teashop
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Water matters
Recently I was having tea with a friend and she started talking about the different ways she pours water. We were having a pretty strong shengpu from Lao Man’e, a region within Bulang known for particularly bitter teas. As we waited for the clay kettle to boil, she explained how there’s two ways she might… Continue reading
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Tales of Fake Xiaguan
There’s a lot of fake tea out there. By which I mean knock-off tea— technically still tea, but not what it claims to be. And usually not great. Recently I’ve ended up with several of these, and thought it would be fun to share some findings. If you’re buying from well-vetted sources, then this is… Continue reading
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The perils of online tea shopping
This tea was supposedly a 1997 Xiaguan tuocha. Which is a bit older than the Xiaguan teas you typically run into. It was fairly cheap and was easy to throw in my online shopping cart one evening. I didn’t give it much thought. The first clue that something was amiss should’ve been the price. A… Continue reading
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Shopping for tea in Pinglin
Last week, my wife and I drove to Pinglin (坪林), a small rural town half an hour southeast of Taipei City, in hot pursuit of nesting herons that she wanted to film. Knowing that it was also spring harvest time for tea, and that Pinglin is the heart of the baozhong growing region, I was… Continue reading
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Recent Posts
- An aged oolong tea party
- A private tea party
- Water matters
- Tales of Fake Xiaguan
- A pu’er private collector, hiding in plain sight
- The alternate reality of Dayi pu’er investing
- Mei-Jia Tea Garden: an enduring Muzha teahouse
- A visit with a Muzha farmer
- June 2024
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