/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>13812081
By "styles" I assume you mean varieties of tea. I keep a little bit of everything. I have some sencha, some gunpowder green, some roasted oolongs, some ripe and raw puerh, some white tea, and of course my indispensable Chinese black tea. :-)

Tea newbie here. Am I sinning by getting tea with fruit and shit mixed in?

Why are teafags such gay pieces of trash?

>>13812081
the only tea worthwhile is the ol' cuppa with milk

>>13812267
Imagine being this insecure

>>13812267
>>13812289
*takes one sip of tea*
Heavens to Murgatroyd! I'm a regular pansy, a nancy, a dandy-lion even!

>>13812257
no but they're the pumpkin spice lattes of the tea world

>>13812267
>2020
>not balls deep in drugged out twinks
lol fag

>>13812351
I'm fine with that. Does anyone here have any recommendations for the best suppliers of teas with fruit mixed in? Otherwise I'll just stick with the brand above.

KTM order from a month ago that shipped on the 9th finally made it out of Chinese customs. Sooon.

>>13812365
I've been drinking Stash's Japanese-style Green tea with pear flavoring and it's a pretty nice combination, a bit herbal/flowery but I like having some flavor in my tea because my palate is too underdeveloped to appreciate plain tea (that or I'm just buying really shitty tea and steeping it wrong)

Has anyone here tried Taiwan Sourcing?

>>13812267
In my case it's because I'm a Chinaboo and I assume being a homosexual piece of trash is strongly correlated with being a Chinaboo.
>>13812351
Teas blended with fruit and flowers have a very strong lineage in France. They're not my thing, but it's dumb to call them the pumpkin spice latte of the tea world. They're their own subsection.
>>13812365
You should probably avoid non-French brands for this stuff, though.
Check out mariage freres, damann, kusmi etc. (in that order desu).

>>13812315
lmao based hannabarberaposter
I wish that would replace wojackposters

>>13813286
Tea bags? Are you trying to get me banned from /tea/?

https://www.stashtea.com/collections/all/products/asian-pear-harmony

>>13813565
I just want to say that I really like the website for Dammann Freres. Thank you.

https://www.dammann.fr/en/sensation/
https://www.dammann.fr/en/ingredient/

>>13812267
I wish guys found my tea obsession cute.

i caught corona virus but ive been drinking tea I made from peppermint, elder flower and elder berries to help me get over it and im mostly better now

>>13813591
I don't. Getting sick of Snagglepuss would be awful.

>>13812081
I like Darjeeling

>>13813591
Thank ya very large!

>>13814396

Please do tell.

>>13814396
what is it like?

>>13814400
>getting sick of Snagglepuss
Oh say it ain't so! It's a tragedy, a travesty, a misery, even!

It's snowing pretty hard today. Having some Teavivre dian hong in my little stone pot. :-)

>>13814933

Looks cozy. It hit 87 here yesterday and now it's 52 out.

>>13814952
Well, in my case, the saying is true: "If you don't like the weather in the Midwest, wait fifteen minutes." :-)

>>13813344
Yeah, they're good. I'll probably order from them later this year. Wish I could recommend anything in particular, they change things up often.

>>13814874
tell what?

>>13814875
it tastes like non sweet arizona iced tea with peppermint (but hot)

americans get the fuck OUT my thread

>>13812081
Generally I try to keep the an equal amount of greens, blacks, and oolongs
And a little more pu-erh varieties.

>>13815958
No. I drink tea about three times a day.

kombucha time lads

>>13816603
anyone tried making kombucha with brewed leaves? ive cold brews used leaves and i get good/okay flavour

>>13815958
SUPERPOWER SUPERPOWER USA!

>>13815958
Sure.
Right after we get drunk, dress up as red-skins, and throw all your overpriced ching-chong garbage into the harbor.

Anyone got any must-have recommendations for tea from Yunnan Sourcing? I'm ordering specifically for the Yixing teapot I picked out but since shipping from these tea sites is so expensive, I might as well throw in some goodies as well. It can be pu'erh, oolong, green, absolutely anything.

>>13816983
Black Gold Bi Luo Chun, Drunk on Red, 3 crane liubao. you may as well spend enough to get one of their free gifts(check their offers tab before checkout)
for a Yixing teapot you'd want to keep it for only 1 type i.e only for oolong or ripe or raw pu'erh

What are some good mildly narcotic teas? Just something to give a light buzz at the end of the day.

>>13816983

2013 YS Autmn Ye Sheng if you like Scotch. Very smokey and peaty.

2018 Autumn Bang Dong Zi Cha - super bright and vegetal, not unlike Asamushi sencha. Brew with care, though, it can go bitter quickly.

2007 Yi Wu Zhi Chun - pleasant notes of deep sweetness like raisin and fig. Brews well gongfu and the dried fruit elements are only brought out more grandpa style.

>>13816993
Is that really so necessary for a poorfag like me? It'll be a while before I can afford another Yixing teapot. I was thinking of just using one for everything as an all-star teapot, and then one day when I have enough cash I'll get two more and dedicate each one to a single tea type.

