Malaysia Tea Expo June 2022

 

I had just returned from Kuala Lumpur and had the opportunity to attend the Malaysia tea expo last week. The expo this time was held in a large new shopping mall; Tropicana Gardens mall. I like this new mall. Lots to see and lots of unique eats.  Very convenient as the train has a stop at the mall.   

This tea expo was a small scale affair.  There were no foreign exhibitors and some local ones were not represented in this expo.  I counted less than 30 booths and they were all local tea dealers.  Yes, big local players like Taetea, Xiaguan and China Tea were all present. There were numerous Liu Bao booths and I managed to snagged 1 kg of old Liu Bao.

This tea expo was a chance for tea dealers, collectors and tea drinkers to meet up.  I sensed a bit of 'revenge buying' - everyone was walking and holding a bagful of tea. I suppose after 2.5 years of 'no tea fair events', there was an 'urge' to buy some tea.  Overall, it was a well managed and successful event to those dealers that had booths during this event.

What did I buy besides the Liu Bao?  I had a good time sampling many new pu erh.  Many of the new pu erh tea are now processed differently.  The tea tasted lighter and greener. I managed to buy some traditional old Xiaguan tea that were strong, aromatic and has a smoky characteristic. Such old tea, if new was difficult to drink and had to be stored away for some time.  I suppose I am old fashioned.  I like my tea strong and aromatic with some age in the tea. Some of these tea I had bought, are about 15 years or older, stored in Malaysia and in my opinion is now only ready to drink. I am happy. 

  

The Price Of Tea

 

I thought we would emerged into a better place after more than 2 years of covid pandemic.   However, as of today, I do not think we are in a better or happier place.  There is a war in Europe and there are people worldwide who are still waiting to be vaccinated.  

Things are getting expensive and may be even more expensive for the rest of the year.  Call it whatever you want; inflation, stagflation or recession. If you are spending $2000 a month, you will continue to spend $2000 a month except that this money now will get you less things.  You  have to provide  a bigger allocation to essentials like food and gas. I was told by my American tea buddy that gas is now 5 bucks a gallon. I am not laughing, it is expensive over here in Singapore as well. Everything is expensive. 

How about Chinese tea?  Yes, Chinese tea is getting expensive too. Labour and production costs have gone up. My tea distributor friends in Guangzhou had confirmed that new tea this year will be more expensive than tea last year.  Not surprising.  Yes, a 1-2 year old pu erh tea cake may be cheaper than a current year tea cake.  Older pu erh tea is more desirable to many tea drinker and collectors. Now it is technically cheaper. But......the costs of freight is getting astronomically high due to the high cost of fuel. So. Chinese tea overall will be expensive.  Time to drink more from our tea stash. This is the 'rainy day' for us. 

Pray for peace.     

2003 Langhe Raw Pu erh Tuo

 

This is an almost 20 year year old raw pu erh tuo.  This tea is a Singapore stored tea. 

In spite of the hot and humid climate this tea has only shown only some mellowness.  This tea is an extremely strong tea. I had thoughts that this tea would be mellow and smooth after almost 20 years of storage but No!.  This tea still has bitterness with an astringent bite in the aftertaste.  I have drank many old pu erh of this age.  Most of the tea would had demonstrated a nice mellowness; reduced smokiness like a wisp of smoke, less harshness and quite easy to drink......but this tea is strong and bold after 20 years.  Hair curling experience. I like.

But I digress.....I had blogged about newer pu erh tea.  Many of these tea are ready to drink or 'can drink now'. I suspect this is due to a change of pu erh tea processing that made the new pu erh tea less harsh or less astringent. The newer tea now almost taste like a fresh green tea.  Yes, even with a sweet and pleasant aftertaste. It is quite enjoyable. Like the famous saying 'same same but different'. I had stated that I am unsure how this new tea will age but I dare say that it cannot be stronger in taste and aroma than it it is now. A tea cannot be stronger taste after storage. There will be some mellowing out of flavours after storage. I can Imagine that the 2003 Langhe was very difficult to drink when new.  Just my 2 cents of thoughts. 

Back to my hair curling 2003 Langhe tea. 

Pink Dayi

 

I had blogged about this tea in 2016 (link).   This tea was sold by Taetea (aka Dayi) without wrappers to Taiwan but was accidentally shipped to the Malaysian distributor instead. This tea is estimated to be produced in 2003.

I liked this tea and had bought quite a fair bit of this tea before it was sold out. 

Already abut 20 years old, the tea remained very bold and strong.  Taste and aroma from the initial infusions are peppery, camphor, peaty with a long sweet aftertaste. This taste profile is quite pronounced and the tea can brew up to more than a dozen strong brews. 

Old well stored dayi tea are highly sought after by Chinese tea drinkers around the world. Such tea also commands a high price and are really hard to come by.

I will be starting by tea travels in June and I look forward to share my tea adventures with my readers.  

The Chi In Tea

 

There are many tea articles on Chi.  What is 'chi'?  Some writers call it the life force of tea or the energy of tea. Before you rushed to change to your Star Wars costume, let me give you my take on this 'chi' thingy.

Chi is the effect that you experience after having a tea session of Chinese tea.  Besides tea being a thirst quencher, there are many effects that tea drinkers may experience and here are some of the effects (not in any order) that I have felt or witnessed when I am drinking with a group of friends. 

1.  Sweaty or heat sensations. I have seen a few friends sweating profusely after a tea session. Whether drinking pu erh or oolong, my friends would be sweating.  The back of their shirts would be damp with sweat. On occasions, I do feel very warm or hot, like I did a workout. These sensations will pass within 5-15 minutes. 

2.  Feeling energised or feeling subdued.  There are instances where a friends in a tea group becomes quite active; like being more perky. They seemed more energised, more chatty or in the another session, the group seemed more quiet and subdued. Again the sensation take a short time to pass. We do have some sweet snacks available when we feel we need a sugar-rush.

3.  Burping or slightly intoxicated. I had seen these effects and had experienced them myself.  The intoxicating feeling is quite mild like I had a few glasses of wine. Again such sensations are temporary that passes in a few minutes. 

I suppose these effects are the 'chi' of Chinese tea. There are many tea drinker friends I know that enjoy such sensations and would buy the tea after experiencing this chi. 

Have you ever felt the energy of the tea?  May the force be with you. 

An Old Yinhao tuo

 

This raw puerh tuo was produced in 2000.   I broke up this 22 year old tuo and stored the pieces in a tea caddy.  The compression is still quite hard and I had to used a pick to carefully fry the tuo apart. 

This tea is strong.  Lighty smoky with an interesting Chinese tonic soup qualities in both taste and aroma.  Mild camphor aroma with a slight intoxicating sensation after drinking the tea.  I enjoy drinking this tea hot.  Smooth and mellow.   

But I digress.  The difference in drinking an old tea, in this case a 22 year old tuo against a newer pu erh would be that the older tea would have some age in taste and aroma.  In this case, this tea was less smokey since I drank a similar tuo 10 years ago.  This tea has mellowed but remain a strong tea.  I actually reduced the tea leaves used for a tea session. My thoughts are that if you are aging your pu erh tea, please expect your tea after aging for 12-15-20 years to be more mellow than it was after time in storage. The tea cannot be stronger in taste and aroma after time in storage. What I am trying to say that if you have a pu erh tea that is smoky or fruity or floral and you store it away..... that tea will not become more smoky, more fruity or more floral.  Some pu erh tea may not age to one's expectation. It is not that the tea is good or bad but this was the result of the tea, the processing of the tea and the storage conditions while the tea were being kept away.  Storing a pu erh tea is an adventure in itself. I have a number of teas that is coming to 20 years of storage. I look forward to drinking them. 

A Tea Set For A Road Trip

 

I am sure for many tea drinkers, you had wished you had a tea set with you when are out of the house for a few hours or a few days.......  something like a short stay with friends or relatives, an urgent business trip or a weekend getaway.  Yes, a teapot or gaiwan and a few cups are all we need to brew a tea but I am sure that a little extra or fancy stuff like a tea tray or fairness cup can make the tea session a little more enjoyable.

I had initially bought this 'portable' tea set as a gift to a new Chinese tea buddy who is starting his Chinese tea adventures.  However, he had excitedly told me, even before I wanted to present him this set, that he had went out and got a tea set himself.  I am now 'stuck' with this set. However. I am quite happy with this purchase.  

This set is inexpensive.  It comes with a 'rubber like' case with strap (23cm square).  Inside you get a gorgeous tea tray (20cm square); bamboo top on plastic. a glass fairness cup (230ml), a porcelain gaiwan (160ml), 6 porcelain teacups (50ml), a porcelain filter and holder, a pair of bamboo tongs and a tea towel.  Quality and finish is good.  Cost - $20.  

My thoughts - cheap and good. Practical and useful. I might keep it for myself.