Tag Archives: China

Chinese Tea: Anhui Province

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Snow covered and jagged peak of Huangshan Mountain, Anhui Province

Huangshan Mountains in Winter in Anhui, China (by Flickr user miquitos, CC BY-SA 2.0)

The Anhui province of China is located in Eastern China, but does not border the sea. Roughly the size of North Carolina, it spans across two large watersheds, the Huai He and Yangtz rivers. Anhui is best known for its rich topography and natural resources. It comes as no surprise that the most drawn and photographed mountain in China, Huangshan, resides in Anhui. Huangshan mountain is also home to many of the wonderful teas that come from Anhui, including Huang Shan Mao Feng and Keemun. Anhui province teas are only a small reflection of this geographically diverse region.

History and People of Anhui

The Anhui province was not formally created until 1666 CE by the Qing Dynasty, which makes Anhui a rather young province in comparison to others. This may be due to the fact that Anhui is located in a transition zone between northern and southern China, so the land changed hands multiple times during wars between tribes. The terrain ranging from highland valleys, through mountainous terrain down to the deltas of its major rivers, makes for tough navigating, so its population is not as diverse as would be expected. Anhui is home to 59 million people (more people than the two most populated US states, California and Texas, combined). The vast majority of the population is Hui with the largest minority groups being the She and Hui.

The people of Anhui have influenced Chinese culture for centuries. Huiju opera was created in southern Anhui and is one of the most popular operas across China, often noted as the predecessor to the Beijing Opera. The highest quality materials for Chinese calligraphy also come from Anhui, including ink, paper and inkstones. Last, but not least, Anhui cuisine, consisting of wild game or fish with local herbs and prepared with minimal fuss is considered one of the eight staples of Chinese cuisine and of course their teas.

Anhui Province and Tea

Map of China with Anhui Highlighted

Anhui Province China

Huangshan Mountain and its surrounding region was named an UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990. This is very important as it will preserve the tea plants and fields in the surrounding region. In this region all six types of tea are produced but the highest quality teas from Anhui are really black, green, and yellow teas. The rich red clay and higher elevations around the mountain make perfect terroir for tea. Tea has been grown in the province for thousands of years and there are many tribute teas made in Anhui that never make it into western markets due to the high demand within China. The first plucking of tea that make Huang Shan Mao Feng goes for top dollar as well as their famous tea, Huo Shan Huang Ya, which was originally made as a tribute to Qing Dynasty. Keemun makes a fabulous black tea that was once part of the recipe for English Breakfast or common on its own in early American colonies, before the British planted tea bushes in India.

Ahui province is worth your time to learn about and if you are adventurous, take a trip and enjoy this beautiful area along with its tea.

 

Gongfu Style and the Yixing Teapot

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A Yixing Teapot with Stamp

Significant Artistry in Yixing Teapot Production

In previous posts we’ve highlighted just a couple of the many tea pots and vessels used to prepare tea (mugs, infusers, and teabags aside). We’ve touched a bit on using a Japanese kyusu for preparation of green tea. We’ve also touched on how using a Chinese Gaiwan can enrich the enjoyment of tea as well as bring out more subtle flavors in teas like Bao Zhong Oolong. In this post we are going to look at another traditional Chinese vessel for preparing tea; the Yixing Teapot.

The Yixing Teapot

Yixing (pronounced ‘ee-shing’) teapots, also known as zisha or ‘purple sand’ teapots, have been around for at least 500 years. While they are normally associated with preparing oolong and pu’erh teas, they really can be used to prepare any kind of tea while adjusting for temperature. An authentic Yixing teapot comes from the town of the same name in Jiangsu province in Eastern China (near Shanghai). Pottery has been made in this area for thousands of years though the development of the Yixing teapot design is a much more recent development. They are believed to have been created as a better vessel for tea preparation at a time when preferences shifted from powdered tea to that of loose leaf.