>>13817011

Not that anon, and I've never used Yixing, but that seems like good advice. I've smoked a pipe for more than a decade and it seems they have similar properties. If you smoke more than one type of tobacco in a birar pipe it will "ghost" and each type will linger and muddy the flavors of the next. If you want a universal brewing vessel get a gaiwan. Hell, get a Yixing and dedicate it to one type of tea, but also order a gaiwan since they're like...less than 10 bucks on YS. That way you have the benefits of Yixing but can brew anything you want to with the gaiwan.

>>13817011
buy a cheap ass gaiwan with it and save the Yixing for your favorite tea

>>13816993
>3 crane liubao
Which year would you recommend?
There's many different pickings available on the .com website.
>>13817005
>2013 YS Autmn Ye Sheng
Not available on the .com website I'm ordering the Yixing from but it is on the US website. Fuck.
>>13817024
>>13817050
That does help put it into perspective now, thanks.

Anyone know where to get a good and cheap Cha hai?

>>13817099
>>3 crane liubao
the Three Cranes "0412" Recipe Liu Bao Tea Brick sounds like the one i had, which was in a 100g puck

>>13817003
Poppy pods

>>13812081
I found out red dead nettle is in the mint family and is edible. It's a really common weed here and my yard's full of 'em since I don't spray. Anybody put this in tea?

>>13813344
I've always found it a bit overwhelming for options and pretty expensive (but not outrageously so). Can totally shill wang family tea though. Good price and shits delish.

>>13817508
Haven't tried it myself but there are lots of recipes online. Check out some of they health contradictions though, looks like something you should drink only occasionally.

>>13812081
sencha for every day
darjeeing (1st & 2nd flush)

everything else is meh
oolong is bottom of the list death & yuck

>>13813565
你好老外, 我也喜欢喝茶,也喜欢中国文化

>>13817748
>darjeeing (1st & 2nd flush)
how do the flushes compare to each other?

>>13817767
1st flush tastes like shitty green tea. 2nd flush tastes like a delicious fruity and floral mild black tea with muscatel notes whatever the hell that means.

>>13817767
the two are pretty different
from everything I've had the first flush of darjeeling (turzum) is typically more light & crisp with less astringency in the after taste
second flush is more robust and bitter, almost like citrus rind, more astringent on the tongue after swallowing, also brews with a deeper color and is more aromatic

>>13817778
>1st flush tastes like shitty green tea
lol i had some green earl grey that was pretty much undrinkable. is the 1st flush oxidized or is it actually a green?

>>13817784
first flush is harvested in the early spring
second is harvested before summer and has more anthocyanin since it grew with more sun

I've heard rumors (on here) that BlackTea from India has fluoride in it. Am I going to die?

>>13817792
here's a side by side, the stuff I bought wasn't as pronounced in this picture, but close enough

>>13817795
all tea accumulate fluoride, some less than others, and white tea least of all since its young leaf

>>13817795
so does chinese tea, just dont brew 100 tea bags at a time and you'll be fine

>>13817800
second looks oxidized and first green. im guessing thats where most of the taste difference comes from.

>>13817808
I'm trying to find this one video of them harvesting first & second flush.
Irrespective of post-harvest oxidation, the leaves do look quite different when they're harvested at different times of the year

>>13817801
Thank; Fluoride is a priority for me.
I'd wouldn't mind working in America-grow tea.
I read about some guy making his own tea in a rich-people magazine or hydroponics or something; got some googling to do.

>>13812267
lol why would you care enough to post this?

>>13812081
I used to drink tea a lot then I got fat. Probably should go back to drinking tea again. I think there is a relationship

>>13817867
Caffeine raises metabolism by as much as 8%
Also limits glial cells but you gotta do what you gotta do.

>>13817857
Their is a tiny amount of American grown tea available. Other than one company that makes teabags it is incredibly expensive ~$1 per gram and it probably is not very good since it is harvested and processed by inexperienced amateurs. All tea has fluoride because tea trees accumulate it from the soil. If you are worried about fluorosis the only documented cases in usa are from people who brewed 100+ teabags per day for decades. If you are worried about it calcifying your pineal gland than you should avoid tea entirely or find a company that batch tests and provides reports of fluoride levels.

>>13812081
Tea instead of coffee today. Drinking up some traditional tieguanyin. Last night I learned if you forget about your old leaves in a gawain, you get black, brown, and white mold spores all over.
>>13814969
Apparently the midwest and Florida have similar weather.

>>13817795
do you not brush your teeth

Anyone got any successful ys spring deliveries?

>>13818629
>*clink*

>>13818701
Mine should be coming tomorrow or the day after

What's the right ratio of water / tea / shochu for ochawari?

Bump

Until I get one, type of screwdriver/knife/other utensil would work best as a substitute for a pu'er knife? How should I use it differently?

>>13820358

I just use a butter knife for now.

>>13820358
you want something blunt and i like a wide blade vs the needle thats usually sold as cake picks. standard pocket knife will do

sorry if this has been answered a billion times

i'm trying to enjoy new simpler things instead of going out and getting bang energy drinks at 3am. can I get a recommendation on a good late night tea that has strong caramel, vanilla, butterscotch etc warm comfy flavors? something i can just buy on amazon.

>>13820571
https://www.teasource.com/search?q=Knife+
I'm considering getting this is one. Are there better options? Do I even need one?

>>13820615
instead of caramel, vanilla, butterscotch etc can i recommend masala chai, its spiced tea and you can drink it with added milk for a creamier drink. they usually have clove, cinnamon and cardamon with are very comfy, Vahdam is where i get my indian tea from and its sold over amazon but its cheaper on their website, they also do variety packs which is how i got into tea

>>13820626
>Do I even need one?

do you need someone to tell you that you can repurpose any sharp implement or screwdriver or anything to do this

>>13820672
I'm not going to be going out very much at all, I am all prepped up, so I won't have any milk to add to anything. I need something that stands on its own.

I'll take this into account and order it as well though, I'm ordering a big batch of things.

>>13813286
Stash green tea is pretty shitty. You're probably better off with any loose leaf compared to bagged. Make sure you're letting the water cool a bit after you boil it.

>>13820626
you'll need something if you buy tea cakes, the knife i use is an old penknife off my father thats older than me, its blunt as fuck which is good because you will stab yourself at some point which is why i dislike the needles, a blade also lets you open/pry the cake up more

>>13820693
vahdams website has discounts for buying in bulk, i drink without milk

>>13820734

>>13820734
>>13820744
that was supposed to be a big ascii thumbs up but gookmoot 86'd it

>>13820755

I went on a epic tea journey, tried everything from hwangcha to gong mei cakes, obscure heicha to nepali blacks, and I have concluded that any tea except sencha is a waste of time

>>13820781

does any tea really help anyone sleep? I have some lavender chamomile stuff that seems to help just a little

i wanna get into tea

how expensive is this gonna get

>>13820931
tea doesn't get expensive, bro.

>>13820931
~£10 for a gaiwan(mug infuser is cheaper), ~£30 for a temp control kettle, i personally dont spend more than £10/100g on tea. thats all you need everything else is just a nicety

>>13820931
tea adds approximately $200 to my monthly spending on food. if you're not prepared to spend money, it isn't for you.

>>13820945
bait, i spend ~£100 every 3 months and i never run out

>>13820944
>temp control kettle

I wanted to buy one of these before I even came to this thread, is there a recommended one on amazon?

the highest rated one gets 70% of its reviews removed by reviewmeta, not buying that shit.

>>13820954
my kettle was discontinues because it sometimes boils over if the spout filter isn't placed just right. honestly kettles aren't rocket science a cheap one will do. aim for an all metal/glass one

>>13820966
kettles aren't rocket science but temp control kettles definitely exist in different quality/price ranges and there should be a favorite i would think. whatever.

>>13820954
You either get one of the 100 shitty chinese amazon ones for cheap, a less shitty chinese bonavita for a little more, or a really good chinese stagg ekg for a ridiculous amount of money

>>13820954

I have the OXO variable control kettle that's like 85 bucks or something. It goes the lowest out or any kettle I've seen (120 something F) which is great if you're doing gyokuro, but not necessary otherwise. I will say that it's been bulletproof for the 3 years I've had it, though. Completely submerged and cleaned the base in soapy water and it came out fine.

>>13821071
i like oxo stuff, has generally been good to me, except the pizza cutter which pissed me off because the part holding the wheel on is fucking plastic and just burst off leaving palstic fragments in my pizza one day.

https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40/ref=sxin_4_osp1-6420511e_cov?ascsubtag=amzn1.osa.6420511e-34a5-4669-a758-b45d0a082e48.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&creativeASIN=B005YR0F40&cv_ct_cx=oxo+kettle&cv_ct_id=amzn1.osa.6420511e-34a5-4669-a758-b45d0a082e48.ATVPDKIKX0DER.en_US&cv_ct_pg=search&cv_ct_wn=osp-search&dchild=1&keywords=oxo+kettle&linkCode=oas&pd_rd_i=B005YR0F40&pd_rd_r=e8302cfb-405a-4489-9375-e6350c108537&pd_rd_w=IcCt2&pd_rd_wg=GQErV&pf_rd_p=dac4d66e-658f-4cae-b10d-a35ac5eca0c3&pf_rd_r=9WXZD9EXT7GAF57CVND6&qid=1585028886&tag=popularscience_os-20

this one is heavily on sale right now since someone just mentioned bona vita

my girlfriend wants one that is glass with led lights because reasons -_-

>>13820931
Tea is as expensive as you want it to be. Sure there are incredibly expensive teas out there but if you are a thrifty person with the right mindset you can find joy spending $10 a month.
That said I personally spend three to four hundred a year and would double or triple that if I had more cash laying around.

>>13821092
Jesus Christ learn how to shorten Amazon links, posting referral codes on here is against the rules. All you needed to post was this
https://www.amazon.com/Bonavita-BV382510V-Variable-Temperature-Gooseneck/dp/B005YR0F40

anyone know of any good oolongs from YS? I'm going hard on the oolongs when I get my new yixing pot.

>>13821600
just got
>Fancy Tie Guan Yin of Anxi Iron Goddess of Fujian
>Anxi "Hairy Crab" Mao Xie Fujian Oolong Tea
cant tell the difference between them besides one has little white hairs in your cup if you dont filter your tea. both very nice and cheap, not sure if they're worth using a yixing pot as they're both quite green and easy to drink

>>13821600
They sell some of the Taiwan sourcing oolong on the ys site at least the us version. They might be worth checking out.

>>13821600
based agni poster

>>13821092
>>13821338
>currently unavailable
I thought I told you Americans to get the fuck OUT

>>13821798
You get out. Leave us alone.

>>13821338
it's not a referral code, retard.

>>13821822
Yes it is. It says ref right at the beginning of the long string of shit. Just because your stupid enough to post someone else's referral code instead of your own does not change that it's a referral code.

>>13821926
i knew you would double down on this

your parents are ashamed of you

>>13821092
>>13821822
>>13821928
>/ref=

>>13821625
To me, one tastes more broccoli like, and the other more Brussel sprout like. But I always forget which is which until I rotate back to drink one or the other

>>13821928
>Umm actually it's a long string of data formated exactly the same as a referral code except it just contains the search terms I used on the website along with a bunch of information about my account but I'm not getting any money for it just providing Amazon with marketing data!
>>>Reddit

>>13820626
This style is the best in my experience. Solid metal, so very good heft for breaking into very dense tea bricks. Wedge shape is ideal for levering off chunks of tea while keeping the leaves pretty intact.

>>13821978
I have three picks now and I agree one like your picture is best. The wide shape does a much better job prying off large chunks of intact leaves. The narrow pointy picks tend to break lots of leaves, hard to get leverage to pry big intact pieces off.
The only thing that the narrow picks excel at are prying into rock hard dense iron cakes and tuos.

>>13820931
Cheaper than getting into whiskey and less effort than getting into coffee. Also fewer pretentious dickheads.

>>13821798
SUPERPOWER SUPERPOWER USA!

How much tea should I put into a normal sized mug for grandpa style? I consistently overtea myself.

>>13822503
2 grams on the low side 4 1/2 grams on the high side for an 8oz mug. I have been doing ~3.5 lately.

>>13821933
>>13821940
the problem with this board is that women are on it and women are all like 80-90 iq

absolute yikes oof here

>>13822841

Yeah, it's definitely women who shit up the board, not 15 y/o fast food posters so starved for social contact their only reprieve is fucking up everyone else's day on a Panamanian fire juggling board.

>>13822999
the only other place where i have seen the type of cringe i experience when i read the "[x country] [y activity] board" meme is reddit

>>13823397
Cope

>>13823397
return, redditor

>>13820708
loose leaf is so stupid I don't want to drink the leafs in the water

>>13823543
Then stop letting the leafs get loose.

>>13823587
bro it's called loose leaf you just dump those shits in there and then you have to try to fish them out with a spoon
I hate it, I only drink teabags now
loose leaf is pretentious vegan hipster shit cause they like to eat leafs

>>13823670
nigga we ain't this desperate for bumps

how do you make southern sweet tea?
it would be nice if it looked clear
a lot of recipes say it should be "cold brewed" but that sounds unhygenic

>>13823837
Look, you can make authentic sweet tea, or you can make hipster fancy cold brew sweetened with agave nectar or some shit. Authentic sweet tea prep makes the purists on here cringe but it is what it is. Dunno what this unhygienic shit you are babbling about is. If you are afraid to drink your tea without putting it in boiling water you should buy better tea.

>>13823837
alabama here. boil your water, add black tea bags (2-4) (southerners commonly use lipton), let boil for three mins or so, pour hot water into desired pitcher. add sugar (for a normal half gallon sized pitcher id say about 4-6 cups). then after stirring well fill the pitcher the rest of the way with water, stir again, then into the fridge. i am NOT exagerating on sugar. most households use 7+ cups, often just pouring straight from the bag and not even measuring. if it doesnt taste like diabetese youve done something wrong

tune in next week for my Fried Chicken Recipe and Collard Greens: How to Get That Picky Eater to Eat Them

Littera;y never had anything other than bagged black/green tea. Where should i get started? Japanese green tea from my local asian market has been on my min.

What do folks think about the more branded and curated stuff from places like W2T and Crimson Lotus compared to more traditionally distributed stuff from the likes of YS and KTM? Have y'all found a place for some of it in your rotation?

Name:2018 "Drunk on Red" Sun-Dried Black Tea Cake
Brewing: 90c 5g/100ml, wash, 20sec +5

Dry leaf:
cheeries, dryed fruit,

Wet leaf:
a lot of fruit and cherry, sweet
5th leaves starting to smell like plumbs

Tea:
2nd cup fruity, sweet and a little sour, little astringent
5th i can feel it coating the back of my mouth and lingering between cups, tea isn't too thick
10th never got bitter

its kind of like a thinner, less rounded, less astringent black gold bi luo chun. very nice. i'll do the other 2 drunk on red cakes next

>>13825393

Based consistently formatted poster. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

>>13825393
>i'll do the other 2 drunk on red cakes next
IMO they're a bit weaker than the standard DoR, but I don't regret buying the set. Hell of a good bang for your buck.

