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Share our knowledge of Chinese tea and its culture
My Morning Indulgence
The sense of concentrating on a simple movement can take my mind off any thoughts. At this moment, the tea, tea wares and I are a whole.
The sense of concentrating on a simple movement can take my mind off any thoughts. At this moment, the tea, tea wares and I are a whole.
It seems to be a ‘must have’ ritual to do a tea ceremony when I just arrive at the shop every morning.
It is a special time for me to put my commuting journey aside and clear my right mind to start the day in the shop. It is the time I can prepare my smile, my heart, and my happy and positive energy. All of these come from a 20-minute tea session.
Spring is a season for those gentle and refreshing teas. Today I picked an aged raw puer tea from 2016. I love how diverse raw puer tea is. This puer tea welcomed me with a wild aroma that took me to the forest in Yunnan. It smelled tameless, yet full of floral notes. Once it was made, a honey note in the aroma immediately grabbed my heart and made me feel calm and centered. The session didn’t last long, but long enough for me to cherish every second of it.
After a few cups, I was already planning the tea for tomorrow.
Now after this post, I shall return to the raw puer tea and find peace from the teapot, the serving jug, and the teacup I use.
Tea & Wellbeing
As we discover more of the benefits of tea drinking, tea is becoming increasingly popular. But the health benefits don’t happen overnight. It takes a long-term habit to show the ‘results’. We don’t expect an immediate fix. Quite the opposite, you will experience a positive, gradual, but slow change in your body in a long time. So today let’s have a look at some health benefits if you drink tea regularly.
Deep detoxification
According to our folk culture in China, people have always had the tradition of drinking tea to treat abdominal distention, dysentery, and bad digestion. For example, the effective ingredients of black tea (Heicha, 黑茶) can inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms in the human intestines and stomach, and at the same time, promote the growth and reproduction of beneficial bacteria. It helps to regulate the gastrointestinal function and improve the intestinal microbial environment. People use tea as good antidiarrheal medicine.
Three Drops
Drinking tea for a long time can lower blood pressure, blood fat and blood sugar. Epidemiological studies in Japan have shown that compared with those who drink less than 3 cups of tea a day (30 ml per cup), men who drink 10 small cups of tea a day have a 42% lower risk index of cardiovascular disease, and women who drink 18% lower.
The contained substances extracted from tea have the functions of lowering blood sugar, blood lipids, preventing radiation, anticoagulation and thrombosis, enhancing the body’s immune function, anti-oxidation, anti-atherosclerosis, lowering blood pressure and protecting the cardiovascular system.
Three Resistances
A glass of 300 ml tea has the antioxidant effect equivalent to 1.5 bottles of red wine (about 750 ml per bottle), equivalent to 12 bottles of white wine, equivalent to 4 apples, equivalent to 5 onions, and equivalent to 7 cups of fresh orange juice. This is why tea has the benefits of “three resistances”, namely anti-cancer, anti-radiation, and anti-oxidation.
Anti-oxidation
The effects of tea polyphenols come from various aspects. Tea polyphenols are a strong antioxidant that can effectively remove oxygen free radicals. For example, anthocyanins, one of them, can inhibit the overflow of oily peroxides at all stages. This capacity of anti-oxidization is as ten times as vitamin E. This antioxidant effect can prevent cell degeneration and ageing.
Weight Loss
Catechin from tea reduces the absorption of carbohydrates and lipids in the intestinal tissues by inhibiting digestive enzymes in the intestines. Tea polyphenols can fight obesity by inhibiting fat deposition in the body and promoting the decomposition of excess fat. This is why we always say tea can help you with weight loss. But you need to be cautious with how much weight you need to lose and find the fine line between healthy and unhealthy.
It only works when you consume good-quality teas regularly. It is a gradual effect that you will notice after a long time. Tea isn’t medicine. When your body is sending out the signal, you should always go to see your doctor and seek professional medical advice.
2004 Banzhang Raw Puer Tea Tasting (24/07/2020)
Today, I treated myself with some luxury tea that I received a few years ago. It was from my Buddhist teacher who is also passionate about tea and tea culture. The tea is a well-aged raw puer tea from 2004 from Banzhang village in Yunnan Province. Banzhang has been famous for its ancient tea trees deep in their beautiful forests as well as the most exquisite and finest flavours of the tea. So it is always a special treat to open the slowly getting old wrapping paper, break off a little bit of the tea and have an amazing experience.
The tea cake is not green anymore. The darker brown colour shows its maturity. Today I used 4 grams of the tea to get a decent session. So below are my notes for the session.
Tea wares
A blue & white gaiwan,
A glass serving jug,
Three Jun porcelain teacups
– a red Jun porcelain teacup,
– a vintage Jun porcelain teacup from the ’80s
– and a Jun porcelain tight waist teacup.
A glass kettle on the stove is to boil water.
Details of the tea
Dry tea leaf: dark, long and brown tea leaves. It doesn’t smell much with a woody note
Dry tea leaf in heated Gaiwan: Woody smell gets stronger with a noticeable honey smell underneath.
Wet tea leaf after rinsing: woody smell becomes soft and sweet with a date note. The aroma seems to expand.
Infusions
The 1st one:
brewing time: 7 seconds
Colour of the tea soup: golden colour.
Taste of the tea: still a bit light, but sweet and smooth
The leaf smells sweet from the Gaiwan
The three cups give similar experience in this infusion at the beginning. But after a short period, the ’80s teacup has more honey sweetness than other ones. The red cup cools down very slowly. I feel nice in my dry throat. After swallowing the tea, there is a lovely gentle floral after taste in my mouth.
The 2nd infusion:
brewing time: 7 seconds
Colour of the tea soup: golden colour, but a little darker.
The infusion is stronger than the first one. It is very sweet with a dry wood taste which stays quite long. There is a plum aftertaste. Although the taste is light, it has a very strong Qi from this round which warms me up. The ’80s teacup seems to win this round again with its sweetness and woodiness. The tight waist one is close, followed by the red cup which cools down slowly.
The 3rd infusion:
brewing time: 7 seconds
Colour of the tea soup: golden colour as the 2nd round.
For this infusion, I paid more attention to the serving jug. It gives you some interesting changes within a short time, from a strong date sweetness to a gentle honey sweetness then slowly disappears. In the tight waist teacup, it has a woody aroma. The Qi of the tea is still very strong, maybe getting stronger.
The 4th infusion to 7th infusion
Brewing time
4th infusion: 10 seconds
5th infusion: 10 seconds
6th infusion: 15 seconds
7th infusion: 15 seconds
For these 4 infusions, the tea doesn’t seem to change much. It is still smooth with a soft taste but very strong Chaqi. It’s very moisturizing, sweet and smooth with a plum aftertaste. The leaf smells like dates.
The 8th to 10 infusion
Brewing time
8th infusion: 20 seconds
9th infusion: 30 seconds
10th infusion: 30 seconds
The tea seems to stay in the same taste for a long time. It doesn’t change much. So I stopped the session after the 10th infusion. Because of its strong Chaqi, I feel it’s time to take a break. I know the tea can keep going. So I will save it for later. The tea at this point is completely opened and soaked. You can see how strong and fresh the leaves are. Even after 10 infusions, the leaves still smell like the first infusion.
Conclusion
I always enjoy this Banzhang Raw Puer tea. It reminds me that ageing is beautiful. In general, the tea is very sweet with a woody note. The aroma changes a lot. Although the taste is quite gentle and soft, the Chaqi is very strong. Trying the tea with 3 cups at the same time is an interesting experience. The tight waist gives you the best result for this tea, followed by the ’80s teacup. The red teacup is good for winter because it cools down slowly.
We have some lovely puer tea in our store. If you would like to try some of them, please visit https://www.augustmoontea.com/shop/tea/puer-tea/.
What We Can Learn From A Tea Ceremony
In one’s life, there are many teachers who might even change one’s life. As tea drinkers, we have a special one which is tea. We can learn a lot from it.
Tea Teaches us Simplicity
The aroma made from a proper tea ceremony is quiet, soft, and moderate. It slowly travels through our body and put it at ease. It is not superficial, disappearing within seconds. The world is always on the go where one loses oneself so easily. The quality of life gradually deteriorates.
A simple lifestyle becomes a longing desire for many of us. Through a tea ceremony, we enjoy every moment of peacefulness, without too much noise. Coming from the deepest mountains in a simple colour, tea shares the wisdom of simplicity and helps us to find our souls.
Tea Teaches us Kindness
It is important to consider others at a tea ceremony. If you are preparing tea, your mind isn’t just on one or two people, but everyone around the tea table. You will notice who doesn’t have enough in the cup, if the tea is too warm for most people, or if everyone is comfortable. You might also notice someone might be too shy to engage in the conversation and want to help this person to blend in.
As a guest, you might want to keep your voice down so that other people can talk. You might also want to show your gratitude to the tea maker for his/her kind service. Maybe putting your phone down and focusing on the experience is also something we can do to enjoy a nicely presented tea ceremony.
Tea Teaches us Patience
A tea ceremony requires a lot of practice. It always involves many steps you have to go through to make an unforgettable experience, from boiling water, warming up the tea wares to making the tea, serving it. Each round deserves our attention to the very details.
When you are sitting around the table, you would learn to be respectful and patient. There is no rush to reach the teacup right after the tea is served because you could burn your fingers. You learn to wait for other people to finish their tea and start the next round.
Tea is a healthy lifestyle that brings people closer in a relaxing, friendly and respectful environment. With August Moon Tea, you can always learn the art of tea.
Sunday Morning, Tea Is The Way To Get Up To
2020, for me, is about packing and unpacking, moving to one place to another. For the second lockdown, we came back to Lincoln again, with my tea, tea wares, and August Moon Tea.
The Journey between Gloucestershire and Lincolnshire wasn’t enjoyable. It was such a gloomy day that I thought we could never get home. Getting up the next morning seemed to be the most difficult thing to do in the entire world. So I decided not to force myself, just take a day off, and enjoy whatever came to life. Actually, it worked.
The craving for tea woke me up after a day of laziness. I started to think about the steps of a tea ceremony, how I would feel sitting at the tea-table with my favourite tea wares again. So, I got up, had breakfast and set the tea table up. The sun came out just in time. It was such a beautiful way to start my Sunday morning. No rush, no tiredness, no stress!
First, I picked a handmade Maofeng green tea to wake up my taste buds who had been sleeping all the time. Some light flavour was what they needed to start working. My outside world, along with the tea seemed to welcome me back. I felt more settle than yesterday. As having this solo session, I was talking to my mother who was also having a solo session. She told me it was the Small Snow today, one of the 24 Solar Term. We are slowly entering winter time. Nothing remains the same. For the second tea, I picked a smokey Lapsang Souchong. I always love the smokiness from the pinewood and the light longan note with its unique sweetness.
Sometimes we enjoy tea according to the seasons. Sometimes we purely crave a special tea because of a certain mood. There is no rule what you should have. Follow your heart. If tea is the way to get up to on a Sunday morning, why not?
Source of My Happiness Today
Jade Well, Flowing Fragrance Roasted Oolong Tea
We all learn to grow. But if we grow too quickly, we will miss out some details. Tea gives us the chance to slow down and rethink about the different things and their importance in our lives.
The sunshine in this Autumn morning opened a window in my heart. It was soft and warm. Picking a nice tea for this day isn’t too difficult to do. A roasted oolong, I would imagine, is perfect.
As the sun gently hit the surface of the tea table, the light spot and the shadow create a beautiful sonnet. I took out a pack of Jade Well, Flowing Fragrance for my morning appreciation. The water is boiling. You can see the water vapour in the air, dancing like a group of happy children. The tea is stunning as the sunshine in Autumn as the aroma slowing fills up the whole tea room.
I took a moment for a long and deep breath. The sun comes into my teacup and makes the yellow glaze glow. After a few cups of tea, I am not sure if it is the tea or the sunshine makes me a happy soul.
We all learn to grow. But if we grow too quickly, we will miss out some details. Tea gives us the chance to slow down and rethink about the different things and their importance in our lives.
What makes you happy today?
Tea: Jade Well, Flowing Fragrance Wuyi Rock Tea
Teacups: Rainbow Tea Set
For more information on them, please check below
https://www.augustmoontea.com/product/premium-roasted-oolong-tea-jade-well-flowing-fragrance/
https://www.augustmoontea.com/product/rainbow-porcelain-tea-set-8-pieces/
White Dew Tea Ceremony–Aged White Tea from 2011
The gentle nature of aged white tea is neutral, not too warm or too cold. It settles down the heat we accumulated during the Summer joy. It also settles down an overly exciting mind for us to be ready for the colder weather.
2020 has been an unpredictable year for all of us. Time quietly disappears in our fingers. Before we realize, it is already White Dew (白露), one of the 24 solar terms when you notice that in the morning the dews on the grass are turning to white. The gentle nature of aged white tea is neutral, not too warm or too cold. It settles down the heat we accumulated during the Summer joy. It also settles down an overly exciting mind for us to be ready for the colder weather.
For this special occasion, I decided to open a new tea cake, an aged white tea cake coming from 2011. The tea cake is carefully hand-wrapped with paper and foil by our supplier. Working with them helps us to understand how precious high mountain teas are.
By the look of the cake, it falls into the Shoumei grade. Tea leaves come from a later time of the year are always full of surprises. The 9-years maturing gives the leaves a dark brown colour. You can still see some cream coloured buds. The size of the leaves is much bigger than white peony or silver needles. It almost doesn’t smell anything from the tea cake. But some hidden fruity and woody smell vaguely touches my nose. I always appreciate a less aromatic tea because they are quiet with their little stories.
To brew the tea, I broke a fair amount of tea leaves without weighing it. The water was 100 °C. The first brew was light and subtle. But from the second brew, more colour, flavour and aroma came out of the tea as water completely soaked the leaves in my Jun porcelain teapot. It was a delightful experience with this aged white tea. There was an obvious woody taste with a fruity note. It has such a gentle flavour, yet a strong Chaqi to warm me up. Once the tea got colder, the taste became sweet. It was smooth and moisturizing, leaving my throat relaxed. The tea kept going. I paused to feel the honey after-taste that mingled in my mouth for a long time. After a few cups, there was a calm and restored feeling in my heart.
As we always say, tea brings nature to our modern life. A cup of tea witnesses the change of time with us, like an old friend. This session might have finished. But what about the moment, the memory and the White Dew of 2020?
If you are interested in this aged white tea from 2011, we have a sample pack of 50g and a full 350g tea cake for sale. You can find more details from https://www.augustmoontea.com/product/2011-chenyun-aged-white-tea-cake-350g/.