Author: Evan

Tasting Gaoshan Xiaozhong from Laoximen

While I was cleaning up my bookshelf, I found a notebook with a bunch of told tea notes. My goal is to post the notes so I can finally recycle the notebook and clear up some space. The notes are pretty bare compared to what I use now but I’d still like to share them. This is a great opportunity to reacquaint myself with my older teas by tasting them again, if possible. I haven’t done a re-tasting of this gaoshan xiaozhong yet, but I remember I didn’t like it very much. They came from my “tea lady” in Laoximen Tea City. I’ve since learned that her tea’s quality is questionable.

 

Tea: According to the seller, this tea is “gaoshan xiaozhong /高山小种.” Though her explanation was not very clear (or at least, I didn’t quite understand it), I believe she meant that this is a high mountain variety of lapsang souchong (“zhengshan xiaozhong/正山小种” in Mandarin). I couldn’t find anything called gaoshan xiaozhong online or in my Chinese tea books so I had to use powers of deduction to figure out exactly what I was drinking.

 

Typically, lapsang souchong comes from Wuyi Mountain in Fujian province. However, the alternative Chinese name for lapsang is “lishan xiaozhong/立山小种,” which leads me to believe the tea may also come from Li Mountain (not to be confused with Li Mountain in Taiwan). Li Mountain is still in the same neighborhood as Wuyi Mountain, so I believe both are very plausible origins. Since “gaoshan” simply means “high mountain,” it makes sense to me that this tea came from a higher altitude than ordinary lapsang, regardless of which mountain it came from. High mountain tea is usually low-yield and generally has a more bold aroma and flavor profile. People usually refer to certain Taiwanese oolong teas as “gaoshan;” I’ve never heard anyone describe black tea as “gaoshan” before. 

Lapsang souchong is either smoked (yan/烟) or unsmoked (wu yan/无烟). Based on the flavor, I assume this lapsang is unsmoked. “Xiaozhong” means small leaf, which is a bit counterintuitive because xiaozhong teas actually come from larger leaves. The “small” must refer to the leaves’ position on the plant. Xiaozhong leaves are picked near the bottom of the branch, rather than the top. Leaves near the top of the plant are more valuable and flavorful. “Small leaf” is a pretty common descriptor for black tea. That said, “xiaozhong” rarely finds its way into a tea’s name, so teas called “xiaozhong” almost always belong to the lapsang family.

 

In short, I believe this tea is a high-altitude black tea from one of Fujian Province’s two major tea mountains.

 

Company: Because I bought this tea from Laoximen Tea City, it does not belong to any specific company.

Price per Gram: According to my February 2018 Tea Haul post, I bought Gaoshan Xiaozhong for roughly 1 RMB per gram (about $0.15 per gram at current market rate). 

Brewing Method:  I didn’t write brewing notes for this tea, but based on how I usually brew lapsang, I most likely used 95 – 100 degree water and brewed for 30 seconds. Then I probably added 10 – 15 seconds for each brew thereafter.

 

Appearance & Smell of the Leaf: Gaoshan Xiaozhong’s dry leaves were long, thin and twisted. They were dark brown with just a few highlights. The dry leaves had the aroma of a typical black tea. It smelled a bit like chocolate with some higher, sweeter notes on top. Whereas many black teas have a deep, hearty fragrance that really gets in your chest, I noticed that gaoshan’s aroma was very shallow. There were hints of dried apricot.

 

First Steep: My tasting notes simply say “underwhelming, flat.” I wrote that Gaoshan Xiaozhong did not have a strong aftertaste. It was rather sour and frankly, almost as bad as a teabag.  The wet leaves were a lighter brown than the dry leaves. Brewing the tea also dampened the high notes, giving the tea a much darker aroma. I detected soapy flavors with a hint of sweet potato. The tea liquor was bright orange. On my second or third cup, the tea started to taste like pickle juice to I poured it out.

 

Though I didn’t like this tea very much, I enjoyed the journey of trying to figure out exactly what it was. How do you all usually figure out what your mystery teas are?

 

 

State of the Arc #14: A Rocky Month

I know people like to joke that January and February 2018 were long months, but for me September seems to have lasted forever. I’ve been battling myself this month, so I haven’t been as productive as I would have liked. I managed to get a little bit of reading done, just not as much as I’d hoped. I also didn’t request many ARCs, but I found a super old ARC on my bookshelf while I was rearranging it. I got it back in high school, before I even knew what an ARC was. It’s a “Black Widow” spinoff by the author of Beautiful Creatures (Margaret Stohl). I think it’s just an excerpt, so I’ll probably glance through it some day.

 

Here’s a side by side comparison of my August and September ARC graphs. I switched from Infogram to Canva because I create all my other graphics in Canva anyway. It made sense to put my graphs there.

state of the arc 13 graphic

state of the arc 14 chart

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I gained quite few more ARCs (I suddenly got approved for a bunch of books I forgot I even requested), I also managed to read two. I’ll review both The Library Book (Susan Orlean) and Well-Read Black Girl (Gloria Edim et al. ) in October, a few days prior to their publication dates.

 

I don’t have anymore 2018 ARCs, so now I can focus on reading old ones. My goal this month is to finish two currently-unfinished books, then I’d like to read something on my ever-growing TBR list. I picked up Han Kang’s “Human Acts” and I’ve had Ian Reid’s “I’m Thinking of Ending Things” forever. Both are short, so I’m hoping to finish them. If I have time, I’d like to read some of the chapbooks that have been sitting on my shelf since God knows when.

 

I only managed to get two reviews out this month. One book was awesome (This Burns my Heart, Samuel Park) and the other was awful (My Hijab, My Identity, Sadaf Farooqi). I’m still sitting on a huge pile of high-star reviews. Now I have not only a to-be-read list, but also a to-be-reviewed list, haha.

this burns my heart cover image
Simon & Schuster, 2011. 322 pages
my hijab, my identity cover
Amazon Digital Services, 2018. 44 Pages.

 

Here’s the shortlist of what I read in September:

I don’t plan on reviewing Maisie Dobbs,  but I certainly recommend it. It’s about a female private eye in England in the 1920s. A lot of Goodreads reviewers deem her “too perfect,” but I only see an incredibly intelligent woman who learned quickly and followed her intuition. Dhe’s kind, outgoing, and never forgets where she came from. She is always grateful to those who helped her move up in life. Besides the character herself, the interwoven plots themselves are interesting. There’s the story of how Maisie became a private eye, there’s a story of forbidden love, there are tales of The Great War and there’s case she’s solving, which leads to unexpected ends. I listened to the audiobook, which really helped bring the story to life.

 

My wish for a purple ARC came true, but I haven’t reviewed it yet so I won’t include it in the BINGO until next month. As a result, my BINGO is the same as last month.

State of the ARC BINGO

Writing this post actually made me feel a little better about my “failed” month. I’ve been in a low mood lately, and generally overwhelmed with life. Despite this, I still managed to read three books and post two reviews (as well as a tea tasting). I think I’m actually getting better at becoming a functional human being. T_T

As usual, I’m going to direct you to Avalinah’s Bookspace so you can read her post and see who else linked up with the meme. You can also join in if you’d like!  If you’ve read anything I’ve mentioned today, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Should I give Sadaf Farooqi another chance?

This Burns my Heart: It Hurts so Good

this burns my heart cover image
Simon & Schuster, 2011. 322 pages

 Title: This Burns my Heart

Author: Samuel Park

Synopsis: Simon and Schuster already made a video that sums the novel up perfectly.

 

Book Trigger Warnings: emotional abuse, domestic violence, kidnapping, domestic servitude, dystfunctional family

Rating: 5 stars!!

First Impression upon Finishing:   I am completely and utterly destroyed.

 

The Review:   This Burns my Heart delivers on its promise. The story begins with Soo-Ja wanting to get away from her controlling father. In the 1950s and 1960s, South Korea still followed a Confucian family system. Families favored sons over daughters, and daughters were the property of their fathers before becoming the property of the men in their husband’s family. South Korean society considered women who lost their virginity before marriage to be”spoiled.” Women who could not bear sons meant nothing.

 

Soo-Ja had plan to escape her father, but that plan quickly falls apart (in large part due to her father) and Soo-Ja hastily forms a plan B. Her only chance of being recognized as her own person rested in her ability to marry well. However, she makes a rash decision and jumps into a marriage she really shouldn’t have. The marriage continued to be the source of her agony (through various means) until the end of the book.

 

When the reader first meets Min Lee (the “supporting” character of the novel), we’re deceived into believing he’s a sweet, awkward boy. We see the same side of Min that Soo-Ja sees. Very quickly, though, his problematic behavior and his general incompetency come to light. By the time Soo-Ja was ready to marry him, I was bracing myself for the worst. I knew nothing good could come of them being together.

 

I completely understood Soo-Ja’s motivations. After all, I’m doing the same thing right now. Still, I was angry with her lack of planning and her execution. She claimed to be smart, yet she let her desperation get the best of her and made foolish decisions. She assumed she could mold a “guileless” boy to her will, which is a statement to her arrogance at the time. It didn’t take her long to realize her mistake, but she couldn’t divorce Min Lee without losing a part of herself. After realizing her situation was hopeless, she decides to try to love him, but in the process she tangles the rest of her family into her messy life.

 

I was angry with Soo-Ja until the middle of the book, when my hatred of Min Lee took over. Soo-Ja and Min Lee had a daughter to worry about; Soo-Ja couldn’t afford to make mistakes. By then, she had learned to better control her emotions when making decisions. By then, she’d also been tread upon by every one of her family members except her mother and daughter.

 

Min Lee was weak-willed and manipulative. Part of me understood his attitude towards Soo-Ja and Hana had a lot to do with the way he was raised. Min Lee’s father was even more abusive that Soo Ja’s father. While some people grow up unaware of their abuse and are therefore unable to fully heal from it, Min Lee knew his father was a horrible person. However, he’d been so brainwashed into being the perfect Confucian son that his ability to heal was greatly limited.

 

After the midpoint, my hatred softened to pity, and I wholeheartedly wanted to see Soo-Ja finally start winning, but Park did not yield. She experienced massive character growth, but Park kept dealing blows to my soul. He strung my along until the every end, and even the ending felt… wrong. Yet, but the time I got there, I was so happy Soo-Ja got ~something~.  Park took us through tales of fleeing the war, through abusive alcoholic men, through attempted sexual assault, death and bankruptcy before Soo-Ja finally started to “win.” Even still, after being punched in the gut for 300 pages, the last few leaves are a sigh of relief.

 

I HIGHLY recommend reading This Burns My Heart. It was a brutal read, but I literally couldn’t put it down. I read it almost in a single breath. Samuel Park’s posthumous (semi-autobiographical) novel, The Caregiver hit the shelves yesterday (September 25th). Considering Park’s brilliant knack for storytelling, I’m sure The Caregiver will be just as impactful as This Burns My Heart. 

 

I’ d love to hear from any one who’s read Park’s other work. I’d also like to see your recs for similar books. 🙂

 

This Burns My Heart links: Amazon | Thriftbooks | AbeBooks | Goodreads

The Caregiver links: Amazon | Goodreads

Thriftbooks discount code: Click Here

 

 

Mini Review of a Hijab Manifesto

My Hijab, My Identity by Sadaf Farooqi

Rating: 2 stars

my hijab, my identity cover
Amazon Digital Services, 2018. 44 Pages.

First Impression: Two wrongs don’t make a right.

The Review:  I was very excited to finally be able to read something by Farooqi. I’ve been following her blog for a while and she has written thirteen books. In the beginning of this manifesto of sorts, Farooqi says that her book is for people who are wondering about hijab, either because they want to wear it themselves or because they wonder why others wear it. Personally, I chose to read it to see if I could strengthen my own arguments. I often fail to properly vocalize my reasoning, so I figured I might be able to borrow some of her arguments. Due to the harshness of the book, however, I think My Hijab, My Identity does more to turn people away from hijab than to invite them towards it.

 

All throughout the book, Farooqi claims it is unfair for people to make snap-judgement about hijabis. She says that, contrary to popular belief, hijabis are often educated women with sovereignty over their own bodies. Farooqi does not, however, offer the same generous generalization of non-hijabis. She more or less argues that the more women show skin, the less self-respect they have. She seems to argue that they are blind and cannot see how right hijab is.

 

I also found it problematic how often Farooqi related her hijab to interaction with other men. She mentioned men so frequently you’d think they were the reason she wears hijab rather than God. I’m not saying that’s necessarily a bad reason to wear hijab, but I’m displeased that she generalized that reasoning to hijabis as a whole. All of the problematic arguments, combined with the poor writing style, are enough to keep this list firmly off my recommendation list. To be fair, though, I’m giving the book two stars because it’s largely opinion based and I don’t want to be known for judging opinions. If Farooqi used arguments that could easily be proved or disproved, then I might give stars based on the logic of the argument. As it stands, My Hijab, My Identity  is just a 45 page rant.

If you do want to read it, find it on Amazon.

Mystery Tea: Laoximen Milan Xiang

Tea: Milan Xiang  （蜜兰香, Honey Orchid) is a type of fenghuang dancong wulong (single-tree phoenix oolong) from Guangdong Province. Though the Chinese name of the tea typically includes the “honey” character (蜜), sometimes sellers called it use the “rice” character (米) and still others use “secret” (密). As far as I can tell, they’re all the same tea. The Chinese names sound slightly different depending on the character, but it is always romanized to Milan Xiang or Mi Lan Xiang.  Milan Xiang is a subspecies of Shui Xian/ Shui Hsien (水仙), which originates from Fujian Province. Over time, the popularity of the tea caused sellers to grow it all over the place, including Guangdong Province.

 

Company: N/A, I bought the tea at Laoximen Tea City in Shanghai.

