Terra Mano

After quite busy summer we decided to accept nice invitation from France. Terra Mano is name of festival hold every year in small town in Corréze deppartment, Meyssac. We were invited to participate on festival and also to spent few day before festival in this wonderful area. We needed vacation and it was pleasant to leave our daily routine behinde us. But I took this traveling, as I usually do, more like oportunity to learn and bring new inspirations in to my live.

Back home, I remember people and their lives more then sights. I am always more curious to see how craftsmen work then lie on the beach. Hearing story of a castle I see lives of people in the landscape around. We enjoyed stay in the area very much. It was great to watch how local potters throw on the weel. It was factinating to see how glassblower is blowing in to a pipe, creating wonderful vase. Farmers in walnut orchard are picking up this year's wealth. There are goats on slope and goats cheese on the table. Driving thru vineyard in the morning we enjoyed red wine during evening.

There are few villiges in the area called "red stone villiges" From pictures you can see why this nickname. What fascinates me as a potter was the clay used by local potters. It is stoneware with almost the same color as those sand stones houses around - iron red.

The clay is mined by Dordogne River and it was joy to try work with it there. Such joy that I asked Meyssac potter Laetitia to give me chunk of this "Dordogne treasure" to try it at home. I am looking forward to see how my hands and our kiln are going to deal with it. At the top of my head I have few tea pots named "French Autumn" (I know, not too inventive...). And the process have already started. So please, curious reader, be patience and stay tune.

Thank you for reading...

To slow your tea down...

This tea session was insired by post on one of my favorite tea blogs..... "...drink tea and enrich your life. "

Time- an early morning in late summer. The autumn was already in the air...
Place- heart of the Europe. Under birch threes on our garden...
Water- tap water. Running there from uplands around...
Fire- old camping gas cooker
Tea-  1998 Gan Xiang Jiu Yun cake...
Pots - teapot specially made for heating water. New clay labeled as suitable for cooking- unglazed inside. Then bigger but delicate cup, plate and stoneware flask for water...
Flowers- natural lawn around...
Music-   birds...

  

Just half-filled teapot Is going to be enough...

Yes, charcoal fire is nicer and probably better for tea then this gas burner...next time. The teapot already survive
repetitive fire, and that is good. After many trials here is finally clay which seems to work. 

Waiting for the tea...

...I look around exploring hidden beauty.

The brew is thick and tasty

Something sweet before second "infusion"?

The flask, created by our friend, was given to us many years ago...nice for cold water.

To enjoy tea this way is worth to try. If you will choose proper time and place, water and fire, tea and pots, flower and music then you will smile then as I did. I believe in it.

Thank you for reading.

The Healer

You have probably been there...from time to time it happens. You meet tea which brings new perspective into your tea world . I have experienced that with mature leaves from Guangxi province - completely new taste profile, unknown story. But most notably there was kind of energy I haven't experienced so strongly before.


The tea I am talking about is 1980's Liu Bao Tea from The Eccense of tea

Dry leaves, as you can see above, are not perfect. I mean if you don't know that we are talking about aged liubao here. There are some stems, broken leaves but also nice whole leaves and some of them are still slightly pressed into some kind of chunks- probably as a remnant of traditional storage in bamboo basket. The first clue of this beeing something special you probably are going get (as I did), when you will sniff to those leaves. Aged aroma is sweet, mellow and oak-like fragrances prevail.

First infusion...

If I didn't hold myself back then the word mellow is written in every part of my description. From first sniffing, thru smell to wet leaves till savoring of last infusions - there are no sharp edges. Liquor isn't so thick - compare to ShegPu of similar age. Also color is nicely chestnut brown. There are no yellow-brown (sheng) or red-black-brown hues (shu). And here we get to an interesting point - it is better to relieve your mind from comparing to other teas here. Although it is closer to aged Puer then to aged oolongs - by comparing this you can miss some important parts of nature of this tea.

Second infusion...

Sipping this chestnut like liquor I felt calmed and there was spring like water refreshing sensation in my throat. In taste there was woody and sweet tones. Resin of pine wood, oak - using my imagination I felt like standing in a calm morning on the edge of an old forest. In first two infusions there was kind of herbal bitterness in back of my mouth - but without astringency what so ever.

Morning sun helps even to my small, old camera to take decent pictures... 

Probably the best part of tea session with the liubao is its impact on your mind and your body. That is why I label this post The Healer. Its energy is soothing, calm. Combination of mellow sensation in mouth and throat with confoming effect on the body make this tea special to me. Here is the comparison with an younger sheng
appropriate: shengs are (in most cases) warm and make my mind sharper on the other hand this liubao cools down and makes my mind calm and quiet.

Like with most well aged teas you can brew it for many times. Enjoing this tea in the morning I have stopped after fifth infusion and go back to continue with few more brews during afternoon. The taste is not changing dramatically thru those brews - even latter, lighter cups were very enjoyable.

Do those left over leaves look black here? If you think so, believe me - it is dark but not black. Study them closelly you can still see that the material was partly oxidized. And if there was fermentation (wodui process) then it didn't "burn" all color down.

Patient reader of my blog could notice new teapot, which I am using here for very first time. It was made for one of my dear customers. It was ready to be pack and send, when I have catch sight of small crack, unfortunately it leaks. So I keept it for myself and devote it to Heicha. It is without glaze inside and I am curious how it will work after catching some patina.

Thank you for reading!

Pots under influence of tea -after firing

Few posts back, I have putted up here a picture of fresh, unfired teapot. I commented it as "I have been drinking too much Chinese tea lately...good for you my new, little baby" Now I would like to show you this teapot after firing. It is with me already few weeks but I didn't find a time to share some pictures with you. (Those weeks were filled with work - we were lecturing few workshops for people, who wanted to learn more about natural glazes and woodfiring. To teach them our experiences and share techniques we use was inspiring and we hope to continue in the future)

As you can see here, I have decided to fire this small pot in the first floor of the kiln, where we use the charcoal technique. And yes, I like footprint of plants on some of my pieces. After experimenting with several different herbs (from our neighborhood), the horsetail seems to be the best. And what is more, it has become very unpleasant weed on our garden, so to use it in wood kiln helps a bit to keep our garden clean.  

At first, I was not quite sure what kind of glaze-surface I should use on this pot. Finally I have leaved the interior unglazed. On exterior you can see slip made of ash, kaolin and titanium dioxide…

After firing...

Time to time I decide to try new teapot with tea - to see how new pieces works. How particular clay, fire, glaze and shape combination works with leaves. 

Here I went for 07 Da Hong Pao from Gingo. Five grams of this very nice treasure from Wuyi Mountains were enough to make my day deeper. This is DaHongPao as I like it- full bodied, roast is strong but not overwhelming. 

Flowery-honey fragrances and strong aftertaste were with me from the very beginning. All is starting from first infusions and (if you are in the right mood) it can be pour and enjoyed like for ever…

The surface of the teapot reminds me one hundred years old relic, buried in the mud. But light and quite smooth interior tells the true – it is bright new pot with its life ahead of it.     

Under the steam...

Thanks for reading...