Since the middle of May I have been on the road, traveling in China, the US, and Europe, and for Zhuping it was three months in China. Finally we are enjoying our sanctuary in Tucson, with a lot of welcome home cooked meals.
I am going to London in June for a meeting of the Ethical Tea Partnership to discuss tea and sustainability…
It has been twenty years since I first became obsessed with Chinese tea. It has not lost any of the magic pull for me throughout these years, in fact I am probably even more obsessed. Although I have had other obsessions in my life, Chinese tea is probably longest running one. I think it has to do with mysteries.Mysteries are always rooted in questions and problems to solve.
Starbucks buying Teavana will push the tea market to a tipping point causing a significant shift towards better quality tea in the market in general.
Greenpeace and the safety of Chinese tea
I joined Seven Cups as a staff member in June 2012. As a newcomer to Tucson, I was curious to read about Seven Cups in the local Tucson Weekly. Pleased to have found good reviews on Yelp.com and in the Weekly, I made a point to find out for myself. As a supporter of local… // MORE
Transparency has been a core value for our company from it’s beginning. We remain the one of the very few companies in the world that has a completely transparent supply chain from producer to customer. It is an important value for the tea industry to adopt in the future, and provides for solutions to issues related to quality, safety, and fair trade.
Today on the Origins Tea Tour we enjoy a light hike in the mountains of Jingmai. Check out Caio interviewing Zhuping on these famous tea trees.
Today on the Origins Tea Tour we met and talked tea with Mr. Su the prince of the Bu Lang people of Jingmai. We were treated to wonderful tea and a history lesson on 1800 years of tea production in this area. If you are interested in tea from the Bu Lang check out our… // MORE
We ended day three of the Origins Tea Tour with a light hike to view an 800 year old tea tree in Yi Wu Shan.
After our walk on the Ancient Tea Horse Road, proud Grandpa Mr. He shares with the Origin Tea Tour his history in Yi Wu Shan. (p.s. Zhuping is peeling an Asian Pear that was yummy!!)
We were honored to be given a tour of a small village on the Tea Horse Road by senior Mr. He. His family graciously invited us into their home to talk about tea and tea history. We apologize to his grandson for waking him from his… // MORE
On the tea tour we asked our new friend, Zhang, to show us the proper technique for wrapping puer cakes.
Today on the Origins Tea Tour we traveled up Yiwu Shan for a tea tasting of much needed puer tea.
Today on the Origins Tea Tour we were treated to a tea tasting with tea master Mr. Yang. After hiking in Youle Shan there was nothing better than to sample yummy green puer. I’m a big fan of black puer, but this trip has opened my eyes to the rich and complex flavors of green… // MORE
Today on the Origins Tea Tour tea master Mr. Yang took us hiking to study puer tea trees in one of the famous tea mountains of Yunnan-Youle.
Our Origins Tea Tour is underway and I am receiving updates daily in the form of short videos. The first is from Youle, one of the ‘Famous Mountains’ In the Xishuanbanna region of Yunnan. Andrea, our famous interviewer is on the tour and is sending stuff via Zhuping’s iPad
Travel + Leisure Names Seven Cups One of Six Best Places to Drink Tea in America
TUCSON, AZ – Travel + Leisure’s tea fanatic Bruce Schoenfeld first tasted da hong pao, a rare Chinese oolong tea, at Seven Cups Teahouse in Tucson, where Austin Hodge serves teas he sources in remote regions of China.
When I think about tea trends, I am thinking over a ten year period and extending what I see going ten years into the future. Things have changed a lot in the past ten years from when we began our business. Twenty years ago getting any good Chinese tea was virtually impossible in the US. I had to get mine from a Chinese friend whose family was from a tea-growing region in China.
In this episode we visit Austin at the Seven Cups Warehouse to talk about choosing green puer cakes. Learn the basics for evaluating a cake in relation to the quality of the mao cha and whether it is made from an old tree. Austin shows how the color changes over time, gives tasting notes and… // MORE
We at Seven Cups wish you all good health, prosperity, and luck in the Year of the Dragon.
In this episode Zhuping talks about tea brewing basics for scented, black, puer and wulong tea. Check out the tea brewed in this podcast-Bai Long Zhu (Silver Dragon Pearls) Scented Tea, Sheng Tai Chen Xiang (Premium) Loose Leaf Puer,and Ma Liu Mi (Monkey Picked) Anxi Wulong Today’s topic: Tea Brewing Basics Thank you all for… // MORE
Cast iron for brewing tea? Zhuping talks about selecting the best teaware for brewing green, white and yellow tea.
Easy tea brewing with Seven Cups Tea Jars
Fair trade certification has always been pretty meaningless when it comes to China. With the new split between Fair Trade USA and the European FLO as reported by Dan Bolton in the World Tea News, Fair Trade USA has increased the gap between the original core values of the founders of the Fair Trade movement, and the marketing focused business that fair trade certifying has become…
I first came to Yunxian in 2005 after a trip to Dubai. I was invited to Dubai to become a member in the newly formed Dubai Tea Trading Center. Dubai wanted to become the hub of tea distribution and was providing remarkable incentives for companies to set up business there.
Last week a fellow tea entrepreneur emailed us with a question. We had never spoken before, so he wasn’t sure how to approach us about a very sensitive issue. He had been searching for a map of Shi Feng Mountain and noticed that some of our photos and content appeared to have been lifted from… // MORE
Since it has been a few years since I have attended the World Tea Expo, I was curious about any changes that the expo might have undergone, so I briefly interviewed several of the attendees that I happen to know. I know I would have been better informed if I had just gone myself, but… // MORE
I was looking at our archives, and I have been writing something on a pretty regular basis since 2003. Of course it hasn’t been all me; there have been others that have contributed. In the beginning it was just monthly emails, and the actual blog didn’t come into existence until around 2005. Still, that is… // MORE
Day 6 our Yunnan Tea Tour packed up our little bus and took off for Jinggu. The Jinggu area is the largest forested area in Yunnan, and rich with many unknown mountains peaks with older trees. I have spent a lot of time in Jinggu and it always seems like I could stay there year… // MORE
