Sometimes, our minds are open enough for powerful experiences. Most of the time, they are not. Tea can help to open our mind - to achieve the Zen mind. It is no coincidence that tea has been used for nearly a millennium to help focus the mind during meditation. It facilitates our access to the spiritual realm. It helps us us to try harder not to try.

I would like to share with you an experience I had today which was inprired by tea.

Certain teas have the potential to get you drunk - tea-drunk, that is. These are usually aged pu-erh and some oolong teas. The drunkenness doesn’t stem from the caffeine but rather by the strong chi some teas possess. Today, I drank one of these teas - an old pu-erh from the 1980s that I purchased a while ago but hadn’t tried yet. After about 4 infusions, the symptoms of being tea-drunk became obvious: a heightened sense of being, an unusual alertness, a feeling of lightness throughout the entire body and a slight pressure in the head similar to a very light headache that is not unpleasant. It is a wonderful feeling.

It was in this state that I decided to take my dog for a walk along the river. I often listen to an audiobook on these walks and chose to start a new recording today. Not really knowing what to expect from it, I started listening to “Der Tigerbericht” (the tiger report) by Dietrich Wild. It is a short German story in which the narrator - as it turns out - summarizes the fundamentals of Zen Buddhism in an account of a fictional encounter with a spiritual teacher in the desert. The story is based on the teachings of Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki-roshi and absolutely beautifully narrated by the author. It is complemented perfectly with the meditative sitar music of Al Gromer Khan, which enhances its impact. In my tea-drunk state, it had a deep effect on me and my mind readily absorbed its messages.

There was a section about Giving that especiallly resonated with me as I have experienced something similar in relation to tea. “Giving is nothing hard. I doesn’t mean to own something and then give some of it away. Giving is not to hold tight. To not adhere to anything. Not to hang onto something, to have nothing. To be a sieve in which nothing gets stuck. All this is Giving” tells the narrator. Many seasoned tea drinkers that I know are some of the most generous people I’ve ever met. They are happy to share even their most expensive old pu-erh with like-minded friends. They even feel a strong desire to share and give. It’s in the nature of tea. Tea needs to be given, to be shared and enjoyed.

A key element in the story is the concept of stillness - portrayed through the quietness of the desert as an image for the stillness of the mind. This brought to my mind the teachings of the godfather of tea, the great Lu Yu. He wrote the following:

“Tea is said to be a way. This is because it is something one learns to appreciate through feeling, not through verbal instruction. If a person maintains a state of quietness, only then will one appreciate the quietness inherent in tea.

Lu Yu (733–804 A.D.)“

While “Der Tigerbericht” is only available in German, the book that Dietrich Wild has based his story on - Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind - is available online in English. I do highly recommend to read through it - it contains a series of talks in which Shunryu Suzuki conveys his Zen teachings in simple language that lacks the common scholarly exclusivity. It might inspire you, too.

Time to sit back and enjoy some of Al Gromer Khan’s music!

Matcha, the Japanese green tea used in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony chanoyu, is a very special tea in many regards. On one hand, it is made from the highest grade tea leaves that are produced in Japan. On the other hand, it is the only tea that is still, to this day, prepared like all teas were prepared before tea leaves were steeped: it consists of ground tea leaves that are suspended in warm water and then drunk.

Manufacture of Matcha

Matcha is produced from the same leaves that are used for Japan’s other top-end tea, Gyokuro. Before being harvested, the bushes that are destined to produce matcha and gyokuro are shaded for a duration of 2-4 weeks which slows down growth and enriches the leaves in amino acids with results in a concentration of the umami flavour that these teas are famous for. The harvested leaves are then steamed and dried to produce tencha, the raw product from which matcha is produced. The leaves are de-stemmed and de-veined before they are stone-ground into a very fine, talcum-like bright green tea powder - matcha.

Preparation of Matcha

Matcha can be prepared as either usucha or koicha, thin or thick tea respectively. While the viscous, thick koicha is prepared in the Japanese tea ceremony chanoyu (and requires a very high grade matcha to not become bitter), thin usucha is the most commonly consumed form of matcha. Usucha is prepared with more water and requires a slightly smaller amount of tea.

This video demonstrates the preparation of matcha:

While the chawan (matcha bowl) can be replaced with a large cereal bowl, the chashaku (matcha scoop) with a spoon and the furui (matcha sifter) with a small strainer, there isn’t really any adequate replacement for the chasen (matcha whisk). We’ve tried many methods, but only the bamboo whisk creates the proper froth that is so important for a good matcha. One important thing to know is that you need to whisk the tea in a motion similar to the letter W, rather than stirring in a circular motion - otherwise your foam won’t form.

