/tea/

[Anonymous No.13374154]

Welcome to /tea/. This is a thread for general discussion about tea, tisanes, and mate.

What are you drinking today?

/tea/ FAQ:
https://pastebin.com/4ZEuMwBJ (embed)

>Pictured:
Photosynthesis

[Anonymous No.13374161]

Night mode

[Anonymous No.13375601]

bump

[Anonymous No.13375661]

test

[Anonymous No.13375685]

Hello /tea/

I am looking for a Christmas gift for my GF who really loves drinking tea.
She drinks the bag kind you can get in every supermarket and usually goes for spicy organic blends and stuff along those lines.

I want to make her tea in a more traditional way since she is really into aesthetics and I know she would enjoy the feeling of having a fancy cup of tea every now and then.

What is /tea/'s recommended way of preparing tea? I really have no idea. Clay tea pots?
I'm also curious whether we'd be limited to just regular tea if I decided to go with something like that or if you can make other "teas"(chai and stuff like that) in that fashion too?

Pic related: https://imgur.com/a/y0jBos1 is what she usually drinks(Can't upload files directly to 4chan because of IP range ban) Regular black, white or green tea is fine but she really loves the exotic herbal kind you guys would probably not even consider tea.

TL;DR I want to make nice tea for my GF but not just regular tea but also herbal blends and stuff.

[Anonymous No.13375719]

>>13375685
Buy your girlfriend Japan matcha tea, and Japan tea products from Japan.
You can do rakuten for ease.
A long time ago I buy Japan green matcha tea and Japan tea products for girlfriend.
Now happy family.

[Anonymous No.13375729]

>>13375719
>rakuten
Isn't matcha somewhat difficult to make? I read a bit of the last general yesterday before it was bumped off the board.

[Anonymous No.13375744]

>>13375685
you could get her a glass teapot with a loose leaf holder, there's plenty on amazon. glass will work great if she's into herbal as she'll see the colour of her tea. you can put anything in a clay tea pot, most are glazed and the unglazed ones are usually for chinese tea to build up flavour over years for a single tea type. you could also get her some loose leaf as well.
preparing tea generally depends on type, usually 2g per 100ml, 90c for black 3-5mins, 70c for green 2-3mins

[Anonymous No.13375749]

>>13375729
those little electric milk foaming whisks work great for matcha

[Anonymous No.13375752]

>>13375744
I was thinking about getting a gaiwan tea pot because I like the simplicity but it's probably difficult to make anything but actual tea in that, right?

[Anonymous No.13375780]

>>13375685
>>13375752

most people here brew and drink loose tea the kongfu way, using gaiwans. Gaiwans are excellent for chinese teas, but for herbal and japanese teas they dont work well because of the fine bits/cuts those teas have--its hard to filter the leaves out. It also takes a while to get used to using a gaiwan--the lip of the cup gets very hot--you have to hold that while pouring the tea out.

I dont recommend a (actual) clay tea pot--porous clay teapots are usually expensive and they will absorb the flavour of the tea. They are used by hardcore tea appreciators who dedicate a certain teapot to a certain type of tea.

I would recommend a small glass or porcelain teapot. Glass doesnt hold heat as well as porcelain, but it looks pretty and you can visually see the steep of the tea without opening the lid. A spring filter is enough capture the finer tea bits for herbal and japanese tea too. But there are also those with a centre metal filter compartment.

A simple glass teapot can be gotten for ~$5-$10 off ebay/YS.

[Anonymous No.13375783]

>>13375752
well its a little pot with a lid, you can use it for anything than needs straining technically. (even teabags)

[Anonymous No.13375812]

>>13375783
>>13375780
Thank you for your replies. I think I will just try to get 1 glass pot with a spring filter like in the pic and one gaiwan pot.
This way I have an easy way to make teas with finer particles and one that I can use if I want to make regular teas in a more fancy/traditional way.

I know just the glass one would be fine but as I said in my first post my GF is really into aesthetics and I know she'd like if I made her tea in a gaiwan.

I have a really well rated tea shop in my town where I'll be buying the actual loose tea. I'm thinking about going for japanese ones since we're both recovering weebs.
Really, thanks for the help!

[Anonymous No.13375873]

I have a steeper for my mug but it has been holding up too well, a lot of small bits are getting out. Are there any really good ones /tea/ recommends?

[Anonymous No.13375920]

>>13375873
I like the solid stainless steel kind with the tiny holes, rather than a mesh. There will always be some sediment but not much can get through those.

[Anonymous No.13376063]

Gonna get my wisdom teeth removed today. Sampled all the tea I have right now just in case I can’t drink it for awhile.
Also the differences between Hairy crab oolong and iron goddess are noticeable, but not as overt as I expected

[Anonymous No.13376431]

>>13376063
You can have tea I think. Ther main things ate no straws, crunchy food, popcorn, or really anything "sharp".

[Kir No.13376575]

Here’s my update with the cold brew puer. I was worried it would suck bc of the “bold” taste this shou otherwise has. In reality though it sort of “softened the edges” and made it palatable.

[Anonymous No.13376608]

Coffee is superior to tea. Fucking nigger faggots.

[Anonymous No.13376782]

>>13376608
both give me the shits if I drink too much of it. Coffe is superior in the sense that it gives me the shits quicker

[Anonymous No.13377839]

Bump

[Anonymous No.13378190]

anyone have recs for something to do gongfu in that's not a gaiwan? i don't want to have to deal with lids or whatever

[Anonymous No.13378791]

>>13378190
easy pour gaiwan, has a filter built in

[Anonymous No.13378846]

>>13378190
nigga its real easy once you get the hang on it. But you can do kongfu in a teapot too.

[Anonymous No.13379258]

>>13378791
oh, thanks this helped with the search

>>13378846
yeah i know i'm a retardbabby i just want the easiest most brainless thing. i thought of just getting a teapot https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32988129567.html

[Anonymous No.13379994]

Hump

[Anonymous No.13380113]

>>13379258
get both. its not that expensive. If you only can choose one then get the teapot for now.

[Anonymous No.13380127]

okay so is all the fancy leaves shit actually better than cheap store bought stuff that comes in teabags?

I have a friend who really loves tea but most of the time I see her drinking Aldi's brand English Breakfast

[Anonymous No.13380131]

>>13379258
gongfu just means (for one person) little water(~<200ml), lots of leaf and short steep times. You can do gongfu in anything

[Anonymous No.13380145]

>>13380127
yes. You get far more depth and nuances of flavour.

95% of teabags are floor sweepings, misc bits and broken leaves that they cant sell as a higher quality product somewhere else.

its not hard at all to get into drinking loose tea. For example a big brand like Twinnings has decent english breakfast loose in a tin.

[Anonymous No.13380149]

>>13380145
okok, going to treat myself to some high quality green tea leaves for xmas, thanks anon!

[Anonymous No.13380215]

>>13376575
go on

[Anonymous No.13380521]

my ebay tea came today! i'll post tastings after xmas as its a present from my parents/siblings, the teas are (left to right)
Yunnan Pu'er Tea 2019 Xiaguan Jinbang GAN Pu'er Cake Tea 357g Ripe Tea
Chinese Gong Mei Fuding Shoumei Tea Bai Cha Wild Old White Tea Cake 350g
2012 Yunnan Mengku YUE CHEN YUE XIANG QI ZI Cake Puer Raw Tea Pu Er Green 357g

[Anonymous No.13380593]

>>13380521
as all 3 are puerh i'm guessing 100c is fine but... one is white and one is green so should i lower the temp for them?

[Anonymous No.13380640]

>>13380593
only 2 are puerh

from left: ripe pu, pressed white, raw pu

the "green" here refers to the raw state of the puerh. its not actual green tea. For the white tea, yes, a lower temp. For raw pu-erhs, if they are new, should be treated more like a green/oolong and done at 85-90c. For raw pu aged 10 years or more they are brewed like ripe pu, 95-100c. But of course these are general guidelines so you'd have to test it out and adjust accordingly.

[Anonymous No.13380772]

>>13380640
thanks, the seller didn't give a date for the white cake, and ~80c for white. so the 'green' = raw or that the cake is still young?

[Anonymous No.13380804]

>>13376575
My suggestion for cold brewing oolongs and cakes is, get 1-2 hot steeps first, then cold brew.

[Anonymous No.13380832]

>>13380521
You can completely ignore the "green" wording on the third cake, its a raw from 2012.
To add to this >>13380640 you can brew hotter raw/sheng even when young if you do flash brews, i.e. 95-100oC for 2-4 seconds. I would do one rinse for the raw and two for the ripe as well.

[Anonymous No.13380930]

Went to this place on a business trip in Fresno and I have to say these guys know their shit. Kind of frustrating knowing there aren't that many places that do know how to make a good spot of tea especially when you are on the go the kids at Temple and Starbucks make the tea either teeth chattering sweet or watered down to hell

[Anonymous No.13381244]

Tell my about your tea cycle.
Do you have an order of which teas you drink? if so, what is it?
From the older to newer ones you've bought? by how much you have left of each type, or just what you're feeling at the moment?

[Anonymous No.13381291]

>>13381244
i usually get cravings for one of my teas when i haven't had it for a while, or it i dont want +10 cups i'll go for jasmine tea as its pretty much done after 5

[Anonymous No.13381557]

Lads I got some bottom of the barrel tea labelled pureh off eBay without knowing what I was doing and it tastes of dust, what's some reasonably priced pureh that can move me past this

[Anonymous No.13381581]

>>13381557
>buying pu-erh off ebay
its like buying the lottery, there are days you just dont win

air it out and rinse it abit more...? although some pu-erhs just cant be salvaged

[Anonymous No.13381753]

>>13381557
hit up yunnan sourcing and get a menghai 7572, easy

[Anonymous No.13382137]

>>13381557
Ended up losing the dustiness tasting like richer, less bitter English tea after more steeps but the leaves didn't really open out. Could still tell it was dirt cheap, reckon it's even pureh? All in all kind of interesting, first time I was doing gong Fu too so enjoyed it despite

[Anonymous No.13382636]

is it just me or does this seem like a kino kettle for the price? https://www.ebay.com/itm/Electric-Gooseneck-Kettle-1L-Variable-Temperature-Control-1000W-Stainless-Steel/392398725690

i'd really like a clear/glass one but the only one with a gooseneck i've seen is like $100

[Anonymous No.13382638]

Best loose leaf tea shop in the Bay Area?

[Anonymous No.13383025]

>Order from Everlasting Teas on the 13th
>Still no email or anything from them
>Check their facebook today
>The shop closed for the season the day I placed my order, and a sale ended the day before

>>13381244
I drink enough sheng that I typically just alternate between a session of that stuff and whatever else I feel like.

[Anonymous No.13384259]

b u m p

[Anonymous No.13384398]

>>13382137
what does the front of the packet say?

not all pressed tea is pu erh. It looks too brown and whole for me.

