N.P. Lim
I still remember the first cup of tea I drank after returning from a long trip. It was nothing remarkable, a simple black tea brewed in my kitchen but it tasted different from any cup I had drunk abroad. It wasn’t the leaves themselves. It wasn’t the water or the pot. It was the familiarity…
There is a particular hush that settles over my kitchen on a weeknight, after the dishes are done and the day finally loosens its grip. That is when I open a new box of tea from Gryphon Tea Company Singapore. Last week, the box belonged to Gryphon Singapore, and the moment I lifted the lid,…
Tea culture has become remarkably good at talking about tea. We discuss origins. Elevation. Harvest seasons. Processing methods. Water temperatures. Brewing vessels. There are endless conversations about tea. And yet I sometimes wonder whether we spend enough time simply drinking it. This may sound like an odd criticism coming from someone who enjoys learning about…
Many tea drinkers have a tea they are saving. A special oolong purchased during a memorable trip. A rare tea gifted by a friend. A tea that feels too valuable, too limited, or too meaningful to drink casually. So it waits. Days become weeks. Weeks become months. The tea remains carefully stored while more ordinary…
Introduction Few teas are as instantly recognisable as Earl Grey tea. Even among people who do not regularly drink tea, the distinctive citrus aroma of Earl Grey often feels familiar. It appears in tea shops, cafés, afternoon tea menus, and kitchen cupboards around the world, yet many people still ask the same question: what is…
One of the most common questions among both new and experienced tea drinkers is surprisingly simple: is tea acidic? The answer is yes, but the reality is far more nuanced than a simple yes or no. Most teas fall on the mildly acidic side of the pH scale, yet they are generally far less acidic…
Some of the most memorable tea sessions begin without intention. No special occasion. No carefully selected tea ware. No plan to spend an afternoon appreciating tea. Someone simply puts water on to boil. A tea is chosen almost absentmindedly. Cups are found. The tea is poured. And somehow, those sessions often become the ones we…
Tea drinkers do something interesting. When trying a new tea, many immediately begin searching for the “correct” tasting notes. Floral. Roasted. Fruity. Mineral. Someone takes a sip and suddenly feels pressure to identify every subtle characteristic as though there is a right answer hidden somewhere inside the cup. And if the tea feels confusing at…
Tea drinkers rarely say this out loud. But many have probably thought it at least once. Sometimes an expensive tea tastes… fine. Not extraordinary. Not life-changing. Just fine. And yet modern tea culture often treats expensive tea as though it automatically deserves deeper admiration. A rare mountain harvest. Ancient tea trees. A tea produced in…
Oolong tea never feels entirely straightforward. Green tea usually introduces itself immediately. Black tea does the same. You understand them quickly. One feels fresh and bright. The other feels deep and familiar. But oolong tends to sit somewhere in between. Not fully green. Not fully black. Not always easy to describe. Perhaps that is part…