I noticed that I was drinking a lot of tea to soothe my throat or my aching belly. So it became the norm every morning and evening. I reminisced the days as a child having tea parties with friends or just me and my dolls. "I need a tea set!" I thought. I began to search different types of tea sets. While exploring Google communities, I came across a "tea lovers" community. What the hay? I joined the community and found there's much more to tea than I thought!
I used to work at a high end coffeeshop in Ithaca and became fascinated by the art and science of brewing coffee. So many factors contribute to the quality of the brew, from the way the beans are produced, roasted, the temperature of the water, humidity and the pressure applied just to name a few. I never saw coffee the same again and made it a point to learn all I could. God had different plans for my life, but I still have the same fascination to learn things like this.
One of the teas my father got me was Pu-erh tea from Numi. Reading about it's production and health benefits, I decided to try loose Pu-erh tea. If you are new to Pu-erh tea, this is a great introduction. It was suggested that I see Yunnan Sourcing for the best selection of Pu-erh teas and it indeed is. I got a recent sample of raw and ripe Pu-erh to compare to a several year old raw and ripe Pu-erh. I also got a couple different oolongs to compare. After much anticipation of the package, I received my first shipment of Pu-erh tea yesterday! I'll be honest and say I have no idea how these varieties will taste. I'm completely new at this and learning as I go along.
The first sample I'm trying is 2012 Yunnan Sourcing "Shang Chun" Raw Pu-erh. The first thing I noticed pulling it out of the package is how much it looks like ganja! It smells sweet but not "skunky." The first "infusion" was just for rinsing any impurities from the tea leaves. The next infusion was for 30 seconds to try. Then 1 minute. Then 3 minute. The liquor, or color of the tea, was a clear golden color. I can't control the temperature of the water, as I'm getting hot water from a machine, but I've read it's best not to have it boiling. Immediately, the taste reminded me of green tea: light, vegetal, astringent. It goes great plain, with honey and I imagine would make a great iced tea. I'll try to note other nuances as I go through the sample. Then, I'll compare it with the older raw sample.
This way of making tea is a bit laborious so I got loose tea that would be easy to measure out from MightyLeaf. They have a decent variety and a well organized website to choose by ingredient, caffeine content or region. I also got a small Gaiwan style tea set for two. I'm usually in my room alone, but I also like sharing tea with others. Come have tea with me soon!
Lastly, I was amazed to learn that there are "tea rooms" places that serve mainly tea and restaurants that serve afternoon tea! It is mainly served with small sandwiches, scones and jams. Here is a list of the best tearooms in NYC. Of course, it needs to be accessible for me, so I searched for accessible tea places through Yelp. I'll write reviews as I go along. Make sure you call ahead and confirm their entrance is accessible! I've learned that generally, the lower parts of Manhattan are less accessible. Even if the restaurant entrance is accessible, their rest room is not. You have to make sure there's someplace you can go to cath if you need (like a large library or chain store like Barnes & Nobles.) Happy tea time!
I used to work at a high end coffeeshop in Ithaca and became fascinated by the art and science of brewing coffee. So many factors contribute to the quality of the brew, from the way the beans are produced, roasted, the temperature of the water, humidity and the pressure applied just to name a few. I never saw coffee the same again and made it a point to learn all I could. God had different plans for my life, but I still have the same fascination to learn things like this.
One of the teas my father got me was Pu-erh tea from Numi. Reading about it's production and health benefits, I decided to try loose Pu-erh tea. If you are new to Pu-erh tea, this is a great introduction. It was suggested that I see Yunnan Sourcing for the best selection of Pu-erh teas and it indeed is. I got a recent sample of raw and ripe Pu-erh to compare to a several year old raw and ripe Pu-erh. I also got a couple different oolongs to compare. After much anticipation of the package, I received my first shipment of Pu-erh tea yesterday! I'll be honest and say I have no idea how these varieties will taste. I'm completely new at this and learning as I go along. 
This way of making tea is a bit laborious so I got loose tea that would be easy to measure out from MightyLeaf. They have a decent variety and a well organized website to choose by ingredient, caffeine content or region. I also got a small Gaiwan style tea set for two. I'm usually in my room alone, but I also like sharing tea with others. Come have tea with me soon!
Lastly, I was amazed to learn that there are "tea rooms" places that serve mainly tea and restaurants that serve afternoon tea! It is mainly served with small sandwiches, scones and jams. Here is a list of the best tearooms in NYC. Of course, it needs to be accessible for me, so I searched for accessible tea places through Yelp. I'll write reviews as I go along. Make sure you call ahead and confirm their entrance is accessible! I've learned that generally, the lower parts of Manhattan are less accessible. Even if the restaurant entrance is accessible, their rest room is not. You have to make sure there's someplace you can go to cath if you need (like a large library or chain store like Barnes & Nobles.) Happy tea time!
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