The essential element in the black art of obscurantism is not that it wants to darken individual understanding, but that it wants to blacken our picture of the world Friedrich...
the market wants more choices The production of oolong is defined by the degree of “fermentation” as well as the process of production. Before we further explore how oolong is defined, let’s understand the context...
Fermentation in tea production refers specifically to the process when enzymes of the leaf oxidize the leaf’s other constitutional matters. Controlling how the tea ‘ferment’ is one of the most important steps in determining the final material nature of the product.
Concepts in TCM / Featured / Infusion / Tea Usage
by Leo Kwan · Published 2023.01.26 · Last modified 2023.02.01
A while ago a reader asked me to write some recipes for the festivals involving Phoenix dancongs. Rather than using this very special subcategory of oolongs in a recipe for...
Yesterday my wife had a hunch for learning crochet so we went to a local yarn shop to get something to start practicing. On the second floor of a tiny...
Oolong varieties / Quality & Variety Guide / Tea varieties
by Leo Kwan · Published 2020.10.15 · Last modified 2020.10.21
A humble Fenghuang Dancong Of all the bouquet style Phoenix Oolongs, Baxian — Eight Immortals — is not only one of my favourites, but also one that I often fall...
Health Benefits of Tea / Special Features / Tea and Health
by Leo Kwan · Published 2020.03.20 · Last modified 2022.12.10
In honour of all the victims and their families and friends, and in the hope that we learn something from this largely preventable pandemic, this is my sharing as a tea specialist and a multiple times epidemic witness. Quotation: These ( tea ) catechins can bind differently to neuraminidase ( i.e. the chemical in viruses that breakdowns the defence of our cellular wall ) and might overcome known drug resistance related virus mutations…
A few people have asked me whether there are other classic style Phoenix oolong except the popular Milan Xiang — better known to some in the English name I gave...
I would have continued to ignore this tea had it not been the surprising tasting experience of the last sample. It was similarly bold as a Ceylon, spicy as a Darjeeling,...
Infusion / Special Features / Tea How's
by Leo Kwan · Published 2017.02.23 · Last modified 2017.07.11
One of the perpetuating questions in tea infusion is to blanch or not to blanch — we look at it in a practical perspective and referencing the true qualities of tea to come up with a detail answer
In the recent couple of decades, pu’er dark teas that are produced with the piled post-fermentation method have come to be known as “cooked” pu’er, a direct transliteration of the...
Quality & Variety Guide / Tea varieties
by Leo Kwan · Published 2016.10.09 · Last modified 2016.12.02
Naming of teas has always been problematic, especially when there are so many different ways of doing it for such a huge number of varieties in so many different regions. We summarise the different ways it is done for better understanding as a foundation for your tea search
Quality & Variety Guide / Tea varieties
by Tea Guardian · Published 2016.10.08 · Last modified 2019.10.13
There are 7 popular tea names below. Select an answer that you think is how the name is formed. Fill in your name and email and send your finished quiz to us. Those who have all the answers correct will be entitled to a pack of very nice Fenghuang Dancong for free