2007 Yong De Ripe Pu erh

A reader wrote to me commenting on my ripe pu erh blog entries.  He observed that my blogs on ripe pu erh tea were somewhat similar with small differences between the different ripe pu erh tea that I had drank and written.  I am not insulted but very happy instead.....really.

I am happy because one of my purpose on my ripe pu erh blogs was to highlight the differences from one ripe tea cake to another.  Yes, I agree that a cursory look and even a sip of ripe pu look and taste similar.  But for serious ripe pu erh tea drinkers, the differences in the aroma, taste, aftertaste and overall impressions after having a tea session of ripe pu erh is distinct and obvious.  So far, I had came across aromas like a dried dates, longans and even the scent of a new leather bound book (sounds weird but I like that).  I have tasted ripe pu that resemble a double boiled chinese herbal soup or woody like or resembling freshly toasted bread.  Some pu erh may have a vanilla-like or a hint of a creamy taste.  There are so many aromas and taste sensations of ripe pu erh as you can read from my blogs.  My intention of my blogs is simple.....to share my experiences and adventures from drinking Chinese tea and in a tiny way to help my readers be aware of the different taste and aromas of the teas I had drank, so if a reader may have a particular preference (like he or she may looking for a 'leather' scented pu), it would be helpful.  Yes, we tea drinkers are a little different.  

This 2007 Yong De ripe cake was purchased from Yunnan Sourcing, I think in 2009 and kept till now.  Scott of Yunnan Sourcing had recommended this cake as one of his favorite ripe pu.  I can understand why as this cake is very smooth.  A nice woody aroma with a nice hint of a creamy vanilla scent. Nice warm sensation after the tea session.

But a digress.....The 2013 Tea Expo in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia will be on the 15th June (1 week expo) this year.  Its held at the Tropicana Mall.  I will be there.  I have just booked my air tickets and hotel accomodation.  Tea-jamming time!!!!

Teabag

This very interesting article below is written by Taylor Orci appeared in The Alantic 8 April 2013.  (http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/04/are-tea-bags-turning-us-into-plastic/274482/)

Here's what happened: I was making tea one day, waiting for my water to get hot, and I started reading the box. It touted the fact that the company didn't use "silky" plastic tea bags, which prompted my the question, "Wait... silky tea bags are plastic tea bags?"

I'd used "silky" or "mesh" tea bags before, and as someone who is turned off by the idea of eating heated plastic, I never made the connection that "silky" didn't actually mean silk, and "mesh" isn't really a specific thing at all. More put off by the fact I'd been had than anything else, I wanted to find out if my alarm about using plastic tea bags had any real basis to it.

At first blush, "silky tea bags" sound like drinkable luxury. Often pyramidal in shape, this type of tea bag is supposed to have higher quality -- sometimes even whole leaf -- tea inside, a departure from the "dust" in most tea bags. If the quality isn't higher, the tea is definitely more colorful. The see-through mesh allows you to view what looks like edible potpourri.

Tea companies are very forthcoming in the pains they've gone through to adopt such an innovative design. Boasts one website, "In 2000, Revolution started a full-scale uprising, overthrowing the paper tea bag in favor of the first flow-through Infuser bag." Another site, Tea Forte, explains adopting the silky tea bag because "[They] wanted to create a total sensory and emotional experience that was relevant to life today." What many of these sites don't mention is that these silky tea bags, (or "sachets," or "infusers," or "sculptural works of art," etc.) are plastic. Or, in the case of a few companies such as Mighty Leaf, corn plastic.

The idea of a plastic tea bag might be unpalatable for folks for a number of reasons, the most clear-cut being the contribution to landfill waste, but additionally because heating plastic can rouse alarm in consumers. That's probably why tea companies like to describe their silken sachets as a quality compromise for loose leaf lovers who "are switching to [mesh tea bags] as their lives get more hectic," instead of emphasizing "get the plastic hot and then drink the thing it was in." For these reasons, some tea companies like Numi even use their lack of plastic tea bags as a selling point.

Could plastic tea bags also be bad for our health? They are most commonly made from food grade nylon or polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which are two of the safest plastics on the scale of harmful leaching potential. Both have very high melting points, which offer some assurance to consumers, as one would think the melting point of plastic is the temperature at which one would need to worry about accidentally eating it.

There is another temperature point for plastics, though, that we may need to worry about, called the "glass transition" temperature (Tg) . That is the temperature at which the molecule in certain materials such as polymers begin to break down. As a rule, the Tg of a material is always lower than the melting point. In the case of PET and food grade nylon (either nylon 6 or nylon 6-6), all have a Tg lower than the temperature of boiling water. For example, while the melting point of PET is 482 degrees Fahrenheit, the Tg is about 169 degrees. Both nylons have a lower glass transition temperature than PET. (Remember that water boils at 212 degrees.) This means the molecules that make up these plastic tea bags begin to break down in hot water.

