Puerh Storage in the West & Traditional Chinese 5 Element Theory on Storing Puerh

If it is a bitter puerh the bitter taste belongs to Fire.  Water controls bitter (Fire) so for a bitter puerh to aged more harmoniously and optimally it should be stored more humidly or wet/traditionally stored.

If puerh is very fragrant or pungent tasting, this quality is desired to be maintained. Fragrance is Yang and taste is Yin.  It should be stored not in a Yin (wet) environment but rather a dry (Yang) environment.  Dryness is the climate of the Lungs and the nose and sense of smell belongs to the Lungs.  Therefore, dry storage is best to maintain a fragrant puerh.

I think there is still a lot of misconceptions in the West about how puerh should be optimally stored.  The shortsightedness of these misconceptions, is effectively fed by a fallacy of Western thought and logic that there is only one “best” way of doing something.

When some of the first puerh drinkers in the West were looking to buy and store puerh (early-mid 2000s) there was virtually no information about how to store puerh in Western climates and what makes a quality puerh for aging.  Essentially, they just looked to what they were doing in the places that consumed lots of puerh- hot and humid Hong Kong and Taiwan.  This is where they got their information and this is the rough guidelines that they followed.  In these places, relatively bitter factory or old school stronger puerh was aged nicely with more humid and warm fairly open air storage.

In Classic Chinese Medicine, the current state of a being is influenced by environmental placement (fengshui) which includes the natural climate of that place.  Individuals with the same presentation or imbalance will essentially be treated completely different to bring about harmony depending on the climate influences where they live.  The same principles should be used to optimally and harmoniously age puerh.

Relatively recently, those who have been aging puerh in the West have realized that the guidelines for aging puerh and what makes a good puerh for aging in Asia does not always do well in the drier climates of the West.  They have, to some extent, started taking into account the climate where they are aging the puerh.

Nowadays there is a focus, almost an obsession, about the pumidor, or crocks, or other controlled environments which I think is a reaction to initial storage theories in the West.  But, still, I think they miss the real point of excellent storage because they are still stuck in the Western mentality that there is one “best” storage for all puerh tea (even when the unique aging climate is already taken into consideration).  This is applying an overly simplistic approach to the very unique, varied and complicated qualities of each puerh production.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the individual is looked at as completely unique and to harmonize each individual a completely customized treatment will work best.  This theory is also true for ageing the unique qualities of a particular puerh.  You can look at each puerh production as being one of a kind and having its own unique qualities.  The most optimal storage of this unique puerh will depend on which qualities you wish to maintain and which qualities you wish to transform.  Basically, you have to take into account its individual characteristics and how a particular storage will influence those characteristics.

Essentially, the last consideration you must consider when aging puerh is your own personal preference- how do you like your puerh?  Which qualities in a certain puerh do you wish to preserve and which do you wish to transform?  Which storage conditions will best bring out the features that you as a puerh drinker value the most?

Simply thinking that all of your puerh will age best under the same conditions is false.

Peace

Introducing the concept of “Evil Qi” and Spotting Heavily and Lightly Sprayed Agrochemicals in 2004 Long Yuan Hao Bama and 2006 Long Yuan Hao “Banna Impression” Brick

I have to say, I was hopeful with this 2004 Bama that I purchased for $35.50 for a 380g cake ($0.09/ gram) in my second order from Awazon.  I have one Bama cake  and its one of my favorites.  Unfortunately there is only about 150g remaining.  I think most puerh drinkers have no idea where Bama is.  Have you ever heard of Bama?  Bet you don’t know where it is.

It’s a small town between Nannou and Menghai.  It is often classified as Nannou because it shares some broad similarities in profile. My logic was this… This cake was simply overlooked because of poor name recognition and was still a good but overlooked cake… what are the odds?

When opening the cake there were two telltale signs of a suspicious puerh cake.  First the Neifi was loose and second there was an unusual sprinkling of a few white buds on the top layer of the bing.  Not good.  I have never known a cake to be of any quality with either one, never mind both, of these indicators.  Another abnormality is that this is a 380g cake- never herd of that one before.

Dry leaves smell of faint fruits- cherry and pear.  Not bad so far…

First infusion presents with cereal and beef jerky-like tastes which transition quickly to mint which disappears quickly into a dry muddy floral fruit sent on the breath.  The taste left in the mouth is a bit metallic and flat tasting.  The mouthfeel is thin, somewhat dry and has a sharp, thin, barely chalky feel at the back of the tongue and into the throat.

The second presents with a long cool taste the trails through the not-so-pleasant profile of this tea.    There are still that beef jerky-like taste mixed with grains but it is quite muted now.  A flat, dry wood taste is more apparent in this infusion.  This infusions’ most obvious flavours are nice sweet, perfume-like sweet cherries in deep floral tastes.  The mouthfeel thickens and becomes less dry and more dense now which holds the long minty note and deep sweet fruity florals.

