What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 1)

[Richard Kilgore]

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!

←

You're quite welcome, Chris. Glad you are enjoying it.

And yes, it's worth experimenting with a range of brewing times for many teas. Oolongs also are often interesting with a first infusion of 7 - 9 minutes when brewed western style as you have done here with this Keemun.

Exploring the base teas for blends can be an interesting experience. If they are the quality of what goes into tea bag blends, you're not going to have a good time. If they are the quality of what goes into commercial loose leaf blends, some will be better than others, but they should be drinkable. Good to high quality loose leaf teas from China, India and Ceylon (Sri Lanka) are another experience altogether. I can assure you that any tea of the quality of this Mao Feng is highly unlikely to appear in any tea bag or commercial blend.

Since you enjoyed this Keemun, I'll be interested to see what you think of the Dian Hong Imperiale from Norbutea.com in the current tasting.

[Richard Kilgore]

Enjoying a delicious Nilgeri from India this morning. How about you - what's in your tea cup today?

[jsmeeker]

finishing up my sample of Imperial Dian Hong from Norbutea.com.

[Richard Kilgore]

The last couple of days I have been drinking MF 1851 from The cultured Cup and the lasst of the bamboo puerh from Norbutea.com. The bamboo pu is some of the most accessible and pleasant young raw puerh I have had.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I have been drinking two teas. This morning it was an American Breakfast Tea, which is essentially an Irish breakfast tea, from The Cultured Cup. A solid, inexpensive morning tea. Brisk, not overly astrtingent.

This evening I started a gongfu session with a 2007 Norbu White Bud Sheng, the first private label puehr from Norbutea.com. Greg sent me a small sample with my last order and this is another delicious and accessible raw pu from Norbu. I brewed 7 grams in about 110 - 120 ml water in a 130 ml Yixing pot.

Rinse: 3", 1: 20", 2: 20". More in the leaves but I am out of day. I may have to order a whole 250 gram beeng of this sheng.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I have been drinking two teas. This morning it was an American Breakfast Tea, which is essentially an Irish breakfast tea, from The Cultured Cup. A solid, inexpensive morning tea. Brisk, not overly astrtingent.

This evening I started a gongfu session with a 2007 Norbu White Bud Sheng, the first private label puehr from Norbutea.com. Greg sent me a small sample with my last order and this is another delicious and accessible raw pu from Norbu. I brewed 7 grams in about 110 - 120 ml water in a 130 ml Yixing pot.

Rinse: 3", 1: 20", 2: 20". More in the leaves but I am out of day. I may have to order a whole 250 gram beeng of this sheng.

←

As an experiment I put my Norbu White Bud leaves in a plastic container and tucked them into the fridge last night. I have done this a few times with other teas and it does not always turn out well. These leaves, however, were still terrific. A 10 second rinse and steeped them in the same pot for 35" at 205 F. More infusions to go.

[jsmeeker]

last night, I brewed a cup of some lapsang souchong Richard sent me.

I gotta say, I really like this tea. The smoky smell was great. For me, that's where most of the smoke was. In the smell. Not as much in the taste. But since it was a black tea, it had a really good, full bodied flavor that I like in a tea.

[Richard Kilgore]

last night, I brewed a cup of some lapsang souchong Richard sent me. 

I gotta say, I really like this tea.  The smoky smell was great.  For me, that's where most of the smoke was. In the smell.   Not as much in the taste. But since it was a black tea, it had a really good, full bodied flavor that I like in a tea.

←

Glad you liked it, Jeff. LS is known as a tea that's good with meat rich meals, so I would be interested in reading about it if you try a LS some time with or after a steak or barbecue dinner.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today it was the handmade Nilgeri I very much like and have posted about a number of times. From Tea Source.

So what teas are you all drinking today?

[jsmeeker]

last night, I brewed a cup of some lapsang souchong Richard sent me. 

I gotta say, I really like this tea.  The smoky smell was great.  For me, that's where most of the smoke was. In the smell.   Not as much in the taste. But since it was a black tea, it had a really good, full bodied flavor that I like in a tea.

←

Glad you liked it, Jeff. LS is known as a tea that's good with meat rich meals, so I would be interested in reading about it if you try a LS some time with or after a steak or barbecue dinner.

