Yunnan

Golden Bi Luo from Chicago Tea Garden

My fellow tea blogger, Tony Gebely of World of Tea is starting Chicago Tea Garden, an online tea store that’s just days away from launching. He sent me samples of two of his teas a few weeks ago, one of which is this Golden Bi Luo, a rare black tea from Yunnan Province, China.

Golden Bi Luo is made in the style of Bi Luo Chun, a green tea that is the specialty of tea makers in Jiangsu Province. Like Bi Luo Chun, Golden Bi Luo is rolled into little balls, but it has a lovely golden tint. This tea scores very highly on the attractiveness scale. It’s beautiful to behold.

Keep reading...

7 Common Questions about Pu-erh Tea

7 Common Questions about Pu-erh Tea

Darjeeling may be considered the Champagne of Teas, but it is pu-erh that has the most in common with wine. Unlike other teas, which are ready (and best) to consume straight after production, the best pu-erh is aged for years before it is used.

Pu-erh tea is fermented. It may or may not be oxidized, depending on the type of pu-erh (see below).

Pu-erh is sold in loose leaf or compressed form. It is compressed into many different shapes, from traditional round cakes to mushrooms, pyramids, coins and other shapes.

Keep reading...

7 Common Questions About Black Tea

To the uninitiated, black tea is synonymous with tea. But while it’s the most common tea found outside of Asia, in reality black tea is second to green tea in terms of global popularity.

In this introduction to black tea, I discuss the basic definition of black tea, where it’s grown, some of the most famous varieties and much more.

Keep reading...