Friday TeaDay 5/15/09 Empyrean tea?

[Chip]

Welcome everyone to TeaDay. Please come in and share what is in your cup today.

Yesterday most poll responders picked 2009 Japanese greens as the new harvest tea they would pick if given the choice. You can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Have you found your transcendent, empyrean, preeminent, and/or unsurpassable TEA? Or do you believe you are still searching for your ultimate tea?

What is the closest tea you have discovered that has you thinking "it doesn't get any better than this?"

I am hoping TeaDay will be unsurpassable today and am looking forward to sharing it with everyone. Bottoms up.

[entropyembrace]

I think single bush milan dancong is my empyrean tea...it has a lively fruity aroma that seems to get stronger with age and in the cup it translates really well into a mingling of subtle fruit flavors with just the perfect refreshing astrigency. But what really makes it transcendent is the deeply calming energy to it after swallowing. All of the teas that I think of as excellent have a strong 'energy' to them...they impart an emotion after swallowing but the single bush milan dancong gives me a deeply soothing and calming feeling...

It's even a feeling my gf experiences and I hadn't told her about it before she tried the tea.

One of our first days together I shared a pot of 2007 single bush milan dancong with her in my parent's living room...we had only woken up a couple of hours earlier after sleeping in through most of the morning but the tea was so deeply relaxing that after a couple of infusions we were sleeping in each others arms on the sofa.

And that's why we chose to buy 1kg of it to age for our anniversary ^^

[Salsero]

If I have found such a tea it probably would have been a Japanese of a Chinese green ... or an oolong ... or maybe a pu or hei cha ... or maybe ...

I guess the answer is "no," but maybe I will some day. More importantly, I am really enjoying looking.

My shincha from Hibiki-an, O-Cha, and Zencha all arrived yesterday in the same mail. I am currently in too much shock to open anything! Especially since I know that each bag will last me an eternity and stay fresh for 35 minutes.



If I ever found something I liked as much as entropyembrace and her gf like their DC, I think there would be a danger of me becoming a Tea-oholic.

[Pentox]

I am fillosophically opposed to this question. Because tea is never just about the tea, it is the experience. I'm on what is a never ending quest to enjoy tea and the differences that come from cup to cup, from harvest to harvest, from setting to setting.

The most pristine example of this was when I was in SF back in April. Being there for hanami sitting in the garden drinking a cup of some teabagged, oversteep, underleafed, low grade sencha in a plastic pot (that brownish one that you see everywhere) with a plastic cup. It was still a great tea experience because of where I was. I was enjoying tea in a stunningly beautiful garden. Sure it could have been better with better tea, but the moment spoke wonders, but it could be improved on.

There is only in the moment, perfect for now.

[Trey Winston]

I am fillosophically opposed to this question. Because tea is never just about the tea, it is the experience. I'm on what is a never ending quest to enjoy tea and the differences that come from cup to cup, from harvest to harvest, from setting to setting.

The most pristine example of this was when I was in SF back in April. Being there for hanami sitting in the garden drinking a cup of some teabagged, oversteep, underleafed, low grade sencha in a plastic pot (that brownish one that you see everywhere) with a plastic cup. It was still a great tea experience because of where I was. I was enjoying tea in a stunningly beautiful garden. Sure it could have been better with better tea, but the moment spoke wonders, but it could be improved on.

There is only in the moment, perfect for now.

To paraphrase and badly mangle the wine guru Oz Clarke (from memory): "The best wine is rarely the $1000-a-bottle Grand Cru you sip from a crystal glass at some gala, but usually the cheap stuff you drink from a coffee mug in a friend's kitchen."

I think the same goes for teas, and that the situation is important for the enjoyment of any specific tea. My favorite this far is a certain SN, but hopefully the search will continue for a long time yet.

Having some slightly overbrewed White Symphony right now.

[Herb_Master]

Semi Philosophically opposed

I am no philosopher, though maybe we all are in our own way

I would hate to be so narrow minded as to say that I have found the ultimate tea!

I have only really explored Mainland Oolong and a small amount of Pu Erh!

It is impossible for me to compare TGY with DHP or Dan Cong, each group has it's own merits. Like Pentox says and more drinking tea is an experience, and the different tea types, let alone the different examples of the tea types fit different moods and situations. Sometimes for no explicable reason a tea will ennervate me and lift me almost transcendentally but then revisiting the same tea a day later will give me nothing more than a nice, enjoyable cup.

as the French say - Vive le Difference! I wonder if different teas have different genders

[Drax]

I opted out of the question, too. I have to agree that a portion of what goes into the "best tea" is the circumstances. But, if I were to go simply on "technical proficiency" of the tea itself, then I believe I have a lot more searching to do.

I had an order from Tea Cuppa come in yesterday, so last night I cracked open the Rou Gui I had ordered and gave it a go. I'm enjoying a couple more infusions this morning before heading out to work.

[cherylopal]

I guess the answer is "no," but maybe I will some day. More importantly, I am really enjoying looking.





If I ever found something I liked as much as entropyembrace and her gf like their DC, I think there would be a danger of me becoming a Tea-oholic.

+1

and

+1

and

another gorgeous photo!!


