/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Freshly dipped edition

Redpill me on yerba mate

>>15013113
It's good, it's stimulating, it's a bit rustic, there are tons of brands with different flavor profiles. The pastebin in the op has some info and a us vendor with a massive selection

I live on smokey tea.
Respect the crane

>>15013918

Now I want to dig out some 09 Xiaguan Chen Xiang but I'm leaving for work in 20 minutes and then going to bed when I get home.

tea with the most natural chocolate taste?
nothing added

>>15014111
Trips
Im late but it's probably best to stick with the hojicha.

Got a refill of sencha and ironwort coming in soon. The only tea and herbal I drink anymore.

Anyone that hasn't had ironwort (greek mountain tea), give it a try. It's like a mix of mediterranean herbs + olive oil

>>15014251
Probably some kind of puerh, although I couldn't give a specific recommendation. Puerh is generally on that chocolatey, earthy side though

>>15014299
>herbal
any that actually given a decent effect?

>>15014314
Get your "high" somewhere else, hippie

>>15014338
what?

>>15014314
Yeah dried whole opium poppy pods, make sure to check if they are legal in your country before ordering.

>>15014251
Yeah get one of these guys, it's easy to break up into loose-leaf it's not very heavily compacted so you can pry a bit off with a butter knife.
https://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=9_24&product_id=382

Would a DCQ pot work well for old and young dry ripes?

>>15014338
Lol

ys got rid of their comment sections, which is annoying because i enjoyed reading how others brewed and what flavors they were getting

>>15016290
Still works for me

>>15013091
What's that extra little thing you lads add to your tea to make it special? For me, a simple squeeze of honey before pouring brings a sweetness that's better than sugar. I can't explain it.

>>15016712
looks like my vpn was blocking it

Ordered a tray to bust apart cakes off etsy. Usps says they delivered it. Its not here. Hows your day going brews?

>>15016895
tea order came and i've been drinking a free sample of 2020 Yunnan Sourcing "Cozy" Ripe Pu-erh. rip tray, hope you find it

>>15016915
Oh also the 30 blind samples I got off ebay are still sitting in china while my buddies same order placed literally 2 minutes before mine were delivered and he's /sippin/.

>>15016973
Damn, shipping is supposed to be fixed now.

>>15014353
> 100g
Im not a drug dealer or shop much.
How much would 100g be?

>>15017296
0.1kg

>>15017296
About 10 dg

>>15017296
Roughly 4 ounces

>>15017296
looks like its the size of a chicken egg, maybe bit bigger

>>15017394
It's closer to a large duck egg.

>>15017296
Ignore those assholes. Its about 6g less than this.

>>15017414
100g puck fits in my palm, loose has way more volume

>>15017464
100g is 100g any way you compress it.

>>15017487
its also 0.1 kg, 10 dg & 3.5 ounces

>>15017517
If I spread it out all over a table, how many g is it?

>>15017548
what the fuck are you not understanding? he asked
>How much would 100g be?
and you're saying 100g, good job genius *clap* *clap*

>>15017589
If I were to fill a cup up with 100g, how many g would be in that cup?

>>15017603
how do you think you win this? i say 100g and 0.1 kg and 10 dg and 3.5 ounces and then you think you've made some point because you're too retarded to understand the initial question

>>How much would 100g be?
>100g
amazing...

what's in the mail /t/?
for me it's basics like gaiwans and pitchers while they're still cheap. and unhyped bricks, we'll see.

>>15017614
Why do you think this is about winning?

>>15017623
its always fun to point and laugh at retards who think they're smart
>If I were to fill a cup up with you, how many retards would be in that cup?

>>15017635
Exactly as useful as telling him 100g is 1/10 of a kilogram

>>15017710
glad you're admitting you're an asshole >>15017414
unlike myself >>15017464
who gave him a size not weight. fucking retard, what the fuck are you not understanding.

>>15017619
>what's in the mail /tea/?
Ordered a sampler of Tong Qing Hao teas from a shop on ebay, pic related. This brand gets a ton of hype from tea bloggers and group buys so I wanted to try some and this is one of the only places I've seen selling it that wasn't in some group buy format, Should be interesting to try some higher priced shu.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/poop/303563859764

>>15017799
Sounds about right for 100000 milligrams.

>>15017809
exactly its 106g - 6g

>>15016723
A dram if rum

Alright, so I want an electric kettle offa amazon, which one to go with?

>>15013091
Why not drink coffee? Coffee is better. Harder to make right, but better.

>>15018510
If you don't need temp control get this one
https://www.amazon.com/Secura-Stainless-Double-Electric-Kettle/dp/B07GZMJNTD/
If you want temp control look at oxo, or bonvita

>>15018517
coffee is for queers, tea is for the refined homosexual.

>>15018547
Jesus temp control is pricey

>>15018590
Prices are probably high right now, might be worth waiting for cyber Monday or black friday and seeing if they are offered at a better price.

>>15018517
>harder to make right
My man's never tried to brew gongfu, I see. Coffee is easy once you get a proper grinder and learn how to dial in. The only 'complexity' involved is digging through the layers of shilling that comes with preferred coffee brewing devices. Tea is an esoteric art where you can easily fuck up an entire batch because everything from temperature to brewing times to ratio varies from varietal to varietal and individual batches within a varietal.

Anyone else drink detox teas? I can't poop comfortably without one bag in my daily mug.

>>15018510
Fellow stagg.

>>15018517
Just roasted up some monteblanco purple caturra and brazilian maragogipe.

>>15018590
Buy once cry once.

>>15018639
Gongfu is easy
what are you on about?

It's extremely casual to drink Gongfu, yeah there's a lot of wiggle room to adjust temp/ratio/pot/steep times
but overall you just test stuff, I've never fucked up a whole batch as you say, everything I've ever done is very drinkable

There's more complexility to the proccess as you're not only doing all of what I said, but you're adjusting parameters as you're brewing and tasting

But don't be one of those scientific fuckers that would rather follow the exact to the 0.00 gram and exact temp guidelines set by someone else and feel rewared, drink what you drink, adjust to your preference, try new things

>>15014299
>Ironwort
based and redpilled. It's a real winner.

>>15018510
i like the oxo adjustable temperature pour-over kettle.
https://www.oxo.com/adjustable-temperature-pour-over-kettle.html
https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F

>>15018698
>I can't poop comfortably without one bag in my daily mug.
eat a better diet and get some exersize

>>15014299
>>15019949
Just bought some more mountain tea myself. Wonder how much trouble it is to ship stuff under lockdown.

>like a mix of mediterranean herbs + olive oil
Tastes kind of herbal and lemony to me.

>>15017296
For me, it would be tea for 10 to 15 days, 20-30 or more if green or really good quality

>>15020579
>Wonder how much trouble it is to ship stuff under lockdown.
International shipping is mostly back to normal, there might be random delays but generally things are moving as expected.

do americans really can tea that isn't sweet diet tea

>>15021432
Want to try that sentence again ESL-kun?

>>15021429
I was talking about Greece apparently closing back up starting today, but yeah I suspect the shipping itself is fine.

