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 products in different ways so you can see them in the context that is closest to how you think when selecting a tea.

Selection by
Tea Category

Selection by
Tea Region

Selection by
Taste Preference

Selection by
TCM Character

Our Tea Master’s personal favourites

Before doing your own selections, you may also want to check out what our Tea Master’s very own favourites here.

Or refer to his best loved oolongs here:

by random order

Selection by 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.

The above chart shows the five main categories: Green, Black, White, Pu’er ( Post-Fermentation ) and Oolong teas. Click the pie chart to browse the category of tea, click on your choice and enjoy the browse!

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

Our tea regions

Fenghuang / Phoenix

Tea farmer withering tea leaves in the afternoon sun

Huangshan/ Anhui

Tea picking on the hill side terrace

Minnan-Mindong, Fujian

Wang's peak farm

Nepal, the Himalayas

Tea Regions of TeaHomg.com: Nepal / Himalayas

Taiwan

Master Li talks about ant problem in his wild Red Jade tea field

Wuyi-shan

A tea field in Wuyi

Yunnan

Thick linen are being put on piles of tealeaves for post-fermentation in Yunnan

Zhejiang

Tea Hong: Finest Hand-roasted Green tea: Longjing Spring Equinox

Selection by Taste

Teas are like raw gems. The true taste of each awaits the revelation made possible by the way you make it. Your personal need matters. It may change according to mood, time of the day, and occasions.

tasting

Tasting is the ultimate way to learn about a tea

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.

Selection by TCM Characters

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 categorise our collection by traditional Chinese medicinal character.

Check out trending best sellers

If all these other ways of thinking about how to select a tea are not for you, perhaps you can see what other people are buying. These are some of what’s trending now:

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.

Customer Reviews

Yet another way to get an idea is to see how other customers see our products. Read a few random reviews they have posted in this site, and click on the link to go to the product page:

  • Iron Buddha Supreme, Wuyi yancha oolong

    One of my favorite yan cha right now

    This tea is a very nice yan cha. It has a good presence of yan yun with a good smokey high fired wuyi fragrance with woodsy tones. The infusion taste is very refreshing as an initial taste, while giving you a sweet after taste that lingers in your mouth. It makes the back of my tongue water, and has nice hui gan. I really like it.

    Minh Pham
  • Raw Reserve 2009, partially post-fermented Pu’er shengcha

    Multiple personalities

    The characteristics of this tea appear to morph like a chameleon, and it’s impossible to say which version is more enjoyable. Each infusion of Raw Reserve produced a different experience in color and taste. Using a zisha clay gaiwan, my first infusion unveiled espresso-dark liquor with the taste of unsweetened cocoa and salty mineral hints. The second infusion gave me midnight purple with a velvety texture, hints of bittersweet sassafras, and a lively tinkling on the tongue. The third produced a ruby-tart, deep cranberry concoction with a slightly sweet finish. While each infusion transformed into something different, the tea never weakened. I’m certain there are more surprises left in this shengcha pu’er, but I’d better put a lid on it and take a break before I get too tea-drunk.

    Karen Ager
  • Danhu Old Bush Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong

    This is a very fantastic tea. I usually like the more fruity Dan Congs, such as the Eight Immortals Wudong or the Huangzhi Xiang Classic and have tried some more fruity Song Zhong from other sellers. But this tea, even though it doesn’t have the strong fruitiness that I usually enjoy so much, still makes me appreciate this tea even more for its very pleasant taste which I would probably describe as vanilla pinewood with a very pleasant sweetness. This tea has a very long and pleasant aftertaste and during the session the whole room fills with the unique smell of this tea.
    But I think what makes this tea so unique for me is that its taste has a certain calm wisdom to it. Drinking this tea almost feels like a form of mediation that directs my thoughts inwards and makes me think about the things in life that truly matter. I don’t think any other tea I’ve drunk so far has so much wisdom in its taste. This works very well with the calming body sensation that this tea brings during the session. It is a gem in my tea collection that really has the perfect balance.
    I prefer to brew it using 3g in a 100ml clay pot at 95°C, increasing the temperature to 99°C for the later infusions to get more out of the leaves.

    Tobias D
  • Big White, Phoenix dancong oolong

    For being the least expensive Fenghuang oolong in Tea Hong’s catalog, this “Big White” sure does bring a ton of flavor, and it would be hard to describe it as anything other than exquisite, for two reasons.

    First: its price makes it the perfect entry point for those who seek to explore the wonderful world of Fenghuang oolong, so if you’re browsing around and are curious about this category, this is definitely a great place to start.

    Second: its flavor profile makes it a phenomenal choice for the more seasoned fanatics who want a daily drinker that doesn’t break the bank. Don’t be fooled by this price tag – this dancong brings a level of sophistication that any connoisseur will recognize and immediately appreciate.

    The evolution of flavors across a full session are immaculate, with peachy-sweet overtones of juicy fruits that greet you immediately as you open the bag, and persist across the full session. The aromatics cling to the bottom of an empty cup like honey clings to a glass jar. It’s just so thick and nectar-like!

    The body is well-defined with overt layers of baked yams/sweet potatoes. The texture is very smooth and thick on the palate. The starchy sweetness eventually melts away and reveals the spine of this tea – woodsy and grainy, with a graceful presence that is apparent but does not become bitter even when pushed hard towards the end of the session.

    Interestingly enough, the terroir of this tea reminds me of the much more expensive Orchid Literati. Although there are differences, it’s easy to tell that the bushes which produced Tea Hong’s Big White were happy and healthy.

    NN