We only went about four miles before found a large campsite to accommodate all of our tents, and we decided to set up there. I don’t get the chance to do this kind of thing often enough to be in great shape for it, so I’m really picky about how much gear I’m willing to haul around. In this case, I decided that it would certainly be worth it to bring 10 ceramic sipping cups, a ceramic pot and serving vessel, a strainer, and a little packet of pu’erh into a soft case that sat in the top of my pack. I cushioned it with cloth napkins from the linens drawer.

We were lucky enough to be at a low enough elevation to allow for a campfire, so as the sun went down we brought the flame to life to keep us warm, and I started boiling water in our new GSI aluminum kettle using an MSR Pocket Rocket stove.

The kettle is wide and flat, so it saves pack room and heats the water fairly quickly. It also has a basket inside – ready for loose tea. It looks tiny, but holds 0.8 liters, which was plenty of water for several infusions with one kettle-full. Cat has been bringing this kettle to our campouts, so I’ve been eyeing it for quite some time. Backpacking gear can be so ridiculously pricey, and I would have acquired one sooner if I’d realized it was only $17.95!

I brought along a little of the Pu’erh Special from the Teacup. I wasn’t exactly using a perfect method, so the timing wasn’t accurate, and I didn’t have the luxury of doing all the rinsing I wanted to do. I did manage to warm up the vessels before I served. Special has a very deep, earthy flavor all the way through six infusions. I was filling my pot to the top in order to accommodate nine people, and I couldn’t decant it all, so some of the tea was steeped an extra long time.

Ethel sent me these nice photos to share with you. For those of you who really enjoy moment-by-moment flavor reports may be disappointed by my lack of detail I can provide today.

I can say that even the most picky of my companions enjoyed the flavor very much. It was perfect for an evening under tall cedars and pines. The real joy of this one was having such an appropriate and delicious tea so far away from civilization.

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I take my tea with milk, but for the purpose of this review, I sampled it first without milk. The tea is smooth and flavorful, with good strong mid-notes and smooth tannins. The mouthfeel is almost satiny, with a slight tannin creep over the tongue. The flowery notes are subtle but present, and a very slight smokiness tickles the sinuses.

With milk, the tannin is lost, but the smokiness is much enhanced. The lingering impression is of sweetness without sugar and a lovely, well-balanced profile. It’s not as hearty as my standard tea, but it is very good.

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I glanced up to the shelf above me and saw my white gongfu cups sitting there, eager to be used, so I used them! A tablespoon of soft, herbed goat cheese fits perfectly into the cup, and a small piece of plastic wrap was all I needed to secure it and place it right into the bento box.

I prepared enough little packages to throw in my lunches all week. I’ve got a lot more sipping cups than I do aroma cups, so it’s great to be able to put some of them to good use.

Also included in the bento, for those interested: cashews, cherry tomatoes, snow peas, baby zucchini, salted rosemary bread, a packet of miso, some jelly fruits, and a pear. Good, whole foods, no spending money in the cafeteria. Great with tea.

And my lunchtime tea: Supreme Ginseng Oolong from Vital T Leaf, brought to me from San Francisco. (Seattle actually has the honor of hosting the second Vital T location – on the corner of 1st and Union in Pike Place Market.) I’m eager to try it.

So, ‘fess up… Do you use any of your teaware in a non-traditional way?

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I’ve been able to drink several dark teas following a suggestion by Jamie and Cat in my last post, and infusing tea for 30 seconds, discarding the brew (or giving it to whoever’s nearby), and then brewing again. I tried this with Green Tea with Orange Spice by Republic of Tea, a couple different oolongs from the Teacup, and my favorite triumph: Pu’erh Special from the Teacup.

Each time, I was impressed. The flavor wasn’t too surprising since I’ve been playing with multiple brews for a while now, but NOT getting that jittery, hyped up feeling afterwards was rather remarkable. I’m sure it doesn’t decaffeinate completely, but the estimate of 80-90% loss feels fairly accurate, and I was able to have tea as a companion again.

