It's All About Tea — history

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)

Anji Bai Cha is a comparatively young tea with a long history. Its cultivar was first re-discovered in 1982. As the name suggests, Anji Bai Cha comes from Anji County in Zhejiang province. It is still predominantly produced in Anji County, although there are a few other farms in other parts of Zhejiang province producing the tea.

 

Anji Bai Cha translates as Anji white tea, although it is a green tea variety. Why? Let's follow its long history to find out! (Read more)

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) 

Years before tea became a standard beverage in Europe and North America, Chinese tea merchants created the myth of "Monkey Picked Tea."

At the time, tea for westerns was a wonder. They loved the unusual and exquisite taste. However, tea took so long to make its journey from China to Europe and North America. Most people were utterly clueless about how tea was grown and processed.

One myth that did prevail and kept tea drinkers interested and craving more tea was that the tea was picked by brilliant and well-trained monkeys. (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)