Wholemeal Crank

I'm really more a baker than a cook, going back to the very first book on the list here. Started out baking cookies from the family index card file--most from cookbooks mom got before her wedding. I used those, but just for recipes I already knew. The first cookbook I went adventuring in was Farm Journal's Cookie book--those browsings led to some great discoveries, and some not so great; but the abundance of different people's takes on the same basic recipe got me started on the idea of reading recipes with an eye to comparing them, and learning to anticipate flavors/textures from particular ratios or ingredients, key lessons that I use now to create new recipes of my own. The Laurel's Kitchen Breadbook--opened up the idea of whole grain without compromise of texture or flavor, with a goal of good taste, not just 'healthfulness' that so many other whole-grain cookbooks made the main focus. I was already milling my wheat, and this book helped keep me on track. The Breads of France by Bernard Clayton--I treasure it not so much for recipes I use over and over (though there are a few) as for the idea that limited ingredients used with diverse techniques can yield an infinite variety of results. The Greens Cookbook--the introductory chapter about stocks is tremendous, giving principles for the use of different vegetables in stocks that are as useful to meat stocks as vegetable stocks. These are base recipes I still use today for my vegetable stocks, and they make my soups, meat based or otherwise, stand out from the ordinary; and other recipes introduce the idea of separately cooking ingredients to be combined later, which has vastly improved some of my cooking. Flatbreads and Flavors--has an amazing diversity of recipes and ingredients: searching out exotic spices (e.g., mahleb) and learning to use them has really added interest to my cooking; it also gave me confidence while working with breads that aren't all about oven spring; and I still have more favorite recipes per page than any other of my cookbooks. It's the only one whose spine is really broken from heavy use. The Complete Book of Spices by Jill Norman--is a well illustrated and remarkably comprehensive little book. I got it because it talked about spices I could find no information on in many another similar book, the mahleb I mentioned above, and it in turn led me to using whole mace and cassia buds and szechuan peppers and especially long peppers, going well beyond the basic supermarket spices. I have a longer version of cookbooks and why I keep them on my web site here (no adds, just me rambling on)

More earthy oolong today--traditional style Anxi Ti Kuan Yin. Feels just right for gray weather and persistent bit of cold.

Really seeing a difference between the grades now?

Does that look like a tea shop, or like an antiques shop? This was more furniture and art, and I only noticed the teapots after I crossed the street to look into their window.

The tea shop was Palais des Thes Le Palais des Thés, Paris 6th 61, rue du Cherche Midi 75006 Paris I think the chinese shop was along the same route, but have no particular recollection of the name, and whether it was on Cherche-Midi, Vaugirard, or a street between those and my hotel.

I stayed at the Le Meridien Montparnasse, across from the Gare Montparnasse, and mostly walked between that and the river, with side trips to explore the local area a litte more, mostly heading west and north. I do not remember where that shop with chinese things including a couple of teapots was; I do not remember tea being in the name of the shop, but just that I saw two small, simple unglazed teapots with chinese characters on them in the window. I did not step into that store. The other shop iu remember as something like Palais de Thes, as I passed it several times going between Hermes shop on rue Vaugirard and Poilane's boulangerie on Cherche-Midi, so it was on one of those streets. It was all tea and tea stuff, no sign of antiques. I may have gotten the name wrong.

Could do that, but wanted to see if there was already one someplace that I hadn't recognized, since these forums are rather particular about keeping threads in certain places.

I am still getting over a cold, it is overcast and a bit chilly today, and I've been drinking that very sweet and aromatic Tie Guan Yin all week, so this morning I'm having some Big Red Robe for a refreshing contrast. Nothing more perfect for a gray morning.

I would like to report back on my food experiences in Paris, but don't want to 'hijack' the topic with more unwelcome drift. Is there a better place to put a general report, not just restaurants, but impressions of everything food-related?

I did step into a couple of tea stores, including Le Palais de Thes (may have gotten the spelling wrong), and one shop with a very beautiful selection of japanese teawares in another neighborhood, mostly to browse the tea wares rather than to buy tea. There were some beautiful things, euro-style and japanese, but didn't see anything obviously chinese except two probable yixing in what I think was a shop for chinese antiques--and those were 40-60 euros apiece. The teas themselves appeared to be quite expensive, so I decided to invest my limited time and capital on buying chocolates instead. I did have a cup of tea on board my Air France flight, and it was a rather dilute european style tea that actually was quite nice, not bitter or astringent really at all. And I bought an electric kettle at Monoprix to brew my Tie Guan Yin in the mornings at my hotel.

Enjoying a 2nd pot of the Tie Guan Yin today, and feeling sad that I did not bring a lesser tea with me, because right now I have a cold and am not nearly appreciating this one as it deserves. Sigh.

Brought a package of the 2009 Spring Diamond Tie Guan Yin with me on my trip, drinking it daily. Will be ready for a change of pace when I get back home.

