Autumn Chaxi

POLSKI 한국어

The Chinese word 'chaxi' (茶席) could be translated as 'a place to make tea'. I first came across the concept of Chaxi while reading the Tea Masters blog. It inspired me a lot and I decided to start arranging my own Chaxi. I like the idea that it should reflect the season, the weather, my own mood.

It is autumn now and so I needed something related to this season and used two little pumpkins and a chestnut istead of a flower composition in a vase. At first I intended to find a piece of fabric which would correspond to the natural elements but while I was looking for it I found something I had forgotten a long time ago - a set of trayclothes hand made by my Grandmother many years ago. Moreover, they have a shape of chestnut leaves, and I do not think I could ever find anything more suitable for my autumn Chaxi.

But using my Grandmother's clothes was not easy. Usually, while arranging Chaxi, a Chabu (茶布, teacloth) is used and usually Chabu has an easy to arrange rectangular shape. My cloths with their leafy shape were a bit of a problem. Eventually I decided to use the biggest cloth for my gaiwan, the chahai and my tea cup (I was drinking on my own) and I used the little cloths for the pumpkin composition, for tea utensils, for the tea container etc.

While trying to use pieces of tea ceramics which could suit most I decided to use a gaiwan and a chahai from one tea set. They look like Yixing but are definitely everything but not Yixing (telling from the price). 

The tea I was drinking using this Chaxi was a Chinese red tea (aka black tea in the West) Keemun Mao Feng, a perfect choice for this time of year. Arranging my Chaxi itself was so enjoyable that I will definitely start doing it more often :)

Wonder Tea z Nepalu *Wonder Tea from Nepal

Zima dobiegła końca, ale ja nadal czuję, że jeszcze za wcześnie na regularne picie zielonej herbaty. Na szczęście trafiła mi się herbata, która ogrzewając mnie, pomogła mi w spokoju obserwować zmianę pór roku. 

*Winter is over but I still feel it is too early to drink green tea regularly. Luckily, I found tea which has kept me warm and helped me watch the change of seasons quietly.

Jakiś czas temu, gdy wraz z innymi herbaciarzami kupowałem herbatę na targu ze zdrową żywnością, natknąłem się na stoisko Čajografii, dystrybutora herbaty, o którym nigdy wcześniej nie słyszałem. Mili państwo dali nam do powąchania próbki swoich herbat i wybór był naprawdę trudny, ale ponieważ moglem sobie pozwolić tylko na jedno opakowanie herbaty, zdecydowałem się na Wonder Tea z Nepalu.

Wonder Tea pochodzi z plantacji Nawa Arya Tara i jest herbatą z letniego zbioru. Widać w niej wiele jasnych tipsów, najmłodszych pąków liściowych pokrytych delikatnym meszkiem. Liście są ciemne, luźno zwinięte.

Herbata z Nepalu jest blisko spokrewniona z herbatami Darjeeling, dlatego warto ją parzyć nieco ostudzoną wodą. Ja używam wody o temperaturze 85-90 stopni. Pierwsze parzenie trwa u mnie 3 minuty, próbowałem też krótszych, ale 3 minuty dają w moim odczuciu lepsze rezultaty. Podobnie było też w przypadku innych herbat z Nepalu, jakie miałem okazję pić.

*The other day while I was buying tea on a slow food market together with other tea enthusiasts, I came across Čajografia, a tea seller which I had never heard of before. The nice couple let us try the fragnance of different tea samples and it was a tough choice. Because I could only afford to buy one package of tea I decided to have Wonder Tea from Nepal.

Wonder Tea comes from Nawa Arya Tara tea garden and was harvested in summer. You can see many fair tips, the youngest leave buds covered with hairs. The leaves are dark, slightly curled.

Tea from Nepal is related to Darjeeling Tea so it is good to allow the water to cool down a bit before steeping. I use water at 85-90 degrees Celsius. The first steeping takes 3 minutes, I have tried shorter steepings but I feel 3 minutes ensure the best results. The same was with other Nepali teas I have tried before.

Liście już w opakowaniu pachną pięknie, słodko, jakby egzotycznym drewnem. Po przesypaniu do ogrzanego czajniczka ich zapach jest jeszcze intensywniejszy.

Napar jest jasny, klarowny, złoto-bursztynowy i pięknie pachnie. A smak? Rewelacyjny, jednocześnie wyraźny i niebywale delikatny, to zaskakujące połączenie. Byłem nim urzeczony. Już pierwszy łyk sprawia, że można zapomnieć o całym świecie, odkłada się na bok wszystko inne i zatapia w ciszy. To idealna herbata na poranne herbaciane medytacje.

*The leaves give a tremendous smell when still in the package, it is sweet, reminds me of exotic wood. After being put into a warmed up tea pot, their smell is even stronger.

The infusion has a clear, fair colour, it is golden-amber and smells wonderful. And the taste? Brilliant, distinct and delicate at the same time, a surprising combination. I was fascinated. The very first sip makes you forget the whole world, put aside everything else and fall into silence. It is a perfect tea for morning tea meditation.

Kolejny raz trafiłem na wyśmienitą herbatę z Nepalu, do której na pewno będę wracać.

*Once again I tried excellent tea from Nepal and I will definitely buy it again.