Archives for the month of: February, 2011

Interview with Marlon of Chan Teas

February 16, 2011 //
0
~ Intro ~
This post is the second post in a series of interviews with people in the tea industry.  Today’s interview is with Marlon, one of the founders of Chan Teas, which is a very fine tea company out in San Diego California.

Marlon, who is a 21 year old college student at USCB, and an intern at the Institute for Energy Efficiency.  Lao Ren Cha is thrilled that Marlon agreed to be interviewed (via email).

Marlon in China looking at tea bushes.


~Interview with Marlon~

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview with Lao Ren Cha.  To start with I would you be willing to describe how you first got “into” tea and tea culture?  In addition to that what was your “gateway tea”, the first tea that really made you want to try out more tea?

The first thing that got me interested in tea was this video interview with James Norwood Pratt: http://bit.ly/enSoSC.  After watching, I ordered a gaiwan online, and the rest was history.

My first loose leaf tea purchase was from Adagio.  It was a green tea sampler and the stand-out in my opinion at the time was a tea called “white monkey”.  It got me really excited about brewing loose-leaf green tea.  Since then, my taste has evolved to favor oolongs, but good green tea still holds a special place in my heart.

My first loose leaf tea (golden monkey) was from Adagio as well.  Can you describe how your relationship with tea and/or the tea community has developed over the years?

My relationship with tea is a peaceful one.  I am always thankful for the zen-like mindfulness I feel when sipping on a good tea.  The process of sitting down and brewing tea either with friends over conversation or alone in contemplation is the most relaxing and essential part of my day.

As far as my relationship with the tea community: I run the twitter account for Chan Teas and can not say enough great things about the tea community.  Whenever I have a question about tea, I can send it out and have it answered quickly, with the possibility of sparking good conversation.  Aside from online, everyone I’ve met in person with a connection to tea has been welcoming and helpful in my pursuit of expanding my tea knowledge.  

What do you enjoy most about tea and/or the tea community?

What I enjoy the most about tea is how it focuses me.

I enjoy how  open and inviting community.  

What is your favorite tea right now?

I’ve been pulling a lot of late nights and it’s nice to have a good shou puerh by my side.  I love the earthiness of this tea and the way it grounds me.  My favorite thing about a good pu-erh is that it evolves through the infusions and lasts forever.

You are a founder of a tea company of your own.  Can you describe your company, its goals, and where its focus is?

Company:  Chan Teas

Goals: To share our experience with tea

Focus: We’re focused on sharing the knowledge we have about tea through cool pictures and fascinating information.  Our content is meant both to inform people about tea and also to inspire people to start making tea themselves.  In a way, tea is intimidating to people but it really doesn’t have to be.  We want to demystify the tea experience.  We also sell necessities like gaiwans, trays and cups in our brand new online store.  For people learning about tea, it can be difficult to find a gaiwan or a proper brewing vessel, that’s why we’re doing it.

What advice would you have for someone else who wanted to start a tea company?  Is there anything you would do differently with your own company if you had it to do over?

My general advice would be to drink, brew, and educate yourself about tea.  You’ll figure out the rest as you go alone.

Also, keep in mind that everything is a learning experience and we learn from our mistakes more than our accomplishments.  I wouldn’t change a thing.

How has tea impacted your plans and/or for the future?

Over the last couple of years, tea has become my passion.  I pour tea on a daily basis and if I happen to go a day without brewing, it seems weird.  Tea has added to my daily routine in a positive way by allowing me to slow down, reflect and relax while conversing with friends and sparking conversation.

In the future  I plan on traveling to many more tea producing countries to expand my tea knowledge.

Who would you describe as your tea heroes?

My heroes are all of the people that have helped me pursue my tea journey.  From the small shop owners in china, to the tea people I interact with on twitter on a daily basis, I am thoroughly grateful for all that I have learned from these amazing people who truly want to spread the love of tea.

