2011 Victoria Tea Festival

Next weekend is Victoria's Annual Tea Festival held at Crystal Gardens. So far things look similar to last year. The usual quality local suspects will be there selling Japanese tea such as Jared and Miyu from Jagasilk and Peter and Fumi from Chado Tea House. There will also be the very influential tea shops Silk Road and Murchie's taking up large swaths of the main floor. This year a new player entered the scene here in Victoria, Teaopia, bringing with it a large chain style tea shop in the downtown core. They will be here this year sponsoring the presenter stage which is always good for at least a few interesting tea related presentations.

What perhaps will be most interesting about the 2011 tea festival is the last minute exhibitors that don't appear on the program. Last year some of these exhibitors were some of the better places to stop at such as Pedro at Dao Tea, and a few Chinese tea booths that one should have probably spent more time with. There are sure to be some surprises this year as well, like DoMatcha which shocked one with their gimmicky but high quality matcha.

The event is first and foremost a charity event, its primary goal it to raise money for a decent local cause. It must be taken for what it is, not a major tea festival in Asia, not even a tea exclusive festival, but never the less a fine tea festival. It is the tea that brings people together for a common good.

Isn't that what drinking tea is about anyways?

Peace

Section 14. Losing Tea's True Nature By Contamination

"Tea of itself has true fragrance, colour, and taste."

from Cha Sin Jeon- A Chronicle of the Spirit of Tea, a copy of Zhang Poyuan Chalu recorded by Cho Ui, translated in Korea Tea Classics

Those who do not have a copy of Korean Tea Classics do please follow along and participate by referencing a different English translation available here from The Leaf.

This tea classic will be covered one section a week which will go on for 24 weeks. Feel free to jump in with your commentary at anytime.

Peace

1980s Menghai "7572" Puerh

One usually doesn't consume much shu puerh, indulging only occasionally during the hot summer or once in a while for meditation. Today one has a craving for some old shu.

This sample was gifted by Daniel at The Chinese Tea Shop in Vancouver, who stocks a nice variety of cakes. It is of the classic 7572 recipe. This recipe was one of the first to be pressed into a cake by Menghai in the 70s. Let's boil the water, take in the moisture kicked up by the kettle, and enjoy some classic shu...

The smell of the dry leaf is pretty generic- the dusty, stale, must of a long storage. Faint dry wood notes predominate. The tea is placed in yixing and a rinse pushes out more of the smell of storage.

The first infusion reveals an initial burst of sweetness under the strong heavy characters of this tea. A velvety mouthfeel is full of creamy but sharp coco notes. The aftertaste is slightly fruity with a nice grain character to it. Minutes afterward creamy chocolate is carried with the breath. The mouthfeel further evolves into a mild comforting dryness which coats the mouth.

With creamy chocolate echoing in ones mouth the second infusion is prepared. It starts off with a slight sour-sweet burst lying in the thick oily soup of coco and decomposing wood. There are very medicinal notes that hide under other flavours then fade away. The mouthfeel is malty, thick, oily, and finishes slightly dry. The chaqi moves downward warming the lower cavity and comforting the stomach.

The third and fourth infusion start once again with a sour-sweet kick. There are raisin-like and medicinal notes here but they are smooth and meld into creamy coco on the breath. The mouthfeel remains viscous with a slight dry finish. It really gloops over the mouth and paints it in a thick coat all the way to the throat. The chaqi is quite heavy and burrows deep and downward. Ones hands and arms feel almost cool in juxtaposed with the light, soft warming feeling down below.

The fifth and sixth infusions have much more woody notes up front along with thick creamy coco notes that dominate the creamy taste of this tea. Thin dry wood stretches into chocolate in the aftertaste as well. The mouthfeel is very full but slightly less oily. The chaqi is compounding and bringing elevated alertness. One quiets here in the present.

The seventh, eighth, and ninth infusions maintain the core creamy, smooth coco, velvety taste with a progression to more dry wood notes in the aftertaste. The woody flavour is a creamy, velvety wood much more than it is drying. One takes a break from this tea and goes for an evening walk before returning to the table.