[Anonymous No.13384873]

so wait, retard here, what all do I need to get into this in terms of steeping equipment? I have seen talk of gaiwans and teapots, but is that it? and are spring filter teapots the best, or is there something better?

[Anonymous No.13384986]

>>13384398
Nothing, it's just white all over. Was probably too cheap to be the real stuff too, like $10 inc delivery

[Anonymous No.13385088]

>>13384873
Just get a finium brew basket. Just make sure its the largest one to accommodate oolongs. They are about $10 and let you do western and close to gong fu if you want to venture. You just need a mug big enough to accommodate the basket, which means you can brew at home or work. If you do get more into gong fu, get a cheapest AWS scale. You don't need a weight set, just calibrate with a nickel.

[Anonymous No.13385122]

>>13384873
gaiwan and a mini mesh strainer is the easiest, you can use it for western brewing and gonfu, easiest to clean too as its just dump out the leaf and rinse.

tea pots are good for making more than 1 cup of tea at a time, but remember you need to remove the liquid from the leaf as over steeping can make bitter tea, it also stops you from re-brewing the same leaf, with a teapot you need to decant into something(hence the spring filter or if it have a leaf hold you can just remove that.
a scale is also handy to weight out the right amount of tea per water vol, also a temp control kettle is great if want to get into greens/whites, chinese tea trays are great as they catch spills in a well but not required

a brew basket is the cheapest and most basic way though

[Anonymous No.13385136]

twinings green tea and Maine produced blueberry honey. in a glass jar.
delish!

[Anonymous No.13385178]

>>13385088
This, except get a brew basket for Western, and still get a gaiwan for gong fu.

[Anonymous No.13385242]

>>13384873
>but is that it?
yes, for the basics tea is very easy to get into. For most casual style of brewing (grandpa style), you dont even need anything--you just have loose leaves in a mug and you add warm (not hot) water and top it up as you go. But you'd be limited to mainly chinese greens/whites with that, and its rather crude.

To get into proper brewing you need a gaiwan or a teapot. Personally I've never felt the need for a strainer for gaiwan--if you drink only chinese tea/tea with bigger/whole leaves the lid is enough to filter out most of the stuff. Like >>13385122 said, a gaiwan is very easy to clean. If you want to do japanese tea with a gaiwan you will need the strainer.

A -small- glass teapot with a spring filter is a happy versatile medium--you can do all kinds of tea with it. And if its small you can do gongfu style brewing easily(bigger is not better, especially for personal use). Go for 150-200cc. Other kinds of filters work too but imo spring is more than good enough.

Also, get a scale like >>13385088 said. This is 100% needed if you want any sort of consistency in your brewing. For a small gaiwan/teapot its generally 5-7g tea leaf to the water.

An extra cup is useful in my experience-- for many chinese teas (especially pu-erh and also black tea) you want to "rinse" them--basically you discard the 1st steep, to get rid of dirt and "dui wei" (storage stank for pu-erhs). Its also good to quickly wash oolongs. So I just dump the 1st steep into my drinking cup to warm the cup up, and then dump that liquid into the 2nd cup to be thrown away later.

if you want to do pu-erh, you also need a tea pick (basically a sharp stabby metal thing) to break apart the tea bricks/cakes.

things like tea tray is "nice to have" but not essential. Those bamboo tea tools are not needed at all, dont bother. To clean your teapot when the spout gets gunky all you need is a Q tip.

>tl:dr A jewellery scale off ebay/whatever and either a gaiwan/small teapot or both

[Anonymous No.13385258]

>>13385242
oh, and this post is for gongfu brewing. For western brewing its..just a bigger teapot, lesser leaf and much longer steep times.

[Anonymous No.13385272]

>>13384986
ehhhhh you can get real pu erhs for very cheap. Some of them are even decent. But they would have to be like....the cheapest of the cheap to be $10 inc delivery.

If it tastes like english tea it might just be pressed black tea..and it looks like that, too. Pu erhs dont taste like english tea--they taste rather earthy, and the liquid is thicker and not 100% fluid like pure water.

[Anonymous No.13385303]

>>13385242
>if you want to do Japanese tea with a gaiwan you need a strainer
meaning a separate tiny strainer for the gaiwan? just making sure, for future reference

[Anonymous No.13385322]

>>13385303
yes because most japanese teas come with very fine cuts and you will not be able to do the usual lid pouring thing with your gaiwan without lots of leaf bits just coming out.

[Anonymous No.13385335]

>>13385303
yeah, useful for any small tea leaf, i have a few cakes that are basically pressed dust. a strainer is great for catching and throwing them back into my gaiwan

[Anonymous No.13385340]

>>13385322
i swear everyone has the exact same strainer

[Anonymous No.13385358]

>>13385088
>>13385122
>>13385242
>>13385322
>>13385335
thank you all anons, the tea journey begins

[Anonymous No.13385398]

This is technically the wrong thread to ask but I'm sure someone here will have an answer

I wanna get my Potter gf a really nice apron/smock for Christmas, does anyone know where to find those? I don't wanna gamble on amazon's quality since I've waited this long and I figured I'd ask here before I make a whole trip to william Sonoma

Kind regards tea friends,

[Anonymous No.13385419]

>>13385398
Etsy or legit cooking store.

[Anonymous No.13386373]

Bump

[Anonymous No.13387038]

I made my order from Yunnnan Sourcing on Nov 28, last update on shipping was Dec. 3. Sound about right or should I buzz Scott?

[Anonymous No.13387051]

>>13385398
Hedley & Bennett make some really nice aprons that all my chefs love.

