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Western Half of the Mountain, shengcha Pu’er maocha
Cold Energy, Floral Aromas, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Stronger Tastes, Tea, Yunnan$ 16.90臨滄 勐庫西半山 大葉生毛茶
Mengku Maocha 2015 — Mengku Xi Ban Shan
Rough terrains, with altitudes ranging from 1000’s to over 3000 m make up almost 100% of the total 475 km2 of Mengku, in the subregion of Lincang in Yunnan. The uneven landscape is interlaced with huge rocks and subtropical forests. That may explain why for over 500 years the production of tea has been a major means of livelihood for the indigenous tribes here. Old tea trees exist in patches here and there. Sometimes there is a single huge one which immediate surrounding would be cleared for pickers to work during harvests. While leaves from the east side of this cluster of mountains are known for their strong character, those produced on the west side are sweeter, silkier and more gentle. I think the latter is better in the form of maocha. We have matured this batch for 9 years for your better enjoyment, and friendlier to the stomach.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide Kraft-alu pack
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Jade Orchid, bouquet Phoenix oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, Tea$ 21.40雪片玉蘭香
Xue Pian Yu Lan Xiang
One of the most common practices in tea naming in the Fenghuang region is giving a tea the name of the flower which the farmer associates the aroma with. Some of such flowers are fictitious, yet some are real. Like this one, Yu-lan, after the flower tree Magnolia denudata, a.k.a. Yulan magnolia. Jade orchid — as the name "Yulan" is translated — is a tree native to the region where Phoenix is. The tea cultivar itself is relatively new, having been developed locally by a farmer Wei Li Man in the 1980’s. That is why the more popular name for the plant itself amongst local farmers is Li Man zhong, or Li Man’s cultivar. To me, the winter harvest resembles the flower’s aroma more closely so we select only this for Tea Hong’s Jade Orchid. This tea is also available in a small portion as a part of Tea Taster’s Box: Nine Oolong Samplers.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Aura of the Night, bouquet Phoenix oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, Tea$ 33.20鳳凰單欉 獅頭 夜來香
Yelai Xiang Dancong
The complex, yet bright and lively floral aroma of this tea is associated with a native flower, yelai xiang, aka Chinese violet. It is a vine yielding light yellow small flowers that are especially fragrant at night, hence the name, yelai xiang — the fragrance that comes in the night, from which we have derived our product name. The plant is native in Guangdong province and neighbouring areas. It is the province where the Phoenix region situates. It has taken us some work to get to Lion Head Peak ( see below for more about the origin ) to acquire this best quality representation of the variety. Please enjoy.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Ying Hong Nine, traditional black tea
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Other tea regions, Tea$ 20.80廣東英德春茶 英紅九號
Prodigy Black Tea of Yingde
Although the ancestry of cultivar Ying Hong #9 was taken from the rugged mountains of Yunnan 60 years ago, the tea tree has acquired a very different characteristics in the much milder climate on the rolling hills of middle Guangdong. However, not all farms are able to produce a warm sweet black tea with a rich and smooth body as Tea Hong’s Ying Hong Nine. This patiently withered and oxidised selection is processed in the Guangdong style and optimally baked for its creamy characteristics and fruity accents. A prize-winning quality at great value.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Honey Concubine, medium deep baked Taiwan oolong
Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Taiwan, Tea$ 26.90私藏 文火深焙 蜜香貴妃
Guifei Oolong from Cold Peak
Guifei Oolong ( or Honey Concubine Tea, literally translated ) is a medium deep baked, medium oxidation ( 25 ~ 30% ) oolong produced from the Ruan Zhi cultivar in the Dong Ding ( Cold Peak ) area. It is different from the traditional Cold Peak oolong. The leaves of Guifei are bitten by green leafhoppers before plucking. The bug attack triggers a chain of biochemical reactions in the leaves that result in the complex honey notes that typify this tea. It was inspired by the way Oriental Beauty acquires its unique taste profile. However the two teas taste very differently through each’s own unique oolong processing approaches and pluck timing. The tea was invented after the devastation of an earthquake in September 1999, when the farmers had to create more revenue to rebuild their lost homes. «Read more» Baked to perfection by our producer the multiple award-winning tea master Chen Yu Wen, the current batch is certainly one of the best we have ever had from her. Net weight: 70 g (2.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow pack
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Yiwu Maocha 2017, Pu’er shengcha
Cold Energy, Floral Aromas, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Stronger Tastes, Tea, Yunnan$ 13.90雨前 易武毛茶
Famous Origin
It is said that the indigenous people in Yiwu Mountain began using tea for its medicinal purposes in the third century. The cure would soon became a beverage habit and later a trading commodity. Regardless of history, Yiwu is indeed one of the most renowned region in Yunnan for the tea’s fragrance. We have discovered a great value batch to share with you for a taste of this character without the usual unreal price tag. By design, there are three relatively younger teas in this Puer Maocha series and this is one of them. Some people like their maocha fresher, while others prefer it aged. Compare and see which kind you prefer!
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Bang Xie Maocha 2007, Pu’er shengcha
Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Neutral-Cool Energy, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Tea, Yunnan$ 24.30珍藏明前 邦協藤條茶
Whipping Rattan Tea
In historical herbal literature, tea is referred to as bitter, “extremely cold” to the body constituents, but effectively detoxicating. That basically is what is the raw tea leaf. While green tea is cooked, and most white tea is from plants that are severely tamed through breeding, Pu’er maocha maybe the closest thing one can get commercially nowadays for what the ancients had referred to. Yet in order to offer a tea that is taste worthy, we have to find plants that are strong and soil that is rich to provide that potential. And dry those leaves from the first flush and age them well to round off all the edges and deepen the tastes. A Whipping Rattan Tea bush is such pruned that buds just flush in the tips of its few branches. All the plant’s nutrients are thus focused in these few young leaves. We think that would be good raw material for us to process and age. Presenting the very special Whipping Rattan Bang Xie Maocha, aged since 2007. A unique Pu’er tea in every way.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide Kraft-alu pack -
Hong Yu Deep White, deep oxidation Taiwan white tea
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Taiwan, Tea, White teas$ 23.50臺灣本土育種 深造青白茶紅玉
White tea with a twist
The very same cultivar which leaves that make the black tea, Fragrance of Taiwan — Red Jade — is employed to make this unique white tea. Where the black tea has an upfront distinctive character which tea novices may need time to grow into, the white tea version is a lot friendlier for understanding this wonderful camellia formosenisis species with. Hong Yu Deep White has the light and easy first impression like other white teas, but that will grow in your palate to the roundness of an aged black tea and the floral character of an oolong. An unmistakable gastronomical signature uniquely its own seamlessly holds all elements together as a continuum of olfactory-palatial sensation experience.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Shan Lin Xi, light style Taiwan oolong
Cool Energy, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Oolongs, Taiwan, Tea$ 21.50明前特選 杉林溪烏龍
From the Stream of Cypress Woods
To most people, teas from Taiwan are synonymous with high mountain oolongs. Officially, these are the four top subregions for the tea: Alishan, Shan Lin Xi, Li Shan, and Yu Shan. We already carry quite a few Alishan’s, to find one from the others, we have been relentlessly searching. It has to be one comparable to those from Alishan but individualistic enough. Shan Lin Xi — literally Stream of Cypress Woods — is an area deep in a national reserve in the mountainous central area of the island country. Two hour driving from the station in the small city of Chia Yi, you will have climbed 1000m on the curvy roads deep in the sparse village areas with dense tall trees and quite many degrees lower than down there. Tea patches are hidden here and there amongst forests, occasional clusters of bamboos and a great diversity of wild plants. The same Chin Hsin Gan Chi cultivar grown here yields leaves that seem to have acquired a different character, a somehow lighter yet more complex, more stimulating tinkle. Previously when I was still operating a teahouse, some customers came to do Zen with tea as the medium. I guess this Shan Lin Xi Oolong can be one for it too.
