[0 - 1] - So I'm here in New York's Chinatown
[1 - 2] with my good friend, Grace Young.
[2 - 5] And Grace, you've taken me some pretty special places before
[5 - 7] but I think today might take the top.
[7 - 8] So where are we headed?
[8 - 11] - We're at Grand Tea and Imports.
[11 - 13] This is one of my favorite businesses in Chinatown.
[14 - 16] It's the kind of shop that normally you would find
[16 - 20] in Hong Kong or China or Asia specializing in tea
[20 - 22] and I've made arrangements for us to have
[22 - 24] a special tea tasting with Alice Liu.
[24 - 25] - [Dan] Oh, I'm so excited.
[25 - 28] I'm gonna be like a kid in a candy store in there.
[28 - 28] Should we go in?
[28 - 33] - Yep. - Awesome. (lively music)
[36 - 37] So I am so excited.
[37 - 40] I'm here at Grand Tea and Imports on Grand Street
[40 - 41] in New York's Chinatown,
[41 - 44] and I'm joined by Grace Young and Alice Liu
[44 - 46] and Alice is gonna take us through
[46 - 47] an incredible tea tasting.
[47 - 50] We're gonna taste three unique pu-erh teas,
[50 - 53] some ranging up to over 20 years old.
[53 - 54] We're gonna learn a ton about it
[54 - 55] and see the brewing process.
[55 - 56] I could not be more excited.
[56 - 59] - So we're gonna start off with tangerine pu-erh
[59 - 61] which is this one over here.
[61 - 63] It's pu-erh fermented tea
[63 - 68] that is aged inside a husk of a mini tangerine.
[68 - 71] And the mini tangerine is from the county
[71 - 75] that's right next door to my family's home village, home county.
[75 - 77] It's from Xinhui, it's actually where
[77 - 78] Grace's family is from.
[78 - 82] They're really well known for its super aromatic tangerines.
[82 - 87] I remember my mom telling me that back when she was a kid,
[87 - 88] when you buy the tangerines, they wouldn't give you
[88 - 90] the whole tangerine that you bought.
[90 - 92] You're only paying for the flesh.
[92 - 93] So they'll peel the tangerine for you
[93 - 95] and give you your meat in a bag,
[95 - 97] but then they'll keep the tangerine peels
[97 - 99] so that they can dry it and resell that
[100 - 102] as either an herb or now, it's being packed
[102 - 105] into this tangerine pu-erh, so.
[105 - 107] - There are so many aromatic oils in the outside of a peel
[107 - 109] but so many people just toss it.
[109 - 111] I love that it's getting this new life.
[111 - 112] And do you know how long this is aged?
[112 - 113] This particular variety?
[113 - 116] - This particular one, it's not as old.
[116 - 118] I couldn't tell you the exact age of it
[118 - 120] but it's definitely less than 10 years old.
[120 - 122] - Which is young in this world.
[122 - 123] - Young in this world
[123 - 125] - In the pu-erh world. - Yes, yes.
[125 - 126] - [Alice] This is how it looks.
[126 - 128] - [Dan] Wow. That is so amazing.
[128 - 130] - [Alice] Got the little top still on there.
[130 - 132] They give you the whole thing.
[132 - 134] And then inside is just tea leaves.
[134 - 136] - So I don't understand how they pulled the fruit out
[136 - 138] without breaking the shell. - [Dan] I know!
[138 - 140] This is like a Chinese magic act, right?
[140 - 142] - Back in the day they used to scoop it out
[142 - 145] but now they cut off the top and then they put
[145 - 149] a kind of straw on the tangerine
[149 - 152] and blow a big gust of air into it.
[152 - 155] And the air, it goes between the skin and the meat.
[155 - 157] So like in the pith and it loosens the pith.
[157 - 159] - Yep. - Or it loosens the meat
[159 - 160] and then that way,
[160 - 163] it makes it easier to pick everything out afterwards.
[164 - 165] - Wow. - Wow. I thought you were
[165 - 166] gonna say that like people go in with straws
[166 - 168] and suck out.
[168 - 169] I was like, I would sign up for that job,
[169 - 170] like in a heartbeat.
[170 - 172] - A lot of tangerine, you'll be eating.
[172 - 176] - Yeah. - Yeah. (peaceful music)
[189 - 191] - It's so, it's so complex.
[191 - 192] Like you get that tangerine,
[192 - 194] but you also get the earthier tea underneath.
[196 - 197] - When you first start brewing it,
[197 - 199] just because the tangerine peel is on the outside,
[199 - 202] you'll taste that first - [Dan] First.
[202 - 204] - But then if you let it steep for longer,
[204 - 208] then the flavors of the pu-erh tea that's inside
[208 - 209] will start infusing a little bit more.
[209 - 212] And that becomes more of a front note flavor.
[212 - 214] - And that's one of the big benefits of brewing.
[214 - 216] Like, you know, some people might be like, see,
[216 - 217] that's a really small teapot, you know,
[217 - 218] you're serving three people
[218 - 219] but that's kind of the benefit, right?
[219 - 221] You do these different sessions
[221 - 224] and you actually get to taste it as it evolves.
[224 - 225] - Like in Western cultures,
[225 - 228] you brew it just for that instant, that one time
[229 - 232] to have all the flavors release all at once
[232 - 234] so that you'll get a very concentrated brew.
[234 - 238] And that's why like, tea bags is very convenient for that.
[238 - 240] It's just meant for one serving.
[240 - 243] In China, people like to make time for tea.
[243 - 245] It's kind of more of a lifestyle.
[245 - 248] So people sit down, they bring snacks,
[248 - 252] they take time from their afternoon to convene
[252 - 254] to kind of brew tea.
[254 - 257] And so throughout, you're brewing a tea
[257 - 260] throughout your entire tea session
[260 - 261] of hanging out with people.
[261 - 265] You really get to get little snapshots of the flavor
[265 - 267] of the tea from beginning to end,
[267 - 270] different snapshots and how it evolves.
[270 - 271] - That's so beautiful.
[271 - 274] It's almost like conversation evolves during that time.
[274 - 274] And like the tea
[274 - 275] evolves at the same time. - Yeah.
[275 - 277] - There's like this movement to it.
[277 - 279] This tea is fabulous. - [Grace] Yeah.
[279 - 281] - So that tangerine pu-erh was unbelievable.
[281 - 283] And I feel like that's a good lead in
[283 - 284] for what we're gonna taste next.
[284 - 286] What are we gonna do?
[286 - 289] - So we're gonna do fermented pu-erh
[289 - 292] and that's actually the pu-erh that's in the tangerine.
[292 - 295] This one is called Old Comrade teacake
[295 - 300] and what's super cool about this one is it's from 2004,
[300 - 303] it's created by an artisan who goes by the name
[303 - 305] of Zou Bing Liang.
[305 - 307] His signature is actually here.
[307 - 311] And Zou Bing Liang is super well known and super cool
[311 - 316] because he is what many call the father of fermented pu-erh.
[317 - 320] And so this is a 17 year old tea that we're gonna taste?
[320 - 321] Is that right?
[321 - 322] - Yes. 17 years old. - Wow. That's amazing.
[322 - 324] - 2004 til now.
[324 - 325] - That's incredible.
[325 - 326] - [Alice] Yeah. Yeah.
[326 - 327] - [Dan] So while you're brewing this, can you talk
[327 - 328] a little bit about the difference
[328 - 331] between a fermented pu-erh, which you have here,
[331 - 332] and the raw pu-erh?
[332 - 334] 'Cause they're pretty different styles.
[334 - 336] - You know, when we think about pu-erh,
[336 - 338] we usually think about fermented pu-erh,
[338 - 341] but raw pu-erh is the original pu-erh.
[342 - 346] - Raw pu-erh is picked, dried, nothing much is done to it.
[346 - 348] It's considered a white tea.
[348 - 352] It's very minimal manipulation to the leaves.
[352 - 354] Pu-erh fermented tea as we know it
[354 - 358] would take this raw pu-erh, moisten it a little bit
[358 - 362] to get it to start growing some bacteria.
[362 - 365] Then they put it in a shady kind of room
[365 - 367] that's also a little moist
[367 - 370] and let it ferment for three months, at least three months.
[370 - 373] And then from that process it takes the tea
[373 - 380] from a white tea to what is considered a, hòu fāxiào
[380 - 383] so it's considered a fermented white tea afterwards.
[383 - 385] - Okay. - And it really changes
[385 - 389] the flavor from being very much a kind of woodsy,
[389 - 393] smokey flavor to more of an earthy, mineral-y,
[393 - 400] more deep noted flavor. (delicate music)
[419 - 420] - So this is a much, much darker brew
[420 - 425] than the tangerine, it's got kind of a coppery amber color
[425 - 426] it's really beautiful.
[427 - 429] - Even the aroma is earthier, right?
[429 - 430] - Much earthier, yeah.
[430 - 433] - And the thing with pu-erh is that
[433 - 435] the older it gets, the deeper this flavor's
[435 - 437] supposed to become.
[437 - 442] And the longer the after taste is supposed to be.
[442 - 445] That creates like a very like sweet, bittersweet
[445 - 447] kind of feeling on your tongue.
[447 - 448] And we call that hui gan.
[450 - 452] I can't really translate it into English,
[452 - 454] but I loosely call it after taste.
[454 - 456] - That aftertaste, yeah.
[456 - 458] I definitely get a pretty long one on this.
[458 - 460] What's so interesting about this tea is it's,
[460 - 463] I get so much minerality from it, which I don't feel
[463 - 466] like I really get or thought about it a lot in tea.
[466 - 468] So it's a minerality, there's a little bit of bitterness.
[468 - 471] - Even with pu-erh tea, even though I think
[471 - 475] the general taste for fermented tea is earthy,
[475 - 479] but even within that flavor profile, there's a lot of range.
[479 - 482] Meaning like, there are ones that can taste like sweet,
[482 - 485] kind of like prunella or licorice-y, anise-y.
[485 - 487] Whereas like there are people who say there are
[487 - 491] pu-erh fermented teas that taste like mushroom soup.
[491 - 492] - Yeah. Oh wow.
[492 - 494] - Creamy, savory, salty.
[494 - 496] - Like very savory and a lot of that.
[496 - 497] Wow. That's really cool.
[497 - 501] - And so the pu-erh is very, very good for your digestion.
[501 - 503] So traditionally in Chinese culture,
[503 - 508] whenever you have dim sum, my family always ordered pu-erh.
[508 - 511] - So you're having a bunch of rich, rich bites
[511 - 513] and it helps kind of balance that out a little bit.
[513 - 514] - Exactly. - [Dan] Oh that's really cool.
[514 - 518] - Yeah. And Alice, I didn't know this until Alice told me
[518 - 522] that you shouldn't drink pu-erh on an empty stomach
[522 - 523] first thing in the morning
[523 - 525] because it will increase your appetite.
[525 - 526] - Yeah. - Well, that's great
[526 - 528] then you get to eat more food.
[528 - 532] - This is true, but there is the,
[532 - 534] there's this concept called tea drunk
[534 - 537] which is when you get drunk off of tea.
[537 - 539] And that could happen with all teas
[539 - 542] but it happens more easily with pu-erh tea.
[542 - 544] And so if you do it on an empty stomach,
[544 - 546] you'll start getting this tea drunk feeling
[546 - 549] which is when you start feeling nauseous
[549 - 554] or your heart rate starts really increasing.
[554 - 556] - Okay, so I was like, let's get tea drunk
[556 - 557] until you explained what you meant.
[557 - 560] And maybe we should sip slowly.
[560 - 563] - Yeah. I mean, the best poets in Chinese history
[563 - 567] made their poetry after getting tea drunk. - Really?
[567 - 572] - There's a lot of poetry on tea drinking and these people,
[573 - 577] these famous poets, they tend to get their best inspiration
[577 - 578] from being tea drunk. - Being tea drunk.
[578 - 581] Well, Alice, the first two were absolutely incredible.
[581 - 582] I think we're moving on to our third tea.
[582 - 583] And am I right to assume
[583 - 585] that this is actually your favorite one?
[585 - 587] - Yes. - You saved the best for last?
[587 - 590] - Yeah. It turned out that way.
[590 - 590] - It turned out that way.
[590 - 592] - It was not purposeful, but yeah,
[592 - 594] we're gonna brew the raw pu-erh now.
[594 - 597] You can see how fermenting the leaves
[597 - 602] turn it into like a brown color, whereas on its own,
[602 - 605] it's very much more of a grayish black color.
[606 - 610] - And so the raw pu-erh is similar to
[610 - 614] or is essentially a white tea that has aged a long time.
[614 - 615] - Mhm, mhm. - Okay. And then,
[615 - 617] so how old is this tea that we're gonna taste?
[617 - 620] - Mm. So I can't tell you the exact age of this one
[620 - 623] but I know that this tea is older than me.
[623 - 626] - [Dan] Older than you? - [Alice] Yes.
[626 - 628] We can't put an exact date on this
[628 - 630] because this is pu-erh tea from my dad's reserve.
[630 - 634] And this tea itself comes from when my dad hosted
[634 - 639] a tea convention in 2008, 2009.
[639 - 643] He invited all these tea masters that we studied from
[643 - 647] and kind of lived with when I was in China
[647 - 647] studying tea ceremony.
