/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>13727522
Probably some kind of Chinese black tea or Darjeeling.

>>13727522
How are you supposed to brew those tea stuffed oranges anyway?

>>13727522
>general
Newfag cancer please kill yourselves

>why are teafags always so far up their own asses

>>13727522
>What's the tea you'd give to someone when you're first trying to get them into good tea?
Something that has a natural sweetness. The first thing you want them to learn is that they don't need to add sugar to enjoy it.

>>13727522
For those just getting into lose leaf tea check out
Upton Tea Imports. They have a wide variety of decent teas and most importantly allow you to order samples!

>>13727542
>>13727556
Trannies still mad about the best thread on this god forsaken board is /ck/.

>>13727522
Either Black gold from YS, cause it is my favorite tea.
or Waffles from White2tea, I had a sample of this, and the pu-erh straight up tasted like maple syrup, butter and later milk. Shit was crazy.

HOWEVER, what I got my sister into liking quality tea, was giving her some of my Oolong sessions, namely hairy crab and iron goddess. So it really depends on their own tastes, just figure out what they like and match a tea to it. Like, I'd probably try the Laoshan green I have (which tastes meaty and of crumbly pastry to me) if the person liked savory flavors, and my purple/ black tea if I know they like grapes (cause it tastes a bit of it)

All depends on taste brother

>>13727595
so does every tea site

>>13727541
I've heard people putting pieces of peel in the brew, Some just smash it and toss the whole thing in

>>13727522
i like this, any cheaper way to brew my own? what is "black tea"?

>>13728106
Black tea is tea that is more oxidized than greens, oolongs, and whites, and generally the type usually drunk around here. if you see a tea bag, it is probably (Shit) black tea (leavings), unless it says other wise on the box.

And yeah, you can brew a tea you like and let it chill or cold brew it if you have a few hours. If you use bags or loose leaf, be aware it is easy to over brew tea, and the most common mistake people make. unless you gong fu it, be aware that the usual english method of a tea bag or tablespoon of loose leaf to a cup of hot water, should not be left to brew for longer than 5 minutes. After that, it quickly becomes unpalatable and much too strong IMO.
So, try at like 3 minutes and add or reduct one if it isn't to your taste.

if its cold brew, well it'll take hours, so just put a tea bag per cup of water and slam in the fridge

>>13728106
Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, green, and white teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavor than other teas. All four types are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia

What will happen if I drink green tea every morning instead of coffee?

>>13728372
everyone will think you're gay

>>13728380
I meant in terms of health

>>13728389
you'll piss a lot and turn gay

>>13727541
You just put the whole orange in your Gaiwan after tearing it up a little (It's a tiny orange). You can remove the peel and just brew the tea if the citrus taste is too much.

>>13728372
Well, it's less caffeine, and tea in general has different effects that coffee with regards to energy and alertness, due to the different chemical composition. So it'll probably do less of a good job of waking you up, really.

>>13728462
>>13728468
it's literally leaves and water, stop being such a prissy fag

>>13728472
Yep, and pasta is grains and water, coffee is beans and water, soup is vegetables and water. You can reduce any topic discussed on /ck/ to this level, if you hate people being passionate about foodstuffs so much, why the fuck are you on a cooking board?

Any recommendations for a silver needle?
Best I had was the Heirloom Silver Needle from Mei Leaf, which was absolutely fantastic. I tried some from YS and a local seller since then, but none of them came even close in depth.

>>13728472
Genuinely confused how me telling someone the way to brew a type of tea is "prissy". Like, I just don't understand where you're coming from.

>>13728475
shut up fag. pasta is grains egg and water made into dough and rolled into pasta. Coffee is roasted beans and water with milk and sugar. Soup is vegetables, meat, herbs, spices and water

tea is literally leaves and water get outta here gaywad

>>13727522
>Drink bigelow's "sweet dreams" tea
>Get nightmares
Thanks

Stop responding to him and recommend me a silver needle instead

>>13728481
>with milk and sugar
You can put both of those in tea.

>>13728479
literally talking about or knowing anything about tea is gay

>>13728486
teabag, milk and sugar is the only acceptable tea combination

>>13728487
Yeah, I am gay.

>>13728492
hah you fag

>>13728487

tea fags outed and in damage control

Are there any other sites /tea/ posters use to read about or discuss tea? I know there's a fairly active gong fu tea community on Instagram but that format is shit for sharing/reading information. Are there any good forums or other media platforms?

>>13728522
no. you're stuck with this shit

Reposting from last thread.
Picked up this sea dyke brand oolong (125g for $12). It's pretty decent for the money. It's a very heavy traditional roast and the flavor reminds me a lot of the toasted rice in genmacha but with a bit of that tieguanyin style oolomg flavor peaking through. It's not super complex but it's serviceable for a daily drinker and the price is right. Apparently it's available in lots of Asian markets, usually even cheaper.

>>13728882
sounds pretty gay

I need help. What type of tea is usually served in Turkey (Istanbul)? Had some a couple of years ago, need that feel again.

>>13728093
It's a commercial.

>>13728372
You'll poop less, but each dump will be more satisfying.

>>13728106
that 'black tea' is probably a blend of assam(malty) and maybe some Darjeeling(floral) or cheap african leaf.
if you want to make something like your pic, cold brew, stick leaves in water in your fridge for +8 hours

>>13728372
Enjoy yellow teeth

>>13728894
Black tea. Turkish black tea, specifically, but I don't know how different that tastes to any other kind of black tea (never tried it myself).

>>13728894
you'd probably have to buy an actual turkish blend also i've heard the shape of the glass effects the end taste somehow. isn't it made strong and then diluted in the glass?

coffee chad here
how could you tell that i turn my tea into syrup for my coffee?

>>13730379
By killing yourself, trust me am scientist

>>13730379
What kinda tea works well with coffee? I'm actually kinda intrigued by this.

