Post by Saionji Shonagon on Nov 14, 2011 12:18:33 GMT -5
I cannot resist the urge to quote Lu Yu's Cha Ching (The Classic of Tea). 
“Sometimes such items as onion, ginger, jujube fruit, orange peel, dogwood berries or peppermint are boiled along with the tea. ….Drinks like that are no more than the swill of gutters and ditches: still, alas, it is a common practice to make tea that way.”
In short, Celestial Seasonings has much to answer for.
Lu, Yu, Francis Ross Carpenter, translator. The Classic of Tea. (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1974.
I did a tasting at our Collegium last week, featuring a very fresh leaf sencha that Baron Vail had brought me just a couple weeks ago (SOOO Good!), matcha, Lapsang Souchong and Assam (being the most similar in flavor to the average tea bag user). Only one person didn't care for the Lapsang Souchong, and everyone liked the green teas enough that I'll have to add genmai cha to the lineup the next time I do this.
I also routinely have tea available at House of Cheerful Monkeys sake parties. At Great Western War I had a five year old and a seven year old from my encampment sitting among the adults, each with a cup of tea and some mochi and crackers, being very grown up and on their best behavior.
That said, green tea has an earthy flavor that isn't for everyone. Taste is subjective and it's OK to like what one likes and dislike what one doesn't.
“Sometimes such items as onion, ginger, jujube fruit, orange peel, dogwood berries or peppermint are boiled along with the tea. ….Drinks like that are no more than the swill of gutters and ditches: still, alas, it is a common practice to make tea that way.”
In short, Celestial Seasonings has much to answer for.
Lu, Yu, Francis Ross Carpenter, translator. The Classic of Tea. (Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1974.
I did a tasting at our Collegium last week, featuring a very fresh leaf sencha that Baron Vail had brought me just a couple weeks ago (SOOO Good!), matcha, Lapsang Souchong and Assam (being the most similar in flavor to the average tea bag user). Only one person didn't care for the Lapsang Souchong, and everyone liked the green teas enough that I'll have to add genmai cha to the lineup the next time I do this.
I also routinely have tea available at House of Cheerful Monkeys sake parties. At Great Western War I had a five year old and a seven year old from my encampment sitting among the adults, each with a cup of tea and some mochi and crackers, being very grown up and on their best behavior.
That said, green tea has an earthy flavor that isn't for everyone. Taste is subjective and it's OK to like what one likes and dislike what one doesn't.
