| Before the end of 2001, Kam thought compressed tea is
low grade tea packed for easy storage. And compressed tea is something the Tibetans drink
as a from of beverage, not anything of interest for those who seeks the way of
tea.
Pu'er is a favorite tea used for
compressed tea. It's also a common dim sum restaurant tea. It sits in the background while people chat and have yummy dim
sum and the tea gets uncomfortably dark after staying in the teapot for a
while. Kam has never considered Pu'er something he would enjoy in it's own
right.
At the beginning of 2002, a friend of Kam's insisted Kam taking him to the tea ally's shop to get some nice Pu'er.
With a little reluctance, they went.
All the high grade Pu'er (loose leaf
version) at the tea shop couldn't keep Kam from watching the clock with
half-opened eyes. "Are you done Mr. Friend? Pu'er is just not my cup
of tea" mumbled Kam. Then the tea ally pulled his secret weapon - a Pu'er tea
cake which has been aged for a few years.
First impression was good as the
color of the tea made from the tea cake looked clear and, well, very tea-ish.
Kam took a sip and found the tea smooth, natural, and thick. W-O-W! Best
of all, this compressed version of Pu'er doesn't get dark after taking a
long bath in the teapot. For the first time in history, Kam gets to
understand why Pu'er is the love of so many tea drinkers.
All the bad impressions about
compressed tea and Pu'er are gone. Kam was just not drinking the right
version of Pu'er in the first half of his existance. And consider some tea
addicts paying the price of a brand new Honda Civic for an age tea cake,
compressed tea got to be not too bad an idea.
So there Kam starts to rediscover
compressed tea and Pu'er. |
