All tagged China

My tasting notes: 2018 Wild Raw Puerh

My tasting notes: 2018 Wild Raw Puerh

Anna Mariani
Tastings

I won this cake a while ago at a giveaway on Instagram and it had been sitting - untouched - in my tea cabinet for a while. Puerh is meant for aging, so I was not overly concerned and I was waiting to be in the mood for it. Let me tell you, I’m rarely in the mood for puerh. I can hear all the pu-heads gasping in horror. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy it a lot, but not for solo tea sessions. Strange, isn’t it? Anyways, I somehow associate young (or relatively young) raw puerh with grape skin notes, but I could not detect those here and I did not miss them because there was plenty of other intriguing notes going on.

An epic tea tasting with David Lee Hoffman

An epic tea tasting with David Lee Hoffman

Anna Mariani
Tastings

It’s a beautifully mild and sunny winter Saturday in San Francisco. My friend and fellow tea blogger Mike (The Tea Letter) and I are headed across the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County, north of San Francisco. On the way, lush eucalyptus groves give way to towering redwoods. It’s a beautiful area and one that I often come to when I go hiking. Our destination is Lagunitas, where a very special tea tasting awaits.
 

What I “tea” in a day

What I “tea” in a day

Anna Mariani
Tastings

The inspiration for this blog post comes from fellow tea blogger Lu Ann of The Cup of Life, who basically invented this. It’s about “keeping track” of tea, because - as someone once said - “tea is more than just a beverage, it’s about noticing your own habits.” 

My tasting notes: Da Hong Pao

My tasting notes: Da Hong Pao

Anna Mariani
Tastings, Pairings

No matter how much I try to convince myself otherwise, we’re still in the dead of winter. January has brought a lot of rain and grey, overcast skies to San Francisco and I cannot deny the intoxicating allure of bold, charcoal roasted teas. I let my imagination run wild and I picture myself in a forest of tall, majestic redwoods (that’s what we have around here), sitting by the fire and clutching a warm tea cup filled with fragrant Da Hong Pao.

Tea Reflections

Tea Reflections

Anna Mariani

Last week my friend and fellow tea blogger Mike (The Tea Letter) and I met for a gongfu tea session. Mike brought the tea, I brought the teaware and my camera. We had had tea together before at a tea house in San Francisco but this was the first time we got together with the intention to work on a “tandem” blog post. I’m glad to report that the input and inspiration I got from our tea session stretches far beyond that. This post has been particularly challenging to write, maybe because that input stirred inward reflection and assessment of my tea journey so far.
 

The San Francisco International Tea Festival 2017

The San Francisco International Tea Festival 2017

Anna Mariani

It's 9:30 on a Sunday morning. On a regular Sunday, I would still be in bed, snoozing. But it’s not a regular Sunday. A line is forming in front of the San Francisco Ferry Building. I join it with a sigh of relief, virtually patting myself on the back for getting there early. Passers-by approach the volunteers who are managing the line, they want to know what event people are standing in line for (and what they are missing out on). They are stunned that tea is the reason drawing such crowds.

The Tea Squirrel interviews Italian tea sommelier Gabriella Lombardi

The Tea Squirrel interviews Italian tea sommelier Gabriella Lombardi

Anna Mariani

When I was little, before even learning to read, one of my favorite pastimes was to take books from my parents’ bookshelves and look at the photos or illustrations. Some of those books were beautifully illustrated cookbooks, some were travel photography books, some were gardening books. Those books and their photos and illustrations had me under a spell. I would spend hours lost in those books, fantasizing about those photos and illustrations. I own a tea book that holds that same fascination for me. It’s ...

My tasting notes: He Kai Shan Puerh

My tasting notes: He Kai Shan Puerh

Anna Mariani
Tastings, Pairings

The weather in San Francisco is weird, there’s no other way to put it. We have a unique micro climate. So while the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is trying to survive the scorching heat of summer, we have to put up with the fog and lower-than-usual temperatures. August has even been renamed Fogust (= fog + August). It’s dreary and grey. For a tea drinker, it’s actually rather ideal. Did you know that the fog has a name?

My tasting notes: loose ripe Pu Erh

My tasting notes: loose ripe Pu Erh

Anna Mariani
Tastings, Pairings

The first time I had pu erh was a long time ago and I didn't even know it. Back then, the only thing I knew about tea was that I liked it a lot. One day a relative gave me a round colorful cardboard box with black Chinese characters. Inside the box, wrapped in paper, there was tuocha, a dome-shaped compressed tea, made of pu erh. I cannot describe the fascination this little box exerted on me. It might have not been very high quality tea but to me it was like a treasure. You had to grate the dome-shaped cake to make a cup of tea and this process alone had something magical to it. The tea was strong, intense.What is pu erh?

My tasting notes: Phoenix Mountain

My tasting notes: Phoenix Mountain

Anna Mariani
Tastings, Pairings

"Oolong" is a funny word. In Chinese it means "black dragon tea" and refers to a partially oxidized tea. This particular black dragon tea comes from Phoenix Mountain. I know, I realize this sounds like straight out of Chinese mythology. Misty mountains, remote tea gardens... Ok, now I am getting sidetracked!