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Sunday, May 2, 2010

NYC Steepster Tea Meetup

Steepster meetup at Radiance Tea House and Books

Date: Saturday, May 1
Time: 11:30 AM EST
Place: Radiance Tea House and Books
Details: Tea Tasting

There:
TeaParT all the way from Kansas City!
Ricky
Samuel Clay
HorseNcl / Nicole of http://teaformeplease.blogspot.com/
MilitiaJim
AmazonV

Steepster Jason
Steepster Mike
Steepster Jack
Megan

Breville Jason

(Did I miss anyone?)

Tea Tasting - where we got to learn about the teas and try some of each in little glass shot glasses. There were little mochi to eat as well

Since it wasn't whole glasses of tea (thank goodness I would have floated off) my tasting notes (coming later) will be pretty tiny. We did get to sniff the leaves, and tea et all, but it was a whirl wind so my notes will probably just be impressions more than my normal piece by piece.

1
Silver Needle
One of the most renowned teas of the world. This tea only uses the best and youngest handpicked buds and leaves of the tea plant. The result is an
unforgettable sweetness and delicate cup that leaves the mouth in amazement.

Two steeps

2
Long Jing (Dragon Well)
Grown exclusively in West Lake area in Zhejiang province, Dragon Well tea is China’s most famous green tea. Handpicked as soon as it’s ripe, it is one of the most tender and freshest of all green teas. Vibrant green leaves, vegetal, aromatic, with a lingering sweetness make up this truly superior cup of tea.

3
Jin XuanT (Golden Lily)
Has a naturally sweet milky creaminess with a gentle taste. It grows in a special environment and climate in Taiwan. Its fragrance is a reminiscent of a spring lily blossom.

4
Phoenix in the Forest
This incredible and hard to find oolong brings the sweetness of passion fruit to the mouth, a distinction that is one of a kind and hard to forget.
two steeps

5
Lapsang Souchong
An intense and unmistakable smoky aroma created by placing the leaves in bamboo baskets over pine wood fires where they slowly absorb the essence of the smoke. A smoky tea lover’s delight.
two steeps

After the tasting we drew for the Breville, and Nicole (not me, first Nicole on Steepster) won! Congratulations!

After the tasting we sat around chatting and had:

Royal Keemun
Considered to be one of the worlds three best black teas, this tea has a full bodied flavor with a hint of spice. A classic.

Sencha
Japanese teas are steamed, which gives the cup a distince green color and sweet taste. Sencha is also high in vitamin C and is a part of Japanese way of life.

Apricot honeybush that i can’t find on the menu!

We talked about Opera, tea, how steepster got started, how the Steepster guys make a living (and it isn't Steepster!), how they would consider monetizing Steepster (right now it isn't, they will opt for discounts for us on Select rather than take a cut), what everyone does for a living, and various other things. It was informative, fun, and now I have steepster business cards to spread the word via BookMooch and local teahouses!






Steepster meetup at Radiance Tea House and Books


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