Tasting Archives

. For a tea seller, Chinese or foreign, tea season is a whirlwind. Each year there are challenges, uncertainties, and mistakes. This tea season had challenges that were unlike years before and made me rethink the way I do tea. This year I offered presales. The point of presales is to gauge the interest in a tea and therefore buy accordingly. It also helps tea drinkers get the freshest tea. The idea is that tea can be received by me and then immediately go out. This though gives a lot of trust to makers, the weather, and other changing factors....

Tea Blog: Da FangThe remarkable woman who is behind the 100% handmade She Xian recently posted that she had some 100% handmade Da Fang. How could I turn it down? Jump ahead by a week or so and Im tasting it double gong dao bei style. To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed. While the aroma held promise. Showing me a thick vegetal note with the classic toasted chestnut, but it didn't come through in the flavor. I didn't take too many sips before I moved on to the next tea. I decided to take the tea to work where...

There are always new Yan Cha teas. Huang Guan This or Qi That. Recently though, a variety has been gaining more popularity and with good reason.Jin Mu Dan. I first tried Jin Mu Dan while sitting with Derek of ORT. While I had heard the name before it hadn't come across my plate till that day. I tried his and was blown away. For me it was like eating chocolate ice cream in a room full of flowers. The rich chocolate flavor was smooth and balanced and there was clear floral aromas. It was so wonderful I didn't hesitate when one...

Yesterday I got a message on Reddit from someone who knew I had experience in Huang Shan and was curious about Qimen. The sender was looking into Qimens and was wondering what he should be looking for. What's the Qimen flavor? Is there a good Qimen?  Little did he know that these were the exact questions I have been asking myself for a while. Qimens, for being such a well-recognized name， seems to be a tea that is surprisingly hard to define. While I haven't entirely found the answer I can share what I've reached so far. The Qimen Flavor:...

My goal of a great Qimen Gong Fu led me to buy one off Tao Bao. The company is not specifically a Qimen seller but the Qimens Ive had from them before have been good. I wasn't buying this expecting to find the kind I like, rich thick and sweet, but more to understand what most QGF taste like. While not particularly special, it also wasn't as rough as most Gong Fus get. It had a the general hardiness that I like from GFs with out bitterness. It wasn't floral, but Qimen Gong Fus really aren't. While it lacked major flaws it...