1. The purpose of this Class

1. This class was developed initially about 7 years ago
2. In response to questions about Cha Qi 茶氣 and the “Energy” of tea

1. Initially I was very hesitant to talk about the very subjective phenomenon of Cha Qi, whereby a subtle (or sometimes pronounced) shift in consciousness is achieved through the consumption of tea
2. I didn’t want to placebo people into having an experience
3. But enough people would experience this phenomenon and ask me about it that I felt the need to design a class to address it

3. Cha Qi is the feeling tea gives us when we drink it

1. You can feel it without being coached
2. Is linked to the quality and health benefits of the tea
3. Different teas have different Qi

4. The chemical underpinnings of Cha Qi

1. Many compounds in tea have psychoactive or mood-altering effects:

1. Caffeine - stimulating
2. L-theanine - focusing
3. Theobromine - euphoric
4. EGCG - calming

2. However, as the Qi of a tea can be felt long before the chemicals could be absorbed into the bloodstream and cross the blood-brain barrier, Cha Qi != drug effect

1. They overlap and influence each other but are not identical.  

2. Cha Qi 茶氣 Chá qì and the Energetic Cascade

1. Qi means breath

1. Chinese concept of universal pervasive force
2. Animates living things

2. Often refers to the smell of the tea

1. Qi also means air or breath
2. The smell of the tea is in fact part of its qi

3. The components of the Cha Qi and where they are seated

1. 香氣 Xiāngqì - “Fragrant Qi/Aroma” - The nose

1. This refers to both the aroma of the tea in a purely sensual mundane capacity
2. Also the first experience of the Qi of the tea

1. People can often “feel” the qi of the tea just by smelling the hot leaves

2. 回甘 Huí gān - “Returning Sweetness”

1. Lingering aftertaste in the mouth
2. Seated in different parts of tongue and inside mouth
3. bitter/sweet
4. salivation

3. 喉韻 Hóu yùn - “Throat Rhyme”

1. As the Hui Gan leaves the mouth and enters the throat it transitions into the Hou Yun
2. A ringing, maybe resonant, cooling quality in the throat
3. The departure point from somatic sensation into energetic sensation
4. A little like eating a mint

4. 茶氣 Chá qì - “Breath of the Tea”

1. Qi means breath but also esoteric energy
2. Essentially the somatic sensation induced by the tea

1. How does it make you FEEL in your body

3. This can present in many different ways

5. 茶醉 chá zuì - “tea drunk”

1. Not to be confused with hypoglycemia
2. Some people call that tea drunk
3. Tea drunk is how the energy of the tea presents to your subjective experience
4. Is it warm?  Cool?  Is it euphoric, grounding, calming, psychedelic, focusing?
5. Does it have a color?
6. Did it change your mood?  The mood of others?
7. Visualizations

3. Posture and Breathing

1. Back straight

1. Like a string connecting your tailbone through your head hanging from heaven

2. Shoulders relaxed

1. Allows qi to flow smoothly

3. Don’t lean the shoulders when pouring
4. Don’t cross the center line
5. Don’t let the elbow drift up
6. Breathe from Dan Tian 丹田

1. Allow the breath to flow outwards from the body into the vessel
2. Exhale as you pour

1. Ie inhale before you pour

3. Let the breath push the water

7. In through the nose, out through the mouth
8. Touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth
9. The purpose is to:

1. Be mindful
2. Pay attention to your body, your breath, the water, the tea
3. Let your senses guide you
4. Become one with the pot, water, leaves

1. The form is not important, it’s the attention and intention that are important

5. Ya Bao 芽苞

1. A wild tea from the variety Camellia crassicolumna in Yunnan.  Purported to be one of the ancestral lineages that contributed to the modern Camellia sinensis line.  All buds.
2. We chose this one to start to give you a feel for the ancestral Qi - lots of Yunnan tea plants have ancient genetics, including Pu Er.  
3. Also - C crassicolumna doesn’t have caffeine.  So this first course is to demonstrate that Cha Qi and the associated phenomena are not attributable wholly to caffeine.

1. 香氣 Xiāngqì - “Fragrant Qi/Aroma” - The nose

1. What do you smell?

1. Dry Leaves
2. Warm Leaves
3. Wet Leaves

2. Any sensation from the smell? In the head?  In the body?

                              _____________________________________________________________

2. 回甘 Huí gān - “Returning Sweetness”

1. Where does the taste/sensation of the tea hit your mouth?

1. Tongue

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

2. Roof

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

3. Gums

1. Front
2. Sides
3. Under tongue

2. What does this sensation do?  How long does it take to appear, to reappear, to move?  Where does it move to? What does it taste like?

