Thread: Tea anyone ??!!

Went to the local grocery and then to an actual tea shop today. This is what I brought home. Along with a new pot.

Should keep me experimenting for a few days!

A visiting relative brought me a couple of blended teas: Tolstoy's Samovar and The 5th of November. Both are slightly smokey. I think they contain some Lapsang Souchong. I brought a travel mug of the 5th to work this morning.

Burdock root, Licorice root and ginkgo biloba. Prior to this I had the burdock root by itself which was rather odd; it had almost a creamy feel on the palate. I'm trying to reduce swelling in my fingers caused by rock climbing.

Originally Posted by Leatherstockiings

A visiting relative brought me a couple of blended teas: Tolstoy's Samovar and The 5th of November. Both are slightly smokey. I think they contain some Lapsang Souchong. I brought a travel mug of the 5th to work this morning.

A travel mug on the bus? Really tacky. In the car? Wise and organised. I've never done it myself, however I am partial to a stubbie of beer in the car when I head out camping. I'll give you a tip on that front. Poor idea to try and use the bottle opener on your key ring while you're driving...

Originally Posted by carlmaloschneider

Burdock root, Licorice root and ginkgo biloba. Prior to this I had the burdock root by itself which was rather odd; it had almost a creamy feel on the palate. I'm trying to reduce swelling in my fingers caused by rock climbing.

Stop climbing for a little while and exercise some other way ??

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Stop climbing for a little while and exercise some other way ??

I've actually had a rest for 9 days so far. :-)

This morning it's Assam.
I was out of tea last week so I placed an order. This weekend I was gifted two more bags. I feel tea rich.

Not rich tea?

After my initial experience with matcha, I decided to take the advice of PigHog and try some sencha. I tried a few others as well since I was placing an order. It arrived just in time too. I am at the end of my supplies from Verdant and the rest of what I ordered from Verdant has not arrived yet from China. So I have a stock of Japanese tea to work through while I wait. I can't wait to taste them all.

Ok. First and foremost, please make sure you know how to brew that gyokuro correctly, otherwise it could be an expensive mistake.

Gyokuro is brewed in very small amounts with a very high leafater ratio. Brewing just for myself, I would use half as much water as do for a normal cup of sencha and double the leaf. No more than 3oz of water and about 8g of leaf, I reckon.

Water should be around 60C, maybe less.

Houhin and shiboridashi are made for brewing gyokuro. A small ~100ml kyusu will work a treat.

The gokujou houjicha is nice. I have a packet open at the moment. I have a pack of the genmaicha too but it's not open yet. Perhaps we should compare notes? (I have a packet of the rimpo in the fridge as well (unopened)).

Lastly. If advise you not to open it all at once. The houjicha and genmaicha might last a bit longer because the bancha used will be roasted to one degree or another. Steamed teas like sencha and gyokuro (and matcha) will deteriorate quickly once opened, so you want to be finishing a packet within a month, unless you want to start dividing it out into multiple airtight containers...