Change Log: 8/3/2026

Book:

• No changes - see below.

Other Content:

• Published Guest Post: Pat Penny – Menghai – Tea Technique Research Trip 2026 on Cult of Quality Blog.

Updates:

• My trip report is just about ready to publish - as its over 70 pages, we decided to split the article into 3 parts to make reading and discussion easier. We will host an AMA a week or two after all 3 parts are published.
• Obviously, my publication cadence is much slower this year than in the past - I've felt quite bad about this for a while and have apologized profusely in recent updates; that said, Pat looked into this, and the actual number of pages I'll publish this year is about the same as last year: around ~300. So it's not actually that I'm writing less, its that the chapters are (much) longer and they require a different cadence to write and edit. That makes me feel a little better. Additionally, the editors (who have every reason in the world to say otherwise) have said that the recent chapters and soon to be published trip report are some of the best writing I've yet put to page. On that topic, one of the things that's on everyone mind is AI and AI writing and AI slop... I hope its obvious to readers that I do not use AI for writing Cult of Quality or Tea Technique ~ that my style and voice and content are still so far out of the normal distribution, my references so esoteric, and my punctuation so non'standard (and yet oh so readable), that no AI can yet hope to mimic me without blundering into an ersatz Simulacra deep in the uncanny valley. Soon, far too soon maybe; I'm building the Simulacra and deserve the just desserts, but for now, you know its only me. (and that's why it takes so long - sorry.)
• Our next two special editions of Talk, Taste, Triage are scheduled for Monday, August 10th at 6pm - 8pm and Wednesday, August 19th at 6pm - 8pm. On Monday August 10th, we will taste a selection of teas the Tea Technique team sourced during the 2026 Research Trip to Menghai - come hear about the gardens and stories behind these special pu'ers. On Wednesday August 19th, we will do a blind tasting on a commissioned experimental set to learn about processing variations of sheng - these teas inform a lot of the research in the upcoming trip reports and Book 3 on pu'er, so this is a good opportunity to experience the experimental commissions first hand.
  • Talk, Taste, Triage is a recurring small group gathering of tea practitioners where readers can ask questions, request experiments, and learn about specific types of tea. Guests are welcome to bring tea and tea wares for identification, troubleshooting, and critique.
  • Subscribers are also most welcome to join us without any topics or troubleshooting in mind - there's always good tea from my collection to taste and enjoy together.
  • To help us with capacity planning, we ask everyone to RSVP: if you plan to attend a Talk, Taste, Triage event, please reply to the Change Log email or text Jason. If you have special requests for tastings or experiments, please include the idea in your RSVP - this gives me a chance to select teas and plan out the best way to accomplish the ideal tasting sequence; incomplete ideas are totally OK, we can figure it out together. No need to over-plan: I can usually handle tea and ware ID without prior research or references, so don't feel bad about grabbing a last minute tea or a recently arrived ware.
  • Subscribers are welcome to bring 1 guest.