Tea Seasons

The Far-East is very sensitive in its awareness of food "temperatures". Not the physical temperature of food, but the heating or cooling effect different foods have on our systems. I'm tempted to believe we were aware of this at least once upon a time in the West, with terms like "cool as a cucumber" still surviving and referring to spicy food as "hot". I don't know about anyone else, but I still break into a sweat when I eat spicy food, even after seven years in Korea.

Caffeine is generally hot, though somehow green tea is the only tea that is cool. Puerh tea is known for its ability to keep you warm, and oolong teas range in between. From this, its easy to figure about which teas are best at what times of year.

In early spring, my favourite tea is oolong, especially delicate high-mountain oolong from Taiwan, and in the evening, I'll rotate through my collection of darker traditional Chinese oolongs, such as Phoenix Oolong, our Da Hong Pao. When spring starts heating up, I find myself craving green tea, especially in the morning. This is also the time of year that green tea is harvested, which is nice, because green tea is best at its freshest. I try to use up all of my green tea by summer's end, before they begin to deteriorate. Also, by this time, Chinese oolongs from that spring, have begun to develop their flavours. When the crisp airs of autumn arrive, my craving for green tea disappears, and I start digging out my puerh cakes, which were mostly left untouched during the long, muggy summer months. Puerh is an excellent winter tea, especially if you're going to spend much time outside. At night, a nice aged puerh not only warms you up, but also has a mellow personality. The micro-organism in the tea also help keep you immune system strong through the harsh weather.

There isn't a time of year that I don't drink lots of oolong. Like green tea, high-mountain oolongs and Tie Kwan Yin (Iron Buddha/Iron Goddess of Mercy) tend to loose their fragrance quickly, so I drink them more often in the spring and summer. Traditional Chinese oolong and Taiwan's famous Oriental Beauty, or White Hair tea, depending on what farm it's from, taste better after at least six months. Fittingly, high-mountain oolong and Tie Kwan Yin are also some of the most lightly fermented teas and though they give me the most energy, I don't notice much lasting heat from them.

The only tea I don't drink with any regularity are English black teas. The plants that are cultivated in India and Sri Lanka are slightly different from Chinese ones. They have a higher level of caffeine and I find myself unsteady and with a bit of a headache after drinking them. If you do like them, these teas have quite a lot of heat and are also very good during chilly weather. In China, there are similar types of tea, known as red tea, but I've yet to try them.

A newer development in Korean tea is Balhyo Cha, fermented green tea, also called Hwang Cha, yellow tea. The first time I tried it, I had a similar feeling as black tea, but one day, I found myself craving to try it again and have become a big fan of it. It also has a fair amount of heat and I'll probably be drink a lot of it as the chilly nights creep further across the days.

Tea; the Good, the Bad, & the Ugly

"Tea is only tea, not medicine," the tea master told me, with an authoritative tone and heavy Korean accent, cutting off my attempt at a conversation about the health benefits of drinking tea.

He wasn't denying that tea has significant health properties but was pointing out that that's not the mind one should enjoy tea with. So, as long as we forget all this while making tea, maybe knowing the health benefits of tea will be an enticement to choose tea over a less healthy beverage in the future.

The Good;

First of all, green tea has the highest concentration of catechin of any food, a type of flavonoid antioxidant amazing for fighting cancer, it's loaded with vitamin C, and has Riboflavin, vitamin B-12, and a healthy dose of fluoride. Green tea has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and strengthen your bones. The balance of vitamins and minerals in green tea help the body absorb them easily, too.

There is also evidence that green tea can lower cholesterol, help burn fat, prevent diabetes and stroke, as well as stave off dementia.

In oolong and Puerh teas, the oxidation that occurs lowers the concentration of antioxidants, but it is only slightly. I've also noticed that bottled green teas tend to have a reddish tint, which means oxidation has occurred. Puerh tea actually develops living microorganisms, though, that are beneficial to your body. Puerh tea is good for soothing a sore throat and helps digestion, as well as keeps you warm in the winter.

The Bad;

There really isn't much about tea that's bad.

If you have problems with caffeine, then you might use caution.

In tea producing areas in China, studies revealed extremely low cancer rates, but one type of cancer that did show up was throat cancer. This wasn't so much from drinking tea as much as it was from drinking extremely hot tea. Puerh tea is prepared with boiling water and drunk quickly.

