Today’s tea is a kabusecha — a Japanese green tea that is 45% shade-grown for three weeks prior to harvest. That puts it halfway between sencha, which isn’t given any shade at all, and gyokuro, which is 100% shade-grown for the three weeks before harvest.
This year for Sinterklaas (the Dutch, superior version of Santa Clause), the great Sint gifted me with a Travel Buddy Tea Travel Mug. Seems like the Sint must have read my post about travel tea mugs. 
Thanks Sint! Finally I can enjoy a nice cup of tea on the train in the mornings.
This particular Travel Buddy was bought in Malaysia, but since getting it I have noticed it in a shop here in Melbourne, as well as on Pure Puer. For any of you considering buying one, here are my thoughts.
Serenity Teahouse is a small tea shop in Box Hill, a suburb of Melbourne. A tiny sign dangles above the sidewalk. Downstairs, there’s an Asian bakery that sells the tea; but the real fun begins upstairs, where Candy, the owner, will treat you to free tea tastings. Her family runs a tea farm (or several?) in Taiwan, so her specialty is in Taiwanese teas.
Among those is this formosa oolong, which I liked so much I decided to dedicate my first yixing tea set to it.
What does it take to be a championship-winning tea?
That was the main question I had in mind this morning as I enjoyed Teas Etc’s Ceylon OP1, which took first prize in the Ceylon category in last year’s World Tea Expo. It was one of three Teas Etc teas to win a prize (you can get all three together in a special Championship pack).
A new year, a new tea. Hojicha is a roasted Japanese tea that consists predominantly of the stalks of the tea plant. It is, according to Harney, a relatively recent invention, dating back to 1920. The rise of mechanical harvesters had meant that there was an excess of tea stalks after harvesting. Seeing the waste, a Japanese merchant in Uji took the stalks and started roasting them. Hojicha was born.
Technically, when you buy someone a present it’s supposed to be because they want it, not because you want it.
But I seriously love this tokoname teapot I bought for Bec this Christmas. I got her a green tea starter pack from O-Cha, which means you pick a teapot, cup, tea and extra accessories or tea and get a 10% discount.
Today’s tea: Denong Wild, Bana Tea Company’s newest offering. This is a 2009 pu-erh tea made from 100% rare wild ancient arbor trees.
With pu-erh, parameters are important. Here’s what I used: Six grams for the gaiwan. A twenty second infusion, the first time around. Add ten seconds for each of the next three infusions. Two minutes for the fifth infusion, and then add a minute for every infusion after that.
Brewing tea like this lets you experience how the tea opens up, as each infusion coaxes a little more out of the leaves.
Chocolate.
That was the first thing that came to mind when I opened this packet of Sungma Clonal Wonders ‘09, a 2nd flush Darjeeling tea sent to my by Benoy of Thunderbolt Tea. I was amazed at how clear and distinct the aroma was.
That was a few weeks ago. Since then, I have been drinking this black tea on a regular basis. To me, it seems like a middle-of-the-road sort of Darjeeling tea — it exhibits some characteristic Darjeeling traits, with a few noteworthy aspects, but in some ways I come away feeling a little disappointed that it doesn’t live up to the promise offered by its aroma.
When I was a kid I dreamed of becoming a writer when I was older. Over the years that dream has faded, but I still enjoy putting pen to paper. This morning, as I drank Tea Trekker’s Bai Lin Gong Fu with the intention of reviewing it, it suddenly struck me how writing a tea review is great practice for a writer, because it forces you to be deliberate and thoughtful about the words you use.
When I write a review, I usually base it around two or three words or phrases, which I think accurately depict something about the tea — either its appearance, flavour, aroma or character. You could condense any of my reviews down into two or three words or phrases, and you would have roughly the same thing, minus all the contextualizing with which I pad the reviews.
“May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you and all your heart might desire.”
When Bec and I got married, we had those words printed on a card and placed on a table by the entrance to the winery. I still love them. There is something so homely and comforting about them — truly a wonderful benediction.
I am reminded of those words today, as it rains outside (a much needed rain) and I enjoy my morning tea ritual inside. Bec and Benny are asleep and I am trying a new tea: a shui xian (also known as dancong) oolong from Teas Etc.
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