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Categories Tea Community

Pairing Yixing Teapots 宜興

February 16, 2011 //
5

 

~Intro~

You know you have reached a certain level of “being into tea” when you start to ask, “How many Yixing teapots do I really need?”

Not that long ago I asked myself, and a few other people in the tea community, that question. After going through the information online, and the answers provided by people I approached, I thought it would be a good idea to try and write a post that puts all the information I have together.

As always I ask that anyone reading this keep in mind that I’m far from a tea expert, and if I’ve made any mistakes I really do appreciate it when people take the time to correct me in the comments section, or contact me directly to and fill me in on what I got wrong.

~Part 1 – Yixing Pairing Overview~

If you are already familiar with Yixing teapots, and the concept of pairing them to a particular tea, you don’t need to read this section. Just skip to the Part 2. However, if the term Yixing teapot is not something you’re very familiar with this section might be helpful. Lets start off with what an Yixing teapot is, and what makes it so special…

YiXing (pronounced ee-shing) teapots first appeared during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279) in the YiXing region of China, located in the Jiangsu province, about 120 miles northwest of Shanghai. The Jiangsu province is the world’s only source for the unique clay from which YiXing teapots are made, called purple or red clay. YiXing teapots were relatively unknown for many years until the late Ming Dynasty (1600s) when their use and production began to flourish. Demand from Europe and throughout China fueled an active industry in which many artists developed their craft to high levels of mastery. For the next three hundred years, YiXing teapots attained renown throughout China and Europe. Although the Europeans strove to imitate the YiXing teapots, they could not compete with the unique purple clay only found near YiXing, China. [Source]

What makes an Yixing such a high quality item is that each time the teapot is used the porous clay absorbs some of the oils from the tea that is being brewed. Over time the Yixing will develop a coating from those oils. This coating will enhance, or compound, the flavor of the tea being brewed in the teapot.

The process of getting an Yixing teapot to assume this coating is most often called “seasoning” here in the West. After several yeas of use a “seasoned” Yixing teapot will be able to create a high quality brew which no other brewing vessel will be able to copy.

~Part 2 – Pairing Categories ~

Avid tea drinkers will often have extensive Yixing collections because they like to pair a specific tea with a specific teapot. When the Yixing is used this way it can really enhance the flavor of the specific tea that it is paired with. The more the Yixing and the tea get to know one and other the more the tea drinker will be rewarded with very flavorful brews.

When I first heard about Yixing teapots, and pairing, my questions was how many Yixing teapots should I have? The most basic research reveals that it would be a good idea to have about three different pots. One for oolong tea, one for black teas (AKA Chinese red teas) and one for pu-erh teas. However, after spending only a little time digging around online, and talking with other more experienced tea people I found that such a broad categorizing was far too overly simplistic.

After much looking around, and asking around I came up with a pairing system that I think works for me. I believe that it allows for several different categories of teas to be paired up with a Yixing.

  1. Sheng (AKA Raw, Aged) Pu-erh which is younger than ten years old.
  2. Sheng (AKA Raw, Aged) Pu-erh which is ten years old or older.
  3. Shou (AKA Ripe, Cooked) Pu-erh
  4. Wuyi (AKA Rock Tea, Yan Cha, Wu Long)
  5. Dan Cong (AKA Guangong)
  6. Medium roast oolongs from Taiwan and Anxi China
  7. Taiwanese high mountain oolongs (AKA Geo Shen)

I think this system is decent, but it is a far cry from the best one out there, so if you know of ways that it could be improved please leave a comment, or contact me directly.

~FAQ~

When I’ve shown the system above to people their eyes tend to get a bit wide. Sometimes it’s because they don’t think that so many Yixing teapots are really necessary, and sometimes because they don’t want to invest all the money into buying several different small teapots.

Below are a list of questions I’ve gotten from people about Yixing tea pots.

Q: I’ve heard people say that you have to be careful with Yixing teapots when you first get them because the teapot will be “thirsty”. What does that mean?