>>13730614
Well it'd have to be a weak coffee so it doesn't simply cover all the tea's flavor

I've been enjoying the '13 YS Autumn Ye Sheng grandpa style and it's been really nice. Mellows everything out, the smokiness moves to the background a bit and it develops a sweetness that's very similar to the kind of sweetness licorice adds to herbal tea blends.

I also have like 1.5kg of new stuff on the way, so that's exciting.

>>13730870

>drop my only 100ml gaiwan like an inch onto its tray
>fucking thing gets a huge ass triangle chip (like pinky finger size) down to the water line
>good looking 100ml gaiwans are had to find
>it was one that I got with a cup and pot to match it, green ruyao, fucking sexy

Excuse me while I find a hard wall to smash my head against till the sweet release of death takes me. my only other gaiwan is 125ml or so
I want to die

>>13730870

The order in the mail is pic related. I have a similarly priced order from KTM from the 20th but it's still unfulfilled.

>>13731487

Time for some kintsugi.

>>13731549
Oh yeah I really want glitter glue in my tea

>>13730870
Nice, it's really interesting to compare how teas brew up gongfu vs grampa style. Some get too bitter brewed grampa style, others seem flat or one note brewed gongfu but really open up when brewed grandpa style.

>>13731568

You can look up the process for at home food safe kintsugi.

>>13731568

I've been enjoying it a lot. I don't want to stop gong fu because I feel like you can really push a tea to its limits and get the most out of it, but grandpa style can be added on top when it's more convenient and you can explore some more flavors and tasting notes that would have been in the background otherwise.

Has anyone been to one of these in nippon? They serve a very specific kind of tea with meals and I'm trying to find what exactly it is

>>13731839

No idea but I'm curious to hear the report back. Do you have any descriptions of the tea? It seems unlikely that it would be anything other than a Japanese green.

>>13731848
99% sure it's not a green. I think I once heard it described as a barley tea, but I haven't been able to find the actual nipponese to get a better description. Fuck I honestly don't know how to describe it but it's a unique aftertaste that I haven't tasted elsewhere

>What's the tea you'd give to someone when you're first trying to get them into good tea?

Bai Mu Dan

>>13728106
I have never actually seen an unsweetened tea in a bottle before.

>>13731859

I have no idea then. Japanese folks produce and drink like 99% green tea so I'm not sure what this other tea would be. As I said, please report back if you find out.

>>13731859
>I think I once heard it described as a barley tea, but I haven't been able to find the actual nipponese to get a better description.
Are you looking for 麦茶.

>>13731839
>>13731859
The すき家 website mentions 爽健美茶, along with regular green and black oolong teas. I suspect it's one of the barley variants of sokenbicha.

>>13727595
fuck off shill

>>13731859
>>13731879
are you sure it's not just mugicha?

daily reminder all teaposters are gay

>>13732147
When I was in Japan, the default complimentary beverage was always mugicha.

so who /forage/ here? starting off the day with freshly foraged sage tea here

>>13732380
If I tried that I'd end up with poison ivy tea

Bump

Finally put an order in for puerh a month later than I wanted. Ended up ordering from Yunnan Sourcing US because I'm almost out of tea and I don't trust ordering from China right now. Hopefully it shows up before shit gets weird here in the states and I have plenty of tasty tea for the quarantine.

>>13733522
forgot pic

>>13733549

Nice. My order from them is on its way. KTM hasn't shipped yet.

Can anyone answer this for me?
I drink a lot of cold unsweetened tea and lately I’ve started making big batches and putting them in a reusable bottle to drink during the day.
My idea now is to get a bottle like pic related and fill it with my pre-made cold tea of choice and keep maybe a tsp of loose tea in the infuser and then continue to fill it up over the course of the day once the bottle gets around a little over a quarter of the way down. Is this a good strategy or will the tea not seep fast enough in cold water to keep the flavor from getting too diluted when I add water?

>>13733595
Apparently lots of Chinese people do this with just raw leaves dumped in a water bottle. It should work but it sort of depends on how fast you drink it. If you get one consider adding sliced fruit as well.

Bump

>>13733522
You ready to beat your lesbian life partner when the puerh fury is upon you?

>>13730159
it is
>>13728894
Turkish black tea, hard to find but look in a mediterranean market if you come across one. brewed in a 2 storey kettle, the bottom being water and the top being a strong concentrate of tea and water. poured into a glass, one part concentrate and 2 parts water.

has anyone had a good puerh that tastes like rice? i've ordered a few puerhs from YS but none of them are nearly as good to me as the 'sticky rice' puerh tea i get at a store in chinatown. idk if it's flavored or it's just because of where it's grown but it's really good

>>13735949
>sticky rice' puerh tea
Yeah that's flavored. You can find some sticky rice puer online here and there. YS used to have one but it's sold out.

>>13735949
>>13736358
Actually you can find even more of it if you search for glutinous rice instead of sticky rice

>>13728150
>>13728165
>>13729047
>>13731862
Just hot brewed my own. Letting some sit in the fridge right now too.
Hot brew taste like the bottle, except its missing a kick, and the only other ingredient in the bottle is "citric acid" besides "water, black tea"
Should I add some lemon or lime juice or something? Anything I can add to my hot brew right now to kick it up a notch?

I am a basic bitch when it comes to drinking tea (english breakfast tea bags etc), but I do enjoy the occasional Jasmine tea with my Chinese food.

Do I have a place here?

>>13736459
some black tea does go with lemon (arabic or turkish blends maybe?) but it should be strong and flavorful enough on its own. what tea did you use and how did you steep it?

>>13736463
sure if u want to be indoctrinated into starting a pricey addiction to smelly chink plant water

>>13736463
Are you cishet? Being totally honest here but the tea community isn’t very friendly to outsiders and especially not cishet ones.

