Tuesday TeaDay 1/26/10 Aroma satisfaction?

[Chip]

Greetings everyone to another TeaDay. Please drop in throughout the day and share what is in your cup with us.

Yesterday we discussed whether dry leaf brings us satisfaction. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Does DRY leaf aroma bring you satisfaction? And do you find yourself habitually smelling dry leaf whenever you open a tin or bag of tea? And a bonus question, if or when you preheat your brew vessel, and you place the leaf into it, do you realllllly feeeeel compelled to smell the warm aroma?

I am looking forward to sharing this TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up!

[Seeker]

I voted "Yes", but not "Absolutely yes".
The reason being that dry leaf is not always very satisfying, though I find that it is most of the time.
I've actually had the smelling of dry leaf discouraged in a tea shop, being told that 'the character of the tea is not evident until the leaves have been moistened', say after the first 'rinse' in gong fu style. But I disagree!
I quite often really enjoy the dry leaf, further enjoy how the dry leaf does indeed communicate an aspect or dimension of the leaf's character (how could it not?!), though different than the moistened leaf. For the most full experience, I prefer to indulge in the sensual experience of the leaf in all its aspects.

Finished a wan of ancient moonlight white a bit ago. Wan is empty at the moment.

[Victoria]

I also voted "Yes", but not "Absolutely yes". Always for oolongs
but rarely for blacks. But oolongs are my real joy. Blacks are
my morning wakeup.

[Trey Winston]

I have done it, but rarely. White tea doesn't have much of an aroma anyway, wet or dry. It's more of a visual thing, I suppose.

SN today.

[JBaymore]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Any questions?

best,

.................john

[Jasmin]

Yes. I always smell everything. That's the first thing I do when I open the tin (sorry for mentioning that yesterday).
Some of my flavored teas smell so good, that I sometimes open the lid real quick just to smell them, even if I don't want to drink them just then.
My Mountain Rose Herbs order got here yesterday. I'm pleasantly surprised by the cheap darjeeling.
And now their orange spice tea. Really, really good.

[LauraW]

Yes, but not always. Sometimes smell helps me figure out what I'm drinking - if I want tea, but don't know immediately what I want, I'll take out a few tins and open one, smell it, close it, open the next one, until an aroma strikes me. I know it's not quite what it will be once steeped, but as previously mentioned, it does give a certain hint of what's to come.

The LAST of the Lady Grey this morning! This has been an exception - "drink it 'til it's gone," so I can get to the good stuff!

[bsteele]

Yes-- most teas. I love a good dry leaf aroma.

My favorite is probably Yunnan Gold uhhhhhhhh *drooooool* oh it smells so good. Dang.

I'm currently drinking Casablanca twist.

[olivierco]

Yes, quite always in fact.

Kaboku sencha this evening.

[Chip]

Absolutely! I can tell when I am getting lax, I forget a nice simple pleasure such as enjoying the dry leaf aroma. I can tell a bit about the tea from this, whether it is fresh, whether it has potential brewed ... the dry leaf can tell you a lot. But I also simply enjoy smelling the fresh dry leaf aroma!

If you preheat, be sure to also enjoy the aroma of the warming leaf, wowza! Really amazing. I have not been preheating pots for sencha much lately, odd how this has changed for me.

Began the TD with A tasting of Oku Yutaka from O-Cha. The dry leaf aroma is quite striking, very fresh smelling and full of complexity! SweeTea enjoyed it as well ... or seemed to, while Lili was pretty oblivious.

[tea-guy]

A tea's aroma sets the stage for its taste and often reinforces or rejects preconceived expectations. I frequently sniff a little bit when I open a tin or bag of tea. Doing so allows me to relive the moment I first opened the tea and/or remind me of the expectations that tea has built.

Sometimes sniffing a teas scent helps me make the decision of whether that particular tea is the one I want to drink right then.

[artmom]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Any questions? . . .



.................john

I cannot beat John's answer!! Aroma is very important to me -- in dry leaf, moistened leaves, while brewing, while drinking. . . black, green, oolong, blends, doesn't matter.

Doctor was pleased with lab work; however, based on tests run while I was in the hospital with the pneumonia, it is Congestive Heart Failure not the pneumonia that caused the oxygen deprivation. I'll just keep on truckin' on, enjoying this forum and my tea.

[depravitea]

Definitely!
Sometimes I just open tins to take a big sniff!

[cls46]

Haha I love smelling tea!! I live with my boyfriend and whenever we get a shipment of tea in we always fight who will get to smell the tea first . Which means I always get to smell the tea first

Honey Ginseng green tea right now

[Mote]

I love smelling tea. Occasionally, I get really disappointed, because some teas' flavors don't live up to their aromas. For the most part, though, you really can't go wrong giving the dry tea a little sniff. Especially the nicer black teas - I love the smell of yunnans and assams. Reminds me of my grandfather's farm.

Whenever we get a shipment of tea in we always fight who will get to smell the tea first.

Weird, my girlfriend and I do the same thing. I tend to win, though, since she's usually at class during the day, when the tea shows up. Right now, I'm drinking the hibiscus leftover from the bit I iced for later.