/tea/, i just got fucked over by norwegian customs for buying puers from china, like a 30$ fee... are there any good vendors in EU that has decent puer selection?
what-cha's selection of it is pretty small...
do i just have to deal with paying 30$ everytime i import tea and then buy like shitton at a time to make it worth it?

>>15021881
uk taxman got me too, i've had 4 shipments this year and only 1 was hit with customs also the only 1 shipped by surface. 3 of those were ~1kg and the other just 300g. seems to be hit or miss

>>15021881
This pastebin has several eu vendors listed, i can't promise that their prices will be good, but you can give them a look.
https://pastebin.com/twK4E6AM

>>15021940
the worst part is its not even just taxes, its like additional fees for being food items or whatever... just paying the VAT would be fine with me but, 30$ for nothing? really caught me by surprise as ive only ordered from what-cha before.
>>15021943
ah, thanks a lot. I totally missed this link in the other pastebin :c

this shit is good--white tea spiced like an earl grey :^)

Time to get those orders in for cozy winter teas

>>15022840
drinking ys "cozy" ripe right now, very nice

>>15013091
where the fuck do I find hibiscus tea

>>15023232
Yeah, imma need help on this also. By the way, I only have a gaiwan to brew tea in. I'm assuming that it won't work for tisanes right?

>>15023265
why wouldn't it? as long as it isnt very fine the lid should work as a filter, hell a lot of ripes are broken down

>>15023285
>lot of ripes broken down
Excuse me, I'm a new tea-addict so I don't get what you mean by this. Regardless, thanks for the tip. There should be no difference between western and traditional means of tea brewing between tisanes and true tea, so I'll probably be buying some hibiscus to bre soon whenever I find out where to get them.

>>15023317
ripe Pu-erh is a type of tea where the leaf is wet piled and composted for ~2 months then dried and pressed into cakes. a lot of the leaves break up into small pieces. you can brew almost anything in a gaiwan including western style

>>15023232
>>15023265
Hibiscus tea
https://dragonteahouse.biz/roselle-hibiscus-sabdariffa-floral-herbal-tea-250g-8-8-oz/
Or this if you want it from a Chinese tea brand instead of bulk from the tea shop, not sure how much, if any, quality difference there is between the two.
I have used that shop before and they are fine, but i don't generally recommend them because some of their prices are really high, these seem reasonable however.

>>15023521
Whoops forgot the second link
https://dragonteahouse.biz/zmpx-brand-roselle-hibiscus-sabdariffa-floral-herbal-tea-50g-2/

>>15013918
Try loose leaf Russian Caravan

>>15013113
>Redpill me on yerba mate
Tastes like dirt (in a good way) and it's definitely more physically energizing than tea. It's something I'd see myself drinking more of if I was doing a lot of manual labor. Yeah it has caffeine but it feels unique and different from tea or coffee.

Coofs

What tea shops have good black friday sales?

Can anyone recommend a good teapot around 300-350 ml? I looked through all the shops in the pastebin and nothing really caught my eye. I'd prefer one with no mesh filter and not made of clay. Thanks!

>>15013091
I see you like your leaf tea but would you a meat tea?

>>15025620
forgot pic

>>15021943
Africa and South America can get fucked, I guess.

>>15025807
You just now figured this out?

>>15025807
I would be happy to throw some vendors in there from Africa or south america, unfortunately i haven't seen any that look decent.

When are you gonna change that water filter, anon?

>>15025625
God yes~

>>15026651
Just ordered 2 more sets of berkey blacks a few weeks ago. Goml. Also my shitty tray finally showed up.

>>15025620
broth is literally tea

>>15025570
I looked some more and found this
https://meileaf.com/teaware/gong-fu-glass-pot/
it's almost exactly what I want; if it was just 100ml more

>>15026995
This one is 290 ml
https://www.amazon.com/Hario-Round-Tea-Pot-290ml/dp/B002LW0HVM/

>>15027057
this will do nicely, thank you anon

Sex gifs

>>15027222
chekkked n kekkked

Longjing in a glass. Nice.

>>15023232
You can't find it at the grocery store? Mountain rose herbs is pretty solid for herbal tea and is cheaper than dragon tea house

>>15025356
For them to have a black friday sale they'd have to be American. You should look for 11/11 sales instead.

I wanted to get into green tea, particularly Gyokuro first, however from what I have read; it is quite difficult to brew correctly. Should I start with something like Sencha or Bancha first?

>>15027497
>You should look for 11/11 sales instead.
than what websites have 11/11 sales?

This stuff is great and cheap. I've seen it at Wal-Mart.

Any tea for this mood https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TDgqlCmh48

>>15027487
yes
>>15027592
imagine being filtered by the green tea. just buy it and drink it. adjust the time and amount to your liking. you are already coming backwards into it, asking first and trying for yourself second. come on.

>>15027916
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Yunnan-Xin-Wen-black-Puer-tea-Factory-2015-shu-pu-er-Black-Pearl-250g/303191821605

>>15019921
>just fuck up bro it's easy
Yeah, you kinda confirmed my point. If tea brewing is 'easier' (it isn't), it's because tea drinkers are more content with their failures compared to coffeeniggers. It still doesn't make tea brewing easy.

>>15028021
tempting, looks like a mix of cha tou and huang pian and other underfermented floor sweepings.
could be good.
have you tried this yourself?
because marketing text on this site tells me it's black shu, which could be 3 steepings strong.
have you personaly tried it or not?
oleg seems to be very cheeky mongol pusher, imagine trusting him with samples of some well known teas. I would never. crazy. ;)

>>15028066
Nah i haven't tried it.
Guy seems okay, i guess i wild find out when those samples come in.

>>15028021
well, never mind, we'll see, I bought it, 16 euro for a 250g mystery shu brick is not the craziest thing I bought this week. if it's undrinkable for me I'll send it you way. hope you're happy.

>>15028097
Good luck brother, I'm just trying to picture the kind of tea that russian buyers would request, he makes it sound like jet fuel.

>>15026895
only if you include some herbal element

>>15028129
I really love that people use the term tea soup all the time. It's charming

been loving ginger tea, what are some other ideas for easy tea where you just boil 1 ingredient you already have in your pantry in some water? Gonna try some cinnamon tea soon

Do I need to brew gongfu style to drink puerh?

>>15028780
It's advisable for young or bitter puer. I drink lightly aged raws and ripes grampa style with no issues, you could also easily brew them western style and get a couple brews out of each.

>>15028041
You wouldn't think pouring liquid over leaves would be such an issue. Do you have trouble tying your shoes too? Do you use an aeropress?

how do you pronounce pu-erh?

>>15029340
poe lay

I'm going in.

Pretty cheeky name on that thing

>>15028805
>reductionism
Now you're just seething. I accept your concession of defeat, yawn.

shill me your comfiest ripe puerhs for the winter

>>15029400
Answer the question presslet. You sound like a blade grinding bozo desu. Prove me wrong.

>>15029426
That snow chrysanthemum I posted is delish. Earthy, spicy and full bodied.

I'm hearing buzz about jujube leaf tisane. Does anyone here have experience with it? How should it be brewed, and does it blend nicely with other herbals?

Is the difference between buying fresh tea by the pound and bags worth it or a meme? I want to get into tea but they are never flavorful enough from bags even when in use two of them.

