My first attempt of writing a tea guide. It was published in the special issue Food & Cuisine 2013 of the Daily Cal. The suggested time for each category is an extremely rough estimate, because the time depends on the…
It’s been a long time since I last went to Teance, between research and editing, I can no longer afford 2-3 hours with tea. However, today was one of those days when things didn’t go as planned, I was up…
Last season, we had the best Bailin Gongfu. It was an instant eye-opener. It was one of the teas that I just had to buy. It had depth, layers, sweetness, kick, strength, warmth, everything. It was a tea that I…
The new spring harvest teas are arriving at Teance, and so am I. I tried three teas earlier today, a yellow tea, a green tea and a white tea, all of which I have had from previous seasons, but a…
Once a week last spring, I took the 51B line to Teance at 5 p.m. so that I could make it to TeaCal by 5:30. TeaCal is a DeCal class on tea, and last spring was the first time it…
Every April, my mom asks my dad to drive along Highway 105 and Highway 6 to look at the wild bluebonnet in bloom. She likes the flower viewing drive as much as the Japanese are into their hanami (花見, cherry…
The Minimalist’s bookkeeping: Taiwan Beauty – citrusy and light. Aged Baochong – plumy and coffee-y, then smoky in subsequent infusions. Yushan High Mountain oolong – simply light, Nancy detected a fantastic smell that I couldn’t because I was already in a food-induced stupor…
Recently, I had a few amazing evenings drinking puer at Cheryl’s place. In all honesty, I never liked puer before. The puer I’ve had at Teance, minus the Fragrant Leaf green puer, always struck me as muddy with a medicinal…
Last spring, I got two bags of last-spring (Spring 2012) shincha (新茶) from Yaoya-san in El Cerrito. The soft green color of the bags was so pleasing, I like shincha so much (it immediately became my number-one favorite green tea when I…
Ran across this newsletter from Teance today, and I just thought I should take notes: Oolongs from Taiwan enjoy renown and prestige, as well some of the highest prices, in the world today. The locals happily consume most of what…