Where can I order good green tea?

It's just been a bit slow over there lately is all. :)

Jennifer (Sherlock Jr., Laughingrat, call me what you like but don't call me late for--oh, never mind)

Tea.

/Lew

Thanks Michael, I'll have to check it out.

Subject: The Tea Gallery [was: Big Apple Tea House]

--Tom

-oo- ""\o~

------------------------------------ "Homo sum, humani nil a me alienum puto." Terrance

Just be aware that TG is not a tea house per se (i.e., not set up with multiple tables and wait staff), but they are usually happy to make tea for interested customers.

Joe (who was happy to receive a packet of TG's Bai Ji Guan for Christmas)

snipped-for-privacy@mb-m25.aol.com12/24/04

Tom,

The Tea Gallery will be closed through January 7, 2005. They've taken a short vacation. FYI.

Michael

I don't find Ti Kwan Yin to be that strong. It depends on the brand. It's fullbodied, though.

Speaking of which, you may be interested in Tazo & Mercy Corps' CHAI Program:

"A partnership between Portland-based Tazo Tea and Mercy Corps is improving health care and agriculture in India's impoverished Darjeeling region."

They're also collecting for quake relief for the recent Indian Ocean monster quake:

N.

Keep in mind that just because a person is Chinese that doesn't make them the knowall when it comes to Chinese things or even Chinese culture. Many younger people in China have little knowledge of tea or other things.

I didn't see a gaiwan in any restaurant and I travelled pretty extensively. You can't buy them in department stores, indeed, only in teashops. Old fashioned in what regard, exactly? Relatively no one uses gaiwans to drink from, but it's very common in the tea trade and in teashops.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

I'm aware of that. But it was interesting to hear what she was saying (mostly about tea's medicinal qualities) and which tea pots she thought were the most attractive. She was buying a pot and cups and was also complaining that all these things would have been going for $1 a piece in China as opposed to $4 to $5 here. So, she's drinking tea but perhaps with not much more thought than Americans drink coffee.

The pattern I've seen in Philadelphia's Chinese shops is that gaiwans aren't available all the time, and aren't as available as covered cups. Yixing labelled pots show up at prices between $5 and $14. But a lot of the tea is bagged and there's a fair amount of loose leaf pu'er available (I haven't been back to see if there are any of the wooden boxed cakes left).

The stuff here is much more expensive than over there, that's for sure. But 5 bucks is extremely cheap for a pot regardless. There are so many small nuances to know about tea that it really requires time and patience to learn about it. Tea will never develop the Starbucks culture that coffee has. I kinda dig it that way.

I know a little about some of the medicinal properties...most tea is good for you! heh. Anyway, how old is your friend?

I think that would be partly because I guess many people prefer to use the pots to brew their good teas instead of a gaiwan. Gaiwan use sorta requires more work and diligence. heh.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

you and me both. while tea hardly qualifies for cult status, it being the 2nd most consumed bev in the world after water and all, it still feels like an alt sort of thing. so may it remain......p*

just feels different doesn't it? even when i drink some good Earl Grey or Darjeeling in a shop somewhere, you still get stares when you ask for 'tea'.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

She was about 20 or 21, maybe younger, a student who started talking to me in the store. I teach people that age for a living so I'm aware that the sophistication they want to show and the sophistication they have often diverge.

I was back and got a TWG and a biluochun which it looked like from Google that people were discussing now. I overheated the biluochan and will try cooler water next time. The pu'er cake tea is better than the Specialteas' mini-birds nests and lighter in the cup.

The bilouchun came in a green metal can with a locking metal lid, but the instructions were to preheat the tea vessels and pour boiling water over the tea and that it could be seeped 3-4 times. This looks like it's becoming the generic Chinese export tea advice. The cost was about $8.

They're easier to clean than pots, though. I saw some for $3 in the Center City Chinese supermarket -- I think the ones out at the Hong Kong on Rising Sun and Adams were priced a bit higher (perhaps because nobody can do comparison shopping out there as easily as in Chinatown.

hehe. There's about a 80 percent chance that she knows little about tea. The only youth I ran into in China that knew anything were the ones that worked in the shops. The modern and popular thing to do now is to go to Starbucks...it's taking over! But I don't to sound like a know-it-all or anything...hell, I'm only 25 but impassioned about tea. heh

A general rule for most greens is just below boiling; 95-98 they say.

Many such teas can easily be found with sometimes choppy English that makes no sense on the box. It just comes down to whoever knows any English at the factory is the translator. Makes for some interesting labelling sometimes.

It's true, but not everyone knows how to properly use one or even what it's for exactly.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

Rebecca, please help me if I'm being obtuse (and I am) but what is TWG? Thanks!

Melinda

much snipping of other topics

I'd differ here, although it's not without controversy. Bi Lo Chuns, Long Jings, Senchas, Gyokuros, and others of the most delicate types want a temperature far below that. I think in Fahrenheit, so I'd say 125-150 would work fine depending on the green tea. In any event, it would be the rare green tea that I would brew much above 180. Sorry about not translating this into Centrigrade. (Fahrenheit puts water to boil at 212 and freezes it at

BTW, I've gotten excellent results from Senchas at room temperature, which is why they make such nice teas for the road.

Michael

I was actually meaning Centigrade and it was told to me that 95-98 C (being 203-208 F) was a good temp to brew these sorts of teas by some shopkeepers. I am starting to lean closer into what you said, though, because too hot and it kills the taste, but I have had success at the temps that I was mentioning.

I have as well. When traveling in India the past 2 or 3 weeks, I took some LJ and some Sencha with me to tide me over until my return. I was able to brew the Sencha using the hot water spicket on a water cooler but not the LJ.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

Let me sorta reiterate...I basically mean just below boiling.

Mydnight

-------------------- thus then i turn me from my countries light, to dwell in the solemn shades of an endless night.

I tried it at the lower temps and it still had a sort of smokey overtone and didn't impress me as much as the long jings I've been trying lately. I've done head to head comparisons between a Chinese store Tung Ting and a Specialteas' Tung Ting and noticed the difference (the Specialteas sample was sound). My guess is that the machine produced teas can be overcooked since I've noticed smokey overtones with both oolongs and greens.