Lochan Tea Samples -- part 3 of 4 (update)

My temporary digs in China have taken on the look and smell of an apothecary shop.
Penultimate tasting session for the Lochan tea samples:
(5 reviewed, 3 under starters orders, 3 in the locker room)
In the blocks:
i: Makaibari Silver Needle - Organic, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling. ii: Castelton Snow Bud, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling. iii: Doke Snow Bud, 2nd Flush 2007 Bihar. Dry leaf:
Makaibari, lightest with pleasing green/white mix of straight, narrow and firm leaves, resembling its appellation.
Castelton, looks like a 3-4 leaf mix, white/green/dark green and brown. Leaf is soft, short and narrow with a twist .
Doke, Largest leaf of the three, broader, longer with slight (boomerang) curve.

Fragrance:
Makaibari, flat and grassy not that strong.
Castelton, a fair hit of fermented red along with grass.
Doke, similar to the Makaibari

Now, as we move from red to green teas .. it's back to Gong Fu practices.
Castelton: Brew: I'll infuse these in my glass pot. (sans the infuser)
This is first up as a transition from reds to green tea, by colour and smell.

First-3rd. infusions .. very pleasant fragrance and taste, a fusion of red/green, no unpleasant astringency or bitterness. Colour moving from red to a deep orange.

A safe tea to serve a tea newbie.

For the two needle leaf teas, I'll emulate Da Sha's technique using a Gaiwan.

Makaibari:

3 infusions, varied times, but tea performed the same. Slightly astringent, no bitter taste. I say a flat, weak taste. .. To me an unpleasant deepish yellow liquor, I'll go back and experiment later .. results if of significance.
Doke: Same process as for the Makaibari, and as compared to Makaibari; stronger flavour, twice the astringency.
I reached this point and realized my head was just not the game .. I'll set these teas aside and go at it again on Saturday.. See update in part 4 of 4

Lochan Tea Samples -- part 2 of 4

Second tasting session for the Lochan tea samples:
(2 reviewed, 3 on deck, 6 on the bench)
Starting line up:
A: Lochan Assam Premium Tips, 2nd Flush 2007 Assam. (LAPTA)
B: Khongea, 2nd Flush 2007 Assam.
C: Temi, 2nd Flush 2007 Sikkim.
Brew parameters:
Kettle to tea-pot pour: 25 secs. Slow pour.
Infusion time: 2:00 min.
Decant to serving jug: 15 secs.
2 scoops of dry tea.
Khongea Assam used to confirm brewing parameters.
(Largest sample quantity)
Dry leaf: all three similar small size and consistent form.
Colour: Comparative within trio.
LAPTA:......... Brightest, 60-70% black leaf, with clean light tan completing the mix.
Khongea Assam:...... Darkest, with pleasing clean appearance. High percentage of: black leaf, with modicum of tan rounding out the mix.
Temi Sikkim:....... Most colourful, with even mix of: Dark Brown, Tan, Green and a few white leaves. Definitely not a Single Malt.
Fragrance:
LAPTA, Most distinct with consistent single odor. I can’t pin a comparative analogy other than; fermented Indian tea.
Khongea Assam, holds its fragrance close to the vest, nothing hitting the old schnoz.
Temi Sikkim, as the leaf mix might suggest, a cornucopia of fragrances, nothing distinct, a slight hint of spice.
I’d put them all low on the aromatic scale. (not a bad thing)

LAPTA, brews a clear deep burned orange liquor. The infused vapor is slightly musty. Mild smoky wood taste, slight –ever so slight astringency, actually pleasant, with a hint of after taste, slightly deeper than initial sensation. I like this tea, easy to drink, an ideal companion on rainy afternoon. But, you cannot let it sit around, it sours quite quickly in the cup.

Khongea Assam, brews a deep dark-dark red liquor, almost opaque. Initial taste overpowered my palate. I could not get passed the first sip. I just shut down. Surprisingly the after taste was not unpleasant, but I have stop and pass on this. I’ll try it on a friend to see what they come up with.

Temi Sikkim, I am strangely anticipatory about brewing this tea, the kaleidoscope of colours intrigues me. The brew; clean deep reddish liquor, not unlike a Remy Martin Louis XIII Cognac, maintaining a clean translucency in the cup. Initial taste; strongly astringent, with floral and spicy tastes fighting for dominance. Becomes bitter when left exposed in the cup.

Of these three, I’d go with the Lochan Assam Premium Tips, 2nd Flush 2007 Assam.

Lochan Tea Samples -- part 1 of 4

First tasting session for the Lochan tea samples (11 in total)
This afternoon we have:
1: Lochan Muscatel Delight, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
2: Makaibari Vintage Muscatel - Organic, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.Staged and ready for the plunge, so to speak.
Yesterday I took the opportunity to acquire additional tea paraphernalia to support this endeavor. (thx to Li Hong)
Tea-pot with integral infuser basket:..New tea; strainer and serving jug:.. Brewing will be a hybrid of; Gong fu and traditional British high tea (sans the scones and tea cozies).
Tea cups (cappuccino mugs from hotel - one must make do...)
Colour renditions, no guarantee of true representations.
The, Muscatel Delight was used to zero in the brewing parameters.
(Large sample quantity)
Quantities/units of measure/temp/time are either by eye or intuition. (Infusion times will be longer and water just a tad hotter than for Pu-erh.)

Dry leaf colour: – size and general appearance, remarkably similar.
Vintage M, slightly darker with less colours in the mix. The LMD a few additional leaves of a reddish hue.
Fragrance: LMD slightly more aromatic, a hint of fruitiness in the Vintage M.
NB: our olfactory sense has the strongest ties to memories, I just time traveled to past age in my Grannies home,.. Indian tea was always in abundance (locked in a Caddy..)

New toys cleaned and ready to go .. personal brewing parameters established.
Kettle to tea-pot pour: 25 secs. Slow pour worked well
Infusion time: 2:00 min.
Decant to serving jug: 15 secs.
2 scoops of dry tea … looked correct.
Wet tea filled infuser just right.
Pictures: most of the LMD, subtle differences to Vintage M, beyond my cell phone and available lighting. Beautiful colour:...Clean and Clear...

Vintage M. slighter deeper red... clean and clear ..LMD wet leaves:...LMD wet leaves: small even size, with hint of red.Comparative tasting: Both smooth and pleasant.
The Vintage M came through with a slightly deeper fruity taste with a wisp of spice. Both exhibited an immediate taste that persisted through the after taste phase.

Now a trip to the past .. Darjeeling WITH Milk, with interesting and unexpected results. Note: milk in Mainland Chin is less "potent" than milk in the US of A and light years behind British milk. With that said: ... fresh milk provided by the regency club .... Lochan Muscatel Delight, the milk enhanced, brought out more flavour ! very nice .... Makaibari Vintage Muscatel, the milk neutralized the flavour ? made it a flat nondescript hot liquid! Overall: both nice pleasant smooth teas, the Makaibari Vintage Muscatel having the edge with a deeper fruity-spice flavour. I plan on more Muscatel Delight (with milk) in the next few days to wash down a nice meal in the Copper Grill.

Pu-erh for “Dummies”

101 The Basics:
Pu-erh - Pu-er - Puer (Mandarin) Poli or Po Lee (Cantonese)
Named after its trading center: Pu-erh County, in southern Yunnan province.
Pressed / Compacted Tea, the tea leaves are processed and compacted into various shapes.
Originally compressed to facilitate loading on animal (horse) packs for ease of transportation.
It was discovered that the tea produced a unique and satisfying taste, better at journeys end than at the beginning.
Thus began the; stories, myths and legends of aged tea.
The various names, mainly denote: Factory and compressed shape:
Ball - Bowl –Mushroom - Square brick – Rectangular brick – Cake - Disk
MengHai (factory) Bing (cake shape) cha (tea)

Two main categories of Pu-erh: Raw / Uncooked or Cooked
Uncooked Pu-erh:
... is the original form of Pu-erh teas and has little or no fermentation. Gradually it was found that by storing them in a dry condition for several more years, the teas mellows with pleasant lingering taste. The longer uncooked Pu-erh is stored the better and more mellow the taste.
Cooked Pu-erh:
.... is commonly accepted that the cooking process was invented and in use around 1972. Some reports claim it could have been in the early 50’s.
The cooking process accelerated the effects of natural aging. Factories use a combination of heat and moisture to achieve the desired results.
Because of the heat generated during the process, it has became known as: "cooked tea”.

