Happy Halloween: 2002 Yunnan cooked Pu'er cake

Dear readers, I hope you have enjoyed my tea blog as much as I try to share some of my beautiful tea moments here. Feeling inspired, I have decided to throw in a few more colours to spice up my tea space in today's Halloween's special.

 I picked this 2002 Yunnan cooked Pu'er today as my tea of choice for its distinct woody scents, rich and dark colours. Perfect for the occasion! More tasting notes to come in my next blog entry.

For now, I prefer to relax and enjoy this Halloween evening. Have a spook-tacular night everyone!

Iron Goddess Tea (Tie Guan Yin, TGY)

Asian designs inspire me a lot nowadays. So with a good camera in hand, I would always take some pictures of things, people, sights that I come across which I think will go very nicely with my tea-inspired blog. Here are some of them which I have put together in a collection under TGY, a premium variety of Chinese oolong tea that originated in the 19th century in Anxi in Fujian province.

In case you were wondering, "Guan Yin" also is the name of a goddess mostly associated with chinese myths and legends.

The infused leaves of this tea are big. In their dried form, the leaves are more closely knitted. Being a more avid green tea drinker, I opt for a lightly roasted variety. The brew is light in colour and has a shade of light green with a tinge of yellow. Apologies for the lack of photos on this one as I had enjoyed this tea in a gaiwan with the leaves in my cup.  Filtering the tea is not necessary as the open leaves are rather big and the lid keeps them from falling out.

The tea smells and tastes of fresh green leaves with a twist of maturity, accentuated by hints of soya bean and notes of coconut flesh.

Lu Xun's thoughts about tea

"Lu Xun (鲁迅) was the name that Zhou Shuren (周树人) wrote under in as a major force in early 20th Century Chinese culture. Born in 1881, he is often considered the founder of modern Chinese literature as a writer of fiction, poetry, criticism and essays."

What I like here is his down-to-earth attitude towards tea as a beverage and a part of his daily routine. Tea to him is a pursuit of respect for nature and simplicity. In this poem, he briefly concluded one of his tea brewing experiences and found the gaiwan to be the most suitable vessel for brewing quality tea leaves. "The infusion is clear and sweet, lightly fragrant with a hint of bitter sweetness."

The many facets of water

It may seem commonplace at first to fill your kettle with water and bring it to the boil before infusing your tea leaves.

Upon closer observation, the boiling vessel's material largely affects the taste of the resulting boiled water. Our taste buds are tingled by the silkiness of boiled water and once it comes into contact with the tea leaves, yet another dimension of the tea-licious brew unfolds. The same water source when boiled in different vessels, under different heating conditions, results in the law of interaction between tea and water. A sort of hidden order behind the rhythm of the tea. Weak at times, overpowering the next minute.

Starting at a common water source, one should experiment with different boiling vessels. Making use of the concept of relative objectivity in one's experiences, water should be allowed to interact freely with those different materials that make up boiling vessels. The essence of a seemingly ordinary activity such as boiling water resides in the diverse experiences inherent to the combination of water, fire and earth.

Adapted from TeaParker

Revisiting my first lesson in tea - Water

Water is the main pillar of preparing tea. When using a good water source in combination with quality tea leaves, one is almost always guaranteed a better tea tasting experience. In other words, good water should be a highly dynamic entity, overflowing with vitality. Water of this nature never disappoints in terms of the qualities of the final tea infusion: clarity of brew, fragrance, sweetness. A multidimensional experience for our senses of smell and taste.

Being in between solids and gases, the largely dynamic nature of water as a liquid extends into a blinding myriad of varying tastes and flavours which certainly add to the fun of tea appreciation keeping it uniquely charming, and by no means lesser than a class of its own in the field of taste exploration.

 A long term observation of tea aficionados is this: Consistently, the same water source and vessels for boiling water are used. A wealth of tea tasting notes and experiences are accumulated through the passing of time and more importantly by recognising the hallmarks of suitable vessels used for boiling water.

Adapted from TeaParker

Enjoying the finer things in life

Drinking tea certainly has its merits to health but enjoying tea is another story altogether. I have drunk tea for over ten years now and am glad to report a very sturdy immune system with rare bouts of cold. But when it comes to enjoying tea, it takes into consideration a few more factors than just gulping down hot liquid.

1. Your surroundings - Choose a quiet and peaceful spot. An uncluttered space brings about a freer mind. You are priming yourself here for a little quality me-time
2. Your teaware - Pick out some teacups and a pot for brewing tea. No hard and fast rules apply as long as the combination feels right and harmonises with you.
3. Love - Brew your tea with lots of love. Stay focussed on your infusion and savour this brew with a presence of mind leaving your worries far behind.

Blogeintrag auf Deutsch: Die schönen Dinge im Leben genießen

The world of red teas - F.O.P Red Tea 银芽红茶

The last few days of warmth and sunshine are quickly diminishing. To cope with this seasonal change, I prepared a fresh brew of Sri Lankan red tea for my enjoyment. This should warm me up very nicely!

Check out the golden tips of these dried leaves. They are bound to produce a highly flavorsome cup of tea.

The brew is a dark golden orange liquor with a distinctive roasted aroma. A medium bodied tea with a very rich and rounded taste. These flavours are reminiscent of flowery honey and caramel with a hint of walnut. Given its high quality, milk and sugar are no-nos in enjoying this aromatic brew.