/ck/ - Food & Cooking

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is tea good?
,

>>16810217
yes

>>16810217
I feel like garbage and it's very likely it's covid. What category of tea should I drink for this feeling while I still have a sense of taste?

>>16810340
white tea as its delicate considering you'll probably lose some taste even afterwards(i know i did). lemon ginger and honey worked wonders when i had covid twice

>>16810340
masala chai

>>16810403

Look how comfy and relaxed this bear is.

ordered tea on the 10th Aug and last tracking update on the 29th Sep its still in fucking Shanghai City. i swear to fuck from now on i'm paying the bloody bastards for the fastest shipping option that or im rebuilding Cutty Sark

>>16810457
what did you order and from where?

>>16810551
from ys, a bunch of whites, nin'ger black tea & 2 blacks i always buy, ripe Cozy and a fu that someone here said tasted like lemons and oats

>>16810575
looks like a nice order, hope you get it sooner rather than later. shipping has been crazy since covid hit. last year i had a package take over a month and a half to travel a mere 250 miles. priority mail my ass. international DHL express worked well for me the last time i used it but it is really expensive. what shipping method did you use for your order?

>>16810674
surface they say 2-4 months, should have just payed the extra. extra sucks because my landlord sold the house im in so i hope it turns up before the end of Nov

>>16810697
>my landlord sold the house im in so i hope it turns up before the end of Nov
depending on where you live and who the last leg carrier is you may be able to change your address and redirect all your mail. for example if you live in the US and are going to get the package via the USPS you need to do this: https://faq.usps.com/s/article/Change-of-Address-The-Basics

fuck i made another thread because im retarded, thanks OP

>>16807289
>is anyone here on liquid proust's Discord server? despite absolutely despising Discord i am considering joining because he supposedly posts special deals and members only teas on there.
re-posting due to the last threads untimely demise.

THREADLY REMINDER
If you are planning on making a large order from overseas order ASAP.
The international shipping situation is getting very slow right now and orders placed after the next week or two may not arrive untill January or later. Express shipping options from carriers like UPS and FedEx should still be viable but may take a week or two longer than normal.
THREADLY REMINDER

>>16811277
not your fault they were both posted within a minute you just got ninja'd.

>>16811295
What is happening? I made a DHL order last month and it only took it 10 days from ordering to be delivered.

>>16811341
how big an order?

>>16811372
2.98 kg was written on the side of the box

>>16811295
>>16811341
yeah, looks like the cutoff date was around 20.9.
then the chinese lazy days started. they will probably catch up with the orders and put them on the planes at the end of the month and then we have 11.11 again, which usually means discounts but also congested post offices.
I've got two orders stuck somewhere in Guangzhou halfway house because I thought they will make it onto a plane in time before autumn festival. vendors promised me that (tm). last updates on 30.9. at least I've got a discount.
you don't win, you just order ahead of time and rely on your stash to get you through. you know that already. once again my commiserations to undecided morons who wait until the last minute. you played yourself.
also sucks to be fresh green guy in those times, your tea is getting stale at the airport warehouse as we speak, unless you chartered private flight a'la escobar directly to your door for million smackaroos.

>>16811341
>>16811295
Whoops i meant to say express shipping options like DHL and FedEx should still be okay, not UPS, UPS kinda sucks
Anyways there is a backup of container ships in many ports not enough dock workers to unload them and not enough truck drivers to mover the containers. The USPS has also announced a permanent reduction in shipping speeds for first class mail and some international delivery services. On the airmail front the demand for airmail is about to 10x for the holiday season and Chinese shipping capacity and international air traffic is not up to speed to move it in a timely manner. Most airmail just rides in extra space in commercial air traffic and it is still way down from pre covid levels Carriers that run their own airfreight services should be okay but will probably also slow down or experience price spikes due to the increased demand.

>>16810197
Hello fellow tea frens, I have recently come across some peppermint tea and I have a question, should I be using sugar in my tea? And if so is there a healthier alternative to sugar?

Maybe I bought shit tea or my tongue isn't used to it yet but it tastes very bitter whenever I have it plain

>>16812010
you should try some tea, you might like it

had some of W2T's 2020 snoozefest sheng cake today. its a nice drinkable young sheng with a "fruit preserve" character to it. the material looks to be of good quality for the price. i will grab another if they sell it again this upcoming black friday. anyone else have the same cake?

>>16812144
Did you just pick it up recently or have you had it for a while?
I have a sample of pussy from a few years ago but haven't bought any cakes from w2t.
Any guesses as to how your cake will age? That's always the big question with these modern young cakes, for some it's best to drink em up pretty quickly.

I'm worried about the tannins in tea, and have read that they can prevent to absorption of certain vitamins and minerals. And that regular consumption of tea can cause certain deficiencies like iron or thiamine deficiency.

I'm not a MD or a nutritionist, so I don't know.

>>16812144
w2t? never heard of them. looks like they sell premium teas. is it really worth it? fresh sheng pu'erh at hundred bucks for 200 grams mini cakes aka half of bing?
must be pretty premium tea. sure hope they're different from mei leaf "gushu" productions. which sell for about the same price but at least Don makes hype videos about them. he displays tasting notes on the side of his videos which is helpful. I never bought from them so don't trust me, but at least mei leaf actively advertises "his" productions and openly shows them on camera. he may be more honest in my opinion.

>>16812188
If you are really worried about it don't drink tea right after dinner, iirc it's a pretty short term thing so as long as you arent chugging litres of tea after every meal it's not something to worry about.
I drink massive fuckloads of tea and my blood work always comes back fine at my dr exams.

>>16812202
Is this an elaborate shitpost?
pls be pls be

>>16812202
Mei leaf sells mislabeled teas, whether he is knowingly lying or just passing on lies told to him from the people he sources his puer from doesn't really matter. You cant just by tea made from 500 year old trees, especially not in enough quantity to sell to the public, those trees are eith under the protection of the Chinese government, or the raw maocha from them sells for $5,000 or more per kilo.
W2T uses hipster advertising and doesn't lie about his tea, but he avoids that by instead not telling you anything at all about what he is selling or where it came from. He relies heavily on hype and flashy marketing to sell his tea, i haven't tried enough of it to say if it's any good or not but im not his biggest fan.
There really isint such thing as an honest seller of Chinese tea, and all the lies exist on a spectrum but make sure you never take any of there tea merchants too seriously, they all have their quirks.
I love puer but you are better of just ignoring it, the market is a shitshow and it gets more and more overpriced every year.

Also fuck 200g and 100g cakes, give me 357g cakes or fuck off

>>16812181
>Did you just pick it up recently or have you had it for a while?
last year, it is one of their black Friday only specialties (only $15/200g). https://white2tea.com/products/2020-snoozefest

>Any guesses as to how your cake will age?
no clue, i am not experienced enough to make a truly informed guess, and ultimately only time will tell if it would end up nice. however, this is one of those (perhaps newer style?) productions where the tea is perfectly drinkable well still young. as a completely unfounded hunch i think that this tea may be better suited to drier semi-sealed storage in order to try and preserve its nice aromatics. the bing really smells fantastic whenever i open the Mylar bag i keep it in. like fruit jam or something. I only have the one 200g cake though so i don't intend to age it.

>>16812350
the wrapper is really on the nose as well. the name is both a reference to " If you snooze, you loose" and possibly dig by Paul aimed this comment: https://old.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/723317/getting_good_raw_pu_erh_online/dnhfjt6/

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>>16812449
Really, the fucking tea vendor is making self-deprecating jokes to cope with criticism like a spastic twitter user, that's actually pathetic.

>>16813184
kek, yeah that guys a character alright.
I remember being annoyed by the description on that tea, pic related

>>16812286
>There really isint such thing as an honest seller of Chinese tea
thoughts on yunnan sourcing?

>>16813506
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfxHkcbi9rI

>>16813506
here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NVSxcNt2iE

>>16813255
to be fair the description may be part of the joke. i agree i don't particularly care for W2T's marketing Shtick and lack of transparency. however i do think this particular tea was fine value for a modern young sheng and i will probably pick another one up this year if they do the same sales again.

>>16813506
>thoughts on yunnan sourcing?
probably more transparent on everything except his markup, no great way to prove his honesty but no strong evidence against him either, uses less aggressive more traditional marketing, base markup is a bit higher than i like but not out of line with the other mainstream western vendors, his flat yearly markup for aged teas can be a bit silly however, and lead to some clearly overpriced teas, great selection however his curation can be a bit hit or miss due to his massive inventory. overall i think YS is a good vendor but not so wonderful that i have any real affection for them, they are just another resource i use to acquire tea. If he dropped his prices a bit i would be much more willing to shill for YS.

What are the best cheap blacks and greens I can get in bulk from YS for the purpose of brewing kombucha?

>>16814301
stick to the supermarket bags for your fermented drink, trust me.
or some "loose leaf" ctc indian black that you use for masala chai.
anything above that is pure retardation. don't be a retard.

>>16810197
Hello /tea/ I recently bought some bagged Earl Grey tea from a store, and I've become addicted. I'm taking a look at the pastebin now, and think I'll go for trying higher quality non-bag Earl Grey later on.

Man tea is so much better than coffee....IMO

>>16814499
If you're a coffee drinker, try Irish breakfast. I don't like flavoured teas like Earl Grey.

>>16814567
>If you're a coffee drinker
I am not a coffee drinker, but thanks for the advice.

buy now or wait till next year?

>>16814587
>buy now or wait till next year?
depends on what you want to get. if you are buying a small amount of tea just get what you want whenever, no need to wait. if you want to stock up on green tea (or other teas best fresh) consider waiting until next spring if you don't need anything now. otherwise 11/11 and black friday would be the time to stock up though shipping will likely be slow.

What do rooibos taste likt? I've never tried it.

>>16814640
>11.11
almost forgot about that. thx

>>16814499
Yeah tea is pretty awesome, i think it's much less jittery than coffee.
If you want to try a nicer early grey upton teanis a good US store, they have a bunch of kinds just don't get the EXTRA bergamot version, unless you want a shitload of that earl grey flavor.
They also sell fill your own teabags and brew baskets for cups and mugs, perfect for starting out with loose leaf.

>>16814897
That's https://www.uptontea.com/ since i mistyped it in my post.
Anyway they are best for English style teas, teas from india, ceylon and other orthodox tea production regions, their chinese and Japanese teas aren't terrible but it's better to get those teas from specialist tea dealers that only handle one region.

>>16814897
>>16814967
Thanks anon!

5 more days

>>16810575
I see Fu, based

What percent of the weight of your puer cake do you think is rat feces and dead bugs? I bet it's higher than 1%

>>16810575
Holy shit, you were the anon that encouraged me to buy those two white tea cakes and the fucha. I made my order back in September and got it 10 days after I ordered it. What shipping did you use?

>>16815469
>What shipping did you use?
they unfortunately used ground shipping...
it is probably worth it to pay the extra and get some faster shipping unless you are buying multiple tongs or something.

>>16815486
Whenever I order from them I am only given the option of direct DHL or the Yunnan Express DHL so I am forced to pay $30-$40 depending on how large the order is. At least it gets here in good time though, that is fucked that you still don't have an order from August 11.

Beat Earl Grey. (You can't.)

>>16815575
Now why would you bring this mentality to this thread and instead just accept that people have tastes for different teas? I don't care enough to engage with you.

>>16815486
yeah wont be making that mistake again
>>16815510
shipping still costed me ~$24
>>16815575
smoked assam is max comfy. last year brought some black tea that was aged in little king oranges that you brew with the peel, makes me wonder if thats why Europeans started adding bergamot oil to tea

>>16815575
Xiaguan silver label 2009 iron cake

How come teabags don't expand as much as loose leaf does?

>>16816302
Because the tea in teabags is powder. That is interesting though since even the puer tea dust that i brew sometimes from pulling apart cakes still expands much more.
I think the teabags also don't give the tea inside much room to expand which reduces how much the leaves can swell.

Trying this purple tea I have heard so much about

>>16816446
Oh those buds, does it taste like watermelon or like green tea?

>>16816522
Not sure if I'd say watermelon. Cucumber maybe. It is sweet and "juicy" if that's something you can imagine? Very pleasant.

>>16816571
Nice, glad it's good, it's reviewed well on YS store page but i saw some blogger bitching about sellers having it in general and saying that it should only be super fresh, never aged. I forget what exactly he said beyond that.

>>16812188
As >>16812251 said, it decreases the absorption of iron just after meals, but it's not really an issue unless your basal levels of iron are low. Just don't drink like a horse in a watering hole and you'll be alright.

Just ordered tea and teaware from Yunnan sourcing for the first time and I can't wait to drink tea that's actually good

>>16817474
Nice, post about some teas that you like when they come in.

>>16817488
I got this btw

100 grams for 20 dollars... is it worth? I've been crying a lot these days and just need an upper

>>16810197
is it just me or does one of the very first links within the pastebin not redirect to a proper site?
i'm talking about the infos for beginners section linking to teadiscussion.com

or is the site just messed up on my end?

im new to tea, will any infuser work like the one in the picture or do i buy a bigger one?

>>16817543
Cheap cup + gaiwan
Yes that's what i like to sew
Good size too, perfect for tee for one.
Tea should be good too

>>16817771
just buy coffee
the only thing in there that isn't a placebo is the caffeine in the yerba mate

>>16817771
That's expensive,
I won't comment on herbal teas having effects like that but mountain rose herbs has some similar blends with better prices
https://mountainroseherbs.com/the-blues-tea
https://mountainroseherbs.com/peace-tea
https://mountainroseherbs.com/catalog/teas/herbal

>>16818224
No you are right, i was supposed to fixed it and didn't because I'm lazy
You can find the page on the wayback machine

>>16818857
i use one of these and it works fine--sucks if you wanna double-up amount for making iced-tea, but I can just use my French press for that.

>>16817771
Would be cheaper to buy these separately, especially safflower which can be bought at spanish/mexican stores. If you want energy just get a caffeinated tea that uses whole leaf like matcha or green leaf in general.

has anyone here used cajovydom.sk for europe shipping? how is it?

Any herbal teas that'll produce a sedative effect like benadryl does? I've tried chamomile and it just makes me feel a little relaxed. And I tried valerian root that makes me feel a little relaxed and drowsy a bit for a brief window, but I wake up more groggy.

>>16819160
>>16819267
oh okay thank you, I will get some yerba mate and matcha. idk really if caffeine is what I'm looking for since I already have insomnia... but I guess they can help me be more functional on the weekdays
>>16819183
thank you! really helpful and these are so cheap. I will try :)

>>16819301
They are in the pastebin right? As far as i know they have fairly quick shipping, they are an EU member state so their should be no complications with customs or import duties
If you use them please post about your experience, i really like that they have harvest dates on all their tea so you know it is fresh.

Soon enough i will be posting about the yearly February price hike on yunnan sourcing

>>16816446
IT'S A GUNDAAAAAM!

>>16819301
i have not used them myself but the website looks mostly ok. if you want puerh i would go elsewhere however.

>>16820638
Good Bot

>>16814991
>5 more days
4 more days

I need to buy more water filters, reminder to replace your filters regularly!

what's the best way to make large amounts of ginger tea? I want to drink at least a quart a day of strong tea.

Is there any limit beyond which tea is safe to drink? Same anon from last thread asking, but I've found some tea that is from 2016 at minimum, some is older. Still safe to drink? No mold, with good if faint scent.

>>16818857
infusers are pretty bad, they dont allow the tea to expand. you can get small glass teapots that hold ~3 cups worth, or a french press(dont use the plunger), or a mug infuser which is a cage that fits in a mug
>>16822512
with the exception of green tea, the older it is the better

>>16822512
>Is there any limit beyond which tea is safe to drink?
there is not really time limit so long as the tea is stored dry. the tea may go a bit stale or flat but is unlikely to harm you. green tea tends have its flavor affected the most but is still fine to drink.

>>16822752
>with the exception of green tea, the older it is the better
eh, there are plenty of non green teas that dont age gracefully either.

>>16823417
>the tea is stored dry
dry storage will cause it to dry out and become stale, you want some humidity(same with cigars) people tend to aim for ~60-65%. black do better after a year but fall off after ~3, puerh hits a sweet spot around 7 but some people keep tea for decades

>>16823428
>dry storage will cause it to dry out and become stale, you want some humidity(same with cigars) people tend to aim for ~60-65%
i am not talking about puerh and i highly doubt the original anon was asking for it was. dry storage is typical for most commonly aged non heicha. wetter storage may possibly yield some nice results but would be more experimental. the original asker was wanted to know about some tea they had forgot in there pantry or something. if they were heicha enthusiast needing advice on optimal long storage for aging they would not have been asking whether tea from 2016 was still good!

what tea did you guys drink today?

