"let's not mention wulong" Tuesday 7/08/08

[olivierco]

Karigane sencha after lunch and now Darjeeling Puttabong SFTGFOP1

[auggy]

I'm not all that fanatical. I put then in airtight containers and in my dark pantry. No fridge, though. They'd migrate to the back and I'd forget about them. Though when trading teas, I try to be careful since I know others are pickier than me. But I'm running out of little tins to send to people for samples so I'm going to have to get something else to use for upcoming trades.

Caramel tea with a little milk for me today. Really good. Wasn't a huge fan of it the first time I had it, but with milk it is very dessert-y.

[kymidwife]

I don't consider myself a fanatic. In fact, I'm sure some of my practices would curl the toenails of some of the purists.

I have some great vintage pyrex cannisters that I keep certain teas in, usually the ones from Teavana that came in a bag (and I was too cheap to buy their expensive tins). They are not UV protected and they are clear, but they are very airtight with a ring seal in the top... so I just keep them in a dark place. The rest I keep in tins in my kitchen cabinets... and the ones that overflow onto the counter because I'm running out of room.

In my cup now... jasmine oolong iced tea... most delicious.

Off to work... I have a bun in the oven that needs to come out soon.

Sarah

[xine]

Not very fanatical...all my tins are in a three-drawer plastic caddy. Samples from shows are stuffed into another drawer...teaware kept in the cupboard. The tea caddy is on wheels, so it's ready to go if ever needed.

Having TKY in the personaliTEA teapot.

[Katrina]

Definitely not fanatical. While I am obsessive about keeping everything in tins and labeled well (and I do have a written inventory...), the tins are not double lidded and I absolutely store teas WAY beyond the recommendations. And I have never stored a tea in the fridge. (Showing my true green tea ignorance here...)

A Keemun from EW to start today. (Thanks!) Then I'll likely have some more of that mint masala chai that I put in the fridge on Sunday.

[Victoria]

My first cup at work is this fabulous oolong
from the box pass called Iron Goddess King.
One of the best.

[RussianSoul]

My first cup at work is this fabulous oolong
from the box pass called Iron Goddess King.
One of the best.

Noted and recorded.

I am dutifully drinking Japanese green, shincha Hashiri continues to be delightful.

I am not fanatical, but somewhat OCD about my containers. I can't stand various mismatched baggies and pouches in my cabinet, so I move the teas into food-grade metal tins and make labels like Katrina. But my tins are not double-lidded. It may not be a great factor because I am getting very small amounts of teas, all samples really, and they are gone within two months, or I don't like them, so it doesn't matter. My unopened shincha lives in a freezer. All is good, except that the cabinet with my teas is right above the toaster . This will change shortly.

[witches brew]

I'm cautious, but not fanatical about tea storage. Unopened bags go in the fridge (I have one TeaShelf in there, not a whole TeaFridge). Opened teas go in double lidded tins. Herbs for tisanes go in glass jars with good seals, hidden from light in my herb cupboard.

I try not to open too many teas at once (and sometimes I succeed...sometimes not. How did I end up with twelve open right now? ) So, if my daily cup sounds a bit repetitive, it's because I am trying to enjoy what is open and at hand.

That said, it was another genmaicha morning. And it is looking like a darjeeling afternoon to come. I have a long but pleasurable day ahead of me.

[geeber1]

Not fanatical, but I need to find a rack or something to store tea tins in, my countertop is getting covered with them, especially sampler tins!

This morning I had iced chai, again! I'm with elchai, stuck on this one for a while.

[Victoria]

But I'm running out of little tins to send to people for samples so I'm going to have to get something else to use for upcoming trades.

Check out Upton for small round cannisters and foil bags & pouches for sample sending.

[cane]

I voted for not fanatical. Most of my teas arrive in tins or black resealable bags, so I tend to leave them in these.
If I have a sample that is not resealable I usually will use a ziplock freezer bag and just keep it in my tea cabinet

My tea today is a Bai Hao Yinzhen, tastes lovely, such a fresh smooth aroma, slightly grassy, yet a very full body. mmmm

[Salsero]

My tea today is a Bai Hao Yinzhen, tastes lovely, such a fresh smooth aroma, slightly grassy, yet a very full body. mmmm

Great photos! Thanks. I just got some of this from TeaSpring yesterday and am wondering how best to brew it. Any suggestions?

[cane]

My tea today is a Bai Hao Yinzhen, tastes lovely, such a fresh smooth aroma, slightly grassy, yet a very full body. mmmm

Great photos! Thanks. I just got some of this from TeaSpring yesterday and am wondering how best to brew it. Any suggestions?

One of the great things at least with the silver needle I got is it is extremely forgiving, so you can brew it light and it has very nice subtle characteristics, but you can also push it with out it turning and biting you. One of the reasons I like it for the office, because of all the distractions.

I personally brewed this today in a gaiwan about 1/4 full, used 190F water and brewed it for about 60s initially, and added time to it each subsequent infusion. Those are guestimations, I am doing this at work, so nothing exact.

[Salsero]

I like it for the office, because of all the distractions.

Just what I need, a forgiving tea for the office. Thanks for the guidelines; they give me a place to start.

[Chip]

I am pretty fanatical.
I didn't chose the first option because I haven't got any teafridge.

I have only many plastic boxes in my fridge to store my unopened japanese greens.
I also store my opened tea packages in the coolest room of my apartment.
I only keep rooibos and black tea in my kitchen.

This morning Yunnan golden tips and houjicha with my lunch in a few minutes.

Having THE TeaFridge, I felt anything but first option would be viewed as denial on my part.

I do consider myself as fanatical as I can be. I am partly out of necessity since I live in an old stone house that is less than ideal for tea storage. So, I control what I am able to control because some variables are out of my control.

I do everything possible to maintain freshness of my tea, unopened and opened...period.

Adagio Keemun Concerto this morning.

Fukamushi Supreme a la O-Cha currently in my cup...it is indeed supreme. I broke out my smaller tetsubin and am using it with this session to see if I like using it as a "pitcher." I figure it will keep the brewed tea good and hot compared to the glass pitcher I had been using. So, although it is a teapot, I am not brewing in it, but pour from my Tokoname into it and pour into my cup from there.

I like using it...it is a good size for this purpose. And it is a tetsubin after all.