Tea from Korea

I was fascinated by the many types of church steeples we saw.
This one was in Austria on the way to Zurich.


A new friend, who is Korean, stopped in yesterday and we shared a cup of tea from samples I was sent from the Hankook Korean Tea Company, www.GoodGreenTea.net . I received 4 samples, 2 green, a persimmon and an Oolong. We tried the green one labeled Teuk Seon. There was only enough for one cup, which I brewed at about 160 degrees for 2 minutes. Neither of us was really taken with the taste, although Mae liked it better than I. To me, it tasted and smelled sort of seaweedy. However, hours later I finished it and cold, it was very flavorful, a nice combination of earthy and floral. I doubt I will be purchasing any. At $90 for 2 ounces, it is way beyond my price range.

Mae told me this is typical of Korean tea, that only the first plucking is considered good enough for tea and much of it is exported to Japan. She had lived in Japan for quite a while and said that Korean tea there was even more expensive than what comes into the US. She said most Koreans drank barley tea or corn tea or teas they made themselves from things in the garden, like mint or chamomile. Unless one was very wealthy, green tea was just too expensive. Mae told me the persimmon tea was something easily made at home and generally used for medicine, as it was quite bitter.

It has been very lovely here in the early morning and early evening. Across the road, the sun shines on the field of goldenrod and it is just brilliant through the dark trees of the spinney. At night, the sun is gone from our yard, but still shines in the swale beyond our thin strip of trees and again, there is that bright gold through the dark tree trunks.

Skipping around a bit, we'll now go to the Assam region of India, where many small landholders are newly growing tea and forming associations to market and manufacture their tea. They currently receive little if any help from the government, but it is promised to them and they hope for it so they can be more organized and earn more from their mini- estates. About 25% of Assam tea comes from these small farms. [Excerpted from Darjeeling Tea News]

Cold Wind, Warm Tea

Remains of a fresco on an archway in a German church. I am glad they
are working to preserve their heritage, these things should not be com-
pletely lost.

It is quite chilly today, with a cold wind blowing. When I looked up at the hills above us, I noticed how many of the trees are beginning to turn. It's too early, too fast!

Ah well, I will comfort myself with going to a warm country for a visit via my teacup. Thanks to Simpson and Vail I will go to the Kertasarie Tea Estate on Java. Java is the largest island in the Indonesian archipelago, home of the capitol of Jakarta and center of the old Dutch East Indies. The soil is volcanic and they use Javanese, Sumatran and China varietals of Camellia sinensis for their teas.

This particular tea is composed of small, very black leaves, with a number of twigs present. It has a wonderful dry scent of licorice and grilled veggies, which continues through the brewing process. I used boiling water for about 31/2 minutes and the tea was quite a dark reddish brown. Taste-wise, It was very close to a Ceylon. although it was not a bit malty, it had more of a roasted edge to it. I think it would have been better if I had brewed it for another minute. I also felt more of the taste cam out as it cooled. It is a pleasant tea, but not an exciting one.

Japan Goes Black

My favorite monastery courtyard and tower, in Sorrento, Italy. The
pillars are all taken from defunct monasteries. Now, that's recycling!



The trees are already starting to lose their leaves. Two of them down the road have lost at least half. The farmer has gotten a third cutting of hay and his corn is beginning to move towards harvest color. It didn't get very big, due to the dryness. Fall is definately let us know it's lurking.



For the past week the blue jays and crows have been incredibly noisy, for what seems like hours. Their constant raucous cries have really gotten annoying. I haven't heard much from any song birds. I guess now that the young are raised, they may be off to more fertile climates. Or they are getting ready to leave. I saw one of those huge flocks birds make when they begin to head South. It always amazes me when they can wheel in near-formation. They are amazing creatures.



After a week of very high temperatures, today is quite different. Instead of being over 90, it may not even reach 70. The wind is blowing and the sky is gray instead of what has seemed like an oppressive blue. An ideal time for....You guessed it, TEA. And do I have tea. Yesterday I received 3 different lots. Two I had purchased and one was a gift of samples from the Boston Tea Company. The big problem now will be which to choose. I think I am going to go with a Japanese black tea.



