AN UNCONVENTIONAL WELSH TEA CEREMONY

As some of you may know, I recently completed my International Tea Academy certification (along with my university dissertation, but that’s arguably less important). The course was super interesting, and the lecturer taught me so many things – such as, if I am to become a tea master, I should start playing around with hosting my own tea ceremonies, no matter how unconventional. I definitely took that last part to heart, and ended up hosting my own very unorthodox Welsh tea ceremony!

THE TEA SET

This tea set is called a Tian Xuan (‘mysteries of the universe’) tea set, with its name coming from the world’s oldest oracle, the I CHING. Within this book, the laws of life are explained by ancient Chinese wisdom, ultimately suggesting that if we listen to it then we will be able to live in peace and harmony with the world about us.

The spout of the tea pot is designed to be a dragon head, and it is said that when the water comes out of his mouth a positive fortune, good harvests, and prosperity, will be delivered. The set is made from Lao Keng raw mineral clay, and quite frankly, I think it is the most beautiful thing I have ever received.

I received this tea set from Porcelain TEA, a super cute Etsy store ran by a lovely woman called Qi, who spent time telling me about how her business began. ‘My business started from my love of Chinese tea culture and Chinese tea ceremony. I love Chinese ‘Chan’ Buddhism, which was later called ‘Zen’ in Japan. It observes everyday life with great detail, and for me, tea and tea ceremony is a very important part of it. When I am brewing a great pot of tea, I feel the peace of life.

‘To look for the best teaware, I went to Jingdezhen, the capital of porcelain in China, the old town with thousands of years history of making porcelain. There, I got to know artists with great talent – they may not be that famous, many of them are the students from the Porcelain University – some are masters, some are very skilful old craftsmen. I fell in love with this old town and the people there, and of course, their beautiful artwork. Those are the items in my shop. I would like the world get to know them, to know their beautiful work, to know more of Chinese traditional culture.

‘The business still young, but I am full of passion because Chinese tea culture is just amazing. I wish the world knew more about it.’

I love everything about this tea set, and decided that I simply had to use it for my unconventional Welsh tea ceremony. I have never had a tea spoon for leaves before so it was great fun to try that for the first time, and the little cloth and carry bag that it comes in is perfect for my travels. It’s pretty lightweight, and the intricacies and the detail of the dragon head and the lines are beautiful. I had never drank from a tea set before where all of the cups were different sizes, but think that it’s a really interesting idea to help keep it compact and stackable.

I was curious about why the tea set came with these three cups specifically, as I have noticed that a lot of tea sets also abide by this rule of three. After some research, I discovered that the number three is pronounced as ‘san’, and is considered lucky because of how similar the word is to the Chinese word for ‘birth’. The number three also represents the three main stages of life – birth, marriage, and death – which is an important concept in many societies. It was also quite convenient to have a three-cup set, as when I held my small unconventional tea ceremony at home, there was a grand total of three people that would be drinking the tea.

For this little ceremony, I sat everyone down on some cushions on the floor and opened up the windows to let the fresh breeze come in. I boiled the kettle and after about two minutes, brought it into the room with me, where I filled the teapot with the slightly cooled kettle water and the tea leaves. We tried four different teas throughout the ceremony, and each time I made sure that we drank slowly, first inhaling the scent, inspecting the colours of the tea and watching how the leaves unfurled, and finally letting the tea roll over the tongue. An hour later, we had each tried several cups of each tea, and the slow pace and almost meditative process of drinking meant that we all felt a little more relaxed by the end of it.

The cups were great as they are quite a neutral colour, meaning that we were able to accurately take in the colour of the tea. The set isn’t too heavy, meaning that when I had to leave Aberystwyth a week later, I was able to bring it home with me, keeping it on my person so that I could make a brew the second I got in. I can’t quite express just how much I love this tea set, but can promise that I will be using it for all of my unconventional tea ceremonies in the future. Thank you so much to Qi for letting me include it!

THE TEA

I decided to pair this beautiful tea set with a selection of tea from T by Daniel. The parcel came with a cute handwritten note, a copy of Daniel’s poetry book, and some of the most gorgeous tea I have ever tasted. The poetry book was filled with inspirational quotes, some surrounding tea, some surrounding Daniel’s life experiences, and it was a pretty interesting read to go through as we tried the teas.

The owners of the business, Daniel and Renata, started the business together a couple years back. Daniel came to the realisation that he wanted to build something great after getting stabbed during his rapping career, and started this tea company ‘mixed between Willy Wonka and Calvin Klein.’ Over the years, the business has grown and grown, and in 2017 they were even invited to serve tea to the Prince of Wales when he visited Canada, to which he said, ‘this is the best tea I’ve ever had!’ If that doesn’t convince you to try out their teas then I really don’t know what will (apart from this post..?).

