tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post6147327251416178899..comments2024-03-16T11:51:28.412-04:00Comments on CHA DAO: Cantos of Mutabilitie: Or, The Varieties of Tea Experiencecoraxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-60519540939111963652009-03-19T17:23:00.000-04:002009-03-19T17:23:00.000-04:00thanks, steph -- you are exactly right. this was i...thanks, steph -- you are exactly right. this was implicit, perhaps, in the 'psychological factors' i mentioned, but it surely deserves to be made explicit.coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-54585584007734513682009-03-19T17:15:00.000-04:002009-03-19T17:15:00.000-04:00What a fantastic article! Thank you! I might off...What a fantastic article! Thank you! I might offer a related factor - presence...our presence or conscious focus.Stephhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05753205572837649406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-1404653728936691152009-03-10T16:32:00.000-04:002009-03-10T16:32:00.000-04:00Great--and very scholarly--article! I agree--give...Great--and very scholarly--article! I agree--given the huge role of aeromatics in all things gustatory--wine, cheese,vodka (!)it would be surprising if air and its immediate contact with a given tea, initiating distinct reactions in distinct teas, were not a matter of importance in determining taste.<BR/><BR/>Speaking of which, excuse me, I could use a cup right now. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-84000550325445875612009-03-10T14:45:00.000-04:002009-03-10T14:45:00.000-04:00dear steve,many thanks for supplying this informat...dear steve,<BR/><BR/>many thanks for supplying this information. i didn't realize that ukers [or is it urkers?] was still in print. it is certainly routinely cited in every major bibliography on tea.coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-67078279356379753422009-03-10T11:41:00.000-04:002009-03-10T11:41:00.000-04:00Corax,Regarding the publication query in the 21st ...Corax,<BR/><BR/>Regarding the publication query in the 21st comment to your article, please find the following information:<BR/><BR/>William Harrison Urkers (1873-1954), M.A.<BR/>All About Tea<BR/>2 volumes<BR/>The Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company, 1935<BR/><BR/>The book was reprinted in 1996 by Hyperion Press: ISBN 0-83055-1311<BR/><BR/>Steve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-46736706079077105192009-03-08T19:38:00.000-04:002009-03-08T19:38:00.000-04:00All about TeaBY WILLIAM H. UKERS, M.AVol.1,2 larg...All about Tea<BR/>BY WILLIAM H. UKERS, M.A<BR/>Vol.1,2 large volumes<BR/>NEW YORK THE TEA AND COFFEE TRADE JOURNAL COMPANY 1935<BR/>isn't the copywrite ran out i can't find it on the internet (full)<BR/>some is here?<BR/>http://www.lcy.net/tea/ch1.php,<BR/>---iceteaIcetea8https://www.blogger.com/profile/06856336984327892176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-67610568363373773882009-03-08T19:16:00.000-04:002009-03-08T19:16:00.000-04:00HELP guys i could be wrong ----Compressed Puerhs u...HELP guys i could be wrong ----Compressed Puerhs usually come with a coding that is used as a way to ID the Puerh but the system is not universal; but I will give an example if =8761-423, the first two numbers represent the year the recipe was started 87 means 1987, next number is the maturity/size of leaves used, higher the number the older the leaves, "leaf grow before harvested", so the 6 is medium age leaves used, forth number is the factory 1- Kumming, 2- Menghai, 3- Xiaguan, 4-Lancang, 8- Haiwan, in this case 1 so Kumming. The number after the dash is the recipe year "first year, second year.." the number is 4 therefore the recipe 87+4 is the year it was made 1991. The last numbers are the batch number "first batch, second batch", in my example they made a 23rd batch wow! This is just an example.<BR/>----------icetea (03/08/09)---------------------Icetea8https://www.blogger.com/profile/06856336984327892176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-68133030332923803992009-03-05T01:28:00.000-05:002009-03-05T01:28:00.000-05:00thanks steven for your comments and the links to w...thanks steven for your comments and the links to wes's blog!coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-38990569924813086992009-03-05T00:05:00.000-05:002009-03-05T00:05:00.000-05:00great topic, well i should say topics since, many ...great topic, well i should say topics since, many things have been touched on,<BR/><BR/>the puerh needs to de-gas and oxidize, and when its compressed we should first peel instead of break or flake to keep the leaves intact, then 60 days normal climate wrapped or contained with breathable material. kodo(incense ceremony)righ on the button...you can experince an incense and it might remind you of years ago in your grandmas closet, the smell and memory connection is strong....and the work you guys do on this blog is great, there is another blogger-tealover, and he is doing some things i am getting together with some people myself and do some trails on puerhs here is the links<BR/><BR/>http://thegreenteareview.blogspot.com/2008/04/puerh-chamber-update.html <BR/><BR/>http://thegreenteareview.blogspot.com/2008/03/puerh-storage-solution.html<BR/><BR/>i wrote some things too<BR/>http://teaarts.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>the problem with alot of puerh testing is that it takes time and money and different locations, puerhs, people, and no one wants to denate their masterpiece puerh for the good cause of science..<BR/>but us tea drinkers are doing it..