In this episode, we discuss Garrett’s upcoming trip to Taiwan in September. We talk about shopping for tea abroad, what he hopes to buy, and some aspects of traveling there.
After he returns from his trip in late September, we plan to do a recap episode.
In this episode, regular guest Garrett comes back to discuss why more people aren’t aging oolong. The episode focuses on difference in pu’erh when it comes to aging, storage, and ease in the west.
2017 has been a transitory year for me with a few significant life changes. Part of this involved the very painful process of packing up all my tea-related things and moving from my apartment of five years. This is the first time since my tea-obsession began that I’ve moved. It also forced me to reckon with how much I had accumulated (maybe I can just get rid of more sweaters to fit a few extra cakes?). This year has also been quite different from 2014-2016, with both my consumption and purchasing shifting significantly downwards, a shift I consider to be both positive and healthy.. (more…)
This episode, Denny and James drink an old Baozhong (from Everlasting Teas) that’s been re-roasted once in 1995.
This episode, James and Denny drink a very old oolong from San Francisco-based vendor Song Tea.
In this episode, James drinks a very tasty aged Baozhong from a western vendor. Clean, sweet, and aged this tea was harvested in Pinglin.
I recently had the privilege of traveling to Asia for the third time. Within 3.5 weeks I traveled to Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. I wasn’t going to write anything originally, but a slow chatter of emails and messages have convinced me to type up a report. The trip was primarily not tea-related, I did manage to squeeze some tea experiences in along the way. My apologies for those looking for something 100% strictly tea. We are looking to travel to the Cayman Islands next so stay tuned; you can look over here for travel information. (more…)
In what is becoming a yearly tradition, I spent too much and bought too much in 2016. An extended trip to Asia didn’t help matters. Unlike 2015 I’m actually pretty happy with what I spent money on. Part of this is just having another a year under my belt to both learn about tea and my own preferences. For instance, 85-90% of the pu’erh I bought comes from 2003-2007. This hits the right mark for me of affordability, quality of base material and storage. I’ve avoided buying young pu’erh, a category I tend to not drink much and have bought too much of in the past. I bought a bit less mature pu’erh than 2015, but that’s more because I’ve found it difficult to match some of the traditionally stored pu’erh I found in Hong Kong during my brief trip there in 2015. (more…)
The west is a tiny blimp in the Chinese specialty tea market. Having had the experience of traveling and shopped for tea in Taiwan and Hong Kong it gives me some idea of how the market looks in parts of east Asia where tea culture is strong. There are some teas where the west does generally well and gives some access to. There are others where we have to pay a bit more and have limited access. And then there’s blind spots where the market where what we have access to is a pale shell of the real deal. (more…)
An oolong gift given to Denny from James’ Taiwan trip. This is an old, mellow, easy to drink Yancha.