The Yixing teapots are quite small, generally sized for 2-4 people, un-glazed and typically found in red, green, or black colors. Being un-glazed these teapots become seasoned with use taking the aroma and flavors of the teas prepared in them. For this reason it is best to use one type of Yixing teapot for each type of tea. Additionally, since they are un-glazed Yixing teapots do a great job wicking remaining liquid away from tea after steeping keeping the leaves fresh and ready for many subsequent infusions.

Three Yixing teapot designs.

Yixing teapots come in many styles and colors though simple designs are better for making tea.

Yixing teapots are art in and of themselves. While some are highly decorated, the best and most valuable are typically quite plain in appearance. Highly prized, there are substantial fakes on the market which may be artificially colored, may not have the right density or porosity, and may have lids which don’t have the perfect fit known for this type of pottery. Knowing how to spot a fake is far beyond the scope of this post but do be careful if you are seeking to spend hundreds, thousands, or even more on one.

Gongfu Style Tea

Yixing teapots and the Gongfu style of tea preparation go hand in hand. Gongfu, aka Gong Fu or ‘Kung Fu’, actually means to do something with great skill, and represents a high investment in learning and practice. And while Kung Fu is often thought of in a martial arts concept, Gongfu style tea represents preparation of tea with great skill. Those who have studied Yixing teapots and practiced Gongfu style for many years are truly masters. They are able to quickly identify the best pots for a given tea. What’s more they have a feel for how long to steep, how to adjust steeping times between steepings, and ultimately how to extract the best taste and flavors from a tea.

Yixing Teapot and Two Small Cups

Gongfu Style Tea is an Art Form

While the full ritual of preparing tea Gongfu style has many steps its loosely distilled into:

  1. Rinse and heat the teapot and cups.
  2. Add tea and rinse the tea briefly.
  3. Steep the tea for 10-15 seconds and fully pour out the contents into a small pitcher.
  4. Serve the tea in small cups.

In this manner more water can be added for multiple subsequent infusions, each of 10-15 seconds, repeating five to ten times ore more.

Expand Your Tea Horizons

We’ve barely scratched the surface of the experience you can have with a Yixing teapot and an exploration of Gongfu style tea. However, if you have become a fan of straight teas, find yourself drinking some of the many wonderful teas less known in the west, and/or have discovered Oolong or Pu’erh tea then an exploration of Yixing and Gongfu has got to be next on your list.

Tea Culture in Afghanistan

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In looking at the per capita consumption of tea across the globe, it was hard not miss the fact that Afghanistan imported almost 10 pounds of tea per person a year. That is enough to make over 1,500 cups per person per year. This type of consumption implies that there is a strong tea culture within Afghanistan that is worth exploring.

Tea culture in Afghanistan developed in part due to geography and trade.

Map of Afghanistan (Public Domain)

Geography and Tea

Afghanistan is a landlocked country, just about the size of Texas, that serves as the gateway to Asia from the Middle East. Being seen as corridor to Asia by land has subjected this country to constant invasion by all sorts of foreign countries from the Greeks, led by Alexander the Great, to the more recent invasions by the Russians in 1978. This location bred great ethnic diversity. While the formal census of Afghanistan people does not include ethnic orientation, the 2004 constitution lists 14 different ethnicities (Central Intelligence Agency, 2015). This same location introduced the tribes in Afghanistan to tea early on, as China sent traders out to get other goods in return for silk and tea. Given its arid climate and poor water supplies, tea gave the tribes a beverage that was non-alcoholic and easy to transport.

Hospitality and Afghan Tea Culture

Afghan tea culture comes in part from the tradition of offering food and beverage to guests

Traditional Samovar – By Kmrhistory (Own work) – CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Even though there is great ethnic diversity in Afghanistan, there are several cultural norms that cross all beliefs. Hospitality is the main one. Hospitality is so important in Afghan culture that it is embedded in children stories and considered a reflection of personal reputation. It is always expected to give food and/or beverages to everyone who is visiting you. Both will continued to be served until the guest signals that they are full and even then the host is expected to ask if they are sure and it is not uncommon to hear the host say “But you have not had enough.”

