Children should not drink strong tea; drink weak tea instead.

Old people should not drink too much green tea; drink black tea or pu-er instead.

Young people should not drink too much black tea, for it generates heat; drink green tea or oolong tea instead.

Women during menstrual period should not drink tea and should not drink green tea immediately before or after it.

Expectant mothers should not drink green tea; drink black tea insted , better with brown sugar.

Middle-aged (menopausal) women should not drink green tea.

People with stomach diseases should not drink strong tea; drink weak tea instead.

 It's already been a whole year since our first tea tour! Tao has been in Yunnan, China since last month, sourcing puer tea. This month, on April 14th, Tao will guide three new people through the famous tea regions in Southern China. The trip will follow a route similar to the first tea tour: visiting Suzhou and Yixing in Jiangsu Province, historical and famous sites in Yunnan Province, and the Wuyi Mountains in Fujian Province. Visit our blog to read more about the 2012 Spring Tea Tour.Shortly after the end of the trip, Tao will be back in the shop with the new spring tea of 2012 (around mid-May). In June, we will have a tea tasting event to allow our customers to sample the new tea.

Engage in the process of tea making with Tea Sommelier Carol Ann Savage and Mingzhu Gao from Tao Tea Leaf.

Saturday, April 14th, 2012
2:30PM - 4:30PM
$50.00 Per Person

Features Sparkling Rose Wine from Chateau des Charmes.

Please RSVP 
Kiesha James | 416.324.1472 | KIESHA.JAMES@HYATT.COM

Reservations: 416.324.1472

What does “Spring Tea” Mean?

Although you have probably seen Spring Tea appended to the name of one of your favorite Chinese green teas, a lot of people don't know what the phrase actually describes. Spring Tea is translated from “Chun Cha” which is a traditional Chinese tea season name. The Chinese have a festival called “Qing Ming” that occurs on the first day of the fifth period of the lunar calendar, which is usually April 5th(April 4th on leap years). It is a day to grieve for lost relatives by sweeping and weeding graves and tombs as well as leaving offerings. This period is called the spring season.

In Chinese tea culture, Qing Ming has a new meaning: the cutoff for the earliest and highest quality Spring Tea harvests. Normally Spring Tea is used for only green tea and white tea. Teas called “Pre-Qing Ming” (Chinese “Ming Qian”) were harvested before the Qing Ming festival and are the earliest tea harvests of the year. The harvest start date depends on weather conditions but the end of the picking date is always the Qing Ming date. Pre-Qing Ming teas are always more expensive when compared with other seasons since in spring, the temperature is moderate and there is sufficient rainfall for the tea after six months in winter, making the spring bud stout and green, the leaves soft and rich in vitamins (especially amino acids). The spring green tea or white tea tastes fresh with a pleasant aroma and is full of health benefits.

Pre-Qing Ming isn’t the only important quality for spring quality, but it’s a really good start to making the very best green tea or white tea.

Tao is in the tea mountains in Yunnan, China right now for the Spring Tea 2012 and new teas will be coming soon.

2012 Tao Tea Leaf China Spring Tea Tour

General Information
In April 2011, Tao, founder of Tao Tea Leaf, taken a small group (3 people) with him to China for a wonderful tea tour. The participants involved were: Tao Wu, founder of Tao Tea Leaf and leader of the tea tour; Bill Kamula, chef instructor at George Brown College responsible for teaching the Tea Sommelier course; Matthew Wocks, a Toronto based photographer (http://flimnit.com); and Tim Johns, chief software designer at Icewire Technologies. Read more about Our 2011 China Tea Tour

In April 2012, Tao is planning to bring another small group (at most 5 people) with him to China for a wonderful tea tour. During the tour, the group will meet tea masters and visit tea gardens of Pu-er tea, Black tea, Oolong tea, White tea, and Green tea; also we will meet Yixing Tea Pot master, the master will show us how to appreciate and use this type of teapot, will make a pot in front of you and you will have a chance make a Yixing clay cup by yourself.

Base on 2011 Tea Tour, The food will be great and the scenery will be breathtaking, resembling something out of National Geographic.

The tour will begin when all guests meet in Shanghai on April 14^th and end on April 30^th. To register for the tour, please contact us by email: info@taotealeaf.com or telephone: 647-728-3858 before February 28,2012.

Tour Details
Tour date: April 14 (Beijing Time)– April 30, 2012 (exact dates subject to change)
Duration: 17 days in China
Tour cost: $ 3600 CAD
Single room supplement: $600
Minimum deposit: $1,500 (refundable until February 28, 2011)
Tour cost includes: All local travel, all meals, all hotels, and all entry fees to events/museums from April 14 to April 30.
After meeting in Shanghai, all costs are covered by tour cost.
Tour cost does not include: Airfare to and from Shanghai, local shopping, visas, immunizations, or tips

Day-By-Day Itinerary*
*Details are subject to change.

Day 1 (April 14):

To be on time for the beginning of this tour, you must arrive in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (airport code PVG) no later than Thursday, April 14, 2012(Beijing Time). After having dinner together, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road, one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, to The Bund (Wai Tan), from which we can enjoy the best view of the amazing night skyline of Shanghai.

Day 2-3 (April 15-16):

In the morning of April 15th, we will travel to Yixing in Jiangsu province.This county-level city is famous for its exclusive Yixing clay (also called Zisha - Purple Sand) used for making Yixing clay teapot. We will start by visiting the Yixing teapot museum the Dragon Kiln from Qing Dynasty and the old village, also we will have a chance to see how they make the stone to Yixing clay. Then, we will meet the teapot master and the master will show us how to appreciate and use this type of teapot, will make a pot in front of you and you will have a chance make a Yixing clay cup by yourself. In this city, we will taste the local black tea Yi Hong.

In the evening of April 16, we will travel by car to Dong Shan (East Mountain) in Jiangsu province.

Day 4 (April 17):

The green tea Bi Luo Chun from Dong Shan is considered the best. We will hiking the Bi Luo Chun tea mountain and watch the tea being processed. We will also get to explore the South Tea Culture Museum and the old village. On this day, we will taste the Bi Luo Chun with a local tea master.

In the evening of April 17, we will travel back to Shanghai.

Day 5 (April 18):
We will then fly to the city of Xishuanbanna (Jinghong Airpot) in Yunnan province where we will stay overnight.
Our pu-er tea tour will start from here:
Pu-er tea is produced in almost every county and prefecture in Yunnan province, but the most famous pu-er areas are known as the Six Famous Tea Mountains. These tea mountains are located in Xishuangbanna and are renowned for their climates and environments, which not only provide excellent growing conditions for pu-er tea, but also produce unique taste profiles in the produced pu-er tea. This is why we will start here.
On our Pu-er tea trip, the local tea master will guide us to some tea village families and modern tea manufacturers, where we will observe the development of Pu-er tea, and learn about the difference between traditional and modern tea processing techniques. We will see more detail and more local culture while we will visit local ethnic minority villages to view their unique housing and building styles, and taste their food.

Day 6 (April 19):
We will bring some food with us for our lunch on the trip.
In the morning, we will drive about 3.5 hours to BanZhang Mountain to visit Xin (“new”) Banzhang and Lao (“old”) Banzhang villages. Banzhang is a Hani ethnicity village in the Bulang Mountains. In the Chinese tea market, Lao Ban Zhang is famously referred to as the King of Raw Pu-er tea because it is known for producing powerful and complex teas that are bitter with a sweet aftertaste. We will taste the difference between New and Old.

Day 7 (April 20):
We will visit the Yunan Puer Research Garden, in this garden; we will see many different varieties of Pu-er tea plants and the Pu-er tea culture. After this we will drive to Puer city which is China’s tea town, where we will learn about the processing of Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea) with a tea master.

Day 8 (April 21):
We will drive to Ninger. This county gets its name from pu-er tea due to its historical role in the tea trade in Ancient China. In Ninger, we will visit some famous tea manufacturers, learn about the modern processing techniques of pu-er tea, such as fermenting the Shu Cha, and taste many different teas.

Day 9 (April 22):
In the morning, we will watch the special process of "Cha Gao". This process refers to gradually removing the water from brewed pu-er tea (decoction) until it forms into a kind of tea jelly. It is pure pu-er tea essence that can be brewed on the go using either hot or cold water. Then will go the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Along this road, you will experience the process of ancient Chinese caravan. In the afternoon, we will drive to Kunming.

Day 10 (April 23):
From Yunnan, we will fly to Fujian province where we will stay in the Wuyi Mountains. Our oolong, black and white tea tour will start from here.
The Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located the north of Fujian province.Mount Wuyi was listed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural. Numerous types of tea are produced around Mount Wuyi; it is the origin of the real Da Hong Pao tea and Lapsang souchong.

Day 11 (April 24):
In the morning, we will ride a bamboo boat on the River of Nine Bends where we will view the lovely scenery of the Wuyi Mountains. Then, we will hike up Mount Wuyi where we will see three of the original Da Hong Pao tea bushes. The Wuyi Mountains are renowned for their high diversity of fauna, which includes many rare and unusual species. About halfway up the mountain, we will have tea in a traditional tea house.

Day 12 (April 25):
We will drive up to Tong Mu Village which is located in the Wuyi Mountain National Natural Reserve and is the home of Lasang Souchong. We will meet the local most famous tea master and visit the old tea manufacturer which is over 100 years old, built by wood. We will learn about the whole process of producing smoked Lapsang Souchong. We will taste and learn about the most famous and expensive tea “Jinjunmei”.

Day 13 (April 26):
We will visit two famous oolong tea manufactures, meet the famous tea masters, visit some tea gardens, and learn about the old and modern processing of Wuyi Oolong tea. We will see different bushes, different roasting techniques and experience the difference in taste for different grades oolong tea.

Day 14 (April 27):
We will drive up to Zhenghe, the home of white tea, jasmine tea, and the famous black tea Zhenghe Gongfu. We will visit the small old village, see some wild ancient white tea plants,we will meet some tea masters and visit the tea garden to learn how they process white, black, and jasmine tea. Of course, we will taste the fresh spring teas.

Day 15 (April 28):
In the morning, we will visit the famous bamboo tea tray and accessories factory. We will see many different styles of tea related bamboo products. Afterwards, we will drive from Zhenghe to Mount Wuyi. We will then go to the local tea shop to have some tea and shop in Wuyii’s famous San Gu Market.

Day 16 (April 29):
In the morning, we will visit the very unique snake garden. In the afternoon, we will fly from the Wuyi mountain to Shanghai. Later, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road.

Day 17 (April 30):

We will fly from Shanghai back home.

