Friday, Jun 17. 7 PM. Twice a year, Camellia sinensis is harvested to make oolong, but the spring yield is usually more floral than the fall. Winnie started the class with a taste test: between two oolongs, can we tell…
Ten minutes before seven on a Friday night, and Teance was already half full. The guys were handing out Lavender Mint as a preface, which I suppose could make a great palate cleanser. I was focused on snatching a seat…
The third pairing of mochi and Japanese green tea. Perfect! Yes, finally a mochi that goes perfectly with sencha. Yomogi (Japanese mugwort), julienned into tiny strings and mixed with the mochi dough, gives the mochi a clean, refreshing taste, which…
Today we had a guest lecturer: John Kokko from the Turtle Island Health Clinic, who came to talk to us about the benefits of tea in scientific terms. For notekeeping purposes, the following is taken from the copy that John…
Winnie Yu, the owner of Teance, was the special guest speaker of TeaCal today. Instead of trying new teas, we spent the hours doing 3 blind taste tests. 1. Chinese red tea vs. Assam: They’re both in the “black tea”…
Sencha in yunomi, a typical Japanese thick, tall teacup, whose name I’ve yet to find out, accompanied by a matcha mochi, whose fillings include: satsuma sweet potato, red bean paste, orange juice and walnuts. (Thanks Masaaki for telling me the…
Back then Darius told us that there are 2 main tea varietals: Camellia sinensis sinensis and Camellia sinensis puer. Obviously, pu’er tea comes from the latter. It’s the only kind of fermented tea. Fermentation and oxidation are two different things:…
Black teas today. Black tea is 100% oxidized, and like green tea, it needs no rinsing step prior to steeping. The reason is its surface is too small because it was cut into shreds or tiny bits, the flavors are…
Last week we had 3 kinds of Chinese oolongs. This week is 3 kinds of Taiwainese oolong. The difference between Chinese and Taiwanese teas? The region in which they were grown, which includes the soil, the climate, the biodiversity, etc.…
I came early so Sam gave me a cup of cooled White Down that has sit on the counter since morning. The taste is still smooth, gently sweet, and a bit floral like the usual white teas. However, the color…