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Cha & Grace Tea, Harmony, and the Way of Living

10/13/2026

🍵 Salmon & Dragon Well Green Tea Rice
鮭茶漬け | Sake Chazuke | 龙井三文鱼茶泡饭

Did you know that pouring tea over rice has been a Japanese tradition for centuries?
Known as Ochazuke (お茶漬け), this simple comfort food dates back to the days when people poured hot water over rice. As tea became more accessible, tea replaced water, creating a dish loved for its simplicity and comforting flavors.
Today, I’m giving this Japanese classic a little Chinese twist with one of my favorite green teas — Dragon Well (Longjing 龙井).
Its nutty, savory notes beautifully complement the natural umami of salmon, while homemade dashi brings everything together.

Here’s how I made it:
1. Make the dashi
• Add kombu (dried kelp) to cold water, soak for an hour. Then heat gently for about 20 minutes.
• Remove the kombu just before the water boils.
• Continue heating until nearly boiling, then add 15 grams bonito flakes.
• Once the flakes settle to the bottom (about 1 minute), strain the dashi.
• You can Save the kombu and bonito flakes for Niban Dashi (二番だし), a second, thicker stock.

2. Cook the rice
3. Prepare the salmon
Season salmon with sea salt and black pepper. Let it rest for 15 minutes, then pan-fry until golden and cooked through.
4. Brew the Dragon Well tea
Let the dashi cool to around 80–85°C (176–185°F), then use it to brew Dragon Well green tea. (I use 3 grams tea and 400ml dashi here)
5. Assemble your Salmon Chazuke
🍚 Start with warm rice.
🐟 Add a sprinkle of bonito flakes — watch them dance in the heat!
🍣 Place the golden salmon on top.(I didn’t get fresh salmon today so mine was not a great looking)
🌿 Finish with green onion and seaweed flakes.
🍵 Gently pour the fragrant Dragon Well dashi around.
And don’t forget a little splash of soy sauce for extra savory flavor!
One more idea: The leftover dashi, seasoned with a little mirin, ponzu, sake, is also delicious drizzled over lightly blanched okra. Simple, light, and full of umami.
From Japan’s centuries-old tradition of Ochazuke to China’s fragrant Dragon Well tea, I love how food brings different cultures together.

10/09/2026

Hanlu 寒露 — Cold Dew.

By this point in autumn, the season feels different. The air is cooler, mornings are sharper, and nature begins to gather inward.

In traditional Chinese seasonal thinking, spring grows, summer expands, autumn gathers, and winter stores. Hanlu sits right inside that shift — a reminder to conserve warmth, rest a little earlier, and choose foods and drinks that feel grounding and comforting.

For tea, this is when I start reaching for deeper cups: aged white tea, ripe Pu’er, roasted oolong, and Liu Bao. Not because tea has to follow a rule, but because the season changes what feels good in the cup.

Warm tea. Warm body. Early nights.
A little less spending, a little more reserving.

寒露宜收，暖意宜藏。
At Hanlu, gather what is warm and keep it close.
#寒露

10/08/2026

Beyond the Teacup | Chinese Tea Eggs 茶叶蛋 🍵🥚

Did you know that Chinese tea eggs have a history dating back at least 230 years?

In 1792, Chinese poet and food lover Yuan Mei (袁枚) recorded a simple recipe of eggs simmered with tea leaves and salt in his famous book Suiyuan Shidan (随园食单).

Over generations, this humble dish evolved into a beloved Chinese snack, infused with fragrant tea and warming spices.

🍵 My Homemade Chinese Tea Eggs

Ingredients:

* 12 eggs
* 8-10 grams loose-leaf black tea (you can also use oolong)
* 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
* 2 star anise
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 2 bay leaves
* 2 green onions cut into pieces
* 3 pieces of ginger
* a pinch of sichuan pepper
* 20 grams salt
* 4-6 cups water, cover the eggs

How to Make:

1. Boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then cool them in cold water.
2. Tap the shells with a spoon to create beautiful little cracks, without peeling them.
3. In a pot, combine water, salt, soy sauces, spices,m. Bring to a boil.
4. Add tea leaves and let it gentle simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Add the cracked eggs and turn off the heat and let the eggs soak in the fragrant tea broth for several hours. I let it sit overnight on the stove. (Or move into the fridge if the weather is hot in your area) The second morning I get a deep flavor and beautiful marbling.
5. Store the rest eggs with broth in the fridge for upto 5 days.

The longer they soak, the richer the flavor!

From teacup to kitchen, tea has always been part of Chinese daily life.

A little tea, some kitchen spices, and a tradition passed down through generations. 🤎

Pause for Tea | 倘若閒時來喝茶

10/04/2026

A rainy weekend has its own rhythm—
soft light by the window,
a warm pot of tea,
and a lap dog who only wants to be held. ☔️🍵🐶

Pu’er stays warm from morning into evening,
the rain keeps falling,
and the day asks for nothing.

What does your perfect rainy weekend look like?

10/02/2026

Meet the Tea | 花果山云雾茶 🍃

A tea from a mountain where clouds meet the sea—and where, according to legend, the Monkey King once called home. 🐒

From Huaguo Mountain in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, this Yunwu green tea carries a wonderful sense of place. Yunwu (云雾) means “cloud and mist,” a fitting name for tea grown among the mist-covered slopes of the mountain.

The dry leaves are slender and elegant, with fine silvery cha hao. Once brewed, the liquor becomes a clear, bright greenish-yellow.

And the aroma surprised me most: freshly boiled sweet corn. 🌽
That same gentle sweetness follows into the cup—fresh, smooth, softly savory, and clean.

Perhaps that’s what I love about Chinese tea: sometimes one cup leads you somewhere unexpected—to a mountain, a legend, and a story you’ve known since childhood.

If you could have tea with one character from Journey to the West, who would you choose? 🍵🐒

09/30/2026

At VegFest, a gentleman picked up a can of Yu Hua Cha and asked me, “What does it taste like?”
It was such a busy afternoon that I only had time to give him a quick answer. Afterward, I kept thinking—I wish I had told him the story behind this tea.
Nanjing Yu Hua Cha (南京雨花茶) is one of Nanjing’s distinctive green teas. It was developed in the late 1950s and named after Yuhuatai (雨花台), a place closely associated with the remembrance of revolutionary martyrs.
Even the shape of the tea carries meaning.
During processing, the leaves are carefully shaped into 紧、细、圆、直 — tight, slender, round, and straight needles. Their appearance is often compared to pine needles. The evergreen pine, long associated in Chinese culture with resilience and steadfastness, became part of the symbolism of the tea—a tribute to those being remembered.
Look closely at the dry leaves and you may also see fine silvery cha hao (茶毫), the tiny natural hairs on young tea buds and leaves. After brewing, some of these delicate hairs can be seen suspended in the clear tea liquor.
Brew it gently at around 85°C / 185°F, and you’ll find a fresh, clean cup with delicate vegetal sweetness, a soft chestnut-like note, and a lingering refreshing finish.
So, to the gentleman who took this tea home from VegFest: this is the story I didn’t have time to tell you that day. I hope you’re enjoying your Yu Hua Cha. 🍵
Sometimes a bag of tea holds much more than flavor—it carries a place, a craft, and a piece of history.
Have you ever tasted a tea and then discovered the story behind it?

09/28/2026

This ripe Pu’er ended up following me through the whole weekend. 🍵
On Friday, I paired it with Shanghai-style meat mooncakes for Mid-Autumn festival. On Saturday, I brought a pot to RVA Veggie Fest, and a few people enjoyed so much that they took home the little mini cakes to try for themselves.
This tea is made with Bingdao tea material from Lincang, then fermented in Menghai using a small-batch, off-the-ground fermentation method.
What I enjoy most is the texture — smooth, mellow, and full, with a soft rice-soup-like feeling and a gentle sweetness that reminds me of red bean soup.
And it’s so easy to keep around through the day. I like it either gently warmed in a teapot over a tea candle, or slowly steeped in a thermal cup.
Deep in color, gentle in character — exactly the kind of tea I love as the days turn cooler. 🍂
Have you tried ripe Pu’er before?

We were so busy at Richmond VegFest yesterday. Between pouring tea, talking with everyone, and chasing signs in the wind...
09/27/2026

We were so busy at Richmond VegFest yesterday. Between pouring tea, talking with everyone, and chasing signs in the wind, we somehow forgot to take photos. 😂🍵

Thank you to everyone who stopped by to taste tea, ask questions, chat with us, and take home some tea and teaware. It was such a lovely day, and I’m very grateful for all the conversations around the tea table.

If you enjoyed that little introduction to Chinese tea and would like to explore a little more, our Tea 101 at TXTUR sessions are coming up in October.

A relaxed 90-minute experience to taste, learn, ask questions, and enjoy tea together — no previous tea knowledge needed.

October 10 · October 15 · October 29
TXTUR · Richmond

Registration is available through the link in my bio, or simply send me a message and I’ll be happy to send you the details. 🍵

Thank you, RVA — yesterday was such a beautiful beginning.

My Mid-Autumn favorite: Shanghai-style meat mooncakes + Ripen Pu’er tea. 🥮🍵I grew up with 鲜肉月饼, so for me, Mid-Autumn do...
09/26/2026

My Mid-Autumn favorite: Shanghai-style meat mooncakes + Ripen Pu’er tea. 🥮🍵

I grew up with 鲜肉月饼, so for me, Mid-Autumn doesn’t always mean sweet mooncakes. These warm, flaky, savory meat mooncakes are still my favorite.

This year I paired them with 冰岛熟普— deep, mellow, and earthy enough to balance the richness of the pastry.

A little taste of Shanghai, a warm pot of tea, and one of those traditions that always feels like home.

中秋快乐 · Happy Mid-Autumn Festival. 🌕

What’s your favorite mooncake — sweet or savory?

09/25/2026

We’re almost ready for RVA Veggie Fest! 🍃🍵

Cha & Grace will be there this Saturday with a selection of teas and teaware to explore.
We’ve prepared some of this year’s fresh green teas, jasmine teas, and a few other favorites available for purchase, along with a selection of teaware.
You can also stop by for a complimentary tea tasting, say hello, and learn more about our upcoming Tea 101 classes and tea experiences.
If you’ve been curious about Chinese tea, want to find a new tea to take home, or simply want to pause for a cup with us, come by and visit.
RVA Veggie Fest
Saturday, September 26 · 12–6 PM
Byrd Park · Richmond
Come pause for tea with us. 🍵

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Charleston, SC
29401, 29403, 29405, 29407, 29409, 29412, 29414, 29424, 29425, 29455, 29492

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