>>16824090
Today it's this mediocre 2007 cnnp tea which absolutely has no business using the peacock branding.

>>16824393
is it this? https://www.tea-masters.com/en/puerh/1139-1210-2007-spring-raw-peacock-puerh-cake-from-cnnpkunming-tea-factory.html#/43-weight-357_gr
you really think that production is no good? i remember reading somewhere else that someone though that was a good value semi-aged production for someone on a budget. i had that cake on my "possibly to get" list.

>>16824589
Yeah that one
I was shilling it before, i enjoyed it for a while but im annoyed because the middle of the cake is filled with tea dust and there is a layer of nice full leaves on the top and bottom. Drinking some now it's not bad tea, but i find it a bit weak. It's not my favorite flavor profile when it comes to aged teas. I would feel better about recommending it more heartily if it was $10 cheaper.
This is more of a soft, gentle tea flavor, some aftertaste, some minerality i want to say it's sort of yiwu tasting,and i prefer loud heavy sweet and smokey factory teas.
Maybe im just being cranky.

>>16821981
get a big teapot

>>16824620
thanks for the review i appreciate it.
>but im annoyed because the middle of the cake is filled with tea dust
i would be too. kind of surprised a big mainstream factory would due that. cheap xiaguan (like holy flame bricks) sometimes has dust but they don't hide it. is it dust dust or just chopped leaves like you would find in a cheap toucha?

>>16824848
Its dust dust. Definitely not just chopped leaves, honestly if the quality was a little better i wouldn't care, sometimes xiaguan will make an expensive premium cake and then that fall or the next season make a cheap cake or toucha with the material that didn't look good enough for the premium offering, im usually fine with that. But this is just kind of weak as well.
It is a 2007 cake which is when every corner possible was being cut to get anything they cold out the door and on the market, the height of the bubble. There are still good cakes from 2006-2007 but there are also some real turds. This is just the height of mediocrity.

>>16824900
thanks again, i guess i will bump it off my wish list. $50 is to expensive to contain tea dust in my mind. maybe you got unlucky and tea-masters messed up on their inventory and got some of the wrong batch. the listing mentions:
>(Beware: several lots of this cake have been made. Other lots generally have later production dates and leaves of different quality.)
shame on them if they were just hiding the leaf quality though.

>>16824900
>>16825078
If the centre is dust and the outside are leaves it's deliberate. You can imagine how it was packaged with a paste of dust that's pressed into cakes with leaf coatings. Like how you fry food with a batter that sticks on the outer layer. That's scraping the bottom of the barrel.

would I be kicked out of /tea/ for saying unapologetically and unironically saying that my favorite iced tea involves 4 lipton bags, 2 quarts of cold water, and 36 hours in the fridge?

>>16825234
>If the centre is dust and the outside are leaves it's deliberate.
i know that that the way the cake is made by CNNP is deliberate, what i was questioning whether tea-masters sold them knowingly without mentioning that fact that they are full of dust or goofed and got a bad batch mixed in with the better quality ones they meant to sell.

>>16825305
not if you are good company. still i am not sure what we would discus unless you wanted to try something more "serious". enjoy your tea.

>>16825332
>not if you are good company

im an insufferable snob about my coffee, but i tend to treat tea like my grandparents did to coffee with massive consumption of lunchcounter-grade coffee

ill gladly drink the oldest, dustiest packet of earl grey or lipton before even thinking about folgers poured freely from a carafe

theres been some unprecedented autism in /ctg/ over the cold brewing of coffee and i wanted to come here and frankly discuss cold brewed tea

>>16825305
No, because nobody cares what you drink. At restuarants, I drink either mineral water or iced tea and the tea at restaurants is gallons of lipton concentrate that's mixed and diluted with water.

>>16825378
I like coldbrew tea but i mostly make it a a lazy way to use up less fancy teas that have been sitting around undrunk for awhile. you don't need super high quality tea to make good coldbrew. i still use loose-leaf though. the way i make it is by putting 8 or so grams of tea in a quart canning jar and let it sit for the better part of a day and then straining it out. you can usually get a weaker second brew out of it as well. hibiscus makes fantastic cold brew as well and only needs several hours (but you cant get a second brew out of it).

>>16825305
I don't know much about cold brewing tea leaves, but I've experimented with cold brewing mugicha. I've tried using whole roasted barley grains for it and it's inferior to bagged House or Ito En mugicha. I imagine it's the same with bagged tea, and the dust will more readily infuse with cold water. When you cold brew something you have the problem of not enough flavour infusing with water.

for me cold brew tea is an obvious scam by big leaf to trick me into drinking black tea

>>16825752
I got this pretty nice rose petal + saffron + black tea blend from Vahdam a few years back which was pretty nice hot and cold brewed.
I'm too much of a britbong to not drink black though, sadly. My favorite cold brew has to be sencha + ginger + lemon, I hate getting nausea so yeah.

>>16826271
I could never drink green tea if i had nausea
Love me some ginger tea tho

what is matcha

>>16826792
Powdered green tea,
But it's special green tea grown in a specific way using specific plants in Japan. If you want to try it you pretty much have to order it from a tea shop in japan, because most of the "matcha" on the market is gritty garbage intended for making cookies and not actually drinking.

>>16823479
not just heicha but whites and oolongs too
>>16824620
>the cake is filled with tea dust and there is a layer of nice full leaves on the top and bottom
a few months back someone posted a webm of cakes being made up where the chinks are clearly using cheaper filler material in the center of cakes
>>16825752
but black tea is best tea

>>16828097
>not just heicha but whites and oolongs too

>whites
i have heard mixed perspectives on. however, there is not really much history to go on as it is kind of anew think. currently i store mine without added humidity.

>oolongs
as far a i am aware of oolongs that have been traditionally aged are normally stored dry in sealed containers like tins. oftentimes getting re-roasted periodically to enhance the flavor and drive out moisture.

i am not saying you cant add add humidity to them for aging or that there is no way it could possibly work, i am just disputing that you strictly need add humidity to prevent them from "going flat".

am noob.got this because it's what we use in my restaurant, I like it, but where do I go from here?

>>16828619
get a gaiwan and try some other loose leaf. blacks, oolongs, whites, raw and ripe puerh. yunnan sourcing has a great selection and has a us site if you dont want to wait for shipping from china

>>16828619
>got this because it's what we use in my restaurant
i always figured they use that brand in restaurants its nice to hear my suspicion confirmed.

there are a lot of options out there. it would be easier to give advice if gave us some direction in what you are looking to get out of this. any particular types of teas intrigue you? are you just looking for a casual sip or are you looking more of a hobby. interested in the Chinese tea ceremony? how tight is your budget? ect

here are some off the cuff suggestions to look at for Chinese tea:
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/curated-tea-samplers/products/starter-pack
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/starter-pack
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/gaiwans/products/white-porcelain-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-cha-brewing-100ml
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/white-porcelain-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-cha-brewing-100ml
https://verdanttea.com/five-teas-for-5
https://verdanttea.com/discover-true-single-origin-tea
https://verdanttea.com/simple-white-gaiwan

where are my teafrens at? what have you been sipping recently? what have you ordered?

I had some butterfly brand white tea. it had that autumn leaves and sugar cane taste i get with a lot of browned white tea but it also had some nice brighter florals and perhaps a hint of some tart fruit. overall a nice sip and i am happy with it.

>>16828507
Yeah i will agree oolongs seem to be aged in sealed containers and re roasted to keen them dry. Oolongs with too much moisture in storage typically take on a bit of a sour flavor

>>16830108
Still drinking cheap xiaguan as usual, will probably be making a fat order of more cheap xiaguan soon.i see a few cakes here and there that haven't gotten 2021 crazy inflation price hikes yet and i want to grab some while i can.
2022 is going to be the year of cheap teas. At least for me.

>>16830384
>i see a few cakes here and there that haven't gotten 2021 crazy inflation price hikes
what vendor/s are you looking at? KTM?

