Golden Monkey

Before I begin, I will apologize to the lovers of black teas. I do not hate them, and I am not saying they are bad teas in the least. They're just not my favorites. However, I do enjoy a pot or three of my favorite black teas when, for example, I want to curl up with a good book.

I'm having Adagio's Golden Monkey, which before (though not here) I have said is my favorite of the black tea samples that I had ordered. I'm using my glass tea pot, and my Swiss Gold infuser. Using the common 3g per 8oz, that's 6g for the pot. I'll do two infusions.

I think some teas are simply intended to be made certain ways. I won't say that a tea that does well gong fu should only be steeped that way, but black teas seem to have more of a history as a little-tea-and-lots-of-water category. So that's what I'll do.

It seems a lot of people recommend having black teas (more breakfast blends though, or the main teas of breakfast belnds) with a bit of milk and sugar. Not me, though. I just don't have any (unexpired) milk at this point. but I did try it with a bit of sugar at one point, just to see.

So, take one: Three minutes of steeping rendered a golden-orange liquid. I am reminded of my complaint about the infuser, only that it doesn't drain as thoroughly as I'd like. But that's fine.

The tea? It's a lot like most black teas, but it has a nice boldness. Someone describes it as having a citrus background. It's not sour, but I'd find myself agreeing more with the descriptions of subtle floral or fruity hints. With sugar, the tea simply became sweeter. Some people claim that sugar can bring out subtleties from a tea, and some say milk is better at that. I can't vouch for the milk. But I can say sugar didn't help with that. So I ditched teh sweetness after that cup.

The second infusion was a much darker, richer brown. In part, I'd almost blame this on the fact that the infuser doesn't completely drain, so the warm water in the leaves continued the brewing. But that's fine. This tea seems reluctant to become bitter -- at least astringent. The favor is a little bitter, though, in the sense of the deeper flavors being pulled from the leaves. And the boldness is still possessed.

So that's about it. Here's the second half of the second pot! I might go ahead on a third, but I'm not yet sure.

A lot of people have recommended Adagio's Yunnan Gold over golden Monkey. I'll perhaps order a sample, and see how I like it (especialy while I still have some GM for a side-by-side comparison).

Kukicha

I have a short post, and no pictures. Perhaps next time I visit this tea, I'll photograph it. I'm currently finishing off the night's final infusion of Adagio's kukicha. Kukicha is a stem tea, but of course it contains some leaves. This tea is considered low end, as far as the world of green teas go, but it is nonetheless enjoyable.

Six grams in my 8oz ceramic pot, and I was good to go. The tea started very grassy -- enough to overpower just about everything else -- and sweet. Every cup did, though have that asparagus undertone. By the end, the grassiness had decreased, leaving the flavors of the stems. It's a light, somewhat more woody flavor, but still possesses some leaf properties.

The color of the brew changed from a bright, transparent green, to the same transparent quality with the usual browning, though this time a bit more pronounced.

The leaves unfurl, revealing uninteresting stems and the bit of leaves in the mix, but the after-steeping aroma was most surprising. The still steaming post (directly post decanting) is quite reminiscent of an open forest after a strong summer rain.

Sencha

Before I continue, props to MaryR for the thorough review of several types of Snowbud!

(to the entry!)

It's fun watching a tea evolve from one steep to the next. The first brew of Adagio's Sencha (yes, I'm still going through my Adagio teas) is a vibrant green. the next is a little more yellow. The third is much less green, and takes on a brown hue. The leaves change dramatically from dry, through the first steep, and after their flavor is spent. So what did I learn?

When I was still trying to decide which tea to make today, the folks in TeaChat were talking about green teas. It sounded too good to not have one today. Wes mentioned that Sencha should be brewed about 90 seconds for best results. I took his advice. I wasn't disappointed.

While I was gathering everything (I decided to have tea in front of the computer, so I had to bring everything to another room), I took the time to smell the dry leaves. They smell much like a summer lawn. Really. The scent evokes memories of lying in the grass when I was little. But it's not an unpleasant smell. The leaves' appearance is almost grass-like, with the leaves laterally rolled, compressed, dried, or whatever is done to get that shape. Just long and narrow, and a nice dark green.



The first time, I let the water continue heating for a bit, hoping the teapot wouldn't cool it too much, but it did. I've never gotten water above 180ºF in the kettle, and the room temp pot brought the water down to 133ºF. With the thermometer sticking from the spout of the teapot, it looks like I have a sick blow fish. It's quite entertaining. Any way, about two minutes after closing the lid on the teapot, I poured. The small leaves tend to pour with the tea, but the strainer catches them for the return to the pot! The liquor was a wonderful green. It's a great reminder that bagged tea hold nothing to lose. Of course, most bagged teas out there don't distinguish beyond being "green." the flavor? A little grassy, but still quite nice.

