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Naftal

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    What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 3)

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted · Edited by Naftal (log)

    Finally finished my Ito En Ooi Ocha Ichibantsumi sencha, so now on that front I'm left with some really fancy stuff my friend got my in Kyoto (the package is entirely in Japanese, but it's some sort of sencha). It is VERY light and delicate compared to most other (admittedly not high end) senchas I've had before.

     

    Also finished my Alwazah FBOP1 Cardamom, which means I need a new Ceylon black tea for making Iraqi tea. My two Turkish teas (Çaykur Rize Turist Çay and Çaykur Tiryaki Çayı) dont have the same flavor profile of a good Ceylon.

    Hello- Like you, I like the Alwazah FBOP1. However, lately, I have been drinking a lot of the Ceylon tea packaged by Ahmad Tea Ltd.Have you tried it? I am really enjoying it!

    Bubble Tea

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Any hints for cooking large tapioca pearls?

    I followed the instructions on a package, and it did not work out.

    Soak in water over night, cook on top of double boiler.

    Many were still crunchy and others dissolved.

    Maybe they were just really old?

    ←1455198

    Ive never heard of soaking them or using a double boiler.

    This is the standard cooking method:

    http://www.bubbleteasupply.com/index.php?page=recipes.html

    Hello- In my opinion, this is the best bubble tea site!

    Tea vs coffee...I need your help!

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted · Edited by heidih
    Fix quote tags (log)

    Another secret is to develop speedy service, especially for carryout. Most places have policies whereby a customer should be able to place their order within a minute or two and get their food/drink in another minute or two.

    I think that is the opposite of what should be done. It isn't McDonalds. Would you go to a fine wine tasting and belt back as many bottles as you could in record time?

    I live in China and on the street where I live there has to be at least 20 tea shops. There are literally thousands in the city. Drinking tea there is a slow, relaxed sedate process.

    Hello- I agree with liuzhou. Also, you should have good original art on the walls.

    The Iced Tea Topic

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted · Edited by Naftal (log)

    Is there any special process to making iced tea, besides the cooling part?

    I want to play around with it this summer (dont always have to enjoy a cocktail on a hot day!) and want to get a good ground basics first.

    Hello- Since melting ice dilutes the tea, and thus effects the flavor, it is a good idea to begin with more tea than you usually use.I think the rule is to use twice the usual amount, but you can change that if it is too strong/weak.

    Popular tea

    in California: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Perhaps stupidly, I have the belief that tea admits of more varied and subtle flavors than does coffee, which varies more in quality than it does in distinct flavors. Partly because of this probably stupid belief, I am more likely to see coffee as a more functional drink (for example, if I am having trouble staying awake in the afternoon). For enjoyment itself, however, I tend to drink tea.

    Another functional role for coffee: there are some social settings, like "getting a cup of coffee," where I feel it is more appropriate to join my fellows in coffee drinking rather than buck the trend.

    Finally, as Hassouni remarks above, good tea is hard to find in American establishments. Because of this, I do often order coffee at restaurants; this isn't because the coffee is particularly good, but is because bad coffee is easier to mask (with cream and sugar) than is bad tea.

    Hello- I prefer tea over coffee. That is because I prefer the taste of tea to the taste of coffee. When I want something particularly strong, I brew a cup of indian tea and I make it double-strength. That being said, I know my sister has a very developed palate and prefers really fine coffee

    Dining in Hunan, where are the best places?

    in China: Dining

    Posted · Edited by Naftal (log)

    Where in Hunan is he going? It's a big place.

    I am not sure yet. He is not sure either. He is going to teach for a year and does not know where they will send him. He wants to work in a rural area. I will give you more information as soon as I get it. Thank You so much for your willingness to help!!!!!!

    Lapsang Souchong – who has the best?

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Hello- Have you used it on cold-water ocean fish like salmon?

    No. I am allergic to ocean fish - sensitive to iodine. I have used it on trout and used it to smoke sturgeon (a friend caught a 4 1/2 ft one in the California aqueduct and gave most of it away.) It was very good.

    I smoke the trout whole - they have to be very fresh - but the sturgeon I cut into "steaks" before smoking it.

    Wonderful!-Please tell me what you did with the sturgeon after cutting it into steaks.

    Lapsang Souchong – who has the best?

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted · Edited by Naftal (log)

    I use a lot of Lapsang Souchong in cooking. I have tried numerous brands. I keep going back to the Republic of Tea product.

    I buy it in bulk, by the pound. It takes me 4-5 months to use a pound so I order it about three times a year.

    I have yet to find one of the cheaper varieties that has the complexity of flavor that I like.

    I have written in other topics that I use this tea to add to jams to add a smoky flavor which goes well with cheese (quince or fig jams especially)

    I poach pears in the tea with a little honey - I make a syrup with it to glaze game birds, duck or chicken, guinea hen.

