What Green Are You Drinking

[Victoria]

But now the taste! Think of a snowy pineforest in the sunlight - that is the kind of taste it reminded me of, astonishing! Never had anything like it. Also almost a bit Sencha-like, but a lot smoother and not agressive and grassy as Japanese greens can be.

Yes this sounds delicious. I have had LiShan that has umami flavors like that found in Gyokuro, and one from Te Company that had evergreen pine needle notes. After the 6th steep or so I use to throw in a few rosemary needles for fun.

[Janice]

I was rooting through my tea canisters for forgotten tea and discovered that I still have some An Ji Bai Cha on hand. This used to be one of my favorite teas, but even though I bought good quality tea from Jingteashop and brewed it properly I just don’t enjoy Chinese greens the way I once did. All I seem to want is Japanese greens and yancha. I think this year I’ll spend my Chinese tea budget on Gyokuro.

Even this beautiful Seong-Il gaiwan and Shyrabbit cup weren’t enough to make the session a success.

[debunix]

quote=Bok post_id=4088 time=1519222211 user_id=56]
Really surprised to have something so different from a mountain I have been drinking day in and out for years now!

One plant, so many mountains, and so many teas! It is a delightful miracle over and over again.

Some years back, Norbutea.com offered a series of very unusual teas from Taiwan, that I now wish I'd bought in bulk, because I've not seen their like again. They were made with mixed techniques and crossed over categories, and were fabulous. A couple that haunt my memories are a 'white oolong'--tightly pale green balls with an amazingly delicate and floral liquor; and one whose processing included a minimal oxidation step but was more like green with a touch of oolong than a typical low-roast oolong. It was so obvious, as I worked my way through those, as well as some excellent traditional dark roast oolongs and low roast oolongs and black teas, that there are more possibilities from one leaf than have yet been popular enough to be widely available. I hesitate to say have not yet been discovered, because in the thousands of years of tea history who knows how many times some things have been done, deliberately or by accident?

Just wish Greg would make another trek to Nantou.....this time, I'd be smart enough to buy and very carefully store *LOTS* of those treasures.

I was rooting through my tea canisters for forgotten tea and discovered that I still have some An Ji Bai Cha on hand. This used to be one of my favorite teas, but even though I bought good quality tea from Jingteashop and brewed it properly I just don’t enjoy Chinese greens the way I once did. All I seem to want is Japanese greens and yancha.

Even this beautiful Seong-Il gaiwan and Shyrabbit cup weren’t enough to make the session a success.

Hard to believe An Ji Bai Cha could disappoint. I've not had that experience yet, ever. I've occasionally gotten sloppy for an infusion or two, but always am brought back to my senses to finish the session better.

This morning, more of the Tsuen Dream's Floating Bridge Gyokuro. The link provided a few posts back to an O-Cha offering of this tea describes it as "Ease of Brewing: Somewhat Difficult - May take some practice to get it perfect. " I can't agree, as it is so agreeable and delightful every session. I have yet to follow their instructions precisely, and perhaps am not getting the classic gyokuro connoisseur's experience, but wow, it is fine stuff as is, so delicious from the first infusion to the last....the last usually being prepared by pouring cooler or even cold water over the spent leaves, and drinking after I return from work in the evening. Brilliant stuff.

[Ethan Kurland]

quote=Bok post_id=4088 time=1519222211 user_id=56]
Really surprised to have something so different from a mountain I have been drinking day in and out for years now!

..... of very unusual teas from Taiwan, that I now wish I'd bought in bulk, because I've not seen their like again... in the thousands of years of tea history who knows how many times some things have been done, deliberately or by accident?.

Yes, when one comes across something really special, she should buy more quickly. Even if the quality is replicated, it does not mean it will come to market again. Once a tea-producer realizes how special a tea is, he may keep all of it for friends & family. Not only are the bulk of farmers' & producers' incomes provided by ordinary tea; an exceedingly extraordinary tea may make good, "ordianry" tea seem rather low in quality.

[Bok]

One plant, so many mountains, and so many teas! It is a delightful miracle over and over again.

Some years back, Norbutea.com offered a series of very unusual teas from Taiwan, that I now wish I'd bought in bulk, because I've not seen their like again. They were made with mixed techniques and crossed over categories, and were fabulous. A couple that haunt my memories are a 'white oolong'--tightly pale green balls with an amazingly delicate and floral liquor; and one whose processing included a minimal oxidation step but was more like green with a touch of oolong than a typical low-roast oolong. It was so obvious, as I worked my way through those, as well as some excellent traditional dark roast oolongs and low roast oolongs and black teas, that there are more possibilities from one leaf than have yet been popular enough to be widely available.

My guess is these special batches are not economically viable for the farmers. The market in Taiwan sticks to their preferred teas and does not accept too much change… every now and then certain teas are en vogue but in the long rund the mass of customers always drinks the same. And the market is still pretty much local, the majority of teas is consumed in Taiwan itself. So stock those special teas if you see them!

[Bok]

Another session with my discovery tea. The full Chinese name is Lishan dongpian songxue. So it is a winter leaf, called pine snow. Which makes it more special as you can not make winter leaf each season and the quality varies a lot!

Amazing tea. So very smooth and rounded, absolutely no bitterness and that aftertaste-walk in the snowy pine forest is something else...

Took a lot less leaves it still expanded way more than what I expected. Also unusual for dongpian normal the last harvests leaves are smaller than normal.

[debunix]

It looks so eager to show off that it's bursting out of the pot. Vivid green!

[Janice]

I was rooting through my tea canisters for forgotten tea and discovered that I still have some An Ji Bai Cha on hand. This used to be one of my favorite teas, but even though I bought good quality tea from Jingteashop and brewed it properly I just don’t enjoy Chinese greens the way I once did. All I seem to want is Japanese greens and yancha.

Even this beautiful Seong-Il gaiwan and Shyrabbit cup weren’t enough to make the session a success.

Hard to believe An Ji Bai Cha could disappoint. I've not had that experience yet, ever. I've occasionally gotten sloppy for an infusion or two, but always am brought back to my senses to finish the session better.

This morning, more of the Tsuen Dream's Floating Bridge Gyokuro. The link provided a few posts back to an O-Cha offering of this tea describes it as "Ease of Brewing: Somewhat Difficult - May take some practice to get it perfect. " I can't agree, as it is so agreeable and delightful every session. I have yet to follow their instructions precisely, and perhaps am not getting the classic gyokuro connoisseur's experience, but wow, it is fine stuff as is, so delicious from the first infusion to the last....the last usually being prepared by pouring cooler or even cold water over the spent leaves, and drinking after I return from work in the evening. Brilliant stuff.

I had another session with An Ji Bai Cha brewed in an unglazed porcelain Kyushu and got much better results. Still, Chinese greens just don’t resonate with me the way they once did. The money saved will go to more Japanese greens, and at the top of my wish list from O-Cha is the Floating Bridge Gyokuro, followed by Kabusecha. Somebody here advised brewing it at low temperatures so I ignored the website instructions and brewed my Kaoru Kabusecha like Gyokuro with a starting temperature of 130°. The result was a great deal of flavor and no bitterness.

[d.manuk]

I'm having some Organic Woojeon Green Tea from 29B Teahouse in NYC, also sold by the company Tea Dealers. Korean greens are always fun, a different flavor profile. The problem with this tea, and like many other greens, is that it gets me sooo caffeinated. I just want to drink this delicious tea all day but no way can I do that. I can only have 1 session a day with most greens if I want to maintain a normal sleep schedule. It's so hard to control myself!!

I always feel like I taste corn in Korean greens, and this tea was no different. There was something else in it, but it was hard to pinpoint. The website says white flowers and fruit but that doesn't help describe anything in my opinion.

I learned that Woojeon is essentially Korean shincha.

B30FBC63-BE54-4D1B-934D-E8CE84208CB1.jpeg (194.43 KiB) Viewed 12828 times

[pedant]

sick with a cold, so i'm enjoying some 'aged' (stale) sencha.
i can still enjoy the umami and bitterness even if the aroma isn't coming through well.

[Jo]

Sorry you aren't feeling well pedant.

We have been enjoying gyokuro all week, our sencha supply has been depleted. However, Chip saved the day, more sencha on its way from O-Cha.

To be honest, will hate to see the daily drinking of gyo end.

[Victoria]

sick with a cold, so i'm enjoying some 'aged' (stale) sencha.
i can still enjoy the umami and bitterness even if the aroma isn't coming through well.

Beautiful aesthetic pairing of Emu and Akira. Sorry you aren’t feeling well. When one sense is blocked, heightening the others can offer some needed moments of enjoyment.

[debunix]

Admiring that beautiful setting from here as well. The interplay between glazed walls of the cup, unglazed red pot, and unglazed dark base of the cup keeps the eye moving and refreshed.

Today I'm starting with a session of Tsuen Floating Dreams Bridge gyokuro, prepared with Petr Novak teaware. It's a lovely bright morning after much needed yesterday, and there should be a burst of new foliage in delicate yellow-green hues much like this tea liquor. The flavor is as delicately vegetal and floral and sweet as new growth, and my several weeks of congestion from a series of colds is improved enough for the full flavor to come through.

[Teachronicles]

Admiring that beautiful setting from here as well. The interplay between glazed walls of the cup, unglazed red pot, and unglazed dark base of the cup keeps the eye moving and refreshed.

Today I'm starting with a session of Tsuen Floating Dreams Bridge gyokuro, prepared with Petr Novak teaware. It's a lovely bright morning after much needed yesterday, and there should be a burst of new foliage in delicate yellow-green hues much like this tea liquor. The flavor is as delicately vegetal and floral and sweet as new growth, and my several weeks of congestion from a series of colds is improved enough for the full flavor to come through.

beautiful picture debunix, i always enjoy your pictures

[debunix]

Thanks. I enjoy sharing them here with other fans of tea.