Wednesday's TeaDay 4/30/08

[RussianSoul]

Stovetop whistling kettle here - works very nicely.

I have Ancient Emerald Lily in my cup. What a delight! I bought it by mistake thinking I am getting a white tea from Rishi's Ancient Tree series. Almost returned it, but curiosity and a couple reviews convinced me to try it. Ha! I love it! Gently flowery, nutty, buttery flavor. And a great double lidded tin - a keeper!

Happy B-day, Xine!

[olivierco]

Sencha Kaburagien right now.

Happy Birthday Xine!

[ThinkingOutLoud]

I don't normally boil water, opting instead to use my triniTEA. When I do boil, though, it's in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. Don't all recoil in horror at once! I think the utiliTEA is in my future.

Way oversteeped Earl Grey Bravo this morning. I left it for almost 20 minutes (don't ask) and it ended up tasting like pears, even with the addition of some lemon juice. It was actually kind of lovely. Right now, citron green with a cup of Casablanca Twist shortly on the horizon.

Xine, I have never had any interaction with you whatsoever, but who am I to ignore a birthday??? Have a great one!!!!

[auggy]

Thanks, Auggy! She's handful but super cute - being sorta overly assertive toward our big lab... And we are not exactly Cesar Millan. .

I had forgotten his name, but I love the Dog Whisperer! Of course, watching his show really made me want a Cat Whisperer show. Where's the kitty love?

[CynTEAa]

Yeah, where is the kitty love? My cat was like a flying squirrel in her kitten days...


Going back for more Sungma '08. Fab!

[Katrina]

Happy Birthday, Xine.

And CynTeaA - Good luck with the new addition. What kind of doggie?

I have a stovetop whistler here. I do have a plug-in that I used to use at work but it's packed away somewhere now. Now that I'm experimenting with gongfu I think a plug-in is going to have some attraction! But I do love my stovetop kettle.

So far just finishing off the home brewed iced apricot tea from the other day. Not sure what's next. Maybe some Ceylon Sonata.

[Salsero]

I want ... UtiliTea.

Upton Tea has what looks like the same kettle and they ship to canada.

Scruff and I both have the Upton Kettle and it is nice. As I understand it, the Adagio product is better somehow, but the Upton has worked well for me. The variable setting is disappointing in that the same setting heats a small amount of water to a higher temp than it heats a large amount of water, but it does offer at least some control.

[chamekke]

I want ... UtiliTea.

Upton Tea has what looks like the same kettle and they ship to canada.

Scruff and I both have the Upton Kettle and it is nice. As I understand it, the Adagio product is better somehow, but the Upton has worked well for me. The variable setting is disappointing in that the same setting heats a small amount of water to a higher temp than it heats a large amount of water, but it does offer at least some control.

Thanks for letting me know about this one. For anyone else who's interested, the Upton Kettle can be found at http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/catalo ... goryID=196.

From the little I've read, Adagio has a slightly newer ("improved") version of the kettle... Has anyone tried the old and new models? I wonder how significant the differences are.

Edit: I've just looked through the PDF manual that Upton Tea provides. According to them, their AK16 Variable Temperature Model only works reliably (in terms of less-than-boiling temperature settings) when the kettle is filled to the 36-oz MAX metal marker. Otherwise (the manual says), "small amounts of water will come to a full boil at lower dial settings (AK16). The most consistent results will be obtained when the kettle is filled to the internal 36-oz MAX indicator." It then says that you can always use a tea thermometer to adjust the result...

The thing is, I want a kettle that will heat the water to the lower temperature I want for green teas, OR a regular kettle that will boil small amounts that I can then stick my thermometer into. The prospect of having to boil 32 ounces every time I want to fill a small pot really bugs me, in an environmentally irritable sort of way

[Chip]

Hey Sal, I have both too!!!

The variable temp that I thought I must have...is never used. I boil water and cool. So, it is a wasted feature, but at least I do not have any problems with it as a result.

The adagio is somehow nicer and has more panache.

Wenshan Bao Zhong was mentioned to me yesterday, so I am having it today. This is a Harney 2005 harvest that is ever so slightly roasted. Amazingly it is possibly better today than 3 years ago. Or has my brewing methods improved.

Our tea is always teaching us.

Today, it is nice and gently sweet with a mild astringency..

[auggy]

Yeah, where is the kitty love? My cat was like a flying squirrel in her kitten days...

We've got one that is a bit nuts. We had to get her tail docked because she would keep chewing on it. Chewed it down to the bone then wouldn't let it heal so the top 4 inches of tail died, we had to remove it and before she was given the okay to go home after the surgery, she started chewing her tail again. Now it is a 1" nub and she leaves it alone.

But she's still crazy.

[olivierco]

The thing is, I want a kettle that will heat the water to the lower temperature I want for green teas, OR a regular kettle that will boil small amounts that I can then stick my thermometer into. The prospect of having to boil 32 ounces every time I want to fill a small pot really bugs me, in an environmentally irritable sort of way

Even for green teas, I heat the water until boiling, then I let it cool down to the adequate temperature (or i transfer from a vessel to another if I don't want to wait too long).

My usual rooibos to end the day.

[Salsero]

... i transfer from a vessel to another if I don't want to wait too long...

The low tech solution is so often the best for tea!

A thick and brothy Xu Fu Long Ya green in my cup and I am dreaming of shincha. Shouldn't be long now. Thank heavens the Chinese greens start coming in over a month before the Japanese.

[Victoria]

Wenshan Bao Zhong was mentioned to me yesterday, so I am having it today. This is a Harney 2005 harvest that is ever so slightly roasted. Amazingly it is possibly better today than 3 years ago. Or has my brewing methods improved.

Our tea is always teaching us.

Today, it is nice and gently sweet with a mild astringency..

Wenshan Baozhong for me today too, but mine is from Floating Leaves.
Just lovely.

[Warden Andy]

I recently switched from an electric kettle to a stainless steel stove-top (non-whistling) kettle. It's slower, but I think it makes much better tea.

No tea right now, goofing off in zhong wen ke (chinese class).

[tenuki]

Wenshan Baozhong for me today too, but mine is from Floating Leaves.
Just lovely.

Which one? 2nd place is my favorite from the last harvest and the new ones aren't in yet.