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
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:
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.
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.
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:
- Leo Kwan
Yiwu Large Leaf 2013, partially post-fermented Pu’er shengcha
Sorry for the late reply. We weren’t even aware that we can respond to product comments in the admin back end. If you want a thicker shengcha try the Old Comrade 7548 once airmail resumes for your country. I shall slip a discount coupon in your account just for this tea hoping that you will write about it in your tea blog
Tea Hong
Cold Dew Alishan, bouquet Taiwan oolong
This is a very unique Taiwanese oolong, I don’t think I’ve ever had anything which has the same flavor profile as this Cold Dew Alishan has. It features attributes that you might typically find in other Taiwanese oolongs, but the combination of elements here feels very unique.
It’s creamy yet tart, with a smooth mouthfeel perfectly intertwined with apparent notes of hibiscus flowers and rose hips that gently cut through the buttery notes and accentuate the body of tea. There are distinct overtones of herbs and spices, like rosemary, pine, juniper, fennel, and hints of nettle which contribute to the sharpness and clarity of this otherwise seductively smooth flavor profile.
The body is soft and smooth, and the aftertaste is thick and pungent. There are undertones of rice and oat milk which continue to build in the mouth as the session progresses, with some malted cereal grains eventually coming out towards the end. This tea maintains its composure even into the aftertaste, where the grains seem to develop a honey-like sweetness.
The aftertaste brings with it a powerful and textured mouthfeel, with a distinct oily quality to it and a powerful spicy-yet-cooling sensation that is reminiscent of the tiniest hint of clove oil. It’s not so powerful that it becomes an actual flavor; it’s just powerful enough to leave an impression on the palate and linger before gradually subsiding.
This is a complex oolong and worth every penny.
If you are a fan of the way GABA oolongs make you feel, or perhaps you like tea with good “cha qi” – make sure you check this one out. Besides its flavor profile, it is also quite a powerful tea in the body and stimulating in the brain.
Alishan Guanyin, deep baked Taiwan oolong
Indeed the baking work done onto the tea is masterful, like that in the good old days when I started to develop my humble hobby of tea drinking when I began my earlier career in teaching in the early 1980’s. It was a time when mastery in tea baking was already a fading craft as the market was beginning to push for the dominance of green style oolongs. I was too young and too much an outsider to know whether it’s the decrease of good baking that cause the rise of green oolongs or whether it’s the push for green oolongs that dwindled the market for master tea bakers. As you said, green style oolongs are a fantastic category in itself, but a properly baked and fine oolong is something special to cherish, a sip that is like a hug in the soul.