What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)

[Naftal]

Hello-The people at Goldfish Tea were short-handed, so I did a teabar they had schedualed(when business picks up, they plan to put me on the payroll).So I had Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A, 4 seasons of spring, Keemun A, and a 6 year- old loose pu'erh. Also, I went to my favorite Chinese store and bought and drank some of their amazing 8 year-old pu'erh

[Richard Kilgore]

Hello-The people at Goldfish Tea were short-handed, so I did a teabar they had schedualed(when business picks up, they plan to put me on the payroll).So I had Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A, 4 seasons of spring, Keemun A, and a 6 year- old loose pu'erh. Also, I went to my favorite Chinese store and bought and drank  some of their amazing 8 year-old pu'erh

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Please tell us more about these teas, Naftal.

[lperry]

I've gone back to basics and have been starting my mornings with Fortnum and Mason Earl Grey. It seems more warming to me, and we're in serious need of warming right now.

[Naftal]

Hello-The people at Goldfish Tea were short-handed, so I did a teabar they had schedualed(when business picks up, they plan to put me on the payroll).So I had Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A, 4 seasons of spring, Keemun A, and a 6 year- old loose pu'erh. Also, I went to my favorite Chinese store and bought and drank  some of their amazing 8 year-old pu'erh

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Please tell us more about these teas, Naftal.

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Hello-Yellow Mountain Mao Feng A is a green tea. I like to recommend it to newbies because it most resembles the generic greens they are familiar with,though it is of a much higher quality.4 Seasons of Spring is an Oolong.It has a nice lilac scent, but its floral qualities don't over-power you the way an osmanthus oolong has been known to do.Keemun A has that generic "black tea" taste most people associate with "English" teas, but it does not get bitter if over-steeped.If people really want to try a pu'erh, I recommend the 6-year because they won't mind trying a less expensive one if they do not like it. If they try a 3 year-old and do not like it, I would have a hard time getting them to try the more expensive variety. Lastly, my most favorite tea of all, the loose 8- year pu'erh. Oh, where to begin...its earthy,loamy taste that reminds one of single-malt scotch and large bodies of water...the numerous steepings, each one as rich and complex as the last...so much fun.

[Richard Kilgore]

Late note for this past Thursday.

I did a tasting with a couple of people to explore three teas from jingteashop.com in China.

a red tea - Anhui Gift Grade Keemun Gongfu: brewed western style

a green tea - Dong Ting Pre-Hing Bi Luo Cha A - brewed western style

an Oolong - 2003 Anxi - Aged Tie Guan Yin - brewed gongfu style

I don't think we got the best out of the red tea, but a couple of attempts with the green paid off - with a 1'30" first infusion and subsequent infusions doing very, very nicely.

The aged TGY was incredible! We had five infusions and stopped, but I expect it would go for at least 10 total.

[Richard Kilgore]

Starting out enjoying a red/black tea from China, a Keemun Mao Feng...from The Cultured Cup. Brewed Western style in a Yixing teapot. The directions from TCC say one tsp per 8 ounces water, but I used two tsps and prefer the richer brew.

So what are you guys drinking today?

[Naftal]

Hello-Lately, I have been drinking a lot of a short-thread Earl Grey that my local Chaldean market sells in bulk.It is not a particularly elegant tea, but it is wonderful for daily drinking on cold snowy winter nights .

[heidih]

I was recently gifted with some loose tea that says Phoenix Oolong- Huang Zhi Xiang- Orange Flower. I brewed it in one of those cups with a ceramic insert and a lid. Used a moderate pinch with very hot but not bubbling water for 2 minutes. The directions said 3g in 8 oz cup for 30 seconds, but no scale was available and 30 seconds did not seem long enough. It was fragrant with the hint of orange, smooth but not creamy, and just very good. I know nothing about teas but I think this has set me on a quest to join you all and learn. The tea came from a small tea house (tea habitat) near my home so I may have to venture over there and explore.

[jpr54_]

i just received order from www.shanshuiteas,com of their winter oolongs

i prepared Premium Winter 2008 Lanyun this morning-

lovely light tea-fragrant and tea leaves were dark green when wet-

[sygyzy]

Special Grade Tie-Guan-Yin China Oolong

[Naftal]

Hello-They got some new teas at Goldfish Tea:Ti Gua Yin B- typical floral scents one would expect from an oolong, Great Green Monkey King-this is a lighter tasting green;but the leaves are huge;some of the biggest I have ever seen;even unsteeped they are unusually large.

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I had the Mariage Freres 1854, three infusions and think there may have been a fourth left in it. I like this occassionally in the morning, but unfortunately The Cultured Cup will not be carrying it any longer...too few of us buying it.

Tonight I've been enjoying a green TGY from jingteashop.com -- grandfather style.

[prasantrin]

This morning I had the Mariage Freres 1854, three infusions and think there may have been a fourth left in it. I like this occassionally in the morning, but unfortunately The Cultured Cup will not be carrying it any longer...too few of us buying it.

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If you really like it, you can buy directly from the MF website. Six euros per 100 grams, but they don't have standardised shipping fees (they're based on the weight of your order), so I don't know what the total cost would end up being.

