Sunday, 2/03/08, Super Bowl TeaParty : D

BYOT! Enter TeaChat here, you never know what you may find!


What will you be chugging this Super Bowl Sunday

Tea
24
71%
Alcoholic beverage
0
No votes
Both
4
12%
Other
3
9%
All of the above
3
9%
 
Total votes: 34

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Feb 3rd, '08, 19:55
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by tenuki » Feb 3rd, '08, 19:55

Salsero wrote:
tenuki wrote:and writing at a local bookshop.
So, snoopy as I am, what are your writing?


As for me, I had a first go at a Simao Yunnan from YSLLC
Writing is just a hobby so far - working on 2 novels, a screenplay, and a short story collection. One day...

So YS, you mean the ebay yunan sourcing? I've kept away from their teas so far, are they worth a try?
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

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Feb 3rd, '08, 20:45
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by FoxMackenzie » Feb 3rd, '08, 20:45

Joey (hubby to be) and I are SO spoiled by whole leaf now, we very begrudgingly had lipton bagged at a diner this morning, and snuck sips of the oolong we had in a travel mug once we were back in the car to wash the taste out of our mouths.

At another diner that evening, the decaf...I can't even describe the smell it was giving off when we tossed the bags in. It was as if it had gained sentient life and a leg up on the bagged-beverage-concentrate scale and developed a self-preservation technique by releasing foul odors, akin to little tea toots.

We shared a glance with one another, screwed up our faces, and promptly shoved our saucers to the side at the same time. The bags hadn't even fully sunk into the water and already it was painfully obvious this tea was going to have died in vain.

My only guess was that they used the other type of decaffination, the non-CO2 one, and this method somehow smells like tiny baggies of roadkill. Never again :-p

So...yeah. I'm about to brew up something non-caffiene-y from my tea collection and vow solemnly never to cheat on it again.

-Fox

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Feb 3rd, '08, 20:47
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by Salsero » Feb 3rd, '08, 20:47

tenuki wrote:Writing is just a hobby so far - working on 2 novels, a screenplay, and a short story collection. One day...
Wow that is enormously impressive not just "one day...", but today already. Did you know that Skywarrior is also a writer? You can navigate to her website through the Memberlist.

I have been happy with Yunnan Sourcing as much as one can be happy with any tea vendor. The shipping time from China is WEEKS and WEEKS, which gets a little discouraging, but since I mostly order pots and ageable teas from him, the time is not a problem. Some people also have an averson to e-bay. I don't think that premium light oolongs are really Scott's speciality, although I did have a nice Se Zhong from Fujian that I got there last year -- sort of a lighter cousin to Tie Quan Yin.

Oh yeh, Jamie at Tea On Tap has been writing a novel a year as part of that big event, whatever you call it. http://teaontap.blogspot.com/

Mmmm, tea and writing ... this is the only place I've met so many writers. Wonder what the connection is. Well, I'm sure Chip has the answer.

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:01
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by daughteroftheKing » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:01

Started the morning with a cup of Jasmine 12 and a pinch of mint leaves, then steeped it 2 more times to put on ice and take with me for the morning.
In the afternoon, made up a pitcher of iced Mango with Darjeeling 12.
Finishing up the day with a cup of Stash's White Christmas (white tea with mint and ginger).
My tea cabinets are overflowing, but I can't seem to stop buying more, either!

Osadczuk: The Earl Gray Bravo is a bit heady for me, too. I've tried adding Vanilla with some success, but haven't found anything that quite does it for me.
"Top off the tea... it lubricates the grey matter."
(Jerry Ledbetter, "Good Neighbors")

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:11
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by bambooforest » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:11

Another big TeaDay.

Started the morning off with Kumpu from Ippodo (Uji prefecture)

Then 1st flush Darjeeling from Inpursuitoftea.

Finally, Mellow Monk Tamaryokucha Top Leaf from Shizuoka I believe....

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:20
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by Wesli » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:20

Top leaf is specifically from the Aso region of Kyushu.

Just finished off some Hika roasted sencha.

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:32
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by Chip » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:32

Salsero wrote:Mmmm, tea and writing ... this is the only place I've met so many writers. Wonder what the connection is. Well, I'm sure Chip has the answer.
LOL, not sure if you mean I am the TeaChat know all (which is officially Mary) or you mean I write ummm, a lot on the forum (which I would call it too much, just can't stop talking about tea on the forum).

I would love to have the focus to actually write, because I do truly enjoy writing.

Anyway, watching the Super Bowl and drinking tea, what a strange combo that sounds like. I am mostly reading TeaChat posts including TeaDay, I really enjoy hearing about what everyone is sipping, can't do it in person. I also enjoy talking about what is in my cup as well.

I moved on past Guricha to Long Lings cousin from Anhui, Ding Gu Da Fang. In some ways, I like this more than Long Jing...it is cheaper and more assertive and retains the cool leaf sets of a quality LJ. Very enjoyable.

