It's All About Tea — hei cha

Tea has been a staple in Asian culture for centuries, with various types and flavors that vary from region to region. The popularity of Chinese tea has long outgrown its borders as entrepreneurs introduced tea seeds and plants to other Asian countries. That led to the production of Chinese tea types in other countries.

In today's blog post, we'll explore some of the most popular varieties of Asian tea produced in some of China's neighboring countries. We'll explore the production specifics that vary by each country, and some teas with unique profiles, that stemmed from these bold experiments. We can even offer you some of them in our tea store, too, so make yourself a cuppa and let's dive in! (Read More)

Today, we invite He Jin - a local producer of Tibetan black tea, and our proud supplier - for a chat. She will teach us on the various types of this chinese fermented tea, and will share tips and tricks on storage and brewing methods in order to get the most out of this artisan tea.

He Jin lives in Ya'an city, where she's been engaged in Tibetan tea production for quite a few years now. She creates fine-quality Yaxi Tibetan tea in loose-leaf form and the region's signature Tibetan Jasmine tea. (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)

Last week in part one of this blog post, we discovered the relationship between tea and Traditional Chinese Medicine and how tea turned into "a medicine for ten thousand illnesses". We also talked about two of the three most suitable teas to drink in wintertime - black tea and dark tea (like shou pu-erh and Liu Bao). We discussed how they support vital body functions and help preserve our health during the colder months. Now let's go on with the last suggestion - and a bonus mention!  (Read more)

Tea has earned a highly respected status among other TCM remedies as “a cure for 10 000 illnesses”. 

While preferences towards one or another tea are strictly based on personal taste, each of the six main tea types has unique properties that can be experienced at their best in a particular set of circumstances.

As most of us living in the Northern hemisphere are amid wintertime, let’s dive deeper into the Chinese teas that hold the most benefits for the human body during wintertime. (Read more)