Dear readers,
I found this documentary where you can watch David Lee Hoffman in some of the most remote regions of China in search of the finest, handmade teas in the world.
Mr Hoffman has been travelling around Asia for more then 40years trying to find the most rare and pure Teas. You can read more about him and his work on: http://thephoenixcollection.com/about.htm
Here is the video:
Happy Tea Break,
Mariana
Hi Tea Lovers,
Jesse Jacobs, from the Samovar Tea Lounge, can help you decide which is the right Tea for you. You should answer the following questions:
Check out his video –
Happy Tea Beak,
Mariana
What better then a great, high quality cup of Tea to digest a big lunch?! I was waiting for the right time to taste this special Puerh Beeng Cha that Edgar Thoemmes from Canton Tea Co., has sent me a few weeks ago.
The Tea is fantastic – light, fresh and sweet in taste (with flowery notes); and it has a long and persistent aftertaste.
Puerh Teas can be compressed in different shapes: disc (beeng cha), nest (tuo cha), brick (fang cha) and mushroom (jin cha). Today´s Tea is in a form of a disc – Puerh Beeng Cha.
This cake is made in a small artisan farm in Yi Wu Mountain, Meng Hai, Yunnan, China and has been traditionally stone-pressed. This is a very young Tea – it was pressed on the 30th April 2011. The cake uses maocha from large arbor varietal teas and leaves are all grade 6 or above with some young buds.
I just finished my 1st infusion! Will continue to drink all afternoon!
Thank you Edgar for this experience and Tea Break. The Tea is amazing!
Mariana
Gongfu in Chinese means “to do things with skill and care” and everything during the gongfu cha or kungfu cha is prepared in detail with small and delicate items, focusing on the elegance of brewing Tea. Each step is designed to get the best possible flavour, enphasising the taste and smell of each cup of Tea and how one Tea taste compares with the previous ones.
Gongfu cha originated in China but it is also very popular in Taiwan.It is mainly used to prepare Oolong and Puerh Tea but it may also be used for other kinds of Tea.
The Gongfu cha method can be put in practice for private enjoyment, to welcome guests or as a commercial show in Tea shops and markets so that the client can taste various kinds of Tea. It requires a large space, ideally a peaceful and surronding environment, with a big table to hold all the necessary equipment.
In order to perform a gonfu cha you will need: a yixing clay teapot or a gaiwan; small Tea cups for tasting; fresh spring water and an electric kettle, and a dip Tea tray (which is very important as a lot of water is wasted during the process). Some other tools are optional such as a vessel and strainer to serve, a Tea scoop (for scooping loose tea), a Tea brush to clean and Tea pincers to handle the hot small cups.
This video shows a Gongfu chinese Tea ceremony:
Gongfu is only one of the many Chinese Tea ceremonies. In China, Tea is used as a sign of respect, to apologise, for family gatherings and even during weddings.
Happy Tea Break.
Tania
Post-fermentation is a Tea production style in which the Tea leaves undergo a period
Pu-erh Tea Factory
of aging in open air and are left to fully oxidize gradually over time. In China, post fermented Tea are often called Black Tea or Dark Tea. These Teas are usually compressed into bricks or cakes to facilitate transport over long distances and they can be aged for many years, sometimes in caves, in order to get a smoother and richer flavour. This requires a minimum of 10 years to mature and gets better with age like fine wine. This process leaves us with a deep and robust Tea with a kind of earthy flavour.
The best known of the post-fermented Tea category is Pu-erh, from the Yunnan Province in China. The highest quality of authentic Pu-erh Teas are made with leaves that are hand-harvested from wild antique Tea trees, sometimes more than 100 years old.
How to prepare a Pu-erh? First, it is important to separate a well-sized portion of the compressed tea for brewing which can be a difficult task. Watch the video on how to break a Pu-erh Tea cake:
Pu-erh should be served in a Yixing Clay Teapot or in a Gaiwan, a type of Chinese
Pu-erh Tea
teacup. The ideal temperature is between 85º and 95ºc depending on the quality and the infusion time varies from 30 seconds during the first infusion to 10 minutes during the last infusion.
In traditional Chinese Medicine this Tea is believed to aid in digestion and considered a suitable beverage after a big and heavy meal.
Happy Tea Break. 
Tania
