Wholemeal Crank

Bush vs Tree is not a difference I'm familiar with for Puerh. I've bought some Puerh from Rishi that is labelled 'ancient trees' but none of the other I've bought has labels that mentioned anything about bushes or trees. What difference would you be looking for? And what defines a bush or a tree when they're all the same plant?

Finishing up with a bit of Norbu's Lao Tie Guan Yin aged late 90s oolong tonight, receieved as part of a tea swap with LuckyGirl. Quite interesting--there is a strong smoky/earthy scent but the flavor is more tart, fruity, and sweet than toasty. THere is also a long spicy finish.

Also today, a thermos full of "Oolong tea", a gift that came in a red canister from Hsin Tung Yang Co LTD in Taiwan. It was a little thin in my first brewing, but serviceable and soothing, sweetening as the afternoon continued. And then, another brewing of Dragonwell, which again was excellent. I am not sure what the breakthrough is with the Dragonwell--I did use a higher leaf-to-water ratio than my usual, because my intent a few nights ago was to use up the tea--but otherwise, the temp and timings and gaiwan are substantially the same as what was just not cutting it a month or two ago.

And this morning, brewing a couple of grams of Huo Shan Huang Ya, yellow tea from jingteashop.com, in a gaiwan, and there is still sweetness and body coming out beautifully at the 7th or 8th infusion. I keep expecting that the next infusion will be one too many, but then, it's delicious and I go back to the teapot for more water. Either it's finally tapped out, or the water in the kettle was just too cold to extract more, but I finally stopped at something between 10 and 12 infusions. Astonishing.

Looks like a silver needle--very fine narrow young leaves. Beautiful gaiwan for a beautiful tea. Was it as lovely as it looked?

This afternoon, went to the Yunnan Mao Feng because pressed for time. This evening, have enjoyed a couple of brewings of the Dragonwell, which was just as good as a few nights ago. Happiness.

Started today with a comparison of a couple of Yunnan black teas, my first brewing of an imperial dian hong compared to a golden yunnan. Yummy stuff.

Just tried some of the Imperial Dian Hong from norbutea that LuckyGirl sent me as part of a sample trade. I brewed up 1 gram each of that and small bud gold yunnan from tea habitat in my small matched gaiwans, with about 70mL boiling water, for 2 minutes. That's pretty dilute but I am a black tea wimp, and at this concentration both were fruity and spicey and sweet. I think the Dian Hong may be fruitier, and the liquor is a bit lighter in color--more golden/orange than red--but both are beautiful teas. I can see why Dian Hong is such a favorite with lot of the drinkers here.

Started the day with the lovely Bai Lo Chun from jingteashop.com, got through a difficult afternoon with some Yunnan Mao Feng, and now am moving on to a puerh, the 2009 Norbu Lao Cha Tou. I didn't have enough time earlier today to build on the recent success with dragonwell, and right now don't have enough energy for a finicky tea.

I use tap water, unfiltered. Occasionally I need hot water really quick and use hot water from the office spring water cooler, and I notice no difference.

Knew what you meant, but really wAs tempted because still a little thirsty.And today, drinking from a sample of fall tie guan yin from norbutea, very promising stuff, but doing the big thermos full so not really best conditiomns to compare/rate it.

I am tempted, but I do need to get to sleep a little early tonight.

Wouldn't you know it? Just after I gave away some very fancy dragonwell that just wasn't doing it for me, tonight I brewed up a bit of a lesser grade version that I was planning to use up and not replace--and of course I brewed up four wonderful infusions in a row. And quite regrettably I did not weigh the tea first. Sigh.

Started with a pot of yunnan mao feng, lovely as always, and now moved on to some purple bud Hainan sheng puerh from norbutea. Smoky, earthy, with a lovely fruitiness.

I attended a party not too far from Tea Habitat this afternoon, so stopped in afterwards to enjoy a cup of tea, and brought home this 2007 Po Tuo Ginger Flower Fragrance Phoenix Dan Cong Oolong. I brewed up 1 gram in 2 oz water, about 180°F, first infusion only 30 seconds. It was better at 2nd for 60 seconds, holding up well through 5 infusions so far. It came out a little light bodied at this leaf/water ratio, and I'll use a little more next time. It is sweet, spicy, floral, and with a little of that elusive flavor element we were enjoying trying to figure out in the Mao Xie Hairy Crab tasting. And while it shares a certain quality--lacking a word for it, I'll just call it 'wild'--with the Ba Xian Dan Cong, it does not have the strong fruity, almost citrusy flavor of the Ba Xian. I can see why Imen says this is a favorite. I'll also be interested to compare it to the 2009 Wu Ye I picked up at the same time, because it comes from a tree grown from the seeds of the Po Tuo.

Today I opened my second packet of tea from Jingteashop.com, and the tea was just as wonderful as the first one. I am very pleased with the quality of their tea. I have several more unopened packets to look forward to. The service was also terrific, as my package got returned to the post office because I was not home to sign for it, and I did not see a delivery notice. I thought perhaps the tea was delayed because I'd asked for surface shipping during the holiday season, but because of a computer glitch, had lost my confirmation e-mail with the details of the order. Sebastien e-mailed me to tell me the package was at the post office, so I knew to go pick it up.

Another new tea today from jingteashop.com: Bi Luo Chun. I used 1 gram in an 80mL gaiwan, water about 175 degrees, and four infusions. The liquor was pale yellow-green, and finally, honey-sweet--quite similar to the gyokuro and sencha I was drinking recently, when they were at their freshest. I bought a sample of this tea because it looked wild and curly like the Yunnan Mao Feng I've been enjoying so much, and not like the manicured dragon well that is so tricky for me to get right. And it is much more like the Mao Feng than the dragon well, but where the Mao Feng has a certain warmth and roundness of flavor--that hay-like quality that I enjoy so much in it and in the new-style oolongs, this Li Buo Chun is more vegetal when it's not sweet. I foresee many happy cups of this in my future--or rather, something like this, because this one is sold out.

Bi Lo Chun green tea from jingteashop.com. Mmmm. More in the green tea topic.

This is an interesting question and I've been thinking about it off and on all evening. In this past year I've discovered some amazing teas from diverse sources, and while I did set out deliberately to explore a variety of pu-erh, and to try to understand green teas better, the rest of my favorite discoveries of last years started from reading a couple of books about tea, and suggestions from this forum. I will surely make at least one pilgrimmage to Tea Habitat to try some different Dan Congs, since the first two have been so delightful. And I'd like to explore my local japantown and koreatown shopping areas for a nice teapot or two.

Today, started with a pot of the Alishan High Mountain Spring Oolong, and am ending the workday with a particularly nice brewing of the red-label Ti Kuan Yin, one that came out so nicely that it reminds me why I have always loved this tea. It is not so forgiving as the Big Red Robe Wuyi I have been drinking recently--it really can be unpleasant if brewed too hot/too long/too strong--but tonight's batch has all the earthy smoky goodness plus the sweetness that makes it so very very nice.

Today, started with Huo Shan Huang Ya, yellow tea from jingteashop.com, and now am enjoying a thermos full of Summer Alishan "High Mountain Beauty" from norbutea.

Even without detailed tasting notes, the picture will get clearer over time. But I do find discussing my tastings here in appropriate topics gives me a way to go back and review without requiring quite as much discipline as a tasting diary. Just going back to review some posts here (and elsewhere) for this topic, I was happily surprised to discover that I had mentioned *where* I got a particular tea that I'd liked and wanted to get more of, and it was not what I'd expected.

Yesterday, Yunnan Mao Feng; today, a puerh from my father's collection with only a chinese label. No teaware here for gongfu, so just brewed loose in a pitcheer with one longer infusion.

I remember reading recently that Tsukiji was tightening up security and that it would soon be or already was closed to the public. I can't remember enough details to point you to references but I would urge you to be sure you have very current information on public access before going. I was foodie enough to recognize almost everything when I went with my guide, who had been living in japan for several years, but was definitely a not-foodie. It was amazing, and the produce was just as spectacular as the fish.

I was worried about whether the matcha would impart an unpleasant bitterness, but instead I find I am not enjoying the toasted rice flavor. It is so strong that when I try to dilute it to a level where it is more to my taste, I am losing the flavors of the tea leaves that I quite like.