Posted on 07/28/2011 7:35:33 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Depends on what one wants as the final product. We were just picking the bud with one leaf. Different leaves for different teas. Emei Mountain had developed (since 1965) a tea called Zhu Ye Qing or Bamboo Leaf. The leaves (single medium) were rolled into the shape of bamboo leaves. When one placed them in a tall glass and poured hot water over them they would float and when filled with water would gently fall to the bottom. This is a top grade green tea that cost a lot of money. It is now being marketed in most of the big cities in China. We were surprised to find a Zhu Ye Qing store in ChongQing, Guiyang and just about every major city we visited.
A guy in a bookstore in Chengdu whispered in our ears (when he found out we were living at Mount Emei) that the locals drank a tea called bian cha that was as good or better than the heavily marketed Zhu Ye Qing. We bought some from a street vendor and that is what we ended up drinking most of the time. It was one tenth the price of the Zhu Ye Qing.
I started a tea blog while in China and occasionally have done a few blogs with it in Thailand.
http://chinateatravels.blogspot.com/
My other blogs about living at the foot of Mount Emei can be found at the above tea blog. Hope to get back into blogging tea as I have a huge amount I have to drink.
Please forgive my delay in reply--computer problems for a few days.
The gunpowder I have is "Temple of Heaven" Handrolled Green Tea from Numi Tea. I haven't found if it is Puerh on the container. Just looking at the box makes my mouth water!
Go, HETTY!! (Love Linda Hunt!)
I went to the Numi website. Their gunpowder tea comes from Hubei Province near Chongqing and is processed by the Tujia minority people living in the mountains there. I had a Tujia student from there when I taught in Sichuan province. They have all been assimilated by the Han and they have never had a problem with the Han Chinese. In fact, the Han Chinese like them very much and have been encouraging them to study their culture to try to revive it.
Looks like this tea is very special! Probably not cheap either.
Do a Google search on Puerh tea. It is a black tea that may be the most beneficial to drink. Totally different kind of tea that most Westerners have never heard of. It usually comes in pressed “cakes” and aged, sometimes for twenty or thirty years before it is ready to drink. Very unusual taste.
Would love to share some of your tea with you on a cool evening (here in Thailand there is no such thing as cool evenings and everyone drinks iced tea).
It's interesting that you should mention this. About 30 years ago, I bought a 1 kilo brick of Chinese black tea at a little "health-food" store in Valdez, Alaska. I still have it, have kept it intact all these years. It is embossed on one side with a lot of Chinese script and the standard Maoist stars, and on the other with markings to divide it into smaller bricks, that look like they would weigh 2 or 3 ounces each. I have no way to know if it is Puerh.
Wow! You really do need to go research your tea brick. Thirty years ago! Probably it is a puerh but the Chinese also did Tibetan black tea that way as well so it could be transported easily.
Please Google puerh and put in something like 30 year old or even the year you bought it. If it is a puerh and good quality it is worth a small fortune! Send me to the page you find your tea on.
Forget about the gunpowder green tea I lusted after, would prefer a taste of your brick tea if it be puerh :-)!
LOL! My goodness! I never thought of any of this. I kept it intact because it was so interesting, and have always kept it wrapped more-or-less tightly to keep it from deteriorating. I will research it and keep you apprised. Thank you for the information. But I still love my sublime Temple of Heaven (so far...). I also love oolong and Ceylon.
Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!Taste it! Taste it! Taste it! Taste it!
Delighted to see this thread!
On my first visit to China, in 1984, I was immersed in the Chinese culture, the food, the language — name it. I was so excited to step on Chinese soil and my first day there I remember alot of ‘firsts’. One being the tea. My first cup of tea in China was ——— from a Lipton tea bag! LOLOL!
I am partial to two teas — the aforementioned Gunpowder, and Tie Guan Yin — Goddess of Mercy. It is an oolong tea and very pleasant.
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