Northwest Tea Festival 2017 and Colombian Black Tea Cupping

On September 30th and October 1st I attended the Northwest Tea Festival at Seattle Center. Both days, I presented a session in the tea tasting booths called Oolongs with Brett. As the name suggests my sessions featured me serving and discussing oolong tea (along with a bit of ukulele strumming). It felt great to get behind a bamboo serving tray once again!

After my tasting sessions I spent my time sampling tea and connecting with friends on the expo floor. I picked up some fantastic Alishan from Floating Leaves and miscellaneous other goodies from some of my favorite stores (like Phoenix Tea, Smacha, and Young Mountain). My tea cupboard is now ready for Autumn!

At one point my old boss Brian Keating wanted to introduce me to a Colombian tea producer called Bitaco. I had never tried Colombian tea so I was excited to give it a shot. After chatting with Brian and the Bitaco representatives, I had faith that Bitaco cares about the people in their community and the lush mountain environment at which their tea is grown. Also, their tea looked and smelled super fresh and the price was great.

I picked up these 3 Colombian black teas:

Tippy 2

Wiry 2

Black Wiry 1

During the past week I enjoyed mugs of each tea, but today I decided to cup all three side by side to see how they really compared. I used 3 grams of leaf in three identical 6 ounce glass mugs. Each tea was steeped 3 minutes with boiling water.  

Wiry 2 (top left) 

Tippy 2 (top right)

 Wiry 1 (bottom middle)

The teas cupped up nicely. Here are my tasting notes:
✵Wiry 2 had the lightest body, but not by much. It was brisk, sweet and clean tasting. Compared to the others it was mellow, but the delicate notes of fruit, honey, and wood made it the most complex. It's a black tea that drinks more like a dark oolong.

✵Wiry 1 was the most peppery. It reminded me of a mid-grade Yunnan hongcha. It is a great cup of tea but it slightly lacked complexity when sipped alongside the other two.

✵Tippy 2 was very nice. It had the most body and mouthfeel. It was malty with a sweet stone-fruit aftertaste. If you like high quality Assam tea this would be one to try.

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.

2012 Northwest Tea Festival

October 6th and 7th (and the weeks proceeding) were very busy for Cinnabar and me because, for the second year in a row, our tea company had a booth at the Northwest Tea Festival.

With the help of Chris W. (Phoenix Tea's official Owner-in-law) and Chris S. (Phoenix Tea's official pottery guru) Cinnabar and I brewed countless pots of tea for the hundreds of vibrant, beautiful tea lovers who make the Pacific Northwest tea scene so amazing.

The whole weekend was a happy blur for me... but some memorable highlights include: Meeting the cool folks from Portland's The Jasmine Pearl tea shop, drinking aged tea with Charles and Laurie Dawson, serving Kenyan black teas and Korean green teas in the tasting rooms, meeting fellow blogger Geoffrey N., seeing Matthew London's beautiful tea photos, and lecturing about tea basics to a large group of smiling tea lovers.

An infinite amount of thanks is due to Julee, Doug, Kyohei, Annie, Ken, Anne Marie, Brian, and several other hard working members of the Puget Sound Tea Education Association. These local tea lovers put in so much hard work and planning to pull off this grand event.

See you at Northwest Tea Festival

The Northwest Tea Festival is coming up soon and once again Phoenix Tea will have a booth! This year, I'll be presenting a Tea 101 lecture on Sunday and I'm also leading a couple of sessions in the tasting booths. I really hope to see you there!

Time
October 6th - 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
October 7th - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Location
Fisher Pavilion at the Seattle Center

Website
http://www.nwteafestival.com/

Northwest Tea Festival Wrap Up

This weekend my business partner Cinnabar, her husband, and I, were all at Northwest Tea Festival to represent our business Phoenix Tea. On Sunday, we were joined by our talented potter friend Chris Shaw who displayed his work at our booth. We all had a great time, met many new tea lovers, and saw a lot of old tea friends too.

