Red Circle Tea

For this Slow Food event we chose to feature two, possibly three teas. We brought our Red Heart Oolong, one of my favorites, and a crowd pleaser. We wanted to introduce people who love oolong to another great oolong from this years harvest. And, we wanted to open the eyes and palates of people who had not yet had good oolong to this great tea. Unfortunately, the mineral content in the tea did not take to the mineral content in the water, and when we tried the first brew of our tea is was almost unrecognisably … well uninteresting. What tea is this? Where is the characteristic warmth? The loveable top note of red rose? All gone. Thin and uninteresting, a day-when-you-don’t-care-what-you-drink oolong had appeared in it’s place.

This is all to say that sometimes you don’t know what kind of water will be available and how it will affect your tea.  What characteristics will it bring out and what will it hide? Too mineraly and the flavor will front load, leaving you with fewer steepings and strange tasting tea. Not enough minerals and you’ll have flat, boring tea. Ideally, tea at it’s best is steeped with water that has a mineral profile as close to the mineral profile of the earth and water used in the tea growing region.  This way, the mineral content in the water used to brew the tea will compliment and highlight the mineral content in the dry leaf of the plant.  Two more factors come in to play. First, regionality / nationality of the tea drinker and availability of water source. What if you live in Wisconsin, but your tea is from China? What if you live in Brazil, but your tea is from Taiwan?  If you are using tap water, then ultimately, you choose the water you prefer.  Maybe you add bamboo charcoal to soften your water and balance negative ions.  Then, this will make the tea you like to drink, and that is good tea.  Second, what bottled water choices are available to you and which are appropriate to the tea you’re drinking? If you live in Japan, and drink Pi water would you use that for a Fuding White? If you live in France and drink Evian water, would you use that on a Wu Yi Rock tea?  Lastly, when you travel, what water sources are available to you and how can you maximize your tea drinking experience abroad. I want to encourage you to taste more water around you. Pay attention to the water at the restaurant you eat at, water from your neighbors house, bottled waters from around the world and water from (safe) foreign drinking sources.

So what did we wind up serving at the Slow Food Nation Expo? After feeling a little deflated and now conscious of our water source we tried our Special Reserve Keemun top grade from Yellow Mountain in Anhui Province. There is only one grade of this tea that is higher than this one, it is the tribute grade. Reserved for the Emperor or government officials, given to the temples or used in gifts and for bribes, it is almost never for sale and the price is astronomical. After that tea, this is the top grade of keemun available for sale. The leaves are tiny and wiry, needle thin and even, and soft tiny gold buds punctuate the uniform dark look. We brewed it and ta-da! Juicy fruit, rich winey-ness, and a light smokey finish. Best of all, there it was on the lid of the gaiwan: blackberry. Happily, we set about organizing a tea station for preparing Keemun.

Then, we brought out our just-in-case tea.  Our Puerh Brick Half cooked (also referred to as a mixed brick) from 2006. This is a great half-fermented tea from Yunnan province. Originally picked and pressed into cakes when the leaves are green, puerh is meant to age over time, the leaves turn brown and the taste deepens and mellows. In the late 70’s and early 80’s the population of Hong Kong wanted more aged puerh. Thus, they developed the method of “cooking” or fermenting puerh artificially and re-creating that “aged” taste. They taught this technique to the puerh factories and the practice has come to dominate puerh production, so much so that when offering a puerh to a tea drinker often the first question is: is it raw or cooked?  Generally, cooked over a period of time, this brick is cooked for half that time, offering a mixed appearance of leaves that fermented fully and leaves that did not ferment.  Because of this, this is a great tea to enjoy today, or, to age over time. It is also a fantastic introduction to puerh, it’s complexities, it’s appealing earthy taste and unique status in the tea world.

When Alice Cravens of Modern Tea restaurant in Hayes valley announced that she was going to be the Tea Curator at the Slow Food Nation Taste Pavilion and asked us to be a part of it I had no idea how lucky we really were. I had a better sense of just how lucky when we walked in to the taste hall Friday morning for set up. Pulling into the Fort Mason Center in the Marina district at the north end of San Francisco and finding parking near the water with a stunning view was breathtaking in itself, but then we entered the hall to this scene: busy little fork lifts were beeping everywhere, hammers were pounding and voices unhindered by furniture, walls or carpet were echoing off the concrete floor and down the length of the building.  A long hall at the end of the Fort Mason piers, the taste hall is it’s own pier and is hidden behind all the other buildings and even behind Herbst Pavilion. When you walk in, it’s like a long large warehouse, but  beautifully decorated with a modern-farm-eco-sustainable-hip twist. Long orange banners hang from the ceiling and proclaim “Pickles” or “Coffee”.

