Tuesday TeaDay 9/02/08 CRAVE FACTOR of black tea

[Riene]

From the awesomeness of black iced tea on a hot summer day to the zing of the first morning cup, the Dark Side rules.

[olivierco]

From the awesomeness of black iced tea on a hot summer day to the zing of the first morning cup, the Dark Side rules.

Well if you want a real "zing of the first morning cup", you should try some gyokuro or a double matcha.

Rooibos to end the day.

[henley]

I like all black teas except for Yunnan I just couldn't deal with the smell ... Sorry Yunnan fans ...

Pretty much me to a TEA! I will reach for a Keemun any day over a Yunnan, but I totally get how it has such a following.

But I went with 4, I like them, just don't crave blacks at this time. They tend to be a part of my morning routine. If I don't have one first thing in the morning, I won't.

Gotta play copy cat on my answer. I know there's a lot of Yunnan fans but I'm not one of them. Rated myself a 4. Mornings are typically the only time I drink black tea (it's that or a dark oolong) but I can't really say that I "crave" it.

Golden Monkey w/bfast & Pouchong at lunch. Will see what else is in my future. Have a good one, TeaPeeps!

[kongni]

Started with gyokuro this am, moved on to yunnan gold with my lunch and now finishing off some bancha right now. I think this bancha will make a good second steep

Lately I've definitely been hittin' the black tea. It's like liquid motivation when I have a lot going on!

[leiche]

A solid 7 for me, though I only crave them in the morning or if I've had a particularly rough day.

I'm a sucker for a strong cup, whatever the type of tea.

Started the day with SpecialTea's East Friesian Blend, two steeps of some sencha at lunch (I get bored with green tea before it gives out, certainly), and am currently on my second cup of a Shui Xian.

[jim109]

I picked 8, love my Yunnan in the AM. I treat myself with green tea and toast on weekends, experiment with Oolong. I e-mailed Adagio, 2008 Yunnan will be in later this year. jim

[augie]

Do not really crave black tea. I like yunan gold, esp. iced.

Monday night I started craving green tea just before falling asleep. Namely, sencha.

[kymidwife]

I answered 7 because even during my exploration of new teas, my discovery of my love for oolongs, and my growing appreciation for greens, I've never stopped wanting black tea. It's a rare day that I don't have some black tea of some sort. I used to crave certain flavored blacks, and more recently I've been on a darjeeling kick thanks to some yummy samples sent to me by a couple of Teachat swappers.

In my cup this morning was Castleton Moonlight Darjeeling, a 3rd or 4th steep of those leaves. Took iced Adagio white peach/tky to work... had orange blossom oolong/tky iced in the afternoon at work... and now some Adagio Golden Monkey with my dinner. It's been a couple of months since I tried the Golden Monkey and it's really very delicious.

Have a great tea day, everyone.

Sarah

[RussianSoul]

I love my Assams. I start my day with it every day. But once I had my morning cup I don't crave it any more. There's too much fun to have with greens, whites, oolongs. Interestingly my love for Assams does not extend to other blacks, Chinese blacks, Darjeelings, Ceylons are just OK, I don't crave them. So I chose 6.

[Chip]

Before heading out for a bike ride, I had the opportunity to try a sample from Pentox. Keep in mind, O-Cha's Yutaka Midori is likely my fave sencha of all time, and I had some hours before. Yutaka Midori refers to a specific varietal of tea plant.

This time, I got to try Lupicia's Yakushima Yutaka Midori. I could instantly smell and taste the familiar and unique leaf! This offering is likely less steamed shincha, as a result it is more astringent with higher notes. But it is quite good actually. I see now that it is likely the variety of plant that I am attracted to.

I need a low caffeine tea to finish another great TeaDay.

[henley]

Decided to play in the oolong box samples. Ending the day w/Iron Goddess King. Was pleasantly surprised by this tea since I don't normally like TKY. But it's pretty good & hubby likes it, too.

[geeber1]

Ooohhh, Henley, I like your new avatar ... very autumnal.