GLOBAL EA HUT

國際茶亭
Tea & Tao Magazine
March 2021

香
順
應

與
自
然
為
所
當
為

茶
Incense & Tea
Part II
 Contents Issue 110 / March 2021
GLOBAL EA HUT
Tea & Tao Magazine

魔法水果
Magic Fruit
After a long hiatus, we finally return to the top-
ic of incense and tea, much beloved around here. Love is
Incense ceremony and tea ceremony have a lot in
common, and even in casual tea a nice stick of al-
oeswood can take the session up a notch. We have
changing the world
a very special tea to share this month as we all in-
hale slowly, calm down and find our bliss... bowl by bowl
特稿文章
Features 33
07 The Origin of Incense
by Dr. Incense (新加坡香博士)

13 The Noble Tea & Incense

Ceremony
by Master Tsai Yizhe (蔡奕哲)

25 A Cloud of Fragrance
25
by Zhao Mingming (趙明明)

33 Extracting Incense
by Er Fu Ju Zhu (而富居主) 39
39 Incense is Destiny
by Chen Yuting (陳郁婷)

Traditions
傳統文章
03 Tea of the Month
“Magic Fruit,” Aged Pomelo Tea,
Li Shan, Taiwan
13
49 TeaWayfarer
Neil Barrie, Australia/Japan
© 2021 by Global Tea Hut
All rights reserved.

魔
recycled & recyclable No part of this publication may be
眾 reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys-
神 tem or transmitted in any form or by
的
花
法 any means: electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or other-
蜜
水 Soy ink
wise, without prior written permis-
sion from the copyright owner.

果
 From the editor
I
n March, things really start warming up in Taiwan. Along with the incense course, we also have a Seven
Our spring comes quite early. But it also is not Genres of Tea course coming to the online course website,
too hot. We love to take this time of year to drink which will be a deep dive into the seven types of tea, includ-
through the last couple of years of sheng tea and ing history, production, science, some preparation and even
periodically break into older teas to see how they are aging. five element theory. We are very excited to take a geeky deep
Taiwan ages puerh in cycle, absorbing water in the spring, dive into tea and together explore this vast world, hope-
then heating up to ferment strongly in the summer, fol- fully creating a better understanding for all of us. This is
lowed by a cool down and drying out in the winter, with a great way to get to know the types of tea in the world,
the autumn as a buffer. Before the teas swing up in mois- providing an excellent map for exploration. For beginners,
ture, it is a great time to see how they are aging, move them such maps can help start the journey with confidence, and
for those who have been practicing for a while, we hope to
around the warehouse or make any other adjustments we
ask many new questions that can change the way we think
need to. This also means we can use this standard to choose
about tea, opening up new avenues of understanding and
any puerh we’d like to press in the coming year when the
new journeys to take on the road to learning more about
tea samples start flowing in. Spring is wood element, so to
this wonderful leaf.
control that we drink white teas, puerh blends with mature We don’t use incense in every tea session, but aloeswood
leaves (huang pian) and lots of aged oolongs. Green teas and can make a session special. It calms us down and doesn’t
young sheng support wood, which helps the vibrancy of linger or interfere with the tea’s aromas. Recently, the two
spring grow stronger, creating more outward energy in our have started to intertwine more and more here in Taiwan.
lives. This is often great as long as it is not overdone. Usually We recently attended an event where every table had one
a balance of these types of tea does a great job, along with person brewing tea and another performing traditional in-
the perennial red teas that underly so many mornings. cense ceremony, so as the cups were poured the censer was
We are very excited this month to return to our second passed around. It was overwhelming, but fun.
installment of tea and incense. And to go with that we are This is an epic issue, with a return to a topic we love.
launching a whole new section on the website for incense We have some great articles from some very wise incense
and incense wares. Some of you know we have been taking makers and practitioners. Hopefully this will inspire you
traditional incense ceremony classes with Yuting, a student to include incense in some of your tea sessions, or even to
of Master Tsai Yizhe who wrote an article in this issue. She begin exploring traditional incense ceremony. We also have
is an excellent teacher and the way she serves incense is so a very unique type of tea to try this month, which should
inspiring to watch. We asked her to help us make some be a lot of fun and offer its own fragrance to go along with
great choices for all the tea and incense lovers in this com- an already aromatic issue!
munity. She chose five levels of high-end and very pure al-

e
oeswood incense, which you can purchase individually or as
a set. There are also some electric roasters for incense chips
and powders with a silver dish included for slow-roasting
incense, which creates a deeper, more textured and much Wu D
longer lasting aroma than burning sticks does. Eventually,
we will also release some tools for traditional incense cere-
mony as well. Yuting actually makes a lot of the necessary
tools herself, which is a great way for us to support her.
Also, we are planning to create an online course with
Yuting so that you can all learn traditional incense ceremo-
ny along with us. She is the kind of teacher who likes to
show more than tell, and is soft-spoken, so we think that we
can even translate in real time as opposed to using subtitles –Further Reading–
or another method. More of the learning will be watching
and then following along at home. Like tea, traditional in- This month, we recommend reading or rereading
cense ceremony can be a great way to cultivate mindfulness the first Incense & Tea issue, which is November
and also enjoy a deep opening of the senses, connecting to of 2016. (Time flies!) It has some great articles
the world in joy beyond thought, concept or category. It on aloeswood and even a guide to a few different
is also a reflection of our cultivation in that we can see the types of traditional incense ceremony to get you
state of our minds in the result, and it seamlessly integrates started in the practice if you want to. It is up on
into a meditative or contemplative life of tea. our website in the archive.

2
 of the

ver the course of this month, we will be drink- organic pomelo tea, since the pomelos also must be or-
ing a very special tea, dear to our heart and ganic, of course. There aren’t too many around these
home, which we call “Magic Fruit.” This tea is days, but we know a few farmers who do make them.
literally made inside of pomelos, which ripen around Traditionally, this tea was something found in medicine
the mid-autumn festival in Taiwan and therefore have shops or given to you by farmers, but recently more is
all kinds of cultural and mythological associations with being sold as a healthy beverage, so varieties are pop-
the harvest moon and the holiday. Around that time, so ping up. In most cases, the tea is mixed with some of the
many pomelos are given and then re-gifted to others that pulp (often slightly dried) and then placed back into the
we all end up with big piles of them to eat. Fortunately, carefully hollowed-out pomelo skin. After that, the tea is
they are healthy and delicious. We thought this aromatic steamed and then dried. Traditionally, it is sun dried, but
tea would go well with this month’s theme. roasting is also used depending on the processor’s goals
The reason that this type of tea has a special place in and the weather. Magical Fruit is made with Li Shan (
our heart is that it is a traditional Hakka tea. As most of 梨山) oolong tea that is a bit more heavily oxidized and
you know, we have made a home in Miaoli for decades. then it was sun-dried in the traditional way. After that,
Miaoli is a big hub for Hakka culture. The Hakka (客家) pomelo tea is always aged, and many Hakka people think
are a Chinese ethnicity from the southern part of China, that the older the tea is, the more healing properties it
mostly Guangdong and Fujian. Many of them migrated will have. Typically, a farmer won’t sell the tea until it has
to Miaoli and Hsinchu long ago. Like many Chinese eth- sat for a few years. They often hang the stuffed pomelos
nicities, they have a special history, their own language, up as decoration as they age, since it is often hemp string
culture, cuisine and more. We love Hakka people. They holding the pomelo closed. Magical Fruit is from 2015,
are very down-to-earth and hospitable. They are a big which is a decent amount of time to settle, fully dry and
part of why we fell in love with Miaoli in the first place. develop complexity. The age also mellows it out.
Some of you may remember that our annual Food & When you brew the tea, you include a bit of the pom-
Tea issue from January 2017 mentioned leicha (擂茶), elo rind in with the leaves, which further enriches the
a ground blend of tea and various nuts, seeds and beans flavors, aromas and energy of this special medicine.
that changes house to house. The Hakka often serve it to You will most likely understand why this is often used
guests. Pomelo tea is a traditional medicine that Hakka for sore throats, as it coats the mouth and throat with a
people use to treat colds, coughs, sore throats and gen- thick, oily liquor. Inferior versions of pomelo tea taste
eral ill-ease, and they always suggest boiling some when like pomelo only, and you cannot taste the tea through
you don’t feel well. Of course, this may also have to do the fruit. Magical Fruit, however, shines through with
with the vitamin C in the pomelo, but there is more to it both tea and fruit. We can even taste the age as well, but
from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective. we have had several types of pomelo tea. The energy of
Like leicha, there are many different recipes for this tea is strong and we find it calming and Yin, which
Hakka pomelo tea. It is often made with oolong tea but means you can also drink this tea in the late afternoon
sometimes it is also made with red tea—more often re- or early evening. The citrus is also nice in the morning if
cently, as variety pomelo tea has gained a tiny bit of trac- you wish. There are special ways to brew this tea, which
tion in the market. It is a bit challenging to find a clean, we discuss on the next page.

3
Magic Fruit (魔法水果)

Li Shan, Taiwan 陳 傳
年 統
客

Aged Pomelo Tea 酸

家
飲
品
柑
Hakka 茶
~2000 Meters (tea)
Tea of the Month

Brewing Tips
沖泡技巧 完成好茶
This month’s tea is a bit unique. It can be brewed gongfu. If you do that,
you can treat it as you would a shou puerh. It can also be brewed sidehandle
with similar results. However, traditionally, the best flavors, aromas and medicinal
qualities of this tea only come out in boiling. A Hakka friend would always boil this
tea for you, whether it was because you weren’t feeling well or as preventative medicine.
Nowadays, they also offer it as a beverage of hospitality sometimes, but this is still rare and
only at tea farmers’ houses or tea shops in our experience.
You can also brew this tea as “kitchen tea,” which we discussed in January, meaning just
very casually in large, glazed pots, using a long steeping time and straining it into mugs. This
is an excellent way to enjoy Magic Fruit. We often boil some and then strain it into a mug.
Holding a steaming mug of this tea on a cold afternoon or evening while you read a book or
chat with a loved one is an amazing way to spend some time—very comforting and relaxing, not
to mention the medicinal benefits. While it works so much better after it has been boiled, which
we will discuss more below, you can also steep it. If you are using a large pot, you may want to let
it steep for a while, especially for the second, third or fourth mug (or beyond).
One thing to keep in mind when preparing this tea is to be careful about your teaware. Of
course, glazed bowls or cups are fine, but you may not want to use your Yixing pot, unglazed si-
dehandle or cauldron for boiling. The flavor of the pomelo in this tea is strong and could linger,
affecting future sessions with that teaware. If you don’t mind that and choose to use such teaware, we
would recommend removing the tea immediately after the session. Leaving the tea in the pot could
amplify this effect and all your tea will taste like pomelo until you scour your teaware.
As we have repeated often, because it is important, you will get so much more out of Magic Fruit
if you boil it. We recommend a glass kettle. It will be easy to clean and won’t impact future sessions.
If you don’t have a glass kettle, you should consider getting one. They are cheap and they are great to
have around to learn from: you can see the changes in the water as it boils. Watching tea change at
different temperatures is a very useful lesson to improve our tea brewing skills. Also, they are perfect
for making kitchen tea as well. Many tea friends around the world use them to make kitchen tea
out of spent leaves, which is a great way to get so much more out of all the tea you order. If you
haven’t yet made a habit of re-boiling spent leaves, give it a try. It may change your life! We would
also recommend our boiled tea course, which covers all aspects of boiled tea.
If you don’t have a glass kettle and aren’t interested in getting one, don’t be afraid to boil this
tea in an ordinary sauce pan. You will need a good strainer if you are going to do this, but even an
ordinary kitchen one will do if you pour carefully over the sink, straining the liquor into mugs.
Also, let this tea boil for as long as you like. It will be slightly sour, of course, due to the pomelo
but it won’t overboil. It will just grow in terms of the Chinese herbal flavors, medicinal energy
and depth when drinking it. Have fun with this month’s tea, and take in the aroma deeply
before we light some incense together!

Sidehandle Kitchen Boiled Tea

Water: spring water or best bottled Try using an old kettle,

Fire: coals, infrared or gas glass or otherwise, to give this
Heat: hot, fish-eye, roughly 90–95 ° C tea a deep boil. You may
Brewing Methods: Kitchen, have to tilt or even take
sidehandle or boiled off the lid to prevent the
Steeping: Boil or steep a long time (It won’t over tea from boiling over,
steep no matter what you do) especially in the early
Patience: Very patient, so up to you stages of boiling.

