Tea-But how does it taste?

[Naftal]

Ok- so I know I prefer An Ji to Dragon Well White, But why? I haven't the clue. I do know why I love Pu'er. An 8 year old loose Pu'er reminds me of the lake front. I think of clean lake water and wet tree-bark(I said this was subjective!). So, The point is...how do you describe the taste of your favorite tea?

[CKatCook]

My current favorite (and I have many) is Rishi's plumberry white. Its fruity and light. I also like this Vanilla Roobos that I have. It is light as well, hints of vanilla just well done tea.

I have not grown up enough for pu-er, my hats off to you!

[nakji]

I grew up thinking I hated tea, but it turned out I just hate Orange Pekoe.

Right now I'm drinking cold sencha to beat the heat - just an average supermarket blend, although it's not particularly cheap. I think it tastes sweet and has hints of vanilla. It's quite thirst-quenching first thing in the morning when I wake up. I also love good quality jasmine tea. One thing I like about living in Japan is the wide variety of teas available in drink machines.

[Hest88]

By far my favorite is Pu'er. I love the smoky taste and underlying sweetness (at least to my taste buds).

[gfron1]

For kicks I thought I would add some of my tasting notes:

Loose (6 yr) Puerh: "Very mild and with a slightly sweet taste, embracing an aroma indicative of the sea."

Blue Tea: "Sweet and tangy including hints of grass, tobacco and guava."

Dragon Well: "Refreshingly smooth, sweet and delicate."

Thousand Miles: "Pleasant chinoto overtone with underlying apple highlights."

Ginseng Oolong: "Ginseng accents with slight sweetness surrounded by mild smoky undertones."

Ginseng Flower: "Pungent Earthy flavor. Mushroom overtones softened by a cucumber sweetness. Refreshing and grounding, like a soba salad."

[jpr54_]

my favorites this spring-

"long feng shia" 2008 spring shan-lin-shi

nantou jade oolong

"soft- stem oolonh 2008spring li-shan "tsui feng"

from www.houdeasianarts.com

I am eagerly awaiting 2008 spring oolongs from www.shanshuiteas.com

I am on vacation and had the pleasure of meeting Brian Wright of shan shui teas on my drive down to florida.

[Naftal]

CKatCook-Just curious :What is the berry in plumberry (which berry)?

nakji-Is cold sencha common in Japan?

Hest88-Do you have a favorit Pu'er?

gfron1-Thanks for sharing your tasting notes,got any more?And, I agree with your views on aged pu'er.Also, do you happen to know the grade of the Dragon Well you had? Dragon Well is one of my favorits too.

jpr54_Thanks for your input. I always look forward to your responses.

All-Thanks sooooooooo much! Your responses are exactly what I am looking for.I would like to see a lot more conversations about the taste of tea. After all, tea is food.

Edited June 14, 2008 by Naftal (log)

[gfron1]

gfron1-Thanks for sharing your tasting notes,got any more?And, I agree with your views on aged pu'er.Also, do you happen to know the grade of the Dragon Well you had? Dragon Well is one of my favorits too.

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Phoenix: Distinct woodsy flavor with notes of citrus and apricot

Lychee Black: Aggressively sweet back of the throat tickle with no black tea bitterness.

The Dragon Well was a "Supreme" if that answers your question. I'm certainly no tea expert.

[CKatCook]

CKatCook-Just curious :What is the berry in plumberry (which berry)?

nakji-Is cold sencha common in Japan?

Hest88-Do you have a favorit Pu'er?

gfron1-Thanks for sharing your tasting notes,got any more?And, I agree with your views on aged pu'er.Also, do you happen to know the grade of the Dragon Well you had? Dragon Well is one of my favorits too.

jpr54_Thanks for your input. I always look forward to your responses.

All-Thanks sooooooooo much! Your responses are exactly what I am looking for.I would like to see a lot more conversations about the taste of tea. After all, tea is food.

←

It almost has a blackberry hint to it. It comes loose in the can and if you brew EXACTLY as it is listed the stuff is wonderful!

I absolutely love tea...

[Naftal]

Well, after a good start, things have really slowed down. Why? I am really interested hearing from people on this topic. What teas do you like and how would you describe the taste?

[gus_tatory]

Well, after a good start, things have really slowed down. Why? I am really interested  hearing from people on this topic. What teas do you like and how would you describe the taste?

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I really enjoy the green teas--but especially the Japanese green teas--with a grassy, 'blond' hay-tasting aroma. Subjective enough for you?

I also like genmaicha, green tea with roasted rice, because it has the same grassy taste, but with a bit of earnest toasted rice in there that makes it smell/taste almost popcorn-y.

[Naftal]

Thank you !!!!!!!!

[nakji]

nakji-Is cold sencha common in Japan?

I'm not really sure, actually. A large number of cold drinks sold in machines and convenience stores in Japan are cold teas, but I'm hesitant to say that a lot of them are sencha, since I can only ever read the character for "tea". I know cold jasmine tea, oolong tea, and other black teas variously labeled "morning", "milk", and "afternoon" teas seem to be popular, as well as green bottles of what I assume is sencha but could also be genmaicha or something else entirely are pretty standard as well. I hope somebody who knows a lot more than I do will chime in here.

Whatever they are, I love them and find them so much more refreshing than juice or soda.

[Naftal]

I really don't know very much about Japanese tea. I knew they did oolongs, but I never heard of black japanese teas . Tell me about them. How do they taste? How are they served? As usual, does anyone else have a favorite tea?