Welcome to the Summer 2018 offering of the Seasonal Tea Club. I am truly grateful for your support and interest in my vision of sharing special teas, and an introduction to the Way of Tea. I’m currently travelling throughout Eastern China for most of April on an educational trip to learn more about the teas and brewing methodologies from this region.
With each passing year and season, the vastness of the tea world continues to amaze me. How many interests, passions, hobbies or Ways of Life can hold our attention for an entire lifetime, continuously renewing us with an ever-deepening richness? By exploring teas seasonally, we follow patterns and rhythms of Nature that allow us to participate more deliberately in the cosmic succession of birth, growth, harvest and renewal, which has been an important aspect of human experience for millennia. While there are many ways of exploring and enjoying the Leaf, this seasonal focus allows us to connect to something much bigger than us, which in turns imbues our prosaic lives with greater meaning.
In many of the world’s traditions and myths, the repeating circular patterns of the seasons has formed the foundation for rituals that create greater harmony and wisdom for us individually and collectively. I hope that this humble offering supports you in connecting to these timeless rituals, even if comprised of simple Summer morning leaves in a bowl, and some space for reflection.
Living Tea honors the age-old traditions that developed the Way of Tea. These traditions based many of their principles on subtle observations of Nature. By moderating our lifestyles to match the seasons we find in nature, we embrace a central principle of these traditions. A powerful way to live with greater seasonal awareness is to drink teas that match the energies and movements of that part of the year. Through the Tea Club, I offer simple suggestions about how to live in harmony with the season along with information about the teas I’ve chosen and why.
These ideas go back thousands of years, as we can see from one of the first important texts of Taoist medicine, The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Chinese Medicine:
“The transformation of yin and yang in the four seasons is the basis of the growth and the destruction of life. The sages were able to cultivate the yang energy in spring and summer and conserve the yin energy in autumn and winter. By following the universal order, growth can occur naturally. If this natural order is disregarded, the root of one’s life will be damaged and one’s true energy will wane…. The movement of yin and yang creates the rhythm of the seasons and the weather changes, enabling earthly things to manifest in the rhythms of birth in spring, growth in summer, consolidation in autumn, and storage in winter. Possessing this knowledge, people can coordinate their activities around these cycles and benefit by them, since human life is interconnected with its environment, heaven and earth.” (7,23)
May the Leaf lend its quiet power to many moments of insight, joy, and stillness in this Life of Tea. May this offering bring something of real value to your life. While there is a lot to say about tea, the best teachings are conveyed by a quiet cup and the space for reflection and connection with self, others and Nature.
I hope you are delighted with the Summer Collection, comprised of teas that took a rather circuitous path from various parts of Asia to Colorado and now, to you. Also, please subscribe to our Newsletter and follow us on Instagram to stay up to date on tea sessions in Boulder, Colorado and elsewhere this Spring and Summer. I tend to travel a lot with some nice leaves and teaware in my backpack, with the hope that our paths might cross along the way.
The Art of Life in Summer
“In the Summer we gather around campfires, which bring us together, warm us and bring out our mirth... It is the sun shining on our soul that makes us feel pleasure, joy and compassion.”
— Plant Spirit Medicine, Eliot Cowan
While the Spring is the beginning of life, and a time for us to be open and fluid, Summer opens up further into an exchange between internal and external energies. Thus, the campfire is a perfect analogy for the defining qualities of Summer: solar warmth, connection, openness, joy and activity.
During the three months of summer, there is an abundance of sunshine and rain. The heavenly energy descends, and the earthly energy rises. When these energies merge there is an intercourse between heaven and earth. As a result, plants mature and animals, flowers, and fruit appear abundantly.
More than anything, this is a time for humans to spend time outdoors, to connect with one another socially, to move and create, and to stoke the fires of inspiration in their lives. Further, it is a time to work resolutely on the projects that began in the Spring, embracing the connections that these endeavors initiated.
Fire Element and the Summer Season
The element of Summer is Fire, which represents the fire we use to warm ourselves or cook our food as well as the original nature of fire. The ultimate expression of fire is the sun, which allows for increased growth and activity during the summer, as well as the power of creation and creativity.
The Chinese character for fire is a picture of a dancing flame. This is a graphic expression of the expansive movement of fire as it flickers outward from its own center. The fire element includes the spark, the flame, the light and the heat, as well as the dying embers.
It is the energy of Summer, of relationship and blossoming creativity as well as the qualities of spiritual warmth, initiating the impulse and spontaneity that give an organism that ability to expand, to express its true nature and to reach out and connect with others. Joy is fiery. It arises from the heart in the upper chest. Like fire and summer, it is warming, circulating and blossoming. These qualities influence the types of food and drink we might consume to stay in balance with the season, as well as certain lifestyle decisions.
Taoist Summer Lifestyle Tips
From the perspective of Taoist medicine, many lifestyle decisions allow us to live in greater harmony during this time of the year. We can stay up later in the evening with the longer, warmer days, while still arising early. One should strive to refrain from anger and stay physically active, to prevent the pores from closing and the energy in the body from stagnating.
One should not overindulge in sex, although one can indulge more than in other seasons. Emotionally, it is important to be happy and easygoing and not hold grudges, so that the energy can flow freely and communicate between the external and internal. By observing these qualities, we build our internal fire and warmth, as well as a sense of joy, which will carry through the colder months of Fall and Winter.
Summer Food Energetics
The hot weather of the summer season, the metaphorical fire, the blood vessels, and the color red are all related to the heart. The heart, or fire element, manifests emotionally as laughter and joy, but excessive, “scattering” joy can cause a depletion of the heart energy. Cooling and bitter herbs and food can be used to counteract too much heat in the body.
The bitter taste is associated with the summer because the hot weather produces the metaphorical fire, which can burn and char, producing the bitter taste. Thus, bitter-tasting substance can clear the heart of stagnation.
With the introduction of more movement and heat, we no longer need heavy dishes, sauces, pastas, slow-cooked stews or root vegetables, but naturally crave fresh fruits, vegetables and grains.
To eat fresh, simple and light food is to avoid adding to the sluggishness of the summer heat. Here are some simple food ideas to keep your digestion strong and energy levels high. Quinoa or rice with kale, spinach, rocket, beets and beet greens, blood-nourishing avocado, cooling mung-beans, light vegetables and berries, all help to keep the body cool and light in summer.
If you generally have digestive issues, lightly steam all veggies and eat at room temperature. Add a little grated ginger if you spend most of the year feeling cold. Avoid eating really cold food and drinks, even on a super hot day.
Icy drinks and cold food only cool you down for a moment. However, on the inside, cold is constricting the flow of Qi adding to pain in the body. Especially avoid cold substances if you suffer from muscular pain, stomach pains or period pains. Take it easy on the ice cream, I know in summer that’s a tough one but sugar, cold and dairy are a nightmare for our digestive organs!
While it’s still the social season, be mindful that alcohol has a warming effect on the body, adding to the summer heat. Lastly, hydration is paramount during summer, so heating substances like alcohol, coffee, red meat and salty foods create excess heat and dehydration. Incorporate at least 2 liters of water per day, ideally at the beginning of the day, as well as hydrating foods like watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumber and pear.
Other hydrating vegetables include: iceberg lettuce, celery, radish, peppers, cauliflower, and carrots. Mint and chrysanthemum are ideal cooling, hydrating herbal tisanes.
Teas for the Summer Season
The teas in the Summer collection are also a wonderful place to start. We recommend drinking teas that are mildly bitter to clear heat, gently uplifting to support greater activity, sweet to harmonize the body’s energy, and aromatic to open the senses.
We also suggest avoiding coffee, which is very hot in nature, and introducing strong green tea or cooling peppermint on particularly hot days.
We recommend the following types of tea for Summer:
young sheng puerh, green teas including sencha and matcha, white tea, yellow tea and Liu Bao black tea.
Summer: The Collection
At Living Tea, we seek out farms and wild tea gardens that maintain a healthy, reverent relationship with all aspects of tea production. Hallmarks of a Living Tea include seed propagation (rather than cloned cuttings with shallow roots), spacious planting (not tight plantation rows), biodiverse ecosystems (not clear-cut hillsides), no chemicals of any kind (including pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers), no irrigation, and living wages for everyone involved.
We are overjoyed to share the teas we've selected for this Summer Collection—remarkable expressions of the recent Spring harvest. In April, we traveled to Phoenix Mountain in Eastern China to deepen our understanding of Dan Cong Oolong, which now features in this collection. Along the way, we also secured a rare organic harvest of Mao Jian Green Tea, picked just two weeks before our arrival.
While these wild-grown teas are more costly, we find them vastly superior to commercial-grade teas and low-altitude eco-plantations. We hope you agree—and that you enjoy these teas as much as we did discovering them. To see images from our journey, visit us on Instagram @livingtealife.
Summer Tea Servings
Use 2–4 grams of tea per session, or simply enough leaves to lightly cover the bottom of your pot. This is a good rule of thumb across all teas in the collection. You may want to use fewer leaves for the green tea or Sheng Puerh if you prefer a less bitter cup.
Brewing Summer Teas
We recommend brewing these teas with water between 175–185°F (80–85°C). Pour off the first quick steep to "awaken the leaves," then steep the next 5–6 rounds for just 2–4 seconds each. This style of flash steeping is quite different from the European approach of longer infusions.
Dan Cong
Striped Oolong from Phoenix Mountain – Guangdong Province
Notes of roasted nectarine, white flowers, and dried fruit define this hand-processed Dan Cong. Richly satisfying with a noticeable, balanced roast, this tea stands apart from the machine-processed norm of Phoenix Mountain (Fenghuang Shan).
During our April 2018 visit, we were fortunate to walk the old-growth forests atop the mountain, where wild trees—some hundreds of years old—grow with generous space between them. These deep-rooted trees absorb minerals from rich, unspoiled soil. Dan Cong varietals are classified by their aromas, ranging from magnolia to geranium to cinnamon.
Duyun Maojian
Fur Tip Green Tea – Southern Guizhou Province
Wild-grown at 1300–1700 meters, this Maojian green tea is a true summer treasure. A friend in Colorado introduced us to the grower through her father-in-law, a longtime explorer of organic teas in China.
The region is remote and rarely exports to the West, which makes this small-batch, organically grown tea especially rare. Mild weather, steady rainfall, and mineral-rich soil nurture the plants in this biodiverse ecosystem.
Brew with cooler water around 160°F (70°C) to coax out soft, sweet-grass and nutty notes. Higher temperatures bring out bitterness. This tea is unusually patient for a green—offering many rounds when steeped briefly.
Emerald Isle
Imperial Grade Jasmine Green Tea
Certified organic and imperial grade (the highest quality), this Jasmine Green Tea was plucked and processed in early Spring 2018. Each batch is made by layering semiprocessed tea leaves (Zao Pei) with fresh jasmine blossoms—repeatedly—over several weeks. Up to ten pounds of flowers are used for each pound of tea.
The result is a smooth, fragrant tea with a sweet, soft profile and intoxicating aroma. The tightly rolled buds slowly release scent and flavor across multiple steepings.
Historically, Jasmine has been used to promote calm alertness and emotional clarity—especially in matters of the heart.
Brew short initial steepings of 1–2 minutes at 170–180°F (77–82°C).
Morning Star
He Song Sheng Puerh – Bada Mountain, 2014
Picked from ancient trees on Bada Mountain in Xishuangbanna, this big-leaf Sheng Puerh benefits from ideal terroir: high altitude (1300–1500 meters), dramatic day-night temperature shifts, generous sun, and well-timed rainfall.
The region’s isolation has preserved old-growth forests from overharvesting and plantation development. Until recently, even with abundant raw materials, few had the skill to properly process tea in this region. Morning Star reflects a new era of craftsmanship—offering a far more enjoyable experience than many bitter young Shengs.
We love its creamy texture, with subtle notes of honey and walnut. It’s an approachable introduction to Sheng Puerh and a perfect summer companion for seasoned and new drinkers alike.