Single-origin vs blended tea — which is better?
Coffee culture loves single-origin — does the same logic apply to tea?
Both have their place. Single-origin tea expresses terroir — it tells you what one specific village, slope, and harvest tasted like that year. Best for connoisseurs who want to learn the language of a region. Blended teas (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, factory pu-erh recipes) chase consistency across years and offer a balanced 'house style'. Mass-market is mostly blended; specialty is mostly single-origin. Neither is morally superior — they answer different questions: 'what is this place?' vs 'what's reliably good?'
— Yurii — 931 Tea, 931 Tea