One of the first books I read was Winnie the Pooh. I have no idea what it was about because to be honest, I hated that book. It was excruciatingly boring to me. So someone got the great idea to give me My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett instead when I turned 6. I absolutely loved that book and the rest in the series, and still remember the adventure I went on in it's pages very vividly and happily. Somehow I became instantly addicted to books. I would do anything for a new book. I'd even clean my room or practice the piano if only my poor single mother would take me to the most magical store in the world, Barnes and Noble.
Older now, I wonder why she wasn't more appreciative of having such an incredible child. Hahaha. She laughed at me when I said that once, and said she would've gone broke if she'd bought me all the books I wanted. It's probably true. The school sent home book catalogs every few months or so and only about a fourth would be left undesired. I remember adding up the prices of them all, and it definitely came to over a hundred dollars. My mother usually rolled her eyes at me and would only permit me to buy TWO. Oh, how it crushed the poor 6 year-old me. Luckily I had a very enabling grandfather who would basically take me to the holy store of books and let me pick out whatever, but I wasn't always near him.
So the years passed. Many books have come and gone through those 14 years, and I gobbled them all up as if they were food. I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but the satisfaction I get from books is always very similar to the satisfaction I get from different kinds of food. Some books "taste" like a Big Boy's hamburger, some like a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri. My favorites were always the more complex flavors like those instead of plain things like simple corn, a banana, or noodles. One book made me think of corned beef on fresh baked Irish soda bread with a side of boiled eggs sprinkled with coarse salt. Delicious.
Then tragedy.
After I came back from Japan, I entered into the most rigorous year of my high school career. I had three AP classes and who know's what else that kept me busy. I read a few books, but I was down so far from where I'd been just the year before. Then I started a summer internship, and didn't have as much free time again. Then it was school at Bellevue College, and somehow I didn't have time yet again! I've still managed to read a few here and there, but really, it was no where near like my prime reading years in middle school and early high school. I didn't really know what I was interested in and it was so hard to find anything that tasted good anymore. I managed to find The Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin (which is best described as Greek yogurt with some exotic honey and spices- essentially crack to me), but I still didn't have my same drive to just find and read a bunch of things. When I started school at Mount Holyoke it was even worse. I didn't get to read a single book for pleasure or even just leisurely until after finals. Finally yesterday I started The Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. It's DELICIOUS. Like hot spiced apple cider on a cold and misty autumn morning in the countryside.
So yay for me rediscovering the magic I once felt through books, but that's not actually the point I wanted to make. What's super crazy about all this, is that this book satisfied my legitimate craving for something to eat. Hahahahahahaha. When I get a craving, I don't always know exactly what it's for. I have to pull up memories of different foods and see which one matches the most. This time I also thought of this book (and two other books I'm reading), and realized that I didn't want to eat food, I wanted to eat a story. Hahahahaha. By the way sometimes songs do the same thing for me, but I have to be in the right mood. Currently Within Temptation's Hand of Sorrow (which is inspired by the Assassin's Apprentice) is actually just making me really want to get back to reading that book. I swear, these things are seriously like addictions. I just absolutely have to finish this book otherwise I won't be able to think properly about anything else for a reasonable period of time. I used to take breaks from classes or work just to get in an extra five minutes of reading when I was in the middle of a book I loved. I really don't know how people take more than three days to read a book of any length. I'm bad enough doing anything else during those three days. Ughhhhhh! It's all I can think about!!!!!! Maybe this is why I stopped reading so much... I have no idea how I'd be able to get any school work done feeling like this... I just have to go read this book some more!
But first I'll get to the tea part of this post. Ended up finishing 2898 today instead of earlier because I got busy with moving between Portland and Seattle and stuff. It was AMAZING in every way possible. I'm just so sad to see it go. Since it's now left me, I only really have one cooked pu-erh in my possession. You all know how much I love cooked pu-erh. You all know how much I drink of it. 2 freaking tiny oz of loose leaf pu-erh is not going to cut it for this entire summer. I'm not sure that'll even last me until my birthday!
I decided to use this lack of supply as an excuse to scout out the local tea shops in the Portland area. I went to my trusty pal, Google and...
COST PLUS WORLD MARKET?!?!?!!!! Words do not describe.
There were about five other independent stores that I found too, but only about 4 had pu-erh. I was extremely disappointed with all of them. One of them said that pu-erh was like Darjeeling in that it wasn't actually pu-erh unless it came from Yunnan. (For those of you who do not know, this is incorrect as although pu-erh is kind of named after a particular lake in Yunnan, it actually means something more like oolong or black in that it is stating the tea has gone through a particular process. Anyone who has any disputes with this, please correct me, but seriously. We all know that there are real pu-erhs that come from many provinces and even countries besides Yunnan, China.) Another was a restaurant and only served it, and the others only had a maximum of 3 choices general, not so awesome looking choices online.
Oh, Portland. You've disappointed me so. My only hope lies in the possibility that the person who owns my fantasy store is in Chinatown and is internet-disabled.
Please wish me luck. I hate paying for shipping.
Monday, June 18, 2012
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Coffee Floats and Tea Sinks? Where To Put Your Leaves?
"Coffee Floats and Tea Sinks" is apparently the title of some book, but it was a book about coffee, so I didn't bother looking at it much more than that on amazon.
Today, kind of like usual, I was looking around online for a nice Gongfu tea tray. Upon looking around, I found out that some people call it a "tea sink"! I started looking for one using those keywords, but came across something interesting about tea leaves sinking into the water instead.
Vicony Teas Tea Encyclopedia How to Brew Tea
I'd never heard of this before, but apparently there are 3 different methods of brewing tea concerning when you put the leaves in the water. Most of us use "Bottom-Putting Method" (下投法), but it appears that for green teas we should be either using "Middle-Putting Method" (中投法) or "Top-Putting Method" (上投法). What is the difference between these 3 methods? Well simply put, it has to do with where you put the leaves in the water.
For those of you who don't know, this can be important to consider because some leaf flavors are more sensitive to heat than other. My favorite tea, Gyokuro (a Japanese green) is a perfect example for what the different temperatures of water do to the flavors. Green tea in general likes water at about 175 F. Personally, I never like my greens at anything higher than 160F (unless it's Houjicha). When the water is too hot, it brings out a very disgusting bitter taste in green tea. When the water temperature is correct, you will taste sweeter, grassier, more flowery and vegetal flavors instead (unless your tea is either crap or too old). About every 5-10 degrees between 35F and 140F (the highest I'll ever go with Gyokuro), you will notice a difference in the flavor of Gyokuro. Why? Because different chemical components of the leaf are being pulled out (lower temperature= more L-theanine, less caffeine) and the temperature also highlights different flavors too. Ever notice how American beer tastes like crap at room temperature, but the Germans think we're insane for drinking beer cold? Or how ice cream is way too sweet when warm?
As I tried to imply with Bottom-Putting Method (henceforth BPM), this is where you put the leaves in before putting the water on top. This is what most Americans use, probably because we're so used to doing dry ingredients before wet ones when baking. You're really never supposed to do this with green tea because that's too harsh on the delicately steamed leaves (or pan fried if they're Chinese). This source seems to suggest that you shouldn't really do that with any type of good quality tea, but I guess I'll have to do an experiment with that using pu-erh and oolong (I don't have any black teas) and see if there's any reason to fuss about that with the hardier, more oxidized teas.
Middle-Putting Method (MPM), seems pretty interesting to me. In this method, the source says to fill the brewing container about 1/4th of the way with water at brewing temperature. Then you need to put the leaves on top of that and let them soak a little until they start to float down (vessel may be shaken slightly). Finally you fill the rest of the vessel with brewing water and then wait until the leaves fall to the bottom (it suggests that if they don't then your water is too cool, but that appears to be partially because it looks like they're suggesting drinking "Grandpa style") and then wait for it to brew (about a min or so) and only then drink. This is suggested for Chinese greens like Longjing (Dragon Well) and Huang Shan Mao Feng (Yellow Mountain Fur Peak) with are both delicious.