>>15029426
https://teaswelike.com/product/2013-xiaguan-love-forever/

>>15029890
>jujube leaf
i brew it gongfu like a green tea.

>>15025356
>What tea shops have good black friday sales?
does anyone know?

sup /tea/, after ordering mainly from Yunnan Sourcing this year I'm looking to branch out and get into Japanese green tea more. I've previously had both loose leaf sencha and gyokuro but those were fairly basic from a local shop.

Does anyone have any experience with Yunomi? I know there's a bunch of sites listed on the pastebin but I was wondering if someone here has tried their site, because their tasting bundles and 'lessons' look pretty cool. I'm looking for sample bundles anyway.

also why are Japanese teas usually 2-3 times more expensive than Chinese teas?

also also why does Yunnan always take 1-2 months to get to Western Europe, I need that shit faster

Fuck your bland pretentious leaf water. COFFEE FOR LIFE!

>>15030195
>also why are Japanese teas usually 2-3 times more expensive than Chinese teas?
If I had to guess, China has more land to farm it, semi slavery conditions for workers and an economy built on mass importation. The Japanese surely capitalize on weebs to inflate price, and the Chinese minmax to produce cheaper like everything else they do.

>>15030195
>Does anyone have any experience with Yunomi?
not yet but they are one of the main vendors so i expect that they should be good.
>also why are Japanese teas usually 2-3 times more expensive than Chinese teas?
japan has a much higher average standard of living than china. the only reason Japanese tea is affordable at all is because it's production is more mechanized than a lot of Chinese tea. there is quite a bit of Japanese tea that is comparable in price and quality to mid to higher end Chinese tea though so pricing is not that bad. Gyokuro and Matcha are also more expensive because you have to shade the plants to make it which decreases yields.
>also also why does Yunnan always take 1-2 months to get to Western Europe, I need that shit faster
because you did not pay for DHL.

>>15030212
>importation
Exportation

Is Hibiki-an any good? Thinking of trying Sencha Fukamushi Superior from there.

>>15030225
DHL is never offered as an option to The Netherlands, but yeah cheers for the other replies

which teas taste good without milk?

>>15030274
All of them taste better without milk tbqh with you phamiglia

>>15030292
not really. I'm a tealet so i only really drink english breakfast and that's awful without milk

>>15030245
>DHL is never offered as an option to The Netherlands
it costs a ton and has a high minimum cost anyways so you are not missing out that much. i only used it because of the possibility of covid messing up Chinese shipping again and my package disappearing like happened to some people in the spring (DHL has a lot of its own planes infrastructure if i recall and therefore should be less affected because it does not relay so much on passenger planes for its cargo). it is very fast though, I have gotten a YS order within a week using it.

>>15030274
>which teas taste good without milk?
almost all tea that is not a western style blend, a CTC/fannings/dust/bagged tea, some chai, and perhaps a few very strong Indian teas (or Indian style blacks grown in Africa) that are often used to make the former. i never understood the English obsession with making their tea so strong that they need to douse it in milk and sugar to make it palatable then complaining its too weak when they do and subsequently demanding stronger tea to make up for it.

>>15030349
where would you recommend I get them? how is green tea with just hot water?

>>15030386
where would you recommend I get them?
depends on what you are looking for (Chinese, Japanese, or Indian/Sri Lankan/Nepalese), how much you want to spend, and where you live.
some popular suggestions (Note I have not personally ordered from many of them and this is not by any means a complete list):
China:
https://yunnansourcing.com/
https://yunnansourcing.us/
https://www.teavivre.com/
Taiwan:
https://taiwanoolongs.com/
https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/
Japan:
http://www.yunomi.life
https://www.sazentea.com/
India:
https://www.teabox.com
Bit of everything:
https://what-cha.com/
Higher Markup but generally good and beginner friendly:
https://verdanttea.com/
https://meileaf.com/

some other lists to look at:
https://pastebin.com/80GeeXJV
https://pastebin.com/twK4E6AM
https://old.reddit.com/r/tea/wiki/vendors/page_01

tips: for the most part avoid places that primary sell lots of fruit or flower blends, and places that primarily sell breakfast blends if that's not what you are looking for. vendors with a narrower focus often have better tea. vendors that appear to directly source their tea instead of buying through a wholesaler tend to be better. vendors that give you some real information on the tea (not "ancient Chinese imperial delicacy" or some other marketing fluff) tend to be better. keep in mind that some vendors tend to sell different grades of teas and some have more markup then others. shops in the country of production tend to be lower markup. shops in expensive cities tend to be higher markup

>how is green tea with just hot water?
good, i don't add anything to any of my teas. it is however very important to use the correct brewing times, water/leaf ratios, and water temperatures or the tea will not end up good. i don't have time to type up all the details right now so you should do some research on your own.

Why is scott from YS so obsessed with Kunming storage, from my experience it's so fucking dry and takes away a lot of the complexitiy of aging
I much prefer Guangdong / HK / Xishuangbanna / Taiwan dry storage

even the offically "dry" storage places do better than Kunming

>>15030608
>Why is scott from YS so obsessed with Kunming storage
because i am pretty that is where he located and that is what he likes.
>even the offically "dry" storage places do better than Kunming
things like Taiwan dry storage mean they are dry relative to what it could be like in Taiwan not that it is dry in an absolute sense.

>>15030767
yes i know
I don't want desert dry like Kunming though

Taiwan can be dry storage, but it's not desert dry

>>15029382
nice, brought that early this year, i really like it. sadly i dont think they sell it any more, its no longer on thier site

>>15030274
I think part of this is just disciplining yourself to drink tea without sugar+milk. I starting drinking tea with sugar, and then maybe some cream later one but I finally just figured out that tea is good on it's own usually if you just prepare it right.

>>15030914
thing is I actually like black coffee but tea without milk is nasty as hell. i always thought tea with sugar was disgusting too to be fair

>>15031012
are you drinking teabag tea without milk? the leaves in bags are so fine it always gives terrible bitter harsh tea

>>15031044
yeah. i'm new to tea so i'm literally just using run of the mill english breakfast stuff

what are some good herbal teas with no caffeine? i bought a teapot and want to start drinking tea again, but i don't really want to start drinking caffeine again since i'm sensitive to it.

>>15031055
that stuff is made to withstand milk. try some Darjeeling or better yet vahdam sells variety selections of loose leaf, or any loose leaf. i dont think any bagged could be drunk without milk its just too low quality. wonderful thing about loose is you can resteep it 2 or 3 times so while it does cost a little more in the long run it evens out

>>15029896
You should definitely try loose leaf tea, it's usually a much better experience than teabags

>>15031086
cool. do I need a tea strainer for that?

>>15030608
Yeah i agree, I'm not a huge fan of Kunming storage, i have had better luck with Guangdong. It doesn't help that a few of the "wet storage" teas that scott sells have gotten too wet at some point which scared me away from trying more humid storage from other vendors.

>>15031063
In terms of generics, I like peppermint and chamomile (as two separate tisanes).

>>15031063
Tulsi (holy basil), licorice, spearmint

>>15031168
You don't need one, (see grampa style in the pastebin) but you probably should get one, i always recommend the ones from finum but anything except the tea ball style ones should be fine.

