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If, when tasting some tea, you feel it mostly in your palate and almost nothing at all in your tongue, does it mean something?
I have this experience with some bai mu dan that I consider to be of suspicious quality/proceeding, but I’ve never tasted any other until now to compare. So maybe this is common, or my tasting is not refined enough. -
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A strange tea, or a strange tea taster! hahah
actually I described only one of the infusions, which I considered the best/ most balancedIt was 3g/250ml/90 grades C/6minutesIf I do5g/250ml/90gradesC/6 minutesit tastes bitter and unpleasantIf I do5g/250ml/90gradesC/3 minutesit is not bitter, but the taste in the palate is poor, compared to the first experience describedI’m a bit intrigued about this tea.Short story: it was the only loose leaf white tea I could find. It was probably sitting in the shelf of the store for a long time, because in the can, there’s a label saying that the due date is april/2012.I don’t know about this… about how tea ages… If bai mu dan can be ‘matured’, will it spoil someday, or in some circunstance?Looking at the leaves and comparing it to pictures in the internet, I thought this was a very bad bai mu dan, because it looked dark and the leaves were very fragmented.But then I found out about matured Bai mu dan in teaguardian.. and it looks like it may be so.It comes in a can which shows a ‘sunflower’, looks like a ‘logo’. i don’t know if this is industrialized tea, or if the company only takes over the exportation process.The smell in the can is fabulous, kind of nutty-sweet. The smell in the can is much stronger than in the tea after infusion, but i kind of feel this nutty-sweet in the palate and it is very pleasing. I’m not sure if I’m using good references for the experience, I’m just trying to describe it the best i can.Today I received some samples of another bai mu dan, no labels, this company imports the tea and sells it under the shop’s name.Lookes kind of fresh, altough very fragmented, even more than my old bai mu dan.I tried3g/250ml/90gradesC/6minutesIt turned out bitter, no pleasing smells, no good feeling in the palate, i couldn’t drink itThen I tried5g/250ml/80gradesC/3minutesStill tasting bitter, although less than the previous infusion, the feeling in the palate is very poor compared to my old bai mu dan.It smells/tastes kind of grassy and flowery. I find this a little disturbing, nauseating, a little bit like lilies (try to picture a green lily, if possible), to be more precise, it reminds me a lot of Brugmansia suaveolens perfume (a toxic plant which provided me a bad experience in the past)I’m kind of disappointed with this tea. I’m glad i only ordered a little bit to taste it.I suspect it may be some kind of “green white peony”, unless this kind of tea is much more expensive than regular bai mu dan (i think it is unlikely that someone would sell a more expensive product for the price of a cheaper one, but not impossible)Here is the picture of the tea, provided by the online storeAnd here is the picture of what they sent meI know that in the production of photos there are variations in color balancing..but anyway, the actual produt looks much greener then what they show in the website. Even my own picture won’t show it very well, this tea looks very green all over.I don’t know what to do with this tea. I’ll try some more variations in brewing, to see if i can get a better cup.Any thoughts on this? 😕 -
The picture looks like some low quality product that I cannot recognise as anything from any of the proper baimudan origins. They look similar, but the leaf size, edge patterns seem quite different. And they are quite broken. Still I cannot say for sure by looking at this particular picture.
According to your description of taste and smell, however, it surely does not sound too appealing to drink.Try 3g/250 ml/90°C/3 min to see if it turns out any better.It could also be a badly stored low quality product, or imitation product, or maybe artificially scented. If you find it undrinkable, perhaps you should either return it or use it as a deodorizer in the fridge? That’s what I use bad tea for.Sorry about the bad experience. -
Leo,
I contacted the shop, asking about brewing measures. They recommended that I did4g/250ml/70ºC/4-7minIt turned out quite fine.It sounds like a green tea brew, though.I did, as you suggested, 3g/250ml/90ºC/3min and it resulted very similar to the brew recommended by the shop, maybe only a little stronger in smell, but didn’t turn out bitter.I don’t know what to think of this. Do you think it doesn’t matter whether I use one measure or the other, if it tastes almost the same? -
It does sound like a green tea brew. If it really is the green tea baimudan, I think it is better for you not to drink it too regularly because of your leg osmosis concern.
