In episode 33, James & Denny review an older 1997 Ripe Pu’erh from Chinese tea factory Fuhai (Lucky Star). Fuhai split off from Dayi in the late 1990s.
Author: James
-
Shan Li Xi Hung Shui 2011 Teamasters Taiwanese High-Mountain Oolong [Episode 32]
In episode 32, James & Denny review a unique 2011 Hung Shui oolong cultivated from the Shan Li Xi growing region. Acquired via Teamasters, this tea is a new experience for both Denny and James.
-
GREEN!!! The Downward Trend of the Dark Taiwanese Oolong
The western world tends to view Asian tea culture as classical and rigidly traditional. While this can be true for certain geographical regions or rituals i.e. Japanese tea ceremony; much of this idea should be discarded for the ever-changing Chinese and Taiwanese tea. Since the first tea bushes were planted on Taiwan, Taiwanese tea has been extremely dynamic with dramatic changes in style. Some of this has included clever experimentation (Gui Fei Mei Ren) but most if not all can be viewed through the lense of economics and history. (more…)
-
Oriental Beauty Teamasters Taiwanese Oolong [Episode 31]
James & Denny review another tea from Teamasters, a premium and immaculate Oriental Beauty. With a wonderful silky texture and characteristic sweet, honey notes this is a very nice tea.
-
Shan Li Xi Teamasters Taiwanese High-Mountain Oolong [Episode 30]
James & Denny review a high-mountain tea from the Shan Li Xi growing region in Taiwan. Acquired via Teamasters, this tea is characteristic of Taiwanese high-mountain oolongs low-oxidation and very fresh.
-
Teamasters, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Teamasters is a part of our Taiwanese Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Taiwanese-tea specialized vendors that sell to the west.
Based in Taiwan, a French ex-patriate Stephane Erler founded and runs Teamasters. Now one of the oldest online vendors and tea bloggers Teamasters was originally conceived as a tea blog in 2004. Stephane has been steadily consistent throughout the years in creating new content (his output now totals over 1,500 blog posts!). The Teamasters blog has been immensely helpful in my own personal tea education as well as the creation of this site! Now Stephane in addition to his day-job as a western-facing vendor is regularly invited to events around the globe to speak about tea topics and Taiwanese oolongs. (more…)
-
Hwangcha Morning Crane Korean Green Tea [Episode 29]
James & Denny complete their two-episode series on Korean tea acquired from Morning Crane Tea. From the Hadong growing region they review a Hwangcha (Yellow Tea) from an artisan tea producer via Morning Crane tea. Rich, delicious, silky, and smooth. This tea can be purchased in the western world from Arthur at Morning Crane Tea.
-
Sejak Morning Crane (Dong Cheon) Korean Green Tea [Episode 28]
James & Denny do another two-episode series on Korean tea acquired from Morning Crane Tea. From the Hadong growing region they review a Sejak from Dong Cheon teas via Morning Crane. This tea can be purchased in the western world from Arthur at Morning Crane Tea or Phoenix Tea House.
-
Tea from Taiwan, Featured Vendor
The vendor profile for Tea from Taiwan is a part of our Taiwanese Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Taiwanese-tea specialized vendors that sell to the west.
Tea from Taiwan was one of the first vendors based in Taiwan that sold to the west. Founded by Ross MacIver in the early 2000s, Tea from Taiwan launched their current website in 2005 and has continued to be a reliable and consistent source of Taiwanese oolongs to an English-speaking audience (as well as an information source!). Tea from Taiwan currently features 17 different Taiwanese teas (originally seven), with 12 of their offerings falling into high-elevation territory (>1000 meters elevation). Looking back at older versions of their web store, Ross has consistently promoted transparency in the form of harvest date and elevation for their teas (when I inquired about Tea from Taiwan’s cultivars and elevations, Ross was prompt and forthcoming in his reply). This is a wonderful thing for tea vendors to provide and has improved considerably in recent years. It’s also very commonly overlooked by newcomers to the online tea world or people simply looking for the “best deals” in the intimidating world of premium tea purchasing. (more…)
-
Lincang Lancang 2008 Sheng Pu’erh [Episode 27]
In episode 27, James & Denny are again joined by Glen and Lamu from Crimson Lotus Tea. This is a more open-ended podcast and we talk about both the tea as well as just pu’erh tea in general, how to get started with pu’erh, storage in North America, and some of the offerings that Crimson Lotus will be offering. Lincang Lancang 2008 Raw Pu’erh.