The third infusion is more astringent and drier than the second.  The dry mouthfeel carries cool tastes and sweet berry florals over a dry wood base.  The beef jerky and cereal tastes are gone now.  There is an uncomfortable dry astringency that is left in the mouth.

My body doesn’t like this tea.  It has gotten to a point from drinking lots of puerh over the years that if I’m drinking puerh tea that is heavily sprayed it will usually react with symptoms such as a feeling that isn’t right in the stomach like a certain tightness, allergy-like runny nose, uncontrollable sneezing and itchiness usually in the legs.  It is definitely doing this now with this tea.  I can be certain that this one had its fair share of chemicals thrown at it because these symptoms are quite strong.

I am unsure whether I am just reacting to one chemical or one family of chemicals or just a certain combination of chemicals or a certain threshold of a chemical or chemicals.  What I do know is that I do react to something and sometimes its almost unnoticeable where other times it causes an extreme reaction.  Most often the reaction is to plantation puerh but not always.  Alternatively, some plantation teas that I'm pretty sure are sprayed I will never react to. This reaction developed a few years ago and it only really occurs for about 1/5 of the teas I try.  But it is a very convenient superpower to have!

In Traditional Chinese Medicine this type of influence is called “Evil Qi” or “Li Qi”.  Evil Qi is a type of pathogenic energy that doesn’t come from a natural source or change of season but comes from an unusual external exposure.  And, well, the name says it all, it has a negative influence on the body.  Agrochemicals fit the bill of containing Evil Qi if exposure to them creates a feeling of disharmony and illness.

Just because a puerh is strong or harsh doesn't mean it contains Evil Qi because this strength could very well be the natural Qi of the tea.  There is a difference between an uncomfortable Cha Qi and Evil Qi and this should not be confused. 

Okay... so reluctantly I go back to this tea a steep up the fourth which is mainly dominated by a dry wood profile and dry mouthfeel.  There are still some faint florals and fruits but they are overcome now mainly by an unpleasantly dry woody profile.

The fifth infusion is much of the same monotone tastes.

No need to put myself through any further, I stop the session here.

Even 4 hours later my stomach can still feel the effects and my left Kidney feels unwell.  Overall I have a feeling of disharmony and feel not as good.

This 2004 Bama has lots of Evil Qi in it for sure.

2006 Long Yuan Yao “Bana Impression” 250g Brick

I picked up a brick of this puerh also in my second order from Awazon for $14.50 ($0.06/gram).

The dry leaves of this likely factory blended Xishuangbanna brick smell of somewhat intense sweet vibrant cherry fruits.

The first infusion presents with nice sweet tobacco wood and hay notes in a creamy sweet mouthfeel.  There is a nice mild creamy-sweet cooling aftertaste.  There is a nice creamy sweet richness that supports this tea though the taste profile but over the taste is a woody hay taste with just a slight bitter edge.  Sweet cherry fruits show up on the breath minutes later.

The second infusion brings smooth creamy sweet tastes with a vegetal sweat wood base.  The sweet cherry tastes are clearer in this infusion.  Overall the mouthfeel is decent and has a soft fluffy, chalky sensation that covers most of the mouth.  The woody hay notes comprise the base of this tea.

Unfortunately, I have some symptoms of a mild-medium sprayed puerh.  My legs starting feeling slightly itchy and my nose starts to run.

The third infusion has many more of these nice sweet round creamy woody notes.  There is a bit of a bread-yeast taste as well as vegetal taste that lingers at the base profile of this tea which later transvers to sweet cherry fruit on the breath.

The fourth infusion has a strong cool sweet aftertaste.  The tastes that precede it are creamy wood tastes, vegetal tastes, and fruits.  The mouthfeel develops a certain chalkiness to hold in the tastes.

The fifth offers much the same with more tobacco notes coming out now as well as more woody-vegetal notes.  The deeper notes start to emerge more in this infusion.

The sixth offers sweet fruit tastes in a slightly juicy, watery soup.  Faint wood notes are apparent but sweet fruits dominate now.  The rounded mouthfeel holds these tastes nicely.

The seventh infusion becomes more watery but still maintains lots of strength with a long muted menthol sweetness.  The cha qi of this tea is nothing too special- a very common feeling of robust alertness and vitality which I expect from a tea.  There is a bit of stuffiness in the head.

The eighth holds much the same the ninth and tenth fade considerably.

