This series and So Han's appearance on Modern Rogue has inspired me to get into gong fu cha. I have 200g of assorted loose leaf pu'er, green, yellow, black and white tea, a new kettle, a gaiwan with a set of chabei on the way. I just want a chapan.
I work with languages and dialects, and it's interesting what you said about Lapsang Souchong and Keemun. These are both Cantonese names rather than Mandarin, and would have made more sense when the Brits were trading through Hong Kong and Guangzhou back in the day, as Mandarin hadn't developed as much power in Guangdong as it has in the last century. Lapsang souchong comes from a Min speaking area and Keemun is from a Wu speaking area, so using Mandarin names to describe the teas is just as funny and likely even more recent than the Cantonese versions. In the original dialects, they probably would have sounded closer to liap san sio chiong and ki men. Really loving your videos. Thanks for all the awesome info
Man I love your videos now that I have discovered them. Beautifull teaware, great information, history, spotlighting tea, and most of all as a student of the language the use of chinese terms, and more specifically using characters and PINYIN! so glad to see pinyin beacuse alot of western shops use old romanization from wide guiles which make searching up the character and talking about it with my chinese teacher whom is also a tea lover a pain in the behind. So from me to you 谢谢， 你好从挪威来！
The first proper 红茶 i tasted was a #18 red from Taiwan specifically from 日月潭 I really like that tea, I have never tried mainland chinese red tea, but I think that will be in my next order of tea in my budget next month ^^
tnx!!! from green tea enthusiasm i am re-discovering 'black' tea - now with entirely different expects for taste and flavor (compared to those tea bag times).
Love this! Thank you for putting it up- I’ve been looking for something like this for ages. Will there be something on herbal and white teas? 💕 Also, im coming from a Japanese tradition and just getting into gong fu cha, and I keep burning my fingers on my tea pot! (I saw and appreciated the gaiwan episode, but don’t have one currently) Anyone have suggestions?
Thanks for watching!! 😊 - yes we will have an episode on White tea eventually. Haven't yet decided if we're gonna do a whole episode on herbals but maybe in the future! More eps coming later this year. That's rad that you got into Gong Fu Cha through Japanese tea!
Hi, this is a very interesting video like the one about green tea. But could you zoom in on the dry tea leaves a little bit closer so we can really see them? And could you show them for a little bit longer?
Dear Ho San, thank you very much for your fascinating videos! I 'm a French guy living in NewYork city, and I was wondering whether you could recommend a good tea house in New York? (Manhattan? Flushing in Queens?). Also, I'm learning Chinese, and I like very much when you use Chinese characters to describe what you are showing us. Finally, your French pronounciation of "terroir" (地未) is perfect :-). 谢谢你老师！Best regards, N
My favorite tea I have ever tried was a bug bitten black tea at 日月潭 in Taiwan, sadly I have drank it all up, and I have not found the same tea anywhere online, according to the merchant it was made with ttres 18 cultivar, even if I doubt that a tad.
So you might cover this later in the series, but I’m curious How common are tea blends in China? If I’m personally not drinking herbal , I definitely gravitate toward a tea blend. I think it most likely has to do with the fact I was never drinking good quality tea, but I never found the flavor of either plain green/black tea to be super appealing. I’m interested to try some like this. I can’t help but wonder/notice the process seems similar to coffee in that a lot of the flavor comes from the way it’s preserved, rather than adding other plants or herbs or whatnot. Loving the series! Super interesting!
Sometimes folks will blend different teas together, or tea with other plants in a steeped beverage, but most often people in China will just drink a tea by itself. Lots of things can go into the flavor/fragrance that you experience when drinking, from the weather in the place where the tea was grown, to the people picking the tea and how they treat the plants, to the processing and storage, to the energy and attention that the person steeping the tea puts into it during their session. All of this blends together to lend the tea its specific Qi.
Fantastic video always! So when using an yixing tea pot would say I should use a different one for zheng shan xiao zhong (hope I spelled it right) then unamoked hong cha?