Many thanks are due to Julee, Doug, Kyohei, Annie, Ken, and Anne Marie. These local tea lovers put in a ton of hard work and months of planning to pull off this grand event.

I'd also like to thank the thousands of lovely folks who attended. What a beautiful, diverse and vibrant tea scene we have in the Pacific Northwest!

Here's a peek inside our booth.

And another peek.

Beautiful clay teaware crafted by our buddy Chris Shaw.

Northwest Tea Festival

I'm very excited that the Northwest Tea Festival is coming up in just one week. My tea business will have a booth and I'll be teaching a Tea 101 class and leading a session in the tea tasting booths. I really hope to see you there!

Time
October 1st - 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
October 2nd - 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM

Location
Fisher Pavilion at the Seattle Center

Website
http://www.nwteafestival.com/

Garden Tea Party

Last Sunday, on a lovely summer afternoon here in Seattle, my wife and I hosted 12 friends to an afternoon of fine tea and light snacks in our garden.

On the tea menu was: Spring 2011 Alishan Zhang Shu Hu, Spring 2011 Wenshan Baozhong, Summer 2010 Formosa Bonita hongcha, 1999 Baked Tie Guanyin and a wee nip of Communitea Kombucha.

The all-vegan-nibbles included: cherry almond tart, fresh baked sourdough bread, hummus, strawberry jam, cherry-vanilla jam, and coconut date balls (all homemade by my brilliant wife).

Seward Park Tea Party

Last Sunday my wife and I hosted a Chinese Tea Party at Seward Park in South Seattle. The theme of the party was "tea and nature" and it would have taken place rain or shine... but as it turned out, we got shine. Lots of glorious shine! In fact our 25 guests were treated to one of the most beautiful fall days that has ever occurred in our green city.

Here is a view of Mount Rainier from our outdoor tea house
(aka Picnic Shelter #2).

The party featured these four teas: Da Hong Pao Oolong, Cang Yuan Wa Mountain Puer Brick, Phoenix Dragon Pearls and a lightly oxidized Tie Guanyin from New Century Tea Gallery. All were well received.

My wife Alanna is truly skilled at preparing delicious vegan nibbles! For this event she presented a boiled spice cake, sweet potato blondies, cashew-date balls, chocolate-pecan balls, tea sandwiches, blueberry-corn bites, crackers, grapes, almonds, carrots and dips. As with my previous two tea parties, the food was a major hit.

Big thanks to my good friend and "Hot Water Man" Jon. Without his camp stove and diligent kettle filling we'd all have been drinking cold-brew tea. Also, thank you and 謝謝 to my tea friend Nicole. She was an incredible helper and her flowers and Indonesian cloths really helped make our outdoor "tea house" extra beautiful!

Next Month in Seattle!

There are only a few days left until the Northwest Tea Festival at Seattle Center. I'll be there both days (October 2nd and 3rd) helping out in the tea tasting booths. There will be many wonderful speakers and tea tasting opportunities so I really hope to see you there!

I'm also excited for my mentor Jason Chen, who will be at the Northwest Tea Festival selling and signing his new book: "A Tea Lover's Diary" which contains lots of beautiful, original photography along with great information about Tie Kuan Yin and Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong production!

In other news... my "Third (almost) Annual Black Dragon Tea Bar Chinese Tea Appreciation Party" (I know that is quite a mouthful) will take place at Seward Park's picnic shelter #2 from 2:00 to 4:30 PM on Sunday, October 17th. The theme is "Tea and Nature" and will include three wonderful teas, vegan treats, and a few games with prizes. This party costs $10 per guest and still has some space available so please email me (blackdragontea@gmail.com) if you wish to RSVP.

Here are links to posts about my 2007 "Tea and Music" and my 2008 "Tea in the Garden" events.

