TEA, FISH, O2, AND THOUGHTS ABOUT CARS

Previously I blasted the Japan Green Tea co.,ltd for having some really awful Sencha.
While I am not recanting on this, their sencha tastes like compost they do have a product that is tasty and fit for human consumption. They sell it as Green Tea Health and Wellness- 100% high quality green tea powder -

This stuff is great for the tea lover on the go. Just put a packet of this powdered goodness in any bottle of water and you got a bottle of wonderful green tea goodness. They should realy pay me for that plug, but it is good enough to stand on its own merit.

In other news a predator came by the pond the other evening and cleaned it out pretty good. A couple of wiser goldfish must have his under some rocks because they had pulled a disappearing act. But that gave me an excuse to rescue some more feeder fish from cramped living and certain doom at the local Petsmart. After I replaced the battery on the motion sensor activated sprinkler which had died over the winter… I also at the pleading of the girls ,in song like harmony no less, picked up one small koi, which cost more than the dozen “feeder fish” put together.

But I lucked out and got some pretty colorful feeder fish. Mixtures of orange and white and red and white, Pleasant to observe. So that’s cool.

Got my vehicle registration renewal in the mail for the Lancer. I need an emissions test, which would not be a big deal accept the O2 sensor is bad which I will have to get fixed before I take it in for the test. Boo. My last Mitsubishi’s O2 sensor went bad too. I don’t think I will buy another Mitsubishi.

This has me wondering; with all their troubles any American auto makers will make a car worth driving to try and stir up some confidence in their abilities?
I mean Chrysler had some good ones but they were priced out of my league. I don’t think Chevy or ford have made anything (affordable) worth driving but trucks since the 50’s. Still it sure would be nice…

WORST TEA EVER AND ZAZEN 98662

Seriously, if you ever see the package pictured above, do not believe it is choice or even extra choice. If your green tea when freshly brewed, does not appear green, that is a sign. If it tastes like a compost heap, that is a sign. I don't know what GARASHA means, but to me it means "tastes like bad." This has been a public service announcement.


This mornings sitting was pretty serene. ZMH joined and she sat very still only asking about time once. Serene sitting will not happen all the time. Serene sitting will not happen all the time. But I think it is OK to appreciate it when it does.


After sitting ZMH was a bit despondent that I had to go to work. I couldn't come up with anything other than that I have to work so we can have a roof over our heads and eat.


I shoud make some kind of plan of attack for today's workday. Little steeps are likely going to be the best rout today. I spent yesterday looking at the big picture and failed to get anything accomplished.

SA Sencha Tea

First off; a shout out to Jeff Oxley, of the Digital Photo Collages Blog, for pointing this tea out to me. After he had mentioned it I spied some at the local Japanese super market while I was there picking up some groceries with the wife, and she was kind enough to oblige the purchase. This is another tea grower out of Seattle and they have a website at www.sugimotousa.com, the “Tea Maestro” also maintains a blog! Note that I would not recommend the incredibly high priced tea pot he is selling (unless he gave me one for free...hint, hint nudge nudge know what I mean... I'd even do a review of it right here on this blog, nudge nudge know what I mean), a pyrex liquid measuring cup works just fine and you can get them about anywhere.

On to the tea, it is up there with “My Green Tea” as far as quality. I do have a quibble with the instructions on the bag though, it says the ideal water temperature is 175 F. and I say go for 140 F. 175F. makes it a bit strong and also makes the tea useless after the first infusion. This tea gets a Zero on the spitwad™ scale and I highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Sencha.

Happy Drinking!
Jordan

ARBITRARY TEA RATING SYSTEM

Warning: This post contains a high level of Snark.

OK, I have another tea I would like to post a review on, but first I want to discuss a bit what makes a tea, uh, not so tasty or fit for human (or demon) consumption in my book.

I call it the Spit Wad System™. To explain how I came up with this system is pretty easy and should just require a little nostalgia going back to grade school (or high school for a few slow developers like me) and recalling the flavor of the blue lined sheets of paper that were used for ammunition for the straw spit wad shooter that provided for hours of entertainment and the occasional detention. If you are unfamiliar with that flavor you could also find it by going to the school supply section of your local market and buying some of the lined paper for students (college ruled spiral paper is fine too) and either chewing on it or even brewing it as tea (might need some super hot water though.) You can also get a pretty good understanding of this flavor by drinking just about any of the varieties of Maeda-en™tea, so far every tea I have sampled from that company has all brought back the nostalgia of spitball wars.

I am also considering a Dirt Clod System™ but I really don’t drink that much KuKi-Cha.

Hope you find this helpful in future tea reviews,
Jordan

Still the one!

Yeah when all is said and done "My Green Tea" is still the one.

I have sampled some worthy contenders, even tea's that have won some awards... But this tea is still the one. good for at least three infusions if you handle it right. No taste of preservatives that can be overpowering in some teas. Yeah baby, your still the one!

It is funny though, what comes to mind about this tea is what it dose not have. But I should add that the flavor is tasty and enjoyable. I recommend brewing at 140f and only steeping for about a minuet for best results.

Republic of Tea: Matcha, Matcha Man!

I have been remiss in a tea review. One of the parcels I received was a can of Matcha from the Repubic of Tea’s rare tea collection. This is one of those occasions where I am not so sure what to say. I will state clearly that I appreciate matcha . But I tend to use it as an amendment to sencha rather than as a stand-alone. I mean to make clear that when it comes to matcha, I really don’t know what I am talking about.


As far as reviewing it… I did whisk up a bowl, It makes a good froth, has a taste that brings back some fond old memories…

For my purpouses, usig it as an amendment to sencha, what I do is after the third infusion most sencha teas loose most of their tea like qualities. So I put a scoop of Matcha on the top of the leaf basket and pour hot water over that to refresh the pot. I tend to drink more more in the winter time so this has really come in handy in recent days.

Sencha Shinrikyu

This is another one from The Tao of Tea. Tasting this tea was like coming home. I make no qulms about having a preference for sencha... As long as its production was a labor of love. And yes, I can tell when it was or wasn't.

From the Tao of Tea Website: Among the very best and affordable of the early season green teas. This April sencha is made from a fine leaf grade possessing a polished, deep green appearance and rich, intense aroma. Infusions of Sencha Shinrikyu have a sweet, green fragrance and a tantalizing ensemble of flavors. Shinrikyu is a connoisseur's sencha.

They describe this one pretty well. I would add that this is one of those teas that can be over-brewed. So be careful to either serve all of the tea after a minuet or so or remove the leaves from the serving vessel otherwise your tea will go foul, which is not a fault of the tea itself as it is just doing an excellent job of being tea. the good news is that if you want you can definitely go for more than one pot from a basket of leaves on this Tea. Which is important in my house where I take a pot before and after morning ZaZen.

Hon Gyokuro

Hon Gyrokuro sounds like it ought to be a shakuhahi tune. Actually that is a nice comparison as comparisons go. This tea is made by the Tao of Tea and comes in a nice tin that can be used again and again. In addition to the Tin the Tea came in an airtight foil bag for freshens... Nice. The description on the tin says the flavor is:

"a rich and buttery infusion with a smooth and velvety finish. The aroma is fresh, similar to walking through a bamboo forest in the spring time. the lingering aftertaste is mildly sweet and organic."

I wonder how much the writer got paid for saying that?

This is a fine tea with a delicate taste and definitely deserving of its uppity title of Gyrokuro. It dose have a feint grassy and salty aftertaste that is really pleasing to the senses but it dose not linger at all, which is good because that is not the kind of thing you want lingering. Overall I am really impressed with this tea and "The Tao of Tea" in general. I have seen their teas around and always avoided them because I thought the name was a bit campy. I am glad to have had the opportunity to learn otherwise.

On the down side this isn't a tea that you will be able to pour hot water over twice and still have a decent pot. I tried and the tea came out brown instead of the pretty green it came out as on the original pot.

Oh, and they are a local Portland business... I wonder if they want to hire a tea taster?

This Morning's Tea

It has an interesting name. Anyone care to translate?

This weeks Tea

Tastes like green, I like green. I would like to get a picture of my benefactor up here to immortalize her on the www. Letting someone be kind to you is an act of compassion in itself and just as important as being kind to others. Strange how that works.

In other events, our kitchen cabinets are in the process of being refinished.
Megumi is doing the lion's share of the work.
I am just offering advice and assistance.
Not being attached to the results is tough.
The dishwasher has died and the oven is not far behind so this is the perfect time to work on the kitchen.

I had a functional area inspection at work last week. I hear I did above average. That is interesting to me because I have been sick for a while and felt like things were not going so well.
just goes to show you don't ever know.

May you be well and happy,
Jordan

Greatly realise decent Tea

My Bodhisattva of Tea has been really generous lately.
I am grateful, and feeling strangely humble.

And this is good

The picture of the tea leaves did not com out so well. They are a nice deep dark green. Very nice. They have a pleasing aroma too!

Just because

Just because something says it's "Organic" dose not make it good.
This tea tasted like bad. If you look at the leaves how there all brown and smallish, sure sighns of a bad tea.

Books, Tea, and an interesting conversation.

There is already a book review out for Ted’s The Flatbed Sutra of Louie Wing.

I was promised a free copy which hasn’t arrived yet. If and when I do get it I promise my review will be much shorter and not nearly as in depth as the one linked above.

Margie is inviting people for tea, if you’re in the Portland, Oregon or Vancouver, Washington area, go check it out.


And some guy wrote a nice post about a conversation he had, which I found interesting.

In other news, my Tuition Assistance Authorization came back approved. A couple of must take classes, COM 140, and GEN 105.

Do Good,
Jordan

Tea: mindful of mindfulness

I recognized something I had done subconsciously this morning, just a few moments ago.

Now I am conscious of it.

I self moderate my issuance of green tea based on availability.

Currently I am on a tight budget and I have rather expensive tastes in tea. As a result I have been cutting down on how much tea I use for a cup. This results in a thiner tea. The other day a friend gave me four bags of high quality Sencha and a really nice package of Macha. This persons thoughtfulness aside for a moment, I made a nice thick cup of the tea (a sencha& matcha blend) I had already had on hand. The odd thing is I was totally unaware of the moderation until I did not moderate.

I am sure this is a nice boring post, but I thought it was an interesting observation.

Maybe I could come up with a parable for this.

Back to the nice person who gave me the tea. She is a friend of my wife and has got to be a kind of subconscious saint. I really admire people who can manifest compassion without even giving it a thought. I wonder if I will ever be so magnanimous.

As an aside I am recognizing joy moment to moment again, thanks Mikedoe & Aaron.

May all be well and happy.
Jordan