Monday TeaDay 3/16/09 O-Oh say can you SEE?

[Chip]

Welcome everyone to TeaDay. Please be sure to stop by and share what is in your cup throughout the day!
Green TeaPartay is one day away! Be prepared ...

Yesterday, it turned out more responders had blue eyes than any other color, defying the national average. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. On a sensory level, what percentage of your TOTAL tea experience is VISUAL, including all aspects that sight plays a role? Please share how your SIGHT plays a part in your tea enjoyment.

I am looking forward to "seeing" everyone on TeaDay. And please, bottoms up.

[kymidwife]

Smell and taste overwhelmingly trump sight... but I gave it 10% because I do enjoy watching leaves dancing in a glass pot... or the vibrant color of matcha... and my pretty teaware. But still, a small percentage compared to smell and taste.

Happy Tea Day! I'm off to bed soon... sipping Darjeeling #1 before I lay me down to sleep.

Sarah

[Chip]

LOL, try to FOCUS on sight today as other senses will follow in topics/polls in days to come.

[bsteele]

wait, is there some kind of instrument I can use to measure this for me?

[Salsero]

I said 30% which I figure is pretty high. I like to look at the leaves, the brew, the teaware and I like to take pictures, so that seems like a lot of visual!

Along a similar vein, I spied in the sky tonight signs of something a curiously wrought up neighbor swears was the space shuttle taking off. Perhaps just another UFO hoax, perhaps the real thing!

If that wasn’t enough, I revisited Omegapd’s gift of Mongolian Yak Tea. It is unclear to me if this tea was made by Yaks, for Yaks, or of Yaks, but I can’t for the life of me remember its official name according to the vendor. Really pretty good stuff, by the way, despite the questionable provenience. It's strong and full of character.

[Space Samurai]

I chose a very high number, unrealistically high, because for me almost every aspect is visual. From admiring the tea container itself, the tea leaves, the teapot--and any other teaware, to the steam drifting from the pot, around the pot, coming out of the slats in my tea tray, enjoying the color of the brew. And also aligning all the utensils together, the yuzamashi, pot, and cup a certain distance from each other--I promise this isnt as OCD as it sounds.

[Geekgirl]

Along a similar vein, I spied in the sky tonight signs of something a curiously wrought up neighbor swears was the space shuttle taking off. Perhaps just another UFO hoax, perhaps the real thing!

The space shuttle DID take off tonight, I have it on good authority from a fellow blogger who works on the project.

[augie]

I chose 30 or 40%, cannot remember, maybe it's time for bed. Anyway, cha qi rules with me!

I spent most of the weekend with my mother in the hospital. There is nothing more tiring than sitting around doing nothing! We had a great visit and everyone in town stopped by. But doing nothing (and I didn't bring tea) has wiped me out.

Happy MOnday!

[Drax]

*groan* It would be interesting to see people actually try to keep track as we go through the senses. We're going to end up with people having 340% of their senses involved in tea tasting.

I said 30% visual, though it's probably somewhere 20-30%. Looking at the leaves before and after (during) brewing. How the water flows from pot to pot and pot to glass. How the tea looks in the glass -- its color, clarity, composition. And observing the rest of the tools of the trade...

I started my first session with a 1996 Menghai 7532 yesterday afternoon. I decided to try another longer steep this morning (10th infusion, 5 min) and I'm still getting a nice gentle camphor from it. So maybe I'll stick with this tea for the rest of the morning...!

[Shelob]

I said 30% which I figure is pretty high. I like to look at the leaves, the brew, the teaware and I like to take pictures, so that seems like a lot of visual!

I agree Sal! Except you can take the pics and I'll look... Love your pic today btw
Really did have to give this some thought as other sensory polls to come!

In my cup this morn, matcha, next will be some gyo from O-Cha
Have a FAB TeaDay everyone!

[brlarson]

I voted for 20% visual. I'm not as disciplined as I should be about examining the leaves, but I do enjoy it. I enjoy the fineness of dry gyo leaves and the tender sheen from wet, spent yellow tea leaves. But the nose and mouth of tea are more important to me.

Finished the last of my Imperial Da Hong Pao from Jing this morning.

[omegapd]

It's too early to do the math.

[Riene]

Along a similar vein, I spied in the sky tonight signs of something a curiously wrought up neighbor swears was the space shuttle taking off. Perhaps just another UFO hoax, perhaps the real thing!

The space shuttle DID take off tonight, I have it on good authority from a fellow blogger who works on the project.

We watched the shuttle and then the ISS cruise by overhead last night.

This is a great site to find out what those "bright lights in the sky" are:

http://www.heavens-above.com/

Yunnan Gold in the mug this morning.

As for me, the tea experience varies based on time. In the morning rush to get to work, it's definitely taste/caffeine kick/hot-something-in-the-stomach that is most important. With dinner iced tea, it's taste and color--iced tea has to be strong, not like someone merely waved a bag over the water.

But if I have the time, it's all in the visual presentation--polished wooden tray, matching china, clear pot to watch the leaves unfurl, shining silver spoons, a flower, carefully folded snowy napkins or pretty paper napkins, the chair by the window. It's relaxing, it's fun, and I can pretend I'm elsewhere.


I invited you for tea today
to table dressed in green and batiste white
a bowl of flowers there in warm sunlight

set the casement windows opened wide
toward the slender tree's pear-blossom fall
so you might hear the doves' soft call

the thinnest cups I polished well
the ones white lace on white, with platinum trim
and silver spoons, bought once on whim

I thought of you again today
put lemon cookies on a plate, brewed fragrant tea
and wished you could be here, with me


9 April 2006

[CynTEAa]

Good Morning, folks!

I'm guessing 20% is visual - cup/ teapot inspection, examining the leaf, looking at the color of the infusion...

Ready for some mid-morning sencha. Have a great day all!

[gingkoseto]

I don't know! I do appreciate the appearance of tea leaves very much. But sometimes I can pretty much ignore visual effects. Normally I am attracted to good-looking food, but I won't skip some food that looks bad. Probably the same applies to tea.

In my cup now is meng ding yellow bud, from 2008 though. Harvest of 2009 meng ding bud should start in few days (or probably started already). But this 2008 tea is still perfect!