/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>11591406
that pitcher looks familiar...
did you buy it from yunnan sourcing?

>>11591518
yup it's from YS, I think i've seen another person post theirs on /tea/ too

GABA oolong.

>>11591602
Cute setup

>>11591613
Thanks anon. I plan on buying slightly bigger tea tray.

>>11591406
>best tea

>>11591602
Been drinking gaba oolong too, but it tastes kind of sour when I make it in a gaiwan. 3 teaspoons in a standard cast iron pot, 200C for 2.5 minutes makes it perfect.

When I was a teen we went on saying; drinking tea makes your penis thin (or was it thighs)?
Not the reason I don't drink it. I would love to get into it.

>>11592033
do! all the chink names and stuff make it seem more complex than it is, it's not difficult to get into the hobby and does not take long to get deep into it

>>11592057
Yeah, you also don't have to go deep. A lot of cheaper teas and even those artificial flavored blends can still be very enjoyable to drink.

>>11592092
i would argue that if all you drink is bagged and flavored teas it's not a hobby at that point, just a beverage

>>11592013
200 Celcius???

>>11593342
200 cum shots

>>11591602
>>11592013
>GABA oolong
Been thinking of trying some, any recommendations?

Opinions on Silk Road Teas? I got some from my birthday and they're pretty good, but I'm wondering if their selection is overpriced.

>>11593750
Excuse me, can you elaborate on what you meant by this post?

>>11593397
Does this break my nofap?

>>11593602
Hey, I am this teafaggot
>>11591630
>>11591602
And the oolong in the picture is from Nantou area (Taiwan/Formosa) harvested this summer. I don’t know exact name.
Pic very related.

>>11593752
I wanted to see if anyone had ordered from them and what their thoughts are. The white peony I got was really good, bit I'm wondering if there's comparable tea from a cheaper source.

sipping on pic related this morning
p good young sheng

>>11594698
That’s nice wrapping. Do you have pic of leafs?

>>11591406
MUGICHA
A
N
G

>>11591518
Everything is the same In China, there’s no variation. Go to China and you will see that pitcher everywhere. I know several sites where you can buy that one as well. Mei Leaf, teaware.house etc. Same with those cups.

>>11591406
/ck/ is too fast nowadays
Too much shitposting killed /tea/

>>11594702
not on hand, don't know if I'll be able to get one (phone trouble). It's quite pretty though, nice big silvery leaves.

>>11593894
From where did you order it? None of the sites I usually order from have much selection on this front, and a glace at some of the other stores in the pastebin isn't very fruitful either.

>>11591406
word filters don't work any more so I left. I'm here to shit post anyway so who gives a shit.

Is there any tastier tea than this?

Nope

>>11595285
Ok, post them later if you can.

>>11595546
Sorry to tell you but I am from Czech republic, so giving you link to my teashop is kinda irrelevant.

>>11596614
got home from work to find the thread yet lives, so here you go

>>11596048
Well, I'm not going to argue about it being tasty or not, but it's not even tea.

>>11597020
Got any wet leaf pics...asking for a friend

>>11597260

Can someone wokepill me on buying matcha online? Anything I should look out for/red flags? Seems like every provider claims to sell “ceremonial grade”. For reference I’m in the land of kangaroos

>>11597402
I'm gonna spurt

>>11591406
Does anyone recognize this? I can’t seem to find it online

>>11597833

>>11597833
Recognize about what? It said Tieguanyin on the bag.

>>11597402
moist

>>11597903
the brand, not the type

>>11597916
Well I don't believe "natural No.1" will be the brand name, so "what what-1220" with a logo might be what you looking for. But I googled it and I found nothing linked to that logo, so yeah.

>tea
>brands
Everytime

>>11598863
nigger, someone/some company packages it and sells it under a certain name on the packages. a "brand" as you can say.

>>11599025
Tea is not standardized like that, you need to know the tea variety - not the brand.

anyone use one of those countertop hot water dispensers instead of a kettle? Is there one that lets you set an arbitrary temperature?

>>11597020
>>11597402
Thanks for the pics anon. The dry leaf is beautifull. Really good looking tea.
Here’s my everyday choice of red tea - Keemun.

>>11591406
Where did you get the neko?

How do you guys feel about Upton Tea's quality?
I got some Verdant Tea a while ago and this stuff is great. One serving is good enough to be steeped all day, but it's too expensive outside of their tea of the month club

>>11599645
a small tea shop in a Japantown in my city

>>11599665
the amount of times a tea can be steeped has little to no correlation with its quality. i've never tried Verdant teas thouh

forgot I had a shou brewing in my gaiwan for like a half hour and it was still drinkable when I remembered it
I had almost forgotten why shou is my go-to in the office

>>11597198
Yeah it is and its good

>>11601559
(you)

How hard should i clean my teapot? Scrub it with a spunge after each use or just lightly rinse it ? Does it add flavour to let it get lightly brown from the tea ?

>>11601812
It doesn’t add taste. Clean it when it’s dirty.

>>11591651
he said best anon

>>11601812
if you live in a humid climate the brown residue it leaves can often lead to mold. once I see any visible 'patina' i rinse my teapot with water and wipe it down lightly with a paper towel. i would not recommend using a sponge, that'll just scratch it and leave whatever germs/residue that was already on the sponge in the teapot

Hi guys. I'm relatively new to tea (been lurking /tea/ for a few weeks and for the last couple months have mainly been drinking from a Teavana kit I got as a gift). I've tried bagged black and green tea, and I'm wanting to try some loose leaf green tea and maybe matcha, but the local asian markets have none in loose leaf. What is the best place to buy loose leaf tea online? I would prefer to stay away from amazon because I think they are a predatory corporation.

Having some of this right now,
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/imperial-mojiang-golden-bud-yunnan-black-tea-spring-2018
Pretty fuckin good but it doesn't have too much of a kick to it. It's comfy nonetheless

>>11605745
If you're looking to get into Japanese green tea I'd recommend looking at the trial kit from Den's Tea,
https://www.denstea.com/trial-kit-popular-loose-leaf-tea-trial-kit-1495-c-802_804.html
If you're want go for Chinese I recommend you get a gaiwan (pretty cheap one here https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/classic-white-porcelain-small-gaiwan-60ml)) and use pic related as kind of a starting point for how to brew.
You should look at the pastebin for some sellers and if you don't know what to buy, look at steepster

Having some of this right now,
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/imperial-mojiang-golden-bud-yunnan-black-tea-spring-2018
Pretty fucking good, but it doesn't have the kick that I wanted. Any recommendations for a strong black tea?

>>11605817
Thanks for the links! I guess I should have known, but I had no idea there were so many different types of green tea. I'll probably get that sampler, see what I like, and go from there.

When do you guys usually drink your tea? I like it in the morning as a lighter alternative to coffee, but I also love an afternoon cup to relax and reflect on the day.

>>11605838
Anything with “gold” in the name is usually lighter. I’ve had some dark darjeeling, and a lightly fermented black tea that was nice and dark, close to puerh

>>11606230
I HIGHLY recommend starting with Chinese tea, and Yunnan Sourcing (or Yunnan Sourcing US if you're in the US) is a great place to buy some. In general it is much easier to over steep Japanese teas and have super bitter, unpalatable tea, especially for beginners. They sell a couple cheap gaiwans too.

>>11606646
Does using a Gawain make a difference in terms of the quality of the tea? Or is it more just an aesthetic choice? I usually use a tea infuser like pic related.

>>11606787
a gaiwan is better to experience and taste the complexities of tea. it allows you to do multiple steeps, and see the changes in each one. It also allows you to change the temperature of the water/amount of leaf while you drink to find your sweet spot. with one of those infusers, you get a big mug of tea which is more difficult to re-brew, and it only gives you one shot at finding your favorite brewing parameters. there is nothing explicitly wrong with those, but to get the best value/experience from your tea i would recommend a gaiwan (or a small 100-200ml teapot). A gaiwan is also super easy to clean.

beyond that, i personally find that that nice aesthetics positively influences the experience of drinking tea, and thus the taste too.

>>11606822
I agree that the aesthetics are a big part of the experience. Even using the tea infuser and, more recently, tea bags, I love the experience of sipping a nice warm, relaxing cup of tea, so I’ll definitely consider getting a gawain. Can you elaborate more on what you mean by being able to control the temperature while brewing? Do you mean by opening and closing the lid?

