A Cup Of Chinese Tea With Cha Sifu George

Caring For Your Chinese Teapot

2010-06-16T19:08:00.000-07:00

Your Chinese Teapot is an investment for life.... and even longer.

With this in mind, I've decided to put together a simple guide "Caring For Your Chinese Teapot"

Your Chinese Teapot is prized for its functional and aesthetic design which includes the composition of the special clay which over time will absorb and enhance your tea's flavour.

Before you use it for the first time you need to "cure" or "season" your Teapot.

Here's how:

Rinse it with hot water to remove any dust or other residues.
Prepare 4-5 infusions of tea, each time leaving the tea to brew for at least 30 minutes.
Do not drink the tea.
Throw out the tea and used tea leaves.

We highly recommend you use only one kind of tea for your Teapot (example: Wuyi Rock Oolong) because the essential oils and associated flavour of the tea will gradually soak into the clay of the pot. Using different kinds of teas will essentially cause a clash of oils and flavours.

You will find after a few weeks of frequent use that your pot will begin to form a shiny "patina" coating on the outside. This is highly prized and can be encouraged by pouring tea over the outside of your pot and after each tea session, polishing your pot with a non-abrasive microfibre cloth. If you continue this practice your pot will become evermore increasingly beautiful (and valuable) with time. You can see an example of this in a previous blog post here (click)

Here are some important rules to follow:

Never use soap to clean your teapot.
Never use a scourer, brush or other abrasive type cleaning fabric.
Never put your pot in the microwave or on a stove.

Considering a teapot can last for life as your faithful loving tea-time companion, why not treat it with utmost respect and follow the guidelines and rules above. You can be sure that your pot will reward you, not to mention your tea friends will love to join you and your pot for tea :)

Have a favourite teapot you would like to show us? Feel free to email me your photo: george@kungfucha.net

Looking for a unique high quality teapot? Drop in to our online tea shop and have a browse: kungfucha.net

PS Both photos above are pots currently available at our shop. Like all of our pots, they are very limited in edition.

Tea leaves Found in Chinese Tomb

2010-05-02T22:12:00.000-07:00

From ArchaeologyDaily.com (link)

Chinese archeologists have found remnants of tea leaves in tea sets unearthed from the family graveyard of the country's first known anthropologist, a man who lived 900 years ago.

The finding challenges the traditional theory that infused tea became popular only in modern times, said Zhang Yun, a researcher with Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology.

Pieces of green tea were found in a dozen bronze, porcelain and stone tea sets unearthed from a cluster of 29 tombs in Lantian County, he said.

Zhang led the excavations that lasted from December 2007 to December 2009, which produced a variety of sacrificial objects.

"In one of the tea sets, which contained a bronze cup and a filler that filters tea, we found about 20 pieces of remnants of tea leaves," said Zhang. "The tea leaf remains green, a sign that it was infused instead of boiled before it was served."

The archeologists also found stone kettles next to the tea sets. "These, too, were common kitchen utensils because water boiled in stone kettles was considered tasteless and therefore ideal for preserving the fragrance of the tea.

Pre & Post Fermented Pu-Erh - A Taste Test Game!

2010-04-25T02:20:00.000-07:00

How are you going my friends?

Many of you will have tried pre-fermented and post-fermented Pu-Erh already.

You should be able to tell the difference, and prefer one over the other.

Want to ask me the difference between them?

I suggest that we find out together with a game:

First, let’s put 10g of the pre-fermented Pu-Erh in the gai wan/tea pot and make tea as usual.

Now, let's try 8g of the same pre-fermented together with 2g of post-fermented (at least 7 years old) and make tea as usual.

Are you doing it? Or just trying to imagine it?!

Action! Try it right now....

Could you tell me the reason why the difference appears?

Please comment below or send me mail at george@kungfucha.net

Cheers,

George

Green Tea Season

2010-03-21T22:27:00.000-07:00

Greetings Tea Friends!

Now is the beautiful spring season, this is the time of hope and vitality, the best time to enjoy fresh green tea.

Longjing - The King Of Green Tea

Longjing (Dragon Well) is the supreme grade of green tea and the experience is rather special:

During the first round, Longjing may confuse us because it has no apparent taste, but just when we are looking for the taste in our mouth, an elegant flavour comes from the throat, wave after wave…

After several rounds, the whole mouth and throat are filled with flavour. Our mind becomes fully relaxed and our heart is filled with joy and peace.

