Steep Stories

Tag: Yunnan

  • Sheng Puerh from a Secret Wild Tea Garden

    Glen and Lamu of Crimson Lotus Tea are one of my favorite husband-‘n-wife puerh hunter duos. Up until 2016, I only knew of them, and the good reputation they’d garnered over five years as trustworthy sellers of Yunnan’s favorite export. However, over the last couple of years, I developed a bit of a quixotic, after-hours…

  • 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…

  • Tea and Sugar – The Weird Way

    NaNoTeaMo, Day 4: “Tea and Sugar – The Weird Way” In 2013, I was a regular follower of UK-based Canton Tea Co.’s Tea Club blog. Two of their employees went on a sourcing trip to Yunnan province, China, and picked up something rather unique. I certainly hadn’t heard of it before, and I try to…

  • Moonlight Tea Fight!

    Back in May – as all two of you readers may already know – I attended my third World Tea Expo. The Finest Brew’s booth was easily a tea blogger favorite. The company was run by two Sri Lankan borthers, and they possessed some weird things I’d never seen before. They had no problem showing…

  • The T Project Grand Opening

    The T Project Grand Opening – Teashop Adventure Week Several months ago, I stopped through Northeast Portland to stay a spell at Tea Bar. And it was . . . crowded. As a self-professed introvert, I don’t do well in crowds. If I’m with peers, I mind them less. But if alone, crowds feel suffocating.…

  • A Young Yiwu Pu-Erh Afternoon

    It’s an honest question. For years, I was taught that, sure, a young sheng (raw) pu-erh could be good, but it had yet to reach its full potential. After all, pu-erh was meant to be aged – to mature over time. Particularly the raw variety. However, I’m starting to rethink my stance on that. Sometimes,…

  • 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…

  • Nan Nuo Revisited – Still My Favorite Mountain

    Of all the tea blogs I’ve written, none have possessed the traction that my Nan Nuo Mountain coverage displayed. And I don’t mean in terms of viewership. (Let’s face it, what viewership?) But rather the enormity of vendors that specialize in single origin teas who’ve contacted me in its wake; I think the count is…

  • A Bourbon Barrel Pu-erh Origin Story

    I talk a lot about new and interesting teas on this blog. It’s kind of my thing. But this article’s going to be a little bit different. I’ve always tried to talk about the origins to unique teas, or the regions they stem from. This is the first time where I was actually there when…

  • Into the Wild…Arbor

    I’m still in the midst of a bit of an oolong kick. It “mostly” started because I was attempting to whittle down my backlog of unique teas. However, for some reason, the oolong-ing just…stuck. I do have my guesses. They make me feel really good. And not just “ZOMG-IMMA-CAFFEINE-MACHINE!!!” good – like, “Zen” good. A…