Sri Lankan Tea Tasting Event at Redwing Cafe!

Hi Tea Friends! It's your old tea geek pal Brett. I've been cooking at Redwing Cafe in southeast Seattle for 4 great years now. Although I'm no longer in the tea industry, I still drink high quality loose-leaf tea everyday.

Recently I met Simon, an owner of Amba organic tea estate in Sri Lanka, who asked to present a Sri Lankan tea tasting event entitled "Teaology" at Redwing Cafe to promote his tea garden and to benefit the Suriya Women’s Development Centre, a grass-roots charity working with conflict-affected communities in eastern Sri Lanka

The tasting is Thursday, June 13th starting at 5:00 PM. It is $25 per guest, which is a great deal considering you get a flight of 6 delicious unique teas, paired with light vegetarian treats and snacks (let me know in advance if you have any specific food allergies). Plus you're helping to support a great organization.

A flyer about this event is pictured below. This Tea Tasting event will fill up quickly so please RSVP asap.

Please email me if you have any questions or to RSVP and I hope to see you there!

How long does bulk tea last?

Customer - "How long does bulk tea last?"

I get asked this question (or some variation of it) at least once a day at work. It can sometimes be hard to provide a satisfying answer because there are so many variables involved.

During my last eight years selling loose leaf tea, I have developed a suitable response for answering this question. My response, like all tea knowledge, is constantly evolving as I collect data and experiences. Depending on the specific situation, my answer will usually sound something like this:

Brett - "It really depends on the tea. For most seasonal greens and lighter teas I would recommend drinking it up within six months, but blacks and other darker teas will usually taste fresh for as long as a year or two. Roasted oolongs and puer teas can last a very long time if properly stored and flavored tea and most herbals will usually last about two years. Bulk tea doesn't really go bad but it will get stale and loose its flavor... and all of this is subject to how well it has been stored..."

As you can see, this question often segues to other important discussions about tea intricacies. The trick is to meet the customer at their current tea knowledge level. Instead of overloading them with with tons of data, I prefer to tailor the conversation to the specific teas that they are most interested in.

I'd love to hear some of your own experiences regarding tea's shelf life. When do you throw away your old tea leaves and do you currently have any teas (besides puer and aged oolong) that are over three years old and that you're still drinking? If so, how do they taste now compared to when they were fresh?

The laid-back person's guide to brewing a good pot of green tea

Step 1 - Select a teapot. If you only have one teapot this should be easy. If you have several (like me) this step can sometimes be a bit tricky.

...eenie meeni miny moe...

Step 2 - Boil some good water.

(somebody must really like apples)

Step 3 - Put a basket style infuser of some sort into your teapot.

Step 4 - Put some dry tea into the infuser. Use about one teaspoon per cup. Don't over think.

Step 5 - Pour 160° to 180° F water over the tea leaves.

You can pour in some cool water or add an ice cube or two,
if you're worried about the temperature being too hot.


You can even use a thermometer if you have one,
but try not to worry too much if you don't.
Remaining "Laid-back" is always the most important thing.

Step 6 - Steep green tea for about 2 minutes.

I'm using my oven timer.
If you don't have a timer you can just guess.

Step 7 - Take the basket of tea out of the teapot.

This step is probably the most important because
green tea will get bitter if it's steeped too long.

Step 8 - Choose a tea cup. (Advanced tip: Try doing this step at the same time as step 6!)

Again, DON'T OVER THINK.
Any cup you pick will be just fine.

Step 9 - Pour the tea into your teacup.

I chose this cute little Peter rabbit cup!
(I'm not sure why it wont display "right-side-up"
because it's fine in iphoto.
There must be some weird html thing going on.)
Oh well, I'm much too "Laid-back" to worry about that right now.

Step 10 - Sip your tea.

Step 11 - Let out a happy, contented sigh.

Step 12 - (optional) Put a tea-cozy over your teapot.

