What if the best teas aren’t the ones hyped on every list, but the ones a friend carries across the ocean because they can’t be found anywhere else? That’s exactly how I first met Le Comptoir Florian (also known as La Maison du Thé) in Belgium. Several years ago a friend was coming to visit…
The “Mushroom” Everyone Had Growing up in Russia, you eventually encounter a strange creature in someone’s home. People simply call it “mushroom” — or “гриб.” It sits quietly in a jar. It looks unusual. Yet everyone seems to have one. For years, we would keep it, forget about it, let it die, and then get…
A lot of non-tea related things happened this week but I have been having my daily seeps regardless. I am about to finish my stash of Earl Grey I buy in bulk at the Oriental Pastry & Grocery on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. I love going there to get my raw almonds, cardamon seeds and things like…
I last updated this list in March 2026, taking into account that some tea companies have unfortunately closed. In the past, I rarely bought tea online. Over the past few years, however, I’ve explored a wide range of teas available online and have been genuinely impressed by the quality. I’ve also sourced teas through friends…
Yesterday, for the first time, I brewed non-oolong tea in this Gaiwan I bought from Paul at “Cult of the Bitter Leaf“. I wanted to try this Bailin Gongfu Black Tea from Teavivre for a long time. I had this sample at home for some time, but since it’s Black Tea, I didn’t rush into drinking it…
February is often one of the coldest months of Winter, unless you live in Australia or Brazil. When it’s that cold outside, there is one kind of tea I really like to have: Ginger Milk Tea. The first time I really discovered this type of tea, I was at Radiance Tea House in Manhattan. The have a Ginger…
In China’s Yunnan province, ancient tea trees still grow in remote mountain forests, producing some of the rarest and most fascinating teas in the world. These ancient tea trees of Yunnan are considered living fossils and continue to be harvested using traditional methods passed down for generations.
