Today was the month of May's monthly PTACOS meeting! We met at the awesome Phoenix Tea shop in Burien, WA and it was lots of fun! This also means I'm home for summer vacation now! Yay!
We tried a lot of extremely delicious Puerhs. Cinnabar wrote them all down, but I don't have the intention of making this a tea review blog, so I'm not going to go into great detail about that. There were a large number of us drinking today it seemed, and we had a whole bunch of great and crazy conversations that I'm sure we'll all burst out laughing about as we randomly remember the crazier tidbits later. I really love these kinds of get togethers and think that there should be more joys in life like this. While talking I learned about several different cultural and art events happening in the area, about other artists in the area, spas, and of course just a lot of interesting story telling about one thing or another. Delicious tea and interesting people and conversation, what more could one ask for? These meetings are the best and really make me want to be the Tea Hostess for my dorm again next year and have similar weekly meetings.
Then of course afterwards I finally did a bit of tea and teaware shopping that I'd been dying to do! Hehehe! I scored a GORGEOUS kyusu set from Kutani by someone named 栄峰 (not too sure yet how to pronounce this name). I'll put up a picture of it tomorrow. It's really lovely with pictures of camellias and ducks on it. As a set, it came with one cup with a lid. I am extremely happy to finally own a kyusu! Finally I can brew Japanese green tea in a Japanese pot instead of feeling sacrilegious by doing it in a Chinese one. Hahaha. And it's a larger pot, so I'll be able to do larger tea servings! Woo-hoo!
In addition to that I finally bought a nice puerh tea pick, a fine mesh strainer to pour through, and some very nice smelling rooibos chai tea. Like I mentioned before, pictures soon! I meant to get some purple tea too, but somehow I completely forgot!! Super sadness, but I'll just order it fresh in September if I don't manage to get over there again before leaving for school again.
Tomorrow the hunt is on for some possible cups, some possible green tea, and some possible fun things. WITH A FRIEND! Ahhh, exciting times!
Showing posts with label convenience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label convenience. Show all posts
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Necessary Study Break Quick Comment (Library tea, Mother, Oolongssss!!, and the great Japanese Green Tea Shortage of 2012)
My mother thinks me caring so much about how to make tea is ridiculous. Hahahaha. I posted a status on facebook about how while they had good Sencha leaves at the coffee shop in Mount Holyoke's library (FREAKING AMAZING LIBRARY, by the way, except that it exceedingly reminds me of something you'd see in The Shining and is a horrendous maze for about the first 5 weeks...), but that they were going to put it into too hot of water before I requested ice to cool the water down (thought about just asking for hot tap water, but alas no matter how much I want it to be, sencha is not gyokuro), and then in addition to then almost ruining the whole point of putting in the ice they poured in the hot water directly on the tea leaves (which they put into a bag, but I forgive them for that) and didn't even bother to tell me how long to let it steep. *rambles and rants about why people mistakenly think green tea tastes horrible and bitter* But anyways, so my mother then comments something to the effect of "Whatever. Add water, let sit, drink." Hahahahaha.
Dearest Mother,
You are mistaking tea with instant coffee. Please note that not only are the two spelled differently, they come from different plants, are different parts of the plant, taste completely different, are biochemically almost completely different, and are definitely prepared completely different. Would you bake a salmon the same as a black berry pie? Never!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Your Adoring Daughter
Also, three amazing teas arrived from Phoenix Tea for me yesterday! They had a really cool opportunity that day at just the right time where I received not only my tea, but two awesome samples! I'll let you know what arrived tomorrow hopefully. I've been two busy today to try them, but I will let you know that I received two DELICIOUS smelling oolongs and one 2007 sheng pu-erh! But really, I've been starting to crave oolongs like the ones I ordered for a while now, so I'm super happy that I received two of them!
And as most of you may know, the Japanese tea picking season does not begin until next month.
...
NEXT MONTH.
