Japanese Kukicha or Karigane are teas that contain a high proportion of twigs. It can be very good, simple, and cheap.Riene wrote: Salsero, what on earth is twig tea?
Jul 12th, '09, 12:43
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One change has been to try to understand water better. I'm using a large glass pot these days (sacrilege!) but it has helped me to understand the water and see how the leaves open and swirl. I find this gives me a better sense of the tea brewing in some way. At least for now.
yesterday I went to a great tea tasting at Red Circle Teas and did not have time to try everything, so I will go back for more in a couple of days (also waiting for a keemun shipment to arrive)
I had delicious puerh,, liu bao, a wonderful chrysanthemum prize winner...
today I'm starting with Tillerman's Ruby Black but it's on to puerh later, and I need to get myself more of that chrysanthemum..
yesterday I went to a great tea tasting at Red Circle Teas and did not have time to try everything, so I will go back for more in a couple of days (also waiting for a keemun shipment to arrive)
I had delicious puerh,, liu bao, a wonderful chrysanthemum prize winner...
today I'm starting with Tillerman's Ruby Black but it's on to puerh later, and I need to get myself more of that chrysanthemum..
Jul 12th, '09, 13:34
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It is also a byproduct tea. It contains leaf stems (petioles), and veins that have been seperated out during the final sorting process.Salsero wrote:Japanese Kukicha or Karigane are teas that contain a high proportion of twigs. It can be very good, simple, and cheap.Riene wrote: Salsero, what on earth is twig tea?
A current topic on Kukicha!
There are many derivatives of this tea. It can be made exclusively from sencha byproduct or exclusively from gyokuro byproduct or a blend. Like any tea, there are many grades, etc. The best are made from first flush. There are also matcha dusted or roasted versions.
I like it a lot and consider it a great casual tea that is easy to brew.
In my cup, Kukicha with Matcha from Maeda-en. Quite nice.
Jul 12th, '09, 13:46
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Yeah, one thing has been a big help for me: Using a timer to let me know when the tea is done steeping (and following basic tea-steeping guidelines). I thought all tea tasted like hot water that used to have some leaves soaking in it (i.e. pretty gross), since I'd always forget about the steep time, go off and do something and end up with tea that'd been steeping for 15 minutes or more. Ewww. My digital watch is my tea-steeping best friend now. 
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Jul 12th, '09, 14:54
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The thing that's had the most impact on my tea is getting a proper thermometer. No more cooked greens!
Before, I guessed the temp from the sound of the kettle but soon realized how quickly you reach 60 C and how it sort of takes longer and longer for each subsequent ten degrees(did that make sense?).
The second thing has been getting better at choosing tea. And realizing that more tea/less time is many times a better combo than the other way around.
Today's first tea was Assam Namdang, a cheap CTC tea but strong enough to stand up to my homemade scones with olive oil and chopped walnuts, and the cheese I put on top.
A big pot of houjicha some time later. I am contemplating some pu erh here at work.
Side note: it smells like someone's old booze breath around my desk and I can't figure out where it comes from
Before, I guessed the temp from the sound of the kettle but soon realized how quickly you reach 60 C and how it sort of takes longer and longer for each subsequent ten degrees(did that make sense?).
The second thing has been getting better at choosing tea. And realizing that more tea/less time is many times a better combo than the other way around.
Today's first tea was Assam Namdang, a cheap CTC tea but strong enough to stand up to my homemade scones with olive oil and chopped walnuts, and the cheese I put on top.
A big pot of houjicha some time later. I am contemplating some pu erh here at work.
Side note: it smells like someone's old booze breath around my desk and I can't figure out where it comes from
I voted more tha one thing - since I started out years and years ago.
Better tea and better teaware.
Started the morning with my 09 Spring favorite from CS their Darjeeling Oolong.
Finally got this one back in my stash, after send samples to half the world, who it seems no one really loves as much as me. Which is perfectly fine, because I want it allllllll!!!
Better tea and better teaware.
Started the morning with my 09 Spring favorite from CS their Darjeeling Oolong.
Finally got this one back in my stash, after send samples to half the world, who it seems no one really loves as much as me. Which is perfectly fine, because I want it allllllll!!!
- Victoria -
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
http://victoriasown.blogspot.com/
Jul 12th, '09, 16:20
Posts: 147
Joined: Apr 17th, '09, 11:36
Location: Mississippi
No tea yet today.... 