This one looks pretty cool.

Uh. Festive... but No.

Oh Yeah, Chip you're looking sharp in that little coat!

Look out for more posts in my "Laid-back person's guide" to come in 2010.

Happy Solstice!

Gratitude

I recently met a new tea friend, whom I will call J. He came to Seattle for just 24 hours as part of a noble, personal mission (for lack of a better word). I do not want to put words in my new friend's mouth so I will not describe anything from his point of view. Instead, I will share my own ideas. These ideas have been growing inside me for years but were renewed by J's visit. Put simply, I (and a growing number of other people) believe that tea is much more than a healthy and delicious drink. It is also a powerful symbol of modest, compassionate, and sustainable living. As tea's mainstream popularity grows (a good thing) all tea lovers should keep this symbolic meaning pure by being humble, helpful, fair, tolerant, ecologically aware, and thankful.

Chinese Tea Travel Cups

Five years ago, a friend gave me one of these Chinese tea travel cups to see if Teacup might want to sell them. At that time, I was not too sure about them because they take steeping time (an important variable) out of one's control. But I am now a convert and these cups are a pretty popular item at Teacup. Still, each time I sell one I always make sure the buyer is educated about how to use it correctly.

Chinese tea travel cup

To use these cups, you put loose leaf tea directly into the cup and then screw a little strainer on the top. The strainer catches the leaves right before they would otherwise go into your mouth.

the strainer

Because the tea leaves inside are continuously steeping (and thus continuously getting stronger) you will need to do some combination of the following:

A. Use less dry leaf.
B. Use cooler water.
C. Drink the tea faster.
D. Drink bitter tea.

I'll usually do some combination of A, B and unfortunately D. Also, it is worth noting that some teas do much better in these cups than others. You are free to make up your own mind about that, but I generally recommend oolongs or puer teas because they have larger leaves. Big leaves release their flavor slower than small ones because they have less surface area in contact with the hot water.

Sipping oolong on the deck

Of course, you don't have to drink directly out of it. More often than not I find myself decanting the liquor into another cup or mug.

exhibit A

These cups are great for travel. You don't have to worry about them breaking and you can even stuff some small tins and baggies of loose tea inside them to save room in your pack.

exhibit B

Another fun thing about these cups is all the quizzical looks you will get from people who have never seen someone enjoying a cup of loose leaf tea before. Be prepared for people to ask you silly questions like, "Is that spinach in there?" It's a great conversation starter!

Cup (a verb)

"Cup" is the verb that many of us tea industry folks use when we are drinking tea for the purpose of evaluation. I usually use the term when I'm comparing two or more teas at the same time. At Teacup, we cup tea almost everyday in order to understand them better or to create our own blends.

Cupping 4 Tie Guanyin oolongs at Teacup:

During a proper cupping, all variables should be controlled. The same weight of leaf, the same temperature of water, the same brewing vessels, and the same steeping time must be used for each tea. After the tea is steeped, it is generally considered best to start with the lightest tea and work your way to the strongest, so you don't overwhelm your palate.

On many tea farms and in large professional blending facilities people will use the cupping sets pictured below.

Professional tea cupping set:

After tea is steeped it is decanted into the bowl:

Then the wet leaves are placed on the lid for easy evaluation:

A tea professional will usually slurp the tea soup
from a spoon and then spit it into a spittoon:

The teas chosen for a particular cupping should have a common theme. The theme can be very specific, such as "three spring 2009 first flush Darjeelings" or it can be very loose, such as "four green teas." Either way, you will learn more about the teas being cupped and how they compare to others.

When I am cupping teas with a new employee at Teacup for the first time I usually start with several regional black teas such as Darjeeling, Assam, Keemun, Yunnan and Ceylon. That way the new employee can more easily pick up some of the defining traits of these regions, before we do more specific cuppings later.

Another method used to cup tea is called "bowl and spoon" (or at least that's what I call it). The tea is steeped in small bowls (such as rice bowls) and spoons are used to get the aroma and to ladle the broth into drinking cups. I used this method during my review of Floating Leaves' winter baozhong tea and while comparing two Long Yuan Hao Puer teas.

David W. and I cupping Spring 2008
Wenshan Baozhong in Pinglin, Taiwan:

If you are new to the idea of cupping tea, I hope this post sparked your interest. I believe that frequently cupping tea is one of the best ways to further your tea education.

P.S.A.

Do you or somebody you love suffer from a teaball addiction? These sad little gizmos are useless and incapable of making good tea. Inside a teaball, leaves cannot properly infuse or expand, and thus your tea will end up tasting weak. Also, it is very difficult to get the right amount of tea into a teaball. There are many right ways to brew tea, such as a gaiwan, teapot, or basket infuser. Some people will even drop their leaves right into their cup.

The 5 Steps to a full recovery:
1. Admit that you have a problem and that you need help.
2. Throw away all of your teaballs.
3. Buy a teapot, gaiwan and/or brewing basket.
4. Enjoy drinking healthy and delicious loose leaf tea daily.
5. Continue your tea education by visiting tea shops, traveling and reading tea books and blogs.

Just say NO!

Black Dragon Tea Bar cares!

Gaiwan Basics

A gaiwan (蓋碗) is a lidded bowl used to brew Chinese tea. It usually has three parts: the lid, the bowl, and the saucer. If you enjoy drinking Chinese tea, then you need to get yourself a gaiwan (or two, or three or more...)

Viva la Gaiwan!

Millions of people (many of them in China) drink their tea right out of the gaiwan. They will lift up the whole cup and use the lid as strainer to block the leaves from getting into their mouths. I don't do this very often but it is a fun way to drink tea. Just make sure the tea is not too hot, and drink it quickly so that it doesn't over-steep.

Other people will pour the tea from the gaiwan into a decanter or a teacup. This is a very convenient way to brew tea, and often my method of choice. Holding the lid and the cup just right so that you can strain the leaves can be tricky at first. I think it's kind of like using chopsticks, or riding a bike; it takes practice but once you get it it's super easy and feels natural. I recommend not filling the gaiwan too full so that the edge will not be too hot to hold.

People often ask me how much dry tea they should use in their gaiwan. There is no right answer... some people use a lot, some use a little. I generally cover the bottom of the gaiwan when I am brewing a rolled ball-shaped oolong, such as High Mountain Tea (高山茶) or Tie Guanyin (鐵觀音). When brewing tea with long, twisted leaves, such as Wenshan Baozhong (文山包種) or Wuyi Cliff Tea (武夷岩茶), I will often fill the gaiwan one half to three-quarters full. Ask your vendor for their advice when you buy a new tea, and feel free to experiment.

Rolled ball-shaped (covering bottom of gaiwan):

Long twisted leaves (a little over half full):

Here are three little brewing tips I picked up from several of my tea mentors:

#1: Pour the hot water down the side of the gaiwan to whip the tea leaves into a tornado.

#2: Use the lid to stir the tea and to examine the color of the tea soup.

#3: Smell the underside of the gaiwan lid between infusions.

I hope this post was helpful to anybody who is new to gaiwans. Happy brewing!

Tea Basics - Black Tea

Fully oxidized black tea is very popular in North America but rarely drunk in China. Hearty Assam tea (from India) and brisker Ceylon tea (from Sri Lanka) have been imported by the British and Dutch for a few hundred years. These are often blended to produce the cherished English or Irish Breakfast teas. One of my favorite black teas is Darjeeling (from northern India). It is often called the champagne of teas because of its bright and complex bouquet. Another favorite is Keemun (祁門) from China. It has a certain sherry-like sweetness, naturally spicy and unique. Look for the Keemun grade Hao Ya A to signify a particularly good batch. Other marvelous black teas include Yunnan, a rich and peppery brew from China, and Nilgiri, a sweeter brisker tea from southern India's Blue Mountains. One other Chinese tea of interest is the mystifying Lapsang Souchong (正山小種). This tea is cured over smoldering pine needles for an intensely smoky brew.

