trentk
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Just to preface this, I'm somewhat of a "tea nerd" and I brew my tea the traditional way. So... hopefully I can make my 2nd post an epic one. There are various categories and subcategories of tea: White Green -Chinese Greens -Japanese Greens Oolong -Wuyi -Dan Cong -Taiwanese -Anxi Black Pu Erh -Shu -Sheng Buying Tea: Tea bought online from reputable vendors is worlds better quality wise than anything you will find at a supermarket. I'll provide links to my personal favorite vendors for each type of tea. General overview of most of the types: White: My least favorite type of tea. I won't cover this b/c I think other types of tea taste much better. Japanese Greens: Taste: Grassy & vegetal Japan produces only green tea, whereas china produces many different varieties of tea. Because the japanese specialize in green tea, I generally like japanese green tea more than chinese greens. The main difference between chinese and japanese greens is that japanese are steamed whereas Chinese are not. Recommended vendor: http://www.o-cha.com I would recommend trying the "shincha fukamashi supreme" shincha is tea picked in the 1st harvest and is almost always better than tea picked in subsequent harvests. How to brew (IMPORTANT - BREWING WRONG MAKES THE TEA TASTE HORRIBLE): http://www.o-cha.com/brew.htm If you want to learn more about japanese greens, http://greenteaforum.o-cha.com/ is a great resource composed of many members who know alot more about tea than me. Oolong: To quote wikipedia "Oolong is a traditional Chinese tea somewhere between green and black in oxidation. It ranges from 10% to 70% oxidation. Oolong has a taste more akin to green tea than to black tea: it lacks the rosy, sweet aroma of black tea but it likewise does not have the stridently grassy vegetal notes that typify green tea." There are various subcategories of oolong tea: anxi, taiwan, wuyi, and dancong. Each is unique and tastes vastly different from the other categories. Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ Taiwanese Oolongs: Light/non roasted Taiwanese oolongs taste somewhat like green tea. Roasted taiwanese oolongs are more like "coffee" Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ How to brew: lightly/non roastedhttp://teamasters.blogspot.com/2005/...4-brewing.html Roasted: Gong Fu Cha Brewing (see special gong fu section) Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ Wuyi Oolong: Taste: complex, chocolaty, sweet. here are a few reviews (not by me) describing the taste - http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2007...-shuixian.html http://weblog.xanga.com/MarshalN/tags/wuyiyancha How to Brew: Gong Fu Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ Dan Cong: Taste: floral and fruity See http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/se...0Cong%20Oolong to learn more. How to Brew: http://tea-obsession.blogspot.com/20...-dan-cong.html Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ Sheng Pu Erh: Taste: complex, every pu erh is different. Here are a few reviews - http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/2007...ghai-8582.html http://weblog.xanga.com/MarshalN/tags/agedpuerh About Pu Erh: Pu Erh is tea that is meant to be aged, much like a fine wine. How to Brew: Gong Fu Recommended Vendor: http://houdeasianart.com/ Gong Fu Brewing: Basically, in Gong Fu brewing you use small teaware with a high leaf/water ratio. Instead of brewing 1 long infusion, you brew many short infusions of the same tea leaves. Why type a long description when many others already have? http://www.wikihow.com/Brew-Kung-Fu-Tea' Teaware: Teaware and our shared love for admiring finely crafted clothing go hand in hand. Just as a denim enthusiast would enjoy watching a pair of raw jeans age, so would a tea enthusiast enjoy watching a fine pot age. Japanese Teaware: Tokoname Teapot: unglazed clay teapot http://www.artisticnippon.com/produc...onameindex.htm Yuzamushi: used for cooling water http://www.artisticnippon.com/produc...onameindex.htm (see bottom of linked page) Hagi-Yaki Cups: ceramic cups that improve with age http://stores.ebay.com/MAGOKORODO_Te...QQftidZ2QQtZkm Chinese Teaware: Yixing Pots: small, unglazed, clay pots that "absorb" the flavor a specific tea and enhance it's taste http://www.houdeasianart.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=15&zenid=fe56a9ba87e8eb62d078d197a3d19720 (Note: the link directs you towards the "best of the best" yixing pots. You don't need to spend upwards of $100 to get a good one. The yixings I use are only between $20-70) Tea Trays: used for catching spilled water in gong fu brewing Tasting Cup: Small cup used for tasting tea Aroma Cup: a specially designed cup that enhances the tea's aroma. tea is first poured into the aroma cup, then out of that into the tasting cup. What I would recommend buying as a "bare bones starter set": Cheap Gaiwan: http://stores.ebay.com/Yunnan-Sourci...QQftidZ2QQtZkm 1 sample of each kind of tea: from one of my suggested vendors Resources: The stuff I posted is just a quick, short, intro into the world of tea. If you are curious, I would Highly recommend checking out the following resources: Forums: http://www.teachat.com/ http://greenteaforum.o-cha.com/index.php http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/ Blogs: http://www.xanga.com/MarshalN http://half-dipper.blogspot.com/ http://teamasters.blogspot.com/ My Blog (I just started it and will begin updating it in a few weeks) http://trentea.blogspot.com/ Other: http://www.wikicha.com (the wikipedia of tea)