Dian Hong (滇红), also known as Yunnan Red, may just be my favorite tea.

Grown in Yunnan province, this tea is fermented with lychee, rose and longan (a sweet fruit native to Southeast Asia). What results is a tea that is remarkably beautiful both in sight and color. The unique fermentation process results in its famous “golden tips,” which immediately set this black tea apart from its darker brothers and sisters.

The taste is the other remarkable thing about this tea. I’ve been sipping some dian hong and wracking my brain for adjectives for almost a half hour now, and all I can come up with is…round. This tea fills every nook and cranny of your mouth and nose with delicate yet powerful flavor which is best described as mildly sweet.

I’m still working my way through a stash that I bought from my favorite tea seller in Beijing, so I can’t give too much expertise on buying this in America. The type I have is classified as “Yunnan Pure Gold,: and it would be pretty embarrassing to admit how much I paid for it. Suffice to say, if you’re looking for a quality dian hong, look for tightly rolled, unbroken leaves which uniformly exhibit a golden color throughout and possess a strong aroma.

This tea also takes milk extremely well. Many tea retailers in China told me that it is the preferred tea for making Chinese or Tibetan versions of milk tea. I’ll be looking up some good recipes for this on Baidu later and posting a few when I get the time.

This tea set from Numi has been one of the most popular holiday gift sets on Amazon for several years running. And this is for good reason, as you get a whole lot for your $20: a nice little glass tea pot and six flowering tea blossoms all packaged neatly in a high quality mahogany box.

Honestly, I would recommend this tea gift very highly. Not only does it look great, but Numi’s teas tend to be of a fairly high quality. The only problem, however, is that not everyone likes tea blossoms. While they are interesting and quite pretty, those who like black teas may find the taste a little, well, flowery.

China Tea Loose Leaf Sampler Gift Pack – 6 Tins

This set of six tins of loose leaf Chinese tea–Pu-Erh, Oolong, Longjing, Jasmine, Tie Guan Yin and China Green–would make a great gift for the person in your life who has expressed an interest in starting to drink loose leaf tea.

Also, at less than $10 it is quite affordable, and would make a great stocking stuffer or secret santa gift. If your intended recipient isn’t too familiar with brewing loose leaf tea, you could pad the gift out with an Adagio Teas 16 oz. Tea Pot which will not only give them a complete kit for getting started with loose leaf tea, but also bump your order over $25 and make you eligible for free shipping!

This tea gift set is more expensive than the others we’ve reviewed, but it comes with a really interesting twist. Not only does it include two tins of loose leaf tea (one of black tea, one of white tea), but it also comes with a really cute mug with a cover and a handy ceramic tea filter.

I really like the inclusion of the strainer. Not only does it look nice, but it can be used for years as the recipient of the gift gets more into drinking loose leaf tea. Heck, this is the one I’m most likely to buy for myself.

There you go. Tea gift sets can make a very thoughtful and interesting gift, and hopefully will make people on your Christmas list start down the road towards a lifetime of tea enjoyment!

Overview

Although this snack gets its name from the cheap, high tannin tea leaves used in the recipe, tea is far from their only or even main flavor. In addition to tea, the recipe usually calls for a wide range of other spices and flavors, often including soy sauce, five-spice powder and sichuan peppercorns (famous for their “ma la” or “numbing spicy” flavor).

They are often eaten as a quick breakfast snack in China along with porridge, fried buns or baozi. Although they are most popular in the morning, it’s not uncommon to see them sold at night at 24 hour convenience stores and eateries.

Tea Egg Nutritional Facts and Safety

Tea eggs are about as healthy (or unhealthy) as a regular hard boiled egg. However, because of the soy sauce in the recipe, they can be quite salty, so it’s not recommended to eat too many of them in one sitting.

Food safety is another concern for those who aren’t familiar with tea eggs. Although most recipes call for them to be left to sit for up to several days, often at seemingly unsafe temperatures, the salt and spice content of the tea liquid has something of a preserving effect, which makes them quite safe to eat.

Tea Egg Recipe!

