Pouchong--competition 2nd

I recently acquired a competition grade Pouchong from Ping Ling, Wenshan. It is the second place grade and came in the tea tin on the left, the tin on the right holds Pouchong Supreme tea which is very good, but no where near as good as the competition grade tea. Each tin holds a kilogram of Pouchong.



A kilogram of tea fits into this bag.


This Pouchong has a beautiful dark dry leaf that turns bright green when steeped. The dry leaf smells like the brewed tea. The bouquet is slightly fruity and flowery. The taste is very full and well balanced with a very slight astringency. This tea seems to synthesize everything I like about tea into one cup.

The Village Tea Room, New Paltz, New York

Yesterday I visited the Village Tea Room in New Paltz, New York. It is also a restaurant and wine bar (as evidenced by the sales counter).

It has a respectable selection of tea for sipping there and a very nice atmosphere. The old red farmhouse building is removed from the street so that there is room for a garden and outdoor seating, or snow (depending on the time of year). I sat down with a pot of Lapsang Souchong and an orange cranberry muffin. The tea was a safe bet and very warming for a snowy day and the muffin did not look special from the outside but it was full of cranberries and thus delicious.


One nice touch was the tea timer to let you know how long your tea has actually been steeping for:


All in all a nice place to stop and contemplate as long as it does not get busy; the server lets you be and they have a few varieties of tea that I like.

Tea-photo 02-04-09

Today I traveled from New York to Virginia. I ended up brewing tea with Starbucks water, which was not that bad, but it did give the tea a mild minty taste.

Tea Tasting

Here is a catalog of blog posts for different teas I have tasted:

China Green (in substance):
Third Picked Wild Korean Green Tea


Japan Green:
Chiran Kanayamidon

Pu-erh:
Yunan Bo-Nay


Oolong/Pouchong:
Pouchong 2nd place competition grade
Pouchong Special
Our Good Life Winter Picking High Mountain Oolong


White:

Tea House Review

Click on a Tea House below to go to any relevant blog entries:


Virginia:
Carytown Tea, Richmond VA

Olde World Tea Company, Smithfield VA

Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, Charlottesville VA

New Jersey:

Holsome, Princeton NJ

New York:

Franchia, New York NY

The Village Tea Room, New Paltz, New York

TeaPhoto 02-03-09

Pouchong brewing in a glass:

Photo of the Day

I am starting a new post theme: a photograph of the day. There will not be a photograph every day, but if there is not a photograph, there will be a more substantive post. I hope to have all photographs tracked back to this post.

TeaPhoto 02-04-09

TeaPhoto 02-03-09