5/ Magic Fruit (魔法水果)

The Origin
of
Incense
茶人: Dr. Incense (新加坡香博士)

世
界
香
之
各
地
古
老

源
香
氣

8
Incense & Tea

F ollowing the brilliant star of

Bethlehem, the three wise men
came their way to worship the
newly born Jesus. They brought gifts
of frankincense, myrrh and gold to
Almost in the same period or ear-
lier, the emperors in China began to
burn incense for worship and also their
daily lives. According to the The Book of
Documents (尚書), which was among
The Chinese character “chai (柴)”
was recorded in The Book of Documents
(“至於岱宗: 柴,”). The translation of
this character is brushwood or fire-
wood. But if we look into the histori-
welcome the Son of God, the first two the earliest surviving compilations of cal form, even people who do not read
of which are precious perfumes used documentary records of the ancient Mandarin could guess the meaning,
throughout the history of incense. Just history of China, on the day when as the invention of Chinese characters
like in this story, from the day of our Emperor Shun ascended the throne, he comes from the illustration of natural
births, Mother Nature has prepared climbed to the top of Mount Tai and phenomena. It clearly shows a person
this most mysterious and splendid gift: burned incense there to inform all the standing at the right side putting fra-
incense. gods that he would be the ruler of the grant wood onto an altar. No doubt
The use of incense can be traced whole country. that at the very beginning incense was
back to ancient Egypt (3000 BCE) used for offerings in ancient China as
where depictions show incense was well. However, its use in China dif-
burned in sacred and medicinal rites, fered slightly from in other regions’
as well as for the enjoyment of pha- religions, as the object of worship was
raohs. The well-known compound Heaven and Earth, not a specific god.
incense Kyphi was created and used in This offering was called “liao chai ji
offerings to the Sun God (Ra) three tian (燎柴祭天),” to “burn incense for
times a day. A Red Sea fleet was sent Heaven and Earth.”
by the Egyptian Queen Hatshepsut to Many people may ask why incense
the Land of Punt (Somalia) which was plays such an important role in our
also known as the “Land of Gods,” and history. What is the true origin of in-
the navy brought back myrrh, frankin- cense? The word “incense” comes from
cense and other coveted treasures, even Ancient turtle shell carving of the Latin “incendēre,” meaning “to
myrrh trees to plant in her temple. "chai" character (甲骨文-祡) burn.” For most people, burning in-

9/ The Origin of Incense

cense is just for the fragrance to give There is a thought-provoking story trees and people? Examining this, we
us emotional pleasure. However, from called “Zhuangchun (莊椿)” in the may see that only trees are directly
the perspective of ancient Chinese phi- Zhuangzi (莊子) that mentions an an- connected to Heaven and Earth, and
losophy, it is far more than that. It is cient tree called “Chun (椿),” which therefore continuously receive first-
recorded in the Dao De Jing (道德經) has a very long lifespan, beyond our hand information and life force.
that “The Dao gives birth to the One; imaginations. 8,000 years is just a sea- The solar energy (fire) and the air
The One gives birth to Two; Two gives son for it. After another 8,000 years, elements are fixed in organic form by
birth to Three; Three gives birth to all spring is turning to summer... But it is leaves and then continuously trans-
things.” The “Two” here stands for Yin ancient to even the oldest human be- ported down through sieve tubes. The
and Yang, or Heaven and Earth, which ing, Peng Zu (彭祖), who according to water and earth elements are absorbed
indicates all living beings come from Chinese legend, lived to be 800 years by the roots and then transported up-
Heaven and Earth. In the Xunzi (荀 old. Why can this tree live so long and ward through the pipes in the xylem
子), it also written: “天地合而萬物 what is the main difference between of the trunk to the stems and leaves.
生,” which translates: “Tens of thou-
sands of living things are born from There are a variety of
the meeting of Heaven and Earth.” Egpytian illustrations
From this point of view, Heaven with incense in offerings
and Earth are the original source of or as cosmetics. These
life force for all creatures. If we think are the oldest records of
further, we will find that, interestingly, incense on Earth, with
some dating back to at
people and other animals are not di-
least 3000 BCE. The
rectly connected to Heaven and Earth. sacred use of incense
We need an intermediate carrier to in- is therefore as old as
directly obtain the life force or other civilization itself. And
nutrition from Heaven and Earth to many of these same
survive, and most of these carriers are perfumes are still used
plants. around the world today.

10
Incense & Tea
Once the trees become the channels Aromatic plants are similar, but envoy from “Western countries (xi guo,
where Heaven and Earth meet (天地 more complicated. Once invaded by 西國)” to offer incense that looked like
合), life begins (萬物生). At this mo- bacteria or fungi, a large amount of ar- the eggs of the swallow or red dates.
ment, a wonderful Taichi diagram ap- omatic or unscented compounds will It was burned when an extremely se-
pears. If you understand the meaning be generated to resist the invasion or vere plague afflicted Chang’an. Within
of this diagram, you will discover the heal themselves. And some of these a very short time, those who were ill
biggest secret behind this ancient wis- substances are treasures that make recovered, and people within a radius
dom. This is also the highest state pur- people crazy. The myrrh mentioned of 100 li (50 km) could smell the fra-
sued by ancient sages, to be connected above is another good example. When grance of the incense. For nine months
with Heaven and Earth directly and the myrrh tree is injured, the magical the fragrance hung in the air and did
gain eternal life. resin, which has very strong healing not dissipate. This story sounds amaz-
As plants play such a unique role to power, will be accumulated. This is ing, but in fact, herbs and incense have
life on Earth, during the growth pro- why Queen Hatshepsut sent her navy been used as medicine for thousands of
cess, they have endless power to pro- to look for it along the Red Sea and years.
duce a variety of wonderful substances, burned Kyphi every day to vitalize her No matter which country or reli-
scientifically called “secondary metab- skin and hair. Meanwhile, the ancient gion, incense plays an important role
olites,” many of which can be used Egyptians also began to extract the es- in every part of our lives. It seems to
as medicines to fight against harmful sence of aromatics by using animal fat. be a holy thing from Heaven. For ex-
microbes, treat diseases or maintain Once heated up, the liquified fat was ample, it is recorded in a hadith col-
our health. A good example is tea, of used as a kind of solvent; the essence of lection, “The first group of people who
course, which was originally used as aromatic plants could be easily extract- will enter Paradise… their sweat will
an antidote, according to one of the ed if soaked in it and it would become smell like musk. Aloeswood will be
legends associated with Shennong and a healing cream when cooled. This is used in their centers.” More impor-
the discovery of tea (illustrated below). also the origin of modern cosmetics tantly, it is the way to keep us connect-
Tea was also described in Compendi- and skin care products. ed with Heaven and Earth all the time.
um of Materia Medica (本草纲目) as In ancient China, the system we But why have we modern people
promoting bowel functions, dispelling now call “Traditional Chinese Medi- lost our connection to Nature through
heat and dissolving phlegm. Modern cine” was established. In this system, aroma? Since the beginning of the In-
science has also proven that the cate- many herbs are considered or used as dustrial Revolution, synthetic materi-
chins from tea are natural antioxidants remedies, which is the homology of als and industrial products have greatly
that help prevent cell damage and pro- medicine and incense (香藥同源). changed our lives. The commodifica-
vide other benefits. Since tea has so There are even records of many magic tion theory has created a standardized
many functions, we cannot live with- incenses used to treat diseases. Accord- and cheapened world since before
out it. From another point of view, the ing to the Records of Diverse Matters we were born—day and night, from
tea tree has become a perfect carrier for (博物志), during the reign of Emperor the toothpaste and shower gel to our
us to connect with Heaven and Earth. Han Wu (141–87 BCE), there came an shampoo, and from laundry detergent
to the additives and colors in our food,
we have gradually adapted to the smell
of chemically synthesized aromatic
compounds. We have totally forgot-
神 ten the feeling of real fragrance or es-
sence from Nature. And more impor-
農 tantly, forgotten where we are from.
Our senses have also become dull and

發 numb, and our experience in the sur-

face of the nose—unlike our ancestors

現 whose sense of smell was keen, as their

survival depended on it.

藥
Therefore, I have insisted upon
making my own incense for more than

草
ten years. Everyone thinks I am only a
craftsman; they don’t realize that I am

皇
also a messenger from ancient times. I
am hiding an ancient story in every in-
cense stick I make. When you light it
后 up, the smoke is telling you this story
and trying to wake you up. The origin
of incense is the same origin of our-
selves.

11/ The Origin of Incense

純沉香
 The Noble
Tea & Incense
Ceremony
茶人: Master Tsai Yizhe (蔡奕哲)

T hroughout history, humans of

all countries, regions, ethnic-
ities and cultures have always
been enamored of fragrance. People
would use things that emanate a nat-
In Chinese traditions, aside from
simply delighting the senses, incense
also plays an essential role in making
offerings to the gods, worshiping our
ancestors and other expressions of re-
One was filled with the burned rem-
nants of bison grass root charcoal,
which was likely burned using the
partition method. The other burner
was filled with fragrant plants such as
ural perfume, like flowers, aromatic ligious faith. The Han Dynasty (202 sweetgrass (Hierochloe odorata), galan-
herbs, incense wood and resin in vari- BCE–220 CE) was a key time in the gal, magnolia and Chinese lovage root
ous ways. Whether employed to adorn diversification of traditional incense (Ligusticum levisticum), which were
one’s person, for bathing or brewed varieties, as foreign merchants brought likely lit directly.
into a tea, these fragrant substances new types of fragrant plants such as The integration of Buddhism into
all delighted the senses and the spirit, rosemary, Ngai camphor and Eupatori- Chinese society during the Jin (266–
performing a function of cleansing and um japonicum. There are records of an 420), Wei (386–534), and North-
warding off evil. And once humans ancient official who took up the habit ern–Southern dynasties (420–589)
learned how to use fire, this opened up of holding fragrant clove fruit (Fructus brought deeper meaning to the use of
new and diverse ways of using more caryophylli) in his mouth when he pre- incense. As contact with other parts of
complex, layered fragrances. There sented reports to the emperor. the world increased, the resulting cul-
are historical records of incense being Traditionally, there are two main tural exchange brought large volumes
used in religious ceremonies as early methods of burning incense: one in- of diverse fragrances into China. Em-
as 3000 BCE; the evolution of incense volves lighting the incense directly, peror Yuan of Liang once engraved a
has always been intimately linked to while the other involves separating the line on an incense burner that roughly
religion and the historical and cultural incense from the flame using a thin means: “Wafting incense, cloud-like
factors surrounding it. Even today, plate or “partition” placed over the heat smoke.” During the Five Dynasties era
these same fragrant materials are still source. Historical examples of both (907–979), novel incenses from far-off
used as incense and as a raw material of these methods have been found in lands, brought in on trading ships or as
for ornamental items in numerous reli- two incense burners unearthed at the tributes to the emperor, became all the
gions, including Buddhism, Daoism, Mawangdui Number One Tomb ar- rage. During the Tang Dynasty (618–
Islam, Catholicism and other branches chaeological dig site, both still con- 907), luxury-loving nobles built their
of Christianity. taining the vestiges of used incense. palatial rooms out of fragrant wood;