When I removed the lid from the teapot to pour the water for the second infusion, the strong smell of grass welled out. It was surprising, and told me this tea had more to offer! This time, the pot was warmed a bit, and the water stayed around 150ºF. The tea was poured about two minutes later (just over, actually) to reveal a yellower brew but one still flavorful. The grassy flavor had washed out a little, leaving the rest.

The third infusion, a little warmer, a little longer, revealed a less green and slightly brown tea. The flavor was a bit washed out, and I knew it's best not to brew more -- at least not expecting a really good cup of tea. The flavor retained a touch of grass, and added a little bitterness. It wasn't the kind of bitterness that leaves a dry sensation. It was more a detraction from the previous sweetness. It was a nice turn for the conclusion of this tea.

The leaves opened up nicely. They're a little chopped up -- I stress a little. Plenty of leaf surface remains, and the rehydrated contents revealed their veiny details. A few stems were among the mix, as well. Here's the final 'cup of tea."

Snowbud Revisit

I'll quote someone from the Tea chat uhm ... chat tonight when I asked if anyone had suggestions for better brewing. Emphasis mine.

# Eastree - I was wondering if someone had found better results
# Eastree - the snowbud is good. I won't dispute that. I just don't feel I'm taking it to its full potential somehow xD
# Andy - yeah
# Eastree - I don't know what it is I'm expecting though
# Andy - for most of my life as a green tea drinker, i never brewed tea to it's full potential
# Eastree - i think if anything, it's because Adagio calls this a white tea
# Andy - MarshalN says it's a green
# Andy - Rishi says it combines white tea and green tea processing
# Eastree - It seems more like a green than a white
# Andy - yeah
# Eastree - But Rishi seems correct. It's kind of at that crossover point
# Andy - yeah

As you see, I'm not the only one with that opinion. That's somewhat comforting. This time however, I approached thinking a little differently. I thought more 'green' tonight, than expecting what I had come to know from a white tea. Rishi has a brief yet thorough explanation:

Organic Snow Buds (Xue Ya) is considered a new type of white tea that was developed in the 1980’s using authentic Fujian white tea bushes according to a special process that involves nuances of white tea and green tea production. Its clear infusion offers a fresh green flavor and aroma of roasted chestnut.

I hate to admit it, but Adagio's explanation of the tea is a little misleading. Treating Snowbud like it is the epitome of white teas, while it has a touch of green processing, just seems a bit off. I think this is where my hopes for white tea flavor went awry. But I did learn a little today, especially after the help in chat led me to a little research.

I still had four infusions. all were a full pot, unlike number four last night. But this time, I heated the water just a little more, and infused for seven minutes. That seriously helped the tea. the first two infusions were 120ºF - 125ºF. Three and four were 185º and 190º, respectively. The grassiness backed off a good bit. The tea had more of a presence. There was still that underlying flavor that was still hard to pin down. Perhaps it was the 'chestnut' described by Rishi. Either way, it gives this tea a charm.

I did very much enjoy this tea more tonight than last night. I may not add it to a frequent repurchase list, but I will certainly revisit this tea every so often.

Snowbud

This is yet another of my purchases from Adagio. Its official name (given by Adagio) is 'Snowbud Finale.' The tea itself comes from the Fujian Province of China. The site gives no information of when this was picked, but I may have purchased an older batch considering I've heard people recently mention the 2007 teas are finally being released.

The leaves are quite whole. Long slender leaves and stems are a (typically) tangled mass inside the storage tin. They seem to lack the soft fibres of most white teas, and they're also a darker green. But the dry leaves seem young, from all appearances.

I've heard a lot recently about using extended infusions and somewhat cooler water for white teas, and I decided to try it out with Snowbud. It seems a lot of people are brewing this tea for seven minutes. I'll do that next time. Perhaps I should give this tea a second run tomorrow after work.

I used 2.5 grams of tea in my small ceramic pot (the puffer fish) for all infusions. Every infusion was timed at five minutes, and water temperature was increased as follows: 110ºF for the first, 120ºF second, 150º third, and for the last 165ºF. The final infusion was unusual. But I'll get to that at the end.

The coolest infusion had hardly rehydrated the leaves, but it gave some interesting results. the flavor was mostly light, as I've been led to expect. But it has a strong grassiness, more like a green. It's almost difficult for me to call this a white tea, in fact. but any way, the tea has a soft flavor beneath the grass, and a light sweetness that we all like to expect. But there is something underlying that I cannot describe.

The second infusion yielded a slightly darker liquor, but of course we're talking about a white tea. The grassiness was a bit less present, and the sweetness was still there. The flavor and aroma were better developed, but there was still that something beneath the surface I couldn't quite place.

Infusion three was my favorite by far. I know it was partially from so many infusions, but I can't help what I like. The grass flavor had diminished significantly, and a light lingering bitterness had developed. The uncertain essence in the cup was lightly diminished like the rest, but it was still as complimentary as ever.

