TEAKI
Purple buds and the Ya Bao family
Zi Ya, Zi Juan and the silver, purple and red Ya Bao, explained: why some tea buds are purple (pigment) and some turn red (oxidation), and how to tell them apart.
5 min read · 9 October 2026
Purple, invented several times
Purple tea is not one thing. How Yunnan, Fujian, Kenya, Japan and Taiwan each bred or found a purple tea from different plants, and why they taste so different.
8 min read · 9 October 2026
After Matcha
Matcha got you into good tea. Here is the other half of the tea world: Chinese and Taiwanese loose-leaf, brewed small and many times over, that tastes nothing like the bowl and keeps changing as you steep.
4 min read · 6 October 2026
Tea Mania
For about forty years, Britain's medical and moral authorities decided tea was dangerous.
9 min read · 28 May 2026
Korean Tea and the Japanese Occupation
A thousand years of Buddhist tea culture, thirty-five years of colonial Japanese substitution, and the people who rebuilt Korean tea.
18 min read · 23 April 2026
How Much Caffeine Is in Your Tea
Less than coffee, more than you think. The honest answer is it depends.
6 min read · 22 April 2026
Theabrownin
The compound behind shou puer's reputation for lowering cholesterol. What the science can and cannot say.
7 min read · 22 April 2026
How to Taste Tea
English vs Chinese tasting frameworks, and six terms that expand what you notice.
12 min read · 21 April 2026
Puer for Non-Collectors
Sheng vs shou, what aging actually does, and why you do not need to spend $200.
18 min read · 21 April 2026
The Gongfu Starter Kit
What you actually need. At three price points. No filler.
12 min read · 21 April 2026
Gaiwan vs Yixing: When to Use Which
Two vessels. Different philosophies. When each one earns its place.
8 min read · 21 April 2026
Seasonal Tea: When to Buy What
The same garden, the same tree, picked two weeks apart. Completely different tea.
10 min read · 21 April 2026
Purple buds and the Ya Bao family
Zi Ya, Zi Juan and the silver, purple and red Ya Bao, explained: why some tea buds are purple (pigment) and some turn red (oxidation), and how to tell them apart.
5 min read · 9 October 2026
Purple, invented several times
Purple tea is not one thing. How Yunnan, Fujian, Kenya, Japan and Taiwan each bred or found a purple tea from different plants, and why they taste so different.
8 min read · 9 October 2026
After Matcha
Matcha got you into good tea. Here is the other half of the tea world: Chinese and Taiwanese loose-leaf, brewed small and many times over, that tastes nothing like the bowl and keeps changing as you steep.
4 min read · 6 October 2026
Tea Mania
For about forty years, Britain's medical and moral authorities decided tea was dangerous.
9 min read · 28 May 2026
Korean Tea and the Japanese Occupation
A thousand years of Buddhist tea culture, thirty-five years of colonial Japanese substitution, and the people who rebuilt Korean tea.
18 min read · 23 April 2026
How Much Caffeine Is in Your Tea
Less than coffee, more than you think. The honest answer is it depends.
6 min read · 22 April 2026
Theabrownin
The compound behind shou puer's reputation for lowering cholesterol. What the science can and cannot say.
7 min read · 22 April 2026
How to Taste Tea
English vs Chinese tasting frameworks, and six terms that expand what you notice.
12 min read · 21 April 2026
Puer for Non-Collectors
Sheng vs shou, what aging actually does, and why you do not need to spend $200.
18 min read · 21 April 2026
The Gongfu Starter Kit
What you actually need. At three price points. No filler.
12 min read · 21 April 2026
Gaiwan vs Yixing: When to Use Which
Two vessels. Different philosophies. When each one earns its place.
8 min read · 21 April 2026
Seasonal Tea: When to Buy What
The same garden, the same tree, picked two weeks apart. Completely different tea.
10 min read · 21 April 2026