tea anyone?

[2000dB]

Interesting thread!

I'm far from a tea expert, but I used to play music in a restaurant that had an extensive tea inventory, mostly from China, Korea and Japan and always tried various kinds every week... I've had some kind of blooming flowers in my tea at times, but I'm not sure it was the same thing posted earlier. The buds were smaller and present in greater quantity.

It's funny that now that I'm in Japan I crave coffee, something I've never really cared for much.

[xcoldricex]

what is this tea? does the flavor come from the buds or is it a visual thing...

it's jasmine tea (it may be made with other teas, but i haven't seen it made with anything other than jasmine tea). the tea leaves are sewn around a flower so it will "bloom" when steeped in a pot of hot water (i'm not sure if the flower actually imparts any taste- most likely not). it's done for aesthetic purposes- it's really nice though.

[nairb49]

generally my gift of choice for people who appreciate asian novelty gifts, does the trick everytime.

edit: have to echo ringring's sentiments on Rooibos, I drank exclusively that for a 6 month period. Its very light, and almost sweet at times. Also one of the highest antioxidant counts of any tea, if you're into that sort of thing.

[mizanation]

hey england, i bought this stuff before and i think it's what you're looking for:

http://www.adagio.com/misc/display_teas.html?SID=a9e1d8b7b765954c8b87fbf21d065a15

it's the flowering tea thing.

[ktothe]

If i wanted a nice flavorful tea thats caffienated what should I look for? Im looking to replace coffee.

[mizanation]

hi ktothe, i suggest black tea. it has a higher amount of caffeine than green tea and white tea and it has a very rich flavor.

[bangbangbang]

Does anyone drink yerba mate? I drink it during the school semester. I have a shelf that's devoted to a loose tea collection. One of my faves is a tightly rolled taiwanese oolong, with hints of peach and smoke. I want to snap up some Margaret's Hope, and get some more rooibos. How about matcha? Honeybush?

[herpsky]

i like gyokuro. very flavorful.

[Tisswat]

That said, I had a nice cup in a cafe in Amsterdam recently, which left me curious enough to buy a whole selection - Thiem's Echte Thee was the name if you're interested, and I believe they sell them in NYC too.

Thieme's Echte Thee (translates to Thieme's Real Tea) is served in the Plaza Athenee Hotel in NYC.

Actually, due to Amsterdam's infamous colonial trade history, there are several interesting addresses for tea (and coffee) in this city. Tea culture is alive here and there are several shops specialised in tea from all over the world. Geels & Co for example, a store that has been around for 140 years. Another is Wijs & Zonen, who have been around for more than 200 years.

(sorry for that shameless bit of Amsterdam promo)

[Analyst]

Back in the day, I used to work at a small tea house in DC called Teaism, in Dupont Circle. Kinda of a contemporary pan-Asian place, the store stocked about 50 different of types of black, oolong, green and white teas and also an assortment of tisanes, or herbal infusions (e.g., french vervaines, peppermint).

Each tea or herbal infusion were housed in individual boxes, decorated with japanese washi paper. The staff spent quiet evenings in the winter, when the customers were sparse, brewing various teas and guessing the name based on the flavor and after tastes of the teas. My favorite teas included oolongs such as formosa or ti kwan yin (iron goddess) and black teas such as the smokey lapsang souchang. Mild white teas such as the silver needle were also good.

The camellia senesis is an amazing plant with a host of medicinal properties.What amazed me were the various ways of preparing the different types of teas and the care needed in ensuring the water temperature wouldn't "burn" the green and white teas. Enjoying an oolong "gung fu" style involved multiple infusions of a tea using Yixing Clay pots. These wonderfully unique pots were very distinctive and unglazed. One was supposed to use a specific Yixing pot for only one tea type. It was said that overtime, you could infuse a frequently used clay pot with only hot water and brew the tea that had been used over many years.

Great topic, Miz!

[mizanation]

hey analyst, what are the teas that are available in thailand? jasmine, i'm sure, but what else? unfortunately, i went to thailand before i discovered tea and all i remember drinking was alcohol.

btw, the term "teaism" was coined by kakuzo okakura in his book "the book of tea". great reading, highly recommended.

[Analyst]

Thailand of course has a large Chinese population. Around the Yawarat area, there are various tea shops and houses with very high grade jasmine pearls and various oolongs.

One tea from Thailand is the Qing Xin "Clear Mind" tea, which is an oolong cultivated in the mountains. Thai Iced Tea (Cha Yen) consists of a black tea base flavored with star anise and sometimes tamarind, served with condensed milk over ice.

[ringring]

The Thieme's tea that was so good in Amsterdam had star anise. It also had fennel and juniper berries.

Excellent info Analyst. Thanks much.

Thieme's Echte Thee (translates to Thieme's Real Tea) is served in the Plaza Athenee Hotel in NYC.

Actually, due to Amsterdam's infamous colonial trade history, there are several interesting addresses for tea (and coffee) in this city. Tea culture is alive here and there are several shops specialised in tea from all over the world. Geels & Co for example, a store that has been around for 140 years. Another is Wijs & Zonen, who have been around for more than 200 years.

(sorry for that shameless bit of Amsterdam promo)

Thanks for the store names. If you would be so kind, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could post any names of good restaurants that serve traditional Dutch food

You have a beautiful city.

[xcoldricex]

any online stores would be great - for high quality teas or direct from the source - the teas i tried from adagio weren't anywhere near anything i've had in the respective countries the teas are actually from.

[mizanation]

hey coldrice.

i got a green tea sampler from adagio. i think it's a good intro to green tea, but i was raised on good quality japanese tea, so it wasn't that special for me. i agree, if you really want to get the best tea a country has to offer, better to get it from the source.

i found THE place to get pu-erh tea in new york. it's called the tea gallery and it's run by a couple tea experts from hong kong. it is highly recommended by the guy who runs http://www.pu-erh.net.

gonna make a trip there soon...

[mlproject]

someone recommended to check out TenRen on mott street in chinatown. i guess its a tea house and they have a huge selection of loose teas.

[englandmj7]

someone recommended to check out TenRen on mott street in chinatown. i guess its a tea house and they have a huge selection of loose teas.

Yeah. They have one in Chinatown here in SF as well. Very large tea selection.

[mlproject]

i'm going down there my next free day.. sounds like its worth the trip.

[lilodxd]

i'm going down there my next free day.. sounds like its worth the trip.

tenren is good stuff. some are reasonably priced but i think that some are overpriced. then again, it might not be overpriced for a tea enthusiast.

[Whodinihimself]

I used to order my teas from: http://www.japanesegreenteaonline.com/ ....their Uji Midori Matcha has to be tried by every green tea drinker...but any good matcha is a nice treat....and easy to make...unless youre a stickler for tradition, you dont really even need a bamboo whisk to prepare it..a normal steel kitchen whisk and a little Karate Kid 2 Drum Technique action should suffice..................had to put a stop to online tea purchases because it started getting too expensive..good to see so many tea drinkers on SF

[Analyst]

You can order teas in 2 ounce packages from www.teaism.com.

I think Tealuxe in Boston and NYC also sell tea online.

[Tisswat]

Thanks for the store names. If you would be so kind, I'd greatly appreciate it if you could post any names of good restaurants that serve traditional Dutch food

If you insist on traditional Dutch cuisine, I would suggest De Silveren Spiegel (Kattengat 4-6), Dorrius (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 5) and on a more casual/trendier note Reibach (Sarphatistraat 45). Urbanpicnic (Oude Spiegelstraat 4) for amazing sandwiches/lunch.

It's not easy to find a good restaurant that serves traditional Dutch food and the ones I mentioned could be a bit overrated. There are better restaurants here, but they usually combine foreign cuisine with Dutch local/traditional ingredients. Vermeer (Prins Hendrikkade 59-72) for example is a true feast.

By the way, Thieme's Echte Thee has a webstore as well, but I'm not sure if they ship overseas. You can probably work something out if you ask them. They sell complete 'Tea conaisseur starter packages' combining several flavours of tea and some essential tea readings to get you started in the world of tea. See: http://www.thiemesechtethee.nl/eng/index.html for contact info. I'll check out that star anise flavour soon. Sounds interesting.

[Vitamian]

Tea is vastly superior to coffee. I really can't stand coffee aside from a certain type of iced coffee drink at the Nordstroms Cafe, which really, is less coffee than a Starbucks is "Italian-style".

Another good tea resource is ]Kousmichoff although I suspect they only hike up the prices and rely on their Czarist heritage.

http://www.kusmitea.com/

[ringring]

If you insist on traditional Dutch cuisine, I would suggest De Silveren Spiegel (Kattengat 4-6), Dorrius (Nieuwezijds Voorburgwal 5) and on a more casual/trendier note Reibach (Sarphatistraat 45). Urbanpicnic (Oude Spiegelstraat 4) for amazing sandwiches/lunch.

It's not easy to find a good restaurant that serves traditional Dutch food and the ones I mentioned could be a bit overrated. There are better restaurants here, but they usually combine foreign cuisine with Dutch local/traditional ingredients. Vermeer (Prins Hendrikkade 59-72) for example is a true feast.

By the way, Thieme's Echte Thee has a webstore as well, but I'm not sure if they ship overseas. You can probably work something out if you ask them. They sell complete 'Tea conaisseur starter packages' combining several flavours of tea and some essential tea readings to get you started in the world of tea. See: http://www.thiemesechtethee.nl/eng/index.html for contact info. I'll check out that star anise flavour soon. Sounds interesting.

The star anise tea, is a little like the Babaocha I mentioned in a previous post. Similar, in that they are both mix of leaves and spices, like a Chai, although I much preferred the taste of the Thieme's to any Babaocha I've had.

Thanks much for the restaurant names. Food is fascinating as a window to the culture of a country, so I try and eat native when I can. I'll mark them down and try them out as soon as I get the opportunity.

[xcoldricex]

tenren is good stuff. some are reasonably priced but i think that some are overpriced. then again, it might not be overpriced for a tea enthusiast.

i was told by tea enthusiasts in china that ten ren isn't very good - too touristy and expensive - i can't say myself since i opted to buy elsewhere while in china.

[mizanation]

ok, i figured that ten-ren was somewhat like the starbucks of china.

btw, today i'm drinking yerba mate. it's good and has quite a kick!

whodinihimself - interesting to see a matcha drinker on here! i read in the book of tea that matcha was actually a chinese invention (big suprise) developed by the sungs. it made its way to japan, where the art was preserved. in china, the custom of matcha style tea was destroyed by war. my favorite green tea is actually a mix of sencha, kukicha and macha. has a great flavor and the combined health benifits of the three green teas. it's called "yamashiro maccha iri ryokucha" and it can be found at fine japanese groceries.

[mizanation]

sorry poly, don't know. i got mine from a friend at work...who got it from a friend in brooklyn. it's a russian variety--apparently they drink it there too.

[DaBestSpoona]

where does one buy yerba mate? i'm really interested in trying it now. ddml any local places? or online is good too

Dean and Deluca carries Yerba mate

[DaBestSpoona]

I bought some really awesome hoji cha from kyoto recently at the nishiki market where they roast and vaccuum seal it in front of you.

[mizanation]

wow spoona, that's a real treat. hojicha was created in kyoto. that's awesome, you're very lucky!