A large part of launching our new website includes a brief (considering how intricate tea history is) scope through the history of Chinese tea. I’ve been lucky to be presented with the opportunity to sit down with our tea master and owner, Zhuping and receive a one on one history lesson of Chinese tea culture. Zhuping… // MORE
These days, writing about tea on the internet is such highly organized enterprise that I have to admit I’m hesitant to enter the fray.
“Seven Cups Tea Blog Evolves” sounds like a pretty weighted title — as if to say some mutation has happened. It’s a challenge to think up a good title. There is no mutation, but rather evolution characterized by progress. Seven Cups is a lucky company in so many ways, and one of the most significant… // MORE
Happy New Year from Seven Cups
November 2013 was the tenth anniversary of my tea blog. When I first started the idea of blogging was relatively new. There were just a few political blogs, and many of these were focused on reporting.
The demise of Lapsang Souchong Black Tea, one of China’s most famous black teas, is filled with irony.
I have been able to travel a lot this year, and talk to a lot of people, from consumers, to producers from a number of different countries, to tea educators, to small tea business owners, to tea journalists, to corporate tea executives. It is been a log time since I have written a blog because… // MORE
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.