Preparations

To register for the tour, please contact us by email or telephone. After signing up for the tour, the first things you should do are: get your Chinese visa, make sure you have adequate health insurance and travel insurance for travelling in China, and discuss immunization options with your doctor. Touring the Chinese countryside is physically demanding. On this tour, be prepared to walk, hike, and travel by bus and bamboo boat

After register, you will receive a full list for your preparations.

What to expect

"If you love or even have a passing interest in tea, you owe it to yourself to take the Tao Tea Leaf tour. I took the tour in 2011 and had such an amazing time. Having Tao as our tour guide really did “make” the whole experience. Tao speaks Chinese, which proved invaluable, but he also speaks the language of tea. We had access that I would not think possible, from picking our own tea in Jin Ping village to sampling some of the finest Pu-erh tea in old Banzhang villiage.

One of my favorite memories from the trip was the amazing food. Every province and town had a different cuisine and we tried everything. Tao made sure that no two meals were alike and he even got me a birthday cake on my birthday..

One of my favorite places on the tour was Xishing, where clay teapots are made. Not only did a teapot master build a teapot before our very eyes, he even guided us into forming and shaping our own clay cups.

I have nothing but positive things to say about the tour and would take it again in a heartbeat. I can’t imagine going back to China without Tao as my guide, he truly is the master of tea." — Matthew Wocks, Flimnit.com

“The 2011 Tea Tour was a wonderful and life changing experience. I never knew such simplistic beauty existed behind the beverage that is tea. I now drink tea every day and with each sip I am reminded of the heartfelt effort that went into its production.”  — Tim Johns, Icewire Technologies

Maximum 30 participants per event ▪ Reserve your spot early!

Dear Valued Customer,

Please join us in December as we celebrate our second year of providing quality products and services to people who share our love and passion for tea.

With over 130 types, our loose tea selection has largely expanded to over 50 USDA-Certified Organic teas as well as a number of teas from other countries.

DETAILS

Special “Mystery” Tea Tasting – Chinese Snacks – Meet Fellow Tea Lovers

Free Gift Raffle !

 Location: Tao Tea Leaf, 934 Yonge Street

 Timing: 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. each Saturday

RSVP: info@taotealeaf.com

Note: be sure to state in your RSVP email the date you want to attend and the number of guests who will accompany you. We will confirm your registration via return email.

Be sure to watch our website for Online Shopping Specials during November and December over the next two months.

We look forward to seeing you! Remember, book early. Sessions fill up quickly!

All the best,

Tao Tea Leaf

Since tea naturally contains fluid, it can strengthen tooth enamel and help reduce the formation of plaque by controlling bacteria in the mouth. It thus acts as a defense against gum disease.

Animal research suggests that the consumption of both green and black tea may reduce the risk of cancer-particularly lung, colon, and skin cancer. It is thought that components in black tea may have an antioxidant effect, helping to prevent the formation of cancer-inducing substances in body cells.

Various research programs conducted over the last few years indicated tea’s possible benefits against heart disease, stroke, and thrombosis. The reason for this is thought to be because the caffeine in tea acts as a gentle stimulant to the heart and circulatory system, and thus helps to keep the walls of the blood atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries). It helps to inhibit the absorption of cholesterol into the blood stream and help to prevent the formation of blood clots.

The caffeine in tea can increase concentration, alertness, and accuracy, and enhances the senses of taste and smell. It also stimulates the digestive juices and the metabolism, including the kidneys and liver, thus helping to eliminate toxin and other unwanted substances from the body.

1. Amount of Tea Leaves

Compared with other kinds, steeping Oolong tea needs more leaves. Use about 7g which is about one-third to one-fourth space of the teapot, and the loose-bar Oolong leaves take up half the space.

 2. Water Temperature

The new tea trees provide the raw material for manufacturing Oolong. Certain fragrance are enhanced only through strong heat. Boiling water at 100° brings out the rich taste and fragrance that is unique to Oolong.

3. The Steeping Time

Warm up the tea ware before steeping. Rinse the leaves: Pour some hot water in the Gaiwan/Yixing Teapot, swish the leaves around a bit, and pour the water off. It really brings out the roasted smell and flavor of the tea.

For South Fujian and Taiwan Oolongs, wait 50 seconds after tea rinse, after which add 10 seconds for each infusion. North Fujian and Chaozhou Oolongs are faster - 15 seconds for the first infusion. Better “watch the tea,” as different tea breeds have different characteristics. Generally speaking, subsequent infusions take longer, so that the teas liquid have similar density each time.

4. Number of Infusions

Oolong teas endure repeated infusions, usually 5-7 times. It is said, “Fragrance remains at the seventh infusion.” Properly made, Oolong tea can endure more than seven infusions.

 South Fujian Oolong tea is lightly oxidized, mainly produced in south Fujian counties, such as Anxi, Yongchun, Nanan, Pinghe, Huaan, etc. Anxi Oolong is the best known.

Smelling as fresh as green tea, Anxi tea endures repeated infusions, and is characterized by natural flowery fragrance and black tea’s strong and mellow taste, with a lingering aftertaste. To retain the flowery fragrance for a longer period, the tea leaves are oxidized and lightly baked. The tightly curled emerald-colored “grain-shaped” leaves are very different from Wuyi Yan Cha.

Anxi tea has a variety of breeds, including the most popular “Four Elites”. Tie Guan Yin, Huangjingui, Benshan and Maoxie, together with Meizhan, Qilan and Large Leaf Oolong, each unique on its own, Tie Kuan Yin is the most popular.

Tie Guan Yin (Tie Kuan Yin)

Made from the tender leaves of the Tie Guan Yin trees, it is the king among Anxi teas. The name Tie Guan Yin refers to both the tree and the tea. Anxi Tie Guan Yin is said to have been discovered in Xiping Town, Anxi, during the Qing Dynasty.

The falvor is strong and enduring, with the fragrance of flowers and fruits. According to recent studies, Anxi Tie Guan Yin contains various aromas. The clear and golden tea liquid has a strong and mellow taste, with a sweet aftertaste and lingering fragrance. The steeped leaves are thick and as bright as silk. Tie Guan Yin’s unique fragrance fills the room as soon as you lift the cover of the teapot.

 Huangjingui

Huangjingui is mad from the tender leaves of Huangdan tea trees. Therefore, crude tea leaves are called Huangdan in the production area. Huangjingui is among the best Anxi teas. It grows in Luoyan area of Anxi Gounty. It is reproduced through asexual methods. Huangjingui derives its name from its golden (Huangjin) tea liquid and because of its taste of the osmanthus (gui).

The tea leaves are bright yellow, compact , soft and thin with a yellowishgreen center and red edge. The tea liquid is mellow, with the fresh fragrance of the osmanthus.

Benshan

Originally growing in Xiping Town of Anxi, Benshan is a “close relative” of Tie Kuan Yin, sharing its good quality. However, it is taller and easily adapts to environmental changes.

The yellowish-green leaves are strong and heavy, striped light green and edged red, similar to Tie Guan Yin in quality but without its unique charm. The orange tea liquid has an orchid-like aroma, mellow taste and light and sweet aftertaste.

Maoxie

Originally growing at Daping County of Anxi, Maoxie adapts well to environmental changes. It is easy to cultivate. The yield is high.

The dark green dry tea leaves are compact, curly, spiral, with sharp ends. The tips of the tender tea leaves are covered with white hair, giving the tea its name Maoxie (hairy crab). The hair is easy to brush off. After infusion, the tea liquid turns bluish-yellow or golden, with a strong orchid-like fragrance, tasting light and mellow.

Besides Anxi tea, there are many other precious South Fujian Oolong Teas.

Yongchun Buddha Hand (Yongchun Foshou)

Buddha Hand tea leaves look like the hand of Buddha. Among all the Buddha Hand teas, the one produced in Yongchun is the best. It is made from the tender leaves of Buddha Hand tea trees growing on the mountains at an altitude of 600-900 meters. Sukeng and Yudou in Yongchun are the two villages producing most of Yongchun Buddha Han tea. Because of its low yield, Yongchun Buddha Hand tea is very precisous.

 Buddha Hand tea trees can be divided into red sprouts and green sprouts based on the color of the spring sprouts. The red sprout is of superior quality. Buddha Hand tea leaves could be as large as human hands. Buddha Hand tea is very popular in Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Southeast Asia.

Buddha Hand tea can soothe nerves, expel toxins and lower blood pressure. It is effective in supporting treatment for asthma, gallbladder pain and digestive problems, such as gastritis and colonitis. Local people drink Buddha Hand tea to get relief from the heat. They make it into salt tea (adding salt in the water), honey tea and grapefruit tea for treating diarrhea, heatstroke, high blood pressure, etc. grapefruit tea is considered as premium gift by the local people for their overseas relatives.

Besides the above mentioned, other famous South Fujian Oolong teas include: Baimaohou, Almond Tea, Fengyuanchun, Taoren, Zoumianji, Dahong, Houye, Xueli, etc.

• Oolong
• North Fujian Oolong
• Puer:
• Pu-er: How to Pry Pu-er Tea Cake and Brick

• A Lesson in Cleaning Clay Teapots
• Instructions for Using Cast Iron Kettle

North Fujian Oolong is high oxidized. It mainly grows at Wuyishan in north Fujian. There is a small yield from Jianou, Jianyang. The picking and processing start from late April.

It has two sub-categories, Wuyishan and North Fujian Daffodil, the former being more popular.

1. Wuyi Yan Cha (Wuyi Rock Tea)

Wuyi Yan Cha is the earliest type of Oolong. Its semi-oxidized processing was invented by villagers in Wuyishan during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties.

Wuyi Yan Cha has a very strict and sophisticated process, which is so far the only one to be approved by the United Nations as an non-material cultural heritage in the class. The process follow one by one or it would be a waste for everything which already done:

Sunlight Withering --> Air Drying --> Shaking and Cooling (This step determines the quality of the Wuyi rocky tea, which lasts about 10-12 hours.) --> Frying (The fire should be controlled appropriately to ensure the fragrance of the rocky tea.) --> Twisting --> Roasting till Semifinished --> Selecting and Removing stalks and unacceptable leaves --> Sorting --> Ventilation and Selecting --> Bagging and Kneading --> Elementary Roasting and Cooling --> Secondary Roasting and Cooling, and then the tea can be packaged for delivery in One month.

Yan Cha, Charm of Rock

Yan means rock in Chinese. Wuyi Yan Cha gives a unique fragrance of “flowers growing on the rocks.”

The tea grows on and is enriched by the rocks. Wuyi Mount is situated in the northern part of Wuyi Cordillera, facing southwest, covering 70 sq.km. It has 36 peaks and 99 giant rocks, with meander streams. Surrounded by other mountains but not connected, Wuyi Mountain has the good climate, temperature, rainfall and soil for tea plant growth. In 1999, UNESCO enlisted Wuyi Mount in The Directory of World Natural and Cultural Heritage.

