On May 12, 6:32 pm, pgwk > wrote:
> On May 12, 5:06 am, MarshalN > wrote:
>
> > On May 12, 5:49 am, pgwk > wrote:
>
> Dry leaf, color and shape. I want to get across that pleasure of
> opening up the canister and seeing this crisp, wiry/tippy/folded
> vibrant whole leaf creation that is such a contrast to the dust and
> fannings of tea bags and the thin broken leaf of so many "fine" teas
> in elegant packages. I've found that the reaction of my friends is "I
> didn't know tea could look like that."
>
> I just hosted a tea evening for a restaurant owner friend and this
> reaction was immediate. I showed and we tasted just eight teas --
> Lapsang, Ambootia for the blacks, Iron Goddess and Spring Pouchong for
> the oolongs, Jasmine Pearl and Kyokuro for greens and Silver Needle
> and 100 Monkeys for the whites. I added a tuocha with hammer to smash,
> just for fun. The visual element of the tea really was a grabber for
> the twenty or so attendees. BTW, my (non-sales) pitch to my restaurant
> friend was that he offers his guests a rich range of choices of
> appetizer, main course and dessert where they spend $50-$100 but no
> comparable choice in teas. He has definitely gotten the message and is
> talking about adding a tea menu option.
>
> So, Marshall, I am fumbling around the notion that most people have no
> idea`of the range of teas and their quality and that the visual
> apperance of the leaf in and of itself helps shift their expectations
> and interest.
>
> Peter

I believe a great, intact maocha from Yunnan destined for puerh
production can be very beautiful.

I also think that dianhong, the golden tip kind, is very nice looking.

A properly handled Oriental Beauty is quite nice looking.

MarshalN
http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN