Saturday, February 20, 2010

Moving

Tea Habitat is moving to another location, the PV store will be closed starting Monday Feb 22nd. We will announce our reopening date and location once everything is finalized. During the moving period, our online store is still in operation as usual. Thank you for your patronage and look forward to serving you better at a more convenient location.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Pu erh - YiWu Wild mao cha 2004

Harvest year: 2004 Spring
Production year: 2004
Name: Mao Cha
Tea type: Wild Large Leaf
Region: Yiwu
Maker: collected from villager

This tea is bundled up approximately 100 g each, collected from ancient wild trees.

Clean liquid, has chicken stock texture without the chicken flavor. :P
2 to 3 leaves on each stem, large thin leaves, a sign of old trees on high elevation.
Fresh dried tobacco flavor, rich, sweet and very soothing to the throat, making you crave for more. I think the tobacco quality makes it addictive just like real tobacco. A very nice green one.

Sold by each bundle 100g: $30
No small samples.

Pu erh - mid 90's cooked

Harvest year: Mid 90's
Production year: Mid 90's
Name: Chen Nian Pu Erh
Tea type: Cooked - Shu
Region: Meng Hai
Maker: unknown
Weight: 250 g

This brick comes in 250 g each in a box(torn&broken), unwrapped and not labeled. Typical of the 90's practice in Yunnan. Small broken leaves.
Clear dark red in color.

This pu-erh is one of the better cooked pu examples. Clear liquid is a sign of clean well stored tea. Taste is smooth, rich and thick, Chinese medicine for the first 2 brews when using 3 g or more leaves at a time. Subsequent brews are very nice with after rain fresh forest floor aroma, not dirt, it gets better as the color lightens, sweet and barky.

Whole brick is $98
2 are available in whole, 1 will be divided into sample packs.

Pu erh - Shen Nong Wild 2005

Harvest year: 2004 Spring
Production year: 2005
Name: Shen Nong Ye Sheng Cha Bing
Tea type: Wild Large Leaf
Region: Xi Shuang Ban Na Ba Da Shan--Ba Da Mountain
Maker: Meng Hai County Xiang Shan Tea Factory
Weight: 357 g

This cake is composed of entirely wild grown tea leaves from the deep woods of Ba Da Mountain. Spring harvest including large young leaves and buds covered with white downsWet leaves are tender, soft and thin. Signs of high mountain tea.
Leaves can be as long as 3 to 4 inches long, still thin, tender and translucent. Only high altitude old tea trees can grow large leaves with this thinness.

Taste is floral, soft with a bit of sour. The sour taste is from aging -- not astringency, anything green (green tea, green oolong, green pu-erh) will turn sour within 10 years of aging. This tea is about 5 years old, so sour is essential and not a negative characteristic. It is a good sign that the post fermentation is taken place. Although it has a sour note, but not strong, it's easily over powered by the floral note and Yun - thick sweet and nourishing texture that last a long time from mouth down to throat. It has an obnoxious effect due to its wildness. I felt tipsy after a couple of infusions. Over all, it tastes great as is now, and will taste excellent in 10 to 20 years. You can put this cake to contest with any other pu-erh. It's that good!

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Quick update

Pu-erh has arrived!

2 green wild old trees, 2004 and 2005
4 cooked, Ban Zhang, Nan Nuo, 9599 and a brick

2005 green pu is obnoxiously powerful, taste tho feminine and floral. Gave me a buzz soon after a couple of brews....

Will follow up soon...


2 special tea events coming up soon..

Feb 20th Tea class and tasting at PV library, Saturday at 10 am
Address and map


April, Tea class and tasting at UCLA, Monday evening either the 5th or 12th

Both events are free to the public

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Ginger Jars

Need to find lids for these 2 jars.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Just braggin...

Batavia Gaiwan from late Qing Dynasty, large 180 ml. I use it as drinking cup. (not for sale)
Song dynasty celadon cups, rustic, 20 ml. Very very nice, best for tea out of all tea cups I have. (not for sale)
Brown glaze cups, they are not Batavian cups. Older, thiner, and better made than the fish design Batavian cups. Makes second best tea out of all my cups, 25 ml. (not for sale)

YES, I have a thing for brown cups! :P

I am sentimental toward the brown cups, ecstatically pleasing to the eyes for me are celadons and blue and white porcelain, occasionally Fun Cai.

Antique cups for sale