Tea Education There are 56 products.

Subcategories

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  Hong Cha

  红茶 - Red tea
  

  For more information about the naming tea ,please refer to  Chinese Tea Vocabulary at the footer of the website.

  Grade

  Song Zhen - 1 tip and 1 or 2 or 3 leaves , Jin Zhen , Jin Si , Jin Ya, Jin Luo - only tips , Gu Shu - older / bigger leaves and Huang Pian ( yellow leaves ) and some tips
  

  Processing

  Fujian style with temperature final roast in short time called " Ti Xiang or Gao Xiang  ", like Zhong Guo Hong , Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong which promotes nutty and chocolate sweet notes.

  Yunnan traditional style with light withering and sun dried called  " Shai Hong " , promoting fruity notes and suitable for ageing even in less humid environment.

  Typical Dian Hong style like Classic 58 tea which is made with light withering and post processed on low temperature roast in order to preserve fruity notes and provide rich tea same time.

  Shape

  Apart of the loose form also in various shapes are available,  like cakes , bricks , tuo , balls called " Long Zhu ". The reason is not only convenience of storing but also ageing purposes and mostly done with aging ability black teas like Sun Dried " Shai Hong " .

  Trees

  Generally made of "tai di cha" - tea bushes from plantations like in Feng Qing area or Simao ( Puer ) . In Yunnan , the red tea is also made from older arbor tea trees called Gu Shu Hong Cha.

  Varietal

  Many varietals like Jin Pu Hao in Ailao Shan and Jing Gu area , Yun Keng Shi Hao from Feng Qing  but also Zi Jiuan or Zi Ya- the purple varietal is used along with Ye Sheng Hong Cha from Camelia Taliensis wild tea trees.

  Origin

  We generally focus on Yunnan tea , but Fujian also offers large variety of black tea but only from small young bushes. In Yunnan the most famous areas are Feng Qing and Simao  ( Puer ).
  

  Harvest

  In Yunnan generally red tea is made of spring , summer or autumn harvest. It is falsely believed that the spring harvest is always the best. Some red ( blacks ) are the better in autumn edition than spring. Also some black teas might take year or two to develop a better taste, so the fresh ones also not always better.

  Brewing

  Brewing parameters ( volume , amount of tea , time of brewing ) depends on personal taste preference and desired strength of the tea. Temperature is recommended 90 - 100C where lower temperature for more tipsy blacks or light withered sun dried ones and higher for dark oxidized and heavy roasted black teas like Keemun , Zhen Shan Xiao Zhong etc.
  

  In brewing the white tea, the size of the leaf ( grade )  , age of trees ( bush or Gushu ) or shape ( loose / pressed and soft or hard pressed ) factors also need to be concerned.

  The products listed below is a representative selection of the elements written above , helping you to understand the differences by trying particular examples.

  
  
  

• 

  Bai Cha

  白茶  -  White tea
  

  For more information about the naming tea ,please refer to  Chinese Tea Vocabulary at the footer of the website.

  Grade

  Yu Guang Bai - 1 tip and 2 or 3 leaves , Bai Hao - only tips , Lao Ye - older / bigger leaves and Huang Pian ( yellow leaves )

  Processing

  Fujian style with long time withering  Bai Mu Dan which offers sweet and fruity taste or Yunnan traditional style with light withering promoting flowery notes and suitable for ageing even in less humid environment.

  Shape

  Apart of the loose form also in various shapes are available,  like cakes , bricks , tuo , balls called " Long Zhu ". The reason is not only convenience of storing but also ageing purposes.
  

  Trees

  Generally made of "tai di cha" - tea bushes from plantations like Jing Gu , Ai Lao Shan. In Yunnan the white tea is also made from older arbor tea trees called Gu Shu Bai Cha.

  Varietal

  The mostly common varietal Jin Pu Hao in Ailao Shan and Jing Gu area , but also Zi Jiuan - the purple varietal is used along with Ye Sheng Bai Cha or Ya Bao from wild tea trees.

