tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221749402024-03-05T23:21:55.951-05:00Bearsblog<i>A blog obsessed with tea</i>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.comBlogger140125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-19141815847195441392018-08-10T16:36:00.003-04:002018-08-10T17:09:02.181-04:00Required Reading: Tea in China, A Religious and Cultural History by James Benn<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As drinkers of Chinese tea in the English-language sphere, our greatest lack is information. <i>Tea in China, A Religious and Cultural History</i>, brings a wealth of new information and analysis to the English-speaking tea-loving world.<br />
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First, though, I want to discuss the most common current sources of information about Chinese tea: vendors and their websites, tea forums, cultural news articles, and the very few English-language books that deal specifically with tea from China.<br />
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The first source, vendors and vendor websites, is a tricky one. While it's in a vendor's best interest to teach tea well, often that information is what they think their audience wants to know or hear. That usually amounts to a blend of fact, myth and opinion. True things like the birthplace of tea being Southwest China mix with opinions like "shu pu'er has no <i>qi</i>" and with myths like tea being discovered by Shennong ("divine farmer" a mythical Chinese sage king). These are further adulterated with factually incorrect statements like one I heard recently: a vendor from China giving a talk in Seattle stated that Hunan <i>fu cha*</i> is so special because golden flowers** only grow on <i>fu cha</i>. I nearly forgot to mention my biggest pet peeve: unsubstantiated vendor claims about tea and health, <a href="https://worldteanews.com/news/rishi-tea-withdraws-website-health-claims-following-fda-complaint" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">like those that made Rishi the subject of scrutiny by the United States Food and Drug Administration</a>.<br />
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The second source, tea forums, are more a vector for opinion and community wisdom rather than fact. Any search of a tea forum will yield different "facts" about tea, but mostly these are opinions and beliefs masquerading as fact, often coming secondhand from vendors. Tea forums are excellent places to share information, like recommendations for vendors' teas and teaware, how to store tea and make tea, tea travel, etc. But, as with vendors, remain skeptical: fact and belief are often treated the same. Moreover, forum users become argumentative and hateful, and the longer a thread is, the more the chance of an argument happening converges on 1. I greatly benefited from forum users' opinions and information earlier in my tea journey, and I did meet good tea friends through forums. Either the arguments are more frequent or my tolerance is lower, and I avoid them now.<br />
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Cultural news articles are usually fluff pieces. Almost all of them have the same format: Jane or John Doe vendor walks us through the (five, only five!) different kind of teas made from <i>Camellia sinensis</i>, what they're "good for" (i.e., nonsense health claims), how to brew them, what food they pair with (couching tea in western gastronomy is a common theme in these articles), some cursory information about tea's "history" and maybe some few words about teaware. Occasionally there are in-depth vendor profiles, and these have more utility. Quite less frequently appears a piece on tea tourism; newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe aren't clamoring to spend money to send their reporters to Asia to report on tea farms. So, some useful information, some not, and a fair amount of nonsense.<br />
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There are a handful of literary works on Chinese tea in English. These are of two varieties: translated works from Chinese/Taiwanese authors and those written by westerners. The most famous of the former is, of course, Lu Yu's <i>Classic of Tea</i> (<i>Cha jing</i>), written in the Tang dynasty, which deals with tea of the time, which most of us wouldn't recognize because no one makes tea that way now. Other works, such as those from the Wuxing publishing house in Taiwan, were written by nonacademic authors and don't often contain the hallmarks of what westerners would consider good scholarship: citing sources, source analysis, looking for agreement or disagreement among sources, etc. They are still quite useful, but they contain a fair amount of wisdom and opinion presented (unsubstantiated) as fact. As far as books by westerners, we have books like <i>The True History of Tea</i> by Erling Hoh and Victor Mair, a laudable historical overview of tea and tea trade, in terms of scholarship. <i>The Story of Tea, A Cultural History and Drinking Guide</i> by Mary Lou and Robert J. Heiss, gives a useful bibliography, even if its coverage of tea's origins is too loosely treated. It's more of a reference manual for the types of tea, where they're grown, how to brew them, etc. In fact, that's what a lot of tea books in English look like: tea 101, the very basics. Of these that I've read, though, the Heiss's work does the most thoughtful and thorough job, nearly 400 pages of information.<br />
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<h4>
The Review</h4>
If you want to go deeper than tea 101--and you don't read Chinese--I recommend James A. Benn's <i>Tea in China. </i>Benn begins by defining his terms and the scope of his work as a primarily religious and cultural analysis of tea. He then analyzes, rather than merely repeats, claims about the origins of tea found in popular belief and, specifically, in Lu Yu's <i>Cha jing</i>. He gives detail about the characters used and what scholars believe they affirmatively know about those terms. The work allows for ambiguity to stand where there is no clarity in available sources. It makes few assumptions. And it exhaustively cites its sources, comments on them when appropriate, and refers the reader to additional information on sometimes even highly niche topics.<br />
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Much of the book discusses tea in the Tang and Song dynasties, with a chapter on the Ming. In these he explores the invention of tea as a religious, cultural and medical phenomenon, exploring its connection to Buddhist and Taoist literature and practice, and more extensively, its appearance in poetry and painting.<br />
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Perhaps this was the most exciting part about this book for me, the translation into English of Chinese texts. It's difficult to find translations of tea works aside from the <i>Cha jing</i>, which isn't surprising. What's more surprising is how difficult it can be to find translations from some of China's most famous poets and historical personalities; that many thousands of years of literature means a huge backlog of works that we may never see in English (all the more reason to study Chinese, young tea drinkers!). Making this available, in one place, with analysis--the book is worth its price for this alone. If you're interested in Chinese tea poetry, I suggest you look up Steven Owyoung, who I found through this book.<br />
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What this book does not set out to do--and thus, doesn't--is research tea economy and trade, the use of tea in court and among the common folk, or anything not related to religion or art. He's left that for another author. Also, noticeably absent is information about tea in the Yuan dynasty. Many authors, in my experience, treat "conquest dynasties" like the Liao, Yuan and Qing as less "authentically" Chinese. I would have liked more information about Yuan dynasty tea and tea during the 5 dynasties/10 kingdoms period, assuming there are surviving relevant texts from that turbulent time.<br />
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I'm most appreciative of learning new things about tea in China, about its religious and cultural connections, and even some small facts, like that not all tea was compressed into cakes during the Tang and Song--one of those historical oversimplifications found in many tea books--that leaf tea was consumed, although it was also ground and prepared more or less like cake tea. Also, a little detail about Ming brewing: that tea leaves were rinsed with hot water in a strainer, then transferred to a pot, not rinsed in the pot like the gongfu popular today. The book filled in some finer details for me.<br />
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<i>Tea in China, A Religious and Cultural History</i>, if you'd like to purchase it, is available from the University of Hawaii press directly, as well as on Amazon. You can also ask your better local bookstore to order it.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*A type of <i>hei cha</i>, literally "black tea" but often translated now as "dark tea" to distinguish it from <i>hong cha</i>, which means "red tea" in Chinese but referred to as "black tea" in English</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**<i>jinhua</i>, aka "golden flowers" is the common name for the fungus <i>Aspergillus cristatus</i>, purported to have medical benefits</span>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-53776039505337811332017-12-01T00:14:00.000-05:002017-12-01T00:14:27.106-05:00Packing teaPacking for the move means packing my tea. The move isn't until January, but I've started early, using the extra time to catalog what I have, a task I neglected to keep up with in the past few years.<div>
