The Price Of Tea

Rambling about tea today. 

The war.  Because of the war, everything is expensive now. Food, medicine, fuel and related transport costs had risen dramatically.  But I am wary that these elevated prices would remain elevated even when there is a resolution to the war.  

Chinese tea? Yes, it would cost more now.  You can mitigate this cost increase but drinking more from your tea stash. I know many Chinese tea drinkers own a stash of tea. It might be a small amount to a larger stash that can last a couple of generations. It is a good idea if we allocate our funds now for other more noble purposes than buying tea. 

The future of Chinese tea?  Chinese tea is considered a luxury and there a shift or evolution in drinking Chinese tea.  In my travels especially in China, it seemed to me that a traditional tea house or tea shop is a rare sight. A common phenomena would be tea cafes literally popping out in every corner like a convenience shop. Have your tea chilled with fruit flavours, fresh milk, boba or even have a cheesy foam top on your tea. High mountain fresh milk oolong with bubbles? Place your order and you be presented with a fancy cup, straw and even a pretty paper bag to take away your drink. People are drinking more Chinese tea but not with the gaiwan and teapot we are used too.  

I hope to travel to China soon. I can imagine many small tea shops in Fangchun, Guangzhou would have folded up in view of the higher costs of running a tea shop.  I will update my readers after this trip. 

Sea Dyke Ti Kuan Yin - Way Past Expiry Date

The printing on the box was clear. Best before 27 Dec 2013.  You have been taught not to consume food pass its expiry date. It will not be safe and may be toxic if you eat or drink such products. 

There are food where it will appreciate in terms of aroma and taste with time in storage. Wine, preserved meats and even cheese and chocolate.  Certain tea like roast oolong, liu bao, black tea and pu erh are highly sought after if these tea are stored properly with age. 

You will notice that this tea inside the tin are rolled tea. This may suggest that it may a few infusions before the full flavor to come through as it will take a few infusions to unfurl the tea leaves.  Likewise, if you are brewing pu erh leaves in small chunks, it may take a few rounds before the taste and aroma is more complete. 

This old 100g tinned Ti Kuan Yin by Sea Dyke is a delightful proposition. There is a gentle oily and long slightly sweet aftertaste. I am happy. A good tea need not be an expensive tea. 

2005 XingHai Raw Pu erh Cake

This is a 2005 Xinghai tea factory raw pu erh cake.  Composed of Menghai region pu erh tea leaves this 20 year old cake has been in my collection for more than 15 years.  This tea was a tea exchange with a tea collector in Guangzhou. 

I am happy that most of my pu erh tea are reaching the 20 year old mark. For newer collectors, 20 years is long time to wait but time will pass quickly.  Store your tea away in a clean and dry space in your house and leave it alone. Of course, temperature and humidity in the house would affect the aging results of your tea but nevertheless your tea will still age with time in storage. It will age vey slowly compared to those tea collections in hot and humid countries but you should still have a nice tea to drink. 

This tea after 20 years of storage is sweet, mellow and smooth.  Not smoky but a delightful mouthwatering tea. The signature menghai aroma and taste is really very pleasant in this tea. I am happy. 

Hong Kong Storage Pu erh

 

What is Hong storage pu erh tea?

This refers to puerh tea that were stored in Hong Kong where the storage conditions were slightly more humid than current storage pu erh techniques. 

Let me explain. Today we store our pu erh tea in boxes or bags and hope that our pu erh tea will age to a taste and aroma many tea drinkers enjoy in drinking old pu erh tea. This aging is actually decomposing but under controlled conditions. Don't be in shock; we eat many food that goes through 'controlled decomposition'.  Cheese, soy sauce, tofu and yogurt are some common examples. 

Chinese tea drinkers don't call this process decomposition but rather 'fermentation'. It a less harsher and kinder term. 

Older Chinese tea shops, used to store their pu erh tea in storerooms that has slightly  higher humidity. One must remember that pu erh tea only found favour with the Hong Kong locals there in the 80s to the early 90s. My guess was that pu erh was just stored in rooms without any control to the humidity. Most of the 'Hong Kong storage' teas sold now were from the late 90s to around early 2006.

Hong Kong storage pu erh taste really older than its age. There is a musty, lightly perfumed aroma and a lightly spicy aftertaste in the tea. The tea when brewed is very dark amber.  This is an acquired taste. I enjoy this tea and will buy some whenever I am in Hong Kong. These tea are getting very expensive. 

I would like to warn you that there are some Chinese tea shops that had stored the tea badly (I had seen some mouldy cakes) and try to pass them off as Hong Kong storage tea.  It is important that you try to sample the tea or buy them from reliable teashops there. I stress again that this tea is an acquired taste. It is not for everyone.   

Wu Dong Dan Chong

 

I got my Wu Dong dan chong from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam. The Chinese teashop was operated by Mr Kuek who hailed from Wu Dong China. His family members owned a tea farm in Wudong and he managed to get some Dan Chong shipped to him every year. 

Dan Chong from Wu Dong China are highly regarded by Chinese tea drinkers.  I managed to buy and bring home three grades sold by Mr Kuek. His family had named the 3 grades of dan chong as narcissus, eight fairies and silver bud. 

Readers would know I like my regular Fujuan oolongs strong. I would fill my teapot wth more than of the tea leaves before I commence my tea session. Not so with dan chong,   I have to use less leaves when I brew. Too much tea leaves would result in a strong bitter taste. My Malaysian tea master told me that I should use 1g for every 20ml capacity. (if a teapot is 100ml size, I should use 5g of tea). 

Dan chong oolong tea is so different from my usual fujian oolongs. The taste and aroma is so different.....almost like Taiwan high mountain tea. There is a nice bouquet of flowers and perfume. Long and oily mouthfeel. Aftertaste is very pleasant with a light sensation of nuts (like roasted chestnuts).  Easily good for 6 infusions from a tea session. 

An interesting tea. Worth a purchase.  

Sea Dyke Shui Jin Gui

 

Shui Jin Gui, aka water gold tortoise, oolong is one of the main oolongs produced in China. The 4 main oolongs, otherwise known as xi da ming cong, are Da Hong Pao, Tie Lo Han, Bai Ji Guan and Shui Jin Gui. Other well known oolongs you would be familiar would be Rougui and Shui Hsien. Yes there are many oolong varietal names and tea producing villages in Fujian, China might name their oolong with unique names to differentiate their tea. 

This tea is produced by Sea Dyke brand and came packed in a metal tin. This tin of Shui Jin Gui was produced in 2016.  Already with 10 years of storage, this tea is aromatic and fragrant. The tea is quite high roasted and has a decent mineral taste as well.  A value for money purchase. 

But I digress.  Many oolong tea drinkers had asked me how much  oolong I used for a tea session. There is no correct answer as during my tea travels, I noticed an extremely generous use of tea leaves filling the entire teapot for a tea session (in Ipoh, Malaysia) and while at a Hong Kong teashop, the owner filled half a teapot with tea leaves before he commenced the tea session.  I like my oolong strong and I will fill my teapot with leaves (more than half the teapot) for my tea session. 

Happy New Year

 

It is Chinese New Year tomorrow. I would like to wish my readers and all my tea buddies "Kong xi Fa Cai". Live long and prosper.