Zealong Tea

This very informative write-up  about New Zealand tea is from a news article (“OneNews" 14 april 2009').

"Zealong Tea is ready to export after having taken the bold move of developing the first plantation for an ancient variety of Chinese tea in New Zealand.

The 4,000-year-old Oolong tea is grown in the Waikato - the first time it has been grown outside of Asia.

"The Waikato region is good for agriculture because it's not that dry, the moisture is all right and so the plants grow here is quite good, and tea likes foggy [weather]," says Zealong Tea general manager Vincent Chen.

New Zealand's clean, green image also serves as a unique selling point.

"I think in Asia, in China or in Taiwan everyone says New Zealand is the last piece of clean land of the world," says Chen.

China consumes around $NZ13 billion of tea each year, and this amount is expected double within the next 10 years.

With prices ranging from $600 to $11,000 dollars a kilo, Oolong tea is not only seen as a sign of prestige, but it also plays an important role in Chinese business practice, serving as a conversation starter at business meetings.

Zealong Tea grows, processes and sells the tea from its Waikato base unlike China where each part of the process is usually carried out by different parties.

However, because of the specialised skills required in tea production, overseas talent has had to be brought in order to ensure quality control.

"We invited our tea maker to come from Taiwan who specialised in producing this tea to make sure that we are as close as the China market and the quality," says Zealong Tea marketing manager Gigi Crawford.

With over 10 years of fine tuning behind it, the company is finally ready to launch into the market.

"We are basically doing the packaging right now, and then we will be going to China to do a trade show," says

Crawford says the company is also talking to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise about launching the product in different parts of China."

My thoughts are that this new zealong tea will have its own unique taste due to different soil, climate conditions when compared to Taiwan or China oolongs. Yes, the overall characteristics of this oolong  tea will be similar, but it will have its own tea admirers and critiques.  I would love to have a sample of this tea. 

Above pix is that of the famous Taiwan  Ali-shan high mountain oolong tea.

Chinese Lunar New Year

The Chinese New Year  falls on Feb. 14 this year.  This is an important occasion for the Chinese and is a public holiday ( or a few days) in countries like China, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and many asian countries.  

One event of the chinese new year that is observed is the family reunion dinner held on the eve of the new year.  Family members will gather and feast, something like thanksgiving in the states.  In major cities in China, you may see many workers all returning home (usually cross-province) and clogging up the transport system, as they rushed back for the reunion dinners.  The chaotic atmosphere at these bus/train/plane terminals may be intimidating to the 1st time visitor.  

In Singapore, Chinese New Year is celebrated with the children wearing new clothes when families visit each other.   Mandarin oranges and red packets (1st pix) are given during the visit.  The oranges, known as "kum" in cantonese and "kum" is also known as gold, are given to head of families as respect.  Red packets containing money are given to children and elders as a "blessing".  BBQ sweetened red meats, usually pork, (pix 2) are traditional gifts during these periods.  In Singapore, one has to queue up for more than 3-5 hours, one week prior to the festive new year, to purchase these red meats due to their popularity (us$15 for 500g).  

One of my elderly tea friends (he was from Hongkong) told me that tea was also given to family members during the reunion dinner.  He recalled his dad buying a tong every year, or 7 pieces or pu erh and giving out a piece to each of his 5 grown-up children during the reunion dinner, and keeping 2 pieces himself for drinking.  I think this tea gifting custom is a nice gesture.

Last pix is a  2005 Haiwan ripe cake.  

2002 CNNP Ripe Puerh 7581 brick

This is a 2002 CNNP ripe brick.  This brick used the 7581 recipe, meaning the recipe originated in 1975, using an average grade 8 leaves and the recipe was formulated by Kunming Tea Factory (aka CNNP).  

You will notice that the wrapper on this 250g brick did not indicate the recipe number nor the date of production, which is sometimes indicated on the back of the wrapper.  This is where the buyer will have to depend on the seller or shop for the tea specifications of the tea being sold.  The seller should and must know the background on the tea being sold.  An example would be like informing the buyer that the tea was purchased directly from the tea factory or the tea had being stored in a warehouse since production.  Such informative details may help the buyer in his purchase.  

I purchased this brick from Yunnan Sourcing and was told this brick was "The classic 7581 Ripe Pu-erh recipe from Kunming Tea Factory (aka CNNP).  This is a 2002 production and is comprised entirely of fermented Menghai area large leaf varietal Pu-erh.  The brewed tea is sweet and smooth.  The color of the tea liquor is deep red wine hue.  A very enjoyable tea with just the right amount of aging."  There were also other favorable reviews on this Yunnan Sourcing's brick on the internet.

This pu erh costs me US$35 (inclusive of freight).  The tea is compressed quite tightly and some tea tools are required.  I only need to opened it lengthwise and then break (by hand)the tea leaves into 12 pieces to be place in my tea container.  One of these pieces would be later halved to brew a pot of tea.  I usually found that after breaking up a brick/cake, there are small and tiny pieces of tea left in the tea wrapper, which I put aside to make my 1st few brews of the tea.  

