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:

  • Honey Orchid Supreme, classic Phoenix dancong oolong

    Yes! A Ruyao ware would be very appropriate for this tea. Smart choice. BTW, this is one of the most popular teas in our team and the first one that I have fallen in love with. 😉

    Leo Kwan
  • Red Jade, Taiwan TTES#18 black tea

    Brief (few seconds) steeps in 90 Celsius water.
    Liquor is of a clear deep caramel in tone.
    Taste is smooth, earthy/woody spiced sugary sweet, with a minty finish.
    It has a long brown sugar sweet aftertaste that lingers in the mouth.
    No tartness nor bitterness.
    Medium mouthfeel, slightly dry and sticky, encouraging salivation.
    If you let it cool down a bit, you’ll get a more pronounced earthy sweetness with a hint of astringency.
    Wet leaves are an even dark brown in colouring and large in size, giving off a minty spiced sugar aroma.
    This tea withstands many steeps.
    I think this would make a great iced tea.

    rudi hermawan
  • Lincang Centenarians, traditional black tea

    A good dianhong

    This tea had a great complexity with a sweet tannic aftertaste in the throat and lower mouth. Really nice 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.

    Minh Pham
  • Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong

    喜出望外

    我以前以為自己飲咗咁多年功夫茶,有咩好野未試過﹗今次試宋種真係喜出望外。第一,呢隻茶層次多(不過都唔容易沖,我都反覆實驗過几種沖法,又用蓋碗又用茶壺。但係咁樣試吓都係茗茶既樂趣之一),味道清得黎回酣長。第二係佢「襟」飲,即係沖五、六泡都可以(我用7至8克茶葉),而且連續几日飲宋種都唔會覺得厭。咁計返條數其實都好抵飲。不過鍾意炭火味既人可能一開始個時唔係咁適應。但呢隻茶絶對係好野,應該試﹗要畀滿分﹗

    plo1962