Nestled throughout rural China, secret wild tea trees (from when now-defunct villages cultivated trees centuries ago) house rare, high-quality teas. Acquiring them requires tapping into a local network of knowledge about their location and then bushwhacking through swamp and forestation while fending off leeches to pick each leaf. For many in the tea industry, this is far too much dedication and labor for sourcing tea, …
Chinese tea is incredibly layered with story and nuanced with flavor. NYC’s Tea Drunk, the brainchild of tea connoisseur Shunan Teng, is a purveyor of exceptional teas from small farms in China’s best growing regions. Teng herself visits each farm and often selects the specific bushes she wants leaves from. This sampler of White, Green, Wu Long and Red teas is a great entry point …
As journalists and explorers, we are drawn to many different types of people but experts and those profoundly passionate about what they do tend to top our list. Shunan Tang of NYC’s Tea Drunk is the most knowledgable individual about Chinese teas that we’ve met. She’s so passionate that she commissions all of her teas—leaves, styles—from farmers directly. She’s hands-on to the point that she …
