Floating Clouds, Gliding Eagle 飄雲翔鷹

Tea in Chinese Television Series - Part 2

2009-10-14T19:18:00.000-04:00

Di Yi Cha Zhuang第一茶庄

This is the story of the turmoil of a wealthy tea family and their business through the tumultuous times of the Japanese occupation of China.

Each scene has a very rich and beautiful setting; and there are episodes of tea brewing using zisha tea ware.

There is also the personal conflict between Zhao Tian Yu 趙天宇and Li Tian Ci 李天賜brought about because of revenge over lost love; which then spreads to affect the Zhao family business.

There are also overtones of traitorous behavior as Li Tian Ci uses the Japanese to further his evil ambitions.

Li Tian Ci becomes the underling of the Japanese business man Song Yuan, who under Song Yuan’s tutelage is taught and directed to use unscrupulous and ruthless means to achieve business objectives in their competition with the Zhao family tea business.

But not only does the Zhao family have to face the Li Tian Ci problem, other forces are working to break apart the family fortune. There is the wife of the older brother who is very unfilial toward the Zhao family. Then there is the vile treachery, swindling, and blackmail orchestrated by Song Yuan to destroy the name and fortune of the Xuan He tea business, (Xuan He Cha Zhuang 宣和茶莊) and the Zhao family.

The story goes on to portray the life events of each member of the family through prosperity and hardship.

This is a very compelling story, and one certainly worth watching. Of course, there is tea in the series, so it’s one of my favorites too. Hope I can find it on DVD in China soon.

The entire program can be seen on Youku here.

Production year: 2005
Number of episodes: 30
Language: Mandarin

Tea in Chinese Television Series

2009-10-14T18:46:00.004-04:00

Lately, I watched a Chinese television series about tea titled Plain Love 2 茶是故鄉濃 (Cha Shi Gu Xiang Nong) on video sharing site Youku.

This is an uplifting, heartfelt, and inspiring story about love, heartbreak, greed, envy, vicious plots, treachery, backstabbing, shame, and revenge intertwined with the day-to-day business of a tea farm/factory.

Every scene has depictions of tea picking, tea manufacture, or tea brewing; though it seems unlikely one factory would produce so many different kinds of tea as depicted in the series. There is mention of Maofeng, Longjing, Puer, Tieguanyin, Oolong, and other teas - seemingly all growing on the same farm.

All the rivalry and bitterness is centered within one tea factory, with the underlings/workers striving to get the better of their fellow coworkers and become recognized and praised by the matriarch factory boss to attain the coveted prize of more responsibility, and more face within the factory by becoming a tea production master and manager.

The setting is set in Guangxi during the Peoples’ Republic era. Not only are there tensions between coworkers, there is tension between Han and the Mountain-dwelling peoples (the credits mention thanks to the Yao community). There is also the rivalry between the Song family and the disgraced and defunct Fang family tea businesses as the heir to the Fang family, Fang You Wei 方有爲 strives to re-develop the characteristic Fang-style tea and regain honor and fame to the Fang family name; which was blackened some 20 years before, leading to the death of his father.

There is also the struggle for love between Fang You Wei 方有爲 (played by Lin Jia Dong林家棟) and Pan Mei Ya 盤妹雅 (played by Zhang Ke Yi張可頤) .

While all the vile scheming in the movie (in every episode) left me wondering if the characters really understood anything about tea, in the final few episodes, Fang You Wei and others finally come to realize the true value and meaning of tea.

This is a show more about evil schemes than it is about tea. But still, it is a very interesting story. And since there is so much tea in it, it is one of my favorite shows.

If you want to see the show for yourself, the link is here.

Production year: 1999
Number of episodes: 32
Language: Mandarin

Tea Movies

2009-07-02T14:46:00.002-04:00

Last week I was able to view 3 movies I know of that have tea as the theme - sort of.

There is a Chinese movie called "Tea Love" or 茶恋. It seems to be a Mainland China production about the life-story of Lu Yu. Now such a movie would seem exciting right? Yeah, but this movie wasn't the best. There were so many details left out about Lu Yu's life that the whole movie really gives you no sense of his importance or who he is exactly. All in all, boring. I wish there were a better, newer production with a bigger budget.

There is also a Japanese movie called "Rikyu" or 利休. Exactly the same as the "Tea Love" movie - a life story about Japanese Tea Master Sen no Rikyu. And also equally boring. And exactly no sense of his importance and contribution to tea. At least from reading the subtitles, that's the impression I get.

There is a relatively newer production called Tea Fight or 斗茶. Now this is a movie worth watching. And I would watch it over and over again. The story premise is kind of dumb though. But I totally get it. Lots of interesting characters, and actually a few good lines in there. The dialog switches back and forth between Mandarin and Japanese. All in all, a cool tea movie. Hope there are more tea movies soon like this one.

Tea on the Train in China

2008-06-22T19:15:00.010-04:00

I often travel by train throughout China, and it's an interesting experience every time. The best way to travel is by soft sleeper class, or ruan wo (軟臥). Then, you can travel in style in a 4-bed cubicle compartment. But that's if you're lucky enough that there are still seats available. The next best is hard sleeper class, or ying wo (硬臥). Then, you will share bunk space with a whole train car of Chinese travellers - which is quite exciting - because you never know who you are going to meet. And often, you can pass the time chatting it up with your fellow travelers.

Just about every train car has at one end a hot water dispenser. And there are thermal carafes of hot water in each compartment for travelers to use. These are very handy - since food on the train is a little expensive; and most travelers prefer to bring their own instant noodle cups to eat on the train. And many travelers also bring their own travel cups - which they fill with hot water from time to time - to steep whatever kind of tea they happen to be drinking. Some people who travel as a group will even bring a piao-i cup and steep tea for the group.

Before travelers board the train, each thermal carafe in each compartment is quickly filled by the train attendants. Most travelers seldom use these though. Instead, they prefer to go directly to the water dispenser, and get piping hot water themselves. It's a little tricky to negotiate the aisles with a noodle cup full of hot water though.

If you're filling up your tea cup, always make sure to bring the lid along, and secure it tightly. The interesting trick though, is to not scald your fingers as you open the tap on the dispenser. With the jerking movements of the train, it's kind of hard to not scald the fingers.

Each train seems to be different in how the water temperature is adjusted on those water dispensers. Some trains have a dispenser with a lower water temperature. When I traveled from Longyan, Fujian to Beijing, I brough along a really good packet of tieguanyin. And every steep just wasn't very good. The water temperature was too low.

But every time I traveled from Fuzhou or Longyan to Shenzhen, the water temperature on that train was quite hot. And tieguanyin would steep nicely.

Whatever the train, don't expect the tea to taste as good as a round of gongfu tea. In fact, it's best to bring along a cheaper, but still quite nice kind of tea to enjoy on the train.

Of course, if you get bored, or if you get hungry, you can always go to the dining car, and check out what they have on the menu. And if you're nice and ask for tea, the attendants will fill a cup for you to enjoy while waiting for your meal.

And if you're just not able to bring any tea or a travel tea cup, watch out for the snack cart. The girl comes around pretty regularly, and you can buy a bottle of iced tea or iced green tea. Of course, it's not really iced, and was never refrigerated. So don't expect a cold drink.

A bottle of tea typically costs 5 yuan. A noodle cup from the snack cart also costs 5 yuan.

A breakfast of rice congee, peanuts and pickled vegetables and a mantou (饅頭) is about 15 yuan. In the mornings, look for the cart of congee to pass by - if you want to eat breakfast.

A meal in the dining car is pricier. Expect each dish to run you about 35 yuan per dish. A bowl or two of rice is an extra cost.

And hot water from the water dispensers is free.

Fare on the trains is not the finest cuisine, but still palatable. The menu has a limited selection. But you can find dishes like stir-fried cabbage, steamed fish, fried egg omelet, mushroom soup, stir-fried beef and vegetables, etc.

Train stations also have a hot water dispenser for you to enjoy a noodle cup or two, or a cup of tea as you wait for the train to arrive in the departure hall. Look for all the people carrying noodle cups, and see where they're going to or coming from.

Hong Kong - Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware

2008-06-21T23:45:00.004-04:00

Whenever I visit Hong Kong, I usually make time for a trip to the Flagstaff House Museum of Tea Ware. I have visited often enough when I have the chance; and I always find casual tours through the place to be inspiring in some way.

Currently, they have a new exhibit showcasing the history of tea. The exhibit runs until November 11, 2008. Last time I visited HK back in March, it wasn't installed yet. On my next visit to HK (very soon), I will be sure to take a look.

Check the HK Museum of Art website for details.

Interesting Tea Info

2008-06-21T23:22:00.002-04:00

There's additional info on Chinese tea to be found at the infuzionpot blog.
http://infuzionpot.blogspot.com

Cultivating Teapots

2007-12-30T01:41:00.000-05:00

You buy a new zisha teapot, but it's not ready for use. So what can you do? You can take it home and start the long process of rearing it yourself. But if you don't have much time, that could take a very very long time before you notice any results. Or, let's say for example, you're drinking mainly sheng puer these days, but would really like this new pot to be used for Tieguanyin. But you don't have plans to drink Tieguanyin in the next few months. Is there a solution? Yes, there is. All you have to do is find a tea fanatic who will cultivate your teapot for you. And, maybe say after a few months, you can get your teapot back and start using it. Of course, it would be good if you could help your friend to cultivate one of his/her teapots with the sheng puer you're into.

In Fujian; and even all across China, this is a common practice. You buy a particular teapot from a local shop. The shop owner is friendly to you. And he/she agrees to cultivate your pot for you. So not only do you get a great pot, you get the shop owner's expertise in cultivating your teapot. And tea will be brewed in your teapot daily. And tea essence from all the great teas customers are sampling in the shop all day get poured over your teapot. So you end up with a great pot without all the work.

Of course that's in China. But if we're in North America, what can we do? Maybe we can have a buddy system and cultivate pots together with a friend. Or maybe we need to find a teapotsitter who can cultivate our teapots for us all day. Yeah. That's just what I need - a teapotsitter. My poor pots are too neglected already.

Ferment or Oxidize?

2007-12-30T01:39:00.000-05:00

Is tea fermented or oxidized? In fact, teas don't undergo any fermentation at all. The tea leaves are actually bruised a little, and it causes the tea leaves to undergo a chemical change when exposed to air - they get oxidized. This results in the leaves turning into a darker color. And it changes the color and taste of the tea. Then, by controlling the amount of fermentation, you can end up with totally different results from the various varietals of tea.

Take Tieguanyin, for example. Theoretically, you could produce an unfermented (or unoxidized) green Tieguanyin. Or you could oxidize it a bit, and end up with these lightly-fermented Tieguanyins that are common today. Or, you could heavily oxidize the leaves, and end up with a heavy fermented Tieguanyin. You could even go further and produce a fully fermented Tieguanyin - a red Tieguanyin.

So teas are oxidized, and not actually fermented like beer or wine. Some people ask, "Why is said to be fermented when it's actually oxidized?" It seems fermentation is a direct translation from Chinese when it comes to tea. Over a century ago, "fermented tea" became all the rage, replacing green tea as the favorite among Westerners. But all Chinese tea texts - past and present, even scientific ones always use the word faxiao (chinese character) which means fermentation. So in China everyone, tea experts, tea merchants, tea artists, tea masters all say faxiao or fermented, not yanghua (chinese characters) - oxidized. They always refer to their teas as fermented, not oxidized.

And why is that? Faxiao, or ferment is a word that we are familiar with. It's a food word, it's a good word. When we say oxidize, it sounds like a scientific word, an unfriendly word. Ferment. Oxidize. Which one sounds better? Now think of food. Say the words again. Ferment. Oxidize. Which word would you rather associate with your food?

Keep in mind, China has a very long history of wine culture; as old or even older than tea. So maybe faxiao, ferment is a word they are more intimately conscious of.

When I was in high school, I was into tea. But when I read that teas were "fermented" it worried me a little. Was I going to get drunk from my tea? Is my tea tainted with alcohol? I always made a personal choice to stay away from alcohol, because back then we heard stories of fellow students who died drinking. They got drunk, passed out, and froze in the winter cold. I didn't want to die young, and I didn't want alcohol to dumb up my brain. So I never drank. And that's why it worried me when I read that tea was "fermented". But fermented or not, I still had to drink it. Tea is just too good. But this fermentation thing still worried me enough that I had to immediately understand the process of fermentation. And after understanding it, I concluded that tea was not fermented. Instead it must undergo some other change that is not fermentation, I thought. Then I thought of tree leaves and how they could change from green to brown under certain circumstances. Tea leaves must change or ferment under similar circumstances. So then I could drink tea worry-free.

Maybe when we speak of fermentation it can confuse people, like I was. But fermentation, as opposed to oxidation is more of a people-friendly word. It's a word we associate with food. And it's a word that's most understandable to people. Just remember to make the distinction that fermented tea is not like fermented wine. There is no alcohol being produced here. Rather it's a chemical change, just as real fermentation is, that makes a dramatic change in the end product - just as grapes can change into wine.

Tea fermentation. Wine fermentation. They're two totally different subjects. But both have to do with food. I can accept the word "fermentation" when associated to tea.

So when we refer to tea do we say fermented or oxidized? I prefer the word fermented. And it's what everyone in China is saying anyway.

T in China

2007-11-25T00:32:00.001-05:00

There is tea as we know it in China. But little known is the fact there is another kind of tea in China. But this kind of "tea" is a code word, lingo among those in the know of certain girls/women who like dressing and keeping the hair short, like a tomboy. So T or "tea" in China is an alternative meaning for tomboy, or lesbian, or whatever.

In fact, there are some 36 million to 48 million homosexuals in China. And gay culture in China has a very long long history.

So, in China, you have people saying "I am tea." Which to people who understand means "I am gay."

There are a whole list of words to describe tea terms that you may not understand; although they're not much having to do with the kind of tea we drink:
T:所谓的tomboy,指比较阳刚的女同志 (Tea meaning tomboy, referring to a particularly masculine type of "female companion").
浓茶＝涩tea＝色t (Strong tea = astringent tea = lustful tea; or lustful whatever - you get the idea).

So what do you think? Is T your cup of tea?

Hong Kong Teaware Museum Trip

2007-06-19T04:26:00.000-04:00

I visited the Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware on June 18. I made a special trip to Hong Kong just to go see it. And I have always wanted to see what a tea museum would be like. Ok, maybe you're thinking – “teaware museum, cool!” That's what I always thought. But it wasn't all that exciting. The whole event was anticlimactic and uneventful. There was nothing there that was really awe-inspiring.

There is some old teaware on display, or modern reproductions of ancient teaware. And the walls have displays and photos of tea preparation through the ages – written both in Chinese and English. Let me give you a tip: if you plan a trip to this museum, be sure to bring a Chinese friend along who can translate the Chinese for you. Some of the explanations in Chinese are not the same in English. There's information missing in the English translations – not that it's really important. But if you want to be accurate, then, it's helpful to have a friend along who can translate.