There is Cha Qi and then there is Evil Qi.  The 2004 Bama definitely has enough Evil Qi that it overwhelms the Cha Qi in the body.  The 2006 Banna Impression has enough Evil Qi to convince me to avoid drinking this tea.  I actually think the puerh brick is reasonably enjoyable for the price but it has just enough Evil Qi that I can’t ever seeing myself drink it anytime soon.  I place both of these teas into quarantine destine for the garbage dump sooner or later.  Evil Qi can’t be ignored, aged out, nor can it be valued.

Peace

The Types of Tea and Their Chaqi: Aged Liuan Tea

Liuan tea has been used as a medicine for hundreds of years. Its qi is drying and has the ability to dispel dampness which accumulates in the body. Its bitter flavour is attributed to this health property as the bitter taste has a draining and often diuretic effect on the body. Conversely the tea also has hydrating properties as well. Aged Liuan tea becomes thermally warmer in nature as it ages. This gives the tea the ability to harmonize the body's energy with the heat of the summer. The result is a hydrated body and mind.

Traditionally it was often administered and drank in the summer in the Southern provinces of China. In this region of China the summers are unbearably hot and humid and aged Liuan was thought to remedy the imbalances created by these climatic influences. The symptoms of Summer Heat which include fever, sweating, heavy sensation of the limbs and head, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, bloating, dehydration- Luian tea was thought to treat these symptoms.

Traditionally Liuan tea is packaged in a bamboo leaf basket imparting the energetics of bamboo into the tea leaves. Traditional infusions of Liuan tea always include a piece of the aged bamboo basket in the pot of tea along with the dry leaves. Bamboo leaves have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to reduce fever, detoxify, calm the mind, and drain dampness. These are some of the same medicinal properties of thought to be contained in Luian tea. When both bamboo and Luian tea are steeped together they are thought to enhance the medicinal properties of each other thereby creating a infusion that is more than the sum of its individual parts. The result is a delicious tea perfect for the hot humid summer.

Sipping away at some 1980s Liuan today, one hopes to review some of this tea as well as some other Liu An in the coming weeks and months.

Peace

Victoria Tea Festival Review: Cloudwalker Tea & Disscussions on Arron Fisher, Tea Cults, and Cha Qi

The post on Greg Demmon's meditative Korean tea ceremony mentioned that there was one exhibitor that consumed most of my time at the Victoria Tea Festival this year. The exhibitor in question was Erick J.P. Smithe of Cloudwalker Teas. We had a slow start both not knowing how to take each other. It wasn't until the discussion came to Arron Fisher (aka Wu Dae), Taiwanese tea groups and a run in with a big fan of this blog did the ice break and we really hit it off. The conversation over the next few hours was interesting, the tea even more so.

It turns out that Erick had lived in Taiwan for 8 years primarily to study Mandarin. It just happen to be that he ran into a spiritual sect of tea drinkers near his residence which was headed by a famous but very eccentric tea spiritualist, Ho Tsai-Ping. This tea sect formally began in 2003. Erick and a few other westerners were a part of this groups early beginnings. One of these Westerners was no other than now tea author Wu De (Arron Fisher). In fact, the tea sect of Ho Tasai-Ping formed the foundation theory for which Arron Fisher has based his tea books and writings.

Together Erick Smithe and Aaron Fisher acted as editors of famous free online publication The Leaf. Org. Erick ended up publishing an article entitled "After Hearing A Monk of Shu Play the Lute". As it turns out, Aaron Fisher later decided to break from the sect to start his very own. It is too bad that Aaron Fisher has abandon The Leaf.Org publication as it was such a deep source of tea knowledge. One can only imagine that he must have put his energy in selling his own books and building up his global tea hut brand. Hopefully we have not seen the end of The Leaf.Org!

Erick has been in Vancouver Canada for the last year and a half or so. He currently has his hands in many different tea related business projects. We discussed these things as well as others over strangely named delicious old puerh teas. The teas that he was selling are all offered on the Cloudwalker Teas website. We talked for a while and ended up sampling the whole selection of his aged puerh. They were all good teas especially compared to the other teas the exhibitors were pushing. And as an hour or so passed we ended up jittery from the strong Qi from the 12, 15, 20, 30, and 40 year old puerh which one had sampled.

All of his puerh teas have strange names (Soul Fire, Ancient Rhythms, The Silent Spring, Astral Rivers, Light of Peace), not at all the factory names where these teas come but rather based on a system of judging the qi of each tea. The extraordinary book Eric translated, Cha-Dao- From Tea to Tao, explains all about this very unconventional naming system. Basically the tea is sampled by the tea sect and then it is given a name and graded according to its Qi. This is done, they say because even if two puerh cakes from the same factory are sampled storage conditions my have completely influenced the qi of the tea. The down side of this system of naming and grading puerh is that it affords all of the power in deciding which teas are graded high and which are graded low to the tea sect. It also prevents others from comparing that same factory, recipe, and harvest year to other cakes that are the same except storage. Either way it is an interesting proposal.