>>13824814
I was pretty skeptical about w2t because of their flashy packaging, they also send out loads of free samples to tea bloggers. But I keep hearing good things about their tea. I absolutely will try them eventually but lots of their product is over my budget. I have also heard lots of good things about bitterleaf teas.
The biggest issue that I have is that I prefer aged or semi-aged puer and these guys tend to only have recent productions in stock. But w2t does have a few older teas in stock, especially their white label stuff or older teas from other producers.

>>13824814
I hate it for its hipsterness but I also really like it because I'm a hipster.

>>13825393
photo of the 3rd steep, DoR's was on the 1st

Name: 2018 "Drunk on Red with Osmanthus Flower"
Brewing: 90c 5g/100ml, wash, 20sec +5

Dry leaf:
a lot of flowers in this, nicely speckled with yellow, smells the same as the normal drunk on red

Wet leaf:
1st strawberry, little floral lighter smells compared to DoR,
not getting much tea smell its seem to be mostly from the flowers
5th smells more tea like but still getting strawberry

Tea:
2nd cup fruity, sweet and a little sour, same as DoR but less astringent and thicker mouthfeel, even with filtering there's particulate in the bottom of my cut, maybe pollen? probably why it feels thicker

5th much thicker coating of the mouth than DoR, still sweet but a little bitter aftertaste similar to when you eat pollen off a flower
10th steep for 5mins no bitterness

just like with DoR i am feeling tea drunk, its always hard to tell when you're feeling it, it just kind of clicks that you're not normal right now and haven't been for a while. nice tea but just as >>13825915 said, weaker than DoR but i found it thicker and a little more bitter on the aftertaste, more sweetly floral too but not as strongly Osmanthus-y as some Osmanthus oolong I've had in the past

>>13825962
>I was pretty skeptical about w2t because of their flashy packaging
Honestly the hipster stuff places like W2T and Bitterleaf do is just a different kind of pretentious to typical puerh. Elaborate chinese calligraphy and fancy pictures of pigs and dragons isn't exactly mundane, you just don't register it as wanky garbage because it's exotic and foreign.

>>13825973

I'm having that feeling, too. Goddamn hipster marketing is working on me and I'm not stoked on it.

>>13825393
>>13826026
photo of the 5th steep

Name: 2018 Drunk on Red with Snow Chrysanthemum
Brewing: 90c 5g/100ml, wash, 20sec +5

Dry leaf:
nice big red flowers, smells the same as the others

Wet leaf:
smells a lot different to the others, rose, perfume, lavender?
2nd steep very floral

Tea:
2nd and 3rd steep, very floral and rosy but also very dry in the mouth
4th thinner mouthfeel than Osmanthus and DoR, quite chalky
10th for 5mins floral, chalky and a little sour, reminds me of potpourri

possibly my least favorite of the 3 but the nicest smelling, im not a fan of the chalky mouthfeel

and thats 30 cups of tea today. imo Drunk on Red is very nice, Osmanthus is thicker but less strong and Snow Chrysanthemum is very floral but chalky. apparently these cakes are good for ageing so who knows how they'll change a year from now stuffed in my cold humid house

I have been really enjoying the daily sencha. I am debating if I want to try same lighter oolong or if I want to get better quality green tea.

>>13827081
Does Japan make an oolong equivalent?

>>13828010
They drink a lot of oolong, and it's is grown there as well.

What do you guys think of rishi? I’m having their peach blossom white right now, and it’s pretty good in my opinion. I haven’t had much white tea, but I still think I’ll get more of it.

how come the milk tea I make always taste like shit compared to the ones I buy?

>>13828799
Milk tea? Like tea with milk added to it? Vs canned tea? Powdered mix? Be more specific

>>13817003
for me chamomile or fennel do the trick

>>13828799
maybe try brewing the tea in a water milk mix in a saucepan instead of adding the milk afterwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xn_XpOYgUi8

>>13826664
photo of 1st steep(which was a little lighter in colour compared to the 2nd & 3rd)
Name: Xue Ju Shu Pu Snow Chrysanthemum Tea Brick
Brewing: 100c 5g/100ml, wash, 10sec +5

Dry leaf:
big red flowers, smells floral, no ripe funk

Wet leaf:
floral, rose, peat, no ripe funk

Tea:
1st floral, rose, peat, chalk
2nd getting more of that ripe taste with rosy cooling aftertaste, very dark brew
7th the ripe taste balances quite well with the floral flowers
10th for 5mins ripe flavour drops off floral stays quite strong

apparently Snow Chrysanthemum tea is drunk for 'male vitality' personally i think i prefer my tea without it, shame i was really looking forward to these teas with flowers in them
prefer this to Drunk on Red with Snow Chrysanthemum, it has a more tea taste rather than floral. but then ripes/hei chas are my favorite

>>13830167
here's the wrapper, picture was wrapped on the inside

Last night I broke this yixing- opened a cabinet door above it and a bottle fell out onto it. It's the second clay pot I have bought in my years of teafaggotry, and the second to shatter within a month. How in the world do people get year after year of safe use out of these things? I was really impressed by the brews I could get with it, but it doesn't seem worth it to spend another ~$100 on something too nice for me to be trusted with...

>>13830439
damn thats terrible, rip teapot

It's lemon and ginger for me.
Gotta keep that immune system going strong.

