Preparing Coin Type Ddok Cha the Traditional Way: Tasting of 2008 Bo Hyang Tea Certified Organic Boseong Ddok Cha

One has been storing a bunch of coin type ddok cha for a while now in hopes of obtaining a ceramic tea roaster. The preparation of coin type ddok cha with the ceramic tea roaster was outlined in an old post. Steven Owyoung's recent detailed post covered the steps taken to charcoal roast ddok cha as done by Master Hyo Am and witnessed at the Korean Tea Exhibition. This moved one to finally prepare these coins in the traditional way without the long awaited tea roaster.
One decided to try a 2008 coin type ddok cha from the certified organic gardens of Bo Hyang Tea that Pedro had recently obtained from an early spring trip to Korea. These flower shaped coins were once strung together with straw and stored in a box. They emit a very faint, almost spicy odour.









Korean charcoal is lit and the coins are roasted over the hot charcoal with common Asian restaurant disposable bamboo chopsticks. The coins release a subtle roasted tea odour that is very similar to the odour released from the recent re-roasting of stale green tea experiments. The coins darken in colour over the heat of the charcoal and are removed from the heat as the edges of the coins stared to toast.


















A glass kettle of local spring water is brought to boil and the coins are broken into thirds or halves and placed in the boiling kettle. The kettle is turned to simmer and the tea is left to steep. The room fills with a pleasant roasted tea, almost-oolong-like odour as the liquor turns from yellow to a deep amber colour.













After 10 minutes of simmering a clean hemp cloth is unfolded over a large buncheong Kim Jae Son tea cup so that the cup is under the middle portion of the hemp cloth. The tea is slowly and meditatively poured through the hemp cloth and into the cup. When the tea no longer filters into the cup, the cup is full. The hemp cloth is folded in half with the far end being folded over the bottom so that the crease of the cloth is covering half of the cup. The cloth is then folded into a triangle and the remainder of the tea is left to filer out the corner crease into the cup. The cloth is them placed next to the cup.










The tea mindfully sipped and reveals subtle watery-spicy notes over a subtle grain-cereal base. The mouthfeel is full in the mouth, a soft coarseness, with soft simulation even trailing into the mid-throat. Cereal notes linger in the aftertaste. The qi is calming, powerful, relaxing, and slightly warming.






















The kettle is left to simmer another 5 minutes and the tea is filtered and imbibed once again. The tea is virtually the same as above. The cereal notes seem to carry more sweetness now and the mouthfeel is also more expansive here. Subtle forest notes are spotted under the cereal base. As the broth cools a bit it develops more subtle spicy aftertastes. The qi clears the eyes and mind and leaves one very relaxed. The chaqi tranquilizes all errant thoughts leaving peace.

For more information on ddok cha see past posts here which also have links embedded in them to Steven Owyoung's brilliant Ddok cha articles.

Peace

Appreciation & Wear of Kim Kyoung Soo's Grey and White Style: Three Cups

Hot water passes from the serving pot and into the cups to warm them. Its stream contact the bottom of the cup- the water poured from a short distance echos peace. The cups are each filled 1/3 with water and left until they become warm. They are purposefully picked up with the right hand and brought to the dan tian where they symbolically contact the purity of the white hemp cleaning cloth held in the left hand. The hot water is slowly tilted towards the distant edge of the cup and then slowly angled clockwise around the lip of the cup. This clockwise direction indicates a filling of the cup with energy and creating energetic space for the tea which will so arrive here. Obviously, it is also done to warm the full inside surface area of each cup.

The hot water is then poured into the dirty water bowl, the small bead of water is wiped away with the pure white hemp cloth, and the cup makes its way back on to the table. This exact routine is now completed with the other two cups.

When the tea is prepared and poured into the serving pot from the teapot it makes its way into the cup closest and furthest left to the person preparing tea. The sound of the tea hitting the empty, warm cups now sound even more peaceful than just minutes later. The tea is poured from a short distance from each cup creating a sound that resembles a trickling stream. Pouring too fast, this sound and feeling is lost and a hurried feeling is added to the tea room. Pouring too slow, this sound and feeling is also lost and a stagnant over-restrained feeling is added to the tea room.

Half of the first cup is poured, then half of the second cup, the cup above or to the immediate right of the first cup, then the third cup is fully filled, the second cup is then topped up, then the first topped up. A few small bubbles float softly on the surface of the liquid.