"If the question is, 'As the polymer goes through that transition state, is it easier for something to leach out?', the answer is yes," said Dr. Ray Fernando, professor and director of polymers and coatings at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. "However, just because it makes it easier for something to leach out, it doesn't mean it will." There seems to be something in the plastic collective consciousness that says there are inherently toxins in all plastics, and when they begin to break down, they will naturally gravitate toward food. "This would only happen if there are potential materials trapped in the substance. What we don't know is what FDA requirements manufacturers have to meet before they go to market," sais Dr. Fernando.

There is also a matter of whether or not the leachate is hydrophobic or hydrophilic. If hydrophobic pollutants were potentially in the plastic tea bag materials, their nature would be to stay in the bag and not go frolicking into the water and into your mouth.

So polymers will only leach out harmful chemicals, like cancer causing phthalates, at their glass transition temperature if there are said phthalates to begin with. It almost seems silly to think that either of these materials would have toxins to begin with, considering we eat off of them and in them. That's what food standards are for, right? The Lipton website reassures us their Pyramid Tea Bags made of PET are "the same food grade material clear water and juice bottles are made of and ... are microwave safe." That sounds, well ... safe.

But then there are studies like this: In 2009, a study found that single-use PET plastic water bottles were found to have estrogen-mimicking pollutants in them. Such toxins have been linked to cancer. If PET is found in these water bottles, the same material Lipton claims to use in their plastic tea bags, it's fair to say there is a chance these tea bags are leaching toxins into the tea they're brewing. Further, this study did not look at the glass transition temperature and how that could increase the leaching of said toxins. And while this study is only about PET plastic, it is logical to question if nylon has the same potential.

"The consumer doesn't have a way to know how to choose a safe plastic," said Stephen Lester, science director for the Center for Health, Environment & Justice. He made mention of a study decades ago where researchers found putting hot liquids in styrofoam cups could be harmful. If I was at a party that was serving hot cocoa in styrofoam cups, I probably wouldn't decline it -- the same with plastic tea bags. It's not like I'm unaware they may pose a health risk, but I unconsciously file them under the heading of, "probably not so bad." But this may be at my own peril. There's just no comprehensive way of knowing.

In our discussion, Dr. Fernando departed from talking about the sexy topic of polymer toxicity potential for a moment and mentioned that paper manufacturing is also highly polluting, "[Regarding the paper tea bag] paper is a very chemically intensive process. But the thing is we've been using the [paper] bag for a long time, so we know it's okay." One would love to soothe the nerves agitated by this topic with a scintillating cup of White Tea with Island Mango and Peach, if only one knew for sure it was okay.

My polymers expert made mention-- and I agree, that to test the level of phthalates in tea made from plastic tea bags would be an easy one to conduct. So I contacted the Center for Health, Environment, and Justice to see if they had any such study in their databases. As helpful as they were digging up many peer reviews about plastic, tea, and toxicity, a study about the toxicity of plastic tea bags couldn't be found. I also contacted the Center for Disease Control -- the disease here being cancer which has been linked to phthalates, and asked the same thing, but as of this writing I've yet to hear back.

An Old Tin of Shui Hsien

I was gifted with a tin full of old shui hsien.  One of my tea friends had gone to Taiwan for holidays and had bought some tea there and this tin was given to me.

Looking at this 6 inches (15cm) high tin, I observed that this is a lao chong shui hsien tea produced in Fujian, China, namely Wuyishan General Tea Factory.  I have no idea on the age of this tea but it should be old - telephone number on the tin is 5 digits while its 7 digits in china now (less the area code).  I would put the tea to be at least 12-15 yrs old....minimum.  

Taking a whiff inside the tin, I could detect this tea was a high roasted....meaning it should have kept well.   I had opened a green TGY last month which I had kept for 2 years and the brewed tea tasted yucky. But I believe that high roasted oolongs are able to store well.  

This shui hsien aroma was slightly woody, nice shui hsien floral scent with a sweet finish.  It is a very nice tea.  My limited experience with Shui Hsien seems to indicate that older Shui Hsien tasted more mellow, in that the sharp finish is not present but instead a wood and herb aroma is more pronounced in the tea.   My opinion is reinforced with a sample of  an old shui hsien  given to me by Su, a famous tea collector in Malaysia.  This tea was even more aromatic.....strong intense woody aroma and sweet aftertaste.  The difference in taste was so great compared to a new tea that it was initially hard to tell that it was Shui Hsien.  

