It's All About Tea — history

Many tea drinkers around the world might be under the impression that teapots were invented practically the same day the tea leaf was first brewed! It’s an interesting image, indeed, but not an accurate one. The teapot itself had to go through some evolution in times past. (Read more) 

The Chinese Tea Ceremony. Gong Fu Cha. In the West, we have all developed certain connotations behind these phrases, and for most of all, the image we get when we hear Chinese tea ceremony is the same. A gaiwan or yixing teapot filled to the brim with tea leaves, some small teacups, a tea table with some tea utensils, and a tea pet. Indeed, the vast majority of us will get the same image in our minds when we hear Gong Fu Cha. The Chinese tea ceremony is almost comparable to Chinese food in the US. Is American Chinese food the same food you will find being served in China? No. It is the same with the Chinese tea ceremony. Not everyone in China practices what we nowadays refer to by this term. Furthermore, modern day Gong Fu Cha is not purely Chinese. (Read more) 

White tea is the least processed among the Six Types of tea. The production utilizes the gentle process of withering and drying, which gives white teas delicate flavors, a smooth mouthfeel, and a subtly fruity or sweet finish. White teas tend to have less bitterness than other teas and can be more forgiving of water temperature and infusion times than green teas.

While we can trace references to "white tea" as far back as the Tang Dynasty (618-907), what the ancients drank was vastly different from our modern loose-leaf variety. (Read more)

Liu Bao is a tea of history. It is one of the oldest styles of tea preparation still enjoyed today. It is believed that Liu Bao's processing methods of Liu Bao served as the basis for modern-day Ripe Pu-erh preparation. In fact, the two teas undergo very similar processing, partly because they are both part of the Hei Cha category. (Read more)

We all know of Chado (the way of tea), also known as Chanoyu – the traditional Japanese matcha tea ceremony. But how many of us know that Senchado (The Way Of Sencha) was as much of a thing as Chado at a time? Although now sencha is drunk in much more casual settings, most commonly in the comforts of one’s home or perhaps at a sushi restaurant, it started off as a more or less ceremonial tea. (Read more)