Gong Fu Tea|chA - Episode 27 - Cha Qi (茶气), The Way Tea Makes You Feel

[@brianjones4214]

Thank you So-Han and team for these videos! They're not only valuable through the information served, they also give the opportunity to "drink tea" with someone on a lonley morning. So thank you!

[@riottrinity2030]

I’m SO HAPPY Tea-Cha is BACK

[@raytheconsolepleb2893]

I do know since I've been doing Gong fu cha, I have calmed enormously. Got myself some quality teas ranging from white needle to Lapsang Souchong. The process is so meditative and relaxing. And I can enjoy the process anytime, all day. Have been battling anxiety, depression and addiction for years. But I'm feeling so much better now a few weeks into gong fu cha. Thank you so much for these videos. Much love From the Netherlands.

[@42ZaphodB42]

That might actually be the meditative qualities of the gong fu act itself. I'd say a session is about maybe 10-30 minutes on average and that's time you spend feeling, smelling, closing yourself off the environment and enjoying something. Feeling your body, controlling your breathing and attention training are meditative and actually being teached by psychologist to people with anxiety and depression. The tea itself doesn't play a huge roll imo. But if you substitute coffee with tea on the other hand, that might lead to less anxiety aswell.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@raytheconsolepleb2893 so glad to hear the practice has helped you!

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@42ZaphodB42 I think it’s kinda hard to separate the two. Certainly having a regular ritual of attention is likely helpful for calming/centering in general, but doing so with tea is its own thing in my experience, quite different from coffee or something else.

[@rosaryas5900]

I love this! I think tea makes me feel better the way eating a home cooked meal made by a loved one makes me feel better. Scientifically there is nothing different with the dish but it’s just better if it’s made with love

[@shannonmarbut3648]

Best notification I've had on my phone on a long time! Glad to see the series back!

[@clairepaley6735]

I deeply appreciate how generous you are with your knowledge, I am a keen tea student with no in-person community or mentorship so your videos mean alot. I particularly like your recognition of more philosophical and spiritual aspects of tea practise, it's tough to find discussion in this area and feels like such an important conversation.

[@etudedesoi-transmutation]

Thank you for this awesome presentation on Cha Qi!!

[@sashas3332]

This is one of my favorite episodes❤

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@sashas3332 thanks for watching! And dropping us a line!

[@reeseling-20]

🐐 is here.. love you so han! drinking some 2023 shou pu'erh along with ya to this vid

[@whatablissfullife]

Your work on this topic is a treasure. Make sure it’s saved and put away in a safe spot

[@vinyleyezz]

Excited to watch season 3! Just had another moonlight white tea coin and it was excellent! 👌

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@vinyleyezz yummmmmm

[@spiritea5640]

Loved this video! Quite educating. I’ve been drinking good quality tea for 30 years and the way you explain this concept is new to me. It’s always been a challenge to explain to neophytes what drinking tea is about. Glad you’re back on KZbin with a new “course”. Thank you 😃

[@MrAqr2598]

Yay, a 茶气 explanation!!!

[@qhodave]

Glad to have you back. Season three feels like an advanced course. So much resonating with my current life. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@qhodave great to be back and to see yall in the comments! So nice to get the gang back together.

[@qhodave]

❤️ On a side note, I know this season isn't for presenting tea types, we had that, it maybe you can somehow still get more into yancha. The episode is waaaay shorter than the others, and you haven't touched old yancha yet (haunted plum... 😉). Maybe you can include old tea and aged tea somehow in one of these more advanced classes still. Age, time, storage.. Maybe something along these.. But in happy with every episode, they are all very special to me 😊

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@qhodave At the time that we recorded the Yan Cha episode, we hadn't yet settled on our format of more long-form content. We may come back around to it at some point, but for now, this season will focus on Gong Fu Cha as a practice and Tea House Culture

[@diageesen4468]

Lovely video!!

[@mowgli__383]

Dear @So-Han, Yay for the concept of information, but I'd frame it completely differently (let's say more coherent with accepted knowledge ?) : maybe you experience it also, when a fresh beer appears before me, or with the first sip, I instantly behave like happily drunk : alcohol has not yet entered my brain, but there is an unconscious anticipation. Same with tea. But how can one sense so clearly different kinds of chi juste with a first sip ? I believe it may in part go through your cheeks, but more importantly through your nose : once experienced in drinking tea, you'll anticipate within a second what the tea will make you feel, because your brain rely on your nose to analyse whatever you throw into your mouth. It's unconscious but very powerful, and that way the explanation doesn't need any unproven concepts. It's also why when trying a new kinds of tea, you discover the chi 20 minutes later, when you actually digest It ; why also when drinking with less experienced tea friends, you'll feel the chi way before they do. Hope this explanation seems compatible with your sensations !

[@mowgli__383]

... comes from someone easily over-powered by cha-chi...

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@mowgli__383 appreciate your perspective! It’s tricky with things we haven’t yet been able to provably explain. Doesn’t mean there isn’t a scientific explanation out there, but we as humans haven’t found it yet. These theories are useful in getting us there. But also mysterious things have value like scientifically probable things have value.

[@mowgli__383]

@@TeaHouseGhost Thanks for your answer, I partially agree ;) Still, I'd say that while advancing theories, one has to list more possibilities, as to avoid tunnel-vision ; and remember that "the simplest explanation is usually the best one" (no unnecessary assumptions). With so much climate-sceptism and pseudo-sciences around now, I would be more cautious with my discourse when addressing to a large group of peoples... Especially for someone who went through a scientific education. I still appreciate very much all your videos, thanks for the work you all put into it ;)

[@maxallen6953]

It's so interesting to hear this, its a wonderful description of the feeling that gong fu cha gives me. It's an experience that cannot be described through materialism or "the real world", it's so unique and outside the physical things and even the tea. I really hope I can visit WCT for myself and take a class and have some good tea! Thank you so much So-Han for this series, I cannot wait for the rest of this season it is incredibly inspiring for me.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

Thanks so much for watching, and for stopping by to say hi!

[@MorgansBay]

What I loved about this was bringing such a misunderstood topic into focus. Qi is not magic, or a defined part of science, and that is a large void to cross. It is a part of tea culture, a way to explain something unique that happens for tea drinkers. Does this exist with blends of coffee or wine or cheese? Perhaps. But only if we deeply explore something for ages and it creates its own unique culture after thousands of years and thousands of people pondering and writing could we recognize this effect. Such is how far tea culture has grown to come close to create an understanding of 茶气. Even without definitive scientific analysis of 茶气 we can gain a deeper respect for tea culture as it delves so deeply to seek why this drink effects us in different ways. Thank you So-Han for walking along this journey with us. Please remember to support this great content. Like, subscribe, watch the old videos and wait for the next. I know I will.

[@johioju5990]

Sohan you are a legend, thanks for introducing me to this art. I will be making a trip to your tea house some day when im better off money wise, I wish i could work as a free intern for you lol

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@johioju5990 would love to have you when you can make it out! In the meantime, you can do this at home and with your friends! Best way to learn is just to dive in

[@MayerTheYouTubeSlayer]

In a new location!? Dig the environment and background. Thank you sohan, these videos are a big reason I’m into gongfu cha so much now!

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@MayerTheKZbinSlayer this is actually filmed at the same location as most of season two, which was called Guan Yin Tea House from 2017-2020, and has been West China Tea House since 2020. We are about to move to a new location in Austin, though! This one goes away in December.

