Yesterday I receives a parcel of 1998 Bai Hao Oolong from a collector in Taiwan. Out of curiosity, I brewed it side by side with my 2005 Bai Hao Oolong using standardized parameters (3g leaves/150cc water/6mins).

Below is a picture of the two liquor at the end of 6 mins:


As can be seen in the picture, the 98 bai hao has a more amber color than the 2005 one. While the 2005 bai hao has a very enticing floral/fruity fragrance, the 98 one definitely shows more mellow and mature fragrance: still floral and fruity, and a lovely nutty scent also emerges to nicely blend together all fragrance in a harmonic way. The 98 bai hao also has more penetrating and lingering feeling - especially in the aftertaste.

Can oolongs age like fine wines or pu-erhs? Oh, definitely! But not every oolong can be aged, and it needs special "roasting treatment". A very complex topic, I will get back to this in more details in the future ; )

Guang

I was so excited to receive a "sample cake" of 2006 Yan-Ching Hao, together with three photo albums of their trip to Yunnan this spring.

>>> Click here to see the album <<<

Here is a picture of their 2006 cake.
Larger Images of the cake-->


Striking red-and-white-colored design with traditional phoenix patterns. A bit similar to 2005 Yi Wu Cha Wang, but 2006 cake has a double-layered wrapper as used in 2004 Special Reserve Cha Wang. A blue seal on the wrapper saying "Chi Shian", meaning "a wondrous fragrance". Date (2006 March) and weight (500g) are also clearly marked on the wrapper.

A picture of the liquor; first thing first, I checked the clarity of the liquor to make sure the kill-green process was well completed. I was indeed satisfied with the crystal-clear clarity!


Next, onto the quality of the leaves. As can be seen in the pictures, How Strong and Lively those leaves are! There is not doubt they are very premium big-tree (arbor) type pu-erh leaves.


The taste is a nice blend of veggie fragrance with floral aroma. Some fruity notes appear in later brews. Still few woody tones developed. No unpleasant smoky smell. Very elegant, mild and smooth taste.

According to Yan-Ching Hao's owner Mr. Yan, this Gu Shu cake was made of a blending of premium sun-dried leaves from old plantations in the six famous mountains, and contains at least 30% of leaves from wildly-grown arbor trees. Their another 2006 cake, on the other hand, did not contain wildly-grown leaves. I tasted both and found the aroma/taste of the Gu Shu cake was indeed more refined. Hence we decided to offer this Gu Shu cake.

He also pointed out that the blend was overseen by an old tea master in YiWu, following the traditional of some antique-Hao grade pu-erhs.

I also like the solid and meaty feeling of 500g cake! With the surging price of pu-erh raw leaves in Yunnan, this fine cake is truly a worthy treasure.



Guang@ Hou De

I remember there was an article by a ceramic artist about how Japan can have such a high standard in ceramic art. The article said those Japanese parents let their children use fine ceramic tablewares, so they could have a good aestheticism training since their very early childhood.

So I decided to let my 7-month Yuan learn how to properly season a fine yixing (60's NanYan-line Zhu Ni Shui Pin)... and these are some highlights of her "aestheticism training":






^__^ Guang

<- May contain adult material; click at your own discretion.

Who would think the shy and conservative Chinese people would print a Chun-Gong (Erotic) picture on the wrapper of their wedding gifts in 18th century! The Song-Ping Hao tribute brick of GuangXu period of the Qing dynasty proves the very unexpected. The brick is owned by San Ho Tang’s owner, Mr. Chen Zhen-Wei, an amateur Chinese calligrapher. The big Xi (double-happiness) character on the silk wrapper of the brick looks just like a regular blessing to the newlywed in any Chinese wedding ceremony. However, if you look closely into the Xi, you will be surprised to see the drawings of several sexual positions inside the character.

In the very conservative sovereignty of the 18th century Qing dynasty, the princes and princesses of the royal family could receive little sexual education. The education was usually done through paintings by several royal artists. This Song-Ping Hao brick is a very good and valuable example: it was a royal wedding gift to a princess on her wedding day, “now there are something you need to know quickly...”

A Taiwanese news of Mr. Chen and Xi Zhi Hao.

Inspired by the rich history behind this brick, Mr. Chen of San Ho Tang decided several years ago to re-live this old tradition. He did extensive researches based on collections of antique-grade pu-erhs and many visits to the remote mountains in Yunnan. In 2005, he was confident that he finally grasped every secret of a true Royal Tribute Pu-erh. And that led to the introduction of 2005 series of Xi-Zhi (Double-Happiness) Hao.

We are very proud to be the first to introduce this premium Collector-oriented series outside the Asian Market. The 2005 Xi-Zhi (Double-Happiness) series have five different kinds:
1. Lao Ban Zhan, 500g
2. Yu Le Remote Mountain Wild Arbors, 500g
3. Nan Nuo Remote Mountain Purple Tips, 500g
4. Lao Ban Zhan Brick, 400g
5. Lao Ban Zhan, 3000g
And there are two different versions of wrappers: the Xi-Shi version and the Calligraphy version.

Xi-Zhi version


Calligraphy version


Click here to see the selections of 2005 Xi-Zhi Hao!



Guang@ Hou De

Aside from teawares like yixing, gaiwan, gaibei and brewing styles like gong-fu, chao-shan, there is a very simple, minimalism yet functional way of tea making... the Farmer's Style!

You can see Mr. Wu demonstrated the style in photo here.

Very simple:
(1) prepare a clean bowl, a spoon, and several cups,
(2) put a pinch of dry teas into the bowl,
(3) pour in boiling water,
(4) watch the tea leaves slowly unfurl in the bowl and the liquid gradually become more "tea-y",
(5) use the spoon to gently stir the liquid,
(6) now you can smell the aroma emitted from the spoon,
(7) use the spoon to pour tea into each cup.., and Voila !

This method not only requires the minimal number of teawares, but it can be easily extended to do a tea tasting.

For example, you want to compare three teas. Just prepare three bowls, three spoons, and several three cups. Repeat the above steps to make tea out of each one. Pay attention to put into the same weight of tea in each bowl so as to do a fair comparison.

Using this method, you can conveniently inspect the quality of the tea (leaves, liuquor clarity, color, etc). The spoon smartly acts as an "aroma cup". Simple as it may seem, this method is used by those tea professionals, like - tea farmers themselves!