The white of the inside of the cup represents the purity or reverence that we show to the tea- it the surface contacting the tea. It is the purity and peace which we all strive for while drinking tea, the peace inside us. In the ChaSinJeon white cups are best for drinking tea so that the full colour of tea can be fully appreciated. The inside of each cup is crackled and stained from the tea oils, each also has small air holes. This is each cup's fingerprint, its impression on us, on our tea experience.

It is glazed with a simple grey fieldspar glaze on the outside representing the modesty we should project outwardly when enjoying tea. Each cup has the pictograph of a moon, a yin symbol. The functions of cups are too hold, a yin function. Reminding us of our inner nature and quietude as we sip from its insides.

Peace

Fire, Water, & the Art of Charcoal: Part 3- The Cultural Charcoal Traditions of Korea

Historically, Korea's use of charcoal for heating the water for tea was similar to its neighbour China. Small portable braziers were often used with small pieces of charcoal that were fanned. This was done outside as the quality of charcoal wasn't as refined as it is today. This method of preparing charcoal must have been practiced until sometime quite recent as it is pictured in the paintings of the late Joseon Dynasty. Throughout history, perhaps through the exchange of technologies with neighboring Japanese, Korea refined its charcoal making. Kilns were set up to primarily supply high grade charcoal that was virtually smokeless and odourless. Korea uses a local oak species to make high quality charcoal for tea often refered to as white charcoal. Nowadays, Korea is the source of much research on the benefits and usages of charcoal. Most of this research is carried out by the Korean White Charcoal Research Institute. The use of charcoal in Korea is wide and diverse and can be seen not only for cooking but also as decorative air deodourizers in most restaurants, in cosmetics found in department stores, and in shoe insoles in sporting good stores. Yet it is rarely seen nowadays to heat water for tea.


Its use today is mainly seen by those rare tea purists, tea shop owners, and teamasters who honour the laterati style of drinking tea or scholar tea ceremony. This style of drinking tea involves drinking tea throughout the day while pursuing noble leisure activities such as study and art. It emulates the life of the Confucian Yangban or scholar class during the Joseon Dynasty in Korea. This style of drinking tea has a laid back fluidity and feel to it and is flexible if any tea guests happen to stop by. The brazier is always placed to the immediate right of the person preparing the tea because the right size harmonizes with yang energy, with action, and with fire. It lies next to the low lying table that is so low to the ground that you must sit on the floor. On cold days it feels as if you are cuddling up to its warmth sitting contently cross-legged in contemplation.


Those who practice this style use braziers that are larger than Chinese tea stoves and sometimes even larger than Japanese styles. This large size is used to support larger sized charcoal than both the Chinese and the Japanese. There is no formulaic size for Korean charcoal used in Korean style braziers however Korean oak is always used (such as the pieces pictured above). The nature of this style dictates that the charcoals are continuously burning so there is kind of an unspoken rhythm between the teamaster, water, and fire. This rhythm involves always being aware of the strength of the fire and continually adding fresh water to the kettle or tang gwan to maintain the waters vibrancy and removing it from the fire when necessary. It also involves adding more pieces to the fire at the right time to maintain intensity. In essence the teamaster becomes one with these elements, with nature, and with the Dao. There is little that is more comforting than to spend a day drinking tea next to a charcoal brazier and a teamaster which knows this rhythm.


Peace

Disclaimer: Using any flammable substance such as charcoal comes with some level of risk. MattCha's Blog takes no responsibly for any harm done by readers of this blog. Please use common sense and take reasonable safety precautions when using charcoal. Always make sure there is adequate ventilation if burning charcoal inside.


Double Peace


Fire, Water, & the Art of Charcoal: Part 1- Introduction


Fire, Water, & the Art of Charcoal: Part 2- The Cultural Charcoal Traditions of China

Appreciation & Wear of Kim Kyoung Soo's Grey and White Style: The Serving Pot

Hot water gets passed from the cooling bowl to the teapot, from the teapot to the serving pot, then from the serving pot to the cups. After the serving pot is preheated and the tea steeped, the serving pot is the first to receive the gift of infused tea from the teapot. It is the first to receive and the first to give. It reminds us that the tea ceremony is about giving and receiving- about host serving guest.

The serving pot contains the same yin and yang motifs as the cooling bowl and tea pot. Its most noticeable feature is its shape and form.The shape and form of this grey and white Kim Kyoung Soo serving pot reflects both its practical and energetic function.