[Anonymous No.13387582]

Bump
So damn I missed y'all while this general was archived for a while. /tea/ and /fit/ are all I come for anymore.

[Anonymous No.13387601]

>>13387038
if you ordered from the .com source, that sounds just about right, especially for this time of year
if there's still nothing after christmas, contact scott
he tends to be really good about things like this

[Anonymous No.13387694]

Pic related is my tea pot.
My tea brewing process is rinsing the coffee out of the pot and the brewing cone and using it to heat up water.
Then I pour the hot water into a mug with a tea bag in it.

Am I allowed in this thread?

[Anonymous No.13387883]

>>13385419
>>13387051
Thanks friends

[Anonymous No.13387890]

>>13387694
yea sure, why not

but i'd encourage you to try loose tea, tea from teabags tend to taste flat and mediocre (even the fancy ones)

[Anonymous No.13388133]

>>13374154
Do you guys recommend ordering from Mei Leaf's website? Is it all overpriced and expensive shill stuff?

[Anonymous No.13388158]

>>13383025
Cute teanon asukaposter

[Anonymous No.13388711]

>>13388133
I bought a few things from their store when I was in London and was quite happy with most of them, but living in the US their shipping is a bit steeper than I want to pay. I loved their Monocle Boss (higher-end young sheng from a few years back, doubt it's still available) and the sample of Sour Sap oolong they gave me. Definitely recommend it if you're a bong, but otherwise there are probably more reasonable options.
I might still place an order from them at some point, as I haven't found anything else quite like Sour Sap...

[Anonymous No.13388832]

>>13388133
it is good quality, but also pricier than say yunnan sourcing. i've had some meh teas from ys, the only meh tea from meileaf was thier lost robe Da Hong Pao which tasted a little like roasted cardboard, on the other hand their Empress Oolong was amazing (another Da Hong Pao thats single cultivar (according to them)). be warned some of their claims are bs but very good tea nevertheless. pic related that was the ~12th cup

[Anonymous No.13388894]

>>13388832
Why did you use so little leaf for a yancha?

[Anonymous No.13388999]

>>13388894
its all i had left of the pack

[Anonymous No.13389447]

>>13388999
next time, just grandpa style it
and also nice trips

[Anonymous No.13390306]

>>13374154
>What are you drinking today?

I put a quarter cup of water in my mug, boiled a lot of chamomile and a little jasmine. Then I took it out after it steeped, and filled the mug with milk, heated it, and dropped two rolo candies in.

The chamomile helps me calm down, and work is stressful as fuck today; only going to get worse until christmas is over.

[Anonymous No.13390354]

>>13374154
Some Drunk on Red Black tea with Snow Chrysanthemum, from the cake they sell of it at YS

very nice, can't get enough of it and the smell of the wet leaf

[Anonymous No.13390356]

>>13388894
that looks like a lot.. ?

[Anonymous No.13390779]

>>13388999
fair enough

>>13390356
If you're gongfu brewing that kind of tea you can go a whole lot heavier on the leaf without it getting bitter

[Anonymous No.13390972]

Jesus remind me to never order from the non-US Yunnan store again. Shit is taking far too long. My order wasn't exactly large either. I'll drink my tea faster than it took to arrive here.

[Anonymous No.13390975]

>want to gift my sister non-mass-produced tea
>she only uses things prepackaged in tea bags

wat do

[Anonymous No.13391054]

>>13390972
Isn't the US store shutting down? I thought he said tariffs were making it too hard to operate.

[Anonymous No.13391088]

>>13390975
does she only use prepackaged tea because she likes it or because thats whats available?

hard to imagine someone who enjoys tea would be upset at being gifted good tea

[Anonymous No.13391110]

>>13391054
I haven't heard that. The selection is still very sizeable as of now.

[Anonymous No.13391135]

>>13391088
she refuses to make loose tea because she thinks it's inconvenient and would rather brew something in a to-go mug

literally all of the teas I like are loose leaf, just looking for something good that's also prebagged

[Anonymous No.13391140]

>>13374154
im drinking gyokuro and it taste like boiled grass, im not even mad though

[Anonymous No.13391145]

>>13391135
if you care enough about loose, bag them yourself and seal them after

[Anonymous No.13391343]

Watching Scott drink tea with Asian qt3.14 is so cathartic.

[Anonymous No.13392053]

wow, CEOs use this set in their private offices? SCORE

[Anonymous No.13392070]

>>13391135
there are mugs for 'grandpa style' loose tea too....

[Anonymous No.13392072]

>>13390972
its christmas/holiday season so whatever you ship from china is gonna take 2x longer

not tea but i ordered flip flops and boxers from aliexpress/taobao over a month ago and they are still sitting in the airport warehouse in china

[Anonymous No.13392121]

Do you recommend some seller with good quality/price ratio gaiwans? Looked up some travel tea sets on aliexpress, because I'm clueless. Would order to Europe.

[Anonymous No.13392142]

I’ve never gotten used to tea. Being a chink and whatnot, I thought of it as unnatural, albeit I tried it at a young age initially, and now from time to time.

I have good leaves and whatever, is it just acquired taste?

[Anonymous No.13392147]

Hello /tea/
I don't want to pay Japs or Chinas big money for some loose green tea.
There should be some inexpsnive green tea I can get, I am not on a tea quest just looking to upgrade my green-tea experience and I refuse to pay extortion for it.
Please suggest reasonably priced green tea. I should be able to beat Lipton bag tea with loose leaf tea by weight doesn't make sense I pay less for Lipton than I do for some leaves cured by a peasant.