Health benefits of Matcha

Matcha is unique amongst teas in that you actually consume the whole leaf, rather than drinking an infusion thereof. Prior to the invention of infusing full-leaf teas in the 16th century, all teas were ground and whisked. The Chinese had many poetic terms like ‘thick clouds overflowing the teacup’ to describe the foam of whisked tea and the whisking itself became an art form. But since then, most teas are prepared by steeping the tea leaves rather than suspending tiny leaf fragments in hot water. When you ingest the actual tea leaves, your body is much more capable to extract all the minerals and vitamins from the leaf than plain hot water. That’s the reason why matcha packs a lot more punch per weight of tea than standard leafy teas if you’re simply after health benefits.

We carry an organic high-grade matcha for $22.30 per 50g. Please visit our ordering page if you are interested in purchasing some. 

Realizing that it’s hard to judge the size of a (usually very small) Yixing teapot, I’ve started including a lighter in my photos recently to give you a better idea of the actual size of the tea pot. This helps to a degree, but it’s difficult to get a good impression of an inherently three-dimensional object like a teapot in a two-dimensional photo. I’ve long thought that presenting things like teapots in 3D would be the bee’s knees!

Well, the time that such a thing is possible isn’t too far off, I think. Below the fold, you will find a few examples of actual teapots that we sell in magnificent 3D. Granted, the models aren’t perfect (yet), but they’re pretty amazing, you have to admit!

To control the view, rotate and zoom the model, use your mouse wheel and the arrow, plus and minus as well as the shift keys on your keyboard.

This Yixing pot ‘Pumkin’ a large (600ml!) teapot and very impressive. It sells for $105 and comes in a gift box.

This Yixing pot ‘Starry Octagon’ has a capacity of 400ml and sells for $67 (including gift box).

This teapot ‘Water Lily with Frog’ has some exquisite craftsmanship (you can only get a glimpse of the frog’s delicate shapes in the model) and is made from an unusual green clay. It has a capacity of 400 ml and costs $85 (including gift box).

This teapot ‘Gourd’ is made from clays of different colours and has a most unusual handle. It’s capacity is 330ml and the price is $50 (including gift box).

This ‘Three-Footed’ teapot is finished with an almost metal-like look and has a beautiful feel about it. It stands pretty tall, holds 500ml and costs $82 (including gift box).

This very unusual ‘Old Tree Root’ teapot was made by artist Zhang Zhong Guang and is the most unusual teapot in our collection. It’s pretty big (hard to measure since it is all hollow), but I would guess 400ml+. This was the first 3D model I made and it is for objects like this teapot, that the presentation in 3D definitely adds to ‘understanding’ the teapot (have a look whether you can see the lizard draping itself around the lid). The price is $95 (including gift box).

While I don’t think that the 3D models will replace product pictures anytime soon, I think they can definitely help to get a better impression of a three-dimensional object online and enhance the experience. What do you think?

If you would like to purchase any of the teapots pictured in this post (we’ve got only one teapot each!), please visit our ordering page.

I thought I’d give you a short overview of a few of our new arrivals in the teaware section (they aren’t on the official teaware page yet) and some other recommendations.

Note: Click on the pictures for a more detailed view.

Tea Trays:

Small Tea Tray Cha, $36.90

Small Bamboo Tea Tray, $56.70

Octagonal Bamboo Tea Tray, $88.40

Large Bamboo Tea Tray, $170.00

Yixing Tea Pots:

Yixing Teapot Ginko, $60.00

Yixing Teapot Aromatic, $60.00

Yixing Teapot Multi-Coloured, $65.00

Yixing Teapot Squirrels, $87.00

Yixing Teapot Nuts, $50.00

Large Yixing Teapot Pumpkin, $105.00

Yixing Teapot 12 Birthday Animals, $55.00

Also, we’ve just received new stock of Zealong ‘Pure’ and ‘Aromatic’ which were harvested during our visit to the Zealong Estate in Hamilton in early November!

That should be enough to get your mind working. If you want to order anything last minute, you must get in touch with me today!

Thanks and stay safe over the holidays.

To make it possible to order the new tea pots and tea trays (yes, we finally have these back in stock!) just in time for Christmas, I’ve just uploaded photos, a short description and prices on our facebook page. All in all, there are 18 new Yixing teapots and 7 new tea trays to choose from. Eventually, I’ll put better photos and more details on our website, but the facebook page should give you a pretty good idea what’s there.
If you would like to order one of these in time for Christmas, please get in touch ASAP so that we can sort out the shipping.

I’m planning to write another blog post before Christmas, so there won’t be any “Merry Christmas” quite yet…

UPDATE:

I’ve just added a whole lot of other teaware, mainly cups and whole tea sets, on our facebook page.

