Purion Teapot

So after a few years of thinking about buying the purion 100ml I finally got one.

I had mixed thoughts about straying from the my loved yixing pottery.

 First impressions are good as I remove it from its small box.
Wow, it is better than I expected.

Its a beautiful little teapot and has a very grainy, sandy texture.

I think this is what I like best about it, the texture of the clay.

Below you can see it next to my Xishi.

Almost the same size. The Purion is 100ml.

It holds water very well and is very porous.
We will see how it infuses in the next few days.
Purion is supposed to be very well suited for aged puerh and dark roasted oolongs.
I will be trying it out with the older shengs I have.

Here is a japanese garden juniper which I have been working on for a few years.
I completely wired and gave it a windswept style this last year.
It has been growing well, but I still am contemplating removing the low cascading branch.
A work in progress.

 Spring is finally here!

Winter Tea

For black tea only. All other teas taste weird in this pot, but it really makes a sweet black tea.

Unknown yixing clay, about 100ml. Have had it about 3 years now.

So this winter is still trying to hang on here in the Chicago area, as there is still snow and the air is quite cold.

I was recently reminded of what type of tea to drink in the cold season, as I have been having some problems with my right shoulder and went to get some acupuncture from an old kung fu brother who is a doctor of oriental medicine. 

My chi was not flowing well in my right arm and stagnating in my shoulder. I had started to drink young sheng a lot again recently, and my chi was not flowing well. 

I was told to keep drinking the dark teas, either black, dark roasted, shu, or aged sheng to balance and warm my chi in this cold weather. I had been drinking mostly dark roast oolongs, black or red teas, and aged sheng and the chi was strong through the winter. But when I switched to mostly young sheng recently it cooled the chi too much and stagnated. So back to the darker teas I go until this weather breaks.

I am ready for the warm weather as it is supposed to be spring now. So I can get back to the new young shengs which I love so much.

Aging Yixing

I have a great affinity with the Yixing pots in my collection, especially the small pin zi ni Xishi pot that you see in almost all my posts. I had got this pot from Teatrekker a little over a year ago. Looks like they have it available again but at a much higher price than when I got it. It has passed its one year mark and has seen almost everyday use. It is the one element that does not change when practicing gungfucha. It is now starting to show signs of age, as it is developing a very nice patina and feel that surpasses the other pots. The more I use it, the more I want to use it. 

I believe it is starting to develop its own chi now. 

New- very dull and dusty looking

When it was new it had a very sandy grainy feeling texture, also had a sent of sand.
Now it feels very smooth and silky, and smells of tea, even on the outside.

Today-color and feel gaining age.

Training has also been going very well. As I have been making some small adjustments in my movement, the body is able to generate great power, with little effort. (Of course after much effort in training)
I hope you all are well.
Enjoy your tea, and be healthy.

Merry Christmas to All

The past month I have been trying many samples of sheng to decide on a cake to get for Christmas.

Unfortunately I still have not found the one cake I have to have. 

So I'll keep sampling until I find the one I really want. 

Christmas Eve was a nice time with family, we had a nice dinner and exchanged gifts.

I did not have tea, but I made my homemade fruit punch. Made with green and red apples, hawthorn apples, plums, yellow cherries, cane, jamaica leaf, and cane sugar. All boiled in water and drunk warm.

 

 I will finally have some good gungfucha sessions as I am off of work for the next two weeks. 

And I have a 92 brick from Hong Kong which I have been waiting to break into. 

I think I will break off a chunk for Christmas evening.

I have forgotten what this tea was, all I remember is its a '92 300 gram sheng.

If anyone knows what it is I would really appreciate any info.

And I hope everyone has a great holiday season. And stay warm with a hot cup of tea.

 

1999 Fuhai Yiwu Yesheng

Sometimes you drink a tea with a tear in your eye, 

this is almost the case of my session today. 

The one traditional stored sheng that I really enjoyed a sample of, 

but when I finally went to order a cake, it had vanished.

This is the last little chunk of 99' Fuhai Yiwu I had tucked away in my cabinet airing out for about a year now. 

As I remember the initial sent and flavor it was a bit wet tasting, as it came from EOT.  But this was the one sample that I did really enjoy from them as after the initial steeps it became a very good tatsing tea with some complexity and good chi, and decent price, and so I wanted at least a cake.

The wetness has mostly subsided now, leaving a very enticing leather and spice aroma to the dry leaf.
The chunk is very dark and aging well.

After a quick rinse the leaf still emanates a slight humid sent but quite subsided.

The first infusions are actually very good now, bringing a full leathery, mushroom, and grain flavor, with a very spicy and lively mouthfeel. I sit in meditation, close my eyes and breath deep, collecting the chi and just letting go of the stress. 

As I open my eyes I feel renewed and calm, after only two infusions.

The infusions continue on, building a very serene sense of being. I am not sad that this was my last little chunk of this very good tea, I am quite happy as it is just what I needed at this precise moment, at least had the chance to enjoy it. 

It gave me a very good session today that was very needed.

I bow to you, good tea.

Here is another bonsai that I ahve been training for quite some time now.
It is a siberian elm, which is an air layer from a large branch from a big tree.
This one will be ready for show maybe this next year, and I have just the right pot for it now.
Sorry bad lighting on the pic.

Siberian Elm informal upright