Steep Stories

Author: lazyliteratus

  • My Birthday at a Tea Festival

    Over a week ago, I attended Northwest Tea Festival.  Again. It also happened to fall on my birthday.

  • There Once Were Two Teas from Huiming

    Sometimes, in my search for new teas to try, I get drawn in by mentions of particular producers. This is Wei Zhong He. I first learned of him through my dealings with Kevin Gascoyne (Camellia Sinensis Tea House’s “Darjeeling guy”), and he particularly caught my attention for one reason. He experimented with using Darjeeling first…

  • The Tea Balls of Manipur

    Earlier this year, a fellow tea blogger sent me information on an Indian tea growing region I’d never heard of. A place filled with old(er) growth, semi-wild assamica forests, which bordered Assam to the East. The state: Manipur. I knew nothing about this Indian state, other than the fact that it bordered Myanmar. That and…

  • Sheng Puerh-Style Teas from Vietnam

    Over a year-and-a-half ago, I wrote an article discussing the nature of sheng cha. It didn’t go over well. I used a Vietnamese sheng puerh-style tea from Son La province as a part of my thesis, and it also helped spark further discussion about how prevalent the process was in Northern Vietnam. Short answer: not…

  • Alternate Tea Etiquette

    Five days ago, a vendor friend posted this article on Facebook: I didn’t read it, which is usually what not to do, but I’ve seen such tea topical articles before. The direction they were going in was nothing new. As such, I left the following curt reply in answer to the title of the article alone: “Any…

  • The Flow of Tea and Time

    I should probably get around to talking about World Tea Expo 2019, huh? To be truthful, my delay in doing so wasn’t related to my usual brand of procrastination, but rather some trauma. Stuff I’ve had difficulty processing and— unfortunately— it’s inextricably linked to my World Tea Expo jaunt this year. Some have advised that…

  • A Rare Tea Tasting with Kevin Gascoyne

    As some of you have seen—via my social media—in June, I was at World Tea Expo. For those who don’t follow me on those platforms . . . I don’t blame you. But that’s beside the point. In the middle of June, I trekked down to Las Vegas for my fifth World Tea Expo. (Oh…

  • How My Brain Made Me Love Chinese Green Teas (Again)

    Well, it’s spring again, and with it comes warmer weather. That’s how it is in the Pacific Northwest. I’m . . . not a fan. The reason? With warmer weather comes seasonal chronic migraines; a fun little diagnosis I received back in 2017. And it puts a heck of a damper on my routine tea…

  • A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the First Flushes

    I don’t consider it spring until I’ve had a first flush Darjeeling in my mouth. This year, though, it took me a little longer to get to my “stash” of first flush Darjeelings. Most years, the family Lochan sends me a few to get the ol’ palate revved up for the year to come. And,…

  • In Search of the Tea Tree God

    Several months ago, I had a conversation with a fellow tea nerd about the origin of the tea tree. Y’know, small talk. During the dialogue, he uttered the following assertion that made my imagination boil over like an unrestrained kettle. No one had found the “god” tea tree, yet. Meaning: the tree from which all…