Your experience with cha qi

[hod]

I’m interested to hear about your own experience with this. I know Cha qi is subjective. I don’t think it's something that comes from tea alone, but it’s fascinating to hear which teas others have identified this in.

[stevorama]

the cha qi that can be spoken is not the eternal cha qi

[john.b]

that would make a great opening line for a book

[ethan]

that would make a great opening line for a book

perhaps the only line of the book

[Bok]

I’m interested to hear about your own experience with this. I know Cha qi is subjective. I don’t think it's something that comes from tea alone, but it’s fascinating to hear which teas others have identified this in.

I have experienced it mostly with certain Lishan Oolongs, only the less oxidised, greener version. Some of them make me dream very vividly all night. Excellent too for becoming very refreshed and awake, even when I am very tired. As I drink those teas very often and it happens every time, I do not think it is anything else than the tea itself. Teas from the same source but processed differently do not expose those properties, like Lishan black, roasted, aged, etc.

[pedant]

i'm not sure i "believe" in it, and i certainly don't understand it.
my assumption is that it's a superposition of drug stimulation and state of mind resulting in a certain mood.
i'm not sure i've experienced it, either.

i've felt caffeinated.

i've felt good.

i've felt good while caffeinated.



what am i missing here after so many years of tea?

[Tead Off]

i'm not sure i "believe" in it, and i certainly don't understand it.
my assumption is that it's a superposition of drug stimulation and state of mind resulting in a certain mood.
i'm not sure i've experienced it, either.

i've felt caffeinated.

i've felt good.

i've felt good while caffeinated.



what am i missing here after so many years of tea?

Nothing.

[.m.]

In my understanding, i'd say that "cha qi" simply means the energy of the tea, that is the way the tea influences your energy "qi" that you feel in your body. Therefore there isn't one "cha qi" but many different kinds. Then again there is (are) certain kind(s) of "cha qi" that people search for. Those that "make one feel good."

[ethan]

.

i've felt good while caffeinated.
what am i missing here after so many years of tea?

You might not be missing anything, just not identifying how you feel as cha-qi.

I have been feeling good while drinking 2 teas recently, a well-aged, roasted & heavily oxidized Lishan oolong & an old, mild smooth Pu-erh. I feel my head get a hit of something, but I wonder whether that is caffeine because I often nap after drinking them which is so easy to do because these teas relax me.

I guess there are 2 ?s. The thread is about which teas do provide cha-qi & what do we mean by the term must be tied to that ? (I think). Years ago when Tony of Origin Tea sent me a dozen 37.5 gram packs of oolongs, I drank lots of gaoshan in great quantity which often provided the cha-qi. Since then gaoshan has not done that. Perhaps any tea may work, depending on what is going on w/ the individual.

[benm3]

i'm not sure i "believe" in it, and i certainly don't understand it.
my assumption is that it's a superposition of drug stimulation and state of mind resulting in a certain mood.
i'm not sure i've experienced it, either.

i've felt caffeinated.

i've felt good.

i've felt good while caffeinated.



what am i missing here after so many years of tea?

All teas have cha qi. Caffeine stimulation can be an aspect of cha qi. Some teas are truly calming. Some teas will literally put you to sleep they are so calming. This is very real. A quality aged oolong, for instance, might be so strong in calming, blissful cha qi that it's really quite hard to finish a single cup without tripping out a little bit. Superior pu-erh can do this as well. High end Dan Cong, Yan Cha, etc, can likewise sometimes go there. This is the sort of cha qi that I think people truly desire in a quality tea- though the experience of this feeling is obviously "subjective," so too are all of our sensations, and one person might have a more intense experience of bitterness, or hotness. But bitterness and hotness are still real qualities.

But cha qi is a broad term referring to the many different ways a tea makes you feel. I would not necessarily spend a lot of money in a highly caffeinated tea, but I would consider spending good tea money on teas with the more calming and blissful dimension of cha qi.

[.m.]

...

well said, cannot agree more