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.

 

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.