[Anonymous No.13392177]

>>13392147
>big money

what are you saying lmao, they arent expensive
cheap ones go for ~$3-5 per 100g on YS. Just look around

you can even find stuff like pic related in asian stores for $2. Not fantastic tea but decent for such a price

[Anonymous No.13392197]

>>13392177
>on YS
>~$3-5 per 100g
I get 226g Lipton for $2.99
I'm willing to pay 2x the price if that's shipped.
What is YS?

[Anonymous No.13392292]

>>13392197
Yunnan sourcing. Also just let yourself drink something decent anon. You deserve a little luxury

[Anonymous No.13392328]

It's a very cold morning but I have a blanket, a heating pad, and some spearmint tisane.

[Anonymous No.13392336]

>>13392292
Thanks.
Seems 250g of some of their least expensive is $33 to my door. Maybe I will get that.
Can I just put them in my cup, pour boiling water on them then extract the leaves? I don't want to buy other 'things' to do this, I'm not into ceremony I just want quality green tea for cheap.

[Anonymous No.13392351]

>>13392336
not boiling. You dont want boiling water for greens. Too hot or too long it becomes a bitter mess. Try 85c-90c about. When correctly done the taste would be various kinds of grassy, nutty, umami notes. Theres a big big difference between bagged and loose green tea, more so than black.

[Anonymous No.13392374]

>>13392336
you might as well get a whole bunch if you are shipping from YS...since you are already paying for the shipping..theres like a threshold where the shipping cost stays the same until its beyond X weight. Theres a US and a non US site, make sure you are on the right one.

use a filter/mesh or brewing cup if you are lazy.

[Anonymous No.13392456]

>>13392336
Grab a food thermometer for like 3 bucks and you are set pretty much. Having also a scale would be ideal, but you can adjust to taste.

[Anonymous No.13392471]

>>13392142
Yeah but it isn't a terribly difficult acquired taste like scotch or death metal.

[Anonymous No.13392474]

>>13392456
>>13392374
>>13392351
Thanks.
Yes I am lazy. I want it as simple and inexpensive as possible. Using my taste buds as the thermometer & scale is entirely the point.
Maybe I will use a SS strainer set I've been wanting anyway.

[Anonymous No.13392537]

>>13392147
go to a chinese grocery store and get, like, a pound of sencha for six bucks

[Anonymous No.13392582]

made this today, would recommend using whole milk or just generally a higher fat % milk since i think it makes it easier for the oils in the spices to get mixed in

[Anonymous No.13392627]

>>13391343
love those fuckin videos
i always look for the ones where he's drinking with xiao yao
she clearly knows her shit, too - if her english was better, she'd be considered a tea authority on par with scott himself, easily

[Anonymous No.13392722]

>>13390354
is that the "Yunnan Sourcing "Xue Ju Shu Pu" Ripe Pu-erh and Snow Chrysanthemum Tea Brick"?
its been on my buy list for about 6 months, how is it?

[Anonymous No.13392873]

>>13392722
not him but no, its a different product.

I've had 'drunk on red' (minus the chrysanthemum) and also that pu-erh + chrysanthemum brick you are talking about. Both were excellent.

the puerh was floral, thick, slightly spicy(?), genuinely very enjoyable to drink, has an autumn feel

its so good I bought it twice but I ran out some time ago. And it used to be cheaper, like $7.50...? I see now its $14

[Anonymous No.13392884]

>>13392873
>drunk on red
and another tea on my buy list... yay!

[Anonymous No.13392905]

>>13392873
just to add, its not a strong floral, its like a earthy rounded herbal floral. spicy notes, thick taste with the pu erh underneath

>>13392884
its very nice black tea--very rounded, fruity and almost sweet. Not overtly astringent or woody. It'd make a good everyday tea.

[Anonymous No.13392919]

>>13392905
>its very nice black tea--very rounded, fruity and almost sweet.
sounds perfect for me

[Anonymous No.13393099]

time for some mystery tea!, got 2 free tous with my ebay order, petty sure this is the same one i had with a previous order and it had zero taste no matter how long i brewed it. here's hoping this time its different

[Anonymous No.13393130]

>>13393099
6.9g in my 200ml gaiwan, 100c with a wash, 25sec 1st brew
tuo completely disintegrated, very dark liquid. thick but dry, but vague weak taste

[Anonymous No.13393137]

>>13374154
Earl Grey.

[Anonymous No.13393151]

>>13393130
why are the leaves so.....extremely chopped up

any "hui-gan"/ buzz so far?

[Anonymous No.13393243]

>>13393151
well it was free
2nd brew 1min. very un-pleasant, no buzz. think i'll just bin it and move on to the other free tuo i got

this one is square in gold foil and leaf looks a lot bigger, sticker says 2003. tastes the same as the other but not drying in the mouth. slight puerh aftertaste

[Anonymous No.13393367]

>>13393243
2nd cup 1min, while still very weak, it has a sweet almost cooling aftertaste. much better than the other free tuo at least

[Anonymous No.13393699]

>>13393367
5th cup, not terrible, wouldn't pay money for it but its semi drinkable

[Anonymous No.13393779]

>>13392474
I got my kettle for like 60 bucks and it has a tempt setting, works like a charm.
Mei leaf has a guide, and YS sends a little booklet with info for brewing. try both, choose your favorite one, adjust to taste, yada yada

[Anonymous No.13393789]

I had a dream I had some tea pearls of white tea, you know the ones that are pressed into a small ball and wrapped? Well they were gorgeous and had a scent like Melon to them, and I'm wondering if there's any white tea like that or if my mind is being a dick

[Anonymous No.13394011]

>>13393789
No, I have encountered that before too. Most prominently on YS's "Jinggu Sun-Dried Silver Needles White Pu-erh Tea Cake", which I would definitely recommend.

[Anonymous No.13394070]

>>13394011
thank you, the smell was so vivid in my dreams

[Anonymous No.13394424]

>>13393137
Hot.

[Anonymous No.13395578]

What is the saturation point of tea?

Example: If I were to use 2 teabags in a cup of hot water, assuming all other things equal, the resulting cup of tea will be twice as strong as if I had used 1 bag. 3 bags doesn't saturate the water either. At how many bags does the water become too concentrated to cram in more tea flavor?

I'm trying to figure this out so I can make a tea concentrate of sorts.

[Anonymous No.13395582]

>>13395578
>a tea concentrate

you have to boil the tea leaves in water over the stove like what they do in masala chai

[Anonymous No.13395615]

>>13390975
>>13391135
Just get her some of these.
https://www.amazon.com/BSTEAN-Disposable-Infuser-Drawstring-Unbleached/dp/B01DI112WW

[Anonymous No.13395769]

>>13395578
different compounds will have different saturation limits. i've always been told if you want stronger coffee use less as the water will pull more caffeine out of the beans. its probably the same with tea, i generally use 5g/200ml and even when i double up the only difference i taste is a thicker liquid

[Anonymous No.13395832]

any kettle recs? glass vs steel? gooseneck vs not?
>>13382636

[Anonymous No.13395857]

mm, i like tea

[Anonymous No.13395893]

>>13395832
gooseneck is easier to pour and wont boil over scaling you/making a mess like mine sometimes does. generally anything not plastic but glass will let you see how much there's left

[Anonymous No.13395932]

>>13395893
i'm trying to figure out physics wise why goosenecks won't boil over, but i'm coming up blank

[Anonymous No.13395951]

>>13395932
spout starts on the bottom?

[Anonymous No.13395993]

>>13395951
i still don't see why that makes a difference when the water level will be equal in the spout as in the main tank

[Anonymous No.13396021]

>>13376431
I'm pretty sure you're supposed to avoid eating or drinking anything hot for at least a day.

Of course, at least for me the total recovery period was less than a week, so it's not a big deal.

[Anonymous No.13396361]

>>13374154
>Tea
Worst discord slut

[Anonymous No.13396588]

>>13396361
...what?

[Anonymous No.13396705]

>>13396588
Pure slag

[Anonymous No.13396754]

>>13396588
i guess he is implying that someone with the nickname "Tea" is the worst discord slut. as we here on 4chan despise all discord faggotry, you should keep it to yourself and not give him any (You)s or the attention he is seeking by posts like that. he mostlikely himself is that supposedly discordtranny "Tea".

anyway, are there any hot pics of "Tea" out there?

[Anonymous No.13396758]

>>13395578
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chifir

[Anonymous No.13396811]

>>13396754
Autism

[Anonymous No.13396824]

>>13395832
Very happy with my Bonavita variable temperature electric kettle. The price is reasonable and it has held up very well.

[Anonymous No.13396887]

>>13396811
Call it autism. We both know he is right.

[Anonymous No.13397822]

Yeesh can we keep all this off of /tea/

[Anonymous No.13398170]

>When they say Gong fu sounds cool/ Fascinating after explaining it to them

[Anonymous No.13398410]

How long does it take Mei leaf to deliver? I've only ordered from YS, and I'm wondering if Mei leaf delivers quicker or what?

[Anonymous No.13398780]

I'm having trouble sleeping. Specifically staying asleep for more than 4 hours. Is there a certain kind of tea that might help me fall asleep and stay asleep?

[Kir No.13398833]

>>13398780
No, all tea naturally has caffeine in it.

[Anonymous No.13398852]

>>13398780
Poppy seed tea..?

...You'll "stay asleep" alright.

[Anonymous No.13398860]

>>13398833
Um no...

Why is it that all tripcode faggots are always the dumbest fucking posters on here?

[Anonymous No.13399829]

>>13376608
OK

[Anonymous No.13400227]

>>13398780
You can look for herbal mixes with lemon balm (I think most descriptions of blends will use Latin name Melissa)

[Anonymous No.13400302]

there was an anon who bought an ebay cake from grandness tea, apparently they have an aliexpress store too https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3216032?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.2.470067fayHl2Pb

[Anonymous No.13400457]

>>13400302
>there was an anon who bought an ebay cake from grandness tea, apparently they have an aliexpress store too https://www.aliexpress.com/store/3216032?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000002.2.470067fayHl2Pb
Are they any good?

[Anonymous No.13400596]

>>13398780
chamomile

[Anonymous No.13401037]

>>13374154
W-what the fuck is this abomination?

[Anonymous No.13401062]

>>13401037
That's a spice jar disguised as tea.

[Anonymous No.13401087]

I'm an American who only ever had sweet tea. Any places in London I should check out for better tea?

[Anonymous No.13401158]

>>13401037
i would boil that desu

[Anonymous No.13401398]

>>13401087
Literally no

[Anonymous No.13401541]

>>13398852
Huh, saw a bottle outside my work place that black shit in it like this. I guess that's what it was.

[Anonymous No.13403292]

whatchu drinking? I'm starting a session of Iron goddess type oolong right now

[Anonymous No.13403359]

>>13380772
For puerh green=raw. Just hit all puer with boiling water unless you specifically buy some really lightly processed raw that was pressed in the last year or so.

[Anonymous No.13403373]

>>13374154
can i add jalapenos to it?
not even shitposting at this point, can i have tea that hurts me without burning my tongue?