>>16830492
KTM has added sone newer cakes that are cheaper, fullchea still hasnt raised their prices much on some teas, but cranked them up on others for some reason, puerhshop is still puerhshop but they have not fucked with their prices much this year.

im new to tea but how are you supposed to do 2nd+ infusions of gongfu when you put the leafs directly into the water?

>>16830895
You just pour more water over them, isn't rocket sciene. If you're drinking the tea which still has the leaves in it, it is grandpa style, and you just top that up with water when it gets too bitter/ strong

But for Gongfu, yeah, you just keep the same leaves, and pour water over them, add however many seconds from the initial steep, pour it out and drink

it isn't rocket science

>>16830895
i am not really sure what you hung up on. to make gongfu tea you use a large quantity of leaf in a small quantity of water (for example 5g+ tea per 100ml water) over many short steeps. here is a short summery of the process in case it helps you understand: start by putting the tea into the the teapot or gaiwan, then add hot water to it, after that wait 10-30 seconds to let it steep, next pour off all the tea and leave only the tea leaves in the teapot/gaiwan, now drink the tea you just made, finally add more hot water to the teapot/gaiwan and repeat the process until the leaves are spent.

>>16831251
>>16831221
ah yea i just watched a vid on it and it makes sense, was thinking you had to take the leaves out and put them back in like a western style infusion lol ty

i ended up buying the cheap Naka sheng from LP. after i get it i will post tasting notes at some point.

>>16831610
Im interested. I don't dislike LP like the other anon does.

>>16831610
>dislike LP like the other anon does.
someone here dislikes them? I don't always care for his personality or insider discord club but its hard to complain about them as a vendor. he sells a nice selection of interesting tea, ships from the US, and still stocks some cheap stuff for people like me.

>>16831680
I mean he is a bit weird.
I haven't ordered much from him but he seems okay to me.

The only tea I've enjoyed is southern style sweet tea, like you'd get at a bbq place with a nice pulled pork sammich and some baked beans.

Is there anything wrong with that?

>>16831893
Sweet tea is good.
It's kind of the opposite end of the spectrum from what a lot of posters drink but i like sweet tea.

has anyone tried making a ginger concentrate before? I might try and juice a bunch if ginger and then mix it with honey to help it keep longer. Hopefully i can actually put a bunch of ginger root in a juicer

>>16832789
If you want it to be shelf stable you could find a recipe for a 2:1 ginger syrup designed for use in bars

>>16832792
Oh nice, that's what i was looking for, thanks anon

>>16832826
If you juice the ginger it will make it extra spicy to my understanding. So depending on how strong you want the ginger to be either juice it or just chop it. But since a 2:1 syrup can be pretty sweet you probably want the ginger flavor to be strong so if you have the juicer it might be better. Just be sure to strain it through a coffee filter or something like that.

i've been wanting to start up some kombucha and i have all the ingredients and containers for it but i cant find any information about keeping the scoby in the same container batch after batch rather than taking it out and putting it in a new container and i'm wondering if i'm stupid for thinking i can do that or if i'm not using the right search terms.

>>16810197
Recommend some good yerba mate for a first timer?

>>16833228
Based mate taster
Cruz de Malta Seleccion Especial is a nice premium option
https://www.mymateworld.com/product/yerba-mate-cruz-de-malta-seleccion-especial-1-10-lbs-bag/
If you are sensitive to bitterness and want a mild mate experience than go for
Yerba Mate Unión Suave
https://www.mymateworld.com/product/yerba-mate-union-suave-mild-1-10-pounds-0-50-kilo-bag/
If you want to try a smoked yerba mate this is a great one
Yerba Mate LA MERCED – Barbacua
https://www.mymateworld.com/product/yerba-mate-la-merced-barbacua-smoked-1-10-pounds/
These are all good choices, popular, top selling and more premium options without getting into the organic stuff and that nobody actually drinks down there.
If you want to get a fancy mate cup go for one that is metal or glass lined, or just use a mug, you should get a straw if you want to drink it the traditional way.

>>16832858
In between brews you put the scoboy and some of the finished brews liquid in a small mason jar with a lid, you want to carefully clean your brewing vessel in between batches like you would when brewing beer or making fermented foods. It's fine if the scooby is just folded up and stuffed in a small jar. You will also get a new scoby with every brew. You will need to keep multiple jars or just get used to throwing out the old scooby after each batch, you will quickly end up with more Scoobys than you know what to do with.

>>16833666
One other smoked version, if you want to try a smoked yerba but are worried about it being too smokey. It's probably best to start out with an unsmoked version unless you already drink lots of smokey tea.
https://www.mymateworld.com/product/yerba-mate-la-dicha-smoked-barbacua/
I looked and amazon and ebay have cheaper mate gourds, again you don't really beed one but if you want to get one i would suggest one like pic related with stainless steel on the inside, something like pic related, i see tons of them for sale for around $15. The ones made out of actual gourds are for tourists.
Some more mate info, the bitterness is partially controlled by the grind, lots of fine dust means more bitterness, mate with stems is usually a bit more mild than the versions with stems removed.
Make sure you go easy the first few times you try it, i find mate to be uniquely stimulating, different than tea or coffee, it's great for long days and long talks with friends, but if you drink too much you might feel a bit spazzy.

>>16833666
>without getting into the organic stuff
know if any of their organic productions are good?


>nobody actually drinks down there.
most the packages are not labeled in English you would think someone in South America is buying it?

also know of any good guides that go over the categories (regional versions) and variations of mate (smoked vs not, stems, aging, ect), and production techniques. i would really love to know some of the more technical details. thanks

>>16833666
>without getting into the organic stuff
know if any of their organic productions are good?

>nobody actually drinks down there.
most the packages are not labeled in English you would think someone in South America is buying it?

also know of any good guides that go over the categories (regional versions) and variations of mate (smoked vs not, stems, aging, ect), and production techniques. i would really love to know some of the more technical details. thanks

>>16812188
Thiamine is easily supplemented IIRC and iron is overconsumed by western men. You should be supplementing zinc and magnesium in any case.

>>16834086
Sorry i was saying nobody down there drinks the organic stuff, it's all made for export. It's all soft and weak, i don't recommended organic teas usually either. Anyway if you insist you cab try this
https://www.mymateworld.com/product/organic-unsmoked-yerba-mate-hierbas-silvestres-1-10-pounds/
Their blog has a decent article covering production regions and the different types of mate variations.
https://www.mymateworld.com/blog/types-of-yerba-mate-how-it-is-produced/

Are purple clay teapots a meme

>>16834562
All clay teapots are a meme, most are also trash but some are good, what one are you looking at in particular?
I recommend looking at collecting and using clay teapots and high end teaware as a separate hobby from actually drinking tea.
There is some decent info about clay teapots in the pastebin and i can also help some.

Help anons, i cant decide which shape to get,
I like shape A more

But i think shape B will be easier to hold when it's filled with hot tea, i always use teacups with a flared rim because it's usually cooler and easier to hold on to.
I will be using 100ml brew vessels so i will usually end up with about 90ml of hot tea.

>>16810403
>i had covid twice

You should probably stop licking stuff and wash your hands more often.

I guess i could get this one which is the most traditional shape i think, but at 100ml i think I'm cutting it close size wise, the whole cup might be a little hot to pick up and move right after i dump freshly brewed tea in it.

>>16834656
whats really fucked is 1st time it kicked in 2 days after i got laid off and 2nd time cunt working next to me was sniffing and coughing all day, half the factory got it

anyone tried ginger and lemon tea? I tried some store bought stuff but it only really tasted of ginger.

>>16834764
I usually just drink the store bought stuff.
I do make ginger tea sometimes, get a big ginger root, wash & peel, cut into thin slices, simmer in about a quart of water for 10-30 minutes, strain and store leftover in a sealed jar in the fridge it keeps for a few days. If i make it myself i usually drink it straight or i add lemon juice, a bit of honey and maybe a sprinkle of cayenne pepper if i have a cold, it's better than the teabags but much more work

>>16834642
>>16834652
>>16834668
personally i like B more, but for how it is to hold, it will hardly matter, you wanna wait until the tea isn't scolding hot anyways.
my advice is to go for the one will enjoy the most

Last of my Jin Jun Mei today :(

>>16834978
How does it taste? Ive never tried the eyebrows tea

>>16835014
Rich -- in all sense of the word. It's got a real deep malty flavor to it I think. Some honey notes and a pinch wheaty.

Not sure if you'll get this but it reminds me of a high quality toffee candy if you could somehow make it without sugar. It's very pleasant. Like a more premium golden monkey almost as well if you've had that.

Trying out hojicha. What am I in for?

i like the nice grassy taste of jap sencha or gyok, but i'd like to try something with bright whole leaves. any recs what to look for? i'm thinking about something chinese like zyq..

>>16835035
Sounds good, i will get around to trying some eventually.
>>16835148
Roasty toasty goodness

>>16835288
Longing style tea but not from west lake
https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea/products/2021-early-spring-long-jing-dragon-well-a-grade-green-tea-zhejiang-1
It's a bit nutty and has the slightest hint of a toasted flavor but it should get the job done, very nice.
Look through the others and pick another that sounds good too.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea

Had some actually good tea today, some of this 2016 200g cake border tea from chawangshop.
I consider this young lol.
Anyways it's smooth a creamy, somewhat sweet, with maybe just a bit of spice trying to creep in.
I'm glad it's holding up okay to age.
Im not used to these lightly pressed cakes you can just pull apart with your fingers, it's kinda nice sometimes to not have to go apeshit with a pick.

>>16835420
thanks, my local supplier has this one, will try it this weekend

>>16835795
Interested to hear your take, it's different than Japanese tea, but i think you will like it.

>>16835494
kind of wish i had picked up a cake of that when i put in an order at chawangshop. i only decided not to get it because cash was tight and the shipping was rather expensive.

My tea order arrives, and my god does the purple voodoo smell incredible, even through the bag. Might be the fruitiest tea I've had yet, even compared to the prior pressing I've had of it .

Also its pressed into a more compact cake than the 2019 version, same weight thou. Sadly it, and all the other teas I ordered will have to wait in my tea cabinet beneath my bookshelf, as I am waiting for dinner

Probably gonna go for the Lapsang first, so expect me to post tasting notes on that in a fewish hours

>>16836640
Nice, i was afraid to try those purple black tea cakes for some reason, but i guess i will have to try one next time i order from YS.
>>16836545
You can only buy and drink so much tea at a time, don't sweat it.

>>16834122
Thank goodness /tea/ is mostly femanons. Take that patriarchal nonsense to one of your Taco Bell threads or I’ll sick my gf on you. She’s had a bunch of puer today.

>>16836903
imagine her musty tea farts

I've discovered tea bags are useless and now I just dump a teaspoon of loose leaf green tea into my mug, waits for it to settle to the bottom and drink it straight.

I have roughly 1L of cold black tea ready to go? Should I pink lemonade, raspberry, “fruit punch”, or regular ol’ Arnold Palmer?

Finally got around to it. Tasting notes for YS' Traditional Smoked Zheng Shan Xiao Zhong/ Lapsang Souchong

5g to 100ml. 90c

Dry leaf smell: Charred wood, sweet BBQ sauce.

10 sec wash

Lid smell: still sweet smoke like bbq sauce, but gentler, like pulled pork to my nose. Smoke is beneath the dark sweet scent

Wet leaf aroma: Sharper than dry leaf. Little more smoke than dry leaf. Want to say the sweet smell is "Caramalized". Still smells like bbq sauce to me

Smelling the wash, I realize why. there's an acidic smell to it. Very light and refreshing

the scent has now filled the room. Impressive. Only seen a few teas that have done that

first steep 10 seconds

Liquor is light. reminds me of a white tea. Taste is very rich, notice the smoke, but it isn't as strong as the smell would have you think. Something sweet in there, with the smoke. Leaves a cool sensation on the tongue, mouthfeel is light, silky.

Whatever is sweet, it tastes cooked. Maybe stewed carrots? After taste is pulling me in that direction. Roasted carrots or maybe sweet potatoes. The sweetness is smooth/dull like both, Almost want to call it starchy if that makes sense

I want to say there's something floral in there, something familar. but I can't place. Reminds me of spring.

After taste is mysterious. Its bright, a little sharp. Kind of like a ginger candy? but not as strong, the sensation is the same. Like a tingle on the tongue, surrounded by sweetness

lets see if the second steep clears these vagaries up

adding 5 seconds

Smoke scent seems to be clearing, liquor still a light gold like wheat I'd say

Not much smoke as before, comes in later. Very savory tea, has become brighter without the dominant smoke. Swishing it around my mouth, getting some apple, but still thinking roasted carrots especially with the after taste now

Hits you like a punch, burst of flavor that mellows. Odd. Still feeling that spring time flower, but I can't place what it is.

>>16838218
trying to place it is making my palate go weird places shifting through the flavors. Might be a wild flower not sure. get some corn now as this steep comes to its end.

Think there's a bit of stone/ minerality. Not certain.

Very nice tea so far almost like sunday dinner in a cup, lets see if the third steep changes anything

>>16838230

it did
Has gotten brighter, more citrus. Almost want to say it taste like snap peas. Smoke still mellowing. There's a light, refreshing grassy/ herbacious quality to it now. Doesn't taste like cooked carrots, maybe raw ones

Still has a subtle minerality to it. Juicy as hell, more sweet that savory. Wee bit of wood on the aftertaste.

Quite the turn around

I'm going through black tea withdrawls
my package hasn't arrived yet

>>16838218
>>16838230
>>16838247
Didn't change much besides the smoke being more prominent in its last few steeps as it began to wear out. A solid tea

>>16838535
thanks for sharing your tasting notes. i need to try some authentic Lapsang Souchong at some point. years ago, back before i got more seriously into tea a used to drink a lot of the export style strongly smoked smoked stuff.

sipping on some 2019 Yunnan Sourcing "Spring Morning" huang pian right now.

>>16838953
its not a half bad daily drinker for the price. gushu snobs will probability not be satisfied but if you want a simple, easily drinkable, cheap young sheng from YS its a good pick.

>>16838953
i also have this, it was pretty undrinkable at first but its really mellowed out and became nice

>>16837929
Nice, this is easily my favorite way to drink tea

>>16837988
Arnold palmer is the way to go, always

>>16838218
Thanks for the detailed notes anon, sounds good
Smoked teas can be tricky, especially with pine smoke, if it's too smoked it can get a strong acrid or acidic taste that completely dominates everything else. It sounds like your tea was smoked pretty carefully, probably after drying, so that you can still taste the flavor of the tea itself.

>>16839894
I went with the fruit punch. As it turns out, I didn’t buy the pink lemonade mix, just thought I did cause I saw it at the store.

>>16840114
How is it? Sweetened with sugar or artificial sweetener?

>>16840171
Last question answered first: real sugar. But such a low amount of it that the drink is barely sweet. 10 cal total per drink mix packet for 16 Oz / 500mL of water. Company is pic related; can’t recommend their product enough to people trying to loose weight or simply cut sugar out of their diet. This is the mix I use for my usual Arnold Palmers.
But maybe I shouldn’t have done the fruit punch. Too much on the berry flavor. Doesn’t bode well for an experiment I have down the line. Recently bought some more blueberry flavored tea. Really loved that when mixed with regular lemonade. I heard about this jam mix in Sweden called Queen’s jam, where they mix blueberry and raspberry. I have some raspberry flavored drink packets I got from MREs, was planning to mix with that with the blueberry flavored tea. I like raspberry, but might not like it in a form you can drink. We’ll see.

broke off too much sheng this morning (like 20g) and could not finish gongfu brewing it. came back later and the leaves have swollen so much that i can hardly get any water in gaiwan. now in order to not waste it i am simmering the tea in a pot on the stove. sure hope it turns out well. i will post an update when i am done.

Do you really need a special pu-erh knife, ladies?

>>16840448
no, i just use a flat head screwdriver that i already had.

>>16840448
can be helpful for tightly packed cakes/bricks. wedge shape works better than the needle types
>>16840463
or this

>>16840448
>doesn't own a puerh axe
NGMI
https://www.umiteasets.com/collections/tea-accessories/products/handmade-puerh-tea-cake-axe-knife

>>16840319
Oh yeah ive had those before, the flavor profiles are usually a bit different than you expect based on what is on the package.
Queens jam, sounds tasty post your results if you try it.

>>16840376
Haha that's a hefty dose for a gaiwan. I'm assuming it's a younger shen so i wonder how it will come out simmered.

