FREE SHIPPING on orders over $65 International: over $250



It's All About Tea — black tea

About Golden Monkey Black Tea

Posted by Angelina Kurganska on

Jin Hou Black Tea, otherwise known as Golden Monkey Black Tea, is a relatively old Chinese tea. In an era when only green teas were consumed, alongside the only black tea being Lapsang Souchong, Jin Hou came about to meet export desires. Black tea was already growing immense popularity in the west. While locals back in China didn't necessarily have a taste for the tea themselves, they experimented with farming techniques to produce some delicious black teas. (Read more)

Read more →


Lapsang Souchong vs Non-Smoky Lapsang Souchong Black Tea

Posted by Angelina Kurganska on

Smoky Lapsang Souchong (Zhengshan Xiaozhong) is an acquired taste, much like a ripe pu-erh is. Some people love its deep campfire notes and the warm, comforting feeling the tea provides. Others find these roasted notes too strong and may have unwanted associations with food when drinking the tea. Luckily, for the latter, there is Non-smoky Lapsang Souchong. (Read more)

Read more →


The History Of Wakoucha — Japanese Black Tea

Posted by Angelina Kurganska on

Japanese black tea is referred to as koucha in Japan. Like hong cha, koucha translates as red tea and is red tea and not black tea. Wakoucha refers specifically to black tea produced in Japan. "Wa" referring to Japan in this context. The properties of Japanese black tea are the same as those of hong cha — it is a fully oxidized tea made from the leaves of camellia sinensis.

In a country that predominantly drinks green tea, black tea production has always taken up a tiny part of the Japanese tea production industry. (Read more) 

Read more →


A Deeper Look Into Chinese Black Tea: Hong Cha

Posted by Angelina Kurganska on

Up until the mid 17th century (Late Ming, Early Qing Dynasty), the only teas widely consumed in China were green (unoxidized) and oolong (semi-oxidized) teas.

Nowadays, red tea is one of the most popular and widely produced teas in the world. However, it wasn't always this way.  (Read more)

Read more →


Black Tea Caffeine Content: Is It Actually High?

Posted by Angelina Kurganska on

A common claim is that black tea caffeine content is much higher than that of green or white tea. Many people will always make a choice to drink green tea believing that the caffeine content is much lower. There are also people who say that green tea has zero caffeine. (Read more)

Read more →