I think it is important to note that the Chinese call black tea hongcha (紅茶) which means red tea and sometimes the Chinese will call puer tea heicha (黑茶) which means black tea.

Golden Dianhong (滇紅) Black Tea from China:

Tea Basics - White Tea

About a thousand years ago in China, white tea was one of several highly prized tribute teas. Emperor Huizong is said to have written poems about this style of tea. Fortunately, most tea shops carry a few good ones these days! White tea is made up of carefully selected leaf buds that have yet to mature and develop chlorophyll. The window for plucking this delicate raw material is usually short and occurs in the early Spring. These buds are often not oxidized at all, they are simply dried though some white tea production does involves oxidation.

White tea produces a very smooth and thirst quenching cup of tea. The subtle and complex flavors of a good white tea will seem to dance on your tongue! White tea is quickly gaining popularity in the West. This is due to all the recent research showing a direct link between teas antioxidant properties and a healthy body. For a lovely cup of white tea, a few names to look out for are: White Peony (白牡丹), Yinzhen (silver needles) (銀針), and Drum Mountain White Cloud (鼓山白雲).

Yinzhen:

Tea Basics - Puer Tea

Puer tea (普洱茶), from the Yunnan (雲南) province of China, comes in two forms, raw puer (sometimes called green puer or sheng cha) (生茶) and ripe puer (sometimes called black puer or shou cha)(熟茶). The complex flavors found in a cup of puer tea are the result of many variables, such as: where it was grown, the quality of the leaf, the manufacturing conditions, and the vintage. I have found that very high quality and very low quality puerh can be found in both loose leaf and compressed forms.

Raw puer is prepared from sun dried green tea leaves and are primarily hand made. The leaves are sometimes sourced from organic or wild grown tea bushes. Old trees, which can be over 100 years old, are sometimes used to make very fine teas. After the leaves are processed and sorted they will be compressed into cakes, bricks or other shapes by heavy concrete molds. Raw puer gets darker, richer and smoother if aged slowly in dry stable conditions. When a raw puer is approximately 1 to 5 years old it will probably still taste like a fresh herbaceous green tea with varying degrees of sweetness, smokiness, and complexity. At this point many puer tea professionals do not drink the tea for pleasure. Instead they drink it only to evaluate its aging potential.

Ripe puer can be purchased loose leaf, or compressed into cakes and bricks. Ripe puer differs from raw tea because it has a pile fermentation step included in its manufacture. This is a carefully controlled process that results in a dark and earthy brew. Young ripe puer (1 to 5 years old) are often not very smooth and may still have a harsh odor left over from that pile fermentation step in their production. Loose leaf ripe puer tends to taste fuller and smoother sooner, because it has more leaf surface exposed to air. Compressed teas, on the other hand, will mellow slower, depending on how tightly they were compressed and how thick they are.

Both styles of puer tea will get better with age if they are stored properly (ie. dry, dark and away from any odors). Ripe puers are made to be enjoyed sooner, and thus the vintage does not play as important of a roll as it does with raw puer. In fact, some puer experts have written that ripe puer's do not improve after reaching a certain point. This is in contrast to raw puer which seems to get better indefinitely!

Collecting and aging raw puer cakes is a very rewarding hobby of mine. I enjoy experiencing the tastes of a tea as it changes over time. I also like to keep a scrap book of the beautiful wrapping papers used to store the cakes. Puer tea has the wonderful ability to bring people together and help them to relax. It is the ideal brew for many unforgettable tea tastings.

Puer cake purchased in Taiwan last year:

Cupping two 生茶 puers at home last summer:

Tea Basics - Green Tea

Green Tea is made from unoxidized leaves that are expertly steamed, shaped and fired. A good green tea will have a perfect balance of crisp vegetal notes but still be delicate and lightly sweet. Many wonderful green teas are produced in China, such as Long Jin (Dragon Well) (龍井), and Taiping Houkui (太平猴魁); both are sure bets for refreshing and stimulating green tea. Much of China's green tea is scented with jasmine flowers. For the best jasmine tea, look for hand rolled Phoenix Dragon Pearls. I also enjoy Japan's many great green teas such as Sencha, which is fresh and grassy (in a good way), and Genmaicha, a blend of green tea with roasted rice for a toasty, savory taste.

Green tea is best when brewed with cooler water. Depending on the type of tea I'll use 150 to 180 degree water. The steeping time for green tea is shorter too. I usually steep 1.5 to 2 minutes.

A tender young leaf and bud set:

Tea Basics - Oolong

The word oolong comes from the Chinese words: 烏 meaning black (or dark) and 龍 meaning dragon. It is typically produced in China and Taiwan. There are hundreds of exciting and delicious types of oolong teas to discover. I will use the most common market names and add the Chinese characters to improve understanding.

To make oolong tea, carefully selected leaves are gently withered and bruised to start the oxidization process, then at just the right moment, sometimes 12 to 16 hours later, they will be shaped and fired. Oolong tea is produced in small batches and the flavor profile depends on the length of oxidation and the degree of roasting. The tea makers will often stay up for 24 to 48 hours to see a batch of oolong tea through all of the production steps. Because of the many variables involved, no two oolongs will ever be exactly the same.

There are many varieties of tea produced on the island of Taiwan. Some are lightly oxidized, such as Wenshan Baozhong (文山包種), which has a natural floral note and an almost sparkling sweetness. High Mountain Tea (高山茶) from Taiwan is grown over 1000 meters high in places such as Lishan (棃山) and Alishan (阿里山). They have amazing complexity, brilliant liquor and a lingering sweet aftertaste due to the cool air and misty weather in the mountains. Another exceptional oolong from Taiwan is Formosa Bai Hao (白毫), a higher oxidized tea which usually has a warming "honey-peach" aroma. This style of tea is sometimes called Dong Fang Mei Ren (Eastern Beauty) (東方美人). Tung Ting (Frozen Summit) (凍頂) is a famous tea from central Taiwan's Nantou (南投) county. It traditionally has a medium roast and medium oxidation.

China is the birthplace of many wonderful oolongs such as Tie Guanyin (Iron Guanyin) (鐵觀音). Although Tie Guanyin is traditionally a darker oolong with a sublimely smooth and roasty aroma, the latest trends in Tie Guanyin production seems to be a much lighter tea with a sweeter, buttery flavor.

Shui Xian (Water Fairy)(水仙), Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe)(大紅袍) and Rougui (Cinnamon)(肉桂) are a few of the wonderful heirloom cultivars of oolong tea found in the Wuyi Mountains (武夷山) of China's Fujian Province (福建省). These teas are sometimes called Yancha (cliff tea) (岩茶) because of the Wuyi mountain's rocky terrain.

High Mountain Tea Pluckers in Shizhuo (石桌), Taiwan:

Basket withering:

Oxidation on rattan racks:

My friend 明忠 roasting some oolong in an electric basket:

Tea Basics - Part One

Tea is just water and leaves. It is that simple. It is that complicated.

To be a bit more specific... tea is the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant, which have been skillfully picked and prepared using ancient methods. When these leaves are steeped in hot water the resulting brew is truly refreshing and incredibly flavorful. With teas great variety and health promoting properties, it is no mystery why tea is second only to water as the worlds most popular beverage.

My next five posts will contain some very basic information about green tea (綠茶), oolong tea (烏龍茶), black tea (which is known as red tea in China) (紅茶), white tea (白茶) and puer tea (普洱茶). I will build on this information as the blog evolves.