Green Tea Forum

sleepyredmoo · Posted: Apr 23, 2008 8:48 am Post subject:

when i left my ex i was all stressed out and i found some tetley in the cupboard i drank it and it calmed me down but it wasn't very good. i later found out that i had a 12th generation tea master from kyoto in my community and started drinking his tea and still do to this day mmm...

StephanieK · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 04 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

I had never had green tea before a few months ago. In fact, my tea experience had been limited to lipton instant sweetened with lemon. I hang my head in shame! I got some green tea as a gift in a gift basket and it was so amazing, I became a convert!

Hushfield · Brown Belt Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 49

I am a huge fan of the character Uncle Iroh from the Avatar series. He is totally obsessed with tea, and in a certain episode he has the following conversation with his nephew Zuko:

Ryan · Sensei Joined: 19 Jul 2005 Posts: 475

I must meet this uncle Iroh.

Hushfield · Brown Belt Joined: 30 May 2008 Posts: 49

I think everybody should meet uncle Iroh. ^^

tealohadotcom · Posted: Jun 11, 2008 1:28 am Post subject: GREENT TEA!! wooo hoo

Hey! I actually worked for a company called TEAVANA, I learned of some of the awesome things that teas can do for you and I fell in love with Gyokuro Imperial Tea!

Respectfully,
Tony Tovar
Tealoha

Kitsune77 · Posted: Jun 30, 2008 10:13 am Post subject:

I've always had a long-standing fascination with Japan (which is the most beautiful place on the planet). I've drunken tea my entire life. There's just something about the whole "ritual" of preparing matcha/sencha/gyokuro that is very calming and relaxing. The taste is so beautiful and reminds me instantly of Nihon. I don't really drink it for health or anything, I just love the taste of tea!

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Pelle 79 · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 30 Jun 2008 Posts: 1

Before i always drank coffee then i meet my girlfriend thats drinks tea and now i do it to and LOVE IT:)

BryanP · Posted: Jul 18, 2008 8:15 pm Post subject:

My girlfriend likes to research healthy foods and recommended green tea to me. I actually started with the bagged China Green Tips from Tazo (yes, I know), but when I got my first taste of premium sencha, I got blown away. I purchased some Maruyama Fukamushi Sencha and also loved it.

Brewing green tea using an actual teapot and leaves feel so much more better than just pouring water over a tea-bag. I also get that sense of balance.

Japanese green tea pretty much became my daily drink. It makes me feel good throughout the day and even though I haven't been drinking it for that long, I feel so much better in the same amount of time than I had without it.

I have some expensive gyokoru that hasn't been opened yet and I really can't wait to enjoy it with my girlfriend.

Chip · Posted: Jul 19, 2008 2:18 am Post subject:

Welcome newbies!!!

Bryan, read up on gyokuro before opening the bag. Gyokuro is fantastic. I personally enjoy sencha more so on a daily basis, but once a week or so, I love the treat of a really great session of gyokuro. It is so rich and sweet.

If it is really high grade stuff, I will do a really small pot but a lot of leaf. I just recently began enjoying it this way...and once a week it makes sense to make it count. But I use 2 grams leaf to 1 ounce water. I usually brew 2 ounce steeps or even less this way...really cool water, 100-120* in all preheated teaware!!! WOW!

If I was having gyokuro more regularly, or a lesser grade, I might go the more traditional 1 gram per ounce. And larger steeps of 4-6 ounces.

BryanP · Posted: Jul 19, 2008 4:21 am Post subject:

Thanks for the welcome Chip Smile

.

I've done lots of research regarding different brewing techniques and temperatures for Gyokuro, so thanks again for the heads up.

The one I'm going to try is some Gyokuro Suimei from Den's Tea, but I will pick up a batch from O-Cha sometime soon. Smile

Though I have only started drinking green tea regularly recently, I don't find an end any time soon. This stuff taste good, is healthy, and most importantly, makes me feel good drinking it.

Chip · Posted: Jul 19, 2008 4:44 am Post subject:

inspectoring · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 28 Jul 2008 Posts: 3

RosemaryLavender · Uh, Can I Add Sugar? Joined: 11 Feb 2008 Posts: 4

Kevin,

First off, I'm very jealous that you've been in and out of Japan for such a long time! It must be interesting to see the changes over the years. One day I hope to see the sakura trees blooming over there!

About green tea:

My love for tea actually started with oolong. My husband grew up on an Asian neighborhood, and carried a love for tea with him. Since then, I've tried all kinds of tea, and acquired an appreciation for green tea as well.

You veterans will laugh to hear this, but I've recently discovered the wonders of loose-leaf tea and I'm so amazed by the difference! The brewing process fascinates me, I adore the teapots, and it's so wonderful to share a cup of warm tea with friends.

There's really nothing to compare to a good cup of tea. Music may soothe the savage beast, but I think good tea truly soothes the soul.

~ Jessica

okimasa · Posted: Aug 20, 2008 11:37 pm Post subject:

hmm, I've been on this forum for the past five months, maybe its about time I answer this question!

Green tea was something I had always been told I would hate. I remember when I was young, I saw a box of green tea (well, tea bags) in my Grandma's cupboard. I asked if I could try some, and she said, no, I wouldn't like it.

Later on, I asked my Mum if she could get some green tea when grocery shopping, but she said no, because I'd try it once and probably wouldn't drink it again. Eventually though, I got my Mum to get some green tea, and guess what, I liked it!

I drank Tetley green tea for a while. (Hey I didn't know any better!) After a few years of drinking it though, I finally asked myself, why is this brown when its called green tea? I had to try something else. But this time, unlike when I was younger, I had enough sense to figure out that something often labeled as a health food wouldn't be found in my local supermarket, but in a health food store!

I was able to find some Sencha there. It was exponentially better than the tea bags I was drinking for years, and yes, this was actually green! However, this tea cost about $7 for 80g. I had to wonder about this, especially because when researching the different types of green tea, on O-Cha and other sites, most of their teas were in the $20 - $30 range.

I had to try some of the "good stuff". As it just so happens, there's a Japanese green tea shop ran by a Japanese tea master in my town! (The odds of this has to be crazy. I don't live in a big city, the population of my town is about 4,500 people).

The tea master gave me a sample of his green tea and it was truly amazing. This was my first encounter with true, authentic Japanese green tea.