A Bizen Mizusashi

My readers would know my fascination with Bizen tea ware. I had purchased a few Bizen pieces that included a tea set and a teapot (link).    Bizen tea ware are made in Japan. The uniqueness are that some of these bizen potters, when they are firing, or baking the clay, allowed the ashes and burning cinders to fly within the kiln and the results were that these pieces may have scorched or burnt marks on the surface of the clay. To the purist of ceramic clay, this may seem like a defect or imperfection, but I simply adore these pieces. They seem to give a character to the pieces. I feel happy handling the bizen pieces in my collection.

I recently purchased a Bizen mizusashi. It is actually a container to store water for a tea ceremony. When there is little water left in a kettle, it is refilled from the mizusashi. I guessed it is convenient, that you need not leave the tea table with your kettle to refill water in the kitchen. One of my friends claimed that water stored overnight in a bizen container makes the water sweeter. I shall test his claim and report back to my readers. I had initially wanted to used this piece as an improvised tea caddy.  This bizen piece stands at 6.1 inches and 5.3 inches in diameter. 

I will be In Tokyo/Kyoto for about 10 days during the Christmas period.  If any Japanese readers want to have tea with me, I would be happy to meet you. I will bring some old tea for our tea sessions.

2014 Xiaguan Yuan Ye Raw Pu erh

I had been following this tea when I came across this tea 3 years ago in the tea markets.  This is the 2014 Xiaguan special edition of the Yuan Ye.  Based on the description slip enclosed with the cake, Xiaguan tea factory had harvested the tea from old gushu tea trees in high altitudes of above 2200 ft in Yunnan.  In addition,  Xiaguan had stored away this tea for 7 years and only releasing this tea for sale in 2014.  

The tea leaves are unique.  The leaves, when I broke up the tea cake, looked glossy and shiny.  I thought the leaves were damp.  It was not.  The leaves felt oily and closer examination of the leaves showed that they are quite big and (believe it or not) furry.....like little shiny hairs on the leaves. '

When I brewed the tea, the tea was clean and clear.  Nothing oily in the tea and taste.  Some smokiness but the tea was smooth with hints of smoky pine wood. There were some nice fruity aroma like plums and dried berries.  A tea session of this tea can get me 10 strong,   slightly intoxicating infusions.   

An interesting and strong tea.  I think this tea will even be more impressive after a few more years of storage in Singapore.  I will try to add more of this tea to my collection.  

Tea With An Englishman

I had tea with an Englishman last Friday.

Russell Alderton, had through the Steepster forum, asked about Chinese tea in Singapore. He was in Singapore for a week and had wanted to visit the Chinese tea scene in Singapore. He contacted me and I arranged to meet Russell last Friday.

I guessed that he wanted to sample Chinese tea in Singapore. I met Russell in Chinatown and brought him to the famous Maxwell Food Market for a large plate of Hainanese chicken rice. You will noticed In the pix that I bought him a coconut drink as well. I wanted to make sure he had a good meal as the tea sampling session later that afternoon was going to be wild and intense.

Russell initially looked pretty stern but after sampling 3 old pu erh (5 infusions each), I got him tea drunk and you can see him grinning in the following pix. He appreciates his tea and took his time to describe the taste and aroma of each tea to me. He reminded me of Andrew Zimmern, the famed TV food host of Bizarre Food series. Let me explain.....when Andrew tried a food he liked, he would close his eyes and go into a 'bliss-like' state for a few seconds. Russell did that 'bliss-like' action (exactly) when he sampled the Feng Huang Danchong (we tried 2 old Danchong as well). He really liked that tea.

I learnt, during our conversation at the teashop, that Russell kept his tea in a refrigerator. The refrigerator was not turned on at all. He used his fridge somewhat like a pumidor or a mini cave to store his tea. He even used water pillows to maintain the humidity in the fridge.

It was an enjoyable tea session. I believed he was impressed with the puerh storage while sampling the tea cakes in Singapore.

I would like to thank Miss Chong of D'art Station for spending considerable time and patience for hosting us to a wonderful sampling session of old Pu erh and oolongs. Thank you.