Top-Putting Method (TPM) is where you put the leaves on top of the brewing water. They recommend this for even more delicate teas like white teas apparently (they say Bi Luo Chun, but I haven't ever had this one or seen it before which isn't surprising because I'm not typically a white tea person).
I'm curious to see if these really do make an impact on flavor. For more delicate teas for sure, I would imagine that they do, but I'd like to try it out for myself too. If any of you have experience with this as well, or know anything more, please feel free to comment on this post!
On a more personal note, I'm down to my last 5 grams of my absolute favorite 2898!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. When you get a new brick, it looks like it'll last you forever, but I'm down to the last tippy little corner now, and in another 2 hours or so it'll be gone. I'll possibly post something in it's memory. Hahaha. But funnily enough, getting a larger gaiwan and hand strainer has really increased my tea consumption. I had nearly 50 grams still left a month ago when I came back to Seattle from Mount Holyoke. Hahaha. Oh well. I've loved every drop of it!
Today, kind of like usual, I was looking around online for a nice Gongfu tea tray. Upon looking around, I found out that some people call it a "tea sink"! I started looking for one using those keywords, but came across something interesting about tea leaves sinking into the water instead.
Vicony Teas Tea Encyclopedia How to Brew Tea
I'd never heard of this before, but apparently there are 3 different methods of brewing tea concerning when you put the leaves in the water. Most of us use "Bottom-Putting Method" (下投法), but it appears that for green teas we should be either using "Middle-Putting Method" (中投法) or "Top-Putting Method" (上投法). What is the difference between these 3 methods? Well simply put, it has to do with where you put the leaves in the water.
For those of you who don't know, this can be important to consider because some leaf flavors are more sensitive to heat than other. My favorite tea, Gyokuro (a Japanese green) is a perfect example for what the different temperatures of water do to the flavors. Green tea in general likes water at about 175 F. Personally, I never like my greens at anything higher than 160F (unless it's Houjicha). When the water is too hot, it brings out a very disgusting bitter taste in green tea. When the water temperature is correct, you will taste sweeter, grassier, more flowery and vegetal flavors instead (unless your tea is either crap or too old). About every 5-10 degrees between 35F and 140F (the highest I'll ever go with Gyokuro), you will notice a difference in the flavor of Gyokuro. Why? Because different chemical components of the leaf are being pulled out (lower temperature= more L-theanine, less caffeine) and the temperature also highlights different flavors too. Ever notice how American beer tastes like crap at room temperature, but the Germans think we're insane for drinking beer cold? Or how ice cream is way too sweet when warm?
As I tried to imply with Bottom-Putting Method (henceforth BPM), this is where you put the leaves in before putting the water on top. This is what most Americans use, probably because we're so used to doing dry ingredients before wet ones when baking. You're really never supposed to do this with green tea because that's too harsh on the delicately steamed leaves (or pan fried if they're Chinese). This source seems to suggest that you shouldn't really do that with any type of good quality tea, but I guess I'll have to do an experiment with that using pu-erh and oolong (I don't have any black teas) and see if there's any reason to fuss about that with the hardier, more oxidized teas.
Middle-Putting Method (MPM), seems pretty interesting to me. In this method, the source says to fill the brewing container about 1/4th of the way with water at brewing temperature. Then you need to put the leaves on top of that and let them soak a little until they start to float down (vessel may be shaken slightly). Finally you fill the rest of the vessel with brewing water and then wait until the leaves fall to the bottom (it suggests that if they don't then your water is too cool, but that appears to be partially because it looks like they're suggesting drinking "Grandpa style") and then wait for it to brew (about a min or so) and only then drink. This is suggested for Chinese greens like Longjing (Dragon Well) and Huang Shan Mao Feng (Yellow Mountain Fur Peak) with are both delicious.
