Richard Kilgore

Beautiful new tea ware, WC. . cdh - I very much enjoy Keemuns and have heard good things about Special Teas. I'll have to try them sometime. I have been enjoying gyokuro from yuuki-cha.com the past few days. Have a few brewings left of the Organic Uji Gypkuro Gokou, but went ahead and opened a packet of Organic Honyama Gyokuro Kin-un today. As I was sipping the second infusion I got an email from Dan at Yuuki-Cha, who said that the office was all shook up (him too), but that all the beautiful ceramic Japanese tea bowls and teapots, as well as the tea facilties, came though unscathed. He had just recently bolted all the ceramic shelving together and then chained it to the wall! I am looking forward to playing with this new gyokuro and another as yet unopened one. More on these later in the Japanese Green Tea topic.

Three sets of the three free Japanese teas from norbutea.com are available for members. Three members. Priority given to those who have not received free teas for a Tea Tasting & Discussion in the past. For all the details please read the above 4 posts and then PM me.

Three sets of the three free Japanese teas from norbutea.com are available for members. Three members. Priority given to those who have not received free teas for a Tea Tasting & Discussion in the past. For all the details please read the above 4 posts and then PM me.

Today saw continued brewing of the 2010 Fall Harvest Lao Tai Di Qing Xin Oolong - Old Plantation (Norbu) that I started yesterday. The Yixing, purchased a few years ago from Scott at yunnansourcing.com, produced the best infusions I have brewed of this tea, compared to using a gaiwan. This is a delicious tea anyway, but, the clay does make a difference. Also brewed the Organic Uji Gyokuro Gokou (yuuki-cha) again, this time using a small, flat Tokaname kyusu instead of a Banko houbin. This pleased me even more than the Banko did, which produced a nice cup of gyokuro. This is interesting because my preferred clay is usually Banko, which produces a smoother infusion. May be that I am simply learning better to brew this tea, but I don't thinks so. More on this after a few more sessions. BTW, a new TT&D featuring free samples of three interesting Japanese teas was recently posted, and the Sheng Puerh TT&D continues. What teas are you all drinking this weekend in your part of the world?

Since we have a new Tea Tasting & Discussion starting, I want to interrupt the discussion here to thank David Collen at www.essenceoftea.co.uk for proving the three free Sheng Puerh samples for this TT&D. Thanks also to Wholemeal Crank, cdh and Chris Amirault for brewing, tasting and engaging in such an interesting discussion, as well as Will for taking part in the discussion. I know Chis will have more to report, so everyone (tasters and any and all members well into, at the margins of, or watching tea geekdom from a safe distance) feel free to continue the discussion.

There are also maps for each Chinese and Taiwanese tea listed on norbutea.com. They may not be as detailed as you are looking for, but these are a good orientation. You could work from these maps to a detailed Atlas of China. I don't think the new Japanese teas have maps yet. Hope this helps.

The three Japanese tea samples (10g each) will go to each of up to three eGullet Society members who will begin brewing, tasting, posting and discussing the teas within one week of receiving the samples. These teas may be brewed 1) "western style" using a small teapot or infuser cup, or better yet 2) in a glazed Japanese kyusu. Please, avoid tea balls like the plague. Brewing suggestions are in the links to each of the three teas above and in the Tea Steeping Guide at norbutea.com. Preference will be given to eGullet Society members who have never received tea samples and participated in a Tea Tasting & Discussion, and who have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past year. This preference will last one week, until midnight March 10, 2011. If that sounds like you, please PM me ASAP. Others who have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea forum, may PM me their interest at any time. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to PM me.

The third Japanese tea from Norbu Tea in this TT&D is the San Nen Bancha - 3 Year Aged Bancha - Medium Roast. Text and image used with permission by norbutea.com. If you have read this far and want to know how to request the free teas, please refer to the next post.

The second of the three teas in this TT&D is the Ichiban Hojicha - 2010 Dark Roast Shizuoka Hojicha. Text and image used with permission by norbutea.com. One more tea to come....

eGullet Society member Greg Glancy at norbutea.com is contributing free 10 gram samples of each of three interesting Japanese teas for this Tea Tasting & Discussion (TT&D). Sets of the samples will go to up to three eG members active in the forums: if you have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past 12 months, or if you have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea Forum, and are interested in receiving the free samples and participating in this TT&D, please read on (this post and the three following soon) and then PM me. The first Japanese tea is a Sunpu Boucha - 2010 1st Harvest Hon Yama Kuki-Hojicha. Text and image used with permission by norbutea.com. The next two posts will describe the second and third Japanese teas for this TT&D, and the fourth one one will provide additional important information on how to request the three free teas. Stay tuned!

Amazing! A new sheng brewing technique! Serendipity. Today a modest attempt at brewing in somewhat more traditional ways. Jamirah Estate Assam (TCC) in the morning in a Brown Betty and 2010 Fall Harvest Lao Tai Di Qing Xin Oolong - Old Plantation (Norbu)in a 110ml Yixing. Both very fine teas.