I had MF Bolero today, and some kind of chocolate-flavoured tea from Lupicia (a Japanese tea company). I don't really like Lupicia teas, but the tin the chocolate tea came in was so cute, I couldn't resist! Who cares about the tea when you can have a cute tin!?

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I had the Mariage Freres 1854, three infusions and think there may have been a fourth left in it. I like this occassionally in the morning, but unfortunately The Cultured Cup will not be carrying it any longer...too few of us buying it.

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If you really like it, you can buy directly from the MF website. Six euros per 100 grams, but they don't have standardised shipping fees (they're based on the weight of your order), so I don't know what the total cost would end up being.

I had MF Bolero today, and some kind of chocolate-flavoured tea from Lupicia (a Japanese tea company). I don't really like Lupicia teas, but the tin the chocolate tea came in was so cute, I couldn't resist! Who cares about the tea when you can have a cute tin!?

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Thanks, but I don't like it enough to pay what I think will be the shipping from France.

And I forgot...I had a glass of iced Bolero at The Cultured Cup late today. Yes, warm enough here that we're drinking iced tea.

[Richard Kilgore]

Tonight I've been enjoying a green TGY from jingteashop.com -- grandfather style.

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I added water three times to the leaves floating loose in the cup. The leaves promised to give a little more, so I covered the cup with plastic wrap and left it overnight in the frig. The next evening I had two more cups from the leaves, and this morning three more and counting. This started out with about 1 1/2 tsp in a 9 ounce cup.

[Richard Kilgore]

In my cup this morning it's the Indian Nilgeri I like so much.

So what are you guys drinking today?

[MattJohnson]

Golden Yunan from Rishi. Here's what they say about it:

This certified organic black tea is harvested from Yunnan’s ancient tea trees. Its deeply flavored infusion has notes of peppery spice, chocolate, sweet raisin, and a malty finish. Golden Yunnan has expertly fermented, even graded leaves and big, golden buds. Its wonderfully full-flavored and rich body is a treat for black tea lovers.

I don't get all of those flavors, but I do get the malty finish. I like it alot. Its been my go-to house black tea.

[jpr54_]

my favorite shop tp buy jasmine and rose teas is from www.tenren.com-

their oolongs r not great but scented teas r great-

i just had a cup of tenfu rose jasmine

[Richard Kilgore]

What teas have you been drinking today?

For me it started with an English Breakfast Ceylon from TCC.

Since then I have been drinking the inexpensive Asian grocery market TGY that Greg Glancy mentioned a few months ago in another topic. While it is a modest TGY, it is quite enjoyable and much better than most teas you find in Asian groceries.

[Saraaa]

I had one my of favorites - jasmine green tea today.

[twilightsummers]

Today, I'm drinking a tea that I bought on my last trip to Denmark.

Carstensens Tehandel "Jule Tea No. 105". Christmas tea. Loose leaf, with flavors of cinnamon, ginger, and what appear to be flower petals of some kind.

So aromatic! My friend's mother made it every day for breakfast, but since I only have a small bag, I have to enjoy it sparingly...

[jsmeeker]

Right now, 2008 Spring "Natural Habitat" Wu Dong Feng Huang Daucong. (that's what is says on the bag I have )

Brewed it 2 tsp. and 6 oz. 195 F water. Steep for 4 minutes. Did a second infusion at 5 minutes

This is OK. I still am having a hard time describing teas and especially having a hard time comparing it to similar teas I've had previously. I've got a lot of these Chinese oolongs kicking around that I need to work through. But as I do, I keep thinking I like "regular" black teas better. I think once I work through all of these small sample, I might start exploring those some more. I'd be interested in getting some of that English Breakfast Ceylon from TCC that Richard mentioed a few days ago. I bought some Ceylon Sultane from them a while back and like that.

Not sure why I'm just not getting into these Chinese teas. They seem "softer" and sort of soothing to me. But I guess what I like in a tea is something pretty bold.

[nakji]

I walked into our local department store basement today, and was overwhelmed by the smell of houjicha. How could I resist its siren vanilla scent, when they're roasting it fresh? I bought a 200g bag for 400 yen; and used a tablespoon which I infused about four times during the day. It was smoky and delicious; perfect for a rainy cold day.

[jsmeeker]

breakfast tea.

I had a very small amount of my Twinnings English Breakfast leftover. I had bought a small amount of Republic of Tea's "All Day Breakfast" the other week. With what I had left of that was combined with the Twinnings to give me enough to brew a full pot.

[Chris Amirault]

Crunching through enrollment work, and decided that I'd break into a special packet of tea that Richard sent me: a Keemun Mao Feng "Hair Peak", a black tea from the Anhui Province of China, from The Cultured Cup.

I saw in a few places on the internet that this tea is often brewed for longer periods without increased bitterness, and that sounds good to me. Using my ingenuiTEA set-up, I just brewed ~5g in ~400 ml of ~200F water for 7+ min.

I have been thinking more and more that I'd like to learn and drink more of the teas that are at the base of the blended teas I'm more familiar with, such as English Breakfast. This is a great example: far superior to any blend in complexity and depth of flavor, this Keemun is outstanding. I can't pick up any floral notes at all; instead, I'm getting lots of smoky aroma and flavor with background sweetness (like an unrefined cane sugar juice) and absolutely no bitterness. What a great cup. Thanks, Richard!