The fourth infusion was quite unusual. I didn't have a full pot's worth of water. I heated the water more than before, poured it in, and waited the five minutes. If anything brought out that elusive taste, this would. The brewed tea took on a slight brownish tint, and an overall roundness that was not as fulfilling as an early infusion. Still, that one hint was difficult to pin down.

After all was said and done, of course I looked at the leaves. They were mostly the light green, curled at the sides, leaves I have come to expect, mostly. Some were a bit more open. Some were a little darker. and there were more broken leaves than I like to see in a delicate white tea.



Honestly, this tea would be more of a niche taste for me. It is a little too crossed between a green and a white tea for my tastes. I won't detract a recommendation for this tea. It definitely has its merits. It perhaps needs a longer steep time, and more of a green approach.

But for a white tea, I'll still prefer Adagio's White Peony or Silver Needle.

Jasmine #5 (short entry)

Sorry for no pictures, but I've been mostly getting ready for work this morning. Though I have time to slow down for some tea and a blog entry, I really don't have much for extra photographs.

This morning, I slowed down for a bit to have Adagio's Jasmine #5. Adagio also offers #9 and Dragon Pearl Tea (with jasmine).

Sure it's the lowest grade sold on Adagio. But it's still very enjoyable. I used three grams in my gaiwan, but I was not going to use gongfu brewing, just a small container.

I rinsed before brewing, and the pour was temptingly dark. It's just tea, so it's not going to hurt me. So I tried it. The flavor was very present, even after such a short 'steep' of less than ten seconds. The jasmine scent is quite prevalent both in the leaves and the tea, and through subsequent steeps, I found this tea can change dramatically based on conditions.

It's much better made for a lower temp and moderate brewing time. As an Oolong, the tea itself is good for several short infusions. But too much tea, or too hot water, and the jasmine end is ruined. A cooler water (~130 - 180ºF) and at least slightly longer steep produces a flowery tea with a rich color, and not too much jasmine flavor. Adagio's site describes this tea as "a Chun Hao grade tea that is a suitable daily treat. It produces a sweet cup with a light and lingering scent of fresh jasmine flowers."

When brewed right, this tea definitely has a surprising sweetness. When brewed too long, too hot, or too cold, that changes. I took some time to play around this time. The tea changed in a broad spectrum from nearly flavorless to bitter. But returning to better brewing conditions has a nicely redeeming effect.

Green Pekoe and Some Knowledge

I haven't updated in a few days, and I have at least some reason for that. After my last entry, I thought maybe I should start a cycle so I don't have the same tea too many times and keep revisiting it here, without enough other teas between. My next tea class in line was Black. I wasn't satisfied. But I may know why. But for now, I'll get to the tea!

Tea: Green Pekoe from Adagio
Leaf: 3g
Vessel: ~8oz (240ml) ceramic pot
Water: Variable per infusion.

The dry leaves have a very light aroma, but a nice fresh smell. It's not grassy at all, really. It's a deeper scent than that. They range in color from dark green to light, and some yellow-ish, and they're covered in a fine fleece of fibers.


With the first infusion, I had a full kettle. I turned it on and waited until I heard the grumbling boil at its heating element. Somehow I had convinced myself this meant the whole pot was boiling. So i proceeded to decant to my fair cup to cool it before I poured into the tea pot. (I like the little pitcher I found. It's really just a large ceramic 'creamer,' but it does the trick, and it holds my strainer quite nicely!)


I measured the temperature of the water after a few seconds. It only read 125ºF. Most people claim a drop to 170º to 180º from boiling. This caught my attention, but I proceeded.

Three minutes later, I poured the tea into the small pitcher (to catch renegade tea leaves in the strainer). The pouring tea looked clear. But this is a Green, so that didn't much bother me. The color was a predictable yellowish green, as expected, but the aroma wasn't so much there. Upon opening the tea pot to pour the second infusion, the grassy aroma, uncovered by the long wash, poured from the top of the vessel. There really wasn't much flavor besides the strong grassy presence.

The second infusion was basically a copy of the first, to test any development in the flavor, and mostly 'just to see.' The water in the kettle had cooled to right about 130º, so I just poured it straght into the pot. And really, nothing had changed. I knew something wasn't doing right with this tea.

Infusion number three was an eye opener. I let the water continue in the kettle, measuring carefully, until it reached 170ºF. I steeped for four minutes, considering I had steeped twice before already. The color during the pour was noticeably green, but the color in the cup didn't significantly change, but it became richer. The grassy prevalence was replaced by a much rounder tea flavor with grassy notes. I was reminded very much of the dry leaves. The entire tea seemed to change significantly. Suddenly, there was more to the tea than aroma and flavor and liquid goodness. There was emotion in the cup.

