Chew on a bowl of tea
By Pauline D Loh (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-25 08:58
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Iron strength comes in small doses
Fujian province is well known for its tea varieties, the most famous being the Big Red Robe and Little Red Robe of the Mount Wuyi estates. Other famous teas are the Shui Xian or Narcissus tea, and the tieguanyin or Iron Buddha tea.
Tea drinking is now considered an art, but to the tea-drinkers of old, it was part of everyday life. Everyone understood how and why tea should be drunk a certain way, and there was no mystery to the ritual.
Tieguanyin is a semi-fermented tea harvested in the spring and autumn. It is an extremely fragrant tea that has enough tannin to color it a deep amber if it is left to brew too long. The tannin renders the tea extremely alkaline and if drunk too often, will unsettle the gastric system.
That is the reason why tieguanyin is drunk in small doses, poured from little teapots.
The best tieguanyin is sold vacuum-packed in small individual packages, just enough to fill one tea pot. It can retail for up to 1,200 yuan ($176) a kg.
Here is a quick guide on how to enjoy your Iron Buddha tea.
Step 1:
Tip the packet of tieguanyin into a small teapot. Pour hot water over the tealeaves. Swirl the pot, and immediately pour away this first brew. You can pour the hot tea over the little tea cups to cleanse them. This first swirl tempers the tea leaves and washes away surface dirt.
Step 2:
Pour hot water into the tea pot once more. Add just enough water for tea to serve 2 to 4 people. No tea should be allowed to remain in the pot to soak up the tannin.
Step 3:
Once the first serving is drunk, pour more hot water into the teapot and serve again. You can repeat this eight times without losing flavor. The tea leaves should be discarded after that and a new packet used.
TEA NOTES:
The first serving of tea is always a very pale gold. This primes the taste buds, allowing the faint fragrance to fill the mouth.
As the tea drinking progresses, the color and flavor of the tea darken and intensify as the leaves brew and more tannin is released. The aroma peaks at the third, fourth and fifth servings and then slowly fades as the infusion weakens.
When my grandfather finished with his tea, he would give it a final swirl with water and empty the pot over his jasmine and gardenia plants. They were the best-smelling flowers in our garden.