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:

  • GABA Orange Extra, de-oxygenised oxidation Taiwan oolong

    I compared this against 2 other GABA oolongs (which were more expensive) and this one was a clear winner.

    I don’t like GABA oolongs. They give me headaches. I’ve tried a lot over the years, and for me personally, it’s not a pleasant experience. Most of them taste like dirty socks and get overshadowed by some kind of citrus-acidic funk. Pretty much all of the GABA oolong I’ve had in the past tastes like a fermentation project gone wrong – a miserable failure disguised as a “new processing technique” – but I’m not getting any of that from this specific GABA oolong.

    This flavor profile of this oolong makes sense in the larger context of oxygen-deprived processing environments, where reduction chemistry becomes the dominant driving force behind the molecular transformations of leaf constituents, rather than oxidative transformations as guided by polyphenol oxidase & peroxidase. IYKYK.

    The characteristic flavor profile of GABA oolongs somehow seems different with Tea Hong’s version. Instead of some dirty-sock, wet-stored pu’er flavor profile, I’m getting something that is reminiscent of orange creamsicles and fresh-baked sourdough bread with some spices dusted over the top of the loaf. There’s some underlying fruitiness that reminds me of goji berries and sweet citrus peel.

    This tea showcases itself is a flavor-forward, refined, and nuanced oolong, something that I didn’t think was possible with GABA oolongs. It definitely responds very well to being brewed Western-style rather than gong-fu style.

    This tea responds very well to being brewed out slowly. Don’t expect multiple, subtle layers of flavor moving across each other in a focused gong-fu session… expect a flavor-bomb brewed out Western-style. This tea resists turning bitter, and continues to release flavor into the soup for longer than you might expect. Push these leaves until the very end – it won’t turn bitter.

    One of the best GABA experiences I’ve had. Thoughtful, refined, and focused where it needs to be.

    NN
  • Orchid Literati, Phoenix dancong oolong

    It’s all about subtlety

    All in this marvelous tea is subtle: the clear infusion color, the elusive smell a combination of fine cream and fresh flowers, and the soft tangerine taste that emerges from the infusion when it becomes colder. Warning: there is a serious risk to become “teaholic” at first try.

    Patricio Hurtado
  • Bell Shape Utility Gaiwan

    is this just for show

    I have wanted to buy this for a week now and it is still out of stock! Is this product just for show? I don’t believe there are gaiwans this cheap anyway.

    zachno
  • Iron Buddha Supreme, Wuyi yancha oolong

    One of my favorite yan cha right now

    This tea is a very nice yan cha. It has a good presence of yan yun with a good smokey high fired wuyi fragrance with woodsy tones. The infusion taste is very refreshing as an initial taste, while giving you a sweet after taste that lingers in your mouth. It makes the back of my tongue water, and has nice hui gan. I really like it.

    Minh Pham