Thursday, June 3, 2010

Spring 2010 Wenshan Baozhong tea for sale!

In the mid-afternoon of June 2, 2010, three kilograms of 2010 spring Wenshan Baozhong (春文山包種茶) tea arrived at my house! I wasted no time breaking open the box and brewing some up.

my precious

I decided on an al fresco session on my back deck. Here is a goofy little video I took to amuse myself between sips:


To me this is a superb, lightly-oxidized, floral Baozhong tea and it provided me with seven clean, smooth, dewy-sweet infusions. The aroma flitted about with pleasant notes of lilac, honeysuckle and cantaloupe. My tasting notes included buttery yellow corn and macadamia nut.

before 7 tasty infusions

after 7 tasty infusions

These leaves are now for sale! I brought some of my stock to Teacup to sell, serve and sample, and the rest I'll sell from home. The cost at Teacup is: 1 oz $8.50 / 2 oz $17 / 4 oz $30 / 8 oz $60 / 1lb $108.

The cost if you buy it directly from me is $8 per ounce or $75 per 300 gram bag. Email me at blackdragontea@gmail.com if you're interested. I can only take cash, check or paypal and shipping is $5.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Teacup Tea Class - June 2010

This month I am pleased to offer a brand new herbal tea class here at Teacup featuring guest teacher Clarissa Helton L.Ac., MS.

Clarissa is a skilled acupuncturist and herbalist who treats patients right here on upper Queen Anne hill in Seattle. She is a friend of ours at Teacup and I'm very excited to co-host this class with her!

June 24, 2010 - 7:00 to 8:00 pm
Herbal Tea Class and Tasting - Learn how to choose and make herbal teas. Taste single herb teas and combinations to treat a variety of physical complaints. We will focus mainly on Chinese medicinal herbal traditions.

This evening class is free but guests must RSVP and space is limited. You may RSVP anytime before June 24th by emailing me at blackdragontea@gmail.com. After comparing my RSVP list with Clarissa's, I'll send you a confirmation email. We hope to see you at the class!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

How do I fit tea into my daily life?

The theme for today's Tea Blog Carnival is "How do I fit tea into my daily life?" It is being presented by the Association of Tea Bloggers and hosted by the venerable Sip Tip blog.

Here are five reasons why I never have any problems fitting tea into my daily life:

1. I work at the Teacup in Seattle.

¡Viva la 'Cup!


2. Most of my friends and family are tea drinkers.

Chilling with my home girls:


3. Most of my travel is "tea-centric."

Whoa. That tea smells so good!


4. My house is always well stocked with great tea.



5. I make tea drinking a daily priority.


Friday, May 28, 2010

Spring 2010 Meishan High Mountain Oolong

On May 25, I answered a phone call from a local tea lover named George. George told me that he used to live in Taiwan and continues to travel there frequently in search of great tea. He went on to describe a high quality Meishan (Plum Mountain) (梅山) high mountain oolong that he hoped I would buy for resale at Teacup. I told him I was interested in tasting his tea and so we arranged to meet later that afternoon.

George and I had a nice time drinking tea, but unfortunately, it was cut far too short by my own schedule. Fortunately, we met again this afternoon and after a wonderfully serene and cordial gong fu tea session, I felt ready to do business with my new tea friend.

He told me this tea was obtained directly from the farmer, a friend of his who farms organically, and that it was produced earlier this very month. George stressed his commitment to only buying, promoting, and consuming clean and natural teas and foods. In the end his tea spoke for itself and I was able to purchase a couple pounds of his delicious Meishan tea for Teacup!

the leaf

The oxidation and roast on this Meishan tea is at a medium level. It has a nice hint of baked tea flavor that pops up from time to time but it is only half as roasty as that Meishan Beihou (梅山焙火) tea that so many friends coveted after my winter buying trip.

For me this tea has amazing texture and depth and it feels very thick and creamy when I roll it around inside my mouth. Some infusions presented a sweet butterscotch aroma while others had more fruity, ripe-peachy, notes.

Obviously I have a clear bias when I review a tea that I am currently selling, but as I've said before these reviews are just my opinions and they're no better or more valid than your own. This oolong leaves me feeling satisfied, it makes my brain produce some happy, mellowing chemicals, and it sits comfortably in my stomach. In the end, that's what keeps me drinking these special teas.

the liquor

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Sugimoto's Spring 2010 Temomi Shincha

I recently treated myself to a selection of Sugimoto Tea Company's 2010 Shincha (新茶) for my own personal enjoyment. Today I am savoring the rarest of my new treasures, a tea called Temomi Shincha. According to my Seattle tea friend Kyohei Sugimoto, this tea was entirely handmade by his mother on April 23, 2010.

Look at these beauties.


I followed Kyohei's brewing instructions as seen on his blog (linked here) and steeped the tea five times. The broth had a pale yellow color with a thick sheen of tea oil sparkling on the surface. The aroma was sweet and pungent, reminding me slightly of newly mowed lawn and light spring rain.



I have never had a tea like Temomi Shincha before. It was extremely buttery, but also vibrant and grassy. It was a little bit like drinking warm unsalted vegetable broth and the tea left me feeling comfortable and nourished.

After the session I nibbled some of the spent leaves. They were the most tender tea leaves I have ever eaten!


Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Paper Wrapped Tea in Tainan City

A month ago, my friend and former boss Brian Keating sent me this must-read article on Taiwanese tea history. The last paragraph of the article highlights a Tainan (台南)-based tea shop called Cheng-fa* that started way back in 1860. I got really excited when I saw the photos that went along with the article because I recognized the Cheng-fa tea shop as a place I had visited back in 2005.

It was during my first Taiwan tea trek when I was treated to an unforgettable scooter tour of Tainan by my friend Josh Chamberlain. Josh took me to Cheng-fa and explained that it was a very old tea shop and that the owner still packaged his teas in the "old paper-wrapped style."

The owner wrapping tea in paper:


After the tea is measured out, it is carefully wrapped by hand. Then the bundle is labeled using beautiful antique stamps. I purchased several ounces of a delicious traditional roasted Dong Ding (凍頂) oolong and a sublime baked Wenshan Baozhong tea.

This package contained the Dong Ding:

It makes sense to me that before the Taiwanese had vacuum packed foil bags or other modern packaging options, the best teas would be wrapped in paper... but I have also read from multiple sources that Baozhong (包種) (sometimes spelled Pouchong) tea was wrapped in paper as one step in its production. The Wikipedia entry for Pouchong tea also mentions this step but adds that it is no longer used. I wonder if Baozhong, which literally means "wrapped type," may also have some connection to this old school packaging method still used by Cheng-fa tea shop? Do any readers know?

*I don't know the Chinese characters for Cheng-fa tea shop. If you happen to know, please leave them in the comments.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Kubota Garden in the Spring

There are many reasons why I love living in America's most diverse zipcode. One of them is Kubota Gardens, the gem of Rainier Beach.

This afternoon my buddy, his son, my little girl and I went for a beautiful afternoon walk throughout the garden. The rhododendrons are blooming right now which made for an extra colorful visit!

Here are a few shots of our beloved South Seattle garden:

The welcome rock


Pretty in pink


Little waterfall


I see a bee


Original skyscraper


Reflecting pool


Red Bridge in tree-filtered sunlight


Red hot Rhodies


My favorite tree at Kubota


The old lantern


Sweet pink Rhodies*


Beautiful white speckled Rhodies*


On a bridge with an amazing Japanese maple behind us*


*Photos by Jon G.