Castleton Estate and Nilgiri handmade - both from Tea Source, as well as Norbu Tea's Yi Mei Ren Wuliang for morning black teas the past few days. More of the Organic Uji Gyokuro Gokou and the Kanayamidori Sencha - both from Dan at yuuki-cha. Finally have the brewing of the Kanayamidori down, so I'll post a note on this delicious tea in the Japanese Green Tea forum. As I write, starting a session with the Essence of Tea 2010 Man Sai raw puerh, one of three green puerhs featured in the currently ongoing Tea Tasting & Discussion. Two more gyokuro in from yuuki-cha this week, so I'll open one as soon as the Gokou package is down a little further. Alert! A new Tea Tasting & Discussion will start sometime tonight. Check it out if you think you may want to participate and receive free teas.

The GYG sounds interesting, but I have not experienced it. I may need to order a sample. Enjoying the Organic Uji Gyokuro Gokou from yuuki-cha.com the past few days. Really delicious today. Yesterday I was rather reckless with my brewing and the leaf did not appreciate it. Today, WNL and delicious. Ordered two new Gyokuro from yuuki-cha aand should receive them early next week. Looking forward to trying them out. Next today, an Oolong...I think. Also this morning and many recent mornings, the Jamirah Estate Assam from The Cultured Cup. Wow! What's everyone else sipping?

Have a few more hours of reading to do tonight, so enjoying the really nice 1999 Old Tree Shu Puerh from Yunnan Sourcing. Not complex, but smooth and delicious. What have you tea sippers been drinking recently?

Do any of you have any suggestions on which one of these you would suggest as easy brewing for a puerh newbie vs one a little more challenging and interesting for someone which some pu experience? Or are they all about the same in terms of ease of brewing?

Although I have been enjoying a number of various blacks, greens and Oolongs in the past few days, last night and today it's a vibrant gyokuro from yuuki-cha: the Organic Uji Gyokuro Gokou...a whiff of the sea, vegetal, and a pleasant sharpness. Yes! Monday and Tuesday, the the current Lao Tai Di Qing Xin (Old Plantation) Oolong from Norbu was my main interest. Greg and I did a tasting last weekend to decide on teas for the next TT&D he will contribute to, and he mentioned that he thought this Old Plantation was a little better, a little fruitier, than last years (which I really enjoyed), so I bought 50 g. Many infusions out of one pot over two days, indeed seemed fruitier to me, but I am never terribly confident in my tea memory. So Greg gave me that last little bit of the previous Old Plantation so I can do a comparison, which is yet to come, and which will be in Oolong topic when I can do a side-by-side. BTW: A new TT&D right around the corner...so, stay tuned tea tasters.

Since you are talking about buying for a cafe, I assume you are talking about a fairly low price point, which brings up two potential difficulties. First, traditional Yixing of 100ml are hard to find; 150 - 200 ml easier. Second, the quality of the clay makes a substantial difference. Many lower priced Yixing are made with poor quality clay and are better used just for decoration, and my guess is that most Yixings are used for that purpose. So you have to be sure that what you buy is good for tea. I agree with Wholemeal Crank's suggestion of yunnansourcing.com. Scott has been helpful and reliable in my experience.

Yes, I do have one to recommend, the Organic Shizuoka Matcha Iroka 50g. I have not tried all of them yet, but this one is excellent for the price and it comes in the new sealable pouches. While the tins are traditional and look cool, the new zip pouches keep the matcha fresher longer. The Organic Shizuoka Matcha Sakuraka 50g is also good. While you can skimp at first and make it in any bowl of the right size, a chasen (bamboo matcha whisk) is essential and a matcha scoop very helpful. But I do think that a proper matcha bowl does make a difference. Let us know what you end up doing, and if you have any questions, someone here should be able to help.

Tragic day for tea. All day, very interesting, professional conference marked by poor coffee and worse tea. Oh, woe. Today will be better.

Drinking the 2010 Organic Gokujo Sencha today - from yuuki-cha. An incredible good 4th infusion. Have to get up ridiculously early in the morning , so a hojicha will be my after dinner tea.

Clever composition, WC. The last couple of days I have been drinking the Dian Hong Imperial (hand processed) from norbutea.com in the morning, and a variety of teas later in the day: the last of the Old Plantation Qing Xin Oolong from Norbu; the Pouchong Oolong from The Cultured Cup; and the Wu Niu Zao green tea from jingteaashop.com. Today started out with the Tai Ping Hou Kui green tea that Wholemeal Crank posted about with detailed tasting notes and photos in the Chinese Green Tea topic. Check it out.

Thanks for the great tasting notes and photos, WC. You inspired me to pull out my packet of the jingteashop.com Tai Ping Hou Kui. This is from last Spring and it is impressive how well this holds up. Interestingly I did get a bit of a spicy note on the second infusion, but it disappeared on the third. This may be because I brewed with a slightly richer leaf:water ratio than you used - 5 g in a 140ml gaiwan.

This snowy morning I have been enjoying the Nilgiri Glendale Estate Handmade from teasource.com. Nor sure what I'll move on to next. How about you? What are you brewing today in your part of the world?

As WC mentioned, there are three variables you can adjust: leaf:water ratio, temp, time. An adjustment in one is not necessarily the same as making an adjustment in the others. You may find it interesting to adjust each of these separately and see what results. If you do, let us know what you discover.

This evening it's the Organic Gokujo Sencha from yuuki-cha. Just had a particularly fine third infusion and expect to get two more.