Author archive for Leo Kwan

  • Jan192022
    Buying tea in Guangzhou, 19th century

    The Fear of Failing Our Customers

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    Possibly the first black tea ever produced, and definitely the best of its category from Wuyi, Tongmuguan One has a…

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  • Dec102021
    Flowers of Sweet Osmanthus

    Scenting of Phoenix Sweet Osmanthus

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    What is Osmanthus? Osmanthus is a tree that yields tiny, and very fragrant flowers. The fragrance is not as pungent…

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  • Nov232021
    The 13 Hongs in Canton (now Guangzhou) during Qing Dynasty

    Rebirth of A Black Tea Region — Yingde

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    In the 17th century the county of Yingde in the southern province of Guangdong in China had suddenly become a…

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  • Nov102021
    The tender young leaves of Ruan Zhi cultivar

    Honey Concubine, the Tea Born of an Earthquake

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    At 1:47 am on September 21, 1999, an earthquake broke out in central Taiwan. It was a Richter scale 7.7…

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  • Nov022021
    tea leaves piled for the last round in fermentation for oolong production

    Between Fire and Bouquet

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    Problems with getting a good Wuyi oolong Wuyi oolongs have always been problematic for fine tea merchants. It is one…

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  • Oct042021
    Old tea master Mr Chen with his living room wall filled with tea processing competition award certificates.

    Taiwan as a tea region

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    In the subtropical small island country of Taiwan, where most of the terrain is dominated by a central mountain range…

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  • Feb042021
    Keemun black tea with strawberry as condiment

    Lunar New Year Sweet Tea

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    Soon it will be the Year of the Bull in the Lunisolar Calendar. Believe it or not, this very old…

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  • Oct312020
    Piles of compressed tea discuses, some open and chipped for making tea, some in wrapped form, some in the original bamboo bark wraps

    Cha Bing — Compressed Tea

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    A very old origin Done in the beginning as a means of packaging, compression to contain tea leaves in cha…

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  • Oct312020
    Different varieties of pu'er maocha

    What is a Pu’er Maocha? Or a Pu’er Shengcha?

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    What is a Shengcha In the realm of Pu’er tea, the concept of shengcha was born when people began to…

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  • Oct262020
    Leo taking picture of tea leaves using a Canon Powershot G5

    One camera, 22 years in tea

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    Not long ago I needed to prepare the training for a batch of new staff intake. As I went through…

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