                                   _______________________________________________________

3. 喉韻 Hóu yùn - “Throat Rhyme”

1. Swallow a mouthful of tea and then inhale and exhale through your mouth.  Bring your mind to the sensation in your throat.

1. Does it have a flavor?  If so, what is it?
2. Where does the flavor end and the sensation begin?
3. Where does the sensation end?

4. 茶氣 Chá qì - “Breath of the Tea”

1. As the sensation ( now no longer a flavor) leaves the throat, where does it go?

1. Head
2. Chest
3. Shoulders
4. Neck/Throat
5. Eyes
6. Ears
7. Limbs
8. Feet
9. Up
10. Down
11. Forward
12. Back
13. Organs
14.  Skin
15.  Outside the body

2. Is it spinning?  Is it warm or cold?  Expansive or Contractive? What other ways can you describe it?

5. 茶醉 chá zuì - “tea drunk”

1. Bring your attention to your head, your mind, the quality of your thoughts, your mood, the rate and timbre of your stream of consciousness
2.  Is it euphoric, grounding, calming, psychedelic, focusing?

                                    __________________________________________________________

3. Does it have a color? Not the color of the tea - the color of the sensation

                        __________________________________________________________

4. Did it change your mood?  The mood of others?

                        __________________________________________________________

5. Visualizations

                        __________________________________________________________

6. Memories

__________________________________________________________

1.  Anything else this tea evokes for you

                                   __________________________________________________________

III.  2013 Gu Shu Huang Pian Bing

4. Not wild, but ancient trees.  Same mountain.  Moving from wild to cultivated.
5. Chose this one as a segue - how is it different from Ya Bao?  How is it the same?

1. 香氣 Xiāngqì - “Fragrant Qi/Aroma” - The nose

1. What do you smell?

1. Dry Leaves
2. Warm Leaves
3. Wet Leaves

2. Any sensation from the smell? In the head?  In the body?

                              _____________________________________________________________

2. 回甘 Huí gān - “Returning Sweetness”

1. Where does the taste/sensation of the tea hit your mouth?

1. Tongue

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

2. Roof

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

3. Gums

1. Front
2. Sides
3. Under tongue

2. What does this sensation do?  How long does it take to appear, to reappear, to move?  Where does it move to? What does it taste like?

                                   _______________________________________________________

3. 喉韻 Hóu yùn - “Throat Rhyme”

1. Swallow a mouthful of tea and then inhale and exhale through your mouth.  Bring your mind to the sensation in your throat.

1. Does it have a flavor?  If so, what is it?
2. Where does the flavor end and the sensation begin?
3. Where does the sensation end?

4. 茶氣 Chá qì - “Breath of the Tea”

1. As the sensation ( now no longer a flavor) leaves the throat, where does it go?

1. Head
2. Chest
3. Shoulders
4. Neck/Throat
5. Eyes
6. Ears
7. Limbs
8. Feet
9. Up
10. Down
11. Forward
12. Back
13. Organs
14.  Skin
15.  Outside the body

2. Is it spinning?  Is it warm or cold?  Expansive or Contractive? What other ways can you describe it?

5. 茶醉 chá zuì - “tea drunk”

1. Bring your attention to your head, your mind, the quality of your thoughts, your mood, the rate and timbre of your stream of consciousness
2.  Is it euphoric, grounding, calming, psychedelic, focusing?

                                    __________________________________________________________

3. Does it have a color? Not the color of the tea - the color of the sensation

                        __________________________________________________________

4. Did it change your mood?  The mood of others?

                        __________________________________________________________

5. Visualizations

                        __________________________________________________________

6. Memories

__________________________________________________________

2.  Anything else this tea evokes for you

                                   __________________________________________________________

IV.  1990 Lao Cong 1990年老叢

6. The name means “Old Bush”, which is often used to refer to teas (especially oolongs) from tea plants of advanced age.  Confusingly, it is also the name of a breed.  
7. This tea is not only the oldest of the ones we’ve tried, which contributes to the Qi of the tea, but it differs from the previous ones in two other important ways:
8. It has undergone much more processing than the other two.  Oolongs go through many steps and aged oolongs are re-roasted periodically with charcoal.
9. It is not from wild plants, or even from seed-propagated plants, but from cloned plants.  Oolongs in general are produced from clones.

1. 香氣 Xiāngqì - “Fragrant Qi/Aroma” - The nose

1. What do you smell?

1. Dry Leaves
2. Warm Leaves
3. Wet Leaves

2. Any sensation from the smell? In the head?  In the body?

                              _____________________________________________________________

2. 回甘 Huí gān - “Returning Sweetness”

1. Where does the taste/sensation of the tea hit your mouth?

1. Tongue

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

2. Roof

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

3. Gums

1. Front
2. Sides
3. Under tongue

2. What does this sensation do?  How long does it take to appear, to reappear, to move?  Where does it move to? What does it taste like?

