Chinese Tea Tasting
In this small-group Chinese Tea Tasting at Teasthetic in NYC, you will taste three Chinese teas side by side through multiple infusions, learning how aroma, texture, flavor, and aftertaste unfold in the cup.
Each session has a theme, but the center is your direct experience of the tea. Mengyan Gong, Teasthetic's founder and tea artist, will brew and serve the teas, guide you through a tea tasting journal, and help you notice more of what makes each tea beautiful.
|
Duration 90 minutes |
Group Size Limited to 8 guests |
Experience Level Open to all levels |
|
Tasting Format Three selected teas |
Host Mengyan Gong |
Location 89 5th Ave, Suite 701, NYC |
What Happens In A Tea Tasting
A seasonal tea theme
Each tasting begins with a clear theme and a short introduction to the tea knowledge behind it, such as origin, processing, and history. We may focus on one tea category, one region, or three teas that reveal different expressions of Chinese tea.
Three teas, brewed through multiple infusions
Mengyan will brew each tea several times using Gongfu methods. Instead of tasting only one cup, you will notice how a tea opens, deepens, and changes from infusion to infusion.
Guided observation and conversation
You will use a tea tasting journal not to make tea feel technical, but to give simple language to what the senses are already receiving. It helps you notice the look of the leaves, aroma, taste, mouthfeel, aftertaste, and personal impressions. Mengyan will guide the observation, and questions are welcome throughout the session.
What You Will Taste And Learn
Each tasting is built around three selected teas. Through multiple infusions and guided notes in your tea tasting journal, you will learn to observe them with attention, even if you do not yet have professional tasting vocabulary.
How to taste Chinese tea through multiple infusions
How to observe leaves, tea liquor, aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and aftertaste
How body, balance, and complexity shape the overall impression
How tea category, region, cultivar, and processing shape the cup
How each infusion can reveal a different side of the same tea
How to identify teas you may want to drink again at home
Who Is It For
Chinese Tea Tasting is for guests who want to develop a clearer, more accurate way to perceive tea. Choose this experience if you:
Simply want to sit down and enjoy several well-brewed Chinese teas
Are curious about Chinese tea but do not know where to begin
Want to notice aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and aftertaste with more clarity
Want enough guidance to understand and describe what is in the cup without needing to be an expert
Are looking for teas you may want to drink again at home
If you have ever felt that a tea was beautiful but hard to name, this tasting gives you a structure for paying attention so you can feel and enjoy tea more fully.
A Note From Mengyan
When I choose teas for a tasting, I look for relationships between them. Sometimes they share a season. Sometimes they come from different mountains, or show different levels of oxidation, roasting, or age. Tasting them together helps us understand each tea more clearly than tasting it alone. I design each tasting to offer enough guidance for guests to understand what they are tasting, while still leaving room for the tea to speak for itself.
Mengyan Gong is the founder of Teasthetic and a New York-based tea artist. She has studied Chinese tea since 2015 and is a student of Li Shuyun, one of China's most innovative tea masters. Since 2022, Mengyan has hosted tea ceremonies, workshops, tastings, and cultural events in New York, sharing Chinese tea as a living practice of beauty, attention, and connection.
Guest Words
"The presentation and care taken to make everyone feel welcome made this experience unforgettable. This was my first tea ceremony and I'm looking forward to many more! Loved the tea journal!"
Wanda Rivero, Tea tasting guest
FAQ
-
No. We will guide you through the tasting step by step. You do not need prior tea knowledge or tasting vocabulary.
-
The tasting focuses on comparing several teas and learning how to observe them. The workshop focuses on hands-on brewing practice. If you want to taste widely, choose the tasting. If you want to learn to brew and serve tea yourself, choose the workshop.
-
Each regular tasting features three Chinese teas selected around a theme. Themes change by season and may focus on a tea category, region, cultivar, processing style, or comparison between teas.
-
No. In a tea tasting, Mengyan will brew and serve the teas so you can focus on tasting, comparing, and asking questions. If you want hands-on brewing practice, the Chinese Tea Ceremony Workshop is the better fit.
-
The tasting takes place at Teasthetic, 89 5th Ave, Suite 701, New York, NY 10003.
-
Each regular public tasting is limited to 8 guests, so the experience stays personal and unhurried.
-
Many of the teas we taste are available through our online tea shop. If you enjoy a tea during the session, Mengyan can help you find it on the website or suggest a similar tea to explore at home.
Join Our Next Tea Tasting
Choose Your Tea Experience
Not sure which event is right for you? Teasthetic offers three regular small-group tea experiences.
Chinese Tea Tasting
For those who want to learn by tasting.
Taste three Chinese teas side by side through multiple infusions, and learn how aroma, taste, mouthfeel, and aftertaste unfold.
Chinese Tea Ceremony Workshop
For those who want to learn by doing.
Experience a guided tea ceremony, then learn to brew and serve tea yourself.
Meditation with Tea
For those who want to slow down first.
Begin with welcome tea and guided meditation, then enter a Chinese tea ceremony with clearer attention.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join our newsletter for upcoming workshops, tea tastings, meditation sessions, and seasonal notes from Teasthetic.