Maitre_Tea

Tea in Azerbaijan

2011-03-31T10:22:00.000-07:00

Being in a huge tea-drinking culture here in Azerbaijan, I figure it’s worth it to discuss my tea related adventures here. Black CTC tea is the norm here, over steeped throughout the day and diluted heavily with hot water. There are cayxanas (tea houses) everywhere, but it’s a men only space where they drink tea, smoke, and play backgammon. Drinking over steeped and diluted black tea abhors me as a Chinese tea drinker, but I’ve come to terms with it. I don’t see it as “tea,” but as a beverage. People here suck on sugar cubs to sweeten their tea, so it’s not surprisingly that anyone over the age of 25 probably has at least two gold teeth. I’m madly in love with my host mother’s home-made grape flavored sugar cubes, so I indulge in that every once in a while.

The tea is drunk from handle-less glasses on to of saucers. Sometimes the tea is too ht, so it’s poured from the glass and into the saucer, and then it’s drunk. I usually drink dozens of cups of tea this way, especially if I’m visiting as a guest.

A side-effect of my Peace Corps service is my isolation from the tea community. Although I can technically catch up on blogs, none of it is relative to my life here. My pots are at home, and I have no way of sampling tea. Just getting samples here would be such a pain. Also, life here is just too damn busy for a gong fu session of tea. I’ve been drinking medium roast Dong Ding, as well as a bunch of shu. I fear I’m losing my tea palette, and when I go to China after Peace Corps I won’t be able to judge young sheng anymore. I still remember what is good sheng, but I’m afraid that I won’t be able to compare. Maybe I should get the samples of sheng I have at home sent over, just so I can keep in practice.

But unfortunately the tea world is moving on without me, so I have no clue about the state of young puerh right now, and I’m afraid when I go back I’ll be out of the loop. So for any people who still read my blog…what’s going on with puerh these days? What new stuff has been good that I should look out for when I come back.

Finally!

2010-06-19T00:56:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I've been in the Peace Corps application process for almost a year now, but I've finally been invited to serve in Azerbaijan, teaching English. I know this isn't tea-related but it's pretty big news. Also, this is an opportunity for people to send me tea! (just kidding, but not really). I'm planning on bringing some tea, but not a lot since I have to travel light. Probably just the basic balled-up oolong, since wiry type tea takes up more space and is more prone to breakage. This may also mean that I won't be updating this anymore after I leave, since it'd just be me drinking the same kind of tea over and over again.

For those who wish, you can follow my adventures in Azerbaijan over at my other blog here

A Tea Party

2010-05-10T21:59:00.000-07:00

I recently had the opportunity to brew tea for some UCLA students on behalf of UCLA Natural Complementary & Alternative Medicine student group, as part of a tea presentation in which Imen of Tea Habitat was the speaker and presenter. Will had asked me earlier if I wanted to volunteer, knowing very well that I'm not too confident with my brewing skills. Eager for an opportunity to discipline myself in the nuances of gong fu cha, I accepted. Luckily I had the chance to practice the weekend prior in a young sheng fest. The fact that my fellow tea heads, especially the pu-erh expert himself Jason Fasi, approved of the tea I brewed boosted my confidence a bit.

I was so focused on the act of brewing tea that I totally forgot about the other aspect of a tea tasting: the conversation! Esoteric and random tea facts shot out of my mouth, as if my mind's filter on the mouth broke. A simple question such as "what is the best tea that you've tasted" lead to a very precise and detailed description of the aging process, which then led to the story of Da Hong Pao's name. I only hope that the participants didn't think I was a madman.

At least I looked graceful brewing tea

An important lesson I learned from this event though was the importance of pacing/timing in a tea tasting, especially when there's a time limit. Since I'm usually drinking alone I take many infusions with a tea, and I did the same that night, not realizing that I was working with a time limit and a number of teas to go through. How many infusions to go through a tea before moving on? Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I was the last person brewing, but I was relieved that a fair number of drinkers actually sat through the whole thing.

my pig cha chong was a huge hit with the ladies ... and a good conversation piece!

Thinking back, and confirmed by the photos of the event ... my table seemed to be dominated by Asian girls! Especially in comparison to the other tables. I don't know if they gravitated towards me since I must brew better than the others since I'm Asian (definitely not true) or if thought my tea set-up cute. Unfortunately, I felt that I made some assumptions in what I talked about, since I assumed that they've had oolong before. In some ways though my group being mostly female helped a bit, since I feel more "natural" talking to the opposite sex. I kept the conversation light and made a few jokes here or there, including some at the expense of a particular girl who always wanted seconds, pictured below to my left

One person I thought was pretty interesting was a guy who was sitting directly across from me. He did the "finger tap" whenever I poured tea, and he picked up the differences in quality from tea to tea. All in all, I had fun brewing and would do it again if I had the opportunity.

ack, a tea faux pax ... having the guests pour the tea.

To be fair, I only had them pour amongst themselves just so I could use the time prepping the next tea.

Reader's Poll

2010-04-30T08:41:00.001-07:00

My parents have always regarded my tea habit with curiousness . After all, I'm sharing the same interests with my grandparents, who are more or less triple my age. The "tea" gene skipped my parent's generation and hit me hard. When I visited some tea shops in Asia the owners always asked me why a youngster like me wanted to buy tea (this was when I was a bit younger than I am now). And within my circle of local tea friends, I'm the baby of the group, in both age and experience. In most of the blogs I read the writers are "grown-up" with real jobs, a house or an apartment, and perhaps even kids! And here I am, working part-time, living with my parents, and basically waiting for my Peace Corps invitation to get here so I can get a move-on with my life.

So I wonder if this is actually do, so if you would oblige, please participate in the poll in the top left-hand side. Don't be shy to answer truthfully. If you're much older than me I'll envy you for your wisdom, and if by chance you're younger, than I will envy the youth that's giving you an edge on collecting young sheng.

Self-Made Blend

2010-04-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

A line in MarshalN's blog about blending puerh (see here) struck me in particular:

"Instead, I think the answer might be for us to start blending our own tea -- an aged Bulang with a young Yiwu might make for a pretty interesting combination."
As I was thinking this morning, I dug through the numerous samples that I have, coming across an aged Bu Lang (my remaining sample of the 1997 Hen Li Chang Bu Lang) and a younger Yi Wu (the 2001 Ding Xin Cha Zhuang Yi Wu). The Bu Lang had a nice and thick after taste that coated the tongue with a good kind of bitterness. The Yi Wu had some nice fruitiness going on in the flavor/aroma, working more "up front." I used 2.5 grams of each for a 100 ml gaiwan. A shot of the dry leaf:

The Yi Wu seems to have more complete leaves, since the Yi Wu was pryed from a chunk whereas the Bu Lang pretty much arrived in a loose leaf format. Hopefully this won't affect how the tea blends.

Another difference between the two is that the Bu Lang is a bit "bud-heavy," but I'm not sure what bud-heaviness does to a tea...maybe make it sweeter?
The combined leaf:

So how did it taste? Better than combined parts, surprisingly. I'll probably have to try this again in different proportions, but it seemed to taste more "complete" in the mouth, with a great more deal of complexity. The bitterness that the Bu Lang was teeming with was a bit toned down and there was a nice fruity youthfulness that came courtesy of the Yi Wu. As the infusions went on though, it became easier to distinguish the components, as the Yi Wu faded a bit earlier than the Bu Lang.

The wet leaf:
The larger leaf, which is lighter in color, is more or less the Yi Wu, whereas the darker smaller bits are the Bu Lang. Looking into my gaiwan between infusions, it seemed more or less even distributed.

Changes

2010-04-09T13:50:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to see how our tastes in tea change over time, even in a short interval of time. I remember last summer I was in a phase with Japanese greens, which is something that I haven't had in a long time. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that I bought so much that drinking it became a chore. Well, I recently placed a pre-order for this year's shincha from Yuuki-Cha, so I'm looking forward to that. Only ordered one thing, so hopefully I won't be forced to drink it all up ASAP. As I was thinking about tea to try, when my eyes glanced over my yancha pot, and it just came to me: I haven't had a yancha in almost two months. And it's probably my favorite kind of tea too! So what happened?

Well, I've chanced upon some pretty amazing yancha, that the ones I usually drink don't excite me anymore. Yancha can get pretty pricey, and I brew it in a style that burns through ALOT of leaf (a normal session usually calls me for at least 10 grams for a 100 ml pot). My attention has also been focused on another things, especially pu-erh, which I've been finding more exciting these days.

Even though I was jonesing for some aged pu-erh, I decided to take yancha pot out for a spin. I have some high-fired DHP stashed away to settle down and maybe age a bit. It's mellowed over this past six months and the charcoal taste isn't as strong. It's a decent tea, not great, but not terrible.

Oh well

Secrets

2010-03-31T20:50:00.000-07:00

A recent conversation with a tea friend has touched upon this, but I'm sure that this something that everyone thinks about in some way or another. If it doesn't, than maybe I'm being too paranoid so just ignore me.

Secrets, tea secrets. Not so much trade secrets like processing technique or whatever (though I'm sure for farmers this is probably an issue). I'm talking about secrets regarding teas/tea-ware that you like. So why would this be a problem? Well, this is actually more of a problem with pots and pu-erh than it is with other stuff, since the former can be rarer and limited in quality. Especially when there are only one or two cakes left, it can get kind of tense because there's the fear that someone will buy it up. So if I, as a blogger, praise said tea highly...well, some random reader comes along, reads it, and decides to snatch it away from me.

This is more of a problem with random readers than it is with the couple readers that I've corresponded with, who I can trust not to purposely screw me over. Of course, this is capitalism, so it's really every man for itself...but just to keep the odds in my favor, well, maybe I'll be a little less specific about the teas I like.

Anyway, onto the tea of the day...which actually falls into this category of limited availability so until I decide to buy it I won't give it away: but if you're really curious, I might let you know.

This is a late 90s tea, that's seen some slight wet-storage, but luckily that doesn't really seem to affect the tea's quality, though I'm a partial to wet-storage. What's so surprising is that it's still go some bitterness on it, and not the bad kind. It's a good bitterness, one that melts away into a sweet aftertaste. It's like some sort of bitter tea that my parents drank growing up in Taiwan. I'm surprised that it still has that kind of edge on it, since the few teas I've tasted with similar maturity have been mellower. Good strength, excellent tenacity, and thick/luscious mouth feel, this is something that I could see really turning into something after more years or again. Of course, I need some sort of approval from the local tea-heads before actually buying it.

Oh yes, there's also the fear that a vendor will see a good review and jack up the price because of that...though I seriously doubt that vendors are bored enough to base their pricing on the ramblings of a tea neophyte

*EDIT*

and it was the 1997 Hen Li Chang Bu Lang from Essence of Tea. And although I said I would confer with my local tea heads, after tasting it again...even if they said it tasted like Satan's piss I would still buy it, because I like it. Unfortunately, I grabbed the last one; however, he might be restocking it in the next few months. Wary of a price hike in the mean time (which just recently happened with a 2001 Yi Chang Hao Yiwu I was so enamored with) and the fact that it may never be restocked...I quickly snatched it up. Keeping my fingers crossed for an eventual restock, since I really want more of this one.

Storage

2010-03-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

Even though it may seem from my absence of posting that I'm not thinking/drinking about tea, the truth is far from that. Tea is becoming a constant subject on my mind, whether I'm awake or asleep. This is truly becoming an obsession that is consuming my life, and I love it.

I have two different spaces for my teapots, one for the teapots that I use most frequently (situated closest to my brewing station) and a second space farther away, where I keep unused pots, which are either too big or just unloved. On that second shelf sits a purion teapot, my first "real" teapot I bough almost two years ago in the quaint ceramic/stoneware town that is Yingge. I used it for a while, until I decided that: 1. it was a bit on the large size and 2. it doesn't season or develop a shine like yixing (at least to the extent of my understanding). So what prompted me to take a sudden re-interest in this particular pot?

Zero over at Something Smuggled In had something to do with it. He's experimenting with yixing storage, and I've had the same questions about storage in purion. I've seen purion jars pop up every once in a while, and I've wondered what this "magical" clay affects tea. I sure as heck didn't want to spring for a purion jar (which can be pretty darned pricey) so I decided to use my purion pot as a temporary storage container. I put some wet-stored loose leaf in there, just enough for a single session, for a few days. After two days the wet-storage all but disappeared, and the tea seemed to have a better flavor/aroma, with little storage taste. It tasted much better than if I had brewed it straight from its usual jar.

Of course, this may have to do with airing out of the tea, so I'm doing the same experiment with my yixing pot and just airing out in the open for a few days.

Moldy Tea, Part II

2010-03-09T09:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I didn't die from the moldy tea (at least not yet).

I know this is a point that's been emphasized by others such as MarshalN, but one truly cannot underestimate the importance of airing out/awakening a tea, even if it's not a wet-stored mess. I aired out the broken up moldy cake, and let it chill out for a while in a partially opened paper bag. I tasted it last Saturday, and although you can still taste some of the wetness, it's relatively smooth with slight sharpness. Pretty tasty as a daily drinker kind of tea.

Now, the importance of airing out tea isn't just limited to moldy teas, however. I bought some samples a while ago, and one of the samples was a 2001 Changtai Yi Chang Hao Yiwu. When I first tasted the tea, the tea tasted okay but a certain musty scent led to a negative impression of the tea. I wanted to get a second opinion from resident pu-erh expert BearsBearsBears before dismissing the tea completely. I left the sample bag open for a while (two weeks I believe), slightly curious to see if the mustiness was something that could be "aired out."

It tasted very differently than I remembered

Granted, it could have been a difference in water (we actually used my pot for that tea), but even so...the mustiness was gone. It's difficult for me to assign words to the flavors/aroma that I taste, but it was good. It's mellowing out, but there's still some of that sharpness which you would expect from something this young. The tea body was good, and there was a nice aftertaste. It was also at a good level of maturity for its age. Definitely something I will order cakes of, assuming other samples don't impress me as much.

Unexpected

2010-02-27T14:06:00.000-08:00

Whenever I came across it on the tea forums I thought, "Nonsense! This will never happen to me! I live in the desert for goodness sake!"

This morning, when wrapping some cakes in tissue paper (I'm keeping the actual wrappers separate in case they rip) I discovered some mold on a recently acquired 1995 Grand Yellow Label! Blueish-white in color, it was scattered across the inner side. I quickly checked through the rest of my cakes and was assured. I'm thinking the mold might have been the result of the cake's already wetter-storage, combined with my fairly wet storage conditions. I've brushed off all the visible mold and I've set the cake aside in a "quarantine" area to be monitored for the next few weeks, even months. I wonder at what point would it be safe to put it back into storage/consume it

Photos for those who may have comments. I've brushed off most of the visible mold, but some of it may be seen if you open the photos in a new window.

I tell myself that mold is not that big of a deal...and cakes from the 50s to 90s were probably stored very badly/casually, in far more humid conditions than my own.

*Breathing* Yes...it's no big deal...

*Shudders*

*EDIT*

I think what I might do at this point, or at least in a few days after some observation, is break up the cake and somehow that will alleviate the mold problem. Than treat it like cheap wet-stored loose leaf. I'm kind of afraid that although the surface mold may be gone, it still might be hiding out on the inner parts of the cake.

NYC Show-Off

2010-02-22T13:45:00.000-08:00

The long-awaited recap of my Boston/NYC trip:

I had the pleasure of visiting The Gallery in the comfort of Michael and Winnie's cozy home. It was like walking into my ideal tea room, surrounded by containers full of tea and tea ware galore. Michael, Winnie, and Dae were all gracious hosts, and although I felt out of place in terms of tea experience, I felt very welcomed. Michael was feeling a bit under the weather, so he was mostly in the background. I had gotten the impression from what few photos I've seen of him on their store's website and Dae's Journal that he was a very serious/stoic person. I was surprised with how taken he was with the knock-off iPhone my mother got me in China.I tried three teas, their bi-annual Oriental Beauty, the Golden Buddha, and a Dong Ding. All were excellent, but what captured my attention most was the Oriental Beauty. It was unlike any other Oriental Beauty I have had before. What swill Oriental Beauty have I been drinking all my life! Whereas many Oriental Beauty I've had before are generally simple and straightforward, this one was supremely complex.

It was like opening up an antique wooden drawer filled with Indian spices. Thick in the mouth feel, it lingered in my mouth for what seemed like an eternity. I had prepared to completely write off Oriental Beauty, but this was definitely a game changer. I'm not ready/qualified to say that it was the best; however, it was definitely very good.

I also bought an 80s 125 ml Zi Ni pot for juvenile/adolescent sheng. The "secondary" seal on the bottom was a bit amusing...it recommends this pot for puerh. Makes the process of dedicating this pot much easier. I also bought their smallest gaiwan, an acquisition that has been delayed for too long.

I didn't visit any other tea shops in NYC, but I did visit some vintage/antique Japanese shops, Seasons International in SOHO and Things Japanese in the Upper East Side. Although they both carried mainly Japanese tea ware, there were plenty of vintage cups to satisfy a student of Chinese tea drinking. They both had an interesting selection of tetsubin, which I sadly had neither the space nor budget for.

I bought a few vintage Japanese plates for my gaiwan brewing set-up, and I also bought a 30s Japanese sake cup which I plan on using for puerh. I like rounder cups for pu-erh, and I think that an old(er) tea deserves an old cup. However, the most surprising discovery was an early 20th century gaiwan, hidden in the corner behind all the cups. It was even on sale, which made it even more irresistible. I don't really have a need for more gaiwan, but I was mostly interested in seeing how tea tastes differently in a vintage vs. contemporary piece.

It was nice to visit my friends back East, and it was even nicer to have the opportunity to score so much nice tea ware. It's unfortunate though, that because of these purchases my tea budget is shot to hell for the next month or so. Luckily I'm in a good place tea-wise. I have all my tea bases covered, I have enough pots for the teas I drink regularly, and I have a pretty nice tea set-up now. I'm playing around with a few samples from Sampan, and I'll be ordering some samples from Nada, to fill out my pu-erh collection for some slightly older stuff.

An Unintended Hiatus

2010-02-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

I hate writing for the sake of keeping up appearances, but since I have misplaced my camera (probably at my friend's place in NYC), I can't show-off all the awesome tea pieces I got, as well as describing my journey to The Tea Gallery. Hopefully my friend will get back to me after her Valentine's Day trip, or I find my camera somewhere here. If not, I'm running my own tea storage teas, which may have some interesting results. Until next time, Happy Chinese New Years!

*NOTE*

Epic fail...my camera was in the backpack that I had checked countless times before. Only this time did I actually reach all the way down. Show-Off post will be coming shortly...

A Brilliant (?) Idea

2010-01-26T23:13:00.001-08:00

I've been contemplating an idea, and I hope that I'm not being too ridiculous about it...but please bear with me dear readers

The Background

So I still have a good amount of young sheng samples just lying around. It's mostly stuff from my Yunnan Sourcing last year, and I've only tried these samples only once or twice, since it was pretty clear to me whether I liked them or not. Anyway, I have most of the samples (the ones I don't want to try again) mixed together in as a "house blend." It's sitting in a paper bag in my humidor, maybe aging, maybe not.

The Plan

So I've seen videos of how puerh is compressed, and I'm thinking maybe I can consolidate my samples into a "house blend" cake, which might actually make it more likely to age properly. In these videos they basically steam the maocha until it's soft enough for compression. Maybe I can do the same thing. I think one of the things I have to be careful of is making sure that it dries completely and there's no excessive moisture hanging around inside the cake. I'm also thinking about how exactly to compress it. I don't think there are rocks large enough in my backyard to serve this purpose, but maybe compress it using two boxes, one smaller than the other, and compressing it that way, kind of like those onigiri molds you see in the Japanese markets (see here). I've seen wooden ones (see here) which is more along the lines of what I might try to do. I'll also need to sew together a cotton bag to hold the maocha in after it's been steamed. Maybe I can give this more thought after I come back from my trip back east.