Could this trio be next ???....

Tea, a green leafed plant. (part 1)

De-mystifying and simplifying the basics.Tea, the worlds post popular brewed beverage.
Like or lump it, most consumers buy in “tea-bags” brew it in bags and enjoy it with additives, Milk/Cream – Lemon – Sugar, Hot or Iced.
So most are novices in the world of loose/bulk teas.

The past few weeks have generated a number of conversations directly related to tea, covering quite an array of topics and experience levels.
I hope that this information distillation helps those that raised questions.

Botanical Basics: One Plant Genus, two main varieties, one lesser.
Formal botanical / Latin Name: Camellia sinensis
(Sinensis is Latin for: Chinese)
Variety:
1 Camellia sinensis var. assamica.(Indian tea)
2 Camellia sinensis var. sinensis. (Chinese tea)
3 Camellia sinensis var. parvifolia. (hybrid of 1 & 2)
Mainly it’s the; Assam and Chinese varieties we most often encounter.
Form this plant leaf a plethora of tea types are produced.
_____________________________________________________
The post picking processing of the leaf greatly determines the type of tea produced.
3 Basic types of tea:
Green, Oolong and Black.
Green tea is steamed very soon after picking to stop the oxidation process.
Oolong (Wulong) tea is left to oxidize a bit longer.(Semi-fermented)
Black tea is oxidized for the longest period of time.
Black and Red tea are often the same, Black referring to the colour of the processed tea leaf and Red as to the colour of the liquor produced.
Within the basic 3 types, many subdivisions are made: eg. Scented tea, flower tea, pressed / Pu-erh tea, White tea.
_________________________________________________________
Farming:
I suppose it’s fair to split Farming into a couple of main buckets.
Plantation Farming and Free/wild plant harvesting.
Natural conditions impart to the plant various properties: Geographic location, local topography, climatic conditions, altitude and soil type, all impart there signature into the plant.
Dramatic variations exist from: Taiwan – China (many provinces) – India to Africa.
Farming techniques, harvesting schedules and picking techniques are next in line to influence the end result. This in itself is the subject of many tomes. (I know, I’ve ploughed through a few)
_________________________________________________________
Leaf Processing:
Again, techniques vary in the processing of picked leaves.
In the main, leaves are dried and mechanically shaped for packaging.
Even within a single tea garden (plantation) process changes are made based on years of experience and the requirements of a specific crop harvest.
Sha Qing (Sha Ching)
... is the first step of tea procession. After the leaves have been picked, the cells are still alive. They will ferment and consume the nutrition of the leaves if not processed.
In order to stop the ferment, leaves need to be treated, such a treatment is called "Sha Qing"

People use a relatively high temperature introduced to the tea leaves to kill the cells then stop the natural ferment.
In modern China, people use the method of stir-fry or exposing the tea to the sunshine while the tea will be steamed in Japan, which is the same as the method used in the Ancient China.
After Sha Qing, the tea leaves can keep their green color thus become green tea.
If the tea has no Sha Qing treatment, the ferment procession will change the color of tea and black tea will be produced.
Sometimes the tea leaves will get Sha Qing halfway through the procession, when it is already half fermented, producing Oolong tea.
_________________________________________________________
Chinese Green tea:
…has the longest history and still ranks first in output and variety today. It delivers a freshness and natural fragrance.
Famous green tea include: (some examples)
LongJing (Dragon Well) Tea from the West Lake in Hangzhou.
MaoFeng Tea from Huangshan Mountain.
YinZhen (Silver Needle) Tea from Junshan Mountain.
YunWu (Cloud and Mist) Tea from Lushan Mountain.

LongJing, is one of most famous teas in China.
Named for a village in HangZhou City, ZheJiang Province, and can be subdivided according to the name of its growing place such as:
ShiFeng LongJing Tea - MeiHuaWu LongJing Tea, etc.
It's history extends back more than a thousand years.
A type of green tea, when soaked in hot water it appears a bright green color with special fragrance.
The best LongJing is call ChiChiang ("flag and spear"). Picked in early April, when every branch of the tea tree has only one sprout and one leave. When placed in hot water, the sprout looks like a tipped spear and the leave extended like a flag.
The best tea is very rare and expensive due to its short picking time, approx two weeks in April every year. Normal tea can be picked up anytime throughout the whole summer.

Oolong- (Wulong) Tea:
... Some of the well known are:
TieGuanYin and ShuiXian, both made in FuJian Prov., and Tuo Tea made in YunNan Prov. Taiwan produces some of the best “high mountain Oolong teas”.

… is a traditional Chinese tea and is the most common tea served in Chinese restaurants.
It's between a green tea and black tea in terms of oxidation.
The taste falls between green and black tea, the best teas are judged by aroma and taste.

Oolong tea leaves are distinct in that when they are dried they take on a black thread-like look which may also be why people say Oolong tea looks like small black dragons when hot water is poured on the leaves.
The processing and refining of Oolong tea occurs in six steps (eight if you count the grading and packaging of the end product).
The very first step once the tea has been harvested is to sun/air dry the tea leaves to remove moisture, a process called wilting. Next, the edges of the tea leaves are bruised so more tea leaf can be oxidized. After bruising, the leaves are tumbled which helps to stop any further oxidization. Leaves are then dried and stirred in a pan, after which they are cooled and further dried. At this point, the tea may be graded and consumed, or packaged for sale.

TieGuanYin is a premium Oolong tea:
.. associated with Anxi in the Fujian province. Named after the Buddhist deity Guan Yin, it has also been translated as "Iron Goddess of Mercy". Recently the tea has been grown in Nantou, Formosa where it thrives.
It produces a fragrant orchid-like aroma when steeped, the tea may be floral or fruity.
Story Time:
The legend behind this tea has many variations but the following is the most common:
Deep in the heart of Fujian's Anxi County there was a rundown temple that held inside an iron statue of Kuan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy.
Everyday, on his walk to his tea fields, a poor farmer would pass by and reflect on the worsening condition of the temple.
Something has to be done, thought Mr. Wei. But he did not have the means to repair the temple, poor as he was.Instead the farmer brought a broom and some incense from his home. He swept the temple clean and lit the incense as an offering to Kuan Yin. It's the least I can do, he thought to himself.
Twice a month for many months, he repeated the same task. Cleaning and lighting incense. One night, Kuan Yin appeared to him in a dream. She told him of a cave behind the temple where a treasure awaited him. He was to take the treasure for himself, but also to share it with others.
In the cave, the farmer found a single tea shoot. He planted it in his field and nurtured it into a large bush, of which the finest tea was produced.
He gave cuttings of this rare plant to all his neighbors and began selling the tea under the name Ti Kuan Yin, Iron Goddess of Mercy.Over time, Mr. Wei and all his neighbors prospered.
The rundown temple of Kuan Yin was repaired and became a beacon for the region. And Mr. Wei took joy in his daily trip to his tea fields, never failing to stop in appreciation of the beautiful temple.

Black Tea:
QiMen (pronunced as Chee Men, also spelled as Keemun) has a relatively short history.
First produced in 1875 by a failed civil servant, Yu Quianchen, after he traveled to Fujian province to learn the secrets of black tea production.
Prior to that, only green tea was made in Anhui. The result exceeded his expectations, and the excellent Keemun tea quickly gained popularity in England, and became the most prominent ingredient of the English Breakfast tea blend.
The aroma of QiMen is fruity, with hints of pine (like in Lapsang souchong) and floweriness (but not at all as florid as Darjeeling tea) which creates the very distinctive and balanced taste. Qimen contains less caffeine than Assam tea.
The tea can have a more bitter taste and the smokiness can be more defined depending on the variety.
QiMen is typically enjoyed without milk or sugar; however it goes well with milk as well.

