Richard Kilgore
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore
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Amazing! I walked into my favorite chinese teahouse on Thursday. It seems everyone was trying a new yerba mate (does that count as tea????). I thought it tasted more like bark than grass, that is not a bad thing (really).
It's an herbal "tea" - different plant.
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Tell us what tea(s) you're drinking today, and whatever else might be of interest to everyone --- how you brewed, overall impression, aroma-taste-mouthfeel, source. As impressionistic or detailed as you like.
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What's in your tea cup today?
OK, but dont laugh. I am actually a pu-erh guy myself as well, if you doubt me go to my website at www.pu-erh.net
But... today I am drinking a Jasmine Dragon Pearl, also from Yunnan Sourcing.
I put a pinch, about 6g, in a 120ml gaiwan, water at about 180F or a little less, first steep 1.5 - 2 minutes, 2nd steep 30 seconds, 3rd steep 2-3 minutes, 4th steep 4 minutes.
I am getting a solid 4 steeps out of this tea, the 2nd and 3rd being the best. While not the best Jasmine I have ever had, it is certainly quite acceptable. The Jasmine notes are not as pronounced as some others I have had, but still the sweetness is there with a very slight astringency coming from the green tea base. Any bitter notes are confined to the first steep, the 2nd and 3rd have a medium Jasmine aroma and a nice sweetness, while the 4th is more subtle with the green tea notes prevailing.
I do like Jasmine scented tea as an afternoon or desert tea, I find the fragrance and flavor rather soothing. My favorite style of Jasmine is using a Yin Zhen Silver Needle white tea base. Makes fantastic iced tea.
Thanks, Mike. I usually avoid flavored teas, but may have to try a sample of that. Would you time the steeps the same next time, or alter them a bit?
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iam drinking today 2008 spring li-shan "da yu ling" soft stem oolong
from www.houdeasianart.com
they have some of the finest tea-
i have not been able to find a puehr that i enjoy since the teas i like best r green oolongs.
joanne
Thanks joanne. How did you brew the da yu ling? Hou De has a very good reputation. I would be interested in your comments on any other of his teas as you drink them.
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Tell us what tea(s) you're drinking today, and whatever else might be of interest to everyone --- how you brewed, overall impression, aroma-taste-mouthfeel, source. As impressionistic or detailed as you like.
For me today it's a ripe (Shu) Puer: 2003 CNNP "Yellow Mark" label tea cake. Sourced directly from China through Yunan Sourcing LLC on eBay.
Not gong fu style today, but rather 5 grams in about 150 ml in a Yixing tea pot for 5 minutes for convenience sake. With about five years of age on it, this ripe Puer is smooth, no astringency, moderately full-bodied without off-tastes, pleasant but rather unidemensional. I have been able to get about 4 infusions out of this previously.
I'll do this gong fu another day and report on it.
What's in your tea cup today?
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My local fine teashop, The Cultured Cup, has created a couple of personal blends for me and I have been very pleased with them, especially the one called "Richard's Three Mountain Blend". (I get nothing out of this, but you can call them and order it with a minimum 6 - 8 ounces). But I am interested in learning more about how to do this myself. It appears to be similar to blending coffee beans - you select one solid, smooth tea for the body of the blend and then something for more of a bass note and then a little of something more distinctive. Or something like that.
Has anyone else experimented with creating your own blends? What has worked well for you?
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A recent tasting at the T-Bar Club of The Cultured Cup introduced me to Matcha, the Japanese green tea used during the Japanese Tea Ceremony. I am going to have one of Ginny Marsh's tea bowls (Chawan) soon and want to add a Japanese Matcha whisk and Matcha scoop. The Cultured Cup is getting in some very high quality Matcha soon, too, so I want to try that, but also would like to find some good, but less expensive alternatives.
So I am curious about other's experience with Matcha. Please show us your tea bowls and other Matcha pieces. What are some good other sources for the equipment and the tea?
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Listed in 'Openings & Closings': we've lost Doughmonkey. They closed all business as of Saturday 9/20.
A sad, sad state of affairs ...
Theabroma
A sad state of affairs, indeed.
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T-Bar Club at The Cultured Cup
September 5, 2008
This T-Bar meeting focused on the Japanese green tea Matcha and the tea bowls (Chawan) of potter Ginny Marsh.
Ginny is a potter with an international reputation. Among others, she studied with Kenji Kato. A retired professor of fine arts now living in the Dallas area, her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in Australia, Italy, New York City and elsewhere in the US. Ginny's work is represented in public and private collections in North America, including several architectural commissions.
Her publications include an article on "The Ceremony of Tea". She will be on a panel discussing Japanese pottery at the Crow Asian Art Collection in October.
Ginny talked to the group about the history of Japanese tea bowls rooted in the pottery of China and Korea and passed around several bowls - both those of her own making and one by a Japanese master potter so that we could experience the subtle differences in the bowls and how some fit each of us better than others. She emphasized the relationship between the potter and the individual and how selection of a tea bowl can be a personal matter of color, glaze, size and tactile sensation, as well as its practical utility in whisking Matcha.
