the tea table (ttt)
hosted at telos haus on november 3rd, 2025
presented by megumi tanaka
Starter Pack
❀ gaiwan – 150mL or a porcelain teapot
❀ server – hasami porcelain, glass server, or handmade stoneware
❀ porcelain tasting cups or celadon cups
❀ electric kettle – bonavita or fellow
❀ gram scale and a dish for weighing
❀ loose leaf tea
Teas we tried
➀ white dragonwell, green tea. starting at 30g pouch or single brew 3g packet. if you liked the creamy flavor and want something with more umami, explore this bold green tea or white tea.
➁ lishan green heart, oolong. starting at 30g pouch or single brew 6g packet. if you want to explore more varieties of oolong, try something green & sweet, dark & chocolatey, or citrusy & honey-like.
➂ ruby, variation #2, red tea. starting at 30g pouch or single brew 6g packet. if you liked this, you'll love the roaster's red. both are made from oolong cultivars.
Gift ideas
❀ Hello! collection. Four teas across categories, 3 servings each. Cai Cha (green), Wild Tree Yunnan Red, Shan Lin Xi Winter Sprout (green & sweet oolong), and April 27 Amber (darker more complex oolong).
❀ The Song Collection, 2025-2026. For the tea enthusiast. One of each tea in the entire collection, including aged and rare teas.
❀ Soba Tea. Doesn't contain camellia sinensis, but this botanical blend tastes really good. The buckweat, cocoa nibs, and chinese licorice are warming and delicious.
alternative brewing setup
❀ bowl style – use a medium sized bowl the size of a matcha bowl and pour water to just barely cover the leaves repeatedly. if you do this, skip the server and tasting cups
❀ instead of a gram scale, eyeball it so leaves cover the bottom of the gaiwan or bowl in an even layer
❀ use a towel instead of a tea tray or mat
❀ boil water on the stove and use a thermometer
❀ instead of buying new tea, experiment with teas you already own. ex., for green teas, try using water temp of 175º F for 1 min and see how it affects flavor.
where to get tea
❀ Song Tea & Ceramics (subscribe to their email newsletter for educational dispatches)
❀ Wolf Tea (for Taiwanese green & oolong teas, global shipping)
❀ Yuuki-Cha (for ceremonial grade matcha)
❀ Aiya Matcha (for culinary grade matcha)
❀ Kettl (for sencha & matcha in New York)
❀ Te Company (for Taiwanese tea and pastries in New York)
Glossary
❀ camellia sinensis — the tea plant, a shrub or tree cultivated in subtropical or tropical climates. contains amino acids, vitamins, polyphenols, flavinoids, l-theanine, and caffeine.
❀ gong fu cha — tea ceremony using small brewing vessels and cups. today we are doing an style called "dry brewing" which is characterized by minimal water usage.
❀ steep — to brew tea. the first steep is usually the most aromatic and contains the most caffeine, while the second steep is usually a more full bodied flavor.
❀ gaiwan — a lidded bowl made of porcelain used to brew tea in small quantities. today we are using a 150mL gaiwan.
❀ server — sometimes called the "fairness cup" since it ensures each cup of tea tastes the same.
❀ oxidation — enzymatic breakdown after tea leaves are picked, rolled, bruised, or crushed, turning from green in color to brown.
❀ roast — when heat is applied to tea, oxidation stops. tea can be steamed, baked, pan roasted, or charcoal roasted in underground pits.
❀ green tea — teas that are roasted immediately after picking. ~0% oxidized. aged pu-erh teas start out as green teas.
❀ red tea — in mandarin, hong cha means red tea. in english, we refer to the same teas as black tea. ~100% oxidized.
❀ oolong tea — teas oxidized between green and red teas, usually green oolong is ~20% and darker oolong is ~30–50%. white tea is partially oxidized since it is traditionally sun baked.
❀ cultivar — a specific varietal. ex., jin xuan is a hybrid developed by the taiwanese tea research and extension station to mimic the complexity of high mountain oolong teas.
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any questions? or want share what teas you're drinking? i'd love to hear from you! email me here.
