Richard Kilgore
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore
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This afternoon I have been drinking a 2007 Spring FengHuan Lin-Tou DanCong "Mi Lan", which came as a free sample with an order from Hou De Fine Tea. Brewed Western style in a large Yixing teapot and held in a 200 ml Yixing pot. 5.0 mg leaf to 200 mg water. Ten second rinse. First infusion - 5 minutes. Second - 4.5 minutes. More to go.
Floral aroma, honey taste and after taste. A wonderful DanCong. I think they are sold out of this and just using it for small free samples with orders, but I haven't been able to load their site right now to confirm that. If I am mistaken, I'll post.
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Today I decided to start with what I refer to as "Asian Grocery Store Gold." It is a decent Taiwanese Dong Ding Oolong that cost me a whopping $6.99 for 100 grams vacuum sealed in a metal tin. The company who packages the tea is "Good Young Co., Ltd." out of Taipei, and is marketed as the Tradition Oolong Tea Series. The English description on the can promised a "leisurely and carefree mood at any time." I couldn't resist such marketing, so I bought it and feel like I finally got my money's worth out of a grocery store bought tea. I'd post a picture, but I haven't figured that out on here yet...
It is a typical Taiwanese ball-shaped oolong with little to no roasting. I steeped it gongfu style in a Gaiwan, and got three decent steepings out of it. Moderately sweet, tastes a little flat or not super fresh, but it does have that Taiwanese Oolong flavor that I love. Not bad for $6.99.
Has anyone else found good values like this in their local markets?
That's good to hear. I have looked at the tea aisle in a few small Asian markets recently and did not find anything that persuaded me to take the risk. I'll look for your find next time in the larger markets.
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By and large most of the black teas I drink are without any added flavorings - natural or otherwise. The Darjeelings and Assams from India, blacks from Ceylon and red teas from China (called black teas in the west) have all come from The Cultured Cup (TCC) over the years. I also have another Chinese red tea on the list for my next order from jingteashop.com.
More recently, I have neen drinking a Keemun Mao Feng and a Dian Hong Imperial, both Chinese red teas and both from TCC (though I see the later is no longer listed on their website).
What black or red teas do you enjoy? Do you have any suppliers you can recommend to us?
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my favorite flavored black teas are from le palais des thes and mariage-freres
joanne
Which ones from le palais des thes and Mariage Frères do you recommend? I use several Mariage Frères from The Cultured Cup for iced tea, and sometimes also drink Eros hot.
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Has anyone here actually done a taste test to determine whether bags, balls, and baskets have a noticeable effect on the product?
I have not done a formal test, Chris, but for me the change from a metal tea ball many years ago to an infuser basket was not subtle. I don't use the fill-it-youself tea bags often, but the issue there still has to do with the extent to which tea leaves are restricted from opening up fully. (And of course, the problem with the vast majority of commercially made tea bags is that they use low grade cut leaves, so anything that allows you to use good quality loose leaves is going to be a noticeable improvement.)
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Here's a link to the teeli filters Joanne (jpr54) posted about above. There are permananet ones and disposables.
I occassionally use t-sac Tee Filters.
The t-sac and teeli disposable filters used with loose leaves are a great alternative to tea bags when you're traveling.
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Several posts have raised the issue of tea bags vs using tea filters with loose leaf tea, including these:
.....Well, this is good to know. I drink tea at least three times a day and more if the weather is chilly. *But* I know very little about tea. My primary sources are from tea bags, my garden and hot water as provided by my bottled water spigot. Not the best resources, I realize.
I love perfumed, flowery, subtle, woodsy, smokey, bright, intense, etc. Really, I haven't met a tea or tisane that I didn't like, though some of the smoked ones presented a lovely challenge.
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why not try using loose leaf tea-purchase teeli or any other brand of tea filter-u will be surprised how easy it is to prepare your tea of choice
joanne
What's your preference and why?
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Yes, the Mandalay. I suppose we could get a car for a day. Do you mean we just have to get into Dallas or Fort Worth, or do you mean everything's really spread out and even getting into town won't be enough?
Things are pretty spread out, but getting into (or on the way into) Dallas or Ft. Worth for a day will give you plenty of places to eat Tex-Mex and barbecue.
Are you looking for traditional Tex-Mex, Mex-Tex, taquerias, or something more toward Mexican fine dining? Beer, wine, tequila?
Ft. Worth -
Joe T Garcias for Tex-Mex
Manny's Alta Cocina Mexicana for creative Mexican finer dining
Some other members may have a bunch of suggestions this morning. I'll be back later today, but gotta go for now.
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Are you staying at the Mandalay? Have a rent car? Your options really depend on whether or not you have wheels?
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Today in my cup first it's a Chinese red tea - Dian Hong Imperiale from The Cultured Cup. I brewed it in a large 8 - 9 ounce Yixing Teapot that just emerged from a three day seasoning in the same tea leaves. About 1 1/2 teaspoon. 10 second rinse. First infusion about 7 minutes. More to come.
