Hello Teachat,
Just discovered this forum recently and I've been trying to learn as much as I can. Mostly a lurker but I thought I'd post. I'm not sure if I've posted in the right section, if not please let me know.
So a little back story, a Chinese professor of mine left the university and just before she left we got talking about tea. She travels all over Asia so she's amassed a lot of tea and teawares. Before she left, she handed me a bag with a nice little kyusu and a WHOLE lot of tea. However, I can't read the labels. They just say Korean, Japanese or Chinese tea. So I was wondering if anyone here can maybe help me figure out what I've got.
I could open them all up and find out but I don't want to open so many bags all at once.
Here are the photos:
1. I know this is Tieguanyin, Iron Buddha. That's all i know about it, some more info might be nice
2. This is supposed to be a Chinese tea
3. Japanese tea apparently
4. Japanese tea, I'm not sure if this it a tea or a herbal tea.
5. Korean tea apparently
Finally the kyusu, anyone know what the symbol means?:
I look forward to your replies!
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Hmm, interesting.
#3 appears to say "ure no cha," which would mean something like "new growth tea." I can't tell what type of tea it might be beyond that.
#4 is called "gira cha" which appears to be a brand name. It would mean something like "sparkling tea" or "dazzling tea." The stuff on the left says something about having that hometown smell and taste. I think it's a kukicha (stalk/stem tea). The stuff at the top does seem to suggest it's a "health" tea.
As for the kyuusu, I'm very poor at messy grass style, so I can't tell what it says...
#3 appears to say "ure no cha," which would mean something like "new growth tea." I can't tell what type of tea it might be beyond that.
#4 is called "gira cha" which appears to be a brand name. It would mean something like "sparkling tea" or "dazzling tea." The stuff on the left says something about having that hometown smell and taste. I think it's a kukicha (stalk/stem tea). The stuff at the top does seem to suggest it's a "health" tea.
As for the kyuusu, I'm very poor at messy grass style, so I can't tell what it says...
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Isn't white tea made from the leaves of the new growth ?Drax wrote:Hmm, interesting.
#3 appears to say "ure no cha," which would mean something like "new growth tea." I can't tell what type of tea it might be beyond that.
It does appear to be all stalks and stems, at first I thought it was some sort of grass, like hay#4 is called "gira cha" which appears to be a brand name. It would mean something like "sparkling tea" or "dazzling tea." The stuff on the left says something about having that hometown smell and taste. I think it's a kukicha (stalk/stem tea). The stuff at the top does seem to suggest it's a "health" tea.
Thank you for your input Drax, appreciate it!As for the kyuusu, I'm very poor at messy grass style, so I can't tell what it says...
Re: Help Identifying Tea
teaisme wrote:number 2 tells you what it is on the package in english
Thanks
Feb 8th, '13, 00:42
Posts: 852
Joined: Mar 4th, '10, 22:07
Location: somewhere over the rainbow
Re: Help Identifying Tea
ok, so we have so far...
1. tieguanyin (light roast green oolong)
2. huangshan maofeng (a kind of chinese green tea)
3. some kind of green tea. Ure no cha, according to Drax
4. I can't read japanese, but the kanji say it's "healthy tea" from the "garden of fragrance and taste". Doesn't look quite like sencha to me though...
5. Korean green tea. "Snow" green to be a little more accurate. Somebody else might be able to help us flesh this out
6. The character appears to be 玄, "mysterious, dark". I don't know how helpful this is. Could be a name or could refer to a period of time? I'm probably totally wrong on my reading of this character.
Sorry I don't have too much to contribute, but I love following along with these translation requests that frequently pop up here.
1. tieguanyin (light roast green oolong)
2. huangshan maofeng (a kind of chinese green tea)
3. some kind of green tea. Ure no cha, according to Drax
4. I can't read japanese, but the kanji say it's "healthy tea" from the "garden of fragrance and taste". Doesn't look quite like sencha to me though...
5. Korean green tea. "Snow" green to be a little more accurate. Somebody else might be able to help us flesh this out
6. The character appears to be 玄, "mysterious, dark". I don't know how helpful this is. Could be a name or could refer to a period of time? I'm probably totally wrong on my reading of this character.
Sorry I don't have too much to contribute, but I love following along with these translation requests that frequently pop up here.
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Hehe... yes, its like watching a puzzle come together!Poohblah wrote:ok, so we have so far...
1. tieguanyin (light roast green oolong)
2. huangshan maofeng (a kind of chinese green tea)
3. some kind of green tea. Ure no cha, according to Drax
4. I can't read japanese, but the kanji say it's "healthy tea" from the "garden of fragrance and taste". Doesn't look quite like sencha to me though...
5. Korean green tea. "Snow" green to be a little more accurate. Somebody else might be able to help us flesh this out
6. The character appears to be 玄, "mysterious, dark". I don't know how helpful this is. Could be a name or could refer to a period of time? I'm probably totally wrong on my reading of this character.
Sorry I don't have too much to contribute, but I love following along with these translation requests that frequently pop up here.
Feb 8th, '13, 13:12
Posts: 470
Joined: Jan 23rd, '07, 14:50
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:
Evan Draper
Re: Help Identifying Tea
The branding on the TGY was a little strange to me - reads something like "hundred year respected family" I think. TGY dates to like 1725, so unless that can be read as "hundreds of years," they're either talking about something other than the tea, or their hyperbolic adjectives are uncharacteristically an underestimate!
Fook Ming Tong is a Hong Kong tea shop chain with some stores in the mainland.
Fook Ming Tong is a Hong Kong tea shop chain with some stores in the mainland.
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Its a very tiny package, about 10gm. Would that be a sample or do they usually come in such small packages?Evan Draper wrote:The branding on the TGY was a little strange to me - reads something like "hundred year respected family" I think. TGY dates to like 1725, so unless that can be read as "hundreds of years," they're either talking about something other than the tea, or their hyperbolic adjectives are uncharacteristically an underestimate!
Are they good? Or are they China's version of TeavanaFook Ming Tong is a Hong Kong tea shop chain with some stores in the mainland.
Feb 9th, '13, 22:29
Posts: 470
Joined: Jan 23rd, '07, 14:50
Location: Philadelphia
Contact:
Evan Draper
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Yeah, that's a single serving pack. Pretty common in "showier" teas to have a box filled with a bunch of those. I don't know anything about that store, really, but you figure China's version of Teavana has got to be better than ours.
Feb 10th, '13, 22:35
Posts: 132
Joined: Feb 5th, '13, 07:52
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Re: Help Identifying Tea
As for the kyusu, it looks like a rough karakusa, or spiraling vine, pattern. I like it, actually It has a meaning like prosperity, long life. Auspicious.
I know a great site that describes it, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links yet...
I know a great site that describes it, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links yet...
Re: Help Identifying Tea
Can you *cough* PM *cough* it to me?Maneki Neko wrote:As for the kyusu, it looks like a rough karakusa, or spiraling vine, pattern. I like it, actually It has a meaning like prosperity, long life. Auspicious.
I know a great site that describes it, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links yet...
Feb 11th, '13, 00:00
Posts: 132
Joined: Feb 5th, '13, 07:52
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Re: Help Identifying Tea
The pattern has a long history. I think it's fascinating, and reading about it made me appreciate my karakusa teacup even more.
Feb 11th, '13, 00:02
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Re: Help Identifying Tea
... "go ahead, make my day!" Er, I mean, sure go for it.Maneki Neko wrote:As for the kyusu, it looks like a rough karakusa, or spiraling vine, pattern. I like it, actually It has a meaning like prosperity, long life. Auspicious.
I know a great site that describes it, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post links yet...
Feb 11th, '13, 00:08
Posts: 132
Joined: Feb 5th, '13, 07:52
Location: Melbourne, Australia