Okay, the second steep was a leetle bit better. I let the kettle "rest" for 40 seconds before pouring it on the leaves and I only let it steep for 3.5 minutes. It is TKY and it looks very green. Some of the leaves are nearly two inches long.
Perhaps I need to try a "blacker" oolong.
Do y'all sweeten your tea?
Jul 2nd, '08, 17:50
Posts: 704
Joined: Aug 21st, '07, 15:53
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Connecticut
Contact:
CynTEAa
You could also try about 185 degrees F for about 3 min. It shouldn't be bitter - but it should be better...heh.Beanbean wrote:Okay, the second steep was a leetle bit better. I let the kettle "rest" for 40 seconds before pouring it on the leaves and I only let it steep for 3.5 minutes. It is TKY and it looks very green. Some of the leaves are nearly two inches long.
Perhaps I need to try a "blacker" oolong.
Do y'all sweeten your tea?
I only sweeten the first cup of the morning.
Don't tell the purists....sshhhh! 
Mystique
For sentimental reasons, Earl Grey will always be my favorite of all time teas. A girlfriend explained to me that a cup of Earl Grey tea will heal anything -
and eloped to Australia with her boyfriend of six months.
I thought it was the most romantic thing I ever heard of, and started drinking it.
It doesn't even matter that I don't drink Earl Grey anymore.
Favorite of all time brings up romance, mystery, adventure - mystique.
Thats what brought me to tea at all.
Sorry. Otherwise it would have been Oolong.
Darjeeling today.
and eloped to Australia with her boyfriend of six months.
I thought it was the most romantic thing I ever heard of, and started drinking it.
It doesn't even matter that I don't drink Earl Grey anymore.
Favorite of all time brings up romance, mystery, adventure - mystique.
Thats what brought me to tea at all.
Sorry. Otherwise it would have been Oolong.
Darjeeling today.
Jul 2nd, '08, 18:44
Posts: 1953
Joined: Apr 6th, '08, 19:02
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Contact:
chamekke
Re: Mystique
Wonderful story - thank you!laran7 wrote:For sentimental reasons, Earl Grey will always be my favorite of all time teas. A girlfriend explained to me that a cup of Earl Grey tea will heal anything -
and eloped to Australia with her boyfriend of six months.
I thought it was the most romantic thing I ever heard of, and started drinking it.
It doesn't even matter that I don't drink Earl Grey anymore.
Favorite of all time brings up romance, mystery, adventure - mystique.
Thats what brought me to tea at all.
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
Jul 2nd, '08, 19:11
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Jul 2nd, '08, 19:21
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
Tenuki's got the brass ring on this one ... but there seems to be enormous variation just within the category of TGY, which is -- I think -- the most popular tea in Fujian province and large parts of the rest of China, at least where greens don't dominate. There's probably a TGY out there that even Ten would like. BTW, as much as I like Adagio's TGY offering, it strikes me as a particular class of TGY, a little more caramel and less lively than the average premium TGY. In this case, by lively I mean a combination of acidity and a pleasingly slight astringency. So I can see how a black tea drinker like Beanbean might find it flat ... at least on first encounter. I did myself the first time I tried it, but it grew on me and I learned to take it on its own terms.tenuki wrote:TKY is about the only oolong I don't like.
Know this, there are gonna be oolongs you like. It's not like black or green. Oolongs encompass a vast range of tastes and styles. Vast.
Not to mention flame retardant.tenuki wrote:And I just realized why I'm probably more heat resistant ....
I think you have sold me some Bao Zhong and a pot on behalf of Stéphane to go with the 1990 raw Menghai district Fang Cha Zhuan that ABx recommended the other day! Your recommendations are pretty serious stuff ... despite MarshalN's recent carping which I am fortunately too ignorant to accept or reject, but reproduce below for those who care about the intricacies of pot material varieties. MarshalN knows more about pots than I can ever hope to know, but I just want to know if it's functional. (According to Lew Perin's great resource, BabelCarp, "zhuni = a subcategory of Hong Ni, literally Vermilion Mud (朱泥); reputedly antique pots made from this material used a mineral that has been depleted, and modern ones use a composite substitute." Therefore, I gather that MarshalN is saying that Stéphane misrepresented a simple current pot as one made of ancient clay. Of course, such distinctions are lost on me, and when pot experts start debating, I just zone out.
MarshalN wrote:I didn't realize passing hongni pots off as zhuni still qualifies you for sterling reputation....Salsero wrote:Stéphane has a sterling reputation.Bert wrote:His goods arent' cheap, but I think the quality is good ...
I'm sticking by my statement from another thread:Salsero wrote: when pot experts start debating, I just zone out.
tenuki wrote:The degree of certainty regarding authenticity is directly proportional to how confident you are it's authentic.Salsero wrote:Is there any way that anyone can know anything about these pots? It seems even more confusing than Traditional Chinese Medicine!
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )
Jul 2nd, '08, 19:30
Posts: 5151
Joined: Dec 20th, '06, 23:33
Scrolling: scrolling
Location: Gainesville, Florida
don't forget flaming retarded.Salsero wrote:Not to mention flame retardant.tenuki wrote:And I just realized why I'm probably more heat resistant ....
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )