Yunnan Chitsu Pingcha

14/06/2010, posted by Cha in tea

A short overview of this cake I acquired on Hong Kong. This cake seemed to be the last out of a 7 disk stack. The seller told me it’s from 1993 . After unpacking it, I saw a short description in English which made me wonder. Since it was from 1993, why should it have a English description?

According to babelcarp,  tha parts from the name can be translated as :

chitsu, qizi (Qi1 Zi3) = compressed hei cha made as a stack of 7 bingcha, each layer 357g so the whole stack comes out to 2.5kg, literally Seven Sons (七子)

pingcha, bingcha (Bing Cha) = Tea, usually Pu’er, compressed into thick disks, literally Cake Tea.

I am wondering about the age still.  Perhaps I should take a photo of the label of the package so that a Chinese speaker friend can translate it to me. Perhaps i will answer to this question in  years from now.

On the other hand, the age doesn’t matter so much. The tea has a great taste, and it is lengthy enough.  It certainly resonates with you when it is brewed at the right moment.  Most important, it  transports me back to Hong Kong each time i drink from it.

Update ( on 18 September 2010):

I have learned that the black color denotes low quality. Not confirmed yet.

Update ( 5 April 2011)

Only the outer part was affected by dust, which resulted in a very dark color for the liquor. After breaking and airing it, it was very very nice.

Jin Jun Mei

11/06/2010, posted by Cha in tea

Also known as Golden Junmee, this is a rare black tea from Wuyi in Fujian province in China.  It’s acquired from  @JINGTea, and as usual, great quality.

While investigating it’s origin, I have found that this tea was created in 2005, by Master Liang Junde .  This tea master inherited traditionally process methods from his ancestors. He achieved mastery in the skills of plucking, drying, withering, fermenting, roasting and smoking of black tea, but he didn’t stop to the traditionally methods he inherited.  Based on the methods of producing their (top)   Lapsang Souchong ,  he created Jin Jun Mei in a similar method, but without smoke braising. If you want to read more about it,  you can  check this article on T’Ching,  or your can read more about Master Liang Junde on Seven Cups.

For me, it was a great experience. It was my  (almost) last  tea from 2009.  I can say that this tea is “something else” . It’s feeling  is smoother and it’s color is wonderful.  However, it did not resonate with me as much as the Imperial Concubine’s Smile black tea . I don’t know if it’s because I chosen the wrong moment to drink it or because of my brewing.  Whatever the reason, I will not have a second chance soon.

Learning a tea takes time, especially for a beginner like me. After learning a tea, one can say when it’s appropriate to drink it and when not. A beginner like me can’t judge a tea from start, that’s why acquiring a rare tea it’s a risky deal. Of course the tea is great, but I don’t believe I obtained the maximum from it.

Tea Details

05/06/2010, posted by Cha in journal

I start to believe that we  (westerners) give to many credits to tea grades, tea origin, tea whatever.  We promote good quality tea, but in a very mechanic way.  Like collectors. Tea, at least for me,  it’s not  just a beverage, it’s a state of mind, a way to become self aware, a tool to reflect or not to reflect at all.

I want to describe the feeling you have when you drink the right tea in the right moment.  I’m not good with words, but I hope the pictures bellow are more than enough  to describe that feeling.

I always  drink tea  on the floor.  Due to my martial arts background, I have no problems sitting like that for extended periods of time. It is actually relaxing and I am always focused on the tea or to my guests that way. (If you want to read more about enjoying tea on the floor , Adam Yusko talks about it  here.)

In fact, I feel very uncomfortable at a table, because I feel I don’t have enough space.  For a better experience , I recommend you to have a wall at your back , not in front, and a large space ahead (or windows).    ( These are actually Feng Shui principles. Since we are in that  zone, I highly  recommend the series of posts related to tea energy from MattCha’s blog.)

Now please press play while you watch the pics.

Kung fu tea , puerh , 4 nov

04/11/2009, posted by Cha in journal,tea

Kung fu means continuous practice  and great effort until one obtains “great skill”.  Writing about every time I brew tea would be a waste of my (and your) time.  However , pics are not harmful.

I brewed a 2008 puerh cake and I used my new boiling plate.

Bai Ling Gong Fu – Fu Ding Da Bai Cha variety

15/10/2009, posted by Cha in tea

An  excellent black (red) tea from Canton Tea Co,  most suited for Gong Fu Cha (Kung fu tea) .  Whenever I see teas like these I wonder why people stop only at 1 infusion and how can they enjoy a tea like this one without having a gong fu service.  If you have access to a tea like this one , you should invest in a gong fu tea service.

I won’t insist to much on it’s taste as I took no notes at that moment, but I’m going to insist on one thing. You can make plenty of infusions out of it, and it’s taste gradually changes .

I won’t insist to much on the tea , as there are others about it , from people who can communicate far better than I do. But please enjoy the pics instead.  The last ones are different infusions.

If you want to read more about hong cha , check out this great post.

Update: the description from Canton Tea can be found here.

A tea session

14/10/2009, posted by Cha in journal,tea

I have already posted about this great tea from @JINGTea . Following are some very nice pictures of a tea session after a exhausting   day. Be sure to click on the image to view it in full size.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-10-11

11/10/2009, posted by Cha in journal

• RT @teacraftecm: Books about TEA make great gifts – for other people and for yourself! http://bit.ly/Zz6wd Post free in the UK. #
• As I don’t have too much time available, I begin to understand why were tea ceremonies so appreciated. #
• @39Steeps *sigh* in reply to 39Steeps #
• Had some Yunnan Cui Ming green #tea again. This is my tea-at-work choice. I am thinking to also bring some Yunnan Mao Feng. #
• http://twitpic.com/819gy – this is how cui ming #tea leaves look like. #
• RT @JINGTea: that’s the beauty of great tea, if the first infusion is a mistake, have a go with the second or third : ) #
• Interesting tea posts from last week (28 sept – 4 oct): #main table tr .action a { margin: 0 0 0 10px; text-dec.. http://tinyurl.com/ydpam36 #
• Just had some silver needle from @JINGTea . great tea #
• RT @indonique: Life’s not a competition, unless I’m winning of course then by all means let’s call it a competition. So far let’s not. #
• Enjoyed some sencha before going to work. It’s been a while since I had Japanese green tea. Good stuff. #
• And yesterday I had some long jing (dragon well) with spring water. It was awesome. Spring water definitely does the trick. #
• @vtknitboy this one was from @JINGTea .excellent , as all the teas I have from them. in reply to vtknitboy #
• This morning started with some bancha. Japanese green #tea again. #
• I noticed that with most of the Japanese greens, little changes in light have a very important role on how we perceive the #tea color. #
• @lazyliteratus thank you for the ff #
• Had some raw puerh. After I don’t know how many infusions , I think I’ll leave some brewing sessions for tomorrow morning. #
• Sometimes I just can’t brew tea properly. During days like this I wonder if I know anything about it at all. #
• @jazzinside that figures, thanks. But the tea was supposed to wash away that state of mind. in reply to jazzinside #
• @jazzinside I agree , but a certain (let’s call it) tea state , the point of tea is to wash away bad states of mind. in reply to jazzinside #

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Brewing tea using a clasic teapot

26/09/2009, posted by Cha in tea,video

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.

Summer 2009 Vacation , Part 1 : Hungary

21/08/2009, posted by Cha in journal

I have been off for a week in Esztergom , to train my wing chun and eskrima skills.  Estergom is a beautiful city  in Hungary.

I had my portable brewing set with me, as well as some green , black and puerh tea , so having tea was not a problem. In fact , it was a very nice experience.  Tea outdoors is excellent. I wish I could do that every day.

I also found a gaiwan and some Tie Guan Yin tea at a local Chinese fast food. It was an  interesting experience. The Chinese lady who sold me the tea told me several times: only for Chinese tea .

Bellow are some pics from my travel.

I hope that the second part of my vacation  will be as interesting as this one. See you in September , after I get back from Bulgaria.

Brewing a new tea , Jun Jian

03/08/2009, posted by Cha in tea

This is a #tea  I purchased from my favourite local tea merchant. I was in a hurry so I didn’t ask too much about it. That’s fine for now, no extra information that may influence me while appreciating the tea.

The tea was listed as JunJian, but I have a feeling it’s actually Jun Jian, because i see the Jian part often in other teas.

My instincts made me use a cooler water  ( I have waited 15-20 minutes after it boiled). I think it was a good choice, because  the tea I got was awesome . It reminds me of Japanese green teas, which is surprising, because I was expecting a refined version of my daily green tea.

I’ll get back with detailed information about the tea and I’ll include some brewing notes. For now , just enjoy the photos.