Tea Blog

Born under the blazing Texas sun, Zhi Tea knows about heat. Founded in 2007,Austin’s premiere organic tea company has been helping their neighbors keep summer cool for years. Delicious and calorie free, iced tea is an intelligent and luxurious way to stay hydrated this season.

“June is National Iced Month. While we don’t ever need an ‘official’ reason to drink iced tea here at Zhi, it is a great time to encourage others to start thinking about safe and healthy ways to enjoy the summer,” says Lorien.

“Not only is iced tea refreshing and delicious, research suggests tea plays important roles in elevating mood, maintaining healthy weight and helping your body maintain healthy cells and tissues.  When one packs their bag for the beach, we hope there’s some amazing iced tea next to the sunblock, the frisbee and one’s favorite book.”

With almost 100 teas and a line of specially crafted cold steeping kits, your summer iced tea choices are endless. Indulge and hydrate the healthy way: with Zhi Tea!

Is your favorite tea an iced tea?

As you know, it’s about to get hot.
Did you know that tea can help you keep your cool?

Join Zhi for a free tea tasting & talk on the health benefits of tea from a Chinese medical perspective.

Tiffany Smith, L.Ac will speak on tea, its function as a Chinese herb, and common medical conditions that tea might address. Various teas will be served while we explore:

What is tea?
What tea is good for your skin?
What tea moves qi?
What tea is good for metabolism?

About Zhi Tea: Zhi Tea is an independent organic tea company based in Austin Tx that strives to elevate the American tea culture while celebrating ancient traditions. Founded in 2007, Zhi specializes in artisan oolongs and hand blended original signatures.

About Tiffany: Ms. Smith is a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist and a teacher of biomedical science at Texas Health & Science University. She maintains her own practice specializing in allergy treatment, pain and stress management, and wellness.

Note: Zhi is not trying to cure diseases, pretend we’re doctors, or tick off the FDA with this little event. We just love tea and are open to learning more and more about this miracle beverage. Consider this our full legal disclaimer xo

Many thanks to our friends at Tea Mag for including us on their calender.

See you soon, Austin!

At Zhi,  we’re always looking for moments to connect.

Mother’s Day is a wonderful opportunity to pause, reflect and celebrate ‘Mom.’  Isn’t she great?

When in a state of mindful appreciation, its almost impossible not to think about all the nurturing women in your life. We bet that creates many special moments for tea beyond the familial.

To show your thoughtfulness, give tea!

Zhi’s vast selection of organic tea from around the world can customize your gift and tea party. Choose from caffeine free herbals, energizing black teas, healthy greens, and antioxidant rich rooibos. Everyone loves Zhi’s hand blended original signatures like our Saigon Rose and Plumberry Black.

Can’t decide? Give them thoughtful and easy to use online gift certificate. They’ll love exploring the luxurious world of loose leaf tea on our picturesque and user-friendly website.  Available 24 hours a day and redeemable in minutes: great for busy families and tea loving moms.

Are you gifting the luxury of tea this Mother’s Day? If so, include us in your memories by tagging #zhitea in your Instagram, Facebook posts and tweets.

For more inspiration, please enjoy this Mother’s Day slide show from Tea Time Magazine.

Happy spring, tea lovers.

Today, I wanted to talk about Brandy Oolong.

Known for its unique flavor profile and creamy body, Brandy Oolong is quickly growing in popularity among oolong lovers.

Unique toTaiwan, this heavily oxidized oolong could initially be mistaken for a black tea; but at about 85% oxidation, it indeed is an oolong. Although Brandy Oolong can come from several different cultivars or varietals, the resulting liquor is dark amber with aromatic notes of roasted sugar and stone fruit. We love the mouth feel on this tea! It is so smooth and complex and has a great sweet finish. Some people experience a subtle camphor taste as well.

