The Art Of Chinese Tea
This is to capture information I’ve collected over Christmas 2009 when I had conversation with my great aunt (from my Mother’s side) and her son who are very knowledgeable in the ways of Chinese tea. As usual, when I have gathered more information, I will update the page accordingly.
Introduction
My family came from a Chinese origin – the culture of the land of the dragon runs particularly strong in my dad’s veins. His dad loved tea, my dad loved tea, and I have now grown to loved it as well.
Chinese tea are prepared and drink in all occasion. However I have found out that the world of Chinese tea can be as complex and intriguing as the world of Wine. There are many different type of chinese tea, and many different variations for each type which can be found in varying grades of quality.
And then there is the preparation of the tea itself, the equipments used to prepare it, the drinking of the tea (by slurping it quickly, but more on that later) and with more cups, came the ability to appreciate fully the aroma, fragrance and flavour of the tea.
A good conversation, over good quality tea, snacking on some light nibbles or snacks after a good meal. It can be highly intoxicating for the mind.
Tea Dictionary
Overview
This is a listing of my favourite chinese tea.
Long Jing (Dragon Well)
This is the best tea I have tasted so far. Not my favourite because I don’t even own them. Apparently, these buggers are really hard to find. According to Wikipedia Long Jing is broken down into 7 class, I have no idea how good is the one that my great-aunt have.
Apparently, this tea is quite hard to cultivate, and so the best one went to the hands of the Chinese Government. They don’t serve the first grade Long Jing to just ordinary people, you need to get into the VIP list of the Chinese govt to taste the first-grade Long Jing. And I kid you not.
( now that really got me thinking, I bet Obama have tasted this tea and yet, I don’t think he can fully appreciate the awesomeness of this tea, but never mind that. )
According to Wikipedia, you can also eat the leaves after it is infused! I didn’t knew this until just now (when I search in Wikipedia for long jing).
Convenient location to obtain this tea:
- First Grade – must get into the VIP list of Chinese Govt. Or join the govt and climb your way up the ladder. WTF!
- Second Grade – ? Let’s assume the one that my great aunt have is 2nd grade, because I have never tested other qualities of Long Jing, I would say, I’ll have to beg for some from her!
- Third Grade and below – No idea, can’t even find this in any shop in Melbourne. T2 doesn’t have it, Ten Ren doesn’t have it, the cheap tea shop next to Miss Marple doesn’t have it either.
Long Chu (Buddha’s Tears / Dragon Pearl)
This is my favourite tea, and the first one that draws me in into the world of Chinese Tea. Long Chu are hand-woven pearls that is a mixture of jasmine leaves and buds rolled into tiny balls.
Best temperature to my experiment is around 75-80′C, infuse for around 2 minute before drinking. Each batch can last for three charges. After that, the tea will start to lose its flavour.
Convenient location to obtain this tea:
- First Grade – ? beg for more from my great aunt ?
- Second Grade – T2, under chinese tea / jasmine
- Third Grade – shop right next to Miss Marple in Sassafras at Mt.Dandenong, much cheaper than T2. You get what you pay for.
Kwan Yin (Iron Goddess)
Named after the Iron Goddess of Mercy, the flavour and aroma have a mixture of flower / fruit in it.
Best temperature to infuse is around 90-100′C, so a simple boiled water from a boiler kettle will do. Just boil the water and wait around 5 minute to cool it down just a bit. Infuse around 3 minute before drinking. In my experience a good Kwan Yin tea can last 4 charges before the flavor dissipates.
Convenient location to obtain this tea:
- First Grade ( also called King Tea Kwan Yin) – ? beg for some from my great aunt ?
- Second Grade – ?
- Third Grade – shop right next to Miss Marple in Sassafras at Mt.Dandenong, much cheaper than T2.
Drinking Equipment
Purple Clay Teapot
People who are serious Chinese Tea drinker are always on the lookout for one of these teapots:
It looked pretty ordinary, isn’t it ? But this is exactly what drinking Chinese Tea is all about. Concealed quality and enjoyment. This ordinary looking teapot is quite hard to obtain (the real deal, I mean). What makes them so special is the material in which they are created with: The Purple Clay. Here’s a bit of text from Wikipedia:
Yixing clay (simplified Chinese: 宜兴; traditional Chinese: 宜興; pinyin: Yíxīng; Wade-Giles: I-Hsing) is a type of clay from the region near the city of Yixing in Jiangsu province, China. Its use dates back to the Song Dynasty (960 – 1279) when purple clay was first mined around Lake Taihu in China[1]. From the 17th century on, the ware was commonly exported to Europe. The finished stoneware, which is used for teaware and other small items, are usually red or brown in colour.
…
Yixing teawares are prized because their unglazed surfaces absorb traces of the beverage, creating a more complex flavour. For these reasons, yixing teawares should never be washed using detergents, but rather with water only, and connoisseurs recommend using each tea vessel for one kind of tea (white, green, oolong, or black) or sometimes even one variety of tea only.
You read that right. Genuine Purple Clay teapot can remember the taste of the tea that was brewed in it. It enhances the flavour and aroma of the drink the more you use it – it is not uncommon for hardcore tea fan to have one Purple Clay teapot for only one kind of tea. Considering how hard it is to obtain one genuine Purple Clay teapot, you should now have an idea as to how far one would go to fully appreciate tea.
Caring for Purple Clay Teapot
This needs to be on a separate section to stress its importance. DON’T WASH IT WITH SOAP. Just rinse with water, and that’s it. This is to help the pot retain the flavour of the tea that was in it for as much as possible.
References
- Yixing Clay, Wikipedia page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_clay]
- Gaiwan, Wikipedia page [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaiwan]