Tuesday, August 02, 2016

Purity and Wucha feeling

The Wucha feeling is the ultimate pleasure for Teaparker and most of his students. Wu Cha literally means 'no tea'. That means that you are drinking a tea that is so fine, subtle and pure and that you barely notice, at first, that you are drinking tea. It's starts as a very easy to drink beverage that glides down the throat without any resistance, as if it were not tea, hence the Wucha feeling. It is a feeling of purity and smoothness that is remarkable only for its lack of taste and light scents.
What happens next feels incredible: a refined aftertaste emerges from this comfortable, smooth feeling. And it doesn't just last for a long time, but it evolves, changes and plays in your mouth and sometimes in your whole body.
I think that this type of tea experience is what makes many tea drinkers feel there's something spiritual about drinking tea. The whole Wucha experience starts with a miracle: the aftertaste appears out of (almost) nowhere. And then these flavors have very pure characteristics. This perfection, ephemeral lightness feels divine, like a choir of young boys singing baroque church music. (For instance: John Taverner's Tudor Church music with the Choir's of King College, Cambridge).
When I brew in silence and with a ray of sunshine in the morning, I get awfully close to such a mood. And when my fine white porcelain cup touches my lower lip, I almost feel the kiss of an angel. Especially when the tea is a Wuyi Baijiguan with a couple of years of age.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It is the first time I hear of the term, prior to reading this post I used to call it "the christmas feeling". But is sort of like that, dont you think?