[-] Just got back from the 2007 World Tea Expo in Atlanta and, as is our custom, we had a fantastic time. All weekend long we were knocking back little cups of tea while having funny, halting conversations with people who spoke little English. Erik got to flex his limited yet awesome knowledge of Japanese to the delight of some of the exhibitor ladies while I got to watch the eye-rolling of their male boothmates. Domo arigato, Erik-san. And, of course, we made lots of headway with our fledgling enterprise. More details to follow once we get some of our photos uploaded.

World Tea Expo! - http://www.blogger.com/feeds/8993303/posts/default/7622191451043732734?v=2

[-] I'm new to this community and to bubble tea, so I thought I'd drop a note to tell you all that just looking through some of the recent entries gave me a dozen ideas. Thanks!Also, being from Chattanooga, Tennessee, I'm sad to say that this city has no bubble tea that I know of. (Correct me if I'm wrong, but I doubt many of you would know anyway.) When I'm in school, I'm about an hour away from Nashville, but I haven't explored for bubble tea there because I had never had it until I visited Boston a week ago. I'm dying to try some of the more unusual flavors (avocado???), but I guess for now, I'm stuck with what I can come up with on my own. Chattanooga is a beautiful city, and I love it, but I think I'm stuck in the part of the U.S. that is the last to see anything new.Today, I made some bastard bubble tea with tiny tapioca pearls. I used black tea and mint tea and vanilla cream, and it turned out better than I thought it would, but really, I have no basis for comparison. At least the tiny tapioca pearls fit through my regular tiny straw.Back to lurking, I guess. http://community.livejournal.com/bubbleteafans/161222.html bubbleteafans @ 2007-06-11T21:40:00

[-] http://phyllsheng.blogspot.com/2007/06/at-imens-tea-habitat-long-beach.html At Imen's Tea Habitat & The Long Beach Aquarium

[-]

I received this little beauty for a birthday gift just awhile back.

As I have stated before, I'm not much of one for flavored teas, there are only two or three that I can think of that I do like. This tea adds to my disliking of flavored teas. I do like a tea that has a cinnamon flavor to it sometimes. Sometimes I just add one stick of cinnamon to a cup of hot tea while it steeps for a bit. But sad to say in this tea I can not taste any tea at all! All I can taste is the cinnamon oil added to this tea plus with all of the broken cinnamon stick pieces added to the tea (maybe for looks).

Looking at the side of the tin there is a "PRODUCTION:" label (ingredients) that says that there is in the blended black tea three kinds of cinnamon (maybe the broken pieces of cinnamon stick and two kinds of cinnamon oils), orange peel and sweet cloves.

Now having taste buds of a master chef, I can honestly say that I don't taste any orange peel or sweet clove (both of which I use in making my holiday hams). And also sad to say that the after taste of this tea lasts for hours and is to overpowering for other things you may eat or drink in those hours later.

If you use any kind of YiXing teapot, DO NOT USE THIS TEA! You will ruin the pot forever!

But I must say a nice word or two about Harney & Sons' Teas, their selection of Black Teas are among some of the best you can buy, so I would not write off these people for good quality tea, but I have not tried their Green or White Teas as of yet.

Harney & Sons: Hot Cinnamon Spice Black Tea - http://noteabags.blogspot.com/2007/06/harney-sons-hot-cinnamon-spice-black.html

