Long Yuan Hao - Bing Vs. Tuo - Round 3

Every three years I do a comparison cupping of two 2006 Gold Medal Long Yuan Hao (金級龍園號) puer teas. The Bing (cake) (餅) is called Banna Yin Xiang (Banna Impression) (版納印象) and the Tuocha (沱茶) is called Banna Tai Zi (Banna Prince) (版納太子).

The first time I cupped these two together was way back in August 2007, the second was July 2010 and the third is today! When they're not being brewed, these two sheng puer teas (生普洱茶) live on my puer shelf (located in the corner of my bedroom behind a curtain). I haven't brewed either of them since 2010 and I did not reread my two previous posts prior to writing this post so that they would not influence my taste buds.

Lets get brewing!

The cake is on the left and the tuocha is on the right.

I brewed these teas in two identical 6 ounce glass mugs using boiling water, 3 grams of dry leaf per tea, and ceramic soup spoons to ladle the liquor into drinking cups.

The color of the tea soup was yellowish-orange with a little more red and amber in later infusions. The aroma was sweet and woodsy with a hint of pleasant smokiness.

I'm really enjoying both of these teas and I don't remember being this impressed 3 years ago. Also, for some reason, they are tasting very similar to me today. Both are smooth and mellow with a touch of honey flavor. In the end, the tuocha came out ahead, but just barely. It had a more earthy, Autumny, sweetness and a hint of lingering beeswax aroma. The Bing had a slightly thinner mouth-feel and some infusions had more pronounced notes of grass and artichoke.

Back on the shelf now fellows. Next time I see you you'll be 10 years old!

What's up Black Dragon?

This summer my family and I have been very busy and productive around the house. We cleaned the basement (no small task), had the exterior of our house painted (dark blue with white trim), and set up a workspace for our daughter as we begin planning her project-based, home-school kindergarten.

In our garden, this has been a good season for potatoes, apples, cucumbers and blueberries. We might get some pumpkins (time will tell) and have been picking a lot of grapes and blackberries from around the neighborhood. Plums will start to ripen next month and I am sure they will be plentiful.

My wife and I have been taking care of our good friend's wonderful kids (a 1.5 and a 3 year old) three days a week for most of the summer. Because of that, plus working at Phoenix Tea and cooking at Seattle's best vegetarian restaurant, St. Dames, there has not been much time for online pursuits.

Still, we have found time for play! My kids (age 5 and 3) have enjoyed plenty of great playdates and birthday parties and we've all savored a few awesome days swimming and picnicking.

Even though I've been busy I still make time for tea! If the day is going to be hotter than ~85° F (thankfully a rarity in my little corner of the world) I'll usually drink hot tea in the morning and iced tea in the afternoon. Otherwise, I'll drink hot tea all day. It's hard to pin down just what I'm drinking. It's a little bit of everything really with a lot of spring 2013 high mountain Taiwanese oolongs, darjeelings, and Japanese greens.

Around the World in 8 Teas

Phoenix Tea and Eat Local are working together to present a tea event at Eat Local's Burien, Washington store on Saturday, August 3rd.

Our event is called Around the World in 8 Teas. It will be a fun and educational tea tasting featuring teas from China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Kenya. I will discuss international tea traditions while offering freshly brewed tea samples.  I will also explain how tea is a healthy beverage as well as a sustainable agricultural product when grown and sourced responsibly. 

Eat Local will offer several samples of food to complement some teas. 

After the event guests are invited to visit Phoenix Tea (less than one block away Eat Local Burien) where they will receive a 10% discount on any tea or tea ware purchased that afternoon. 

This event is $20 per guest and space is limited. Please RSVP yes on the facebook event page if you will come. You may also call 206-495-7330 or email info@phoenix-teashop.com to RSVP.

Urban Herbs #7 - Rose Buds

My Urban Herb series is a collection of posts describing my experiences infusing and drinking plants that are growing around my house. Today I'm featuring rose buds, an herb that some sources say may aid digestion and relaxation, and may contain a fair amount of vitamin C. I have tasted several rose bud infusions from China and found them to be very pleasant but this will be my first time drinking local rose buds.

I have an English rose bush in the front yard that is at least 10 years old. It is very productive and flowers several times a year. Its buds are plump and pink and they open into pretty little white roses. with wonderful aroma. 

For this tasting I picked ~20 buds and let them dry on a windowsill for a week. I steeped them for five minutes in six ounces of boiling spring water.

The resulting brew had a clear yellow-pink color liquor. The smell was a little bit rosy but also buttery and fishy. I took a few sips. Yuck. This is just awful. The flavor is stale, earthy, fishy, and bitter.

Maybe it was the particular rose varietal or maybe they would have tasted better if I'd infused them right after plucking? Who knows? I may do some more experiments someday but this first attempt has put me off home-grown rose buds for the time being.

A Flight of Rare Teas at Phoenix Tea

Saturday, June 15, 2013 7:00pm - 9:00pm

Limited to 12 participants @ $25.00 each

Photo by Cinnabar

Join Phoenix Tea on a tasting flight through six exquisite and unusual teas, carefully chosen from our extensive selection of fine loose-leaf pure teas and sourced specifically for this event. The selection will include teas from at least four distinctly different growing regions, and will present a wide range of tasting experiences. We intend to introduce you to teas you are unlikely to encounter anywhere else.

Each guest will be given a porcelain cup to use during the tasting and to keep. Attendees will also have the opportunity to choose one sample to take home, from among a selection of all six of the teas in the tasting.

This will be our second year presenting this event in collaboration with the Northwest Tea Festival's World of Tea Series. For more information, and to register for this event please click here.

The Seasons of Baozhong

I fell in love with Wenshan Baozhong tea (文山包種茶) after my first sip back in 2001. Since that day I've tasted many grades of this tea from many wonderful tea sellers.

My wife and I visited Pinglin, Taiwan (坪林,台灣) in 2007 and ever since that trip most of the Wenshan Baozhong tea that I've sold has come from the same small farm near this lovely town.

One thing that all tea lovers learn, soon after we get "bit by the tea bug," is just how important seasonality is to our favorite beverage. Regularly drinking baozhong tea from the same farm while chronicling my sessions in a journal and on this blog have given me a few personal insights to share with you about the seasonality of Wenshan Baozhong tea.

Wenshan Baozhong tea from Pinglin is usually produced in the winter (actually it's more like November depending on the weather but they still call it winter tea) and in the spring (usually April but sometimes it can be March or May depending on the weather). Some Pinglin tea farmers also produce other styles of tea such as Dong Fang Mei Ren (東方美人). In my experience Dong Fang Mei Ren is usually made in the summer or fall.

Today I'm drinking the spring 2013 Wenshan Baozhong that arrived at Phoenix Tea nine days ago. It is very buttery and floral with great lilac and mock-orange blossom aromas. The mouth-feel is good and there is a delicate brothy sea-vegetable note in a few early infusions. It has a very clean finish and a soothing energy that several other folks have commented on after sharing a few cups with me.

'Tis the Nectar of the Gods!

This spring 2013 baozhong tea is livelier than last spring's but it is not as dynamic in regards to mouth-feel and lingering aftertaste as the winter tea has been these last few years. I used to think spring baozhong tea was always lighter and more floral and winter tea was always bolder and fruitier but I've come across too many exceptions to still hold this as truth. The last couple years the spring baozhong tea and winter baozhong tea from this farm have been equally floral but the winter tea remains bolder and delivers more lingering aftertaste.

Also, winter baozhong tea, in my experience, is easier to brew. Any ole way I prepare it, winter baozhong tea has always tasted great and the aftertaste has been incredible. Spring tea, on the other hand, demands that I slow down and take care to use fresh, not-over-boiled, spring water and a larger pinch of dry leaf. If I manage to get everything just right it will reward me with heavenly aroma and a pearly, slippery feeling on my lips... otherwise it will fall flat. When this happens, spring baozhong can be too boring for me. Fortunately, every cup I've made of this new 2013 batch at Phoenix Tea has really delivered the goods. I guess I actually love spring and winter baozhong for different reasons and despite all that I've just written I try not to dwell on past teas while drinking a new tea because it's not fair to the tea that's presently being sipped. 

It's possible that your own experiences tasting winter and spring Wenshan Baozhong tea may be different from my own... but whatever they may be, please take a minute to share them with a comment! 

Sorting Business Cards

Recently I took a few minutes to sort my box of business cards (aka name-cards) that I have collected over this last decade. I do this from time to time to reconnect with old customers or vendors. Most of the cards in my collection are tea related (either from Taiwan or from various trips to the World Tea Expo) but quite a few are from non-tea-industry tea-lovers that I have met throughout the years. My current favorite is from a Texas megadrilologist named George. His card features a black and white photo of a car driving along the highway with the word EARTHWORMS printed boldly along the top.

Dear Readers, if our paths should ever cross, please exchange business cards with me! I will keep your card in my special box for all time.