Tuesday's TeaDay, 6/24/08

[Chip]

Tuesday's TeaDay, 6/24/08

by Chip » Jun 24th, '08, 02:58

Yesterday, Marine aroma took a beating in the daily poll. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Welcome TeaFriends to TeaDay. Let's brew and share what is in our cups today...all day. You can reflect back on your TeaDay if you need to.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic is again about senses...basically sight, smell, touch, and taste...(hearing too if you want to go for it). How do these senses interplay with your enjoyment of tea?

I am as always looking forward to sharing TeaDay with everyone. So, bottoms up, refill, and repeat often...

[scruffmcgruff]

by scruffmcgruff » Jun 24th, '08, 03:14

I said smell. Why? Mostly because I'm being Mr. Smarty-Pants. Smell defines so much of what we taste-- without it, we could only perceive the 5 main tastes (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, umami). When I add to that the importance of consciously smelling the aromas of my tea, smell easily wins.

Hearing could work, I suppose, if you judge water temperature based on how it sounds. I can't imagine how this would be anyone's highest priority as far as sensations go, but to each his own.

[tenuki]

by tenuki » Jun 24th, '08, 03:43

Integrate.

Last edited by tenuki on Jun 24th, '08, 05:14, edited 1 time in total.

[Salsero]

Gyokuro

by Salsero » Jun 24th, '08, 04:08

Japanese Gyokuro in a clunky ceramic cup.
As I understand it, Gyo is actually better with a little age on it, so it’s the shade-grown opposite of shincha. Use lots of leaf and relatively cool water to brew this stuff. I still have no idea if I am getting it right, but here’s a photo.

[chrl42]

by chrl42 » Jun 24th, '08, 05:31

I don't know if I interpreted right..
To me taste > smell > sight ..touch?

Da Hong Pao can smell right if mixed good proportion with Rou Gui, but ever-lasting taste cannot be dared unless leaf itself is good in my opinion.
And Wuyi teas are born ugly so it's called 'beggar's looking, buddha's mind'.

Last edited by chrl42 on Jun 24th, '08, 08:15, edited 1 time in total.

[olivierco]

by olivierco » Jun 24th, '08, 06:10

Taste comes first for me.

Silver needles this morning and houjicha karigane with my lunch.

[CynTEAa]

by CynTEAa » Jun 24th, '08, 07:23

I said smell. Why? Mostly because I'm being Mr. Smarty-Pants. Smell defines so much of what we taste-- without it, we could only perceive the 5 main tastes (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, umami). When I add to that the importance of consciously smelling the aromas of my tea, smell easily wins.

I chose taste. Why? Because I have tried teas that I didn't think had best or most appealing aroma but were really good at first sip. How can this be? I dunno, let's ask Mr. Smarty-Pants...!

[TimeforTea]

by TimeforTea » Jun 24th, '08, 07:38

Taste is the most important tea sense to me.

However, sight and smell are important as well. I enjoy briefly looking at and sniffing the dried tea leaves. I love looking at the brewed tea, especially in a glass cup. I always take the scent of the brewed tea in, before my first sip.

Touch is important as far as how the cup feels in my hands. I like using cups that I can craddle in my hands--ones without a handle.

Hearing is important as far as listening to the water heat up in my kettle, or hearing the sound the dried tea leaves make as I scoop them out of the tin. Then of course there is the best part: hearing the kitchen timer go off means it's tea time!

[Riene]

by Riene » Jun 24th, '08, 08:53

Taste, primarily...and for my morning cup--caffeine content. I need to wake up!

[Victoria]

by Victoria » Jun 24th, '08, 09:24

Taste is definitely the most important thing. I always am drawn to the flavored teas by the aroma, but I don't like the taste.

So maybe this poll is not about how you choose your teas, that is by taste - but rather how you enjoy the teas you have chosen.

In that case Scruff is probably right - Aroma is big for me, in the dry leaf to start, in the cup and in the spent leaves too. And if you could not smell then you could not taste as well to appreciate.

Sight too of the beautiful colors presented by the oolongs I drink, sparkling there in the glass cups I usually use, because I do enjoy seeing the color of the tea.
All of that adds to the element of the visual for me. And that also brings us to touch with the smoothness of the glass the warmth that radiates.

Hearing - yeah that too. I like to hear the water rumbling as it comes to a boil and I like the tinkling of the glassware.

I really enjoy the whole experience - but the bottom line is it has to taste good or I'm not drinking it.

.

[auggy]

by auggy » Jun 24th, '08, 09:33

Following the herd on this one - taste. Smell comes in second, but as CynTEAa said, I've had some funky smelling teas that were delish (okay, maybe I paraphrased).

Mind not fully working today yet. And I think one of the pastors gave me pink eye. That's a pink I just can't get behind.

[tseirPsaduJ]

by tseirPsaduJ » Jun 24th, '08, 09:36

Taste is obviously most important, but aroma is also a big part of the enjoyment. It tends to be the deciding factor when I cannot make up my mind what to have otherwise. But I love the sound of the bubbles rumbling in the kettle, and the indescribable beautiful splish of the tea going into the china or glass (scent trickling upwards into the air). AH, Just the thought has relaxed me.

[Beanbean]

by Beanbean » Jun 24th, '08, 09:39

This morning I'm trying a new tea that I just received yesterday. It's Scottish Breakfast tea from Mark T. Wendell. It's quite lovely.

[chamekke]

by chamekke » Jun 24th, '08, 10:23

If we're talking about the tea alone, then yes - taste comes first, followed closely by smell.

If we're talking about the global experience, then it has to be "all senses". Touch is especially important to me where the teaware is concerned. And the visual element is essential. You could drink tea exclusively with your eyes closed (and I think it would be interesting to see how much it affects enjoyment), but the colour of the tea and the beauty of the cup weigh pretty heavily for me!

On the e-yakimono site, Robert Yellin speaks at length about what makes a good guinomi (sake cup) or tokkuri (sake flask). Now, he's talking about drinking sake here, not tea, but I think it would be interesting to test his words with different tea vessels to see how much they hold true for our beloved drink:

What makes a good guinomi or tokkuri?

Naturally it is a matter of personal taste. Aesthetic appearance, weight, balance, how it feels in the hand, and a drinking lip that is not excessively rough are the general points of assessment. [...]

Size isn't everything, either. The rim of a vessel - its thickness, texture and curve - will affect how a liquid distributes itself across the tongue and palate, thereby radically affecting the taste profile and fragrance. The artistic and aesthetic qualities as well contribute, if nothing else, by influencing the mood and atmosphere.

[henley]

by henley » Jun 24th, '08, 10:47

Taste was my immediate first answer. What's the use of drinking tea if it doesn't taste good? However, after reading the following:

Then of course there is the best part: hearing the kitchen timer go off means it's tea time!

There is so much truth to this statement! There's nothing like that sound.

Had an experiment this morning w/bfast. Being a singer, I have always been intrigued by the names of Adagio's Assam Melody & Harmony. So this morning, I fixed a small pot of each. They were both good but I like Melody better. Looking at the dry leaves, the Harmony had more golden tips in it. Don't have enough tea experience to know what difference this makes but the Assam Melody will be a staple in my house.