Tea

[GeneChing]

Pu Bao-Chung from Taiwan Choice Best Tea.

A nice hearty green - delicate, aromatic, almost buttery.

[Raipizo]

I'm pretty boring when it comes to tea drinking, I drink peony white from prince of peace. I think it's pretty good but plain tea leaves are pretty hard to mess up

[GeneChing]

I've gone through a lot of tea since my last post. I've got several open bags at home. I'll list them later as I'm at work now (obviously). Here I'm currently drinking Pearl Green Tea from Prince of Peace, a gift from a visiting master. It's a flavorful tea, almost creamy with the finish - I tend to overbrew it because I like the bitterness (okay, not true, it's because I'm lazy about brewing at work).

Here's what I came here to post:

Enjoy a relaxing bowl of tea with these beautiful goldfish-shaped teabags from Taiwan
Philip Kendall 2 days ago



Despite what many Japanese and Americans think, when we Brits envisage having a cup of tea, it’s usually more “in a giant mug with biscuits for dipping and the TV on” than “cucumber sandwiches and sipping from a china cup.”

If we had access to teabags as delicate and beautifully designed as these Goldfish-shaped teabags from Taiwanese company Charm Villa, though, I think even we Brits might be inclined to switch off the TV and make tea-time chill-out time a bit more often.

Spotted by our Japanese sister site Pouch, these ornate teabags are perfect for a nice, relaxing cup of cha while overlooking a Japanese water garden or relaxing in a traditional ryokan.

Unlike the usual square or circular teabags we often throw into our mugs to make a quick brew, Charm Villa’s teabags feature a unique three-dimensional design and an assortment of flaps and fins to make them look exactly like a tiny goldfish peeping over the edge of your cup.



They may start off pure white, but when placed in a cup – or bowl, if you’re feeling particularly whimsical – of hot water, the teabag fish (tea-fish?) will slowly start to change colour, becoming a rich golden-brown. Peer into your cup and you’d swear that there was a real goldfish swimming in it, albeit one that had taken the bait on the end of some indiscriminate fisherman’s line.


It looks like Charm Villa’s products are currently only available to buy within Taiwan, but maybe if enough of us pester them on Facebook they’ll start shipping overseas, so be sure to stop by their page when you have a second.

Photos: Charm Villa, Facebook

▼ Someone get these fish some hot water to swim in!

[GeneChing]

I thought I'd keep this thread rolling with an ongoing account of my current teas, but I don't keep up with it for some reason. Fortunately, other factors make this thread resurface occasionally. This time, it's our latest ezine offering: Rebuilding the Northern Shaolin Temple: Part 12: Fan Yi Hui Chan House - Beijing by Gregory Brundage

[curenado]

I read that and got to it by a link pasted on foolbook so it is getting exposure.
Narurally, there was a person with a kung fooey name, making the erudite comment "What is this?!?" Ahahaha!

[herb ox]

Greetz gents,

Personally, I switch between a large bing of pu erh that I've had since 2008 (ya I know, it should probably be gone by now...) and a good oolong - my current fave is the "Supreme Jin Xuan Milk Oolong" that has a naturally buttery taste to it.

Oolong tea can clear the head and reduce red eyes, but sometimes I find it too "cold" for my digestion and over the course of a day can wind up with a headache or stomach ache, so I tend to drink it only for specific occasions, like when I need to clear my head or if there is a special guest for whom I am making gongfu cha.

Most of the time, I prefer pu erh with a couple of chrysanthemum flowers and a couple of dried rosebuds. Chrysanthemum clears heat from the eyes and the dried rose soothes "liver qi" - aka soothes the mood. Pu erh is versatile and I often add other substances like wu wei zi, the five flavored seed, which nourishes the precious fluids, or chen pi, the dried tangerine peel, which assists in digestion and helps transform phlegm.

I imagine all you tea purists out there are probably rolling your eyes but tea is not just for straight drinking - it can be incorporated into an herbal formula to yield different results... like Chuan Xiong Cha Tiao San - a powder of several herbs including oolong tea to relieve a headache caused by "cold wind invading the channels of the head"

...and that's the truth, Ruth!

peace

herb ox

[curenado]

Tomb Raider: "Drink your tea. It tastes very bad but is very good for you"

Of the numerous and equally wonderful reasons for tea are taste, health, pleasure, refreshment, healing, edification, wisdom and folly. ..and the wonderful alchemy of mixing them around

Here, we fix tea often as to whether we think you should be a saint, whether we think you got worms and bad teeth or D - all the above

[herb ox]

My daily tea setup:

2 tone gaiwan from China - brought back from the mainland by a girlfriend some years back.
The pot in the background is just for doing my pour-offs - I almost never use it for brewing tea, it's just too big! We have 3 of these in our house so I snagged one for my office...
The drinking glass is from one of those yogurts that comes in the kewl glass jar. Love those! They make great makeshift cups for cupping therapy, too

Jin Xuan Milk Oolong in the cup

Clearing the head for the afternoon shift. TGIF!

herb ox

[boxerbilly]

Drink Lipton. it is cheaper and usually tastes better than the more expensive stuff I tried. To each his own. I'm fine with the so called low grade powder.

[boxerbilly]

My tea set up

[boxerbilly]

Herb Ox. Im not sure if you can tell in the photo you attached. But you have things floating in your cup. Might want to check before you drink that.

[mickey]

Greetings,

I enjoy Tetley Tea. There's something about them tiny little tea leaves.

A long time back there was "Ho Ho" brand Chinese Tea. It was served at Chinese restaurants in NYC. It was really good. It was like orange pekoe tea and it had a beautiful rich flavor. I wish I could find that again. Nothing else could top it except sassafras.

mickey.

[boxerbilly]

Most Chinese restaurants serve Oolong as the house tea. It can range form a green to black tea. I only go to one Chinese place where I live. We have lots. They all suck but this one house. They are actually from Taiwan. And the tea they serve there is the best I ever had. Oolong. And, I bet it is pretty cheap too....

I have to ask him the next time I am there where I can get his tea.

Great people. I love this husband and wife team. Great food. Always glad to see me. The best service and food. On the west coast I hated all the Asian houses too. Everyone I went to I thought sucked. So, I ate Mexican mostly when I went out.

He was a Taiwan Marine too. Great guy! Why we don't have more like him in the world is beyond me but I'm glad I found him 17 years ago.

[curenado]

Oh call me when it's over

[herb ox]

Herb Ox. Im not sure if you can tell in the photo you attached. But you have things floating in your cup. Might want to check before you drink that.

@boxerbilly - That's right... thanks for noticing. Here's how I check the contents of the cup before I drink:

1. Observe the unfurling tea leaves
2. Appreciate the aroma
3. Examine the color of the infused liquid
4. Enjoy the taste

Check my Supreme Mao Xie Oolong before and after hot water...



As Neville "Bunny Wailer" Livingston said: "the smell is as good as the taste"

Believe it or not - this is what tea is supposed to look like - not warehouse floor sweepings placed in a filter bag I mean, to each is own and we all have our individual preferences... but if you cut open your used tea bag and it looks like a poopy mess, ya gotta wonder - how can we tell what is in it?

IMHO most oolong served at Chinese-American (aka Chop Suey Kitchen, etc) restaurants is the lowest grade available. It is completely lacking in taste and aroma. However, I suppose it is one good way to understand the "terroir" of the local water supply

Now if you'll excuse me I need to refill my cup for the second steeping.

Peace

herb ox