>>13736474
>>13736481

Drinking tea sounds like a lot of commitment. I think I should stick to drinking sugary bubble tea like a teenage white girl.

>>13733522
>I don't trust ordering from China right now
It dies within 48 hours outside of the body, on ideal surfaces for transmission. You'll be fine you baby.

Why is /tea/ getting so full of shitposters lately?

>>13736912
I don't know, but I miss old /tea/ where people actually talked about tea and the shitposting was limited to that ketchup image.

>>13736459
black tea with lemon is common in the uk, less so than milk and sugar but it is a thing

>>13736912
The /ck/ plebians are discovering it finally. This, the only thread not full of rabid faggotry and subjective opinion spouted as utter divine fact. Tea is the best thread on this forsaken board.

>>13727522
I fighting a cold. Kinda glad cause I felt like I was fighting something off for a while, so maybe now it'll be gone now. Having some old strawberry mao feng green tea. Tastes clean and a little grassy, but the strawberry flavor is nice, and doesn't need sweetener; a little better with it though.
>>13732380
I feel like you have to be out of the city or even suburbs to do that with out pesticides being an issue. Makes me want a mint plant though.

Of course I make an order and the next day King Tea Mall adds a load of puerth from the early and mid 2000's.
Anyone who is interested in trying teas from "natural storage" more wet than dry storage but not artificially wet like they do in HK. Should check em out.
I'm annoyed I don't have $300 to drop on this brick right now.

>>13738012
Get one. Mint's tough as fuck and grows well in pots.

>>13738229

Let me know if your order fulfills. Mine hasn't yet after ordering 2 weeks ago.

>>13738229

Let me know if your order fulfills. Mine hasn't yet after ordering two weeks ago.

>>13738765
I'm guessing he is still alive if he is buying new inventory. Hopefully he will be caught up soon.

>>13738808

Yeah I'm not worried about it, but I wouldn't be surprised if things were super chaotic and some orders got lost in the mix, so if a more recent one goes out first I wanted to e-mail him to check.

>>13738288
Yeah, might get some in the spring. You want long boxes or even putting some in open potting soil works. Just have to make sure it doesn't escape.

Drinking some Yunnan Pure Gold. I think I'm gonna legit coom! This is THE best black tea I've ever had but feel free to recommend me something you feel is a worthy coompetitor

>>13728479
No confusion. He's hillbilly white trash. Probably never been outside of Arkansas. Just like a rabid dog, he attacks everything. Has to shit on everything because he knows with his 3rd grade education he'll never live in anything better than his rough plywood shack, eat anything better than squirrel or possum, and certainly never fuck anything other than pigs or his sister (sorry for the redundancy).

>>13739619
I bet you take little mincing steps when you walk

Reminder

>>13739660
Isn’t this considered poor 4channel etiquette to tattle on people? Forgive my newness

>>13739633
Hit a nerve Cletus? Does Uncle Stinky still play hide the sausage with you?

>>13739676
Its more, just ignore, and report if its egregious. Just dont responded to bait. If you ignore it they get bored quicker its just random squaks of shit posts occasionally. If you respond it fills up the thread like a colony of gulls.

help /ck/ my tea always comes out flavorless and watery. Here is my general operation:

-warm cast iron teapot and cast iron cups by letting them soak in hot water
-measure 4 g tea per 16 oz of water
-heat my stainless steel kettle to a rolling boil and and let cool for 1 minute
-pour over my leaves and let steep for 5 minutes.
-usually monkey-picked ooling, sometimes jasmine black or dragon pearls.

WHAT PUZZLE PIECE AM I MISSING!?

>>13739715
>4g
Up it by 2gram increments till its less shit.

>>13739708
Sorry. It was just too easy. You're right. Responding in kind shits up the thread just as much.

>>13739727
seems like the obvious answer, but then why is the internet's general consensus 1g/8oz. I don't get that.

>>13739770
>1g/8oz
Never read that anywhere and I used to lurk steepster. Thing you have to remember is that the type of tea, how its processed, and leaf shape affect brewing. Cheap CTC assam is going to brew much faster and stronger than full leaf oolong. You also mentioned pearl tea. For a good chunk of steeping they are going to be still wadded up and not getting as much extraction due to surface area. Steep longer or give it 90sec to "open up", dump brew, then step normally.

>>13739852
DUMP BREW!? ARE YOU KIDDING?!
the prospect of wasting food terrifies me but ill try it.

>>13739863
Don't, that's the first thing to get over when venturing into loose leaf, especially Puer and rolled tea. Just think of it as pre jizz.

None of you can match MY POWERLEVEL. I have put in an order for custom, hand made teaware made by a taiwan trained Potter. it will take a bit to be made, and I'm paying when it's completed.

Also the potter is a very lovely person and going through the commission was a very pleasant experience, and they really knew their stuff. Can't wait to get my new pieces

Is a gram of tea per 12.5 ml of water a good ratio? I usually go 5g for 100ml, or 6g for 125ml

How long to you wash for?

>>13740635
I do 7.5g for 120ml but it's a little overkill.
>>13740640
Depends on the tea. For a tightly rolled tea of a heavily compressed tea you can go 20 seconds, sometimes 30 or even longer for really stubborn stuff. For something like a loose-leaf black or green i usually don't bother to rinse or do one for just a second or two.

Thoughts on cold brew?
I’ve been doing it with coffee for over a year and tried it yesterday for the first time with tea.
Geen tea, lemon peel and mint.

>>13740669
I think it works great. I usually use something like a teaspoon per quart. Still need to figure it out by weight. The only reason I don't make more is that I'm too busy drinking hot tea all day even in the summer.

>>13740632
Rad

>>13740632
DESCRIBE the custom tea set you ordered.

>>13740885
100ml gaiwan with saucer, made of iron heavy clay so the glaze will achieve the look I desire
A 100ml cup of the same, so its matching.
All I need as it’s for solo gong fu

Nothing fancy in design as I prefer my gaiwans and cup simple.

Usual deviations of volume as is standard with teaware. The glaze is yellow salt, which has “blossoms” that appear In glaze when set on things with enough iron. I think it looks neat

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj_-czggrbJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm3cN3giVDR/

These are also prior pieces made by the potter I’ve placed the order with

>>13740931
Good shit. That's a cool effect.

>>13741091
Yeah, it’s going to be hell to wait for them to be finished. But by sheer luck, it’ll be realistically completed around my bday

>>13739715
the temp should be fine, i'd try it boiling but that wouldn't make too much of a difference (i use boiling water anyway though for everything but high quality greens). 5 minutes is well enough and cast iron is fine, so you most likely have old/weak tea you need to use more of. i'd also try rinsing it for 30sec or so to help bring the flavor out

What's a good iced tea for poorfags who drink a ton of it and don't want kidney stones from oxalates?

>>13728372
you become green instead of brown

Tea soon

>>13742425
Soon tea?

>>13742617
Tea now.

>>13728490
>tea with milk
Have you tried tea with arsenic?

Reminder to boil your whites, unless its really bud heavy.

I generally boil my leftovers of gongmei/shoumei grades.

>>13743129
>Have you tried tea with arsenic?
All tea has arsenic in it.

>>13743330
What are the major flavors you get out of Chinese whites? I keep meaning to try them. Do they have any bitterness/astringency? Any spicy notes or mostly fruit?

>>13727522
I would give them either hoji-Chan or oolong, most amerilards think Lipton is the only kind of black tea that exists, oolong would be a real eye opener. Hoji-Chan is just absolutely fucking delicious.

Y'all.

>>13744542

>>13743687
sweet, hotter temps bring out bitterness/astringency

>>13744566
nice, where in the world are you and when did you order?

>>13744566
Exciting, im really interested in hearing your thoughts on these.

>>13744566
Describe the smell of the tea nugget brick.

>>13744577

Eastern US. These were from YS .us site, ordered a week ago. KTM order placed two and a half weeks ago is still unfulfilled.

>>13744580

Starting with the little guy in the bottom left, 2013 YS "Yi Dian Hong" from Nannuo in Menghai. First ripe ever so we'll see.


Cake is quite compressed, the little bit of paper pressed into it just broke apart and had to be sorted out. Very very slightly fishy smell to it.

Other than that dry leaves have little aroma.

>>13744626
Tea brick is also a ripe and smells like the Yi Dian Hong to my nose so far. Might take a few days for all these to open up and get their own scent back after shipping.

>>13744631

After two rinses the first drinking infusion still tasted like imitation crab meat. As I said, I've heard that especially with ripes, they can take a week or so to get back their original character after shipping.

There is, though, a second flavor in the background, a creamy light sweetness. Reminds me of that slightly sweet aftertaste you get from extremely fresh unpasteurized milk.

>>13744631
Nice, ripe is a real treat.
I used to think tea needing time after shipping was a little silly but I have absolutely noticed a difference after a week or so from stuff shipped from china.
>>13744699
>first drinking infusion still tasted like imitation crab meat
Lulz, don't be afraid to rinse pretty aggressively (30+ seconds) but that doesn't look super compacted so it should open up pretty quickly

Getting into the 5th and 6th infusions and the imitation crab meat taste is still there, but there keeps being suggestions if that sweet creaminess. Liquor is thick and nice to drink, and I'm feeling cozy even though the taste hasn't impressed me so far. I'll keep going with it and if it doesn't change I'll probably just set it aside for a few weeks to try again.

>>13744810
Hmm, with most ripes I have tried the dry leaf usually has a fishy smell and it's present to some extent in the first infusion or three, but it typically subsides after that. You can try breaking up some of the cake and letting it air out for a few weeks if it doesn't settle down.

>>13743687
I prefer more leaf heavy whites that have been pressed. A shoumei I got from YS is easily the strongest honey taste I've ever gotten.

Been drinking a lot of a 2014 gongmei brick thats tight pressed. Woody kinda hay like flavors that I find extremely comforting along with a solid sweetness.

I find it comforting because of their low bitterness/astringency.

>>13745387
Thanks anon, honey and woody hay both sound good to me.

>>13745387
link the shoumei plz

>>13744699
Give that 100g fucker some time. It mellows. Nice little cake. Bought a few last year and gave them as gifts. The 50g red monkey sheng bingcha is also nice. Nice combo for somebody wanting to try young puerh.

Bump

KTM order placed Feb 20th just got updated as fulfilled.

Just got into tea and this daily sencha is so damn good. 4.8 grams per 8oz and 70 sec brew. I am excited for the second brew. Can I wait an hour or two between rebrews?

>>13747425

From o-cha? That stuff is great. I'd recommend against long breaks between steeps with sencha since it's so sensitive to both time and temperature.

>>13747537
Yeah. Really good. I sadly have to wait for a while due to my schedule. I will report how well it goes but it is unlikely my opinion will be worth much since I have little experience tea.

>>13747556

I doubt it'll be terrible. Try bumping up the heat slightly since your teapot will have cooled, and if you don't already, consider getting a kyusu that has a mesh filter inside that keeps the leaves up off the bottom. They won't be resting in residual water and continuing to steep that way.

>>13747573
Presently using a French press. Drained it as best as I can. A kyusu is soon to be ordered.

>>13747585

Oh word. O-cha will probably start getting spring harvest stuff up on their website around the end of April. If you can wait that long they have a good teaware selection too so you could do one big order.

>>13747602
That is my exact plan.

>>13747616

Nice. I'd also recommend the Yutaka Midori or Sae Midori, plus the San no Ma. Their kabusecha is also pretty stellar. I'll be ordering gyokuro from them for the first time this year in addition to all that plus some daily sencha.

I bought some tea from what-cha https://what-cha.com/products/taiwan-amber-gaba-oolong-tea?variant=13672357920823 which tastes very strongly like burnt toast; it's horrible. Coincidentally, a 5g taster packet of the exact same tea was thrown in with my order, and that taster packet tasted DELICIOUS -- milky and apricoty, nothing like the packet I actually bought. What's happened?
Did I get a bunk order? Was it improperly roasted or stored or something? Should I have ordered tea after spring harvest rather than just before? Should I ask for a refund/replacement?

Post tea stations

>>13745749
Oh fuck me, sold out
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/compressed-white-tea/products/2013-shou-mei-white-tea-cake-from-fuding

I knew I should have gotten a couple cakes last year.

>>13747722
If you live in the states check the .us website. Sometimes they still have stock there.

Why are all the tea houses and shops staffed by white lesbians?

>>13747820
Because you're American and in America tea is associated with women.

>>13727522
Few months back I had some orange oolong in teahouse. Sadly it didn't say more.
Do you think it was just regular oolong with orange zest added in or can you emulate citrus flavour with only oxidation, cultivation etc

>>13747899
I mean could you see any orange zest

>>13747899
>>13747925
You definitely can emulate an orange flavour btw, although that doesn't mean it wasn't just blended with orange zest. Orange zest is one of the most common things to blend tea with other than the old standards of jasmine/crysanthemum/bergamot.

>>13747925
>>13747931
I didn't look inside the pot.
Anyway any tips on good citrusy oolong?

>>13747968
Squeeze a lemon in it retard

Would you like some tea with your milk tea?

>>13748029
Yes, I would. Plain tea flavoured bubble tea is my favourite. I don't care what anyone else says.

>>13748065
Is beer tea any good? I've never managed to taste it. Though my curiosity seems to always get the better of me.

>>13747899
If it was flavored naturally and not with artificial orange flavor it probably used dried Xinhui mandarin skins (chenpi). It's a common Chinese medicine ingredient and you can buy it on sites like ebay.

>>13747556
Reporting back. Was only now able to do my second brew and it tastes wonderful. Less astringent and I almost get a mint feel on my tongue.

>>13747658
email them about it, sound mildly pissed off. pretty high chance of them sending u free shit/credit if you're dissatisfied

>>13747820
puerh tea has a very strong psychological draw to lesbian women for some reason

>>13748441
forced meme

>>13748447
not true, i live in seattle and went to this new age spiritual church when i was younger that was made up mostly of old lesbian women. and a bunch of them are really into puerh tea, idk if it's still a thing but when i went i remember there being flyers for this tea club thing they had. also one of the two tea places i've been to around here is run by lesbian women

>>13738765
Hello turtle figure Anon, I like your set up.
Looks like you have a tea pot for brewing, a pitcher for keeping brewed tea and a cup for drinking. Is that correct or am I missing anything? Doesn't the tea in your glass pitcher get cold? Thank you for your time.

>>13748447
Have you even been to a tea house? Do you even know lesbians? Didn’t think so.

>>13748703
yes and yes anon, sorry to disappoint you but as a flaming homo with a chinese lesbo flatmate i'm pretty much an expert on these topics

>>13747658
mfw im getting 100g in the mail soon

>>13748761
I hope you get the good stuff, my brother.

>>13748708
As a tea drinking coastal homosexual man with many lesbian friends I don’t believe you.

>>13748774
Well I'm a posh Englishman, so beat that for homosexuality.

>>13748513

Thanks, and you got it right. I tend to drink everything in the pitcher within a few minutes so it doesn't cool too much. If I'm brewing out of the gaiwan it's only 100ml ish at once and out of the kyusu 200ml.

Trying the 2007 Yi Pin Tang "Yi Wu Zhi Chun". Leaves from Yiwu, obviously. Very curious to try it as it's got 6 years on the only other puerh I've had except for that Yi Dian Hong yesterday. The other is the 13 YS Autumn Ye Sheng so I'm expecting a lot of differences.

So I had my third brew and ate the sencha leaves with a bit of soy sauce. Great first experience with the /tea/ meme.

>>13749010
Nice, Ill be getting a cake of this next week so it will be fun to compare notes.

>>13749010

That's really good. After one rinse the leaves smell like putting your nose in a box of raisins or opening a new pack of Fig Newtons. The first and second steeps have those same really deep fried fruit sweet notes with a super subtle smokiness in the background.

>>13749082

>deep fried

Dried.

>>13749082
The only yi wu tea that I've tried was very young, it's was super sweet with lots of honey and floral character. Dried fruit is great, i'm a big fan of that. Any bitterness/astringency?

>>13749116

Sort of mild to medium, maybe? Not anything that is punching super hard but I am getting a slight drying sensation on the tip of my tongue that denotes some bitterness. Very pleasant though.

>>13749137
Awesome, I'm glad I decided to pick one up.

>>13749174

Definitely interesting to me how different it is from that 13 YS Ye Sheng. That one is basically just peat and a bit of citrus.

I also have a 2018 Autumn Purple tea so it'll be fun to compare that to the 13.

How does /tea/ feel about adding spices? I'm currently having pic related: keemun with ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and star anise. I occasionally have this and think it's a nice change of pace.

>>13749203
Yeah the autumn purple should be interesting. I wonder if it will share any purple tea flavors with the '13 ye sheng or be totally different. Also it's old enough to be free from any of the flavors you get just after pressing but it's still considered and young tea, so there should be a big contrast between that and the teas with 7+ years age on them.

>>13749204
You’re ruining your tea.

>>13749204
Sounds good to me, what's your brewing technique?

>>13749204
as in masala chai? a few threads back someone talked about making a spice syrup instead of boiling the spices with the tea +water/milk

>>13749248
I put 6g of the keemun with the spices in a pot with about 250ml of 95°C water and steep it for about 45 seconds.