Net weight: 70 g (2.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
Mo Gan Yellow Snails, yellow tea
Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Tea, Yellow teas, Zhejiang$ 29.90明前熟香 莫干黃芽螺
Revitalising an old yellow tea
Tea Hong’s Mo Gan Yellow Snails is a break away from the old Mo Gan Yellow Tip. We have greatly modified traditional yellowing to give the tea a distinctive yellow look and a taste that is different from both green tea and old style yellow tea. A neo-yellow. Unlike other tea categories, old style yellow tea has not prospered in all these decades since tea’s revival after the destructive Mao era. Its taste needs a lot more to create followers. Similarly from the mountain of Mo Gan in the region of Zhejiang, Tea Hong’s Mo Gan Yellow Snails has departed from the dull colours of the old to maintain a brisk freshness in the look and taste, while achieving a characteristic “cooked” warmth and sweetness that is the real spirit of yellow tea. Now that is a good individualistic character to have a place in any tea repertoire.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Shèmen Dancong Double Baked, Phoenix dancong oolong
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Tea$ 34.00文火深焙 老樹輋門單欉
Rock tea of Phoenix
Deep in Wudong, the most revered area for Fenhuang Dancong production, the village of Shèmen ( sheh-mehn ) is home to one of the most elusive traditional style oolongs. Here the Shè ( 畬 ) tribe settled a thousand years ago and began producing oolong to bake it in a way that was copied in Wuyishan a few hundred years later to produce Wuyi oolongs. Tea Hong’s double baked and matured Shèmen Dancong is our best attempt to reconstruct the same tea of the peace-loving and hard-working Shè people 10 centuries ago. This old style oolong gives a clear and most eloquent definition of the tea term yan-yun — music from the rock. The term has been mostly employed to describe better Wuyi oolongs yet it has never been more beautifully defined by this Phoenix tea. If you ever wonder about the relationship of the oolongs between the two regions, this may well be the link you are looking for.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Tongmuguan One, traditional black tea
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Warm Energy, Tea, Wuyi-shan$ 28.90桐木關極品 老樹梅占工夫紅茶
Rare Quality Meizhan Hong Cha
Not many black teas can achieve a smooth and full body. To have a floral, yet warm aroma with spicy sweetness and complexity of dried fruit would be a luxury. Tongmuguan One makes it even better by delivering the whole package with a sophisticated balance and yet subtle uniqueness unfound in its peers. A very limited batch produced in the mecca of xiao zhong gungfu black tea, Tongmuguan, this finely processed leaves of Meizhan is precious not because it is rare, but because it is so demanding to produce to this quality. It is not every year that we can achieve a gem like this.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Winter Alishan Jinxuan, bouquet style Taiwan oolong
Cold Energy, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Oolongs, Taiwan, Tea$ 22.10阿里山冬茶 金萱烏龍
the oolong with an accent of milk
In the early 80’s when the tea was first available to the market, tea tasters described Jinxuan oolong as having an accent of milk. The simple remark has sparked waves of imitation products, all involving adding flavouring. This continues until today. Jinxuan maybe one of the more popular cultivars in Taiwan, but it takes mastery to harvest and process it properly for that natural and slight “milk” accents, and all the other finer tea qualities. Tea Hong’s Alishan Jinxuan is just that. Non-blended first flush superbly produced to the same balance as Prof Wu Zhenduo* had originally intended it to be. As the same cleansing, soft taste profile that made it famous in the beginning. Nothing added, purely as we have always like our tea to be.
Net weight: 70 g (2.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
King Silver, matured traditional white tea
Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Neutral-Cool Energy, Tea, White teas$ 23.10頭採新品種 古法銀針王
Baihao Yinzhen at its best
If you like Silver Needle for its health benefits, but wish for more taste, King Silver is perhaps the choice. There are a few reasons why this pure leaf shoot white tea has better epicurean appeal:- Traditional processing — it takes more time, more mastery
- Mastery in maturing — not most people in the tea trade know how to mature a white tea like we do
- Special cultivar — we have employed a special cultivar that combines the complexity of a Yunnan Daye and the sweetness of Fuding Dabai to have it grown in Zhenghe, the mecca for old style white tea
- Top quality pluck — only top quality first flush from our specially appointed garden, no blending. Not only does that give a uniform, pleasing visual appeal, but also the fantastic taste that is possible only with such care and dedication.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Biluochun Supreme, traditional green tea
Cool Energy, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Other tea regions, Tea$ 35.90明前上品 碧螺春
The Aromatic Green Snail
These fresh smelling little leaves are so fluffy that one may want to make a down pillow out of them for sweet dreams every night. However, they are certainly not the softest tasting green tea. A fine Biluochun like Tea Hong’s does have a smooth body but enough character for optimal stimulation. Yet gentle enough to be one’s company throughout the day, even when you are searching deep inside for that piece of critical article you have to write, as those royals or literati did in old Qing China.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
Tieguanyin Traditional, bouquet oolong
Cool Energy, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Oolongs, Tea$ 32.80西坪正欉 古法清香鐵觀音
Original Tieguanyin Cultivar
To old time aficionados, tieguanyin is not just about floral aroma. They seek yun-wei, which can be roughly translated as “lingering taste of various tones and accents”. For the right yun-wei, we went to the origin of tieguanyin for a fourth generation farm high in altitude. Tea Hong’s Tieguanyin Traditional is produced from a particular patch where only matured shrubs of the thorough-breed cultivar grow and are harvested only once year. This is to ensure maximum amount of taste and salutary substances are stored in the young leaves for subsequent mastery processing for the wonderful lingering taste of various tones and accents. Like a fine old style tieguanyin should be.
Net weight: 100 g (3.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pack
