Premium Tea is an Affordable Luxury

‘Affordable luxuries’ are the new buzz word in consumerism. Artisan chocolatiers promote the concept, as do wine producers, liquor producers, hand-roasted coffee companies and many others. Yes, the most expensive cheese or bottle of scotch is for most of us an affordable luxury when compared to the cost of a new car, fine antiques or precious jewelry.

As the holiday time approaches, we assist many customers who are looking to purchase gifts of tea for friends and family. We often find that those who are new tea drinkers or folks who themselves are not tea drinkers don’t understand what a truly affordable luxury premium tea is. Which is unfortunate, because of all the affordable luxuries, premium tea, when it is being sold at a fair market price and not trumped up in price, may be the best value of all.

The true value of tea goes beyond mere cost. But here, I am not talking about the ‘value’ of flavor or the ‘value’ of the hand labor involved in cultivating and manufacturing premium leaf. Of course both of these  are essential components of premium tea and core reasons ( along with a few others such as tea bush varietal or cultivar and terroir ) why premium tea is so different from ( and much better tasting than ) what one finds on the grocer’s shelves or in fancy tea packages that are all marketing puff but no substance.

What I am talking about instead is the ‘value’ of the cost-per-serving of premium tea. I used to be dis-heartened when a customer would immediately react to the price of premium teas ( all fairly priced and not overpriced,  I might add ) with a heart-clutching reaction. But  now I view that response as an opportunity to educate a potential tea customer to the cost breakdown of premium tea.

We politely explain the following to customers in our store and share it with you here, too.

A pound of small-leaf black tea such as Keemun Hao Ya A or a SFTGFOP Darjeeling estate-grown tea yields approximately 200 cups of tea when measured at the traditional ratio of 2 grams (or 1 teaspoon) of leaf per 6 ounces of water. ( This tea/water ratio is approximate for Western-style tea steeping. Tea steeped Chinese gong fu style or in a gaiwan style requires a different proportion of leaf to water.) Taking into account the ‘give and take’ of more or less leaf used for individual tea steeping preferences, the final number  of cups obtained from the pound of tea could be, say, 150 cups when measured at 3 grams per 6 ounces of water. 

At a cost of $60.00 to $70.00 per pound for these teas, a yield of 150 cups costs between 40 cents to 50 cents per cup. Contrast that to the cost of a can of soda, a bottle of high fructose corn syrup laden Ready-to-Drink bottled ‘tea,’  or the cost of a purchased cup of non-premium tea in a cafe or restaurant and the premium tea is a downright bargain.

Let’s look at another example. Fujian Yin Zhen white tea is very light and fluffy, and easily triple the volume of Keemum or Darjeeling tea.  But as the volume of dry leaf increases, so must the amount of leaf that one uses in the teapot increase.  Ultimately, a pound of Yin Zhen, measured at 2 grams (or 1.5 to 2 tablespoons ) per 6 ounce cup, will yield roughly the same number of cups: somewhere between 200 and 150. Adjusting for ‘give and take’ and a purchase price of $100.00 per pound for Yin Zhen, this means that a delicious cup of traditional Yin Zhen costs approximately 67 cents per cup. More expensive for the intial cup than the other tea, yes, but white tea such as Yin Zhen can be successfully steeped more than one time. If each portion of tea is steeped an additional 2 or 3 times then the cost per serving is cut in half or by thirds, increasing the value-to-cost even more.

I usually follow this up with the example of a nice bottle of everyday-drinking wine which costs $15.00 – $20.00. Based on 25/ 26 ounces of wine per bottle and a 5 ounce serving size per glass, this breaks down to 5 servings per bottle at a cost-per-serving of $3.00 – $4.00. While I am not trying to suggest that tea and wine should have the same value, the wine anology is an easy one that puts the price-per-serving information into perspective for most people. Comparing the cost of the wine to the tea, an everyday wine that costs $3.00 – $4.00 per glass versus a fine, premium tea that costs 40 cents to 67 cents ( or less, depending on the number of steepings obtained) per cup makes an interesting comparision. 

Measuring tea is not an exact science, and many tea enthusiasts have developed their own measurements for certain teas, for sure. But no matter how far from the above examples the truth may lie, I think that most would agree that premium tea is quite a wonderful,  delicious affordable luxury.

Pu-erh Envy

Pu-erh 'stupa'

This foot high, 2-piece Pu-erh ’stupa’ is the largest size that we have been able to procure from China. But believe me, this 1-kilo tea structure is a tiny tot compared to the 5-foot tall, multi-level stupas we have encountered in Yunnan. The term ’stupa’ here refers to the shape of the tea which resembles the shape of Buddhist Stupas – there is no religions connotation inferred by this that I know of.  In fact, tea shops in Yunnan proudly display their monumental tea stupas for their customers admiration. Used in this manner they symbolize bounty and prosperity. I do not know the history of why these Pu-erhs came to be made and shaped like this, nor when manufacture of these started. Clearly it is tea compression taken to an extreme, perhaps only for the challenge of doing it. If anyone knows the history, please share !

This ’stupa’  is made from clean and good condition raw materials from Bulang. The surface is tight and smooth and the compression has been well executed – the shape is crisp and the ridges of the melon are very nicely formed. The  aroma is  mild, clean and earthy; it has ’good environment’ smell.

Overall, it is an excellent example of these compressed, showpieces. This one is sheng Pu-erh from the 207 harvest.  No, I have not tasted it, and I assume that anyone who purchases this will not tuck into it either.  For most it will be bought as a showpiece, a beautiful something that shows off the craft of compressing and shaping large units of tea. It would be stunning placed on top of a tea cabinet or set off to the side on a generously-sized tea table. No matter where it is, it will create Pu-erh envy in all who see it.

Every tea lover needs a wonderous ‘tea object’ that reminds him or her that the culture of tea goes beyond what one sips in a cup. For me, these  Pu-erh stupas are a daily reminder of the craft and ingenuity that exists in changing raw materials into tea or something related that celebrates tea.

We have less than a dozen of these stupas and have already sold several.  I suggest immediate action for anyone who is serious about owning one.  http://tiny.cc/MdrzE

2009 Anxi Monkey-Picked Tieguanyin ( Wild-Grown )

Wow…. those monkeys have been working overtime again. Thanks boys, for rushing this delicious tea to us; it is perfect for late-afternoon sipping on a warm fall day just before the cool of the evening settles in.  

Kidding aside, those of you who follow this blog know that I love the monkey-picked yarn, but a yarn it is. For more on that, please read my blog posting on November 25, 2008.

Nevertheless, it’s time for the 2009 Anxi Wild-Grown Monkey-Picked Tieguanyin oolong. We decided to up the wow-factor this year and search for a wild-grown version of this tea. Wild-picked teas are teas that are plucked from bushes that are allowed for the most part to grow ‘wild’ without much human intervention.

These tea bushes are not pruned or cultivated as most tea bushes in most tea gardens are, but are instead allowed to grow as nature intended plants grow: wild, rangy and with a shape and habit all their own. Often, a wild garden is the result of the plants being located in an isolated or hard to reach place, in which case the plants are able to grow quite tall. Plucking is relegated to once a year in the late spring.

As tea enthusiasts know, no two Tieguanyin teas will ever be the same from producer to producer. In fact, this is a true statement for all tea,  and fortunately so. Exact duplicity of flavor should be reserved for white bread and processed cheese, not premium, hand-made artisan tea. Too many variables, including human skills and judgement, make duplicity impossible. These are a few of the major variables that come into play for oolong tea:

• terroir ( location, climate and weather)
• tea bush variety or cultivar (or age and condition of the plants when the variety is all the same )
• the specificity of the pluck ( what leaf or configuration of leaf is plucked )
• the amount of withering the fresh leaf undergoes
• the degree of oxidation
• the integrity of the leaf manufacture and how many of the steps of processing utilize hand-skills, such as rolling
• roasting / no roasting
• aging/ new crop tea

We loved this Tieguanyin because it is soft in style yet vividly floral and mouth-filling. It is a semi-ball rolled modern-style oolong oxidized in the range of 25-40%, which is much less than the usual range of 35-65% oxidation for semi-ball rolled traditional teas. The leaves are loosely-rolled balls that are very uniform in size, and the tea has not been roasted.

 The color of the leaf is dark green tinged with highlights of gold. During  several repeated short steepings the color of the infusion will vary as the flavor is slowly drawn out.  Initially the liquor will be light and clear, and then it will darken with each infusion. After the leaves have given up all of its flavor it will return to a pale, clear brew. Both color and flavor rise and fall in appropriate anticipation and expectation.