Are the assamica tea plants native to Yunnan any different from those in Assam? Because you mentioned the ones in Assam were not bred for tea production, but Yunnan assamica plants on the other hand have been used for tea for thousands of years
In So-Han's opinion - they are not the same plants at all. The Yunnan plants have been miscategorized as Assamica due to the fact that Western scholarship/science were familiar with the Assamica plants first, and therefore extrapolated or assumed that the large tea trees they saw growing in Yunnan must be the same variety
I think it’s really hard to get the traditional way Americans and Britain’s make black tea out of your heard for some reason. It’s hard for me to think of drinking black tea with the gongfu method. I’m gonna have to try it!
Love all your videos. You are a great teacher. Thank you. But I have a very important question. How or where can I get that tea pet?! It’s beautiful especially when you put hot water on it. 😃
Yay! We're so glad you like the show! So Han says thank you! ☺️ You can email the folks at Guan Yin Teahouse at contact(at)guanyinteahouse (dot)com about the tea pet! They should be able to help you out!
Where can one get a tea tray or stone like that? It looks absolutely gorgeus. I have a simple wooden tea tray with a shallow plastic tub, but can't use the drainage system, because it was very leaky. So had to plug it. It works, but during longer sessions I have to empty it a few times.
Not always. This is a stylistic choice that can affect the flavor/fragrance/feeling of the tea, but ultimately it comes down to what you like to do when you make tea
Thank you for making tea knowledge clear to me. Why do chinese grow different kinds of teas in different areas if all teas are one plant? I mean like Wuyi mountains has (as far as i know) mainly oolong tea. Why not grow green and fully oxidized tea there aswell?
In several regions there are tea masters making many different types of tea. Our tea farmer in Yunnan, Li Shulin, for example makes red, white, Sheng Pu'er, shu pu'er, and works a lot with purple leaf plants and plants like Camellia crassicolumna which produces Ya Bao. Wuyi Mountains was actually where fully oxidized tea was developed! They do still make red tea there. I'm sure there are folks there making green tea as well, it's just not as well-known or popular as their rock teas.
Linnaeus completely goofed up on being two tea species and hence our nomenclature. Not normally my first pick because of the ubiquity of Lipton had left a figurative "bitter taste in my mouth" to risk the pun. Maybe I should look at 红茶 again.
I find in China, they tend to brew their tea a lot quicker, as soon as the lid goes on, the tea gets poured out.... Even when I was doing a white tea tasting, it was the same. I think this way you get to experience the higher end solely by itself, then through brews the change is more noticeable, what do you think about this? I suppose its to taste really.....
Yeah partially this is a style thing and partially about how each tea likes to be brewed. For example, I will make phoenix Oolong in the way you described, because A.) I use a lot of tea when I make phoenix Oolong and B.) It will get bitter if I don't pour out right away. But I will also make a charcoal roasted tieguanyin this way even though it won't get bitter. But using cooler water or less tea can sometimes make it so slightly longer steeps are necessary to get the desired flavor and fragrance.
@@TeaHouseGhost Interesting, thanks for your reply! appreciate it! I agree, the 单枞 teas do tend get astringent if brewed too long. On a side note, I have another question, with regard to 红茶, for example, a 古树英红九, would you recommend brewing it in a 盖碗 or a pot? I usually brew 红茶 in a 盖碗 but am curious as to why you chose to brew yours in a pot? thanks!
@@drm4819 it's really a personal preference thing. Both So-Han and Montsho here at the tea house have pots dedicated to red tea. I (Erik) don't have one, so I usually make red tea in gaiwans. But I like red tea made in pots a lot. Teapots trap heat better than gaiwans do, generally, so can deliver a really robust brew on teas that can withstand the heat.
What kind of black tea would you suggest for a newbie to black tea...... that isn't in tea bags, I love moon light white, all oolong teas and jasmine scented silver tip.... I love floral teas but I'm open to anything..... I am going to start a tea tasting website or reddit but I need to get some good black and yellow teas to review.... I'm excited for your reply... cheers!
