Thread: Tea anyone ??!!

Originally Posted by str8fencer

Perhaps try them a little cooler and see if you like that? The other day you posted about a west lake long jin, I did not comment because I read it commuting to work and then forgot about it - it is delicious and one of my all time favourite teas. I brew that one at around 160f only, increasing towards 180 at the last brewing. I usually brew that one at least 5 times. I do the same with other teas, starting on the lower end and increase a little as you go. I find if you start higher, the tea will go bitter sooner, and if the first cup is bitter, the rest of the session will be. Not vice versa, if the first cup is mellow, too high a temperature can still ruin the next steeping.

Anyways, enough rambling. Oh, and tea pics would be appreciated

I now agree whole heartedly since I have been trying to educate myself on the world of tea. It is a vast and extremely diverse multiverse where so many factors come into play. I recently bought a few books to help me along ("The Tea Enthusiasts Handbook" , "The Story of Tea : A Cultural History and Drinking Guide" , "Green Tea : 50 Hot Drinks, Cool Quenchers, and Sweet & Savory Treats" and "Hot Drinks: Cider, Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate, Spiced Punch, Spirits").

So I have now learned that 160F is a good starting point for most green tea, though not all. I greatly appreciate all the insight and information that has been offered throughout this thread, so I would like to thank you all for helping me along this journey of learning about tea.

Thanks a ton !!

~Gary

You are very welcome Gary, glad to be of help. Most of what I know comes from a tea forum that I like a lot, TeaChat.Com. Loads to learn there, of anything tea. Happy brewing!

Gary, you are correct,tea is definitely a vast universe indeed. Most of what I learned has been years of stumbling,trial and error.English tea was easy due to family. Asian was a little confusing due to all the Asian terminology and Russian was a hard dig for info because prior to the fall of the Iron curtain the info was not there. But it's been fun every stumble of the way. Enjoy the ride and pull up a cup with us. The Samovar is hot and the jam is fresh. Cheers.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

It Depends on who you talk to. Some of us really love Pu-erh and some of us not so much. I am of the not so much camp and liken it to fish water and fresh soil. Bleeeech. I would also say it doesn't taste like black tea but.... what do I know. To be fair however, you must try it for yourself and decide. Most good tea purveyors carry it but since I am not an expert on Pu-erh I cannot back up the quality.

So I went to the store today and bought a few grams each of two different straight pu-erh teas:


This one was simply called Golden Pu'erh, and I must agree with you, Nightblade, the taste does actually remind me of fish water and soil, so I'm not really a fan. Good thing I only bought little more than dollar's worth, then. (Though, I wonder what it would taste like if I tried making chai out of it. Would the spices mask the unpleasantness or combine to produce something more pleasant tasting? I wonder...)


This was the second type of pu-erh tea I bought, a Sheng pu'erh (Not found on the website of the place I bought it at, strangely.) This one, I actually liked. It was much lighter and didn't have any of that fishy-soil taste the first one had. If I had more experience with greens or oolongs, (I mostly drink black teas) I might compare it to one of those. I'd definitely consider getting this one again.

Definitely a huge variation between these two teas. If this sort of variation is typical among pu-erh teas, then I admit I'd be interested in exploring them more to see what other varieties might strike my fancy. Definitely an interesting experience.

Originally Posted by Senomaros

Definitely a huge variation between these two teas. Definitely an interesting experience.

The first is a 'ripe'/shu tea, the second a 'raw'/sheng tea. They are the main two types of pu.

Nice pics

Originally Posted by Senomaros

(Though, I wonder what it would taste like if I tried making chai out of it. Would the spices mask the unpleasantness or combine to produce something more pleasant tasting? I wonder...)

Well, there is nothing in the laws of the Universe that say's you cannot however, ... Proper Chai is made with Black teas mostly and they are usually Indian Black tea blends such as Assam and Ceylon which when blended are a nice malty blends. In my own opinion I would say the Pu-ehr would not make a good Chai.....just my preference though.

Back to the old fallback - an "Earl Grey" that is mildly flavored and really nice.

So far this past 3 weeks I have had 5 cans of soda. All the rest was tea with a bit of coffee now and again. I think I can cut out the soda completely if I really wanted to fight the cravings .... but all in due time.

Originally Posted by Nightblade

Well, there is nothing in the laws of the Universe that say's you cannot however, ... Proper Chai is made with Black teas mostly and they are usually Indian Black tea blends such as Assam and Ceylon which when blended are a nice malty blends. In my own opinion I would say the Pu-ehr would not make a good Chai.....just my preference though.

Oh, I have lots of experience with chai to know this. I just meant that I'd try adding some spices to the tea and making a decoction the same way I'd make chai, see if that makes it taste better (or at least less unpleasant). I wouldn't actually consider whatever the results of such an endeavor to be proper, traditional chai. My mom and most of her family emigrated to Canada from India. I remember when I was little and whenever we went over to my grandparents' house or to an aunt or uncle's, they almost always made chai, and sometimes, they would let me have a cup and put extra milk in it. I would feel special, getting to drink chai like all the grown-ups. When I was about 13 or so, my one Auntie taught me how to make it myself, and since then I've been making it all the time. So for me to throw some spices in with pu-erh and call it chai would basically amount to sacrilege, haha.

Originally Posted by PHANTZM

Back to the old fallback - an "Earl Grey" that is mildly flavored and really nice.

So far this past 3 weeks I have had 5 cans of soda. All the rest was tea with a bit of coffee now and again. I think I can cut out the soda completely if I really wanted to fight the cravings .... but all in due time.

Hang in there Gary...before you know it you'll be soda free and full of tea ! Besides...once in a while I reach for a Coke because it just plain tastes good and one won't kill ya heh.

When it below 0... I need me some tea....this stuff is tasty !!!!