Wednesday, 7/02/08 TeaDay All time favorite tea?

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OK, your favorite OF ALL TIME NOW, what is your all time favorite tea?

Black
15
24%
(oolong)
21
33%
Green
19
30%
White
1
2%
Yellow
0
No votes
Pu-erh
5
8%
Rooibos
0
No votes
Herbal
2
3%
Yerbe Mate
0
No votes
Other
0
No votes
 
Total votes: 63

Jul 2nd, '08, 17:40
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by Beanbean » Jul 2nd, '08, 17:40

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?

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Jul 2nd, '08, 17:50
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by CynTEAa » Jul 2nd, '08, 17:50

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?
You could also try about 185 degrees F for about 3 min. It shouldn't be bitter - but it should be better...heh.

I only sweeten the first cup of the morning. :) Don't tell the purists....sshhhh! :wink:

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Jul 2nd, '08, 18:18
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by chamekke » Jul 2nd, '08, 18:18

Oolong, oolong, oolong.

I guess shincha season must be over :wink:

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Jul 2nd, '08, 18:31
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by RussianSoul » Jul 2nd, '08, 18:31

Black for me. Even though my recent favorite is Japanese green, black tea is my first love and it is also proven by decades long time.

Just finished some cold brewed Tai Ping Hou Kui - very nice.

Jul 2nd, '08, 18:40
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Mystique

by laran7 » Jul 2nd, '08, 18:40

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.

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Jul 2nd, '08, 18:44
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Re: Mystique

by chamekke » Jul 2nd, '08, 18:44

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.
Wonderful story - thank you!
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Jul 2nd, '08, 18:44
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by Riene » Jul 2nd, '08, 18:44

Come on, Black tea lovers! Only five votes to catch up and six to RULE! :D
Although my neighbors are all barbarians,
And you, you are a thousand miles away,
There are always two cups on my table.
--Tang Dynasty

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:02
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by geeber1 » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:02

Maybe we "blacks" should register with new profiles so we can vote again. :shock:
JUST KIDDING!

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:11
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by Chip » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:11

geeber1 wrote:Maybe we "blacks" should register with new profiles so we can vote again. :shock:
JUST KIDDING!
I am already registered under 10 other names...
Also some cold brewed Fukamushi Supreme going at the same time.

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:14
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by Victoria » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:14

There's always tomorrow. :)

Don't HATE, Congratulate!

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:21
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by Salsero » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:21

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.
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:And I just realized why I'm probably more heat resistant ....
Not to mention flame retardant. Image

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:
Salsero wrote:
Bert wrote:His goods arent' cheap, but I think the quality is good ...
Stéphane has a sterling reputation.
I didn't realize passing hongni pots off as zhuni still qualifies you for sterling reputation....

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:22
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by geeber1 » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:22

Veronica,

My oolong sampler arrived today, do you have tips for brewing so MAYBE I'll switch my favorites from black?

I haven't been home yet so don't know exactly what varieties I got, my last Adagio sampler had different teas than were listed.

Vera

P.S. Congrats, Oolong Queen! :D

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:29
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by tenuki » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:29

Salsero wrote: when pot experts start debating, I just zone out.
I'm sticking by my statement from another thread:
tenuki wrote:
Salsero wrote:Is there any way that anyone can know anything about these pots? It seems even more confusing than Traditional Chinese Medicine!
The degree of certainty regarding authenticity is directly proportional to how confident you are it's authentic.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:30
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by Salsero » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:30

tenuki wrote:The degree of certainty regarding authenticity is directly proportional to how confident you are it's authentic.
Wise words worthy of the ancient Chinese traditions.

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Jul 2nd, '08, 19:31
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by tenuki » Jul 2nd, '08, 19:31

Salsero wrote:
tenuki wrote:And I just realized why I'm probably more heat resistant ....
Not to mention flame retardant. Image
don't forget flaming retarded.
Do something different, something different will happen. ( Gong Fu Garden )

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