Comments? Has Maitre_Tea gone crazy, or is this the best way to "get rid" of bad samples.

Ripe and Raw

2010-01-23T20:48:00.000-08:00

I don't drink a lot of shu, but I recalled that my house has a fair amount of wet-stored shu from Guangzhou/Hong Kong. It's mostly a "daily drinker" type tea for my mom, who brews up a huge batch and takes it to work w/her, or puts it in the fridge to drink it chilled. My uncle, living in Guangzhou, is my mom's supplier, so he doesn't skimp on giving her better stuff. Anyway, I figure at the very least I should try it and see what the fuss is all about. I don't really think much about shu, since I normally drink it during dim sum, so it's more of a beverage than a "tea" to me. Most of the weird wo dui/fishy off-flavors have mostly dissipated, and in some ways it tastes quite nice. I detect some woodiness and some "minty" notes.

I've heard a bit about drinkers mixing ripe and raw, so I decided to give it a try. I went 75% raw and 25% ripe. The sheng in question was a 2008 Xiaguan FT "Instant Sensation" whereas the shu was a early 00s (?) no-name cake (The nei fei is weird...need to post a pic of it sometime). I don't know if this is the "standard" ratio but I've seen this ratio mentioned in some places, and IIRC it's the ratio for the ripe/raw mixed bricks/cakes out there.

The taste is...interesting. It has the bite of a young sheng with some mellowness from the shu. It kinda makes the sheng taste older than it actually is in some ways. It's a bit weird and it'll probably take a few more sessions to see if this is something I could do. Maybe I should try experimenting with a 75% ripe to 25% raw ratio...

1999 Menghai 7542 (Sampan)

2010-01-15T21:30:00.000-08:00

Come to think of it, I've had more examples of aged 7542 than any other aged pu-erh (which isn't saying much, given my inexperience with much aged pu-erh). Thinking about it, also I've never had the experience of tasting new 7542. I've had three examples thus far, two from 1993 and one from 1999. Granted, these may not be exact dates, especially if there's funny business going on, but they all came from reliable vendors. Nevertheless, they were all remarkable in their own way, and I thank my tea friends for the opportunity to sample things I would otherwise ignore because of price constraints.

So today I have on my plate the most unremarkable of these three, the 1999 7542. Of course, there are some redeeming factors but I'll get to that later. This particular sample was stored in Taiwan for most of its life, so it has all the classic signs of wet storage. I love the damp, wetness, and musty book of wet storage. I apologize for the lack of photos...the weather around these parts has been most uncooperative.

Even though I've mentioned before that my experience with aged pu-erh is minimal, I've actually tasted a good number of it when studying abroad. The tea shop I entertained would brew up some of her reserve collection for me. I don't recall any particular details regarding vintage, recipe, storage, etc. Thinking back to those days, the pu-erh I sampled was definitely wet-stored. They weren't entirely complex but they were interesting, with notes of camphor, woodiness, and Chinese medicine. My friends all showed disgust but I didn't care and I eagerly drank up their share.

Perhaps our tastes and tendencies in tea are reflected by our first impressions. This is true of me, as I am fond of that wet-storage flavor and aroma. I'm a bit torn on this sample, and I'm still debating if I like it or not. There's a bit too much wet-storage, and the tea itself is a bit monotone. There is a slight touch of sharpness coming from the tea's relative young age, which gives me hope that it can still develop. It's comforting to drink, and it leaves a pleasant sensation in my throat. The cha qi is calming, and it leaves my palms and upper back a bit sweaty, and a nice sensation develops in both my mind and chest.

Would I buy this tea? Depends, though if the tea could develop a fuller body and maintain its cha qi...I might be more inclined. I'll taste other samples first before making a decision.

On an unrelated note, the first signs of aging in my 7532! There's a slight bit of tea stains on the nei fei. Okay, so maybe there's been some funny business going on: I accidentally got some parts of the tea wet. I dried it and checked on it every day or so. Should be okay now, and who knows...maybe I actually helped it by giving it some good old HK storage treatment.

2009 Fall Hong Shui (Tea Masters)

2010-01-08T19:17:00.001-08:00

From reading my choice of topic for the past month or so you would think that all I drink these days is pu-erh. Well, I would that you're ... partially right. I've been analyzing my Tao Bao purchase, and I've narrowed it down to two tuos that I might "invest" in for storage. I've actually been revisiting some neglected teas, including Dan Cong and various Taiwanese teas I have lying around. Now, I don't take my Taiwanese tea seriously ... since it's often readily available to me freely and in high quality, I've actually never had to buy it before. I don't really analyze or take good tea notes, because Taiwanese tea is something I drink when I want something comforting. It's my macaroni and cheese for all intensive purposes.

But I recently sat down to some tea from Stephane over at Tea Masters, and I've been very impressed with the one offering of his that I've tried so far: the 2009 Fall Hong Shui Oolong. I don't have much experience with Hong Shui Oolong, and the other one I've tried was Floating Leave's Spring 2009 version. There were some general similarities, but I found Stephane's Hong Shui to be more to my liking. They both have higher oxidation, with a light roasting. The oxidation in Stephane's Hong Shui seemed more "in-your-face." It reminded me a lot of my 1996 Jin Xuan, which also has fairly high oxidation.

One of biggest criteria for any tea is good mouth feel and lasting aftertaste. This tea fulfills both requirements. Thick and lush in the mouth, the after taste lingered for almost forever even after my session was done. Durability was pretty good, and it extending upwards to 10 infusions before giving up completely. There was a ripe fruitiness in the brew, but it was more mellow and "tamed" compared to the one Floating Leaves offers. Whereas Floating Leave's Hong Shui seemed more refined and elegant, Stephane's version seemed a little more brash and masculine, richer in flavor, which is the kind of thing I like.

The Great Divergence

2010-01-03T16:11:00.001-08:00

*Title stolen from one my favorite books, The Great Divergence by Kenneth Pomeranz.

There are two different "camps" that I've noticed, with very different views on how pu-erh should be collected. There are those who buy young, waiting anxiously for the new releases from the major factories, collecting tongs upon tongs of classic recipes, confident in the fact that their tea will age well. They believe, somewhat naively, that the bitterness/astringency will make for a magnificent tea. For a few reason I will elaborate on below, these type of collectors are relatively new in the field.

Than there are those who are more seasoned in their experience, who urge caution when buying anything from the boom years of 2004-2008. These are the kind of people who "would rather have one 90s cake rather than a tong of a 09 release." They also have "better" means of access to aged pu-erh, either living in Asia, having extensive experience traveling through Asia, knowing someone on the "inside," or just having the money to experiment wildly.

There are probably many reasons why there are these two camps, but I think a lot of it has to do with access to pu-erh. There just isn't really available aged stuff being offered at reasonable prices. Of course, what's reasonably priced for one person might be different for some one else, but regardless, what aged stuff is offered via western-type vendors can be pretty darn expensive. I must note that my definition of a pu-erh's "age" isn't determined by numbers, it's determined by maturity. There may be a good number of pre-2004 cakes on puerhshop, but from what I've seen they're mostly in their first stage of aging. On Hou De and Nada anything "aged" will set you back anywhere from $60 and upwards to a few hundred dollars. Now, $67.5 for a 2002 CNNP 8582 may seem reasonable, but to me it's pretty pricey, especially since I have other teas and tea wares that need to be bought too. Of course, these aged cakes may definitely be worth every penny they cost...but I can't afford it.

So perhaps the average beginner takes a look at a '09 8582 ($8.01) and wonder why the heck anyone would spend $67.5 when you could buy the "same" thing for a little over $8? So they're really not the same thing, but they probably don't know how different they are.

To many people whose only source of pu-erh is these western-catering sites would probably think that anything aged is too expensive for them. But that's really not the case, because older stuff can be found more readily in Asia, which may be why most of those in Camp B don't feel the need to buy new, because the older stuff can be bought so easily. I go on Tao Bao and I can find a pretty darn good '02 Mengku Jing Pin for 300 RMB ($44), which is a fraction of the cost of similarly aged cakes on Hou De. I can even find 90s cakes for around $60, which is a joke compared to how much is charged for a 98/99 cake. Of course, it's not fair to compare a landmark cake to a no-name cake, but still, why would I drop $500 for BGT when I can pick up tongs of 90s cakes for the same price?

So this great divergence isn't one between two conflicting camps of collectors, but it's a divergence in the availability of pu-erh here in the West. You have a choice of either really inexpensive new cakes* or super-hyped and super-expensive older cakes. There's no middle ground when it comes to all this. I often wonder why a vendor isn't selling reasonably priced older cakes. The closest examples I can think of are Nada's 90s tuo and late 90s Grand Yellow Label . I would like to see more reasonably priced older stuff, even if it's early 00s stuff, which is pretty much the oldest I can afford. So I leave my readers with the following "task": to point out any reasonably priced "aged" pu-erh which can be found from a western-catering vendor.

*I am omitting the third type: the super-expensive and new cakes

Experiments in Water

2010-01-02T12:08:00.001-08:00

Water is an important, if not most important, component of the tea-making process. In some ways it's even more important than the tea leaf itself! Another component, though a bit less important (IMO), is the tea ware of choice. In many cases, it's yixing, and there are endless debates about the merits of particular clays, shapes, year made, etc. and how it affects the tea made. I have a general idea of what I should look for in terms of my own needs, but I always encourage experimentation for others, because the fun is the journey, not the destination.

We're always so focused on the interplay between yixing and tea, but what about the interplay between yixing and water? So I had a little experiment to see how my different pots affect water. I could have just brewed the same tea in all of them, which probably would be better in terms of detecting differences, but that seemed like too much of a hassle for me.

I pre-heated all the pots with boiling water, taking into account the difference in wall thickness, with the added bonus of "cleaning" out tea leaf bits, tea juice, oils, etc. Granted, the tea/coffee stains on the cups should have been cleaned, but oh well. I'm not claiming this is super scientific or anything. After pre-heating I poured boiling water in, letting the water sit for a few seconds, before decanting into the cups.

So starting from the upper left, going in a clockwise direction. I must note that it was a bit difficult to discern differences between all of these. If this experiment was being done with tea it might have been easier. The pots on the top are darker clays, all some sort of Zi Ni. With all of them, the water was generally "rounded" out in flavor with a thicker mouth feel. The upper-middle one left a weird off-taste in the water that I didn't really like. The pots on the lower level are more of a mixed lot. The lower-left is a modern Zhuni, the lower-middle is a sand-blended 80s Zhuni, and the lower-right is a modern Chao Zhou clay. For the most part, the water seemed a little brighter and sweeter, with the Chao Zhou clay making the water taste the sweetest. I wish I could drink water from that Chao Zhou pot everyday.

Of course, there are things that complicate the results. These pots have been used regularly, so maybe the change in water is the result of seasoning rather than the clay itself. Anyway, it was a fun experiment.

Happy New Years to All!

A Tale of Two Tuo

2009-12-25T13:45:00.000-08:00

So this is what I've been doing for the past two weeks or so: tasting various '01/'02 Xiaguan Jia Ji Tuo Cha that I ordered via Tao Bao Now. The process was fairly easy, and the longest part of the whole process was waiting for the vendors to get their stuff to their office. Although I haven't tasted them all brewed normally, they all tasted pretty okay brewed competition style. Some are better than others, but the difference is a bit slight. Their similarity also makes it difficult to detect the subtle differences between them all.

I have a bit of help from some tea friends, who are helping separate the crap from the gold. One of them has been singing the praises of sample C, which I don't recall too specifically, only that it wasn't too bad. One of my favorites so far has been sample B, which is a'02 boxed version of the Jia Ji Tuo Cha. I don't know about the differences between the boxed and non-boxed versions, but the boxed versions are usually more expensive than their non-boxed counterparts.

The Dry Leaf

On the left is the 2001 Non-Boxed Xiaguan Jia Ji Tuo Cha, and on the right is the 2002 Boxed Xiaguan Jia Ji Tuo Cha

Nothing remarkable about the dry leaf really; they both smelled fairly similar, except the '02 Non-Boxed version has a weird cotton candy-like aroma. I tried to maintain the integrity of the leaves, while making sure it isn't in too large of chunks, because that way they can both evenly.

The Tea Brew

So because of my idiocy, the one on the left is the boxed version, and the right is the non-boxed

Once again, not too many differences in the brew, even in the color. Clarity was pretty good in both of them, and they both brewed up a similar amber-gold. Although there is roughness of bitterness/astringency, it seems that it's been mellowed out by age. Although compression was tight, it was slightly looser with the boxed version, which makes me more inclined to buy that version. Sample B seemed a little rougher, but I found it charming because it seemed that the tea had more character, whereas its counterpart was a bit flatter. With both of them, but especially with sample B, the astringency translated into a lasting and decent hui gan, something I value highly. Sample C seemed a little mellower, which may be the result of an additional year of aging, but it also seemed boring. Now, comparing competition style is only one facet of all of this...and I'll see if all of this translate when brewing it normally. So far so good with all of the samples, and at least to my palate it doesn't seem like any of them are fakes. They're good to drink now, with some exception, but if they aged well it could be something marvelous. I think they fall within my expectations, considering their price (roughly $10-$12 a pop).

The Wet Leaf

Not much to see here, just your run of the mill factory chopped leaf. Surprisingly, there aren't too many differences in terms of aging, IMO. Of course, they're only one year apart so perhaps there wouldn't be any difference, but because the box would deter aging, I suspect that the boxed versions are stored box-less, and put back into the box for sale. Much chance for a switch-a-roo, but 2002 isn't really a big selling point, but who knows. Although not as nice as the 2002 Mengku cake I also ordered, but at a better price-point, I can buy more for storage.

The Vast Sea of Pu-erh

2009-12-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

I'm beginning to understand why so many blogs dedicate most of their space to pu-erh, instead of say... sencha or matcha. More so than other teas (IMO), pu-erh is the one most "famous" but at the same time the most misunderstood. Compared to most other teas, which more or less have a shelf life, pu-erh is a collectible tea, which speaks to the collector-geek that secretly resides in us. And finally, despite all the misinformation about it, we still dive head-first into it all because the thrill of uncertainty, the gamble that might pay off. I'm still a neophyte in the world of pu-erh, but the more I read and the more I taste, the more questions I have. Things that I took for granted beforehand, like processing, are now closely scrutinized by my mind. So here are some of the biggest questions I have, and although I'm not naive enough to think there's a definitive answer or a singular truth, I hope that I can at least understand the subject a bit more.

Processing

From what I understand processing of the tea is fairly straightforward, and although I don't know the exact details, I do know that the temperature of kill-green and intentional oxidation are a big deal to some people. To former, at too high a temperature, creates green tea...which doesn't age well (though carefully done could work). The latter, when over-done, creates a delicious brew similar to Oolong, which is not desire either. For some reason pu-erh can manifest hong cha-esque qualities, but I'm not sure what causes that or if it's good/bad. I think maybe if it's overly oxidized it becomes hong cha. Something I've heard from a tea friend of mine is how careful were processors back than in the 50s, when the legendary Marks came into being. Were people back than as careful about kill-green/oxidation as they are now? Was the entire process as mechanized back than as it is now? Will a slight bit of oxidation actually kill a pu-erh in the long run? And how much oxidation is too much?

One step in the processing of pu-erh has got me thinking the most: the steaming that takes place to soften maocha before compression. How does the steaming temperature affect the aging of pu-erh? I recently posed this question of the pu-erh LJ, and someone said that a slice of bread can be steamed but it will still grow moldy. So microbes and fungus and whatever can survive the steaming temperature or are introduced somehow after the steaming. If steaming shouldn't kill these microbes than how will pu-erh age if it's broken up? Will it even age at all? I've broken up the cake of my 2008 Xiaguan "Instant Sensation" and stored some of it in a clay jar. I didn't break it up into individual leafs, but little chunks here and there. We'll see how/if it ages.

Related to this, if the bacteria/microbes that are helping a pu-erh age come the surrounding air...than will pu-erh aged in our homes ever be as good or be as aged as stuff from Hong Kong, Taiwan, etc.? It will probably be 10 years or so before we start to see what parts of the world outside of China have the "best" conditions for aging. Even if we all have our humidors and water trays, if the air is different...will our home-aged stuff ever be "as good" as stuff from Asia? Perhaps specific fungus/molds/etc are introduced deliberately...and each factory has its own secret "blend" of this stuff.

Or maybe the bulk of aging isn't done by fungus, microbes, etc. I think BBB pointed this out somewhere, but we know that these things are present, but we don't know if they're actually doing anything. So maybe the aging process is just the slow break-down/"rotting" of cell walls over time.

So no real answers here...just endless speculation. Thoughts, anyone?

Teaware Garage Sale

2009-12-11T14:34:00.001-08:00

I think one of the marks of being a tea geek is realizing how much unused stuff you have that's taking up space. So in the tradition of tea ware sales, I am hoping to lighten my load a bit. A few guidelines regarding payment information and general info about the items:

Please email me at MaitreTea@gmail.com, unless you know my "real" email address.
All prices include shipping within the continental United States. If you are buying from abroad please email me so I can give you an accurate freight quote. If you are buying in bulk than we might be able to cut a deal. We can discuss this via email. Items will be shipped via USPS Priority Mail.
All items, unless specified, have been used lightly. For some of these pots, I've only used them a few times or so. I will give detailed notes about the condition of each item, including any damage.
Payment through paypal is preferred, though if you want to make other arrangements please feel free to email me.
First come, first serve. The first person to pay me will get the item. End of story. *ADDED* All sales are final, and although I'll gladly accept returns you must pay for the return postage it may not be worth it given the low price of these items. Also, I did my damn best in packing (see comments for more details), but once it leaves my hands it's up to USPS to deliver it safely to you.

130 ml Duan Ni Yixing

*SOLD*

110 ml Duan Ni Yixing

*SOLD*

Japanese Teapot and Teacups

Vendor: Unknown; Somewhere from Arita, Japan though.
Price: $35
Size: Teapot is 700 ml filled to the brim; teacups are 200 ml filled up to the brim.
Material: Porcelain
Description: Unused and completely new. Comes in the original box it came in. Good for those who don't brew gong fu style or just love Japanese porcelain.

Japanese Porcelain Teacups

Vendor: Unknown; Somewhere from Arita, Japan though.
Price: $10 each; $20 for both
Size: 150 ml when filled up to the brim
Material: Porcelain
Description: Unused and completely new

A Milestone

2009-12-05T12:06:00.001-08:00

This is a fairly long post/rant, so it's broken up into sections:

A Milestone

Ever since installing SiteMeter a few months ago I have officially passed the 1,000 visitors mark. While I don't really care too much how many people read my ramblings on tea, but I am interested in the distribution of my readers. I'm often surprised at how "global" the tea drinking/blog reading community is. It's interesting to know that I have a sizable number of readers hailing from Sweden. If not for SiteMeter I would have thought there were few, if any, tea drinkers in that part of Europe. Somewhat surprisingly though is the lack of readers from the mainland, though I suspect that has more to do with the Great Firewall of China than anything else. Though you're welcome to stay quiet, please comment somewhere...I always relish the chance to interact more with readers and find out where they're from.

The Art of Tea Critique

I haven't been in the mood to talk about/review whatever teas I've been drinking. I've been taking notes, so it should be relatively easy for me to transcribe them...but somehow I'm not too eager to write/review tea. This frustration was only brought to the conscious part of my mind when I read some comments on Something Smuggled In. It's a topic that's been discussed before, but the art of reviewing tea, or anything, can be awfully dependent on so many variables. It's almost impossible to compare accurate tasting notes unless things such as water, brewing times, brewing vessel, etc. were kept the same. Also, our personal inclinations towards certain teas, flavors, aromas, etc. also impact our judgment as well. But despite realizing this, I still read through all the blogs for tea recommendations. I think it's important to find someone whose tastes are sort of aligned with your own (something that comes with trial & error experience), because even with a well-crafted tea, opinions can vary. The Half-Dipper tasting event really showed that, IMHO.

