Richard Kilgore
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore
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Have any more great Winter-time things to do with roasted vegetables?
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I have never run into a tea that was "metallic, bitter, musty... smelled a little rusty and very faintly like raw egg. A little fishy, even, after the milk was added." But I am curious too, so I am bumping this up just in case anyone else has any ideas.
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Thanks, tsure. I'll put the Jak-Sul Cha on the list. Can you say more about the diffference between buying green teas in the city and in the tea growing areas?
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A friend may be going to Korea early this year and has offered to bring back some Korean tea and tea-things for me. Anyone know anything about Korean teas and have suggestions?
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I found the Cardamon Cinnamon at a Central Market, but they only had the tea bags. I have brewed it three times for groups of people on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and some liked it a lot, some thought it okay and some liked it less. This was only done straight with no teas or tisanes added. I thought it was okay and consider it is a good option, but I want to try some other ideas in this topic, too.
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This is my second brewing of Brodie's Scottish Teatime, a smoother blend than most breakfast blends, and one the people at British Emporium recommended as an afternoon tea. The first time I was not sure if I liked it or what I thought of it. Today I like it better. Just one more example of liking a tea more (or less) as you get to know it.
Also brewed gongfu style one of the Oolong teas in my last shipment from jingtea.com. A Wuyi Seasonal Da Hong Pao. This is an inexpensive Da Hong Pao, but certainly a good one for every day drinking. 15" rinse, 30 " rest, 1: 20", 2: 15", 3: 20", 4: 30", 5: 45", 6: 60", 7:90". The leaves had more infusions left, but I ran out of time.
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I did get him a copy of Chad's book, and took this paragraph of Chad's advice:
"For a $20-25 budget, there is the Forschner/Victorinox Fibrox-handled chef's knife. Unlike many stamped knives, this one comes with decent geometry and pretty good steel. It's a great starter knife or one to stock your beach/lake cabin so you don't have to take your expensive knives. I like them. Cook's Illustrated loves them. They're good knives."
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That's a good combination...and a practical one for someone who may or may not understand knives well enough yet to take care of it. You will not shed any tears if your nephew or a room mate decide to use it as a pry bar...or let it rust in a sink...or crash around in a drawer. But it should provide good service for years if all goes well.
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Yes, Jeff, Irish Breakfast is hearty, but it was given to me and I am not sure where it came from. Not sure if TCC has an Irish Breakfast, but they have a good English Breakfast you may like - similar to the Irish Breakfast blends, but with a hint of smoke. You may also want to try an Earl Grey for a strong flavor - they have several.
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I agree with Janet - Dutch ovens are not made for roasting. My comment above was meant for braising with a Dutch oven.
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I think I learned this from one of Olney's books, though I am sure others have also written and said it, but it is best to have as little space around the roast as possible. So in the best of all worlds you could match the size and shape of the pot to the size and shape of the piece of meat. Most of us, however, do not live in that world and somehow get by.
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Thanks, Sam and Chris. From what you say, I see no great reason not to get a used one, as long as it has been taken care of and not abused. Not that a new one would be a bad deal, of course.
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i am not sure what floral, bamboo, sweet, etc means?
sour, dry?
is there a common dictionary for words to describe tea-
color
taste
smell
That's a great question, Joanne. And one I am still learning about. I have not run across any standards for those three aspects of tea appreciation. I think it is similar to wine in that it is largely a matter of what your associations are to the aroma and taste of a tea.
For example, I was sharing a cooked Pu-erh that had been fermented in a tangerine. My strongest association was "leather", then "straw"; my friend's was "hay". Others sometimes identify "tobacco". Whether or not a particular aroma or taste is "good" at least partly depends upon whether the association is a positive one for you. Some people, like me, may have a positive response to associations to horses and barns, but others may well go, "eeewww!"
I have also learned that my sense of smell and taste is trainable. I have learned a lot from others at the monthly T-Bar meetings at The Cultured Cup. An Oolong that I could easily enough identify as vaguely floral snapped into focus when another person said it smelled like honeysuckle. Then it was obvious.
As for color, I think it is largely a matter of using common color descriptors. I know of no tea liquor color chart, but something like that would be interesting and useful, since the liquor of many teas are often described as "amber" no matter what they look like.
Can anyone else shed more light on all this?
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Drinking an Irish Breakfast today so far.
What tea is everyone else drinking today?
Later yesterday - a bamboo pu-erh from norbuyea.com.
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can someone help in description of teas==
How do you mean, Joanne?
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I continue to do French Press, but am revisiting the idea of going to expresso.
Has anyone had experience with the redesigned Silvia? What did they change and how much difference does it make?
Also, how have the originals held up over the years? What kind of maintenance is required and can you do it all yourself?
