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The TSC Tea House
- Thread starter dkeester
- Start date
The most 'Cadre' statement ever!
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
EMG06
"TSC's Bingo Admiral"
Not sure how I missed the flurry of activity on this thread a few weeks ago. But I love tea and since 2020 have gotten more into it. My gateway was the Bigelow Darjeeling tea bags, which made me realize tea could be so much more than the standard Lipton teabag stuff.
Still drink plenty of Lipton (provided free of charge at work, so it’s always available).
Lately I’ve been more into the “clonal” first flush teas from Darjeeling (ones from Badamtam and Barnesbeg gardens have really caught my attention). In the summer I enjoy the Alishan Oolong teas from Taiwan, Gyukoru Tea from Japan (by way of Brooklyn Tea) and a green tea from Japan that is sold in a golden bag in a local Japanese market.
Still drink plenty of Lipton (provided free of charge at work, so it’s always available).
Lately I’ve been more into the “clonal” first flush teas from Darjeeling (ones from Badamtam and Barnesbeg gardens have really caught my attention). In the summer I enjoy the Alishan Oolong teas from Taiwan, Gyukoru Tea from Japan (by way of Brooklyn Tea) and a green tea from Japan that is sold in a golden bag in a local Japanese market.
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
Both Badamtan and Barnesbeg are very beautiful estates although I only know from pictures as I have never been there (bucket list). They also both have very varied topography with wide ranging elevations. I have always been partial to Margaret's Hope's tea which is at 6000 ft. 5000 ft or more seems to be the magic number although Castleton produces some very fine tea at 4500. A lot of it is the varital but a lot also has to do with the processing. Personally I like the second flush more but first flush can be very good if you like a lot of astringency. If you get a chance sometime try an autumn flush. It is harder to find but well worth looking for as it is very round and complex.
I would also recommend.trying.some.from Sikkim and Nepal as they are both seeking.to gain market share and produce a very good product often for much lower prices.
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
...I should also mention that although I have go to estates which often have good results it is important to keep your ears open to tasters' and graders' recommendations. So much is dependant on weather and nuance (if we were talking pool I would say "English") in the processing that any estate can have good or bad years or even single flushes. Besides, there are so many estates in the Himalayas that it is hard to keep track of all of them, I hear of estates all the time that are new to me, never knew they existed. Why not let the tasters do what they do and hear them out?
Although I always say, "don't let anyone tell you what to like," don't turn that into having a closed ear or mind. That is my advice anyway.
Although I always say, "don't let anyone tell you what to like," don't turn that into having a closed ear or mind. That is my advice anyway.
There are several TikTok channels that sell teacups from China. Here are some I’ve gotten.
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
10 year old white tea? Wouldn't that be puh ehr?
I do drink quite a bit of tea. My normal go to is Paris by Harney & Sons. But we have many different kinds. I have not been able to convert the rest of my family to the loose leaf. My favorite is pu erh, but that is one rabbit hole I have only dipped my toe in. You can buy the cakes of it for a huge range between $50-1000 for the raw stuff that hasn't been aged. When you start getting into the aged tea, it goes up dramatically. At this point I have only tried the stuff that has been previously broken out of the cakes and tuo cha, which is individual servings in cake form.
Puh ehr is fermented and I thought usually black tea. This isn’t fermented, just aged.
EMG06
"TSC's Bingo Admiral"
Thanks for all the great advice. I’ve tried some second flush teas that I’ve really liked (Margaret’s Hope and Castleton “Muscatel”). Haven’t had the chance to try an Autumn flush yet, but I’ll keep my eyes open.
Any names/types to look out for in particular?
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
Oh, I see. That is a seng puh ehr. Puh ehr is aged tea. Seng cha is unfermented or green and shu cha is fermented or black I don't really know that much about puh ehr teas. Funny though. The first time I had someone give me some (shu puh ehr) I thought they were playing a joke on me because it tasted like dirt.
PaulFLUS
Shave Member
I have a particular fondness for the muscatel character of the Darjeeling teas. Muscadine grapes grow wild here and as a kid I used to climb treas and fill my pockets with the grapes from the top branches. That is probably why I have gravitated to those teas so much.
As far as names of the teas, just like Darjeeling they normally give the estate name to the teas. Shree Antu is one that I have really enjoyed from Nepal. The Ilam region in general is a hub for fine teas.
Sikkim is still an upcoming region. In fact they are.still waiting for their region tag. Temi is the biggest estate there and I believe that most teas from the region get labeled as Temi even though they might come from smaller gardens. I hear.there are some other estates growing there now which are making headway in the market
I'll let someone else take this...
I’ve been looking for this tea for ages as it was a favorite of mine, but it turned out that this brand had discontinued it. I found 2 teabags squirreled away in the back of a cabinet and was thrilled to enjoy it again this morning.
@NurseDave have you tried this type of tea? It’s right up your alley. The tea leaves are smoked. Nice smoky campfire kind of taste!