I seem to acquire puer at a much faster rate than I can drink it. Coffee is just coffee to me, it only tastes good or bad. I drink two cups for breakfast, then oolong while I'm working, and puer in the evening.
I'm just coming to the end of a great oolong I bought in Huangshan this summer. It's slightly sweet with a distinct licorice aftertaste. Unfortunately I don't know what it is called. I assumed the shop would write what it was on the packet but they just wrote 'oolong'.
Recent purchases: waterOriginally Posted by MoFiya
:P
Trent, been waiting for someone to drop knowledge! :)
Unfortunately I hear if you actually go to tea frams they hold out on the good stuff unless they know you so I hear getting your hands on nice tea can be quite the hassle.
Eager to do that reading and will have to stop by santa cruz then!
Yes to this. I live 3 mns from it and therefore I hardly ever go, but it is a magnificent place. And the offer is crazy.
Definitely do. If you'd like to meet for tea sometime, let me know!
Where are you living now? It's not often that I run into other people from SC! And as far as the bio, I laughed at your assessment. It's not all particularly Santa Cruzian from what I remember. Everyone is Wiccan or "pagan" or into "chaos magick", there are no vegan restaurants, no one is sXe because everyone (seriously, everyone) smokes weed, and no one there had any idea what I was talking about when I mentioned cyberpunk. I loaned out a lot of books and CDs!
There was a pretty good punk scene, and the anarchist bookstore downtown, though.
PM me!
/derail
Bai mu dan if I want something with some strength (also its relatively good value), silver needle if I have alot of time on my hands, and silver needle/Jasmine blend if I have company. Took alot of experimentation to finally find decent silver needle in London. Actually found it quite strange how many of the so called reputable places were serving pretty substandard tea at premium prices.
I have a batch of Gyokuro, but it's such a pain to actually brew properly I just don't bother. Tastes great though when done right.
Always brew in a separate vessel to which you are serving from. It annoys me greatly when tea places do not do this.
^ gyokuro is the most finicky little **OUr9813274o18374 to brew.
I'm assuming the silver needle you're drinking is chinese -- darjeeling region has a pretty good one too if you're looking for some oomph.
Teavana is a fucking nightmare. They charged 4x as much as the good local tea shop, have around 1/5th the selection, and followed me around telling me how I needed to buy a $500 iron tea kettle. Go in with a plan and noise canceling head phones, or a molotov cocktail.
Gyokuro is definitely very finicky, but it's just so delicious when right. One of my favorites.
Others I've been enjoying lately:
Harmutty (basic, sweet black tea)
Russian Caravan (milder lapsang souchong )
Hobo: We all dress up. We all put on our armour before we walk out the door, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re trying to be someone else.
Coming from the NW where coffee is king, I've been slowly making the switch from Americanos and French Press to tea.
I primarily drink Sencha that a friend of mine in Sendai sends me but I'm also a fan of Hojicha and have been drinking that half the time recently. My friend sent me some and I also got a bag from In Pursuit of Tea in Soho (they seem to have a small but good selection of teas). I recently bought a Genmaicha, which is okay, but the one I have has too much rice in it for my taste.
I'm still looking for a good Lapsang Souchong, for those times when I want a strong black tea. I am in love with the scent of it.
In the summer I drink gallons of cold brewed green tea.
As far as tea rooms go, I've only been to Cha-an on 9th and have enjoyed it, but it seems a little overpriced.
Any other good tea shops in Manhattan? I'm also looking for a place with a good selection of Japanese tea pots and cups.
THE HOUSE OF DIS
embrace the twenty first movement
^no idea about manhattan but japanese crafted ceramics are the definition of artisanal. i hope you're willing to spend some CCP-level money lol
hoji is remarkably satisfying for how low grade of a tea it is.
sencha with an oomph in umami flavor is dope if you can get it
For people looking to order online, I highly reccommend Chan Tea Shop and Norbu Tea. Both great businesses, fantastic service, high quality/ well sourced etc.
Sadly in this part of the country the Metropolitan Tea Company is the only game in town, so while there are a number of excellent tea shops they all get their teas through Metro. However, a few of the teas available are singularly excellent. The Monkey Picked Golden Hunan is my favourite; a black tea with some of the earthy characteristics of a pu-ehr. While I drink most of my teas unadulterated, this is one of the few that really opens up with a splash of milk. A mate of mine used to buy tea for the Rutherford House, so we did a lot of sampling of the wholesale catalogue.
You know my buddy dylan??? @ chanteas?
use a thermometer and timer for japanese greens until you get the hang of it. ugly, I know.... but japanese teas are finicky, and best brewed "scientifically". As for all other teas, leave the thermometer and timer far away.
I've tried some good tea while my visit in Malaysia:
https://www.boh.com.my/shop/catalog....OH-Garden-Teas
^Cameron Highland tea has a very special, unusual flavour.
A good shop here in Vienna is this:
http://www.jaegertee.at/start.htm
and btw:
= not true. personally I prefer the second over the first flushI wouldn't say so... darjeelings are BOLD my friend
in Search for Augusta Thermic Cordovan Boots size 44
WTB: Ann D. black high top sneakers size 45
I forgot to add, check out artistic nippon
and magokorodo
for japanese teaware. (texture porn for CCP nerds and japanese ceramic enthusiasts alike)
As for chinese teaware.... its hard to find online. I've found some amazing qing dynasty cups and plates at chaikhana in santa cruz. Aaron at life of tea
used to track down chinese antiques, not sure if he still does. (I can picture someone in damir doma sitting down before this cha xi).
Last edited by trentk; 12-28-2011 at 04:37 AM.
^^ wow, thanks for the link. Some amazing stuff to be found there. I am always excited to get to know such cultures. Sometimes, I feel kind of bad for drinking and enjoying the tea yet not knowing much about the tradition behind it. Feels a little bit like exploiting :-\
On a side note, I love this bowl.
I know the name, my good friend (who I enjoy most tea through), emails with him fairly regularly I think. Very generous guy when it comes to samples.
I got the habit of drinking massala chai when I lived in India, not as refined as the green tea I normally prefer, but perfect as a meal substitute. anyone else make this?
Went there yesterday and was a bit disappointed. Not by the tea, which was great, but by the food (and yes, the prices). Their deserts look mighty good though. Might come back just for the desert set and some tea.
We have a couple of good place that went out of business - the tearoom at Takashimaya (I still lament its closing) was outstanding, but also overpriced. There was also Ito En, but that went out of business too. Come to think of it, I don't know any good tea stores here.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
StyleZeitgeist Magazine
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
