Thursday TeaDay 1/08/09 "AromaTeaTherapy?"

[Victoria]

Yes, I love smelling the leaves in a preheated gaiwan. I am very
aware of the aroma in each step. Unfortunately due to my work
schedule, most of my brewing is English style and I don't preheat.

Late checking in here!! Crazy work day.
Started the day with Bohea at home,
then moved on to AliShan Traditional oolong here
at work.

[Scarlet Glow]

I have a bad habit of not pre-heating the pot... but now I want to try this.

[Chip]

Having alishan now, right my after lunch.

Earlier, I went to the mall to get more matevana and picked up one their frosted thermal tumblers. I tried using it with the metal strainer that it came with, and ended up burning the tip of my fingers when I tried to remove it because it was super hot. Wonder if there's a better way to use the darn thing... Ruined my tea session totally.

Seems Teavana does that a lot to TCers? Maybe it should be sold with pliers?

Indecisive about the next tea, usually means an easy and short black, maybe Adagio Fujian Baroque?

[Chip]

I have a bad habit of not pre-heating the pot... but now I want to try this.

I encourage you to give it a go, and anyone else who has not at least tried it. It can be mind bending and then you realize what you have missed all along.

[Intuit]

Always smell the tea in the cannister before making tea. That's habitual - to check quality and to reinforce learning of dry tea smell characteristics (comes in handy if you haven't a label to confirm tea identity).

Always smell the washed tea leaves, if they are Oolong or Black teas, sometimes green teas. Many Green and all White teas are nearly odorless to me until its been infused.

There is a comforting smell in very familiar teas that presages tasting, and so adds to the pleasure of the overall tea drinking experience. Probably by triggering a greater variety of taste/odor receptors in the oral cavity.

Maybe by conforming to taste/odor memory of previous pleasant tea experiences?

[shogun89]

I always do for puerh, It smells soooo good

[kongni]

I like the smell of dry leaves, steeped leaves, you name it
Shogun, I agree! Puerh can have a really nice earthy aroma....mmmmm...

I'm about to have a second steep fuka. Here I go!

[Ron Gilmour]

My response is similar to that of toastedtoads. When I brew "wrong-fu" in an yixing or gaiwan, I always pre-heat the vessel, add the dry leaf, and smell it. I also do this on the rare occasions when I drink Japanese greens. But it isn't part of my routine for most black teas or Chinese greens, both of which I generally brew western style.

However, come to think of it, when I brew western style, I will often take a sniff or two of the hot spent leaves.

It's been a great teaDay for me. I spent the morning drinking Makaibari Estate FTGFOP1S 2nd Flush Darjeeling, the afternoon with a Dragonwellish tea called Fujing from Tao of Tea, and am now relaxing at home with a cup of 2004 Menghai Superior Grade Pu-erh. All three of these teas are excellent.

[auggy]

I so don't want to be at work right now. I've been here 1/2 hour and haven't even check voicemail. I wanna go home and sleep.

Heh, I've been here about an hour and just barely checked my voicemail. I overlept this morning..

Yay! I'm not the only slacker! Today was soooo sloooooow. I think I had about 2 hours of work to do in an eight hour day. Blah.

But now I am home - time for tea and Xbox. YAY!

[bcos]

What game?!

[auggy]

What game?!

Prince of Persia. I just started it yesterday and I totally suck, but I like it. And I like that Elika keeps me from dying which, with my total lack of hand/eye coordination, is very very helpful.


So because of today's poll I decided to preheat my kyusu and pop the leaves in for a sniff. Holy monkeys. So good. Even better than sniffing from the container. So rich and smooth and buttery. So freakin good. I'm going to have to do that again.

[leiche]

Almost always. I don't generally clean and rinse out my teapot until the next time I want to use it (at most, overnight), which conveniently means I always have a preheated pot. +1 laziness.

I can usually tell if a brew is ready by scent, especially where oolongs are considered. It's a handy skill, as I often don't pay attention to the time.

Cup's empty, oh no.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

It has been one of those days today I think. Mom took the dog to the vet today and came back with a strange crate. I figured that she had just bought Rosie a new box, but I opened the door to it and found a second Westie. His name is Duffy. A retired couple was giving him away to a good home since they wanted to travel and Mom couldn't resist taking him in. He's one and a half, still a bit feisty and likes barking at the cats and jumping through the snow. It should be highly entertaining for the next few days as he gets used to his new home.

Needless to say, I haven't gotten to much tea beyond what I had this morning, but I have a new dog.

[Victoria]

Awww congratulations Kitty on your doggy!

For me - stuck at work and no end in sight.
ToT Frozen Summit in my cup presently.

[Chip]

So because of today's poll I decided to preheat my kyusu and pop the leaves in for a sniff. Holy monkeys. So good. Even better than sniffing from the container. So rich and smooth and buttery. So freakin good. I'm going to have to do that again.

Your life will never be the same. Name the tea for us?

Matcha earlier, and just finished Adagio's Jasmine Green "Blooming Tea" since the subject is being discussed on the forum. The bloom worked perfectly and the jasmine tea was surprisingly good. I am concerned Sweetie might OD on tea today.

Great TeaDay!