One clean example of each point on the oxidation dial, plus the two tools that matter most. Built so a modest starter set lets you taste the whole category map — and brew it properly. ~14 items; loose-leaf tea is inexpensive per cup, so the whole set is a small outlay.
0 of 14 bought
How this is sourced — tea sits between the wine and bourbon models.
1 · Good loose-leaf tea isn't a general-retail item, so this points to specialist vendors. Primary is Yunnan Sourcing (US warehouse at yunnansourcing.us for faster domestic shipping) — it states harvest year and specific origin on everything, which is exactly the Session 19 discipline, and carries every type plus teaware. For Japanese greens, Yunomi or Hibiki-An ship direct from Japan; Harney & Sons and Adagio are accessible US options with sampler sets.
2 · Buy small, buy fresh. Start with small quantities (25–50 g) — you want to taste widely, not stockpile. For greens and light oolongs, buy the most recent harvest; those fade within a year (Session 19).
3 · The two tools do more than any single tea. A gaiwan and temperature control are what let good leaf actually show itself (Sessions 15–16). Don't skip them.
4 · Prices shift and specific lots sell out — especially single-harvest teas. Treat named teas as examples of a type; if a specific one is gone, any tea of that style teaches the same lesson.
Also good: TeaSource (broad, long-running), Adagio (beginner sampler sets), Hibiki-An (Japanese greens). If you're ever in SF, Red Blossom Tea (Chinatown) and Song Tea are worth an in-person visit.
The oxidation spine — one example per point on the dial
Chinese green (pan-fired)~0% ox.
The low end of the dial — pan-fired style
Dragon Well (Longjing). The benchmark pan-fired green: flat pressed leaves, chestnutty, rounded, gently sweet. Buy the most recent spring harvest. Yunnan Sourcing lists pre-Qing-Ming Longjing with harvest dates; Bi Luo Chun is the other classic if you want a more delicate, fruity pan-fired green.
S8 · green (pan-fired)S17 · China
Japanese green (steamed)~0% ox.
Same near-zero oxidation, opposite fixing method
Sencha (everyday steamed green) — and if you want the umami lesson at full volume, add a gyokuro (shaded, intensely savory). Tasting this beside the Longjing is the single fastest lesson in the course: steamed/grassy/marine vs pan-fired/nutty. From Yunomi or Hibiki-An for freshness direct from Japan; matcha is optional and needs a whisk, so not essential here.
S8 · green (steamed)S3 · find the umamiS17 · Japan
White teavery low ox.
The least-processed type
Silver Needle (Bai Hao Yin Zhen) for the prized bud-only expression, or White Peony (Bai Mu Dan) for more body at a lower price — a good first choice. Delicate honey, hay, and melon; brew with enough leaf and time so it isn't faint. Yunnan Sourcing dates these by spring harvest; White Peony is the better value to start.
S9 · white tea
Oolong I — light & floral~10–30% ox.
The green, floral end of oolong
Modern-style Tieguanyin (unroasted, orchid-floral) or a Taiwanese jade / high-mountain oolong (creamy, buttery, floral). Rolled into tight balls — perfect for watching the leaf unfurl over many gongfu steeps. Yunnan Sourcing carries premium Anxi Tieguanyin and jade-style oolongs; either illustrates the light end.
S10 · oolong (light)S16 · gongfu
Oolong II — dark & roasted~50–80% ox. + roast
The dark, toasty end — oxidation + roast, two dials
Wuyi rock tea (yancha) — Da Hong Pao is the famous example: roasted, mineral, dark-fruited, with the celebrated "rock rhyme." Taste against the light oolong to feel roast as a separate axis from oxidation. Yunnan Sourcing lists graded Da Hong Pao and other Wuyi yancha; a roasted Tieguanyin or a Dan Cong is a fine alternative.
S11 · oolong (dark)S7 · the roast axis
Black / red tea~100% ox.
The high end of the dial — fully oxidized
A Chinese black (Yunnan "Dian Hong" — malty, peppery, golden-tipped; or Keemun — wine-like, cocoa) to see how China does the fully-oxidized end. Add an Indian contrast if you like: an Assam (bold, malty) or a Darjeeling (light, muscatel) — the "champagne of teas." Harney & Sons is easy for the Indian ones.
S12 · black teaS18 · India
Pu-erh — shou (ripe)post-fermented
Start here — the approachable pu-erh
A ripe (shou) pu-erh — smooth, earthy, mellow, dark-brewing, immediately drinkable. The gentle entry to post-fermentation before you tackle a bracing young raw one. Remember the quick rinse (a few seconds, discarded) before the first real steep. Yunnan Sourcing is the specialist here — a small tuo cha (nugget) or a sample of a cake is the low-commitment way in.
S13 · pu-erh (shou)
Pu-erh — sheng (raw)post-fermented, aging
The aging dimension — optional but illuminating
A young raw (sheng) pu-erh — bitter, brisk, vegetal now; the type prized for decades of aging. Tasting it beside the shou shows how differently the two are made, and what "aging asset" means in practice. A sample or small cake is plenty. This is the one tea people speculate on — buy to learn, not to flip (Session 19).
S13 · pu-erh (sheng)S19 · aging & market
The two tools that matter most
A gaiwan (100–150 ml)tool
The single most transformative purchase
A porcelain gaiwan. The lidded bowl that makes gongfu brewing possible — high leaf ratio, many short steeps, watching a tea evolve. Cheap, and it changes how much a good oolong or pu-erh will show you. Porcelain (not clay) first, because it's neutral and works for every type. Yunnan Sourcing sells inexpensive 100 ml gaiwans right alongside the tea. A clay yixing pot comes later, and only for one tea type at a time.
S16 · gongfuS13 · pu-erh rinse
Temperature control (kettle or thermometer)tool
Session 15's #1 lever, made usable
A variable-temperature kettle, or just an instant-read thermometer if you'd rather not buy a kettle. Temperature is the single biggest cause of bitter tea — greens want ~70–80°C, blacks and pu-erh near-boiling. Without a way to control it, you're guessing on the most important lever. Any general retailer for the kettle; the thermometer is the cheap route to the same control.
S15 · brewing parameters
Optional — deepen the practice
A beginner sampler / flight setacross the dial
The easy way to run Session 14's flight
A curated sampler spanning several types is the low-cost way to walk up the oxidation dial in one sitting. Yunnan Sourcing's "Steps" starter sets or an oolong flight; Adagio's bagged sample sets are the most beginner-friendly. This overlaps the spine above — skip it if you've already bought the individual types.
S14 · comparative flight
A cha hai (sharing pitcher) + small cupstool
Completes the gongfu setup
A cha hai (glass sharing pitcher) catches each gongfu steep so it stops brewing instantly and pours evenly; small cups let you actually taste the short infusions. Not essential, but it makes gongfu practical. Inexpensive and sold alongside gaiwans at Yunnan Sourcing.
S16 · gongfu setup
A yellow tea (rare — completes the map)low ox. + yellowing
The category folded into Session 8
A yellow tea (Jun Shan Yin Zhen or Meng Ding Huang Ya) — green tea given an extra "sealed yellowing" step that rounds off the grassy edge. Genuinely rare and a little pricey for what it is, but it completes the oxidation map you learned. Strictly optional; buy only if you want the full set. Yunnan Sourcing lists a yellow-tea category.
S8 · yellow (folded in)
A tasting journalhabit
The habit that compounds
Any notebook, dedicated to tea. Record the tea, its harvest/origin, your brewing parameters (temp, ratio, steep times), and where it landed on the instrument. The point from Session 20: noting parameters is what lets you reproduce the cups that worked — the single habit that turns tasting into skill.
S20 · after the courseS2 · the instrument
Session-by-session map
SessionCovered by
S1 · What tea isAny tea — locate it on the oxidation dial
S2 · Tasting InstrumentAny 2–3 teas + t14 journal
S3 · Calibration & flavor wheelt1 green + t6 black; find umami in t2
S4 · The processing chainNo tea needed — reading session
S5 · Oxidation — master variablet1 (green) vs t6 (black) — the two ends
S6 · Fixing / kill-greent1 (pan-fired) vs t2 (steamed)