A: A new Yixing teapot is going to suck up a lot of oils from the tea, and so the first few times that the teapot is used the clay can actually “drink up” some of the flavor of the tea. The more you use the teapot the less thirsty it will become, and if you stick with the teapot you will be rewarded down the road when it creates a truly satisfying tea, which you will know is unique to your teapot.

Q: Is it always better to brew tea in an Yixing teapot?

A: This is just my opinion, but I don’t think so. There are many teas that I think will be better if brewed in a glazed vessel of some sort. These tend to be green teas and white teas, which I think taste better when brewed in something that lets them showcase their more delicate flavors.

Q: What if I don’t want to spend lots of money on these things?

A: You don’t have to spend any money. I you would like to just brew your tea in something else go right ahead. However, if you don’t mind spending some money I’d recommend that you buy an Yixing for your favorite tea / teas.

Q: Don’t you get sick of spending money on these things?

A: Not really. Tea is my hobby, and I’ve found that I like finding cool Yixing teapots (and other teaware) to add to my collection. I did not really expect to to acquire lots of Yixings, it just sort of happened over time.

Q: Where do you even find Yixing teapots for sale?

A: There are TONS of places on the internet where they can be bought, and most tea shops that deal in fine tea will sell them as well.

Q: How much should I pay for a Yixing teapot?

A: Like anything collectible Yixing teapots will range in price. The more rare Yixings will cost more than those that are commonly available. However, if your looking to get a nice starter Yixing teapot you are looking at spending about $30.00.

~A Big Thank You~

I want to say thanks to Brandon from Wrong Fu Cha for being one of the most helpful people in the tea community when it came to explaining Yixing teapots to me. This post would not have been possible with out his patience and help.

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Categories Teaware

A life lesson from 茶

February 15, 2011 //
1

~A True Story of Stress, Tea, and Lack of Tea~

As of late, my life has become very hectic and stressful.  In an attempt to alleviate some of the causes of my stress, I decided that I was going to work my ass off as much as possible, for as long as possible,  until the causes of stress (unfinished work) was done.  In addition to this, I was going to cut out the “unproductive” things that I did for fun from my life.

This was a stupid plan.

The past two weeks have had me either working or thinking about working almost non-stop.  I started to get headaches, I lost sleep, and eventually got sick.  When sickness struck, I was forced to stop working for the better part of an entire work week.

The first day day to work went OK, but all the old stress causing juju was still right where I had left it.  Today, my second day back, I woke up later than I normally do, and as a result I decided to forgo my morning ritual of preparing some tea in a gaiwan before gearing up for the day.  I did not think anything of it at the time, but as the day went on, it became more and more apparent just how “out of sync” I felt with everything.

By the time I returned home, my stress headache had returned and I was feeling rotten. However, I wasn’t upset by the discomfort because missing my morning tea led to a lesson.

~The Lesson~

Life is filled with things that need doing, and chances are that most of us will always feel pressure to keep chipping away at the endless list of things that we think “need” doing.  But living life this way is not sustainable. We all need to find some way of taking time to slow down so that we can keep our heads above the sea of things that we are swimming through.

For me, taking time out of each day to make a few cups of tea Lao Ren Cha style is enough to tune out the world and treat myself. Truth be told, I think that if they just took the time to try such a ritual, it would do the trick for many other people as well.  More importantly, not spending time with tea was much more harmful then it was helpful. Not only did I not save any time or find myself at all better for skipping my morning tea, I was obviously much more stressed and off kilter.

So if you ever find yourself thinking that you don’t have enough time to enjoy a cup of tea, see the red flag.  Slow down!  Relax.  Take a few moments to take care of yourself.

I know I’ve said stuff like this here on this blog before, and I’m sure that in the future I’ll say it again.  I repeat it because I think an important message.  I hope you agree.

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Categories Learning & Education

What’s that Dà Hóng Páo (大红袍) really?

February 7, 2011 //
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~ Intro ~

It is not uncommon for people to go to a reputable tea shop, or to a tea store’s website, and see Dà Hóng Páo (大红袍) for sale.  However, chances are that even though the tea that you’re being sold might be some very good tea, it’s not “real” Dà Hóng Páo.

