Tag: Oolong Page 4 of 8

On November 30, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 30: “The White Forest Oolong Finish Line”

Holy heck . . . I made it.

finish line

This is it, Day 30. The final post in my self-inflicted NaNoTeaMo challenge. No one put me up to it; I wasn’t trying to prove anything. The only reason I did it was to see if I had any ounce of writing discipline in me. Apparently, I do. And then some.

A Bug-Bitten Beauty of a Black Tea

On November 29, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 28: “A Bug-Bitten Black Beipu Beauty of a Tea”

If you’ve spent any time around hardcore Taiwanese tea drinkers, you probably ran into the term “bug-bitten”. And probably thought of this.

big bug bite

No? Just me? Anyway . . .

“Bug-bitten” refers to teas that come from tea plants where pest involvement is encouraged. In Taiwan, there is a common pest called a leafhopper (Jacobiasca formosana). The bug species is common throughout much of Asia. They are especially drawn to the phloem found in stems, leaves and buds of tea plants.

leafhopper

My Love/Hate Relationship with Wuyi Oolongs

On November 24, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 23: “My Love/Hate Relationship with Wuyi Oolongs”

I remember the first time I heard the word “yancha”. In an unlikely move, I was attending a local gathering of fellow tea folks. I was nowhere near as knowledgeable as I am now (which – admittedly – still isn’t much). In order to be social, I approached one random guy who was standing by himself, surveying the crowd, teacup hand.

“So,” I started. “What do you usually drink?” Typical tea-ish ice-breaker.

“Mostly yancha,” he said curtly.

My mind instantly went, Isn’t that a Dragon Ball Z character?

yamcha

Nah . . .

“What’s that?” I asked, trying hard not to sound ig’nant.

He rolled his eyes, and let out a sigh. “It’s Wuyi. Rock. Oolong.”

“Ah,” I simply said. Why didn’t you just say THAT?!

Darjeeling Fit for an Emperor

On November 17, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 16: “Darjeeling Tea Fit for an Emperor”

The Singbulli tea estate has a very old history, like a lot of such Darjeeling gardens. It was established in 1924 by British planters, and then was taken over in 2003 by Jayshree Tea and Industries. The garden resides near the town of Mirik, and teas from there are certified organic.

The name “Singbulli” means “home of the birds”, but when I first heard the name several years ago, I immediately pictured this.

singing bull

But let’s stay focused here.

Nut Tea

On November 10, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 10: “Nut Tea”

You – fair reader – might think I’m certifiably nuts, but . . . I asked to leave work early today, so I could write about tea. If I had left at my normal time – 5PM – that would’ve left me with exactly a half-hour to formulate today’s article. And find a tea to write about. Plus, I was getting together with friends later in the evening.

So, like a bonafide tea nutter, I left at 4PM. This insane decision led me to the obvious conclusion of what my next brew-up was going to be. This li’l fella.

J-TEA’s Nut Tea.

nut tea

A Devotea Taiwanese Tea Tasting

On November 2, 2015

NaNoTeaMo, Day 1: “A Devotea Taiwanese Tea Tasting”

If any of you fine folks were paying attention to my social media yammerings, you may have noticed a peculiar update. I said that I wouldn’t be participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I tried two years straight . . . and gave up halfway through both times. Instead, I mentioned I was going to participate in something of my own devising – NaNoTEAMo. The idea? To blog every day in November.

There are two reasons I’m doing this: (1) I want to challenge myself a little. And (2) This . . .

box

A Mellow Yellow Tea Tasting

On October 27, 2015

Most people cultivate a close group of friends – those that share common interests, or that they feel most comfortable being around. One of the unfortunate drawbacks to being a tea blogger is . . . most people within my close-knit group reside in several different locations across the country. Or outside the country. As a result, I only see them once a year at World Tea Expo. The only way we have to combat this is Google Hangout.

Yes, Google Hangout: The tool used by hermits everywhere to pretend at being social. That and for business meetings . . . conducted by hermits. As you can tell, I positively adore Google Hangout. But I am also a self-professed hermit.

Many moons (and Moonlight teas) had passed since my group last had a “Tandem Tea Tasting” event. Jo “A Gift of Tea/Scandalous Tea” Johnson finally chose to rectify this absence by scheduling one. Months in advance.

A Gift of Tea

What Makes a Moonlight Tea?

On October 22, 2015

What makes a tea a “Moonlight” tea?

It’s a question I’ve asked myself several times over the last six years, and the one answer I’ve always returned to is, “I don’t care as long as it tastes good. “ But perhaps that was foolhardy. I originally assumed that when the name “Moonlight” was applied to a tea – particularly those from China – it was just for the namesake. Yunnan province’s Moonlight is called so because . . . well . . . that is the name. “Yue Guang Bai” translates to “Moonlight White”. Sure, it was also considered a style of white tea, but one that was only regionally specific. Because of this, I also thought that the same was true for Darjeeling.

I can name at least seven Darjeeling teas that have “moon” in their names. Glenburn Moonshine, Arya Moonbeam, Thurbo Moonlight, and – my favorite – Castleton Moonlight, to name just a few. Then a tea luminary I admired, Rajiv Lochan, blew my mind when he gave me this little tidbit of information. Moonlight wasn’t just a name for these Darjeeling teas; it was also a technique!

mind blown

Bitter Gourd Oolong for a Bitter Day

On October 3, 2015