Each tasting features four rare, unique or extraordinary teas that aren't normally on the menu, and is served in the traditional gongfu cha style. We discuss the teas individually and also tea culture and cultivation in a casual, social atmosphere. 🍂
5 - 7pm, $10 bottomless teacup 🍵
open arrival ~ come anytime ✨
This month’s teas will be announced week of the event.
This month we will be tasting...
🍂 Chu Shi Ya Shi Xiang
Duck Shit Aroma oolong is easily one of the most popular teas in the house, and for good reason. This one is done a little differently though. Usually Ya Shi Xiang is moderately oxidized and can be heavily roasted, whereas this version uses dehydration (chu shi) to arrest oxidation early. The result is a very green duck shit that acts more like tie guan yin and does a very good impression of jin xuan milk oolong up front. This tea is worth it for the novelty alone, but is also delightful to drink.
🍂 Black Gold "Bi Luo Chun"
This red tea from yunnan gets its name from the infamous green tea bi luo chun (green snail spring) because of its iconic shape, where the leaves have been coiled and spiraled around themselves. The resemblance stops there as this Simoan tea is a fully oxidized spring harvest with notes of honey, malt chocolate and, interestingly, French fries.
🍂 2017 De'an Suancha
Suancha, or sour tea, is a form of pu'er popular among the De'ang and Bulang people. The tea gets processed in the beginning much like any other raw pu'er but then includes a unique fermentation process that is akin to kimchee. The leaves are pressed into bamboo or jars, submerged in water, wrapped in banana leaves and buried for 9 months. Sometimes other vegetables, fruit juices or spices are mixed in as well. The result is a sweet and very tangy pu'er that reminds me of lemon zest, soursop and sourkraut.
🍂 2018 Three Cranes Liu Bao
There is hardly a more iconic heicha than Liu Bao and it is one of the oldest styles of tea still made and drank today. Being a progenitor to modern ripe pu'er, some think this is what ripe pu'er strives to be. This tea from Guanxi is a blend of lightly fermented and heavily fermented batches harvested in 2015. In 2018 they were pressed into large bamboo baskets to continue aging. The flavors remind me of fine cigars with a slight camphor woodiness combined with fresh mushrooms, walnuts and bay leaves while also doing a decent impression of lapsang.
See you Soon~ 🍵
Note!!! we are now capping this event. feel free to pre-reserve a cup online at: houseofwakinglife.com/participate ❤ if it is full, you are still welcome to come grab a drink from the cafe and join in the discussion or hang out until a seat opens!