tea anyone?

[tweeds]

was teh tarik ever mentioned again after DDML's post on the first page?

it's cheap, and a great drink for a flavour fix. and there's teh tarik in singapore as well.

this arabic cafe that i frequent has a iced tea concoction that i love but i can't for the life of me figure out if it's for real. i plan to watch it being prepared sometime, i hope i won't be disappointed!

[lil brown brother]

diddy ... know of any good tea shops here in philly?

[mizanation]

nice. i'm going to grab some matcha tomorrow.

you say the tea ceremony is a lifetime sort of thing. is this kind of like sushi chefs? that kind of artistry? why does it take a lifetime? it doesn't seem that hard to mix up a drink... what does the ceremony symbolize or commemorate?

japanese tea ceremony really isn't about the tea. it's about refinement of grace, understanding of aesthetic, and zen realization. in fact, it is said that the tea ceremony is one of the most influential practices in japan. from the tea ceremony, japan has learned how to be, well, japanese. much of japanese manners, aesthetics, and philosophy is encapsulated in the tea ceremony. it's like an exercise in japanese manners and self-refinement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_tea_ceremony

[englandmj7]

was teh tarik ever mentioned again after DDML's post on the first page?

it's cheap, and a great drink for a flavour fix. and there's teh tarik in singapore as well.

this arabic cafe that i frequent has a iced tea concoction that i love but i can't for the life of me figure out if it's for real. i plan to watch it being prepared sometime, i hope i won't be disappointed!

Yep, I mentioned it. Friggin' love the stuff.

On a side note, and please forgive my utterly retarded question, but why does matcha taste slightly 'fishy'? I have matcha powder from both Trader Joes and Whole Foods that I mix with milk, as well as these matcha green tea Oreo-like cookies from a Japanese market and they all, no shit, have a hint of a fish-like flavor. My wife confirmed this and won't even go near the stuff because of it.........are we both crazy?

[Whodinihimself]

Yep, I mentioned it. Friggin' love the stuff.

On a side note, and please forgive my utterly retarded question, but why does matcha taste slightly 'fishy'? I have matcha powder from both Trader Joes and Whole Foods that I mix with milk, as well as these matcha green tea Oreo-like cookies from a Japanese market and they all, no shit, have a hint of a fish-like flavor. My wife confirmed this and won't even go near the stuff because of it.........are we both crazy?

yes...you and your wife are criminally insane.....or maybe your matcha is just past its "best before" date...or has been stored improperly (because its a powder it can readily absorb other hoursehold scents/flavours...keeping it sealed and in a dark cool place would be ideal)....or maybe its just substandard quality matcha...you might want to try another source and compare...if i had the cash i would order some Ajirogi Matcha from http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/greentea.htm ... shits mad spendy yo

p.s. skip the milk ... milk negates some nutritional properties (something about enzymes in milk binding to the tannins in tea...rendering them impossible to absorb) ...so keep it straight .. it puts hair on your chest

[englandmj7]

yes...you and your wife are criminally insane.....or maybe your matcha is just past its "best before" date...or has been stored improperly (because its a powder it can readily absorb other hoursehold scents/flavours...keeping it sealed and in a dark cool place would be ideal)....or maybe its just substandard quality matcha...you might want to try another source and compare...if i had the cash i would order some Ajirogi Matcha from http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/greentea.htm ... shits mad spendy yo

p.s. skip the milk ... milk negates some nutritional properties (something about enzymes in milk binding to the tannins in tea...rendering them impossible to absorb) ...so keep it straight .. it puts hair on your chest

Ha haha. Damn. I figured we were crazy. Maybe it is the heated milk that gives it a strange twang.

[2000dB]

Maybe I should explore the tea scene more while I'm still in Japan... anyone know of nice places I could check out in Tokyo? Miz?

[poly800rock]

Sorry for the long discourse but I love tea!

why the fuck did you tell me to meet you at a starbucks then! :mad:

[mizanation]

2000db, i don't do a lot of tea drinking in japan. basically, whenever i go there, i drink alcohol non-stop until the flight back. but now that i've discovered tea, i will look into getting some good stuff.

i DID go to a tea ceremony while i was there a couple trips back. one of my wife's friends studies it and we participated. can't say it was a blast, but it was kinda interesting...

