TeaDB

Tag: Origin Tea

  • Five Things I Like & Dislike, Prepackaged Tea Sizes, Inexpensive Dayi, Mattcha, etc.

    A reboot of five things I like & dislike. (more…)

  • 1990s Bazhong — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #100

    Finishing off the last session of a cake. This is a fairly heavily stored tea acquired from the now defunct Origin Tea.

  • Loose vs. Compressed Tea & A Riff on Aged Loose Pu’erh

    There’s lots of tea that doesn’t strictly fit the definition of pu’erh. Border tea grown from the neighboring Laos or Burma does not technically fit the definition for pu’erh, likely excluding things like 1990s Tongqing Hao. Some definitions of pu’erh also restrict the plant to being the large leaf varietal which would make some of the traditional growing places technically not pu’erh (i.e. Yibang, Jingmai, etc.). However.. There’s no such exclusion for loose tea that’s grown in Yunnan and processed as pu’erh but left in its loose form. Pu’erh was originally compressed principally for ease of transport and not necessarily for shape. The issue of transport is a lot simpler in present day than the six famous mountains days and it’s a lot easier to ship loose leaf tea around the globe inexpensively and quickly. Still loose leaf pu’erh is not fashionable and often excluded from western vendor’s catalog as well as most meaningful discussion. Why is that? (more…)

  • 1985 Fujian Tieguanyin — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #78

    An aged oolong taken from the mysterious box. Episode includes lots of thoughts on the aged oolong genre in general.. The tea itself is clean, tasty and enjoyable.

  • The Box. Aged Oolong Report

    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…)

  • Origin Tea’s Mr. Du’s High-Fired Alishan [Episode 86]

    Denny and James review a really well-done high-fired tea from Origin Tea. The tea is unique in that the roast has been done at a lower temperature for a long period of time. In this episode we erroneously refer to the tea as Hong Shui, when it is actually just high-fired!

  • 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…)

  • 1990s Ba-Zhong Red Mark Raw Pu’erh — Origin Tea — TeaDB James InBetweenIsode Episode #4

    Inbetweenisode Episode #4 from James. The tea is mid 1990s Ba-Zhong Red Mark acquired from Origin Tea. Topics include traditionally stored and more mature pu’erh. Recommended reading: Traditional, Not Wet.

  • Aged Oolongs [September 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    In the month of September 2014, the tea of the month was Aged Oolong. During this month, I had Aged Oolongs 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 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:

    Also featuring:

    (more…)

  • Nannuo Pu’erh [June 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    Nannuo Pu’erh [June 2014 Tea Drinking Report]

    Every month, I dedicate it to one 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 interested parties. I had so many different teas this month that my notes were especially useful for this write-up.

    Vendors ordered from:

    Primary tea producers:

    • Mengyang Guoyan (Yunnan Sourcing)
    • Hai Lang Hao (Yunnan Sourcing)
    • Yunnan Sourcing

    Also featuring:

    • Ruiyuan, Taochaju, Yunhai, (White2Tea)
    • Mingsheng Hao, Nannuoshan Tea Factory, Changtai (Cha Wang Shop)
    • CNNP, Guan Zi Zai (Yunnan Sourcing)
    • Chen Yuan Hao (Origin Tea)
    • Supermarket Pu’erh (Tienxi/Uwajimaya)

    (more…)