League of Pots #010

Code Name: "Vortex" (漩渦)

Material: "Salt Fired" Pottery
Height: 12.5cm
Length (handle to spout): 17.5cm
Weight: 532 grams
Volume: 425 ml

Brews: All types of tea
Specialty: First Flush Darjeeling
Story: He was a gift from a Santa Fe artist and tea friend
(thank you Arthur) in September 2008.
Vortex was made by a talented Oregon artist named Ginger Steele.
Super Powers: Hypnosis

League of Pots #009

Code Name: "Double Dragon" (雙龍)

Material: High Fired Stoneware
Height: 19 cm
Length (handle to spout): 25 cm
Weight: 1075 grams
Volume: 1250 ml

Brews: All types of tea.
Specialty: To date Double Dragon has only had the opportunity to brew up one tea, some Spring '08 Lishan High Mountian Tea (春２００８梨山高山茶), but she did a really nice job. Just ask anybody who saw her debut at my second annual Chinese Tea Appreciation Festival!
Story: My boss Elisabeth, at the Teacup, bought a few amazing teapot sets directly from the artist Liz R. at Seattle's 2008 Folklife Festival. Because I'm a sucker for dragons and because this pot is just plain beautiful I had to have it in the League!
Super Powers: Double Dragon can breathe fire.

League of Pots #008

Code Name: "Mr. Big" (大先生)

Material: Red Clay
Height: 9.5 cm
Length (handle to spout): 20 cm
Weight: 371 grams
Volume: 450 ml

Brews: All types of Puer tea.
Specialty: Rich, smooth, "black" (aka "shou", aka "ripe", aka "cooked", aka "熟") puer.
Story: Sometimes I need to make puer tea for over 15 people. That's why I bought Mr. Big, because he will "get the job done." I bought him a few years ago from my friend Jason Chen, here in Washington State. He has the same stylish bamboo leaves on him and the same chop as his little sister "Goldy."
Super Powers: Mr. Big is indestructible!

Seven Great Years at Teacup!

Today marks my 7 year anniversary at the Teacup. The Teacup is a wonderful teashop on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. It was started in 1990, which makes it one of Seattle's 3 oldest teashops (along with our friends at Teahouse Kuan Yin and Perennial Tea Room.)

I didn't know very much about tea when I started back in 2001, but thanks to my first tea mentor Donna Fellman (then manager) I really got bit by the "tea bug!" I can still remember when Donna brought in a small gong fu tea tray, a clay pot, and some special Tie Guanyin oolong to teach me how oolong is traditionally brewed. Once I had a taste of Chinese tea culture (中國茶文化), there was no turning back! I knew I was beginning my life-long quest to promote tea drinking in America, and I felt that Teacup would be the perfect "home base" for me to achieve my goals.

Teacup has always been a great place to work and my coworkers and customers (both past and present) are like family. COWORKER SHOUT OUTS (in no particular order): Elisabeth (Teacup's owner), Sara, Mary, Tiffany, Jessie, Robert, Heidi, Darald, Krissy, Brian Keating, Anastasia, Ariana, Heather, Monica, Laura, Dan, Jim, Norelle, Victoria, Avery, M-Jo, Zen, Anton, Jessica, Aja, Donna, (I'm sure that I'm forgetting some folks. Sorry, I really didn't mean to, it's just that I've worked with so many people, so please let me know and I will add you!)

September 2002
Check out that old floor, and those old white walls:

January 2004
Closed for a Snow day!
(Yes, those are dread locks under my hat.)

Summer 2004
Check out those old wooden shelves:

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":

Urban Fusion - Herb Infusion

"Urban Fusion - Herb Infusion".... Say that five times fast!

Happy Fall!

秋天快樂!

Check out this beautiful Autumn Spider Web (蜘蛛網):

I'm wishing you all Peace, Love and lots of great Tea!
祝你們和平，愛，和很多的很好喝的茶

League of Pots #007

Code Name: "Sam" (山姆)

Material: Red Clay
Height: 7.5 cm
Length (handle to spout): 10 cm
Weight: 150 grams
Volume: 110 ml

Brews: Lightly oxidized Taiwanese high mountain oolongs.
Specialty: Winter Alishan high mountain oolong tea
(冬天的阿里山高山茶).
Story: I bought Sam from my tea friend Josh in Tainan (台南) in winter of 2005. She was the first teapot I ever bought for myself in Taiwan and she is my favorite yixing teapot!
Super Powers: Sam is a good witch.