$ 18.00
The quintessential tool for anyone who enjoys a good pressed tea. This beautiful knife has a large handle to firmly grasp to help prevent any slips and is nice to look at too. The edges are beveled to a point to separate tea without being sharp enough to slice you. It comes with a nice little cover to help protect the knife (and you!)
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For those of us who are avid tea drinkers, we know tea is more than just a taste. It is an experience that permeates all of our senses, and the aroma is key.
Black Honey is one of our most popular teas, and the Tea Essence captures its best elements. The aroma is warm and toasty and gets sweeter as it sits. It offers notes of maple sugar, honey and fresh baked pastries. It isn't heavy or overbearing, it just offers a subtle yet intense infusion of absolutely alluring aromatherapy.
For years I have longed to capture that intense smell that clings to the empty vessels and seems to grow sweeter and sweeter as it site. It's one of my favorite parts of drinking tea, and I have always wanted to live in a world that smells like an empty teacup, still warm from the brew.
Well, we've started capturing that sweet, alluring aroma from several of our highest grade teas and condensing the steam into liquid form. With these hydrosol spritzers you can literally surround yourself in tea essence.
The process is 100% natural and the only ingredient is pure tea hydrosol, no additives. You can spray it on your skin to refresh and hydrate during your cleansing routine, spray it around the house, in the car, or just on yourself whenever you need a pick-me-up.
$ 20.00
This shou Puerh comes from the Ai Lao Mountains and is delicious by itself, but its real treat is the herbs mixed into the leaves. The leaves of Nuo Mi Xiang (Semnostachya Menglaensis) literally translate to "Sticky Rice Aroma", and for a reason: they give off an aroma uncannily similar to sticky rice. Combined with the Puerh leaves, the combination is deep but uplifting, sweet yet earthen, and steeps over and over again. The liquor is a clean deep red which will keep you going for 8+ gongfu steeps.
Each individually-wrapped tuocha weighs 5g., making it perfect for travel and easy steeping.
Origin: Simao, Yunnan
Harvest: 2021
$ 12.00
$ 30.00
From the family who makes everyone's favorite Charcoal Roasted Tieguanyin, here is a new tea we are so happy to offer. This unroasted oolong is crafted from Autumn-harvested, old-growth Tieguanyin varietals and is a lovely example of a lesser-made style of this tea. Allowing the leaves to lightly oxidize and leaving them unroasted brings out flavors that can get covered up in the roasting process. The aroma has a thick floral body without being perfumy. The leaves unfurl and steep with a multitude of progressing flavors, each one leaving the palate with a soft, cleansed sensation.
Process: Organic
Harvest: Autumn, 2023
Origin: Anxi, China
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We are so happy to have a small amount of this spectacular tea to share with you. Hand-crafted by Yong Hao, who has been producing award-winning tea on Chi Lai Mountain for many years. This Qing Xin cultivar is expertly roasted over charcoal and rolled several times to achieve its shape. The aroma offers notes of baked yams and burnt sugar, with essences of warm cedar. Steeped, the tea is soft but complex. The toasty notes of the firing are at the forefront and give way to a sweetly satisfying cup with honeysuckle hints. Over time, the roast flavor will settle and reveal more flavors, which we are so excited to witness. This tea is grown with organic fertilizers and tested to assure cleanliness.
Harvest: Spring, 2023
Origin: Nantou, Taiwan
$ 14.00
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For those of us who are avid tea drinkers, we know tea is more than just a taste. It is an experience that permeates all of our senses, and the aroma is key.
Red Dragon Tea Essence is a pure hydrosol captured from our Red Dragon tea leaves. The aroma is soothing and warm and sweetens over time. It offers hints of juicy, fresh baked pie and nectar. It isn't heavy or overbearing, it just offers a subtle yet intense infusion of absolutely alluring aromatherapy.
For years I have longed to capture that intense smell that clings to the empty vessels and seems to grow sweeter and sweeter as it site. It's one of my favorite parts of drinking tea, and I have always wanted to live in a world that smells like an empty teacup, still warm from the brew.
Well, we've started capturing that sweet, alluring aroma from several of our highest grade teas and condensing the steam into liquid form. With these hydrosol spritzers you can literally surround yourself in tea essence.
The process is 100% natural and the only ingredient is pure tea hydrosol, no additives. You can spray it on your skin to refresh and hydrate during your cleansing routine, spray it around the house, in the car, or just on yourself whenever you need a pick-me-up.
$ 50.00
If you love matcha, but can't decide on which to start with, why not try both? This combo includes 30g tins of both of our very first Blue Willow Ceremonial Grade Matchas, grown organically and/or without pesticides.
The first is the Forest Dew Matcha from Kirishima. Made from a blend of 5 cultivars, this matcha is organically grown and stone ground. It has a robust yet smooth flavor that has made it perfect for Matcha Lattes. In fact, it is now what we use in the shop and we were just voted best tea shop in the East Bay and one of the best places for matcha in the Bay Area by the SF Chronicle. Find out why everyone is loving it...