A sip has become almost a wash over the senses. The liquor is thicker, somewhat. Less like water. There's a slight bitterness, but it's only a direct player when the sip rests on the tongue momentarily. The sense of this tea permeates, much as many other teas have. This is the impression I like to get from tea.



Fourth Infusion brings this to a close. It's a lot of water, but it will never be enough tea! I guess the tea pot I've been using is a little more than 8oz, since the kettle is nearly empty. So I get more water. And I decided to basically reproduce the previous steep.

This time, however, since the tea pot had more time to cool, I watched the thermometer until the water reached 180ºF. After pouring into the tea pot, I measured (through the spout, the lid on the pot) and saw the temperature had dropped to 160º on the nose.

Four minutes later, I poured. the flavor was a little grassier, and a touch more bitter. Still, after every slow sip, the tea withdraws like a wave on the beach leaves traces of itself behind for a moment.

The wet leaves were nice to look at. Most of the leaves remained curled, but they all reconstituted nicely. They showed their age, without a doubt. With small exception, most of the leaves remained naturally curled.


Black Tea Conundrum

I found that my kettle does not heat the water completely evenly, especially when it's not filled with four cups of water. Usually, the temperature variance is about 10ºF from just over the heating element, to the outside edge of the kettle. When I hear the grumble begin, the overall water temperature is about 140ºF. Basically, when I've been saying, "Just off boiling," I've been using very cool water. This isn't good. I'm very glad I bought a thermometer!

So this leads to part of the problem with black teas. I've definitely been brewing too cold.
Black tea needs slightly hotter water than many, and near boiling at that. I've also been reading several recommendations that say black teas aren't so good with gongfu. So next time, I'll see about brewing some of the black teas I've been disliking, in the way of the West (basically). I'll see if slowing down will make any of it better.

Maybe in stead of just Western brewing, I'll do a side-by-side gongfu test, just to see. And maybe I'm using too much leaf. I may just have to back it off a touch.

But that's for a later time. I'm definitely grateful for teh thermometer and my timer. That is except that the timer is so stinking noisy! I know I've pressed the button when the display reflects the change i made. It doesn't need to 'beep' every time, to let me know. But that's a small issue.

Next time? Perhaps a white tea, perhaps a black tea review. I haven't decided yet.

Good night.

Ti Kuan Yin

Ahh, the growling bubbles in the electric kettle. It's a sound I'm fast growing to love. Of course, part of the reason is that it's time for tea again! It doesn't matter what kind or how it's brewed, of course. Each tea has its own requirements, and is quite versatile. Western brewing with a strong black or infusing some Rooibos, a steep in a small ceramic vessel for a little green or white tea, gongfu cha, it's all great.

And this blog is stepping away from stories a bit. I don't know exactly how I was inspired, but my first post is by far my favorite. It tells the story of the steep, in stead of just focusing on the technicalities of the brew. How did I feel? How did I enjoy the tea? A brief description of what I did should suffice, perhaps. I don't know, really. I need to find my own feel for this blog.

But why should I blabber on now when there's tea to talk about?

This is (I think) my second, maybe third, time having this tea. Yes, it's the second. The last (and first) time I brewed some, was after talking to a friend about my newly arrived samples. It was the first time I had mentioned getting loose tea. It turns out she's a fan. She mentioned her uncle, who lives at the opposite end of the continent from her, enjoys Ti Kuan Yin most of all. I saw a tin with that name among my samples, so I dropped it in the ol' infuser and poured boiling water over it. Three minutes later, I was enjoying its interesting flavor (though i didn't yet have enough knowledge to know what to look for in it -- do I yet?).

When the rest of the samples arrived, I was overwhelmed a bit by the variety of samples, so I started just making a circuit among the varieties, leaving the Oolong samples since I did so much enjoy them already! That is until I started this blog. I wanted to start with the other varieties, and have enough left of each that I could revisit them after I got back around to the Oolongs. That didn't happen.

So far, I've used the last of the Wuyi Oolong and the White Peony. I wish I had more of the White Peony, to revisit in a review. And I could swear I've emptied another. But I'll empty plenty more, to be sure!

So tonight, I wanted tea (of course), and nothing seemed quite right. So I reached for the TGY (Tie Kuan Yin is also known as Tie Guan Yin, thus the abbreviation). Five grams into the gaiwan, quick rinse with decant-cooled* water, Then on to the infusions.

Someone in the online community of tea drinkers says that a lower temperature of water than boiling (he specifically said 190ºF) brings out more body and a more pronounced sweetness in TGY than hotter water. Or was it a TGY? Any way, several tea bloggers and reviewers recommend using sub-boiling water for any Oolong. So I decant-cooled the water for the first several infusions, at least.

Dry leaves:


Well, the advice rang true. The first infusion was as flavorful and pleasant as I could ever expect. But the cooler water by the third infusion made a noticeable difference. On to the later infusions, though the flavor was slowly washing out, revealing its deeper subtleties, the sweetness and body became a bit more pronounced -- that is until the water cooled a bit too much. But I was running low any way, so I heated a bit more.

The later infusions benefited from the hotter water, though the hint of sweetness was significantly less pronounced in the first hot-water-again infusion. The color came back, and some of the leading flavor returned. It was well worth it.

At the tenth and final infusion, soothing flavor was still present. However, most of this tea's attributes were barely holding on. Since this was a good bit of water later, any way, it was a good time to quit.

This was time to examine the leaves after the brew. Though I don't know much, making note of observations now will help me know what I am looking for and looking at, later on. The leaves were not nearly as dark as any black tea, of course. Actually, it was still quite green. The leaves carry a hue of brown from the light oxidation and probably a bit of roasting. The edges of the top side were a bit yellow, the same color as most of the veins on the bottom of the leaves.

Surprisingly, though, considering the tightness of the rolled leaves, there were plenty of whole leaves and even leaf pairs with stems!



However, in chat and in other research this afternoon (the chat made me curious) I learned a lot more about TGYs. Another novice to all things tea was in chat, about to have some TGY, and asking some interesting questions.


# zipp - what is the method to get the TGY to have that look at the final process?
# zipp - you know all curly and stuff
# Andy - rolling
# Andy - more so than another oolong
==later, after infusing a few times==
# zipp - .......... and STOP
# Andy - a whole three minutes
# zipp - not long enough?
# Andy - you tell me
# zipp - nope
# zipp - weak
# zipp - lack of flavor
# zipp - but the leaves have much curl still in them
# Andy - that's normal
# Andy - you can exhaust them and they won't unfurl
# zipp - well then that's it I guess

The videos on the Hou De Blog about making Formosa Oolong teas, are also very interesting.

So apparently I got about what I payed for with this tea. It's definitely good, but it seems the higher grade Ti Kuan Yin teas remain a bit more rolled after infusion.

Tea: Ti Kuan Yin from Adagio
5g Tea, 110ml Gaiwan, water decant-cooled
Infusions: 16, 20, 26, 37, 46, 52, 60+ to the tenth







* Decant cooling is the method of pouring too-hot-to-steep water into another vessel to cool the water. The heat from the water is absorbed by the cooler decanting vessel, so the water cools much more quickly than by simply sitting in its original container.

A Big Mistake!

Tea while tired is not always a good idea. Sure, the caffeine will wake you up, but being tired (especially for mistake-prone people like me) causes accidents before the caffeine. And apparently, the last time I was tired set me up for this time that I was tired! Apparently, when i had originally intended to rant about using the last of the Wuyi Oolong I had left the opened canister out with the spilled leaf crumbs, to take a picture. But I got caught up with other things. This led to opening another container, and getting the lids mixed up. And then that happened yet again. And since I labeled the tops of the lids (I have the tins stood up in the boxes on my kitchen counter), I assumed that I was getting what was labeled.

Tired Ernest pulled out a container with "Wuyi Oolong" written on the top. I thought it sounded like the one I had emptied, but there's no way, if it was in the boxes and it had tea in it! In my groggy state, I measured out the customary 1g/30ml for my gaiwan. When I had 3.6g, I noticed I didn't have that much tea left in the container. So I decided just to use the rest and see what happened. I just didn't care much that the leaves seemed a little different from the last time I had brewed this particular tea.

Needless to say, I was quite surprised with the differences in flavor and color from what i had expected! The aroma was unusually light -- not weak, just under pronounced. And the color was more golden than brown. I carefully noted all of this. As I progressed, though, the color never seemed to turn anywhere close to what should be expected to Oolong. It stayed golden, and gained just a hint of brown and a touch of green late into the infusions.

Afterwards, I noticed something odd. The name on a tin caught my attention. There was a mismatch. In short, the Wuyi's lid was on the White Peony. The White Peony's lid was on something else, and that lid was on the Wuyi Oolong tin.

I ruined perfectly good White Peony! I had been using near-boiling water for 12 infusions. The greater amount of leaf in the gaiwan made for less water in each infusion.

At least it gave me an experience. Now I know what scalded (some would say cooked) leaves do: not much except for a bit of color and bitterness later on.

Ah, Ceylon and a short story

Ceylon: a black tea from Sri Lanka. There are, of course, green and white varieties of Ceylon. But Adagio's offering in their "Black Sampler" is Ceylon Sonata, a black tea. The higher quality offering is called Ceylon Waltz, but as a novice I ordered the more economical option.

Tea: Ceylon 'Sonata' from Adagio
Amount: 3.6g (110mL Gaiwan, ~1g/30mL)
Water: (first several infusions) Just off boiling, decanted for cooling.
(latter infusions) Just off boiling, short cooling period before pouring. (I should mayyybe get a thermometer)
Infusion: Several short infusions ranging from ~15s to ~75s

My initial impression of this tea was the brief sweetness at the tip of my tongue, a nice roundness through the rest of the sip, and something familiar. But I decided to let the tea wash over my senses and ignore that for a moment. Yes, overall a nice roundness and consistency through most of the infusions. Sure, the flavor weakened a bit as did the color, and the bitterness became a bit more pronounced. That's fine. That's tea. Appreciation comes for all of its elements. But whatever. It kind of brings me to something that probably needs to be said here: I like a lot of things. Some could say I like too much.

So now you have it. I do appreciate good teas, and i definitely like them more than bags of chopped leaf powder. Then again, I do enjoy southern iced tea (more as a meal accompaniment though). And that brings the familiarity with the Ceylon Sonata. It tasted like unsweetened (un-iced) tea.

I decided to use our good friend Google to find what I could about Ceylon teas. As it turns out, the bane of gourmet tea drinkers uses Ceylon tea (though likely the uhm 'most economical possible') in its "Iced Tea" bags. I guess at least several others do, too, considering the similar taste in the different brands' teas. But it's no reason to set this tea aside. Actually, it may be a good tea to use to introduce iced tea drinkers to loose tea. If they're every made hot tea, they've probably just plopped a single cup-sized bag into a mug of hot water for 'a few minutes' or 'until it cooled enough for me to drink it.' The familiar flavor will keep from frightening them away. The more complex flavor will interest them.

Of course, the hard part follows: Not only are you left with convincing your new loose Ceylon tea convert to use less (and eventually no?) sugar, but also to try other kinds of loose tea.

Then again, tea is about the drinker and not always about the tea. If someone like bagged tea, that's fine. there's no reason to force anyone to drink one or the other, if that's what the person likes or not.

So now, it's on to the story.

Two days ago I had a root canal, and afterwards I stopped by my sister's job to say hello and what-not. I mentioned this blog. She apparently misheard me and started typing "teen elvis" in stead of "tea novice" into the url! I guess I was still slurring more than I realized!

Two Brief Tea Reviesws and a Discovery

Pu'er Dante
Since first coming in contact with a source for loose teas and a community around it, I've been hearing about Pu'er (pu-erh, puer, etc. -- The only deliberately aged and oxidized teas) and its earthy goodness. Shortly after, I was labaling the tin lids from my Adagio sample packs (I ordered them all, perhaps more on that later) and realized I had a pu'er tea in the Black Tea sampler: Pu'er Dante.

So I decided what the hey, I'll give it a try. I'm getting used to gong fu brewing, and that's the most preferred method for pu'er. I learned more than I expected, and I think that even though it's not a high end pu'er, its an entry into the practice and a little into the flavors of pu'er. Of course, most peole say the higher end pu'er, Pu'er Poe, is a better introduction to pu'er teas than Dante. but I won't waste tea (unless I find one I really can't stand, but then I'd at least try to find someone who likes it and give them a free gift).

Any way, I've heard a lot that the first infusion can sometimes need to be a little longer than the second infusion, because the rinses do not reconstitute the tea as fully as we may hope. So the first infusion

was not nearly as full as the second infusion.


The flavor is not nearly as complex as many Pu'ers I've read about. that is, I probably missed a lot of subtleties considering my lack of experience with most kinds of tea. However, it gave me an idea of the earthiness to expect. Though it lacks the sweet element that many new and greener teas may have, it did posess more of a depth than I expected. It makes me look forward to more Pu'er down the road, when I decide I'm ready.

The tea was still running strong after 8 infusions of 110mL each. I might have continued, but that's a lot of water! After reading reviews of different Pu'er teas, I expected less color in this latest cup. Many pictures of late infusions are a mild amber. This came as a warm brown. I wonder what subleties I'll uncover next time!


Tea amount: ~4g
Water: Just off boiling
Infusions: 16s, 15s, 20s, 25s, etc., ~60s. at 8th Infusion


Sencha Overture
Pu'er was yesterday. Tonihgt, after my root canal, and my feeling and taste have returned, is Sencha Overture! The last Green I tried was Gunpowder. Several people told me that Adagio's Gunpowder is not as 'vegetal' as many other green teas. I honestly don't have a direct memory of my gunpowder experience, as it was my first loose green tea so I was simple immersed in its general impression than its total qualities. So i won't make any comparison at least until I've tried the Gunpowder again.

On with it! On with the blog, I say!

I brewed the Sencha in my Tokoname-style puffer fish pot, which has been showing itself as a worthy multitasker.



Four infusions, each a little less than three minutes to avoid bitterness early on. Each time the tea was a little lighter and the flavor a little weaker, but it was still quite nice.