[-] A new post? I guess it's about time to post these notes. I recently made a couple orders from puerhshop.com, so I have several teas to write tasting notes about. The problem is, I've been rather lazy about posting notes. I have saved several unfinished notes that I'm finally posting, and I must ask for forgiveness for the poorly written notes. Hopefully I will get into a habit of posting the notes as I try the teas, rather than putting it off. Let's start with '06 Nanqiao 753 sheng. The first couple times trying this tea, I was suspicious of green tea being mixed in here. So, I tried it several times to figure out whether or not that's true. I still don't know if there is green tea mixed in or not, but I bought a second beeng anyway. 4.5g in 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 15s, 30s, 30s, 45s, 60s.Dry leaf aroma: Honey and floral. Smells very sweet.Wet leaf: Some cigarette smoke came out.1: There is a pleasant campfire smoke aroma with a slight mintiness. Some woodiness, and other flavors I can't describe. Maybe lightly roasted barley? Surprisingly, the aftertaste is devoid of astringency. Maybe my brewing is finally improving, or this tea is just more forgiving. 2: Even more campfire smoke. Some bitterness came out, but it's balanced with a sweetness.After those infusions, I didn't notice much change, besides a much stronger bitterness and astringency. It's likely that my brewing is pulling out the bitterness, but I still have suspicion that there is green tea in there because of the bitterness in the later infusions. Green tea or no green tea, it's damn good. I hope it's not green tea so I can age the second beeng, but I wouldn't mind drinking them now. '05 Jingmai "old wild tree"This is the second time trying this tea, so maybe I'll be able to get a better idea of it this time. Yesterday, I tried the tea with what was loose in the wrapper. The cake has many dents in the sides, so there was a lot of loose leaves. I thought that it started out very smooth, and honey-like. Around the third infusion, I noticed that stale cigarette smoke came out. This time, I broke off a 4.5g chunk, and brewed it in the 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 20s, 20s, 45s, and one infusion that was poured when the pot dried completely. Leaf aroma: I guess I forgot to write down the aroma when I was trying the tea. I only remember cigarette smoke and some fruit.1: cigarette smoke, honey, wood, fruit, and it seems almost roasted. 2: Still Sweet, but now with a bitter edge.3: Sweetness is mostly canceled out by a light bitterness. 4: This infusion was just a brewing test. Came out light.5: Skip the 30 seconds, and go directly to 45s. There is a weird grassiness, or leafiness came out. I've been noticing lately that this flavor is common in teas that are a few years old. I wonder if the means that this tea is just starting to enter the transitional period.6: Eh.Overall, not that bad. Although, I would probably rather wait several years than drink it now. '05 Jinzhen "South of Cloud" shu This tea is baffling me. I have brewed it several ways, and each turned out different. First time, I used 5 grams of loose tea found in the wrapper in a 35cl mug. It was brewed loose in the mug. The smell of this tea seemed to be missing the sweetness of other shus. The smell is more outdoorsy. Woody, dirt, and possibly forest floor? No sweet molasses or malt, like I've heard shu being described as (I personally don't know how to describe it).Then, I tried it using 7g in a 10cl pot. Rinse, and 15s, 20s, etc... I don't remember the times. The tea didn't come out very smooth or pleasant. Then, after nearly a weak of airing out, I tried it again, this time with only 6 grams. It came out light, but I at least got a better idea of the tea. From smelling the leaves, it seems airing it out improved it a bit. The first couple infusions came out decent. Then, a strong "pondy" flavor became noticeable. Maybe this tea needs more time than a few weeks of airing out. Now for the part about it baffling me. The first time I tried it, I noticed a few small green leaves mixed in with some brown leaves. Then trying it with leaves broken off from the beeng, it was all black leaves. Then trying it again today, it's green and brown again. I talked to Jogrebe about this, and he said that he didn't notice this in the one he got.Hmm. http://teawarden.blogspot.com/2007/06/can-it-be.html Can it be?

[-] A new post? I guess it's about time to post these notes. I recently made a couple orders from puerhshop.com, so I have several teas to write tasting notes about. The problem is, I've been rather lazy about posting notes. I have saved several unfinished notes that I'm finally posting, and I must ask for forgiveness for the poorly written notes. Hopefully I will get into a habit of posting the notes as I try the teas, rather than putting it off.

Let's start with '06 Nanqiao 753 sheng. The first couple times trying this tea, I was suspicious of green tea being mixed in here. So, I tried it several times to figure out whether or not that's true. I still don't know if there is green tea mixed in or not, but I bought a second beeng anyway.

4.5g in 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 15s, 30s, 30s, 45s, 60s.
Dry leaf aroma: Honey and floral. Smells very sweet.
Wet leaf: Some cigarette smoke came out.

