Thread: Tea anyone ??!!

Chen Sheng Raw (green) Pu Ehr, Yunnan, China

Thick texture, very rich. Can reach up to 8-10 brews. It simply doesn’t die.


When I smell the dry leaves, I immediately go back to my childhood and I remember the “apricot skin”. It was a fruit-based sweet that my mother used to appreciate a lot. Back then, people here were snobbish on everything regarding traditional things. The same for the sweets. They appreciated much more the modern chocolaty sweets and modern pastries. Not my mother. She went to the old shops in the city center where she could find the nuts and dry fruits shops and she was asking for apricot skin. She was so happy to taste it.
Apricot skin is a thin, jelly like paste, like a thin skin, made by dried apricots and maybe some sugar. It has an enjoyable sour/sweet taste but you cannot eat a lot because it is really sour. You put it in your mouth and you lick it, and slowly appreciated the acidity of the fruit and the sweetness. I remember another red/black “fruit skin” that sometimes we ate, I think it was made with prunes.


In the palate I immediately get dried fruits and apricots. It reminds me of Vinsanto wine from Santorini, I don’t know why. It coats well my mouth. The taste lasts about a minute.




All that richness and without giving me a single calorie! My respects to the Chinese Tea-Master that made this Pu Ehr cake in Yunnan!

Dragon Pearl Jasmin Green Tea

Brewed at 60-65 oC, no more than 10 seconds in the Gaiwan

Light texture, delicate. Floral, very pleasant.
Jasmine flowers all over my mouth and my nose. Melon aftertaste.
No astringency at all. For me it is important to keep the water temperature at 70 oC max for green teas and brew it for short time in the Gaiwan. You get all the flowers, the fruits and the sweetness without any astringency of bitterness.

For years as I was learning about tea I didn't like green tea because of the brassy bitterness because I was using water at boiling point. Finally I was gifted a thermometer and convinced to better regulate the water temperature. This opened up a whole world of teas I previously didn't like and was a turning point for me realizing that I didn't know as much as I thought I knew about tea.

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

For years as I was learning about tea I didn't like green tea because of the brassy bitterness because I was using water at boiling point. Finally I was gifted a thermometer and convinced to better regulate the water temperature. This opened up a whole world of teas I previously didn't like and was a turning point for me realizing that I didn't know as much as I thought I knew about tea.

Exactly as you say. Brewing temperature is crucial for green tea. Brewing time is also important to avoid bitterness and astringency. Not only for green teas, but for all kind of teas.

Yes, brewing time is of equal if not more importance. What started me watching and regulating both more closely was buying a particularly good Ti Quan Yin and reading about the Gongfu method which I then learned to practice. As with all fine comestibles quality products come and go, ebb and flow in quality. I have sought after a comparable Ti Quan Yin ever since unsuccessfully.

Tie Quan Yin
Oolong tea from Fujian Provence, China

Medium thickness.
Taste: caramel, pine honey, hazelnut praline (Nutella).
Long lasting aftertaste.




Reminds me the paris-brest french pastry:

Originally Posted by PaulFLUS

Yes, brewing time is of equal if not more importance. What started me watching and regulating both more closely was buying a particularly good Ti Quan Yin and reading about the Gongfu method which I then learned to practice. As with all fine comestibles quality products come and go, ebb and flow in quality. I have sought after a comparable Ti Quan Yin ever since unsuccessfully.

Regarding quality, you re right. It is difficult to find high quality teas in western countries. Despite the specialized tea shops that have flourished last years in many western countries the quality is still an issue in the West. Chinese producers know that true tea connoisseurs are inside the country and not outside. They consider westerners ignorant about tea and they provide the Chinese market with their best quality tea, leaving the low quality for export. Often, they sell to the west low-quality tea claiming that it is the real thing. I myself have bought plenty of times tea directly from China and I didn’t receive the quality that I was hoping for.

And they are somewhat right. Growing up in the south in the US I was on my own learning about and enjoying tea. Even during the "tea awakening" it was all flavored teas and trendy green tea powders that were some health fad. I always felt that most of the teas that were flavored were flavored to cover up lousy tea.

I think you are better off buying from a western vendor who has hired good buyers that are able to buy at Chinese tea auctions rather than buying directly from a Chinese vendor.

Exactly as you said. Flavored teas, green teas and the marketing of the health benefits of the green teas. As if the rest of the teas, black, oolong, pu ehr etc. had no benefits at all.
But to be honest I also started with flavored teas. And I stayed with them for years. Then I realized that the artificial flavorings gave me headaches and slowly began to taste true tea. Then, there was no turning back.

I believe that flavored teas could be useful to attract the attention of people into the tea world. It is difficult for a guy that is used to have for years a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frapuccino from starbucks to appreciate a Dan Cong oolong.

This is a post of mine back in the years with our friend Béla:

Originally Posted by Slur

TOTM: Christmas tea
Today I bought a flavored black tea called “the Christmas tea”. Very nice!

Attachment 109171

Have a nice weekend!

Afternoon tea for 2. Haven't had afternoon tea with my daughter in a long time.

Tong Mu Bohea Chi Gan and Digestive Biscuits. Figured it was a good occasion to pull out my Royal Doulton Signature fine bone china.

This was my first tasting of this tea. Pound price works out to $908.00/lb IF you could even get a whole pound. I bought the 30 gm/ 1.1 oz package for $60 just to spoil myself. Believe me it was worth every penny.

Bright and clear in the cup with a bouquet like a flower garden.

Leaves are golden bronze with a scent that covers the room when the lid is removed.
It has hints of rose and ripe peaches with a very slight astringency. Brisk aftertaste that permeates the sinuses. This is one of those "WOW that's good!" teas.