In an attempt to prevent people from being misinformed about what they are drinking, I’ve written the post below. However, before you start to read it, I need to be clear about something.

What I have written is based on what I know about tea, and I don’t know everything.  If you see something that you disagree with please don’t hesitate to leave a comment or to contact me directly and let me know.  If I’ve made any mistakes in the post, I want to be made aware of them so that I can correct them, and learn from the experience.

~ So what is “real” Dà Hóng Páo?~

Let’s start with the myth of Dà Hóng Páo…

Legend tells of a time when someone who was of great importance to the Ming Emperor fell very ill.  In most cases, the ill person is the Emperor’s mother, but not always.  As a result of their close relationship to the Emperor, the sick individual received the very best medical care that was available at the time.  However, in spite of this lavish medical care, the illness did not abate.

As word of both the illness and the doctors’ inability to cure it spread throughout the land,  some monks who lived in the Wuyi mountains of Fujian heard of the situation.  These monks took pity on the patient and brought a very rare and special tea to help ease the illness. This particular tea had been harvested from wild tea bushes that grew directly out of the rock of the mountain.

When the ill person drank this tea, their sickness vanished.  The Emperor was overjoyed and ordered that magnificent red robes be brought to cover the tea bushes. In Chinese culture, the color red symbolizes luck, long life, and vitality.  However, whether these robes were for protection, honor, or both has never been made clear to me. Ever after their cloaking in crimson, this particular type of tea has been known as Dà Hóng Páo, which translates into large red robe in mandarin Chinese.

What makes this story interesting is while some of it is made of pure myth, many people believe that the four of the Dà Hóng Páo bushes from this legend are still alive today in the Wuyi mountains.  Tea which is harvested from these four bushes is referred to as “real” Dà Hóng Páo.

Needless to say, this “real” Dà Hóng Páo is very rare.  Nowadays, this rare tea is only offered to VIPs who have the good fortune to be presented with it by the Chinese government.  I’ve heard that in 2002, 2/3 of an ounce was sold for $23,000 USD.

A  funny modern “myth” comes from President Nixon’s visit to China in 1972. Upon his arrival, Nixon was given fifty grams of 100% real Dà Hóng Páo as a gift.  Rather than seeing this as the high honor, Nixon was reported to have been somewhat insulted by the “small” gift, and his staff needed to explain to the President how generous the gift really was [source].

~ What is “real” Dà Hóng Páo? ~

  1. Tea that was harvested from one of the four original Dà Hóng Páo bushes.
  2. Grows out of rock in the Wuyi mountains.
  3. This tea will cost a ridiculous sum of money.
  4. Chances are that unless you are a VIP visiting China or a important person in China, you’re not going to be drinking 100% “real” Dà Hóng Páo.

~ If it’s not Dà Hóng Páo what is it? ~

Calling tea Dà Hóng Páo has become a marketing tool to sell tea to people who don’t know any better.  Chances are, tea that is called Dà Hóng Páo and sold outside of China today is one of two things…

  • Tea that was harvested from a genetic clone of one of the original four Dà Hóng Páo bushes.

People have taken clippings from the original Dà Hóng Páo bushes and used them to make genetic clones of said bushes.  However, it is important to keep in mind that even though these clones are genetically identical to the original bushes, they are being grown in different locations.  This means the environmental conditions that these clones are growing in can be very different than the environmental conditions that the original bushes are growing in.  This can be explained by looking at a grape vine from France. Even though the vine has it’s origins in France, calling its product a”French wine” after it has been cloned and grown in California soil and conditions, would be quite disingenuous.

The correct name for this kind of tea is Xiao Hong Pao, which means Small Red Robe.

I’ve been lucky enough to try some Xiao Hong Pao, and I thought that it was very good.

The Xiao Hong Pao that I sampled was harvested from a tea bush that is grown very close to the geographic location of the original four Dà Hóng Páo bushes.

