Tuesday TeaDay 9/29/09 Blends?

[JBaymore]

If it has the word "tea" on the package..... I drink it. No "herbals" really though. Also love mugicha in the summer when it is hot.....not technically "tea".

best,

.............john

[MASALACHAAAAIIIIII]

I like blends! Need to try more though. Guess you could say that masala chai is an everchanging blend, I throw in a ton of stuff and mix together teas when I am running out. I wanna try Irish breakfast and english breakfast. I am pretty Irish so maybe that first , JK!

I am having severe masala chai withdrawals at the moment... Trying to go to bed earlier, not much time to make it either. Got some food from the indian restuarant last night, first time in a year or so that I didn't order it, he was like NO HOT TEA????? why?!!!!! its cold outside now!!! hahahaha, I miss you masala chai!

2nd cup of puttabong before physics class...wired! ahhhhh hahahaha, capcitanceage dudes!

[olivierco]

No homemade blends. I drink however karigane sencha or gyokuro.

No tea today.

[brlarson]

No tea today.

You haven't drunk tea for several days now. Are you doing a tea fast?

[JBaymore]

Are you doing a tea fast?

Not having tea would seem more like a tea "slow" than a tea "fast".

best,

.............john

[Chip]

No homemade blends. I drink however karigane sencha or gyokuro.

No tea today.

I hope you will be drinking tea again soon, Olivier!

Japanese teas seem to end themselves to blending. The different types, but also, I should change my answer since I likely drink Japanese blended sencha-s w/o even realizing it since it is a fairly common practice.

Began the TD with Yutaka Midori from O-Cha, pure and unblended! SweeTea enjoyed the umumi while Wulong enjoyed treats.

[olivierco]

I hope you will be drinking tea again soon, Olivier!

Thanks. Next week, perhaps even sooner.

[leiche2]

I drink blends sometimes. If it sounds like I might like it, I'll try it.

This afternoon has been abhominably tea-less so far. Time to go make some genmaicha with matcha.

[Chip]

Clarification is in order.

A blend, in my experience, is a mixture of two or more standard tea types.

Generally yes, but that is following the adage that only tea is really tea. To many hard liners it is considered some kind of a faux pas to call anything tea that is not from the tea plant. But what about Mugi-cha, simply roasted barley, yet is named "cha."

While I may generally agree with you, the line is not alwys so black and white it seems.

Kai Hua Long Ding from Adagio with DW currently in my cup ... aka Kai Hua Crescendo, a bit of a concession in the name. Adagio has adopted part of the Chinese name for this green tea while "blending" it with their own musical nomenclature. Are they possibly listening to us?

[gingkoseto]

I searched my memory and believe the only "blend" I've had is puerh+chrysanthemum, which is offered by many Chinese dim sum restaurants. It sounds very healthy. I am not crazy about its taste but don't dislike it either.

I chose "other" because there can be many vaguely defined "blends". If puerh+chrysanthemum counts a blend, probably (jasmine flower+green tea) should as well. Then should blends of herbal "tea" count? A few of my favorite herbal blends are (rose bud+goji); (chrysanthemum+goji); (osmanthus+plum). But I always think one would get in trouble by calling herbs "tea", since there are so many herbs that we can enjoy by putting them in water. Are they all "tea"? I just made a big pot of "soup" with goji, longan, green bean "white wood ear" (some mushroom) and sugar. Will that be called a "tea"?

[Trey Winston]

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?

[Salsero]

No homemade blends.

+1 (Or is it -1?)

[Victoria]

In my cup this afternoon - Baozhong from Camellia Sinensis.

[Maitre_Tea]

I'm surprised that this hasn't been mentioned yet...but what about factory pu-erh, which is usually a blend of the different estates...and even in so-called "single-estate" pu-erh there could be some blending...and we can't forget the most "famous" of the wuyi yancha...Da Hong Pao, which is usually a blend of Shui Xian and Rou Gui...

No tea today, but gearing up for some serious tea drinking tonight with some local tea heads

[Maitre_Tea]

But I always think one would get in trouble by calling herbs "tea", since there are so many herbs that we can enjoy by putting them in water. Are they all "tea"? I just made a big pot of "soup" with goji, longan, green bean "white wood ear" (some mushroom) and sugar. Will that be called a "tea"?

No, that's called a delicious dessert!