                                   _______________________________________________________

3. 喉韻 Hóu yùn - “Throat Rhyme”

1. Swallow a mouthful of tea and then inhale and exhale through your mouth.  Bring your mind to the sensation in your throat.

1. Does it have a flavor?  If so, what is it?
2. Where does the flavor end and the sensation begin?
3. Where does the sensation end?

4. 茶氣 Chá qì - “Breath of the Tea”

1. As the sensation ( now no longer a flavor) leaves the throat, where does it go?

1. Head
2. Chest
3. Shoulders
4. Neck/Throat
5. Eyes
6. Ears
7. Limbs
8. Feet
9. Up
10. Down
11. Forward
12. Back
13. Organs
14.  Skin
15.  Outside the body

2. Is it spinning?  Is it warm or cold?  Expansive or Contractive? What other ways can you describe it?

5. 茶醉 chá zuì - “tea drunk”

1. Bring your attention to your head, your mind, the quality of your thoughts, your mood, the rate and timbre of your stream of consciousness
2.  Is it euphoric, grounding, calming, psychedelic, focusing?

                                    __________________________________________________________

3. Does it have a color? Not the color of the tea - the color of the sensation

                        __________________________________________________________

4. Did it change your mood?  The mood of others?

                        __________________________________________________________

5. Visualizations

                        __________________________________________________________

6. Memories

__________________________________________________________

3.  Anything else this tea evokes for you

                                   __________________________________________________________

V.  Tea Name:_________________________  Year:_______________  Origin:_______________

10. Notes:  

1. 香氣 Xiāngqì - “Fragrant Qi/Aroma” - The nose

1. What do you smell?

1. Dry Leaves
2. Warm Leaves
3. Wet Leaves

2. Any sensation from the smell? In the head?  In the body?

                              _____________________________________________________________

2. 回甘 Huí gān - “Returning Sweetness”

1. Where does the taste/sensation of the tea hit your mouth?

1. Tongue

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

2. Roof

1. Front
2. Middle
3. Sides
4. Back

3. Gums

1. Front
2. Sides
3. Under tongue

2. What does this sensation do?  How long does it take to appear, to reappear, to move?  Where does it move to? What does it taste like?

                                   _______________________________________________________

3. 喉韻 Hóu yùn - “Throat Rhyme”

1. Swallow a mouthful of tea and then inhale and exhale through your mouth.  Bring your mind to the sensation in your throat.

1. Does it have a flavor?  If so, what is it?
2. Where does the flavor end and the sensation begin?
3. Where does the sensation end?

4. 茶氣 Chá qì - “Breath of the Tea”

1. As the sensation ( now no longer a flavor) leaves the throat, where does it go?

1. Head
2. Chest
3. Shoulders
4. Neck/Throat
5. Eyes
6. Ears
7. Limbs
8. Feet
9. Up
10. Down
11. Forward
12. Back
13. Organs
14.  Skin
15.  Outside the body

2. Is it spinning?  Is it warm or cold?  Expansive or Contractive? What other ways can you describe it?

5. 茶醉 chá zuì - “tea drunk”

1. Bring your attention to your head, your mind, the quality of your thoughts, your mood, the rate and timbre of your stream of consciousness
2.  Is it euphoric, grounding, calming, psychedelic, focusing?

                                    __________________________________________________________

3. Does it have a color? Not the color of the tea - the color of the sensation

                        __________________________________________________________

4. Did it change your mood?  The mood of others?

                        __________________________________________________________

5. Visualizations

                        __________________________________________________________

6. Memories

__________________________________________________________

4.  Anything else this tea evokes for you

                                   __________________________________________________________

VI.  Closing the loop

1.  Simply put, closing the loop means holding in mind attributes of the tea that you want to emphasize while pouring the tea
2. Keeping your attention on that aspect while also focusing on the tea
3. Tea is not holy water

1. Holy water is made with intention alone
2. Tea is the star of the show - the leaves, the plant

1. Intention is primarily to be given to the tea
2. Let the tea do its work

1. The more of your ego is in the pot, the less room there is for the tea

3. Don’t be afraid to experiment, and listen to the tea - don’t do the talking

4. You don’t need to “reiki” your tea - but if you were given a flavor, a fragrance, a color, a sensation, a memory, a visualization - by the tea itself, you can close the loop by giving those things BACK to the tea while you pour.