A Visit to Guangzhou pt. 2

I had dim sum for breakfast before I embarked on my journey to Fangcun Tea Centre.  Actually, all my breakfast throughout this trip was dim sum.  Dim Sum is actually small dishes that you order off a menu in a restaurant.  Examples of the dishes are steamed buns, congee, steam glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves, assorted fried/steamed pastries, noodles and even soups.  Yummy.  The 1st pix shows a dish of 3 steam buns filled with red bean paste.  I had a choice of tea that ranges from pu erh, oolongs or jasmine tea.  Different grades of the tea are on offer and the tea is charged per head basis.  I normally choose a mid price ripe pu about 10rmb per head.  You can see from the 2nd pix, you get to brew the tea yourself with a boiling pot of water at the table.  

My hotel was in downtown and getting to Fangcun was easy.....hop on the subway and get off in 5 stations time (less than 10 min).  It will take another 10 min walk from the station to Fangcun tea centre.  Fangcun tea centre comprises of many buildings and exploring the centre for the first time was for me an exhilarating experience.  There are more than 2000 shops selling tea and tea accessories.

There are 2 important points to note when visiting fangcun:

a)  this is a tea wholesale centre - meaning though the merchant may sell you small quantities, you will normally get a better price if you buy in quantities.  The wholesalers are normally upfront with you on their prices.  An example would be buying loose tea.  The pu erh shops which I visited quoted me prices for their loose tea per 500g  (about 1 lb) basis.  Larger quantities may give you another 10-20% further discount.  I had bought a gaiwan for 35rmb although the dealer would sell me for 28rmb each if I had purchased  12 pieces.  Likewise buying a tong of 7 pu erh pieces may be more expensive than buying a carton (4-8 tongs) of tea.  The savings may about 20% in this case. If you are not fussy, loose pu erh there gives best value for money.  Loose pu erh are very much cheaper than cakes or bricks.  The price you pay for a kg of a 2003 loose ripe pu might only get you 1 similar quality 2003 ripe pu cake (357g).

b)  you must know your tea and the relative prices.  If you are going to the tea centre and are looking for a tea, you must have some understanding of that tea you intend to buy and the relative pricing associated with the tea.  Tieguanyin (tgy), which is sold in many shops in Fangcun comes in a myriad of varieties.  You can buy aged Tgy, or new TGY.  They come lightly roasted, or with more floral characteristics, more robust or even specific grades/quality/seasons or areas/farms from Fujian province.  You have this problem of time management when you are there.  If you are looking for Tgy, you will realize there are many shops there offering tgy and the tea merchants are more than happy to let you sample their tgys.  Spend an hour at each shop (Fangcun is open from 9am-about 6/7pm), and you only cover about 9 shops a day.  This may posed a challenge and be frustrating (humorous if you think about it) if you are a 1st time visitor.

For myself, I went there looking for some new, high quality ripe pu erh and lao cha tou.  I did a little homework researching on the various companies that were in Fangchun prior to my visit.  As most of these companies participate in Taobao.com,  I did get a inkling of the type of products offered as well as customers' feedback on the company on the web.   More on my purchases in later blogs.

The last pix show a less crowded mall with few customers as there was a heavy rain while I was there and it was already late in the evening (about 5pm).

A visit to Guangzhou pt. 1

I visited Guangzhou during the Easter week.  Going via Hong Kong, I took a bus from the airport to Guangzhou.  This city (also known as Canton) has a population of 7 million.  This modern metropolis is characterized by skyscrapers, huge shopping offices and malls and has an efficient and clean subway system.  Prices there are similar to Hong Kong, in terms of food and general shopping.  The city however still possesses the old Guangzhou in some parts.  I enjoyed my stay there and would like to bring my family bext year for a holiday.  (and to buy more tea)

But I digress - Guangzhou holds a  yearly Canton fair in late April showcasing products from China.  This worldwide renown fair is very popular.  A visit during this time may be also very interesting.  I would advise my reader if visiting Guangzhou via Hong Kong to take the express train (which I took when returning to Hong Kong).  The train stations at both ends are located downtown with subway connections.  The train ride, about 2 hrs+, is inexpensive and extremely comfortable and I find the documentation at the  immigration entry points to be a breeze at these train stations. 

The 1st pix shows the mascots that represent the Asian games to be held in the city in summer.  This pix was taken along Beijing Street, the famous street mall downtown.  At night, red lanterns hanging from trees lit up making a walk there a pleasant experience.  Pix 4 show the night scene there.  The glass panels there covers a section of Song Dynasty old roads found during an excavation.  

Dining is another major highlight of my visit.  The selection of food and drinks is astounding.  I had dinner at a seafood restaurant (pix 2&3) where more than 100 tanks of live seafood are available for selection and you can also choose how you want your seafood to be done. (steamed, fried, spicy or braised etc).  Tea selections range from pu erh, green teas and oolongs and you can brew your own tea as a tea set as well a kettle (over a small flame) of boiling water is at your dining table.  My 6 course seafood dinner costs me about US$60 for  table of 3.

My purpose in Guangzhou was to visit the tea centre there.  Guangzhou is considered as a major tea trading hub where one can find almost all the chinese tea there.  Tea buyers and traders worldwide are known to source their tea here.  The biggest tea centre in Guangzhou is found at Fangchun.  Accessible by subway, the Guangzhou Tea Centre boasts more than 2000 shops there.  It is an astonishing sight.  A "mecca" for the tea lover.  The size of this tea centre will make any tea enthusiast or even a  tea dealer  scream "wow".  More of Fangchun in my next blog.

Haiwan 2005 ripe Pu erh

I opened a Haiwan 2005 ripe pu erh cake today.  You will notice this cake carries the "laotongzhi" (old comrade) label as well.  It is a signature label of Haiwan Tea Factory, produced under the auspices of Mr Zhou Pin Liang, a world renown teamaster.  Prior to setting up his own tea factory (Haiwan), he was a production manager of Menghai tea factory for many years. 

This ripe 357g cake was purchased when I was in Kunming last April.  This cake, I was told, used mostly grade 6 pu erh.   In Singapore, I had kept this pu erh, wrapper intact, in a new clean brown envelope.  These are those normal larger envelopes that you send your mail.  I keep my pu erh tea this way on my bookshelves this way.  I have dedicated 2 long shelves to store my tea.  (hehe....actually have even more tea stashed at my mum's place).

The color and appearance of this tea looks pleasant.  The taste is lighter than I expected....... maybe I had expected it to be stronger and more robust.  Given its age of 5 years and it was stored here for a year in Singapore (hot and humid),  there was no post-fermentation smell or taste (called wodui - some describe wodui as slight fishiness in scent).  There was instead  a nice floral scent and a very mild sweet aftertaste sensation.  It makes for a very smooth mellow drink and my tea session was finished in a hurry.    I felt that this tea was produced  under 'middle ground status'.........I meant that for ripe tea drinkers like me.....this tea has all the good characteristics of a ripe pu, ie woody, earthy, floral, sweetish and so on.....and the tea did not go overboard in its taste.  This is to me, a standard straight forward pu.  Yes, tea drinkers (me included) will have their individual preferred taste and will pursue those teas which is adjusted (woody, floral, sweet, robustness) to suit their taste buds.  For example, the 2007 Menghai "golden needle/white lotus" ripe cake (see previous blog - 8 Jan 2010) which I also enjoy has the robust factor up many notches.  

This tea cake was inexpensive and cost me about us$10(purchase date april 2009). Makes 10 infusions easily.   A tasty and very good value for money tea, which I regret not buying extra as this cake is now not readily available in the tea shops or on the net.  

Bamboo Pu erh

Bamboo pu erh is pu erh(raw or ripe), that is stuffed into bamboo tubes and these tubes are lightly roasted over an open fire.  This tea will then be kept by tea drinkers either with the bamboo intact with the stuffed tea or by breaking the bamboo and storing the tea in its cylindrical shape. (see pix)

This traditional practice of making bamboo pu erh originates from a minority tribe in Yunnan called the Dai.  (see my earlier blog 3 Jul 2009)  The unique taste of the toasted bamboo pu erh resulted in some Yunnan tea companies making such teas on a commercial scale.  

The taste of bamboo pu erh is refreshing and unique.  The bamboo tea I have is the raw Yi Wu  pu erh.  This tea was sold without the bamboo (I wish the bamboo was intact as it would give a very traditional sensation) and came in 3-4 inch pieces.  Its about an inch thick.  The light toasting of the raw tea seems to reduce the harshness of a new raw pu erh.  Instead, I find the tea to be sweet, floral, an oak like finish with a hint of smoke.  Its like those wines that has been kept in oak barrels and you can detect the oak flavor when you drink the wine.  Well back to the tea...its a delightful tea and its no wonder I finished my 100g pack within a month.  A brew (8-10g) can yield 4-5 good infusions.  

Bamboo pu erh is inexpensive and its available at most teashops and on the internet.  

Tao Of Chinese Tea

“Tao of Chinese Tea” is written by Ling Yun (Grace).  Published in 2009, this book is produced under the Reader’s Digest Association Inc. 

This beautifully illustrated book introduces the reader to the classic stories of tea, the various types of popular chinese teas, teapots and accessories, golden rules of selecting good teas and storage of tea.

The author Ling Yun is recognized as a teamaster in China.  She also possesses a master’s degree in Economics from Peking University and owns a studio called “House of Lingyun” teaching Chinese culture such as tea, calligraphy and Chinese opera.

I found the book informative and well written.  There are step by step(in photo format) guides on the different styles of brewing Chinese tea. 

One section of the book deals with the selection of a good zisha (clay) teapot (see pix 3).  The author asserts that there are 3 requirements of a good teapot:

a) the spout, mouth and handle should all touch the surface of the table if turned upside down.

b) the water pours out smoothly without leaks.

c)  fill up the teapot with water and cover it with lid.  Block up the pot mouth and turn the pot upside down.  Then keep the pot upside sown, hold the lid while unblocking the mouth.  It’s also a sign of a good pot if water doesn’t come out.