Following Ginny's presentation, Cultured Cup co-owner Kyle Stewart demonstrated how to prepare Matcha in a tea bowl using a Japanese tea whisk. We tasted two samples of Matcha, one of which was contributed by a T-Bar member.
In addition, we also had a tasting of two other Japanese Green teas. The first was a Kukicha, which is made using the tender stems of leaves accumulated during the sorting process while making Sencha. Next was a Sencha Select, an unblended Sencha from the Makinohara region of Shizuoka.
Kyle provided helpful information sheets on the teas we were tasting and on Matcha covering the history, cultivation, processing and major types of Matcha, as well as the storage and preparation of Matcha and its health benefits. And as usual, The Cultured Cup offered a 10% discount on any teas in the shop purchased that evening.
Photos courtesy of Ginny Marsh. Used with permission.
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Picked up a bottle of what I understand to be the first Texas olive oil: Texas Olive Ranch- Early Harvest Master's Reserve. At Central Market now. Impressive buttery olive flavor with a mild peppery finish. As good as or better than most quality Italian oils in the same price range in my experience.
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Thanks for starting this topic, Naftal. You may find this topic on Chinese Tea Eggs of interest.
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So this is what I was shown( it is a variation on the first method you mentioned):fill the empty teapot with cold water, put it in a pot filled with cold water, and bring it to a boil. Afterwards, fill the pot with leaves and boil it as before.
Also, you may know this, but (according to my sources) the reason one seasons a pot is to rid it of any sand or mud that may have gathered in the pot when it was made. This makes sense to me,clay being what is ...
Yes, my understanding has been that it is to clear any residual loose particles of clay. And also to open up the pores in the clay and begin laying down the fine tea particles that will build over the years of use and flavor the pot. This is only an initial seasoning regardless of the method used, and it takes long use to throroughly season a Yixing tea pot.
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One Yixing pot I have been trying to season has a lingering clay-minerally odor that was not diminished much by 1) boiling it for an hour, followed by 2) a rinse and soak in warm water and air drying, followed by 3) an hour boil with tea leaves and then overnight with the heat turned off, followed by 4) a good rinse.
Has anyone had this experience? Anything else to do? Is it worth seasoning further or should I not waste the effort on this tea pot?
Just an opinion- I have read that( due to the popularity of yixing) there are many pots labeled yixing that are not really yixing. And they exhibit the properties you describe. Obviously, one cannot be sure. This is just a thought...
Thanks, that's an important consideration, but I am pretty sure this is good quality Yixing clay. I have two of these - chipped the lid of one and liked the shape so well that I got another. The first one has no clay smell at all; the second one has it. Given the difference, my best guess is that the second one was fired at slightly too low a temp.
Oolong brewed in another good Yixing pot and poured into the bad pot for holding aquires a strong clay flavor after a few minutes. I think this one is not going to work out.
Update: After another 48 hours airing out this pot gave up the clay smell, and has maintained that for the several days since then. Another mystery...at least to me. I have never heard or read anything about a similar delayed effect for the initial seasoning.
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One Yixing pot I have been trying to season has a lingering clay-minerally odor that was not diminished much by 1) boiling it for an hour, followed by 2) a rinse and soak in warm water and air drying, followed by 3) an hour boil with tea leaves and then overnight with the heat turned off, followed by 4) a good rinse.
Has anyone had this experience? Anything else to do? Is it worth seasoning further or should I not waste the effort on this tea pot?
Just an opinion- I have read that( due to the popularity of yixing) there are many pots labeled yixing that are not really yixing. And they exhibit the properties you describe. Obviously, one cannot be sure. This is just a thought...
Thanks, that's an important consideration, but I am pretty sure this is good quality Yixing clay. I have two of these - chipped the lid of one and liked the shape so well that I got another. The first one has no clay smell at all; the second one has it. Given the difference, my best guess is that the second one was fired at slightly too low a temp.
Oolong brewed in another good Yixing pot and poured into the bad pot for holding aquires a strong clay flavor after a few minutes. I think this one is not going to work out.
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guide was from 2005...." Cafe Madrid market - has a small market with foods from Spain, such as Fruit of the Forest preserves and seville oranges,paprika,wodd-fire-roasted piquillo pimentos, and anchovy stuffed olives 4501 Travis st" guess it didn't last long
Yes, the last time I was there, last year, they had a few odds ands ends like that...on shelves against the wall in the dining area off the front room. Perhaps at one time they had more and cut it back in order to make more room for tables. I am curious now, so I'll ask next time.
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One Yixing pot I have been trying to season has a lingering clay-minerally odor that was not diminished much by 1) boiling it for an hour, followed by 2) a rinse and soak in warm water and air drying, followed by 3) an hour boil with tea leaves and then overnight with the heat turned off, followed by 4) a good rinse.
Has anyone had this experience? Anything else to do? Is it worth seasoning further or should I not waste the effort on this tea pot?
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I am not sure about what it was like at the very beginning, but as far as I know there has been nothing that you would think of as a "market" for the past 4 - 5 years. The meat, cheese and wine and a few olive oils and such. Not a Spanish version of Jimmy's.
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Cafe Madrid does not have a "market" as such, but you can order any meat, cheese or wine that's on the menu. This isn't necessarily obvious.
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Greetings-This is a very interesting topic. I don't have an opinion yet.But my tea teacher was trained in China and I'll let you know what he says.
Thanks, Naftal. I'll be interested to read what you find out.
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The Super H Mart is located just north of the Bush Toll Road on Old Denton Drive.
2625 Old Denton Rd
Carrollton, TX 75007
Unless you have a specific reason for going to the CM in South Lake, you may want to hit the main Dallas CM - it's about 40% larger.
Also Kevin's idea about visiting Jimmy's and Spiceman's is a very good one, and you may want tsearch in this Texas forum for topics on both.
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The Cultured Cup has quietly contributed to the growing tea culture of Dallas by sponsoring a tea club, the T-Bar Club, for the past several years on the first Friday of each month, eight or nine months out of the year. Although I had been buying my tea from them for the past seven or eight years, I really did not know a lot about tea, but had become increasingly curious about the tea world beyond my narrow range of familiar black and green teas. (Not that I had been drinking bad tea - these guys are a major importer of Mariage Frères teas and have been for many years.) So two years ago I signed up and handed over the $30 for the year.
Would it be worth it?
The monthly meetings of the T-Bar Club typically involve a presentation by a member of the club and a tasting of a few teas. Several of the members have toured the tea regions of India, China and Japan...and beyond and bring back interesting stories and photos about their travels, as well as some teas for the group to taste, often teas that would be rare or unknown in the US. I have found this to be an appealing way to learn more about tea, and a pleasant and interesting way to spend a few hours on a Friday evening.
There have been a wide range of programs: the man who traveled the tea farms and tea distribution centers of China and Tibet and shared several rare teas with us, a wonderful opportunity...even though his approximation of Tibetan Yak Butter Tea was not my favorite taste of the year. The teachers who used tea making and tea ceremony to communicate values of patience, trust and respect to their teenage students, including some gang members. The well-traveled woman who reported on her three week tour of tea regions of China and Japan. Blind tastings brought "ah-ha" moments of insight into the layers of flavor, aroma and texture fine teas offer, and greater ability to identify not only the basic types of tea, but also the country and region of origin, as well as how the tea was processed. I have had the opportunity to taste fine green, Oolong and Pu-erh teas that I likely would never have experienced otherwise.
Enjoying tea in a different way now, and convinced that tea is the "next big thing" in the US - where tea knowledge is probably at the same level wine kowledge was in the 1960s - I am going for my third year of T-Bar next month. Kyle and John at The Cultured Cup are on the leading edge of the tea leaf here, providing everything from fine teas to full tea service to a number of fine restaurants including Sharon Hage's York Street and Stephan Pyles. I usually attend more than half the meetings each year, so I'll report on interesting programs in this topic. There are at least a couple of other eGullet Society members involved, so feel free to join the discussion.
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If you can tell us what part of the Dallas area you will be staying in, and what types of markets you are interested in, we may be more able to point you in some more specific helpful directions.
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Consider me a traditionalist who prefers to get a good night's sleep. I used a charcoal Brinkman for several years and lost a lot of sleep tending briskets overnight, and have been using a Weber kettle more recently for pulled pork and for grilling. But a Bradley is appealing for the 12 plus hours usually required for smoking a brisket properly. I would be interested in hearing more about the newer digital version. I saw it at Cabella's a year or so ago, but am not sure how much of an advantage it provides.
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Thanks, Mike. I have a growing number of them, too. Some I use only for a specific type of tea leaf, such as Oolong, and some few I have reserved for a specific leaf, such as Phoenix Mountain - Dan Cong Oolong or Great Red Robe Oolong. Not sure if being that specific will make a large difference, but it will be interesting to see what happens over the years. I think for now I am going to continue to do a short version seasoning for new ones and then in the Winter give all of them an additional three day treatment.
Anyone else have experience seasoning these clay pots?
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I have read and been told about several methods for seasoning a Chinese Yixing teapot. All assume you are going to use only one type of tea for the pot. One suggests boiling it in a pot with used tea leaves of the type you plan to use in the pot, then letting it soak for a few hours. Another suggests steeping new tea leaves in it for three hours. A third method, told to me by a Chinese aquaintance, who says it is used by tea professionals in China, is to steep new leaves in it and then leave it in a cool spot for three days.
I have tried a modification of these that worked okay, but not as well as I expect that the three day soak would producce. What method do you use? Any of these or something different?
What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)
in Coffee & Tea
Posted
Today I am drinking a 2007 Winter FengHuang WuDong Old Bush DanCong "Huang Jing" from Hou De Fine Tea. The dry leaves are wonderfully aromatic and huge. I brewed this European style - 5 grams to 240 ml water in a Yixing teapot. First infusion 5 minutes and second infusion for 4 1/2 minutes. Both delicious. Can't say enough good about this DanCong. I may try a third and fourth infusion and then use a fifth to season the pot further.
I'll do this gongfu style on another day and try to take the time to get some pics of the gorgeous dry and wet leaves.