1: There is a pleasant campfire smoke aroma with a slight mintiness. Some woodiness, and other flavors I can't describe. Maybe lightly roasted barley? Surprisingly, the aftertaste is devoid of astringency. Maybe my brewing is finally improving, or this tea is just more forgiving.
2: Even more campfire smoke. Some bitterness came out, but it's balanced with a sweetness.

After those infusions, I didn't notice much change, besides a much stronger bitterness and astringency. It's likely that my brewing is pulling out the bitterness, but I still have suspicion that there is green tea in there because of the bitterness in the later infusions. Green tea or no green tea, it's damn good. I hope it's not green tea so I can age the second beeng, but I wouldn't mind drinking them now.


'05 Jingmai "old wild tree"
This is the second time trying this tea, so maybe I'll be able to get a better idea of it this time. Yesterday, I tried the tea with what was loose in the wrapper. The cake has many dents in the sides, so there was a lot of loose leaves. I thought that it started out very smooth, and honey-like. Around the third infusion, I noticed that stale cigarette smoke came out.

This time, I broke off a 4.5g chunk, and brewed it in the 8 cl pot. Rinse, 15s, 15s, 20s, 20s, 45s, and one infusion that was poured when the pot dried completely.

Leaf aroma: I guess I forgot to write down the aroma when I was trying the tea. I only remember cigarette smoke and some fruit.
1: cigarette smoke, honey, wood, fruit, and it seems almost roasted.
2: Still Sweet, but now with a bitter edge.
3: Sweetness is mostly canceled out by a light bitterness.
4: This infusion was just a brewing test. Came out light.
5: Skip the 30 seconds, and go directly to 45s. There is a weird grassiness, or leafiness came out. I've been noticing lately that this flavor is common in teas that are a few years old. I wonder if the means that this tea is just starting to enter the transitional period.
6: Eh.

Overall, not that bad. Although, I would probably rather wait several years than drink it now.

'05 Jinzhen "South of Cloud" shu
This tea is baffling me. I have brewed it several ways, and each turned out different.

First time, I used 5 grams of loose tea found in the wrapper in a 35cl mug. It was brewed loose in the mug. The smell of this tea seemed to be missing the sweetness of other shus. The smell is more outdoorsy. Woody, dirt, and possibly forest floor? No sweet molasses or malt, like I've heard shu being described as (I personally don't know how to describe it).
Then, I tried it using 7g in a 10cl pot. Rinse, and 15s, 20s, etc... I don't remember the times. The tea didn't come out very smooth or pleasant.
Then, after nearly a weak of airing out, I tried it again, this time with only 6 grams. It came out light, but I at least got a better idea of the tea. From smelling the leaves, it seems airing it out improved it a bit. The first couple infusions came out decent. Then, a strong "pondy" flavor became noticeable. Maybe this tea needs more time than a few weeks of airing out.

Now for the part about it baffling me. The first time I tried it, I noticed a few small green leaves mixed in with some brown leaves. Then trying it with leaves broken off from the beeng, it was all black leaves. Then trying it again today, it's green and brown again. I talked to Jogrebe about this, and he said that he didn't notice this in the one he got.

Hmm.

Can it be? - http://teawarden.blogspot.com/feeds/8220139164909033256/comments/default

[-] Hello again readers.Today, I'd like to tell you about a brand of tea that I discovered (actually, interestingly enough, it discovered me!)The brand is Revolution Tea ( revolutiontea.com), and they produce something that astounded even myself - Quality tea... IN TEABAGS! Now, if any of you have spent very much time on this blog, you'll know that my attitude towards teabags is less than positive. The reason for this is that most teabags contain poor quality tea that is broken into too small of bits, resulting in a weak, bitter, nasty tasting cup with bits of particulate in it. GROSS! With these teabags, however, this is very much not the case.Revolution has abandoned the idea of paper teabags in favor of expanding nylon ones. The teabags are also extra-large, and are not overfilled (another thing that most commercial teabags have a problem with. Using the teabags that they supplied me with (one each of every flavor they sell), I was actually able to get complete water circulation around the tea (which, by the way, remains in whole leaf format.)Another thing I found particularly interesting and useful about this tea is the packaging. It is extremely convenient. In the sampler that they sent me for evaluation, each teabag was contained in a single-serve T-box. Five of these t-boxes were placed inside a carrying tube, which listed all the flavors from left to right that were included in the box.As for the tea itself, I found it to have very good flavor and low bitterness. Additionally, they seem to have a knack at blending herbs to create unique and pleasing flavor profiles. The first sample that I drank, called Dragon Eye Oolong, combined a mixture of safflower, peach, and apricot along with a base of high-quality Chinese Oolong leaves. The resulting beverage was mild and slightly sweet, with a very comfortable lingering aftertaste.The beverage also had very nice color - something which can be difficult to achieve without the use of artificial coloring agents (none of which are present in any of their teas.) Using only herbs, they managed to create a blend that was both aesthetically pleasing, as well as orally pleasing.Now, I hope I don't sound like I've been paid to do an advertisement here. This is not the case. I have remained objective in my review of this product, and have maintained my editorial integrity - But when something truly is an outstanding product, I feel that my readers should know about it.I did mention that they used an extra-large nylon teabag to house their concoctions in, and it seems to work well... But I couldn't help thinking that it would do even better if they gave that some dimension, perhaps by embracing a pyramid design or something.All in all, though, this new company manages to produce a quality tea that is both portable and convenient.Thanks for reading my tea review, and have a splendid day.R 0 RP.S.: Due to spam at my blog posting robot's email (which ended up on the blog with me having to delete it), I have been forced to change said email address. If you would like the new address, please send me an email. insani-tea.blogspot.com http://insani-tea.blogspot.com/2007/06/its-revolution.html It's a Revolution!!!

[-] I don't know about elsewhere, but here in America the health market has a new marketing power word: antioxidants. I go to the grocery and I see jucies, teas, fruits, nuts, and so many other foodstuffs proudly displaying their antioxidant content on their bags and containers. I knew there was a new fixation when my 15 year old brother said he should be eating more antioxidants to keep him healthy...If you're reading this, then you surely have a slight (probably borderline obsessive) interest in tea. With that said, I'm also fairly confident that you have run across the terms antioxidant, polyphenol, and maybe even free radical. If you're familiar with what these terms mean, great! You're more informed than most employees that sell the products. If not, don't fret, I'll keep things (fairly) simple and hopefully clear up some of the mystery behind why tea (and anything containing a significant amount of antioxidants for that matter) is so good for your body.So what the heck is an antioxidant anyhow? Well, one could surmise that it is something that prevents oxidation, but that isn't necessarily helpful. Perhaps an explanation of oxidation is first in order: oxidation describes a chemical reaction in which an atom in question loses some number of electrons to another atom (conversely, the atom that gains electrons is said to undergo reduction). So it now seems that an antioxidant is something that would prevent the loss of electrons, either in itself or of other atoms/compounds. More helpful, but what's so bad about losing electrons that we should be seeking out these antioxidants anyway? For that, we move on to some little annoying things known as free radicals.Free radicals are single, unpaired electrons that are extremely reactive. Electrons like to move in pairs. If there is an unpaired electron orbiting an atom an extreme instability occurs: the atom will essentially react with just about anything to gain another electron to stabilize itself. It would be all fine and dandy if the reaction stopped there - one reactive atom neutralizing itself never hurt anyone. But it doesn't. If the free radical strips an electron from a happy, stable atom with perfectly paired electrons then the stable atom now has an unpaired electron instead - it will go on to react with another, which will react with another, which will react with another. Every time the radical stabilizes itself, another is formed. If this happens on a strand of DNA, mutations can occur, new unwanted genes can be expressed, babies cry, anarchy ensues, the whole nine yards. There are numerous articles outlining the correlation between radical DNA damage and cancer. Now you can see the problem! This process will go on indefinitely until the free radical reacts with another free radical by sheer chance and neutralize themselves, or until the radical pulls an electron from a compound that somehow has a way of stabilizing it's new unpaired electron. Remember how antioxidants prevent the loss of electrons? Here is where they shine - antioxidants will absorb the free radical without much fuss thereby preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Or, as the marketing geniuses prefer to put it, PREVENTING CANCER! I'm skeptical that it's that simple but antioxidants are pretty beneficial when it's all said and done. The reaction to the left shows the typical steps involved in a radical reaction: first the radical is formed (initialized here by light), then the radical reacts with a stable molecule (ethane in this example), and finally the radical is propagated, or recreated via either a bromine radical (not shown) or the ethane radical (shown). The last step would be termination of the radical (not shown) by 2 radicals, of either molecule, reacting with each other to stop the propogation. In a controlled solution, this termination would naturally occur until all the radicals are eliminated. However, when a non-intentional radical reaction occurs in your body, chances are that the radicals formed won't simply cancel each other out. Hence the need for antioxidants (specific proteins and enzymes help to control this also).Before we all go out and start a witch hunt for free radicals, it should be pointed out that not all are bad. Radicals play important roles in normal cell function - without some we would have never evolved past yeast. It's only when radicals are created when they aren't supposed to that the problems start. 'Bad' radicals are formed from UV exposure (wear your sunblock!), gamma ray exposure (cosmic radiation that you can't exactly help), and the spontaneous decomposition of volatile compounds in the body (hydrogen peroxide is a prime example).More information than you would ever need? Yes. Interesting? Hopefully (I find it so). Now that we know what antioxidants are and why we need them, I suppose the next logical step would be to explain why tea leaves contain such a high concentration of them, what they do for the plant, and how they work inside of us. Stay tuned for part II. http://chemistea.blogspot.com/2007/06/tea-polyphenols-and-you-part-i.html Tea, polyphenols, and you - PART I: THE ANTIOXIDANT HYPE:

[-] I don't know about elsewhere, but here in America the health market has a new marketing power word: antioxidants. I go to the grocery and I see jucies, teas, fruits, nuts, and so many other foodstuffs proudly displaying their antioxidant content on their bags and containers. I knew there was a new fixation when my 15 year old brother said he should be eating more antioxidants to keep him healthy...

If you're reading this, then you surely have a slight (probably borderline obsessive) interest in tea. With that said, I'm also fairly confident that you have run across the terms antioxidant, polyphenol, and maybe even free radical. If you're familiar with what these terms mean, great! You're more informed than most employees that sell the products. If not, don't fret, I'll keep things (fairly) simple and hopefully clear up some of the mystery behind why tea (and anything containing a significant amount of antioxidants for that matter) is so good for your body.

So what the heck is an antioxidant anyhow? Well, one could surmise that it is something that prevents oxidation, but that isn't necessarily helpful. Perhaps an explanation of oxidation is first in order: oxidation describes a chemical reaction in which an atom in question loses some number of electrons to another atom (conversely, the atom that gains electrons is said to undergo reduction). So it now seems that an antioxidant is something that would prevent the loss of electrons, either in itself or of other atoms/compounds. More helpful, but what's so bad about losing electrons that we should be seeking out these antioxidants anyway? For that, we move on to some little annoying things known as free radicals.

