Saturday TeaRoom 12/13/08 Tradition vs contemporary?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay everyone, welcome to our virtual tearoom. Please join us and share what is in your cup today.

Yesterday, most responders voted that they have ventured into new and possibly unexpected teaware realms this past year. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaRoom poll and discussion topic. Do you proclaim tradition or at least lean that way when it comes to tea in general, whether it is teaware, brewing, teas? Or are you part of the contemporary movement in teaware, brewing, teas? Please share your thoughts on your personal leanings.

I will be looking for you in our TeaRoom, bottoms up.

[Vulture]

I think chip is using big words that mean too many things.

'traditional' can mean a lot in brewing styles and teaware. And I think the opposite of traditional in this case is 'casual' not 'contemporary'. Most tea styles are old, adapted, or casual.

The only differences I could decipher from this is the old 'pure' style of tea drinking verses the newer 'casual' tea drinking including flavored teas.

I would put myself in the newer crowd as I like the flavored teas. I am typing out loud above to decipher Chips cryptic poll today.

Had a cup of my blend in chocolate milk. now heading to make some HKY.

[Salsero]

Pretty traditional here.

A thoughtful gift from the Slovakian blogger Tomas Arva of Tuo ChaTea, who says this yellow tea tastes like bacon and potatoes … and it’s true!

[omegapd]

"Huh?" sounds like a good vote.

I like to have traditional aspects and also "modern" aspects. Depends on my mood and you get the best of both worlds that way.

One of Adagio's flavored greens this morning...something with mandarin oranges I think, but I can't remember the name.

Have a good weekend all,

EW

[Chip]

I think chip is using big words that mean too many things.

I think Vulture thinks too much or too hard ...

[Vulture]

I think chip is using big words that mean too many things.

I think Vulture thinks too much or too hard ...

hmm give me a few minutes....









I think so too

[Trey Winston]

I don't really care about tradition when it comes to teas. I brew the tea I like in whatever teaware I have handy, as per the pragmatic tradition.

[Rakuras]

If you were to set me between the weighing measures of life you'd see me teeter between each extreme every other moment as not only do my atoms exist in a potential of eternal flux and wave-particle dualities but so do my habits and traits. Within tea I am relaxed when it comes to my selection of leaves, seeing tea as any substitute for plain, ol' water and enjoying it in volume compared to the archaic idea that a good drink is made one cup at a time. My habits of taste, to the contrary, linger to very earthy, common, or 'traditional' tastes that don't rely extensively on a specific regional or premium taste and are usually accepted as what everyone else drinks. Further to this I see little use in small, under 16oz teawares other than occasionally sampling a rather testy brew which would be an unusual occurrence not to be added into my usual diet habits, often finding myself enjoying deeper, longer steeps at odd temperatures that would diminish a 'refined' tea. My teacups are mostly European style which reflects the general concept of my tastes (hmm... Blacks), my kettles a mix between old types with loose leaves in a teapot to be strained out later or the newer insertable strainer teapots- heck I even use a French Press for sampling atop mixed used of the Adagio strainers. Lastly I tend to take a large amount of tea and split it into sampler tins, mixing leaves to make new brews as I go in small, negotiable amounts but holding to wax, rubber, or like sealed jars to hold larger bulks of tea that would be slowly leeched by the humidity in the region. As it were, I take what I see as the best of both disciplines and make it my own method that acts in harmony to my mildly chaotic nature. Heck, I swear I reorganize my teaware and tin areas every few months just for function alone! Now back to some for of Idleness.

HERESY! *BLAM*

[Terrasi]

Traditional methods? No

Traditional teaware? No

Traditional tea? Probably, unless it's changed recently. (I'm not a fan of the flavored stuff, which would count as non-traditional I think).

I'd love to learn some "traditional" tea methods if I could. Tea ceremonies and whatnot.

[Victoria]

I chose neutral with a mix of both because at work where I am for most of my tea drinking hours, I lean toward contemporary. At home I lean toward traditional.

My job is definitely interfering with my TeaLife!!

[Drax]

There was no "who cares," so I picked "huh."

who says this yellow tea tastes like bacon and potatoes … and it’s true!

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out whether these flavors would be a good or a bad thing in a tea. So... how was it?

I'm trying the 2005 Tongqing Shu today. So far so good.

[Vulture]

If you were to set me between ...

5 Minutes Later

... few months just for function alone! Now back to some for of Idleness.

No one reads text blocks of doom! Use the Enter Key!

[olivierco]

I own quite exclusively traditional teaware.

Kaboku sencha in a few minutes.

By the way Ippodo has posted three videos on Itunes:

"How to Prepare Sencha," "How to Prepare Matcha," and
"The 3 Key Elements in Brewing Tea."
You can find them by searching
the iTunes Store for "ippodo."

[gingkoseto]

I don't really care about tradition when it comes to teas. I brew the tea I like in whatever teaware I have handy, as per the pragmatic tradition.

I think that's one of the best traditions of tea

[shogun89]

I'm traditional to ultra traditional. Why change what is perfect?

Have a good day all.