Wednesday, 2.20.08. a new TeaDay

[daughteroftheKing]

What I DO most while drinking my favorite tea is work or get ready for work.
What I ENJOY doing most while drinking my favorite tea is just enjoying the tea experience.

Started with a cup of Earl Gray Green, really old becuase it was in one of Adagio's original silver sample tins. But that EG flavor hadn't really faded.
Now I've switched over to Jasmine Pearls for the day. Somehow I'm managing to drink a cup hot, while also steeping to put on ice for the rest of the day.

Augie - if you think tea doesn't go with Snickers, you need to try a darker tea.

[Pentox]

What I DO most while drinking my favorite tea is work or get ready for work.
What I ENJOY doing most while drinking my favorite tea is just enjoying the tea experience.

My thoughts exactly.

So far for the day: Ei Ayatsuyu Excellent stuff.

[ABx]

Ah, GeoffK got it. I selected Work out of the choices because I appreciate tea most when I'm working for the moments of calm it provides while I'm working, but I would definitely have to say that my favorite is to sit someone down to an extended gongfu session and talk about tea (along with whatever else comes up). In a lot of ways that can be more of a social activity than drinking, at least with the right people. I just don't get to do so as much as I'd like.

I'm starting off my day with some Liu Bao from Hou De. It's pretty close to gone, with most of what remains being dust. I don't know yet what I'll move on to, probably some baozhong.

[Salsero]

Enjoying a 2005 Menghai 7562 Ripe Puerh at work and sneaking a look at TeaChat in between other tasks.

Last night I ordered 80 gr of cheap matcha from Maiko: $15 for the tea and $15 for the shipping!

Also, last night while rummaging through boxes of tea, I found a sample of 1980's ripe puerh that I had forgotten about. It was one of the first puerhs I ever got. Back then I remember not understanding the difference between raw and ripe (sheng and shu) puerh! Last time I drank it must have been December of 2006, so I brewed some up. I was surprised that after 14 months the taste brought me right back to December 2006! I didn't much like the first 3 infusions, just as I didn't much care for it 14 months ago. I almost dumped the 3 gr of tea out of the little gaiwan and into the trash, but the 4th infusion was pretty good, much better than the third and I went on for a total of eight or nine very nice infusions after the initial 3 that I didn't care for. The nice infusions tasted cocoa-like and malty.

In the words of the great salsero Rubén Blades: "La vida te da sorpresas, sorpresas te da la vida!"

[TimeforTea]

Most of my tea is drunk either getting ready for work or at work. The tea I enjoy most is the herbal or roobios I drink at night while winding down and either reading or listening to music, when I can really enjoy the tea experience.

Today I'm drinking dragonwell from adagio. Tomorrow I plan to try my first oolong!

[skywarrior]

lots of writers in our midst? tea is always the perfect accompaniment to writing, I think. Puts ones mind at ease, and clarifies things for me (even when writing at 3am, where I end up writing in complete gibberish).

Drinking some vanilla tea, trying to brainstorm a bit...maybe some oolong later.

Keeps me awake. It's a beautiful thing.

[Salsero]

Tomorrow I plan to try my first oolong!

Exciting! Let us know how it goes. Which one?

[osadczuk]

I love to grab a cup and hide from the childern and read. I just listen for the screams to see if I'm needed.

My hobby (cross stitching) involves having scrupulously clean hands, so no drinking/stitching combo for me.

Though most of the time it's tea and childcare/breastfeeding/cleaning. For that is my life.

Today it's Earl Grey Bravo blended down with some English Breakfast. Nummy!

[fencerdenoctum]

Yunnan Gold for this one.

I'm not much of a writer, unless you count grad school. Since I'm in my office so much I have all my teaware and teas here. You can find me brewing tea or cleaning teaware most of my day while I'm working. I get a lot of visitors who just stop by for a cup on their way to class for a pick me up. Now if I can just get them to buy their own instead of drinking mine!

You'll never find a book long enough, or a cup of tea big enough to suit me. -C. S. Lewis

[RussianSoul]

I bought a thermometer!

And I brewed my Sencha correctly, at 180 degrees. Ha! What a difference! I liked my cup very much!

For the record, it was Den's Sencha Fukamidori from the Starter kit.

To answer the poll, I do everything while drinking tea. I work, read, have breakfast or dinner, clean, help my daughter with her homework. It seems like I always have a cup of tea in my hand or near by whatever I do. So I checked 'other' which in my case means 'all of the above'.

[Chip]

Hmmm, let me see, what did I start my day with? Sencha (surprise surprise)!!! Yutaka Midori to be exact. I am getting very anxious to open something new...feel a little in a rut. But I try to remain disciplined lest I fall into my old ways of having way too many teas open.

I LOVE TO BREW TEA!!! That is what i love to do as I sip my fav teas, brew the next steep. It helps me to focus on the tea and the tea experience. I love every aspect of my fav teas...and brewing is right up there.

When not brewing, I still like quiet moments the best so I can truly appreciate all the subtle nuances of my tea, the aroma, the scent of brewed yet not expired leaves, the steam rising up to my nose, and the first sip. I would love to share that moment with others who are equally appreciative, or who could be, but who may not know it yet. We are very rare people, you know!!!

I like to TeaChat right here also. Music, study tea, search teas...jeez, would love to write...well, the forums are my writing outlet these days.

If it is a casual tea I am drinking, then whatever, but if it is a fav tea, I savour the moment.

[Salsero]

And I brewed my Sencha correctly, at 180 degrees. Ha! What a difference! I liked my cup very much!

That's delightful to hear RussianSoul. Thanks for telling us.

[tenuki]

2006 winter da yu ling li shan from hou de - mmmmm
adagio sencha supreme - yum
then back to more brewings of the da yu ling to get rid of the sencha aftertaste

[EvenOdd]

My tea setup is in a different room than my computers so I'm usually just listening to music. 90% of the time that would be metal.

[Chip]

Shade grown sencha for tea number 2. I feel so deprived when I only have 2 teas...even though 2 teas equates to 10 steeps and 2 liters of tea.

This is the last full round for this sencha...I will have to blend it with something to finish the last gram or 2.