Saturday TeaDay 5/31/08

[Victoria]

Congratulations TEAM ADAGIO now attending the WORLD TEA EXPO in LAS VEGAS!

A well deserved break, a mini vacation and surrounded by everything tea! Sounds perfect!

Welcome everyone to SATURDAY TeaDay! Celebrate your day by brewing some tea and sharing what is in your cup today! Please check in throughout the day, letting us know what various cups you are enjoying at the moment. We would all love to hear!

Let’s check out what others are drinking as well, I love the variety! We are a diversified group of tea lovers, to be sure.

If you can't check in as the day progresses, please check in when you can and reflect back on your TeaDay.

Hopefully our Las Vegas connection will be checking in with updates, so stay tuned!

[fodder0]

1:47am EST here and sipping on some warm chamomile

[PolyhymnianMuse]

Same time zone here, but I've concluded my teaday for today. I'll most likely start my day off tomorrow with a good session of pu-erh and see what happens from there.

[omegapd]

It's 0200 here and I'm just starting my day with some Wagh Bakri Assam.

EW

[olivierco]

It's 8 10 am here, so in 20 minutes my pupils will enter the classroom.
I had some keemun for breakfast.

[Salsero]

It's 8 10 am here, so in 20 minutes my pupils will enter the classroom.
I had some keemun for breakfast.

Doesn't that mean it's Saturday? What are your pupils doing in school on Saturday?

I have this urge to vote and nothing to vote for. OK, here goes, I vote YES!

My theme tea for Saturday, Zhen Qu, a black tea from the Panyang Region of Fujian Province, set off by an aromatic Magnolia flower from the Southern Region of the U S of A. You can see why the Chinese call it hong cha or red tea. The dry leaves may be black, but the brew is clearly red. Also, a nice red bag to bring good luck and a leaping carp pot because it's cool.



Welcome and good luck to our temporary moderator, Victoria. You started out with an exceptionally challenging weekend: no internetz!

[Victoria]

Thanks! Very nice photo Sal.

[Terrasi]

Teaday with no poll? What is supposed to direct the topic of conversation?

I don't know what to say.

Tea, yes tea, I had tea today.

Dragonwell. Gunpowder. Assam harmony.

[omegapd]

Teaday with no poll? What is supposed to direct the topic of conversation?

Free for all.

I'll say that I've been very underwhelmed in my tea journey with Ceylon teas. Anybody else feel this way? I've tried numerous examples from run of the mill stuff to organic, single estate Ceylons and the good ones taste like a typical supermarket Orange Pekoe bag and the bad are bitter and awful. For the Ceylon fans, give me an idea what to expect in taste and where to get some good stuff.

EW

[Victoria]

Thanks. Hopefully everyone will post about what's in their cup.

I agree with you. I used to think I liked Ceylon's the best, but now honestly I think Assam is so much better. Or at least a blend.

[Salsero]

I'll say that I've been very underwhelmed in my tea journey with Ceylon teas. Anybody else feel this way?

I think this is a consensus point of view. Having said that, I think there are some magnificent Ceylons made in a variety of styles from the 4 major producing regions. They are just not easy to find or generally available to most tea consumers. About the 4 Ceylon regeions see http://wikicha.com/index.php/Ceylon.

I had a sample from SpecialTeas of a Vithanakande FBOPF (EX) that was dark almost like an Assam and very satisfying but in a very different way. If I didn't have such an excess of tea on hand now, I would order some.

[olivierco]

It's 8 10 am here, so in 20 minutes my pupils will enter the classroom.
I had some keemun for breakfast.

Doesn't that mean it's Saturday? What are your pupils doing in school on Saturday?

In France we have school either on wednesday morning, either on saturday morning.
But it is going to change. Next year, no more school on saturday

[omegapd]

I had a sample from SpecialTeas of a Vithanakande FBOPF (EX) that was dark almost like an Assam and very satisfying but in a very different way. If I didn't have such an excess of tea on hand now, I would order some.

See, you're good for more than just pictures, Buddy. The last "real" Ceylon I got from New Mexico Tea Co. was also a Vithanakande Estate (But they say New Estate so I'm not sure if it's the same place or not as you suggest) and it was graded STGFOP (Special Tippy Golden Flowery Orange Pekoe). It was awful for my tastes. I tweaked the brew times, water, amount of leaf, etc. and never got anything more than an extremely bitter cup with no complexity whatsoever.

I do order many of my blacks from Special Teas and will write down your suggestion as soon as I get home to give it a sample next order. Thanks a bunch...

Eric

[ThinkingOutLoud]

It's 6:30a here and I have a *screaming* headache, my eyeballs hurt, so I'm even considering <gasp> coffee this morning. Maybe I'll brew a super strong pot of Irish Breakfast and see how that goes. Oy.

[witches brew]

Good morning, all!

Can this possibly be my cup? There's a Darjeeling in it. Ito En's Makaibari Estate Darjeeling Muscat, a sample from a local TeaFriend.

My sojourn with the green teas has really affected me. I should be using a cup with a handle for this, but I have a pair of simple white porcelain bowls that have become my standard for trying new tea.

What's a proper second steep time for a 2nd. flush Darjeeling? The first steep was at 3 minutes, water just off the boil.