By now, I'm supposed to be able to decide what sort of tea I'd like to taste, know the temperatures required for the brewing, and also be able to set up the tea set on my own, including picking out the required pot, cups and all. What a fun thing! Very nervous though, because I'm also supposed to remember all the steps in brewing a pot of tea. ARRRRRGH.
The instructor gave me free rein over her precious cups and pots. Quite mind-boggling to decide how to put everything together. So many pretty items. The instructor probably found it rather insightful too, as she said something about how the chosen tea set reflects the brewer's frame of mind. Okay. Whatever. I go for clean lines. Very much like how I choose my clothes. However, I don't mind injecting color into the tea sets, depending on the tea chosen for the day.
I decided to tackle the pu'er (普洱), something which I've no affinity for, rarely drunk and touched. Therefore I don't quite grasp the brewing method in terms of speed of pour. The pu'er is my weakest in the tea ceremonies. Must practise. Today, I picked a raw pu'er, also known as a ‘Seven Sons’ tea from Xishuangbana in Yunnan. (生普洱，七子饼茶). A raw pu'er ought to be brewed in a teapot of a lighter shade. So I picked out something greenish to match the teapot. There're many ways to place teacups and its holders. Today, I chose this formation of teacups in a square.
True enough, my fear showed. 心慌，茶香也乱。Everything I've learnt about chanoyu (茶の湯) flew out of the window. The first 2 brews were rather disastrous. Didn't burn the tea leaves, but it was rather unpleasant to taste. It wasn't sweet enough. It was only by the third brew that I grasped the speed of pour. Grrrrrrr. The third brew brought out the typical flavor of the pu'er, but without the smokiness, and it was almost sweet. That was the best brew of all.
6 comments:
never tried good puer before. when i saw the price, my jaw almost dropped LOLz
is there a good place in SG to sample affordably? thks!
FML: i don't know actually. Had to google too. There're a couple of shops around who charge S$20 to S$30 per pax to sample their teas. Teajoy, Tea Chapter, Yixing Xuan, Time of Tea. these would offer tea sampling at a fixed price. They've websites. See which appeals to you most, and stroll in to have a look if they're located near enough. All in Chinatown and Tanjong Pagar area.
Thanks much! will start looking around those you googled.
actually, I should have google myself. but i'm total nut case when it comes to tea ,so just thought you might pull out a list of reasonable good teahouse easily :)
FML: no worries. I'm a total noob! you'll prob discover more exciting packages these teahouses offer. There's a Tian Fu Tea Room at Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant. Sounds good, but I haven't checked that out yet.
How wonderful that you enjoy tea to this level. I don't have patience :p but I do love pu'er!
-m
M.: it's one of those things that I like, but fear, so finally i decided to just do it.
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