What Now?

Having reached this "mile-stone" of sorts, I'm been thinking about the direction that my blog has taken, and what its future is. Unlike Hobbes, I didn't have the foresight to create a "mission statement." Looking at it now, the little blurb from my profile might be the closest thing to a mission statement. Let's take a look at it, shall we?

"I'm here to share my experiences and offer my own opinion, advice, and comments on tea."

It appears that I've satisfied most of these conditions, though I don't think I'm in any sort of position to dispense advice (well, not advice that should be taken too seriously). But this seems awfully one-sided, and I think I've slowly come to view this blog as a way of communicating with my fellow tea heads. So it's about sharing our experience, opinions, advice and comments on tea, using this blog as a "constant tea meeting," a phrase coined by Corax and MarshalnN on the seminal Cha Dao blog.

Updates on the Tea Front

I recently received the samples I ordered a few weeks ago of the Jingmai/Manjin Awazon cakes. Having only tasted the Mangjin, it seems pretty solid IMHO, but further tasting will be needed to decide if I should purchase a cake somewhere down the line. My Tao Bao order is still processing, and I'm hopeful that it will arrive here by late December, giving me something to do in January. I also made a spur-of-the-moment purchase from Nadacha: 100 g of the 80s Wang Zi Loose Leaf, something that Nada threw in as a sample with my last order and I liked enough for it to be an "everyday" aged pu-erh tea, since I don't have the money to order 80s cakes. I also ordered the 90s (late) Grand Yellow Label. I've heard good things about it all-around, and though it's a bit wet (IIRC), the dryness here should give it some body.

Will post an "actual" post soon...

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T11:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers!

Nothing tea-related, since I'm in kitchen instead of in front of my tea station; also, small cousins = disaster just waiting to happen with my pots. However, I have learned two valuable life lessons:

Turkeys are large, very large, and if you're going to brine a turkey...make sure your refrigerator can hold it (mine barely can). Also, a large enough pot to hold said turkey is valuable too. Make sure your refrigerator can hold the weight of the turkey + brine.
I have a terrible time reading to children. My four year old cousin asked me to read a story to her/explain it whilst reading out loud, and I gave a really precise/technical explanation that kind of put her off. Oh no, I feel old already!

Looking Back

2009-11-25T10:13:00.000-08:00

It's almost been two years since I dove head-first into the world of "serious" tea-drinking, but in reality my tea "roots" are way older. I grew up on various Taiwanese High Mountain teas and cheap shu pu-erh at dim sum restaurants. It's a bit embarrassing, but for a while (before really getting into tea) I thought shu pu-erh was the only kind of pu-erh there was! In my household dim sum was synonymous was shu pu-erh, with a healthy dosage of chrysanthemum flowers. Shu pu-erh was also something I drank casually in the house, when I wanted something with more flavor than water, but not as unhealthy as soda or something.

So how exactly did I make the "jump" from casual tea drinking into a geekdom that I would be hesitant to tell anyone except my tea friends and those closest to me. Like any good story, it all started with a girl...

Just kidding, there's no romance here, but it's really funny when you consider the circumstances. I was getting acquainted with people from various other universities when I was studying abroad, and one girl came from a tea-enthusiast background (Fujian), and she asked if I drank any tea, to which I said shu-puerh. Later that night, she prepared some of her expensive TGY gong fu style, and I was dazzled by it all: the artistry, the floralness, and the warm feeling from drinking her tea.

Deciding to make the most of my convenient surroundings, I headed to the local tea mall (Tianshan Tea City). My friend (the same girl) and I browsed around, and after sitting at a shop for a while I found my first tea-love: yancha. I had walked in expecting to buy TGY, and walked out with DHP. I've never looked back, and thinking about it now, I don't really drink much TGY anymore!

Thinking back to that tea shop, I probably got price/quality gouged just a bit. I had no clue how bargaining in a tea shop worked back than (still don't really have a clue), and I basically had no clue how to judge good tea. Luckily, I didn't spend too much money, and her stuff was decent in my memory. I was at the mercy of the shop-keeper, and I was a very soft target. I also spent way too much money on cheap slip-cast pots...which still haunt me today.

Before coming back to the United States I worried that I would be unable to continue my growing tea habit, not knowing you could buy good tea online. My friend (still that same girl) showed me the Hou De website, and told me it looked like a good place for Taiwanese oolong. Intrigued, I jumped from the Hou De website to various blogs, making my way to TeaChat, which is where my obsession began. I decided to create my own blog...and basically things just kept growing out of proportion, and here I am today. There are things still I regret and things I wish i had done differently...but these are reflections for another day.

The Holidays...Finally

2009-11-18T22:01:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, the holidays are here...and despite critiques about the commercialization of Christmas, and the fact that these holidays are nothing than a way for us to spend our way out of a recession. So much of our economy depends on Santa Claus that it's not even funny anymore.

But despite all this, the holidays are quite frankly my favorite time of the year. I am a 1.5 generation immigrant from Taiwan, so I spent many years absorbing all the trappings of American culture, for better or for worse. Although I can proudly say that I am Taiwanese (take that you Mainland unificationists!), I have my "white-washed" traits, which manifest themselves in the kitchen. As a teenager, I longed for the "traditional" American dinners that my friends enjoyed, at the same wondering what white people ate for dinner. For the longest time I thought a traditional American dinner consisted of pizza and ham burgers, since most of the dinners I spent at my white friend's were due to various parties or such.

So what's a guy longing for a well-done osso buco supposed to do, when your family insisted that Marco Polo stole the idea of pasta and pizza from the Chinese? I cooked it myself, naturally.

Even though I have a knack for some classical Chinese dishes, I relish the opportunity to explore cuisines I never would taste otherwise. The years went by, and my obsession with the culinary arts grew, though I'm an amateur at best.

So only on two days of the year (Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve) does my father begrudgingly forgo his daily rice in lieu of stuffing, mashed potatoes, and all the trappings of a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Of course, I apply my own personal interpretation on some classic dishes, including mashed potatoes with mustard greens which I boil for a while before mixing it in with the mashed potatoes, using olive oil to lubricate it all. Classic mashed potatoes, but with a little more color (and more healthy too!). I'm also serving pumpkin tortelli, with fresh hand-made pasta....

My Uncle and Aunt are coming with my young cousins (5 and 7), and since I love flattery on my cooking I've been busy these past few days thinking up recipes and drafting out a Thanksgiving meal. Thus why I haven't had any tea reviews lately...and the fact that not much has wowed me recently, except for the Yunnan Sourcing Yiwu Daqiufeng, which is surprisingly good considering its relative low price to its Yiwu siblings. A bit sour, but within acceptable limits and quite chunky and thick in the mouth feel....very delicious. May pick up a cake once I have more sessions to confirm my feelings towards this cake.

Musings on Pu-erh

2009-11-12T09:29:00.000-08:00

Haven't been drinking anyway terribly exciting these past few days, but I've been slowing down my consumption of young sheng. Not because my stomach is reacting negatively to it (thank goodness), but the simple fact that I'm tired of disappointment from all my samples. Luckily, I have only out-right hated one (the Mengyang Guoyan "Queen of Yiwu"), but most of them have failed to "wow" me. I'm slowly beginning to know what I like, and what I should be looking for.

The other thing I've been doing these past few days is brewing my teas competition style. It's quite difficult to detect subtle nuances when you've been steeping young sheng for five minutes, and the excessive bitterness in most of them just punch you in the face. I can only imagine how bitter my Guan Zi Zai Lao Man'E cake will taste brewed competition style...and thus I have left that aside for now.

What I have been doing over is thinking about is pu-erh collecting, and just how much of it is speculative. I have yet to see anyone give advice as if they were an "expert," and most people have differeng opinions on what ages well and what doesn't. There is a thread on Teachat discussing different criteria for selection, which should be interesting as the interplay between those who buy great quantities of modern stuff vs. those who are more selective, buying stuff pre-2004. I think the purchasing criteria may have something to do with the purchaser's age. If one were to buy nascent sheng, it would be 20 years (give or take depending on storage) before it becomes "aged." What would happen if your entire collection turned out to be crap? How much money is going down the drain? Sure, people say that tried and true old recipies have shown the capability to age well, but maybe quality was better back than? And is it really worth it to blow your entire budget on only a few stellar-quality cake?

Returning to the original point, if I were older (say 40s) would I be buying as much nascent sheng? Probably not ... since by the time it becomes aged who knows how old I'd be. But if I were young (20s-30s), maybe I could afford to buy some nascent sheng. Also, as one gets older perhaps tolerance to younger sheng also declines too.

So what is my own strategy so far? I think it's important to hedge, and not rely too heavily on all nascent stuff, but at the same time not invest entirely in older sheng (unless you have money/access it cheapily, i.e. in Asia). Personally, I have to deal with excessive dryness and the fact that I'm leaving the country for 2-3 years, which negates the possibility of using a humidor. So right now I'm not looking to buy much nascent sheng, except for a few for immediate consumption/curiousity sake. I'm looking more for juvenile/adolescent sheng - stuff that has a "head start" on the aging process, and while the prices for these are fairly high, they are at least cheaper than stuff from the 80s or 90s (at least in my budget). I'm thinking that buying wetter-stored cakes would be a good idea, and I can use the "dry storage" here to get over the shi cang.

Just my two cents, and the usual warning: I am by no means an expert...

The Most Useful Tea Device ... Ever

2009-11-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

The following is the most important piece of tea equipment, and yes, it's more useful than a tea pot, cups, fair cups, etc. It's importance might even exceed that of the tea itself!

Okay, so I'm clearly joking here, but these competition tasting sets are really useful. I'm kicking myself for not buying a few earlier. I ordered these from Adagio, for the modest price of $9 each ($54 for 6 so you save $5). I received them the other day but there were some minor chips on the cups (the packaging was so poor that it was asking to be broken). But they're shipping me a new set of cups, and I'm glad they were so prompt it getting back to me. However, the replacements are being shipped from the East Coast, and they won't be here until next Tuesday. No biggie, since I'm not actually drinking directly from the cups.

But before I get to singing praises about the usefulness of a tasting set, how the hell does one use it? For those who are familiar with using these, you may scroll down at your leisure or feel free to correct my technique.

Step One

I have heard there are different standards, but what I've heard is either 3 grams for 5 minutes or 5 grams for three minutes. Granted, you can go longer or shorter depending on the type of tea at hand, but at the very least make sure that you have consistency across the board. Have someone else put the samples into the lidded cup so it's a blind tasting, and please have the person write down what sample they put in what lidded cup, as to ease any confusion.

Step Two

Pour the water into the lidded cups, and I believe the temperature should correspond with what tea you're dealing with. Greener teas will need cooler water while roasted teas can deal with hotter water. Of course, things like this are highly subjective so do what you normally do. Now put the timer on. Than wait, but don't wander too far; 3 or 5 minutes can go by faster than you would think.

Step Three

Decant the lidded cup into the bowl, starting with the lidded cup in which you poured the water into first. The lidded cup is position in such a way that it lies perfectly balanced on the bowl, as shown below. So you don't need to hold the cup while decanting. Continue as necessary until all the cups are decanted. Please be quick when decanting, because there isn't a spout, so the tea can "dribble" down the cup if you're not quick enough. Put the lidded cups aside for now. See the following:

Step Four

Place a porcelain spoon into the bowl. Ladle some of the tea into a separate cup using the spoon, and after doing so smell the spoon to catch the aroma, both wet and dry. Taste the tea and make notes, either mentally or physically. If you're tasting with someone else, talk about it. Two heads are better than one, and more ideas are created by the interaction of opinions. Continue this with how many different tasting cups you have, and feel free to go back to a particular one if you need a double-take.

So What's the Point of All This?

There are several advantages to using the tasting set, and these are just off the top of my head. First, this is how many competitions are judged, and this method allows for more consistency in preparing the tea. However, judging a tea competition style is only one way of judging a tea, because some teas don't perform well under competition brewing standards. Or you have a tea that does well brewed competition style that doesn't perform well when brewed regularly. Tasting a tea brewed competition style is one aspect of judging a tea, IMO. The other aspect is judging a tea brewed normally. So it's important to do both.

If the tasting is done blind, it frees you from much of the bias that may happen if you knew what the teas were. Of course, there is still some bias because you're frantically trying to guess from previous knowledge/expectations, but it still allows you to taste tea(s) "as they are." I'm surprised at how accurate I am about my preferences, and at other times I'm horrendously wrong. Some of the teas that I love perform well under competition standards, while others perform abysmally. It's also a way to notice similarities or differences within the same type of tea, i.e. if you're competition brewing all Shui Jin Gui, or Bu Lang, etc.

Finally, it offers a very good way of comparing teas. You can brew several teas over the course of a day or a few days, but because you're not brewing it at the same time, it's more difficult to make comparisons. So brewing something competition style gives you the chance to compare a whole slew of teas at the same time. Of course, you don't have to use competition sets...similarly sized gaiwan or even bowls/cups would work just fine too. I think that brewing competition style could definitely be a good way to narrow down a list of potential purchases, and thus saving a lot of money.

Luckily for me, brewing my favorite sheng competition style has only confirmed how much I like them, so my short list of what to buy hasn't changed at all. I think I'm going to have a fun time competition brewing the same single-estate teas, just to notice the similarities/differences between them, if any, and maybe even see which ones are "better" examples of said region.

2009 Guan Zi Zai Ban Zhang

2009-11-03T15:42:00.000-08:00

This one is dedicated to Tea Goober, and his relentless quest to find quality Lao Ban Zhang. See product description here.

To be honest, I have purposefully been avoiding the Lao Ban Zhang samples I have, because of their reputation, and the ever-present question if what we're tasting is real Lao Ban Zhang, or if it's been mixed with filler from other areas (Lao Man'E, New Ban Zhang, Bing Dao, etc.). I'm at the point where it's not a question of if a particular cake is "pure" Lao Ban Zhang, it's question of what percent, because it's almost never going to 100%. It's unrealistic, because the area is only so large, and everybody wants it.

The second reason why I've been avoiding my Lao Ban Zhang samples is that I have seen "the truth." Simply, I have had the opportunity to taste a 100% Lao Ban Zhang cake. Okay, this was a private-private solo pressing, and everyone present (including pu-erh expert BBB) gave the general impression that this was the real deal. It had that bitterness that everyone and their mother associates with Lao Ban Zhang, but it wasn't as potent as one would think. Sure, it was extremely bitter, but the bitterness was fleeting, descending into a really awesome hui gan. It was very good tea, and I know what the fuss about Lao Ban Zhang is all about, because it really deserves the reputation that it does. Okay, so that experience created a set of expectations from my samples, and sadly these expectations weren't going to be fulfilled. So my Lao Ban Zhang samples sat in the corner while I danced with general merriment with the likes of Jing Mai, You Le, etc.

Third reason (I promise the actual review is coming soon) is that this cake seems too cheap to be what it claims, though even if it's 50-75% Ban Zhang, it might be worth it. The wrapper seems pretty enough too, and to be expected from the older brother of Yong Pin Hao.

The anticipation of expectations are right here in these leaves

I've only tasted one other Ban Zhang besides this one and the one mentioned above, the 2008 Lao Ban Zhang which was pressed as a side project of people from the Shuangjiang Mengku company. The 2008 disappointed me a bit, with its lack of fresh bitterness but it was still enjoyable enough with its bouquet of roses.

My first sip...and holy cow! This stuff is quite bitter. In fact, the word "bitter" appears in every sentence of my tasting notes, except for the first one: "dry aroma of leather and sweetness." But it's not an astringent bitterness, but it's the bitterness that I (and many other tea drinkers who employ Chinese) as ku. This is quite bitter, even more so than the private pressed cake that I sampled. The bitterness is quite present throughout the brew, and only in the 6th infusion does it "mellow" down. The bitterness is followed by a smooth/creamy and sweet hui gan, but it's slow...if that makes sense at all. But the bitterness sticks around, even in the aftertaste, as a constant reminder. It has a nice caffeine kick, and I feel my hands shaking and I have a slight cold sweet breaking out. Remarkable endurance, and though I don't keep track of how many infusions...it has been at least 15+ infusions, and still showing some slight bitterness!

It was interesting, and I wish I had more experience with Ban Zhang so I could "out" this one as being an authentic example or a "fake." Honestly, the bitterness didn't endear to me, and it stayed far too long than it had to. The mouth feel was pretty solid, and this certainly appealed to be more than most of the samples I have. But would I be willing to spend $48, when their $30 Jing Mai can satisfy me completely? Probably not. I know this review is making this tea sound lame, but it's pretty tasty...though if you're not a fan of bitterness, stay away. The aftertaste and hui gan is quite nice, and the bitterness itself itself of the offensive kind, it's bitterness but in a good way.

Tea Goober, if you want, I'd be more than happy to send you what remains of my sample (around 15 grams) as my donation to your quest to taste different Lao Ban Zhang. I also have a sample of the '08 cake version Lao Ban Zhang if you're curious to see if there are any differences between the brick and cake version.

*addendum* 11/7/09

Even though my initial impression of this tea may have been a little critical, after tasting the 2008 Mengku Lao Ban Zhang and the 2009 Yunnan Sourcing Ban Zhang I've been thinking more about the 2009 Guan Zi Zai Lao Ban Zhang. Out of all these samples, the Guan Zi Zai had the most "guts." I'm doing a blind competition tasting sometime soon, and hopefully it'll confirm this. I recall Hobbes said that the 2008 Menghai 7542-801 was like "being punched in the face by an old friend." (see here for details, scroll down to #1026) To put my spin on it...the 2009 Guan Zi Zai Lao Ban Zhang was like being kicked in the crotch by an old friend. Depending on what Tea Goober thinks of it, I may buy a cake of this with my next order.

*addendum* 11/8/09

Going back to the product description, it actually doesn't say Lao Ban Zhang at all! It just says Ban Zhang. So somehow in mind I automatically thought it was Lao Ban Zhang. I'm beginning to think that it may be harvested from Lao Man'E, which another area inside the Ban Zhang region. This is a pretty good thread about Ban Zhang, which also supports my belief that the maocha is from Lao Man'E: here
This would perhaps explain why this particular offering is so inexpensive compared to other Ban Zhang cakes. From both the product name, wrapper (at least from what I can see on the Yunnan Sourcing site), and product description don't refer to Lao Ban Zhang at all! I admire Guan Zi Zai's integrity and honesty in not fudging the facts about the provenance of their maocha.

2008 Mengyang Guoyan "Queen of Yiwu"

2009-10-31T15:57:00.000-07:00

Interesting enough, the Chinese name for this is Yiwu Cha Huang, which translates to "Yiwu Tea Emperor." Modesty and humility are certainly not traits of pu-erh factories when it comes to naming schemes, I believe. Sadly, this tea is neither a king nor a queen, but rather it's more like a pretender to the throne. This is merely the review of a humble pu-erh neophyte, so maybe I'm not "getting it," or once again, this tea just doesn't sit well with me.

I had heard good things about this cake from the folks over at TeaChat (specific thread here). I mostly agree with the sentiments there, but whereas these qualities are described positively by that reviewer, those same traits are negative qualities of the cake in my mind. The leaves look gorgeous, and compression was nice in my chunk of a sample. It seemed like a nice tea: floral, sweet, a touch woodsy. Like many things in life, looks can be deceiving.

If only the tea tasted as good as the leaves look

The first three infusions did not bode well in my judgment of this cake. The mouth feel of the infusion is decent which borders on being thin, while the smoothness borders on blandness. Frustrated, I recalled that a lot of leaf was needed to make it tasty, so added about two grams of new leaf after the third infusion. It did little to help, and even when pushed hard, the tea still had little to give. It's a bit fruity and there's nothing offensive about it, but it lacks the punchiness that I like in my pu-erh. Soft and rounded, it might be tasty to people who like that sort of thing.

