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Bang Xie Maocha 2007, Pu’er shengcha, 40 g
Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Neutral-Cool Energy, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Tea, YunnanUS$24.3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 -
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Old Comrade “7548” 2007, matured Pu’er shengcha cha bing
Compressed tea, Floral Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Pu'er teas, Stronger Tastes, Tea, YunnanPrice range: US$52.1 through US$347.02007 老同志 7548 陳年普洱生茶餅
45 years of refined tea mastery
When I first entered Zao Bing Liang’s tasting room, the air is filled with the freshness of the aroma of maocha. Bags of samples from newly collected loose leaves lined up in rows, each marked with a numeric code. The teas were trucked in from the various mountains in the region. Some maybe less than 30 minutes away, others can be a full day. Yunnan is over 10% larger even than the whole of Germany and tea trees exist in almost all of its mountains. Some of these maochas are from highly sought after famous villages or mountains, which will be individually made into products carrying their origin names to demand very high market prices. A new discus from Ban Zhang, for example, can easily be fetching thousands of dollars. Aged ones are even much pricier. Yet there are more others from not as highly demanded origins, but also taste worthy. That’s where Zao’s “formulae” come in. Since the 1970’s, the old master has developed a number of recipes for ganging up harvests from origins of lesser known names for more affordable delicious teas. 7548 is the code name for his most prized and classic shengcha formula. These bags of samples in lines were there for the old master to finalise which batches and what proportion for the mix. He does that every harvest, for every product. Presenting the 7548 cha bing from Lao Tong Zhi ( ie Old Comrade ), Master Zao’s very own tea brand. Batch 701 is the first batch of year 2007. That means the best of the year and matured till now. It is a prime product of old Master Zao’s passion for bringing quality to more people without the price tag of premium origin labels.
There are two product variants to choose from:
A single discus of 357g net weight in the original paper wrap, or a traditional vending form of 7 cha bings bundled in a bamboo sleeve, net weight totalling 2.5 kg.
Please click below to see either options. -
Hong Yu Deep White, deep oxidation Taiwan white tea, 40 g
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Taiwan, Tea, White teasUS$23.5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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Snowy Egret, Taiwan green tea
Cool Energy, Green teas, Home, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Taiwan, TeaUS$23.0明前白鷺 簡約綠茶
Bai Lu Green Tea
Most green tea varieties made in Taiwan are processed with an approach so minimalist that the quality of the harvest and the characteristics of the cultivar almost entirely dictate the resultant taste profile. Processing skills are needed there to optimise it but when the weather or harvesting condition are not good, there is not a lot one can do during processing to salvage the quality. In order to deliver the very best representation of what a premium Taiwan green tea can be, we have chosen a flavourful cultivar that many have used to produce black teas and Oriental Beauty with for our green tea: TTES#17*. Tea Hong’s Snowy Egret is made in a specially designated farm from only the first flush of Bai Lu and masterfully handmade by the farm’s owner. Still, a fine harvest like this one in offer cannot be taken for granted every year.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Shèmen Dancong Double Baked, Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$34.0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 to 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, 50 g
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Warm Energy, Tea, Wuyi-shanUS$33.8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. Read more:
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Lily Eccentric, Wuyi yancha oolong, 40 g
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Tea, Wuyi-shanUS$27.8珍藏 慧苑奇蘭
Wuyi Qi Lan Premium
Originated in the south, Qi Lan cultivars attain new characters growing in the more rugged landscape of Wuyi. Since late last century, traders have taken advantage of its distinctive and pleasing aroma to mislabel it as the much demanded, but hugely misrepresented Red Cloak, Iron Buddha, or other famous Wuyi oolongs. Some blend it in other varieties for the same disguise purpose. Tea Hong’s Qi Lan is a premium single batch production that is optimally fermented and baked to allow the full, glorious taste profile of the tea. Some say if one has not experienced Qi Lan, one will never know what Wuyi teas really are. We’d say this eccentric lily has its unique place in the great family of oolongs. 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 -
Huangzhi Xiang Classic, Phoenix dancong oolong, 40 g
Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, TeaUS$27.1鳳凰單欉 慢焙 黃橘香*
Fragrance of Kumquat Fenghuang Dancong
Produced with the leaves from the cousin of our Song Cultivar, Tea Hong’s Huangzhi Xiang Classic is baked with more depth and thus a classic Phoenix oolong finish. Like all other tea of this family, patience and expertise in proper finish-processing and maturing is critical in delivering quality. It is a traditional art that has been largely forgotten. We are bringing it back at Tea Hong. The taste quality of this very Fenghuang Dancong tells you why this heritage matters. It is also the reason one may pay more elsewhere for a tea of the same name, but not quite getting the same level of enjoyment.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Cold Dew Alishan, bouquet Taiwan oolong, 70 g
Fuller Bodies, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, Taiwan, TeaUS$32.0阿里山 寒露青心
Winter Chin-shin Oolong
In subtropical Taiwan, the intense humidity that creates the misty atmosphere of Alishan — the tallest mountain in the island nation — dissipates partially when the chill of late Autumn sets in. In October, the sky stays clearer for longer. Little leaves that spout during this time have amply stored up for the few drier months ahead. These are great conditions for oolong harvest and processing. Presenting Cold Dew1 Alishan, masterfully rebaked from the premium Autumn harvest of Chin-shin tea trees. Oolongs made from this quintessential Taiwan wulong cultivar have a few times more teaghrelin2 than any others3, though we hope you buy it more for the great taste of this archetypical Taiwan premium oolong.
Net weight: 70 g (2.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
Blue Shiiba, organic Nepali semi-oolong, 50 g
Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Nepal, the Himalayas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Oolongs, Organic teas, TeaUS$29.9जापानी जंगली चिया रूख शि इबा
Kyushu wild tea reincarnates as an oolong in the Himalayas
Our Nepali farmer has taken a native wild tea plant from the island of Kyushu, Japan, to try propagating it in the Himalayas. The distinctly different terroir has not been kind to the small leaves so not every harvest gives you a satisfying result. The processing technique has been continuously evolving in the past decade to arrive at what we think is a wonderful manifestation of this unique tea cultivar. A batch as this on offer is rare. To us, it embraces the tea’s heritage as a wok roasted green tea, yet attaining a bouquet found only in fine Taiwan oolongs like that of Wenshan Paochong, while unmistakably carrying the complex tones and finishes afforded by the unique environment on this altitude on the roof of the Earth.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Iron Buddha Supreme, Wuyi yancha oolong, 40 g
Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, Tea, Warm Energy, Wuyi-shanUS$29.9春收火慢 竹窠鐵羅漢
Bamboo Forest Tiě Luohan:
Overshadowed by the more promoted Red Cloak, Iron Buddha ( Tiě Luohan ) is actually as taste-worthy, if not more, than any of the so-called “famous” Wuyi oolongs. It is not proven that whether it is the oldest oolong cultivar in Wuyi as they say, but it is certainly one that is not the easiest to cultivate and to produce from. Finding a farmer to process it to the taste profile that befits its legend and our quality demand has been a challenge. It took us 15 years. Presenting Tea Hong’s Iron Buddha Supreme, with that complex charcoal finish yet sweet floral aroma, stout yet lingering “rock tea” taste, delivered gently in a well-balanced infusion in a civilised way. This could very well be the only traditional style Wuyi that any connoisseur would fall in love with.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Red Jade, Taiwan TTES#18 black tea, 40 g
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral Energy, Taiwan, TeaUS$25.8特級臺灣香 魚池紅玉
Fragrance of Taiwan:
Deep in the mountains away from the tourist infested Sun Moon Lake, small tea bushes tidily populate small patches of land between tall pines, wild trees and steep slopes. A cross between Burma and a native wild tea, this Hong Yu cultivar, born right here in Yu Chi in 1999, shines with a vibrant deep green. It dominates the ambience with a smell that is both fresh and spicy. Farmers here still process black tea in small batches in the old fashioned way, though with the aid of a few new technologies for monitoring. Red Jade — the Fragrance of Taiwan — has to be so processed to that distinctive floral yet spicy aroma, minty and complex taste on a smooth body to be worthy of name. Read more: What really is a gongfu black tea?
