There are many famous rock tea oolongs on the market; the finest versions of these oolongs are Shuixian, Rougui, and Dahongpao; we have the best version of all three renowned Wuyi oolongs. Then there are the three most priced rock teas in the world: Niulan (Cow Meat Rock Cinnamon Tea), Matou (Horse Head Rock Cinnamon Tea), and Zheng Yan Rougui. These are limited Rougui picked from a protected area with a high price tag that was produced in just small quantities for VIPs and people who work within the government. We have not had any luck getting the Niulan and Matou that we believe are worth the money. But we are fortunate enough to be able to get this special Rougui called Zheng Yan Rougui or sometimes also called the True Cliff Rougui.

This oolong tea is unlike any other rock tea. The leaves are hand-picked from the most famous Wuyi area of Fujian province in China and processed into a medium-to-dark roast, giving the tea a rich, amber color. A good rougui tea must have a unique flavor and aroma. The nice thick body aroma of this tea are the true reminiscent of sweet cinnamon with a lot of minerals and spices. The flavor is sweet and spicy with notes of cinnamon and raisins. The aftertaste is long and sweet, with a strong mineral flavor. A good dark oolong tea like this is best enjoyed by slowly sipping it and letting the texture of the tea coat your tongue to allow the complex flavors to fully develop. Tea might make you feel a little high, which is known as tea drunk. This tea is the greatest approach to enjoying tea to its fullest potential.

We are proud to be one of the few stores that offer this true Zheng Yan Rougui. If you have never had a Wuyi oolong before, this is a great tea to start with. It has all the flavors and aromas that make Wuyi oolongs so special and delicious. A premium RouGui tea like this is best to brew it using Gong Fu style. Watch our video here on how to best brew this type of tea. So, if you are looking for a unique and amazing tea, be sure to try our Zhengyan Rougui!

The energy of this tea is thick and powerful. It has the typical Tieluohan features. Tieluohan is one of China's four most famous bushes (the other three are Dahongpao, Bai ji guan, and Shui jingui). It is a highly valuable tea since it is a rare one. This 2020 year's tea quality is better than previous year because of the excellent harvest weather.

This tea is a perfect blend of sweet and spice. The aftertaste is strong and long lasting. I recommend brewing it Gongfu style with around 6 grams of tea leaves for every 150 milliliters of water at 205 degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse the tea really fast, and steep it for about 10 seconds. You can drink it alone or enjoy it with spicy food or dishes with many spices like curry.

The energy of this tea is quite amazing; you will feel the immediate calm in each sip.We suggest sharing this tea with someone else to fully understand what it meant for tea to bring people together.

Method: 3 times charcoal roasting

Tea Bush Age: Around 65 years old

Harvest: 2020 Spring

Alternate Name: Wuyi Iron Monk

Notes: Raspberry, Strawberry Jam

The name "Wisteria Aroma" may bring to mind the world-renowned mountain, but it is in fact derived from the Japanese term for "wisteria flower." This cultivar's wisteria bloom (Japanese: "fuji") blooms profusely in April when it is ready to pick. Surprisingly, rather than by a research facility, this relatively current cultivar was created by a couple of farmers in Fujieda, Shizuoka.

Fuji Kaori was produced by a third-generation tea farmer from Japan who is passionate about natural tea production. The farm's elevation on well-draining mountain slopes exposes the plants to a significant day and night temperature difference, which helps them develop a more intense flavor with umami characteristics and a pleasant sweetness.

Fuji Kaori is a cross between Yabukita and Shizu-131, a Shizuoka cultivar with Indian tea DNA that gives fuller floral aromas. Additionally, this tea has been slightly withered during production, which contributes to its fragrance. When brewed, you may enjoy the floral scent of Fuji Kaori, which also contains notes of muscat grapes, pine needles, and shortbread.

Brewing Instructions:

Use 3g of tea leaves for about 200ml water with a water temperature of 165ºF. Steep the tea in a teapot for one minute for the first infusion and 40 seconds for the second infusion.

Style: Light-steamed (Asamushi)

Notes: Wisteria, Muskat, Incense 

The plant of this tea is tall, has high branches with leaves that are oval in shape, with blunt tips and dark green leaves. This tea is also known as "Lingtou Dancong".

This tea has a wonderful stone fruit flavor with notes of sweet, savory, and fullness. It has a mild flavor and a fruity scent. This tea has an appealing honey fragrance that is gentle on the tongue with a subtle taste and orange-red soup color. The clean aftertaste lingers for a long time.

Legend has it that this tea plant has been around for hundreds of years. It used to grow by itself on a large rock in the Shuangxia Mountain Canyon. Next to it was a rushing silver waterfall, and the valley was always foggy.

This tea is discovered during the Qing Dynasty by an old tea farmer in Lingtou. Tea merchants went up the mountain to buy Lingtou Qilan, no matter how difficult it was to get there or how far away it was. The tea has been passed down for five generations, but it has faced three disasters in modern times and is in danger of becoming extinct.

The best water for making this tea should be natural or spring water, which will enhance the taste of the tea.