13
Incense & Tea
they also used all manner of fragrances lighted by incense.” In Buddhism, in- essential elements of Zen Buddhism,
in their daily lives, and eventually this cense performs the functions of purify- whether it be during meditation ses-
craze for incense found its way into ing, making offerings and embodying sions where the head monk would
the lives of ordinary folk. Even today, spiritual practice. walk circuits with incense as a remind-
when people are praying to the gods During the Tang Dynasty, incense er for the monks to focus, or when the
or making offerings to their ancestors, used for religious purposes developed head monk would make rounds of all
they won’t forget to light a stick of in- and matured. Even just in the under- the dwellings in the temple area carry-
cense. ground palaces of Tang Dynasty Bud- ing incense and tea, or the offering of
Historical records of the develop- dhist temples, a great many different incense and tea when welcoming re-
ment of tea testify that tea drinking incense burners and implements have vered senior monks to the temple. To
was already widespread among the been discovered, including “smoky in- a Buddhist practitioner, incense and
general populace as early as the Han, cense” burners, long-handled burners, tea were standard elements of ritual
Wei and Jin dynasties and the Six Dy- perfume sachets and incense spoons. activities, but also an essential part of
nasties (222–589), and each region The traditional functions of incense a spiritual life. During the Tang Dy-
had its own tea-drinking tradition. began from the earliest uses of fragrant nasty, there were a great many different
Consequently, it was still very much a substances in dispelling bad odors, tea regions, harvesting and processing
regional drink, with each area having bathing, perfuming clothes, making methods, and tea-drinking methods,
its own localized customs. Classic tea offerings to gods and ancestors, ward- and evaluating the flavor of differ-
writings, from Du Yu’s Jin Dynasty ing off evil, medical treatments and ent teas was still mainly the purview
Essay on Tea to Lu Yu’s Tang Dynasty consumption as food and beverages; of scholars such as Lu Yu, who wrote
Tea Sutra, not only recorded tea histo- Buddhists later incorporated the sen- the classic Tea Sutra, including topics
ry and differentiated tea regions, but sory experiences of the nose (smell), such as the origins of tea, methods of
also established the use of various tea eyes (color), ears (sound), tongue tea drinking and tea implements, and
implements. The tea culture that arose (taste), body (touch) and mind (dhar- generally extolling the virtues of tea. In
from Lu Yu’s work was heavily influ- ma) into many different practices that the late Tang Dynasty, prime minister
enced by monks and hermits, creating they employed on their path toward Fei Wen wrote the following praise in
a focus on the harmonious interplay enlightenment. his book All About Tea: “its character
between the natural environment and One incense-related example of is fine and pure, its flavor grand and
the scholar’s state of mind. this is the aforementioned story of the clean; drinking it washes away all wor-
The central link between tea and youth who attained enlightenment ries and brings great harmony.”
incense is Buddhism. In Buddhist tra- after smelling incense. An example During the Tang and Song (960–
dition, tea is ascribed the three virtues involving tea is the rite of gathering 1279) dynasties, incense and tea cul-
of being able to ward off sleepiness, aid to drink tea and beat tea drums in ture had become widespread; burning
digestion and dispel lustful thoughts. Buddhist temples and monasteries. In incense and serving tea as part of spir-
Incense is said to have cleansing quali- the Tang Dynasty book Bai Zhang’s itual practice, as an aid in meditation
ties and is used for purification, prayer Monastic Rules, we find proof of the and spiritual understanding, was not
and spiritual practice; it is a sacred item convergence of tea and incense in the just limited to Buddhist monks in
used to make offerings to the Buddhas Zen (Chan) Buddhist tradition, in the temples. Rather, its influence grad-
and Bodhisattvas. Incense and tea have description of a “serving tea and burn- ually spread to scholars and ordinary
thus become essential elements of Bud- ing incense” ceremony. Bai Zhang’s folk. From this, we can get an idea of
dhist practice. There is a record in the Monastic Rules describes how at Bud- the profound artistic and philosophi-
Surangama Sutra that relates the story dhist temples, there were specialized cal insight achieved by incense and tea
of a young boy given the title “Pure attendants in charge of the complex masters, as well as the incomparable
Youth, Adorned with Fragrance” who duties related to tea and incense. For feeling of serenity and mystery that tea
attained enlightenment and became example, there was a tea attendant and incense can bring to us all.
an Arhat after smelling aloeswood in- who specialized in boiling the water to The fragrance of incense and the
cense. The Bodhidharma’s Doctrine of brew the tea, as well as serving tea and flavor of tea often begin as simply a
Understanding also contains the fol- attending to guests; there was also an way to satisfy the physical senses,and
lowing metaphor: “The Buddha is in incense attendant who was in charge later develop into something to be
the heart, just as the incense is in the of all things related to incense. These evaluated, distinguishing the fine from
tree. The Buddha comes from a heart high-status attendants carried out in- the crude; from this, they may evolve
freed of suffering, just as incense comes cense ceremonies at all the main ac- further into a way to quiet the mind
from a tree freed of decay. We know tivities that went on in the monastery, and seek spiritual understanding, to
that there is no incense outside of the such as large formal Buddhist teaching reach a spiritual state where virtue is
tree, just as there is no Buddha outside sessions by the masters, smaller infor- experienced via the nose and mouth.
of the heart. If there is incense outside mal teaching sessions, public teach- Just as all rivers flow to the sea, this
of the tree, it is not true incense; if ing sessions, ceremonies and prayer evolutionary “flow” flourished on all
there is a Buddha outside of the heart, sessions. Their duties also involved these levels in the Song Dynasty. The
it is not the true Buddha.” In the Jin transcribing the Buddhist teachings at influence of that era’s Tribute Tea
Dynasty, Ge Hong wrote that “there is these events. So, through the conver- (gong cha, 貢茶) affected every type
nary a human nose which is not de- gence of tea and incense, both became of tea in the realm, from low to high.

15/ The Noble Tea & Incense Ceremony

Beiyuan Tribute Tea of the Southern tea drinkers of the Song Dynasty had true art.” Although these things were
Tang Dynasty led Emperor Song Hui- blended many new elements into the leisure activities, they represented an
zong to personally establish the Long- tea practices of the Tang Dynasty, such elevated lifestyle for people at all levels
feng “dragon and phoenix” tea ball as appreciating flower arrangements of society, from the emperor to the no-
mold. He also sent special envoys to and incense. This developed into the bility to ordinary people, and became
Beiyuan to set up an official imperial “four arts of life,” namely burning in- an essential element of self-cultivation.
tea garden in order to thoroughly un- cense, drinking tea, appreciating paint- Imagine, if you will, a solitary
derstand tea processing. They carefully ings and arranging flowers. person slowly sipping a bowl of fra-
refined existing tea-roasting methods In the Song Dynasty, people vied to grant tea, with the aromatic smoke
to produce tea balls or tuan cha (團 have the most wonderfully decorated of stamped incense curling slowly up-
茶). From this point, Tribute Tea con- banquet space; they wouldn’t hesitate ward, reading the Tea Sutra and the
tinued to develop into an ever more re- to decorate them with authentic works Incense Manual, lost in a serene reverie
fined and luxurious product to suit the of art by famous painters and callig- of times gone by. Or perhaps gathering
imperial tastes. In reality, Tribute Tea raphers to create a feeling of culture, a few good friends, choosing a scenic
was not simply for the drinking plea- as in the following description: “Ar- spot between forest and brook, setting
sure of the imperial court: it was also ranging flowers from the four seasons, up an elegant chaxi and savoring a fra-
a major economic staple of the Song hanging paintings by famous masters, grant tea, quietly watching the changes
Dynasty and made significant contri- decorating the shopfront and selling in the clouds and the water, cementing
butions to the imperial household’s wondrous teas all year long...” It’s not friendships over some light philosoph-
income. During the Tang and Song hard to imagine that behind this pop- ical chat. It is truly one of the greatest
dynasties, incense and tea were already ular banquet culture was a deeper cul- joys in life, as the saying goes: “a bowl
ubiquitous elements of everyday life tural significance. There’s a quote from of tea and an incense burner, whiling
and had become tokens of an elegant the Four Book Depositories that encap- away the day in conversation: great
lifestyle. Tea books proliferated in the sulates people’s attitudes toward the delights are these.” Occasions such as
Song Dynasty, and there was no lon- four arts of life during the Song Dy- these could perhaps gain some inspi-
ger anyone who wasn’t familiar with nasty: “entertainment is less essential ration from Emperor Song Huizong’s
tea. Everyone started paying attention than learning; one may be enthralled Painting of a Scholarly Gathering. The
to the timing and surroundings of tea by skill, or the Dao may reside within. painting depicts a banquet setting
and incense sessions; by this point, the Therefore, amusement is secondary to with six flower arrangements in vases;

16
Incense & Tea

Song Huizong’s Painting of a Scholarly Gathering

the host is taking tea powder out of a and it would overpower the natural fla- were all about leisure and enjoyment.
tea canister, while to the left a servant vor of the tea. During the Song Dynas- In a life spent seeking joy and spiritual
boils water in a pot. In the bottom of ty, the use of perfumes and flavorings cultivation, in scholarly pursuit of the
the painting, four more servants attend in food and beverages was widespread classics, with plenty of time and com-
to the tasks of serving tea and wine; on among nobility and ordinary folk fortable surroundings, tea and incense
a table behind a tree there is a three- alike. The addition of perfumes to tea were more ubiquitous than ever. In
legged burner and a guqin (ancient is one of the unique characteristics of Eight Notes on a Good Life, Ming Dy-
zither). This picturesque scene really Song Dynasty tea drinking—so what nasty hermit Gao Lian writes, “the first
captures the refined spirit of a Song exactly were the flavorings that could task of a hermit is to install a tea hut
Dynasty banquet, with its incense, tea, be added? next to his study, so that throughout
flowers, paintings and music. In the From popular folk recipes dating all seasons of the year he may arrange
Song Dynasty, although burning in- to the Song and Yuan dynasties, we flowers, burn incense, admire paint-
cense, brewing tea, hanging paintings learn that the possibilities included ings, make offerings to the Buddha,
and arranging flowers were known as borneol camphor, musk, sandalwood, read books and so forth.” All of this
the “four arts of life” or the “four lei- aloeswood and ambergris. In fact, re- embodies a traditional sense of schol-
sures,” they also reflected the impor- cords that appear in Song Dynasty arly elegance. Gao Lian also mentions
tance that people placed on fragrance, notes and novels tell us that adding that “one might install a three-legged
visual appeal and a pleasing environ- these fragrant substances to tea also stove on which to burn stamped in-
ment in daily life. Incense was not only had a medicinal function; such blends cense. In winter, one can install an
a symbol of the imperial household were popular beverages with the ability inkstone-warming burner.” He also
and nobility, but also came to repre- to regulate Qi, making them a practi- writes of “a stove; a vase of flowers; a
sent the refined manner of scholar offi- cal way of maintaining good health. jar for spoons and chopsticks; a box
cials; along with burning incense, call- Although scholars frequently expressed of incense.” He gives this advice on
ing a servant to draw some water and disapproval of this trend for putting incense equipment: “In terms of burn-
brew some new tea was the epitome of fragrance in tea, it never lost its pop- ers, there are only three good choic-
elegance. ularity. One example is this statement es: a three-legged ding-style burner,
During the Northern Song Dy- from Cai Xiang: “When tasting tea, a three-footed ru-style burner or a
nasty (960–1126), nobles and aristo- the people of Jian’an never add fra- two-handled yi-style burner. The body
crats became fond of adding fragrant grance for fear of obscuring the tea’s of the burner should measure at most
substances such as camphor, musk authentic flavor.” Although he may three inches across. The utensil jar
or aloeswood to their Tribute Tea to have been of the opinion that adding should be in the ‘gall-bladder’ shape
make for a more unique and complex flavorings would overpower the tea’s (胆瓶) with a bulbous body and a
flavor. By that era, tea culture had al- true flavor, the practice had already slim neck. The best type is that made
ready evolved to a certain point, so this gained widespread popularity, and its from flower-patterned porcelain (花
was their way of continuing to seek influence continued on to the Ming 觚), while second-best is a Song porce-
novelty. The most noteworthy feature (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1911) lain goose-neck vase. All others are not
of Fujianese Beiyuan Tribute Tea was dynasties and even to the modern day. worthy for this purpose.” Incense and
the addition of what is today known Zhu Quan’s Ming-era Tea Manual tea had become two major branches
as “borneol camphor” to flavor the tea. contains a record of a tea-perfuming of Chinese culture, sometimes cross-
This was known by the more imagina- method that involved adding flow- ing or intertwining, each blooming
tive name “dragon’s brain, (long nao, ers. Whether one chose to judge the into its own splendid radiance. The
龍腦),” which gave rise to the phrase tea purely on its own natural flavor, pleasures of savoring incense and tea
“putting brains in the Tribute Tea.” or to add a hint of flowers, camphor, are such that when enjoyed alone, one
The purpose of adding camphor to the musk or aloeswood, all these different feels solitary but not lonely; if one in-
tea was to give it a more prominent fra- approaches contributed their unique vites a group of good friends to gather
grance, as seen in this quote from Cai aromas to the richness of tea-drinking and sample these delights together, it
Xiang (1012–1067): “Tea has its own culture. Although adding fragrance di- creates a sense of sharing a common
authentic fragrance, yet when making rectly into the tea served to strengthen interest and self-cultivation, of coming
Tribute Tea people add borneol paste the connection between tea and in- together to share in the graceful beauty
in an attempt to enhance the aroma of cense, it also unwittingly gave rise to of tea and incense.
the tea.” In addition to camphor, some a debate among scholars surrounding The poem so beautifully reads:
people also added musk, as per Ding the “true flavor” of tea, as seen in this “Wafting incense; cloud-like smoke;
Wei’s reference to “adding a hint of opinion from Ming Dynasty scholar first dense, then thinning, then sud-
musk.” In Records of Shilin, all the re- Xu Cishu: “If you first steep the tea in denly gathering once more...” The
corded instances of people perfuming water, it will already have lost its true method of using a “partition” to sepa-
their tea in the Song Dynasty involved flavor; if you then go on to add famous rate the incense from the flame of the
the use of borneol camphor; for exam- perfumes, its aroma will be complete- burner became popular from the Tang
ple, the book mentions “camphor- and ly obscured. How can such tea ever be and Song dynasties onwards. The par-
musk-perfumed tea” and “fragrant considered good?” tition was a fine sheet of silver, mica or
cooked tea.” The ratio of perfume to Continuing onward to the Ming other material. An example of this ap-
tea had to be just right; add too much and Qing dynasties, incense and tea pears in Li Shangyin’s Song of Incense,

