23608 Sun Apr 06 18:11:16 -0700 2003 11 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 90125 As previously noted by Stanley Stephan, Celadon on Solano is a charming place to enjoy a cup of tea or indulge in an extensive tasting. 10 of us crowded around the tasting station and worked our way through a selection of premium teas, accompanied by tea snacks and a Dream of Cream cake from Neldam's to celebrate Melanie Wong's birthday. Live music and enormous twig and rice paper lamps in the shape of inverted mushrooms give the salon a distinctive aesthetic that's both formal and warm. The woman who helped us was extremely precise about every aspect of the service but also low key. She was equally willing to describe and evangelize each tea, encouraging us to examine and smell the leaves, or just allow us to sit back and enjoy the aromas and flavors. The teas are primarily Chinese teas with a few Indian teas available; don't expect scones and clotted cream with your oolong unless you stop at Neldam's first. Teas tasted: -white peony. A light floral tea, it had trouble competing with the rich cream cake. I think Imperial Tea's version of this is more distinctive. green teas: -premium dragonwell. This is one of the finest dragonwell's I've tasted. Grassy but not overpowering. -bi luo chun or green snail, Spring version. A delicate green tea, the flavor on each pour was quite different. -white dragon pearls. Dragon pearls is an exceptional jasmine tea; Arlene agreed and took home two containers of it. -tai ping hu kui premium. I wasn't familiar with this tea from Fujian province--Celadon may be the only local purveyor of it. Fragrant, complex, and delicate. oolongs: -monkey picked ti kuan yin. Golden and aromatic. -Baochong Premium. This was an excellent oolong from Taiwan. The second steeping was flavorful and bright. red/black teas: -Yunnan gold, a very smooth blend; I prefer a longer steeping, but this is a pleasant tea and a good example of why black teas are referred to as "red" -25 year old Pu-erh, a musky, peaty, fermented brew with a brilliant color, Pu erh is like a vintage Port, or perhaps an aged cheese: smelly, forceful, quite unlike anything else we tried. An hour later, in the midst of a Sichuanese feast, the pu erh would have been a welcome relief from the grease and chilis. Most of the green teas and oolongs would have been a good complement with food. The first tasting for each person is free--this includes two steeps in a small cup. Subsequent tastings cost $2 each; if you were not doing such a large sampling, you would be better off ordering individual pots for ~$5 each and sharing. However you would not have the same level of attention (to water temperatures, steeping times, etc) or the progression we enjoyed. Their tea snacks are excellent--melon seeds, a thinly sliced biscotti, and a scrumptious tea-pickled plum. Other sources for the pickled plums (Yimster?) would be most welcome. We spent $200 for 10 including a generous tip and service charge for bringing our own cake. For two hours of tea bliss, this was well spent. Celadon Fine Teas 1111 Solano Avenue Albany 510 524 1696 www.celadontea.com open until 10 p.m. on the weekends Link: http://www.celadontea.com Sun Apr 06 18:11:16 -0700 2003 0 Windy 1 90140 Wonderful description of the teas Windy. I'll have to go back this week. I found out that April is green tea season. For the next three months these teas will be at their peak and freshest. Celadon and Imperial Tea will have expanding tea lists for the next few months. I think the premium dragonwell is a special tea that sells out quickly. I put my name on the list, but they have not yet e-mailed me about it being in. Since it is in the tasting, I'm going to have to get myself down there to pick some up. I agree with you that, amazing as it my sound, for the attention, quality and ambiance, the $20 for tea is not outrageous. The tasting bar must have been pretty crowded with ten people there. I would guess it just holds six comfortably. Celadon also has some nice tea ware. I love the clear glass gaiwan, that lets you fully admire the color of the tea while sipping it. The New Tea Lover's Treasury is a good history of tea and description of the different types of teas. Mon Apr 07 00:37:33 -0700 2003 90125 0 Stanley Stephan 2 90143 According to Celadon's website, the "premium grade" Dragon Well is the second highest grade they carry, so I'm assuming it's "Gu Yu" longjing. The picking season begins, like right NOW (April 7, this year) for this grade and extends to about April 20. So they can't have this grade available yet. The higher "Pre-Rain" grade they offer COULD be 2003 tea. The picking season came early this year and it's been on the market for three or four weeks. If it is in fact 2003 pre-Qing Ming longjing that's listed on their website for $10 per ounce, that's a very good price. I just paid about $13 per ounce plus shipping by mail order through sencha.com Mon Apr 07 01:11:15 -0700 2003 90140 0 Gary Soup 1 90142 What are tea pickled plums? If it is the sweet cured or salt cured plums I have other sources. But I do not know what tea cured plums are. I will need the Chinese name. I have a couple of places in San Francisco. I will need to have PDA to list the address. I know how to get there but never the name or address. Do you have a wrapper or was from a glass jar. Mon Apr 07 00:53:49 -0700 2003 90125 0 Yimster 2 90144 These were sweet plums, very small, perhaps the size of a cherry with a pit. And they were served on plates--so no idea where they came from. The tea was not the most noticeable aspect of the "pickling" though--would be fun to wander around Chinatown in search of them, asking for tastes. Mon Apr 07 01:11:35 -0700 2003 90142 0 Windy 2 90149 Cha mei/cha mui (literally, tea plum) are very very popular in Taiwanese teahouses. And I believe that tea leaves are indeed included in the pickling process. My mother keeps me amply supplied with them, so I'm afraid I can't tell you where to get them in the Bay Area. Ten Ren and Wonderful Foods on Irving would probably be the first place I would look if I were still working in the Sunset district. Mon Apr 07 02:07:57 -0700 2003 90142 0 chibi 3 90150 Thanks--any excuse to prowl around boba central. I'll report back when I find some. Mon Apr 07 02:10:22 -0700 2003 90149 0 Windy 4 90401 got some at Ten Ren. They're good but have a trace of anise (or some other flavor) on top of the green tea. Not as good as the ones from Celadon Wed Apr 09 23:36:16 -0700 2003 90150 0 Windy 3 90250 Thanks, I now know what to look for now. Will report back. Tea plums. I can say that. Mon Apr 07 22:39:31 -0700 2003 90149 0 Yimster 1 90177 Below link are some pictures taken. Hope you can see them. Link: http://www.ofoto.com/PhotoView.jsp?UV=713950245136_89691593803&collid=88389973803&photoid=78389973803 Mon Apr 07 13:17:40 -0700 2003 90125 0 Arlene 2 91345 The interior really is gorgeous. Here we are sitting at the tea bar studying the tea list with cameras at the ready. My brother took this picture with the third camera present. Image: http://www.chowhound.com/misc/mel/cvcel/teabar.jpg Mon Apr 21 23:17:47 -0700 2003 90177 0 Melanie Wong 1 91346 Thank you so much for arranging this! Here's a shot showing the aroma cups that catch the tea's scent and how to enjoy them. Image: http://www.chowhound.com/misc/mel/cvcel/aroma.jpg Mon Apr 21 23:21:35 -0700 2003 90125 0 Melanie Wong