It's All About Tea — ancient tea

In this blog post, we continue our exploration of non-native Chinese teas produced in Asia.

Our destination is Laos - a country on the crossroad between China (more specifically, Yunnan), Vietnam, and Burma, among others. Nestled in the area known as the cradle of tea origin, Laos is a country with ancient tea heritage, pristine forests, and age-old tea trees. Let's explore its merits and discover the Laos tea that increasingly draws the interest of tea drinkers by the year. (Read More)

In an earlier blog post, we witnessed the beauty of tea rituals outside of China. Today, we continue to explore the path of cha in near and distant lands. In today’s post, we’ll set on a journey to the vast Russian planes.

Russia’s connection to Chinese tea is ingrained into the local culture in a way so profound few other countries can compare to it. As its territory changed through the ages, so did the cultural landscape, influenced by the lands and people the empire included during its different periods. Chinese tea was ubiquitous to the point of being considered a national drink in pre-Soviet Russia. Its history started with the establishment of the Silk Road and has been ongoing ever since. (Read more)

Tibetan black tea is made from more mature tea leaves. The picking standard for it includes a bud and up to five leaves. Modern days processing includes typical steps for producing Hei Cha – fixing, rolling, wet piling (Wo Dui – 渥堆), drying, steaming, pressing, and finally, aging. While the processing changed with time, some believe it is namely Tibetan tea that precedes all other types of Hei Cha and served as a model for all subsequent Hei Cha production and processing in other areas of China. 

Tibetan tea processing includes 5 stages and a total of 32 processing steps. The aging period alone requires a minimum of 6 months. Some claim its production process is the most intricate and time-consuming among all tea types. (Read more)

In the 300 years following the late Ming dynasty, the Six ancient tea mountains in Yunnan experienced major ups and downs. They were due to the change of times in China and the neighboring countries that purchased tea from the mainland. Slowly, the focus of tea production has shifted to the new Six major tea mountains. 

In this article, we'll witness how the main Pu-erh tea production areas transformed over time, and how that impacts their terroirs. (Read more)

In this chapter of "Tea with friends: the story of..." we sit down to chat with Vincent Liu. A startup entrepreneur, Vincent has returned from the US, where he finished his education, back to his roots in China to follow his newfound passion for Chinese tea. 

During the process, he managed to tour several famous tea-producing regions, introduce local artisan teas to the public, and create the world's first tea app! (Read more)