The tea section is surrounded by white gauzy material that creates small intimate spaces with tables and seating for 8 people.  A tea facilitator who specializes in Japanese tea, Taiwanese tea, Chinese tea or just tea history offers you a 15 minute look into the different teas that they are presenting.  The Japanese ladies who were presenting Matcha tea for traditional preparation were in the most beautiful kimonos!

With water that is heavy with minerals,  Carnie and I were glad we chose our Puerh Brick(Mixed) Half Cooked 2006 and our Keemun Special Reserve Grade 2008. They stood up quite well, but still steeped very quickly, and were front loaded with taste, leaving the remaining steepings less flavorful. While normally I can get a good 12-15 steepings from the keemun, even with doubling the quantity of tea used, I was only getting 8 good steepings. Even so, it was nice to introduce many people to puerh and give them their first taste of what good “English Breakfast” tea should taste like… sweet, bright, juicy, winey, a hint of smoke and that delectable blackberry note that won my heart and convinced me say yes to this tea on our buying trip.

What else is at the Slow Food Nation Taste Pavilion? Tea, yes, but there is chocolate, honey, spirits, wine, charcuterie, fish and so much more. I have only had a brief chance to look around but I learned quite a lot about absinthe yesterday, and tasted goat milk ice cream for the first time, and had a convincingly good sweet U.S.-cured prosciutto!  Pictures and more stories to come, so stay tuned!

Yesterday evening, while the sun still shone, 15 people gathered with anticipation at Modern Tea Restaurant in Hayes Valley, San Francisco. They were there for the premier of our new spring teas: Rare Pre-Qing Ming Dragonwell from Lion’s Peak in West Lake, China; and 3rd Prize Competition winning Baochong from Wen mountain near Pinglin, Taiwan. This was the first chance to taste these spring teas, tell our stories and   Below is a copy of the handout each guest received at the tasting. A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came.

Rare Pre-Qing Ming Dragonwell from famous Lion’s Peak

In the misty mountains outside of Hangzhzou City in northern China, there is a famous tea growing area called West Lake. High altitudes, sweet clean air, and precious, well balanced mineral content in the soil all contribute to some of the most famous tea on earth: Dragonwell. On this mountain, there are several peaks, which all have names, and corresponding reputations for the tea they give.

The lowest peak is Mei Ja Wu. Its tea is green and attractive, but it has the lowest altitude. The next peak is Wan Tai. The next highest peak is Fu Pao. The fourth and most famous peak is Lion’s Peak (Shi Feng), and its tea is considered the crème de la crème by connoisseurs. The tea from this mountain peak was traditionally reserved for the Emperor.

On the first weekend of April was the celebration of the Ancestors. Food, gifts, and paper clothes are offered in tribute. This is also an important time for tea picking. There are only about 10 days before this date that tea can be picked if the conditions are right, and some years that time frame is even shorter. If conditions are right, the tea is ready, and the farmer knows his crops, picking of the best grade of tea: Pre-Qing Ming can begin.

The tea from Lion’s Peak is not the most attractive of all the teas because it does not fit the standard for judging a tea on its appearance. But it is the best tasting, and therefore the most sought after of Dragonwell teas. This Dragonwell has all the classic flavors and in addition, it was expertly processed and triple sifted to ensure only the full leaves remain. Expert farming and processing lead to the best possible flavor profile. Accessibility – someone you trust who is willing to sell it to you is the last key. Then, finally, you have an opportunity to experience the sweetness, the bright top notes, the chestnutty depth and the silky texture worthy of the title “Rare Pre-Qing Ming Dragonwell”. Not only is it a pleasure to drink, to share with friends, it is a privilege to use this tea as a benchmark to build your taste-memory in order to better appreciate future harvests of Dragonwell.

Rare Competition-Winning Baochong from Pinglin Wen Shan

Up the winding roads of Pinglin on verdant Wen mountain in northern Taiwan grow the most unique of Taiwan’s teas: Baochong. “Wrapped Kind” (Baochong) is called a “blue” tea by the Chinese, and the Taiwanese insist it is a green. In the West, because of its processing and in particular it’s oxidation time (longer than green but not brown like oolong), it is classified as an oolong.

