Yourself?

Bad and good teas

Made some really bad "Oolong" tea just now that tasted of grass. And recalled that I bought it a long time ago, at a supermarket near my house on a whim. The price was irrestible.. only 2 or 3 dollars. Since then, the price of the teas I've been drinking have only gone up. And that poor can of tea? It's still full after 2 years.

I'm currently drinking Earl's Grey from Twinings, and it's worlds better than that cheap Oolong. Of course, it's also $16. But hey, I've still got some around after 1 year. Definitely doesn't finish as quickly as coffee does, so I guess it works out. Also experimented with this marvellous Gold line Jasmine Tea from Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. I remember the Jasmine scent spreading through the entire office when I opened the can. Of course, I made tea for everyone, and we had something better than teabags for once.

But my favourite tea of all, is Tie Guan Yin (or Iron Buddha). It's a very Teochew tea. I practically grew up on the stuff, as my grandpa (now deceased) used to drink lots and lots of tea, while collecting teapots (which I'm using now). A good brand is the $15 dollar Ong Sam Yong Tie Guan Yin tea in a can that you can find at certain Cold Storages. It's another top grade tea, and I've tried all their Tie Guan Yins from the lowest grade to the top grade (3 different grades). It's a big improvement over the middle grade, so it's worth the money. Just the scent of the tea itself is good enough to bring calmness to you, and transport you back into your childhood. Where the elders would prepare tea at the coffee shops, together with a warm bowl of Bak Kut Teh, or at Chinese family dinners, where the Tea, Teapot and Teacups would come seperately. And you had to wash the Tea cups in warm water first before drinking from it. Only now did I discover that those coffeeshops gave the best tea to it's customers. You had to warm the cup in boiling water because those uncles knew that that made the tea taste better. You had to "wash" the tea with hot water first, before adding some more to let it steep. This actually warms the tea leaves and the teapot. Even the duration of steeping the tea in the teapot is an art, honed over many years, with many different types of tea.

The brown liqour in my cup is not whisky, but tea.

posted by Downhere. @ 10:37 pm