Tuesday TeaDay, 2/26/08

[Mil]

by Mil » Feb 26th, '08, 13:50

Victoria, I started today with Scottish Breakfast Blend too! I'm... a little scared now, to be honest. Which one of us is the evil twin?

The jury is still out on that one.

But found guilty is this vanilla oolong I fired up for testing here at work.

Oh, that was close! I nearly had vanilla oolong myself. Got a bit weirded out by the smell at the last moment, though, and retreated to my usual wuyi.

I'm sorry you didn't like Tazo Awake, fencer. I'm rather fond of it myself. It's my backup bagged tea, anyway, and has repeatedly saved me from caffeine withdrawal in stressful situations. That sort of thing inspires gratitude.

[skywarrior]

by skywarrior » Feb 26th, '08, 14:38

I don't think that my interest in Asian cultures impacted/was impacted by my love of tea. Both exist. I don't think either have much to do with the other.

Chocolate tea this morning. Something else, I'm sure, later.

[Chip]

by Chip » Feb 26th, '08, 15:34

I think all your answers are wrong... Just kidding of course, but I am surprised by the limited links to culture.

For me, I said yes, extremely. I have always been fascinated by Asian culture. I think it began with my interest in bonsai and pejing (Chinese bonsai). Over the years, my interest has grown, though not a dedication. Tea was a natural addition.

Sencha Premium in my cup...my first tea of the day. This is assertive sencha, yet it is only light steamed. More vegetal then grassy.

[Daughteroftheki...]

by Daughteroftheki... » Feb 26th, '08, 15:47

My "no" answer makes me feel a bit guilty. While love of tea drives me to share tea with others, it hasn't moved me to any real involvement in tea-producing cultures. I have been made aware of the incredible hardships of many families living on tea farms in India. [So now I supppose that knowlege should move me to some sort of action. thunderbolttea.com has info on this. Drat, accountability.]

First cup of tea today was Lu An Gua Pian. At work this morning shared a pot of Peach Oolong. Right now enjoying my very first taste of Vanilla Oolong (Adagio order arrived a few hours ago. Yea!). It's not nearly as sharp (to my tastes) as the Vanilla Black, so I'll probably really enjoy it and blend it with other things, too.

Last edited by Daughteroftheki... on Feb 26th, '08, 17:29, edited 1 time in total.

[Selaphiel]

by Selaphiel » Feb 26th, '08, 16:25

My Gong Fu Cha ceremony turned out great, my guests and I agreed to run a second tea after numerous steeps with Iron Godess of Mercy, so we ran 8 steeps with Dong Ding as well. Nothing like 3 hours worth of tea ceremony accompanied by interesting conversations
Really hit the Dong ding right today I think, the butter and vanilla notes were really clear behind the main floral notes. It really is an amazing tea, subtle and complex.

[Chip]

by Chip » Feb 26th, '08, 16:38

My Gong Fu Cha ceremony turned out great, my guests and I agreed to run a second tea after numerous steeps with Iron Godess of Mercy, so we ran 8 steeps with Dong Ding as well. Nothing like 3 hours worth of tea ceremony accompanied by interesting conversations
Really hit the Dong ding right today I think, the butter and vanilla notes were really clear behind the main floral notes. It really is an amazing tea, subtle and complex.

Dong Ding can indeed be sooo amazing. It is ashame the tea itself is sooo variable. I read this is due mainly to the excessive demand that outstripts supply many times over. So the harvesting of it has expanded many times over as well. Unfortunately, this has created a lot of variablity.

I hear very little Dong Ding today is produced on or near the mountain baring its name, but this only refers to the style of tea anymore.

[Victoria]

by Victoria » Feb 26th, '08, 16:46

My Gong Fu Cha ceremony turned out great, my guests and I agreed to run a second tea after numerous steeps with Iron Godess of Mercy, so we ran 8 steeps with Dong Ding as well. Nothing like 3 hours worth of tea ceremony accompanied by interesting conversations
Really hit the Dong ding right today I think, the butter and vanilla notes were really clear behind the main floral notes. It really is an amazing tea, subtle and complex.

Congrats Selaphiel, sounds like a really great time.
Especially the first brew.

[Chip]

by Chip » Feb 26th, '08, 16:46

li shan

Care to elaborate??? Do you have more than one li shan going now or just the one?

[JM]

by JM » Feb 26th, '08, 17:01

This morning I had two cups of Earl Grey, at 3 I had English Breakfast.

[Ladytiger]

by Ladytiger » Feb 26th, '08, 17:11

Okay, after thinking about it my like of green tea does have a connection to Asia because for awhile I was a fedual Japan history buff.

[Victoria]

by Victoria » Feb 26th, '08, 17:12

This morning I had two cups of Earl Grey, at 3 I had English Breakfast.

You are doing good, keep pumping in the caffeine!

[CynTEAa]

by CynTEAa » Feb 26th, '08, 17:39

Hmmm... would have to say my interest in cultures has always been there, but was fueled by an anthropology class in high school. The tea seems to have always been there as well but fueled by exposure to increasingly better stuff.

Today I'm fueled by Yunnan Gold, Rooibos Cin-Apple, and Golden Monkey.

[jogrebe]

by jogrebe » Feb 26th, '08, 17:49

I voted "Yes, superficially" in the sense that my interest in Chinese teas has taken over to buying a traditional Chinese gaiwan and yixing pot. But beyond this I do not see myself going to the extent of learning Chinese or taking a tea pilgrimage to China. I do enjoy Chinese restaurants but I would not say its fair to blame that on the tea as that predates my time as a serious tea drinker.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

by Cinnamon Kitty » Feb 26th, '08, 18:10

Yay! I got my Adagio order today! I got a bunch of samples, some Vanilla Rooibos and some Mango Rooibos. The Mango Rooibos smelled kind of funny, like weird fruit cough syrup in leaf form. I decided to try some any ways instead of being scared of smell. It turned out to be a really nice tea. It has a light peachy-mango flavor that was covered by the cough syrup scent. After coming down with the flu, tea makes my day a bit better.

[Chip]

by Chip » Feb 26th, '08, 19:05

Enjoying Yutaka Midori sencha at the moment. This stuff is really premo, but challenging to brew.

Midway through this session, I had a bowl of jambalya since I was starving. The subtle nuances of later steeps are kinda lost due to fried tastebuds. But still not unpleasant...