BITTERLEAF TEAS

Guanyin Pavilion Tea House: Drinking the Same Jasmine Green for 20 Years

Bitterleaf — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 15:46:26 +0000

Located about ½ an hour outside of Chengdu, Guanyin Pavilion tea house has been standing for over 100 years. With little to no modern renovations or refurbishing, and plenty of original communist era slogans and paintings adorning the walls, stepping inside is about as close as you can get to stepping into a time warp. […]

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Chaozhou Dancong Oolong: How It’s Made, A Visual Guide

Bitterleaf — Thu, 22 Jul 2021 07:35:48 +0000

In this video we show you, not tell you, the steps involved when making Dancong Oolong maocha. This is the initial processing for Dancong, after which it can be roasted 1 or more times to achieve the desired result. The first step is obviously picking. Although perhaps the first step could be planting a seed […]

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Making a Wrapper – Priceless 2020 Charitea Cake

Bitterleaf — Thu, 26 Nov 2020 18:56:59 +0000

As difficult as 2020 has been, it has also been an opportunity to take inventory of the things we are grateful for, and to shift some focus on the ways we can help others in need. While there is no shortage of good causes to support, for this project we’ve decided to give back within […]

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Charcoal Roasting Dancong in Chaozhou

Bitterleaf — Fri, 11 Sep 2020 05:58:56 +0000

If you’ve ever why people bother mentioning that a tea is charcoal roasted, it’s because this process not only adds cost and time, but also a particular, hard to pin-down quality to the tea. This quality can be perhaps described as an extra layer of fragrance, texture and energy, similar to the description of “Yanyun” with […]

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Weeding Tea Gardens: 3 Methods of Removal, Pros & Cons

Bitterleaf — Wed, 29 Apr 2020 14:27:53 +0000

As with any tea-related process, the different methods for weeding a tea field offer a trade-off between cost and quality, or more specifically cost and health. Manual weeding is a clear winner from the health and environmental standpoint. No harmful chemicals are used, the soil is left intact and able to handle rain, and the […]

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Drinking Tea All Day: How to Fit the Most Tea Into a Single Day

Bitterleaf — Sun, 29 Mar 2020 14:30:36 +0000

Yes, drinking tea all day sounds like a fantastic idea. And for the most part, it is, but you’ve got to remember that caffeine is a helluva drug too, especially when taken gongfu style. Getting through 2 tea is pretty easy. Even 3 isn’t too bad, but maybe you’ll be a bit hungry after that. […]

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Yixing vs Jianshui Teapots & Teaware: Differences & Similarities

Bitterleaf — Mon, 09 Mar 2020 10:07:36 +0000

When getting into gongfu brewing, Chinese tea, teapots and the like, there are 2 clays you’re most likely to hear about. Yixing zisha and Jianshui zitao. We won’t get into which clay is better or worse for your tea, as that’s a long, subjective discussion for another time. We will, however, go over some of […]

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Inside a Jingdezhen Teaware Studio

Bitterleaf — Sun, 26 Jan 2020 16:03:18 +0000

Behind the scenes in the studio where our 1001 series teaware is made. There are several steps producing any piece of teaware, but teapots in particular take a little extra work as they have handles, filters and spouts to attach, as well as lids to fit. We’ve been asked how handmade cups and fully handmade […]

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How to Store White Tea (or Just About Any Other Type of Tea)

Bitterleaf — Sun, 19 Jan 2020 14:55:55 +0000

As the popularity of white tea increases, so do the number of questions about proper storage for this minimally processed tea. Well, we’re going to clear that up now. When it comes to storing and ageing teas, puer is usually the first thing that comes to mind. But now that people are making a big […]

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How Its Made: Firing Tea Jars in Jianshui

Bitterleaf — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 15:04:50 +0000

While in Jianshui this past summer, we decided to shoot some footage of a custom batch of tea (and water) jars we ordered being loaded into the kiln for firing. After all, there isn’t much else to do but wait. We only captured a small portion of the process. Wheeling, inlaying engravings and clay processing […]

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