Wholemeal Crank

Started with sencha, but the Dens Fukamushi, not the Sencha Select from the cultured cup. Will probably stick with the lighter steamed versions after I finish this. Then onto some Mao Xie, hairy crab oolong from Jing Teas. Took it in my thermos for a day at the satellite office--not the nicest thing to do to a tea that deserved better.

After the oolong, relaxing with Mao Feng to finish the day.

Yesterday's tea day ended with the ginger-flower-fragrance Dan Cong from Tea Habitat, in a gong fu session that continued this morning, while I also prepared my daily sencha. Then moved on to some fall Ali Shan oolong. Not sure if there will be another bit of tea for the end of the day or not.

Started the evening with a sample of Rishi's Moonlight white tea, from a tea swap with LuckyGirl. It's an interesting tea, with a fruity and tart note that I associate with oolongs or black teas, in addition to the delicate flavors typical of white tea. Quite surprising stuff. It reminds me a lot of the spring Ya Bao from Norbu.

Tried again with the Dens organic matcha today. Prewarmed the bowl, 1 gram of matcha, sifted into the bowl, 3 ounces of 160° water, whisked as vigorously as I could, not sure for how long--did not set a timer. Still was very umami, not at all bitter, but a bit more like drinking nutritional yeast than like the gorgeous sweetness of the sencha I made afterwards. I was surprised and a bit frustrated by all those big bubbles that popped up as the tea settled while I was grabbing the camera.

Tried a new sencha from Dens today, the Sencha Shin-ryoku that I got as a sample in my last order. I did it as exactly as I could per their suggestions: 4 grams per 6 oz water at 160° in the kyusu for 90 seconds, first infusion, and 180 degrees for 30 seconds 2nd infusion. I was surprised by the deep golden color of the first infusion, and how clear the liquor was--very little of the fines in it. Astonishingly sweet, tasted and looked a bit like dilute honey. Wow. The 2nd infusion was still quite sweet, but with more umami and vegetable flavors and some astringency, not bitter, just different. And there is a sweet aftertaste in my mouth that is still providing pleasure quite a few minutes after the last sip. I will definitely buy more of this one. Also want to share a link I found elsewhere to a youtube video of , by a Living Treasure. That tea looks so gorgeous that it pretty much had me drooling on the keyboard. Now wondering how to get some of it, and how long I need to 'apprentice' with the conventional senchas that I've just begun to explore (now up to a total of perhaps 5 different preparations from only 2 sources, hardly ready to appreciate that grade of stuff yet) before I can justify seeking out some fabulous handmade stuff.

Looking forward to hearing more about them. Had such a nice brew yesterday of the Lao Cha Tou shu yesterday, but it was so popular that I didn't get as much of it as I might have liked. Lots of requests for a cuppa during a busy afternoon at work.

Another not-so-happy-matcha trial first thing, more in the matcha topic when I download the pics. Then Sencha Shin-ryoku from Dens, a sample included with my last order. Beautiful stuff, like this better than the Fukamashi Sencha. Will probably order this one next time. Not sure where the tea day will go next. Probably should fill a thermos with something to carry around the house while I do chores. Puerh? Oolong? Chamomile? Hmmm.....

Today had some Lao Cha Tuo Shu Puerh from Norbu this afternoon, and then had an excellent gong fu session with his Diamond Tie Guan Yin. Hard to get enough of that stuff.

Yesterday finished the tea day with a small brewing of Bi Lo Chun from Jing Tea, and then started a gongfu session with a sample of a Menghai sheng puerh received in a tea swap with LuckyGirl. I'm not certain but I think this may be my first taste of a puerh from this famous factory (I have one sheng and one shu on order from Yunnan Sourcing). I did not get through many infusions so don't have a strong impression of this one yet. I'll probably brew a few more infusions before bedtime, hoping that there won't be much caffeine left to extract..... Today started with more Sencha Select, drank the osmanthus oolong whose origin I can't recall during clinic, and am now finishing the evening paperwork with Yunnan Mao Feng.

Another Sencha start, but also continued a gongfu session with the Honey Orchid Phoenix Oolong. And now enjoying Ali Shan summer High Mountain Beauty. A sweet and oolong day.

