I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo Joy
Dragon Well that tastes like Dragon Well, but has a funny flavor in there
also. I also got some Pouchong from Hua Tai Tea Company. It is nice and
flowery, very Oolongish, with out much green flavor. Unfortunately for me,
I like the green flavor in Pouchong tea. I got some Qing brand Yunnan black
tea in bags that I thought may be good for dining out or travel, but while
it's drinkable, it's a far cry from even the cheap Yunnan's I've had.

I purchased one other little 2 oz. packet of tea. On the front it says
Fukamushi-Cha New Crop Green Tea Packed by Yamama Masudaen Co. Ltd.
Shizuokaken, Japan. It was all of $2.99 for the packet. I think I'm
addicted! Steeping for more than 30 seconds makes for a bitter tea, but in
a different way than most teas I'm used to. It's still very drinkable. But
at 30 seconds, it makes a delicious vegetal tea with lots of flavor. It
doesn't seem to be too picky about temperature either. I've brewed it with
near boiling water and with water down around 150F, all produced a great cup
of tea. The liquor is bright green and a little cloudy. The leaves are
broken into very fine pieces. I don't know if this is by design, or from
shipping, handling, etc.

I'll definitely be going back for more. The same store had a Uri Gyokuro
that I'm going to pick up next time to try.

You guys told me my taste would change as I explored tea and you were right.
At first I preferred Chinese greens and Indian blacks, but now I've moved to
a preference for Japanese greens and Chinese blacks. Thanks for helping me
get started on this very enjoyable journey.

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo Joy

FooJoy is the quintessential Chinese commercial brand. The first step to
understanding Chinese tea starts here. While a tisane I never go anywhere
without their Dim Sum Herbal when seeking to eat likewise. I also recommend
their Vintage Oolong as a precursor to pu-erh. Their Lichee is as good as
any. You can't beat the selection and price. I can't say this about other
similar HK companies.

Jim

"Space Cowboy" writes:

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo Joy

FooJoy is the quintessential Chinese commercial brand. The first step to
understanding Chinese tea starts here. While a tisane I never go anywhere
without their Dim Sum Herbal when seeking to eat likewise. I also recommend
their Vintage Oolong as a precursor to pu-erh.

You mean it's already aged? Or is it somehow especially suitable for aging?

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

"Space Cowboy" wrote in message
ink.net...

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out
some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo Joy

FooJoy is the quintessential Chinese commercial brand. The first step to
understanding Chinese tea starts here. While a tisane I never go anywhere
without their Dim Sum Herbal when seeking to eat likewise. I also
recommend
their Vintage Oolong as a precursor to pu-erh. Their Lichee is as good as
any. You can't beat the selection and price. I can't say this about
other
similar HK companies.

Jim


Thanks Jim,
I did see the Vintage Oolong. I'll pick some up next time I'm there. I had
my first pu-erh lately, and while it wasn't bad, I don't think I get it yet.
I'll have to try some others and get a handle on the flavors.

Blues

blues Lyne wrote:

I purchased one other little 2 oz. packet of tea. On the front it says
Fukamushi-Cha New Crop Green Tea Packed by Yamama Masudaen Co. Ltd.
Shizuokaken, Japan. It was all of $2.99 for the packet. I think I'm
addicted! Steeping for more than 30 seconds makes for a bitter tea, but in
a different way than most teas I'm used to. It's still very drinkable. But
at 30 seconds, it makes a delicious vegetal tea with lots of flavor. It
doesn't seem to be too picky about temperature either. I've brewed it with
near boiling water and with water down around 150F, all produced a great cup
of tea. The liquor is bright green and a little cloudy. The leaves are
broken into very fine pieces. I don't know if this is by design, or from
shipping, handling, etc.

Broken leaves are characteristic of fukamushi-cha, which is just sencha
steamed-fixed for a longer period than typical sencha (fukamushi means
"deep-steamed"). They are indeed a little more forgiving when it comes
to brewing, tolerating higher temperatures. As for flavor, you could
say fukamushi-cha are generally robust, while standard sencha are more
delicate and aromatic.

--crymad

Vintage as in Premium quality not specifically aging. However since this is
from the Wuyi Mountains it should be aged 6 months which is typical and ever
so slightly the 'moldy' taste not found in other oolongs. You can buy Wuyi
oolong which isn't aged but missing that characteristic note from aging.
The most notable is Black Dragon which I can serve to guests and not get
that puckered egads shocked surprised expresssion.

Jim

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
"Space Cowboy" writes:

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out
some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo
Joy

FooJoy is the quintessential Chinese commercial brand. The first step
to
understanding Chinese tea starts here. While a tisane I never go
anywhere
without their Dim Sum Herbal when seeking to eat likewise. I also
recommend
their Vintage Oolong as a precursor to pu-erh.

You mean it's already aged? Or is it somehow especially suitable for
aging?

