Quality tea needs quality tea sets to compliment it. As a large tea shop at Maliandao tea street, Xiang Yuan Shao Pin offers one-stop shopping for both.

Teas offered at Xiang Yuan Shao Pin come in all types, including green tea, black tea, white tea, and floral tea. They’re all produced at China's famous tea plantations.

Pu'er tea is one of the more popular teas on the market today. It’s easily recognizable, with its unique packaging. I especially noticed one kind of Pu'er tea contained in plastic bottles. They look like candies. The shop owner told me Pu'er teas are compressed to make it easier to transport through the mountains where the tea grows.

Price of the pressed Pu'er tea is RMB 72 per 100 grams.

As for tea sets, the highlights of the shop are their ”huo hua” – which means ‘to activate’ – porcelain. The teapot can ‘activate’ the water poured within over 20 different microelements beneficial to one’s health.

Price of this tea set, which contains one teapot and six tea cups, is RMB 1200.

What I appreciate:
Quality tea and tea sets

What customers appreciate:
Various tea, beautiful tea sets with superb craft

Luxueya, more than any other brand, really brought Fujian's tea culture to the capital. They did this by putting their shop on Maliandao street, the largest collection of tea shops in northern China.

However, back in 1997 when their Beijing branch first opened, Maliandao was hardly a major shopping area. But after 10 years of hard work and development, Luxueya has grown significantly along with the tea street itself.

All of Luxueya teas come from the Taimu Mountains back in Fujian province. Their plantation, which covers several mountains, produces organic green tea, white tea, jasmine tea, and black tea. Many of Luxueya's patent tea have won gold prizes in domestic and international exhibitions.

The most famous tea at the shop is white tea, which is uncured and unfermented tea. Prices vary according to their type. For example, 150 g new Bai Mu Dan (white tea) is priced at RMB 88, while 370 g 2-year-old Shou Mei (white tea) costs RMB 256. If you don't mind having a good packaging, Luxueya carries loose tea for comparatively lower prices.

What I appreciate:
Luxueya tea

What customer appreciate:
Good-quality tea

When it comes to Zisha, or purple clay teapot, we usually mean a traditional pot made from Yixing clay, and commonly used to brew tea. The name comes from Yixing in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, and the original place of purple clay teapot production.

Zheng Fu Cao Tang is a shop selling various shapes of clay pots made from teapot masters in Yixing.

Entering the shop, I was enthralled by its atmosphere. In the middle of the spacious exhibition room, four deep sofas create cozy place for visitors to rest, with a glass display of precious teapots in the center. Not far away, a traditional rosewood tea table holds a tea set on top while four wooden chair on four sides. Yellow lights, which casted shadows on clay pots lined up on shelves, produced an odd atmosphere.

Some of the teapots are symbols of blessing, like the fish-shaped teapots for wealth or the fruit-shaped pots for good harvest. The shop also carries a clay pot made by Master Wang Xiaolong. Due to its complex technique, the pot is only for display purposes.

Prices are from RMB 80 to over thousands, according to different skill levels involved.

What I appreciate:
Welcoming environment

What customer appreciate:
High-quality clay pot

Purple clay from the county of Yixing is considered the best natural material for making tea sets. Their purple clay teapots can abundantly release your tea's aroma and keep it from going tasting bad better than any other material.

On my visit to Chayuan Tea City at the south end of Maliandao Tea Street yesterday afternoon, I found some user-friendly purple clay tea cups in a shop (No. A2-10) named Qingyi, which literally means "Affection" in English.

As I set my eyes upon the tea cups shown on the shelves, a shop assistant started telling me about the twelve Chinese zodiac animal cups originally designed by the shopkeeper, Mr. Chen.

I picked up a chocolate-colored one with a miniature rooster on the cover. When I opened the lid, to my surprise, I found a purple clay interlayer stuck in the middle. Inside stood another miniature rooster. This layer has many small, round holes that allow tea to pass through and keep the leaves at the bottom. So don’t worry about accidently drinking any leaves.

Prices for all of their tea cups range from 20 to 120 yuan. For teapots, the prices vary greatly by quality, from 50 to 16,000 yuan. In addition, you can find a variety of tea ceremony accessories, and some famous Chinese teas too.

Another middle-aged shopkeeper used to be a tour guide, and can speak English.

What I appreciated

Purple clay tea cups originally designed by shop keeper, reasonable prices

What customers appreciate

User-friendly purple clay tea cups, Chinese teas and tea sets

Tieguanyin tea, originated from Anxi in south China's Fujian province, is a famous Oolong tea named after the Buddhist saint Guanyin, or Goddess of Mercy. Like other Oolong teas, Tieguanyin’s taste comes in between green tea and black tea.

Tian Ran Xiang teashop is an exclusive seller of Tieguanyin tea on Beijing' Maliandao street. The shop owner, Ms Sun, is a born in the town famous for this type of tea. When I visited the shop, she was drinking Tieguanyin tea, saying it helped her lose weight.

Back in Sun's hometown, there are many legend behind this tea. The most popular legend is about a farmer called Wei Yin. Wei voluntarily cleaned a temple in which had an iron statue of Guanyin. Touched by his kind heart, Guanyin appeared in his dream, telling him of a cave behind the temple, where a treasure awaited him. That treasure was the Tieguanyin tree.

At Tian Ran Xiang, I saw various colorful packages of Tieguanyin. Ms Sun also showed me some loose Tieguanyin. The leaves are rolled into small tubes and then dried, for simple storage and consumption. According to different quality, tea price varies from RMB 30 per 500g to over thousand yuan per 500g.

You can bargain with the owner, but she can't speak much English. So be sure to bring pen and paper.

