where I'm at

I've been hitting the various adagio teas pretty hard since their arrival.

What I'm enjoying:

So far I'm finding that just about all the greens and whites are right up my alley, although some are more exciting than others.

Snowbud is one of the less exciting to me, although I feel I'm getting the hang of brewing it well enough to give it a fair tasting (which took a few attempts).

It, like the oolongs, just doesn't seem to carry as much of a "wow" factor as some of the other green and white teas.

This is purely subjective, of course, and I see nothing about the "less exciting" teas that makes them inferior in any way.

The stand-out so far is the sencha premier.

Preparation of greens:

I've been experimenting with lower temps and shorter steep times with the greens. The recommendation stamped on the tins for these is 180*F for 3 minutes, which I'm finding to be a little hotter and longer than may be optimal for some of them.

Even my beloved genmai cha seems to benefit from a less intense steeping process. Try 4 oz. of water (maybe 5 oz. before addition of tea to allow for absorption of water into leaves) with a rounded (but not heaping) teaspoon of leaf, for a max of 2 minutes and max temp of 150*, then a few short steeps of 45 seconds each at the same temp for 2nd and 3rd infusions. I think you'll find this provides a different genmai cha experience than heavier doses of leaf, heat, and time.

Gear thoughts:

I'm giving some thought to a more portable way to heat water and infuse. A good bit of gear can become involved without too much effort.