A Visit to Tea Habitat

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

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

*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

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

1. Pre-heat a yixing teapot (or two, if you’re doing a triple comparison) to account for any temperature differences.
2. Brew 3 infusions gong fu style (I usually brew like six so I can do more comparisons if needed) using a gaiwan
3. 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).
4. After leaving the tea in the yixing teapot(s) for about a minute or so, and pour it into separate fair cups.
5. 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

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

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?

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).