In the UK, studies revealed that drinking seven cups of tea a day may increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Tea bushes are extremely sensitive to their environment, and the leaves are susceptible to absorbing pollutants from the air. This could become an issue in today's world...

The Ugly;

Tea's flavour comes from its tannins, however the tannins are also what colours our teeth yellow.

When I asked my dentist about this, he said it doesn't actually dye your teeth but it dyes the dirt on your teeth but after time will soak into the teeth. So, if you brush your teeth shortly before or after drinking tea, it shouldn't turn your teeth yellow.

Gong Fu Puerh Cha • 功夫普洱茶

Pu-erh cha, 普洱茶, is a type of tea that has been tightly packed, usually into disk, brick, or knob shapes, then fermented for several years. Though they are increasingly rare nowadays, it takes thirty years for pu-erh's cha-qi, 茶齊, tea energy, to be considered truly developed. A forty, sixty, or even one-hundred year old pu-erh is even better, as its character continues to mellow with age. Much of the tea trade revolves around pu-erh cha, and it's what you'll most likely be served when you visit a tea master.

More recently, an extra step of tumbling the wet leaves has been added before pressing the leaves to imitate the aging process. These teas are known as 'shou cha', 熟茶, 'ripe', 'cooked', or 'black' pu-erh, while the traditional aging process is known as 'sheng cha', 生茶, 'raw' or 'green' pu-erh. Sheng pu-erh is usually preferred for aging, though there are also many aged shou pu-erh on the market.

Though, Pu-erh can be quite a complex tea, it's actually the simplest tea to brew. It's almost impossible to ruin a pot of pu-erh tea, though you'll certainly notice when it's prepared with skill. I've chosen an 18 year old sheng cha, and an antique Yixing pear shaped pot, which wouldn't suit shou cha, but I find brews this sheng cha very well.

For gong fu cha, you generally want to fill the pot about a third with dry tea. With pu'erh you can add even more. It's good to add a balance of larger chunks with a bit of smaller bits, as the chunks will develop slowly and the small pieces will boost the initial infusions.

Once your water has reached a "crab-eye" boil (bubbles the size of crab eyes), the first step is to heat the pot and the cup(s). Fill the pot entirely, then returning the lid, pour water all over the outside of the pot. This also helps to wash any dust away. The water can be emptied out into the cups to heat them as well. Temperature is important, as the tea oils respond to heat, and a cold pot or cup will "steal" the fragrance of the tea.

Now you can add your tea, and if you like, let it sit for a moment in the hot teapot. Especially with aged pu'erh tea, it is important to quickly rinse the tea of dust. Fill the teapot with water, wait a few seconds and empty it. The first time you add water to the tea, it will be very bubbly and these bubbles will carry out the dust. Scrape them off with the bottom of the lid and then pour a bit of water over the pot once more. Rinsing the leaves also start to awaken them and you'll notice the scent emerging from the pot. I always enjoy smelling the tea or even the inside of the lid and getting a hint of what's to come.

Gong fu cha has very quick infusions, for pu'erh the first should only be about 10-15 seconds, depending on personal taste and the character of the tea. The second infusion is the shorter, only 8-10 seconds, since the leaves have further awoken. The third infusion is the shortest, 6-8 seconds, and the leaves are now at their prime. The third infusion is often considered the best. For the fourth and fifth add a couple more seconds to each brew, then a few more seconds after that. A good quality tea will continue to deliver about eight servings, though you can continue with brews a few minutes, an hour, or even day long infusions if you really want to get everything you can out of the leaves.

It's important to pay close attention to the brewing times, not to drain too much of the tea at one time, leaving it thin for the next infusions. Eventually, you form a type of "communication" with the tea, where your intuition begins to guide your hand. The tea tells you when it is ready.

Little things I enjoy while brewing tea are watching the water suddenly evaporate from the side of the pot, the smell of the cup just after it's been emptied, the warm feel of it in my hand, and most of all, the joy of serving someone a great cup of tea!

dry leaves

rinse, to be discarded

first infusion, full color 

second infusion, still lots of bubbles 

wet leaves

third infusion, some bubbles 

fourth infusion, no more bubbles 

my wife's untouched second cup compared with the eighth infusion 

used leaves