I have a lot of loose leaf tea samples that I've been working my way
through, and I have been having a wonderful time working my way through
a whole lotta Keemuns lately, which I have really been enjoying.

Today I spied a Pu-Erh Tuo Cha and some keemun which I didn't rate very
highly, and I decided to brew them together. It turned out to be a very
pleasant cup! The combination of the grounded earthy tones of the pu
erh, and the more lofty fruity characteristics of the Keemun with the
chocolately undertones was great.

Has anyone else had success with "on-the-fly" blends such as this?

Linda > wrote:
>Today I spied a Pu-Erh Tuo Cha and some keemun which I didn't rate very
>highly, and I decided to brew them together. It turned out to be a very
>pleasant cup! The combination of the grounded earthy tones of the pu
>erh, and the more lofty fruity characteristics of the Keemun with the
>chocolately undertones was great.
>
>Has anyone else had success with "on-the-fly" blends such as this?

I have often enjoyed blends of black China teas with a little Ceylon to
thicken it up a little bit.

But DO NOT, whatever you do, mix a little Lapsang Souchong with a Java
tea. I tried that this morning when the Lapsang ran out, figuring I would
get something spicy with a little smoke to it, but the combination of
flavours was a very bad one.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I have had some Twinings Lady Grey on hand for quite some time. It
makes a nice cup but not something I drink very often as the citrus
flavor can be a little overwhelming by the second cup. I recently
found, though, that a blend of 2/3 English Breakfast to 1/3 Lady Grey
tones down the citrus flavor nicely and makes an absolutely delicious
drink.

Linda,

I blend equal parts of Ceylon, Nilgiri, Assam and Yunnan black teas (BOP
leaf, CTC for the Assam) for a great imitation of "English breakfast". It's
wonderful on its own, but takes milk & sugar in stride, too. You can play
with the blend by adding Kenya, Java or even cheap Darjeeling.

If I accumulate two or three bags of estate Darjeeling that are almost
finished, I often mix them all together for a final pot. Some of these
impromptu blends are remarkably good, others less so. But it's still fun to
see what happens.

Regards,
Dean

"Linda" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> I have a lot of loose leaf tea samples that I've been working my way
> through, and I have been having a wonderful time working my way through
> a whole lotta Keemuns lately, which I have really been enjoying.
>
> Today I spied a Pu-Erh Tuo Cha and some keemun which I didn't rate very
> highly, and I decided to brew them together. It turned out to be a very
> pleasant cup! The combination of the grounded earthy tones of the pu
> erh, and the more lofty fruity characteristics of the Keemun with the
> chocolately undertones was great.
>
> Has anyone else had success with "on-the-fly" blends such as this?
>

Typical British morning teas are blends of teas. Keemun is used in
English Breakfast. The British can make a taste that is greater than
the sum of the teas. I think doing that yourself is a waste of time.
You don't end up with a new taste but something that brings out the
worst of tea. I've been mixing black Puers for several months and the
taste is less than each individual black. I dumped my last mixture
because the amalgamation didn't even taste like cooked puer. I do
throw in a pinch of green as flavoring but that is different than
blending.

Jim

Linda wrote:
> I have a lot of loose leaf tea samples that I've been working my way
> through, and I have been having a wonderful time working my way through
> a whole lotta Keemuns lately, which I have really been enjoying.
>
> Today I spied a Pu-Erh Tuo Cha and some keemun which I didn't rate very
> highly, and I decided to brew them together. It turned out to be a very
> pleasant cup! The combination of the grounded earthy tones of the pu
> erh, and the more lofty fruity characteristics of the Keemun with the
> chocolately undertones was great.
>
> Has anyone else had success with "on-the-fly" blends such as this?

