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It is mid summer, and our high temp today was 90 degrees, but because of indoor air conditioning at work, I am wearing a light shawl over a sleeveless top and having a very nice day with Jing Tea Shop's "flowery" Rou Gui (a really splendid infusion series with truly floral sweetness and thick body), and then a series of small sessions with a pouch of spring 2019 Qi Dan from Old Ways Tea. And of course the day started with hot infusions of Obubu gyokuro, snuck in early before the heat really set in. It is hot, but the well-insulated and set temp workplace moderates that quite a bit.

Relaxing with some simple aged puer.

90s loose leaves brewing for minutes in the background, unknown chunks from the 90s waiting to take over in the foreground.

Young puer seems to attract fanatical devotion and obsession from certain tea drinkers, and famous old puer has been priced out of range as anything other than a rare treat for special occasions, but I think that it's important to remind ourselves occasionally that aged puer was always meant to be a simple and relaxing drink that people have enjoyed casually for decades.

Enjoying these two aged but unimportant teas with a carefree mindlessness is perfectly suited to making the 'most' of the lazy day that today has become.

Andrew

After a weekend away visiting Mom, it is so nice back at home with morning sencha. I started my days away with An Ji Bai Cha, a fine morning tea, but difficult to optimize without thermometer and temp-controlled kettle, and enjoyed a lot of LiShan from Tillerman and Red Alishan from Norbu, as teas that taste great drunk at all temperatures.

Now back to some Tamaryokucha from Obubu, green, robust and delicate at the same time, cats coming by for inspection and snuggles. Ahhh.

Some high mountain wulong to greet the morning, and now some old loose puer to enjoy the afternoon.

The forcefully relaxing feeling that it gives me combines well with looking out at a bright, blue day with a nice cool breeze.

I'm glad for tea during a lockdown...

Andrew

Wow it’s been over a year since I posted here. Got kicked by the lockdown blues and went without tea for awhile…but had myself a nice cup of early grey from Adagio, their full moon Bella Luna blend. Was excellent, dumped tons of milk amd sugar into it!

Reading some sinclair lewis while drinking jin mu dan.

Is it bad to read and drink at the same time?

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 06, 2021 11:55 am

Reading some sinclair lewis while drinking jin mu dan.

Is it bad to read and drink at the same time?

It can't be any worse than working at the computer while drinking tea! I sometimes get so distracted that I end up with an empty cup and no memory of what I just drank. :O

Following the advice on the tea education thread, I've been drinking Ethan's Perfect oolong almost daily. I enjoy the Baozhong-like buttery florals and hints of cookies, cream corn, and fruit. I've noticed that Shan Lin Xi oolongs tend to have a certain herbaceous quality in the middle steeps. On one of the days I didn't drink this tea, I had another green oolong that had been open for a couple months and the lack of freshness was apparent. If nothing else, this experiment has taught me to drink my oolongs faster.

Started the day with some matcha before setting up a pot of rolled black tea. I've been struggling since 1 of my 2 thermoses I use to keep hot water in broke. And the replacement has a stink to it when hit with hot water. Tried some baking soda at first, but now I'm just letting some cheap loose black tea hang out overnight to give it a purge. There's a half session of heavy roasted TGY I started after dinner that I might just finish off tomorrow instead.

Decided to make some tea marinated eggs today on the occasion of the lunar festival.

Started by preparing 3 hard boiled eggs - peeled (I'm the only egg eater). Sprayed some soy sauce and sprinkled on some chinese 5 spice.

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Then had 7 infusions of eco cha's charcoal roasted high mountain described here:

viewtopic.php?p=38091#p38091

I've been drinking this every few weeks- and it seems the roast is still somewhat strong. The later steepings have a nice thick mouthfeel.

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I took these spent leaves and made a little nest around the eggs

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Then...I brought out the horrible throat shredding OWT rougui described here
viewtopic.php?p=33756#p33756

I discarded the rinse (would be too evil even for cooking) and then dumped several infusions onto the eggs. I did taste the tea a little bit. My original impression remains accurate for this tea. Just 2 tiny sips resulted in some throat and stomach pain- forcing me to grab some chocolate granola bars! Hopefully this means it can be a good strong cooking spice for the eggs - and not kill me. And then of course I threw in the leaves with the eggs as well. I will let this marinate for a while before updating this post.

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After 7 hours, can definitely taste some tea

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Leo, we agree on a lot of things but this is not one of them. Cease and desist!!

@LeoFox Nice one and a good way of giving some good use to otherwise probably discarded teas! Mine do usually end up becoming Tetsubin-cleaning agents.

Bok wrote: ↑

Tue Sep 21, 2021 9:28 pm

LeoFox Nice one and a good way of giving some good use to otherwise probably discarded teas! Mine do usually end up becoming Tetsubin-cleaning agents.

This tea seems okay as a cooking spice so far. If I weren't a vegetarian, I would try using it as a marinade or sauce for fatty cuts of meat.

Honestly though, I am still amazed how awful this tea is - as if someone cut it with harsh chemicals - like lye.

An odd observation this evening, as I've been enjoying a fine Korean green tea with a meal of hummus with bread and vegetables: after chewing on a scallion, something in the tea immediately tastes stunningly sweet. It's like those berries that are supposed to turn everything sweet for a while after you eat them, but this effect is not so universal--I don't notice any difference in the flavor of water or milk or wine when eating scallions--and it's quite short lived--gone by the next infusion. Has anyone else noticed this?

Infusing a tea I now wish I'd bought more of, a Gogucha from SOA Dawan by Kim Se Jin via Morning Crane's TeaBuyKorea 2021. Delicate, vegetal, delicious. And not notably sweet unless preceded by a bit of fresh scallion!

Here in Florida, the summer heat has given way to some fall coolness. I was out having too much fun and caught a cold. Runny nose, headache, just miserable. I wanted some tea and brewed up some nice Taiwanese hong cha. The texture and flavors were delightful. So delightful that I forgot about being miserable and was focused on the tea. That was until my nose was dripping like a faucet and I was brought back to reality.

Sometimes I don't take enough time during my tea sessions.. I don't want to treat it like some fast food.. but other times I savor and appreciate it.

P.S. Its good to be reminded of the fundamentals of tea preparation. I have a pot that has a lid that doesn't have a good seal and if I pour too aggressively it leaks out of the lid. I had to remind myself.. Duh! Don't fill it all the way or pour it slowly.

klepto wrote: ↑

Mon Sep 27, 2021 1:59 am

. So delightful that I forgot about being miserable and was focused on the tea.

That’s the beauty of tea! Such an easy way to make a day or circumstance just a little better.