Puer Tasting with Guang Lee

Over the last few years I have purchased some wonderful puer cakes, a few tea books and subscribed to the Art of Tea magazine through Guang Lee's online tea company, Hou De Asian Arts. This company is an excellent source for Chinese and Taiwanese teas. So when I heard that Mr. Lee would be hosting a focused puer tasting at this year's World Tea Expo, I knew I had to attend.

The tasting drew about 30 guests, some of whom were very new to puer tea. Before the tasting I met a cool lady named Karen from Ontario, Canada who is also an experienced tea taster and educator. I chose a table with Karen and a great mix of other tea lovers.

Guang Lee started the presentation by showing slides of puer tea production and giving us lots of great information on its history. Then we began to drink the five selected puer teas.

Here are my tasting notes:

1. 2007 5th International Aged Puer Party Memorial Cake, uncooked
(I actually own one cake of this tea which I purchased from Hou De at the 2007 World Tea Expo in Atlanta, GA. Here is a photo of it.)

Aroma and taste = This is a lively and herbaceous tea with a lingering sweet smokiness. It warms up your throat and it is at once rosy, spicy and fruity. At one point apple cider came to mind.

2. 2007 Jing Mei Tang “Si De” Cake, cooked
Aroma and taste = walnut, chicory, wood.
Body and mouth-feel = Although it was brewed a little light for my taste in cooked puer, I could tell it is a great tea with a very smooth and pleasant liquor.

3. 2004 Chan Tai Yi-Chang-Hao “Ji FengYuan” Cake, uncooked
Color = Surprisingly dark with a rich reddish hue.
Aroma = Lightly grassy, with a hint of coffee and wet earth.
Taste, body and mouth-feel = Great sweetness with a delicate buttery note. Less crisp and pointy... more round and mellow (which I loved.)

4. 2001 Ming Yuan Hao “YehShengChiaoMu” Cake, uncooked
Color = Orange-red (lighter than tea #3)
Aroma and Taste = Peppery and lively. Karen detected a hint of nutmeg and I would agree. Also, a delicate apricot-like fruitiness.

5. 1993 Nan Jian “Phoenix” Tuo-cha uncooked
Mouth-feel = Starts soft then yields a sweet "peak" in the middle of my palate, but that sadly does not linger.
Aroma and Taste = Cassia, ginseng.

I learned a lot at Mr. Lee's focused puer tasting, and I was exposed to some awesome new teas and flavors. I left this tasting with a great puer high. My body felt light and tingly and this comfortable buzz lasted most of the day!

Korean Green Tea Tasting Notes

I learned quite a bit from attending Yoon Hee Kim's Korean green tea tasting at this year's World Tea Expo. Yoon Hee is a great speaker on the subject of tea and it was clear that she is very passionate about promoting Korean tea traditions. I liked that she stressed the importance of using all five senses during a proper tea tasting to fully understand the flavors as they "peak" and "blossom." At one point she said, "Don't be afraid to get your nose wet," which I think is excellent advice for any tea taster (assuming the tea is not too hot!) She also expressed sadness that we didn't have time to try multiple infusions of these great teas and that she was not able to brew them in proper Korean teaware. However, she did provide real glazed tea cups so that we could avoid the paper-cup-taste that would have otherwise tainted our delicate greens.

One of the many standouts was learning these three steeping terms:

Hah tu - First add the leaves and then pour the water over them. This is how we commonly brew our tea in the West. For Korean tea this method is recommended during cold weather.
Joong Tu - First fill the vessel half full of water, then add the leaves, then add the remaining water. This style was the preferred method for several of Yoon Hee's teas. It is used to control the temperature and the infusion of the leaves. This method may be more common during mild weather.

Sahng Tu - First fill the vessel with water, then add the leaves. I had heard of this method used for Bilouchun (碧螺春) and Dragonwell (龍井茶) when brewed in a glass during hot weather but I have never tried it myself.

