--- title: "Tea Knowledge" description: "How to brew, choose and store Chinese tea - and what actually goes into ours. Practical guides from our tea house in Phuket, plus short articles on tea types, ingredients and regions." canonical_url: https://leafspirit.store/knowledge lang: en last_updated: 2026-07-26 site: Leaf & Spirit - Chinese tea house in Phuket, Thailand --- # Tea Knowledge How to brew, choose and store Chinese tea - and what actually goes into ours. Practical guides from our tea house in Phuket, plus short articles on tea types, ingredients and regions. ## Guides - [Thai Orange Tea (Cha Yen): What It Is and What Goes in It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/cha-yen.md) - Orange Thai tea is cha yen: strong black tea with condensed milk and spices; the colour comes from food dye. The mix, a home recipe, and the green emerald version. - [The Chinese Incense Ceremony: Tools and Ritual](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/chinese-incense-ceremony.md) - The Chinese incense ceremony (xiangdao) explained: the tools, the ritual step by step, and how a Phuket tea house pairs aloeswood and sandalwood with tea. - [Chinese Tea Types: The Six Categories](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/chinese-tea-types.md) - The six Chinese tea types - green, white, yellow, oolong, red and dark - explained from a Phuket tea house: what sets them apart and how to brew each. - [Choosing a Chinese Tea Set: Gaiwan, Teapot or Gongfu Set](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/choosing-a-chinese-tea-set.md) - How to choose a Chinese tea set: gaiwan vs teapot vs full gongfu set, porcelain vs clay vs glass - plain advice from a Phuket tea house that brews daily. - [Cold Brew Tea: Ratio, Timing and the Teas That Shine](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/cold-brew-tea.md) - How to cold brew tea: 5–6 g per litre, 8–12 hours in the fridge, no sugar needed. Which oolongs, greens and blacks shine cold - tested at our Phuket counter. - [What Is Gongfu Cha? The Chinese Tea Ceremony Explained](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/gongfu-cha.md) - What is gongfu cha? The Chinese tea ceremony explained by a Phuket tea house: a small gaiwan, generous leaf, many short steeps - and where to try it live. - [How to Brew Oolong Tea: Gaiwan or Teapot, by Style](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/how-to-brew-oolong.md) - How to brew oolong tea by style: 85 °C for floral rolled leaf, 95 °C for roasted and GABA, 3 g per 100 ml - numbers from a Phuket tea house counter. - [How to Brew Pu-erh Tea (Gongfu Method)](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/how-to-brew-pu-erh.md) - How to brew pu-erh gongfu style: leaf ratio, water temperature for sheng and shou, rinse and steep times - from a Phuket tea house that brews it daily. - [How to Store Pu-erh Tea for Aging](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/how-to-store-pu-erh.md) - How to store pu-erh tea at home so it ages well: 60–70% humidity, airflow, paper and bamboo instead of plastic - and how we age ours in tropical Phuket. - [Milk Oolong: What It Is (and Why There Is No Milk)](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/milk-oolong.md) - Milk oolong is a Jin Xuan cultivar tea that tastes creamy with no milk involved. Where the aroma comes from, how to tell cultivar creaminess from added flavouring, how to brew it. - [Sheng vs Shou Pu-erh: How to Tell Them Apart](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/sheng-vs-shou.md) - Sheng vs shou pu-erh: how raw and ripe pu-erh differ in processing, leaf colour, liquor and taste - and how to tell them apart at a glance. - [Tea Ceremony or Tea Tasting in Phuket: Which to Book?](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/tea-ceremony-vs-tasting-phuket.md) - Tea ceremony or tea tasting in Phuket? What happens at each, how long they take, prices from 2,000 THB - and how to choose the right one for you. - [Tea Souvenirs from Thailand: What to Bring Home from Phuket](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/tea-souvenirs-from-thailand.md) - Tea souvenirs from Thailand: what to bring home from Phuket - Thai-grown GABA oolong from Mae Salong, mini pu-erh cakes, gift boxes and packing tips. - [Thai Tea: Orange Cha Yen, Blue Anchan, and the Real Mountain Leaf](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/thai-tea.md) - Thai tea means three different drinks: orange cha yen with condensed milk, blue anchan flowers, and real leaf from the Mae Salong mountains. What is what and what to bring home. - [Types of Oolong Tea: From Floral to Roasted](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/types-of-oolong.md) - The main types of oolong tea, from floral Tieguanyin and milk oolong to roasted Wuyi rock tea, red oolong and GABA - and which one to try first. - [Where to Buy Chinese Tea in Phuket & Thailand](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/where-to-buy-chinese-tea-thailand.md) - Where to buy Chinese tea in Phuket & Thailand: real tea houses vs tourist shelves, fair THB prices, harvest years and delivery across the country. ## Tea types - [Chinese Black Tea: Why China Calls It Red Tea (Hong Cha)](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/black-tea.md) - Chinese black tea is hong cha, red tea: honey, baked bread and cocoa, no bitterness, no milk needed. Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong to Dian Hong, brewed at 90–95 °C. - [GABA Oolong: How It Is Made, How It Tastes, Where It Grows](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/gaba-oolong.md) - GABA oolong tea explained: oxygen-free fermentation, taste, caffeine, and why ours grows on old Taiwanese cultivar bushes in Mae Salong, Thailand. - [Chinese Green Tea: Longjing, Pan-Firing and 75–85 °C Water](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/green-tea.md) - Chinese green tea is pan-fired, not steamed like Japanese: sha qing locks in the fresh leaf. Longjing, pre-Qingming picking and why 75–85 °C water matters. - [Oolong Tea: What It Is, Half Way Between Green and Red](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/oolong.md) - Oolong is a partly oxidised tea between green and red: creamy body, long finish, lilac or embers depending on the roast. Brewed at 85–95 °C, many steeps. - [Pu-erh Tea: Raw and Ripe, Yunnan Cakes and Why It Matures](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/puerh.md) - Pu-erh (puer) is the post-fermented tea of Yunnan: raw sheng matures for decades, ripe shou turns dark and earthy in weeks. Pressed cakes, water at 95–100 °C. - [Sheng Pu-erh (Raw Pu-erh): How It Is Made and How It Ages](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/sheng-pu-erh.md) - Raw pu-erh, or sheng, is sun-dried Yunnan leaf pressed into cakes: bright and astringent young, honeyed and round after years. 90–95 °C and ten steeps or more. - [Shou Pu-erh (Ripe Pu-erh): Wet Piling, Cocoa and Wood](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/shou-pu-erh.md) - Ripe or cooked pu-erh gets its dark, velvety character from wet piling, perfected in Kunming in the 1970s. Cocoa, wood, 95–100 °C, and it simmers on the stove. ## Ingredients - [Anchan (Blue Butterfly Pea Tea): What It Is and How to Brew It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/anchan.md) - Blue Thai tea anchan is butterfly pea flowers, not tea leaf: taste, brewing, the lime colour trick, an honest look at health claims and what to bring home instead. - [Chrysanthemum Tea: Tai Ju, Hangbaiju and How to Brew It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/chrysanthemum.md) - Chrysanthemum tea, grade by grade: tai ju buds, Hangzhou hangbaiju, Anhui gongju. Brew at 90–95 °C, or drop a pinch into ripe pu-erh for juju-pu. - [Coconut in Tea: Dried Flakes, Oolong Blends and Allergens](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/coconut.md) - Dried coconut flakes in a tea blend: creamy sweetness, 85–95 °C and a full 3–4 minutes, why coconut oolong works, and the tree-nut allergen question. - [Goji Berries in Tea: Ningxia Sun-Drying and How to Brew](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/goji.md) - Goji berries in tea: soft sweetness, amber colour, no bitterness. Sun-dried in Zhongning, Ningxia, hand-picked; brew at 85–95 °C and eat the berries. - [Grape Green Tea: Raisin, Not Fresh Fruit, and How to Brew](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/grape.md) - Grape green tea: berry sweetness over a light green base, brewed at 80–85 °C. In tea, grape means the raisin, and 4–5 kg of fresh fruit make one kilo. - [Jasmine Tea: How It Is Scented in Fujian, Round by Round](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/jasmine.md) - How jasmine tea is made: buds picked after 2 p.m., laid with green leaf overnight, ten to twelve hours a round, then a tihua pass. Brewed at 80–85 °C. - [Jujube (Chinese Red Dates) in Tea: Sweetness and Brewing](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/jujube.md) - Chinese red dates (jujube, hong zao) in tea: caramel sweetness on shou pu-erh or black. Tear them open, steep at 90–95 °C. Not the same as suan zao ren. - [Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tea: Taste, Drying and How to Brew It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/lions-mane.md) - Lion’s mane mushroom tea tastes like light mushroom broth: nutty, faintly sweet, a bit of umami. Brew at 95–100 °C - water pulls beta-glucans, not hericenones. - [Lychee Black Tea: Scented, Real Fruit or Flavoured](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/lychee.md) - Lychee black tea comes three ways: scented Lychee Congou with the fruit removed, real dried pieces, or added flavouring. Brew at 90–95 °C, short steeps. - [Matum Tea from Thailand: What It Is, the Taste, and How to Brew It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/matum.md) - Matum tea is dried, roasted slices of bael fruit: an amber caffeine-free cup tasting of dried apricot and baked apple. How to brew it, what the health talk is worth, how to pack it. - [Mint in Tea: Peppermint or Spearmint, and How to Brew It](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/mint.md) - Peppermint leads with menthol, spearmint with carvone - two herbs, not one. Mint for tea is cut before flowering, dried under 55 °C, brewed at 85–90 °C. - [Orange Peel in Tea: Dried Sweet Orange, Not Chenpi](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/orange.md) - Dried sweet orange peel (Citrus sinensis) is not chenpi - that name belongs to aged Xinhui mandarin. Zesty with a light bitterness; brew blends at 90–95 °C. - [Osmanthus Tea: Taste, Brewing and Osmanthus Oolong](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/osmanthus.md) - Osmanthus smells of ripe apricot, peach stone and honey with a creamy edge. The flowers give it up fast, so brew short at 90–95 °C. Jingui is the most fragrant. - [Peach in Tea: White Peach Oolong and Why Not Yellow](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/peach.md) - White peach oolong works because white peach carries less acid and the high floral notes that survive hot water. Yellow is jammier. Brew short at 85–95 °C. - [Rosebud Tea: Which Rose the Buds Come From, and Brewing](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/rose.md) - Chinese rose tea uses edible cultivated buds, picked half-open before dawn in Pingyin, Shandong. Garden roses are not for the cup. Brew at 90–95 °C. ## Regions - [Fujian Tea: Tieguanyin, Wuyi Rock Oolong, White Tea, Jasmine](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/fujian.md) - Fujian is the tea-craft province: Anxi Tieguanyin, Wuyi rock oolong and Da Hong Pao, Fuding white tea, the first red tea Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong, and jasmine tea. - [Mae Salong: Thailand’s Mountain Tea Region and Its Oolongs](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/mae-salong.md) - Mae Salong tea: a Kuomintang village in Chiang Rai that became the oolong mountain of Northern Thailand. Taiwanese cultivars and GABA oolong bought direct. - [Yunnan Tea: Pu-erh Mountains, Old Trees and Dian Hong](https://leafspirit.store/knowledge/yunnan.md) - Yunnan is where the tea tree began: pu-erh from Menghai, Yiwu and Lincang, broad-leaf old trees, and Dian Hong red tea with golden buds and honey sweetness. --- Contact: WhatsApp https://wa.me/66829896048 · LINE https://lin.ee/NAgjG2p · info@leafspirit.store · 101 Cherng Talay Road, Choeng Thale, Thalang, Phuket 83110, Thailand · Open daily 10:00-18:30 (Phuket time). AI agent site guide: https://leafspirit.store/llms.txt · Machine-readable price list: https://leafspirit.store/prices.md