Yi Ho Yeong, Brother Anthony's Tea Friend: Part 2

Have you read Part 1?

Serving Tea

We had traveled thousands of miles by plane and private bus and walked what seemed like a hundred more until finally we were in the ‘holy’ mountain of Korean tea.  Tea is so compelling, the artisan producers each with their own story - each with their own reasons for being with tea.

It’s simply about tea - tea and fire and the amazing skills of knowledgeable artisan tea producers like Yi Ho Yeong and Lim Jeong Jin. 

The tender tea leaf picked by hand, joined with a thousand more, 

and processed over a wooden fire for hours – again by hand.  That is Korean tea.  In many ways Yi Ho Yeong embodies Korean tea as she and her friend Lim Jeong Jin continue this centuries old tea processing tradition. Watching them do so is mesmerizing.  The gentle warmth from her tea processing wood fire transports me to a time and place far from the busy crowd, far from the 21st century, into a time and place of peace and tranquility.  For me, that is one of the main reasons I personally ‘do tea‘ every day - simply to escape for a moment, wherever I am, to that place of peace and tranquility.  When you visit with Yi Ho Yeong you know you have arrived.  You are in that place of peace and tranquility.

Now Yi Ho Yeong has invited us into her home to sit for a moment and taste their newest production.  It is 2013.  The winter has been harsh on the leaves and the spring weather has been so cold it was difficult to pick.   They are about two weeks behind in this year’s production.  We didn’t arrive at the best time for our artisan producers.  But we are grateful that they allowed us to visit. That any of them allowed us to visit.  We enter her home.

If you didn’t know it before, stepping inside you become immediately aware that Tea is her passion and way of life.  The rooms are filled with tea ware.  These combined images may look disorganized but the opposite is true.  Still everywhere you look is a teapot, chawan, platter for food, a row of teacups, or a side handled teapot - a classic and traditional Korean style.  Please don’t give credit for side handled teapots to another country even if they want it.

The Tea Tour Korea group sits around the table in anticipation.  The table is prepared. 

Yi Ho Yeong joins us and sets her teacups before her.  They are pure white so that we observe the color of her delicate tea.  The side handled teapot and cooling bowl are at hand. 

Hot water is poured into the cooling bowl, then a moment later poured into the empty teapot.  Water from the teapot is poured into all the cups. 

That water warms the cups as she selects her bamboo scoop and scoops just the right amount of tealeaves into the now empty teapot.  Water, cooled to the perfect temperature, joins the leaves awakening them and drawing from them their essence.  
    

Less than a moment later she pours the tea through a strainer into the cooling bowl.  Yes the teapot has a strainer but these leaves are small, tiny actually and the strainer is needed to catch the errant leaf.

The cup warming water is discarded and the tea is served.  It is wonderfully fresh and delights my 'tea' palate.  Bret at the Tea Dork blog wrote this after he tasted this tea.  “The aroma from the dry leaf is pristine, clean and sweet. Notes of pine, grain and florals. Very pungent but not heavy. Why can’t all my green teas smell so gorgeous?”  We felt the same.

We savor the tea - delicious.  It is a tea she simply calls her ‘special tea’.  I'll do a post on it on our tea blog soon.

I pause to look more carefully at her tea ware and implements.  
In the background is a water bowl, then teapot, cooling bowl with large bamboo strainer, large bamboo scoop and wooden saucers for the cups.  Wood to reduce the sound.  A cloth is nearby.  It is a perfect grouping for a group tea.

We have had our first cup - delicious.  

Then with subsequent cups a delicious tealeaf pajun (pajeon) or Korean pancake is served.  Those green leaves are not scallions – they are tealeaves!  Again delicious.  The group liked it so much she made more.   

Yi Ho Yeong in 2011

Our visits with Yi Ho Yeong have always been memorable and this one was no exception - a remarkable moment and so Korean.  There is always a sense of peace in the air as Yi Ho Yeong is such a gentle and peaceful lady and a master of both tea and peaceful moments.

  
Even the walk from her home is peaceful.  I’m sure our tour members will remember the visit with Yi Ho Yeong for years to come.  

To learn how you can obtain her teas*, contact us.  Contact us also if you would like to learn more about our next Tea Tour Korea coming next May.  

Thank you Brother Anthony for introducing us to the remarkable tea producer Yi Ho Yeong.
*It is with a very heavy heart that I must announce that Yi Ho Yeong passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in January 2016.  Thankfully, her son has insured that her tea legacy will continue with her disciples, including Lim Jong Jin, making tea from her bushes at her facility in her manner.  To honor Yi Ho Yeong, we will visit them on our subsequent tea tours.

Yi Ho Yeong, Brother Anthony's Tea Friend: Part 1

A Visit With Yi Ho Yeong Part 1: Tea Production

I want to begin a series of posts on several artisan tea producers whose tea we can acquire for you by introducing you first to Yi Ho Yeong. I have selected her for my first artisan tea producer post for several reasons.  I’m sure that you can guess what they are after reading the posts. 
In the book The Korean Way of Tea Brother Anthony of Taize and Hong Kyeong-Hee write:

‘Sitting in a traditional Korean house, with doors and windows open to the early morning sunshine, the taste of the first cup of tea, made with water that is far below boiling point, on a palate freshly awakened, is so intense, so indescribably fragrant, that from that day on the only question can be: ‘When shall I be able to go back and drink that tea again?’

Brother Anthony and Hong Kyeong-Hee must have been referring to the tea made by their good friend Yi Ho Yeong one of the finest artisan tea producers in Hwagae Valley or should I say in all of Korea.  It was Brother Anthony who introduced us and led us to Yi Ho Yeong's beautiful home. A home seemingly dedicated totally to tea.  That was on our first Tea Tour Korea in 2011. We went again on Tea Tour Korea 2013, 2014 and 2015 and hope to continue on any other tea tours we may develop.  Brother Anthony and his co-author Kyeong-hee had been there when Mr. Hong made tea with Yi Ho Yeong in 2006. Brother Anthony photographed and wrote about that experience.  They have been friends with Yi Ho Yeong for many years.  Brother Anthony’s website gives a very good explanation of the way Yi Ho Yeong makes her tea.  With Brother Anthony’s permission, I am borrowing from that post including several images.

That post cemented our desire to host Korean Tea tours and to meet these tea producers and authors on tea.  Over the last several years, Brother Anthony has been very gracious with his time and energy helping us as we continue to navigate the world of Korean Tea.

The Path to Her Home and Tea Area

To get to Yi Ho Yeong’s home, you really have to know where you are going.   Her house seems hidden from the road with a gentle path that leads us to this remarkable tea master.   That path also seems to take us back in time to a time and place when the making of tea was not a business but rather simply a way of life.  The garden behind this beautiful home is dedicated to the production of tea. However, before we explore that area, lets first briefly meet Yi Ho Yeong.

Yi Ho Yeong

What can I say about Yi Ho Yeong?  She is a very gracious host, gentle and dedicated to tea in a very peaceful way.  Dare I say in a Seon or Zen way?  She invites us to view her garden and tea production facilities while she enters her home for last minute preparations to receive our small tea group.  We’ll go with her inside on our next post.

 Brother Anthony Near Chongja

The tea production area is integrated into her garden and is a natural part of it.  It includes several large structures.  Here Brother Anthony, who joined us on our first visit in 2011, stands beside a chongja or pavilion.  The chongja is covered with a thatched roof as are all of her tea buildings.  Behind Brother Anthony is her Korean style home.

Tea Area View

The above combined image shows the area from both directions.  (A) is looking toward the home beyond where Brother Anthony was standing in the first image.  Turn around.  (B) Now you are facing the tea production buildings.  The garden is on the right, (on left in image A)the tea production buildings are on the left in image B.

  

Quickly Parched Tealeaves

There we find a basket with clumps of fresh quickly parched and hand rolled tea leaves.  

Lim Jeong Jin

The juices have been awakened and Lim Jeong Jin is hand separating the now very sticky green tea leaves.  The leaves must be carefully and delicately separated by hand so that no leaf is broken. 

Tealeaves on Trays

Then they are placed on trays to allow the moisture to evaporate freely.  This process of parching and carefully rolling the leaves by hand is repeated several times - traditionally nine times.  Each time the leaves are separated and allowed to rest while another batch is being dried.  This process is repeated until the final roasting. 
Obviously it is difficult to look at a production area without discussing the production process.

Leaf Drying and Processing Area

This is the leaf drying and processing area. On the right is a metal cauldron that sits over a wood fire.  On the left are winnowing baskets used to both transport and winnow the leaves. On the far left is a door leading into a room with an ondol heated floor.  We will see how each of these plays a part in the production of the tea.

Final Roasting First Stage Over Wood Fire (BA)

Here Mr. Hong and Ms Lim (behind Mr. Hong) are completing the final roasting of the first stage.
After the last roasting of leaves in the first stage of production, the leaves are separated again and allowed to rest indoors for several hours or often over night on the heated ondol floor.  In the morning the leaves are returned once again to the caldron over low heat and stirred and pressed until the leaves are completely dry.

Mat-Naegi or Hyang-Olligi

Here Lim Jeong Jin (L) and Yi Ho Yeong (R) are completing the process known as mat-naegi or hyang-olligi.  This is Korea’s taste and fragrance enhancing process.  During this process, that can last two or more hours, the tea leaves turn from green to dark gray.  

Lim Jeong Jin Winnowing the Tealeaves (BA)

Then the completely dried leaves are winnowed to pick out stems or broken leaves.  The leaves are separated once more and allowed to cool before packing.     
All of Yi Ho Yeong and Lim Jeong Jin teas are completely hand made from the picking of the leaves on steep hills to their final mat-naegi or hyang-olligi process over a wood fire.  Just as it has been done for hundreds of years.  It is rare to visit such a production area as this.  It is more rare to witness any aspect of this process today in Korea or in any part of the tea world where each country has developed their own ways of making green tea as most have gone, at least in part, to machines.             
We are honored to be able to share this experience and Yi Ho Yeong’s and Lim Jeong Jin's teas with our customers.  Contact us to learn more about her teas and how you may be able to get some.
Please continue to Part 2.

Hong Kyeong-Hee and Brother Anthony  

Note: It took two visits and some borrowed images from Brother Anthony to be able to present this post. Thank you Brother Anthony and Hong Kyeong-Hee. Brother Anthony’s images are noted (BA).
Join us on our next Tea Tour Korea when you will meet Yi Ho Yeong and many other exceptional artisan tea producers and tea ware artists.  Contact us to learn more.
It is with a very heavy heart that I must announce that Yi Ho Yeong passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in January 2016.  Thankfully, her son has insured that her tea legacy will continue with her disciples making tea from her bushes at her facility in her manner.  To honor her, we will visit them on our tea tours.

Please continue to Part 2. 

Picking Tea in Korea: Part 2

 Please read Part 1 First

To continue our post, let's begin by visiting a special tea producer in Boseong.

Kim Se Jin, the owner of Soa Tea is known for his exquisite teas.  His is the first tea plantation, perhaps in all of Korea, to be officially registered as organic in Korea, Japan, Europe and America.  However, our primary decision to offer his teas was based simply on their quality.

Soa teas are hand picked to maintain that quality.  But even here with cultivated bushes and wide paths between them, the footing is still uneven for the pickers.

The line of bushes often takes the path of least resistance in the stony rough soil bending here and there to avoid very rocky terrain on steep paths.  Not all Boseong producers have absolutely gorgeous rows of tea bushes.  In addition, these bushes have had a hard winter.  Never the less even with less than beautiful organized bushes and tealeaves that have had a difficult winter, exceptional tea can be made by exceptional producers like Kim Se Jin at Soa Tea.

Not far away, near the village of Gangjin, the O’Sulloc Tea Company is growing their tea near a beautiful mountain.  O’Sulloc is owned by the Amore Pacific cosmetic company and much of their green tea is used for that purpose.  However their drinking teas, of many varieties, are well known and often admired.  Notice that the tops of the bushes are flat as compared to the rounded bushes found in Boseong and the wild and semi-wild bushes on Jirisan.
The flat top has two purposes and is sometimes used for hand picking as well.  First, it creates a ‘table’ for picking each new flush. 

  

 

Second, the picking machine can easily slice the top layer of new growth leaves without getting into the thicker hard bush stems below.  Increasingly more sophisticated tea processing machines can separate the twigs, stems and even broken leaves and produce excellent teas.  Remember that the vast majority of teas from Japan and many other parts of the tea world are machine picked and processed.
The area of Gangjin is historically  famous for tea.  The Venerable Cho-Ui, Korea's most famous tea monk, lived in this area.  The area is also famous for its celadon including some really wonderful teaware.

So which is it?  Do the wild and semi-wild bushes of Jerisan (top) produce better tea than the cultivated tea bushes of Boseong? (bottom)  That is for you to decide, because when it comes down to it taste is taste - personal.  But Korean tea connoisseurs believe so.
That is why we at Morning Crane Tea have selected mostly tea from Hadong cultivar semi-wild and wild bushes.  The vast majority of our teas are Korean teas.  A tea must be very special to join the Morning Crane Tea family.   
Some of the teas we offer are hand picked and hand processed.  Some are hand picked and partially machine processes.  Others are machine picked and machine processed, all are grown under organic growing conditions and all are excellent teas.  Machine picking and processing is common in Japan and many other tea-producing countries but less common especially for early picks in Korea.  
Hand picking is a long, hard and sometimes dangerous job.  It takes dedicated and knowledgeable people to do it.  But the rewards, when the tea is processed well, can be outstanding. 

The Ven Cho-Ui

  

click image to enlarge

From Dong Cha Song: Hymns to Korean Tea by Ven. Cho-Ui. Translated by the Ven. Jinwŏl (revised by Br Anthony) 

Thank you pickers of the tea leaf who in spite of often difficult conditions continue your work beginning the journey of those wonderful leaves to my cup.

 Go to Part 1
Don't miss the rare Mu-wi tea post.

Did you see the Park Jong Il teapot sale? Chick here.

Alert Note: This is a Heads-up Notice.
We are developing a very special offering of balhyochas produced by a few select artisan tea producers including Soa Tea mentioned in this post.  These teas will be offered at prices as close to the prices in Korea as possible.  In some cases we will be selling teas at our cost with no profit. To learn more about this extremely rare opportunity to obtain teas from producers we consider to be some of the best artisan tea producers in Korea, contact us to learn more and to be placed on the waiting list. 

Picking Tea in Korea: Part 1

I recently changed the heading image on my blog Tea at Morning Crane Tea to an image taken from the image below.  I made that change to give you a better idea of where the teas from Hwagae Valley actually come from.  Compare this image below to the header above taken at Boseong.

click image to enlarge

On the left of this image semi-wild tea is growing.  The bushes were grown from seeds that came from wild tea bushes.  These semi-wild bushes were planted in rows for easier picking.  Looking closely and you will see what appears to be white posts scattered across the field.  Those ‘posts’ are actually ‘insect collectors’ used to avoid the need for insecticides.  No insecticides are used and essentially no fertilizer that would cause the roots to spread.  While these plants are growing in an organized manner, they are left to grow ‘wild’ or naturally in the same way as their ‘parents’ the wild bushes seen on the right. Thus they are referred to as ‘semi-wild’.  On the right of the semi-wild bushes are tea plants growing around the trees and up the hillside.  They are wild tea bushes descendants of the first tea seeds planted not far from this spot in 828 CE.

 Pickers picking from very old bushes where tea was first planted.

The tea bushes on Jirisan and beyond are known as ‘Hadong’ cultivar tea bushes.  Connoisseurs of Korean tea will tell you that the very best tea comes from this type of wild bush followed by their children the semi-wild bushes.

  

In both cases the roots grow deep into the earth and therefore absorb the ‘energy’ or Cha Qi from the earth.  Actually, Korean tea connoisseurs will tell you that the very best tea from this type of bush is from wild tea leaves growing in a bamboo forest where the morning dew from the bamboo provides special nourishment and moisture to the wild tea plants

By contrast we now go to Boseong where during the Japanese occupation the Japanese tea cultivar Yabukita was planted.  I have read that the Japanese were looking for a place to grow tealeaves for hongcha or red (black) tea when they planted these bushes in Korea.  Today they produce primarily green tea.  After the Japanese occupation, Koreans eventually took over those tea fields and developed beautiful cultivated fields.  Here, I have been told, fertilizers are used and in with some growers very small amounts of insecticides.  After further research into this question, I discovered that only a few tea producers in the Boseong area use chemical fertilizers and insecticides and that a number of producers there are now growing their teas organically as they are in Hwagae Valley and Jerisan.

There is no doubt which bushes are more beautiful.  The sweeping Boseong tea fields can’t be matched for pure beauty.  Many movies have been made highlighting these bushes.
However, as in many things, outside beauty should not influence your judgment of true character. Beautiful bushes do not necessarily produce the most delicious teas.  While there are excellent tea producers in the Boseong area (and I’ll be bogging about one soon) if you are looking for authentic completely Korea tea, you would not choose Boseong as your only destination.  The key to great tea like great people doesn’t lie in the outward appearance.

Hwagae's rugged terrain speckled with wild tea bushes.

  

Likewise, Hwagae Valley should not be your only stop for wild and semi wild tea bushes.  Dotted across the southern tier of Korea, from the east coast to the west coast, wild and semi-wild tea bushes can be found.  Many independent tea growers have replanted those wild Hadong cultivar seeds in rows, often like small gardens behind their homes or even in large green houses to create personal semi-wild bushes for easier picking and to make their personal teas.

