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:

  • Phoenix Classic, dancong oolong

    Immediately my favourite oolong … it is just so mellow and flavourful, easy to drink with lovely sweet notes and aftertaste. Soft on the palate. I have to reorder this… as my new staple oolong tea to which others will be compared.

    Jeannette Nielsen
  • Honey Orchid, Phoenix dancong oolong

    Yummy. I’ve tried both this and the Mi Lan Supreme, and while my inner tea snob prefers the Supreme, this less expensive version is still a very good example of Mi Lan Xiang and has an amazing price to quality ratio.

    The inherent honey and nectar-like characteristics are the focal point of the journey that unfolds over the course of a long and thoroughly enjoyable gong-fu session. Thick yet smooth, with a powerful mouthfeel and a graceful evolution of flavors and sensations across the full session, this one captures the essence of what makes Mi Lan Xiang among the most popular and most famous of all Fenghuang cultivars.

    It’s juicy, fruity, and peachy-sweet with an oily quality that sinks deeper and deeper into the palate with every sip. The undertones of honey get stronger as the cup cools, but it never loses the clarity and smoothness in the body even when the soup is left to cool down to room temperature. It maintains a consistently elegant flavor profile no matter how you brew it or how you drink it.

    I love the dynamic nature of this Mi Lan, it responds very well to being brewed up in the gong-fu style, but I actually prefer to brew this Western-style because you can see the full breadth and depth of flavors this tea has to offer in every sip. I could comfortably keep both this and the Mi Lan Supreme in my stash – the Supreme would be for gong-fu infusions, and this one would be for Western-style infusions.

    NN
  • Shenshan Laoshu 2012, matured Pu’er shengcha cha bing

    Yummy. This is good sheng at a great price. I enjoy the complex evolution of flavors and the way it captures the essence of what makes Lincang such a famous region. It opens up with some powerful, cooling notes of menthol & camphor, with plenty of fresh-cut tobacco and earthy nuances peeking through, in every layer.

    The huigan builds slowly and lasts forever. It really comes out in the second half of the session. Along the way, I get delicious notes of rum-soaked raisins, steamed sticky rice, and lotus leaves. Eventually; and especially in the final steep, the rum-soaked raisins gradually pivot into something more reminiscent of whisky-glazed apricots and apples caramelized in maple syrup.

    This maple syrup-like sweetness really clings to the throat, and I enjoy how smooth it is and how long that sweetness lasts for. Towards the end of the session, the earthy notes of fresh-cut tobacco transform into something more reminiscent of tropical hardwood, but the flavor profile maintains an earthy quality all the way through. There’s very little smokiness overall.

    The finish is exceptionally bright, clean, and crisp, with well-defined textures and sensations, from the strength of the mouthfeel to the sensation in the throat, and the long-lasting cooling sensation that seems to exude from between the teeth and the gums.

    Definitely worth picking up a cake of this if you’re looking for a good sheng that hits the spot but doesn’t break the bank.

    NN
  • Eight Immortals Wudong, Phoenix dancong oolong

    It is great comfort to read from a user who can so explicitly understand the rarity and value of this selection. It does take ample exposure to what’s available in the market, consistent brewing skills, as well as the talents of a sensitive palate to write this comment here. My deepest appreciation.

    Leo Kwan