The Tea House Ghost GONG FU CHA'dcast: Recent Episodes
Tea House Ghost 茶館鬼
🍵☕🇨🇳 Exploring Gong Fu Cha (功夫茶) and Chinese Tea Culture 📡 Broadcasting from Austin, TX 🤠🍃🍵Ni Haody Y'all☕🍂🤠 Check out our YouTube show, Gong Fu Tea|chA here: youtube.com/c/teahouseghost
Tea: 2016 Peony King Aged White Tea Bing (Bai Mu Dan) - https://westchinatea.com/357g-2016-peony-king-white-tea-bing/
Flavor 味: Melted Vanilla Ice Cream, Granny Smith Apple
Fragrance 香: Autumn Leaves, Delicate Floral, Apple Pie
Feeling 氣: Nurturing, Integrating, Affectionate
Gaiwan: Mutton Fat Jade Porcelain Gaiwan
Gong Dao Bei: Mutton Fat Jade Unglazed Porcelain Gong Dao Bei
Cup: Mary Cotterman Storm Cup
Topics discussed: The grades of Fuding White Tea, the empowerment of meeting challenges head on, internalization as turning casting spells into passive spells, gong fu as developing a skill into a 2nd nature, the unlearning process with internalized ways, a brief mention of Samurai Gunn.
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Tea: Magnolia Fragrance Phoenix Oolong https://westchinatea.com/30g-magnolia-fragrance/
Flavor 味: Apricot, Buttered Cinnamon Toast
Fragrance 香: Multifloral, Fluffy
Feeling 氣: Sparklers, Joyous
Gaiwan: Mutton Fat Jade Gaiwan
Gong Dao Bei: Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain Gong Dao Bei
Cup: Mary Cotterman Storm Cup
Topics discussed: The beginning of Autumn, sparkle vibes, Ding Dian pouring style for Phoenix Oolongs, New Relationship Energy, avoiding pouring onto the Cha Dan for early steepings, a maintenance day
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Tea: 2009 Cloud Burst Shu Pu'er Bing - https://westchinatea.com/2009-cloud-burst-shu-puer-bing/
Flavor 味: Forest Floor, Hardwood
Fragrance 香: Petrichor, Pumpkin Seed
Feeling 氣: Grounding, Neutral, Focused
Gaiwan: Mutton Fat Jade Gaiwan
Gong Dao Bei: Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain Gong Dao Bei
Cup: Mary Cotterman Storm Cup
Topics discussed: In-gaiwan shelf life (How long can I let my wet leaves sit in the gaiwan if I want to steep them more later?), caffeine in tea and the Qi 氣 of tea
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Shiloh Gastello joins Erik to discuss engagement in community, different ways of using one's voice on the internet, the massive learning experience of visiting another country, and how the people of a country are not synonymous with their governments or most famous people. Shiloh is an extremely skilled potter, multi-disciplinary artist and educator. I met Shiloh for the first time in Jinghong, Xishuangbanna in Yunnan, China, where he was one of the artists in residence at the San Bao Xishuangbanna Pottery Studio during their opening ceremonies in late 2017. It was so great to catch up with Shiloh and sit down for tea for a couple of hours.
Tea: Welcoming Spring Green Tea - https://westchinatea.com/30g-welcoming-spring/
Flavor 味: Warm Hay, Butter Cookie
Fragrance 香: Sweetgrass, Biscuit
Feeling 氣: Gentle Comfort and Safety, Daydreamy
Gaiwan: Mutton Fat Jade Gaiwan
Gong Dao Bei: x2 - Glass Gong Dao Bei (to cool water) and Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain Gong Dao Bei (to hold tea after it's been steeped)
Cup: Mutton Fat Jade Tasting Cup
Topics discussed: Sichaunese Tea Master Heng Yi's scientific approach to tea cultivation, personal rhythms and tempo, what is normal with regard to work, the daydreamy quality of a weekend with nothing to do
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Tea: 2007 Tasa Sheng Pu'er Bing: https://westchinatea.com/2007-tasa-sheng-puer-bing/
Flavor 味: Tree Resin, Mineral Sweetness
Fragrance 香: Wood, Wet Earth
Feeling 氣: Uplifting, Focus and Stability of Middle Age
Gaiwan: Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain
Gong Dao Bei: Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain
Cup: Jianshui Clay unglazed master's cup
Topics discussed: A special day in honor of the changing seasons, a nice huí gān 回甘 ("returning sweetness")on this tea straight out the gate, rain sounds, a collaborative world building game by Everest Pipkin called The Ground Itself: https://everestpipkin.itch.io/the-ground-itself
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Tea is a lifelong journey. It has its ups and downs, its joys and its challenges. There is so much to explore.
Mary Cotterman joins the show to discuss her entry into the world of gong fu cha, her years living and working in China, and her process of opening space during tea practice to daydream. Mary was the first ever western person to learn, on site, the highly skilled craft of making Chaozhou clay teapots. After honing her skill in Chaozhou, she traveled to Jingdezhen, where she studied at the San Bao pottery studio under Jackson Li. Mary currently lives in North Carolina, where she practices pottery, herbalism, witchcraft, and of course Gong Fu Cha.
Mary is an old tea homie of mine and a former Austinite. It was great to catch up with her over Zoom.
Tea: 2013 Dragon Bro Bing (Xiao Dui Zi Shu Pu'er): https://westchinatea.com/2013-dragon-bro-shu-puer-bing/
Flavor 味: Groundwater, Liquid Metal
Fragrance 香: Petrichor, Rain
Feeling 氣: Grounding, Gray Rainy Day Vibes
Gaiwan: Small glazed white porcelain with gold trim and bamboo leaf motif
Gong Dao Bei: Mutton Fat Jade unglazed porcelain
Cup: Mary Cotterman Celedon glazed speckled cup
Topics discussed: That ~darkness~, the cloud-like space of unrealized thought and imagination, the Moon card, grounding into my body and getting out of my head
Photo by Montsho of @SlowHandTea
Ni Haody, y'all! This is Erik from Tea House Ghost, presenting y'all with a new podcast, or...CHA'dcast, diving deep into the practice, conversations, and theory of Gong Fu Cha, the Chinese art of steeping and serving tea. Bust out your gaiwans and drink along with me as I talk through my daily tea practice. I'll introduce you to some of my friends, sharing conversations with some of the fun folks in the gong fu cha space and beyond. Together, we'll learn about all of the ins and outs of this wonderful discipline: gong fu cha 功夫茶.