All Things Chinese Tea

In support of LSO's trip to Beijing next month I have been learning about Chinese tea. I have been taste testing Chinese teas at my favorite local tea shop CaryTown Teas. I have tested Oolong and Pu-erh teas thus far. More on the results of that later. My main goal, of course, is to give LSO a proper shopping list.

My google searches have turned up some pretty lame results. But a few days ago I struck gold. There is a place called Daniel Lui's Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver. Not only does he have several educational sites about such tea conundrums like buying the right teapot but he also blogs regularly about all things tea. I am in tea heaven!

The site has a lot of information. Probably more than you care to know. But to give you a taste of how serious the Chinese are about tea I have copied the chart below from Daniel Lui's website. Not only do the Chinese specify the size and shape of the teapot they also have thoughts about the temperature of the clay when it is fired. AND they also suggest only one type of tea per teapot. Now that is dedication!