« May 2004 | Main | July 2004 »
June 26, 2004
Dark Oolong, First Grade
Name: Dark Oolong 1st Grade
Kathy's Rating: 8.5/10.0
Company: Ten Ren
Origin of tea: Taiwan
Price: ~$118.80/lb (16oz)
Tea form: Loose leaf in gunpowder form
What they say: The steeped tea has a light golden brown hue, prominent roasted aroma with sweet undertones, the initial flavor of roasted chestnuts, and a strong lasting, sweet and roasted aftertaste which lingers at the back of the throat.
Preparation method: Steep 3-5 minutes at water temperatures around 185-195F (85-90C).
Review: Without a doubt, oolong tea is the most popular and prestigious tea in Taiwan. The central mountains of Taiwan possess climates ideal for the growing conditions of Camellia sinensis. The cultivation and harvesting methodologies of Taiwan for tea is peerless. China is attempting to also cultivate and harvest oolong tea, but their methodology is still immature. I suspect that this is mostly due to lack of regulations control. For example, there are regulations in Taiwan regarding the use of pesticides. If pesticides are applied, there are set quantities that are allowed before the plant is declared unfit for consumption. Also, there are minimum timespans that must past before the plant can be harvested for market, in order to allow the pesticide to subside. There may be such regulations in China as well, but with the current notorious levels of corruption, what use are the regulations if the certifying official can be easily bribed to allow the process to proceed? This is why I prefer to buy tea that originated out of Taiwan or Japan, where regulations are more tightly controlled. Anyhow, the reason why we went into that little rant is because I am attempting to give you some background in justifying the price of some oolong teas. In this case, this particular tea is a first grade tea. This means the leaves from this tea are the season's first pickings, which adds a premium onto the price. So, following that convention, the second grade is the second picking, the third grade is the third picking, and so on. Think of the olive oil pressing process. Extra virgin olive oil is more pricey than extra light olive oil because the term "extra virgin" is usually reserved for the first pressing of the olive fruit, which results in a more richly flavored oil. The same can be said for first grade oolong tea - it produces a more full-bodied tea that is at the same time less bitter. If you want to drink an aristocratic tea, oolong first grade is your best bet. This is my comfort tea. This is the tea that my dad and I drink together as we discuss philosophical and metaphysics viewpoints - or just life in general. Actually, this is the only type of tea that my dad buys as gifts to his closest friends. In fact, my dad has a longtime friend - over thirty years - that collects limited editions of oolong teas, and sends some of them to my dad from Taiwan, which my dad proudly shows me whenever I make a trip back home. Invariably, he breaks open that limited edition tea, and we enjoy it over long conversations at the dining table, and more often than not, I end up taking a share of the tea home to enjoy again later. This is to me, what tea drinking is meant to be - a shared experience with family and friends.
Posted by Kathy at 09:48 PM | Permalink
June 20, 2004
Speaking at HOPE 5 and DEFCON 12
Woohoo! I'm going to be a speaker at DEFCON 12 and HOPE 5. Being in the same room as Steve Wozniak, Kevin Mitnick, and Jello Biafra is going to be cool. Being in Vegas again will be great.
Posted by Kathy at 02:03 PM | Permalink
June 09, 2004
Morph, DC-SecurityGeeks, Cicadas, and Reaganomics
I was quoted recently in an online article. Things have been busy on the research front. I'm still working on getting Morph to a non-embarrassing stage of release. Hopefully, it will be done by the time I present it at the next DC-Security-Geeks meeting. Meanwhile, I'm trying to enjoy summer the best I can. The cicadas definitely help. I've also been reading a lot of Spider Robinson's short stories from his Callahan series. Very enjoyable.
Reagan's funeral procession in downtown Washington, D.C. is this evening. There are a lot of people leaving early from work today to avoid being stuck in traffic chaos. It's funny what one remembers about a former U.S. president. I remember organizing a petition and writing to Reagan when I was in elementary school about the injustice of the Vincent Chin case. Never got a response from the White House. Not even a "we got your letter" response. That was really disappointing. Anyhow, that is my biggest memory of Reagan. Well, that, and Reaganomics.
Posted by Kathy at 12:44 PM | Permalink
June 04, 2004
Rose Pearl Green Tea
Name: Rose Pearl Green Tea
Kathy's Rating: 8.5/10.0
Company: Ten Ren
Origin of tea: China
Price: $144/lb (16oz)
Tea form: Rolled green tea pearls with loose rose petals throughout.
What they say: When steeped, these leaves unroll and produce a tea with a pronounced rose aroma with a fresh green tea undertone, a refreshing sweet rose taste, and a pleasing long lasting floral aftertaste. The hue of this tea is a light peach color.
Preparation method: Steep 3-5 minutes at water temperatures around 160-180F (70-80C).
Review: Ever since I can remember, my father, who first introduced me to the wonderful world of tea, has told me that "real" tea enthusiasts do not drink floral scented teas. I did not understand why, and would quite often ask him to explain what he meant. He would always give me the same response with a sigh - "those who truly understand the principle of drinking tea do not drink flavored tea". This mantra has been bound into my psyche over the years, and so it is with this in mind that I evaluate this tea. The truth is, I enjoy drinking flavored teas. Not the fruit flavored ones, which I find far too tart for my tastes, but the full-bodied floral teas. Admittedly, the floral teas must be well-made - there were several instances in which the tea was artificially flavored with chemicals - and must maintain the flavor of the base tea leaf, be it green tea, or black tea. In other words, the floral essence should just enhance the taste of the base tea, not mask it in a cloying manner. This enhancement is what Ten Ren has achieved. With each sip of Ten Ren's Rose Pearl Green Tea, I get the sense that I am drinking good green tea, just with the subtle aroma of roses. The overall aftertaste is smooth with no bitterness, and truly enjoyable. My dad is old-school in terms of tea drinking, and I think he's missing out. However, I seem to remember that he'll make chrysanthemum tea for me whenever I have a throat cold. So, go figure.
Posted by Kathy at 10:08 PM | Permalink
June 02, 2004
Pearl Jasmine Green Tea
Name: Pearl Jasmine Green Tea
Kathy's Rating: 8.0/10.0
Company: Ten Ren
Origin of tea: China
Price: ~$80/lb (16oz)
Tea form: Loose leaf in gunpower form
What they say: When steeped, these leaves unroll and produce a tea with a pronounced floral and fresh green tea scent, a full-bodied refreshing sweet taste, and a pleasing long lasting floral aftertaste. The hue of this tea is a light peach color.
Preparation method: Steep 3-5 minutes at water temperatures around 160-180F (70-80C).
Review: This is probably the best jasmine tea I have ever tried. The leaves are beautifully rolled into "pearl" form. The taste is smooth with very little bitterness. A pleasant jasmine aftertaste is present following the initial note. The leaves were high quality so that they could be used for two cups of tea, although after the second cup, the taste started to fade significantly.
Note: Updated January 2005 - I reviewed Tealuxe's Dragon Pearl Jasmine, which is the same tea as this one. If you're interested here's the review.
Posted by Kathy at 10:00 PM | Permalink