aroma cups

[tenuki]

No, and I hate them.

I feel that way periodically as well. Then some days I like fiddling with them. The little flip to move the tea to the sipping cup always gives me a sense of accomplishment and some days I need that.

[heavydoom]

i think that aroma cups are just too gimmicky.

[Chip]

Ouch, my ego, er ... TeaGo is deflated, wounded.

Words like "hate" and "gimmicky" are running through my head, but it could be the caffeine talking. I still like them, but only use them a few times a week.

I kinda hate to ask this but am too curious not to. Why hate them? Why think they are gimmicky? Don't they serve a possible purpose.

When I was at the Vegas Expo, these were all over the Taiwan area of the show and were used for show patrons to taste and smell the oolongs. Is it more common to appreciate them if one is partial to Taiwan oolongs perhaps vs Chinese oolongs?

[gingkoseto]

Ouch, my ego, er ... TeaGo is deflated, wounded.

Words like "hate" and "gimmicky" are running through my head, but it could be the caffeine talking. I still like them, but only use them a few times a week.

I kinda hate to ask this but am too curious not to. Why hate them? Why think they are gimmicky? Don't they serve a possible purpose.

When I was at the Vegas Expo, these were all over the Taiwan area of the show and were used for show patrons to taste and smell the oolongs. Is it more common to appreciate them if one is partial to Taiwan oolongs perhaps vs Chinese oolongs?

I don't hate it, but never bother to use it. First I am lazy Secondly I somewhat feel aroma cup was a recent invention under the trend of tea contest. So it is more ceremonial than practical, and lacks its evolutionary history, unlike most other tea wares, which got popular through wide use among people due to their scientifically practical features (like sharing pitcher). But this is just my biased view. Maybe things that I think are scientifically practical are not practical at all in others' eyes

[heavydoom]

if you are in the business of sellling tea to customers/sales agents, aroma cups would be helpful, i guess. makes for an appealing presentation, and you can smell how good your tea is. great for tourists too.

[Chip]

if you are in the business of sellling tea to customers/sales agents, aroma cups would be helpful, i guess. makes for an appealing presentation, and you can smell how good your tea is. great for tourists too.

Ahhh, see, aroma is very important to my tea enjoyment, especially oolongs. Perhaps this is why I choose lighter Taiwan oolong. Either that or I am a "tourist."

Simply, I enjoyed the use of the aroma cup set, from the "flip" to breathing in deeply 3-4 times each pour, drawing as much enjoyment from the aroma as I can. TBH, I would likely never find this same enjoyment if it was non oolong, or Wuyi oolong for that matter.

I am wondering if there is a correlation between the type of oolong enjoyed to the use of an aroma/taste set. Am I sensing this here?

[wyardley]

Simply, I enjoyed the use of the aroma cup set, from the "flip" to breathing in deeply 3-4 times each pour, drawing as much enjoyment from the aroma as I can. TBH, I would likely never find this same enjoyment if it was non oolong, or Wuyi oolong for that matter.

I am wondering if there is a correlation between the type of oolong enjoyed to the use of an aroma/taste set. Am I sensing this here?

Well without starting a flame war, I have heard it said (not by me) that Taiwanese teas are often more about the aroma than the taste.

I guess what I don't understand is how much the aroma cup improves on simply smelling the cup after you drink the tea. Also, while people were saying you're going to retain heat by keeping the cups together, I would think you would lose heat by transferring from one to the other, especially if you're not pre-heating the cups in between each infusion.

To me, they seem like a waste of time and effort. I totally agree that people should be using all their senses and enjoying the aroma of tea. I just haven't found that using aroma cups enhances my appreciation of a tea's aroma, or that not using them results in a lack of appreciation for it.

[Chip]

Simply, I enjoyed the use of the aroma cup set, from the "flip" to breathing in deeply 3-4 times each pour, drawing as much enjoyment from the aroma as I can. TBH, I would likely never find this same enjoyment if it was non oolong, or Wuyi oolong for that matter.

I am wondering if there is a correlation between the type of oolong enjoyed to the use of an aroma/taste set. Am I sensing this here?

