I’m always surprised by how dark of a color white teas tend to have. While the greens, oolongs, reds and puer for the most part have colors that match their names, white teas look yellow. The color of the steeped…
White teas and New Year
Author: Mai
Jin Shuan oolong winter 2015 and return of the mochi
A photo posted by Mai Truong (@flavorblvd) on Nov 21, 2015 at 6:59pm PST A light, easy-going green oolong, this Jin Shuan (also known as “milk oolong”) just arrived at the shop last night. After a trek to the tea…
Halfway Sky – new oolong varietal at Teance
We’re back! I can’t stay away from tea for very long after all, especially now that the winter harvest is here, the oolongs are arriving, and Winnie has brought back new oolongs in every sense of the word: a varietal…
Pre-rain Dragonwell 2014 – the chesnut note
“At first I didn’t really comprehend it, but then it struck me: this tea was literally on the bush just a few days ago [in Hangzhou], and here it is in my cup [half way across the globe]”, said Teance’s…
Professional tea tasting event at Teance – Recap Part II
Last week Eons ago I wrote Part I, which was an overview of the event’s atmosphere, to publish on The Daily Cal. Since the beginning of this semester I have been terribly slacking in literally everything with the excuse of…
How about a cup of story?
Recently, I attended Teance’s 2nd yearly Professional Tasting event, thoroughly impressed by the teas and inspired by the professional tasters. “One day, I would like to be a tea sommelier”, I thought. Even if that dream doesn’t come true, it’s…
Taiwan Beauty and Royal Courtesan
For the longest time, I’ve been using the names “Taiwan Beauty” and “Royal Courtesan” interchangeably, believing that they were the same type of tea. However, they’re NOT. They are pretty similar, though: – Both are Taiwanese oolongs with high oxidation…
2013 Taiwan Beauty and mochi
The mochi (or daifuku) are back at Teance! After a several-month-long mochi drought because Yuri san went to Japan, now she’s back and we once again can savour the delicate flavors she create. On the left is mochi with kabocha…
Procedure to brew a good cup of tea
Years of drinking at Teance (well, it’s been 2 years!) have hard-wired in me the proper way to make a good cup of tea: Warm the gaiwan/teapot, the server (tiny tea “pitcher”) and the cups. Rinse the tea leaves, which…
The best among 4 tea houses in Berkeley
What contains enough caffeine to help you plow through the midterms but also keeps your brain relaxed in a meditating state? Tea. Tea contains theanine, which reduces mental stress and boosts cognitive functioning. But forget all that boring chemistry! Just…