Argh! Why did my Japanese green tea supply have to run out now??!!! Because now it's more economical for me to just wait than it is to buy some older stuff! But I'm so addicted to delicious Japanese green tea!!!! I suppose I should just save up my money in the meantime and splurge on more gyokuro. But I also really want some of the special green tea at the New Century Tea Gallery in Seattle, and I want some sencha this time too... Though maybe I should go for a fukamushi instead. Fukamushi was the first Japanese lose leaf green I ever purchased. Sadly, I had no idea how to make it or what made it special, so it was overwhelmingly wasted now that I look back on it. But maybe I should try it again now......... Too many choices!!!!! Also, the place I wanted to buy my new stocks of Japanese green are in South Hadley, and next month I will be in Seattle. Oh well. I'll stock up on the other smaller things I wanted while in Seattle and save a larger supply purchase from them in September so that I don't have to worry about shipping and hopefully they'll be better at storing than I have the ability to be. Haha.
I'm really a crazy tea fanatic. Hehehe. Loving it~~!
And now back to my work. I've put at least 8 hours into this now, and looking at examples from other classmates, I think I've put in too much effort already. Hahaha. Oh well. Hopefully that means this will turn out amazingly and my professor will be so impressed she'll finally stop giving me an exceedingly large number of +'s after my B's and finally give me an A on something. Seriously! How many +'s does it take to turn a B into an A??? Hahaha. But anyways. I know what I need to do, but without my green tea supply it's super difficult to do! Hahahahaha. Now! Homework!
Dearest Mother,
You are mistaking tea with instant coffee. Please note that not only are the two spelled differently, they come from different plants, are different parts of the plant, taste completely different, are biochemically almost completely different, and are definitely prepared completely different. Would you bake a salmon the same as a black berry pie? Never!!!!!!!!!!!
Love,
Your Adoring Daughter
Also, three amazing teas arrived from Phoenix Tea for me yesterday! They had a really cool opportunity that day at just the right time where I received not only my tea, but two awesome samples! I'll let you know what arrived tomorrow hopefully. I've been two busy today to try them, but I will let you know that I received two DELICIOUS smelling oolongs and one 2007 sheng pu-erh! But really, I've been starting to crave oolongs like the ones I ordered for a while now, so I'm super happy that I received two of them!
And as most of you may know, the Japanese tea picking season does not begin until next month.
...
NEXT MONTH.
Argh! Why did my Japanese green tea supply have to run out now??!!! Because now it's more economical for me to just wait than it is to buy some older stuff! But I'm so addicted to delicious Japanese green tea!!!! I suppose I should just save up my money in the meantime and splurge on more gyokuro. But I also really want some of the special green tea at the New Century Tea Gallery in Seattle, and I want some sencha this time too... Though maybe I should go for a fukamushi instead. Fukamushi was the first Japanese lose leaf green I ever purchased. Sadly, I had no idea how to make it or what made it special, so it was overwhelmingly wasted now that I look back on it. But maybe I should try it again now......... Too many choices!!!!! Also, the place I wanted to buy my new stocks of Japanese green are in South Hadley, and next month I will be in Seattle. Oh well. I'll stock up on the other smaller things I wanted while in Seattle and save a larger supply purchase from them in September so that I don't have to worry about shipping and hopefully they'll be better at storing than I have the ability to be. Haha.
I'm really a crazy tea fanatic. Hehehe. Loving it~~!
And now back to my work. I've put at least 8 hours into this now, and looking at examples from other classmates, I think I've put in too much effort already. Hahaha. Oh well. Hopefully that means this will turn out amazingly and my professor will be so impressed she'll finally stop giving me an exceedingly large number of +'s after my B's and finally give me an A on something. Seriously! How many +'s does it take to turn a B into an A??? Hahaha. But anyways. I know what I need to do, but without my green tea supply it's super difficult to do! Hahahahaha. Now! Homework!
