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Tieguanyin Traditional, bouquet oolong
Cool Energy, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Oolongs, Tea$ 26.90Original 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 -
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Orchid Literati, Phoenix dancong oolong
Cool Energy, Fenghuang | Phoenix, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Oolongs, Tea$ 41.30Caolan Dancong — Duck Poo Tea
As a person continues to discover tea, sometimes finding one with subtle and yet complex fineness seems a lot more exciting than one with strong impressions. That is how we feel when we got hold of this. The locals aptly name it “Cao-lan” (Cymbidium goeringii), the rare orchid which ancient Chinese literati had revered for millenniums for its understated beauty and fragrance*. The long, sweet yet subtle taste and aftertaste of this tea echos the sentiments for the civilized persistence for humanity virtues of the classic eras. If you enjoy our Eight Immortals, Orchid Literati will take you to another level.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Shan Lin Xi, light style Taiwan oolong
Cool Energy, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Oolongs, Taiwan, Tea$ 21.10From 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 -
White Tea of Anji, traditional green tea
Cool Energy, Green teas, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Tea, Zhejiang$ 24.40The Green Tea that is called White
If a green tea is judged only by how umami it is, a lower grade than Tea Hong’s Anji Baipian* may already top the chart. The grace of this top quality of one of the most sought after name in green teas is not measured only by its savouriness, but its silky smooth and soft body and elegance in its taste character. Perhaps that is why the small county of Anji is never producing enough to satisfy the demand from the growing affluent class in China. That said, it is good to see a small counter trend against the taste of expensive vulgarity in that vast population.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide kraft-alu pack -
Bamboo Leaf, traditional green tea
Cool Energy, Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Lighter Aromas, Tea, Zhejiang$ 32.70Zhuye Qingding — a rare shoot leaf green tea
Some people like their green tea soft and sweet, others may prefer a good umami. Yet this leaf shoot tea is neither. Its brisk, lively full body is accentuated with a refreshing aroma and a distinct note of bitterness. After Longjing, of all the other green teas from the Zhejiang region, my personal strongest preference goes to this traditional green tea form of Bamboo Leaf produced in Kaihua. To me it is an alternative to a shot of single malt in the evening, or an afternoon kick of espresso. Maybe more pleasant and invigorating. This style form is produced in a few other tea regions in China. The taste profile does vary from region to region, and even from farm to farm, tea master to tea master. In Emei Shan in Szechuan, the traditional form style name, Zhu Ye Qing, which transliterates as Bamboo Leaf Green, is registered as a brand name by a powerful local tea company. Other farmers and tea companies who have been producing in this same style form are then required by law to sell their products in different names. One of them is Mingshan Shihua. Tea Hong's Bamboo Leaf is a rare quality representing not only the broader taste profile of this style form, but also the intriguing intricacy that gives true quality tea its elevating magic.
Net weight: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pillow -
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Biluochun Supreme, traditional green tea
Cool Energy, Floral Aromas, Fuller Bodies, Green teas, Other tea regions, Tea$ 34.40The Aromatic Green Snail
These fragrant 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: 50 g (1.8 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
Tieguanyin Stout, bouquet oolong
Cool Energy, Floral Aromas, Milder Tastes, Minnan/ Mindong, Fujian, Oolongs, Tea$ 18.30Summit of Chang Keng
While Tea Hong's Tieguanyin Traditional is a softer, sweeter style of the bead-rolled oolong, Tieguanyin Stout from the summit of Chang Keng, although from the same strand of cultivar, yields a much more robust taste profile. Local people say that is due to the soil and higher mineral content of the underground water. Considering the location is only about one hour away from where Tieguanyin Traditional is produced within the same county, it is quite amazing. Maybe it is also due to the slightly different style of processing, we guess. We are happy to have found it at this pristine quality after all, so as to offer to you an alternative style of this most well-known Fujian oolong.
Net weight: 100g (3.5 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Huangshan Cuiyu, maofeng green tea
Cool Energy, Green teas, Huangshan & Anhui, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Tea$ 14.80Yuqian Huangshan Maofeng:
Huangshan Maofeng green tea is a must-have souvenir when one visits Huangshan. However, even if you know the way to real teashops rather than tourist traps, a pack of such quality as Tea Hong's Cuiyu would come at a high price. That is why this pleasant tasting and slightly sweet baked green tea is a most popular item not only for our retail, but also export. To maintain consistent high quality, we employ only harvest before the lunar almanac demarkation of “guyu” — the first rain for seeding, around early to mid-April. "Yuqian" — before the rain — is the traditional term for this.
Net weight: 35 g (1.2 oz) in Kraft-alu pack -
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Snowy Egret, Taiwan green tea
Cool Energy, Green teas, Home, Lighter Aromas, Milder Tastes, Taiwan, Tea$ 17.90Bai 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 -
Bulang Maocha 2016, Pu’er shengcha
Home, Lighter Aromas, Neutral-Cool Energy, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Stronger Tastes, Tea, Yunnan$ 15.50Forest Tree Tea:
Deep in the mountains in Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan tea trees grow wild amongst other woods and plants in Bulang Shan. Ethnic mountain people, particularly women, bring with them wood ladders and a plank for platform for plucking in tea season, perhaps as it has always been since antiquity. As a continuation of this tradition, Bulang Silver Spring is hand-processed and slow dried over wood charcoal the same way. This shengcha puer is bright and refreshing when consumed as a new tea, or can be put away for maturity.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide 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$ 24.30Whipping 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 -
Bai Hua Shu 2012, shengcha Pu’er maocha
Cold Energy, Floral Aromas, Pu'er loose leaf shengcha, Pu'er teas, Stronger Tastes, Tea, Yunnan$ 33.80One Hundred Flower Trees
Going pass the famous Jingmai tea region and deep into the rocky mountains of Lancang Lahu, 1800m above sea level into the turf of the Haqniq ( aka Hani ) tribes, enter the ancient hermit village of One Hundred Flower Trees ( hence the name Bai Hua Shu ). The tougher climate here maybe a little too rough for domesticated tea cultivars, so only indigenous tea trees grow here, and they are really old. The locals say all are at least 200 hundred years. They are harvested only once a year for their first flush. The fresh tea is always very potent. We have matured it for over 10 years to make sure their beautifully tamed characters can be well manifested in your cup.
Net weight: 40 g (1.4 oz) in wide Kraft-alu pack
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