I used to love Earl Grey so much. And then at some point I went off it completely and utterly. I can't imagine wanting a cup now. Can your taste buds change between your mid-20s and your early 40s?
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Thursday, 15 March 2012 20:58 (1 year ago) Permalink
on account of the caffeine thing i migrated to mainly rooibos tea, & i went somewhere (a zoo) recently where they only had decaf tea, just regular tea but decaf, it was like the sad ghost of every bad cup of tea i've ever had.
― john-claude van donne (schlump), Friday, 16 March 2012 11:47 (1 year ago) Permalink
OTM, decaf black teas are the death flavor-wise. Swee-Touch-Ny (sp?) decaf is the closest to okay.
― Axolotl with an Atlatl (Jon Lewis), Friday, 16 March 2012 15:33 (1 year ago) Permalink
I've been mad on oolong and green tea for the past four months. Chinese greens are hard to get right, sencha is easy enough to acquire but the fancy Chinese and greens have been somewhat mysterious... most of the tea vendors I've visited haven't had enough of a demand for 'em, so they've had them sitting on their shelves for too long.
Then I was blown away but the quality and selection at Théréal in Montréal. The place is unassuming but their greens are fresh and brilliant and their oolongs are exceptional. After I splurged on a few different kinds, the owner was kind enough to let me sample a cup of this year's first-pick Anxi Baicha and it was, well, it was perfect.
― poxen, Thursday, 10 May 2012 01:40 (1 year ago) Permalink
how crucial is brewing temp/times for green tea? the bags say one thing; people say another.
― Philip Nunez, Thursday, 10 May 2012 02:15 (1 year ago) Permalink
Entirely a matter of taste. Pour boiling water over the tea and wait 5 minutes and it's gonna taste like assholes. Let the water cool to 70 C and let it steep 2 minutes and you'll think you were drinking hot water.
For Japanese teas i.e. gyokuro you have to be precise with your 60 C water and steeping times. For Chinese greens, they're less processed (traditionally) and can be treated according to taste. I typically brew 4 minutes at 80-85C for a fresh green.
.. This might sound didactic for a message board I suppose but like the bags of black tea sweepings we all grew up with are a touch more forgiving. If we were talking about cooking a nice piece of fish these deviations in temperature/time would be a little more yeah
― poxen, Thursday, 10 May 2012 06:19 (1 year ago) Permalink