>>16840448
No, but of you decide you want one get one of these for $3
This is the best design and most robust style of pick. The wider wedge shape helps you separate chunks of leaves without breaking as many.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/1005003103817432.html

>>16840881
>Haha that's a hefty dose for a gaiwan.
i do often use 15ish g of tea in my 100ish ml gaiwan which works surprisingly well but you do lose a bit of volume. its mostly only a problem if you walk away for a while and come back because the tea will swell even if you did not leave any water in it. as a note i don't break up leaves like you would for traditional Chao Zhou brewing though i do still try to put the more broken bits on the bottom.

>I'm assuming it's a younger shen
yes

>i wonder how it will come out simmered.
the experiment was a fail. it turned out awful. i not sure if it is because i burned the tea or because my pot may not have been 100% clean but it something went very wrong. it brewed up to nice looking dark red but the taste was terrible. it was not that it was too strong or anything it just tasted off and unpleasant, nothing at all like the original tea. i ended up tossing the whole pot because it was not drinkable. oh well, i did it for fun anyways so its not a big loss.

>>16840946
>it brewed up to nice looking dark red but the taste was terrible.
Weird, ive only mess around with simmering ripe and old ass raws. I would expect some young ones to come out undrinkably bitter maybe but i don't know what else you might run into.

After drinking nothing but cold brew and kombucha all summer, the weather has finally cooled off enough in this godforsaken desert to start drinking proper tea again. Just filled out an order to get me through the winter, and I'll be finishing off the remnants of my old cakes while I wait for it. P.S. can't recommend the Jinggu Silver Needles cake enough, its one of the best things i've tried

>>16841458
Nice, good variety of stuff in there

Anyone know how much this guy weighs?
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/white-porcelain-classic-cha-he-presentation-vessel?_pos=1&_sid=2e4e88487&_ss=r

>>16841535
Is it bumping your shipping coat up?
He seems like he just adds a $10 shipping surcharge if you add anything fragile to your order. You can get those same things on aliexpress for a few dollars shipped.
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/33028979258.html

>>16841568
I was looking to see if it would work to weigh tea with my scale that has a 100 gram max. On that page it lists it as 75 grams which is good.

>>16841619
Ahh, yeah that makes sense

Im going to juice a shitload of ginger this weekend, and either make syrup with it or freeze cubes of it.
I need to make the most intense ginger liquid possibe

>>16841458
looks like a nice order. i need to try some of xiaguan's black tea at some point. that "Emperor's Golden Pu-erh" looks nice but it sounds like it still needs a bit more time to rest in order to fully get rid of the wet pile taste.

tea in the morning.

I don't get why people were shitting on Indian tea last I asked about it.
I've tried 2 of the 8 I got from Teabox:
Indian Breakfast Black - coffee like bold, hint of fruity flavor
Teabox Roasted Darjeeling Black - cofee like bold, good charcoaly body

and they are both excellent blacks.

>>16844226
probably because most in these threads gongfu their tea and I've found it doesn't really work with Indian teas for some reason, no idea why maybe they're too broken up during processing compared to Chinese

>>16844253
Yeah, I tried brewing it with a gaiwan and found it doesn't seem to work. I ended up buying some 3 dollar tea ball from my grocery store with 5 minute infusion time. works out fine. 2g of leaves. This seems to work well with my chinese black teas too.

>>16844226
>why people were shitting on Indian tea
i don't remember anyone seriously saying the thought Indian tea was bad. we just don't have any regular Indian tea tea drinker. the reason i don't drink much Indian tea because i don't strong "malty" black teas, they usually don't gongfu well, and the lighter varieties like darjeeling that i do like are more expensive then my typical daily drinkers. at some point i will definitely do a deep dive into tea from the Indian subcontinent.

What would happen, theoretically, if I brewed a Black Tea at 85c?

>>16844226
Most of indian production is mediocre at best. They have Darjeelings which are awesome, but they are exception.

>>16844315
It would be mild (and not in the good sense of the word). You wouldn't tap some of the more nuanced flavors.

But feel free to try. What's the worst that could happen, right?

>>16844306
>anyone seriously saying the thought Indian tea was bad.
I don't know. I had two posts saying something about it being like poo water.

>>16844315
i do my blacks at 90c, you get less of the bitter tannins, works really well for the more floral blacks

>>16844226
Indian tea is good and im glad it's getting some interest.
I only added the Indian vendors after what must have been the funniest tea thread ever.
Some Indian showed up and look through the pastebin and he was convinced that op was some Chinese shill who was denying the glory of the Indian tea industry, he was sperging the fuck out and insulting everyone.
I was watching your order because nobody had tried the teabox yet really, and if you said it sucked i probably would have taken then out of the pastebin.
Somebody has tested most of the vendors in there but it's hard with the European ones, since i dont live there and the Indian ones were suggested by some helpful anon, so nobody else tried them yet.

>>16844467
I just assumed that was shitposting.

>>16844653
30/70 shitposting/polposting

>>16844467
>Implying someone saying that Indian tea is literally poo water is serous criticism and not trolling.
honestly, I think it would be pretty hard to put forth a compelling augment that all tea from the Indian subcontinent is universally bad. you could reasonably try to argue the position that it is overall worse than Chinese or Japanese tea, or that you think that it is overpriced, or that you think certain styles of it are inferior but not that it should be dismissed entirely. I would say that the higher quality examples of Indian tea have absolutely earned their place in the "canon" of tea even though I rarely drink them. how even would you put forth any sort of reasonably objective argument that say Darjeeling tea is completely unworthwhile?

>>16844645
>I was watching your order because nobody had tried the teabox yet really, and if you said it sucked i probably would have taken then out of the pastebin.
ya. It was some generic shopify site. I don't know shit about tea and the tea came vacuum packed and worked. no hassle, free shipping, came in a week. I only tried 2 of 8 so I'm glad you added it. I was kind of curious about indian tea and saw the sticky and just clicked through the list til I found a site that was functional lol.

A friend recently told me that Darjeeling tea is relatively tasteless, which matches my experience with the one I've been drinking for the past few months. Is my friend right, or did I just buy a bad example?

>>16844722
I've only ever had one, the Teabox Roasted 2nd flush Darjeeling black. Define flavor. I can really get the smokey flavor. It isn't very fruity though, more what I'd describe as a "bold" flavor like coffee's.

>>16844731
I mean that it doesn't taste very MUCH. Like it's been watered down, no matter how I brew it. Like there is no sweet spot between understeeped and bitter.

>>16844645
>what must have been the funniest tea thread ever.
yeah, that was hilarious. with all the discussion about about Indian tea i was thinking about it myself.

>>16844722
>relatively tasteles
In my experience, spring Daarjelling can have somewhat milder taste lacking full body.

>>16844722
>Darjeeling tea is relatively tasteless
it shouldn't be, it should be floral with a muscatel flavour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscatel_(tea)
>>16844731
definitely shouldn't be smoky

im guessing you both had bad tea? Daily Darjeeling off Vahdam is pretty cheap, they have more expensive version with extra /more muscatel flavour. i'd advise against 1st flush for Darjeeling as you only get the muscatel flavour from being bug bitten during summer and Indian greens are from my experience bad

>>16844722
Come to think of it, I brew my Darjeeling either in an open cup with a strainer, or in a gaiwan, and I've been told that both of those methods leak more heat than is ideal for black tea. Do you think I'd get more out of this tea if I brewed in a pot instead?

>>16844722
Like green tea Darjeeling must be fresh, one year old is the absolute max but best if it's no older than 9 months.
I don't really like first flush Darjeeling, i find it sort of bland, or at least that it tastes a lot like green tea. I find second flush Darjeeling to be more robust but it is still very much unlike your orthodox english breakfast style tea.
If anyone wants to try Darjeeling i always recommended getting a fresh crop from this year of Margaret's Hope Estate second flush Darjeeling, it's a large plantation and their tea is available from many different vendors online and it's a known quantity that has reasonably priced tea with a reputation for quality.
When possible it's usually better to buy indian teas from a known estate, though there are some good blends.
The Indian tea industry is very different from the Chinese a Japanese tea industry and so you have to approach buying Indian teas a bit differently

>>16844786
>definitely shouldn't be smoky
mine was roasted though. I imagine I'm getting the charcoal flavor.

>>16844789
Infusion times for Darjeeling are so short brewing in a mug should not bother anything.
I typically do a 90 second brew and that isn't enough time to loose much heat.
I also usually brew Darjeeling at 90°c instead of at a full boil.
With first flush you basically want to brew it like it's green tea. Second flush can handle a bit more but still needs a soft hand.

>>16844789
>>16844823
a teapot should be the same as a gaiwan, thats how i do mine, 3mins with 90c water. how much leaf you using? i do 1g/100ml
>>16844801
that makes sense then

Okay, here's a big tea question.
What type of black tea do I need to get a similar flavor to that of Thai tea? I don't mean the sugar and milk, just the characteristic tea flavor. I had some at a local place as unsweet iced tea, but when I asked what kind they didn't know. Just some bulk generic in their food delivery. I NEED TO KNOW! Pls halp.

>>16844849
i think thats Dongfang meiren aka eastern beauty. i had some off meileaf when i first started getting into tea and it was the most 'tea' tasting tea i've ever had

>>16844870
also bugbitten like darjeeling, i think thats also where it gets its distinct flavour from

>>16844834
>how much leaf you using? i do 1g/100ml
I do around 1.5g per 100ml

>>16844849
>What type of black tea do I need to get a similar flavor to that of Thai tea?
One of these , thai tea is usually made of assam tea fannings (dust)
Be warned that part of the flavor is from the huge amounts of yellow dye in it. If you are lucky you will have an asian grocer nearby that sells big bags of tea dust with thai writing on them. Those are your best bet.
https://www.uptontea.com/seasons-picks-teas/loose-leaf-assam-black-tea/p/V01009/
https://www.uptontea.com/ceylon-black-tea/ceylon-loose-leaf-black-tea/p/V00096/
https://www.uptontea.com/java/java-breakfast-loose-leaf-black-tea/p/V00089/
https://www.uptontea.com/breakfast-tea-blends/english-breakfast-loose-leaf-black-tea/p/V00086/

>>16844991
Something like this is the real deal
https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Iced-Traditional-Restaurant-Style/dp/B000UPNK9S/

>>16844849
>>16844991
This is the real deal stuff if you just want the same stuff they serve at restaurants. Again it contains yellow dye and sugar.
https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Extra-Number-One-Brand/dp/B00ATDH15A/

Thai tea questioner here. Thank you all so much for your suggestions. I will investigate on those leads and see what happens.

What's the deal with multiple infusions? I've tried doing the 5 min steep - remove for a few - resteep and it didn't make an appreciable difference.

>>16845148
It's a bit of a stretch if your first infusion is 5 minutes.
Anyway what you would do is brew the tea, set the leaves aside, drink your tea, then use those same leaves to brew another cup with fresh hot water, usually you double the brew time for a second infusion to get more of the remaining flavor out of the leaves. You may find that second and third infusions are too weak and you would prefer to just use fresh leaves for every cup but sometimes you can get a good second cup out of your leaves

>>16845148
from 5 mins yeah it wouldn't, you've already extracted most of the flavour. try 3mins then 4 then 5 or gongfu i.e much more leaf but way shorter infusions i.e 5g/100ml and 20seconds with +5 seconds every new infusion (drinking each steep not pooling them together)

>>16845181
Gongfu is different than resteeping tea with western style brews. Dont confuse people

>>16845193
yes thats why i gave parameters for both

>>16845050
you could also making your own mix.
https://teaintheancientworld.blogspot.com/2016/08/making-thai-iced-tea-from-scratch.html
https://www.thespruceeats.com/real-thai-iced-tea-recipe-765458

>>16845348
Huh. I didn't think the version sold in restaurants in the USA had spices in it.

Got my black gold and classic 58 in the mail today. Black Gold Bi Luo Chun is the quintessential Yunnan hong. I'm so glad I ordered 100 grams of this stuff.

Could somebody give me recs for a inexpensive, sweet, and Christmas-y tea (peppermint, gingerbread/ginger snap, eggnog, those types of flavors)? I know it's way too early but I don't care much. It's ok if it isn't being sold yet as long as it'll be on shelves again around Christmas.

>>16845894
Post about the classic 58 after you try it please

>>16846131
Anything fron celestial seasonings brand, i know they do peppermint and i think they do a gingersnap one as well.
Here is a list of the ones they make

>>16846365
Forgot link
https://celestialseasonings.com/collections/holiday-tea

I just tried some Amacha today. I honestly didn't expect expect a tea literally called "Sweet tea" to be so sweet. I can't brew it longer than 10 sec.

>>16840946
It definitely sounds like something went wrong. I've boiled fresh sheng puerh to make Tibetan butter tea before, did it about 3 hours and tasted it before adding the butter and it tasted completely as expected, like fresh sheng but more strong and bitter. Also have done this with liu bao by the way, it's just a great way to make tea like that. m42mk

>>16846395
Thank you!

I am new to tea and I'm trying to get back into oolongs but the smell is so intense. Am I using too many leaves or is this just a weird oolong? The flavor is... sorta sweet, smokey and kind of like green tea, but the aroma is just so weird.

I tried the gong fu way as described in the sticky, now I'm trying western.

https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/oolong-tea/products/charcoal-roasted-gan-de-village-tie-guan-yin-oolong-tea-of-anxi

it smells like cranberries in the bag.

>>16848485
Ironically. the YT video in that page sort of describes how I felt about it.

>>16848485
Oolong sucks drink black tea

>>16848485
Sounds like a pretty potent roast on that tea
With roasted oolongs i usually buy ones that have been aged for 1-2 years to allow the roast to mellow out.l

>>16847902
>Amacha
where did you get it? i have been meaning to try some myself sometime.

How long does puer stay good? I bought a couple pucks of it like uhhh 5 years ago I think. Just put it in a glass jar and forgot it at my parent's house so now I have it again lol.

>>16849181
>How long does puer stay good?
indefinitely, people often intentionally age it. what do you have and where did you get it?

>>16849112
https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p31-amacha.html

First puer. Doesn't seem like enough for 90ml despite being 5g?

>>41988056
Half of rewards. Stop fudding anybody can disprove this pretty easily.

>>16849236
It's fine, it will expand a bunch as you brew

>>16849204
thanks, that was the site i had been looking at. its not supper easy to come by outside of Japan.

>>16849236
yeah 5g/90ml is a fine staring point. if after you gain some experience you decide you want it stronger you could add a bit more but 5g/90ml is not too low. do tell us how the tea is after you have had it.

>>16849236
2004 raw is an interesting choice for a first puer

>>16846350
Tried a mug of Classic 58. Solid dian hong. Not as good as Black Gold but still pretty malty and rich.

>>16849337
yeah, i was thinking the same thing. wonder how they picked that tea? it looks like a fine choice though.

>>16849337
I think Yunnan Sourcing is sending everyone that. I recently got an order of a 1k of "black gold bailouchun" and some others and found that in my package. I didn't buy it and since it is the same one, I doubt that guy did too.

>>16849473
They send me free samples like that whenever I order from the Chinese storefront

>>16849473
Pic related.

Had some of my 2021 MingXingHao Naka from Liquid Proust today

Appearance: medium to small leaves, high grade picking, very tippy, lots of silver trichomes, well sorted, not full full of stems or yellow leaves, loosely compressed cake, looks a lot like your typical young sheng when wet, processing looks ok to my eyes, no burn marks or anything.

Taste:
very sweet, some tart or sour, fruity, think sour raspberries, maybe some sweet cream or something, thick syrupy mouthfeel, can be quite bitter when pushed, not very drying or astringent however, some fine spicy herbaceous undertones, juniper berry?, perhaps a just hint of green bean like a typical Chinese green tea, good but not exceptional longevity, no obvious faults.

Overall: pleasant tea, no complaints, the strong fruitiness and sweetness was a nice surprise, good tea especially for the price, I expect I will enjoy it as a daily drinker.

>>16849498
yep. I have another puer I bought, but I figured I'd give this one a go first just to clear out my cabinet

im new to puer, any reccomendations? im thinking of buying a small amount of ripe + raw and see what i like, im gonna be buying from https://puerhtea.eu/en

>>16844823
90 seconds seems short. I brew minute 5-6 minutes. Neither teapot brewing of brewing in a mug with strainer seems to leech heat during brewing for me.

