Tea!

[Mokona]

I'm looking to hook myself up with tea, I'm a newbie to teas though. What I would like are suggestions or mixes of different teas that go well togther that I could try.

Thus far I know that I like Chamoile, Oolong, Green, Licorice.. Maybe a few others but I don't currently recall. Otherwise I was also curious about teas that "are good for chi" if that makes any sense at all. I suppose any tea would be healthy unless it was poisonus or taken in huge, huge doses.

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori

[Taomeow]

Man, go easy, there is a whole world out there when it comes to "teas."

 

Let's start with:

 

Chinese, Japanese, Indian or African?

 

Which do you prefer? Then we can start from there.

 

Well, if we're at the basics, I'd start with Sri Lanka, aka Ceylon... the birthplace of my favorite Ceylon black tea.

 

And when we move on to advanced tea science... how about Tibetan tea with yak butter? Or Altai tea with salt and fish oil? Great for the throat, and check out what it can do for your voice:

 

[Gerard]

Or Altai tea with salt and fish oil? Great for the throat, and check out what it can do for your voice...

 

Well, now that you mention the voice thing. I don't want to go off-topic but a good female friend of mine once had an encounter with an amazing Mongolian healer in Moscow who used a very high-pitched singing along those lines to draw energy into their patients and communicate with specific spirit-guides.

 

Anyway, let's wait for the OP to reply about which country or origin (and category for that matter) she prefers.

[Maddie]

I'm looking to hook myself up with tea, I'm a newbie to teas though. What I would like are suggestions or mixes of different teas that go well togther that I could try.

Thus far I know that I like Chamoile, Oolong, Green, Licorice.. Maybe a few others but I don't currently recall. Otherwise I was also curious about teas that "are good for chi" if that makes any sense at all. I suppose any tea would be healthy unless it was poisonus or taken in huge, huge doses.

 

I use tea a lot to accomplish various goals. Chamomile is good to relax ye, and for settling the heart meridian when over stimulated, and strengthening the stomach meridian as well. Green as lots of antioxidants, and cancer prevention properties, Licorice is good for the kidney yin, and adrenal glands. I like Ginger tea for the digestive system, dandilion/milk thistle tea to clean and strengthen the liver, echinesea tea for the immune system, nettle tea to cleans the kidneys and for hayfever symptoms, kava tea to destress, and the list goes on and on. What are you goals, or do you simply want a nice tasting cup of tea to enjoy?

[Taomeow]

Well, now that you mention the voice thing. I don't want to go off-topic but a good female friend of mine once had an encounter with an amazing Mongolian healer in Moscow who used a very high-pitched singing along those lines to draw energy into their patients and communicate with specific spirit-guides.

 

Anyway, let's wait for the OP to reply about which country or origin (and category for that matter) she prefers.

 

(Sorry for the off-topic, OP, I'll be brief and then we'll get back to tea )

 

Cool! I believe it. I'm all over Mongolian and Siberian overtone singing which I was first introduced to by Max (he can do it!) It is the second most powerful sound effect I've ever experienced (second only to live icaros of Peruvian shamans). I found a tutorial online and started practicing a bit. So far the results have been... I suck... but it still feels great!.. -- not the sucking part, the reverberation of some strings inside I never knew existed, which happens if I manage, just briefly, to get it right...

 

Back to tea. DC, you're asking a tea newbie which country's tea she prefers? How would she know? Tell her what YOU prefer and why, get that learning curve going!

 

So, to practice what I've just preached... I prefer, like I said, black Ceylon tea. That's a Russian thing. The great taoist alchemical vehicle, fire within water, got picked up by Russians early on and ingenuously turned into a samovar. The Chinese tradition of drinking green tea, however, didn't take root -- the climate didn't agree with it, or the spirit, or both -- so, after a historic period of experimenting with this and that, by the 19th century the choice was made decisively in favor of black tea. Because I grew up with it, made exactly right (most families made it exactly right, you lost face if you didn't know how), I always feel that my green tea experiments lack the kind of spontaneous competence I have with black teas, and usually leave me frustrated. The worst mess I made of my green tea was, sadly, in China, when offering it to someone very much in the know, who took one sip and didn't touch it anymore... This would never have happened to me with black tea.