For this tasting, we used For Life brand teapots with steel basket infusers. We proceeded to taste six teas. The names of the teas and my tasting notes are below. Unfortunately we are not allowed to take any photos at the World Tea Expo, so you won't be able to see the leaves and liquors.

#1 Sah Wohl Organic Ujeon (brewed Joong tu style)
Aroma = Bright, crisp and very fresh. Taste = Buttery, delicate and sweet

#2 Gamnong Jakseol
Aroma = Roasty, popcorn, warming, crisp. Taste = Refreshing, dry, reminded me a little of sencha.

#3 Misty green organic second flush Saejak
Aroma = Woodsy, nutty, reminded me a little of bancha. Taste = full body, forest, grass

#4 Early Summer Joongack (brewed Hah tu style)
Aroma = fuity, ocean, spice. Taste = thick body, brothy, sweet dew.

#5 Chigarok Hwang Cha (an oolong)
Aroma = wood, rose, wine. Taste = rich and dark, reminded me slightly of keemun.

#6 Bountiful Earth HyunMi Nokcha (blended with toasted rice and steeped for 4.25 minutes)
Aroma = strong and roasty, nutty. Taste = cereal, genmaicha.

All of these teas were really amazing but if I was forced to rank them I would choose this order: 1, 2, 5, 3, 4, 6. The sublime flavor of tea number one still lingers in my memory.

My World Tea Expo 2009

On Saturday, May 2nd, I arrived at the Mandalay Bay (in Las Vegas, NV) at 7:30 am. I walked past many expensive restaurants and provocative sculptures until I found my destination: the World Tea Expo (North America's largest trade show devoted entirely to the tea industry).

After I picked up my swag bag at the registration desk, I brewed myself a small cup of black tea from a tea station in the hallway. Then I made my way over to a large meeting room to attend my first seminar, entitled "2009 Tea Trends Report," which was presented by Lynn Dornblaser of Mintel International. Her market research confirms tea's continued growth and even suggests that tea is nearly recession-proof because it (among many other things) "offers escape from worries" and "it’s a small indulgence that is easily affordable." Lynn reminded us of the importance of trust and value. She also suggested a trend towards more environmentally-friendly packaging and organic teas. Beyond reporting market trends, Lynn's presentation provided many useful statistics and some suggestions for coming up with new products. I wasn't particularly surprised by any of the tea trends, but they were still nice to hear.

Afterwards, I made my way to a focused tasting of Korea green teas presented by Yoon Hee Kim. My colleague Alan from Teacup was also in attendance, as was my former-high-school-science-teacher-turned-tea-friend, Greta. We all greatly enjoyed this wonderful tasting of five Korean green teas and one Korean oolong. I will post my tasting notes in a couple of days.

After the tasting, I met my boss Elisabeth for a first walk through the exhibition hall. We spoke with some of Teacup's important vendors and discussed Teacup business.

Then I met up with my good friend Arthur, who had come up from Santa Fe with his dog Alex to attend the Expo. Alex is a service dog in training, so she was able to enter the exhibition hall with us. But first, lunch... I was so glad I packed a sandwich because a meal in a Las Vegas hotel starts at $20 and can go as high as $50 (plus there are hardly any decent vegetarian options).

After lunch, Arthur, Alex and I spent a nice afternoon sampling many fine teas. We sat in on a presentation on Taiwan tea tours by Thomas Shu, which was very entertaining. He even serenaded us with his rendition of a traditional tea plucker's song. We also drank a lot of delicious Japanese teas including sencha from Sara's Tea Caddie and matcha from Aoi and Do Matcha.

The next day began with a much anticipated Puer Tea tasting presented by Guang Lee of Hou De Asian Arts. I will provide my tasting notes of the five awesome puer teas he served us in an upcoming post. (Spoiler Alert: I left this tasting feeling comfortably buzzed with a nice tingle in my finger tips.)

After the tasting I had an hour to kill before the exhibition hall opened up so I went down to play some blackjack. I won $75, which I later used to buy a beautiful tea travel set ($40) and to fill up my father-in-law's gas tank ($35).

This is my awesome new tea travel set:

It all fits in there perfectly!


A gaibei, a decanter and six little cups!

Back at the Expo, I focused on making connections. I met with many people and was able to promote Teacup, BDTB, and my blog. In the afternoon I stopped to watch a presentation by Aoi on matcha production, and a "tea cocktail" competition. I also discovered some new teas and practiced my Mandarin. All in all, it was a productive and educational experience.

Alex, Arthur and I:

Arthur and I at a Taiwan Tea Presentation by Thomas Shu:

My friend Greta and I outside the exhibit hall:

World Tea Expo

The World Tea Expo is the biggest tea industry trade show in North America, and as tea's popularity grows, so does the Expo. People come from all over the world to learn about tea, buy tea, sell tea, drink tea and network.

My first trip to the World Tea Expo was in 2004 (back then, the Expo was in its infancy and called "Take Me 2 Tea"). I have been back twice since then (once more in Las Vegas and once in Atlanta) and each time it seems to double in size. It is very important to me to see what new products and trends are being examined at the Expo.

It is encouraging to see a greater role of traditional teas at the Expo. In particular oolong, puer and matcha are all growing in popularity among North American tea drinkers!

The World Tea Expo does feature some terrible teas and pointless gadgets that may distract people from the enjoyment of good tea. Also, some tea lovers are (understandably) turned off by the large crowds and hectic consumerist vibe. That said, I believe that most of the people at the Expo genuinely love tea and feel blessed to play a small role in the international tea trade. I'm certainly one of them, and am looking forward to this year's Expo. I will be at the Expo on Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd. I am very excited to attend Yoon Hee Kim's focused tasting of Korean tea and Guang Lee's focused tasting of Puer tea!

If you will be at the World Tea Expo on Saturday or Sunday and you would like to meet, please send me an email so we can make a plan to find each other at the Expo. If you aren't attending, don't worry; I promise to write a blog post about this year's World Tea Expo sometime in mid-May.

Chinese Tea Appreciation Festival 2008

On October 12, 2008, Black Dragon Tea Bar hosted its second annual “Seattle Chinese Tea Appreciation Festival.” This year’s theme was a “Tea and Garden Tour” in collaboration with the Seattle Chinese Garden (西華園). This garden is still under construction and it is being built in stages by a team of dedicated locals and Chinese artisans from our sister city of Chongqing (重慶). We in Seattle are extremely lucky that these fine folks are building such a treasure for our city!

The festival attracted a terrific group of tea lovers and sinophiles. In fact, this event drew nearly 40 people, making it my largest tea tasting to date! After a short introduction by myself, Jan Witner, a talented docent and chair of the Seattle Chinese Garden’s horticultural committee, provided an engaging and informative slide show about Chinese gardens and garden culture. After the slide show, we all headed over to tour the actual garden. We could not have asked for a more beautiful autumn day. The weather was clear and crisp with just a touch of warm sunlight. Many trees around the garden were showing yellow and red leaves and swaying in the cool breeze. We could see the foundation of the “Knowing the Spring Courtyard (知春院)" and get the general lay of the land.

After the tour we returned to the classroom to drink some tea and eat some incredible vegan treats provided by my brilliant wife Alanna. With the help of my good friends (and former coworkers) Jessie and Robert, I was able to provide many cups of excellent tea for my guests. The first tea was a fragrant Lishan (pear mountain) high mountain oolong that I had brought home from my May 2008 trip to Taiwan. The second tea was a spicy and complex 1999 loose leaf raw pu-erh (生普洱) from Menghai factory (勐海茶厂) that I had purchased in Yingge (鶯歌), Taiwan. The final tea was a rich and warming 1999 aged and roasted Rougui oolong (肉桂烏龍) that I had purchased from my friend and mentor Jason Chen. This same Rougui was also served at my first Chinese Tea Appreciation Festival back in December of 2007. All of the teas were very well received and the guests had a nice time chatting, sipping and relaxing.

