Richard Kilgore

Thanks, WmC. That makes room for more. So all three free tea samples are available today. PM me now if you are interested.

The video link works fine, Paula. What a great set of clay pots you took to the Martha Stewart show. And the Moroccan fish dish made in the tagra looks delicious!

Brewed the same Keemun from yesterday this morning. An elegaant Keeman. I think I'll brew it gong fu cha tomorrow and then post more in the Unflavored Black Tea topic. Next tried an Alishan High Mountain Beauty - Summer 2009 from Norbutea.com. Brewed it a little too hot (195 F) for the leaf the first five infusions and then cut back to 185 F on the 6th and it was much, much improved. So I'll brew it again soon and report on that in the Oolong topic. Now I'm drinking the delicious Sencha Yabe Supreme from yuuki-cha. Brewed it in an older Hagi houhin, but drank it split between two types of cups to check for cup effects, and I'll post about that in the Japanese Green Tea topic.

If I remember correctly what I sent you, that is a shu (as you guessed) pu-erh 100 g tuo that I got in a tong last year from Scott at Yunnan Sourcing on eBay. As shu typically does, this has improved significantly over the past 15 months or so since I bought them.

Varietal: Mao Xie Oolong English Name: Hairy Crab Oolong Harvest: Fall, 2009 Growing Region: Anxi County, Fujian Roast: Heat dried, no roasting Vacuum Sealed into 50 gram portions eG Society member Greg Glancy at http://www.norbutea.com is contributing 7 gram vacuum packaged samples of a new Fall 2009 Mao Xie, also known as Harry Crab for this Tea Tasting & Discussion. Greg has provided four samples of 7 grams each, and I will mail three of them to the eG Society members participating in this Tasting and Discussion. This is the first of the last three Tea Tasting & Discussions for this year. However, several interesting Tea Tasting & Discussions in a new format are already slated for the first part of 2010. If you subscribe to the eG Coffee & Tea forum you will be among the first to know when one is posted. While the tasting is open to all members who have posted at least ten substantive posts in the eG Coffee and Tea forum, preference will be given until midnight (EDST) Monday, November 16th to those who have not participated in the last two tastings. Although many teas brew well both gongfu style aand Western style, Greg says this one really needs to be brewed gong fu style, so samples will go to those who will brew this tea gong fu (which means "with skill") style in a gaiwan or Yixing teapot. The three free samples are available to members who also 1) will do at least one gongfu style brewing session with multiple infusions from the sample, 2) will report on their experience and participate actively in the discussion, and 3) who have previously posted at least ten (10) substantive posts (questions, answers, comments that add to discussions) in the Coffee and Tea forum. As always, everyone who does not receive a sample is welcome and encouraged to participate in the discussion. So, please PM me now for details if you would like to receive one of the the free samples and participate in the tasting and discussion. Here's more information on this special Oolong tea from the Norbutea.com website. (Used with permission.) I have known Greg for several years since a presentation he once gave on a trip through the tea markets and farms of China fed my growing interest in learning more about fine teas. Since then Greg has become a tea friend and we drink tea together and trade teas and tea stories from time to time.

Thanks for the comparison brewing, WmC. I have some good cheddar and a crisp apple in the fridge, so I'll have to try that pairing.

Very interesting comparison, WmC. It's a difficult one since Japanese and Chinese green teas are so different and they are typically brewed in different temperature ranges. So in addition to increasing the leaf:water ratio, you might try brewing the Chinese greens at 175 F and see what happens.

Thanks, Paula. While you made it in a true daubiere, in what other types of clay pots will this daube, or any daube, do well?

Started the day with a red(black) tea from jingteashop.com, an Anhui Gift Grade Gongfu Keemun. I'll brew this again tomorrow and say more about it. Then enjoyed the Fall 2009 Alishan High Mountain Oolong that Greg gave me as a free sample recently when we were trading teas. Finally got around to brewing it and posted more in the Oolong topic.

2009 Fall Ali Shan High Mountain Oolong norbutea.com -Fall Harvest 2009 -Gowing Area: Alishan Scenic Area, Chiayi County, Taiwan -Varietal: Qing Xin (Green Heart) Oolong -Oxidation: 20% -Roasting: Light Today I opened a small 7 g sample of this tea that eG Society member Greg Glancy gave me to try. Greg noted in his description on norbutea.com that brewed gong fu style he was getting three good infusions, compared to many more for the Spring '09 harvest. My experience today is different. Brewed in a tiny 55 ml gaiwan with 3.1 g leaf for infusions of 20, 15, 20, 30 and 45, I found it still good on the fifth. I'll try in a while to see how far it will go beyond that. Each infusion is different, as you would expect, the first being my favorite. I agree with Greg that the floral flavor is a bit hard to describe, and I detect an almost nutty aspect to the flavor on the first infusion that receded on subsequent infusions. The floral aroma stayed strong into the fourth infusion and the various infusions showed shifting flavors of honey-sweetness, floral-orchidy something, and mild astringency that did not catch my attention until the fifth infusion. Why the difference in my experience and Greg's? My best guess is that I may have used a slightly higher leaf:water ratio since we brewed in the same temperature range.

I don't think you are going to find answers to your questions about the effects of pottery on the flavors of tea in a book, at least not in a book in English. But I could be surprised, of course. I can only say that I have done a good deal of experimenting with Yixing and Japanese pots and there is no doubt in my mind that different Yixing clays have different effects and different Japanese clays have different effects. It's not terribly subtle. Clays, shapes, both significant. But certainly behind brewing technique as far as the largest impact on the final result.

I don't think I can answer that in any absolute sense, given the wide range within each category of green tea and differences in brewing techniques. But I'll do a little digging in my tea library and see if I turn anything up. The common brewing techniques for each categroy are sufficiently different that it seems difficult to compare. Gyokuro having double the leaf to water ratio of sencha and much lower brewing temps. Regarding your second question, I think that people who use quality kyusus, houhins and shiboridashi teaware are simply careful not to overbrew. I have never over brewed in any of mine, but am pretty sure that if I let an infusion go for too long it would become bitter eventually and it would effect the clay and I would not enjoy doing what it would take to get the bitterness out. Some people do brew Chinese green teas in a Yixing, and I have with good results, though I don't generally recommend it. Some Yixing clays probably do better with the flavor, but that is one more Yixing quagmire of complexity. Perhaps someone else can speak to how to match a Yixing clay to a Chinese green tea, but I have only limited experience with one Yixing and I am not even sure what the clay is - hongni, maybe. And I don't use it for that anymore. That said, I don't know of any reason not to brew a Chinese green tea in a kyusu. I just have never done it.

Started the day enjoying a Mariage Freres Assam Napuk from The Cultured Cup. Then later brewed The last of a package of a 2003 Anxi Aged TGY Oolong from jingteashop.com. Brewed gongfu style in a Yixing made of 70s-80s clay for 11 infusions before I got tired of it. This is a honey-rich aged TGY with stone fruit over the roasted flavor. Absolutely delicious.

I think that in general senchas and gyokuros are often brewed only through three infusions; I tend to go for five and sometimes six just because I want to see what will develop and sometimes I get a nice surprise. Usually they are very thin by the fifth. I have not had the Den's Gyokuro you have, so I can't compare, but The Cultured Cup's Sencha Select is quite rich, much richer than the last one they had, which was very good, just a different style and much more delicate. I think the variation among senchas and among gyokuros - due to the various breeds of tea plant, where and how they are grown, and the way each is processed - is amazing. Then you have to factor in your specific brewing style, which has not for the most part been the usual approach due to your wanting to avoid astringency and bitterness. It is impressive that you have persisted and found ways to brew that fit your palate. That said, my impression is that you have been trying to push the envelope a bit as you have had more experience with a sencha or two and a gyokuro. Recent experience suggests that if you drink these Japanese green teas on a regular basis you adapt or habituate to the strength of the leaf and can tolerate - or crave - a higher leaf:water ratio, so you may gradually be able to tolerate a higher ratio and a longer first infusion. I have been thinking about this astringency and bitterness for a few days and it occurs to me that you may really like what Banko clay in a houhin or kyusu does to the taste. While I don't find any bitterness as such (unless they have been over-brewed), there is a certain mild harshness in many senchas and gyokuros that the Banko clay smooths out and integrates the flavors. That inexpensive Banko houhin at yuuki-cha.com is the best bang for the buck in my opinion. It's a size that works for both senchas and gyokuros; it's well balanced; and it pours well. It's a humble design and I have other houhins that are more attractive, but this one still feels best pouring it. I paid about $20 (plus shipping) for it and can not imagine doing better.

Thanks, Ce'nedra. The Birria is a recipe from Rick Bayless' Authentic Mexican. The Pibil we make using a recipe that is a mixture of one from Rick Bayless' Mexico One Plate at a Time and the video recipe included the dvd of the Robert Rodriguez movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico. The tacos we just improvised. Delicious photos, menuinprogress. Would you mind sharing with all of us your combined, adapted recipe for the Pibil?

