Aug 15th, '08, 23:16
Posts: 1559
Joined: Jan 28th, '07, 02:24
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Contact:
Space Samurai
Aug 16th, '08, 11:31
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th, '08, 19:02
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Contact:
chamekke
Lovely, lovely Hawaiian tea! Let's break out the poi.
(I don't really want to eat poi. I just like to take any opportunity I can to say poi.)
And I thought, "Nabbed. No longer will I be able to secretly flog my tea sample on British Columbia's black market at terrifyingly inflated prices..."
BTW, Proin, I've seen a standard air-mail letter get from my in-laws in North Devon to me here in B.C. in only three days. Whereas it has taken up to a week and a half to get a first-class letter from my father in Ontario, Canada. Sometimes I suspect that the fault may not be entirely the U.S. Postal Service's
(I don't really want to eat poi. I just like to take any opportunity I can to say poi.)
Ha! When I first read this, I thought Geekgirl was wanting us to take photos of the tea to prove that we've drunk it.GeekgirlUnveiled wrote:Me too please! and I second the vote for pictures!
And I thought, "Nabbed. No longer will I be able to secretly flog my tea sample on British Columbia's black market at terrifyingly inflated prices..."
BTW, Proin, I've seen a standard air-mail letter get from my in-laws in North Devon to me here in B.C. in only three days. Whereas it has taken up to a week and a half to get a first-class letter from my father in Ontario, Canada. Sometimes I suspect that the fault may not be entirely the U.S. Postal Service's
Aloha all!!
I am back and I have the much sought after HAWAII GROWN TEA!! After attending to some family business in Honolulu, I hopped a flight to the big island, destination: an area north of Hilo called Onomea Bay. After picking up my rental car, and a short bout of being lost and driving in circles, I finally arrived at Onomea Tea Co. There I was warmly greeted by the owner Mike whom I have been corresponding with via email over several months, and we had spoken by phone as well. He graciously invited me into his beautiful home and led me through to a lanai with a view so breathtaking I was at a loss for words. As he set up the gongfu table he told me about how the land used to belong to a Hawaiian king, and I could hardly fathom a single dwelling with a view and amount of property such as this stretching out in front of me on all three sides, gentle and green rolling down to the ocean. My pictures do not do it justice, trust me, it is breathtaking.
I spent about and hour and a half with Mike who graciously made time for me, although his schedule was quite busy that day. He prepared 5-6 teas for me to taste and we both enjoyed them in the traditional manner which included the tasting/aroma cups. We spoke of our love for tea, and we spoke of you all, as we sat surrounded by beauty and overlooking the ocean and the tea field.
Mike had apologized profusely over the lack of tea quantity and also that fact that some of, actually most of, what he felt were his best teas, were sold out. The locals are dialed in and anxiously await the harvest, and snap them up as soon as they roll out, leaving none for the rest of us!! Even some is purchased by a special Taiwan agent who buys for high demand Taiwanese clientele with a taste for Hawaiian tea. No wonder it is so hard to procure!
Mike uses a blend of 3 Japanese tea plants imported from Japan to be grown in Hawaii's rich soil. The Japanese told him the tea cannot be successfully grown at low elevations, but Mike believes Hawaii's unique lava enriched soil and temperate climate, proves otherwise.
Benikaori, Yutakamidori, Yabukita make up the blend that is either steamed, pan fried, oolong roasted or processed as a black.
I think I may have actually squealed with delight as I saw the basket Mike had prepared for me with about 30 bags of tea to choose from. Grabbing them and laying them out on the table I wanted 5 bags of each or the four teas offered, 20 bags. Until ... the price. Yikes. Premium demand creates premium pricing and unfortunately I had to pare down my order to 12 and I still left with my head reeling and a nervous excitement about what I had just done and spent. The mathematics coming close to averaging to over 60 cents per gram.
So what I have to offer is a steamed green, pan fried green, a black and a 60% oolong.
I would like to send everyone two teas. Because the amount is less than I anticipated, I am asking that each of you put in a first and second choice for your two and I will try to accommodate you on a first come first serve basis. You may also want to include your 3rd and 4th choice, so I will have more direction in making substitutions if necessary.
I am very pleased and excited about sponsoring this unique tasting, I hope you will enjoy these lovely Hawaiian grown teas as much as I did.