To start with, I would like to announce the imminent arrival of a new shipment of teapots from China’s famous pottery city - Yixing. The shipment includes the tea pots pictured in the title photo of this post, as well as about 20 other different designs. The cargo is scheduled to land on Saturday in Auckland and is expected around 12 Dec here in Christchurch - just in time for Christmas! With this shipment, there will also be a number of different tea trays. Many people have asked in the past for these and the original stock we had sold out pretty quickly - back in the teahouse days.

The other big news is that we now have a page on Facebook for the teahouse. You might have seen the Facebook Like box on the right. Our Facebook page is going to be the outlet to share short(er) bits of information, fast. For this blog, I usually take some time to write posts that require quite a bit of work, but I’m using Facebook for quicker updates. I also am planning to run discount campaigns on Facebook for our ‘fans’, so why don’t you head over and ‘like’ us. I would also love to see Facebook opening the way for an exchange between Ya-Ya and our friends and customers in an informal way.

If you have tried one of the Zealong oolongs before (or planning to, which I recommend), then you will enjoy these images as they will show you were these gorgeous teas are produced.

You can also visit our Facebook page for more images.

Spring brings with it a lightness, that feels so welcome after the heavier, grounding winter months. Every year, I feel the urge to open all the windows around the house as soon as the temperature rises. Bring in freshness, bring in light!

Another effect that spring has on my mood is that it inspires me to reach for different teas. While autumn and winter leads me towards black teas and pu-erh, spring is the time when I long for floral oolongs.

Since we’ve recently received a shipment of quite a few stunning examples of mastery in oolong production, I will take this opportunity to introduce a few of them.

The star of our new acquisitions is definitely the fantastic Da Yu Lin oolong. Grown at elevations of more than 2400m in the mountains of central Taiwan, this is the country’s highest grown oolong. The production is small (and gets smaller every year due to soil erosion counter-measures of the government which restrict the farmed area more and more) and of a very high standard. If you ask seasoned oolong connoisseurs about their favourite oolong, Da Yu Lin is the the most common answer - if they ever had the chance to try it. While other gao shan oolongs (high-mountain oolongs, grown at an elevation above 1000m) are more widely known - I’m thinking of Ali Shan and Li Shan as well as Dong Ding oolongs -, the ultimate refinement of Taiwan’s oolong art can be found in Da Yu Lin. It is fresh, ethereal and leaves a sweet aftertaste that lingers on your breath for hours. A warning, though: if you try this, you’ll be spoiled forever!

Next up is the Lalashan Gao Shan, also a Formosa oolong. The tea is grown at an elevation of about 1600m in the En Ai tea garden, Taoyuan County in Taiwan’s Northwest. Lalashan is famous for its scenic forest reserve and peach production. The flavour of peaches (which are also grown on the farm) finds its way into the tea and give it its unique fruity/sweet character.

We managed to secure a few 150g boxes of a special grade Bai Hao, or Oriental Beauty, oolong. This oolong has a much higher oxidation than most other Formosa oolongs and produces a light, but extremely fruity infusion. We have very limited stock of these and once they’re gone, they’re gone.

And of course, New Zealand’s own Zealong teas (read more about them in my last blog post) are the perfect match for a spring day, especially the Zealong Aromatic, which brings out the floral aromas to perfection.

Other new arrivals are a fresh stock of our popular Ali Shan GABA oolong, a brand new Ali Shan black tea, and the biodynamic Doke Premium Bai Mu Dan from Bihar in India amongst others.

Da Yu Lin oolong - $32.00 per 50g
Lalashan oolong - $36.20 per 100g
Bai Hao oolong (Oriental Beauty) - $65.20 per 150g gift box
Zealong Aromatic, Pure or Dark - $29.90 per 50g
Ali Shan GABA oolong - $24.00 per 100g
Ali Shan GABA black tea - $19.70 per 100g
Biodynamic Doke Premium Bai Mu Dan - $23.50 per 100g

Please visit our order page if you would like to try any of these beautiful spring teas.

Tags [ Da Yu Lin | gao shan | oolong | zealong ]

I don’t want to re-tell the Zealong story, how a father and son - who’d come to New Zealand from Taiwan to start a real estate business - had the vision of growing the world’s best tea here and imported 1500 tea seedlings, just to see nearly all of them die in quarantine. And how they pushed on and have now, nearly 15 years later, 50ha filled with over a million tea plants. You can head over to Zealong’s website to read the full story and watch a nice video about the company. I’ve seen the story repeated too many times and don’t feel like reiterating it here. This post is about my personal take on Zealong.