The lower floor has displays of ancient Chinese teaware, and a gift shop selling well, teaware, tea, and books and DVDs. The books themselves are worth a trip to the museum. It's hard to find books like these translated into English. But these ones looked pretty good. They also had some DVDs available about Chinese tea culture. But I'm not sure if they have an English track to them or not.

While I was in the museum, they showed a DVD about tea processing of Anxi Tieguanyin. But it was all in Cantonese – which, hey, is ok if you can speak Cantonese (like me). But if you can't understand, then, you really miss out on the information they present. That's why it's helpful to have a friend along who can translate.

Then, the upper floor has more display rooms, currently showing modern pieces by contemporary Hong Kong potters. But I didn't think it was really that good. It was very artsy, and a lot of the pieces looked impractical to use. They just seemed to be a collection of lots of clunky, large tea pots, and tea cups. Considering China has thousands of years of tea history, and thousands of years of teaware development, these new pieces seem unrefined, and just not in flow with the past. In short, they looked like pieces not to be used, but to be put on display. Anyway, I didn't get it. But, they did have video displays in English to discuss the pottery art, and they also did try to educate visitors about various pottery processes used to create the pieces. So maybe that is a plus.

Their display on gongfu tea didn't seem to be well-researched. Well, let's be honest here. It's not well researched. It's just a very over-simplified description. And the information they present on the origin of gongfu tea is misleading. But go to the museum and see for yourself.

To sum up, I thought I would be steeped in the tea experience. But nothing special really happened. The whole trip was kind of a bummer – until... until I got to Shenzhen and went back to Tea World. At Tea World, I bumped into some Chaozhou people, and they brewed up Fenghuang Dancong 凤凰单枞 for me. They didn't do it in the traditional Chaozhou style of gongfu tea. But they used a gaiwan method, so I could taste the true nature of the tea; and appreciate the qi of the tea. Well, they boiled 1 kettle full of water and brewed the tea from that single gaiwan of Dancong tea. Then, they boiled a second kettle of water for that same gaiwan of Dancong. I continued drinking. They boiled a third kettle of water for the same gaiwan of Dancong. I drank steep after steep after steep of the same infusion of leaf. I wasn't counting, but it must have been over 20 infusions. They were about to boil a fourth kettle of water and continue brewing the same gaiwan. But I stopped at the end of the third kettle – because A. I had to go to the washroom; and B. I got smashingly tea drunk (although I had just eaten a heavy meal of McDonald's which is right next door to Tea World). I have to say, I have never gotten tea drunk like this before in my life. It was almost a narcotic-like experience (maybe – I don't actually know what narcotics are like). But it sure felt strange – although I was still fully mentally aware. But then after that, it was much easier for other vendors to sell me their teas. I bought a bag of that Dancong for my friends to try. Maybe they will get as tea drunk as I did. And I also I bought 2 sheng puer cakes from Ban Zhang factory. I have to admit, my puer collection is pretty shameful. So I need to grow my own personal inventory.

The verdict: If you want a really good tea experience, after your trip to HK, cross the border into Shenzhen, and experience the world of tea.

Tea in Hong Kong

2007-05-27T05:50:00.000-04:00

I've been to Hong Kong quite often now. And it's a must place to visit. Hong Kong is just such a cool place. It's busy, crowded, and life there is vibrant. It's also very clean. Much cleaner than mainland China.

Though I've been there a few times, I didn't have the chance to really visit any tea spots. But I have been researching, and next month here's where I plan to go:

Hong Kong:

Flagstaff House Museum of Teaware 茶具文物館

Last time it was raining hard, and I looked for quite awhile. I knew it was in Hong Kong park. But I didn't think Hong Kong park was a mountian! After trudging up the mountian in the rain, I looked at a notice board, and forgot it was Tuesday. The museum is closed Tuesdays. Better luck next time.
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/ce/Museum/Arts/english/tea/intro/eintro.html

Wing Wah Ngong Ping Teahouse 榮華昂坪茶館
Wing Wah is actually a Hong Kong bakery, with many branches. But they have a teahouse on Lantau Island that has an interactive multimedia display to learn about tea art. Sounds pretty interesting, if you can make it all the way out to Lantau Island.
www.wingwah.com

Ying Kee Tea Co
Just out of curiousity, I want to see what tea stores in Hong Kong are like, and how they compare to ones in Mainland China. The pic of the storefront on their website looks nice, so I want to take a look in person.
www.yingkeetea.com

Well, that covers a lot of area, I can tell you. First, going all the way out to Lantau Island, then, making it back to Central, and then going to Kowloon.

Then, after crossing the border at Luo Hu into Shenzhen, I always like to check out Tea World (a collection of many many tea shops on the second floor of the De Xing building, right beside McDonald's on Jian She road.. It's very close to the train station in Shenzhen. They have a lot of cool things there, including teas and all kinds of teaware. And the prices are pretty reasonable.

Next month, I will report back on my travels to these places.

Tea Culture and Wine Culture in China

2006-12-10T09:44:00.000-05:00

You know, I came to China so I could research and understand more about China's tea culture. But actually, what I ended up doing is learning a lot about China's modern wine culture.

But why? I'll tell you why, I was kind of forced into it. Everytime you eat dinner with friends, or go out with friends (usually guys) - they always order beer or wine. Then, they make all kinds of rounds of toasts - because drinking alcohol is a social thing. You don't drink alone. You must toast a person, and drink together - and it's always bottoms up. No little sips or anything like that.

Then, comes bottle after bottle after bottle. After everyone is full from dinner, they will start playing drinking games. Yes, they have games here to making drinking a more fun pastime. Not like tea - not really any games to play - except maybe: "guess how much I paid for this tea?"

Like I said before, they have different drinking games here - like: rock, paper, scissors; guessing fingers. And another one is a dice guessing game. And there are many other of these drinking games. But the end result is the same - if you suck at playing these games, you will get drunk very quickly - it's almost impossible to not get drunk once these people start drinking.

So basically, even if you're a tealover, it's almost unadvoidable to not get drunk, or to not drink in China. At some point you have to do it - because that's the social thing to do. Even girls get really smasing drunk too - but they always try to avoid drinking, and try their best to only drink just a little bit. Except the men always force them to drink up, saying it's not fair. Hahahaha. But I'm not that mean though. I just let them get away with it.

But you know, when someone toasts you, you can't refuse, because it's like an insult. You don't give the other person face. So that's why it's inevitable and unavoidable to drink here. Plus it's a big social thing.

Then, the second day, after recovering from a heavy night of drinking - you can always turn to tea to partly restore you back to health - there's that and rice porridge.

Yes, I know it's better to stick to tea culture, but wine culture is so in-your-face here too, so it's unavoidable.

I'm Back and Thoughts on Rinsing Tea Leaves

2006-12-10T09:25:00.001-05:00

Well, I'm still in China, but now I can finally post some new material on here. It's been awhile. Things have been busy here in Fujian. We didn't have rain for like over 2 months during September and October and a part of November. There was just thick dust on all the tree leaves. It gets like that here - lots of dust in the homes, on buildings, and on trees. You can literally see the dust caked on the leaves.

And, if you see dust on the leaves, then, if it rains you should avoid walking under the leaves - otherwise you'll end up with a dirty mess on your clothes.

Since there's so much dust, it seems to me that the leaves on the tea trees would be covered in dust if there's no rain too. But they would wash that off before processing anyway.

But, still, just gives another reason why you should rinse your leaves when you brew tea. They might have all kinds of accumulated dust on them - at some point.

I'm living in Southern Fujian, and Anxi is not very far from here - where Tieguanyin comes from - and other kinds of teas - like Benshan, Maoxie, and Huangjingui.