>>13830472
i make myself lemon honey ginger when ever i get a cough

Worlds strongest Chamomile tea. Added some honey to disguise the hints of bitterness, only to create a hint of caramel flavour instead.

>>13830167
Floral teas tend to be hit or miss. Either they're good and balance or it feels like your drinking perfume.

>>13830167
I have been avoiding all the teas with additives. I just assume it's like flavored whiskey where they only put flavorings in the stuff that's mediocre on its own.

>>13831051
earl grey and masala chai are great and both of those flowers are common in chinese tea so i took a gamble, they're not terrible just less than non-flowered alternatives

>>13830439

Where are you sourcing your yixing from? I'd like to find one from a reputable vendor.

>>13830439
Feelsbadman. Try to make some changes in order to make it safer. If not, that sucks, but a yixing isn't necessarily paramount to the tea.

>>13830439
Feelsbadman. Try to make some changes in order to make it safer. If not, that sucks, but a yixing isn't necessarily paramount to good tea.

Where should I go for good white tea? I'm not looking for a particular type/flavour, but I'd prefer baihao yinzhen/mu dan(silver needle/white peony). I'd also like to know the where it was produced.

>>13831270
Yunnan sourcing has a decent amount of white tea but it's mostly focused on aged tea cakes and less on silver needles. But take a look.

>>13831631
Most of their cakes are lower grade, is the quality difference between grades large, or do they simply taste different?

>>13831870
>Most of their cakes are lower grade, is the quality difference between grades large, or do they simply taste different?
I really don't know. But they do have a few loose leaf silver needle whites and I know they give region and sometimes village information for teas. Maybe someone else who drinks more white tea can help.
Generally i would guess the difference in grades comes down to the picking. The silver needle teas seem to be pluckings of just the buds where the lower grades are the bud + the first few leaves. I also see that the cakes on YS tend to be large leaf assimica varietals like the tea used to make puer while their silver needle offerings are made with different tea varietals. That probably has a larger effect on flavor than the different grades do but I'm just spitballing.

>>13831270
>>13832056
The Yunnan Sourcing silver needle cake with the white wrapper is pretty good

>>13831146
Both of the ones I have owned are from YS. The .us site is sold out on them I think, but .com should have a wide selection still.

>>13831154
I'm definitely moving my tea setup to a safer place

>>13830593
Nice moka pot. Looks a bit old. Where'd you get it? And how does brewing tea in it compare to brewing in a pot or a mug?

>>13832999
Indeed, I got it as a gift roughly one year ago, so it's actually not that old.

I mostly just experiment with teas right now, chamomile tea is borderline risky because it kind of clogged the filter and created large amounts of pressure in the bottom chamber. I've also tested a more loose black tea and it was decent. I'd advice wetting the leaves before actually starting the heating process, it seems to help with getting the most out of it. It's much stronger, much less disgusting considering it's strength, but also incredibly wasteful compared to regular brewing. I won't stop though.

I'd say if you already have one, give it a try with tea. The espresso that thing makes is incredibly strong, btw. Had symptoms of a caffeine poisoning once from using it and drinking mate and black tea on the same day as well. Skin got all itchy'n'shit.

The chamomile tea with honey tasted like Jaegermeister without the alcohol in it, I realized it a few minutes after posting.

Bump

>Order a handmade custom 100ml gaiwan and cup combo set to replace my gaiwan that broke a bit ago.
>Get told by the potter I should expect it mid april. I say perfect, just in time for my birthday
>it gets done a few days ago
>I go to pay for it, hands trembling as I see the finished product
>get a message that planes going to america aren't taking off curently, so shipping is suspended temporarily. the potter says they'd be happy to hold it for me and have me pay when shipping starts again.
>I say, no, I'll pay for it now, and they can hold it until the shipping starts again. Since I figure it's the right thing to do.
>So here we stand, My teaware is delayed, waiting for the planes to get flying, and I am stuck here waiting for it to arrive so I can brew in a "normal" sized gaiwan again

It is so close to being in my hands, yet so far.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/789228611/reserved-for-tb-stoneware-gaiwan-100ml?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=anchored_listing

gaze on its beauty, and feel my sorrow.

>>13834520
damn that looks nice

>>13834528
Yeah, it was well worth the price IMO. its a thing of beauty, and it is just out of my reach.

Staying with the folks for the moment, went to brew and noticed that the bottom of their stainless pot is heavily blued/discolored, presumably from overheating as my mom absolutely must turn everything on high and leave it their for way too long. Will it have any negative effect on the tea?

