BLOG

The name Keemun comes from Qimen County in the southern Anhui province of China, where almost all the mountains are covered with tea bushes. Qimen County produced only green tea until the mid-1870's. About that time, a young man in the civil service lost his job. Despite being totally heartbroken and completely embarrassed by his shame, he remembered what his father told him: 'A skill is a better guarantor of a living than precarious officialdom'. Following this advice, the young man packed up his courage and his bags to travel to Fujian Province to learn the secrets of black tea...

Lung Ching Tea - also known as Dragonwell - is produced by hand through a 10-part process. The side of West Lake in Zhejiang Province grows the tea used to produce Dragonwell, which is distinguished by its beautiful shape, emerald colour, scented smell and tending sweet floral character.In the People's Republic of China, mists and fog often compensate of insufficient rainfall, at the same time cloaking the gardens in secrecy. Here tea is produced according to ancient time-tested methods and workers perform all tasks by hand, just like their ancestors. The tea leaves that become Dragonwell (a.k.a. Lung Ching) are...

There is only one way to produce Lapsang Souchong. Souchong leaves, noted for their thick, rough appearance are withered over burning pine bows, placed in barrels covered with cloth and allowed to ferment. A process which has gone virtually unchanged for hundreds of years. And who came up with the idea? Like many developments in the world of tea there is more than one story. One story maintains that during the Qing Dynasty an army unit passing through a small village decided to camp in a tea factory. Once they were gone, the workers realized that the only way to...

Throughout the tea trade legends abound as to how the combination of tea and roasted rice was discovered. The most popular of these centers around the household of a Samurai warlord in the 15th century. After arriving home from battle, the Samurai called for his manservant Genmai to bring him some freshly brewed tea in order that he might refresh himself. Genmai quickly dropped what he was doing, which was taking stock of the house rice supply. In his haste Genmai failed to realize that some rice had found its way into the folds of the sleeves of his robe....

The Japanese tea culture has its origins in China. Buddhist monks travelled from China to visit Zen priests in Japan twice, bringing with them tea and tea culture. The first time was in the 7th Century and the second time in the 15th Century. One particular Japanese Buddhist monk, Eisai, travelled and studied in China and brought back tea seeds and Chinese tea etiquette. Originally to aid in the formal practice of meditation, Eisai introduced the art and science of powdered tea to his fellow monks. He wrote the oldest known tea specialty book, Kissa Yojoki (The Book of Tea)...