Is buying a used Silvia worthwhile? Can you upgrade an old machine to the redesign standard?
Would appeciate your experiences.
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Drinking an Irish Breakfast today so far.
What tea is everyone else drinking today?
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This evening a Chinese green tea from The Cultured Cup: Mao Jian "Hair Needle Tea" from the Henan Province. Brewed Western style - 2 grams to 8 ounces water. Two infusions (1: 1'45"; 2: 2'15"). I enjoyed the second infusion more, and this one should go at least one more infusion. (I think the first infusion may have been better at 1'45" or 2', but the second infusion was smoother anyway.) Very pleasant mild vegetal flavor with no astringency.
This is one of the best Chinese green teas I have tasted. But I have a few unopened ones yet to try.
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one of my favorite tea online co. is www.thefragrantleaf.com-
i received yesterday my most recent order
bai hao formosa oolong
shan lin xi oolong
high mountain oolng
wenshan baozhong
dong ding oolong
robyn consistently carries good quality teas at reasonable prices-
last evening i had the shan lin xi which had a chestnut like aroma and taste-the liquor was alight gold
this morning i am enjoying the high mountain
The chestnut aroma and taste of the shan lin xi sounds interesting, Joanne. Did you brew it gongfu or western style? How many infusions do you get from it and do they change much?
First for me today is MF French Breakfast that I picked up from The Cultured Cup yesterday. This is the best commercial breakfast blend I have had. (One of the personal blends Kyle created for me may - just may - be better, but it is also more expensive.) I was able to get three good infusions out of it, and usually most black tea blends only give one or two.
So what tea are you all drinking today?
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I am sure that people get tired of having me constantly tout Republic of Tea but they have a foolproof solution for people who want to add a little or a lot of spicy stuff to tea.
Their product Cardamon Cinnamon "Warm the Heart Herb Tea"
actually contains no "tea" but is, "A blend of cardamon, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pink peppercorns, and star anise."
Naturally Caffeine-free
One can mix this blend of spices with black, oolong or green teas, or mix with Rooibos with or without the regular teas, depending on how much caffeine one wishes to consume.
It is true that one can buy "Masala Chai" spice mixes, however these often contain ground or powdered spices which I am not convinced always retain their flavors. I have purchased some that are so bland that they are hardly worth using.
One major advantage of the RoT product is that it is packaged in teabags as well as loose so it is very easy to use for people who use mostly tea bags.
Unlike some tea "purists" I have no objection to tea bags, they come in handy and today there are some excellent (and high-end) teas packaged this way.
Use what works for you, not what you think you should use and never be apologetic for using tea bags if that is what you like no matter what other people might say.
I write this because earlier this morning I overheard (shamelessly snooping) while one woman took another to task in Trader Joe's for buying a couple of boxes of teabags, the implication being that it was not socially acceptable to serve tea made with teabags to party guests.
Naturally, being the pushy type I am, I caught up with the discouraged customer and reassured her that there was nothing wrong with using teabags. (She went back and picked up the two boxes and checked out with them.)
I can't stand self-appointed "experts" like that ill-mannered woman.
Thanks, Andie. Sounds like a practical and flexible idea. Since reading this I have been trying to track down this RoT Cardamon Cinnamon locally. No luck at a couple of places, including Whole Foods, but I'll try Central Market next.
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Here are some brief notes on the October, November and December T-Bar Club meetings at The Cultured Cup (TCC).
October 3, 2008 - TCC co-owner Kyle Stewart conducted a Chinese Tea Ceremony for us. Four acted as participants and the rest observed as Kyle showed us the ceremony as he has adapted it for teaching demonstartions in schools and museums. He provide a fine example of a Great Red Robe Oolong for the ceremony and all attendees sampled the tea after the ceremony.
November 7, 2008 - I did a presentation on Chinese Yxing Teapots, covering their history, various production methods, buying them while avoiding fakes, seasoning methods and brewing in them both western and gongfu style. Several examples of Yixing pots were displayed and another member brought the Yixing pot she had made on a tea tour of China last year.
Kyle and I provided a blind tasting for the group, comparing a first and second infusion of a Phoenix Mountain Oolong using a glass Mono Pot and a well-seasoned Yixing tea pot. The general consensus was that the Yixing provided a somewhat deeper, smoother tea liquor and was prefered by the group.
December 5, 2008 - Darjeeling Tasting and Pot Luck
Steve Jones provided a tasting of seven Darjeelings he had sourced from India, accompanied by the following Pot Luck Dinner.
Appetizer: Cheese Plate, provided by Patsy Kahn
Salad: Greens with Clementine Orange Slices & Walnuts with a Balsamic or Mustard Vinaigrette, prepared by Patrick Deupree
Main Course: Chicken with Couscous Steeped in Mariage Frères Routes du Temps, prepared by Kelley Carr
Main Course: Mushroom Casserole, prepared by Greg Duke for Kyle Stewart & Phil Krampetz
Main Course: Cassoulet, prepared by Greg Duke for Kyle Stewart & Phil Krampetz
Bread: French Baguette Bread w/ French Butter, provided by Kyle Stewart & Phil Krampetz
Dessert: Apple Tarts, from Main Street Bakery, provided by Richard Kilgore
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eG Society member Greg Glancy, who is the owner of Norbutea.com has contributed samples of tea for three tea tastings here on the eG Forum's Coffee & Tea Forum. This first tasting will feature a Chinese Oolong - a Fall Harvest 2008 Tie Guan Yin from Anxi county in Fujian province. Greg sent me five samples of this tea, which will go to the first five members who PM me and who 1) have been a member of the eG Society for at least 30 days, 2) have 5 or more substantive posts in the Coffee & Tea forum, and 3) agree to contribute to the discussion. Please PM me with a mailing address and I will send the samples out this week.
Here's some interesting information on this Tie Guan Yin from the Norbutea.com website (used with permission).
This is our first shipment of Fall Harvest 2008 Tie Guan Yin from Anxi county in Fujian province, which is the birthplace of Tie Guan Yin cultivation. This season's harvest has been excellent so far, and we are really excited to have this particular batch of this season's Tie Guan Yin to offer on Norbutea.com. This is our standard premium grade Tie Guan Yin, but in my opinion the aroma and flavor of this particular batch is head and shoulders above the other Tie Guan Yin teas in its class so far this year.Traditionally Tie Guan Yin was roasted to produce a toasted, dried fruit type flavor profile and amber cup, but recently the trend in Anxi has been to leave the teas unroasted in order to allow the strong floral notes come through more prominently. This Tie Guan Yin is not roasted beyond the time required to drive out the moisture in the leaves after processing. It produces smooth floral characteristics, a pleasant and lingering bittersweet aftertaste, and a honey green cup when steeped. It is best suited to Gong Fu style steeping, but is also delicious steeped in the western manner. In order to better preserve the striking freshness of this wonderful tea, we had this shipment individually packaged and vacuum sealed at the producer's facility into 50 and 100 gram portions.
The story behind the name 'Tie Guan Yin:'
Tie Guan Yin or 'Iron Goddess of Mercy' is named after the Bodhisatva Avalokiteshvara, who in the Chinese context is known as the Goddess of Compassion or Mercy. The name of this tea is associated with a legend: In Anxi County of modern Fujian province there was a rundown temple that housed an iron statue of Guan Yin, the Goddess of Mercy. Every day on the walk to his tea fields, a poor farmer would pass by and reflect on the worsening condition of the temple. He did not have the resources to repair the temple, so instead the farmer brought a broom and some incense from his home. He swept the temple clean and lit the incense as an offering to the deity. Over the months and years to come, the farmer would periodically return to take care of the temple and make offerings. One night, Guan Yin appeared to him in a dream. She told him of a cave behind the temple where a treasure awaited him. He was to take the treasure for himself on the condition that he shared it with other people in his impoverished village. In the cave, the farmer found a single tea plant. He planted it in his field and nurtured it into a large bush, from which the finest tea was produced. He gave cuttings of this rare plant to all his neighbors and began selling the tea under the name Tie Guan Yin, Iron Bodhisattva of Mercy.
(In the interests of full disclosure, I should note that I have known Greg for two or three years. I originally met him at a presentation he did for The Cultured Cup's T-Bar Club of his travels in the tea regions of China, including Tibet. I have no financial interest in Norbutea.com.)
[Edit: criteria changed to five or more substantive posts.]
The five members of the eGullet Society who signed up for the free samples for the tasting and discussion are ---
baroness
jpr54_
jsmeeker
chrisamirault
naftal
I am jammed up tomorrow, so these will go out on Thursday.
Chris posted about his expectations for the tasting. Anyone else?
For a variety of reasons I have not gotten these out yet, so given the pressure of the holidays I will wait and ship them later in the month and we can pick up the discussion in 2009.
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Thanks everyone. I knew there would be some eGullet Society members who knew something about cooking kangaroo. All there methods mentioned sound good to me. I am curious, so I'll check with Central Market here and see if they can source it.
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What are currently the best sources for tamales across the North Texas area? I used to get mine for the holidays from a woman who made them for some of the best Ft. Worth restaurants, but she is no longer making them.
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2009: Eating Really Really Cheap
in Cooking
Posted
Yes, soups and stews. For some variety, I make a large quantity of a base soup or stew to which can be added different starches -- pasta, potato, rice. Freeze packets of the base, thaw and add the starch of the day. Three different bases (chicken, beef and pork -- each with a different combination of ingredients) provide nine varieties.