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

Holsome Tea, Princeton NJ

Holsome tea is an awesome tea shop. It carries many varieties of tea. The highlights for me are competition grade Long Jing, Oolong and Pouchong as well as excellent Pi Lo Chun. If you are looking to try something new, just learning about tea or want one of the above mentioned styles of tea, this is probably one of the better places to come--it is the best place I have been too, but I still have many places to go to. The tea shop also has Traditional Chinese Medicine and other herbs in a very calming space with an interesting sculpture hanging by some yixing pots (sorry, no pictures of this, but you can find some on their Web site).

Back to the tea:
The owner, Dr. Shu has direct connections to many of the tea growing regions that he acquires his tea from. This is most evident for his high grade Pi Lo Chun; the Pi Lo Chun is only picked on the first day of day picking. The only way Dr. Shu can ensure that it is so, and not just picked in the first few days is because his relative oversees the picking and shipping of the tea. For the high grades of High Mountain Oolong and Pouchong, Dr. Shu picks his favorite region for the tea and orders directly from the growers. (I do not know the story for the Long Jings, but I assume it is similar and that he also ensures that they come from the Dragon Well, or Lake) In upcoming posts I will look at a Competition grade Pouchong and a High Mountain style Oolong--though not competition grade.

If you are ever traveling through or near Princeton, NJ, I highly recommend stopping in.