>>13749380
I occasionally make masala chai too, but in this case I'm just having the tea and spices without milk.

>>13727522
Peppermint tea is probably what you want to go for. Good flavowhich distracts from the bitterness which normally offputs most normalfags.

>>13749530
What the fuck kinda normalfag is put off by tea

>>13749570
I could imagine some people being disgusted by anything bitter. There is very little bitter food in contemporary Western diet.

>>13749607
Other than tea, coffee, and beer.

>>13749082

Okay, final thoughts after the first session using 10g of leaf for a 150ml gaiwan and boiling water.

The strongest notes in this tea are dried fruits, very raisiny or fig newtony. The early steeps have a very light roasted flavor hanging around in the background but that falls off quickly. The early steeps can also pick up some bitterness if you push it but it's not bad. After 5 or 6 steeps some chocolatey flavors start developing and you can up the time significantly with no adverse effects. After around 10 steeps I took about 2/3 of the leaf to drink grandpa style, which is bringing the dried fruit sweetness out even further. I really like it, and it's currently 12.3 cents/g which, while not cheap, isn't terrible, especially given it's already got 13 years on it.

>>13749837
Sounds good. Thanks for posting your thoughts.

>>13747693
Very cute sasha! Reminds me of a Tarkov hideout.

Yunomi haul

>>13750312
I like the little origami they included.

>>13750312
Please post your thoughts on the hojicha when you get a chance to try it.

>>13750319
I don’t. Not even memeing you bit those are some very poorly folded cranes.

I want to grow mint in a pot, what's a good kind to get and where should I get it?

>>13750442
Mint grows like crazy. Get a decent sized pot (1litre or so) and some potting mix. Your grocery store might have live mint plants you could get and transplant, or you can get seedlings at your local garden center. You could also buy seeds, i'm not sure if they are hard to start. Pretty much whatever kind of mint appeals to you, don't fall for the chocolate mint meme.

>>13750312
Nice, genimatcha with matcha is my fav.

>>13750493
Don't plant it near anything you don't want completely full of mint in a year or two.

>>13750579
They literally both said in a pot. you people have the worst fucking reading comprehension.

>>13750493
Are there good sites that will ship me seeds in like a small envelope for cheap? I like the idea of an impressive online seed site

>>13749607
I took a test one time to determine my tasting sensitivity. Turns out I can't taste bitter, pretty much at all. This makes sense since I definitely have no idea what it tastes like or what commonality links food and drinks often described as bitter. Took me until about 25, 26 years of age before it finally dawned on me that I might be deficient in the same way someone may be color blind.
To that end, could you recommend me the gnarliest, angriest, most bitter tea you can find on a decent place like YS? A young sheng might be the right way to go here? I want to challenge myself in this way.

I never expected to like oolong as much as I do now when I started gong fu, I didn't like it too much at first, now I'm drinking it as much if not more than Black or Pu-erh, which I adore.

What tea did you start to like after a few sessions?

>>13750750
This one is pretty pricey but the description fits the bill.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/kingteamall/products/free-shipping-2018-spring-lao-man-er-gushu-100g-cake-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea?variant=30686399561831
This one's a little more reasonable, bu lang material is known for its bitterness.
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2018-hai-lang-hao-early-spring-bu-lang-mountain-raw-pu-erh-tea-brick?_pos=6&_sid=ccd5d20ad&_ss=r
And a YS house tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2019-yunnan-sourcing-bu-lang-secret-garden-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake?_pos=24&_sid=ccd5d20ad&_ss=r
There might be other bitter ones from YS house productions if you feel like digging around through the descriptions.

>>13750750
>>13751271
Here's another one that sounds promising, again pretty pricey. It's from the same area as the first one I linked so that first tea might be a better option with it's smaller cake for a similar price per g.
https://www.bitterleafteas.com/shop/tea/puer/bitter-end-xtra-2019-laomane-bitter-varietal-raw-puer

Any of you lads got silver teaware?

>>13751380
>>13751380
I've had the non-xtra version of Bitter End and I loved it.

>>13751415
I mean sure, who doesn't. Don't use it though except for the teaspoon

Trying the 14 YS Cha Tou Sheng Yun before I head in to train a new delivery driver. Having a very similar experience to that Yi Dian Hong. Really not much flavor coming through other than a subtle fishiness. Gonna grandpa it the rest of the day and see how it goes. Maybe I just don't "get" ripe teas, but I'll still give it some time.

>>13751770
Yeah it's weird. It will be interesting to see how you think those dayi ripes measure up.

>>13751770
Kuura's Kuuracola and Respite For The Damned are the first ripes I tried and actually liked. Still not a massive fan of them compared to raw, but they're nice occasionally.

>>13751783
>>13751787

I've got a friend who manages a well known coffee shop in town and does all their sourcing, and I'm planning to have him out next weekend to taste a bunch of the stuff that came in with me. I doubt the KTM stuff will be here at that point but we'll see.

He's got a lot of experience travelling and tasting coffee from all over and deciding which beans to buy and roast so I'll be curious to hear his thoughts.

>>13747693

>>13751380
Thanks anon.

Shou or shu?

>>13744566
Oh yeah fyi those brwon spots on the yi pin wrapper are tea oils that have sweat out of the cake and soaked into the wrapper. They are an indicator of wetter storage conditions generally.

YS order came in today, starting with this 2009 ripe. The dry leaves definitely have some fisy odor going on but it's mild and, I actually think I like some of the wet pile flavors going on with ripes. Brewing grampa style so no rinse today.

>>13751849
Sorry, I'm still pretty new, but what are those stands/tables called?

>>13753277
Tea tray. They have a reservoir in the base so you can pour water out on them.