Check out Mei Leaf TH-cam for some amazing black teas (in depth tastings)... to begin, any black tea would be ok as long as it's high quality (whole leaf), I would look into black tea from Nepal and Japan. Wuyi Jin Jun Mei is amazing if you get the real deal (can be very expensive), so best to save this one for when you develop some solid brewing skill.
We certainly will! Haven't been able to get the crew together during this Covid-19 stuff, and now I'm out of state for another month or two, but we will be hitting the ground running on making more toward the end of the summer!
This series and So Han's appearance on Modern Rogue has inspired me to get into gong fu cha. I have 200g of assorted loose leaf pu'er, green, yellow, black and white tea, a new kettle, a gaiwan with a set of chabei on the way. I just want a chapan.
Oh man I can't express how grateful I am for you bringing us quality content. Easily my favorite YT channel right now. Keep it up
qhodave 💖🌿☕🍵
I work with languages and dialects, and it's interesting what you said about Lapsang Souchong and Keemun. These are both Cantonese names rather than Mandarin, and would have made more sense when the Brits were trading through Hong Kong and Guangzhou back in the day, as Mandarin hadn't developed as much power in Guangdong as it has in the last century. Lapsang souchong comes from a Min speaking area and Keemun is from a Wu speaking area, so using Mandarin names to describe the teas is just as funny and likely even more recent than the Cantonese versions. In the original dialects, they probably would have sounded closer to liap san sio chiong and ki men.
Really loving your videos. Thanks for all the awesome info
Thank you So Han. Great video. Please keep them coming!
Man I love your videos now that I have discovered them. Beautifull teaware, great information, history, spotlighting tea, and most of all as a student of the language the use of chinese terms, and more specifically using characters and PINYIN! so glad to see pinyin beacuse alot of western shops use old romanization from wide guiles which make searching up the character and talking about it with my chinese teacher whom is also a tea lover a pain in the behind. So from me to you 谢谢， 你好从挪威来！
The first proper 红茶 i tasted was a #18 red from Taiwan specifically from 日月潭 I really like that tea, I have never tried mainland chinese red tea, but I think that will be in my next order of tea in my budget next month ^^
Thank you So Han for another great video. Keep them coming ❤
I feel so happy that he referred to rooibos from my country South Africa 😁🎉
I can’t believe Tea could be so enjoyable.
I'm learning soo much about different types of tea❤ thanks 👍
Huh, I thought Camelia Sinensis Assamica is purple tea variety. Lol (As opposed to Camelia Sinensis Sinensis)
So enjoyed this explanation and history lesson. Thank you Sohan.
tnx!!! from green tea enthusiasm i am re-discovering 'black' tea - now with entirely different expects for taste and flavor (compared to those tea bag times).
Wow great video review Awesome. Any new one coming out soon?
I love these videos. Thank you So Han.
Love this! Thank you for putting it up- I’ve been looking for something like this for ages. Will there be something on herbal and white teas? 💕 Also, im coming from a Japanese tradition and just getting into gong fu cha, and I keep burning my fingers on my tea pot! (I saw and appreciated the gaiwan episode, but don’t have one currently) Anyone have suggestions?
Thanks for watching!! 😊 - yes we will have an episode on White tea eventually. Haven't yet decided if we're gonna do a whole episode on herbals but maybe in the future! More eps coming later this year.
That's rad that you got into Gong Fu Cha through Japanese tea!
Hi, this is a very interesting video like the one about green tea. But could you zoom in on the dry tea leaves a little bit closer so we can really see them? And could you show them for a little bit longer?
Maciej noted for future videos! Thanks!
Tea House Ghost茶館鬼 Thank you. It would be great if you could talk about the shape and color of the tea leaves and what it means for tea brewing 😍
You even sound like the kahn academy guy. Literally tea college bro thanks for these vids so much
Dear Ho San, thank you very much for your fascinating videos! I 'm a French guy living in NewYork city, and I was wondering whether you could recommend a good tea house in New York? (Manhattan? Flushing in Queens?). Also, I'm learning Chinese, and I like very much when you use Chinese characters to describe what you are showing us. Finally, your French pronounciation of "terroir" (地未) is perfect :-). 谢谢你老师！Best regards, N
Tea Drunk is a pretty great spot in NYC, and they can refer you to other good spots!