  Origin

  We generally focus on Yunnan tea , but Fujian is probably the most famous for white tea production.
  

  Harvest

  In Yunnan generally white tea is made of spring , summer or autumn harvest. The spring harvest is usually stronger , but autumn one much smoother and sometimes sweeter. The white tea has an ability to age if well stored in loose or pressed. Transforming flowery notes to fruity ones.
  

  Brewing

  Brewing parameters ( volume , amount of tea , time of brewing ) depends on personal taste preference and desired strength of the tea. Temperature is recommended 90 - 100C where lower temperature for younger and higher for older whites or made from " Lao Ye " , " Huang Pian " or longer withered white teas.
  

  In brewing the white tea, the size of the leaf ( grade )  , age of trees ( bush or Gushu ) , age of tea ( time of storage )  , previous storage conditions ( humidity ) or shape ( loose / pressed and soft or hard pressed ) factors also need to be concerned.

  The products listed below is a representative selection of the elements written above , helping you to understand the differences by trying particular examples.

• 

  Sheng Pu Er

  生普洱 - Sheng Pu Er
  

  For more information about the naming tea ,please refer to Chinese Tea Vocabulary at the footer of the website.

  Grade

  Standard  is 1 tip and 3 or 4 leaves , some leaves might be Lao Ye - older / bigger leaves and Huang Pian ( yellow leaves ) which may or may not be selected out and sold separately.
  

  Processing

  Kill green is done in wok on fire or in el.drying  / roasting drum. Temperatures and times can slightly vary based on tea leaf condition and concept of final product.  Frying on high temperature shorter time " Gao Wen Sha Qing "  - high temp. kill green - used for the new concept of sheng puerh tea , promoting the sweetness and aroma , yet suppressing the ageing ability.

  Long withering time " Xin Gong Yi "  - the new craft - which promotes the sweetness and suppresses the astringency, but also degrading the ageing ability. 

  Both of these concepts are very good for consumption of fresh mao cha or quick sale of the pressed cakes ( promoting Puer Hype ) , but we can't confirm that it's good for long term storage.
  

  Some areas are significant for the production of sheng puer with very intensive smoky notes. Sheng puerh also can be blended with flowers ( like jasmine or nuo mi ) or just be steamed with.
  

  For search of sheng based on tasting notes, please refer to Tea Taste at the footer of our website.

  Shape

  Apart of the loose form also in various shapes are available,  like cakes , bricks , tuo , balls called " Long Zhu " . Sheng puerh dense extract  " Cha Gao "

  Trees

  Sheng puerh can be made of "tai di cha" - tea bushes from plantations , from " Qiao Mu " arbor tea trees growing in tea gardens or in forest . The most expensive is production from old tea trees called " Gu Shu " ( we call it also Old Arbor ).
  

  Varietal

  Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica , var.pubillinba, and many others.Aside of cultivated tea plants there is also production from wild tea trees like Camellia Taliensis ..etc.

  We do not state varietal on the product unless we can trace it. Many vendors use it as marketing tool or just guessing without having solid evidence of the varietal.
  

  Origin

  The location is very important for single origin products as some places , mountains or even villages might be significant for specific taste or other qualities. In pu erh tea production is also common ( in fact back in past it was the main concept ) blending / mixing mao cha from different locations or different trees ( bushes with arbors ) .

  Harvest

  The most valuable on market is usually the spring harvest but not always the 1st. harvest is the best. The higher price sometimes comes from the low volume available. Sometimes also comes as a mixture of young and old tea trees , because both provide  very little if picked too early.
  

  Summer harvest is usually used for low end products  ( depends on the area and trees )  or for further  processing like making shu puerh.

  Autumn harvest being mistakenly overlooked. Some sheng can be very interesting. In many cases of autumn mao cha the Huang Pian ( yellow leaves ) are not selected out , which gives to tea overall interesting sweet taste. 
  

