Mei Yang serves as senior tea expert for oolong and black tea varieties at tea.taxi — the fast-delivery arm of the THETEA constellation that brings curated 100g pouches to doorsteps across major Russian cities. Their focus rests squarely on the tea mountains of Guangdong, in particular the ancient dancong bushes of Phoenix Mountain (凤凰山). From the honeyed aroma of Mi Lan Xiang (蜜兰香) to the deep malty warmth of Jīn Jùn Méi (金骏眉), Mei Yang's selections shape the oolong and black tea tiers for the premium subscription boxes, ensuring that even a quick order carries the clarity of well-sourced leaf.
Trained through immersion rather than formal academy, Mei Yang's expertise began with a 2015 apprenticeship under the Lín family — fourth-generation dancong producers in Wudong village (乌岽村). During that first season, they learned to recognise the subtle shift in fragrance that marks the end of the kill-green stage, watching the leaves twist and tighten in the wok. The Lín family's Bā Xiān (八仙) and Yā Shī Xiāng (鸭屎香) bushes became the foundation of a palate built on patience. By 2018, Mei Yang was returning to Fenghuang each spring, spending long mornings in the withering sheds with a notebook and a kettle.
A session with Mei Yang is unhurried and deliberate. They prefer a 100 ml white porcelain gaiwan, filling it barely a third full with tightly curled leaves before pouring water just off the boil. The first aroma that rises from the gaiwan lid — often stone fruit and warm nectar in a Mi Lan Xiang, or a smoky, pine-resin note in a traditionally fired Zhèng Shān Xiǎo Zhǒng (正山小种) — anchors the tasting. Mei Yang steeps quickly, 15 seconds at first, extending incrementally while describing how the liquor's golden-amber colour deepens. On the palate, they ask you to notice the way a well-made dancong coats the tongue with a silken texture, leaving a long, sweet finish in the throat. They rarely talk over the tea; instead, they let the next infusion speak.
At tea.taxi, Mei Yang's curation translates this focused tasting into a selection fit for speed. Each 100g portion must survive the journey from warehouse to consumer with its character intact, so every batch is cupped blind against a reference sample. They favour dancongs with a pronounced but clean fragrance — such as the Zhī Lán Xiāng (芝兰香) that retains its orchid notes even when brewed in a hurry — and black teas like Jīn Jùn Méi that yield a consistent, round-bodied liquor in a single-serving mug. Tasting notes from these sessions appear on every product detail page, giving customers a brief sensory map before they tap 'add to cart'.
Beyond tea.taxi, Mei Yang's knowledge flows into other corners of the constellation. They lead the recurring virtual oolong tasting cohort on tea.school, where students from five time zones compare three dancong cultivars over the course of a month. On tea.events, they have hosted livestream sessions from a Phoenix Mountain processing workshop, walking viewers through the rolling and drying of fresh Yā Shī Xiāng leaves in real time. In the tea.community forum, they contributed a series of illustrated articles on the micro-climates of Wudong's higher-elevation gardens — a resource now used by members planning their own sourcing trips.
A walk through the Phoenix Mountain tea gardens with Mei Yang reveals how deeply regional context informs their palate. In April 2018, they spent six weeks on the eastern slope of Wudong, documenting the hand-picking of Lǎo Cōng Shuǐ Xiān (老枞水仙) from bushes over eighty years old. The leaves, thick and glossy, were processed in small batches in a stone-built workshop where rotting bamboo trays lined the walls. Mei Yang still describes that harvest's liquor as 'a cool stream through moss' — a phrase that has since appeared in tasting notes on puerh.app as a benchmark for aged oolong character. It's this kind of direct, place-based memory that underpins every tea they select for quick delivery.
Mei Yang insists that speed need not dilute quality. Their approach to curating for a mass-market audience is built on respect for the leaf and faith that a busy customer can still appreciate the quiet of a well-brewed cup. The 100g packet, sealed within hours of roasting, carries that intention — no need for ceremony, but no compromise on the raw material. For anyone new to dancong or curious about Guangdong black teas, Mei Yang's selections on tea.taxi offer a gateway that is immediate but honest.
Their work is not limited to sourcing. Mei Yang regularly travels to Chaozhou to visit the factories they collaborate with, checking the consistency of oxidation and roast levels across batches. In Moscow, they hold monthly open cupping sessions at the tea.taxi tasting room — free to attend, and often attended by subscribers who want to meet the person behind their morning Mi Lan Xiang. These sessions are unhurried and informal, often stretching for two hours over a single tea line-up.