Steep Stories

Tag: Oolong

  • A Castleton Comparison

    While this has easily been the worst summer of my life, there was an anniversary of sorts. One I had completely forgotten about until I received an e-mail from Vivek Lochan of Lochan Tea. It read: “In continuing with tradition, a sample of the 2015 Castelton Moonlight has been sent to you yesterday by courier.”…

  • Having Oolong Ice Cream Every Which Way

    Several weeks ago, I made a trip to Smith Teamaker’s to try out some new tea concoctions they were working on. Tony Tellin, the lead blender was already doing a pouring of their new Masala Chai ON NITRO! . . . and I stuck around to try something else that was not yet on the…

  • Smith Tea . . . ON NITRO!

    Smith Tea . . . ON NITRO! – Teashop Adventure Week “On nitro!” Two words that I greatly missed from my beer-drinking days. From what I heard from a master brewer once, the process of pumping a beer keg full of nitrous oxide was to mimic the character of cask conditioning. The result was a…

  • Drinking Duck Shit

    Sometimes, I think the ancient Chinese are trolling us from beyond their ancestral graves. How else do you explain an oolong that is – essentially – a poop joke? Yashi Xiang (Duck Shit Fragrance) Dan Cong is an oolong hailing from Guangdong province, China. I first learned of it from fellow weird tea friend, Greg…

  • Booze Teas for Boob Teapots

    Booze Tea for Boob Teapots – The Tea-Totaler Trilogy, Part 2 Around the year, 490 BCE, in the ancient Chinese kingdom of Yue, there was once a beautiful woman who was offered as tribute to an invading king. The woman was so marveled for her beauty, it was said that fish would forget how to…

  • Cheating at Tea-Totaling

    Cheating at Tea-Totaling – The Tea-Totaler Trilogy, Part 1 In December of last year, I gave up drinking. The reason? A missing hubcap. I hit a curb while driving a wee bit sauced. No idea where said hubcap went. My theory’s Narnia. My poor car was the impetus for what (originally) began as a year-long…

  • A Tale of a Nepalese Tea Estate

    I’m well aware of the awkward timing of this blog, given recent events. Originally, I’d intended to have this up the week prior. Circumstances of the lazy kind prevented me from finishing it by then. So, here it is, now. And, yes, I will be addressing the really shaky subject matter toward the end. But…

  • Regarding Tea Sachets

    In more informed tea circles, it is common knowledge that teabags are crap. Those little bags of ass-flavored tea usually contain the dust left over after the good, loose leaf tea was packaged. The taste of an average black tea from a bag is rough and bitter, like licking a chalkboard. (Yes, I’ve tried that.)…

  • A High Mountain Happy Accident

    The late Bob Ross used to close his show with the line, “There are no mistakes, only happy accidents.” His philosophy – if it can be called that – holds true for a lot of things. Oolong, for starters, was a happy accident. As legend has it, the style came about because a leaf picker…

  • Bug Bites, Tea Huts, and Sipping Wisdom

    Early on in my tea writing “career”, there was one name that always popped up – Lindsey Goodwin. She was one of the tea writers on the scene, managed her own consultation website, and was the resident caffeine guru for About.com. And at one point in time, she was also a Portlander. As one might…