Tea Blog

Looking back on 2009……

Every once in a while you hear folks proudly exclaim that they are, “living the dream”. While this may come across in a somewhat Tom Cruise-type fashion, I do believe that most folks are genuinely sincere in their proclamation.
But what is meant by this? Where does it come from?

The reason I am pondering this today is that I found myself saying exactly that a few days ago and caught myself. “Am I really?”, “What do I mean by that?, and, “What dream?”

Upon reflecting on my feelings in the moment and where they originated I do believe it was merely an outpouring of gratitude for all my blessings, challenges, and life circumstances. Quite simple, really. Nothing to do with trappings of success, money, or power. In fact, I am quite humbled by my personal journey and the journey of Zhi Tea so far. It has been awakening to say the least.

So, living the dream must indeed be more about being present in the moment, a sense of true feeling, as opposed to some idea that one is getting what they want. Or perhaps, when one is dialed into their true wantings, the sense of joy is indeed imminent; as the universe generally appears to provide. Provided, of course, that there is some sense of alignment with the desires of the Self.

It seems the desires of the Self in fact do feel like a dream, at times. Remote, vague, and shifting. We see this realm as if through a bank of clouds. Occasionally, the clouds part, clarity is revelead, and we exclaim, “I’m living the dream.”

I heart Groupon. I got a half price haircut at the place I already go to and love, Bird’s. I also got a half price box of fab organic produce from the awesomeness that is Greenling.
When they called me a few weeks ago I was totally skeptical. Why would I want to do this? And pay you for putting up some lame ad? It took a bit of discussion and investigation, but I realized that this was an example of the new marketplace and I better get with it. People pay en mass for a deep discount and have 6 months to use the coupon. It drives people to our store who may never otherwise have ventured, and rewards our fans, as well. BOOM.
So I did, and today we are watching the numbers go up for our “$10 for $20 worth of tea at the Zhi Tea Gallery” groupon. It is going at about 30 per hour now. Shockingly cool!
So I am anticipating yelling “100!!” really loudly in about an hour and a half at this rate.

Looking forward to the coincidentally timed Groupon launch party here in Austin tonight at the very nice Paggi House. I get to meet Morgan, the gal who gracefully walked me across the river of unknowing into the world of Groupon.

My initial guess was 146 sold today. I think we might even double that.

A previously unknown supplier who appears to be solid and reputable sent me the biggest box of tea samples EVER. I can’t believe it. Huge.
It will take months to go through them all. So far the three or four I have tried have been very, very good. A fantastic ti quan yin and a really good mao jian among them.

This is just soooo funny, had to post it here!

It is actually a great recipe for Match Ice Cream, just taught in a very Japanese Way.

Match Ice Cream with Dog is a winner.

Last week my friend Nick stopped by the store with his bag of tricks. He suggested I take a well-deserved break and we could gung fu it for an hour or so to get my soul back on track.

Well, it definitely worked. He busted out the last remnants of a nice 1994 Aged Bao Zhong and we took it from there. I had to bust out my 2002 Aged Oolong to show off a bit as Nick was impressing me with not only his awesome tea (obtained from Hou De Tea) but his fantastic and humble execution of the gung fu tea method. I have witnessed the gung fu method of tea preparation several times, but never by someone who seemed to be connected to the process in such an unselfconscious way. It was fun and educational and very grounding, as well. We had a blast. And we got about 5 good steeps from both teas.

The Bao Zhong you could tell had lost a bit of its jinginess or freshness. That said, it still the great bao zhong qualities; the complex floral notes, misty lingering long finish, and that dark hint of granny’s attic in the background you get from some of these aged teas. I likened it to sitting in grandma’s house and she had baked a peach pie the day before, but had left the door to the attic open and the window in the attic was open and it had just started raining. Safe to say I was transported.

We followed up with the 2002 oolong. It definitely had more punch and presence; it was only 7 years old and was more highly oxidized to begin with. It was also really enjoyable. A solid roasted, round body, hints of chestnuts and spice. The next couple of steepings we were rewarded with some really nice floral richness. Very evocative. Earthy and sweet with a really long nectar finish. Very nice.

A great break from the day.