As the title suggest (and as I mentioned in my last blog post about teas grown in exotic locations), Zealong does something right. Actually, the company does an awful lot of things right. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

My start with Zealong was a rocky one. Sometime in early 2010, one of my customers sent me an email, asking whether I had heard of a company called Zealong. A company that supposedly produced oolong tea here in New Zealand. I hadn’t, so I started doing research. This was around the time when Zealong released a large number of press releases and got featured on a couple of TV programs. To be honest, my initial reaction turned from curiosity to distrust. Distrust, because the press releases were, in my opinion, obviously geared towards attracting investors’ interest. The quoted possible wholesale prices for oolong teas were cherry-picked from the extremely limited production high-end oolongs - obviously not the type of tea that Zealong could produce in larger quantities. Furthermore, the intended market seemed to be China and with a 100g price of around NZ$100, New Zealand certainly wasn’t really a target market. The other thing that put me off was - funnily enough - their slick marketing. Admittedly, they did EVERYTHING right, from selling a story to creating a memorable brand (c’mon: Zealong? What a stroke of brilliance to create a new word by combining New Zealand and oolong!) and an appealing packaging. Somebody seemed to have done their homework and read every tidbit that marketing guru Seth Godin ever published. But this whole textbook approach made me immediately think of all the companies with the glossy packaging that sell average products at premium prices. On top of that, I’m always suspicious of companies that have their own marketing department and PR manager.

The beginning of  my relationship with Zealong wasn’t helped either when it seemed impossible to get any samples sent to me. Naturally, I wanted to test my assumption of “fancy wrapper and not much substance” and contacted the company for some samples. Somehow, we exchanged a few emails and in the correspondence, I never lost my initial bad feeling. Granted, I was fairly open with sharing my suspicions (those of you who know me will know what that means) and never received any samples. At this stage, I saw my assumptions confirmed and lost interest.

Earlier this year, my attention was aroused again after I kept reading reviews of Zealong teas on a large number of tea blogs. There was a lot of buzz around Zealong and the company made an impact on some of the bigger tea expos. After reading some mixed reviews on blogs that I hold in high esteem, it became clear from the comments that there might have been a shift in quality between last year’s and this year’s tea. This year’s tea generally received a lot of praise and I can’t remember reading any negative reviews about it. Coincidentally, Zealong had also introduced a new Everyday-line of teas, which featured the same oolongs, but in a more basic packaging and at a more affordable price. I was curious again and decided to get in touch one more time.

And this time, it couldn’t have gone better. But I guess you expected that - judging by the title of this post. Anyhow, I registered my interest in trying Zealong teas and - if they were up to our standards - making them available to our customers. The interactions this time were extraordinarily helpful and constructive and I could sense a pride and strong belief in the product when I spoke to Zealong’s marketing manager. He arranged to have some freshly packed samples sent to me and I eagerly awaited their arrival. While the niggling skepticism was still there, my overall attitude was much more positive than last year. But nothing could have prepared me for the experience of first brewing the tea.

When I poured the hot water over the first batch of leaves (Zealong Aromatic) and smelled the aroma, I instantly knew this was a winner. A very pure, rich aroma without any of the wrong notes. And the liquor was even more divine: extremely smooth, full of subtle nuances and completely without off-flavours - something that is relatively rare. Needless to say that I enjoyed this first session immensely. The ‘Pure’ and ‘Dark‘ varieties don’t have to hide, either. They are equally good and complement the ‘Aromatic‘ with different flavour profiles achieved through different levels of roasting. I was hooked and knew I had to offer these teas through Ya-Ya.
The only possible downside of these teas might be their price. With $30 per 50g, they definitely aren’t cheap, but they aren’t outrageously expensive, either. They are around the same price level as our Da Yu Lin high-mountain oolong from Taiwan, which is one of the best oolongs that this country produces. And at about $1 per cup (which can be infused up to 8 times!), these high-end teas are much cheaper than your daily cup of coffee at the cafe…

So, what inspires me to call Zealong the ‘poster child for the burgeoning market of exotic teas’? I think Zealong should be applauded for doing nearly everything right. They didn’t cut corners, they didn’t ‘dress-up’ an average product - instead, they created a high-quality product with a unique selling point: the clean and pure environment of New Zealand. While we here in New Zealand look at this image of our country with a healthy amount of skepticism, this is the image that the rest of the world has of us. And why not use it to your advantage? One man’s vision has taken the best from Taiwan and combined it with the best from New Zealand to create something new and exciting. And Zealong teas certainly don’t have to hide from their ancestors in Taiwan. I’ll drink to that.

PS: Mr. Chen’s Zealong enterprise is by no means the first tea venture in New Zealand, but it is the first one to succeed. More about New Zealand’s ‘tea history’ will follow in a future post.

We carry all 3 of Zealong’s current oolongs: Zealong ‘Aromatic’, Zealong ‘Pure’ and Zealong ‘Pure’ (all for $29.90 per 50g). You can place an order through our ordering page.

Photo credit (Zealong plantation): Zealong Tea