One Good Tea

2008-05-12T21:39:00.000-07:00

Just4Tea's PuErh

This is my second sample from Just4Tea.com. I particularly enjoyed this one. I felt for the tea inside the foil packet. It was two hard lumps.

I reached in a drawer grabbed the scissors and opened the package up. I pulled the first lump of Puerh out. It was tightly wrapped in a thin paper. The instructions said it made 16 ounces and to make it in a thermos. I couldn't find a thermos, so I made it in a giant #1 Dad Pooh cup.

I let the tea soak for 20 minutes. I poured half of it into a smaller cup. I sat down to take a taste. I can always tell if I enjoy a tea because I will swish it around my front teeth. I caught myself doing exactly that without thinking. Excellent. Almost a hint of chocolate.

I wish I had a thermos to store the other 8 ounces.

I found my camera, but not the cable to hook it to my laptop. Hopefully I'll have new pictures next time I post.

If you would like to try a cup, give it a try!
Tie Guan Yin

"I was brought up to believe that a person must be rescued when drowning, regardless of religion and nationality."
-Irena Sendler

2008-05-11T19:57:00.000-07:00

Just4tea Tie Guan Yin

This is my first sample from Just4Tea.com. The tea came in a foil packet. A foil packet isn't the most environmentally friendly thing, but its what every sample that has been sent to me has been sent in.

I cut open the Tie Guan Yin packet. It is nicely rolled, nicely dried. There's just something that feels right about a rolled tea. I can't explain it, but Tie Guan Yin had that nice crisp feeling to it.

Tie Guan Yin makes me think of two things: spelling and legend.

Spelling: Is it Ti or Tie? Kwan, Guan or Kuan. Yin seems pretty consistent.

Legend: Legend has it that a chinese farmer came across an abandoned temple of the iron goddess of mercy. He weeded the yard, swept the floors and generally cleaned up the place. The goddess came to him in a dream and told him of a treasure behind the temple. Behind the temple was this tea.

I made the first cup a few weeks back. I made it and enjoyed it, but decided to wait for the second cup to blog about it.

Unfortunately, I can't locate my camera. Hopefully I'll have found it by the time I post again!

If you would like to try a cup, give it a try!
Tie Guan Yin

"We loved each other and got married. We are not marrying the state. The law should allow a person to marry anyone he wants."
-Mildred Loving

2008-02-14T20:07:00.000-08:00

Red Rose
Black Tea
Splenda and milk

Just4Tea.com has sent me a handful of samples. I couldn't be happier. I thought they were just going to send me two samples, but they've sent me the whole lot! They're a generous, friendly bunch and I respect that in a business. They're not a business selling telephones, building cars or making chemicals -- they're a tea business and the attitude is important. They have a nice friendly website without the pretentious tipping teacups other sites feature.

I'm excited, can you tell?

Here are the samplers I'll be trying:
Premium Dragon Well
PuErh
Winter Oolong
Jasmine Blossom
Jasmine Pearl
Tie Guan Yin

So rather than face the bitter truth, China has placed severe restrictions on the Internet and enlisted America's high-tech companies as their Internet police.
-Tom Lantos

2008-02-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

Mariage Freres
Lapsang Souchong Imperial

Red Rose tea with a single serving of Splenda is really hitting the spot today. Red Rose has only tasted right to me with Splenda and Milk, but now... the milk just isn't appealing. The kids absolutely love the little ceramic animals that come in every package.

We did argue on whether the first one we got was two puppies or two floppy eared bunnies. I particularly like the duck, but our two ponies are pretty popular too.

I always pledged to have more concern for others than control of others.
-Baba Amte

2008-02-07T20:37:00.000-08:00

Mariage Freres
Lapsang Souchong Imperial

I put the burner on high under my metal cow pot. I open the black tin of Lapsang Souchong. I pinch a good amount out and drop it into my clay yixing pot. I can smell the pine already.

The water heats up nicely. I'm rushing. I pour the water from the cow pot without opening. The water does pour out. Its mostly in the yixing tea pot, some of it covers the side of the yixing tea pot, some of it is on the kitchen counter. I cover the tea pot and wait.

I'm still rushing. I don't wait long enough. The tea comes out much lighter than I prefer. It reminds me of what the chinese call white tea and how that differs from what the west calls white tea.

I really want to tip the yixing teapot enough to get a strong water flow. I don't want to wait. I know what happens if I tip it that far -- the tea starts to come out the top of the pot too. That's no good.

Finally its poured. It has that distinctive lapsang souchong aroma caused by being dried over smoldering pine needles. Mmmmmmm -- I do love this tea.

Ronald Reagan was a president of strength. His philosophy was a philosophy of strength - a strong military, a strong economy and strong families.
-Mitt Romney

2008-02-06T19:47:00.000-08:00

Tea Zone Ti Kwan Yin
&
Wild Oats Darjeeling

I didn't have enought Ti Kwan Yin to make a full brew. I decided to use my darjeeling to finish off the mix. The result was something less than either the Ti Kwan Yin or the darjeeling by itself. Its unfortunate, I had high hopes for a good brew.

Just4Tea.com has kindly offered some sample tea for me to review. I think their Ti Guan Yin, what I call Ti Kwan Yin, looks wonderful. They also have a nice looking Premium Dragon Well and a Pu'erh that may be irresistable.

New layout. New Teas. New samples. New friends. Keep on reading, we're making something cool here.

Find a need and fill it.
-Ruth Stafford Peale

2008-02-05T21:23:00.000-08:00

Tea Zone
Ti Kwan Yin

There are some days when other blogs like teamasters or Cha Dao really inspire me. I see them tasting 20 year old Pu'er or other teas that I've never heard of. They try out some really amazing stuff.

There are other days when teamasters and Cha Dao bring me down. I can't afford teas like that. Who wants to read my blog about stick teas, red teas, lipton, starbucks and other pap crap when they could be reading about 20 year pu'er?

Maybe I'm a little down because one certain company said they wanted to syndicate my blog and to go apply. Once I applied they decided I'm not quite the right thing for them. Maybe Celestial Seasonings doesn't make a proper tea? Yerba Mate and Red Tea don't even come from a tea plant, but I mention them all the same. Why ask me to apply if you were going to shoot me down?

Ah well, I'm not changing my blog. I review teas I can afford. Raising four kids on one income doesn't leave a lot leftover for 20 year old teas. I buy teas I enjoy. Maybe I'm not as far along as Cha Dao, but I'm where I want to be.

(Teamasters, Cha Dao -- if you read this let me apologize. You guys inspire me. I mention you just to show what great tea blogs are.)

Invincibility is irreversibly established in the world. My work is done.
-Maharishi Mahesh Yogi

2008-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:00

Celestial Seasonings
Brewed Awakenings

I told you I had some cool things planned for this site. If you're reading this now you're looking at one of those cool things. The site has been completed redesigned by seven at blogsgonewild.net. I am very pleased with the result. I think it is a very clean, easy to read layout that will help take this blog to the next level.

Keep coming back. You'll enjoy it.

Now if only my Darjeeling would show up...

Time is running out, and too little is left to let BW remain meerly another minor pawn whose disposition is incidental to other settlements.
-Joshua Lederberg

2008-02-03T17:23:00.000-08:00

Wild Oats
Assam FOP

I've been eating a lot of sugary, starchy foods. I don't realize how bad it makes my mouth taste until I try some good tea. The first few sips I'll just swish around trying to clean my palate.

This was made in my non-broken Yixing pot (pictured). Its a cool pot that is starting to show a few stains inside. Its character -- I like it.

The aim is not victory over another faction, the aim is to strengthen the rules of democracy.
-Ahmad Bourghani

2008-02-01T18:57:00.000-08:00

Wild Oats
Darjeeling FTGFOP

There are a lot of good things happening here. I'm drinking a cup of Darjeeling, so you know I'm in a good mood. As mentioned previously I have an order of a Darjeeling that I'll be trying for the first time. I'm working with a very talented person, se7en, on a little surprise for you patient readers.

Keep on coming back and checking this out. If enjoyed this blog so far then you're going to enjoy it far more in the weeks to come.

We have no choice but to act with resolution and a civil war is not a careful affair. It draws targets on both the political and the apolitical.
-Volodia Teitelboim

2008-01-31T11:02:00.000-08:00

Honest Tea
Pomegranate White Tea with Açaí

This morning started with a whimper. I heated up my water. I prepared my cup with splenda and milk. I reached for a teabag. I knew not to look for Tazo awake, I've been out of that for a while. I've got a container where I put the generic black and orange pekoe teas. Normally it has a mix of Red Rose and store brand tea bags.

I knew we were out of the Red Rose tea. I was surprised when I realized that we were out of all my breakfast teas. My other teas don't mix well with cream and sugar. What to do? What to do?

I made the red tea with the cream and sugar. It was a fair taste, but I was in a pretty bad mood until I could get into work and get some caffeine in me. I'll be picking up some Red Rose on my way home today.

"It has been said that it is quite difficult not to be related to the Queen, and I tend to agree with this, especially as I first said it."
-Miles Kington

2008-01-30T21:08:00.000-08:00

Celestial Seasonings
Madagascar Vanilla Red Tea

Today has been a long day. Sleeps calls to me, but I want to stay up just a little longer. I chose a red tea because I feel stressed enough without taking in even more caffeine. This vanilla red is comforting. I don't know if the vanilla is stronger than the concoctions from other tea companies, but the got this one just right.

Good night friends. It will be brighter on the morrow.

"Without surrendering any element of our doctrine, we can be neighborly, we can be helpful, we can be kind and generous."
-GORDON B. HINCKLEY

2008-01-29T10:06:00.000-08:00

Bigelow
Earl Grey K-Cup

This is the Earl Grey K-cup. You set the entire cup, unopened, into the machine. It punches a hole in the top and bottom. It forces hot water through the top and drains through the bottom. It makes a cup of tea in less than 30 seconds.

I used to love Earl Grey. I even found one distributor who made it with a double shot of Oil of Bergomot and was drinking that. One day my love of Earl Grey just left. Perhaps I should go back to where my love for it started and see if it can be rekindled -- the Twinings tin.

I broke open another K-cup. The tea is just beautiful sitting in there. Nicely chopped into 1-2mm pieces.

Its not the best cup of Earl Grey I've ever had, but it is certainly the fastest one.

"Many times, Gunnhild has thought about the night she was lying out in the open in the winter mountains with her father, dreaming that the angels lit a star every time she was happy. Now, evening sky has drawn over Gunnhild's life. There are many stars in it."
-Dagfinn Grønoset

2008-01-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

Wild Oats
FTGFOP Darjeeling

Darjeeling has been my favorite tea for quite some time. Darjeeling Cuppa has been one of my favorite blogs as well. Based on Darjeeling Cuppa's recommendation I have ordered Thunderbolt Tea's Castleton Muscatel. "A real Darjeeling character oriented tea from Castleton. Darjeeling is famous because of its muscatel character and this is one which boasts of having it – its prominent."

"The Jews’ eternal enemies did not wait for identity cards to be issued in order to set up the mechanisms for their extermination."
-Christodoulos

2008-01-27T16:16:00.000-08:00

An unfortunate thing happened today. My Yixing dragon teapot was somewhat damaged. As I understand it a bowl slipped out of my wife's hand and landed on the teapot. The lid to the teapot broke into two pieces. My wife offered to glue it back together for me, but I just don't want it a broken lid.

I will still use the pot. I will set a teacup over the top while the tea stews. When it is done the teapot will just be open.

Perhaps it was too delicate a thing in a busy house of two adults and four children.

"While Labor has the same goals as Netanyahu, their party moves to attain the goals diplomatically. And Arafat is pushing toward this trend. His position has been disastrous for our people. Our misery today is due to Arafat. He is responsible.”
--George Habash

2008-01-26T19:28:00.000-08:00

1 teabag of Tazo Chai, 1 teabag of Tazo Awake

in a 16oz Starbucks cup (Grande)

Let me just say -- I am no fan of starbucks. Their latte's and other sugar/cream/coffee mixes are fine, but their coffee is substandard and their inability to stick the right teabag into a cup of hot water is amazing.

