In an attempt to shape and create tea culture in the U.S., I often borrow tea terms from one culture and apply them to another culture. One example of this is a series of teas that we refer to as “the eight treasures.” This is a line of eight teas that I put together that would be available on a consistent basis: Green Oolong, Charcoal Roasted Oolong, Second Flush Oolong, Yunnan Gold Tips, Aged Puer Tea, Jasmine Pearls, Wu Yi Oolong, and Iron Goddess.
Eight treasures is a subset of any eight derived from a longer list of one hundred treasures. The term “eight treasures” is used to describe an abundance of variety when used with food items, such as eight treasure rice or eight treasure tea. Eight treasure tea is consumed throughout China. I’ve always seen it as a small plastic bag containing eight different bits that are steeped together to make an interesting and enjoyable infusion. Items that might be found in eight treasure tea include chrysanthemum flower, rock sugar, oolong tea, green tea, Wolfberry, red date, jobes tears, stellaria, tremella mushroom, dried citrus peel, ginseng, and so on.
Five of the eight are shown above. More to come soon...