Everyone here drinks Tieguanyin, it's like the king of wulong teas, especially when talking about southern Fujian teas.

Yes, Tieguanyin is king, and everyone drinks it exclusively. They don't even look at other kinds of teas. That's how so highly regarded it is. I drank some of the autumn pick, and it was pretty good. But, not having rain for 2 months means the crop is not as perfect as it could have been - when compared to prior years. But it's still very good though.

Tea and Wine in China

2006-06-25T05:46:00.000-04:00

Do you know, here in China, a lot of men say: "you're not a man unless you drink and smoke."
So everytime I go out with friends to eat dinner, I'm obligated to drink because, they always make these toasts. And it's usually not beer they're drinking at the dinner table, it's some Chinese wine that is like 85 proof. They drink it in small thimble cups.

Now I'm not a drinking kind of guy. Heck, I never got drunk in my life before I came to China.
They always force me to drink a lot. They go through 2 bottles of that 85 proof wine at the dinner table. And they drink it straight up, not even diluted with water or ice, or anything.
Well, the end result is, you slowly get drunk, and then poof!! after awhile, you're smashing drunk!!

I have to not sit at the dinner table, so I can be saved from all that drinking, and pretend I'm drunk.

In China, these men say, you're not a man if you don't drink. And these people were talking in Guigang dialect, which is sort of a strange dialect of Cantonese. Anyway, I could understand what they were saying about me. Because they saw I was afraid to drink that wine again (after having my first experience - and one very bad one at that - puked 3 times and was sick for over 3 days).

Basically, they were saying I am like a woman, because I can't drink. Then, I replied in Cantonese: "Right, I'm a woman". My friend started laughing after that. Of course, he was on his way to getting pretty drunk too.

Then, they play all these drinking games too - with dice or with hands. Whoever loses, has to drink up. And that's no fun if you lose all the time. But I'm pretty lucky and I seldom lose, haha.
They serve tea at these dinners, green tea in glasses, or some other tea. I always beg them to use tea for making a toast, but most of the time, they refuse.

The manager came into our private room to meet me. He heard there was a foreigner visiting the restaurant 毛家饭店(Mao Jia Fan Dian - or Mao's Family Restaurant). He also toasted me, and he got really really smashed. He said he was very very happy to meet me. And he drank a lot of wine. Chinese here have a more relaxed outlook on life. Sure your the manager, but you're allowed to get drunk, haha!!

So my conclusion:
Drinking tea: way cool. Drinking wine: very uncool. Why would you want to drink something that smells and tastes like medicine, and will make you very sick for 3 days? Just the smell of that stuff makes me want to vomit.

Bai Ju Yi, famous Tang Dynasty poet also remarked in one of his poems:
聊将茶代酒
"When chatting, let tea represent wine"
I think that's the best advice, even today.

China and Tea Experiences

2006-05-29T00:36:00.000-04:00

Well, I haven't been posting here regularly, because I've been in China for 2 months now. And I'm still here. You can't view blogs in China. So I have no way to see my own blog. But I can still log into blogger and edit things. Blogspot.com is totally blocked.

Anyway, enough of that and on to tea.

Mostly, I have focused on meeting tea people, and making friends. And I have met quite a few people already. I've had a lot of fun tea experiences here. One time, I had the chance to make friends with a woman buying a zisha teapot. She really bargained hard on the price. But I saw from the way she handled the pot that she really understood tea. So I asked her if we could be friends. A week after, she invited me to a teahouse. When I arrived, I then found out that she was the manager. Chinese are so humble.

After that, I visited on occasion, and had long discussions with her staff who would pour me tea. Some were in training and needed the practice. And some said, they just drink tea all day by themselves when there are no guests around.

Every time I go there, they ask me: "how is this tea"? I say: "It's ok". After awhile, they caught on, and said: "you always just say it's ok. What does that mean"? Then I was forced to explain, the tea is ok, but not the best I have tasted. It's only a middle quality tea. But I'm too polite to say the tea doesn't taste very good. And they know I would never say that anyway, because, to enjoy tea, it's not just about the tea, it's about the people around you, and the atmosphere of the place, of the moment.

Another time, another woman brewed tea. Then, suddenly she noticed me not drinking so much. Something that even I did not notice. So she asked me: "how come you're not drinking your tea? Is there something wrong?" I said: "no, nothing wrong". Then she just had a big smile, and said: "I know you're not drinking because I did something wrong. Maybe I let the tea steep too long, and now it's too strong. Or maybe I made it too weak. I know when you don't drink, you don't like my tea."

Man, they know everything. You can't hide anything from them. Next time, I will bring my own teas, the teas I like to drink, and what I think are good quality. Then, they can try them, and I will see if they like to drink them or not.

For All the Tea in China, Not Enough Water

2006-02-20T01:24:00.000-05:00

Water is important for tea. Yet present-day China is facing a severe water shortage. So it will be increasingly difficult to enjoy a good cup of tea without a supply of good water. From various media sources, here are some sobering facts to ponder:

More than 70 percent of China's rivers and lakes are polluted, while underground water supplies in 90 percent of Chinese cities are contaminated.

At present, 300 million Chinese do not have access to drinkable water, as heavy pollution compounds water scarcity problems.

China is a country that has only one fourth as much water per head of its population as the world average. The expansion of industries like paper and cement strain water supplies even further.

There are water shortages in 400 of China's 600 largest cities.

The World Health Organization says that 700 million of China’s 1.3 billion people drink water that doesn’t meet WHO’s minimum standards, primarily because of improper treatment of industrial, human and animal waste. Barely 20 percent of China’s sewage is adequately treated.

Well-off residents of cities can buy bottled water, but impoverished Chinese have no choice but to drink tap or well water. They always boil it, which can kill bacteria and parasites but won’t remove chemical contaminants.

In cities with modern water treatment plants, the tap water may still be unsafe because the water pipes are so old and rusted, the clean water gets polluted on its way to the tap.

Bottled water is not always the answer either, since small bottling companies may fill bottles with tap water, passing it off as purified water.

Since the 1950s, China has lost 1000 lakes and 26% of all of its wetlands.

China's vice minister of water resources, Er Jingping, said on Dec. 28, 2005 that some 300 million rural residents drink water contaminated by fluorine, arsenic, high levels of salt or other organic or industrial pollutants.

Nearly two thirds of the around 660 cities nationwide, mostly located in coastal areas, report water shortages. Ten of the Chinese provinces are commonly hit by severe water shortage with per capita water availability of less than 500 cubic meters.

China's per capita water availability stands at 2,200 cubic meters, which is about a quarter of the world average, according to China's Ministry of Water resources. Severe water shortage has led to the over-tapping of groundwater in many parts of China, which in turn has caused serious problems like less drinking water for future generations and large areas of earth degradation, said He Bin, an engineer of Haihe River Water Resources Committee affiliated with the Ministry of Water Resources.

The water deficit in normal years across the country approximates 40 billion cubic meters.

China's population hit 1.3 billion last year, and is expected to reach 1.6 billion in 2030. A growing population, combined with rapid economic development and industrialization will strain water supplies even further.

Water shortages are costing the Chinese industry and the economy billions of dollars; simply because there is not enough water for industrial uses. A shortage of water causes an average 280 billion yuan (35 billion U.S. dollars) in direct economic losses each year, suggests a report on China’s current status of water resources. The research was funded by the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology. The lack of adequate water supply will be a major impediment to China’s social and economic development over the next 30 years.

China's Water Problems: News Articles

2006-02-20T01:21:00.000-05:00

Here are various news articles about China's growing water crisis.

