T Ching Contributing Writer

John Bickel started writing the Tea in the Ancient World blog in 2013. Currently working in IT (data center quality assurance management), living in Bangkok, Thailand for 12 years, previously in PA, TX, MD, CO, and HI. Travel interest has related to visiting most East and Southeast Asian countries. Founder of the Specialty Tea Quora Space, and co-founder of the International Tea Talk Facebook group. Current tea preference centers on sheng pu’er but includes lots of other range.

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Tea In the Ancient World Blog

Posts by John Bickel

Vietnamese Black Teas from Hoang Su Phi and Lai Chau (8/26/2022)
Vendor Use of Social Media for Tea Marketing (7/29/2022)
Thai Wild-Origin Sheng (6/24/2022)
A Tea Tour and Conference Event in the Country of Georgia (5/20/2022)
Tea culture in Mexico: an Interview with Claudia Aguilera (5/4/2022)
Sheng Pu’er Storage: Wet, Dry, and Optimum (4/20/2022)
Experiencing Tea with Covid Tongue (3/23/2022)
Interview with William Osmont of Farmerleaf (3/17/2022)
Cha Gao – Traditional Instant Tea (2/25/2022)
Tea-Themed New Year’s Resolutions (1/18/2022)
What Does it Mean for a Tea to be Brisk? (12/22/2021)
Tea Blogging Life Cycle (11/24/2021)
What are the Benefits of Drinking Sage Tea? (10/19/2021)
Keeping Tea Experience Simple (10/18/2021)
Wild Origin Teas and Adopting Foreign Tea Styles (9/20/2021)
Tea Vendor Promotion Through Social Media Channel Creation (8/23/2021)
Tea References (7/19/2021)
Tea Evaluation Template (6/28/2021)
On Tea Evangelism (5/28/2021)
Using the Term “Oriental” in Tea Names (5/18/2021)
Is the Designation Ceylon Problematic? (4/13/2021)
Gongfu Versus Western-Style Brewing (3/18/2021)
A Short History of Tea in Chile (3/1/2021)
The Middle of the Tea Experience Curve – Part 2 (1/20/2021)
The Middle of the Tea Experience Curve – Part 1 (1/19/2021)
Tea Bringing People Together (Just Less Literally Lately) (12/28/2020)
Small-Batch Shu Processing – Part 2 (11/19/2020)
Small-Batch Shu Processing – Part 1 (11/18/2020)
Biodiversity Research and Wild Origin Teas – Part 2 (10/20/2020)
Biodiversity Research and Wild Origin Teas – Part 1 (10/19/2020)
Aged Oolongs (9/23/2020)
Shu Pu’er Basics (8/19/2020)
Thermos Brewing (7/29/2020)
A Buddhist Take on the Designation of Tea Master/Artist – Part 2 (6/9/2020)
A Buddhist Take on the Designation of Tea Master/Artist – Part 1 (6/8/2020)
Switching to Online Contact During the Pandemic – Part 2 (5/11/2020)
Switching to Online Contact During the Pandemic – Part 1 (5/7/2020)
Chinese Tea Producers Talk About Coronavirus Experiences – Part 3 (3/23/2020)
Chinese Tea Producers Talk About Coronavirus Experiences – Part 2 (3/19/2020)
Chinese Tea Producers Talk About Coronavirus Experiences – Part 1 (3/18/2020)
Is Specialty Tea Having a Moment? (2/24/2020)
Tea Blogging Retrospective; Four Busy Years – Part 2 (1/20/2020)
Tea Blogging Retrospective; Four Busy Years – Part 1 (1/16/2020)
Phongsaly Laos Sheng and Black Tea Reviews – Part 2 (12/18/2019)
Phongsaly Laos Sheng and Black Tea Reviews – Part 1 (12/16/2019)
Sheng Pu’er Aging Exploration – Part 2 (12/2/2019)
Sheng Pu’er Aging Exploration – Part 1 (11/27/2019)
Tea Tasting and Illness (10/24/2019)
Combined Tea Sample Tasting – Part 3 (10/3/2019)
Combined Tea Sample Tasting – Part 2 (10/2/2019)
Combined Tea Sample Tasting – Part 1 (9/30/2019)
Pu’er-Like Teas From Southeast Asia – Part 3 (8/21/2019)
Pu’er-Like Teas From Southeast Asia – Part 2 (8/19/2019)
Pu’er-Like Teas From Southeast Asia – Part 1 (8/15/2019)
Starting Two New Tea Groups (7/24/2019)
Tea Shopping in a Market in Shenzhen, China – Part 3 (6/27/2019)
Tea Shopping in a Market in Shenzhen, China – Part 2 (6/26/2019)
Tea Shopping in a Market in Shenzhen, China – Part 1 (6/24/2019)
Pu’er Storage Background and Research Summary – Part 3 (5/23/2019)
Pu’er Storage Background and Research Summary – Part 2 (5/22/2019)
Pu’er Storage Background and Research Summary – Part 1 (5/21/2019)
Compressed Teas and Tisanes Beyond Pu’er – Part 3 (3/27/2019)
Compressed Teas and Tisanes Beyond Pu’er – Part 2 (3/26/2019)
Compressed Teas and Tisanes Beyond Pu’er – Part 1 (3/25/2019)
Google Trends Review of Tea Trends – Part 2 (2/25/2019)
Google Trends Review of Tea Trends – Part 1 (2/21/2019)
Some Intermediate-Level Ideas About Tea – Part 2 (1/16/2019)
Some Intermediate-Level Ideas About Tea – Part 1 (1/15/2019)
Meeting Online Tea Friends (12/24/2018)
Five Years of Blogging About Tea (11/29/2018)
Tea Taste Profiling and Machine Testing “Tasting” – Part 2 (10/17/2018)
Tea Taste Profiling and Machine Testing “Tasting” – Part 1 (10/16/2018)
Online Social Networking Related to Tea – Part 2 (9/18/2018)
Online Social Networking Related to Tea – Part 1 (9/17/2018)
Narendra Kumar Gurung on Developing Local Tea Production in Nepal – Part 2 (8/28/2018)
Narendra Kumar Gurung on Developing Local Tea Production in Nepal – Part 1 (8/27/2018)
Ten Tips For Brewing Better Tea – Part Two (7/25/2018)
Ten Tips For Brewing Better Tea – Part One (7/24/2018)
Top 100 Tea Blog List Critique (6/18/2018)
Tea and the Concept of Experience Economy (5/17/2018)
Buddhism and Tea (4/30/2018)
An Assam Tea Grower On Orthodox Processing and Sustainability (3/26/2018)
Growing and Processing Tea Plants at Home (2/27/2018)
Tea in Russia; A Summary (1/24/2018)
Christmas Tea Blend 2017 (12/13/2017)
Tea gear; on brewing devices (11/29/2017)
Tea Culture: A Blog Anniversary Retrospective (10/31/2017)
More direct tea sourcing (9/27/2017)
Fluoride level and risk in tea (8/30/2017)
The first Spanish tea harvest (7/27/2017)
Caffeine in tea, revisited (6/27/2017)
Review: Ya Bao wild tea white pu’er buds (5/25/2017)
Tea group buying & the Sheng Olympiad: an interview with Andrew Richardson of Liquid Proust Teas (3/28/2017)
Tea Shopping in New York City (3/1/2017)
Christmas Tea Blends (12/19/2016)
Brewing Grandpa-Style (11/16/2016)
About Thai Teas and Tea in Thailand (10/17/2016)
Brewing Loose Tea with a 20-Minute Breakfast (9/28/2016)
Making Thai Iced Tea from Scratch (8/30/2016)
The Top Ten Unwritten Rules of Tea Blogging (7/27/2016)
Indonesian Teas: An Overview (7/5/2016)
Tea Evaluation and Scoring (5/26/2016)
A Tea Enthusiast Quits Tea: Part Two (5/16/2016)
A Tea Enthusiast Quits Tea: Part One (5/9/2016)
Mission Impossible: Reviewing Teas from North Korea: Part Two (4/7/2016)
Mission Impossible: Reviewing Teas from North Korea (3/29/2016)
Tea in Kazakhstan, Part Two (3/3/2016)
Tea in Kazakhstan, Part One (2/25/2016)
Comparing Tea and Chocolate Tasting (1/25/2016)
The Real Da Hong Pao (12/30/2015)
Making Rock Oolong: An Interview with Cindy Chen (12/1/2015)