More like a green oolong that has a few years of age on it! Wish I'd bought more of the organic version. The woman in the store was not very good at brewing up the tea and it turned out to be much better at home.debunix wrote:Sounds very interesting. Like a yellow tea, perhaps?
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
No time for tea this morning so I had to wait until after dinner to have a bit of 2 different japanese greens - karigane gyokuro asa-giri and gyokuro yame. I realized that my supply of green tea was almost gone so I went online to order a new supply from O-Cha. More asa-giri as well as my favorite karigane sencha otsuusan, and a bag of gyokuro. My curiosity about the gyo selection got the better of me, so if my post office luck holds out I'll be drinking Uji Shirakawa Gyokuro next weekend. It didn't seem that expensive until I realized that my $33 was buying a 30 gram bag, not 50 grams like the other top tier gyos.
Nov 16th, '14, 10:45
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debunix
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
Starting off the day with Xi Hu Long Jing from Norbu: I have to wait another day for the next bag of sencha to come to room temp. The Xi Hu is up to the task: sweet, floral, vegetal, so very very nice. I'm doing a 'hot start' to wake it up--180 degrees for a flash infusion of 10 seconds or less, then down to 170 for the next few infusions, and rising temps for the next.
The yunomi from bonjiri sets it off very nicely.
The yunomi from bonjiri sets it off very nicely.
Nov 16th, '14, 17:58
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... OH, the agony of the leaves ...William wrote:Well, as every tea, it can be prepared in various ways.bonescwa wrote:long jing deserves boiling water
Re: Re:
They are tough mothers, Chip. I use off boil much of the time, now, for many green teas.Chip wrote:... OH, the agony of the leaves ...William wrote:Well, as every tea, it can be prepared in various ways.bonescwa wrote:long jing deserves boiling water
Nov 16th, '14, 20:42
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Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
If I brewed the Long Jing like they did when I asked to sample some at the local B&M tea shop--just-off-boiling water, lots of tea, long steep--I wouldn't ever drink the stuff.
This way, it makes a tea that makes me happy. That's really all that I care about.
This way, it makes a tea that makes me happy. That's really all that I care about.
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
The key is quick in and out brewing when using very hot water. You don't need high leaf quantity 2-3g/100ml. Adjust from there to taste.debunix wrote:If I brewed the Long Jing like they did when I asked to sample some at the local B&M tea shop--just-off-boiling water, lots of tea, long steep--I wouldn't ever drink the stuff.
This way, it makes a tea that makes me happy. That's really all that I care about.
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
Off the boil and flash infusions with lots of leaf works well for many Chinese greens, but I'd be hesitant with longjing. I'd try it though!
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
i used to drink quite a bit of longjing before being distracted into pu-erh and other teasjayinhk wrote:Off the boil and flash infusions with lots of leaf works well for many Chinese greens, but I'd be hesitant with longjing. I'd try it though!
if you do drop by xi-hu and take a peek at what the teahouses are doing, its usually water (from the region/well) off the boil dispensed by an attentive staff, using mid to tall whisky glass for each person. if the glass is tall, it is usually filled to the halfway mark. glass has a thick base which works very well for thermal dissipation.
if you use the thick bottom glass with water off the boil, the brew has a clear, transparent flavour, aromatics floating above brew, lively.
if one uses cooler water, or other dissipassive thick wall vessels, the brew takes on a soft, silky, mild umami. the leaves may not fully release their flavours, unlike sencha or other teas that have been steamed before
no right or wrongs, just a matter of brew/taste preference.
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
Interesting! I just got a three-year visa for China, so I'll be taking advantage of that and hopping on discount fares whenever possible! I also applied for a ground job with a local airline, so if it pans out, I'll definitely be milking my staff airfare discount!
Re: Official what GREEN are you currently drinking?
One of my friends posted this link on facebook the other day about green tea. It looks like there is a list of recommendations too if anyone is interested
http://chineseteaworld.com/green-tea/
http://chineseteaworld.com/green-tea/