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Midterms are over!
Yay! With my last Macroeconomics midterm today, my midterms are now over! I feel so accomplished! Now I can finally do that scientific paper review for you guys! It's either going to be on caffeine content in tea (because I am unsatisfied with source citing on other resources about this), or L-theanine, my favorite amino acid ever.
But more importantly, my fairness pitcher finally arrived today! It took a while because I bought it from China on ebay. I would have bought it locally, but I don't know where any local reasonably priced and quality tea shops are in the western Massachusetts area, so ebay was my next best choice. Please keep in mind that I'm also a very poor college student (who probably unfortunately loves tea more than money). Either way, it's really funny because I'm glad I know Japanese! Since all the care instructions for it are in Japanese on the box. Haha!
Also, I finally got to try Gyokuro brewed by ice! MMMMMMMMM. This is why I love Gyokuro so much. Oh my goodness. It was like walking into paradise. Or rather like paradise slapping me in the face. It's such a shocking taste, really. Haha. But sooooo gooooooooood. And my friends really loved it too. ^^ You know though, this was actually difficult to do as a college student, because of the problem of ICE. Haha. I'm really lucky my roommate has a mini fridge, but that really doesn't provide me with a lot of ice! And ice is horrible about absorbing scents and things, so there was a moment of panic before I knew my roommate's mini fridge had an icebox when I thought my only option would be the communal fridge's ice, which had BROWN THINGS in it. Why would ice have brown things stuck in it??? What do these college students do??? Hahaha. But really. It was extremely disturbing. But then I found out my roommate's mini fridge could make ice, and the rest is now history.
But more importantly, my fairness pitcher finally arrived today! It took a while because I bought it from China on ebay. I would have bought it locally, but I don't know where any local reasonably priced and quality tea shops are in the western Massachusetts area, so ebay was my next best choice. Please keep in mind that I'm also a very poor college student (who probably unfortunately loves tea more than money). Either way, it's really funny because I'm glad I know Japanese! Since all the care instructions for it are in Japanese on the box. Haha!
Also, I finally got to try Gyokuro brewed by ice! MMMMMMMMM. This is why I love Gyokuro so much. Oh my goodness. It was like walking into paradise. Or rather like paradise slapping me in the face. It's such a shocking taste, really. Haha. But sooooo gooooooooood. And my friends really loved it too. ^^ You know though, this was actually difficult to do as a college student, because of the problem of ICE. Haha. I'm really lucky my roommate has a mini fridge, but that really doesn't provide me with a lot of ice! And ice is horrible about absorbing scents and things, so there was a moment of panic before I knew my roommate's mini fridge had an icebox when I thought my only option would be the communal fridge's ice, which had BROWN THINGS in it. Why would ice have brown things stuck in it??? What do these college students do??? Hahaha. But really. It was extremely disturbing. But then I found out my roommate's mini fridge could make ice, and the rest is now history.
Friday, February 24, 2012
It Was Raining!
I am from the Northwest. Born and raised, I love the rain. I love, love, love, love, love, love, love, LOVE the rain! The rain is so soothing! The sound of it as it grows from a silencing mist to a pitter of small drops to a rumble of larger ones on the roof, then the splats as it falls off the edges of the gutters on to the cement, and then the inconsistent plops as the clouds fade away, but the water remains and runs down into the dirt or drains or wherever. And then the smell! Did you know it has a word?? Petrichor. Look it up. I learned it on Doctor Who. Yay for British Sci-Fi!!!! (But seriously, Doctor Who is AWESOME)
So anyways, it rained today here. Normally it's either dry and cold, or snowy and cold, and I've been told it's supposed to be even more snowy and cold than it's been this time of year, but today it was like 40's and raining! Very NW weathery. I felt nostalgic, and gave up my normal super warm eskimo coats for a super West Coast represent hoodie. And of course, I did not use an umbrella! Because umbrellas are for wimps when it's not raining hard enough to make them useless anyways. Hahaha. (It was only misting anyways, but I still saw people with umbrellas and hoods up! Haha!)
There aren't too many other people from the Northwest here, but one of my good friends is and as I was putting up news posters around the dorm she came in from the outside, SOPPING WET. Hahaha. (It apparently started to rain a lot harder after I'd gone inside a few hours earlier). We laughed for a bit and then she had the greatest idea ever, "Hey, do you want to go out and have a mud fight?" Hehehehe.
Mud fights are wonderful. It was really hard to find good mud, but eventually we found something that'd work and went at it for long enough to cover us with mud. Hahaha! So much fun!!! But it was getting colder, so we were freezing and decided to go take some hot showers, and then regroup in the common room for tea. :)
Because tea always just adds an extra perfect touch that finishes off a great evening of mud flinging on a Friday evening. ^^
So anyways, it rained today here. Normally it's either dry and cold, or snowy and cold, and I've been told it's supposed to be even more snowy and cold than it's been this time of year, but today it was like 40's and raining! Very NW weathery. I felt nostalgic, and gave up my normal super warm eskimo coats for a super West Coast represent hoodie. And of course, I did not use an umbrella! Because umbrellas are for wimps when it's not raining hard enough to make them useless anyways. Hahaha. (It was only misting anyways, but I still saw people with umbrellas and hoods up! Haha!)
There aren't too many other people from the Northwest here, but one of my good friends is and as I was putting up news posters around the dorm she came in from the outside, SOPPING WET. Hahaha. (It apparently started to rain a lot harder after I'd gone inside a few hours earlier). We laughed for a bit and then she had the greatest idea ever, "Hey, do you want to go out and have a mud fight?" Hehehehe.
Mud fights are wonderful. It was really hard to find good mud, but eventually we found something that'd work and went at it for long enough to cover us with mud. Hahaha! So much fun!!! But it was getting colder, so we were freezing and decided to go take some hot showers, and then regroup in the common room for tea. :)
Because tea always just adds an extra perfect touch that finishes off a great evening of mud flinging on a Friday evening. ^^
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Welcome to College Tea Time!
Hello everyone,
My name is Miss Myr and I'm an extremely proud student at Mount Holyoke College who is a true aspiring loose leaf tea connoisseur. I first discovered the delights of loose leaf tea a little under three years ago on a high school choir tour of Victoria and Vancouver in Canada. We stopped for a small performance and visit at the Vancouver Chinese Garden, where in the store I found a bunch of absolutely adorable little tin boxes. They were so cute! I noticed that there was tea in them, and so I got a nice Jasmine one that I knew I'd like, and then noticed one that I'd never heard of before: "Pu-erh". "'Pu-erh'? What on earth could that be?" I wondered. And so I bought it. Some of the best things in life come from following your curiosity, and this was definitely one of them. I tried this tea, and it was so delicious!!!! I was shocked! I'd never had such delicious tea in my entire life!!! Then I started doing research on it online, and discovered that it was basically the best tea ever for a student, because you didn't have to care about the temperature of the water and could more or less steep it for an indefinite period of time (unlike the super finicky green teas). Thus started my journey into the world of fine tea.
Now, nearly three years later, I attend the oldest women's college in the United States, Mount Holyoke College. It's a paradise here. I absolutely love it. The academics are challenging and rewarding, the students interesting and extremely diverse, the professors approachable and caring, the policies and respect for students high and comforting, the dorms homey and beautiful, the campus huge and stunning, and there are so many things to do!!! It's crazy. Four years will not be enough here. Haha. But also while I'm here, I really want to introduce quality tea to all my friends and acquaintances here. It was really funny because when I first found out who my roommates were going to be and was in the process of emailing them, one of them told me she liked tea too. Then we met and she now laughs basically every time she looks at my collection and refuses to show me her's because she didn't realize just how much I loved tea. Hahaha. I have so much tea ware and tea. And hopefully I'll be getting even more soon! Hehe. Drinking tea every day really depletes your supplies, you know? Now if you know anything about tea you might think, well, it doesn't deplete it that much if you get all the brews you can out of your leaves. But I do! Part of my problem is that I share my tea. Hahaha. I have some really good brews that I just love to share by grabbing people from my dorm's common room and being all "Hey! Get in here and have a cup of this!" It's lots of fun, and then my friends leave with a new appreciation for tea which is the best thing ever. <3 Spawn my tea addict minions! Spawn! Just kidding. Hahaha.