←

yeah.. I should give that a try. I am also wondering how well I could use this tea as ingredient in cooking. I have a method that basically braises baby back pork ribs. Wondering if I could do it with some tea as a way to get some smoke flavor in to the ribs without actually using a smoker/BBQ

[jsmeeker]

Today it was the handmade Nilgeri I very much like and have posted about a bumber of times. From Tea Source.

So what teas are you all drinking today?

←

brewed a pot of my Darjeeling Castelton (2nd flush). Still trying to use up all the various tea samples I have kicking around before I go out and try to find a good "everyday tea" and stock up on it.

I do like this Darjeeling. But it's pretty spendy to be an everyday tea.

[Richard Kilgore]

last night, I brewed a cup of some lapsang souchong Richard sent me. 

I gotta say, I really like this tea.  The smoky smell was great.  For me, that's where most of the smoke was. In the smell.   Not as much in the taste. But since it was a black tea, it had a really good, full bodied flavor that I like in a tea.

←

Glad you liked it, Jeff. LS is known as a tea that's good with meat rich meals, so I would be interested in reading about it if you try a LS some time with or after a steak or barbecue dinner.

←

yeah.. I should give that a try. I am also wondering how well I could use this tea as ingredient in cooking. I have a method that basically braises baby back pork ribs. Wondering if I could do it with some tea as a way to get some smoke flavor in to the ribs without actually using a smoker/BBQ

←

Check out the Cooking with Tea discussion in the Cooking forum. There are some specific ideas for using LS, as well as lots of other great ideas for cooking with tea.

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I enjoyed the same Castleton Estate Darjeeling (2nd Flush) from The Cultured Cup that Jeff Meeker wrore about above. This is from the 2007 harvest, if I remember correctly. Great stuff.

This afternoon I started a gongfu session with a hand harvested 2007 Winter Feng Huang Wu Dong Old Bush Dan Cong from Hu De. The package says it is a 35% fermentation with a medium-light roasting.

I brewed this in a 90 - 100 ml Yixing pot using 6 grams of leaf, which filled the pot to the mouth with the dry leaf. Rinse: 10"; 1:20; 2: 15". And it should produce about 9 - 10 more infusions.

This Dan Cong is deliriously delicious, with the classic floral aroma and taste. Worth every penny.

So, what teas are you all drinking this weekend?

[Richard Kilgore]

Last night at the monthly T-Bar club meeting at The Cultured Cup I picked up an ounce each of two teas from their new Cup of Value line of about 20 teas they have added in the shop and on-line. They are buying more teas now - both inexpensive ones and the special teas from small producers - from other sources in addition to those they import from MF in France.

These two teas were inexpensive at $2.25 - 2.75 per ounce. This morning I tried the Margret's Hope 2nd Flush Darjeeling and found it to be okay for an everyday tea. Not a Castleton, of course, but satisfactory and about what I pay for a good breakfast blend anyway.

So what teas are y'all drinking this weekend?

[Richard Kilgore]

Last night at the monthly T-Bar club meeting at The Cultured Cup I picked up an ounce each of two teas from their new Cup of Value line of about 20 teas they have added in the shop and on-line. They are buying more teas now - both inexpensive ones and the special teas from small producers - from other sources in addition to those they import from MF in France.

These two teas were inexpensive at $2.25 - 2.75 per ounce. This morning I tried the Margret's Hope 2nd Flush Darjeeling and found it to be okay for an everyday tea. Not a Castleton, of course, but satisfactory and about what I pay for a good breakfast blend anyway.

So what teas are y'all drinking this weekend?

←

Since trying this inexpensive Margaret's Hope Darjeeling the firt time, I have had it two more times, including today. And a Castleton. The Catleton is clearly my preference, and I don't have to do a side-by-side comparison to tell the difference - it's not subtle. But I am prudently dishing out my limited remaining better Darjeelings and Nilgeri until I order again, so the Margaret's Hope is okay to me for an everyday subsitute for a breakfast blend.

[Richard Kilgore]

I stopped by The Cultured Cup yesterday and picked up another tea from their new "Cup of Value" line - a Pai Mu Tan white tea. I have been enjoying it today. This is a keeper.

TCC recommends brewing it for 6 minutes at 175 F, which I did. 2 grams in about 6 - 7 ounces of water. I can't not play around with the parameters, so I'll try it various ways the next few times and see what happens.

[jsmeeker]

I am finishing up the last of my Darjeeling Castleton. I'm going to try to work through my remaining collection of various sample before next weekend so I can head down to the Cultured Cup and pickup maybe 2 different every day teas

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I got into almost the last of my MF 1854. A lovely tea that I am going to have to forego when the last leaf floats into my brown betty.

So...what's in your cup today?

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I brewed two Chinese red/black teas. First a Keemun Mao Feng from The Cultured Cup brewed western style in a 300 ml Yixing tea pot. Like it a lot, but it reminded me that I have some red teas from jingteashop.com that I have not brewed in a while...and never brewed them gongfu style.

So I plucked a packet of Anhui Gift Grade Keemun Gongfu red tea out of the storage tin in which I keep my teas from jing and brewed it gongfu style with 5 to 30 second steeps. More intense, not at all astringent, and sweet. Although it has been months since drinking this tea, I like it better gongfu style than I did western style. Taste memory can be elusive and deceptive, but of this I am pretty sure. I'll have to try this with more red teas.

[Richard Kilgore]

Today I have been enjoying a Mao Jian - a green tea from the Henan Province of China. From The Cultured Cup, but I think they have sold out of it. Brewed Western style, but for a 90" first infusion rather than the 3 minutes recommended on the TCC package.

What teas are you all drinking today?

[Richard Kilgore]

Did an informal tasting with three others on Monday. Two Oolongs from jingtea.com. - a Wuyi Seasonal Da Hong Pao (also called Great Red Robe) and an Anxi Ba Xian. The Da Hong Pao was more than okay for its price, but I am not sure we got the brewing to the point we got the best out of the leaf. I'll have to play with it a little more.

The Anxi Ba Xian, however, was wonderful. Brewed gongfu style, we got many, subtly changing infusions and gave up only after the 7th when it began washing out noticeably. It may have been drinkable for three or four more, but we had gotten the best of it by then.

I'm getting ready for some Darjeeling this morning.

So, what are you all drinking today?

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I have been enjoying a Chinese red tea from The Cultured Cup - a Keemun Mao Feng. Brewed western style in a Yixing tea pot.

How about you? What's in your cup today?

[jsmeeker]

Made a pot of the Assam Tara I picked up today at The Cultured Cup. Nicely full flavored. Very smooth. I like this tea a lot. I drank it straight. No milk or sugar.

Brewed 1.5 tsp per cup. Water at full boil. 5 minute steep. In my new Bee House teapot that I also bought today at TCC.

[Richard Kilgore]

This morning I skipped my usual first cup of black tea and went straight to an Oolong, the Fall 2008 Harvest TGY from norbutea.com that we used for a recent tea tasting discusssion in this forum. Different Yixing pot this time, and this is the best I have brewed this TGY so far. Like it a lot.

My continued tinkering with this tea was partly inspired by a recent evening long tea session with Greg Glancy during which we sampled and traded a variety of his teas and mine. I found that he was getting better results from a tea from his private collection that I had tried independently last year and found to be just so-so. And the result today also was partly due to experimenting with one of my Yixing pots to see what tea will brew best in it.

[Richard Kilgore]

First brewed a 2005 Shui Xian Oolong from Hou de in a tiny gaiwan to see if the not-quite-right flavor I was getting brewing it in a Yixing was the pot or the tea.

The tea. A bit off on this aging tea. Dusty, musty. Not too surprising. I have had it a while and I have enough of it to make it worthwhile to try re-roasting it. I'll post about that when I get around to doing the re-roast.

Next an unusual white tea from a sample Greg sent me with an order from Norbutea.com. The package is hand labeled as Norbu White Buds. I am not sure if this is still available, but it is delicious brewed gongfu style. I'll try to find out more and post later.

Edited to add:

Discussion of re-roasting here.

Edited to add:

Okay, found it. 2007 Norbu White Bud, kinda-sorta white tea/kinda-sorta sheng pu-erh.

White teas are simply picked and dried, while this was processed just like other Pu-Erh teas.  It was picked, withered, pan fired, and sun dried, creating a flavor profile that is different and more assertive than conventional white tea.  It has a bit of a sweet malty flavor with very little of the bitterness common to other young Sheng Pu-Erh.

So what have you all been drinking today?

Edited May 13, 2009 by Richard Kilgore (log)