>>> Franchia was a total letdown, I went there 3 times and they couldn't
>>> brew a green tea right;

>> I haven't had a lot of other Korean wild green teas, but I think Franchia
>> (and Hangawi) do a pretty good job of brewing green tea - they use very
>> cool water, especially for the first and second picked stuff. The taste
>> is light, and more subtle than most of the Chinese green teas I've had.

>> Usually, when I've been there, they have you brew the tea yourself, so
>> I'm surprised you said they can't brew the tea right - I've mostly seen
>> them give you a ceramic infuser tea cup or a small pot, along with a
>> thermal carafe of water, at the temperature they think is right for that
>> tea, and let you brew everything after the first brew yourself.

>> w

> Haha~ probably this is a case similar to what Joanne went through! I
> probably had a poorer experience because I was there with a different
> expectation for the tea they have to offer...next time I visit NYC, I
> should go there with more local friends and observe their reactions to the
> experience of the place. The first time I was there I was with some
> friends and I ordered a vegetarian platter which was oily, that probably
> didn't cut well with green tea. The other 2 times I was there I ordered
> just the same tea, the utensils provided were nice (Korean pottery), but
> the tea was not well stored, it had a whiff of oxidation starting. The
> water provided was hot to the touch, and I had to let the water cool off
> for a while. It must have amused the staff to see this guy constantly
> dipping his finger into the pot...

> I'll give it a 4th try since you have a good experience there!

> Kevo

The first time I went there, I got a pot of their best Korean green. They prepared it in a small porcelain kyusu, and supplied small matching cups. We brewed after that, and they offered us more water as we needed it. the water was appropriately cooled down. The second and third time I visited, they put the leaves into one of those shallow metal strainers that sit in a big pot full of off the boil hot water. When I tried to get them to replicate the earlier presentation, they didn't know what I was talking about. So, time apparently intervened. I'd be happy to hear that they switched back to their earlier more caring approach to their empty-your-wallet green Korean tea.
Michael