On 2006-01-25 06:37:10 -0800, "Dominic T." > said:

>
> S. Chancellor wrote:
>> Just keep in mind I'm very much a novice.
>
> Not a problem, believe me I've spent way more on other teas that were
> trash... so I'm not holding you accountable. "Novice" or not - tea is
> tea, and just like wine I can respect a "novice" opinion much more than
> a so-called "expert." Over time you will really just further explore
> teas that interest you personally, you will gain technique, water
> temps., brewing times, and even respect for tea... taste will always
> remain subjective.
>
> If they had shipped you 2lbs. of lawn clippings or tea dust, then I
> would be wary... but it seems like they are a reputable company and
> ship a decent product at a good price. Nothing novice about that
>
>> You're probably right. It seems that a lot of decaffeinated teas are
>> implicitly Sencha. The tea also isn't 'black' i didn't mean to imply
>> that. It doesn't taste like black tea either. It's very dark though,
>> darker than the cheap gunpowder I bought. It is almost the color that
>> my lipton tea bags make if they're not left in the water too long.
>
> I did read up on the CO2 process and green teas, and from what I have
> found *nothing* accounts for the darker brew you are getting. It is
> true that most green teas don't produce a green color, but a weak
> brown... but sencha generally makes a green brew. The color may be OK,
> so I wouldn't worry too much about that. From what I found the CO2
> process is actually very simple and does not affect the taste of the
> tea much or any other quality for that matter except binding the
> caffiene.

I'm red-green color deficient, so I asked someone else and it seems the
darkness of the tea is more an "orangy yellow". I think the problem
yesterday was I used too much tea for the amount of water. Today I
used half a teaspoon per 4oz cup of water and the brew initially came
out a yellowish green. It gets dark fairly quick while it's on the
warmer though, but all my teas turns darker as it sits. The dry smell
of the tea is like a cross between seaweed and grass. It kind of
bothers me because it's very sharp. It's not just the smell of seaweed
like some other green teas I tried. (Two others smell very strongly
like Kombu right when they're brewed.)

I'll bring my digital camera to work tomorrow and take some pictures.

> How did it taste? Earthy/grassy/fishy or more like Chinese Restaurant
> tea?

It doesn't taste how I "expect" green tea to taste. But it tastes
pretty much like all the other green tea I have It's fairly smooth
the way I brewed it today, no astringency and also a good taste, but
not very strong.

I'm very surprised about the variety in taste between green teas I've
tried. I am wondering if it has something to do with whether or not
the tea leaf was withered before it was steamed. I was just reading
that some are and some aren't.

-S.