Category: Tea Musings
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Darjeeling in Autumn
I chose a weird time to talk about autumn flush Darjeelings. For one thing, it hasn’t been a typical year for the region. (An understatement, true.) But before I get into that, I should probably explain what I mean by “Darjeeling autumn flush”. Here’s a bit of a primer.
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Should Sheng Cha Be Considered Heicha?
In May of 2017, I asked tea peers on social media a simple question: Is Vietnamese sheng puerh style heicha a thing? At least . . . I thought it was a simple question. That query sparked a minor debate about the nature of heicha, and whether or not sheng puerh (or sheng puerh-style tea)…
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Making the Most of a “Meh” Year
If I were to sum up 2017 in one image, it would be . . . Yeah, that about says it. The year wasn’t quite the dumpster fire that 2016 was, but it did have its ups and downs. Winter flew by like a brisk, cold nap. Spring reverberated with optimism and hope. And summer,…
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A Custom Blended Christmas
Christmas is usually my favorite time of year. But this year . . . I simply wasn’t feeling it. And it wasn’t for lack of trying. A week or so before the impending, I found a green bow on the floor of the parking lot at my work. It pretty much summed up how I…
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Puerh? I Barely Know Her!
A couple of days ago, a fellow tea acquaintance asked me for some advice on puerh. Naturally, I provided it, based upon my own subjective experience. But I also had to preface something. I was not the most . . . uh . . . mature, sophisticated, or “learned” person on the subject of puerh.
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Ten Days without Tea
If I were to sum up this summer in one word or image, it would be . . . Yeah, that’s apt. Sure, there were good things that happened over the course of those three months, and I’ll probably get around to writing about those some other week. But there’s one thing I have to…
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Rethinking Tea Categories
Editor’s Note: This is merely a thought exercise by the author. The opinions reflected in the below narrative do not reflect the opinions of the teaware on staff . . . or this editor, for that matter. Seriously, I just work here, guys. A thought occurred to me over the years. No one has come…
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Putting “Tea: A User’s Guide” to Good Use
In May of 2013, I finally met this tea-bro in person. Tony Gebely—award-winning tea blogger, tea business insider, and all-around nice guy. When we first met, we did what any self-respecting tea people would do on first impression. We drank beer. While we were downing pints, he mentioned he was working on a book, and…
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Notes from the Tea Underground
The idea of an underground tea scene always intrigued me. Not sure when the notion entered the deep recesses of my tea-soaked brain; maybe it was Robert “The Devotea” Godden’s ebook Tea Story, or maybe someone mentioned the idea of it in passing? Whichever, whatever. Point being, the notion always fascinated me. I even envisioned…
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A Hundred Years is “Oolong” Time
Last weekend, I drank an oolong that was—quite possibly—a hundred years old.