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Re: My Cup of Tea
MicroMatTech3 #14987 04/04/11 11:49 PM
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I'm sorry that I did not know about Ito En before reading your post. I would definitely have tried it. It's also a pity that Takashimaya went out of business. My wife and I often had lunch there when we came into New York. The food was impeccably prepared and the tea was outstanding.

Closer to home, in Kingston NY, we have a very good Japanese restaurant called Kyoto Sushi. It may not be up to similar establishments in NYC but the food is excellent nonetheless.

I do like Japanese teas. Hoijicha (at least that's the spelling that I am used to) and Genmaicha are two favorites. Harney used to carry a first flush Sencha that was, in my opinion, better than Gyokoru. For those not familiar with the terms, Sencha is used for ordinary green tea while Gyokoru is considered the finest grade. If I ever travel to Japan, I will avail myself of the opportunity to experience the tea ceremony.


Jon

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Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #14990 04/05/11 12:59 AM
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Jon,

I do not get to New York very often, but I was able to visit Takashimaya several times. The last time, they had devoted an entire floor to exhibiting textiles from various craftspeople, including felt items by Pai Wallen.

Two interesting Japanese sites:

http://www.hibiki-an.com/

http://www.2000cranes.com

There was in 2002 an exhibit in New York about the tea ceremony that was held partly at the Asia Society and partly at the Japan Society. I made these notes, probably on an ATM receipt:

"New Way of Tea“ exhibit:

The exhibition video said that Samurai warriors engaged in tea ceremony to escape the sights, the sounds, and the stench of battle, and practised the ritual to have an escape that required total concentration (a good break from thinking about war). They conducted the ceremony with their guests as if they would never again see each other in this world.

[The virtual tour at Asia Society that requires QuickTime is not working for me.]


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Re: My Cup of Tea
MicroMatTech3 #14992 04/05/11 01:30 AM
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Originally Posted By: MicroMatTech3
Ito En still has a Website...

It's interesting that so many of the teapots have the handles on the side. I assume it has something to do with the fact that it's easier to turn one's wrist sideways than to bend it forward.

ryck


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Re: My Cup of Tea
ryck #14993 04/05/11 01:42 AM
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ryck,

I think you are correct about the ergonomics of the teapot.

I am reminded of the time when I found out that Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, so the blade has a better chance of being straight. Years later, I would use one to cut down, very precisely, a kitchen cabinet so a new refrigerator could be installed in a semi-emergency.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
alternaut #14996 04/05/11 08:21 AM
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RE Not to quibble too much, but that sk in Dutch should be sch, with the 'ch' pronounced as in the Scottish loch. Lachen, toch? laugh

No, your quibble is quite correct. I should have been clearer, namely the way Dutch sch- (IPA [sx-]) was taken over into English in words such as Schenectady, from the Iroquois Skagh-nect-ha-tie, although the etymology is far from proven.

Think also of Italian bruschetta, which most people, including restaurant workers, pronounce as 'brushetta' rather than 'brusketta'.

Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15001 04/06/11 04:19 AM
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When i was in college, I became quite fond of drinking tea on a daily basis. I prefer black teas; green teas aren't really tea as far as I'm concerned. English breakfast tea and Russian caravan tea quickly became favorites.

Then I stopped drinking tea for decades. I've picked it up again since I went to visit two of my sweeties in London; even to this day, tea is the only thing that the English do well in the world of things to put in one's body. It almost (almost!) makes up for the horror of black pudding.

It's not surprising, really, that the English love tea so much that it became the cornerstone of a worldwide slave empire. I still can't quite abide the way they adulterate it with milk, and took mine without, thank you very much. It is quite nice, though, that preparing you a cup of tea is basically how they say "Hello!"

Since I got back, I've started drinking tea again. English breakfast mostly; haven't found any Russian caravan here in Portland, though my sweetie here says she may have found a lead on some.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15007 04/06/11 03:41 PM
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So Tacit, do you favor OTHER Beverages as well????


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15010 04/06/11 04:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: tacit
I still can't quite abide the way they adulterate it with milk, and took mine without, thank you very much.

While I like you prefer my tea without milk, I do occasionally drink it with and so far I have survived that just fine. smirk I also make it a habit to try things at least once, on the off chance I might like it. After all, if you don’t, you’ll never find that incredible food/drink/experience.

That said, there is something to local food and drink habits that may go beyond mere taste, while your taste itself is not immutable either and perfectly capable of adjusting to circumstances. I distinctly remember a visit to Nepal’s Langtang valley glaciers where I actually liked my tea spiked with slightly rancid salted butter. tongue Of course, the daily exertions of the trek there required more salt and calories than my diet initially provided. And sure enough, once back in the city and certainly later at home that particular tea additive never had the same appeal…


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Re: My Cup of Tea
MacManiac #15011 04/06/11 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted By: MacManiac
So Tacit, do you favor OTHER Beverages as well????

I'm shocked by the price tag on that bottle! shocked

When I first drank Louis Tres it cost $300/bottle, was a $25 shot, and was wonderful; when it got to $1,200 and $125, about 20 years ago, it had long since become something of a fool's errand...a waaay overpriced way for guys with a lot of money to demonstrate it...to impress their buddies or dates.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15012 04/06/11 04:45 PM
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Tacit,

Teavana does not sell Russian Caravan, but they might be worth a visit:


Pioneer Place Mall

700 SW Fifth Ave.
Portland, OR 97204
Phone: (503) 274.6227

I had heard of Russian Caravan, but did not know which teas were in it. The story is quite interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Caravan


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Re: My Cup of Tea
MacManiac #15019 04/06/11 09:40 PM
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Originally Posted By: MacManiac
So Tacit, do you favor OTHER Beverages as well????


I prefer high-end rum to high-end cognac, actually. In fact, I sampled cognac for the first time ever while on vacation about six months ago in a French castle, and it struck me as being quite like having flaming battery acid poured on my tongue, with a chaser of ammonium nitrate to wash it down. Once I'd finished rolling on the floor in agony, I'd have been quite willing to cut off my tongue just to avoid a repeat of the experience...

Originally Posted By: MicroMatTech3
Teavana does not sell Russian Caravan, but they might be worth a visit:


Thanks, I'll have to check them out! BTW, I looked for Micromat at MacWorld SF in January but didn't see you guys. Were you there?


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15020 04/06/11 09:50 PM
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> Once I'd finished rolling on the floor in agony, I'd have been quite willing to cut off my tongue just to avoid a repeat of the experience...

That's pretty extreme...goes far beyond personal taste issues.

Which cognac were you drinking?

And which rums you prefer? (I've never been much of a run drinker, but Gosling turned my head around.)


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15021 04/06/11 09:57 PM
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High end (meaning high price) Cognac is not necessarily good. Sometimes, there is no relation between what you pay and what you get. My favorite Cognac is Delamain. I was fortunate to be able to obtain a bottle of the Reserve de Famille, aged for 50 years. To my understanding, it is no longer available in the US and my wife and I finished it long ago. Extraordinary! I have not liked any of the Hennessy Cognacs that I have tried.

That said, I prefer Armagnac and the best Armagnac that I ever had was also fairly cheap.


Jon

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Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15022 04/06/11 10:20 PM
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> High end (meaning high price) Cognac is not necessarily good.

Not necessarily good according to your taste, that's got to be. "Good" cognac is pretty much a totally subjective matter; consider the number of Remy Martin VSOP, which I find undrinkable, lovers. And I love Courvoisier VSOP, but I never go near my Courvoisier Napoleon... a practically undrinkable $70 bottle.

I agree with you about Delamain, though, going back to when it was "Pale and Dry..." Wonderful stuff!!!

As for Hennessy, its VS and Martel's VS are huge sellers, but I can't stand the taste of either; I do like Hennessy XO, though.

Armagnac's got many fans, but I've never gotten into it.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15023 04/06/11 10:54 PM
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Delamain Cognac Reserve De La Famille (750ml - Full Bottle)     $535.00
Quantity Available:  In Stock
http://www.2020wines.com/
http://www.2020wines.com/delamain-cognac-reserve-de-la-famille-750.html
Twenty Twenty Wine Merchants
2020 Cotner Avenue
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
Phone: (310) 447-2020
Fax: (310) 447-0330
Is this what you are looking for?

Re: My Cup of Tea
MarkG #15024 04/06/11 11:42 PM
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Thanks, Mark. That's the one. The price is a tad steeper than I would like. If memory serves, we paid around $300 for the original bottle, but that was many years ago. Considering how slowly we emptied the bottle, we got a lot of time out of it.

Actually, I remember some of the circumstances quite well. My wife had bought it as a Christmas present to ourselves. We spent the holiday with family, intending to try that Cognac after we returned. On the return flight, the plane took a sudden dive that seemed to last forever until the pilot regained control. My first thought was that I would never get to taste the Cognac. tongue


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Re: My Cup of Tea
artie505 #15025 04/06/11 11:44 PM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
> High end (meaning high price) Cognac is not necessarily good.

