Newsletter Archive Jan. 7, 2022

A hand holding a glass pitcher that dark golden puer tea is being poured into from a teapot, steaming hot. — Zhuping pouring steaming hot boiled white puer tea.

With the new year, we’ve found ourselves reflecting on the teas of 2021 and picking out some favorites.

This weekend we’re featuring Rougui (Cassia Bark), Anji Hong, Mogan Huangya, and White Moonlight 2018. Each one of these teas is a personal favorite from the Seven Cups warehouse team.

Our warehouse and office team is engaged in the low-key business of importing, warehousing, and shipping tea alongside impassioned arguments and utter glee over this leaf. If you’ve called or emailed Seven Cups, the chances are you’ve talked to one of these folks:

Lizzie, warden of our office succulents, inventory records, and website copy, endorses White Moonlight 2018. A tea that’s, in her words, “cool yet comforting, even in winter.” If you’re a long time teahouse customer, you’ll know Lizzie from the years she applied her organizational talents to the counter there.

John came to Seven Cups with his experiences as a soccer coach and cycling enthusiast . John gravitates towards green, yellow and wulong teas. His 2021 standouts are the teas from Moganshan, recommending the micro-lot of Mogan green tea to everyone throughout the summer, and now the darker and honeyed Mogan Huangya.

Three people gathered around the open hatch of a semi truck under blue skies. — Andrew, Alex, and Lizzie waiting to unload 2021’s ocean shipment of tea and teaware.

Alex, who wakes before any of us to run into the freezing winter darkness, braces himself for such constitutionals with liters of tea. The substantial flavors of rock wulong are a go-to and 2021’s Rougui stands out for him as particularly good.

Andrew’s 2021 tea crush is Anji Hong. This is a black tea crafted from fussy pale-leafed tea plants, but there’s nothing disagreeable about its brew: it’s all malt and molasses and smooth as chess pie.

Tea, like all of us, changes a little bit year to year, season to season. We’ve found that you can only hold your favorites for so long before you change or your tea does. Of course, we work to keep things reliable and consistent, but small changes are also part of the magic of it. There’s a serendipity of finding something you like at the exact right time. Don’t delay to celebrate it.