Tea party/research

[ethan]

It's a beautiful Spring day. Friends & siblings might take a trip to a beach or lake for a walk on such a day in the past, but we are older & lazier now. So, we sat on small balcony looking at the few trees around the parking lot & made a big deal out of seeing a few birds & how fresh the breeze felt. And, I served my six unsuspecting research participants six teas, water, & a very bland sorbet to clear palates.

Imperial Pearl from Mountain Tea was the tea that was received w/ the most comfort. It seemed like tea so often drunk in Chinese restaurants. Steeped in 85C water for 1 1/2 minutes, it was at its best as it sported some tartness & complexity; however, for the 3 drinkers who have not strayed much from standard teabags that is too strange. An increase in time & temperature made it more like the drink of restaurants, not really getting it liked, but making it comfortably familiar. Overall it was the lowest-rated yet very likely to be welcomed again & again.

Himalayan Orange organic black tea from Jun Chiyabari was the most fun. I had everyone smell the dry leaves & the pot as I hit those leaves w/ 96C water. Both aromas are pleasant & very different. Though everyone liked it, the 3 conservative drinkers did not take a second cup. Highly praised & recognized as one tea drunk & liked before.

Organic white tea from Shangrilla was very popular. Served after the other tea from Nepal (after palates were cleared w/ sorbet) I had wondered about redundancy; so, I went to smaller cups. The tiny portions went well w/ going from 2 infusions for the first 2 teas to 4 infusions for the white. All drank all though some people tasted "soapiness" by the third round.

Black TGY from Taiwan was served in the bigger cups. I did not suggest taking a sniff but some people noted good aroma on their own. The second cup was accepted by all but drunk very slowly. People noticed that is was not just a very good black tea & had something else going on. (What we "sophisticated" drinkers would call the TGY characterisics peeking through.)
Well-liked.

Roasted TGY from Taiwan served in the small cups after more sorbet, did not get sniffed either. When I noted the subtle aroma, others did also. Again all 4 cups were drunk by all & very well liked but few comments were made except things like "very good".

Oriental Beauty from Tea-Village in Thailand emitted the most comments but not the one I expected, that it tasted like white tea. In fact when I said that it did only 2 people agreed but said "Only a little." I don't know if the group finally got into the swing of tea parties or if it was the tea, but now the difference between the infusions was mentioned etc. Well-liked.

Having run the party gently I now pushed for a conclusion, what was the best tea.? I had expected it to be the O.B. from Thailand since it had gotten the most attention. It & the white tea were the second most-liked, trailing the Himalayan Orange. Why? I am not sure but think for the group it is "comfortable" enough as a black tea (what the group was brought up drinking) & doubly familiar as almost being a flavored black tea (to their palates).

Cheers

[jayinhk]

I thought this was gonna be about the Tea Party movement.

I guess it makes sense that the black teas would be most popular. I would've started with the lightest teas first, as they are more delicate and the palate gets numbed as you move up the scale. That's what they suggested we do at Wistaria and I do the same with beer (light to dark).

[ethan]

I thought this was gonna be about the Tea Party movement.

I guess it makes sense that the black teas would be most popular. I would've started with the lightest teas first, as they are more delicate and the palate gets numbed as you move up the scale. That's what they suggested we do at Wistaria and I do the same with beer (light to dark).

What you say makes sense. I chose the order w/ a concern for getting everyone to try every tea. I started w/ "Chinese restaurant" tea to avoid scaring everyone & also to have better tea anticipated. My oldest brother drinks some of these teas regularly but not so much at once, my youngest sister (w/ whom I stay) asks for me to make her some of these but often does not finish drinking a medium-sized cup.

All of us are fat; some obese. I told everyone to indulge me in the premise that a lot of tea would lead to less food. So all agreed to have at least one cup of each.

[kuánglóng]

I thought this was gonna be about the Tea Party movement.

I guess it makes sense that the black teas would be most popular. I would've started with the lightest teas first, as they are more delicate and the palate gets numbed as you move up the scale. That's what they suggested we do at Wistaria and I do the same with beer (light to dark).

What you say makes sense. I chose the order w/ a concern for getting everyone to try every tea. I started w/ "Chinese restaurant" tea to avoid scaring everyone & also to have better tea anticipated. My oldest brother drinks some of these teas regularly but not so much at once, my youngest sister (w/ whom I stay) asks for me to make her some of these but often does not finish drinking a medium-sized cup.

All of us are fat; some obese. I told everyone to indulge me in the premise that a lot of tea would lead to less food. So all agreed to have at least one cup of each.

My buddies over here judge tea primarily by its briskness and the amount of adstringency, since that's what they grew up with - pretty strong East Frisian broken Assam blends. One of them switched to sheng Pu Erh lately and all he's interested are younger shengs - the more rough and edgy the better. I've seen him using insane leaf/water ratios and had a hard time advising him not to overdo it ... 'chacun a son gout' I guess.

[debunix]

It's a beautiful Spring day......I served my six unsuspecting research participants six teas, water, & a very bland sorbet to clear palates.

Sounds like a delicious event enjoyed by all. Kudos to you for sharing a wide variety of interesting teas with them.

[jayinhk]

It does sound like fun. Maybe one of them will surprise you and develop a passion for tea!

[ethan]

It does sound like fun. Maybe one of them will surprise you and develop a passion for tea!

My oldest brother is 13 years older than me; so, it pleased me to be able to influence him a year or so ago & get him to drink tea straight. Now 77 he has a hobby that does not hurt his health. Not so deep into coffee w/ milk & sugar, now drinks the white & black tea from Nepal daily. It has helped him lose a lot of fat. (He likes other teas also but his wife only wants organic products in their apartment.)

The others will drink what I offer often but on their own continue to use standard teabags & to add milk &/or sugar.

debunix, you are right. In Boston where so many people are committed to so many endeavors. e.g. teaching a course or taking a course, participating in political & charitable endeavors, etc. to get a group together to just sit & enjoy for a couple of hours or so is special. And for my family of overeaters to be together w/o eating a lot, that's almost a miracle.