Appologies for my ignorance

I found Ripon's answer a bit over the line myself.

If you want a good tea which is relatively expensive, and not white tea, try some Golden Yunnan, sometimes named Yunnan Superior. It's my "Tea of the month" ;-)

Laurent

"Laurent Bugnion, GalaSoft" wrote in news:brp7t6$ai5$ snipped-for-privacy@rex.ip-plus.net:

I am new (lurky) to this group and I think it is a great group from what I have seen so far. I get my teas mostly at the grocery, they sell them in bulk and I have been trying different greens, one organic black, one celestial seasons white and plan to try some red soon. I do not really have much of a recomendation but just to try different teas and see. Many of the teas they talk of in here are ones I have not ever heard of, but hope to eventually become familiar with. Be sure to check out different stores also, the first Jasmine I tried was from a local Chinese import store when I was looking for some green, jasmine is currently my favorite tea, and I happened to happen across it. I also waned to respond to Laurent's post, and say how kind you were, and that you (Laurent) have a very very beautiful family, you are a very lucky man indeed! and you drink tea!! well anyway, peace to all, happy holidays and o yeh be sure to drink some tea. (peace (sluurp) sodapop

It helps if we know your tastes. Otherwise the question is almost impossible to answer. However, since you don't know what you like, here are some questions.

1. Do you smoke?
2. Which of the following flavors appeal to you- Flowery, smoky, wine-like, yeasty, grassy, or woody?
3. When you brew PG Tips, are you going for taste or the caffeine rush?
4. Do you drink tea in a hurry, or do you use it to relax?
5. What time of day are you most likely to drink tea?
6. Do you prefer to have tea with food, or do you drink it alone?
7. Finally- sugar, milk and sugar, lemon, or nothing?

The answer to these question will help us help you. While I agree that Ripon was brusque, I understood where he was coming from. If you can use a computer, then you are capable of reading a bit of something on tea before asking 'what's the most expensive one?' I say this because I just bought a friend cigars, and I actually spent a few hours reading up on them so that when I asked questions of cigar smokers regarding my purchase, I didn't annoy them and I could make sense of the answer.

For the record, if you like PG tips, you might also like Taylor's of Harrogate or Twinings. Prince of Wales (Twinings) is good with milk and sugar. Imperial Tea Room (Taylors) is strong and is good for waking up in the morning. Both come in gift tins. I would also suggest going to Imperial Tea Court in SF and asking for help- you can actually taste teas there, which will make it easier.

My favourite "normal" tea is Taylors of Harrogate's Yorkshire Tea. It might be the first step away from the main brands. I find the loose leaf variety a tad bitter, but the bagged version is incredibly versatile and makes a great brew in a pot or mug.

Perhaps Fludge's first step is to get a pot, and experiment with the ceremony?

Cheers

Blippie

-- Visit the alt.aviation.safety FAQ online at

I don't see any need for it.

I didn't see any sign of offense taken to your article.

I interpreted your article to ask, "What's the best tea?" I interpreted the responses as saying, "It depends on the tastes of the drinker."

How does one learn? I read a book on tea, subscribed to this newsgroup, and bought many varieties of tea. What did I learn? I don't like green tea or Lapsang Souchong; there are many teas I like but they're all at least a little different.

Of the teas I've had recently, I really (really) liked Sungma (second-flush) Darjeeling and the Bai Hao (Formosa) Oolong.

And what's wrong with PG Tips? I was thinking about buying some. A local store has a package marked "Only 89p" but they're asking $4.95.

I find this group quite friendly and helpful. There are some, including myself, who come down hard on shills and spammers, but that's a good thing.

I hope you regard that as a provisional judgment, because:

- there are countless varieties of green teas to try;

- your taste may change;

- some greens can be delicious or horrible depending on how you brew them.

/Lew

You have nothing to apologize for. You asked a legitimate question, and received a mean-spirited response from a dick. One of the problems with purchasing high end teas is that the field lacks the centuries old delineation of growing areas and a standardized designation of expected quality that one finds in the world of wine. One company's "supreme" grade may well be inferior to another's "superior" grade, and both may be less appealing than another's "standard". A high price alone does not assure quality.

Other than extremely rare teas, where price is determined more by market forces than virtue, high end items tend to top out at around $300 per pound, or so. That still makes for an affordable drink, and is a pittance compared to other beverages (a similarly exalted wine could go for hundreds of dollars per glass). For that price, or a whole lot less, there is an enormous variety of styles to choose from, and that's where your own particular palate takes over and your own subjective tastes come into play.

--

Fuldge:

We all have good day or bad day. The day I answered your post, I had a very bad business day(Some labor crisis in the factory). Everyday after work, I come and join to this tea group and brass off all my work stress. We all love tea here and talk about it. Somehow I just felt someone is showing off and posted that mail. But however after posted that, I personally felt very bad too,I overeacted I am sorry, I am not trying to say- it was all my bad business day fault. I am just trying to explain why I posted that mail. I also appologise for my over reaction or better say bad attitude. Usally i don't talk like that, again i am sorry. I hope we both can forget it and think ahead.

Your question answer is(Good white tea):-

Chainese: Lin Yun White Downy Tea Chinese Bai Mei

India: Darjeeling Arya Estate white tea

Sri Lanka: Ceylon Silver tips

Bangladesh: Meena Orthodox white Darjeeling slope tea (I had this white tea once then never find it again, I didn't try hard though.

I'm no tea-master, but have you tried reducing the steeping time? A Ceylonese tea I really liked is quite sensitive to the time; it goes from delicious and smooth (steeping 2:30) to slightly astringent (3:00) to quite astringent and slightly bitter (3:30).

I'm no tea-master, but have you tried reducing the steeping time? A Ceylonese tea I really liked is quite sensitive to the time; it goes from delicious and smooth (steeping 2:30) to slightly astringent (3:00) to quite astringent and slightly bitter (3:30).

If the OP is buying to give a gift to someone who likes basic tea, then I'd suggest four different teas to total a pound and tea cannisters for them if the person getting the gift doesn't have those already (Specialteas has those).

My favorite oolong is something I pick up in Chinatown (Philly) for around $8 a box (comes in a double-lidded rectangular double lidded tin inside a celophane wrapped cardboard box). It's intensely fragrent when opened. Equivalent oolongs from the local tea stores are around $9 to $10 a quarter pound.

What people said about a big jump between tea bag teas and teas priced at around $5 to $7 for four ounces and a more subtle jump between those and the $15 to $20 for four ounce teas has been true in my case.

White teas are rather a special taste. I don't think they're going to appeal to someone just moving up from supermarket teas compared to the gaudy little oolong I drink or the Golden Yunnan. I was drinking Keemun and Yunnan blacks for a few years before I tried whites and greens.

A nice gift package might be a second flush Darjeeling, the Yunnan, an oolong, and a Japanese green tea, with a set of proper cannisters (glazed ceramic with clamp lids and rubber seals or metal cannisters with lids that seal well). Just work on getting a range of tastes, watch which one disappears first, and use that as a guide for future gifts.

Others have given you some good suggestions of fine teas. I just thought I'd add a couple of my favorites. The best white tea I've ever had is Adams Peak Estate white from Sri Lanka. I've only found it from Strand Tea Co. (888-718-6358). They have a web site

but this particular tea isn't listed on it. It has a wonderful fruit and honey flavor. It's a bit pricey at over (US)$6/oz, but can be steeped at least 3 times. I also love lightly oxidize oolongs that have a floral aroma and taste. Tung Ting or anything called a 'jade' oolong would be this type. My favorite is called Four Seasons, and I get it at Taiwan Tea It's actually one of their cheaper teas. Their Pure and Fragrant oolong is also excellent. It's a little more highly oxidized and has more of a toasty flavor than the Four Seasons which is very floral. It's reasonably priced too. Both of these, like the Adams Peak Estate, can be steeped several times. Have fun!

Agalena

Oh come on. Ripon's not a dick, even if his answer was not the best. Besides, he apologizes for it in this very thread (though you might not have seen it yet). Ripon's posts are usually interesting and very tea-related. We all have our bad days. A bit of understanding on every part helps to be happier and more relaxed. Especially in a tea related NG.

Laurent

1. Long live Ripon and Laurent Bugnion, may they continue to infuse our conversations with their gentility.

1. Ripon just asked about Japanese cast iron pots (tetsubin). I recently went shopping for these (just browsing, really, keeping my eyes open for them while I bought tea) and found two things: a) They are often advertised as kettles, but all of them have accompanying material which says not to put them on open flames. What's the use of a kettle which is sensitive to heat? Are they really only pots? But doesn't tea cool quickly in an iron pot?

b) Some (e.g. in fancy Japanese department stores) are very expensive and others (in Chinatown trinket shops) quite cheap. Do cheap ones wear out quickly?

1. An old student (more precisely, a young former student) is going to Hong Kong and asked if he could buy me tea (word gets around). Despite being a native he doesn't know the first thing about tea (the usual case). He drinks Coke and eats in fast food joints, there or here. So I need to give him explicit instructions. I'm thinking of asking him to bring me one of those pu erhs (I think that's what they are) which are aged in a grapefruit skin or bamboo section. The former seems like it would yield a sort of Earl Grey Pu Erh, a concept I find at first horrifying but perhaps vaguely attractive in a musty sort of way, something like Diane Keaton doing a nude scene. Any suggestions? Wishing you a fulfilling Saturnalia, Rick.

It was open stage night in rec.food.drink.tea, when Rick Chappell stepped up to the microphone and muttered:

Not if you pre-heat the pot with hot water first. Ever cooked with a cast iron skillet? Pay attention to just how long that darned thing retains heat after you take it off of the stove.

I don't know the answer but I have to admit I've been wondering about those tetsubins with bumpy surfaces: are they heat sinks or what?

/Lew

snipped-for-privacy@dhaka.net (Ripon) wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com:

Ripon, I have not been reading the group a long time, but your initial response did seem out of character for you. I deeply respect your willingness to apologize.

Am I too late to hop on this thread?

What I would do - I would buy a range of teas. For one-stop shopping, I would recommend specialteas.com, good prices and good selection.

I would purchase a few types to cover a range of tea styles. One english style such as english breakfast which would be close in style but maybe better quality then PG Tips, one other black such as ceylon (excellent with no milk or sugar), a chinese oolong, and a green. Maybe a white tea too. And don't forget to get a teeli (a tea strainer) - it's much better than a tea ball.

The reason I would do this is because taste in tea varies from person to person. For example I like the subtle taste of white teas, but my wife likes nothing other than bold english style black teas. She just doesn't get white tea, can't taste it. And her teas I can drink but don't enjoy as much as others. Neither of us has more refined, or 'better' taste than the other, just different. So the above spectrum may be just the thing to get, YMMV

-ben

Using tetsubin to brew tea is a practice rarely seen in Japan. They are used to heat the water, not to steep tea. You can see an explanation and pic here, with the labor of boiling water and steeping tea plainly divided:

Matcha, now as in the past, is prepared and drunk in the same vessel. But when Sencha came into favor, a kyuusu tea pot was necessary to brew the leaves. Tetsubin with easy-to-pour spouts were devised to replace unwieldy ladles or dippers. Read all about it at this brief history of tetsubin:

Finally, for those still in doubt, I offer this online dictionary definition of "tetsubin" stating it is an "iron vessel used to boil water"

--crymad