[Anonymous No.13403396]

>>13403292
I have a container with the leftover dust from all my puer cakes in it. I just dump a few grams in a mug and fill it with boiling water.

[Anonymous No.13403405]

>>13403373
There are lots of herbal tea recipes that use cayenne powder. Something like Ginger honey lemon and cayenne powder is fantastic and you can make it hurt if you want.

[Anonymous No.13403434]

>>13403396
You cut that out

[Kir No.13403453]

>>13398860
All tea has caffeine unless you’re getting some weird decaffeinated stuff.

If you’re talking about tisanes. Who knows? People say chamomile but there isn’t actually any evidence that it induces sleep.

[Anonymous No.13403455]

>>13403434
It's good tho, it's nice and easy when I don't feel like having a gongfu session and the cakes I buy are all old enough anyway that even the dust doesn't get bitter. I make sure to leave out anything that tastes too weird.

[Anonymous No.13403457]

>>13403455
Life's too short for that stingy shit, brother.

[Anonymous No.13403463]

>>13403373
Hell yeah anon
Do it up anyway that satisfies that qi

[Anonymous No.13403471]

>>13403457
Trust me I drink more than enough good tea.

[Anonymous No.13403486]

>>13403471
Right on.

[Anonymous No.13403488]

Tea is good

[Anonymous No.13404637]

[Anonymous No.13404899]

>>13403457
No need to be that elitist

[Anonymous No.13405185]

>>13380521
Pls post reviews for the two puerh cakes. Really interested in hearing what you think of them since i recommended the ripe cake. That mengku cake was really cheap but you got it from one of the decent ebay stores so that should be interesting too.

[Anonymous No.13405195]

>>13404899
Apparently some of the older tea shops in Hong Kong have a jar with all the pieces of broken cakes and such that they end up with and you can buy it by the oz. I was kind of inspired by that.

[Anonymous No.13405586]

>>13401087
Hit up the Mei Leaf store in Camden.

[Anonymous No.13407218]

Bump

[Anonymous No.13407818]

Thanks to the lovely Chinese lady that owns a local tea shop I frequent I've had Oriental Beauty for the first time in my life. Instantly became one of my favorite teas. The honey-like taste that slowly starts with the second infusion is to die for.

[Anonymous No.13407846]

I usually drink my cheap green tea with squeezed lemon juice, but it's starting to bore me. Anything else that goes well with it?

[Anonymous No.13407890]

>>13407846
Mint

[Anonymous No.13408501]

>>13407846
You can go the other way with it and try different teas with lemon juice. Perhaps a tie guan yin might work.

[Anonymous No.13408717]

burger here, am I missing out on a lot if all I have are tea bags?

[Anonymous No.13408764]

>>13408717
Yes.

[Anonymous No.13409780]

Bump

[Anonymous No.13409789]

I prefer the cheap basic Lipton green tea

[Anonymous No.13409797]

What do you guys think is the best tea for dreams?

Yerba mate is pretty good.

[Anonymous No.13410565]

>>13409797
Does mate taste good?

[Anonymous No.13411880]

>>13410565
Yeah, mate

[Anonymous No.13411885]

Merry Christmas, /tea/. Thanks for being the only reasonable thread on /ck/.

[Anonymous No.13411916]

What's the reputation of Fujian Blue Lake tea? Went to another towns Asian market & grabbed two canisters of green tea with different artwork and names but haven't tried either yet. Should I expect traces of mercury or lead in Chinese tea?

[Anonymous No.13412024]

>>13411916
Tried one of them, it was loose tea but they were in like balls instead of straight leaves. It tasted like any other green tea I've drank. Going to try the other now. Kirtland brand green tea with macha is still the only one that stands out.

[Anonymous No.13412065]

>>13412024
Other one was loose leaves and tasted less funky, I like this one more. Any other tea I should look out for next time I go? Was just in and out so I didn't look too hard.

[Anonymous No.13412128]

i want to get an easy gaiwan and like...add a filter mesh around the holes or something. any ideas? i know i can just get that filter thing to lay over a cup, but i really want to keep my gadgets minimal

[Anonymous No.13412216]

>>13412065
Look out for sea dyke oolong. They have a bunch of different types so look for the brand name. Usually in these small boxes. Nothing fancy but cheap and good solid tea.

[Anonymous No.13412244]

>>13412128
Those filter things fuggin rule. Just get one.

[Anonymous No.13412285]

>>13412244
I know that's an option but I'd really rather not add more stuff

[Anonymous No.13412513]

Had to run into a store on the way to work this morning. Grabbed a box of Twinnings Chai Vanilla as I was passing through the aisle. No idea what to expect, no clue what chai was even a reference to at the time.
Got to work, made a cup. WTF is this, tea with like, texture. Googled chai while enjoying the tea.
Drank two more cups over the day.
It’s almost 11pm on Christmas Eve and I’m not even kinda tired.
So, what kind of caffeine content does that pack? Is it the tea or just the normal waiting for the kids to get to sleep to do the Santa crap energy?

[Anonymous No.13412732]

>Dad said he'd get me an extra gift worth 100 bucks instead of just paying me back the 100 he owed me

I'm fine with it, any recs for a tea splurge?

[Anonymous No.13413147]

What sort of water do you use to brew?

[Anonymous No.13413209]

>>13413147
For me, it's Fiji®

[Anonymous No.13413312]

>>13413147
Tap.
But our tap water here is the stuff they bottle and ship to adjacent regions as high end mineral water.
Based midwestern watershed.

[Anonymous No.13413466]

>>13412732
>I'm fine with it, any recs for a tea splurge?
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2012-mengku-rongshi/products/2012-mengku-rongshi-qiao-mu-wang-arbor-king-brick-1000g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
Or
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2015-mengku-rongshi/products/2015-mengku-rongshi-da-xue-shan-big-snow-mountain-500g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
Or
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2015-mengku-rongshi/products/2015-mengku-rongshi-ben-wei-da-cheng-original-flavor-great-achievement-cake-500g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
Or
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2018-chenshenghao/products/2018-chenshenghao-na-ka-naka-357g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=31564980715623

[Anonymous No.13413469]

>>13412732
Silver needle white tea

Gyokuro Hojicha from Ippodo Tea Co

[Anonymous No.13413474]

>>13413466
Oh and this
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2019-yunnan-sourcing-spring-impression-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake

[Anonymous No.13413516]

>>13413312
My Midwest tap has tasted like shit since the late autumn flooding. It's been frustrating for everyone. It's safe, but it tastes like dirt. Thinking about getting a high capacity filter.

[Anonymous No.13414548]

Bump

[Anonymous No.13416236]

Has anyone tried the puerh cakes/bricks from Amazon? I'm waiting on a larger order from YS and I'm very impatient at this point.

[Anonymous No.13416375]

>>13387694
I brew loose leaf green tea in a strainer like this >>13385088, just keep two cups at work, one for my tea and one to keep the strainer in while I drink tea. The water from the coffee machine isn't hot enough for teas that need actual boiling water but it works fine for cheap green tea.

[Anonymous No.13416411]

>Try my Pu-erh brewed with water from my fridge cause I am lazy and can't be fucked to get some bottled water
>Suddenly getting almond tastes and a more refined flavor from what I assumed was a stock standard ripe

nani the fuck

[Anonymous No.13416428]

>>13416411
its sweet to. Need to run more fridge water tests after this session is done

[Anonymous No.13416437]

>>13416411
You might have soft water. Bottle water can be trash tier.

[Anonymous No.13416444]

>>13416437
Well shit, but exciting. gonna have to post reviews on my leaves again. Wonder what will change with it

[Anonymous No.13416454]

>>13416444
Christ that pic. If you want to be scientific you could get a water tester. Certain aquarium ones might work.

[Anonymous No.13416463]

>>13416454
might have to do that so I don't panic about which water is best for it. But man, this pu-erh is like eating a bag of almonds now instead of the earthy (yet soothing) brew I had grown used to. the after taste especially

[Anonymous No.13416680]

>>13413147
Hetch Hetchey tap water through a Brita filter

[Anonymous No.13417171]

>>13416236
Dayi taetea has an official Amazon seller and orders are shipped from Amazon's warehouse. Most of the other Amazon sellers are sketchy or are just the same as the ebay ones and shipping from China anyways. Pretty much anything these guys sell is good tea and the prices are okay. Dayi taetea is the argest puer factory in china famous for their ripe teas.
https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/13C2EA08-0075-49A9-BFCD-163233DD6D39

[Anonymous No.13417180]

>>13417171
*largest factory in china

[Anonymous No.13417198]

>>13417171
>>13417180
Many, many thanks anon.

[Anonymous No.13418005]

Merry Christmas anons. Anyone spending some of that xmas cash on a tea order?

[Anonymous No.13418063]

Finally took the time to clear out my cupboard. Now I've got space for my teas so they don't sprawl all over my desk. Also got some nice teas for christmas :3

[Anonymous No.13418095]

>>13374161
Comfy

[Anonymous No.13418260]

>>13418063
What is the yellow thingie on the left?
What about the whale?

Also, i've seen yellow zhongs, but never glass cups. Do you like using the glass set? I am big fan of porcelain and the glass always seemed so weird. But i guess that is just habit.

[Anonymous No.13418317]

>>13418260
The whale is my teapet. The thing out of knex on the left is the frame I use to prop him on the waste water bowl.

I like the cups, they let me see the tea coulour better and don't get hot as quickly as porcelain. The gaiwan I don't like so much, because the "handle" bit is hollow, so hot tea can get in when pouring, scalding my finger. I use it when I brew teas in <70°C, or when I want to make a show(but then I suffer).

[Anonymous No.13418345]

>>13418005
Yeah that'd be me. I've been using an ingenuitea for years, thinking about getting more traditional teaware. Yunnan Sourcing has nice stuff, but I'm not sure.

[Anonymous No.13418360]

>>13418317
That big blue tub is your waste bowl?

[Anonymous No.13418392]

>>13418360
What big blue tub?

[Anonymous No.13418393]

>>13418317
>scalding my finger.

you just need to brew tea daily until your fingertips become immune to heat

I was taking piping hot bowls out of the steamer the other day and I was quite pleased at how I could just grab them without needing anything

[Anonymous No.13418431]

>>13418345
I have been happy with the gaiwans I have gotten from ys. Still not sold on the unglazed clay pots but If I was going to get one I would probably go with ys. Someone posted this pot earlier which is a good price and the right size for me and I kind of like the Japanese design more than the Chinese ones.
http://www.yuuki-cha.com/teaware/japanese-teapots/mini-shudei-tokoname-teapot

[Anonymous No.13418478]

>>13418431
I was also looking at "Houhin" on eBay. They are like japans take on an easy gaiwan. Kind of tempting.

[Anonymous No.13418910]

Where can I buy some good Indian teas, especially Assam? don't say Vadham, I want something higher quality, preferably straight from India not through a European brand