tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7535894271195412382009-07-18T13:55:35.460+01:00Whenever Dogen-zenji dipped water from the river, he used only half a dipper, returning the rest to the river again, without throwing it away. That is why we call the bridge Hanshaku-kyo, 'half-dipper bridge'. It may be difficult to understand why Dogen returned half of the water he dipped to the river. When we feel the beauty of the river, we intuitively do it in Dogen's way. It is in our nature to do so.Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.comBlogger340125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-7654220602501247122009-07-17T15:38:00.004+01:002009-07-17T15:44:16.248+01:00

This is my index cake - the tea we've stored from the beginning, which I use to track the progress of our storage. It's an inexact and subjective measurement, but I hope it will act as an early-warning system for any undesirable storage effects. As ever, I have appended the new article to the original, so let's head over there.(The style of the old Half-Dipper articles look positively archaic!)

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-44916858568586154272009-07-16T10:53:00.004+01:002009-07-16T12:34:58.271+01:00

Imagine that I sold wine via the Internet. This year, I advertise the "Hobbes-hao 904", which you duly purchase from me for the sum of $43.98 (for argument's sake). You wait a few days, and the postman delivers a well-packed parcel.You're hoping for good things, because you've read my blog entries that described my trip to Bordeaux. Maybe I selected the grapes myself - perhaps even from old

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-85113898410267894782009-07-08T09:00:00.001+01:002009-07-08T09:00:28.562+01:00

It's time to check in with our old friend, Mr. Tetsubin.He's been in use for about half a year (to excellent effect!), and some changes are taking place. Firstly, look closely at the spout: it's getting whiter.Even after thorough drying each session, this sediment is accumulating. No big deal, but one of the more obvious signs of use.Taking a look inside, here's a photograph of the interior

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-28046528155801353502009-07-05T09:00:00.002+01:002009-07-05T12:13:45.210+01:00

I was at an interview two months ago, and the sage old professor presiding over the interview panel gave me a mischievous look (after I had just given a science-based presentation) and said,"How important is it, do you think, to be able to communicate and discuss your work with new people, rather than just researching? That is, what importance would you place on the 'soft skills', such as

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-64857745807395883342009-07-02T09:00:00.005+01:002009-07-02T09:49:06.636+01:00

Reasons to go to Dublin:i. Real Guiness (see below), not the black water we get in the UKii. Irish stewiii. "Irish Breakfast" teaiv. Hordes of tourists from the USAAmusingly, "Dublin" means "black water" in GaelicTrinity College is beautiful, too. I've never seen Georgian architecture on such a scale, without mixture of other architectural styles - it's as if it has been lifted out of the past,

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-40104997522777122232009-06-29T09:00:00.001+01:002009-06-29T10:09:19.057+01:00

Phew! This tea has so many incidents of what a tort lawyer might call "passing off" that I don't know where to begin. Let's start at the top.A wise man once said, "I won't buy anything from a factory with 'Menghai' in its name, unless it's Menghai Tea Factory." This is sound advice. There are approximately 6.022 x 10^23 tea factories with "Menghai" in their names, and 1.0 of them produce good

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-64493154099218603532009-06-26T09:00:00.001+01:002009-06-26T09:00:12.048+01:00

I've been getting reacquainted with my 2007 12 Gentlemen "Yiwu", after a year in storage. The new article has been appended to the original post, to keep my notes in one place. See you there!

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-36457253608510438442009-06-20T08:00:00.001+01:002009-06-20T11:26:31.302+01:00

I continue to supply propaganda concerning my plans for a garden tea-house to my dear wife. I've found some beautiful little hexagonal wooden structures that look suitably rustic and chunky. We could tuck it under our willow tree, which acts as a sweet little hideaway - a perfect place to avoid it looking too showy and naff. I still haven't found that ultimately convincing argument justifying

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-91503474622100865812009-06-17T09:00:00.003+01:002009-06-20T06:21:26.440+01:00

A fellow pu'erist, Dr. GV, and I have been making plans to meet up for what seems like an aeon - each time that we have a date set, we are thwarted by unforeseeable obstacles that crop up at the last minute. Our universities are only about 1.5 hours apart, which makes it all the more amusing that we must have sampled the majority of each other's tea collections by now without actually having met

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-23471604108968001062009-06-14T09:00:00.000+01:002009-06-14T09:00:00.720+01:00

You would be forgiven for thinking that you have seen this one before:...because it has the same wrapper as the Yiwu Mahei cake! It's not difficult to tell the two apart from the leaves, though...The leaves from this bing are tiny little fellows, throughout. Nada wrote on his web-site that Nakashan (near Mengsong) is famed for its wee leaves, and that these are from 400 year-old trees. Given

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-72453671177224789132009-06-11T09:00:00.001+01:002009-06-11T10:02:49.365+01:00

Fans of classic British drum'n'bass will be familiar with the collected works of one Richard D. James, a.k.a. the Aphex Twin, and with his magnum opus "Come to Daddy" in particular.While drinking the Nada Chayuan "Bulang" this morning, its character reminded of the following scene from that seminal classic, which comes from the second movement of the piece ("Demon screaming at old lady"):Remind

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-92093677713921423912009-06-09T09:00:00.000+01:002009-06-09T10:53:35.702+01:00

Fakes are everywhere in China, a product of the fact that regulation is even more "light touch" than that of certain infamous Western economies. With lack of oversight comes all manner of curious practices - in China, this is exacerbated by the fact that corruption is absolutely systemic. I have a friend who was almost prohibited (via typically off-the-record practices) from taking up her place

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-52962409349868697952009-06-06T09:00:00.000+01:002009-06-06T09:00:01.392+01:00

I've recently had an e-mail asking for a "tetsubin reloaded" article to follow my previous tetsubin article - thanks for the letter, Dr. Kim! It's been on my mind, but I've not got around to taking a photograph of my hot-plate. Let me remedy that immediately:My hot-plate: it is hot, and it is like unto a plateRegular readers may remember that Lei and I switched from our previous kettle (the

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-38001036217637506422009-06-04T10:48:00.004+01:002009-06-04T12:07:47.707+01:00

I don't get into the capital very much, but it's just an hour away. Yesterday, I visited UCL (University College, London), a place to which I haven't been since applying to universities for my undergraduate degree. The grandeur and beauty of the architecture are astounding - we don't get anything on this grand metropolitan scale in Oxford. The main building, pictured below, reminds me of St.