@@TeaHouseGhost Thank you very much, I ll definitely visit them!
@@nicolaselstrom8914 New York Tea Society may be worth reaching out to as well
My favorite tea I have ever tried was a bug bitten black tea at 日月潭 in Taiwan, sadly I have drank it all up, and I have not found the same tea anywhere online, according to the merchant it was made with ttres 18 cultivar, even if I doubt that a tad.
I think I'll start my day tomorrow trying out a Laoshan hongcha after preparing myself here !
So you might cover this later in the series, but I’m curious
How common are tea blends in China? If I’m personally not drinking herbal , I definitely gravitate toward a tea blend. I think it most likely has to do with the fact I was never drinking good quality tea, but I never found the flavor of either plain green/black tea to be super appealing. I’m interested to try some like this. I can’t help but wonder/notice the process seems similar to coffee in that a lot of the flavor comes from the way it’s preserved, rather than adding other plants or herbs or whatnot. Loving the series! Super interesting!
Sometimes folks will blend different teas together, or tea with other plants in a steeped beverage, but most often people in China will just drink a tea by itself.
Lots of things can go into the flavor/fragrance that you experience when drinking, from the weather in the place where the tea was grown, to the people picking the tea and how they treat the plants, to the processing and storage, to the energy and attention that the person steeping the tea puts into it during their session. All of this blends together to lend the tea its specific Qi.
Great video!! Enjoy your videos. Very informative!
Fantastic video always! So when using an yixing tea pot would say I should use a different one for zheng shan xiao zhong (hope I spelled it right) then unamoked hong cha?
Yes - would recommend using different ones due to the smoky taste of Xiao Zhong
@@TeaHouseGhost Thank you!
I am drinking a Yunnan Gold Tipped Hong Cha now (dian hong). Great vid!
Yum!!
Are the assamica tea plants native to Yunnan any different from those in Assam? Because you mentioned the ones in Assam were not bred for tea production, but Yunnan assamica plants on the other hand have been used for tea for thousands of years
In So-Han's opinion - they are not the same plants at all. The Yunnan plants have been miscategorized as Assamica due to the fact that Western scholarship/science were familiar with the Assamica plants first, and therefore extrapolated or assumed that the large tea trees they saw growing in Yunnan must be the same variety
wow- what a great yea pet ; oh, my god ! it's colour is crazy😂🎉 i swear it changed tones when you poured onto it ...wooo
i meant, tea pet not yea pet
Yes this one does change colors with hot water on it!
@@TeaHouseGhost 😯/💛😉 i never thought of such a thing ~ that's awesome. 🌈
This is just really good content
wonderfull!
Drinking some Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng while writing this comment. I actually got a baked-apple note from the 5~6th steepings.
I think it’s really hard to get the traditional way Americans and Britain’s make black tea out of your heard for some reason. It’s hard for me to think of drinking black tea with the gongfu method. I’m gonna have to try it!
Like I wouldn’t think of making Earl great with gong fu. Has that been done? Maybe that’s a stupid question lol
@@kylesalmon31 yes! Def give red tea gong fu style a try! Let us know what you think!
Tea House Ghost茶館鬼 alright will do!
Tea House Ghost茶館鬼 ok,I tried it. All I had was some English breakfast tea. It was alright lol. It’s weird because the leaves are so small!
@@kylesalmon31 did you just like rip open a tea bag or what?
Love all your videos. You are a great teacher. Thank you. But I have a very important question. How or where can I get that tea pet?! It’s beautiful especially when you put hot water on it. 😃
Yay! We're so glad you like the show! So Han says thank you! ☺️
You can email the folks at Guan Yin Teahouse at contact(at)guanyinteahouse (dot)com about the tea pet! They should be able to help you out!
Where can one get a tea tray or stone like that? It looks absolutely gorgeus.
I have a simple wooden tea tray with a shallow plastic tub, but can't use the drainage system, because it was very leaky. So had to plug it. It works, but during longer sessions I have to empty it a few times.