Sencha Select for breakfast; then on to a mellow and sweet puerch with clinic; and finally a gongfu session with the 2008 Honey Orchid Phoenix Oolong from Tea Habitat. Have to stay up late finishing some (surprise!) paperwork.

Today started with Sencha select, then moved on to Yunnan Mao Feng, there was a small brewing of some Dragon Well (which was not felicitiously paired with the aftertaste of a burrito with a strong chipotle salsa), and finished with a chamomile/mint. Is the Monkey pick you're drinking a lightly oxidized or darker roasted oolong?

Actually, the temperature was the 180 degrees recommended in their chart halfway down this page on the web site.

Finished the day with some Mao Xie, Hairy Crab oolong, from Jing Tea. Quite nice, but missing that unusual fruity note we enjoyed in the tasting of the samples from Norbu a while ago.

As I posted elsewhere, I procrastinated with other things yesterday long enough to prepare this demo of why I think as scale is so valuable--comparing 1 gram samples of various teas, weighed on my little electronic scale to about 0.1 g accuracy. You can see it larger here if you want. The very dense Lao Cha is less than half a teaspoon, and you'd need a tablespoon to hold the mao feng and silver needle.

Started with more Sencha select today, getting fairly monotonous in the morning. Just feels like a nice start to the day. Then a bulk-brewed shu puerh, Mangyan Guoyan Golden Peacock from Norbu, with lunch. Held up pretty well to chocolate/cherry cookies for dessert. And I have been browsing the new Yunnan Sourcing website.....a very dangerous pastime. After enjoying the Yunnan Mao Feng from Norbu so much, I'm going to try a couple more yunnan green teas, and probably a puerh or two....

I generally have to set my meter to +1 or more. Since I now have a perfectly functional through not particularly lovely kyusu, I can take my time now waiting to find the perfect one that speaks to me like that one did to you.

After yet another attempt to photograph tea, I really appreciate the hard work it took to shoot those all of those teas. The dark on light background, trying to give the nearly black ones some good definition without making them appear faded and washed out, all adds up to a high level of technical difficulty. And that is one heck of a gorgeous kyusu. Does it have a strainer built in?

After my tea overdose afternoon, brewed up a pint of relatively dilute Ban Tian Yao, using the dinky yixing with many infusions to fill up the pint. The spicy flavor has come up wonderfully. I think something about this one prefers the yixing to the gaiwan. This was a rather quick & careless brewing, not at all gongfu, but the end result is delicious.

Thanks. I may not have done enough whisking first time around. I did soak the chasen in the pitcher I poured the boiling water into; otherwise it was per the Dens web site.

After my morning reading about making matcha, including quite a few references to teaspoons and scoops in regards to the quantities of tea, I was inspired to waste some time making up this little demonstration, showing the difference in volume of the same weight of different teas: And of course afterwards it was easier to brew them up, rather than to return them to their various tins, bags, and pouches..... I think I gave myself a significant headache by drinking so much tea over the course of a relatively short period of time. But it was delicious up until the headache started.

Started the day with my first attempt at Matcha, which was not a rousing success, nor total failure. Then went back to some Sencha Select with more pleasing results.

Tried my first matcha this morning. Reviewed instructions on Dens and Yukki-Cha sites, watched to prepare. Used 1 gram sifted Dens organic matcha in a plain porcelain bowl, 3 oz water, water started at about 180 degrees in the first bowl before adding to the matcha in the mixing bowl, whisked well with the chasen, got to a nice foam. I did not preheat the pseudo-chawan, per dens direction, so the water hitting the tea was starting at about 180 but should have cooled to about 160 pretty quickly, although I didn't remeasure the temp as I whisked it. The foam was thick and pleasant. Just didn't care so much for the flavor. It was not particularly bitter, but very strongly umami and not very sweet. So....a few questions: the youtube video suggests more whisking will sweeten the tea. But whisking should be oxidizing things, and extra rest time does not seem to sweeten my senchas or dragon wells. Is whisking sweetening or just for foam/texturizing? And what should I try first to maximize the sweetness--change temps, proportions, whisk more/less?

Wow, sounds delicious. 400 varieties of tea??!!! Even if half of those are flavored herbals, wow. What's the store?