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 selections in different ways so you can see them in the context that is closest to how you think when selecting a tea:

• by the tea category • by the tea region • by the taste character • by the TCM character

Selection by the 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.

In addition to the five main categories: Green, Black, White, Pu’er ( Post-Fermentation ) and Oolong teas, we have included some subcategories such as matcha, cha bing, organic teas etc for easier focus for those who are looking for these.

Need more info about a category before seeing the products? Here are some articles:

• Green tea: What are green teas and what makes ours special
• Black tea: Black tea like it used to be. Before industrialisation…
• White tea: A white tea is defined by its biochemistry, not its colour
• Pu’er tea: The peculiar category of pu’er
• Oolong: Oolong — the gran cru of teas

Tea selection by the region

Tea selection by the TCM character

Eating right is core to maintaining health…

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 also categorise our collection by traditional Chinese medicinal character.

Tea selection by the taste character

Teas are like raw gems

At Tea Hong, we try to curate an all compassing array of supreme quality selections that represents the finest of different regions and their archetypical taste profiles. Yet even the finest of the most pristine teas are subject to the manifestation by the brewer. It is like a raw piece of gemstone waiting to be shaped in order to show its true beauty. Explore these treasures. Make our teas shine.

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.

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.

or refer to what other people think

NN

verified purchased

5/5

It took me almost a full bag to figure this yancha out - luckily for me, I've got another bag to keep figuring it out. I...
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t's complex, and a bit finicky, but well-worth the wrestle to dial in the perfect extraction techniques. There's a really soft and delicate floral nuance in these leaves that can be quite fleeting and very shy. To coax it out, I found the best thing to do was to use very short steep times and cooler temperatures than is typical for yancha. The sweet spot for me was to use 8 grams of leaf in my 100mL "Rural Life" gaiwan, with an initial steep of 186*F for 10 seconds, and working up from there incrementally, just a few seconds at a time. There's a certain kind of fresh-cut floral quality in these leaves which is persistently sweet and reminds me a bit of osmanthus flowers. It's very apparent using these cooler temperatures, and much quicker steep times. It seems to emanate from the back of the throat and wafts up through the retronasal olfactory system into the nose, so when I exhale I can feel the sensation of this wonderful bouquet of flowers. Sounds odd, but good yancha is always a whole-body experience. These leaves release their flavors quickly, and the initial steeps at only 10 to 15-ish seconds long have plenty of flavor and color. The aromatics are detectable from several feet away - these leaves literally explode with fragrance. It's wonderful. This tea also has a strong spine, and resists giving up all of its flavors too quickly. It takes a while to extract all of the flavors from these leaves ... not that steep times are really important in the larger context of enjoying tea, but I find these leaves have more stamina than other yancha and I can easily get more delicious soup out of the same quantity of leaf. This is definitely some special yancha.
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2 years ago

Reply 1

Leo Kwan

Store manager

I am most amazed with your effort in exploring this tea. At the same time, I feel very much ashamed that I have not retu...
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rned to tasting this batch for the past three years and haven't realised the change that the maturity conditions we have imposed on the tea to have brought so much development in its characters. What you have found out in the infusion method is a characteristic of a certain quality of yancha with a certain degree of baking and matured to a good degree. I am actually quite surprised that the effect would come when it has been only six year since its production. I will most certainly taste the tea again when it arrives from Hong Kong at our new workshop in Nagoya with the whole inventory. Will most certainly modify the infusion tips part of the product description to reflect the change. Really looking forward to that, and hopefully reiterating our routine tasting of all tea batches through their maturity. Many thanks again for your generosity in sharing this experience.
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Sacred Lily, Wuyi yancha oolong, 40 g