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-7243674009286517472009-06-02T09:00:00.004+01:002009-06-02T15:09:26.818+01:00

Summertime. I fear it is with us. No longer may a man dress as he wishes; he dresses as he must. Stow away the long scarves, hide away the hats. Any season where I can't wear a waistcoat for fear of expiring from hyperthermia is a season I dread.On the bright side, we've been spending more time exploring the garden of our new house, and seeing what the previous owner has been growing in it. While

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-2088398461833233972009-05-21T09:00:00.001+01:002009-05-21T09:00:02.170+01:00

Part II of his essential guide,in which Hobbes tells you how to raise a cup to your lips,put tea into your mouth, then swallow.It's nearly summer, it's beautiful outdoors, and you're stuck in front of your computer reading about tea. Are you ready to admit that you're a tiny bit sad, yet?Yes, you're one of us. Come play with us, forever, and ever, and ever...(For disclaimers about how this

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-17779887879620474902009-05-18T09:00:00.003+01:002009-05-18T09:00:02.032+01:00

Something nice has been happening recently - more people seem to be tuning into tea sites, and compadres from other blogs have been reporting increases in interest that I am happy to say have been echoed here at the creaky old Half Dipper. More people are getting interested in tea, and that's brilliant. Having a bigger crowd of people tuned into good tea is beneficial for absolutely everyone

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-16639670751260380192009-05-15T05:00:00.000+01:002009-05-15T05:09:37.403+01:00

What a piece of work is a Woogie...How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty...In form and moving, how express and admirable...In action, how like an angel!In apprehension, how like a GOD!Copious thanks to dear Woogie for providing such a lovely gift.Though I write here for no other reason than that I enjoy doing so, to collect my notes, and to compare thoughts with you, Dear Reader, I am

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-66409723334777867562009-05-13T07:30:00.000+01:002009-05-13T07:37:51.172+01:00

These are some of the most adorable teas I have ever seen. They truly are works of beauty, and, best of all, they taste mighty fine for the money.They're very popular little creatures, and rightly so. The fan-base for these hexagonal treats is big. The price is very low. I've been acquiring lots over the past year, in orders placed with Yunnan Sourcing, because they're such good value, and so

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-15010769687104715992009-05-09T13:32:00.004+01:002009-05-09T14:17:46.195+01:00

Normality, I missed you.I like normal life very much. I know when normal life is happening, because I have time to make my wife matcha in the morning, and stir-fry a dinner in the evening. I have time to polish my shoes, catch up with friends on the 'phone, appreciate a new geranium brought home by Lei. Normal things. There's nothing more awesome to me than normal things.For in the dew of

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-30278020932544723152009-04-23T09:00:00.002+01:002009-04-23T16:13:32.102+01:00

Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Xiaguan, not to praise them. Oh, 500g cakes. With your weighty splendour - whenever did one of these massy beasts turn out to be anything other than disappointing? And yet, I run ahead of myself. Xiaguan, purveyors of decent factory pu'er since time immemorial, now experimenting with all manner of concoctions - which of your

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-78400385395580734222009-04-20T09:00:00.001+01:002009-04-24T15:30:04.485+01:00

An Easter gift from my mother (pictured below). What better way to celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord than by eating boiled eggs from a lapine cranial cavity.Friends speak highly of this tea, and at $22 per bing from Yunnan Sourcing, the potential for great bargainage is upon us. I am not fond of the word "redux", so let us merely say that this tea is based on the 8853 recipe from 2001. (

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-31633527567811851682009-04-17T09:00:00.001+01:002009-04-17T09:00:01.027+01:00

Copious thanks to the mighty Jamus for this sample, which he discovered as part of the private collection of Scott, from Yunnan Sourcing. It's price at about $25 from Norbu Tea, where the vendor comments that this is a garden-grown tea from trees that are around 50 years of age."The trees in this garden at 6,000 ft elevation on Mang Fei Mountain (7,200 ft at the peak) basically grow wild until

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-41568826612875951782009-04-15T09:00:00.000+01:002009-04-15T09:00:00.614+01:00

Along with the Seigan chawan, another member of our family arrived back in February - this fine example of Nembu-tekki [cast-ironware from Nembu, now called Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture]. This is a tetsubin, for boiling water, rather than being one of ceramic-lined versions used as teapots. (I think I read somewhere that the latter is a modern/foreign practice.)For the last five thousand years,

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-753589427119541238.post-38551863755851049682009-04-13T09:00:00.004+01:002009-04-13T09:00:01.319+01:00

With every fibre of my being, I will this tea to be better than the 2007 Dingji Nu'ercha.This is an autumnal tea. The leaves (pictured above) woo me already, and soothe my damaged trust. They are lovely indeed, large and furry. I have been put off Xizihao due to the enormous disconnect between quality and vendor pricing, but this tea tempts me back in. The aroma of the leaves is sweet and

Hobbeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10719619695211038389noreply@blogger.com2