Something new is in the air ...

by **Chip** » May 8th, '12, 13:32

Something new is in the air ...

by Chip » May 8th, '12, 13:32

I have been thinking of this new format for a while. We will give it a try ... well, we already have actually, but not purposely.

I will put together more "single vendor dedicated OTTI rounds." So, look for hopefully a few upcoming for Shincha.

I have already lined up two OTTI shincha rounds with vendor members of TeaChat. One round will be O-Cha and the other round will be Hakoniwado! These will both likely feature 5 different shincha offerings.

I am sure we will continue to have "combined OTTI rounds as well where there will be samples from multiple vendors in a single round. Previously I have tried to avoid the potential head to head competition format by offering selections that were different from each other. I will stick with this format for combined vendor rounds.

Hwever, I will not rule out the possibility of Competition OTTI rounds in the future ... but I am sure we would all want this done right if we do it at all, right?

And yes, there will be several upcoming Oolong rounds as I have previously stated! Hopefully other categories as well, including Chinese greens, Darjeeling, etc.

by **teaisme** » May 8th, '12, 15:59

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by teaisme » May 8th, '12, 15:59

Great sounds like lots of good stuff coming our way, Can't wait for a darjeeling otti or a wuyi one

Chip wrote: I will not rule out the possibility of Competition OTTI rounds in the future ... but I am sure we would all want this done right if we do it at all, right?

Hehe that sounds really tricky, esp since everyone brews completely different and uses totally different gear/water. 'Competition' suggests a certain level of uniformity. Then which of us really feels qualified?...Not me that's for sure!
I would be more interested in trying teas that have undergone 'chips competition brewings'. You brew a bunch of teas uniformly, then select the top 4-5 out of the bunch that really stood out to you after a set number of repeated tastings, then send that as an otti. That would be awesome and educational for my palate :mrgreen:

, but what to do with all the teas that did not make the cut?

by **SilentChaos** » May 8th, '12, 16:23

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by SilentChaos » May 8th, '12, 16:23

Maybe a uniform competition tasting set either via Teaware SOP, or relatively cheaply through vendors (Adagio's one is $9?); plus strict steeping instructions and review formats etc.? :roll:

by **JRS22** » May 8th, '12, 18:34

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by JRS22 » May 8th, '12, 18:34

Chip wrote:And yes, there will be several upcoming Oolong rounds as I have previously stated! Hopefully other categories as well, including Chinese greens, Darjeeling, etc.

This must be a typo. You don't mention the long awaited Gyokuro OTTI!

by **SilentChaos** » May 8th, '12, 20:11

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by SilentChaos » May 8th, '12, 20:11

JRS22 wrote:This must be a typo. You don't mention the long awaited Gyokuro OTTI!

hehehhe. I don't think Chip will be just dodging stones if he did that :lol:

by **Chip** » May 9th, '12, 00:05

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by Chip » May 9th, '12, 00:05

teaisme wrote:
Chip wrote: I will not rule out the possibility of Competition OTTI rounds in the future ... but I am sure we would all want this done right if we do it at all, right?

Hehe that sounds really tricky, esp since everyone brews completely different and uses totally different gear/water. 'Competition' suggests a certain level of uniformity. Then which of us really feels qualified?...Not me that's for sure!

Likely a poor choice of words on my part ... I intended to refer to "same teas" from different vendors in the same OTTI round, not an actual competition per se, but their mere presence together in the same OTTI round would without question have a more competitive feel to it.

Normally I do not place multiple "like teas" in the same round (for instance, not more than one Yutaka Midori in a single round) in order to steer away from the competitive feel since the general intent is simply to try new and/or different teas and discuss ... open up new horizons for members.

by **Chip** » May 9th, '12, 00:11

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by Chip » May 9th, '12, 00:11

... however I will say this, Adagio wanted TeaChat to conduct competitive tastings (like 5 different Ali Shan from 5 different vendors) ... but since I ended up doing ... everything ... I went with my personal preference of formats. :mrgreen:

SilentChaos wrote:Maybe a uniform competition tasting set either via Teaware SOP, or relatively cheaply through vendors (Adagio's one is $9?); plus strict steeping instructions and review formats etc.?

In fact, this was when they brought in the tasting sets ... coincidence, maybe, I never actually asked.

by **Chip** » May 9th, '12, 00:18

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by Chip » May 9th, '12, 00:18

SilentChaos wrote:
JRS22 wrote:This must be a typo. You don't mention the long awaited Gyokuro OTTI!

hehehhe. I don't think Chip will be just dodging stones if he did that

... ahhhh ... hmmm ... indeed! Should have done this over the Winter! I had wanted to actually, and now it is Shincha. This will likely wait til the Fall, but we will see.

I believe we were discussing a series of three Gyokuro tasting rounds at various price point ranges. Like around 50, 75, and 100 USD.

woo ... :mrgreen:

by **SilentChaos** » May 9th, '12, 00:33

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by SilentChaos » May 9th, '12, 00:33

Chip wrote:I believe we were discussing a series of three Gyokuro tasting rounds at various price point ranges. Like around 50, 75, and 100 USD.
woo ...

+1 woo

by **JRS22** » May 9th, '12, 08:08

Re: Something new is in the air ...

by JRS22 » May 9th, '12, 08:08

SilentChaos wrote:
Chip wrote:I believe we were discussing a series of three Gyokuro tasting rounds at various price point ranges. Like around 50, 75, and 100 USD.
woo ...

+1 woo

+2!!