I hear everyone and can understand... but I have tasted some incredibly delicious teas recently- gyokuro from Ocha, YM shincha from Ocha, and a green oolong- but I think I need to keep looking. I agree about the experience being important like entropyembrace and trey said and so far my really excellent teas have been enjoyed solo.

[chad]

I haven't found my "forsake all others" tea, yet!

Margaret's Hope Darjeeling today.

[Victoria]

Yes, I think so, but ...

I have had what I consider the ultimate, but unfortunately it is gone and the search begins again. Once the harvest is gone, disappointment will soon follow if you keep pursuing the same tea. So I try to be open to new teas. But the ultimate will always be a green high mountain oolong, but which mountain, which harvest, which grower?

In my cup this morning my new favorite of the 09 FF:
Soom Estate Darjeeling

Have a nice day everyone!

[wh&yel-apprentice]

I am fillosophically opposed to this question. Because tea is never just about the tea, it is the experience. I'm on what is a never ending quest to enjoy tea and the differences that come from cup to cup, from harvest to harvest, from setting to setting.

The most pristine example of this was when I was in SF back in April. Being there for hanami sitting in the garden drinking a cup of some teabagged, oversteep, underleafed, low grade sencha in a plastic pot (that brownish one that you see everywhere) with a plastic cup. It was still a great tea experience because of where I was. I was enjoying tea in a stunningly beautiful garden. Sure it could have been better with better tea, but the moment spoke wonders, but it could be improved on.

There is only in the moment, perfect for now.

To paraphrase and badly mangle the wine guru Oz Clarke (from memory): "The best wine is rarely the $1000-a-bottle Grand Cru you sip from a crystal glass at some gala, but usually the cheap stuff you drink from a coffee mug in a friend's kitchen."

I think the same goes for teas, and that the situation is important for the enjoyment of any specific tea.

Hmm,

1st point....Chip, did you mean "empyreal"? Had to go look up the definition for this empyrean stuff : from the movie Bull Durham- "Hey Annie, what's all this quantum mechanics stuff???" :confused dunderhead face:

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/empyrean

(hope it's alright for me to post a link to a dictionary definition :p )

2nd point agree with above post^^^ Ok, ok, maybe not *that* far

In another wine analogy, it is said that Pinot Noir is a varietal for the masochists. Always in search of the Holy Grail, more often disappointment than elation. But among the Pinot Noir connoisseurs, rarely will you find only one wine/producer/estate they prefer exclusively over all others (even DRC). Usually there is a range of styles that can be found among the consensus top tier. I think you'll probably find that true amongst many a dedicated tea enthusiast/connoisseur.

I would choose, *none of the above*. I must be more simple-minded, like I suppose, many a native Asian drinker. I'm just looking for teas to enjoy with a meal. I'm looking for a synergy effect with the food (or dessert, like mooncakes) I am eating. As such I do not seek lofty goals of perfection or other such ephemeral and otherworldly (conceptual) experiences :p

Sometimes, a hot cup of tea just helps you get through a bad cold virus...and any of a number of tasty teas will suffice, given that my taste buds are probably askew anyway

Tea is a beverage, I don't fuss about the more intricate aspects many on tea forums seem to expend much time pontificating on, commiserating on ...except the always difficult task of getting the steeping process to a point that is satisfactorily not too much or too little of that element...a frustrating endeavor at times to nail down (expensive too, depending on the cost of the tea)

Question(scientific v philosophical?) of the day: Is umami effected by environmental conditions? ie, does the tea drinkers weather environment change the umami, say comparing hot/humid conditions vs cool refreshing spring/frigid cold, lip cracking dry air winter weather? or is it just like any other taste sensation in that regard???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umami

[auggy]

"Fillossofically" opposed here - but only because I feel (for me) there can never be an ultimate tea as my tastes change some depending on my mood. So instead I go for finding teas that fit my mood perfectly - and I think I'm doing pretty good on that front. But it's a process.

Birthday tea for me this morning.

Off topic question: Anyone live near Fremont, CA or Nashua, NH? I have the chance to go to one of these spots in June (NH) or July (CA) and am trying to figure out which to pick. I'm open to suggestions!

[geeber1]

"Fillossofically" opposed here - but only because I feel (for me) there can never be an ultimate tea as my tastes change some depending on my mood. So instead I go for finding teas that fit my mood perfectly - and I think I'm doing pretty good on that front. But it's a process.

+1 on what Auggy said - in a much more eloquent way than I could have.

[teashionista]

I haven't found one, but I'm still searching. The only caveat may be that it will be several "ulitmates": one green, one oolong, etc. Then, of course, there would be an empyreal tea for each sub-category (DHP, TGY, Sencha, etc.)

Haven't had any tea today yet, but I'm bringing more green Buddha to the office.

[TIM]

The first time I tasted a light anxi tgy in Xiping, brewed by the master whom made it. The "Yin Wan" characteristic is transcendent and I had never feel so calm by a light tgy before.... and an equally empyrean moment at the hill of Nankang, Taiwan and my first taste of Da yu ling brewed in a silver pot by the owner of the plantation. Most of this experiences were presented by someone whom understand and know how to brew their fresh tea, and I am still learning the trick or their trade.

Having the most expensive or best grade tea at ones disposal does not equal to a preeminent cup of tea.