What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 2)

[Wholemeal Crank]

Today started with hot chocolate, no tea. I made up for it with a nice brewing of the 2007 White Bud sheng puerh from Norbu, and now am finishing up a sample of Mao Xie oolong from Jing Tea Shop. This one does have a hint of that elusive flavor we were discussing in the tasting of another version of the tea from Norbu, but not quite so strongly. Halfway through the brewing now, spicy is dominant over sweet.

I probably shouldn't have prepared an order from Norbu before the 2nd tea of the day--it was like shopping while hungry! But except for the puerhs, where I have bought more beengs to get to know the wide variety of the teas, knowing they'll keep for sampling from time to time, there is coming to be a balance between the teas in and teas being drunk. White and green teas especially, being infused fewer times, and probably also at a higher leaf to water ratio than formerly, go quickly. Sharing brewed teas at the office and giving away a few ounces here and a few ounces there to those still tentatively working their way towards loose leaf from tea bags also helps the turnover.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Another quiet tea day: shared jasmine/silver needle mix during clinic, and it was popular as always, despite being a bit too strongly jasmined for my taste; some korean green "not fermented" tea, shared again; then some green Bao Hong from YS, warm and mellow and not really shared as I did my evening paperwork.

Tomorrow will need something darker, roastier, toastier to make up for such a mellow light tea day.

[Richard Kilgore]

True confessions: lots of iced tea lately for convenience sake while away. As well as daily matcha. I am going to have to put together more of a tea traveling kit.

What teas are you all drinking today?

[Richard Kilgore]

Started the day, as I did yesterday, with my favorite Ceylon tea so far, the Vithanakanda Estate, Extra Special from teasource.com.

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

[Wholemeal Crank]

Haven't been keeping up the last couple of days, but have been drinking tea.

Yesterday was particularly fun: I started with some Anji white tea, then we were having a celebration at work and I brewed up a bunch of the Lemon Myrtle Rooibos from the Cultured Cup and shared it widely--it was quite a hit. Lots of 'wow!' comments. I bought a large quantity but may have to go back for a pound for Christmas presents this year.

Then I brewed up some of the 2009 Lao Mansa puerh from Norbu, a previously rather tempermental puerh that seemed mellower this time around, already, after sitting in a drawer in my office desk, dry with A/C temperature control, and it put up with bulk brewing for the afternoon thermos with very good grace, and was well received. Did a lot of 'pour-through' infusions in the Kamjove, a couple slightly longer, and tasted the mix so far in the thermos a couple of times to get the balance of depth and sweetness just right, while keeping that bitter note in check. It is going to be very fun to follow this tea over time, if I can be disciplined enough to keep from drinking it all right now. It reminds me strongly of the Lao Ban Zhang from the recent tasting, and it was hard to put down.

Today was a travel day, and I'm rehydrating after a long time in airports and airplanes with some mixed 'peacock' puerhs from Norbu, finishing off a few samples (a mix of a 2007 Mengyan Guoyan Tea Factory Golden Peacock with 2006 Haiwan Tea Factory Peacock Quest). Nice grounding after all that time in the air.

And yesterday too I sent a swap package to a tea acquaintance who offered to take one of my not so good puerhs off my hands (a large beautiful beeng of 'mixed flowers puerh' that just never floated my boat). Since she mentioned she was just getting started with puerh, I put together a grab bag of some samples of different beengs for her, and while I was doing that, put together a package for my tea-loving student, with some of my favorite student-budget-friendly teas.

Much tea sharing, and a little more room made in the tea cupboard and drawer for my next orders from Norbu and Yuuki-Cha. A good couple of tea days.

Edited May 29, 2010 by Wholemeal Crank (log)

[Wholemeal Crank]

To late for another edit so just need to add that I am now working my way through the middle of the thermos of the two peacock shu puerhs, and two hours later, it is wonderful, sweet, earthy, mellow, not as spicy and deep as the shengs--I'm finally starting to really GET the differences there--but this is a nice batch of shu pu, and perfect for the end of a tiring frazzled travel day, when I wasn't ready to cater to a delicate tea.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Started today with some Dragon Well, sweet, green, mellow; then on to another 'mixed' oolong (Mao Xie and the last of a Winter Alishan sample), for a thermos full; and finished a sample of Da Hong Pao from Norbu after that, progressing lighter to darker through the day.

Trying to get through some of the little bits before more teas arrive.

[Richard Kilgore]

It hit 98 F here today so it's been iced tea in addition to my daily matcha, the Organic Shizuoka Matcha Iroka. Very nice frothy, creamy bowl today with delicious lingering after-taste.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Started with some Jade Pole green tea from Yunnan Sourcing--love adding the 'poles' to the tea pot, fun to count them out instead of weighing or pouring. And it's a nice mellow tea.

Then Purple Haiwan sheng puerh from Norbu, and I goofed on the brewing. I needed a thermos full and did not have a lot of time, so I infused for one very long concentrated infusion, without the first rinse, and then diluted with water to the desired volume. It came out a bit off, a touch of bitterness but more notably lacking in the sweet or fruity notes that I expected.

Now going to relax with a little Mao Xie oolong to help me through a photoshopping project.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Grabbed a different tea bag by mistake--the samples from Jing Tea Shop all have the same silver bag with handwritten labels--and instead of the Mao Xie, had a lovely session with their Huo Shan Huang Ya yellow tea, the best I've managed with this tea for a while. My first few sessions were excellent, then I had a few that were not so perfect, but this was back to the quality of the first sessions--but since my thermometer is on the fritz, I can't be sure what I did to make it so good. Checking jingteashop.com, they're out of the office for the next month, so I will have to wait until they get back to make a new order from them.

[Richard Kilgore]

Brewing the Organic Magokoro Shincha from yuuki-cha.com. Very nice. I like this one a lot and will post more in the Japanese Green Tea topic after playing with the brewing parameters a few times.

[Richard Kilgore]

Now gongfu cha brewing the Phoenix Mountain DanCong Oolong from The Cultured Cup - a wonderful DanCong with a distinct honeysuckle aroma in both the dry leaves and the tea liquor.

What teas - hot or iced - are you all drinking today?

[Wholemeal Crank]

My first and only tea of the day--travel day, yuck!--Winter Bao Zhong from HouDe. Nice.

[LuckyGirl]

I am greatly enjoying the Shincha, 2010 Organic Sencha from Hibiki-an.

[Richard Kilgore]

Brewing the Organic Magokoro Shincha from yuuki-cha.com. Very nice. I like this one a lot and will post more in the Japanese Green Tea topic after playing with the brewing parameters a few times.

In addition to my daily Matcha, I have also brewed the Organic Magokuro Shincha again a couple of times. It's getting even better and better. I think I can coax a little more deliciousness out of it with another tweaking or two of the brewing parameters. More on this soon.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Got my order from Norbu, yay!

I am almost out of sencha, trying to ration the last of it while waiting for the first shipment from Yuuki-Cha, so I started the day with Jin Xuan instead, a beautiful Taiwanese green tea from this Norbu shipment. There are wonderful Alishan-like notes coming through in this rolled green tea. I shared a gongfu session with a gaiwan, small tasting cups, and a fair cup with my tea-loving student (with us only through the end of the week). He thought it was pretty amazing too.

I then moved on to the 2009 spring TGY, shared with a lot of my clinic companions, and now am ending with a long, many-infusion finish of Ba Xiang Dan Cong from Tea Habitat. Mmm. The lucky person I shared this one with this evening was wowed, as am I, every time I brew some.

[Wholemeal Crank]

Starting this morning with the last of my Den's Sencha Zuiko--amazed I was able to muster the willpower to not rip into all of the beautiful packages of tea I just received from Yuuki-Cha yesterday. The Zuiko is exceptionally mellow and welcoming this morning, putting on its best after spending the night in the cupboard, face to face with the new rivals.

[Wholemeal Crank]

This afternoon I headed into oolong territory, with the last of some of Chado's Pouchong. It's a tricky dark roast oolong that can be brilliant, spicy and sweet, but easily crosses into astringency like it did this afternoon. I did not pick it to share with the newest member of my tea circle, who was recently told by her doctor to avoid coffee due to colitis. We're going to see if she can tolerate small quantities of some mellower teas.

Then this evening, Yunnan Bao Hong, my best infusions yet from this tea. All done very casually while working, so no weight/temp parameters, but it started off smooth, and ended mellow, and samples were given as offerings to some of those who drank my unfortunately brewed Pouchong earlier in the day. I think my reputation was somewhat restored.

And after that, some Lemon Myrtle Rooibos. Such a bright, zippy tea, it manages to help with alertness I think simply by making the tastebuds dance.

Now pondering which new Yuuki-Cha tea to open first in the morning. All look so scrumptious. Eeeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a teapot on your toe.....

[Wholemeal Crank]

Started today with the Tenryu Misakubo, trying to prepare tea and photograph tea and tea setting at once, and mauled the tea more than anything else--1st infusion too short--lovely delicate sweet flavor, but very light--then overcompensated by forgetting the 2nd infusion for too long! I think this is going to be a wonderful tea if I can keep focus better. Now that I have pictures, tomorrow I will just brew the tea!