>>11606970
> Do you mean by opening and closing the lid?
well i wasn't thinking of that but you certainly can. i meant by letting the water you're using cool down or heat up. if you find that one steep from your gaiwan was a little bitter, you can let your water cool to adjust for the next steep (it depends on which tea but generally you can get 5-8 steeps out of one serving of tea leaves in a gaiwan). with the infuser, you only get one shot at that. 180F and 200F can produce pretty different flavor profiles.

>>11607003
>you can get 5-8 steps out of one serving
I’ve been wondering what the best way to store tea until you reuse it is. Do you usually just leave it in the gawain until you are ready to brew more? Thanks for all the info, by the way.

>>11607021
i usually do it all in one session, but you can just let it cool down for a minute and put the lid back on. if your first brew is early in the morning it'll last all day until nighttime, but I wouldn't really recommend letting it sit overnight. it's probably fine, but something about leaving it in for over a day feels weird to me... and you're welcome for the help :)

>>11607050
>something about leaving it in for over a day feels weird to me
Yeah, I would be worried about mildew/mold forming if left too long. Well, now you've got my mind set on a gawain, so I'll probably get one over the holiday.

>>11607050
Was lurking, also wanted to thank you for your input.

>>11605838
i think the strongest black teas tend to be Indian

Bittermelon stuffed with roasted tieguanyin. I think I've found my new favorite tea, tied with Silver Needle. a great example of a real flavored tea, not sprayed with chemicals or """natural""" flavors.
it's smooth, silky, floral, malty, and the bitter melon doesn't cause a bitter taste but rather a very pleasant tang

>>11591406
nigga that look like piss

>>11607099
I use a brewing basket instead of a gaiwan, but I've often left it out overnight and never had anything grow in it in that time. Usually after a day it's dried and I can leave it for another day or two if circumstances prevent me from getting more steepings out of it that day.

What the fuck is a gawain lmao

>>11610106
A gay cowboy essentially.
Ga = Gay
Wain = John Wayne
If you look up the Village People on google you'll get the idea.
They're very much like the people who start these tea threads.

>>11610106
*gaiwan

Only the most patrician way of brewing Chinese teas. Straight outta Ming Dynasty.

Has anyone bought from Bana Tea Company? Their prices always seem absurd but I gotta know if the tea lives up to them.

Anyone else get a headache and stomach cramps when drinking macha? Makes the whole experience incredibly unpleasant, which sucks cause I really like macha

>>11610971
Are you sensitive to caffeine at all?

>>11609190
You haven't had anything visible grow on it, but i guarantee you something has. Not necessarily anything harmful/anything in a large enough quantity to become harmful, but just by the nature of organic substances and water some bacteria will develop. If you already have a compromised immune system there is some risk to leaving it out for that long

Give me a tetley two sugars and a splash of milk. None of that Chinese bollocks, cheers

>>11610971
You could have a low caffeine tolerance, or perhaps you are not eating enough food prior to your matcha consumption.

I recommend a smaller dose if you want to continue with matcha

>>11591406
Been drinking two cups of matcha and a cup if coffee every morning. Can't believe I haven't tried matcha sooner, it's amazing

>>11601679
It's a tisane. It's a blend of herbs, there's no tea in it.

>>11611412
Isn't most English tea imported from China anyway?

>>11612152
Gas been for centuries now

>>11612152
What's not imported from China is imported from India or Kenya.

>>11610269
I know what a gaiwan is, I’m unsure about what a gawain is tho.

>>11611412
Tea really looks likes it tastes in bongistan

What are some good teas? I'm getting a gaiwan soon and I need pu erh recommendations.

>>11612277
Long sheng puerh. Good price for a really tasty tea. Look it up.

>>11611412
Tea the same color as most brit's skin colors.

>>11612443
I couldn't find much on this. What websites are good for getting tea from?

>>11612472
Can’t help since I am getting all the tea feom local teashop.

>>11612475
Fuck. Meant from.

>>11612475
FUCK OH FUCK OH GOD WHAT DO I DO NOW WHERE DO I GET TEA AAAAAAAAAAAAA

>>11612516
You just google shit by yourself for the first time.

>>11612521
I tried and it was hard :(

Any thoughts on/ recs for butterfly pea tea?

should I buy a Gong Fu Guru II or is it just an overpriced tea set I don't need?

>>11612277
>>11612472
Yunnan Sourcing is perhaps the best all-around site for pu'er in the West, and they have good blacks and Wuyi oolongs as well.
White2tea has great product but shipping is slow and they might be too pricey for someone just getting into this stuff who doesn't yet have clearly defined tastes.
As for specific teas, here's a pretty decent semi-aged sheng/raw pu'er:
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/2007-bo-nan-mountain-yun-wu-yuan-cha-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake
(if you're not in the US, there's also a .com site that ships from China which should have pretty much everything .us does)
I'm not as up on the best value young shengs, but would recommend trying one of those too, the stuff is very different young vs. aged.
Have you had pu before? Are you drawn to shou, sheng, both, unsure?

>>11591406
fuck your gay ass tea, nigger

>>11612783
I didn't realize there was a .us site. I'm having a hard time selecting different weights, I wonder if that's a site issue or by design. If the former then don't even bother with the .us if you aren't getting bare minimum amounts, you save a lot more by waiting for chink shipping.

>>11612824
These niggas loved tea you dumb kunt. If you are American, you need to learn your own history

>>11612152
>>11612171
This has actually not been true for centuries. Very little of the UK's tea imports are from China. The vast majority comes from Kenya, and also some from India and Malawi.

Thoughts on pu-erh?

>>11613013
What kind of thoughts are you asking for?

>>11612738
I bought the original and I think it’s nice. You can get cheaper but this one is actually nice looking and not covered in tacky dragons and Chinese characters. For me personally I drink alone so the brewing vessels were a bit too large desu. Otherwise a nice set.

>>11613047
Opinions on the taste, really. I know people either like it or really don't. Personally I like its earthiness. It was definitely a taste I had to acquire over time.

Question for those who have purchased it online before: is there a supplier you can really recommend? I'm thinking about ordering some soon.

>>11613077
There’s a big difference between raw and ripened puerh. Raw is fruity and floral and not earthy at all. Try it. Meileaf carries quality tea if you’re euro.

>>11613085
I haven't been in Europe in years, but my folks live there. They often send me stuff I can't get here, so I can definitely check it out. Thanks!

Thoughts on tenzo tea? I see ads for it fuckin everywhere. They're having a promo where I can get a discount on my first order.

Is it good quality matcha? I'm suspicious on matcha being so cheap.

>>11612854
Anyone remember the episode of Time Squad about the Boston Tea Party? The reason for dumping the tea was because the Americans discoved coffee and liked it better lol.

>>11613352
It implied that tea drinkers were sophisticated and classy but weak. When they drank coffee they lost their British accents and became uncivilized redneck stupid Americans.
I drink both tea and coffee but thought it was funny as fuck.

>>11607099
I don't think that there's a danger of mold, since you're effectively sterilizing your tea leaves everytime you steep it.
But it will dry out and oxidize and the tea will taste differently, especially with green, un-roasted varieties.

>>11595144
Dude, that cup is Bodum...

>>11612783
Thanks dad, also I've never had pu erh before so I don't even know what I'm looking for. I want to start drinking tea because I used to drink a lot of coffee (french press, moka, hario v60) and I started having anxiety-like symptoms that I think were caused by excess caffeine. I never even drank coffee for the caffeine, I just liked the taste. So I need something else with a ritual and that tastes good, but with less caffeine, which tea seems to fit perfectly.

>>11612783
>>11614027
Would it be a good idea to just get a couple of the smaller mini cakes or tuo and try different things? Also is there a certain way that the teas need to be stored?

>>11613583
If the original is bodum then all of China is full of bodum copies. I don’t know who’s behind the original design of the fairness cup either but that design is also everywhere.

>>11613534
lol

>>11614027
>>11614097
>I just liked the taste
In that case you should definitely try shou pu'er, it's not quite coffe-tasting but it hits a similar range of flavors. It's also
>cheap
>accessible
>extremely forgiving when it comes to brewing parameters
You can get a fairly good shou for super cheap, but don't spring for bottom-shelf stuff- a lot of people do that and think pu'er in general is gross as a result. YS is the place to look for this stuff; Crimson Lotus Tea is a solid alternative if for whatever reason you're averse to YS.
>Would it be a good idea to just get a couple of the smaller mini cakes or tuo and try different things?
Generally speaking, the full-size cakes (~357g) are going to be higher quality, but that doesn't mean you should avoid the little guys. This thing is pretty good-
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/2012-yunnan-sourcing-dragon-of-jing-mai-ripe-pu-erh-tea-mini-cake
albeit at that price per gram you may want to just pay a few extra bucks for a full-size bing. Some cakes I would recommend-
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/2013-yunnan-sourcing-year-of-the-snake-red-label-ripe-pu-erh-tea-cake
Extremely dark and espresso-like
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/2017-yunnan-sourcing-hui-run-ripe-pu-erh-tea-cake-of-bu-lang-mountain
haven't had this exact one but the ones from previous years were good
If these are more than you want to pay for an introduction, a budget-friendly alternative would be pretty much any recent Menghai Tea Factory ripe cake. Haven't had a bad experience with them; would say "try the V93" but YS is sold out atm, at least in .us.
>Also is there a certain way that the teas need to be stored?
You can get autastic about that stuff if you want but as a beginner I don't think you should worry much. Keep pu'er away from strong smells and from large temperature/humidity changes (if possible). They should get a little air, sealing them up entirely is unwise. I keep my shous together and my shengs together in separate drawers.

>>11614321
I have a few other bags of loose leaf tea in my drawer, should I avoid storing the puerh in there so that the flavor doesn't get messed up? Could I just put them in a bag on top of my counter or something? Also I will definitely try those that you recommended, but one last thing, does this look like a good setup? The gaiwan is only 140 mL but that should be fine since I'm just brewing for myself.

>>11614352
I forgot to put the picture

>>11614352
>>11614358
>should I avoid storing the puerh in there so that the flavor doesn't get messed up?
If the other stuff is sealed up I wouldn't worry.
>Could I just put them in a bag on top of my counter or something?
That sounds a little better but any changes would be pretty tiny.
>does this look like a good setup? The gaiwan is only 140 mL but that should be fine since I'm just brewing for myself.
Gaiwan looks great, and I can vouch for both the pick and the cha hai. Personally I prefer ceramic to glass cups, as glass dissipates heat faster (which might be preferable for greens but pu'er can take a beating). Enjoy m8.

>>11614383
I just went for the glass over ceramic because they were a lot cheaper. Would it be possible to just skip the cups and cha hai altogether and just pour the contents of the gaiwan into a mug or is that like a faux pas or something? Also thanks for being such great help, I'm really excited to try that 2013 year of the snake.

>>11614420
If you're drinking for one then you can do without the chahai, they're intended more for ensuring everyone gets a cup that's brewed the same amount. Mugs aren't ideal but for shou it will be fine.

I just realised that the newspaper my chinese gaiwan came wrapped in are actually japanese. newspapers How did that happen.

>>11613352
>>11613383
this is very incorrect, the reason the tea was dumped overboard is because it was being taxed, and the smuggled, untaxed tea which was illegal (only British East India Company tea was allowed to be sold, with tax) was being taken away. there was no anti-tea sentiment, just anti-british. they really did love tea, just not taxed tea (no taxation without representation!)

>>11614548
I ended up getting the cha hai anyways since it was pretty cheap, and I swapped the four glass cups for two ceramic ones. Maybe a roommate or gf will want to share tea down the line, can't hurt to spend a few extra bucks for some nice looking equipment anyways. Thanks for all the help by the way anon, I got a whole cake of the tea you described as espresso-like and I got the mini jing mai, so excited to try them!

Hmm, I got a gift of couple of packs of this pretty cheap sencha from a friend and it's really not bad at all considering the price.

>>11614807
Hibiki-an?

>>11616022
huh?

>>11593750
Why the fuck do you order tea from dark Web ? You absolute deranged fellow.