Price per Gram: 4 RMB/ ~60 cents per gram, bought “on sale” for 2 RMB/~30 cents per gram (based on current conversion rates)

 

Brewing Method: Normally, I prefer to brew Milan Xiang at 6-8 grams per 100 ml, but I’d had a light lunch when I tasted this, so I decided to brew 5 grams in 100 ml. Brewing it a little weak meant I wouldn’t get as sick from the caffeine. The first steep was for 30 seconds at about 95 degrees Celsius. Each subsequent brew was about 10 seconds longer.

Appearance & Smell of the Leaf:  After heating the teaware, I placed the leaves in the gaiwan and gave it a shake. The leaves smelled like ground coffee. There was a slight hint of dried Chinese bayberry.  As for the appearance, they were a long and twisted with dark chocolate brown color. There were broken bits as well, but those broken leaves most likely came from me shoving the bag of tea into my suitcase unprotected when I returned to my apartment.

Laoximen Milan Xiang Dry leaves
Laoximen Milan Xiang’s dry leaves

First Steep: The aroma transformed from dried coffee grounds to wet ones, and it took on a heavy fruity note. There was also a bit of sourness I find characteristic of Milan Xiang. You could probably compare it to artificial sour apple flavoring, but this fragrance was a bit less sweet. It you were to take sour apple and remove the sweetness, you would have the aroma of Milan Xiang. Although it may sound gross to some, I also detected a bit of a pickle juice smell. The sour apple note was stronger, but the pickle juice sourness was there.

 

The tea liquor was an pink-orange color that wasn’t too dark. When I tasted the tea, I realized it was more floral that fruity. It was much weaker than I’m used to but still satisfying.  There as a little bit of bitterness, but I imagine that came from the broken leaves.

 

Second Steep: The color of the tea was much more distinctly orange and the character started to come out. The roast came to life, giving a stronger coffee flavor. Aerating the tea brought a sweet flavor into the mix. I couldn’t for the life of me identify the floral note. I liked it so much that I wished this Milan Xiang could be a daily drinker, but it was too expensive and I had too little on hand. The huigan (aftertaste) kept rushing forward while I spoke into my phone to take audio notes. It was very intense. Milan Xiang had a medium mouth feel.

 

Third Steep: After the third steep, the leaves had started to open. They had lightened significantly from a deep, soil brown to a color similar to red clay. I also found some stems in the tea, which I was not too happy about. I picked them out and continued brewing. For some reason, the mouthfeel grew thicker rather than thinner. The third steep was almost syrupy in character and just as sweet. The roasted flavor became weaker and the floral/fruity notes became stronger. Basically, the overall flavor profile of the tea stayed the same but the balance shifted. When I played around with the tea in my mouth, it tasted rather soapy (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing). I could see how someone new to tea would enjoy this one.

 

The conclusion: The hole-in-the-wall tea always seems to be the best. I loved this tea so much, and I always love the tea from this seller. The issue is that I can’t buy it often because it’s simply out of my budget. He has a pretty successful business though, and some fairly loyal customers. Clearly they also like his tea and his company. I ended my session after four brews, then I stored the leaves in the refrigerator so I could drink them later.

State of the ARC #13: Productive Procrastination?

This month’s State of the ARC will be more about the state of my TBR. I didn’t read any ARCs, though I did publish two reviews. Unfortunately, I also requested more ARCs so I’m right back to the same number I began with. I’m not mad though, because I managed to grab Leila Aboulela’s Elsewhere Home. Soooo excited to read it. I also nabbed Instructions for a Funeral (David Means), The Library Book (Susan Orlean) and Lies that Bind (Kwame Anthony Appiah). I had some crazy good luck this month.

 

Lies that Bind is already overdude (I requested it super late) but I’ll try to read and review it during September. The Library Book comes out October 16th, so keep an eye out for that one in a couple months. Most of my new acquisitions are going to be published until next year, so I will dedicate the rest of this year mostly to TBR and overdue books.

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I wrote four reviews (click the image to see the review). How to Love a Jamaican earned three stars and was altogether underwhelming. I gave The Namesake five stars and I recommend it to everyone (seriously, read it). The Newcomers was another three-star read for me. The review is on Goodreads for now, but I might actually post it here as well. I finished Persepolis in July, but published the review this month. It was also only a three-star read for me. July was an underwhelming reading month, making August an underwhelming State of the ARC month. September should be much better. The weird layout of the covers is purely accidental, but it looks better than the weirdness I had when trying to get them in a line. I think I really need to learn how to format things on WordPress.

 


the namesake cover

Now for the part I’m most proud of: I read ten whole books this month! I’ll simply list them, because this post is already image heavy. The links lead to Goodreads.

 

Out of these, the only one I loved was The Namesake, but there were a few others on the list that I at least liked and there were two that I absolutely hated. Keep an eye out for reviews here and on Goodreads to find out which ones. I’m definitely reviewing Her Body, The Road, Regiment of Women and Home and Exile here, but I’m not sure about the rest yet.

 

Just looking at that list makes me happy.

 

The last thing I’d like to share today is my State of the ARC BINGO. I’m making progress! I really want to put Song of Blood and Stone  in the “ARC with your favorite color cover” spot, but this is a 2nd-half-the-year BINGO, so I’ll have to find another. SOMEONE GIVE ME PURPLE ARCS PLEASE (or indigo or forest green or spring green).

 

State of the ARC BINGO

 

That’s it for now. If you want to join the meme/ see what it’s about/ read the other State of the ARC posts, stop by Avalinah’s Books!

“TOT”: A Tasty Tiny Orange Tea (2007 Ripe Pu’er)

Tea: Tiny Orange Tea (TOT) 2007 Ripe Pu’er Stuffed Xinhui Mandarin Orange

Company: Bitter Leaf Teas

Price per Gram:  $0.29 ($5 per piece, or $13 for 3-4 pieces)

 

There are no pix for this post, because apparently I didn’t take any good ones… Whoops~

 

Brewing Method: Bitter Leaf’s website has a video  (linked above) showing an optional brewing method, but otherwise left no instructions. Because TOT is both a ripe pu’er and a dried orange, I decided to steep it with 100 degree (Celsius) water. The largest gaiwan I had at the time was around 120 ml. To expose more of the leaves, I took the top of the orange off and cut horizontal slits into the orange rind. The idea was to have the orange act like a filter.  I added 10 -15 seconds to each brew after the first one.

 

Appearance & Smell of the Leaf: It’s….so… small! Bitter Leaf isn’t joking when they say the orange is tiny. A small package doesn’t mean a small aroma though. The fragrance hit my nose as soon as I opened the packed. It smelled like a sweet tart. TOT didn’t smell particularly like dried orange or ripe pu’er. It was oddly sour, but in a good way. I could tell right away it was a mandarin orange by the smell (mandarin oranges are superior oranges, don’t @ me). TOT also smelled similar to “ugly oranges” (丑八怪橘子). The leaves themselves looked like Bitter Leaf’s Black Beauty.  They were pressed into the orange, so of course it was difficult to get a good look at them.

 

First Steep: I rinsed like one would normally rinse a pu’er then steeped for 45 seconds. The aroma of the liquor was sweet yet strangely earthy. It smelled like what I imagine cooking red meat in a roasted oolong would smell like. The liquor was a cloudy, coppery orange. I was super nervous about tasting the tea. Perhaps not surprisingly, the first steep tasted overwhelmingly of orange, with only a hint of pu’er. The flavor was medicinal in character but it wasn’t unpleasant.

 

Second Steep: This steep was about a minute long and I was in love with the color of the resulting tea liquor. The orange gave way to a red, and the coppery tone intensified. The brew was also much more clear than the previous one. As expected, I could taste more of the ripe pu’er in this steep. For some reason, though, this steep came out bitter. I still detected more orange than pu’er, but the pu’er was definitely there (I think that’s where the bitter note was coming from). I was not in love with this brew, but I didn’t hate it either.

 

Third Steep: I brought out another fairness pitcher so I could have one for fresh steeps (the ones I’m writing about in each section) and one for cumulative steeps. I collect the cumulative steeps by pouring the leftover liquid from each brew into a separate vessel, then after a few brews I try the tea from the secondary vessel.  When brewing gongfu style, certain characteristics will come and go depending on the temperature of the water and how long you’ve steeped the tea. Tasting the cumulative brew gives you an “average” of the tea, and is similar to what you would taste when brewing western style.

 

The third steep was incredibly red. When I tasted the third brew, I audibly gasped in surprise. The flavor was so balanced. The orange was no longer dominating, the pu’er was coming into its own and the medicinal note also calmed down quite a bit. There was no more bitterness in the tea. I still detected something I didn’t quite like, but it wasn’t a bad flavor per se.

 

Fourth Steep:  The orange got fat. The leaves were really trying to break free but the orange was not letting it happen. By the fourth steep, the orange color had left the liquor; it was becoming more brown. The tea was swelling to fill the gaiwan. This is the steep that marked the transition from orange to pu’er. The tartness was gone and the soil flavor increased, but the brew was still relatively balanced.

 

Fifth Steep: More surprise: the orange flavor made a strong comeback. It may have been because I was playing with the orange after the previous steep. TOT didn’t blow my mind but I liked it. It’s a nice, casual drinker. I hadn’t brewed a tea for so many steeps in a long time.

