ThursDay TeaDay 5/29/08

[kymidwife]

Yes and no for me... have already had both flavored and unflavored tea this morning.

I started off the morning with a hot cup of keemun concerto, my recent new favorite for unflavored black tea.

Now I'm sipping one of my own blends from Adagio, called Fuzzier Naval (I think i should have spelled it Navel but ahh well, the Navy is alittle fuzzy too). The blend consists of: Mandarin Green, Oolong Peach, and Blood Orange herbal. Its my first effort at blending without blacks, and I am extremely pleased with it. The green/oolong combination is really refreshing and light, and the fuzzy navel flavor combination smells and tastes fresh and delicious. This is definitely one I will be purchasing again.

To be fair, all flavors and blends are not created equal, not even my own... my crancherry cream that I tried last night was toooo cherry for me, reminded me of taxi-cab air freshener. My best friend tried it and really liked it, though. I'll have to play with it a bit.

Looking forward to receiving my oolong and green samplers today... no telling what will be in my cup tomorrow. Mods, thank you for promoting tolerance for those of us who appreciate and enjoy the flavored teas. It's a cruel world out there!

Sarah

Sarah

[TimeforTea]

No flavored tea for me today! However, now that you mention it...perhaps I'll brew some white peach later on...

This morning I am drinking pouchong. Thank you Victoria--it does taste better brewed at a higher temperature. I was afraid it would taste soapy but it does not.

[chrl42]

What a cute Ni Hui(clay painted) yixing you got there
That teapot is about 80ml I suppose?
Perfect size for one person..

Thanks for the term Ni Hui, Chrl42. Actually, the pot is only 45 ml. I'm a fan of small pots, but this one is my smallest.

Yeah? And do you know your pot pattern is called 'xi shi hu'?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xi_Shi
Anything about yixing excites me!

[joelbct]

I love tea! Fresh Camellia sinensis leaves grown with care and minimally processed, then brewed in hot water...

To each his/her own, I try not to judge. But I am with Hop here. I think the last time I intentionally drank a flavored Camellia sinensis tea was perhaps an Earl Grey 4 years ago.

I am a purist, I don't even like traditional tea flavorings like jasmine or bergamot. No milk or sugar either, which I think is like putting milk or sugar in a fine wine. Only really necessary if you are trying to cover something up...


<-- This morning, Meleng Assam, then Japanese Green Tea later.

[witches brew]

I like flavors, and I like teas, but seldom together in the same cup. Tisanes are by nature somewhat flavored. Lavender with a slice of lime is a wonderful combination of flavors. But why spoil it with the taste of tea? I have sneaked some white tea into herbal blends, but its delicate flavor gets so lost as to be nonexistant.

Rooibos is just blah without some flavor. I prefer it fruited rather than floral.

None of the flavored greens really appeal to me, with exception of genmaicha. I guess that's technically a flavored tea. Toasty-flavored.

So, yes I am drinking a flavored tea, because genmaicha is my breakfast tea of choice, again, today

[hop_goblin]

Hope you are safely tucked away in bed by now, Fence. While you are sleeping I will just quiety pour your flavored tea down the drain ... glug, glug glug

My pictured tea today is a very special Shui Xian, a gift from a gentleman who, when I commented on the beauty of the leaves, replied “Good looking tea indeed. I pressed the farmer to hand pick each leaf to my specific needs, and paid him double for the extra requirement!”

“This is a rock-grown Phoenix SX of 400 hundred years Bushes. Can you taste the dried sea weed? ... Very lightly stabilized, not even consider fired. The last SX you tried is from Wuyi, fired and aged. Fun right?” Yes, fun, and a rare honor for me this Shui Xian from the Phoenix Mtn area, home of Dan Cong, rather than the Wuyi Mtn area.

Southern Elder, Sambucus simpsonii. Elderberry flavored tea, anyone? The pot bears a Shan Shui motif.

(Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!)

Hey Sal, is that Xishi pot one from Chinese Teapot Gallery? Lovely!

[Cinnamon Kitty]

Yes and no. Most of my unflavored teas are currently packed in a box to go on vacation so all I have left for the morning is Shincha and flavored teas. I'll probably have a bit of each before we actually leave. We're going on vacation down to Disney until next Tuesday which is going to be awesome. My cousin, who is going with me and my parents, is a tea drinker, but hasn't been thoroughly introduced to loose teas so it will be a fun couple of days between that and the parks.

No tea yet this morning, but I am planning on Kyoto Cherry Rose Sencha and the some Fukamushi Sencha Supreme. The rest of the teaday won't be incredibly thrilling due to travel, but I have a small tin of Oolong #8 packed in my purse for later and more teas packed in my checked bag.

[Salsero]

Yeah? And do you know your pot pattern is called 'xi shi hu'?

Now I do! Thnaks again!

Hey Sal, is that Xishi pot one from Chinese Teapot Gallery? Lovely!

Hop, it's from Kam at FunAlliance.

My late morning cup: a Dong Ding oolong, hold the ketchup. Anyone else see Stéphane's nice short portrait of the ladies who pick these Taiwanese teas?

[TimeforTea]

We're going on vacation down to Disney until next Tuesday which is going to be awesome.

HAVE A GREAT TIME IN DISNEY!!!

[auggy]

I answered yes and no. I am finding that I like my black teas flavored and my other teas not, though I do like jasmine greens and oolongs and the orange blossom oolong. So I start my morning with a black tea, usually flavored (today is caramel) and then have oolong or greens after that, usually unflavored. Going to do some sort of sencha when I get home. Thought about it last night and ended up having kukicha. Good tea, just didn't get me that green fix I was looking for. Of course, today I am a little more awake than I was yesterday (though that really isn't saying much) so I'm hoping that today will be a better tea day overall.

omegapd - Constant comment is a staple at our house, too. DH's favorite iced tea blend is lipton, constant comment and a little ginger. I can't drink it hot, but it does make good iced tea.

[Katrina]

Hadn't planned on a flavored tea today. Not in the mood. But I have nothing against them. To me it's like the difference between drinking a really well roasted coffee or drinking a sugary, chocolate-y mocha that is more like dessert. Certainly a place for both on my menu!

Golden Yunnan Tips this morning. Very, very, very (did I say very?) little sleep last night. The little one had shots yesterday and did not take kindly to them. Pretty miserable. Of course, now it's 10:20 a.m. and she's getting to nap. I'm quite jealous.

[GalileosDaughter]

I love flavored black teas!!


Drinking Adagio's Passionfruit this morning.

[Scarlet Glow]

No flavored tea for me. I drink mostly green and white tea and, to me, flavors just don't work well with them.

I am treating myself to a nice cup of gyokuro today for my birthday! Yay!

I agree with Hop_goblin, except I want to add that flavoring tea is more like putting ketchup on a Chicago style hot dog. Don't do that!!

[Salsero]

No flavored tea for me.

You tell 'em Scarlet Glow!

Happy Birthday! Gyokuro, mmm, what a cool way to celebrate.

[insanitylater]

i will probably have one (rot peach ginger green) because of the fact that i'm currently sick and don't want to waste better tea. there was an accident in the insanitylater household




seems to be still usable but what's not noticeable in the cellphone picture is a cross like fracture in the middle (without the bottom part) who knows if heat will cause it to shatter