What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)

[andiesenji]

I too had a hankering for a Nilgiri tea today and just brewed a pot of Tiger Hill Nilgiri FBOP, picked in January '08.

A lovely tea that brews up the color of claret and especially nice with milk or half & half, sweetened with just a teaspoon of agave syrup.

Edited November 20, 2008 by andiesenji (log)

[Naftal]

Hello-I had a pu'er, a 2006-07 Beencha that was really nice, I also had an older Beencha.

[Richard Kilgore]

This afternoon it's a fresh Chinese Tie Guan Yin Oolong - Fall Harvest 2008, from Anxi County, Fujian - a free sample that Greg Glancy sent me to try. I am brewing it gongfu style in a gaiwan and am on the second of two 30 second infusions. It clearly has several more to go. Very clear yellow-green liquor. The first had a slight, very pleasant vegetal taste and aroma with a hint of sweetness. The second is less vegetal, thicker mouthfeel, buttery, lingering aftertaste. Wonderful!

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I was able to continue brewing this the next day after leaving it on the counter overnight and have had a total of 9 infusions. It still has a few more to go, but I am going to stop at this point. I need to try it Western style and see how it does.

[Richard Kilgore]

What have you been drinking today?

For me it's a 2004 Spring Wuyi Yen Cha Shui Xian that I ordered from Hou De for a good, inexpensive everyday tea. I think I may have gotten the last of it, because their site says "Sold Out", but they have a 2007 that's a little more expensive and I have not tried it. I have done it Western style a few days ago and didn't get it quite right. I'll have to try that again.

Today I brewed it gongfu style in a 120 ml gaiwan with 5 g leaf. 13 sec rinse, 30 sec est, then infusions - 1:20", 2:20", 3:30". More left to go. Of the three, I liked the second best and the third better than the first. May be better with a shorter first infusion of 10 sec.

[jsmeeker]

Not in the mood to drink any of my new teas right now. I think the only thing to ease the pain is a cocktail.

Tomorrow morning, I think I will try my French breakfast tea.

[jsmeeker]

OK.. It's a new day and it's the morning, so it's my chance to try some of the teas I bought yesterday.

First up is the French Breakfast tea.

1 tsp. into a mug. Boiling water. Steep for 4 minutes. pour into another mug with my little infuser basket from my pot to strain. Nothing added.

This was pretty good. But not as bold as the supermarket English Breakfast tea I have. I think the most notable thing about this French Breakfast is that I picked up a sweet chocolate scent in it. That was nice. Overall, it seemed very "smooth"

Second up is a Ceylon Sultane.

1 tsp. into a mug. Boiling water. Steep for 4 minutes. pour into another mug with my little infuser basket from my pot to strain. Nothing added.

Tastes like tea. I dunno how else to describe it. Nothing really remarkable about this, I don't think. I don't mean that in a bad way, rather it just tastes like the way I expect a tea to taste. But I can't really pick out anything that says "this is so much better than what I have had before"

But it's still early in the game. I suppose it could take some time and a lot of tastings to appreciate a real quality tea. Brewing one cup at a time using two cups is a bit cumbersome. I may need a better method, but I am not sure how often I'll really be drinking like this long term.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today it's a red tea from China: Anhui Gift Grade Keemaun Gongfu from jingteashop.com. I am brewing it gongfu style: 5 g in a 120 ml gaiwan and have had 4 good infusions so far. A very nice Keemun.

Anyone else drinking tea today?

[jsmeeker]

drinking iced tea right now.

Made it with a ginger peach apricot flavored black tea from Teavana. Makes for a nice iced tea, I think.

[Richard Kilgore]

What are you guys drinking today?

For me it's a Japanese Kukicha green tea. Full of tea twigs and stems and roasted, so an interesting contrast with sencha. I got this from TCC a couple of months ago and am sure it's 2008 Fall harvest. Brewed Western style.

[Gregory Glancy]

I've been sipping on a 90's aged Nan Tou Oolong (from Taiwan) that I got about a year ago and completely forgot about. I'm enjoying certain aspects of it...to me it has the aroma of roasted barley or some kind of toasted grain, a dried fruit/warm and toasty flavor, but a bit of a sour & tinny aftertaste that doesn't make me remember it for very long. The description says it has a "slightly acid taste balanced with a licorice-like sweetness." I don't get an acid taste or a licorice sweetness at all, but this is what I love about drinking tea. The experience of taste is completely different from person to person!

[Naftal]

I just finished the first steeping of a young pu'er. Life is good

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning it's PGTips. Yes, PGTips. I have learned how to brew it and find it to be an okay CTC quality morning cup. I don't know that I would buy another package of it, but my curiosity is satisfied.

[mikepetro]

Today I am drinking a 1992 Bamboo puerh. It is smooth, has a nice hay like finish, and has lasted about 12 steeps.

[LB Howes]

Since eating way too much rich Thanksgiving food, I've been having a cup of mid-grade green tea every afternoon.

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning it's PGTips.    Yes, PGTips. I have learned how to brew it and find it to be an okay CTC quality morning cup. I don't know that I would buy another package of it, but my curiosity is satisfied.

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Tonight it's a Longjing Dragon Well from The Cultured Cup. Brewed gongfu in a gaiwan. I'm on the third infusion with more to go. Very good, but not as deliriously good as it was a few months ago when it was fresh.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I am drinking a 2007 Menhai Tea Factory "Lao Cha Tou" -- "Old Tea Nuggets", a ripe Pu-ehr tea sample Greg at Norbutea.com sent with an order. Brewed gongfu style. Even thougn I am not getting as fast a pour as I would like due to some clogging, the first and second infusions are very good (after a 10 sec rinse). But I liked the first infusion better. Clearly many infusions left in the leaves.

The fact that I over-brewed this compared to what I would normally do and it still came out very smooth and delicious would make it a good first cooked Pu for anyone wanting to try Pu-erh. It apparently is quite forgiving...if ugly to look at. The nuggets are unappealing visually compared to the appearance of more typical Pu-erh cakes and bricks. Nonetheless, this is a ripe Pu I will order more of.

So, what are you all drinking today?

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I am drinking a 2007 Menhai Tea Factory "Lao Cha Tou" -- "Old Tea Nuggets", a ripe Pu-ehr tea sample Greg at Norbutea.com sent with an order. Brewed gongfu style. Even thougn I am not getting as fast a pour as I would like due to some clogging, the first and second infusions are very good (after a 10 sec rinse). But I liked the first infusion better. Clearly many infusions left in the leaves.

The fact that I over-brewed this compared to what I would normally do and it still came out very smooth and delicious would make it a good first cooked Pu for anyone wanting to try Pu-erh. It apparently is quite forgiving...if ugly to look at. The nuggets are unappealing visually compared to the appearance of more typical Pu-erh cakes and bricks. Nonetheless, this is a ripe Pu I will order more of.

So, what are you all drinking today?

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I ended up doing four infusions within two hours and then left it alone for several hours. I then did another rinse and have now done another six infusions, the last one for three minutes. I can tell the infusion is weakening at this point, so I'll probably do just one more and stretch it to four minutes, then call it quits.

[Naftal]

Hello-The teahouse I frequent got a special gift from their buyer in China. Don't laugh, it is called Milk Oolong. It has no milk in it, but it does taste as if it did. I had a pot,and the straight brew did indeed have a rice milky-sweet taste that was wonderful!

[qrn]

Yesterday, I stopped at my local tea place and restocked, I also picked up a

"white tipped oolong" Have not researched what it is , but I Just had the first two steepings...Much different than the TGY that I started out with . not sure I like it as well. Have to see if it grows on me..

Bud

[jpr54_]

I have just returned from a 2 week trip to Hallandale Florida-

I will be moving from New Jersey at the end of the month-

While I was away i used up all of my tea- I went to teavanna for some tea-

I purchased 2 oz. of six summits oolong-

i prepared it again at home in nj last nite-it was decent but not great-great aroma and smoothe taste-not bitter

[andiesenji]

Today I have been taste-testing a blend, or rather blends, of black teas (Indian and/or Ceylon) with various proportions of cherry and vanilla flavored teas as I am trying to duplicate a flavored tea no longer on the market.

A couple of years ago Republic of Tea introduced several teas under the "Jerry Garcia" name with labels that were from Jerry Garcia paintings.

The Jerry Cherry Carcia tea was exceptionally flavorful and had I known it was to be discontinued, I would have purchased extras. Unfortunately I missed the event and now would like to recreate the same flavor.

So far I have pretty much missed the mark but have an order arriving from Adagio tomorrow that may include something that will work.

Meanwhile, I am now ready to brew something totally different to get my taste buds to relax.

I am considering one of the "seasonal" teas that sort of mimic the Indian chai blends and which work nicely with milk or cream. (I think I need the milk to sooth my tummy.)

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I dropped by The Cultured Cup and had two teas I had not tried before. One was the MF French Breakfast Tea, which I liked better than the good English and Irish Breakfast teas I have tried.

The second one is an Organic Ceylon tea that they got in a couple of weeks ago. Very nice. Organic does not always mean delicious, but in this case I liked it better than other good Ceylons they have introduced me to.

[Richard Kilgore]

Have a cold today and not wanting to waste really fine tea on my defective sensory organs, I have been alternating between English and Irish Tea blends.

[Richard Kilgore]

Have a cold today and not wanting to waste really fine tea on my defective sensory organs, I have been alternating between English and Irish Tea blends.

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Reprieve late with a "2007 Winter Feng Huang WuDong - Old Bush DanCong Huang Jing" from Hou De. Brewed GongFu style in a gaiwan of about 120 ml. Rinse of 10 sec, followed by a 20 sec first infusion. A lovely floral aroma and floral, honey taste with a linger after-taste. The floral quality is close to honeysuckle. I am going to sip on several infusions yet tonight.

[Richard Kilgore]

Irish Breakfast this morning again. Now drinking the Tie Guan Yin Oolong from jingteashop.com I mentioned about a month ago. Brewed gongfu style in a 50 ml gawain. 10 sec rinse; 1: 20"; 2: 25"; 3: 20"; 4: 25"; 5: 35"; and more to go. Mild, pleasant vegetale taste with sweetness emerging increasingly after the second infusion. My aroma-detector is still not working properly, so can't have much to say there....