What I appreciate:
Various kinds of Tieguanyin

What Customer Appreciate:
Large selection of Tieguanyin at various levels of prices

At the southwest corner of Hou Hai, a popular tourist area, lies a small shop, carrying the local products from southwest China’s Yunnan province. The façade of the shop is reminiscent of Old Beijing, with grey bricks and a yellow signboard hanging above the door.

As soon as I got into the shop, I noticed some Pu’er tea shaped into round flat cake. It’s called Bing Cha, or cake tea. The brands are all some of the best, such as Da Yi and Long Sheng. Prices for these healthful tea range from 68 yuan to 268 yuan each. Also on display are gift boxes of Pu’er tea, which is a popular gift item.

Before there was instant ramen, there was "Cross-bridge Rice Noodles", a famous dish in Yunnan, where all the ingredients are mixed into the noodle soup right before it's served. The shop sells the rice noodles used for this dish at 6.5 yuan per 500 g.

Another thing that caught my eye was the Bamboo Tube Liquor. The particular liquor had a beautiful bamboo tube packaging, and cost 48 yuan for the 1 liter bottle.

Other goods on sale included local snacks like roast beef and preserved vegetables.

What I appreciated

Characteristic Yunnan specialties

What customers appreciate

Yunnan local products, local features

If you want to buy some Chinese tea, I highly recommend Pu'er tea due to its great health benefits, such as losing weight, lowering blood fat, and nourishing stomach.

At the southeast of Xuanwumen lies a Yunnan Pu'er Tea City. Outside the building you can notice a sign on a window writes "Longsheng", a big brand famous for Pu'er tea. The company owns some of the largest tea mountains in China. They are so famous even the president Hu Jintao personally visited their organic tea base on Yingpan Mountain. When it comes to quality, Longshen is second to none.

Inside the outlet, I found each of their goods attached with a price tag. The shop assistant told me that the prices are the same nationwide. They have a wide range of compressed tea for customers to choose from. A cake tea usually weighs 357 grams, and its price starts from 50 yuan. Tuo Cha (bun-shaped tea) looked lovely. A 250-gram grade A package cost 96 yuan. Yinya Tuo Cha, or Silver Sprout Pu’er Tea, had many tea sprouts with white tiny fluff. Its grade was higher than the previous one, and priced at 150 yuan per piece (250 g).

The outlet also carries jasmine tea, organic green tea and oolong tea made in Yunnan.

What I appreciated

Quality Pu'er tea, famous brand

What customers appreciate

Healthful Pu’er tea, reliable quality

Like red wine, Pu'er tea produced in the tropic area of Yunnan Province gets better with age. Known as "medicinal tea", it can help reduce cholesterol and lower your weight.

Da De Sheng Cha Hao, a tea shop in Ma Lian Dao street offers the quality Pu'er tea. Entering the shop, I was first attracted by those unique packages. Some are packed with paper, some are with cloth, and some are held in the bamboo-made basket. The owner told me the different packages of Pu'er tea meant these teas were produced in different times, as his shop offers Pu'er tea from the past 20 years.

One type of package I liked is called "Qi Zi Bing", which literally means "seven pieces of cake". Because each package contains seven pieces of tea, and shaped like a cake.

Another package is in the shape of bricks. They are very hard, and requires a knife to cut out the tea leaves. This is a traditional form of packaging for Pu'er tea, as it allows for easier transport from the mountains where they're made, to the towns where they're sold

Prices vary from RMB 50 to RMB 250 per 100 grams.

What I appreciate:
Quality Pu'er tea with various types

What customers appreciate:
Healthy Pu'er tea at reasonable prices

Zhangyiyuan, which was established in 1900, is a China’s time-honored brand for tea. With their own tea plantation in southeastern China’s Fujian Province, Zhangyiyuan has been providing top-quality teas to both domestic and overseas customers. One of its numerous outlets in Beijing is on Zhushikou West Street, at the center of the capital.

It’s hard to miss the shop, as you’ll see a huge red sign in English “Zhangyiyuan Tea House, since 1900.” Soft aroma of teas greets every visitor upon entering. Their jasmine tea is the most popular among Beijingers. There are more than a dozen types, priced from RMB 30 to 500 per 500g.

You can find other great teas here as well. The famous Longjing Green Tea, which literally means ‘Dragon Well’, is priced from RMB 130 to 4200 yuan per 500g. While the heavy Tie Guanyin tea sells for RMB 580 to 2800.

You can also find some purple clay tea sets on display.

What I appreciated

Quality tea, time-honored brand

What customers appreciate

High quality Chinese teas, well-known brand in Beijing

In tea shops, when you see tea compressed into a variety of shapes, like cakes, bowls, or brick, the tea is undoubtedly Pu'er tea from Yunnan. You may find it strange. But it's to aid in transportation, as Pu'er tea comes from the high mountains.

Tao Cha Ju is filled with a collection of Pu'er cakes on the shelves. The shop owner, Mr Xiao, told me that all his teas are collected from ancient tea trees in natural forests of Yunnan. The 100% natural Pu'er tea helps aid digestion, reduce the risk of cancer, and lower cholesterol.

Pu'er tea has a very unique taste. It was said to have developed because transportation in ancient times took weeks until it reached town. During this period, the tea leaves would begin to ferment in the humidity and release a strong, fragrant aroma.

Thus, Pu'er tea became unique in that it tastes better after fermenting. This is in direct contrast with other teas, which are best drank soon after it's dried. Some connoisseurs would to pay millions for 100-year-old Pu'er teas.

Though 100-year-old Pu'er teas are almost impossible to find on the market any more, you can still find 2 to 10 year old Pu'er at Mr. Xiao's shop. Price for a round two-year-old Pu'er cakes (357g) is about RMB 150.

What I Appreciate:
Natural Pu'er tea
 
What customer appreciate:
Good price and service