I would bet you thought I made a mistake - Japan doesn't make black tea. Well, apparently they do. A new-to-me company in California, Far West Trading Company carries it under their T Bar brand. It is called Kocha. Cha is tea in Japanese, so ko must be black, as in kohl, which is used as eye liner. The company is located in Graton, CA, in Sonoma County, which is more famous for wine.


But on to the tea itself. The dry leaves are very black, tiny and with a lot of dust. I don't know if this is travel fatigue or just the way it is. They have an intense, sweet nutty smell, perhaps closest to hazelnut. There is also a strong scent of cooked squash. Both these aromas lasted all the way through the first and second cups. The directions say to brew for 1-3 minutes, with water just under the boil. Well, I decided to do all three, pouring out a cup at each minute mark.

The first was pretty bland and quite bitter. The second tasted more of squash than nuts, with a bitter edge. The third, brewed for 3 minutes was, for me, the best. The bitterness had disappeared and the nuttiness and squash seemed to have found their places, with the nuttiness most forward. There was also an understorey of clean earthiness, almost an old woody quality.
While this was very interesting, I don't think it will ever be a favorite, but I would probably serve it with a Chinese meal - I don't know how to cook Japanese, except for sukiyaki, with which this would go well.

Taking tea with the Earl

I'm not sure who this chickie is, but I think that's a sword in her hand.

Today is so warm and sultry, it just conjures up "languid summer afternoon" A perfect day for swinging on the porch, reading a novel,

drinking tea.

I have found a very refreshing one. One of the few flavored teas I like is Earl Grey and I like it even more with lavender in it. One of my new Upton's purchases is filling the bill quite nicely. It's name is Earl Grey Tea, Lavender. No bell and whistles.

Upon opening the packet I am met with a lovely lavender scent. It's not the usual flowery, perfumey one, but one that is more herbal, almost minty. It's not very strong, either, more like homemade potpourri. The leaves are a uniform black, with some lavender buds. I brewed it up for about 3.5 minutes with water just under the boil.

There wasn't a lot of scent, mostly just the fresh tea, with hints of bergamot and lavender. The tea is a pretty golden brown and tastes wonderful. There's not a lot of either bergamot or lavender, but together they produce a warm, comforting herby taste to go with a very gentle tea. It's a light tea, perfect for a lazy afternoon. My husband really liked it. Wow. I think I will try it iced when I am finished with the one that's currently in the fridge - a blend of Darjeeling second flush and a Chinese Dragonwell - nice and light. I don't usually drink my cold tea with ice, so I don't make it very hearty.

A Green Afternoon

This is a tiny church on Ischia Island, where the statues have real hair.
It is the church of St. Francis and I wonder if it is the one my grandfather-in-law was christened in. The main body of the building is round.


Have any of you used a tea sock? Not t-sac, sock? These simple handy gadgets are basically a sac of something like stockinet attached to a ring with a handle, for brewing tea. No little bits escape and they are very easy to turn inside out, rinse and reuse. I first saw these in Puerto Rican bodegas in NYC, used for coffee brewing, but they woork equally as well for tea. Isn't it amazing the number of gadgets there are for getting our tea out of the packet and into our cups?

I just used an ordinary Finum filter to make my cup of Temple of Heaven Gunpowder green tea from Golden Moon - another one of those samples. The tightly rolled little balls smell mostly of hay, with a tiny whiff of smoke. I used water at about 180 degrees for about 2.5 minutes. It is a pleasant pale gold. As it brews, the tea smells more vegetal, but still with that slight hint of smoke. This strikes me as unusual in Green teas. Maybe it's the leftover gunpowder. I hope you know that's a small bad joke. Supposedly the tea is called "gunpowder" because it is in such tiny balls, that is what it looks like. I would say more like fine guage shotgun pellets. Anyway, the tea itself is quite refreshing, tasting very green, with no seaweediness or fishiness, for which I am thankful. Amazingly enough, the hint of smoke has carried through to the taste. There's almost a hint of asparagus and there is definitely a full mouth feel to it. Nicely done.

