New Teaware!

Handmade Kim Hau teaware 

I've added another local ceramicist to the Leaves of Cha website. Kim Hau is a Los Angeles based artist whose teaware are beautiful expressions of the classic eastern aesthetic. I'll have more of her work in the future as we collaborate on future designs. In the meantime check out her Sheep Mountain teacups (pictured above) here and the blue teacups (pictured below) here.

About Kim

Kim attended Metropolitan State College of Denver where she received her BFA in communications design in 2002. There was where she discovered her love for making functional ware while taking ceramics as one of her craft course requirements. She loved everything about it, the studio life, the chemistry of glazes, and the whole process of forming mud into a finished pot for use in your day to day life. After graduating, she enrolled in many ceramic classes/studios wherever she lived to continue practicing and playing with clay while working as a graphic designer, English instructor in Japan, and substitute teacher. She learned from great potters in Colorado, California, and Japan. As her passion for making pots kept growing stronger and stronger over the years, she finally decided to make the leap to pursue pottery full time in 2013 when she moved to Los Angeles, CA. Her constant curiosity and inquisitive nature helps drive her to passionately improve her skill and design in clay.

The Tea Monger believes in community service!

National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic 

For the fifth year straight, I'll be volunteering at the Winter Sports Clinic in Snowmass Colorado. The Clinic is from 3/29/16-4/10/16. NDV brings in a few hundred veterans and about a hundred adaptive ski instructor like myself take them up on the mountain to ski, snowboard, and ski-bike.

It makes me immensely proud to serve my country's veterans in this way and give back a little bit for their service. This is part of my goal of providing 10% of my time to community service, or at least 5 weeks a year.

There may be a slight delay in shipments while I'm away but I'm sure you will understand that it is for a good cause.

Attending a Slow Money event recently got me thinking about the Slow Food Movement and organization. I wondered about how tea fit into these two movements.

The Slow Food website answers the question of what Slow Food is as follows:

Slow Food is food that’s good for us, good for our environment and good for the people who grow, pick and prepare it. In other words, food that is good, clean and fair. In many ways, Slow Food is the opposite of fast food. Slow Food is fresh and healthy, free of pesticides and chemicals, and produced and accessed in a way that’s beneficial to all – from the farmer to the eater.

So is Tea a Slow Food? According to that definition it can be. And it’s not THAT slow unless you are enjoying one of the more formal and ornate tea ceremonies.

In my opinion, a lot of tea is NOT Slow Food for various reasons. Agribusiness and the world commodity markets have pushed a majority of tea production into the use of pesticides and chemicals. Large estates in less than ideal terroirs tend to need pesticides for pests and chemicals to keep up production. And the poor working conditions on many estates, especially larger ones, are well documented. The distribution chains, many set up during colonial times or in a monopolistic way, eat up a lot of the money people are willing to pay for tea, ensuring that the farmers get pennies on the dollar. Marketing, profit, and consumer demand have made “ready to drink” (RTD) tea a hot sector.

But there certainly are Slow Food teas out there that meet the definition above. It’s well documented through thousands of years of use that tea is healthy and good for us. It can be grown without detrimental effects to the environment, as can be seen from wild trees, gardens, and estates that have been in production for hundreds of years. And, when grown, picked, and prepared by small farmers and artisanal teamakers, it can be good for the people involved as well, assuming that a more equitable distribution model allows them to reap more of the value of what they produce. The less people between the farmer and the drinker, the more chance that the farmers can earn a living, eat, and send his kids to school while preserving their land for future generations. So it can fit the definition of a Slow Food.

Coming back to the “slow” in Slow Food, the beauty of Slow Tea is that it can be prepared in all its glory in seconds or minutes depending on how you brew. So that ready-to-drink beverage isn’t saving you all that much time for the difference in quality (Unlike my Bolognese sauce, for instance, which takes two days to make vs. opening and heating up a jar of prepared sauce). Preparing and drinking tea lends itself to quiet contemplation and relaxing activities as well conversation between friends. So the importance of Slow Food in fostering connections is also there. In ayurvedic health circles, one is encouraged to eat foods that are prepared with love and avoid those prepared with resentment. We consume not only the food but also the emotions of the cook and preparers of that food.

So in the end, there is room for tea in both the commoditized, fast food market segments and the specialized Slow Food market segments. Where you choose to sip within that spectrum is up to you, your schedule, and your dharma.

You're Invited
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Introduction to Āyurveda Workshop
Hosted by YOGASMOGA

Join Arya, as we explore the beginning principles of āyurveda, the natural, holistic and medicinal system of yoga. You will be able to perceive your internal & external environments from an ayurvedic perspective and create the optimal space for well being.

Tuesday, March 15th
5-8PM

Sip tea, enjoy light bites, and shop while you learn the key traits of your specific dosha through essential oils that you can use in your everyday life.

All guests will receive aromatherpay blends to balance their predominant dosha.

20% off all YOGASMOGA apparel

RSVP to FashionIsland@yogasmoga.com

YOGASMOGA Fashion Island
1119 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Hong Mao Feng

This tea is created from a high-altitude cultivar of mao feng grown in the Wu Liang mountains of Simao Prefecture. The pairing of cultivar with expert processing results in a black tea with a unique taste and aroma. Mr. Kin uses a special technique to briefly oxidize the leaves during the wilting phase before completing the rest of the black tea processing steps.

Provenance:

• Origin: Wayaotian, Wu Liang Mtns., Simao Prefecture, Yunnan, China
• Grower/Teamaster: Mr. Zhang Li Kun
• Elevation: 1800 meters
• Harvest Date: Autumn 2015
• Cultivar: Yun Kang #32 Mao Feng
• Plucking Standard: 1 leaf/1bud
• Processing Notes:  picking, wilting, frying, rolling, wilting, drying in wok by hand
• Nickname: “Hong” is a word for red in Mandarin, thus hong cha for red tea. Red tea in China = Black tea in the West

Tasting Notes:

• Floral and fruity aroma and taste with hints of caramelized sugar and dry wood, especially at a 4 minute initial infusion.

Handmade Heidi Kreitchet teaware 

This beautiful teacup was made by Pomona CA artist Heidi Kreitchet. While she leans predominantly towards wood-fired cups, this is a beautiful example of one of her gas-fired pieces. I find the cup especially beautiful coupled with Larry White's handmade mahogany tray, as the indentation in the cup seems to flow from the indentation in the top of the tray. Note: the cup are purchased separately

Tea Cup

• Capacity: 10oz/300ml
• Firing: Gas Fired in a Geil Kiln
• Glaze: Shino and copper red
• Artist's Mark: Signed with her pseudonym "Pomona Queen".
• Dishwasher and microwave safe (but I handwash mine!)

Tray (Optional)

• African mahogany
• Artist's Mark

Look for more teaware from Heidi and other artists soon! (By the way, that is another of her beautiful cups in the Hong Mao Feng picture...)

Leaves of Cha at a YogaSmoga event in Newport Beach!

Find Your Inner Warrior 

Find Your Inner Warrior Workshop
Hosted by YOGASMOGA

The warrior poses are the most challenging and iconic in yoga. Through our practice of warrior we learn strength, focus and courage. This workshop will lead you inwards to rediscovering your own inner warrior.

Tuesday, February 23rd from 5-8PM

Sip tea & shop while you learn the key traits of the warrior and how you can embody the ancient spirit in your everyday life!

All guests are entered to win a set of three sessions with life coach Orly Levy & a tea Sampler Six Pack with a Tea Infuser compliments of Leaves of Cha.

RSVP to FashionIsland@yogasmoga.com

YOGASMOGA Fashion Island
1119 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660

Hui Long Zhai is in the western part of Bao Shan Prefecture on the borders with Myanmar, so it is no surprise that the Assamica cultivar is grown there. Using it for green tea is a delicious and intriguing surprise. The region is mountainous and contains peaks up to 3000m. This tea comes from a garden at 2000m, and the relatively cool weather leads to a late first flush from the tea plants. The short but hot wok firing gives this tea a delightful aroma that combines well with the more astringent and stimulating mouth-feel of this Yunnan green tea.

Provenance:

• Origin: Hui Long Zhai Village, Teng Chong county, Bao Shan Prefecture, Yunnan Province, China
• Grower/Teamaster: Ji Dong Li
• Elevation: 2000 meters
• Harvest Date: Spring 2015
• Cultivar: Camellia Sinensis Assamica
• Cultivation: Natural (Organic, not certification)
• Plucking Standard: single leaf from first two leaves below buds, 15% bud
• Processing Notes:  picking, frying, rolling, wilting briefly, drying in wok by hand, roasting in oven
• Nickname: Hui Long cha

Tasting Notes:

• Stimulating and astringent mouth-feel with nutty and vegetal notes.

Recently there was a big to-do on reddit and Steepster about some 1800-year-old puerh cakes that were being sold by a tea company. That audacious claim was firmly repudiated by several knowledgeable forum-members but also stirred up many who felt either hoodwinked by the company in question, or offended that another tea company should point out the ridiculousness of the claim. While the conversation quickly began to devolve into almost soap opera chaos, it seems there should be something that can be said about it.

My thoughts about it quickly went to the lack of standards for specialty tea in our industry. 1800-year-old puerh would certainly be a specialty tea, or maybe even in that rarefied air above a standard that some boutique and rare wines are. But the difference is that there are standards in the wine industry. As there are in the coffee industry and many others where the quality of a product can vary from a commoditized “meh, it’s edible” to a specialized “that’s the best ________ I ever tasted.” Having standards would hopefully make it a little harder for dubious claims to fool people and at least make for some peace of mind for consumers and tea retailers. In my mind, tea’s time has come for those standards. I don’t sell a lot of puerh because it is so complex, and with complexity comes risk and a whole lot of learning ahead of me. And that complexity probably means it would have its own set of standards. What I do sell, I don’t make grandious claims about. I simply do what I try to do for all my teas: Vet out the source, get the details about its origin, plucking, and production, and pass that along to you. And make sure it’s delicious. As Lu Yu stated, “Its goodness is a decision for the mouth to make.”

There is a lot of tea that would not meet a meaningful specialty tea standard that is being sold at price points equal to or greater than tea that would meet that standard. And the big companies and concerns that do it are not for standards, of course; they use marketing to define specialty and want to keep it that way. The standards are more for consumers, producers, and small tea businesses. Check out the Specialty Tea Manifesto as one effort to start the discussion and bring some accountability and transparency to the specialty end of the tea business.

Rounding back to the beginning of this post, standards don’t mean there will be no more dubious marketing or outright deception. That can always happen. But it is nice to have the bar set for those who are working hard to source and sell the best high-end specialty teas possible.

The other benefit of transparency is connectivity. These days we tend to think of connectivity as whether our phones and computers have access to the internet. But there is a more basic and human connotation to connectivity, especially within the food production system. Knowing where your food, or tea, comes from connects you to that place and to the people that produce it. When we don’t know where and by whom our tea is produced, we easily slip into the mindset of not seeing any harm in super-cheap tea or dodgy marketing. In general, global corporate farming and food production don’t want you to know the details of production; they just want to extract the profits from commodity (and specialty) markets. But when we are connected, we value our tea more; we think more about the conditions under which tea is grown and plucked for it to be so cheap. When we hear a news item about a flood or earthquake in Dehong, we might see and understand a correlation in tea production. When we know how close the sencha we like is grown to Fukishima, we might worry about those growers and workers and about the effects of the radiation on the tea. Knowing how unique some terroirs are for the specialty tea they produce, we might worry more about how a changing climate will affect livelihoods, availability, and prices. Living in Southern California, I don’t have the luxury of being a locavore with specialty tea like I do with so much of my produce and other foods. So I have to get the kind of tea I like to drink (and sell) from halfway around the world. But I still care about the stewardship of the people and lands that grow the tea I love to drink.

The beginnings of my tea drinking are lost in the mists of my adolescence somewhere. I only know that I’ve loved and been drinking it for a long time. In the same way, when I heard that David Bowie passed on today, I realized I have no idea how long I’ve been listening to them or how long they have been bringing joy into my life. Two unrelated things, yes. But they are two things with a long, meaningful membership in my life.

You may have heard some Chinese teas referred to as “tribute” teas? In honor of one of my musical heroes, I am renaming my Jinggu Golden Strand Yunnan black tea to “Jinggu Golden Years”. This is my Tribute Tea.

In addition, if you mention your favorite Bowie song or memory in the notes section of your order for Jinggu Golden Years, I will include a free Sampler Three Pack made up of other delicious Leaves of Cha teas.

There's a Starman waiting in the sky
He'd like to come and meet us
But he thinks he'd blow our minds.

REMINDER: Make sure to reference Bowie in some way in the Notes section when you check out!

Mao Jian of Xinyang Green Tea
 

Mao Jian from the Xinyang area is one of the most famous teas cultivated in the Henan Province. This mountainous area creates one of those unique Chinese terroirs that produces a distinctive quality tea. The name Mao Jian is usually translated as “Furry Tips” or “Hair Point” and refers to the white furry strips on the inner side of the typically needle-like leaf.

Provenance:

• Origin: Qinling Mtn., Xinyang township, Henan Province, China
• Elevation: 1400 meters
• Harvest Date: mid-April 2015, Ming Qian
• Cultivar: Mao Jian (Camellia Sinensis, small leaf)
• Cultivation: Natural (Organic, no certification)
• Processing Notes:  3-stage oven drying to halt wilting
• Nickname: Furry Tips
• History/Pedigree: One of China's Top 10 Famous Teas with a history of more than 2300 years.

Tasting Notes:

• Grassy aroma with hints of pine; sweet umami taste with full mouthfeel

Mao Feng Green Tea

Mao Feng is a classic Chinese tea that is ubiquitous in the tea market. It can be called Mao Feng because of the cultivar, or because of the plucking standard, as the Mao Feng “pluck” traditionally refers to a bud plus one leaf pluck, or it can be just a marketing name. This tea is from a Mao Feng hybrid cultivar grown in Yunnan and it is a premium grade Mao Feng pluck. It is not rolled like most green teas, leaving the large, hairy buds and leaves mostly intact.