>>13753212
On my second cup, this is a tippy blend with lots of buds and grade 1&2 leaves so i expected lots of sweetness, so far it's pretty mild. The cup smells of chocolate and a hint of fish. The tea itself mostly tastes of hay with some hints of chocolate and nuts on the finish. So far it's very smooth and easy drinking. Even the wife says no fish flavor so it's not just me having blown out taste buds.

>>13753377
Third cup has a tiny bit more bitterness. Overall it's not the best ripe I've had but it's perfectly serviceable. I will revisit it in a week or two.

>>13728894
>>13730075
>>13735254

Turkish tea is easy to find and cheap as dirt. It is also objectively not very good, a lot of Turkish people will at least mix in some Assam, lovingly called "smuggled tea". This is probably what you had: https://www.amazon.com/Caykur-Black-Tea-Rize-grams/dp/B00EEZ2U6
and this one is slightly better: https://www.amazon.com/Turkish-Tea-Caykur-Tirebolu-500/dp/B00XAJTENW/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=Caykur&qid=1583528389&sr=8-13

>>13750333
Made some this morning, 5g of leaf per about 100 ml water at 80 degrees. I really liked it, the roasting process removed all of the vegetal tones you'd normally associate with green tea. Instead there was a bit of natural sweetness, and some slight nutty tones along with a slightly "roasty" smell and taste. I usually only steep green tea 3 times but I steeped this 5 and it tasted great each time, would totally recommend.

>>13750554
It sounds good, I'll try it next.

https://twitter.com/iNabber69/status/1235614615964282881

Tea fags do you really

>>13754058
Sounds good anon, thanks for the write-up.

>>13732380
i've had pineapple mint growing wild all over my property for years. add it to tea all the time. used to also have sassafras growing everywhere, but haven't found any in a long time.

>>13754158
Yep. The average teafag on this thread does exactly that. Thanks for stopping by, baitfag.

>>13751849
dyke stoops

>>13751849
how is the green Bi Luo Chun, i've only tried the black gold so far

>>13754158
This is why the rest of the US doesn't talk about the South.

>>13728481
>with milk and sugar
who is the homo now
oh how the tables have turned

>>13754158
every single step is an affront to human dignity

>>13754956
But I'm male (male).

>>13755043
It's different than the rest of the greens I've tried. Much less pronounced roast, quite sweet, a lot like sweet corn. Smell is great, fresh corn, hay, green vegetables, honey. Lots of hair on the buds. Medium thickness. No astringency to speak of when brewing at 85 for 20-45 sec.

>tea trays
you guys don't seriously do this, do you?
lmao just pour your water into the sink
>>13756080
Fuck, I hate corn.

what was the most disgusting/odd smelling tea you have ever sampled?
did it taste nice?

>>13756100
>you guys don't seriously do this, do you?
>lmao just pour your water into the sink
If you wanted to be utalitarian about tea drinking, most of the bullshit of gong fu would be discarded. Gaiwans are generally inferior to small teapots unless you're flash steeping. Fairness cups can be cut out entirely with minimal loss. Tea pets are purely aesthetic and add nothing to the experience.

Anyone ever try making their own tea blend here? I picked up some twigs and fallen leaves from my silver maple. I've got half of the batch fermenting and the other half I'll try plain. If you've done this what trees make good tea? I have a willow, cataya, red bud, oak, and some kind of coniferous nearby.

>>13727522
What is that? Black tea leafs, stuffed inside an orange peel?

Does it taste?

>>13756080
sounds great i'll pick some up
>shilled again
i wonder how many of us have brought Bi Luo Chun

>>13756573
>Fairness cups can be cut out entirely with minimal loss
true, i only use one when drinking with others

Fellow tea enthusiasts from EU, what are your online shop of choice?

>>13756937
meileaf is uk based, they tend to bullshit tree age but i've honestly never had a bad tea from them. i still mostly order from yunnansourcing though and vahdam for indian

just finished off some 3 crane liubao i got last September. 15g/200ml, rinse and this is the 2nd infusion @15sec. really nice tea, thanks to the anon who recommended it

>>13727522
anyone her made their own mix?
i just use black, green, chamomile, etc
the only mix i ever made was using chamomile with ginger. (pretty decent)

>>13728150
is there a difference in the end product between cold brew and chilling?

>>13756987
Glad you enjoyed it anon.

>>13757044
>is there a difference in the end product
Yeah, cold brew tends to be "Lighter" In my experience

>>13728492
Look at this fag over hear

Brewing tea gongfu today after over a month of only drinking tea grampa style. It's really kicking my ass, strong caffeine.

With daily sencha on my third brew I decided to use te tea for ochazuke. Toasted esame seed, whole grain rice, raw egg, ponzu and of course the tea and leaves.
>>13754058
That is super cool.

>>13756569
White tea which had gone off. It smelt of fermented fish. Tasted sort of like it, too.
>>13756573
I do discard it. It's not a matter of money, or pride. I'm just lazy.
>>13756937
I got some what-cha tea 'cause free uk but it was shit so I might just stick to ys

>>13756830
Ripe puerh leaves, actually.

"This is a lovely and special tea. Gong Ting (smallest ripe pu-erh grade) has been stuffed into a fresh King Orange and then cured together. The Pu-erh has obsorbed alot of the citrus taste and it's both tasty and subtle. I prefer to break in half and brew the pu-erh in the orange all together. If you prefer less citrus taste you can remove the tea from the dried rind and brew separately.

King Orange is a small green orange which originates from Vietnam but is now grown in Southern Yunnan. It is known in Vietnam as Cam sành. It is tasty to eat by itself and although rather small and green it's sweet and pungent."

>>13758700
I have seen ones stuffed with black tea or white tea as well.

Made a little pumidor. Cambro, hygrometer, and Bodeva pack. Should hopefully be getting up to 65% RH once it settles.

>>13759687

how do i into thai tea? i bought a shit load of loose leaf ceylon.

