Friday TeaDay 3/20/09 A matter of taste?

[Chip]

Hello everyone and welcome to TeaDay. Please stop by and share what is in your cup throughout the day.

Yesterday 2 out of 3 responders indicated that their sense of smell accounted for between 20-40% of their total tea enjoyment. 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 taste, your sense of taste, including all aspects that taste plays a role? Please share how taste plays a part in your TOTAL tea enjoyment.

I am looking forward to sharing our tastes for tea today. Bottoms up ...

[Salsero]

I said 50%, but I am a little worried that I have overdrawn my percents. Fortunately I haven't kept track of my previous votes, so there is an unlimited supply of percents for me to ascribe to the various senses. But, yes, taste is the main thing for me.

2005 Chunming Highland Spring.

Click the photo to see Sunrise Over Chunming.

[Victoria]

Ok the one time I have my response written and ready to go, the poll is not on
the last sense - hearing! Anyway I was going to round out my percent to 100%
with the last 20% going to sound.

To me taste is separate from the other senses.
As the other 4 make up the enjoyments leading up to the taste.
So I feel they can make up 100% of the pre-taste experience.
Taste is 100% of its own experience.

[Chip]

I did not "sense" that hearing would warrant an entire day's discussion based on previous discussions on hearing and tea on the forum which indicated a rather minor impact on posters' total tea experience. Feel free to sound off on sound today as well.

Sorry, you have to add them up for 100%. You have one total tea experience. For this series of polls, posters are all asked to have a cumulative percentage of 100%, taste included (although many of us will admittedly go over ).

Also, the other senses directly impact each and every sip in conjuction with taste, not apart from taste, particularly the sense of smell. We do not for instance turn off our sense of smell and close our eyes when we sip (well, OK, sometimes we close our eyes )

[olivierco]

About 60%.

Otsuusan sencha this morning.

[sp1key]

at the end of the day, taste to me is the most important

[peacock chinchilla]

As I have been lax in keeping track of my percentages, I am sure I am over 100 too, sorry! For me, all the senses come into play at different times during the experience . . . smell and vision when I am trying to determine if the tea is steeped to my liking . . . smell when I am drinking it at work and I need a moment to breathe in the heavenly aroma to center myself . . . smell when I am picking out a new
tea . . . hearing gives me the little lift when I hear my kettle yell at me or my Zojirushi sing.

Looking forward to my Yunnan Gold waiting for me at work - everyone have a great weekend.

[Drax]

The beauty of math is that it works correctly, even when you do not.

I went with 40% for taste, to match my 40% for smell. The two are just too closely related for me. Although I can smell w/o tasting, I can't taste w/o smelling.

This morning, my sniffer and taste buds are working pretty well, so I am enjoying some ali shan from Adagio.

[Victoria]

In my cup this morning: FF Darjeeling from Lupicia.

Have a nice day everyone!

[tea-guy]

In my cup: Creme de la Earl Grey from Townshend's

[Aphroditea]

Good to know I am not the only Teachatter who can't do math!!

I think I will go over to Victoria's camp and set my taste experience in its own special domain. That way my balance sheet will work out

Have not decided on my tea this morning, but leaning toward some yunnan gold.

[Aphroditea]

I did not "sense" that hearing would warrant an entire day's discussion based on previous discussions on hearing and tea on the forum which indicated a rather minor impact on posters' total tea experience. Feel free to sound off on sound today as well.

Forgot to sound off about sound! I actually DO use sound as part of my tea experience - and not just when drinking genmaicha

There is the water - I know it is nearly to its heat just by the SOUND and that goes for 180 or 212 or whatever....even when I am not paying attention I will find that have put down my book or stood up from the computer and will be walking into the kitchen just seconds before my water is ready. We forget, because we use sight SO much, that as part of the animal kingdom our hearing is not so shabby.

Other instances of sound as part of my tea experience are the sounds of the TEAWARE. This is oddly important. The clink of cup and saucer, the sliding of the gaiwan lid, the odd like pop as you remove the tasting cup. I went to a ceremonial gong fu session once and we were not allowed to talk for the first couple of infusions (so we could really immerse ourselves before discussing the experience) and I have to say, every sound down to the rustle of the hostess' robes was heightened and made the experience quite intense.

A lot of gong fu at home while we are watching TV or doing the laundry or listening to classical music (which all also involves sound in your tea experience, btw), but I think you would 'see' sound a bit differently if you gong fu'ed in very low lighting with no other sounds (no A/C!!) You wouldn't even have to be a gong fu'er to do this, it would likely work with a cup and saucer, too

And while I have been typing I have changed my mind and opted for a 2nd flush Darjeeling. Perhaps the tea was talking to me

[JP]

Taste is everything, that's why I drink tea.

[kymidwife]

So...

10% touch
10% sight
30% smell
50% taste

Sound? I don't care about the sound of leaves shaking in a tin, or the pour from the pot to the cup, or the whistle of a kettle or the gurgle in my tummy after I drank way too much. I'd have given it a zero anyway.

However... in fact, tea does speak to me... just not out loud. Sometimes it sings. Sometimes it whispers. It knows my name. It beckons me, night and day... alters my plans, coerces my spending, infiltrates my work hours... it is always in my ear.

In the sixth sense of extra-sensory perception, I'm a tea medium.

Oolong 18 this morning, which I forgot and brewed way too long, but it is not harmed in the least, no bitterness, still delicious... a very forgiving tea.

Sarah