History Uncovered & Published

Knights Templar heresy reprieve after 700 years.
Religion and personal credos aside ..
.... an interesting story from many aspects, right up Andrew's street.

Replicas of the three seals used by the Inquisitors at the trail of the Knights Templar 700 years ago.
The Knights Templar, the medieval Christian military order accused of heresy and sexual misconduct, will soon be partly rehabilitated when the Vatican publishes trial documents it had closely guarded for 700 years.
A reproduction of the minutes of trials against the Templars, "'Processus Contra Templarios -- Papal Inquiry into the Trial of the Templars'" is a massive work and much more than a book -- with a 5,900 euros ($8,333) price tag."This is a milestone because it is the first time that these documents are being released by the Vatican, which gives a stamp of authority to the entire project," said Professor Barbara Frale, a medievalist at the Vatican's Secret Archives.
"Nothing before this offered scholars original documents of the trials of the Templars," she told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the official presentation of the work on October 25.
The epic comes in a soft leather case that includes a large-format book including scholarly commentary, reproductions of original parchments in Latin, and -- to tantalize Templar buffs -- replicas of the wax seals used by 14th-century inquisitors.Reuters was given an advance preview of the work, of which only 799 numbered copies have been made.
One parchment measuring about half a meter wide by some two meters long is so detailed that it includes reproductions of stains and imperfections seen on the originals.
Pope Benedict will be given the first set of the work, published by the Vatican Secret Archives in collaboration with Italy's Scrinium cultural foundation, which acted as curator and will have exclusive world distribution rights.
The Templars, whose full name was "Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon", were founded in 1119 by knights sworn to protecting Christian pilgrims visiting the Holy Land after the Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099.
They amassed enormous wealth and helped finance wars of some European monarchs. Legends of their hidden treasures, secret rituals and power have figured over the years in films and bestsellers such as "The Da Vinci Code".The Knights have also been portrayed as guardians of the legendary Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
The Vatican expects most copies of the work to be bought up by specialized libraries at top universities and by leading medieval scholars.
BURNED AT THE STAKE
The Templars went into decline after Muslims re-conquered the Holy Land at the end of the 13th century and were accused of heresy by King Philip IV of France, their foremost persecutor. Their alleged offences included denying Christ and secretly worshipping idols.
The most titillating part of the documents is the so-called Chinon Parchment, which contains phrases in which Pope Clement V absolves the Templars of charges of heresy, which had been the backbone of King Philip's attempts to eliminate them.
Templars were burned at the stake for heresy by King Philip's agents after they made confessions that most historians believe were given under duress.
The parchment, also known as the Chinon Chart, was "misplaced" in the Vatican archives until 2001, when Frale stumbled across it."The parchment was catalogued incorrectly at some point in history. At first I couldn't believe my eyes. I was incredulous," she said.
"This was the document that a lot of historians were looking for," the 37-year-old scholar said.
Philip was heavily indebted to the Templars, who had helped him finance his wars, and getting rid of them was a convenient way of cancelling his debts, some historians say.
Frale said Pope Clement was convinced that while the Templars had committed some grave sins, they were not heretics.
SPITTING ON THE CROSS
Their initiation ceremony is believed to have included spitting on the cross, but Frale said they justified this as a ritual of obedience in preparation for possible capture by Muslims. They were also said to have practiced sodomy.
"Simply put, the pope recognized that they were not heretics but guilty of many other minor crimes -- such as abuses, violence and sinful acts within the order," she said. "But that is not the same as heresy."
Despite his conviction that the Templars were not guilty of heresy, in 1312 Pope Clement ordered the Templars disbanded for what Frale called "the good of the Church" following his repeated clashes with the French king.
Frale depicted the trials against the Templars between 1307 and 1312 as a battle of political wills between Clement and Philip, and said the document means Clement's position has to be reappraised by historians.
"This will allow anyone to see what is actually in documents like these and deflate legends that are in vogue these days," she said.
Rosi Fontana, who has helped the Vatican coordinate the project, said: "The most incredible thing is that 700 years have passed and people are still fascinated by all of this."
"The precise reproduction of the parchments will allow scholars to study them, touch them, admire them as if they were dealing with the real thing," Fontana said.
"But even better, it means the originals will not deteriorate as fast as they would if they were constantly being viewed," she said.

Hot Air -- Close Call / Drop in for Tea

I'm in the middle of e-mail .. the roar of a fright train is in my room .. outside a hot air balloonist is frantically trying to gain altitude ...

Up - UP! and just missed our roof .... Obviously a forced landing .. inside the government complex next door ....Touch down ..

Wuxi Re-Visited .. Ni Hao Da Xia

Back in Aug. we visited Da Xia, just as she arrived to manage the families wholesale / retail store in WuXi.
Serving our 173rd. cup of tea that morning.Little sister in the background, getting yet another TGY to sample. Look closely and you will see two little YiXing feet on the tea table. This was the present from Li Hong, and her eyes welled up with tears as she opened the box. Can't wait to get over to Dongguan and show Li Hong the picture.

Couple of Reference Books

Picked up a couple of nice reference books. "Chinese Only text", the paper, printing and photography are excellent quality. These are 2 of a 5 pc set, and at 28 RMB each, a great buy.

On the Left: Details on tea, with overview of tea utensils and use.
On the Right: Various tea preparation practices.Nice pictures accompanied by synopsis.
Various tea preparations and serving methods are outlined.
As these books have generous amounts of photos and relatively short passages of text.

Many, Many Thx to: Lochan Tea Ltd.

http://www.lochantea.com/

Just arrived, from the kind folks: Rajiv, Ankit and Vivek, at Lochan Tea, a package of 11 tea samples. I’ll have fun tasting and sharing them with friends.
Rajiv:Ankit:Individual, labeled 30 gram packages:
1: Lochan Muscatel Delight, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
2: Makaibari Vintage Muscatel - Organic, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
3: Makaibari Silver Needle - Organic, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
4: Lochan Assam Premium Tips, 2nd Flush 2007 Assam
5: Khongea, 2nd Flush 2007 Assam
6: Okayti Oolong, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
7: Goomtee Oolong, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
8: Lochan Oolong, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
9: Castelton Snow Bud, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
10: Doke Snow Bud, 2nd Flush 2007 Darjeeling.
11: Temi, 2nd Flush 2007 Sikkim.

Golden Week Winds Down

Dongguan: summer is holding on, facilitating outdoor activities.
Sunday, last day of; National Golden week celebrations.

Most of my friends only managed 1-3 days off, as Dongguan is a major epicenter for China manufacturing. The next two weeks will be crammed with: meetings – travel –meetings and more travel.

As I bounce around China, Robin and Heather prepare for another three weeks in Hawaii. Chances are that Heather will take a job and re-locate to Hawaii.
That will be a first for the “Mac Pak.”

As 10:00 am approaches, I’m heading off to play Lock-Forward, in full contact shopping.
Fortunately the list is short: Tea, tea snacks and DVDs. I borough some Taiwan Oolong for my friend Mrs Yang, a bit like bringing coals to Newcastle, but, Taiwan tea is not that common in the Mainland. Li Hong wraps a gift for Da Sha .. Tuesday, I'll go to Wuxi.Its now 6:00pm .. a couple hours after a nice relaxing "Foot Massage", turned out that Sunday was a slow day, not a lot of folks out and about.
Picked up a few things I'll need in Wuxi next week ..

While I was in the tea shop an American came in with a couple of his Chinese friends, none of them knew much about tea. So it was entertaining listing to some of the questions, reminding me that we all have to learn and at least he was in a good place to learn. "There are no stupid questions." (although some come close)

At least I’m lucky to able to venture out, as my friends in Taipei/Taiwan are sequestered indoors, avoiding the ravages of the passing typhoon.

"Krosa killed five people in Taiwan on Saturday as it knocked out power to 2 million homes and drenched the island, according to Taiwan's Disaster Relief Center." "BEIJING (AP) - ...... China's southeast coast Sunday after killing five people on Taiwan and prompting the mainland to evacuate more than 1 million people, the government announced."

