Notes, observations, and traces from time spent with tea.

Tea Times with Jing

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 3

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 3

If charcoal and electric roasting both reach the same temperature, why doesn't the tea taste the same?

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 3

If charcoal and electric roasting both reach the same temperature, why doesn't the tea taste the same?

making fire to roast oolong tea in fujian province

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 2

In Part 1, we explored how temperature and time shape the flavour structure of roasted oolong tea. But if roast level is defined by heat, why can two teas roasted...

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 2

In Part 1, we explored how temperature and time shape the flavour structure of roasted oolong tea. But if roast level is defined by heat, why can two teas roasted...

fire to roast anxi oolong in Fujian

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 1

What actually happens inside an oolong leaf when heat is applied? Is roasting simply a matter of turning up the temperature — or is something far more precise at work? 

Oolong Tea Roasting - Part 1

What actually happens inside an oolong leaf when heat is applied? Is roasting simply a matter of turning up the temperature — or is something far more precise at work? 

hands shaking tea leaves in Wuyishan

Zuo Qing: How Movement Opens the Leaf

Zuo qing (做青) is the stage where internal compounds within the leaf begin to enter reaction. First recognised through repeated handling of fresh leaves, it became a defining part of...

Zuo Qing: How Movement Opens the Leaf

Zuo qing (做青) is the stage where internal compounds within the leaf begin to enter reaction. First recognised through repeated handling of fresh leaves, it became a defining part of...

Mountain tea fields in Jianyang, northern Fujian

Early History of White Tea: Jianyang, Nankeng B...

Before Fuding became the dominant name in white tea, an older style was already taking shape in Jianyang — mountain-grown, heirloom-based, and deeply tied to the Wuyi landscape.

Early History of White Tea: Jianyang, Nankeng B...

Before Fuding became the dominant name in white tea, an older style was already taking shape in Jianyang — mountain-grown, heirloom-based, and deeply tied to the Wuyi landscape.

dancong oolong tea trees in fenghuang mountain

Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong: Name, Origin, and Flavou...

Why can two Fenghuang Dan Cong teas sold as Ya Shi Xiang taste almost unrelated to one another? Behind the famous “Duck Shit Aroma” name lies a Fenghuang oolong cultivar...

Ya Shi Xiang Dan Cong: Name, Origin, and Flavou...

Why can two Fenghuang Dan Cong teas sold as Ya Shi Xiang taste almost unrelated to one another? Behind the famous “Duck Shit Aroma” name lies a Fenghuang oolong cultivar...