Hi people,

I'm looking for a morning tea, that is, strongly caffinated as possible,
taste with character, and convient, Tuocha, or at arte some sort of
bingcha, would fit the bill bicely -- that pu-erh has medicinal effects
doesn't hurt either.

(BTW, I used to habitually use a strongly brewed Assam, spiced to taste,
lightened with milk or soymilk & sweetened with plenty of honey, for
*everything*. But now the doctors have me off honey, sugar, milk in all
forms, etc -- the low-carb diet from Hell, and I have been exploring Chinese
teas by way of compensation.)

Anyway, I have heard the "Camel's Breath" Toucha is pretty good for that
purpose. Any other suggestions would be appewxiated.

Also, can uou steep a beengha overnight (or for some long period) to fortify
it, without damaging the taste too much? Thanks.

Ozzy

On Thu, 09 Jun 2005 03:28:25 GMT, Ozzy > wrote:

>Hi people,
>
>I'm looking for a morning tea, that is, strongly caffinated as possible,
>taste with character, and convient, Tuocha, or at arte some sort of
>bingcha, would fit the bill bicely -- that pu-erh has medicinal effects
>doesn't hurt either.
>
>(BTW, I used to habitually use a strongly brewed Assam, spiced to taste,
>lightened with milk or soymilk & sweetened with plenty of honey, for
>*everything*. But now the doctors have me off honey, sugar, milk in all
>forms, etc -- the low-carb diet from Hell, and I have been exploring Chinese
>teas by way of compensation.)
>
>Anyway, I have heard the "Camel's Breath" Toucha is pretty good for that
>purpose. Any other suggestions would be appewxiated.
>
>Also, can uou steep a beengha overnight (or for some long period) to fortify
>it, without damaging the taste too much? Thanks.
>
>Ozzy

Hi Ozzy,

You can indeed steep a black pu'er overnight and yield a very stout
brew, but don't try that with a green pu'er. "Camel's Breath" is just
one type of black pu'er, there are a lot of different black puers. My
recommendation would be to select a vendor and let them guide you
through your journey. If you don't have a local brick and mortar shop
then try one from my Vendors page http://www.pu-erh.net/usvendors.html

It does sound like the black puers are where you would want to start.
Tell your vendor that you want the most robust black pu'er that they
have. Let them make the recommendation.

Pick one vendor and stick with them, the goal is to develop a
relationship where the vendor learns your palate. I would recommend
one of these vendors as a place to start:
http://www.jingteashop.com/
http://www.teaspring.com/pu-erh-tea.asp
http://stores.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sourcing-LLC
http://www.sevencups.com/tea-shop/home.php?cat=281
http://www.houdeasianart.com

Mike
http://www.pu-erh.net
Mike Petro
http://www.pu-erh.net
"In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not be forgotten that much likewise is performed."
Samuel Johnson, 1775, upon finishing his dictionary.

It's funny the Doctor has prohibited everything but the caffeine. I
drink pu in the evening because I don't feel it has the caffeine kick
like others that seem to keep you awake. If you want caffeine, take
any tea and brew it strong. The British know the art and kick of
breakfast teas. You can buy sugar free Baker's chocolate and add that
to your tea. My local tea shoppe has a sampler set specifically
designed to wean coffee drinkers. Just add a commercial tea masala
used for making chai without the cream and sugar. My experience pu
won't oversteep. It seems to have a limiting switch. Take a CTC and
let it set overnight and it'll turn to syrup (almost). Brew a strong
imperial gunpowder and it'll make the hairs stand up on your neck. All
tea is good for your health. Pu makes claims that might be good for
type two diabetics. I personally wouldn't drink it if I was taking
meds for the condition.

Jim

Ozzy wrote:
> Hi people,
>
> I'm looking for a morning tea, that is, strongly caffinated as possible,
> taste with character, and convient, Tuocha, or at arte some sort of
> bingcha, would fit the bill bicely -- that pu-erh has medicinal effects
> doesn't hurt either.
>
> (BTW, I used to habitually use a strongly brewed Assam, spiced to taste,
> lightened with milk or soymilk & sweetened with plenty of honey, for
> *everything*. But now the doctors have me off honey, sugar, milk in all
> forms, etc -- the low-carb diet from Hell, and I have been exploring Chinese
> teas by way of compensation.)
>
> Anyway, I have heard the "Camel's Breath" Toucha is pretty good for that
> purpose. Any other suggestions would be appewxiated.
>
> Also, can uou steep a beengha overnight (or for some long period) to fortify
> it, without damaging the taste too much? Thanks.
>
> Ozzy

"Space Cowboy" > skrev i meddelandet
oups.com...
> It's funny the Doctor has prohibited everything but the caffeine. I
> drink pu in the evening because I don't feel it has the caffeine kick
> like others that seem to keep you awake. If you want caffeine, take
> any tea and brew it strong. The British know the art and kick of
> breakfast teas. You can buy sugar free Baker's chocolate and add that
> to your tea. My local tea shoppe has a sampler set specifically
> designed to wean coffee drinkers. Just add a commercial tea masala
> used for making chai without the cream and sugar. My experience pu
> won't oversteep. It seems to have a limiting switch. Take a CTC and
> let it set overnight and it'll turn to syrup (almost). Brew a strong
> imperial gunpowder and it'll make the hairs stand up on your neck. All
> tea is good for your health. Pu makes claims that might be good for
> type two diabetics. I personally wouldn't drink it if I was taking
> meds for the condition.

