lperry Posted September 26, 2011 Share Posted September 26, 2011 Back from Beijing with Tie Guan Yin, jasmine pearl green tea, another oolong whose name I've momentarily forgotten (I think the students told me it was the favorite of an Empress?), chrysanthemum, goji, and a box of flowering teas that was a gift. I also picked up a glass gongfu teapot that has a little release mechanism to let the tea flow out of the leaves when the steeping is finished, then you fill it again when you are ready for the next brew. I was completely overwhelmed by the Wuyutai tea shops. There are large cans of teas on shelves labeled with names and prices, and you have to know what you want before you get there. I was told there are places to go where you can try teas, but we ran out of time. I took the advice of my hosts as to what I should buy and also bought a couple of things I enjoyed while there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 I found this tea in the cabinet when I was cleaning out today, and I'm fairly sure it was a gift that arrived here from Shanghai. Can anyone help with translation? Someday I will be able to read it, but that day is not today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Can you show the back. The name in the front is generic and literally translate to flower autumn famous tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 Thank you for your help. Here are photos of the front and back of the box that contained the bag. I apologize for the poor photo quality - I had difficulty capturing the shiny gold lettering, which is why I posted the bag instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrid Posted October 2, 2011 Share Posted October 2, 2011 It appears to be a Sichuanese tea, could be floral tea or green tea. Here's the company site: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=zh-CN&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.huaqiutea.com%2Fabout.asp Seems like a pretty reputable company and should be good tea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted October 3, 2011 Share Posted October 3, 2011 Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thistle Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I'm an inveterate iced tea drinker-I use 3bags of Luzianne decaf green tea, w/ a ball of lapsang souchong to make a gallon, every couple of days... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmoomau Posted October 4, 2011 Share Posted October 4, 2011 I'm an inveterate iced tea drinker-I use 3bags of Luzianne decaf green tea, w/ a ball of lapsang souchong to make a gallon, every couple of days... My husband makes great iced tea. He normally gets some sort of flavored loose leaf white tea from Wegman's in Fairfax, which has an ok selection. My favorite is the peach, and then he will add in fresh lemongrass from my garden, or lavender. He really makes good tea. But he gets some really interesting stuff when he goes to San Francisco for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 I never reposted on the "flower autumn famous" tea. It was a very nice-flavored green, and the leaves were rolled lengthwise. When the tea was ready, all the leaves stood up on the bottom of the pot. So many teas, so little time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 Capital Teas has been expanding in the MD-DC-VA area, and I've now been to the Barracks Row outpost a few times. (They are also apparently opening a store in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, next month.) Several of the locations, including Barracks Row, have "tea bars" in addition to the retail boutiques. Given that the tea is rather pricey, being able to pay for a single cup to sample a flavor is a good investment. So far I have tried the turmeric ginger organic tea, the roasted almond, and the yoga tea, all non-caffeinated. You can get any tea hot or iced. I tried the turmeric tea iced. Oddly, it had very little flavor at the outset, almost as though it had been over diluted, but it got more and more potent as the ice melted. (Weird.) By the end of the cup, the gingery kick was really strong. The roasted almond tea is apparently their most popular, and I loved it enough to buy some to take home. It smells heavenly and is a beautiful red color. The Barracks Row location is at 731 8th Street, SE, near the southern end of Barracks Row. They have tea urns outside with mini sample cups. it's pleasant to relax inside with a cup of freshly steeped tea. It does take a bit of time to get your cup prepared, but each cup or pitcher/pot is made individually. The iced teas take longer than the hot, and the hot teas are very, very hot. (Very.) This is in the location that used to have a knitting shop. They have seating in both the courtyard and the back room. There are some food items, mostly mini sweets made by Carla Hall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeithA Posted September 29, 2014 Share Posted September 29, 2014 I second Capital Teas for being worth a visit. My wife is really into tea and so I went earlier this summer to their Dupont store to buy her some as a gift. While they did have 2 brews for tasting, unfortunately it is only retail at this location. That being said, I got a tea education from their very helpful salesman who took lots of time to explain to me about the various teas and point me to some blends based on my comments on what my wife likes. In the store they have tons of jars of tea so you can see, smell, and read a bit about the many options. I ended up getting 3 tins of loose tea: Cherry Blossom, Caramel Toffee, and Talk of the Town blends - which have had rave reviews from everyone whose tried them. These are very high quality teas but like Pat said more expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelumbo Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 I have been buying loose teas from Baltimore Coffee and Tea for ~15 years after I discovered they carry a Hazelnut tea in loose form. They both import a wide range of teas and also have a house brand (or maybe two, as I think they also produce a separate line as Eastern Shore Tea). I've only dropped by the roasting plant in Timonium to pick up tea leaves (usually I mail order, but I also lived out of state for 12 of those 15 years), although they now have several locations (Frederick, Annapolis, Odenton), they do serve brewed tea but I am not sure how many kinds are available. The house brands include both flavored teas and straight black/white/green/herbal teas - my longstanding favorites are the Hazelnut black tea from Baltimore Fine Teas, and the Eastern Shore Gunner's tea (black tea with spices and autumn fruit flavors). They have a lot of fruit flavors, but I am usually not a big fan. Also fun: homemade tea-infused liqueurs. The tea infuses into the alcohol in an hour or two, add a little sugar syrup and you are done. Lapsang souchong has given the most interesting flavor so far, with a hint of smokiness. Chai turned out completely vile, btw, the spices and tea did not infuse at the same rate.... And a short rant: restaurants that charge as much for tea as a good quality coffee, but bring you a lukewarm tin of water and a tea bag. This is like serving someone a mug of hot tap water with a side dish of Folgers instant crystals when they ordered coffee at $3.50 a cup. The ones that bring out a wooden box full of uninspiring tea bags (mostly herbal) as if the fancy presentation makes up for the low quality especially annoy me. I expect that at a diner or similar I will get stuck with a mug of lipton, but at the higher price point they need to at least brew it correctly even if the tea isn't high quality. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Up next in the tea rotation, this beautiful box of teas from Sichuan. I love the ancient characters on the pink tin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nelumbo Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 There was a pair of tea related articles in yesterday's Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/tea-might-become-your-favorite-hot-beverage-if-you-ditch-the-little-bags/2014/10/20/426d03c4-4ff3-11e4-aa5e-7153e466a02d_story.html including a list of tea brewing times and temperatures: http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/tea-how-to-steeping-loose-leaves/2014/10/21/f6727f86-526c-11e4-892e-602188e70e9c_story.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Lperry--think you got tricked by fancy design--those look like ancient characters but...well, they are pretty! :-) Nelumbo--there are full leave tea bags nowadays that made me feel like the article was a bit put-down feeling. Why can't teabaggers and whole leaf folks get along? I was rather sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Lperry--think you got tricked by fancy design--those look like ancient characters but...well, they are pretty! :-) OK, ancient font. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goodeats Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I really thought I read somewhere someone was looking for a good glass teapot? I guess this is a part of getting old. Anyhoo--here is the link: http://mightynest.com/shop/kitchen-table/coffee-tea/glass-tea-pot-with-glass-filter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lperry Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 I really thought I read somewhere someone was looking for a good glass teapot? I guess this is a part of getting old. Anyhoo--here is the link: http://mightynest.com/shop/kitchen-table/coffee-tea/glass-tea-pot-with-glass-filter Not old. It was me, but in another thread - maybe equipment 911. I found one at Super H in Fairfax, but thanks for the link. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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