Tea Time /general/

[Anonymous No.12160701]

This thread is for all general tea related discussion.

What is in your mug today? I'm drinking some Bilochun green tea before work.

[Anonymous No.12160759]

Drinking some fukamushi sencha i shook over ice. It is very smooth and keeps well in my thermos throughout the day.

[Anonymous No.12160908]

Where can i buy some decent tea online? I can't find anything remarkable here where i live. I remember trying Oolong tea and it was amazing.

[Anonymous No.12161003]

>>12160908
Adagio.com is a good entry point. Nothing super high end, but decent. Verdant tea has a $5 tea offer. The tea is a little nicer but costs a little more.

[Anonymous No.12161012]

>>12161003
Yeah, you want to work out what you like in general before committing to any specialty places. Try samplers of different stuff.

[Anonymous No.12161327]

>>12160701
I'm always working in the field on Mondays and Wednesdays, so no afternoon tea for me on those days. But Tuesday I had black Darjeeling with with pumpernickel an a spread of mashed chickpeas with herbs de provence in melted butter.

[Anonymous No.12161343]

>>12160701
Tanganda black tea from the mountains of eastern Zimbabwe. Smooth, complex, and nice for the price.

[Anonymous No.12161500]

>>12161003
Thanks, I am a pastafag so I'll have to look for other sites. I remember visiting some sites that shipped straight from Asia that looked pretty legit, I hope to find it again. Maybe in that case i could order once I figured out what i like, as >>12161012 said. Has anyone tried tea from Amazon?

[Anonymous No.12161747]

>>12161500
Dont order tea from amazon, first of all.

Yunnan sourcing is a great seller with a huge variety of tea and a wide range of price/quality. They have samples of almost every tea, and curated sample packs. I would recommend heading there and getting a white, a green, a green and a roasted oolong, and a black to get a rough idea of what you like. Start by sorting by popularity, pick some with a decent rating and price.

Each one of those genres has a wide variety within it to explore once you have and idea of what sorts of flavors interest you. There is also pu-erh, which is a whole other world of tea, but not something I necessarily recommend for beginners.

Gong fu is by far the best brewing method that I would recommend looking into if you find yourself interested in tea - it basically involves a high leaf to water ratio and short steeps, as opposed to the western method of a small leaf to water ratio and long steeps.

Dont let all this overwhelm you. You can start with 2 mugs and a strainer if you dont have tea ware. (i wouldnt recommend mesh balls or bags, you want the tea to have room to expand). Water temp and brew time are the most important factors in a decent cup of tea (besides the tea itself).

This pastebin is a decent guide https://pastebin.com/4ZEuMwBJ

[Anonymous No.12161858]

>>12161747
Nice, many thanks anon

[Anonymous No.12161876]

enjoying some green red tea right now

[Anonymous No.12161912]

Everytime I buy some oolong from my local store, it tastes slightly different. It's always supposed to be the same kind of leaves. Either their supplier is doing some shady business or they don't know much about their trade.
Look out for your shady local stores, everyone!

[Anonymous No.12162016]

>>12160701
Moroccan mint

[Anonymous No.12162105]

>>12160908
What-cha has some decent stuff, Yunnan sourcing has a a few specific varieties covered very heavily. Both places will usually send you some extra stuff they had lying around which is nice

[Anonymous No.12162115]

Earl gray's my fav

[Anonymous No.12162142]

>>12162105
Have you really had YS send you freebies? I've been sourcing all my tea from them for a year

[Anonymous No.12162177]

>>12161747
I use a regular teacup and a little lid as, basically, a ghetto gaiwan. Kinda dumb looking, but definitely worth it, taste-wise, even if you're a beginner.
Also, gong fu brewing might seem more expensive because you're using more leaf, but consider the following:
1. You get more infusions out of it.
2. You get way more of the flavour out of it. In a way, when you brew Western-style, you're actually wasting more money, since you don't even get to experience what you paid for to its fullest.
3. Tea is one of the cheapest luxuries there is. Even a really expensive tea is affordable compared to, say, wines.

[Anonymous No.12162324]

>>12162177
You're points are exactly correct. I used a mason jar and lid as a ghetto gaiwan for a short while -works fine albeit a bit drippy and hot. They can be had for extremely cheap, I recommend just pulling the trigger. 10 bucks or less on Yunnan Sourcing.