 

Sixth – Twelfth Steeps: There was a battle over which flavor would come out on top: ripe pu’er or orange? At times the bitterness was overwhelming, and I noticed that the hotter the water (I had to boil more partway through my tasting) the more bitter the tea. Normally I can’t drink this much tea at once, but because I was only drinking one three-sip cup per steep then pouring the rest into the other pitcher, I could handle it. The orange got so big it was difficult to cover it with water.

 

Around steep nine, I randomly started to think TOT would be great for cold brews and for cooking. It would go great with chicken, fish or tea eggs. I imagine it would also be awesome to stew pork (I cannot verify this) or lamb. Basically, it would be awesome with everything, lol. I imagine it would go well with lemon grass and black pepper, with a bit of garlic.

 

Please don’t take my cooking advice. My food is terrible.

 

For steeps ten – twelve, I took the leaves out of the orange. They were tightly rolled still, and they filled the gaiwan almost completely. There were easily 5 – 7 grams of tea in the orange. TOT’s leaves were the first ripe pu’er I’d had in a year that I actually liked. After brewing the leaves by themselves, I brewed the orange by itself. It tasted like weak candy, but it didn’t have a lot of flavor but itself. Tasting the orange alone, I finally figured out that one of the flavor notes I caught was prickly ash, minus the spice. Prickly ash is technically in the citrus family and I love prickly ash so this is a win.

 

The conclusion: All in all, TOT was pretty awesome. It’s not on my favorites list, but I enjoyed the experience. I’ll most likely buy it again someday. Bitter Leaf’s tea’s international shipping is pretty gui (expensive), though, so I’ll have to wait a while. Besides, I’m craving some Teasenz products right now.

 

 

 

 

 

Wudong Tea: Yulan Xiang（玉兰香）

Tea: Yulan Xiang / Magnolia Fragrance is a type of fenghuang dancong (single tree phoenix oolong).

Company: Wudong Tea/ Chaozhou Tea Growers

Price per Gram: 30 to 34 cents ($15 – $17 per 50 gram packet).

 

Brewing Method: After my last brewing disaster, I decided to find new brewing instructions for the tea. I found something that said to use 2 – 5 grams of tea for 225 ml gaiwans. My gaiwans are typically about 100 ml, so I did some quick math and decided on 3 grams of tea and 95 degree water. I later found the brewing instructions on the seller’s website. They’re similar to the method I used, but they call for a slightly higher leaf-to-water ratio (5 – 8 grams for 120 – 150 ml, depending on preferred strength) and shorter brewing times.

 

yulan xiang dry leavesa

Appearance & Smell of the Leaf: The dry leaves were long and twisted, but not super thin. There were browns, dark moss-green leaves and spring greens. They were relatively unbroken when I received them.

 

I learned that Yulan Xian translates to “magnolia fragrance.” I have no idea what magnolias smell like (to be honest, my repertoire of flowers is super limited). The leaves smelled like artificial grape flavoring and dried apricot. I liked it a lot, and could definitely smell that it was a phoenix oolong.

 

First Steep: I started with a quick rinse. The liquor was light and left me skeptical. I tasted the rinse, just because I wanted to, and I was struck by how thin it was. After the rinse, I brewed the tea for about 1 minute. The wet leaf smelled like cranberry wensleydale cheese and was a lot brighter than the dry leaf. It smelled like my hair product (Kinky Curly Knot Today, which contains things like marshmallow root, slippery elm, mango  fruit extract and some fragrance). The tea liquor was a super pale yellow.

 

When I tasted the tea, I was unimpressed. I didn’t find the tea pleasant at all. It tasted like what I imagine furniture polish must taste like, with a strong baking soda after taste. I could taste notes similar to what I detect in certain tieguanyin (iron goddess) teas. It was very “green” in flavor, but not green enough to be classified a green tea.

 

Second Steep: I meant to add just 15 seconds to the brew, but I wound up adding 30 seconds. This time, the tea liquor was a little furry and was more the color of pale urine. It had more yellow in it than the previous brew. The flavor had not changed all that much. It was very light and I actually started to suspect my water. The flavor of the water came through more than the flavor of the tea.

 

yulan xiang tea liquor

I felt bad because I received these samples for free and I really wanted to like them but they weren’t doing anything for me. I figure that perhaps I just don’t like dancong’s that much. Maybe I can’t enjoy the complex flavors. Later brews were more pleasant than the first two brews, and stronger brews were definitely better.

 

Yulan Xiang was so thin it felt like water, despite the fuzziness. There was also a bit of astringency but not so much that the tea wasn’t refreshing. I guess you could compare the feeling of drinking Yulan Xiang to drinking fresh spring water. I’m drawn to oolongs because of their variety, and I’d love to be able to enjoy something more delicate than my typical cliff tea. One of these day’s I’ll get it, I’m sure. 🙂

 

Actually, I still had about 3.5 grams of Yulan Xiang left, so I brewed it just before writing this post. The larger amount of leaf definitely solved the thinness problem, and the liquor was darker, but my other observations remained pretty much the same. The second time around, however, I found myself better able to enjoy the tea. Perhaps it really is just a matter of getting your taste buds accustomed to the flavor.

 

Despite feeling tepid towards the tea itself, I loved the look of the wet leaves. They totally transformed and were unrecognizable from the shriveled dark leaves I started with. The wet leaves are bright green with some orange-red and brown-red leaves mixed in. They glisten in the relatively clear tea liquor. If anything, this tea is fun to take photos of.

 

Here’s the first tea I tried from Wudong Teas. My impression was not as positive as this one. Would I recommend Yulan Xiang? If you like dancong then yes, this is probably really good. If you’re on the fence about it, perhaps you should stick to more popular and readily available varietals. While some teas can be over hyped, there’s usually a reason one or two teas become more popular than the rest.

yulan xiang in filled gaiwan

 

The Namesake: An Endearing Story of an Indian-American Family

Title: The Namesake

the namesake cover
Mariner books, 2004. 305 pages.

Author: Jhumpa Lahiri

Synopsis: An Indian-American family comes together and discovers their new sense of identity. They create a personal concept of family, and each shapes their lives in and around both Indian and American culture.  Though the story starts off focusing on the parents, it quickly shifts focus to the eldest son.

 

A note:  The Gangulis are culturally Bengali, but I will refer to them as Indian. Bangladesh gained independence from Pakistan in the early 1970s, which means Bangladesh became its own state during the lifetimes of these characters. However, the Gangulis are from Calcutta, meaning they are Indian by nationality. Because I’m writing this review in terms of nationality and citizenship (i.e. American and Indian), I refer to them as either Indian or Indian-American. Some reviews and websites refer to them as Bengali; I believe this is a matter of preference. I failed to find an official reference to the issue. Feel free to comment and let me know if you’ve seen something.

 

Book Trigger Warnings:  train crash and recovery described in detail, PTSD, parent loss, alcohol mentions

Rating: 5 glowing stars

First Impression upon Finishing:   That was so heartwarming!

 

The Review:  The Namesake is a powerful and beautifully written historical fiction novel. Lahiri’s narrative style is easy to read, yet generously (and delicately) decorated. Lahiri provides just the right amount of detail and manages to alter time in such a way that you neither feel rushed nor retarded, despite the obvious quickening and slowing of events in her characters’ lives. Lahiri gracefully switches focus between characters when the situation calls for it, though she mainly writes about Gogol (Nikhil) Ganguli. Gogol eventually changes his “public name” to Nikhil, but Lahiri continues to refer to him as Gogol in the narration, which lends to a sense of familiarity and camaraderie that draws us further into his story.

 

Near the beginning of The Namesake, we see how foreign American culture is to Ashima, and we see her attempts to bridge the gap by cooking (or trying to cook) food she grew up eating. Over time, we see both her and Ashoke (her husband) orienting themselves in American culture, holding fast to their own traditions but in some cases modifying and blending them with new, American habits.  All of this feels organic. Though the elder Gangulis’ integration is sometimes clumsy, it doesn’t come off as a heavy-handed attempt to illustrate immigrant struggles.

 

Gogol and Sonia (the Ganguli children), having been born in America,  are on a quest for assimilation rather than integration. As is often the case with first-generation Americans, Gogol and Sonia reject aspects of their parents’ culture. They speak English between each other and resent their trips “back home” to India. As children they long for french fries and hot dogs more than they crave their mother’s more traditional cooking. Of course, time has a way of changing things.

 

Some people—particularly those who are the first in their families to start a life in a new country—  will find familiarity in Ashoke and Ashima’s story. I, however, found Gogol’s story so relatable it literally hurt. Though my parents and I are all American, we belong to our own southern Black sub-culture. I’m nearly 40 years younger than my parents; I grew up in a very different American than they did. They still retain habits of the Old Days, for better or for worse. Like Gogol, hearing my parents speak anything other than our own vernacular English feels wrong, “off-key.” For Gogol and I, hearing our parents speak our “public names” send shivers down our spine, and it’s impossible not to detect the note of sadness, betrayal and disappointment in their voices whenever they utter them.

 

Having people from outside our cultures meet our parents is another matter entirely. It’s not because we are ashamed, it’s simply because there is usually too much explaining and translating involved. It becomes uncomfortable on our end. By the end of The Namesake, Gogol had progressed further than I have, but he is also about 7 years older than I am.

 

This review is not going in the direction I thought it would.

 

Here’s the thing:  despite the simplicity and straight-forwardness of the plot (Lahiri possesses excellent powers of foreshadowing), The Namesake is an incredibly complicated novel. I can’t recommend it enough because there’s something for everyone. Even if you don’t identify with the characters or the events in their lives, you get to enjoy a heartwarming coming of age story. You get to read an Own Voices novel that doesn’t have much of an agenda. As she has stated in many an interview, Lahiri writes largely as a means to work out some aspect of her own identity. She describes being “culturally displaced… [growing] up in two worlds simultaneously.” While putting this exploration on public display could be interpreted as political action, the politics don’t seem to be at the forefront of her mind.

 

I’d be lying if I said The Namesake will not play with your emotions, but at least it doesn’t leave the reader raw as some stories are wont to do. I felt the ending was a little abrupt, but that’s probably because I really wanted to see Gogol grow further. Nevertheless, the ending satisfied me, and I’m content with this brief but thorough glimpse into his life.

 

I’m not sure whether my review captured both the essence of the novel and my excitement for it, but I highly recommend The Namesake. There’s a movie as well, which I might check out. I loved The Namesake so much that I plan on eventually buying a personal copy so I can access it whenever I like. I’d like to see whether the impact of the novel will change as I myself grow and change.

 

If any of you have read the book, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. If there’s something I missed, let me know!

—–

Looking for more stories about people coming to America and trying to find their way? Check out my review of We Need New Names (5 stars) or How to Love a Jamaican (3 stars).

 

Find The Namesake on Amazon (Free with Kindle Unlimited)| Thriftbooks | Goodreads

Thriftbooks coupon (15% of first order): Click here and use within 2 weeks

 

 

Bitter Leaf Teas: Black Beauty (2009 Menghai Ripe Puer)

Tea:  The company lists Black Beauty as a Gong Ting (imperial) ripe puer (宫廷熟普洱). There is no information as to whether the trees are young or old, but given the price, I suspect the trees are fairly young. The tea had been aged about 10 years by the time I tasted it. There is no other information about the tea on the website.

Company: Bitter Leaf Teas

Price per gram: 18 cents per gram ($4.50 for a 25g sample).

 

Brewing Method:  I followed the brewing instructions on the package. I used 3.3 grams in a 100 milliliter gaiwan and brewed the tea at about 95 degrees Celsius for 3 seconds. I added 3 – 5 seconds for each infusion after that. The flash brewing got a bit tedious, but Bitter Leaf must have had a reason for including those instructions, so I intended to humor them. A small leaf brews faster than a long leaf, and it tends to get bitter. Bitter Leaf tried to save me.

bitter leaf black beauty leaves

 

Appearance of the Leaf: The leaf was surprisingly small. I’m used to very long, elegant leaves so seeing the small pieces was a little off putting. Black Beauty appeared to be made from leaf pieces rather than full leaves. Seeing as I know next to nothing about ripe puer (but I’m learning!) I figured the small leaves are probably okay.

 

Despite the size of the leaf, the colors were quite promising. Black Beauty’s leaves were about the color of milk chocolate, with some light caramel notes mixed in. I didn’t  see any black leaves mixed in, rather, the leaves were all varying shades of brown. They looked like piles of various forest twigs.

 

The leaves smelled like dirt to me, if I’m being perfectly honest. I know that ripe puer is supposed to smell and taste like dried fruit and baked goods and even pudding depending on the type, but for some reason I just can’t smell or taste it. I’ve had only one good ripe puer before, and it was a random hole-in-the-wall shop product. I’ll never find it again. (T_T) I smelled a little bit of fudge on the leaves, but the dry leaves smelled like wet soil. After a quick rinse, the chocolaty notes got stronger, but so did the “soil” smell. The wet leaf smelled more palatable.

 

First Steep

Black Beauty’s liquor was gorgeous. It was a deep brown-red color, something like mahogany. I’ve had red teas (also called black teas) that were a similar color. The liquor simply smelled humid. The flavor was not nearly as bad as the smell. I still tasted the dirt notes, but Black Beauty was incredibly smooth. Still, I don’t think I could call it tasty. It tasted like wood and dirt and furniture polish. I emptied the tea into my tray.

 

Second Steep

The second steep was less abrasive. It was shocking. I like the smoothness of the tea, if not the flavor. The smoothness might get me into ripe puer, but ripe puer still feels like a grandpa tea to me. The session ended  quickly.

bitter leaf black beauty liquor

I really want to understand why people like ripe puer. Of course, I know that not everyone will like everything, but I feel there must be something I’m missing. I won’t give up on it until I’ve thoroughly explored it, but for now I’m going to keep saying that I don’t really like ripe puer.

 

Here’s an older installment of my ripe puer adventures. I loved the company but not the tea: Teasenz Chocobar Puer

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