Baochong is the staple of northern Taiwan tea farming and twice a year there is a competition to see who has the best spring and the best fall Baochong. In speaking with the competition judges, we learned there are 5 major criteria, all equally considered in choosing a winner. Dry leaf aroma, wet leaf aroma, aroma of the beverage, color of the beverage, and finally the most subjective criteria of all: taste. This tea exhibits some of the best qualities of Baochong. It’s nearly stemless leaves are perfectly twisted, and still retain the outer leaf edge for varietal identification. There is a golden halo discernable around the leaves, denoting expert processing. The flavor never goes sour or bitter, even when oversteeped.

This tea took 15 hours to process by hand and this years’ window for picking was shorter than usual. With high notes of lily, gardenia, orange flower blossom and sweet pop corn and a complimentary depth, this is a fantastic tea. It was chosen only after tasting 12 other teas of similar grade from different vendors.

Sina & Carnie

Red Circle Tea

After a long and wonderful and difficult and delightful and sometimes slightly disastrous trip, we are heading out. We have been incredibly lucky to have great teachers and gracious hosts. It really touched my heart to hear the last question asked of us where ever we went was: when are you coming back? As soon as we can.

Tea tastings for Red Circle Tea are scheduled at Modern Tea and Mina Dresden Gallery. Please see our New Events pages for details. We’d love to see you there, show you pictures, and tell you more stories.

Thank you,

Sina and Carnie

In the Ti Kuan Yin world, there are basically two varietals, Golden Heart, and Red Heart. They are so named because of the color of the bud when the plant is growing, one is red, the other is more golden. There are also legends about TKY, because it is considered the mother of all Oolongs.

One story goes like this: Once upon a time, a young man called Wong See Yeung went to the South Sun Book School. In order to advance himself, he applied for a job as a government official. To attain the position, he would have to pass a test. He wanted to bring with him to the test a tea to represent him and his hometown. Luckily, he managed to pass along a sample of his tea and it fell into the hands of the king. Upon seeing and tasting the tea, the king proclaimed it heavy as iron (because it was pressed into a ball shape) and as beautiful as Kuan Yin. Later, Wong See Yeun learned he had passed his test. Upon hearing his good news, he brought a gift of tea in tribute to the king. The king asked him: what is this tea called? Wong said he didn’t know, but he thought the king had done the tea justice by reflecting wisely that the tea was heavy as iron, and as beautiful as Kuan Yin, would the king be offended if he called it Ti Kuan Yin? And thus, the name was given.

This spring, the Red Heart TKY we tasted was like no other oolong I have had. Toasty and roasted, but not overly dark, with rich bready notes, this tea has a warm and comforting feel to it. This year’s tea is not tightly rolled, and that means after the first two brews the tea flavor completely opens up, giving a big aroma and a bright taste. Notes of honey linger and there is no mistaking the soft and heady air of a red rose on a hot summer day that lingers. This will be a tea I will enjoy for this season, and if I guess correctly, a bench mark for Red Heart tea I look forward to tasting in years to come.

Taiwan was hot yesterday. Very hot, until about 2 pm, when the clouds rolled over and the sky opened up with a crack. This looks like a typhoon, I said, never having seen this quantity of rain come from the sky at this pace. No, just summer rain, said my host. We arrived in Pingling, a small village community on Wenshan mountain, famous for Taiwan’s signature tea: Baochong. We visited three tea farmers at their shops, learning from each. The first tea farmer we visited talked to us about this year’s growing season: It was colder this winter, he explained, and then it warmed, the tea grew faster. We had heard this had a seriously negative effect on white teas from China, but apparently, it was beneficial for baochong. We also talked about altitude. Many teas on Wenshan are grown between 300-800 meters. Higher than 800, and you begin to lose the fragrance, he said. Later when we were driving up the mountain to visit another tea farm, we saw proof of this. High peaks were lush with trees, palms, and vegetation of all kinds except for tea. This year, the top grade of tea offered to us had gentle notes of aromatic orange flower blossom, but an astringent finish that overpowered it.

The next farmer we visited was the man we bought our baochong from last year. He was quite happy to see us, and we were glad to have the chance to meet up with him again. Last year, we chose two baochong teas from him, a premium grade and a competition grade. This year, he explained, he harvested from new plants. He planted them last spring. He picked in the winter to prime the plant for a better spring harvest, and this spring was the fruit of his labor. This year was tricky, he explained, because the window of time he had to pick was shorter. According to the Taiwanese Farmers Almanac, there is usually a window of about 7-10 days in which a farmer begins to pay close attention to the sunrise, the time of morning at which the fog lifts, and the intensity of the heat for that day. I was told by one farmer that if he has to cover his feet at night, it will be to cold to consider picking the next day, if it is warm enough to leave his feet uncovered, the plants will be ready for picking starting the next day. Within this window is the right time to harvest. Each farmer chooses a specific day according to the weather, intuition, and expertise. This year, he told us he picked one day earlier than last year. This year’s baochong premium was just as good as last year. Strong, bright, notes of lilly and cucumber with a perfect calcium finish. But we were looking for competition grade. His competition grade was not so good. Astringent and too bright, top notes of grass and hay, and an astringency that left my mouth dry made it hard to break the news to him, that this year we would not be able to say yes to his tea.

The next farmer we visited had been featured in magazines and on TV and frankly, all that commercial attention had kept me from visiting him before. We stopped in anyways, just to see what all the fuss was about. We found a warm and welcoming person who was a 5th generation farmer. He remembers when he was little that his father asked him to take 29 days off from elementary school to help with the harvest, and felt even at his young age that farming was a waste of time, and would keep him from getting a better job later in life. Later, he was educated in Taipei, and went into the army for 2 years. When he returned he worked at a computer component factory for a little while until his father fell ill. He returned to Pingling to care for his father, resuming the farming life once again. As the only son, his father asked him to take over the farming business, and he agreed. As an educated man he dedicated himself to perfecting the craft of tea farming and tea processing and as a result,he has won 5 of the last 9 competitions in Pingling. We asked him about how he tends his soil, how he cares for his tea gardens, and he offered us a book with dozens of chapters, each written by farmers telling their own stories of coming into the tea business, and how the believe they can best care for their land.

We also had a chance to taste tea with him. We asked for top grade teas, and in true tradition we were offered tourist grade tea instead. Tea for those unfamiliar with the nuances and beauty baochong has to offer. Interestingly, it had a lovely aroma and nice top notes of citrus,but an astringency to the finish . We asked for a higher grade, and were offered a better tea. a lilly aroma and and juicy notes of a lemon drop candy (not sour) , a better thickness to the tea and yet still that dry finish. One more, we asked, one higher grade. He explained the price, that this was not a tea he had a large quantity of, and if we were interested in it, it could not be a “commercial” tea, but a connoisseurs tea. With a perfect thickness to it and the best top notes of any tea of it’s grade we had tasted, the barest hint of astringency and a depth that lingered even when the tea cooled, this was the tea we had been looking for. This was the best of the 12 teas we had tried from three different and highly skilled tea producers in this region and we were proud to purchase it. This tea he explained is also one of this year’s competition winners. It took third place at the Pingling Tea Competition. On our way out, he expressed his feelings about how people come to try his teas all the time. You, he said, you came to taste my tea and you took it seriously. Thank you. He dedicated his life to his tea farm and to his family’s business and he was glad to have guests who taste the difference in his tea, and recognise his life’s work.

In the 1940’s the Fut Loi puerh factory was begun in Yunnan. It would later become one of the worlds leaders in puerh production and the most respected factory known as Menghai. With a distinctive taste that would set them apart from other producers they embarked on what would be a long and famous venture.

Menghai is unique among puerh producers. Tea is 99% water, and water plays an integral role in puerh production. From the amount of water the trees received during a growing season, to the amount of water present in the leaves at the time of picking, to the water used to make the tea- all these are critical factors in the result of what you actually taste. With puerh, there is one more factor. During tea processing, “cooked” puerh is sprayed with water and covered for 40 or 80 days (depending on the length of time the producer wants to put in to making the tea) then steamed or pressed into cakes. Green “unfermented” puerh, is steamed and pressed into cakes. But what water do you use to wet the leaves, or steam them with? Menghai has their own well. This is an incredibly important factor in the quality of their tea, because water is the “mirror” of tea: it reflects it’s true qualities, for better or worse, and when you have a water source with the same mineral contentas the tea leaves, you highlight the best qualities of that tea, offering it the best possible taste. This is why the famous saying goes: Dragonwell green tea is best made with water from the actual well at Fu Pao Cheun. This is also why people have tried to reproduce Menghai’s famous recipes and failed. They do not have access to the same water source.

