Black teas were inadvertently invented in China in the 17th century in a valley of the WuYi Mountains, the Tong Mu Guan valley.One spring, when a troop of mercenaries passed by, the peasants got scared and took refuge in the mountains, leaving their harvest of the day behind them. On their return, they found their leaves soiled and oxidized. In order not to lose the harvest, they decided to smoke these leaves with spruce wood and sold them at a discount to European merchants. The Europeans appreciated this new tea and asked for more. Thus was born the tea called Laaph Sang Su Chong in Cantonese. Lapsang Souchong which soon became a world reference and paved the way for great...
Qimen are one of those teas that Arnaud and I are really keen on. These are teas that we prepare regularly for a tasty breakfast or a tea break in the afternoon.A century and a half ago, they conquered the West and supplanted Fujian black teas for a good reason: their delicacy appealed to the English and the Dutch... Yet today, in the Western world, Qimen is more synonymous with Blend for breakfast, or even simply teabags. Indeed, unfortunately, we have generally only access to very low quality Qimen, mass produced in summer and fall when productivity is the most important.Today, in China, more and more producers are questioning this productivist logic and are moving towards the production of quality...
Des jolis coffrets découvertes sont en cours de préparation...
Une idée pour vos cadeaux de Noël?
Ils seront déclinés en trois séries:
thés verts des Montagnes Jaunes
thés noirs des Montagnes Jaunes
wulong des Monts du Phénix
Following recent discussions with tea friends on the Dancongs and their aging, I undug from my storage one of my old Dancongs, a little Ba Xian from 2015, the first tea bought from my friend who produced it in Lingtou. It was precisely while looking for this tea that I met my friend Zhang. It must be said that in Shanghai, finding Dancongs in a tea house is quite exceptional, so I had directly contacted various producers through Chinese social networks. I have a little soft spot for Ba Xian, one of those complex teas that have always amazed me, both the real Dancong and their clones exported to Taiwan. If I look back to my history with the Dancongs,...
Unable to go to China due to the sanitary situation, two weeks ago we asked some friends who are producers in the WuYi mountains to send us a set of samples of rock teas.We received the samples during the week. Let's start a comparative testing... a real sport game! Nine Yancha, nine Gaiwan, nine serving pot, eighteen cups, five infusions per gaiwan, or forty-five cups of tea per person in two hours ...We made a real sacrifice for the pleasure of your taste buds ... And we had enough to occupy the rainy afternoons.We need a few more days of reflection, some more specific tastings for one or other of the teas that we have chosen and from this weekend...
