Tea Types
Naturally aged pu-erh — bright, bitter and floral when young, transforming over decades.
Sheng (生) means 'raw'. The leaves are sun-dried and pressed without wet-piling. Young sheng is challenging — vivid, bitter, energetic. Aged sheng (10–30+ years) becomes velvety, woody, deeply complex. The connoisseur's pu-erh.
From the Journal
Sheng, shou, and the only tea family that genuinely improves over decades. A practical primer on the world's most rewarding (and confusing) tea.
by Sameera
The wild tea forests of Yunnan are still home to 1,000-year-old trees. A journey to the misty origin of every cup on Earth.
by Sameera
Emerging microbiome research suggests tea's complex polyphenols may feed beneficial gut bacteria in ways we're only beginning to understand. Here's what the science actually says—and which teas show promise.
by Sameera
Long before shipping containers and DHL Express, tea travelled the Silk Road in compressed bricks worth more than gold. The routes from Yunnan to Europe forged the supply chains we still depend on today.
by Sameera
Deep in China's southwestern mountains, ancient trees tell the story of where tea began. This is the landscape that shaped civilisation's most enduring ritual.
by Sameera
The Tea List dispatch
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