Tea Drone

winter tea

2009-02-15T12:14:00.000-08:00

hi friends,
thought id just post a quick thing here to hopefully stimulate some new action on the blog. i like this blog and i dont want to see it die.

ive been drinking alot of tea lately from tao of tea.
my favorites right now are their
nepali oolong - its a nice earthy oolong with a flavor unlike other more typical oolongs from asia. maybe its the soil or the mountains or the vibes, who knows....its good.
yuqian dragonwell - if you like a good dragonwell, this one is quite nice. its got some cool peppery tones in there

and im out now, but i really really enjoyed the high mountain green oolong from imperial tea. its an affordable tea with high spirits!

music today = warren burt 'harmonic colour fields' - just intonation and weird tuning systems synth drone and ambient music

music ongoing = my forthcoming album for kranky, 'mutually arising'

what have you been drinking and listening to?

tao of tea

2008-07-18T15:24:00.001-07:00

just got back from a trip to the northwest. made another stop at floating leaves tea house in seattle and picked up some excellent baozhong wuyi oolong and some great ali shan oolong. their taiwanese oolongs are superb.

dropped into the tao of tea in portland twice for some good tea (and good food). second time i had "Golden Lily" which is a Jin Xuan native varietal of Central Taiwan. it was okay, kind of a basic oolong without much upper spectrum. good though.

on the first visit, i had one of their Old Growth Teas from 2005. i had the Nannuo Shan Mao Cha from Nannuo Mountain, Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, China. this was a really wonderful green type of puer which i had gongfu style. it had a complex green puer flavor that revealed lots of subtleties through each steeping. i really liked this tea and it made me feel great! my wife mandy had a really nice spiced tulsi tea blend called 'shanti'.

Still Drinking?

2008-02-24T13:56:00.001-08:00

Informally, what's everybody been drinking?

Above is Tao of Tea "Frozen Summit" Dong Ding, either Spring 07 or Fall 07. Poured right into a sumo wrestling mug.

2007 Winter Awarded Song Po Oolong

2008-01-13T07:11:00.000-08:00

San Francisco CA, Jan. 13 2007
Tea: 2007 Winter Awarded Song Po Oolong
Cultivar: Chin shin (green-centered) oolong
Location: Ming Jian, Nan Tou, Taiwan
Purchased: Hou De Asa in Art website

Jams: Yoshi Wada “lament for the rise and fall of the elephantine crocodile” compact disc.

Let me first thank Alex Cobb for pointing me towards this tasty Oolong. The guy never stears me wrong. So, living in San Francisco, I generally don’t have to buy tea online, but when I do, Hou De, mentioned here in pervious posts, is a fine place to get stuff. Apparently an award winning Oolong (From The Hou De Site: We are very glad to introduce the awarded Song Po oolong from 2007 Winter Tea Competition in Ming Jian, Nan Tou.) that is remarkably reasonably priced. $11.50 for a 2oz bag! Which means It makes for a great everyday Oolong that I can have at work, where more often than not I’m drinking at a more hurried pace then I would while at home.

The first & second infusions of this tea are very buttery and round, with a subtle honey quality, and nice floral overtones in the fragrance. Very pleasant to drink. The third infusion brought out a trace of astringency on the front & sides of the palate that I really enjoy. I have yet to push this one past three infusions, so no idea how it would hold up. You try it out and let me know. Big beautiful leaves opened up by the end. Overall a very worthwhile and inexpensive Oolong that’s easy on the pocketbook and tasty as hell.

2001 Chung-Hwa Yi Wu Raw Puerh

2008-01-04T13:58:00.000-08:00

Cincinnati, OH
January 4, 2007
Tea: 2001 Chung-Hwa Yi Wu raw puerh
Manufacturer: Meng La Man-Lo Factory
Infusion parameters: 10g used in 150cc purple clay Yixing pot; 20s rinse, 15s, 20s, 25s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 120s in 195-200°F water.
On the hi-fi: Nijiumu: "Live;" Vikki Jackman: "Of Beauty Reminiscing"

I acquired this tea at the beginning of 2006, and after drinking it once decided to shelve it for a while due to an astringency that seemed to me to be on its way out. I decided to revisit these leaves on a frosty January afternoon and was pleasantly surprised by the results of this brief storage period.