Teapression....
Well after I figured out the loose tea goes into the pot and found out that tea is flammable everything tasted grrrrrrrrrreeeeaat! heheheheheheheheheeee But being cereal, I did add the thermometer and better teapots to my arsenal so now I battle all the teas a wee bit better, hi ya!
Sorry I am a bit wired after trying to keep my 11 year old cousin "calm", but alas, I failed to remain "calm", my grandparents were freaked out at our energy levels. My new nickname is butterfly...thanks kid.
About to have some yutaka midori (becoming my fav shincha) after going to ride some trails and try not to set anything on fire as usual.
Teapression....Well after I figured out the loose tea goes into the pot and found out that tea is flammable everything tasted grrrrrrrrrreeeeaat! heheheheheheheheheeee But being cereal, I did add the thermometer and better teapots to my arsenal so now I battle all the teas a wee bit better, hi ya!
Sorry I am a bit wired after trying to keep my 11 year old cousin "calm", but alas, I failed to remain "calm", my grandparents were freaked out at our energy levels. My new nickname is butterfly...thanks kid.
About to have some yutaka midori (becoming my fav shincha) after going to ride some trails and try not to set anything on fire as usual.
Last edited by MASALACHAAAAIIIIII on Jul 12th, '09, 18:53, edited 1 time in total.
Jul 12th, '09, 16:22
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Location: Mississippi
heheheheehe Me too. I get distracted so easily, I need a car alarm to go off.Chester Copperpot wrote:Yeah, one thing has been a big help for me: Using a timer to let me know when the tea is done steeping (and following basic tea-steeping guidelines). I thought all tea tasted like hot water that used to have some leaves soaking in it (i.e. pretty gross), since I'd always forget about the steep time, go off and do something and end up with tea that'd been steeping for 15 minutes or more. Ewww. My digital watch is my tea-steeping best friend now.
Nataliedee.com
I said not really because I was thinking about the recent past only. Of course, having a gaiwan, a yixing, and a kyusu (which I've had for a year) was a big and wonderful change. For me, simply using the "appropriate" brewing vessel makes the experience more interesting and at this point brewing bai mu dan in a kyusu or sencha in a yixing would freak me out and make the tea seem un-drinkable. This is of course mostly psychological. 
I'm going to purchase a thermometer soon and I'm thinking it may alter my brewing of Chinese whites and Japanese greens a bit. I generally just wait until the water "seems to be" around 180 F to brew them but I may find that I've been using water that is still too hot. Who knows?
I'm going to purchase a thermometer soon and I'm thinking it may alter my brewing of Chinese whites and Japanese greens a bit. I generally just wait until the water "seems to be" around 180 F to brew them but I may find that I've been using water that is still too hot. Who knows?
Jul 12th, '09, 18:14
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I would say that having two UtiliTEA kettles - one at home, one on my desk at work - has made tea-making much simpler for me. I love them to pieces. Of course I still use a thermometer for the more sensitive types of tea, but in most cases I've worked out the optimum dial settings and now brewing is a breeze.
Jul 12th, '09, 19:04
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Jul 12th, '09, 20:14
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I walked into a newly opened teashop about 4 years ago and the owner made me some high grade long jing gong fu style with the full works. The next visit she made me da hong pao in a little yixing.
Drinking tea was never the same again. Unfortunately the shop closed, fortunately I found TeaChat just before that happened.
Currently drinking some sheng. It's a chunk of an unmarked cake I have in a unlabeled bag, I think it might be something from the Pu-erh Shop sample packs I got last year. Either way it's fairly pleasant to drink.
Drinking tea was never the same again. Unfortunately the shop closed, fortunately I found TeaChat just before that happened.
Currently drinking some sheng. It's a chunk of an unmarked cake I have in a unlabeled bag, I think it might be something from the Pu-erh Shop sample packs I got last year. Either way it's fairly pleasant to drink.
I voted for More Than One Thing.
1. Buying better tea.
2. Reading several books on tea.
3. Being able to ask other tea drinkers (on TeaChat) questions at all times of the day - or night.
All of these things made me more successful in brewing a good cup of tea.
1. Buying better tea.
2. Reading several books on tea.
3. Being able to ask other tea drinkers (on TeaChat) questions at all times of the day - or night.
All of these things made me more successful in brewing a good cup of tea.
"The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation." - Bertrand Russell