>>15031168
yeah, if you want the cheapest option a mug brew basket is probably your best choice, although a cheap gaiwan will help keep it warm while brewing and you'll be able to try gonfuing chinese teas

>>15031247
>>15031252
thanks i forgot about chamomile and that i like it and i love licorice so i'll look into buying those for now

>>15013091
wa la

>>15032156
>Grampa style in a teacup
Based

>>15032156
Use a gaiwan in future, you can use the lid to filter the leaves

>>15032313
Not him, I don't think i could drink out of a gaiwan without pouring tea all over myself.

Currently drinking the 2006 GZ Natural Raw from the October W2T club. Using 6g/100ml, boiling water.

The thing that is striking to me about this tea is that it has a very round, dank flavor to it. It's reminding me of being at summer camp as a kid and swimming in the pond, and getting some of the pond water in your mouth and spitting it back out. It's not fishy and it's not gross in any way, but it's definitely making me think of the smell and taste that just kind of existed all throughout your mouth and nose after spending a long day hanging onto the sides of the docks and diving down to the bottom of the pond. It also has a very manageable amount of saliva inducing astringency, which is contributing to that overall pond/lake sense, and is very warming. I'm not sure I can really convey it any better than that at this point and I only have 6g left after this, so I may not be able to moving forward, either.

>>15020579
>Tastes kind of herbal and lemony to me.
Different mountains can taste different. I've had several with a strong olive oil flavor though, and typically oregano

>>15018550

>>15022083
I prefer this one. Would love to try the evening version, but they sold out a long while ago & never got more.

>>15030206
I hope you drown in Starbucks.

>>15033839
Wild, do you enjoy it?

>>15033072
While some old chinese dudes do drink straight form the gaiwan, you generally pour it into something else.

>>15034249
for grandpa? no

>>15034467
Generally you would use a larger mug or vessel for grandpa and the leaves should sink to the bottom after a little while.

>>15034019

Yeah I'm really liking it. It's not quite like anything else I've had in a tea before.

>>15035089

Actually, I just had a thought. This is the oldest tea I've yet had and I'm getting the distinct impression that this is what ripes were aiming at when they were invented. It doesn't taste like a ripe, to be clear, but I feel like I can definitely see the framework of how all of that played out if their thought process was, "people like old tea, we need to make old tea faster, we're gonna make ripe puerh, it's not really the same but has some similar qualities and is good as its own thing."

I don't know, but...I guess I can imagine a scenario where you're aiming for a result like what this tea is and you land at ripes. I'll probably be able to evaluate the idea further once I try some more aged raws.

Im trying out the white2tea basics puer tea sample set, and it really didnt get me wanting more, though ive only had sessions twice with each variety so far.
Since its my first time trying out puers, i might be making some mistakes of course, but im trying to brew 6-7g per 120-130 ml, with some variation between infusions.
The wet leaves, especially the 2014 raw and 2018 spring, have some nice and interesting smells, but it just doesnt translate into the brews, its only when they are nearly room temp that the more fruity notes come out.
Am i just doing everything wrong? Do my tastebuds just suck?
Have you guys had any experience with the w2t basics?

Tried some persian black tea today.
Pretty gud stuff, especially considering it was only ~5€ per gram.
Has some nutmeg notes to it, if you know what I mean
https://www.teahouse.de/Schwarzer-Tee/Iran/PERSISCHER-BLATT-TEE::2074.html#horizontalTab1

>>15035759
5ct per gram lel

>>15013091
How deep is the tea game bros????

Got sort of a tangential question.
I've read tea works as a household odor absorbent, does this also apply after brewing it and letting the leaves sun dry again? Looking for another use that isn't composting.

>Earl Grey
based or cringe?

Towards the end of October and the start of November my mom came out to visit me, since then I've grown quite a collection of tea and had been wanting to see one of my local tea shops.
Long story short, I converted my mom to tea. She finally realized that a good brew shouldn't be bitter and off tasting. Feels pretty fuckin' good bros. :3

>>15034479
not necessarily

>>15035134
Ripes never managed to actually copy the taste of old raw.
They just kind of copied the liu bao fermentation process to try and make tea that Hong Kongers would drink without sticking in a humid warehouse for half a decade first. Ironically when ripe eventually caught on in HK they started putting it in the humid storage for a few years anyway..

>>15035170
Hmm, it sounds like you are using the right brew parameters.
Can you describe more of what you are getting in terms of flavor?
Are you finding it bland and tasteless?
Is it too bitter?
Are you getting some kind of strong flavor out of it?

>>15036081
I think tea as a household odor absorbent is more of a warning to store it properly than a tip on how to freshen up your kitchen

>>15035759
Does that listing say it's grown in Iran?

>>15036328
Nice! Now you know what to get her for Christmas.

>>15035845
>How deep is the tea game bros????
>In 2005, during the Shanghai International Tea Festival, [20 grams of da hong pao] was auctioned for about 28,000 USD. At last, in the same year during the Wuyishan Da Hong Pao Festival, the tea was auctioned for a record breaking 30,200 USD. That’s equal to about 1500 USD per gram (0.035 oz)!
These are the highest known public auction prices. The real expensive stuff changes hands privately behind closed doors.

>>15036725
yes. they have their own website http://www.zubin.ir/index.html

>>15036814
Iran USDA Oraginic LOL. i will keep an eye out for it at middle eastern markets.

>>15036711
Oh I see that makes sense. Kind of a shame, would be neat to recycle it as an air freshener.

>>15030386
>>15030529
anon i was relying to if you read this can i get a (you). i like to know if my post was helpful. thanks

>>15036746
>[20 grams of da hong pao] was auctioned for about 28,000 USD
its a Veblen good at that price (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veblen_good).). they are buying it at that price not because it is 1000's of times better or rarer but because they can feel smug for drinking $1400/gram tea. if you tried to sell the same customer an equivalent tea for $5/gram (still super expensive) they would probably not be as interested.

Why does my earl grey taste very bitter despite only being steeped for 2 min.

>>15037022
Water too hot?

>>15037022
yeah i like my blacks at 90c

>>15036703
2 basic 2018 spring raw, params 7g leaves to 130g hot water, not fully boiling probably from 95 and below.
im brewing in a thick glass, with a small lid inside to emulate a gaiwan, and pouring directly into my glass cup, both warmed up with hot water before brewing.

The wet leaves smell like warm berries, blueberry+raspberry pie, has an earthy musty tinge, and a bit of an acidic bite - unpleasant old sour smell. after rinsing did my first infusion.
1st infusion - probably 20 secs, tea smells like a tiny hint of the leaves in regards to the berry fruitful smells, still has that earthy tone
pretty bland, definitely not just hot water but none of the smells from the leaves come through. Has a hint of bitterness on the tip of the tongue (probably since i infused for a bit long).
2nd infu - 15s, wet leaves smell even stronger of berries, some of that acidic off-colour is gone or masked. Brew doesnt really smell of much. Tastes a bit of the smell of the dry leaves, bitter tinge
3rd infu - 15s, brew has more of the berry smell to it, tastes mostly mild bitterness, i let it cool down a bit before tasting the last bit, and what i got was nothing that stood out, just a gentle bitterness.