Some green and black tea do not help the problem, some may worsen it. In my own observation, the best teas that may deal with the problem in some people are:- White tea baimudan;
- traditional oolongs (as opposite to modern oolongs): eg Wuyi, Phoenix, etc, as opposite to green tieguanyin, new style Taiwan oolongs etc;
- Shengcha puer, but this is not suitable for weaker stomachs and people who are sensitive to TCM chilling substances, such as women during menstruation
However, I have not done any systematic studies of this; only observation from customers and friends; and through my understanding of the different teas.One thing I do know however, is that certain not properly produced green baimudan do exaggerate problems in water retention so it may not be a good idea to drink it too regularly. Having said that though, many other food and beverage items do that even more seriously than any tea, eg beer, sodas, certain salads, fruits etc. Depressing, isn’t it?On the bright side, it is only great to know the true nature of the things that we have all taken for granted so much. It’s rather like swimming, or riding a bike, once the true nature of a thing is well mastered, you can enjoy it to its best extent, when you know how your body is integrating with it. -
Leo,thanks so much for this!For me, the most depressing thing is trying very hard to do this right and not being able to because there’s something I don’t know of. (But, I confess, I’d be a little sad if you told me I shouldn’t drink oolong, because it is my favorite!)I’ve tried many types of diet and I’m used to having restrictions.The irony of this, it seems, is that the more I avoid foods/drinks that are bad for me, the stronger effect I get from eating some of them inadvertedly.For example, today, after lunch, I felt extremely sleepy (and I was not sleep deprived), I just had to sleep for a few hours (I keep asking myself.. what did I eat? I suspect it was some dish with wheat, or maybe raw tomatoes and onions are harmful for me). I think the sleepiness is consequence of something I ate.I used to drink beer once in a while (once a week, at most), but after I began drinking tea regularly, I had a can of beer one day and I felt so sluggish that I was completely useless. I just had to lay down and sleep a couple of hours. I feel like I became more sensitive to it, I don’t know if it is related to tea drinking. i just don’t feel like drinking beer ever again, after this experience.Last year I spent most part of my days sleeping. I’d sleep at least 10 hours regularly, and on weekends i could sleep up to 12 hours… (this, plus the water retention, plus a tendency to inflammations on my skin, seem to be related symptoms; whenever one of these things get worse, I suspect of something I ate/drink…)I think this is related to what I said before, that even though I avoid harmful things, I end consuming something bad for me on a regular basis.It is a little difficult to know what it is sometimes, because we eat different things in a single meal. Maybe I think one thing is not good, but end up adding some other thing and it takes some time to distinguish.In some periods I would just get tired of this, and ended up eating whatever I wanted (needless to say, it didn’t help much). I guess I feel a little helpless sometimes, because I’ve been trying to figure this out for some years now. If I went to a doctor, he’d say that I’m completely healthy; I did some blood tests last year and the response I got was that I was in great shape.It puzzles me that some people will just eat all sorts of junk, and they seem to be great despite of this. But I guess each person is different.If you have any clues on salads and fruits that may be harmful for me, please tell me, it would be very helpful. Also, if possible, tell me what kinds of black tea would be harmful (would it be the case of Qi Men Zhu Ye Zhong from Anhui or Dian hong gong fu – Feng pian zhong from Yunnan?)(I guess I’ll just use that bai mu dan tea as a closet deodorizer, together with my green jasmine tea, which I suspect to be bad for me…)Thank you once again!
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Good morning tamesbm,
I am quite envious of you being able to afford all these bedtime!Fairness has never existed on Earth: some people are a lot more fortunate than others. But it is often than perseverance of the less fortunate that creates much of our rich cultural heritage. Too much for the morning isn’t it?It sounds like tea is beginning to work on you to clarify some of the toxins in your body so you are beginning to have exaggerated reactions to things. However, it does also sound like you may have some inner refortification to do to build a healthier body. That’s all from some common sense TCM understanding from hearing the few points you said. I just guess the basic balanced diet concept will work and I am sorry to tell you this: avoid cold stuffs, such as iced drinks, cold salads, cold fruits etc in particular iced drinks. (I know you live in Brazil, sorry!) Your case simply sounds too much like one that of humid toxins as I have mentioned in the related in the Tea Guardian article.You are right that Jasmine green tea is not good for you, so are all steamed green teas such as sencha or gyokuro. Shengcha puer, Silver Needles, Gun Powders are also not good for you. When you want some green tea occasionally, go for pan roasted ones that are more cooked, such as Dinggu Dafang, or sharper tasting ones that are baked, such as Kaihua Longding.I am glad oolong is your favourite, it is the most suitable category of tea for you, as I mentioned in the earlier response.For black tea, your Dian Hong is not as suitable for you as your Qimen, but better ones for you are those sharper types: such as Darjeeling, Jiuqu Hongmei (Red Plum Classic), etc. If you like the rounder body of black teas, you may want to consider classic type lower cost oolongs such as Wuyi Shuixian, baked Tieguanyin etc as alternatives. They dissipate humid toxins a lot more efficiently.The whole idea is to maintain relative TCM neutrality for your weaker digestive system and those teas that are more efficient in water metabolism (rather than simply diuretic).I hope your health will improve soon. -
