國際茶亭 Tea & Tao Magazine Global Tea HutJuly 2015 山 "Mountain Wind" Sheng Puerh 之 Water, the "Mother of Tea" 風 GL BAL TEA HUT Tea & Tao Magazine ContentsIssue 42 / July 2015 Mountain Wind Continuing our journey into better quality tea this year, July's tea is one of the best we've ever sent you! And nothing improves a bowl Love is or cup of tea more than the water it is steeped in. We've had many requests this last year to amalgamate some of the articles we've writ- Changing the world ten over the years. Here you'll find a well of information on water, and all in one place! Bowl by bowl Features 09 WATER, THE MOTHER OF TEA 17 FETCHING SACRED WATERS 21 WATER IS THE JOURNEY 27 WATER FOR TEA 3 21 31 VAST WATERS Regulars 03 TEA OF THE MONTH Spring 2015 "Mountain Wind" Maocha Da Hu Sai, Lincang, Yunnan 15 GONGFU TEA TIPS 39 VOICES FROM THE HUT Falling Off the Tea Wagon by Mike Baas 41 TEA WAYFARER 17 Rich Allum, UK *Unless otherwise stated, photography was created by the genius of Max Raphael © 2015 by Global Tea Hut All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys- tem or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other- wise, without prior written permis- sion from the copyright owner. Letter from the Editor n July, we pass into the second half of the year and into the heart of summer. It’s a great time for outdoor tea, including sun tea. We love putting some leaves in a jar for two hours when the sun is Ibrightest and then chilling the liquor in the fridge. We’ve worked out a way to serve iced sun tea roadside by put- ting it into a kama and ladling it into bowls like we usu- ally do with boiled tea. We even put blue paper flames under the kama, which furthers the cooling sensation of the tea. July is a great time for hot tea, as well. In traditional medicine, it is thought to be better to have hot bever- ages when the weather is hot, as opposed to shocking the system with iced drinks. And there are plenty of teas that are cooling in nature, like most greens, whites, yel- low teas and our personal favorite, which we are send- ing you this month, fresh and green sheng puerh. One of the highlights of our year here at the Hut is tasting the fresh maocha (rough tea) to choose our annual Light Meets Life cakes. Sometimes we find some gems, like this month’s gorgeous tea. There is nothing like a few leaves of fresh sheng puerh in a bowl on a sunny after- noon! Harmony through alchemy has always been central to the aesthetics and philosophy of tea culture, whether clearly expressed by ancient Daoist mendicants, or left unstated, yet recognized by the modern tea drinker who intuitively knows when a tea set functions well, when a tea is brewed properly, or when something in the pro- cess is off. The mixing and blending of figurative and phy and spirituality—from Daoism to Buddhism, material elements in tea truly is alchemical—both exter- feng shui, medicine and even tea. Lu Yu himself nally in the way the leaf, water, fire and teaware com- inscribed symbols representing the wu shing on all of bine to form the liquor; and internally in the way we his teaware, and spoke of the way they all combined flu- use the tea session to create peace, quiet and a stillness ently in the brewing of tea. that inspires dialogue with Nature and the Dao. And Of the five elements, the most fundamental is water. harmony has always been the guiding principle of these Water is the essence of tea. More of what is in the bowl processes, for it is the harmony of a tea set that makes or cup is water. This issue, we’ve gathered together years it beautiful and functional, the harmony of a tearoom of water articles to explore the vast waters that flow which inspires relaxation, and even the harmony of through our pots. The water we prepare for tea was in a the leaf, water and teaware which combines to make cloud just weeks ago, connecting us to the Great Nature the best liquor. In the exploration of tea and our own that surrounds us all. Water for tea can be understood development towards mastery, harmony is the ideal that in terms of source, storage and preparation. The last we must seek out, just as masters past and present have of these is really about the fire element, which we will always done. The best teas are those which are brewed cover in our next issue this August. Both of these ele- in a place where all the elements are in harmony with mental issues are amongst the most asked questions one another. you have sent us this last year. We hope that you enjoy Since ancient times Chinese sages and seers have studying the beginning of tea preparation, with water separated the material world into five elements called and heat, and more importantly that these articles influ- “wu shing (五行)”: wood, earth, water, fire, and metal. ence your ability to make finer tea! These principal elements are extremely complicated, influencing all aspects of Chinese culture, philoso- Wu De 2 Tea of the Month Spring 2015 "Mountain Wind" -May 2015- Sheng Puerh, Maocha -July 2015- ne of the greatest joys of a tree’s ecological relationship to the sometimes blended with teas from tea lover is drinking fresh soil, mountain and weather, and the other regions. In modern times, this O maocha in the warmth of trees will eventually die from such is done at factories rather than at summer. It is like a return of spring, farming. the mountain where the tea is har- a breeze that rises from under your The harvested leaves are with- vested/produced, but traditionally arms and sweeps you off your feet, ered, indoors and out, fried to kill the compression and finishing was carrying you past the flowing glacial green enzymes and arrest oxida- also done on the mountain, using rivers South of the Clouds to the feet tion, rolled and then sun-dried. The the same water to steam the tea into of the great Himalayas. The vibrant two identifying features of puerh cake form as the leaves drank when energy of the ancient trees there production are the frying and the they were a part of the old trees, are like Zen retreats in caves, each sun-drying. The frying of sheng which is obviously ideal. This also with a lifetime’s worth of unfolding puerh is done at a lower tempera- means that as it is being compressed sun, moon and star shine, river and ture and for a shorter time than it will be exposed to its native bac- mountain, wind and weather. For other kinds of tea. This leaves some teria. such a journey, you’ll need a guide. of the bitter, astringent enzymes Most varieties of tea include A few leaves of bright maocha in a alive and active, which aids in the all the same stages of processing as bowl always lead our way into the fermentation of the tea over time. puerh, though unlike puerh, the warmer Taiwan weather. In drinking The sun-drying also helps activate final processing often ends there and through our samples of puerh for the the fermentation, exposing it to the the loose-leaf tea is then packaged year, there is the added joy of select- bacteria that will help in that pro- right at the farm. (Some oolongs ing the tea we want to press for this cess. In fact, the relationship that were traditionally finished at shops, year’s Light Meets Life cakes, which puerh has to microbial life is one of as well. The shop owners would do is an exciting process for guests and the main characteristics that define the final roasting to suit their tastes.) residents at the Hut. this genre of tea. At this point, the Puerh, on the other hand, almost Sheng puerh made from old trees tea is called “rough tea (maocha, always travels to a factory for final is typically only harvested in the 毛茶)”, which means that it is processing: compression into cakes spring, with the occasional buds in essentially unfinished. All puerh tea if it is raw, sheng puerh or piling autumn as well. Old trees need to be begins with maocha. These processed and then compression if it is ripe, left to their own devices to produce leaves leave the mountain farm to be shou puerh. living tea. Using fertilizers or hor- sold directly to factories small and Some varieties of puerh are also mones to increase production will large, or independently at market. destined to become loose leaf. At the upset the natural equilibrium of the Such tea is then pressed into cakes, start, that means that they remain 3 "Mountain Wind" Da Hu Sai, Lincang, Yunnan Sheng Puerh, Maocha Wa Aboriginal Tribe ~2000 Meters Tea of the Month 150 km * Our Tea of the Month maocha, but once they are aged, Puerh processing is a very old one region being brought to another they are technically no longer and simple methodology. Different and sold under false pretenses. This “rough tea”. So an aged, loose-leaf genres of tea have different mea- means that you have to have some puerh shouldn’t really be called sures of quality based on a ratio of experience tasting teas, knowing if “maocha”.