When a Sheng 'makes you' say and do things you always wanted to say and do but didn't. And then you did.

(The Sheng made me do it!)

Could intense 'Sheng-High' be used as a defense, if not criminally, than familiarly? As in, "Parental Unit #1, I am (not really) sorry that I finally said all those things that needed saying, albeit with great elegance, compassion and compelling honesty but that you are never supposed to just go ahead and say, (or in my case, write)."
Can one say it was the sheng that made me do it?
You go through thirty, forty, fifty or more years being teeth-achingly democratically polite to the people who 'brought you up', and then (you decide to say the) tea brings you a clarity and an intensity that allows you to commune with others, in ways that may or may not be entirely comfortable for them, and you speak the Sheng-Dang Truth!
Sheng Dang-It!
Fabulous. Scandalous perhaps, uttering the unutterable but if done in the kindest possible way, using those 'I-statements' you learned in therapy as a kid, then what a opportunity for honesty and consciousnesses one can create with the help of a little seven grams of mellowing yet intensifying Sheng as a helpful conduit. In my case with Crimson Lotus' Whispering Sunshine 2015 harvest.
I can feel the sunshine in my soul, I tell you what!
I said when I began this blog only eight months ago that tea was going to be a focus and a guide into this second half of my life, and so it has been, and so it continues to be.
And I will reiterate again that this is, as I stated last year, a whole lot better than booze! No remorse at all.
Use the power of the Sheng wisely, and see where it takes you.
Tea not only revives, it also can lead to elevations of consciousness, intention and pure spirit you had prior-to not known.

TEA, because you don't get to use dangerous sharp weapons with coffee.

Not to forget the most excellent tool of all, the temperature control Bonavita Goose-Neck kettle.

My first bing hole, and what a hole it is! Jalam Teas Bulang Shan Sheng

Jeff Fuchs of Jalam Teas was an angel and sent me a few of his teas to try and I am feeling all lit up and feisty with this Bulang Mountain Sheng from the Autumn 2014 harvest. And I got my first bing hole, neat! That's good luck or something, right? I went lighter than suggested by Jeff using 5 grams in a 70ml hohin at 209f, five steeps thus far.

Tangy, a good vibrant astringency, this is a different kind of tea, perhaps far more sophisticated than my newbie palate can appreciate, but I am diggin' it for sure!

Gave it an hours rest as I made and fed my family dinner, ( don't ask, its never good) and about to start in on it again. See how it does with another few infusions just off-boil. And the result?
WOW. Still kickin' it! This is a bare-knuckled zowee-wowee punch of a sheng! If you get a chance to get your hands on some, do let me know what you think!

( Found this photo on Jalam Tea's page on the originas of this tea picked by the Bulang minorities, assume this was taken by Jeff Fuchs)

My first views of Jalam Tea looks and smells pretty, pretty pretty pretty good!

Jalam Teas out of Ontario, Canada has sent me three hefty, rather gorgeous looking Puerh Samples and I cannot wait to explore. I don't have to even taste them yet to want to write about them, the sample size and weight and shapes of these samples are more than pretty good. They are pretty good times five.
While I start my research on the three offering Jeff was so kind to share with me I will show you exactly what I got....... and here we go!

I will be writing on, hopefully all three of these teas as I experience them. I say hopefully, for as you know, dearest readers, I only write what I either love, or that which fascinates me, though I might not blindly 'love' it. I am hopeful all three of these will capture my attention, and frankly from looking at the website and the info on each of these teas, I'm pretty sure they will. Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty sure.
More to come as I decide which of these to try first.

Quantitea's Qiao Mu Lao Sheng Cha!

Quantitea's  QMLSC ( because I am too exhausted from typing it once to type it twice) is a delicious sheng. First and second steep are both deep rich amber, sweet and earthy, slightly smokey with a touch of camphor, but just a touch.

From Quantitea:

Qiao Mu Lao Sheng Cha is a Sheng Puer from 2001. It was harvested in the mountains of the Yunnan Province in the spring and is processed into maocha then aged. Naturally occurring microbes ferment the dry tea leaves over time causing a shift from a young sheng puerh into a well-rounded, complex tea.

This tea is earthy, notes of bark with a hint of cinnamon, herbaceousness like geranium greens, oak smoke, camphor, and subtle green grapes, with an underlying rose fragrance

Plant: Camellia sinensis var. assamica
Type: Sheng Puer
Origin: Yunnan Province, China
Harvest Date: April
Plucking Standard: bud and first leaf
Process: wither, fix, rolled, dried, fermented/aged
Brewing Parameters: 205F for 1.5 min, 7 steeps

Smacha's Auto-Infuser once again has my deepest gratitude.

Did I happen to mention I am moving, rather suddenly in three weeks? Wasn't even looking for a new house but the house practically came to ME! I only mention this because I decided, two days after signing the new lease, to take on a baby Lovebird who needs to be handfed a warm gruel every five hours lest he die. Ok, a little dramatic, but I mean to imply I am either some sort of saint, an idiot or both. ( Hint; its both.) And the further implication is I am BUSY, I have my HANDS FULL! All this to say thanks, in my 'off-handed' way how grateful I am this morning, Saturday at 7am for Smacha's auto-infuser. No way could I handle Gongfu tea right now. First of all I have a screeching bird pooping on my head. Secondly, I want a LARGE cup ( in gongfu terms, 'large' meaning maybe 6 ounces!) of something FABULOUS, so the autobrewer is a savior once again. Have you guys seen these designs for making easy quality tea when there isnt a basket handy and you dont want to use a western style mug? The design is nothing crazy, just a perfect sized hole in the base, a good filter and a deep enough basket that i can put 5-7 grams of something in it and re-steep for hours. Anyway, here are some pics of the basic design.

The Mountain Tea Co's Amber Oolong....... I'm not worthy!

No way do I deserve this much enjoyment out of a cup of tea this morning. Mountain Tea's Amber Oolong is way too awesome for this newb, but at least I'm smart enough to know how much better it is than I am! Roasted lightly and tasting toasty and warm this is an Oolong I will share with other newbies to tea for sure. an easy, pleasing tea with a lot of personality, all of it gracious and loving.
Look at that photo above, that's the rinse in the cup and the first steep, flash-brewed in the fairness pitcher! First brew and will you just look at that color? Seriously. So perfect. Four grams in a 160ml gaiwan, hotter than usual at 209f, and I bet that's why its even more awesome than usual, the hotter temp. Tea- guru and online helpmate, Nancy Togami pushes me to push those temperatures higher and with many good results I happily admit! This is a totally different tea at 209f than it is at 190f.
Anyhoo. My lessons obviously continue. Mountain Tea is a solid source for good teas, especially Oolongs, go take a look for yourselves!

(Leaves haven't even unrolled halfway yet and it is already fabulous.)

Fengqing Golden Buds from Zen Tea. Sanity in a cup.

World is going crazy, right?
Need a bracer? Listening to the evening news, hearing some things that make you feel a wee weak-kneed? Dudes, me too!
What to do, since a martini is not a viable option? Already been through an awesome sheng this morning, a mellow yellow from Thailand, and a 2014 Bai Hao Formosa, but listening to the news about 'Super Tuesday' results, well, hell. I need something to bolster me, yet not make me go through the roof as a dark Puerh might be inclined to do.
Grabbed a nice dark black Chinese tea, Fenqing Golden Buds, a good roasty, thick feeling intense yet comforting Dian Hong.

I there anything more energizing yet mellowing than a decent Dian Hong from Zen Tea? Me thinks not. Newbie readers, contact me directly as usual for more info if this isn't enough to whet your appetites!


"High-altitude-grown Golden Needle provides a totally new Yunnan black (Dian Hong) tea experience! Yunnan Pure Gold (金芽滇紅茶 ) varieties are considered the best type of Dian Hong tea (Classified in Orange Pekoe grading from TGFOP to SFTGFOP). It contains only golden tips, which are usually covered in fine hairs. It looks very similar to expensive Silver Needle White tea (Yinzhen) aside from the golden color. This tea produces a brew that is coppery gold in colour with a woody, sweet aroma. Brewed tea has a full-bodied, sharp nutty, and brisk tobacco taste. Totally luxurious with clearer and sharper tastes than other Yunnan black teas. This tea has a magic that will keep you coming back to this pleasant and unique experience over and over again! 

Origin: Fengqing, Yunnan province, China"

Harvest: 2015 Spring

Thanks to TeaPrints I can go out in the world showing my love of tea and making new tea friends!

Teaprints, check them out! This small and wonderful line of tea apparel is as important as the teapot itself! Other than internet socializing many of us have no other way to recognize fellow tea-heads, and that is a problem! Tea is a lovely solitary thing to do but sharing tea with like-minded fans of the good stuff? Well, its priceless.
My tongue gets tired of mentioning tea to almost every single soul I meet during the day, the guy who packs my groceries, my kids pre-teen buddies, I suspect all that nodding and smiling is a kindness everyone shows me but in truth they are bored sick and think I am a utter nutter. Having some shirts to show potential tea-heads out there that I exist and want to commune with them without having to gab constantly at the uninterested and uninitiated is going to be helpful. Am I overly optimistic about this? More than likely! Will my optimism and hope wither and die? Absolutely not! Readers, you know me. I am fighting the good fight, loving what is there to be loved and all about connecting and sharing with others. And my goodness, how much longer can I go without having real people to sit on the other side of my tea table to pour tea for? I can't go solo forever.
So, yes, I love Teaprints and hope to slowly replace all my non-messaging clothing with shirts and hoodies and hats, and um....... sweatpants that say 'DRINK TEA' on the ass...... or, maybe not.
If my ass were younger perhaps. If my younger ass were single, but, yeah, none of that is gonna happen. So! Shirts, hats, hoodies totes, all that is a definite GO however! I will reach out beyond this blog and the social internet and meet people in my very own town to gongfu brew with! My CHI is loving and overflowing with optimism and my new hoodies message of 'KEEP CALM AND GAIWAN ON' is my message to the world. And if someone asks me 'Hey, what is a gaiwan?' then I will just pull out my travel set, sit their bottoms down wherever we happen to be and make them some TieGuan Yin oolong tea right then and there. It could happen. Anything could!
To wrap it up, I love the high-quality material of the hoodie Teaprints was so kind to send me and I am inspired to reach out more everyday to share my love of tea.

Yo, GABA GABA!

Seriously. Not only does this tea remind me of my favorite kids show, but it makes me feel the same sort of happy-go-lucky giddiness that show evokes.
Not that I am claiming it has the effects GABA is said to have on the body, I don't know nor care about that. If its true, awesome, but I would be feeling good in any case. I just like the tea. Yeasty, roasty, fruity, spicy, its a damn good Oolong. Period. Got mine from the wonderful Teca Tea company, out of Houston's Ten Yen Teahouse. Gabba-Dabba-GOOD!