James Norwood Pratt: A Respectful Friend.

To me, tea is the fabric of Culture and Traditions. It's woven with different times, places and minds together as a whole, through a tiny cup. Although it was a disposable plastic cup, Indeed it was a very good cup that we shared. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Pratt, it was such a pleasure for me.

Expectation from a 80's Pouchong Oolong

Drawing wisdom from a recent tequila tasting in Mexico.... I am surprised how difficult for us to unlearn or undo our own experience in taste and senses. Expectation is one of the darkest enemy, and raw perception could end a good tasting session prematurely. The fact that most people are unable to understand new information, without the inherent bias of previous experience, a sort of made-believe knowledge to which ones have been exposed. Not only I saw the frustration on the tequila master, when he passed around a 7 years aged 100% blue agave to us and half of the group down the whole thing in record time: "It's only tequila, we drink the finest Patrón without all this fuzz in the States...." The cold reply from the Master was: "Patrón is a blend made in the US. It's the same as drinking a bottle of Vintage Champagne from Mexico."

We often embrace ourselves based on the raw perception we inherent, and it is very amusing to see how it carries in a group tasting. Seeing people changing from an arrogant attitude to disbelief and finally to humble. Of course, only a small percentage of people in the right mind could taste the humble but enlightening result. For me, it took many years to even step into the disbelieve stage. Luckily tea is one of the most forgiving gifts from the nature, along with the tea lovers who continue to rediscover and understand it.


Tasting this Pouchong from the 80's is one of those experiences that I had to completely reset my expectation. It has nothing to do with the aroma nor the taste, even the structure is not important. Notes of floral dry hibiscus with hint of orchid and plum seem out of context. I sometimes question myself as if I was involved in a perfume judging competition? Naming the right combination of a male Moschus moschiferus or a Female Biziura musk could win you a free spa vacation.

This tea sits on my palate for a good 30 sec. letting the whole mouth getting used to the taste and it's temperature, then rolled around for another 5 sec., so the saliva is reacting with the brew to create sweetness. Slurping exhibits more character and lets enough oxygen to let it blossom. Finally after a min, not drinking but letting the less than 20 ml of liquid dissolved downwards. It took 3 mins before the clearing of the mind and the minty refreshing wave that kept coming over and over again from within. Meanwhile, looking at the water to come to a full boil for my forth serving.... it helps to create a state of mind, without judgment and anticipation from the tea, the vessel, the water, or my brewing skill. A total surrender to the tea and its spirit.


Most of the aged tea that I come across including puerh and oolong share the same kind of quality, like a novel or a good play. Nothing matters from what the surface might bring but the result after an hour or even half a day. I missed out a lot of this fine Cha Qi moment in my early tea days, now I have the time to reflect on them. Often judging on some old treasure in less than 3 mins and giving conclusion to the host how this tea should be such and such.... I wish someone back then could have asked me about how good Mexican Champagne might be....

Giving an extra hour for a fine aged tea to speak for itself is the least we can offer, letting the expectation of those shallow perception go is one of the truly humbling experience.


Vendor:
Hong Kong Yixing Collector

Brewing Parameter:
40ml '80s Yixing / 3 grams of tea / full boiled 2 weeks aged spring water.
Flush rinse / sit 60 s. /1st - flush/ 2nd - 5s / 3rd - 5s / sit 1 mins / 4th - 20s / 5th - 30s. All boiling crab-eye temp.

Liquor Color and Aroma:
Clear and oily burnt amber with golden rim. Earthy dried shitak, flower, aged plum, sea salt, citrus peel. Clear refreshing minty character of clean, chewy and sticky mouth feel followed with long lasting sweet sandalwood on the palate.

Ending Notes:
Calming Cha Qi, complex and relaxing. Similar to an 20 years aged raw Yiwu. The cooling effect on the throat lasted for an hour plus. Warming effects on the forehead, palm, cheek and numbing the lips.

New York Asia Society Tea Event

Please come and join us for a Tea Tasting Reception on the 17th of March. I will be sharing and brewing a couple of my favorite selections. Hope to see you there. www.asiasociety.org

Kung Hee Fat Choy!

虎年行大運，身體健康，龍精虎猛，財源廣進!

Visual Judging of Dong Ding Oolong Tea.

I remember a third generation tea farmer from Nantou once taught me what to look for in High Mountain oolong.
"Anything lower than 700M is not considered as High Mountain," He begins. "The harsher and more extreme the growing environment, the tastier the tea is..... and it's all about the sheen, the oil on the surfaces of each pallets." He concluded.

All good quality tea should have shine and glossy liveliness visually. Like the eye of fresh fish. Even a 50 years aged sheung puerh should have the light beaming off it's surface. The oil on the surface of an aged high fired oolong might get semi-matte in 5 years, but once you pour hot water over it, the leaves and the brew should have this clear, bright lively shine to it. These are some of my basic rules when judging oolong.


A Winter 2009 Dong Ding oolong, roasted and grown by one of the most celebrated 5th generation master in Dong Ding mountain. Traditional medium roasted with lonyan charcoal. The pallets are dark hunter green, heavy on the palm and with good oily surface. Chiseled and Structured aroma of grain, lilac, dried peach, sweet katsuo-bushi on the nose. And fresh mountain breeze after the rinse.

Vendor:
The Tea Gallery. NYC

Brewing Parameter:
100ml '70s Gaiwan / 6 grams of tea / full boiled fresh polandspring water.
Flush rinse / sit 30 s. /1st - flush/ 2nd - 10s / 3rd - 20s / sit 1 mins / 4th - 30s / 5th - 60s. All boiling crab-eye temp.

Liquor Color and Aroma:
Golden orange yellow. Clear and glossy. Steep color gets darker orange till the 5th brew. Roasted barley, flower, nectar, bushy, seaweed, fruity and wet moss. Clear refreshing character of clean and thick mouth feel followed with long lasting sweet fruit/peach aftertaste after 30 sec. on the palate.


Ending Notes:
Calming and robust of high mountain Taiwanese oolong quality. Clean and refreshing, the astringent character quickly changed from bitter/pungent to sweet and savory after 3 sec. These changes are comfortable and rewarding, unlike most of the lower grade tea, which tends to stay astringent/bitter for a long time and the pleasant surprise never delivers.

Taiwanese Er Mei Shan Old Bush Eastern Beauty

It was a great holiday season for me. Wonderful Family time, food, gifts, tea gatherings and great company filled up the festive month.

Chinese New Year is around the corner, so before that, I wish to taste most of the newly collected. Over this weekend, I got to taste an amazing brandy, some good aged smoke and a special tea from Michael Wong.

Vendor:
The Tea Gallery. NYC

Origin:
Er Mei Mountain is around Dong Ding area South of Nantou, Taiwan. This tea was harvested in Fall 2009, from old bushes around 1000 meter elevation. They renovate the tree every 2 years and let it regrow to intensify the flavor and characters.

Trimming/pruning in such technique is common in wine and olive harvesting. Also choicest Wuyi Yan Chai or Feng Huang Old bushes are harvested once every 2 years instead of normal 2 seasons per year.

Dry Leaves and Aroma:
Strong white buds, with 5 different hues. Meaty and robust, with sweet honeysuckle, orchid, muscat, faint walnut and dry late winter foliage.

Brewing Parameter:
150ml Yixing Kyusu '70s / 6 grams of tea / full boiled fresh polandspring water.
Flush rinse / sit 30 s. /1st - flush/ 2nd - 20s / sit 2 mins / 3rd - 10s / 4th - 30s / 5th - 60s. All boiling crab-eye temp.

Liquor Color and Aroma:
Pale golden yellow. Clear and with tiny white hair (from the buds). Steep color gets darker reddish yellow till the 5th brew.
Honey, nutty, wine grapes, floral and Darjeeling FF on the nose. Character of smooth and thick mouth feel. Long lasting sweet floral aftertaste after 1 min.


Ending Notes:
Not a regular Eastern Beauty with delicate feminine and high perfumy notes. More body and robust like a Ella Fitzgerald song. Could be aged and developed into fuller/thicker body and sandalwood character, if vacuum-sealed in cold storage.

Jiang Rong's Mou Lu Ni, Spring Lotus with Frog and Snails

Being a Yixing enthusiast for over 15 years now, I still remember the moment that the spell was casted.

The display shelves were full of yixings, big and small. Back in those days when Jiang Rong and Gu Jing Zhou's pots were still available for a price not as hefty as today. I am not a big fan of 'Flower pot' style, but once in a while those refined details on such a piece do captivate my attention. My father pulled out a large (500ml?) dark blue pot from the top shelf and handed it to me. "Son, try not to drop it..." I still remember his gentle reminder. "Jiang Rong spent more than 10 years to create and study that little frog, before she completed this pot." He left me alone and looked for another Gu's pot.

I held it with my both hands, just like using my hands to fetch water from a spring. I had it in my palm for more than a min... not saying anything, not looking or thinking about other thing, just drawn by the piece. The dark matte blue color started to turn bright and oily sheen like jade, the piece seemed to melt in front of my eyes. And the tiny frog on top....

Back in high school, my favorite class besides Art was Science class, specially lab time. And I have to confess I had nightmare from cutting up frogs or putting them into liquid nitrogen....

I took a closer look at the tiny frog sitting on the lotus lid, perhaps it was my body warmth or my breathing? The frog seemed to melt out from the blue clay and became alive. Just like when I pulled out a frog in the lab from the nitrogen tank, after a couple of minutes, it melted back to live. The details, workmanship, proportion, the curves and the spirit of the piece transpired life and living energy. It was magical.... That was the spell, one of my benchmark experience ever since.

Artists, young or old, has to give their soul and dedication to their work. Breath, a drop of sweat or his or her own love. This precious energy will continue to change and remain within the piece and transfer to people who are lucky enough to hold or encounter them. At least, this is what I believe.


What could be better to have a pot of White Needle Golden Lotus to savor this memory.

The Mandarin's Meeting IV

Tea gathering, to me, is for sharing of mind and sincerity. Learning from each other is the most fulfilling moment.

Very different than traditional tea fights, the tea presented is merely a fresh air to feed the mind. It's become a talking point to allure out ones humble and unpretentious self. I had the greatest pleasure over the last year to have tea with 4 admiring mandarins in the red room. My deepest thanks to MarshalN, The Tea Gallery, Brian and Will for taking their time for these gathering.


And I am excited beyond words to be part of the New York Tea Gathering Group formed by Michael Vincent and Brandon Hale. Although it's only our 3rd gathering, the results in my opinion were indulging. I am looking forward to having more such grouping in the city, or perhaps we could soon be joined with the West-Coast tea group? That again might need the power and charm of Will to organize such event.

The last weekend of 2009, Will and Louise were kind enough to drop by with wonderful wonderful gifts. Although, this is the first time we finally met after many online chats and facebook's time, I didn't feel any distance or barrier from the lovely couple. Like kids on the beach, we jumped right into the waves of tea, starting with Taiwanese red, a couple of Yixing reds, 8582, and couple of High fired Wuyis. A total of less than 6 hrs submerged into the tea sea.


William has a personal preference on Yixing red, a rare varitial which people in the West don't usually encounter. He brought over a really nice sample of his favorite, with golden buds and fine wiry leaves, it tastes like Swedish semi-sweet chocolate. A very memorable brew indeed. We parted after a small pot of an aged '80s Anxi TGY which I acquired from my recent trip, using a 70's Shuiping. Heavy handed Chaozhou King Fu Cha style left us all tipsy and light headed. Although I miss the chance of saying good bye before they return to LA, due to a cold right after.... I am looking forward to seeing them again somewhere in the middle states.

Once again, Salute to Mr. Yardley and Louise for their generosity, gifts and company.

Top photo courtesy of The Naked Sushi

Organic Red Jade #18 from Taiwan

Before the year ends, I wish to do a brief tea tasting. People who follow the Mandarin's blog know that tea review from vendors are rare, except a couple of trusted ones. So, why a change? Perhaps it's to encourage more younger people to learn and understand this life changing experience.

A generous sample for holidays from Carnie and Sina from Red Circle Tea, two young tea enthusiasts who started a new online tea shop. After reading their blogs, I could feel and share the joy of being up in Taiwan tea mountains in search of fine tea.



The package included 1. Organic Red Jade #18, Ping Xi, Taiwan. Machine process and 2. Organic Tribute Red Jade #18, Ping Xi, Taiwan. Hand process. I am just going to write up the latter, hoping readers could test out the first one themselves.



Interestingly, this tea shows the positive energy and youthfulness from the ladies who found it and the people who made them. I am looking forward to seeing how this tea and the company will bring tea awareness to younger audience in the States.

Thank you again Carnie & Sina for such lively and warm gift in this Winter Holidays.

Shooting Wuyi in Snow light

Photographing using snow light or in rainy daylight is always a blessing. The unusual natural lighting always create such romance and mystery to the shot. I am enjoying the first white out before christmas with my Wuyi Oolong tea setting. Wishing you all a warm, cosy Christmas. T

純錫茶托

My deepest Salute to Mr. MarshalN.! A set of Antique Japanese pewter cup saucers for the Holidays. One of the few items missing for my tea room. Now, it is completed and I am content. Thank you again for your kindness and generosity. Happy Holidays!

Menghai 8582, 2009 Yixing Red, 1990's Old Bush Wuyi Shui Xian

After 2 weeks of resting from jet lag, most of my tea and myself are almost recovered from bottle shock. The best way to cure the distress was to drink, drink and drink more. Safe to say, we went through almost 2 pounds of fine tea within this couple of weeks.

The choicest so far are aged Shui Xian, and a late 80's 8582. Also got some samples of a fine grade Yixing Kung-Fu Red. I've found 5 kinds of Shui Xian from this trip, 50's to 2008. The most amazing is the 2007 Wuyi SX Special Select, which tastes like a fine bordeaux wine! Shui Xian characters still continue to amaze me. Wide range of bouquets from Peony, to Habanos; Aloeswood to Fine Cognac; Aged Moutai to Château Margaux... hitting all the right spots.

This Menghai 8582 from the late 80's is somewhat 'Mandarins' too. Before 1990's 8582 is my favorite recipe from Menghai factory. A very challenging puerh imo, like a wild horse. The stages are rugged and awarding, powerful and challenging for the mind.... sadly the productions after 1990's are flat and uninteresting (compared to the former). Not to mention the current productions from 2000 and onwards, after Dayi took over... 'Commercial' is the only comment this graphic designer could kindly come up with.

This is a traditional Hong Kong Storage, which means 'wet stored'. After the 4th infusion, the 'storage' smell is mostly washed off and rounded, leaving the 80's Menghai unique characters of: Rose talc perfume, aged plum and camphor. I am aging this in my baby onggi at the moment, to further soften the storage taste. Will see how my aging technique might enhance this 80's treasure.

Of course, nothing will be complete without my daily choice of a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2.

Parker's Wine Bargains: The World's Best Wine Values Under $25

My Second design for Mr. Parker arrived at the studio today. Since then, I've sent 2 packages of choicest tea select for a cuppa invitation to Mr. Parker. Patience will be awarded somedays, hopefully a tea session with my wine idol....

Kyara, Aloeswood

A thought on Burning incense: "....The fungus and decomposition process continue to generate a very rich and dark resin to form within its heartwood. This is the preferred resin used in making fine Japanese incense. The resin created as an immune response makes the most sacred oil on the planet . As you can see the wood is extremely rare and often very difficult to obtain, as well as being quite expensive. The best quality is Kyara. Kyara comes in four types: Green, Iron, Purple, and Black.


There are many stories about aloeswood being buried under the ground for hundreds of years. This legend comes from an old Chinese book on incense, but today most aloeswood comes from infected trees that, although in the process of decaying and dying, are indeed still standing. However, sometimes the roots become infected with the fungus and these can be found underground....."

Vintage 50s Wuyi Shui Xian Oolong

Finding a decent traditional high fired oolong is hard these days. Looking for a properly aged Wuyi Shui Xian is harder, so stumbling over a 50 years + high fired aged Wuyi is by fate not by quest.

It took me a life long dedication on a single tea shop to finally convince the owner whose tea I am worthy of. Not just any tea, but his own self roasted Main Cliff Shui Xian made more than 50 years ago.

The oldest high grade water fairy I had was a 26 year old vintage Heaven's Heart Cliff Wuyi. It tasted like aged Moutai wine as I recorded. This one, when drinking with the owner it tasted like XO Brandy.


Smooth, Chinese medicine, brandy, aged balsamic on front. Orchid, floral, rose and clean for the finish. Wonderful structure, not a bad way to get drunk. Sweet!


I also tried it with my new 70s buffalo Shui Xian pot. I was not sure about the buffalo at first... but after I used it, it totally made sense. The head of the buffalo acts like a nob for me to open and close the lid easily. Brilliant!

The Mandarin's Tea Room

We started with 2 new puerh cakes from Yi Dao. A High Mountain Wild Tree, and a High Mountain Before Ming. We had 3 rounds on each one and that was it... this factory is still at a very young stage searching for it's identity. We wasted no time and cleansed our palate with a late 80's 8582. A Hong Kong storage cake, but good enough to bring us back on the train.

Brian Kirbis needs no introduction to the Mandarin's tea although this was his first appearance inside the red room. Being the first timer here at the Big Apple, I played as a proper host to have dinner at the Katz's Delicatessen with their Pastrami on rye extra juice, Reuben, Knoblewurst and fries. Until our tummies were filled with grease and beer, great preparation for a long tea night.

My lovely wife passed on the occasion, since heavy tea and habanos will be our surroundings. She retired early and let us monkeys run the place.

We revisited the 8582 on its 4th steeping and then jumped into the hard items. Brian introduced one of the most amazing yiwu I've ever seen: 可以兴茶砖 brick from 1995, the original family recipe. The brick was beaming with energy, glossy surface and warm glow, the construction and the amount of pressure to press it is optimum. He brewed it with heart and concentration, making the Cha Qi welcoming, rather than aggressively imposing. 'It took me a couple of years to do this...' he said. 'More like winning the heart of a Dragon Lady', I kept the reply to myself.



Around 5g in a 150 ml pot, full boiled water, flash rinse and 5 sec. of 1st steep. Fresh Orchid, warm dry wool, bamboo forest, and dense liquor. The Qi surrounded us, instead of exploding inside us. 2nd cup, I was in a trend.... bright and focused, light and warm. Speechless on the 3rd..... amazing.

Feeling lost, but understood we can not do another young puerh after this yiwu. I pulled out a '83 DHP from the 2nd generation bushes, hoping the Yan Qi will cut the Yiwu, but it faded into thin air. So, a 80's high fired aged Anxi Xiping TGY, Kung-Fu style in a 40 ml blue pot. Crushed powder lining half the pot and filled with whole leaves on top. 'Bring It On!' Brian's '01 Cohiba Siglo II was kicking into it's 2nd stage. My 2nd 2007 Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 2 of the night was burning rapidly on it's 1st stage....

'How do you feel, Brian?' 'Good, good, good.' trying to keep the flame going. The smell of aged Habanos and high fired TGY filled up the room. The place felt alive again, after my 2 weeks of absence working in China. An excellent way to warm the house.

11:15 pm. We have to part.... my 3 days of insomnia and jet lag had taken its toll. A couple of amazing gift from Brian, tea for me and a Moscato d'Asti for my wife. Charming! Just Charming.


I was too drunk to clean up and the Qi from the yiwu put me to sleep right away. Thanks again for a wonderful event Mr. Kirbis, and best of luck to become a East Coaster again next fall. Till then, you have to pursuit your happiness, so that we could have more mandarin's (boy's) time once you move to upstate!

Previous Meetings: MarshlN, The Tea Gallery

The Return of Juliet....

The Reunion is sweet, and the longing is finally over.... After 3 years of her disappearance, Juliet returned with beauty and grace. A Shakespearian drama with a happy ending.


Companying her voyage are an army of 70s-80s yixings, ranging from 40ml to 180ml. All cleaned up and documented here in this post.

I hope all yixing fans could learn one or two things from my previous post Flagstaff Yixing Teapot Museum, Hong Kong, using museum pieces as reference to guide yourself when purchasing older pots. Most of those museum pots' market value is from US $10K and up to almost a million, ranging from early 17c to 90's. So price (collector's select) could be the first indication of its authenticity. Buying a Rong Jiang's pot for under 10K will surely be a tuition.


*This is a craftsman grade 40 ml SP, the smallest functional SP i've ever seen. Made in the 80's using 'Factory stored' early (after ROC) Ben Shan muo luni, with more coarse and sparkle gold sand. You can see the clay difference from a later replica.

Flagstaff Yixing Teapot Museum, Hong Kong

My Kind of Candy Store. Which one can you guess is around $10k, or which one is $500k?

Cheng Shouzhen, Zhen Ji

The original 1915 Cheng's globular shape from the Flagstuff House museum of Tea Ware, Hong Kong.
What amazes me is the size of this beauty... it can hold at least 600 ml of water. The glow is quite something.

Cohiba Siglo VI & Bronze prize aged Dong Ding

This little treasure has been hiding in my baby onggi jar since this April. Finally, the right moment came and I shared it with my friend Michael Turek and Italo. With 2 other teas: 80's cooked tuocha, and a 1600+ yrs Chairman Mao.

My friends were new to tea tasting, and they both thought the DD is a bit on the mellow and quite side. Nice clear brew, aged character stimuated both sides of my tongue and made me salivate. Need to have a quite mind for this tea, perhaps? But my wife preferred this over the 80's tuo.

I wonder if I did not push it enough when both my friends prefered the other comparing to the DD? Or is it just that they were looking for instant gratification because of the promising aroma?

Most often when we do group tasting, we are more likely to jump to the gun... or impatience? There is a big difference in drinking tea to purify the mind vs drinking tea as a social event. Later one makes you feel that the clock is always ticking, and moving on to the next is a constant concern?

So I brought the pot back home, and slowly brew it with one of my favorite Cohiba Siglo VI 2003 companying it. The cedar, coffee, leathery aroma with hint of grassy tobaccoy paired well with subtle floral of this Dong Ding. The sweetness of the tea, balanced out the tarry nutty smoke. Then the creamy texture of the aged tobacco added dimension to the clean candy water at the end. What a bliss, and this combination made me feel complete and satisfied. Thanks again for ABx for his generosity.