A new Keemun

I do love the Gothic period - all those tall thin arches and tracery. This is
of course, Vienna.

If you would be interested in getting some glimpses of the Assam tea growing area, tea gardens, factories and such, go to http://www.assamteatourism.com/ and check it out. It is quite interesting. Not as good as going in person, but a lot cheaper.

For today, however, I am going to China, specifically to the area that pro- duces Keemun [Qimen] tea. I said I had bought a number of Keemun samples from the new lots at Upton's and this is the first one I am trying. It is so exciting to have the new samples! Actually, to be really aware of and be waiting impatiently for new teas is exciting. Guess I am moving down the road with my tea sampling.

This particular one is organic Dao Ming Keemun. The leaves are quite small but the dry scent -oh my goodness, what a treat. Earthy, but so fresh, like the cask of a really dark red wine - Burgundy, perhaps a bit oaky, with a hint of acid and a whiff of smoke. I followed directions and brewed it for 5 minutes, but I think that was a little too long. The brewing tea smelled so fresh , the smoke had gone, but the winey earthiness remained. It carried right on through to the actual taste of this lovely reddish gold tea. At times it seemed more winey, at others, more of an oaken nature came through. My second cup I had with a bit of cream, which smoothed away the rough edges from brewing it just a bit too long. Next time I am going to do 4.5 minutes. The taste lingers in your mouth and teases out other nuances, but sadly, I can't think how to describe them.

This is an excellent tea for a very low price - about $6.40 for 3.5 ounces. Upton's usually gives you enough in a sample for about 7-8 cups, which I think is very generous. Some of their very rare teas are only enough for 1 cup, but that is quite unusual. Their web address is www.uptontea.com I have done business with them for over 25 years and have always been satisfied with their service and teas. Not that I have liked them all, but they have always been of good quality and fair prices. This year, I did notice, both with them and many others, tea prices have gone up a lot. The weather really affected the tea estates world wide.

Afternoon Deeeelight

Friday, August 27, 2010

This is a view of the very elegant room where the Lippizaner horses of Vienna, Austria perform. I'm not sure the Viennese do very much that isn't elegant.



Oh dear, I shouldn't have done it. I compared an oldish sample of Enjoying Tea's Imperial Golden Yunnan Black [Dianhong] with a new sample of Upton's China Yunnan Golden Tips Imperial. Two Imperials, right? Well, sort of. Both had lots of golden tips and long leaves, both were abundantly coated with gold dust. Upton's were longer and the smell! Oh, the scent of of it - like old dried wood in the sun, coupled with that of a woodland spring of fresh water.


Both were brewed for 5 minutes at boiling, ET's only required a teaspoon, but the latter needed 1 and a half, due to the very large leaves. Both had that characteristic fresh wash smell of Yunnan, although Upton's was stronger. ET's was kind of a medium amber, Upton's such a dark amber it was really a dark brown. Which brings us to the test - the taste. Here, alas, ET must bow out. If I had had this alone, I would've thought it was an adequate Yunnan. Pleasant, smooth, full of flavor. Definitely not top rank, but plenty good for everyday. However, I compared them. It probably is an unfair comparison as Enjoying Tea is from last year, which was not a good Yunnan year. So, actually that says something good for ET's quality.



Upton's said Yunnan quality was back and this is proof. Smooth, spicy, peppery, deep woodsy, winy, malty, all those good words about Yunnan, they're all there. The flavor lasts in your mouth to fade gently away, like old potpourri, with the spiciness being the last to linger. But your taste buds remember the sensations. I liked it so much I decided to do a second wash, for 5 and a half minutes, using half the water. The color is almost as dark, the scent almost as rich and the taste is still there. Okay, it's a little muted, but getting a cup and half or more out of enough tea for one cup is pretty good economics. And it allows you to keep drinking the good stuff.