Shortage of water twice as costly as flooding: research
http://tinyurl.com/gj3fb

China eyes sea water to ease shortages
http://tinyurl.com/fmuja

70 percent of Beijing's rivers fail to meet water safety standards
http://tinyurl.com/85ehj

Northern China wetlands drying up – Xinhua
http://tinyurl.com/a53xd

Wetlands latest casualty in China's water crisis
http://tinyurl.com/a6f4s

China: Shrinking Wetlands Underline China's Water Problem
http://tinyurl.com/7lzsl

China Pushing Environmental Cleanup
http://tinyurl.com/7jomn

China gets tougher on pollution after river spill
http://tinyurl.com/7cevv

Chinese sewage discharged into ocean breaches pollution standards: report
http://tinyurl.com/afjyz

China's pollution galvanizes peasants to action
http://tinyurl.com/7g3ar

Tea Caddies 茶罐

2006-02-07T16:56:00.000-05:00

These are a couple of tea caddies, for storing tea leaves. They are made of pewter. But pewter contains lead. So I never used them for storing tea, only keep them for display. Anyway, there are plenty of other tea storage options besides these kinds of tea caddies.

Tea Tools 茶道

2006-02-07T16:41:00.000-05:00

These are a set of tea tools. They come in a variety of woods, or even bamboo. There are tongs, a tea needle, a tea measure, a tea scoop, a funnel, and a container to hold them in.

These are all necessary pieces of equipment for gongfu tea.

Notice the tea needle (sharp pointed thing). Cheaper versions of tea tools include a tea needle of solid wood. But that's not very good. That tea needle is often too thick to be useful. Good tea needles are tipped with natural horn, like the one pictured.

Biography of Lu Yu

2006-01-13T21:25:00.000-05:00

Lu Yu (陆羽), known as the “God of Tea” (茶神), or the “Tea Saint” (茶圣), was Tang Dynasty’s most famous tea scholar. Before his time, there were no tea books, and just a few, scant fragments of information on tea and a few tea poems from the Jin Dynasty. But he wrote “The Classic of Tea” and thereby codified the tea rite. He laid out on 3 scrolls the knowledge of tea at that time.

His book had ten chapters: Chapter 1 – Origins, Chapter 2 – Tea Utensils, Chapter 3 – Tea Production, Chapter 4 – Tea Wares, Chapter 5 – Brewing, Chapter 6 – Drinking, Chapter 7 – Matters About Tea, Chapter 8 – Tea Producing Areas, Chapter 9 – Summary, Chapter 10 – Plan of the Book

His tea book became the outline for many later tea books of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing eras. And many tea scholars have written commentaries on his writings, and quoted from his original work. Today, the Classic of Tea or Cha Jing is still important for understanding Tea.

There is a lot of information on Lu Yu’s life – recorded in various other books, like the “Xin Tang Shu”. Basically, what we know about his life is that he was an orphan. And a Buddhist scholar took him in. Then, he was raised at the Long Gai Temple (龙盖寺) in present-day Tian Men County, Hubei province. Though, later, he had no interest in studying Buddhism.

Because he had no name, the Book of Changes (易经) was consulted, and his name was divined. His name comes from hexagram 53. So he was given the surname Lu (姓陆), and name of Yu (名羽). And his pen-name was Hong Jian (字鸿渐).

Here is the original Chinese:

渐卦，第五十三
上九，鸿渐于陆，其羽可用为仪，吉。

Hexagram 53 reads:
“The wild swan gradually comes to the land. The feathers can be used for ceremonial (dress). Auspicious.

Lu Yu lived in southern China, near tea-producing areas. So he was able to have an intimate knowledge and understanding of Tea.

Lu Yu became a scholar in life, and traveled around China to many places. So he was quite well-educated and knowledgeable about the affairs in Tang China. Besides tea books, he wrote many other non-tea related books. But he is most famous for The Classic of Tea.

A Brief Timeline of Events in Lu Yu’s Life:

733 CE Lu Yu was born on an autumn day in present-day Tian Men County, Hubei province.

738 CE Lu Yu started to study Chinese characters at the age of 6. He is reputed to practice writing by tracing with a stick while riding on the back of an ox.

740 CE Lu Yu is given the task of preparing tea for his master; at the age of 8.

749 CE At 17, he learned to pick tea.

765 CE Lu Yu produces the first draft of the Classic of Tea.

775 CE Lu Yu revises the Classic of Tea on 3 scrolls.

780 CE The Classic of Tea is carved onto printing blocks. From this point on, the Classic of Tea can be mass-printed.

804 CE On a winter day, Lu Yu takes sick and dies at the age of 72.

Notes: It is Chinese custom to count the year you are born as year one. So to Chinese, a newborn is already 1 year old.

Lu Yu on Teabowls from the Chajing (Classic of Tea)

2006-01-10T00:27:00.000-05:00

In reading the original text of the Chajing (茶经), or Classic of tea, I made the following observations about his comparision of Tang era teabowls.

Lu Yu mentions the teabowls of 7 areas, or kilns. And he compares them. He states which ones are suitable for tea, and which bowls are inferior. Mainly, he compares the tea bowls on the basis of color. Of the 7 he compared, only 2 types were suitable for tea.

First he mentions Yue ware (越窑). He labels these teabowls superior. This teaware originates in modern Zhejiang province.

Second he mentions Ding Zhou ware (鼎州窑). Dingzhou ware is inferior. It comes from modern Shaanxi province.

Third, he mentions Wuzhou ware (婺州窑). It’s also inferior. It comes from modern Jiangxi province.

Fourth, he mentions a different Yue ware (岳窑). He pronounces is superior. It comes from modern Hunan province.

Fifth, he mentions Shouzhou ware (寿州窑). It’s labelled inferior. It comes from modern Anhui province.

Sixth, he mentions Hongzhou ware (洪州窑). It’s also inferior. It comes from modern Jiangxi province.

Seventh, he mentions Xing ware (邢窑). In his text, he only states it is inferior to Yue ware of Zhejiang. Xing ware came from modern Hebei province.

He goes on to say:

“If Xing ware is silver, then Yue ware is jade. This is one reason why it is not as good as Yue ware. If Xing ware is snow, then Yue ware is ice. This is a second reason. Xing ware is white, which makes the tea color red. Yue ware is green, which makes the tea color green. This is a third reason why Yue ware is better.”

Paraphrasing here to catch the general idea:
“With Yue ware, the lip is not rounded. The bottom is shallow; making it easier to drink the contents.”

He then further compares the various kilns colors. Of this he states:

“Yuezhou ware (of Zhejiang) and Yue ware (of Hunan) is green. Green ware is suitable for tea.

If tea is made with a light red color, then:

Xingzhou ware is white, making the tea color red. Shouzhou ware is yellow, making the tea color purple. Hongzhou ware is brown. The tea color is black. All of these are unsuitable for tea.”

Note: Lu Yu makes no statement about the color of Dingzhou ware, or the color of Wuzhou ware. He only says these kinds of tea bowls are inferior.

But, you can see his analysis is based mainly on the color of the tea bowls, and what effect the color of the tea bowl would have on the color of tea. For him, only green glazed tea bowls were desirable, because it made the color of the tea green. Also, we can infer that Xing ware was a good type of teaware. He says it is like silver. But, he doesn’t like Xing ware because the color of the glaze is white.

Lu Yu leaves out two other types of teaware which were in use in the Tang Dynasty: Changsha ware, and Ding ware. Changsha ware was a coarse porcelain, for every day use. Ding ware was a white glaze porcelain from Hebei province (not to be confused with Ding Zhou ware of Shaanxi province). Perhaps the teabowls of these places were not worthy of mention; too inferior.

So, the ideal type of teabowl during the Tang Dynasty would be one of a green glaze, preferably of Yue ware from Zhejiang, or Yue ware of Hunan.

In fact, the Yue kilns in Zhejiang made both celadon (qing ci) tea bowls, and porcelain bowls of a green glaze. So I would guess that both of these types would be suitable for tea back then. And today, celadon is still popular for teaware.

Cha He 茶荷

2006-01-09T02:16:00.000-05:00

Cha he is an interesting kind of teaware for tea art. It's called "cha he" in Mandarin. They are used to display the tea to your guests before you put the tea into the teapot. It's actually a useful thing. You scoop the tea out of the tea container directly into the cha he. Then, you can use some tea tools to transfer the correct amount of tea leaf to the teapot. It's nice to allow your guests, or even yourself to get a good look; and admire the fresh tea leaves.

Japanese Tea Bowls

2006-01-07T00:27:00.000-05:00

Much like Song-era Chinese tea bowls, some Japanese tea bowls were made in a similar style. Here is a Japanese tea bowl, or chawan that can be used in Chanoyu.

In Song China, they really preferred a black ware tea bowl like this, because the black color better brought out the color of the green powdered tea; the colors contrasted quite well. So in Song China, a lot of black ware tea bowls, from the Jian kilns were quite popular. Some had the so-called "rabbit's fur" pattern on the bowl. Of course, Japanese tenmoku tea bowls are also modeled on the teabowls of the famous Jian ware.

Chinese Tea Bowls

2006-01-07T00:15:00.000-05:00

Chinese tea bowls became widespread in use during the Song Dynasty. Back then, tea bowls were made nearly everywhere. There were two kinds - fine tea bowls for the noble people, aristocrats, scholars, etc; and tea bowls made for the common people - which were made rather coarsely; though they still had their own charm.

Pictured here are two tea bowls reminiscent of Song-era tea bowls. The shapes are quite distinct. And the texture of the clay, the apparent skill with which they are made is also interesting. Much like in Chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony, Song-style tea used powdered green tea; which would be whisked in a bowl, and drunk straight from the bowl. Although, this style of tea died out in China by the Yuan dynasty.

Tea Bowls

2006-01-07T00:07:00.000-05:00

Tea bowls are excellent for drinking tea in the summer, to quench thirst. The wide shape of the bowl makes it ideal to cool the tea off quickly, so that you can drink it faster - and in quantity. A lower-grade of tea is best suited to this drinking method, since it's a waste to gulp down copious amounts of fine tea.

Pictured here is an Arita ware tea bowl from Japan.

Tea Bowl

2006-01-06T23:48:00.000-05:00

Drinking tea from a bowl is an interesting concept. Tea bowl use in China dates from the Jin dynasty, or perhaps even earlier. Way back in Chinese history, a bowl served multiple purposes - for eating food, for drinking, etc. It wasn't until the Jin Dynasty that we see specific-use bowls dedicated to tea. But tea bowls were further developed in the Tang Dynasty, and even better developed in the Song Dynasty. Today, in some parts of China, people still drink tea from bowls.

Tea bowls have many shapes and styles, in addition to the place of manufacture, and the type of glaze, or the type of ceramic. So there is plenty to learn about tea bowls.

Tea bowls are used not only in China, along with tea drinking customs that spread to Korea and Japan, so too did the use of tea bowls.

Tea bowls are called "chawan" in Mandarin, or putonghua, which is the spoken language of most Chinese. Tea bowl is called "chawoon" in Cantonese, the language of Chinese living in Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hong Kong. The Chinese characters for tea bowl are 茶碗. Interestingly, the same characters are used to write tea bowl in both Korean and Japanese. Although, in Korean, they pronounce tea bowl "dawan", and in Japanese, it's "chawan".

Old Kettle

2005-12-20T01:54:00.000-05:00

Here's an old Chinese kettle. Notice the spout of this kettle is also elongated and narrow. None of that funny wide-spout jug kettle business.

Sometimes just because it's new doesn't mean it's better.

This kettle has an interesting design. Notice the spout has a hinged cap on the end. I guess that's to prevent anything from getting into the kettle and contaminating the water.

Notice the knob on the side of the kettle. It's a handle rest. If you handled this kettle, you better be skillful - because it would be quite hot. So you need to have a towel to grasp the handle. And same thing with the lid. Use a towel to take the lid off to pour more water into the hot kettle.

This is such a lovely old kettle. I'm sure many people got a lot of pleasure out of making tea with this kettle in days gone by. Well, anyway, there is a thick caking of scale inside the kettle, so I'm sure it was used quite often.

2005-12-20T01:44:00.000-05:00

Chinese Eletric Kettle

Here is an electric kettle that comes straight from China. I bought it in the tea market for 20 yuan. That's really cheap!!

Here it is shown with the the base. The design of this kettle is kind of interesting. It has a pressure switch in the base, so you could turn the kettle on only if there is the weight of water in the kettle to push the switch down. No water, no electrical current. It's some kind of safety feature anyway.

The capacity of this model is 0.8 Litres. Some would say it's too small, but I have no complaints with it. It's quite sufficent, and it boils water quickly.

Notice the spout of this tea kettle. It is elongated and narrow enough for precise pouring of hot water. The small, compact size makes it easier to handle in the hand too. No awkward bulkiness of larger kettles.

2005-12-20T01:31:00.000-05:00

Electric Kettle

This is an electric kettle of the sort commonly available in North America. I bought this one at Target.

Here, it is shown without the cordless base.

The capacity of this model is 1.7 Litres. Wow, that's kind of too big.

Notice the spout is very wide, and not at all dainty. This type of tea kettle is not the ideal type for tea, but I guess it will do if nothing else is available.

2005-12-18T21:26:00.000-05:00

Tea Kettles

An important piece of equipment for boiling water for tea. But not all kettles are the same. And when it comes to kettles there are many kinds. There's the plain old-fashioned stainless-steel kind that you use on your stovetop. Except, boiling water on the stovetop is not always the best place to boil water for tea. So what's a person to do?

Well, there are several solutions. There are electric kettles; some are stainless steel, and others are plastic (not good). Go for the stainless steel kind. Except in North America, tea kettles have such a dumb design. They're not really designed for tea use. So we're so unlucky here. Electric kettles used in China are better designed than the ones available in North America.

Mostly, the diffrence is in the spout. Chinese electric kettles have an elongated, and dainty spout; which is good for precision pouring of hot water into your little teapot or teacup.

The North American electric kettles all seem to be the jug design - with a wide spout. When you pour, hot water just gushes out of them - dangerous, and not very useful if you need a precise pour. And these kettles are just too darn big and ugly. Ok, maybe they look kind of cool, but they're not that useful for tea.

So why would anyone want to use and electic kettle anyway? Well, they can boil water more quickly than the conventional method. So it's convenient to have if you need hot water right away.

But you could still use the stove-top kettle to boil water. Except, maybe you would want to buy a small hotplate to use to heat the water instead. Then, you could have your tea kettle near your tea equipment. You could even make a simple, decorative wooden box to hide the hotplate from view. It has been done before. At least with this method, you could choose just about any kettle you want to use. But the only downside is that the water will take a while to boil. But maybe that's okay too. Just play some relaxing music, and wait.

Ok, I have to admit here, most tea lovers would say, hey, doesn't the metal react with the water? And yes, your kettle might impart an undesirable taste and smell to your boiled water. So the best thing is to check, and taste your plain boiled water.

Ok, maybe if you don't like the metal kettle, there are porcelain kettles, and earthenware kettles are available too. But they are hard to find outside of China. If you don't like the stainless steel kettles, then, you could try using Yixing Zisha 宜兴紫砂. Just buy a cheap, large zisha teapot, suitable for boiling water. After you clean it well, then try it out. But maybe it's better to use such a pot over a flame, like an alcohol burner, rather than on an electrical element. And keep in mind, that using this method for boiling water, would take longer than using an electric kettle.

Well, there you have it. There is still a lot more to add to this discussion, because there are still many more methods for boiling water. But here, I have just covered the most realistic options that are available. There are more exotic methods of boiling water - some are from ancient China; and they require specialized equipment. But I won't get into those - because it's just not practical for most people.

2005-11-10T17:46:00.000-05:00

Gaiwan Tea Customs

The gaiwan 盖碗 (covered bowl), also called gaibei 盖杯 (covered cup), is a popular and very simple way to both brew and drink tea.

Gaiwans are quite common in certain parts of China. In Chengdu you see them used often at teahouses.

Gaiwans are perfect for brewing a new tea that you have not tried yet. The white porcelain allows you to examine the color of the tea infusion. And you can easily examine the type of tea leaf, and the quality of tea leaf in your cup. So it's perfect for experimenting with new teas. And when you are done drinking, they are very simple to clean.

2005-11-10T17:40:00.000-05:00

Using Gaiwan as Brewing Vessel

To use the gaiwan as a brewing vessel, you brew the tea. Then, you grasp the bowl and lid in one hand. Slightly tilt the lid to allow the tea to pour easily. Pour the tea directly into a serving pitcher, or into cups.

This kind of pour method is a messy business. So be sure to have tea towels on hand to wipe up the mess on your table. Better yet, use a chapan to catch all the drips.

2005-11-10T17:28:00.000-05:00

The Gaiwan 盖碗

A gaiwan is a type of Chinese teaware. It is used as a drinking vessel and brewing vessel. Gaiwan literally means a "covered bowl" in Chinese. Gaiwans consist of three parts: the saucer, the bowl (or cup), and the lid.

To use a gaiwan as brewing and drinking vessel, you first heat the bowl with hot water, and spill the water out. You then place a measured amount of tea leaves in the bottom, and fill with hot water. Cover with the lid to allow the tea to steep. After a few minutes you may drink the tea directly from the cup - using one hand to grasp the saucer, and the other to hold the lid. You use the lid to strain the tea leaves to keep them in the cup, not your mouth.

2005-11-08T03:16:00.000-05:00

Yixing Zisha Teapot 宜兴紫砂茶壶

Here's one of my favorite teapots, and one of the first Zisha teapots I ever bought. I like the shape of this teapot. The handle and knob on the lid make it easy to handle and pour. But, so far I never used this teapot yet. I never could decide which tea I should devote to it. So it goes unused. It's kind of a waste really. But one day, I will get around to using it.

2005-11-08T03:06:00.000-05:00

Another Korean Celadon Teapot

This is another teapot from my collection; also part of a tea set (or dagi 다기 , as it's called in Korean). Although it's not so clear in the photo, there is an interesting design underneath the glaze. Korean potters have developed celadon wares to a high level of sophistication and refinement. I like it.

2005-11-08T03:02:00.000-05:00

Korean Celadon Teapot 韩国青瓷茶壶

Here is one of my celadon teapots; part of a tea set. Celadon comes in many styles. This one has a bamboo motif underneath the glaze. It's cool.

2005-11-07T13:43:00.000-05:00

Modern Celadon Teaware 现代青瓷茶具

Here is a Chinese teaset of modern celadon. Notice the light-green colored, crackleware glaze. Some celadons have even more greener, vibrant colors, like Korean celadons.

Northern Song Celadon 北宋青瓷水盂

2005-11-07T13:37:00.000-05:00

This is a photo of a Northern Song Dynasty celadon water jar. Notice how it is not so green, but more of a yellow hue. The crackleware glaze is also apparent. Although they are called "green porcelain" in Chinese, and celadon today is defined by a green color, the earliest celadon pieces were not that green at all.

2005-11-06T19:35:00.000-05:00

Celadon

Celadon has a very fascinating history. It appeared in China in the Eastern Han period or perhaps even earlier. But definitely by the Eastern Han period (25-220 CE), Chinese were producing celadon pottery. Though, this type of celadon is certainly not the same as that of today. In the Eastern Jin dynasty (265-316 CE), we see celadon wares with typical celadon characteristics, like the crackle-ware glaze. And by the Eastern Jin period, celadon wares were already well developed. In later years, many teawares were made from celadon. Eventually, celadon spread to Korea during the Koryo Dynasty (918-1392 CE). Perhaps during the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), tea along with celadon teawares made their spread into Korea; and Koreans adopted the custom of producing celadon and drinking tea. With tea drinking, there comes the inevitable development of teaware and pottery techniques.

Celadon in Chinese is called "qing ci" - 青瓷. It literally means "light-green porcelain". So today, we know celadon as being a light-green porcelain. But in the past, celadon was not necessarily green in color. Some of the Jin Dynasty wares look more like a light, earthy yellow color.

2005-10-26T03:31:00.000-04:00

Feng Cha

2005-10-26T03:29:00.000-04:00

Gloomy Skies

2005-10-26T03:27:00.000-04:00

Autunm Scenery

2005-10-24T23:47:00.000-04:00

Another Funky Tea set

This one has a black-on-white design. But I just don't get it. When is one supposed to use such a tea set?

2005-10-24T23:45:00.000-04:00

Funky Porcelain Tea Sets

What's up with that poodle design? Who the heck would buy that?

2005-10-24T23:38:00.000-04:00

Another Porcelain Teaset.

This one has a really nice flower design.

2005-10-24T23:35:00.000-04:00

Porcelain Tea Set

A really nice porcelain tea set.

2005-10-24T23:29:00.000-04:00

Gaiwans

A few nice gaiwans. It's a nice tea brewing accessory.

2005-10-24T23:27:00.000-04:00

Porcelain Teaware

A bunch of porcelain chahai (aka gongdao bei).

2005-10-24T23:26:00.000-04:00

Wood Tea Utensils - Again

This chapan design looks cool too.

2005-10-24T23:21:00.000-04:00

Wood tea utensils

A handsome wooden chapan.

2005-10-24T23:18:00.000-04:00

Bamboo Tea Utensils

A bunch of bamboo chapan. Bamboo is cool!!

2005-10-24T16:23:00.000-04:00

Tea Kettle

A cool porcelain tea kettle.

2005-10-24T16:22:00.000-04:00

Tea Tools

A bunch of tea tools in a variety of styles.

2005-10-24T06:56:00.000-04:00

Porcelain Tea Set

A really cool white porcelain tea set.

2005-10-24T06:54:00.000-04:00

Teaware Set

Nice porcelain teaware set in box.

2005-10-24T06:47:00.000-04:00

Beeng Cha

A shelf load of been cha in the tea market.

Actually, in Pinyin, it should be more properly written "bing cha".

2005-10-24T06:44:00.000-04:00

Chapan

A little fuzzy, but a nice Bhudda chapan. This one is cool.

2005-10-24T06:41:00.000-04:00

Catalog Page

Catalog page of a bunch of chapan. Many many designs.

2005-10-24T06:32:00.000-04:00

The Teaware Shop

Lots of stuff to buy. Hard to make a decision. Drink a few cups of gongfu tea first, then decide.

2005-10-24T06:14:00.000-04:00

Scenery of the Tea Market

If you go to the tea market, you can see many tea-relaated things. And you can spend all day drinking many teas.

2005-10-24T06:09:00.000-04:00

Tea Market

A friend of mine took some photos for me in the tea market. Here we have a nice bamboo tea tray.

2005-10-21T19:43:00.000-04:00

Tea Trick 1

Today I'm drinking a green tea - Longjing tea. But it's not the ordinary sort. I turned it up a notch. I added a special ingredient. Can you guess what it is? No, it's not sugar. It's osmanthus flowers. They're tiny little flowers from the gui tree (Osmanthus fragrans). Osmanthus is called gui in Chinese. Osmanthus flowers are known as gui hua.

"But why?" you ask. Why would I adulterate famous tea with another ingredient? The answer is simple. I got bored, so I tried experimenting. I have added osmanathus flowers to various oolong teas before, but didn't get any spectacular result. But this time, was different. Wow, what a difference those flowers made to the tea. Normally, longjing has a bit of a bitter aftertaste. But when I mixed osmanthus flowers in, it didn't have any bitter aftertaste at all. The tea infusion was quite sweet, and very fragrant, with that characteristic osmanthus fragrance.

I used one of those porcelain teapots specially made for flower teas. Longjing tea is quite interesting. Though it's a green tea, it can stand up to hotter water temperatures very well. I used near boiling water and steeped for 2 minutes, then decanted into a chahai. I'm not sure about the exact amount of tea or flower I used. I don't use a gram scale. But I used a smaller quantity of flower than the longjng tea.

Actually, this longjing tea was not fresh. It was sitting in my cupboard in a tea tin for maybe a few years. Only now am I getting to drink it. If you have some old tea sitting in your back cupboard, try something new with it if you find the tea has lost its flavor. Adding osmanthus flowers is a good trick to bring an old tea back to life.

So there you have it, tea trick number 1.

If you have a chance, certainly buy some osmanthus flowers. They're worth it.

2005-10-16T14:25:00.000-04:00

New Tea Song

To help my friend, I just created a new song just for her. This one is easier to sing, and it is culturally relevant for Chinese primary students. Here it is:

Yixing Ware

Yixing ware Yixing ware,
Oh where oh where
Is my Yixing ware?
My little brown teapot,
My lovely little teapot,
I pour tea for you to show I care.

2005-10-16T10:52:00.000-04:00

I was helping a friend in China, who is a teacher, find some children's songs so her class could perform them. Found this one and couldn't resist. Haha, I even had to give her a performance.

I'm a Little Teapot

I'm a little teapot
Short and stout
Here is my handle
Here is my spout
When I get all steamed up
Hear me shout
"Tip me overand pour me out!"

2005-10-12T00:06:00.000-04:00

Tea Exam

The following are multiple choice questions. Please select the best answer. Note: for each, select one answer only.

1. Tea was discovered:

a) In India.
b) In your local health food store.
c) 8,000 years ago by Neolithic peoples in China.
d) 5,000 years ago by Shen Nong.
e) By the Japanese monk Eisai.
f) In The Shilla Dynasty by Korean Master Chong Tam.
g) In Chinatown.
h) None of the above.

2. Tea is the national drink of:

a) Great Britain
b) United States
c) China
d) Canada
e) None of the above

3. Which of the following is not a tea type:

a) Red tea
b) Green tea
c) Blue Tea
d) Yellow tea
e) Black tea
f) White tea
g) Flower tea

4. In order to drink tea, one must first:

a) Steep it.
b) Whisk it.
c) Buy it in a bottle at your local store.
d) None of the above.
e) All of the above.

5. In brewing tea, the most important parameter is:

a) The tea leaves.
b) The tea utensils.
c) The water.
d) The way you feel.
e) Your guests.
f) The weather.

2005-09-29T01:03:00.000-04:00

The Fashion of Tea

More and more, tea is becoming globally a hot fashion. In the US alone, tea sales are expected to reach $10 billion by 2010. So yes, tea is becoming more popular year by year.

But what does it all mean?

Tea history is very intersting - esepcially the fashion of tea. Yes, there is fashion in tea too. There is fashion in tea, in terms of the utensils used, the style of preparing the tea, the method of drinking the tea, etc. In fact, throughout history, there are so many fashions in tea throughout the world, that it's interesting to trace the roots, and understand its impact on culture.

For example, powdered tea was the fashion of the Song Dynasty China. But it fell out of fashion there by the Yuan dynasty. But then, it was still quite popular in Japan, in the tea ceremony; and also still fashionable in Korea.

Today, there is a resurgence of some powdered tea fashion - in Korea. And also in North America. Look at this article as an example:
http://www.infuzeteahouse.com/archive/MediResource.htm

It will be interesting to see what other past tea fashions become fashionable again in the future. Tea is an ever-changing fashion. But it never quite goes out of fashion. It's still the second most popular bevarage on the planet, after water.

2005-09-27T16:57:00.000-04:00

Tea Photography.

It's an interesting discussion topic. And I guess it's a career for some people - professional tea photographer. Lately I have been curious about the subject. What does it take to get that great shot? Some tea photos are very well composed, highly artistic. Yes, tea friends, tea photography is the new art. Let's get a bunch of cool tea photos, frame them, and hang them in our houses. Get rid of all the other boring stuff hanging on the walls. Our houses could become our private tea art gallery - full of tea photos hanging on our walls. And if you're a tea photographer, man, you should take your work and go on tour. You will be famous.

If you're just an amateur photographer, try taking some tea photos. See how creative you can get, and try to make something interesting. It doesn't hurt to experiment with the tea utensils you have - even if they are very ordinary ones. Tea photography is a subject of endless fascination.

2005-09-25T22:44:00.000-04:00

I created a new, Chinese blog that's also about tea. I don't know why, but for many topics, I prefer to use Chinese. I guess it partly just depends on the mood I'm in. And also partly because I have a different way of expressing things in Chinese. Anyway, the Chinese blog is about tea too. It's on blogcn.com. You can navigate to it on the right sidebar.

Blogcn.com also has music blogs. That sounds interesting. Apparently, I can upload the music I compose. That might be worth a try. I will apply for a music blog next. Expect to see the link to that too.

2005-09-24T08:52:00.000-04:00

Water is important for tea. So many different kinds of water create so many different tea experiences.

2005-09-22T17:22:00.000-04:00

Ten Memorable Tea Experiences:

Autumn tea - sitting on a bench and viewing the mist on the lake. The red pine tree beside me let water droplets fall into the lake with a distinctive sound. The white cliffs surrounding the lake were barely visible.
Summer tea - sitting in a field watching birds, hearing hawks screaming.
Summer evening tea - on a full moon evening, sitting on the beach, watching lightning in a distant cloud.
Summer morning tea - 6 am tea, waking up in my tipi to the bugling of sandhill cranes in the field.
Spring morning tea - waking up to the scent of balsam boughs of my bed, surprised at all the frost outside.
Maple tea - while boiling down maple sap, drinking copious quantities of freshly brewed tea infused in maple sap.
At a friend's house - sitting ouside on the porch, drinking a big bowl of tea, watching a bald eagle glide over the lake.
In China, sitting in a teahouse, listening to the tea host talk about tea.
In China, in the tea market, chatting with the other guests while we all drank really good Anxi Tieguanyin together.
Winter tea - watching the moonlight over the frozen lake.

2005-09-22T17:19:00.000-04:00

I'm so lazy to post anything in here about tea. Even though tea is my passion, my life, for some reason I find it so hard to write about it in a blog like this. I guess maybe I need a little structure to blog about tea.

2005-09-22T00:39:00.000-04:00

Piao Yun Xiang Ying