Taking This Further

At this juncture of the tea classes, I'm expected to be fairly familiar with the steps of the tea ceremony, and the temperatures required to brew the different types of tea, and simply practise the art to taste the different teas. Some might prefer to stop here and do their own reading and tasting. I thought I'd be part of this group. Learn and go. For tea, oddly, I'm actually interested in the theory portion of it. There's the practical, the practice, and the reading up. Soaking it all in. So I shall continue on with the classes ad infinitum. Am glad the instructor found me amenable to continue imparting her skills and knowledge. Heheheheh. I'm normally not completely pliable to structured learning. 

It's not about discerning what is good or bad tea (versus price points) per se, or its health properties. That touches the realm of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). That, is another level of knowledge I'm not keen on. Don't care, period. It's the history and culture I want to focus on, and the different types of tea in the market. There's this hunger to know more. But not quite delving into the technical/scientific portion of growing the tea plants just yet. That will be tough. Plenty of books available for further reading. There're many different theories put out which agree on some aspects, and disagree on others. The usual theorem average applies.

Decided to go minimalist (用功夫泡) to try out Anxi's famous oolong, the 'Iron Goddess' (安西乌龙，铁观音). The variety chosen is not the traditional reddish-brown 'Mucha Iron Goddess' ( 木柵鉄観音) that's stronger in flavors. My brew belongs to the lighter oxidation of an oolong in a bouquet finish. Golden yellow, it's similar to the colors of the green tea, yet completely different in characteristics to the nose and palate. Light and floral, I wasn't too nervous about this brew. The usual close attention was paid to the speed of pour so as to bring out the hardy flavors of the brew.