Tea News - Hong Kong

From Agence France Presse 30 Aug 2012, this well written article is written by Beh Lih Yi.  Titled "Work, mahjong and tea : Hong Kong's secret to longevity".  

HONG KONG - Covered in smog and cramped apartment towers, Hong Kong is not usually associated with a healthy lifestyle. But new figures show that Hong Kongers are the longest-living people in the world.

Hong Kong men have held the title for more than a decade and recent data show women in the southern Chinese city overtaking their Japanese counterparts for the first time, according to the governments in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

Hong Kong women's life expectancy rose from an average 86 years in 2010 to 86.7 years in 2011, while Japanese women's longevity was hit by last year's earthquake and tsunami, falling to 85.9 years, census 
figures reveal.

So what is Hong Kong's secret to a long life?

Experts say there is no single elixir, but contributing factors include easy access to modern health care, keeping busy, traditional Cantonese cuisine and even the centuries-old Chinese tile game of mahjong.

Rolling stones gather no moss

"I love traveling, I like to see new things and I meet my friends for 'yum cha' every day," Mak Yin, an 80-year-old grandmother of six says as she practices the slow-motion martial art of tai chi in a park on a Sunday morning.

"Yum cha" is the Cantonese term to describe the tradition of drinking tea with bite-sized delicacies known as dim sum. The tea is free and served non-stop, delivering a healthy dose of antioxidants with the meal.

"My friends are in their 60s—they think I'm around their age too, although I'm much older than them," Mak laughs.

Mak's favorite food is steamed vegetables, rice and fruit. Cantonese food is famous for steamed fish and vegetables—dishes that use little or none of the cooking oils blamed for heart disease, obesity and high cholesterol.  But before Mak enjoys her afternoon tea, she  joins a group of elderly people for her morning exercise of tai chi, an ancient Chinese practice said to have benefits including improving balance and boosting cardiovascular strength.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in February found that tai chi reduces falls and "appears to reduce balance impairments" in people with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease.

Another factor behind Hong Kongers' longevity, experts say, is work. While others long for the day they can retire and kick up their heels, many people in Hong Kong work well into their 70s and even 80s.

Hong Kong does not have a statutory retirement age and it is common to see elderly people working in shops, markets and restaurants alongside younger staff.

"Many old people in our city remain working, that contributes to better psychological and mental health," Hong Kong Association of Gerontology president Edward Leung says.

"For older people, a lot of them are stressed because they have nothing to do and they develop 'emptiness syndrome'. This causes mental stress."

Fishmonger Lee Woo-hing, 67, says he could not bear to sit at home and do nothing. His inspiration is local tycoon Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, who still runs his vast business empire in his 80s.

"If Li Ka-shing continues working at the age of 84, why should I retire?" asks the father-of-four during a break from his 14-hour shift at a bustling market in central Hong Kong.

"If I just sit at home and stare at the walls, I'm worried that my brain will degenerate faster. I'm happy to chat with different people here in the market."

'Mahjong delays dementia'

Hong Kong's cramped living conditions are famously unhealthy, fueling outbreaks of disease and viruses including bird flu and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) which have killed dozens of people.

The city's reputation won it the dubious distinction of a starring role in director Steven Soderbergh's 2011 disaster thriller "Contagion", about a deadly virus that spreads from Hong Kong to the United States.

But in the day-to-day habits of ordinary people, experts say Hong Kong is a great place to grow old.

A popular local way of keeping busy and meeting friends is mahjong—a mentally stimulating tile game which can help delay dementia, according to aging expert Alfred Chan, of Hong Kong's Lingnan University.

"It stimulates the parts that control memory and cognitive abilities. It helps old people with their retention of memory," he says.

The complex rules and calculation of scores make mahjong, also known as the Chinese version of dominoes, mentally demanding. But the social aspects of the four-player game are just as important.

"In mahjong you need to play with three other people. It is a very good social activity, you have to interact with each other constantly," says Chan, who has studied the game's effects on the well being of elderly people.

"It is also a self-fulfilling game because if you win—whether you play with money or not—it gives you a sense of empowerment."

Mahjong parlors are popular in Hong Kong, and mahjong tables are a must at Chinese wedding banquets.

"I'm in semi-retirement. I work in the morning and hang out with my friends by playing mahjong in the afternoon," says 67-year-old tailor Yeung Fook, on the sidelines of a game in his modest garment shop.

"I'm happier when I work. It's boring to just sit at home." 

1999 Ripe Pu erh Brick

This is a 1999 ripe pu erh tea brick.  This tea weighs 250g.  These tea does not come in a tong but a bundle of these tea would be 4 bricks tied together with a white string.   This ripe pu erh brick is a 7581 recipe.

I enjoy drinking ripe tea and readers will know I drink a fair bit of ripe pu erh tea.  Based on my personal drinking experience, ripe tea will develop an aged taste with time.  I realized that new ripe tea is slightly unpleasant to drink.......there may be a fermentation smell and the aroma is less than welcoming.  Store it away for 2-3 years, and the ripe tea will be a delicious drink.  I found that older ripe pu erh will develop into either a dried fruit, herbal medicinal or old wood aroma.

You will notice that the color of the tea brick is a 'rusty brown' color. If you compare the color with new pu erh bricks and cakes, the newer pu tends to be of a dark brown, almost blackish color.  I interpret that this brick had fermented over time.  I drank a similar 7581 brick, a 2002 production (6 feb 2010 blog) and there is a clear contrast in the color of the tea leaves.  Many tea drinker friends have insisted that ripe pu erh does not ferment as raw pu erh, but look at your older aged raw....it does turn to a 'rusty brown' color as well.  Let me know your thoughts.  I will be opening a couple older raw pu in my collection and would like to exchange samples with my readers if you are keen.

This brick has that nice old wood aroma.  One of my tea friends called this tea 'old mother hubbard'.  I enjoy this aroma very much.  I had also found a couple of rice grain husks in the brick but the tea was clean.  I added more tea leaves than usual to enjoy the enhanced old wood scent.  This is an acquired taste; a personal preference  for such a ripe tea.  I enjoy the sweet aftertaste.  A happy drink.  A nice acquisition.  

My advice to the tea drinker and buyer - when you buy an old tea anywhere in the world, whether raw, ripe, oolong - sample the tea.  Its not the tea may be spoilt.....but what I am saying is that there will be aged tea that you will not like or enjoy.  Do not buy if you are not able to sample older tea........it may be a waste of money, time and luggage space.    

Taetea Dayi Teabag - 6 year raw pu erh

I bought this tea at the 2012 Hong Kong International Tea Fair.  I was at the Dayi booth when I saw that Dayi had teabags containing pu erh tea for sale there.  I was especially curious about the Dayi 6 year old raw pu erh tea bag and I parted with HK$60 (US$7.80) to buy a box.  

The information on the box said it contained 45g of tea packed into 25 teabags, which implied 1.8g of tea per bag.  Overall packing of this tea was good; in my opinion.  The teabag as you can observe from the last pix is that of a regular teabag.    

I cannot give a proper assessment of this tea.  I don't know how.  It is not right to compare it with pu erh cakes and bricks.  It sounds expensive, per gram basis if compared to cakes and.......  the teabag is only good for 1 infusion.  

Instructions for making this tea was simple......dunk teabag in hot water and its ready to drink in 2-3 minutes.  Its fast and convenient.  

If you had given me a cup of this tea and telling me after I had consumed the tea that it was from a teabag,  I would be pleasantly surprised.  Its a nice raw pu erh tea......Its like drinking a raw pu erh tea in its 5/6th infusion of a regular raw pu erh cake.  Did it taste like a 6 year old raw?  The tea is not astringent and does not taste like a new Dayi raw pu erh.  This is very subjective.  

This tae tea (dayi) teabag was produced for a target market, where the consumers may want a decent cup of Chinese tea without the fuss of brewing with teapots and gaiwans.  I suppose and hope that these teabags will piqued the drinkers to further explore the more exquisite taste of pu erh tea in the near future. 

A few readers have asked me on occasions on the teas I have drunk and purchased during my tea travels.  I am doing up a few sample packs of tea for exchange with my readers.  I have included some teas which, in my opinion, give the reader a taste of Chinese tea from the places I had visited and blogged about.  NO GUARANTEE you will be happy with the tea exchange.  Drop me a line if you are interested. You will get a teabag as well.  

Hong Kong International Tea Fair 2012 Part 2

Trade fairs in Hong Kong are a serious business.  Throughout a year, there is some trade fair going on at the Hong Kong Convention Centre.  There are watches, jewelry, electronic, fashion fairs.....there are so many.  Popular ones like the Spring toy fair, is held in January,  and will drive up hotel prices a fair bit.

One of my readers remarked on the 'lighter attendence' as she had expected a better turnout of visitors.  She is right.  The first day of the tea fair was a 'typhoon' day.  A  typhoon warning alert was sounded out - a level 3.  Let me explain.....In Hong Kong, typhoon alerts levels range from low levels from 1-3 to high levels of 7-9.  Anything level 8 or more meant that shops, schools and government offices are closed for the duration of the warning. Hong Kong had expected a  typhoon during this time and citizens and visitors were generally wary of the weather conditions that few days.  I was fortunate that the brunt of the typhoon came and went in the late evening on the 16th and the typhoon did not cause any major damage to Hong Kong.  

Another reason for the lower turnout, in my opinion, is that, many tea buyers, for example of Chinese teas, would visit China directly to source the teas.  Its just a guess.  However, I felt that this Hong Kong tea fair is important as it create an important venue for Hong Kong tea producers and teashops in creating awareness.  Visitors, both local and abroad, will be made aware of the existence of these tea businesses and what is on offer in Hong Kong.  It also allows tea producing countries like Kenya, India, Sri Lanka to provide exposure of their tea products to this part of the world.  The tea market in this region is very big and cannot be ignored.  Tea, especially the teabags from these regions have a classical characteristic - consistency.  A cup of this tea today, this week, this month or next year will have the same taste and aroma (almost in every cup) anywhere in the world. 

I could sample lots of tea at this tea fair. You can observed from one of the pix, that there was the traditional sampling tea in a bowl, where you spoon out some tea in your cup for a sample.  This pix was taken a Fujian oolong booth. That booth had different levels of roasted oolongs to suit every palate. 

I was even tempted to purchase a scented tea pillow but my luggage was maxed out with tea I had bought in Guangzhou a few days earlier.  The last pix shows some dried burdock slices.  Burdock is a root, and the Chinese use this root mainly in soups.  Dried slice burdock are used in soups and are now sold in teashops in small slices as burdock tea.  It is a very delicious toasty drink with a hint of sweetness.  I just managed to squeeze a pack of burdock slice into my overloaded luggage.  

I had the opportunity to meet up with the famous tea blogger, Marshaln during my stay in Hong Kong.  Thank you, Marshaln, for your very generous hospitality and most importantly sharing some of your thoughts (and tea) with me.   

Hong Kong International Tea Fair 2012 Part 1

The Hong Kong International Tea Fair was held from 16-18 Aug 2012.  Organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and held the the Hong Kong Convention Centre, this tea fair was also held in conjunction with the Hong Kong Food Fair 2012.

The convention centre is located on Hong Kong island.  Getting there is easy.  I was staying in the Kowloon side and I had 2 ways of getting there.  One was taking a subway to the Wan Chai stop and it takes another 10 minutes walk (sheltered) to the tea fair.  Another option, which I took was taking the Star Ferry from Kowloon to the convention centre.  The ferry trip took me about 15 minutes.  (see Pix 2)

I had registered myself as a buyer to the tea fair.  I remembered I had not much of a choice; it was either buyer or seller.  Registration is free and you could register at the fair itself.  

My Malaysian readers would be pleased to know that Malaysian tea is also represented at the tea fair (last pix).  I did find an opportunity to hop over to look at the food fair and I am pleased to see a strong Malaysian presence there as well. The famous Julie's biscuits and many popular 3-in-1 coffee dealers were there promoting their products.  

Yes, Taetea (we call it Dayi here) set up quite an elaborate booth at this tea fair.  They had 4 tea sampling tables, where you could sample almost all of the  current year's Dayi tea.  I did buy a unique 6 year old Dayi raw tea at the booth - more of that later.

The 2012 Hong Kong tea fair is very well organized.  You have forums, presentations, talks, conference and negotiation rooms that provided a very sleek and professional atmosphere to the event.  At the same time, there were also moments of casualness; like a tea competition on making the best cup of Hong Kong milk tea.  Very impressive.  

Tea Pee News

From Shenzhen Daily, 1 Aug 2012 titled "Reporter tests hospital with urine trick"

"A TV news program in which a reporter submitted green tea as a urine sample and was then diagnosed with various diseases has accused private hospitals of overprescribing patients.Some doctors questioned the reporter’s method of using green tea to judge the accuracy of medical tests, calling the ploy “unprofessional.”In the China Central Television program, an undercover reporter went to a major public hospital in Beijing for a health check, and his results all turned out fine. He then went to several private men’s hospitals and submitted a small cup of green tea as his urine sample.The reporter was stunned when doctors at a hospital in Shijiazhuang, Hebei Province, told him they found an excessive level of white blood cells in his “urine,” indicating that he was suffering prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland, and orchitis, swelling in the testicles.A doctor said he would need to undergo seven days of treatment, with each day costing 546 yuan (US$86).At another private hospital in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, a doctor checked another green tea sample and diagnosed the reporter with spermatoceles, or cysts near his reproductive organs. The doctor said the reporter needed immediate surgery that would cost 5,000 yuan.A third hospital, in Changchun, Jilin Province, told the reporter he needed to pay 8,000 yuan for a health check.The program sparked a public outcry online.Some people said they wouldn’t know where to seek medical help after watching the program. Others said the journalist shouldn’t have set up such a trap for hospitals because a doctor should believe the sample was from the patient, without having to check its authenticity. (SD-Agencies)"

Pix shows a "pee pee boy".  That's what they called it in the mandatory tourist tea shop when you take a package tour in China.  This 3 inch very porous clay figurine is filled with water when immersed.  Place this boy on your tea table/tray and pour boiling hot water on its head.  The expansion of the air and water inside the pee pee boy will result in the clay boy pee-ing away.  Great fun

Japanese Tea Art Scroll

I am always intrigued looking at pictures of tea rooms in Japan.  Tea is big in Japan and the famed Japanese tea ceremony is like an art in action; so intricate and elaborate.  I have 'youtubed' videos and simply marveled every time when I see a Japanese tea making ceremony in action.  


There are houses or apartments in Japan where an area or room is set up just for brewing tea.  I had noticed that the walls of these tea rooms were usually adorned with art.   Scrolls of painting or calligraphy were hung conspicuously, I believe, to enhance the tea brewing ceremony.  


There are several motifs that are normally used in the art scrolls for the tea room.  A common theme is the 'san-sui' (aka mountain & water).  This theme would be that of mountain, lake, sea, nature scenarios.  Such art are usually single color or monotone.  You can also have animals or pictures of the Sun, another popular motif used in painting scrolls.  Pictures of the rising sun are very popular in Japan.  Likewise, animal pictures like cranes, birds, tiger and other animals are sometimes preferred by the house owners.  Calligraphy works by renowned celebrities or monks are sometimes seen in the tea rooms.  There are also art scrolls that are done in color as seen in the pix above.  The 2nd pix is done by Oya Shunrei (around 1930-40s).


I had purchased these art scrolls on Ebay.  Art dealers in Japan do put these scrolls for sale.  I try to place my bids at the last minute of the sale in the hope I am not outbidded at the last moment.  I think the ebay terminology is 'sniping'.  I am not successful at times as I do get 'sniped' back in the last minute bidding process.  Anyway, I managed to snag a couple of san-sui and 2 of these colored scrolls early last year.   

Do look at the dimensions before you buy as in the case of the 2nd pix, I found that the scroll was too long for my wall.  The entire scroll took up the entire height of the wall and did not look appropriate when hung.  Maybe I should move house. 


Any Japanese readers...... I would appreciate if you can send me pictures of tea rooms in Japan ...... and if you can point me to the right direction, I would love to visit Japan to look and appreciate Japanese tea farms and tea rooms first hand. Thank you.