The book, which is available from Clouldwaker Tea, is actually quite remarkable and gives the English speaking world insight to what goes on in the growing tea cult movement in Taiwan and China. Of note is the content on water, teawear and tea preparation. The material is far out, interesting, and one could relate to most of its message. Guess it is controversial enough for the Chinese government to ban the founder, Ho Tasai-Ping from entering China.

Great tea, great conversation- thanks Eric.

Peace

The Types of Tea and Their Chaqi: Hunan Fu Brick Tea (Fu Zhuan Cha)

Hunan has three famous hei cha, or black tea, which comes from the province. Perhaps the best known here in the west is fu zhuan cha or fu brick tea (Kor. bok jeun cha). This tea is a favorite and one drinks it heavily during the late summer and in times of seasonal change. This tea is a simple tea, not as flashy nor complex as other hei cha such as puerh, it has the distinctly subtle effect of regulating, harmonizing, centering, and grounding and strongly resonates with the Earth Element. No wonder this tea is loved by many monks in Korea.

Fu brick tea is harvested during the hottest days of Summer, this makes it unique among other types of tea that are usually best harvested in Spring. The harvest time strongly influences the subtle and physical characteristics of fu zhuan cha. Biochemically, tea leaves that are picked in Summer have more fluorine, catechins, and are therefore more bitter and contain larger, dark green leaves. The bitter taste is surprisingly absent from all fu zhuang cha as it is eliminated through fermentation of the leaves. The high fluorine levels however can cause bone weakening especially later in life if this tea is consumed daily (see here and here). The Summer tea leaves used for fu zhuan cha also grow slower and have more of a warmer thermal nature, having absorbed the heat of the hot Summer sun.

What gives fu zhuan cha its regulating, harmonizing, centering, and grounding properties is its special production method. Its production is rather complex and involve twelve steps which include: fresh picking of leaves, panning, pile fermentation, rolling, drying, softening with steam, piling, partitioning, pressing into bricks, fungal fermentation, drying, packing and storing. In the end there are many pro-bacterial flora that proliferate in the finished tea the most commonly recognized is the eurotium cristatum bacteria which produces fu zhuan's famous "golden flower" yellow mold. It is famous because it is most noticeable to the naked eye. However many other bacteria are found in fu brick tea, and not all brick tea contain golden flowers.

Fu zhuan cha has a special affinity for the digestive center, the Earth Element. This is partly because of its slightly warming thermal nature which fortifies digestion in the body but mainly because of its bacterial content. According to the theory of the Five Elements, Yellow is the colour of the Earth Element and the Stomach and Spleen are the organs of the Earth Element. It is no wonder that the quality of a particular brick is often measured by the amount of "yellow flowers" contained in the brick. The Earth Element is also connected to the Late Summer season and the change of season at the equinoxes and solstices. Fu zhuan's strong centering qualities allow us to get through these periods of change with its stabilizing qualities. As a result it is the tea that best harmonizes us with this season.

Its mild, unpretentious taste and smell neither impart too much yang not yin, helping to again stabilize us along the path of the middle way. Fu tea contains a mild sweet taste. The sweet taste is said to be the taste of the Earth Element further harmonizing it with these energies.

Traditionally this tea has been used to aid in digestion by remote Tibetans and Mongolians. Recently it has been found that the bacterial cultures in fu zhuan cha increase protein and carbohydrate metabolism, while preventing the absorption of fat in the body. Years ago Japanese studies have shown fu tea to be the best tea for weight loss which is probably due to this newly discovered effect.

Peace

Experiments with Re-roasting Stale Green Tea

When Mina of Hankook Tea gifted the whole organic line of Hankook tea, she did so with unnecessary apology. She said that she was all sold out of the Organic Gamnong and was going to wait for the fresh 2012 tea to replenish her stock. As a result she sent an old 2010 Organic Gamnong she had sitting around and suggested re-roasting it.

Although re-roasting tea is often done in the country and is a form of peasant tea, a way to use up stale tea, one really doubted the need for such measures. So this 2010 tea was prepared as is and the results were not so good. Later less leaf was used but still the result was not so good with the tea session halted after only four harsh infusions. One did realize something- over all these years never had one sampled Korean green tea that was over a year old. One has gotten into the practice of using up all the green tea from last year before the new year' harvest arrives. However it makes sense that the tea would not be very fresh as Korean green tea degrades rather quickly. Noticeable changes in the tea can be detected even in factory packaging six months after production.

