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:

  • Song Cultivar, Phoenix dancong oolong

    喜出望外

    我以前以為自己飲咗咁多年功夫茶,有咩好野未試過﹗今次試宋種真係喜出望外。第一,呢隻茶層次多(不過都唔容易沖,我都反覆實驗過几種沖法,又用蓋碗又用茶壺。但係咁樣試吓都係茗茶既樂趣之一),味道清得黎回酣長。第二係佢「襟」飲,即係沖五、六泡都可以(我用7至8克茶葉),而且連續几日飲宋種都唔會覺得厭。咁計返條數其實都好抵飲。不過鍾意炭火味既人可能一開始個時唔係咁適應。但呢隻茶絶對係好野,應該試﹗要畀滿分﹗

    plo1962
  • Eight Immortals Wudong, Phoenix dancong oolong

    Eight Immortals is a signature bouquet style of the Fenghuang region. The processing of it is far simpler than any classic styles. However, it is exactly because of this simplicity that every element in tea production counts. And that is why making a superb quality is a lot more challenging than it sounds. So glad that you have tried others before coming to us for it. It also takes a discerning taster to appreciate the difference. Thank you.

    Tea Hong
  • Orchid Literati, Phoenix dancong oolong

    Indeed, better known Phoenix cultivars are widely planted throughout the Fenghuang area and well beyond, for obvious commercial incentives. In some gardens the harvest can be disciplined and the processing respectfully done. In some others, outputs are maximised for cashflow. The latter ones are quantitatively far more substantial. They are sold in the same name nevertheless. As a result, you can most certainly come across the same label here and there, with whatever origin or master maker your purveyor might tell you, basing on whatever information he/she has been given, or want to give.

    A recent visit to a few popular teashops in London, however, has given me a new level of understanding of this phenomenon. There is no limits to how low the quality a Ya Shi Xiang — Duck Poo tea ( they call it Duck Sh*t tea, by the way ) can be and still demanding a premium price. I have tasted quite a few quality levels in my 20+ years in this trade and have honestly never came upon such lowly ones. They did not even taste like anything from Fenghuang at all.

    People are still buying there because they do not know any better. On one hand, I am happy that people are interested in exploring the world of finer teas, on the other, however, I think it is dangerous that the spread of such fraudulent quality, will, in the long run, destroy the future of the market for good tea. When people have attempted to find a finer tea and found not much to enjoy even in a premium price product that they do not know is an unauthentic one, they simply will grow disinterested in the category all together.

    As in the spirit of the traditional literati, it is all the more an obligation that I have to bear to make sure the genuine quality get delivered to the market, for the sake of the future of good tea. That is also why I am grateful for customers like you, N.N., who would take the extra step in sharing the tea experience with more people. It is far more than the feeling of being appreciated, your sharing is even more effective than our efforts in involving the market for the interest in the real thing. Hopefully someday good tea will drive out bad.

    Leo Kwan
  • Black Leaf Special, Phoenix dancong oolong

    Gripping aroma

    What a wonderful aroma comes out from this tea leaves after the first infusion: subtly cream undertone with a marvelous sun dried peach, tangerines and flowers. I have enjoyed them as much as their infusion. Really extraordinary. Highly recommended for those who likes dried (non fruity taste) tea.

    Patricio Hurtado