Discovering Chinese Tea at Jolon House

Although I, like many Australians, like their tea – we know little about tea beyond our branded bags of Lipton and Dilmah; and the random teas from Japanese and Chinese restaurants. We recently visited Teng Wang, the Owner of Jolon House, where we discovered the little known true beauty of what is good quality Chinese Tea.

WG: We have the ever popular coffee and soft drinks, but what makes you so passionate about tea?
Teng: I am originally from China and the Chinese have a tea history and culture that has evolved for more than 5000 years. I love tea and there are a lot of health benefits from drinking tea. I also opened Jolon House to introduce the Chinese tea culture into Australia.

WG: Are your teas locally grown or imported from China?
Teng: Our teas are imported from China from 2 main places. Oolong tea is from the Fujian province, while our green and white teas are imported from Zhejiang province.

WG: What is the most popular tea in China?
Teng: The most popular tea in China is green tea, but there are 3 different classes of green tea which people should be aware of. First class green tea is picked every year before the 4th of April. Tea pickers will be picking the baby leaf by picking 1 bud with 2 young leaves that are about 2-3 days old. Teas that are picked around the 20th of April is called 2nd class tea, and 3rd class tea is tea picked at the end of April.

3rd class green tea is low quality tea, and is used for green tea bags and sometimes restaurant tea. It is low quality tea because they use a machine  to cut not only the leaves but the stems as well, creating a bitter or strong taste. Any tea, including black tea, should not be too strong or too bitter as they are not good quality teas. A good tea should be very gentle, mild, and have a very subtle taste with a beautiful after-taste.

WG: Is there a difference between Chinese and Japanese green teas?
Teng: It is about the same. The main difference between Japanese and Chinese green teas are the growing areas. It is like wine – there are different weather conditions, soil conditions, and mountain areas.

WG: Are there any special teas people would go for after meals or perhaps after dessert in Australia or China?
Teng: A tea that is getting more popular in China is pu’er tea (a.k.a. black tea or fully fermented tea). This tea is not only growing popular in China, but also in Europe. It is very good for digestion, and particularly good for people who would like to lose weight.

We do not sell pu’er tea here because it requires further fermentation. You are supposed to buy it and then store it for a period of 4-5 months before you can start using them. But because the weather here is far too dry, it is not good for further fermentation. However, Oolong tea is also good for digestion and weight loss as well.

WG: What are the most popular teas that you sell?
Teng: I sell green, white, and oolong teas. I currently have 2 shops which are in Belmont Forum and in Subiaco. At Belmont, the best sellers are the green and oolong teas. In Subiaco, the white tea is more popular as it is more rare and has strict growing conditions. There are only two places in China which have these growing conditions. It is called white tea because the leaf changes from green tea to white tea. The tea is a very light colour and is almost transparent. This is the tea that is picked the earliest.

WG: How is tea normally served?
Teng: There are 2 different ways of serving tea. One is for day-to-day use, and the other is a more traditional way. We still use the traditional way, for example, when we have guests in the house. We have a DVD which is available for those who are interested in finding more about the traditional Chinese tea ceremonies.

WG: What temperature should the water be?
Teng: For oolong tea, boiling water is better because it is semi-fermented. As green and white teas are fresh teas, the best temperature is 80-85 degrees Celsius. The best way to do this is to boil the water and wait for 2-3 minutes before you start making the tea.

WG: What would you say is the art of drinking tea?
Teng: Look at the tea and smell the tea. When you drink it, taste it by keeping it in the mouth for 2-3 seconds and enjoy the beautiful, mellow after-taste of the tea.

WG: People normally buy teas from the supermarket in tea bag form. What would you say is the difference between your teas and tea bags?
Teng: When people use tea bags, people normally use it once and then throw it away. With green and oolong tea, you can keep re-using them for at least 3-4 times. For example, our small pack is 50g and costs $20-30. If you know how to prepare the tea properly, it will make 200 cups. It is 10 cents per cup so it is more economical. Basically, our teas are cheaper and are of better quality compared to tea bags.

WG: Are there any further plans for business expansion, like in Australia or the world?
Teng: My goal is to open up 5 branches in 5 years in WA. It has taken me 1 year to set up the business, and Jolon House has been operating for 1 year. Our next step is to have a shop in either Garden City or Karrinyup Shopping Centres. Later this year, we hope to bring our tea products into beauty and health salons and maybe do a tea demonstration so people can enjoy our cultures and the health benefits of Chinese tea.

WG: Just before we wrap up the interview, do you have a message you would like to share with our readers?
Teng: Something I would like to share is an ancient Chinese proverb – it is “Better to be deprived of food for three days, than tea for one”. By this, I mean to put emphasis on that you can get a lot of health benefits from drinking good quality tea.

• Green tea is good for people who have high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol level, and even arthritis.
• Oolong tea combines the health benefits of both green and black teas like catechin, theaflavin, and polyphenol which acts as antioxidants. It is also good for health and beauty.
• White tea (pictured below) is good for anti-viral and anti-bacterial effects. It is also good for people who are trying to protect themselves from skin cancer especially since the sunlight is very strong in Australia.

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For those who are interested in finding out more about Chinese Tea Art and the health benefits of oolong, green, and white teas, there is a pamphlet available in-store with citations from various medical research studies conducted in the USA.

Jolon House sells tea and tea wares. Free tea tastings are also available. Try it, it is a whole new tea drinking experience for those who have only drunk Chinese tea at Chinese restaurants!

Jolon House
BELMONT FORUM SHOP
Shop 82-1
227 Belmont Avenue
Cloverdale, WA

SUBIACO SHOP
Unit 1, 513 Hay Street (building in between Oriels and KFC)
Subiaco, WA

Tagged as: black tea leaves, buy black tea, buy chinese tea, chinese green teas, loose leaf white tea, tea and health benefits, white tea leave