The tenth infusion comes once again with more woody, dry notes within the creamy coco base which is becoming more and more ghostly as the session progresses. Slight plum now accompanies wood notes.

The eleventh and twelfth infusions are long and slightly dry. Milky wood notes and many sweet, fruity hints are in there as well. The mouthfeel has lost its oily core but applies a thin fuzzy coating over the mouth and throat.

This tea is taken for a few more long infusions late in to the night before being put to rest with an overnight steeping. In the morning, one is greeted with cinnamon, mainly musty storage, and deep medicinal tastes.
Peace

Section 13.- Taste

"Regarding taste, sweet and mild are best; if the taste is bitter and astringent, it is bad."

from Cha Sin Jeon- A Chronicle of the Spirit of Tea, a copy of Zhang Poyuan Chalu recorded by Cho Ui, translated in Korea Tea Classics

Those who do not have a copy of Korean Tea Classics do please follow along and participate by referencing a different English translation available here from The Leaf.

This tea classic will be covered one section a week which will go on for 24 weeks. Feel free to jump in with your commentary at anytime.

Peace

2010 Early Spring Old Growth Baoshan Yunnan White Tea Buds

Winter, which has been particularly cold this year and even brought a few weeks of snow in Victoria, is loosening its grip. With the last few weeks being particularly mild, this week has seen the emergence of Spring. The trees are budding, even the may hwa are in bloom. Winter is ridiculously short here in Victoria.

So feeling in the spring mood on this cloudy but very mild morning one looks to some lighter tea. One finds a sample gifted from Tea Trekker- a unique white tea from Baoshan, Yunnan. According to their web page this tea is from 700 year, old growth trees that are also used for maocha in puerh. These buds are picked and processed separately. So in harmony with the old budding trees outside the window, one prepares this tea.

In examining the dry leaves they are quite novel. These buds are unlike any one has seen before, but then again one has never seen white tea processed from this big leaf variety of tea plant. These fat, robust, brown tinged, green-white, completely down covered buds have deep earthy and woody notes which carry a soft sweetness. They contain light, airy plum and grape fruit notes in the fresh, deep, but extraordinarily light bouquet.

The water is left to cool considerably as one pauses to watch the humming birds outside. When the water is quite cool and the tea implements warmed the tea is prepared. It pours as clear as water and tastes very, very light with musty, earthy, dirt notes which are very thin and watery. There is a faint, fresh, crisp, dry wood aftertaste with a slight sugary ending. This tea needs more leaves and hotter water. So one almost fills the pot to the top and employs a pour direct from the kettle.

The second infusion pours a slight opaque, almost green colour. The initial taste is clear, crisp, but very watery. There is a spicy sweet flavour that carries into an empty, watery middle before the aftertaste of fresh, clear, musty wood takes hold. The mouthfeel is juicy but pulls the saliva from the front of the tongue and mouth, drying it slightly. Minutes later a musty, earthy, and fresh puerh-like aftertaste emerges from the dryness. Still hotter water is needed for these rugged tea buds. So one puts the water back on boil, meditating on the peaceful variety of cheerful bird calls outside.

The third infusion is much more vibrant then the previous two. It pours a pale green and first enchants the taste buds with light, sweet, pungent notes that evolve into a distant blast of cinnamon and spice in a very clear backdrop. The aftertaste starts spicy then minutes later a clear creamy sweetness is left in the mouth. This infusion contains a very spicy kick to it. The mouthfeel is juicy with a very slight drying nature.

The fourth infusion is prepared and is sweet, clear, fresh, and spicy. This infusion has a measure of floral-perfume notes lingering amongst zippy spicy notes that seem to really stand out in this very clear tea. Even very soft fruit notes peak out of the profile for mere milliseconds before ducking away. The mouthfeel mainly stimulates the front of the mouth. This tea creates a slight warmth in the belly that moves out to ones chest and even face. The majority of this warmth however remains in the middle body.

The fifth and sixth infusions are much of the same same but the sixth starts to show a more pungent, earthy, puerh like aftertaste.

The following infusions become less strong but still have a solid mouthfeel that, in later infusions, seems to stretch into the throat. This tea has stamina which leads to an all day session. These later infusions contain spicy, pungent, earth, and slight raisin tastes and are enjoyed as fattened black squirrels groom themselves on bare, bud covered branches.

Interesting white tea.

Peace

Potter's Zen from Chon (Cheon) Han Bong- Korea's Intangible Cultural Asset In Pottery

While preparing an upcoming post on a Sam Do Style Tea Bowl by Master Potter Chon Han Bong one came across a video that captures the essence of Korean pottery. It features Korea's designated Master of Ceramics, Chon Han Bong firing pottery and offering words that only a master could.

Here is a link to a blog that offers a word-for-word English transcription of the video as well as the Korean video in its entirety (yes, a full view that isn't cropped off). To watch this master in action strikes at the core of Korea's Way of Tea.

Enjoy.

Peace

Drinking Oolong Tea For Nasal Congestion: A Tasting of 2010 Teamasters Fall Gao Shan Luanze Bi Li Shi Oolong With a Stuffy Nose

This sample was sent with a few others from Stephane of Tea Masters Blog a few weeks before Christmas- an early Christmas gift no doubt. The label says that is was picked on September 5th, 2010. Fighting a mild cold, one deliberately chooses this tea.

Taiwanese Oolong is said to travel to the nose, opening it with its strong floral fragrances. One has experienced some fatigue over the last few days and today ones sinuses feel completely clogged. The following notes should be taken for what they are, from someone whose sense of smell and taste is compromised. But not for long...

From what one can make of them, the dry leaves smell of deep, gritty raison with a long, barely sweet, chalky smell. There is a slight straw-floral smell in them like that of wildflowers on the prairie- not the vibrant, exotic florals usually associated with Oolong.

The first infusion has a tangy-sweetness that fills the mouth. There is a cool, clean crispness about this tea- slight buttery vegetable flavours, celery flavours underscore faint but creamy florals. The mouth feel is soft and oily in the mouth. The aftertaste is a pasty dry vegetable taste with a gritty sweetness. After the first few cups, the qi of this tea ascends the head and into the scalp. Ones face flushes with a soft heat and a sweat is broken. Ones stuffed up sinuses release and one can breathe again! One gets some tissue while the kettle boils for the second pot.

The second infusion is tangy with a soft bitter sweetness. There is a strong presence of vegetables- celery, corn, daikon in the mouth and aftertaste. The aftertaste is full of nuance with an interesting rubbery vegetable taste containing little sweetness. It almost tastes like bubble gum that has been chewed awhile, most of its taste has past but it remains gummy with faded nuances and just slightly sweet. The mouthfeel continues to be soft and oily, it finishes cakey in the mouth.

The third infusion is prepared with a stiffly nose, loosened from the chaqi first few infusions. The taste contains a tangy- fruitiness which is predominant here. There is a crisp, cleanness about this tea amongst its bitter sweet flavours. A melon tone noticed in the initial sip lingers for a while in the sweet aftertaste.

The fourth infusion sees light florals dominating as they lighten into the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is juicy and light. The aftertaste is an extension of these floral notes.

The fifth infusion sees more dirtier and grittier florals develop. Slight rose is detected under creamy dry buttery notes. The sixth infusion entertains with deeper, spicier notes that are most prominent here. There is soft buttery florals in the distance.

The tea is taken through a few more infusions as well as an overnight steeping. Sweet, chalky, faint creamy florals have just a slight tanginess to them.

Over the next week one never developed that plugged sinus sensation- it took a few more days before the nose would stop running though!

Link to Michal's (Poetry In Tea) Tasting Notes

Link to Petr's (Pots and Tea) Tasting Notes

Peace