Crossing Over: The Milkless Teacup

I nearly forgot to add Darjeeling to this group.

Who says Darjeeling is black tea? (he says, ducking)

/Lew

why condolescene?

i dont' know why. maybe it's because i grew up with oolong & Iron Budha, rarely black.

i also have had the 2 same fine Keemuns (Mao Fen & Hao Ya A). they are better than most black. & more distinctive than, say Assam or Dar Jeeling, breakfast blends. but they only _smells_ chocalate --- don't not taste chocality or winey _at all_. so they still improve with milk (IMHO)

most black tea, is like coffee to me, & milk takes the edges off for both.

a friend of mine is just the opposite: he drinks mostly black (without milk). & he considers anything "green" (< 80% oxidation) _bland_ & tasteless. go figure! taste is a strange & personal thing.

regards,

Pam @ Home

Cort Furniture Rental and Honesty are two exclusive concepts.

IMHO, everything's just a matter of taste. I couldn't imagine how iron budda

• milk would taste like until the day I tried it in a bubble tea place, and it was actually quite good.

These recent days I enjoy having a cup of Ceylon with milk and sugar (I call it the "English style") to kick start my day, and later the day I'll just drink whatever tea I feel like having, for example today is pu-er, yesterday was 1 oolong and Long Jing, day before was 2 oolongs and Long Jing... etc etc. (obviously I'm trying to drink more so I can convince my mom that we do have some space for new teas)

Katie tamkatie @ rogers.com

What would you suggest when it comes to oolings? I've just had Adagio's Symphony #8, and want to try more. Thanks!!

Resa

Because of what you posted.

Because you can smell, but not taste.

Yes.

major snippage

Don't you think the chocolate qualities are most pronounced in the aroma, so pronounced in fact that they might overpower the gentler chocolate undertones in the taste? I've had that experience. Doesn't mean I'm without a sense of taste, I sincerely hope. I should add that when it comes to tea, if you have to miss one of those senses, taste is the one to give up, without a doubt: Four or five tastes vs. tens of thousands of aromas.

I've found Special Teas' Keemuns among their very best offerings, as had been said.

Michael

Gee, the lingering aftertaste is so pleasant that I'd much prefer to forego scent. It's not unusual for allergies to inhibit my sense of smell, anyway, but whatever works. We're all unique in our specific likes, preferences, and dislikes.

I'm just about of my Mao Feng and have been debating about buying more vs. trying other vendors. Kinda hate to tamper w/ success.

"If it ain't broke, don't try to fix it."

Yeah, yeah, sure. I see where you're hiding :).

for some strange reason, my reader does not allow to follow up.

for your commnetf about your "condolence" , whatever you think.

i can actually _taste_ the difference between a fine Keemun vs. a lesser Keemun or Keemun vs. most other black teas.

i just don't think most black tea (without milk) taste as good or interesting, as oolong, or pu-erh, or green. there's no way a black tea, by itself, no matter how fine it is, tastes as good as green oolong (which is my favorite). good enough?

my friend's taste seems more common (that he thinks green or oolong, _bland_ so he only enojys black)

bye,

Pam @ Home

Cort Furniture Rental and Honesty are two exclusive concepts.

This might explain why I have such a hard time really appreciating some teas as much as others' do...I smoked for a number of years and quit four years ago but I still wonder if I'll ever get my whole sense of smell back.

I can get some of it of course, certain green dry leaf and the fragrence left in the empty cup (even by basic greens)...what I do get is very nice. Blacks don't do a great deal for me scent-wise though, but I can get their tastes. There are blacks and then blacks though...the Emporer Red that some vendors sell is very chocolaty to me.

One's smell is also connected to one's taste isn't it? So a lack in my sense of smell could also affect my sense of taste.

Melinda

snipped-for-privacy@individual.net/29/05 18: snipped-for-privacy@is.invalid

Truer words were never spoken.

I certainly see your point, but I like having a couple on hand of various origins. Right now, I've got IPOT, ST, ITC Keemuns on hand. No two are quite the same. But, I could easily stick to one, since Keemun is a sometime thing with me.

Michael

snipped-for-privacy@corp.supernews.com3/30/05 02: snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com

Melinda,

Of course you are right, and all things are possible. Try this: When you make your tea, regardless of what kind it is and what method you use, pour some hot water into the tea making vessel first, then pour it out, then place the dry tea leaves into the vessel and sniff the leaves. This will most likely yield the more potent aroma. Then proceed as usual. Even a nose with a history of nose-abuse will appreciate it, I'll bet.

Michael

I just recovered from a 6 week chest cold left over from the flu. I lost my sense of smell through the nose. I couldn't smell tea with mouth closed but if I vigorously sipped then I could smell tea through nasal drain in throat. I made some really thick imperial gunpowder which I could feel burn to the stomach and caused me to cough which I think helped break up the congestion in the lungs. Some days my physical acquity receptors for tea are better than others. I find most British breakfast blends to be more taste than smell. I don't know but if I was trying to measure my recovery for taste and smell from trauma I'd eat spicy foods.

Jim

Melinda wrote: ...snipping shears...

In a failed, but potentially dramatic, attempt at humor I originally intended a scathing reply aimed at those putting milk in tea (and coffee for that matter) but I know it's about what the drinker likes so 'poof!' went that whole line of responses.

(BTW- Milk in Tea/Cream is like Pastel unto Primary Colors. Keep it _Vibrant!_)

I will follow along with you in paying attention to the more experienced posters who will suggest, I think, better than I. My knowledge extends to hit & miss experiments with various brands, and making the best brew out of crappy off the shelf supermarket brands. (Better to buy better tea than doctor brand X as it turns out.)

Lastly, I suggest you might take a vacation and/or just a visit either local or regional destinations with acknowledged tea shops. I am given to understand you can do a tasting like the Sake and Wine County places do.

TBerk