Thank you so much to Jan, Alanna, Jessie and Robert for helping me to pull off this successful tea event!

Delicious treats baked by Alanna:

Jan describing the garden:

Brewing tea:

Decanting Lishan Close-up:

Happy People in the garden:

Jessie, Alanna and Cora in the (unfinished) "Knowing the Spring Courtyard":

Chinese Tea Appreciation Festival 2007

On December 2, 2007 I hosted a Chinese Tea Festival in Seattle! The weather, which was cold and rainy, was perfect for the meditative afternoon spent tasting teas. The tea festival was held at ArtXchange, a downtown gallery showcasing inspiring art by artists from all over the world. The corresponding art exhibition was David Cole's "Unexpected Arrivals." It was amazing and really enhanced the tea drinking atmosphere. The highlight of the festival was the sublime music provided by guqin (古琴) expert Professor Wu Ziying (吳自英). He played a half-hour set of beautifully serene music on his 2000-year-old instrument. The tea festival was masterfully catered by my wife Alanna. The all-vegan spread included lychee-coconut cupcakes, basil-cucumber tea sandwiches, almond cookies and miscellaneous fruits and candies.

The 3 teas served were: 2007 Spring Jin Xuen Oolong, 1999 Aged Rougui Oolong, and 1986 Aged Xia Guan Factory Green Puerh Tuo-cha. Below you will find descriptions of these teas.

*2007 Spring Jin Xuen (2007 春金萱):
Jin Xuen, meaning golden lily, is a modern tea varietal developed in Taiwan in the early 1980's. The varietal is known to produce a very smooth, sweet, oolong tea with a buttery and flowery aroma. Also, Jin Xuen grows well and generally has a high output. Usually I do not get too excited about Jin Xuen oolong; while the aroma is consistently great, the broth can often lack character. That is certainly not the case with this stand-out tea. This tea was produced in Fujian, China by the great folks at the City and Country Fine Tea Company. It was imported and stored in Bellevue by a trusted tea mentor named Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen gave me two tips that have greatly improved my results while brewing this tea: Use water at only 180 degrees and leave the lid off of the gaiwan or pot between infusions. Obviously these unorthodox tips won't work for most oolongs, but you should try it with this Jin Xuen. Its warming, floral bouquet may make you forget about the cold winter weather!

**1999 Aged Rougui (1999 老肉桂):
Rougui, meaning cinnamon, is one of several famous oolong varietals from China's Wuyi mountains. This tea was made in 1999 and has long, dark, twisted leaves which are characteristic of most Wuyi oolongs. The tea soup is really smooth with a satisfyingly thick, clear broth. There is a subtle aged flavor that I'd describe as "ripe peach in a used bookstore." The careful aging on this tea pays off with an ambrosial flavor that seems to have a relaxing effect on the body.

***1986 Xia Guan Tuo-cha Pu-erh (1986 下关沱普洱):
While visiting the warehouse of the previously mentioned Mr. Chen, I was invited to see his special "pu-erh storage room." Wow! I was blown away by his collection of fragrant pu-erhs. In particular he had several stacks of beautiful Xia Guan tuo-cha. He told me that he has been personally storing these tuo-chas for 15 years and he believes that they were already 6 years old when he bought them. As I type this blog I am rembering this tea, brewed in a gaiwan with short, hot steeps. Each cup is amazing. I'd say it's one of the best tasting pu-erh teas I've ever had. The color is clear and reddish orange and the broth is sweet, brisk and complex. Flavor notes for me would include clove, cedar, and sherry.

Delicious Little Treats:

Serving tea for guests:

Prof. Wu plays the Guqin: