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Patina development of Yixing pots

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Every yixing pot collector probably would have heard of the legend of seasoning yixing pots, that the longer you use it, one day, by just adding hot water to the pot, you can get tea! It is a myth and a huge misconception, partially due to poor translations of chinese texts. The original historical phrase… [Read More…]

Bad incense or tea day

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Recently I came upon a post from someone on a forum that he had a bad tea day despite having followed the exact same procedures in the preparation, from the water quality, to the boiling, to the pot, to the quantity of tea leaves in weight, same steep duration etc, and the tea was not… [Read More…]

Kyarazen Handmade incense sticks

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Having had purchased and sampled and studied countless incenses from all sorts of origins over the years, it soon became a personal challenge to create incenses that are both artistically inspired, and olfactorily able to match up to commercially available premium incenses. Painting images for others by the scent of a burning incense stick is a personal… [Read More…]

Happy Year of the Goat!

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Happy Lunar New Year to all readers! Wishing everyone good health, prosperity, wellbeing and lots of excellent olfactory joys in the Year of the Goat!

Kyarazen is on Instagram!

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although KZ is not really on social media, I had created an instagram account just for the fun of it and so that readers/friends can get regular updates on what Kz’s up to. you can find kyarazen here at : http://instagram.com/aloeswoods/  

How the Structure of Water affects tea

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We all know that the dissolved ions in water, i.e. iron, sodium, potassium, chlorides, carbonates etc affect the taste of the water. But apart from the usual chemical composition of water, there’s another lesser discussed aspect that also affect water and its taste, the physical structure of water! Water’s chemical formula is H2O, which means… [Read More…]

Wabi Sabi and the concept of Wu Wei

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I was inspired to write this article when I had the fortune of viewing, and handling a 供春 “Gong Chun” Yixing pot made by Jiang An Qing (1920s). No pictures though, in respect of the owner’s preferences. Amongst the opinions of high end Yixing collectors in the world, no one could make a Gong Chun… [Read More…]

A Eulogy for Mr Lee

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  As briefly translated : Chairman of the Singapore’s Collectors Society, Catholic high school alumni consultant, Mr Lee Teng Kian passed away peacefully on the 27th of November 2014, 6pm, at the age of 85. His children and grandchildren were present at his passing. He is survived by his wife, five children, and many grand… [Read More…]

Chaozhou Gongfu Tea Brewing Method

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This is the fourth article of the Methods of Tea Brewing series. Teochew Nang, Ka Ki Nang, Pah Si Boh Xiang Gang! 潮州人，家己人, 打死不相干. Its a funny greeting but if you are of Chaozhou heritage use it whenever you encounter a stranger from Chaozhou, there’s this immediate bond forged, a sense of good will and friendship. The phrase… [Read More…]

Shao An Brewing Method for Tea

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This is the third article of the Methods of Tea Brewing series. The Shao An style of brewing is most commonly seen in Shao An, Nanrui, Xi Nan areas of Fujian. It is usually employed in the brewing of heavy roasted or aged oolongs, and more commonly seen to be used with pots that are single… [Read More…]

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