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Richard Kilgore

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore

    Tea Tasting: Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha Sheng Pu-erh

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Hmmm... so short and hot is the way to go. I'll give it a shot and report back.

    How is this tea processed? The write-up indicates that its processing is incomplete, but doesn't indicate what has been done. Is it steamed and fired, or withered and dried, or something else entirely? It looks rather like a white tea. In the package its aroma is very young... it has that papery aroma that very young teas seem to have in common.

    Here's a detailed description of raw (sheng) pu-erh processing from norbutea.com. Used with permission.

    Sheng or raw Pu-Erh is processed very much like a green tea, but there are several noteworthy differences.

    • The tea leaves are picked, withered to make them less brittle, and then heat treated, usually pan fired in a relatively low temperature wok, to neutralize the enzymes that would cause the tea leaves to oxidize.
    • Next, the leaves are traditionally dried in the sun, one of the characteristics that make Pu-Erh processing unique. If weather conditions are not favorable or a producer wishes to speed up the drying process at the expense of quality, however, the tea leaves are sometimes dried in large ovens using low heat. The drying process continues until roughly 90% of the moisture has been removed. At this point, the tea leaves are referred to as Mao Cha, or semi-finished tea.

    • The Mao Cha is then sorted and separated into different grades. Larger factories will use a blower & wind tunnel system to quickly sort the tea leaves into different sizes/grades, while small factories or family concerns will either perform this step by hand or omit it all together.
    • If the finished product is to be a blend, the factory tea masters blend the leaves from different growing regions or vintages together based on specific formulas or recipes.
    • Finally, the leaves are steamed to make them pliable again and compressed into shapes using the traditional stone molds or one of any number of mechanized systems of molds and presses.
    • The newly pressed cakes of tea are sometimes baked in a relatively low heat oven (200-250 F) to drive out any residual moisture and prevent the formation of mold.
    • Last, the finished products are stored in a low moisture environment to allow them to dry out and begin the aging process.

    Newly produced Sheng Pu-Erh is drinkable almost immediately. When properly steeped, it is a wonderfully aromatic, astringent, sometimes bitter, and complex beverage. The flavors are sometimes described as a combination of "grassy" or fresh hay characteristics, camphorous or medicinal aspects, floral notes, and sometimes having hints of dried fruit.

    Milk on cereal

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    The truly critical issue is whether you pour the milk over the cereal or vise versa. When I was a teenager, a neighbor aeronautical engineer taught me that those who pour the milk over the cereal are known as "swizzlers" and those who pour the cereal over the milk are known as "swoozlers". He was probably more helpful in teaching me chess and aiding me in re-discovering the speed of light.

    What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 2)

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    A green merging into Oolong day here. Started with the very last of my Organic Kumamato Sencha Yabe Supreme. Then later my (almost) daily matcha, only one bowl today: the Organic Shizuoka Matcha Iroka. Both from yuuki-cha.

    This evening brewed a 2008 Spring Dan Cong from Hou De in a large older (no idea how old) Yixng, basically western style. Turned out a little thin for me, so I'll have to do it again. The clay is good, it is well seasoned from apparent long term brewing by previous owners, and the pot has worked out well with this Dan Cong and others in the past.

    Tea/Tisane Tasting: Lemon Myrtle Rooibos

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    That's a fine description of this rooibis blend. I agree that citrus plays well with the rooibois. They have an orange rooibois at The Cultured Cup that I also like -- much like a blood orange. The dry leaf of this Lemon Myrtle is visually stunning, too. I brew it in a strainer in a cup, making about 8 ounces at a time. It does fine at 4 minutes and five minutes on the first infusion. Sometimes I stop there and sometimes do a second infusion. I'll have to drop into the shop next week and buy a little more.

    Oolong Teas: a complex world between green & black

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    It might be fun to pick up several teas and try a tea "flight" as it were, working through various levels of oxidation for one tea. I'll read up on those sites you've suggested, Richard, thanks.

    That's a good idea. A low, medium and high oxidation would give you a good sense of it. I really enjoy treating friends and out of town visitors to a flight of tea at The Cultured Cup. They don't have it on the menu as such, so what I do is order three cups (small pots) of different teas and then serve in small cups. Still a lot of tea for two or three people.

    Japanese Green Teas - Sencha, Gyokuro...and more,

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Most of these teas benefit from playing with small tweaks of the parameters, as you know. (And it would be interesting to see what would happen if you used filtered water for a month for all teas. Inexpensive experiment.) It will be interesting to see what else you turn up.

    It also may depend upon how long ago you opened the bag of gyokuro. I find that I can tell a difference after even a week, with gradual changes through about two months of worthwhile brewing. I try to finish a bag within a month, but can't always do it.

    Another consideration regarding the umami. Non-organics tend to have more pumped up umami, whereas the organics have a more traditional profile, apparently similar to all Japanese teas before the 1950s. I have had non-organics paired with food to heighten the umami and certainly enjoyed it, but the organics have been growing on me increasingly.

    Oolong Teas: a complex world between green & black

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    Terroir, weather, oxidation, roasting duration and other aspects of processing such as leaf shape (rolled, flat, twisted) all effect the final result, Erin, plus, of course, one's brewing technique. TGY, for example can be oxidized greener or darker, and can be aged and roasted and re-roasted over time. Da Hong Pao also can be processed with a range of oxidation. The growing and processing high quality Oolongs appear to be as much art as science to me.

    Some of the Oolongs at jingteashop.com have wonderfully detailed notes about the origin and processing, as well as finely tuned aroma and flavor notes. Worth checking out. Reading through some of the descriptions of the Oolongs at norbutea.com may also help to give you a better sense of the whys and wherefores of Oolongs. By suggesting these resources, however, I do not mean to discourage you from asking more questions or discussing it further here, of course.

    What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 2)

    in Coffee & Tea

    Posted

    The idea behind Kabusecha appeals to me, LuckyGirl: elements of both gyokuro and sencha. I look forward to trying it sometime.

    Did not get to the matcha today. Maybe tomorrow. But did have two organic senchas from yuuki-cha.com: the Kumamoto Sencha Yabe Supreme and a deep-steamed (fukamushi) Kagoshima Sencha Saemidori.

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