It's All About Tea — chinese tea

White tea doesn't look like much. The leaves are barely touched during processing, often just a pale scattering of downy buds with a light silvery fuzz. So it tends to surprise people that a tea this understated can carry such a high price tag, with certain harvests and aged batches selling for as much as, or even more than, far more elaborately processed teas.

While some don't understand the price tag on this tea, others patiently await the new harvest season, or even for it to reach its peak aging period. (Read more)

What is your favorite tea type? For many, the answer is – oolong!

What makes oolong so favored? Perhaps it's the multidimensionality – the variety within this single tea category. A lightly oxidized oolong resembles green tea, while a more deeply oxidized, dark-roasted oolong resembles black tea. Nevertheless, it is neither. It is in between and can not be imitated. (Read more)

All throughout China, Taiwan, and other parts of East Asia, the bubble tea trend has reached its peak, with crowds of youth lining up for a big cup of the ice-cold tea beverage. Yet we still find small groups of elderly folk sitting somewhere shaded in a park, enjoying hot Gong Fu style tea.

For the westerner, it is counterintuitive to be drinking hot tea for hours on a hot, muggy day. Many of the older people, however, know the secrets of Chinese medicine and know exactly which beverages to drink in the summer to keep the body cool. (Read more)

Today, Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea, also known as the Iron Goddess of Mercy or the Iron Bodhisattva of Mercy, is among the top ten teas of China. It is prevalent in both Taiwan and China, although the processing methods vary quite significantly.

For sure, when entering a tea shop in these countries, you are bound to see Tie Guan Yin on the menu. Even in the West, many cafes list Iron Goddess as one of their tea options. Production styles vary heavily. While in Taiwan, Tie Guan Yin is known for its dark, heavily roasted taste, in China, Anxi Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea producers tend to stick to a light, floral roast. (Read more)

One of the things that makes Wuyi Rock Tea different from other oolongs is the roasting process it undergoes. This process is not only one step, but a few distinguished steps.

When yancha is only in the first stages of processing, it's still quite vegetal and floral, much like a green tea. Only at the end of processing will it gain the characteristic taste we all love. (Read more)