Richard Kilgore

Nilgiri Glendale Estate Handmade from teasource.com in the cup this morning. Unfortunately I ordered more of this than I have been able to drink in the last 18 months or so, and it has faded a little too much. Next order (soon) I'll make it for half as much. In order to introduce a friend to Japanese green teas I had to brew a shincha from yuuki-cha in a cup with a filter in order to figure out the parameters. I was really impressed with how well the 2010 Organic Saemidori does brewed this way.

So sad. I have had some of the best meals of my life at York Street.

Ended up the day yesterday brewing a Norbu sample '05 Shu broken off a ginormous brick. Very nice. It's not on the norbutea.com website yet so I don't know the full name. Started today with a Japanese black tea from yuuki-cha, the Organic Makurazaki Black Tea Hatsumomiji. More on this after I have played with it a bit.

Last weekend tea friend Greg Glancy and I tasted most of his new Japanese teas on norbutea.com in order to select some for a future Tea Tasting & Discussion. Wow! I was buzzing a bit at the end of four hours. Lots to choose from, but the TT&D will have to wait until sometime early next year. There's one more from another tea merchant that I hope to do before the end of the year, and that will be it for 2010. This morning a Yi Mei Ren Chinese red/black tea from Norbu, enhanced by a Yixing teapot, as are all of the red Chinese teas I have brewed in it. Now on the third infusion of the 2010 Organic Kabusecha Shincha from yuuki-cha.com. I have been drinking a lot of this for the past week or 10 days. Have a new gyokuro in from yuuki-cha; I plan on opening the bag tonight or tomorrow and will report back. So what teas are you all drinking in your part of the universe?

Going fast! There is now only one set left of the puerh samples. PM me if you are interested.

I cook them like Yajna Patni does (except for the toasting, which I'll try on the next batch), but I make about three days worth. Love the stuff.

eGullet Society member Greg Glancy at Norbu Tea recently added several pages of helpful and interesting information on Japanese teas on norbutea.com. Japanese Tea Types: A Brief Guide to Japanese Tea Terminology Japanese Tea: Overview/History How Japanese Tea is Produced: Processing Japanese Green Tea Japanese Tea Steeping Guide

There are now only two sets of the Puerh samples from Essence of Tea left for this Tea Tasting & Discussion. Please PM me if you are interested.

I have a couple of heads of cauliflower that were hiding in the bottom of the veggie bin in the fridge. Black spots on the surface that I assume is mold. Can I trim off the black spots and still cook these heads? Or should I trash them? I hate to throw away food just because I neglected it.

The three sets of free samples of raw puerhs are now available to eGullet Society members who have participated in other Tea Tasting & Discussions, as well as all members who have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums or 10 posts in the eG Coffee & Tea forum.

I do not brew quantities that large, but my best guess is to aim for something in the range of 2.0 - 2.5 g/6 ounces. It may depend somewhat on the specific Assam you are brewing.

Tic. Tock.

The clock is ticking. Midnight tonight.

The last two days the Organic Hime hikari Japanese black tea from Yuuki-Cha and the Yunnan Golden Tips from The Cultured Cup. The Castleton Estate Darjeeling, Wiry from Tea Source again today for the morning cup. And for the last couple of hours, multiple infusions of the mild toasty-nutty Organic 2010 Asatsuyu Shincha/Sencha from yuuki-cha. BTW, check out the current Darjeeling TT&D and the current offer of free samples of three new young sheng puerhs in newest TT&D, in this eG Coffee & Tea forum, of course.

I like Keemuns, too! If you are brewing it at a ratio of 2.0g/6 ounces with a first infusion of 2 - 3 minutes, you should get at least 2 - 3 infusions. If you are brewing it gongfu cha at a ratio of 1.5/1 ounce with a first infusion of 10 - 20 seconds, you should get at least 9 - 10. Let us know how it goes.

Experienced puerh drinker? Never tried puerh? Had a bad experience with puerh? Read on, because this Tea Tasting & Discussion may offer something for everyone. The purpose of this Tea Tasting & Discussion is to introduce members to puerh, as well as to give us the opportunity to compare the differences in three new 2010 sheng (raw) puerhs from different villages in the Yunnan province of China. David Collen at www.essenceoftea.co.uk is providing the three puerh tea samples. Essence of Tea 2010 Bangwai Village Essence of Tea 2010 Manmai Village Essence of Tea 2010 Mansai Village Sets of the samples will go to up to three eG members active in the forums: if you have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past 12 months, or if you have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea Forum and are interested in receiving the free samples and participating in this TT&D, please read on and then PM me. The Details The set of three puerh tea samples (10g each) will go to each of up to three eGullet Society members who will begin brewing, tasting, posting and discussing the teas within one week of receiving the samples. These teas may be brewed 1) "western style" using a small teapot or infuser cup, or 2) in a gaiwan or 3) in a Yixing tea pot. Please, no tea balls since they do not allow the loose leaves to open fully and infuse well. Brewing suggestions in an upcoming post. Initial preference will be given to eGullet Society members who have never received tea samples and participated in a Tea Tasting & Discussion, and who have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past year. This preference will last until midnight Friday, November 12, 2010 Eastern Time, US. If that sounds like you, please PM me ASAP. Others who have previously participated, may PM me their interest at any time. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to PM me.

I have been experimenting with some of my Dian Hong Imperial that is as old as yours, Chris. Increasing the amount of leaf and infusion time helps pump up the flavor. Don't know what parameters you have been using, but 3.0 - 3.5 g for 6 - 8 ounces with a 4 minute first infusion and a 6 minute second works pretty well for me. YMMV, as usual.

Thanks to eGullet Society member Greg Glancy for providing samples of these two very interesting and different green teas from China and Taiwan. And thanks to cdh and Wholemeal Crank for their detailed tasting notes and discussion. Please feel free to continue to add to this discussion with questions or comments. A new Tea Tasting & Discussion featuring Darjeelings is about to get underway. And stay tuned for at least one more Tea Tasting & Discussion before year's end.

Drinking a Castleton Estate Darjeeling, Wiry 2nd flush from Tea Source. This is one I bought from Tea Source last year, not from the current Tea Tasting & Discussion sample, and so may be somewhat different. This is one of a very few teas that I have bought more than an ounce or two, and it's still delicious after a year or so. So, what's in your cup, tea sippers?

The bibliography is focused on the US, maybe a little into Mexico or Canada. Mostly from Texas up the middle of the US, New Mexico, Arizona, California up the west coast to the North West and across to Montana. Also Florida and the South East. And anywhere else in the US. But I am personally curious about anything on ranch cooking or cooking on trail drives anywhere in the world, and would be glad to know about related books on Australia, Snadra, or on Mexico, Central and South America.

Only one tea today so far, because tonight I'll be sampling a number of teas at The Cultured Cup's T-Bar Club. I usually start the day with a red/black tea, but this morning pulled out a small Yixing container holding a late 90's Shu Puehr from yunnansourcing.com and drank many infusions.

I am working on a bibliography on ranching & the range cattle industry for a historical library and could use some help from the wide range of knowledgeable members here for cookbooks and other food related books. While cookbooks is an obvious category, we're also looking for history, biography, autobiography, fiction and poetry that has notable food content. Virtually any book in any category or discipline that has food-related content. Any ideas, cowboys and cowgirls?

Yes, I think likely all of us drink most teas by themselves. However, I have gone to several tea matching dinners that were a revelation, so I am interested in what everyone thinks may match any particular tea. Given the tropical fruit note you pointed out, Chris, I may try the Jade Dragon with a Thai pork curry sometime. The tropical fruit note you found eluded me at first, but I think I know what you are referring to. I could not identify what it was at first, but after you mentioned it, the note reminds me now of something similar to pineapple. Not exactly, but close.

Yesterday the Ceylon Vithanakanda Estate, Extra Special from Tea Source. Followed by the Jade Spring 2010 Dragon Yunnan Green Tea and the Spring 2010 Jin Xuan Green Tea, both from Norbu Tea. This morning started with a couple of cups of a Chinese red tea, the Fujian Bai Liu Gongfu from jingteashop.com. This a fine, lovely, complex red tea. Next? Probably a green tea and an Oolong. What teas are you all drinking today?

It's a Japanese tea day so far. The Organic Hime hikari black tea from Yuuki-cha, three very nice, smooth infusions this morning. And more of the 2010 Organic Asahina Kabusecha Shincha this afternoon. I think this one prefers to be brewed in the older Bizen hobin I used today - best balance of the tea pots I have tried so far. What's brewing in your part of the world?