TeaChat

Their tea can be REALLY wet stored, so sheng and shu can look quite similar. Sure you didn't get the right tea after all? Your off-white picture is hard to see.

Yup, unfortunately the lighting on the counter isn't the best, but I'm pretty sure it's shu. I should have pointed to the containers on the left side of the store: I believe all of the loose pu on the right was suk cha. Either way, I got to check out a really cool tea store that I will definitely be visiting again. I saw the jars in the back too--that is definitely not everyday drinking stuff unless you're Li Ka-Shing!

jayinhk wrote:Yup, unfortunately the lighting on the counter isn't the best, but I'm pretty sure it's shu. I should have pointed to the containers on the left side of the store: I believe all of the loose pu on the right was suk cha. Either way, I got to check out a really cool tea store that I will definitely be visiting again. I saw the jars in the back too--that is definitely not everyday drinking stuff unless you're Li Ka-Shing!

I told you to buy from the jars on the left. You didn't listen......

Yup, again, I should have listened to Marshal! I have enough shu for months now!

I did ask the guy if it was suk cha, and he said sung, so I figured it was raw. Ah well!

Two lessons today:

1. Listen to Marshal
2. Eat before you go tea shopping

This new shu tastes like ginseng and/or cordyceps, with some mushroom in the mix. Very smooth, pleasant drinking. I find I get less crazy with the shu (less cha qi I guess), so it's good for long days of work when I don't have time to eat. The sheng forces me to head out in search of meals, whether I want to go or not.

Shu and sheng are really two very different animals. In terms of flavor, however, I have to say I much prefer the sheng, even with the bitterness and astringency. They do seem to work very well together when brewed in the same pot, which is why it seems to be a somewhat common practice here.

cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cordyceps_sinensis

Cordyceps is really very effective medicine, and gives me tons of energy, especially in wine. I've tried a US version in capsules, and it didn't work for me at all, but the local Sam Seng (Chinese wine company) cordyceps wine is simply incredible. I've yet to try a Sam Seng product that wasn't good.

http://samseng.com.hk/

Interesting stuffs in their wines ...

http://www.samseng.com.hk/index_tc.php? ... xt_start=4

Yep, the whip wine is good for your whip.

A very good example of Doctrine of signatures

Let have a banana instead ....

Interesting, I hadn't heard of the doctrine of signatures before!

Once, in Yau Ma Tei, a girl in a skimpy nurse's outfit who was standing by a fake ambulance stopped me and a friend and had us fill out questionnaires on some kind of Viagra-type pill. She then thanked us and gave us frozen bananas on a stick, covered in chocolate and nuts.

I think we better move on to other topics or we would be breaking rules of this Forum and would be banned ....

Time for another infusion me thinks! I'm still working on the pot with the liu bao from two nights ago, and I'm still getting solid infusions from the new shu I loaded my Yixing with yesterday. It's quite interesting to drink them side by side to see how they differ. I definitely prefer the shu to the liu bao.

Flying out of town tomorrow night and I'm taking my new 1.5L stainless kettle, and filling it with ziplocks of different teas for my drinking needs in the Philippines. I'm taking along one cup and my little stainless oiler (which works a treat as a teapot in a pinch). This should be a fun trip!

Still in HK for a few more days before my trip. Woke up, and filled my mug up with two Yixings full of the aged wet-stored sheng I bought in Kowloon City. That kicked my appetite into high gear! I had my mind set on a restaurant, but ended up going to an entirely different one I hadn't tried before. That seems to happen pretty often.

Got me two orders of noodles (I'm hooked, 100%, on the excellent noodles in this neighborhood, both Cantonese and Chiuchow), kai lan, choi sum and two grass jelly and evaporated milk drinks (I love the stuff). The staff were amazed that I drink grass jelly.

Wandered over to my favorite local bakery and got me a dozen custard puffs and one of the best mango puddings I've ever had at a HK bakery, if not the best. Now it's time to get back to the aged sheng. Life is good.