[647 - 650] He invited them over to America
[650 - 651] to kind of do like an exchange.
[651 - 654] And this tea was special because it wasn't even
[654 - 655] in the markets.
[655 - 660] It's pu-erh tea that is harvested, made,
[660 - 666] and then given to, or set aside for diplomatic purposes. - Wow.
[666 - 670] - It's tea that, you know, ambassadors would gift people.
[670 - 673] And so after the convention, there was some tea left over
[673 - 677] and my dad decided to buy it all off of him.
[677 - 679] So yeah, that's this tea over here.
[679 - 682] And that's also why I can't tell you how old it is.
[682 - 684] - So, I mean, I'm so honored that we get to taste this,
[684 - 685] it sounds absolutely incredible,
[685 - 689] but you could say it's definitely over 30 years old?
[689 - 694] - [Alice] Yeah. - [Dan] Wow that's incredible. (peaceful music)
[715 - 717] - Very different.
[717 - 718] Very, very different from the fermented.
[725 - 727] - Wow. It's really delicate.
[727 - 731] There's honestly something kind of citrusy about this too.
[731 - 732] Like there's almost a,
[734 - 737] - Like hints of Cedar, maybe. - [Alice] A little woodsy.
[737 - 739] - Definitely cedar, yeah. - [Grace] Right.
[743 - 745] - It's interesting because it comes on lighter
[745 - 747] and a little bit more, considerably more delicate
[747 - 752] than the fermented, but it has that really long finish
[752 - 753] that you were talking about. - [Grace] Yeah.
[753 - 755] - Like I'm still tasting it after that sip.
[755 - 758] - Mhm, mhm. - That's really interesting.
[758 - 761] - You just let it sit, you sit with that for a little bit.
[761 - 763] - Yeah. - Let your mouth taste it.
[763 - 767] That's also a very good way of qualifying different pu-erhs.
[767 - 770] Like the longer the after taste is, the better this tea is.
[770 - 772] - Yeah. It's got enough to hold up
[772 - 775] and that kind of like body and flavor to linger with you.
[775 - 779] - People say that younger people tend to like this one,
[779 - 782] or like raws better because there's more
[782 - 784] front of the mouth flavor.
[784 - 786] Whereas like with fermented pu-erh,
[786 - 790] there's more kind of like nuanced back of the mouth flavor.
[790 - 791] - That makes sense.
[791 - 794] - And so like, if you are young and your palette
[794 - 798] is not as developed yet, it takes a little more aged palette
[798 - 800] to be able to taste the differences
[800 - 804] between the small nuances between a pu-erh ripe,
[804 - 806] whereas like this one is enjoyable.
[807 - 811] - Even for the newest of tea enthusiasts.
[811 - 812] - Yeah. I think that's a really good point.
[812 - 815] I remember the first time I tried a fermented pu-erh,
[815 - 817] I was like, it was just overwhelming to me.
[817 - 819] Like I just was like, I don't know what this is.
[819 - 820] It tastes like no other tea I had had.
[820 - 822] And it's taken some time for me to like,
[822 - 824] to grow to appreciate them.
[824 - 826] Ugh. This is fabulous, this tea is so good.
[826 - 828] I mean, they're all incredible.
[828 - 831] Alice, thank you so much for this tea ceremony tasting.
[831 - 832] I can't believe we've got to taste these really,
[832 - 835] three totally unique and interesting pu-erhs.
[835 - 836] I learned a ton about them.
[836 - 837] Grace, thank you so much.
[837 - 840] Your perspective on it was fabulous as always.
[840 - 843] So I definitely want to get some of these pu-erhs
[843 - 845] and I'm sure a lot of other people do as well.
[845 - 847] If they want to, they can go to your website to get them.
[847 - 851] - Yes. That's grandteaimports.com - Grandteaimports.com.
[851 - 852] Awesome. And you have all the teas
[852 - 855] and some pieces of select tea wear as well.
[855 - 858] - Yes. Always adding more into the website.
[858 - 861] It's a small website for now, but it's growing.
[861 - 862] - That's great.
[862 - 864] And if you're in New York, obviously you gotta come
[864 - 866] to Grand Tea and Imports right here on Grand Street.
[866 - 867] The shop is incredible
[867 - 869] and there's so much more than just tea.
[869 - 870] - Yes, yes, yes.
[870 - 871] Well, thank you so much.
[871 - 875] And look forward to drinking a lot more tea with you. - Yay.
[875 - 879] - Thank you both. (lively music)