Free radicals are single, unpaired electrons that are extremely reactive. Electrons like to move in pairs. If there is an unpaired electron orbiting an atom an extreme instability occurs: the atom will essentially react with just about anything to gain another electron to stabilize itself. It would be all fine and dandy if the reaction stopped there - one reactive atom neutralizing itself never hurt anyone. But it doesn't. If the free radical strips an electron from a happy, stable atom with perfectly paired electrons then the stable atom now has an unpaired electron instead - it will go on to react with another, which will react with another, which will react with another. Every time the radical stabilizes itself, another is formed. If this happens on a strand of DNA, mutations can occur, new unwanted genes can be expressed, babies cry, anarchy ensues, the whole nine yards. There are numerous articles outlining the correlation between radical DNA damage and cancer. Now you can see the problem! This process will go on indefinitely until the free radical reacts with another free radical by sheer chance and neutralize themselves, or until the radical pulls an electron from a compound that somehow has a way of stabilizing it's new unpaired electron. Remember how antioxidants prevent the loss of electrons? Here is where they shine - antioxidants will absorb the free radical without much fuss thereby preventing the oxidation of other molecules. Or, as the marketing geniuses prefer to put it, PREVENTING CANCER! I'm skeptical that it's that simple but antioxidants are pretty beneficial when it's all said and done. The reaction to the left shows the typical steps involved in a radical reaction: first the radical is formed (initialized here by light), then the radical reacts with a stable molecule (ethane in this example), and finally the radical is propagated, or recreated via either a bromine radical (not shown) or the ethane radical (shown). The last step would be termination of the radical (not shown) by 2 radicals, of either molecule, reacting with each other to stop the propogation. In a controlled solution, this termination would naturally occur until all the radicals are eliminated. However, when a non-intentional radical reaction occurs in your body, chances are that the radicals formed won't simply cancel each other out. Hence the need for antioxidants (specific proteins and enzymes help to control this also).

Before we all go out and start a witch hunt for free radicals, it should be pointed out that not all are bad. Radicals play important roles in normal cell function - without some we would have never evolved past yeast. It's only when radicals are created when they aren't supposed to that the problems start. 'Bad' radicals are formed from UV exposure (wear your sunblock!), gamma ray exposure (cosmic radiation that you can't exactly help), and the spontaneous decomposition of volatile compounds in the body (hydrogen peroxide is a prime example).

More information than you would ever need? Yes. Interesting? Hopefully (I find it so). Now that we know what antioxidants are and why we need them, I suppose the next logical step would be to explain why tea leaves contain such a high concentration of them, what they do for the plant, and how they work inside of us. Stay tuned for part II.

Tea, polyphenols, and you - PART I: THE ANTIOXIDANT HYPE: - http://chemistea.blogspot.com/feeds/7838444129887529306/comments/default

[-] Chinese people are believed to have enjoyed tea drinking for more than 4,000 years. Legend has it that Yan Di, one of three rulers in ancient times, tasted all kinds of herbs to find medical cures. One day,as he was being poisoned by some herb he had ingested; a drop of water from a tea tree dripped into his mouth and he was saved. For a long time, tea was used as an herbal medicine. During the Western Zhou Dynasty, tea was a religious offering. During the Spring and Autumn Period, people ate fresh tea leaves as vegetables. With the popularization of Buddhism from the Three Kingdoms to the Northern and Southern Dynasties, tea's refreshing effect made it a favorite among monks in Za-Zen meditation. Tea as a drink prospered during the Tang Dynasty, and tea shops became popular. A major event of this time was the completion of Tea Classics, the cornerstone of Chinese tea culture, by Lu Yu, Tea Sage of China,. This little book details rules concerning various aspects of tea, such as growth areas for tea trees, wares and skills for processing tea, tea tasting, the history of Chinese tea and quotations from other records, comments on tea from various places, and notes on what occasions tea wares should be complete and when some wares could be omitted. Tinted by the cultural style of the Song Dynasty, tea culture at this time was delicate and sumptuous. New skills created many different ways to enjoy tea. The Ming Dynasty laid the foundation for tea processing, tea types and drinking styles that we have inherited. During the Qing Dynasty folk art entered tea shops, making them popular entertainment centers. This habit is still practiced in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. During the Tang Dynasty, a Japanese monk brought tea seeds from Zhejiang Province to Japan. Later in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zen masters brought tea procedures and tea wares from China to Japan, promoting the initiation of the Japanese tea ceremony. In the Song Dynasty, Arabic merchants exported tea from Quanzhou, Fujian Province. In the Ming Dynasty, tea was sold to Southeast Asian and South African countries. In 1610 tea went to Europe via Macau in a Dutch merchant ship. Thus tea became an international drink.There are many teas in china,mainly have green tea,wulong tea,wu long tea (link)(also Wulong tea have efficet of weight loss)),puer tea.etc..,you can refer here,there are all types of chinese tea.but they are not so correct translated ! http://infotea.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html#4160460829539022820 Chinese Tea History