I really suck at describing flavours, but im just really sad that the wonderful fruity things i smell from the leaves dont translate to the brew, if i infuse longer it just gets bitter. i try to get every last drop of tea out of the brewer as i can as to not let it oversteep inbetween infusions, and i let the leaves rest with the lid askew to cool them down.
in general its no real strong flavours im getting from it but if i extract for longer it just gets too bitter to drink.
Next step is trying a different brewing vessel i guess, this glass might just not be fit for it.

>>15017857
This.
Tea + rum is one of the greatest combination I've ever discovered

>>15016723
I mean honey tastes wildly different from plain sugar, it's very floral which pairs well with infusions.

>>15037171
It definitely sounds like you are doing the brewing correctly, or at least close enough that it shouldn't cause problems.
I don't really have any experience with w2t teas. I really with they would give the region of the tea from the sampler you got so i had a better idea of what flavors you should be looking for.
You have the whole set right?
Try brewing 3-4 grams of the 2014 raw in a mug ”grampa style" as described in the pastebin and report back on how it tastes.

>>15037059
Me too, fuck niggers.

How fast can I expect a Yunnan Sourcing order to be delivered from China to the US?

>>15037546
watch out lad i got banned for "racism"

thoughts on T2 and whittard?

>>15038200

>>15038200
both are trash and overpriced horse shit
paying 85% for brand

I found this as loose tea leaves at my local store, brewed it up in my French press and have never looked back. As long as you follow the recommended brew times of 5-8 min its far superior to anything in a tea bag and its 3.50 usd for a container that lasts at least week.

>be me
>live in place associated with tea
>no loose leaf tea and limited selection of tea bags in local store
>go to Australia
>good loose leaf tea everywhere plus uk themed tea accessories

>>15038216
thanks any better recommendations?

>>15038233
>>go to Australia
>>good loose leaf tea everywhere plus uk themed tea accessories
closer proximity to Darjeeling growing region

>>15038241
vahdam is good for india, just skip their greens. they do a very nice earl grey and smoked assam

>>15038263
thanks

>>15038133
if you are willing to shell out for DHL you will get your order in about a week. DHL only makes sense for larger orders though as it has a high minimum cost.

guys would tea should i get that i can order from the internet?

>>15038358
>>15038133

Scott just announced they're doing a new shipping option that pools smaller orders into one larger DHL order they're able to send over to Texas and then have USPS finish up. Said that's around 4 weeks probably and is the best option for <2kg orders.

Just ordered a custom 160ml traditionally processed Zhuni Jun De pot from Yanni bois

>>15039162
Yanni?

>>15039248
https://yannzishagallery.com/

>>15039258
Nice, some pretty cool stuff on there. I really like some of the tea pets and carvings.
I'm too clumsy to buy nice teaware.

>>15039290
It's pretty hard to find traditonally processed modern pots, a lot of claims similar to that effect, but it's bullshit basically

You either are forced to get a pre 77 f1 pot, or lookd around asking basically every vendor what their processing is, yanni is one of the few that do it, but they only do it on their Zhuni or if you specfically ask for it and they accept

Even though some of the very affordable Mud & Leaves pots are great, chantingpines / yinchen also, they're all modern processing, so that will mean barium, no manual kneading
, which is going to effect the grain quality and texture

>>15039290
What are those things? They look like upside down cups but they wouldn't stand upright with those ears.

>>15039386
teapets

>>15039356
Ive looked into clay and pots just enough to know it's a huge complicated topic that of course brings in antiques and the joy of trying to authenticate Chinese antiques, the complexity of different clay compositions and firing techniques, all kinds of fun stuff. Maybe someday i can get into it

>>15039481
It's not as hard people let on though

these are the general tips
either go green label F1, Qing yixing, or get traditionally proccesed modern, failing these, look for a fine grain modern (be it 90's white label, or actual modern)
If you spend less that $100, you're getting a bad pot, a common mindset is, if you can't get what was listed above, then stick to porcelain because a cheap pot will underperform to porcelain

Don't worry about pairing tea to pot's, don't worry about seasoning a pot with a specific tea (just season with boiling water), use whatever tea in whatever pot's, it really doesn't matter, rinse the pot out with some boiling water a couple of times after each use and you're set, if you need to season a pot heavily to get it to not mute like crazy, you've either got a bad pot, or you're using a heavy muting pot on a tea that doesn't need much muting
the only expection to this rule would be aged shou and high roast oolong's

first and foremost, buy good clay, then worry about everything else later
if you're buying a modern pot for let's say for over $200, you're paying for the artist and artistry to some extent

firing technique should be ignored, don't buy mixed clay unless you get recomendation's beforehand from people who own that specific pot, just stick to pure stuff

there's some very good sources online, here's a list
chawangshop
yannzishagallery
teaswelike
chantingpines
yinchenstudio
mudandleaves
essenceoftea

I'm sure there's other's for yixing, but these are the most commonly known and can be 100% trusted

You can spend time thinking about each clay type, muting, thickness, grain, proccesing, old vs modern, mesh, size, shape
these do all come into importance it's true, but in the end, buy good clay, worry later, when you get good clay, just try every type of tea in it, and whatever you prefer is what you should use with it, some prefer hongni for shou, some a DCQ zini etc

ask the community first also

>>15039542
Awesome thanks anon!

>>15039542
Great stuff. I added your post to the faq and added a teapot section to the vendor list.

>>15036814
Can you vouch for it? Can Americans order from here?

>>15039620
oshit
Maybe add a couple more things then

Never rush into buying yixing, ask around, ask the seller, post pictures on good forums and get opinions from actual experts about grain denisity, colour, and many other thing's, you'd be suprised at just how many people out there own the exact pot you're looking at, or have bought from that seller many times that can share their experience with it

Teachat is great
CommuniTEA discord is great

Lid fitting is a complete meme, it don't actually effect the tea, every modern pot, even the worst most fake yixing pot's out there, will have a tight fitting lid
It's extremely easy to do, older pot's won't have a tight fit, but again, it doesn't matter

There's a few thing's to consider also, practicality, this will include shape, pour times and what not
This is your own personal prefence, but don't go buying a pot that you won't enjoy using just because it's good clay, if it's not going to feel good in your hand and be enjoyable and practial to use as a workhorse, then consider something else, there's many people out there that rushed into buying a pot that is a very good one, but they never use it
size is one of the big one's for practically, just how much tea do you want to drink? are you willing to use a lot of tea for each session?
The only consideration about size beyond preference, is heat retention
small pots will not be able to hold heat well (talking under 100ml here) and for aged puer, it's not recommended to go lower than that, the ideal size for heat retention would be between 150ml - 200ml, you also got to consider leaf size and will that shape and size be annoying to use with some tea? are you going to have to cram in and potentially break up the tea leaves to get them in there? then maybe think of something else

If you're looking for antique pots, expect to pay thousands, if it's an ROC pot, you can safely get one for just under a thousand
a lot of these pot's are hard to come by though

>>15031063
my favorite is stinging nettle, but also
>verbena
>linden
>chamomile
>hibiscus with ginger, fresh or candied, and one clove per teapot
>peppermint
>sage, fresh is better but dried works fine too. It's also good iced

>>15039685
Haha great thanks anon

>>15038225
haven't tried this one, but I've had pic related and their english breakfast and I can confirm that it shits all over anything you might get at a supermarket. Before the plague I could get a lb for 8 leafbucks

>>15039734
I'd include a quick thing about traditional processing also

The reason why a lot of people out there will say pre 77 F1 pot's (they started to add barium after this to their pots), antique pot's and ROC pots are better, is because they don't use additives in their processing (barium) to replace manual kneading, they will also have better and traditional stone mill processing when working with the ore

Barium is a toxic, but the general consesus it's not going to accumlate like lead, long term health effect's simply won't come into play.
the reason why Barium is added is to skip a step called Mud Training, the reason this is done is because the clay contains salts that cause efflorescences on the surface, the modern way is to add Barium, which is cheaper and less labour intensive.

