Greetings and welcome everyone to TeaDay. Please stop by and share what is in your cup throughout the day.
Yesterday, Shincha was ahead by a slim margin in what responders would want to find in their leprechan's pot at the end of the rainbow. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.
Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. We move to another sense, you will need to think about this one a bit. On a sensory level, what percentage of your TOTAL tea experience is TOUCH, including all aspects that TOUCH plays a role? Please share how TOUCH plays a part in your TOTAL tea enjoyment.
I am looking forward to sharing TeaDay with everyone. Bottoms up.
Mar 18th, '09, 00:46
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
Mar 18th, '09, 00:59
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For me touch is minimal, 10%, but I do like the feel of certain teaware (holding and fondling chawan, for example) as I am using it and I like to handle some of the dry leaves ... and of course I like to handle and touch tuocha, “Dome-shaped Bowl Tea” as Cloud calls them. They can be like rocks to break up and they can age so slowly that one really needs to purchase them for a couple generations down the road, but they are sweet to look at, play with, and yes tuocha touch.
Mar 18th, '09, 01:45
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bi lew chun
While I don't touch my tea per se, in the tea ceremony there are many touch sensations. The soft silk of the kimono, fukusa and shifuku; the rougher linen chakin; the pottery chawan, futaoki, mizusashi and kensui; the bamboo chashaku, chabishaku and tatami; the wooden tomobako; and the laquered wood natsume and yamamichibon. All different senses of touch. In some ways, taste is the sensation used for the least amount of time in the tea ceremony; touch, hearing, smell and sight are used much more for you only taste food and tea for a short period in the whole time.
Just preparing some Matcha Zen now, in full kimono (nagajuban to hakama)... would wear it all day if I could but at work they just wouldn't understand
Edit: and the Matcha Zen is wonderful today! Back to my favorite Kyoyaki chawan, the Hagiyaki chawan is now boxed. The real difference is matcha to water ratio, too much usucha used leads to bitterness but the right amount is sweetness. Koicha remains sweet with double or triple the powder which is why it is more expensive.
Just preparing some Matcha Zen now, in full kimono (nagajuban to hakama)... would wear it all day if I could but at work they just wouldn't understand
Edit: and the Matcha Zen is wonderful today! Back to my favorite Kyoyaki chawan, the Hagiyaki chawan is now boxed. The real difference is matcha to water ratio, too much usucha used leads to bitterness but the right amount is sweetness. Koicha remains sweet with double or triple the powder which is why it is more expensive.
Mar 18th, '09, 09:20
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Certainly touch plays a substantial role for me, although in general, I think we try to downplay it a bit in favor of this sense's bigger brothers, sight, smell, taste.
I will say 20%. The feel of a fine kyusu, the satiny texture of the clay, The same spoon I have used for 10 years feels like an extention of my hand. Hagi cup going from cold and hard to warm and gentle moist. The cup to the lips and the warmth entering my mouth and going down my throat. It all feels familiar to me, and all very comforting.
Started the day a little different. Matcha Tori from Yuuki-Cha. I definitely prefer a brewed tea first thing in the morning, but this was a nice change. SweeTea enjoyed her share of the emerald green. Pyrit was close as usual. Ceylon visited the TeaTable again.
I will say 20%. The feel of a fine kyusu, the satiny texture of the clay, The same spoon I have used for 10 years feels like an extention of my hand. Hagi cup going from cold and hard to warm and gentle moist. The cup to the lips and the warmth entering my mouth and going down my throat. It all feels familiar to me, and all very comforting.
Started the day a little different. Matcha Tori from Yuuki-Cha. I definitely prefer a brewed tea first thing in the morning, but this was a nice change. SweeTea enjoyed her share of the emerald green. Pyrit was close as usual. Ceylon visited the TeaTable again.
blah blah blah SENCHA blah blah blah!!!
Mar 18th, '09, 09:32
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tea-guy
I'm not sure I can vote any particular relational percentage here.
Does not the aroma touch my nose?
Does not the heat of the cup touch my skin?
Does not the flavor touch my tongue?
Does not the texture touch my palate?
And those are only the metaphysical elements at play!