Provenance:

• Origin: Ning’Er Town, Yin Pan Mtn., Simao Prefecture, Yunnan
• Grower/Teamaster: Wang Si Kai
• Elevation: 1400 meters
• Harvest Date: Autumn 2015
• Cultivar: Mao Feng: Chang Ye Bai Hao and Yun Kang hybrid
• Cultivation: Natural (Organic, no certification)
• Plucking Standard: Bud and one Leaf
• Processing Notes:  Hand-processed in small batches

Tasting Notes:

• Bold green vegetal tea flavor with nutty notes.

Some more teaware options
I've added some more teaware to the functional offernings on my site because I keep getting requests for them: an iced tea jug and a tea press. Also, my handmade teaware has sold out over the holidays. I'll be adding new pieces soon. If you know a local potter who makes beautiful and usable teaware that needs some support, send them my way!

Tea Sampler Six Pack 

This is a great way to try out the delightful teas in the  Leaves of Cha Tea Chest. Just pick out six teas that you would like to try in the 12g sample size pouches. The price of the six samples is discounted up to 56%, depending on the teas you select.

A great gift idea for the tea lover!

Roasted Wild Tree Purple Tea

As you probably guessed from the teas in the Leaves of Cha Tea Chest, I love Yunnan black teas. The smoothness and low-astringency allowed me to kick my “English Breakfast with milk and honey” habit and just enjoy the tea. The wide variety of cultivars and styles that come from the province are mind-boggling. Purple Tea is one of those unique teas. There are three cultivars of purple tea and this is the naturally occurring original, knows as “Ye Sheng” or “Wild Tea”. Originally used to make puerh since it is quite bitter young but develops delicious complexity with age, it has recently started to processed into black tea with stunning results.

This roasted version is one of my favorite black teas and a very common start-of-the-day tea for me. I’m incredibly happy to be able to source this rare tea.

Provenance:

• Origin: Mangshi, Dehong Prefecture, Yunnan, China
• Grower/Teamaster: Mr. Li
• Elevation: 1600-2200 meters
• Harvest Date: Spring 2015
• Cultivar: Ye Sheng cultivar aka "Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze var. assamica (J. Masters) Kitam." or Camellia Assamica Dehongensis
• Cultivation: Wild harvested; naturally bug resistant cultivar
• Plucking Standard: 1 leaf/1bud
• Processing Notes:  Lightly Roasted. Only 90 kilograms in production for 2015
• History/Pedigree: Lü Yu, in his “Classic of Tea” says “Tea that grows wild is superior; garden tea takes second place. Whether grown on sunny slopes or in shady groves, the best leaves are russet.”

Tasting Notes:

• Strong aroma with sugarcane and hints of eucalyptus; complex mouth feel with hint of roast and caramel

Jing Mai Purple Needle Tea

This purple tea is from one of the three unique purple cultivars. Called variously “Purple Tea”, “Purple Bud”, or “Zi Cha”, it is a naturally occurring mutation of Camellia Sinensis Assamica. It grows all over the Yunnan Province but accounts for less than 1% of the cultivated Assamica produced there. The purple (or russet in my translation of Lü Yu) color is a result of the tea plants producing anthocyanin to combat the humid summers and high levels of ultraviolet light at the higher elevations.

This Zi Cha is a delicious tea and is another example of the wide variety of black teas from Yunnan. I simply can’t get enough of purple tea.

Provenance:

• Origin: Mangjing Village, Jing Mai Mtn., Lancang county, Simao, Yunnan
• Grower/Teamaster: Mangjing Village Coop
• Elevation: 1600-1700 meters
• Harvest Date: Autumn 2015
• Cultivar: Purple Varietal of Camellia Yunnan pu-erh tea, aka Zi Cha
• Plucking Standard: 1 leaf 1 bud
• Processing Notes:  Fresh purple leaves processed into a flat needle style
• History/Pedigree: Lü Yu, in his “Classic of Tea” says “Tea that grows wild is superior; garden tea takes second place. Whether grown on sunny slopes or in shady groves, the best leaves are russet.”

Tasting Notes:

• Stimulating mouth feel with hints of citrus, caramel, and sugarcane. Floral aroma.

Tea Sampler Six Pack

This is a great way to try out the delightful teas in the  Leaves of Cha Tea Chest. Just pick out six teas that you would like to try in the 12g sample size pouches. The price of the six samples is discounted up to 56%, depending on the teas you select.

A great gift idea for the tea lover!