18
Incense & Tea
which contains the line “the beast- the shape of a dish. When placed atop teachers, perhaps out of a desire to dis-
shaped flame makes the mica glow a this sheet, the incense will not come play their skills, will do all of this at
subtle red.” This description refers to into contact with the flame, so it will the incense session itself: lighting the
the red glow of the animal-shaped burn at a leisurely pace without emit- incense charcoal with a lighter, slicing
incense cake on the mica plate. The ting any smoke.” This method was very the incense with a knife and so forth.
Incense Manual written in the Song popular in Japan and became a part of Personally, I don’t think this is as nice.
Dynasty by Chen Jing contains a the Japanese incense tradition. The good thing is that Taiwanese
quote from Yan’s History of Incense: Wherever there was a love for in- scholars of incense are still hard at work
Burning Incense that states, “The burn- cense, beautifully made incense im- on their research and have found a pas-
ing of incense should take place in a plements were bound to follow. In the sage on the partition incense method
quiet room tucked away deep in the Japanese incense tradition, there are in an ancient book called Superfluous
house. The burner should be set on a seven different tools: fire chopsticks, Things: “For the fire partition, clay
low table, about knee-height.” Silver an ash tamper, a feather brush, tongs fragments are the best choice, while
leaf—in other words, silver fashioned for holding the silver leaf, an incense Ding fragments are the second best
into a very fine leaf-like layer—is also a spoon, incense chopsticks and a thin, and jade is the third best. Gold and sil-
lovely material to use for the fire parti- needle-like tool called an oriole pin. ver cannot be used. An excellent choice
tion. Yang Tingxiu of the Jin Dynasty The seven tools are placed upright in is a piece of asbestos cloth about the
wrote these lines in his Incense Poem: the “incense chopstick jar,” a vessel size of a coin, with inlaid silver edges.”
“A three-legged porcelain stove, jade- made for holding them. The incense When I learned of the use of “Ding
green as water; silver leaf pared as fine chopsticks are made of wood and are fragments,” namely shards of broken
as paper. An even flame, not timid used for picking up any small frag- pottery from the Song Dynasty Ding
nor fierce; sealed beneath its cover, no ments of incense wood that may have kilns, for heating incense, I found this
breeze blows.” From this, we can see fallen onto the tatami mat, or to take quite eye-opening. The character ding
that the partition method of burning out small pieces of incense to test (定) is indeed a Song Dynasty kiln
incense has more than 1,200 years of them. When it comes to taking out the name, but it is also the same character
history. In my opinion, the person who incense wood to properly start using it, used in the context of Zen Buddhist
made the greatest contribution to in- this is a job for the incense spoon. As meditation, meaning “samadhi,” or a
cense traditions was Dong Ruoyu, who for the “oriole” (named for a species of state of meditative consciousness (its
popularized the “smoke-free incense bird), it is used for pinning in place the literal meaning in Chinese is some-
method” in the late Ming Dynasty small slips of paper that are used for thing like “fixedness”). In this sense,
and expounded extensively on the way evaluating the incense. Ding pottery fragments perfectly cap-
of incense. The “smoke-free” method The Japanese incense tradition, ture the spirit of the Way of Incense:
meant not lighting the incense direct- called “kōdō,” has two main schools: they lack the expensive aura of silver,
ly, but instead using any “roasting” Oie and Shino. The implements used they give a good result, and they en-
method that doesn’t produce smoke, in each school differ slightly; for ex- capsulate the values of appreciating the
hence the name. It is also referred to ample, the incense tamper in the Oie incense, seeking spiritual understand-
as “roasting the incense separate from tradition is tablet-shaped, while in ing, cultivating the mind and convey-
the flame.” the Shino tradition it is fan-shaped. ing a sense of culture and ceremony.
In the first chapter of The No-Smoke Taiwan has largely inherited the seven In terms of the choice of fragrance,
Incense Method, “Notes on No-Smoke fire-tending tools of the Japanese tradi- there are two main categories of in-
Incense,” Dong Ruoyu writes, “Burn- tion, though often with some adjust- cense: single-scent and blended. Sin-
ing mugwort instead of incense is too ments. For example, the wooden in- gle-scent incense means using a sin-
outdated a practice and should not be cense chopsticks and oriole pin are not gle type of raw material and slicing it
repeated. Burning incense instead of used much in mainstream Taiwanese into pieces; the most common type in
roasting it is too vulgar a custom and methods. On top of the core five tools, this category is wood incense such as
must be reformed.” So, the smoke-free these last two are often replaced by an aloeswood or sandalwood. The oth-
incense method was seen as more re- incense knife and cutting board, which er category is blended incense, which
fined. The partition placed on top of have become a common sight in Tai- is produced by grinding the fragrant
the flame in the smoke-free method wan. The biggest difference between raw materials into a fine powder and
could be made of various materials, the two traditions is that in Taiwan, then blending them according to a
such as fine sheets of pottery, mica, people often forego the Japanese-style recipe. The resulting incense can then
jade, silver, stone, porcelain or cop- “chopstick jar” used to store the uten- be burned as a powder or formed into
per. Pottery and porcelain are the best sils and instead lay all the tools out flat balls or discs. Single-scent incense has
choices for the partition in the smoke- in a row. This is a shame, as it tends to a pure aroma, with fewer diverse and
free incense method, as they result in a create a somewhat busy, messy feeling. interesting variations than blended
milder, purer fragrance, at once elegant In addition, the Japanese traditional incense. At a tea gathering, where in-
and relaxed. This choice of material is involves doing a lot of advance prepa- cense is secondary, it’s better to choose
recorded as early as the Song Dynasty, ration: for example, burning the in- stamped incense, incense balls or in-
as noted in Chen Jing’s Yan’s History cense charcoal and slicing the incense cense sticks. They are easy to burn and
of Incense: Burning Incense: “Atop the are all done beforehand. By contrast, you don’t have to mindfully attend to
flame, place a sheet of silver or mica in many Taiwanese incense students and them.

19/ The Noble Tea & Incense Ceremony

Incense & Tea
Incense balls
Instead of being stamped into a pattern, powdered incense can be mixed with sticky substances such as honey, date paste
or pear juice after the fragrance is blended. It can then be pounded with a mortar and pestle and shaped into spheres or
discs before being burned. These are called “incense balls.” This method comes from an ancient medicine-making technique
that dates back a very long way. Han Dynasty physician Zhang Zhongjing (142–219 CE) describes this method of shaping
medicine into pills using honey in two of his works, Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Essential Prescriptions of the Golden Coffer.
There are four essential steps in the making of these incense balls. The first is adding the honey, followed by pounding the
incense and shaping it into balls. The next step is coating the surface of the balls in powder, which is known as “dressing”
them. Finally, the incense balls must be put in storage for a while to let the fragrance mature—the storage time can be any-
where from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, a month, or even longer, depending on the individual incense. To prevent
the newly blended incense from losing its fragrance, it must be stored away from the light in a well-sealed ceramic container.
The advantage of these “honey balls” is that they are moist and easy to shape, so you can conveniently blend and use your
own incense whenever you like. They are a great way to explore and express your own personal relationship with scents. To
burn them, you can place the incense on a thin plate over a gentle charcoal flame.

Stamped incense
Stamped incense is made by grinding various fragrant ma-
terials into a powder then blending them according to a recipe.
The incense powder can then be molded into all sorts of shapes
using an incense stamp or seal, such as Chinese characters
or decorative patterns, before being burned. In Chinese, this
method has various names, largely composed of different com-
binations of two characters: “stamp (yin, 印),” for the way in
which the pattern is created, and “seal (zhuan, 篆),” which also
refers to the ancient seal script style of calligraphy—the incense
is often stamped into Chinese characters in this script style. An-
other name sometimes used for this method is “winding water
incense,” or “qu shui xiang (曲水香).” There’s a Song Dynas-
ty poem by Liu Zihui that contains the line, “In a noontime
dream, I do not notice the edges smudging away; the stamped
incense has burned out, leaving a dish of smoky flowers.” This is
a vivid description of the traces of ash left behind once this type
of stamped incense has burned away. In fact, stamped incense
can also be used as a way to measure the passing of time—by
stamping a pattern into a dish of incense powder, you can then
observe how much of the pattern has burned away to mark the
passing time. At some point during the Song Dynasty, due to
a serious drought, stamped incense was used to mark the time
of day (they were using water clocks previously and switched to
the duration it took the incense to burn); there was also a spe-
cial design called “hundred-moments stamped incense” which
divided the twelve traditional Chinese time divisions of the day
into a total of one hundred marked sections, so that one dish of
incense could be burned for an entire day and night.

21/ The Noble Tea & Incense Ceremony

Incense sticks
Incense sticks are probably the format that is most familiar to the general public, especially at temples, where a mul-
titude of incense sticks send clouds of fragrant smoke into the air, adding to the sense of religious reverence. There are
many different kinds of incense stick. Long sticks of incense wrapped in paper packaging were already around in the Yuan
Dynasty (1279–1368). In the Ming Dynasty, one common variety was made by burying a thread in an incense mixture to
make a very fine incense string. When made using silver thread and hung up, it was called “guaxiang (卦香).” In traditional
Taiwanese culture, the incense sticks lit to make offerings to the ancestors and for religious ceremonies are called “zhixiang
(枝香),” literally “stick incense.” These are made from thin bamboo strips that are dipped in water and then in a naturally
sticky incense blend (often cedar powder, nanzi fen, 楠仔粉) before being left to air-dry.

22
Incense & Tea
Thus concludes our quite lengthy (蟲漏), produced by the cracks formed From this, we learn that only pure,
discussion of tea and incense in ancient by insects.” Shu jie, literally “produced natural chen xiang can be used in med-
times. But how, then, can we incor- by ripening/maturing,” indicates that icine; aloeswood incense that is artifi-
porate traditional incense techniques the incense was naturally formed in cially removed and is not given enough
into a modern tea session? Here I have the tree, then when the tree eventual- time to form can be burned, but it is
briefly touched on three methods that ly died and fell over, it was buried in not worthy of use at an incense appre-
you can put into practice yourself. This the ground and the aloeswood incense ciation session, and it certainly can’t be
is the “Noble Incense & Tea Ceremo- was transformed by microorganisms used in medicine.
ny” that I have created together with over many years. Tuoluo, literally “fall- If you can make your own incense
Noble Incense teacher Chen Yuting. en off,” indicates that the incense was to use in your tea session, so much the
This method is based on the “trio and formed via a process of decay after the better. You could choose to use incense
duo” of incense implements that be- tree was infected by a fungus or bacte- powder to make stamped incense, or
came mainstream during the Ming ria. Not all types of aloeswood incense instead use naturally sticky powder to
and Qing dynasties. The “trio” consists can be used in medicines, as indicated make pure incense balls without the
of an incense burner, incense box and in this passage: “There are some kinds addition of honey or date juice. Or you
utensil jar (literally “incense bottle”), that are formed quickly and are ob- could roll it into long sticks instead—
while the “duo” refers to the incense tained by chopping them out; other the thickness is up to you—and after
chopsticks and ash tamper (literally kinds mature slowly and are obtained drying them in the shade, you can light
“incense spade”). These implements by a process of decay. Large pieces can them directly as incense sticks. These
are thoroughly emblematic of the be carved and are known as ‘water dish are all well suited to accompanying nat-
Ming and Qing dynasties. pieces.’ These cannot be used in med- ural teas. In his poem Burning Incense,
Just as we only choose organic, icine, though they can be burned.” Song Dynasty author Chen Yuyi wrote:
ecologically grown tea, we also only
use pure, natural aloeswood incense.
Aloeswood is also known in English
as Chinese eaglewood or agarwood; Beneath the bright window
the tree’s scientific name is Aquilariae I spread my book;

擺
lignum resinatum, and in Chinese it is
called “chen xiang (沉香).” Aloeswood I read in silence
incense is the dried wood of this resin- and drift away from earthly cares.
ous tree, which belongs to the Thyme- The boundless knowledge
laeaceae family of flowering plants and

脫
is closely related to another species of the scriptures
in the same genus, Aquilaria sinensis is contained within
(Lour.) Gilg. It is highly esteemed as a this column of smoke.
natural incense and a raw material for
In the moment, the threefold training

塵
handcrafted ornaments, as well as be-
ing a prized ingredient for Traditional brings a wondrous unity
Chinese Medicine. Ming Dynasty bot- of human and Heaven.
anist Li Shizhen summarized the his- Surely this is true peace and clarity of the soul?
torical classification of incense in his
My heart has awakened

世
Compendium of Medical Herbs: “There
are three grades of incense, which are to the moment.
called “chen (沉), zhan (棧) and huang- Smoke from the burner rises,
shu (黃熟).” In Chinese, the name
“chen xiang” literally means “sinking/
a graceful, lonely jade;
dispersing now