What might the experience of picking tea leaves be like?  Before I look further at this topic, I have to note that I will not be referencing the books The Korean Way of Tea or Korean Tea Classics for historical notes on picking.  Rather I simply want to give you a sense of what the pickers are experiencing.

Here is our group on Tea Tour Korea 2011 picking tea behind Hwaom-sa and the Hall of Gucheung-am in a very rugged wild tea field where the bamboo had been recently cut to ‘prevent fire’.  But the bushes, some several centuries old, now often suffer from drought and to quote Brother Anthony, “Snakes seem happy to frequent their roots.”  The hill is steep and footing rugged and very uneven.  We nearly had a disaster when one of our members fell landing between pointed bamboo stakes.  After 2+ hours of hard picking our group of 10 pickers had just this amount of tea to show for our work.  I spoke to one of the members of that group .  When I told him that I was writing a post on picking, he said, “Don’t forget to tell them the picking was excruciating.”

It was a remarkable experience but for various reasons we probably won’t be picking there again.  Hwaomsa a beautiful place to visit, lying among thick woodlands on the western slopes of Jiri-san near Gurye-gu.  It is one of the first places where tea was planted in Korea.  Had they not cut the bamboo, that tea would have been called juk-no-cha 竹露茶 (bamboo-dew tea). 

To find authentic juk-no-cha 竹露茶 (bamboo-dew tea) we visited the artisan tea producer Ha Gu. 

Ha Gu makes delicious tea from leaves picked from wild bushes growing under bamboo and processes them by hand.  These teas demand a much higher price than from other artisan producers.

Fourteen professional pickers took four hours of hard picking to gather just this amount of tea.  It is about 6 or 7 times more leaves than we amateur pickers gathered but when you realize how much tea shrinks in the drying process. This is still not much tea.  Simply put picking wild tea is difficult and sometimes dangerous work.
What are tea pickers looking for?  This is what they see:

This is what they are after. . .

 

 . . . just the three lead leaves.  The leaves on the left are what is know as ja soon cha or ‘purple tea leaves’ even though these particular leaves are more orange, the top of the larger leaf does have a purple tint.  This is caused by cold nights and warmer days resulting in the need for phosphorous.  But these are wild or semi-wild organic bushes so they will not be adding phosphorous and the pickers like these ja soon cha.  The leaves on the right are ready to be picked.  I should say the leaves are ready to be “plucked”.  “Don’t use your fingernails to cut the stem.  That will interrupt the flow of juices and qi.”  We were asked to simply grasp the stem and pull i.e. ‘pluck’ the leaves.
There is little wonder why tea farmers from those with small gardens to commercial producers have planted tea bushes in rows for easier plucking.

While these organized bushes behind Dong Cheon Tea may look similar in form to Boseong bushes, these are semi-wild bushes.

The bushes are cared for and monitored – yes - but these bushes are organically grown with no insecticides or chemical fertilizer – simply allowed to grow in the same manner as wild bushes.

Dong Cheon is a cooperative of about 80 tea farmers each growing tea using strict organic procedures.  Because the farms are scattered throughout the Hwagae Valley area, an area that can experience wide weather conditions, even after the harshest winter Dong Cheon Tea can continue to produce excellent teas. 

Please continue to Part 2

Special Note:

To learn about Tea Tour Korea 2015 that will take place in May 2015 and host between 4 and 8 guests, contact us.  We already have some folks on that list.  Contact us now.  It could be the last tea tour we personally host.  There is no obligation.

Note:  We seldom post the exact same post on two different blogs.  This Morning Crane Tea blog is reserved more for informational topics while our Tea at Morning Crane Tea blog focuses specifically on our teas.  For this post I have made an exception but if you are interested in information about our teas, please also follow our Tea at Morning Crane Tea blog.  We also have a morning Crane Tea Ware blog.  One day I hope to have a website where everything can be easily found.  

Remember that although I have what some consider a nice logo as seen on our tea bag labels and try to provide excellent teas.  I am not a big tea company.  I am just a potter and retired professor, trying to also promote Korean arts and culture.  

If you have never tried any of our teas or bought any of our tea ware I hope that you will do so soon.  Search what independent tea blogs are saying about Dong Cheon teas and Morning Crane Tea.  Then tell us about it for a special discount.

Returning from Tea Tour Korea 2013 with a Darjeeling !?!

Tea Tour Korea 2013 was an extraordinary adventure into Korean tea ware and Korean tea.  In the process we identified more than twenty Korean teas we would like you to try plus a delicious Darjeeling.  “What!  A Darjeeling !!???!?”, you might exclaim.  “How did a tea tour to Korea come back with a Darjeeling? 

We thought you might ask so I decided I would get that question and this tea ‘on its way’ before we introduce you to some truly amazing Korean teas, the classic and new Dong Cheon teas and their producers.

We first learned of the tea Treasure Gold from our good friend Frank Benjowski owner of Teehandelshaus Benjowski in Berlin, Germany.  Frank is a passionate teashop owner and connoisseur who has traveled the world in search of special teas for his impressive teashop.  Those who have been there, tell us that it is the best teashop in Europe.  Frank has personally visited tea plantations throughout the world traveling to each one alone.  The only tea tours he has ever taken have been with us on Tea Tour Korea 2011 and again on Tea Tour Korea 2013.  We are honored that he joined us.

Frank is particularly known for his knowledge of Nepalese and Indian teas some of which are available exclusively at his shop.  We first learned about Treasure Gold from him as a very special autumnal Nepalese tea (a Nepalese Darjeeling) when he shared it with us in 2011 and gave it as gifts to several tea and tea ware artists on that tour - to their great response.  Our version is officially a Darjeeling from the famous Oakyti plantation in India.

Treasure Gold’s story is fascinating.  Nepal and India share a common boarder separated by the Mechi River.  Citizens from both countries travel back and forth easily and even work in the other country.  The countries also share similar tea plants particularly in this small area.  Occasionally some of these plants develop a distinctive golden leaf.  One of the tea advisors oversees tea plants in both Nepal and India.  It is this advisor that produces this prize winning tea - Treasure Gold.  These leaves don’t develop every year but when they do he has the tea pickers harvest them for this special production.  

They may be harvested in Nepal or India and are always carefully picked and processed mostly by hand.  The production this season was very small - just 15 kilo.

 

Quick hands inspect the pick

Frank Benjowski buys them all, for he knows how delicious this tea is.  Because of the friendship we developed with Frank, he allowed us at Morning Crane Tea to purchase a kilo so we could offer it to you.

Let’s look at the tea. 

I am first struck with the amazing bouquet emanating from the container - the rich flavor permeates the air, envelops me and draws me in.  The leaves are rich and varied and obviously all gold.  Only the drying and oxidation has changed them, imbuing each with a delectable provocative flavor.

On closer examination we discover tiny ‘hairs’ covering the leaves.  They must contribute to the savory taste that follows.  Are these the same as the coveted  tiny hairs on orange pekoe leaves?

For this tasting, I decided to use 4.25g of leaves in an 8oz glass teapot because I wanted to show you the leaves in action and the rich color of the liquor. 8oz is as large as I personally go when brewing any tea.

This image is of the first infusion taken about 10-15 seconds after pouring the water; i.e. pour the water grab the camera and take the shot.

With the first sip, I am struck at the abundant qi-cha that hits me quickly.  The tea is not bitter but rather smooth and tasty with floral hints that coat the mouth and tongue - slightly sweet with subtle spice and notes of citrus.  The taste is deep and long, holding its own after four infusions and it could have gone several more but I was eager to write this post.  In addition, with 8oz I was drinking a lot of tea.

Sorry, I’m still not one who is good at describing taste with each infusion, but hopefully I can give you a sense of the experience.

This image is after 3 infusions.

After four infusions I decided to image the leaves. 

They have not yet begun to open and, as I said, they seem to have much more to offer.  I’m not familiar with Darjeeling teas.  Will these leaves ever open?

As I type this post, now long after drinking the last cup, I am struck with the still lingering ‘mouth memory’ of this wonderful tea. 

I must end by saying a word about the cup.  

I selected a beautifully simple celadon cup of the perfect color for this tea.  The cup was made by the wonderful female ceramic artist Kim Yu Sung.  Kim Yu Sung is one of the only female celadon artists to have won the prestigious Gangjin Celadon Award at Gangjin Korea’s annual celadon competition held each year during the Gangjin Celadon Festival.  Receiving this award placed her among the nation’s best celadon artists.  I particularly like celadon for these darker teas - the perfect cup for this delicious tea. 

To learn more about how you might purchase some Treasure Gold go to our tea blog to learn the reasonable pricing on this rare tea. 

Kim Yu Sung is one of a group of tea ware artists whose work we will be introducing this year. Click here to learn more about the cup.
Were you looking for our 2013 teas?  Some of them can be found here.