Geoff at Steep Stories has been doing some deep digging into the history of tea blogging. What he found was fascinating and downright surprising in some cases. Even though I’ve been writing about tea for nearly a decade, there were plenty of others who came before me.He pontificates in usual Geoff-style but severely underestimated his own contributions to the tea blogging pantheon.
Nannuoshan: Comparing Chocolatey Chinese Black Teas
I love a good chocolatey hong cha. This week Amanda at My Thoughts Are Like Butterflies tasted and compared two of them from Nannuoshan, a company that has been on my Instagram radar lately. Her tasting notes are so vivid, I almost feel like I’m drinking the tea just by reading about it. The Da Fo Hong Cha sounds like something I definitely need to try.
Beginner’s Guide #1: Why Loose Leaf Tea is Better Than Tea Bags
The next time someone asks me why loose leaf tea is better than tea bags I’m sending them this awesome blog post written by Sara at Beginning at Bergamot. Her points are thoughtfully presented without a hint of snobbery or condescencion. I love that she includes a few of her favorite things as well as what she’s reading at the end of every blog post.
I love a good white wine, especially in the summer months. I’ve even made tea sangria for special occasions but somehow I never thought of infusing tea into the wine itself. Lu Ann from The Cup of Life gives some great tips in this blog post, including pairing recommendations. First flush Darjeeling was the first tea that came to mind but the Tie Guan Yin/Pinot Grigio combo sounds amazing.
Jun Chiyabari Himalayan Teas – 2017 Himalayan Orange Autumn Flush
Georgia from Notes on Tea reviewed an autumn flush offering from one of my favorite Nepalese gardens. I love that she experimented with brewing the tea in three different vessels. Kyusu are surprisingly good for brewing this type of tea. Based on her descriptions I think that would be my favorite method as well.