  Brewing

  Brewing parameters ( volume , amount of tea , time of brewing ) depends on personal taste preference and desired strength of the tea. Temperature is recommended 90 - 100C where lower temperature for younger and higher for older shengs.
  

  In brewing the sheng the size of the leaf ( grade )  , age of trees ( bush or Gushu ) , age of tea ( time of storage )  , previous storage conditions ( humidity ) or shape ( loose / pressed and soft or hard pressed ) factors also need to be concerned.

  The products listed below is a representative selection of the elements written above , helping you to understand the differences by trying particular examples.

• 

  Shu Pu Er

  熟普洱 - Shu Pu Er
  

  For more information about the Shu Puerh tea ,please refer to Shu Puer Masterclass on our blog page.  

  Grade

  "Jin Ya" - Golden tips ( medium or bigger tips ) , "Gong Ting "  - small tips , 1st. grade - tip and small leaf. Other grades down to the 7th grade are about the ration of tips - leaves - stems - old leaves - Huang Pian ( yellow leaves ) , which most of it is obvious by visual.

  Huang Pian also could be sold loose or pressed as separate product.

  Processing

  The depth of fermentation has impact on final taste and further ability to change with time ( mistakenly associated with ageing ). Dark, medium and light fermentation terms are not set exactly so the association with final product might vary from the producer or vendor. ( for example : what we call medium fermentation , for somebody else this could be light fermentation and vice versa )
  

  There are few concepts of fermentation. Apart big tea factory production making many tons batch in one go , there is also small private production ,  above the ground fermentation ( tea is in bags sitting on pallets avoiding contact with ground ) or basket fermentation (  fermenting in bamboo baskets. These are very small batches ).
  

  Processing is also related to area as the climate conditions vary ( particularly heat and humidity ) which are important factors for the fermentation. Some areas are also significant for shu production with intensive smokey notes.
  

  Shu puerh also can be blended with flowers ( like jasmine or nuo mi ) or just be steamed with.
  

  For search of shu based on tasting notes, please refer to Tea Taste at the footer of our website.

  Shape

  Apart of the loose form also in various shapes either natural way  like " Lao Cha Tou " or  manmade like cakes , bricks , tuo , balls called " Long Zhu " . Some other alternative forms are available like shu puerh stuffed into the mandarine, shu puerh granules called Silver Nuggets or shu puerh dense extract  " Cha Gao "
  

  Trees

  Shu puerh is mostly made of "tai di cha" - tea bushes from plantations  or from " Qiao Mu " arbor tea trees growing in tea gardens . The most expensive is production from old tea trees called " Gu Shu " ( we call it also Old Arbor ).
  

  Varietal

  Camellia Sinensis var. Assamica , var.pubillinba, and many others.Aside of cultivated tea plants there is also production from wild tea trees like Camellia Taliensis ..etc.

  We do not state varietal on the product unless we can trace it. Many vendors use it as marketing tool or just guessing without having solid evidence of the varietal.
  

  Origin

  The location is very important for single origin products as some places , mountains or even villages might be significant for specific taste or other qualities. In pu erh tea production is also common ( in fact back in past it was the main concept ) blending / mixing mao cha from different locations or different trees ( bushes with arbors ) .

  Harvest

  Shu puerh is mostly made as the cheaper product than sheng. Late spring , summer or autumn harvests ( or mix of them ) is generally used for production. In taste and quality of brewing the right  / suitable fermentation ( and appropriate kill green for sheng before gone to processing of shu ) plays big role and might cause that product made of summer material might be actually better than spring one. 

  Brewing

  Brewing parameters ( volume , amount of tea , time of brewing ) depends on personal taste preference and desired strength of the tea. Temperature is recommended 100C boiling water , in order to get the most out of the shu.
  

  In brewing the shu the size of the leaf ( grade )  , depth of fermentation , previous storage ( humidity ) or  shape ( loose / pressed and soft or hard pressed ) factors also need to be concerned.
  

  The products listed below is a representative selection of the elements written above , helping you to understand the differences by trying particular examples.