    And it is absolutely fantastic on pork roasts or pork chops.

    Read some of the Tea Leaf Readings about this particular tea. I am not the only fan.

    Hello- Have you used it on cold-water ocean fish like salmon?

    Sarson da saay

    in India: Cooking & Baking

    Posted

    Bathua is not the same as mustard greens. Mustard greens are called sarson in Hindi and Punjabi, hence the name of the dish sarson da saag (saag -not saay - being pretty much any greens).

    However, bathua grows as a weed throughout northern India and is indeed sold and cooked as a vegetable. Since it is often found growing along with mustard greens, traditionally the two types of greens could often be cooked together. If you see a sarson da saag recipe calling for mustard greens and spinach, substitute bathua for the spinach.

    Thank you so much for this information. It clarified things. Now if only I could find a recipe.

    The Iced Tea Topic

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Bulk hibiscus is cheap in the local hispanic groceries. After the cooling sencha start to the day, it's been more cold brewing in the heat with some yellow tea plus a hibiscus blossom, very nice.

    I get bulk hibiscus at a hispanic store,too. I use it to make a straight hibiscus iced tea.

    Best tea info sites

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    The place I go most often to talk about tea is TeaChat, as mentioned above, because it's a busy place where many there are ongoing discussions about different aspects of teas and teawares. It's a good source of tea info, but like any forum, the quality of the information varies from poster to poster and topic to topic. But it's pretty well moderated and a friendly place. The search function works pretty well to pull up threads on specific topics.

    Another place I spent quite a bit of time with is the Yahoo group tea-disc. There is another larger 'tea list' Yahoo group, but it was quite heavy-handedly moderated and not the most informative. The tea-disc group has an extensive archive and that was very helpful to build my knowledge about tea beyond what my tea books could provide.

    Other places I've found good tea info include blogs, personal web pages, and tea retailers' pages, that sometimes give a lot of good background along with sales pitches for their latest finds. Some that I've gone back to over and over are TeaHabitat, for information about Dan Cong teas; Norbu, for mostly chinese but recently some japanese teas also; Pu-erh.net, a personal page about puerh; MattCha's page, a personal blog with discussions of many different teas, including a lot of korean teas; and Marshall's blog as listed above; JK tea shop has some good info especially but not exclusively on puerh. My own web site is pretty limited on the tea pages--I really should update them.

    I shouldn't forget the basic wikipedia entries, that seem pretty good, if limited in depth, especially the very helpful flowchart on tea production techniques, that helps clarify the distinction between various traditional types of teas. And there is a very helpful little chart on Den's Tea web site which, if you study it, helps clarify the effects of different brewing temperatures and times on tea flavors.

    Thank you for sharing these interesting sites

    Sarson da saay

    in India: Cooking & Baking

    Posted · Edited by Naftal (log)

    I just learned that a common weed in my neighborhood (Chenopodium Album) is the main ingredient of this dish. Can anyone give me a recipe for Sarson da saay? I used the latin name because this plant has many common names.I do know that this plant is sometimes refered to as mustard greens and there is a curry dish that cooks this item with onions and potatos. I do not know if this is is the same dish.If they are different, I'd like to know both recipes.This plant is known as Bathua or Bathuwa in India. Thanks!

    Best tea info sites

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    http://teachat.com/ - a lot of noise, but there are some really knowledgeable people who post there. I also follow some tea friends' web logs, e.g., http://marshaln.com, http://puerh.blogspot.com/

    I would just say that there's a lot of inaccurate and misleading information about tea on the Internet. It is worth being skeptical about stuff you read.

    As far as books and what not, as a basic introduction, the Harney and Sons book about tea is not too bad. I also really enjoyed "A Tea Lover's Travel Diary" http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0982654006

    http://teachat.com/ - a lot of noise, but there are some really knowledgeable people who post there. I also follow some tea friends' web logs, e.g., http://marshaln.com, http://puerh.blogspot.com/

    I would just say that there's a lot of inaccurate and misleading information about tea on the Internet. It is worth being skeptical about stuff you read.

    As far as books and what not, as a basic introduction, the Harney and Sons book about tea is not too bad. I also really enjoyed "A Tea Lover's Travel Diary" http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0982654006

    You seem to have an interest in puerh. I share that inerest. Also, I like the Harney and Sons book too, it has a good section on white teas.

    Best tea info sites

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    A lot of websites include, or are devoted to information about tea. I am not talking about sites that sell tea, just sites that deliver information about this wonderful subject. I like http://asiarecipe.com/china.html This site has a lot of info about chinese food and culture in general, but I love it for the tea stuff. So, what is your favorite site for tea info?

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