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It's been a trip down memory lane--and a trip down "I don't remember" lane. My local tea friend helped me pack and catalog the first day, and at least five times I couldn't remember buying something, or where I bought it, or if someone gave it to me. For other teas, it took a glance to remember I owned them; but in the intervening years I'd forgotten I had them. As my tea ages, so does my brain.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So much tea</td></tr>
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I've come across teas from my first trip to China, the result of days of scouring Maliandao tea market in Beijing. And teas from my second, longer trip to China, bought with MarshalN and our tea friends Liu Bo and Action Jackson. Teas bought with Scott in Kunming, Sebastien in Guangzhou. Teas purchased on trips to Tian Shan and Jiuxing tea markets in Shanghai, accompanied by Thomas from the hostel, where we were trapped over Chinese New Year because the trains and buses were all full. I remember eating way too many red bean cakes.</div>
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Who knew packing could be so nostalgic?</div>
Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-37678046653436833282017-07-19T23:44:00.000-04:002017-07-20T00:47:26.565-04:00Tea culture in Atlanta, as seen by a gongfu guyBecause my partner and I are likely moving out-of-state this fall, and in response to TeaDB's <a href="https://teadb.org/tea-hermit/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">recent post on "Western Tea Culture & Tea Hermits,"</a> I thought I would take the opportunity to review what tea culture is like in Atlanta, Georgia--at least for these handful of years that we have lived here.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVbY94XYjJClonr5N0e56ZnK-VYRusuBzFh-DBetOsymYuNZcIqf8ECcdXly6xKTUtweC7IAE2XxflQYZRPOrzEErTOVV7LiFUE0iZufVdrEm2o2YM1UYWQZ7TaOv7rCRlknx/s1600/blue+pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1188" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMVbY94XYjJClonr5N0e56ZnK-VYRusuBzFh-DBetOsymYuNZcIqf8ECcdXly6xKTUtweC7IAE2XxflQYZRPOrzEErTOVV7LiFUE0iZufVdrEm2o2YM1UYWQZ7TaOv7rCRlknx/s400/blue+pot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This picture has no relation to the content. Just teapr0n for your pleasure.</td></tr>
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First, some context</h3>
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We moved here from Southern California, where we were part of a lively group of tea drinkers who met with irregularity, called the LA Tea Affair. A couple of tea vendors were in the group, notably <a href="http://www.teahabitat.com/store/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tea Habitat</a> and <a href="http://www.banateacompany.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bana Tea Company</a>. The former even provided our location when she had a shop in Palos Verdes/Rolling Hills Estates (Tea Habitat's current shop is in the San Gabriel Valley, by appointment only, I believe, and well worth a visit. See <a href="http://puerh.blogspot.com/2016/08/visiting-california-part-3-return-of.html" target="_blank">my post here</a>). We all brought and shared tea, learned from one another, shared opinions on teas and vendors and regions, and had a great time.</div>
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The state of gongfu Atlanta (kind of, not really)</h3>
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On this blog, you can read some posts about my previous attempts to gather gongfu people together to drink tea in the south for the Southeast Tea Affair. The effort resulted in a some success, but only because of a few dedicated out-of-state people who were willing to drive as far as 10 hours to Atlanta to come drink tea. That kind of effort isn't sustainable long-term: People's lives become busy, or they tire of driving, or what have you. I don't blame them; I don't think I could have driven the distances often myself.</div>
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Fast-forward to today: There are four of us gongfu drinkers in the Atlanta metro area, including me and my partner. Four, at least, who have found one another on the internet and taken the next step to meet in person for tea. My partner's already in Seattle, so that leaves three. One of those three doesn't have easy access to transportation, so it's more often just two of us. We have a great time, and I'm very glad to be that much less of a hermit. Sharing tea is a joy, and I don't take my tea friends here for granted.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijIxfdmaVoTgmCq0BYpcS83LPgWOPdauWxLCmcG85yXaSe7TOOtSJKPMAXW79Z9Ls459orYUvyZVvG1JgmRfDiVRaKiMpT57GrTzZpzrxa1AAMKMgaFYOlZU8dNvYLDsGxO8D/s1600/NJ+tuo.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1188" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiijIxfdmaVoTgmCq0BYpcS83LPgWOPdauWxLCmcG85yXaSe7TOOtSJKPMAXW79Z9Ls459orYUvyZVvG1JgmRfDiVRaKiMpT57GrTzZpzrxa1AAMKMgaFYOlZU8dNvYLDsGxO8D/s320/NJ+tuo.jpeg" width="236" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Again, not relevant, just delicious-looking.</td></tr>
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<h3>
Culturally, gongfu faces several challenges in Atlanta</h3>
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Why so few of us teaheads here, in the United States' 9th-largest metro population? My years of living here have me believe it's the local culture; of the four of us who drink gongfu tea here, three of us moved here from California. That leaves only one Georgia native into gongfu. Of course, if you live in the area and would like to join us, feel free to comment. I'd love to see these "statistics" changed.</div>
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TeaDB mentions the lack of shops in the West, and Atlanta follows this trend. We only really have a handful of tea houses: not tea shops, per se, but places where you order (British) tea service and food. They do all sell loose leaf to take home, but they're more places to drink tea than to buy leaves. The tea house model makes tea social, but only as long as you BYOF, bring your own friends. Moreover, it's not Chinese or any other Asian tea focus, so there's no gongfu. The places you might get some hot Chinese tea are boba/bubble tea restaurants, but despite hot tea being on the menu, I've never witnessed anyone drinking it. And some boba places only have bagged tea.</div>
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Aside from a lack of even one shop that could teach one that gongfu exists, Atlanta is a sweet tea town, like the rest of the Southeast. Tea without sweetener, artificial or otherwise, is anathema to the culture. When you order tea at a restaurant, the assumption is cold and sweet, and you have to specify otherwise. Even if ordered plain, the assumption is you want to sweeten it yourself or use an artificial sweetener, so the staff will plunk down a caddy with bags of various sugar substitutes. It's more than even tea, really: many friends here tell me that they can't drink water plain because it tastes bad. Adults here drink kool-aid by the gallon, a beverage reserved only for children in my native state. Sugar is a necessary ingredient for the state's local foods. From fried chicken marinated in sweet tea to syrupy-sweet barbeque sauce, from sugar in spicy tuna roll sauce to pecan pie so sweet it hurts your teeth, sugar is inescapable. It helps define the local palate. Bitter tea is the opposite of this palate's preference.<br />
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Weather significantly affects the tea culture here, of course. Atlantans collectively sweat and pant their way through hot and humid weather 7 to 8 months of the year. Predictably, most Atlantans want to cool off with sweet tea, not heat up with hot tea. The farther south from Atlanta, the longer the hot season and the warmer the winters. In terms of comfort, it makes sense that cold tea reigns in the area.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKw5zpjyw9ZjhRk4BCIyGnyEG0dHBP2Eg-PGm2GlO9QXFViT2j_cjyINNY6rcIa8WDzPt_qSNcsFw6wU63cxSVzZ63pszEEY_mZblKgOMT2NvJpgxxGMX1ZQk5_pG29wqRxtT/s1600/white+tea.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifKw5zpjyw9ZjhRk4BCIyGnyEG0dHBP2Eg-PGm2GlO9QXFViT2j_cjyINNY6rcIa8WDzPt_qSNcsFw6wU63cxSVzZ63pszEEY_mZblKgOMT2NvJpgxxGMX1ZQk5_pG29wqRxtT/s320/white+tea.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Almost apropos, insomuch as I grew this tea in Georgia <br />
and processed it myself. Georgia's first white tea! All 6 <br />
grams of it.</td></tr>
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Lastly, one gongfu-inhibiting factor, which I don't think most Georgians even realize, is the state's conformist culture. Difference isn't celebrated here like it was in California, and a hobby like gongfu makes people think you strange. Where in California, it was common to meet people of all walks of life, interested in any sort of hobby, here it's uncommon.</div>
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<h3>
Seattle-bound?</h3>
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We have planned our move for September/early October, and our first choice is Seattle, so TeaDB will have two more teaheads to drink with, if he wants. I'll enjoy being able to visit Floating Leaves in person, and if you have any other tea shop recommendations for Seattle or thereabouts, let me know in the comments.</div>
