Thread: Tea anyone ??!!

Yeah, I have some photos that I wan't to post but I can't seem to upload them.

That is a lot of tea! Trouble is when you start getting bored of it half way through the packet...

My cousin travels often to the Middle East for work projects. Two weeks ago he found himself in Dubai mall and asked me if I would like anything. I couldn’t think anything but tea. “Bring me some Pu Erh and some Oolong” I said.

This is Camellia Pu Erh, supposed to be 40 years aged, and the other one is some fresh Royal Thai Oolong. I ‘ll try them soon.

Slur,

Sorry to hear that your cousin brought you some old tea instead of some good, new stuff. If you want, I'll PM you my address and you can send it to me. I'll dispose of it for you.

Got some maharaja chai oolong, peachberry jasmine sutra (green), caramel almond amaretti (herbal) and some jasmine oolong the other day, as well as a new glass teapot.

As my tea reserves grow dangerously low, I'm beginning to put together a list for an order. I grew up with tea, Lipton. As far as I knew, there really wasn't anything else. I was happy, content anyway, and other than the odd chance, my hot beverage was coffee anyway. After finding this site and this thread on it, my curiosity was awakened and thought I'd try some different teas. It's turned into a bit of a rabbit hole. I've spent the last year plus reading posts and trying different things. Along this trail, my ignorance is bliss theory has been shaken a bit. Curiosity has been wearing away at it. I know, for example, some teas are loved by some and despised by others. Pu Erh. I love it. For others, it would be considered a crime against humanity to be forced to drink it. Along comes my curiosity. I picked up some 2006 Pu Erh and it has served me well. But, now I wonder if the older, rare stuff would be better and/or worth trying.
While I think about my tea order, I'm just using the idea of, if I liked it, and it's now almost gone, why not order more? Along with this long winded rant, I do have a question to the tea drinkers. I have a "base list" of my "must have" teas, but I'm leaving room to try some new things. I like a stronger, more robust tea. I go through far more black teas than green, actually, more Oolong than green. Please don't chastise me it they are both green.

So, any must tries? I've never tried Sencha, is it just a greener green?

I'd also like to thank those who have helped me out this last year, whether you know it or not.

So, have a great week, and, take time to enjoy your tea!! Don V

Originally Posted by donv

As my tea reserves grow dangerously low, I'm beginning to put together a list for an order. I grew up with tea, Lipton. As far as I knew, there really wasn't anything else. I was happy, content anyway, and other than the odd chance, my hot beverage was coffee anyway. After finding this site and this thread on it, my curiosity was awakened and thought I'd try some different teas. It's turned into a bit of a rabbit hole. I've spent the last year plus reading posts and trying different things. Along this trail, my ignorance is bliss theory has been shaken a bit. Curiosity has been wearing away at it. I know, for example, some teas are loved by some and despised by others. Pu Erh. I love it. For others, it would be considered a crime against humanity to be forced to drink it. Along comes my curiosity. I picked up some 2006 Pu Erh and it has served me well. But, now I wonder if the older, rare stuff would be better and/or worth trying.
While I think about my tea order, I'm just using the idea of, if I liked it, and it's now almost gone, why not order more? Along with this long winded rant, I do have a question to the tea drinkers. I have a "base list" of my "must have" teas, but I'm leaving room to try some new things. I like a stronger, more robust tea. I go through far more black teas than green, actually, more Oolong than green. Please don't chastise me it they are both green.

So, any must tries? I've never tried Sencha, is it just a greener green?

I'd also like to thank those who have helped me out this last year, whether you know it or not.

So, have a great week, and, take time to enjoy your tea!! Don V

I could be wrong Don but I believe Sencha is very green. If you like those strong blacks, then I would say try more of the Kusmi teas. There are some quite robust blacks there. Also I might recommend going for some hearty Assam's and Ceylon's . Also ..... Try a Scottish Breakfast tea. Although they are best with Milk n sug, they are quite malty and probably the strongest of the British breakfast teas. I will always push the Persian teas just because I find them so delightful . Good luck with your tea endeavor my friend.

Sencha, by definition as a green tea, isn't oxidised nor is it roasted like many Chinese teas or houjicha / other low-grade Japanese teas, rather the leaves are rolled into needle shapes and steamed. If that's what you mean by 'very green', then yes, it's very green.

If you're referring to the colour, it can vary. Deep-steamed or fukamushi sencha is usually a deep forest green, due to smaller leaf particles that break up during the longer steaming process. Light-steamed or asamushi sencha is generally lighter and more yellow (less steaming, leaves more intact, less leaf particle in cup).

Flavours range from being fairly bitter/astringent to relatively sweet and mellow, depending on the cultivar(s) used and the quality of the tea. Some sencha can also have a nice savoury note.

EDIT: Fukamushi sencha tend to be sweeter and more rounded in flavour with what the Japanese call umami. Asamushi sencha are lighter in flavour and tend towards more astringency and savouriness but can develop some great flavour if brewed right. Many people prefer fukamushi but I like both -- they both have their own merits; but really it's just a matter of personal preference.

You don't need to spend a fortune but make sure you buy a decent tea from a reliable source. There are several good sites for Japanese tea, including yuuki-cha.com, o-cha.com and, I hear, ippodo-tea.jp/en.

Can't post them from my phone, but I'll repost a bunch of my existing sencha pics for you, later.

If you want a kind of happy medium, might I also suggest kamairicha. A traditional, lightly panfired Japanese tea. A tiny bit more savoury, toastiness without sacrificing the 'greenness' of sencha, albeit more expensive.

My neighbor just got back from Iran today and when I came home from work there was a wonderful gift hanging from my doorknob. Tea it was of course. Mmmm here's some pics. Brewed at 4 min, It's got a nice clean black tea flavor. It seems so far in my experience that ME teas are not heavy but very clean in a robust way. I don't know how else to describe it. Definitely an all day type of tea. Would be good with any of the usual accompaniments, lemon , honey , even milk if you were inclined. Chai good !

Having read your post more thoroughly, donv, if you want to try Japanese greens that aren't quite so 'green' as the high grade stuff like sencha, kabusecha, gyokuro etc. lower grade teas are the way forward. If you buy right, they are just as nice in their own way and much cheaper.

Houjicha is processed like sencha and then roasted and has that toasty flavour that you probably prefer.

Genmaicha, as stated the other week, has lightness of flavour and colour from the sencha leaves but a deep nuttiness from the rice.

Bancha...can actually vary massively but is often roasted to some extent. This really depends on what you buy.

If you want to stay further into your comfort zone (nothing wrong with that) I highly recommend both Japanese black teas and oolongs, and guess that they're probably much closer to what you're familiar with.

Where does everyone order their tea from? Mine, as you can probably tell from the picture in my above post, is from Teavana. Bit pricey...I'm guessing that has to do with the store itself, and perhaps a bit of quality. I ordered some jasmine dragon pearls from ebay for about $5...figured it couldn't hurt to try.