Leo,
trust me, I don’t like sleeping so much! I’m not having a good time.First of all, I feel like I’m wasting a lot of time and, second, it’s not that I sleep 10 hours and wake up vibrant, full of energy, ready to do my tasks… no.. I feel like a zombie, intoxicated may be a good word, or just sick.I should be doing a lot of intellectual work (mostly reading and writing), and I need a lot of focus not to fall asleep in the middle of it.I’m always ashamed to talk about this excessive sleepiness problem, because it sounds like I’m a lazy person…I’m not sure if I understand the concept of cold: is it just the temperature of the food or being raw is not good either? raw and cold is worse?For example, can I eat raw vegetables/fruits if they are at room temperature, or it would be better if I cooked them? (I’ve read something about this… a root like carrot would be more ‘yang’ (warm?) than a tomato? roots are ‘warmer’ than fruits? I’m not sure if this is a concept from TCM; if it is, then I have some idea on what I shouldn’t eat)I don’t care avoiding whatever you say is not good for me, if that gives me some perspective of improving my health. I’ll never have ice cream again, if that’s what I need to do to succeed.(i even ventured myself in a completely raw food diet for 18 months, I lost a lot of weight, but I wasn’t feeling as good as I expected I would, in such a ‘healthy’ diet)The only oolongs available for me are the Shui Xian (from Wu Yi), Rou Gui (Wu Yi), Snow Orchid (Dan cong – Guangdong) and Monkey Picked (An xi – Fujian). When you say ‘baked’, do you mean ‘roasted’? Is it the same?You suggested the Shui Xian. Concearning the ‘health notes’ on Rou Gui, it seems that it is not very good for me. What do you think about Snow Orchid and Monkey picked?I’m very grateful for your generosity, in sharing your knowledge and your time.I did the best I could on my own until now, unfortunately it wasn’t enough.I’m very positive about your suggestions, I think I’ll finally reach the improvement I’ve been searching for, all these years… -
I hope you understand that my advices do not constitute any medical opinion; they are only common senses in healthy living. I do hope my effort can help people with living a happier life.
In my previous response, when I said cold f & b, I meant temperature cold. The rich varieties of fruit and veggie in Brazil should be quite difficult for my to categorize for you over the internet which is cold in TCM nature and which is not. It is difficult even for most Chinese who grew up with TCM concept around them and yet who have paid little attention to it.If just by following very simple guidelines there could be some improvement in your situation, I’d be happy for you. That’s why I mentioned things that are cold in temperature that you should avoid. Not only refrigerator cold, but room temperature cold veggie, that means they should be cooked. As for fruits, yes, it is a good idea that they are consumed cooked as well, but it is quite difficult in practice that our daily fruit portions be cooked all the time. So eat them in smaller portions over many times in the day. Or simply eating them not so fast. That is for your systems to deal with them easier.Raw things in all your diet should not be a good idea for you. I am no expert in weight loss, but it is common sense that a person who has difficulties in water metabolism should avoid raw things because they can cause more “humid evils” (TCM term).Your sample about carrot vs tomato, if both are uncooked, the tomato is actually a bit warmer than the carrot. Carrot is quite cooling in TCM term. Some other roots are cold, some others are warm, hot, and neutral. The saying that roots are warmer is a bit irresponsible, or ignorant, wherever you have heard it from.I am sure there is a ton of recipes for cooking veggies in Brazil, and you should not avoid meat either, unless you are a vegetarian. Do try to cook your veggie with a bit of ginger in it, better yet ginger with the skin. It not only helps neutralize the coldness in some veggies, but also to dissipate “humid evils”. There are a lot of herbs that do that, but ginger is a lot more common place and practicable in cooking.I love ice cream and if you like it too, you do not have to avoid it: eat moderately and add ginger to it! If this is too much, consider candied ginger ;-), I also have some great ginger-milk recipes, which I’ll share later in the site for the benefits of more people.In terms of tea choices, Rou Gui is suitable for you as are the others, except for Monkey Picked, if it is the green style. It is basically tieguanyin or related imitations.Baked and roasted are two different ways in processing tea. YOu can read about them in related Tea Guardian chapters.Hope this helps. Cheers, -
Leo,
yes.. I understand that your advices are not medical opinions! I’d say that the best thing about them, at least when one considers the ways of ocidental medicine nowadays!I’m trying to find some professional TCM practitioner here. There are some acupuncturists… but I really would prefer someone specialized in diet matters in TCM.Anyway, I’ll keep researching on the subject to get more useful information.Who would suspect that skipping salad and fruit would actually do me some good?I don’t know what happened to our culture. It is very common to find the idea that “everything natural is good”.I read some stories about people getting into serious trouble due to these “raw food diets”.By the way.. I was a vegetarian for almost 10 years, but not anymore.I guess I did some stupid things concearning diet, if I didn’t get much healthier I’m absolutely sure that I got much wiser…I must say… I’m feeling better today, even though I know there’s much to improve. I got back home from the university and I was able to sit and study for about 2 hours.Maybe this means nothing to some people. To me it is a great accomplishment. I’m feeling more alive, although I still feel like my energy levels are quite low. Even if I feel like resting a bit, it is more unlikely that I will sleep.I think your remark on not taking things for granted is so important and true.Such a ‘simple’ thing as staying awake… most people won’t even think about it. But not being able to do it was ruining my life in many ways.Oh… It’s nice to know about ginger! I like it a lot! Can I consume it by itself (chewing or making tea of it) or it would be better to consume it in combination with other food?Considering what you said and something I saw on the internet I created a recipe, please tell me if you think it is ok: I did a kind of juice with apples and ginger (I processed everything in the blender) and then I cooked it. So it is not juice nor tea, it may be called an apple-ginger soup if you wish.I don’t remember the TCM classification on the nature of apples right now, but when I saw it i thought I should have some, but I was not sure if I should eat it raw…Thanks so much for your help! -
Apple is perhaps the most system friendly of all the fruits. It is neutral by TCM nature and therefore the only recommended fruit for people in recuperation by some TCM doctors. If you like your newly found apple-ginger soup recipe, it’s a good start.
I am not sure about the idea of chewing on raw ginger, but ginger is a great ingredient for making a drink with. Boiling thin slices of it in water for a few minutes, and then pour the water into a cup with raw cane sugar or rock/sea salt and you have a great all time ginger “tea”. Or use the water to brew a wuyi or phoenix oolong. Feel free to put raw sugar or other healthy sweetener in it. It’s a great humid-evil dissipator.There are a few tea recipes in the Tea Guardian site, do look them up in the Tea Preparation section. And about sugars too. Never use white sugar, esp in your situation.If you have no time to prepare a veggie dish, very thinly julienne ample ginger to toss into the salad to balance off the coldness and “humid evils” in some raw veggies.Ginger is such an indispensable item in the kitchen that I cannot imagine one day without it.Enjoy life! You don’t know how lucky you are living in the food basket of the world! -
Thanks Leo!
I’m starting to get a feel of these combinations..I’m getting over the habit I acquired during the ‘raw food diet’ season, which is the “mono-meal”, making a meal out of a single thing. I guess it can be a disaster, considering the different nature of things and one’s current health state.I’m very happy to re-discover ginger.. it gives me new perspectives in matching ingredients.Yesterday I did one experiment.. the only dairy product I consume, and I do it occasionally, is plain yogurt. I know it is rather cool, but I wanted to have some..So I did a kind of syrup to go with it, I boiled raw sugar cane syrup with ginger and a little bit of water to go with the yogurt, and it tasted delicious. I’m not sure if this was 100% ok, but I guess it is much better than having the plain yogurt by itself, as I used to have.I may be in the food basket of the world, but our culture is so fragmented, and the food culture suffers a lot from this, specially in the big cities (the ‘poor’ regions seem to have a richer native food culture, as this is cheaper than any industrialized food).Some people may be lucky enough to get some tradition from their families, but for many of us, we can hardly say we have a food culture, in the sense that there’s not a bigger whole, integrating the elements (more like a ‘zoo’ than an ‘ecosystem’, a collection of pieces of different things that do not create a picture when sewed together)Our cultural mirror has been shattered in hundreds of pieces. This is what some may call “post-modernity”, but I guess it’s symptoms are worse in some places (specially those suffering from the consequences of colonization).Brazil is such a young country (merely 500 years!)… TCM alone is over 2000 years! So culturally, we are babies… our aboriginal tradition was almost completely lost, and we have to deal with bits of information we inherited from all over the world. Some may use the word ‘freedom’ to characterize this absence of tradition. Maybe it is just an eufemism for ‘alienation’.What good is having a treasure if you don’t know you have it, or don’t know how to make use of it? Well… maybe this is better than having nothing at all, but my tendency is to be a little skeptical on this matters.I’m amazed with TCM, I notice that I’m getting results much faster than I expected. If I would rely on modern science I think I would just have to accept that “my genes are not very good”, or something like that. Besides getting me healthier, for me TCM raises many philosophical questions that contribute to my studies. -
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The yogurt recipe is a great one. This ginger syrup can actually apply to a lot of things. I hope you have been enjoying exploring things so immediately around you and expand the experiences of your taste buds and how your body responds to these things.
Happy for you.Oh yes, TCM goes way beyond treating illness. I am glad that it has become an inspiration to open the door for you to perhaps a lot other things.
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