Richard Kilgore

Before leaving for a New Year's Day party, during which I only eat - no cooking involved, I am starting 2011 with another Wu Yi Oolong, this one a Big Red Robe (Da Hong Pao) from The Cultured Cup. Delicious! What's in your tea cup today?

Today I was craving an Oolong and am now sipping the Shui Jin Gui Wu Yi (Spring Harvest, 2009) from norbutea.com. Brewed in a large Yixing of indeterminate age, this is my favorite Norbu Wu Yi from Spring 2009.

What an interesting experience. Thanks for sharing, Foodietopo. Did you get to drink your own matcha?

I envy your recent tea days, Wholemeal Crank. Allergies and a cold have made me almost impervious to flavors, to the point that I could taste the duck, but not the sauce, in the Wild Duck A'La Orange that I made for Christmas Day. When away from home the past week I have subsisted on coffee (yes! coffee!), and when home have brewed mostly black teas (Yunnan Imperial from The Cultured Cup today) with a dulled-palate experience several times of the normally very pleasant 2010 Organic Gokujo Sencha from yuuki-cha. And I enjoyed the image of you serving Japanese tea to your colleagues, WC.

Very small scales measuring to a tenth or a hundredth of a gram are available for about $15 - $30. Google for vendors. I use mine primarily for measuring tea.

Great eG Forums topics like this one wouldn't be possible without the financial support of our non-profit Society's sponsors and donors. Your financial contributions pay for forum upkeep and many exciting Society projects in the works. I know I speak on behalf of all other volunteers in saying thank you for your support! Doing your holiday shopping? Remember this season that you can donate to Gully without spending a dime! Simply use the We-Care.com donation system when you make your purchases or connect to Amazon.com through this eGullet-friendly link. Now back to the tea -- and thanks!

eG Forums topics like the Tea Tasting & Discussions wouldn't be possible without the financial support of our non-profit Society's sponsors and donors. Your financial contributions pay for forum upkeep and many exciting Society projects in the works. I know I speak on behalf of all other volunteers in saying thank you for your support! Doing your holiday shopping? Remember this season that you can donate to Gully without spending a dime! Simply use the We-Care.com donation system when you make your purchases or connect to Amazon.com through this eGullet-friendly link. Now back to the tea -- and thanks!

Started off the day with the Organic Gokujo Sencha from yuuki-cha.com. I have only been drinking this one for a few days, but am enjoying it very much. Next? Probably an Oolong. What teas are you all drinking in your part of the universe?

Thanks to Bill Waddington at teasource.com for providing the free samples of three interesting darjeelings for this Tea Tasting & Discussion (TT&D). And thanks too, of course, to cdh and shamanjoe for participating. If anyone has more to say about these darjeelings, or questions for the participants, please continue to discuss. More TT&Ds planned for 2011. If you subscribe to the Coffee & Tea forum, you will be among the first to know when the free samples are offered for future TT&Ds.

We'll start the tasting after the holidays. Stay tuned!

We'll start the tasting after the holidays. Stay tuned!

This evening I opened a sample of Sunpu Boucha, a 2010 1st Harvest Hon Yama Kuki-Hojichafrom norbutea.com that Greg Glancy gave me the last time we drank tea together. A very nice nice hojicha - low-caffeine perfect for this evening. I'll post more about it in the Japanese Green Tea topic later after playing with it a bit.

Turned out that the timing worked such that I did not cook the wild ducks with my friend last year. But...we're going to do ones from this year's hunting for Christmas dinner. While we are not aiming for anything like Jackal's fantastic duck dinner, the rest of the dinner will be delicious and bounteous, cooked by his family and other friends, so we will have lots of unpredictable flavors going on. The only things I know for sure we'll have is wild rice as one of the sides and pumpkin spice cheesecake with gingersnap crust. Other sides and other appetizers and desserts unknown. Someone recently said to marinate the duck in milk, since it is wild duck. Opinions? I am inclined to think the only safe thing to do is a simple roasted or braised duck dish. Suggestions for either of those more than welcome. Or if you think we can do something else without creating a flavor profile disaster, please jump in.

Thanks, LuckyGirl, it is always interesting when a tea that was previously "ho-hum" turns out much better later. When it happens to me I can't always tell if the leaf has improved over time, or if I finally figured out to brew it. I'll have to pull out the Norbu Silver Needles and try it again. I have been drinking a number of different blacks and greens lately, including the Yunnan Imperial from The Cultured Cup; the Organic Magokoro shincha/sencha and the Organic Misakubo shincha/sencha, both 2010s from yuuki-cha.com. Two infusions of Castleton Estate Darjeeling, Wiry from teasource.com this morning. This afternoon it will be green teas. So what teas are the rest of you drinking in your part of the world?

The "cafe grade" matcha on that site is rather expensive. You should be able to find matcha for pastries for less. Or get a regular matcha from another source that is less expensive.

I bought some several years ago at Central Market (brand name evaporated with time) here in Texas, since Paula Wolfert had suggested to me that I try Piment d' Esplette on eggs and a little bit of everything. It was excellent, but my taste memory is not good enough to compare it with the brand I bought in the past year on Amazon, Terre Exotique - two 40 g jars for about $35US shipped. I like this one a good deal and use it frequently in soups, stews, beans, potatoes , egg dishes and such, in addition to dishes in Paula's Clay Pot Cooking.

Little posting recently due to Thanksgiving activities and then being under the weather a little the past week. But a fair amount of tea drinking going on. Chinese greens, Japanese greens, Indian, Ceylon, Nepal and Chinese black/reds, including Nepal Chiyabari Estate Yunnan Imperial Ceylon Kenilworth Estate OP Castleton Estate Darjeeling, Wiry Dian Hong Imperial, Hand Picked Pai Mu Tan 2010 Organic Magokoro Shincha I have also been brewing more Japanese green teas in a cup with infuser filter in order to introduce a new tea friend to the delights of Japanese green tea. This is how I used to brew them for many years. It's still good, even though you may miss some of the nuances of the three to five infusions you get using Japanese tea ware. Nonetheless, I am getting two nice infusions using cup and filter. The last two days I have also been brewing from a newly opened bag of 2010 Organic Tenryu Misakubo Shincha. This is an asamushi (light-steamed) shincha/sencha from yuuki-cha.com that I saved until I worked through a few other 2010 shinchas. Very nice. I'll post on it in the Japanese Green Tea topic after playing with it a bit. So what teas have you all been drinking in your part of the world?

As I recall vegetarian should not be a problem, but you can just call and discuss your requirements.

The sample sets of three 2010 sheng puerhs for this Tea Tasting & Discussion go to --- cdh Chris Amirault Wholemeal Crank

Still one free set of three sheng puerhs available for this Tea Tasting & Discussion. Offer good until this Thursday at midnight, Eastern US time. PM me if you are interested or need more info.

Thanks Qwerty. About how long should I cook them in a crock pot? A couple of hours?

Thanks for the detailed notes, Shamanjoe. Can you fill us in on the brewing particulars for each tea? Brewing equipment? Brewing parameters - leaf:water ratio, temp and infusion time?

Yesterday I brewed another shincha/sencha in a cup with infuser in order to check the parameters for a tea friend I am introducing to the Japanese greens. I used to brew this way a few years ago and it still produces a delicious cup. This morning more of the the Organic Makurazaki Black Tea Hatsumomiji, a hand picked Japanese black tea from yuuki-cha.com. Since then two sessions of the Organic Kabusecha, also from yuuki-cha. What teas are you all drinking in your part of the world?

Yesterday I brewed another shincha/sencha in a cup with infuser in order to check the parameters for a tea friend I am introducing to the Japanese greens. I used to brew this way a few years ago and it still produces a delicious cup. This morning more of the the Organic Makurazaki Black Tea Hatsumomiji, a hand picked Japanese black tea from yuuki-cha.com. Since then two sessions of the Organic Kabusecha, also from yuuki-cha. What teas are you all drinking in your part of the world?

I have a surplus of roma tomatoes and want to make tomato confit. Any suggestions for what to add to the crock pot...other than the tomatoes, salt and olive oil? Maybe a sprig of rosemary?