Surprise Visit Teapot Artisan Gao Jian Jun (高建军)

Gao Jian Jun is a master YiXing Teapot Artist. His most famous tea pot can be priced as high as 1.2 million pounds.

Yixing teapots are meant for use with black and oolong teas, as well as aged pǔ’ěr tea. They can also be used for green or white tea, but the water must be allowed to cool to around 85 degrees Celsius before pouring the water into the pot. Yixing teapots absorb a tiny amount of tea into the pot during brewing. After prolonged use, the pot will develop a coating that retains the flavor and color of the tea. It is for this reason that soap should not be used to clean Yixing teapots. Instead, it should be rinsed with fresh water and allowed to air-dry. A studious tea connoisseur will only steep one type of tea in a particular pot, so as not to corrupt the flavor that has been absorbed.

Yixing teapots are smaller than their western counterparts as the tea is often brewed for only a few seconds before it is served to guests. Reusing the same tea leaves multiple times, the first brew of the tea leaf is usually used only to clean tea, teapot, and cups and is not to be consumed. Chinese people traditionally drink from cups that hold less than one ounce of liquid and are simply repeatedly filled so that they may cool rapidly but can be ingested before the tea becomes cold.

Yixing teacups meant for steeping tea directly in the cup are also available.

-wikipedia

Tea Chapter had the honor of hosting Mr Gao for a mini sharing session and also to exhibit some of his art pieces when he was in Singapore on 22 November 2012.

one of Mr Gao's teapot on display

love the different colour contrast on the teapot

new age teapot anyone? =)

The master himself at Teachapter

Do drop by Tea Chapter at 9 Neil Road, SIngapore 088808.

And do pop by our facebook page to know more about our future events =)

http://www.facebook.com/TeaChapter

Chinese Embroidery Art Exhibit

Tea Chapter is more than a place for tea appreciation.
Tea Chapter is a hub where the Chinese tradition culture is kept alive.
Hence, recently, Tea Chapter held a Chinese Embroidery Art Exhibit.

Chinese embroidery refers to embroidery created by any of the cultures located in the area that makes up modern China. It is some of the oldest extant needlework. The four major regional styles of Chinese embroidery are Suzhou embroidery (Su Xiu), Hunan embroidery (Xiang Xiu), Guangdong embroidery (Yue Xiu) and Sichuan embroidery (Shu Xiu). All of them are nominated as ChineseIntangible Cultural Heritage.
-wikipedia

What is so special about Chinese Embroidery is that it involves a technique in which stitching takes place on both sides of a single transparent silk fabric. The design shows on both sides (front and reverse). The embroidery artists skillfully hide all the loose threads and knots. Such a piece is normally mounted on a wooden frame as a screen. One really can't tell which side is the front or the back. 

Do drop by 9 Neil Road, Singapore 088808 soon for some tea =)

cheers! 

more reasons to drink tea (yahoo news)

A new study supports prior evidence that tea can not only reduce blood pressure but calm anxiety, despite its caffeine content.

Japanese researchers tested two compounds found in tea -- L-theanine, the amino acid contained in tea leaves, and caffeine -- and their effect in the body when under stress. They enlisted 14 subjects who underwent three separate trials, in which they took L-theanine and a placebo, caffeine and a placebo, or a placebo only. The subjects were then asked to complete mental activities under varying degrees of stress, such as solving arithmetic questions with their non-dominant hand submerged in a bucket of ice water.

Ai Yoto and her team from the University of Shizuoka found that L-theanine significantly inhibited the blood-pressure increases in a high-response group, which consisted of subjects whose blood pressure rose more than average while performing a mental task after taking a placebo. Caffeine also had an effect on blood pressure, but to a lesser degree than L-theanine. In addition, the L-theanine was shown to reduce tension-anxiety scores on mood tests.

The study was published this week in the Journal of Physiological Anthropology.

In a separate study published this January in the Archives of Internal Medicine, Australian researchers found that people who drank three cups of tea a day lowered their blood pressure levels by an average of two to three points.

Meanwhile, flavonoids in tea are thought to improve the blood vessels' tone and reduce body weight and abdominal fat. A Dutch population study also found that high tea consumption is associated with a reduced risk of death from heart disease.

-yahoo news

Poland ambassador visit

recently, the Poland ambassadors paid a visit to tea chapter!

It was our pleasure and honour to have them as our honourable guest.

our guests were seated at our famous "queen seat".

our in-house tea mster shared the art of tea appreciation with our guest.

always good to know we are the preferred tea house for such important guests!

here is a picture of the gift we recieved from our guests ;)

hope you'll turn up at tea chapter soon and allow us to play host to you! :)

Location:9 neil road singapore

Biological benefits of Chinese Black Tea

Many studies have shown various biological benefits of Chinese black tea. The antioxidant activities of Chinese black tea extract have been shown by in vitro assays (Duh et al., 2004; Jie et al., 2006; Gong et al., 2009). Wu et al. (2007) showed the antimutagenic activity of Chinese black tea using the Ames test. Moreover, some animal studies have revealed the antiatherosclerotic (Hou et al., 2009) and antiobesity (Cao et al., 2011; Kuo et al., 2005) effects of Chinese black tea. Previously we have also shown that Chinese black tea exerts an antihypercholesterolemic effect in rodents and humans (Fujita and Yamagami, 2008a, 2008b). Furthermore, many animal and human studies have also shown the beneficial effects of green tea, and that catechins, including epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), contribute to the physiological actions of green tea in- cluding its antiobesity effect (Koo and Noh. 2007).

a little background of chinese black tea

Chinese black tea (Pu-erh tea) is a well-known traditional beverage and is mainly produced in Yunnan Province, China. Chinese black tea is usually categor- ized as a post-fermented tea. Because of the dark brown colour of the infusion liquid, it is referred to as black tea in Chinese but is actually different from the Western ‘black tea’, which is fully oxidized tea. The raw material for Chinese black tea is parched green tea. Piled-up green tea leaves are fermented with microorganisms such as Aspergillus spp. for preparing Chinese black tea. Chinese black tea has been widely consumed not only in Southeast Asian countries (Singapore & Malaysia), including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan, but also in European Union countries, as a healthy beverage (Ku et al., 2010).

Tea chapter provides one of the best chinese tea appreciation experience for both locals and tourists. Do drop by our store for a visit. 

9 Neil Road. Singapore 088808

+65 6226 1175