Yesterday in the morning it was the Ceylon tea I currently like best, a Vithanakanda Estate, Extra Special from Teasource.com. I also attended a Tea Pairing Lunch yesterday at the York Street Restaurant in Dallas. Chef-owner Sharon Hage, a five time James Beard nominee, worked with Kyle Stewart from The Cultured Cup to select the teas. Here's a link to the report on the five course pairing in the York Street topic. So another five fine teas for my day. And an herbal, chamomile, in the evening.

Thanks, Peter. I'll checkout spec's next time I'm in Houston.

Today I went to York Street for one of the Tea Pairing Lunches that Sharon does with The Cultured Cup. They have been doing similar lunches and dinners together for six years. Kyle Stewart from The Cultured Cup provided background on the teas - the legends and stories about each tea and how they were named. Kyle's a fine story teller. Good company at my table, too. Here's the menu with pairings. huang shan maofeng kumomoto on the 1/2 shell green tea ice matcha genmaicha cracklin' - cekery salad hard boiled duck egg the de lune four story farms pork belly reisling braised small white beans & cornbread crumbs keemun chrysanthemum savory farro "risotto" pecorino reserva green dragon oolong sweet semolina cake bitter almond, orange blossom water house made yogurt creme

I pretty much do it like Maggie does, but not always front to back. Sometimes back to front, or middle to front to back. Or the desserts first and then the appetizers before the meat and poultry chapters. You get the picture. In addition to 3X5 cards, on some books I also use small sticky notes like Shamanjoe does to flag the pages.

That sounds like fun WmC. And a realistic approach. I'm all for playing with food in general and with tea in particular.

Silky - I agree with you and LuckyGirl - that's a good description of this sencha, WMC. BTW, at a tea pairing lunch at Sharon Hage's York Street restaurant today, Kyle mentioned that there are something like 51 grades of sencha (that may not be the exact number, so if I am off, blame me, not Kyle). Don't know where this one stands exactly, but it is one of the best senchas he has carried and I have been drinking senchas from The Cultured Cup for several years. At times when he has carried a "Sencha" and a "Sencha Select", the Sencha always has been very good, but the Sencha Select has been noticeably more intensely flavorful and smoother. WmC, I agree that the difference between 0.5 g and 0.7 g per ounce of water would not make much if any difference at all at your very short brewing times. I think, however, some people could detect a little difference at more standard infusion times. LuckyGirl, your experience of the first infusion is fairly common I think. Sometimes the second infusion turns out to be my favorite, and I don't think that's unusual. Thanks to both of you for participating in this Tea Tasting and Discussion, and to Kyle Stewart and The Cultured Cup for providing the Sencha Select tea samples. More Tea Tasting & Discussions on the near horizon, so be sure to sunscribe to the Coffee & Tea forum so you'll be among the first to know when free tea samples are offered next.

Does anyone have a recipe or ideas for a Matcha Smoothie. I have some much better than food grade matcha that I can use, though I don't think this good is necessary; it's just what's on hand. My thinking so far is that soy tends to work better than milk in the ones I have had commercially, since it gives a richer flavor. So soy milk, ice cubes, matcha and xantham gum or similar as thickener. How much matcha? Anything else I should try adding?

Most people who buy Pu-erh for aging buy at least three beengs, one of them for sampling over the years, since a Pu-erh is not considered to be aged unless it is at least 10 years old. This is much like buying a case or two of a fine wine and opening a bottle every few years to see how it is developing. I don't buy green Pu-erh for aging because it is so difficult to predict what it will be like in even a few years, not to mention 10 or 20 or 30. But lots of people do, knowing there's a significant risk that they will end up with 2 beengs, or a tong or more of a pu they really, really don't like...or that is just boring. Some people think they are better off buying a green pu that's at least 3 years old in order to get a better sense of how it will age. Of course you'll pay significantly more for a pu in 3 years, compared to its first year, so that's the cost of a little bit of insurance. You takes yer chances and you pays yer dues. So I would buy this very pleasant pu for drinking over the next year. I would give it as gifts. I just would not be someone whose goal is to age it.

That's a good start, WmC. And I think your "rules that don't help" dilemma has to do with at least four issues: 1) different rules for different types of tea, 2) differences within categories at different quality and/or price levels, 3) individual differences in tastebud sensitivities (as you know) and preferences, and 4) tea mysteries (like knowing which pu-erhs will age well).

Queen Victoria Darjeeling from TCC this morning, followed by a couple more infusions of the Da Hong Pao I started two days ago. And now I am enjoying an Organic Kumamoto Sencha Yabe Supreme from Yuuki-cha.com. A good day for tea! So what teas are you all drinking today?