Wulu Mountain Tribute Green, Tea Culture, and 2011 Man Tang Hong 2 Shou Puerh

I've been busy preparing for this Sunday's upcoming tea tasting on competition oolongs from Taiwan, but that doesn't stop me from trying teas on a daily basis. I'm also constantly researching tea and tea history, as I find what is out "there" really is inadequate or incorrect. I don't pretend to know very much, but I do find it frustrating when people do pretend to be authorities, yet it is obvious with a little research that what they are saying is not completely accurate. The real lesson is that if you are serious about tea, and want what you actually pay for, then you need to do a lot of research and learning. The internet is full of "authorities" or websites that are fudging their facts to make it sound like they have the "best" or "true" or "highest quality" tea out there.

This rule of caution may not hold as much truth when buying teas from Ceylon, Nilgiri, Assam, or Darjeeling, simply because you can generally get the quality and grade you pay for directly from the Estate. So, in the cafe, I buy directly from each Estate in these locations and have the tea air shipped in. This allows us to get the freshest tea possible from these locations. It may cost a bit more for the air shipping, but when you are dealing with a Moonshine Darjeeling, or a SFTGFOP Assam, or a Ceylon Silver Tip, fresh is the name of the game.

However, when talking about tea from China or Taiwan, if you do not know your source - and hopefully it is direct from farmer/grower/producer, then caution must be exercised. It is very easy to be sold a Long Feng Xia from Taiwan made of the Jin Xuan varietal when you wanted one from the Qing Xin varietal. Or a Wuyi Oolong that really is not Wuyi. And puerh is an entirely different story. So, education and research, every day is how I go about learning what is real and what is hype or exaggeration.

But part of this is also learning the larger history of tea and appreciating it in all forms across what many call "tea culture" - a culture that goes way back in history, for thousands of years.

This is a photo from the book "The Dali Lama's Secret Temple Tantric Wall Paintings from Tibet." This image is that of Chandrabhadra receiving an ambrosia. Accompanied with the photo below of the same wall painting, one may argue that the ambrosia is tea!

From the same book, this is Nagarjuna receiving some ambrosia from a forest spirit. But look at the tree - it sure looks like it could be a tea bush/tree. There is certainly a high reverence for tea among Tibetan Buddhists, and monks have been using tea for centuries to help with meditation practices.

Wulu Mountain Tribute Green

One of the newer green teas that I put out recently in the cafe. Another summer green, from the Anhui Province in China. The leaves were picked in June of this year, pan fired and slightly rolled by hand.  The liquor is delicious, classic green, with hints of herbaceous, grassy flavor that is found in well made summer greens.

The dried leaves, slightly curled.

I do fast steepings of around 20 seconds, for a slightly lighter cup.

The unfurled leaves.

Another images, this one from the book "Oriental Rugs and Carpets" by Stanley Reed. The image shows Mumtazi-i Mahal, wife of Shah Jahan in a 1726 painting.  Shah Jahan was the 5th Mughal Emperor of India. Here she is enjoying some tea, perhaps from the tree just behind her?

2011 Man Tang Hong "Number 2" Shou Puerh

This puerh was made from an average of grade 2 ripe tea leaves harvested from mature tea bushes in Mengku county (Lincang prefecture), in southwest Yunnan Province, China. The tea was made from spring leaves harvested and fermented during the summer of 2007, then allowed to age for 4 years before being blended and pressed. Finally, after six years of dry storage in Kunming the puerh was released onto the market. I only had a sample to try, and although I found it delicious, with a classic ripe puerh flavor and a smooth, dark liquor, I can't say much more. It was a perfect everyday drinking puerh.

The pressed, dried leaves.

Third steeping, deep and dark.