On Feb 13, 1:52*pm, britta wrote:
I'm just wondering about the general preference out there.
In general I prefer Indian tea to Chinese; my latest obession has been
the Tarajulie Assam, it's delicious all day, morning, noon, and
night. *And I love spicy chai with hints of cumin.
However China has caught my tongue lately as well, a light Keemun that
has a mellow sweetness.
Maybe my palate is shifting?

I have an Assam and a Ceylon currently my favorites. The Assam is the
stronger, and I get two steepings out of it, first a one minute
steeping and the second left in the mug till I get around to it. The
Ceylon is much more interesting and is my late morning or early
afternoon tea. Toci

On Feb 13, 2:52*pm, britta wrote:
I'm just wondering about the general preference out there.
...prefer Indian tea to Chinese; ... Tarajulie Assam, ... *And I love spicy chai with hints of cumin.
However China has caught my tongue lately as well, a light Keemun ...

This reminds me of a very productive thread from over a year ago, the
"What's in your cup" thread.

I have never had tea from the Tarajulie estate, but as for tea in
general, what I love most about our favorite quaff is the enormous
variety. I can't imagine drinking the same kind of tea over and over
for days on end. I like to start the day with something on the dark
side, Assam, China Black, or Shu move along into lighter things like
Darjeeling, Chinese greens, Sencha, Gaoshan or other light Oo from
Taiwan or Anxi, and finish the day with a gong fu session of Yan Cha,
Sheng, or Dan Cong. My tea progression through the day is like the
backbone to everything else I do and gives me an enormous sense of
pleasure and continuity. Sometimes it's just a bother, but most of
the time deciding what to have next brings me away from the little
irritations that seem to clutter our lives and centers me on something
I enjoy and a preparation ritual that distracts from the
distractions. Deciding on a first flush Darj instead of a Guricha
Sencha is part of directing who I am at the moment and where I am
going in my day.

The downside of doting on variety is that I have an enormous number of
open teas sitting around, each calling out like a precious orphan
demanding its rightful due. The Fukamushi Sencha (the tea equivalent
of crack cocaine as far as I can tell) is especially heart-wrench:
"Drink me, drink me, I don't have much time!" That's why I love puerh
so much: it thrives on abandonment, even for years! "Leave me alone,
I'll be fine ... no, really!"

And then too, prowling for something different can lead me into some
exotic neighborhoods where I might get in over my head, like ordering
my first matcha set the other day. Six months ago I dismissed matcha
as a novelty for the truly twisted soul. Mmmm.

So, Britta, I can't imagine being happy drinking the same tea
"morning, noon, and night." That's the way I drank coffee, paying no
attention, satisfying a need, getting a fix. As for chai, I usually
avoid flavored tea. I suppose because I already have such enormous
variety, I don't feel the need to add blueberry or watermelon
flavoring to my cup. Chai, on the other hand, I have enjoyed, not
very often and never the pre-mixed kind. For me it is especially good
after an Indian meal.

Michael Plant writes:

[...Lew piling on...]

Hey Lew, for the love of Pete! Dominic in his infinite wisdom *did*
invite William and Britta to join the group to talk about tea out of
the context of sales and store. So, as soon as one of them tries to
talk about tea, off we go again. Jeez! Not only was there no mention
of commerce in her post, not even a URL to go to. Wow. Is this what
it's come to? Now, to slink back to my tea leaf strewn lair (however
you spell that) to sulk. And what did the beary squirrel (or
squirrely bear if you like) ever do to you? Michael

You've got a point there, Judge.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html
recent addition: Bianxiaocha

On Feb 14, 7:27*am, Salsero wrote:
As for chai, I usually
avoid flavored tea. *I suppose because I already have such enormous
variety, I don't feel the need to add blueberry or watermelon
flavoring to my cup. *Chai, on the other hand, I have enjoyed, not
very often and never the pre-mixed kind. *For me it is especially good
after an Indian meal.

I avoid most flavored teas since they have dubious ingredients, but I
enjoy moroccan mint tea (just tea and mint leaves) and chai (mainly
for the cadamom). Also Alwazah Cardamom tea (cheap, but I like it).

Alan

On Feb 14, 9:27*am, Salsero wrote:
On Feb 13, 2:52*pm, britta wrote:

I'm just wondering about the general preference out there.
...prefer Indian tea to Chinese; ... Tarajulie Assam, ... *And I love spicy chai with hints of cumin.
However China has caught my tongue lately as well, a light Keemun ...

This reminds me of a very productive thread from over a year ago, the
"What's in your cup" thread.

I have never had tea from the Tarajulie estate, but as for tea in
general, what I love most about our favorite quaff is the enormous
variety. *I can't imagine drinking the same kind of tea over and over
for days on end. *I like to start the day with something on the dark
side, Assam, China Black, or Shu move along into lighter things like
Darjeeling, Chinese greens, Sencha, Gaoshan or other light Oo from
Taiwan or Anxi, and finish the day with a gong fu session of Yan Cha,
Sheng, or Dan Cong. * My tea progression through the day is like the
backbone to everything else I do and gives me an enormous sense of
pleasure and continuity. *Sometimes it's just a bother, but most of
the time deciding what to have next brings me away from the little
irritations that seem to clutter our lives and centers me on something
I enjoy and a preparation ritual that distracts from the
distractions. *Deciding on a first flush Darj instead of a Guricha
Sencha is part of directing who I am at the moment and where I am
going in my day.

The downside of doting on variety is that I have an enormous number of
open teas sitting around, each calling out like a precious orphan
demanding its rightful due. *The Fukamushi Sencha (the tea equivalent
of crack cocaine as far as I can tell) is especially heart-wrench:
"Drink me, drink me, I don't have much time!" *That's why I love puerh
so much: it thrives on abandonment, even for years! *"Leave me alone,
I'll be fine ... no, really!"

And then too, prowling for something different can lead me into some
exotic neighborhoods where I might get in over my head, like ordering
my first matcha set the other day. *Six months ago I dismissed matcha
as a novelty for the truly twisted soul. *Mmmm.

So, Britta, I can't imagine being happy drinking the same tea
"morning, noon, and night." *That's the way I drank coffee, paying no
attention, satisfying a need, getting a fix. *As for chai, I usually
avoid flavored tea. *I suppose because I already have such enormous
variety, I don't feel the need to add blueberry or watermelon
flavoring to my cup. *Chai, on the other hand, I have enjoyed, not
very often and never the pre-mixed kind. *For me it is especially good
after an Indian meal.

Salsero,
I agree I like to choose tea based on my mood and time of day. I
usually like something darker with more tannins in the morning, then
move to something lighter as the day goes on.
I love a cup of chai after a meal with a little bit of sugar, never
the premixed powder stuff (ugh).
The tarajulie is my go to tea through the day though; if I want a cup
of tea I know it will satisfy. Right now I am all about Indian tea.

On Feb 14, 12:14 pm, britta wrote:

Salsero,
I agree I like to choose tea based on my mood and time of day. I
usually like something darker with more tannins in the morning, then
move to something lighter as the day goes on.
I love a cup of chai after a meal with a little bit of sugar, never
the premixed powder stuff (ugh).
The tarajulie is my go to tea through the day though; if I want a cup
of tea I know it will satisfy. Right now I am all about Indian tea.

Just a little side-note, there are only trace amounts of tannins in
tea- what you're referring to is a similar class of compounds known as
"polyphenols."

I agree with you both about the importance of variety, I don't think I
could possibly stick to one type. I would like to eliminate some of
the open bags/tins I have laying around, though. :/
-Brent

On 13 Feb, 20:52, britta wrote:
I'm just wondering about the general preference out there.
In general I prefer Indian tea to Chinese; my latest obession has been
the Tarajulie Assam, it's delicious all day, morning, noon, and
night. And I love spicy chai with hints of cumin.
However China has caught my tongue lately as well, a light Keemun that
has a mellow sweetness.
Maybe my palate is shifting?

My black tea palate is certainly more Chinese oriented. Yunnan Pure
Gold, Golden Monkey or another smooth, flavorful congou seems just
right for me now. I find even top quality Assams to be too astringent
and harsh. On the green side I'm more into japanese teas, while
oolongs from both China and Taiwan regularly gets into my Yixing pots.
But since I'm constantly exploring new teas I expect to discover new
favorites from all tea countries.

As well as appreciating the tea "standards" one should always be
looking at fringe developments for unusual drinking pleasure. African
white teas for example, particularly those being hand made in Malawi
and machine made in Kenya. First flush tea from South Carolina.
Artisanal green teas made to very standards in Coonoor. Frost teas
from the Nilgiris. New orthodox teas coming out of Bolivia. Niche
production of black tea in Guatamala.

Nigel at Teacraft

On Feb 13, 7:52*pm, britta wrote:
I'm just wondering about the general preference out there.
In general I prefer Indian tea to Chinese; my latest obession has been
the Tarajulie Assam, it's delicious all day, morning, noon, and
night. *And I love spicy chai with hints of cumin.
However China has caught my tongue lately as well, a light Keemun that
has a mellow sweetness.
Maybe my palate is shifting?

[...Lew piling on...]

Hey Lew, for the love of Pete! Dominic in his infinite wisdom *did*
invite William and Britta to join the group to talk about tea out of the
context of sales and store. So, as soon as one of them tries to talk
about tea, off we go again. Jeez! Not only was there no mention of
commerce in her post, not even a URL to go to. Wow. Is this what it's
come to? Now, to slink back to my tea leaf strewn lair (however you
spell that) to sulk. And what did the beary squirrel (or squirrely bear
if you like) ever do to you? Michael

You've got a point there, Judge.

Yeah, yeah! Well, far be it from me to judge; rant, whine, complain, pick, perhaps; but judge: Never! it was just beginning to sound like a mob advancing with hatchets against the squirrel thing. My point, should I have one, would be that bad web sites don't necessarily mean bad tea, although they *don't* necessarily mean good tea, either. Enough. I'm out. See ya later!
Michael