The ULTIMATE shootout - TEA!!!

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by ulysses

On the other hand, can we really trust what a COFFEE org has to say about TEA?

i've never gotten jitters from green tea... black tea, OTOH.. stike stike

how do you explain this?

maybe someone is switching my black tea with expresso

[geeek]

Born and bred in Yorkshire.. It's gotta be Yorkshire Tea!

When I work in London, I take "Yorkshire Tea for hard water" with me, cos the water is so hard and full of limescale that it makes tea taste revolting.
This hard water blend is fantastically smooth and round.

It's just the ticket down south..



The album I just finished producing, which is getting great review, was built on a strong foundation of good cups of tea.

It helps with focus and in turn decisions and performance.

Essential.

Always make sure you brew tea for 3 minutes.. Make sure the water is as close to boiling as possible when it hits the tea bag.. Never squeeze the tea bag to release tea, as this releases too many tannins, and will make your tea a little bitter.

[ulysses]

Originally Posted by 3rd world order

i've never gotten jitters from green tea... black tea, OTOH..

how do you explain this?

I would suppose it's some combination of the factors discussed. Perhaps you're in the habit of drinking black teas brewed from broken leaves (such as tea bags), which release the caffeine more readily, while perhaps you drink higher-quality green tea that's mostly whole leaves, which don't release the caffeine as readily. Or perhaps you're in the habit of brewing your black teas for a longer period of time than your green teas. Maybe you select black teas that happen to be processed from a tea cultivar that has a higher caffeine content, or green teas of a milder variety. Maybe you (properly) brew your black tea with hotter water than your green tea. There are just too many variables. Maybe you had a terrible experience with black tea as an infant and seeing or smelling it causes you to have a mild anxiety attack. Or maybe you have a tendency to drink black teas on days when you smoke a lot of crack, while you prefer green teas to wash down your opiates. That would explain it.

[Sonic Lush]

Originally Posted by ulysses

I would suppose it's some combination of the factors discussed. Perhaps you're in the habit of drinking black teas brewed from broken leaves (such as tea bags), which release the caffeine more readily, while perhaps you drink higher-quality green tea that's mostly whole leaves, which don't release the caffeine as readily. Or perhaps you're in the habit of brewing your black teas for a longer period of time than your green teas. Maybe you select black teas that happen to be processed from a tea cultivar that has a higher caffeine content, or green teas of a milder variety. Maybe you (properly) brew your black tea with hotter water than your green tea. There are just too many variables. Maybe you had a terrible experience with black tea as an infant and seeing or smelling it causes you to have a mild anxiety attack. Or maybe you have a tendency to drink black teas on days when you smoke a lot of crack, while you prefer green teas to wash down your opiates. That would explain it.

I think if you tune into your own body you can sort out the ways 'different' caffiene varieties will stimulate oneself. We are not all alike and obviously react differently to similar substances. for me it's kind of like:

Green tea highs seem a lot cleaner and, dare I say, speedier.

Black tea is smeared in the middle toward coffee caffiene. I love it.

Espresso (ain't no X in espresso) is its own wonderful ting. Makes my hair follicles itch.

Drip coffee is the sludge that is like jumping around in leg weights with a stomach ache. Utilitarian, but ultimately tied to my blood sugar and will exacerbate hunger and go right to my herniated discs and make my back hurt bad. not so good on the job.

I want to try some of that Yorkshire tea!

As some of my favorite producers come from that area, perhaps it's not in the water, but the TEA!?!

I'm doing a show right now and offered a cup of EB to one of the nice gals sewing stage curtains. She clenched her fingers like claws and said "if I drink that, you'd need to pry me off the ceiling like a cat stuck to the curtains!" ok then, no black teas for you!

[Sevitzky]

Originally Posted by ulysses

I hadn't heard of them before. But I'm going to Paris in a couple of weeks and staying at a hotel not far from their mothership so I'm definitely going to try and get in there to check it out.

Oh yea, brah. Gotta check them out. Yes, the 'scene' is a little uppity for my taste, generally speaking, but the sheer volume of top notch teas is mind blowing. Besides, I don't go there to hang out (what am I talking about, I've only been to one store, ever!) At the Tokyo location where I was introduced to them, they took huge, gallon-sized tins of the shelf and let me smell a bunch of different kinds. The sales guy was truly knowledgeable - he was able to point me towards an assam based on the obscure name of a batch I had bought in Istanbul years earlier (???!!!).

I don't get why people dislike Earl Grey so much here. The Marriage Freres Earl Grey Imperial is... like,... just fvcking divine. I mean, truly heavenly. And it's not even their top listing (they have 7 different kinds, I believe). I took a whiff, and got a total head-rush, like smelling dank nuggs.

Gen-mai is one of my favorites - there's nothing quite like it. Originally, it was a "poor-mans" drink, with "filler" additives like popped corn and toasted rice. Now, of course, it's developed into a gourmet blend (sort of like BBQ, or sushi, or etc..) If anybody reading this hasn't tried GenMai and likes Green teas - GOT to try it.

You know, speaking of Greens, when I was in Tokyo, I really learned about the varieties of Green at some fine tea joints. It's like Sake vs Wine. It's hard to develop a sense for different sakes if all you've had is the hot house-crap at chinese/japanese fusion restaurants.

Anybody here brew gong fu style?

[Sevitzky]

it's related to the term Kung-Fu, which is not really a martial art, per se, but a highly cultivated practice (in this case, of body movement)

But in relation to Tea, Gong Fu is a style of brewing that brings a high degree of mindfulness to the ritual. There are far more authoritative accounts out there, but as regards to getting a more complex brew out of your tea, do the following. And this is most definitely an american/bastardized version:

(Black teas, 212, green 180, BTW. You gotta obey these rules for the best results)

Which ever tea you're drinking, the very first thing you do is "shock" or awaken the leaves by pouring just a bit of the heated water over them. Do not soak or submerge them, but make sure all the leaves are wetted. This allows them to begin to unfurl. The slop from this first pour can be used to heat up your mug (ceramic, right?) so it doesn't change your tea. This first shock will take the edge off of most any tea. Then you expose the leaves to the water a second time, for the brew. Ideally, the leaves are free-floating in a pot, and you don't pour the water directly on them, but adjacent, so the action cause the leaves to swirl around and expose surface area to the water.

Whatever, I brew lazy man style in a mug with an infuser insert.

But, I tell you, if you do the first part, and awaken your leaves before brewing, you will get a much rounder brew. The edge is often taken off (even a stronger black like assam), and there is much more blossom in the middle of the taste.

For really really fine teas, there is a whole process of multiple brews (w/ much different results than the second brew of normal leaves).


Man, I feel like I am bullshitting about tube mics, right now.

But for the record, I will rock lipton or twinings fannings bagged tea if that's all there is. It's a similar pleasure to shaving with a dull razor. Which I do every day.

[xj32]

Originally Posted by mohthom

Twinnings is better than bog-standard PG Tips and Tetley - but IMHO there's some much more exciting stuff out there. If you're into the straight breakfast blend, can you get Taylors of Harrogate stuff over the pond?

MohThoM

Just got mine in the mail and made up a cup of the Scottish Breakfast blend. Highly recommended, smooth yet very rich and full.

Nice!!!

XJ

[Roland]

As a couple of people have already mentioned, PG tips is a good all round, everyday brew (advertised by monkeys). For somthing special (as Plush said) Fortnum and Mason's is good as is Harrods Breakfast Blend no 11. Obviously if you are an Earl Gray or other specialist tea lover it's a whole different thing.

Regards


Roland

[yrplace]

PG- Tips...........

[Gravity]

I'm such a ritualistic purist about my tea. I like all kinds, but my favourites are always Oolongs.

There is never a bad time for a good formosa oolong, but if you can find it, there is a Milk Oolong that is unbelievable.

Two teaspoons of milk oolong in my brass mesh infuser, water to 170F, 3 minutes to infuse. Each flush gets better and better... I've had third flushes from that tea that beat the first.

[ulysses]

By "flush" do you mean brew or harvest? Flush usually refers to subsequent pickings in a given season (with 1st flush most prized). It sounds like you might be talking about brewing multiple pots of tea with the same leaves - with good tea, the best pot is usually the 2nd or 3rd.

[ulysses]

Originally Posted by ulysses

My current green tea is a rather inexpensive Bio Grüner Tee Sencha from Alnatura.

And after finding myself leaning on the black tea lately, it occurred to me that this is really not very good Sencha. It tastes alright at first, but as it cools, or if you overbrew it, or if you try to brew even a 2nd pot, it develops a rather drab, unpleasant flavor. I bought some plain old Sencha from the TeeGschwender today, and it's amazing how much better it is than the Alnatura stuff I'm glad to be rid of. So if you see that crap at the store, be warned: I don't recommend it.
I also bought a bit of the premium Sencha, which smelled very grassy. I'm looking forward to comparing it to the cheaper standard stuff. It costs more than double, so it had better be good.

[mohthom]

I just had a glorious moment.

I discovered my kitten trying to take a sup from my girlfriend's tea (she left for work and it was cold, don't worry!) - she likes it milky!

That just leaves the older cat, and then the house would be 4 for 4!

MohThoM