Not necessarily good according to your taste, that's got to be. "Good" cognac is pretty much a totally subjective matter;

Of course it's subjective. How could it be otherwise? My wife loves goat cheese and lamb; I find both to be nauseating.


Jon

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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15027 04/07/11 01:44 AM
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Tacit,

We stopped doing trade shows a while back. I really enjoyed going to New York, but on a cost-per-copy-sold basis, trade shows are not a good investment in a recession. I will miss them.

On the spirits topic, I have had a few bottles of Armanac de Montal, which came in a wooden box useful for storing short, flexible cables.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15030 04/07/11 11:09 AM
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Hi Jon
You made it sound so attractive that I almost bought it.
Mark

Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15057 04/09/11 07:46 AM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Originally Posted By: artie505
> High end (meaning high price) Cognac is not necessarily good.

Not necessarily good according to your taste, that's got to be. "Good" cognac is pretty much a totally subjective matter;

Of course it's subjective. How could it be otherwise? My wife loves goat cheese and lamb; I find both to be nauseating.

That doesn't address what I meant but, obviously, failed to get across.

I've never run across a high-end cognac that wasn't "good" in the sense that it was well-bred, well-produced, well-aged, and smooth, but I've run across any number of them that I've simply found personally unpalatable despite their qualifications.

I hope that makes sense.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
artie505 #15072 04/10/11 12:15 AM
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Originally Posted By: artie505
> Once I'd finished rolling on the floor in agony, I'd have been quite willing to cut off my tongue just to avoid a repeat of the experience...

That's pretty extreme...goes far beyond personal taste issues.

Which cognac were you drinking?


I actually have no idea. The cognac was selected by my sweetie Maxine's other boyfriend Lex, and he's known on two continents for his impeccable taste in this matter, so I assume it was (reputedly, anyway) good cognac. Still seemed rather like flaming battery acid to me.

But then, I also don't like Scotch (or whiskey generally), wine (always tastes harsh and kind of like turpentine to me), or beer (I've never sampled a beer that wasn't so bitter it made me want to heave), so I'm willing to concede the issue may be with the peculiarities of my taste buds rather than with the drinks themselves.

Originally Posted By: artie505
And which rums you prefer? (I've never been much of a run drinker, but Gosling turned my head around.)


I quite like Gosling, but I've recently been introduced by a friend of mine to a brand called Seven Tiki. It's less expensive than Gosling but tastes smoother and richer; I've become quite a fan. In fact, i was delighted to discover that one store in Portland now carries it; in the past, I've had to travel to San Francisco to find it. (When that friend and I were in SF for MacWorld, we picked up seven bottles between us--one for me, two for him, and the rest for other friends who've likewise acquired a taste for it.)


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15074 04/10/11 05:41 AM
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> Still seemed rather like flaming battery acid to me.

Well... In all honesty, the really good cognacs do give you the sensation of drinking liquid fire, but they're sooo smooth and taste sooo good, and that's what cognac is about.

Thanks for the heads-up on Seven Tiki; I'll see if I can find a taste.


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Re: My Cup of Tea
tacit #15076 04/10/11 03:07 PM
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Originally Posted By: tacit
But then, I also don't like Scotch (or whiskey generally), wine (always tastes harsh and kind of like turpentine to me), or beer (I've never sampled a beer that wasn't so bitter it made me want to heave), so I'm willing to concede the issue may be with the peculiarities of my taste buds rather than with the drinks themselves.
That's what I have concluded about my aversion to goat cheese and lamb. I have found the taste of lamb to be disgusting ever since I was little. Goat cheese has similar components to me. My wife can't understand this since she has always liked both. Once, she got me to try a small sliver of, according to her, an excellent goat cheese. I spent 10 minutes bent over the sink trying to wash the taste out of my mouth. Needless to say, she never asked again. In fact, even the slightest hint of "lambiness" or "goatiness" makes me want to gag.

Considering that so many people like these items, it must be something in my genes.


Jon

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Re: My Cup of Tea
jchuzi #15077 04/10/11 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Considering that so many people like these items, it must be something in my genes.

Yet another, and perhaps most basic reason to respect the common wisdom that there's no arguing about taste. tongue laugh


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Re: My Cup of Tea
alternaut #15078 04/10/11 04:31 PM
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Originally Posted By: alternaut
Originally Posted By: jchuzi
Considering that so many people like these items, it must be something in my genes.

Yet another, and perhaps most basic reason to respect the common wisdom that there's no arguing about taste. tongue laugh

Take this thread for example. smirk

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