Here is a quick and easy recipe for making tea eggs in your own home. These are perfect for a quick snack, a simple breakfast or as a conversation starting party appetizer!

You will need the following ingredients:

6-10 Eggs
1 Teaspoon salt
3 Cups of water
4 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons black tea leaves (preferably something cheap and very dark. I would recommend a basic Keemun, or even some Indian black teas such as darjeeling. Loose leaf english or irish breakfast blends also work well. You can substitute 2 tea bags for this if you don’t have loose tea)
1 Tablespoon 5-spice mix
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Teaspoon sichaun peppercorn (this can be somewhat hard to find, so if you can’t find it you can either skip this or add a pinch of cayenne)

Hard boil the eggs. Leaving the water in the pot, remove the eggs and shock them in cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cool, gently tap around each egg with the back of a spoon to create cracks in the shell. Do not peel the eggs, and try to leave the shell intact (not falling off).

Return the water to a boil, and add the remaining ingredients. Reduce to a simmer, and add the cracked eggs. Steep covered for about a half hour, then transfer to the refrigerator.

Wait for 12 hours or overnight before eating. The eggs can be kept (in the liquid) for a few days.

Using Water That Is Too Hot

Americans are generally used to drinking bagged black tea which is steeped in boiling water. However, many teas are too delicate to be brewed at such high temperatures, and often require water that is well below the boiling point. This is most common with Green Tea, although many Wulongs and even some black teas require a specific, lower temperature range to deliver the perfect flavor.

The most common sign that the water you are using is too hot is that your tea will come out bitter or astringent. If this happens even with a short brew time, you should experiment with lower water temperatures when brewing.

Check out our article on water temperature to see what temperature is right for your tea.

Using Too Much/Too Little Tea

The fact that loose tea is not specifically portioned out can be intimidating to some. Furthermore, loose teas vary in their surface area and weight per volume, adding further complexity to this issue.

Generally speaking, however, one should use about one spoonful (with a teaspoon) of tea for an 8 oz cup. This doesn’t scale linearly, so, for example,  you may only require three spoonfuls for a four cup teapot. Again, it would be helpful to experiment with different amounts of tea so you can figure out what suits your taste.

Using the Wrong Hardware

There is a literal bevy of loose tea brewing hardware on the market, and it can be confusing to figure out which products are right for you.

There are a few simple rules which should be followed when selecting tea brewing devices. The first is that loose tea requires space to bloom and have water move over it when being brewed. Many products–especially tea balls and some of the smaller filters–are too restrictive and can result in a weak brew. The second is that you should be able to quickly and easily remove the tea from the water so that it will not over brew.

I have had good experiences with stainless steel and ceramic mug inserts when brewing individual cups of tea. I also like tea pots which have a filter installed at the point where the spout is attached to the pot. These allow the tea free reign while being steeped, and allow the tea to be poured off when it is done brewing. If you want to serve over a long period of time from a tea pot find one which has a large, removable filter.

You can check out our product reviews for tea brewing accessories which we have vetted and approved.

Steeping for Too Long

This is one of the most common mistakes that people make when brewing tea. While many tea bags are packaged with instructions to brew for up to five minutes, this amount of time can make more delicate teas brew up bitter.

When brewing with loose leaf tea, make your first steeping last only a few seconds, and do not drink it. This “washing” steeping will open up the tea, making subsequent brews quicker.

There are no hard and fast rules for brewing time. We would recommend experimentation: note the flavor differences when brewing for, say, 15 seconds, 30 seconds and a minute. However, if you are steeping multiple times, later steepings should be longer than the first few.

Just took delivery of this teapot today, and figured that I would throw a review of it up.

First, a little note about yixing teapots. Yixing teapots are made of a special Chinese clay, and are left unglazed to absorb the flavors of teas that they are used to brew. As such, you should have a different tea pot for different teas, e.g. one for ripe Pu-Er, one for Wulong, etc.

I brought one home from my last trip to China, but it was broken by my cat (who I assure you feels no remorse for this action), putting me in the market for a new one. Since I’m, ahem, between jobs right now, money is tight, severely limiting my search.

