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In today's NY Times Travel Section , there is an article on tea houses in San Francisco- Imperial Tea Court Samovar Celadon Tea

I have purchased some samples of spring 2004 oolongs from www.shanshuiteas.com and www.thefragrantlleaf.com My favorites are the 10-20% oxidized oolongs I am also ordering some samples of korean green spring 2004 from shan shui- I have found both companies to be reliable-and the teas above average. I have not been disappointed. I am not connected with either-just a happy customer and tea drinker. The Fragrant Leaf had a tea tasting at the Parrot Mill Inn in Chatham which I attended ;and I had a chance to taste some of their new Spring 2004 oolongs- joanne

Have you every deep-fried green coffee beans instead of roasting? If not, won't you try that? Me? No. I don't want to try that. According to the following site, deep-drying green coffee beans in oil at 180 degrees centigrade allows them to be heated uniformly, resulting in good-tasting coffee. The oil in coffee beans will not dissolve in water, so the coffee will not contain any oil. http://www.ntv.co.jp/megaten/library/date/01/02/0218.html (Japanese only. This is the website of a Japanese TV program.) EDIT: Sorry, not 'young' but 'green' coffee beans.

Although barley tea is regarded as a summer beverage by many Japanese, I drink it regularly all year round, after a bath. Barley tea is the oldest tea in Japan. It contains no caffein, so even children can drink it. And it contains starch, so it goes bad rather quickly in hot weather. Have you ever drunk barley tea?

do you have any new year's resolutions on new teas to try in the coming year? i am going to explore the world of oolongs-to expand the more fermented and oxidized. i enjoy the more green, lightly fermented, low oxidized taiwan oolongs. i order from a variety of websites-my favorites are www.teahomeusa.com, www.enjoyingtea.com and www.jingteashop.com joanne

do you serve a special tea with these dinners?

Since I'm going through this ritual for the umpteenth time with two new varieties of Assam from Upton, I thought I'd inquire whether anyone else has noticed this pattern. Some teas seem to yield their full flavor from the very first pot, as soon as you open the tin, or hermetically sealed bag, as the case may be. Others taste dull & flat at the start. The dry leaves frequently have a good aroma, but that doesn't travel into the cup at the outset. Then, after a week or two of use and openings and closings of the storage container, the flavor of the new tea suddenly takes a quantum leap for the better. A fellow tea aficianado has also noticed this effect. It seems that the leaves need to interact with the atmosphere for a time to develop their full potential. Perhaps the fermentation process that occurs during the drying of the leaves needs to be restarted before they'll brew up really well. Perhaps there's such a thing as the leaves being too dry, and they need to be rehumidified to a certain degree in order to exude their maximal flavor when the boiling water hits them. My friend's approach, when he finds a tea that remains dull after a couple of initial tries, is simply to put the tea away for a couple of months; when he comes back to it, he usually finds that the flavor has blossomed. I'm not that patient or organized, I generally keep the tea in the rotation (I usually have 3-4 morning teas, & a similar number of afternoon teas, available), though I may select it less frequently until it develops. Has anyone else had this experience?

The Roji Tea Lounge opened some months back right here in my hometown and I'm embarrassed to admit that I haven't yet visited. Imagine my chagrin upon discovering that one of the owners is the brother of a young woman who works for us in our espresso cafe! I'm impressed that a place with this sort of dedicated approach to aesthetic issues and beverage quality has opened in a small city like this and hereby vow that I'll get in there sooner than later and report back. Are tea lounges becoming popular in larger metro areas and just now appearing in smaller cities such as ours or is the entire trend itself one that's relatively new in the US?

a very simple combination for me, but a very powerful one, taste- and enjoyment-wise....tea (earl grey mainly) and dark chocolate (like a small wedge of sharffenberger or vrona). that's it. no cake. no scones. just the tea and the chocolate. heightens my appreciation of both. sound strange to anyone? yours? cheers :) hc

What's the difference btween Tea and Chai? Is Chai just a special preparation of tea? I couldn't find a definitive answer. What makes it even more confusing for me is that in Russian, the word "chai" means tea.

Hey there..... I'm kinda new to this forum, but not eGullet. I frequently make a pest out of myself in the Pastry and Baking forum, but I felt like bothering another forum, so here I am. I did a coupla searches and read some of the pinned topics on Coffee and Tea, particularly milk foaming techniques for creating latte art. There's still some things I didn't really find info on regarding this topic. I make Lattes and coffee drinks for my friends at work.....we have 6 year old Faema that seems to chug along ok, but by NO MEANS would I call myself a barista. In fact, I think I probably pull some pretty lousy espresso shots. I wouldn't dare pull any for our fussy clientele, I'd probably drive them all away. Hey, I know my limits. But....I want to change! I'd like to make a decent latte for my friends, because they always make a decent latte for me. But I don't want to ask THEM how do it 'cause I want it to be a surprise.....one day, I want to serve them their lattes and have them say, "Hey! This is pretty good!" I'll settle for that. I also want to do what they don't know how to do, and that is....some latte art. I think I can master that....but I just want to know a few things.....(besides how to pull a good shot) In order to make latte art, it is essential that you have crema on the top of your shot, right? And by crema, I mean the tan foamy stuff on the top of the espresso BEFORE the milk is added. Is my terminology right? How do you get crema? Is it a natural occurrence? Can you enhance it by how you tamp your espresso? Does the grind have to be just so? Is crema affected by how long it takes to pull your shot? Should you pull your shot directly into the cup you're serving it in, or can you pull it into a small pitcher or shot glass first? Or is latte art all about how you foam the milk? Can any of you guys help me?

this may be second nature to all, and i've tried to scour the egullet threads via a search, but nothing that was a good match for my question surfaced readily. basically, i've been trying to nail down how to make a great pot of loose tea in a teapot. this is what i have so far (and what's missing)... 1. cold water 2. when the water comes to a boil, warm the inside of the teapot and then drain 3. get the water back up to a "singing" boiling point 4. put loose tea in pot (1 teaspoon / cup for black teas, green teas; ? spoon for oolongs...can someone give feedback on this?) 5. pour water into pot (but how much -- literally 1 cup water, via a measuring cup, per cup of tea?) 6. let steep for 5 minutes (i'm assuming a 4-cup pot here, but variants on this, say if i was doing 3 cups, or 2?) 7. pour, and use a tea strainer to catch the loose leaves after this i'm always unsure of what others do....if i'm making tea by myself, i've got tea left in the pot that i want to enjoy after i've finished my first cup...but the tea leaves are still in there. they shouldn't sit in there, because they're releasing tannins. i wind up emptying the whole pot into a pitcher or something, using a tea strainer, then pouring it back in the pot. i'm not sure i've ever seen anyone else do this. what do others do with the tea left in the pot, to make sure that no further tannins are released? thanks and cheers for your feedback. :) hc

Okay just finished my 4lb stash from a trip last year comprising of peabery from both UCC and Greenwell farms. Personally felt that Greenwell had a much superior product vs. UCC. Looking to restock, does anyone have any other roaster recommendations, I'm going to just do mail order instead this time round. Might give the Greenwell Special Reserve a go...

I don't know why it took me so long to discover the wonderful electric kettles that are out there. I use one made by Black & Decker (of all companies!) and it's perfect for the office. The base plugs in but the kettle itself detaches from the base so you're not encumbered. I got mine at Target but I'm sure they're widely available. Before, we had a spare coffeemaker that a couple of us tea drinkers (I drink loose-leaf green tea from MellowMonk) were using to heat water for tea, but it never got the water hot enough. We even have one of those 180-degree spigots that dispenses extra hot water. But that's not hot enough, either. (What people use it for, I have no idea. Instant noodles, maybe?) So this electric kettle is a godsend. Instead of a teapot I use an over-the-cup strainer that's about 2 inches deep, so the tea leaves have room to swirl around during infusion. I just thought I'd share. --Rich

www.wetsugar.com great name, it's simple sugar individually packaged iced coffee & tea what do you think? Does it have legs?

This is a copy of a post I received on another list- Last year I went to the the tasting and had a great time- If anyone is interesting in carpooling please e-mail me- Dear All, due to popular demand we have decided to reschedule this years Spring Tasting for Thursday 10th June to give our out of town visitors a little more time to get here. A Tasting of Asia's Finest Spring Teas, Darjeeling's from Kevin Gascoyne of Kyela Teas Highland Oolongs of Taiwan from Hugo Americi and Chinese and Japanese Green and White teas from Jasmin Desharnais. All three buyers have just arrived from their regions of specialisation and will be giving a public tasting at the Camellia Sinensis Tea House in Montreal on Thursday June 10th. Reservation required, tickets are CAN$20, kg@darjeelingtea.net for information or reservation. Hope to see you there. Kevin. www.kyelateas.com www.darjeelingtea.net

Hello everyone I have been reading the forum over the last 2 weeks and really enjoy it, I am starting with my friends a new Gourmet retail website, we started winelibrary.com a few years ago and we are really getting into the gourmet life, so we were like "Why Not"........so the reason I am posting is We are curious what customers are looking for in the GOURMET TEA market, being into wine it seems that they have so many things in common. I really have been blown away with the level of knowledge in this forum.....the major questions is 1) Is selection more important then price ? 2) Will people buy tea and coffee on line ? 3)Are there any major advertisers in the market ? 4) who are the SERIOUS MAJOR players so far ?.........Thank you so much for answering any of the questions. PS: Thank you for the education !!!!!!!!!!!! Gary !

My friends and acquaintances know that they'll always get to try one of my ever changing espresso blend when they visit and I typically have some roasted coffee varietals (at least three or four) in the freezer for regular coffee. How about tea? I drink it only on occasion and keep a tin of Earl Grey and one of Irish Breakfast in the freezer (loose tea - I use a tea ball). Will one of you kindly souls with tea expertise suggest five or six varities that I might invest in? I'd like to have a coupl stalwart old reliable type selections for the unadventurous but also want to have a few that most of my friends have not tried - something a bit less commonplace that I might introduce them to.

Let's face it - I'm a die-hard espresso drinker and rarely even drink regular coffee anymore but I do enjoy tea on occasion and at least a handful of times every year I have guests who are tea drinkers. In the past I've purchased a few decent quality loose teas and stored them in freezer containers, taking out a bit every now and then as needed. I know the storage issues regarding both green and roasted coffee (which have been discussed here at length) but what about tea? Is freezing a good idea if it will be consumed slowly? Do some teas freeze better than others? What's the maximum storage time for room temp in an airtight container (dark place) and also for freezing? Will a food vacuum packing system be a worthwhile aid in preparing tea for long term storage?

I had the most wonderful tea at Yauatcha (London, UK) the other evening. It was Fujian, roasted Anxi Tie Guan Yin tea. I've never tasted tea like that before. Does anyone know where I can buy some in London? Any suggestions appreciated.

Andrew Levinsky is entranced by a Cult. Read the ravings of the new High Priest of the Cult of Tea, here . . . --------------------------------------------------------------------- Be sure to check The Daily Gullet home page daily for new articles (most every weekday), hot topics, site announcements, and more.

Todd & Holland has 2004 hand-carried pre-Qing Ming tea available on-line as of TODAY. Bill Todd also brought back some biluochun from the 3rd day of production. I'd like to give T&H a boost because my previous source, Gray&Seddon/Sencha, appears to have dropped early season longjing from their listings.

Hi, I've just recently been turned onto green tea. I'd like to make up large quantities at a time to keep in the fridge (about a gallon at a time). Whats the best way to do this without getting the tea bitter? I was thinking about just steeping the tea in cold water for a few hours (like sun tea) but thought that might make it bitter. Heating up a gallon of water could work, but how much tea should I use, and how long to steep? Anyway, something tells me that somebody on eGullet does this already and could provide me with some advice.. Thanks in advance! PS...any internet resources for good green tea would be appreciated also...

I attended 1 1/2 hour workshop on Korean tea ceremony with 4 other members of yahoo group teamail- I can only speak for myself-I had a good time- Before the workshop I had vegetarian lunch for $9.95 Also before workshop we exchanged some tea samples. The workshop was $20 and after the workshop you receive a gift bag with personal teacup and a sample of their wild green korean tea. Joanne Franchi 12 Park Avenue(35-36 St.) NY,NY www.franchia.com

I have been enjoying some exquisite Flowery Pekoe white tea I purchased in L.A.'s Chinatown a few weeks ago. It has a subtle but persistent flavor which appeals to the wine lover in me. Today, I thought I'd mix things up a bit by throwing in a small pinch of Lapsang Souchong, hoping to marry the pros of each into an irresistible blend. Big mistake, as those of you who have mixed with LS are probably saying to yourselves. LS is just too overwhelming, and if I were ever to attempt it again, a couple of threads would be all I'd throw in. I am just beginning to explore high-end tea, so my blending skills will be on a heckuva learning curve. I will be loathe to adulterate my white tea with anything else after this.