Warm infused tea passes from the spout of the teapot and through the relatively narrow collar of the serving pot. This opening at the top of the serving pot is a bit smaller than the opening of the cooling pot. The smaller opening is to retain the heat and the qi of the infused tea. The serving pot also has a more distinct bulbous interior than the more open interior of the cooling pot. This more bulbous shape acts to amplify the sound of the pour and give it more of a beautiful echoing reverberation- a feeling of closeness, of being grounded and held, a feeling of safety. More importantly this deeper bulbous shape acts to contain the warmth and qi (taste and smell) of the tea inside. It also reminds us that host should always retain warmth and feeling in every tea meeting.

There is beautiful contrast from the wear of this Kim Kyoung Soo serving pot. The inside of the pot was once as white and pure as the cooling bowl. Now only the crackled top collared rim shows evidence of what was. The choice to leave it covered in tea oil obscuring its pure white inside is simply to not remove qi that has accumulated from all the green tea that has passed through this vessel manifesting as this brown, terracotta coloured layer. Some feel that the presentation of purity to the guest is more important than accumulation of qi- you will see both in Korea.

The most stunning feature of this interior is no doubt the contrasting white flecks on the interior's bottom. These were made by a guest who doubted that there would be white under the thick coat of tea oils. They scraped their finger nail on the bottom of this serving pot, only when the white ceramic was exposed did they believe that such drastic change had taken place. These exposed white flecks remind one to experience that which is beyond the senses when enjoying tea poured from this serving pot.

The form of this pot looks as if it is reaching, stretching from handle to spout a little bit. This represents the relationship between the person preparing tea and their guests. On one end, the maker of the tea has his hand around the looped handle. This looped handle is almost identical to that of the teapot. It too contains ghostly faint, cloud-like globs of glaze.

On the other end is a long reaching spout. It is a bit longer than that of the teapot. It truly gives the impression of stretching from host to guest- of reaching out, of touching with warmth, with tea.

The tea oiled insides interconnect with the oil stains that descend down the exterior of the pot. They reaching down the long spout connecting almost flawlessly to the exposed clay of the pot's base. What is inside is out and what is out is inside. The green tea within connecting with Earth, with the host, with the guest.

Peace

Appreciation & Wear of Kim Kyoung Soo's Grey and White Style: The Teapot

Hot water passes from the cooling bowl into the empty teapot to warm it, preparing it for leaves. Water rests in there briefly then is poured into the serving pot. The leaves are then added and, in time, cooled water embraces these leaves...

The knob of the lid feels glossy and smooth between the fingers. The side walls of the lid show the wear of the original clay and its constant interaction with liquid tea which has approached to close to the rim of the teapot.

The form of this grey and white teapot is simple enough not to be pretentious. The comfortable flat looped handle on the far end feels like shaking an old friends hand. It hugs one's slightly large fingers nicely. A cloudy white blotch adorns the handle. It acts to remind those preparing tea of the light hand, like that of a floating cloud, required to make a good pot of tea. Where the handle connects with the body of the pot there is some slight staining contrasting the white cloudy blotch nicely. Underneath the handle rests a somewhat hidden chop of Kim Kyoung Soo- the only one on this piece.

The spout at the other end of the pot sufficiently balances the handle, if not stretching your vision more to that end anyways. This slight emphasis is deliberate as energetics and concentration flow out this spout along with freshly infused tea liquor. The end of the spout is ridged so as to liberate the last drops of tea from the teapot- a patient but necessary moment in every pour. Done to ensure that no water is left over the delicate tea leaves.

The most stunning aspect of this pot's wear is the rustic-earthy staining that has occurred from the last drips of tea clinging to this spout, refusing to depart from its home. It forms an orange-brown stripe that makes its way from the tip to the exposed clay circle at the bottom of the pot's base. Its raw nature is appreciated. The exposed clay is at the very bottom of this pot, grounding it- a reminder of the earth it has come from.

The sides of the pot sport the ancient pictographs for moon and wind, yin and yang. These pictographs balance and remind us of the connection of nature to the process of steeping tea. The shinny grey sides of the pot are marked with some beautiful dimpling allowing the pot to take an extra deep breath while holding tea leaves and warm water inside. There is noted staining around the pots rim as well.

Peaking inside the pot, you can see a large white blob of glaze- the most bold marking on the pot. It is left for the leaves and water to enjoy or perhaps the keen and patient observer before and after the tea has been prepared. The crackling of the white blob is a measure of all the tea that has passed through this pot, passed through this mind.

Peace