>>13834565
if its just the steel changing colour no it shouldn't affect the tea

>>13820954
I got one from Target that can switch between f and c, holds 1700mls, and can reach all the temps I need in tea drinking, and has a stay warm function for like
80 bucks at most

only thing it doesn't have is a gooseneck, heats real nice.
Its off the Mr coffee brand

photo of 1st steep
Name: 10 Years Aged Rhyme Ripe Pu-erh
Brewing: 100c, 5g/100ml, wash, 10sec +5

Dry leaf:
woody, breaks apart easily probably because it was aged before being pressed

Wet leaf:
wood, cream, vanilla, chocolate

Tea:
2nd thick, smooth and sweet, woody, creamy. it really lingers in the mouth
7th more woody
15th 5mins still has good flavor

2016 pressing from 10 years aged ripe pu-erh tea from Dehong.
this was one of the free cake deals
this is a great tea, really lingers in the mouth and is very easy to drink, doesn't have that clawing sweetness that hit the back of your throat that some ripes have. if you want to try a ripe and you have a large YS order this is a great cake to try

>>13835308
I ordered the squares of ripe and rice scented they got recently. Seemed like a good deal, waiting for it to arrive

Bump

>>13835308
Sounds interesting, I really need to get some more ripe.

Bini

>>13825973
>>13826413
Same desu, w2t's shous and especially hot brandy got me hooked.

>>13835308

Glad to see folks enjoying ripes. That 2014 Cha Tou Sheng Yun from YS is really coming around for me after I had negative experiences with that and the 2013 Yi Dian Hong right after shipping. The former is opening up into being nice and woody with a deep cherry taste. The latter I'm convinced just isn't a good tea.

I'm excited to try more ripes. My KTM order is all fucked up in customs so we'll see.

my ys order that shipped march 5th is still in chinese customs, might neck if it doesnt make it here soon

My tea experience has largely been making bulk arnold palmers with bigass lipton teabags. What should I look for in choosing a higher quality black tea and what alternative might I consider for sweetening? I've tried juicing and zesting lemons and not had much luck there, though maybe I simply have a preference for the sweetened bullshit. Also thinking of trying thai tea - what and where should I look for ceylon tea?

>>13839406
Realizing looking through shit here that I should indicate I'm going to stick with bags for the moment. I'm still working on learning cold-brew coffee and I don't need too many forms of autism at once.

>>13839417
If you are going to stick with teabags your options are a bit limited. Fancy teabags aren't the great and they quickly become an order of magnitude more expensive than loose-leaf tea when you get towards the high end. Just messing with Lipton bags you can try coldbrewing the tea overnight in the fridge. For sweeteners you can experiment with honey agave, and coconut sugar. Thai tea is usually made with cheap powdery bulk tea you can find at Asian markets, just look for the bag of dust with thai writing on it. A good source for decent ceylon is upton tea imports. It's loose-leaf but you can get disposable teabags you can fill yourself to keep autism to a minimum.

Anyone going for those early spring greens white2tea has?

>buy decent order from ys
>can only tell different varieties apart (black, oolong, green)
>any tea of the same variety tastes exactly the same even with cheaper teas
I guess $80 isn't so bad to find out I have dead taste buds

>>13839590
that sucks man. Like really actually sucks. and I was just about to post how my cheap ripe I haven't touched in awhile tastes leagues better and different than it did last time I had it.

I'm sorry man. Maybe there's a way to fix your palette?

>>13839590
Anon, how much experience have you had with tea? Your palate isn't a fixed thing, it grows and develops with experience.

After being entry level for a while I finally got myself a kyusu! You guys weren't kidding when you said it makes greens taste so much better

>>13839676
who tf said that
i'll kill them
fuck kyusus and FUCK whoever came up with the idea of teapots which can be right-handed, lefties rise up

>>13834520
lmao this nigga bought a gaiwan that looks like it's made out of pancake

>>13839704
joking aside tho it looks good, god damn i love me some stoneware

>>13839696
stay mad lefty

>>13839709
I will always be mad. I will ALWAYS be mad. School taught me to be mad when they ran out of left handed scissors. Nintendo taught me to be mad when they made Link right handed and never changed him back. Starbound taught me to be mad when they made wasd the default controls and didn't allow key rebinding. Now I am filled with rage, and all I want is to sit down and have a calming cup of tea, and what do I see? WHAT DO I SEE?

>>13839696
>>13839707
Hey it was funny. And I have to agree, stone wear is very nice. Also, its the reason it looks like a pancake as you put it. The glaze It's coated in doesn't get those "blossoms" that dot it except on stuff with a high enough iron content to burn through the glaze and make them. Which is why I adore its look.

If I got it on porcelain or something, it'd have been a solid color, that honestly I'm not a huge fan off. those Iron blossoms are the star of the show, the glaze's normal color is just the stage

Do you got any stone wear pieces to show off? I always love seeing other people's collections

Anyone know any good herbal teas? I like like having cups of tea night but don't like to stay up late

>>13839720
got a few bits of studio pottery from my grandparents, might take pics later. mostly coffee mugs and teapots
>>13839756
coffee is my fav herbal tea

>>13839756
Poppy pods

>>13839756
Lavender
Mint
blood orange flavored
but that's just me.
also I had this https://www.amazon.com/JusTea-Caffeine-Award-Winning-Organic-Non-GMO/dp/B071RSYGND and I have no idea what's in it, but it tastes good

>>13839775
I'll be watching the thread in case you do

>>13839696
>>13839716
I write left handed and still use a kyusu with my right hand just fine.

Also, calm your tits: https://www.o-cha.com/tea-ware-brewing-accessories/japanese-teapots/left-handed-teapot.html

>>13839756
Thyme makes a pretty nice tea.