This teapot, at less than $20, seemed to be quite a steal so I pulled the trigger. After using it a few times I’m pretty happy with it. It seems genuine, can brew about one cup of tea at a time and is free of noticeable faults or weaknesses.

One problem that I have noted with lots of yixing teapots, even very expensive ones, is a weakness around the handle. This one has a pretty sturdy connection between pot and handle, and I don’t feel like I have to baby it at all.

All in all, I would definitely recommend this pot for someone looking for a starter teapot or a reliable, cheap pot for everyday use.

This thermos is affordable, sturdy and functional, but isn’t without problems.

While it features double wall construction, it is made of BPA free plastic instead of glass, which reduces its effectiveness in preserving heat. If you are a slow drinker and like your teas hot, this may not be the one for you. However, it could be quite acceptable for more delicate green teas, which are often drunk lukewarm.

The plastic construction does have one advantage: durability. Clumsy (or angry…) tea drinkers may appreciate having a thermos which won’t break when dropped or hit.

Beyond this, I was quite impressed with this thermos’ construction. The screw on metal tea strainer is a nice feature, being better at keeping tea leaves in than the more common snap-in strainers, which can occasionally pop out while you’re drinking or pouring. The screw on cap is also quite watertight.

This is one of the more expensive offerings on this list, but the quality is well worth the price.

The construction is double walled glass, with a BPA free plastic lid and stainless steel tea filter. The glass here is slightly thicker and sturdier than many similar products, but will still break if beat around too much, so be wary of throwing this one into a stuffed backpack.

The filter and cap on this one are pretty nice too. The filter snaps in pretty tight, but can be a bit difficult to set right or take out at times. The cap is also pretty watertight, and holds up well to everyday usage.

This one is also somewhat large, so I mostly use it as a substitute teapot when I’m on the go.

Not too expensive, durable and small. This thermos is the basic workhorse of this group, with thicker glass than the other and a durable screw on filter.

It is also smaller than the others, capable of brewing the equivalent of a normal mug of tea. This is my go-to for short trips, giving me something to sip on when I have to run errands and don’t want to take up too much space in my hand or bag.

One suggestion would be a Da Hong Pao (大红袍). This Oolong brews up dark, but possesses a noticeably sweet and delicate taste which, while not quite similar to the bergamot essence, is both complex and accessible. Its aftertaste evolves as you drink, lingering long after each sip and growing in sweetness.

You might also want to look into Ginseng Oolongs, which are usually made of Tieguanyin rolled in ginseng powder. While these brew up much less dark than Earl Grey, the ginseng gives them a sharp yet pleasant sweetness on the tongue which rounds out into a smooth, almost tangible mouthfeel in the aftertaste.

If you’re used to this brand, you don’t want to go too crazy when you start trying to enjoy Chinese tea. You want something standard, yet possessing a unique flavor profile.

My recommendation here would be a ripe (shou) Pu-Erh. With a smooth, earthy taste, it is accessible enough to appeal to the western palette. While bricks of this can be expensive, there are many retailers which sell reasonably priced loose or bagged Pu-Erhs, which would be a simple and cost-effective way of seeing whether or not you like it.

I would also recommend Shui Xian (水仙), which is a dark, earthy oolong. It’s hard to describe the flavor of this tea…think of a standard black tea, but a bit weaker and more earthy, with a lingering, somewhat citrusy aftertaste.

So lets kick this off with one of the most popular tea blends of all time: English Breakfast. This is a very dark and robust black tea, and is often quite bitter. It is often taken with milk. While it is usually made with a blend of Indian and Kenyan teas, higher-end varieties often contain Keemun (祁门红茶 qímén hóngchá), a famous black tea produced in Anhui.

It is somewhat difficult to recommend a Chinese tea to replace English Breakfast, as many are not so bitter and dark, being known largely for their sweetness. However, there are two which may suit your palette.

Keemun is the obvious choice, as it is sometimes used in English Breakfast blends, and produces a dark, hearty brew. However, it lacks the body of the Indian and Kenyan teas, and may be too floral and citrusy for your tastes. If you try this, look for ones that come from a later harvest, and consider brewing for up to 5 minutes.