Disappointment seems to be the trend of these samples, and I'm only considering ordering four or five cakes of what I've tasted thus far. Thank goodness I didn't subscribe to the cake = sample theory, because even if a cake is relatively cheap, when it's bad it's just sitting there, serving as a reminder of how stupid I was. I was actually thinking or purchasing this cake right off the bat, just based on what I've heard. So glad I didn't. I've also vowed to myself that I won't purchase a cake outright unless it's a recommendation coming from people whose opinions I trust. Though I'm more likely to take the advice of what cakes to avoid, than what cakes to get.

Hopefully the trend of disappointment will end when I receive a spur-of-the-moment pu-erh purchase I made from Seven Cups, their 2001 Winter Yellow Green Cake. Looks ugly, doesn't it? I would never had even entertained the thought of ordering such an expensive cake, but a combination of things were at work behind this spontaneous decision: 1. BBB's glowing review (see here), 2. their 20% off sale (who can't resist a good deal) which is ending this month, and 3. staying up until 2 AM thinking about pu-erh. I hope this wasn't a rash decision, but I trust BBB and his taste (and I hope his opinion of said cake hasn't changed too much in the three years since that review).

2009 Guan Zi Zai Jing Mai Wild Arbor

2009-10-24T16:21:00.000-07:00

See product description here

I've been sampling whole load of young sheng from my recent order, and I'm pretty glad that I didn't order cakes right off the bat - some of these are stinkers. Now, most of them are stinkers not because they taste horrible, but they weren't my cup of tea. As of now, I'm looking to purchase for immediate consumption...not worrying too much about storage. Since I'm going to be gone for two years, now's not the best time to start collecting. I also figure that in the near-future it'd be clearer what kind of cakes are going to age and which ones are not. Hopefully any cakes I buy will start to age as usual once I move them to a more suitable aging environment.

So, I'm reviewing this cake as it is, without considering if it's going to age well or not. I'm starting to find that I like pu'er with character, raw and fierce...and from what I've tried so far I'm really digging stuff from Bu Lang or Jing Mai. And I don't like many of the Lin Cang/Meng Ku samples that I have, but maybe I'm not drinking the right stuff, or stuff from this region doesn't fit my needs.

So, onto the actual tea. I've returned to this tea a few times, just to be sure that I like it enough to buy a whole cake. I think I'm sold. The product description reads that this tea's "bitterness is rivalled only by Bu Lang." Very nice

The remaining piece of my original sample

There's a nuttiness that permeates this tea. From the dry aroma to the wet aroma to the actual tea itself, it's always there. This seems to be a trait common to teas from this area, IIRC. I'm quite happy to distinguish that, but perhaps I wouldn't be in if this were a blind tasting between regions. There's also a "savory" element in the tea, which is also apparent in the wenxiangbei. Quite smooth and creamy, a slight bitterness in the tip keeps this tea interesting, and which also also compelled me to order a cake once I'm done with all the samples I have. It seems fairly durable, but I didn't keep an exact count of how many infusions it went through before descending into simple honeyed tea water (though I went through half a pitcher of water, which is fairly remarkable since a whole pitcher lasts for three sessions).

I have a fair share of samples from Guan Zi Zai, and they've all left me with a good impression so far. But I'm still a greenhorn in sampling young sheng, so perhaps my opinion doesn't count as much. Would be nice to see other peoples' impressions of offerings from this company, especially the ones that are up on Yunnan Sourcing, which are all 2009 cakes.

Complications, Complications, Complications

2009-10-16T17:14:00.000-07:00

This won't have anything to do with tea, besides the fact that I'm drinking some while I'm typing away ... but this is my blog, so I can do whatever the hell I want!

So as some of you may know, I am currently applying for the Peace Corps, and I'm at the second to last step, the medical and legal review. Now, from what I've heard this is the process that's the most frustrating and time-consuming. I'm hoping to avoid any unnecessary troubles and getting this done right the first time. Now, the medical review is divided into three parts: the physical, dental, and eye examination. The last one was by far the easiest. Thank god for Costco optometrists. Haven't gone to my physical yet, but that's not until Monday. Now, my first obstacle: the dental examination.

The Peace Corps are truly attentive to details, requiring the actual X-Rays or digital images. Now, my dentist is ahead of the times and he's done away with the X-Ray machine, so this should be a snap, right? One caveat, it needs to be printed on photo-quality paper. Now, this shocked even the dentist because he said even cancer patients didn't have trouble with plan paper, but somehow I need photo-quality paper. So I'm going back to the dentist on Monday, after my physical, and buying some god damn photo quality paper. But I'm going to stop by his office first thing in the morning to write down his model number, and pray to God that regular printers can print on photo quality paper...

Overwhelmed with Tea

2009-10-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty busy lately with the tea, and it's probably karma for venting about the tea ruts a while ago. But it's always better to have more tea than less tea, unless of course the tea in question is quickly perishable green tea. I recently met up with WY last Saturday, and we tried a wide range of different Oolong, mostly high roasted stuff, some Yancha, and an aged Baozhong. As always, I left with tons of samples of various high roasted TGY and Yancha (Thanks again!).

Soon afterward I became the latest to enjoy the Oolong Box Pass, courtesy of the folks over at Teachat. Some of the teas were things I wouldn't normally buy myself, but it's always nice to be part of a IRL tea drinking shindig, and it's a way for me to try to be as generous as others have been to me. Pay it forward is a way of thinking I strive to live by.

My order from Yunnan Sourcing also came on Saturday. I missed the mailman and he left me a "Sorry We Missed You" notice, which irked me, since I wouldn't get my package until Tuesday (because of Columbus Day). I am highly impatient, and I marched down to the Post Office at around 4:30 PM so I can grab my package when the carriers return back to the Post Office. I was scared for the worst, but luckily I returned home with a large package of four cakes/tuocha and 27 (!) samples.

I've tried all of the four cakes/toucha, and at this point I'm quite partial to the 7532 and the Xiaguan FT Baoyan Tuocha. I'm kind of disappointed in how "weak" the 2008 Xiaguan FT Instant Sensation is, but maybe I need more leaf. It's enjoyable to drink, but I was expecting something with a little more kick ... especially since it's a chopped factory cake. I've been thinking about how to tackle the samples, and I've decided to tackle these samples by region, starting with Bu Lang and Lin Cang. So far I like the 2009 Guan Zi Zai "Jing Xuan Bu Lang", which stands out a little more than the 2006 A-Gu Zhai Wild Arbor Bu Lang. The former has a better mouth-feel and bitterness (but a good way) than the latter. There's also some sort of "bean-like" aroma that I can't really describe.

I'm fascinated with the different flavors and aromas that come from a genre of tea that I had limited experience prior to this, and I'm also having difficulty conveying what aroma/flavor I'm detecting. To me, it seems that a lot of these teas I'm tasting tend to be more about the mouth feel, but some also have an interesting flavor as well. The 2005 Hai Lang Hao "Lincang Impression" has some kind of tangy fruitiness that caught me off guard.

I'm also finding that I find young sheng more enjoyable than most aged sheng (shocking isn't it?). I probably haven't had that kind of "aha" moment, but I prefer the flavor/aroma profile of young sheng. Hopefully I'm not overdoing it with young sheng, which I hear can cause stomach problems later on...so I'm balancing it with some other Oolong that I have, but it's so darn hard not to just plough through all my Yunnan Sourcing samples!

Window Shopping

2009-10-09T23:37:00.000-07:00

What I would give to live in a metropolitan in China or Taiwan...I would be able to window-shop for for pots to my heart's content, sadly here in the states the best I can do is look at different vendor sites, because a lot of these pots are either a. too large, b. way out my price range, or c. highly likely to be fake, or d. not very good quality. The fact that some of the vendors don't have their pots online, whether they don't update often (Hou De), or they lack an online store entirely (Best Tea House). *Sigh* This is quite depressing....

On the plus side, I'm going to Boston and New York City for a week in late January/early February. Although I don't know of any good tea shops in Boston, Tea Gallery is definitely a place I want to hit up when I visit. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up a nice Zi Ni pot and some good tea while over there, but sadly this also means I need to tighten the metaphorical tea budget belt, so I can go bonkers while I'm there.

Besides Tea Gallery, I might hit up Ito-En...and maybe troll around Chinatown, though I doubt I'd find anything there, and I'm not good enough with pots to distinguish fakes. But Tea Gallery is still a little over 4 months away....*sigh*

An Exploration of Terrior

2009-10-07T20:00:00.000-07:00

My previously posted entry on this mysteriously vanished into thin air, and now I am left with the task of recalling into memory what I have already written before. This must be divine retribution for doing tea-related work. *shakes fist at the work gods* But anyway, such is life...at least it gives me a chance to actually mull over what I write, instead of furtively sneaking around doing it...

Terroir, a concept pretty important in wine enjoyment/production, has found usage in tea drinking as well. I believe that it makes a difference in any kind of plant, not just tea (and it shows because produce from California beats produce from most other states in my opinion). But how much of a difference does it make, when you stack it up to other factors such as farming techniques, processing, storage, etc. I never really thought much about terroir that much when buying tea, that is, until I started researching pu'er.

From what I've read, single-estate cakes a relatively recent (recent being a relative term, of course) phenomenon. Back in the day the state-controlled factories picked leaves from all the different mountains, and blended them together. Now, in the post-DXP world, privately owned factories could make their own productions; however, they lacked the resources (or maybe even the legal right) that the larger factories had, and could only create single-estate cakes. It seems that these estates all have their own special characteristics, but the question remains of how these single-estate cakes will age, and whether their regional characteristics will stand the test of time, or will they all converge somewhat, and to the a point a Nannuo is no longer distiguishible from a Jing Mai. Since there's no historical precedence of single-estate cakes, no body knows.

But moving on from pu'er to what I'm most curious about: terrior in oolong. This is very interesting, because we have the opportunity to taste the same varietal of plant, Wuyi Shui Xian and Anxi TGY, grown in two different regions. So this is a good opportunity to see how terroir influences the same varietal in different environments.

I've sampled a fair share of Taiwanese Shui Xian and I've also had my fair share of Chinese Shui Xian. These two taste nothing alike, and the difference between these two is like night and day. But why is this? Well, Taiwanese Shui Xian is not processed traditionally like the Wuyi version; instead, it's a medium roasted Bao Zhong. I'm not saying that it's bad...but it's Shui Xian in name only. So maybe this shows that terroir is a big deal, but let's not be too hasty. The processing techniques of these two are way too different, and their differences may not be attributed mostly to terroir, but mostly to processing differences.

Okay, so let's turn to traditional roast TGY, which is done both on the mainland and in Taiwan. I could be wrong, but their processing techniques aren't going to differ as much as the difference between Wuyi Shui Xian and Taiwanese Shui Xian. Sadly, I haven't had the opportunity to taste these two side by side...but actually, now that I remember, a friend is sending me a sample of some traditional roast Muzha TGY. Now if only I could get my hands on some Chinese traditional roast TGY (looks at WY). But at least according to WY, who's tasted a fair share of traditional roast from both sides of straights, says about Muzha TGY, "there's something missing..." (I believe I'm paraphrasing him correctly here)

So maybe that "missing something" is terroir? Or is it processing differences?

Also, how much does terroir matter within the same genre of tea? Perhaps characteristics amongst the single-estates is more noticeable, because pu'er processing is more or less uniform (correct me if I'm wrong here), where as with oolong, things like roast and oxidation can muck things up. Will different Shui Jin Gui exhibit more similarities than it does differences? By the grace of...well, WY, I have in my possession four different samples of Shui Jin Gui, and I have ordered some from Seven Cups. Will they have more similarities than they will be differences?

Even though I may not have the palate to actually come to some sort of conclusion by the end of all this, at least I get to drink some tasty tea.

Sickness

2009-10-04T09:46:00.001-07:00

Ugh, I hate being sick ... because I don't really enjoy tea as much when I'm preoccupied with all the sniffling, coughing, and all the other nastiness that comes with the common cold. Also, I'm afraid that a coughing fit will hit when I'm holding a teapot, and lose of control might lead to unfortunate accidents. Tea has been touted, both in modern and ancient times, as something that can cure sickness, but I don't think I could really enjoy tea like this.

Also, the cough drops I'm popping would definitely mess with the taste of whatever I'm drinking.

*addendum*
Okay, so I wrote a new entry...and it's completely gone for some reason...sorry if you were checking in on the new entry, folks.

Impulse

2009-10-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

There isn't a better title than this...and it's pretty self-explanatory. It hasn't even been a day since I posed the question before my readers, and I already found myself caving into the temptation. Between the advice of those on TeaChat (a cake = a sample) and the advice of WY (buy samples), I didn't know which school to follow. So I choose the middle path, buying a few cakes and a ton of samples. I figure I would buy some of the classics, and even if I didn't like them...it would be a good learning experience and give me a better understanding of some solid foundations. I picked the following cakes:

'08 8582
'08 7532
(I would've gone for the 7542...but I fear that its potency would turn me off completely)
'08 Xiaguan FT Baoyan Jincha
'08 Xiaguan FT Yiming Jingren aka "Instant Sensation"
Yunnan Sourcing Sampler (Just because it's nice to support your vendors, and the Half-Dipper tasting event made me curious)

Even though others might say that single-mountain cakes may not age as well as blends...but unlike many others out there, I'm not buying to collect, I'm buying to drink now (well, I might hold a few for long-term storage). Don't have the space/money to build a pumidor, so I'll just let nature take its course for now, and in a few years I'll get around to buying/assembling one. A few years isn't going to kill a cake, in my opinion. So anyway, I'm interested in tasting the different mountains, and maybe get a feel for their distinctive qualities. I didn't even know where/how to find recommendations for cakes that would be representative of their region, so I just emailed Scott from Yunnan Sourcing and said, "I want to sample cakes that are representative of the major estates: yiwu, nannuo, bulang, bada, lincang, jingmai, etc. What suggestions do you have?" He emailed me back in about 15 minutes and produced the following:

So including the Yunnan Sourcing samplers, I have 675 grams of pu'er to sample. I think I'm going to have a crazy September.

And I found out that I don't have to start paying my student loans until January instead of November, which is the reason why I was tightening the belt. So I get to have both options, and next week I'll be putting in an order of high fired TGY from Aroma Tea House.

*NOTE*
I love living in California because it's the closest part of the coast to China...which means that any shipment from China will come to me quicker than it would to anyone else (except people on the island or something). Waiting anxiously...my last order via EMS arrived about four days after it shipped

To Pu or Not to Pu?

2009-09-30T19:52:00.000-07:00

The title sounds crass, I know, but I couldn't resist...much like how I can't resist saying "that's what she said" when the situation calls for it...

So I've had the occasional pu'erh here and there, but I've never bought any on my mine. Out of all the pu'erh I've tasted (which isn't saying much), I think I like young sheng, old sheng, and middle-aged sheng...in that order. Once I start drinking more pu'erh I will probably have more nuances in this list, but this will do for now. Anyway, I digress from the point of this post.

Unlike other tea drinkers I know, I have been blessed/cursed with coming across tea at a (relatively) young age. I'm like a teenager compared to all the tea drinkers I know, whether in person or by guessing/implying peoples' ages on TeaChat. I'm blessed because I have the time to age teas and by the tea I can enjoy "aged" teas I won't be at the age when I'm senile. Now it's a curse because I don't have the cash to spend on tea, especially as a part-timer in this shitty economy. So my budget is limited, which means compromises need to be made.

So I enjoy young sheng, and I feel like it's about the right time to starting exploring that particular genre...the final frontier in my tea journey. All the heavy hitters in the blogging world, A Tea Addicts Journal, The Mandarin's Tea, The Half-Dipper, etc. talk about pu'erh alot, and a part of me feels like I won't be validated as a tea blogger or even a tea enthusiast without owning a few cakes/bricks/tuocha of my own. I couldn't be comfortable calling myself a tea geek until than. It would also allow me to enjoy these blogs even more, since I love to read them despite my non-knowledge of pu-erh.

A new month is approaching, and as my previous postings have indicated, I have begun to run dry on certain goods, mainly high-fired TGY and Yancha, though WY saved me by generously donating some samples of Shui Jin Gui. But I only have enough high-fired TGY for one more session, and I've been thinking ordering some from Aroma Tea House.

I was thinking of putting a massive order with Yunnan Sourcing at the beginning of November, consisting of a few "classical" Menghai and Xiaguan cakes, as well as some single-estate Nannuo and Bulang cakes. Why the single-estate cakes? Well, I want to slowly learn the characteristics of each mountain, and though these regional characteristics will differ from cake to cake(due to a whole slew of factors: plantation vs. wild arbor, vintage, processing, producer, etc.), when someone talks about a cake having that "classic Nannuo/Bulang/Menghai/etc. flavor," I want to be able to nod along and know what they're talking about. From what I've read on TeaChat and the blogosphere...these two estates sound appealing to me.

So, back to the original question...to pu or not to pu? Should I embark on a new journey now, or should I replenish my reserves first? My tea future is up to you, dear readers!

Tea Ruts, a Redux

2009-09-24T21:56:00.000-07:00

It's that time of the month again...when I start running low on supplies, but I'm over my tea budget so I need to wait until next month until I can order teas again. But unlike my tea ruts of July, I'm actually quite happy to be drinking the same kind of teas over and over again. In this case, I'm mostly drinking Taiwanese oolong these days, and my light roast/medium roast pots have been getting quite a bit of action.

Now, coming from a Taiwanese background, Taiwanese teas (as one might surprise), are the rage in our household. I still have about 400-600 grams of high mountain stuff still open, about 200 grams of lower elevation cheap jinxuan, and 600 grams of recently discovered aged tea (more on that later). So I pretty much never have to order Taiwanese oolong, because it's so readily available.

My latest obsession has also been DIY roasting, mostly in a crockpot. Since I have so much tea, especially jinxuan stuff, I've been using it to experiment roasting. See here for some helpful tips:

Tea Obsession
My Tea Stories (a whole series, fascinating btw)
TeaChat

You would think that I, like any proud Taiwanese, would use the traditional DaTong rice cooker...but for some reason my model hasn't have a keep warm function, so I've decided to go western on this one. I don't like to drink too many green oolongs, so my hope was to give some of my teas a light/medium roast, to mix it up a little. I got a little carried away and charred the Dong Ding...I don't know if it's drinkable.

I was a little more careful and less ambitious the next time, and I had some pretty decent results. It doesn't taste like a true roasted oolong, since that kind of a roasted flavor profile only comes from hardwood/charcoal roasting.

Now, the aged oolong I mentioned earlier. Asians like to give tea as gifts, and the rest of my family, non-tea drinkers, kindly accept said gifts and chuck them in the corner somewhere. Just last weekend, I found some Taiwanese jinxuan (I believe), still in its vacuum sealed bags, original canister, boxes, etc. ... from 1996. That's right, from over 10 years ago. I don't know how much a tea can age in a vacuum, but from what little I know of science, these vacuum bags aren't probably perfect vacuum spaces, and the tea inside probably mingled together and aged a bit.

It has an interesting taste, it's still floral, but not in a dominating way...it's kind of subtle. There's also a better mouthfeel and a kind of honeyed flavor to it. Since I have 600 grams of it, I took 200 grams away for further aging (just another one of my on-going experiments). People have called me crazy, but hey, if it's airtight enough...it will age. Tea Habitat carries aged green tea from 1994, so I'm definitely not crazy. I gave a portion of the aged tea a little roast, and it's a little more interesting, but I'll see in a week when the roast starts to become more stabilized.

Good thing this month is almost over, I'm looking forward to my next big order, which should probably sustain me until the year's end.

Now For Something Completely Different...