Space 4/27/06


> Typical British morning teas are blends of teas. Keemun is used in
> English Breakfast. The British can make a taste that is greater than
> the sum of the teas. I think doing that yourself is a waste of time.
> You don't end up with a new taste but something that brings out the
> worst of tea. I've been mixing black Puers for several months and the
> taste is less than each individual black. I dumped my last mixture
> because the amalgamation didn't even taste like cooked puer. I do
> throw in a pinch of green as flavoring but that is different than
> blending.
>
> Jim


Jim,

What you say makes sense for Pu'erh where the blending takes place before
the cake is pressed. But, I like more Keemun in a red blend than most people
do, so I think blending red teas is the way to go. With a little work you
can come up with a blend you like better than those commerically available.
On the other hand -- and I think this is what you're saying -- it might not
be worth the trouble. More typically, if I have two or more tea packets with
only the last remaining dregs, I'll mix them, sometimes to auspcious
result, sometimes not.

Michael

I think with blending you can come up with something new. The British
are the masters. I suggested the OP was combining flavors and not
blending for a different taste. Teas with flavor of whatever are rife.
What comes out of the black or green Puer process is a 'taste'
irregardless if it is blended or not at the factory. It probably
couldn't be reproduced again. From my experience blending yourself at
least for black doesn't produce anything worth while. One cake might
be particularly rancid and the next chauky. The two tastes don't add
up they subtract as any combination I've tried so far. Puer with
chrysanthemum or rose is flavoring. I think flavoring and blending are
two different taste.

Jim

Michael Plant wrote:
> Space 4/27/06
>
>
> > Typical British morning teas are blends of teas. Keemun is used in
> > English Breakfast. The British can make a taste that is greater than
> > the sum of the teas. I think doing that yourself is a waste of time.
> > You don't end up with a new taste but something that brings out the
> > worst of tea. I've been mixing black Puers for several months and the
> > taste is less than each individual black. I dumped my last mixture
> > because the amalgamation didn't even taste like cooked puer. I do
> > throw in a pinch of green as flavoring but that is different than
> > blending.
> >
> > Jim
>
>
> Jim,
>
> What you say makes sense for Pu'erh where the blending takes place before
> the cake is pressed. But, I like more Keemun in a red blend than most people
> do, so I think blending red teas is the way to go. With a little work you
> can come up with a blend you like better than those commerically available.
> On the other hand -- and I think this is what you're saying -- it might not
> be worth the trouble. More typically, if I have two or more tea packets with
> only the last remaining dregs, I'll mix them, sometimes to auspcious
> result, sometimes not.
>
> Michael

I agree completely on flavoring. If it's not in the tea, I don't
need it; tea has so many flavors to begin with. On your idea
of one tea subtracting rather than adding to a "blend," my
favorite example simply is green and red teas mixed. They
never seem to complement one another, but each renders
the other peculiar.

Michael

> I think with blending you can come up with something new. The British
> are the masters. I suggested the OP was combining flavors and not
> blending for a different taste. Teas with flavor of whatever are rife.
> What comes out of the black or green Puer process is a 'taste'
> irregardless if it is blended or not at the factory. It probably
> couldn't be reproduced again. From my experience blending yourself at
> least for black doesn't produce anything worth while. One cake might
> be particularly rancid and the next chauky. The two tastes don't add
> up they subtract as any combination I've tried so far. Puer with
> chrysanthemum or rose is flavoring. I think flavoring and blending are
> two different taste.
>
> Jim
>
> Michael Plant wrote:
>> Space 4/27/06
>>
>>
>>> Typical British morning teas are blends of teas. Keemun is used in
>>> English Breakfast. The British can make a taste that is greater than
>>> the sum of the teas. I think doing that yourself is a waste of time.
>>> You don't end up with a new taste but something that brings out the
>>> worst of tea. I've been mixing black Puers for several months and the
>>> taste is less than each individual black. I dumped my last mixture
>>> because the amalgamation didn't even taste like cooked puer. I do
>>> throw in a pinch of green as flavoring but that is different than
>>> blending.
>>>
>>> Jim
>>
>>
>> Jim,
>>
>> What you say makes sense for Pu'erh where the blending takes place before
>> the cake is pressed. But, I like more Keemun in a red blend than most people
>> do, so I think blending red teas is the way to go. With a little work you
>> can come up with a blend you like better than those commerically available.
>> On the other hand -- and I think this is what you're saying -- it might not
>> be worth the trouble. More typically, if I have two or more tea packets with
>> only the last remaining dregs, I'll mix them, sometimes to auspcious
>> result, sometimes not.
>>
>> Michael
>