TeaDB

Category: Article

  • Pu’erh Regions: Lincang

    Pu’erh Regions: Lincang

    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.

    Regarded as the northern pu’erh region Lincang Prefecture is one of the largest and most tea regions that produces pu’erh tea. While there is some pu’erh production north of Lincang (Dehong) it is sparser and not nearly as common as Lincang or Xishuangbanna. To the west, Lincang borders Burma and to the south is Pu’er Prefecture. Despite lagging behind Xishuangbanna in fame and hype, Lincang is home to a few of the most famed and expensive areas in all of pu’erh. The most notable of these are Bingdao and Xigui. There are also several Lincang-based factories, including Shuangjiang Mengku, and Fengqing (the iconic Xiaguan is located nearby in Dali). (more…)

  • Ripe Pu’erh Shopping. What does your Money Buy?

    Ripe Pu’erh Shopping. What does your Money Buy?

    Tea quality and price aren’t exactly cause and effect. There’s alot of factors that go into pricing tea and there’s a reason why hunting white labels can be lucrative. It’s important to know what exactly goes into the pricing of tea, in order to know where your money is going and to most obviously not get ripped off. Ripe pu’erh occupies a different niche for most tea drinkers compared with raw pu’erh. For many that specialize in other tea genres like Taiwanese oolongs or Tieguanyin, it is their easy-drinking pu’erh of choice. Inexpensive young raw pu’erh is often quite harsh and ripe pu’erh is a far cheaper alternative to drinking aged raw pu’erh. However, there are also more serious drinkers of ripe pu’erh that seek out higher-quality, premium ripe pu’erh. This article will break down the pricing factors and categories of ripe pu’erh. (more…)

  • Problems with Online Tea Reviews

    Problems with Online Tea Reviews

    There are many problems with reviews online. Many people use reviews as a way to filter out the fodder and find good products. Talking about and discussing tea is also an important and necessary part of the learning process and a part that reviews can help to facilitate. Learning in a vacuum is usually a terrible idea and reviews can be a formative part of learning. People who sell products and vendors have realized that online reviews and opinions affect sales and have reacted in a number of ways. On the most basic level, yelp, ebay, and amazon vendors openly ask for and encourage reviews of their product. Fair enough. On a slightly more sinister level, there are paid reviewers of Amazon products that are on the payroll of the producer and are required to give 5 star reviews. This becomes a huge problem when there are only a few reviews of similar products online, meaning one or two five star reviews can propel a significant amount of sales! Many of these problems persist into tea, to varying degrees. While there isn’t necessarily malintent on the reviewer or the vendor’s part, bias and aspects beyond the quality of tea play frequently heavily into the actual review and people’s perception. This article will specifically examine points of bias in the online tea world. (more…)

  • February/March Tea of the Month 2015

    I decided I’m going to be announcing these early in groups of three months. This gives me a bit more time to combine orders and collect samples. Please suggest teas in the comments or via email teadborg@gmail.com.

    Tea of the Months:

    • Wu Liang/Ai Lao (February), I’ll do other parts of Simao later.
    • Cheap Yancha (first half of March)
    • Cheap Oolongs (second half of March)

    (more…)

  • 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…)

  • 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…)

  • 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…)

  • 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…)

  • Pu’erh Budgeting. Buying Psychology, Hoarding & A Calculated Strategy

    Pu’erh Budgeting. Buying Psychology, Hoarding & A Calculated Strategy

    Due to its reputation as a tea that improves with age, pu’erh and the buying culture surrounding it are different than other teas. This makes sense. People are (rightfully) more comfortable buying larger quantities of pu’erh than dragonwell or green gaoshan. However, it is also a buying culture filled with hoarding and constant procrastination (over drinking the good stuff). Other tea types have a natural timer that regulates purchases. Drink it soon or it will get worst. This urgency and rate will vary tea to tea, but most teas are not stashed away in the same way pu’erh is. This article aims to take a step back and compare pu’erh purchases with both other teas and other consumable beverages. (more…)

  • White2Tea, Featured Vendor

    White2Tea, Featured Vendor

    The vendor profile for White2Tea 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 TwoDog of White2Tea.

    White2Tea is the prototypical curated vendor. It is run by tea blogger turned vendor (TwoDog), who sells a relatively small but diverse selection of predominately small brands and white labels, a stark contrast with the huge, warehouse-like selection of Yunnan Sourcing, Cha Wang Shop, and ebay vendors. Despite being inherently smaller, White2Tea’s selection covers an impressive range of teas including various ages, areas and storages (both wet and dry). The price range also caters towards different consumers, some teas geared towards beginners and others to experts. Cakes range from $12/beeng to $1,000/beeng. (more…)