Reading the Tea Leaves

Tea Education, Consultancy, and Tastings

Archive for Category : Must Try Teas

  1. Rainflower Green, A Keeper

    It’s been a while since I’ve asked an exporter for more of a particular tea.  I had received a sample of Rainflower Green because one wholesaler was considering upgrading to the “needles” quality for this tea.  I was familiar with Rainflower Green but had not tasted it as green needles, a tippier grade.
    The very name [...]

  2. Rock Teas

    Rocks loom large in classical Chinese landscape paintings, immovable and imposing, towering over a tiny human figure or two, if any human presence is to be found at all.
    Scholars’ Rocks, naturally occurring finds, were displayed in a studio or garden, and were admired for their natural form, texture, markings, and colors.  Given this rich tradition [...]

  3. Teas in My Cupboard

    Or, more accurately, in my kitchen cabinet and in the refrigerator.
    Three Green teas are in the refrigerator, stored in resealable foil bags.  There is a Special Grade Dragonwell Green that was a gift from a supplier with whom I had worked for many years; we still correspond from time to time and I stop by [...]

  4. Spring Means Dragonwell Tastings

    In the tea producing provinces in southwestern China (Sichuan, Yunnan) the month of March marks a time when the weather and the tea bushes are watched carefully and with some apprehension.  Too much sun and buds will open.  Plucking in those areas will begin soon and producers there enjoy a head-start over their counterparts in [...]