的
sunken incense,” because it sinks in
water; “zhan (stack)” incense will half into countless snowy wisps.
sink and half float, while “huangshu It climbs leisurely toward the sky,
(yellow ripened)” incense does not
sink. He goes on to say the following: drifting to haze,

煩
“Chen xiang sinks in water. It comes blown back into being by the wind.
in four varieties. Firstly, there is shu jie As life goes by,
(熟結), produced by coagulation in
the veins of the tree and the subsequent
past becomes present
rotting away of the surrounding wood. yet the smoke’s essence

惱̀
Then there is sheng jie (生結), which remains unchanged.
forms in the veins of the tree after it Like the moon in the water—
is chopped down. Next, there is tuoluo
(脫落), which is produced by rot from as ripples still,
water damage. Lastly, there is chonglou it becomes round once more.”
23/ The Noble Tea & Incense Ceremony
 In the Yuan Dynasty, a Zen monk This is a small poem I wrote about hope that through promoting the No-
known as Liao’an Qingyu, who is fa- tea and incense in the modern day. ble Incense & Tea Ceremony, we can
mous for his paintings and calligraphy, Tea and incense are two of the purest once again find our way on the path of
wrote a poem that goes: “My life is a threads of Chinese culture; they were tea and incense. This means not sim-
peaceful one, unworthy of great com- not only traditionally beloved by no- ply indulging in sensory pleasures and
ment; a column of sweet fragrance bility and scholars, but also became using incense and tea ceremonies not
brings idle contentment. When I’m popular among ordinary people. They just to connect with friends, but also
sleepy, there is tea; when I’m hungry, are tools of religious and spiritual prac- to calm our minds, attain balance in
there is food. I walk and watch the tice, but also everyday, commonplace body and spirit and embark on a path
flowing brook; I sit and watch the things; they are symbols of cultured re- of harmony and meditation.
clouds.” For a feeling of serenity, sip- finement, yet also items that belong to
ping tea alone or in a pair is ideal; it ordinary folk. Tang Dynasty Buddhist
creates a lightness of atmosphere that scholar and calligrapher Pei Xiu once
is worthy of savoring. This does not made this profound comment upon
come from the tea, nor from the in- receiving a rotten mulberry tree root:
cense alone, but also from the feeling “if it were not for aloeswood incense,
of harmony between two good friends I would think no differently of it; even
sharing the present moment. if I thought of aloeswood incense as a
mulberry root, I would still not smell
At Long Cui Fang, its fragrance. The appearance of all
our hut apart from earthly clamor, things starts from the heart.” Today,
Tea and incense as incense and tea sessions have come
guide us in quiet meditation. back into vogue, people have turned
With no thought of praise, towards the pursuit of material desires
we dispel errant thoughts; and have forgotten the original inten-
Nothing is worth wasted worry tion behind tea and incense. I dearly

24
 A Cloud
of
Fragrance
Incense Ceremony Accoutrements

茶人: Zhao Mingming (趙明明)

T his article is an introduction to

the implements used for enjoy-
ing incense. To do a good job,
one must start with good tools. Here,
I shall list the incense implements
as porcelain, lacquerware, wood, ivory,
copper and enamel, and were even
more finely made than those of pre-
vious eras, characterized by the intri-
cate craftsmanship typical of the Qing
(475–221 BCE) unearthed from the
tomb of the ruler of the Zeng state in
Sui County, Hubei, as well as another
copper burner discovered in the tomb
of the Nanyue king from the Han
that we commonly use in the modern Dynasty. Dynasty. These burners were mainly
day—some of them have been passed used for burning charcoal to provide
down from ancient times. According heat and cook food. During the Han
to a record from Mr. Yan’s History of Dynasty, incense burners diversified
Incense that is cited in chapter thirteen The Burner & Bottle Trio in terms of both use and shape: there
of the Compendium of Incense, there were burners for lighting charcoal, for
were eight types of incense imple- This was the name given to a three- getting rid of bad odors with fragrant
ment commonly used by people in piece set of implements: an incense smoke, for placing under quilts and
the Song Dynasty (960–1279): the burner, a chopstick jar (“bottle”) and perfuming clothes; there were long,
incense burner, the incense holder, an incense box. These three were con- flat “lying” burners, spherical burn-
the incense dish, the incense ladle, sidered essential for burning incense, ers, incense-smelling burners and qin
incense chopsticks, the incense pot, and any study would typically be burners (a special type of burner for
the incense jar and the incense stamp. equipped with such a set. use while playing or listening to the
In the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), guqin or Chinese zither). This variety
on the other hand, the standard set of is a testament to the richness of the
incense implements was termed “the The Incense Burner incense culture of the time. The Tang
burner and bottle trio.” This three- An incense burner is the first piece Dynasty (618–907) saw the emergence
piece set was seen as a typical refined of equipment needed to use incense. In of long-handled incense burners for
ornament to decorate a study. By the Chinese it is called a “xiang lu (香爐)” making offerings to the Buddha (also
Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), all three or “xiang xun (香熏).” Incense burners called “magpie-tail incense burners”
implements in the set were often made have a very long history; some examples or “incense dippers”), as well as por-
from the same material and decorated of ancient copper burners discovered celain incense burners. These porce-
with the same design. They could be by archaeologists include a charcoal lain censers were the beginning of a
made from a variety of materials such burner from the Warring States period tradition that would last for centuries.

25
香
繞
Incense & Tea

During the Song and Yuan (1279– the same since it was established in string-pattern two-handled gui-style
1368) dynasties, personal incense the Song and Yuan dynasties. Song burner and the gui-style burner with
burners that were lightweight, easily Dynasty burners have two notable two fish-shaped handles.
portable and simple in shape became characteristics: the first is that thanks Burners that are specially made for
increasingly common. Copper incense to progress in the porcelain industry, incense must be well insulated and
burners from the Xuande era (1426– porcelain incense burners began to be handy to use; the body of the burner
1435) of the Ming Dynasty are very produced in great numbers, with the should be light and easy to pass around.
famous and much sought after by col- five big official kilns (the Ru, Guan, The mouth of the burner directs the
lectors. The history of incense burners Ge, Ding and Jun kilns) producing fragrance toward the nose and doesn’t
is, in a sense, the history of incense use. many famous masterpieces. The sec- have any handles. The Japanese in-
Even after a piece of aloeswood ond was the discovery of some ancient cense tradition or kōdō uses a cylindri-
has burned away, the incense burner bronze implements dating to the very cal incense burner with straight sides,
is left behind and may endure a long, early Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties three feet and a smooth glaze, quite
long time. It’s no wonder that so many (around 2100–256 BCE) during this similar in style to the Northern Song
people like to collect these antique ar- period, which led to a major trend for Ding Kiln three-footed string-pattern
tifacts. Yet collecting incense burners “antique” shapes. The combined result burner and the Southern Song Longq-
without being discerning about what of these two factors was a proliferation uan Kiln pale green zun-style (gob-
you burn in them is akin to the fool- of porcelain incense burners made to let-shaped) burner. When the burner
ish action in the old saying, “buying a imitate the shapes of ancient vessels is passed around and it nestles in your
wooden box and returning the pearls such as a ge (鬲, a three-legged caul- hands while you smell the incense, it
inside.” In the early days, antique mer- dron), gui (簋, a round vessel with two feels wonderful to the touch. During
chants began selling aloeswood along or four handles on the sides) or ding the Ming and Qing dynasties, cylindri-
with their wares; their bargain prices (鼎, a three- or four-legged cauldron). cal incense burners became more and
disrupted the existing monopoly in Some famous examples of these Song more prolific; some typical examples
the aloeswood market, but also helped Dynasty burners are the Longquan are the Ming Dehua-era Ruyi-foot-
drive the trend for incense. Kiln celadon ge-style burner, the Ding ed cylindrical burner, the Ming Xu-
The shape of modern-day incense Kiln cream-colored string-pattern gui- ande-era blue-and-white porcelain
burners has remained more or less style burner, the Guan Kiln pale green vine-patterned zun-style three-footed

27/ A Cloud of Fragrance: Incense Ceremony Accoutrements

burner and the Qing Yongzheng-era The Ming Dynasty book Eight Dis- standing incense or stamped incense
imitation Ge crackled porcelain cylin- courses on the Nurturing of Life (遵生 rather than for picking up.
drical burner. 八箋) by Gao Lian has a chapter enti- The burners used for stamped in-
As for my own personal preference tled “Seven Keys to Burning Incense,” cense, dishes for incense coils and
when it comes to incense burners, I like which contains very detailed notes on stands for stick incense are often placed
to use one with a round opening, a ver- incense burners. However, much of on a table, so they can be made of vari-
tical neck, a rounded body and short it reflects the author’s own personal ous materials such as copper, porcelain,
feet—similar in shape to the Northern opinions—you may or may not agree gold or jade. The shape is also variable:
Song Jun Kiln Tian Qing (“sky blue”) with him. For example, Gao Lian was they can have handles or no handles;
glaze three-footed burner or the Song of the opinion that for everyday use, several separate feet, no feet or a round,
Min Ru Kiln burner. If you nestle it there was no need to use Song Dynasty ring-shaped foot. As stated in chapter
in the palm of one hand, you can hold porcelain incense burners from the fa- thirteen of the Compendium of Incense,
the neck of the burner with the other mous kilns of Guan, Ge, Ding and so “Incense burners can be made of vari-
to angle the burner toward your nose on—rather, he recommended using a ous materials: gold, silver, copper, jade,
with no need to shelter it with your Xuande copper burner, a Pan burner, tin, ceramic or stone are all suitable for
hands. In my opinion, Japanese-style an Yi burner (shaped after an ancient use. They may be shaped like a suan-
incense burners where you cup your wine vessel) or a Ru burner. However, I ni (狻猊, a mythical beast that looks
mouth and nose with your hand to think porcelain, stone or silver incense like a dragon-lion hybrid), a xiezhi
smell the incense are very elegant to burners are all very well suited to use as (獬豸, a type of unicorn), an elephant,
look at; however, after passing through incense-smelling burners, as they have a duck or other such beasts—whatever
the hollows of one’s palms, the fra- good heat-insulating properties and takes one’s fancy.” These beast-shaped
grance will inevitably be tainted some- produce no unwanted odors. Copper incense burners were usually xun lu
what by the smell from the hands. or iron incense burners, on the other (熏爐), the sort used with smoky in-
Better to use a vertical-necked incense hand, inevitably have some degree of cense to perfume the surroundings,
burner which allows the fragrance to metallic smell to them; this, along with and were intricately carved with an
enter the nasal cavity directly, making the fact that they are heavy and con- incredibly array of motifs. They were
for a purer aroma. Some aroma glasses duct heat, means they are better suited popular creatures during the Han and
are fluted for the same reason. to be placed on a table and used for Tang dynasties.

28
Incense & Tea
香
瓶
內
的
主
要
工
具̀
Main Tools in the “Chopstick Jar”
Incense jar itself called by the same name: “xiang bi (香 out and blending incense.” They are
(chopstick/utensil jar) 匕),” roughly meaning “incense ladle.” used for making a blend of incense and
The jar used to hold small incense The History of Incense contains this ref- grasping wood incense. However, to-
tools such as an incense ladle, scoop, erence: “When it comes to incense la- day some of their functions have been
tamper, spoon and tongs is heavier dles, flattening the ash and placing the delegated to other tools—the incense
on the bottom and lighter on the top fire source requires a round one, while poker and incense tongs.
so that it won’t fall over easily. This is scooping the incense powder requires a
called a “xiang ping (香瓶).” In Mr. pointed one.” So, we could say that in Incense poker:
Yan’s History of Incense, the author also modern times, the tasks of an “incense xiang tan (香探)
talks about a “Song Dynasty incense ladle” have now been divided between Once the incense ash has been
pot” (song ren xiang hu, 宋人香壺), three different tools: an incense scoop, spread out, this needle-like tool is used
which has the same function. Some- an incense spoon and an ash tamper. to poke a hole in the ash to ventilate
times the incense jar will have a closed the flame. Since it is similar in shape to
top with holes in it to insert each im- Ash tamper: a hairpin, some people also used one
plement, which looks much like a slice end of a silver hairpin for this purpose.
of lotus root. This type is called a cha
hui ya (灰押 or 灰壓)
Among the historical incense artifacts
Used for tidying the incense ash
tong (插筒), literally a “cylinder for that have been discovered, there are
and pressing it flat. In ancient China
sticking things in.” also some dual-purpose incense tools
incense tampers had flat surfaces, but
with a spoon on one end and a poker
in Japan, they often had cut-out de-
on the other.
Incense spoon: signs on them to stamp a pattern in the
xiang chi (香匙) incense while tamping it down. There’s
Used for scooping incense powder also another type of round incense Incense tongs:
or small incense fragments. tamper called a “flower-tipped tamper xiang jia (香夾)
(ding hua, 頂花),” which is specially These tongs are used for grasping
for making a decoratively shaped hole silver leaf or mica plates for the incense
Incense scoop: in the ash to ventilate the flame. partition. They can be used to grasp the
xiang chan (香鏟) plate from the top and bottom or from
Used for scooping up incense pow- two sides. The incense tongs used in
der or flattening and tidying up in- Chopsticks: xiang zhu (香箸) the Japanese tradition have a pointed
cense ash. Its name literally means “in- or xiang kuai (香筷) top prong and a flat bottom one, per-
cense spade.” In ancient times, incense According to the Compendium of fect for grasping the silver frames that
spoons and incense scoops were both Incense, these are “used for both taking go around the edges of mica plates.

