Sat 2/02/08 Describe your predominant influence on TeaPrep?

[Chip]

Happy groundhog day...not the most exciting holiday, unless Spring would really start today.

But it is Saturday, so, we can celebrate with tea all day long.

So, drink up, and remember to stop by here often to share what is in your cup!!!

Yesterday was an exciting day for this forum. Within one page, we had 5 countries represented. The newbie from Norway, Finland, Belgium, China, and USA. I found that remarkable. Remember, you can check the poll results as well as posts from days past.

So, since we were represented yesterday by Europe and Asia, I will use this as our theme of the day, including our daily poll. If you want to expound on your "personal tea ceremony" influence, please share with us.

Have a great TeaDay, and remember to stop by here throughout the day!!!

[Selaphiel]

At the moment I`m enjoying my first tea of the day. A nice batch of Ryokucha Midori prepared in my kyusu.
Later I`m gonna have a Gong Fu Cha ceremony with some nice Dong ding.
I try to keep my ceremonies as asian as possible.

[CynTEAa]

Starting Saturday my usual way with my morning addiction- Yunnan Gold. Second infusion nicely steeping - is that a shadow in my cup?

My personal tea ceremony is influenced by all of the above styles and tends to depend on the type of tea, time I have to brew and my energy level.

Gong fu can be very meditative - some times this is the best for the tea as well as for me!

[LavenderPekoe]

I wouldn't say I have a tea ceremony. I drink tea. That's it. If I am at work I use my ingenuitea (I think I am going to get a small ceramic pot soon, though) and I get water from the kitchenette. It brews on my desk while I am working and then I drink it from either a mug or an insulated travel mug (if I remembered it). I actually drink less tea at home. At home I have a white ceramic pot my mom bought me and an electric kettle. I haven't had any yet today, but I haven't been up very long. I will have to go make some soon.

[Wesli]

It's really a hard question for me to answer. I follow gongfu, so for those teas I would say Chinese-influenced. But for Japanese greens, I use all the teaware the Japanese would traditionally use, but the whole process is my own. I should make a video some day.

[Selaphiel]

Just did a gong fu cha with some loose pu er (10 year old) http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/tea-sho ... 12626.html

It was interesting, but it was also disappointing, I missed some of the complex aromas that were in the description. It had the undergrowth, earthen and some mushroom notes and it also evoked a memory of an old damp stone basement we have in our families cabin.
However I think I`ll invest in a nice cake next time I shop for pu er. Anyone have any experience with www.puercha.com ?

[Mary R]

My TeaStyle is some sort of whacked out combination of Chinese and Japanese influences crossed with American laziness...er, ingenuity.

In the cup today...well, it's Saturday. Generally that means no tea for me, but today I have an incredibly light day at work, so I brought me a kettle and some samples. The goal is to write a review. (*Gasp!*)

[FoxMackenzie]

I'm sipping on my 1 heart blend, mix of Valentines, Jasmine rooibos and Strawberry herbal with a nice dollop of orange blossom honey. Just stuck a pitcher in the fridge, gonna see how it holds up to being iced.

Also pondering what I can mix the Darjeeling 22 into, I want to toss my hat into the ring for the teachef thingie this month.

-Fox

[Chip]

Hmmm, this isn't working, at least not for Guricha. There was some discussion about using cooler water for Japanese green to make a sweeter brew, and I do this with some sencha already. But Guricha needs it hotter. Just nothing spectacular in my cup this morning, and it is interesting how sometimes a messed up first steep just messes up successive steeps as well. I feel a little cheated.

Well, I won't try this with Guricha again.

[Space Samurai]

Dian hong, then a session of some puerh that Hop sent me.

[skywarrior]

I have no tea ceremony. I put the tea in my tetsubin, time it and enjoy.

Today I am breaking a bit with my normal tea and trying some organic TGY tea from www.xiuxiantea.com. It is called Oolong - Iron God Organic High Mountain and it's really not bad. They sent me several samples when I bought my travel cup, so now that I have the list, I can actually try them and mark what they are.

After the oolong, I'll go straight into some sort of black tea. I really don't know how you green tea folks (matcha excluded) do without all the caffeine.

[Salsero]

I have no tea ceremony. I put the tea in my tetsubin, time it and enjoy.

That IS your tea ceremony! Why make it complicated?

I'll go straight into some sort of black tea. I really don't know how you green tea folks (matcha excluded) do without all the caffeine.

Don't kid yourself. I often think I get a bigger caffeine wollop from my well-prepared green teas than from any black. Especially the Japanese teas! I think it's just that a lot of people don't use enough green tea leaf. That's also why most green tea you get out in the world tastes so bad. That being said, for some reason I feel like a dark tea is just more appropriate for first thing in the morning.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

I would love to get into the Asian style tea ceremonies, but being a college student makes that rather difficult. My personal ceremony involves heating the water with my hot shot, pouring the water over the tea leaves, letting it steep, and then enjoying. It is simple, easy, and it works for me.

To answer how the green tea folks do without the caffeine, I choose green tea over black tea or coffee since too much caffeine makes me overly jittery. Green tea has just enough to get me going, but not too much to make me unable to sit still.

[Warden Andy]

After the dentist, and searching for something I could drink with a numb mouth, I tried Rosamonte especcial again with 2/3 leaves. Turned out really good, and the caffeine didn't kill me.

Current tea is organic lu zhen (green needles) from YSLLC. Buttery smooth texture with a green sweetness, and just a light astringency after a few infusions. I added more leaf in the middle of the third infusion to make this an "eternal brew." That really sweetened it up.

[Buzz Fledderjohn]

Did a little spring cleaning today...

Started by finishing off a tin of Tsubokiri Matcha from Marukyu-Koyamaen.
Then I finished off a tin of Rishi's Fukamushi Sencha to make way for the hype that is O-cha's Fukamushi Supreme.