Longjing (Dragon's Well) Tea at Kungfucha.net

Biluochun - The Queen Of Green Tea

For every King there must be a Queen and the Queen of Green Tea is without a doubt Biluochun.

A very delicate and tender tea, Biluochun has a different taste to Longjing..... a taste that I'd describe as "mixed fruits"

You can read more about Biluochun at Kungfucha.net here

Green tea needs to be enjoyed fresh as its taste drops quickly with storage.

The first top-grade batches of both Longjing and Biluochun are now available, but in very limited quantities for a limited time.

Shall we enjoy together? If you're interested,please view the links above.

Want to know more about top grade Green Tea? Let me know in the comments below!

Cheers,

George

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2010-03-21T19:52:00.001-07:00

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Kung Fu Cha Teapots - How a teapot improves over time with use

2010-03-01T07:09:00.000-08:00

Hello my Cha Ren (Chinese for "Tea People / Tea Friends")

Being a Chinese tea lover, I wanted to share with you in a series of photographs how a teapot changes over time with use.

As we've talked about in previous blogs, good quality Yixing teapots have a fine finish and solid texture, a four percent water absorption rate, very low thermal conductivity, and a double air hole design which enhances the pot's brewing properties. The more you use and polish it after a tea session, the more the natural shiny appearance of it will improve. This is partly due to the presence of natural oils in the tea.

Below are pictures of the same batch teapots which are +20years old. One has never been used, one has been used for about 2 months and one for more than a year.

Hmmm, let's see the results....

Teapot Never Used

Teapot has been used for two months

Teapot has been used for more than one year

Can you tell the difference by the appearance!? And we use them to make the exact same Pu-erh tea.

Cheers,

George

PS. Interested in learning more about tea? Why not visit our Tea School with 6 free lessons and more coming soon...

Kung Fu Cha Teapots - A Chinese New Year Discussion

2010-02-23T06:10:00.000-08:00

Kung Hei Fa Choi and Happy Chinese Tiger Year!

All the best Chinese wishes to all of you and your family!

During the New Year celebrations here, my friends and I had a discussion about teapots.

In particular, the question that was asked was:

Why do people collect so many different pots for tea making?

And here's the answers that unfolded:

· The most obvious perhaps: because people appreciate the beauty in teapots, the fine craftsmanship, the aesthetic beauty which complements their home and lifestyle.

· Different materials lead to different performance. If we make the very same tea, with pots from different materials, the taste will be different.

· The shape of the teapot can also affect the taste. Different shaped pots even though made with the same material can still effect different taste.

· The very same pot (same batch product), used versus unused will produce different tastes.

· Of course the aged tea pot in general will be much better than new pots for tea making.

· China produces so many different types of tea, and different kinds of teapots. Allowing for each individual's taste, and preference, and our understanding of how taste can vary depending on the kind of teapot, we can begin to understand the nature of the tea lover, ever-exploring, trying new teas, and in the process trying and buying new pots. There is a real happiness that can be achieved if one follows the path of tea lover and explorer!

For more discussion, drop me an email at george@kungfucha.net : )

And coming soon, I will share photographs of "How a Teapot changes over time with use". Interested!? Come back to visit us soon!

Cheers,

George

Happy New Year 2010

2009-12-30T19:43:00.000-08:00

Teapots

2009-12-18T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hello my Cha Ren*
*Chinese for Tea People / Tea Friends

This week we'll talk about teapots.. And we can continue the Kungfucha topic next time...

A fine teapot is very important for tea making. As well as being a beautiful object to look at, a teapot is first and foremost a tool so it has to be functional as well as comfortable to use.

When making different kinds of tea, we use different kinds of teapots. This will bring out the best taste of the tea.

A similar logic can be found when tasting fine red wine. Question: did you ever try normal glass versus fine crystal glass for red wine? Any difference? Why? Drop me an email to george@kungfucha.net.

There are many kinds of tea out put from China. After many experiment, certain kind of teapots are suitable for 1 or 2 kinds of tea. You could try by yourselves as home work, or send me mail to discuss by person.

Generally speaking however, high density teapots (ie. porcelain or glass teapot) are used to brew Green tea, White tea and Jasmine tea. Low density teapots (ie. Yixing teapot) are used to brew Black tea, Oolong tea and Pu-erh.

One more important thing: the more you use a teapot, the more beautiful it becomes, and the better the tea will taste.

#2 Kungfucha

2009-12-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hello My Dear Tea Friends.