*edit* also, check out the tea that you can get at the kaiten sushi spots. i love the ones in ueno. the tea is great! you just throw a bag into your mug and pour your own hot water from the faucet in front of you. good stuff.

[cuddlysheep]

yeah for those who dont like taste of tea persay,but like something herbal. try some roibos (african bush plant).has more antioxidants than green. go to teavana and pick up macadamia roibos. should appeal to everyone.

[nettiemoore]

i havent been into tea but this thread has made me look into it. i also just discovered my parents have a bag of unopened pu'er tea in the house. im not sure if its the real good stuff or not, but i plan to try it soon.

[mlproject]

fucking a... two whole foods and dean and deluca were both out of matcha today

[Analyst]

why the fuck did you tell me to meet you at a starbucks then! :mad:

I thought I would break you in nice and easy to BKK...!

[poly800rock]

I thought I would break you in nice and easy to BKK...!

ha..next time i'm there..

i just bought some yerba mate from trader joe's. it's in a tea bag, not really sure what to expect from it. we'll check it out tomorrow...

[mlproject]

the mate in a tea bag is MUCH milder. i love the loose shit in a french press, but then again i like any tea or coffee i drink to be way strong.

hope you like it.

[rhythmandsound]

mate in a tea bag tastes/feels nothing like the traditional way of drinking it, where you use way way way more yerba that what you get in the tea bag. Also never use boiling water. hot, but not boiling.

[jooky]

I had been meaning to try out some loose leaf tea, and this thread finally inspired me to do so. My local farmer's market happened to have a surprising variety of loose leaf teas, so I picked up a few different ones to try. I got a black (Indian/English Breakfast), and a green and white as well, whose names escape me at the moment. So far I have enjoyed them all, with no particularly favorite. They're all very different s I appreciate them all for their own qualities. The English Breakfast had a nice subtle citrus/orange flavor to it that I like a lot. The other two were subte (especially the white), but sometimes I like a nice subtle flavor just to sip on.

Unfortunately I don't have a proper brewing utensil for my tea, except for my french press, but that's always dirty with coffee (speaking of coffee, did someone mention a coffee thread? im always on the lookout for some good coffee), so I haven't used it for tea so far. I've been making it pretty ghetto, just throwing a couple teaspoons of loose leaves into a coffee filter and wrapping it up like a makeshift teabag, which has worked decently well so far. I've been thinking about picking up one of thse: http://www.bodumusa.com/shop/line.asp?MD=2&GID=7&LID=294&CHK=&SLT=&mscssid=2FVCE7MA6XJD8PG5906U9C00XXGEF1C7

But it seems kind of redundant since I already have a french press.

[mizanation]

jooky, glad you are enjoying your tea. i have been using a french press with good results.

[Analyst]

Jooky, glad you're enjoying the tea. Sounds like the English Breakfast tea you mentioned is the Earl Gray hinted with bergamot oil. Cheers!

[bangbangbang]

jooky, I have the Assam teapot, and it's great for serving tea to a small group. Caution though, if you don't pour enough water into the pot, the leaves don't get properly steeped. For daily use, I usually prefer a pyrex measuring cup to steep the leaves (for most black and green teas, I use 1 teaspoon of leaves to just under 1 cup of water), then pour the liquids through a tea strainer into a cup. I don't use those teaballs and whatnots because there's not enough room for the leaves to fully open in those tiny compartments. You can, however, buy metal infusers (they're like a mesh basket) that can be put directly into a cup.

I quite like Beehouse pots. They come with a handy infuser. This one's a 15-ouncer.

http://www.beehouseteapot.com

[arnoldtpants]

Excellent info in this thread. That said, I remain partial to PG tips special blend or Yorkshire gold, with a splash of milk.

[Analyst]

Just had a quick thought (for those in NYC area):

Has anyone had tea at the teashop inside Takashimaya on Fifth Avenue? I dropped by and checked it out, but it was already closed....just curious....

[HeavyBear]

Love tea - had 3 cups so far today.

Its such a way of life in Britain I don't even think about it as option its just always there - like the wallpaper.

Just got in to work? Have a nice cup of tea and read your emails.

Just got back from work? Have a nice cup of tea, sit down, watch the news - maybe dunk a digestive (biscuits are important too, nicely arranged on a plate if you've got guests round)

Got some bad news to tell you? Best sit down i'll put the kettle on. Any occasion warrents a tea here - just watch any UK soap.

I am partial to Earl Grey on special occasions.

[lestat]

Next is the Oolong tea, in which oxidation is stopped somewhere between the black tea and green tea. In my opinion, oolongs have the most variation and complexity in flavor and fragrance, usually hinting of a roasted taste of a black tea but with much more of a grassy, organic flavor of a green tea. Also, oolong teas are never mixed with milk and are brewed slightly below boiling temperature. They are also generally more expensive than other teas. The most famous oolong is probably Ti Kwan Yin, the Iron Goddess of Mercy, which has a very woody roasted fragrance. I went through a period where I was drinking Ti Kwan Yin everyday trying to find that right mix of steeping time, temperature and amount. I never got the hang of enjoying oolong teas gung fu style, since the coordination of washing the leaves, brewing the first infusion and using the aroma cup always left my tea cold or I would run out of water too soon or the tea was too bitter. There's truly an art to this preparation process.

Ti Kwan Yin is good... thats my usual when i go eat dim sum in china...

"Kung Fu Style" Tea is a bit tedious and takes a while... very relaxing though... i usually do this on a regular basis when i go to China to visit my grandfather...

you have to warm up the Clay pot and the cups first... the pot is to be filled about a quarter of tea... (that way when the tea leaves unravel, it will fill up the pot)... pour near boiling water in to the pot to wash and unfurl the tea for about 30 secs. (some people pour out the tea, and some others pour the tea into a bowl, then pour it on the teapot... i'm not sure which way is correct...)

for each pour, the tea is to be steeped for a minute be4 pouring into the cups... each cup is to be filled 1/2 way all around then all the way to ensure everyone's cup is of equal strength... (a decanter would make things easier)

a good batch of tea can be poured up to 7-8 times... in my opinion the third to fifth pour is the best... not too strong not to mild...

theres a tea called "ma lau me"... its really good... it has a hint of milk in it....

[Pandemonium]

maccha is really good.

i participated in the tea ceremony once, and made it too (with the help of an instructor).

it was really... relaxing.

but the maccha to water concentration is pretty darn low, half a teaspoon unheaped is already enough for one chawan (bowl) of tea.

oh yeah, try out genmaicha (green tea with roasted brown rice).

it has a permeating mild nutty flavour and scent, really good stuff.

[varatphong]

Tea is the most consumed beverage in the world if you exclude water. From the looks of this thread, that’s certainly being proven true. FYI if any of you guys are into pursuing Puerh teas – an ancient type of Chinese tea, do check out the website Puerh Cha at http://www.puerhcha.com

A toast to a great drink!

Varat Phong

[englandmj7]

I bought one of those small metal ball-shaped filters for $2 the other day and some Morrocan loose leaf mint green tea. Whenever I make it I get a shitload of tea sifting through the mesh. Is this normal for loose leaf teas? Or should I get a better type of strainer?

[Whodinihimself]

I've had that problem with some tea balls....the halves dont line up well...the good thing is that there are other strainers out there that are much more reliable...like these:

i use the snap ball infuser...but im sure theres some snap balls that dont line up right either...so its always better to see and play with it before buying... theres also a company called T-Sac that makes unbleached tea bags that you can easily fill with your loose leaf tea...

[englandmj7]

^^ Cool; thanks for the info. I'll have to check out some alternate ones.

My tea ball is still holding its shape and closes well enough. Maybe I'm putting too much tea in.

I basically fill one of the halves and after I've taken the ball out of the water, the leaves have expanded and fill up the entire ball pretty tight. I've noticed that even using this amount doesn't give me a particularly strong tea. Should I use less tea so the water can circulate more throughout? Or should I just get a bigger tea ball?

What to do, what to do.

[eleven]

My family are all big Chinese tea drinkers, but I'm an English tea man. Never tried anything fancy though, always the bog-standard PG Tips

Milk and two sugars please.