Author Archives: jmhuang
Yerba mate
Yerba mate (leaves) is made from a South America native plant called Ilex paraguariensis. The leaves of the plant are steeped in hot water to make a beverage known as mate. Mate is common in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southern … Continue reading
Qimen Aged An Tea
Qimen Aged An Tea is an aged tea from the same town where the world-renowned Qimen(Keemun) black tea is made. It is a tea that has existed for hundreds of years. But its production was halted for almost half a … Continue reading
Tea 101: What contributes to the quality of your drinking tea?
Making good tea requires technique and proper tools. There are many things can affect the quality of your tea. Here are the most influential factors: The quality of the tea leaves: If possible, try using tea leaves for your tea … Continue reading
Phoenix Golden Oolong Tea
Phoenix Golden Oolong tea is a new addition to the Phoenix Oolong tea family. This tea has a beautiful golden-red black tea color and the lovely fragrance of Phoenix oolong tea. Phoenix Golden Oolong is made from the same tea … Continue reading
Dragon-Well Tea
One thing I always look forward to in springtime every year is enjoying the Dragon-Well tea from HangZhou. Dragon-Well is a relatively new member in the Chinese most famous ten teas group, and it fully lives up to its expectation. Dragon-Well was already famous in Tang dynasty (618-907) but … Continue reading
What do you call it?
Most of us know that tea and cha are referring to the same drink. But I wonder how many of us have actually thought about why people who live in different parts of the world call it by different names. I recently read a book called Tea Ceremony History by Akio … Continue reading
Dong Pian
Dong Pian means winter flake in Chinese. It is a high mountain Oolong tea from the second harvest of a winter season from Taiwan. Usually Oolong tea is harvested only once during winter time. However, if the weather has been favorable and there are enough new healthy growths on the tea trees, … Continue reading
Canton Oolong
Phoenix Oolong is also called Dan Cong Oolong. This tea originally grew in the high mountain areas in the Phoenix town in GuangDong province, but is now also cultivated in five near-by towns. Dan Cong means single bush. I was … Continue reading
Golden Tea
This tea grows in the mountain in Hubei province. The newly-opened leaves are picked right after the snow season is over. This tea is specifically made only for special occasions, thus it is not available in the market place. This … Continue reading
Aged Tea from Taiwan
This tea is in nugget shapes. According to the friend who gave me the tea, the tea farmer made this tea only for himself. Since my friend is a regular customer, the farmer shared 100g of this aged tea with … Continue reading
Golden Tea Leaf 