teadb

Category: Long-form Article

  • Yunnan Sourcing, Featured Vendor

    Yunnan Sourcing, Featured Vendor

    The vendor profile for Yunnan Sourcing is a part of our Pu’erh Tea Vendor Series, covering a number of Pu’erh-centric vendors that sell to the west.

    Based in both Kunming and Portland, Yunnan Sourcing is one of the longest standing pu’erh vendors in the international online marketplace. The store was founded by Scott Wilson, an American expatriate based in Kunming and was originally conceived as an ebay vendor (in 2004). As the pu’erh tea market has grown in the west and worldwide, Yunnan Sourcing has grown and evolved with it. The ebay store eventually migrated onto its own domain(s), YunnanSourcing.com and eventually YunnanSourcing.us. In 2009, Scott began to source and press the well-received Yunnan Sourcing production cakes, these beengs have become a major selling point on Yunnan Sourcing’s online store. (more…)

  • The Price of Menghai Tea Factory Recipes: Taobao & Other Purchasing Options

    The Price of Menghai Tea Factory Recipes: Taobao & Other Purchasing Options

    Menghai Tea Factory. The gold standard of ripe pu’erh and the producer of famous benchmark raw pu’erhs from the 1980s and 1990s. If you purchase legitimate Menghai, it is usually thought of as a safe buy. Dayi has the reach to make these recipes consistent year to year and while there is a higher price associated with the brand, you are paying for a reliable tea factory with a proven track record (Dayi tea is also liquid). This article examines a number of different routes available to purchase young Dayi plantation recipes. One advantage to purchasing pu’erh, especially classic recipes like these is the ability to research the price compared with the Chinese market price (Taobao). (more…)

  • Pu’erh Factories: Why Buy from a Big Factory? Feat. Menghai, Xiaguan

    Pu’erh Factories: Why Buy from a Big Factory? Feat. Menghai, Xiaguan

    Pu’erh brands play an important role in the marketing and selling of samples, cakes and tongs of pu’erh tea. This is far more pronounced in the Yunnan-based pu’erh when compared with their Fujian-based Yancha selling counterparts or Taiwanese oolong selling merchants. This has resulted in some fascinating convolutions within the pu’erh scene… CNNP sold their name and wrappers to anyone willing to pay, seemingly every operations specialist at Menghai formed their own factory (1,2,3), and forgery continues to be a major issue. This is true for not only highly-priced gushu and expensive aged tea but Menghai plantation tea! The pu’erh market also has a tendency to attach itself to brands and certain recipes (see 7542 speculation) and even a brand that has been protective over their reputation like Menghai, has had their recipes blatantly copied until it was deemed illegal in 2005. (more…)

  • Ripe Pu’erh Concepts

    Ripe Pu’erh Concepts

    Depending on who you ask you will get dramatically different reactions to ripe pu’erh. Ripe pu’erh, also shu, shou, or cooked pu’erh, is preferred by many as an easy, smooth drink. It is also often shoved aside by tea people as an inferior or simply uninteresting tea. In Zhang Jinghong’s fantastic Puer Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic she draws the analogy between raw/ripe (cooked) pu’erh and raw/cooked food. In this analogy the wo dui process that ripe pu’erh undergoes is the cooking process and the aging of raw pu’erh can be likened to naturally slow cooking cooking the tea. Freshly pressed raw pu’erh is simply uncooked (and has even been classified by many as not pu’erh!). This article will explore some intermediate level concepts of ripe pu’erh and examine common variations in the “cooking” process of ripe pu’erh and how it might affect your cup. (more…)

  • Pu’erh Vendor Guide

    Pu’erh Vendor Guide

    Pu’erh is a hot tea. In the past 15 years it has moved beyond its longtime audience in Hong Kong and Taiwan into mainland China, the rest of Asia and more recently the west. With Ebay, Taobao, and the ever-growing worldwide marketplace, options for buying pu’erh online have exponentially increased in the last ten years. Pu’erh is even sold as a dieter’s tea to more “ordinary” consumers in the west. This dynamic marketplace has spawned both monstrous creations as well as very high-quality tea. The specialized vendor scenes tends to be different for pu’erh compared with vendors for other teas, i.e. Taiwanese Oolongs. This guide will attempt to highlight the various options available to the western consumer. This guide disregards any offline options (i.e. Chinese supermarkets). (more…)

  • Pu’erh Compendium

    Pu’erh Compendium

    White Tea. Green Tea. Oolong Tea. Black Tea. Yellow Tea. Pu’erh Tea? A weird outlier in the tea world, pu’erh is a weird, unntuitive name for an odd-ball in the tea world. Pu’erh represents both an ancient tradition of tribute tea, as well as a fast-moving, contemporary urban trend. So what is Pu’erh tea? Pu’erh tea not only represents a processing method and location (two actually!), but a successful marketing campaign that is mirrored by the chaotic tea marketplace that surrounds it. (more…)

  • Japanese Green Teas [April 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    This month’s tea genre was Japanese greens, composing of Sencha and Gyokuro. This means I drink that genre of tea in some form at least once a day. This could mean gong-fu, grandpa, or even a cold-brew. 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 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.

    Primary vendors ordered from:

    Also featuring:

    (more…)

  • Yancha Firing Levels

    Yancha Firing Levels

    Handmade or traditional Yancha processing is one of the most intricate, processing methods of any tea. This process coupled with the rich terroir of inner Wuyi are paramount to making premium Wuyi tea. Missing either of these can make the difference between amazing and disappointing tea. Despite much hubbub about true Da Hong Pao, the terroir and processing are usually more important than the actual cultivar. This is different from Taiwanese tea, where cultivar can be a quick shortcut to cutting out tea masquerading as premium tea. While it’s not TeaDB’s goal to be a comprehensive guide to processing, it is important to know the basics behind hand-crafted teas like Yancha. The firing (roasting) has an enormous impact on the end-product and even when tea is in hand, the roast bears a strong influence on the ideal drinking time (oftentimes the difference between tea-flavored charcoal and delicious Yancha!). (more…)

  • About Shui Xian and Three Different Uses of Shui Xian and other Yancha

    About Shui Xian and Three Different Uses of Shui Xian and other Yancha

    Along with Rou Gui and Da Hong Pao, Shui Xian (also Water Lily) is one of the most represented Yancha in the western tea market. It lacks the sensational origin story or marketing potential of Da Hong Pao but is still sold far more frequently than any of the other famous bushes and possibly even more than Da Hong Pao. Shui Xian is even commonly consumed unknowingly often being marketed as Da Hong Pao or included in a Da Hong Pao blend. Processing-wise, Shui Xian is usually executed in a very similar manner to the rest of Wuyi oolongs. It is traditionally fired a shade darker than most Yancha although this is not necessarily a steadfast rule. Why is it far more consumed than for instance the three other famous bushes (Tie Luo Han, Shui Jin Gui, Bai Ji Guan)? Simply put, Shui Xian is a highly prolific bush. (more…)

  • Aged Oolongs [March 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    Since the beginning of 2014, I’ve dedicated each month to a specific type of tea. This means I drink that genre of tea in some form at least once a day. This could mean gong-fu, grandpa, or even a cold-brew. 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 the most personal blogging type style of post for TeaDB, and the goal is to stretch my palate as well as give recommendations to those interested.

    Primary vendors ordered from:

    Also featuring:

    (more…)