Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Red Tea
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Tea Description:
Hearty and flavorful, this brew has a complex flavor, crisp finish, and a deep traditional red tea hue. This tea is harvested from a white tea plant, which offers a smooth finish to a fermented tea.
Ingredients: Organic White Tea Leaves
Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
Bai-Lin Kung-Fu Classic Red Tea from Shang Tea is quite spectacular! The aroma is like a malty black tea with aromas of cocoa, hay, and maple. My first reaction when smelling this while steeping was Mmmmmmmm. A deeper inhalation of this tea brings forth some berry aromas as well. Yet there is also something savory about this tea. My mouth was watering while I patiently waited for my tea to cool just a tiny bit so I could indulge!
This is a sweet tea! It even smells somewhat sweet. As I sip on this tea I find notes of honey, toasted cocoa beans, notes of roasted flavors, some kind of molasses perhaps, and a spark of spice. The after taste is lingering of that savory element I noted above. Almost an oregano note.
What a strange, interesting, complex tea!
This is not a tea for the faint of heart, it is bold, robust, not shy at all. It wakes you up and perks you up as it presents itself with a hearty “Hey there! Bet you weren’t expecting me!”
Its a bit sweet, a bit saucy, and all attitude! If this tea were a person it would be that interesting, but sometimes peculiar uncle Bob that sometimes makes you laugh and other times makes you go Hummmmm. Unless your uncle Bob is just creepy in which case this tea is not like him at all. It just has a way about it that speaks boldly for itself yet makes you feel comfortable with its unusual flavor. This tea makes you feel good to be a bit different, to go off the beaten path, to try new things, and indulge in rare delights that you won’t find around every corner.
If I were going to take a trek through the country I think I would take this tea along with me. It tends to make me feel invincible or like all things are possible. Its unusual, exciting, and unlike any other tea out there yet familiar enough in some of its flavor notes that I find it comforting at the same time as exciting.
Is it white or red or black? Its confusing right? Don’t despair, read all about it on Shang Tea’s blog here.
Special Reserve Green from Shang Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: Green
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Tea Description:
2 oz (57g) makes 60+ cups, 33 cents per cup
Ingredients: Wild Harvested Green Tea leaves- Antioxidant Rich
This special reserve green tea is a wild harvested tea that grows near the farm of Shang’s friend. The leaves are plucked and then processed on Shang’s farm to produce a truly unique green tea.
This green tea exudes a beautiful, vibrant green color that demonstrates the freshness of this tea. As with most green teas, this one has a green, grassy taste to it, but with an amazing umami sweetness and no bitterness or astringency. And being wildharvested, it is full of great flavor that lasts for at least 4-5 good steepings.
This is a tea that you will not want to miss and this year’s crop will likely sell out fast, so order today to enjoy this tasty treat! Learn more about this tea here.
Taster’s Review:
There are not many tea houses, or places to buy quality loose leaf tea in my area, however about one hour from my home is what I consider to be one of the best tea places anywhere in the United States. Shang Tea is on my top 10, perhaps even top 5 list of the best places to get quality teas. I found them online before I even knew they existed so close to my home! I do not get to go to their store often, but when I do I always feel welcome. If you take the time you can sit down and be served gongfu style all of their teas free for sampling and speak to the owner, Mr. Shang, about the teas, how they are sourced, and where they are sourced from. It is an educational experience. 
As for this tea, it is funny because Shang Tea gets the short end of the stick when it comes to me and my lack of reviewing their teas. Shang teas are the teas I grab when I really need to unwind, relax, decompress from a stressful day. When my life feels like it is in chaos I grab one of their teas. Often it is this very tea. I know it will never let me down and has meditative qualities I appreciate and desire in tea. More often than not, when I am reaching for my Shang Teas, especially Special Reserve Green, it is in those times I am not in the mindset to review or write about tea, rather I simply want to indulge and fully immerse myself in the cup. So my apologies to Shang Tea, if it were not for the stead fast, calming nature of your teas, I would have been spreading the accolades far sooner! Yes, in fact your tea is so good that I have lacked giving back. As the tea wipes my cares away it also erases my thoughts on telling everyone just how wonderful it is.
This tea is quite simply, clean, brisk, refreshing, glorious! There are of course the grassy notes as in most greens, and a lovely buttery, creamy, mouthfeel. There is the noticeable taste of gently simmered veggies, giving off almost a toasty flavor. I also detect the slightest sesame, nutty, note in the after taste.
The steeped leaves are delicate and pretty, with a mixture of light green and darker green hues.
The aroma of this tea takes me away to thoughts of the rolling tea fields and mountain landscapes that Shang teas come from. It’s bright and cherry but the depth of the aroma allows me to escape, its not a morning wake up tea as much as a focusing and centering tea that allows you to clear your mind and cleanse your spirit.
The complexities of this tea are subtle and it causes you, without pressure to sink into the tea and focus on what it has to offer, which aids in taking your mind off of your worries.
Its difficult to hold a cup of Special Reserve in your hand without just sinking back into your seat and taking a deep cleansing breath soaking in the aroma, and flavors.
