A Beijing Teahouse – Puerh Tasting

Posted by: David

As many of you will know, our 2003 Wild Yi Wu Raw Puerh has been a real office favourite over the last couple of months.  So it was with great excitement that last week, while on holiday in China, I paid a visit to a lovely Beijing teahouse specialising in fine puerh.

On my second day in Beijing, still jet-lagged and in need of a good, relaxing morning of drinking great tea, I set out from my hostel looking forward to the morning ahead.

Hidden away off a busy, restaurant packed street, the teahouse was a welcome respite from the sometimes overwhelming heat and pace of a Beijing summer. I was welcomed into the teahouse and taken up to a gallery level past many cases of puerh cakes from some of the most famous factories in China.

中国茶叶公司云南省公司- Zhong Guo Cha Ye Gong Si Yun Nan Sheng Gong Si 1950s Zhongcha Red Seal - Grade A Cake 中茶牌圆茶 - Zhong Cha Pai Yuan Cha

There’s something about rare and old puerh cakes that brings about a great sense of anticipation in me. It’s not that I get to drink them often by any means, it’s just that the way they are wrapped and how visibly old they are adds to the sense of a special occasion.

The above cake was the oldest on display, a 1950s Red Seal cake from Menghai Factory. Walking past these cakes, upto a table surrounded by large comfortable chairs definitely put me in the right mood to enjoy the tea I was about to drink.

云南七子饼茶 – Yun Nan Qi Zi Bing Cha 7582 – Menghai 1970s Cake (Green Seal) 七十年代厚纸绿印 – Qi Shi Nian Dai Hou Zhi Lu Ying

The cakes shown in these photos are rarely brought out to drink but I was lucky enough to be able to try a 1980s Menghai Cake which had a beautifully deeply coloured infusion and a very active mouthfeel. The flavour was long and smooth with some delicate sweetness and rich, almost leathery notes.

1980s Menghai Infusion

It also had a lovely calming effect which allowed to overcome my initial awe and to begin chatting in Mandarin with the owner of the teahouse and other customers around the table. For most of the morning, we enjoyed the multiple infusions that a tea like this can handle, taking breaks to try other cakes from the 1990s from both Xiaguan and Menghai factories.

I was also able to enjoy a nice long lunch in the teahouse during which, as the only foreigner, I was jostled into drinking numerous shots of 15 year old Mao Tai and 10 year old baijiu, a strong Chinese spirit distilled from sorghum. My plate was also stacked with ribs and wild mushrooms and was refilled frequently.

After some more tea to restore myself before venturing back into the busy Beijing streets, I took a closer look at some of the display cabinets and found some teaware gems – 1950s teacups and Yixing teapots, some of which are shown above.

云南七子饼茶 – Yun Nan Qi Zi Bing Cha 勐海九三年- Meng Hai Jiu San Nian 水蓝印-Shui Lan Yin Menghai 1993 Blue Seal Cake

I’ve loved puerh for as long as I have loved great tea and had been drinking a lot of it in the office before I left for China, but this teahouse experience gave me even more enthusiasm for puerh history and the tastes and feelings brought about by well aged teas. I left the teahouse feeling invigorated, ready to take on the 12 hour overnight train to Xi’an which I had booked for later that day.

Preparing Matcha

Posted by: David

We’re very happy to have just launched our first Matcha green tea on the website. It’s a high grade, made using top quality tencha leaves. It has a delicious flavour balancing sweetness and savouriness, a lovely thick texture and a vibrant bright green colour.

Preparing Matcha is intimidating at first but very easy if you follow a few basic and easy steps.  Below is a quick guide which will help you to make your own delicious matcha at home. All of the tools that you need to make this tea are available in our Matcha Set.

Matcha Powder in Bowl

First, add about 2g or 2 (chashaku) spoons of matcha into the bowl. If you don’t have a traditional chashaku matcha spoon then about two thirds of a teaspoon will equal a similar amount to that shown in the photo above. Notice the vibrant green colour of the powder – this is a hallmark of top quality matcha.

Whisk and Paste

You will notice that the powdered matcha has a few lumps in it. In order to make really smooth matcha you will need to get rid of these lumps. You can do this by adding a very small amount of cold water to the bowl.

Using hot water to do this will not remove the lumps so it is important that the water is cold. Next, use your whisk to gently make a paste and to remove any lumps.

Hot Water Added

You are now ready to add the hot water, 80 degrees celsius is best. Add about 60-70ml of the water.

Whisking the Matcha

Now to the whisking. Firmly grip the bamboo handle of the whisk with your index, middle and ring finger. Use your other hand to hold and support the bowl. Whisk using rapid wrist movements and try not to let the tip of the whisk touch the bottom of the bowl.

If you move the whisk through the bowl as if you were writing the letter ‘m’ you will be whisking the matcha correctly. 30 seconds to 1 minute is often enough to achieve the desired result.

Finished Matcha in Bowl

When there are no large bubbles left in the match and the resulting bowl looks thick and frothy with many tiny bubbles, as in the picture above, then your matcha is ready to drink.