There is a great deal of poetry and fine sentiment in a chest of tea.– Ralph Waldo Emerson
This is part of the Blog Carnival of Association of Tea Bloggers hosted this month by Cinnabar .
The following video says it all. Some prefer not to touch the tea, but I find that the liquor releases much sooner if I ‘loosen’ the tea prior brewing. Do give me your feedback .
I decided to break this cake in half , then store half in a earthen ware and half in it’s (almost) original form. I’ll check in time the differences between those two.
This was my oldest cake of shu puerh. The knife I used is not your regular puerh knife. It’s actually a somehow more dangerous item. I also like knives and I have quite a set at my home. The bladed weapon passion comes from my martial arts passion. If you would think that tea defines me, you are wrong. In my journey of defining myself, tea is one of the tools. Same as martial arts. My blog is called chadao not because I’m an expert, but because I am a scholar. I honestly want to learn more about tea, every day. But in the sane way.
I sadly see so many (western) people taking tea for what (I believe ) is not. Drinking a cup of tea will not make you understand zen, or tao or anything . Trying to make your best cup of tea for several decades may do that. And it will probably happen with a cup of tea. That is kung fu. If one drinks tea for a year or two and starts to understand the universe, I would called that person tea possessed. I think that it’s important to learn, but it’s also important to take away the mysticism.
Oh , but let’s get back to the video. If you have any other suggestions about breaking the cake or storing the puerh, don’t hesitate to tell me.
This came in one of the samples Stéphane has sent me when I acquired some teaware from him. I have to say, the teas from him are something else. Initially I imagined the softness from these oolongs is from the charcoal, but after brewing tea with plain water I can say the charcoal isn’t the only reason why the oolongs from him are so soft on the throat and back of the mouth.
I had some notes regarding the taste but I can’t find them . Describing a taste is something I don’t like to do anyway. I remember I was very surprised. The first infusion was a little bit strange, but I think it was caused because I didn’t pour correctly. And I was using a somehow big quantity of leaf so I was sure to use short infusions. After the first infusion, the tea was very consistent and as I got near the end infusions, I remember the tea changed a bit to something more familiar. It was a nice experience. The confusion at the first infusion actually added more value to the overall feeling.
Because I video recorded the first infusion (by myself) , I didn’t pour correctly and I got the tea to open right only in the second infusion. Somebody familiar with oolongs and gong fu will see that in the video. A note on the samples I received: they yield a great number of infusions . After I brewed a lot of infusions in the first round, I had another round several hours later.
This Luanze Oolong – Gao shan is from Shan Lin Shi , Taiwan , and was harvested by hand in 10 April , 2009. This info was all available on the sample I received.
Luanze is an oolong cultivar from Taiwan, while Gao Shan means High Mountain . Shan Lin Shi is a high-elevation tea growing region in Zhushan, literally Evergreen Grove Creek ( according to Babelcarp )
This video is for my main site. I don’t brew tea this way anymore and I know it’s basic for many of you , but still , here is the video.
This is a short video I made for a friend. I use this method when I only have a mug at hand. I think the video is very explicit , so enjoy.
I have compiled a video out of some pictures of a oolong brewing session. Oolong tea goes up to 9-10 infusions and likes hot temperaturs. Unlike most of the green teas , it takes several infusions for the tea leaf to expand . This is caused by the oolong manufacture process which is by far the most complex of the rest of the tea classes. Most oolongs are manufactured in 10 steps ( I will describe the process in another post) , and some , like Iron Buddha , require up to 18 steps.
Oolong varieties can come in completly different shape and colors , and they are partially oxidized ( between 20% and 80%). Some age like pu’erh teas and are very expensive. The best ones are from Fujian province and Taiwan.
The oolong from the clip and pics is a gift from a friend. I don’t know it’s name but it sure is tasy and reminds me of flowers.
Here is the photo compilation as a youtube movie:
And next are the pics :
Be sure to eat before drinking oolong , especially if it is brewed using the kung fu method.
(I will update the pic description some day describing each step)