This week has been quite cool, cloudy, and rainy so one spent it trying to perfect a roasting technique to bring this old green tea back to life. Below are the notes on the un-roasted stale Organic "Gamnong". Followed by commentary on how to achieve the best results on re-roasting green tea. Last are the final tasting notes on the re-roasted green tea. The results are interesting. First the un-roasted stale green tea session...

The dry leaves give off forest notes with nice balance of depth and freshness but overall very monotone forest notes come from the very small dry leaves.

The first infusion is prepared and delivers soft grassy, barely roasted flat florals with soft sweet cornmeal-like tastes in a green-yellow soup.  There is a soft bland-bitter taste under these as well that is quite noticeable.  Faint floral notes travel to the nose in the aftertaste with some very light bland notes in the mouth.  The mouthfeel is soft in this first infusion.

The second infusion has somewhat heavier perfumey florals which present first with distinctly bland and bitter notes. The mouthfeel is thin and coated. The aftertaste is of bland plums and grasses.

The third and fourth infusions presents strong bland-bitter unpalatable tastes. Floral tastes linger in the aftertaste over a distinct bland-bitter base. The mouthfeel is thin and sticky and reaches into the upper throat. The qi of this tea feels confused in the body. The qi roughs up the body, it is especially noticed in the stomach where this strange energy feels raw and hollow. This is a sign of improper chaqi. In fact, it even causes slight uncomfortable wrenching in the stomach and even makes one nauseous. Traditional Asian cultures refer to this cha qi as being cold, its energy stagnant. The tea session was ended here.

After roasting green tea for that past week and meditating and reflecting on this, one has come up with some good guidelines for re-roasting green tea.

One used a old cast iron pan on an older gas range. The concept of re-roasting tea is to reactivate the tea's energy thereby bringing it out of its stagnancy as well as engendering the tea with warm thermal energy to counteract the cold thermal nature which it had developed. Cast iron is used because it distributes heat evenly and imparts a penetrating warmth- in the movement of the Five Elements it is said that Metal Controls Wood. Fire from the gas range imparts true warmth and changes the essence of the tea.

It is important to prewarm the cast iron over low heat before adding the dry leaves. The dry leaves should be only roasted for 1-2 minutes and stirred frequently with a metal spatula to ensure that the leaves are evenly roasted. The leaves should be only roasted until an fragrance is released. Fragrance is the yang aspect of tea with taste being the yin aspect. Movement and warmth are also considered yang entities. When the fragrance has been released from the leaves, its emotive essence has been awakened and warm energy has then been imparted into the tea.

It is important that the tea is not over-roasted or its yin aspect, taste, will be overwhelmed. If this happens the tea will loose its subtleties and simply give off a monotone roasted taste with a very simple, weak, but nonetheless, warming qi. A sign that the tea is over-roasted is that the dry leaves turn yellow in the pan. In the Cha Sin Jeon it states that, "if (tea is) put too close to the fire, it soon goes yellow."

The following are the notes for a successful re-roasted tea...

The first infusion is prepared and pours yellow. It has a soft roasted barley-rice taste with slight sweet edge. A smooth, mellow mouthfeel with soft sweet tastes are left on the breath. It covers the mouth in a soft coat especially on the sides and roof of the mouth.

The second infusion is prepared and delivers distinct but soft roasted barley-rice initial tastes with melon sweet edges in the finish. The sweetness stays on the breath for a long time. The comforting qi warms the stomach slightly and mildly calms the mind.

In the third infusion a distinct roasted taste now carries woody notes. The sweet melon flavours have now been pushed more into the late aftertaste and on the breath now. The mouthfeel is somewhat sticky and full. The fourth infusion is much the same this time with more of a grainy mouthfeel.

The fifth infusion becomes chalky in the mouth. The sweet melon tastes are now just faint on the breath. The sixth infusion is watery and thinner versions on this.

In the end the stomach feels warm and comforted, the mind feels at peace. Re-roasting tea is unlikely to make old tea as good as it once was, but it certainly makes it drinkable again.

Peace

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

The use of charcoal to boil water for tea is quite different in each of the traditional tea drinking cultures of China, Japan, and Korea. To understand how these tea cultures use charcoal you must first know a bit about the tea cultures themselves and their style of drinking tea. Each tea culture uses a different type of charcoal that is produced using very specific traditional techniques and is made from a very specific and deliberate local source. The type of charcoal used by each tea culture harmonizes best with the style of tea stove and kettle and the distinct tea ceremony of each country. The way these specific charcoals are prepared follows from their tea culture, the type of charcoal, the tea stove/kettle, and unique cultural traditions of each country. The following will look at the unique charcoal traditions of China, Korean and Japan. Due to length, each distinct tea culture will have its own post.

