The aged oolong market in the west leaves a lot to be desired. Most of the time the teas are usually significantly flawed (re-roasted/sour), overpriced, or more often than not both. A couple years ago, I was lucky enough to sample a number of aged oolongs from Tony of Origin Tea that were offered off-shelf. This helped to give me some perspective on aged oolongs, but also move me into the cranky, old curmudgeon category of a drinker who seems constantly dissatisfied and cynical with the online tea scene at least for this tea genre. Don’t get me wrong, I’m nowhere near an expert but I have gotten a taste of the Taiwanese market to at least know that the idea of aged oolongs being good value teas with consideration to age (true in TW) is not extended to the western market. (more…)
Category: Article
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Pu’erh Blogs & Resources
It’s a lonely world out there for those discussing pu’erh. We don’t have the same accessibility to in-person tea or pu’erh communities like urban centers in the east. This is a straightforward post detailing a few different resources and blogs that you might find valuable or useful. (more…)
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The Much Delayed Taiwan Oolongs Teas to Age Report
Better late than never, right? I announced this tea of the month about a year ago and have had samples sitting around forever. The original goal of this report was to find some decent oolongs to age for the future. The samples from Mountain Tea and Teahome, two vendors that each had a few inexpensive options for roasted oolongs. Because these were acquired a while ago, they’re mainly teas from Winter 2014. (more…)
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HK Report
Big thanks to those that contributed knowledge and time to helping make this a successful trip. You know who you are!
Hong Kong is a very different place than Taipei. Not having been to either, I naively expected a few more similarities. They’re both just big cities in east Asia, right? HK is dense, dense, dense, and built vertically and in general is far more commercial and fast-paced. While I’m more naturally inclined towards somewhere like Taipei, HK has a lot of very nice things that I greatly enjoy, especially the food. Dim Sum, Chinese bakeries, all cheap compared to Seattle prices. Yumm… We spent ~10 nights in Taiwan and four in Hong Kong. The first couple days were used doing relatively standard tourist things (going to tall buildings, Victoria Peak, Star Ferry) which left a bit of time for tea shopping. (more…)
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Pu’erh, The Body, and Are You Confused Yet!?
In the west, tea is annoyingly difficult to separate from its health claims. Will this help me lose weight? Will this cure cancer? blah blah blah… Due to its post-fermentation, pu’erh has its own set of purported health benefits many based off its status as a chic probiotic. Most seasoned vendors and drinkers roll their eyes at these, but most everyone has their own set of beliefs on how the different types of pu’erh can affect the body. You don’t have to look much further than a tea vendor’s FAQ to find a smorgasbord of questions and answers about the supposed health benefits of tea. This article is not intended to be a health guide, nor an advertisement or critique of any particular school of thought. (more…)
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Shopping for Tea in Taiwan
Forever alone.. Being a pu’erh addict in the west is a lonely endeavor and how we intake information and buy tea is in all likelihood very different than the average Asian pu-head. We’re often resigned to the tea table/closet all by our self. If we’re lucky we can get a good friend/significant other to come over once a month to humor us but we’re mainly drinking alone and talking to each other on instagram.. It’s no wonder why teapets are so popular..
In the western tea scene… 65ml teapots are in high-demand.
In the western tea scene… we get teeny, tiny boxes of tea shipped monthly.
In the western tea scene… a cake is most definitely not a sample.
In the western tea scene… we occasionally indulge with **gasp** multiple 200g cakes that we we still have trouble getting through! (more…) -
2005 YQH Yiwu Chawang Storage Comparison — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #61
Episode 61 is a comparison of two different storages, Tainan and California. Tea being compared is the 2005 Yiwu Chawang.
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Awkwardness in Pu’erh & A Brief Survey
Thanks to Linda, Scott, and Paul for answering my questions!
Raw pu’erh is very tricky. From the time it is processed to consumption the tea is constantly changing. There are ebbs and flows in how the tea develops and what tastes good fresh may not be the better tasting tea in the long-run. Teas can also go through certain stages where it’ll be transitional or in-between profiles, lacking a cohesive form and not necessarily tasting appealing or enjoyable. These awkward stages depend on a number of factors including the base material, compression, storage, etc. making them difficult to pin down. It can be tricky to discern if the tea will recover to become good and decent or if it is ultimately doomed.. (more…)
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All I Want For Christmas.. YangQing Hao Report feat. Grill
YangQing Hao is a Taiwanese brand of pu’erh teas ran by Yang, a collector of old pu’erh. Other than the odd production here and there, Yang produced the bulk of his teas in the mid 2000s. Nearly all of his teas come from Mengla County and Yang can be seen viewed as a greater Yiwu area specialist. A small selection of these teas were originally sold by Houde and later by Origin, but have been sold out and unavailable for a couple years. Thanks to Emmett and his group orders nearly all of Yang’s catalog has become recently available at Taiwanese retail prices. (more…)
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Influence & The Psychology Behind a Few (Tea) Sales Tactics
What gets us to buy? Influence: Science & Persuasion is a book written by Robert Cialdini on the psychology of buying (or compliance). Despite being written for the every man or every women as a defense against marketing techniques, the book has ironically been adopted as an important work by marketers. Influence includes a diverse array of examples and studies, many of which we encounter very regularly in our lives. It’s a easy and highly relevant read, that is both approachable and eye-opening from an a day to day and macro point of view. In this article, I’ll be breaking down and covering how these sales tactics work specifically in the tea world. There are six key principles covered in the book.. (more…)