I made my semiannual trip to the mall yesterday. I go for the stroll
and enjoy the mounting holiday madness. One of my stops is Teavana.
This year I noticed they have double walled glass in just about every
conceivable configuration. The price is right for viewing the agony
of the leaves. I usually stand in front of the counter trying to
notice new stock while ignoring the clerks telling me about their
favorite tea. This time it struck me I would choose teas by the looks
of the grade since there is noway to taste. I even ignored the tin
cover waifing performance. Ive come to the conclusion from experience
a nice grade means a better all around tea. I picked up Assam Gold
Rain. One of the prettiest colored grades Ive seen in a long time.
As I said before buy any tea with the word Gold in it. It has one of
the better lasting finishes in any Assam Ive tasted in some time. The
decanted wet leaf in the pot has a salty smell. It hasnt lost its
jungle origins. The taste is light for an Assam with good aroma. It
also was one of the cheapest. My other choices Nine Dragon Golden
Needle, Golden Jade and Yunnan Emerald Buds. Ill mention them in the
next couple of days if anything else noteworthy besides the grade.

Jim

On Dec 5, 9:26 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> My other choices Nine Dragon Golden Needle,
> Golden Jade and Yunnan Emerald Buds. Ill mention them in the
> next couple of days if anything else noteworthy besides the grade.

I was hoping this Needles was a Fujian PanYang but it is from Yunnan
after checking the Teavana website. Just about any tea region in
China has a version named so. It mostly is bud with some leaf. It is
the most Indian tasting tea ie malty. The wet color is Darjeeling
brown. I have a feeling this tea would deteriorate rapidly in the
Teavana environment ie exposure to air and light from the tea waifing
ceremony. This still had plenty of elements to like. The freshest I
would imagine be heavenly. I go with the flow on where I find my teas
on the shelves. At least somebody in Teavana has good taste.

Jim

PS Teavana has a PanYang grade called Golden Monkey. It is more
Monkey than Golden. It has a rich caramel taste and aroma with a
light finish. There is some bud with mainly cut tiny leaf. Again
more Indian like in character but less than the GN.

Space Cowboy > writes:

>On Dec 5, 9:26 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
>> My other choices Nine Dragon Golden Needle,
>> Golden Jade and Yunnan Emerald Buds. Ill mention them in the
>> next couple of days if anything else noteworthy besides the grade.
>
>I was hoping this Needles was a Fujian PanYang but it is from Yunnan
>after checking the Teavana website.

I was in Harney's new New York shop Saturday and picked up some of their
Panyang Congou, which I think is a lot better than you would expect from
its price. (Scott: are you listening?)

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Harney & Sons use to be more available here. Ill keep an eye out. Is
the dry leaf light or dark which seems to be the grade
differentiation. The Golden Jade was disappointing. It is a blend of
green bud and oolong tending towards black. The complexities
interfere with each other. Origin unknown but I would say Fujian.
The Emerald Buds was more sprouts than buds. The green taste is
elemental but no harshness. The plant hasnt waken up from winter.

Jim

PS I was pleased with myself noticing these new teas at Teavana which
they rolled out this year.

On Dec 8, 7:18 am, Lewis Perin > wrote:
> Space Cowboy > writes:
> >On Dec 5, 9:26 am, Space Cowboy > wrote:
> >> My other choices Nine Dragon Golden Needle,
> >> Golden Jade and Yunnan Emerald Buds. Ill mention them in the
> >> next couple of days if anything else noteworthy besides the grade.
>
> >I was hoping this Needles was a Fujian PanYang but it is from Yunnan
> >after checking the Teavana website.
>
> I was in Harney's new New York shop Saturday and picked up some of their
> Panyang Congou, which I think is a lot better than you would expect from
> its price. (Scott: are you listening?)
>
> /Lew
> ---
> Lew Perin /

Space Cowboy > writes:

>Harney & Sons use to be more available here. Ill keep an eye out. Is
>the dry leaf light or dark which seems to be the grade
>differentiation.

The dry leaves are dark on the whole, but there are some tawny-colored
budss in there.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

Lew says:
> I was in Harney's new New York shop Saturday and picked up some of their
> Panyang Congou, which I think is a lot better than you would expect from
> its price. (Scott: are you listening?)

We have a local shop that carries the Harney's teas but they have never
heard of it! They're going to look into it for me. Many thanks for the
pointer.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."