In my mind, Xiao Hong Pao tea that comes from the same area as the original Dà Hóng Páo is closer to being “real” Dà Hóng Páo, because these tea plants are going to be drinking the same ground / rain water, getting the same light, breathing the same air, and growing in the same soil as the four original Dà Hóng Páo bushes.

As I’m sure you can imagine, while Xiao Hong Pao is not as costly as true Dà Hóng Páo, it is still very expensive.

I’ve also heard Xiao Hong Pao be referred to as simply Hong Pao, which means “red robe” in mandarin Chinese.

~ So if it’s not “real” Dà Hóng Páo, is it bad? ~

No. There is lots of “fake” Dà Hóng Páo out there which is still really good tea.

You’ll notice that I keep using quotation marks around words like “real” and “fake” throughout this post.  That’s because in the end, I don’t really think the difference matters that much to the vast majority of tea drinkers here in the West.  My rule is that if I like something, I don’t really care what they call it, or if it’s “real” or “fake”.

So if you have something that is labeled as Dà Hóng Páo, and you like it, keep enjoying it!  Just don’t make the mistake of going around telling people that it is tea grown from one of those original four bushes that are over 300 years old in the Wuyi mountains.

Lao Ren Gorman enjoying some "fake" Da hung Pao

And if you want to show off a bit,  the next time you’re offered some Dà Hóng Páo, smile and ask the person if what they are offering is really from one of those four original bushes which were honored by the Emperor of China and see what they say.

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Categories Learning & Education, Oolong Tea

Practice

February 1, 2011 //
2

Cha gaiwan lid + oolong

~ This Evening ~

As I was winding down my day, I decided I wanted some Ti Kuan Yin.  I loaded a very generous amount of the dry tea into my favorite gaiwan, boiled some water, and went about preparing the tea.

After washing the leaves, I performed my first infusion.  As time went by, I felt myself relaxing into the comfort that preparing tea brings me.  And then it happened.

I picked up the gaiwan, and poured the hot tea into a narrow cup without having any of the hot liquor burn my hand and without spilling a single drop.

I’m sure to most people this would not seem like anything note worthy, but to me it is.

~ Why? ~

The first time I tried to make tea in a gaiwan, I burned myself and broke the gaiwan I was using.  Basically, the first time I attempted to use a gaiwan was a complete and total disaster.  Seriously.  I sucked at making tea in a gaiwan!  And I don’t mean I kind of sucked, I mean I really sucked.

Of course, after that failed first attempt, I was frustrated.  Really frustrated, in fact.  So frustrated, that I bought another gaiwan, watched lots of YouTube videos showing people doing gongfu cha, and scoured the internet for information on how to properly handle gaiwans.

Another side effect of my first failed attempt with a gaiwan was that whenever I made tea I was filled with self doubt, and I tried to compensate for this by over-thinking everything little thing I did.  I obsessed over water temperature, the amount of leaves I was using, steep times, and pours.  As I’m sure you can imagine, the tea that I made when I was in negative state of mind was not very good.

Over time, it became apparent that I was approaching tea the same way that I use to approach math homework, which is to say I realized that I was being an idiot.  With the help of Mei, Dan, and some other more experienced people in the tea community, I learned to approach tea as something that was fun, in the same way that kids approach new games.  I mellowed out, and started to -literally- play with tea.  I would screw around with different water temps, and steep times.  I would use crazy amounts of leaves in my gaiwan or Yixing teapot…

This is when tea stopped being something I was interested in, and became something that I loved.

~ Which Brings Me to Today ~

Today I can use a gaiwan with out looking like a total fool.

Learning to make tea has helped me not take myself oh–so-seriously, and as a result I feel more relaxed, more confident, and much more happy.

~ End Notes ~

  • If / when you screw up using a gaiwan don’t worry about it.
  • Frustration is normal when you’re learning, but if you keep at it you will find your own tea mojo.
  • Remember: tea is something that you should have fun with.
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Categories Learning & Education
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