Tea Gal in China

Fellow Tea Lovers,

It’s here! It’s finally here! TEA SEASON!!!!!!

My first venture out to the tea markets this season was, ironically, not to buy spring green teas, but to purchase pu’er and black teas, ones that we already have in the Thes de Cru line. I am proud to say that it was my first purchasing done without the aid of a translator (yeah!!) and that I was clearly understood!

Today was about rediscovering teas that I fell in love with over three years ago, but discovering for the very first time that I could do it in Chinese. So today, I would like to talk to you a bit more about black teas from Yunnan. As many of you may know (or may not), the first tea plants originate from a region called Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan, where the climate is hot and dry, it’s very high altitude and is home to tea trees that are over 2000 years old. Yunnan’s best Pu’ers and Black teas come from this region, as well as all of Thes de Cru pu’er and black teas . Because of this long history, and the age of the tea plants themselves, Xishuangbanna teas have rich and complex flavours, completely unlike most black teas. Take for instance Song Zhen tea. Song Zhen tea is a classic black tea, yet, its flavor profile includes barley and honey, and lacks any of the bitterness usually associated with darker teas. It is picked and fermented, with no particularly special process used to extract its unique flavor.

It is a product of a terroir, of a land that has been producing tea for a thousand years. Song Zhen is mild, aromatic and simply does not get bitter. The colour of its infusion is a light golden honey brown. It is, quite simply, perfection in a cup.

Today, I sat conversing in Chinese with my supplier and translating in a weird English-French hybrid for my Quebecer friends who were visiting. Usually, my head would have exploded under the strain of having three languages bouncing around in my head, entertaining guests and conducting business. However, the very nature of tea allows one to stop, pause and contemplate. And when one has a cup of refreshing, soothing and interesting tea, many things can be done at once. Multitasking becomes easy.

I encourage you to find some Song Zhen wherever you can. In this crazy hectic world of ours, where else can you find the energy to work (finding tea), the ability to complete a once impossible task (converse and do business in Chinese), and have fun at the same time?

Song Zhen my friends. Song Zhen.

Did I mention there was a baby at the tasting?:)

Drink on Tea Lovers. Drink on.

Fellow Tea Lovers,

Spring has sprung! Tea season is upon us! Things are getting busy in terms of tea, so my computer decided that this was the best time to have a complete mental breakdown!!

As everyone who has woken up to find that their computer won’t knows, losing all your files, internet bookmarks and pictures can only result in one thing: long, prolonged, unadulterated swearing. For the past two weeks I have been picking up the pieces of my internet life, meaning I have not posted in quite some time.

However, being unplugged does have its advantages. I have had more time to sit and read tea books than ever before, study Chinese and enjoy cup upon cup of tea.

This month, I have been absolutely addicted to Kokicha tea. My recent trip to Japan has obviously influenced my choices, but these roasted Japanese teas are the perfect “wake up and go get ‘em” teas.

Kokicha has long been a very popular tea in Japan, a slow roasted tea, whose leaves are a dark/cocoa colour, yet has a remarkably smooth texture and flavor, with a slight astringent bite at the end. Sounds complicated, no? Well, that’s one of the reasons I love it so. Its complexity is hard to describe, but once you have tried it, you understand why it is the most consumed tea in Japan, after green tea. It’s a great morning tea, a fantastic tea to help digestion, and can be mixed with anything. I like it “au natural” but I must admit, St******s makes a kick-a** Kokicha latte in Japan, something I hope to reproduce myself in the near future (frothy milk+kokicha+honey= yummy in my tummy).

Kokicha is a great tea to try for those who are tired of trying green teas, yet are not ready to go over to the dark side, trying harsh black teas. I like to think of it as a “golden tea”, first because of the colour of the infusion, and second for its smooth, rich flavor.
I urge you to try the black sheep of the Japanese tea family, especially if your computer is acting up…it calms one down:)

Drink on Tea lovers, drink on.

Fellow Tea Lovers,

This past week, I have done little else than follow the tragic news in Japan. Having just returned from my wonderful trip to that rich, interesting, exotic and welcoming country, I have found myself glued to the New York Times, sending my Japanese friends and suppliers emails, hoping that they will be alright. I am worried, sad, but mostly, speechless.

