Experiencing Tea - Wrong Fu Cha

„Some more obvi­ous man­i­fes­ta­tions of cha qi are a heat­ing or cool­ing of the extrem­i­ties (eg, sweaty palms when drink­ing a ‘warm­ing’ tea like aged puerh or heav­ily roasted oolong), a flush­ing of the face, or a mea­sur­able change in mood. In a small group, tea can either lead to deep con­ver­sa­tion, giddy laugh­ter, or con­tem­pla­tive silence.“

„Mr. Gao showed us how to identify gu shu (ancient tree) tea leaves by looking at their texture, rubbing them between your fingers, and eating them raw. Old tea trees produce thicker, more leathery leaves that don’t easily come apart when you rub them. And gu shu buds should be white & shiny. When you chew them, the flavor is very bitter but there is also a strong sweet fragrance, and the juice is relatively easy to swallow. Tai di cha (terrace plantation tea) is also bitter but with a strong, lasting astringency on the sides & front of the tongue, and the juice is harder to swallow.“