Oy, Monday again, but wait, it is a holiday and TeaDay!!!!

[skywarrior]

I don't gongfu.

Honestly, I knew of the practice, but after watching the video, it confirms my suspicions that I would never be this patient. I drink lots of tea. Lots and lots. No gongfu for me.

[GeoffK]

First cup of the day was some English Breakfast I got as a sample from Adagio a while back. Had a nice smokey taste to it. Good way to start today.

[xine]

teas today...Keemun and Almond Oolong, the oolong is helping me with my sinus headache. blech.

[scruffmcgruff]

I am off on a slight tangent with my enjoyment of flavored white teas, after finding out that I can get a flavorful cup of tea after discarding the first caffeine-filled steeping. Drinking Adagio White Peach as I write this.

Isn't it wonderful? I have always shied away from anything but ti sanes due to to the caffeine content but found this out and am excited!

I feel like a broken record, but I realize not everyone checks all of TeaChat's posts like I do.

The first steep DOES NOT wash out all the caffeine. This is a very, very, very common misconception. There are two scientific studies (discussed and interpreted in great detail here) on the matter, and neither suggests in any way that all caffeine is lost in the first steep. Only a slight majority of it comes out after 5 minutes, according to the two studies. If you are sensitive to caffeine, PLEASE, do not assume that successive steeps are caffeine-free, or that 30 seconds will wash out all the caffeine. They are not, and it will not.

This has been a public service announcement brought to you by Scruff McGruff.

[scruffmcgruff]

As for the topic of the thread... I haven't had any tea yet today. I classified myself as semi-gongfu, as I have taken what I like from traditional gongfu and have modified it to suit my tastes and aesthetic preferences.

I tend to prefer simple, near-minimalist techniques and wares. By near-minimalist wares I mean mostly minimalist, but with the occasional slightly more elaborate design to give my setup a focus.

I usually don't use any cha dao tools, though I will occasionally use tongs or a scraper during cleanup. I use a cha he (leaf display) to measure and funnel dry leaf into a gaiwan, yixing teapot, or kyūsu. From there, I add water (this step is done slightly differently depending on what I'm making), wait, and decant into a pitcher or cup (again depending on what I'm making). Oh, and I guess I prewarm everything beforehand too.

Really though, I feel that this is based on bare-bones gong fu. I don't use all 50 dozen tools (I exaggerate), I don't elaborately wash my cups in hot water/rinses, I don't use special coasters, I don't use aroma cups, etc. Of course these things are fine to use, I just don't personally enjoy them. That said, my style changes fairly often, so on another teaday I may say the opposite.

Anyway, there's a look into the "simple" brewing style of mine.

[Mich]

My first tea of the day was keemun, and then i ate a kiwi and tryed to drink tea after.....

Never eat a kiwi fruit before tea drinking the tart juice will alter your taste buds for an amount of time. made my yancha tasteless

[CynTEAa]

Yunnan Gold twice, then Pai Mu Dan. I do gongfu on occasion, but mostly in the semi category.

Time to brew more of something...

[TimeforTea]

When blokes launch themselves into a project they really have a passion for, they really go full kilter until said project is mastered. Sometimes that's to the exclusion of everything else.

Let's not forget in ancient times, Men were the hunters...solely focused on that one task at hand, whereas women were the gatherers. Of course this could also be seen clearly when a man goes shopping, he focuses on what he went to the store for, whereas we women get distracted by cute little displays, sounds, scents, etc. A man can finish a shopping trip in 10 minutes that would otherwise take a woman 3 hours.

That being said...I made adagio sencha premier but it turned out too bitter. I used too much leaf. I'll try again tomorrow with less leaf. My next tea today will be green apricot. After dinner, I hope to try white blueberry.

I'm curious to watch those links Mary and others posted. Perhaps as a green tea drinker, that is why I am interested in learning about Chinese and Japanese tea ceremonies because that's where my tea is coming from. I respect tradition, even if it's not mine.

[Salsero]

I classified myself as semi-gongfu ... By near-minimalist wares I mean mostly minimalist ... I don't ... I don't ... I don't ... I don't ... I just don't ... I may say the opposite ... the "simple" brewing style of mine.

Students, in this class of Abnormal Psych 101, we will study an example of the male of the species who has gone so far off the deep end that he actually believes people will give credence to his desperately repeated denials of the truth.

[tenuki]

In my cup this morning one of my new Hou De oolongs: 2006 Winter Li-Shan
Very lovely. The leaves are just simply amazing.

I like this tea a lot too. Very decent representation of a Li Shan. I found it to be obviously better than the 2007 winter Li Shan that I got in the same order.

[scruffmcgruff]

I classified myself as semi-gongfu ... By near-minimalist wares I mean mostly minimalist ... I don't ... I don't ... I don't ... I don't ... I just don't ... I may say the opposite ... the "simple" brewing style of mine.

Students, in this class of Abnormal Psych 101, we will study an example of the male of the species who has gone so far off the deep end that he actually believes people will give credence to his desperately repeated denials of the truth.

But but but...

Yes, perhaps a four-paragraph-long manifesto about the simplicity of my setup is a sign that there is something wrong.

...he focuses on what he went to the store for, whereas we women get distracted by cute little displays, sounds, scents, etc. A man can finish a shopping trip in 10 minutes that would otherwise take a woman 3 hours...

A typical trip to the mall:

My girlfriend: "Ooh, shiny!"
Me: "I'll be in the discovery/apple/electronics store, call me when you resurface."

I do think there is a clear female advantage when it comes to multi-tasking and juggling different things that need doing, though. Once I have my mind set on something, I can't get off it. Example: seeing the caffeine myth pop up when I should be doing schoolwork.

[Salsero]

Example: seeing the caffeine myth pop up when I should be doing schoolwork.

Well, I'm on board the caffeine issue with you. We must stomp out ignorance wherever it rears it's caffeinated head! These myths can only be set straight by telling everyone the truth. Especially since even otherwise reputable sources have so wildly repeated the error.

[tenuki]

Gyokuro, then moving on to a Li Shan.

Gong Fu just means skillful, not anal. The Gao Shan tea geeks I know cannot tell me how long they brew their tea, you know why? They have never measured it. That's right, never. These are people who go hang out with the Taiwanese high mountain farmers during harvest season and who have sophisticated enough pallets to predict the Baozhong winner before it's announced.

Gong Fu, Gong Shmu. I claim full gong ku in the spirit of people everywhere who just put leaves in a cup and drink it!

[scruffmcgruff]

We must stomp out ignorance wherever it rears it's caffeinated head! These myths can only be set straight by telling everyone the truth. Especially since even otherwise reputable sources have so wildly repeated the error.

Sarcasm? It would be very like you , but I thought you were a fellow Nigel fan... *perplexed*

[Chip]

Drinking Wu Ling oolong from Li Shan. It is a rather green and light oolong, nice gentle sweetness.