<BR/>stevenIcetea8https://www.blogger.com/profile/06856336984327892176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-12649181238510124522009-03-03T10:05:00.000-05:002009-03-03T10:05:00.000-05:00and thanks to you stephen, as to all our esteemed ...and thanks to you stephen, as to all our esteemed readers, for taking the time to visit CHA DAO.coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-7296883358463176042009-03-03T03:17:00.000-05:002009-03-03T03:17:00.000-05:00Thanks for taking the time to post this. I enjoye...Thanks for taking the time to post this. I enjoyed it immensely.Stephen Sheltonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15113275164026559446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-45203841259796207052009-02-27T18:43:00.000-05:002009-02-27T18:43:00.000-05:00warren, thanks for this suggestion. it's a simple ...warren, thanks for this suggestion. it's a simple experiment, but the results speak volumes!coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-28160019043031771602009-02-24T23:50:00.000-05:002009-02-24T23:50:00.000-05:00• the amount of tea being drunk in a session• the ...• the amount of tea being drunk in a session<BR/>• the length of time spent drinking and experiencing the tea<BR/><BR/>Corax, you're right on the button. Perception of the tea you're drinking changes with various subjective or objective factors.<BR/><BR/>To illustrate a point try something like this:<BR/>Take a light, floral oolong, say TGY, by any kind will do. And brew it and drink it gongfu style until the taste seems imperceptible to you.<BR/><BR/>Next, in another gaiwan, try a more robust tea, say like Da Hong Pao, and also gongfu style, drink that for a few steeps. <BR/><BR/>Now go back to the other gaiwan of TGY you brewed, and re-steep it again. <BR/><BR/>Suddenly, you will notice it has flavor again! <BR/><BR/>I'm too tired now to say anymore, but you should get the idea.<BR/>But your point is very true.Warrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11864305536434125111noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-32220629822133627642009-02-23T19:23:00.000-05:002009-02-23T19:23:00.000-05:00will, you are very welcome. would love to know you...will, you are very welcome. would love to know your own thoughts on the subject as well.coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-22776013473607864392009-02-23T18:10:00.000-05:002009-02-23T18:10:00.000-05:00Thanks for such an in-depth review of this fascina...Thanks for such an in-depth review of this fascinating and complex subject. WillAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-1360005377018611502009-02-20T10:51:00.000-05:002009-02-20T10:51:00.000-05:00thanks david!thanks david!coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-72723022585134267602009-02-20T02:51:00.000-05:002009-02-20T02:51:00.000-05:00this is great, nice to see such an in depth post, ...this is great, nice to see such an in depth post, as Hobbes says, a lovely lunchtime/breakfast read!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-77654120338153334482009-02-18T00:50:00.000-05:002009-02-18T00:50:00.000-05:00I think that this blog and the venerable newsgroup...I think that this blog and the venerable newsgroup, and a couple of other serious blogers, in the last five or six years have done so much to add legitimacy to the chatter about tea online. It is a true pleassure for me to read the level of discourse over tea that happens in English. yes and I think one can, on the other side, feel pretty discoursed looking the garbage that gets written in 'tea views', but there really is a serious, well informed thoughts going around, which would have seemed unlikely a few years a go. I think though that this blog gets the prize.<BR/>AustinSeven Cupshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00125479568887184332noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-6164348592166015192009-02-17T16:52:00.000-05:002009-02-17T16:52:00.000-05:00dear austin -- many thanks to you as well, for all...dear austin -- many thanks to <I>you</I> as well, for all you do for us in the world of tea. great to see you over here!coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-33151526246233096162009-02-17T16:34:00.000-05:002009-02-17T16:34:00.000-05:00Thanks for more clues to the never ending mystery ...Thanks for more clues to the never ending mystery of the tea experience.<BR/>AustinAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-47021399228014687282009-02-16T20:11:00.000-05:002009-02-16T20:11:00.000-05:00lew, thanks so much for your comments too. it mean...lew, thanks so much for your comments too. it means a lot to have such thoughtful readers. <BR/><BR/>i think you are right on both counts. alas this is so intensely true about greens -- one thinks above all of japanese <I>shincha</I>, and how we try to get it rushed over here to sip immediately ... and yet the vast majority of tea drinkers [on any continent] do <I>not</I> get particularly fresh green teas. it makes me wonder especially how things were in the olden days, before nitrogen flushing or vacuum packing -- i guess the first-24-hour experience you mention was that of only very few drinkers, and those virtually all local?<BR/><BR/>but/and in the case of aged teas, it means that the environment in which the tea is aged becomes vitally important: it's one of those do-or-die situations in which the aging process is the tea's last best chance to escape the grim certainty of which you speak ...coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-10878264785335116022009-02-15T21:07:00.000-05:002009-02-15T21:07:00.000-05:00Thanks, corax, for sending a report back - no, a f...Thanks, corax, for sending a report back - no, a few reports back - from the little known territory of our apprehension of tea. The terrain is rough, and your observations are sharp.<BR/><BR/>I've a couple of things to bring up.<BR/><BR/><EM>The Chinese term for this process of airing the tea is xing cha -- 醒茶, literally 'awakening the tea' -- and if you look carefully at the character 醒, you will see that it contains the radical 酉, which is the pictogram for a wine bottle. So one could, without being too fanciful, compare this process to the uncorking of a wine bottle.</EM><BR/><BR/>But 酉 doesn't just mean wake up, it also means <EM>sober up</EM>. So the unaired Pu'er could be seen as metaphorically drug-impaired, intoxicated rather than, uh, enthusiastic, right?<BR/><BR/><EM>Geraldo, who has been experimenting with Wu Yi yan cha of different types, reports that tea fresh out of the vacuum-packed pouch tastes noticeably different than the selfsame tea, 24 hours later, when it has been left open to the air.</EM><BR/><BR/>I actually think this happens with all teas except for the ones we like to drink aged. I've come to mistrust my enthusiasm for a just-opened tea, not because the experience was illusory, but because in so many cases it's the best I'll ever get from the leaves. For me, this is true despite the advantages I gain from getting to know the tea better. With green tea, this pessimism reaches the level of grim certainty. I can't help concluding that there's a large amount of air damage that happens swiftly once the vacuum sealed package is opened, certainly within 24 hours. (There's also the gradual air damage in the weeks that follow, of course.)Lew Perinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05843222191460729180noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-62282588308587239722009-02-08T20:54:00.000-05:002009-02-08T20:54:00.000-05:00hearty thanks to all three of you for your appreci...hearty thanks to all three of you for your appreciative responses. i think there is a lot more to be learnt in this field, and i for one am looking forward to learning it!coraxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03645573592247798140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-71876925135433009882009-02-07T08:45:00.000-05:002009-02-07T08:45:00.000-05:00Corax,I was delighted to discover your fine essay ...Corax,<BR/><BR/>I was delighted to discover your fine essay on tea and the effect of air on taste. It was especially gratifying to read of your comments on tea and wine. Your several comparisons brought back my own pleasant memories of tasting experiences in the company of tea and wine connoisseurs. I wish to share one occasion concerning wine.<BR/><BR/>The very first was when I was in college and knew the late Georg Isaac, a White Russian professor and translator of Fyodor Dostoevsky. Thin and tall, pale with thinning white hair, bow-tied, bespeckled and moustachioed, Georg was the picture of the urbane and erudite. His great secret was that he moonlighted as a waiter at San Francisco’s famous Blue Boar restaurant. His great passion was for the horse races, a game he tracked with thick reams of statistics every Saturday afternoon. Aloof and remote, Georg was a hermit at heart. One day, I found him in the kitchen at the stove bent over a pot he stirred in lazy eights. All about him lay jugs of cheap wine by the gallon. To my surprise, he explained that he was blending sweet and sour wines to brew into a palatable table wine. He offered a taste test, a succession of sweet, sour, and blended samples. As I dubiously but dutifully sipped each wine, he instructed me to slurp and draw in air with and through the wine. “Aerate,” he said, “to enliven the wine and tickle the taste buds.” To my surprise, the jumble of jug wines was much improved by his alchemical brewing, and I learned to drink wine from a master of the stove.<BR/><BR/>Steve.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16115542.post-47139388877156188352009-02-06T09:03:00.000-05:002009-02-06T09:03:00.000-05:00Ancient corax—This is very well done of you, very ...Ancient corax—This is very well done of you, very well done indeed! Thank you for writing and publishing this piece. A few of too quick comments on olfaction: First, it operates ipsilaterlly. That is, tiny particles entering the left nostril travel to the left brain, and those entering the right nostril travel to the right brain. This is unlike the usual contralateral method of experiencing reality by the crossing of the human’s middle line. Second, olfaction is likely the most primitive of the senses in the sensory register. It operates far back in the lower brain. Third, it is the only sense that allows the actual world to physically touch the same matter that comprises the brain. Fourth, research indicates that olfactory memory may be the sharpest memory—although less conscious than other types of memory. Some suggest that olfaction often triggers the haunting déjà vu. When I drink good aged pu’er, I rocket back to my childhood—to a world containing (rather than this desert’s basalt, sand, and sage) actual loam, oak, aspen, birch, and water pumped by hand through iron pipes from artesian springs. On another of your topics—if we could achieve the ideal of brewing the same tea twice through identical parameters and then taste it while inhabiting the same physical body, that tea would still present a different profile. We cannot taste the same tea twice. This fact is both maddening and fun. Thanks again for the most excellent article. Best to you, ~grasshopperUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09985780506462068405noreply@blogger.com