Steep Stories

Tag: black tea

  • A Dork Drunk on Doke

    Let’s talk a little about terroir. It’s a word usually bandied about by wine folks in order to sound “edumacated”. Blame the French. The word “terroir” derives from the French word “terre”, which literally means “land”. Terroir, as a concept, is applied to plants that are influenced by the “land” where they grow. Geology, geography,…

  • Fujian Face-Off! Lapsang Souchong Vs. Jin Jun Mei

    I think I’ve made my point rather clear that I love Lapsang Souchong. Many of my blogs here, or on my manlier Devotea-backed side-project – Beasts of Brewdom – have extolled its virtues (and lack of subtlety). Maybe it was the campfire taste, or the trail of forest-fire it left on my tongue in its…

  • Indi’s Awesome Mustache (and Tea)

    Imagine a college student discovering tea for the first time, and finding a teashop to frequent. After many visits during his college tenure – and following many dialogues with the owner – he mentions in passing, “I’m going to make a trip to India.” The owner of said teashop then says to the college student,…

  • Bug Bites, Tea Huts, and Sipping Wisdom

    Early on in my tea writing “career”, there was one name that always popped up – Lindsey Goodwin. She was one of the tea writers on the scene, managed her own consultation website, and was the resident caffeine guru for About.com. And at one point in time, she was also a Portlander. As one might…

  • New Tea on New Year’s Eve

    It was New Year’s Eve . . . and I slept in. No major surprise there; I always sleep in on my days off. The only plans I had for that day were helping my brother with some housework and a friend’s party later on. In the meantime, I had a moment to myself to…

  • The Ballad of Wild Bourbon Black

    After covering more barrel-aged teas than I ever thought possible, it was only a matter of time before an idea struck me. It wasn’t actually my idea, though. The lead blender at Smith Teamaker suggested several years ago, “Why don’t you try it yourself? Get a barrel and just roll with it.” Not his exact…

  • Three Teas, Two Trips, and One Garden

    Over the course of the summer, I saw repeated updates that frustrated the hell out of me. Tea drinkers, far and wide – from California to New York – were taste-testing a new, Oregon-grown oolong. The folks behind Minto Island Growers had finally soft-launched their own outfit, dubbed Oregon Tea Crafters. They commissioned a gentleman…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • “Taiwan’s Wild Side” – Big Brass Butikis, Round 1

    Big Brass Butikis, Round 1: “Taiwan’s Wild Side” I have a confession to make: I’m in love with Butiki Teas. They are one of five (maybe six?) companies that have my kind of business model. That being: What’s that? Is it weird? SWEET! I’ll buy ALL of it! It’s like they took a piece of…