NN

verified purchased

5/5

Wow, what a lovely and thoroughly enjoyable Tieguanyin. It's very high quality with a humble price tag - if you want a d...
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aily drinker that feels more like a luxurious treat, this may be the perfect option for you. One could easily pay twice as much from a different vendor and receive something half the quality as this. This tea is very balanced, it has an excellent mouthfeel and smooth floral qualities that do not feel overly "green" or "raw" at their core, like so many other Tieguanyin do. The aftertaste sits very nicely in the back of the throat and lingers for a while, as all good Tieguanyin should. Oddly enough, I enjoy looking at the leaves after they are brewed. You can tell this is the authentic cultivar, plucked and processed with respect for a craft that brought this oolong into the center stage of a global spotlight. Tea Hong's traditional-style Tieguanyin captures the essence of what makes this oolong one of the most sought-after teas in the world, and at a price point that is simply unbeatable.
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3 years ago

Reply 1

Leo Kwan

Store manager

There is an old Hong Kong saying, "Ng4 paa3 fo3 bei2 fo3, zi2 paa3 ng4 sik1 fo3 — 唔怕貨比貨，只怕唔識貨" — meaning, "(we) fear not...
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of (you) comparing our products with those of others, (we) fear only of ignorance of quality." The city of Hong Kong began as a trading port in the 19th century. It very soon became a key hub for goods from China, Southeast Asia and around the world. After the taking over of China by the Communists in 1949, the British colony's trading role became even more important. Competition amongst sellers was keen. This saying was widely used amongst purveyors of top quality products to alert buyers to watch out carefully for inferior quality hidden under a similar appearance or name, or even false claims. Although it had long since became a cliché and forgotten in recent decades, I find the market condition no less confusing, at least in the area of tea. I am happy that besides knowing your Phoenix oolongs, you also understand a genuine tieguanyin. I hope more people do. Nowadays, partly due to the indulgence in the overuse of fertilisers, many productions of even authentic tea bushes lack the intricacies of a traditional tieguanyin. Not to mention lowly crossed clones and sloppiness in processing. Respectable farmers and producers are, therefore, precious finds.
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Tieguanyin Traditional, bouquet oolong, 100 g

Tobias D

verified purchased

5/5

My favorite Chahai! First of all the design is beautiful with a nice painting on the ground and beautiful color. ...
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Due to the short, wide shape the tea liquor doesn't move through a lot of air, making sure it's not unnecessarily oxidized and does not loose much of its aroma and temperature. The material and the slightly more narrow opening keeps the liquid warm, especially if the teaware has been heated up before. The only wish I would have would be to make it slightly larger, with a capacity of slightly over 200ml so that it always has enough space for larger pots as well.
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3 years ago

Reply 1

Tea Hong

Store manager

This comment has actually inspired us of an idea of developing a line of teaware for larger serving. Thank you!

Celeste Green Chahai

Tobias D

verified purchased

5/5

This tea became one of my favorite floral Dan Congs. Most of the mostly floral Dan Congs from other vendors that I've tr...
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ied have the tendency to taste quite one-dimensional. So after a few infusions their taste becomes less complex and less interesting. This tea is quite different because its taste becomes more complex in the later infusions. It starts with a very strong floral aroma and in the second or third infusion some slightly fruity and honey-like undertones add more interesting dimensions to the taste that still don't distract from its elegant and calming floral aroma. The aroma is very clear with lots of high notes that give it a quite noble taste. I prefer to brew it in Chaozhou clay to preserve the high aromatic notes while giving the tea a thicker more honey-like texture in the mouth feel. It is a great tea to relax and calm the mind. It is quite easy to brew, doesn't turn bitter when brewed too hot or too long. This makes it a great tea to have during philosophical conversations with friends.
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3 years ago

Reply 1

Leo Kwan

Store manager

I am so happy that you have discovered that the tea has good dimensions besides its alluring beautiful first impression....
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It is indeed a very nice and rare batch.
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Aura of the Night, bouquet Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g

Amadeus388

Reviewer

5/5

Awesome!I thought I was going to be the first one to write a review for this one but found someone else ahead of me 🙁 ...
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Anyway, this is the best quality I can get for this price, even when compared to the shops I know in China!
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13 years ago

Bell Shape Utility Gaiwan

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