>>16849372
Nice, thanks anon

>>16849821
Lots i would like to recommend but that store is cleaned out of the cheap stuff.
Gimme 20 minutes and i will throw together some suggestions from another EU storefront.
If you really want to buy from them get a sample of this
https://puerhtea.eu/en/2011-raw-dayi-7542-pu-erh-tea-cake
And this
https://puerhtea.eu/en/2013-ripe-dayi-xiao-long-zhu-pu-erh-tea-cake
But their prices are a bit high for me to recommended getting full cakes from them

>>16849821
>>16849937
Sorry anon, buying puer in europe is absolutely fucked. I hate to do it but just get it from china. You can get entire cakes for slightly more than the price of a sample from that EU place.
if you want a very smooth ripe get this one
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/haiwan-tea-2010-pur-teaquotlao-shu-qiao-muquot-ripe-batch-101-the-pu-er-250g-p0353.html
or if you want a ripe that has a bit of that burnt waffle flavor get this one
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/taetea-yunnan-puer-tuo-tea-2018-v93-shu-puer-tuocha-100g-p0592.html
this raw should be tasty and smooth with good leaf quality.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/haiwan-tea-2011-pu-erh-lao-shu-qiao-mu-raw-pu-erh-tee-brick-250g-p0352.html
or if you want a slightly more rough and bitter, more old school raw try this
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xia-guan-2011-tuocha-tea-nannuo-gong-tuo-tribute-tuo-raw-pu-er-tee-100g-p0342.html

>>16849821
check out they could try https://togo.moychay.nl/

>>16849979
>buying puer in Europe is absolutely fucked.
they have a bunch of high end shops at least, its just the cheap stuff they don't have.

>>16849979
>>16849937
thanks ill check them out <3 would you also only recommend puer thats been aged for a long time rather than new?

>>16810340
Nuke your tastebuds, add whole orange peel, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamon and black tea and boil the shit out of it

>>16849990
>would you also only recommend puer thats been aged for a long time rather than new?
both as they are different, if you give me a sec i will try to find some specific recommendations.

>>16849990
It really depends, sone young puer is made to drink right away usually the more boutique stuff. The big factory cakes like the dayi 7542 or xiaguan 8653 are very rough at first and need a good decade of age on them before they mellow out and become drinkable.

>>16849998
sorry i am having a hard time finding any sort of cheap puerh i would recommend in the EU. most of the vendors their only sell more expensive stuff and don't sell tea from the big brands that i could personally recommend. does it have to come from the EU?


moychay is generally a good vendor but they don't have a very well rounded selection on their EU site right now. i also have not tried any of these personalty.

perhaps get 25g of this:
https://togo.moychay.nl/collections/our-sheng-raw-pu-erh/products/menghai-chen-cang-sheng-puer-2007-357-g
and 50g of each of these:
https://togo.moychay.nl/collections/our-sheng-raw-pu-erh/products/thai-sheng-pu-erh
https://togo.moychay.nl/collections/our-shu-ripe-pu-erh/products/wei-de-han-cha-moychay-com-material-2017-manufacturing-2020-357-g
https://togo.moychay.nl/collections/our-shu-ripe-pu-erh/products/menghai-teji-chen-xiang-2015
you can also grab some more tea from them if you want to hit the free shipping threshold (€50).

>>16850133
i would also recommend getting a cheap gaiwan like this:
https://togo.moychay.nl/collections/our-gaiwans/products/gaiwan-29220-%D1%81eladon-110-ml
and trying gongfu style brewing if don't already have one.

>>16850133
yeah im not super worried about cost but i think ill buy some of those though, thanks man <3

>>16850133
Mochay is okay but this house brand puer maybe isint the best introduction to the genre, ive heard pretty mixed opinions on its quality.

>>16850167
>best introduction to the genre
i know but there are few options for stuff like big factory teas in the EU. do you have a better recommendation?

>ive heard pretty mixed opinions on its quality.
most the reviews i have read seem generally say their house brand ripes are good at least.

>>16850312
Russia isint in the EU
The Russian chan tea thread doesn't really like Mochay, they call the owner a huckster. I haven't tried enough to make a judgment myself but i prefer to suggest factory tea when people start out with puer.
It's not a big deal

>>16850328
>Russia isint in the EU
that's why i liked their Netherlands store not the .ru one.

>The Russian chan tea thread doesn't really like Mochay
its an image board of course they are going to contrarian. two of the big western bloggers seem ok with them:
https://oolongowl.com/category/tea-reviews/moychay/
https://teaintheancientworld.blogspot.com/search/label/Moychay

>i prefer to suggest factory tea when people start out with puer.
again, i agree but it is surprisingly hard to find EU tea vendors that carry something simple like a Dayi v93 or i would have recommended that instead. https://puerhtea.eu/en/ (Teasenz's EU outlet) was one of the few but they are low on inventory right now.

>>16850398
Oh i missed that they had a EU shop now, good to know
Yeah the availability of puer in the EU is pretty bleak, i found a few teashops that only sell their own small batch cakes but none of them seemed up to snuff to include in the pastebin other than that farmer leaf guy, and of course he only has new young stuff

>>16844823
>With first flush you basically want to brew it like it's green tea.
I tried brewing it like it was green tea, and it really did enhance the flavour a whole lot. Thank you, Anon!

>>16851122
Glad it worked out
Darjeeling is really weird tea, so it can be tricky

i don't know if it's fair to call it weird, but its so unlike every other black tea

I'm trying to get into tea. Are there any good alternatives to Yunnan Sourcing for premium Chinese tea? I don't want to pay $20 for such slow shipping. I've seen them mentioned a lot in this thread.

>>16851834
Check the pastebin, it's full of vendors in every region, yunnan sourcing is big and pretty descent so they get recommended a lot.

>>16851834
>>16851920
If you are ordering from anyone in china but fulchea you are going to pay $20 for shipping. Fulchea is kind of a minefield because the quality of their teas varies massively so you need to have some knowledge to order from them.
If you are in the usa yunnan sourcing .us is a west coast usa based storefront if you want to get stuff faster.
There are lots of other vendors in the pastebin for each part of the world so you should be able to find something unless you live in brazil.

>>16851920
>>16851952
>yunnan sourcing .us
Thanks for the quick reply. Their site is a bit overwhelming. Almost everything seems like it's worth trying.

>>16852152
Everything is sorted by popularity/sales so the stuff near the top of each category is good to look at, i would try too pick one or two black teas, a green tea and an oolong - probably tieguyanyin to start out.
I don't know if it's in stock right now but the black gold bi lo chun is a popular recommendation.
You could maybe get a small white tea cake if he has any cheap ones, maybe hold off on the puer and other dark teas if you are just starting out

can any tea compare in fruityness and tartness of hibiscus lads?

>>16852567
Probably not, maybe some young puers but they are usually both bitter and astringent
As far as herbal teas, outside of flavored stuff like celestial seasonings orange zinger or raspberry zinger, it's probably hibiscus.
Any tips for places to find good quality hibiscus for tea? Ive only had the bagged stuff

>>16852579
I use the fgo brand but i use the bags since I like low effort. But im never dissapointed with how strong and vibrant all their teas are ive never seen stalks or mill in the teabags.

>>16852579
Actually mexican stores sell pure hibiscus flowers and they are really good. I would also try candied hibiscus if you ever see it there.

>>16852621
Thanks, i don't think i have any around but i will look for the candied ones online, i hadn't heard about those before.

Can anyone recommend me a good milk frother?

>>16852579
>Any tips for places to find good quality hibiscus for tea?
if you want to drink it a lot get this:
https://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Organic-Hibiscus-Flowers-Sifted/dp/B0012BSDNW
this is what i buy myself. store it dry in sealed jars and it will last a long time.

Just bought a mesh basket tea infuser because the ball ones suck. Did I fuck up? Those top load ones where it has a mesh and spigot at the bottom seemed overkill and kind of gay.

>>16854008
not at all, i have one myself for when i want to brew "western style" or for making herbal teas.

What's the best tea for afternoon drinking? I'm assuming low caffeine is what matters, no? Mostly a green tea / black tea guy. sometimes Roasted is good, or it could be bad.

>>16853473
Why do you buy bags of hibiscus that are full of literal rat shit

>>16854453
The rat shit adds malty notes to the tisane, duh?

>>16854431
Finest Russian caravan from upton tea

>>16810197
new thread
>>16854512
>>16854512
>>16854512