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You Zi Cha - Holy Mountain Tea Court
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Wesley Neal Williams
Dec 17, 2001, 4:47:47 PM12/17/01
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Well, I did manage to scrape together the $60.00 necessary to purchase this
rather unusual tea from Holy Mountain Trading Company called You Zi Cha. It
is an aged oolong from Yunnan province, inside the skin of a pomelo. The
pomelo skin is wrapped in wires to keep its shape, I'm guessing. I find
myself wondering what to call this 'thing'.. is it a cake tea? Well, it
sort of is.. The pomelo skin itself, darkened by age, gives off a mild
semi-musty citrus aroma. It looks something like an overgrown, dark
softball. A small round has been cut in the top of the pomelo skin, looking
much like the incision you might make to take the top off a pumpkin to
remove its insides. I'm guessing this was done, then the fruit itself was
removed, leaving the hollow skin. I thought this top part might just lift
off, but it was securely stuck to the insides of the pomelo skin. Prying
with a big spoon finally got it loose, along with a few of the leaves
inside. The leaves inside are compacted into a solid mass. I couldn't get
any of them loose with my fingers. They are a dark brown in color. I used
the same spoon and scraped away at the compacted leaves, managing to get
some of them loose, though most of them were pulverized by this action. I'm
wondering whether I should just take a hammer to the thing.
Holy Mountain's website, in describing this tea, says that it is often
brewed with pieces of the broken pomelo skin. So I chipped away a few small
pieces of the skin with my trusty spoon and added them, along with the
roughly 1 teaspoon of broken and pulverized leaves, to the basket of my
Chatsford mug.
I filled the mug with water just under the boiling point and steeped the
leaves for about 2.5 minutes. The resulting brew was rather dark brown and
mildly fragrant of citrus. The taste of the liquor was a really surprising
delight. I can't say it tastes much like any oolong I've had before, but
taking the experience for what it is, I'd say it's a silky-smooth,
easy-to-drink, delicately mild tea, very gently flavored by the pomelo skin,
with the very slightest hint of earthiness in aroma and taste. There is
also a hint of toastiness and woodiness. I am quite impressed with this
tea, especially after having tasted a few pu-erh teas lately. I realize
this tea might not qualify as a real pu-erh, but it's definitely the most
enjoyable aged tea I've found to date.
rather unusual tea from Holy Mountain Trading Company called You Zi Cha. It
is an aged oolong from Yunnan province, inside the skin of a pomelo. The
pomelo skin is wrapped in wires to keep its shape, I'm guessing. I find
myself wondering what to call this 'thing'.. is it a cake tea? Well, it
sort of is.. The pomelo skin itself, darkened by age, gives off a mild
semi-musty citrus aroma. It looks something like an overgrown, dark
softball. A small round has been cut in the top of the pomelo skin, looking
much like the incision you might make to take the top off a pumpkin to
remove its insides. I'm guessing this was done, then the fruit itself was
removed, leaving the hollow skin. I thought this top part might just lift
off, but it was securely stuck to the insides of the pomelo skin. Prying
with a big spoon finally got it loose, along with a few of the leaves
inside. The leaves inside are compacted into a solid mass. I couldn't get
any of them loose with my fingers. They are a dark brown in color. I used
the same spoon and scraped away at the compacted leaves, managing to get
some of them loose, though most of them were pulverized by this action. I'm
wondering whether I should just take a hammer to the thing.
Holy Mountain's website, in describing this tea, says that it is often
brewed with pieces of the broken pomelo skin. So I chipped away a few small
pieces of the skin with my trusty spoon and added them, along with the
roughly 1 teaspoon of broken and pulverized leaves, to the basket of my
Chatsford mug.
I filled the mug with water just under the boiling point and steeped the
leaves for about 2.5 minutes. The resulting brew was rather dark brown and
mildly fragrant of citrus. The taste of the liquor was a really surprising
delight. I can't say it tastes much like any oolong I've had before, but
taking the experience for what it is, I'd say it's a silky-smooth,
easy-to-drink, delicately mild tea, very gently flavored by the pomelo skin,
with the very slightest hint of earthiness in aroma and taste. There is
also a hint of toastiness and woodiness. I am quite impressed with this
tea, especially after having tasted a few pu-erh teas lately. I realize
this tea might not qualify as a real pu-erh, but it's definitely the most
enjoyable aged tea I've found to date.
WNW
Wesley Neal Williams
Dec 17, 2001, 4:50:48 PM12/17/01
to
Good grief.. where is my mind today? It's Holy Mountain TRADING COMPANY.
Sorry, Rae. ;)
Sorry, Rae. ;)
WNW
"Wesley Neal Williams" <dra...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
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Bill
Dec 17, 2001, 10:37:58 PM12/17/01
to
Good lord! You put this in your mouth and ate it? The description
sounds disgusting.
Bill
Wesley Neal Williams
Dec 17, 2001, 11:08:50 PM12/17/01
to
How many pu-erh teas have you seen or tasted? I didn't *eat* the tea, of
course... I drank the resulting brew. Compared to the other pu-erh teas
I've sampled, this one is delicious.
Still, fresh green teas remain my favorite kind.
course... I drank the resulting brew. Compared to the other pu-erh teas
I've sampled, this one is delicious.
Still, fresh green teas remain my favorite kind.
WNW
"Bill" <billma...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:3c1eb9cd...@news.earthlink.net...
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