I get to taste Mr.Zhang’s competition entry, his Shuixian that sports the most outrageous richness of the fragrance of osmanthus, citrus flowers, and orchids. Pervasive and silky, this ultra smooth oolong is intense, but not even close to the aggressive and dominating Rougui he served up next. Is he confident, I asked? Confident but not over confident, said Mr. Zhang. There are over a thousand entries, the top prize is a 180,000 rmb car! For me, the perk of enduring traveling in China is this moment. Use 7 gms of leaves, said Mr. Zhang. Or you’ll never learn to appreciate the heaviness that is Wuyi tea. There are 3 main varietals, which are Shuixian, Dahongpao (Big Red Robe), and Rougui (loosely translated as Cinnamon). Of these three main groupings, there are 10 or so major sub varietals, like my favorites Water Golden Turtle, etc. Though Dahongpao is the famous…
Know Your Tea – Tung Ting Oolongs
A seminal tea of legend, Tung Ting ‘Cold Summit’, oolong, embodied the historical and contemporary relationship of Taiwan to China. In the mid 1700s, a learned scholar named Lin Feng Chi was vying for the civil exam in the mainland China. His villagers crowd funded his journey to take the exam in Beijing, and he successfully became Magistrate Lin. In return for their kindness, he brought back 12 small bushes to grow in his village. He also brought back processing methods and knowledge on how to make tea. To this day, on the peak of Cold Summit Mountain, there survived one of those original bushes. But now Tung Ting Oolong is the most well known of all varietals and oolong styles in Taiwan and beyond. It has adapted to the Formosa Island of fragrant flowers and sweet fruits, and has become the embodiment of Taiwan style oolong: lightly oxidized, vegetal, fresh, very aromatic, with a…
Know Your Tea – Wuyi Oolongs
Teas from the region of Wuyi is one of the most well known in history, hailing back to 479 AD and probably earlier, recorded as highly regarded in the Tang Dynasty era of ancient China, and throughout the next 1500 years, continued to flourish. Today, these teas are not only a tribute to the Chinese government, commanding some of the highest auction prices in the country- they are also teas of status for the consumer. As a result, knock-offs and inauthentic ‘Wuyi’ teas flood the market. Understanding the characteristics and taste of the teas unique to Wuyi will help you spot the difference between authentic teas and imposters. Wuyi Shan (Mountain) is today a UNESCO World Heritage site, its environment is pristine and its natural resources, like its rivers, water falls, hills and trees, animal and flora collections, are not only intact, but given priority in this region. It is a remarkable departure from many…
Seven Sons Bing Cha: 7 pieces weighing 357 gm a piece, wrapped in…
Seven Sons Bing Cha: 7 pieces weighing 357 gm a piece, wrapped in bamboo husk per stack, a tradition going back to the Chamagudao(tea horse ancient route) which started here in Menghai, where slow moving, hardy Yunnan horses saddled up with equally weighing stacks moving tea around the world over land.
Wrapping the Bing Cha, a tradition that goes back over a couple…
The Importance of Teaware, Part 1
Assuming we have great quality teas, how do you ensure that the steeping process enhances and elicits its best qualities? Right technique and understanding, as well as a lot of ‘gongfu’ definitely are requirements. But one often overlooked, but crucial requirement is using the right teawares. The teapot is so called because it is a pot for tea, which means, function must precede form. That teapot’s ability to steep, pour, and extract the right taste notes from the intended tea, is of utmost importance. For example, a decorative pot that pours slowly, allowing the tea inside to over-steep, makes it unacceptable as a teapot, but only as an attractive object d’art. A teapot’s usefulness is guided by material, creation, and the artisan’s ability to translate the understanding of tea to his pot. The type of teapot in which you steep the tea plays an important part, including the different types of materials…