29/ A Cloud of Fragrance: Incense Ceremony Accoutrements

香
探

These are also referred to as “silver leaf Wei Dynasty (386–534) containing also had a secret method of preserving
tongs.” These days, incense tongs come Buddhist art featuring the figures of a incense using purified honey (which is
in many different designs, but they are flying Feitian spirit and another per- treated through a boiling process and
all basically used in the same way. son making an offering, each holding often used as an ingredient in Chinese
an incense burner in one hand and an medicine). The incense boxes had two
incense box in the other. or three compartments inside—people
The Incense Box The literati of the Ming and Qing would put the purified honey on the
dynasties were fond of red lacquerware bottom layer and store the aloeswood
Xiang He (香盒) incense boxes. Eight Discourses on the incense on the upper layer with a mesh
or Xiang Cheng (香盛) Nurturing of Life and another Ming partition in between. Apparently when
Dynasty book, Notes on the Trimmings stored in this manner, the incense
This is a box for storing incense in. of Life, both make mention of carved would grow more and more fragrant
The Compendium of Incense contains red lacquerware. As described in Notes over time. For modern folk, however,
the following passage: “The container, on the Trimmings of Life, “these incense this is too much of a hassle—it’s suf-
or box, is for storing burners and oth- boxes are coral-red in color; they are ficient simply to store each different
er such items. Any material that does lined with tin on the inside, and the type of incense separately to ensure the
not dry out is acceptable, and it is im- outer layer is lacquerware. The beau- fragrances don’t muddle together.
portant not to use unsmelted copper tiful carvings on the outside of these The items stored in an incense box
vessels, as the items inside can easily boxes are a delight to behold, and they are as follows:
deteriorate and take on an unpleasant are decorated with great care accord-
odor.” Incense boxes should be made ing to the saying: ‘One, the sword-
from an airtight material that does not hilt ring; two, the flowers and foliage; Fine plates for separating
produce unwanted odors; copper and three, the figures of people.’” the incense from the flame
iron often give off a metallic smell, Porcelain incense boxes were also
so they are not suitable for storing al- very common, and China even im- Fine layers or plates of various ma-
oeswood incense. Aside from those, ported them from Vietnam and Japan terials are used to separate aloeswood
you can find incense boxes made from during that era, according to Eight Dis- incense from the fire source. These
all sorts of materials: silver or gold, tin, courses on the Nurturing of Life. How- can be made of silver leaf, mica, jade
ivory, enamel, jade, cowrie shells, pot- ever, from the artifacts that archae- or porcelain—all materials that are
tery, porcelain, lacquerware and even ologists have unearthed, nobles and flame-resistant and odorless. Some say
carved bamboo. Scholars have discov- aristocrats favored precious gold, silver that these materials have different ef-
ered a grotto dating to the Northern and jade incense boxes. The ancients fects and are suited to certain incense.

30
Incense & Tea

From the Tang Dynasty until today, Partitions made from thin sheets of sil- Incense dregs dish
Chinese people have been using these ver are the best, in my opinion; when A small dish for placing the leftover
sorts of “fire partitions” for smoky in- they get dirty you can simply wipe incense after you are done with your
cense for more than a thousand years. them clean with alcohol and they’ll incense session.
Eight Discourses on the Nurturing of Life be as good as new. These days, many
contains the following reference: “The people also use sheets of mica as fire
aim of burning incense is to produce partitions. Fire chopsticks
fragrance, not to produce smoke. If the A pair of chopsticks for picking up
incense is too smoky, the fragrance will Incense knives the incense charcoal. Metal ones are
burst forth unimpeded and exhaust These tools are used for cutting or superior to those made from wood or
itself in no time at all. To bring out paring off pieces of incense. The Jap- ivory.
the fragrance, to produce a serene and anese incense tradition involves some
long-lasting aroma that does not dissi- quite complex incense cutting tools Ash sweeper (or “feather broom”)
pate quickly, one must use a partition and cutting boards, but the Chinese Used to lightly sweep away the
to separate the incense from the flame. tradition doesn’t yet have any estab- incense ash from beside the burner.
Some people use silver coins or pieces lished custom as to the type of cut- In modern times, some people wipe
of semi-translucent tile (such as mica) ting tools used. That said, I find that the ash away with a silk cloth instead,
for this purpose; these are all crude incense knives with too large a blade which is called an ash cloth or incense
methods that do not give good results, are not very aesthetically appealing, so cloth.
as they become very hot and do not as long as the blade is fine enough and
insulate against the flame. Only jade the knife functions well and is easy to
flakes give a pleasing result, though hold and handle, it will do just fine. Incense seals (or incense stamps)
even they are not as good as the burnt- These are a type of openwork mold
out bottoms of earthenware pots; these used to stamp patterns for powdered
can be ground into very thin plates, Incense rack/rest incense. In the Catalogue of Incense,
which make excellent partitions to This is a rack for temporarily plac-
Hong Chu says, “Incense seals are
burn incense on.” Personally, I find ing tools such as the incense spoon,
carved out of wood and are used for
that earthenware plates made from the scoop or poker during the process of
making patterns with the incense pow-
bottoms of ruined cooking pots still burning the incense. (This can be a
der. The patterns are characters in the
have cooking smells lingering in them; stand or rest as well.)
zhuanwen seal script style. This type of
only pottery fragments fired in a kiln incense is often burned at banquets or
at a very high temperature are suitable Charcoal dish before a statue of the Buddha. Many of
to use as fire partitions for incense, A shallow dish for holding the in- these seals can reach two or three feet
as only after this will they be pure cense charcoal. It often has a layer of in diameter.” The “incense powder”
and odorless. As for jade, it tends to mesh at the bottom to better ventilate referred to in the passage means pow-
crack if the temperature gets too high. the hot charcoal. dered incense. It is sprinkled into the

31/ A Cloud of Fragrance: Incense Ceremony Accoutrements

 香
盒
cut-out parts of the incense seal so that plank, two feet long and one foot two an electric mechanism, so when you
when the seal is removed, the incense inches wide—a shape that was inherit- plug the burner into a power outlet,
powder stands up in raised patterns on ed from Japan. Aside from setting up it starts releasing fragrance after about
the ash. Then, you can simply light one the incense tray on the incense table, twenty seconds. It maintains a steadi-
end of the incense pattern. Other than you can also add decorations such as a er temperature, as it can automatically
wood, incense seals can also be made vase of flowers, an interestingly shaped regulate the heat to stay between 85–
of copper or silver. stone, a scroll or two, or a shanshi pen- 90 degrees Celsius, which is the best
jing arrangement (a “landscape in a temperature for burning qinan incense
pot,” depicting mountains and trees in using the “cooked” incense method.
Incense tray miniature) for a more cultured feel. When using the same method with al-
Implements such as the incense oeswood incense, a slightly higher tem-
burner, box, tool jar, partition, incense perature is needed, so it’s ideal if the
rack, dregs dish, feather sweeper, fire Lighter electric burner has an added control
chopsticks and so forth are often all Used for lighting the incense pow- for fine-tuning the temperature. Now-
placed on a tray to keep them neat and der and incense charcoal. These days, adays, there’s also a type of recharge-
tidy. the most convenient option is the type able electric incense burner powered
of lighter that projects the flame out- by lithium batteries, so you don’t need
wards, as you can use it to light the to plug it into a socket, making it easy
Incense table incense from any angle. You can buy to pass around and take with you while
A small table on which the incense these lighters at shops that sell tobacco traveling. Good qinan incense can be
tray is placed. In Eight Discourses on the pipes and other smoking parapherna- heated at a moderate temperature for
Nurturing of Life, Ming Dynasty au- lia. four hours. This method doesn’t re-
thor Gao Lian gives a detailed descrip- quire knowledge of the traditional pro-
tion of the incense table. It was two cess of tending the fire, using charcoal
feet eight inches high, and the tabletop and ash; it’s a sort of modern version of
could be made of marble or agate, or of
Modern Electric the “cooked” incense method, where
stone set into the center of a wooden Incense Burner the incense is separated from the flame
frame. It could be round or rectangu- with a partition. Although it’s certainly
lar, or made in a shape inspired by na- This is a new style of incense-smell- much quicker and easier, it nonetheless
ture, such as plum blossoms, sunflow- ing burner that came from Japan. On lacks a certain feeling that comes with
ers or the Chinese arrowhead plant. It the outside it looks the same as a tradi- a traditional incense experience.
seems that at the time the book was tional incense burner, while on the in-
written, some Japanese incense imple- side it has a flat ceramic or silver plate
ments had already made their way to for putting the incense on (though ce-
China; for example, a sort of desktop ramic is superior for preventing burns).
incense table in the form of a long Inside the body of the burner there’s

32
 Extracting
Incense
How to Cut Aloeswood for Incense Ceremony

茶人: Er Fu Ju Zhu (而富居主)

T his article will explain the

methods for extracting
aloeswood incense. I’m sure
that quite a few incense enthusi-
asts will already have some valuable
to quality. However, there is a kind
that floats, though it will be half-sub-
merged. That kind of aloeswood is
called by many names: “Stack Incense
(棧香),” “Letter Incense (箋香)” and
has been cut that only shine in this
way. The warm incense method in-
volves burying the charcoal in ash and
then heating the incense on a partition
separating it from the ash. With this
incense such as qinan (a special type of “Handling Water Incense (弄水香).” method, the technique used to extract
aloeswood incense also called “kinam,” Aloeswood that floats on the water’s the incense before use is particularly
“kynam” or “kyara”) at hand; if you surface is called “Yellow Ripened In- important, so much so that the quality
master the proper method of extract- cense (黃熟香),” though some kinds of the extraction technique can direct-
ing this sort of incense, it will give off of Yellow Ripened Incense and Sinking ly impact the quality of the fragrance
an even lovelier, more sublime fra- Red Soil (紅土沉) types of aloeswood when the incense is heated.
grance when put to use. Thus you will also sink in water. Actually, due to the Differences in the extraction tech-
not only be able to enjoy the beauty of confusion surrounding which types nique can cause the same piece of in-
the incense yourself, but also to share sink or float, there are much better cense to give off a completely different
it with others. ways to distinguish the many varieties fragrance. Hence, in addition to using
Aloeswood is the resin that is emit- of aloeswood. It is, for example, much good quality incense and knowing
ted by Aquilaria trees infected by a spe- more clearly classified by the distinc- how to release its fragrance, knowl-
cific type of mold, cancer or induced tive features of its scents, the different edge of proper extraction techniques
by human intervention. Because the parts of the tree the resin is produced is also very important. This can make
resin has a fine texture and is heavier on or within, the production method or break an incense ceremony and is
than water, it sinks when placed in or, as we’ll soon see, the shape of the therefore primary knowledge for the
water, which is why it was sometimes incense wood. incense ceremony practitioner.
called “sinking/sunken (chenshui, 沉 The two main methods of sharing So, in the rest of this article, I will
水),” and the uniqueness of a wood the delights of incense are the “cool in- describe several extraction techniques
that sinks is why aloeswood was cate- cense-smelling censer” method and the for aloeswood incense and analyze
gorized by its ability to sink over time. “warm” (or “cooked”) incense method. their pros and cons. I hope this will
However, not all aloeswood will sink The cool method involves smelling the provide a useful reference for my fel-
when placed in water. Whether or not aroma of the aloeswood itself, with- low incense friends and help you to
it sinks depends on the amount of out heat, which can be a treat in itself. get the most out of all your aloeswood
resin, which is often commensurate There are subtleties after the incense sessions.

33
Incense & Tea
The Paring Method
This method involves scraping the surface of the aloeswood with a knife in the same direction as the grain to pare off
thin slices of varying sizes. It is the most common method of extracting aloeswood incense; however, incense extracted using
this method doesn’t give off fragrance very effectively. This is because the ribbons of aloeswood that are pared off using this
technique will be slightly curled, with a curved surface. When a piece of incense in this shape is placed on the incense plate
and heated, only part of its surface will be in contact with the incense plate—it’s not possible to lay it flat so that it heats
evenly, so you don’t get the full effect of the fragrance.

