Richard Kilgore

Rancho Gordo for great heirloom beans and Anson Mills for heirloom corn meal and grits. Not that I eat these all the time - probably two to three pounds of quality grocery store beans for every pound of Rancho Gordo because we eat a lot of beans here, but definitely worth it.

Early today the Castleton Estate Darjeeling, Wiry from teasource.com, a second flush and one of my favorites. But then I have more than a few "favorites". Again today, brewed the Phoenix Mountain Oolong from TCC Western style in order to give the Yixing a little more seasoning. May do this for a week and see how it goes. Not that I mind too terribly much drinking this wonderfully aromatic Oolong daily. My tea friend Kyle Stewart at the Cultured Cup introduced me to these teas about five years ago, and I am so glad he did.

The Oolong for the day turned out to be a Phoenix Mountain from The Cultured Cup. brewed with western parameters in a larger (210ml) Yixing that has not been used in quite a while. Works well, so I'll have to see if it is worth dedicating it to this group of Oolongs.

Welcome to the eGullet Society and the eG Forums, sherrid! Hope to see more of you here in the Coffee & Tea forum. Lots of interesting discussions about all kinds of teas and tisanes, as well as regular Tea Tasting & Discussions. Tea Source's Nilgiri Glendale Estate, Hand-made in my Brown Betty this morning. Such an elegant Indian black tea. Followed by five pleasant infusions of the 2010 Organic Saemidori Shincha from Yuuki-Cha. An Oolong next.

The three sets of free Chinese green tea samples from Norbu Tea go to (drum roll) --- shamanjoe Whole meal Crank cdh

Had a couple of infusions of the Nepal Chiyabari Estate black tea from The Cultured Cup this am. I have come to like this rather hard to find tea a great deal. With luck tehy will have some in stock next time I am in the store. Late in the day I am brewing the early Spring (pre-Ming) 2010 Wu Niu Zao green tea from jingteashop.com. Such a lovely tea - nutty aroma and delicate taste with a vegetal hint. What tea(s) are you all drinking today in your part of the eGullet world?

You may also find the Oolong topic in this forum of interest. In addition there are several Tea Tasting & Discussions here that featured Oolongs that you can find with a siomple search or by just scrolling down the Coffee & Tea forum page.

Yes, those tea nuggets can be quite pleasant. Started a gong fu cha session dipping into a small sample of a 2005 Lin Cang Thousand Year Tea Co. "Gu Shu Zhen Pin" that I got from Yunnan Sourcing a few years ago. Ran out of time so I'll continue with this tomorrow. Very light with typical infusion times, so I'll brew it longer than usual in the morning.

Last night I closed the day with a Sunset Orange Roibos from The Cultured Cup Open the day today with a Dian Hong Imperial, Hand Processed Chinese red/black tea from Norbu Tea. Later brewed (and am still making infusions of) the Wan Sia Shan Long Jin Chinese green tea from jingteashop.com - a lovely tea. So, what tea(s) are you all drinking today?

Wholemeal Crank is on target, Chris. If you still have the Chinese tea brewing set up that dumps the tea liquor into the container below after steeping, Greg says those also work well for brewing puerh. Knowing your tea preferences, you may like this one brewed with a higher leaf:water ratio - closer to 1.5g/1 ounce. And stay tuned for more puerh Tea Tasting & Discussions coming in the not too distant future.

Welcome to the eGullet Society, Le Master! Started the day again with the Hime hikari Japanese black tea. There may yet be a few infusions left of last night's Oolong, so that's next for me.

Hime Hikari Japanese black tea from yuuki-cha this morning, the best brewing of it so far, richer flavor with a citrus note coming through. More on brewing this rare Japanese black tea in the Unflavored black tea topic after I play with the parameters a little more. Now brewing the Old Plantation Qing Xin Taiwan Oolong from Norbu Tea - gongfu cha in a gaiwan. Delicious! So what are the rest of you tea drinkers sipping in your part of the world?

Three teas today, in addition to the ubiquitous generic iced tea that I am phasing out now that the temp is drifting lower: The Assam Konghea Estate, Golden Bud from teasource.com; a Wu Niu Zao Chinese green tea and a Shi Feng Long Jing Chinese green tea, both from jingteashop.com; and a Pouchong Oolong from The Cultured Cup. More in the Chinese green tea topic after I have played with those two a little more. A pleasant day of tea here. How about all of you?

WC, you'll likely not notice much difference until you have used the Chao Zhou for at least a couple of months dedicated to Dan Congs. You may be able to help that along by leaving leaves (water poured off) in the pot overnight after you are through with a session. Then continue doing that for each of a week's worth of sessions and see what happens.

