bringing style to the art of tea appreciation
An Interview with Chris West The tea community in the western world is still relatively small. So small that most of us follow and interact with the same people on social media sites like facebook, Google+ and Twitter. This is where I initially met Chris West of Min River Tea. He has lived in China for 9 years and became a tea drinker gradually. Living in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province he is surrounded by neighbours and friends who invariably […]
Smoking out a Winner The origin of Lapsang Souchong, 正山小種 is also associated with war. There are several versions of the story, but each involves a prematurely halted processing of black tea, bohea class. In China, sometime during the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1912) invading troops marched into the tea producing area of the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian province. One version suggests the area itself was under attack, another that the troops required accommodation and for this purpose took over […]
As one of the most popular teas in China, Tie Guan Yin Oolong qualifies for ‘top ten’ of Famous Teas of China. This list varies, depending on what you read, but generally it’s based on the number of published mentions the teas receive and their popularity at the time the list was compiled. Originally the list comprised of Tribute Teas which often have a famous sacred location, water source and/or legend attached to them. Tribute teas would have been presented […]