The fragrance of the tea plantations mingles with the clean mountain air. Wuyi Yan Cha absorbs both, and the tea gives off its “charm” of “freshness, fragrance, sweetness and vividness.” The enduring fragrance is a mixture of green and black tea – light and rich – with freshness of bright yellow tea liquid, pure and clear. Sip it you will experience its sweetness and the enjoyable aftertaste. Appreciate of the “green leaf red edge.”

During the Qing Dynasty, there were four famous bushes chosen named Dahongpao, Baijiguan, Tieluohan and Shuijingui, they are given special names according to the tree shape or their growth environment. Famous bushes are considered the “King of Yan Cha.” The small output and good quality make the famous bushes precious.

Da Hong Pao

A premier Oolong tea is the most famous among Wuyi Famous Bushes. The original plants (mother plants) grow at Jiulongchao, amid the steep cliffs of Wuyi Mount, nurtured by the various mountain springs. The organic ingredients in the water and the soil make an ideal environment for Dahongpao.

The mother plants are invaluable treasures. Today,there are only six Dahongpao trees in Jiulongchao. For hundreds of years, they have been giving only small yields. In the 1980s, the local tea research center successfully planted Dahongpao in other areas of Wuyi having similar environment. In 2006, the local municipal government issued  laws to protect the mother plants, including banning cropping and closely monitoring the environment, to prolong the lifespan of mother plants.

Today, the Dahongpao found in the market is from grafted plants.

Carefully picked and processed, each leaf is compact, bright green edged with red. The tea liquid is bright yellow. The most outstanding feature is its strong fragrance of orchids and the sweet “charm of rock” aftertaste. Dahongpao endures repeated infusions (term henceforth used for brewing leaves). In 1988, the first Wuyi Famous Bushes Evaluation Conference was held, during which water nine times without losing its taste. (Other Famous Bushes are tasteless after the seventh infusion.)

Tie Luo Han

Tieluohan is the earliest Famous Bush among Wuyi Yan Cha, growing in the Ghost Cave of Yanhui Rock in Wuyi Mount. Surrounded by steep cliffs on each side, a stream runs through this area. In recent years, small yields turn up in the market. It is said that Tieluohan (literally Iron Arhat) was first discovered by a strong, dark-skinned arhat (monk) of Huiyuan Temple, and hence the name.

The compact leaf is bright green and brown, with a flowery fragrance. The tea liquid is golden, with a rich taste and sweet aftertaste. The steeped leaves are soft and semi-transparent with red edges.

Bai Ji Guan

Baijiguan (literally “white crest”) was discovered earlier than Dahongpao, in the period of Ming Dynasty, in the outer Ghost Cave of the Fire Peak of Huiyuan Rock (the hill at the side of the Wengong Temple behind Wuyi Palace). The soft, thin, light green and white new leaves contrast with bright and rich green of ripe leaves. The ripe leaves are curled and hairy, with a white crest which give it its name.

Among all the Wuyi tea trees, Baijiguan has the most unique shape. The dry tea leaves are lighter in color but strong with its unique fragrance and Yan Charm. The tea liquid is a vivid orange, rich in taste and sweet aftertaste. The brewed leaves are thick and soft.

Shui Jin Gui

Well-known since the Qing Dynasty, Shuijingui grows at the Half Rock of Tianxin Rock’s Duge Village. According to legend, once, the fence around the tea garden in the Tianxin Temple collapsed due to heavy rain. The tea trees were carried by flowing water to the Half Rock and took root there. Subsequently, the Leishi Temple was built at this site and tea was named “Shuijingui.” A legal warfare ensued from 1919 to 1920, with both temples claiming ownership of the precious Shuijingui. The Leishi Temple won the case because the trees were brought there by nature, and not stolen by them.

This red-barked tea tree with slightly curved branches produce long elliptical leaves, bright green in color.

There are also many other types of Wuyi Yan Cha, ie: Wuyi Rou Gui, Wuyi Shui Xian and more.

Wuyi Rou Gui (Wuyi Cinnamon)

Wuyi Rougui is made from the tender leaves of cinnamon tea trees first discovered in Huiyuan Rock. Today, through a major asexual reproduction drive, it is found in Shuiliandong, Sanyangfeng, Matou Rock, Guilin Rock and Nine Bunds. Wuyi Rougui has become the major breed of the Wuyi Yan Cha and is produced on a large quantity.

The compact and curly dried leaves are oily brown and green with a sharp cinnamon flavor. The tea liquid is rich in taste and the steeped leaves are edged red. It’s flavor and pungent taste are the most outstanding features marking its uniqueness.

Wuyi Shuxian (Wuyi Daffodil)

Know as a premium quality Wuyi Yan Cha, Wuyi Shuixian was discovered before Wuyi Rougui.

The dry tea is thick and symmetrical, twist at the edges and is yellow at the tip, with a black middle and red base. Wuyi Shuixian has the rich fragrance of orchids. The tea liquid is strong in taste with a sweet aftertaste.

2. North Fujian Shui Xian

North Fujian Shui Xian is the other main type of North Fujian Oolong tea, which has fruitike fragrance, and its yield is good. The tender leaves of Shui Xian tea trees are the raw materials used for Oolong, and are named according to the place of origin.The bar-shaped North Fujian Shui Xian is made from Shui Xian growing in north Fujian Province. First discovered around Dahu village of Shuiji Town of Jianyang city in North Fujian about 100 years ago. Now is produced on a large scale at Jianou and Jianyang city, Different from the traditional north Fujian Oolong teas, tody, mass rolling is an added process to compress and curl the leaves.

It is named Shui Xian due to its daffodil-like fragrance. It grows near the Zhuxiantao Cave, near Jianou and JianYangcity. The leaves are compact and heavy, curled at the top, green in color, they look like a frog’s skin, and have the rich fragrance of orchids. The tea liquid tastes mellow and thick, with a sweet aftertaste. The thick but soft steeped leaves are yellow, edged or spotted red.

Tip: Cast iron kettles are not suitable for use in microwave ovens.


On April 18, the instant we all stepped out of the plane and felt the heat and moisture in the air, it was obvious that the next few days would be spent in a much different climate from the region we had just left. Xishuangbanna is one of the sixteen prefecture-level divisions of Yunnan and home to many minorities, such as Dai, Hani, and Wa. We met up with three people who would be with us during our time spent in Yunnan: a driver, who would drive us everywhere we needed to go; a man who was in the tea business; and a woman who owned a farm where she grew many different crops, including tea. Tao told us that he could not understand our guides when they spoke in their native dialect (which sounded similar to vietnamese to my ear). We all enjoyed the sights of urban Xishuangbanna during the drive to a small tea plantation in a rural area of the city.

  

Before reaching the tea farm, we stopped at the local elephant shed to see some wild elephants that were being cared for.

        

When we arrived at the tea plantation, we were surprised to see such short tea bushes after hearing about the "old puer tea trees in Yunnan". However, when we learned that these tea plants were regularly trimmed and that their age could be assumed by examining the stems, things made more sense. Upon closer inspection, the stems were seen to be virtually covered in lichen and moss, which must have taken many years to grow. The next part to observe were the leaves, which were huge in comparison to those of the tea plants we'd recently seen. Only the tea plants in Yunnan have such large leaves. Rubber trees could be seen growing with the tea plants, but on separate rows, to provide shade for the tea and rubber to sell.

           

Back in urban Xishuangbanna, we had a very tasty dinner full of locally grown vegetables paired with some decent sheng puer tea. We then explored an area comprised mostly of tea shops and chose one in which to sample some puer tea. Finally, we visited the very popular night market before turning in for the night.

  

In the morning, our driver brought us to the first mountain we would be visiting: Jingmai. The drive up the mountain was very long, winding, and bumpy, but entirely worth it. After having a big breakfast, we were lead through the village where we saw the simple town full of hardworking locals.

     

Then began the education, starting with the oldest tea farm in Jingmai mountain. At the farm, we could not call the plants before us "tea bushes"; these were tea trees. The tea trees in the farm are natural, meaning they are untrimmed and generally uncared for. However, they were planted by villagers many years ago so they are not quite wild. In comparison to all of the tea farms we had seen up until this point, the tea plants in this farm were much more thinly dispersed. Among the many tea trees, near the edge of a dirt road, was the king tea tree of Jingmai Mountain. It was chosen due to its towering height and is said to be over 500 years old. Our guides taught us that the general leaf harvesting standard for puer tea in Jingmai Mountain is one bud, three leaves. This means that harvesters would harvest anything from a single bud to a bud attached to three leaves. Again, when we looked closely at the stems and branches of the tea trees, copious amounts of lichen and moss could be seen. On some stems, there was something else growing that resembled a tiny prickly pear cactus without the spines. We learned that the common name for this growth is "Crab Legs" and that it is used as tea or consumed other ways, and is normally expensive.

                          

After a short drive to a different part of the mountain, Tao introduced us to a woman who owned a small tea factory. At the factory, we saw familiar equipment used to process tea, although the entire processing procedure of puer tea is unique (as with the other types of tea). The instruments included: a heated rotating drum for kill-green, new and old rolling machines, large woks for processing by hand, and a large bamboo mat on which to dry the leaves.

                 

Naturally, after visiting the tea farm and viewing the tea factory, we were awarded with tasting three different sheng puer teas manufactured and steeped by the factory owner. They all tasted exquisite, with the Moon White puer being the lightest in both colour and flavour. It may be difficult for some to imagine that a single factory can produce many varying kinds of puer tea. However, by altering elements of the tea's processing procedure, such as performing kill-green or rolling by hand contrary to by machine, being more selective of the leaf standard, or drying the leaves indoors versus under the sun (resulting in "Moon White" puer versus regular puer), the resulting product can differ greatly in taste, volume, and value. Furthermore, after the processed leaves are dried (at this point, the leaves are referred to as "maocha"), they can undergo further processing to become sheng puer cakes or shu puer cakes. Further still, sheng puer cakes are commonly aged to become smoother in taste and more valuable. With all of this information in mind, three different puer teas from a single factory doesn't seem like so many.

        

Next stop: Banzhang Mountain. Due to a recent increase in the popularity of its tea, Banzhang Village is now very wealthy. The reason for this is not due to marketing or any changes in the tea, but rather the collective voice and opinion of tea drinkers all over China. The houses in this village looked more modern and luxurious than those we saw in Jingmai. Upon arriving in the village, we met with a tea factory owner who taught us about the puer tea making process and then steeped us some of his own factory's tea. Relative to tea from other mountains in Yunnan, the puer tea from Banzhang Mountain is quite strong with a pleasant aftertaste.