Why does this all matter if not for the health effects?
Because without manual keading, it's going to effect and have a different outcome on the porosity, and texture, which can overall negatively change the pot's performance.

Since it's very hard to find antique pot's, pre 77 f1's, ROC pot's with not only the correct size, shape, and clay, and even if you do you're going to be paying extreme prices, what's the solution?
It's not common, as teapot producers generally aren't willing to make pot's in the traditional way, but there are currently some on the market that are 100% traditionally made, some claim something along the lines, but a heavy amount of caution should be had with these claims.

yannzishagallery, all of their Zhuni pot's are traditionally processed, you can also ask and commission some, but they may say no.
the other trusted source, is teaswelike. currently he has a Qingshuini and Benshan lv ni pot that was traditionally processed, and they're both extremely affordable. He plans to release more made in the same way in future.

>>15039542
I imagine this popular offering from YS is off the table?
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/yixing-pottery/products/da-hong-pao-clay-xi-shi-yixing-teapot-180ml

Seems impossibly cheap compared to similar known quality pot like https://yannzishagallery.com/collections/zhuni/products/%E8%A5%BF%E6%96%BD-xishi-40ml-70ml-%E9%BB%84%E9%BE%99%E5%B1%B1%E6%9C%B1%E6%B3%A5-huang-long-shan-zhuni-%E6%BD%98%E4%BF%8A-pan-jun-100ml

>>15039734
add tealifehk to one of the vendor's
he's very good also

>>15039850
Everything from YS i have seen seems quite bad
The colour is completely off on the one you posted, no grain what so ever, the texture is completely off, unknown artist, mixed clay, far too cheap, da hong pao is a made up name that doesn't mean anything

I always get nervous with these type of yixing posted, with such a low price and how sketchy it is I'd be worried something like lead would be added
big nono

a common trick among cheap yixing sellers is to include a long story and history of the artist
but 1000% that is large factory produced

yanni is a very good source of yixing, one of the best if not the best for modern yixing
but a lot of that price is not going to translate into the tea, It's very much an artist focused vendor
don't get me wrong, if you got a yanni, you're going to be happy with whatever you get
but unless half the reason you want a pot from yanni is the artistry, then your money is better spent elsewhere

one of the best money to quality ratio's is mud and leaves
you're not going to get some premium artistry that's handmade, but you will get some good clay

you linked zhuni
https://www.mudandleaves.com/store/p373/yixing-teapot/zhuni/shuiping.html
this is a very affordable modern pot that uses good clay and is well made

work at a small tea shop
ama

>>15039914
What do you prefer to drink aged shou in / what do you use for customers?

>>15039899
any recommendations for porcelain teaware?

>>15039916
sadly in shop we only have basic ass tea cups
but i usually drink in a cup as wide and flat as i can so the tea can aerate a lil bit while i'm sippin

>>15039924
There's not much to say about porcelain, it's all kinda the same
just get a gaiwan you like the look of and if it's a good size for you
can buy from anywhere

>>15039925
I meant brew in

>>15039899
I figured, that's good to know. I'm partial to xishi shape so might ask about availability on this pot
https://www.mudandleaves.com/store/p348/dahongpao/xishi.html

Also these are interesting. Scary to buy off eBay cause although it includes certifications, what is that really worth.

https://www.ebay.com/i/132045203395?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Chinese-handmade-Yixing-xishi-hu-zisha-zhu-clay-tea-pot-Gongfu-teapot-150cc/132043478830?hash=item1ebe67972e:g:SBUAAOSwdGFYq~Kz

>>15040101
I'd stay away from ebay unless it's a known and trusted seller

and yeah that mud and leaves one is perfectly great
if that's the shape and zize and clay you want, got for it

teadb guys reviewing another liu an from chawangshop, this time lesser grade, but they're more involved in the tasting compared to the last time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDyZspSpaQM
echoing some of my first impressions I had few threads ago.
liu an is the king of heicha

>>15040503
I really liked the sample of it i tried,

>>15038417
yeah i just saw that. neat for making smaller orders.

>>15023823

any advice on brewing yunnan black tea?
i made some of this
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/certified-organic-teas/products/certified-organic-yunnan-black-tea
recently and found it too bitter at boiling water and normal gongu brew times. i switched to 190 degrees fahrenheit water and flash brews and found the tea much improved. what is the typical brewing parameters for Yunnan black teas?

I though i remembered reading somewhere that yunnan black teas are better after a short resting period is that true?

>>15041075
Sometimes you just gotta test
try treat it like a dan cong

0 / 5 / 10 / 15 8g/100ml

boiling water should be used on everything except for green/whites/Purples

>>15041075
and every tea needs a resting time
non-pressed tea's will rest faster since it's not compressed into a cake, so a couple weeks would most likely be fine, though it depends on your current climate
if you got a Pumidor, then you're fine no matter what

>>15039670
If you order from the german teashop that should be no problem. Shipping is propably gonna be pretty expensive.
Don't know about ordering directly from iran though...
I really like the taste. It tastes different from the chinese keemun black tea I have and the indian blends. I would buy it again.

>>15041230
>>15039670
Don't know how to describe the taste. Still pretty nooby on things like that although I'm drinking tea the whole day. I would go with the nutmeg definition.

>>15035759
Also tried the Yunnan Yellow Needle tea from the shop. Pretty interesting melon like taste. Maybe my favourite so far from all the teas I've tasted so far.

>>15041151
>0 / 5 / 10 / 15
i will definitely try shorter steeps next time.
>8g/100ml
that's my default ratio for everything that's not a 5g sample anyways
>boiling water should be used on everything except for green/whites/Purple
not sure that is always true i had some first flush Darjeeling tea that definitely seemed better at 190F. i think some of the semi oxidized black teas and "yellow" (not the green yellow teas but the ones that are almost black and sold as "yellow") teas may benefit from a lower temp (and no i did not mean oolongs their are some "black" teas mainly Indian that don't look fully oxidized). I have also seen some vendors recommend using lower temps for some of their black teas occasionally. i am aware that 212F is standard though and that is what i normally use. YS even says use 90C for black teas.
>Purples
not a tea processing type but i presume you know that already.

>>15041162
when you say resting time do you mean after the tea is unsealed or just acclimating to temperature. i am talking about regular tea not puer or pressed cakes for aging i am aware of the importance of humidity for those. I would rather not unseal any non pressed tea i am not planing on drinking soon as i would like to keep it fresh. my question on resting was because i though someone on here said a while back that yunnan blacks in particular where best if they had "rested" a number of months.

>>15041303
From my experience, if you need to use less than boiling temp, the tea has been processed badly, you will get less of it's character but in exchange you won't get as much sourness or bitter/astringent
not worthit

much better to adjust your paramaters of the brew than to ever touch the temp

you don't need to unseal them, you just don't need them to acclimate to your climate, and lose any potential smells it may of got from travelling, if you ever notice your cup is cloudy, it's probably going to be due to not resting enough

The general consenus is to rest all tea's, some you can drink straight away, some have no flavour or are extremely bitter on arrival

you don't really need to wait month's for unpressed tea to rest
a common thing for people to do with puerh is to break off 50g and make it into loose tea, then let it rest for a couple weeks, then that will be ready to drink

>>15037498
I tried grandpa style, about the same taste, maybe a bit stronger, definitely more earthy tones, and not really any bitterness to talk about even when i let it stay for a while, i think i need more leaves in my normal brews. Thanks for all the help!

>>15040781
I've had a bunch of ripe puer that fit the "Tastes like slightly decomposing old tree, but in a good way"

>>15042442
it tastes like old lake water

Do you have some kind of excel tabel with the puerh cakes you own and shit
I wanna get autistic about aging puerh
I have got around 3 shou and 2 sheng cakes, nothing fancy, were at most ~30€ per cake and am currently storing them in the kitchen attic, which has a door, but odors probably still come through. So I have to find some seperate place where I can store it, with a humidifier possibly, because climate is quite dry over here.
How do you do it, puerh anons

>>15042464
yeah but in a good way

>>15042492
I just remember what I have
I store mine either in boxes (wood or woven) and Cabinet's
I just stick a humidifer in there if need be, but I don't really need to since im in the UK
I ziplock quite a few of them, but some I don't, it just depends
Every few months I'll let it air out and maybe change the layout so there's even aging

There some cakes I just have outside of storage in ziplocks though

>>15042579
thanks
just bought some humiditiy meters, so I'm gonna see how dry my cakes are

>>15041583
Godspeed anon.
I think you should have some luck if you keep drinking and experimenting.

>>15042492
This is a good introductory article
https://teadb.org/simple-home-storage-solutions
This page has loads of excellent articles about home storage, tracking prices, buying philosophy etc.
https://teadb.org/puerh/

>>15042776
yes. I sometimes watch their youtube videos.The videos are how I got interested in proper puerh storing.
Thanks for the article

LiquidProustTeas is doing their yearly Puerh Beginner Packages. if you are new to puer you may want to check them out.
https://old.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/jsaw3z/puerh_beginner_packages_2020_the_fifth_year_the/
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/719815976/2020-puerh-beginner-package

>>15043488
nope, don't do this

>>15043699
why?

>>15043488
I thought about it but paypal was being fucky, ill take tat as a sign to skip this.

Personal Gaiwans:
60ml, 90ml, 100ml, 120ml, something else? Does it really matter?

>>15043849
100-120
160-200 if you want to drink out of the gaiwan like an old chinese guy.

>>15013091
white tea was a game changer for me.

So mild, so delicate, healthier, higher ECGC, lower fluoride, young leaves. Just amazing.

The only brand I've ever gotten is Prince of Peace so I can't speak for the others

>>15043488
Ended up taking my chances with this, I'm expecting some random cheap factory tea will show up in February or March.

>>15044303
I need to try more white tea.
Soo many teas to drink, so little time.

>>15043488
Liquidproust is great
I speak to him fairly often

>>15019143
>Fellow stagg
Is this good? I was asking about it in the /coffee/ thread the other day. My biggest concern is that while the pour is steady which I'm sure is good for pour-over coffee it might be annoyingly slow for tea. The guy on Mei Leaf said the same thing in his review but still preferred it over the Bonavita.

I don't do gongfu cha sessions regularly so its not going to be a deal breaker right?

>>15044972
Yeah I'm the same guy lol. It is a little slow but its not a big deal. All I do is gongfu, pourovers, and pull shots with my flair.

>>15043488
Oh yeah i remember this guy, i found his website a while ago and he has a bunch of eccentric listings. I looked at the teas he sent out previous years and it seems like it might be worth it.

>>15044972
OXO brew Adjustable Temperature Kettle is great as well and cheaper. i got sold on it by someone else here and don't regret it. i think i remember hearing it has a slightly faster pour than the stagg.

>>15045942
yeah he has been doing this for years. I have had no interactions with him in the past but it seems he has quite the positive reputation. i believe a bunch of the tea in these beginner packages is donated by other enthusiasts to allow the event to be viable. I ordered some because i fit the "new to puer" description and am looking forward to see what i get.

just a reminder: angloids are responsible for destruction of tru tea
without those filthy angloid scum you wouldn't have to bother with gayass teabags

Do you guys seriously trust chinks to provide you with uncontaminated tea? It's definitely loaded with heavy metals and pesticides. They don't give a fuck.

>>15047176
I don't care at this point. everything is loaded with chemicals these days. the few cups of tea won't make much of a difference anymore

>>15047166
>you wouldn't have to bother with teabags
you don't have to buy them you know. also thanks to the English we did get some nice Darjeeling tea so its not all bad.

>>15047176
>uncontaminated tea
i try to buy organic teas or a least teas from sources i think to be clean for daily drinkers. it is admittedly a bit harder to find good quality organic Chinese tea then for tea from Japan or India (and non organic Japanese tea is probably safe as is). I think some people just try to ignore the pesticide health risk and some even get rather touchy if you bring it up. I want to enjoy life (and good tea) when i get to retirement age not suffer from Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and cancer. hopefully china cleans up its act. I think things are already (slowly) moving in the right direction.

>>15047812
I'm drinking around 10g a day of the cheap chinkshit from healthteahuse/fullchea. How long until I die of cancer or some shit?

>>15047176
So is japanese tea, they have some of the highest pesticide use in the world and god only knows what they are using in india. Don't drink the same batch of tea from the same factory for a decade straight and you will probably be fine.

>>15047812
the plain ol english/irish/scottish breakfast teas get a bad rap. Cheap dust in a bag isn't gonna be good, but good loose leaf breakfast blends can be amazing. All the nostalgia plus quality. I've gone down the tea rabbit hole and enjoy many teas, but I love a flavorful black tea with milk. Potent Scottish breakfast with just enough cream to take the edge off of it accompanied by toast with jam is my current breakfast go-to.
and no I'm not an OAP, not even a bong, just want to defend the style of tea from the damage tetley and lipton have done to its perception.

>>15048013
Just don't buy a 5 kilo bag of the same batch of tea and drink it for a year straight. The larger domestic tea brands and puer factories are most like to have some degree of regulatory oversight so ironically cheap xiaguan tuos are probably more likely to be tested and clean then some small farmers production being sold by some tea dealer.

>>15013091
Ay lets chill with the sinophobia in dis thread, huh?

Aight anyway I'm pouring up a cup of Lapsang Souchong after several cups of coffee

>>15046294
Its cheaper because it doesn't have a pid.

