Blog Entries:
When To Drink Fresh Young Puerh and Tasting Notes From 2010 Essence of Tea Man Sai 
09/02/2010 04:32 GMT
[-]  Young puerh has very harsh chaqi that can be detrimental to your health. Middle aged and the elderly should never drink fresh young puerh. There are definitely some constitutions that should also never drink young puerh. Its harsh raw energy tends to attack the middle jiao and can lead to many health problems in those who can't handle it. This is especially true for those with cold constitutions and/or digestive or bowel problems. Very young raw sheng should only be consumed by certain people and in certain seasons. When the fresh puerh tea of the year starts to trickle out, one is always very tempted to try it out immediately. In the spring, young puerh is still too raw and harsh for consumption and is recommended against. The summers here in Victoria are dry and not that warm, the raw bitter taste of very young sheng is also quite harmful. So one usually waits until the cooler days of late summer or warmer days of early autumn, when the energy of nature starts to descend, to try out the latest seasonal offerings of fresh sheng puerh. One has been tasting allot of Nada's fresh puerh from Essence of Tea over the past few weeks. Expect reviews of his teas scattered throughout the next few months. The first sheng will be this cake from Man Sai. It's lightly compressed dry leaves are quite long with creamy, very sweet, tangy tobacco smells coming from them. Boiling water splashes from the tea table and it is time for some tea. The first infusion is full of strong creamy banana sweetness which melts into dry. There is a deep underlying pungency to it with subtleties of hay and some beany, light earthy notes. The feel in the mouth is very smooth and finishes dry and very sweet. The second infusions has strong initial creamy sweetness that moves into a somewhat pungent flavour then turns dry and tart. The aftertaste is quite sweet. The mouth feels coated in a thick gooey layer that is somewhat chalky in consistency. The sweet notes of this tea are strong and almost seem to drown out its deeper notes at times. The chaqi is very alerting. This tea has nice strong qi.  The third and fourth infusions follow the same creamy sweet to pungent to tart and dry. There is much more flavour in these infusions with earthy mushroom notes detected in the pungent middle and tropical fruit notes caught in the predominantly sweet aftertaste. The sweet nature of this tea hogs much of the profile from the initial taste to the aftertaste. There is a deep throaty feel to this tea. The fifth and sixth infusions are more round with a smoother body and long aftertaste. There are some slightly deeper earthy notes and some spice that seems to naturally come out here as the strong sweetness seems less greedy. Straw, beans, and light wood are reflected in the complex pungent middle. The seventh and eighth infusions have a very sweet floral touch to the initial sweetness which skips along the tongue into a less pungent, more light woody bottom. The chaqi here is inducing a nice sweat as it goes deep within. 
The last handful of infusions at the end are still sweet with dry wood notes and still lots of depth though of the lighter variety. When things get too light the session is called to an end but with a smile on ones face. Link to Adam's (The Sip Tip) Tasting Notes Peace When To Drink Fresh Young Puerh and Tasting Notes From 2010 Essence of Tea Man Sai - http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/feeds/348950997764399395/comments/default
[+] Young puerh has very harsh chaqi that can be detrimental to your health. Middle aged and the elderly should never drink fresh young puerh. There are definitely some constitutions that should also never drink young puerh. Its harsh raw energy tends to attack the middle jiao and can lead to many healt ... more [556975]
MattCha's Blog - http://mattchasblog.blogspot.com/
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I'm Back...let the sipping begin!
09/01/2010 12:31 GMT
[-] *cough...cough* and...............I'm back!Faster than any of you could even pronounce Tisane properly - May I suggest some help from Forvo? Fancy 'eh...now only if I could somehow get my Canadian accent to sounds french and sexy...Hmmmmm. So I have been gone now going on a little less than 1 month. I was extremely busy with life including Vet Appointment (a total of 5 - and if your wondering how much fun it was, let me tell you my mastercard is still smokin' hot from the action it got), Birthday Parties, Babies, Weddings (planned by the one and only) and of course my Alice in Wonderland Un-Birthday Tea Party (last Sunday).The long and short of it - I survived. Came out with a few dented credit cards and some serious extra weight however I managed to keep it all together and start September not only on a budget but doing some serious rain jogging - oh the fun I have jogging in rain boots. I will be posting momentarily with the Photos from my ever so amazingly fabulous Un-Birthday Tea Party. With 11 of my very closest friends and family joining me while I sip, eat, and croquet....yes that's right, I used croquet as a verb! You have a problem with that? Didn't think so.... Glad to be back...(Photo credit thanks to weheartit.com)XOXOYours Truly I'm Back...let the sipping begin! - http://lahteadah.blogspot.com/feeds/5610465622444916117/comments/default
[+] *cough...cough* and...............I'm back!Faster than any of you could even pronounce Tisane properly - May I suggest some help from Forvo? Fancy 'eh...now only if I could somehow get my Canadian accent to sounds french and sexy...Hmmmmm. So I have been gone now going on a little less tha ... more [556965]
LahTeaDah - http://www.LahTeaDah.blogspot.com
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Outdoor Tea
09/01/2010 11:00 GMT
[-] This post is for the Association of Tea Bloggers September Blog Carnival, hosted by Brett at Black Dragon Tea Bar. The focus of Septembers post is, about Tea Outside I guess a sort of reminiscent of the summer past, and a reminder that there will hopefully be a few good days this fall to have tea outside.
I love to have tea outside whenever I can. While we were really supposed to write about a memorable experience drinking tea outside, I am already a bit tapped out on that as I wrote an article for Tching about how Scenery can make the Cup which is about a truly horrible cup of tea that is one of my most memorable and remembered quite fondly, simply because I was enjoying it on a Patio in Venice, Italy.
So I decided to reflect a little bit about enjoying tea outside, and my dream outdoor tea experience.
This picture taken while I was enjoying tea outside, and something about the natural sounds and feel of the breeze of being outside is so much more enjoyable.
Though I have aspirations to hopefully in my life undertake what I consider the "ultimate" outdoor tea experience, it involves hiking with teaware up a mountain to a fresh mountain spring, and enjoying tea right there on the mountain side, hopefully off the beaten path, so it is just me and my company enjoying a truly unique experience. 
 Outdoor Tea - http://www.thesiptip.com/feeds/6081743817886514796/comments/default
[+] This post is for the Association of Tea Bloggers September Blog Carnival, hosted by Brett at Black Dragon Tea Bar. The focus of Septembers post is, about Tea Outside I guess a sort of reminiscent of the summer past, and a reminder that there will hopefully be a few good days this fall to have tea o ... more [556966]
The Sip Tip - http://thesiptip.blogspot.com
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Revisiting the 'perfect' Oriental Beauty of 2007
09/01/2010 10:37 GMT
[-]   Some teas have the power to put us in awe. Whaooh! A tea can be THAT good! So pure, so deep, so fine... I had this feeling when I encountered this tea (scroll down in the post) 3 years ago. The multicolor, tiny dry leaves of Oriental Beauty are so delicate. The dry leaves' fragrance goes beyond tea in the realm of feminine perfumes. 3 years later, the smell has added more depth, but shed some of its fresh 'bite'. It's less shine, more substance and calm. It's changing. I use my smallest 'ivory' white gaiwan to get its true taste and reduce the amount of leaves I'm brewing. The red kimono belt provides a matching background for this highly oxidized Oolong. The open leaves are magnificient:   The taste is still very pure, sweet and light. The fragrance of the brew is a little darker, but its refinement still makes me go 'hmmmmm'! The first brews are particularly amazing. Some of my readers had the opportunity to purchase this 'perfect' Oriental Beauty 3 years ago. If you are one of them and are interested to taste how it evolved, I still have some left to share with the first 5 people to contact me. (Price and quantity are the same as 3 years ago).  Revisiting the 'perfect' Oriental Beauty of 2007 - http://teamasters.blogspot.com/feeds/8785831815047111964/comments/default
[+] Some teas have the power to put us in awe. Whaooh! A tea can be THAT good! So pure, so deep, so fine... I had this feeling when I encountered this tea (scroll down in the post) 3 years ago.The multicolor, tiny dry leaves of Oriental Beauty are so delicate. The dry leaves' fragrance goes beyond tea i ... more [556967]
Tea Masters - http://teamasters.blogspot.com/
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橱窗 Hyllor eller fönster?
09/01/2010 10:18 GMT
[-]  Här är vad jag brukar kalla för "aromatisk nudel". Det var något jag kommer ihåg från mina föräldrars hem. Ser jag den här maten kom jag ihåg hur en gång vårt kök fönster blivit en köks hylla: Det var en äldre kinesisk gubbe som lagar mat hemma förut, som hade frågat mina föräldrar att ordna några köks hyllor nära spisen för honom att komma lättare åt soya sås och alla andra ingridienser när han lagar mat. Av många andra saker emellan, blev önskan glömd varje gång, men uppenbarligen inte för kocken.