After talking about Pu-erh tea last week, let’s get back to the Kungfucha topic : )

Some of you may ask: "Which kind of tea should be used for Kungfucha-style preparation?"

Well, I can tell you that the main kinds of tea suitable for Kungfucha are Oolong families (ie. Rock Oolong tea) and taged (15+years post fermented) Pu-erh. However Green tea, Black tea and White teas are not suitable. Why? Anybody know?

Today we will use Rock Oolong tea ...

We need:

a 150-200cc Kungfucha style teapot
3 small ceramic cups
2/3 pot volume tea leaves
and 100 degrees C water

The first round is for "washing" (cleaning the tea of any impurities) and to warm up the cups;

The second round: pour the boiling water into the pot, 5 seconds later, directly pour the tea into the ceramic cups in turns;

The third round needs to wait 10 seconds, fourth round needs to wait 30 seconds, fifth round needs to wait 1 minute... Normally, the Rock Oolong tea can be made up to 10 infusions.

The below photos give you a visual idea.... These show me preparing Dahongpao Wu Yi Rock Oolong Kungfucha-style.

Between each round, you can take a break for 3 minutes.

Thinking, talking, reading ... And feeling the kick back : )

Of course, you can adjust the time for the tea making, to control the taste (lighter or stronger) to satisfy yourself , your friends, your family.

To enhance the environment of drinking Kungfucha, you can listen to music, the sounds of nature or burn incense. Burning incense is most suitable for meditation and quiet contemplation when drinking tea alone.

Why don’t we stop and make Kungfucha now?

And then take time to leave us a comment below :)

To be continued….

Pu-erh Tea

2009-11-30T19:05:00.000-08:00

Hello my Cha Ren (Chinese for Tea People / Tea Friends)

We will continue the Kungfu tea topic next time...

We just received an email from fellow Cha Ren Rick about Pu'Erh Tea, so let’s go for this first.

Pu-erh is grown in the South-East of China in Yunnan province, a beautiful big area covering a lot of mountains on both sides of Lanchang river. The tea bushes are the same type however the different locations/altitude/nature and degree of fermentation bring different tastes, just like red wine.

In the market, you will find Pu-erh in three general forms: fresh leaf, natural post-fermented and pre-fermented.

Fresh Leaf:

Fresh Pu-erh leaf carries a taste similar to green tea, but is actually better than green tea. For example, the after taste has more depth and length and additionally it can be infused up to 30 times.

Natural Post-Fermented Pu-erh:

This is classic Pu-erh. As the tea ages (especially 20+ years old) the taste and quality improves dramatically. You will know when you are drinking well kept true post-fermented Pu-erh - it has an incredibly smooth taste, a deep wood flavour and a "kick back" effect - a real perceivable body feeling.

The downside to post-fermented Pu-erh is of course the time it takes to age and the high price. Tea people want the taste, but not the long time and high cost, and hence the development of pre-fermented Pu-erh...

Pre-Fermented Pu-erh:

Pre-fermented Pu-erh is aged prematurely via use of water and temperature change to achieve a similar dark infused tea and smooth taste just like the old post-fermented Pu-erh, but almost no kick back and without the characteristic deep wood flavour and no body feeling / health effect… Why? Because almost all of the medicinal –OH components are lost in the hydrolization of the pre-fermentation.

Ok, after the basic knowledge above, let’s go to our USA friend’s email:

Hi Sifu George,

This is very interesting to me.

I have gotten a bit deeper into Tea and am sending you a picture of the tastiest aged Pu Erh tea I could find. Just interested in your review of this particular Pu Erh.

Aged 10-? Years. From XXXX's Tea. I bought it from their US Division in New York.

Choice Tea Cheers!

Rick

Thanks for your email, Rick! We have reproduced your picture above but have removed the logo and other commerical markings since we do not want to infringe on this company's copyright.

Just by looking it's of course hard to tell but I believe it is a pre-fermented Pu-erh, but I cannot tell the exact time of its storage, I need to taste. If you want to send me a small sample you are more than welcome!

You have inspired me Rick, and now I'm considering preparing an education kit: containing Pu-erh new leaf, 1 year, 10 years both pre-fermented and post-fermented, 50 grams each. Then you will be able to study and make comparisons by yourself :) a good idea maybe? Please add your comment below...