The Wall Street Journal – Asia edition

Vol. XXXII No 25:
Front page lead full with two page article.
“Why tea is hot among China’s investors”
Front Page:Double page layout:
Focus on Pu-erh:
The New Tea Trade
Puer, an ancient Chinese tea that improves with age, is the latest investment fad in China. The previously obscure drink reflects how China, awash in cash, is primed for speculation of even the most ordinary assets.
Puer, (pronounced "poo-ahr"), once a gift for emperors, was long relatively unknown in mainland China. But the drink's popularity skyrocketed after a 2005 promotional campaign by the Chinese government.
Puer is cropping up in restaurants, which display prized vintages like a wine list. Exclusive clubs are also opening in Beijing and Guangdong, where the rich gather to drink the tea and learn about its history. Now, businessmen armed with cash have been elbowing for puer by the case. Tea leaves are being hoarded by tea farmers and long-time collectors.

Last April, as investors began pouring into cakes of pressed tea leaves, the price of one of the hottest varieties of puer soared to nearly $35 a cake. Tea traders say that's seven times the $5-a-cake value from just three years ago. Today, a cake of puer sells for nearly $16, a 60% backslide from the peak, fueling fears of a crash in the market.

Hong Kong collector Bai Shuiqing, 52, prepares cups of 100-year-old puer tea. This earthy, medicinal-tasting tea mellows with age if preserved properly, turning into a clear, brandy-colored liquid.
Experienced drinkers like Mr. Bai say they can divine the drink's vintage by taste alone, and claim health benefits from drinking, such as weight loss and lowered blood pressure. At his tea warehouse, Mr. Bai stores puer in its most common form: leaves pressed into a round, Frisbee-sized cake
Puer in its loose-leaf form. The oldest teas are more than a century old, and fetch prices of more than $13,000 for one cake.Each cake of puer carries a certificate of its production for authenticity. Mr. Bai keeps the authentication papers for his prized, aged teas -- some up to 150 years old -- carefully sealed in plastic.

Cut and Run .. Typhoon

Mother Nature pressures Father Time.
Taipei 101 at 6:30am Friday morning ...As a Typhoon approaches Taiwan, threatening air travel, Matt and I cut short our visit.
Heading back to Hong Kong and the Mainland this morning.

The eye of the storm was last night projected to make landfall around the northeastern corner of Taiwan sometime early on Sunday morning.
At 8:30pm yesterday, the typhoon was located 640km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan, and moving in a northwesterly direction at 15kph, packing sustained winds of 184kph and gusts up to 227kph.
Winds of up to 88kph have already been recorded off the coast of Wuchi Township (梧棲) in Taichung County as well as off Chipei islet (吉貝嶼), Penghu County, as the storm system approaches.

Taipei for a few (update 10/5)

Matt and I arrived in Taipei about 4:00pm today.

Usual weather; warmish – rainy – little humid.
We have a pretty full schedule through Saturday, then its back to Dongguan.

Tonight we have dinner plans to meet with Mr.& Mrs. Huang.
So that should a fun night.
Meet with Shawn on Thursday, Tim and Eric Friday.

One stop will be: Page One Bookstore.
Taipei 101, 7th. floor out side Page One.
The London Tea House: All set up serving "English High Tea" complete with "Tea Cozy" on the tea pots.

I’ll also try and meet with fellow “Tea Blogger" while I’m in town.

A Serendipitous Occurrence

Sometimes its just about drinking tea, add water and serve.
A beverage that gets your engine started and drips substance as required.
The past week has been like that.
Most mornings I brew a couple of teas: Pu-erh and Tie guan yin
Pu-erh is a 13 year old Shu /cooked
My morning Tie guan yin; a new 2007 Fujian, by taste, on the mild side.
My utilitarian hotel set-up...
Long story short: I mixed the Pu-erh and TGY .. I’ve been drinking this combo for the past 5 days. Might be a little sacrilegious to some purists .. but I like it and it makes a pleasant alternate morning drink.
Basics: Brew teas separately pour into separate pouring jugs – Mix in large drinking cup.
Mix various from 50/50 to 25/75 .. all personal taste.
I’ve since learned that combining Pu-erh with other teas is not uncommon in Guangdong/ Canton province.