John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 16, 2009, 10:23 pm
Sunday, we milked the sun for all it was worth with a few friends.  Just a very pleasant day.  Evi and Shara, on their way to the party:….  Ben looks for the Tennis ball, as Ben (on all four...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 12, 2009, 9:09 pm
The new batch of TGY;  Hand Picked, Hand Process, Hand Packed and Hand Delivered. Da Xia and her family are superb craftsmen and artisans of Ti Guan Yin. The father is an amazing person that will tal...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 11, 2009, 7:05 pm
Personal observation over the years in China, I have seen genuine improvements in the retail packaging of tea.  China has a great history of exotic, elaborate and expensive packaging for gifts.  The...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 9, 2009, 8:08 pm
My colleague, Kevin just retuned from WuXi .. Last Wednesday he visited my friend Da Xia’s tea shop .. I came into my office Monday morning to find this cornucopia of   Tiě guān yīn chá 铁 �...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 7, 2009, 8:12 am
Robbie is a registered student at our our local JC, about 7 mls for our home. This notice just came across the transom: Local name: UCLA (University California Left on Avery)   Big Fish Small Pot ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Nov 1, 2009, 4:38 pm
Looking  to build a pair of small stools that will augment our tea room, I set about trying to scale them to the room, design a style that pleases, stores easily and provides comfort to the sitter. ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 27, 2009, 10:34 pm
The tea I started to prepare on Sunday .. migrated to the office .. and now its Tuesday. The dry brick, when opened, looked  to be fairly homogeneous,  no obvious layering of different leaf type...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 26, 2009, 7:47 pm
xiexie ni Julia. 謝謝你朱莉婭,  Mr Yin brought more tea from Taiwan to the office in Chang Ping,  Julia sent a couple of packages of Taiwan High Mountain Oolong, as I am here in my US office. ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 20, 2009, 8:52 pm
Every once in a while I get my knickers in a twist. (panties in a wad, colonial translation) Fraud is afoot : Yesterday my Russian friend proudly announces “ When I live in Russia this tea wa...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 15, 2009, 10:27 pm
My colleague Jeff’s (the leader of the Mt. Baldy summit team) wife is Taiwanese, and they have friends visiting from Taiwan.  This morning Jeff came in with a wonderful present of: Taiwan “Hig...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 13, 2009, 6:44 pm
What is in your collection of stuff ?? My office is a magnet for “Stuff” an eclectic mix to say the least: One example: top two shelves of a small corner bookcase. Stuff from: Singapore, Ma...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 12, 2009, 11:47 am
Friends summit Mt. Baldy, 10,064 ft., San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California, on 10/10/09
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 8, 2009, 8:29 pm
By 10:00am, about 1/2 a gallon of Pu-erh disappeared, completely. (David Copperfield eat your heart out)  I  returned to my office, after a much needed Bio-break, to find Anatoly had left a little p...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 7, 2009, 9:05 pm
A collogue returned from China this weekend,  bearing gifts .. how nice.   A special thx to Fatemah for this keepsake: Depictions, short history of the Ancient horse trading route(s) and Buddhi...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 5, 2009, 4:25 pm
A plethora of  Tea related articles are being run by the major Brit newspapers of late. Quaint video, longish article, but worth a read, with stuff of this ilk: ……  To demonstrate her case, H...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 5, 2009, 11:51 am
By Rowena Mason, London Telegraph,  finance section Chucking away £2 a day at a trainee barista for a so-so coffee chain black americano always seems like a good idea when I’m hauling myself on...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Oct 5, 2009, 11:28 am
AP news feed: PHILADELPHIA - The Federal Trade Commission will require bloggers to clearly disclose any freebies or payments they get from companies for reviewing their products. It is the fi...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 26, 2009, 11:39 am
excerpt from: The Dog who Came in from the Cold MI6 (images of 007 etc etc) ….. “the sort of papers these people dealt with certainly could not be left lying about for the prying eyes of cleane...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 23, 2009, 7:02 pm
My UK mule’s schedule is a bit out of alignment with my desires, so a quick online purchase, and, these two books are in transit .. counting the days. I found them at Amazon.com.  How yo...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 17, 2009, 9:20 pm

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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 17, 2009, 1:39 pm
A few (5) months have slipped by, all too fast. This morning my colleague Anatoly (Russian,俄羅斯人 Éluósīrén) came by to ask about “Pu-erh tea” 普洱茶 During our conversation, I reme...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 16, 2009, 4:16 pm
Shorter days, cooler nights .. Sean left this morning (9/14) heading up to St Helena.  A fun packed weekend with friends and family preceded his trip. Sunday a lazy day for the men folk (Robin, Se...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 6, 2009, 8:41 pm
Sunday, Mid-point of a three day weekend. GOOD MORNING Heather, (Sean was up but we left without him)  Corky’s has changed their decor, to say the least. This all encompassing mural (every inch ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Sep 2, 2009, 3:21 pm
飲茶聊天 yǐn​ chá ​liáo ​tiān​  “To talk over a cup of tea” (Chinese idiom) “Have you had a cup of tea, since teatime ?”.. jingle from an old British TV advertisement. Whil...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 30, 2009, 12:06 pm
Sunday, 7 am, its off to Corky’s (Capo Beach) for breakfast. A great local “greasy spoon” moved from Laguna Beach when the rents got too high. Stop by; Dana Harbour, on the way home. A HOT sl...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 28, 2009, 10:38 am
(A belated posting .. lost in a laptop shuffle etc.) Yang Ming Mountain, about a ½ hr. drive from the Taipei Grand Hyatt (next to 101) Sunday morning my friend “Sunny” picks me at the hotel…...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 27, 2009, 11:51 am
A friend form Colorado (Dan, many thx) sends this: Hey John, More Scottish humor. I'm hoping you can make it out this way for some tea out on the deck. Cheers, Dan ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 26, 2009, 12:01 pm
Families have  there share of “unique” personalities, my maternal grandmother: Granny Jamison,  was (in a good way) in a class of her own.  Tea was omnipresent in her home, from pre-breakfast t...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 25, 2009, 10:53 am
I managed to allocate time to read couple of novels. Ian Rankin, never disappoints  His latest release (purchased in the UK, thx Robin)  Doors Open,A slight  departure from his Rebus novels, an...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 18, 2009, 5:40 pm
Lance Armstrong brought traffic to a standstill in Paisley  (web link) today as more than 200 people joined an impromptu bike ride with the seven-times Tour de France winner. Pictures and story t...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 12, 2009, 12:51 pm
My friend, Rick living in Thailand sends this: “Some of you may have seen this before but I thought I would send it anyway for those that have not.... On the pg there is a YouTube video to check ...
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John M. posted an article on Cha-Bei - Aug 12, 2009, 11:14 am
Here it sits, our antique restoration project. Robbie grew up with this bookcase, housing her doll collection, in the Glendale family home.  Age and a few moves have taken their toll (not only on the...
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