I had the pleasure of meeting tea vendors and Russian expats Valerii and Jane when I went to Chiang Mai. I had not been planning on any tea meetups on this trip, but Valerii happened to see I was traveling to Chiang Mai on Instagram and we met up for tea. Valerii’s family was very generous and we ended up meeting up a few times during my brief trip, including an outdoor excursion and tea session to the scenic Bua Tong waterfall. After we parted and he sent me home to Seattle with a ton of samples, we agreed to do an interview on the interesting niche he occupies, selling Thai teas. (more…)
Author: James
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LazyCatTeas Daoshuikeng Rougui [Episode 272]
This episode James and Denny drink some more Yancha. Tea featured is a Rougui from Lazy Cat Teas. Very tasty, well-balanced tea for everyone to enjoy!
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Garrett Pre-Taiwan Travel Diaries [Inbetweenisode 171]
In this episode, we discuss Garrett’s upcoming trip to Taiwan in September. We talk about shopping for tea abroad, what he hopes to buy, and some aspects of traveling there.
After he returns from his trip in late September, we plan to do a recap episode.
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2006 Hongtaichang Mingdee Thai Raw “Pu’erh” via Tea-Side [Episode 271]
This episode we drink a 2006 tea from northern Thailand produced like a pu’erh. It was made under the Hongtaichang label and produced by Mingdee factory. Thanks to Valerii at Tea-Side for providing the sample.
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Some Reasons You Should Consider Aging More Oolong & Less Pu’erh
Sometimes when I’m sipping a particularly delicious aged oolong, I’ll glance over at my tea fridge and then to my wine cooler and get some major self doubt. I enjoy drinking pu’erh and happen to own enough that I’ll be aging it for a very long time. But I I also really do enjoy aged oolong… And for partly inexplicable reasons have hardly even a pu’erh cake worth of oolong put away for the long haul. (more…)
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1970s Sunyishun Liuan via Varat [Episode 270]
This episode is the second part of a series on Liu’an Heicha. Complex, woody, barky, and quite powerful this is a very interesting aged tea from Varat.
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2007 Yangqing Hao Lingya Raw Pu’erh [Inbetweenisode 170]
This episode, I bring on the well-balanced, semi-aged, dark Yiwu, the Yangqing Hao Lingya. This is a cake that I own quite a few cakes of and enjoy drinking regularly.
7.5 Rating.
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2000s Sunyishun Liuan via Varat [Episode 269]
This episode starts a two episode series featuring Liuan (Heicha) tea from Varat. The tea is still pretty young and has a complex profile that resembles both pu’erh and some oolong.
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Rare Tea: Dry-Stored 1980s/1990s Zhongcha 7542
It wouldn’t be without the generosity of experienced tea hands that I’d be able to do posts like these. A sample was provided by Peter from a cake from Su’s collcetion. Thank you to both of you!
About the Tea
This tea is not famous when put in comparison with previous teas like the 1988 QB or the 1999 Big Green Tree Black. The tea is labeled as a 7542 and is a big factory production, but is importantly not an official Menghai TF production. This makes the 7542 mean less than it would had it been a bona fida production, such as the 1988 QB. To this uneducated eye the leaves do look the part, with leaves that are neither big nor small. You may ask why I’m featuring a tea that isn’t famous.. It is a well-sourced, dry-stored, old tea. Those just don’t come around everyday and I wanted to do my best to document this tea and session. (more…)
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Healthy Leaf Yunnan Red (Black) Tea [Episode 268]
This episode we drink a good, aromatic, smooth red (black) tea from Healthy Leaf.
https://healthy-leaf.com/product/yunnan-gu-shu-hong-cha/