Naftal

I have never seen a low quality matcha or heard of one. The Matcha site above says "Matcha is a fine-ground, powdered, high quality green tea and not the same as koncha". Everything I have ever heard supports this statement. If you can quote a legitimate source that contradicts this, please tell me and I will change my view. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha

Hello- Konacha is indeed a very low- quality tea see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konacha But, it is very different from Matcha ( which is of a much higher quality) see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matcha

Great Idea

huiray- BTW would mentioning my local (DTW) faves here be OT? I thought that might be the case. If that is not so, I will be happy to list them

Hello- It does not surprise me that Vancouver and SF have good dim-sum. Please elaborate; I am not familiar with the abbreviations: GTA/SGV. I imagine (though I have no proof) that one could get good dim-sum in Toronto. And, of course, I cannot imagine anything more wonderful than dim-sum in Hong Kong:) Also, I live in the Detroit-Ann Arbor area and know many fine Chinese places(but I am always on the look-out for more). Lastly, did you know that Metropolitan Detroit (the TriCounty Area) has a small China-Town area of its own? It does not compare in size to any you have mentioned, but it does have a few interesting sites. And we do have one particularly good dim-sum place, and a very traditional Chinese TeaHouse that would compare favorably with any I've seen.

Speaking more as a history-buff than as an expert on spirits (I am not), I would say that a gimlet is a very manly drink!

Hello- Cai was wonderful beyond words. Truly, I cannot describe how wonderful it was. and my nephew agreed. For the record, we also discovered a liquor store in Chinatown that sells Shao Hsing, and they sell a variety of brands at a variety of prices! The place is called "China Place Liquor. Inc." The address is 2105 S. China Place #A (sic), and the phone number is 312-225-8118. The clerks may not speak English, but if you show them what you want they can steer you to a good buy:)

Hello- I will admit that my definition of a favorite tea room is very specific and one might -rightly- criticize it as elitist. But, I will admit that it is only MHO. I look for teashops that have a traditional Chinese atmosphere and have an extremely informed staff. And, by that I mean one that knows more about tea than I do! On my recent trip to Chicago, I was joyously surprised to find such a place in Evanston, called Dream About Tea, see http://www.dreamabouttea.com/ The owner is a true Master of Tea and an exceptional host. He served me a special tea that was not on the normal menu. It is called "Kai Hua Long Ding" ie "Dragon Top". I had never had this tea before and drinking it was one of the highlights of my tea-tasting life.

Hello- My research seemed to indicate that Cai is the most popular dim sum place among the Chinese. So, tomorrow we do China town and Cai!

BTW Is the High Mountain green a "Mao Feng"?

Thanks! I love pu-erh straight, and I love Dragon Well. So now I am even more excited!!!!!

Hello- Yes, I looked at that forum, thanks. Now I have another, perhaps even more crucial question: I check a site that lists teahouses in Chicago, and I could not find one in the Chinatown area. Now I do not know Chicago that well, and I could have seen the address and not realize its location. So help me! Is there a traditional Chinese Teashop in that part of Chicago? I also am aware that some of the dim sum places may have particularly good tea. If that is the case, please let me know. Thanks!!

huiray, rotus, basquecook, thanks for your advice. Is anyone else familiar enough with the culinary joys to be experienced in Chicago's Chinatown to offer some advice?

I know. The food stores only carry "cooking wine", which I always avoid:)

Well that's easy enough

Hello- I plan to be in Chinatown Thursday 9/25. Thanks so much for all your valuable info! Do you (or anyone else) know of a place where I could get shaohsing/shaoxing without salt added? I do not want the variety labeled "cooking wine". I only cook with the real stuff:)

Hello- My 4-day trip to Chicago will include one day in Chinatown. I plan to go to the Phoenix for dim sum, but I need some recommendations for other must see places. Specifically, I am looking for the best grocers, wine shops (that sell Chinese wine) and traditional tea-houses in that area.

Hello- Please see my thread http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149277-tea-caffeine-the-2nd-steep-the-data/

I hear a lot of talk about the amount of caffeine in the second steeping of tea, and I thought it would be interesting to look at some of the hard research data on the subject. A number of sites deal with this issue and I will eventually list more. But this is a good place to start the discussion http://39steeps.blogspot.com/2009/07/tea-myth-busted-90-of-caffeine-comes.html

Hello-Thanks for the link. That goat looked amazing!!!!!!

Hello- Of course, I should have seen that. Thanks so much for the recipe and the insights. I bought some goat recently!

Hello- Does anyone have a curried goat recipe?

Hello-As I am interested in anything even remotely related to tea, I was very excited to come across this idea: salad made with tea leaves! My question: Does anyone have an authentic Burmese recipe?

Seventy-five percent of the world eats goat http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/eat_goat_it_is_a_healthy_choice So I was wondering how it is done in various traditions. So...How do you do goat?