FAQ

Welcome to Banna House! Make yourself some tea, and in this thread, we’ll gradually try to answer your most frequently asked questions.

I. General questions

Q1) What is Banna House?

Banna House is a shortened name for the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture (西双版纳), a famous tea region from which Shanshan originates and where we source all of your teas. The name "Banna House" also expresses a compendium of human knowledge about the local tea culture created by 13 ethnic groups who live together as one family in harmony with nature and local traditions.

Q2) Why are your teas so much cheaper compared to other sellers?

There are several reasons. We purchase teas directly from family relatives, classmates, and other long-term friends who are genuinely involved in the harvesting and processing of tea. This is a big difference compared to traders who buy tea from various resellers, who often have to rely on English or Mandarin. In contrast, Shanshan speaks several local dialects, allowing us to communicate without language or cultural barriers. It’s also no secret that local people respond better and trust locals, which again allows us to secure better (under-the-counter) prices than most intermediaries and other traders can hardly obtain.

Furthermore, international shipping and tea testing play a role, which we continually optimize to ensure stable deliveries and smooth entry into the international market. Finally, it’s about the selection of imported teas from people we know and visit regularly. Therefore, there is no need to create myths about the origin, leaf quality, and other marketing embellishments that artificially raise prices. Instead, we focus on teas from one specific area (the twelve tea mountains and more than 470 tea villages in the Xishuangbanna region) and contemporary teas (primarily from the last 5 years, 2019-2024) harvested/processed and stored in Yunnan Province. Unlike other tea traders, we do not need to buy speculative teas from before the 1990s, stored in third countries (mainly due to more favourable import policies, language barriers, or different taste profiles caused by wet/semi-wet storage), nor do we obscure information about our suppliers and offered qualities, which you can verify on our website or during tastings in our Tea Room (Vyšehradská 11, Prague 2).

Lastly, since 2022, we’ve decided to subsidize the price of our teas at our own expense, as tea culture in Europe is not yet developed enough to distinguish between varying qualities of beverages. Depending on the quality (Banna, Premium, and Royal) and tea region (Menghai 勐海 or Mengla 勐腊), our teas are thus more affordable and reasonable (the value/taste corresponds to the declared quality).

 Q3) How do you deal with tea tests (pesticides, heavy metals...)?

So far, we have used control reports and tea tests at the national level (especially www.cnas.org.cn and https://www.caiq.org.cn/eng/) to meet the conditions for importing teas into the European Union. Tests are routinely attached to each shipment of teas, which we actively communicate with the international carrier in advance.

Currently, we are considering some public, commercial, and other additional tests for pesticides, heavy metals, and caffeine content in individual teas, which we plan to transparently publish on our website by 2030. The purpose of these tests is not only to confirm quality but also to seek a compromise between legally enforceable tests and the price policies of research laboratories (e.g., https://www.alsglobal.com/, https://www.eurofins.cz/ or https://szu.cz/en/). We are also in discussions with some university research laboratories, such as the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (https://www.vscht.cz/), Charles University (https://cuni.cz/UK-1.html), or Jan Evangelista Purkyně University (https://www.ujep.cz/en/), which currently seems like a more suitable alternative, especially given the support for systematic tea research in Europe, which Shanshan’s husband, Richard Grünwald, is involved in.

Q4) Can you tell us more about your suppliers?

Yes. On our website, you will find brief information about individual tea growers and processors. We are currently preparing short profiles and more detailed information about their production. These insights should help increase awareness of tea geography and the processors behind your favorite teas.

Q5) Aren’t you worried that competitors will try to steal your suppliers?

No. Despite Xishuangbanna’s relatively small size (± 20,000 km2, representing 1/4 of the size of the Czech Republic), we have countless growers and processors from different tea mountains, whose production changes year to year.

Q6) Do you do wholesale as well?

Yes. More information can be found on the B2B and wholesale page (https://www.bannahouse.cz/b2b-velkoobchod/).

II. Specific questions

Q7) What do you mean by "tea research"?

In May 2024, we participated in a scientific conference on European tea culture in Dresden, where we discussed Czech tea culture in the context of Pu'er teas (https://www.srh-campus-dresden.de/en/european-tea-culture-conference-2024/). The research was based on available academic literature and a pilot survey in the Czech Republic in mid-May 2024.

