Sunday TeaRoom TeaDay 7/27/08 While sipping tea?

[witches brew]

I am a fan of quiet contemplation, preferably accompanied by a purring cat. That's an ideal teatime for me.

I had a quiet cup of darjeeling muscat this morning, and am about to make a second steep.

[olivierco]

This afternoon Houjicha and Wakayanagi from Ippodo

Yanagi tea is a coarse-leaf version of sencha. While sencha is blended from younger leaves, yanagi is blended from larger, more mature leaves. The overall taste of yanagi is somewhat similar to that of sencha, though without senchas characteristic sweetness. But if you prefer a casual tea that has a sharp refreshing flavor with a light bitterness, then yanagi is a good choice for you.

[auggy]

I said computer stuff for me. But that's because that's pretty much all I do. I spend way too much time on my computer. Though sometimes I scrapbook and sip tea, or watch tv and sip tea. But mostly it is computer stuff.

Had an earl gray bravo blend this morning. Quite nice. Going to have some ali shan next. And figure out what I'm going to eat for lunch.....

[Salsero]

This afternoon ... Wakayanagi from

Yanagi tea is a ... choice for you.

Olivierco, thanks for taking the time to raise our level of education a bit. What do you think of the Yanagi? It sounds quite interesting. Chip, have you ever tried this item?

[Chip]

This afternoon ... Wakayanagi from

Yanagi tea is a ... choice for you.

Olivierco, thanks for taking the time to raise our level of education a bit. What do you think of the Yanagi? It sounds quite interesting. Chip, have you ever tried this item?

Yanagi is pretty mellow. It taught me that I like the more intense profiles of a more tradtional sencha. It has a potential spot on my Japanese tea menu. I would bet it would be a good iced tea candidate.

To me, it is more like a variety of bancha vs a variety of sencha. Technically, it is a bit of a grey area...like kukicha vs sencha karigane.

I first like to have the quiet moment and contemplate every sip. I usually try to do this with my first green tea of the day. I almost always have tea with me on TeaChat. I would however think my first choice would be to share a special tea with a special someone.

Adagio Golden Monkey earlier and currently finshing up O-Cha's Yutaka Midori. Not only is this better than last year, it is also not neary as challenging to brew. Last year it seemed to have a pretty narrow window of preparation in order to achieve a great session.

[Selaphiel]

It really depends what I do when I drink tea. Could listen to music, just surf on the internet, read or watch tv/movie.

The last few days I`ve introduced my 93 year old grandma to good tea. Served her some Traditional Shui Xian oolong and Feng Huang Milan Dancong (Single bush, AAA) oolong. She really enjoyed it. Started with the Feng Huang Milan, after that she started asking if I could make some more one day :p

[Chip]

It really depends what I do when I drink tea. Could listen to music, just surf on the internet, read or watch tv/movie.

The last few days I`ve introduced my 93 year old grandma to good tea. Served her some Traditional Shui Xian oolong and Feng Huang Milan Dancong (Single bush, AAA) oolong. She really enjoyed it. Started with the Feng Huang Milan, after that she started asking if I could make some more one day :p

WOW...that is a great! This similar to what I was just saying. Thanx for sharing this with us.

[olivierco]

This afternoon ... Wakayanagi from

Yanagi tea is a ... choice for you.

Olivierco, thanks for taking the time to raise our level of education a bit. What do you think of the Yanagi? It sounds quite interesting. Chip, have you ever tried this item?

According to Ippodo Yanagi is a kind of bancha, as well as Houjicha (roasted) and Genmaicha (yanagi+roasted brown rice aka genmai).
I already had bancha (Palais des Thés), but this one is clearly superior.

I brewed it like houjicha: boiling water, about 5g for 200ml (7oz) 30s for both steeps. Not very complex nor bitter.
It deserves further experiment but it is a not very expensive (450 yens for 100gr) and easy to brew.
Ippodo recommends it also for ochazuke (tea poured over rice)

[chamekke]

This afternoon Houjicha and Wakayanagi from Ippodo

Yanagi tea is a coarse-leaf version of sencha. While sencha is blended from younger leaves, yanagi is blended from larger, more mature leaves. The overall taste of yanagi is somewhat similar to that of sencha, though without senchas characteristic sweetness. But if you prefer a casual tea that has a sharp refreshing flavor with a light bitterness, then yanagi is a good choice for you.

Interesting name. I don't know the tea, but yanagi means willow (as in weeping willow). Maybe it refers to the way that the larger, more mature leaves cause the tea plant's branches to hang down? (Or maybe it's just a homonym.)

[Chip]

My answer to the trivia question is 1st category to reach/exceed 10,000 posts. Congrats!

Yay! TeaDay reaching 10,000 posts!!

.

Yep, 10,000 post milestone on TeaDay was hit yesterday...3 days shy of its 6 month anniversary. Trivial yes...but noteworthy.

I think it is obvious that TeaDay is also something we do with tea...a lot!

10,000 posts, lots of great discussions, sharing and great photos.

This afternoon Houjicha and Wakayanagi from Ippodo

Interesting name. I don't know the tea, but yanagi means willow (as in weeping willow). Maybe it refers to the way that the larger, more mature leaves cause the tea plant's branches to hang down? (Or maybe it's just a homonym.)

I had read somewhere that the willow name was due to the appearance of the dried "willowy leaves."

[Geekgirl]

Computer + teachat for me.

Oolong in my cup this morning, but I'll be switching to GREEN in about 10 minutes.

[Riene]

Computer + teachat for me.

Oolong in my cup this morning, but I'll be switching to GREEN in about 10 minutes.

Ooo, nice cup!

[Cinnamon Kitty]

My favorite thing to do this time of year is to have my music going, cat on my lap purring, and tea cup in my hand.

I started today with some sort of the Lipton green tea and white tea mango-peach pyramid teabag that my cousin had. It was interesting to say the least. Now I am enjoying a cup of Orange Blossom Oolong, thanks to Victoria. It is delicious!

[henley]

This afternoon's tea was Tea Masters Wenshan Baozhong from the oolong box.

Space & Sal, please forgive my sleepy-headed absent mindedness this morning. Both of your pics are great! Space, you've got me drooling over those dark grapes (my favorite!) & Sal, it's always neat when you use the mirror in your pics.

Geekgirl, I like the scalloped edge on your cup. Very nice!

[soapy]

today was an oolong #8 day just kept re-steeping until I got tired of it and now some green tea. Adagio's Gunpowder infused 3 times already. Ohhh and slipped a couple glasses freshly brewed iced tea my version off Moroccan Mint ....