NIPPON VERT

Origin – cultivated on the Kyushu Island in the Miyazaki prefecture, Japan

Ingredients – organic Japanese green tea (tamaryokucha)

Preparation method – 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 70°C, steeped for 1.5 minutes

Appearance – small dark light and green curled leaves, becomes a pale neon green liquid when brewed

Smell – popcorn kernels, matcha-y, very slight marshy-ness. A toasted rice flavour really comes out after a couple minutes of brewing.

Initial taste – marshy, meaty, roasted, possibly unami. Gets very astringent really quickly when left to brew.

Mouthfeel – very soft and pleasant

After taste – slightly bitter, as though I’ve eaten a stock cube

Overall opinion – As I’m drinking this, I think that it is my favourite out of them all, as it tastes almost exactly like a tea I relished when I lived in BC and then in Alberta. It has a unique scent to it, almost as though a Sunday dinner has been liquified, and it has a very pleasant salty-sweet flavour. The shape of these leaves are different to most other teas, as it is more foetus- and comma-shaped than the typical needle-like shape. It tastes a little like genmaicha.

This tea is said to help with increased energy, focus, and alertness, and I think is perfect to start off a morning, or savour during mid-day when energy levels have began to drop.

WOW! OOLONG TEA

Ingredients – Oolong tea, nougat bits, almonds, honey, vanilla, natural flavour

Preparation method – 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 90°C, steeped for 3 minutes.

Appearance – dark, rolled leaves. In water it become a pale green liquid and the leaves blossom and stretch out.

Smell – very enticing! Popcorn-y, sweet, rich

Initial taste – almond-y, sweet, like a liquid cookie, soft, no bitterness

Mouthfeel – smooth and pleasant

After taste – like a lollipop

Overall opinion – Okay okay okay, I know that I said that the first tea was my favourite, but as I am sat here re-trying this Iron Goddess tea, I’m finding myself stuck between the two. In general, I think that oolongs are my favourite type of tea, so I was a little biased to begin with. This tea is very sweet, and tastes a little like popcorn.

I think that this is the perfect tea for having after dinner, as it tastes like a dessert. I have also found myself drinking it before doing yoga or going on a walk, as it helps with boosting the metabolism and making you more focused and alert.

SIAM NOIR HONG CHA

Origin – Chiang Rai, Northern Thailand. Organically cultivated at 1,300 m

Ingredients – organic Thailand black tea, burnt honey, figs, plum

Preparation method – 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 90°C, steeped for 3 minutes

Appearance – long, black curled leaves with a reddish tint. Becomes a golden liquid when brewed.

Smell – earthy, faintly smokey

Initial taste – black tea with a sweet kick at the end. Subtle. Earthy, mineral, fresh.

Mouthfeel – full-bodied, pleasant

After taste –  disappears instantly with no astringency.

Overall opinion – I have never been a big fan of black tea, but I found myself falling in love with this one. It is quite a subtle taste, and the sweet kick and faint plum flavour really helps draw it together to create a perfectly curated black tea.

Not only does it taste good, but the caffeine in it also gives me a little boost of energy and confidence, and I have started to drink it before I interview famous explorers over Zoom. Not only does it give me this little energy boost, but it is apparently also beneficial as a cortisol cutter, helping you to tone back on your stress hormone. What more could you need during an international lockdown?

FLU WHO? HERBAL TEA

Ingredients – cassia, lemongrass, coconut, pineapple, cardamom, ginger, pink pepper, cloves, natural flavour

Preparation method – 1tsp of leaves per cup, water brewed at 100°C, steeped for 5 minutes.

Appearance – you see all of the ingredients clearly, the cloves, lemongrass, small red berries. Becomes a very pale yellow liquid when brewed.

Smell – very strong, citric, clean, a little like chest rub to clear sinuses

Initial taste – lemon-y and sharp. Warm and clean. I imagine it would be quite refreshing to have cold.

Mouthfeel – soft and subtle

After taste – slightly citrus-y

Overall opinion – I’ll be honest, this isn’t a tea that you drink everyday. The flavours and smells are all very strong, and whilst they work very well together, they’re a bit much to just kick back and sip whilst watching Netflix. However, I was feeling a little run down a couple weeks ago and drank this tea to see if it would help, and man, it was completely what I needed. It helped to lift my spirits, flush out my sinuses, help me relax, and it also tasted delicious. I think that it’s perfect for when you’re a little under the weather, as you need something strong so that you can taste all of the flavours and rest assured that it’s doing good. Apparently, it is also good for digestion relief – perfect for someone like yours truly who has Crohn’s Disease.

And so, that concludes my very unconventional tea ceremony, with high-quality, delicious tea, and a beautiful tea set to go with it. The whole experience felt pretty luxurious – but then again, the opportunity to really slow down and take time for yourself is pretty much a luxury in itself nowadays.

If you have any questions about this ceremony or just want to talk about how beautiful the tea set is, please let me know in the comments below!

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