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

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
"Space Cowboy" writes:

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I recently went to a couple of Asian markets in the area to check out
some
teas. Most of what I got wasn't to spectacular. I bought some Foo
Joy

FooJoy is the quintessential Chinese commercial brand. The first step
to
understanding Chinese tea starts here. While a tisane I never go
anywhere
without their Dim Sum Herbal when seeking to eat likewise. I also
recommend
their Vintage Oolong as a precursor to pu-erh.

You mean it's already aged? Or is it somehow especially suitable for
aging?

/Lew

I understand that in the Indian Darjeeling region, "vintage" tea refers to
tea made from the leaves of older, vintage plants (possibly from very old
strains, or from the actual very old plants?). I wonder whether this is
ever done in China?

N.

"WNW" writes:

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
"Space Cowboy" writes:

[..."Vintage Oolong" as a precursor to pu-erh...]

You mean it's already aged? Or is it somehow especially suitable for
aging?

I understand that in the Indian Darjeeling region, "vintage" tea refers to
tea made from the leaves of older, vintage plants (possibly from very old
strains, or from the actual very old plants?). I wonder whether this is
ever done in China?

It's certainly *advertised* in China. I've read about tea from
800-year old plants.

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

I think that is a Chinese pull-your-leg folklore for gullible Occidentals
because from a little research the life of a plantation tea plant is about
65 years. Established plantations are maintained from graphing so how old
is a clone?

Jim

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
"WNW" writes:

"Lewis Perin" wrote in message
news
"Space Cowboy" writes:

[..."Vintage Oolong" as a precursor to pu-erh...]

You mean it's already aged? Or is it somehow especially suitable for
aging?

I understand that in the Indian Darjeeling region, "vintage" tea refers
to
tea made from the leaves of older, vintage plants (possibly from very
old
strains, or from the actual very old plants?). I wonder whether this is
ever done in China?

It's certainly *advertised* in China. I've read about tea from
800-year old plants.

/Lew

I'm going to be going to the Asian markets tomorrow to pick up, among other
things, some more Fukamushi-Cha and a Uri-Gyokuro I saw last time. Any
other teas I should be on the look out for?

Thanks,

Blues

Buy something of everything and you'll still have change in your pocket. On
your way if you past any Indian or Arabic stores stop there too.

Jim

"blues Lyne" wrote in message
et...
I'm going to be going to the Asian markets tomorrow to pick up, among
other
things, some more Fukamushi-Cha and a Uri-Gyokuro I saw last time. Any
other teas I should be on the look out for?

Thanks,

Blues

"Space Cowboy" wrote in message
nk.net...
Buy something of everything and you'll still have change in your pocket.
On
your way if you past any Indian or Arabic stores stop there too.

Jim

Thanks,

Blues

Well I ended up with some more Fukamushi-Cha, some Uji-Gyokuro, and Aha-Cha
New Crop Presorted Green Tea (a blend of first picked tea with
Fukamushi-Cha, Kuki-Cha, and Kona-Cha). I really like the Aha-Cha, the
Gyokuro is a little grassy for me. After reading a bit more about brewing
Gyokuro on the internet I brewed a cup using 2 tablespoons of tea, 122
degree water for 2 minutes, and while I like the Gyokuro I got from Special
Teas better, it's not a bad cup of tea. The aftertaste is better than the
flavor while I'm drinking it.

The Fukamushi-Cha and Aha-Cha are both from the Yamama Masudeaen Co. and
were $2.99 for 2 Oz. The Gyokuro was 9.99 for 8oz. At these prices I can
afford to experiment, but most of the teas were in 8oz. packages, so if I
don't like them there is a lot to waste. Fortunately I have some family who
are not so particular about their teas, so they appreciate my discards.

Blues

blues Lyne wrote:

Well I ended up with some more Fukamushi-Cha, some Uji-Gyokuro, and Aha-Cha
New Crop Presorted Green Tea (a blend of first picked tea with
Fukamushi-Cha, Kuki-Cha, and Kona-Cha). I really like the Aha-Cha, the
Gyokuro is a little grassy for me. After reading a bit more about brewing
Gyokuro on the internet I brewed a cup using 2 tablespoons of tea, 122
degree water for 2 minutes, and while I like the Gyokuro I got from Special
Teas better, it's not a bad cup of tea. The aftertaste is better than the
flavor while I'm drinking it.

The Fukamushi-Cha and Aha-Cha are both from the Yamama Masudeaen Co. and
were $2.99 for 2 Oz. The Gyokuro was 9.99 for 8oz.

[snip]

You may want to try the Gyokuro using 1 tablespoon and bumping up the
temperature at bit, say 150. I wonder, though, whether this tea is in
fact true Gyokuro, given that the price you mention is inconceivably
cheap.

--crymad

"crymad" wrote in message
...
I wonder, though, whether this tea is in
fact true Gyokuro, given that the price you mention is inconceivably
cheap.

--crymad

I wondered that same thing myself.