This one for distant Friends and Family

Sunday, we milked the sun for all it was worth with a few friends.  Just a very pleasant day.
 Evi and Shara, on their way to the party:…. 

Ben looks for the Tennis ball, as Ben (on all fours) walks off with it!
Friends and Family … Life is Good
Shara inspects the bolt tightness, what a charmer.

Reading the Tea Leaves

The new batch of TGY;  Hand Picked, Hand Process, Hand Packed and Hand Delivered. Da Xia and her family are superb craftsmen and artisans of Ti Guan Yin. The father is an amazing person that will talk endlessly about the subtleties of his craft, I only wished my understanding of their dialect (a variant of Hokkien) would let me follow him directly without translation.  His passion needs no translation.Dry leaves  have a dramatic appearance, Rich Full Colour, uniform shape lacking deformity, Clean, no dust or cuttings.  The rolled leaves don’t have that tight compact shape typical of machine processing.  These are hand manipulated at every step of the processing.   The Dad will explain how he can manipulate aromas and flavors from various plantings by how he he kneads the leaves in the large drying woks.The texture and handling of the dry tea is a pleasure, the subtle and complex aroma only add to the anticipation of what is to come.The full leaves yield their captured essence in the pot, look at the large full leaves. These examples only underscore what is possible when time is taken and care is given to the picking and processing of leaves.

Auspiciously designed to please and preserve

Personal observation over the years in China, I have seen genuine improvements in the retail packaging of tea.  China has a great history of exotic, elaborate and expensive packaging for gifts.  The recent trend in Moon Cakes ( yuèbing  月饼 ) given and received as gifts during the mid-autumn festival is a classic example.
 

The contents remain modest and the packaging, as beautiful as it is, does naught to preserve the contents,  rather they promote the “Giver” (in their mind) providing additional status as a wealthy person capable of such an extravagant gift.   I like this festival time in China and enjoy going to the various sales outlets (mostly hotels) that try to trump their neighbors in the presentation and packaging of Moon Cakes. There is no subtlety here; hotel – large KTV – drunk businessmen – buy expensive gifts ..
On to a development that, I feel, exemplifies the ability of presentation packaging to convey all the aspects of: beauty, extravagance and practicality. Inside the  matching carry bags are the presentation Boxes.
When emptied, in themselves they don’t yield to an after use as container for collectables or Knick-knacks.
They are purpose built, proudly announcing  the contents and house the same.  In the RED, a set of SIX (lucky number sounds like wealth)  small tins/caddies. containing NINE  (an auspicious number, sounds like longevity) small individual tea packages. The BLUE set has THREE  (lucky, sounds like Growth-Alive)  caddies with Nine packs each

Inside each pack there lies another surprise:….
Inside each vacuum packed foil pouch the tea is housed in an inner clear bag.
All of this ties to a very harmonious gift that also serves to keep the treasured tea at its best.

Tiě guān yīn, as good as it can get

My colleague, Kevin just retuned from WuXi .. Last Wednesday he visited my friend Da Xia’s tea shop .. I came into my office Monday morning to find this cornucopia of   Tiě guān yīn chá 铁 观 音 茶

The gem in this package is the accompanying note:
“This is the gift for the coming Christmas Day. Wish you enjoy it.  Da Xia”
Despite his many visits to China /WuXi this was Kevin’s first visit: in his words “To a real China tea house, a truly memorable experience, this was with genuine people, an experience of the true China”  So much so he forgot to take pictures!!  Earlier in the day one of the folks form our Wuxi office called the shop number I had given Kevin. The number was still good, but they have moved to a new location in WuXi city. Da Xia’s little brother met them outside and guided them to the shop.  Now I can't wait to see the new place and old friends.
After thanksgiving my friend Jeff will go to Taiwan and Wuxi .. he can be my mule to take an early present to Da Xia, making tea in Dongguan shop

The tea we are talking about here is only the VERY best Fujian TGY, from Da’s family plantation.  I just had to open one of the small sampler packages sent.
Liquid nectar .. this I’m going to enjoy … 
The presentation packaging is in its self is a work of art … again thx to Kevin for bringing this back ... I seldom bring back the beautiful packaging,  just the tea. 

Da Yu Xiao Hu, Saddleback College Art Gallery

Robbie is a registered student at our our local JC, about 7 mls for our home. This notice just came across the transom: Local name: UCLA (University California Left on Avery)

  Big Fish Small Pot

Da Yu Xiao Hu 4

Fourth International Small Teapot

Competition and Show

Saddleback College Art Gallery

28000 Marguerite Parkway

Mission Viejo, California USA

Entry deadline: 11 DEC 2009

Exhibition:  11 FEB through 11 MAR 2010

Pity, a few years back we disbanded all the pottery stuff and small kiln, unfortunately we not the Tardis, and a very little, home made pottery goes a very long way ….especially with a house full of “rug-rats”

Would be an interesting challenge to attempt crafting  a couple of YiXing inspired Teapots….

The value of a “Prototype” + update

Looking  to build a pair of small stools that will augment our tea room, I set about trying to scale them to the room, design a style that pleases, stores easily and provides comfort to the sitter.  I will incorporate  a Japanese influence to a style that I see in many of the construction sites around Dongguan …  On the job-site they double as a small work bench, step stool, flip it over and you have a cradle to bundle fire wood, a 101 uses …

Thinking in three dimensions: step one, build a prototype that approximates the end goal.  Saturday morning, Robbie is off diving with Gerald,  I enjoy a 30 min fling with some left over “Doug-Fir” 2"x6"..  cobbling  together a 1:1 scale model.

Height: 15 ½", seat length 22",  legs set at an 8º  splay angle.   Observations: it’s about:  ½" too high .. seat; 2" too long, 5 ½" (nominal width of a construction 2x6 stud) too narrow. Overall 1 ½" material is just a tad thick .. maybe sculpt a curved seat, no, in this I want horizontal flat surfaces. 

Not to worry this will be re-purposed as kindling .. cold nights approach.

Using leftover Oak and Poplar from previous projects, I fashion stool No.1 .. most likely I should have it completed mid Sunday afternoon.  The core is jointed and enjoys a squeeze. 

Sunday: … What design for No.2?  similar but not the same …. I’ll rummage and see what lumber is left.

A couple of hours: some finish joinery and a protective coat and we can put this one into service .

The finish of the finishing .. time to commission this “cutty stool” (colloquial humor)

By 3:30 pm No.1 is complete. This works, a design I’m comfortable with.

Unobtrusive when not in use.  Not much change in the tea set up .. Pu-erh and more Pu-erh this weekend …..

Raise your hand if you like this design.    

By 4:30 pm the second cutty stool is 80% jointed (had to buy some more Poplar)  

I made the stool a little wider, reduced the bulk in the legs .. creating  the desired difference but with similarity and balance .. should have it wrapped up mid-week. Both in place .. finished up on Sat 11/7. 

By the by: changed our clock back an hour, my least favorite .. dark too early!!

Definition: cutty stool (noun) (Historical Term  in Scotland)  the church seat on which an unchaste person sat while being harangued by the minister.