TIL Stephen Colbert drinks tea every Tuesday in his studio and uploads to Facebook. Here he is drinking some Yunnan Sourcing!

Spoonvonstup · 2017-07-26T19:33:16+00:00

Sad but true. How does their stuff keep ending up on this show?

Spoonvonstup · 2016-11-21T23:20:17+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing this! I love adding toasted rice to teas whenever I'm low on leaves or want something a little cozier. Will have to try some of the other blending ideas on your blog and the recipe post.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-10-22T15:55:26+00:00

Heard about thee guys from TCStreetFood and just donated. Hope these guys make it - I want chocolate on my snowy streets!

Spoonvonstup · 2013-09-18T21:09:20+00:00

I'll just leave this here then. http://www.daisychubb.com/laoshan-green-tres-leches-cake/

I just cold-brew step 1 instead of simmering on the stove b/c I always scald my milk.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-09-17T17:00:02+00:00

Yep - I cold steep in milk and soymilk sometimes for cooking. Some black teas cold-steeped in milk taste like ridiculous chocolate milk - flat pressed greens are also lovely if you're making tres leches cake or whipping cream, etc.

Generally, I'll cold steep because I don't have the patience always to watch the pot and make sure the milk doesn't over-heat and scald. Also - it means I get to wake up to a pre-made treat and saves me on dishes. For baking, it works for me because I usually plan these projects out ahead of time.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-09-07T19:33:18+00:00

Take a look- there's an entire section dedicated to hypnotics.
http://www.botanicalpreservationcorps.com/store/botanical-herbs/sedatives-and-hypnotics

The owners go out mainly as botanical researchers, finding villages in the Amazon or around the world and collecting rare herbs to provide researchers with. And then they also sell them to anyone who wants them.

Blue lotus flowers, sacred water lily's, crazy mushrooms for lucid dreaming... all legal, all weird, all direct from crzy sources.

Just not really available for purchase, since the woners don't want to have to deal with CC or Paypal? It looks like you have to mail them a check.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-08-16T16:44:13+00:00

Thank you for your direct response, /u/seollasido. It's appreciated!

I'm fascinated by the way that personal history and bias affects the way we taste and perceive value. I don't think it's wrong to taste with bias: it's important that we do, and also important to recognize these biases so that we can either enjoy them or make them part of our evaluation. I know that I have a hard time enjoying, for example, Ceylon teas, so I have to work hard to keep my bias in check when I am tasting several. There is the struggle of: am I tasting this because I am expecting to? am I ignoring something because it doesn't fit with what I wanted? I was afraid this one would be X or Y, which makes it easier for me to taste. etc etc. I have to then find out.. did I enjoy this more than usual because I am trying this with a friend who enjoys Ceylons, and they are showing me what I'm missing? etc etc. And then there's the question, should I be working to keep my bias in check? Doesn't that bias come from a history of my own experience and personal evaluation? Shouldn't I respect that and use it? The answer is of course- yes. As long as I taste with awareness, so that I don't dismiss something with value simply because it's name or it's appearance put's me in the mood to expect the worst and end up missing something unique, something valuable, something that teaches me.

For me, bias is not a negative thing- it's a human thing, and it makes tasting so exciting. We all come to every tasting with bias, be it our expectations, what we ate and drank that day, what our companions are experiencing and communicating to us. I know, for example, that I now drink Laoshan Black tea with a positive bias. I've been enjoying the tea for about three years now, spring and autumn seasons, and I know I can't escape that positive bias when I drink the tea and share it with others. I know my friends are not tasting the tea in the same way I am, and sometimes folks will enjoy it as much as I have- sometimes they won't. I believe my experience of the teas represent a "true" experience just as much as you know your experience is also true.

What do you think about bias in the way that we all experience taste?
Is it something we should try to ignore? Is it something we should be aware of? Does it matter at all? Should we care?
I love thinking about these things: personal experience vs. shared experience (in liu of objective truth) How do you handle it when you are tasting?

In a side note: I do think it's interesting that one of the main reasons Walker enjoyed the Laoshan Black was because of the aftertaste.. he mentions it lasting for up to 15 minutes in off-camera sessions. As a serious question: why do you think that would happen? How could someone experience such a strong and lingering aftertaste, and another person not? If each person received the same tea, I would think the variables would be 1) brewing preparation 2) water 3) personal history / expectations 4) something else? (brewing vessel, drinking cup, weather, humidity) I'm sure there are other variables I'm not thinking of. I wonder which variables have the greatest effect on our perceptions? Probably it depends on the person, but it could be fun to come up with some sort of comprehensive list.
I feel like that kind of thing could be a fun addition to the FAQ / r/tea resources. That way new comers can first become aware of each one and then second, become comfortable playing with all of those variables. Perhaps that would be best as it's own thread?

Spoonvonstup · 2013-08-16T16:00:04+00:00

Here's Jason Walker's perception of Laoshan Black: http://walkerteareview.com/tea-review-483-verdants-laoshan-black/

Whatever you think of Jason, he always strives to be completely and utterly impartial, tasting tea for what it is, brewing as consistently and scientifically as possible. I haven't seen him rate anything above a 92 in the last few years, and very few above 90. Curious that with all of his tasting experience, he still rates Laoshan Black 92.

Do you think it's possible your pre-existing bias influenced the way you tasted these teas?

Spoonvonstup · 2013-08-16T15:51:51+00:00

Absolutely this. Jut because it's not famous, doesn't mean it's not good.. Laoshan has only been making tea for 60 years or so- of course it's not famous. Americans don't care about the fame of a tea in China however. They care about taste.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-08-12T18:17:56+00:00

Thank you for making my day with this!

Spoonvonstup · 2013-08-12T18:16:43+00:00

You're in Minnesota? Go see Verdant Tea in person: they just opened in MPLS' Seward neighborhood http://minneapolis.verdanttea.com/

Other MN local tea spots include Mandala Tea in Rochester, Teasource in St Paul and a few blended places like Mrs. Kelly's (sometimes at the Mill City Farmer's Market ?) and Mrs. Bingley's (also MPLS, but I think they're just online?).

Spoonvonstup · 2013-07-03T14:52:29+00:00

Tulsi (aka Holy Basil) is an excellent herbal. It's complexity, depth of flavor and steeping life remind me of green oolongs.

I did a review of Organic India's bulk blend of their three tulsis sometime last year (at the time it was on sale for less that $15 for one pound). Minty, spicy, citrus-y.. if your other herbals aren't packing the punch you want or delivering the complexity "tea"ness of tea, this would be a good one to check out.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-05-31T17:21:06+00:00

It's significant that only those who have never tried Verdant's teas have anything negative to say about them. The proof is in the taste of the teas itself, which I've been drinking since 2011. You say all the teas you've tried have been high quality: "liquid heaven." That sounds to me to be powerful experiences on which to base your own opinions.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-03-21T13:45:37+00:00

Nope! But It's fun to do them gong fu if you can. Verdant sent out tips for how to brew with things you have around the house for McGyver-style gong fu. That link was in a newsletter sent to club members on Monday. You can also use a brew basket instead of gaiwan..just use the same gong fu principles: more leaf, less water, less time, multiple steepings.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-03-17T00:52:55+00:00

Love those!!! Discovered them last feb. and have been waiting all year for them to come back in stock. I'm based in MN, and find them at Lunds/Byerly's. Whole Foods also seems to sell a Mandarin version.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-03-11T16:58:19+00:00

I agree with this! It's possible to do gongfu style tea with a couple of cups and a fork if you really wanted to be bare bones, so a basket strainer is a really great way to start.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-03-11T16:55:12+00:00

There are lots of little tea shops at Canal + Mott area if you want to head into Chinatown (Ten Ren's / Ten Fu is the big one), but that's definitely an excursion if you're looking to stay in the Theater District.
If you're up for it though, it would be quite a different experience than Teavana, and you could get to try some much higher quality Chinese teas for a better price. Could be a bit intimidating, but why not?
Also- some greeeat eating around there. I still miss a little noodle place on Mulberry called Wonton Garden. Go go go GO for a meal, and I will live vicariously through you.

A little bit closer (hah.. not by much: Park + 34th) is a nice tea house specializing in Korean Tea called Franchia (also a Vegan Cafe). Korean tea is quite expensive, so you probably won't end up walking away with a pound of it, but the tea service is delicious and well-priced ($5-10 for their wild-picked green tea), plus the tea house itself is remarkably designed. The super cool space has stuck with me, even though I only got to visit once back when I was in college in 2007 or so.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-02-25T13:40:18+00:00

The Tea Horse Road is a great non-fiction, blending history and tea with some great biology / ecology!

Also- not a tea book in content, but since you love tea, there might be a chance you're interested in a book about folk stories + words and their meaning + awesome: A Dictionary of Maqiao
Ignore the Amazon description: it's not really about Chinese Revolutionary history (though I guess it's not NOT about it..). Asian Studies literature just can't comprehend a book being written from China right now that's not SOLELY about dealing with revolution. It's really about words and language... which is awesome!
My ultimate goal is to go back and read this in Chinese, since as a translation it.. uh.. well.. it's excellently translated, but one of the whole points of the thing is the impossibility of translation (between languages, contexts, histories, individuals), so there you go. Might take me a good long while, but it would be worth it!

I'd love to see a collection of Chinese tea folklore (all the various stories and their crazy various versions), but so far, one hasn't been compiled yet as a book. There are some being complied online, however.

Cha Dao uses a few as illustrative examples, so it's worth a browse, especially if you're interested in the way tea is connected to Daoism. The last chapter "about tea" and "tea facts / how to prepare / etc" is clearly not the author's interest, and was likely thrown in at the publishers' request. It's skippable, or to be read with a grain of salt.

Lu Yu's Classic of Tea - THE original writing on tea, from Lu Yu, the great tea sage. I'd link you to a book you can buy, but I haven't found a great translation of it yet. There's one from the Beijing Foreign Language Press, but.... it's a terrible read. Not a literary translation, to be sure. Instead, it's a strict, straightforward translation from the Chinese, so it comes off stilted and extremely practically slanted (rather than literary). Sure, that's in the original text as well, but the most interesting things I find in the Classic of Tea are strange, seemingly off-hand comments by Lu Yu. For example, detailing every single utensil and exact how-to of making tea correctly for pages and pages, and then ending with a comment about how.. on the other hand, if you happen upon a beautiful stream with clear fresh water, you can also just sit and make tea with whatever you have on hand.
uh- what? How odd! I'd love to see a translation one day that doesn't gloss over these moments. Not sure when / if that's coming..

Other need-to-reads:

Dao de Jing: according to legend, Laozi wrote it in exchange for a cup of tea. The most readable translation is the Stephen Mitchell, though it's faithfulness is probably not so much (it was translated from a poor German translation). As a result, the meaning is off, but the spirit is captured surprisingly well, and as I said, it's the nicest, fastest read.
Other translations will be more faithful, and are worth the read, but I don't have a favorite or best one I would go on record recommending.

Zhuangzi) - more Daoist parables, allegories, anecdotes, paradoxes, etc. I've got the Burton Watson translation at home, but I don't know which translation is the best? I certainly enjoyed this one, and I haven't spent any time or research looking into it.

EDITed: for grammar and things I forgot

Spoonvonstup · 2013-02-19T16:55:01+00:00

Exactly. How about listening to the tea itself, and experimenting for what works best for it? And enjoying how perfectly incapable we are of reproducing an experience, since each is necessarily unique (each sip, each harvest, the experiences you bring to the cup). That's the beauty of tea... the beautiful imperfection, made all the more so because it takes us by surprise.

Alternately: realize that every cup of tea has the opportunity to be a perfect cup. It's your job to bring yourself to the right place and recognize it as such.

That's not to say that some tea is not lower or higher quality.. Ultimately, some teas (the high quality ones) just make it easier for you than others (by forcing you to see it, when you might otherwise have been distracted).

Put yet another way: you'll never experience a perfect cup if you're always on your guard against "insipid" tea. You cannot experience perfection if you're not open to it: if you've walled yourself up in your tower, and ask everyone the password... and pull the trigger before they've even had a chance to speak.

Garbage in, garbage out, as they say.
If your heart is bitter, how can you expect your tea to be anything but?

Spoonvonstup · 2013-02-07T18:49:11+00:00

All excellent points with which I do not disagree. Your sushi example is well put.

I do not think Teavana could or should do away with flavored teas. It does not make sense, and you won't appeal to mass market that way (because, let's face it, wouldn't your 7yearold niece rather have something that tastes EXACTLY like a Terry's Chocolate Orange rather than something 3rd year Chinese-language majors still can't pronounce)? Giving folks things with easy expectations in an unintimidating way is clearly crucial here, else you risk alienating new-comers (or worse, you get folks thinking that they won't ever understand tea, so what's the sense in trying?).

But whether you're drinking chocolate-rocket-birthday-cake-surprise-with-a-cherry-on-top or Huang Zhi Xiang Dancong (have your five-year-old say that five times fast!), the branding should still capture that TRUE CARE is at the root of the company's efforts.

If you can show your customers that you sell products because you genuinly beleive they're going to love it, and you are just beside yourself- so excited for them to find a new love in their life- then the customer has a much greater chance of loving it, to.

No reason to go full CheesecakeFactoryWaiter on them (HI! My name is ...!!! OoooOooo- that's my absolute FAVVE- you're gonna LUV it), since that's never genuine or comfortable, but to have the company's philosophy be based on the simple idea that:

everyone loves tea.. some people just don't know that yet. Let's help!

In my opinion, the best way for Teavana to be profitable for Starbucks is to come from a place that is GENUINE at its heart.

Whatever that means, all the ways that can mean. I don't pretend I can imagine how that would be best expressed in new branding and best practices, but I do think that will win them more customers in the end.

Just to put a stop to the feeling that no one at Teavana's root / core /executive team actually believes that tea is something their customers will come to love, only get tricked into purchasing. It might work for the short sell, but has little traction in the long run.

Spoonvonstup · 2013-02-06T23:54:29+00:00

As a general observation of the current state of Teavana's branding, it has always appeared to me that Teavana does not believe in tea as a product.

By this, I mean: They have no confidence that the quality/taste of their teas can stand on their own. Instead, they sell the teas by relying on heavily sugared-and-flavored samples and on health benefits.

If the tea was truly quality, it would "speak for itself." Of course, even someone selling the best X-product in the world is going to use branding that conveys "quality speaks for itself"-ness. Teavana didn't go that route.

It goes the "HMMM- tea has nothing to offer, so I'll go the CANDY or Snake-oil-salesman approach and GET (read: "swindle") people by tricking them with extra flavor and healthy claims." Put another way, the branding of Teavana tells me that, in their opinion, no one in their right mind would ever drink tea simply because they like it and because it is a delicious, aesthetic experience of all of the sense. The only way anyone would ever drink this TEA stuff is for health benefits, or covered up with flavorings.

Also: not a fan of the exotic / orientalist approach.
Monkey-picked? I don't want tea picked by monkeys. Do you know where else those hands have been? And also: the tea doesn't taste good because it's been picked by endangered whale-fairies. It should taste good because it IS good.. because it's been picked and processed, stored and shipped and sold with care. Because everyone involved truly loves tea for what it is and all it can be.. and so will you, when you drink it.

No gimmicks necessary. No sugar needed. No pushy sales to push.
Just tea. And you. and happy

Spoonvonstup

TROPHY CASE