Bitterness and astringency are two of the most commonly confused sensations in tea, and two of the most important to understand. Bitterness is a taste, caused by caffeine and certain catechins; astringency is a mouthfeel, caused by tannins binding to the proteins in your saliva. One is usually unwanted. The other, in a well-made tea, can be one of its finest qualities.(Read more)
Like any proper tea enthusiast, we’re sure your eyes light up just like ours do every time you see a beautiful piece of teaware! But have you ever considered making your own teaware? Sure, it may not turn out as perfect as a Yixing teapot made by a multi-generational master. However, it will be yours! Furthermore, it will definitely become a conversation piece during your next friendly tea ceremony. In this post, we share some tips on how to make your own teaware. (Read more)
What do we talk about when we talk about mouthfeel? We’re sure, when you read tea descriptions, picking out which best suits your taste, you may notice something referred to as “mouthfeel.” Mouthfeel is an essential part of the tasting and understanding of every tea. Or even coffee, alcoholic beverages, and food! It’s impossible to escape mouthfeel if you are tasting something. However, some of us may not be used to paying it much mind. In this article, we’ll take a deeper look into mouthfeel and how to decode it during a tea tasting! (Read more)
Bug Bitten Oolongoriginated inTaiwanin the early 20th century. Once, there was a tremendous amount of leafhoppers feasting on one farmer’s tea bushes. Instead of forsaking the whole harvest, he decided to proceed with processing these tea leaves. Thus, thefirstOriental Beauty Oolong came into existence— the forerunner of bug-bitten tea. (Read more)
Yabao. Depending on who you ask, Yabao tea can be categorized as raw pu-erh, white tea, white raw pu-erh, pu-erh buds, or even as a tisane! These are just some of the many categories this elusive Chinese tea falls into. So what is Yabao? Actually, it's quite tricky to define and confine it to a particular tea category. What we do know is that it's incredibly delicious. So let's try to take a closer look at what makes it so. (Read more)