Read our Tea Leaves…

Wow…after the year of plagues and storms this spring has brought us all back to life. The community has come alive again and things just feel good. In celebration I am at this moment sipping a new tea called Dragon Spring and it feels fitting since it does seem like we have been a slumbering dragon, waking gradually but boldly to embrace the potential ahead.

Dragon Spring is just one of a few distinct teas we have purchased from a small handler in Taiwan. Taiwan is most famous for its oolongs and now helps meet the world’s demand for high quality tea by exporting about 70% of its annual yield. These handcrafted, single source teas are produced in regions where the families involved are in from start to finish. This has been their livelihood for generations taking great skill and pride in each step. These tea leaves are what we call our ‘Top Shelf’ loose leaf and will not be found in factory processed tea bags or in the retail market easily. They are best understood when you learn to take the time for Gongfu style brewing or using a Gaiwan. This allows for multiple brews in a sitting, sometimes up to 10 or more. With each brew we take the time to appreciate the nuances that the leaf releases as it opens. You will learn to think of words like woody, umami, smoke, orchid and peach when sipping these plant treasures. The complexity of these teas can be lost to taste buds used to a western diet that is often overloaded with sweet, salty, and artificial flavors. However, once the palette adjusts itself, they can be a delightful surprise. The vegetal, floral and earthy complex liquors of these plants tell a story …a story of the region in which they are grown and the care that the people who produce them put into its presentation. If you are interested in learning more about these rare, limited teas we have in house, you should stop in and check out our conveniently packed trial sizes to take home or try a pot in-house and let us start you on your journey into teas around the world. We will be happy to teach you how to brew them the best way since they often get multiple brews out of the same leaves.

Some Top Shelf Selections…

Dragon Spring

Cultivar/ Ching Shin Da Pang/ Light fermentation/ Produced only in May

It has an open fragrance of lilacs which might be why I have taken to this tea…I love Lilacs.

It is light bodied and sends out different notes with each brew.

Fragrant Oolong

Cultivar/ Jade/medium fermentation /produced in spring and winter

I love this tea for its fragrance alone. It is a symphony of floral notes , medium bodied and holds its own for multiple brews/If you like floral and oolongs…this is a great starting choice.

Tung Ting Oolong

Cultivar/ Ching Shin Oolong/Medium fermentation

An exceptional specialty that is  produced only in certain areas of Taiwan using traditional methods. It is infused with cinnamon pieces and then the cinnamon is sieved out. This  leaves the leaf with a light flowery cinnamon scent. The cup is shiny amber and the cinnamon does not suppress the original oolong character.

Thyolo Malawi Black Tea

Black Tea/ Africa

Slight smoky , beautiful red liquor, nuances of sweetness

Anyone who thinks it is a copy of a Lapsang Souchong is wrong. For the Thyolo Moto, a significantly coarser, only partially oxidized black tea was used as a basis, and is then smoked over guava wood, which comes directly from the vicinity of the tea plantations. The result is a much more pleasant and milder smoke flavor than you might be used to from other smoked teas, which also leaves room for the slightly sweet and spicy note of the tea base. With good reason the Thyolo Moto has become bronze winner at the AVPA Paris in 2020!

Denong Red Label 2004 Ripe Pu-erh Tea

2004 vintage/ mixed harvest

production area: Xishuangbanna Prefecture, Yunnan Province

: Broken from cakes, this tea has been aged in Kunming Yunnan. After almost a decade of aging, the word to describe this tea is delicious, savory and sweet. rich, earthy flavor. Many brews out of a small amount, and each brew has a slightly different take on the flavor that makes it fun.