2001 Millennial Old Tree Teacake (Jingmai)

 

SPECIAL RELEASE: Exploring the early beginnings of gushu production.

TOP TIPS: Comparative Tea Tasting

Comparative tea tasting is an excellent practice for learning about tea. It can greatly enhance your perception and appreciation of tea.

Educational Series – The 3 Eras of Liu An Tea

 

The 3 Eras of Liu An Tea is an experience that spans a lifetime. A period of over 60 years of Liu An tea history is captured in these ancient leaves and old baskets that hold them. The story of this renowned and at times forgotten tea is told through the magical brew that connects us to the people and the times of each era.

Introduction to Puerh Tea

With much general information on puerh tea already available on the Internet it does not motivate me to provide more repetitive content. However seeing that my humble blog attracts newcomers as well as the seasoned drinker, I realized that a short introduction is in order. At the very least my dear readers who have started to look upon a puerh teacake with new eyes whilst licking their lips deserve to know what they are getting themselves into. >> Introduction

Revisiting the 2007 Puerh Market Crash

 

2007 was a turbulent year for those involved in puerh tea, especially tea businesses that were heavily invested. After a decade of escalating prices the momentum driving the value of puerh tea would peak during the spring of 2007. However the high prices could not hold and as the price for puerh tea tumbled, the first crash of the modern day puerh market was at hand. Fueled by heavy speculation and in part the wave of euphoria generated by the Chinese national media the price of puerh tea was at an all time high and was no longer sustainable without a significant correction. Furthermore the realization that the quality of puerh tea was increasingly being compromised for bigger profits by producers had begun to greatly dampen the euphoria of puerh tea leading up to 2007. A lack of confidence in new products whereby quality was sacrificed for quantity increasingly deterred buyers and investments. By mid-2007 the puerh tea market had crashed. As prices plunged to deeper depths for the reminder of the year many tea businesses that had gambled on escalating prices would be forced to close their doors.

Tea for All Occasions - Tea for Life

 

The Reign of Chairman Mao Zedong (1949-1976) - Part2/2

20th Century Chinese History - Article 2 >> go to Main Page

3) The Cultural Revolution (1966-76)

 Culture must serve workers, peasants and soldiers, must serve proletarian politics

The Reign of Chairman Mao Zedong (1949-1976) - Part1/2

20th Century Chinese History - Article 2 >> go to Main Page

Chairman Mao Zedong aka Freedom Fighter, Great Leader, Visionary, Hero, Legend, God. Whilst all this is true the period that Chairman Mao reigned from 1949 to 1976 as the undisputed leader of China was a time of immense upheaval, turmoil, great suffering and an unprecedented loss of lives. The reign of Chairman Mao will perpetually be remembered under three key events; 1) Class Warfare, 2) The Great Leap Forward and the Great Famine, 3) The Cultural Revolution and this is where we will focus our attention.

1) Class Warfare (Early 1950s)

The working class must rule everything

The Chinese Civil War (1927-1949)

20th Century Chinese History - Article 1 >> go to Main Page

The year 1927 was the start of the Chinese Civil War between the Nationalists Kuomintang (KMT) and the Communist Party of China (CPC). Each political party had different ideologies on which to govern the country but the two that most stood out were capitalism and communism as each party represented a different class of society. Early in the war the Kuomintang under Chiang Kai-shek was expected to crush the People's Liberation Army (PLA) under the Communist Party. At the time the Nationalists were the legal government of China and held superior advantages in numbers and resources with foreign aid coming from America. However plagued by bureaucratic inefficiency and corruption the war dragged on for decades and was interrupted by the Japanese invasion during World War II before resuming.

Chairman Mao & The Communist Party - A History Recorded by 2 Teas

i) Sailing the seas depends on the helmsman, waging revolution depends on Mao Zedong, ii) 1970s Fu Brick, People’s Unification Tea from the time of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution, iii) 1950s Liu An Sun Yishun

A part of the allure of old teas is the period of time and history that they represent. Each tea has a story to tell and the 2 old teas that I will be reviewing this month are no different. Both teas come from a time of immense upheaval and unrest that coincides with the rise of Chairman Mao Zedong and the rule of the Communist Party of China. The contrasting qualities of the 2 old teas in many ways mirror the two prominent political parties (Kuomintang, KMT and Communist Party of China, CPC) at the time. The turn of events would cause each to take two very different paths.