Michael's personal notes on exploring pu erh tea
Exploring the scientific literature on tea's health benefits, from gut microbiome effects to neurodegenerative disease prevention
Written while drinking: Daily tea exploration
Exploring how partial enzyme deactivation and brief steaming during compression enable raw pu-erh tea's natural aging process and flavor development over time.
Written while drinking: Raw Pu-erh
Discovering yellow spots on a 2024 pu-erh cake and researching whether it's beneficial or harmful fungal growth
Comprehensive research on loose leaf Pu'er tea prices across major Yunnan production zones, including Xishuangbanna, Lincang, and Pu'er City regions with flavor profiles and market insights.
Research from available Chinese sources on pricing of loose leaf Bingdao raw pu erh. Expect prices for cakes to be higher due to processing and marketing.
Research from available Chinese sources on pricing of loose leaf Bingdao raw pu erh. Expect prices for cakes to be higher due to processing and marketing.
Real experiences with vendors and shops
A review of Mianhua Gushu, a Taobao tea farmer who livestreams from a DiJie mountain terrace garden, sells terrace tea as a BingDao introduction, and leans on heavy marketing to survive a tough market.
Popular Chinese livestream tea channel with 250k+ viewers. Direct farmer sourcing format with entertainment value, but questions about authenticity.
An BuLang minority group farmer with an authentic personality
Recent thoughts on teas I've tried
Famous Bingdao region tea from terraced farms in Dijie sub-region. Softer than expected with subtle sweetness.
One of my personal favorites with complex flavors, initial bitterness that fades to lasting sweetness, and strong Cha Qi.
Curated video content about tea
Why are Yixing teapots getting smaller? A look at the mini teapot trend, 120ml solo-brewing pots, and what they mean for modern office and single-serving tea drinkers.
Exploring Di Cao Qing (底槽青) Zisha clay — the middle-layer purple clay from Yixing mines that balances authentic quality and texture with more accessible pricing for tea drinkers.
What makes a wood-fired Yixing teapot different? A look at the five-day firing process, ash patterns, and why these one-of-a-kind clay pots look metallic yet remain natural.