You can email So Han at teamaster(at) westchinateacompany(dot)com with inquiries =)
Do we need to open the lit after each infusion to let it cool down?
Not always. This is a stylistic choice that can affect the flavor/fragrance/feeling of the tea, but ultimately it comes down to what you like to do when you make tea
Thank you for making tea knowledge clear to me. Why do chinese grow different kinds of teas in different areas if all teas are one plant? I mean like Wuyi mountains has (as far as i know) mainly oolong tea. Why not grow green and fully oxidized tea there aswell?
In several regions there are tea masters making many different types of tea. Our tea farmer in Yunnan, Li Shulin, for example makes red, white, Sheng Pu'er, shu pu'er, and works a lot with purple leaf plants and plants like Camellia crassicolumna which produces Ya Bao.
Wuyi Mountains was actually where fully oxidized tea was developed! They do still make red tea there. I'm sure there are folks there making green tea as well, it's just not as well-known or popular as their rock teas.
Linnaeus completely goofed up on being two tea species and hence our nomenclature. Not normally my first pick because of the ubiquity of Lipton had left a figurative "bitter taste in my mouth" to risk the pun. Maybe I should look at 红茶 again.
I find in China, they tend to brew their tea a lot quicker, as soon as the lid goes on, the tea gets poured out.... Even when I was doing a white tea tasting, it was the same. I think this way you get to experience the higher end solely by itself, then through brews the change is more noticeable, what do you think about this? I suppose its to taste really.....
Yeah partially this is a style thing and partially about how each tea likes to be brewed. For example, I will make phoenix Oolong in the way you described, because A.) I use a lot of tea when I make phoenix Oolong and B.) It will get bitter if I don't pour out right away. But I will also make a charcoal roasted tieguanyin this way even though it won't get bitter. But using cooler water or less tea can sometimes make it so slightly longer steeps are necessary to get the desired flavor and fragrance.
@@TeaHouseGhost Interesting, thanks for your reply! appreciate it! I agree, the 单枞 teas do tend get astringent if brewed too long. On a side note, I have another question, with regard to 红茶, for example, a 古树英红九, would you recommend brewing it in a 盖碗 or a pot? I usually brew 红茶 in a 盖碗 but am curious as to why you chose to brew yours in a pot? thanks!
@@drm4819 it's really a personal preference thing. Both So-Han and Montsho here at the tea house have pots dedicated to red tea. I (Erik) don't have one, so I usually make red tea in gaiwans. But I like red tea made in pots a lot. Teapots trap heat better than gaiwans do, generally, so can deliver a really robust brew on teas that can withstand the heat.
Loved these 12 episodes so far :] very much looking forward to the rest of this series.
Kuppz so glad you're liking the show! Make sure to subscribe for updates on new episodes. New ones coming soon!
What kind of black tea would you suggest for a newbie to black tea...... that isn't in tea bags, I love moon light white, all oolong teas and jasmine scented silver tip.... I love floral teas but I'm open to anything..... I am going to start a tea tasting website or reddit but I need to get some good black and yellow teas to review.... I'm excited for your reply... cheers!
Check out Mei Leaf TH-cam for some amazing black teas (in depth tastings)... to begin, any black tea would be ok as long as it's high quality (whole leaf), I would look into black tea from Nepal and Japan. Wuyi Jin Jun Mei is amazing if you get the real deal (can be very expensive), so best to save this one for when you develop some solid brewing skill.
I really like the floral black tees from Nepal. Ilam.
how to appreciate Hongcha
Please make more videos!
We certainly will! Haven't been able to get the crew together during this Covid-19 stuff, and now I'm out of state for another month or two, but we will be hitting the ground running on making more toward the end of the summer!
lol I always thought people called it black because westerners way over-steep their tea.
pastelshoal 😂
Looks so messy!!!!spilling everywhere!!!
If I poured tea like that at home my wife would kill me
As we like to say sometimes at the teahouse: "if you're not spilling tea, you're not drinking tea"
I want the least bitter tea lol