>>13759687
>Should hopefully be getting up to 65% RH
is that higher than normal where you live? where i am the average annual relative humidity is 81.3% but its also cool

>>13759732

I live in a pretty humid place but it stays pretty dry inside because of AC.

>>13759687
>>13759692
Absolutely based. Using those polycarbonate tubs is a great idea.

>>13759810

I might do a second one to separate raws and ripes, too. The raw I'm drinking already picked up a hint of that ripe scent after being in the same cambro for 24 hours. Got em separated out now.

>>13728150
>be aware that the usual english method of a tea bag or tablespoon of loose leaf to a cup of hot water, should not be left to brew for longer than 5 minutes. After that, it quickly becomes unpalatable and much too strong IMO.

I usually put way more than that and let it sit for hours. I like my tea strong. First cup after 5 minutes, then by the time I finish my first cup the remaining tea will be super strong. Still good though.

>>13759687
>>13759692
What's your plan? Just default storage or are you actually going to attend to that for a few years?

>>13759878

It'll depend on how much tea I end up with. These are the things I'm drinking daily because it's all I have since I'm new to puerh. If I end up with more I'll probably do something like a mini-fridge and figure out how to rig up a more automated humidity, temperature. And circulation system and keep the Cambros as a convenient method for storing daily drinkers in better-than-room conditions.

With the Bodeva bags, though, they're supposed to be self regulating, so it shouldn't be too much maintenance over all.

what kinda tea tastes like a campfire inside a barn? cause i had one like that before and it was the best, don't remember the name though.

>>13758700
I wonder If I can recreate this at home. I do have a tea "bush" on my balcony.

>>13760099
there's a few smoked teas Lapsang Souchong being the most commonly known, not sure about the barn bit

Gonna try the 2018 YS Autumn Bang Dong Zi Cha. Let's see how it compares to the 2013 Autumn Ye Sheng.

>>13760812

>>13760816

After one rinse the leaves smell like lemon, cinamon, and vanilla. First steep is tart and lightly vegetal, it really reminds me of asamushi sencha, specifically San no Ma from o-cha.

>>13760845

On steep 3, tartness and vegetal flavor remain, but that cinamon and vanilla I smelled in the leaves is working its way in. Not sweet at all, but spiced. Fair punch of astringency too, though that's something I really enjoy. I'm keeping the steeps very short.

>>13760868

Still going the way it has been. I think I used too much leaf, though. Scale may have messed up because the gaiwan is significantly more full than it usually is. Will report back again when I've figured that out.

>>13760936

Took out some of the leaves and extended the brew time. Sweetness is starting to come through and the astringency is abating.

I always.like shitty sweet iced green tea as.a kid but I have no idea how good sweet tea is good when made with the ocha daily sencha. It has.a pretty savory flavor.

What do you think of ceylon tea? It's black tea from Sri Lanka.

>>13760936
>. I think I used too much leaf, though. Scale may have messed up because the gaiwan is significantly more full than it usually is.
Depending on processing and how intact the leaves are the amount of expansion can vary for the same weight.
Sounds like a tasty tea, One of the things I really like about puer is the range of flavors available.

New tea!
Liking it so far. Will post write-ups on the big cakes soon

>>13763387

Do the Yi Wu Zhi Chun first, please.

>>13763387
Those look like some winners.

>>13763428
Will do, hopefully tomorrow.

Bumps bump

>>13748777
Can't be done

>>13761228
Before Ceylon I only had earl grey. I was mistaking not liking tea with not liking bergamot in tea. Ceylon was my first step into (unflavored) tea. I have a sentimental thing for it but I don't buy it anymore because it makes me nauseous on an empty stomach.

>>13747693
Just a dedicated corner of the kitchen atm. Will get a tea table at some point.

>>13765900
Awesome cup anon

Pretty decent black apple tea, i should get back to both brewing leaves and collecting wild mint from the local mountains.

>>13728380
Unironically true

>>13765916
Thanks, I like it quite a bit. That yixing pot just came in a week or two ago, still trying to figure out what to use it for.

>>13767067
That's cute too anon. I can't get nice pots because I break them too often.

>>13727522
Is the Pine Needle Tea legit? Could I catch the pine leaves directly from the floor and then wash them at home?

>>13767566
I tried it before, it was interesting. You want to use fresh green needles off of the tree. Also you have to look up the trees in your area. Some pine trees are poisonous and should not be used.

how do you clear your pallet before drinking tea?

>>13767957
Water and patience.

>>13767653
God damned, how do I identify it?

Finally tasting this 2007 Yu Wu Zhi Chun. I got a hint of wet storage smell off the lid of the gaiwan after the rinse.
1st infusion, light spice, maybe apple, sweetness and some tartness on the end of the tongue. Good lasting sweetness stays tart.
2nd infusion, hay, sweetness, astringency. A dry leaf flavor that I taste a lot in fu cha and other weird Chinese fermented teas. Some mineral notes and it's very drying in the mouth.

>>13768792
The first two times I brewed this tea I did not really like it. It was mostly hay and honey which is very true to Yi Wu tea from my limited experience. It clearly got quite a bit of wet storage and it's not very tightly pressed so it aged quite a lot. The starting material seems like it was sweet and mild, (lots of larger leaves) so it didn't benefit from wet storage the way a really bitter tea might.
This time i pushed it really aggressively, 10 second rinse 15 second 1st infusion 30 second 2nd infusion, which I would not normally do with such a lightly compressed cake. That got me some exciting strong flavor, if a little over the top.
Overall i would not buy this tea again but I will enjoy finishing the cake.

>>13747693

This is my little Corner Of Nice Things I Like.

Not sure how to get the image orientation right when taking a vertical picture with my camera. I always orient my camera to account for rotation but this is a tall shot.

>>13756573
Bingo. Small teapot only master race

>>13769423
>Nice Things I Like
>knives