I ordered a 16 ounce Tazo Awake. I said Tazo Awake three times. They repeated back to me that I had ordered a Tazo Awake. I felt secure that I had the right drink.

When I got home I saw that they had put in two teabags. I think that is their standard practice for a 16 ounce drink. Unfortunately the tags were two different colors. One of the bags was Tazo Awake and the other was Tazo organic chai. It was not a good mix.

Ah well. My wife enjoyed her Grande Non-Fat Raspberry Latte. That's the real reason we went to Starbucks.

" 1. I believe everything which Eastern Orthodoxy teaches.
2. I am in communion with the Bishop of Rome as the first among the bishops, according to the limits recognized by the Holy Fathers of the East during the first millennium, before the separation."
-Elias Zoghby's Profession of Faith

2008-01-26T11:12:00.000-08:00

Mariage Freres

Mariage Freres always makes an inspiring tea. I open the little black tin which holds the tea. Long cuts of green tea with blue cornflower leaves mixed in. The visual appeal is significant. I grab a pinch of the tea. It is smooth, almost silky. The tea has the look, smell and feel of quality. I can't wait.

I put the pinch of Bouddha Bleu into my little dragon teapot. It is has a very light taste and that is exactly what I'm in the mood for today. The teapot, a cow shaped one I use just for heating water, is sounding.

I've poured the boiling water into the little clay dragon. Clay teapots are known to keep the taste of everything you put in them. I can't say that I've ever noticed a difference, but I'm careful not to wash it out with soap all the same.

I've poured it into a white ceramic cup. The bottom clearly labels the cup as Oneida's wicker pattern. It is just bloody perfect. Mariage Freres does such an excellent job with their teas. Light, perfect. The fruity flavors are subdued under the quality of the tea.

"I'm not used to luxuries"
-Dorothy Hennessey

2008-01-25T20:32:00.000-08:00

Unknown loose leaf tea

I went to grab my favorite darjeeling and noticed a plastic baggy in the back of my tea stash. I pulled it out and there was exactly one serving in the baggy. I smelled, but didn't recognize the aroma.

I brewed it in my dragon pot. I haven't used it for a bit.

I really hope its tea. Could my seventeen year old have hidden some marijuana in my tea stash? I don't think so. I don't think marijuana looks anything like black tea and this definitely looks like black tea.

It has a tea scent. It has a tea taste. Its very familiar, but I can't recall it.

"Udach' Kuqax*a'a'ch" (A sound that calls people from afar)
-Marie Smith Jones

2008-01-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

Celestial Seasonings Brewed Awakenings
Yerba Mate and black tea mix

Just delightful.

"But when you score a superb orange
circle on a purple thought-base
I shake my head and say: hell, what
is this thing called aroha"

.
Hone Tuwhare

2008-01-15T15:01:00.000-08:00

Tazo
some sort of berry white tea

I stopped at the Borders bookstore near my house. They serve Tazo teas. I really like the Tazo awake tea, but I was in the mood for something a little lighter. I could just make out that one of the cans contains some sort of berry white tea. Brambleberry? Tazoberry? I don't know.

It was light, it was fruity and it was just the thing to bring me up from a cold, rainy winter day. I love that they use loose leaf tea. I wish the teabags they place them into were unbleached. I do wish I could let it stew for longer. They place a large amount of tea into that bag and it can quickly make a cup too strong. Instead I take it right over to the condiments counter, pull it out and dump the bag in the garbage.

It was a good tea. Maybe next time I will stop to ask what it was.

"In the past we always assumed that unless you were making the patient really sick, flooding the body with these really toxic chemotherapies, the treatment wasn't working. Before, patients were really afraid of these treatments. With these angiogenic drugs, you have none of that."

.
Judah Folkman

2008-01-14T19:50:00.000-08:00

Ti Kwan Yin

It is a melancholy day. My Uncle Paul died today. I spoke with his wife and adult children for a little bit. They're taking it well, everyone is more concerned for how the grandkids fare. My cousin said, "I know he had to go sometime, but he was superman. He was my dad. I was Daddy's girl. I expected him to down in a car wreck, not like this." He died surrounded by family. That's what I want when I die. I want one last moment with my loved ones.

