Have been watching your channel for years and really enjoy the content. Thanks for the education . Really hoping for more tea travel videos once travel becomes easier again. Once in a while i rewatch them as they are so beautiful.
I love stems in kukicha and definitely open minded to it in any other genre. If you think about it you can appreciate the stems more than the leaf in that leaves grow back rather quickly, stems are a more tribute to the drinker, if the branch was healthy;).
Hadn’t ever thought of doing this & I have a great opportunity being in Hawaii. I’m near 2-3 tear farms/producers who are friends. So I have access to the same tea, same process, different pickings. Great video, thank you!
Been following for quite some time. Hailing from India where mostly a certain kind of tea are palatable to the common people. This channel provide a diverse exposure to chai(tea). However try Indian Teaas well, specially Darjeeling and Assam (Himalayan Tea). GREAT job!
One thing i was wondering about that you didn't touch on was chemical content. I assume caffeine is most concentrated in the bud and then steadily diminishes as you go down the plant, correct? How about something like L-Theanine, would it diminish at the same rate or is it possible to have a low caffeine, high theanine tea if you made a shaded sencha or kukicha?
Thank you as always for sharing your knowledge of tea with us all FOR FREE - you make the world of specialty tea so much more accessible ! I've been able to learn so much from you throughout the years and I'm incredibly thankful. One thing i love about the world of tea is the fact that it's ever learning which i'm sure you'll probably agree with as well. Just when i get to the point where I feel like I've learnt as much as there could possibly be to learn the world of tea proves me wrong and continues to provide me with chances to delve deeper and learn more
Maple syrup helped to realize grade does not mean quality as well. E.g. I noticed that I like grade C way more than grad A. First I thought my tastebuds were broken but then I found out the grade just relates to the time of harvest.
Yes! The real difference is the colour as darker maple syrup tends to be more of that maple menthol where as lighter is more sweet and subtle, so it's really down to taste and application
This is also something that throws me off with japanese tea, like it makes it sounds like bancha is worse than sencha, but its really just a different flavor.
Very informative, and helped me make some connections between tea flavors and pickings for teas I drink regularly. I will say that I was drinking a Jinggu silver needle tea while watching this, and I feel like it's a bit of an outlier when looking at the pie graph. It has milkiness and minerality like a bud tea, but I feel that it most prominently features the flavors of medium and large leaf teas, such as fruit, spice (usually peppery), wood, and sometimes a little floral. In fact, all the bud teas I've had from Jinggu have this flavor profile (and all were Assamica varietals or Assamica hybrids); I am inclined to believe that this is a product of both the Assamica varietal and the terroir of Yunnan, but I am not sure which plays a bigger part. What are your thoughts on this, Don, if you're open to discussion? If you'd like, I could email this question.
Excellent video. I find it very difficult to sort my tea leaves into sufficient quantities to do this and when I try I have so much steeped tea my toilet visits are very frequent! LOL. It does show the 3D nature of tea and one reason in many why no two teas are exactly the same, Of course , if tea was easily replicated then one tea would always win tea competitions and this is never the case with the impermanence of tea. Happy sipping Don.
Another wonderful master class. I started watching your videos when Covid started in 2020 and used them as a self education tea class. My palate for tea has grown immensely. Just recently I was gifted with some Stem tea which I have fallen in love with. It's up there with oolongs in my taste opinion!
Your notes on stems seem to correlate with many of my findings with various white cakes and samples. Particularly in low cost whites with more rough leaves and stems, I have observed that gathering more stems for individual infusions will often bring out a sweeter, more gentle, balanced profile. This is especially noticeable when comparing an infusion of something with more leaves such as a budget shou mei, to said shou mei's own stems. The difference is remarkable, changing the balance of the entire session simply by intentionally adjusting how much of what pickings are taken. It is unfortunate that I do not see many cakes with emphasis on the combination of buds and stems for that balance of deep varied sweetness and unique minerality. I think quality stems are a terribly undervalued part of the tea industry.
As a lover of Bai Mu Dan/Pai Mu Tan with plenty of stems, a drinker of nice quality Shou Mei and also as someone who loves to drink tisames with stems and who deeply enjoys a nice kukicha tea, I do have to say I love stems, they are unique both of tisames but also for true teas, I was and still am shocked as to why and how people neglect to even consider them as a worth while part of their tea ceremonies and sessions, truly a sad thing in my eyes to be honest.
Huang pian is the older leaves that are picked during the Pu-erh production process. Usual pickings for pu-erh are the bud and 3-4 leaves down the stem; the third and fourth leaves are more mature and are the huang pian. It usually looks less appealing than younger leaves/buds in terms of color (huang pian means "yellow leaf"), so it is usually taken out of the final product and kept by the farmers to drink for themselves. As Don said in the video, though, just because it's a different grade does not mean it's lower quality; I drink huang pian regularly, and while it's a different experience when compared to "regular" pu-erh (consisting of the bud and the first two leaves) in terms of flavor, it's not worse or better, just different. A benefit of drinking huang pian is that it's quite affordable because it's usually not considered as desirable in the market because of its looks.
Man, just drink the tea that you love. You are making things complicated, as if teas you are drinking are available to all people of all walks of life.
Have been watching your channel for years and really enjoy the content. Thanks for the education . Really hoping for more tea travel videos once travel becomes easier again. Once in a while i rewatch them as they are so beautiful.
Thank you for the visual with the "flavour wheel" chart clearly mapping the findings at the end.
It's insane that you give away all these wonderful things for free. Thank you so much for sharing!
I love stems in kukicha and definitely open minded to it in any other genre. If you think about it you can appreciate the stems more than the leaf in that leaves grow back rather quickly, stems are a more tribute to the drinker, if the branch was healthy;).
Excellent! What a labour of love to sort out those pickings for this video :D
Incredible information. Thank you so much for this.
Hadn’t ever thought of doing this & I have a great opportunity being in Hawaii. I’m near 2-3 tear farms/producers who are friends. So I have access to the same tea, same process, different pickings. Great video, thank you!
Great video, this is something you usually cannot try on your own. Really interesting.
Been following for quite some time. Hailing from India where mostly a certain kind of tea are palatable to the common people. This channel provide a diverse exposure to chai(tea). However try Indian Teaas well, specially Darjeeling and Assam (Himalayan Tea). GREAT job!
Very useful thank you for sharing....
One thing i was wondering about that you didn't touch on was chemical content.
I assume caffeine is most concentrated in the bud and then steadily diminishes as you go down the plant, correct?
How about something like L-Theanine, would it diminish at the same rate or is it possible to have a low caffeine, high theanine tea if you made a shaded sencha or kukicha?
Thank you so much for this video! It changed my mind about stems! 😱❤
Stem tea is very underrated!!
Thank you as always for sharing your knowledge of tea with us all FOR FREE - you make the world of specialty tea so much more accessible ! I've been able to learn so much from you throughout the years and I'm incredibly thankful. One thing i love about the world of tea is the fact that it's ever learning which i'm sure you'll probably agree with as well. Just when i get to the point where I feel like I've learnt as much as there could possibly be to learn the world of tea proves me wrong and continues to provide me with chances to delve deeper and learn more
Always love your experiments and charts!
Maple syrup helped to realize grade does not mean quality as well. E.g. I noticed that I like grade C way more than grad A. First I thought my tastebuds were broken but then I found out the grade just relates to the time of harvest.
Yes! The real difference is the colour as darker maple syrup tends to be more of that maple menthol where as lighter is more sweet and subtle, so it's really down to taste and application
This is also something that throws me off with japanese tea, like it makes it sounds like bancha is worse than sencha, but its really just a different flavor.
@@WadWizard As someone who tends to prefer kukicha and bancha to sencha, i can relate!
People often prefer the second flush of Darjeeling to the 1st, even though it's cheaper
I just placed my first order and it's for the Bird Court chabu you are showing here! I'm so excited!
Great!
Very informative, and helped me make some connections between tea flavors and pickings for teas I drink regularly. I will say that I was drinking a Jinggu silver needle tea while watching this, and I feel like it's a bit of an outlier when looking at the pie graph. It has milkiness and minerality like a bud tea, but I feel that it most prominently features the flavors of medium and large leaf teas, such as fruit, spice (usually peppery), wood, and sometimes a little floral. In fact, all the bud teas I've had from Jinggu have this flavor profile (and all were Assamica varietals or Assamica hybrids); I am inclined to believe that this is a product of both the Assamica varietal and the terroir of Yunnan, but I am not sure which plays a bigger part. What are your thoughts on this, Don, if you're open to discussion? If you'd like, I could email this question.
Where do you have it from?
@@andreidumitrufocsanu2962 Yunnan Sourcing, it's the "Imperial Grade Silver Needle White Tea from Jinggu"
Excellent video. I find it very difficult to sort my tea leaves into sufficient quantities to do this and when I try I have so much steeped tea my toilet visits are very frequent! LOL. It does show the 3D nature of tea and one reason in many why no two teas are exactly the same, Of course , if tea was easily replicated then one tea would always win tea competitions and this is never the case with the impermanence of tea.
Happy sipping Don.
Very informative. I knew there was a difference and could tell in taste, but never could quite narrow it down. (Especially on hearing about the stems)
Another wonderful master class. I started watching your videos when Covid started in 2020 and used them as a self education tea class. My palate for tea has grown immensely. Just recently I was gifted with some Stem tea which I have fallen in love with. It's up there with oolongs in my taste opinion!
What stem tea was it?
I tend to like them but apart from Kukicha and an african white tea, i haven't really managed to find any.
@@gewreid5946 yes it was a kukicha
@@robinkolterman807
I love Kukicha
Would love to see you find another lot of one of my favorite teas with stems: Shifu’s Pudding. I’m on my last packet.
It is back in stock
@@MeiLeaf OH MY GOD
Awesome video! I've always been a bit confused about picking and processing and this definitely shed some light on the subject!
How the öeafes in the thirs bowl are called? and what does that mean?
Your notes on stems seem to correlate with many of my findings with various white cakes and samples. Particularly in low cost whites with more rough leaves and stems, I have observed that gathering more stems for individual infusions will often bring out a sweeter, more gentle, balanced profile. This is especially noticeable when comparing an infusion of something with more leaves such as a budget shou mei, to said shou mei's own stems. The difference is remarkable, changing the balance of the entire session simply by intentionally adjusting how much of what pickings are taken. It is unfortunate that I do not see many cakes with emphasis on the combination of buds and stems for that balance of deep varied sweetness and unique minerality. I think quality stems are a terribly undervalued part of the tea industry.
As a lover of Bai Mu Dan/Pai Mu Tan with plenty of stems, a drinker of nice quality Shou Mei and also as someone who loves to drink tisames with stems and who deeply enjoys a nice kukicha tea, I do have to say I love stems, they are unique both of tisames but also for true teas, I was and still am shocked as to why and how people neglect to even consider them as a worth while part of their tea ceremonies and sessions, truly a sad thing in my eyes to be honest.
Saturday evenings are reserved for these episodes!🥳
Sad you didn't combine them all lol
The Don!
What is gua pian? All I know its part of Melon Seed Green😂
* Hearing it again it's "Huang Pian"?
Huang pian is the older leaves that are picked during the Pu-erh production process. Usual pickings for pu-erh are the bud and 3-4 leaves down the stem; the third and fourth leaves are more mature and are the huang pian. It usually looks less appealing than younger leaves/buds in terms of color (huang pian means "yellow leaf"), so it is usually taken out of the final product and kept by the farmers to drink for themselves. As Don said in the video, though, just because it's a different grade does not mean it's lower quality; I drink huang pian regularly, and while it's a different experience when compared to "regular" pu-erh (consisting of the bud and the first two leaves) in terms of flavor, it's not worse or better, just different. A benefit of drinking huang pian is that it's quite affordable because it's usually not considered as desirable in the market because of its looks.
there is someone from Slovakia who buys tea from mei leaf?if so write me message
Man, just drink the tea that you love. You are making things complicated, as if teas you are drinking are available to all people of all walks of life.