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:

  • Danhu Old Bush Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong

    One of the few teas that made my heart skip a beat, or shed a tear in pure admiration. Everything about this tea is graceful, refined and elegant. I was shocked since the entry is quiet and subdued, but the mid to late palate is so smooth and gentle with veritable depth. I’ve never thought that an oolong could emulate a gushu pu’erh. Too many plantation teas smack you in the face with their sappy, candy-like fragrance. This one is the definition of minerality and long aftertaste.

    Daniel Wa
  • Sacred Lily, Wuyi yancha oolong

    果然別有洞天

    對新品種從來沒信心,但這寶號一直未有令我失望過,所以看見是 tea master’s choice 便也試試。果然所言非虛,茶味別有洞天。好!

    plo1962
  • Eternal Spring, floral winter oolong

    A very soft and round oolong with plenty of depth to appreciate. Don’t let its silky texture or its remarkable resistance to high temperatures & long steep times fool you – this is actually quite a complex gastronomical experience, one that is ridiculously easy to brew up.

    I find the focal point of this tea to be its silky-smooth, buttery-soft body… it’s just such a thick and luscious sensation that greets you right when you take a sip, and hangs out on the palate even long into the aftertaste.

    In terms of the flavor profile, I get overt and thick notes of mango flesh – bright, fresh, tropical and dank, with sweet undertones of plums and berries, plus soft hints of spices like cinnamon or nutmeg. The thick note of mango flesh is intertwined with the buttery-smooth body of this tea, the two seem inseparable in the cup, and even the lingering sweetness in the aftertaste these two notes continue to be present in unison.

    The aroma coming off the bottom of an empty cup, as its cooling, has a distinct herbaceous quality to it, reminiscent of sweet pine, rosemary, and sage. There’s some pineapple fruitiness in there somewhere too.

    The leaf quality is superb. The leaves are quite large, processed very uniformly, and not over-compressed. They unfurl slowly and reveal thick, full leaves that were clearly handled well in every step of the making of this tea.

    This is very complex oolong – especially considering Si Ji Chun is a rather generic cultivar. It’s popular because, as its name suggests, it can be harvested in all four seasons which makes it ideal for mass production in all of Taiwan’s tea-growing regions. The market is saturated with Si Ji Chun that, at best, is acceptable quality. It’s difficult to find truly exceptional representations of a cultivar that is ultimately intended for mass production.

    This, however, is about as premium as Si Ji Chun gets. The price is quite humble considering this tea is a flavor bomb that is impossible to over-brew. However you brew it up you’re likely going to have a really good cup.

    NN
  • Cream of Pu’er 2015, naturally formed shu cha tea nuggets

    Smooth and sweet

    Some other shu pu-erh may be smooth and sweet too, but this one also has richer taste than others I had before. My favourite pu-erh now it becomes.

    Ai Han Ngau