Top-Putting Method (TPM) is where you put the leaves on top of the brewing water. They recommend this for even more delicate teas like white teas apparently (they say Bi Luo Chun, but I haven't ever had this one or seen it before which isn't surprising because I'm not typically a white tea person).
I'm curious to see if these really do make an impact on flavor. For more delicate teas for sure, I would imagine that they do, but I'd like to try it out for myself too. If any of you have experience with this as well, or know anything more, please feel free to comment on this post!
On a more personal note, I'm down to my last 5 grams of my absolute favorite 2898!!!!!!!!!!! Oh my goodness. When you get a new brick, it looks like it'll last you forever, but I'm down to the last tippy little corner now, and in another 2 hours or so it'll be gone. I'll possibly post something in it's memory. Hahaha. But funnily enough, getting a larger gaiwan and hand strainer has really increased my tea consumption. I had nearly 50 grams still left a month ago when I came back to Seattle from Mount Holyoke. Hahaha. Oh well. I've loved every drop of it!
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Shocking Discovery... TEA AND CHEESE?!
Long Run's 2989 Cooked Pu-erh tastes extra delicious with those little Mini Babybel Original cheese rounds. How strange! I'm going to have to do more tea and cheese combinations now...
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Venus and Phoenix Oolong
Today was the transit of Venus in case anyone failed to notice! I remember seeing it in 2004 when I was in elementary school still, and although today was cloudy thanks to NASA I still got to catch the beginning and the end on live video stream from Hawaii.
(Photo rights to STAN HONDA/AFP/GettyImages from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/venus-transit-2012-live-c_n_1571654.html#s=1061477)
To mark the occasion, I decided to pull out my plum blossom gaiwan set and drink some delicious Guangdong Dan Cong from Phoenix Tea (listed in English as Phoenix Oolong when it's available). I love Dan Cong because it tastes like Japanese andromeda and clover nectar. When I was in elementary school, the green was made of mostly clover. We all loved it when it blossomed, and one day some of my friends showed me that you could get what we thought was honey at the time from the clover petals. You pick off one single closed petal and lightly bite the end of it essentially. It was really delicious as a kid, but having such a short attention span, we only did that on occasion. Haha. But this tea reminds me of that smell and taste.
I mentioned it also reminds me of Japanese andromeda. When I was even younger, before I was in elementary school, I lived with my mother at my grandparent's house. In their backyard they had huge Japanese andromeda bushes.
(Picture from http://www.plant-care.com/japanese-andromeda.html)
These little bell flowers smell amazing when they bloom and I used to play on the bush. Haha. It was a variegata variety and they get to be almost small trees when they get large. Inside the bush there weren't any flowers but just these huge branches that I could climb on and sit on and pretend I was Tarzan in. Drinking this oolong reminds me of those very fun times and so I love it.
Today, June 5th, 2012, with the Venus transit and Phoenix Oolong, was a wonderful day.
To mark the occasion, I decided to pull out my plum blossom gaiwan set and drink some delicious Guangdong Dan Cong from Phoenix Tea (listed in English as Phoenix Oolong when it's available). I love Dan Cong because it tastes like Japanese andromeda and clover nectar. When I was in elementary school, the green was made of mostly clover. We all loved it when it blossomed, and one day some of my friends showed me that you could get what we thought was honey at the time from the clover petals. You pick off one single closed petal and lightly bite the end of it essentially. It was really delicious as a kid, but having such a short attention span, we only did that on occasion. Haha. But this tea reminds me of that smell and taste.
I mentioned it also reminds me of Japanese andromeda. When I was even younger, before I was in elementary school, I lived with my mother at my grandparent's house. In their backyard they had huge Japanese andromeda bushes.
These little bell flowers smell amazing when they bloom and I used to play on the bush. Haha. It was a variegata variety and they get to be almost small trees when they get large. Inside the bush there weren't any flowers but just these huge branches that I could climb on and sit on and pretend I was Tarzan in. Drinking this oolong reminds me of those very fun times and so I love it.
Today, June 5th, 2012, with the Venus transit and Phoenix Oolong, was a wonderful day.
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