A few ways to select a tea

Select a tea by category, region, taste or TCM character

At TeaHong.com, we try to put ourselves in our customers’ shoes. Different people have different priorities. Each sees the world differently. Naturally when it comes to selecting a tea, your criteria may not be the same as that of any other tea drinkers. That is why we group our tea selections in different ways so you can see them in the context that is closest to how you think when selecting a tea:

• by the tea category • by the tea region • by the taste character • by the TCM character

Selection by the tea category

The most common way to group different varieties of tea is by the category of processing method with which they are produced. Some call it Tea Classification, others Tea Categorisation. We think the later label is semantically more accurate.

Many connoisseurs and tea specialists organise their collections with this concept.

In addition to the five main categories: Green, Black, White, Pu’er ( Post-Fermentation ) and Oolong teas, we have included some subcategories such as matcha, cha bing, organic teas etc for easier focus for those who are looking for these.

Need more info about a category before seeing the products? Here are some articles:

• Green tea: What are green teas and what makes ours special
• Black tea: Black tea like it used to be. Before industrialisation…
• White tea: A white tea is defined by its biochemistry, not its colour
• Pu’er tea: The peculiar category of pu’er
• Oolong: Oolong — the gran cru of teas

Tea selection by the region

Tea selection by the TCM character

Eating right is core to maintaining health…

This is for those who understand the needs of answering the voice of the body. A well customised and balanced collection not only helps to maximise tea’s health benefits, but also tea’s gastronomic qualities. At Tea Hong, we also categorise our collection by traditional Chinese medicinal character.

TCM Cold

TCM Cool

TCM Neutral-cool

TCM Neutral

TCM Neutral-warm

TCM Warm

Tea selection by the taste character

Teas are like raw gems

At Tea Hong, we try to curate an all compassing array of supreme quality selections that represents the finest of different regions and their archetypical taste profiles. Yet even the finest of the most pristine teas are subject to the manifestation by the brewer. It is like a raw piece of gemstone waiting to be shaped in order to show its true beauty. Explore these treasures. Make our teas shine.

Milder taste

Heavier aroma

Stronger taste

Floral aroma

Lighter aroma

Fuller body

Experience and explore

Begin by tasting a few selections using various infusion styles to gain more specialist understanding of the finesses and differences. Relate this with your personal preferences and you will gradually carve out a direction in building your own repertoire of tea. This will be your very own line that best suits your taste and your needs. With repeated usage your senses and perceptions will deepen. This will empower you with the connoisseur skill to easily master yet more varieties to continue to gain levels in the vast world of tea.

Information on a tea page

Detail information on each tea page includes a description, taste profile, infusion tips and a few properties described with icons. This article gives a general orientation in case you want to prepare yourself before browsing.

or refer to what other people think

choe.felix

verified purchased

5/5

This tea has an intense peppery aroma often found in high-grade dianhong. The floral notes linger in the mouth for hours...
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after drinking. Initially, a pleasant bitterness rushes in, but it's soon balanced by a diverse spectrum of flavors (umami, citrus, fruity notes, and chestnut honey). With successive infusions, the bitter and astringent notes gradually fade while the savoring taste becomes more prominent. It possesses considerable cha qi, allowing me to feel clearness in head and heat in my limbs for quite a long time. Overall, this demonstrates well the relative advantages that maocha has over cha bing - the vibrant, distinct flavors and strong cha qi. After drinking this tea, I became interested in whipping rattan tea and purchased a whipping rattan tea cha bing from Banuo in Mengku Eastern Half Mountain (勐庫東半山 垻糯) through a local tea merchant. While that was also quite good, it didn't match the quality and level of flavors of Teahong's. Kudos to Teahong's effort of sourcing this tea and properly storing and maturing it for nearly 20 years.
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8 months ago

Bang Xie Maocha 2007, Pu'er shengcha, 40 g

NN

verified purchased

5/5

A lovely black tea with really nice contrast between something reminiscent of chocolate truffles and fresh-cut woods - I...
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get pine and cedar - with some hints of fruits, flowers, and coconut flakes sprinkled throughout. It's easy to brew and easy to enjoy, and if you enjoy brewing your black teas a little cooler rather than with boiling water, then you're going to love the way this tea responds. The buds are compact and unfurl easily, so even at cooler temperatures the flavor is released and fully clarified. I love how smooth and melty everything is around 185*F, but I find this tea can also withstand near-boiling temperatures. It really hits the spot for casual brewing, even care-free brewing, so if you're feeling frisky and want to experiment with temperature ranges or steep times you'll find this puts out really good flavors however you brew it up. The focal points of the flavor profile change - at higher temperatures, it's a bit more malty and has sweet grainy qualities, while at cooler temperatures its more like freshly-tempered chocolate, but anywhere in-between it's really good. Worth trying this one before it's out of stock. This is like the Biluochun of black tea!
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9 months ago

Keemun Snails, traditional black tea, 80 g

NN

verified purchased

5/5

Amazing. I'm not exactly sure why I keep coming back to this tea, but I'm near the bottom of my second bag and the only ...
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thing I know for sure is that I want more. The flavor profile is on point - even a quick initial steep releases tons of flavors that span from florals & fruits, to deeper notes of woods & moss-covered rocks. These notes remain intertwined together across the full session, and even the final steep retains a wonderful fruitiness that reminds me of strawberries and raspberries. This tea holds its composure very well, and seems to never run out of flavor. 8 grams of leaf in my 100mL Rural Life gaiwan always returns 10 steeps at minimum, and every one of them is flavorful down to the last drop. It's deeply satisfying and soothing for my dancong-drinking soul whenever I come across yancha that has endurance like this. The yun is amazing, and captures the essence of what makes Zhu Ke one of the most prized micro-terroirs within the larger zhengyan region. I love the way this tea reflects its uniqueness.
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1 year ago

Iron Buddha Supreme, Wuyi yancha oolong, 40 g

hads218

verified purchased

5/5

One more review I'd like to write I drank other Eight Immortals Wudong from another shop, and I could feel that this Ei...
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ght Immortals Wudong is in quite much high quality. Thank you for introducing me this tea
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5 years ago

Reply 1

Tea Hong

Store manager

I am so glad that you said this. Every year we have to spend a lot of efforts managing our sources in order to make sure...
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they deliver their best outputs. Phoenix oolongs are amongst the most difficult ones since they are so much in high demand and the annual yield of genuine ones is small. Furthermore, Eight Immortals is not an easy tea to process well.
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Eight Immortals Wudong, Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g

Minh Pham

Reviewer

5/5

A good dianhongThis tea had a great complexity with a sweet tannic aftertaste in the throat and lower mouth. Really nice...
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with the suddle citrus, and it carries itself well because it is not to weak. I feel like the more golden tips may give aroma but this tea has a nice balance between the two. Definitely a lot more complex and interesting than other more floral dianhongs I've tried.
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10 years ago

Lincang Centenarians, traditional black tea, 60 g

Show more reviews (270)

Or if you want to see the product with the most reviews, on any product catalog page, simply sort to view products with the most reviews, or by popularity to see which are the best selling ones. Or simply go to our best sellers page.

Have fun browsing. In case of questions, jot us a line here: Contact us.