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Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-8294375271121387632016-08-04T10:03:00.000-04:002016-08-04T10:03:00.168-04:00Visiting California Part 3: The Return of Tea Habitat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Shortly after I left Southern California, <a href="http://www.teahabitat.com/store/">Tea Habitat</a>'s physical location closed. Imen, who owns and runs the company, specializes in dancong oolong and offers more varieties of it than any vendor I've visited on this or that side of the Pacific. My partner and I, along with the LA Tea Affair folks, had spent handfuls of mornings - that turned into afternoons - tasting and discovering better dancong oolong teas at Tea Habitat. Of course, any time a physical shop closes, it should sadden us; there are too few places in the U.S. to taste high-end teas before you buy them.<br />
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Thus, I was excited to learn that Tea Habitat opened a new shop space, although it's available by appointment only. Even better, Imen was there and tasting when we wanted to drop by.</div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Imen hated me for taking this photo, but I think she looks good.</span></div>
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The new space is cozy, bright and well decorated.</div>
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As pictured, we drank many teas. Many were new shipments fresh from China that she herself hadn't tasted yet. I wish I could remember all the names and which ones impressed me most, but my focus was on catching up. She did take notes, and if they're not already on her site, they will be soon.</div>
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I wish I could remember all the names. In addition, we had a delicate green and a punchy, supposedly wild-harvested bai mudan (white peony).</div>
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I had to take a break to appreciate a few of her teaware items. This cute vintage plate tempted me, but too many plates line my shelves already.<br />
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After this, we took a trip to the Huntington Library and Gardens to see how their Chinese garden had fared. The willows and shrubs have grown in, the koi have grown fat, lotuses and water lilies dot the ponds, and new pavilions and paths have popped up.<br />
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We needed a refreshment after all the walking. Ever heard of Okinawa-style milk tea? I had not, but I'm glad my friend introduced me. It's milk tea with caramelized brown sugar as sweetener, and it's aromatic and rich. Not as fancy as the tea we'd had earlier, but a delicious alternative to a cold coffee beverage.</div>
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Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-55745545995019837032016-08-01T08:30:00.000-04:002016-08-01T10:13:38.493-04:00Visiting California Part 2: Tea with LATA<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Way back when, a few of us tea enthusiasts in the greater Los Angeles region met regularly to drink tea together. Most of the original crew have moved or moved on, but some of us have stayed in touch. </div>
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During my recent trip to California, I had a chance to meet up and drink tea with some of them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ACKDnHus6vl7vyDVVaxOHuaXJ3Zc_u44jp2lmxC4fHKKmIZMRAaH5lvf8Vq5pR436nweUfL-1Rh-FiPHnRRFuC4stl6mfxmiCoeOgP2yJIDIzBSMzmwK7TvbKfgXSB5-aTrk/s1600/2016-07-09+10.51.20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ACKDnHus6vl7vyDVVaxOHuaXJ3Zc_u44jp2lmxC4fHKKmIZMRAaH5lvf8Vq5pR436nweUfL-1Rh-FiPHnRRFuC4stl6mfxmiCoeOgP2yJIDIzBSMzmwK7TvbKfgXSB5-aTrk/s320/2016-07-09+10.51.20.jpg" width="320"></a></div>
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We drank a handful of teas, including some well aged liu bao sent from Su, our friend in Malaysia who has been drinking and collecting tea for many years (Su, the pic is a shallow amount of a very late infusion, so don't think we messed it up! It was good).<br>
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We also drank xiao huang yin (little yellow label), a tea now upwards of 40 years old. I thought to myself, "Bears, we are aging, too: I remember when this tea was in its early thirties!" Another measure of time passing, I updated my <a href="http://p/new-to-puer.html">New to Pu'er?</a> post, and realized how many years went by since I last tasted fresh raw pu'er productions. Pu'er and other teas I've aged now bring me nostalgic pleasure in part because they have aged with me. Remembering when I bought this or that tea in China, who I was with, where our lives have taken us thereafter: some teas have become a consumable part of my past, a medicine for remembering to remember.</div>
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Sentiments and tea philosophy aside, the visit reinvigorated my passion for tea, which I rue to admit had smoldered. Our drinking gave me fresh inspiration to write this blog again.</div>
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Thank you for reading. Expect new content at least somewhat regularly. I will be reviewing a book and maybe a website or two, and I'll update on how some of my teas have aged, including my own production.</div>
Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-80202395706469647362016-07-27T22:09:00.000-04:002016-07-27T22:44:00.883-04:00Visiting California Part 1: A New Jar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_vkwPNAvumWOcl0wJGRX_RcenTjdsJAu5yQjOCr2CWhzI3A3AYKACkRNiqdnzoODFVh9y4CSP3U-FfgGcod0_a_sFdnrlGD4G0x2s6txH0bYjK5P-Pj62Hkw-yzWtNcGS99f/s1600/New+jar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT_vkwPNAvumWOcl0wJGRX_RcenTjdsJAu5yQjOCr2CWhzI3A3AYKACkRNiqdnzoODFVh9y4CSP3U-FfgGcod0_a_sFdnrlGD4G0x2s6txH0bYjK5P-Pj62Hkw-yzWtNcGS99f/s320/New+jar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Alternate title for new post: How Not to Photograph a Jar. Lighting high gloss ceramic pieces is tricky!</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.lagunaporcelain.com/" target="_blank">Trevor Stimson/Laguna Porcelain</a> made this jar, which I purchased from the artist's wife at their booth at the Sawdust Festival in Laguna Beach (His young daughter excitedly sold some ceramic beads she made to my sister, too). If you're ever in Orange County during their summer or winter festivals, I recommend a visit; they have a handful of ceramic artists with good work at affordable prices, as well as many other types of art and craft.<br />
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Back when I used to throw ceramics, there was a saying that blue hare's fur (Google Image search of this term <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=blue+hare%27s+fur&safe=off&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjinrzkgpXOAhUGNiYKHcTzBiAQsAQIKw&biw=1680&bih=881#imgrc=Rrdh2ashtC45YM%3A" target="_blank">here</a>, for easy reference) was a "money glaze." Meaning, glaze something with it, and it will sell. People love blue, and they love the deep blue and soft texture of hare's fur, also known as rutile blue. Ceramicists expressed a love/hate relationship with the glaze: the guaranteed sell worked like a pair of gilded handcuffs, stifling their ability to glaze creatively. Nonetheless, a beautiful glaze, despite its ubiquity and all grumpy comments about taste and creativity aside.<br />
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The shape is ginger-jar-ish, with a wider modern lid. The conservative shape and smooth finish shows off the glazing well. The glaze has a hare's fur feel to it, but it is better classified as a tea dust glaze (probably two or more glazes that were layered). The tea dust motes appear to have left behind streaks of darker teal and blue as they melted down the face of the vessel. They tea dust settles thickly in a matte layer of golden tan, and flecks of it looking like gold stars populate the thickly globbed black background where the glaze nearly flowed off the jar. Hare's tea dust? Dusty fur?<br />
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I liked it enough that I felt it worth risking breakage while bringing it home in my carry-on luggage.<br />
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I have some 2007 shui xian I plan to store in this jar, guarded by my tea piglet.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-1278181540099100682016-07-22T00:12:00.001-04:002016-07-27T22:51:17.278-04:00Still Drinking TeaIt's been a while. Here's a picture of some pretty Bairuixiang yancha leaves, a sample from an LA tea friend.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uBBDt2U12Pq1dLfJD5rGSdKbztEKcwrd6RY-46Sqo5yYLv4yXFEgqCaL0zcjFcgVF_oyYRS0GMS09xHvzXV-6XdwY5Xef8qGfGYP00kawYJ9speOmoiNYYXfsXnUp1nfbYBq/s1600/2016-07-21+17.30.17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5uBBDt2U12Pq1dLfJD5rGSdKbztEKcwrd6RY-46Sqo5yYLv4yXFEgqCaL0zcjFcgVF_oyYRS0GMS09xHvzXV-6XdwY5Xef8qGfGYP00kawYJ9speOmoiNYYXfsXnUp1nfbYBq/s400/2016-07-21+17.30.17.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-51221446965095759132013-04-12T21:52:00.002-04:002016-07-22T00:16:45.825-04:00April 2013 Southeast Tea AffairNow finally back in the swing of my <strike>addiction</strike> <strike>habit</strike> hobby, I decided to risk a caffeine binge and hosted a meeting of our local Southeast tea group.<br />
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Unfortunately, a Facebook event snafu created a duplicate posting that made one member get the day wrong. So, there were only three of us.<br />
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We drank an unreroasted 1980s baozhong that reminded me why I don't seek out aged baozhong. I have drunk a few good ones, but the other two dozen or so have been like this one, rather bland and single character. Still, with no off flavors and good storage, it could have been worse.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/8644610778/" title="April 2013 SETA - brewed 90s liubao by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="April 2013 SETA - brewed 90s liubao" height="367" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8644610778_26c0ec425a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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We moved onto a more recent dong ding from Houde, that bryandrinkstea bought the last of, and we could see why. It was punchy, delicious, and didn't want to quit. Beautiful strong leaves with great structure.<br />
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We had a 1999 Dayi brand tuo sample given to me by a tea friend who travels regularly to Xishuangbanna. It was dry stored—authentic dry stored, not American dry stored—and quite well on its way. I was sad I waited so many years to finally try the sample.<br />
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Then we dug into some liubao, a 1990s liubao I bought in Guangzhou's fangcun market in 2006. The shopkeeper had it in a large tin that said "aged pu'er" on it; one of the older vendor tricks still alive and well! The tea still bit back, but it's definitely mellower than when I first bought it.<br />
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We ended with an early 1990s 7542, also authentic dry storage, that still needs a lot of time.<br />
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All in all, very good session.<br />
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If you're in the Southeast US and would like to join us sometime, leave a comment with your email address and I'll add you to our Facebook group!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/8644610492/" title="April 2013 SETA - happy bunny by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="April 2013 SETA - happy bunny" height="240" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8246/8644610492_95bd1f3828_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-85253269382352693132013-03-30T12:28:00.001-04:002017-07-20T00:41:45.961-04:007581 from Su<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/8603656322/" title="7581 from Su - dry leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="7581 from Su - dry leaf" height="480" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8532/8603656322_7e9455ce03.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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This was a Chinese New Year gift from our favorite munificent Malaysian, Su. It's a 7581, a brick whose recipe is normally shu pu'er of a lighter fermentation, but this incarnation is sheng. In the picture above, you can clearly see all sheng leaves in the brick: the leaves are greenish-purple, but more importantly, each sits individually with well defined edges. Shu pu'er tends to have reddish brown leaves with more golden colored tips, and in shu pu'er the edge where one leaf ends and another begins is blurred. </div>
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I don't recall what year it's supposed to be from or how it was stored or with whom it was stored for most of its life, but at first waft of the rinsed leaves, a few things become apparent: this tea had dry storage, almost too dry for my tastes, and the leaves are probably not from Xishuangbanna. The fragrance smells very strongly of hay, not at all floral, and more savory than sweet. The first taste has me guessing the leaves come largely from Dehong, and perhaps the purple on the dry leaf indicates a local, nonstandard <i>daye </i>varietal. Flavor-wise, it shares features with Pingxiwangfu brick Su sent me previously, but with more unpleasant bitterness.</div>
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The leaves quickly shed their dark colors and turn brighter shades of olive green during brewing, and this, along with the orange brew, makes me think it's been rather dry stored.</div>
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It hits me in the stomach, and I wish I'd eaten something before drinking it. </div>
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It offers little aftertaste, which is mostly metallic and herbal. The liquor feels very soft, but this could be my water. The brew tastes best when piping hot and in later infusions, when it becomes a little sweeter.<br />
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This 7581 is something I'd want to put away for another 10 years before revisiting!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/8603753052/" title="7581 from Su - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="7581 from Su - brewed leaf" height="375" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8395/8603753052_309147492c.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-81236321222697036952012-12-18T13:42:00.002-05:002016-07-22T00:19:29.999-04:00Quitting caffeineToday is roughly three and a half weeks since I last had coffee or tea. After a brief hospital visit, I decided to quit caffeine for a while.<br />
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The hospital visit wasn't caffeine-related, and during my post-hospital five-day recovery I drank some coffee. But once I started feeling physically better, my head was still cloudy, and I was tired all day long. Yawn-a-minute tired, sleep-under-my-desk-on-breaks tired. No amount of coffee or tea helped. I brewed my tea stronger and stronger, then tried a shot of espresso in a brewed coffee, then tried two shots of espresso in a large brewed coffee—and nothing, no effect, still yawning and foggy.<br />
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I couldn't determine the problem. I had rested, and I felt better otherwise. No symptoms of any other sickness. I kept hydrated, I ate healthy. I ran down the list of potential issues until I settled on a likely culprit: caffeine dependency. So I quit.<br />
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Quitting gave me a 24/7 headache for three consecutive days, a horrible headache that moved behind, pierced, and throbbed my eyes, teeth and sinus cavity. But I didn't get better, my fatigue became worse and my head more densely clouded.<br />
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After another four days of sporadic headaches, my fatigue lifted. I neglected to notice at first, but I slept more easily and deeply than I had in many months. Two weeks in, tasks became more interesting, and I encountered bored where I would normally enjoy relaxing.<br />
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I don't blame tea for my dependency; in fact, I suspect a period of using workout supplements very high in caffeine played a big role in tying me to a need for higher and higher daily doses of caffeine.<br />
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Initially, I wanted a hard reset of my caffeine tolerance to boost caffeine's effect on me. Now, I've decided to moderate my intake, too.<br />
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I'll post an update when I begin to drink tea again, probably in the next two weeks.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-66836856412208055132012-05-28T12:14:00.000-04:002017-07-20T00:41:55.912-04:002003 Changtai from SuSu, being so awesome, mailed me two samples of tea to try from her stash in Malaysia: a 2003 Changtai factory sheng and a 2006 sheng brick by Pingxiwangfu. Today, we drink the 2003 Changtai.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7287463552/" title="03 Changtai from Su - dry leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="03 Changtai from Su - dry leaf" height="375" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7287463552_c853118c32.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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The brown-gray-green leaves with leaves distinctly separate from one another show the tea aged in a drier environment. The dry leaves carry a strong, sweet fragrance.<br />
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Once rinsed, the steaming leaves smell like suede, then like raisins. The first infusion is biscuity and sweet: carob, Darjeeling, fresh cut wood. It lingers on the soft palate and the back of mouth with an evaporative effect. Tasty, but the liquor is a bit thin.<br />
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The bitter flavors in the next infusions reminds my guest of the smell of dried pine needles. The Darjeeling muscatel flavor continues, very pleasant, and with cacao chalkiness underneath. In terms of flavor and aroma, Changtai has done well by these initial infusions.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7287464190/" title="03 Changtai from Su - brewed by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="03 Changtai from Su - brewed" height="500" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7225/7287464190_e3c00cd287.jpg" width="375" /></a></b></div>
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But then, something changes. The sweetness disappears, replaced by the kind of bile-tinged flavors so strongly associated with leaves from Lincang. For a few infusions, its musky and alkaline flavors show some Lincang leaves are in the mix, and they thankfully bring a stronger mouthfeel and aftertaste to the tea, softening eventually into savory, bready flavors and more chalky sweetness.<br />
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I enjoyed the tea for its flavor and aroma, although the Lincang elements surprised me. I wish it had a thicker body and more aftertaste early in the infusions, but these features improve in later infusions. The still-present bitterness implies that the tea has room to grow as it ages, I think.<br />
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The blend is a mix of many larger leaves and some broken smaller leaves, most leaves having thick veins and a healthy tensile strength. No bud sets in the blend raise a suspicion that none of the leaves were harvested by hand, or they were handled very roughly in transport and manufacture.<br />
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My gratitude, as always, to Su for providing me these little treats!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7287464608/" title="03 Changtai from Su - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="03 Changtai from Su - brewed leaf" height="500" src="https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7287464608_84bd9e2325.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>
Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-72225834470245542992012-05-04T18:47:00.001-04:002016-07-22T00:20:12.321-04:00Live in the Southeastern US? Join us!Hello Floridians, Georgians, Alabamians, Carolinians, and Tenneseeans who drink and love Asian teas:<br />
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While a few of us have been meeting every over month for tea, I know there are others out there who aren't able to make our get togethers. I thought you might want to keep in touch with us, and perhaps find other friends in your area, to meet and talk tea.<br />
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To that end, I've created a Facebook group. Please comment here with your email if you'd like to join us! (Comments will not be made public).Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-40992534757582211522012-04-20T12:24:00.004-04:002017-07-20T00:42:02.518-04:00March Southeast Tea Meetup<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7096476833/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - teapot by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - teapot" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5272/7096476833_ab902781ce.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo credits: Bryan C and <a href="http://centranthus.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jess K</a> (thanks, you two!) </td></tr>
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It was a great day to have tea in North Georgia on March 24, and our little group of tea heads strewn across the Southeast converged once again at <a href="http://www.aristeacrats.com/" target="_blank">Aristeacrats </a>in historic Downtown Lawrenceville to drink ourselves drunk on tea.<br />
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If you're ever in the area, stop by Aristeacrats! It has a great garden for spring and summer tea drinking!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7096476983/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - cupious notes by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - cupious notes" height="333" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7228/7096476983_d9c4616e14.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2006 XZH in the cup, Jess's notes</td></tr>
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<a href="http://centranthus.blogspot.com/2012/04/pottery-tea-bliss.html" target="_blank">Jess K</a> took cupious notes (har har har) on what we drank, which was mostly pu'ers and oolongs. After that photo was taken, we had a 1980s hei cha from Guizhou province.<br />
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Shah8, aka Darius, a buddy of ours from the <a href="http://www.teachat.com/" target="_blank">teachat forum</a> and frequent commenter on this blog, was able to join us and brew the 2006 Xizhi Hao nu'er tea. This style of pu'er, at least lately, contains smaller tips and buds, and supposedly is modeled after the kinds of tea the ethnic minorities of Yunnan would use as dowry, picked by the maiden and given to her husband's family. With some of the tribes being matrilineal, maybe sometimes it was the young groomsmen picking the tea for the family of his betrothed?<br />
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Darius described the tea as being mild, but it turned out quite punchy and strong, but very sweet to finish; he used more tea than usual, and although the strength of the tea concerned (consternated?) him, the tea actually performed better than I expected, and I quite enjoyed it.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6950405052/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - Bryan brewing by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - Bryan brewing" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5456/6950405052_cb56614e7e.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bryan brewing</td></tr>
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Bryan took the helm, too, brewing a pu'er while Jess took over camera duty. I don't think we had a tea we didn't like.<br />
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More pictures below. Bryan and Jess did such a great job with the photography, I can't help but share!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7096477159/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - Jason brewing by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - Jason brewing" height="333" src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7115/7096477159_734eee1837.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason brewing</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6950405704/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - gaiwan by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="March 2012 Southeast Tea Affair - gaiwan" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5464/6950405704_0e26fa2dd0.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Too pretty not to share!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/7096477573/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="SETA Crew, March 2012 by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="SETA Crew, March 2012" height="333" src="https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5442/7096477573_d294ae636e.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And our obligatory group photo! <br />
Left to right: Bryan, <a href="http://centranthus.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Jess</a>, Darius (Shah8), Jason, Davin</td></tr>
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Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-75272200717543073732012-03-14T12:28:00.000-04:002012-03-14T12:28:17.631-04:00Next Southeast Tea Meetup: Saturday 3/24We got tea drunk and had a lot of fun last time, and we're going to meet up again on 3/24 to drink some good gongfu tea! <div><br />
</div><div>We would love to have more local tea lovers come, so please comment here with your email (I won't post it!) if you are interested in joining us. For now, exact location and time is TBD, but for now we're anticipating it will be in North or Central Georgia.</div>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-6844717642797163662012-03-13T14:51:00.000-04:002012-03-13T14:51:03.364-04:00Puerh Aging in the SouthIn response to his recent post on aging, "<a href="http://www.marshaln.com/2012/03/ideas-of-proper-puerh-storage/" target="_blank">Ideas of Proper Puerh Storage</a>," I observed to Marshaln that my tea stash is aging much better here in the humid south than in drier California. My shengs are darkening visibly quicker than in Los Angeles.<br />
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Mind you, a humidifier helped to overcome the low relative humidity of coastal Southern California, but the texture of the air here seems thicker, the wetness more naturally and constantly moistened, without the ups and downs of %RH caused by an emptying and refilled humidifier. The relative humidity here averages between 56% and 82% over the course of a day. <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/1819729" target="_blank">Only slightly lower than Hong Kong</a> (see Average Conditions and view the table: 60%-87% for Hong Kong according to BBC).<br />
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But the averages don't give the whole picture: weather here works in cycles of 3-10 days: cold temperatures rise until hot weather usually breaks into rain, which cools temperature. There are quite a few days at 100% relative humidity. Of course, not indoors, but indoors on days like today, it can get as high as 87% RH.<br />
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Of course, many of my teas were made from 2004-2007 and are hitting their adolescence, beginning the second stage of aging. This 6-8 year demarcation seemed arbitrary before, but perhaps this sudden darkening proves this adage. As Gertrude Stein would say, that "there's a there, there." I guess given their ages, I couldn't have chosen a better time to move the tea to someplace more consistently humid.<br />
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To date, I've seen no visible signs of mold on any cakes. So far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way as it warms up.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-11012236999243499632012-02-11T09:55:00.000-05:002012-02-11T09:55:31.622-05:00Wang's Sheng<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6844362611/" title="Wang's Sheng - dry leaf top by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Wang's Sheng - dry leaf top" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7160/6844362611_07409cc1fe.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
This sheng sample came to me from BK a few years ago, maybe 2007 or 2008. The tea was sourced from a <a href="http://www.medicinebuddhas.org/" target="_blank">"Master" Wang Ming Yi</a> who supposedly comes from the Himalayan part of Yunnan, which doesn't exist because the Himalayas stop well before they hit Yunnan. Maybe he's from the Gao Li Gong Mountains?<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6844363023/" title="Wang's Sheng - dry leaf bottom by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Wang's Sheng - dry leaf bottom" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7066/6844363023_2c610700ba.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://zenandtea.com/" target="_blank">Zenandtea.com</a> sells his teas and book, and what teas do list prices seem expensive for "three no" cakes (no wrapper, no ticket, no neifei). Apparently, <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/jessica-simpson-ive-shocked-my-system-with-crash-diet--2010276" target="_blank">Jessica Simpson tried his "total vitality" program</a>, and so did <a href="http://www.medicinebuddhas.org/testimonial.html" target="_blank">the owner of Teance</a>; both gave good reviews. The program involves hydration (good) and that old quack diet, <a href="http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/coral2.html" target="_blank">the alkaline diet</a> (pseudo-scientific nonsense).<br />
<br />
However I may feel about his background, the tea will speak for itself. You can see in the photos above that the leaves are not stripe-rolled, an instant sign one or more of the following is true:<br />
<ol><li>The tea is not from Xishuangbanna, Simao, or Lincang, where production is stripe rolled.</li>
<li>The tea is older leaf, which doesn't hold its shape in stripe rolling.</li>
<li>The tea is not <i>Camellia sinensis</i>.</li>
</ol>The majority of teas I've seen in this style are from Dehong, which is where Gao Li Gong mountain is. However, there are<a href="http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=10441610822" target="_blank"> some tea makers</a> on that mountain who are using <i>Camellia sinensis</i> and stripe rolling. Other teas I've seen that have this effect are cakes of older leaf,<a href="http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=12844224254" target="_blank"> like this one</a>, but when this leaf is usually yellow green. The most common teas with this appearance are "yesheng" leaves from non-<i>sinensis</i> species of camellia, which share the dark emerald leaf color, <a href="http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=3998367654" target="_blank">like this one</a>, but even they usually use more buds.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6844363265/" title="Wang's Sheng - brew by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Wang's Sheng - brew" height="180" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7063/6844363265_9ec082e876_m.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
Huangpian sheng pu'er--raw pu'er made of older leaf--share some flavor traits with this tea: very mild flavor with an olive oil taste and soft, oily mouthfeel. There is little aftertaste, and the tea never tastes bitter, its tannins saved in the buds to deter insects from eating the tender new leaves.<br />
<br />
But this tea was really, really mild, and here's why:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6844363763/" title="Wang's Sheng - chunky2 by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Wang's Sheng - chunky2" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7206/6844363763_5a50a025fb.jpg" width="375" /></a><br />
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After 6 infusions, 5 of which were 60-90 seconds or more, the tea was not unfurling and separating into individual leaves. The flatness of the leaves and the high compression--evidenced by the iron press hobnails in the dry leaf picture above--created a brick of tea akin to plywood. The matrix of innumerable planes compressed together has resulted in a situation where the hot water cannot penetrate through, and only the leaves on the outside infuse well.<br />
<br />
Try as I might to get a good steep, steeping this tea for 4+ minutes yielded an under-infused brew that tasted like weak black tea. Frustrated, I pried a layer off the tea and left the tea steep for 30 minutes, hoping to help along the unfurling. It didn't work.<br />
<br />
The results are below. Two kettles of water and many long brews later, the leaves remain glued together.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6847096139/" title="Wang's Sheng - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Wang's Sheng - brewed leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7060/6847096139_4c71669eae.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
My experience suggests to me that this tea used low grade (i.e. broken), old leaf from non-<i>sinensis</i> camellias and compressed them too much.<br />
<br />
He appears to offer many other teas through the Zen and Tea website, and I hope the others are better. My recommendation, as with all teas one hasn't tried, is to purchase samples first.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-9044164549873715402012-02-08T21:41:00.001-05:002012-02-11T09:01:23.087-05:00New Year, New Setup<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6844305997/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="New Tea Setup by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="New Tea Setup" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6844305997_9155fb848a.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">For the moment, I have ditched the tea tray and opted for the "plates and bowls" setup. It's a little simpler and easier to clean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I like tea trays with basins because you can get messy and think about it later, but the trays get dirty/grimy if you don't clean them constantly. The wood ones also tend to split and break because of the expansion and contraction caused by water. With this setup, the waste water bowl is emptied as soon as it gets full. If the bowl becomes dirty, it's easy to wipe out.</div>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-43882523158182342802012-02-01T21:32:00.000-05:002012-02-01T21:32:59.163-05:00Our Southeast Tea AffairReporting back on our first Southeast Tea Affair (SeTA: looking for extraterrestrial teas?), I am glad to say it was more than a success: it was a lot of fun!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>First of all, a big dose of my gratitude to Jess and Duane of Aristeacrats for agreeing to host us. They have a great space in Downtown Lawrenceville, GA--comfortable and with the décor chic of a French country color palette. Also, thanks again to Bryan for the great photos below!</div><div><br />
</div><div>Everybody brought something to share. We started with a Taiwan gaoshan oolong I believe from San Lin Xi, and moved onto a 2000 Jin Chang Hao pu'er. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vA6zlNqFaZUgzlOxyVfzmpCZ_CnLPbPv07VdEskPE8QKABdPSpXjELXLyyhu5dK39FUb1fzB4rN0qK8T63nBz9nuOWOdmILo4Gm3WpbzkUPvqKPHd7GLGE1fpNDf6RJmq13r/s1600/IMG_4972.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2vA6zlNqFaZUgzlOxyVfzmpCZ_CnLPbPv07VdEskPE8QKABdPSpXjELXLyyhu5dK39FUb1fzB4rN0qK8T63nBz9nuOWOdmILo4Gm3WpbzkUPvqKPHd7GLGE1fpNDf6RJmq13r/s400/IMG_4972.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhXoe2Yf3D1rgRCFtt2wYw28rFY2vF7RhXs-Fc8Uuh-0ajC7funr45ZNdbhStEVd-DL1HG3RikLiUOWZEQU19VatApG8ehqHR3NvU0Q2A97XPlRhaZZ18nWcMjn8b6oA_QnVZ/s1600/IMG_4980.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUhXoe2Yf3D1rgRCFtt2wYw28rFY2vF7RhXs-Fc8Uuh-0ajC7funr45ZNdbhStEVd-DL1HG3RikLiUOWZEQU19VatApG8ehqHR3NvU0Q2A97XPlRhaZZ18nWcMjn8b6oA_QnVZ/s400/IMG_4980.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div><br />
</div><div>Another tea chum took the wheel to brew a 2003 Changtai Hao Yiwu mini cake (very mild), and yet another took the wheel to brew an aged 1990s "harbor oolong," which was a hit. We finished off with some 1950s loose pu'er from Wistaria Tea House. </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikg8lQDi7tnsqZfQ8RtPcNskHnxO1UAKb8vqtTLVXmkcGzHyVoZHV0rjTUptLEVhjnKvUySENtWgfGK5jmLIMYL_LgO5ROCl6wy7z3kBxsEXytXDwGmYi2qm9-NEIyltg1ZheY/s1600/IMG_4987.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikg8lQDi7tnsqZfQ8RtPcNskHnxO1UAKb8vqtTLVXmkcGzHyVoZHV0rjTUptLEVhjnKvUySENtWgfGK5jmLIMYL_LgO5ROCl6wy7z3kBxsEXytXDwGmYi2qm9-NEIyltg1ZheY/s400/IMG_4987.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div><div>After many infusions and feeling quite tea drunk, we parted ways.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Looking forward to next time! Feel free to comment here if you would like an invite in the future.</div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_6PLynCXPjUDDLSkFBiftNwruzcEcnG7JCe4Zxu7JSewQ9Fl1ItvbiUXjQE7kKOiQCXsceInNwAhNC47bRa8au9kRD2ksSYrN6nWLYEE521UblVUjEZtHpnD6BIADSIckWqt/s1600/IMG_4990.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="332" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_6PLynCXPjUDDLSkFBiftNwruzcEcnG7JCe4Zxu7JSewQ9Fl1ItvbiUXjQE7kKOiQCXsceInNwAhNC47bRa8au9kRD2ksSYrN6nWLYEE521UblVUjEZtHpnD6BIADSIckWqt/s640/IMG_4990.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><div><br />
</div>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-57579099131517653962012-01-19T23:43:00.000-05:002012-01-19T23:43:22.981-05:00Tea with New FriendsTea with new friends or new friends with tea? <i>New tea friends</i>!<br />
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I recently had a chance to have Bryan_Drinks_Tea and Lerxst2112 visit. They live no small distance away, and in addition to making the significant effort to drive to me, they brought good tea and a fancy camera!<br />
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Enjoy Bryan's <i>salacious </i>tea photos below, which depict us drinking either a roasted Taiwanese gaoshan oolong (green clay teapot) or a mix of 60s-80s Guang Yun Gong pu'er (red clay teapot). We also drank a tenacious 80s 8582 that Bryan brought along, but he focused on brewing it instead of taking photos--to great success.<br />
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We ended the evening with a delicious dinner at a local Sichuan restaurant, where our guests were kind enough to try some of the stranger fare we offered them, alongside some "easier" menu items.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKdG1l3mQvxM6FqEABNw5tOVR_-aPwo2uriSv2yEiPAziTNfiwT3IduLNM83iUCT7zj44oPokzBtE6vXX40DbwqPqfRBJBzLkX4ErAMVQeNebTsxKhEGvmSmgD18cwTf7-3Ut/s1600/January+14+Tea+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKdG1l3mQvxM6FqEABNw5tOVR_-aPwo2uriSv2yEiPAziTNfiwT3IduLNM83iUCT7zj44oPokzBtE6vXX40DbwqPqfRBJBzLkX4ErAMVQeNebTsxKhEGvmSmgD18cwTf7-3Ut/s640/January+14+Tea+1.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOo8J-r-JfQz8FHJYUEoXDKp1ucmiYNLUXefTl5Pzoh_koL6Pm34ne1reHPmq2znzCCCEr8n5Bm72SRF6f6LqToNVi3t1MLp4IpnOeOiktbnIBXV8wMaTYOx5i-fZI1ZoJCb4/s1600/January+14+Tea+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOo8J-r-JfQz8FHJYUEoXDKp1ucmiYNLUXefTl5Pzoh_koL6Pm34ne1reHPmq2znzCCCEr8n5Bm72SRF6f6LqToNVi3t1MLp4IpnOeOiktbnIBXV8wMaTYOx5i-fZI1ZoJCb4/s640/January+14+Tea+5.JPG" width="500" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQqNmpQnx_2ieeZ4z9Wro8QT5TKLttIky3jZuHdsyqraZE64v_rAtXcBqElWJqCNEfv6FAkgpFghsrwYQdNDepnAU4HP1HeLBSNcI4bx0wp6SNQbYI99UX_1Oe9JzhpbLCxmA/s1600/January+14+Tea+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzQqNmpQnx_2ieeZ4z9Wro8QT5TKLttIky3jZuHdsyqraZE64v_rAtXcBqElWJqCNEfv6FAkgpFghsrwYQdNDepnAU4HP1HeLBSNcI4bx0wp6SNQbYI99UX_1Oe9JzhpbLCxmA/s400/January+14+Tea+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhW2Za59WifkavdtGqeuAUGDofyaGS-ltWpy9jaOgwz13UKhp9adaQlugBRQHFGUJZHwl0Pn6Meu5u9RQUbR1Zf_R-SVqaGYvVND6msxsQz3Yn9F5jxSFqrnM3PK_073V0OVh9/s1600/January+14+Tea+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhW2Za59WifkavdtGqeuAUGDofyaGS-ltWpy9jaOgwz13UKhp9adaQlugBRQHFGUJZHwl0Pn6Meu5u9RQUbR1Zf_R-SVqaGYvVND6msxsQz3Yn9F5jxSFqrnM3PK_073V0OVh9/s640/January+14+Tea+2.JPG" width="500" /></a></div>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-67043380593264143242012-01-12T18:29:00.000-05:002012-01-12T18:29:07.985-05:00Join us for gongfu! 1/28 at Aristeacrats in Lawrenceville, GACome celebrate Chinese New Year with some good pots of tea! Fans of Chinese tea in the Southeast, converge!<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Well, perhaps the reach won't be quite so far, but with a few passionate tea souls in Georgia, Alabama, North and South Carolina, and Tennessee, I am hoping we can take our love of tea offline and meet for some gongfu occasionally.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Jessica of Aristeacrats has graciously agreed to host our first occasion at her location in Lawrenceville, with the agreement that we get water service for gongfu as long as each of us pays for a pot of tea (just keep the dry leaf for later!)--which is how it's done at the famous Wisteria Teahouse in Taiwan.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Please comment with your email if you're interested. I screen posts, and will not make your email address public.</div><div><br />
</div><div>Let's do this!</div><div><br />
</div><div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/2244015640/" title="Jiu Qu Hong Mei - dry leaves by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="Jiu Qu Hong Mei - dry leaves" height="500" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2091/2244015640_52ff247383.jpg" width="375" /></a></div>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-18613549624057670362012-01-12T18:16:00.001-05:002012-01-21T11:33:13.425-05:00As featured in the LA Times!The LA Times <a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-chinese-tea-20120112,0,925451.story">ran a little story</a> the other day (also picked up at the <a href="http://www.montereyherald.com/state/ci_19789577">Monterey Herald</a>) about the tea group that meets in Los Angeles, back when I was still living there. It's a good article, and I give my thanks to Rosanna Xia for doing her best to be true to our experiences drinking tea.<br />
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The one thing the article plays up with exaggeration is the cost of fine teas. The best of the best, as with any epicurean pursuit, is very, very expensive.<br />
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But the majority of the tea we drank at LA Tea Affair was not nearly so high-end. Higher-end than your average loose leaf, but certainly not commonly in the $1500/lb range. When I've had the pleasure to sample such expensive teas, the person or tea shop sharing was munificent in their not charging me a thing. And that generosity amongst tea drinkers makes our hobby so great.<br />
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Likewise, sharing has been central to the success of the LA tea group. Tea is best shared with others, and that sharing rarely comes with a cost or debt of reciprocity.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-7165627464729927252012-01-08T21:50:00.001-05:002012-01-08T22:13:42.386-05:002009 Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu Pu'er, courtesy of Shah8The holidays for most Americans have finished, but for many Asian-Americans, they have yet to begin. Lunar New Year, aka Chinese New Year, aka Spring Festival (<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">春节</span>), aka Tet, aka Seollal (<span style="background-color: white; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;">설날</span>), begins on January 23 and lasts fifteen days. <br />
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The upcoming lunisolar year is a dragon year, specifically water dragon; Dayi's "Dragon Pole" shu, then, is the perfect way to add some water to a dragon and see what this new year might be about. Thanks to Shah8 for leaving a sample with me!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6663862645/" title="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - dry leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - dry leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7010/6663862645_748c1f5a84.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The photo above shows the gongting "tribute" grade leaf. These are very small, tippy buds whose small stature requires a skilled fermentation expert to create and whose potency requires my full attention to not overbrew.<br />
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The first few infusions are dark and syrupy thick--heavier fermentation shu. The flavors, though, combine earthiness with an almost roasted character, with flavors of carob and coffee.<br />
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Middle infusions, like the one below, have a very soft mouthfeel and more "chinese medicine" kind of notes.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6663863403/" title="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - brew by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - brew" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7147/6663863403_9d8c865e26.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Late infusions become woody and sweet, and it gave out rather quickly.<br />
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None of the infusions had much aftertaste to offer, but what flavors remained in the mouth were pleasant and light.<br />
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Supposedly Dayi's signature shu pu'er, it impressed me less than the An Xiang shu, but I can't say for sure it wasn't my own brewing inadequacy with leaf this small. Oh, if only I had a whole cake to practice with!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6663863935/" title="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2009? Dayi "Dragon Pole" Shu - brewed leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6663863935_8ec82d4474.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The 2009 version runs about US$21 on Taobao before proxy fees and shipping, $53.99 with shipping from <a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dragon-Pole-Menghai-Dayi-Pu-erh-Tea-2009-357g-Ripe-/220626190070">Dragon Tea House</a> (ebay seller based in China).Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-36410111743034758902011-12-21T17:09:00.004-05:002011-12-21T17:20:14.269-05:002007 Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu, Courtesy of Shah8Everybody has secrets. Secrets are priceless to oneself, and when those entrusted with our secrets choose to sell them, the transaction comes at a high cost.<br />
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But when you make several wan (万, meaning 10,000) of cakes out of your secret and sell them, is it really still a secret?<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6550825933/" title="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - dry leaf close up by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - dry leaf close up" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7157/6550825933_6441bc9f41.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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暗香 (àn xiāng) means "subtle scent" or "hidden (as in obscured) fragrance". I don't know if "secret" is a good translation (care to opine, <a href="http://www.marshaln.com/">Marshaln</a>?). "Dark fragrance" or "underhanded fragrance" are also possibilities, if unlikely ones.<br />
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Also, there was a Chinese movie by the same name in 2009. Perhaps drinking this tea while writing inspired the author to use this name?<br />
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Whatever the translation, the name clearly suggests that we take a good whiff of this tea and explore the scent, an act that can yield some unpleasant results when the object of our olfactory sense is shu pu'er, which can often smell like that pesky neighbor's clogged and funky drainage ditch.<br />