We are currently trying to establish cooperation with Prague University College (https://ucp.cz/en/), where we would like to focus on educational tea content and other academic activities aimed at strengthening tea tourism in the Czech Republic and Europe. More information will be provided in upcoming research articles and other academic papers.

Q8) What do you mean by your labelling of tea types and qualities?

Our tea terminology is based on Chinese terminology and local customs. We generally divide teas into four main categories – sheng pu'er (shengcha 生茶), shu pu'er (shucha 熟茶), white tea (baicha 白茶), and red tea (hongcha 红茶). However, at the Yunnan level, you can encounter dozens of other names, which vary by village, ethnic group, and family.

The name of the tea is based on the name of the tea mountain or village, the quality and type of leaf, and the year of processing. We also use terms like Yunnan White Tea (yunnan baicha 云南白茶) and Yunnan Red Tea (yunnan hongcha 云南红茶), as well as Chinese names (i.e., Latinized transcription and Chinese characters) to avoid confusion.

On our website, you will also find the declared quality, year of production, place of origin, and the processor's name. The Banna quality represents teas that can be drunk daily without burdening your wallet. Premium quality refers to teas that are enjoyed occasionally for a special occasion. Royal quality is reserved for our finest teas, which are limited in quantity and are sure to surprise you with their exceptional taste.

Q9) Are the tastings in your Tea Room really "free"?

So far, yes. Like Yunnan family tea houses, we offer tea tastings in our Tea Chamber without charging for the tea. However, what is not free are the costs for the "energy exchange" (i.e., the sum of mandatory expenses for running the Tea Chamber + time spent talking and preparing teas), which we have so far managed through voluntary tips.

Starting in October 2024, we will begin charging 150 CZK per person as a fee for the "energy exchange." If you purchase over 700 CZK worth of tea, the fee will be reduced to 0 CZK to encourage tea lovers genuinely interested in tea exploration.

Q10) Why does tea taste different at my place than at yours?

The taste of tea is influenced by many factors. The first are internal aspects, particularly the quality, quantity, and temperature of the water, which affect the taste of the tea by about 40-50%. In general, it’s good to use softer water, which can better reveal the individual flavor layers of tea between infusions. The water volume per 1 g of tea is between 30-50 ml, depending on the tea vessel. For a more precise evaluation of teas, we recommend testing tea samples in porcelain, glass, or glazed vessels that do not contain residues from previous teas. For 1-3 tea lovers, we recommend using 4-5 g of tea (150-200 ml vessel) or 7-8 g of tea (180-250 ml) for more tea lovers. Most of our teas come out best when brewed with boiled water between 90-99°C. The tea should be poured at a consistent speed and evenly along the rim of your tea vessel to avoid "burning" the tea leaves.

The second factor is external aspects, such as weather, mental state, or tea utensils. In hot weather, we prefer teas with a cooling effect (shengcha 生茶 and baicha 白茶), while in damp weather, we prefer warming teas (shucha 熟茶 and hongcha 红茶). We often switch teas based on mood and need (soothing or stimulating). Lastly, the type and condition of the tea utensils play a role. For a better flavour experience, we recommend brewing tea in unglazed tea ceramics (one type of tea – one ceramic vessel), which can enhance or subdue certain flavours.

No matter how you prepare tea or prefer a different method, the flavour outcome can vary every time, even if you have the same tea accessories as we have in the Tea Room. Brewing tea also showcases your personal style, which imprints itself into each infusion and indelibly seeps deep into your memory. You can find more information in the descriptions.

Q11) Are you considering localizing your e-shop to other languages?

Yes. We are currently considering translating our website into German and Polish, although we do not have a confirmed timeline yet.

Q12) What is behind the visual design of your e-shop?

The Chinese province of Yunnan boasts a rich diversity of plant and animal species. While red pandas and Snub-nosed Monkeys with their distinctive blue faces represent inner peace, playfulness, and rarity, the colourful peacocks and majestic elephants are key symbols of the Xishuangbanna Autonomous Prefecture. As for the bamboo rat, it has been considered a local delicacy since the 1990s and is associated with a very interesting story. We’d be happy to share it with you upon request.