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I did get some "Unknown Fragrance" from Pek Sin Choon, although I'm not sure what to think about it yet. The pre-wrapped packages seem like a bit too much tea for my 90s Yixing pot (from the 8 on the bottom, I assume it is an "8-cup" by Yixing standards, but I'm not very good at sussing out the mean...

More Nor Sun -- low-effort pu'er that maintains a classic taste.

Some thermoses retain heat better than others. If it's a case of, "Yes, but this is the thermos I've got-", one thing that can help is to put it in something insulated. A rather low-tech solution during the winter would just be to put a knit cap over it. Don't expect miracles, though.

Hello mbanu, I am a student from China. I was very interested in tea. I went to Yingde Tea Factory once last month and had some questions about the history of the tea factory. I want to ask you some questions about the history of the tea factory. :D Sorry for the delayed reply! If you have visited ...

Still working my way through a batch of Mark T. Wendell's Royal Red Robe -- it was already starting to have those slightly tired old oolong notes when I got it, but is still in OK shape. Really agreeable. I'm not sure how they do their oolong blends, so I don't know if eventually someone will order ...

This may be a good thing to try, though personally, I've found this is not ideal. The result is usually subpar for me, though probably better than the over steeped infusion. While it is certainly preparable to infuse the tea correctly, the first time, it is also useful for the beginner to know that...

If you want a detailed answer, there is a book, Puer Tea: Ancient Caravans and Urban Chic , by Jinghong Zhang. There is a group of people who have an affinity for a certain time, and the money to pay for a trip in the time machine. :) It would have been cheaper to collect something else from that er...

Did the tea have an SC code? If it was packaged in China officially and still had hairs in it, maybe you can push back. Sometimes unfortunately vendors will make under-the-table agreements to get Chinese tea that has not gone through any inspections for a lower price, which can lead to these sorts o...

I think a ranked list might be based on a misunderstanding about tea. Even though a tea has the same name, it is a different tea every year, and doesn't stay the same after it is made. It's sort of like fish in that way. If someone asked for a list of the best trout to try before they die, and someo...

If it was an authorized replica and made after 2007, the tin would have a QS code or SC code on it to verify that the factory had been checked for sanitation purposes. Is there anything on the bottom of the tin?

Interesting replies, thanks! From the China end, they originally wanted to make a British-style tea-with-milk to compete with Indian teas, but weren't able to do it. I didn't know that the goal was to compete with "Western" black teas. Where can I read more about that? If Yunnan producers were unif...

I was reading a short book by Dolly Yates called Tales from the Teapot that mentioned off-hand a style of tea from her childhood I had never read about before -- coal-miner's tea: I have in my mind an indelible picture of a miner walking down the street on his way to begin his shift down the coal mi...

In my experience, assamica teas grown to target the Western black tea market have similar flavours, regardless of whether they're grown in India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, etc., even when they are unblended and in whole-leaf form. On the other hand, I find that black teas from Yunnan have flavours distinct...

Interesting topic for me, as I did not realize there was such a thing as an over-oxidized black tea from a Chinese-tea perspective. From the British-tea perspective, (at least to my understanding) all Chinese black teas are over-oxidized, as they are generally very soft and mild, but I suppose this ...

I get a kick out of this 1988 Tetley promo -- American Anglophiles are uneasy around Teasmades, but a musical mug with cartoon mascots would have been pure poison to the image of British elegance, especially in 1988. :lol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLykjrqvS5I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...