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The scent of this shu pu'er's wet leaves was pleasant, certainly. Mulchy and wet without smelling dirty, that "forest floor after the rain" euphemism that changes "smells like dirt" into a fond recollection of sierran enjoyment. It also carried a "secret/hidden/subtle/dark/underhanded fragrance" of cake.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6550826193/" title="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - brew by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - brew" height="300" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6550826193_78976479f5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
The taste also carried this clean and balanced trait, woody, mulchy, and peppery. Velvety textured in the mouth, it made me salivate--a very "active" quality for a fermented tea to have. The only downsides were a thinness of texture and aftertaste, although the mineral, rocky aftertaste gave the tea an appreciably clean finish.<br />
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The fragrance, expectedly, changed little over infusions. The cake quality became a fruitiness as the tea thinned and tasted sweeter in later infusions.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6550826407/" title="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2007? Dayi "Secret Fragrance" Shu Pu'er - brewed leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6550826407_393784210b.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Some of the fragrant qualities of the tea arise from the more lightly fermented large leaves, visible in the photo above.<br />
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I found it a very enjoyable tea, and thank you to Shah8 for sharing this sample with me. If you're interested, Dragon Tea House on ebay sells the cake for US$48 (free shipping), or you can find it on Taobao for less than a third of that price before shipping and proxy fees.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-7907363225059804182011-12-16T12:25:00.000-05:002011-12-16T12:25:33.242-05:002002 Menghai Factory 7542-208I used to think our friend Su kept her tea a little too dry for my taste. I felt that way until trying her 7542-208, supposedly a special production that contains higher quality (i.e., older tree) leaf.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6521438063/" title="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - dry leaf face by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - dry leaf face" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7009/6521438063_29b7ba306e.jpg" width="500" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6521438439/" title="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - dry leaf back by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - dry leaf back" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7154/6521438439_c39362eefe.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The tea above neither looks nor smells traditionally stored, of course. Su doesn't run a wet storage facility. But it does look rather well aged for a 2002 tea, and the strong, sweet and woody aroma of the dry leaves foreshadows the deliciousness to come.<br />
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Bitterness appeared quickly, as did some smoke early on. Yet, the smoke and the aromatic woodiness of the tea reminded me of cedar planks, a trait I associate with Banzhang and some Pasha teas, a good sign that this might indeed have some older arbor leaves from those areas. It moved into more complexity, some "younger" floral notes floated above an almost leathery taste.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6521438805/" title="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - brew by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - brew" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7006/6521438805_faa22165d9.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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The aftertaste was thick and lasting, and the tea remained velvety soft in the mouth. Yesterday I drank this tea with a friend, and I used too much leaf, making some dryness appear early that later softened. The tea is potent enough that a little less leaf than normal might better highlight the complexity.<br />
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We drank probably 20 infusions of this tea before retiring for dinner, and it held up impressively.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6521439141/" title="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt="2002 Menghai Factory 7542-208 - brewed leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7013/6521439141_19b1c4be96.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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As usual, many thanks to Su for providing a great experience. This was one of the best stored examples of early 2000s pu'er I've had the pleasure of tasting.Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com3Lawrenceville, GA 30044, USA33.9327331 -84.06959610000001233.8898516 -84.13353810000001 33.9756146 -84.005654100000015tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22174940.post-26183694537944664832011-12-04T13:18:00.000-05:002011-12-04T13:18:00.679-05:00"Lipstick Red" Aged Sheng from Su<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442585833/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - wrapper by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - wrapper" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6442585833_2314ed7d88.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Su sent over a cake of a tea that she indicated Malaysians know as "lipstick red" for the color on the wrapper. Will Y. and I decided to share the cake and sawed it in half.<br />
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Upon opening the cake, I noticed it had the familiar compression of Shuangjiang Mengku tea factory productions: a compression that leaves an inner ring (visible immediately below) but keeps the edge of the cake thick (farther below).<br />
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I was delighted to think this could be an example of one of the factory's first productions before they broke off from the state-owned China Native & Natural Products (CNNP) firm. I have not had an example of this factory's tea from the years before their privatization, and so I felt some delight when noticing this.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442586211/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - dry leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - dry leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7153/6442586211_ab26362d62.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442586495/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - cake profile by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - cake profile" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7150/6442586495_20cac1298d.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
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Another way I know that the tea is not by Menghai Factory is the inclusion of these two fellows: an unthreshed piece of rice and a tea seed. Menghai Factory has, in my experience with their aged teas, not allowed such riffraff into their cakes.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442628017/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - seed and grain by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - seed and grain" height="240" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7165/6442628017_8b70905f65.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Describing the tea in one word, I would say "fruity." The wet leaves smell like raisins in a box, which brought back the memory of my childhood when a small box of raisins was in my lunch bag seemingly every single day of elementary school. Moreover, the taste--aside from its Lincang-proving "rancid in a good way" sour notes--is of dried berries or raisins for many of the infusions. Davin even called the tea a "holiday pu'er"!<br />
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Somehow it lacks the earthiness I associate with older pu'er. None appears to be developing here. In fact, the tea doesn't taste of other typical aged pu'er flavors such as wood, mulch, etc. And yet, it tastes like pu'er in a dark grainy sweetness. Later it shows the remainder of its youth in greener flavors like fresh pruned bushes and bitterness.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442586793/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - brew by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - brew" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6442586793_77b2209e32.jpg" width="375" /></a></div><br />
The tea has an aftertaste of moderate length, and though the mouthfeel is thin, it travels all around the mouth. It lasted a full kettle of water without weakening too much, which I appreciated.<br />
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I'll be curious to hear from Su if my guess hit the mark. Nonetheless, I am thankful for the opportunity to try a tea that matched the fall season so well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonf/6442587069/" title=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - brewed leaf by bearsbearsbears, on Flickr"><img alt=""Lipstick Red" Sheng Pu - brewed leaf" height="375" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7029/6442587069_957e289af7.jpg" width="500" /></a>Bearsbearsbearshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09957347322026350661noreply@blogger.com5