>>15048013
The exact risks of low level pesticide exposure are not yet fully quantified but there is a growing corpus evidence that chronic exposure to many pesticides is associated with increased developing various diseases especially for farmers who get higher exposures (for example Parkinson’s). It should come as no surprise that neurotoxins we spray to kill insects are not great for us either. Its just very difficult to prove the exact risk associated with things that only cause modest increases in rate of disease over an extended period of time. For example lets say exposure a hypothetical pesticide is suspected to increase lifetime cancer risk. How do we know how exactly much pesticide they were exposed to and when? How do we know exactly what their cancer risk from all other factors would have been without the pesticide exposure? There is just so many variables we can not easily control for. I apologize if my explanation is bad I don't have time to write an essay right not.

>>15048062
>japanese tea highest pesticide use in the world
citation for that? i also trust japan to actually properly test for the quantity of pesticide that makes it into the end product and have more strict limits.

>what they are using in india
I agree i would not trust the cheap stuff al that much but many of the big high end estates have high quality organic offerings so you still have plenty of selection even if you only wanted organic. my point was you can easily experience most of the good tea varieties from japan and India (plus Nepal and sri lanka) while only buying organic. Taiwan even has a reasonably good selection of organics. the same is not necessarily true for China.

>>15048062
>>15048110
>buy from different vendors
that just hedges your bet it may increase your risk or decrease it.

>>15048110
>big brands have regulatory oversight
i agree somewhat with this though i am not sure if China's acceptable levels of contaminants are really ideal. still i would definitely feel safer with a big brand then some sketchy no name factory selling $10 cakes.

November W2T club is in. Gonna try the black tea and see how it treats me on this cold and rainy day.

>>15048533

Leaves in a warm gaiwan are extremely sweet and fruity, like opening up a fruit by the foot. Wet leaves deepen and lose some of the sweetness in exchange for some roastiness. First few infusions taste very much like how the wet leaves smell, deep and fruity and with just a bit of lapsang-like roastiness.

This tea is not super dissimilar from the Dan Cong Black Tea from Kong Mountain Tea, which is interesting as they're both made from different types of Fujian grown leaves that were meant for different types of Oolongs.

>>15048013
>How long until I die of cancer or some shit?
>>15048287
I think i will add a more direct answer.
you are not likely to drop dead anytime soon for whatever pesticide may or may not be in the tea. long term low level pesticide may increase the risk of certain health conditions. we however do not know the full risks yet.

I personally try to minimize risk as much as possible (i eat healthy and exercise too) but to put things into perspective having some sketch Chinese tea (or even your total dietary pesticide intake) is most likely far less harmful to your long term health than say being sedentary or eating a "western diet". drinking 10g of that tea a day is probably significantly safer than say drinking a 2L of coke a day.

>>15048384
>citation for that?
I guess it's highest pesticide use per square mile but still they use a shitload.
https://www.worldometers.info/food-agriculture/pesticides-by-country/
https://theecologist.org/2020/may/26/broad-spectrum-insecticides-japan
https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-pesticide-consuming-countries-of-the-world.html

>>15048663
Sounds tasty

>>15049201

It's not bad. I have to say I'm pretty averse to that Lapsang Souchong pine smokiness, and a lot of the black teas I've had from W2T have at least a little bit of it. The Dan Cong black tea from Kong Mountain is very bright and acidic with a roasty notes much more similar to peanut skins, and I definitely prefer that.

>>15049324
Interesting, you will have to revisit some of that Lapsang after it has rested for a year or so. You might like it more.

>>15049182
interesting i will definitely look into it more later. thanks for actually replying.

>>15049769
Yeah I'm definitely not saying that japanese tea is higher is pesticides than anywhere else, it's a very complicated picture and some pesticides are much more benign than others. But Japan tries to squeeze as much productivity as possible out of their limited farmland and as a result they use lots of herbicides/pesticides and a lot of their conventional farming practices are very aggressive.

beginner here, how do I make my tea "strong"? I put the bag for a long time and it still tastes like slightly aromatic water.

>>15050606
Use 2-3 teabags, steep for 12 minutes.

Sipping on the last 5g of my purple cloud unmarked Shui Xian. Think its the Gao Cong. VERY light and honeyed, with a deep, rich, nutty finish. Almost acorny? Very enjoyable. I believe my ebay sampler gets here in the morning as well.

>>15050846
Nice, pls post your experience with the sampler. It's should be pretty interesting

Are there any teas that increase gut motility?

>>15051049
Whatever they put in pic related, im pretty sure it's slippery elm

>>15051063
That image combined with, "gut motility", just makes me think the girl is shitting into the teacup

>>15051075
lulz

>>15013091
I just purchased some rare 2015 Goo-ee-Kunt and some 1988 So-gee-kum tea from a certified X rated little known Gai-wan King kong ching chang wip wong dong Fong Ling Shue lucky 13 Double dragon seller off the Dark web.

>>15050846

>>15051283
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKQOXYB2cd8

>>15050606
You don't. You're probably used to overly strong tea from drinking cheap quality teabags in the past, so you'll just have to get used to tea that's less dominant (I remember I had to). This way you'll eventually be able to pick up more subtle and diverse flavours in the tea which in teabags are obscured by the strongness/bitterness.

The same goes for coffee by the way, people who get into specialty coffee and think that a filter coffee tastes 'weak', because they're used to Italian dark roast (ie. burnt) coffee beans.

>>15050606
you get strong tea.
>>15051438 has a good point but there is a selection of good strong black teas that don't lack for subtlety.

>>15051438
Man I want to taste the tea not the taste of boiled water

>>15048287
>>15048951
Thank you for the elaborate post and the reassurance.
I agree tea with pesticide is still better than this softdrink cancer people in the west are poisoning themselfes with on a daily basis.
it's unbelievable that many live on that shit.
Japan has the highest life expectancy on earth and they put tons of pesticide on their tea. So whatever

>>15051704
you brew gongfu
you can also make it a middle thing inbetweeen
just add more tea bruh

when bumplimit desu

>>15051899
>Japan has the highest life expectancy
sadly i think that will change in our lifetime as they increasingly pick up "western" vices.

>poisoning themselfes with on a daily basis
when i ask young people about that i often get responses like "YOLO" and "i am here for a good time". i always wonder about this whether if they are really making a rational decision or if they are just in denial. if i could put them in the shoes of a 60 year old heart failure patient would they still say the same? people have gotten warped perspectives of what is healthy and normal for our bodies. it used to be diabetes and gout were disease states associated with the wealthy who where the only ones who could afford to sit around and eat all day but now you to can experience them. we got so good at producing foods (or intimations of) that were once expensive treats for cheap that people began to assume it is the norm. eating "healthy" to a lot of people is add small side of overcooked broccoli (sprinkled with lots of salt of course) to an otherwise unhealthful meal as if it will somehow ward off bad health. i suspect if it were not for all the improvements in medicine the life expectancys would be going down on account of the modern lifestyle. eating junk food is not "healthy in moderation" you may be able to be healthy when you eat junk food in moderation but it would be hard to say you are the better for it. i am not saying never eat anything unhealthy but it should be the exception not the rule.

sorry, for the off topic rant i will try and talk about tea now.