Another Tea Blog

Den's Tea Houji-Kukicha Revisited

2009-04-12T13:55:00.000-07:00

I first tried Den's Houji-Kukicha about a year ago and enjoyed it. Later I tried Hibiki's Houji Karigane but didn't care for it as much. Now I am giving Den's another try and I sill prefer it.

Its simplicity appeals to me. Add a heap of leave with some boiling water and lett it sit for a minute or two or three, whatever, and you have a cup of warm, roasted goodness. Nothing fancy but pleasurable.

If you are looking for a roasted kukicha, my advice is to go with Den's.

Adagio's Keemun Rhapsody

2009-04-06T15:12:00.000-07:00

Spring is here, and with it soon comes the new harvests, particularly shincha--I am making my last bit of sencha stretch as long as I can. So in the mean time I continue to dig through my dwindling tea stash.

This is another one of the four new hong cha that Adagio released some months back.

The leaves smell...like keemun. The aroma reminds me of BBQ sauce. Kind of sweet, not smokey...hickory? I am pulling hickory out of my ass, as I have no idea what that smells like. Let's go with it.

The liquor is a clear, cola-brown. No hints of red.

The tea is pleasant enough. A some what mild keemun. Not bad, though I don't see myself ever yearning for a cup.

I am so off my game today.

Adagio's Golden Spring

2009-03-14T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hello again. Did you miss me?

Golden Spring is one of the four new hong cha that Adagio added a few months back. They were all quite good, particularly for the price. I very much enjoyed the Yunnan Noir in particular, but I drank it all. A proper review on that one will have to wait till I get some more.

The Golden Spring has a typical aroma. The dry leaves smell of honey and grain, while notes of its Fujian heritage come out in the medium brown liquor with a subtle golden hue.

It has a smooth and mellow flavor with a lingering sweetness that develops as the tea cools. A fine example of hong cha at a good price.

I very much love this pot. It is by far my favorite. I have had it for years now I have yet to tire looking at it. Its so simple and eligant. While most end up deleted, when every I use it to review a tea, I spend half the time snapping pictures of it.

Can't Stop the Signal

2009-01-20T20:45:00.000-08:00

For the foreseeable future, Another Tea Blog is still on hiatus, at least until I work out the issues with the photography. Yes I could still post reviews without my pictures, but it just doesn't feel the same.

I will not give up on this blog. It has been too much fun, and I honestly feel like it is just getting started. So thank you for your patience and continued support, but I promise this is not over.

In the meantime I will be working on wikiCHA. Some friends started it a while back and have been working on it, and it has the potential of really taking off, so be sure to check it out.

New Year, New Home, New Problems

2009-01-02T14:52:00.000-08:00

Nothing much tea related to post today, but I did want to check in and let everyone know that posts will be resuming shortly as promised. Thank you for your continuing interest in my humble blog. During my two month hiatus, I expected my hits to take a nose dive, but I was pleasantly surprised.

I have settled in nicely to my new home, and I love it. Problem is I have been here for three weeks, and I am now sure that the sun never directly touches my apartment. This is nice for sleeping in and watching movies during the day, but is dramatically effecting my photography.

What light I do get is very blue. This is easily corrected with a little editing (pictured), but still doesn't leave me with sufficient light for good quality close up shots.

I am a lazy and spoiled photographer. I am used to simply waiting for the sun to come up, adjust my exposure, and go. Now I am going to have to get a lot more familiar with white balance, and light boxes or flashes or whatever else that the less luminous blessed folks have to use.

Its that time again.

2008-11-11T18:47:00.000-08:00

I hope to get around to reviewing the new sencha from o-cha, the Chiran, but other than that it is not likely I'll be updating till January. The holidays are here and kicking my ass. Also I'm wrapping up the divorce, and I'll be moving mid December.

If I already had pictures taken and ready, I might still try to squeeze out a few reviews (and I probably will), but for the first time I'm caught up. I feel short on inspiration, I feel tapped out. I expect that the move, being in a new environment will help with that.

Furthermore, I have not been entirely pleased with the direction the blog has taken. It has been fairly random, reviews only on whatever tea finds its way to me, as I haven't been buying much tea myself. On one hand this has been nice, and I've been able to share some unique teas, but I prefer to have a bit more control and focus than that.

In short, updates will resume in January, hopefully stronger and inspired.

In the mean time, check out Adagio's new black teas from China.

Fruit Flavored Tea

2008-10-26T20:23:00.000-07:00

Brittiny posted this on her blog, M y Steeped IdentiTEA, yesterday, and I'm reposting it here 'cause it also expresses my feelings towards tea that doesn't taste like tea. And its just fucking funny.

George Carlin on Fruit-flavored Teas:

I would like to talk to you about fruit-flavored teas. These would be teas that are flavored like fruit. Fruit-flavored teas. You need to understand that. These are not fruits. They’re teas. But they taste like fruit. All right? They have names like strawberry kiwi, lemon berry, orange mango, wild cherry, blackberry and cranberry. They taste like fruit. And they sound like fruits, too, don’t they? They’re not. They’re teas. Fruit-flavored teas. And frankly, I don’t understand this.

Personally, I’ve always been of a mind that if you’re looking for fruit flavor, if you’re genuinely interested in something that tastes like fruit, and you find yourself in the tea section, you’re probably in the wrong aisle. My advice is, if it’s fruit flavor you’re after, play if safe, go ahead and get some fruit. I have found in my experience that fruit almost always turns out to be reliable source of fruit flavor.

Another good place you may wish to look for fruit flavor would be in fruit juice. Fruit juice is made by squeezing the juice out of the fruit. Apparently, the juice that runs out of the fruit has fruit flavor. Perhaps that’s why they call if fruit juice. It doesn’t taste like tea. For tea taste, you would need to get some tea.

So let’s sum this up: If it’s fruit flavor you want, you can’t go wrong with fruit. Or, as I’ve pointed out, fruit juice. Don’t be ordering tea. Tea has tea flavor. It’s not like fruit. It’s more like tea. If you want tea, I say order tea. That’s a different experience. It’s known as “having tea.”

Have you noticed, by the way, there are no tea-flavored fruits? Take a clue from nature.

Brittany, reading that made my whole night better, so thanks for sharing it.

Hawaiian Black Tea

2008-10-19T16:11:00.000-07:00

Onomea Tea Co. is a small and growing "boutique tea estate" in Hawaii. As I recall, their selection includes white, black, oolong, and steamed or pan-fired green tea. One can not yet purchase the tea from their website, but I hope that changes soon, as I would like some more.

It's a black tea, and the leaves smell like black tea. The aroma is a bit generic, ubiquitous, but the leaves are beautiful, like a marriage between yancha and dian hong.

I used three grams four 4 minutes, but I would recommend using more leaf, as much as five grams. In fact I think this tea yearns for gong fu for the best results.

The liquor is a honey brown, like a pale ale.

It has a malty, brisk mouthfeel paired with a thinner body, similar to a ceylon. Honey notes, a subtle sweetness, and no astringency again bring to mind dian hong. The over all flavor has similarities to bai hao oolong. It was much better than I expected. It has the potential of being one of my few favorite black teas.

An afternoon with a book, some coffee, and a walk in the park has left me feeling more relaxed, more centered, than I've been in weeks.

Shikoku Awacha

2008-10-13T21:43:00.000-07:00

This tea was given to me, so I don't know much about it other than it is a sencha from Shikoku, the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. I presume this tea comes from an area formerly known as Awa, now part of the Tokushima Prefecture.

It has a strong aroma, spicy, cilantro and tomatoes come to mind. The leaves are coarse and thick, with bits of twigs.

It tastes like asamushi, light with subtle hints of karigane, a faint sweet finish, and a whisper of astringency. Yet it has a hearty mouth feel. I like it.

Use lots of leaf. Good for 2-3 infusions.

My Favorite Oolong

2008-10-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

I almost never buy the same tea twice, aside from one or two exceptions, staples. Even with the best tea, I simply file away its awesomeness for later and move on. This is particularly true with oolong.

But I can't stop drinking the Signature Roasted TGY from Just4Tea. After finishing the initial sample June sent me last December, I've purchased it twice, and soon I will place my third order. This TGY hits the spot for me and has become my favorite oolong; I drink it more days than not.

It's high roasted but not over powering. Similar to yancha, lots of chocolate, but with fruity nuances that bring a subtle complexity. Very smooth, not sour, and only astringent if poorly prepared.

Sometimes I'll brew it using a larger kyusu, which will yield a few delightful but simple infusions, good for meals and casual drinking. Other times I'll gong fu it with a much smaller yixing. I can get a half dozen or more infusions. These tend to be sweeter with more fruit.

Tea Nerd and Bears have also reviewed this tea, among many others.

Taiwan Wuyi

2008-09-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

A wuyi oolong varietal from Taiwan. It came from Floating Leaves Tea and was a sample given to me by a kind person who continues to expand my oolong horizons.

The leaves are a dark, rich green with the occasional stem. It smells like berries. I stuffed my little pot and used short infusions.

It tastes like peaches and apricots with a friendly astringency, sweet after taste, and medium mouthfeel. Similar to this dan cong from Tea Spring.

2008 Nok Ya Won Wild Hadong Ddok Cha

2008-09-20T17:36:00.000-07:00

This was a delightful sample of traditional Korean style tea that I received from Matt. If you haven't visited his blog yet, you don't know what you're missing. I often go over there just to see his wonderful photos.

According to Matt, "this tea was produced in eight steps. The first step involves the hand picking of this tea, in the clean and serene Jiri Mountain valley at a wild tea plantation just outside Hadong on the 10th of May, 2008. Secondly, the tea is dried in a large, gas-fired aluminum cauldron for 20 minutes. This acts to partially stop its oxidization. Next, the tea is removed from the cauldron and is placed on a rough, fibrous rush mat where it is violently rolled by hand. At this step the leaves break a little giving way to a reaction between tea and air. Then the tea is shade dried where it is exposed to the open air of the mountain valley for 48 hours. Next, the tea is separated and weighed into 100 gram piles. Then the leaves are steamed to soften them. When the leaves are supple they are pressed into cakes. Finally, they are left to dry in a warm room for 3-5 days."

According to Cha Dao, ddok cha "is a form of Korean compressed tea. The term ddok refers to the pounding method used to process the tea. In tradition, a pestle and mortar or a mallet and plank were employed. The name ddok is popularly thought to come from the sound of pounding with a large, wooden mallet on a large, thick wood plank: ddok, ddok, ddok."

The leaves smell fruity and light, similar to many Chinese greens I've had. When put in a heated kyusu, a caramelized sweetness emerges. The tea itself is light, fruity, sweet, with a distinct green finish and a delicate but full mouthfeel with layers of nuance. Everything that I like about Chinese green tea, only better.

Matt, thanks so much for my first introduction to Korean tea.

Rishi Shu Puerh 125 Gram Cake

2008-09-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

This is my first puerh cake. I was kind of excited to get it. I only dabble in pu from time to time, but this one was Fair Trade Certified and affordable, and I had been in the mood for some shu-pu, so I went for it.

I use 5-6 grams for a 5 oz pot.

I put the leaves in a heated yixing to enhance the aroma. Smells like pork, a bit more bacon-esque than the sweet, sausage notes I sometimes get from puerh.

This tea wasn't very good. It wasn't offensive, not like many of the mini tuo cha I've stumbled across, for example, but it was rather bland. Rishi's description of "smooth and mellow" is accurate; there is little to no astringency, but it is completely lacking nuance or complexity.

I'm a little disappointed it didn't turn out better, but not surprised. Puerh is not Rishi's strong suit, in my opinion, which is a shame, since it is about the only Fair Trade Certified pu I've seen.

Teance "Monkey Picked" Tai Guan Yin Medium Roast

2008-08-13T14:46:00.000-07:00

First things first, "monkey picked." Tea vendors will use this phrase to indicate that the particular tea is high quality, and perhaps also as in attempt to add a little exotic appeal to the product. This phrase should instill in you the same warm fuzzies I get from McDonald's "Premium" Coffee. It's a bygone phrase ('cause seriously, have you seen what monkey's do with their hands all day? Do you want them picking you tea?) from a time when supposedly they used trained monkey's to climb to the tops of trees to pick the tea leaves (now China can just use kids).

Yes, a company can add the phrase to a legitimately superior tea, that is quite good and worth your money; buyer beware, that's all I'm saying. If you find yourself thinking, "oooh, monkey picked," your bull-shit detector may need adjusting.

Second, medium roast my ass; this, and to be fair to Teance, every other medium roasted TGY I've tried, tastes lightly roasted at best to me. Maybe there is something I don't understand about roasting.

The aroma is somewhat typical but more complex than usual, sweet, toasted grain, caramel and honey with greener bits that come and go. The aroma of the rinsed leaves reveal a surprising and faint hint of peach.

The first time I brewed the tea, it was indeed peachy, like a dan cong, and I was very pleased, but I have since been unable to replicate it. It has a flavor similar to a gao shan, but not as floral and with a heavier body and thicker mouth feel.

I'm still hunting for roasted TGYs, but they seem to be going out of style.

And on the subject of Chinese mythology, meet Yu Zhi, daughter of Xiwangmu, Queen Mother of the West. The pictures is taken from a Ukiyo e woodcut by Nishikawa Sukenobu. Just the outline so far, color in about a month.

Hibiki-an's Houji Karigane

2008-08-07T22:08:00.000-07:00

I'll cut to the chase. This tea is good, but it failed to elicit the same excitement and passion for houjicha that Den's Houji Kukicha awoke in me earlier this year.

Nice and toasty, a sweet finish, no astringency to speak of, but somehow lacks the pizazz of Den's. The prices are comparable, but you can only buy Hibiki's in 200 grams, meaning if you choose to try it, you better have plans to drink it for a while. Also, Hibiki's is less flexible. With Den's, I couldn't make a bad cup, but this one has turned on me once or twice.

Still, as I said, this is a good tea, but I'd rather have Den's. It would be interesting to try the two side by side and see if I'm full of shit.

Edit: I realised later that I wrote this assuming who ever reads it knows what kukicha and karigane are, which are essentially the same thing, Japanese twig tea. Kuki (twig) cha (tea). Karigane translates to wild goose or something. From what I have heard, karigane generally refers to kukicha from Uji. If you didn't know this, you might have been wondering why I was comparing kukicha to karigane.

Please read the comments for further disscusion on the true nature of karigane vs kukicha.

Rishi's Jade Cloud

2008-08-05T20:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've talked about one of my earliest tea passions, Fair Trade, but the conversation on TeaChat today has inspired me to get off my ass and finally post this review. (I took these pictures three months ago).

There have been two recent changes with Rishi's line of Green Tea Retail Tins. 1) They've been packaging the tea with an inner bag to increase freshness (pictured), and 2) The tea gardens in Hubei, China where they source the Jade Cloud and a few others is now Fair Trade Certified.