Well without starting a flame war, I have heard it said (not by me) that Taiwanese teas are often more about the aroma than the taste.

I guess what I don't understand is how much the aroma cup improves on simply smelling the cup after you drink the tea. Also, while people were saying you're going to retain heat by keeping the cups together, I would think you would lose heat by transferring from one to the other, especially if you're not pre-heating the cups in between each infusion.

To me, they seem like a waste of time and effort. I totally agree that people should be using all their senses and enjoying the aroma of tea. I just haven't found that using aroma cups enhances my appreciation of a tea's aroma, or that not using them results in a lack of appreciation for it.

"Well without starting a flame war," Wyardley, to each his own. I would not dispute that a large part of Taiwan oolong is the aroma. No argument. But they are also flavorful in a different way than say, Wuyi.

If you don't like using an aroma/tasting set, please do not use them. BTW, I do preheat.

IMHO, the point of the aroma cup, it is tall and narrow. When the liquor at its highest temp is flip/poured into the tasting cup, there is a large hot/wet surface area exposed for aroma/water to evaporate and escape only through the narrow opening, funneling the aroma to a narrow point. Thus concentrating/maximizing the amount of aroma one can breath in. This is a similar concept as the brandy sniffer though it is not heated.

To me, they "are worth the time and effort." But I say to each his own. In the words of Phyll, who borrrowed it from wine circles and I paraphrase here, "drink tea how you enjoy it, and enjoy tea how you drink it."

[ABx]

I've heard that as well - I suspect that regional differences lead to looking for different things in tea. Just like how people in HK look for puerh that's been aged faster, and so on.

To add to that a bit, one of the latest Art of Tea magazines had an article about aroma cups, and noted that their use actually originated in Taiwan, so that would make sense.

I don't use aroma cups, but I do want to get a set. Every once in a while I become really intrigued by an aroma and want a way to enhance it a bit to try and figure out "just what that aroma is!" I don't see myself using them frequently, but I can see using them periodically. There's a few scents that seem so familiar but I just can't pinpoint, and just about the time that it starts to come into view - it's gone

[Victoria]

I don't use aroma cups, but I do want to get a set. Every once in a while I become really intrigued by an aroma and want a way to enhance it a bit to try and figure out "just what that aroma is!" I don't see myself using them frequently, but I can see using them periodically.

That is pretty much how I feel too. For occasional use when I really want to enjoy the aroma or try to see how it compares to another tea.

I thought if I could find a set on the LA outing they would hold a special memory for me every time I used them.

I have only used them once - at the plantation tasting in Hawaii. Luckily for me I had seen a video of how it was done, so when they were presented to me, I knew exactly what to do. And amazingly, I looked liked I knew what I was doing.

[kymidwife]

Chip,

Thanks for the nice explanation on the aroma cups. I've been on the verge of asking why you need a special cup to appreciate the aroma... why not just enjoy the aroma of the tea in the cup, or the empty cup after drinking, or of the leaves just after brewing/straining? I wasn't clear on how the shape of the cup influenced the concentration of the aroma, but it makes much more sense now.

Sarah

[gingkoseto]

Talking about aroma cup, I've just seen an attracting one on ebay. But I don't dare to buy. I've been wondering, what does it mean that some sellers from abroad would start with 1 cent listing with free shipping? Is it a spam? I saw many abroad sellers do this free shipping and 1 cent listing thing and some final prices are like $3. But this doesn't make sense at all. Most of them sell fake antique. But even for fake antique, it's not possible to ship something with few dollars

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chinese-unique-popu ... 240%3A1318

[chamekke]

I have only used them once - at the plantation tasting in Hawaii. Luckily for me I had seen a video of how it was done, so when they were presented to me, I knew exactly what to do.

Can you share the location of that video, please? (Must've been a good one!)

[Victoria]

I'm not sure what was the first one I saw - I saw a couple I think, I wish I could remember!!

But the one I posted earlier gives a pretty good idea and I believe it is one of our members, but not sure which one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--jBK3QoMn8

I found it!! It is very long - you might want to skip ahead to 5:30

This one includes the rolling the aroma cup in your hands as well as the slurping!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLcGch6koh4