Greetings!
I am Akira Hojo from the HOJO TEA SHOP. You are receiving this email because you have registered to be on my list when you visited my shop at The Gardens Shopping Mall, in Mid Valley. I have 3 exciting news to inform you which are as follows:
I have observed that there have been many people suffering from the flu in these few recent weeks. I myself have also gone through a virus attack and have only just recently recovered. The latest virus does not really cause the typical headache or pain, but fatigue and causes me to have sleepless nights. I usually consume oolong tea whenever I have flu as it helps to improve blood circulation and also improve the body’s immune system.
By the way, we are constantly updating our website on new product information. As such, kindly visit our website often in order to check out the latest news.
In this newsletter, I would like to explain special clay called "Purple Clay". Purple clay is the name of clay that has a very unique character.
The first purple clay was introduced in Yi Xing China for making tea pot. It is called purple clay as is its natural color. It is observed that some people call any kinds of Chinese tea pot as purple clay tea pot. This is gravely incorrect. Regardless of Chinese tea pot or Japanese tea pot, there is only strictly one type of purple clay which has a specific character as could be noticed as follows:
1. It has a distinct purple hue. Tea pots that are brown, beige, red or any other color should not be categorized or identified as purple clay.
2. The baking temperature is very high which is more than 1200-1300 degree C.
3. It changes the taste of water used.
Limited models available only. Masaki Tachi only produces 20 pieces at a time, all in different designs. They are very small that is
suitable for very precious green tea or high-end vintage pu-erh. Due to its popularity, only a few pieces are left available at our shop.
Purple clay can change the taste of any kind of drink into a softer, smoother and mellower taste.
You may surprise that it is even able to change the taste of red wine. When you pour young red wine into the red clay, it definitely changes the taste of the young red wine into a very smooth and mellow feel. Since then I have enjoyed consuming nice red wine.
It also works well with coffee. It becomes smoother and mellower. If you are used to the taste of coffee served in a purple clay cup, you will not be able to enjoy the coffee served in a normal cup any more.
Do you know what will happen if you try drinking beer from a purple clay tea cup? It induces a lot of fine bubbles and eventually the taste becomes too smooth and mellow. It was a terrible experience for me. I do not think there is anyone who can enjoy the smooth taste of beer. It tastes like expired beer.
Of course purple clay is very suitable for tea. You can use a purple clay tea pot, cup or even pitcher. These vessels can change the taste of tea. However purple clay is not suitable for all types of tea. It is very good for the tea that is nice with a mellow taste such as green tea, flower tea, pu-erh ripe tea and vintage pu-erh tea. On the other hand, purple clay is not suitable for tea that has a sharp taste such as oolong tea, black tea and raw pu-erh tea. If purple clay is used for oolong tea, you may feel that it is flavorless.
New Crop of Jasmine Tea has arrived in Shop!!!
HOJO made original jasmine green tea. We used early March harvested green tea and get it scented with fresh Jasmine flower. Usually the season to get best green tea is in March and it is produced in Fujian province. Tea was kept until summer as Jasmine flower is only avalable in summer. Tea leaf was scented with natural jasmine flower spending 6 nights. It is so smooth and sweet after taste.
Thanks to the freshness of green tea used for our jasmine tea, it can be also brewed in cold water. Cold water brewed jasmine tea taste so smooth that is byond the reach of my imagination!
Purple clay contains 6-7% of iron. Iron in natural clay is usually in oxidized form and it is not active. It is activated when baked in unsaturated fire at high temperatures. If there is a sufficient intake of oxygen, the fire will be blue in color and will in turn supply oxygen to the clay. On the other hand, if there is a lack of oxygen, the fire will be red in color and generate Carbon Monoxide as well as smoke. This red fire is called unsaturated fire that reduces the oxygen from the clay. Once the clay is reduced, the oxygen is taken away from the mineral and eventually mineral gets active. This is called activation of clay.
Activated clay can interact with water molecules and change its cluster. In fact, purple clay is not reacting with the tea itself, but with the water.
In reality, any clay could be activated as long as it is baked in unsaturated fire. However different clay gives different extent of reaction.
The most importantly, the baking temperature must be very high. Usually the baking temperature of normal clay is up to 1100 degree C, while purple clay is baked at 1200-1300 degree C. With very high baking temperature, clay generates bubble during the baking process and this forms the porosity. As a result, clay has a huge surface area that increases the reaction between mineral and water.
HOJO proudly presents a wide range of purple clay products ranging from semi-hand made to master pieces. The purple clay tea pot is available from RM125 onwards.
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