In our last blog, we briefly mentioned two terms in Gaiwan use: suffocative steeping and root saving. Both can be confusing and often...

In our last blog, we talked about an infusion technique called “high infusion”. High infusion is generally used for showing and...

Experiencing a Chinese tea presentation for the first time can be overwhelming. Normally, a presenter/specialist(茶艺师) would dress up in...

Drinking too much alcohol can get you drunk, and drinking too much tea can also get you drunk. Tea drunk(Chinese: 茶醉, pronounced “Cha...

Since the inception of this tea blog, we’ve received multiple questions about the use of Gaiwan(Chinese: 盖碗, meaning lid and bowl). The...

One of the biggest misunderstandings among tea lovers, including the majority tea drinkers in Asia, is that you need to “wash” your tea...

Doctrine of the mean might sound unfamiliar to you. It is an important part of the confucianism as well as the title of one of four books...

No matter how tiny it is, every life has its presence in the mountain. In tea gardens, moss is often overlooked but cannot be neglected....

Yes, tea plants do not produce tea, just as grape vines do not produce wine. It is a winemaker who harvests grapes and make them into...

Every late April and early May is the once a year tea-harvesting season of Wu-Yi oolong rock tea in the Wu-Yi mountains. Mountain call...

Today, we will discover the home of our black tea mountain, Tong-Mu, with a unique approach: the sound of it. Before we begin, I’d like...

We’ve discussed how a valley can regulate the optimum amount of sunlight for tea plants in our "about" page. Today, let’s talk about the...

We have talked about the importance of water quality in making tea. Today, I’d like to discuss how to cook water and what the right...

If you follow us on social media, you would probably notice that April is the month we prepare for our once-a-year harvest. This is a...

Wu-Yi black tea is the original black tea. In modern days, there are three major categories of Wu-Yi Black Tea: Jin Jun Mei (Golden...

Most tea lovers are passionate about the tea they have, but few have considered the water they use for making tea. In fact, water...

During one of my tea events in D.C. a week ago, a young lady asked why there are fewer female tea masters in rock tea. To answer this...

This is one of the most frequently asked questions we’ve got. You may have noticed, our logo is two Chinese characters: “茗” and “觉”,...

Today marks the beginning of Valley Brook tea, a tea business that I wanted to start in the U.S. long ago. I come from a family with a...