Mplant:
tea's the thing. Swirl wine in your glass and look
at the legs: Pretentious. turn the tea cup so as
to appreciate the subtle hues: Sensitive. I have
spoken.
Oh c'mon...go perform gongfu tea brewing in front of those who don't
care or understand, and they'd probably think you're a pretentious
guy who wastes water and tea leaves. Everything is a ritual developed
from the desire to enjoy a beverage fully. Yes, some folks do come
across snobbish with the swirling, sniffing and gurgling. It takes
experience and social sensitivity to perform all the wine moves with
humility. I always swirl my wine, but only look at the legs and gurgle
when I'm with other winos. Not swirling your wine is akin to
pinching your nose while drinking your tea.
MarshalN:
While I'm no wine expert, something tells me that winemaking today has
very little resemblence to winemaking in Roman times. To think we are
making it in more or less the same way as 2000 years ago.... I don't
know, it will require a lot of proof which I suspect we do not have.
Very different, indeed. We don't have to go that far back.
Trellising system is fairly new. Vines used to grow wildly off the
ground. Grapes didn't use to reach the level of ripeness that today
grapes are expected to. Every acre of vineyard didn't use to be
divided into subplots depending on sunshine, moisture, temperature,
soil, wine, etc. using a GPS tracking system and infrared satellite
images.
Phyll
http://phyllsheng.blogspot.com
www.winexiles.com
MarshalN wrote:
Alex wrote:
Hee wrote:
Yes, there is! I think it will surpass wine fairly soon. Think about
it, it has richer history, more varieties. It is as fun as drinking
wine and yet it is none alcoholic (think about the muslims
consumption). The ultimate taste of a pu-erh is decided not just the
breed, but also their manufacturing process. Best of all, even how to
store it can have interesting outcome. The chinese started using pu-erh
as gift (we like to bring a bottle of wine to a house dinner, don't
we?). The list can go on..... so, you think there is nothing to talk
about?
Hee, sorry to say, I'm with Phyll. I think you're trippin'. The
appeal of specialty teas has a long way to go before it gets beyond
people who (like me) are OCD enough to keep a gaiwan and several small
pots both at home and in the office. Tea and wine both produce a wide
range of flavors and experiences, but wine can be accessed simply by
pulling a cork - there is no need to sweat things like water
temperature, timing, amount of leaf, kind of pot, kind of water ...
think of the guy in 'Sideways' drinking his best bottle out of a
styrofoam cup in a fast-food restaurant.
I don't know about the richer history, either. Oolong, for instance,
is really only 200 years old. Many of the well-known vinyards in
Europe were planted by the Romans and have been in continuous
production for 2000 years. Furthermore, wine is a social lubricant and
relaxant, and tea makes people hyper. I personally appreciate a good
chazui (like the one I am having now) as much or more than being drunk
with my friends, but it was not always thus.
But, I appreciate your enthusiasm.
Alex
Trying to fine-tune my Wuyi technique
While I'm no wine expert, something tells me that winemaking today has
very little resemblence to winemaking in Roman times. To think we are
making it in more or less the same way as 2000 years ago.... I don't
know, it will require a lot of proof which I suspect we do not have.
MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN