Off to China for Verdant Tea Adventures! What Can I Bring Back for Everyone?
Have fun out there David, and stay safe! I trust you with picking teas, but I do request that you eventually make the coconut green tea that didn’t make the vote…I saw the Chrysanthemum Puerh is now available. I’m definitely interested in seeing what kind of teaware you find. I really like your gaiwan with the blossoms on it. Please tell the He family Thank you, that they, and their tea, are appreciate.
Thanks Invader Zim! I am actually compiling a binder for the He family with lots of quotes from Steepster about their tea. They are going to be so proud to have so much praise coming their way.
As for the coconut mint green- I will see what I can do. It was actually a really close vote. When I get back from China, I will do some research on the best coconut to use, and blend another prototype. If it looks like it will work out, I could potentially be releasing it in time for the holiday season.
Looks like someone is heading to paradise :) Have a great time there!
Btw, if you come across azure/blue crackleware cup of a size of a normal cup at a price of 30-50$ could you grab one for me? I’ve always wanted a special cup but stores I’ve looked at only have tiny sizes an sometimes you just want to sit with a whole lot of tea instead of some sips worth of it :)
Thanks Zeks. Paradise indeed. I will definitely have my eyes out for crackleware. They do tend to be mostly small, but I will see what I can find. Old Song Dynasty tea bowls were much bigger- 8-10 oz on average. If anyone I know is making Song Dynasty style tea bowls, I will definitely buy as much as they will let me take. I love that crackle ware, and everything that came out of the Song in general.
Do the Chinese people ever use anything like tea cozies? I know the Uzbek’s and Russians do which border China. I have a few that are beautiful from Uzbekistan.
Zeks, I use mine all the time! If I make a pot of tea, on goes the cozy to keep the pot hot. Also, for multiple infusions, I make a pot of boiling water and put a cozy over the pot, sit with my Gaiwan and can get at least 4-5 steeps before reheating water. A pot of Chai for the grandkids, almost anything that you want to stay HOT!
Tea cozies? I haven’t seen them used. For pots of boiling water, Chinese tea lovers generally invest in a little induction stovetop to keep their water at just the right temperature between steepings. Induction works so fast. I am surprised it hasn’t caught on much in the west.
That sounds like an fun trip! I hope you have such a wonderful time there!
I guess if I would give a suggestion for a type of tea to source, it would be Yue Guang Bai (Moon Light White). I have been reading about it and it looks so interesting. I mean a tea that is a hybrid of white and black tea just sounds awesome!
Thanks Ze_Teamaker. I have a friend in Qingdao who collects Yue Guang Bai. I should definitely reconnect with her when I arrive. Maybe she will be able to help me find something spectacular.
If you can hunt down some Golden Fleece, I would be eternally grateful! And have a blast!
That actually on my official sourcing itinerary. I want to bring some Golden Fleece in for late November if Wang Yanxin is willing to share again. I will post an update from China as soon as I find the Golden Fleece. (Gosh that sounds like a Jason and the Argonauts quest, doesn’t it..?)
A bit late to the party, but have a wonderful trip! I don’t have any specific tea requests (I’m sure you’re bring back many exciting things!) but I would love to grow my tea ritual with tea animals, a tray, small teaware (yixing or stoneware, I don’t have a gaiwan yet)… anything like that.
Thank you for sharing the experience!
Thanks Teabird. Now that I m back, I will be posting the rest of the tea wares that were too awesome not to pick up while I was there. Wonderful trip!
Yixing pots would be great! I’m addicted to them and currently looking for a small 4-5 oz Duan Ni clay pot. I wish you luck and I’ll be eager to try whatever new teas you bring back :)
Lots of great new teas on the way that I picked up. A brand new, never before made kind of green tea and black tea are among the highlights. It is wonderful to be part of changing and growing the tea world over there by financing these awesome projects. More on that soon…
Have a wonderful trip there!
I’d love some videos of local farmers and the way they drink tea, I guess it will be much more casual than most of the videos out there, but much more truthful!
You’ve got it. I have hours of interview with the He family in Laoshan, and demos of them brewing tea. Once I catch up with the jetlag I will be going through the footage and making some videos.
Oh gosh reading through here these tea animals sound so cool! Bears especially! Wait that isn’t obvious from my picture…(or my URL, hahaha)
I am most excited about the tea ware. I hope I can go on one of these someday. I also can’t wait to see some of the artisan tea’s you get to try and your opinions on them.
Many Thanks! All my favorites teas from the trip are on their way here now, hopefully in time for Black Friday weekend. Some are brand new kinds of tea that have never been made before. I feel so lucky to get to try them, and even more lucky to offer people here the chance to be among the first in the world to taste these teas. I wil post on them as soon as they arrive.
Are the cups you added to the website today the last teaware to go up? I read that you were bringing some more teapots back, is this still true? I’m still really excited for the teas. Any good puerhs?
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