Santa Cruz Tea Angst

Published on 04 January 2009 by Courtney in Tea

0
Santa Cruz Tea Angst

I’m usually a pretty positive person, but I can’t believe how difficult it is to find a decent cup of tea in Santa Cruz. I’ve been singing the praises of kukicha lately because the taste resembles that of gyokuro without the cost or the water cooling nonsense. I had been ordering tea from [...]

Continue Reading

How To Brew Tieguanyin

Published on 23 May 2008 by Courtney in Tea

5
How To Brew Tieguanyin

I can confidently say that I now consume more tea than water. Most of the time I brew up a variety of Japanese and Chinese green teas to suit my mood, but every now and then I crave something a little different. On those occasions I break out my gong fu teapot and [...]

Continue Reading

Iron Goddess of Mercy

Published on 22 May 2008 by Courtney in Tea

1
Iron Goddess of Mercy

Tea and Buddhism share much of the same beginnings, spreading in popularity together around 700 AD. So, it isn’t surprising that tea myths draw upon the gods and goddesses of the Buddhist pantheon.
The oolong, tieguanyin, celebrates who else, but Guan Yin. The story of the origins of this beloved oolong is [...]

Continue Reading

Gyokuro: Precious Dew

Published on 03 April 2008 by Courtney in Tea

1
Gyokuro: Precious Dew

I never thought that Cliff, my huz and avid Capital Grounds French Roast coffee drinker, would ever turn me onto a new tea. We had stopped into Dobra Teahouse to blow some time and Cliff found this gem on the menu:
GYOKURO KYOTO: An excellent, very distinguished Japanese green tea. Its delicious taste and fresh, [...]

Continue Reading

A Tea Taster’s Vocabulary

Published on 04 October 2007 by Courtney in Tea

0
A Tea Taster’s Vocabulary

Much like describing the qualities of wine or coffee, there are a number of terms used to describe the subtle nuances in flavor and appearance, as well as detectable defects, in tea. Some of the most used terms to describe brewed tea while tea tasting are defined below.
Aroma: This refers to how brewed [...]

Continue Reading

Jasmine Pearl Tea

Published on 17 August 2007 by Courtney in Tea

0
Jasmine Pearl Tea

Whenever visiting a large city, I always try to make time to explore Chinatown. There’s something so genuine about the dingy alleyways, and delicious smells wafting from restaurants, tanks of live fish, and foreign kitsch that can’t be found in the sleek and shiny shopping and business districts of most cities. [...]

Continue Reading

A Brief Description of Tea

Published on 15 March 2007 by Courtney in Tea

0
A Brief Description of Tea

Aside from water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world. It is enjoyed by half of the planet’s population, where coffee is consumed by only a third.
Tea plantations are found on cloud covered mountaintops, in warm and humid environments with rich volcanic soil. Thousands of varieties of tea come from the Camellia sinensis [...]

Continue Reading