What is baker's chocolate?

/M

It is the unsweetened dark bitter chocolate used for cooking. You find
it in of all places the cooking section in your grocery under that
name. The white baker's chocolate is just cocoa cream but acts as a
natural sweetener. There are other sources of chocolate of even
greater purity noted for medicinal value. I think chocolate is a great
flavor for the right tea.

Jim

M=E5rten Nilsson wrote:
> "Space Cowboy" > skrev i meddelandet
> oups.com...
> > You can buy sugar free Baker's chocolate and add that
> > to your tea.
> What is baker's chocolate?

"Space Cowboy" > wrote in
oups.com:

> It's funny the Doctor has prohibited everything but the caffeine. I
> drink pu in the evening because I don't feel it has the caffeine kick
> like others that seem to keep you awake. If you want caffeine, take
> any tea and brew it strong. The British know the art and kick of
> breakfast teas. You can buy sugar free Baker's chocolate and add that
> to your tea. My local tea shoppe has a sampler set specifically
> designed to wean coffee drinkers. Just add a commercial tea masala
> used for making chai without the cream and sugar. My experience pu
> won't oversteep. It seems to have a limiting switch. Take a CTC and
> let it set overnight and it'll turn to syrup (almost). Brew a strong
> imperial gunpowder and it'll make the hairs stand up on your neck. All
> tea is good for your health. Pu makes claims that might be good for
> type two diabetics. I personally wouldn't drink it if I was taking
> meds for the condition.
>
> Jim

Thanks. Your story about pe-erh reminds me of a friend of mine who drinks
weak tea with a little light cream before going to bed at night. It
aparently works wonders (for him) as a soporific. For me, especially in
the last few years, no caffienated drinks of any kind after a certain hour
are best.

BTW, in this doctor's opinion, whatever negative effects caffiene may have
(e.g. possible overstimulation) are far outweighed by the health benefits
of tea, specificaly its cancer fighting abilities in humans (he takes a
dim view of the Linus Pauling report re those ["dissapointing"]). Baker's
choclate, as it happens, is on his dietary guidelines...


Ozzy

Mike Petro > wrote in
:


> Hi Ozzy,
>
> You can indeed steep a black pu'er overnight and yield a very stout
> brew, but don't try that with a green pu'er. "Camel's Breath" is just
> one type of black pu'er, there are a lot of different black puers. My
> recommendation would be to select a vendor and let them guide you
> through your journey. If you don't have a local brick and mortar shop
> then try one from my Vendors page http://www.pu-erh.net/usvendors.html
>
> It does sound like the black puers are where you would want to start.
> Tell your vendor that you want the most robust black pu'er that they
> have. Let them make the recommendation.
>
> Pick one vendor and stick with them, the goal is to develop a
> relationship where the vendor learns your palate. I would recommend
> one of these vendors as a place to start:
> http://www.jingteashop.com/
> http://www.teaspring.com/pu-erh-tea.asp
> http://stores.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sourcing-LLC
> http://www.sevencups.com/tea-shop/home.php?cat=281
> http://www.houdeasianart.com
>
> Mike
> http://www.pu-erh.net
> Mike Petro
> http://www.pu-erh.net
> "In this work, when it shall be found that much is omitted, let it not
> be forgotten that much likewise is performed." Samuel Johnson, 1775,
> upon finishing his dictionary.

Hi Mike. Thanks much, esp. for the URLs. Sounds logical...

Ozzy

Ozzy > wrote:
> I'm looking for a morning tea, that is, strongly caffinated as possible,
> taste with character, and convient, Tuocha, or at arte some sort of
> bingcha, would fit the bill bicely -- that pu-erh has medicinal effects
> doesn't hurt either.
> Also, can uou steep a beengha overnight (or for some long period) to fortify
> it, without damaging the taste too much? Thanks.

My traditional morning cup is a standard black single-serving pu erh tuocha
(little bowl) from Ten Ren. They sell bags full at their usual somewhat
inflated prices, but it's still not very expensive (I think 20 cents per, if
I remember correctly). If you know anyone going to China they can get them
at about 5 percent of this price. It has a fair amount of caffeine, is good
on a resteep, and can bear oversteeping without getting bitter. I don't know
about overnight. If you want strong, use two. It doesn't get bitter very
easily. Mike Petro's recommendations (as always for pu erh) are good too.

I'm not convinced of any long term medical effects, but then I'm hard to
convince. I and a friend or two have found black pu erh to settle our
stomaches and to confer the other usual benefits of tea.

Best,

Rick.





> Ozzy