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori

[Mal]

[Yuen Biao]

Well, if we're at the basics, I'd start with Sri Lanka, aka Ceylon... the birthplace of my favorite Ceylon black tea.

 

Ooh yeah I agree. Spent ten days travelling around Sri Lanka in April/May and I must admit that the Ceylon is really nice!

 

The Dilmah fiery spice tea was great too. Chai Fiery Ceylon I bought back heaps of this!

 

Been the 'spice island' Sri Lanka has many fine ingredients to add to normal black leaves such as cardamom, vanilla, ginger etc.

Edited September 2, 2010 by Yuen Biao

[Ya Mu]

I would love open a thread about communication with spirits using specific sounds but I am far from being qualified to do that, unfortunately.

 

...

 

But I am also a keen puerh aficionado, that aged wood turning into earth energy is sublime

...

 

Ah yes, Sounds to part the curtain and to manipulate the creative energetics. One of my favorite methods.

 

Oh yes, puerh tea - love it.

[RobB]

I'm there with the OP actually. I've done some googling around the subject but it's still hard to know where to start. If I wanted to buy 2 or 3 varieties to try to start to get a feel for the energetic qualities of teas which would those be and why?

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[Ryan T.]

I'm there with the OP actually. I've done some googling around the subject but it's still hard to know where to start. If I wanted to buy 2 or 3 varieties to try to start to get a feel for the energetic qualities of teas which would those be and why?

 

Cheers

 

Rob

 

IMO, stick with Chinese or Taiwanese teas to start.

 

Get a solid green like a medium-expensive Dragonwell. Find a good semi-fermented tea, my favorite is a Taiwanese Jade Pearl Oolong(Tung Ting Style). Then you just need to pick a black. Keemun or Yunnan are two of the best and most available. I would steer clear of the Pu-Erhs to begin with as they can be a bit of an acquired taste.

 

Starting with those three will give you a good cross-section of what camilla sinensis has to offer both flavor-wise and energetically. And all are quite accessible. Most tea purveyors will give you the brewing instructions, make sure you follow them. Especially on green teas. Certain teas can be quite susceptible to over-steeping. The correct temperature water for that specific leaf and the amount of time the leaves need in the water are crucial to whether or not it will be a good cup/pot.

[Mokona]

To start please drop suggestions for Japanease and Russian tea. I'd love to be able to make a awesome cup of Japanease and Russian tea for guests and myself!

[Ryan T.]

To start please drop suggestions for Japanease and Russian tea. I'd love to be able to make a awesome cup of Japanease and Russian tea for guests and myself!

 

I don't have any suggestions for Russian tea. Never really had any interest.

 

Japanese is actually quite easy. Gyokuro is the top grade of Japanese green available, it is the same grade that is ground up for powder, matcha, for the famous Japanese tea ceremony. Sencha is probably the most popular grade, quite good and very drinkable. Genmaicha is the green tea/toasted rice/sometimes popcorn blend that I have found to be my favorite from Japan.

 

There are other grades but these are probably the most common and most available.

[King Kabalabhati]

I like green jasmine pearls, Pu erh and white tea, just to mention a few.

 

Fennel is my basic infusion. It's good for all constitutions. Great for digestion and cooling for the nerves. Sometimes I add ajwan, sometimes jeera, sometimes cardamom.

[Taomeow]

To start please drop suggestions for Japanease and Russian tea. I'd love to be able to make a awesome cup of Japanease and Russian tea for guests and myself!

 

OK, Russian tea didn't travel the Great Silk Road, it penetrated via Siberia instead, and so retains the spirit of a "warming" brew, not so much physically (and not drastically like vodka) as in the sense "heart-warming," and it is great to serve to guests because it carries a spirit of intimacy, friendship, togetherness, camraderie -- it's not a lone meditator's drink, its spirit is of family or friends or colleagues getting together to share a relaxed mood.

 

Here's what you need:

 

good loose leaf black tea (I routinely go with either Ceylon or Darjeeling, which is Indian);

a porcelain tea pot that holds a minimum of two cups of water (you can also use a clay pot, or an enameled metal pot, but not glass and not stainless steel or some such);

a teaspoon;

a kettle;

spring water.

 

Put your kettle on and time your operations so you don't let your water overboil -- the crucial part of tea success is water that hasn't lost oxygen in boiling -- the moment it bubbles up, turn it off; but don't let the water cool off either -- from the moment you turn the kettle off, work very fast doing this:

pour a little hot water in the empty tea pot, cover, splash about to warm the pot, discard;

measure as many heaping teaspoons of tea leaves into the tea pot as the number of cups of tea you intend to serve, plus one;

briefly turn the kettle back on so it comes to a boil once again (it takes seconds, don't wait longer), pour boiling water into the pot, filling it only to 2/3 which leaves room for the tea to steam and breathe, cover with a lid;

let stand for 5 minutes;

what you have in the tea pot is "zavarka," concentrated tea which is then poured into cups and individually mixed with water (which you bring just to the boiling point once again -- but not beyond). Thus you regulate the strength of tea to taste -- some people will use just a little "zavarka" and some will go half and half (this will be very strong, but not bitter -- good black teas aren't bitter, they are astringent instead, "too strong" will be indicated by overtones of unripe persimmon); the usual/common proportions are determined by color -- a splash of "zavarka" on the bottom followed by diluting it with water should yield a beautiful darkish amber color, not watery and not black as coffee;

it is served very, very hot and care is taken with timing every step of the way (with practice it becomes second nature and the whole operation, simple enough as it is, gets streamlined to a no-brainer);

voila -- you have your Russian tea.

 

Here's some additional notes:

it is served in porcelain cups, NOT mugs whose thick sides will cool it off too much and whose overall crudeness of shape and purpose tends to cheapen the mood; and not in tiny thimbles like Chinese or Japanese tea, whose extra refinement and the need for many refills should the guests be genuinely thirsty takes too much attention off the conversation and onto the tea itself -- which is the opposite of what a Russian tea gathering is trying to accomplish;

to make it uniquely Russian, serve it with lemon and sugar, a thin round slice of lemon, skin on, goes into each cup (the whole lemon is splashed with boiling water before you cut it to release the aroma), you use your teaspoon to squeeze it out in your own cup, add sugar to taste;

or else, berry preserves are the most common thing served on the side, used to be homemade de riguer...;

and in general, all kinds of nice sweets are offered, though not necessarily consumed, depending on the guest.

 

The "zavarka," concentrate, can be used the second day, with freshly boiled water, if any remains. If you're going to eventually entertain a large tea party outdoors, I'll tell you everything about a samovar... the imperial way to do Russian tea.

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori

[boB]

daily I drink lots of tea, may be to much, generally green tea as I am caffine sensitive. I will get some boo's for this, but I mix Starbucks 'China Green Tip' with a White Tea. Also Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (western USA) has some better teas, like lung ching dragon wheel, Jasmine Pearl, etc. I actually blend the lung ching with their genseng/peppermint. I always let my tea cool to luke warm which I think works with green teas. That is my day to day, morning to night, non ceremonial tea routine. I will have a sip and say good night.

[Ryan T.]

Lol, do you happen to post at teachat as well?

 

Nope, never heard of it.

[betwixter]

-

Edited September 12, 2010 by betwixter

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori

[RobB]

 

Get a solid green like a medium-expensive Dragonwell. Find a good semi-fermented tea, my favorite is a Taiwanese Jade Pearl Oolong(Tung Ting Style). Then you just need to pick a black. Keemun or Yunnan are two of the best and most available.

 

Hi Ryan,

 

That's the stuff! many thanks. I'll get these on order (I've found a couple of online places in the UK that look OK).

 

Cheers

 

Rob

[King Kabalabhati]

Hi KK,

 

If you'd like a bag I purchased a few months ago, I'd be happy to mail it to you. It looks to be good quality, it just doesn't suit me. PM me your address and it will be yours!

 

This was a most kind-hearted offer, thank you. But I think it will be quite expensive to send the tea all the way to Finland

[King Kabalabhati]

Oh. Plus, it's tea, which may be subject to import rules of your country.

Well, if I'm ever in Finland...

 

..be sure to PM me

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori