Category: Tea Features
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A Bourbon-Scented, Tea Seeding Saga
Back in June, one of the many wonderful things I came back with from World Tea Expo…was tea plant seeds. The Camellia Forest Nursery in North Carolina had donated some to the Tealet booth as gifts for passersby. Of course, I was one of those who jumped at the chance. Who wouldn’t want to grow…
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The Dog Days of Summer, Sipping Darjeeling
Over the course of the Summer, I was occasionally called upon by my brother and his wife to watch this li’l guy. Why does he have a cone on? I’ll get to that… Bro and sis-in-law were called away this time to take on the wilds of Canada with her family. I housesat and dog-sat…
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Three Words: Japanese. White. Tea.
This all started a year ago, and it’s all Greg’s fault. By “a year ago”, I literally mean a year ago! Like, last August. And by “Greg”, I mean the dude behind Norbu Tea. One fateful day, in August of 2013, I noticed he had retweeted something interesting. Alas, I’d seen the update too late.…
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Bada “Beeng”, Bada Boom
Well…this is embarrassing. The day I finally got around to trying this – after whittling down my significant tea backlog – three revelations hit me square in the sack. Revelation #1: I had already written taster notes for this tea. Revelation #2: I had already taken pictures of the tasting experience. And Revelation #3: Said…
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The Dark Side of Bancha
Bancha (literally translated as “ordinary tea”) is the redheaded stepchild of the Japanese green tea family. Whereas the topmost tea leaves are reserved for higher grade sencha, gyokuro and matcha, the older, courser leaves are reserved for lesser brews. They typically lack the flavorful kick of the top-tier leaves or the caffeine level. Left with…
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Three Roads to Fengqing
Fengqing is a county located in Lincang Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China. The Almighty Wiki listed at least four different ethnic groups indigenous to the region, two of which I recognized as pu-erh producers. In the early 1940s, the Fengqing Tea Factory came into existence and was instrumental in the development of Dian Hong (Yunnan black…
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The “Tease” of World Tea Expo
The Road Trip Sextet, Part 3 – “The ‘Tease’ of World Tea Expo” For Part 1, go HERE. For Part 2, go HERE. You know it’s been awhile since you’ve blogged when your mother says as much in a Facebook message. Earlier this week, my Mum sent me such a message: “So, is June 9th…
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Dating, Darjeeling, and Drought
This might come as a big shock to a lot of you, but I don’t do a lot of dating. For the record, it’s mostly my fault. I don’t put much effort into looking, and I’m in no real hurry to start. That and I’m perpetually broke, I don’t take wonderful care of myself,…
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The Zen of Using Yuzu
According to the Almighty Wiki, yuzu is a citrus fruit native to East Asia, which may be a hybrid between sour mandarin oranges and Ichang papeda (whatever that is). I first learned of its existence when “researching” Korean jarred teas. Sometimes, yuzu was used as an ingredient – along with honey – to create a…