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2. Black Teas

12/15/25

Building off of last year's black tea session, this year further traced how European imperialism shaped Western tea culture by following the story from China through to India and Sri Lanka, culminating with a modern take on black tea from Korea. We ended back in China with Lapsang Souchong, the story of which can be briefly found here.

3. Tisanes

1/11/26

A caffeine-free start to the new year, and the first tea session to not include any actual tea! This was a sampling of different flavor profiles from herbal infusions around the world, and showed off the beautiful colors of rooibos and the butterfly pea flower (a color changing pH indicator!).

4. Puerh

2/08/26

Puerh can take several steeps to open up, so we took our time with this session and only went through 3 teas, moving from a light sheng puerh into funkier, darker fermented tea. We threw some chrysanthemum blossoms into the Prosbloom for the last few steeps for added brightness!

5. Oolong

3/08/26

2. Roasted and Smoked Teas

12/15/24

This session showed how different countries have smoked or roasted tea to create unique styles, from the subtle roasted Taiwanese oolongs to the powerfully smoky lapsang souchong. (Note: the Obsidian is really intended for tea-based cafe drinks, so I don't recommend it in a matcha-style preparation. It makes a fantastic latte, though.)

3. Oolong Teas

1/12/25

I love oolongs and wanted to present a range of styles and taste profiles that exist within this huge category, from the dark, mineral Big Red Robe to the light and floral Taiwanese high mountain variety. These are all staples of the genre, and for good reason. I also had to start with duck shit, because who doesn't like duck shit?

4. Black Teas

2/16/25

This session gave a short overview of how black tea developed in China and India and was introduced to the West, mainly via European imperialism, and then followed with a modern selection of black teas from areas less well known for black tea production.

5. Flavored Teas

3/16/25

To finish the season, I wanted to venture out from "pure" tea and land on some familiar flavors. This session showcased a few different flavoring methods: scenting (Jasmine King), blending (Moroccan Mint and Genmaicha), and directly adding an extract (Earl Grey and Lemon Pekoe). A concise write-up of the differences can be found here.