Jade Cloud is harvested in the early spring using organic farming, grown at high elevation in tea gardens situated in natural pine and bamboo forests.

The aroma is nutty, sharp, vegital--asparagus perhaps.

The tea is mellow but has a pleasant and rich mouth feel and a desirable, low-level astringency. Nutty up front followed by a slight sweetness, which becomes more apparent in subsequent infusions, and a vegital finish. It tastes like it smells. As my palate is more accustomed to Japanese green tea, I'd say the overall flavor and strength is comparable to a good asamushi.

Georgian Old Gentlemen

2008-07-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Mary, I've had the chance to try something new, a black tea from Georgia. I didn't even know they grew tea in Eastern Europe.

This tea is made by Iuri in the village of Nasakirali and was picked in the Spring. The leaves look more like a yancha than any other black tea I've seen, long and twisted, fluffy. It has a very mild aroma, just a bit of fruit.

I think the parameters of 3g per 8 0z for 4 min. was perfect, though gong fu would be nice, too. The liquor is a beautiful honey brown.

To fully appreciate this tea, I think it must go unadulterated, lest you over power the nuances. It has the simplicity of a good Ceylon with the honey-sweetness of a dian hong and hints of fruit and spice in the finish. Classy, to use an emotive descriptor.

By the way, those seedless concord grapes were amazing.

POKKA Oolong

2008-07-26T19:19:00.000-07:00

No shit, the single best canned or bottled RTD tea I've ever had. Dr. Weil can go back to his day job. I found it at Whole Foods yesterday, and bought one with low expectations, expecting something greenish, astringent, and unremarkable.

Nuh-uh.

Yancha. Perfectly balanced yancha. Not too mild or watery and without the astringent bite that many unsweetened RTD's possess. I'd place it on par with Rishi's Wuyi Oolong. Not a lot of depth or nuance, but a very good, classic example. Great Flavor. It's Wuyi cha better than I could brew it.

No sugar, preservatives, calories, or coloring. Thanks Pokka!

Bubbies Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream

2008-07-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

Mochi is a rice cake made from glutinous rice, and is used to make many of the Japanese sweets, Wagashi served with tea. Mochitsuki is the traditional process of making Mochi.

Mochi ice cream is relatively new, having started in the early 80's in Japan. It's a ball of mochi with an ice cream core available in a variety of flavors. Recently we started carrying the green tea mochi from Bubbies, a Hawaiian company. A Japanese sweet using tea; all the excuse I needed to consume a whole box. You know, for research.

The outer layer is chewy, doughy, and the ice cream, well, it's ice cream, sweet, creamy and tastes of awesomeness with a very distinct green tea profile. It tastes like they use food grade matcha, and not just powdered sencha. A unique and fun treat.

Ito En's Fujian Jin Xuan

2008-07-10T20:09:00.000-07:00

Jin Xuan is a high mountain oolong typically from Taiwan, however Ito En's comes from Fujian, China. This is one of my favorite types of oolong, beautiful three-leaf clusters rolled into tiny, green pellets.

This tea has the usual aromas I find in green oolong, honey, toasted bits of cereal, followed by vegital and floral notes that just smell green.

This Jin Xuan is flexible, hard to over brew, and has an over all mild flavor, delicate, soft. Hints of honey and floral nuances, with a sweet mouth-feel and vegital finish. Refreshing and pleasant.

I bought one of the Bodum Pavina double wall glasses today, and I'm very much in love with it. It was a spontaneous purchase. I've seen them used by other tea drinkers on TeaChat, and I had hoped it would provide clearer photographs.

This one is a perfect size, 9 0z, suitable for almost every tea pot and gaiwan I have. The glass is light weight and just feels nice in the hand. Not as artsy or as wabi sabi as my other tea cups, but a pleasure to use, nonetheless.

Multiple Infusions

2008-07-05T21:54:00.000-07:00

Through out the world, tea is a drink of fellowship, something to be shared with friends, strangers and loved ones. But here it is often a solitary pastime. We drink alone, sometimes to the jeers of our families and co-workers. You may wish to share your passion with others, but inevitably their preconceptions and misconceptions get in the way.

So for companionship we turn to the Internet. Hell, I'm sure that's why tea blogs do well, so we can in some way share a cup of tea with friends we will never meet, but who nonetheless understand a part of us that those closest to us will always fail to get.

In this spirit I am grateful for those tea vendors and tea drinkers who do their part to bring us together. People like Lewis from Multiple Infusions. Thank you for helping create a place where us tea enthusiasts can gather.

O-cha's Yutaka Midori (Shincha)

2008-07-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

I know it's July, so it's a little late for shincha* reviews, but that's the moral of today's post, shelf life. In my experience the best, freshest green tea has a rather short life span. Even within two weeks of opening it, the tea will not be as good as the first few cups.

I've had the midori for six weeks, so its safe to say the tea I drank today is past its optimal prime. This isn't to say it has gone bad, only that it doesn't bake my cookies the same way it did in May.

That being said, this is the best sencha I've ever had. The aroma is sweet, rich and grassy. It smells like you'd want Spring to.

Shincha is bold, so use lower temperature and mind your steeping time. I prefer water at least as cool as 160-165 and will go up from there. I start with a minute for the first infusion, the second I only rinse the leaves, pouring immediately. Yutaka Midori doesn't have the same longevity in my opinion as the Hatsumi, for example; I only get three good steeps generally.

The tea tastes strong but clean, full, moderately sweet, flavorful with little astringency. There's a pseudo vegginess that always makes me think of apples.

*For those who don't know...shincha is the very first tea harvest of the year in Japan, not to be confused with first flush. All shincha is first flush, but not all first flush harvests are shincha.

New Vithanakande "Extra Special"

2008-06-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

This is one of two teas that I will review from Portsmouth Tea Company. New Vithanakande is an estate in (Ceylon) Sri Lanka, from the Ratnapura area/district/region, what have you.

The dry leaf aroma is woodsy, sawdust-y, not pine, but oak or mahogany, at first, then it smells more rich, sweeter, like tobacco. Once put in the preheated pot, I can smell stone fruits and honey that blends with the wood.

For a Ceylon, this tea is quite nice. Fans of Indian Tea and British styles will be fond of it, while proponents of Chinese hong cha will find something lacking, I suspect. In my opinion, a "fault" generally inherent to Indian, African and Sri Lankan teas.

There are nuances of something or the other whispering faintly in the background. The tea needs a touch of something, nothing as offensive as sugar, but...something. I tried a lemon. Tasty and soothing.

I didn't see this until after I compiled my tasting notes, but if you look at this post from last year, you'll see that my opinion of New Vithanakande tea hasn't changed much.

Ice Tea

2008-06-25T21:19:00.000-07:00

Today I experimented further with ice infusions, digging through my tea stash for anything interesting. Making ice tea has been a great way of disposing of less than stellar tea samples or anything I have a bit too much of.

Someone suggested using crushed ice to speed things up. Unfortunately I do not have ready access to crushed ice, but I do have a shovel, a bag of ice, and a bit of pent up angst. Note, if you try this, wrap the bag of ice in a towel to cushion and disperse the impact.

Zhen Qu: Very nice, light, bits of honey and lemon, sweet and refreshing.

Roasted TGY: Roasted Chocolate. This one was all right, but not my favorite.

Milk Oolong: Tasted exactly like it smells, milky sweet and floral.

Kukicha: This one was kind of gross, marine and grassy, not a good grassy--when I was five, I built a home for my Cringer/Battle Cat toy in a bucket filled with water and grass (I know, wtf?) and left him there for a few weeks. I've never forgotten the smell when I went to retrieve him. That kind of grassy.

Tip: Rolled oolong wont unfurl in cold water. For a better infusion try rinsing in boiling water first.

If you think this is starting to sound a bit labor intensive, you're not the only one.

White Tip Oolong

2008-06-23T21:07:00.000-07:00

This tea from New Mexico Tea Co. was a gift. I am unfamiliar with the company, but this tea was good, and I totally want these cups.

It's a Formosan oolong from the Tung Ting province. The rinsed leaves smell like baked fruit, cherries or something.

The brew is malty, reminiscent of a dian hong, similar mouth feel as well. When gong fu-ed, there are sweeter notes of molasses. Delightfully smooth and moderately complex. Yields about five to six, maybe seven, infusions depending on taste. Well worth the price.

On a personal note...

Regular readers may have noticed that the blog is limping along. June is almost over and this only the third post this month, by far the slowest since the beginning. I assure you that the blog is not dying, or in (much) danger of an extended hiatus. We are merely experiencing a period of decreased activity.

The biggest reason for this is that I am getting divorced. And while I will say that it has been a remarkably amicable affair, it has left me often feeling distracted and unfocused. My tea consumption in general had decreased dramatically, probably only a cup or two every three days or so. In short, tea just hasn't been on my mind, so there hasn't been much to write about.

However, through this I have learned two things, that I will now share with you.

Tip #1 DO NOT leave spent sencha in a pot for more than a week. That is not an aroma you want lingering.

Tip #2 When rigorously cleaning said pot with boiling water that you then spill on you hand, gently set down the pot first, then feel pain.

Lastly, to my regular readers, thank you. If not for your continuous support and interest in this blog, I'd have given up a while ago.

Teance Roasted Twig Oolong

2008-06-09T18:58:00.000-07:00

So far I have been unimpressed with the teas coming in from Teance; they have been average at best, though to be fair, my idea of "average" sets the bar kind of high. Nonetheless I found myself more than a little excited to try their Roasted Twig Oolong.

I love twig tea, karigane or kukicha, roasted or green, this kind of tea is a staple, always gotta have it in stock. Unfortunately this Taiwanese tea lacks the unique magic of its more prolific, Japanese counterparts. What kukicha brings to sencha, this tea fails to deliver.

The leaves/twigs smell wonderful, like warm, toasted honey, only it doesn't taste as good as it smells. It has the same problem I often find in lighter oolong. Like push up bras, enticing yes, but they only build you up for a let down.

Still...its not all bad, pleasant, light with bits of fruit, with honey in the finish, no astringency. I find its good for 2-3 infusions.

Ice-Infused Shincha

2008-06-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

A year ago I experimented with cold brewing sencha, and now that another Texas summer is here, I have revisited this quirky, refreshing method, this time using a significantly better tea, Shincha Yutaka Midori.

The idea is simple, add tea leaves and ice cubes to your pot and let the ice melt, giving it at least fifteen to twenty minutes. The colder temperature keeps the tea from turning bitter.

This time I thoroughly preheated the pot first, hoping to speed things up just a bit. When using this method I find its best to leave it outside or out on the porch.

The tea is strong, but not astringent, sweet, flavorful, very vegital. There is nothing grassy about this, but like biting into fresh produce. Cold-brewing reveals characteristics of the tea that you wouldn't find otherwise.

Just so you know...

2008-05-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

So I took a hiatus after all. There is just too much else going on right now. I'm taking a small vacation at the end of the month to go return home for a bit. Posts should resume June 1, when I get it back.

Tea Mind

2008-05-16T18:59:00.000-07:00

Tea Mind, a new blog from Chamekke .

Chamekke has been on Tea Chat for a while, and in a word, she's brilliant. Her knowledge of Japanese tea and culture leaves me in awe and not a little envy. I haven't been this excited about a new blog since Matt introduced us to the over-looked (at least by me) world of Korean tea.

Okayti Darjeeling Autumn Flush Oolong

2008-05-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

To be honest when I think of Mighty Leaf, I don't think of quality; its more like...fu-fu tea in pretty teabags. But perhaps I haven't been drinking the right tea from them, because this stuff is good.

My experience with Darjeeling teas have been almost exclusively from Makaibari, with only a few, unknown exceptions.

Darjeeling leaves always make me think of fall, and these are particularly nice, larger, bits of green and silver tips. The dry leaves have a clean, fruit/grain aroma that makes me think of raisin bran.

The tea has a sharp, crisp, clean feel. As it cools the sharpness becomes more of a pronounced astringent finish. Fruity, not quite raisin, not quite grape; I imagine this is the 'muscatel' so often used to describe Darjeeling. I liked it. It was hardy, easy to brew, and delivered I nice solid flavor.

The wet leaves look like a pile of autumn leaves after a rain.

70's Vietnamese Liao Fu San Cha

2008-05-02T19:58:00.000-07:00

This tea was with my samples in an unmarked baggie. Wasn't sure what it was, but figured I'd find out later and tossed it in the pot.

Well. Damn.

Had I known at the time that this was a Vietnamese puerh from the 70's, I would have paid a little more attention to it, perhaps a bit more caution in brewing it. As it were my tastings notes went about like this.

First Infusion: Whoa, that tastes like dirt.

Second Infusion: Still tastes like dirt.

Third Infusion: Yep, dirt. Fuck this tea.

Don't I feel silly.

Perhaps I was too hasty in judging this tea and missed hidden subtleties and nuances it had to offer. Perhaps if I had more experience with puerh, I would have appreciated this one more. Or perhaps by not knowing much at all, I was able to give a more direct, unbiased opinion.

(Shrugs)

For a second opinion: Houd De.

2007 Da Ye Wuyi

2008-05-02T12:01:00.000-07:00

This is a lightly roasted yancha from TeaCuppa.

They describe it as an affordable, daily oolong made from leaves that are not qualified for higher grade teas such as da hong pao.

I stuffed my tiny pot with leaves.

All the flavor is up front, light and floral, with bits of honey. This is a time to use bull shit adjectives like unpretentious in order to convey this tea's positive, unassuming simplicity. Not very nuanced, but pleasant; a beer with the guys kind of tea.

For me the leaves pay out after about four infusions.

Bai Ji Guan

2008-05-01T16:56:00.000-07:00

I've just learned all sorts of things today.

Bai Ji Guan is a Wuyi yancha, one of the Si Da Ming Cong, or four great tea bushes (Da Hong Pao, Shui Jin Gui, Tie Luo Han, and Bai Ji Guan).

The tea is named for a rooster that sacrificed its life to protect a child from an eagle. The legend is that after a monk witnessed the courage of the rooster, he buried it, and from that spot the Bai Ji Guan bush grew.

This is something I do enjoy about Chinese tea, the bits of mythology, legend, and religion that go hand in hand with the tea, Da Hong Pao, Tai Guan Yin. It is something you don't find, or I haven't found, in Japanese tea.

The tea in the package smells like an empty cigarette pack. I mean that in the best way possible; it brings back fond memories of childhood. I would always smell my dad's empty cigarette packs. I love the smell. Paper and a rich, sweet sort of earthiness.

The tea has a playful, astringent bite on the tip of the tongue, followed by the ubiquitous, cacao Wuyi-ness. It is rather dry with a thin mouth feel and an easy finish.

For those of you like me who are interested in learning more about the countries, cultures and people that produce our tea, you may want to check out this month's issue of National Geographic, a special issue dedicated solely to China. The pictures alone are well worth it.

