I am looking for teas for some photographs that show just how
attractive the leaves of, say, Golden Lily, Kikucha, Darjeeling white
tips, Pi Lo Chen, etc., are. I'd welcome opinions on what are the most
photogenic and colorful of top quality, non-gimmick teas (i.e., not
bad flavored blends but teas you dirnsk and would recommend to other
tea lovers). Thanks.

On May 12, 5:49 am, pgwk > wrote:
> I am looking for teas for some photographs that show just how
> attractive the leaves of, say, Golden Lily, Kikucha, Darjeeling white
> tips, Pi Lo Chen, etc., are. I'd welcome opinions on what are the most
> photogenic and colorful of top quality, non-gimmick teas (i.e., not
> bad flavored blends but teas you dirnsk and would recommend to other
> tea lovers). Thanks.

I would think any fresh green would do. I think some of the most
physically appealing tea that I've seen has been Qie She (little bird
beak?) or Zhu Ye Qing (bamboo leaf green). There should still be an
abundance of fresh greens to be had since spring has just passed.

On May 12, 5:49 am, pgwk > wrote:
> I am looking for teas for some photographs that show just how
> attractive the leaves of, say, Golden Lily, Kikucha, Darjeeling white
> tips, Pi Lo Chen, etc., are. I'd welcome opinions on what are the most
> photogenic and colorful of top quality, non-gimmick teas (i.e., not
> bad flavored blends but teas you dirnsk and would recommend to other
> tea lovers). Thanks.

I think it depends on what you find photogenic. Colour? Shape? In
what setting -- dried? Wet? In water? Out of water? I think the
answer differs depending on what you're looking for.

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

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 am looking for teas for some photographs that show just how
> > attractive the leaves of, say, Golden Lily, Kikucha, Darjeeling white
> > tips, Pi Lo Chen, etc., are. I'd welcome opinions on what are the most
> > photogenic and colorful of top quality, non-gimmick teas (i.e., not
> > bad flavored blends but teas you dirnsk and would recommend to other
> > tea lovers). Thanks.
>
> I think it depends on what you find photogenic. Colour? Shape? In
> what setting -- dried? Wet? In water? Out of water? I think the
> answer differs depending on what you're looking for.
>
> MarshalNhttp://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

My idea of beautiful leaf is the clunking sound fisted Taiwan Dong
Ding makes when it hits the glass pot and the seeming from nothing
clog a pot mutliple whole unbroken leaf on stem which is good enough
to eat when finished.

Jim

On May 11, 3:49 pm, pgwk > wrote:
> I am looking for teas for some photographs that show just how
> attractive the leaves of, say, Golden Lily, Kikucha, Darjeeling white
> tips, Pi Lo Chen, etc., are. I'd welcome opinions on what are the most
> photogenic and colorful of top quality, non-gimmick teas (i.e., not
> bad flavored blends but teas you dirnsk and would recommend to other
> tea lovers). Thanks.

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

Dear Peter,

Though beauty is of course in the eye of the beholder, this
particular beholder finds Oriental Beauty to be one of the most
visually appealing leaves. A wonderful mixture of colours can be
found - on opening a packet (of a decent grade), I am often simply
arrested, halted, staring down at the pretty mixture of colours before
me.

http://tinyurl.com/284qe6 shows an approximation of this, though I
failed to convey their true beauty. Some of the colours are almost,
well, blue. Striking.


Toodlepip,

Hobbes

I think the most beautiful infused color is blood red from Yunnan
Black Gold. I think all leaf even fines has something to offer. I
like to watch Indian fines rain rocks from the initial volcanic
infusion plume on the surface. Afterwords I can spin the fines backup
into a tornado in a cylindrical glass pot. I like to watch the log
jam from needles right itself. I consider it an absolute sacrilege to
hide the agony of the leaves. If I have too I'll give up taste over
beauty.

Jim

PS My sister-in-law stopped by over the weekend who chastized me the
last time for not having any tea blossoms err it was the best tea she
tasted ever. She fell in love with my Pai Mu Tan so I didn't have to
impress her with my subsequent repertoire of tea blossoms which I hide
for myself. I did give her some PMT and a old bottle of green tea
balls without the hidden blossom which is some of the best green tea
I've tasted from China.

On May 14, 5:02 am, MarshalN > wrote:
> On May 12, 6:32 pm, pgwk > wrote:
....
> 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.
>
> MarshalNhttp://www.xanga.com/MarshalN

On May 14, 10:30 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> I think the most beautiful infused color is blood red from Yunnan
> Black Gold. I think all leaf even fines has something to offer. I
> like to watch Indian fines rain rocks from the initial volcanic
> infusion plume on the surface. Afterwords I can spin the fines backup
> into a tornado in a cylindrical glass pot. I like to watch the log
> jam from needles right itself. I consider it an absolute sacrilege to
> hide the agony of the leaves. If I have too I'll give up taste over
> beauty.
>
> Jim
>
> PS My sister-in-law stopped by over the weekend who chastized me the
> last time for not having any tea blossoms err it was the best tea she
> tasted ever. She fell in love with my Pai Mu Tan so I didn't have to
> impress her with my subsequent repertoire of tea blossoms which I hide
> for myself. I did give her some PMT and a old bottle of green tea
> balls without the hidden blossom which is some of the best green tea
> I've tasted from China.
>
> On May 14, 5:02 am, MarshalN > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On May 12, 6:32 pm, pgwk > wrote:
> ...
> > 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.
>
> > MarshalNhttp://www.xanga.com/MarshalN- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

If people were intrigued by the look of tea, you may want to show them
the different styles as far as they go like full leaves, long leaves,
short leaves, pearls, gunpowder.. etc. Also, you could consider
showing them the more for looks than taste blossoming teas. I can't
vouch for any of them being high quality teas, but I had one called
Rose of Suzhou that was wonderful to watch unfrul and bloom in the
water, I enjoy the taste also but don't know as much of green tea to
know good from great.

>From my experience you are paying for the size, rarity and the
intricacy of the flower arrangement which hold up to multiple
infusions. I like drinking the cheap ones because they will wilt
after the first infusion but have the most taste. You probably could
drink tea blossoms just for the taste but you find they seem like real
flowers with aroma. I caused my sister-in-law to sneeze from PMT
infintely fine white down tea dust. She was impressed at the big glob
of tea you could simply pinch with the fingers. We look at dry and
infused leaf but it is also has a tactile sensation. I want my Long
Jing to be dry and slippery with enough body that won't crush much
when pressed between fingers. Sencha has exactly the same feel as LJ
but it will spring back without crushing when pressed. I now man
handle Puer. I don't use tools anymore. For the really stubborn
stuff I put in a cloth towel and bang against hard surface.

Jim

On May 14, 2:23 pm, " > wrote:
> On May 14, 10:30 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> > ...I think all leaf even fines has something to offer. ..

> If people were intrigued by the look of tea, you may want to show them
> the different styles as far as they go like full leaves, long leaves,
> short leaves, pearls, gunpowder.. etc. Also, you could consider
> showing them the more for looks than taste blossoming teas. I can't
> vouch for any of them being high quality teas, but I had one called
> Rose of Suzhou that was wonderful to watch unfrul and bloom in the
> water, I enjoy the taste also but don't know as much of green tea to
> know good from great.