Dry leaves: There is a nice range of colors here, from dark browns to almost-yellows. The dry leaves exude tobacco, earth, camphor and almost mushroom-like aromas. There are thick and leathery big leaves, smallish twigs, and dry, wispy leaf tendrils.

1st infusion: With the tea still so tightly compressed, the flavors here were fairly faint. Even still, the tea brewed up to a nice dark-hued orange with exceptional clarity.

2nd infusion: Strong, pungent, dry citrus and wood notes became increasingly pronounced. I recall now that this tea's pungent qualities dominated my session with it the previous year. Nice, supple mouthfeel. Already I'm noticing a lovely complexity and some refreshing menthol notes that I'll wager will come to the fore in infusions 3-6.

3rd infusion (pictured below): An increased maltiness is present now, and the floral qualities magnified. This is a bold and supple tea which really fills the mouth with a vibrant palette of flavors. There is a nice, cooling aftertaste despite the slightly drying astringency that seems to linger the longest.

4th infusion: The camphor and musk qualities diminished in favor of a nice caramel sweetness. The drying astringency continued to hang around, but wasn't severe enough to be objectionable.

5th infusion: The flavors were much more subtle now, though the tea continued to brew up to a nice dark-brown. Cool menthol notes, caramel and earth dominated.

6-8 infusions. Dry fruit notes abounded, but really in aroma alone. The taste mellowed into a silky, earth sweetness not unlike an exceptional shou puerh.

All in all this is a tea that I'm quite glad to have purchased at a great price (I grabbed a few of these beengs before the price surge in the puerh market last year). Clearly, the maocha used here is top notch; I was very impressed with the quality of the leaves. It definitely still has a lot of room to mature though before it becomes a really exceptional sheng, and although the astringency is something which proves now to be a bit of a detractor, it is a characteristic that, along with the strong, vibrant complexity of this tea, will likely ensure that given proper conditions it will age into something truly special.

jin xuan oolong

2008-01-02T11:49:00.000-08:00

hi tea friends,
i think ill start by introducing myself since i dont really know any of you (well ive met jefre once and emailed with him). my name is greg and i live in burlington, vermont. i make music for a living. i fell in love with tea about 5 years ago. i enjoy all types of tea, but i find that my favorites are usually chinese and japanese green teas. recently ive been exploring some oolong teas which im really enjoying. i also like puerh and white tea on occasion. my late night drink is often an herbal infusion of some sort. (my wife is an amateur community herbalist). ive been really enjoying tulsi (holy basil) tea alot lately. now on to the tea...

i was on tour in october along the west coast with akron/family and megafaun. we made a stop in seattle and i was with my good buddy zach and one of his friends recommended going to floating leaves tea house. zach and i stopped in but didnt have time to sit down and talk and sample tea, so i returned there a few days later with phil from megafaun. one of the owners, shiuwen, sat us down to sample several taiwanese oolong teas which was her specialty. she was very knowledgeable and had all sorts of stories to tell us and opinions about various teas as well. after the sampling, i bought some of the tea that i liked the most. a baozhong (farmer's choice) which is gone now but i remember being a less floral and less high note type of oolong, more down to earth. a very lovely tea. i also got some jin xuan that was lightly roasted in house at floating leaves. i just finished my last cups of this tea today. its a buttery, creamy type of oolong that reveals some other subtle flavors after the first infusion.

-my chawan and gaiwan-

-jin xuan closeup after first infusion-

after the first infusion, the buttery flavor subsides a bit and reveals some floral and grassy overtones. and into the third and fourth infusions, i was getting hints of cinnamon even. all around a nice tea and im sad to see it gone, but i just made an order with red blossom tea so stay tuned....

-jin xuan closeup after 4th or 5th infusion-

-music on the turntable-

-vermont snow vibes-

peace,
greg

Imperial Tea Court, Chinatown, San Francisco

2007-12-30T22:06:00.000-08:00

Above: The counter at the Imperial Tea Court.

San Francisco, CA
December 26, 2007

The Imperial Tea Court has been an institution in San Francisco since it first opened its doors in Chinatown in 1993, bringing top grade Chinese tea to the city's residents, as well as some beautiful yixing pots and other tea ware. In the last few years they have opened two additional locations: one in the upscale Ferry Building, and one in Berkeley. But out-of-town visitors and local tea fanatics alike would make sure to visit the Chinatown store, seated right outside the mouth of the Broadway tunnel, with a view down to the Bay Bridge from its corner. I've always had a preference for this location for its simplicity and quiet. It was a great place to sit, drink and contemplate tea.

Above: The yixing clay pot display area.

The reason I refer to the Chinatown store in the past tense is because it closed its doors on December 26, 2007 - another casualty of San Francisco's increasingly un-affordable rental market. I suspect the Chinatown store didn't get as much business as their other locations, as there was rarely more than a table or two filled whenever I've been there. But when they opened for the final time, Jefre Cantu and I made the trip up to Chinatown for a last cup of tea there. The weather was crisp and clear that day, a welcome relief from the gray dampness that had settled over the city for several days prior - and a beautiful day for drinking tea.

They were serving free tea all day, and they immediately brought us two cups of the Superior Green Oolong, a really nice basic oolong that is quite floral and which has a nice bitterness. I ordered the Imperial Green, which to me is one of the most beautiful teas in the world in every sense. It is visually stunning in all of its phases; the smell is warm and grassy; and the taste is completely full bodied and earthy without being too bitter or too sweet to my taste.

Above: Imperial Green.

Jefre had the Dong Ding (or was it Tung Ting - I didn't hear it clearly) Oolong, which I only tried briefly. Not the best oolong we've had there, but very good, mild, and visually quite beautiful. I never tire of watching oolong unfurl over several infusions. I'm still like a kid who feels some trick has been played - that small bunch of tea turned into all that?!

Above: Dong Ding Oolong.

The Tea Court was jammed. Almost every table was full, and it sounded like everyone was reminiscing. Jefre immediately pointed out that the caged birds that reside there were going nuts, chirping like mad whereas they are normally very quiet. There must have been quite a discussion going from cage to cage about all the people having discussions just below them.

My favorite memory from this place is from earlier this year, when I went there on a Saturday afternoon by myself. The owner Roy Fong came in with a suitcase and a couple of cardboard boxes under his arms. He had just returned from China the night before on his annual tea-buying trip, and he had a few teas that he had carried back by hand. I was trying oolongs that day, and Roy pulled out some 2007 spring harvest Wenshan Baozhong for me to try (I linked to the winter harvest as the spring is no longer available). I ended up buying half a pound that day before it even went on sale. There are not many tea shops where that kind of thing happens.

Above: Our two gaiwans for the day.

So this is my requiem to what I think was a wonderful spot for drinking tea. The environment in which we sit, drink, talk, contemplate, and whatever else we do while drinking tea together, has everything to do with the experience; I am grateful for the places that lend themselves to good tea. Thankfully we haven't lost the Imperial Tea Court altogether, but the Chinatown store will be sorely missed.

San Francisco, Calif. Dec 23, 2007

2007-12-27T19:18:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, Calif.
Dec. 23, 2007
Teas: Imperial Court Old Bush Pheonix

Above: Getting set to cure Jefre's yixing, my way.

With regards to the matter of curing a yixing teapot, there are many traditions, methods, and opinions. And after seasoning a few of them its easy to see why there's such a fuss. It marks the beginning of a long relationship with the object. The use and continued use value of a yixing pot is something much fretted over by tea aficionados, and rightfully so as it determines its flavor. The musk and residue of thousands of pots which is so sought after. But its funny to think that at the core of gong-fu cha, so focused on cleanliness, dryness, and personal flare, is this object that is essentially prized for being dirty.

I'm not a real strict adherent to any one style of seasoning a pot. Whatever gets the job done. The one we used to cure Jefre's psychedelic mixed-clay yixing is just one that I like that I've cobbled together from couple of different styles. It should, in theory get a pot started on its flavor and aroma both inside and out.

Here's the step by step:

Above: Getting set-up. You'll need a heat proof ceramic bowl, a pitcher, one pot worth of tea, and assorted utensils if you want.

Here we started out with an abbreviated gong-fu bowl setup with the pot already scrubbed lightly with a soap-less sponge and then rinsed with water. To cure the pot we picked the Imperial Court Old Bush Phoenix. In this case Jefre wanted a pot for heavier roasted oolongs. Some people will limit pots to only regional teas (ie, lightly oxidized, high mountain, Formosa oolong) or even specific varietals. While ideal, not everybody has enough nice yixings to do that so I tend to pick more generalized limitations.

I also tend to cure pots not with my top grade stuff, but my second tier teas. Usually I only have an ounce or so of really, really good stuff, and typically a great deal more of stuff that is great tea but not cosmic, once in lifetime leaves. Its a tough choice to pick that first tea, but let's face it the main factors in seasoning your teapot will be the process of many brewings over a period of years.

Below: Brewing that first pot. In this case I rinsed the tea as I normally would with an oolong and then poured it back on top of the pot into the bowl.

Then we let a pot brew for about 20 minutes before pouring that back onto the yixing. We then brewed another pot and let that sit about 8 hours. We could have done it longer, but eh.

So that should do the job. Other quick ways I've done are to just brew one pot and leave it be for 6 hours or overnight. I've also placed a pot and lid separately in hot water and then brought that water to a boil. I don't know about boiling though. Anybody have any luck with that?

While its important to season a pot, I still think any pot is going to gain most of its flavor over time rather than from some semi-ritualistic process like this. It is fun and rewarding nonetheless, though.

2007 Winter Mei-Shan, Wood-Roasted "Shui Xian" oolong

2007-12-24T11:49:00.000-08:00

Cincinnati, OH
Dec. 24, 2007
Tea: 2007 Winter Mei-Shan, Wood-Roasted "Shui Xian" (Hand harvested Taiwanese oolong)
Vendor: Hou De
On the hi-fi: Timo van Luijk/Kris Vanderstraeten - "Costa del Luna" (La Scie Doree, 2007)

First off, I want to sing the praises of Guang/Hou De, who is easily one of the best, if not THE best, tea vendors that I've ever dealt with. Guang has immaculate taste, offers samples of what would be for me otherwise unavailable (read: $$$) aged puerhs, stocks consistently interesting, unique oolongs, often includes complimentary samples with orders, and, as a rule, ships out packages SUPER fast. If you're a tea enthusiast and you haven't yet checked out this intrepid American vendor - stop sleeping.

This particular Mei-Shan is a high mountain oolong which has been roasted. Guang was kind enough to include an unroasted sample along with my order, which I will likely review in the days to come.

1st/2nd infusions: One of the first things I noticed about this tea was its wonderful cooked sugar/vanilla aroma. I found myself ravenously sniffing my cup after emptying my rinse infusion until my first infusion had fully steeped. Tastewise, the first infusion opened with the warm, woody flavor that I find so delightful in properly roasted oolongs. Notes of dark fruit were present too. This is a tea with bold flavor.

3rd and 4th infusions: The big, smoky, almost lapsang-esque roasted flavor of the first infusions now died off slightly, giving way to a more floral and complex palate. There is a nice, subtle caramel-like sweetness to the liquor. Great brewing durability through the 4th infusion.

5th and 6th infusions: Much more fruity now, with the liquor turning from a deep amber to a lightish yellow. I increased the brewing time drastically for the 6th infusion, as the leaves were really starting to give out.

This is a very tasty roasted Taiwanese oolong. The used leaves were gorgeous: huge, juicy, in-tact leaf systems. As Guang pointed out in his entry at Hou De, this is a really nice winter tea. Its long finish and good brewing durability coupled with a great balance between high mountain floral qualities and the earthy woodiness of roasted oolong make for an engaging, enjoyable cup.

San Francisco, Calif. Dec. 22, 2007

2007-12-23T13:55:00.000-08:00

San Francisco, Calif.
Dec. 22, 2007
Teas: Red Blossom Ming Qian Dragontip, Red Blossom Ming Qian Dragontip, Imperial Court Old Bush Pheonix, Red Blossom 1982 Aged Wenshan Baozhong

Above: Aftermath of Red Blossom tea tasting session.

One aspect of growing up in the Bay Area that I've always been proud of is the amount of cultural drift that takes place. It was here that American bohemia first embraced the classical arts of China and Japan. You can hear Hyphy, Norteño, or Cantonese Pop blaring out of teenagers' tricked-out cars roaring down the 101. In SF itself, South of Market, an elusive and often annoying vision of the 21rst century reveals itself just miles from the hippie-survivalist rural axis of Marin and Sonoma counties. Rifles and geodesic domes, dude.

The city has all the 24/7 hubbub and hassle that I miss living in Portland, Oregon. Last night I had to pick between eating an order of Belgian pommes frites or a cone of cardamom and clove ice cream with a samosa at 11PM. And even now, an Its-It sits melting on top of Cantu's copy of Ayurvedic Cooking Made Easy.

But tea.

Last July on a trip to San Francisco I stopped by Red Blossom with Jefre as well as Brian and Phoenix from the Starving Weirdos Arcata, CA connection. Working in a teahouse at the time, I was impressed with the shop. I was able to sit with Peter Leung for a bit during a hectic tourist high season rush in SF's Chinatown. Peter and his family know tea. Red Blossom is a family business, formerly a tea shop that leaned more towards a TCM apothecary run by Peter's father, the family's children have renovated the shop with a bright, modern design that's tasteful, easy to navigate and staffed by a nice and knowledgeable crew.

What really caught my attention though was the nice selection of Yixing pots (most handmade and thin-walled) as well as the 1982 Aged Wenshan Baozhong. The '82 Baozhong is notable for its strong camphor mint and cocoa notes as well as its unique history -- it hasn't been re-roasted since 1982. Most aged oolongs are re-roasted at regular intervals, roughly every year, to preserve the character of the tea. As anybody who has ever let some low-oxidized oolong sit around for too long knows this is due to the fact that taste of these teas begin to fade over time. According to Peter this Baozhong was roasted according to historical tastes of the early 80s, which is to say heavily, which may have helped preserve and develop its very unique flavor. A cool contrast to the fresh, winter-fruit taste I find in most modern Baozhongs which seem to be more minimally processed as time goes on.

On this trip, I bought two ounces of the '82 Baozhong right off the bat, but I was lacking a decent green tea to have around the house. So Jefre and I asked Scott of Red Blossoms to recommend a solution. We tasted two teas, the Ming Qian Dragontip and Ming Qian Dragonwell Panan. The Dragontip consisted solely of fine, needle-like young leaves while the Panan had slightly larger, flatter leaves that were occasionally covered with downy hairs. Both teas were picked prior to the first rains of harvest which theoretically prevents nutrients from being withdrawn into the interior of the plant and instead retained in the leaves.

Above: Side-view of Red Blossom gong-fu cha.

The Dragontips were a very mild tea, brewed in an inverse style by Scott that I had never seen before, with the tea floating on top of the water to compensate for a colder SF mid-day which was then mixed. Buttery, light, with a bit of grass and an astringency that had a somewhat mineral quality to it, the Dragontips were a good tea, but not what I was looking forward to drinking on a frigid, wet Portland morning.

Tasting the Dragonwell Panan, I realized what I actually wanted after all. I needed a more resilient tea I could brew at a bit higher temperature with a full-bodied vegetal taste that rang of freshly harvested winter greens and vegetables. And so I was sold.

On our way out Jefre bought an unusual mixed-clay yixing pot. I had never seen a mixed clay pot in a spiral sort of design before. At first I was skeptical, but its really grown on me and as such a nice balance, well-fit lid, and steady pour that I just can't fade it.

Below: Jef's tripped-out yixing.

Afterwards we headed over to the original location of the Imperial Court Teahouse, which sadly is closing in a few days. I always really dug the classic teahouse vibe of the original Imperial Court, just a few tea snacks, lots of caged birds, old furniture, and good servers who know their stuff. A great place to plan a conspiracy or debate the minutiae of poetics.

Tomorrow we would cure Jefre's yixing with Imperial Court Old Bush Phoenix and debate curing methods. Stay tuned.

Avant-MP3 mood lighting to be added.

Inaugural

2007-12-22T17:40:00.001-08:00

Tea tasting notes, interviews, scattered musings, and the odd bit of music to appear henceforth.