TeaDB

Author: James

  • Pu’erh Regions: Yunnan Overview

    Pu’erh Regions: Yunnan Overview

    This article frequently references and links to babelcarp. Babelcarp is a Chinese Tea Lexicon that is an essential resource for tea nerds that want to dive in further and don’t understand Chinese! This article also sources many maps from a TeaChat thread, original sources vary.

    Pu’erh tea has been associated with a specific area for a longtime. The term itself is a location (originally a city, now a province). In this way pu’erh is fundamentally different from oolongs, blacks, whites, or green teas. These teas nomenclature signifies the processing and not the location grown. The nomenclature places pu’erh in a realm with some other different consumables, i.e. champagne, Darjeeling tea, or Roquefort. Over the years these geographical ties have been nailed down in increasingly official manners. In 2006, the Yunnan Provincial Supervision Bureau of Technology and Quality specifically stated that Pu’erh tea is a geographically marked product of Yunnan, using large leaf tea leaves that have been dried in the sun (Zhang, Puer Tea Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic). There is tea grown processed and compressed in styles similar to pu’erh in neighboring areas (Laos, Tibet, Burma, etc.), but according to the geographical classifications of pu’erh this tea cannot technically be classified as pu’erh. (more…)

  • Yixing Teapots — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #9

    Inbetweenisode Episode #9 from James. This is part one of a two part series on Yixing teapots. The first part covers some very basic concepts, including other resources, modern vs. not, and some basic characteristics of clay teapots.

    Please check out these resources:
    http://www.marshaln.com/tag/yixing/
    http://terebess.hu/english/yixing1.html
    http://terebess.hu/english/yixing1a.html

  • Xi Zi Hao’s 2008 Xi Shang Jia Xi via Hou de Asian [Episode 85]

    Denny and James review a ripe pu’erh from the Taiwanese boutique label Xi Zi Hao (Sanhe Tang). Acquired from Hou de Asian. The tea has been lightly ripened and uses better base material than most ripe pu’erh. A very good and interesting tea.

  • Mature Pu’erh [November 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    Mature Pu’erh [November 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    In the month of November 2014, the tea of the month was Mature Pu’erh. During this month, I had Mature Pu’erh at least once a day (unless totally unfeasible). I’ll still consume other teas, but the primary focus is understanding and building a palate for a specific type/genre/region of tea through repetition. This is the most personal blogging type style of post for TeaDB, and the goal is to stretch my palate as well as give recommendations to interested parties.

    Vendors ordered from:

    (more…)

  • 2006 Old Bear Raw Pu’erh — White2Tea — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #8

    Inbetweenisode Episode #8 from James. The tea is a 2006 Fang Cha Raw Pu’erh appropriately titled the Old Bear. Smoky and strong, the Old Bear also develops a really nice softer form in later steeps.

  • Yunnan Sourcing’s 2005 Purple Dehong [Episode 84]

    In episode 84, Denny and James review a wetter-stored pu’erh, the 2005 Purple Dehong. Purchased from Yunnan Sourcing, this also uses the purple leaf varietal. Big thanks to redpandaflying for send this tea!

  • Tea Urchin, Featured Vendor

    Tea Urchin, Featured Vendor

    The vendor profile for Tea Urchin is a part of our Pu’erh Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Pu’erh-centric vendors that sell to the west. This interview was conducted with Eugene & Belle of Tea Urchin.

    Based in Shanghai, Tea Urchin was created in 2011 by the husband/wife team, Eugene & Belle. Eugene had previously run a blog, titled The Tea Urchin, and the online store adopted the same moniker. When first created Tea Urchin’s selection was predominantly composed of their own pu’erh productions, principally higher-end, small-production gushu. Eugene & Belle still travel to Yunnan yearly to press their own branded cakes but have also branched out into other tea genres, specifically Wuyi Yancha, Dancongs, and most recently Taiwanese Oolongs. Their spring lineup of pu’erh pressings typically consists of ~10 teas, the majority from Xishuangbanna but also including several other pu’erh regions (Jingmai, Xigui, etc.). Tea Urchin’s overall tea selection has also slowly broadened to include many teas from other pu’erh producers as well as a few older teas. (more…)

  • 2006 Yunhai Nannuo Raw Pu’erh — White2Tea — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #7

    Inbetweenisode Episode #7 from James. The tea is a 2006 Yunhai Nannuo Raw Pu’erh. This is not a particularly special tea, but an inexpensive one that finds its way to my tea table often.

  • White2Tea’s Da Wu Ye Dancong Oolong [Episode 83]

    In episode 83, Denny and James review another oddity for TeaDB, a Dancong from White2Tea. The Da Wu Ye Dancong is an interesting tea, fairly green for an oolong, with much of its greenness coming out visually in later steeps.

  • Announcing Tea of the Month 2015

    This is an announcement about the tea of the month series for 2015 as well as an outline of January’s upcoming tea of the month. Similar to the other tea of the months this will be more of a personal blogging style post. The mature pu’erh report will come out independently in two weeks.

    I launched the first tea of the month in March 2014 and have since done eight different reports. Overall, it’s a fairly free-form format which I’ve personally enjoyed a good deal. It gives a far less filtered look at certain teas and more comparative impressions. As many have stated, the TeaDB video reviews end up being a biased selection of teas that are usually hand-picked for review. While we (especially Denny) will do blind tastings of teas on occasion, they’re often picked out for some reason or another. Big thanks to our readers and for suggestions, this is a great time to post them in the comments! (more…)