Tea culture plays a large role in showing hospitality. It is not uncommon to be offered tea when entering a business or a friend’s home. A common tea served in Afghanistan is called Kahwah. It is a combination of green tea, cardamom pods, cinnamon bark, and saffron strands. It may also include peppercorns, ginger and almonds. Much like the traditional Masala Chai Tea from India or Kashmiri Tea from neighboring Pakistan, each family has their own recipe. These ingredients are typically mixed with boiling water in a samovar. The tea is dispensed from the samovar and sugar is added before serving.

So you too can share a small piece of Afghanistan hospitality, below is a recipe for Kahwah Tea that serves 4 (so invite some friends over).

Kahwah Tea

4 cups of Water

4 cardamom pods, cracked

½ inch piece of cinnamon

4 strands of saffron

3 teaspoons of green tea

1 tablespoon sugar or honey

4 blanched almonds, chopped into small pieces

 

Add the cardamom pods, cinnamon, and sugar to the water and bring it to a boil. Allow to stay at a boil for 5 minutes and then remove from the heat source. Add the green tea and saffron, put a lid on the pot and allow to steep for 3 minutes. The saffron will cause the liquid to turn a light orange color. Strain the liquid into a teapot. Put the almond pieces into 4 tea cups and pour the tea over the almond pieces and enjoy.

 

Sources Cited
Central Intelligence Agency. (2015, May 27). The World Fact Book: Afghanistan. Retrieved from Central Intelligence Agency: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/af.html

Jasmine Tea – The First Nighttime Tea

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Jasmine teas have been made in China since the fifth century and only began being exported to Europe in the 1600’s. They include teas like the classic Jasmine Green as well as Jasmine Dragon Tears (aka Jasmine Pearls). This hugely popular variety of tea gets its scent from Jasmine flowers, which only open at night.

Jasmine Plant

Jasmine flower for producing scented tea.

Scented tea is often produced using jasmine petals.

The two main species of Jasmine used in Jasmine tea are native to Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, as well as the eastern Himalayan region and have spread into China and across the globe because of humans. Jasmine is actually a member of the olive family. It is a vine that looses its leaves every fall. Jasmine typically blooms in the summer, not early spring when most of the best teas are picked. The flowers are white and open only in the evening when they release the oil that contains their famous scent. This beautiful plant is pollinated by moths, not bees, which are nocturnal insects. Plants that have evolved to have nocturnal pollinators are very fragrant as they use the fragrance to guide in their pollinators. It is believed that the Jasmine plant was introduced to China sometime during the Han Dynasty (200 BCE to 200 CE).

Making Jasmine Tea

Jasmine tea is traditionally made with green tea but you will also find it made with white or black tea. As mentioned earlier, Jasmine does not bloom when tea does. So the tea is picked, manufactured into its green state and then stored for 3-4 months, pending location, before being scented with jasmine. The jasmine blossoms are picked in the morning while closed and kept in a cool shaded place until evening, when it will be applied to the tea. The scenting process is rather laborious regardless of whether the tea is ultimately turned into a pearl or left in its original state of being twisted.

There are typically two methods of infusing the tea with the jasmine scent. The first method is to alternately layer the tea and the jasmine blossoms. These layers are built typically with a fine mesh cloth, almost like cheese cloth in between the layers to allow for the removal and replacement of the jasmine petals. Given the type and grade of tea that the scent is being applied to, the blossoms may be replaced multiple times before the tea is considered complete. On average, it takes about four hours for the jasmine scent to permeate the tea. However, some of the highest grade jasmines may take as long as 12 hours for the scenting application process. The tea is then sent back through the drying process to remove the moisture it absorbed from the jasmine flowers. The second method involves blending together the jasmine petals with the tea and allowing it to sit overnight in a cloth bag to allow the scent to apply. The petals are then removed by hand and the tea is generally rolled into tiny balls, or pearls. Some of those pearls may still have a jasmine petal in them that you will not see until it is brewed and the pearl opens into a full leaf.

Jasmine Tea - Scented Green Tea and Liquor

Jasmine Dragon Tears – Scented Green Tea

Enjoying Jasmine Tea

Like all green teas, Jasmine Green Tea or Jasmine Dragon Tears are best brewed at water temperatures between 170-185° Fahrenheit for 3-5 minutes. A high quality jasmine tea can be steeped at least twice before losing its fragrant nose. If you haven’t had a Jasmine tea before, it is a light refreshing tea made with considerable care.

Puerh – Raw ‘Sheng Cha’ vs Cooked ‘Shu Cha’

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Puerh Tea Cake

Raw Puerh Cake from CNNP

We’ve written before about puerh and dark teas. This style of teas are the only ones which are truly fermented instead of being oxidized like all others. In our earlier post however we just barely scratched the surface so in this post we revisit the topic in a bit more depth. Puerh emerged via a happy accident from the transport of tea along the tea horse road from Yunnan Province to Mongolia where it fermented along the journey and was traded for war horses. Over time demand overwhelmed supply and a method of speeding along production was needed. Thus production shifted to one of two methods; raw or cooked. Both provide a distinct, mellow and earthy taste though they are certainly not the same in taste or cost.

Sheng (Raw) Puerh Cake

2008 Raw Tea Cake (7 years old)

Raw ‘Sheng Cha’ Puerh

Raw puerh is also referred to as sheng or green is produced naturally, allowing the tea to ferment as it ages over many years. Some of the best raw puerh is actually decades old, like a fine wine, getting better with age. Good quality raw puerh, stored well, will steadily increase in value with some fetching tens of thousands of dollars. For some, though very risky, it’s even seen as an investment.

It is produced in slightly different ways depending on the factory producing it and their own closely guarded method. However, the general process is to air dry fresh leaves, process and knead the leaves and sun dry the leaves. Finally, the loose puerh leaf is steamed and placed in a mold for final shaping before going into storage, ideally for 15 to 20 years of aging and fermentation.

Raw puerh cakes generally look a bit more green and the liquor color tends to be quite a bit lighter than that of cooked puerh. As it ages the flavor will develop and mellow.

Cooked ‘Shu Cha’ Puerh

The far more modern development is cooked puerh. Also called shu or ripe, this version is artificially aged in order to produce products in a short period of time and satisfy some of the demand for puerh. Like its raw cousin the factories which produce it each have their own variations, though the process originated in 1973 at Kunming Tea Factory.

Production of cooked puerh is substantially different than for raw. In this case leaves are piled on the factory floor and watered down in a process akin to composting. The specific steps here vary as does the length of time depending on the desired speed of this artificial aging. As a last step, like raw puerh, it is finally steamed and compressed.

Cooked puerh cakes are much darker, with leaf tips having darkened considerably to a golden or brown color. Similarly, the liquor of cooked puerh is a deep red or brown color.

Puerh in All Shapes & Sizes

Just one of the shapes of puerh.

Mini Puerh Bricks – Easy Single Serving

Puerh is available in loose leaf form, though more often it is found compressed into various forms.  Puerh cakes can be quite large, almost the size of a dinner plate or even a discus. While this is a very typical form, it can be compressed into any number of shapes and sizes. For example some puerh is compressed into small squares, enough for one serving and sold in boxes of many squares. Other options include rectangles similar in size to a large candy bar, balls, small birds nest shapes, large balls, coins, and more.

A great place to start is with a small package of cooked puerh. This allows you to dip a toe in the water without waiting years to enjoy your tea and experimenting at a reasonable starting price.