>>13839881
yeah i bet you use your mouse in your right hand too you plastic

>>13839919
Oh no, I've been found out.

>>13839929
never reply to me again, *righty*

>>13839756
Rooibos is pretty good. Red rooibos has a pretty strong flavor, and it pairs well with honeybush or with hibiscus if that's your thing. IMO green rooibos is better for blending, e.g. with mint, nettle, lemongrass...
Dandelion is surprisingly tasty and healthy, but it's a strong diuretic and I wouldn't recommend it close to bedtime.
One herbal tea that doesn't get enough love is tulsi.

Name: 2009 Gao Jia Shan "Wild Fu Zhuan" Hunan Brick Tea
Brewing: 100c, 5g/100ml, wash, 10sec +5

Dry leaf:
wood, chocolate

Wet leaf:
weird hard to describe smell like dried figs or wet leather. little smoke and tobacco

Tea:
very thick really coats the mouth, almost sour taste, sweet, little fruity, creamy. reminds me of British tea without the bitterness
a lot more red than other hei chas that usually brew pitch black
5th flavor has barely dropped, so thick, grown a little more sweet
15th still very nice, still thick for a 15th infusion

this maybe the highlight of my order out of the 9 teas i got, this isn't a golden flower aka mold tea apparently a lot of Gao Jia Shan are which makes me want to try some of them next order. fantastic tea really easy to drink and has great flavor, more red than a dark hei cha, has that sticking to the back of your throat feel but much less so. i highly recommend this, glad i bought the 400g cake instead of just a sample!
vid of Scott drinking it
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3avx9M86vc

>>13840165
really surprised how light the tea is compared to other hei chas, pic related, 3 crane liubao and
>>13830167
>>13835308

>>13839778
Anglos are not welcome here

>>13840165
I'm the one that's been shilling the gao jian shan on here. Glad you like it. It's a very interesting tea.

>>13840233
We don't need to be welcomed. Drink up, Zhang.

>>13840207
Oh damn i recommended the three cranes too. Awesome you have been enjoying this stuff. Make sure you try the new one grampa style too. It changes the flavor profile in some interesting ways.

>>13840248
yeah i picked it up because it was recommended here, thanks for the shilling!

>tfw the generic midshelf supermarket Assam blend my mom bought is actually rated FTGFOP
pleasant surprise

>>13840688
What brand did she get? I assume it's loose leaf. How's it taste?

Having some cheapo sea dyke oolong today. Nice dark roast. It's a rolled oolong but I don't think it's tieguanyin, the box just says Fujian Oolong. Anyone else had a rolled oolong that wasn't tieguanyin?

>>13839756
rose buds

>>13839459
Got some of the mao jians and the budget one. I've had the others before, except the emerald buds which I wish I could have tried.

Having some Yellow Label Lipton loose CTC black tea with a spot of milk. The package has both English and what I guess is Urdu markings, so I suppose it is for the expatriate Pakistani market.

Other than that, my stash includes Hojicha, two different Oolongs, Red Rose black tea in bags, and peppermint, camomile, and hibiscus, each in bags.

Damn I have been slacking on doing writeups on my new tea cakes. I will try and get one up tomorrow.

>>13839756
I always stick to the tried and true chamomile, but valerian root, mint, and lemongrass are all excellent options for evening herbals. :-)

>>13840891
the brand is called Ahmad, it is loose leaf
it's tasty but not super complex, has some malt sweetness and spicy notes to it
really good option for an inexpensive everyday black tea I think

>>13843835
>the brand is called Ahmad
Ahmad fucking tea?

>>13840893
Sea dyke isn't tieguanyin, you're correct. Can't remember what it is but it's the cheaper tea which tastes somewhat like tieguanyin.

>>13844208
yes, but without the fucking

>>13844280
I heard nothing but bad things about it. There's a fucktonne at the abu bakr tho. Would you rec it over twinings?

>>13844285
I can definitely recommend their ceylon and assam as good value, not sure about other teas
over here loose loose leaf twinings comes in tins and is kinda overpriced so I haven't had it in a while, but I liked ahmad's ceylon OP better than dilmah's premium ceylon

I decided to try the Black Gold Bi Luo Chun. Tastes like Ovaltine.

>>13844693
well it is slightly malty

Chad tea coming through.

>>13844717
never heard of it thus it is shit

I had too much to drink yesterday and now my stomach feels like it's in a blender. So I'm just having a single generic black tea bag in a large pot with some slices of ginger. I know it's a /tea/ sin, but I just needed something easy with some caffeine to keep me from getting a migraine.

>>13812081
What's up with adagio? Is it over-perfumed shit? I bought from them once and I've never had tea as good since, but I'm wondering if that's some perfume or other merchant trickery?

>>13845378
Expensive and flavored. If you want unflavored tea there are better places to get it (Upton tea imports, yunnan sourcing etc) . If you want flavored tea there are better places to get it (mariage freres, damann etc). The ingenuiTEA 2 brewer that they make is great if you are into that kind of thing.

Been craving a nice malty black tea. Put a little clover honey in it and had once of those sumo oranges.
>>13835308
Noted
>>13839676
That's the next type of tea pot I want to buy