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:
- Tea Hong
Eight Immortals Wudong, Phoenix dancong oolong
Superb in every way
When you are in a perfect space and require a perfect friend this has to be it. This is so refined that the do not disturb sign has to be on the world until every last drop is tasted. You and the eight immortals will become one.
Mike
Bulang Old Tree 2011, Pu’er shu cha bing
This is a very clean and pristine shu, I’m surprised by both its general roundness and its specific nuances as well. It’s very approachable for newcomers and aficionados alike.
I’ve brewed this up pretty much every way it can be brewed up, from gong-fu style in a Yixing teapot using a 1:10 ratio all the way to a 24-hour long thermos brew using a 1:100 ratio, and water fresh off a rolling boil.
When I brew this up gong-fu style, it becomes more earthy – it reminds me of the aroma of an old-growth forest after a thunderstorm, it has something very addictive and primal about it and I find it very satisfying.
In a thermos, I find the cong wei becomes more focused after a long brew (12+ hours) – it’s a bit incense-like, with notes of moss, bark, and spices that gently lift up the rest of the flavor profile.
Regardless of how it’s brewed up, I always get notes of mint leaf, monk fruit, longan, dark cherries, and I’m sure the more I drink it the more I will discover.
I don’t drink very much shu pu’er but I’ll always have some of this around. The price is amazing… $40 for a cake of old-tree Bulang that has over 10 years of immaculate storage on it? Only at Tea Hong.
NNWild Tree Black Tea, processed in the gongfu tradition
My first experience with this
This is the first time I ever heard of this tea and the first that I ever tried it. To me, it is rather like a combination of black tea and oolong. Normally I think black tea lacks the great smell and soother and more complex tastes of oolong, but this one has some of these characters. I am totally surprised! I have tried it using both gongfu style and ordinary teapot way. Like it.
Manila Tran
GABA Orange Extra, de-oxygenised oxidation Taiwan oolong
What a refreshing point you have made! Making tea using a longer duration rather than those popular practice of a few seconds. When I first experienced old style gongfu tea-making in Chaozhou decades ago, this old man moved very fast with his equipment and water, talked fast too (I hardly made out 50% of what he said ), yet he sat there patiently while waiting for tea to brew in his small teapot. I still remember the sensation of the full-flavoured liquor to this day. By the way, the upcoming batch of GABA is going to be a lot more wonderful than this one. — Leo Kwan