"Emach" none wrote in message ...
Can anyone provide some information on these two teas. I don't think
Kuding
is actually tea, but some other herb. I cannot find much on the internet,
but have heard these have healthful properties.

Languiren is my new favorite tea. I have been drinking it for roughly half a
year now, first on a small sample given to me by a friend who recently
returned with it from China, and now with a good supply I purchased from
teaspring.com.

From what I have been told from others I have asked, languiren is a fairly
new tea in that it has only been around at most for 20 years. It is an
oolong tea. The leaf is enclosed in a greenish crust that dissolves while
steeping. I am still not sure what the crust is composed of, but it is
edible and quite tasty.

My friend's sample differed from that of Teaspring's in that it had small
visible yellowish/orange spots on the crust - my friend said the vendor told
him that this was bee pollen. This crust also had visible stems/stem-like
objects trapped within it. Additionally, the brew was bright and clear
(whereas Teaspring's was cloudy and dark), with a light greenish/yellowish
tone.

What attracts me to this tea is the deliciously pleasant sweetness that is
very apparent in every sip. Teaspring describes it as an orchid flavor, but
being that I rarely drink oolongs I can't verify. I was also told that this
orchid flavor implies that it belongs to the Tie Guan Yin family, but I am
not sure if I would agree.. I am not much a fan of Tie Guan Yin but next
time I brew some I'll see about the similarities.

I don't know if it was a freshness issue, but I had the hardest time coaxing
the sweetness out of my friend's sample since the crust would not break down
and the leaf would not infuse. I tried a variety of temperatures and
steeping times (nothing scientific). It also could have been stinginess with
the amount of tea I put in a cup, since I was so afraid I would not find
another source for it. Teaspring is the only place where I have been able to
find it as of now.

I only just brewed my first pot of the Teaspring languiren last night, with
boiling water and a generous amount of leaf. The strong sweet/floral aroma
and flavor were available almost immediately, but the liquid was a rather
unappealing murky dark green in the pot. Even in the cup it wasn't that
bright clear liquid I had grown used to, but it tasted just as good, so I
wasn't too concerned

Ooops, I didn't mean to ramble. I hope that helps, no one else ever seems to
know of this tea, much less know anything about it!

Diana