Pros:
香 An easy and convenient method of incense extraction.

Cons:
香 Less effective at releasing the fragrance of the incense.

削取法

35/ Extracting Incense

 The Scraping Method
刮取法
This technique involves holding the knife at almost a 90° angle to the piece of aloeswood, then using the blade of the
knife to scrape out a long, thin strip or tiny chips of incense from the surface of the wood. The fragments of aloeswood are
then compressed slightly before use. This extraction method is particularly well suited to high-grade aloeswood or qinan
incense that is slightly soft or sticky, since if the fragments are a little sticky they will form a flat disc shape when compressed.
This means that when placed on the incense holder for use, incense extracted using this method will be in closer contact with
the incense holder than with the other extraction methods. The greater the surface area and the more evenly it is heated, the
more effectively the wonderful fragrance of the incense is released.

Pros:
香 Only a small amount is needed
If using high-quality incense like aloeswood, qinan or similar, each use only requires as little as 0.02 grams of incense.
When activated using the heated incense method, even such a small quantity of incense will release a strong enough
fragrance for the participants to enjoy. In other words, using the scraping extraction technique and the heating method,
a one-gram piece of qinan can provide about fifty incense sessions!

香 Very effective at releasing the fragrance

After the fragments are scraped out and compressed into a disc-like shape, it will sit flat on the incense holder and
heat very evenly. Aside from increasing the heated surface of the aloeswood (making it significantly greater than that
of incense extracted using other techniques), the small gaps between the fragments also make it easier for the incense
particles to disperse into the air when the incense is heated. Of all the incense extraction methods, this one is the most
effective at releasing the fragrance.

Cons:
香 The incense fragments are extremely light
This means that in the process of enjoying the incense, if you are not careful enough when smelling it or there is a wind
or draft in your surroundings, the incense fragments can easily be blown off the incense plate and scattered onto the
ash of the burner.

香 The incense needs to be replenished sooner

If the incense used is of slightly lower quality with a slightly weaker fragrance, if you don’t use enough of it, the perfume
it produces will also be on the weaker side and won’t last for as long. Because of this, the scraping method is more suited
to high-quality aloeswood incense with a high oil content, such as qinan or chenshui-grade (sinking/sunken) aloeswood
incense, or those that are near to chenshui in quality. For other types of aloeswood incense that are of slightly lesser
quality or have a lower oil content, this extraction method is not recommended.

36
Incense & Tea
The Slicing Method
This incense extraction method is quite common in Japan. It involves using a knife or small saw to cut aloeswood or
sandalwood incense into thin slices of less than a square centimeter in size. When you’re ready to use them, you can simply
place a slice of incense onto the incense plate using an incense spoon and heat it.

Pros:
香 It’s easy to use
Some incense shops in Japan will have specialized artisans slice up the aloeswood incense before putting it in bags to
sell. People can simply go and buy some pre-sliced aloeswood incense and use it straight away.

Cons:
香. A larger quantity of incense is needed
Compared to the other two methods outlined above, larger quantities are needed when using incense prepared using
the slicing method.

香 The fragrance doesn’t diffuse very well

When using slices of aloeswood incense, if they are sliced too thickly and the temperature of the incense burner is not
controlled properly, the side of the incense touching the incense plate will often be heated to the point that it is already
sizzling with bubbles of oil, or even almost burnt, while the upper surface of the slice hasn’t even warmed up yet. Also,
only a limited surface area of the part of the incense that releases the fragrance is in contact with the air, which affects
the ability of the fragrance to diffuse into the air.

切片法

37/ Extracting Incense

Further Notes
天
香
味
純
You can experiment with the three one’s reference. Firstly, some very old or aloeswood incense from your col-
methods of incense extraction de- pieces of aloeswood incense that have lection and heating up a burner full of
scribed above to verify their advantages been passed down over a long period incense for yourself—or else sharing
and drawbacks for yourself. My main can accumulate a buildup of dirt or its sublime fragrance with two or three
recommended method of incense ex- oils on the surface from being handled good friends, enjoying good company
traction is the second one, the scraping repeatedly. So, before extracting the and carefree conversation? It is truly
technique. Incense extracted using the incense, it pays to clean up the surface one of life’s greatest pleasures! To all
scraping technique gives the best re- a bit first—you can do this by gently the incense friends out there—may ev-
sult, even when used cold and placed scraping away any surface buildup ery one of you be able to experience
in a cool incense-smelling censer. Of from the area you want to use, then for yourselves the sense of beauty, joy,
course, when using incense in real life extracting the clean aloeswood from peace and gratitude that can be found
there are various practical consider- underneath to heat up. If you omit in incense.
ations, such as the occasion or environ- this step, the aloeswood incense will
mental factors at the venue, which can mix together with the old surface dirt,
create slightly different results from and when the incense begins emitting
the incense. There are some tricks and fragrance you’ll smell unwanted odors
techniques that can be used to adapt contaminating its perfume. This really
to these differing conditions, which I detracts from the beauty of the experi-
hope to discuss in more detail in the ence—it would be a real pity to waste
future. a good batch of incense in this manner.
Before extracting the incense, there On a crisp autumn afternoon or
are some details that warrant attention, moonlit evening, what could be nicer
which I will mention here for every- than taking out some precious qinan

38
 Incense is
Destiny
茶人: Chen Yuting (陳郁婷)

I n Taiwan, thanks to the influence

of Buddhism and Daoism, people
grow up around incense. We know
that incense is a bridge connecting us
to the realm of the spirit, an item used
open to the outside world. It was just
like diving deep into the ocean—the
deeper you go, the darker and more
obscured the moon becomes. You can-
not find accurate knowledge simply by
the surroundings. As part of my own
teachings on how to enjoy incense, I
have put together a simple outline of
the steps involved, for the peace of
mind of those who wish to offer and
in prayer, a physical object that helps virtue of enthusiasm, so throughout appreciate incense. If you are a Chajin,
us enter the world of the metaphysical. the never-ending process of learning you will see a correlation.
Although I have been familiar with and experimentation, I also ended up Incense is a Way, a Dao, as com-
incense for a long time, I never truly developing my own method of using plex, involving and full of lifelong de-
understood it; I simply thought of it as incense based on a method that uses votion as the Way of Tea. It is a practice
a fixture of everyday life. a “fire partition” to separate the in- that adheres to all the same principles
When I refer to “incense” through- cense from the flame. In these pages I of tea. Both reached the mainstream
out this article, I am not talking about will share it with all my fellow incense through Buddhist temples, and there-
blended incense, nor sandalwood in- enthusiasts and incense-loving tea fore began as a way of honoring the
cense; I am referring exclusively to friends. Buddha, within and without. Both
pure aloeswood incense, or chen xiang take us to our heart-center, where the
(沉香). We will discuss how to slice or Buddha, the awakened self, resides in
pare it and how to use a fire partition glory. Both tea and incense honor the
to heat it in order to fully release and
Bringer of Peace & present moment, expressing reverence
appreciate its fragrance. Calm Settler of Spirits through mindfulness of one’s every ac-
The reason I first became interested tion, however minute.
in incense is that I noticed it had quite Just like serving tea for Chajin, Aloeswood and tea meet in that
a lot in common with tea. It was then serving incense is a beautiful process place where Nature exalts the senses
that I began to study incense in great- that calms the heart and mind. The in a pure and clean way that uplifts
er depth. I sought out many different overall structure of a session is by and consciousness, bringing clarity to the
teachers and experts, and in the pro- large the same no matter who is of- moment. The whole world is in each
cess I realized that the field of incense fering the incense, though there are whiff—the forest, roots and earth, wa-
study lacked a complete and accurate a number of subtle details that must ter and wind, sky and even Heavenly
body of knowledge, since it wasn’t very be adapted to suit the individual and bodies.

39
Incense & Tea

I will share the steps that I use for my own in-

cense rituals:

1. Wash your hands

2. Set up the physical space (adjust seating po-
sitions and lines of movement, lay out all the
implements in a convenient place)
3. Quiet your mind
4. Arrange the ash
5. Light the charcoal
6. Slice the incense (you may also slice off the
amount you need ahead of time and place it in
an incense box so that you just need to take it
out at this point)
7. Place the charcoal in the burner
8. Pile up the ash
9. Place the incense on the burner
10. Enjoy the fragrance of the incense

For those attending the incense session, the

method for smelling the incense is as follows:

1. Pick up the incense burner

2. Steady the body of the burner with your left
hand
3. Gently cup your right hand around the neck
of the burner (so as to direct the fragrance into
your nostrils)
4. Simultaneously lower both hands to your
chest

41/ Incense is Destiny

心
純

身
淨
的
心
反

靈
映
在
香
氣
Incense & Tea
With these steps, you have com- to make sure that the charcoal flame My teacher, Tsai Yizhe, once point-
pleted one “smelling” action. Each is well ventilated once it is placed into ed out to me that the words “burner,
time the incense is passed round, you the burner and doesn’t go out. bottle and box” (lu, ping, he; 爐瓶盒)
may smell it a maximum of three times Another example is tending the in Chinese sound almost the same as
before passing it along to the next per- flame once you have lit the charcoal. a phrase that approximately means
son. Depending on the host’s skill with It’s important to have a good grasp of “peaceful” or “gentle” (ru pinghe, 如
the incense and the time available, you this; if you place the charcoal in the 平和). What this tells us is that when
may be able to pass the incense around burner too early, before the flame has we are preparing for an incense session,
several times, appreciating the way the had the chance to mature, it’s likely to we must use our tools to remind our-
fragrance evolves throughout the ses- be extinguished. If you put it in too selves that our heart must be calm, our
sion. late, it can mean that you only have a movements slow and steady; we must
The process of offering and smell- very short time to smell the incense, or let go of any irritability so that both
ing the incense looks more or less sim- even that the charcoal burns out com- body and mind are smooth and steady.
ilar to the way it’s done at streetside pletely before you’ve had time to place Thus we can influence those around
stalls; this is because the basic princi- the incense on the burner. us, helping them enter a state of seren-
ples remain the same. Much like a tea Every step in the process is very ity and harmony.
session, you cannot truly understand important. The method I use, which A slight mistake in any of the move-
the finer details of the whole process involves placing the incense on a fine ments throughout the incense session,
until you’ve experienced it for yourself. plate above the flame, makes use of as one sequence follows after another,
There is a practical element beyond “the trio and the duo” or “san shi li- will render the whole session not quite
theory that can be touched but not ang jian (三事两件)” that have been satisfactory. This is why, before an in-
understood. mainstream since the Ming (1368– cense session, I always make sure that
For example, the process of arrang- 1644) and Qing (1644–1911) dynas- both I and the incense tools are clean
ing the ash is a bit like a farmer tilling ties: the “trio” is composed of an in- and tidy, and that I’ve prepared a suit-
the fields. The farmer must carefully cense burner, incense “bottle” (a sort able incense that does not contain any
remove any stones or weeds from the of jar for holding utensils) and incense overly strong perfumes or essences.
field in order to have a successful har- box, while the “duo” denotes the in- Everything must be ready and in its
vest after the crops are planted; simi- cense chopsticks and incense sweeper proper place. This way, I know I won’t
larly, the ash must be loosened evenly that are stuck into the incense “bottle.” be flustered or unsettled due to insuffi-
cient preparation.
Good incense is just like a person:
when you come upon each other, a
smile will rise from the depths of your
heart—words are unnecessary. When
you find a good incense, you will be
able to smell it several times. When ap-
preciating incense, I divide the session
into three phases: “initial exploration,”
“taking another look” and “third ex-
amination.” This is called “three-step
incense smelling.” The basic point of
these three phases is to analyze and un-
derstand the scent families and charac-
teristics of different types of incense,
but the deeper meaning is self-reflec-
tion and self-awareness. These three
stages of smelling incense can be re-
alized within one incense session, or
across three separate sessions. Many of
the specifics of each session are things
that must be put into practice in real
life, so I won’t go into unnecessary de-
tail here.
It’s important to find the right per-
son to buy your incense from, too—
come across the wrong person and you
might get taken for a ride. This what
we call “the destiny of incense.” May
every one of you come across the in-
cense that is truly suited for you!

43/ Incense is Destiny

Online Incense Ceremony Course
With Master Chen Yuting
線上香道課程

This month we will be releasing an online course

covering all aspects of incense ceremony
香道 Learn how to prepare for a ceremony
香道 Discover the tools used in incense ceremony
香道 Explore different types of incense
香道 Master Yuting will demonstrate several ceremonies from easy to complex

Watch all the videos at your own pace, in your own home.
There is no schedule:
pause and take notes, pick up later, learning in your own way!