The aftertaste of this tea is quite nice. The wet leaves have a toasty, delicious, and savory aroma. It has the flavor of grilled zucchini. In the background, you'll detect a candied apple that clings to your tongue pleasantly with a warm sensation that surrounds your mouth. This tea has a distinctive sun-dried stone fruit taste in the back of your mouth that makes it really stand out.

This tea requires good spring water, which is a must. The complexity of this tea seems to be muted when it isn't brewed with spring water.

Leo's gongfu brewing guideline: Use approximately 3 grams with a basic size 100ml gaiwan. Rinse the tea and steep it for 35-40 seconds in 205°F (95°C) spring water on the first infusion. Steep for around 20 seconds after that, then add 15 additional seconds for each subsequent infusion.

It took countless days to prepare the wood for the firing process for making wood-fired teacups. The process of firing in a wood kiln takes hard labor over many days, requiring a constant feeding of the fire. The temperature of the firing must be controlled consistently at high temperatures (up to 1200 Celcius) to remove any unwanted elements and produces a stronger surface. The unique firing process results in unique marks of flame and ash which lead to beautiful distinct variations in color. 

The ash falling on the glaze gives the surface a beautiful iridescent metallic appearance. Perfectly sized for gongfu-style tea tasting. No one cup is the same as the others.  

So why do you want to invest in a wood-fired teacup? If you are drinking tea with a lot of mineral flavors tea like oolong tea, a cup-like this will improve and bring out even more of the minerality of the tea. If you drink green tea, it will take the astringency out of the green tea. If it's a black tea, it will soften the tartness you normally get from a black tea. 

Unfortunately, it is not easy to know which tea works best with which cup. One thing for sure, avoid any herbals or flavored blended teas to use with the teacup. You don't want to leave the strong floral or fruity flavors in the cup. And only hand wash this kind of cup. 

Each Teacup comes with a gift box for easy storing and protection. (color and size may vary) 

Capacity: 45ml

Dimensions: 2.25 inch diameter x 1.5 inch tall

It took countless days to prepare the wood for the firing process for making wood-fired teacups. The process of firing in a wood kiln takes hard labor over many days, requiring a constant feeding of the fire. The temperature of the firing must be controlled consistently at high temperatures (up to 1200 Celcius) to remove any unwanted elements and produces a stronger surface. The unique firing process results in unique marks of flame and ash which lead to beautiful distinct variations in color. 

The ash falling on the glaze gives the surface a beautiful iridescent metallic appearance. Perfectly sized for gongfu-style tea tasting. No one cup is the same as the others.  

So why do you want to invest in a wood-fired teacup? If you are drinking tea with a lot of mineral flavors tea like oolong tea, a cup-like this will improve and bring out even more of the minerality of the tea. If you drink green tea, it will take the astringency out of the green tea. If it's a black tea, it will soften the tartness you normally get from a black tea. 

Unfortunately, it is not easy to know which tea works best with which cup. One thing for sure, avoid any herbals or flavored blended teas to use with the teacup. You don't want to leave the strong floral or fruity flavors in the cup. And only hand wash this kind of cup. 

Each Teacup comes with a gift box for easy storing and protection. (color and size may vary) 

Capacity: 45ml

Dimensions: 2.25 inch diameter x 1.75 inch tall

It took countless days to prepare the wood for the firing process for making wood-fired teacups. The process of firing in a wood kiln takes hard labor over many days, requiring a constant feeding of the fire. The temperature of the firing must be controlled consistently at high temperatures (up to 1200 Celcius) to remove any unwanted elements and produces a stronger surface. The unique firing process results in unique marks of flame and ash which lead to beautiful distinct variations in color. 

The ash falling on the glaze gives the surface a beautiful iridescent metallic appearance. Perfectly sized for gongfu-style tea tasting. No one cup is the same as the others.  

So why do you want to invest in a wood-fired teacup? If you are drinking tea with a lot of mineral flavors tea like oolong tea, a cup-like this will improve and bring out even more of the minerality of the tea. If you drink green tea, it will take the astringency out of the green tea. If it's a black tea, it will soften the tartness you normally get from a black tea. 

Unfortunately, it is not easy to know which tea works best with which cup. One thing for sure, avoid any herbals or flavored blended teas to use with the teacup. You don't want to leave the strong floral or fruity flavors in the cup. And only hand wash this kind of cup. 

Each Teacup comes with a gift box for easy storing and protection. (color and size may vary) 

Capacity: 45ml

Dimensions: 2.25 inch diameter x 1.75 inch tall

The creation of Jin Jun Mei in 2005 was both a close alternative and an introduction to the pine-wood smoked version of Lapsang Souchong for those who couldn't appreciate its robust smokey flavor and aroma.

Jin Jun Mei and unsmoked Lapsang Souchong debuted in the same year, yet they are different. Jin Jun Mei is made with buds exclusively while unsmoked Lapsang uses two leaves to one bud.

The English translation of this tea may be a bit confusing - "Golden Steed Eyebrow" - but there's nothing confusing about the taste! Deep chocolate notes lead to a full-bodied tea that almost tastes thick and sweet, leaving behind an aftertaste.

Gongfu Brewing Instructions:

To maximize the flavor of this wonderful black tea, steep 4g of tea leaves in a 100ml teapot/gaiwan for 40 seconds on the first infusion with boiling water. Drop to 20 seconds on the second infusion until it's time to enjoy your third around at 60 seconds.

Origin: Wuyi Mountain, China

Harvest: 2021 Spring

Notes: Honey, Fresh Baked Cookies, Vanilla, Milk Chocolate

This Sencha is deep-steamed resulting in more consistent flavors. A Shizuoka blend of summer and spring harvests. This Sencha is our favorite everyday green tea to have in the morning. Fresh, vegetal, and well-balanced flavors. 

Brew this tea around 170º Fahrenheit to achieve the best sweetness of the green tea.  

Iron Goddess Oolong is famous for having an orchid aroma and flavor to it. This unroasted version is unique because of its nice sweet fruity notes. The flavor is very clean, smooth, and slightly creamy. There is a hint of nuttiness as a result of the 40% oxidation, which makes this one of our most complex Iron Goddess teas. It has a honey and vegetal aftertaste that lingers for a few minutes.

Overall it's a remarkable oolong to have for such an affordable price!

Alternate Name: GuoXiang Tie Guan Yin

Notes: Honey Mango, Orchid

 Origin: Nantou, Taiwan

Origin: Wuyi Mountain, China

Notes: Roasted Apple, Spicy Cinnamon, Minerals

Umami is the keyword here. If a Japanese Sencha is only judged by its umami, no green tea we had in the past beats this tea. Does that make this tea the best Japanese Sencha we have? We definitely put this tea up there in our top tea tier. Is it for everyone? Probably not. 

One way you know for sure this tea is amazing is the fact that you can use boiling water to steep the tea and still taste amazing. It won't get bitter nor non-drinkable like most Senchas, it actually tastes incredible.

We do realize using a porcelain teapot to make this particular tea has a much better flavor than a clay teapot (Kyusu). The clay teapot we tested in the past seems to hide the umami flavor in the tea instead of highlighting it. This tea is also very unique because of how much it changes depending on how you make it. So do a little experiment with this tea, use lower temperature or boiling water and see how much it changes the flavor. Use porcelain or clay and see if you see the significant difference in its flavor as we did. 

Origin: Miyazaki, Japan

Cultivar: Oku Midori

Harvest: 2021 Spring

Notes: Umami, asparagus, spinach, seaweed, miso, mushrooms, parmesan cheese

There are many things that make this white tea special. This shou mei white requires almost no steeping skill at all! You can brew this with high- or low-temperature water and for varying lengths of time. It's very difficult to mess up the brewing process when brewing this white tea; basically, anything goes! 

If you brew the tea using the gongfu method, it can be brewed over and over again at least 20 times. Different infusions of tea will bring out different flavors. Lower temperature brings out the sweetness and higher temperature provides more complex flavor profiles.

To ensure that you are drinking a tasty cup of tea, make sure to rinse your leaves with water first. This will help wash away all the dust and other sorts of things collected during its time in storage as well as moisten it so flavors can be released more easily.

One way to make this tea flavorful is by using the gongfu method. With this tea, you can safely use boiling temperature water and steep for one minute and a half on the first infusion. Then, with every subsequent steeping it only takes about 20-30 seconds to bring out all of its wonderful flavors. 

This tea will keep you going for a while! You can steep the tea longer as it gets weaker. You should be able to get around 20-30 infusions with this tea no problem!

Origin: Fuding, China

Harvest: 2009

Notes: Oaky, Dark Cherry

One of China's most famous green tea. This green tea is covered with soft white hairs. When brewed, the liquor of the tea has very bright and vibrant green. Each tea leaf is hand-picked and very labor-intensive. 

Xinyang Maojian has a unique rounded thin shape that looks like a green needle. The color is emerald green with a fresh fragrance and a clean, sweet, and mellow flavor. 

Harvest: 2021 Spring

Origin: Xinyang City, Henan Province, China

Notes: Smoked avocado, sea salt, sweet and refreshing cucumber after-taste

This tea is delicate and sweet with a hint of vegetal quality. The aroma is like roasted sunflower seeds. The flavor is light, sweet with a fresh asparagus aftertaste. The mouthfeel of this tea is smooth and silky. 

As far as looks, this Imperial Dragon Well might not look as nice as our Superior Dragon Well but is much better than our Everyday Dragon Well Green Tea. 

With this tea, do not put too much when steeping. With a standard 120ml gaiwan, you really only need about 1 gram of the tea. If you like your tea stronger, you can use 2 grams instead of 1 gram. 

If you often "accidentally" oversteep your tea, then steep using 175º Fahrenheit. Your tea won't get bitter at this temperature. 

If you want a quick, ready-to-drink tea, then you can use 205º Fahrenheit for about 10 to 15 seconds. 

Alternate Name: Long Jing

Origin: 

Hangzhou, 

Zhejiang Province, China

Aroma: Sweet, Savory, Sunflower Seeds

Notes: Light, Sweet, Refreshing Asparagus

Harvest: Spring 2021