It is the 3^rd point that caused me certain consternation.  It would be difficult (may not be allowed) if I want to do this test on a teapot before purchase. I am even more fearful if the lid falls off and caused a breakage.  I think I understand the logic of the 3^rd prerequisite, that is, to ensure the lid is well formed and exact causing a vacuum when the teapot is turned upside down.  It is my opinion that many teapot sellers will not allow such tests in their shops.    I have conducted this experiment on my teapot but only with a teapot over a deep pail of water.  I am happy to announce I own a teapot, which has passed all the 3 requirements.

I find this book very good and informative.  A recommended read. 

Yunnan White Tea

This is Yunnan's white tea.  It is also known as white hair silver needles.  This is an apt name as you will observe, from the above pix(click pix), that this tea resembles a needle and has tiny white silvery hair on its leaves.  

White hair silver needle (Baihao YinZhen) is mainly produced in Yunnan and Fujian province.  It was a tribute tea during the Song and Tang dynasties and was considered a valuable tea.  This white tea is harvested from new tea buds.  Tea harvesters picked new buds that is characterized by one shoot and 2 leaves (which should be covered with white hairs).  This harvested white tea is slightly fermented during the drying process.

Lam Kam Cheun, the author of 'The Way of Tea' tells about a fairy tale behind the origins of this tea as follows : "In Fujian in China there was once a drought and nothing grew for many seasons.  A plague started in the villages and settlements and lots of people died.  As the situation got worse, the elders told the story of a holy plant that grew besides a dragon well on a nearby mountain and how the juice extracted from the plant would restore the land to fertility and cure the sick.  Many brave young men from Fujian went up the mountain to find the holy plant but none came back as the well was guarded by a fierce black dragon......(a young girl decided to try her luck).....She saw the dragon had turned all the men to stone.  Using her cunning she avoided the dragon's magic, reached the well and slew the dragon with an arrow.  She then picked the shoots of the holy plant and watered them with water from the well." The story ends with the young girl using this tea juice and restoring the men, who had turned to rocks, to life.  The juice from the plant also rejuvenated the land and Fujian today grows and drink this tea.   

I brew this white tea the fast and easy way; take about 15-20 leaves in a cup, pour about 250ml hot water ( wait 30 seconds/1 minute after water boils) and tea is ready to drink in a minute.  You will have your personal tea preference, so... adjust the amount of tea leaves or water as you like.   

The taste of the tea, compared to oolongs and pu erh, is subtle and delicate.  It has a delightful lingering fragrance and a hint of sweetness.  This is a nice tea to drink and I would recommend a purchase of this tea.  A 100g pack of this Yunnan silver needles would costs about us$8-12, which would brew a good number of cups.  I usually make 1 infusion of this tea even though I was told I could get up to 3 infusions from one brew.

There are other white teas like Pai Mu Tan and Shou Mei which I will cover in my later blogs.

2004 Menghai 7542

I had purchased this 2004 raw pu erh cake at the Singapore's Yue Hwa emporium in Chinatown.  Costing me $50, this 357g Menghai pu erh came encased in  very thick cellophane plastic wrapper.  I could see that this cake came from Hongkong, as the Yue Hwa' distributor name was stickered on the back of the wrapper.  See pix 2 and it states "Yau Shing native tea products co." in Hong Kong.  It seems its distributor has individually wrapped the tea cakes securely with thick cellophane plastic before the cakes were distributed for sale.  I believe the wrappers serve to protect the cake and to prevent unwrapping of the cake before it is sold.

Menghai 7542 raw pu erh is a very famous recipe from Menghai's stable of pu erh tea.  This particular recipe has a strong following of tea drinkers, me included.  The popularity of this tea is very good and prices for the older 7542 especially before 2005 have risen a fair bit.  7542 cakes before 7542 are very expensive.  Tea drinkers.... be careful when you are buying old 7542,  lots of fakes.  I believe that there are already fakes for 2-3 year old cakes.  One helpful hint, is when you buy the newer 7542, take a good look at the security sticker on the back of the cake.  Examine the hologram strip on the sticker.  You can see the "dayi" chinese words on the hologram strips.  And.........  always buy from reliable and reputable tea sellers when purchasing your tea.  

The brewing results of this tea was interesting.  The tea tasted like  new raw pu erh brew,  It has a very mild floral scent with a sharp finish.  One of my conclusions on this taste is that the thick plastic wrapping, encasing the pu erh, making  the tea cake 'breathe very slowly' and thus unable to achieve the aged taste (for its age) from natural fermentation.  It is a known fact that raw pu erh will 'ferment' with proper ventilation, temperature and humidity.  It will, over time, loose the sharp aftertaste and be a mellow aged tea.  Pu erh tea tea drinkers and collectors enjoy this aged tea taste and many of these collectors store  new pu erh away and drinking them after some years.  Back to this 7542.....I did not have an opportunity to taste test this tea before buying and I did not know the storage conditions of this tea.  I have no regrets buying this tea (I have put away the tea and will come back to it in a few years time) as it has taught me a valuable lesson when it comes to buying slightly older teas.  I had written to the emporium, giving my feedback on the tea and some suggestions on the packaging of the tea cake.