By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

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anjali
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by anjali »

Meido wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:42 am
anjali wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:19 am I'll bite. I'm not familiar with the term.
It's a hot drink made from umeboshi (very salty pickled plum) and water. A slug of it is a traditional morning drink in monasteries. Medicinal, said by some to be alkalizing.

Folks who've never had it, and are expecting "morning plum tea," are fun to watch.
Ah, I get the reference now to umeboshi. I'm glad I asked.

I think you'll appreciate this bit of zen humor. I looked up "baito japanese meaning" and came across this gem,
When words are imported from other languages, their meaning is often changed more or less. For example, the German word Arbeit
(>work<) was borrowed into Japanese, where it was shortened to baito. Japanese baito has a narrower meaning, denoting part-time students' jobs such as giving private lessons.
I thought you might be referring to the Hakuin's tea lady, and that her part-time job was giving those inquisitive students some "private lessons" with a poker!
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Meido »

Nice.

This baito is "plum" [梅] - "hot water" [湯].

But "get to work tea" is fine to capture its use...
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bokki
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by bokki »

Meido Roshi, could you remind me, we drank some extremely tasty and sweet plum tea, scalding hot, to drink in just a minute or two at some occasions, i cant remember the name.?
and of course, ama sake, i remember that in winter always. kept me warm and fat. very tasty.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Meido »

Could be baito, some folks add sugar.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by DNS »

Some of my favorites:

Jasmine tea
Green tea
Hibiscus tea, aka Jamaican tea
Black tea
Kombucha

:coffee:
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Anonymous X »

KathyLauren wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 2:00 pm
Grigoris wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 9:23 am
anjali wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:13 amDo you find that to be a good description?
Reading that, I would say that the best description is "moldy tea".
I tried it once. Yes, that would be an accurate description! :tongue:

A nice Darjeeling (= Dorje Ling) for me, please.

Om mani padme hum
Kathy
No, this is not an accurate description for the most part. Green or raw puerh, if kept in a controlled environment, is not moldy tasting at all. This is a kind of misnomer because old tea drinkers in humid countries like Taiwan, HK, and Guangzhou did not store their teas well and they would develop this moldy, fermented taste that to me is horrible but to the Chinese taste can be good. Chinese like fermented foods. Collectors seek out the better puerh cakes and crazy prices are paid for cakes that come from prized locations and very old trees. Puerh can be delicious and energizing. I have many cakes stored. All of it comes from Yunnan, Xishuangbanna bordering Myanmar, Laos, and Vietnam.

I think I'll brew some up after I'm finished here. :D
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Matylda »

Meido wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2017 3:27 am Could be baito, some folks add sugar.
Suger misses the purpose of baito. Baito has this particular function of sour and salty taste which influences liver etc. making one more fit for zazen in the early morning hours and prevents drowsiness. Suger has opposite effect and spoils baito. Additionally ume - plum hasgood effet on level of energy. Though any other sour salty natural fluid could replace ume, however ume is most beneficial.

If possible avoid suger in baito, called often gyobaito - baito for practice.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by seeker242 »

Korean Barley Tea, Boricha, or Japanese Mugicha. :smile:

Good hot or cold and no caffeine. :smile:

https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-barley-tea-boricha/
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Meido »

Matylda wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:27 pm Suger misses the purpose of baito.
...
If possible avoid suger in baito, called often gyobaito - baito for practice.
Agree completely.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by anjali »

One day Chan master Yangqi (Yang-chi, 992-1049), after meditating with the large assembly of monks, got up to give the formal lecture on the way of enlightenment. Gazing out at all the monks, he instead began laughing. “Ha! Ha! Ha! What’s all this? Ha! Ha! Please go to the back of the hall and drink some tea!”
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by bokki »

this is from
https://tricycle.org/magazine/the-old- ... pagazzano/
a very nice article..
The Old Woman’s Miraculous Powers
Magu, Nanquan, and another monk were on pilgrimage. Along the way they met a woman who had a teashop by the side of the road. The woman prepared a pot of tea and brought three cups. She said to them, “Oh monks, let those of you with miraculous powers drink tea.” The three looked at each other, and the woman said, “Watch this decrepit old woman show her own miraculous powers.” Then she poured tea into each cup and went out.
Another log on the fire,
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burst into flames.
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KeithA
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by KeithA »

Sentient Light wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 6:02 pm
KeithA wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:59 pm :applause:

I prefer a nicely aged raw pu erh, but that's just me.

Keith
I'm a ripe puerh guy, but I have a decent collection of raws too! Nothing older than ten years, unfortunately (yet). A couple of very young (< 2 years) bricks, and then one in that 'awkward' phase, being only six years old.

I was going to crack open a new cake of ripe puerh this evening (probably a 2012 cake), but after this post, I'm thinking I'll take some more out of one of the 2007 raw cakes I have. It's been a while since I've had raw.
I never could warm up to ripe. It may be that I just haven't found the right one. Actually, I am sure there is some ripe out there that I would like. I just love that raw complexity. I buy cakes like I buy wine...I like that middle price range. I have a brick of "Tibetan" ripe pu erh at the Zen Center. I have to be careful not to drink to close to practice, as it is very energizing!
When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking,
being silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without interruption - what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.

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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by KeithA »

seeker242 wrote: Sat Nov 11, 2017 2:28 pm Korean Barley Tea, Boricha, or Japanese Mugicha. :smile:

Good hot or cold and no caffeine. :smile:

https://mykoreankitchen.com/korean-barley-tea-boricha/
On Wednesdays, we serve one (or a mix) of these teas with second sitting. The jury is kind of out on that one. Some of us with rather just sit, but it isn't overly intrusive and is a nice little touch, i guess. :thumbsup:
When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking,
being silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without interruption - what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.

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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Sentient Light »

KeithA wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2017 1:55 am
I never could warm up to ripe. It may be that I just haven't found the right one. Actually, I am sure there is some ripe out there that I would like. I just love that raw complexity. I buy cakes like I buy wine...I like that middle price range. I have a brick of "Tibetan" ripe pu erh at the Zen Center. I have to be careful not to drink to close to practice, as it is very energizing!
Agreed on the middle price range! I've not spent more than $40 on a cake (I don't think), and I've had some really excellent affordable cakes, even aged. Yunnan Source releases a cake every year at a very good price-point -- I recently just finished off a 2011 cake of their annual ripe (I forget its name), and I think it was only like $9 to $11 or something along those lines.

And ripes can get quite complex too! They just don't change in profile as dramatically over time, I've found. What changes for ripes over the course of aging is the body thickness of the liquor. A 2016 ripe will still brew dark, but it's also.. "clear", if that makes sense? Under light, it becomes a brilliant amber. An older ripe will get thicker, block out more light, and the mouth-feel changes significantly. (Actually, this is the one thing I think is true of both raw and ripe: the mouth-feel becoming thicker as the tea ages.) But the flavor, I agree, is not going to change very much from year to year, especially compared to a raw.

So... I ended up drinking a ripe over the weekend anyhow. I want to see these older raws transform a bit more, I think. But I also have this huge cake of Burmese puerh-style tea I got from What-cha. I should try that while it's still sorta young (2014); it's probably going to enter the 'awkward' phase next year.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

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What do you do after the cup of tea? I usually find one cup is enough. :smile:
in any matters of importance. dont rely on me. i may not know what i am talking about. take what i say as mere speculation. i am not ordained. nor do i have a formal training. i do believe though that if i am wrong on any point. there are those on this site who i hope will quickly point out my mistakes.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by DGA »

White Lotus wrote: Mon Nov 13, 2017 5:17 pm What do you do after the cup of tea?
Take a piss.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

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You understand! :cheers:
in any matters of importance. dont rely on me. i may not know what i am talking about. take what i say as mere speculation. i am not ordained. nor do i have a formal training. i do believe though that if i am wrong on any point. there are those on this site who i hope will quickly point out my mistakes.
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

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KeithA wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:00 pm
anjali wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:13 am
KeithA wrote: Thu Nov 09, 2017 11:59 pmI prefer a nicely aged raw pu erh, but that's just me.
I had no idea what pu erh is, and had to look it up. Regarding taste, the wiki entry states,
Over time, raw pu'er acquires an earthy flavor due to slow oxidation and other, possibly microbial processes. However, this oxidation is not analogous to the oxidation that results in green, oolong, or black tea, because the process is not catalyzed by the plant's own enzymes but rather by fungal, bacterial, or autooxidation influences. Pu'er flavors can change dramatically over the course of the aging process, resulting in a brew tasting strongly earthy but clean and smooth, reminiscent of the smell of rich garden soil or an autumn leaf pile, sometimes with roasted or sweet undertones.
Do you find that to be a good description?
That seems about right. Whenever I share a cup with someone, it really surprises them. It's kind of an acquired taste, because of it's strength. Pu erh comes in a bewildering variety of styles and prices. I have no affiliation with this https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... ea]website, but you can see what I mean there. Each product has tasting notes and information about where and how it was made. For an interesting deep dive, check out the Half Dipper blog.

But, as Larry mentioned, a good cup of English breakfast is wonderful thing too!

Keith
Pu Erh for me too - with Chinese whole leaf tea, you repeat infusions in a small Yixing pot, the first infusion of Pu Erh is a bit bitter, the second is probably the best, but you can keep infusing it repeatedly. For me, this goes on over a period of days. Hopefully, mold does not form in the tea pot LOL
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by KeithA »

SunWuKong wrote: Tue Nov 21, 2017 11:44 pm
KeithA wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 1:00 pm
anjali wrote: Fri Nov 10, 2017 4:13 am
I had no idea what pu erh is, and had to look it up. Regarding taste, the wiki entry states,


Do you find that to be a good description?
That seems about right. Whenever I share a cup with someone, it really surprises them. It's kind of an acquired taste, because of it's strength. Pu erh comes in a bewildering variety of styles and prices. I have no affiliation with this https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/ ... ea]website, but you can see what I mean there. Each product has tasting notes and information about where and how it was made. For an interesting deep dive, check out the Half Dipper blog.

But, as Larry mentioned, a good cup of English breakfast is wonderful thing too!

Keith
Pu Erh for me too - with Chinese whole leaf tea, you repeat infusions in a small Yixing pot, the first infusion of Pu Erh is a bit bitter, the second is probably the best, but you can keep infusing it repeatedly. For me, this goes on over a period of days. Hopefully, mold does not form in the tea pot LOL
I do exactly the same thing...a really decent raw will go on for quite a while. :thumbsup:
When walking, standing, sitting, lying down, speaking,
being silent, moving, being still.
At all times, in all places, without interruption - what is this?
One mind is infinite kalpas.

New Haven Zen Center
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Re: By way of welcome: Let's drink some tea!

Post by Lindama »

do you refrigerate in between? somebody told me to put used tea in the refrigerator overnight between brews because it's like a vegetable. this advice was not specific to puerh. just discovered "The Spice Lab" on Amazon.... so many pages of tea, many puerh.
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