Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Posted by Miss Neddy at 10:17 PM | Comments (1) | Permalink
Categories: Tea Black

[Miss Neddy says: es el queso has taken time from his blog What I Had For Dinner Tonight to do another entry for me, which I requested after seeing pictures of his lovely pu’er cake and heard of how he came by it.]

I am fortunate to live where there is a skilled acupuncturist and knowledgeable Chinese herbalist just around the corner from my home. I have been under his care for almost two years now, and one of the topics that invariably comes up during my visits is tea.

He introduced me to pu’ erh almost immediately, for its health benefits, and provided me with a good source here in the US to get some. We have discussed all kinds of teas, and have even shared some of the lovely Wulong Miss Neddy has been kind enough to send me. I have also shared this blog with him, and I hope he enjoys it as much as I do.

Recently, I received a call from a member of his staff, asking me to stop by his office when I had a chance, as they had a gift for my birthday. When I arrived, I was given a bag which contained a wrapped object about the size and shape of a book. I gave my sincere thanks and brought it home to investigate further.

Inside some paper wrapping was this oval shaped pu’erh tea cake. It’s about 4” x 6” and a little more than an inch thick ( approx. 100mm x 150mm x 30mm). I do not speak Chinese, so I sent these photos to Miss Neddy, and another friend who could read the characters. The character next to the horse means, “Horse.” The characters on the other side mean, approximately, “Success when the horse arrives,” or is more generally an expression of well-wishing.

 

There was a little bit of tea dust accumulated in the packaging, but otherwise it was a solid, fully compressed block of tea. I first tried breaking a piece off with my fingers, but was unable, much too thick. I then tried using a knife to cut off an edge, but only succeeded in creating more tea dust… but, at least, enough to actually brew. I was unsure of the exact amount to use, but I thought it would be best to approximate a teaspoonful. Without any specific brewing instructions, I figured it basic rules of pu’erh apply- infuse with boiling water until you remember to pour it out. Save the leaves and brew again as necessary.

Wow, it turned out to be as dark and earthy as the cake looked. And very delicious, if unusual to my American palate. Slightly fishy smelling, but not at all in an unpleasant way. Really a rich tea, it tastes and smells of something that is good for you, and somehow that thought makes it taste even better. The flavor is neither too intense, nor too weak, and hits all kinds of notes that I am not used to.

I still had to solve the problem of how to actually get tea, not dust, from the cake. So, I once again requested assistance from our tea guru, Miss Neddy, and she pointed me to a couple of videos on the ‘net that explained how to access the tea. Much like a finger trap, it’s obvious once you know how it works.

Instead of trying to cut into the top of the block, and make a slice off it, one needs to take a sharp implement, a kitchen knife will do if one does not have a pu’erh knife, and slowly insert it into the side of the cake and then twist gently to dislodge a chunk of the tea. It is much like breaking off layers of slate or other sedimentary rock, but with far more satisfying results!

I now have the majority of the tea cake wrapped up tightly and stored in a cool dark place, whilst I keep a smaller chunk readily available to break pieces off to make tea. As a matter of fact, it’s time to have some now. Cheers!

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