Amazingly little initial astringency for such a long infusion. Somewhat woodsy aroma (but not quite like that of Puer to my nose), medium body, mild and pleasant fruity taste, very mild pleasant astringency in the after-taste which trails fruit, too.
The three day seasoning seems to have added something to the experience compared to before it was done. But this was also a longer than usual first infusion, so I'll need to experiment a bit to see.
So what's in your teacup today?
Just a follow up note - this tea went five infusions before I gave up. Less aroma and flavor, of course, but still good. I think it could go one more. The last infusion was for 10 minutes. No astringency. Lingering after-taste.
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Mike - the trunk you store some of your pu in seems like a great idea. Do you have to do anything to adjust the humidity level in it?
No, not really needed in my case though as I keep it in my basement where I have a 150 gallon fish tank which helps keep the humidity up.
However, it is easy to control an enclosed space like that to maintain 70% humidity. Mix glycol and distilled water half and half and then soak cat litter crystals, or a sponge, or polyacrylamide crystals, or anything absorbent in this mixture. Place the absorbent in an enclosed space and it will self regulate to roughly 70%, naturally you need to size the absorbent mixture according to the square footage you are trying to regulate but about 1.5 cups of crystal absorbent will easily maintain the space in my trunk. The glycol will not evaporate so all you need to do is add distilled water until the absorbent is fully saturated when the humidity starts dropping. You only need to add the glycol once, when you first charge the absorbent. Get a small humidity gauge, the absorbent crystals, and the glycol from any good cigar shop. These are the same tricks used to keep cigar humidors at 70% humidity.
Thanks, Mike. I checked at a cigar shop last week and they had the small kits for humidors - too expensive, but the ingredients are similar. I'll try your method for a foot locker or something similar like a file cabinet or chest of drawers. I was at that time looking for a solution for two Yixing storage containers where I keep small bricks and samples. The small humidor discs may still work best in the Yixing...or at least easiest.
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Mike - the trunk you store some of your pu in seems like a great idea. Do you have to do anything to adjust the humidity level in it?
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I really like your small travel tea tray. Where did you get it?
I got it from Seb at Jing Teashop. It was a special order as it is not something he stocks. http://www.jingteashop.com/ or find them on eBay.
Thanks, Mike. Do they also have an eBay store or do you mean other vendors on eBay?
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Today in my cup first it's a Chinese red tea - Dian Hong Imperiale from The Cultured Cup. I brewed it in a large 8 - 9 ounce Yixing Teapot that just emerged from a three day seasoning in the same tea leaves. About 1 1/2 teaspoon. 10 second rinse. First infusion about 7 minutes. More to come.
Amazingly little initial astringency for such a long infusion. Somewhat woodsy aroma (but not quite like that of Puer to my nose), medium body, mild and pleasant fruity taste, very mild pleasant astringency in the after-taste which trails fruit, too.
The three day seasoning seems to have added something to the experience compared to before it was done. But this was also a longer than usual first infusion, so I'll need to experiment a bit to see.
So what's in your teacup today?
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So what flavored black teas have you explored? Great, good, so-so, poor, really bad?
What can you recommend to us?
I do like Earl Grey - straight. I once lined up ten of the highest rated Earl Greys and did a side by side taste test (cupping). I found that to my taste I greatly preferred the "Eastern Shore Earl Grey" in the loose leaf form. "Tippy Earl Grey" by Golden Moon was also good but not nearly as good. The UK version of Twinnings wasnt bad either, although the US version was comparatively lifeless.
Thats about the only flavored black (red) tea that I like, unless you count Lapsang Souchong as a flavored tea which I love, especially on a cold winter morning or with BBQ.
Thanks, Mike. That was a serious cupping you did. Who is the vendor for "Eastern Shore Earl Grey". I would like to try it.
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While I have been drinking a few Senchas over the last few years, I have recently been interested in learning about other Japanese green teas. I had a Kukicha and two Machas last month at the T-Bar Club of The Cultured Cup last month and look forward to trying Gyokuro in particular.
What Japanese Green teas have you tried? What are your experiences with vendors of Japanese Green teas in your local area or based in Japan? Do you have any you recommend?
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My favorite herbal tea is African rooibos tea, which is also known as redbush tea. It's delicious straight but because it has a richness and clarity of flavor like good black tea it also takes well to being served with milk and sugar.
Sometimes you can find it blended with other herbs such as chamomile or blended with spices. It's has no caffeine, is high in anti-oxidants, and supposedly soothing to upset stomachs.
Thanks for the info on rooibos. Where do you get yours?
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I have started doing a three day initial seasoning or re-seasoning with a couple of my Yixing tea pots and really like the result. Here's the procedure I use ---
1) wipe out any firing residue with a piece of cloth and rinse with hot water.
2) Boil in water for one hour in a pan or pot, with lid separate. Use a piece of cloth, small towel or whatever in the pan to protect the pot and lid from banging and chipping.
3) Remove pot and let cool to room temp. Fill with room temperature water and dump.
4) Place tea leaves of the type the pot will be dedicated to in the tea pot and place the pot and lid back in the pot of water. More tea leaves around the pot and lid. Boil for 30 minutes.
5) Let it steep overnight.
6) Next day strain tea leaves and discard. Pot and lid back in pot with tea water and boil for 10 minutes. Let steep overnight.
7) Repeat step 6.
8) End of third day, remove pot and lid, rinse with boiling water and let air dry.
9) Now the Yixing tea pot is ready to brew tea.
This is by no means the only way to season a pot; it may not be the best; and it's certainly not the easiest. But it's given me the best results so far.
I'll update if I come up with something I like better or decide this is not worth the extra effort.
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I really like your small travel tea tray. Where did you get it?
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I'll have to admit I hated Earl Gray tea until recently. I think that's because I almost always drink my tea without milk, cream or sugar. A month or two ago I finally tried an Earl Gray Imperial from The Cultured Cup with milk and liked it just fine. This was a quality Mariage Frères loose leaf tea, with a First Flush Darjeeling as a base tea and perfumed with bergamot oil from the rind of a Mediterranean citrus fruit. I got several steepings out of it.
Unfortunately, many flavored teas are made with low quality tea leaf, which is covered up by whatever flavoring - natural or artificial - is used. These have an underlying bitterness (not the often desireable astringency of teas) and do worse after the first steeping.
So what flavored black teas have you explored? Great, good, so-so, poor, really bad?
What can you recommend to us?
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I often have chamomille tea in the evening, a nice relaxing mug, but have not explored other herbal teas.
What are your favorites? Can you describe them and your experience with their effects.
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For my first tea today I am drinking "Richard's Three Mountain Blend", a personal blend of one Sri Lankan (Ceylon) tea and two Chinese teas, that Kyle at The Cultured Cup created for me last year. Brewed simply in a cup with infuser, one teaspoon to about 8 ounces H2O for 5 minutes, second infusion for about 4 1/2 minutes. I still like it a lot.
So what's in your tea cup today?
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I am rather new to all these varieties of tea. It is wonderful to read all your logs about this. Last night I was drinking a Tisane brewed for 10 minutes in my Bodum Assam tea press; this morning however I am drinking Yunnan - Golden Extra Fancy Long Leaf Supreme from www.zoomdweebies.com . Our tea supplies are rather limited here, so I found this website and have been ordering my loose leaf teas ever since. Is it wrong that I enjoy flavored black teas as well? I like vastly different teas, however, I intend to begin to experiment with some of the teas I am finding mentioned here. Thank you all for your logs ~ I am learning from you.
Welcome to the eGullet Society and the eG Forums!
What kind of tisane did you brew last night?
No such thing as "wrong" when it comes to tea. It's what you enjoy. Most people in the US start out drinking black teas, flavored or not. And there are traditional flavored black teas such as Earl Gray that have a huge following. An issue with flavored teas of any type has to do with the tea leaf used, because many flavored teas use low grade bitter teas because they know the added flavor will cover it up to some extent.
Let us know about the teas you are exploring, what you are drinking each day and any questions you may have about teas or equipment. Someone here is likely to have an answer...or at least an opinion.
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Had not heard of it til now. Here's a link to marketing info on the machine.
My impression is that it's selling an illusion - that making fine tea well can be made simple through whiz bang looking technology.
The things that jump out for me:
1) It only goes to 205 F. 208 is generally considered to be better for most blacks and 212F for Puer. And for some few teas, going below 160 is desireable.
2) Looks like it makes only four cups at a time. Not two or one, the most common need. But can't tell for sure.
3) Keeping those four (or whatever) cups on the hot plate will not do the tea any favors.
4) It controls infusion time and temp, but you still have to play with the other third variable - amount of tea leaf.
5) For $400 you could have a collection of good to great teaware from Europe, China and Japan - teapots, teacups and more. Plus a 3, 4, 5 quart Zojirushi water boiler/warmer if you need tea water at the ready all day in quantity. Plus an instant read thermometer and a small scale - if you are inclined to measure rather than learn intuitively by doing.
If you get it, please let us know what you think of it.
Tea Trucs - Tips for brewing better tea
in Coffee & Tea
Posted
Please tell us what you have learned that makes for better tea brewing.
I'll kick it off with a few basics ---
1) Use the correct amount of leaf (leaf:water ratio)
2) Use the correct temperature for the type of tea leaf
3) Violate 2 & 3. That is, experiment with all the variables and see what pleases you.
More later.
What have you learned in making your tea?