The purpose of this blog is to post about various aspects of tea and being a young tea connoisseur in college. I hope that this will reach a lot of my friends here at Mount Holyoke and anyone else in college or interested in tea!
By the way, my posts may not be too frequent. I DO go to Mount Holyoke College, number stupid freaking 12 on the list of most rigorous colleges in the US, 5 rankings above Harvard College. Haha. Why do I go here again? Oh right, I actually wanted this kind of academic rigor. Haha. (Sighs) :)
My name is Miss Myr and I'm an extremely proud student at Mount Holyoke College who is a true aspiring loose leaf tea connoisseur. I first discovered the delights of loose leaf tea a little under three years ago on a high school choir tour of Victoria and Vancouver in Canada. We stopped for a small performance and visit at the Vancouver Chinese Garden, where in the store I found a bunch of absolutely adorable little tin boxes. They were so cute! I noticed that there was tea in them, and so I got a nice Jasmine one that I knew I'd like, and then noticed one that I'd never heard of before: "Pu-erh". "'Pu-erh'? What on earth could that be?" I wondered. And so I bought it. Some of the best things in life come from following your curiosity, and this was definitely one of them. I tried this tea, and it was so delicious!!!! I was shocked! I'd never had such delicious tea in my entire life!!! Then I started doing research on it online, and discovered that it was basically the best tea ever for a student, because you didn't have to care about the temperature of the water and could more or less steep it for an indefinite period of time (unlike the super finicky green teas). Thus started my journey into the world of fine tea.
Now, nearly three years later, I attend the oldest women's college in the United States, Mount Holyoke College. It's a paradise here. I absolutely love it. The academics are challenging and rewarding, the students interesting and extremely diverse, the professors approachable and caring, the policies and respect for students high and comforting, the dorms homey and beautiful, the campus huge and stunning, and there are so many things to do!!! It's crazy. Four years will not be enough here. Haha. But also while I'm here, I really want to introduce quality tea to all my friends and acquaintances here. It was really funny because when I first found out who my roommates were going to be and was in the process of emailing them, one of them told me she liked tea too. Then we met and she now laughs basically every time she looks at my collection and refuses to show me her's because she didn't realize just how much I loved tea. Hahaha. I have so much tea ware and tea. And hopefully I'll be getting even more soon! Hehe. Drinking tea every day really depletes your supplies, you know? Now if you know anything about tea you might think, well, it doesn't deplete it that much if you get all the brews you can out of your leaves. But I do! Part of my problem is that I share my tea. Hahaha. I have some really good brews that I just love to share by grabbing people from my dorm's common room and being all "Hey! Get in here and have a cup of this!" It's lots of fun, and then my friends leave with a new appreciation for tea which is the best thing ever. <3 Spawn my tea addict minions! Spawn! Just kidding. Hahaha.
The purpose of this blog is to post about various aspects of tea and being a young tea connoisseur in college. I hope that this will reach a lot of my friends here at Mount Holyoke and anyone else in college or interested in tea!
By the way, my posts may not be too frequent. I DO go to Mount Holyoke College, number stupid freaking 12 on the list of most rigorous colleges in the US, 5 rankings above Harvard College. Haha. Why do I go here again? Oh right, I actually wanted this kind of academic rigor. Haha. (Sighs) :)
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