"Cha Qi", what is it?

[apache]

I notice this term has been used a lot when people describing pu erh, I wonder what is it? I'm interested is anyone in this forum have experienced it? Is there any different between the effect of caffeine and "cha qi", or is this a next level of appreciation of a very good pu after the aroma, floral taste, smoothness and "hui gan"?

[JP]

Here is one take on the meaning of Cha qi. http://teamasters.blogspot.com/2006/01/ ... ssion.html

[MarshalN]

I think you can roughly define it in two ways

1) This is the more common one: What the vendor wants you to think his/her tea has, so s/he can sell you more tea at a higher price

2) The feeling of an energy from the tea, not to be confused with caffeine rush.

[apache]

I think you can roughly define it in two ways

1) This is the more common one: What the vendor wants you to think his/her tea has, so s/he can sell you more tea at a higher price

Very good point, next time when I see a vendor saying his/her tea has a lot of cha qi, I would bear this in mind!

2) The feeling of an energy from the tea, not to be confused with caffeine rush.

I still wonder has anyone have the 2nd cha qi experience?

[MarshalN]

I still wonder has anyone have the 2nd cha qi experience?

Oh, of course. Good tea will do that to you, although I find it to be a pretty hit or miss kind of feeling among different drinkers -- for example, when I feel obvious cha qi my friends drinking with me don't -- so I generally don't talk about it because it's not very useful.

[shogun89]

I have felt it, but it is always different. I usually get a very calm and relaxed feeling. Other times I can get a buzz and can be very alert. Its one of those things you must experience for yourself as it is almost impossible to feel.

[apache]

I have felt it, but it is always different. I usually get a very calm and relaxed feeling. Other times I can get a buzz and can be very alert. Its one of those things you must experience for yourself as it is almost impossible to feel.

Do you get a very calm and relaxed feeling from drink sheng or shu? Or is there any different in term of cha qi between sheng and shu? I hope I'm not trying to split hair here?

[TIM]

The kind of Cha Qi I prefer is providing a more consious and calm state of mind. Like most monks are looking for while meditation. You can feel every muscle and pulse moving in your body and be very focus to your own being and moment.

[shogun89]

I have felt it, but it is always different. I usually get a very calm and relaxed feeling. Other times I can get a buzz and can be very alert. Its one of those things you must experience for yourself as it is almost impossible to feel.

Do you get a very calm and relaxed feeling from drink sheng or shu? Or is there any different in term of cha qi between sheng and shu? I hope I'm not trying to split hair here?

I can get the relaxed feeling from both. But I seem to get it more from a shu, I have a 2003 7581 brick that makes me feel great, just very relaxed and calm, without any cares. Almost all the shengs I own are very young so I tend to get a more awake/alert feeling from them as they are so strong, but I imagine a aged sheng will give you a calm feeling as well.

[apache]

The kind of Cha Qi I prefer is providing a more consious and calm state of mind. Like most monks are looking for while meditation. You can feel every muscle and pulse moving in your body and be very focus to your own being and moment.

This really interests me, which particular pu erh gives you this? Or any good one will do?

[apache]

I can get the relaxed feeling from both. But I seem to get it more from a shu, I have a 2003 7581 brick that makes me feel great, just very relaxed and calm, without any cares. Almost all the shengs I own are very young so I tend to get a more awake/alert feeling from them as they are so strong, but I imagine a aged sheng will give you a calm feeling as well.

I find a place where they sell 2003 7581:

http://cantonteaco.com/shop/2003-cnnp-brick-p-113.html

The only problem is it is a bit pricey £35!! (~US$56)

[beecrofter]

I do not think the cha qi is something that comes just from the tea, I believe that you must be in the moment, free of distraction, and focussed 100% on the experience. This tends to preclude scales and thermometers and "busy" surroundings. This awareness may only happen one out of a hundred sessions.

[entropyembrace]

Cha Qi I think of as an emotion that drinking the the tea will impart to you if your mind is open to receiving it.

Yes I know that sounds like a big load of woo.

But drinking tea can be a meditative experience and when I take the time to concentrate of the flavours, aroma, heat and what must be chemical effects from the caffeine, theanine, or whatever else is in there...I do feel things that are transcendent and that's what I think Cha Qi means.

Higher quality teas have a stronger Cha Qi because the flavours and aromas are more pronounced and complex...while cheaper teas seem muted in comparison.

But I don't think Cha Qi is something you can ethically market because it's such a subjective experience...you have to be in the right mindset to experience it and I'm sure everyone feels it differently when they do.

I've experienced Cha Qi from both sheng and shu, a whole range of oolongs, liu an, and a couple of white teas (zheng he bai mu dan and adam's peak) I'm sure I'll feel it from green teas too if I buy some higher quality examples...

[shogun89]

I can get the relaxed feeling from both. But I seem to get it more from a shu, I have a 2003 7581 brick that makes me feel great, just very relaxed and calm, without any cares. Almost all the shengs I own are very young so I tend to get a more awake/alert feeling from them as they are so strong, but I imagine a aged sheng will give you a calm feeling as well.

I find a place where they sell 2003 7581:

http://cantonteaco.com/shop/2003-cnnp-brick-p-113.html

The only problem is it is a bit pricey £35!! (~US$56)

Thats crazy, I got mine for $12 about a year ago. What also interests me is that it has a different wrapper. here is a review of the brick from a few weeks back, taken from "pu of the day" thread.

[Today is a lazy rainy day where I live, so when I got home after a day of school I decided to unwind with a session of a tea I had not tasted since last summer. I had only had this tea once before and since my brewing skills and sensitivity has developed greatly since, I was in for a treat. The tea is a 2003 CNNP 7581 250g. brick. I got it at puerhshop last august for around $9. Not only does the brick itself look quite nice, good leaves, and the compression is becoming looser, beginning to actually form layers in which the tea can be pried of from, from what I understand to be a good sign of age. The brick has a very strong smell to it, I had it wrapped in a cotton sheet and as soon as it came off, the room smelled great. I pried off about 6g. and used a 150 ml. yixing. The brew had a nice mellow sweet foresty aroma, very nice! Even the smell calmed me immediately. The tea is incredibly smooth, it passes thought the mouth and down the throat without any discomfort, very smooth and creamy. The tea immediately put me in a very relaxed state, I was able to close my eyes and was pretty much "out of it" for about 20 minutes. I am very happy with this tea and am glad to have almost the full brick left. This brick will be a special occasion only tea now. Tea like this lead me to believe that investing in quality young shous would be a very good idea. If I could get a tong of some menghai cake and age it for about 7 years and have it taste like this, I will be a happy guy. I will start to take shou's more seriously now.]

[thanks]

7581 bricks are meant to be cheaper. They're a mixture of sheng and shu, so they age quicker, or at least give the illusion of it.

Shogun have you had 7581's from other years? I find that out of the three I've tried they all had a very pronounced chaqi.