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Imperial Topaz, organic matured Nepal hand-rolled black tea, 50 g
Black teas, Floral Aromas, Milder Tastes, Nepal, the Himalayas, Neutral Energy, Organic teas, TeaUS$25.8टपबोग रातो
Hand-rolled Himalayan Tips:
Although tea from this part of the world has not been best known for smoothness, there can be exceptions provided that there is the proper knowledge and experience. Together with the work of Nature. Imperial Topaz is such a tea. Hand-rolled and masterfully processed for a soft and round profile yet rich with the distinctive mineral accents representative of the region, the bright orange infusion delivers what is best from the Himalayas coupled with the modesty and gentleness of a Chinese black. Imperial Topaz is not only a gem of Nepali tea, but also an example of what can be achieved when we tea people share and work together across boundaries.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Oriental Beauty Mystic, deep oxidation Taiwan oolong, 50 g
Fuller Bodies, Lighter Aromas, Neutral Energy, Oolongs, Taiwan, TeaUS$29.9正宗深造青白毫烏龍 珍品東方美人
legendary quality of the bug-bitten tea
To experience why this unique Taiwan white tip oolong was nicknamed Oriental Beauty by Queen Elizabeth II, you have to taste the real thing. It is perhaps the most demanding tea to process well. Harvested only once a year in summer and after the young leaves of the Qingxin Damao cultivar are bitten by a kind of tiny leafhopper«read more here», genuine Dongfang Meiren can attain its special taste profile only after following the oolong processing routine modified especially for this tea. Tea Hong’s Phong-hong tè — the original name of Oriental Beauty — is a prime selection from the origin in Hsinchu, Taiwan. This tea is also available in a small portion as a part of Tea Taster’s Box: Nine Oolong Samplers.
Net weight: 50 g ( 1.8 oz ) in Kraft-alu pack -
Premodern Peony, deep oxidation white tea, 40 g
Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Neutral Energy, Tea, White teasUS$16.7政和原生菜茶、古方貢眉
Zhenghe Old Style White Tea:
Before there were the Dai Bai cultivars for the modern White Peony, it had first been indigenous Cai Cha for producing white teas in Fujian. A lesser looking tea plant but capable of a deeper and rounder taste profile, such sexually propagated tea bushes still exist today. Presenting Tea Hong’s very own Premodern Peony — patiently processed like it used to be a century ago, and matured to our tea master’s personal liking. All the wholesomeness of white tea with a fine taste that you can keep drinking throughout the day.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide kraft-alu pack -
Lincang Centenarians, traditional black tea, 60 g
Black teas, Denser Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Neutral-Warm Energy, Tea, YunnanUS$20.2臨滄古木 金針紅茶
Gold Needles Supreme:
Deep in the mountains in Lincang, native tree type tea plants have prospered for millenniums. There are so many huge tea trees that people say this is where tea itself originated. From these old tea forests we have reserved some finest first flushes for producing our special quality Dianhong. For drinkers who feel Yunnan Golden is too easy tasting, and Dianhong Classic too smooth, Lincang Centenarians has a complexity that is possible only from leaves slowly grown on old trees and which roots reach deep enough for the richest of minerals in the mountain soils. Same luscious taste profile as the finest classic Dianhong, yet tinkling with more notes.
Read more: Dianhong — Tea Born of a War
Net weight: 60 g (2.1 oz) in Kraft-alu pack
