Fang Ting

Fang Ting’s relationship with Chinese tea began not in a classroom but on the slopes of the Dabie Mountains in Henan, where her family’s small garden plot supplied a seasonal rotation of fresh green teas. She later spent seven years in Wuyishan, studying Yán Chá (岩茶) processing under master Luo Zhengui and deepening her understanding of how microclimate and firing technique shape the signature minerality of Zhèng Yán (正岩) rock oolong. Today, as Senior Tea Expert at Teamotea, she brings that hands-on fieldwork to every cupping she leads, whether it’s an intimate comparison of three vintages of Dà Hóng Páo (大红袍) or a multi-category session that places a delicate Xìn Yáng Máo Jiān (信阳毛尖) alongside a 12-year-aged Shēng Pǔ‘ěr (生普洱).

Her cross-category palate is what defines her events. Fang Ting’s upcoming Paris Wuyi rock-tea evening is a good example: the evening moves from a floral Mí Lán Xiāng (蜜兰香) dancong to a deep-fired Tiě Luó Hàn (铁罗汉), then closes with a slow-brewed Shú Pǔ (熟普) to anchor the session’s arc. The format reflects her belief that cupping a single type in isolation misses the relational story tea tells when lineages sit next to each other. That conviction also appears in the community threads she authors, notably Big festivals vs private sessions — what each format actually gives you, which unpacks how scale changes presence, and Outdoor tea events — managing weather and water, a practitioner’s guide drawn from her years of hosting gongfu sessions in parks from Lyon to Rotterdam.

Fang Ting’s approach to outdoor events has become a quiet signature. She treats wind, humidity, and even unexpected rain as inflections rather than obstacles — a philosophy she documents in her outdoor thread and demonstrates during retreats where she uses portable chá jù (茶具) and adapts brewing parameters on the fly. Her gear recommendations often draw from the curated selection at shop.thetea.app, while her personal collection of aged Shēng Pǔ‘ěr is regularly sourced through trusted producers featured on puerh.app.

When not hosting events on tea.events, Fang Ting contributes to the curriculum at tea.school, teaching modules on Wuyi oolong classification and the interplay between varietal, elevation, and firing style. Her sessions always include a slow, deliberate gōngfū chá (功夫茶) component, because she believes that no amount of theory replaces the moment when water meets leaf in a silent, shared space.