Eight Immortals
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...
Quality & Variety Guide
Tea Guardian examines basic concepts in quality definition and how quality matters in tea consumption. Tea varieties, grouped under each of the tea categories, are individually studied here, complete with buying tips.
Classic Style Phoenix — Xingren Xiang Dancong
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...
Red Jade, The Fragrance of Taiwan
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,...
Naming of a Tea
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
How are these tea names formed?
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
Renaissance of Dianhong Part 1: the War
In recent years, with the general awareness-building of gongfu black tea in the burgeoning market in China, more producers have entered the game to make different varieties of the subcategory,...
Renaissance of Dianhong Part 2: Competition
I had no idea what quality of Dianhong Queen Elizabeth II received as a souvenir when she visited Yunnan in 1986. It was said that the tea was full of golden...
What is Orange Pekoe?
A Funny Name In the supermarket or your local teashop, you probably have come across a name on the tea tin: Orange Pekoe. Maybe you have bought one and tried...
Why does China export all those cheap teas?
and keep the good ones for themselves? The low price jasmine leaf tea and so-called gunpowder that one sees in the supermarket are not the lowest price teas that China exports. Think also of...
Shiguping Wulong
Shi-gu-ping ( Chinese: 石古坪, 又作石鼓坪, 另有考為石牯坪, 無定案 ) is the name of a village in the Phoenix (Fenghuang) region of Chao-an county in north-east Guangdong, China. It is known only amongst a...