[Chinese Yixing Clay Tea Pots]

Are you doing anything to season your new Yixing, David?

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Now it's a 'Sencha Select" from Shizuoka, Japan. I got this last week after the Tea & Cheese pairing at The Cultured Cup. They recommended brewing a teaspoon of leaf in 155 F water for 1 minute, amount of water not specified, but they usually mean 6 - 8 ounces. I chose 6 ounces, weighed a heaping teaspoon at 2.5 g and brewed it in a ceramic cup with an infuser basket. At the time Kyle described this as a "light sencha". I agree and would not brew it any more dilute than I did. Medium-light body, no bitterness, only the slightest hint of astringency, a little vegetal and a little umami. Brewed the second infusion for 40 sec, and preferred it over the first - a little richer. I'll brew this again in a kyusu and see what differences there may be.

[Un-Flavored Black Teas - India, China, Ceylon....]

Have you continued to brew this Keemun, WmC? Do you notice any improvements in this as you brew it over time?

Anyone else drinking Keemuns?

[The Dutch Oven]

Is raw cast iron really more practical than enameled cast iron for campfire cooking? Does the open fire harm the enamel, or just coat it with smoke?

[Central Market's Brand Name Products]

The Central Market branded Olive Oil at 4.99 per 500 ml is quite good.

Anyone else find something interesting?

[[DFW] Jimmy's Comes Back!]

Has anyone been to Jimmy's lately? Anything new?

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Started out the day with a Ceylon Lumbini Estate, FBOP from Tea Source. A smooth one indeed.

So, what teas are you all drinking today?

[Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking by Paula Wolfert]

My copy of eGullet Society board member Paula Wolfert's Mediterranean Clay Pot Cooking arrived a few days ago. I know many members have been waiting for it as long as I have, especially those who helped Paula with her recipe testing. And it looks like it's more than worth the wait.

A helpful clay pot primer on types of clay pots and how to season them starts off the book. Chapters follow on

First Courses

Soups

Fish and Shellfish

Chicken, Duck and Other Poultry

Meats

Pasta and Grains

Vegetables and Beans

Savory Pies and Breads

Egg and Dairy dishes

Desserts

Has anyone else seen the book yet? What do you think?

[Country-Style Pork Ribs]

I'd go the Okinawan Rafute route...

Braise...

Boil...Rinse...boil again and rinse... about 40 mins.

Simmer in equal parts of Soy, Sugar, Awamari/Sake... garlic 2 cloves for about 1-2 hours and serve with rice.

-Jimmy

I cooked these tonight and they are terrific! A really nice treatment for an inexpensive cut.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Brewed gong fu style an "Imperial Puerh" from The Cultured Cup. They tell me this loose Pu is from the early 1990s. Easy to drink, with a camphor note. I'll post more in the Pu-erh topic after brewing it a couple of times again, western style as well as gong fu cha.

Later in the day back to gyokuro: an Organic Gyokuro Karigane from kuuki-cha.com. Sweet and easy to brew. More soon in the

Japanese Green Tea topic.

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

Is the banko glazed?

Just wondering how it might be affecting the flavor--different adsorption to the surface? Surface to volume ratios?

Here's a link to the Banko, which is unglazed. It's the clay that does it, and the issue of the effects of various unglazed clays on tea is complex. Similar improvement with my larger Banko tea pot. The nice thing about the smaller houhin is that it's inexpensive and you can use it for other Japanese green teas, as well as for gyokuro.

And on a related note, is there any reason not to use a gaiwan for brewing the Japanese green teas?

You can use a gaiwan or a mug with infuser or a western tea pot for most Japanese green teas. I brewed sencha in mugs and western teapots for several years and thought it tasted great. A gaiwan is a little tricky since the leaves are small and it is more difficult to hold them back with the lid. But a kyusu is the best pot to use for all Japanese leaf teas, except gyokuro. A small (4 ounce) kyusu like my Gyokko Tokaname will work well for gyokuro due to the fine 360 degree stainless steel screen, but a houhin or tiny shiboridashi are the traditional and better options.

The roasted Japanese green teas do not do good things to an unglazed pot you're also going to use to brew delicate senchas and gyokuros. It's best to brew houjicha and genmaicha in a glazed brewing vessel and save the unglazed for the others. I think the Banko houhin is a very good inexpensive option for brewing all the unroasted leaf Japanese green teas. But not powdered matcha, that's another topic altogether.

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

Adventures in Gyokuro Brewing, Part IV, prelude

The Banko houhin tea pot and two gyokuros arrived from yuuki-cha.com a week ago and I have had a chance to brew one with a tea friend early in the week and then both of them since then. I'll do detailed tasting notes later after another brewing session or two, but I can say that these are delicious, easy to brew gyokuros. Interestingly, the inexpensive Banko houhin brews tea liquor that is softer, rounder, less astringent, much less bitter and, I think, has better balanced, more integrated flavor than with my friend's glazed houhin or my small Gyokko Tokaname kyusu. But all were good.

More to come.

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

You're getting pretty wild with this tea-thing, don't you think, WmC?

BTW, for anyone else that orders a sampler, they include a hojicha sample.

The other tea I can heartily recommend to the astringency-challenged is the Kuki-cha Fukamushi from The Cultured Cup that we had in the recent Tea Tasting & Discussion here in this forum. It is still one of my favorite Japanese greens.

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

The 2009 gyokuros are being released by various tea merchants and I have two in from yuuki-cha. Anyone else here drinking any of the new gyokuros yet?

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Started out with the Assam Panitola Estate whole leaf that baroness wrote about in a recent Tea Tasting & Discussion. Yikes! I'm almost out and I forgot to add it to my Tea Source order this week.

I'll be brewing gyokuro today and tomorrow and back to posting about my Adventures in Gyokuro Brewing in the Japanese Green Tea topic.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Earlier the Okayati Estate Darjeeling 1st Flush in the current Tea Tasting & Discussion. Then a wonderful tea and cheese pairing at The Cultured Cup tonight. An eye opening, taste bud titillating experience. I'll write more about this in another topic.

[Tea Tasting: Okayati Estate Darjeeling 1st Flush]

Today I brewed this first flush Darjeeling with 3.0 g leaf to about 7 ounces of water for a 2 minute first infussion and a 4 minute second infusion. Both floral-winey, hint of sweet with a bit of bright astringency, the flavor becoming fuller as the tea liquor cools. I'll brew this again soon.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Yesterday that was a 2001 Menhai 8592, not a 7542, and I continued brewing it after it rested overnight. Exceptional aged shu.

This evening it is the hojicha from The Cultured Cup featured in a Tasting & Discussion a few months ago in this forum. Easy to brew and tasty.

[Samar by Stephan Pyles]

I have not seen the regular menu yet, Kevin. I know they are doing training this week. Pyles twitter post of September 28 says training and "mock dinners" this week and a soft opening next week.

Here's a link to the D Magazine Side Dish page on this Samar grand opening with several YouTube interviews and food coverage by Andrew Chalk. This includes brief clips of Pyles describing the chandelier he brought back from Damascus for Samar and his chef Vijay Sadhu, formerly of Bukhara Grille and Clay Pit, discussing the appetizers for the evening.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Lots of tea today. An Assam this morning, a sencha later and a 2001 Menghai 7542 as I write this.

eG Society member Kyle Stewart is doing a series on The Teas of Asia at the Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas. I signed up for the series because I always learn something from Kyle, who is a storehouse of information, has a superb tea palate and is a polished and engaging speaker. I'll post more on the series later, but this evening's presentation on "Beyond Masala Chai: The Nuances of Indian Teas from Darjeeling, Assam and Nilgiri" included tastings of a Jungpana Estate first flush Darjeeling, a Makaibari Estate second flush Darjeeling, a Nepal Jun Chiyabari Estate, Glendale hand made Nilgiri, a Jamirah Estate second flush Assam, a Masala Chai...and an unexpected Afgani tea.

Nine teas makes a fairly full tea day.

[Samar by Stephan Pyles]

The crush of the eclectic crowd around the food bar made it likely that most people sampled just a delicious fraction of the full menu. Here are a few random photos of the food.

There were two versions of this appetizer. This lentil, the other garbanzo.

Idiazabal Cheese and Olives Marinated with Garlic and Hoja Santa

Chicken and Ham Crouquetas

All photos by Bruno. Thanks to Catherine Flagg for providing them and the menu.

[Samar by Stephan Pyles]

And the food. Indian, Spanish, Eastern Mediterranean. Here's the menu for the evening.

SAMAR

by Stephan Pyles

Grand Opening Menu – September 26, 2009

Inspirations from Spain:

Idiazabal Cheese and Olives Marinated with Garlic and Hoja Santa

Pimientos de Padrone with Smoked Sea Salt

Mussels Escabeche with Apples and Sherry

Chicken and Ham Crouquetas

Inspirations from the Eastern Mediterranean:

Pita and Naan served with:

Hommus

Moutabal

Labne

Persian Spiced Fried Chicken with Sweet Potato Bisteeya

Turkish Spiced Lamb “Pizza”

Kibbeh with Golden Beet Tzatziki

Crunchy Red Lentil Kofte with mint in lettuce leaves

Inspirations from India:

Bread Bar

Naan from the Tandoori

Plain

Rosemary-Garlic

Sun Dried Tomato-Basil

Platters or Baskets

Chutneys:

Plum and Coconut, Fenugreek-Pear, Tamarind-Chipotle, Mango-Mint,

Saffron Paneer Tikka with Spiced Vermicelli & Cumin scented Asparagus

Potato, Peas & Pomegranate Samosa with Chole Chaat

Spiced Lamb Stuffed Chicken Kebab with Okra Sabzi & Tomato chutney

Papadum Sampler:

Mung Sprouts, Spiced Potatoes and Peas, Chaat greens with Tomatoes and Onion

Desserts:

Turkish Coffee Crèam Pudding

Chocolate Samosas with Candied Rose Petals

Chai Bubble Tea

Cinnamon-Apple Empanadas

Baklava with Pistachios

[Samar by Stephan Pyles]

The preview party was quite a huge success, close to 1.000 people showed up Saturday evening to walk the red carpet to the front door of Stephan Pyles newest project. Being showered by rose petals by a young Indian woman as we entered set the stage and gave everyone a smile.

Belly dancers, hookah and pop Indian music.

Obviously shot early before things got crowded five minutes later.

Photos by Bruno.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

WmC - I expect to be able to do a sencha Tasting & Discussion in the near future, and it should be one without much if any astringency and easy to brew. So this is one you might dare to explore.

[What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)]

Again today I am trying out one of the new gyokuros from yuuki-cha.com: Organic Gyokuro Karigane, that's gyokuro leaves with stems. I'll be experimenting with several brewing methods recommended by Dan at yuuki-cha (brewing at 104 F today!), and will report on that soon in the Japanese Green Tea topic.