the many faces of tea

this is a little tea suprise. there is another white tea, one that is far rarer than the more popularly known white tea. An Ji Bai Cha is derived from a recently discovered legendary tea bush cited in a 900 year old Chinese classic. thought to be purely legend until the discovery of a single teabush in the 80's (i thought everything from the 80's only came in luminous colours till now)this rare find has almost white leaves when infused and is technicaly a green tea - hence it is a white tea due to the colour of its leaves. most white tea is defined as such by the colour of its infusion as well as the nature of processing (i.e. no curative process). An Ji Bai is extremely rich in amino acids but falls down when it comes to polyphenols and cholorophyll. check out http://www.teaspring.com for a stockist of this tea

A drinking problem?

Yerba Mate is an everyday obsession with me, and I drink it continuously throughout the day, and I love it strong and in the traditional mate (calabash cup). I think some days I might even rival Argentinians, who have had laws passed to stop them from drinking and driving (drinking mate that is). Oolongs are about special times, but the yerba is everytime. To give you an idea of the love I have for the tea, let me take you with me (in thought ) to the average meeting I might have.

“Hi mr/mrs/notsurewhatyouare blab bla, thanks for taking the time to meet me, can I interest you in some tea? mate?” by this stage I’m either pouring or commandeering the persons staff to get cups, water, no not so hot (get it to the “crab eye” bubble stage – in my head)not hot enough, and generally ignoring any protests about how they may or may not have drunk enough for the day.

We talk, more often than not, I talk more than them, examine some tea, smell it, poke around the leaves, the pros and cons, slam CTC a little. Now comes the embarrassing part, if the person leaves their cup partially un-drunk. My eyes keep skipping down to the yerba simmering in there cup, getting stronger, and inevitably heading for over infused status. If it’s a delicate green tea in their cup, the whole episode plays out the same way but with a frantic pace as my heart beats out the 3 minutes infusion time, while the cup remains undrained.

By this time the client/supplier/whatever is starting to notice my repeated warnings of “ why don’t you finish up that mate?” or “don’t you like the tea?” “its going to get too strong” rising in tempo and progressively peppering the conversation more and more. Conversation starts to break down as concentration on the topic erodes, and any pretense of my interest in anything other than the cup slips away.

Now you may think, this guy is exaggerating, but there are quite some number of people out there, by now, who may slowly shake their heads and be reminded of the broken sentences ending with “ are you going to drink that already? Cause if you aren’t I will!” followed by my slurping down the remainders of their cup.

From the sublime to the sacrilegious – the sacrilegious

Today Neil and I took the tea known as “the drink of the gods”, the green gold of the indios, the herbal brew that has been used as a sacred peace pipe for thousands of years amoungst the noble tribes of the Amazonia forests. We took this most hallowed tea and pushed it through an espresso machine, pumped it into smoothies and blended it with nuts, coffee and cacao beans, wizzed it with slushed fruit juices. Inspired by Patti from global wrapps we threw in mint and pineapples galore.And it was good!!

Thankfully we are a few thousand miles away from South America else we probably would be roasting on tribal spits, or being stomped by enraged gauchos on horses. Nevertheless, after a lot of blending, steaming and grinding we managed to come up with some novel and delicious yerba mate blends, which do justice to Ilex Paraguariensis. I would not go pushing a yerba latte under Guarani’s nose for fear of offending him, but I definitely would recommend one to any South African looking for a smooth, elevating alternative to their coffee, rich in anti-oxidants. The smoothies will be hitting the counters of global wrapps in august.I look forward to popping into a global wrapps every now and then for a fruity fix on my many road trips.

Image: Neil running off a yerba shot for a hot nutty mate, date and cacao bean blend. Superfoods sounding decadent!

from the sublime to the sacrilegious - the sublime

Just because Oprah says it Wulong doesn’t mean its not Oolong. The power of the cult never ceases to amaze me, but it does have its benefits.

For some time now we have been cautiously hording our supplies of oolong (Wulong to those of you who are followers) and trying in vain to share our love for this, most complex category, while not burning our fingers with a tons of tea that only we drink.

Now i drink a lot of tea, and i do mean a lot, and i am particularly a fan of oolongs, so you can imagine my delight when the calls started coming in asking for "wulong" tea, because Oprah says its good for the waist line. At last! an excuse to start beefing up our stocks of oolong and the hope of introducing it to enough people to keep up my drinking habits.

So out comes my favourite Gaiwan (yes, its meant to be drunk from yixing, but a Gaiwan does the trick just as well, with the added benefits of allowing for more nose) and the beer mug for my partner (a gaiwan would be like drinking from a thimble for him and don’t let me even begin to mention those tiny little cups its traditionally drunk from, they would just frustrate him) and a few weeks worth of drinking frenzy begins

Now i understand that for most of the people looking for wulong, they are simply looking for a tea that can help with weight loss and that even if that means choking down some awful, bitter, murky swill, as long as the promise of losing a few inches is there its worth it. I’m by no means knocking that, and if it works that’s great, and if it makes you feel good, that’s even better. Please don’t get the idea that im talking in a disparaging manner, i too am a firm believer in good health practices. However, to me, oolong is all about taste.

So in a fashion typical of my approach to Teabox, and totally contrary to economic sense i immediately began cupping some of the best Formosa oolongs available. My partner, also a sucker for the finer teas in life (with a particular shine for oolongs), buzzed around like a kid in a candy store downing liter after liter of the sublime liquors.

Gawping like fools we compared sweet smooth Ah Li Shans to spicy rich Wu Yi, juicy Li Shan to Oriental beauties with ethereal fragrances of flowery orchards. All hand picked! Processed by Kung Fu tea masters and with pedigrees longer than the most neurotic daschhund.

Now comes the crunch - customers want - "wulong" weight loss elixir, savior of Oprah’s ever threatening waist line. We want - tea from bush planted 100 years ago by celebrated Chinese tea master, philosopher and poet, hand picked, available in limited batches from spring flush, and expensive as the crown jewels.

So here i sit, nursing my 6th infusion of the gorgeous light honey coloured infusion, trying to excuse myself with the argument that had we bought the oolongs from the normal agents (most teas are sold via reputable brokers in the tea industry, who help to ensure quality, and break down quantities) rather than the producers themselves, whom we have a great relationship with, the tea would have been easily double the price.

In a way both objectives have been met, we now have a limited batch of exquisite tea, and the oolong may turn out to be "sliming" on the bottom line, (mine more than anyone else’s). But as i peer into the crystal clear infusion and marvel at the perfect cup of tea, i simply smile and melt into another moment of tranquility. ill let the coffee roasters worry about dollars & cents.