Today I went for a pot of Phoenix Pomelo Fragrance, a rare Chinese oolong. Normally, oolongs must be rinsed with hot water (205 F) before the first steep, but this particular type is instead only steam-rinsed: you warm the gaiwan…
Back then Darius told us that there are 2 main tea varietals: Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis puer. Obviously, pu’er tea comes from the latter. It’s the only kind of fermented tea. Fermentation and oxidation are two different things:…
Black teas today. Black tea is 100% oxidized, and like green tea, it needs no rinsing step prior to steeping. The reason is its surface is too small because it was cut into shreds or tiny bits, the flavors are…
I’m looking for a tea with a sweet but strong, long lasting taste. Green and white are out of the question, but after tasting the Yellow Gold and the Da Hong Bao last week, I thought I’ve narrowed down my…
Last week we had 3 kinds of Chinese oolongs. This week is 3 kinds of Taiwainese oolong. The difference between Chinese and Taiwanese teas? The region in which they were grown, which includes the soil, the climate, the biodiversity, etc.…
Today we did three kinds of Chinese oolong, all of which are rinsed and steeped in 205F water. A little bit of background on oolong: they are 20-80% oxidized (as compared to green tea which is not oxidized at all,…