Wiped

I don't have the energy to write tonight; just the energy to sleep. So I leave you with this.

The first bowl sleekly moistened throat and lips,
The second banished all my loneliness
The third expelled the dullness from my mind,
Sharpening inspiration gained
from all the books I've read.
The fourth brought forth light perspiration,
Dispersing a lifetime's troubles through my pores.
The fifth bowl cleansed every atom of my being.
The sixth has made me kin to the Immortals.
This seventh...
I can take no more.

- Lu Tung, Chinese Poet

Healthier Living

Homemade Spinach Salad

In an earnest effort to live a simpler life, I've been making conscious strides to be aware of what I'm putting into my body. To take the time to listen to one's own body reveals a wealth of knowledge on just what is needed to get through the day. Obviously, there's no big secret that we drink tea for it's numerous benefits, whether they be chemical, social, or spiritual. There is a certain level of interconnectedness when it comes to tea. One of my favourite quotes comes from the jacket of Three Cups of Tea, which reads:

"Here, we drink three cups of tea to do business; the first you are a stranger, the second you become a friend, and the third you join our family, and for our family we are prepared to do anything-even die."

In the culture of kinship, I must say I've not met and gotten to know as many amazing people as I have through this journey to find the perfect cup of tea. The insightful conversations, the sharing between the community, and the realisation that what I'm drinking was carefully cut from a bing by someone I have an immeasurable amount of respect for thousands of miles away from me. It's these repeat conversations that really make a great many of you feel like family. In this sense, it's just like sampling teas. You normally brew something a few times before you really start to have a meaningful conversation with it. That's been the flow of my life since day one: Attempt, fail, attempt, fail, and so on until one day you meet success.

One of the biggest struggles I've had over the course of my life has been with the foods I put into my body. As a child, I was a very picky eater. I would often pass on entire meals simply because they weren't chicken, beef, macaroni, or something pre-packaged and processed. When I was maybe ten years of age, my father actually put an entire meal into the blender and made me drink it because I wouldn't eat. I wasn't allowed to leave the table, or do anything else for that matter, until it was gone. Talk about tough love. Partially hydrogenated soybean oil, mono-disodium whatsiewhosit, polysorbate 60, and soylent green (which turns out, IS people). There's so much in our commercialised solution to the "lack of time" cuisine failures that I don't even know where to begin.

I came home from work today and changed out of my work clothes, and made it a point to head to the grocery store and fill an entire bag with raw foods and get out for less than $15 USD. In the past, grocery trips have cost me well over $130 USD for garbage. I made a point to make a sandwich before I left and tried as best as I could to listen to my body. Apples, oranges, baby leaf spinach, apricots, bananas, bell peppers. All of these things suddenly jumped out at me as vital. Food for the body and the soul.

The awareness of a mental shift in priority is astounding sometimes. One day you crave good food, but settle for garbage. The next day you crave good food, and make sure to give your body what it is asking for. The meal I had tonight was a fairly small portion, and yet, my hunger is absolutely satisfied.

I'm not sure if anyone else has this habit, but I will often start out doing a search for something I'm interested in learning more about, and then I'll just jump from link to link to link until I'm so far removed from my original search, I'm learning about something I had no way of anticipating. Anyhow, the other day I happened upon a book by a fellow named Jon Gabriel. I'm not really for or against diet routines, but the synopsis of his story was so ridiculous I couldn't help but scrutinise this guy's story. He was 410lbs, and now weighs less than I do (which is 195lbs, if you must ask), not by dieting, but simply by incorporating better food. He has a theory that the body tends to do what is safe for it. If you eat garbage, your metabolism slows down and the fat stays with you because your body is starving for nutrition. If you eat REAL food, your body desires to be lean as a means to survive against a potential predator.

I didn't need to get much further than that in the 200-some page book before I closed the PDF (digital books are amazing) and realised that it was time I started questioning my own eating habits. It's all about learning through conversations, with others, as well as with my own body and the things I am consuming.

As the kettle is brimming with boiling water, I can't help but to think of it as a sort of combustion engine. Fuel. The steam fuels the tea.

If tea fuels the soul, then healthy food fuels the body.

That's the thought I reflect on as I pour this next cup.

Tea Wave

So the more and more I talk to people about it, the more people I come across people who have had a chance to mess around with Google Wave. It's an amazing vehicle for communication and information sharing. The problem however, is that nobody really knows exactly what to do with it yet. It's got features that allow users to embed pictures, maps, links, and even pull people into waves in real-time. This got me thinking about using it as a resource to help spread knowledge about various teas, vendors, the regions they come from, tips for brewing, and whatever else people might be interested in learning. I know I've already got a few of you listed as contacts, but I still have 12 invites if anyone is interested in using something we all know and love to find out what exactly can be done with Google Wave. Any takers?

Dust

Tonight I broke out the 2005 Dehong Golden Melon. It was one of the first tuochas I ever purchased, and when I first bought it, it was brutal. It had amazing presence and the chaqi was strong but it turned a few of my friends off (likely because they were babies). Two years later, it's still got some bite, but has definitely mellowed a little bit. I rather enjoyed drinking it tonight. If you look at the picture above, you'll notice dust in the cup. I've found this tends to happen more with choppier pu-erh, but is an attribute I've grown quite fond of. It creates a texture that you don't get all the time. An ever-so-slight grittiness and from what I can tell, the source of this tea's strong ku.

Then again, perhaps it's just my beard talking...

Gravity, you there? + (Mini Review 901 Menghai Ba Da Gao Shan)

So yeah, it's been a while. It's been a rather interesting few months too. I've found myself easily at my lowest of lows and have only recently begun to start putting it all back together. I wasn't sure if I'd ever write here again, and my research into language and the difficulties of literal/figurative translation is taking far longer than I ever could have ever imagined it would. This could be a project that follows me around for several years before I'll have anything to show for it.

The fact is, I can't write when I can't enjoy the time I get to spend in my own head, and those wonderful nights staying up late, absorbing all of the new albums I still make a point to gather up haven't been a regular part of my world since I moved to this new place. Part of it is the holidays for sure, but a big part of it is the fact that I've been so far removed from finding joy in small moments that the hours go slipping past and it's morning all over again, rushing to be out the door to do a job that feels much less than satisfying. The only thing that hasn't slipped is my time spent with Grace.

To slow down and take it all in, a lot has happened over the course of the past couple years and I'm still scratching my head at how I walked away from this with only a bruised ego and mild reversible brain damage. The mountain of failed relationships have shown me just how a deft blow to the heart can send a man clean out of orbit.

Recently, I was having a beer with a dear friend and we were discussing the flow of things and we summed it up to being in a car with an opaque front windshield. You see the world go whizzing past you, everyone else outside can see where you're going, and they'll even warn you when things get in your way. You can even see where they're going, and what stands in their way. Yet most of the time, we're too busy tinkering with the radio to give any real credence to their warnings. So a seemingly unstoppable force collides with an immovable object and thus begins the story.

I've had the luck of acquiring friends who, for lack of a better phrase, had no difficulty seeing through the bullshit, picking me up, dusting me off, and sending me off into the world time and again the past few months. I can only assume most of them could easily write a song to the beat of my trips and stumbles, but they stood by. That said, I'm quite sure I'm past my reckless point, but some days are still more difficult than others. Grace's mother still tends to spin me about without even trying, and each day I have to remind myself to breathe past the difficult points, sewing my mouth shut, but often missing one or two stitches. Given time, it gets easier, but it requires effort every single day.

Now, onto other matters. ^__^

Winter snuck up on us this year. It went from 50F days down to 10-12F almost overnight, and most of us weren't ready for it. What this means is that humidity is down in the house, so the sweet aromas that normally fill my nose every time I walk past my tea stash taper off a bit. It's also the time of the year when I make a point to get really heavy back into drinking tea. I dig out old teas and see what they've been up to all spring, summer, and fall while I've been away.

Dragon of Bulang, you still disappoint me.

Hai Lang Hao, you always come through for me.

All of my shu is just as deliciously musty as I remember it, and on numerous occasions, I've gone all day with a few of the old tea nuggets.

Some of my TGY needs a refresh in the roaster, but otherwise deliciously thick and buttery.

Tonight, I'm drinking something new though. Something I don't have prior experience with. It was a gift from Bryan at Teajournaling. Every year, we buy a bing and a tuocha for birthdays. It's easy and never disappoints. This year, he got me something new from Menghai; the 901 Ba Da Gao Shan Organic Sheng pu.

Big fuzzy leaves, very clean aroma, bright clear soup. According to Scott's description on Yunan Sourcing, this is entirely composed of higher quality leaves and is entirely Certified Organic 2009 spring flush, as opposed to the usual blend of younger and older mao cha. I'm fairly confident this will age decently well, but at the rate I've been drinking this, I'll have to buy another cake soon if I want to find out.

The closest I'll be getting to a tea-mountain anytime soon...

This tea has a very good lift as well. I'm feeling a mild tea buzz from it, and the same kind of warmth and happiness that I generally feel after I've enjoyed a big bowl of Panang Curry at Lai Thai (which is a small Thai restaurant run and owned by a lovely woman who has been an unwavering source of optimism and my benchmark for genuine human compassion). A warm, full belly and a happy heart. That's what this leaves me with. Lasting impressions and a moment to reflect.

Today on the way home from picking Grace up, she said to me "Daddy, do you remember my mommy?" It floored me, if only for a few moments. I just said "Yeah Grace, I remember your mommy very well." She's got such a simple presence, even taking her inquisitive nature and ridiculous vocabulary into consideration. Over time, I'm sure the questions are only going to become more elaborate. What will my words and actions add when she finally understands the story that led up to her birth and life?

When it boils down to it, the importance in anything is the impression it leaves us with. I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

Tea Nooks

I think I finally figured out one of the reasons why I haven't been drinking too much tea lately. Since I moved into the new place, I haven't taken the time yet to carve out a little nook for drinking and enjoying tea. I don't need anything fancy, but I do need the right kind of lighting and a space that feels like it was meant for stepping outside of the everyday woes of the world. In my last two homes, I've had quaint little spaces that help me focus, much the same way people have rooms for meditation. It blocks out the distractions

Tonight I am running the gauntlet of teas, but won't be taking too many notes unfortunately. I started with a tea I received from Shiuwen at Floating Leaves; the Farmer's Choice Baozhang. Delicious as always, and her teas can handle the hottest of water without any hesitation. Next, I went to an 08 Menghai Mu Ye Chun Sheng (Old Tree Green Cake) I got from Greg at Norbu last year, and will be finishing up with an oolong tea from Brett at Teacup. Anyhow, my friend Marie just signed online and told me she's in Seattle right now and happened to be mere blocks away from two of the people who sent me these three teas. Amidst the excitement, I totally forgot that I was steeping the 08 Menghai and much to my dismay was punished severely by the Tea Gods for pu-erh neglect. It was probably the most brutal cup of tea I've had in months. Realistically, that cup would have been perfect in 24 hours, when I'll be heading into work at 3:00 AM to deal with the madness that is Black Friday in retail.

I must say that the most remarkable thing about tonight is that something is happening I certainly didn't expect. All of the old familiar aromas are beginning to come back to me. Dryness in the back of my throat, the sweet minty smell of camphor when I take a whiff of the bottom of a bing Bryan bought me for my birthday, the buttery thick soup of good oolong tea.

This is promising news on many fronts.

Also, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who loves good food. It's almost 3:00 AM and I've got a little sleeping angel on the couch who needs to be tucked into her big girl bed.

Hello, Ni-hao, Bonjour, Konnichiwa, and all that Jazz

I'm finding that I am unable to do much more than give brief notes on what I'm tasting these days. I remember having a conversation with Scott Wilson some months back about teas and he told me that talking tea is very different in English than it is in Chinese. He said he can describe it in ways that lack comparison in the American tongue. It makes me interested to start writing in other languages again. I'd be curious to hear the input of anyone who reads and/or writes in a multilingual capacity already.

I've always been fascinated by the contrast between literal and figurative translation. For example, in French, one might say "avoir de l'oseille" to say someone has money. Avoir de....to have. L'oseille....sorrel. Sorrel is an herb used in salads. Lettuce? Ever heard anyone refer to money as lettuce? It's American slang for paper money. Coincidence? Possibly, but I doubt it. Lets take one that is a bit less literal. To see yourself getting angry. Americans might say something to illustrate the way a person's face and ears become red when angered. A common saying in french is (and correct me if my sentence structure is incorrect as it's been a few years since I studied the language fervently) "avoir la moutarde qui monte jusqu'au nez." This translates literally to having mustard going up one's nose; a concept that makes sense to anyone who has ever had too much wasabi or spicy mustard. Even then, I have still never heard it used to describe anger in English.

In English, the word for body is always the same. Body of a car, body of water, human body, and so on. In Japanese, there is a different word for each, but all translate to body. What I was told is that the reason for this is that certain words have a greater level of cultural importance. Just how there might not be a literal translation to English for concepts and ideas that don't exist in Western society.

The closest translation for Tao is "the way," but again, almost all the authors and translators of Lao Tsu's Tao te Ching stress the importance that the true meaning behind Tao is something more.

I could go on all day long about these parallels, yet I am still stumped to jot down the detailed notes about the mellon flavours, mushroom, huigan, camphor, cha qi, and whatever other terms used to describe the mysterious characteristics of pu-erh tea.

Perhaps a fresh perspective on how I write and how I enjoy my tea could be beneficial. Perhaps just learning to enjoy it for what it is will be the greatest lesson of all.


It's getting colder and the nights are consuming more and more of each passing day. I'll be starting school here in a few short weeks and slowing down will not be a viable option.

My friend Bryan just gave me a Dayi sipping cup that reads simply

茶有大益

For now, those words are plenty enough for me.