Only one more time so far, still haven't found the chocolate in the flavor of the liquor yet.....I really love chocolate so would love to find a tea that combines two favorite interests.

There really is no one perfect bread book. The best thing for a new baker is to get at least one that feels friendly to you, and gain some confidence, then read a bunch of books and realize just how flexible and adaptable bread is. For a serious kitchen novice, I like to recommend Brother Juniper's Bread Book, because it celebrates the bread in such a welcoming way. And Beard on Bread made kneading seem fun rather than intimidating. For someone who has made some bread, but may have had some disappointments when their loaves came out a bit mishapen, Flatbreads and Flavors demonstrates the wide variety of breads that can be delicious even if they don't rise to perfect domes--and it's still probably my one bread book for that apocryphal desert island, because it includes stuff no one else does, and a lot of what i bake and eat regularly--biased towards single-serving breads that freeze well--still comes out of it. I discuss bread books I have known at more length here on my food pages (no ads, just opinions).

Is the banko glazed? Just wondering how it might be affecting the flavor--different adsorption to the surface? Surface to volume ratios? And on a related note, is there any reason not to use a gaiwan for brewing the Japanese green teas?

I went shopping this evening, and discovered a new teavana store in my local mall. Would have just walked by if not for this discussion. Lots of different teas, but not clear what grade of which ones. Are the teas you're discussing here herbal or flavored black or green teas?

A little, yes! Seriously, I'm pretty much done with the buying spree for teawares and teas for a while. I have I have a nice selection of puerh that will keep a while, have found several oolongs I'm really enjoying, but most others (the black, green, and white/yellow) are being purchased in smaller quantities, including a raft of 1 oz or less samplers that have been very helpful. So the tea collection *is* a bit over the top at the moment. But, the tea group at work is expanding a bit (I am sharing the daily brews with 2-4 people at work), so I'm often filling the 1-quart thermos twice a day. Also, I'm using a bit more leaf as my comfort with brewing the different teas increases. I'll be more selective about the ones I replace after they run out, having used this 'spree' to better explore the available spectrum. But I won't be bulk brewing gyokuro or dan cong oolong for the thermos! And some people are getting tea for christmas. And hey, no calories!

Enjoying yellow sweet tea from vitaltleaf.com, gongfu style with gaiwan.

Boldly ordered a sampler and a bit of houjicha from denstea.com today.

A comment or two in another topic, and my experience yesterday with a black tea drunk over 8 hours or so have got me wondering: are there predictable changes that occur in brewed tea when it sits before you drink it? Most of the tea I drink at work is of necessity brewed 'in bulk', and carried around in a quart thermos and sipped through the day. Yesterday, I was brewing some yunnan black tea, and remembering that black teas give up most of their flavor more quickly than oolongs and puerhs, I used a higher leaf to water ratio to account for fewer reinfusions, and I overdid it. The lovely fruity flavor of this tea was a little overwhelmed by tannins--my expresso-quaffing boss even commented on it's expresso-like qualities when he had a cup immediately after I brewed it. But by evening, I was no longer noticing any of that bitterness--just the best parts of the tea flavor were left. So, now I'm wondering: were my tastebuds adapting over the course of the day? Were the tannins in the tea depositing on the sides of the thermos? Do the tea elements recombine or decompose during the course of the day? And earlier in the week I brewed a thermos of some silver-needle white tea that gradually seemed to lose flavor in a way that the oolongs and pu-erhs generally don't--it just seemed less sprightly. I know my thermos marathons are not giving my teas their best chance to shine, but the very existence of tea cozies implies a long tradition of other people sometimes needing to do the same thing. Have you ever noticed changes like these in teas you delayed drinking after infusing?

Now drinking some Yunnan Gold black tea from Rishi. Mmmm. I overdid the leaf to water ratio and the first cups from the thermos were too strong, but it has mellowed during the afternoon--doubtless there is a lot of tannin staining the sides of the thermos now, that are no longer contributing harshness or bitterness.

For you, as you gave the description of your bread interests, I would start with the Bread Baker's Apprentice. Good general introduction to artisan breads, key recipes with lots of suggestions for variations, and all in all an excellent tutorial for breakmaking. I highly recommend getting books from your local library, reading through their introductory materials, making a recipe or two, and finding out which author speaks best to your level of skill & interests, before you buy a bunch of them. But BBA you can buy now with confidence.

If it makes you and your tastebuds happy, it's not a bad tea!

Just now noticed this line. Grown in Afghanistan, or 'Afgani-style'? Do tell more!

2006 Hainan "Purple Bud" Sheng Pu-Erh Tea Cake from norbutea.com today, brewed in bulk to fill the thermos, with a higher leaf to water ratio than the first brewing I discussed here. The earthy flavors are dominant today, still wonderful stuff.