When asked what his favorite tea is, the Hong-Kong native replies, "I'm a southern guy. I drink Tiquanyin. It's unpretentious and the flavors are right out in front. There's no beating around the bush." As he speaks, he prepares his own blend of the roasted Oolong, "Monkey Picked" Tiquanyin. But first he dampens the leaves in a bowl and passes them around for us to smell. As with wine tasting, the aroma of the tea is just as important as the taste and mouth feel. Instead of brewing the tea in individual cups, he places the leaves into a tiny clay pot, serving it in the gongfu style.

Fong uses a different pot of water to brew the Tiquanyin, explaining that it needs to steep in hotter water and for a few minutes longer than Dragon Well. When we taste the finished product - this time slurping the tea through our teeth as instructed - it is smoky, thick and rich, lingering on the edge of bitterness. This is the espresso of teas, and after a few more thimble-sized cups, I start to feel lightheaded.



http://www.arctic.org/~adam/sites/fillet/97/04/index3.html