And you get a free map!

"I'm a Chinese, but I feel it difficult to see my country clearly," wrote one student in Fuling. With pictures of conspicuous consumer socialites on one page, 'poor' Yunnan farmers the next, it is not hard to imagine.

Biscottea

2008-04-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Biscottea are "traditional" Scottish shortbreads baked with various teas and tissanes, Earl Grey with Darjeeling, Chai, Honey Bush, Blueberry White Tea, and Mint. Tea in food is nothing new, and I am often skeptical, having only a passing, professional interest in these items as they come into the store, often with propaganda concerning "health benefits." Blah blah blah.

But these were awesome.

The chai caught my intention first. It tastes like chai, more so than what passes for chai at places like Starbucks. You can taste the spice combined with the creamy, buttery goodness of the shortbread.

The Blueberry was my second favorite, with an intense blueberry flavor that's more vibrant and realistic than you would often find in a blueberry flavoured something-or-the-other.

The Mint is a bit...different, and the Earl Grey and Honeybush were both good, but the Chai and Blueberry impressed me the most.

My Own Masala Chai.

I have oft wanted to dabble in making my own chai, and these cookies inspired me to finally give it a shot.

I chose to use Teance Golden Yunnan as the base tea (this was a mistake, but I'll get to that in a bit). For 16 oz of chai, I used 4 g of tea, 1 g each of cloves, cardamom, and pepper and a cinnamon stick. I have no idea what I'm doing, so it seemed like a good start.

I expected the worst, but it didn't turn out all that bad, mostly just too mild. I think a pure/mostly bud dian hong isn't strong enough to stand out, and the Teance is more subdued than most. Next time I'll use Rishi's.

No one spice stood out. I'll definitely use more pepper and cinnamon next time, and I may leave the cardamom out and add ginger. I'll post periodic updates as I try new blends.

Aged Oolong

2008-04-25T21:20:00.000-07:00

Courtesy of MarshalN.

When I mentioned that I was interested in aged oolong, he was very kind and sent me some samples, but he kept them a surprise:

"There are four teas in them, including two aged tieguanyin, one aged baozhong, and one aged Taiwan oolong. One of them is what is normally passed on in most teashops as "aged oolong", but is in reality probably just a tea that is a few years old with a lot of roasting. I won't tell you which is which (numbered 1-4) unless you want me to."

His instructions:

"I'd suggesting filling the vessel about 1/4-1/3 full of dry leaves, using the hottest water you can find, and infusing them as quickly as your hands allow, at least for the first few infusions."

Aged Oolong 1

It has a dry cocoa aroma with thick, fruity hints of raisins, dates, or figs; I couldn't make up my mind.

The tea is fairly simple, tastes roasted, light, then after taste of raisins. Thin mouth feel, dry, not sweet at all.

Aged Oolong 2

Much richer aroma. Smells like chocolate, cookie chocolate, not milk chocolate. The aroma brings to mind the word "purple." Don't know why. Some teas smell or taste green; this smells purple.

Again this was a simple tea. Less up front taste but sweeter over all with a sugar cane finish.

Aged Oolong 3

If I didn't know better, I would have guessed this was a puerh. Strong, earthy aroma, deep red liquor, hints of camphor and a smidgen of celery. It had a thicker mouth feel than the others.

Aged Oolong 4

I can't place anything specific in the aroma.

The liquor is "cola" brown.

This tea lacked discernible characteristics or nuances. More astringent, and I tasted a note of celery again, but mostly it tasted hot.

My guesses as to which is which, based on over all feel, taste, and appearance of the leaves, are:

# 1 Taiguanyin. I think this was the "aged oolong" he spoke of.

# 2 Taiguanyin.

# 3 Baozhong.

# 4 Formosan.

Marshal, if you would be so kind to let us all know how completely wrong I am, that would be lovely. And thank you for the samples. I've often been envious of your experiences in China and Taiwan, having access to various tea shops, and it was great to get a chance to sample some these teas.

O-cha's Fukamushi Supreme

2008-04-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

My last sencha 'till shincha.

Fukamushicha is deep-steamed sencha--asamushi = light-steamed, chumushi = mid, and so forth. The more steam used the greater the flavor and the smaller the leaves; fukamushi can look a lot like tea dust.

Personally, I find fukamushi to be the hardest tea to brew correctly, and I am still working on it. But the few times I got it just right, it was amazing, though more often than not I'll screw up at least one infusion from any given session.

Today I experimented with lower temperatures, hoping to create a sweeter tea. It worked the first time, but later I let the water get too cool (140-ish) and the tea became too weak.

The dry aroma is thick and rich and vegetal.

The much smaller leaves of fukamushi can prove to be too much for a sasame filter. My teapot gets rather clogged about a third of the time.

Taste. Honestly, I just don' like this one. There are many who disagree with me, but I think the Fukamushi Maki from Den's was much better. I have used about 90 grams so far, and I have yet to produce a cup of this stuff that I liked. Its strong and flavorful to be sure, but lacks the sweetness, complexity, and sass that I look for in a good fukamushicha.

Rishi's Moonlight White vs White Peony

2008-04-18T19:01:00.000-07:00

I have long been curious about the differences and similarities of these two teas, and though I have had them both frequently in the past, I thought a side by side comparison would be a fun learning experience.

The number one difference is price. The White Peony is only $4 an ounce vs the Moonlight White's ridiculously high, in my opinion, $22 an ounce. The Fair Trade Certification can account for some of the price difference, but I would be curious to know how much of the price increase makes it back to Yunnan.

The prices for the retail tins are more comparable, both about $7, but the Moonlight white is only .6 oz vs 1.1 oz of the other. While you may pay the same, you will get twice as much with the White Peony.

The next noticeable difference is the leaves. The Moonlight White is comprised of large, whole leaves:

While the White Peony is more bits and pieces.

After that, the only real difference is that the White Peony is Fujian and the Moonlight White is from Yunnan.

The Moonlight White has a cleaner, less complex aroma and yields a more delicate. lighter brew that will share many flavor nuances of other Yunnan teas. Quite simply it tastes like it comes from Yunnan. If you prefer dian hong as I do, I think it is likely you will enjoy this tea.

The White Peony has a thicker bouquet and mouth feel and an over all stronger flavor, the latter I think can be attributed to the smaller, broken leaves. Smaller leaves equal more surface area equals a stronger cup. It shares similarities with other Fujian bai cha.

Both teas are equally sweet and better when consumed hot. I noticed that as the tea cooled, some of the flavor diminished.

Which of the two a person will prefer depends on two factors. 1) How much money does that person care to spend, and 2) which province do they prefer, Fujian or Yunnan.

I am partial to the Moonlight White as long as I can buy it in a retail tin and can avoid the online price. My preference for Fair Trade aside, I have always loved teas from Yunnan, and as little as I drink white tea, I don't mind paying a little more for it.

And after all, bai mu dan can become fairly common, so a white tea with refreshing characteristics is a nice change of pace. The only real question is, are you willing to pay the extra money for it?

A note on brewing: if you haven't tried gong fu-ing your white tea, I recommend giving it a try.

A Beginner's Guide to Buying Japanese Teaware

2008-04-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

I had a conversation the other day with a new guy on TeaChat that inspired me to compile a bit of a guide to purchasing Japanese Teaware.

Short answer, buy from Japanese vendors--this is often true of their tea as well. The closer you get to the source, the better the price and sometimes quality. For example, look at prices for pots by my favorite artist, Shimizu Genji/Hokujo.

Artistic Nippon (Japan): 125 USD

Tamayura (France): 150 USD

Rishi-Tea (USA): 170 USD

For another, less dramatic example, though I hate to pick on Rishi, look at the "kikumaru."

Nishikien (Japan) 40 USD

Rishi-Tea (USA): 55 USD

However, to be fair, shipping must also be taken into consideration, and sometimes the higher cost of having your pot shipped from Japan can eat into the money you would be saving. Even so, the total cost of a Shimizu kyusu and samashi plus shipping from Rishi was 240 vs 195 from Artistic Nippon. And Zencha doesn't charge shipping on their pottery.

There are a few other concerns with purchasing directly from Japanese vendors. A language barrier, exchange rates, and poorly translated web sites, sometimes lacking a clear way to even order the item you want can be intimidating. In some cases there isn't a "shopping cart" or an easy check out; the transaction is handled with emails and international money orders. Not to mention if you don't know anyone who has had experience with a particular site, you could always be taking a risk. But, thus far my experiences have been nothing but positive, and I still think this is the way to go.

Artistic Nippon

My Favorite Place for Tokoname yaki.

As I am about to show you, I simply can not say enough good things about Artistic Nippon and its owner, Yoshikawa Toru. He spent some time going to school in Wisconsin; his English is perfect, so communication is not a problem. He provides a personal touch that I don't see often. All of my correspondence with him has been a pleasure; he has helped me with my Japanese and answered all my questions. He even sent me maps of Kyoto and museum brochures when I mentioned I was planning a trip.

Twice now I have sent him a picture of an item that I was interested in that he was able to procure for me, and I know of a few other people who have done the same. If there is something I'm looking for, Toru san is the first person I go to.

Zencha

My Favorite Place for Hagi yaki.

Every time I visit their site, I thank all merciful gods that every item I simply must have has already been sold. I live in mortal terror and nigh sexual anticipation of the day they re-stock. They have a phenomenal selection, biographies of their artists, a feature that I am particularly fond of, and free shipping.

Other well known places that I have used and can vouch for, though their selections are smaller:

Den's Tea
Hibiki-an

These vendors have extraordinary selections, but I have not yet purchased from them. I would ask around a bit or contact them before pulling out the credit card. Just to be safe.

Tea Shop

Tokoname Teapot

Nishikien

Looking for wholesale, try these guys:

Yamadera

Since I picked on them...

Rishi-Tea

They have the best selection of Tokoname I've seen from a domestic vendor. Whoever their buyer is, he has very good taste. I have purchased seven of their pots over the last two years, and all of them were excellent for the price paid. If you choose to go with a company closer to home, I highly recommend them.

The Fukugata in particular is the best tea pot for beginners, in my opinion. If only they could keep it in stock. If you get a chance, grab one; its worth it.

My Wabi Sabi

2008-04-03T19:12:00.000-07:00

I want to show you something. It has nothing to do with tea, so if that's a problem, find something else to do on the internet; here, have some porn.

My back yard. We will be moving at the end of the year, and I am going to miss it. I love it, my wife not so much. She sees and old fence, weeds, and overgrown grass. I see something different.

That's what I want to show you.

You see, this is what I love about photography.

Its not about the whole.

Its about the details, stopping to see beyond the surface.

There are so many details, each beautiful and transitory.

So much to see.

So much life.

You just have to...

look.

Before it goes away.

Rishi Sencha Superior

2008-04-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

I was at Whole Foods the other day, doing a bit of work-related reconnaissance, and I saw that at some point since my last visit they started carrying this. My sencha stash is running low, and shincha is still a month away, so I purchased about 20g.

Sencha Superior is a light steamed, asamushi, sencha from Shizuoka.

The aroma is a bit under-stated, though it came from a bulk bin, so that is to be expected. The dry leaves smell fruity, a smell I tend to associate Chinese greens with. I put the leaves in a heated pot, and the more typical, herbaceous scent of sencha emerges.

I love the texture of this pot once its been preheated. I always fondle it before the tea goes in.

I played around with this a bit, a using a slightly lower temperature and 4 grams for a minute fifteen really hit the spot.

The tea is light and fruity like a Chinese green, but with a bit more umph to it. A good change of pace from the more aggressive fukamushicha. The leaves are good for at least three infusions.

I bought a tripod for my new camera--Salsero was right; a whole new world of gotta-haves.

This camera is helping me discover a whole new passion for photography. Like the difference between talking about sex, and having sex.

Upgrade

2008-04-02T20:46:00.000-07:00

Another Tea Blog has a new toy.

On Monday I purchased a Nikon D40 Digital SLR to replace my Fujifilm Fine Pix A345. It is obscene how much I love this camera.

Rishi Tai Guan Yin, Medium Roasted

2008-03-27T17:10:00.000-07:00

This is a TGY from Nantou, Taiwan.

Tossing the leaves into a heated pot smells fuckin' great. Thick, toasted honey. The liquor is a crystal clear green.

I've grown tired of brewing oolong gong fu style, hence the purchase of the Fujigata. I think in the end it is important to brew tea the way you like it, whatever feels comfortable and fits your needs, and not to simply mimic another culture's particular style.

I used 4 grams per 8 oz for 4 minutes.

This is really decent, pleasant. The toasted honey I got in the aroma tastes like amber honeysuckle. Bit of a dry mouth feel, but no noticeable astringency. There's an after taste of white grape.

If you brew it like I did, for multiple infusions I recommend increasing you steep time by a minute and a half, one minute if you prefer your tea lighter.

Fujigata

2008-03-25T14:59:00.000-07:00

My new teapot, the Fujigata from Rishi. The name translates to shaped like (Mt.) Fuji.

I like this pot's rustic feel, thicker clay, and mottled color. It is a 9 oz pot with a very fast pour, 6-10 seconds.

Its been fun.

2008-03-25T14:55:00.000-07:00

I think I might be done for a while. Posts will most likely continue sporadically, but I wouldn't expect regular updates for a while.

O-cha's Organic Matcha Kaoru

2008-03-19T15:15:00.000-07:00

Matcha Kaoru is grown in Aichi, a prefecture just west of Shizuoka. Kaoru means fragrant. This one is meant for usucha.

Aroma: 6/10

Sweetness: 7.5/10

Astringency: 0/10

Flavor 7/10.

The aroma is not as fragrant as some of O-cha's other matcha, like the Kiku or Chiyo Mukashi, but it has a pleasant depth, fresh and sweet.

The first words that come to mind when I sip it are sweet, yummy, fresh. It has a warm and thick mouth-feel, quite sweet and smooth. I think this a fantastic usucha. At this point I've now had all of O-cha's matcha save for the organic Kaoru Supreme, and I must say their matcha is consistently fresh and superior with prices more than fair for the quality. Theirs is the best I've had.

Preheating

If you desire a good head, preheating the chawan is a must. For me it is a simple part of the routine.

I pour boiled water into my yuzamashi, then from the yuzamashi into the chawan and over the chasen, then I refill the yuzamashi and allow the water to cool. This rinses any dust off my utensils and preheats the bowl and chasen. Preheating the chasen helps keep the tines from breaking and will prolong its life.

It is also important to dry the bowl before adding the matcha. I was asked about this earlier today. If you put matcha into a wet bowl, there is a good chance that it will turn into paste, and you wont get a through mix. Yes you can correct this by whisking harder or scraping the chasen along the bottom, but I feel this puts unnecessary wear and tear on what is a rather delicate utensil.

Once I am done rinsing, drying, and have scooped out the desired amount of matcha, the water in the yuzamashi should be at a good temperature.

Remember, I do not claim to be an expert or that my way is the only way. I only add these suggestions on matcha preparation in hopes that someone else might learn from my mistakes, my trial and error.

_________

To give you an idea of the camera I'm working with, and what a difficult time I have trying to get the colors of the matcha to come out, those flowers in the pictures are actually purple.

Matcha Source Matcha Kinrin and Matcha Sifter

2008-03-18T20:13:00.000-07:00

As their name indicates, Matcha Source provides matcha and matcha accessories from a variety of other shops. Since they are a reseller, you will pay more for their products, so if you choose to purchase something from them, I recommend taking note of which shop they sourced it from, and buying it direct. For example:

Matcha Kinrin:
M.S. Price: $20 vs Koyamean Price: $12

Matcha Sifter:
M.S. Price: $14 vs Ippodo Price: $8.65

On the other hand, if you were looking to buy a variety of items that came from different shops, I could see that it might be more convenient, and possibly less expensive once shipping charges were taken into account, to simply purchase it all from one place.

The Matcha Kinrin, "Profound," comes from Koyamaen. It is meant for koicha.

Aroma: 6/10

Sweetness: 4/10

Astringency 1-3/10

Flavor 5/10

This was an average matcha, but quite fair for the original price. It has decent flavor; I still find it hard to describe the taste of matcha. It isn't grassy or vegital or like any other green tea. It isn't nuanced or layered either. The kinrin has a pleasant creamy mouth feel. I would consider this one a very suitable daily koicha, provided you buy it from Koyamaen.

The preparation instructions that came with the tea were helpful. Matcha Source suggests using an almond-sized scoop. I thought this was as good a visual as any, so here you go:

Use about that much. If you don't have a chashoku, this comes to .5-.6 grams. Two scoops equals about a teaspoon.

Matcha Sifter

Also known as a matcha burui (sieve). The sifter is removable and comes with a small, bamboo spatula. The container is air tight and will hold up to 50 grams. I have used it twice now, sifting an entire 20-30 gram tin at a time. The matcha will re-clump a bit given time, but not enough to make a difference.

So far I am fond of it. I have had no problems with it, and I prefer having my matcha pre-sifted. Do follow their cleaning instructions. I thought I was smarter than them and made a mess. Matcha and water equals green mud, gooey, hard to clean, mud.

Tea Table Update

2008-03-17T20:37:00.000-07:00

Today I received the small bamboo tea tray that Republic of Tea sent me to replace my leaky one. It leaks, too, and was in the same poor condition as the first one. I appreciate their customer service and efforts to rectify the situation, but clearly the product is crap. Don't buy one.

This Week in Tea

2008-03-16T00:04:00.000-07:00

In Adagio's TeaMuse for March, Mary explains that the popular idea that you can decaffeinate your tea with a quick 30-45 second rinse is a lot of myth and hype.

Matt in Korea has started a blog recently that I think is excellent, Mattcha's Blog.

And white people like tea. (Thanks Brent).

Rishi Kukicha

2008-03-15T22:11:00.000-07:00

Today's Tea is green and Japanese. I know...who would've thunk it?

I don't often drink Rishi's Japanese teas anymore. It is not my intent to make any overt or disparaging remarks about their quality, but it would certainly appear that their teas are shipped to them by boat. If I have a choice, why buy tea that spent a month or more on a ship, when I can simply buy it fresh from the source (Ippodo, Hibiki-an, O-cha), or at least from a vendor that uses air freight (Den's Tea).

But fuck this kukicha is good. To hell with harvest dates; good is good, and quality is where you find it.

I don't know if this is my favourite kukicha, but I think it is the sweetest that I've tried, and I like my kukicha sweet. Its from shizuoka and made with fukamushi sencha.

The aroma is breathtaking. Thick and sweet. A bit of fruit in the background, apples perhaps.

This tea has a good viscosity, a pleasantly full mouth-feel. Slightly more astringent than water. Very sweet. It has an enjoyable after taste that lingers for several minutes. I can consistently get four solid infusions.

Tea Tables

2008-03-11T22:40:00.000-07:00

I purchased my first tea table a year ago from Rishi, and I received my second one today. I chose to wait a year before writing a review in order to see how well it stood up to consistent, daily use. Would it leak? Would the bamboo warp over time? Would it stain?

With the arrival of a second table to compare it to, now seemed a perfect time.

Bamboo Tea Table, Large (Rishi Tea)

I looked several different tables for weeks before choosing this one. I wanted something simple. I decided to pick one that was a little pricier, because I felt that I would most likely get what I paid for.

This thing is amazing, very well built, very solid. The seams are flawless. The surface texture is very smooth. All the edges are nicely rounded.

The corners inside the tray have accumulated tea stains, but that's it.

It is certainly large enough. I use this table when I do tea demos at the stores, and I have gong-fued for 3-4 hours before filling it up.

I have been very happy with it. It is the one item of all my tea ware that I use the most, well worth the $75.

But...it is a little large. This was never a problem, but I have a new desk, and between that and my computer, it felt a little crowded. So I found myself in the market for a smaller, inexpensive tea table that I could leave on my desk.

Small Bamboo Tray (Republic of Tea)

I almost bought this one originally, but as I said, you get what you pay for. I felt there was most likely a reason this one was only $20, so I went with the one from Rishi.

When Roy Fong did his tea class in January, he used one of these. Having had a closer look at it, I was very fond of the size, so the second time, after a just a bit of shopping around, I chose this one.

Immediately I could see the difference in quality.

The seams are rough.

There are cracks.

And various scratches on the body.

But the price was right, so I was okay with it and quite happy with my purchase.

I was not okay with this.

Within five minutes it was leaking on my desk. I'll say it a third time, you get what you pay for.

This is a little frustrating, but I think I can fix it with some silicone or water-proof wood glue. And it is a little gratifying to know that I made the right decision the first time by going with the more expensive one. Mostly I am just aggravated with Republic of Tea and their ongoing lack of quality. I did not expect anything stellar, but I did expect it to work.

But what can you do? With tea everyone pays their "tuition" sooner or later. Twenty bucks isn't that much to loose.

Update: Republic of Tea emailed me back today. They have refunded my money and are sending me a replacement. I thought that was very nice of them.

Posts will resume this weekend-ish.

2008-03-09T18:54:00.000-07:00

It will be a bit longer now. I am feeling dissatisfied with my tea at the moment, and I don't want to offer a series of half-assed posts. So I am going to take a little break, come back and start from scratch.

No worries, it won't be a Mary break.

Den's Tea Kukicha

2008-02-29T12:40:00.000-08:00

Kukicha, literally twig tea, also know by its stage name, Karigane, was my first Japanese tea and still one of my favorites. Technically it is a by-product tea, and sometimes looked down on or considered inferior because of this. All I have to say about that is "hmph."

This tea is from Shizuoka as well.

Kukicha tends to be flexible and forgiving, so play around with it and find the way that suits you best. I like 5.5-6 g. for about 210 ml starting at 180-ish for 60 s, 30 s, 45 s.

The aroma is sweet, but when put in the preheated kyusu it turns vegetal, thick.

The first infusion tastes like it smells, thick mouth-feel, vegetal, not astringent, moderately sweet, The second steep (pictured) the liquor turns cloudy and very green, soupy. There's a crispness. The tea is developing notes similar to Hibiki-an's gyokuro karigane. The third and final steep has a much lighter mouth-feel, and it mellows out.

Last week I had a perfect session with this tea, five amazing steeps. I have since been unable to reproduce the same results. Even so, I like this tea, ad it has potential to be great.

Kamikaze Girls

(Shimotsuma monogatari)

This movie is a story about the unlikely friendship between two girls, Momoko, a "lolita" and Ichiko, a "yanki" (yakuza wannabe). It has a lot of heart, style, and humor, but most important, it also has a decent bit of head-butting. Its so...visceral. When ninety-pound girls head-butt each other, everyone wins.

The DVD includes a special feature that provides cultural tidbits concerning the film as you watch it. Last night I learned about pachinko (a cross between pinball and slot machines), where to do the best shopping in Tokyo (Daikanyama), and the difference between a "baby lolita" and a "goth-lolita" (it has to do with colors and quantities of lace).

If you get a chance, its worth the two hours of your life.

Den's Tea Matcha Miyabi

2008-02-27T21:32:00.000-08:00

The Miyabi is the highest grade matcha that Den's Tea offers.

According to Wikipedia, Miyabi is a traditional Japanese aesthetic ideal that "demanded the decline of anything that was absurd or vulgar and the 'polishing of manners, diction, and feelings to eliminate all roughness and crudity so as to achieve the highest grace."

This matcha should be used for koicha (thick tea).

Aroma: (5/10 - and that's being a little generous) The fragrance was typical but subdued.

Sweetness: (6.5/10) It has decently sweet characteristics, you just have to be sure to use enough.

Astringency: (1/10) It's as smooth as can be, not the slightest bit of astringency or bitterness.

Flavor: (5/10) Like the Kaze this tea was very mild, and I simply prefer my matcha to have some umph to it. Even when using more, 5-6 scoops vs the traditional 3-4, it only serves to add a smokey throatiness, but fails to increase the over all flavor.

Again, like the Kaze, this matcha comes from Shizuoka instead of Uji. I will keep an eye out for another Shizzy matcha from a different vendor to see if the Kaze and Miyabi are typical examples of that region, but in the meantime, if you like lots of flavor in your matcha, I recommend giving Den's a pass.

Whisking, if you care about this kind of thing.

I have been told when whisking matcha, part of the idea is to avoid large bubbles. Of course this is more of an aesthetic concern, because as long as you whisk the matcha thoroughly, it won't effect the taste one way or the other.

I have found the best way to avoid large bubbles in the froth is to use deliberate strokes, fast at first, then slow. You're not beating eggs.

Kickboxing Geishas

How Japanese Women are Changing Their Nation

The title alone sold me on this book.

I have become deeply interested in gender roles, so I enjoyed this book a great deal. While the author, Veronica Chambers, focuses on the diverse and changing lives of women in Japan, since it is impossible to define gender roles without exploring both sides, you learn about the part Japanese men must play as well. Chambers does a wonderful job of providing a fair illustration of the complex relationship between men and women, both in the corporate world and in their personal lives.

I learned a variety of things along the way, parasite singles (people who live with their parents, who support them, well into their late 20's or 30's ), Narita Rekon (newlyweds getting divorced as soon as they return from the honeymoon, because the wife realises just what her husband is like, thus ditches him at the airport upon their return), and Japans ostentatious costume culture, from hip hop to "Lolitas." Chambers also explores how unique aspects of Japanese culture make certain things that we take for granted, like dating, problematic.

It was a very good book, very enjoyable. Learning more about someone's culture, helps us to better understand our own.

Den's Tea Guricha (Tamaryokucha)

2008-02-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

I'm real fuzzy about the difference between guricha and sencha. Both are steamed, but according to O-cha, guricha, or tamaryokucha, as it is more commonly known as, is "made into comma-shaped tea with a rolling dryer."

Though this tea is produced mainly in Kyushu, Den's Guricha, like all their teas, comes from Shizuoka.

My standard brewing parameters for Japanese green tea is to start off with 4.5 grams per 8 oz of water and steep for 1.5 minutes, then 30 seconds for the second, then adjust the time after that according to taste. I start with water about 175-ish, and creep back up to boiling by the last infusion.

In my experience with Japanese tea, that first infusion is just a warm up, wakes the tea up, the second will be the strongest infusion, and also in my experience, is the easiest to screw up.

First Infusion: (1.5 min) The liquor is fairly clear. The tea is creamy with a thicker mouth feel. I want to describe it as mild, but moderate would be more accurate, similar to a mid-steamed sencha in intensity. There is a very subtle, astringent/dry mouth feel in the finish.

Second Infusion: (.5 min) The tea is cloudy now; like I said, it's all about the second infusion. It is still creamy but sweet now.

Third Infusion: (1 min) It is lighter now, sweeter, pleasantly vegetal. The bit of astringency in the finish is gone now.

Fourth Infusion: (3 min) The liquor is clear again. Most of the flavor is gone, and what I am left with is mostly just tea water, sweeter still. It is an enjoyable cup, though.

The over all flavor is somewhere between kukicha and sencha. I liked it well enough, not as much as others I know, but the tea gives a solid performance.

Cha no Aji (The Taste of Tea)

"Director Katsuhito Ishii's whimsical episodic tale chronicles a summer in the lives of the quirky Haruno clan, who passes the unhurried days trying to realize their ambitions. As Mom attempts to revive her career, her hypnotherapist hubby practices on the family. Meanwhile, their pubescent son feels the pangs of love, and their 6-year-old daughter grapples with a pesky dopplegänger."

This was a quiet and peaceful movie, void of the typical stereotypes, yet possesses a charming surrealism that brings to mind Michel Gondry's The Science of Sleep.

Set in rural Japan, the beautiful scenery and sheer lack of noise was stunning and soothing. I enjoyed the realism, the lack of melodrama or conflict. It was not a story about a family at odds with each other but who loved one another.

Den's Tea Houji-Genmaicha

2008-02-25T18:41:00.000-08:00

I don't like houjicha, and I don't like genmaicha, but after seeing how wonderful Den's houji-kukicha was, I wanted to give this one a shot, too. Genmai translates to brown rice. It was a peasant drink. Rice was cheaper than tea, so the poor would use it as filler. Its typically comprised of roasted rice and bancha. But as I have discovered with oolong, roasting tea = awesomeness.

The aroma is simple: roasted, hint of green, popcorn. In that order.

You can prepare this tea however you like. It's idiot-proof. I have used boiling water for a ten minute steep with no astringency, bitterness, or yuckiness. Seriously, you can not fuck this up.

The liquor is very clear and pure. Looks like amber.

First infusion: The tea is thin but flavorful and filling. It tastes moderately roasted with a very sweet finish that I can taste in the back of my mouth. Very, very smooth, as smooth as water. It doesn't taste like genamicha to me, nor does it posses any characteristics of green tea.

Second infusion: Just as sweet as the first, but less over all flavor.

Third infusion: Sweeter but even less flavor.

I am enjoying these variations of houjicha. They offer a delightful departure from the the typical, though wonderful, profile of Japanese tea.

Because tea has always been for me a window into other cultures, and because my rapdily growing interest in Japanese tea inevitably goes hand in hand with my growing fondness for that particular culture, and finally beacuse I hoped that this themed week could offer a little more than just tea reviews, I will end each post this week with a brief review on either a book or a film that I think was particularly profound or revealing of Japanese culture, history or lifestyles.

Shogun

James Clavell's Shogun was the very begining of my interest and love of Japan and the various facets of their culture and history. The book was among my father's things after he died; he was always fond of it, so I gave it a chance. I knew nothing of Japan at the time.

Ending with the Batle of Sekigahara, the unification of Japan under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Shogun is a fictional story woven around the factual events that occured at the end of the Momoyama Period. Though names were changed, many of the primary and secondary characters are archetypes of historical figures such as Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hosokawa Tama, and of course William Adams, the first foreign samurai.

After borrowing the characters and the historical structure for the story, Clavell then bends or dismmises the facts in order to create a better story, much like legends of old, so first and foremost, Shogun is a story, a very entertaining and classic one, with elements of adventure, pirates, foreign lands and war, of samurai and ninja and courtesans, of life, death and love. Along the way the author eases the reader into Japanese culture. We are meant to take this journey with John Blackthorn (William Adams), seeing things at first as barbaric and incomprehensible, but as time goes by, become more objective and learn to appraise a foreign culture by their values and not merely by ours.

That which is different is not inherently wrong or inferior.

2007 Feng Huang Dan Cong

2008-02-23T00:40:00.000-08:00

Description taken from Tea Spring:

Dan Cong is a very old tea which history dates back to 900 years ago. The tea plants are believed to be a specimen of the Shui Xian strain, carefully selected to breed as Dan Cong's tree, which is a single trunk tree that rises tall and straight up, and with branches that open out like an umbrella. Feng Huang Dan Cong was also an Imperial tribute tea during the Song dynasty.

True to their word, the aroma does smell lighter, less oxidized, than the dan cong classic. It has a fruity aroma, peach-ish, but something else as well.

The first infusion is buoyant, sweet, and fruity, with a soft finish, It tastes like spring in the South. I try to avoid "poetry" in my descriptions, but I think it fits. I sip this, and I think of longer evenings, old porches with chipped paint and backyards, sweet tea and catching fireflies in mason jars. I can hear dogs barking and see an orange, setting sun through tree leaves.

The second infusion and I'm home again.

2007 Dan Cong Classic

2008-02-22T17:25:00.000-08:00

This one is from Tea Spring, and my very first. I tried it last fall, not knowing what to expect, and was quite impressed.

Note on pronunciation: cong is pronounced like chong.

This tea goes through a "higher" level of oxidation, which you can smell in the bouquet, something darker lingering in the background. The rinsed aroma is peach, then a breath, then peach. Like candy. Its vivid, and I can taste it.

I like the warm peach liquor. I do enjoy the various colors of different tea, burgundy, yellow, gold, peach, green; its a splash of color in a field of brown, beige, and white tea ware.

First infusion is light, a little too light; my fault--too little leaf or too little time. Its sweet, not peachy, nothing like the fragrance promised, but it is there in the finish, faint, with a dab of bright astringency. The second is...not harsh, but its not soft, leaves a dry mouth feel, which persists into the third infusion, though this one is sweeter.

So. I hate to admit this, but I didn't label my pictures when I took them last week. So I had to spen about ten minutes trying to match them to the correct teas. I think I got them right, based on the leaves and the color of the tea, but who the hell knows for sure. Just sayin'.

1986 Fenghuang Dan Cong

2008-02-20T23:42:00.000-08:00

After reading so much about aged oolong from Marshal's blog, I was very excited to try this, the third and last dan cong from Tea Habitat--their site is still under construction, so no link.

It has the most unique aroma of the six, not peachy at all; it smells fermented, to me at least. There is a also the familiar aged scent of puerh. I can't help but think that there is more information in the aroma than I can perceive.

The first infusion was creamy, soft, sweet, then a bit of peach, light bodied. Smooth. The second infusion was consistant with the first in color and flavor. The third was lighter and less creamy. The fourth was a step above tea water.

This one was my favorite. I loved the softer profile of peaches and cream. I think this tea has a lot of promise, and I want to explore it further. I will buy more the next time I am shopping for an oolong. My curiosity is thoroughly piqued, and I can see why Marshal is fond of aged oolong. It has character and depth.

2007 Dan Cong Yu Lan Xiang

2008-02-20T22:41:00.000-08:00

This is the second dan cong from Tea Habitat. The name, Yu Lan Xiang, translates to magnolia blossom fragrance.

Yesterday I was in a hurry, so the reveiw was rather hastily written. Though I can't gurantee that tonight's will be any better, I will try harder.

For the six dan cong that I am reviewing this week, I took my notes over the course of two sessions, the Tea Habitat one day and Tea Spring the next, so even though the reviews are seperated into individual posts, they are all part of the whole. My tasting notes inevitably compare and contrast the teas against each other, even if it is not explicit. It may help to know that these posts are written in the order that the tea was sampled.

I kept the brewing parameters largely consistant, 5 grams in a 150 ml gaiwan, though brewing times and temperatures varied depending on what I felt was best at the time.

The dry leaves are smaller, not as long.

The peachy aroma is more visceral, sweeter, a wet texture. Clean and fresh. Like summer peach.

The tea is smooth with just the faintest hint of something that could one day grow up to be astringency. If it eats its spinach. I give it a 2.5 on the peachy scale. The second infusion is fuller-bodied, has a more golden liquor, and develops some of the same smokey-astringent finish as yesterday's oolong.

I talk about astringency a lot. I think the word is in almost everyone one of my tea reviews. Either I need to expand my tasting vocabulary, or astringency is very important to me. I think its a balance, too much astringency makes the tea harsh, brassy, but just enough gives it texture and sass.

2007 Dan Cong Ao Iu Hou

2008-02-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

...or so my chicken scratch declares it to be, and ever shall it be so.

This tea comes from Tea Habitat.

For more about Dan Cong, check out its page on wikiCHA.

I know dan cong comes from Guangdong, but is it considered a yancha? Does the term refer only to Wuyi oolong? Either way the leaves are gorgeous; it is always a delight to photograph oolong such as this.

Aroma: When placed in a heated gaiwan there is the delightful smell of peaches followed by a subtle but distinct note of charcoal. When rinsed, the charcoal is subdued, replaced by something green.

The first infusion is moderately bodied with a smokey astringency that's not to0 strong. On a peachy scale, I'd give it a 3/5. With the second and third infusions, the peachiness and astringency seem to go hand in hand, together becoming more subdued. The third steep is sweeter than the first two.

This Week in Tea

2008-02-17T20:54:00.000-08:00

When I said that "This Week in Tea" would be a weekly or bi-monthly post, I think I meant to say bi-annual.

First up I'd like to have a moment of silence for our tea friend and TeaChatter, Bhale, and his kikumaru. Let me say here that which can not be adequitely expressed in the forum: dude, that fucking sucks.

Bhale and others have been working on wikiCHA, a wiki dedicated solely to tea. They have made some wonderful progress, and I am excited to see it grow, so check it out and please feel free to give them a hand. I would, but I'm lazy and stupid. Seriously, HTML owns me. If you've ever wondered why you can't get half of my pictures to open when you click on them, that's why.

Theme weeks are coming back, as all the reviews I have coming up fit in tidy little catagories.

*Dan Cong Week: Six varieties of Dan Cong from Tea Habitat and Tea Spring.
*Japanese Week 2: Den's Tea Maki, Shin-ryoku, Miyabi, Guricha, Houji-Genmai, and Powdered Sencha, plus a book review on Soshitsu Sen's Chado.
*"Specialty" Tea Week: Two Leaves and a Bud, Teance, and The E&A Tea Company. At least one of them wont suck.

Tea for Valentines

2008-02-12T20:55:00.000-08:00

Rose Petal Tea.

Valentine's Day, a beautiful expression of love or a tired Hallmark Holiday, either way, I'm not gettin' any, so fuck it.

In a fantastic display of fu-fu ickiness, The Republic of Tea releases their Rose Petal Tea every January. Given my profound contempt for the Ministers, I thought this tea would be the ideal vehicle for a bit of sophmoric silliness. Only it turned out to be kind of good.

I have had a rose-scented tea before, and was not impressed, but I think it works out much better with a full-bodied black tea such as this. The aroma is very strong, perfume-y, but the actual tea is more subdued. The rose turns a brisk but simple black tea into naturally sweet, toothsome goodness, great for the morning after.

Shizuoka Koucha

2008-02-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

Koucha. Black tea. Japanese black tea.

Grown in Shizuoka, this tea is no longer the stuff of legend or late night gossip; the mythical kirin has been found.

The leaves aren't much to look at; it is a broken leaf variety, a 60/40 blend of yabukita and fujimidori.

I used 3 g./8 oz for 3.5 minutes, and it is a surprisingly good cup of tea. My initial impressions when I got this tea last month weren't that great; I purchased it purely out of curiosity. But tonight I am impressed after revisiting it.

The aroma of the dry leaf is woodsy, with a hint of something that could be described as barbecue, a subtle smokey-sweetness. The brewed tea has a thin mouth feel, like a less astringent Darjeeling--it is not astringent at all but rather smooth. It tastes fruity, but...thick; I think stone fruit is an apt description, plum. It is very sweet, keemun sweet; there is a sugary essence in the finish, and as it cools, I do taste a hint of pecan. This turned out to be more complex than other varieties of black tea.

There is an interesting bit about black tea in Japan here.

Update: I just finished another batch of this tea, and I think I know why I enjoyed it so much more than the first time I had it. If I take the time to taste the tea, pay attention to the nuances, I like it quite a bit. On the other hand, if I just gulp it down, I'm less impressed with it. This could apply to many teas, I'm sure.

O-cha's Matcha Chiyo Mukashi

2008-02-04T21:58:00.000-08:00

Ocha's Chiyo Mukashi, a wonderful birthday present from my in-laws, is from Uji. According to Kevin the name translates as chi: one thousand, yo: era or period, mukashi: long ago, ancient.

I had just opened a fresh tin of Nakai's Uji Matcha, so I planned to wait a while before opening it. My self-control lasted twelve, maybe sixteen hours, eight of which I was asleep. Go will-power.

This matcha is meant for koicha, but can be used for usucha. I found usucha to be too mild for this tea, so the following notes are for koicha.

Aroma: (9/10) Strong, you open it and seconds later you can smell it. Sweet, thick. Vegetal; I shit you not, I smell...french fries or veggie chips. I think my brain, when encountering a new, unknown smell, simply spins a wheel and picks whatever random association the needle stops on.

Sweetness: (3/10) Not very sweet.

Astringency: (5-7/10) This is the most astringent matcha I've had yet. If I prepare it using Hibiki's koicha instructions, it is very astringent, I can feel it predominantly on the sides of my tongue. If I use O-cha's koicah instructions, its dialed down a bit, and I can feel it in the back of my throat.

Flavor: (7/10) This is a distinctive matcha, with a clear vegetal profile that helps it stand out. It is bold and clean. As I said, I found usucha was too mild, but koicha is just a smidgen more astringent than I prefer. I think three scoops is a good compromise, and yields a more enjoyable bowl.

Sifting

Sifting the matcha is a must in my opinion. I have my eye on one of these matcha sifters, but in the mean time, I have been experimenting with different methods.

Most of the time I use one of these brew baskets to sift the matcha as I go, using the chashoku as a paddle, sort of a back and forth sweeping motion. It works quite well. The baskets are durable and easy enough to rinse or wash afterwards.

I read about using the chasen to break apart the clumps and sift the matcha in the bowl, using the tines in a chopping motion, kind of like you're preparing lines of coke. This way is a little quicker, but the matcha tends to stick to the tines.

Either method produces the same, positive results in the end.

Nai XIang Oolong (Milk Oolong)

2008-02-03T00:36:00.000-08:00

Salsero, peach that he is, sent me a good sized sample of this Nai Xiang oolong from Tea Spring. It is a Taiwanese oolong characterized by a distinct milk fragrance.

The dry leaves smell great, very sweet, moderately floral, milky, thick, and rich. The leaf clusters are large. I like that.

My gong fu skills have become sloppy. I ignore what the tea tries to tell me and instead try to force the results I want, regardless of how the tea may or may not be capable of performing, so I make a conscious effort to focus and be more careful.

I rinse the leaves to wake 'em up a bit and steep for 45 sec. It isn't all that sweet, well, not as sweet as the aroma hinted at, but it indeed tastes milky. There is a faint note of something green in the finish. I held back on the second steep, thinking now that the leaf clusters had opened it wouldn't need more time, but I was wrong, and the second infusion was too weak. The third steep was light, sweeter, and just a hint of milkiness. The fourth had a little more life in it. The liquor through each infusions is consistantly pale green.

I love three leaf clusters; I am a sucker for them.

I remember Salsero's note that came with the tea, "It tastes like milk. So what?" He has a point, but I liked it, more than other Formosan oolongs I've tried. It was fragrant, pleasant, and straitforward.

Seiryu Ippuku Wan

2008-02-01T23:33:00.000-08:00

My new tea cup from Zencha, made by Yamane Seigan (click on the link for a brief interview and biography of the artist).

"Making pottery is a means to be a vacuum rather than a way to express myself."

This is my first Hagi-yaki. Hagi-yaki is a form of Japanese pottery that began just prior to the Edo period. During Hideyoshi Toyatomi's invasion of Korea in the 1590's, he ordered a Hagi daimyo, Mori Terumoto to bring back two Korean potters, Yi Sukkwang and Yi Kyung to establish kilns in Hagi. This form was also called Kourai, Korean pottery.

I think it is one the most beautiful cups I've seen. It reminds me of Starry Night. Like looking at twilight.

In case anyone's wondering how to care for Hagi-yaki:

When using it for the very first time, rinse and let is soak in water over night to remove any dust or smells from the packing
Before each use, let it sit and absorb water to prevent tea from soaking into it and causing tea stains.
Do not microwave.
Avoid leaving food or liquids high in acid, oil or alcohol in it for extended periods of time in it.
After rinsing, dry throughly before storing. Hagi-yaki absorbs water, and improper storage may cause molding.

Update: I Googled Yamane Seigan and found another interesting link here. I love being able to attach a name and a face to my tea ware. I looked around and Yamane-san seems quite fond of the blue glaze, which they have come to call Seigan blue.

Roy Fong Tea Class

2008-02-01T17:33:00.000-08:00

Did you miss me? It feels good to be back at it again.

On January 30th, The Republic of Tea brought Roy Fong to our store to teach a tea class for employees. He sources their higher quality teas, including the ones that were offered exclusively to us.

I was like a kid before Christmas all day, waiting for the class to start.

Roy Fong was great. He was friendly, funny, and humble, quiet; he kept to himself before the class started. But mostly he was a Tea Guy, not unlike my fellow tea bloggers and tea chatters and myself. Throughout the class he was asked the same questions we are all asked, "What do you think about tea bags?" and "How do you feel about sweeteners?" and what not. He answered how most of us do: However you like your tea is great; there is no "right" way. But how 'bout you keep that nonsense away from my tea.

The class was only an hour and a half. He talked at first about the history of tea, its evolution from the Tang to Song to the Ming Dynasties. In the Song Dynasty, tea in China was not at all unlike Matcha, a carefully produced tea powder that was whisked in a bowl. It was the Ming Dynasty that brought us the full leaf tea we enjoy now. What I didn't know was that this change was brought about by the first Ming emperor, who was a peasant. He felt China had had enough of this pretentious, powdered poppycock, and it was time to move on to something else, something less wasteful.

Other tid bits I learned were from listening to how he pronounced certain words. He said yixing with a y instead of ee-shing, and long jing was long ching.

He also talked about different ways of tasting tea, holding the tea in your mout and dipping the tip of your tounge in it, or touching the tip of your tounge to the roof of your mouth then sipping tea. The idea being to expose different taste buds in different ways.

It was such a blast to just watch him. This was the first time I was able to have tea with another Tea Guy. I tried to absorb as much as I could. He was so casual, reaching into tins and picking out handfuls of tea.

We only had time for four of the six teas he brought.

Dragon Well

The leaves smelled more fruity than nutty. He brewed it gong fu style and mixed the first and second infusions into a sharing pitcher. The tea itself was light, fruity then vegetal, had ubiquitous elements I seem to taste in almost every Chinese green tea I try.

Silver Rain

This one suprised me. The leaves had notes of sugar of all things. He used hotter water than I do, 200 degrees. The tea was grasy, and there was something different, something I couldn't place; I only had a little tasting cup. My last sip I thought "milk."

Jasmine Jazz

It smelled like Jasmine. It tasted like Jasmine.

Moving on.

Sheng Puerh (Menghai?)

This was the last tea he did, and I'm glad he got to it. It was one of the teas that started it all. Roy must brew this better than I do, better than Bill did, and better than Curtis, the TRoT rep who sold it to us, because it didn't suck. That or its a different sheng pu.

There was a hint of camphor in the dry leaves. The tea was cooling, mild, pleasant, light; he purposely brewed it light, and I couldn't tell if further steepings would reveal the thoroughly harsh pu that I had previously encountered.

I did get to snag a picture of the wraping. Unfortunately I don't speak puerh wrapper. Can someone finally tell me what this tea is?

As I said, Roy was great. Republic of Tea on the other hand hasn't changed. After the class I spoke with the Minister of Education, and asked her why they were packaging a Formosan oolong as Wuyi. She said that was "interesting" and that she "would get back to me on that." Then she walked away to find someone else to talk to.

I will leave you with a short video of Roy talking about rinsing and gong fu.

Photography

2008-01-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for tea, you came to the wrong place today. Sorry.

My father was a photographer. He was the kind or person who would get an idea to pursue something, and then he would go do it. Get books. Teach himself. Practice. Try to make a living out of it. See also: Magician, Painter, Carpenter. Even in his declining years, when he could no longer work, he took up gardening, roses and tomatoes. The occasional herb.

After he died I inherited his cameras, and for a while it was a hobby of mine. I bought books, equipment. Maybe I was okay at it; my wife says I was. But I never felt so for very long, and eventually I moved on. To tea among other things, so I was delighted when starting a blog allowed for the two interests to merge. You, reader, may or may not like my pictures, but I think if you look at my early posts and compare recent ones, you would likely agree that at least I have improved.

I do get compliments on the pictures from time to time, which pleases me because I try, and they are important to me, not because I think of myself as a great photographer. I'm not. My "improvement" can be attributed two two things: 1) I discovered my camera has a nifty button for close-up shots--who knew? 2) I discovered that good, copious, natural light, fickle as it may be, is the amateur photographer's friend, lover, and soul mate.

Which leads me to how any of this is relevant in any way to this blog. It is winter. Most days by the time I get home from work, my light is gone. The simple solution is to stock up on pictures when I get a day off; I'll photograph a few different tea sessions and write a review later in the week. This is only a problem when I haven't had a day off in a while, which I haven't had in two weeks. This is why there haven't been any new posts this week, and why there won't be any, besides this one, for a while longer. I have depleted my stores.

That I plan the blog around lighting, reveals how important the pictures are to me. There you have it; a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at Another Tea Blog. And of me, I suppose.

New Teaware and Rishi Oolong

2008-01-14T21:23:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas I picked up two new items that I was anxious to play with, so I looked through my store's tea selection for a few teas that I could sample and pair with my recent acquisitions. I settled on two oolongs from Rishi.

Yixing "Xishi" Pot and

Rishi Wuyi Oolong (Qi Lan)

I am very picky about yixing pots, which is why I have so few of them, but the Xishi style has always appealed to me. I understand these pots are named after Xi Shi or possibly her breast. This is a nice one from Yunnan Sourcing that a Secret Santa bought for me. It has a fast pour and does not dribble or leak, well, it doesn't leak much. I decided to use it for yan cha.

The Qi Lan smells like cocoa and raisins with a moderately heavy roasted scent. I normally have quite positive results with this tea; it should taste like chocolate and a bit of sugarcane, slightly complex and nuanced, but this tin in particular has yet to yield a decent cup. Possible variables include my inept and sporadic gong fu skills, or perhaps this isn't a "good" batch; I've noticed before that the quality varies sometimes, and I occasionally get a "bad" tin. It could also be the new pot. I will brew this tea again with both my new pot and a gaiwan and compare. Could be interesting.

Adagio's Glass Mug Infuser

and Rishi's Citron Oolong

I bought a glass mug infuser for a variety of reasons, curiosity for one. I wanted to see how glass teaware performed, and Rishi's version has been selling quite well for us. I also wanted a convenient way of brewing scented or flavored tea--I don't always feel like using a gaiwan. But mostly I just can't seem to get enough teaware, and simply must have one of everything.

I chose Adagio's because I found one at Target for a good price, and I liked the infuser more.

Like the infuser mug, I had been curious about the citron oolong, because it had been selling well. It has a thick, sweet lemon aroma, reminds me of Lemon Heads. If you don't like lemon/citrus, you wont like this tea. It tastes like lemon with other assorted citrus fruits in the back ground. As flavored teas go I'd rate this one as decent but not phenomenal. Looking at the wet leaves it appears they use a greener oolong. I think this would be a pleasant tea to drink if you had a cold, as I am reminded of the hot lemon and honey drinks my parents fixed for me when I was ill as a child.

The infuser mug performed well. The strainer is excellent and the glass has better heat retention than I thought it would. After three minutes I used a digital thermometer to compare temperatures between the mug and one of my better kyusu. There was only a two degree difference. I would highly recommend one of these for making tea at work or as a budget, all purpose tea pot for beginners.

Den's Tea Matcha Kaze

2008-01-11T20:53:00.001-08:00

Kuro Raku

First I'd like to introduce my new chawan, an early birthday present. It is a kuro (black) raku made in Tokoname, Japan by Shoraku.

I was interested in this one from Hibiki-an, but I wanted to continue to pursue my business relationship with Toru-san from Artistic Nippon. I emailed him a picture of it and asked if it was something he could procure for me, and of course he came through for me again. I think he did an excellent job, and I am very pleased with it.

Interesting coincidence: both bowls have the artist's chop in gold paint/glaze; however, the picture I sent Toru-san did not show the chop, so he couldn't have known.

Matcha Kaze

This is my first matcha from Den's Tea and my first from Shizuoka.

Matcha has been the most challenging tea to review so far. The vocabulary isn't as established as it is with most tea. I know from reading blogs and what not that with other teas I can expect notes of chocolate or peach, camphor or muscatel, grassy or nutty, whatever the case may be. Realizing that I can bull shit you with vague talk of "green" and "fresh" for only so long, I tried to find other, more descriptive words.

The obvious idea was to look at blogs, see how others describe matcha, but it turns out that unless I plan to bake with it or make frappucinos, I'm out of luck. (If you're reading this, and I missed your brilliant posts on the complex, umami deliciousness of matcha, please leave a link in the comments). In the end I browsed through a few Japanese sites like Ippodo and Hibiki-an, putting together my own list of characteristics, a bit of a scale to help quantify my results.

Checklist isn't the right word, but its the first one that comes to mind.

Aroma: (7/10) It is rich and sweet but subdued compared to the Uji matcha that I've primarily used thus far.

Sweetness: (5/10) Moderate, towards the end it tasted a bit dry.

Astringency: (1/10) Even when using much larger amounts than is recommended for usucha, which I will get to in a sec, I wouldn't describe it as even lightly astringent.

Taste: (6.5/10) Mild would be the most concise word. Not bad or inferior, but not intense or bold. It was clear early on that the 1.5 - 2 scoops wasn't going to cut it for me, too weak, so I increased it to 4-5, koicha quantity. Better, but still as I said, mild. In a way I think this is a testament to the quality of the tea. A low grade usucha should have been bitter, harsh or unpleasant after that amount.

Ultimately this tea wasn't for me, but only because I have to use so much, otherwise it would be a suitable daily matcha. I will try Den's other Shizuoka matcha, the Miyabi, on my next order. I am curious if other Shizuoka matcha is like this.

Every time I make matcha, I learn something. This time it was Don't prepare matcha next to an open window. That green stuff can get every where. For sure I am still going to find it on some of my books months from now. This is funny given the name. Kaze means wind.

Choice Tea

2008-01-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

I had been aware of Choice Tea for some time now, since I started getting involved with Fair Trade a few years ago, and I had seen their teas at Whole Foods, but I never got around to trying them. So I was delighted when they offered me a few samples, and of course I chose all Fair Trade teas.

Original Chai

"A loose blend of 'ready to brew' spices and fine black teas." The description doesn't give one much to go on, but it tastes like a fairly traditional blend, cardamom, black pepper, and what not. The spices are evenly chopped and distributed with the tea. In a tea with multiple ingredients, smaller, homogeneous pieces help provide a consistent brew from one cup to the next.

I prepare it with equal parts milk and water, using my People's Brew Basket with a chopstick shoved through it (these baskets are quite versatile; I use it to sift matcha one day, prepare chai the next). Its creamy, a bit of pepper to it, but moderate. On a scale of 1-10, I'd rate this about 6.5 or 7.

Ceylon OP High Grown

This one comes from the Thotulagalla Garden in the Uva District of Sri Lanka.

The dry leaf aroma is fresh, not overly aromatic, but I better than I expect for having spent the last few weeks in a cellophane wrapper. The liquor is brown-orange, which makes me think of crayons when I was a child, the two colors, red-orange and orange-red. This seemed a relevant observation when I wrote it down in my notes.

Taste: It is a Ceylon, which in my opinion equals bland, but this is one is better than most. In spite of the ubiquitous "tea" taste, there are pleasant notes of fruit, and the tea has a natural sweetness. Again, Ceylons are not my thing, but this wasn't a bad cup at all.

And if you just noticed that Ceylon and crayon rhyme, you're as silly as me.

Classic White Peony

My only complaint about this tea is that I only had 1.5 grams of leaf to play with, where as I typically use at least 3. The website does not specify where this tea comes from, but I'm fairly sure it isn't Fujian, as there are no Fair Trade projects there that I am aware of.

The aroma is different, I can't place it, not Fujian. A bit of melon that makes me think of sheng pu. I wonder if this is a Yunnan white. The tea itself is light, not as bold as bai mu dan that I'm used to. Their is an intriguing evanescent astringency, almost an after thought.

Dragon Well and Gunpowder

I drank these two a day later side by side with a pair of gaiwan. The origins of the Dragon Well aren't listed, but the Gunpowder comes from Jianxi. These two interested me because they only FTC teas of their respective types I've come across.

The Dragon Well has a light, fruity aroma, while the Gunpowder's scent is fuller, stone fruit perhaps.

The Dragon Well tastes light, moderately fruity, a tad sweet. There is a hint of something that makes me think of something that reminds me of honey. The Gunpowder is more astringent, but not overly so. Words like "woodsy" and "pine" come to mind.

Himalayan Green Tea.

I am not at all fond of tea bags, but the rep. from Choice specifically asked me to review this one, and I'll drink anything for a good cause. Not only is this tea Fair Trade, but 10 cents per box is donated to help save the Himalayan Kingdom.

The problem is one can't go from fresh, Japanese sencha one day to tea bags the next. You need a decompression stop along the way. Perhaps a nice cup of Chinencha. I will refrain from describing this tea. If you still like teabags, I encourage you to buy a box and try it yourself. Tea drinkers closer to myself already now how it turned out.

Whew! That was a lot of tea.

Final thoughts: This is the icky ambiguous part. These teas are good, but I've have gathered enough experience to know that there is better tea available, so how to be honest but positive. There should be weight classes for tea vendors, like in boxing or wrestling. When I put it like that: Choice Tea is a clear contender in their class, better than the competing teas you are likely to see on the shelf next to theirs.

Den's Tea Houji-Kukicha

2008-01-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

This tea was a pleasant discovery.

I bought it because I needed to add a few dollars to my order to get the free shipping, and I like kukicha, so I was a bit curious about it. And it was cheap, only $4 for 2 oz. I didn't expect much; I didn't expect anything, really. I've never been fond of houjicha. I just assumed I'd drink a cup or two, then let the rest sit there until it was time to throw it away.

Rishi Matcha

2008-01-06T19:43:00.000-08:00

After I posted my review on Rishi's sweet matcha, my rep. sent me an email at work about it, providing more information about the product (the sugar to matcha ratio is 9 to 1), and offering to send me further samples of their matcha line.

My opinion on the Sweet Matcha has not changed with further experimentation. Its just too much sugar to enjoy. The "straight" matcha was more...useful.

It comes packaged in twenty, single-serving wrappers, which are ideal for tea-to-go, convenient. Simply add the tea to a bottle of water, shake, shake, shake, and you have a bottle of RTD tea that is far better than what you can buy at a store. I plan to experiment further with powdered sencha and other teas in the future. I think this may be the answer to my lack of tea at work.

Traditional preparation is where the lack of quality becomes apparent, though to be fair, it has had some tough competition. The wrappers, which are convenient on the go, aren't ideal in this setting. One serving is too much tea for the traditional 3-4 oz of water. The resulting bowl was harsh, overly astringent. Next I emptied a few into a makeshift natsume, scooping out the desired amount, but it didn't taste as fresh, the flavor, diminished.

I don't like posting negative reviews, but Rishi's Matcha was important in establishing a reference point, for me and for my readers. Previously, all the matcha I had been drinking was O-cha's; I had nothing to compare it to, but now I can begin to create a larger frame of reference.

They also sent an ounce of Chiyo Sakae. I have never seen it offered on their website, so I'm not sure what the story is there, if this is something they plan to offer in the future. It was better, not great, but a passable daily matcha, something to sustain me during dry spells.

T Ching's Morning Dew

2008-01-03T23:24:00.000-08:00

It was a pleasure and an experience to once again participate in one of T Ching's online tea tastings. The Morning Dew, a white tea, was one of three teas we tasted this time, including Margaret's Hope Muscatel and a Keemun Hao Ya. I've decided not to publish a detailed review of the two black teas here; though they were both solid examples of their respective types, I didn't find either of them particularly memorable.

