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“古人说: 要积了三辈子的阴德，才能闻得奇楠香, 要八辈子修来的福气，才可品或饮用奇楠香。”

Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 3 – A Tea Maker that cannot be helped

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This is Part 3 of the Wuyi Cliff Tea Series. Read Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 1 and Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 2 - Complexities here. It all started with a canister of tea (containing 75 grams) in a hand-beatened/hammered tin container. Tea leaves enclosed in calligraphy rice paper, sealed with a sticker with an image of a handsome, scholarly chinese man. It was a tea brought back by my student, the price tag was hefty, and always, such prices always hit my "skepticism" nerve, and also made me worry that my student might have been ripped off. Carefully weighing out six grams, into a thin walled Jingdezhen egg shell porcelain gaiwan, fresh water off the boil, intense and hurried steeps, and as the first gust of the tea's aromatics hit everyone........ It was the first Cliff Tea I had ever had, that had an intense siberian musk note, leading on complex florals and heavy mineral notes. For the "qigong" practitioners and others whom had greater sensitivity present at the tasting, the tea was a ... [Read More...]

Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 2 – Complexities

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This is Part 2 of a series on Wuyi Cliff Tea. Read Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 1 and Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 3 - A Tea Maker that cannot be helped. Why and How is Wuyi Tea "complex" today? It is hard to summarize everything into a single sentence, but I'll let the photos take you on the journey to understand this issue. This Year, it was published in an inflight magazine that Rou Gui from Niu Lan Keng went up to 96,000 RMB for 1 Jin (500g). They call it Niu Rou or (Beef), whereas today we're on a climb up to Ma You Yan (Horse Head Cliff) which is also famous for Rougui that they call Horse Meat. Just tens of meters up the path and one can see some bushes with a signboard that has a Company name on it, claiming ownership. And so this is the larger patch which is not very far from the beginning of the climb. All Rougui Bushes. Strangely lush green when they should be dull green during this season. As you can see problem number 1.. there is just only so many bushes.. how can a Company, ... [Read More...]

Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 1

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This is Part 1 of a series on Wuyi Cliff Tea. Read about Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 2 - Complexities and Wuyi Cliff Tea Part 3 - A Tea Maker that cannot be helped.   There are 36 peaks at the Wuyi Mountains, and 99 valleys are formed by these ... [Read More...]

KZ ventures into oils

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We at the KZ team had been deliberating this for a very very long time. Every time we meet a trader, a merchant, a supplier, a distiller, a farmer, we see a diverse range of wares to which we are incredibly selective and meticulous. Part to why ... [Read More...]

  • A companion in the deep of the night #guqin #古琴
  • Kyara. Approxirately one kilogram. #agarwood #kyara #kynam #沉香 #奇楠 #2088tea
  • Mysore sandalwood, occassionally in a log of old growth heartwood, at then region near the base of the tree one can find some shimmery figured patterns. Sinking, high resination and aesthetically beautiful, excellent scent, what more can one ask for in the sandalwood world? #sandalwood
  • Deer horn bones are ground into a fine powder and added to the lacquer of a guqin. This enhances the tonal qualities of the instrument and renders the surface hard and resistant to wear and tear. #guqin #music
  • A real pain to make. Coarse grained mysore sandalwood incense with low binder, rendering the incense breaking easily during extrusion and when dried it is curiously flexible! A bold and rich sandalwood profile. #incense #sandalwood #kyarazen
  • The tranquility of dusk. #tranquility #dusk