Gongfu Infusion: Chapter 2
Phoenix Oolong with the Gaiwan
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- Song Cultivar Huangzhi Xiang Dancong used to be the most popular and acclaimed of all classic style Phoenix dancongs. Yet most producers now process it to the bouquet finish to highlight its kumquat accents.
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- Bowl-shape gaiwan, hand-thrown kaolin with white over-glaze. Tea: Xingren Xiang Dancong, a classic style Phoenix oolong. More at: Teaware: The Gaiwan
In chapter 1, we have discussed the basic steps in preparing tea using the gongfu infusion approach. In this chapter, we shall demonstrate the idea using one particular tea.
Tea selection
- Song Cultivar Huangzhi Xiang
(a classic style Phoenix oolong, medium-light baked)
Tool
- A 100 ml gaiwan
- A chahai
- 3 gongfu cups
- An infusion table
- An electric kettle
Before we start the demonstration, let’s discuss why I have chosen this tea.
Beyond conventional interpretation
The British tasting standard of 5~6 minutes of infusion only gives you one way of interpreting tea. As I have repeatedly stressed in many other occasions, each tea has a different material nature. As much as we cannot expect preparing bok choi the same way we do lettuce, the same infusion method used towards different tea is never able to allow you to experience the best of a lot of teas. That is one reason some of my fellow tea traders in the West are not understanding the quality of quite a number of teas. I don’t blame them, how would you understand the taste of bok choi when it is eaten raw?
Huangzhi Xiang Dancong, such as this Song Cultivar I am using here, is one of those teas that can never show its best when idled in the pot for 5 minutes. Indeed, most oolongs, particularly those lesser fired ones, are similar in various degrees.
Genuine and properly produced Huangzhi Xiang has a fresh, clean, delicate, and almost effervescent kind of floral aroma and the accents of kumquat in its flavourful, tinkering sweet full body. Like all other Phoenix oolongs of the Shuixian family of cultivars, it can be exceedingly sharp and strong when prepared wrongly. The challenge is to render this well in the infusion and giving an optimal balance and texture.
@Karen, it takes much wisdom for a person to maintain humour and positivity while facing such harsh realities and the everyday humdrum of dealing with them. The life in your words suddenly shines so much more on knowing the things you have to deal with. The passion for Life vibrates from the wings of the cricket to the redness of the maple leaf to muddied snow that nourishes the greenness of the twirly fern spout. Life shines so much more beautifully with passion.
That verse is a true gift. Thank you, Leo! Did you know that the fern has powerful spirit medicine according to Native American belief? The Abenaki tribe called upon the fern spirit to unfurl her fronds along footpaths so the chief and his scouts would have peaceful and fruitful hunting expeditions. Your mentioning the twirly fern means you now have the powerful fern medicine carved onto your totem.
Dear Tea Guardian,
My head is about to explode, awash in all the information provided in your Gongfu Infusion chapters. Though still dazed and confused, I believe I have found answers to many of my vexing questions.
Do I have this straight? Shorter infusion time and ample leaves will help to avoid bitterness while maximizing aroma and flavor?
For several months, I have been eyeballing tea amounts and perhaps it’s time to try a more precise approach. That chart with tea type, grams and temperature is really handy. I’ll be printing that out and laminating it like the true geek I am.
There’s a lot to mull over regarding techniques for max tea appreciation. What’s this about sensing tea in the back of the head and between the ears? That is a new one on me, but I will give it some serious thought.
Perhaps the best thing about reading these chapters is rediscovering Leo Kwan’s Gongfu Infusion Demo – a video I’ve already watched far too many times to be considered prudent. It’s just that I love the lighting, music, narration, tea close-ups and mysterious tea master rendered in shadow. (And the information, yeah, that’s useful too). So anyway, I had an excuse to watch that again.
But where is the next video that Tea Guardian promises? I am sure I am not the only one of your devotees with questions about “turning leaves inside themselves” after several infusions. And what does it mean when the tea “needs more attention?”
Lastly, I read the chapter entitled, Teaware: The Gaiwan. As I have previously noted, my little lidded bowl often judges and mocks me. I am now armed with renewed confidence, ready to march into the kitchen and tell Ms. G. who’s boss. Wish me luck.
@Karen, it is always so amusing to read your comments. What wonderful ways you have in getting things across.
Thank you for reminding me of the long absence in YouTube updates. I have to find a way to apologise to all those who expect followup video. Allow me to say sorry to you for now.
However, I feel that I cannot get away with no explanation. Please allow me to take this opportunity to post why we have not made any video upload for such a long time.
Although Hong Kong — where we are stationed in — boasts to be a modern city, not all of its residents enjoy the same modern amenities. Since we moved to the new home in this village two years ago, we have been experiencing this disparity first hand. We are accessing the web at 1.1Mb download, 0.5Mb (500K) upload speed, using the only ISP who basically monopolises the service in 90% of rural areas. Believe it or not, we are paying almost two times the charge we used to pay when we subscribed to the humble 100Mb service in the city.
I can most certainly elaborate on the state of politics and economics of why this is happening, but I won’t indulge myself. All in all, we are tied by the access speed we are given now.
Internet speed aside, we had been overwhelmed with a project to tame the technical infidelity of several of the softwares for our online shop. On top of that, we basically recreated the whole design of it. These are all very demanding on our limited resources. The shop is running a bit more smoothly now and we are calling it a phase. It maybe another 6 months before we upgrade it the next time, other than minor improvements etc.
These have been the two major reasons.
The third one, though quite personal and physically not as significant in terms of demand for time — though not insignificant at all. It has nevertheless slowed myself quite a lot in delivering my duties in all of tea operations. Both of my parents had reached real significant changes in their lives and my sisters and I had to attend to these changes in the past two years. They have impacted me emotionally. The meaning of life is another new search for me. Sometimes I have to stop myself from those 14 hours days to rethink my life, or not to think at all.
The pneumatic drill has been pounding along our row of houses for the past week. The workers say they are laying cables for the internet company. I hope we shall have broadband access soon. I have promised myself to continue on all those videos. I have so much to share.
Believe me, Ms G is a very easy lady to tame. It is some of the teas who can be wild.
Enjoy your way on discovery.
@Leo — I wish I could speak a scrap of Cantonese to adequately convey my wishes for all good things to come to you, your family and loved ones right now. And for that eff-ing pneumatic drill to stop so you can get a moment’s peace. No doubt a business of your high caliber is not without sizable pressures, though you make it appear effortless. People like me benefit from from what you do. Discovering fine tea has been a respite from my father’s recent passing, my mother’s rapid cognitive decline, and my son’s lifetime genetic disability. It is something I found for me, somewhat separate from what my life and career demand. I hope you find something similar for yourself. The biggest questions are usually unanswerable, such as the meaning of life. So we might as well try and make sense of the mystery and uncertainty of it all. If you never add another thing to your site or YouTube channel, there is still a resource bigger than Gotham City to explore and study. My Porcelain Princess and I await the next tea shipment and will drink to the health and happiness of you and yours. Listen now……quiet……crickets. ?