Produced in 1955 (a very good year for puerh) this tea cake was stored in Yunnan for ten years, and was then transferred to Hong Kong for the next 30 years. This says a lot about it’s primarily “wet” (humid) style storage taste. In 1995, when the owner realised the impending and very real possibility that the Chinese government could confiscate his collection for the benefit of the people (the 1997 handover of HK to China) he decided to sell most of his collection to the highest bidder. Our teacher had the fortune to purchase one cake he has kept whole. A friend purchased another and shared 1/2 of that cake with him.

Traditionally puerh is enjoyed in 7g portions. For today’s event, we were treated to 20g of Red Label, lovingly kept inside a pewter bottle, inside a purple velvet lined mahogany box. The dry leaves were passed around for examination, and it was noted that there is almost no fragrance left at all. Not at this stage, said Shi Fu, no more aroma. We let the leaves breathe for about an hour while we learned more about this tea, it’s producer, and red up on previous collector’s tasting notes. It was interesting to read that connoisseurs of this tea who have enjoyed it over the years remarked on an orchid aroma that was present when the dry tea still gave off a fragrance.

The tea house was buzzing with excitement and anticipation. People who casually stopped by immediately took a seat and were obviously not going anywhere anytime soon. Others took out their cell phones and began texting friends about their luck and offered invitations. This was an open and free festivity, but certainly not an every day occasion.

After everyone was assembled and the dry leaves were passed around, and enough conversation was had to make everyone sufficiently excited to taste this incredible tea, the steeping began.

Usually, tea is rinsed, then you enjoy the first steeping. With an aged puerh like this, every leaf counts, every steeping counts. When tea tea is rinsed, even that is enjoyed. The rinse was almost jet black. It had an air of dry roasted nuttiness, deep wood, and that “old” taste, like the smell of old wood. The tea was incredibly thick. It was served in thimble sized cups, but even that amount of tea had plenty of flavor to coat the mouth, tongue and throat. The first steeping was rich but brighter, the mineral quality was blooming now: iron, copper, eucalyptus, camphor and mahogany notes all came out. The second steeping was even more concentrated flavor and a gentle sourness hovered like a single note from a trumpet in a quiet morning on the roof of my mouth, but all that depth still shone through. We went through about 14 steepings before the color began to change significantly, and turned to a soft red-tea color. Later we would examine the leaves and be surprised at how red they were, we were expecting something much darker. No, Shi Fu said, the leaves of the old uncooked teas are more mineral rich. The soil was better then.

25 steepings later, we were all feeling relaxed. Normally puerh gives you energy and can even bring on profuse sweating. Not this tea. Very, very good puerh (very old puerh) can put you into a deep state of relaxation.

Today, Red Label is not for sale. No one will sell it to you. Everyone who has it is waiting for the price to continue going up so they can make the most profit out of it. The last known price paid was USD 25,000.00 for one 350 g cake. To find a tea this rare, and to find someone willing to share it so openly was humbling.

We tasted two great teas today, both are very different. First, we went hunting in Fan Cun, the famed Tea Market of the south. There are over 4,000 tea vendors there, so we asked for assistance. We were referred to Mrs. Dao, for the best Chrysanthemum flower vendor we could find. We met up with her and her family from Hang Zhou at their shop. They had three grades of Chrysanthemum, low middle and tribute grade.  We started with the best.  These are tiny chrysanthemums, the size of a dime.  They are bright white and loose and fluffy.  The best fully matured chrysanthemum flowers are harvested only once a year at the end of August, though the buds can be harvested as early as late July. They give an almost clear liquid that is distinguishable as tea only by it’s viscosity.  It has an almost minty freshness to it I have never experienced before. It is a refreshing but soothing cup. We were sure this was the tea we needed. We bought 3 pounds of it and had it vacuum sealed to keep bugs away, as chrysanthemum teas are prone to attracting pests if they are kept improperly.

We also met up with a puerh vendor today. Mr. Yeung has an agricultural degree from the University here in Guangzhou. He is particularly good at deciphering and categorizing puerh by leaf grade. He had us try some 2002 Xia Guan tuocha, but we were really taken by his new 2007 (November harvest) cooked “7533: Heng Hai (Menghai Area) puerh. Rich, sweet and composty, this tea will age well in San Francisco, where the dryness will take the edge off that compost taste leaving that rich sweetness you often find in a “7262″ puerh.  We have a whole tong, 7 cakes, and we’re excited to share them when we return. Today we’re off to visit Shi Fu again, and try 1992-3 mixed Wu Yi from the “12 Golden Picks” Better translated as the “12 Golden Chosen-ones”.  

When we arrived at the tea house this morning they were loading the 5 gallon water bottles into the truck. A late night tea gathering meant there was no water left this morning, and they were headed to the spring a day early. Since we had planned to visit the Pagoda Temple today here in Guangzhou with Shi Fu, we decided to keep with our plan, and will attempt to visit the spring again before we leave. We would have tea first, then leave for the temple after lunch.

We began by having a brief discussion about Wu Yi tea flavor. Wu Yi is a very difficult tea to describe in terms of taste. It is called a “rock tea” because it is grown on the cliffs of Wu Yi mountain, in northeast Guangdong and has a “rock” quality flavor. If you have ever been to a river on a hot summer day, needed a rest and laid out on a large, flat rock to catch some sun and leaned over to smell the rock, you’ll know what the smell of rock is. It’s that iron-rich mineral quality coupled with the actual smell of the heat rising off the hot rock. It’s comforting and relaxing. With Wu Yi tea, rock is the predominant base note. The beauty of Wu Yi tea is in the top note: a soft perfumey orchid quality that lingers. Wu Yi tea is also interesting because of it’s thickness. All tea has a specific viscosity that is specific to the varietal, but Wu Yi tea almost coats the mouth and rests under the tongue and at the back of the throat.

For lunch, we ate at the tea house, they make a family style lunch and dinner every day that staff and visitors eat. It’s better food than any restaurant and incredibly inexpensive because it’s homemade. Lunch, served at 1pm, is accompanied by afternoon CCTV news. You’ve heard about the earthquake in Sichuan, and we see it on the news daily. It’s possible there are other news stories, I haven’t heard them. Most of the pictures are of rubble and destruction, trying to get equipment and supplies in to clean up what is left. The coverage centers around the few people who have been rescued, speeches by public officials, and promises of help to come. On another channel there is a telethon to raise money for clean up. Stars and entertainers all sing karaoke and ask for donations. A ticker at the bottom of the screen reads out the donations coming in.

After lunch, we headed to the Pagoda Temple. This temple was built in 1100. When you enter, there is a large courtyard and three main temple buildings, one to the left, in front of us, and to the right. There is also the Pagoda. We climb the 8 stories through tiny staircases that do not allow you to stand up straight. (Is it possible that only small children were made to care for the upper stories of the pagoda? I ask Shi Fu and he laughs. ) At the top is a breathtaking view of Guangzhou high rises and hazy hills in the distance. Below are stone houses with rooftop gardens and the ever present laundry drying on the line.

Back at the tea house, we have good news. This year’s Ti Kuan Yin harvest will be the best it’s been in the last 7-8 years. It’s looking good. We tasted a first batch sample from a mid grade TKY and it was lovely, a little rough at the back, though. We’re waiting for a higher grade to come in, and we’ll see what that holds. Stay tuned!

Today began with helping Tsun Tsun setting up the tea house. She’s there early in the morning, (10am) when the tea house opens. We helped her bring out chairs, sweep, and set up tables. We brought more gifts today, fruit and chocolates. We also brought tea; some teas we’d collected, and wanted to get more information about, others were offers from vendors. We wanted to get a better idea from Shi Fu about what we were tasting and how to put them in context. In the process of comparing these teas, we experienced sharp contrasts between the tastes of Xia Guan and Menghai (the two of the more famous puerh producers). This is what we learned: Xia Guan is more bold, astringent, like the taste of dandelion or bitter greens, and lingers. Menghai is more sweet and subtle, and has fresh and clean feel like celery. The Xia Guan and Menghai both were green or “raw” 2003 puerhs.

Later in the afternoon, I was given a traditional Chinese green tea ceremony lesson. I practiced with Hainan “white sand green tea”, one of the lower grades of greens. No need to try my hand at the best yet. Not until I perfect this style of preparation. (Pictures to come)

In the evening, we looked at teapots. There are five main criteria for choosing a teapot:

1) Aesthetic 2) Functionality 3) Kind of tea you can use it for 4) Kind of clay it is made with and 5) the factory it is made from.

Stay tuned for more entries, we’re looking forward to posting about our excursions to the spring where Shi Fu gets water for tea, and to Xieu Chao too.