After the red leaves fall from the hills, the shut-in, biting winter arrives. Another year nears its end; the silence stretches on, and gloomy feelings inevitably sprout. It is precisely because of the gloom that we must embrace life all the more fervently—just like the red leaves born of the cold. Perhaps this is why grown-ups love autumn leaves: life always holds its stretches of loneliness and its endings, and before those come, let us burn our brightest in the present and praise this final warmth, for life must always hold something to look forward to.— from “At Ease in Kyoto”
The writer Kuso wrote in “At Ease in Kyoto” that grown-ups love winter’s red leaves the way one finds warmth and hope after loneliness and endings. I think tea friends who love drinking tea in winter feel much the same: in the cold days, they light a charcoal stove, invite a few good friends, sit around the fire boiling tea, chat about everyday life, with friends and tea fragrance for company—not wanting for warm sunshine.
This winter, with tea, there is warmth!
@Rayagao Tea Qiqi:
On every tea-scented winter night, what I love brewing most is Gongting (Palace) pu-erh. Gongting pu-erh is a high-grade ripe pu-erh made mainly from tender buds; after successful fermentation, the ripe tea is sieved and then picked over by hand with tweezers—a most exacting craft. Being mostly bud tips, Gongting pu-erh tastes distinctly sweet and silky, with a pleasant lotus-leaf and herbal fragrance, and leaves the body feeling warm after drinking—an absolutely superb winter choice for tea lovers!
@Flora_Dong
Hand-pulled pancakes filled with egg and cheese slices, blueberries, and pu-erh tea. Today the sky is even gloomier than usual, because the worst smog of late has “arrived”—visibility outside the window is only about a hundred meters, and the school has notified us to suspend the children’s outdoor activities and stay indoors as much as possible. Such weather is truly disheartening; I miss the blue skies of my hometown terribly.
@lucky Wang Rui
I love warm sunshine, for it fills people with energy. A fragrant, gentle cup of pu-erh is as unique as the flowers, trees and sky around us. Raw pu-erh has its fresh fragrance, returning sweetness and salivation; black tea has its distinctive sweet aroma; ripe tea has its proper mellowness and smoothness. Everything before our eyes invites joy.
@Yuanshan Shimeng (Gathering Dreams from Distant Hills)
Smog today—not a glimpse of sunshine all day. A good friend came to the tea room and brought sushi for us to share at lunch. I had pre-soaked a big pot of ripe pu-erh, and eating sushi while sipping pu-erh felt surprisingly wonderful. My friend has discovered a new continent of cutting through grease—she says she’ll try steeping a big pot of ripe pu-erh at home too. Since winter began, the big thermos has seen more and more use: whether to quench thirst when the indoor heating is too dry, or to clear the lungs on smoggy winter days, steeping pu-erh, steeping white tea—what a delight.
@Menghai Chenxi Tea House
Winter is here—have a cup of warm ripe pu-erh brick. A 2007 ripe tea, drinking at just the right age. Its smooth, silky, sweet taste offers just the warm comfort your stomach needs in the cold of winter.
@Days of a Happy Heart
Because my husband loves tea, I gradually came to love tasting it too. In summer I like jasmine tea with its fresh, nose-filling fragrance; in autumn, pu-erh with its bitterness and returning sweetness; in winter, the warming black teas. Drinking tea has slowly become part of my life—days pass slowly, and tea is savored carefully.
@Chanyang Gucha (Zen-Nourishing Ancient Tea)
The weather has turned cold, so I dug out the old tea paste to brew. The liquor comes out pitch black; it tastes like herbal medicine going down, with a bit of fragrance and sweetness rising after, very soothing for the throat, and the stomach feels warm and comfortable. Tea paste made by traditional simmering is extremely durable—one grain-of-rice-sized piece brews a whole large cup. Most of the so-called tea paste you can buy these days is more like tea powder, far less durable in brewing.
@Yi Hu Rong Wan Wu (One Pot Holds All Things)
Drink a cup of tea, watch the rain and snow swirl, observe nature’s changes—the four seasons are a landscape of life, shifting and interweaving, but the warmth and fragrance of tea are eternal.
November 2020 issue
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Author: Lam Sam (LamSam), the Old Tea Head
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