New Spring Harvest Teas Coming In The Spring 2017 Harvest Pre-Rain Dragonwell and Pre-Ming Dragonwell teas are available for pre-order now! Dragonwell tea is legendary and unbelievably sought after. Scarce, sophisticated, and hand processed The most prestigious green and white teas in the world will be harvested at the end of this month, provided there were no new climate issues. This year, tea regions such as Hangzhou did not experience any snow, so the Dragonwell young leaf buds are expected to sprout as early as March 20. We want first dibs on the very best leaf buds that spring out from the winter dormancy. They are full of the earth’s vitality and early spring sun rays. Because this was a mild winter, the hot weather might come fast, forcing the tea leaves to mature too soon. It’s best to get the earliest sprouts. That said, we are allowing for pre-orders…
Gift Guide : Give the Perfect Tea
During the holiday season, there are many giftees to consider, not to mention parties to attend. Often, we grapple with what to bring the hostess, what to gift our office mates or best clients, and for that friend who is an aficionado, how can you bring something appropriately impressive without breaking the bank? The gifts you bring should be unique and carry a special message as well, if possible! For the many parties to attend, the hostess gift is usually a bottle of wine, but tea will be served at the surefire dessert time. Help the hostess impress her guests with farm direct, high elevation artisan teas that are whole, loose tea leaves, for a healthy and impressive experience that few have had. Teance features many smaller size samplers that allows the hostess to choose to serve a range of options, and a teapot like this Kinto teapot will be much…
The gathering place: The tradition of teahouses in Asia
Throughout history, teahouses have been a fixture in the life and culture of Asian peoples, particularly Chinese. Like the cafes of Europeans, teahouses were places to enjoy a favorite beverage, consume small snacks, and to gather over tea and socialize — exchanging innocuous gossip or serious news. As their popularity increased, teahouses caught the attention of the Communist party, who worried the gathering places hosted the opportunity for the educated to congregate and instigate rebellious activities. Due to the Communists’ suspicion, teahouses were shut down for over 30 years. Tea farms went fallow when they no longer had an industry to sell their tea into. Today, however, cities across China are once again teeming with teahouses, now graced by government officials and businessmen of every kind. Tea culture extends into spiritual and formal dimensions in the Chanoyu, the tea ceremony of Japan. Here the elite gather to watch the refined…
My constant comfort and reliable friend: Charcoal Fire Roasted Tung Ting Tea
One of the many benefits to living in the Bay Area is the variety of unique cuisines we are privileged to enjoy: Brazilian, Ethiopian, Thai, Persian, Vietnamese and more. And as much as I appreciate the wide range of tastes and flavors, there is always that one cuisine that I come back to more often than the rest. Tea is exactly the same — thousands of different types, with infinite varieties of tastes, aromas, and complexities. Yet through years of tasting teas from all over China, Japan, Taiwan, India, and beyond, there’s one that I find myself reaching for time and time again. When you drink as much tea as we do, you begin to know your teas intimately — their personality, their character, how they make you feel. Each tea becomes like a friend. You reach out to different ones depending on the mood you’re in. Some you…
The perfect pair: matching exquisite teas with equally exquisite foods
We all enjoy a good meal prepared with love, intention, and skill. And now, farm to table — that which was once obscure — is considered a given. It is not even an added value, but rather something that we, as folks that like to dine out or purchase food from farmer’s markets, have come to expect. Choosing just the right eggplant for that rice dish we are excited to try, or noticing the fresh texture and flavor of the autumn harvested, delicata squash in that risotto from our favorite restaurant down the street. We eat food to relax, to be with friends, to have a treat, maybe to explore something new. The full experience of a lovely glass of wine with just the perfect pasta. A cup of nutty coffee that really wraps up a meal. Artisanal tea that has been grown at peak elevations and crafted by a…
Know Your Tea: Unearthing the Beauty and Uniqueness of White Tea
White tea is not green tea, nor can it be easily defined as just a harvest of tea leaf buds in the spring. White tea was named for the under belly of its unopened leaf buds that retain baby fuzz and make the buds look silvery white. But not all unopened buds are then automatically white teas. The criteria of single origin white tea is three fold: It has to be of the Fujian Da Bai varietals #1, or #2. These varietals produce large, full, whitish leaf buds with a lot of flavor. Indigenous to the northern Fujian area around Fuding, near Taimu mountain, Da Bai varietals are suitable for making green tea as well. It must follow the white tea processing method, which is strictly sun or hot air dried. Modern day production methods include a room where hot air is forced through a room full of bamboo racks…