Currently, in China many consider Chao Zhou's tea culture to be the most preserved. Marshal'N's recent translation of Lin Yutang's Importance of Living gives us a good idea of how charcoal is used in Chinese tea ceremony typical of the Chao Zhou style. There are a few relevant points that pertain to charcoal that should be noted from this description. Note how the tea stove is placed under the window and how is fanned. It is placed under the window because typically the charcoals that the Chinese use tend to give off a bit of odour and maybe a tinny bit of smoke. This smoke is thought to improve the overall taste and energetics of the water, and increase the energetic connection between fire and water. In the Chao Zhou tea ceremony the tea stove is actually placed 9 steps away from the tea setting. This is done to create harmony as strong odours or smoke from the charcoal could irritate guests. Chinese charcoal is always fanned. This is done for a variety of reasons which include the quality/ type of charcoal, energetic reasons for imparting wind, as well as to control the strength of the boil.

The Chinese use a wide range of materials to make their charcoal. Often hardwoods are used. An excellent description of this charcoal is found on a translated paper on Chao Zhou gong fu found in comment #8. It states: "Chaozhou people make tea with charcoal made from the burls or twisted grain of hardwoods. The charcoal must be fired completely, so that no sap remains, and should retain a pleasant smoky scent. When tapped it should have a crisp sound, and be a deep black color. This is good charcoal to make tea with." The highest quality and most sought after charcoal in China is black olive pit charcoal. That same article goes on to say, "Even better is olive pit charcoal. Black olive pits are stripped of the fruit and fired until there is no more smoke. "It is noble like a refreshing breeze, when used to make tea, the flame is live and even, not too strong, nor too weak." This olive pit charcoal is the most precious and rare." This article doesn't mention the energetics of this type of charcoal. It is produced from a local black olive different than the black olive commonly known to those in Western cultures. The colour is energetically significant because black signifies the purist "yin" nature and is also the energetic colour of water. Olive pits are also considered yin in nature because olives are oily and therefore contain in them a connection to water. Seeds, pits, and beans are the form of food that is most energetically connected to water. Therefore all of the energetics of olive pits guide the heat given off by this type of charcoal to naturally connect to the water which it heats.

The small size of olive pit charcoal seems like the perfect fit for the small Chao Zhao tea stoves. The olive pit charcoal is considered one of the four treasures of Chao Zhao tea ceremony and provides perfect harmony to the small sand stove and clay kettle. The Tea Drunk Forum article states, "Chaozhou gongfu cha stove, clay kettle, and olive pit charcoal all complement eachother. Olive pit charcoal requires a clay kettle because so that the fragrant smoke can filter into the water and improve the water quality. The olive pit charcoal is hard to light, and requires the small clay stove, and the olive pit charcoal is a perfect fit for such a small stove."  Here you can see why olive pit charcoal is the perfect type for the Chao Zhao set up.

Fanning olive pit charcoal is done to further harmonize the energetics fire and water. Traditionally, goose feather fans were used and are considered one of the eighteen essentials of Chao Zhao gong fu. The significance of using the feathers of the goose are interesting to consider. The goose is considered one of the most yin types of animals and one of the most yin of all birds. It is observed from nature that the goose spends much more time in water than other birds and that it has a very close connection with water. In fact when observing a goose taking flight they expend much energy to distance themselves from the water. The ancients thought that this was because they have a certain affinity to water that is hard to separate. They are also considered yin because their meat and feathers are very oily. Due to this strong connection to water goose feathers are used.

Fanning actually connects water and fire though the climactic energetics of wind. All of the Five Elements has a related climactic energy- Fire is quite naturally heat and Water is damp and cold. Wood is wind. Wood is considered a bridge that connects the elements of Water and Fire. In nature it is observed that wind strengthens fire and gives it vitality. Although olives are considered a manifestation of the Wood element, it could be said that it is not as strong as real wood so the use of wind fortifies this relationship. Fanning gives the person making tea the ability to influence the strength of the boil. It allows for a quick boil so that the waters essence is not lost over a long slow boil. The goal is always a quick boil over charcoal that is not abundantly strong.

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 1- Introduction

There is little to no literature in English on the use of charcoal to heat water for tea, yet it was done this way for hundreds even thousands of years before. It is quite humorous that one English site claims that there once was an Tao of Charcoal- although this is meant to be a joke there is a measure of truth to it. There is a traditional Way of Tea that sees the use of charcoal as an essential component to harmonize the energies of the tea room while imparting the best possible taste to the water. Few people who have tried tea made with water boiled over charcoal heat deny that it creates the best possible water for tea. Current scientific research in Japan suggests that the benifits of infrared heat might have something to do with slight changes in the water's structure under infrared heat (see comments section here).

Fire is thought to be the most yang of the elements. Fire is active, vibrant, hot, and ascends- this is natures law. Water is thought to be the most yin of the elements. Water is passive, nourishing, cool, and descends- this is nature's law. In the traditional movement of the Five Elements, Water is thought to control or balance Fire. When Fire becomes relatively more abundant Water can pacify its energy. Conversely, an overabundance of Fire can pacify Water. When we make tea, the goal is harmony between these Elements.

Wood also plays an intermediate roll between Water and Fire. Wood is nourished by Water. Water's nourishment is necessary for Wood to grow and become strong. In this way it is said that Water is the mother of Wood. Wood generates Fire. Wood acts as fuel which is necessary for Fire to burn and become powerful. In this way it is said that Wood is the mother of Fire. This is the way of nature and the way of the Dao.

Throughout early tea history wood was likely used as the primary source of heat for making tea, old images and poems describe the use of wood when making tea while enjoying the vast beauties of the outdoors. It is important to note here that the heat given off from wood and traditional charcoal are energetically different- traditional charcoal burns as pure infrared where as wood heats with the gases released from the wood itself as well as infrared. As a result burning wood and burning charcoal each impact the boiling water and the resulting tea infusions slightly differently.

Over the years wood was slowly refined into higher and higher quality charcoal. Charcoal had an advantage over wood in that it could burn longer and more controlled. Gradually charcoal was refined to the high quality traditional grade that is used today- reaching its zenith only 300 years ago.

Due to the convenience and consistency of modern heat sources, the use of traditional charcoal in the preparation of tea has declined dramatically. The use of traditional charcoal has always been to create harmony in the tea room and within the teapot. It should be noted that in today's world the use of charcoal is often not appropriate and could create more disharmony in the tea room especially if not used mindfully.

In the following weeks and months this series will focus on how to achieve harmony when using traditional charcoal to boil water for tea. It will cover topics such as: the different cultural traditions of using traditional charcoal to boil water for tea, determining the quality of charcoal, making your own charcoal, methods and theories of starting a charcoal fire, safety issues when using traditional charcoal, and the energetics of traditional charcoal.

So, as the chill of Winter sets in, gather round and feel the penetrating warmth as we discuss in detail the harmony that traditional charcoal brings to the preparation of tea.

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

Harmonizing Water and Tea: Part 11- Pouring Technique

This is a continuation of a discussion on pouring. See part 10- Pouring Method (here) before continuing...

Once the person making the tea decides on a boiling vessel (and type of ladle if applicable) then the next element of the pour that should be considered is the human element of the pour. There are four variables of the pouring technique that can dramatically influence the final cup of tea- the height of the pour, the forcefulness or vigor of the pour, the direction of the pour, and the intent or mindset of the person pouring the water.

The higher the pour, the more time water is in contact with air. In ancient times it was thought that the relatively heavier water would be infused with the light essence of the air thereby infusing lighter characteristics into the water. Today there is some talk of oxidizing the water, where more exposure to air imparts more oxygen into the water. Any scientists out there who want to explain this? One thing that is for sure is that as more surface area of hot water is exposed to air for a longer time, the more the water will cool in temperature. Due to these reasons a higher pour which gives the water a lighter and cooler quality naturally harmonizes better with lighter teas such as whites, greens, and greener oolong, a medium pour which moderately lightens and cools is best with Korean yellow tea and some well oxidized oolong, a low pour which retains the heat and heavier nature harmonizes best with darker, heavier teas such as red tea, and aged puerh tea.

The force and vigor of the pour will also impact the end product. This factor is often overlooked because it is not as obvious to the observer.

Extremely vigerous pour which violently jostles the leaves in the pot is thought to impart overly harsh characteristics. The resulting tea is often described as oversteeped, bitter/sour taste, and/ or harsh and choking mouthfeel. It also exhausts the leaves much faster over many infusions. On the other hand, a very gentle, trickling pour which barely stirs the leaves at all is thought to impart overly gentle/ passive characteristics. The resulting tea is often described as understeeped, watery taste, and absent mouthfeel. The person pouring water should always strive for the middle way pouring with just enough vigor to gently stirr and tumble the leaves in the teapot with the incoming stream of water. It should still be noted that deeper, heavier, darker teas harmonize best with somewhat more vigerous pouring and lighter, cooler, more subtle teas harmonize best with a relatively gentle pour. However, a very gentle pour does harmonize very nicely with the lightest most subtle teas- softly coaxing out the soft compexities and subtleties of pre qing ming dragonwell and ujeon grade green teas.