More New 2009 Tea

 

Nepal Hand-Rolled Tips

New shipments of tea are arriving here daily and in rapid fire. These new additions are late spring /early summer green and teas that have been shipped by sea from China and Taiwan, and second flush Darjeeling and Nepal teas that have been shipped via air-cargo.

We are in the process of  unpacking all of them, and it is a lot of work to make sure all is well with the tea and to get all of the peripheral information recorded. For example, we must literally unpack all of the tea to make sure it is all there. Then, we must taste it all to insure that each tea is indeed the tea that we ordered. Then tea information must be written and added to our website and blog in a timely fashion. The jars we sell the tea from must be labeled and the individual labels that we use for customer purchases must be made, too. The tea must be inventoried in the appropriate place in our warehouse and last but n0t least, of course, the tea must be put into jars so that customers may purchase it.

Despite all of this work, we love the excitement of having new tea arrive. We always spend a few minutes as we unpack each one  to admire it’s unique texture, color and shape before we taste it.

Several of these new teas are of particular note. First up are two hand-rolled black teas that we ordered directly from the producers in Nepal as soon as we tasted their samples. These teas are from the Everest Tea Estate and the Shangri-La tea factory. Both are gorgeous and worthy of a place in the finest tea collections.

We chose these hand-rolled teas first, because they are delicious, and secondly, because they are spectacular examples of the tea makers craft. Nepal is one of the last places on earth that is still makes hand-rolled black teas, and we would like to support that effort and see it continue. Click here for more details: http://tiny.cc/aZd6P

2009 Competition Grade Tai Ping Hou Kui

Tai Ping Hou Kui has never looked so lovely or tasted so fresh. In fact, this tea is so fresh you will swear that the leaf is still attached to the bush. If you look carefully at this picture you can see the little cross-hair marks embedded in the leaf from the weave of the paper that is used to line the top of the tea-firing baskets during manufacture. This paper absorbs moisture so that the leaf does not have to spend as much time over the charcoal fire as it otherwise would.

Tai Ping has some of the largest leaves of any green tea and this batch is certainly the most magnificent that we have ever had. This particular batch of competition-grade Tai Ping is a splendid example of the results that specific leaf plucking yields . The vivid green color and vegetal in flavor reveal that the tea was plucked in the early spring.  Click here for more details: http://tiny.cc/kLvfB

Bai Hao Oriental Beauty

Bai Hao Oriental Beauty is Taiwan’s most beloved tea. Oddly, Bai Hao is not as well known in the USA as the semi-ball rolled teas such as Tung Ting and the High Mountain gao shan oolongs. Or even Baozhong. This is a pity because Bai Hao is very labor intensive to produce and can only be made for a short period of time in June. Taiwanese tea lovers favor this tea for its mellow and seductive apricot and melon flavors and its light, elegant style. The leaf for quality Bai Hao is an odd-looking mix of dark, medium and light colored leaves.

But that is as it should be and the best Bai Hao is not a blend. Bai Hao is given a long outdoor and indoor wither, which contributes to the customary appearance of this tea. Japanese tea drinkers adore Bai Hao and when they visit the island searching for tea to bring home, they willingly pay very high prices for the best tea. Accordingly, we made sure that our Bai Hao tea maker saved some of his great tea for our customers, too. Click here for details:  http://tiny.cc/7CQnv

 

Tea Trekker Tea-Shirts

 Our beautiful new dusty-sage green tea-shirts are here and ready for wearing. Declare your love for the leaf and wear one with pride! Our shirts are a nice weight of 50/50 cotton/polyster blend to prevent shrinking ( we all know that we do not gain weight, but that our clothing shrinks).  A contingent of tea professionals recently all wore our tea-shirts on an educational tea trip to Taiwan – we loved that !

These thirts are printed for us by a non-profit company, Valley Tees. This unique business is run by The Association For Community Living, a Springfield, MA based program for people with developmental disabilities. Over the decades the ACL has made great strides in providing individuals with developmental disabilities the opportunity to reach their fullest potential, lead a productive, happy life and be valued members of their communities.

We love the quality of our tea-shirts and believe that you will as well. The front of the tea-shirt has a small image of tea trekker on the front, upper left ( where a pocket would be if the shirt had a pocket) and the phrase: ” I’m a tea trekker.”  

Visit our website for more images and to place an order: http://www.teatrekker.com/t-shirt.htm