The Sweet Taste of Bitterness

Camellia Sinensis is an evergreen plant which is bitter by nature. I am sure no one likes bitterness in the beginning. A child will spit out healthy steamed vegetables due to their bitter flavors. It is just a natural instinct, animals will not eat bitter plants since most of it might be poisonous. It is a way of survival.  So why do the Chinese love tea? I guess it's because of tradition, a culture which runs deep in ancient ethos. The ideology of hardship in the beginning and prosperity at the end that could apply to everything in Chinese Culture. The Sweet Taste of Bitterness.

In our modern world, society has created luxury and abundance. A detachment of nature and a nurturing of personal egos. We have the choice of selecting things that we fancy, meanwhile rejecting the taste that is foreign to us. We hate things that are unknown to us and destroy ideas that we dislike. Most often, I am puzzled by decaffeinated coffee, non-alcoholic beer and smokeless cigars. The only conclusion that I could have is we are spoiled; we can like a certain trait of a thing and reject the rest of it? Same as loving a person for a particular trait but trying to change the rest to meet your expectations? 

I have been consistently defending tea or trying explain to clients that tea is bitter. It's just one part of its complex character. What defines good or lesser tea is if the bitterness changes and how it changes once you drink it. Some tea changes from bitter to honey, to sweet plums, or to mint. Some changes your idea of life... that will be another topic. 

To bore you all, here are some interesting comparison on bitterness from searching the University of the internet:

WINE

Bitterness in wine is elicited primarily by flavonoid phenols, which are bitter and astringent, and by ethanol. Monomeric flavonoid phenols are primarily bitter but as the molecular weight increases upon polymerization, astringency increases more rapidly than bitterness. The chiral difference between the two wine flavan-3-ol monomers produces a significant difference in temporal perception of bitterness: (-)-epicatechin is significantly more bitter and had significantly longer duration of bitterness than (+)-catechin. Ethanol enhances bitterness intensity and duration, whereas varying wine pH has little or no effect on perceived bitterness. Whereas PROP status had no significant effect on temporal perception of bitterness or astringency, subjects with low salivary flow rates took longer to reach maximum bitterness and astringency intensity and reported longer persistence of both attributes than high-flow subjects.

COFFEE

Bitterness is sometimes a negative, but omnipresent, aspect of the beverage.  At low levels, bitterness helps tame coffee acidity and adds another favorable dimension to the brew.  However, at high levels, a bitter coffee compound can overpower the other components present in coffee producing an undesirable effect.  Bitter coffee results from the interaction of certain compounds with the circumvallate papillae on the back of the tongue.  Astringency, on the other hand is caused by compounds that can precipitate salivary proteins on the tongue. Consumers will often mistakenly attribute astringency and any other potent characteristic of the coffee to the bitterness.   Therefore, this article will discuss those compounds that are responsible for contributing to the bitterness of the coffee and those compounds that cause astringency in the coffee.

Why Does Coffee Taste Bitter?

Various coffee scientists have made the following observations concerning bitter coffee, which were presented in a review article by McCamey:

The perceived bitter taste in the mouth from coffee is correlated to the extent of extraction.  The extent of extraction is dependent upon the roast, the mineral content of the water, water temperature, time, grind size, and brewing procedure. 

• Bitterness is reduced in coffee brewed with either soft or hard water relative to distilled water (Voilley et al., 251).
• Bitterness is correlated with the total dissolved solids of a coffee.
• Perceived coffee bitterness is lower when coffee is brewed hot than when cooler water is used. This is hypothesized to be due to the heightened aromatics released in hot coffee, which counteract the bitterness (Voilley et al., Eval., 287).
• Coffee bitterness is decreased by the addition of sucrose, sodium chloride, or citric acid. Hydrocolloids, in general, were found to decrease the perception of coffee bitterness (Pangborn, 161).
• Robusta coffee contains higher levels of both caffeine and chlorogenic acids, which are partly responsible for bitterness and astringency in coffee.
• Several investigators have found that the processing of coffee (wet or dry processing) does not affect the perceived bitterness of coffee even though the overall flavor profile is significantly different (Clarke and Macrae; and Clifford and Wilson).
• Caffeine has a distinct bitter taste and has a test threshold of only 75-155 mg/L (60-200 mg/L found by Clarke). However, Voilley considers caffeine to only account for around 10% of the perceived bitterness in coffee.
• Hardwick found that the bitterness of caffeine is weakened when polyphenols are introduced.
• Maier reported that the sourness of coffee was diminished by increased bitterness.
• Astringent and metallic tastes in coffee have been attributed to dicaffeoylquinic acids, but not the monocaffeoylquinic acids (Ohiokpehai et al., 177).
• Trigonelline is perceived as bitter at concentrations of 0.25%, whereas chlorogenic acids necessitate a concentration of 0.4% at pH of 5 to be perceived as bitter (Ordynsky, 206). Trigonelline degradation is proportional to roast degree. Its byproducts include pyridines, which are said to contribute a roasty aroma to the coffee.
• Quinic acid--a degradation product of chlorogenic acids--is present at twenty times its threshold value and is partly responsible for the perceived bitterness in coffee (McCamey, 176).
• Furfuryl alcohol is thought to contribute a burnt and bitter taste to coffee (Shibamoto et al., 311).

CIGAR

The bitterness from cigars is not from aging but instead from the fermentation process.  Most tobacco leaves are naturally sour so to soften the bitterness and reduce the tobacco's acidity, Cuban tobacco leaves are cured in two fermentation stages.  After fermentation, the tobacco will contain less tar, nicotine, have a balanced colour and be less sour. However, it's possible that some tobacco leaves require more time than others to properly ferment and may still be bitter when it is selected for cigar production.  Don't worry, even though this bitterness can be a common occurence, long-term aging can reduce it and improve your cigar(s) taste. Cohiba cigars don't have a bitter taste because Cohiba tobacco is put through an extra fermentation process which refines the tobacco even further and makes it truly premium. Also, using a cigar punch can increase the bitter flavour because your saliva can mix with the tobacco and create a strong tobacco residue that builds up in the small punch opening.  This will cause a strong, sharp, bitter taste the more the cigar is smoked.  Fortunately, this can be corrected by not smoking the cigar too quickly.  By slowing down your smoking pace, there will be less tobacco/saliva residue buildup at the head of the cigar.

TEA (Camellia Sinensis)

Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In a freshly picked tea leaf, catechins can compose up to 30% of the dry weight. Catechins are highest in concentration in white and green teas, while black tea has substantially fewer due to its oxidative preparation. Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has suggested the levels of antioxidants in green and black tea do not differ greatly, as green tea has an oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) of 1253 and black tea an ORAC of 1128 (measured in μmol TE/100 g). Antioxidant content, measured by the lag time for oxidation of cholesterol, is improved by the cold water steeping of varieties of tea.

Tea also contains L-theanine, and its consumption is strongly associated with a calm but alert and focused, relatively productive (alpha wave dominant), mental state in humans. This mental state is also common to meditative practic. L-theanine, and the stimulant caffeine at about 3% of its dry weight, translating to between 30 mg and 90 mg per 8 oz (250 ml) cup depending on type, brand, and brewing method. A small amounts of theobromine and theophylline.  also contains in tea. Due to modern environmental pollution, fluoride and aluminium have also been found to occur in tea, with certain types of brick tea made from old leaves and stems having the highest levels. This occurs due to the tea plant's high sensitivity to and absorption of environmental pollutants. Although tea contains various types of polyphenols and tannin, it does not contain tannic acid. Tannic acid is not an appropriate standard for any type of tannin analysis because of its poorly defined composition.
Catechins have a broad range of physiological functions and act as the main taste ingredient of green tea. Although catechins show a strong bitterness, the bitter taste receptor for catechins has not been fully understood. The objective of this study was to identify the receptor for the major green tea catechins such as (-)-epicatechin (EC), (-)-epicatechin gallate (ECg), (-)-epigallocatechin (EGC), and (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg). By the cell-based assay using cultured cells expressing human bitter taste receptor, a clear response of hTAS2R39-expressing cells was observed to 300μM of either ECg or EGCg, which elicit a strong bitterness in humans. The response of hTAS2R39-expressing cells to ECg was the strongest among the tested catechins, followed by EGCg. Because the cellular response to EC and EGC is much weaker than those of ECg and EGCg, galloyl groups was strongly supposed to be involved in the bitter intensity. This finding is similar to the observations of taste intensity obtained from a human sensory study. Our results suggest the participation of hTAS2R39 in the detection of catechins in humans, indicating the possibility that bitterness of tea catechins can be evaluated by using cells expressing hTAS2R39

Dietary phytonutrients found in vegetables and fruit appear to lower the risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Studies on the mechanisms of chemoprotection have focused on the biological activity of plant-based phenols and polyphenols, flavonoids, isoflavones, terpenes, and glucosinolates. Enhancing the phytonutrient content of plant foods through selective breeding or genetic improvement is a potent dietary option for disease prevention. However, most, if not all, of these bioactive compounds are bitter, acrid, or astringent and therefore aversive to the consumer. Some have long been viewed as plant-based toxins. As a result, the food industry routinely removes these compounds from plant foods through selective breeding and a variety of debittering processes. This poses a dilemma for the designers of functional foods because increasing the content of bitter phytonutrients for health may be wholly incompatible with consumer acceptance. Studies on phytonutrients and health ought to take sensory factors and food preferences into account.

I need a scientist or chemist in the house....

The Conversation.

It's obvious, writing tasting reviews on this blog has not been top priority. Thinking of what to write that is worth a fellow reader's enjoyment has been hard. Passing my own standard of writing an educational tea article has been even harder. 

Been more than a year now and I did a couple of drafts but at the end, they weren't important enough to post. Perhaps I am too aware of the fact that other tea forums and bloggers have developed a system of reviewing tea like a broken record. Systematic approaches to tea practice feels like a presentation to me; a pretty little show... or a ceremony. 

Most tea drinkers have a murky idea between Chinese tea tasting 品茗 and ceremony at our tea room tastings. I have to make clear that we aren't performing a ceremony. Instead, I just want them to listen and enjoy the tea.

Last week, the day before my business trip to Italy, a young gentleman made a reservation with his parent for a basic tea tasting. I was surprised when I first saw the young man passing our security camera. "He must be under age", I thought to myself as I welcomed them inside and sat them at the tasting table. Curious, I asked, "How did you find me?" He replied with a smile, "I did much research online." I said, "this is a very private tearoom and it's hard to find but you found it. I hope it will be memorable."

Three teas were requested in advance. All oolong. Brewed in order with gaiwan, Yixing and gaiwan. I asked what tea he liked, how often he drink and with what technique. He respectfully answered in such a clear and thoughtful way, so I started to open up.

Taiwanese oolong was his usual choice, so I paired up an Anxi Xiping TiKwanYan, the mother of Min Nan oolong (most Taiwanese oolong are considered Min Nan tea). Every step of the way, I asked him what I am doing, and with patience and concentration, he answered with a very clear mind. "The next cup is always the better cup.", I said. It is very important that we do not box ourselves into a system while brewing. The water is alive, so is the tea and the person who is brewing it. Its like a conversation with a friend rather then talking to a computer. In most cases, the tea is talking to a computer, if we only focus on the system.

I was amazed and overjoyed to see such a young soul have a humble discipline towards Chinese tea practice. His mother later told me this trip to NYC is mainly for the visit of the tea room. So I pulled out my favorite 80's 8582 for the closing. The energy that day was calming and smooth; doing a little meditation at the end unified the whole experience.

Just the day before, while teaching one of my students, she asked me what to do at the 5th brewing. I asked her "What 5th brew?", while aware of her uneasy brewing on the 4th brew. She seemed nervous because I only taught her how to brew up to the fourth cup and now she was on her own. "I don't know if I should push it, use high pouring, or should I use boiling water?" While she was brewing, her mind was so focus on the steps, she was counting the time and wonder about the next move. So gently I asked her why not open up the gaiwan lid and take a look at the color and texture of the leave, smell the lid and press the leaf to see the color of the brew? There is no 5th brew. There is no system. 