The taste of this tea is smooth and has a hint of sweetness.  Quite nice actually.  This 7581 ripe brick's aroma reminds me of cooked chinese rice; a fragrant scent.  Makes 10 drinking infusions easily.  It was a surprise when I detected an extremely mild taste of raw pu  in this tea, and upon checking up with my learned tea friend from Penang, he indeed confirmed my findings  that this 7581 tea recipe has some raw pu erh mixed to the formula.

This tea is pleasant to drink, and has a nice smooth taste and aroma.  Somehow, I have not learnt how to appreciate this mix of ripe/raw pu erh brick.  My personal preference is still simplified that ripe or raw pu erh should be appreciated on its own.  Likewise, I believe all tea drinkers will have their own personal taste and preferences.  No right or wrong.  Just buy what you like.  Would I buy this tea again?  Not now and not endearing  enough, and I will use the money  to try other pu erh in my tea adventures.  

 

Thaipusam & masala tea

I was heading to Little India area at Serangoon Road in Singapore, for masala tea when I realized that today was the Thaipusam festival.

Thaipusam actually celebrates the birthday of the Hindu deity Subramaniam. On this occasion, Hindus show the sincerity of their faith. It is a time for making and fulfilling vows. Devotees pray for divine help and make vows. When their prayers are answered, they fulfil their vows.  These devotees will participate in a procession which starts at the Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple on Serangoon Road and ends at the Sri Thandayuthapani Temple on Tank Road. (2 hour walk- 4km)  Female devotees usually carry a metal milk urn filled with milk and placed these urns on their heads throughout this walking procession.  Men usually carry a kavadi, a cage like structure elaborately decorated with peacock feathers as well as images of hindu dieties.  Sharp spikes are found in the lower section and are pierced into the skin of the kavadi carriers.  Sometimes fruits are hung by hooks to the skins of carriers as well.  You will observe that cheeks, tongue and face of the devotees are sometimes pierced with sharp objects.

The procession is a loud and colorful ceremony.  You can hear drums, clapping and cheering throughout the procession.  This, I believe, helps the devotees concentrate on their walk (barefooted as well). I noticed the participating devotees are accompanied by their family members and friends during the long walk.

I went to a Komala Villas, a famous Indian vegetarian restaurant and proceeded to order masala thosai, a pancake filled with curried potatoes.  The pancake is about a foot long and comes with a curry sauce, a coconut and a tomato dip.

I also ordered  masala tea.  Served in a stainless steel cup and bowl, this tea is a black tea sweetened with condensed milk and spiced up with cinnamon and ginger.  It is a really refreshing beverage.  The entire meal costs about us$3. Yummy.

Fancy Display Teapot

My family hosted a Shanghai student recently for a week at our house.  It was part of a student exchange program where my kid gets to stay with a family in Shanghai for a week and we in turn will play host to a student 2 months later.  It was interesting to see the upbringing and thoughts of a mainland chinese student.  

I received a gift from the student's family.  It was a teapot.  You can see that the design looked like a tree trunk cutting.  This teapot is quite big.  Measuring 7 inches (18cm) across with a height of 2.5 inches (6cm).  The detailed airbrushing of the paint on the ceramic teapot is good.  This teapot is for display and not for brewing tea as the paints used, I suppose, are not food-friendly.  This teapot makes a great conversation piece in my living room.

There are many unique and inexpensive ceramic teapots that one may collect as a hobby.  I have seen unusual designs; from  a chinese junkboat and even a clam shell teapot.  These fancy teapots are usually quite cheap and will cost less than US$10.  The teapot gift I received, is slightly more expensive as the workmanship is more elaborate. (I am not selling it).

A Chinese perspective

This is the Chinese reply to the  tea article in the Financial Times (15 Sept 09) written by Tom Millar.  (see the article in my blog 30 Oct 09). 

This reply was written by Mei Xinyu and was published in the ShanghaiDaily.com on 24 Dec 09, entitled  'The truth about Chinese tea: the best is sold at home to connoisseurs.'

"Although being a home of tea, China rarely has any tea brands that can compete with foreign competitors, said the article "Why Foreigners are Beating China's Tea-makers on Their Home Turf" published by the Financial Times in October.

 Even "in China, Unilever's Lipton brand has a market-leading share three times that of its closest local rival," it added. Moreover, by mentioning that the average price of Chinese tea on international markets is even lower than those of Indian tea and Sri Lankan leaves, the article implies that China's tea export industry should follow the development path of that of such countries as India.

 Poor argument

 The suggestion is not well-founded, although there are aspects that Chinese tea exporters should learn from other countries, such as quality control. In fact, it is wrong to draw the conclusion that the overall price and quality of Chinese tea is lower than that of Indian tea or Sri Lankan tea simply by comparing the three countries' average price of tea sold on international markets.

 Unlike tea from those countries whose tea industry is mainly export-oriented, most Chinese tea is sold domestically.

Ever since the tea industry in countries like India, Sri Lanka and Kenya came into existence over 100 years ago, most of their tea has been exported.

Besides, as the consumption mode of their domestic consumers is almost the same as that of foreign consumers, there is barely any difference between the kinds of tea sold domestically and those exported.

Therefore, the average tea price of those countries on international markets is representative of the average price of all tea produced in those countries. But this is not the case with China, whose tea industry is mainly domestic-oriented. As most tea connoisseurs are within China, the best (of course most expensive) teas produced in China are sold domestically rather than exported.

 That is to say, the Chinese tea sold on international markets is not representative of overall Chinese tea quality.

 There is another important reason why it is impossible for China to further industrialize its tea industry as India, Sri Lanka or Kenya has done.

 Looking back into history, the export-oriented tea industry in India, Sri Lanka and Kenya was created by English colonists to meet the demand of Western consumers.

 One feature of the industry is highly industrialized large tea plantations. Such tea plantations resulted from English colonists' pillaging the land from local farmers and herdsmen. As most of such tea plantations had already existed for more than three generations when those countries finally got their independence, the owners of the plantations at that time could do little but to accept the plantations as a legacy.

 Such practice is surely impossible in China. Given China's vast population and limited farmland, the large-scale tea plantation business model is impracticable in most areas in the country.

 Despite this, there is great potential in China's tea industry. China boasts numerous famous kinds of tea, including Longjing tea, Dongding oolong tea, Pu'er tea, and so on, the quality of which is far above that of fast-food styled Lipton.

 Better choice

 And it is like reducing Versace to Jeanswest if the business model of selling Longjing tea, Dongding oolong tea, Pu'er tea is to follow that of Lipton.

 To me, even certain successful tea products that are tailored to Westerners do not taste as good as many kinds of traditional Chinese tea that are sold at lower prices in China.

 It is senseless for China to industrialize its tea industry as some other countries do.

 A better alternative is for China to further promote its traditional tea culture so as to win more overseas consumers to appreciate Chinese tea.

 (The author is a senior researcher under the Ministry of Commerce. The views are his own. He can be reached at meixinyu@126.com.)”  

2007 Menghai "Golden needle white lotus" ripe pu erh

One of the most famous phrase said by Darth Vader of Star Wars was “The force is strong with this one”.  This saying sums up my thoughts on this ripe pu erh cake.  Produced in 2007 by Menghai Tea Factory, this new recipe cake is known as the ‘golden needle white lotus’ pu erh.  This new recipe was first released in 2005 and Menghai have continued to produce this cake on quite a regular basis. 

I was recommended by my Hong Kong tea drinking friend to buy this cake and I had consequently included this cake in my order with Yunnan Sourcing(YS) late last year. YS had described the tea as “This is a classic ultra-premium recipe from Menghai tea factory! The 2005 release has become a legend among Ripe Pu-erhs and has increased in value by more than 500% in just 4 years! The recipe uses already aged high grade Ripe pu-erh and brews an aromatic, rich and creamy.”  This 357g cake costs me about us$26 (inclusive of freight). 

This tea brews extremely well and fast.  I have already gone through 1/3 of the cake and the brewing results never cease to amaze me.  I found that the color from the first 5 infusions (5 seconds) was very dark, almost jet black.  You may consider reducing the amount of tea leaves used per brew or shortened the infusion times.  The tea produces a very aromatic and pleasant scent.  There is totally no bitterness in spite of the darker color.  There is hardly any ‘wodui’ (fermentation) scent that usually comes with newer ripe pu erh.  My Hong Kong friend commented that the leaves used in this cake are of a better grade and he agreed that good aged tea leaves were also added to this recipe.  I myself detected a mild sensation of sweetness in the tea and found the aftertaste good.  

Notice the recommended brewing method in the last pix.  I shall discuss about pu erh tea brewing in later blogs.

But I digress – during one of my tasting sessions of this tea, my daughter gave me a bar of chocolate.  I do not eat or drink anything during a tea tasting session as I do not want any interference with my taste buds.  Maybe I am getting older….I forgot and ate the chocolate and continued with my tea drinking.  The result was unexpected.  The tea went really well with the cocoa.  The tea seemed to taste sweeter and creamy.  I tried this chocolate test again and on subsequent tea sessions, the same results showed.  I have tried chocolate on other ripes but this particular Menghai ripe stands out best.  Yes, a quick google will show that there is commercial chocolate pu erh being sold and this is not a new idea.  My opinion is not mixing the chocolate in the tea gives the drinker the addition benefit or choice for the drinker.  You want chocolate  with your tea…go grab a bar, if not then regular pu erh.

Overall I find this Menghai “gold needle white lotus” good.  The appearance of the tea leaves (before and after brewing) are of good quality.  The strength, color and aroma of the tea will appeal favorably to ripe pu tea drinkers.  This slightly pricey tea cake is well compressed and storing it properly for a couple more years, as my Hong Kong friend confidently says “can only be better for the tea”.