I wish I had my Lapsang Souchong here. My uncle Paul smoked a Pipe. Lapsang is the closest thing to tobacco that I use. The ti kwan yin is fitting as well, but its not the same. Perhaps I'll make a red tea and mix in some vanilla.

This isn't to say that he and I were particularly close. Life brought me to Europe, Australia and eventually to Washington State. It brought him to the tri-state area of Kentucky. Perhaps I feel a little guilty about leaving home. I don't know. I'll figure it out tomorrow or the next day.

"I know that he who speaks in my poems is a fictional character, who tries in vain to imitate me, who even tries to pass for me by disguising himself in my clothes. Irony allows me to mark the distance from me to him. Sometimes he also tries to deceive me, but he never succeeds; I know that his truth is the reverse of my lie, and I treat him like one of those dolls in black magic, which the sorcerers stick with pins in order to cause pain in their enemies. What happens is that instead of sticking pins in him, I pull them out."

Ángel González

2008-01-05T22:30:00.000-08:00

Ty-Phoo
Black Tea

This is the first tea that I came to truly appreciate. I tried it and came to love it during the 2 1/2 years that I lived in Brechin, Scotland. It was the cure for my too common hangover. It warmed me while I waited for my flat to warm up. It made the bad times better.

I haven't tried Ty-Phoo again for years. It was such a good tea in Scotland, but it was absolutely ordinary when I tried it in Florida. I don't know if it is a difference in the water, if the tea had been sitting in the box too long or something totally different. Whatever the cause, it wasn't the tea I had come to appreciate in Scotland.

Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.

-Tyler Durder of FightClub (via Wikiquote)

2007-12-28T07:02:00.000-08:00

Celestial Seasonings
Morning Thunder with cream and splenda

I dig this mix of Yerba Mate and Black tea. The taste is somewhere between the taste of black tea and coffee. I am an ex-coffee fiend, so anything that gives me a little taste of my old life is welcome.

It is a very forgiving brew. I've used a wide temperature of waters with only favorable results. Unlike tea the taste doesn't suffer if you choose to dip the bag in the water several times rather than waiting for the full stew times. This is a good one for a busy morning.

The name of this tea gives my wife a laugh. She says it reminds her of the sounds I make in the bathroom when I first wake up in the morning. I'm not sure what that means, but I think she's making fun of me.

You may cover a fish with spinach, but can't hide its smell.

-Bengali Proverb (via Wikiquote)

2007-12-27T21:30:00.001-08:00

Unknown Brand
Came with a tea set from Wal-mart featuring a rooster

For Christmas I received a teaset with a rooster on the pot and two teacups. The gift also included several bags of black tea and green tea. Today I tried the black tea.

The tea bag didn't drain the water well which I found odd. Normally when I pick up a tea bag I see the water drain out. This teabag just retained the water. I was dubious.

It was my morning tea though, so I dropped in some sweet and low and drank it. It could have used a splash of milk, but it wasn't horrible. I mean, its probably in my bottom 15% of teas that I have tried but its not in the bottom 5%.

Now the 100 teabags I picked up a Wal-Mart in Denver for 98 cents -- that was in my bottom 5%. I used Splenda and a lot of milk to force my way through that mistake.

Ultimately, leadership is about the strength of one's convictions, the ability to endure the punches, and the energy to promote an idea.

-Benazir Bhutto (via Wikiquote)

2007-12-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Oregon Chai
Sugar Free without milk

I haven't been drinking Chai because of the carbohydrates involved. In the spirit of eating too much this Christmas season I picked up a container of Oregon Chai concentrate (sugar free). I mixed it with 2% milk, but it lacked the harshness that I like. I had three cups this way, but still felt incomplete.

I decided to try the last cup of concentrate without milk. I realized then that it was the milk that was overpowering the chai. It didn't matter though, I still just don't care for the taste of it.

All of which isn't to say anything bad about Oregon Chai. The non-sugar free version is one of my favorite vices.

In the name of God, stop a moment, cease your work, look around you.

-Leo Tolstoy (via Wikiquote)