It's All About Tea — history

In today's post we will discus the origins of tea in China and ancient Chinese tea drinking methods. From 2737 BCE and all the way up to modern times, let's take a look at how tea culture transformed. (Read more)

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, one of the oldest styles of tea still enjoyed today. A close relative of modern Ripe Pu-erh, its account is a story of parallel invention rather than direct lineage. (Read more)