I think what has affected me most is that while I was in Japan, I saw signs everywhere telling people what to do in case of an earthquake. They were ready for disaster, and yet…this seems to be testing even their level of preparedness. Now, with the meltdown of their power plants a very real possibility, my mind only goes to the poor people who are now evacuating their homes, or worse, staying in their boarded up homes in an attempt to protect themselves from radiation poisoning.

This is the land of Manga, Godzilla and Akira; cartoons about living in a post-apocalyptic future after a nuclear disaster. The possibilities of what is currently occurring has been a part of Japanese pop culture and its national psyche for a very, very long time. And now, people are living in fear of the very thing they have always dreaded.

Most of us never have to face what the Japanese are going through right now.

Look, I know that Japan is a well-developed nation. I know that they will overcome this. I know that they have been through worse, in the last 60 years no less. But I still feel that they need all the help they can get.

So if you’re like me, a lover of Japanese tea and culture, I hope that you will take the time to see if there is anything you can do to help. It’s really the very least we can do.

In the meantime, chin up, pour yourselves a cup of Japanese tea, and remember how lucky you are. I know I am:)

I am a huge fan of people making and appreciating tea in different ways, and aside from promoting my beloved beverage, this blog is about informing people about the different teas out there, and the many different ways one can go about preparing them.

Many tea aficionados love spending hours telling me why I should use a specific teapot to make a specific tea, how to brew the perfect cup and why my easy going nature towards making tea is a horrific notion to them. I’ll be perfectly honest: yes I know there is a right way and a wrong way to make the perfect pot of tea, and most of the time I follow these rules, but at 6 o’clock in the morning, even I could not care less about the “right” and “wrong” way.

That’s why my recent trip to Japan (the most formal and rigid of tea making countries), was such a refreshing eye opener. As tea sales are slightly declining, so has people’s interest in making a “proper” cup of tea. Although this saddens me to no end, this has more to do with modern and hectic lifestyles than mere interest. In order to accommodate the modern tea drinker’s needs, there has been an evolution in the way that people prepare tea in the home.

Matcha is a perfect example of this change. Matcha, having long been Japan’s premium and most recognized tea, has not changed much in the past few hundred years when it was first introduced by Buddhist monks: very bright green in colour, this tea can only be found in a fine powder form. Once green tea has been dried, it is ground up into a fine powder with the aid of a large machine. Not only does this make the tea more compact for shipping, but it also changes the basic texture of the tea. To make matcha, one needs a matcha whisk, a matcha bowl, and the patience to whip the tea up into the smooth, frothy concoction that people have loved for years. It is a beautiful tea with a silky texture that invites contemplation of the highest order and is the perfect accompaniment to sweets and treats.

But let’s face it: special whisk? Special bowl? Only the most ardent of tea fans have the patience for that kind of stuff, and why should we be the only ones to enjoy it?

Well, while rummaging around one of the many tea shops I had a chance to discover in Kyoto, I found a matcha shaker. Yes, you read correctly. A shaker almost exactly like those used to make cocktails, just a little smaller. Although the matcha made in a shaker is not as frothy as the one whisked by hand, I can assure you that it gives one a much pleasure when consumed.

I can already hear the cries of: “How dare you!! Matcha has a history and a technique that should, nay, must be respected you heathen!” To this I respond: “So what?” The times they are a changing, and although the old traditions should never be lost, we have to evolve and adapt to the changes of our lifestyles. Anything that remains stagnant dies, and would it be better that one can only get matcha at St*****ks? Think about that for a minute!

So if you love trying new teas, but don’t have the right pot, ladle, cup, whisk or whatever else may be suggested to you, don’t worry. If the Japanese have adapted their culture to fit the 21rst century, then so can you, and don’t let anyone else tell you any different:)

Drink on tea lovers!

Fellow Tea Lovers,

I just spent my Chinese New Year in Japan, and boy, have I got stories!! After 4 years of living and working in China, visiting Japan was like visiting an alternate universe: everything is so well organized, so clean and so orderly, I couldn’t help but feel slightly unnerved:)

I have become so accustomed to the Chinese lifestyle, that being flung into the most organized and well prepared country in the world was a bit of a shock. But I loved every minute of it, and am already planning another trip there!!

Because of the hardships and reconstruction that came after the Second World War, it seems that the entire country is fire proof, earthquake proof, flood proof, bomb proof…let’s just say that if Armageddon ever comes, I want to be in Japan when it happens. The have contingency plans for everything!

