Naftal

Update-The China Cafe has a new menu. They are one of the few restaurants in this area that go beyond traditional Chinese-American fare.

Hello-Speaking of bars...Are there any other places(besides Bastone in Royal Oak)that brew real Belgian-style beer?

Hello- Personally, when you wrote "green stone", I thought of jade.And that is a good thing.

Agreed.I hit either Bray's or Miller's Bar every time I fly into Metro. And if I can swing it on the way back down from Up North, I take the long way back to Metro and stop at Greene's. But hey, I like burgers, and Detroit's way rock. ← cinghiale-I will be the first to admit that I don't travel much. So I am unfamiliar with the unique qualities of a Detroit burger , please enlighten me

Alex- Have you ever been to the Third Street Saloon by Wayne State? At one time they were my favorite dive bar. But, I have not been there for a long time and they might have cleaned themselves up a bit

san-Thanks for your insights I am willing to agree that either national or lafayette should be a required stop for any foodie in the Metro area. I feel that both are the best examples of the most original food item that we have.If the Vernor's plant was still on Woodward, that would have been my second choice. Also, I agree with you about zingerman's. It is a wonderfully unique experience.I did not mention it because I am trying to limit things to Wayne,Oaklan, and Macomb Counties.

Hello-I have heard of a Bai dish called rushan 'yogurt fan' and it has been described as a yogurt waffer and is served with Hui Wei Cha (the last course of a san dao cha). Is your dish similar?

Hello-I'm curious, If you were to describe the one essential food related experience that a person should have if he/she is to experience this region, What would it be?I realize that limiting it to 1 or 2 is difficult, but lets try. For the record,my choice would be a hot dog at National Coney Island.

Hello-(again)I brewed the Dian Western-style and I thought it benefited from an extended (over 3 min.) steeping time. I enjoyed it.Thanks

Hello- Have you ever had Keemun? I always recommend it to people who describe their tasts the way you do and,at least so far, I have not had any complaints .

Hello-For "Milk and Water Embrace" you could do something with tea and milk, a nice chai comes to mind.But I think anything involving black tea and milk would be good.And you would not have to serve the tea alone, it could be used as an ingredient in another dish. Though I think an Earl Grey or an English Breakfast would be your best if you went that rout.Now that I think of it, what about Chai Ice Cream or Earl Grey Ice Cream?

Hello-They got some new teas at Goldfish Tea:Ti Gua Yin B- typical floral scents one would expect from an oolong, Great Green Monkey King-this is a lighter tasting green;but the leaves are huge;some of the biggest I have ever seen;even unsteeped they are unusually large.

Hello-Lately, I have been drinking a lot of a short-thread Earl Grey that my local Chaldean market sells in bulk.It is not a particularly elegant tea, but it is wonderful for daily drinking on cold snowy winter nights .

Hello- There are many ways tea and wine are similar, so this makes a lot of sense.I often describe tea color in terms of wine colors. Some greens remind me of sauternes,etc.

I used to work for a wholesale company that catered to restaurants. The answer that we frequently got whenever we tried to upsell a higher quality of tea than what they were using was that they don't do a lot of tea, they do mostly coffee, that a proper tea service requires more effort from the server, and they didn't want to spend extra cash to upgrade on something that was fine for what they do. Yup, there are plenty of arguments why they SHOULD serve better tea, but that's a whole different topic. I've essentially given up on getting good tea at restaurants and settle for coffee instead. It's easier to find good coffee at most establishments; I'll have my tea at home. ← I don't drink coffee, so that leaves me out in the cold. And guess what? My husband has stopped ordering coffee after a meal because he feels like it's rude to drink something while I'm not drinking anything after dinner, in other words, because I don't want to drink tepid tea. I don't mind him ordering but he's just stopped. So when a restaurateur thinks it's too pricey to make good tea, he might want to think about how many coffee orders he's also losing, particularly at two-tops. ← Hello-I find these points really interesting. I think it is relevent to point out that a recent article in an on-line food magazine suggested that one of the best ways to experience a fine restaurant (on a limited budget) is to sit at the bar and order two appetizers and dessert. This relates,I think, to the dessert with coffee/tea service issue.

The article notes that at least 1,000 of the 3,000 tea manufacturers and merchants have gone out of business, and farmers have begun planting more profitable crops like rice and corn. The article is uneven. A mixture of interesting reporting, weak research and what appears to be a marginal understanding of tea in general, not saved by what is either a marginal understanding of wine or a wine dis-afficianado attitude. There also is a not too subtly disparaging attiude toward the idea of medicinal and health benefits of pu-ehr, while ignoring the possibility that there might be research available, but the bulk of it just might be in Chinese rather than English. The writer also compares Pu-ehr to "the Western fetishization of wine" and then goes on to list various factors that "enthusiasts" consider in Pu-ehr tea: older plants vs younger, "wild "trees, oxidations levels, loose-leaf vs compacted, spring vs fall harvest. The idea that knowledgeable wine and tea producers and consumers think that differences in types of plants make a difference, that differences in proccessing make a difference, that time of harvest makes a difference is reflective of "fetishization"? Curiously, the paper reports that "From 1999 to 2007, the price of Pu’er, a fermented brew invented by Tang Dynasty traders, increased tenfold, to a high of $150 a pound for the finest aged Pu’er, before tumbling far below its preboom levels." And then a little later in the piece, "Prized vintages from the 19th century have sold for thousands of dollars a wedge." If I am not too far off, I think it was (and still may be) in four and perhaps even five figures per pound for the finest aged Pu-ehr. Perhaps an editor will clean it up before you read this. ← Hello-Pu'erh is indeed similar to wine, but I think it is wrong to use the word "fetishization". Age and growing conditions have an effect on both as does the method used in processing.I think the writer of the article is showing his lack of interest in both wine and tea by using such a word.

Please tell us more about these teas, Naftal. ← Hello-Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A is a green tea. I like to recommend it to newbies because it most resembles the generic greens they are familiar with,though it is of a much higher quality.4 Seasons of Spring is an Oolong.It has a nice lilac scent, but its floral qualities don't over-power you the way an osmanthus oolong has been known to do.Keemun A has that generic "black tea" taste most people associate with "English" teas, but it does not get bitter if over-steeped.If people really want to try a pu'erh, I recommend the 6-year because they won't mind trying a less expensive one if they do not like it. If they try a 3 year-old and do not like it, I would have a hard time getting them to try the more expensive variety. Lastly, my most favorite tea of all, the loose 8- year pu'erh. Oh, where to begin...its earthy,loamy taste that reminds one of single-malt scotch and large bodies of water...the numerous steepings, each one as rich and complex as the last...so much fun.

Hello-The people at Goldfish Tea were short-handed, so I did a teabar they had schedualed(when business picks up, they plan to put me on the payroll).So I had Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A, 4 seasons of spring, Keemun A, and a 6 year- old loose pu'erh. Also, I went to my favorite Chinese store and bought and drank some of their amazing 8 year-old pu'erh

That's interesting, Naftal, since I got three infusions yesterday during the day and another later. We must be doing gong fu differently. Can you say more about how you are brewing? Time, temp, leaf-water ratio? Gaiwan or Yixing? ← Hello-I guess one would say I used a Gaiwan, though I actually used a small pot for brewing.The second steeping was 3 min. I think a third steeping went longer, but I was not as impressed with the second or third steep. That is what I meant when I said "it didn't hold up", perhaps I should have said that I was not impressed with the results of my resteepings. Or perhaps I should have let steeping #2 go for a longer period of time. ← Thanks, that helps to clarify the differences. You are using longer steeping times and mine are much shorter -- your second infusion was 3 minutes and mine was 20 seconds. Next, what temperature was the water? Then, how much leaf and how much water in the pot? ← Hello-Other TGY info:the water was 175-195 degrees F., leaf to water ratio was approx. 3g leaf to 8 oz water. ← Thanks. That helps clarify things further. I would think of this as western style brewing, Naftal. With 3 g to 8 ou I would expect only one or two infusions. You could try 3 g to 4 - 6 ou water, 195 F, for 1'30" for the first infusion and see how that does for you. Then extend the steeping time for additional infusions. (Perhaps 2: 2'30", 3: 4', etc.) Adjust for whatever works for you. ← Hello- Thanks for the info. You are probably not going to believe this, but I rechecked and We did indeed use 4g to 6 oz But, the difference in steeping times did make a big difference.I tend not to pay a lot of attention to numbers.The tea was brewed at Goldfish Tea by the people who work there and I neglected to get the exact numbers,which I have now: 4g to 6 oz.I got my previous numbers from a handout they give patrons. That explains why they were western-style numbers instead of gong fu style numbers like they should have been.

Hello- I find myself drinking either the bulk green I get at my local Chaldean market, or a sencha from a Japanese market.

That's interesting, Naftal, since I got three infusions yesterday during the day and another later. We must be doing gong fu differently. Can you say more about how you are brewing? Time, temp, leaf-water ratio? Gaiwan or Yixing? ← Hello-I guess one would say I used a Gaiwan, though I actually used a small pot for brewing.The second steeping was 3 min. I think a third steeping went longer, but I was not as impressed with the second or third steep. That is what I meant when I said "it didn't hold up", perhaps I should have said that I was not impressed with the results of my resteepings. Or perhaps I should have let steeping #2 go for a longer period of time. ← Thanks, that helps to clarify the differences. You are using longer steeping times and mine are much shorter -- your second infusion was 3 minutes and mine was 20 seconds. Next, what temperature was the water? Then, how much leaf and how much water in the pot? ← Hello-Other TGY info:the water was 175-195 degrees F., leaf to water ratio was approx. 3g leaf to 8 oz water.

That's interesting, Naftal, since I got three infusions yesterday during the day and another later. We must be doing gong fu differently. Can you say more about how you are brewing? Time, temp, leaf-water ratio? Gaiwan or Yixing? ← Hello-I guess one would say I used a Gaiwan, though I actually used a small pot for brewing.The second steeping was 3 min. I think a third steeping went longer, but I was not as impressed with the second or third steep. That is what I meant when I said "it didn't hold up", perhaps I should have said that I was not impressed with the results of my resteepings. Or perhaps I should have let steeping #2 go for a longer period of time.

Hello- I had a bamboo pu'erh.Interesting, but it is not a tea I would drink regularly.

Hello-I brewed mine gong fu- style. It tasted very light and crisp. It did not hold up to a second steeping.

Hello-This is a topic that happens to be near and dear to my heart. I have noticed that certain terms are common when describing certain types of tea.In my experience,and in the experience of my tea friends, terms like "grassy", "asparagus",and "peanuts" are common when describing green teas.Other terms apply to other types of tea.I usually reserve the term "flowery" for oolongs or Jasmine tea. And "smokey" is usually applied to certain black teas. At least, that has been my experience.