Last piece of the Last Thoughts

Today I decided to open up something more serious, serious in terms of quality and depth. Fusion of heart touching poetry and good tea. It is time for The Last Thoughts...

Nice chunk of this expensive tea was generosly given to me by TwoDog in Autumn 2014. These are the last leaves, ready to be brewed and drinked. Ready to make happy all of us who sits around our tea table today...

Wrapper have lead us to many dicussions, about tea threes and tea people, Dylan and Woody Guthrie, music and poetry, live and dead, about the life. Thank you TwoDog for that...

.. I can imagine I will find you both one day in GuaFenZhai in sundown...

When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb

When you think you're too old, too young, too smart or too dumb

When yer laggin' behind an' losin' yer pace

In a slow-motion crawl of life's busy race

No matter what yer doing if you start givin' up

If the wine don't come to the top of yer cup

If the wind's got you sideways with with one hand holdin' on

And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone

And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it

And the wood's easy findin' but yer lazy to fetch it

And yer sidewalk starts curlin' and the street gets too long

And you start walkin' backwards though you know its wrong

And lonesome comes up as down goes the day

And tomorrow's mornin' seems so far away

And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin'

And yer rope is a-slidin' 'cause yer hands are a-drippin'

And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys

Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys

And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe's a-pourin'

And the lightnin's a-flashing and the thunder's a-crashin'

And the windows are rattlin' and breakin' and the roof tops a-shakin'

And yer whole world's a-slammin' and bangin'

And yer minutes of sun turn to hours of storm

And to yourself you sometimes say

"I never knew it was gonna be this way

Why didn't they tell me the day I was born"

And you start gettin' chills and yer jumping from sweat

And you're lookin' for somethin' you ain't quite found yet

And yer knee-deep in the dark water with yer hands in the air

And the whole world's a-watchin' with a window peek stare

And yer good gal leaves and she's long gone a-flying

And yer heart feels sick like fish when they're fryin'

And yer jackhammer falls from yer hand to yer feet

And you need it badly but it lays on the street

And yer bell's bangin' loudly but you can't hear its beat

And you think yer ears might a been hurt

Or yer eyes've turned filthy from the sight-blindin' dirt

And you figured you failed in yesterdays rush

When you were faked out an' fooled white facing a four flush

And all the time you were holdin' three queens

And it's makin you mad, it's makin' you mean

Like in the middle of Life magazine

Bouncin' around a pinball machine

And there's something on yer mind you wanna be saying

That somebody someplace oughta be hearin'

But it's trapped on yer tongue and sealed in yer head

And it bothers you badly when your layin' in bed

And no matter how you try you just can't say it

And yer scared to yer soul you just might forget it

And yer eyes get swimmy from the tears in yer head

And yer pillows of feathers turn to blankets of lead

And the lion's mouth opens and yer staring at his teeth

And his jaws start closin with you underneath

And yer flat on your belly with yer hands tied behind

And you wish you'd never taken that last detour sign

And you say to yourself just what am I doin'

On this road I'm walkin', on this trail I'm turnin'

On this curve I'm hanging

On this pathway I'm strolling, in the space I'm taking

In this air I'm inhaling

Am I mixed up too much, am I mixed up too hard

Why am I walking, where am I running

What am I saying, what am I knowing

On this guitar I'm playing, on this banjo I'm frailin'

On this mandolin I'm strummin', in the song I'm singin'

In the tune I'm hummin', in the words I'm writin'

In the words that I'm thinkin'

In this ocean of hours I'm all the time drinkin'

Who am I helping, what am I breaking

What am I giving, what am I taking

But you try with your whole soul best

Never to think these thoughts and never to let

Them kind of thoughts gain ground

Or make yer heart pound

But then again you know why they're around

Just waiting for a chance to slip and drop down

"Cause sometimes you hear'em when the night times comes creeping

And you fear that they might catch you a-sleeping

And you jump from yer bed, from yer last chapter of dreamin'

And you can't remember for the best of yer thinking

If that was you in the dream that was screaming

And you know that it's something special you're needin'

And you know that there's no drug that'll do for the healin'

And no liquor in the land to stop yer brain from bleeding

And you need something special

Yeah, you need something special all right

You need a fast flyin' train on a tornado track

To shoot you someplace and shoot you back

You need a cyclone wind on a stream engine howler

That's been banging and booming and blowing forever

That knows yer troubles a hundred times over

You need a Greyhound bus that don't bar no race

That won't laugh at yer looks

Your voice or your face

And by any number of bets in the book

Will be rollin' long after the bubblegum craze

You need something to open up a new door

To show you something you seen before

But overlooked a hundred times or more

You need something to open your eyes

You need something to make it known

That it's you and no one else that owns

That spot that yer standing, that space that you're sitting

That the world ain't got you beat

That it ain't got you licked

It can't get you crazy no matter how many

Times you might get kicked

You need something special all right

You need something special to give you hope

But hope's just a word

That maybe you said or maybe you heard

On some windy corner 'round a wide-angled curve

But that's what you need man, and you need it bad

And yer trouble is you know it too good

"Cause you look an' you start getting the chills

"Cause you can't find it on a dollar bill

And it ain't on Macy's window sill

And it ain't on no rich kid's road map

And it ain't in no fat kid's fraternity house

And it ain't made in no Hollywood wheat germ

And it ain't on that dimlit stage

With that half-wit comedian on it

Ranting and raving and taking yer money

And you thinks it's funny

No you can't find it in no night club or no yacht club

And it ain't in the seats of a supper club

And sure as hell you're bound to tell

That no matter how hard you rub

You just ain't a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub

No, and it ain't in the rumors people're tellin' you

And it ain't in the pimple-lotion people are sellin' you

And it ain't in no cardboard-box house

Or down any movie star's blouse

And you can't find it on the golf course

And Uncle Remus can't tell you and neither can Santa Claus

And it ain't in the cream puff hair-do or cotton candy clothes

And it ain't in the dime store dummies or bubblegum goons

And it ain't in the marshmallow noises of the chocolate cake voices

That come knockin' and tappin' in Christmas wrappin'

Sayin' ain't I pretty and ain't I cute and look at my skin

Look at my skin shine, look at my skin glow

Look at my skin laugh, look at my skin cry

When you can't even sense if they got any insides

These people so pretty in their ribbons and bows

No you'll not now or no other day

Find it on the doorsteps made out-a paper mache¥

And inside it the people made of molasses

That every other day buy a new pair of sunglasses

And it ain't in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies

Who'd turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny

Who breathe and burp and bend and crack

And before you can count from one to ten

Do it all over again but this time behind yer back

My friend

The ones that wheel and deal and whirl and twirl

And play games with each other in their sand-box world

And you can't find it either in the no-talent fools

That run around gallant

And make all rules for the ones that got talent

And it ain't in the ones that ain't got any talent but think they do

And think they're foolin' you

The ones who jump on the wagon

Just for a while 'cause they know it's in style

To get their kicks, get out of it quick

And make all kinds of money and chicks

And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat

Sayin', "Christ do I gotta be like that

Ain't there no one here that knows where I'm at

Ain't there no one here that knows how I feel

Good God Almighty

THAT STUFF AIN'T REAL"

No but that ain't yer game, it ain't even yer race

You can't hear yer name, you can't see yer face

You gotta look some other place

And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin'

Where do you look for this lamp that's a-burnin'

Where do you look for this oil well gushin'

Where do you look for this candle that's glowin'

Where do you look for this hope that you know is there

And out there somewhere

And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads

Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows

Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways

You can touch and twist

And turn two kinds of doorknobs

You can either go to the church of your choice

Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital

You'll find God in the church of your choice

You'll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital

And though it's only my opinion

I may be right or wrong

You'll find them both

In the Grand Canyon

At sundown

Thank you for reading...

Wake up, wake up, wake up!

This is wake up call. It is not addressed to you dears, but this blog was asleep for far too long. And what can be better for waking up then few cups of upright, good sheng!

Autumn is here...

I would like to share with you the newest addition to my pu-collection, tea which I am particularly happy about. It is 1 kg of tea leaves pressed to impressive brick. Yes, 1 kg brick. One thousand grams means also at least one hundred and fifty tea sessions together. 150 tea sessions in front of us! Lets start.

Brick by brick, 1000g of tea next to 100g of tea

Silent Mountain or White Whale, ambient or jazzy, I take them both. 

At first, good friend Tomaš gave me a piece of this brick with his personal label "The Silent Mountain". He added "You might like this. It is from Mengku area and if this is not from wild threes then I do not what is" He was right, I like it. I have to actually admit, it was love at first sip. Pressed in 2006 it is far to be mature, but already far to be called young. Even some time lived in humid Guangzhou does not left much in it, it is clean and bright. When Tomaš told me that he have few of those bricks left for sale, I did not think twice. Now, it is heaviest brick in my tea cabinet.

What to say, what is so special about it for me. It is both light and heavy. In some aspects sweat like some heichas are, but with undisguised power of old yunnan trees. At first, you would not say that it is "punchy" sheng. But with every cup, its vibrant energy is more and more obvious. It is slowly spreading from throat to the whole body, stopping in palms which starts to sweat. Flying mind slowly ease off, becoming quiet. Beautiful.

One of the firsts infusions. Is it just me or it looks silky even on picture?

It is different from most of puehr cha I know. The difference which is obvious on your tongue but how to describe it? I can give a try: Most of puehr cha (of similar age/area) I know can be in taste and fragrance describe as "apricots with flowers around" And this is, well, more like "molasses with blackcurrant fragrance" Ye, it is a bit really clumsy description. I have had just few teas with this character. From what is online on the market I know just about two teas like this. This strapping brick- about availability and price you have to ask Tomaš (his page is still just in Czech but feel free to ask there). Second tea, which I had sample some months ago, is this cake from EoT. This cake is rather costly but try at least a sample, it is absolutely beautiful. I will have to order at least sample of it too, I would like to see those two teas next to each other.

I love this new Mirka's brazier, which I "have to" test. Simple, quiet and working well. 

I hope, we successfully woke this blog up, I look forward to the rest of those one-hundred-and-fifty  tea moments with this tea. And I belive that there will be a chance to share it at live with some you,

 Now small lure for the next time:

Four teapots made from clay which I brought from Sun Moon Lake, back with my from my Taiwan travels. They are going to meet fire this weekend. Exiting.

Thank you for reading!

Puerh Storage Jars

Storage of Puerh - what a topic, right? If there would be a statistic, which define most discussed topic betwen tea people, the storage of puerh surely is going to be on the top. So what can I, still bigginer here, add? Not much, just a few thoughts and experiences... Nevertheless, I look forward to hear any thoughts and practices of my readers - thoughts and experiences about what I am going to present here as well as about storage generally.

I made my first "cake jars" in autumn 2009. Those two jars were originally made for my customer, but I have used unsuitable clay and cracks on bottoms, which have shown after firing, made those jars unsellable. Thanks to this, I can see now, after two and half years, how cakes are doing in those jars... so far, they smell and taste great. I store there cakes from first LongFeng production (spring teas from 2009). No jar will make a magic here. My too dry and cold storage conditions are successful decelerators of aging. But jars protect tea from dust and smells. And more importantly, they helps to create microclime as well as reduce drying out essential oils from leaves. On the picture below you can see color of Purple Lable (leaves shoudl be from old threes from Ai Lao)

Leaves are darker and whole profile sligltly "ripen"...

  

  

As time went on, more and more tea loves asked me to make storege jars for them. And also my stock ( I do not fell like collector yet:)) has been growing. I started make bigger jars, basicaly in two sizes. For 400-500g cakes and for 200-250g ones. Into one bigger jar you can put 10-11 cakes. It means between 4-5kg of tea.

This information can give a notion about to what kind of puerh drinker is it for. When one starts, having cake or two, sampling around, then just love for ceramic can make him think about buying such piece. On the other hand, if you buy cakes mostly in tongs, continuously for years, then you can welcome it as a sample box. Yes, there are puehr fans who build their houses from tea or, at least, fill their flats to roof... but I believe that most of us just buy cake here, brick  there. And despite of fact that we know that we are not living in the best areas for aging tea, we can not help ourselves and we buy more then we drink right now. That is why I find those jars convenient for me. My mixture of different cakes, touchas and bricks looks much more happy in several ceramic jars then laying in shelves.

but there are shapes and sizes which are not easy to fit...

I was never in fever to buy and stock a lot of  young tea in order to safe money and get some great aged tea after 20-30 years. I always prefer to pick variety of teas in sense of years, styles, areas...And ENJOY IT NOW! I have learn to buy teas for what they are now, not for future, dreamy brew.

Dry vs Wet

I have (or had) very pleasant dry stored teas as well as wet, or traditional stored teas. I am not afraid of moisture (I can recomment to read and think about "sharp" Marshal's post here). But I am not afraid of dry or natural storage either. Recently I have two - three samples from around 2000 and I would love to have cake or two from each of them. All were obviously dry stored - green leaves, smell and color of first breaves say that. One of them was stored in Taiwan, one in Kunming. Complexity of the taste make me wonder - would it be any better in HK? Or here in Czech Rep.? I dont know, but I know that there are many wet and, many dry teas worth to try. I have to say that I start to like teas, which went thru some wet period. Unfortunately it is almost impossible to find good, traditional (wet) stored tea, here in the middle of Europe. You can find many muddy like shus, from poor to great young shengs and some decent dry stored aged shengs. But I know just about one company selling rather good, traditional stored shengs here (declarations and prices are another story) Then there are some, from good to great, rather wet stored teas from EoT. Do you know any interesting source of traditional stored puehrs in Europe? Or some safe bets in Asia or US? Please share!

Tea taste better in rainy day... 

Many friends and customers ask about my experiences with long term storage. Is this jar the right choice for my premium cakes? What clay is the best for such puehr jar? For oolongs? What shape and what size? Well, I can just guess and use common sense. If you have any findings on this field feel free to jump in...



Thanks for reading!