Fuck I love wuyi oolongs

>>11616003
cheap japanese tea > cheap chinese tea.
for some reason I feel like price is a much more significant factor for chinese teas than with japanese teas. Often I find that cheap versions of Jap teas are nearly good as their high-end counterparts, but cheap Chinese tea has a good chance of being pretty shit

>>11617209
>he doesn't order his tea from the Bhutanese shadow market
pleb

>>11612713
tastes e h imo, but its pretty lol

>>11618793
well not eh but i cant enjoy drinking it, tastes like piss actually

>>11618710
Agreed. Japanese tea is a lot more standardized than Chinese in every way.

>>11616003
I drink this frequently, yeah, it's decent for the price.

>>11618710
How much is cheap for japanese teas in your opinion?

just bought this bing, how did I do?
https://www.tealifehk.com/products/2006-guangdong-dry-storage-changtai-tianxia-tong-an-organic-raw-pu-erh-cake-100g

>>11620188
>$180
Wew lad. I hope it's good. How do you plan to brew it?

>>11620587
$23 USD for 100g doesn't seem that bad

>>11620587
It's in Hong Kong dollaridoos, the 357g cake comes to about $76 USD. So it's actually quite reasonable. I'm just gonna toss it in my gaiwan; wish I hadn't drunkenly shattered my yixing.

>>11620919
why are puer cakes (almost) always 357 grams?

>>11620926
subtle firearm advertising

Im looking to buy an electric kettle any recommendations?

>>11621204
microwave water in a cup

>>11620926
I'm guessing that it's because they come in tongs of 7 cakes and 7 * 357g is 2,499g which can be approximated to 2.5 kg

>>11621204
Heard decent things about the bonavita.

>>11621520
>>11621204
That's what I use and I love it, got it for $60. it can go from 0 to 212 F, you aren't limited to any preset temperatures. It heats quickly, has a setting to keep temperature at whatever it's set at, buttons are intuitive, and it holds just the right amount of water (a little over 1L). The kettle has a nice grip, and the spout is well shaped for an accurate pour. My only gripe is that it can be quite loud while the water is heating up, but I think that's pretty standard for all electric kettles. I recommend it

>>11621554
If the water heated slower, or was circulated in some way, the sound would be less.

>>11591406
Newfag here. Any recommendations on tea serving sets (teapots, teacups) or sources to get them? Chinese preferred (since I'm an insectoid), but Japanese is okay too.
I just have a glass teapot and regular mugs. It's fine for myself, but I'd like something a little nicer for when guests come over.

Anyone here grow their own tea?

What does slight foam on green tea mean? Never happened to me before.

>>11622408
you can, but this typically won't yield a very good cup as the tea plant is extremely dependent on terroir to aquire flavor. this is a big part of why teas from different regions vary so much in flavor.

I imagine a tea plant grown in a backyard flowerpot would generate a pretty bland cup.

>>11622427
I don’t think I’ve heard about it?

>>11618793
>>11618799
Aw man, thanks for the heads up. I'll probably give it a shot anyway if I can find it in my area, it's just too pretty.

>>11597442
don't buy from China

>>11622259
YUNNAN
SOURCING
also teaware.house

>>11622427
high tannins, high temperature, and did you pour it from high above? it's just bubbles.

>>11622427
When I'm making green tea using packets (I know, I know), if I agitate the packet while steeping, it produces bubbles/foam. It's probably just trapped air being released, no biggie.

>>11621554
I also have one of these.
Managed to snag one from Amazon Warehouse deals for $40. "Cosmetic damage". Got the thing and it looked and worked like it was brand new.
Year later and it's still going strong. Goodshit.

>>11621458
u b smart

Been drinking Laoshan sweet potato leaf tea. It's more full-bodied than most teas I've had, almost reminiscent of coffee in the thickness of it. There's a great depth of flavor and it stands very well to multiple steepings with it not beginning to get any weaker until the sixth cup. It feels a disservice to call this a tisane instead of an herbal tea, and it has me greatly looking forward to trying any new plant that is treated with the same care and process as traditional tea.

>>11619622
Don't know about that anon but >>11616003 this stuff is like 4 bucks and some change for 7 oz worth and that's pretty damn cheap IMO. Same brand also sells decent Genmaicha and Hojicha for cheap too.