Steep Stories

Category: Tea Features

  • An Original Da Hong Pao Oolong Awakening

    Da Hong Pao literally means “Big Red Robe” in Chinese, and it has a very big history. There are no less than five origin stories for this particular kind of tea. The most famous, exported legend deals with an emperor (or imperial official) whose mother was ill, and teas produced from Da Hong Pao trees…

  • Orchids in My Oolong

    I’m used to running into an oolong I’ve never heard of. It’s kind of my thing. But finding next-to-no information on a particular style of oolong is my greatest joy . . . and biggest pet peeve. It all started when I was put into contact with this guy. This is Jeff Kovac of Four…

  • The Shiny ‘n New Smith Tea HQ

    At the beginning of November, I received a curious invite. Well, that was new. I don’t get press releases very often, and I certainly wasn’t expecting one from Smith Teamaker. I knew they were opening up their new location, soon. But I had no idea that I was on the short list of press folks…

  • The White Forest Oolong Finish Line

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 30: “The White Forest Oolong Finish Line” Holy heck . . . I made it. This is it, Day 30. The final post in my self-inflicted NaNoTeaMo challenge. No one put me up to it; I wasn’t trying to prove anything. The only reason I did it was to see if I had…

  • A Forward Foreword to a Fermented Puerh

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 29: “A Forward Foreword to a Fermented Puerh I have a confession to make, but I’m going to do it in the most roundabout way possible. Don’t worry, I’ll get to a point (eventually), and I’ll somehow try to segue into tea. But I warn you, it won’t be pretty. And neither is…

  • A Bug-Bitten Beauty of a Black Tea

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 28: “A Bug-Bitten Black Beipu Beauty of a Tea” If you’ve spent any time around hardcore Taiwanese tea drinkers, you probably ran into the term “bug-bitten”. And probably thought of this. No? Just me? Anyway . . . “Bug-bitten” refers to teas that come from tea plants where pest involvement is encouraged. In…

  • A Different Dark Tea on Black Friday

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 27: “A Different Dark Tea on Black Friday” As I’m writing this, it’s the night of Black Friday. To most tea people with a pun gland, though, it’s Black Tea Friday. So, in honor of that, will I be talking about another unique black tea? Forget it, I’m going to talk about dark…

  • Obligatorily Weird Thanksgiving Tea Post

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 26: “Obligatorily Weird Thanksgiving Tea Post” I think it’s mandatory that if one is going to post a blog on Thanksgiving Day, they actually have to give thanks to something or someone. And, trust me, I will do just that. But not right this second. You see, I have a weird Camellia species…

  • Cáscara Té Amo

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 25: “Cáscara Té Amo” When I first started doing “NaNoTeaMo” at the beginning of this month (i.e. a tea blog every day in November), I also chose use it as a hashtag. What I didn’t know was . . . the hashtag was already in use for something else. And I had no…

  • Three Words: Puerh Tea Paste

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 24: “Three Words: Puerh Tea Paste” Cha Gao is weird. No . . . weirder. The concept behind it is weird. The backstory is weird. The whole damn experience is just . . . weird. And this is coming from a guy that thrives on all teas weird. But I’m getting ahead of…