Nancy so kindly shared with me some of her Wild Trees oolong, noting that the package says “a taste of ginseng”. At first, its clumpy look reminds me of a green puer (and it is a lot browner than in…
Mooncakes, Oolong and Chrysanthemum
Category: Sweet
Shincha of Spring 2012
“Shincha” means “new tea”. It’s popular in Japan, but outside of the Japan, it’s the kind of “insider tea” that only a regular would know because the host whispers to her “hey we just got a small bag arrive in…
Pair Dim Sum with Oolong at Shanghai Dumpling King
The waiter brought out a kettle of tea, but Nancy Togami waved him back, asking for just plain hot water. Carefully, she used her thermometer to check the water temperature. One hundred and eighty degree Fahrenheit, too cool to steep…
Anhui Yellow Tea
When Cheryl steeped it, it made me think of coffee. Not the bitterness but the sturdy sweetness of roasted beans. It’s dark, vigorous, nutty and confident. I couldn’t replicate the taste even as I watch the time (~ 15-20 seconds?)…
Asha tea house in downtown Berkeley
Tea might bring out the more spontaneous side of me. When I take the bus, I always sit on the right side, no matter which way I’m going, which can be bad when that side gets too sunny. But on…
Shiso Mochi and Spring 2012 Sencha
This must be the fifth time I’m talking about sencha, but the Spring 2012 harvest is a world difference from last year crop. To top it off with Masood’s steeping skill, who I’ve heard is the person to make sencha,…
Phoenix Oolongs
When I hear charcoal fire roasted, I don’t think of light and floral. I think smoky. That certainly has to do with the Charcoal Fire Roasted Tung Ting, the first charcoal-fire-roasted tea that I ever tried, and it’s everything but…
Honey Jialong
This tea leaves your palate with the sweetness of jicama, a sweetness that goes all the way to your nose and makes you believe that if you start talking after you take a sip, chamomile and gardenia floats out of…
Goji berry tea
It belongs to the herbal tea section: a type of red fruit dried to the size of the eraser at the end of an HB pencil, but skinnier and wrinklier. I’ve had dried goji berries before at a Chinese herbal…
Lapsang Souchong (red/black tea) and Niu Ro Mien
Kristen knows what she wants at Imperial Tea Court: the Taiwanese niu ro mien(*), a noodle soup with thick hand-cut noodle, big chunks of beef, a ladle or two of mahogany sauce, and a strong taste of star anise. Now…