Here are the Pu-erh teas we currently offer on our site:

Pu-erh.Kungfucha.net

We also offer a range of higher quality aged post-fermented teas right up to 50+ years (see photos below) so if you're interested feel free to contact us (see link below).

Any questions, please comment below or send us an email: ContactUs-Kungfucha.net

My partner Miho has prepared some photos below showing me preparing a 50+ years aged Pu-erh.Let's take a look first and then why don’t we stop for a cup of tea?!

Sifu George

Aged Pu-erh (50 years +)

#1 Kungfucha

2009-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:00

Hello My Dear Tea Friends.

"Kungfucha"...... how do you feel about this name? Maybe it sounds like a martial arts movie!?

"Cha" means tea. So what about "Kungfu"? Actually, it is much much more than just martial arts as most Westerners believe....

In Chinese language, the deepest meaning of "Kungfu" is: spending a long time on an object or practice, with technique of single-pointed concentration. And with an ultimate goal of a deeper understanding of your soul attained through the practice.

And then once you have some understanding and gain a degree of improvement then it is said you "have Kungfu" - Kungfu becomes a quality as well as a practice - and following on from Kungfu as you achieve higher levels of understanding and practical wisdom you become “Sifu” :)

So, when we talk about Kungfucha, the first prerequisite is high concentrated (think espresso!) and high quality tea.

Only the highest quality tea leaves should be used to prepare Kungfucha. If the quality is not good enough, the high concentration infused tea will only bring you a bitter taste, unpleasant after-taste, a sense of irritation, and even sometimes a sick feeling.

But with real high quality leaves, properly prepared, one cup of kungfu tea can make you feel relaxed, your skin alive, a sense of your body becoming lighter and your soul attracted by the qualities of such high quality Kungfucha: deep flavour, long lasting and beautiful after-taste, and a sense of moving into a peaceful, empty and bright space….

Why don’t you take time now, and stop for a cup of tea ?

And then take time to leave us a comment below :)

Of course, feel free to drop in to my website http://chinesetea.kungfucha.net/, maybe you'd like to attend a "lesson" at our tea school :)

Home of Wuyi Rock Oolong Tea - My Journey to Wuyi Mountain!

2009-10-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

Autumn has arrived. It's a special season for tea and as usual I found myself travelling to Wuyi mountain, Fujian Province here in China.

Wuyi mountain is as beautiful as usual and the people are simply so nice, natural and pure.

If you have time, you really should come to this paradise of the world.

Occasionally I take small groups of friends and local Chinese customers to visit and we are considering offering this to our international customers in the future. Drop me an email if you're interested info@kungfucha.net

As you might guess I love tea and the tea from Wuyi mountain is my favourite.

The most famous teas from Wuyi are known as "Wuyi Rock Oolong" teas. These teas are grown in the gaps of rocks on Wuyi Mountain, making cultivation difficult.

The leaves are rolled by hand and then pan fired to their optimum aromatic level. They are then charcoal-fired in small batches to produce a deep rich colours and flavours.

When brewed this tea produces a smooth aroma with a deliciously sweet, roasted and often floral and other tastes. They really must be tried to be appreciated!

All Wuyi Rock teas will continue to taste great even after many infusions. In addition, many studies have shown that these these oolong teas indeed do carry the medicinal and weight loss properties they are now becoming famous for.

Please enjoy these photos I took during my trip. And thanks to my partners Miho and her friend David for making such a lovely slideshow of them! And for helping with my English :)

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Numerous types of rock oolongs and other chinese teas are cultivated and produced around Wuyi mountain, including:

Da Hong Pao (大紅袍)
Laoshuixian (Aged Daffodil) (老水仙)
Rougui (Cinnamon) (玉桂)
Lapsang souchong (正山小種)

The first two above are available now on our site, fresh from my journey! >View the teas here... This time I also brought some small amounts of very rare Wuyi rock tea varieties back, including

Buzhichun (不知春) "Don't Forget Spring"
Duchunfeng (度春風) "On The Spring Breeze"
Ganlu (甘露) "Sweet Dew"
Jinmaohou (金毛猴) "Golden-haired monkey"
Suxinlan (素心蘭) "Elegant orchid"

I only have small quantities of these teas for myself and close tea friends but for fellow tea connoisseurs, I just *might* be persuaded to part with a small sample if you're quick :) Thanks for taking the time to read my blog, looking forward to your comments... and feel free to ask any questions, I'll do my best to respond to you as quickly as possible. Enjoy your tea, cup by cup, sip by sip... George