Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas welcomes everyone in the Tucson community to come join them for an authentic tea tasting experience at their tea house every Friday.

Owned by Zhuping Hodge and her husband Austin Hodge, the couple has transformed tea drinking into an art form. The Hodge’s sole mission involves educating their customers about the process of brewing fine Chinese tea and the different types of teas produced in China. 

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The Hodges aim to influence the transparency in the tea market—every attendee at a Seven Cups Fine Chinese Teas tasting event walks out with a much better understanding of Chinese tea.

Each tea-tasting event provides attendees with two different teas to try. Zhuping led the event with the help of an employee named Noelle. She started the tea tasting with a brief history of the teas she planned to brew that Friday and explained how each tea connects with Chinese culture.

Each Chinese-grown and produced tea had an authentic and unique taste, unmatched to store-bought tea. Zhuping brewed full tea leaves in a strainer to catch the tea leaves rather than using a common tea bag. This technique gave the blends an abundance of flavor. 

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After she placed the leaves in the teapot, she added boiling water around the outside and in to the inside. She then closed the teapot’s lid and poured boiling water over it.

This method of brewing ensures the tea heats and brews at the right temperature, which allows it to brew faster.
Seven Cups served Premium Rou Gui—also known as Rock WuLong—at last Friday’s tea tasting. This tea, which is closely connected to Chinese culture, was used to improve joints, weight loss and digestion. Rock WuLong contains the flavor and composition of a black and green tea combined. All attendees at the event found Rock WuLong delicious.

Seven Cups supplies their famous fine Chinese teas to multiple countries including numerous European nations.
“Our goal is to let people learn the standard of tea,” Zhuping Hodge said.

Seven Cups also runs a tea blog that is used to educate people around the world not only about the fine Chinese tea they serve, but about tea in general. The blogs, written by Austin, contain interesting material on tea and help Seven Cups achieve their goal of educating others about tea.

Zhuping said she hopes the weekly tastings influence the Tucson community to learn more about tea and eventually become tea experts.

Located on 2516 E. Sixth St. just east of the UA, Seven Cups offers a novel tea tasting experience that provides an insightful experience on Chinese teas. With new and original flavors coming in every Friday, the tea tastings at Seven Cups offer an exotic learning experience right here in Tucson.

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