2009-09-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

When I bought the before-mentioned pots, they came with samples. I like samples, because they're free and they let you taste teas that you probably wouldn't buy otherwise (too expensive or not your style). But this is different from everything I've tasted...this was a sample of sheng pu'er. Now, I've had the occasional sheng here and there, but I've never bought any on my own...much less brew it myself. I have a general understanding of how to brew it, but I'm just curious as to what kind of flavors or aromas to expect, since this is the youngest sheng that I've tasted. Of course, I'm also scared that I really like it...and than I start getting into pu'er.

I've been staring at this tea ever since I got it, and I wonder when I'm going to brew it

For anyone who's curious, the product description is here. Thank goodness Hobbes reviewed the tea (see here), which have given me a better idea of what to expect. Anticipating how a tea is going to taste is probably one of the worst things, because often times it leads to unrealistic expectations that aren't met in many cases. I should probably just drink this ASAP before I think more about how this tea will taste.

*NOTE*
It tastes pretty delicious...crap, I believe I've been bitten by the pu'erh bug

The End of a Phase

2009-09-19T14:24:00.000-07:00

As of today, I've reached a crucial point in my tea journey. I finally have a dedicated yixing for every tea I drink on a regular basis (at least once every two days). It might be surprising to some that it's taken me this long (a whole year into the journey!) but I've made some bad tea-ware purchases along the way. Well, not bad per se, but just not good in the long run. I had thought that shape = most important factor, but I think now I'm beginning to think that clay is more important.

I've also learned that matching teapots to teas is mostly a personal thing, but as a result of many personal experiments, here's what I like: for roasted/harsher teas I like to have a softer, more non-porous clay such as Zi Ni. Softer clays round out these roasted/harsh notes that I don't really enjoy in excessive amounts. Duan Ni, in my opinion, can sometimes be too rounding, and should be reserved for the really roasted/harsh stuff. For more lighter roasted or delicate teas, I like to use a more non-porous clay, such as Zhu Ni or Hong Ni. I do this because non-porous clays bring out the "sharp" flavors of a tea. This is just what I like, and you're free to do whatever you want. I've actually "broken" some of these rules myself.

Here's a photo of the family:

From left to right, from top to bottom, these pots will labeled as 1 - 6

Chao Zhou Pot: 120 ml, from Tea Habitat: I bought this about two months ago, and I've been using it for (surprise surprise) Dan Cong. Even though Imen recommends multiple CZ pots for the different types of Dan Cong out there...I don't drink enough Dan Cong to justify multiple Dan Cong pots. I might upgrade to one of the more expensive Wu pots, at which point this will be dedicated to young Sheng Pu'er. Some hairline cracks have developed at the bottom of the pot, but so far these cracks are only on the outside, so I'm trying to be a little more cautious with this one...Very thin walls, excellent lid fit, and a fast-medium pour.
Modern Zhu Ni/Hong Ni Pot: 130 ml, from The Tea Gallery: I bought this a month ago, and it's first purpose was to be filled with medium/light roast yancha. It's now been dedicated to lighter balled-up oolong, and it's done wonderfully. I love Shui Ping, and I immediately had to buy this one out of all the ones Winnie showed me. The clay is very high-fired, and it has the best sounds of all my pots. It sounds closest to the Early R.O.C. Zhu Ni in this video here, courtesy of Guang from Hou De. It's a contemporary pot, and it was made on special order by Bill Lee from China Flair Tea. A very fast pour and excellent lid fit. Balances perfectly on water w/lid on.
Late 70s/Early 80s Sand-Blended Zhu Ni: 100 ml, from Hou De. My newest purchase, which just arrived today. Even though I haven't used it yet, it's going to be dedicated to light roasted yancha. I was looking for a pot for light roasted balled-up oolong, but I realized that the Shui Ping would be perfect for that, and this would be perfect for light roast yancha. Even though this is my first "authentic" Zhu Ni piece, it's sand-blended so maybe it doesn't count. I theorize that the sand-blended nature, which increases porosity (?) would help soften (just a little little bit) the roast, while the Zhu Ni portion would help protect the flavor/aroma. It has very thick walls, and a pretty thick base as well, which is also perfect for keeping in heat.
90s Zi Ni: 80 ml, from Nada. My newest purchase also, also arrived today (daily double for me!), will be dedicated to high fired balled oolong. The previous pot I had dedicated to high fired oolong was also a Zi Ni. Why did I decide to change it? Well, the pot was cumbersome to pour (for me at least), and it wasn't really easy on the eyes. The lid fit is excellent, and the pour is medium-slow, but that's fine for me. I love the silver lining on the lid and spout. It's as if the pot is "pimped-out." Very thick walls too, and quite solid/heavy for its size.
80s/90s (?) Pin Zi Ni (?): around 80 ml, fished from my grandmother's house in Taiwan. It seems to be an authentic piece from Zisha Factory #1, since the potter's name is stamped under the lid. The clay is very soft, and maybe it's just me, but it seems quick to absorb tea oils. The lid is kind of loose and there's a chip on the lid (not my fault, but my grandmother's). This is probably one of my favorite teapots, sees usage at least once a day. It's dedicated to medium-fired balled oolong. The clay, while not high-fired, seems more high-fired than #4, and this has been "proven" with personal experimentation. Balance is very good, would be perfect if there weren't a chip on the lid, IMO.
00's Zi Ni (?): around 120 ml, from Ching China Cha in Washington D.C. My second tea-ware purchase, I actually haven't used this until the last few months. I had originally used it for Dan Cong, but between the thick walls and something...it just didn't brew right. I had it sit in the corner, thinking that it would be dedicated to Sheng Pu'er when I start getting into that. I tried it (on a whim) with high-fired yancha, and it did very well. I had previously used a Duan Ni pot with high fired yancha, but the Duan Ni rounded out the flavors a little too much, IMO. It's got thick walls and excellent lid fit. Surprisingly, the lid between this and #2 are interchangeable, and the fit is perfect too! The heaviest of all my pots, it looks like a modified version of the classic Shi Piao shape. I like to call it "the tank."

And actually, this is a distant cousin of the family. He's a little weird and shy...so he had to take a picture by himself:

This is the one pot that I don't use on a regular basis. I bought it from Yunnan Sourcing about a year ago, and I've been drinking shu pu'er with it. I drink shu pu'er with my meals, so this fits with that perfectly. The clay is now a nice dark color, and the pour/lid fit is really nice as well. It's one of the cheapest pots I have (if you count the slip-cast knock-offs I bought from China), and it exceeds well beyond its price. I think if you want to buy a good modern pot at excellent prices, you can't go wrong with Yunnan Sourcing.

I don't have the kind of money or space to be a collector of pots yet, so this is it for me for the time being. I don't like making tea-ware purchases unless they fill a void that exists or it's a noticeable improvement on what I have now. So maybe in the late future I'll buy more pots, but I like to focus on raising a few pots than having to juggle between tons of other pots. I might pick up a pot or two for aged oolong, but I don't have much experience with that yet, so it can wait.

*UPDATED*
I recently decided that the CZ clay was too stifling on my DC, so it's been re-allocated for young sheng pu'er. I decided that it's too complicated (IMO) to have two pots for wuyi, so the ZiNi pot is now dedicated to whatever aged sheng I happen to come by...

Cha Qi

2009-09-14T15:15:00.000-07:00

My first encounter with Cha Qi occurred when I was sampling The Tea Gallery's Hundred Year Tree. It was a very potent brew indeed, and it had a calming effect on the nerves. Sadly, I was able to grab onto this feeling two out of the four times I brewed...and it's a bit expensive to buy more just to capture something that's by nature elusive and almost mystical in a way. My second encounter, and the subject of this post, was a bit weirder in nature, and it was probably due to the circumstances than the actual tea itself, but I'll see when I polish off the tea later.

This sample, courtesy of WY, is labeled Gu Shu Cha. IIRC, he had bought it at Wuyi Shan when he visited. Now, the direct meaning of the name is simply Ancient Tree Tea, implying that the trees from which this tea was harvested from come from older trees. How much older? I didn't ask WY, and I'm guessing that he probably couldn't give a reliable age(Chinese tea vendors can be a conniving bunch sometimes).

The bottom of the barrel....*sigh*

The dry leaf is pretty roasted, and there's a distinct citrus aroma, kind of sharp, but it reminds me of a nice men's perfume in that kind of citrus-like aroma. the wet leaves had a nice "roasted" aroma with some deep, rich chocolate in the mix there. The initial infusions had a upfront fruitiness with some spiciness that made the tea even more intriguing. I found it very deep in flavor, but not too aromatic...which disappointed me a bit since the dry leaf smelled so delicious.

Now, the actual interesting part of the tasting. About three infusions into the tea, I started noticing that my hands were twitching, and there was a tingling sensation throughout my whole body.

The sandwich would've been this big, if only there I had more slices of bread in my pantry

I hadn't eaten much, so perhaps it was the lack of food and the caffeine rush from the tea; however, six infusions into the tea I was overtaken by a raw urge for food. I wanted to finish the tea, but my primal instincts drove me to the kitchen, where I devoured a five layered sandwich with five different types of meats. While I was eating, my mind was empty and the only thing I was doing was bite, chew, swallow, repeat.

If this was an instance of Cha Qi, than this was one hell of a tea. I'm going to try the tea at some later time...with ample food in my stomach, and seeing if the feeling returns. Even without the Cha Qi though, this was quite a delicious tea, probably my favorite of the Yancha samples WY gave me. *Two Thumbs Up*

A Visit to Tea Habitat

2009-09-09T10:43:00.000-07:00

There are tea shops, and than there are tea shops. The former consists of obnoxious vendors such as Teavana to well-meaning shops that carry okay quality loose-leaf, the kind of stuff that would be nice everyday tea, but could not satiate the refined palate of experienced tea drinkers. The latter, in my mind, consists of the “legendary” stores strewn across the country, the places that carry teas that make people cry out to the heavens…places such as The Tea Gallery, Best Tea House, Floating Leaves, Tea Habitat, etc.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity of visiting a tea shop in the latter category, Imen’s Tea Habitat, nestled in a most unlikely place as any teashop could be…across from a T.J. Maxx. I apologize for the lack of photos. I had brought my camera, thinking to snap a few photos of the teas I was sampling, but I quickly forgot as I surrendered my mind to the Cha Qi. Hopefully my words can try to capture at least 25% of the amazing experience I had there.

I also neglected to take any tasting notes, but that was fine, because the tea lingered in my mouth for hours after I had left. Those that stood out in my mind included her Li Jai Ping Lao Cong, Song Zhong #5, ’78 Vintage Dan Cong, and Tian Yi Xiang (the name conjures up a fragrance equal to heaven. I think the Jade Emperor would have pressed his nose down towards the earth for a whiff).

After this experience, I realized that being a tea master isn’t just about brewing tea perfectly; I like to think a larger part is creating a cultivating environment for enjoying tea. My mother and grandmother found the first tea she brewed, Zhong Ping Lao Cong #4 (I think), to be too faint and delicate in flavor. Quick to think on her feet, she quickly switched it up to the heavy hitting Ba Xian, and not only did my mother/grandmother enjoy the teas more, the conversation also became livelier.

Imen was also a great conversationalist, answering my mother/grandmother’s questions, and turning their questions into focal points for even more conversation. I was initially afraid that it would be awkward because my mother/grandmother don’t really speak English, but luckily Imen’s command of the Chinese language is much better than my own. Imen told us that drinking tea between three people is best, because with one person it’s kind of lonely, while with tea the conversation can get a little stilted, while with four people the conversation tends to jump all over the place, or in my experience people often “break” into pairs (forgive me Imen, if I botched up your more elegant description).

Even though I’m unable to elaborate on it, but I definitely felt a difference between using a stainless electric kettle and her Chao Zhou kettle. Of course, there definitely was a difference in brewing skill, but the water tasted sweeter, and most of the teas left a pleasant coating over my tongue. Even though she didn’t use her newly arrived Wu Chao Zhou pots, I had the chance to feel them for myself, as well as inquire the differences between the Wu pots and the cheaper Zhang pot I got. The Wu pot had much heavier walls, and there was none of the “make-up” clay my pot had. The texture felt more familiar to Hong Ni/Zhu Ni. I’m para-phrasing what she told me, but brewing in the Gaiwan protects aroma, while brewing in a Zhang pot “mutes” the aroma, while giving the tea a better “mouth-feel.” The Wu pots protects both aroma and gives the tea a better mouth-feel. This was very interesting, since because the Wu pots had thicker walls, I thought aroma would be protected less.

Anyway, back to the actual tea tasting. I think I enjoyed the ’78 Dan Cong and the Li Jai Ping Lao Cong the most. I had actually intended to just buy her ’98 Hai Mei Zhan, but I liked the Li Jai Ping so much I just had to buy some too. The ’78 Dan Cong started off with a dry leaf aroma and initial flavor similar to Pu’Er, but the similarities quickly ended around the 5th-6th infusion. Around that time, the familiar sweetness of Dan Cong returned, and there was a “nourishing” taste, very reminiscent of chicken soup…not the actual flavor of chicken soup, but just the thick feel you get in your mouth. The Li Jai Ping Lao Cong left a nice coating of something on my tongue…it was very unusual, but a delightful experience nevertheless.

The hours past, and it came time for us to depart. We left in high spirits and with a longing to someday return, and I definitely will, not only for the vast selection of teas, but also for the enjoyment of tea in the most ideal of environments.

*EDIT* Just realized that my visit to Tea Habitat coincided with the "official" anniversary posting of my blog...what a fitting way to celebrate an anniversary

Tea Gallery Classic Roast vs. Just 4 Tea Traditional Roast

2009-09-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

I’ve heard some pretty good things about both of these teas, so I was excited when I finally had the chance to try them both, and to have them in my possession at the same time! Since these two are frequently suggested on TeaChat, I decided that it would be a good idea to have a “throw-down” between these two teas, and compare them head-to-head. Countless people have tasted and reviewed this tea before me (see here and here and here and here) and I really don’t have much to add to what they’re saying, so I’ll just be seeing how the two stack up to each other.

And in this corner, standing at $17.50 for 100 grams is the Just 4 Tea Tie Guan Yin…

And in the other corner, standing at a whooping $9.00 for 25 grams is the Tea Gallery’s Classic Roast Tie Guan Yin…

Okay, I’m probably not cut out to be standing in the middle of a boxing ring, so let’s spare the dramatics from here on out. Okay, even though price is definitely not an indicator of quality, I had a sneaking feeling that the Tea Gallery’s Classic Roast would probably stand victorious at the end of the day. Not surprisingly, I was correct. But I hope you do read on, because I think the exciting part of anything is not in the end result, but rather is the path that leads to the end result.

The Tea Gallery Classic Roast, the last tea to be brewed in my heavy roasted Oolong pot, before I "upgraded"

I tasted the Classic Roast first, and I was taken aback about how potent it was. The smell from the dry leaf was very heavy, roasted, with a dark-chocolate-like aroma. The leaf seems very roasted, and the color borders between really dark brown and black. As I was tasting the tea, I tasted burnt sugar/caramel and cinnamon/spiciness. The tea has great body, and I imagine it would taste better in the cold winters. The words “roasted coffee” kept running through my mind when I was tasting this tea, and I think in many ways the aroma is very similar to nice roasted coffee, but the taste is much better. This could be the ultimate weapon to convert coffee drinkers to tea.

A very delicious tea, IMO. Even though it might be overly roasted, I tend to like these types of teas, so I enjoy it very much. I wish that there was a year or vintage attached to the name though. Is it 2009 Tie Guan Yin, or is the old stuff from last year’s qingxiang TGY that the shops they import from couldn’t sell. Regardless of the tea’s background/heritage, I don’t care too much. The proof of the pudding (or in this case, the tea) is in the eating (drinking), and I must say, the proof is very strong.

I wish I had tried the Just 4 Tea Tie Guan Yin at the same time, but I didn’t get the Just 4 Tea version until a little while after I got the Classic Roast, and I had no idea at the time I would be able to get my hands on the Just 4 Tea one. The Tea Gallery’s Classic Roast certainly upped my expectations for the Just 4 Tea version, which probably created some bias in my part.

The dry leaf smelled really nicely roasted, although the aroma is a bit more subdued when compared to the Classic Roast. The Just 4 Tea TGY was pre-owned, and I suspect that might have contributed to the “weaker” aroma, but it probably wasn’t a leading factor for it. The leaf was also smaller too, and looked like cocoa Rice Krispies, whereas the Classic Roast looked like Cocoa Puffs.

The tea had some of the same similar characteristics to the Classic Roast, but not as “loud.” I got none of the cinnamon spiciness from the lid aroma like I did with the Classic Roast. It was still very delicious though. It didn’t have that strong roasted coffee aroma like the Classic Roast either.

So the Tea Gallery Classic Roast won the throw-down hands-down, but what if you consider the price? The Just 4 Tea version is cheaper, and by a lot. I think I could rink the Tea Gallery Classic Roast if I was splurging myself. I could definitely see the Just 4 Tea TGY as like a really good everyday tea. It might be a tea I might buy to try my hand at aging Oolong. So, perhaps the winner at the end of the day is the Just 4 Tea version, because after I’m done with my stash I’m definitely going to order more, probably the 8 oz version so I can try my hand at aging Oolong.

Hundred Year Tree

2009-08-31T22:40:00.001-07:00

*NOTE* I actually wrote this a really long time ago, but more interesting things kept popping up that I wanted to talk about instead. I had actually taken some photos of the leaves and tea soup, but I can't find them any more...and I already finished this tea. >.< href="http://www.teahabitat.com/store/">Tea Habitat and The Tea Gallery. All these teas have been challenged my conception of how teas within the same "family" could elicit so many different flavors, aromas, and emotions. It's hard to pick which one to review first, but I think I will start with the one that needed more special attention, but paid off beautifully.

Hundred Year Tree (description; $18/25 grams)
This is definitely the most I've ever paid for tea so far, but the price really is worth it. I've decided to slowly try all of The Tea Gallery's Wuyi offerings, ordering a few every so often until I've sampled them all. That's how amazing their tea is. I first brewed using 5 grams for my 120 ml teapot, which turned out okay. There was nice aroma and flavor profile, but I was kind of disappointed with the lack of a "tea high." I moved through all my samples once before coming back to this one. I decided to amp up the amount to 5.5 grams, and I brewed it with a heavy hand ... and jackpot.

It's useless to write a review of this tea, because what I experienced could not be described with words. I think they did a very nice job of describing the aroma very well in their description...can't really add much to that. Even though I like the Shi Lan more, I think I like the feeling this tea gives me the best. It had a profound calming effect, and I felt a tingling sensation go through my entire body. It was mind-blowing, and I don't mind that in a hyperbolic way, I was literally out of my mind for a few hours afterward.

I'm adding this to the list of "things to reorder" after I make it around all of The Tea Gallery's fine selection. A big thumbs up on this one!

(I realized that I said I would post about The Tea Gallery's Classic Roast vs. Just 4 Tea Classic Roast, but I just needed to post about this exquisite tea.)

*EDIT*
I was mulling over what I had written for this post, and I have a confession to make. I wrote this draft right after my cha qi high on my 2nd time trying this (which is why the review is so gushing), but on the 3rd and 4th go with this tea, the cha qi was absent. Looking back at my notes, reading what I had written, mulling over the tea in my head...I think I probably wouldn't re-order this tea. It's an interesting tea, and the old tree aspect probably gives the tea great depth. I like some of the other Tea Gallery selections better, such as the Shi Lan. I would probably feel differently though, if I could nail that cha qi feeling everytime I brewed this.

Dedicating Yixing

2009-08-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

Although I’ve heard tons of interesting theories as to which clay types/teapot shapes are best for what tea, some of which I agree with; however, I think the only postulate in this process is testing a pot out with different types of tea. The method I use originated from the folks over at The Tea Gallery, which I heard second-hand somewhere

Pre-heat a yixing teapot (or two, if you’re doing a triple comparison) to account for any temperature differences.
Brew 3 infusions gong fu style (I usually brew like six so I can do more comparisons if needed) using a gaiwan
Pour the tea into the yixing teapot(s), removing the pre-heated water of course, and save some of the original to serve as a “control” (this isn’t exactly a control, but it’s the most neutral).
After leaving the tea in the yixing teapot(s) for about a minute or so, and pour it into separate fair cups.
Taste each one, and compare. I personally like to drink some water between each sample to clear the taste in my mouth.