She had already learned all the basic skill of using a gaiwan, so now its time to use all her senses to look, smell, feel, touch and taste the tea. Start a conversation between you and the tea is the only connection, everything else is trivial....

further reading with permission by the author: http://www.marshaln.com/2012/05/drinking-with-your-body/

CONNECTIONS

After months of preparation, respecting the chaos, and the courage to allow what is to be... We finally came to a realization that when we force actions, you only struggle against ourselves and limit the scale of what can be accomplished. The time has come. Tea leads us to Friendship, Friendship enlightens oneself. PURE IS THE RESULT.

It is my great honor to introduce a great photographer and a friend, Michael Halsband and Payal Parekh. A collaboration or Art, Mind and Nature.

By invitation only. Gallery opens beginning of October.

A Gift From Heaven

"All desires end in disillusion, all possessions are a disappointment, all pleasures are a mixed blessing. Love implies a partner (onanism is not love), alcohol leads to a hangover, war to death, gambling to ruin, greediness to obesity. There are no exceptions. In order to go sailing you need a boat; to hunt, a gun - or a horse and hounds. The pleasures of collecting are the most frustrating of all ( the devotee is always lacking a Titian or a Rothko). Making one's fortune is never-ending: the nearer you get to your goal, the further away it is.

Objects of pure sensual delight are rare in this world. Even the greatest wines - perish the thought - can serve to quench one's thirst, utilitarian infamy. But the only use of the cigar is for smoking, and smoking is a pleasure, cigar smoking the supreme pleasure.

Cigars favor isolation as much as contact. You light one up to escape the world and yourself as well as to bring it closer. Its smoke both isolates and brings closer; it is both a mask and a link. It is an instrument of separation as well as of sharing. One can only smoke in peace, but smoking also spreads peace. What statesman can claim as much without lying?

The invention of the cigar surpasses all the others because it is free. Its simplicity makes it the equal in nobility to the highest products of the human mind. Entirely natural, it involves no artifice. The four elements — earth, air, fire, and water — and the hand of man, without any intermediary apart from the cigar roller's guillotine, intervene alone in its development, then in the flourishing which is its finally burning. A natural product, the cigar is homogeneous and coherent: tobacco in tobacco, nothing but tobacco. Real cigars escape machinery. They come into contact only with the roller's hand, the wood of their boxes, the hand and lips of the smoker, before being transmuted into stimulating and consoling smoke.

Tobacco quickly conquered the world, but the expansion of the cigar was very slow; a difference which is even more troubling since the cigar was the first way of smoking tobacco. The pipe is dated, the cigarette quite recent, while the cigars goes back to the dawn of time. We do not know for how many thousands of years it helped its inventors, the American Indians, to overcomes the difficulties of life."

— Eric Deschodt & Philippe Morane.

The Cigar

How much we can learn from each other, between cigar and tea, and the finer things in life....

A Prayer to Japan and all beings

The World we living in has changed. 

The rotation has shifted, but the center is always true to our heart.

Compassion is the source, not politicians nor corporate greed.

Be Strong and fill with hopes my dear friends from Japan. 

A limitless energy and supports from us to all being is just a heartbeat away.

http://kizuna311.com/

The Spirit of Tea

Profound and Good... we always want more, more than what we all need. Nature answers all our needs, and keeps giving... unconditionally.
How easy is to give back? We can at least start to share, with others in need. That is a very good start to give back.

A Korean whom in tuned with nature made a clay plate hundreds of years ago, understanding the spirit of the earth. A broken tea leaf lay bare honestly within at this moment. How much more could we ask? The love is unconditioned, the source of the spirit is within us.

Just listen to it with your heart, not through the lens of a microscope. It’s all a mere heartbeat.

Rocco Dispirito

We fall in love with things we might not understand. Someone once asked what my favorite wine was. "The one I like..." I replied, "and the one I don't know I like yet."

True love takes time. Knowing I like something and explaining it in detail need more time. It's very easy to ask children what they like to eat. "Chocolate Ice Cream!" and why?.... "Cos' its good". Often, good is not enough and somebody else said it's such and such it's even more convenient.

I have designed many, many books and touched many levels of authors. For someone to write a book and be able to explain his passion in writing is rare. Just like when someone asks me why I like that tea.... It's a true love affair.

Working with Mr. Dispirito is an eye opening experience. A true Artisan food lover at work. Many editorial sessions over tea had brought me to a new level of appreciating the finer things in life. Catching up with Mr. Dispirito's level of vision in food and cooking has taught me patience and control. The fruitful result of 39 days of hard work has paid off with the arrival of the first press run. Accompanying the book is my 2 years of love relationship on a tea I had selected and improved upon.

2010 Fall Traditional Roasted GBH / 2008 Fall Medium Roasted GBH

A traditional charcoal roasted Golden Buddha Hand from WangChun, Anxi. Grown at 800 meters up, I had been through a couple of passes with the farmer before finding the right tune and firing level. Understanding a tea and being able to explain to the grower what's good and what's needed to refine is like writing a book. Trial and error, patience and provocation, ups and downs.... Communications with the grower about how and where I want my version to be is an art. Listening to the leaves is essential... that's the spirit of tea and the spirit of life, all in all.

Taking my hat off for a great Chief/Author. And many, many more best sellers to come.

Coffee and Tea Festival NYC 2011

Two amazing days of Hard Work but Fruitful Harvest.

My heartfelt thank you to all the Mandarin's TeamMates and Tea patrons.

Photography courtesy of Wrong Fu Cha

The Year of Toki

Happy New Year of the Rabbit! The golden year of the Toki (Korean for bunny) is off to a busy start for the tearoom.

Just to kick start the new year, we sponsored a Virtual Yoga and Meditation conference the past week, hosted by Yogahub. This amazing virtual gathering, hosted more than 75 teachers worldwide and have over 2000 participants internationally.

Close friend and teacher, Neal Greenberg had touched on Meditation with the team, and I hope more and more awareness will be spreading on tea as an aid to have one find its center through Yoga as an exercise or in knowing the self.

More good news is our first NYC Coffee & Tea Festival this coming weekend. We will have a tasting booth and also a VIP special event on Saturday evening.

At the Festival:

Michael, Dae and I will be hosting all day tea tastings at our booth. We understand that there will be people of all tea drinking levels and have prepared different tasting menus to accommodate everyone’s taste.

Sweet and Floral with Dae: Choose White Peony, Rose Red or SpringTiKwanYin  $15.00

The Mandarin’s Tasting Table with Tim: Choose Golden Buddha Hand or High Fired TiKwanYin

$25.00

Michael’s Traditional Favorites : Classic Roast Iron Bodhisattva, GungFuCha Bodhisattva

$25.00

At the VIP Event:

Saturday’s special evening event will bring the focus on Chinese Tea as art and collectible. A very special tasting reception will focus on Puer.

Tasting Menu:

Dae – 2010 Nannuo Mountain Green - Spring Harvest

Timothy - 2000 Hon Tai Chang's Chi Tse Pin Cooked Puerh

Michael – 1996 Loose Puer (Hong Kong Storage)

Please come and join us to celebrate and embrace this great gift from nature.

Good Bye 2010...

Some of my highlights of this year. Connecting with a new, old friend and fulfilling a dream tearoom....

Trophies from China

As tea lovers who follow this blog would know... to be chosen for the Mandarin's Tea Selection, a tea must go through a long, intense and very discriminating process. Only by learning and understanding the foundation (tree, place, process, storage and history), and the character changes of a tea, I can teach more people about how to brew, what to look for, and how to appreciate the unique personality of it. Thus the only way to achieve The Mandarin's Standard.

I don't usually acquire Shu puerh, except the 1980's original Menghai White Lotus Golden Needle. This time coming back from China had resulted in a couple of surprise samples which were intriguing.

The story behind this Shu bing is from a 70 years old puerh factory 鸿泰昌. Founded in Yibang, Xishuangbanna in the 30's as a puerh exporting company (producing border tea), They soon established a strong foundation in Thailand, then branching into Hong Kong and Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Eventually became the first puerh tea industrial giant. This bing was produced in 2000 and aged in Yunnan until releasing this year. We are still in the process of tasting and testing it at the moment, but if anyone is interested, we are more than happy to share part of the cupping process at our tea room.

Another interesting find was from my Puerh tea master in Yiwu mountain who had already produced 3 of my commissioned sheung bings. 

This was a 2010 sheung puerh, pressed in this fall using Yiwu mountain old trees, to commemorate the 100 years drought. The harsh condition created a very intense sweetness in the maocha. I am not a fan of gimmicky sales, but as a wine enthusiast, that's something a wine collector will jump right in. Most of the best red wine vintages from all over the world are from drought or harsh growing conditions... so will this translate to the puerh harvest? We'll see in a couple of months if this will be on my product list.

Almost 3 weeks now....

I can not be happier. Thank you all for your kind supports, and hope to see you in our new tea sanctuary.

Our First Tea Tasting...

Kick starting our new tea room with a tasting of a competition winning Wenshan Baozhong 2010.

A generous gift from a dear Taiwanese artist/professor. All I can say is... Artists get the best tea!

It tasted like a combination of a Wudong Dancong, Anxi TGY, a rush of a high mountain Taiwanese, with subtile profile and powerful qi.

Michael, Winnie, Dae was delighted to finally share our combined effort on Winnie's favorite tea table.

I am looking forward to the Events we all so enthusiastically put together. 

Fall for Tea...

Clay, Celadon and Stone.

Tea, Water and Friendship. 

All falls into place naturally.

If Art is to inform and delight, then Tea is to enlighten and unify. A long journey of friendship has finally fallen in to place. As Fall has harmonized both of our passions. I welcome The Tea Gallery with open arms and heart to be part of my life. This adventure so long overdue, my friends.... let this union be a delight to all tea lovers.

Why do I use tea to meditate?

The first day I had the experience of being tea drunk was 7 years ago. I was on a leisurely afternoon walk through an old Hong Kong street. It was a sunny day in fall and there was a light, clean breeze traveling through the cobblestone alleys. Temples and colonial brownstones were interwoven with mulberry trees. A tea shop on a Qing dynasty stone street caught my eye.

It was a very ordinary small establishment, like most of the stores in the area. There was nothing loud or attention-grabbing about it. A young lady was packaging boxes, and she kindly invited me to sit with her, have a cup and take a break. I had my traveling bag and camera on, a very touristy look that I am not too keen on. She gave me the normal, watered-down Anxi Light Tikwanyin to start and the conversation begins: “Where are you from?” she asked. “Born here, living in the States,” I replied. “What do you usually have?” she continued. “Anything that's old.” These are my normal conversation starters through the years of tea-shop hopping. Usually what follows is a salesperson starts pulling expensive, aged teas and claiming an extra 30 years vintage on them. Often enough, after looking at or smelling those “shop treasures” I will give them a last chance to explain the origin before their stories fall apart and I politely walk out. This time, it was very different. Perhaps I had met this young lady before (through my years of tea shopping) or maybe she thought I looked like I knew what I was talking about. She opened herself up generously. “Whats the oldest tea have you experienced so far?” “Around 50 years old,” I said. “Do you like it?” she asked. “I am still new to aged tea, still learning about what to look for.” My tone changed—I was trying to be humble.

“To tell you the truth,” she said, “This is my last day working here. I will be traveling in China for awhile, and I don't think I will be back in Hong Kong any time soon. I think it's fate you walked in before I went on with my adventure, and I think we will meet again over tea.” At this moment, a young man walked in. I could see that they were dear friends. He had a slim build and round spectacles and a long, pulled-back pony tail, and had a hand-painted paper fan with him. What an intriguing presentation. Naturally, when good friends gather around, we tend not to be stingy as it is the Mandarin's way to give and receive. She opened the lid of a small Yixing Zhisha and carefully poured hot water in a very controlled stream. A quick pour over to seal the pot and we started drinking when the body of the tea pot began absorbing the spilled tea around it. I took my first slurp, then the second… it was awakening.

