The MountTea Journal

Find your tea.
Make it your ritual.

Simple beginnings, better brewing, and stories behind the leaves. Explore Chinese and Taiwanese tea, one cup at a time.

Sage green gaiwan and golden tea on charcoal stone
Start here

Chinese Tea for Beginners: Where to Start

Choose your first loose-leaf teas, brew a good cup with simple equipment, and build a tasting habit that helps you discover what you enjoy.

3 min read

Start here

Your first three steps.

A clear place to begin. Follow the essentials, then explore the full 25-guide learning path below.

The beginner’s learning path

25 practical guides, arranged from your first cup to confident tasting.

Hand pouring golden tea from a gaiwan into a glass pitcher
Guide 1 · Brewing guides

How to Brew Gongfu Tea: A Step-by-Step Guide

Learn gongfu brewing with a small gaiwan: measure the leaves, make short infusions, empty the vessel fully and adjust the next pour to taste.

3 min read
Sage green gaiwan and golden tea on charcoal stone
Guide 3 · Start here

Chinese Tea for Beginners: Where to Start

Choose your first loose-leaf teas, brew a good cup with simple equipment, and build a tasting habit that helps you discover what you enjoy.

3 min read
Kettle, clear water pitcher, dry tea and an hourglass on stone
Guide 7 · Brewing guides

Tea, Water and Time: A Practical Brewing Guide

Use a clear starting table for gongfu and mug brewing, understand working volume and water, and change one variable when a cup needs adjustment.

2 min read
Tea with separate dishes of dried longan, nuts and leaves
Guide 9 · Choose your tea

How to Choose Tea by Flavour

Translate familiar flavours into a useful tea shortlist. Learn the difference between tasting notes, added flavourings, body, roast and sweetness.

2 min read
Three tea infusions ranging from pale gold to dark amber
Guide 10 · Brewing guides

Why Does My Tea Taste Bitter, Weak or Flat?

Diagnose bitter, drying, weak and flat tea separately. Use a controlled brewing adjustment instead of changing leaf, water and time all at once.

3 min read
Macro view of a ripple in golden tea beside unfurled leaves
Guide 11 · Tea stories

How to Taste Tea and Discover What You Like

Use a repeatable tasting method to separate aroma, flavour, body, astringency and finish. Keep notes that make the next tea purchase more useful.

3 min read
Five contrasting tea samples in a divided walnut tea scoop
Guide 12 · Choose your tea

What to Try Next: Your Tea Discovery Map

Choose your next tea through meaningful contrasts: fresh versus aged, floral versus roasted, or two origins within a familiar style.

2 min read
Gaiwan and tasting cup beside a mug and metal infuser
Guide 13 · Brewing guides

Gongfu vs Mug Brewing: Two Ways to Enjoy Tea

Compare leaf ratios, timing, equipment and taste in gongfu and mug brewing. Choose the method that fits your tea and the time you have.

2 min read
Five cups showing successive tea infusions from amber to pale gold
Guide 14 · Brewing guides

How Many Times Can You Rebrew Tea?

Know when tea has another good infusion left, why leaf structure changes the sequence, and why a fixed infusion count is a poor quality test.

2 min read
Glass cha hai filled with amber tea on dark stone
Guide 15 · Teaware

What Is a Cha Hai, and Do You Need One?

Understand what a fairness pitcher does, match its working capacity to your gaiwan and choose a material and spout that make serving easier.

3 min read
Flat green Long Jing leaves spilling from a bamboo scoop
Guide 17 · Choose your tea

Chinese Green Tea: A Fresh Starting Point

Choose Chinese green tea by processing, harvest and flavour. Brew Long Jing with a measured recipe and recognise freshness without judging colour alone.

3 min read
Twisted red tea leaves with golden tips and copper coloured infusion
Guide 18 · Choose your tea

Chinese Red Tea: Sweetness, Warmth and Body

Understand hong cha, the Chinese red tea family called black tea in English. Compare Yunnan styles and brew for sweetness without overextracting.

3 min read
Rolled green oolong and roasted strip shaped oolong side by side
Guide 20 · Choose your tea

Oolong Tea Explained: From Floral to Roasted

Navigate oolong through oxidation, roast and leaf shape. Compare light high mountain styles with roasted teas using recipes suited to each.

3 min read
Sheng and shu pu-erh tea pieces with golden and red brown infusions
Guide 21 · Choose your tea

Sheng vs Shu Pu-erh: What’s the Difference?

Understand raw and ripe pu-erh as different processing routes. Learn what age and storage do, how to brew a first sample, and what to ask before buying.

2 min read
Opaque tea caddy, tin and kraft pouch on a shaded wooden shelf
Guide 23 · Tea stories

How to Store Tea at Home

Protect everyday tea from moisture, heat, light and odours. Understand why fresh green tea and pu-erh need different storage decisions.

3 min read
Two gaiwans and pitchers prepared for a side by side tea tasting
Guide 25 · Tea stories

Your First Side-by-Side Tea Tasting

Organise a two-tea tasting with matched vessels, measured recipes and useful notes. Compare roast, origin or processing without wasting leaf.

2 min read

More from the journal

Tea Pet Meaning and Ritual at the Tea Table
Choose your tea

Tea Pet Meaning and Ritual at the Tea Table

Tea pet meaning, symbolism, and care explained: learn how these small gongfu tea companions develop character and how to choose one for your tea table.

6 min read
Ru Yao Teaware: How to Choose and Use It
Teaware

Ru Yao Teaware: How to Choose and Use It

Choose Ru Yao teaware for gongfu tea with confidence. Learn about crackle glaze, sizing, care, and the best vessels for a considered daily tea ritual at home.

7 min read
Nixing Clay Teapot Buying and Brewing Guide
Teaware

Nixing Clay Teapot Buying and Brewing Guide

Choose a Nixing clay teapot with confidence. Compare clay, size, tea pairings, brewing, and care before selecting a gongfu vessel for daily use at home.

7 min read
Is Buckwheat Tea Caffeine Free? What to Know
Tea stories

Is Buckwheat Tea Caffeine-Free? What to Know

Is buckwheat tea caffeine free? Learn why pure roasted buckwheat contains no caffeine, how to check blends, and how to brew it for calm evenings at home.

6 min read
Pu-erh Resin Brewing Guide for Better Cups
Brewing guides

Pu-erh Resin Brewing Guide for Better Cups

Use this pu-erh resin brewing guide to choose water temperature, portion size, and steeping time for a clear, balanced cup at home or work without guesswork.

7 min read
Best Temperature for Green Tea Explained
Brewing guides

Best Temperature for Green Tea Explained

Find the best temperature for green tea by style, leaf shape, and brewing vessel. Clear gongfu and Western methods for sweeter, balanced cups at home.

6 min read
How to Brew Sheng Pu-erh: Gongfu Brewing
Brewing guides

How to Brew Sheng Pu-erh: Gongfu Brewing

Learn how to brew sheng pu-erh with a gaiwan: leaf ratio, water temperature, timing, and adjustments for young or aged raw tea at home with confidence.

7 min read
How to Choose Ripe Pu-erh With Confidence
Choose your tea

How to Choose Ripe Pu-erh With Confidence

Learn how to choose ripe pu-erh by assessing aroma, leaf quality, age, storage and flavour, then find a shu pu-erh that suits your taste.

8 min read
Plain sample pouches with contrasting loose leaf teas and a green cup
Choose your tea

Where to Buy Chinese Tea Online in Portugal

Buy Chinese tea online in Portugal with confidence. Explore loose-leaf pu-erh, oolong, white tea and gongfu teaware for your daily tea ritual.

7 min read