     

The puer tea process begins with harvesting the leaves of tea plants in Yunnan. According to the many people we spoke with in Yunnan, any tea plant in the province can be used to make puer tea but some specific farms are more often used to make black tea or green tea. The facts that the leaves come from tea plants in Yunnan and are processed in a specific way are collectively what define the puer tea category. The first step to processing the leaves is withering, which can either be done by spreading the leaves out on a mat left under the sun (or indoors with a cool temperature) or by lightly heating the leaves in a wok and tossing them like a salad. We were lucky enough to witness the latter method being done by a skilled worker. During withering, the leaves are intermittently checked for dryness by being bent between the fingers. If the leaves bend but don't break, they are prepared to endure more agressive processing and thus the withering step is complete. The next step is kill-green, which can either be done using a rolling drum machine or by hand in a highly heated wok. This step's goal is to slow the oxidation of the leaves to a near halt. Once kill-green is deemed complete, usually due to a specified time limit, rolling can begin. If a machine is used for kill-green, the rolling step would be done with a rolling machine, otherwise the wok containing the leaves would have its temperature lowered to moderate heat and the worker would roll the leaves by hand. Finally, the leaves are spread out on a bamboo mat to be left outside to dry under the sun. Alternatively, the leaves may be left to dry indoors if "Moon White" puer is the intended product.

              

After a short visit to the oldest tea farm of Banzhang Mountain, where we saw the enormous king tea tree and the smaller (but still large) old tea trees, the factory owner steeped us tea from New Banzhang Village and Old Banzhang Village so that we could taste the difference (which was quite apparent!).

           

What I remember most about this part of the tour are the amazing views of the landscape that were constantly in perspective. Continue reading the 2011 Tea Tour Recollections with the next part: Part Four: Puer Old and New (coming soon).

August is a very important month for jasmine tea. The best quality of jasmine flowers are ready to be picked soon after mid-July. The best quality will be processed with spring green tea to make high quality jasmine green tea.

The main goal of the traditional jasmine green tea process is to transfer the fragrance and scent from the flowers to the green tea. The process of scenting jasmine tea is strictly particular; usually it take 3-9 times of re-scenting, even more for some special grades.(Re-scenting is after the green tea absorption, the flowers will be filtered, and use another fresh flowers release fragrance, which make the jasmine tea still have nice fragrant and taste after many steeps.)

Basic Steps

Preparing the green tea prior to scenting → maintaining the flowers → layering the flowers with the green tea → dividing the mixture into sections → heaping → separating the flowers from the tea leaves → heating → cooling → re-scenting → taste sampling → packaging

1.Preparing the Green Tea

The high grade green tea is harvested in the spring and prepared prior to scenting, months before the jasmine flowers are harvested. The leaves are spread out indoors to prevent them from rotting before the jasmine flowers are ready.

2.Preparing the Jasmine Flowers

Since jasmine flowers open up during the night, they are harvested after 10 AM and brought to the manufacturer. The fresh flowers are then spread out thinly to allow for breathing and force their temperature to be between 32℃ and 36℃, which is the optimal range for encouraging the flowers to open. If their temperature drops to 30℃, the flowers are piled into heaps for more heat, and if the temperature rises to 38℃, the flowers are spread thinly to cool down. When all of the flowers are around 60% open, they are placed on sifters and shaken by hand to remove the green buds and flower stems. During this process, the flowers will open further. When the flowers are 80% open, they are ready to scent the green tea.

3. Layering

This step is considered to be the most important of all. After making a starting layer of jasmine flowers, green tea is placed on top to make a second layer, followed by more jasmine flowers, and so on until a certain height to form one heap. Each heap of layers will rise to a certain temperature and be left to sit for a certain amount of time. Depending on the intended grade, the amount of flowers, the temperature, the height of the heaps, and the time left to sit vary greatly. For an average grade, the wanted temperature is between 45℃ and 48℃ and the total time from Layering to Separating is 10 to 12 hours.

4. Tong Hua (Dividing the Mixture into Sections)

When the temperature of the heaps rises to between 40℃ and 48℃, usually taking 5 to 6 hours, they are divided into sections. This all

ows for cooling, promotes oxygen ventilation, and encourages the flowers to release more fragrance to the tea. The heaps usually take 0.5 to 1 hour to cool.

5. Shouduifuyin (Piling)

Once the heaps cool to about 1℃ to 3℃ above room temperature, the layered heaps are shoveled into piles 20 to 30 cm in height. After 5 to 6 hours, the piles should reach a temperature of 40℃ and the flowers should be fully opened and withered, light yellow, and have no scent left.

6. Separating

At this point, the scent from the flowers should be completely transferred to the tea leaves which should be slightly humid. The piles are placed in a sorting machine that separates the jasmine flowers from the tea leaves.

7. Heating

The tea leaves are then heated to remove excess water in preparation for packaging or possible re-scenting. The heating temperature is relatively high, generally between 90℃ and 110℃, so that the process is fast enough to retain the jasmine fragrance within the tea leaves. The standard humidity of the leaves for this step is 17% to 18%. After heating, the leaves are spread out to be as cool as possible, no higher than 40℃.

8. Re-scenting

Aimed at improving the degree of the tea, a few large fresh jasmine flowers are mixed into the leaves for about 6 to 8 hours in 8% humidity. The flowers are then removed and the leaves are left to cool to be ready for packaging.

9.Taste Sampling and Packaging

The jasmine green tea is sampled in order to determine the grade and then packaged into corresponding boxes.

Tip 1: Due to the processing technique of jasmine tea, the fresh tea should be drunk one week after the finished process, due to the baking step which promotes too much heat in Chinese health culture.

Tip 2: For high grade jasmine green tea, almost no flower petals should be present (with the exception of a whole flower for decoration).

Tip 3: For low grade and bad quality jasmine tea, the jasmine flowers from the end of the separating step are mixed in with unscented green tea.

STEEPED IN TRADITION

THE MIRROR - Friday,August 12, 2011

PROFESSIONAL POURING: Tao from Tao Tea Leaf demonstrates a traditional Chinese tea ceremony at Downsview Library. Residents were invited to learn about the Chinese tea culture and history.Tao showed how to steep the Chinese Gong-Fu tea and also showcased the tea set and tea accessories.

On the night of April 16th, we arrived at the hotel that is part of the Jiangnan Tea Culture Museum on the east mountain of Dong Ting, Jiangsu Province, where we would stay for one night. The Bi Luo Chun from Dong Shan ("East Mountain") is considered the best, probably due to the optimum amounts of sunshine and humidity. The hotel itself was very majestic and the outdoor property was vast and elaborately adorned with exotic trees, stone pathways, and bridges over small rivers.

  

The next day began with an educational tour of the tea culture museum. With the help of the museum guide and Tao translating to English, we learned a great deal about the history of Bi Luo Chun green tea and Chinese tea in general. Walking through the museum felt like being given a firsthand peek into the history of Chinese tea with artifacts such as an ancient guqin (a musical instrument that has been paired well with tea drinking for centuries), a bronze sculpture depicting a boy blowing air into a tea kettle stove to serve royalty, and ancient tea caddies that were found in a sunken ship with preserved loose tea inside. We learned that the tea once known as Xia Sha Ren Xiang ("Scary Fragrance") was renamed to Bi Luo Chun ("Green Snail Spring") by the Kangxi Emperor during the Qing Dynasty while viewing a modern sculpture depicting the scene. We also learned that the steps to the Bi Luo Chun tea ceremony, as described by the Tea Culture Museum, are as follows:

• Note: for this tea ceremony, tall glasses are used instead of tea cups.
•    Step one: Warm the glass using hot water.
•    Step two: Observe the colour and shape of the dry leaves.
•    Step three: Carefully pour the hot water from the kettle into the glass carefully, filling it to about 50-60%.
•    Step four: Gently pour the leaves into the glass.
•    Step five: Witness the tea steeping, the leaves slowly opening and dropping to the bottom of the glass.
•    Step six: Observe the water while the tea is steeping. You will see many tiny bubbles from the tea leaves.
•    Step seven: Pour more hot water into the glass by tipping the kettle three short times in succession.
•    Step eight: Smell the fragrance from the glass, reminiscent of a spring forest.
•    Step nine: To taste the tea, first sip a little bit to experience the spring tea's fresh, clean fragrance. Then, sip a bit more and let the tea rest in your mouth while you taste the comforting sweetness before swallowing, when you will find a sweet and fresh aftertaste. Finally, take a slightly larger sip and hold the tea in your mouth to appreciate a lasting good taste and nice fragrance.

                    

Soon after the lessons in Bi Luo Chun history, we advanced to the East Mountain Tea Factory where we would learn about modern Bi Luo Chun tea processing. As with many other kinds of tea, the processing technique and leaf harvesting standard of Bi Luo Chun tea varies depending on the intended grade. For top grade Bi Luo Chun, the leaf harvesting standard is pure buds from the first harvest of the season and for grade five Bi Luo Chun (the lowest grade), the standard is closer to two leaves and a bud from the later harvests of the spring season. Directly after the leaves are harvested, the first step of the process called kill-green, which is intended to halt oxidation in the leaves, is either done in special woks for grades three and higher or in a large machine for grades four and five. The next step, called rolling, creates the spiral shape of the leaves and encourages the flavour to be released from the leaves more slowly during steeping. This step is either done in the special woks by hand or in a rolling machine depending on the grade, as before. The final step to making any tea is drying and is performed with a drying machine inside the factory.

                 

Naturally, after watching massive amounts of Bi Luo Chun being processed, it was time to taste the final product. We sat down in the tea shop that is attached to and owned by the factory. We were promptly brought grades 1 through 5 of Bi Luo Chun tea, with grade 5 being the lowest grade and grade 1 being the highest before the special grades. At the table, our foremost interest was to visually compare the dry leaves of the different grades. The most obvious difference in the dry leaves was the amount of trichomes (white hairs). Since buds have the most trichomes, the grade 1 dry leaves appeared to be the most hairy and, thus, the lightest colour. Likewise, the grade 5 leaves appeared the darkest and had the longest leaves due to the harvesting standard. While making our observations, we tasted grade 1 Bi Luo Chun steeped in glass cups. It was useful to see the steeped leaves in the glasses because we could clearly see that they consisted almost purely of buds that would not open (refer to the last photograph in the group below).

                    

Since the day was still young and the weather was ideal, we decided to hike up the mountain that held acres of tea plantations where we could examine the tea bushes up-close and see harvesters hard at work. We had a local guide to lead us to the top of the mountain who was able to answer questions and give us information during the climb. At the top of the mountain, the view was incredible. Mountains covered in tea bushes could be seen for miles in every direction. However, we would soon learn that this was minute compared to what we would see in Yunnan. On the way back down, we unexpectedly met our local guide's mother who was on her way to the factory after filling her basket full of fresh tea leaves. As with most tea harvesters, her right thumbnail was black due to the plant residue from hours of pinching stems.

        

To end the educational part of the day, we visited a historic site for which our local guide was kind enough to give us tickets. Once inside, we learned about a small portion of Chinese history and experienced age-old traditions such as transporting fruits and vegetables with a wooden cart over a cobblestone road.

              

And thus ended the green tea part of the tour. Continue reading the 2011 Tea Tour Recollections with the next part: Part Three: Puer Tea in Yunnan.

Thank you everyone who attended our Toronto 2011 tea tasting events (32 participants on the 4th).

In 4th event, we steeped 7 different famous 2011 Spring Chinese teas:

• Green Tea
• Long Jing (Dragon Well) Origin: ShiFeng, ZheJiang Province.
• Bi Luo Chun Origin: East Moutain, Jiang Su Province.

• White Tea
• Silver Needle Origin:ZhengHe, Fujian Province.
• White Peony Origin:ZhengHe, Fujian Province.

•  Yellow Tea
• Jun Shan Yin Zhen Origin: JunShan Island, HuNan Province.

• Oolong Tea
• Phoenix Dan Cong– Almond Flavor Origin: Phoenix Mountain, GuangDong Province.

• Pu-er Tea
• Jing Mai (Sheng) Origin: Jing Mai Mountain, YunNan Province.

We were very surprised to have Colin Farrell come to the shop just after the tea tasting event. Apparently he is a fan of good tea.

On April 14, we all arrived and met up in Shanghai, where we had a delightful dinner followed by a memorable walk along Nanjing Road and The Bund.

     

The next morning, we took a bus to Yixing, Wuxi, Jiangsu, where we met Mrs. Ge and Master Zhou, who drove us to the town of Dingshu. After having a great meal with them, we went to Mrs. Ge's local shop where we saw a relatively small number of her amazing wooden scupltures (she owns a few shops and multitude of wooden sculptures).

     

Finally, it was time to see Master Zhou's teapot shop and studio. Zhou Yu Ming (Master Zhou) and his nephew, Zhou Jing, are Yixing teapot makers. Master Zhou has been making teapots for over 30 years and has taught many students, including his nephew. He also practices Tai Chi for two hours every day and makes calligraphy as well as artistic paintings. The first floor of Master Zhou's property is his teapot shop where he can also serve tea to customers and friends on his large tree root tea table. Zhou Jing steeped a nice white tea for us while Master Zhou spoke to us about teapot making and his daily routine, with Tao translating to English.

  

Master Zhou then took us upstairs to his studio, where he has an abundance of very nice artifacts and works of art.

        

After he steeped us the local favourite Yixing black tea called Yi Hong, Master Zhou lead us out to visit the abandoned Yixing clay mining site, Yellow Dragon Mountain. He taught us how to determine the quality of clay and showed us examples.

     

As we were heading back to Master Zhou's shop, we had a chance encounter with his Tai Chi teacher who treated us with an exceptional demonstration of Tai Chi.

Back at the shop, Zhou Jing served us Yi Hong tea while we learned about Yixing teapots with Master Zhou.

  

The following day, we went to see another famous local Yixing teapot artist in his display studio. He sells his teapots by auction. Some have sold for over 200,000 Canadian dollars apiece!

  
        

We then went to tour inside the famous Yixing Ceramics Museum. All of the wooden furniture is owned by Mrs. Ge. In one section of the upper floor, teapot making students were hard at work.

                    

At last, it was time to see some tea in the making! For this, we went to the Yixing Linggu Organic Tea Plantation. After watching the local tea farmers sort their freshly picked leaves, we got to taste the finished products; two delightful green teas.

                    

The next stop was a local modern kiln used for firing Yixing clay products. It is used by many local potters. Master Zhou has a small kiln of his own on the third floor of his property.

  

Our final big treat before leaving Yixing was watching Master Zhou make a Yixing teapot before our very eyes. He works very carefully yet quickly with his hands and he has many tools and parts to work with. He told us that he tests each of his teapots after they are whole to make sure they pour water well and if they don't, he tries to fix them as best he can before declaring them complete.

        

These first three days were absolutely great, though we still had many more interesting things to see, people to meet, and places to travel. The adventure continues, on Part Two: Bi Luo Chun.

Tea Tasting - Snacks - Meet Fellow Tea Aficionados

Three Saturdays: June 4th, 11th, and 18th

Dear valued customers,

Tao Tea Leaf will be hosting a Tea Tasting Event for Spring Tea 2011!

Tasting will take place on three different Saturdays in June. Snacks will be served. Special gifts will be raffled at each event.

Saturday June 4th

2:00 to 3:30 PM (1.5 hrs.)

Saturday June 11th

2:00 to 3:30 PM (1.5 hrs.)

Saturday June 18th

2:00 to 3:30 PM (1.5 hrs.)

Please RSVP at least one week prior to each event via email.

Maximum of 30 participants per Saturday event.

When emailing your RSVP at info@taotealeaf.com, please provide us with your:  

- Name

- Number of people joining you

- Date you wish to attend

We will confirm your registration via email.

Note: If you have any suggestions regarding the timing or other aspects of these events, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone or email.

All the best!

Tao Tea Leaf

Chai tea has been enjoyed for centuries in India, Nepal and Tibet. The sweet, creamy, cinnamon flavor of chai is very popular worldwide. The blend, consisting of black tea and a mixture of several spices, offers a number of health benefits including antioxidants and natural anti-inflammatory compounds.

Although every chai has four basic components (tea, sweetener, milk and spices), there is no fixed recipe or method of preparation. Different cooking methods produce completely different-tasting chai. When Tao was taking the Tea Sommelier course at George Brown College, a part of it dealt with chai tea. One of the nights, the class was split into 3 groups, all of which got the same materials for cooking the chai. Nobody in the first group had chai cooking experience, and they put all the spices and black tea together into the boiling milk, resulting in a drink that tasted like black tea, milk and spices simply mixed together, but without any fragrance. The second group did a bit better; two of the boys in the group were Indian, and though they never made chai by themselves before, they remembered their mother cooking chai. They put all the spices (without ginger) into the boiling milk, and they used another pan for boiling the tea and ginger in water. After that, they put the two together in the same pan to boil once more. The smell was much more fragrant this time around, but the taste was still not perfect.

The perfect chai was cooked by the third group, the one that Tao was in. Luckily, they had an Indian lady who cooks chai at home at least twice a week for her kids. Tasting this chai totally changed changed Tao's mind about chai; he never thought it could be so tasty and fragrant. On that night, they used the typical chai tea ingredients: 2 cinnamon sticks, 9 cloves, 7 black peppercorns (or red or white of Australian native), 9 green cardamoms, 1 teaspoon fennel seeds and 1 knob of ginger (dried/fresh). She didn’t follow the ingredients; she used the spices, but without black peppercorns, and she didn’t use the exact proportions. She explained that the recipe it depends on personal taste, and she used the same ingredients for her kids, who like it tasty, but not too strong.

Here, she's boiling the milk first, without spices or tea.

Sheused most of the spices, but no black peppercorns, and she didn’t make it as strong as the other groups. As a finishing touch, she ground some nutmeg and allspice.

She put all the ground spices she into the milk and kept stirring it. After 15 minutes, everyone in the room could smell the delicious fragrance.

After that, she put the black tea in the boiling milk.

She only put half of the tea compared to the other groups, because she figured it was better to use less tea for the night time than one would have in the morning.

She also put less sugar in the chai than the other groups, making use of the sweet taste of ginger instead.

If you would like to try cooking chai at home, this is the way to go. I highly recommended it.

How long have you been in business?

We founded Tao Tea Leaf in September 2009, and have been working full time since December of the same year, when the retail store opened. We already had a rich background of knowledge when it came to tea, and a great relationship with the tea growers and vendors in China. And, of course, we did a lot of research before we started selling tea in Canada.

What is the size/scope of your business?

We are a small business in Toronto. We import the finest teas from China, Japan, India South America and Africa, but we focus on Chinese Tea. Our retail store, Tao Tea Leaf, is located in the fashionable Yorkville / Rosedale area of Toronto. From there, we showcase elegant tea wares, hold educational workshops, host tea ceremonies, celebrate cultural events and organize our Chinese Tea Culture Tour.

We have a professional Online Tea Store which is secure and easy to use. Take a quick look and you'll find it has a considerable selection of loose leaf tea and herbal teas, prompt shipping, great pictures and descriptions, and helpful customer reviews and rating. It's definitely user-friendly. What's more, we've also got our teas available in special sample-size pouches - Tao Tea Pouch. This convenient format allows the tea drinker to sample many varieties before choosing to move on to larger sizes. The online store also links to our Tea Education Blog, where you'll find our Tea Guide, Yixing Teapot Guide, Tea Tasting Event Calendar, and Tea Tour Information.

We also have a wholesale element to our business, which is why you'll find us at different events, such as the Canada Coffee & Tea Show, which we were happy to be a part of last year. In Canada, we're suppliers to a number of restaurants, tea shops, cafes and spas with fine teas. We are also planning to supply Chinese teas to our China clients directly, in order to meet different market requirements and to reduce costs and the amount of shipping necessary. On top of all this, we offer private labels services to solve retail packaging problems.

Why tea?

I’ve talked about my connection with tea, and the role it’s played in my life. I guess the question to ask is “why did we choose fine, loose-leaf tea?” The thing is, more and more people are starting to become aware of the differences between different qualities of tea. There are so many excellent teas out there, and they are all so unique and such an experience. We provide teas that are an alternative to commercial-grade tea. We’re making the effort to make traditional-style, fine-quality teas as accessible and affordable as anything else. And we believe that once you try fine tea, you’ll understand why we’re so passionate about making these more available to tea enthusiasts, and you’ll understand why we chose to make it our focus.

How did you get the ball rolling on your venture?

I was raised in Wu Yi Mountain, well known for its oolong and black teas in Fujian province. I fell in love with oolong tea when I was 18; I travelled to many tea plantations, and met with many tea masters. In 2007, after coming to Canada, I read some news about an Indian immigrant who opened a successful tea business. That was what planted the business idea in my mind. From there, I started my research in 2009, and got the Tea Sommelier Certificate (certificated by Tea Association of Canada) shortly after. December of that year, we opened our shop, which we've decorated with traditional-style Chinese furniture and décor.

What do you feel is the biggest strength of your business?

The biggest strength of our business is quality and education. Quality is key to keeping a business lively, and education is key to promoting the tea culture and the knowledge that make a tea business wholesome.

Our quality comes from our Chinese tea background and our good relationships with tea manufacturers, plus our annual Tea Tour, which gives us a chance to go to the source to choose our teas in order to strictly control the quality of our tea. After we source our excellent tea, we have seasonal tea tastings, weekly tea workshops, private workshops, TV appearances, and special tea events, working with organizations like the Toronto Public Library, which help the local tea enthusiasts learn more and try new teas. We also have website visitors from around the world who read our tea blog and browse our gallery, where we share tea culture, knowledge, tea tour information, useful tips and so on. 

What were/are the biggest challenges of getting into/being in the tea business?

Our biggest challenge is educating our customers. We have an excellent selection of high-quality tea, but the fine tea market is not too big. Through our events and all the other things we provide, we hope to educate our tea friends about the differences between teas from different regions, seasons and grades. We also want to help them develop their sense of smell and taste when it comes to tea and to help them distinguish between different teas so that they can choose the best tea for themselves. I find that once people learn to to appreciate good teas, that appreciation sticks around and gives them a strong preference towards higher-quality teas.

What would you do differently, if anything?

We are sourcing and will soon offer more Organic and Fair Trade Certified loose leaf teas directly from tea gardens around the world. We will also be sending our tea to compete in the North American Tea Championship. We also want to offer more professionally-judged award-winning teas to our friends.

How's business?

Business is good and growing. Thanks to all our lovely customers’ support.

What advice would you give to someone who aspires to be in the tea business?

Fall in love with tea; and never stop learning about it. You should know as much as you can about your tea, because the tea business not just about selling; we are promoting tea culture, history and a healthy lifestyle. Do as much research as you can about the tea market and your target market, and keep at it! The tea market is always changing, especially for North America. And, of course, I would wish them good luck.

We wish you all a healthy, happy and successful 2011.

Tao Tea Leaf

Jan 10, 2011

2011 Tao Tea Leaf Spring Tea Tour

General Information
In April 2011, Tao, founder of Tao Tea Leaf, is planning to bring a small group (at most 3 people) with him to China for a wonderful tea tour. The tour only has One more space available, so if you plan on joining, please register as soon as you can. During the tour, the group will visit tea gardens of pu-er tea, black tea, oolong tea, white tea, and green tea. The food will be great and the scenery will be breathtaking, resembling something out of National Geographic. The tour will begin when all guests meet in Shanghai on April 14th and end on April 30th. To register for the tour, please contact us by email or telephone beforeFebruary 28,2011.

Tour Details
Tour date: April 14 (Beijing Time)– April 30, 2011 (exact dates subject to change)
Duration: 17 days in China
Tour cost: $ 3400 CAD
Single room supplement: $600
Minimum deposit: $1,500 (refundable until February 28, 2011)
Tour cost includes: All local travel, all meals, all hotels, and all entry fees to events/museums from April 14 to April 30.
After meeting in Shanghai, all costs are covered by tour cost.
Tour cost does not include: Airfare to and from Shanghai, local shopping, visas, immunizations, or tips

Day-By-Day Itinerary*
*Details are subject to change.
 

To be on time for the beginning of this tour, you must arrive in Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport (airport code PVG) no later than Thursday, April 14, 2011(Beijing Time). After having dinner together, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road, one of the world’s busiest shopping streets, to The Bund (Wai Tan), from which we can enjoy the best view of the amazing night skyline of Shanghai.

Day 1 (April 15):
In the morning, we will travel by high-speed rail and car to Dong Shan (East Mountain) in Jiangsu province. The green tea Bi Luo Chun from Dong Shan is considered the best. We will visit the Bi Luo Chun tea gardens and watch the tea being processed. We will also get to explore the South Tea Culture Museum. On this day, we will taste the Bi Luo Chun with a local tea master.

Day 2 (April 16):
From Dong Shan, we will drive to the city of Yixing. This county-level city is famous for its exclusive Yixing clay (also called Zisha - Purple Sand) used for making Yixing clay teapot. We will start by visiting the Yixing teapot museum. Then, we will meet some professional teapot makers and watch them at work. Afterwards, we will go to see the Yixing teapot kilns where we will learn about the final steps of making a Yixing teapot. We will also explore the original local teapot market. In this city, we will taste the local black tea Yi Hong.

Day 3 (April 17):
From Yixing, we will travel back to Shanghai by bus. We will then fly to the city of Xishuanbanna  (Jinghong Airpot) in Yunnan province where we will stay overnight.
Our pu-er tea tour will start from here:
Pu-er tea is produced in almost every county and prefecture in Yunnan province, but the most famous pu-er areas are known as the Six Famous Tea Mountains. These tea mountains are located in Xishuangbanna and are renowned for their climates and environments, which not only provide excellent growing conditions for pu-er tea, but also produce unique taste profiles in the produced pu-er tea. This is why we will start here.
On our Pu-er tea trip, the local tea master will guide us to some tea village families and modern tea manufacturers, where we will observe the development of Pu-er tea, and learn about the difference between traditional and modern tea processing techniques. We will see more detail and more local culture while we will visit local ethnic minority villages to view their unique housing and building styles, and taste their food.

Day 4 (April 18):
We will bring some food with us for our lunch on the trip.
In the morning, we will drive about 3.5 hours to Bulang Mountain and Lao Man Er where we will see the tea fields and the ancient tea tree forests. Afterwards, we will drive to BanZhang Mountain to visit Xin (“new”) Banzhang and Lao (“old”) Banzhang villages. Banzhang is a Hani ethnicity village in the Bulang Mountains. In the Chinese tea market, Lao Ban Zhang is famously referred to as the King of Raw Pu-er tea because it is known for producing powerful and complex teas that are bitter with a sweet aftertaste. We will taste the difference between New and Old.

Day 5 (April 19):
We will drive to Jingmai Mountain where we will visit ancient tea tree gardens and watch the local tea farmer pick up the fresh leaves to show us how they process the pu-er tea (sun dried, shaqing etc.). We will taste the Jingmai pu-er, visit local family homes, and probably stay overnight in the ethnic minority house which is built from wood and bamboo if all group members agree.

Day 6 (April 20):
We will drive to Bangwei mountain to visit the the king of transitional tea trees, which are over 1,000 years old, testimonies of Yunnan as being “the source of tea”. We will harvest the tea leaves from other ancient tea trees and we will have special tea cakes made for us as an exquisite souvenir for this unique trip.

Day 7 (April 21):
We will drive to Simao which is China’s tea town, where we will learn about the processing of Dian Hong (Yunnan black tea) with a tea master, and why the taste differs by grade. After lunch, we will drive to Ninger. This county gets its name from pu-er tea due to its historical role in the tea trade in Ancient China. In Ninger, we will visit some famous tea manufacturers, learn about the modern processing techniques of pu-er tea, such as fermenting the Shu Cha, and taste many different teas. Also, we will visit the stunning hand carved tree root tea table studio.

Day 8 (April 22):
In the morning, we will watch the special process of "Cha Gao". This process refers to gradually removing the water from brewed pu-er tea (decoction) until it forms into a kind of tea jelly.  It is pure pu-er tea essence that can be brewed on the go using either hot or cold water. Then will go the Ancient Tea Horse Road. Along this road, you will experience the process of ancient Chinese caravan. In the afternoon, we will drive to Xishuanbanna.

Day 9 (April 23):
From Yunnan, we will fly to Fujian province where we will stay in the Wuyi Mountains. Our oolong, black and white tea tour will start from here.
The Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located the north of Fujian province.Mount Wuyi was listed on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites, both natural and cultural. Numerous types of tea are produced around Mount Wuyi; it is the origin of the real Da Hong Pao tea and Lapsang souchong.

Day 10 (April 24):
In the morning, we will ride a bamboo boat on the River of Nine Bends where we will view the lovely scenery of the Wuyi Mountains. Then, we will hike up Mount Wuyi where we will see three of the original Da Hong Pao tea bushes. The Wuyi Mountains are renowned for their high diversity of fauna, which includes many rare and unusual species. About halfway up the mountain, we will have tea in a traditional tea house.

Day 11 (April 25):
We will drive up to Tong Mu Village which is located in the Wuyi Mountain National Natural Reserve and is the home of Lasang Souchong. We will meet the local most famous tea master and visit the old tea manufacturer which is over 100 years old, built by wood. We will learn about the whole process of producing smoked Lapsang Souchong. We will taste and learn about the most famous and expensive tea “Jinjunmei”.

Day 12 (April 26):
We will visit two famous oolong tea manufactures, meet the famous tea masters, visit some tea gardens, and learn about the old and modern processing of Wuyi Oolong tea. We will see different bushes, different roasting techniques and experience the difference in taste for different grades oolong tea. 

Day 13 (April 27):
We will drive up to Zhenghe, the home of white tea, jasmine tea, and the famous black tea Zhenghe Gongfu. We will meet some tea masters and visit the tea garden to learn how they process white, black, and jasmine tea. Of course, we will taste the fresh spring teas.

Day 14 (April 28):
In the morning, we will visit the famous bamboo tea tray and accessories factory. We will see many different styles of tea related bamboo products. Afterwards, we will drive from Zhenghe to Mount Wuyi. We will then go to the local tea shop to have some tea and shop in Wuyii’s famous San Gu Market.

Day 15 (April 29):
In the morning, we will visit the very unique snake garden. In the afternoon, we will fly from the Wuyi mountains to Shanghai. Later, we will take a night walk on Nanjing Road.

Day 16 (April 30): We will fly from Shanghai back home.

Preparations

To register for the tour, please contact us by email or telephone. After signing up for the tour, the first things you should do are: get your Chinese visa[Click here], make sure you have adequate health insurance and travel insurance for travelling in China, and discuss immunization options with your doctor. Touring the Chinese countryside is physically demanding. On this tour, be prepared to walk, hike, and travel by bus and bamboo boat

After register, you will receive a full list for your preparationas.

In order to celebrate our one year anniversary and to give thanks to our lovely customers, on December 4th, 11th, and 18th, Tao Tea leaf hosted 3 successful tea tasting events.

Thank you everyone who attended our first anniversary tea tasting events (23 participants on the 4th, 26 participants on the 11th and 46 participants on the 18th).

 In each event, we steeped 6 different famous Chinese teas:
Oolong: Da Hong Pao and Phoenix Dan Cong (Honey Orchid), Steeped by Tim;
Green: An Ji Bai Cha and Tai Ping Hou Kui, Steeped by Kevin;
Pu-er: Ice Island Pu-er (Sheng) 2010 Spring and White Moon Pu-er (Sheng) 2010 Spring, Steeped by Tao.
The White Moon Pu-er (Sheng) is our 1st anniversary limited edition tea. This special tea is crafted from large-leafed tea plants grown in Jinggu, Yunnan. The buds are harvested in early spring and are carefully selected to have a consistent shape, resulting in a perfectly round cake with distinctly visible white leaves like silver needles. The liquor is an attractive amber colour and has a pure natural fragrance which complements the light tasting hint of sweetness. This unique tea was chosen by Tao for his tea friends to celebrate the first anniversary of Tao Tea Leaf.

We provided all participants with a small gift as well as some special gifts that were be raffled at each event, including: our anniversary limited edition White Moon Pu-er tea cake, Yixing teapot, Libre tea cup, and ceramic tea canister.

Congratulations to all prize winners, we hope you all enjoy that!

We would like special thanks to some people for this event:
Tim (Tea Steep Volunteer):

Kevin (Tea Steep Volunteer):

Jean (Always helps Tao Tea Leaf and give us great idea): 

Ingrid ( Bring wonderful dessert to 11th event which made by herself);

Libre Tea (Kindly provide some Libre glass ’n poly tea mug which specifically designed for tea ‘on-the-go’)

Also we would like to give thanks to all of our lovely customers and people who helped and supported us in the past. Tao Tea Leaf can’t grow without your lovely support, and we will try our best to provide more high quality teas and share our experiences with more people in the future. Thanks again and please enjoy your life with tea.

This informative workshop will teach about the Chinese tea culture and history.  An introduction to tea sets and accessories will be provided and the art of making a special Yi Xing tea pot.  Audience members will be invited to model traditional Chinese Dress from the Tang Dynasty or Zhuang periods.  An intergenerational program.  Register in person or call 416-395-5980.

York Woods Library

Tuesday, April 12

1:30 – 3 p.m.

Library Theatre

1785 Finch Ave. W.

Toronto, ON M3N 1M6

416-395-5980

Due to 2012 spring tea tour, Tao will not be able to host the workshop from March 10th to May 10th, please don't sign up for workshop druing that period. We will have free spring tea tasting after tea tour, please check  our blog for more detail in May, Thank you.

Tao Tea Leaf hosting frequent tea workshops for which anyone is welcome to sign up and experience a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony while gaining knowledge about tea.

See more photos at our Tea Tasting&Workshop Gallery

The available workshops include:

    •  An Introduction to Tea ($25)
    •  Green & White Tea Workshop ($25)
    •  Oolong Tea Workshop ($25)
    •  Black Tea Workshop ($25)
    •  Pu-Er Tea Workshop ($28)
    •  Private Group Session ($25)

Note: all prices are per person. Cash, debit, and credit are all accepted.

Use the following calendar to view the monthly schedules and sign up for a workshop.

Information About Tea Workshops

An Introduction to Tea ($25)

This workshop is recommended for people who are new to the different types of tea. We recommend that patrons who have not attended a workshop in the past start with this one. Guests will sit down with Tao himself and experience a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony (Read more). Tao will share his useful knowledge which he has gained over many years of experiencing the various kinds of tea. Photos will be shown and Tao will talk about where and how tea is grown, how to define the major types of tea (green, white, oolong, black, and pu-er), how to determine the quality of tea, and how to taste the tea properly. Patrons will also learn about the health benefits of various teas and how to prepare tea with a basic teapot. Guests will be provided with a formatted sheet of paper to optionally record the key points discussed by Tao.

Green & White Tea Workshop ($25)

Guests who attend this workshop will learn about both green tea and white tea while tasting a few of each, which may include Jasmine Dragon Pearl, Dragon Well, Bi Luo Chun, White Peony, or Silver Needle. In this workshop, Tao will perform a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony for all the guests while talking about ways to judge the quality of tea, differences between Japanese and Chinese green tea, how to properly steep green tea and white tea (using water that is not boiling), and other topics or answers to questions. Guests will be provided with a formatted sheet of paper to optionally record the key points discussed by Tao.

Oolong Tea Workshop ($25)

In this workshop, the topic of discussion is oolong tea, such as Da Hong Pao (A.K.A. Big Red Robe), Tie Guan Yin (A.K.A. Iron Goddess), Shui Xian Lao Cong, or Oriental Beauty. While performing a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony for the guests, Tao will explain the difference between light oolong and dark oolong tea, the complicated process of creating oolong tea, the importance of oolong tea in the Gongfu tea ceremony, how to properly steep oolong tea, and other topics or answers to questions. Guests will be provided with a formatted sheet of paper to optionally record the key points discussed by Tao.

Black Tea Workshop ($25)

The focus of this workshop is black tea, such as Keemun, Golden Monkey, Darjeeling, or Assam. As with all tea tastings, Tao will perform an interactive Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony for the attending customers while discussing the various regions where black tea is produced, the very different tastes and processes of black teas, and other topics or answers to questions. Guests will be provided with a formatted sheet of paper to optionally record the key points discussed by Tao.

Pu-Er Tea Workshop ($28)

This workshop is all about Pu-er tea, such as Ice Island, White Moon, Classic, or Shou. Tao will perform a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony in which guests will have the privilege of tasting rare Pu-er teas such as Tao's special edition White Moon. During the tasting, Tao will explicate the complicated process of producing Pu-er tea, the interesting history of how Pu-er tea came to be popular, the uniqueness of Pu-er compared to other types of tea, the health benefits and healing properties of Pu-er tea, and other topics or answers to questions. Guests will be provided with a formatted sheet of paper to optionally record the key points discussed by Tao.

Private Group Session ($25*)

Private group sessions can be arranged for groups of 3 - 6 people. Tao Tea Leaf has hosted and participated in many events in the past, and thus has much experience and flexibility. In any tea tasting workshop, Tao will perform a Chinese Gongfu tea ceremony. To schedule a private group session, please contact Tao Tea Leaf via email with the following information: the time and date for the event, the number of participants, and the subject of the event (e.g., Yixing teapot history and information, green tea tasting, bubble tea workshop, etc.). We will try to reply to your message as soon as we can.

* All prices is per person. Cash, debit, and credit all accepted.

Each highly convenient Tao Tea Pouch contains just the right amount of tea (between 5 and 7 grams depending on the tea) for a single tea steeping instrument (teapot, gaiwan, mug, etc.). The tea in each pouch can be infused multiple times by simply adding more hot water. All teas sold at Tao Tea Leaf are available in Tao Tea Pouch packaging. This means that a certain amount of any tea (e.g., 50 grams) can be purchased in either: multiple Tao Tea Pouches or a single larger bag.

Tao Tea Pouch packaging is also available in filtered form, as opposed to loose leaf. These German-made filters from t-sac are chlorine-free, for the protection of your health. We recommend loose leaf Tao Tea Pouches when using a gaiwan, Yixing teapot, or any tea steeping instrument that has its own filtering system. Filtered Tao Tea Pouches are recommended for personal use in a regular cup or mug for a situation like being at the office, when a gongfu tea ceremony just isn't an option.

Before using a new teapot, it is important to clean it in order to prepare it for your tea of choice. Naturally, the handcrafted clay absorbs and retains some of the smell and flavour of the tea after each use, a property which makes each tea ceremony more enjoyable than the last. However, this means that each teapot should only be used to steep one kind of tea.

Luckily, this cleaning technique can also be used to "reset" a teapot so that it can be used for a different kind of tea; for example, a teapot used for light oolong teas such as Tie Guan Yin and Jade Oolong can be reset to become a teapot for green tea, for dark oolong teas, or for any of the many varieties we have available, if you just follow these instructions:

Boiling the Teapots (Recommended)

Select a boiling pot that is large enough to contain your teapot(s) submerged in water. Make sure the boiling pot and lid are very clean and have no oil. Never use soap, cleansers, or scrubbing brushes on your Yixing teapots.

Carefully place your teapots in the boiling pot with their lids off and fill it with water until the teapots are all submerged. If you have a clean cloth, you can wrap the teapots to protect them from damage during the boiling.

Set the stove to "boil" and wait until the water reaches a rolling boil.

Once a full rolling boil is reached, set the stove to "simmer" and wait for the boil to slow down. When the water is boiling gently, set a timer for 30 minutes.

After the 30 minutes are up, turn off the stove and leave the teapots in the boiling pot with water to let them cool gradually. Cooling the teapots too quickly may damage them.

Cleaning the Teapots with Tofu (Optional)

Note: The following process is only necessary for newer teapots that have a clay-like smell.

Many tea drinkers find that tofu is excellent at ridding a teapot of any odours. First, fill each teapot with plain unflavoured tofu. Place the teapots in the boiling pot, fill it with water, boil, simmer, and cool as before.

Treating the Teapots with Sugarcane (Not Recommended)

Some teapot owners believe that using sugarcane can bring moisture and a blush to Yixing teapots. In our experience, we found that this process does not affect the moisture or shine of a teapot. The steps are the same as with tofu, but using sugarcane instead.

Seasoning the Teapots (Recommended)

This process is used to enhance the relationship between the teapot and tea. Each teapot should be boiled individually along with the tea to which you wish it to be bound. After placing a teapot in the boiling pot with water and the tea leaves, proceed as with the previous two examples.

Now your Yixing teapots are clean! Use them in good health and with good company. :-)

Tea Social

Tea Tasting - Snacks - Meet Fellow Tea Aficionados

Three Saturdays: December 4^th, 11^th and 18th

Dear valued customers,

Tao Tea Leaf will be hosting a tea tasting event to celebrate its first anniversary!  

Tasting will take place on three different Saturdays in December.  Snacks will be served. Special gifts will be raffled at each event.  We would like to encourage three people to volunteer to help steep our teas.

Saturday Dec.  4^th

2:00 to 3:30 PM  ( 1.5 hrs.)

Saturday Dec.  11^th

2:00 to 3:30 PM  (1.5 hrs.)

Saturday Dec.  18^th

2:00 to 3:30 PM  (1.5 hrs.)

Tao Tea Leaf

934 Yonge Street, Toronto, M4W 2J2

Please R.S.V.P. at least one week prior to each event via email

Maximum of 25 Participants per Saturday event

When emailing you RSVP at INFO@TAOTEALEAF.COM - Please provide use with your

 - Name

 - Number of people joining you

- and date you wish to attend

We will confirm your registration via email.

Note: If you have any suggestions regarding the timing or other aspects of these events, please don’t hesitate to contact me by phone or email.

All the best!

Tao Tea Leaf

Now, there is a problem, when you have a Pu-er tea cake, how to prepare it? We will use some photos explain how to pry the Pu-er cake, and share some unique tips from experience.

1. Tool

Pu-er Knife

A Pu-er knife, is a special tool be used to pry the Pu-er cake, is similar to an oyster knife or a rigid letter opener, use the Pu-er knife you will minimize leaf breakage.

Pu-er knife has awl and knife two different shape; it can be made from metal and wood/bamboo different material.

Pu-er Tray (Not Required)

When prying Pu-er tea cake, use this convenient tray to collect loose leaves fallen from the cake, the special designed opening corner is perfect for using the knife and helps you to pour leaves into tea pot, cup or other containers.

2. Try your best to minimize leaf breakage.

Tea Cake

Put the cake on the tray, let the tea cake back up, use one hand press and hold the cake, look for the space between the tea leaves to insert the knife to avoid crashing the tea leaves, insert the Pu-er knife into the edge of the cake, gently turn the knife lightly up and down, remove the knife and find the other space repeat until the tea loosens and falls off. This will usually break a chunk of tea from the cake. You can remove the loose chunk from the tea cake and break the chunk easily by hand now.

Tip: Insert the Pu-er knife into the edge of the cake; gently turn the knife lightly up and down.

Pry from the back first, make the cake looks good (like whole cake) from front.

Tea Brick

Look for the space between the tea leaves to insert the knife to avoid crashing the tea leaves, insert the knife into the edge of the brick, gently work the knife lightly up and down, remove the knife and find the other space repeat until the tea loosens and falls off. This will usually break a chunk of tea from the brick. You can remove the loose chunk from the tea brick and break the chunk easily by hand now.

Tuo Cha

We recommended use a tea awl to pry Tuo Cha. Tea awl is easier insert to the Tuo Cha than knife. Find the space between the tea leaves to insert the awl, gently work the awl lightly front and back until the tea loosens and fall off.

Oolong Tea Workshop

Bubble Tea Workshop

Fun, colorful, tasty and even chewy!

In this unique tea workshop, Ming talking about

What is bubble tea?

It gets its name from the foam on the top created after shaking the tea. The meaning of bubble is not tapioca.

History of bubble tea:

Since the 1980's when it first became popular amongst schoolchildren in Taiwan.

How to Make Bubble Tea:

Bubble tea can also be made warm, without the ice, but it cannot be made too hot, because it is impossible shake the shaker when the shaker contains too hot beverage.

Of course we tasted different yummy bubble teas!

1. Anji Bai Cha from the Zhejiang Province -green

An Ji Bai Cha Green Tea is a special green tea that contain an amount of amino acid, which is calming to the nervous system. An Ji Bai Cha Green Tea grows in a very sandy, rocky and rich in minerals soil. This environment has a powerful impact on the An Ji Bai Cha Green Tea.

2. Iron Goddess "Top Grade" - oolong

This is one of best-seller teas.An intensely floral oolong tea.

- incredible sweet floral aroma to the dry leaves.  It comes in a small one-serving-size vacuum foil pack so it smells heavenly and fresh when you open it.
- very soft, floral flavour with a full, buttery mouth feel
- pale green liquor

3. Iron Goddess - oolong

- a seaweed aroma from the fresh wet leaves, like a Japanese green tea...
- but the liquor was sweet, smooth and buttery. 

4. Dragon Well - Top Grade - green

 dry leaf shows a short leaf/bud, bright yellow-green, flattened leaf typical of Dragon Well

5. Dragon Well - Grade 1 - green

- dry leaf is similarly coloured but is longer and more often you can see there are two leaves and a bud
- the wet leaves smell nutty and of buttery popcorn which is my typical nose for Lung Jing
- BIG wonderful flavour - there's just more breadth and depth to fresh tea: toasty, buttery popcorn

5 different oolong teas blind tasting.

Compare and remember the differences between different oolong teas after blind tasting.

Tea sommelier course students group study

April 16, 2010

Tea sommelier course students group study

We are invited set up an interactive tea booth at Rexdale Community Health Cneter's, introduced to tea and health benefits of tea.

5  students of Tea Sommelier Course  meet at Tao Tea leaf prepare for  final competency exam.

One student do the Indian Black&Chai tea presentation.

 Mar 18, 2010

Black Tea Tasting

March 19, 2010

Network: Tea Drinker Meeting

Lapsang Souchong&Green

Mar 14, 2010

Pu-er & Jasmine Tea Workshop

 March 25, 2010

Tea course students group study.

6  students of Tea Sommelier Course (Created by George Brown College & Tea Association of Canada)  meet at Tao Tea leaf prepare for  final competency exam.

Feb 20, 2010 

Oolong Tea Workshop

Feb 27, 2010

Pu-er Tea Workshop

Feb 28, 2010

Pu-er Tasting

Tao's friend Raymond is a Pu-er tea specialist, Raymond bring more than 6 different of Pu-er teas and introduced to Pu-er.

Oolong Tea Workshop

Jan 18, 2010

Tea Introduction

Jan 30, 2010

Green&White Tea Workshop

An introduction to Chinese tea

   Trade show hours:                Sunday, September 26  12:00 – 5:30 pm

                                                 Monday, September 27 12:00 – 5:00 p.m.

  Please come to visit us exhibitor at Toronto International Centre – Booth #238.

 

Not just another ordinary tea shop, Tao, growing up from a tea business family, is thoroughly knowledgeable and passionate in all things tea, demonstrating workshops of tea ceremony, hosting tea cultural events and activities within the community. It boasts are over 120 kinds of tea, including more than 50 flavors of Organic Certified tea. Drop by for some hot tea or something cool with Bubble Tea, as well as light snacks over a tranquil atmosphere.

All the best tea from China---A new shop on Yonge St. offers choice leaves and a better tea experience,

Published On Sat Feb 27 2010 By Jennifer Bain (Food Editor).  

Click here to read the artile on thestar.com.

The first step in a Chinese tea ceremony is, of course, picking the right tea.

"I need to know your taste," says Tao Wu, gesturing to more than 50 canisters of black, white, green, oolong, pu-er and blooming tea.

Jasmine, I say, in the form of tiny "pearls" that unfurl in my cup. Wu nods gravely. Tea ceremonies, he says, usually involve oolong.

"Under oolong there are two kinds of taste," Wu continues. "One is close to green tea. One is close to black tea. I think you will like one close to green tea. It's called Anxi Tie Guan Yin. It is also called Iron Goddess of Mercy."

He carefully transfers seven grams of the precious leaves to a dish. So begins my Chinese KongFu tea ceremony at Tao Tea Leaf.

Wu, 28, opened the tea house on Yonge St., north of Davenport Rd., in December with his sister Ming Zhu, 33. They are from Wuyi Mountain in China's northwestern Fujian province, where their parents run a tea garden and their brother has a tea shop and exports tea.

There are tea shops in Toronto, places like the House of Tea, the Tea Emporium, Davids Tea and Ten Ren Tea Co. Most import from all the world's tea-growing countries. Some double as tea salons. Inspired by Montreal's Ming Tao Xuan tea house, Wu specializes in Chinese tea in a traditional tea house setting.

Wu boils water in his Breville kettle with buttons for green tea, white tea, oolong tea, French press and boiling/black tea.

He pours water into the wooden tray he performs tea ceremonies on, and lovingly cleans it with a bamboo brush. Then he cleans two Buddha tea decorations and a trio of "tea pets" – three-legged clay toads with coins in their mouths.

The Chinese keep most of their best-quality tea, says Wu, forcing Chinese Canadians to ask friends who visit China to bring tea back. Wu hopes to change that, while enticing everyone to care more deeply about tea.

"Before I steep the tea, I will warm the cups," says Wu, rinsing them with boiled water. He puts the leaves into a YiXing clay teapot, explaining that this ceremony is about controlling the steeping time and water temperature.

"The first tea will take 1 minute," says Wu. "The second and third will take 20 seconds and 30 seconds. We will also pour the hot water outside (the teapot) because we need to make the temperature inside and outside the same."

Everything in Tao Tea Leaf has been imported from China, including four gorgeous wooden tables that seat 18. There are tea sets, tea pets, teapots and tea tools for sale alongside tea. Chinese traditional music sets a tranquil tone.

Wu, who studied economics in China and is now taking a tea sommelier certificate at George Brown College, picked Yonge St. to be on "the main street of Toronto." He created www.taotealeaf.com and a Facebook fan page.

Because of his family background and experience in China, Wu calls himself a tea master. He deftly steeps my tea, strains it into a glass teapot and then transfers it between two sets of cups.

"The flavour will live in the cup," he says, rubbing the first, empty cup between his palms, closing his eyes and inhaling. "You can feel how the flavour is. You can smell deeply. The better smell is from the second steep and the third steep."

It smells beautiful already.

"Now you can taste the tea," announces Wu, demonstrating how to slurp the fragrant liquid and roll it around his mouth.

Wu wants to teach people how to select and brew loose leaf tea. It's a bit of a disconnect but Tao Tea Leaf also sells bubble tea (mostly for student customers) and alongside green tea cookies and freeze-dried pineapple snacks are Kit Kats and Oreo Cakesters.

"I like chocolate," confesses Zhu, a commerce graduate who handles the shop's bookkeeping and bubble tea making.

Bubble tea goes for $2.69 and there's free Wi-Fi. Takeout cups of tea are $1.79 to $3.99. Small teapots of tea are $2.79 to $5.99. Loose leaf tea ranges from $5 to $35 per 50 grams. Tea ceremony workshops are $12 to $18.

Wu removes the teapot lid.

"Now you can see the tea leaf is a little bit open and it's wet and also hot," he says, pleased. "It means you can make the taste come out."

This tea ceremony goes by the name KongFu.

"One word means fighting," says Wu. "The other word means you do more preparing for the tea. You wash the cups. You use different tea tools and tea cups. You make different preparations. The main point in the tea ceremony is to use the right temperature and the right time."

Wu sends me on my way with Anxi Tie Guan Yin, to be brewed at home at 100C (212F) for three to four minutes.

 Welcome to TaoTeaLeaf Blog! Please feel free to click around, there’s something you might be interested in.

My name is Tao, founder of the Tao Tea Leaf, was raised in Wu Yi Shan, known for its poetic landscape and as a center for Oolong and Black teas in China's northwestern Fujian province; I was born in a tea family and I am a certificated tea sommelier. My goal is to promotion tea culture and education the tea friends, purveyors of the finest teas and tea wares.  

My greatest joy comes from conveying my knowledge and enthusiasm to our customers. I spoke with many of you in my store during the past few months. I know many of you have your own happy memories and experiences.Thank you all for your love and support!

Today, we start a new blog for sharing our story and knowledge to all our lovely tea friends, we have so many things would like to share with you. In the coming days, this blog will fill up with posts about various categories such as:

• Tao Tea Leaf News;
• Tea Guide;
• Brew the Perfect Tea;
• Tea Manufacture;
• Tea Trail;
• Tea Customs and Culture;
• YiXing Pottery;
• Workshops;
• Recipes;
• Media videos and photos;
• And much more…

And as always, we love to hear your input on how we can make things better around here — so feel free to drop us off a comment at any time.

Enjoy, and thanks for visiting our tea blog!

I look forward to seeing you in our store soon.