Tuesday TeaDay 9/29/09 Blends?

[Intuit]

Barley water is an ancient beverage in the UK, too. In Japan, rice and barley were used to extend precious tea supply and roasted to serve as poorman's tea standby - hence, the term 'cha', even though it's not a tea.

Technically, herbal infusions are tisanes. Further naming convention complications ensue if we ask if boiling stems, not leaves, to make kukicha makes it a 'tea' because it's not tea leaves. If we made a decoction from tea flowers, would it be a tea or not?

My point is that our hosts are famous for their 'signature blends' of flavored teas. But the term 'signature blend' is much older in tea culture, and is applied to blends of teas that are typically (not but always) unflavored.

Indeed, pu is an excellent example of a finely blended tea, with hundreds of 'signature' blend recipes on the market at any one time.

Estate teas, often presumed to be 'pure subtype' often are not pure at all; they're more typically another example of a 'signature' blend of closely related tea cultivars specifically hydridized to yield a 'branded' flavor, so that the product has a readily identifiable and consistent flavor, despite interseasonal variability in quality.

"Single malt' teas, a term coined to differentiate 'inferior' blends from true single cultivar harvest is the exception, not the rule, in Indian tea production. You can order tea by the 'single malt batch' and reorder from exactly the same batch in the future, for as long as the tea is available, presuming freshness is preserved by careful packaging and storage by the estate and it's retail front-end.

Speaking of which, Assam white tea in my cup. Definitely quite different than Nilgiri, Ceylonese and Darjeeling white teas.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

My two favorite black teas are blends: Organic Monk's Blend (Assam, Darjeeling, Nilgiri, and Keemum) and Irish Breakfast. I never really got into the Signature Blends side of thing, though I did try a bunch through the box pass. Most of the time, I only blend my own combination of teas for iced tea or to use up any little bits of tea that are left over.

Currently in my cup is Earl Grey.

[Chip]

Zencha Fuga Limited Edition to finish the TD.

[chamekke]

I don't drink blends much, but one Signature Blend that I've become very fond of is Adagio's White Blueberry-Peach Tea - as created by our very own Wesley!

[Riene]

I don't drink the flavored blends--the flavoring added to them often has an unpleasant aftertaste, to me.

About the only "blends" I'll make are when I have only a spoonful of leaves left in several tins--not enough for a pot or even a cup. If they're similar I'll toss them all in the same pot and just go for it. For example, last week at some point the pot had the remains of tins of Yunnan Jig, Yunnan Gold, Golden Monkey, and Yunnan Noir. Interesting, and definitely woke me up!

[Victoria]

Now that I think about it I do like the Cucumber White. Is that a blend, or just flavored? Hummm well anyway I like it. But I have so much tea, I rarely get to it. Nice though, I need to revisit this one soon before it gets too cool.

Speaking of which ... just today I felt the very first cool breeze of fall. I know we are due for more heat, but it was very welcomed! Fall is my favorite season, even though the weather doesn't change much here. Still it is much more comfortable in the fall.

[tea fish]

Da Hong Pao, which is usually a blend of Shui Xian and Rou Gui...

Really? Truly? How interesting. Do you know why it's so expensive in comparison to SX and RG? Or is the expensive stuff the 'real' (vs usual) DHP?

I drink leaf blends occasionally (herbal, usually) but find it difficult to get excited about them. By contrast, in the case of any number of oolongs, there's just something magical about how the leaves of a single bush (or plantation) can taste so complex--like chocolate and plum and roast grain etc--in the absence of any additional flavoring or cunning mixing of different leaves. I guess that there's some cunning oxidation and roasting involved, but still...

Tried a Japanese black tea (koucha) for the first time today, thanks to Victoria. It was yum!

[murrius]

I drink Woodie's "Sleepy Time Blend" which is chamomile, spearmint, and vanilla decaf black tea. I think it's brilliant and I drink it when I'm in the mood for a late night tea.

Earlier this evening it was a Yunnan black tea - full octane.

[JazzNGreenTea]

I do like classic blends. Irish Breakfast is cheap and bold, so I do like a mug in the morning. I also enjoy Genmaicha, which I guess would be considered a classic blend as well.... I particularly like Ippodo's New Year version but otherwise do not drink it often.

[Chip]

Kai Hua Long Ding from Adagio currently in my cup ... aka Kai Hua Crescendo

I had that same one as a sample last week. May I ask what you think about it?

Well, first impression, I liked it more than the TeaSpring version I had a year or two ago ... that one seriously reminded me of a boiled hotdog on a bun. I could not get past this flavor impression.

I will have to try it again, just did not have time to pay that close attention today. Just threw some leaves in and brewed it grandfather style.

[Trey Winston]

Well, first impression, I liked it more than the TeaSpring version I had a year or two ago ... that one seriously reminded me of a boiled hotdog on a bun. I could not get past this flavor impression.

Yeah, that would do it.

I will have to try it again, just did not have time to pay that close attention today. Just threw some leaves in and brewed it grandfather style.

Right. I also liked it, and I'm considering getting a tin just for variety. It's not a typical everyday tea for me, but different enough to be interesting

[Victoria]

Da Hong Pao, which is usually a blend of Shui Xian and Rou Gui...

Really? Truly? How interesting. Do you know why it's so expensive in comparison to SX and RG? Or is the expensive stuff the 'real' (vs usual) DHP?

I drink leaf blends occasionally (herbal, usually) but find it difficult to get excited about them. By contrast, in the case of any number of oolongs, there's just something magical about how the leaves of a single bush (or plantation) can taste so complex--like chocolate and plum and roast grain etc--in the absence of any additional flavoring or cunning mixing of different leaves. I guess that there's some cunning oxidation and roasting involved, but still...

Tried a Japanese black tea (koucha) for the first time today, thanks to Victoria. It was yum!

Oh, great! Glad you liked it! It really has quickly become a morning favorite "to go" black.

[brad4419]

The only blend I drink is earl grey and earl grey creame. I have a few others but don't like them. I have never been a fan of blends or any fruity tea. Rasberries=tastey, rasberry tea=nasty.

wuyi xiao hong pao today

[Maitre_Tea]

Da Hong Pao, which is usually a blend of Shui Xian and Rou Gui...

Really? Truly? How interesting. Do you know why it's so expensive in comparison to SX and RG? Or is the expensive stuff the 'real' (vs usual) DHP?

I drink leaf blends occasionally (herbal, usually) but find it difficult to get excited about them. By contrast, in the case of any number of oolongs, there's just something magical about how the leaves of a single bush (or plantation) can taste so complex--like chocolate and plum and roast grain etc--in the absence of any additional flavoring or cunning mixing of different leaves. I guess that there's some cunning oxidation and roasting involved, but still...

Tried a Japanese black tea (koucha) for the first time today, thanks to Victoria. It was yum!

I must note that some DHP are not blends, but many of the cheaper/low-grade ones out there are..."authentic" DHP is the result of clonal bushes, supposedly from the original four bushes, but who knows these days...the bushes are the mountains for display to the public probably aren't even the real thing...otherwise they would be under 24/7 armed guard. BeiDou #1 is commonly referred to a 1st generation descendant of DHP, and in my book, is a very good substitute... and since it lacks the name and cache of DHP, the BeiDou #1 you find can be of higher quality, relatively speaking.

IMHO, like with Anxi TGY, Zhu Ni, and a whole slew of different things in tea culture...DHP is probably more expensive/coveted because of the name, and the legend that surrounds the name, and it's a bit hyped. There are much better yancha out there that are of high quality and are easier to find.

Just my two cents, but be warned that I've been scarred by bad DHP

[kymidwife]

Seems a good time to mention that the Signature Blends Box Pass is growing nearer to the end of the list of participants. For any established TeaChatters who haven't participated and would like to sample some Signature Blends, I understand there's still quite a bit of tea in the box... so PM me if you'd like to be added to the list.

I've made lots of blends, mostly for iced teas, but a few hot chai-types... my Bite of Peach Pie Chai was really popular. And the themed Twilight blends... Freakin' Twilight Fan is my best seller! Several of my blends focused on toning down the flavor of a flavored tea... mixing it with an unflavored to have more of a "hint" instead of a pervasive flavor.

Morrocan Mint or Casablanca Twist are some of my favorite blends for summer iced tea... love the mint. I keep a pot of fresh mint growing all the time to add a few sprigs to my glass. Yummm.

Happy Tea Day,

Sarah