Tang Cha Club (唐茶会）

It is not a traditional tea house. You won't find Long Jing, Tie Guan Yin there. However, if you are in Shanghai, it worths a trip there. I like its décor..I like its casual, relaxing atomosphere...not to mention some of its flagship drinks. Here are some of my favorite décor... cute, right?

Linda
www.teahub.com

2008 Spring WuYi Rock Tea Expected to Hit Market in July

This year's spring WuYi Rock Tea starts to show up on market in the recent few days. Industry insiders are expecting all types of WuYi Rock Tea to hit market in July. Recent words from our Da Hong Pao producer were that their Da Hong Pao wouldn't be available till late June, early July. Due to large demand, overall price of this year's WuYi Rock Tea will raise 20% to 30%.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Lightly Roasted vs. Heavily Roasted Tie Guan Yin

I have wanted to blog about green (lightly roasted) vs. traditional (heavily roasted) Tie Guan Yin for quite some time. Finally, I devoted this afternoon to do so. I have long formed my opinion between the two. To be fair, I brewed the two of the same grade (Grade AA) side by side this afternoon and started blogging while I was sipping....

I took a picture before brewing. You can easily differentiate the two by simply looking at dry leaves. Color of lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is green. That of heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin, on the other hand, is much darker – more of a brownish color. Dry leave aroma of the two are also quite different. While smell of lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is soft and floral, that of heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin dry leaves is heavy and roasty.

I brewed up the two and slowly sipped them down... The lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin filled my mouth with soft, long lasting orchid aroma infusion after infusion. It was refreshing, buttery, and sweet. The heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin offered more complex taste. At first, it was this mouth full of orchid aroma with a honey undertone, then a nutty aroma arisen from back of my mouth...It was thick, mellow, smooth with vivid long lasting sweet aftertaste.

Lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin started in the early 90s when Taiwan tea manufactures first entered mainland. It quickly gained popularity in mainland due to its pleasant aroma. Because lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin has some green tea characteristics, it has shorter shelf life and requires fridge storage . Heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin, on the other hand, remains seasoned tea drinkers' favorite because of its complex taste. It has longer shelf life and can be stored in room temperature. Unlike lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin, heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin does not hurt stomach. After several years' retreat, heavily roasted Tie Guan Yin is coming back to reclaim its market.

Linda
www.teahub.com

A Comparison of Xi Ping, Gan De, and Xiang Hua Tie Guan Yin

Inner AnXi is famous for its Tie Guan Yin tea. Xi Ping, Gan De and Xiang Hua are the three most well known tea production areas in Inner AnXi. Tie Guan Yin from the three areas have different charateristics.

Xi Ping is the origin of Tie Guan Yin. Xi Ping Tie Guan Yin is famous for its excellent taste. Its aroma is relatively light. Xiang Hua is the major Tie Guan Yin production area. Xiang Hua Tie Guan Yin is famous for its high aroma and good taste. Mainly younger bushes, Gan De Tie Guan Yin has high aroma but light taste. Gan De is famous for its lightly roasted Tie Guan Yin.

By carefully blending Mao Cha (raw tea) from different areas, tea producters can now offer Tie Guan Yin of good taste and aroma.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Five cups of tea per day may help quit smoking

Need another reason to start drinking tea? Dr. Tao at Beijing Military General Hospital's Addiction Treatment Center told reporters that five cups of tea per day may help quit smoking. According to Dr. Tao, tea not only can help kick the nicotine urge, but also can help detoxification by acting as a diuretic.


Linda
www.teahub.com

Quality of this year's Tie Guan Yin is better

This year's AnXi Tie Guan Yin starts to be available on the market. Due to this year's good weather, quality of this year's production is better. The best time to harvest spring Tie Guan Yin is the several days around LiXia (Start of Summer) . AnXi tea farmers enjoyed several sunny days around this year's LiXia.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Decoding West Lake Long Jing Grades

We have received several emails from customers were confused by the grading systems different sites use for their West Lake Long Jing. In stead of answering those emails individually, we feel it is better that we address it to all of our customers via our blog.