Head to teahutcourses.com
to sign up & start a more fragrant life

香
道
Voices from the Hut
For this month, we have a special article offering some tea background and then beautiful tea
poetry. We love the poetry submissions when they come in. They are inspiring to read during
or after tea sessions. We would like to encourage all of you to put pen to paper and submit your
ideas, musings, travels with tea or even poems!

If you would like to contribute some writing to Voices from the Hut or have an idea for an in-
teresting topic, you can reach Matthew on the Global Tea Hut app (in the “Voices from the
Hut” section), on Instagram (IG: foldedleaves) or email: [email protected].
We cannot wait to read all the exciting articles to come!

Steeping Poetry
茶人: Evan Meulemans

T ea and meditation both found

me at the same time. Though
both had entered my life on
separate occasions at a very young age,
the transformative experience for me
album at eighteen years old, a cup of
hojicha sat patiently by my side the
whole time. On retreats in the woods,
I would often find myself with only a
notepad, pen and a warm thermos of
and more so my friend, told me that
this would be a perfect vessel to prac-
tice with. I couldn’t have known where
that simple act of giving would lead to,
and I certainly didn’t realize that my
came when I picked up my first begin- tea. personal spiritual practice would begin
ner’s guide to meditation as a teenager, Writing both songs and poems to revolve around this leaf. As I became
and the relationship started to take helps me listen to what my innermost more and more curious about different
root. In the book, the author recom- self wants me to hear. This practice of types of tea, brewing methods, teaware
mended that each participant prepare slowing down, connecting with Na- and the practice of Cha Dao, I began
a cup of tea and sit silently with both ture and self through tea has awakened to witness the grounding effects of
hands on the cup. After doing this, I a deep well of emotion and introspec- mindfully drinking tea every day.
felt an immediate connection, and tive thought, with words flowing forth Significantly enough, this is where
from that moment on, both medita- akin to a freshwater spring. Wu De enters the picture. I had been
tion and tea began to weave their way I hadn’t ever considered steeping perusing my local library, searching
throughout my life, staying for a while, tea to be a practice on its own until I for books about tea, when I found Wu
leaving, and then coming back again. was introduced to gongfu tea by the De’s The Way of Tea. I started seeing
Now, well over a decade later, a steady, owner of a local tea house. My jour- these tea leaves very differently, as a liv-
daily practice has finally found its way ney started slowly, steeping gyokuro in ing medicine. I began to feel the deep
to me—one that helps connect me a small mason jar, using the lid of the connection between the Leaf, Nature
to the present moment and one that jar to hold the leaf as I decanted the and myself becoming clearer with ev-
allows words to flow out of me. liquor into a cup. I paid many more ery sitting.
Words have always been meaning- visits to the tea shop as I became more The poems I write now come to me
ful to me. I started writing my first po- interested in this curious leaf. I would while deep in practice—most of the
ems and songs around the same time explain my methodology to the own- time feeling as though the Tea is the
that Tea made itself a central figure in er, Niraj—who lovingly referred to my one who is speaking. I am humbled
my life. As a songwriter and poet, tea practice as “mason jar gongfu”— until by these lessons, big and small, that I
has helped me open up to the moment one day, he gifted me a chipped blue learn every day on this path, and I am
since that meeting with the Leaf and and white porcelain gaiwan. Niraj, grateful for those who share this jour-
meditation. When I recorded my first whom I now think of as my teacher ney with me.

45
Voices from the Hut
Begin
Pale light of dawn.
A cascade of backlit clouds.
Breath made visible
Life made real;
Full and authentic,
aware and determined.
Creating chance after chance;
countless new beginnings.
Wandering, unhurried
through the vastness
of all that is.
Getting lost and starting over,
time and time again,
The reward of winter.

茶
詩
Soften
I love how you change.
Every passing year
brings about something new.
We soften.
We grow.
We learn to live
in the quiet of our hearts,
in the space of this soul.
From dusk until dawn,
and dawn till dusk,
we rearrange,
shape-shift,
blend,
and come into being.
I am who I am,
and I am always
changing.

47/ Voices from the Hut: Steeping Poetry

 Forever Wild
The past, present, and future all exist within this cup;
within me.
Walk On Moments of truth and glory.
Moments of anguish and deceit.
Worn by the ones who came before,
Both tears of sorrow and of joy.
the path chosen
In this pale morning,
leads the way;
sun rising to tint the sky with gold and lavender,
the path chosen
I’m reminded of all that was, is, and what may be.
brings me to you.
Running through the forest,
Committed and true,
feet hit the damp earth;
these things are not mine
searching for a warm place to rest.
for I am only a messenger;
Picking up the scent,
just passing through.
and losing it again.
A cloud giving shade
Forever wild.
from the sun;
And I hold you close,
spectacular in the very
but in my heart and mind
nature of existence,
alone.
nourished from the roots
This blanket,
by love alone.
the warmest embrace,
So, slowly I walk.
comes from you.
Countless lifetimes.
and so, you are here,
Fallen leaves blanketing the ground.
with me.
When rest comes at last,
always.
I’ll know where to begin again;
bookmark on a page,
picking up right where I left off.
Joy, sorrow, love, guilt, praise, grief.
All here,
coming and going;
visiting just for a little while. Forgive
Walk on.
And the birds still sing.
The sun still rises.
The clouds still pass overhead.
Fear and worry vanish with the morning calls.
A moment without.
Listen Clarity.
Bound in the embrace of the natural order.
Nothing but a rumbling in the clouds Splintered dreams of chaos and peace.
as the rain soaks the streets. All under one roof.
Corner to corner, With nowhere left to run,
end to end, and nowhere left to go,
we sit in stillness, we’re born into the world to learn to forgive,
with the world on pause. to move on,
Life changing and to love.
and embracing, My back straightens with each breath,
the sky weeps my heart humble.
as the spirits lay down to rest. And so, I repeat these lessons.
For the love of the earth, we grow. They’re all I know.
For the patience within heaven, we love; I say the names.
a constant learning They’re all a part of me,
on the shoulders of sorrow. a part of each other,
Quiet yourself, a part of the whole.
the mother is speaking. The silence is stunning.

48
 TeaWayfarer
Each month, we introduce one of the Global Tea Hut members to you in order to help you get to know more people
in this growing international community. It’s also to pay homage to the many manifestations that all this wonder-
ful spirit and Tea are becoming as the Tea is drunk and becomes human. The energy of Tea fuels some great work
in this world, and we are so honored to share glimpses of such beautiful people and their Tea. This month, we would
like to introduce Neil Barrie.

I have been drinking tea for more than half my life, with my
tea journey forming much of who I am today. From an early
age, I drank tea with my family in the English style, but this
quickly developed into a deeper, lasting interest in the beauty
and depth of tea. This culminated in growing tea plants when I
was sixteen, alongside exploring the many varieties of tea that I
could find in local tea shops in Sydney, Australia. Two key events
occurred around this time that significantly influenced my tea
journey—the receiving of two tea gifts.
The first of these was from a Chinese homestay student who
was living with us. She mentioned to her father that I was inter-
ested in tea, and upon his next visit, he surprised me with a gift of
a puerh cake. Prior to this, I had never had the opportunity to see
or feel, let alone taste puerh tea. The qualities of this tea were in
stark contrast to the white, green and oolong teas I had gathered
on my local tea shop adventures. This opened a whole new world
of tea to me, which motivated me to pursue a tea-filled trip across
China shortly after finishing high school.
My aunt gifted me the Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō when
I was seventeen, which was my first exposure to the possibility
of a deeper conception of tea and its potential ceremonial as-
pects, beyond just being an enjoyable beverage. This sowed the
seeds that grew and flourished in subsequent years as I began to
cultivate myself and my tea practice. Since then, my connection 茶人: Neil Barrie, Australia/Japan
with tea has grown and developed from a beverage I enjoyed into
a key part of my life, infusing every aspect of my being and my Meeting part of the tea community on two of the Global Tea
approach to all components of my life. Hut Annual Trips, in 2016 and 2017, I experienced some of my
This growing connection was spurred by the realization and favorite tea moments and got to know many amazing tea people.
appreciation of the meditative space that could be created during I had never seen so many people interested in tea in one place.
a tea session. At the time, I found that I needed such a space for On the trips, I was able to create connections with people that
self-reflection and cultivation of mindfulness, and tea was con- share my passion for tea and forge bonds over bowls of tea.
ducive to this environment. Coincidentally, this was also when I Over the course of these years, the practice of tea has slowly
began my physics journey, intertwining my tea practice with the infused into all parts of my life. I am now a particle physicist
mindset with which I explore physics. working to uncover the mysteries of the first few seconds after
At that time, I knew no one particularly interested in tea; the Big Bang, so inevitably most days I spend my time think-
this was a purely solo endeavor. In late 2014, I became aware of ing about aspects of the world well beyond my direct experience.
Global Tea Hut and discovered that we shared similarities in our The tea table provides a touchstone bringing me to the present
approaches to tea, becoming a member shortly after. Through moment, reminding me not to neglect the worldly aspects of my
meeting people from Global Tea Hut and reading the magazine, I mind. Every morning I have tea to align myself for the day, which
realized the importance of service in a tea practice. Having never helps prime my mind for this work, putting me in the receptive
served tea to anyone but my mum some years prior, the idea of mental state conducive to good physics insight and communi-
service was a daunting proposition, but necessary for furthering cation.
my learning. Fate led me to discover that the tea society at my Three years ago, I moved to Japan for work and have since
university had fallen into significant decline, with no apparent di- returned to solo practice. Despite this, I always relish the oppor-
rection or leadership. Seeing this as an opportunity to teach oth- tunity to meet and share tea with fellow members around the
ers and myself, I rebuilt the tea society with new goals of learning world. To all those I have shared these tea moments with in the
and community and began serving, gifting, and sharing tea with past, and all those with whom I will in the future, thank you.
anyone who was interested. This was a wonderful experience that Until we next meet, I will drink another bowl of tea with you all
taught me so much. in mind!

49/ TeaWayfarer
 Inside the Hut
Coming Soon to Global Tea Hut Magazine

茶主题: Wood Firing 茶主题: Yixing

茶主题: Tea Stories 茶主题: Making of Bowls

We continue to update our YouTube channel We have already started planning some events
regularly. We try to only post videos that have edu- and retreats for the end of the year, including a return to
cational value, even if a new product is the launching Casa Cuadrau and hopefully some events at Mountain
point. We would love to hear from you regarding topics Gate tea house in Colorado. Of course, we will have
that you would like to see. Any ideas? Also, we try to do to see what happens. This may all get postponed until
some live broadcasts as well, where we can have a con- 2022. However, it is nice to even think about meeting,
versation about tea with all of you guys. We have many sharing tea and hugs and love with you guys. We have
videos planned, but time and manpower are always a a lot of hugs saved up! Do you guys feel optimistic? Is
constraint on the amount of content we can put out at there light at the end of the tunnel? We certainly feel
one time. that way and try to stay optimistic!

The ten-day discourses from Tea Sage Hut

courses are up on the website. We offered two different
versions. These are great for those of you who took a
course and want to refresh.
Center News
We have looked at two new properties that
have potential. One is a half finished house/
You can now order samples of almost every tea art gallery with a nice plot of land. The other
on our website. A lot of you have been asking for this. is empty land, with a river and lots of moun-
It took a while, but now you can tack some samples of tain views. Zoning laws are still a big issue. The
teas you want to try onto your next order. half-finished house avoids that but we would
have to get it checked first.

We have some new kettles. We have a beauti- We hope you stay excited for Light Meets
ful Cloudstone kettle with a special clay that softens Life. We want to involve you in the planning
the water and a smaller gongfu kettle created by Deng of what we hope you feel is your Center. The
Ding Sou. We also have revamped the brazier to func- more form Light Meets Life takes, the more real
tion better as well. it becomes. Please contact us with ideas about
what you envision for the property and for the
experience at ten-day courses. Perhaps you have
an idea for a type of course you would like to

March Affirmation see when we open. Please share your ideas with
us. We hope to create a whole new calendar and
curriculum for Light Meets Life. And it is your
I forgive Center, after all!

Do I hold grudges? Do I need forgiveness? We hope to make a video soon so you guys
If I do, I should avoid a stance of no re- can come along with us as we explore the area
and look for the future home of our tea Center.
demption for others, offering what I also If we return to any property, we will be sure to
seek. That way, I release and am released. take you with us.
www.globalteahut.org GLOBAL EA HUT
The most aromatic tea magazine in the world! Tea & Tao Magazine
Sharing rare organic teas, a magazine full of tea his-
tory, lore, translations, processing techniques and
heritage, as well as the spiritual aspects of Cha Dao.
And through it all, we make friends with fellow tea
lovers from around the world.