Naftal

My favorite sencha for daily drinking is made by Yamamotoyama. Lately, I have been drinking a lot of macha.

I had iced Gunpowder (green tea). I had it at Goldfish Tea, and it was wonderful.

My favorite teahouse (Goldfish Tea) makes large batches of Gunpowder green tea and Keemun B black tea, and uses them when people ask for iced tea.

Hello- The chinese teahouse I frequent (Goldfish Tea) imports their own teas from China. The tea does have a dairy taste that might remind a person of the taste of whole milk.They sell their teas on the internet at this site.

Hello- I wanted to share with you the three most unusual oolongs I have had: Milk Oolong- It really has a dairy taste without adding milk. Four Seasons of Spring-It tastes like lilac. Honey Phoenix-It has a nice peach-like flavor.

Hello- I have been drinking a lot of a wonderful pu'erh. My local teahouse serves an amazing pu'erh from 2002, which they sell under their own label. I have been buying bags of the stuff to brew at home.

Hello-I am still learning this system.I accidentlly posted this on the beer forum too and am not sure how to delete it from there. Richard? Anyways, I meant to write here that I attended a tasting of Korean teas.I was not told the names of the teas, but my favorite one reminded me of a Dragon Well with a slight roasted rice flavor. And, these teas were served on a set made in the studio of Korea's Living National Treasure. This made the event even more special.

Hello-I recently had a really amazingly wonderful Lapsang Souchong from Zhi Tea. I really cannot say enough about this tea. It has all the smokey elements one would expect, plus other undertones (fruit?) as well.Check out their site-Zhi Tea. Lastly,is anyone else familiar with this company?

Hello-Regarding "strong-dark-smoked"teas: I think your best bet might be a lapsang souchong/ russian caravan type or perhaps an english breakfast tea,which is "strong and dark" but not really "smokey".At least that is my opinion.

Hello-I am a big fan of tuo cha, and I enjoyed reading your post. I have one question:Were you using a "raw" or a "burnt" tuo cha?

Hello-I should make a correction-the chocolate and caramel chai is made by celestial seasonings, not twinnings.

Hello-I should have mentioned that good Lapsang Souchong does indeed have a "smokey" flavour that it gets as a result of the way it is processed/smoked.I have been told that this is why good Lapsang can only be made in limited quantities and if a tea-seller fails to reserve enough he/she will have a long wait until fresh Lapasang is available.So, the difference is where it was smoked. Once it was smoked "on the trail" and now it is smoked "in a processing plant".

Hello-Back in the really, really, really old days: Russia did indeed get its tea via caravan from China. These caravans would light a fire each night when they camped. As a result, the teas they were carrying took on a smokey taste. The building of the TranSiberian railroad had two related effects on the tea-trade:it made caravans unneccessary and it brought the price of tea down thus making it an affordable drink for the poor. All this is a long introduction to a simple statement which you may know: most high- quality "Russian Caravan Tea" is really Lapsang Souchong.

Hello-Just a brief comment: Twinnings makes a chai flavoured with chocolate and caramel (sp?).

Can you say more, Naftal? Was their any difference between brewing in your gaiwan and brewing western style? ← Hello-I guess that one could say that I brew western style in a gaiwan. One difference would be the fact that I am only brewing one cup in a Gaiwan and when I brew a pot, I am brewing more than one serving. So the actual amount of tea would differ quite a bit.Also,when I brew it in a pot I usually strain it and pour it into cups or a reserve pitcher, when I brew it in the gaiwan I drink it from the gaiwan.I did not brew it gong fu style(as might be expected since I used my gaiwan).Obviously, both tastings were similar.

Hello- I had a Milk Oolong that was amazing. It really did taste like there was milk in it, even when there was no milk in it at all.

Hello-I have a collection of gaiwans that I use regularly, including a yixing gaiwan that I use only for pu-erh.

Hello-I have been drinking more Honey Phoenix Oolong. The current batch at Goldfish Tea tasts like peaches

Hello- This was an wonderful tea. It had a taste similar to my favorite chinese green teas,it was lighter in taste, but similar. I brewed a small pot western-style,and I brewed some in my gaiwan. Thanks

Hello-Yes, I have my tea and I have brewed it Western style.It was very nice.It had all the qualities that I associate with a classic beencha(the shape of the cake in the photo on the packet) made by a first-rate producer,which of course, it is. I tend to brew tea by "feel" so I don't have a lot of technical data 'though I aways brew blacks/pu-erhs in water that has come to a full rolling boil. Again, it was wonderful, thanks.

Hello-In my limited experience, I have noticed that anything with nuts is wonderful with tea. Walnuts and peanuts make wonderful additions to tea cakes and cookies. But my favorites are almonds, macaroons and tea are an amazing combination.

Hello-I tend to brew whites like I brew greens. My favorite white is Dragon Well White, but a lot of people I know recommend the An Ji.And, the owner of Goldfish Tea likes the Peony.

Hello- I am looking forward to more high quality lapsang souchong.My local tea-house ran out of it early in the year .And there will be none until the current harvest is processed.

Hello-Yes, Yes,Yes! Being able to resteep the leaves also cuts down on the cost per cup. This is a very important point.

Hello--I love this thread. I think that it is a very important topic. look at Vitamin Cottage in their bulk section, I have been buying earl grey for$10 per pound. looked up their adress,its 7517 Campbell Road, Suite 500 Dallas, TX 75248 Good luck Bud ← I get a very nice Earl Grey in bulk at my local Chaldean market. It costs approx. $7/lb. They have a bulk green and a bulk black for the same price.