Victoria
View from the lanai of the grounds and the new Tea Tasting house being built:
I am back and I have the much sought after HAWAII GROWN TEA!! After attending to some family business in Honolulu, I hopped a flight to the big island, destination: an area north of Hilo called Onomea Bay. After picking up my rental car, and a short bout of being lost and driving in circles, I finally arrived at Onomea Tea Co. There I was warmly greeted by the owner Mike whom I have been corresponding with via email over several months, and we had spoken by phone as well. He graciously invited me into his beautiful home and led me through to a lanai with a view so breathtaking I was at a loss for words. As he set up the gongfu table he told me about how the land used to belong to a Hawaiian king, and I could hardly fathom a single dwelling with a view and amount of property such as this stretching out in front of me on all three sides, gentle and green rolling down to the ocean. My pictures do not do it justice, trust me, it is breathtaking.
I spent about and hour and a half with Mike who graciously made time for me, although his schedule was quite busy that day. He prepared 5-6 teas for me to taste and we both enjoyed them in the traditional manner which included the tasting/aroma cups. We spoke of our love for tea, and we spoke of you all, as we sat surrounded by beauty and overlooking the ocean and the tea field.
Mike had apologized profusely over the lack of tea quantity and also that fact that some of, actually most of, what he felt were his best teas, were sold out. The locals are dialed in and anxiously await the harvest, and snap them up as soon as they roll out, leaving none for the rest of us!! Even some is purchased by a special Taiwan agent who buys for high demand Taiwanese clientele with a taste for Hawaiian tea. No wonder it is so hard to procure!
Mike uses a blend of 3 Japanese tea plants imported from Japan to be grown in Hawaii's rich soil. The Japanese told him the tea cannot be successfully grown at low elevations, but Mike believes Hawaii's unique lava enriched soil and temperate climate, proves otherwise.
Benikaori, Yutakamidori, Yabukita make up the blend that is either steamed, pan fried, oolong roasted or processed as a black.
I think I may have actually squealed with delight as I saw the basket Mike had prepared for me with about 30 bags of tea to choose from. Grabbing them and laying them out on the table I wanted 5 bags of each or the four teas offered, 20 bags. Until ... the price. Yikes. Premium demand creates premium pricing and unfortunately I had to pare down my order to 12 and I still left with my head reeling and a nervous excitement about what I had just done and spent. The mathematics coming close to averaging to over 60 cents per gram.
So what I have to offer is a steamed green, pan fried green, a black and a 60% oolong.
I would like to send everyone two teas. Because the amount is less than I anticipated, I am asking that each of you put in a first and second choice for your two and I will try to accommodate you on a first come first serve basis. You may also want to include your 3rd and 4th choice, so I will have more direction in making substitutions if necessary.
I am very pleased and excited about sponsoring this unique tasting, I hope you will enjoy these lovely Hawaiian grown teas as much as I did.
Victoria
View from the lanai of the grounds and the new Tea Tasting house being built:
Last edited by Victoria on Jul 4th, '10, 23:40, edited 1 time in total.
Ok - My list is closed:
01. scruffmcgruff
02. fencerdenoctum
03. brandon
04. Chip
05. Mary R
06. Wesli
07. Pentox
08. chamekke
09. Ed
10. Proinsias
11. joelbct
12. Space Samurai
13. GeekgirlUnveiled
14. olivierco
15. Thirsty Daruma
16. ABx
Addresses please!! And Ed, saving your spot, please confirm you want in.
Thanks!
01. scruffmcgruff
02. fencerdenoctum
03. brandon
04. Chip
05. Mary R
06. Wesli
07. Pentox
08. chamekke
09. Ed
10. Proinsias
11. joelbct
12. Space Samurai
13. GeekgirlUnveiled
14. olivierco
15. Thirsty Daruma
16. ABx
Addresses please!! And Ed, saving your spot, please confirm you want in.
Thanks!
- Victoria -
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
But I have a ton of tea right now that I need to drink up, so I will sit this one out. I'm very much looking forward to seeing all of your reviews, though.Gorgeous photo's! My curiosity is piqued...Victoria wrote:So what I have to offer is a steamed green, pan fried green, a black and a 60% oolong.
My preference:
1 Steamed Green
2 Black
3 Pan Fried Green
4 Oolong
[edit, corrected types, i thought a 'pan-fired black' sounded odd
]
Last edited by joelbct on Sep 5th, '08, 14:45, edited 1 time in total.
Sep 5th, '08, 11:56
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Joel, that is pan fired green, not black!
WOW! This guy has obviously made his fortune elsewhere. That is a well manicured tea garden. It looks like it was a very rewarding, though very costly experience, for you. Thanks for sharing.
I cannot wait to try the 2 greens, I hope!
Steamed green
Pan fired green
Black
Oolong
WOW! This guy has obviously made his fortune elsewhere. That is a well manicured tea garden. It looks like it was a very rewarding, though very costly experience, for you. Thanks for sharing.
I cannot wait to try the 2 greens, I hope!
Steamed green
Pan fired green
Black
Oolong