Imperial Tea Craving

This weekend, my Aunt Madeline and I went to Imperial Tea Court on Shattuck Ave.  It is located in the Epicurious Garden, a quaint collection of fine foods shops in the Gourmet Ghetto.

Imperial tea service - $5 per person

We each tasted oolongs.  I had the Wuyi Yan Cha.  It's a darker oolong, and according to the menu it has  hints of cocoa, roasted nuts, and a long finish.  I liked it a lot.  One thing of interest that the waiter told us  is that Wuyi teas are known as "cliff teas" because there are very old, specialty Wuyi bushes growing on the face of a sprawling and steep cliff.  They are hundreds of years old, and still produce great leaves.  I'd love to go visit them.

 

Preparing the tea

Wuyi Yan Cha brew

We also had some snacks! Jasmine tea cookies, Earl Grey tea cookies, and vegetable dumplings with Chili sauce.

Teacal Tuesday

Today in the Teacal (Tea class at Berkeley) we had a overview of the tea plant's origins, the Chinese industry, the growing American industry, and brewing basics such as water, water temperature, and brewing time.  Here are some highlights from what we learned:

Ñ Species: Camellia Sinensis

Ñ It is the only one of its eighty-some sisters in the Camellia family that contains caffeine

Ñ Originated in the Yunnan Province

Ñ Yunnan now produces 260 of the world’s 380 varieties

Ñ Chinese legend says tea was discovered by Emperor Shen Nong circa 2700 BCE 

Ñ Tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world after water.

Ñ Delicate teas (green and white) need cooler water – 170 to 185 degrees F.

Ñ Pu-erh, black tea, and most oolongs cn take water that it just boiling – 212 degrees F.

Ñ Usually, 80 percent of the leaf’s caffeine is released within the first 20-30 seconds of steeping.

A map of China for provincial references - Yunnan is a big tea producing province.

      We also watched a documentary called "All in this Tea" about David Lee Hoffman, a tea importer from Marin, California.  It is readily available on Netflix, and I highly recommend it.  The description is as follows:

         "Few people know the fascinating history of tea growing and making. This intriguing documentary aims to change that by following renowned tea importer David Lee Hoffman as he scours the far-flung corners of China to find the richest teas on earth. Tea making is an art and tradition that goes back generations in the East, and Hoffman makes it his goal to bring to the rest of the world the exquisite teas produced by struggling small farmers."

Summer Kombucha

This summer, I began my Kombucha tending process at home in D.C.  Kombucha is a fermented tea-based beverage with (proven and unproven) health benefits.  It has a vinegary taste and is good for digestion and general health because it contains probiotics.  The culture is called a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast).  You brew strong, very sweet tea and then add the SCOBY to let it ferment.  The sugar is eaten off during the fermentation process, and the vinegary taste develops.

It's an interesting process that takes a lot of tweaking. In June, I got my SCOBY, or mushroom, or Mother of Vinegar, from a lady in the egg line at the Takoma Park Farmer's Market.  The first few batches did not work, probably due to the fact that I damaged the growing cultures while trying to transport them between my parents' houses.  Kombucha doesn't like car movement.

I tried brewing it in the kitchen, and some mold got in there.  I learned online that mold spores from other food items can travel and latch onto the Kombucha, so the kitchen isn't the best place.  When I brewed it downstairs in the shadows of the basement, I got the best results:

I know it looks gross, but this is a healthy culture.  The thickness of it was what I was lacking beforehand - they were papery thin and see-through.  I still believe that these tasted a little too sweet, but they were good in general.  Now I'm brewing in Berkeley!  More on that later.

Not Your Grandmother's Tea: An Evening at Samovar

Last night was the big Teacal field trip! About twenty of us ventured into San Francisco to Samovar's Zen Valley Tea Lounge for a tasting with Samovar's owner, Jesse Jacobs.

We tasted six wonderful teas, beginning with a Bai Mudan White Tea.  We liked how it was light and floral, with notes of honeysuckle.  Next was the Kukicha Japanese Green.  We learned that through its processing, Kukicha contains a chemical that is otherwise only manifested during meditation.  

Jessica and Richard observing the wet Kukicha leaves.

Next on the menu was Maiden's Ecstasy Pu-erh, a favorite of many at the table.  Pu-erh is a specialty tea that is usually compressed into a cake or brick and fermented for years underground.  Samovar's Maiden's Ecstasy is from the Yunnan province in China.  Its name refers to its tradition: Women climb up into the trees to pick the tea leaves and the men do the processing down below.  It is a very special tea in China - the highest grade of leaf, which people give as wedding presents.  This batch is from 2008, and satisfied out palates with creamy hints of espresso and bittersweet chocolate.  

Damp leaves

Bai Hao, an Oolong from Taiwan was our next tea.  It is a twisted oolong, and had a delicious roasty flavor.  We also had an herbal hibiscus tea called Wei Chi Cha.  It is sweetened with stevia, and has lemongrass and blood orange peel.  The flavor was very intense, with a nice kick near the end. 

We Chi Cha leaves

Lastly, we had an herbal tea called Mt. Olympus.  It contains only one flower, but has complex flavors of chamomile and mint.  Personally, I found it so pleasantly satisfying, and I'd like to have it again.

Mt. Olympus up close

Some of the Teacal students

A colorful assortment of leaf.

Part of the Teacal group

Thanks, Samovar, for quenching our thirst and teaching us so much about a wonderful tea tradition.

D.C. Tea House

While I was home in D.C. this summer, I made sure to check out a few of the city's tea houses, one of which was Ching Ching Cha Chinese Tea House in Georgetown.  I LOVE its ambiance.  Low tables with cushions fill one side of the room while heaps of tea are displayed in old Chinese boxes and chests near the entryway.  The lounge also has skylights and beautiful, intricately carved wooden furniture and screens - such a good place to sit and sip!

My friend Inez

As for their tea, the selection is wide and looked great.  See their menu here.  I ventured to Ching Ching Cha on a hot and humid July afternoon with my two elementary school friends, Sahara and Inez.  I usually don't choose them, but we elected to taste the blossom teas.  They open up beautifully and look especially dreamy in the liquid.

We also tried some food.  I got the Marble Tea Egg, which is a boiled egg cooked with star anise, peppercorn, soy sauce and tea leaves.  

Ching Ching Cha's Marble Tea Egg

Yum.

If ever in the Nation's Capital, please check it out on my behalf, because I wish I had gone there more often this summer.  

Teacal Day One

The class that I'm facilitating at Berkeley is one of the many student-facilitated classes in the Decal Program (Democratic Education at Cal).  My tea class is called the Teacal, created last semester by Nick Bastone.  The class focuses on pouring and tasting Chinese tea in the traditional way.  We mainly use Gaiwans (small chinese cups used to brew tea) and small tasting cups.  Each week the class focuses on a different type of tea (white, green, oolong, black, pu-erh), and we taste a few varieties of that type.  

We had the first meeting yesterday, and it went quite smoothly.  We tried Samovar's Jasmine Pearl Green tea.  Everyone really liked it's strong aroma and how many infusions it could withstand before getting watery.  After that, we tasted a classic black tea to contrast the green.  Everyone got pretty good at using the Gaiwan!

Photo cred to Natalie Holt. Those are also her cool blue cups from Chinatown!

Pouring practice.

Co-op Pouring

Last night we poured a few excellent teas in one of the living rooms at my co-op in Berkeley!  I gathered a few people who were completely new to the process and sat with a group of five or so.  First, we tried a Jasmine Pearl from China's Fujian Province.  It's so strong and fragrant!  Also, watching the small hand-rolled 'pearls' open up is so fun.  Then we had a Phoenix from Teance on 4th St.  It was super sweet.  We decided it had traces of apricot, peach, and especially honey.

Brewing the Jasmine Pearl green tea

Afternoon tea at Samovar

Yesterday I went into San Francisco to have tea with my mom and cousin at Samovar Yerba Buena.  It was a beautiful clear-skyed afternoon, and the setting was impeccable.  Located on a terrace in the green and blooming Yerba Buena Gardens, Samovar Tea Lounge has a quaint patio which we sat on.  The city rises up around you, while in your immediate surroundings there is little hustle and bustle.

First, we tasted a Hong Yue Twisted Oolong.  It's a very highly oxidized oolong tea, so much so that it resembles a black tea.  Hong Yue is also known as "Ruby Black" and can be infused several times.  The leaves are long, twisted, and slightly purple.  The brew is sweet, malty and almost syrupy.  On their menu, Samovar also claims there are hints of stone fruit and mandarin.  Hong Yue is from Nantou, Taiwan.

Hong Yue Twisted Oolong

Next we had Maiden's Ecstasy Pu-erh - another robust and dark tea.  It has a classic earthy taste and was able to stay strong through about ten infusions.  We drank it out of a Yixing clay teapot - so quaint!  They are my favorites.

Maiden's Ecstasy Pu-erh in the sunlight.

Here's my cousin Sari with my mom.  Sari got the Tea Soup, which looked delicious.  A mixture of rice, veggies, salmon, and sauces are in her bowl, and then she added the tea in the vessel on the left to complete the soup.  

That Tea Feeling

Sometimes I just crave that elation that you get from experiencing a great tea: tealation.  So earthy, flavorful yet neutral, nourishing and calming, I have no trouble finding time for a simple brew.  Pouring tea fits into every day, any day, and every feeling.  Drinking it alone can be contemplative while enjoying it with others stimulates conversation and connection.

Tea can be humbling.  It is so deeply rooted in culture, tied to the human experience.  While brewing it last night, I couldn't help but think how many other appreciative people have enjoyed the light Bai Mudan from China's Northern Fujian province before me.  Tea is strongly interwoven with history and past experience, yet I can find small nuances in my own cup.

Before I began drinking tea, I wouldn't have expected the physical and mental benefits of it.  In the morning it is neutralizing and preparatory for the mind, in the afternoon it is stimulating, and in the evening it brings happy post-dinner chatter with friends.  Whatever it may be, I'm always looking for that tea feeling.