It's been a long time coming, but Rising Phoenix Tea will officially be open for business on August 1, 2008.
Although it took much longer than expected, the site is finally up and 90% operational. In order to find high-quality tea, we searched high and low throughout the Chinese country side. We came up with a nice selection of traditional teas as well as some fusion teas for western tastes.
We have a similar story for tea pots, tea sets and other assorted items. We offer a wide range from time-tested designs to modern show pieces. All of our ceramics are high-quality, coming from respectable factories.
Although our inventory will be a little on the small side at our launch, we will add more selections as new crops of teas mature.
It is our goal to provide the finest teas available. -Scott Tamas CEO Rising Phoenix Enterprises, LLC.
Herbal teas are not strictly speaking tea. Only teas made with leaves from a tea tree (Camellia sinensis) can be labeled a true tea, however more recently any plant or shrub that can alter the taste of a drink through it's aroma, flavor or perhaps even therapeutic uses is often called a tea.
Unlike traditional teas, herbal teas can use many parts of the herb including: the leaves, flowers, stems and roots. They are often processed in the same manner as green tea, drying them as quickly after picking as possible as to avoid fermentation.
Oolong tea (also known as wulong tea) is a traditional Chinese tea that has oxidized to somewhere between green and black teas. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation.
In Chinese tea culture, partially oxidized oolong teas are collectively grouped as "blue-green tea" (qingcha). Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea and yet does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that exemplifies green tea. The best Oolong has nuanced flavor. It is usually brewed to be strong, causing the bitterness to dissipate, leaving a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. Oolongs produced in Fujian Province's Wuyi Mountains and in the Central Mountains of Taiwan are world famous.
During processing, Oolong tea leaves are often rolled into long, curly leaves or into ball-like form similar to gunpowder tea. It is often served in Chinese restaurants to compliment certain foods, for example: dim sum.