I try to have tea gatherings in the early afternoon because of the caffeine content, but perhaps this would be a good method when I have the opportunity to host gongfu events in the evening. Yes, I like this plan…

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But the beige packet (my favorite) said ‘Hiotoko,” and looking that up in a search engine leads to a lot of interesting things that have nothing to do with tea. Takuro had also mentioned the word “houjicha,” but for some reason I never looked it up!

My confusion was finally over when we hosted a gongfu demonstration party at my house about a week ago. The other two GG authors were in attendance, and a few of the guests brought their own tea as well, including a packet of “hoji cha” from Uwajimaya, our local Japanese market.

As soon as we opened the foil seal, I knew I’d found what I was looking for. Here’s Wikipedia’s description:

Hōjicha is set apart from other Japanese green teas because it is roasted over charcoal. The tea is fired at high temperature, altering the leaf colour tints from green to reddish-brown. The process was first performed in Kyoto, Japan in the 1920s and its popularity persists today. The roasted flavours are extracted and predominate this blend. Hōjicha is made from Bancha (番茶, “common tea”), tea from the last harvest of the season and considered a somewhat lower grade of green tea than sencha, and Kukicha, tea made from the twigs of the tea plant rather than the leaves.

Hōjicha infusions have a light- to reddish-brown appearance, and are less astringent due to losing catechin during the high temperature roasting process. The roasting replaces the vegetative tones of standard green tea with a toasty, slightly caramel-like flavour. As both Bancha and Kukicha are low in caffeine, Hōjicha is a popular tea to drink before going to sleep.

Even though this isn’t a premium tea, it still brings me a lot of joy. Its toasty aroma and almost savory flavor make it very comforting. It would complement the smell of campfire and the breeze through the pines on camping and backpacking trips. The lack of caffeine makes it a good choice when I’m feeling particularly sensitive, as well as being on my rather short list of before-bedtime teas. I don’t care if I’m slumming with the fannings and stems – I am unashamed of my love for hojicha.

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So while waiting for a bus that never came, a friend and I decided to get out of the freezing cold and stop in at a cafe. Luckily, the proprietor is always there to open on days like this, and we sat down to chat and watch people try to navigate through the white mess outside. Katy’s Corner Cafe in the Central District serves Teavana brand, and they prepare it in an awesome brew cup that expells the water through the bottom when you press it down on the rim of your mug.

We both had oolong, but I just can’t say which one it was, as I was busy raving over this tea maker. We watched the whole leaves unfold beautifully through the clear walls of the device. I can tell you that it had a very fruity fragrance and taste – quite pear-like. And given the rest of the selection in the cafe and on the Teavana site, they’re very into fruity blends, and they do it fairly well. I don’t generally like fruity teas or tisanes that often, but this one certainly improved my opinion of it.

I’m happy to say that the tea maker is for sale on the Teavana Web site for $17.95.

Eventually the bus arrived, and I was whisked away from this little tea haven and off to work…

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We live fairly close to a Seattle restaurant called Lemongrass, Taste of Vietnam and I was in there over the holidays with some friends of mine, and it was the first time I recalled being able to identify oolong tea, specifically. I know I’ve consumed it many times in various Asian restaurants, but over the years I mistakenly assumed it was just another variant of green tea.

The bottomless pot at Lemongrass features a very lovely oolong, and after our meal we sat and talked over a fresh pot, and I couldn’t leave it alone. It has a very floral aroma, and a solid, earthy taste with no bite.

I’m fighting the urge to make this a restaurant review, but I can’t recommend this place enough – especially the mango salad, which was suggested by the proprietor. There isn’t much information on the web, so I can’t give you much more than the link above, but they certainly deserve mention for providing me with my first real appreciation for oolong tea.

I have several varieties from The Teacup that are currently enticing me – Goddess Oolong (earthy), Green Dragon oolong (honey), and Tie Kuan Yin oolong (floral). My husband and friends came home after a long afternoon of snowshoeing on Saturday, and we ordered cheap Chinese takeout. I brewed a large pot of the Tie Kuan Yin to accompany it, and it was a huge hit with the whole crowd. I think I’m on to something!

Next step: I need to season my yixing pot so I can properly dedicate it to oolong tea.

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Organic Jasmine Pearl
The most tender green tea leaves and buds are hand rolled into small pearls and infused with the essence of fresh jasmine blossoms. The fragrant blossoms are mixed with reserve Dragon Pearl green tea according to a traditional tea scenting process that dates back more than 9 centuries. The tea absorbs the fragrant essence of the fresh jasmine flowers, making the pearls sweet and very aromatic. The blossoms are then removed by hand after the scenting process, leaving only the jasmine-infused tea pearls.

Jasmine tea is said to ease nervous tension, break down saturated fat, reduce cholesterol and increase circulation.

Origin: Fujian, China
Net Weight: 3oz
Recommend: 1 teaspoon per 12oz water

The tea is akin in size and shape to the Numi flowering jasmine I’ve had before, and they put the loose pearls into a nice non-bleached teabag for me. The pearls unfurl into long, slender, whole leaves. I’m always careful to get rid of the bag as soon as I hit my bus stop, so I’ve never had a bitter cup.

They mention the traditional way of infusing the jasmine with green tea, and the experience is certainly superior to any jasmine-green I’ve had before, both in taste and smell: rich, earthy green accompanied by a confident bouquet of jasmine scent and floral flavor. I have always been utterly enchanted with jasmine tea, but this may be my first experience with the real thing.

The Teacup sells three varieties of jasmine-green, and I think I can get some of Vita’s brand at the store on Pike, so I could soon be in jasmine heaven!

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On our way home, we made another stop at The Teacup to try a few new varieties, and to get cups to warm us after we’d been out in the driving rain. The Husband picked Commodore Grey, leaving off the milk and sugar. It was surprisingly smooth and full-bodied, with none of the bite or heavy astringency of grocery store Greys. What distinguishes it from the others is the addition of vanilla, though I couldn’t pin it down right away. I have to say that this blend makes taste buds very happy, and I also chose another of the same family to bring home and share with you. And thus begins a new category for Gongfu Girl.

I couldn’t come to a decision on what I wanted in my cup, so I asked Brett to surprise me. He obliged with his favorite oolong, and I actually felt honored that he’d pick that for me out of all the teas in the shop. The room had a lot of background noise, but I believe that the one he chose was Wen Shan Baozhong. I’m getting better at picking out different aspects of aroma in some of the teas, and this one had a very floral note to it. Here’s the interesting description from their web site:

An incredible oolong from the Mount Wen region of Taiwan, produced when lightly oxidised leaves are wrapped in paper as they dry. The flavor is soft and sweet with a refreshing floral nose. These big leaves can be resteeped many times, often changing flavors with each resteeping. A glorious tea truly representative of a place and culture.

As it cooled, it became more full and sweet with each sip. At $100 a pound, I didn’t take any more of that home, but I do have moments when I wish I had. I did purchase packets of both of their varieties of pu’erh, though, that I can use to test the new gongfu set. If this afternoon is anywhere near as cool and wet as yesterday, it’ll be a great treat to share with my housemates.

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Vivace also features about six to eight kinds of loose tea (I’m sorry I can’t find any information on the brand anywhere), and I’ve always had good luck just picking one at random. Last weekend my husband and I took a short stroll down the street for the last time as residents of Capitol Hill. He ordered a latte, and I ordered the Wu Wei. It was a dense herbal tea with strong hints of lemongrass and some kind of flower – maybe hibiscus. A quick Google search tells me that my tongue doesn’t lie. It contains hibiscus, clove, lavender, licorice, sweetleaf, and lemon balm. It’s bold, rich, and complex for a tisane. Recommended, but don’t let it steep too long, or the flower gets a little bitter.

Before I got started today, I stopped in at the Tearoom in the University of Washington Medical Center where they serve Xanadu teas. The chai is my second favorite of all chais (the first being from Travelers Tea Co., a little Indian store at 601 Pine, famed for its authentic masala chai recipe). I always add a bit of half and half and a packet or two of raw sugar, though its very drinkable alone, as it has a small amount of sugar crystals included in the mix. Old habits die hard, and I still like my chai with everything in it. Very spicy, but it doesn’t attack like Morning Glory, which is just too much for me.

I’ve just found a bus that will take me from our new house to several tea shops. So I might have the chance to do a little more exploring… once I find that box with the tea kettle in it.

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