I love the artisan gaiwan I got from Lazy Cat tea :)

[Anonymous No.12163279]

Post your favorite ripe puerh on YS. I've had a lot of ripe and like everything I've tried. YS just has so many options.
I'm down with the cheaper ripes too.

Also where do I even start with Whites?

[Anonymous No.12163587]

>>12163279
The wild tree purple white tea from '18 was great, the '19 looks somewhat different but is probably great too. Really fruity - like apricot.

White Peony and Silver needle are quintessential white teas. White Peony will have a more robust flavor. Silver needle will be very delicate. Maybe you are interested in compressed whites though? I think the flavor profiles are similar to that of a ripe, albeit much lighter.

The 2013 Shou Mei is great value. Really sweet and thick, some forest floor and fruity notes.

I have the 2018 Meng Song on the way - I expect it to be similar but being younger probably more bright and bitter. Can report back if you are interested.

You probably cant go wrong with the yellow Gong Mei cakes - Scott reviewed one pretty highly on his youtube channel.

Havent tried enough ripe to make any strong recommendations.

[Anonymous No.12164043]

>>12160701
14 year old pu-erh! It's still dark and I'm on my...7th?...steeping. 6th or 7th. It's so fucking good, bros. SO FUCKING GOOD.

[Anonymous No.12164092]

>>12160701
Sweet tea >>>>>>>>>>>>>

[Anonymous No.12164798]

>>12161747
Amazon is a decent choice for getting certain teas that are hard to fuck up like Gunpowder in bulk.

[Anonymous No.12164823]

>>12164043
Nice! Is it Shu or Sheng? I made some 98 Shu not to long ago. Had like 6 steepings from it the first day, then had a couple steeps off it everyday for the rest of the week.

[Anonymous No.12164863]

>>12160701
What's your opinion on cold brew tea? Is it really healthy? Not heating it seems a bit risky to me.

[Anonymous No.12164905]

Can anyone recommend me some good yuzu tea from anywhere online? If possible to even buy online.

I've seen some kind of yuzu like.. marmilade or jam or something online but I can't find any in any Asian markets near me. Maybe at the big one that's like 1 1/2hr away but I don't go there all the time.

[Anonymous No.12165213]

>>12164798
You wont find gunpowder at any self respecting tea vendor - its garbage tea.

>>12164863
If you're worried about it, just rinse it under boiling water for 5 or 10 seconds first. Its actually good 'wake up' the tea and get them to open up a bit before hitting em with cold water anyway.

[Anonymous No.12165228]

>>12164823
Is that from a cake? Looks like nice, whole, loose leaf. Looks like hei cha actually.

[Anonymous No.12165240]

>>12164863
>>12165213
and when i say boiling, i mean the recommended brew temp - you dont want to hit a delicate tea with boiling water.

[Anonymous No.12165254]

>>12160759
I have to get some again.

Loved the deep green color. Was pretty strong, gave me jitters like coffee when I drank too much.

[Anonymous No.12165470]

For me, it's

[Anonymous No.12165575]

>>12165470
I still need to try bagged brit tea.

>>12165228
Not from ba cake; was ages lose. Pic is what it is.

[Anonymous No.12165601]

>>12165228
>looking at some pu-erh
>"Looks like hei cha actually."
Tell me exactly how dumb you are.

[Anonymous No.12165776]

Today is a wuyi red robe kind of day.

[Anonymous No.12165996]

>>12165601
not sure what you're implying. Hei cha is a post fermented tea, not pu erh, that can be both loose or compressed, and it looks very much like anons image. So, pretty educated observation. How dumb are you?

>>12165776
yancha master race

[Anonymous No.12166010]

>>12161500
Nice mug

[Anonymous No.12166042]

>>12165996
>Hei cha is a post fermented tea, not pu erh
I say like IQ 85. But drink more tea, you might improve.

>pretty "educated" "observation".
HeHeHe

[Anonymous No.12166044]

>>12163587
Tea novice here. What does white tea taste like in general? I assume that it's rather light? I've only ever had sheng puerh.

[Anonymous No.12166208]

>>12160701
ripe pu-erh
a small spoon of honey
a splash a pecan praline
a splash of milk

[Anonymous No.12166250]

>>12166042
correct me or gtfo.

>>12166044
not sure how i would describe it. I would say its kind of sweet and fruity while simultaneously being dry and musty in a way. It has a delicate flavor but not necessarily light, as it can still be very full bodied and flavorful. Less bitter than green or sheng.

Aging it can bring out all these flavors in different ways, while also imparting that 'antique' sort of flavor you find in pu erh, that I often describe as forest-floor.

Of course it varies widely. I love white, give it a try.

[Anonymous No.12166414]

>>12166250
>correct me or gtfo.
Why should I?

You think sharing correct information here will have a reward?
It only leads to a he-said-she-said debate.
You think I will get a "good job" for sharing my experience and other stuff in here?
I will only get bombed constantly like the catfag and his thread.
I would rather you stay here giving out false information, like every anon did. This board needs to be burnt down like forever ago.
But don't worry, 99% of anons will agree with you, because they are dumb and don't know what is right too.

Google is one click away anyway; but don't go for it because, you believe you are right.

[Anonymous No.12166454]

>>12166414
yeah, yeah, a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square. whatever.

[Anonymous No.12166470]

>>12166454
Don't forget you come here to have fun and chill, bud.

I had fun trolling you.

[Anonymous No.12166483]

>>12166414
its tea, not geopolitical intel

[Anonymous No.12166508]

>>12166483
>its tea, not geopolitical intel
Oh right, I forgot. It's literally just grass juice.

[Anonymous No.12166524]

>>12166508
It is, but only if it's shit tier.

[Anonymous No.12166563]

>>12166524
>but only if it's shit tier.
Because it would hurt your ego, right? Spent so much, on literally just grass.

[Anonymous No.12166615]

Does Bergamot Oil smell like Licorice?
I settle for drive through tea in a rush and find it reeks of star anise (Licorice) and I hate it, then I spoke to a friend and he claims that bergamot oil normally smells like licorice, I happen to have earl grey with extra bergamot oil and smell no trace of it, nor any trace in my goto earl grey.

[Anonymous No.12166629]

>>12166615
>Does Bergamot Oil smell like Licorice?
No.

[Anonymous No.12166712]

>>12166563
>My ego is tied to how much I spend on tea.

I think I'll enjoy my dank tastey grass water.

[Anonymous No.12166757]

>>12166615
I think that your friend is confused. Bergamot oil does not smell like anise.

[Anonymous No.12166790]

>>12166757
>>12166629
would it be an additive to the tea?
I get pic related and smell no trace of licorice.

Usually Brands at cheap drive throughs stink of it though, Tim (fucking leaf) hortons and Mcdonalds in particular

[Anonymous No.12166805]

>>12166790
the only tea that I've ever seen that I thought smelled like licorice was some kind of Indian blend I saw at a desi shop once. It had visible pieces of star anise in it. I assume it was "Chai"? I'm not an expert on Indian teas. That said, I drink a lot of earl grey and it tastes/smells nothing like licorice or anise. One chef I worked for even had bergamot oil he would add to a dressing and that didn't smell of anise either.

[Anonymous No.12166905]

>>12166805
>>12166757
>>12166629
Thanks anons I feel less crazy about that contradiction over a tea i've been drinking since childhood.

[Anonymous No.12167080]

>>12166905
If it helps it could be cause the drive through uses some shitty fake chemicals. Try looking up what they used in detail.

[Anonymous No.12167640]

>>12163587
Thanks for all the recommendations!

[Anonymous No.12167649]

>>12166208
I'm not sure about this, but I like honey and milk in cheap black teas.
Should I really try it?

[Anonymous No.12167662]

I drink Earl Grey before hitting the gym and it does give me the energy without upsetting my stomach like coffee does.

[Anonymous No.12167677]

Are there any umami teas ok the market?

[Anonymous No.12167833]

>>12167677
Go nuts...

https://yunomi.life

[Anonymous No.12167843]

>>12167649
If it helps ripe puer on like an earthy or black tea with no tanning taste. I want to buy the expensive s*** though if you're going to mix it with milk and other things. You just want to make sure you're getting stuff that doesn't have a weird fishy smell avoid any puet that has fishy smell.