This tea comes from Mirik, located in Darjeeling, India. This is the best Indian white tea I have enjoyed so far. The dry leaves are large, light, like a bai mu dan, but a vibrant green. The aroma is fresh and crisp, makes me think of fall apples.

I used a lot of leaves, 3.5 grams, looks like the equivalent of 3-4 tbsp.

The brew is amazing, tart but sweet with a honeysuckle finish. The flavor is bolder than I am used to in a white tea, bolder than some green teas I've tasted.

My only complaint is that it doesn't stand up as well to multiple infusions, which is all that keeps this tea from becoming my new favorite white tea. I've experimented with using more leaf and shorter brewing times, but the tea started to become unpleasantly astringent. I ran out of tea before I could experiment further.

Den's Tea

2008-01-03T00:05:00.000-08:00

Theme week? What theme week?

I was all set to move on to the next tea review I've been needing to get to, but my first Den's order came in today, and I've been in green tea heaven.

This is my first order with Den's, and so far I've been very pleased, the freshest Japanese tea I've had from a vendor in the US. I ordered the Shin-Ryoku Sencha, Guricha, Kukicha, Houji-Kukicha, Powdered Sencha, and Matcha Kaze. I'll do reviews on all of them over the next month.

Full Leaf Tea

2007-12-31T21:26:00.000-08:00

The other day I was drinking some da hong pao I received as part of a Christmas present. I was warned that it would be unremarkable, and rightly so; it was rather bland and uninteresting. At some point between admiring the dry leaves and being disappointed with the brew, a silly and obvious, silly because it is so obvious, thought came to me: loose leaf tea does not inherently equal quality.

This isn't news; had you and I had a conversation about it, I would have agreed wholeheartedly, but it was not until this moment I realised that this misconception had still been lingering in the back of my mind.

I presume this ill-formed idea has its roots in my early tea-drinking days, as I made the progression from teabags to loose tea. When trying to move away from BOP, searching for better tea, full, loose leaves become a convenient, visual indication, and in that context, not entirely misleading. Now that I continue advancing to better and better tea, this sort of prejudice is a handicap.

The art and science of making quality, artisan tea is clearly more involved than simply not having had it reduced to dust.

Mao Feng

2007-12-27T11:17:00.000-08:00

Do you know what mao feng is?

I didn't. When I received this tea, I assumed mao feng was fancy, pu-erh speak. Wikipedia's article wasn't much help, saying only that it was a green tea from Anhui. Further investigation revealed references to keemun mao feng and golden monkey mao feng. A bit confused I turned to Bablecarp for a literal definition, and it turns out mao feng is a grading term meaning downy tip, a step above mao jian.

The dry leaf aroma was nutty at times, melon-ish at others.

After brewing it in a gaiwan first, then a kyusu--both had similar results, fruity, light, though the tea in the gaiwan had a touch of astringency--I decided to finally get around to experimenting with glass brewing. The method is simple enough, take a glass, dumps some leaves into said glass, add water, and from what I understand, this is a fairly traditional way of drinking tea in China.

First let me say this whole using-your-teeth-as-a-filter takes practice. While this method was attractive, I did not much care for the tea. It was lighter, chewy and nondescript, though the dregs had more flavor, fruity and astringent, that made it similar to a decent young sheng that's not too harsh.

The wet leaves are comprised of full leaves and lots of bits.

I welcome some feedback on this style of brewing. I used 3 grams per 8 oz at 160 F. Did I do something wrong?

Tea Classes

2007-12-27T06:22:00.000-08:00

January 26, my first professional tea class. I did not give myself the title of Tea Expert.

Then after that, on the 30th, Roy Fong is finally coming out to my store to teach us employees a thing or two about tea, an experience I've been looking forward to.

Zhen Qu

2007-12-26T17:20:00.000-08:00

Its nice to be back and have the holidays behind me for another six or seven months. Over the last few weeks I've received so many new teas and teapots, it was hard to know where to start. The weather was brisk and gray this morning, foreboding, with the vultures outside my front yard and all--who the hell knew there're vultures in the city? So I found myself leaning towards something black.

The Zhen qu from Chado was part of a generous gift from Salsero of TeaChat. It is an interesting tea; small, fuzzy leaves that shed on everything, as you can see.

(Well I guess you can't see, because I can't get the damn pictures to open in a new window).

It is from Fujian (or Pan Yang, which I am told is simply and older name for Fujian), and the dry leaves smell like bai hao yinzhen. I brewed 3 grams for 3.5 minutes. It is a wonderful combination of two of my favorite teas, the yinzhen and pure-bud dian hong. Tastes tastes like Fujian bai cha with a touch of amber honey and a slightly dryer mouth feel.

Per Sal's instructions I experimented with 6 grams and 3 minutes. The honey becomes more pronounced, and an astringent bite creeps in. Overall the tea is gentle and flexible.

Help me save my teapot, please.

2007-12-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

Update: Thanks everyone here and elsewhere for your help and advice. I contacted Rishi and their guy Sean, a fellow Shimizu enthusiast, figured out that the mineral deposits are most likely caused by letting water dry in the pot. Since that is exactly what I do--I always rinse my pots thoroughly after each use and let the inside air dry--I am inclined to agree with him.

Now that I know the cause of the problem and how to prevent it, I am willing to leave things as they are. The build-up is rather mild at the moment, and unless it gets worse, I see no reason to try anything potentially harmful.

Take a look:

I first noticed it a few months ago, and it has been getting worse. Is this just mineral deposits? If so, how do I get rid of it? I've heard white vinegar, but not only is this my favorite and most used pot, it is the most expensive. I want to be very sure that whatever I do will not harm it. If it isn't mineral deposits, any ideas? Your feedback would be appreciated.

(Edit) More information: Yes, the pot is porous. I use spring water to make tea, but I rinse my pots with tap water. Its this teapot right here.

2007 Spring Oolong

2007-12-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

This next sample from June, I'm not sure what it is, other then it is a lightly fermented, rolled oolong from the Wuyi mountains. She sent me two different (does oolong have flushes?) harvests, a 2006 Winter and a 2007 Spring.

My notes on the winter oolong met the same fate as the long jing, but I completely botched it anyway, so no loss; I'll just skip it. I simply can not gong fu lightly oxidized oolongs; it never ends well. Yet I keep trying.

But not this time. I used a larger pot and steeped 3 grams for 3 minutes.

Aroma: there is a sharp, vegtal scent buried in layers of honey and butter, reminds me of my father--he would mix honey with warm butter and spread it on slices of bread, and there is a pleasant pang of melancholic nostalgia.

The first thing I notice is that this time the tea does not taste like an astringent, over-steeped mess. Progress! The brew is light, light to the point that perhaps I should have used more leaf or less water. It is more similar to the wen shan bao zhong I've had than its Taiwanese counterparts such as dong ding. There is a green-gold tint to the liquor that didn't show up in the pictures. The second infusion was fuller, less nuanced, and sweeter.

The wet leaves are mostly single, whole leaves, but there are a few of the two or three leaf clusters I've always admired.

2007 Long Jing

2007-12-12T21:58:00.000-08:00

Another sample from Just4tea.

I've only had long jing a few times before, and always from stores that sold it in bulk glass jars, not ideal storage conditions. When it comes to Chinese green tea, its any port in the storm for me. I prefer Japanese green tea by far, but there are times I appreciate the more mellow, soothing qualities of Chinese tea. When I do, I am none too picky about what's in my cup. So not only was it a challenge to try and talk intelligently about this tea and do a proper review, but I drank it last week, and my notes have largely been obliterated by a spilled cup of tea.

The leaves are what I expect, uniform and flat, sort of a yellow green. I used 3.5 grams/8 0z/175 F. for some random amount of time.

In my notes I wrote, "Damn. Sweet/floral. Surprisingly light," but I'm not sure if I was talking about the aroma or the tea. Further down there is, "sweet honey quality" followed by " two infusions" and a "Hangzhou" written in the margin, the last I safely presume to be the origin of the tea.

I know, that was all kinds of helpful. But at least the fukugata was dusted off and got some love.

2006 Tie Guan Yin

2007-12-11T21:13:00.000-08:00

For information on the religious/spiritual and mythical background of Tie Guan Yin (Iron Goddess/Bodhisattva of Mercy), take a look here.

Before we get started, let me just say, oh my Bodhisattva this tea, the second sample from Just4Tea, was good. I have hitherto been disappointed with TGY; I have brewed samples some from various places and from various price ranges, but it always left me wanting.

The bouquet was complex, layered. The dry leaf aroma was of roasted sugar cane with a fruity presence. After I rinsed the leaves the smell of chocolate was so strong I could taste it, feel it on the sides of my tongue. And after the first infusion a charcoal tang emerged, confirming that this was indeed a high or higher roasted TGY.

I use 6 grams/150 ml, 5 s rinse, 35 s, 45 s, 70 s, 100 s.

The first infusions are as elaborate and effervescent as the bouquet. The first steeping has a familiar fruit I can't place at first. Lots of cacao a la shuixian, and I check the package and sure enough this tea is Fujian. There are also traces of a greener TGY present. On the last sip I place the fruit, peach, similar but not as strong as what you would find in a dan chong. The second infusion has more chocolate, but the peach is gone. I can taste a bit of the charcoal. A hint of the peachiness returns in the third and the fourth, while the charcoal and cacao diminish. I think there was enough life left in the leaves for a fifth and sixth steep, but this was my third tea session for the day, so I called it quits.

The wet leaves feel thick, coarse, not as supple as other rolled oolongs.

As I said in the beginning, I liked this tea a lot, the different flavors that would shift back and forth or come at you all at once, one after the other. Its similarities to other oolongs that I love while retaining its own TGY character, make this a sort of "best of..." tea. This is the first free sample I've received that I like well enough to buy more of.

2004 Puerh Tuo Cha

2007-12-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

Just4Tea is a new and small tea company operated by June Lao, a very nice person who sent me her tea. Her family opened a tea shop in Chaozhou, China during the 1930's. She grew up in her parent's shop, but has now settled in San Francisco, importing her family's teas and selling them here. Each day this week I will post a different review of one of the seven teas she sent me.

The thing I like most about pu erh is that I feel completely neutral about it. I enjoy it well enough, but I have no expectations. I am completely detached from the experience and free to fully enjoy even the humblest cup of pu. Because of this I have better luck with tasting notes, identifying different nuances. Its good practice.

Its a mini tuo cha of some shu pu, and my experience tells me that no one seems to waste quality tea on these things. When I first opened the package there was a stronger aroma that's gone now, but I can't remember it.

Each piece is about 4 grams. I use one in a 150 ml pot, rinse twice for 20 seconds each, and steep for a minute. Its a thin brew, a faint hint of camphor, and the finish has a whisper of astringency that threatens to turn harsh. As it cools I can pick up a smidgen of cacao.

In the second infusion I can taste the chocolate now that I know its there. One piece was only good for two infusions. I doubled the steep time for the third and doubled it again for the fourth, up to 6 minutes, but the liquor was fainter, and the tea a bit watery.

The wet leaves are standard bits and pieces.

My over all impressions are for an average tuo cha, this was an enjoyable tea while it lasted.

Uji Matcha Manten

2007-12-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

The Manten comes from O-cha via Tsuen, Japan's oldest tea shop, and at $60 for 30 grams, this is the most expensive tea I've purchased. Manten is a koicha (thick tea), and it comes from bushes at least 30 years old, grown in Uji by a distinguished gentleman who has won awards for his Tencha.

The Manten comes in an elegant and simple tin with an inner plastic lid that keeps it air tight.

Making it for the first time was an experience. The timelessness of tea, the fusion of history and culture, has always been the primary appeal for me, but never before had it been this poignant, preparing tea from a family that has been growing and selling tea for 23 generations and using a chasen that was crafted by another family that has been making them for 35o years. I got kind of tingly.

Properly preparing matcha can be problematic and requires a little practice, mainly because with a chashoku and a samashi you have to eyeball the corect amounts to use. I have found that if you use too little water or too much matcha, the tea will become thicker and sour.

I've had more experience now, and I must stress the importance of sifting the matcha first; it will clump much less and always seems to taste better when you do. Unsifted matcha has the consistency of talcum powder, while sifted matcha will have a homogeneous, sandy texture.

Again, for koicha use 3-4 scoops and 3-4 oz of water.

The Manten tastes very green. I made same for Molly's friend, and she said the same thing. It is flavorful, bold, not quite sweet, but definitely not brassy or astringent. Quite smooth, but I didn't notice that at first, only later, after I drank some lower quality matcha that was rather harsh, then went back to the Manten.

Other than that the Manten was too much for my palate. In the same way it was difficult for me to discern or describe the differences between the Kiri no Mori and the Kiku Mukashi, I can not adequately distinguish the Manten from the Kiku Mukashi. I am not experienced enough yet, as this was only my third matcha.

Honestly this is a relief; I can not afford a regular supply of the Manten at this time, and I am pleased that it hasn't ruined me for all lesser matcha.

Free Stuff Makes me Smile Like a Dumb Ass

2007-12-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Update: So far the samples from Just4Tea have been quite good. I'll post the reviews next week, one for each day:

The Tea Fairy visited me today and left lots of free goodies for me to experiment with.

Cha Dao Revisited

2007-12-03T21:52:00.000-08:00

Click here for the original post.

They were demoing the Cha Dao RTD teas this weekend, and I sampled the two flavors that I had not previously tried, the Jasmine Green Tea with Lemon and the Chrysanthemum. I was intrigued, so I picked up a bottle of each.

Initially the Jasmine and lemon seemed a pleasant combination, but soon the lemon became cloying, overpowering instead of blending with what would have been an unassuming jasmine green.

The Chrysanthemum was more successful and enjoyable, crisp and clear. RTD teas rarely taste like they "should," often only an imitation of whatever tea it claims to be, but this tastes and smells exactly like ju hua. My first thought was that they did a better job of making it then I did. It was refreshing and an agreeable change of pace.

Hansen's Imported From Nature Tea

2007-11-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

I have tried not to use my blog as a place to rant. If I pick a tea to review and it turns out that the tea is poor, so be it. But more and more I try to avoid reviewing a tea that I know will be unpleasant or simply unpalatable. What would be the point? "Bigelow Green Tea, not so good." No shit, right? But I simply can not hold my peace on this any longer.

Americans have a rather dichotomous relationship with our bodies. We are collectively caught up in the health food craze, tea good, carbs bad, and yet we are a nation of fat people. 127 million Americans are overweight; 60 million are considered obese.1

Of course there are a variety of reasons for this, but I think part of the problem is this propaganda war that food and beverage companies have launched against we the consumers. Junk food proclaimed as healthy; Oreos with no trans fat, low-carb beer, and now Hansen's new line of Imported From Nature Tea, "lightly sweetened," with 75 mg of EGCG (its on the label four times, so you wont miss it) and 46 grams of sugar.

I was curious just how much 46 grams of sugar is, so I took a picture, an approximation of the ingredients: 16 oz water, 4 grams of tea (BOP), and 46 grams of sugar.

Maybe its just me, but I think the picture speaks for itself.

How to hold a gaiwan like a pro... ; )

2007-11-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

By special request, for my "retarded" friends. Their words, not mine.

Oh, note for safety: if you are inexperienced with a gaiwan or this method, practice with cold water first.

Imperial Tea Court Dian Hong

2007-11-26T13:29:00.000-08:00

For me, when it comes to black tea, its dian hong cha or gtfo. These three come from Imperial Tea Court, Yunnan Black, Select Yunnan Black, and Yunnan Gold Rings. These are the first teas I have purchased from ITC. I had been hesitant, because they source The Republic of Tea's Imperial tea; I find that line to be very overpriced for the quality. However, these three ranged from decent to quite good with comparable prices, so I am not displeased with my purchase.

First up is the Yunnan Black (3 g/8 oz-ish/3.75 minutes).

Of the three this is the least expensive and has the lowest percentage of khaki buds. It is also the most unlike any other dian hong I've previously tried. It smells more like some puerh. At first I didn't like it because it was different, but I've come to enjoy its uniqueness.

Note that the actual leaves do not look as good as the picture on the website, but I guess that is to be expected.

The liquor is more orange than brown or red. It has a rather thin mouth feel, the malty depths I find typical of this type are not there. No innate sweetness, kind of bland, suitable for adulteration. I prefer my daily black tea to be strong and sweet, sweet with the benefit of a judicious allotment of sugar, so while this one is clearly not a sophisticated variety, it will not go unused by me.

The Zarafina didn't like it.

Next is the Select Yunnan Black (3 g/8 oz-ish/3.5 minutes).

This one has a much higher quantity of those golden, khaki leaves that equal deliciousness. The aroma is more typical.

The tea has more depth to it, notes of the sweet amber/honey that I find so endearing. As it cools it becomes more flavorful, though I still can not taste the "pepper" that I often see attributed to Yunnan hong cha.

Of the three, this is the closest to my regular dian hong.

I saved the best for last, the Yunnan Gold Rings.

As the name indicates, the leaves have been rolled into rings. Attractive and interesting yes, but don't worry, I'm not easily drawn in by such frippery. The aroma makes me think of mead in that it makes me think of fermented honey, or what I imagine fermented honey should smell like. In reality fermented honey may smell most foul, for all I know.

This time I tried a different approach with the brewing parameters, using 4 g of leaf for 3 minutes. I did not prefer this way. The flavor did not increase, and it became unpleasantly astringent.

So I made a fresh batch with my standard 3 g/4 min. This was not the best pure bud Yunnan I've tried, but it was very good. Naturaly sweet, malty, and smooth. The "honey" lingers in the mouth for several minutes after.

Wet leaves, clock wise from top: Gold Rings, Black, Select Black.

2000 Loose Shupu

2007-11-25T18:58:00.000-08:00

This one is another generous sample from ABX.

The dry leaves appear standard, uniform in size and shape, varying in color from brown to khaki. Once again after rinsing their is a sweet, sausage-esque aroma.

I like to bully shu a bit when it comes to brewing it, try to get the strongest, most flavorful infusion without the tea turning on me, so I used 10 g/150 ml for 25 seconds. The liquor is a rather dark brown nearing black, and I wondered if I pushed it too far.

Yes. Yes, I did. There is an acidic bite similar to a coffee that has been poorly brewed. I can taste the "meat" I picked up in the aroma.

I scaled down the steeping time to 10 seconds, then 8 seconds after that. The tea is decent, smoother now, but I can't pick up on anything. Either it is too nuanced for me, or I fried my taste buds with the first batch, or both. The fourth steep developed an astringency that was less noticeable as the tea cooled, and it was sweeter. I went for a fifth steep, but I had to go help Molly hang some Christmas lights, so it went untouched, ending the session.

It was a good tea, but I think I was too rough with it. I'll be more gentle next time.

2000 Commercial Half-Cooked Puerh

2007-11-24T18:55:00.000-08:00

Another sample of half-cooked puerh, this one from ABX.

The sample came in a plastic bag, and there wasn't much aroma left, but rinsing the leaves for five seconds brought out the standard earthiness, but something different as well. Something sweet, and something, meaty. Together they reminded me of the sausage rolls you can get at donut shops.

I used all 4 grams and steeped for 1 min, 2 min, and 4 min.

The first infusion was light. There wasn't any of the pseudo-minty camphor, but it had the same cooling qualities of the other half-cooked pu. The second infusion the liquor progressed to a rich burgundy. Still cooling, but stronger, and a thinner mouth feel than a full shupu. Kind of sweet finish on the tip of the tongue. There was also something remotely vegetal, but watered down. The third infusion something else emerges, almost spicy at times, a different sweetness; its too fleeting for me to figure it out.

The wet leaves are comprised mostly of whole, larger leaves with smaller portions of stmes and smaller, tattered leaves.

Indonique Chocolate Chai

2007-11-23T22:20:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling indulgent tonight. I was watching a Modern Marvels episode about chocolate, and it, along with the colder weather, put me in the mood.

I received a package of Chocolate Chai from Indonique a while back. Its a mixture of Indian black tea, cocoa, and cinnamon. The dry leaves aren't anything to look at it, but it smells very good.

I ignored the directions on the package for the most part, and boiled 3/4 c milk, 3/4 c water, and two heaping teaspoons, and let it steep for five minutes, adding two teaspoons of sugar at the end.

The beverage is a tasty combination of hot chocolate and English style tea. The cocoa is pleasantly pronounced. The Indian tea, something I don't usually care for, was complimentary, strong, but not bitter. It was creamy and delightful, a nice post Thanksgiving meal treat.

Thank You

2007-11-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

I wanted to take a moment and say thank you to everyone.

A lot of free tea and what not has found its way to me since I started this blog, friendly samples from my fellow TeaChat members to things sent to me from companies hoping to generate some word of mouth. The later doesn't always get mentioned here (If I don't like something, I choose not to write about it. Small tea shops have a hard enough time competing for business on the web without bad press from me, even if it is honest bad press).

I appreciate all of it.

I wanted to single out Toru Yoshikawa-san of Artistic Nippon. Again. A few weeks back there was a conversation on the Green Tea Forum in which the owner, Kevin, pointed out that the chasen I had just purchased from Toru-san looked like it was made in China. Within two days I received an email from Toru-san saying that he became aware of the conversation and checked with his supplier.

It turns out that the chasen was made in China. He apologized profusely and offered a refund and free shipping on a replacement as soon as he was able to procure a Japanese-made chasen. I thanked him and declined, because I felt, made in China or not, the price I paid was very fair.

So he sent me a new chasen anyway.

To Toru-san, and everyone else, thank you for being kind to me.

Keemun Hao Ya

2007-11-14T17:44:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the samples from Red Circle Tea, save for the dan cong, which I will get to next week.

For those who don't know, Keemun is grown in Qimen County in Anhui, China, north of Fujian. Production began in 1875, and Keemun has been frequently used in blends. I understand Hao Ya is the highest grade of Keemun. Its the only type I have tried, so I cannot confirm or deny this.

The leaves look good, identical to the only other Keemun I've had. The samples were shipped in plastic bags, so there isn't much of a dry aroma left.

Again I went with my standard brewing parameters, 3 grams/8 oz for 4-5 minutes. It was good, smooth. Smokey and sweet, like smoked sugar, made me think of sugar cane and camp fires, but a brisk sweetness, not like the honey-sweetens of the ying de or dian hong. I only steeped the leaves once. I frequently find that consecutive steeps of black tea are too watery, a shadow of the original cup, so I don't often bother.

2006 Half-Cooked Puerh

2007-11-14T15:52:00.000-08:00

Today's tea is another sample I received from Red Circle Tea, part of a brick of half sheng, half shu pu from 2006.

I think the dry leaves are beautiful, auburn and brown mixed in with bits of green; it was like autumn. The usual earthy aroma was present, but so was something else I couldn't place.

I measured out 5.5 grams, but there was only a little left, so I tossed it all in the pot. 5 s rinse, then 30 s, 50 s, 90 s, 3 min.

Camphor was the first thing I noticed. I have frequently read about camphor and puerh, but I have never noticed it before today. There was a moment of profound satisfaction as I said to myself, "So that's what they're talking about." Bill says that camphor suggests the use of wild arbor leaves. It was also...minty is definitely not the right word, rather it reminded me of something that reminded me of mint. The puerh was very cooling.

In the third and fourth steeping, notes of something green, vegetal emerged.

All four brews were balanced in strength and color, but shifted from heavy nuances of camphor to a far less pronounced veggie-ness.

Ying De Hong Cha

2007-11-13T21:24:00.000-08:00

Ying de hong, or ying hong, is a red (black, for us westerners) tea from Guangdong, China. All the sources I checked agree that it was introduced in 1959 in the town/city of Ying De. I don't know how I missed this tea; a few of the tea sites I frequent carry it, but I had not heard of it until recently, when Aroma Tea Shop offered to send me samples. Given my love for dian hong, I was quite curious and not a little happy when a rep from Red Circle Tea offered to send me a sample as well, ostensibly for comparison.

First up is the Ying De Gold #9 from Red Circle. The leaves are from a particular varietal that is crossbred from Yunnan big leaf and Feng Huang.

I used my standard brewing method for hong cha, 3 grams/8 oz for 4 minutes.

The dry leaves are attractive, long and wiry with khaki coloring. When placed in a heated pot, there is a sweet, dark grain-ish aroma that makes me think of raisin bran of all things. The taste is reminiscent of a good dian hong, without the maltiness. I get strong notes of warm honey. There is a thin mouth feel, but not as thin as a Keemun or Ceylon.

I also tried the brewing instructions that came with the tea, steeping the tea 15-45 seconds in a gaiwan. The focus of this method seems to be to on multiple infusions, the instructions say up to six. It produced a lighter brew, less intense flavor. I prefer my hong cha stronger than this.

The wet leaves remind me of Wuyi yan cha.

I enjoyed this tea, but to be honest, I think the price is a bit much for 2 oz.

The ying de from Aroma wasn't as pleasing over all. I have had it three times, now, and each time it was different.

The first time it kept shifting, reminding me of a keemun one moment and of an assam the next; at one point I picked up on a little fruit. The second cup tasted a bit like an "orchid" oolong I had once. The cup I just finished was fairly nondescript. Over all it never settled on any characteristics that set it apart from any other black tea.

You can see the wet leaves of the two ying de side-by-side for comparison.

I'd like to say thank you to both vendors for the samples. My curiosity is still piqued, and I'll have to try some other varieties of ying de in the future.

Weil for Tea

2007-11-12T21:03:00.000-08:00

Ito En teamed up with Dr. Andrew Weil and released a line of tea bags, loose tea, and RTD cans.

Lest you think...I don't know what you might think, but I wish to make it unequivocally clear that I am here to explore the palatable, historical, cultural and aesthetic side of tea, not to perpetuate the current tea related health craze. If you drink tea for health, I think that is wonderful; we could all benefit from healthier lifestyles, but it is not my thing. I work with tea in a retail setting, and one can only sell so much wulong weight-loss tea before becoming a mite tetchy with the subject.

It turns out this stuff is quite good, standard disclaimers concerning ready to drink teas not withstanding. I brought home three flavors, Jasmine White, Gyokuro, and Darjeeling, all unsweetened and calorie free.

I think that these are the tree best RTD teas I've had. They are well balanced. Some unsweetened teas are too weak, watery, while others become overly astringent and unpleasant. These are flavorful, clean and fresh.

I have yet to try real Gyokuro, so I can not properly compare this one to anything. It is smooth, less astringent then Ito En's Just Green, kind of nutty. The Darjeeling was amazing for what it is. Possibly a blend, definitely a late season flush if not, but unmistakeably Darjeeling.

I am impressed. Never before have I had a bottled tea that had as much natural flavor without tasting over-steeped or relying on sweetener to mask the bitterness.

Matcha, Part 4

2007-11-11T21:09:00.000-08:00

Sweet Matcha

A few weeks back, Rishi started offering a line of Sweet Matcha. Since then there has been a recurring, morbid interest in it on TeaChat, so I took it upon myself to trek out to Whole Foods and see what it's all about.

The Original Swet Matcha isn't anything new for Rishi, though the packaging is new, and I've never seen it advertised on their website, but it has been part of their Bulk Tea program for some time. I first saw this stuff a year or so ago on an old order guide. The sweet matcha is a mix of matcha and milled cane sugar. I don't know the sugar to tea ratio, but I'd guess at least 50/50.

The color is rather pale, reminds me of dried peas. As to be expected, the aroma was faint.

I used one scoop per ounce of water, and whisked thoroughly, but it wouldn't froth. I suppose because of the high sugar content.

It tastes....I probably have customers who would love this, but I found it very unpleasant, and very, very sweet. A mouth full of warm sugar followed by the distinct taste of matcha. This is not something that I would drink.

However, I looked at their website later, and it would seem that they do not intend this stuff for traditional consumption either. 125 grams for $10? I think its safe to call this food grade matcha.

And sure enough, look at that; they have recipes.

Matcha, Part 3

2007-11-10T22:45:00.000-08:00

Kiri no Mori and Kiku Mukashi

They both come from O-cha, and both are grown in Uji. Uji, near Kyoto, was the birhtplace of tea cultivation in Japan. While not always the case, matcha produced in Uji is often superior.

This is an amazing tea, its preperation and consumption unique and unlike any other. From the moment I begin boiling the water till the last drop, I find myself completely engaged in the task at hand. There is little or no waiting, each step flows effortlessly into the next. I better understand the marriage of cha no yu and Zen, the art and practice of continuously committing oneself to the moment.

I covered the preparation of matcha earlier this week, but I left out sifting, mostly because I was still having mixed results at the time. I got the kinks worked out, and I did notice an improvement. It seems to produce a thicker foam and a more thorough consistency. You can purchase a sifter for your matcha, as I will do eventually, but a brew basket will work as well.

The first thing I always notice is the aroma, just a moment after I open the can, green and sweet. The Kiri no Mori has a slight vegetal smell, where as the Kiku Mukashi does not.

Usucha (2 scoops/3-4 oz)

It is hard for me to tell the two apart. Both are sweet, thick but mild, and thoroughly smooth, no astringency or bitterness.

Koicha (3-4 scoops/2-3 oz)

The Kiku Mukashi, a higher quality matcha that "borders on the threshold between the koicha and usucha." I experimented with different methods of preparing koicha. The directions I found on Ippodo pushed the Kiku Mukashi to its limits. Intense, but unpleasant, becoming more astringent than I like my tea to be.

Tonight I tried to remember the instructions that came from O-cha, and used 4 large scoops with 3 oz of water, and the result was outstanding. Certain nuances emerged that weren't there before, and it developed a pleasant bit of astringency that gives the tea texture.