Thursday TeaDay 4/15/10 GreenDay?

[artmom]

Artmom, thank you for always talking about how wonderful Mariage Freres is-- I checked out the website and am definitely ordering some tea from there! (Especially the sakura green tea... I'm so excited for it! )

Believe me, Skippy, it's my pleasure! I received the Marco Polo as a gift from my Japanese son-of-the-heart (he came to us 34 years ago as an exchange student and lived with us for a year) when he returned to our home for the first time at Thanksgiving last year. Of course, he knew I loved tea, and I figured he bring me some Japanese green tea, but he said that the MP was he and his wife's favorite tea!

I'm like Victoria about their shipping cost and then if there's customs added on, that cuppa' becomes very expensive, even though "worth" it!

[Chip]

And Kame Gyokuro from O-Cha with Mrs. Chip to finish the TD, Bizen Houjin and Deishi Shiro Guinomi-s. If you like gyokuro and have not tried this one, you should definitely at least get the 50 gram bag. Under 28 bucks, a top Gyokuro value!

[Kentoz]

Almost always Sencha high quality Sencha From o-cha always hits the spot.
Once in awhile when Iam in a hurry I will throw a bag of Tazo awake (black tea) into a mug and go but if I have any time, I am always brewing Japanese Greens, tonight Sae midori from O-cha, Yesterday warashina supreme asamushi.

Sencha Cravings always once hooked your hooked for life
My fellow fanatics understand this addiction
Ken

[debunix]

I thought I hated green teas, would only drink it when it was jasmined-up, but then finally figured out really low brewing temps and short infusions could result in delicious, sweet, wonderful stuff.

What finally got me on the right track was a phrase from the Harney & Sons Guide to Tea, about the "honeyed sweetness of chinese teas", in reference to differences between japanese and chinese green teas. I'd never had any green tea that seemed remotely honeyed before, but I tried some sencha, worked out some brewing conditions I liked, and then figured that there had to be a way to make chinese teas sweet like that, for such a phrase to have been conceived of, and worked on those too.

Now I drink something green most mornings, and many an evening too: sencha, gyokuro, dragon well, mao feng, bi lo chun....

Today, sadly, was a limited tea day due to travel, so no green tea. Tomorrow, however, will be better.

[Mrs. Chip]

And now sipping the new Sakura Sencha from O-Cha. This is more sublime than any other sakura I ever had, not cherry flavoring. The cherry scent is from Sakura leaves which only impart aroma, not really flavor. The result is outstanding.

+1This tea was quite enchanting, very lovely aroma without the artificial taste of cherry!

If you have never tried Sakura Sencha, I would highly recommend this one. No artificial anything! I have had one other that quite frankly appeared to be 'sooo cherry', that it simply didn't taste natural, IMHO.