A few years ago Scott at Yunnan Sourcing told me that the pick style tools work better than the knives, although he carries both. So I got one and it works very well on dense bricks. The pick works around the leaves a little better than a knife, which tends to be more likely to cut them. An ice pick should work just as well. Just gently pick layers off. I often break up a whole brick at one time and store it in a container so it can air out. Today, I also had the 2010 Organic Saemidori Shincha/Sencha from yuuki-cha.com. Three very nice infusions. Could have gone at least one more, but I needed to stop for the evening.

What are you using to chip the pu, WC? A Ceylon Kenilworth Estate OP in my cup this am. From a sample sent by Tea Source. As a hot tea this morning, I'll have to try it iced later.

This evening brewing the Winter Harvest 2009 Jin Xuan green tea from Norbu Tea. Also very nice.

Now only one set of free samples left for eGullet Society members! PM me if you are interested.

Key word: "some". Key phrase: "year or two". Black teas vary in terms of when they are at their peak, when past it and when going down the opposite slope. If I recall about the time you got this tea, it would be about two years old now. It's probably at it's peak closer to a year. On the other hand some smoky black teas need at least a year to air out. You can always ask any tea merchant about how long you can store a black tea (or any tea, of course). You could try gently re-roasting the Dian Hong Imperial in the oven at as low heat as you can for about 10 minutes on a half-sheet pan. I have not done it with a black tea, but if you are not enjoying it now, you don't have much to lose. If you have a lot of it, you could do a small test batch. And if you do, please let us know whether or not it helps. You may enjoy exploring some Chinese red (black) teas from jingteashop.com. Their descriptions often indicate whether it should be consumed now or stored medium or long range. In particular I would suggest these two-- Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong Gift Grade Keemun Gong Fu Also keep an eye on Norbu Tea and Tea Source, since they frequently add new Chinese red (black) teas. Anyone else have any Chinese red (black) tea suggestions for Chris?

This morning had a couple of infusions of the American Breakfast Tea from The Cultured Cup. Nice Irish Breakfast style black tea. A little iced tea this afternoon and now sipping the second gaiwan infusion of a sample of the delicious Jin Xuan Green Tea - Spring Harvest 2010 provided by Greg at Norbu Tea as part of the process of selecting teas for a Tea Tasting & Discussion. Unfortunately he sold out before I could turn around (and before I could order any), so we're featuring a close cousin - the Winter Harvest, 2009 as one the the two Chinese green teas in the new Tea Tasting & Discussion. A lesson re-learned that if I really, really like a tea - enough to want to order again - I had better do it sooner rather than later. NOTE: There are only two sets of free samples for this Chinese green Tea Tasting & Discussion, so please PM me if you are interested. So what teas are you drinking in your part of the eGullet world? (Edited to correct the harvest above from Fall to Winter 2009.)

Last night it was the white tea Pai Mu Tan from The Cultured Cup. Brewed in a Yixing, which brings out the flavor even more than regular brewing in a gaiwan. This morning, the Ceylon Lumbini Estate, FBOP from teasource.com. And later in the day, several infusions of the 2001 Organic Asahina Kabusecha Shincha/Sencha from yuuki-cha.com, brewed in an small older Japanese Bizen ho-bin. Maybe a cup of chamomile before calling it a day. So what teas have you all been sipping?

Hime hikari, a Japanese black tea from yuuki-cha.com, in my tea pot this morning. Yes, a Japanese black tea. Just now sipping a 2010 Organic Asatsuyu Shincha/Sencha, also from Yuuki-Cha. The package was opened well over a month ago and this tea is holding up nicely. What teas are you all drinking in your part of the world? In LA I assume you are sucking on tea made into ice-pops. How about everyone else?

The beautiful and delicious Nilgiri Glendale Estate Handmade from Tea Source in my morning cup today. Those are absolutely gorgeous long, twisted leaves that produce this tea liquor! How about you all? What teas are you drinking today? This week?

I'll be interested in however your cold-brew experiments turn out, WC. Always something we can learn from it. Last two mornings, the Yi Mei Ren Wuliang red/black tea from Norbu Tea in my cup. And this afternoon sipping the Organic Asatsuyu Shincha from Yuuki-Cha - love the mild nutty-roasty note.

There were three or four different packages of Thai preserved mustard greens for sale. The others were in small packages, and the one I got was probably 4 - 5X larger at 850 g. A sign claimed it had the best taste and the ingredient list was consistent with the claim. The others were simpler preparations, this one has "mustard, water, salt, sugar, spices, specialty, containing, garlic, chili, galengale, tumeric, sodium benzoade 0.1%". Thanks for the suggestions so far. I would be glad to hear more. I think I'll try a stir fry with pork next week, and report back. May have time to pick up some long beans...and a Chinese version of the mustard greens for comparison. 'll try to get a pic of the Thai package, too. It looks very different than yours, Chris.