May Tea Trip, Tea Sale, May Schedule

It's the time of the year again for the Spring tea harvest and tea tour! I am very fortunate to lead 6 people to Taiwan on our tour this year and I can't wait to introduce them to tea farmers, walk with them through the tea fields, learn more about tea together, drink amazing tea and eat a ton of yummy food! I will be posting updates and pictures on my blog or on our Facebook page: Floating Leaves Tea



After our tea tour, I will be sourcing the upcoming season's tea in Taiwan. I am very excited and can't wait to share the teas from this trip with you!


Floating Leaves Tea will be open on select days in May only - we will be closed for most of the month. Now is a great time to stock up on your favorite teas before I leave! All the tea at Floating Leaves Tea will be 25% off from April 19th to 26th.


May Business Schedule:

Open May 1st, 4th, 18th, 30th and 31st: 11am to 5pm



I look forward to sharing some delicious teas with you after I return!

Yixing Teapots

I received these Yixing teapots a couple of months ago and have been having fun testing them out.




西施壺 XiShiHu 160ml
I tried out different kinds of Roasted Oolongs in this pot and other pots. I am really impressed how well a Roasted Oolong tastes in this pot.





高潘壺 GaoPanHu 100ml
This pot works well for aged Green Puers.





高虛扁壺 GaoXuBianHu 90ml
A great little pot for Green Oolongs.




南瓜壺 NanGuaHu 150ml
I like how a Cooked Puer tastes in this pot.




石瓢壺 ShiPiaoHu 110ml
Green Puers work well in this pot.



*Thank you, Douglas King, for providing these pictures.

2012 Winter Tea

Earlier in the season, I heard some bad news about this winter's tea: not enough rain and warmer weather..... well, the patience and hope have paid off. We waited and waited and our delicious winter Oolongs have arrived!

I like this season's Oolongs. I feel that the teas are very well balanced and they are easier to brew than past season's, too.

For this season's tea, we offer four High Mountain Oolongs: ShanLinXi is bright and enjoyable; Alishan is soft and floral; Lishan is buttery and yummy; and DaYuLing is delicate and complex. If I really have to choose a favorite, I would currently vote for Lishan. I like a tea with exceptional mouth feel.

Our three Baozhongs are all very good, too. Farmer's Choice Baozhong has a really clean and nice body; Competition Style Baozhong is floral and balanced; and 2nd Place Baozhong is floral and has the best aftertaste. At this moment, I can't decide which one is my favorite.

Some of you might prefer roasted Oolongs during winter time. At Floating Leaves Tea, we offer you Muzha Tieguanyin produced by Farmer Zhang( one of my favorite tea farmers). This Tieguanyin is rich and satisfying. Our Dong Ding Charcoal Roast just arrived. I love this Dong Ding. It's very full bodied with a wonderful warm, roasted and sweet aftertaste that lingers in the mouth.

I look forward to sharing some of these teas with you. And stay warm with a good pot of tea!








*photos are provided by Rob Bageant.

Compare a 90's Small Yellow Label Puer From Two Different Storage

In one of our recent tea club meetings, we had a wonderful chance to try a 90's Puer tea(Essence of Tea) from two different storage: One in a clay jar at a participant's home in Seattle, and one in a pumidor at another participant's home in WA.

The person with the pumidor has a wonderful tea blog: Listening To Leaves and wrote an article on this specific tea tasting. I thought you might like to read it. Enjoy reading!

Seattle Holiday Tea Fundraiser - December 8th

In December 8th, a group of Seattle area tea professionals will be offering series of tea tastings, along with a sale of tea and tea-related merchandise. Enjoy, learn, and shop local! 20% of the proceeds from the event will be donated to Wellspring Family Services, a local Seattle organization that helps families affected by homelessness and domestic violence.




Admission: $10 at the door.

Schedule:

Noon
Phoenix Tea: Hunan and Anhui Hei Cha
Miro Tea: Green Tea

1:00pm
Floating Leaves Tea: Taiwanese Oolong
McIntosh Tea: Puer

2:00pm
Tea Geek: Black Tea
Guitian's Tea: Chinese Oolong

Noon to 3pm
Cannata Fine Tea Imports: Tea and Chocolate pairing



Where:
Embrace The Moon Taichi & Qigong
1716 NW Market Street, Seattle WA 98107

For more information, please check out our facebook page: Seattle Holiday Tea Fundraiser
Questions? Contact Shiuwen at Floating Leaves Tea: tea@floatingleaves.com or 206-276-9542

Looking forward to sharing some tea with you!


*picture is provided by Becky Lee.