Teance Fine Teas Blog

Winnie Yu

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March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined…

Single Origin Teas

March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined already before I could get my hands on a specific day’s crop. Made from the Bai Mao varietal, the mango fragrance, sweet and mellow palate is impossible to mess up, making this the ultimate green tea- forgiving, accessible, complex, long lasting. The entry level friendly green tea that will last through your tea professorship. The Fujian producers continually study, innovate, create more and more amazing teas with everyone in mind, unlike many regions concerned with tea as bribery or artificial inflation of prices. This will be the second year in the existence of the under-glamorous Fujian green tea, and also the second year for Teance to carry it. Substance over glamour!

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March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined…

Single Origin Teas

March 28-April 3. The Fujian green tea lots have been combined already. Made from the Bai Mao varietal, the mango fragrance, sweet and mellow palate is impossible to mess up, making this the ultimate green tea- forgiving, accessible, complex, long lasting. The entry level friendly green tea that will last through your tea professorship. The Fujian producers continually study, innovate, create more and more amazing teas with everyone in mind, unlike many regions concerned with tea as bribery or artificial inflation of prices. This will be the second year in the existence of the under-glamorous Fujian green tea, and also the second year for Teance to carry it. Substance over glamour!

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Luckily for me, I am not easily moved, having clocked in probably…

Taste and Flavor

Luckily for me, I am not easily moved, having clocked in probably an actual million cups of tea and tasted through hundreds, perhaps thousands, of different teas. As far as tea curatorship goes, discerning what is special about a tea when it is a wildly special tea (and then figuring out whether I could actually sell this tea, much later), vs whether the price to value parity is acceptable based on… taste, not appearance, nor name brand, seems to be my forte. So folks, you are drinking my value system.
Though I am not easily moved, today’s highlight of Bailin Gongfu almost made me shed tears. You have to taste it, words, or pictures, or any descriptions from me, will never do it justice. Black teas of the world, get off the stage!

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Into the mountain at Bailin village to pay respect to the wild…

Taste and Flavor

Into the mountain at Bailin village to pay respect to the wild white tea bushes. These guanmu bushes branch from the bottom and spread like long gollum fingers, reaching to the sky at around 8-10 feet tall, making it relatively difficult to harvest. The groves are so dense it’s hard to get in to harvest. These white teas were remnants of pre-Communist China, from the grandparents’ generation, and have been left to overgrow for the last 60 years. How does it taste? The topnotch connoisseur grade Bailin gongfu can be made with these wild plants, or the small Fujian varietal. Or we can commission some White Peony King from these instead. So much tea, so few American aficionados….

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Which is the 40 hour process white tea, which is the shortcut 20…

Taste and Flavor

Which is the 40 hour process white tea, which is the shortcut 20 hour version out in the market today? The difference to me is obvious, and not an acceptable one. I opt for the traditional 40 hour method, with the sugary melon notes, vs. the grassy greener shortcut with a fragrance like cheap perfume. Those who don’t know, said Mr. Lin, insist on the shortcut Silver Needle. Mr. Lin shows off his pure silver water kettle that he cooks his aged white teas with. The smooth water quality of pure silver vs impure silver vs mere stainless steel kettles, is extreme! I take his word for it. Though I failed to score some Fuding mountain water, I am determined to get a pure silver kettle to test just how much better water boiled in it can taste.

As for the White Down, the March 28 lot was sublime- ashy grey silver, like Mr. Lin’s silver pot. Beautiful, 1000 meter elevation, tight needles, exquisite liquor.

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