GLOBAL EA HUT Tea & Tao Magazine 國際茶亭 May 2017 老A Guide to Aging Puerh化 Tea 茶 “Breakthrough” Mengku Maocha as a Storage Candidate Deciding on an Yixing Teapot GLOBAL EA HUT ContentsIssue 64 / May 2017 Tea & Tao Magazine Breakthrough精神突破 There is a vast encyclopedic body of folk wisdom surrounding aged and aging puerh that goes back centuries. It’s a topic worth steeping every Love is couple years, discussing how to age tea as we check in on our own stash and see how it’s faring, changing the world and also decide if we want to store a tea like this month’s tea long term. bowl by bowl Features特稿文章 13 Introduction to Aging Puerh Tea 17 The Changes of Time By Huang Chanfang 03 21 Superior Puerh Liqour is Rich & Substantial By Lian Jianxing 31 Storing Puerh Tea By He Jingcheng 35 Perspectives on 35 25 Aging Puerh By Huang Haoran 41 Storage Techniques By Zhan Shunqian 45 Puerh Storage in Malaysia By Qiu Jinquan 49 Storing Puerh at Home By Chan Kam Pong 傳統文章 Traditions 31 03 Tea of the Month 精 “Breakthrough,” 2015 Sheng Puerh Tea © 2017 by Global Tea Hut Mengku, Yunnan, China 神 All rights reserved. 突 No part of this publication may be 25 Gongfu Teapot reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys- “Deciding on an Yixing Teapot,” 破 tem or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, By Han Chi Lo photocopying, recording, or other- wise, without prior written permis- 57 TeaWayfarer sion from the copyright owner. Lauren Stern, USA n May, theFrom year’s harvests start rolling in andthe the tea ter will wax sentimentalEditor about the “glory days” when things lover starts to wonder what kind of weather she’ll be were smaller. Still, I understand the merits of moving to a drinking this year, since the differences in tea from course schedule, for the benefit of everyone in this glob- year to year have much to do with changes in the cli- al community, and those yet to come. Imagine receiving a Imate. We try new teas and compare them to the old, find- catalogue of the coming year’s courses with your Decem- ing much joy in tasting new teas like puerh alongside their ber Global Tea Hut and leafing through it, choosing from elders—examples from previous years. This offers us the week-long to intensive ten-day courses on Cha Dao, various chance to understand the mystery of age in tea. We return brewing methods taught at multiple levels (like Gongfu Tea now to lighter teas: occasionally a lightly-oxidized oolong, I, II, III and IV, for example), linear courses on Oolong Tea, young sheng puerh and more rarely a white or green tea as or even The Seven Genres of Tea, and of course, gatherings and retreats… As we turn potential guests away due to the well. The weather in Taiwan is beautiful this time of year, fact that the Tea Sage Hut is constantly over-booked, the and these light teas herald the change in season, as they have pressure to create the new Center grows. We are therefore since ancient times. going to find a way to incentivize your help in spreading the We have just returned from the largest-ever Annual word. As you help us find new members who subscribe to Global Tea Hut tea trip, which reminds us to take the time Global Tea Hut, you will be eligible to receive Light Meets and celebrate all the marvelous connections that have hap- Life teas, teaware, rarer teas we enjoy here at the Hut, paint- pened through this magazine-experience. I travel around ings, books and ultimately, even a free trip to the Center! the world, “making friends through tea,” and seeing how We are currently working out the logistics of tracking this. those friendships are the seeds for others to meet, the com- Stay tuned to our social media for more details. munity grows and grows. We have come a long way from This is an exciting issue, as the new maocha arriving twenty members and a black-and-white newsletter! As the from Yunnan allows us some perspective on elder teas, like new teas come in, and I am tasting the potential candidates our Tea of the Month this time. Drinking these new teas for our annual Light Meets Life fundraiser, I feel a dreamy, also has sparked interest in exploring the aging of sheng poetic grace for the abundance surrounding and flowing puerh a bit more in depth than we have before, including through our global efforts to awaken tea spirit. Returning some articles on the changes in puerh during its infancy to the tea, I remember how many more bowls and cups through its youth, middle and old age. We have devoted there are to share and smile, invigorated and inspired to much of this issue to aging puerh—sourcing good tea, how work hard again. And we have some great teas coming this and where to age the tea, and much more! This issue is a year for you, including one I call “the dream,” as I have been testament to our goals of including more and more perspec- working with a farmer in Yunnan for several years to get it tives in each issue of Global Tea Hut, offering articles by a right and have finally done so! greater variety of authors and translating more. Once again, Some of you may not know this, but I have begun study- we have to thank Wuxing Publications for all their support! ing photography in my quest to express tea spirit through these pages—hoping that some of the sentiments of being at the Hut or in tea ceremony are displayed to those who haven’t yet attended a session, and inspiring those that have to put another kettle on and serve some more tea. I know I have a long way to go in achieving those aims, but I have devoted some time, love and energy to improving the imag- Wu De es in this magazine. It therefore brings me great joy to an- nounce one of my favorite times of year, and an inspiration for this magazine and for me personally: the beginning of our 2017 Annual Photography Contest. Any of you, and even those who are not Global Tea Hut members, can sub- –Further Readings– mit one photograph that you feel expresses tea spirit, and we’ll choose winners later in the year, who will receive many wonderful prizes. This month, we will have some extra articles As Global Tea Hut gathers momentum, we feel more translated on the topic of aging puerh tea, as there of a pressure to build the new Center, Light Meets Life. I is really much more than we can include in this personally do not feel compelled towards “more” and am issue. The September 2014 Extended Edition on content with the Center we have, Tea Sage Hut. I know that Puerh is good background reading as well. once we do move, those of us who enjoyed this smaller Cen- *Further Readings are posted on our blog. 2 of the ver the course of this month, hone your understanding. Reviewing regions: India’s Darjeeling and Assam, we are going to be discuss- is fundamental to proper study hab- and China’s Yunnan Province. After 茶ing one of the questions we its, and is a very important method of the Himalayas cross the border into Oget asked the most often: “How do I learning and retaining information so China, they become the Hengduan store my puerh tea?” And this com- that you can pass it on to your guests, Mountains: several parallel mountain plicated question actually unravels or whomever asks you about the topic. ranges running from north to south. into many other questions, as well, Furthermore, not everyone has been Together they form a U-shape, facing like where to store your tea or which sitting in this Hut for the same amount towards the Indian Ocean. Warm, hu- tea to choose in the first place. Actu- of time—some are new here. For these mid winds blow across from the Indian ally, this topic exceeds the parameters reasons and more, it is important for Ocean to meet the majestic Himalayas of this issue, and we may have to have us to review basic material before mov- and Hengduan mountains, creating a some more discussions on the topic in ing on to a discussion of aging. warm current in the surrounding area later issues as well, but we hope to offer and forming an excellent biological some different perspectives on storage environment. The world’s top tea-pro- that will help you navigate the tricky, Trees & Gardens ducing regions are all located within island-strewn waters of puerh storage. this U-shaped area. And what would Global Tea Hut be Large-leaf tea varietals in Yunnan There is a lot of confusion sur- without a tea to help explore the issue Province are concentrated in two main rounding the kinds of trees in Yunnan, with the senses as well? Our Tea of the areas: western Yunnan and southern and it can be difficult to navigate with- Month, Breakthrough, is a 2015 mao- Yunnan. The Western Yunnan Tea Re- out standards. This means that differ- cha that we enjoy drinking and have gion includes the three prefectures of ent publications and vendors will have just made the decision to move into Lincang, Baoshan and Dehong, en- their own terms, categories and ways of long-term storage.