I say the flavor was weaker, but I don't mean to say it had a weak flavor. There was a surprising sweetness underlying this tea. It's something to slowly savor, drawing it slowly to experience every drop, in stead of gulping it because it's cool enough to do so. There's a leafy goodness immediately present in every sip. Some may say it tastes like grass. At first, it was a little surprising. But then I noticed how it's more of a fresh taste. It is not the 'vegetal' people have mentioned so fondly of quality green teas, but I was far from disappointed. (Im currently limited to the green tea sampler from Adagio, and I'm not getting more until I'm at least mostly finished with them)



I read the comments on this tea on Adagio, and found that many green tea fans say it's good for an every day tea. I'll look around. There are many offerings by many vendors out there. And there are many, many price points. However, I do agree that this was a good tea for entry into the Sencha experience.


Honest TEA
I had a root canal today. That means that while the lower right side of my head was regaining feeling, I was going to the store to fill a prescription and find something to easily chew, in case I habitually let it slip to the right (my dominant side) and onto the bad tooth. Any way, I found an affordable bottled tea. Better yet, it's not overly sweet! Better than that, it's organic with real tea! And as I expected, the tea flavor is foremost in every sip. I was quite pleased.

It's Honest Tea. Enough said. Well, not quite. The tea is not as specific of whichever variety of Oolong, black, White, or Green tea is being used. However, it is indeed real tea! The web site shows seven varieties, but none of the exact varieties I found in the store. Also I noticed that the varieties listed on the site are mostly unsweetened. What I had was lightly sweetened, and sports a slightly different logo (it has Opus the penguin). It's very nice to see such offerings in a local store!


Uncited references from my last entry
Just a note: some inspiration from my previous entry was inspired by (original author) marshalln, and copied in full text to at least one other blog, "qft" as it may be. Credit goes where it is due.

Fake tea and real zisha clay

Should I always just review teas? Or talk about what I just learned about a technique or piece of teaware? Perhaps not. When I started this blog (more in concept, really), I had an idealistic thought of frequent reviews of the large selection of sample teas I ordered from Adagio Teas. But I also had some sarcastic thoughts about anything BUT tea. I never intended to post any of that. Any way, I'll do something in between.

As far as teas go, I've recently had (and not reviewed) several teas. When I don't so much feel like a demanding brew, or it's late (which usually makes me less in the mood for several short infusions), I've been trying Rooibos varieties. Whites and greens are growing on me a bit. Black and Oolong teas are always nice. But I ran out of Wuyi Ensemble! That's OK, though, since I'll look into more variety of Wuyis.

I'll still do a review, though. It's short. There's no steep time, decanting into intermediate vessels, or anything of that sort.

Sadly, my review is about what I can only call fake tea. Sure, it contains 'real' green tea, but that's all the credit I can give it. Besides this, it's not tea in the slightest.

I'm talking about Snapple's Citrus Infusion Green Tea, which touts being "Real Brewed," but how else is tea made? That's right, there's tea extract. It makes me wonder sometimes. Several of my coworkers were talking about how good they thought it tasted (this was not from any mention of tea from me, I promise). So I tried it. I was disappointed.



All I tasted was something metallic and something like a diluted orange-flavored fruit drink (not juice). The entire experience was sharp and too sweet. I don't mind sugar in tea, but tea should not be so unpleasant. Southern (American iced) teas are rich (depending on the brand, brew, etc.) and strong. Bagged teas in general aren't harsh. They may become bitter from over brewing. That's not what I found. Teas should be smooth, sugar and lemon/lime/orange juice or not.

After I drank the tea (it's not so bad if you don't try to expect 'tea' anything about it). i read the ingredients for curiosity. That was a mistake. I found thirteen ingredients.Many of them are sharing the preservation load with each other. I've never seen a bottled tea without preservatives, but there is a brand or two out there with as few as five ingredients. I've found them before. My biggest concerns are that the second-to-water ingredient in weight is Sodium Hexametaphosphate. I guess Snapple has some very hard water. The actual tea ingredient (listed as 'Green Tea') is above the half-way point, but if this is a green tea infused with citrus, shouldn't the tea be first? that brings me back to tea extract. Scary. The absolute scariest ingredient here is the Sodium Benzoate. Benzene is a confirmed carcinogen. Thanks for approving this, HEALTH DEPARTMENT!

Any way, I'll back off from the seeming extremism. I'm not saying don't drink this. It's tasty, if it's what you like. I've just recently been spoiled on my expectations from tea. I still drink sodas, especially when I'm running late for work sometimes so I get fast food for lunch in stead of taking my usual sandwich. I think a lot of things are OK, taken in moderation.

New Gear

My yixing teapots finally arrived today! It's not that they took too long, at all. I was just anxious to get my hands on some fine teastuffs! I bought them from the Chinese Teapot Gallery Tea Culture store and I'm not disappointed. But enough of the advert! You want pictures!





I'll save these, I think, for when I'm a little more mature in the ways of tea. And, of course, when I decide which kind of tea to brew in each. Perhaps one will be used in my walk down the pu'er road.

Review and greetings!

It's an odd feeling to get from tea. I just finished drinking a second infusion of Song Yang. By the end, I feel pleasantly relaxed. My lower extremities have a warmth from more than wearing denim pants in the summer. The tea itself is light in flavor, and light on bitterness. Though the second infusion had notably more bitterness -- the slightly drying kind which does not detract from the flavor, but somehow enhances it if the tea hasn't been over brewed. I'm going back, to heat more water for two more infusions. What better way is there to know what's enough, but to go too far?

The leaves are crisp and rolled before they go into the pot. They're a soft green, cuddled in fine white fibres. But it's not nearly as much as the Silver Needle I had a few days ago.

The water is heated. I've decided on at least two more infusions, depending on the character of the last cup. I forgot to check the time with this one, so it may be a little off. It's currently 7:57pm, and already was immediately after pouring the water into the tea pot. In the time I needed to click to bring the seconds reading, time had advanced to 7:57:20. I'd guess maybe ten or fifteen seconds had passed. Eight on the dot, I'll say. Maybe I'll wait just a few seconds. Then I'll test this tea again.

The third infusion is poured. Its color is slightly less than the previous two. But the aroma is promising, though a touch darker than the previous cups. Two sips. The strength has not diminished much more, surprisingly. It's a touch more bitter, but not significantly more than the second infusion. The color? Light yellow, with just a hint of green. Photographs? Pictures are unnecessary here. During the pour, the tea takes a trip from the spout of the tea pot and the cup, cascading backlit by my computer's monitor. the site in the browser is white. The tea, by all accunts, on all pours, has appeared transparent. In the cup, a soft yellow appears. Lighter each time, until at the third it is nearly transparent as still water.

The fourth and final infusion. While pouring the water, I noticed some of the leaves have completely unfurled. Some are still curled, but they seem softened by the warm water. The water had cooled more than I expected. Color? Lighter still. Aroma? Almost nonexistant. This tea has now fully served its purpose. The overall flavor of the fourth cup is lighter, though somehow the bitterness is dominant. But it's so diluted that it makes little difference. I still find it pleasant.

The leaves, post use:
Some are stull curled, but most have fully unfurled. It's good to see so much nature in the pot!



It's a very relaxing tea. Sure, white teas have less caffeine than darker teas, but I wonder how much that has to do with anything. Before recently, everything I drank in life (save a nice glass of Scotch or snifter of Brandy) has been in haste and unappreciated for more than its surface qualities. Tea is a new appreciation for me. I have much to learn, and much more to love.

So I don't know much of the nuances of tea. I cannot yet explain, cannot describe, what I'm experiencing. I am, after all, a novice to tea.

Tea: Song Yang from Adagio 3 grams
Water: Bottles spring water, just to a boil then cooled.
Infusion times: 3, 4, 4+, 4+ minutes respectively.



This is the pot I used. It's a simple ceramic tea pot, imported from Japan. It was more of a for-run purchase, until i started with tea. It's a good all purpose pot.




OK, so this is my first and opening post here. Why tea novice? I'm very new to tea. I see a lot of blogs out there made for experienced tea drinkers. I thgout someone should show perspective from the beginning. So, in stead of waiting for one, I made one. I have a lot of teas to experience, and I'll post about many. Though I've already tried some, it was more experimental. I'm learning a lot about brewing right now. In fact, I have some tips:

1.) Pay very close attention to brewing time. Brewing too long the first time can ruin later infusions. Not steeping long enough later on will result in too weak a tea, and discarding still good leaves.

2.) Water temperature is very important. Though I don't use a thermometer, I don't use just-off-the-burner boiled water for teas that should use cooler water. In fact, many teas need to be steeped in water cooled enough to drink. Of course, every tea has its own requirements.

3.) Experiment! This is very important. Try many kinds of tea. See what kinds you like. See which ways of brewing each renders the best results.

4.) Slow down a bit. This isn't about throwing some foliage and water in a bowl, and spending the "waiting" time doing things that will make you forget the tea. Use a timer, or keep an eye on a clock with a seconds indicator. You'll want to be used to this if you ever delve into the world of gong fu brewing.

5.) Relax. Tea isn't something to get worked up over. In fact, tea's casual ritual (for lack of a better word) is about relaxation. Clear your mind of the day's worries. It's not about meditaion or forgetting. It's about a change of pace, setting aside the rest for later, even if later is at the end of your tea break.

6.) Find your brewing style. Don't feel obligated to brew western style, gong fu, or any particular way at all. Find what fits you best. And don't feel intimidated if you get the impression that tea is for women to make or enjoy, or whatever. IT's not. Tea is for everyone. I promise. And you'll find plenty of equipment out there without flowers and all that on it. I promise.

7.) Enjoy the tea. Find what you like. Experiment as you wish. As someone recently said, "At the best you'll have a great cup of tea. In the worst, you'll have tea-flavored water." Or somethign like that.