New Winter Baozhong!

Last week I treated myself to a couple ounces of Winter 2015 Wenshan Baozhong (文山包種茶) tea from Phoenix Tea in Burien, Washington. Today I'm trying it for the first time.

Beautiful, fragrant dry leaves.

For this session I used ~7 grams of dry leaf in my 100 ml gaiwan and freshly boiled spring water. Water was full boil (or very close to it).

You know how sometimes a cup of very fresh tea seems to sparkle with all those essential oils floating on the surface? This tea has lots of that, which I love!
 

The mouth-feel is thick and amazing. I can feel the tea coating my tongue and lips. The fragrance notes are: blossom, awesome, yum, and plum. My tasting notes are: clean, green, and nectarine. When the winter days are particularly dark and drizzly this tea will bring me a lot of good cheer. 

Around the World in 8 Teas

Phoenix Tea and Eat Local are working together to present a tea event at Eat Local's Burien, Washington store on Saturday, August 3rd.

Our event is called Around the World in 8 Teas. It will be a fun and educational tea tasting featuring teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Kenya. I will discuss international tea traditions while offering freshly brewed tea samples.  I will also explain how tea is a healthy beverage as well as a sustainable agricultural product when grown and sourced responsibly. 

Eat Local will offer several samples of food to complement some teas. 

After the event guests are invited to visit Phoenix Tea (less than one block away Eat Local Burien) where they will receive a 10% discount on any tea or tea ware purchased that afternoon. 

This event is $20 per guest and space is limited. Please RSVP yes on the facebook event page if you will come. You may also call 206-495-7330 or email info@phoenix-teashop.com to RSVP.

A Flight of Rare Teas at Phoenix Tea

Saturday, June 15, 2013 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Limited to 12 participants @ $25.00 each

Photo by Cinnabar

Join Phoenix Tea on a tasting flight through six exquisite and unusual teas, carefully chosen from our extensive selection of fine loose-leaf pure teas and sourced specifically for this event. The selection will include teas from at least four distinctly different growing regions, and will present a wide range of tasting experiences. We intend to introduce you to teas you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else.

Each guest will be given a porcelain cup to use during the tasting and to keep. Attendees will also have the opportunity to choose one sample to take home, from among a selection of all six of the teas in the tasting.

This will be our second year presenting this event in collaboration with the Northwest Tea Festival's World of Tea Series. For more information, and to register for this event please click here.

New Taiwanese Tea at Phoenix Tea

Lately we have been in Taiwanese tea heaven at Cinnabar's and my tea shop Phoenix Tea. Please allow me to take you on a little tour of my current favorites.

Shan Lin Xi Long Feng Xia (杉林溪龍鳳峽) - This winter oolong is very complex. It blends wild herbaceous tasting notes such as cedar, pine, and rosemary with clean winter snow and dynamic floral bouquets. A pleasant long-lasting tingly sensation lingers in the back of my throat after a long session with this fine tea.

High Mountain Jin Xuan (高山金萱) - This winter tea uses the golden lily cultivar and produces a luscious, sweet and buttery cup of oolong tea. It is floral with little hints of popcorn. The broth is very smooth and substantial.

Lishan (梨山) - This winter Lishan is beyond compare. We've already restocked it once because so many tea lovers have fallen for its charms. Tasting notes of sugarcane and crisp tart fruits are balanced with buttery, wild honeysuckle aromas. The sweetness lingers for hours.

Dong Fang Mei Ren (東方美人) -  This Pinglin (坪林) grown Dong Fang Mei Ren may taste a little lighter, brisker and smoother to you if you're more used to drinking Hsinchu grown Dong Fang Mei Ren. I think this tea is incredible and balanced with big honey and ripe peach notes in most infusions. It has a long-lasting sweet, brisk aftertaste.

Meishan Hongcha (梅山紅茶) - This fully oxidized high mountain tea is flat out amazing. It blends brisk and malty classic black tea flavors with alluring aromas like rose and cocoa.

 

Jin Xuan Hong Cha (金萱紅茶) - A heavily oxidized tea that expertly combines all the goodness of a black tea, gently roasted oolong, and a buttery caramel. The resulting delicious-ness has made this tea very popular among many of our in store customers.

 

Phoenix Tea Updates

Most readers of this blog already know about Cinnabar's and my tea shop, Phoenix Tea, in Burien, WA. Cinnabar started the company back in 2010 and I joined her in July 2011. Together we have nearly twenty years of tea selling and tea writing experience. Things are going well for our store and we currently have over 80 great teas in stock. In fact, Cinnabar just recently launched an improved website and we're offering 15% discount on all web orders through the end of July with this code: JulySiteLaunch

It is now our desire to reach out to some restaurants, cafes, coffee shops, spas, and natural health clinics that want to serve their clients the very best loose leaf tea. Would you or someone you know be interested in meeting with me about the possibility of buying our teas at wholesale prices to serve to your clients? If you are local, I'd be happy to visit your shop or host you at mine. Wherever you may be, we offer free samples and will work with you to put together the perfect selection of teas based on your knowledge of your clients tea preferences and your own tastes. We carry many of the usual suspects such as Earl Grey, Genmaicha, Peppermint etc... and we also have many more exotic / high-end offerings for sale. I am always happy to consult with our clients, for free, about building/expanding your tea menu and the best way to prepare our teas at your venue. Please call (206-495-7330) or email (brett@phoenix-teashop.com) for more information. Thank you!

Chris Shaw's Ceramic Art

Chris Shaw is a Seattle area ceramic artist specializing in tea ware. I've been a big fan of his work since I first met him in early 2010. Cinnabar and I are proud to carry a selection of Chris's work for sale at our tea shop, Phoenix Tea, and on our store's website.

Last Saturday, Chris stopped by Phoenix Tea to discuss his art while using it to brew tea for ourselves and our customers.

Chris has been working with clay for over 10 years. His background in design and engineering and his great love of tea and tea culture are clearly seen in every piece he creates. He is deeply in tune with each of his teapots. For example, Chris brewed our Shan lin Xi high mountain oolong in a certain tall pot to accommodate a larger group of customers but was not satisfied with the resulting liquor. He quickly changed to a smaller pot, one that he had originally felt would be the best pot for the job, and everyone was clearly blown away by the sweet, sparkly and floral complexity he coaxed out of the leaf using the latter pot.

Chris's work enhances the experience of fine tea. He waxed poetic about the layers of aesthetics he hopes to acheive during a tea session. His sincerity inspires me and his brewing style flows smoothly and artfully.

Beyond Phoenix Tea, local ceramic art lovers can view Chris Shaw's work at several galleries around town including Lundgren Monuments on Boren Avenue through the end of March.

Oolong Brewing Video

This is a short video of me brewing Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Oolong Tea (杉林溪高山烏龍茶) at Phoenix Tea in Burien, Washington. It was filmed by my business partner Cinnabar a couple days ago.

Brewing Taiwanese Oolong from Cinnabar Wright on Vimeo.

Phoenix Tea House

I'm so happy to announce that today, Friday December 2nd, is the opening day of Phoenix Tea! We are located at 902 SW 152nd Street in Burien, Washington. My business partner Cinnabar and I have worked very hard over this last month to create a beautiful and comfortable space that welcomes tea lovers of all levels.

Our tea shop will sell loose leaf tea and teaware, feature a tea tasting table, sell cups of freshly brewed tea to go, and house a small tea museum and library. Our hours, at least for now, will be Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Sundays from Noon to 5:00 PM (although we may be able to accommodate other times by appointment).

I hope to see you soon at our tea shop!

Big News from Phoenix Tea!

I have some exciting news! My business partner Cinnabar and I just rented a perfect little spot in downtown Burien, Washington. The space, at 902 SW 152nd Street, will be the home of our business Phoenix Tea.

Over the next few weeks we will build a retail tea shop and tasting bar. We will paint, decorate and stock our store then, with luck, we'll be open for business by the end of November.

Any friends who would like to donate money or invest in Phoenix Tea (no amount is too small) or volunteer their time or advice please email me at blackdragontea@gmail.com. I will find a way to reward your generosity.

I'll post again (with photos) when the shop is ready for its grand opening. I look forward to drinking tea with you in Burien real soon!

Northwest Tea Festival Wrap Up

This weekend my business partner Cinnabar, her husband, and I, were all at Northwest Tea Festival to represent our business Phoenix Tea. On Sunday, we were joined by our talented potter friend Chris Shaw who displayed his work at our booth. We all had a great time, met many new tea lovers, and saw a lot of old tea friends too.

Many thanks are due to Julee, Doug, Kyohei, Annie, Ken, and Anne Marie. These local tea lovers put in a ton of hard work and months of planning to pull off this grand event.

I'd also like to thank the thousands of lovely folks who attended. What a beautiful, diverse and vibrant tea scene we have in the Pacific Northwest!

Here's a peek inside our booth.

And another peek.

Beautiful clay teaware crafted by our buddy Chris Shaw.

Arts-A-Glow Photo gallery

Last Saturday evening my tea company Phoenix Tea served free tea for many wonderful new friends at Burien, Washington's Arts-A-Glow festival. Here are a few photos from the evening. 

Our new sign.

 

Our friends Barbara and Leslie pouring tea for guests.

The sun sets behind my snacking daughter.

Sunlight glows amongst the trees.

Awesome owl puppet took 5 puppeteers to control.

Beautiful performance art by local artist Lucia Neare.

The Swan Queen is here!

It's not everyday you see dancing clock-head people in the woods.

More dancing in the dark!

Phoenix Tea Announcement

Last year my friend Cinnabar started an exciting new tea business called Phoenix Tea. During her first year she has worked hard to grow the business. I've watched as she sourced some incredible teas and served them to friends and clients at local tea clubs and festivals.

Soon after I lost my job at Teacup, Cinnabar emailed me about possibly working together on our own tea business. After several wonderful meetings with Cinnabar, I am now excited and honored to join Phoenix Tea as an owner/partner!

Continuing what Cinnabar has started, our focus will be on selling superb tea and tea ware from all over the world as well as building community, fostering sustainability and promoting tea education and tea culture. We currently have lots of exciting plans bouncing around in our heads and look forward to keeping you all up to date on any new teas and new developments.