[Anonymous No.12167848]

>>12167843
*Would not buy expensive shit

[Anonymous No.12168578]

>>12167843
No I mean I already drink more ripe puerh than any other tea.
Haven't really though about putting anything in it yet.

[Anonymous No.12168597]

>>12167649
>honey and milk in cheap black teas
thats exactly why i do it, its a cheaper artificially ripened pu-erh that i have a fuckton in bulk that'll last me a year+
>>12167843
>it helps ripe puer on like an earthy or black tea with no tanning taste
thats right
the splash of pecan praline compliments that flavor really well
its pretty great you should try it

[Anonymous No.12168628]

>>12166615
Bergamot's an orange nigga

[Anonymous No.12168688]

>itt idiots who convince themselves that more expensive tea is better

[Anonymous No.12168985]

>>12164823
It was Shu, got it from Yunnan Sourcing: 14-year Menghai mini-tuos. It was a good price and the mini-tuos are nicely portable. I can't believe I only found that site last year!
The tea in your photo is gorgeous, looks like it would brew deliciously dark.
Tonight I'm drinking a cheap but delicious chrysanthemum pu-erh from Ten Ren, with a splash of half-n-half. I only use the half-n-half when I'm not eating that day, so it makes the tea a little substantial...don't really need to pass out when I'm running around on errands tomorrow.

[Anonymous No.12169000]

>>12168688
>t. poorfag tastelet

[Anonymous No.12169317]

>>12166615
"Tea" that you find at starbucks and such is often heavily scented. Honestly, if you ever walk past an essential oil display, take a whiff of the bergamot, because although it is a citrus, the oil does have a somewhat spicy quality. Its likely that you are smelling some bergamot 'essence' among some other things intended to excite the nose.

>>12166563
I mean, i know you're still trolling, but saying tea is just grass is like saying wine is just grapes. it ignores all craft.

>inb4 wine IS just grapes

[Anonymous No.12169975]

>>12169317
Man...your skull IS thick...

[Anonymous No.12170177]

>>12168688
>>12169000
>dubs btfo by trips
nice

[Anonymous No.12171362]

Bump

[Anonymous No.12172745]

Anyone here use a horoku to roast tea. I have used it on Sunday Chinese greens that came out good.

[Anonymous No.12172811]

I'm a weaboo faggot, where do I start learning about japanese tea and tea accessories?

[Anonymous No.12173729]

>>12172811
watch some anime

[Anonymous No.12173824]

>>12172811
This is a good place for Japanese tea.

https://yunomi.life

[Anonymous No.12174177]

>>12172811
Visit your local otaku convention, you'll find the nippon enthusiasts around the ramen stands and anxious to grant their elite nip knowledge (which includes tea) to a willing kohai.
Other than that, though I hate to say it, wikipedia is a good place to start.

[Anonymous No.12174444]

?

[Anonymous No.12174513]

>>12174444
everyone starts somewhere
but you need to start with a bigger mug

[Anonymous No.12174520]

>>12174444
I don't know why, but it's mesmerizing

[Anonymous No.12175461]

What's everyone sipping? I'm still drinking off some red robe oolong.

[Anonymous No.12175571]

>>12175461
Have a 750g YS order arriving today. Several whites, greens, oolongs, blacks, and shengs... not sure what I'll break into first.

[Anonymous No.12175618]

>>12175571
Dat Bi luo Chun. I can't wait till my tea stash is gone so I can get some more.

[Anonymous No.12175623]

>>12175618
The green or the black?

[Anonymous No.12175629]

>>12175623
Black. Still have some green Bi luo to brew though.

[Anonymous No.12176093]

>>12175571
Man our orders are entirely different.
I blame the weirdness of this order on it being a YS.us order

[Anonymous No.12176163]

>>12176093
I still havent gotten into Pu Erh much. I like to add a few interesting samples to my order but have yet to find one I felt cake worthy. I did just finish that Shou Mei cake though, and I considered trying the purple voodoo.

What do you base your cake choices on? Do you sample first? Do you like to age them?