   En morgon vakna vi upp allihoppa för att se köks fönstret nära spisen förvandlats till en hemgjord hylla. Min far sagde ingenting, men jag kunde aldrig glömma min mors minne när nu hennes fina köks fönster har blivit till en sån sak som är faktiskt nästan svårt att avgöra om det är ett fönster eller hyllor. I vanliga fall hade det kanske varit några köks -, inredning - och kostnads diskussion, men om maten blir så gott i doft och smak varje dag som jag kommer ihåg, fanns det inget annat val än att reparera fönstret och ordna några riktiga hyllor för den duktiga kocken. Hursomhelst, orsaken till en så god doft är bland annat de svamparna som man blandar i nudlarna. Och med såna här "aromatisk mat", tycker jag alltid om antingen Longjing som kan komplementera svamp doften samtidigt som det kan serveras som yin till det alltför för yang doft av svampar, eller en Dancong som har den förmågan att anpassa sin smak beror på vilken mat en äter. Smaklig måltid till alla! .... för Chadao ...
黄琼丝Foto: En Kopp Zen Tehus 
 æ©±çª Hyllor eller fönster? - http://enkoppzen.blogspot.com/feeds/1646869309972952214/comments/default
[+] Här är vad jag brukar kalla för "aromatisk nudel". Det var något jag kommer ihåg från mina föräldrars hem. Ser jag den här maten kom jag ihåg hur en gång vårt kök fönster blivit en köks hylla: Det var en äldre kinesisk gubbe som lagar mat hemma förut, som hade frågat mina föräldr ... more [556963]
En Kopp Zen Tehus - http://enkoppzen.blogspot.com
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Floating Tea Leaves
09/01/2010 09:01 GMT
[-] Some of you may remember my review of the excellent Miro Tea in the Ballard neighborhood here in Seattle. This month, we head to the other side of Ballard - and the other end of the tea spectrum - with a visit to Floating Tea Leaves, a tiny tea shop tended by the dedicated and talented Shiuwen Tai.
 I’ve been wanting to visit this shop for some time, but was never able to match my schedule with its somewhat limited business hours this last winter. Today was well worth the wait. Floating Tea Leaves is, simply put, wonderful - a surprising treat for those of us searching for a hands-on, tea-purchasing experience.
When I walked through the front door of Shiuwen’s shop, I was surprised to see such a small space. I had been expecting to see the usual tea-house accoutrements - counter, tables, and maybe a glass case full of pastries. What I found was a single tasting table in the corner of the shop surrounded by three men and a Taiwanese woman with a tremendous laugh serving tea gong fu style from a gaiwan. Although I was a little intimidated, they soon invited me to join them in their tasting. We fell to talking, and my expected fifteen-minute visit turned into an engaging two-hour conversation about life, wine, tea, and the complexities of each.
We sampled five teas, including a Li Sian and a traditional Dong Ding, which I ended up taking home with me. The Dong Ding has a wonderful floral aroma with some light fruity notes, and a wonderful honey-like mouth feel. We ended our tour with a Pu-erh, a variety of tea that I had not yet had the opportunity to sample in my tea path thus far. I was immediately struck by the depth and complexity of the flavor of this tea.
After the rest of the guests had left, Shiuwen and I got to talking. I introduced myself as a Starbucks barista with a passion for tea and photography and she told me a little of her story of working for the same company, leaving to start her own business, and her desire to bring people to a greater understanding of what it means to drink good tea. She is a specialist in Taiwanese oolongs and personally knows many of the farmers from whom she sources the teas for her shop. At Floating Tea Leaves, not only is the tea exquisite, but the owner is vibrant, engaging, friendly, and passionate about what she does for a living. Next time you’re in Seattle, be sure to stop by. You won’t be disappointed and you might just make a new friend in the process.
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Floating Tea Leaves - http://www.tching.com/2010/09/floating-tea-leaves/
[+] Some of you may remember my review of the excellent Miro Tea in the Ballard neighborhood here in Seattle. This month, we head to the other side of Ballard - and the other end of the tea spectrum - with a visit to Floating Tea Leaves, a tiny tea shop tended by the dedicated and talented Shiuwen Tai ... more [556960]
T Ching - http://www.tching.com/
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Nice to some traditional building skills being used. Not up to standards seen in Japan, but enjoyable to see. 
