Bluesea wrote:
> Although our experiences are surely different, having grown up in Honolulu,
> I'm going to disagree at this point. The fishy oolong that I tried was
> distinctly, repulsively, fishy and didn't smell at all like the ocean or
> even like fresh or dried seaweed. Besides, fresh fish doesn't smell fishy.
> Dad taught me how to spearfish and Mom took me to the open air fish market
> in Chinatown and taught me how to buy fish. If it smelled fishy, it was old,
> not fresh.
>
> "Fish and houseguests stink after three days."
>
> That yours reminded you of the sea is something that I envy.
>
> --
> ~~Bluesea~~

I will say that a long time ago I had some very fresh sencha prepared
for me by a thai woman, and I was repulsed at the absolutely fishy
tasting flavor of it. I actually referred to it as "The Fish Tea." It
truly seemed like licking a 3-day old bass to me, but over time I
actually have found that it is not actually a fish taste or flavor at
all but a very unique taste unto itself that is just very similar at
first.

I can't speak of your experience either, but I have had some very fishy
tasting greens over the years that had no ties to actual fish/seaweed
at all. I'm a fisherman as well, and I'm well aware of fresh/not fresh
fish and the range of smells...but if you take the time and really
search you can tell the difference. It took me over 3 years to finally
enjoy and crave that taste. Most likely it has to do with some slight
fermentation and the freshness of the leaf. I don't believe it is
anything added or even processed with or nearby the tea. It has to be
variable because I have had the same tea picked in the same place and
the "fishyness" has varied over different years.

- Dominic