Next some Kabuse Cha from Uji. This is a limited edition tea from the marketing guru of hibiki-an. Once a year is a worthy buy and offers an interesting diversion from a typical sencha. It won't crack my top 10 of Japanese greens.

I have a blend of Gyokuro Karigane, A very fine asamushi sencha, and an everyday matcha. I just through it all into a tin, the matcha is full of static electricity and clings to anything, including any other tea. A few seconds of shaking, and I have an incredible blend. I am hoping to have a mimi session of this shortly.
Last edited by Chip on Feb 3rd, '08, 21:35, edited 2 times in total.

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:32
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by JT » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:32

Fukamushi Dynasty wrote:Top leaf is specifically from the Aso region of Kyushu.

Just finished off some Hika roasted sencha.
How was the Hika?
I wanted to try that but Rishi pulled all their unique sencha off the site.
I emailed them to ask why. This is what they said.

""Thanks for your interest in our Japanese Teas. We are at a time when we are revisiting our Japanese Green Tea offerings. There were a couple we offered that didn’t have the traction we hoped they would.

We currently have fresh crop of the following teas:

Fukamushi Sencha
Asamushi Sencha
Genmai Matcha
Organic Sencha
Kukicha""

"Fresh crop"? Hmmm, last I knew sencha wasn't harvested during winter..

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:34
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by JT » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:34

No beer or StuporBowl for me today. I did have some Bell's Winter White Ale last night. It's a Belgian Witbier brewed here in Michigan.

Now for todays tea.

Bi luo chun from teaspring. It's the only one I like that I've tried so far.

Guricha, as usual it's good up to the 5th cup.

Bai Hao Yin Zhen, mmm silver needle.

I opened up the Sencha Den special tin can today. I couldn't resist it anymore. It's different from the other sencha I've tried from them. Lighter, bigger leaves. I only got 3 infusions out of it. Maybe I needed more leaf.

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Feb 3rd, '08, 21:54
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by Chip » Feb 3rd, '08, 21:54

Rishi Hika. I had it once and got another bag just before they pulled their entire extensive Kagoshima offering. I like its unique light roasted processing, not to be confused at all with houjicha. It had a unique barley character.

I tried 6 of their exclusive Kagoshima line up, and was quite enamored with 4 of them. My love of the Kagoshima leaf is quite documented. I was very excited to see a concerted effort to bring the Kago leaf to the shores of the USA.

To say I am disappointed with Rishi is an understatement. Their failure with this line is due to a pathetic attempt to market a new product line. Starting with offering "old leaf" all the way to the worst customer service I have ever experienced. I have emailed Rishi 3 times about this product line in 3 weeks, no response. I also do not believe they gave it enough of a chance.

I am very disappointed.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!

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Feb 3rd, '08, 22:04
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by Ladytiger » Feb 3rd, '08, 22:04

My last tea, or tisane rather, of the day was spearmint. This ended badly. I perpared the coffee filter in the glass pot like I have been doing, but didn't rinse it was warm water, so I absent mindedly poured the boiling water in it causing it to crack. No worries though, I got this for Christmas from one of my friends in a flowering tea set from...Walmart (hey, she tried). The stupid glass wasn't even thick! So I got my infuser from Upton out and steeped it in a mug, then the mug got spearmint leaves all in it. Sigh. I can't wait to order my ingenuitea this week!

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Feb 3rd, '08, 22:17
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by JT » Feb 3rd, '08, 22:17

I only got to try 2 of Rishi's Kagoshima senchas. The Fukamushi and the Asatsuyu. They haven't replied to a few other of my emails either.
I've been wanting to try roasted sencha for a while. I found some Kamairicha for sale here but their checkout isn't fully secure for me, so I can't order it. They have some Kagoshima leaf there and some funky looking square gaiwans.
Are there other places that anyone knows of that offer roasted sencha (not houjicha) or Kamairicha?

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Feb 3rd, '08, 22:57
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by Space Samurai » Feb 3rd, '08, 22:57

Okay, I started with that Teance crap, then I had some Nakai's organic matcha, followed by, in a brilliant lack of self-control, I opened up the tin of Chiyo Mukashi matcha, so I could do a side by side. The Chiyo is the most distinct matcha I have had.

I will drink some dian hong now, before finishing the night with something green and Japanese. I finish every night with something green and Japanese.

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Feb 3rd, '08, 22:58
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by CynTEAa » Feb 3rd, '08, 22:58

What a day! Out of town at a trade show. Went to a diner for breakfast, asked for tea and received coffee. Eh! The morning was saved when I got to the trade show venue and was able to brew my precious Yunnan Gold (Adagio Gourmet Bag.)

Had Anteadote black to tea to sustain throughout the day. Then went to my friend's to watch the game. She fell in love with the Golden Monkey I brought for her. Then the Giants WON! WOO HOO! Go Big Blue!

:D

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Feb 3rd, '08, 22:59
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by Victoria » Feb 3rd, '08, 22:59

Enjoying some white peony right now, I had an earlier experience with some Rooibos I don't even want to talk about.

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