Today I drank a ripe pu’er tea produced by the Menghai Tea Factory, sourced through Yunnan Sourcing. This tea is called the “2010 Menghai V93 Premium Ripe Tuo Cha”. Tuo cha 沱茶 means nest tea in Mandarin and describes tea that has been pressed into a shape similar to that of a bird’s nest. V93 … [Read more…]
Tasting Two Bulang Sheng Pu’er Teas Side by Side Today I’m glad to be posting a set of tasting notes from a session that I had about a week and a half ago. They were supposed to be posted last week, but I had to take a brief hiatus due to an unexpected surgery that … [Read more…]
2011 Nan Po Zhai It’s nice to have a day off after a good week of work. Sometimes I am very productive on my days off. On other days I let myself stretch out and do things slowly. Today is one of these other kinds of days, and I just wound up finishing my morning … [Read more…]
Background When I first became interested in tea drinking I started learning about green teas, black teas, and wulong teas. These teas were easy to find at the local tea shop, and were also easy for my palate to get accustomed to. Once I was familiar with the general categories of tea, I became more … [Read more…]
Background This morning during a snowfall I drank a newer Liu Bao tea from 2015. This particular tea was produced by Wuzhou Tea Factory. Wuzhou is a well known producer of Liu Bao tea in Guangxi Province, so this tea is probably available from different sources. It came to me through Yunnan Sourcing in a … [Read more…]
Background After a brief hiatus from writing about tea so that I could spend the coming of the new year with friends and family, I’m glad to write my first blog post of the year! The tea that I enjoyed for today’s post was given to me by a friend. It is a type of … [Read more…]
Background Recently my home town has had multiple days of snow, sleet, and freezing rain. This has led me towards drinking a larger amount of ripe pu’er teas. The dark, rich, and earthy qualities of ripe pu’er help offset the chill in the air. For this reason I planned ahead and have been using this … [Read more…]
Background Normally when I drink tea I will enjoy only one kind of tea at a time, so that I can try to fully taste and understand it from start to finish. Although the roughly 150 ml teapots that I use for brewing gongfu tea are not large by Western standards, they are still large … [Read more…]
Routine and Spontaneity in Tea Drinking One of my hobbies other than drinking tea is practicing Tai Ji Quan (太极拳), a form of Chinese martial art. I’ve only been playing with it for a few years, but one thing becomes clear very quickly is that it is a large world of different practices with many … [Read more…]
Background Despite the colder weather, I found myself craving a green tea. The holiday week went by quickly, but I was glad for a brief reprieve and a chance to share meals, stories, and jokes with friends and family. Times like these are useful for offering a sense of fellowship around the table, although they … [Read more…]