I also tried some Lao Ban Zhang Mao Cha (loose puerh) from Norbu, the tea from our recent tasting, but used too much leaf and had trouble getting back to that sweet spot from my earlier experience. I think I was so pleased to not have to use it sparingly that I overdid it. I came back to these leaves later in the day with very short infusions and was able to recapture the earlier sweetness but obviously will have to give this one the attention it deserves too.

Then moved on to what was going to be a shared gongfu session with the new Taiwanese Charcoal roasted Tie Guan Yin from Norbu, but the sharee had to skip out after one cup, so it ended up as a bulk brewing to share for the afternoon. First impression is that this tea is more refined than my Sea Dyke red-tin Anxi Ti Kuan Yin, mellower and smooth. It deserves better attention in a gongfu session also.

Ended the tea day with the Yunnan Bao Hong green tea from Yunnan Sourcing, which did get the attention it deserved, and was a lovely few cups of tea.

I knew today was going to be crazy busy, and really I shouldn't have been trying the new teas under such pressure, but I couldn't stand to wait any longer.

[Richard Kilgore]

Last night I had a great Ceylon at the Cultured Cup's T-Bar Club, along with a buffet featuring various interesting dishes prepared with teas by members. Many new beautiful tea bowls by Ginny Marsh.

This morning I brewed a cup of a Yunnan Golden Tips that I got last night at TCC. If you like the French Breakfast Tea by MF that TCC also carries, you are likely to like this one - chocolate notes with a hint of spiciness.

Now my bowl of matcha from yuuki-cha.com. There's only enough left for one cup, or maybe two, left while my new order wings it's way here from Japan. Shinchas and matcha coming.

So, what teas are you all drinking in your part of the world?

[Wholemeal Crank]

Three teas today: started with the Tenryu Misakubo Shincha from Yuuki-Cha, which came out much better with a little attention; midday had a pick me up with a Numi tea bag of a mix of lemon myrtle, green tea, and mate--very nice, a gift from my tea-loving student; and in the evening, I did a tasting of several Ti Guan Yins. An all-good tea day. Yay!

I think one more try tomorrow and I'll have the Tenryu Misakubo pretty well optimized.

Also today, straightening up and putting away the latest tea orders, and happy to note that the tea cupboard & tea drawers at work have enough room for everything. Whew. I was a little afraid it wouldn't this time.

[Wholemeal Crank]

As noted in the Japanese tea topic, I think I have the number of the Tenryu Misakubo. Mid-afternoon, I was enjoying a tea-trade sample of a lovely puerh, 2007 Autumn Xi-Zhi Hao "Pu Zheng Yuan Cha" from HouDe. There are a lot of stems and the leaves are very irregularly twisted and long, so I ended up with a larger pot than expected, and really not quite enough leaf to show off the tea to its best, but it was still warm and sweet and lovely, and now I am drinking some Ya Bao Wild Camellia bud tea. Very peachy and floral and nice.

[Richard Kilgore]

Started the day with an interesting tea that I first tried at The Cultured Cup's T-Bar Club a few months ago. This is a Nepal Chiyabari Estate black tea that I picked up at last Friday's T-Bar Club meeting. Delicioso!

Probably green teas next today.

What's in your tea cup/mug/glass/thermos today? Hot tea? Iced Tea?

[Wholemeal Crank]

Today has been a mixed day for tea. It started off on a high note, with a very fine brewing of the Tenryu Misakubo Shincha again, and then I finally said, what the heck, I have my long afternoon meeting coming up, with several people who love tea, and I will finally break down and try a Dan Cong bulk brewing to share with them. I used a large quantity of tea in the gaiwan--not really trusting the Kamjove with this one--and many infusions to fill the thermos. I sipped a few times along the way--too concentrated, quick rinse & poured a few infusions, a little too light, let one or two go a little longer. Then when it was time to drink it an hour later, it was....ordinary. All the marvelous spiciness and fruitiness was unrecognizably mellow and soft and bland.

I will never do that again!

Now enjoying the Jade Pole Yunnan green tea from Yunnan Sourcing, which looks nothing like but tastes almost identical to the Yunnan Mao Feng I've been getting from Norbu: green, sweet, but also peachy and fruity. Interesting.

I will also warm up last night's hydrangea leaves for another infusion. They only went one last night, so sweet and concentrated that they surely have power for a couple more.

[Richard Kilgore]

Whisked some Organic Shizuoka Matcha Iroka from yuuki-cha this afternoon late. It was a bit thin, but okay. I think I held back on the quantity of matcha powder because I am down to the bottom of the bag. One more bowl possible before my new one comes in.

Time for a good night cup of something herbal.