[Anonymous No.12176218]

>>12176163
I don't have the funds or space to support storage and aging.
I buy to consume as is.
I also just really like ripe puerh, I haven't had a ripe I've disliked so at this point I'm just trying things from as many regions as I can.
I'm also a sucker for neat wrapper art.
Partially why I grabbed the voodoo.

I sampled a lot last year but have being buying a lot of full cakes recently.

[Anonymous No.12176258]

>>12162142
I bought a cake of aged white and some weird instant puerh tabs, and they came with a smallish bag of your classic Yunnan golden black tea. I definitely didn’t order it since it’s not on my receipt, so either they put it in by mistake, were feeling really nice, or had a bunch of extra stock lying around. My order wasn’t even very much, I think it was under $30, so it wasn’t like What-Cha where the more you buy the more stuff the guy throws in for you. That guy is a bro by the way, he always sends a nice hand written note describing the extra stuff and any interesting stuff you bought. Sucks you haven’t gotten anything from YS, their service is good enough that they honestly don’t even need freebies though with how good everything else is

[Anonymous No.12176284]

>>12176093
>>12176163
I bought that same Shou Mei cake since it was fairly cheap and sounded good but haven't broke into it yet. I have it out of the plastic just in the paper in a dark spot, it should be good there for a while right? I'm saving it for a special occasion i.e. when I have a scale with me to autistically measure how much I'm using and want to impress someone

[Anonymous No.12176285]

>>12175461
Because I'm cheap and it's tasty enough

[Anonymous No.12176307]

>>12176285
Jasmine is one of the few flavors I like in tea, it just adds a ton while not covering too much up

[Anonymous No.12176328]

>>12176218
Thats fair - I love wrapper art too, I plan to collect them and some day make a little wall mosaic or something. The Purple Voodoo wrapper was a design contest that Scott held on the YS fan page on FB. Rising Red Lotus does a lot of the YS wrappers. He makes these gorgeous storage boxes too.

>>12176258
Yeah, YS is great. The other day I ran out of tea so went to my local shop to hold me over. I spent $30 on $100 grams of some mediocre green tea - really made me appreciate the price/quality ratio of YS teas. Plus they always have sales and loyalty points.

I'm a sucker for a hand written note, good marketing.

[Anonymous No.12176336]

>>12176284
cool dark spot, and away from anything that will impart flavors (ie. spice cabinet) - if anything its getting better.

[Anonymous No.12176384]

>>12176328
The guy also uses local newspaper to as packing material, and it all just adds to the comfy feel of ordering from him, and really that's what tea is all about. I also like that they have sales on specific teas instead of YS' storewide coupon sales, exposes me to a lot more unique stuff
>>12176336
I hoped that'd be the case, it's currently in my drawer full of sealed loose leaf, so no real worries about flavors mixing.

[Anonymous No.12176397]

>>12160701
Anyone else find that when an Oolong is labelled as GABA it automatically tastes terrible? I've wound up with 2 or 3 Oolongs labelled as such and they tasted really bad

[Anonymous No.12176562]

>>12176397
Where did you purchase them? I feel like it could be a marketing gimmick.

>>12176258
What do you know, got a free 25g sample of some ripe.

All these teas look incredible. Its gonna be a great month getting to know them.

[Anonymous No.12176782]

>>12176562
I've only gotten stuff labelled as GABA either as a a free pack in with a larger order or in a random sampler box from what-cha. I just remember them being astringent and unpleasant regardless of how I brewed them. Maybe I just don't like the particular type of oolong they label as that, I dunno. They were from Taiwan so who knows

[Anonymous No.12176786]

>>12176782
Taiwan tea is kind of shit tho

[Anonymous No.12176949]

>>12176782
I would blame it on cheap tea in general. Its also a relatively new way of processing tea, I'm sure there is plenty of shit 'gaba' oolong as producers try to capitalize on the trend. Bet we'll start seeing GABA tea bags as hippies latch onto it as the next big thing in health.

>>12176786
I havent tried Taiwanese tea but it is know for its oolong so thats probably an unfair generalization.

[Anonymous No.12176993]

>>12176786
I still haven't gone too in depth on how regions affect tea. I have had some nice tea from Africa, specifically Kenya and Malawi, it seems more mellow than Chinese tea. I got this cool full leaf white tea from Bvumbwe, Malawi with big leaves and that was really tasty