History, One Cup at a Time Another blessing shared by tea lovers is the rich history that has been handed down to us by our predecessors. It is transmitted in the form of rituals, writings, and treasured objects that
Experiencing Tea, Part Two In the last post, we discussed some traits tea drinkers focus on when [evaluating or comparing teas] 1. In the second installment - we'll call it the lab section - we can put
Experiencing Tea, Part One For those of us who keep coming back to tea year after year, there is a much greater reward than a hot beverage or a familiar taste. More than the uplifting properties of
Silver Lining For a few years now, I've been watching the patina grow on my favorite teapot. In the Western market, tea drinkers often end up buying a few pots in the beginning that don't
Expectations After drinking a certain number of puerh samples, we start to develop a certain set of expectations about storage and different recipes. Two of the most popular -7532 and 7542 - are today's
The Beauty of Yixing "The old teapot is different from the newer teapot because… the craftsmanship is very obvious." Kingston teaches us about a pair of late Qing dynasty Shui Ping style Yixing teapots -
menghai Green Puerh Q&A The Green Puerh class hosted by Timothy and Michael provides an opportunity for something a bit different from our usual fare. Michael began with a young, unblended single estate tea, 2008 Bing Dou.
birthday That Tea Place in New York that Brandon Likes There have been wild accusations around the 'net of me being one to spill the beans. To live up to this unsavory reputation, I offer you all a tour of the as-yet unnamed
NYC Tea Meetup - One Year Reunion One year after our first meeting, inaugural members of the NYC Tea Club gathered once again at The Tea Gallery. When all the guests finally arrived, Winnie suggested a matcha to lift everyone's
teapot Evaluating Yixing Teapots - Part Two This is Part Two in a two part series about evaluating Yixing pots. It is inspired in part by Michael Wong of The Tea Gallery. And Now the Conclusion... After testing the pot
teapot Evaluating Yixing Teapots - Part One This is Part One in a two part series about evaluating Yixing pots. It is inspired in part by Michael Wong of The Tea Gallery. The world of Yixing teapots can sometimes seem
pewter Best Friends Today we had a chance to examine a beautiful pair of pewter teapots from the Qing Dyanasty. They are owned respectively by a pair of real life tea pals. The handle of the
chanoyu Backyard Chanoyu The Philly Tea Club (and guests!) assembled in the back yard for an introduction to Chanoyu. Being far from a proper tea room, Pamela L - a third year student of the Urasenke
classical revolution Classical Revolution at Random Tea Room This Thursday at the Random Tea Room Philadelphia, the crowd was hanging from the rafters for the chamber music flash mob "Classical Revolution," and, of course, tea. In their own words:
gaiwan Brewing Rock Tea Step One: Enlist some tea loving friends. Step Two: Add 7g of leaf to a 100 ml gaiwan (preheated). Replace lid. Allow your guests to appreciate the fragrance of the dry leaves in
gaiwan Long Jing - "Double Brew" Method Using room temperature water in the inner tea bowl, boiled water in the outer bowl, slowly brings up the temperature of the leaves. Adjust the time from 30-60 seconds depending on the thickness
handmade Yixing Travel Pouches Our friend Evan has been prototyping travel pouches for Yixing, made from fine silk (with some additional padding.) The quality and construction have advanced rapidly, and he is ready to show off. Check
gaiwan The Mandarin Decoded - Long Jing Our good friend at The Mandarin's Tea has spent the better part of a month researching, experimenting, and practicing to share his findings on Long Jing with us. As you might expect, trying
puerh Sharing Sharing tea is one of the greatest joys I have found. Quite often, people are generous enough to share with me as well. After enjoying the contrast of two grades of Shan Lin
antiques Royal Orchid Tea Museum We made our second trip to the Royal Orchid Tea Museum, currently under a serious program of improvements. The event carried a water theme - an exhibition of Shui Pin Yixing teapots from
Chinese Paper Cutting Mr. MingLiang Lu made a surprise visit to tea with us. He humbly introduced himself as an "art teacher." After a few rounds of tea, he produced some small sheets of
oolong A Visit to Yumcha - The Cha I usually pride myself in being able to rattle off the 8 to 10 teas we drink during the course of a meetup. However, in the company of Dae and David I finally
carboloading A Visit to Yumcha - The Yum Our amazing hosts Dae and David effortlessly produced a never ending parade of colorful and delicious foods. A breakfast fitting of Amish champions. Hong Kong bun. Korean corn pancakes with a warm, gooey
food Passport to Taiwan - Food Besides tea, music, and arts & crafts, the festival offered plenty of food options. We made sure to sample as many as possible. Before digging in, we cooled off with some chilled noodles.
passport to taiwan The Hsu Nami I was quite surprised to hear a fairly distinctive band doing a stage set at Passport to Taiwan. The Hsu Nami are a post-rock group held together with the fluid sound of the
