Spring on Pear Mountain

Taiwanese teas are good. And sometimes they are great. I have what I thought was an example of good Li Shan, but in the course of this tea it turned out to be great. I love surprises.
Today we’re using the Hong Ni pot purchased to celebrate the birth of my son and a double walled Taiwanese fragrance cup set. The fragrance cup is essential, in my opinion, when drinking Taiwanese teas. They are sometimes more olfactory than gustatory.
Please enjoy this tea.

Rock on Tie Luo Han

No, there’s no musical soundtrack today. The soundtrack is a Tie Luo Han (鉄羅漢) oolong from 2018. Tie Luo Han is one of the famous open leaf oolongs from the Wuyi tea growing region in China. See if you can hear the moment that the largish leaves are poured from the small bag into the preparation tray and then from there into the pot. The pitch of this particular hongni (red yixing) pot is very high and musical, in my opinion. Lots of great aromas and flavors, so prepare yourselves.

Down to Houraidou

Have a cup of some of the finest Japanese gyokuro green tea from my favorite little hole in the wall tea shop, Houraido (蓬莱堂). Today you’ll hear a 100+yo houhin teapot, a 60+yo tokoname water vessel, a 40+yo tin leaf container, and much more (including, possibly, a car driving through gravel in the distance…) Thanks for sharing tea with me.

225 years of tea: 22 and a half minutes.

I’m having tea anyhow, and I want to bottle some of these moments for others. I hope you find this to be an intimate and comforting portable space.

Do you ever have tea and think, “this would go well with some chainsaw noise” or “I wish someone would call me just now…” This first episode had some hiccups, but I will endeavor to reduce these as I get acquainted with the process.

Today you can enjoy with me a 19yr old compressed brick of puer tea prepared in an 80yr old yixing zhuni artistic tea pot and served in a 37yr old kutani tea cup on a 48yo tinplate chataku saucer. (225 years, if you count me)