To top it all off, the Japanese are some of the most helpful, kind and interesting people I have ever encountered. At every turn, people were willing to help me find my way, just wanted to chat, and at no point were they interested in anything other than helping me enjoy their country.

But let’s get down to business: tea! I had the privilege to visit a tea plantation in the southern part of Kyoto, drink teas I had never even heard of and learn more about Japanese tea culture that is in any book I have ever read.

All this week I will be regaling you with stories from tea rooms, tea plantations and the easiest, fastest and most popular place to get a cup of Matcha (powdered green tea) in the whole country…Starbucks (weep!:( ).

I have so much to share with you, and over the next few days, you’ll get to hear it all!!

Drink on tea lovers, drink on!

Fellow Tea Lovers,

Happy New Year! I hope that 2011 has started off on the right foot for you as it has for me. The first week of 2011 has been filled with sunshine and warm breezes here in Kunming, but all that ended today. Rainy, cold and damp are the only words to describe what I had to walk through to get to class today (I know that my friends in Canada feel no sympathy for me at this moment) and this drastic weather change had me reaching for my warm mug of tea more than ever.

So this got me thinking about all the teas that I love to drink on a cold, generally unpleasant day, teas that are real pick me ups. Therefore, in honor of the first real cold day of 2011 (in Kunming), I give you my Top 5 Teas To Drink On a Icky Day:

5. Generic Black Tea with Milk and Sugar
I am not usually a fan of boring black teas (I like teas with a little bit more personality) but there is no denying that the addition of hot milk and brown sugar saves the day here. The British have drunk tea in this manner for many a year, and although the Brits are not exactly world famous for their culinary skills, I have to say that they got it right with this one:)

4. Lapsang Souchong
This Chinese smoked black tea has been a favorite in Russia since the two countries began trading. Who knows more about surviving the cold than the Russians? This tea is sometimes disliked by tea connoisseurs and novices alike because of its somewhat overpowering “smoky” flavour. It’s for that exact reason I love Lapsang Souchong. Also, it helps digestion after meals, especially heavy ones, you know, like the ones you have on a cold day.

3. Chamomile and Honey Tea
Is there anything more soothing than Chamomile? Added bonus: being herbal, this tea is perfect to help you go to sleep on those stormy nights.

2. Green Tea and Mint
Refreshing and soothing, mint tea is one of those teas that is always great to drink, be it hot or cold weather. The taste of crisp mint always makes me think of Morocco, thus thinking of hot weather when it is anything but. Thanks Mint Tea. Thank you for whisking me away to a warm country:)

1. Chai
Black tea+ spices+ sugar+ milk= awesomeness. As soon as the boiling water hits this blend, your nostrils are filled with the sent of spices, and thus begins the adventure! This Indian tea is the ultimate in comfort, warming every inch of you as the flavors of cardamonne, mace, fennel, black pepper and cinnamon dance on your tongue. Can you think of anything better? I can’t.

I hope that you are able to enjoy these teas as much as I do, and that they will warm you up on those dull and dreary days.

Drink on tea lovers, drink on!

Ah the holidays.

Time for eggnog, turkey, snuggled around the fireplace with friends and family…and the frantic hunt for Christmas gifts. I have always prided myself on offering highly personalized Christmas gifts, but I must admit, Christmas shopping in China, the land of the standard gift, it is almost impossible to find something really special to give your friends and family.

During most festivals here people give a standard gift (moon cake, fruit, nuts, money) and don’t bother going shopping for personalized gifts. I can’t really blame them. There are so many people in this country; it would take a solid month of shopping to make sure that everyone on your list gets something unique.

Moreover, Christmas isn’t celebrated here. The many retailers in China have been trying to push it on the public for years, seeing how much it profits their Western counterparts, but it has yet to catch on. So what is a girl to do when on the hunt for special Christmas gifts in a land where roasted chestnuts are sold year round, finding wrapping paper is near impossible and shopping is a baffling ordeal? Make your own Christmas tea!

Last month I started my now annual tradition of preparing home made Christmas tea. I went to the tea market, bought a kilo of black and green tea, an array of flowers (roses, lavender and osmanthus), and some ceramic tea containers. I also purchased some green cardamom and cinnamon at the spice market, blended them to make special tea. Let’s be clear: I did not mix everything together: I made Chai with the spices, and fragranced tea with the flowers.