So instead of enjoying my tea, I am doing this taste pretty much every day, trying to see which teapot is better for which tea. My friend WY let me borrow this shui ping hu.

there's something sexy about the water level-ness of shui ping

He’s pretty certain that it’s a fake, but if it is it’s a pretty good one. It has a pretty nice pour, and it even has good floating balance on water. The clay seems pretty high-fired, maybe some kind of Hong Ni IMO. The walls are medium-thick, and it seems pretty durable.

So maybe not completely balanced on water, but still better than sinking.

I thought it would go well with lighter high mountain balled Oolong, because the less-porous clay would protect the aroma better. Comparing with a gaiwan, the aroma seemed a little better, but what I noticed the most was the improved mouth-feel coming from the yixing. It’s pretty hard to differentiate between the two; it’s enough for me to only say which one is better. If you ask me why, I’d probably be a little hard-pressed.

Even though it did well with greener oolong, I thought the thicker walls might make it suitable for medium roasted oolong or lighter roasted Wuyi. For medium-roasted oolong I compared between the Hong Ni, a gaiwan and a Lin’s Purion, while for the lighter roasted Wuyi I compared between the Hong Ni, a Zi Ni and a Gaiwan. The Hong Ni failed all of these tests, so I think I’m pretty set on dedicating this to greener oolong, until I find my own, “authentic” Zhu Ni pot for green oolong and I can return this back to WY.

Of course, this presents a conundrum for my most recent acquisition, a 130 ml Hong-Ni/Zhu Ni mixture (I think), very thin and high fired shui ping from The Tea Gallery. It hasn’t arrived yet, but hopefully it’ll be here by Saturday…just in time for extensive tests. I had bought this pot with the expectation of using it with lighter roasted Wuyi, but judging from the results from WY’s shui ping, the results may not be favorable.

The Wuyi I used for the Hong Ni was more of a medium roast, but I ordered some of The Tea Gallery’s Bai Ji Guan (quite possibly one of my favorite Wuyi) so hopefully it’ll work out. If not, I might just dedicate this pot to greener oolong, and just stick to my Zi Ni pot for all my Wuyi, heavy to light roasted. (There aren’t too many light roasted Wuyi, are there? I wonder if it’s even worth it to dedicate a separate pot to it).

Anyway, the testing continues…

2008 Zhi Lan Xiang - Orchid Fragrance

2009-08-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

I had actually written this post during lunch today at work, but I forgot to email it to myself, so I'm really kicking myself for doing that. I wonder how different my post now will be from what I wrote earlier today. Anyway, in light of Tea Habitat's new-found publicity, I decided I should blog about my first single-bush Dan Cong, the 2008 Zhi Lan Xiang - Orchid Fragrance.

2008 Zhi Lan Xiang - Orchid Fragrance ($30/1 oz.; product description)

This was the tea I ordered when I ordered my Chao Zhou pot. I had asked Imen for some suggestions, and this was suggested to me. Having experience with only commercial Dan Cong I expected the two to be fairly similar. Commercial Dan Cong didn't thrill me that much, because of their capricious nature to turn astringent with poor brewing skills, and an aroma that almost seems artificial. I've had some good commercial Dan Cong before (best one is The Tea Gallery's Phoenix), but I think that you can't put the two in the same category. The difference between commercial and single-bush is like the difference between night and day.

Imen had suggested that I first try brew using a Gaiwan, and although I was anxious to put my Chao Zhou pot into action, I refrained at the advice from a professional. I used 3 grams for my first attempt, and followed Imen's instructions on her blog (which can be found here). I used 4 and 5 grams for my later attempts, settling at 4 grams as my sweet spot.

The dry leaf is like autumn, with the scent of spring and the sweetness of summer

When I first smelled the dry leaf there was an exquisite scent. Although it was very "strong," it was at the same time very subtle. It's like the difference between good perfume and cheap , bad perfume (I think Imen said this somewhere? Her interview with Steven I think?). And the taste, well, the product description sums it up pretty well...but to me, it felt like I could taste the orchid's scent, if that makes any sense.

I also loved the evolution of this tea through multiple infusions. Whereas most other teas, once they get to the 5th infusion and beyond are only paler versions of their former self, the Zhi Lan kept revealing new tricks, new tastes, new experiences in which I relished in. When I brewed this tea for the fourth time, I brewed it for 26 infusions. Sure, the later infusions tasted like rose water, but I still loved it. By the 12 infusion and beyond I was steeping for up to 5 minutes or so, and I was rewarding with a faintly floral but sweet brew. It was like drinking something sweet without the sugar in it. It was exciting, as I pondered if this next infusion will be the one that the tea finally putters out on.

And just when the sweetness began to die around the 22nd steeping, a new floral aroma showed up and kept me captivated for 4 more infusions. This was easily one of the top three teas I've tasted, though I think once I start exploring Imen's other selections, it will be a much stiffer competition.

Oh yes, I forgot to mention. There was a remarkable difference between brewing in a Gaiwan and brewing in the Chao Zhou pot. I feel that the Gaiwan protects the tea's aroma better, but the Chao Zhou pot gives the tea better flavor and better mouth-feel. I think with all her teas, I'm going to brew with both just to get a complete picture of the tea.

Congratulations once again, Imen, on your outstanding tea and the public recognition and accolades you have received. My hat is off to you.

Addendum: I'm beginning to realize how Single Bush Dan Cong can be more masculine and feminine. As I'm drinking this Zhi Lan Xiang, the initial infusions have a bolder flavor and greater "mouth-feel," while the later brews reveals a softer, more refined and delicate brew, with better aroma and a lingering rose water flavor.

Wen Xiang Bei

2009-08-15T22:43:00.000-07:00

Hobbes has an excellent article here on wenxiangbei (smell aroma cup), which I first stumbled across when I was looking over Tea Nerd's tea ware guide here. I had come across wenxiangbei when I was sampling tea in Taiwan, and I fell in love with the practice. I like to judge food/drink by smell, because touching doesn't really do anything (and for drinks it's a social faux-pax), and if you taste something bad...well, it takes time to spit it out. If something smells bad, you can immediately turn away. Anyway, that's not the point here...

I told myself that I would buy a set of wenxiangbei, but more "important" purchases came in the way: tea ware, tea, even more tea ware. I was serving tea to my mom and grandmother, and in force of habit, after I poured the tea liquor into the faircup, I took it up to my nose and sniffed. My mother looked a bit appalled, saying that it looks out-of-place and would be impolite in front of company. I told her I did this because I didn't have any wenxiangbei. She said, "oh, I think grandfather left a set up in the attic."

I love being part of a Taiwanese family, especially one with a tea-drinking grandfather. It means free tea-related stuff for me!

I'm not usually a fan of blue and white porcelain, but I like this because it's very subtle and simple in design

Painted with standard blue-and-white motifs, the porcelain is quite translucent. If I hold it with cup facing me, I can see a faint outline of the painted chop on the other side. I've been using my porcelain-lined Zisha cups, but I like these much better. They display the tea's color so much better.

This is a terrible picture, it's actually more translucent than I make it seem

My Sencha looks more vibrantly green than it usually does. I love the concentrated aroma from it, and I'm able to pick up some of the higher notes (beidixiang "cup bottom scent") which were often elusive to me beforehand. I'm particularly fond of longer-lasting scent of lengxiang ("cold scent") which happens when the wenxiangbei cools down. I read a hypothesis someone put forth that the beidixiang is the water-soluble particles, while lengxiang is the water-insoluble particles, which might include things such as essential oils. I think I agree with this theory.

Anyway, I've been practicing the motions of using the wenxiangbei. Is it considered improper if I use two hands when flipping it? I can do it with one hand but it looks clumsily awkward. I thought I would grow tired of using wenxiangbei after a while, but after a week I'm still loving the ritual of it all.

On another note, I just received some of Just4Tea's roasted TGY, which I was thrilled to trade for via TeaChat. I had actually wanted to buy some myself, but when the opportunity came up I swooped in on the offer. I'll write a comparison review later, but The Tea Gallery's Classic Roast TGY wins...hands down (but the Just4Tea version puts up a nice fight for the price)

*Note* I just realized that I really need a few of those wooden tablets to hold these things...hmmmm

What was I thinking?

2009-08-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

I'm not old yet to experience this phenomenon, but it's portrayed often in popular media. You have a normal-looking adult who looked completely different in their high school days. I.E. you have high school nerds who turn into studs, conservative Christians who dressed like goth punk, etc.

I just had the experience with my tea-ware. When I first got into tea drinking, I was studying abroad in China. In my limited experience/knowledge of brewing tea, I knew that Yixing was the way to go. I proceeded to buy a collection of these Yixing, not paying attention to size or quality of clay. They were mammoth pieces, about three times as large as the teapots I use now. I paid about $50 for eight of them, so it wasn't a bad deal.

I had shipped them from China to the United States. By the time I got back (I spent the summer in Taiwan) in the fall, I had moved past large Yixing and brewed tea gong fu style. I decided I would relegate my larger pieces as decorations when I moved into my own place, so I didn't bother to remove them from the bubble wrap, to save me more trouble later.

I was looking for my peeing ceramic boy...er, it's a clay figure of a little boy, and when you pour hot water over it, it um..."pees." I think it's mostly a gag thing that you keep on your tea table/tray to mess with people. But back to the story...I was curious about my large Yixing, and in a moment of sheer spontaneity, decided to free them from their bubble-wrap prison.

Group "A"

Group "B"

Wanting to test how far I've come, I put the pots through various tests, including the tapping test, the stop-pour test, and the smell test. First came the tapping test, which means I took the lid and tapped it gently against the handle, and body, and the spout. I was surprised by hot "metallic" sounding some of these sounded. Of course, the larger hollow body might have contributed to that. Although they didn't sound like bells, group "A" made some pretty nice sounds. The ones in group "B" sounded dull and flat.

Next was the stop-pour test, in which I tried to pour out water with my thumb held over the "blow-hole." Well, some of these didn't have it, so yeah...the ones that did though failed miserably. It was as if I didn't stop the "blow-hole" at all! I sniffed the pots after I poured in some hot water, and it seemed okay, they all had a clay smell to them. I'm not surprised by what I found out about these pots, although the results of the tapping test are very interesting, although I don't know what that says about the quality of the clay, though the metallic sounds might mean these pieces are high-fired?

The food chain in the Teapot World

I had thought that these pots might actually be usable enough that I can trade them away for some tea samples or whatever, but these things are so darn user-unfriendly that I'd be one dishonest salesperson if I did that. But, if anyone wants these teapots for decoration purposes, let me know and maybe we can agree on something. Still, I can't believe that I actually bought eight of these ridiculously large teapots before I learned that small = better. I'm tempted to just destroy the whole lot, since they're so ungainly large and really poor quality.

Note: My teapot and tea from Imen arrived today. I already brewed the Zhi Lan in my gaiwan and I was supremely impressed. Prepping my teapot as we speak....*sigh* I can't believe I have to let it sit there overnight, and since I work tomorrow I probably won't be able to put the badboy to use until tomorrow night...but anyway, this is just a tease so you can keep following my blog (yes, I know I'm desperate/cruel).

Tea Ruts

2009-08-10T13:18:00.000-07:00

I had first heard the term on a thread on TeaChat, can't remember exactly who said it. For me, it means being in a state of funk with my tea drinking. It had been about half a year before I made my first purchase of Japanese greens from O-Cha, so my stock consisted mostly of nice quality Taiwanese High Mountain Oolong, Dong-Ding, and some everyday Shui Xian from TeaCuppa. Besides my Japanese greens and my daily dose of Matcha, I didn't have much else.

Don't get me wrong, these were all great teas, well except for the Shui Xian. It was okay, but it's an everyday tea so there isnt't any panache. I was getting pretty tired of the same routine, the same kind of flavor profile, etc. I couldn't make my next purchase until last weekday, which ushered in a new monthly budget (my monthly cycle follows my credit card statements).

I ordered from Tea Habitat and The Tea Gallery, two top-notch vendors who I was very excited to order from for the first time. I purchased one of Imen's Chao Zhou teapots and some '09 Zhi Lan Old Bush DC. I'm a total sucker for new tea-ware, especially stuff that's "authentic" to the tea experience. I really hope you can use a Chao Zhou stove in an apartment though, because I think that would complete the entire experience of brewing DC Chao Zhou style. I also bought some samples from The Tea Gallery. I got their Classic Roast, Phoenix, 100 Year Tree, and Shi Lan. Winnie and Dae had some excellent suggestions, and I think next time I will try the Cove Mist and Water Golden Turtle. Well, I ordered these on Saturday, so they probably won't be here until Wednseday or so, though I expect my Tea Habitat order to be here tomorrow (they're only a hour away from me!). But until then, I'm still stuck in this tea rut.

I knew that I had a ton of Lapsang Souchang from my study abroad in China last year, but I was avoiding it. I hadn't tried Lapsang Souchang for a while, so I was afriad that the tea profile would put me off. I decided why the hell not, and brewed up some LS in my gaiwan. It had the usual smokiness you would expect, but there was also some lingering sourness, balanced by a slight sweetness. Maybe because of the aging, but who knows, it's only been a year.

Hopefully by the end of this week I'll be out of this rut, and my new teas will keep me occupied for a while...at least until my next monthly cycle.

Note: I was glad I decided to purchase a Chao Zhou from Imen now rather than later, it seems that out of the 10 pots that were listed about two weeks ago, only 2 are left...Imen is definitely making brisk business on DC and DC-associated tea-ware.

Sencha Review, Finally

2009-08-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

I was planning on doing some GRE exercises, but decided to do this instead. Even though I'm applying for graduate school after Peace Corps, I'm researching programs now...is it bad that I'm strongly considering Columbia and NYU because The Tea Gallery is nearby (They also have excellent Anthropology programs, but the tea thing is a real bonus I think)?

I waited until I've sampled a few other Sencha before writing a review, because I wanted something to contrast with what I'm tasting. In my opinion, a review wouldn't make much sense unless I was relating it to something else, or using something as a standard.

Many thanks to Chip from TeaChat for some excellent samples, and for allowing me to enjoy a wide range of Japanese greens. I ordered O-Cha's organic offerings of Uji Sencha, Ooigawa Sencha, and Kabusecha. From Chip I have properly sampled the Rishi Honyama (I'm still working out the kinks of the others he gave me).

I think out of the three steamed levels (asa, chu, and fuka) I think I like the fukamushi the most. I really enjoyed the Ooigawa's richer taste, as well as a lingering sweetness which I enjoy very much. I also liked the fact there wasn't any astringency at all. I had originally disliked the Rishi Honyama, but it turned out it was because of my sloppy technique. Both the instructions and Chip told me that the 2nd steeping should only be 15 seconds. Thinking myself wiser, I thought a 2nd steeping could go for a bit longer, and brewed it for about 30 seconds.

WORST MISTAKE EVER!!!!*

I learned from this to always follow the directions at first, and if they're unsatisfactory, do whatever the hell you want. By oversteeping by only 15 seconds, I ended up with a very astringent brew, and it put me off from this tea for a while. I came back to it a few days later, when I had gotten over the experience. This time, I followed instructions and the brew was much more pleasant. There was still a little astringency/bitterness that came out during the 2nd steeping, but it was much more subdued. The astringency/grassiness was a nice balance to the sweetness, and there was also a mellow umami flavor in the mix. I think I prefer a fuka to an asa though, to be honest. I don't really like astringency/grassiness, but I highly recommend this tea though for those who like asa-style teas.

I also like Kabusecha, and I can't wait to get my hands on some gyokuro. Of course, I need to buy one of those gyokuro pots to really brew it right, so maybe not for a while. But wow, the umami flavor is really intense. When I was tasting this, I couldn't taste it for the first second or two, and than BAM!!! it really hit me. It tastes very "meaty" by the second brew, not like a steak but like a savory kind of mouthfeel. The umami gets a little tamer by the second steeping, and is better incorporated into the flavor profile of the tea.

I think after I finish off my current stash of tea, I'm probably going to order the Yutaka Midori and the Sae Midori from O-Cha. I've heard nothing but great things about these two, and I'm hoping they can be a benchmark I can count one.

Oh yes, since these teas are organic, they require more leaf than usual. O-Cha's instructions didn't point this out, but I use about 8 grams for my 300 ml kyusu, which seems just about right for me. I don't really think there's that much difference between the flavor profile of conventional and organic teas, but I haven't tasted enough organic teas to make a call here.

Anyway, this was a nice distriction...time to get back to those problem sets
*Overbrewing, not the tea

Matcha Matcha Man!

2009-08-01T19:56:00.000-07:00

*Title borrowed from TeaChat thread topic*

These past few weeks have been a whirlwind of different events. Firstly, I am official employed. Even though I'm happy I'll no longer be a burden to society or to my parents, it will keep me away from my tea exploits. I'm only working part-time though, so it's not that terrible.

Even though I told myself to wait a month or so before plunging into a new world of tea, I could not resist the allure of new tea-ware; especially when you've studied Japanese art before. So I bought a Chawan off of Rikyu, and the rest of the stuff from Yuuki-Cha. My matcha of choice: The Yuuki Midori, which they promote as their "best-selling matcha." Even though I've heard good things about the Yame, I wanted to give their best-selling matcha a try (plus, the 10% off didn't hurt either).

The rest of my equipment came before my Chawan, which is somewhat ironic since my Rikyu was EMS, and Yuuki-Cha was plain old airmail. My first experience was in a rice bowl (Japanese also), which seemed fitting since the first Chawan were also rice bowls. I picked one with similar dimensions to my Chawan, and it hit me for the first time: Wow, Chawan are pretty small!

I used two scoops, and sifted through a handled-infuser basket. I poured some water in, about 160 F but I eyeballed the measurements and whisked away. I was a little too rough, and I broke the ends of about two tines. I'm glad I got the 100 tine version. By the month's end, it'll probably be a 40 tine Chasen.

It was very creamy and the flavor hit me right away. There was a little bitterness, but in a bittersweet dark chocholate kind of way. It seemed very vegetal, which I expected since I was drinking the entire leaf, not just an infusion. Since there were only two sips or so, I felt a little unsatisfied, and unsure if I was really tasting the right thing. I tried again three more times, until I was a little more satisfied. I was pretty wired by the end of the whole ordeal.

The next day, when my Chawan finally arrived.

Notice the Ensō, more on that later

The kodai, with a glaze beauty mark

I think using a proper Chawan makes a difference in the matcha preperation, but maybe it's all mental. Ensō is a Japanese word meaning "circl," and and is a symbol closely associated with Zen Buddhism. Connotations it carries include the universe and the void, which seem like c
pretty contradictory concepts. Some artists, usually Zen influenced ones, will use it as their signature. I chose this particular piece because I think it represents the philosophical qualities of the Zen, which I studied a bit of when I took a Religions of Asia course at my college.

I'm also reminded of the Japanese character mu "む" or written with kanji, "無" which means "nothingness." I love this Chawan, because it feels so rough in my hand, yet so smooth. It "glistens" when I pour hot water to pre-heat it, although this has lessened recently. I look forward to owning many more Chawan (I'm eyeing a Hagi next), but I promise myself not to purchase one for a few months, until I get a little better at preparing and tasting Matcha.

Japanese Tea Galore

2009-07-23T20:56:00.000-07:00

I've been drinking nothing but Sencha (and one Kabusecha) for the past week and a half, ever since my order of organic tea came in from O-Cha. I remember when I first started drinking tea, I wasn't a big fan of green teas; the flavor was too subtle and grassy for me. I'm surprised how nuanced my taste preferences have changed. I think I'm really starting to enjoy Japanese tea, because of its simplicity and complexity.

