received the sample of Broken Orange Pekoe from Plucker’s Pick, I was a little concerned that I would dislike it due to its type, regardless of its quality. I was delighted to find that my concern was completely unfounded. As most tea drinkers know, Sri Lanka [...]
Two Leaves and a Bud Tea Company sent us a wide and interesting array of teas to sample. One thing that I liked immediately about all of their teas is that they package each tea “sachet” in an individually sealed packet, which is a great way to secure the freshness of each cup. Countering the [...]