However, I would like to point out to my readers that buying old oolongs like this is very tricky.  Prices for such teas has no guide price.  It is best you get to sample the tea before a purchase.  Don't buy too much.....there is always another tea out there.  

2006 Xinghai Green Peacock Ripe Cake

I only bought one pu erh tea cake this year (no typo error).  A local purchase, this is the 2006 Xinghai Green Peacock ripe cake.  For my readers who had been following my blog, I would at this time of the year be overseas and would have returned with a luggage of tea.  The recent bird flu in China, had me 'chickened out' from traveling to China.  I am glad that my China friends are ok and are taking the necessary precautions to be safe.  I look forward to a tea trip this year, hopefully soon.

I am not being pompous by saying that I prefer to buy my tea overseas than in Singapore.  Let me explain -  Chinese tea drinking culture in Singapore is small.  A couple of Chinese tea shops do ply their trade locally but the selection of pu erh tea and higher end oolongs are extremely limited in choice, and the prices of tea are much higher (standard of living in Singapore is among the highest in the world).  Travelling overseas to Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland China gives me a wider selection and lower prices due to competition.  I can also enjoy the passion of the Chinese tea drinkers and get to share their experiences and stories about Chinese tea.  

Xinghai tea factory's pu erh are regarded as 'traditionally' made as I was told...... the owners of Xinghai tea factory believed in the old school of producing pu erh tea.  I had consumed a Xinghai cake in 2011 (see blog) and had remembered good things about the tea.

This 2006 ripe cake brews a pretty strong tea.  I would suggest using 7-8g on a 180-200ml teapot.  The tea is aromatic and has a nice hint of a sweet finish.  I had a satisfying tea session as I realized I finished my tea session (about 6 infusions) quite quickly whenever I brew this tea.  If you are a ripe pu erh tea drinker, buying a cake from Xinghai tea factory may be a very good idea.  

Seasoning a Yixing teapot

New Yixing teapots must be cleaned and seasoned.  Why?  Can't you use the teapot immediately after you have brought it home from a teashop?

Here are the main reasons :

a)  teapot might be dirty -  obviously sediments, oil residues, or even insects might be found in your teapot.  It is possible that your teapot had been on display for a considerable long time before you had purchase it.  So a general cleaning or sterilization of the teapot might be in order.  Some of my teapot collector friends who purchased used teapots, will usually season the teapot again - like a recalibration.

b)  teapot has a smell -  I do not think your new teapot smell because of the clay.  You must remember that your teapot does absorbs smells easily and these scents may be difficult to remove.  It is common that your new teapot had 'caught' the scent of the firing kiln......it may smell horrid but should clear up with a proper seasoning session.  Your teapot may smell musty due to its storage conditions.  Shaking your head with disbelief?  Try putting a piece of garlic in your teapot for a week......No don't do that.....You will have a garlic scented teapot.

The main reason is that the tea taste better when you brew tea in a Yixing teapot -  I cannot explain the scientific reasons.....or any non-scientific reasons.  The tea just taste better.  Perhaps that is why serious testing of tea in teashops or tea competitions use only white porcelain bowls and gaiwans to brew and sample the tea.

I season my teapot 1st by brushing the teapot with a used toothbrush under running water, then placing the teapot and its cover in a clean pot of water (a liter of water) and then boiling it under a small fire for an hour.  I repeat this boiling process but include tea leaves in the water (about 20-30g).  The tea leaves used will depend on the type of tea I want to use for the teapot.  If its ripe pu, then I add ripe puerh leaves in the pot.  Rinse, air dry the teapot and it is ready for use.  Why this method of teapot seasoning?  I vaguely recalled a teapot collector teaching me this seasoning method.  He emphasized that the 2nd time of boiling the teapot with tea leaves was very important as the interior of the teapot will be coated with tea for the 1st time......call it a base coat.  Finally, a good rub, with a dry cloth or just your thumb, on the exterior of the teapot (after every use or weekly) would help make your teapot develop a nice shiny sheen.

I also discovered an ingenious seasoning method during my travels in Guangzhou.  One of my popular teashops I visited in Guangzhou was letting me try a tea when I noticed they used a teapot as a tea jar (instead of a regular porcelain tea jar) to dispense the tea into teacups.  Normally, this teashop would brew their tea in a teapot, pour out the tea through a filter into a porcelain
 tea jar, then finally pouring the tea out into teacups.  I was told this was an easy method to season a teapot instead of the boiling method I mentioned above.  What this teashop did was - clean out the teapot with a brush under running water, then use the teapot as a serving jar.  When the customer had left or had enough of the tea, the final brew may be poured over the exterior of this teapot. This process was repeated for about 1-2 weeks before the teapot was considered 'seasoned'.  If it is for raw pu erh tea, this teapot was only used when raw pu erh is being sampled. 

There is no 'standard' technique of seasoning a Yixing teapot.  I have even seen a pure steaming method - teapot is steamed for a couple of hours.  I would advise against using detergents or any strong chemical agents that may cause your teapot to smell unpleasant.  Happy seasoning !!!

"Yi Tiao Long" - Dragon teapots

Produced in the 1980s, this is the 12 teapot dragon set known as 'Yi Tiao Long' - literally meaning one whole dragon.  These teapots were produced in China and came in either red or black clay.  I only have the 'black clay' version ones.

This 12 teapot set is interesting in that this 12 teapot set came in sizes from small to large.  Smallest size is about 20-25ml while the largest teapot can hold about 200ml of tea.  No.....the set is not made of of 12 different size teapots but I could detect (by just looking) about 8-9 different sized teapots in a each set - meaning there are a few duplicate sized teapots in each set.  (hehe....I have a few sets).

And.....the teapots only came in one design.  Traditionally called 'shui ping hu', which literally means water container or pot, this design was popular back then and even today.  This design is very visually appealing but I would like to warn my readers that such teapot design can be quite delicate to maintain as a tiny knock on the spout of a 'shui ping hu' teapot can  easily caused a chip to the mouth of the spout.    Last 2 pix shows the chop marks 'Zhong Guo Yi Xing' - translated as China Yixing.  All the pix shown above are the dragon teapots which are unused and 'new' in box.

I had also observed that the quality of the teapot in general was good.  Let me explain.  For Chinese tea drinkers who use teapots for their brewing, buying and using a teapot is very important.  Chinese teapot collectors are even more particular, paying attention to things like straight line alignment of the teapot from handle to spout (if you look at the teapot from a top view), the fitting of the teapot cover and the overall finish.  This 'Yi Tiao Long' teapot set is generally acceptable but I did observed that this teapot set does not have that 'collectible' finish of new teapots today.  It is slightly more rough in the finish, a less refined feel.  My guess is that these dragon teapot sets were manufactured and sold to the tea drinker for tea brewing in the 1980s, where teapot collection as a hobby was not the rage then.

The highlight of this "Yi Tiao Long' teapot set is the clay.  As I only own the black clay versions, I found that this black clay was very pretty, in that the teapot develops a beautiful sheen after a few sessions of brewing.  I had also noticed that the teapot literally sparkle, like there were bits of diamonds in the clay (yes...I wish), but I was told these were minerals that were found in the black clay.  Holding this teapot under a light..... the 'diamonds' on the teapot.....a happy sparkling exercise .  

Time to season a teapot.

2006 CNNP Yiwu Raw Pu erh

This is a 2006 Yiwu raw pu erh cake.  The wrapper on the cake stated that this tea cake was made from wild old  Yiwu tea tree leaves.  Stone pressed and manufactured by Tutsu Export Co (aka CNNP).  

Stone pressed cakes refers to the compression of tea leaves, in that, the tea leaves are placed in a stone pot and a worker would stand over the stone cover, using his weight to press down on the stone cover, thus compressing the tea leaves into a cake.  Machine pressed cakes simply uses hydraulic press systems that compresed the tea, that are usually placed in a metal pot.  The compression levels of machines are higher than stone pressed techniques.  I find stone pressed tea cakes more appealing, as the looser compression allows me to pry open the cake by hand and reduce breaking the tea leaves.  

This cake has that 'mild' aged tea taste.  It is still a little astringent as it is a 6 year old tea.  I had purchased it in 2009.  I suspected that these few years of storage in Singapore had reduced the traditional sharp bitter taste of a new pu erh raw and this cake has shown some characteristics of aging.  I was initially worried over the darker looking color of the tea cake (refer to pix).  I had stored my tea cakes individually in plain brown envelopes and placed on my book shelves.  It was a relief the tea tasted 'ok' and did not have any wet stored taste.  This particular tea cake felt much 'drier' and the cake seem very crispy when I was breaking up this cake into my tea caddy.

In my opinion, this Yiwu tea cake has a mix of old gushu inside.    It is a pleasant tea, very easy to drink, nice aroma........ slighty fruity and herbal.   No, I did not sweat profusely or feel any major high ( a tiny bit of both though).  Very enjoyable....finished almost half the cake within a month.  

I had recently broke my teapot which I had used for ripe pu erh......*$%k)!@n&*n!!!!!..... I feel better now.  Not an expensive teapot but I had brewed more than 1000 times of ripe pu with it (3 years of brewing).  Guess it will be a blog on teapots next.  Stay tuned.