The Taiwanese are quite creative and diligent in creating new teas. One particular cultivar known as Ruby 18 (which is great for creating Brandy Oolong) took decades in testing before being released to farmers for planting. It was worth the wait. Ruby 18 is a unique hybrid of anassam and an indigenous varietal.

Brandy Oolongs, while still pretty rare in the US, can be a great alternative to black teas.  Zhi is quite excited about this new tea choice in the growing stable of Taiwanese Oolongs.

See “Jeffrey’s Personal Stash” if you are curious and find all Zhi’s ”Oolongs” at zhitea.com.

Here at Zhi Tea, we know that Earth Day is every day. Our customers do, too, and we love them for it. There are so many ways to show one’s appreciation for nature, and having a cup of tea is one of them.

Tea’s wonder is steeped in ancient traditions and the planet’s biodiversity. The cultivation and use of the tea plant is a testament to man’s relationship with the natural world. Over the centuries, the demand and appreciation for tea has grown. While that is a wonderful thing, it also brings to light many choices that have to be made to be a good steward of the art of tea and the environment in which it thrives. 

Committing to a standard of excellence is possible when committing to organic tea. Earth-friendly practices are possible every step of the way when considering planting, nurturing and harvesting of tea on the numerous plantations all over the world. All of Zhi’s teas are curated according to these values. Choosing organic tea allows one to know that he is enjoying a pesticide-free product and aligning with agricultural standards of sustainability and purity. And, it tastes great too!

When given a chance to “Pause, Reflect, Connect” this Earth Day, we hope you do so with a cup of Zhi tea. Together, we celebrate our connection to the planet’s wisdom and beauty as we strive to be ever mindful of her gifts. Happy Earth Day, tea lovers! – Dr. Oolong

Hello tea lovers,

Dr. Oolong here…saying hello from Asia!

After spending a day in Hong Kong, our China adventure continued today with a mind-boggling stop at the tea market here in Guangzhou. “All the tea in the China” doesn’t even begin to describe it. From exquisitely designed and extremely high-end teaware shops with gorgeous hand-crafted pots averaging in the $500-1000 US range, to modest stalls with open burlap sacks of low-grade tea a few feet away, it was a diverse market to say the least. Besides plenty of tea, another thing we shared in common was the torrential downpour of the day.

We found a couple favorite merchants and teas that occupied the majority of our time. As I was relearning how to “get my shop on,” I was cautious at first to make even a modest purchase. Remember, I am here not for business buying (although I am acquiring some teaware for the tea room); I am just picking up some interesting things for my own use.

So we settled into a nice relaxed tasting of a yi wu pu-erh which was quite smooth and got us into the groove. This was followed by an extensive session at a shop with zillions of little cups, among other things. We all found some well-made artisan and inexpensive cups to our liking, and I also scored a cute and unique yi xing pot for a reasonable price. Pics to come soon!

We also sipped snow chrysanthemum tea for a couple hours, which was a delight. Even though I have a gifted tiny stash of it at home in Austin, I hadn’t tried it until yesterday while in China. Crazy! It is a fantastic herbal tea! Great mouthfeel, surprisingly complex, and has a long sweet floral finish. I bought a little to bring back, as I also want to try blending with it; it is gorgeous and vibrant in addition to tasting great.

Truly, we barely scratched the surface of the tea market. You could literally spend a week there. Hundreds and hundreds of vendors. Thousands upon thousands of pu-erh cakes. Gorgeous and immense hand-carved tea tables. Relaxing and helpful sales people. And, there weren’t that many shoppers there so it was a mellow time. We capped our day with an outstanding Hakka lunch at a nearby restaurant. I love the rain, but arrived soaked. Note to self: buy an umbrella; they are cheap here!

I must point out that it helps greatly to have knowledgeable friends who also happen to speak Chinese. I would be lost without them.

So today we journey to a nearby city of which I have forgotten the name. Tomorrow we fly to Yunnan!

-Dr. Oolong