TeaForum.org

Enjoying Premodern Peony from Tea Hong out of Hong Kong -- brews up nicely when left in a gaiwan. Supposedly produced in 2011, although it has a mystery provenance, so it could be something else. On my list of things to do is to try a side-by-side with the Aged White Peony from Silk Road Teas, whic...

There might be some truth to what you say mbanu. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Norwood Pratt on many occasions during the yearly tea festivals here in LA, he’s quiet a stylish and erudite character. A real southern gentleman living in San Francisco who came into the world of tea after decades wr...

Had my first tea session in 2 years, ranked from best to worst. The best was certainly David Lee Hoffman’s 1980’s Tong Qing Hao. Sweet and easy to drink and good energy. Not sure if I should post in a different thread, but have you heard anything from him? His home had an experimental sewage recycl...

If there are not strong supply-chain controls, either through the legal system of the country of origin or through large companies who have agreed (possibly due to custom from a time in the past where everyone was frustrated enough to make it so) to actually self-enforce, a tea can be stepped on by ...

I've given up on Yuenyeung -- either too advanced for me, or I just don't like instant coffee. :lol: Gave this another go -- It's still not quite right, but I think I'm getting closer. :D Maybe using the wrong instant coffee? I think maybe I was using an instant coffee that was too nice. :lol: Swit...

Saw another one on sale while picking up some other books, Mending and Restoring China by Thomas Pond, from 1970. One interesting thing about this one is that Mr. Pond is anti-rivet! In his opinion, it is impossible for a hobbyist to get a waterproof seal with rivets, and as a hobbyist himself (he w...

I do wonder if my memory is playing tricks on me in regards to the pebbles... My memory tells me that it was a mixture of pebbles wrapped in tea and loose, but my brain today can't think of how wrapping pebbles in tea would work -- if the pebbles were just put in the bag and rolled with the tea, the...

Everything old is new again! Including tea-fraud, sadly. However, many of the old tools can still work as a first line of defense. If you shake the tea up in cold water and strain the water off, is it colored? Are there visible oils? Does it have a strong flavor or aroma? If you rub the dried leaf o...

Not an antique pot, obviously, but it seems like it could be a fun way to personalize an ordinary pot. I'm not sure if the process would cause any problems, though.

Has anyone tried this?

I can only say, no fingers have been burned in the porcess, nor has any of that precious liquid been spilled. .. You are a better man than I am. Burns & spills occur often when I use a gaiwan (only one at a time, even w/ both hands). I am not a fan of gaiwans for gongfu for the same reason. The han...

I think maybe it is that with the other categories of tea, there are English-speakers for whom it is a daily drinker as part of a shared tea-culture. Even white tea has the Hong Kong dimsum folks and the American health-drinkers. Yellow tea does not really have this, most English-speaking drinkers s...

Still drinking a couple of Wing Hop Fung Tieguanyins I picked up back in August, the #1240 and the #1395. Initially I preferred the second one one, as the first one, labeled "Grate Aroma", had very little aroma by the time I got it (ambiguous age), but as the aroma on the second faded I think I've ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4YpNCzxg4 Maybe a lost-in-translation commercial, but this one from 1991 might help explain why so many American men often seem uneasy about the idea of using small teapots. Using pretend tea-parties as a gendered way to teach social skills to little girls was a com...

Meanwhile, a "not your parents' tea!" type of ad for boxed Vita lemon tea in 1987. :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8ofhrfR0r8 I think "not your parents' tea!" was their main tactic in the late 80s, as they tried to reinvent themselves from their old image of being a soymilk company. Here's anot...

payomint.jpg Another one which is grandfathered in from an earlier health movement but that is strongly associated with hippie blends today is papaya leaf-peppermint tea. As far as I can tell, it was originally promoted by the nutritionist Gayelord Hauser in the 1940s under the brand Pa-Yo-Mint. Mo...