It's All About Tea

Teacups! They come in so many different shapes and sizes. Growing up in the west, I was always used to drinking tea from giant mugs. And the more absurdly giant the cup was — the better! I still remember like it was yesterday, the day I first tried tea from a tiny teacup, which barely fit in my fingers. It seemed it wasn’t even enough tea for half a sip. However, that half a sip was incomparable to any of the giant tea gulps I’ve had before! 

There exist many different styles of teacups used for both the tea ceremony and casual tea drinking. Let’s take a look at each one. (Read more) 

Many tea enthusiasts wouldn't consider pu-erh which is not grown and produced in Yunnan, China, to actually be pu-erh tea. We could argue that this topic requires more examination. After taking into account the geographical location of Yunnan and neighboring countries, as well as political discrepancies, we can consider the pu-erh from Guo Gan, Myanmar, to actually be called pu-erh tea. If nothing else, it is a truly aromatic, floral, and sweet tea worth the time of any pu-erh lover! (Read more)

We already got deep into why this type of tea ceremony ware is so desired in our last article. This time let's dive into how it's made and how to choose the right Jianzhan teacup. (Read more)

Jian Zhan pottery is the perfection of Chinese black porcelain. It was an inseparable part of tea culture in the Song Dynasty, however it slowly gave way to Yixing teaware. It continued to prosper in Japan, where it is known as Tenmoku. Nowadays, it is a national treasure in Japan and many local pottery artists in China are hard at work to remake this once forgotten part of the Chinese tea ceremony. Jian ware is not only teaware, it is an art form and an important part of history. One we can get lost in for hours just by looking at its cosmic-like glaze. (Read more)

Addiction is one of the most destructive human ailments there is. It can sabotage relationships, jobs, and, most importantly, personal health and well-being. Addiction can be found in alcohol, drugs, gambling, harmful foods, or anything else that we practice excessively, which does not benefit us at large. 

Thankfully nowadays, we have plentiful research and natural remedies that we can apply to ourselves to combat our addictions. (Read more)