???

It's simplistic, because they're all green tea. I know that there is bancha, genmaicha, some Japanese black tea, etc. but in terms of the type of tea, there aren't as many varieties as Chinese teas. However, at the same time, it's complex because there are nuanced differences between regions, processing, season, etc. I think Japanese teas have complexities in their flavor profile that I can't really find in Chinese greens.

I'm also liking the fact I have so much new information to learn, and it's really helping my brewing technique. Most of the teas I drink are Oolong, so I don't really care about temperature. But for Japanese greens though, temperature matters, and I'm beginning to be more methodical about my brewing. I'm even heating up the kyusu now, which is something I didn't do with Gaiwan or Yixing too often.

It's still frustrating though. I still haven't gotten the leaf amount right, and it's a little harder because I'm sampling organic teas. I started off with 5-6 grams for my 300 ml kyusu, but when I upped it to 10 grams, it seemed a little too bitter. I'm trying 8 grams now, and hopefully it'll turn out better. I had hoped to do a proper review of my teas by now, but it'll have to wait until I'm satisfied with my brewing technique.

Two other things I thought I'd throw out there. When I first bought my kyusu I kept on the plastic protector cover, but after reading a thread on TeaChat about it, I decided to take it off. I like the aesthetic quality of my Tokoname without. Hopefully I won't regret it. I also gave into the Matcha devil. I bought a nice Chawan off Rikyu, and all the accessories and Matcha off of Yuuki-Cha. I can't wait, and I'm praying that somehow everything gets here by Monday.

Experminting with B&W. I like how austere it looks.

Note: Ah, I forgot to mention a small "Tea Experiment" I had today. Inspired by a thread on TeaChat I decided to make Genmaicha out of the crappy Sencha I got from a local tea store (it's actually a decent everyday Sencha but it's nothing compared to what I'm drinking now). I wish I had taken pictures, but it was a spur of a moment thing...next time, next time.

I poured out some brown rice into my wok and cranked up the heat. Almost immediately, a nutty burnt smell emananted through the house. My sister, whose room is all the way in the back, even asked what the smell was. I was surprised by how fast the brown rice toasted. I think it took three to five minutes. I had thought I had too much toasted rice for my Sencha, but I realized that the dry leaf would expand, so I'll remember to toast even more brown rice. Apparantly you can pan-fry Japanese tea to make hojicha (right?) so I might try that next. Another thing I like about Japanese greens: how you can use them even if they've gone stale. I mean, what can you do about a Chinese green that's gone stale? Sure, you can re-roast your Oolong, but you can't completely change it into something else, can you?

Taiwan Oolong Madness

2009-07-12T20:59:00.000-07:00

I love being home in southern California for two reasons: I get to use my large-sized tea tray, and I can take advantage of the sunny weather for my photos. My grandmother is staying with my family for a while, and she brought a ton of Taiwan Oolong. I've been busy with my job-search, but I finally sat her down so I can properly document what type of teas she brought. She had forgotten what the vendor told her, so we decided to have a tea tasting between myself, my mother, and my grandmother.

Taiwan Oolong "A"

This tea was harvested in Spring 2009, and it comes from the Li Mountain, which is located in central Taiwan. My mother liked this tea particularly, because of the low astringency and the better flavor. When we felt the wet tea leaves it seemed a little bit "thinner" compared to the others. This tea is about $18 for 50 grams, but since the standard of living is a little lower there, I'd say the tea is worth about $30 for 50 grams. The tea has minimal roasting, if any, and I love the soft floral flavor.

Taiwan Oolong "B"

This tea was also harvested in Spring 2009, and it also comes from the Li Mountain region; however, there are some big differences between the two teas. We noted that this tea has a very distinct floral aroma. When i smelled the wet tea leaf and the tea itself, I was reminded of TGY. The wet leaf was also thicker than the others, which I'm assuming means there's more concentrated flavor in the leaves, and that the leaves are probably older. This was slightly more astringency, which was a hui gan, so we enjoyed it quite much. The flavor itself was so-so, I think Oolong "A" had better flavor, but Oolong "B" had better aroma. This tea was slightly cheaper, about $14 for 50 grams.

Taiwan Oolong "C"

It was much easier to tell this tea apart from the others, because there is some light roasting. My grandmother forgot where exactly this tea came from, but she distinctly remembered being told it was of lower quality. From what I've learned from different tea vendors in Taiwan, light green Oolong are preferred to roasted Oolong.Even there isn't too much color variation, I could smell the roasted aroma was the dry tea leaf. The tea had a nice roasted aroma that contrasted nicely with the other teas. Wasn't too much to write home about though. Not suprisingly, the price reflects the tea's quality: $7.00 for 50 grams.

So I have a lot of Taiwanese oolong, so if anyone is interested in trading samples, please let me know. I'm looking for some Shincha/Sencha, Gyokuro, Dancong, and Wuyi.

Back from Hiatus, and with a New Tokoname

2009-07-10T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hopefully there are some people who are keeping up with this blog, and if not ... well, there isn't much I can do, is there? I've been away from from my blog because of my last semester at college kept me plenty busy, and I've been desperately looking for a job that I've neglected this blog until yesterday. Even though I've been on hiatus, I've still been drinking tea, mostly some Oolong my grandmother brought for me from Taiwan (if anybody wants to trade samples please let me know!), but I've been dabbling in some Indian and Japanese tea.

I've found a small teashop in my town, and although the selection is kind of small, I'm glad there's a brick-and-mortar tea store I can rely on now. Even though I love buying tea online, because of the variety, I love buying the tea in person, because you get to smell and actually see the tea leaves in person. I'll post some photos and write a short review the next time I visit.

So back to my introduction to Indian and Japanese tea. I've been trying the usual suspects of India: Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri. There isn't much variety at the tea store so I decided on some on the more inexpensive ones.

I visited yesterday to pick up a sample of Darjeeling when a small Tokoname caught my eye. It wasn't too expensive either, and the quality seems decent. Even though I could've bought a tokoname with more pedigree online, I really wanted to be a patron of the store. Besides, I figure I can buy the authentic stuff when I'm more knowledgeable.

And here's a shot of what the inside looks like. I'm hoping that the mesh filter won't affect my tea brewing too much. I think it holds around 300 ml, and I love the creamy whiteness along with the rustic brown ring around the lid.

I bought some Shizuouka Sencha, and from what I've researched on Teachat, it's a pretty commercialized region for Japanese tea. I was considering buying the Gyokuro, but being afraid of brewing it improperly I'll try that next time. I use about 5 grams of tea leaf, and brewed for about a minute and a half, adding 30 seconds for each additional infusion. I really enjoy the flavor, and I'm reminded of Huangshan Mao Feng for some reason. I'm trying to learn more about Japanese teas, because I enjoy them more than Chinese green teas. I'm really excited about it, because it's like I'm learning about tea for the first time, and there's so many new things.

PS:
I'm still looking for employment, so there will probably be fewer tea reviews, but hopefully I'll still have alot to write about. Also, if anyone knows of teashops in Los Angeles that's hiring ...
once again, comments are welcomed

TeaCuppa Ming Cong

2009-01-24T08:03:00.001-08:00

The new semester, although having just started this week, has been really tough. Not in terms of my class load, but rather in terms of the things I have to do: classes, my thesis, taking the GREs, and finding a job ... all while enjoying my last semester of college. I probably won't be updating as often, but I will try my best.

This time I decided to sample some Ming Cong from TeaCuppa. I was intrigued because it's not one of the Si Da Ming Cha, or the four "best-known" varieties of Wuyi (Da Hong Pao, Tie Luo Han, Shui Jin Gui, and Bai Ji Guan). According to the description it's not seen as often on the tea market, so I'm a bit interested in seeing why that is.
The dry leaves has a slight aroma of dark chocolate, punctuated by spiciness. In the liquor, the fruitiness lingers in this tea, and it's not upfront about it like other Wuyi I've sampled, like Shui Xian. Because the fruitiness lingers, the tea has a very smooth finish to it. An interesting fact, after drining some tea and than some water the water tastes sweet. I wonder why that is (suggestions, people?). There are a lot of complex tones in the tea's flavor, and there is a subtle tartness that follows along with the fruitiness. By the third steeping, however, the fruitiness mellows out almost completely. Overall, I find this tea to a bit tamer or milder when compared to Shui Xian.

Concluding Thoughts
As I review more teas, I'm beginning to notice a trend here. I never really disparge any one tea here, and I seem to like all the teas I taste. To me, I feel that this is a both a good thing and a bad thing. It's bad because I'm too forgiving to certain aspects of a tea that might take away from its merit. But I also think it's a good thing because I certainly do not want to be a super critic, where no tea is good enough for me. I think that tea is a personal experience, and it's up to the individual taster to decide which tea is better. For instance, the list of the top 10 Chinese teas is completely absurd. Trying to compare TGY to DHP is like comparing apples to oranges. Okay, sure, TGY might win in terms of better aroma, or DHP can beat TGY in terms of fruitiness, but you can't really quantitatively compare the two. It just doesn't work. Thoughts, readers?

TeaCuppa Bai Ji Guan

2008-12-29T21:03:00.000-08:00

So much for updating more often, Christmas was a long process consisting of relatives visiting and small cousins (children and teapots do not mix well). Alas, my tea drinking has gone through a bit of a dry spell. On top of that, I have some disheartening news. Apparently yixing teapots dedicated to Dan Cong should be as thin as possible, contradicting the thick and heavy theory I had embraced beforehand. Thus, my heavy and stout hei ni teapot dedicated to Dan Cong has been wasted. Luckily though, heavily roasted Dan Cong are an exception so it's not a complete waste.

So this week I decided to sample some Bai Ji Guan, a type of Wuyi tea. The name literally translate to White Cockscomb, and it has a very interesting history to the name. But first, what is cockscomb? Well, it's the little red thingy on top of the rooster's head. According to legend, the name was given by a monk in honor of a rooster who died defending his baby from an eagle. The monk was so touched that he buried the rooster there, and from that spot a tea bush grew. It's also a Si Da Ming Cong, or one of the four famous wuyi tea types.

This particular tea lived up to the expectations that I had, from what I knew/read about Bai Ji Guan before. The dry leaf has a semisweet chocolate aroma, with a little fruitiness. It's not too clear from the photo, but the leaves are yellowish, typical of Bai Ji Guan. There is a faint honey-like taste to the tea, with a slight toasted flavor, very reminiscent of the burnt rice you find at the bottom of Bibimbap. As the steepings continue I notice a lingering mellow fruitiness.There is a nice copper color to the tea, which I like very much. Overall, it's a very mild tea, with a nice finish.

I think compared to the other Wuyi I've tasted this one stands out the most for its sweet, toasted taste. I'm a little bummed at how expensive Bai Ji Guan is, which is also attributed to the fact that this tea isn't as big as the other Wuyi types. At Seven Cups the 2007 harvest goes for $38 for 25 grams. I don't know when I'll get the chance to sample that. Luckily the version at TeaCuppa was a much nicer bargain, and although people say that the TeaCuppa version is not that great, the price speaks for itself.

TeaCuppa Dong Ding

2008-12-20T17:05:00.000-08:00

So it's been about two weeks since my last post, and I've been really falling behind. First it was finals, and then I came home; so I haven't been too motivated to post. I was looking forward to shooting some photos of tea outside, but I'm afraid it's a bit too cold for me. So this is going to be a review of a tea I had about a month ago...enjoy!

TeaCuppa Dong Ding

The dry leaf was amazing. There was a clear vegetal aroma, but at the same time there were some slight roasted notes. What struck me most about this tea was its sweetness, which also showed up in the dry leaf. It was a fragrant honey-like sweetness, with a soothing flavor. The tea had a very clean and fresh finish. As I went into the fourth and fifth steeping, I detected a faint sourness/fruitiness that lingered in the aftertaste. Very tasty indeed.

Pondering Thoughts
I've only had one other Dong Ding to compare to, and the first one I had was slightly more roasted. I appreciated the floral sweetness that this tea has, and I think it serves as a nice contrast to other Taiwanese oolongs, like High Mountain Teas, which have more floraliness than anything else. No surprise though, I preferred the roasted Dong Ding I had before, where in addition to the floral sweetness that was a nice caramel flavor too.

TeaCuppa Dan Cong Magnolia

2008-12-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

Oh wow, I've been so behind on everything. I already have tasting notes for like four teas, I just haven't had the time to sit down an actually review them. So this particular tea has a wonderful aroma to it, which I detected immediately from the dry leaf. Along with a distinct floral aroma of magnolia, there were also hints of jasmine or honey suckle. A very delicious bouquet indeed. I used about 7.5 grams for my 130 ml yixing teapot. What struck me most about the leaves were how large they were

Tasting Notes:
Wow, there is a great sweetness to the tea liquor which is very subtle; however, there is also body, with slight astringency. The tea has a wonderful amber gold color, with great clarity. By the fourth steeping I detected a slight woodsy aroma. Despite continued steepings though, the sweetness is still lingering, continuing well into the sixth steeping. The tea was also rounded out with a sort of butteriness which I can't really seem to describe too well.

So, what did I think of this tea? I think I read somewhere, possibly on TeaChat, that this tea was not that great, but I sure liked it. It has that nice floral nature that I appreciate, along with some kick to the actual tea. I've only tried one another Dan Cong, which I bought from a local teashop. Compared to that, my experience with this has been much better. Of course, since Dan Cong is such a hard tea to brew my improving technique is probably the cause of why this particular Dan Cong tastes better. Hopefully I'll be able to update on a quicker basis, but I'm returning home soon which means I'll have tons of other teas to review and blog about

TeaCuppa 2005 Shui Xian

2008-11-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

Oh boy, I've been busy as of late so I haven't been posting. I have been reviewing teas like crazy so I need to post more so I don't get too far ahead of myself. As I pressed the dry leaves up against my nose, a rich chocolate aroma, with some spiciness, wafts up into my nostrils. I'm already in love with this tea. I used about 7.5 grams in my 120 ml yixing teapot. I can tell from the dry leaf that this is going to be one bold tea.

The tea has a luxurious aroma, and since the tea is only slightly roasted so is not much of a charcoal flavor. The liquor has a dark amber color to it, which reminds me of autumn. There is a heavy fruity flavor, but specifically notes of plum. The fruitiness mellows out by the fourth steeping though, to be replaced with a mild roasted aroma. Despite the mellowed fruitiness though, it still lingers in the background.

This tea is $7.00 for 50 grams, so it makes for a decent everyday tea in my opinion. I'm in love with its potent fruitiness, which makes it a very full-bodied tea. The tea's overwhelming fruitiness may be a turnoff to some tea drinkers though, so just take that in mind.

Shan Shui 2008 Spring Superior Jinxuan

2008-11-15T11:27:00.000-08:00

Jinxuan tea is made from a relatively new tea plant varietal, made popular during the 1990s. It is cultivated in the Nantou region of Taiwan. I used about 7.5 grams of leaf for a 120-130 ml gaiwan. The dry leaf was very green, which indicated that there was a very light roast to it.

Tasting Notes:
This particular variety is processed like High Mountain oolong, and it's is similar in color but, has a distinct aroma that blends well with its creamy flavor. The astringency is very nice, and it serves as a wonderful contrast to the creaminess. I could taste the veggie flavors of the tea leaf in the liquor. The tea has a very nice finish, with a kind of butteriness to it. That's the one thing that I like about this tea, is how creamy and smooth it is. There's also a subdued fruity aroma in the tea, that kinda hangs around in the background. It's not as pronounced as the fruitiness one finds in heavily roasted oolong.

Shan Shui 2006 Superior Cuiyu

2008-11-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

I'm going to try a different approach to reviewing each tea, and I hope that this week's review will be a little more insightful. Now tea is like wine in many aspects, because even though all tea comes from the same plant, it's all different. Factors like the terroir, weather, harvesting period, etc. can lead to vastly different types of teas. So let's breakdown what Cuiyu is:

Location:

So where is Cuiyu harvested? It comes from Taiwan, but more specifically Nantou county, which is the only landlocked county in all of Taiwan. Here is the scenery of Hehuanshan (translates into "Joy Mountain"), one of the highest mountain ranges in Taiwan.

Tasting Notes:
Alright, so here's the actual tea review. I brewed this tea at about 7 grams for a roughly 120 ml gaiwan. I did a 10 second rinse, with steepings of about 15 seconds, adding an additional 10 seconds after the third steeping.So what does Cuiyu actually mean in English. Translated, it means "crisp jade," which is descriptive of the tea's bright front flavor. This characteristic distinguishes it from teas such as Sijichun, Wulong, and Jinxuan, which are processed similarly with about the same level of oxidation. It tastes like a green tea, with a crisp aroma which at the same time is very subtle. There's also a refreshing aftertaste that I enjoy very much.

Winter 2007 Shan Shui TGY/Winter 2007 Shan Shui Shui Xian

2008-11-07T18:22:00.000-08:00

I've reviewed both of these teas before; however, the ones I tasted before were harvested in the spring. To save the trouble of repeating the same information I'm just going to sum up the key differences in the tea, and which ones I liked better. I preferred the winter version of these teas better, in that they packed a bigger punch in their flavor profile. If I had to theorize a reason why that is, it probably has to do with the season they were harvested in (well duh). More specifically though, the tea plants grow slower in the winter, so the individual leaves accumulate more flavor, where as the spring leaves grow a bit faster. To me, the spring teas tended to have a more flavorful bouquet of smells, while the winter teas had a better taste to them. This is just my theory though, so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I hate to post without a photo, and putting up photos of the teas would be ridiculous, since I can't tell the difference in terms of tea liquor which one is which, except that the winter TGY seemed to be darker in color. So I'll leave you with a pretty photo of an orchid I found at DC's Eastern Market a few weeks ago.

Shan Shui Spring 2006 Winter Yinya

2008-10-29T16:40:00.000-07:00

Parameters:
7.5 grams for a 130 ml gaiwan; 10 second rinse, 15 seconds for first three steepings, adding on 10 seconds for each additional one.

Dry Leaves

According to Brian Wright from Shan Shui Teas, in terms of varietal and processing, Yinya is essentially Baozhong tea. However, the harvest is timed differently to include the buds of the tea plant as well as the leaves. This difference gives Yinya its name, which means "silver needle." The "silver needles" are refering to the buds, which appear a silver white.
(Enlarge the photo to take a closer look.)

Tasting Notes:

So when I first steeped this tea, the first though that came to my head was, "wow this tea is floral." There is a rich bouquet with rich color. There is also a slight sweet aroma that is very intriguing. It smells like honey, but more "plant-like," if that's even possible. The light roast on the tea makes it very mellow, giving it a smooth silky finish.

Conclusion

So I've been on a bit of a "green oolong" run this month, since all the samples I bought from Brian Wright were mostly lightly roasted oolongs. I'm beginning to appreciate greener oolongs more, but unfortunately this one did not hit the sweet spot for me. It's a bit too floral for my taste. Maybe it has something to do with all the green oolongs that I've been trying, and I'm tired of it. Next time I'll be reviewing a sample of winter TGY (highly roasted!) so it'll be interesting to compare that to the spring TGY I reviewed earlier.

Premium Winter 2007 Buluomi

2008-10-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

Parameters:
7.5 grams for an approx. 130 ml gaiwan; 10 second rinse followed by 15 seconds for first three steepings, adding on 10 seconds for each additional one.
Dry Leaf Appearance

The leaves had a dark green color. It reminded me of wuyi yancha, but with unroasted leaves. There was a very strong veggie smell that reminded me slightly of high mountain oolong leaves.

Tasting Notes:

This tea had a surprising sweet aftertaste that lingered on my tongue. Judging from the dry leaves I had expected something similar to High Mountain teas, so I was surprised by this. The tea had a very smooth finish, with a slight baked pineapple aroma to it. It was very creamy, a nice contrast to the other oolong types. The tea was very durable, and the sweetness continues even after six to seven steepings. The tea had a golden green color, with amazing clarity.