Doesn't the appearance touch my eyes?
Doesn't the steep time touch my soul?
I can't bear to attempt to interpret on my own the wholesale meaning behind "touch" in the sense of this poll.
If the poster intends this poll to only take into account the literal physical touching of the leaves... then I touch those leaves as little as possible 0-1%
If the poster means a more encompassing generalization of "touch" when they say "including all aspects that TOUCH plays a role", then it's nearly 100%.
Does not the aroma touch my nose?
Does not the heat of the cup touch my skin?
Does not the flavor touch my tongue?
Does not the texture touch my palate?
And those are only the metaphysical elements at play!
Doesn't the appearance touch my eyes?
Doesn't the steep time touch my soul?
I can't bear to attempt to interpret on my own the wholesale meaning behind "touch" in the sense of this poll.
If the poster intends this poll to only take into account the literal physical touching of the leaves... then I touch those leaves as little as possible 0-1%
If the poster means a more encompassing generalization of "touch" when they say "including all aspects that TOUCH plays a role", then it's nearly 100%.
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Tea-Guy
Tea-Guy
Mar 18th, '09, 09:49
Posts: 20891
Joined: Apr 22nd, '06, 20:52
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Location: Back in the TeaCave atop Mt. Fuji
The pollster means we have 5 individual physical senses. I am asking for one to try and distinguish the 5 senses one by one, today it is TOUCH. you may feel the steam touch your nose, but you smell the aroma. You feel the tea touch your tongue, but you taste the tea. Etc ...tea-guy wrote:I'm not sure I can vote any particular relational percentage here.
Does not the aroma touch my nose?
Does not the heat of the cup touch my skin?
Does not the flavor touch my tongue?
Does not the texture touch my palate?
And those are only the metaphysical elements at play!
Doesn't the appearance touch my eyes?
Doesn't the steep time touch my soul?
I can't bear to attempt to interpret on my own the wholesale meaning behind "touch" in the sense of this poll.
If the poster intends this poll to only take into account the literal physical touching of the leaves... then I touch those leaves as little as possible 0-1%
If the poster means a more encompassing generalization of "touch" when they say "including all aspects that TOUCH plays a role", then it's nearly 100%.
You can certainly abstract this if you choose, but we DO have 5 individual senses that work together to create an experience.
Mar 18th, '09, 09:56
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auggy
I voted 0% because, honestly, I don't remember ever noticing the feel of anything while tea making. I take that back, I like how my yixing pot feels silky when I've wet it down and am washing it. But that's clean up so not really something I tie into the tea experience.
Birthday tea for me today. Dr appointment later today so I get to leave early (yay!) but I need to go hunt down something to occupy me until then.
Birthday tea for me today. Dr appointment later today so I get to leave early (yay!) but I need to go hunt down something to occupy me until then.
I'd say 10%
Of course I like touching teaware, the velvety sensation of Yixing clay, the rough sensation of a cast iron tetsubin and so on...(also wet leaves have a certain attractive to me!) but what I mean for touch sensation in tea tasting is the mouthfeel, given by the passage of liquid on a specific kind of taste-buds in the rear of the tongue. As a sommelier I was trained to isolate the moment in tasting, so I would define the feeling of thickness, roundness or the watery finish in the mouth as TOUCH rather than TASTE sensation.
In my cup right now chinese Tie Kuan Yin D'Or paired with homemade orange muffins!
Nice afternoon to TEACHATERS
Of course I like touching teaware, the velvety sensation of Yixing clay, the rough sensation of a cast iron tetsubin and so on...(also wet leaves have a certain attractive to me!) but what I mean for touch sensation in tea tasting is the mouthfeel, given by the passage of liquid on a specific kind of taste-buds in the rear of the tongue. As a sommelier I was trained to isolate the moment in tasting, so I would define the feeling of thickness, roundness or the watery finish in the mouth as TOUCH rather than TASTE sensation.
In my cup right now chinese Tie Kuan Yin D'Or paired with homemade orange muffins!
Nice afternoon to TEACHATERS
Last edited by saretta on Mar 18th, '09, 10:14, edited 1 time in total.