The direction of the pour should also be considered. For most cases the stream of water should be directed to the wall of the teapot (or other steeping vessel), when possible. This is to create a nice tumbling action of the leaves in the pot. When pouring directly over the leaves it can often be too harsh and bring out somewhat undesirable qualities. Pouring water directly over mellowed, aged teas such as aged puerh and black teas will not impact the final cup as much as fresher lighter teas. Still most of the time teamasters are in the habit of not pouring water directly over the leaves if the steeping vessel allows. A cooling bowl is also used from ladle to teapot to help control elements of the pour such as direction- you can see how this could be important when preparing, say a very light ujeon grade green tea.

The last, and most overlooked, element of the pour that should always be considered is the mindset of the person pouring the water, preparing the tea. Those with malicious intent, such as a tea shop owner who wishes to make one tea look better than another, will impart negative qualities into the tea whereas someone who has loving intent will make a much better tea. There are three mindsets that we will examine here- the malicious mindset, the unfocused/ or unaware mindset, and the mindful/ meditative mindset.

The malicious mindset is was mentioned above, people in this mindset also alter other elements of the method and pouring technique to bring out a bad cup of tea. This is different than someone who is maybe in a bad mood and is just not aware of it- this would fall into the second group, the unaware mindset. Whether in a good or bad mood, this is probably where most people are and so the internal environment of the person pouring the water (and preparing the tea) impacts the final product.

Truly amazing tea comes from those who have been honing their mindset for years. Often you hear stories about how a student following a teamaster for several years still cannot make the amazing pot of tea that his master can. The best teamasters go beyond just mindfulness and recite prayers, meditate, do some sort of energy manipulation, or dwell in a 'no-mind' state. These are often closely guarded secrets of teamasters that are rarely discussed but no doubt have a subtle effect on the cup of tea. Just starting with a mindful approach you will start noticing improvements in the tea you drink.

Happy pouring...

Peace

Harmonizing Water and Tea: Part 10- Pouring Method

The method and technique of pouring water into the teapot is an important factor in harmonizing water and tea. The instance when water finally embraces dry leaves is one of the junctures in preparing tea where the elements converge- a very important moment in the energetic and chemical reaction of making tea. Most often attention is payed to water temperature and steeping time and occasionally how the steeping vessel (teapot) impacts the final cup of tea. However, very little attention is payed to the pouring method and technique- the focus of today's discussion. Even though pouring method and technique are not given the attention they deserve by most people preparing tea, they are rarely overlooked by keen teamasters. The pour can make the difference between a great cup of tea and an extrordinary cup of tea.

The first thing that should be considered are the mechanics of the pour that are dictated by the boiling vessel. Water is either poured directly from the boiling vessel into the teapot (or other steeping vessel) or scooped from the boiling vessel by a ladle then poured into the teapot. Both of these create subtle differences that should be considered when preparing tea.

Water that is poured directly from the spout of the kettle or tetsubin retains more of the unadulterated essence of the boiling vessel because it doesn't come in contact with anything but air between the kettle and teapot. As a result less heat is lost with this method. Pouring water directly from a kettle or tetsubin is best used for teas requiring high temperatures such as aged puerh, black tea, and red tea.

The purity of a silver pot is also retained by pouring it directly from the spout- which is especially good for lighter, more subtle teas such as early pick green tea, white tea, and green oolong. This method of pouring retains the pure essence of the water to ensure that these pure, soft tastes can be realized.

Using a ladle to scoop water from the boiling vessel and pour it into the teapot is a method that is occasionally found in Japan and Korea. Both of these nations use a different kind of ladle which subtlety impacts the water used for tea.

In Japan a ladle is made of bamboo called a hishaku is used. Water comes in contact with the bamboo and so the taste, feel, and qi of the water is influenced. A bamboo ladle harmonizes best with matcha and green teas. Booth green tea and bamboo have similar energetic properties- they are cold thermal nature, they are of the wood element, they are green in colour, they both help harmonize the body to spring season, they act to calm the mind, ect. So the use of a bamboo ladle to scoop water from a boiling vessel is said to enhance the energetic properties of green tea. It is no coincidence that this pouring technique is done in Japan where they almost exclusively drink green tea.

In Korea a gourd ladle called a pyo choo bak is used. Water comes in contact with the gourd and so the taste, feel, and qi of the water is influenced. A gourd ladle harmonizes best with later picked green teas and especially balhyocha (Korean yellow tea). Both balhyocha and pumpkin (gourds) share similar energetic properties- they are neutral thermal nature, they are of the earth element, they are yellow in colour, they both help harmonize the body to late fall and to changes of the season, they act to center the body and mind and are good for digestion, ect. So the use of a gourd ladle to scoop water from a boiling vessel is said to enhance the energetic properties of balhyocha. It is no wonder that these scoops are used in Korea where balhyocha is produced.

A continuation of this discussion is located in Part 11- Pouring Technique (here)...

Peace