[@m.n.7426]

Thanks for this amazing video! Speaking from my own experience, I think, that anticipation of the known might play a huge part in cha qi as well. I say this, because I´m a person who is mostly only capable of enjoying things properly, if I know what´s generally to expect. As an example: When I first went to a techno party, I unknowingly had without any specific intent chosen a label event with extremely technical and masterfully arranged tracks. When I was there, I kind of enjoyed myself, but it was only after a few days, when I started to listen to the tracks at home, learning, how to listen to techno to understand it, that I really enjoyed it to a full extent. It´s now my favourite label and when I go to an event with one of their artists, I´m blown away as soon as the music starts, because I know the energy, I know what´s to come and what it can make me feel. This might somewhat be similar to the general tea attitude. Still this anticipation potential that I build up at the party reacts to changes and new elements and associatively evolves in new ways every time. I experience this with most enjoyable things in my life. I think the setting and sensory intake of tea serving can have this effect on you and even with people who haven´t had gongfu cha served to them before, because most people know remotely about the connotations of "chinese tea drinking". What I find interesting to think about is that when tea gives people similar impressions, there could be something in the specific tea that reacts to the general tea attitude which in my opinon as stated before might be influenced by this anticipation potential. So there might be psychological and physiological dynamics involved. I definetively think that comepletely understanding and describing cha qi is beyond our grasp at this time tho, I just think this explains part of my own personal experience with tea, which of course will differ from other people´s. Best regards and I´m looking forward to every video that is to come, may there be many. Be healthy and content, people of the tea house.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

Appreciate you sharing your perspective!

[@cloroxbleach2520]

Let's goooooooooo

[@joroh22]

For me I think tea’s effects before actually digesting (so just the smell and taste) are from an association I’ve made with tea itself. Sitting down to drink tea is a calming thing and something that I really enjoy. Because of that I think that even the smell of good tea is enough to make me feel calm and euphoric because it triggers memories and associations from prior tea drinking experiences, including the effects of the chemicals on me from those past experiences. I’d want to sit down for a blind taste test for teas made with different methods and attitudes from the same location to support the idea of qi being influenced by the producers. I can totally agree with the mindset and pourer influencing the qi though. If I’m drinking tea whilst scrolling on my phone or distracted in unpleasant thoughts then I’m less likely to enjoy the tea as much, it will have less of an effect on me and I’m more likely to make mistakes when brewing it. Though I think this is because I’m not being mindful of my body and how it is feeling whilst I’m drinking tea.

[@joroh22]

Just thought of some extra stuff. I had an awful white tea the other day that I would describe as having “bad qi”, but only because it made ME feel bad. Bad smell, bad taste, bad life experiences it reminded me of. Someone else could have that tea and have a completely different experience, it was a high quality tea after all.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@joroh22 we once ran an experiment to try to show people the existence of cha qi, specifically through the pourer. It involved me (echo), and my twin, Crow, pouring identical amounts of tea from identical gaiwans at the same time in the same room, and serving both teas to a room full of people so they could A/B them. General consensus was: people noticed a difference, and the two teas even exhibited slight variations in texture, flavor, and fragrance. Would be fun to run again.

[@mowgli__383]

@joroh22 I'm with you on this explanation ! I know tea can make people feel more spiritual (for good or bad) but I feel that with the actual climate in media, everyone should be a bit wary of any theories based on too much non-verified sources... the explanation based on less unobserved assumptions has more chances to be true ;)

[@andrewzimba7432]

I'd love to see an episode about tea preparation and consumption routines from different parts of China.

[@Dragon_fish_man]

YES!!!!

[@rookas6274]

i didnt know this channel was back 😱

[@sashas3332]

❤❤❤

[@TimHoekstra]

If yoy haven't already try reading "how emotions are made" by lisa feldman barret, especially the first chapters on emotions and feeling and see if/how you can apply those ideas to this subject of cha qi.

[@Keyboard12850]

💚

[@huertasolarv]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@sashas3332]

Learning about the cooling/warming effects of foods and drinks was life changing for me❤

[@TomEllul]

As a student of TCM, I've spent the last few years immersed in the concept of Qi, and whilst the line we're given in our text books is that Qi is "vital energy", I don't think that quite covers the totality of it. Calling it information is interesting, and probably more accurate to what's really going on. I personally just say "Qi is... stuff" when asked 😂.

[@SoaringMoon]

I'd describe the Chi of Tea not the chemicals in the tea themselves, but rather the body's expectation to receive the drugs. The reaction of the body from sensory input (information) to the expectation of the euphoric effects it could bring. We might be evolutionarily predisposed to look for these characteristics with our senses. So when our body finds it, the body then simulates those effects early to prepare its immediate social environment for the fully realized chemical effect. tl;dr - Chi is in a basic sense, an emulation of what the brain expects to happen to the body in the future.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@SoaringMoon this seems true in a sense, but I would add that qi is not only reactive (in this case, to a chemical interaction). It also moves through the body on its own, shifts with emotion, mood.

[@tkgawa]

Your use of Masaru Emoto's experiments leads me to think that qi is also the collective impression left on and by the tea liquor. Some viewers might take this as a kind of psychometry, but I don't think it has to be that elaborate. The 5 P's are all very grounded factors and their collective impression is accessible to us as a gestalt. Only when we learn about each of the 5 P's does this gestalt start to unravel into discrete information. Even then, it presents itself as the thusness of the tea and is appreciated as a whole. I think that the difficulty of translating qi to a western audience has to do with the tendency to think of it as a transcendent quality that accompanies the material, rather than an imminent quality that rises out of the material. I'm also curious if you think the brewing vessel affects the qi, as a tea will express somewhat differently if it is brewed in Yixing rather than porcelain.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

Oh for sure the brewing vessel affects the qi. With Gong Fu Cha as with Qi in general, it's kind of: Everything Matters

[@tkgawa]

@@TeaHouseGhost - Thanks for that confirmation. I appreciate that there are so many things that lend to the qi. It really shows how tea teaches interconnection.

[@en5357]

Yo, is that a tangzhuang hoodie?

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@en5357 I’ll have to ask So-Han. I’m not sure!

[@hypnotoast2377]

1:58 Does this feeling stand alone from the taste and smell or is the feeling you get when you smell/taste something part of it? If it's not, then I'm not sure I get the concept yet.

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@hypnotoast2377 the feeling you get when you smell/taste a tea is part of Cha Qi.

[@hypnotoast2377]

@@TeaHouseGhost Thx for the answer

[@rebirthofthecool5619]

Its the terpenes and other compounds, nothing to do with homeopathy

[@beefcakepantiehoes]

I interpret cha qi as the combination of setting, mood, specific tea type you’re craving at the moment, intention, and openness/attention to the tea you’re drinking, along with the psychoactive effects of the tea. I also would include the danish word “hygge” into the equation.

[@fallen3424]

I'm very sad that so many of the people who are knowledgable about tea fall so easily into pseudo-scientific territories

[@TeaHouseGhost]

@@fallen3424 why sad? There is much that is mysterious about the world. Science is very valuable, but doesn’t cover everything. Enchantment often lies outside of what can be proven through science.

[@thevictorianconservative1093]

Alright so you blatantly misunderstood his point. @fallen3424

[@fallen3424]

@@TeaHouseGhost I am okay with not understanding precisely where all effects from tea come from, but I also know that there is some rational explanation for them. Whether that be placebo, your body expecting to feel a certain way after drinking tea, psychologically, thinking about the tea, the environment you are in, or simply the psychoactive substances in tea etc., I do not think these rational explanations detract from the experience in any way. What you mention in the video about the structure of water changing depending on the value judgement of some piece of text taped to the water container is not a rational explanation, it's just speculation without any basis in reality - which is why this hasn't been replicated by anyone else. I think tea culture and the enjoyment of tea and the whole experience around it can coexist with a rational scientific worldview.

[@tescomealdeals]

It’s really not that serious dude, you don’t have to actually believe in qi to be able to use it as a tool to help you understand your enjoyment of tea, loosen up

[@fallen3424]

@@tescomealdeals I don't disagree