Conclusion:

The wet leaves had a very strong "plant" smell to it. It reminded me of being in a warm and humid jungle. Like the tea, I detected a slight baked pineapple aroma in the wet leaves. The wet leaves were very durable, and had a dark green color. I had originally thought that this tea would not be one of my favorites, but I actually liked this tea a lot. It's a great contrast to high mountain oolongs and it's an interesting variety of oolong. I don't think I've seen this anywhere else other then on Shan Shui Teas.

Side Note:
When sniffing for the aroma of the wet leaves, I put my nose close to the gaiwan, accidentally breathing in some hot steaming leaf into my nose! Although this should have taught me a lesson, that's the only way I can properly take in a tea's aroma

Shan Shui Premium Spring 2008 TGY

2008-10-17T21:01:00.000-07:00

Parameters:
7g/120 ml; 10 second rinse, 15 second for the first three steepings, adding 10 seconds for each additional one.

Dry Leaf Appearance:
The tea leaves are roasted to a dark chocolate color, indicating a high level of roasting. The tea leaves were a bit crushed so this particular tea tasting had particularily flavorful steepings towards the beginning of the tasting session.

Tasting Notes:

The tea exhibited very smoky flavors, which only increased with each additional steeping. The wet leaves have a very distinct rich smell, with hints of chocolate. The liquor was very mild and mellow tasting, exuding a flavor that lingers on the tongue. The roasted nature of this tea though, might be overpowering to some people. However, the roasted nature of the tea gives me a complex character. The tea exhibits a gorgeous dark amber color, with extreme clarity.

Conclusion:

I am a big fan of this tea, which is both to be expected and surprising at the same time. It's expected because I appreciate the complex nature of roasted teas. On the other hand, however, it's surprising because I'm not a fan of TGY, but this high-roasted one changed my mind. I like to think of this tea as an easy-going tea that sips well, like a nice bourbon. I'm looking forward to trying other high-roasted TGY.

Post note:
The photos came out better this time because I discovered the "macro" function on my camera, which the manual describes should be used when shooting up close. I'm embarrassed that it's taken me this long to figure out this crucial function.

2007 Hou De Spring Ta Tung "Si Cha" Oolong

2008-10-14T08:22:00.000-07:00

Wow, I haven't reviewed a tea in a really long time. I've been busy with schoolwork and just this weekend I traveled to New York City to visit some friends. I actually have tasting notes for different teas already, and I'm just getting around to the first one now. Anyway, to the actual review...

2007 Spring Tai-Tung "Si Cha" Oolong
Parameters:
9 grams/120 ml teapot; 10 second rinse, 15 second for first three steepings, add 10 seconds for each additional steeping
Dry Leaf Appearance:

The leaves had a very dark color to it, and there was a strong roasted aroma that made was very delicious. The tea was roasted very well, and it showed all the characteristics of a tea that was handpicked.

Tasting Notes:

The roasting gives the tea a very pronounced fruity. I detected subtle plum flavors, along with some peachiness. It had a very silk smooth taste, which was very mellow. However, at the same time there was a slight tartness to the tea which I enjoyed. It ook a while for the tea's flavor to fully awaken, and I had to experiment with the parameters before getting it right. For me at least, the flavors seemed to "peak" during the third steeping. All in all, there is a certain richness and orchid floriness.

Conclusion:

I wasn't a big fan of this tea, although after reading about in on the website I was really excited and perhaps had inflated expectations. I would say that I enjoyed this tea, but I probably wouldn't try it again on my own. The flavors were good, but it wasn't the kind of "bold" tea that I thought it was, which is what I usually enjoy. Don't let this discourage you from trying it out though, it's more that this particular tea was "incompatible" with my preferences and tastes.

Post Notes:
I'll be posting up a review of a 2008 Summer Wenshan Baihao from Shan Shui teas that I tried out a few days ago. I also have some tasting notes from a Black tea I just tried out from Plucker's Pick (too many teas in my life!). Looking for a yixing for black tea if anyone is willing to help out...

Water Quality

2008-10-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

It's my firm belief that a tea tastes just as good (or badly) as the water the tea leaves are brewed with. I recall a particular moment in tea-history when I, having run out of bottled water, used plain old tap water to brew some Da Hong Pao. It was a bad idea as I noticed an "off" aroma wafting from the liquor, and as I took the teacup to my mouth I noticed a reflective film on top of the tea.

It was nasty.

I immediately threw away the brew and leaves, because I was so disgusted with the foul concoction. Luckily a few days after the incident my Brita filter finally arrived so I could go back to brewing tea. This should serve an important lesson in the role water plays.

Alot of other blogs have already chronicaled the advantages or disadvantages of using what kind of water, so I won't bother talking about that. I am, however, more interested in the more minute aspects of water. It's too expensive to buy imported water, so I want to see if I can "recreate" the different variables of water without having to pay the price.

Hard Water vs. Soft Water
Hard Water is usually better for oolong and black teas, whereas greens could benefit from softer water. There are water softeners out there that you can use to soften water. As a predominantly oolong drinker, I'm more interesting in making water harder.

Bamboo Charcoal
Bamboo charcoal provides a cheaper alternative to Brita filters for making water taste better; however, bamboo charcoal has the tendency to make water harder, so be careful when using this with green teas. But the harder water that results from using bamboo charcoal is favorable towards oolongs.

Gypsum Powder

This is gypsum powder, the stuff that you find in baby powder (I think) and in most chem laboratories. This stuff can also make water become harder, but I've only discussed this with some of my science-oriented friends. I don't know how much you would add, or where you can buy safe gypsum that could be consumable. When I return home I'll make sure to run some experiments to verify everything.

Ceramic Pot

In the same way that ceramic teapots affect the flavor of the tea, so can ceramic pots affect the taste of water. When I visited Yingge, Taiwan I came across Lin's Ceramic Studio. I saw some ceramic pots made out of purion, which the sales people said made the water taste better. Being a little skeptical I actually had a taste of the water and I can say it really made a tremendous difference. I would've bought the ceramic pot except that I had no space in my luggage. At home I boil water in a ceramic kettle like this one, and it really makes the tea taste better, especially with oolongs. I feel that the porous nature of the kettle enriches the water with various minerals that make the water taste better as well as harder at the same time.

*Added*
Magnet
That's right, a magnet. Now this comes from my mom, who passes her water through a magnetized filter, which somehow makes the water better for you. What does this do with tea? I frankly don't know. Tieguanyin has a magnetized Korean mug that is supposedly good for your health. Will it help tea taste better? Maybe. But when I go home I'll be eager to test this out. If it does make tea taste better then I'll have to apologize to my mom for making fun of her for "magnetizing" water.

Hou De 2007 Zhen-Yen Handcrafted "Rou Gui"

2008-09-27T21:07:00.000-07:00

Background:
Location: Wuyi, Zhen-yen
Roasting: Medium-Roasted

Parameters:
6 g for 120 ml
15 seconds for first three steepings, increasing by 10 seconds for each additional steeping.

Dry Leaf Appearance:

Rich and roasted aroma, almost smoky, and a bit spicy.

Tasting Notes:

The tea exhibited a very amber liquor, yet it was very clear. The first and second steepings had a very fruity flavor, but yet was smooth and mellow. There's a slight almond flavor to the spiciness. In the second steeping there is a slight caramelized flavor, dare I say sweet? What was most pleasing was a slight astringency the danced on the back of my tongue. By the fourth steeping that was a floral aroma to the tea, with a slight tartness that went well with the fruitiness. So did I like this tea? Yes. From what I've gathered from other reviews, this tea seems to be more highly roasted, which is nice because I'm a big fan of roasted teas. I felt that it was a good introduction to the other wuyi teas, because I've only been drinking Da Hong Pao up to this point.

This was a good introduction to the Wuyi family of teas, and I'm looking forward to trying out the others. I think I'm going to order some Shuixian, Tie Lo Han, and Bai Ji Gui.

Hou De 90s Aged Mu-Zha "Si Ji" Oolong

2008-09-23T19:17:00.000-07:00

I had actually finished the tasting notes for this particular tea a few days ago, but I was preoccupied with finding a new teapot. But here it is, my tasting notes

Dry Leaf Appearance:There was a wonderful roasted flavor

Paramters:
9.2 grams for a approx. 120 ml, roughly 1/3 of the teapot. Five second "wash" followed by 1 0seconds for the first two steepings, adding ten seconds to each additional one.
Tasting Notes:

I'm a little mixed about my feelings about this tea. When I first brewed this tea I steeped at intervals of 15 seconds for the first few steepings, but I found that the flavor was overpoweringly fruity. After fine-tuning the steeping times this did not pose a problem anymore. There aroma and flavor of this tea is distinctly a plum flavor. I'm not kidding when I say I can almost taste plums when drinking this tea. There is a somewhat spiciness that lingers in my mouth. Additionally, the tea is very mellow and smooth, thanks probably to the aging it's gone through. There is a slight woodsy aroma to the tea by the fourth brewing.

Conclusion:
The plum flavor from this tea I think is crucial to whether you like it or not. I happen to be a big fan of plums so I'm rather partial to it. On the other hand, however, the flavor was not as complex as I would've liked it, like the different subtleties in High Mountain Oolongs. But maybe that can be attributed to by the fact that I'm still a novice at tasting teas. I love the amber tea liquor though, because it remains me of a warm autumn day. One a unrelated note, I'm surprised by the poor quality of these photos, because I remember when I took these photos and looked them over, they looked half decent. And I don't have a chance to reshoot because I'm currently finishing this tea.

Other Related Business:
I'm always reading on other tea blogs about how particular teas taste fruity, or there's a chocolate aroma to it. Well, to help me get a sense of what they're talking about, I've been tasting various dark chocolates and eating more fruits so I can get a sense of when a tea is "fruity" or "spicy" and so on and so forth. Even if I learn nothing from this, at least I get to eat more chocolate, which is always a win in my book.

Ching Ching Teahouse

2008-09-20T17:38:00.001-07:00

So today I paid a visit to a local teashop in the DC area, located a little off of Wisconsin and M, called Ching Ching Teahouse. They're apparently been in business for over 10 years when I talked to the man anger, and they come from Hong Kong.

The store from the outside

In addition to being a teahouse they are also a teastore, carrying an impressive array of goods. They carried yixing teapots, testubin, tokoname, gaiwan, teacups, porcelain teapots, and tea tins. Oh yes, and there was tea. It was a modest selections of various green, oolong, black, tisanes, and flavored teas. It's not as impressive as teashops I've seen in Taiwan, but it beats the supermarket shelf of bagged lipton. I ended up buying a few tea bins, a gaiwan, and a yixing teapot.
The staff seemed pretty knowledgeable about their wares, and since they've been around for a while I expected them to. I was most pleased, however, by the actual teahouse. Instead of serving the tea for you, they provide you with a teapot with the leaves inside, and you do the work yourself! They use a gaiwan for their green teas, and yixing teapots for their oolong and pu'ers. I'm not sure what they use for the rest, because I couldn't see.

Gentleman in the background was drinking a pu'er. Even though we didn't talk I felt a silent camaraderie with him as a fellow tea drinker. Well, the kettle was interesting, because it was a black clay kettle that was kept at a constant boil with a little fire going on inside. Even though this keeps the water piping hot, I'm a little worried by how this might affect the actual brewing process for green teas, which might be bitter after such high temperatures. Nevertheless, I was proud to say "yes" when the waitress asked if I knew how to brew tea this way.

I had a Oriental Beauty, and I was too busy looking around this place and having some mooncake to write tasting notes for it. I was very surprised by the tea's "sweet aroma." I will have to buy some Oriental Beauty later.

The mooncake was delicious, albeit small and expensive (five dollars!)

This is a photo of the teawares they have to offer. The prices seemed to range from relatively cheap to pretty expensive. The cheapest thing I saw was a $20 yixing teapot, and the most expensive was a $200 yixing teapot. I was fascinated by their dazzling array of matcha bowls, which almost inspired me to take up drinking matcha. I will do so, but at a later time when I have the space to collect teaware. They also had a nice selection of various English textbooks on tea, and an odd collection of cute chopsticks for some reason. I was in love with this shop, but one thing did make me cringe though, which as the presence of a mesh tea ball for brewing. Gag me with a spoon!

My new friend

So here is the damage done to my wallet. Included is my fixed yixing teapot on the very left, which I repaired using epoxy from Home Depot. I haven't used it yet but it's holding up well. I bought the other teapot on a whim, so I don't know what I'm going to use it with yet (suggestions people!). But nevertheless, I can't use it because I don't have the equipment to season it properly. So for now it's a ornamental piece.

Broken Teapot

2008-09-20T08:28:00.000-07:00

The title speaks for itself I think. I was brewing some Muzha Si Ji Oolong from Hou De, when I sneeze and dropped my teapot. It's really unfortunate, because it broke from being dropped from a mere height of five inches. It just happened to land on the handle which is pretty fragile compared to the rest of the teapot. It was pretty tragic because I wasn't done brewing the tea yet, so for the duration of the session I had to actually hold the teapot with my fingers.Rest in Peace: 1950-2008

This particular teapot held some significance for me, because I actually inherited it from my grandmother, which I've mentioned before. It's been used for the past 50 years at least, so I feel like I just broke a precious family heirloom. But there is some good news, however, because this means I get to buy a new teapot. I'm going to a local tea store in Washington DC called Ching Ching Tea, which seems to be highly recommended for tea drinkers in this area. Will update with review of said teahouse and pictures of new teaware

Hou De 2007 Spring Formasa "Fo Shou" Oolong

2008-09-14T11:14:00.000-07:00

Today is a bit on an auspicious day, because tonight marks the Mid-Autumn Festival, so I found it appropriate to taste a new tea. I bought this particular tea a while ago, but I was testing different parameters so I haven't completely reviewed it until now.

Background:
Location: Zhu Shan, Nan Tou, Taiwan
Fermentation/Roasting: 25%/High-fired roasting

Parameters:
7 grams for a roughly 100 ml yixing teapot
15 seconds for first three steepings, increased 10 seconds for each additional steeping

Dry Leaf appearance:
The appearance of the tea is very dark, and although the tea leaves in this photo are crushed (it was towards the end of the 1 0z I purchased) the leaves seemed tightly bound. There was a rich and roasted aroma. The pellets seemed to be roasted well, because they crushed well when I rubbed it between the fingers.

The first couple of steeps had a very bold and rich aroma, and the high-fire roasting gave it a very fruity flavor that I enjoyed, but was somewhat overpowering at times. During the second steeping I noticed hints of chocolate and spiciness in the tea liquor. By the third and fourth steeping the fruity notes were not as potent, and the tea was becoming mellower and smoother. There was also slight woodsy aroma detected from the 4th steeping. The tea liquor was very clear, with a wonderfully rich color. The color reminds me of autumn for some reason.

Conclusion:
All in all, this was a very nice tea; however, some people may not like it because the high-fire roasting adds potent fruitiness to the tea. But I'm a big fan of roasted teas, because the teas have a bold flavor to it. The astringency was very nice, and it lingered on my tongue for a good hour or two. If I were to buy this tea again, I might age it so that time cuts the fruitiness, and the flavor will mellow out.

Post-Note: I took the trouble to actually go outside for these photos, so hopefully they're a clearer guide. Initially I got awkward glances as I took pictures of wet tea leaves outside my dorm. I think I have a reputation for being the resident tea-maniac, but that's compliment for me.

Spring 2008 Ali Shan Oolong

2008-09-09T14:46:00.001-07:00

Here it goes, my first tea review. I picked up this tea during my journeying through Taiwan, from my aunt's tea vendor friend. Even though since that time I've drank this tea multiple times, this is the first time that I'm reviewing it. I don't know how this tea was processed or how much (if any) roasting it underwent. The price is also a bit unclear, because as a friend of my aunt, the vendor gave me the "friend" price, which was around $30 for a good four ounces of tea.

Dry Leaves:The dry leaves were greenish with golden hued stems. The tea leaves had a slight vegetal aroma, which from what background information I have on High Mountain Oolongs is a good indicator. The actual tea pellets were tightly kneaded, a good mark of its craftsmanship. The tea was clearly hand harvested, as shown through the "bud-leaves-stem" system as it unfurled.

Parameters: I brewed this tea using my yixing teapot, starting with a 10 second rinse, following with the 1st, 2nd, 3rd steepings for 25 seconds each. From the 4th steeping onward I increased the time by 10 seconds, until the final 8th brew. [added] I don't know exactly how much tea I used, but it covered about 1/3 of my yixing teapot. I'll be sure to give exact measurements as soon as my scale arrives

Tasting Notes:
The tea showed floral notes which peaked during the 2nd and 3rd steeping, which was followed with a slightly tart flavor that I can't really explain. The tea also started with strong fruity notes, which grew weaker by the 5th steeping onward. By the 6th steeping I noticed a slight vegetal aroma from the tea which I didn't notice before. By the 8th steeping the flavor was very faint, so I decided that was as much as the tea could take. Overall, I found that the tea was very tasty, with a mellowness coupled with slight astringency.

This was the second steeping of the tea; and although this poor photo cannot show it, the liquor has a golden color and incredible clarity.

Wet Leaves:

Upon closer inspection of the wet leaves I was able to get a sense of the handicraft that went though the processing of this particular tea. From feeling the leaves, it felt a bit thick and tearing a leaf took a little effort, showing that this truly is a high mountain tea. High Mountain Oolongs grow slower because the tea plantations are at such a high elevation. This lets the tea leaves accumulate more flavor because its growth is slower.

post note: I apologize if these photos are not up to par with the photos on other tea blogs. It's unfortunate that my dorm has poor lighting because my room is in an awkward position. But I feel that posting poor photos is better than no photos, because reading all text can be straining. So hopefully I'll be snapping better photos when I return home.

Teaware Collection

2008-09-08T16:01:00.000-07:00

This is my first post, so please bear with me here. I only started drinking a few months ago, and this blog is dedicated to sharing my experiences, and gathering insight from my journey towards tea nirvana. I guess it would've been appropriate to start with a tea review; however, I think it's important to introduce the equipment that makes the tea drinking experience enjoyable. Because I am so far from home, I could only bear to bring a small portion of my tea ware collection.

1. The Yixing Teapot
I inherited this tea from my grandmother in Taiwan, who used to drink more day "back in the day." Keeping with the teapot's heritage, I usually use this with Taiwan Oolongs. It's a bit small, about 75 - 100ml. I don't know exactly because I can't measure its volume with the resources I have. It has a nice coating of patina that gives the teapot a lot of character.

2. Lin's Ceramic Studio Purion Teapot

I picked up this piece from Yingge, Taipei which is a mecca for various ceramic goods. But what exactly is Purion? Well, the pamphlet that came with the teapot explained it as "a mixture of natural mineral ore and pottery clay." The pamphlet recommends that the teapot is better for heavy oolongs that have been charcoal fired. Appropriately, I use this teapot specifically for Wuyi Yencha. This little fella here is roughly 125 ml.

3. Faircup and Teacups:
I feel that it's necessary to feature the kind of faircup and teacup I use, because I feel that these secondary tools of the tea-drinking process can heighten the experience. I usually use a glass faircup at home so I can expect the tea liquor more carefully, but this particular one just happened to be smaller, which makes it more convenient The teacups are composed of yixing clay on the outside with a glazed porcelain lining

4. My Tea Collection:
Why, all these teapots and faircups and teacups would be useless without actual tea leaves, right? Well this is only the small subset of tea that I decided to bring to college with me. There are Taiwanese oolongs, Wuyi Yencha, White teas, and green teas. Over the course of the next few months I'll be reviewing all these teas, hopefully providing knowledge to reviews while receiving it through feedback. I look forward to being an active participant of the tea community, and I hope that readers will provide valuable feedback so I can continuously improve