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:

  • Tieguanyin Classic, deep baked oolong

    The Whiz Kid

    I was told that it is not an easy tea to prepare nor to appreciate, so I was a little anxious when opening it.
    I choose to brew it with a low leave to water ratio and it immediately appeared that the real complexity of the tea is that it can offer a wide range of tastes.
    In these conditions, this tea develops very sweet and gentle taste of plum and date, brilliantly balanced by the woodsy aromas from the baking process.
    I am eager to prepare it again with other parameters, I am already amazed by its the wide range of possibilities.
    To summarize, to me this tea is not the wild child I expected but a more a whiz kid who can show you tons of wonderful tastes if you can guide him.
    Thanks to all Tea Hong staff for this great discovery!
    ( A paragraph is edited out for a discussion about another customer’s comment. Detail discussions are more suitable when carried out in forums, such as the one in TeaGuardian.com — note by Tea Hong )

    Elie MAGNON
  • Tieguanyin Floral, bouquet oolong

    Blooming garden

    I think this is the most naturally fragrant tea I ever had. Unforgettable aroma. I used a teaspoon of leaves to brew initially for one minute in a 2 cup teapot but filled only to 3/4. Can repeat 5 times and it was still good.

    Jean v. Young
  • Dianhong Classic, traditional black tea

    Delightful Taste
    My wife and I tried to discern the taste profile of Dianhong Classic 2019 as described by Leo Kwan and reviewer Karen Ager, but our taste buds were not refined enough to match their descriptions to the taste we experienced. Suffice to say that we found this tea delightful and calming, and we enjoyed it very much! We brewed gong fu style and the high quality of tea was maintained through many rounds of brewing, varying the rounds with increasing steeping time and temperature!

    Jeffery Leong
  • Danhu Old Bush Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong

    Indeed, no words can describe the experience of this tea. Thank you for saying it so poetically and in such a wonderful way. I am so very happy that one more person appreciate the meticulous work behind the making of this. It is only with people who care to understand such quality that this beautiful tradition can propagate. Thank you!

    Leo Kwan