My preference here would be a Dian Hong (滇红, diānhóng). While this tea doesn’t brew as dark or robust, it has an unique, malty flavor which is very amenable to the addition of milk. Look for one with long strands and the characteristic “golden” coloring.

Walk into any mall these days and you’re sure to catch glimpse of a Teavana, with its gaudily folsky earth-toned decor and an off-puttingly cheery teenager outside trying to force a Robitussin cup of Strawberry Cinnamon Organic Chai Mate down your gullet.

Walk in and someone will instantly jump on you: “HI. DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT TEA? WANT ME TO TELL YOU? WANT TO BUY A $300 TEAPOT?” Telling them you’re just browsing will only encourage them, setting them off into full blown sales-spiel mode, offering you samples and trying to get you out the door with a bag full of something with a high markup.  And the problem is, they have spent millions of dollars convincing people that they are the be all end all in quality tea…people search them out! Gargghghghg.

Here are just a few of the reasons why Teavana sucks:

They represent everything that is wrong with retail sales in America

Let’s face it: tea, especially nice, loose leaf tea, is a niche market. Americans are used to tea, but most know it in its bagged, low-quality form. So there are two types of companies looking to bring loose leaf tea to the masses: those that are run by well-intentioned, normal people who just love tea and want to make it their life and earn a living, and those run by well-capitaled organizations that want to exploit the niche for money.

That is why just walking into Teavana is such an unpleasant experience: they are working under the assumption that you know nothing about tea, have money to burn and want someone to hold your hand as you walk into an “exotic” and “novel” experience. They pretend that they’re there to educate and help you, but what they’re actually doing is brow beating you into buying things that you don’t really need.

Their tea sucks

For what they charge, their product is atrocious. When buying tea, you want someone who knows their suppliers and loves the product. Someone who knows the differences between teas and the relative qualities of teas not because they read a book and took a test (and I’ve read the book that Teavana gives to their employees, and it’s shite. “Guywan?” What the fuck is a guywan? Motherfucker who wrote it couldn’t even be bothered to Wikipedia the shit he was writing about? What is this, 1920? Oooooh this comes from the far reaches of the Orient! No one will call us on our bullshit cause they don’t have the money to hop the next steamer to Peking and hold court with the Emperor!)

But I digress. I just went to their website to check out some of their offerings, and was immediately smacked in the face with this laugher: Silver Yin Zhen Pearls White Tea for $22 per 2 ounces! Seriously, look it up online and you can find a comparable product for a fraction of that, on a site that tells you the harvest location and date. Took me 10 seconds to find a better deal. And it’s constant when you deal with them: nothing about harvest dates, nothing about where they sourced it or who it was sourced from, dubious quality and extremely high prices.

Their prices are too high

Already covered this, but I figured that I would just throw it out there again. Don’t pay for the label, pay for the tea.

Seriously, when I was in high school I was doing some shopping and ducked in there to grab a quick caffeine boost, and walked out with a FIVE DOLLAR CUP OF TEA. Five dollars! I have paid insane amounts of money for nice teas, well-aged Pu-Erhs and all that, but this was just some basic black tea blend. And like annoying upscale bars, they didn’t have a menu or price list, so I was hit with the price when it was too late. For shame, Teavana, for shame.

They’re annoying

I know a few people who have worked at this hell hole before, and they all say the same thing when you ask them about it: that place is all about sales. They are singularly focused on pushing higher-end, “rare” teas which have a high markup, and will stop just short of jabbing you in the ribs until you back up into a tin of something expensive.

Seriously, tea should be relaxing. It’s something to be savored and enjoyed, not something which should require used car lot levels of sales pressure to obtain. I’m not hating on the average employee, what I’m angry about is the corporate culture which has seen fit to hijack something nice and market it into oblivion, setting up a speed trap for curious people and annoying them into dropping some bills.

These are just a few of the reasons for hating Teavana. There are plenty of other rants on the web, but if anyone reads this feel free to leave a comment with your experience.