The second is the Uji Jade Matcha from Wazuka. This is a single Samidori cultivar ceremonial grade matcha, grown without pesticides and stone ground. It is incredibly smooth and fulfilling, with a light body and invigorating energy boost. It makes perfect usucha (thin tea) and should be enjoyed by itself without additions.
$ 32.00
**We have a very limited quantity of this tea available. Once it is gone, we won't be able to get more until next year**
Introducing the Autumn harvest of this iconic tea. Grown on Alishan, this pure Jinxuan cultivar is a beautiful representation of what the leaves can do in the right hands. Expertly plucked and lightly oxidized, the vibrancy of the leaves is preserved, showcasing a fresh crispness. The leaves were lightly roasted just for us, to bring out the creamier notes of the tea. The subtle purity of the flavors allows you to meander through notes of warm milk, pear and dewy morning blades of grass. Whether you are a dedicated oolong drinker, or new to tea, this is a wonderful tea to experience. It is easy to drink and can handle long or short steeps. It'll be gone soon, so don't miss it.
Harvest: Autumn, 2024
Origin: Alishan, Taiwan
$ 78.00
This spring, we made two sourcing trips to China. We brought back many favorites and several new teas. However, we also found some teas that were in extremely limited supply and/or were too pricey to carry in our regular lineup. These teas we bought small quantities of to ONLY offer in these boxes.
Introducing: the 2024 Best Of Box. Inside are 4 teas only available here. Each tea has about 5 gongfu servings, depending on how you steep it. Each tea is sealed in a biodegradable bag, with steeping recommendations and packed inside a gift box.
2008 Aged Tieguanyin | 1oz. | Crafted by Master Zhou, this organic oolong is medium roasted and has been aged 16 years. Each year, he sets aside some of his favorite tea from the year's harvest to be aged and brings out a little to share each consecutive year.
Competition Grade Longjing | 1oz. | This Pre-Ming Longjing won an award for best flavor in the Longjing category this spring. The small leaves offer a soft, yet vibrant cup of a truly spectacular Dragonwell.
Charcoal Roasted Ao Fu | 0.5oz. | This is the personal favorite of Master Lin, who crafts all of the DanCong teas we carry. Ao Fu (Barley Aroma) produces the smallest volume of all of his cultivars and the flavor is unlike any other he offers.
Dong Ding Shui Xian | 1oz. | Similar to last year's "Honey Roasted", this Shui Xian cultivar is grown on Dong Ding Mountain, heavily bug bitten to enhance the honey aroma, and roasted to perfection. Perfectly balanced and a special treat.
*We only have enough tea to make 50 boxes, so these are extremely limited*
$ 30.00
Simple and sturdy black ceramic tea tray with slotted bamboo top. Whether you prefer wet or dry tea service, this tray can accommodate your tastes, with just enough room for the necessities.
Approximately 10"x5"x1"
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This is a new edition we were so excited to bring home from our 2023 Japan trip. Grown from the Ujimidori cultivar in Wazuka, this crafted on a woman-owned, organic family tea farm by Teruko Azuma.
Teruko has been pushing the boundaries of what Japanese teas can do, producing exquisite white teas, oolongs, black teas, and experimenting with innovative processing methods. This oolong is no different. The leaves are mid-high oxidized, heated, and then roasted in her hojicha roaster. The result is a tea with similar characteristics as Phoenix Mountain red teas: chocolately, fruity, nutty and toasty. The warm notes of roasted cedar fill the mouth, with a hint of plum-like fruit and lingering burnt sugar sweetness. We like to steep this in a gaiwan with short, repeated steeps, but it also does well with longer steeps without becoming bitter.
Process: Organic
Origin: Uji, Japan
Harvest: 2023
$ 30.00
Simple and sturdy black ceramic tea tray with slotted bamboo top. Whether you prefer wet or dry tea service, this tray can accommodate your tastes, with just enough room for the necessities.
Approximately 8"x8"x1"
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We have a limited amount of these bars to share with you for Valentines Day. The Black Rose Tea has been pressed into easy-break bars and wrapped like chocolate! Large leaf, old growth leaves from Ai Lao Mountain are accented with whole wild roses to create a gorgeous and delicious tea. The resulting infusion balances hearty flavors of warm cedarwood with a floral touch and lush, malty finish. It can be prepared in a gaiwan with short, repeated steeps to bring out a progression of deepened flavors, or steeped longer for a rich, decadent cup that can stand up to the addition of milk and sugar.
Origin: Yunnan, China
Harvest: 2023
$ 62.00
Everything you need to gongfu on the go. These molded cases are sturdy and are a perfect fit to hold your teaware snug on all your travels. The 100ml gaiwan and three cups are smooth porcelain and nest inside each other with a tea towel to fold between the layers. The gaiwan fills the cups exactly, but there's a pitcher in case you travel solo or in pairs.
Choose between black, red or grey cases. Each one has a keychain attachment so you'll never lose it.
$ 14.00
$ 48.00
For those new to steeping and seasoned pros alike, this easy gaiwan offers something for everyone. Clear glass allows you to witness the leaves unfurl and monitor the intensity of each steep. The lid fits perfectly into the petal grooves and has holes to strain the tea without needing to tilt it. It holds 175ml, roughly 6oz. of tea.
If you have never used a gaiwan before, it is an excellent method for making a multitude of different teas, mostly Chinese and Taiwanese greens, reds, blacks, oolongs, and some younger or sheng puerhs.
$ 15.00
$ 32.00
This is one of the most versatile pots to have in your collection. Made of borosilicate glass, this 650ml pot can go right on the stove to boil water or be used to infuse teas. It's great when you need to simmer herbs for a long period or just heat up water to steep in your other pots. The simple and elegant style makes it visually appealing to have at the tea table, compared to a bulky kettle.
It features a steam hole at the top as well as a spring strainer hooked onto the spout to strain out any leaves. When boiled, let the pot rest for a minute before handling, or use a hanky to protect your hand.
$ 86.00
These classic teapots are ideal for any puerh lover. Holding roughly 115ml, their squat, wide shape is perfect for allowing compressed cakes to expand. The thicker sides hold more heat, keeping the steeping conditions as hot as possible for puerh brewing. The size is great for solo or paired tea sessions. Because these pots are used to steep with boiling water, the covered vent hole makes a simple way to hold the lid without covering the slot or burning your finger. These are best for brewing shou cha or aged sheng puerh.
Each pot comes in it's own fitted box with a certificate of authenticity.
Yixing pots are iconic and are known as being the first teapots in the world. The clay is uniquely porous and will "drink" the tea that is made with it, allowing the consecutive steeps to absorb into the clay and enhance future steeps. For this reason, it is recommended that each pot be dedicated to one type of tea to prevent the crossover of other flavors. Over time, your pot will become more seasoned and make each pot of tea more aromatic and flavorful.
To care for your pot, rinse with hot water immediately after each use and allow it to dry completely before applying the lid. Never use soap or abrasives.
It is important to properly care for your pot to ensure it's longevity. When you first bring it home, rinse it with hot water and then cold water. This should wash away the clay smell.
It is then important to season the tea before steeping with it. Gently lower the teapot into a clean pot of boiling water. Keep the lid separate and do not let it touch the bottom, as the bubbles might jiggle it too much. Allow it to sit in the boiling water a few minutes, then remove and let it cool completely. You will need to decide which type of tea you would like to dedicate your pot to.
To season, add tea to the pot and steep. Pour the tea into a small bowl after about 30 seconds and steep the leaves again. Repeat this process until the bowl is full. You can then remove the leaves and soak the pot and lid separately in the brewed tea. Let it soak until it has cooled.
Always let the pot and lid dry completely before putting the lid on. Over time, your pot will develop more color and aroma, but it will not be unpleasant. When properly cared for the clay will prevent any bacteria from forming.
$ 12.00
Classic and simple porcelain tea set for steeping all your favorite teas. This pot holds roughly 120ml and perfectly fills two cups. This pot is best for steeping oolongs, greens and white teas, but can accommodate anything.
The set includes one pot and two cups. *tray not included*
$ 58.00
This was an experimental tea and only 14kg was produced total. There is no guarantee it will be made again.
This is an incredible tea, high-grown in Shanlinxi and charcoal roasted in Dong Ding. This is a heavily bug-bitten tea, making it extra honeyed in flavor. The roasting was done as an experiment by the master roaster who also makes the Competition Grade Dong Ding. The leaves are mid-oxidized, rolled, oven roasted, then charcoal roasted, resulting in a tea so complex, you will have to taste it to appreciate it. Warm leaves release aromas of toasted almonds, warm stone fruit and a soft floral note. The tea itself is a perfect harmony of flavors; the longan charcoal gives the honeyed flavor a notable depth, while the oxidation level enhances the floral note of the high-mountain elevation without losing any of its freshness. The soup is the color of honey and has an apricot sweetness that lingers after each sip.
Harvest: Summer, 2023
Origin: Nantou, Taiwan
$ 72.00
Made from mutton fat jade, this tea set is not only beautiful, but tough too. Everything you see here gets nestled into a bag and tucked into a molded travel case. The porcelain has a translucent quality to it with mountains painted on the sides. The dark glass pitcher has thick walls for durability and adds a little drama to the set. You can either play it neutral and choose a forest green case or embrace your inner diva with the patterned case.
I have brought this around the world with me and it is still in perfect shape. I even let my 5-year-old make tea and he has not even chipped it yet. It's a great set!
$ 26.00
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These Japanese tea cups are a bit larger, holding 100ml. They have a lovely grey-blue spotted pattern.
$ 32.00