City of Hangzhou published Long Jing Local Standard in 2005. According to this standard, West Lake Long Jing can be classified into seven grades: Jing Pin(精品), Te Ji (特级), and Grade 1 to 5, with Jing Pin being the highest grade and 5 being the lowest grade.

Both Jing Pin and Te Ji West Lake Long Jing are certified by Hang Zhou Quality Control Center and packed under controlled environment with special anti-fake label and certificate, which allow customers to check authenticity online or by phone. The anti-fake number is 17 digits long and the certificate number is 8 digits long. Only 1,750kg Jing Pin and 2,800kg Te Ji West Lake Long Jing were produced in 2007. The this year's first 600kg Jing Pin West Lake Long Jing went on market on April 7.

While Te Ji West Lake Long Jing is consist of 70% one bud and one leave tea leaves and 30% one bud and two leaves tea leaves, that ratio is reversed in Grade 1 West Lake Long Jing. Therefore, if the West Lake Long Jing you bought is mainly consists of one bud and two leaves, it is not a Te Ji no matter how your vendor rates it.

Video: How Long Jing is Made

Linda
www.teahub.com

Tie Guan Yin expected to be available after May 1st

We received many inquires about this year's Oolong. Unlike green teas which value early spring young leaves and buds, Oolong teas require maturer leaves that can stand the partial fermentation process.

Although AnXi Oolong started harvest this week, those harvest now are Huang Jin Gui, an Oolong famous for its high aroma. Tie Guan Yin lovers will have to wait till May for this year's Spring Tie Guan Yin. AnXi Tie Guan Yin will start harvest on April 28 and mass production will start between May 2 to 7.

Linda
www.teahub.com

West Lake Long Jing Expected to Hit Market on April 1st

Although some early harvest started to hit market in recent few days, large production will have to wait till April 1. As expected, quality of this year's production is the best among past few years. Shortened pre-Ming harvest period caused shortage in quantity, and that in turn, drove up this year's price by 10% to 20%.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Bi Luo Chun Will Hit Market Soon

According to recent news from Su Zhou, this year's Dong Shan Bi Luo Chun harvest started on March 21. Large productions will start to hit the market by March 25. Experts are expecting 10% to 15% price hike this year. Price for top grade Bi Luo Chun will be RMB￥5,000 (prox. USD$715) per 500g.

Linda
http://www.teahub.com/

Cold Early Spring Weather Will Likely Reduce Production of Premium Bi Luo Chun

Recent news from JiangSu reported that local producers were expecting reduced production of premium Bi Luo Chun due to this early spring's cold weather. Cold weather will likely delay harvest of this year's Bi Luo Chun by 10 days and this in turn will shorten the production period of premium Bi Luo Chun. Overall production of this year's Bi Luo Chun are expected to be similar to that of last year.

Linda
www.teahub.com

Famous Zi Sha Master, Rong Jiang, Passed Away

Ms. Rong Jiang, famous zi sha craftswoman, passed away on Jan. 19, '08 at age of 90. Ms. Jiang was born to a zi sha craftman's family in YiXing, and began to learn to make zi sha ware at age of 11. She designed more than 200 zi sha wares in her life time. Some of the well known ones are: Lotus Flower Teapot, Water Chestnut Teapot, and Lotus Wine Set. Here are some pictures of Ms. Jiang's work.

Linda
http://www.teahub.com/

Cold Weather Will Likely Delay Harvest of This Year's Ming Qian Long Jing

Recent extremely cold weather in many southern parts of China raised concerns over this year's tea productions. Several news reports from Xi Hu (West Lake), the original production region of West Lake Long Jing, suggest that this year's Ming Qian Long Jing will likely start to be available around March 25. Mass production, however, will have to wait till late April. On the positive side, the cold weather killed pests and slowed growth of new leaves, which in turn improved quality of this year's production.

Linda
http://www.teahub.com/