Tea was always a big part of my life.

Like many in the Western world, I started with black tea - which is known as red tea in China . After trying nearly every type of tea, I settled on Pu-erh tea, which in China is often called black tea.

Pu-erh is earthy and warm, with an aroma and taste that can vary significantly depending on where it’s grown (even the slope of the mountain matters), how it’s processed, stored, aged, and which factory produced it - pretty much like wine in that sense.

Another great thing about pu-erh is that it can be aged, and in many cases, it gets better with time — like scotch. Isn't that great? Well, most of the time it is. Occasionally you get a miss — a tea that actually tasted better when it was young.

I drink other types of tea too, just not as often. If I ever run out of pu-erh (which is unlikely — I probably have enough to last me the rest of my life), I’d reach for oolong or green tea next, followed by black and white.

Most of my tea comes from China, and I usually brew it using a slightly modified version of Gongfu cha. I’ll be posting photos of my collection soon — I’m currently in the process of retasting my teas and updating my notes.

And in case you haven’t noticed: the bootstrap theme for this site is inspired by tea.

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