Although it took two days, came up with a delightful blend that I would like to share with you: Black tea, lavender, roses and osmanthus. It took a while to balance out, ensure that one could still taste the tea, while ensuring that the flowers balanced each other out, but all that hard work paid off. Flower Power is born!

So if you have no idea what to give your fellow coworkers this holiday season, take your favorite spices and flowers and come up with your own concoction! How do you balance the flavours you may ask? Make a small batch, brew it, and see how it comes out. Your taste buds are the best way to tell if your blend is hit-or-miss. It took me two days to find the right balance, but now I am now able to offer a truly special gift to my friends. Aside from the afore mentioned tea, spices and containers, here are a few things you will need:

a. pen and paper! Write down the quantities of each ingredient you use for your test runs.

b. Patience! In the process of making all these teas, you are going to taste some pretty awful stuff before you hit the jackpot.

c. Confidence! Trust yourself. You may not work for Twinnigs, but you can blend tea and spices, trust me. Trust your taste buds!

I hope that you all the a fantastic Holiday Season and that you continue exploring the marvelous world of tea with me in the New Year!

Drink on Tea Lovers!

Fellow Tea lovers,

Have any of you ever read “The Classic of Tea” by Lu Yu? No? How many of you have even heard of it?

“The Classic of Tea” is the first book dedicated entirely to tea. Written centuries ago by Lu Yu in China, it is the grand daddy of tea books, detailing how to properly drink and appreciate tea. For years I heard reference to this book, and could not wait to get my grubby little hands on a copy of this seminal work. To read about tea, how it was first drunk and appreciated was something of holy experience for me (don’t laugh!), something I awaited with baited breath. Last week, fair readers, I finally finished it. And boy, was it ever boring.

I won’t go into the details of my disappointment (this isn’t that kind of blog), or tell you how many times I fell asleep reading it (9 times, and it’s really not that long!). I will however save you time by telling you not to even look for this book or even attempt to read it. Long, ancient and far too vague, I feel cheated. However, I did discover something interesting: this book is not only the first book written on tea; it is, in my view, the first book that gave people the impression that tea is something unintelligible, something reserved only for those who study it. As the self-appointed guru of anyone-can-drink-and-appreciate-tea-don’t-let-anyone-tell-you-any-different, I am here to tell you, there is no one way to appreciate and love tea.

Living in China, I have come to drink tea on a daily basis in the same manner that 90% of the population here does: I wake up, throw a bunch of tea leaves in the bottom of my thermos and continuously pour hot water over the same leaves until the end of the day. I do not, repeat, do not, perform the tea ceremony every time I want a new cup of tea. As much as I love tea and the brewing of a perfect cup, I gotta tell you, even I could not care less about all that jazz at 6:00 in the morning. I just want some caffeine in my system to help motivate me to go to the gym.

Tea is not always about taking a lot of time to make and savour it. Sometimes, it’s an aid to help you start your day, or end your day, or get you through that lunch meeting with your boss. It’s what normal people drink, not some elite beverage.

To be fair, “The Classic of Tea” was written at a time when tea was mostly drunk by the elite due to its high cost. However, its message that only certain people can drink tea “the way it’s supposed to be drunk” has stood the test of time.

So, I appeal to you fair readers, keep drinking the tea you like, how you like. I will continue to try and provide insights on my favorite ways to appreciate this beverage, but remember: drinking tea is an experience that you should tailor to fit your habits and desires. That’s exactly what makes it the best beverage in the world.

Drink on Tea Lovers.

Dear Readers,

First off: where have I been all this time?

Well, I have stopped teaching and am now completely immersed in my Chinese studies. As anyone who has learned Mandarin, or attempted to learn Mandarin knows, it is a long and arduous process, worthy only of the most dedicated and yes, brave of individuals.
I am however happy to report that after only 3 months of study, my Chinese has improved by leaps and bounds. I am not at the point where I can discuss the latest economic news or the current state of affairs in Korea and what impact it may have on China and the rest of the world, but I can now do more than order a beer in a restaurant. Hopefully by the end of next year, I will be able to have more interesting conversations with my neighbours.

Second: are you still in the tea business?

That I can answer with a resounding YES!!!
Over the past few months here in Kunming, I have been to more markets than ever before. My father and I have perfected the art of blending tea and spices and have a great selection of fragranced teas to offer you! And, I am now pleased as punch to offer Thes de Cru travel mugs for all your tea drinking needs! Well…your on-the-go tea drinking needs that is

My second year in Kunming has proved more than productive, thus hindering my ability to blog on a regular basis, but now I am back, allocating time and dedication to updating you on all the tea related action currently happening in China. Are you ready? Here we go!

…

Ok, so to be truthful, there is nothing much going on right now. Tea season is well behind us, and the new teas won’t be coming out until next April. So lately, I have been busy reading all the books on tea I have accumulated over the years. In the hopes of saving you the trouble of reading them, I thought I could share with you what I have gleaned from them thus far. Every week, I will give you my impressions of these texts, some sacred, some completely unintelligible, and some not worth the paper they were printed on.

Until then, I just wanted you to know that I am still around, still traveling this crazy/wonderful country, and still encouraging you to embrace tea as I have.

Drink on Tea Lovers. Drink on.

Dear readers,

Yesterday was one of the best days of my life. I never thought that in the midst of giving finals and moving apartments that I would be able to have a perfect tea day, but as usual, China is just full of surprises.

Let me start at the beginning. I have been giving students at my school free extra curricular classes, helping them get a leg up in their studies. The other teachers at my school ridiculed me for not charging them, but I believed that they had already done so by paying my salary at the school. Whoever said that “no good deed goes unpunished” is an idiot.

I did not give these classes expecting anything in return as I love teaching, and truly want my students to excel. However, many of my students parents wished to thank me for all my hard work, any way they could. I continuously refused money, thus leading them to invite me to dinners, various outings and give me several containers of tea. It is quite rude to refuse a gift in Chinese culture, so in order to help Canadian-Chinese relations, I accepted the gifts. I tell you, the lengths I will go to in order to maintain relations between our two countries… feel sorry for me?:)

Well, last week, my student Didi invited me for a very special outing: to visit a Pu Er factory! How in the world could I refuse? So, after 7 years of reading about Pu Er, hearing about how Pu Er was made, dreaming of one day of actually seeing the process… I saw it. I actually saw it. The process used to make one of the most famous teas in the world.

For those of you that are unfamiliar with the delicious Pu Er tea, here’s a brief intro: Pu Er is one of the oldest and most firmly kept secrets in the tea world. For centuries, the people of Yunnan have been producing this tea, usually found in the form of a “cake” or “brick”. It is a fermented black tea, with earthy aromas, and smooth after taste. The older it gets, the better it tastes, just like a fine French wine. Tea bricks as old as fifty years can be purchased, and they…are…heaven.

Many people in Canada are not familiar with it, even though it is becoming more and more available in our fair country. In China however, Pu Er has been known for many years, primarily for its unique taste, as well as its health benefits. A few years ago, the price of Pu Er reached an all time high, due to the fact that people started buying it as an investment. Beijing “ren” (people) and Shanghai “ren” with too much money swarmed the market, thus making even the youngest Pu Ers much too expensive. Thankfully that fad died out, almost as quickly as I began, allowing us mere commoners to purchase this wonderful tea once more.

So yesterday, as I wandered through the vast corridors of this factory with my student, I came upon an unmarked room, opened the door, and there they were. Factory workers, making Pu Er. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take pictures of the process, but I saw EVERYTHING!!

In the corner of the room was a large pile of black tea in a huge mound. Three men were continuously circling it, two with rakes, and one with a large canister of water strapped to his back. Armed with a hose in one hand, he gently sprayed the tea, as the two others turned every moistened part of the mound over with their rakes.

Why do this you ask? Well, the added moisture allows the tea to ferment faster, and gives it that unique earthy flavor. The water almost “rots” the tea, which is left in a temperature controlled room, so that it may oxidize before they press it into cakes. The cakes are made with a large machine that uses heat and air pressure to make it stick together. They added moisture in the tea also helps the brick to keep its cohesion. Putting the tea into bricks does not alter the flavour in any way, but makes storage much simpler. When you have to age kilos upon kilos of tea for several years, storage is something that must be taken into consideration… Needless to say, “euphoria” does not even begin to describe how I felt.

I am most certainly not the first person to witness this process, but to actually see it? Nothing like it. So, if ever you think to yourself “why should I give up my free time? Why should I be the one doing all the extra work?” just remember: the universe has your back, and it will pay off, sometimes beyond your wildest expectations.

So pick up your favorite Pu Er, make yourself a cup and Drink on tea lovers!!!