The Oolong Tea Ambassador

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San-bao’s journey on video about discovering the mystery and joy of preparing and drinking Oolong tea.

In this documentary, the German-born tea master travels to Taiwan to introduce us to Oolong’s rich history and culture – meeting some wonderful friends (both new and old) along the way.

The tea culture is so rich, there is so much to be learned from it and gained from it… it never stops! I never stop learning…

With a teapot, you get all the five elements here – you have metal, you have the water to make the tea, the tea is earth, then you have the fire, and then you have the air where the tea grows when the water comes. So all five elements when you make tea.


If you have any troubles, drink a cup of tea. If you have no troubles, drink a cup of tea.


Cha Dao – or the way of tea – can lead one to inner peace…


Born and raised near Munich in Germany, San-bao (aka Chetan Sambhavo) took sannyas in Cologne in 1982. Having lived on Bali for many years, San-bao met Daniel Reid and his Taiwanese wife Snow when they came to the island in 1998. Intrigued by Reid’s teachings (on various aspects of traditional Chinese culture, focusing particularly on Chinese medicine and ancient Taoist health and longevity systems), he became their student and moved to Chiang Mai and later to Ko Samui, both in Thailand. He studied the ancient Chinese healing art Chi Gong with Reid, and Snow taught him about Cha-Dao, the social way of tea as it is still practised today in Taiwan.

San-bao stayed for three years in Australia just continuing the practise and moved to Koh Samui in 2002 where he began teaching Chi Gong and sharing the tea, becoming a specialist for the many existing Oolong teas. Through tea he met his beloved Prem Gila and many other people who became true friends.

He conducts tea ceremonies on a daily basis for the many interested visitors to Ko Samui and travels twice a year to Taiwan to purchase tea and related products for a growing group of friends. He has two nicknames that he enjoys: ‘Oolong Tea Ambassador’ and ‘The Old Chinese in a Bavarian Body’.

 

BhagawatiBhagawati is a regular contributor

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