Misty morning with raw coin from 80'

Autumn is here, and it is getting already cold. We had white frost every morning last week. But today morning was a bit warmer. When I went out there was mist walking around and also some brave bird tried to sing. Being aware that this can be one of the last chances, I have took my tea table outside.

 With basic equipment and mist around I decided to open one of the treasure bags which arived from Taiwan a month ago.

Stephane Erler write to me this note: "The puerh coin is probably made of plantation buds. What's interesting is that they were stored inside a real bamboo stick. Nice packaging! Quite smooth, but by far not as powerful as the mid 80s loose raw puerh I've described recently. (I have only 1 coin left in my inventory!)"

Raw puerh which is about 25 years old is not common visitor in my cup. These, to coin shaped leaves, are brown, small with very light flowery scents. Pressing is rather strong and I was glad to realized how it fits to my small yixing pot.

First quick infusion (after one rinse brew) was very light, alive and pure in my mouth. I have put lid on the side and sniffed a bit. When steam reached my nose I smiled. It is like start to read a new book and after first page you know- I am going to enjoy this adventure. Scents of nuts mixed with resin and woods are intense and force me do sniff again and again. This repeat after each infusion but after fifth it getting to be more subtle. And I started to believe to my mind which found there also fragrances of sweet flowers. I found the complex of fragrances surprisingly similar to scents I know from much younger LiuBao I have.






Second brew was already full bodied and also darker in color. Mouth fell is rounded and smooth. On taste profile participate tints of coffee chocolate.

Third...

...and fourth cup

After six infusions I have taken a break. Energize but calm I went to studio to get back to this tea during evening. 

The boiling teapot still works...

This tea fits to autumn colors and moods very well. I also feel that drinking and learning from really aged, mature teas is quite important. Important for me as someone who like puehr tea and who would like to make my tea sessions deeper. It is good to have the experience to know where our young teas can go. I always become aware that the magic of good aged puehr tea is not in its look, taste, smells or mouth feel. All of this can be great but there is something more why we love it.

Have a sun in your cups, no matter how misty or rainy your morning is!

Thank you for reading.

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!