Brewing Tips: Opening Up the Characteristics of a 20 y/o Toucha

The remnants of a 20 year old petrified looking toucha I picked up from Hong Kong. The tightly compressed tea leaves have rigid and unyielding characteristics. Brewing this tea under normal circumstances gives a muted and lack luster brew. However once the leaves are sufficiently rested the tightness in the tea dissipates and the characteristics open up to reveal decent qualities.

2003 Millennial Old Tree Mini Teacake (Jingmai)

The Jingmai region is famous for its old trees and the high quality tea leaves they produce. Raw material from these old growth trees have made Jingmai amongst the most recognizable and sought after regions in Yunnan Province for producing puerh tea. The name “Millennial Old Tree” is a reference to Jingmai’s natural treasure of 1000 year old majestic trees that grows in the region. The raw material that make up the mini teacakes by the Kunming Fengling Tea Factory more realistically I believe come from centuries old trees that are more abundantly found on Jingmai’s natural landscape. Having drunk my way through several of the mini teacakes I am impressed by their quality and feel that the distinctive character and high quality of Jingmai’s old growth tea is well represented by these teacakes.

Experimenting with Water – Discussion

For those interested in reading more on others experiences with different sources of water I recommend going to Teachat’s forum on this topic – Experimenting with Water. The exchange gets heated at times and covers broad and wide ranging opinions and practices by passionate tea enthusiasts. It is a fun and informative read for tea lovers with an interest to experiment and with the goal towards getting the utmost from their tea session.

Healing Sounds that Touches the Soul by Drukmo Gyal Dakini

 

This young lady Drukmo Gyal Dakini creates beautiful music that is a part of traditional Tibetan culture that uses sounds to heal. The sounds are unique and leave a powerful impression on the body and mind. It is a wonderful accompaniment to meditation and to a tea session.

Testing Water LOT 1 – Brewing the 2005 Gan En Ban Zhang Part 2

 

The 2005 Gan En Ban Zhang is a semi aged puerh tea. The tea has shred most of its youthful green characteristics and is in the initial stages of developing dark characters with low and heavy notes. The tea leaves are giving and provide a substantial brew with strong Cha Qi.

Testing Water LOT 1 – Natural Springs from Australia, Fuji, Iceland, Scotland Part 1

 

The clarity and purity of the natural spring water and underlying sweetness in the above bottles highlights the quality that is missing in my local tap water. From left to right i) Scotland, ii) Fuji, iii) Iceland, iv) Australia

Looking for Improvements - Water for Brewing Tea

For much of the last 5 years I have relied on my Amway eSpring to purify the local tap water and provide me with the water I need to brew my tea.  It is a practice of convenience and one that has yielded satisfactory results but fails to put a shine on some of the teas I know can really excel with the right water.