“Try to remember this feeling,” she said. “This tea moment, you will never forget it.” She was right, it was my first true tea moment, and I just remember that I was truly happy, like I was getting a soft hug from grandpa. I think I did stay for a good half day until sunset. Mr. Zhi parted with a calligraphed poem documenting our meeting on bamboo stick stuffed with puerh. “Until the mature period of this tea, this bamboo will lead us together again.” “Perhaps; my tea learning is still so tender, and I am looking forward to the day we share a cup again.”

Drinking good tea carries me to this state of mind often: Quiet, content, and caring. A nostalgic feeling that I am familiar and comfortable with. For me, that's a sense of meditation. Mindfulness and relaxation. I am lucky enough to have had a handful of these true tea moments in my short tea journey so far. Each was accompanied by like-minded souls, old and young. I will not forget these humbling experiences that make me feel alive and connected. The blessing is that I have found my path through tea and it is truthful, honest and fundamental.

How to Cook Your Life.... How to Brew Your Tea.

First Reading on Meditation

Have a moment for yourself, brew a cup of tea, and read and re-read this quote for 10 times. It will only take 30 mins:

"Ego is able to convert everything to its own use, even spirituality. For example, if you have learned of a particularly beneficial meditation technique of spiritual practice, then ego's attitude is first to regard it as an object of fascination, and, second to examine it. Finally, since ego is seemingly solid and cannot really absorb anything, it can only mimic. Thus ego tries to examine and imitate the practice of meditation and the meditative way of life. When we have learned all the tricks and answers of the spritual game, we automatically try to imitate spirituality, since real involvement would require the complete elimination of ego, and actually the last thing we want to do is give up the ego completely. However, we cannot experience that which we are trying to imitate; we can only find some area within the bounds of ego that seems to be the same thing. Ego translates everything in terms of it's own state of health, it's own inherent qualities. It feels a sense of great accomplishment and excitement at having been able to create a pattern. At last it has creatives a tangible accomplishment, a confirmation of it's own individuality.

If we become successful at maintaining our self consciousness through spiritual techniques, then genuine spiritual development is highly unlikely. Our mental habits become so strong as to be hard to penetrate. We may even go so far as to achieve the totally demonic state of complete "Egohood"." ~Chögyam Trungpa

Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior

Tea and Meditation

Tea is my calling--or is it my fate to follow the leaf? I have been a book designer for over 15 years now. In the very beginning, novels and big book titles were my most coveted projects. Throughout my career, I've designed for every kind of book a designer could hope for. Spiritual titles were merely part of my workload until recently, when my calling began to reveal itself and the path that I am now on.

Through designing for spiritual and self-help titles, I was lucky enough to come into contact with many authors and their associates. Most of these meetings were life-changing and mind-opening, to say the least. A recent encounter with a Jewish Tibetan ngagpa lama (a student of Chogyam Trunga Rinpoche and his main successor, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche) from Montreal completely awakened me and my views on life, being, and the relationship between tea and the mind. After learning basic meditation and "Knowing" (direct translation of meditation in Tibetan) with his guidance, I now find myself frantically trying to re-read all of these books that I have designed in my search for the true meaning of tea.

To be continued...

Faith to follow, or to Shepherd?

Ruling Your World: Ancient Strategies For Modern Life

The Tibetan Book of Yoga: Ancient Buddhist Teachings on the Philosophy and Practice of Yoga

Footprints in the Snow: The Autobiography of a Chinese Buddhist Monk

Dalai Lama: Man, Monk, Mystic

Jin Jun Mei & The Rose Program Chocolate

Unlike expresso with chocolate, tea and cocoa are not a common paring... or should it be?

Over the last weekend, I have had the pleasure to meet with a wonderful author who celebrates healthy and finer things in life.
Bringing up tea as my natural subject of choose, she rewarded me with a private commissioned chocolate bar made with 70% cocoa.

"I have travelled all over the world to find the best tasting dark chocolate made with the finest ingredients. The result is this handcrafted Belgian Chocolate produced with tremendous love and care in small batches in a remote beach village in South Africa... Enjoy!" ~ Rose.

Sounds familiar? It is the same vision as to my obsession with tea.

Although I am not an advocate of fine chocolate, this beautiful bar do carries a healthy oily sheen, rich and dark brown, it looks robust and piquant. But once in the mouth, the silky exterior starts to melt, releasing full, buttery, oily texture. Nutty and savory, with a kiss of citrus tangy at the roof of my mouth, followed by a breath of clean, fresh, salty ocean breeze. Waves of pure coco floral bouquet coated my palate, smooth but still maintaining the chewy true texture of its ingredient. I am pleasantly surprised by how subtle and balanced the profile is on the aftertaste of this 70% dark chocolate.


What's better than to pair it up with a Wuyi Red tea! The warm, refreshing brew melted the chewy nutty chocolate and washed it down smoothly, adding a dash of floral to the cocoa and in return, it balanced back with a hint of salt to the honey liquor.... Salt baked Kumamoto oyster came to mind with a dash of Oliva Novello on top. Heaven! How the chocolate helps the red tea to blossom into floral fragrance and the tea cuts back its mellow pungent espresso crema character. It is as equally interesting as Italian high roasted espresso paring with semi-sweet chocolate.


Many Chinese red tea I've sampled over the years have shared a distinctive characteristic: Hints of cocoa or baker's chocolate. From Yunnan Gold, Keemum red, Yixing Kung Fu to Lapsang Souchong, all are fine examples of traditional Chinese red tea. Until I found a 'new-old' breed of Wuyi Red Yancha: Jin (Gold, meaning of premium grade) Jun (location, summit name, using wild old bushes) Mei (shape, like an eyebrow).


Created in 2005 by Master Liang to resurrect a style of tea long lost from the region. The production of this rare tea is extremely labor intensive. Harvested from wild old tea bushes growing above 1200-1800m in the Wuyi protected national park, it takes around 60,000-90,000 buds to make a pound (depending on the grade and time of harvest), 1 bud one leaf style. That's why only 1000 kg are produced annually and it's the most expensive red tea (US $1300/pound and up) in the current market. Understandably, 90% of Jin Jun Mei on the market is fake. Many tea noobs will call it a Chinese Nouveau Riche tea, but until they have a deeper understanding of what good tea is, 'Breakfast at Tiffany' is always more a convenient truth.


I have been testing 4 grades of Jin Jun Mei since last year. Most of the grading depends on the harvesting date, the highest grade so far is from March 2010. The earlier the picking, the more golden hair from the tea buds you get and the more baby buds it needs to make up an invoice. This came to my understanding of finer things in life.... The more refined something is, the more attention and love it receives or needs. But to understand these subtle refinement, a individual must continue to educate and strengthen his/her palate and mind.

Thoughts on Brewing Tea....

It is all about ratio, the volume of tea to water, the size of the vessel, and how long the brew is.

Many people choose to brew tea the easy way, the safe way, and foolproof way....To me, using less tea leaves and longer steep is like brewing tea bags, you can not go wrong, just lesser steepings and muted taste. Perhaps 30% of the tea true flavor?

The whole idea of Kung-Fu tea brewing is to maximize full potential of a good tea, pushing its limits, extracting the best essences and energy. Comparable to brewing coffee, how a master coffee brewer could pull a cup of espresso out from a fine machine with the right pressure, temperature and crema. You will never see them using less or underfilled coffee grind for a proper serving, that's like making diner's coffee! My point is, if its not challenging, why Kung-Fu? All good tea should be challenging, it is an adventure, they need full attention and mental focus. It is the least we could give back to them.


Finding the right balance of this practice is just the beginning. Pushing its limit, improving the skill, educating the palate, and listening to the brew is a life long dedication. The reward is both physical and mental harmony.

The Classic of Tea

Started reading the first Chapter of Lu Yu's thoughts on Chinese tea:

"Every Tea hour must become a masterpiece to serve as a distillation of all tea hours, as if were the first and with no other to follow..." —Tang Dynasty (618–907 AD.)


A moment translated a thousand years later. A uniquely Mandarin's attitude.