Leaves of jade

June 29, 2008 4:08 AM

Miss Neddy's tea blog — all about tea. Insightful and pleasant tea commentary from Singapore.
posted by Wolof (13 comments total)

Despite my tea tastes being solely influenced by Jean-Luc Picard, it's a fascinating read, particularly the tradition and history pieces found here.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 6:31 AM on June 29, 2008

Recently I did a tour with a guy who is deep into tea, big time. He brought along a whole stock of all types of exotic, aromatic teas, loved to talk about tea (he's quite knowledgeable) and was happy to share his fancy brews. Some of the ones I sampled were really quite nice, and I became more aware of what a whole big universe tea actually is.

Still, I'm an espresso man, meself...
posted by flapjax at midnite at 6:32 AM on June 29, 2008

A nice blog, though I very much disagree with her take on iced tea. For a different iced tea, try the cold water method. If you like tea in the English tradition, then have a biscuit/cookie with your tea. Seriously, the Cat-Tea Corner has one of the better links pages out there for tea-related surfing, whether you like your tea in the Asian or English style. You also owe it to yourself to read or even listen to The Book of Tea, by Kakuzo Okakura.
posted by gudrun at 8:13 AM on June 29, 2008

"Pleasant" is certainly the word for it. I'm not terribly moved by her writing. She also has a funny mix of very scientific posts and posts that mention acupuncturists and herbalists.

Still, her descriptions of the Kungfu of tea and the flavors and personalities of each different type of leaf are helpful and unpretentious. Stories like the one about the bone china tea set in the hospital are touching and told quite simply.

That said, it's about time for today's first cup. I'm thinking a Ceylon black is in order.
posted by Grimp0teuthis at 8:28 AM on June 29, 2008

Excellent. Cheers, Wolof.
posted by Phanx at 8:30 AM on June 29, 2008

Just by randomly picking a few posts I've learned some stuff, so this one's getting bookmarked. Hopefully this can help me a bit more knowledgeable when I pick up tea in China Town. Maybe rather than just picking up the same three teas and one wild card (always picked absolutely at random) I can actually try a new tea with an idea of what I'm in for.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 8:58 AM on June 29, 2008

That's lovely, very lovely. Really enjoyed reading it, thanks for sharing that!
posted by Arnolfini at 9:16 AM on June 29, 2008

Allow me to offer a piece of advice if you're wanting to start drinking loose-leaf teas. First, start with some of the "easier" varieties: Ceylon blacks, certain blends like Russian Caravan or the breakfast teas, and perhaps Japanese greens. Some teas, such as many Darjeelings, can pack a real punch and may make you think that you have to sweeten/milk your tea when you wouldn't need to using other varieties. Others, like pu-erh and lapsang souchong, are really acquired tastes (which I've never acquired, honestly), and definitely shouldn't be the first fine tea you sample.

When I tried pu-erh, the best way I could describe it is that it tastes like a wet dog with undertones of dirt. Lapsang souchong is like liquid beef jerky.
posted by sonic meat machine at 9:44 AM on June 29, 2008

I wondered Oolong we'd have to wait for a good Chinese tea post.
posted by Abiezer at 11:25 AM on June 29, 2008

Tea is naught but the dandruff of Satan, boiled in pure sin-juice, sweetened with the sickly crystals of iniquity and intensified with the titty-dribble of the cow (the Devil's mount) and sometimes some lemons (Beelzebub's testicles).

Hence, from a christian perspective, I welcome sites such as this that provide good Christ-centred monitoring of and commentary on the various forms of this diabolical phenomenon.

So get thee behind me, lapsang soochong, you whorish temptress! - and praise the Lord.
posted by the quidnunc kid at 12:17 PM on June 29, 2008

If anyone's interested, here's a few more tea blogs which I follow regularly (rss updates a few times a week):

Tea Masters - a bilingual French/English site mainly about Taiwanese oolongs and Yuannese pu-erhs. Great information on Gong Fu style brewing.

Tea Nerd - Mainly about Japanese green teas.

Of course, if you need a better starting point, there's the ancient Tea FAQ.
posted by pantagrool at 2:29 PM on June 29, 2008

Interesting that you can 'roast' the musty flavor out of tea if you've left it too long.
Don't think that'd work for lapsang souchong. Thoughts, sonic meat machine?
posted by msamye at 4:27 PM on June 29, 2008

Lapsang souchong has its flavor from the smoking process, just like "hickory smoked" meat, so that portion of the flavor is unlikely to ever go away. Unfortunately. I was barely able to taste the tea underlying it.
posted by sonic meat machine at 8:01 AM on June 30, 2008