Wholemeal Crank

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.

Started with the genmaicha from the current tasting, then prepped with some Diamond Tie Guan Yin from norbutea for my long drive to visit family this weekend. Glad I'm driving and can take my tea with me.

Today brewing Huo Shan Huang Ya, yellow tea from jingteashop.com. It's a twisted slender green leaf making a delicate sweet yellow liquor that reminds me of nothing so much as the new style green oolongs and pouchong, but less intense. Brewed 1.5 grams in a 100mL gaiwan with 170 degree water--starting at 30 seconds, increasing to 45 seconds, last infusion 2 minutes. A final infusion at 5 minutes was probably too much to ask, but still had a nice delicate flavor.

Today had a thermos full of the first unnamed puerh beeng I bought from Wing Hop Fung. Tonight hardly can choose what to try first from a small order from Jingteashop.com, but the interesting yellow tea won out. More in the green tea topic, because it seems like a better fit there than anywhere else...

I cull by whether I think I will use the book in the future: I keep some for reference, some for recipes I already love, some for recipes that look like I will love them, or recipes that will inspire me to cook, even if not a recipe from that book. I've quite likely culled at least as many as I now keep (about 120 or 130), over the years, and probably about half of those were books that I really did like and use at one time. I culled them for having recipes that were not right for me (I found the lack of onions and garlic kept me from appreciating Lord Krishna's Cuisine as much as those who gave it major awards); for being replaced by a different book that is more in tune with my current cooking/eating habits (Marcella Hazan made way for Giuliano Bugialli); or because what I learned from it has been so ingrained in my present cooking that it seems superfluous (after adapting the food processor kneading technique from the Best Bread Ever to my favorite recipes, I didn't keep the book, because the recipes otherwise were not particularly unique); or for having too much space devoted to stuff I will never make (meat-heavy books from various cuisines with very short chapters on vegetables or desserts).

Yesterday, Big Red Robe Wuyi, followed by Yunnan Mao Feng.

To figure out what my new tea discoveries were for 2009, I read back through my posts in another forum, and realized that some stuff I'd thought was 2009 discovered was actually discovered in 2007 and 2008. The few things that were truly new for 2009 are the new style oolongs, rich and floral, that have captured my taste buds entirely (without supplanting the old style versions), which was facilitated by an egullet tasting (although in truth I'd been drinking some of this lighter style oolong since 2007, I hadn't connected it with the green looking oolong teas in the jars at Wing Hop Fung until the tasting; finally understanding how multiple infusions gongfu style can reveal the layers of flavor in a fine tea; and discovering that I can, after all, sometimes brew a very pleasant cup of green tea--even japanese teas, working using the jasmine safety net.

That's what I suspected. I posted here right after I first opened it, so it's been two months. I bought two ounces, the smallest size Denstea.com offers, and it's hard to see myself using it up a whole lot faster than this. Now wondering if there is anything else I can do to preserve it--wondering if the putting half in the freezer as soon as the pouch is opened would help....hmmmm....maybe a vacuum seal-a-meal thingie? Or just need to find a merchant who will sell it to me by the well-sealed ounce. And I will not buy it from Wing Hop Fung where they put all the tea in the bulk glass jars or cases, quite the wrong approach for this tea.

For those of you who have more experience with these things....when a vacuum-sealed package of japanese Sencha or gyokuro is opened, how long before you start to see a drop off in quality of the brewed tea, assuming you keep it well sealed afterwards, with the dessicant inside if such is provided? And what elements seem to go first? I am trying to figure out whether the less satifsying results I've been getting with the gyokuro in the last couple of weeks are more due to my infusion technique or the tea going off. It's been noticeably less sweet.