Thursday TeaDay 1/14/10 Geeber Versus Greenwood? :)

[Victoria]

Leaning more towards Greenwood's PoV, but I do get in a habit sometimes of using a favorite cup over and over for days. I do this more often at work, but sometimes at home too.

Soom Estate Darjeeling to start my day, have a nice day everyone!

[debunix]

I like not drinking out of the same cup every time, because sometimes I really want to see the color of the tea and drink more at once--then I go for the glass mugs--and sometimes I want to enjoy gazing at my prettiest but very tiny cups, as when doing a long gongfu session. I would like one or two nice cups in between the 50-60 mL cups I use for gongfu, and the 250mL glass mugs, but that in between size is hard to find. Fortunately, that, and the search for the elusive tiny gaiwan, gives me excuse for repeated browsing in shops and online.

[Victoria]

Having a very large assortment of cups (mostly English style), I enjoy using a different tea cup for my various tea times, so I'm leaning more toward Greenwood. Now, I'll be matching tea more to the tea ware if it is a green tea -- that just seems to lend itself to a tea bowl or handle-less cup!

You know, we'd like see some of these beauties. Plenty of English teaware fans on this board. In fact, I just bought a Japanese "English Style" cup and saucer, I'll post it to the show off thread later today.

I would really like to encourage you English style fans, not to feel intimidated by all the Japanese and Chinese teaware on the Show Off Your Pots and Cups thread, it is for all teaware, consider this a challenge to strut your stuff!!!

[Seeker]

+1
Yes - what Victoria said.
I really enjoy the style and art and finesse of english style /European style teaware. I don't really have any, and god help me if I should get into that too!

[LauraW]

I would really like to encourage you English style fans, not to feel intimidated by all the Japanese and Chinese teaware on the Show Off Your Pots and Cups thread, it is for all teaware, consider this a challenge to strut your stuff!!!

Victoria, as soon as I have the time to get to experimenting with my camera, I'll start putting pics up. I have a decent mix of asian-influence and English-style, but as I said before, not exactly an extensive collection..

I've been looking through the photography thread, so hopefully that will help. I'm used to taking pictures of theatre, where I'm much more focused on big-picture. And dealing with trying to capture the lighting on a set is ... difficult. So it's a whole new genre of photography for me. Maybe this weekend I can play with my camera...

[silvermage2000]

I recently had a cup of creamy peppermint by compass teas.

[Chip]

Lean towards Geeber. I like to pick out my teaware carefully, but I find if I put too much thought into that, I don't end up drinking much tea.

HAH, teacup analysis paralysis? I can definitely relate ... and given too many choices, well, really cuts into tea consumption!

Thinking about this, I have shifted a hair towards Geeber's side since I tend to go with a go to group of cups more times than not, and save the better ones for better days!

Finishing up a comparison tasting of another Yame, Yame Fukamushi from Den's. This Yame seems a bit better than the morning Yame from GreenTea-Japan. Has similar flavor and aroma, but does not have the odd after taste I experienced with the GT-J version, but tbh, this is based on limited tastings.

Oh, enjoying this in a Sansai wan by Seigan. SO # 6 I think.

[leiche2]

Definitely in the middle on this one. I'm something of a creature of habit, so I often use the same few for days on end, but I do have a smallish assortment of mugs and cups. Variety is great, but I quickly become attached to my favorite pieces. Today, it's a great earthy piece by Mahoggle.

Had an awful start to my day: I knocked over a full, hot cup of tea onto my desk, carpet, and the pillow I'd been reaching for to pick up off the floor. I've never been so happy that my laptop is up on a cooling tray.

[Victoria]

I would really like to encourage you English style fans, not to feel intimidated by all the Japanese and Chinese teaware on the Show Off Your Pots and Cups thread, it is for all teaware, consider this a challenge to strut your stuff!!!

Victoria, as soon as I have the time to get to experimenting with my camera, I'll start putting pics up. I have a decent mix of asian-influence and English-style, but as I said before, not exactly an extensive collection..

I've been looking through the photography thread, so hopefully that will help. I'm used to taking pictures of theatre, where I'm much more focused on big-picture. And dealing with trying to capture the lighting on a set is ... difficult. So it's a whole new genre of photography for me. Maybe this weekend I can play with my camera...

Oh, I would love to see, I know we all would. We are all so into tea/teaware and enjoy looking at pictures even if they are or are not our own particular style. And no worries on trying to present something artistic. There are some great tips on the photography thread for sure, but don't let that stop you from just posting some "snaps".

[Dreamer]

Leaning toward Greenwood's PoV...I don't have very many cups/bowls (my family would disagree ), but the ones that I do have, I feel "driven" to make sure they get used. If I don't use them, then I feel like their creation was a waste of time and my purchase was a waste of money. It was this thinking that had me put some cups on the 'swap. (They came with an "easy gaiwan" set,) I liked how they looked and they were nice cups, but they were a shape that wouldn't work for me. I knew they would just "never come up in the rotation". They found a good home with geekgirl and have appeared in a picture or two.

Today's teas: Black Spirals at breakfast. English Breakfast at work (from a bag and it was actually pretty tasty). This afternoon I'm totally loving some YM sencha in my little blue hagi cup.

Warmly,
Dreamer

[TomVerlain]

I like having a favorite cup and use that continuously, until I suddenly get a new favorite cup. Pretty much all chinese/japanese handleless cups.

todays tea was a loose leaf pu'er mix of shu and sheng.

[artmom]

Tried my Dragon Well green tea sample this evening. Hmmmm, I figured green tea would be an acquired taste. I have had several green teas in the past (unidentified) and didn't care for them. I didn't know how to brew them, what temp the water should be, etc.

So I followed directions as closely as possible. The green leaves threw me--reminded me of overcooked greens or something. So, I tried to focus on the cup and the flavor. I'll keep trying to see if I like it any better.

[GreenwoodStudio]

Fun topic I'm biased though. I enjoy my pots like old friends. They usually remind me of a place and time, much like a song might stir up certain memories and images. I especially adore ware made by potter's whom I admire and/or friends, so again it's the memories associated with the ware that usually make my cuppa special, even if it's Red Rose :/

UNCLE, geeber, UNCLE,,,you win

[debunix]

Tried my Dragon Well green tea sample this evening....I'll keep trying to see if I like it any better.

It took me a dozen or more brewings to finally get a sweet, thick, vegetal brew of dragon well without a lot of bitterness. For me, it took about 3 grams of leaves in an 80mL gaiwan, water at 175 degrees, infusion times 30", 10", 30".

Of course, I forgot a last infusion this evening for about 5 minutes, and it was undrinkably bitter.

Still, three times in a row it was exquisite, enough that I may even buy more someday.

[Symmetry]

Definitely Geeber. I like my old, familiar, comforting things.