As you can imagine, with how this tea makes me feel, I was not rushing back to the computer, or to technology in a rush to pound my fingers to do a review, but it is a tea that so deserves a review so that others can get a chance to get in on this tea while it is still available. I have so many favorites from Shang, and they offer sample sizes both in store and online.
Wild White Tea from Shang Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Product Description:
Our wild white tea has been harvested from the untamed hillsides on the edge of our farm in the Tai Mu Mountains. Untouched by human hands for years, these white tea plants developed a robust character with earthy undertones but a silky finish typical of fine white teas. Quantities limited of this extremely rare tea.
Taster’s Review:
This is a wonderful white tea. While it might look like a typical Bai Mu Dan, It has stronger presence. It is unusual for me to call a white tea “robust” (in fact, I can’t recall ever referring to a white tea as robust before this evening) – but this one qualifies for such a description.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not a rugged tea like a black Assam. But for a white tea, this Wild White Tea has a lot of gusto. It has an earthy characteristic. It is as though I can taste the “wild” in this one. It tastes a bit untamed, a bit undomesticated, and I really appreciate the differences that this white tea offers. And while it does have that untamed quality to it, it also finishes very clean and fresh like I’d expect from a white tea.
I steeped this in my gaiwan, using short steeps (first steep was just 1 minute, adding 15 seconds to each subsequent steep). This produced a beautiful flavor, and allowed for many steeps from the same measurement of leaves.
Truly a memorable white tea.
Jasmine White Tea Classic from Shang Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Product Description:
Ingredients: Organic White tea leaves, Jasmine flowers- Antioxidant Rich
Artful and exquisite, combining our high quality white tea leaves with jasmine blossoms. Harvested in warm weather when the tea leaves grow quickly and form sweet, tightly-formed leaves.
Taster’s Review:
I know that I’ve said this before: I love jasmine tea. I love it so much that I even bought a Yixing Tea Mug especially for my jasmine teas. Using my Yixing Mug gives a sense of special ceremony to the jasmine tea – and I love that with each use it is becoming more “seasoned” (perhaps I should say “infused?) with the flavor of jasmine.
Occasionally, I do come across a jasmine tea that I don’t really like. Fortunately, that has never been the case with Shang Tea: They continue to surprise and impress me with the quality of their teas, and especially their jasmine scented white teas.
This Jasmine White Tea Classic is absolutely heavenly. The aroma of the dry leaf is perfect – lightly fragranced with the sweet, beautiful scent of jasmine and just a hint of fresh white tea. This translates to the bouquet of the brewed tea as well as its flavor.
The flavor is sweet and subtle. The white tea is – as expected – quite delicate in flavor. Likewise, the jasmine flavor is also quite soft in flavor. What I am finding most enjoyable here is that while the flavors are rather quiet, they are not lost or watery in any way. They are in perfect harmony.
The jasmine is sweet yet possesses that hint of sharpness that is distinctly jasmine. The white tea has a fresh, airy taste to it that reminds me of the taste of the air upon a snow-capped mountain. Fresh and exhilarating without being too assertive. It’s the kind of flavor that makes me sit back with a smile of satisfaction on my face.
If you like jasmine – you really MUST try the jasmine offerings from Shang Tea. You may just find your new favorite!
Jasmine Snow Dragon Premium from Shang Tea
Tea Information:
Leaf Type: White
Where to Buy: Shang Tea
Product Description:
Ingredients: 100% Organic White tea leaves, Jasmine flowers- Antioxidant Rich
Truly a treasure tea, freely rolled tea leaves open to present a delicate and beautiful jasmine flavor. Jasmine Snow Dragon is a signature tea of Shang Tea .
Taster’s Review:
Do you love jasmine? I mean, really love jasmine? If your answer is yes, then have I got a tea for you!
I happen to LOVE jasmine tea. The aroma is intoxicating, and the flavor elevates me to a place of pure joy when I sip it. And this Jasmine Snow Dragon from Shang Tea is one of the BEST jasmine teas I’ve ever tasted.
From the moment I opened the pouch of this tea, I knew I was about to try something very special. The aroma was so sweet and floral – it took my breath away. It smelled like I was walking into a jasmine jungle! Now, I don’t know if such a place exists, but if it did, it would smell like this tea. It was as though I were surrounded by jasmine vines and shrubs while the petals “rained” down upon me.
And that amazing fragrance continues with the brewed tea. Do be sure to inhale deeply before taking a sip of this tea. My nostrils fill with the delightful scent of jasmine.
And the flavor! OH! The flavor! It tastes so extravagant! So luxurious! (Forgive the exclamations!)
The jasmine flavor is very pungent – sweet floral notes with a bit of a sharp, bitter taste from the jasmine. To the point where it might be off-putting for those who do not love jasmine. But if you do love it – you will think you’ve died and gone to heaven.
The white tea base is very soft but it is not completely overpowered by jasmine. There are soft, fresh notes from the white tea with the faintest whisper of vegetative taste. The overall cup is sweet, very floral and just enough bitterness to keep it all interesting.
I recommend brewing this one in your gaiwan, using a little extra leaf and very short steeps. This will get the most sweetness out of the jasmine without allowing it to develop to the point of being more bitter than sweet.
I LOVE this tea! LOVE it!