/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Opened up one of my sleeves of xiaguan tuos, these are from 2007.
These bags are plastic lined so they are fairly airtight a whew that's a smell when you open one after it has spent ~15 years in a hot warehouse. Just a pungent concentrated factory puer smell.
It drinks pretty well considering it was made in December of 2007. Not the strongest tuo i have had but it gets to job done. It does seem to have mellowed out reasonably well despite being sealed up.

Drinking a raw puerh tonight
Pretty good I guess, got notes of wood and not too much of thst loamy soil flavor

>>16993209
Surprisingly intact leaves in this guy, less chopped than some of the factory cakes ive gotten, definitely more intact than the xiaguan fangcha bricks i was working my way through. I will post some pics of the unfurled leaves after i brew tomorrow. Since they were made shortly after the 2000's puer bubble popped i was afraid they would be total garbage, and they are definitely not up to the strength standard of most xiaguan productions, but they work, and they brew up surprisingly well grampa style, good and smokey.

>>16993293
Yeah the loamy soil flavor is really an acquired taste. That's a pretty recent YS production right? How are the funk levels? Did scott air it out pretty well or did you have to rinse it aggressively? I'm almost out of ripe and trying to decide where i should get more. I might go full loamy soil and get some from yee on tea but I'm wondering how Scott's stuff is these days.

>>16993318
I actually like the loamy soil flavor, this just doesn't have it.
It's aired out well, honestly I can drink it without washing it. I love one thing about YS cakes, he packs them loose and it's easy to break them without breaking leaves.
I have some yinyang looking cake from him too and it's worse than this one, despite (I believe?) being older. I quite like Ba Da Mountain Ripe he offers.

>>16993397
Nice thanks

My wife's son wants to start drinking tea, what should I get for him?

Will tea ease me into going cold turkey from coffee?
I stopped drinking for 2 days and it left me with a pounding headache and fatigue the second night. I don't like the thought of being addicted to anything with that kind of withdrawal.

>>16993209
lmao kill yourself you chingchong weeb
>its asian so its good!!!!!1
Have sex chud

>>16994109
You need your head examined

What are some good non-asian teas? I'm only familiar with rooibos

>>16993318
>Yeah the loamy soil flavor is really an acquired taste.

Puehrfags everyone

>>16994336
Ironwort
Nettle
Hawthorn
Bilberry leaf
Elder
Echinacea
Peppermint
Dandelion
there are tons of others that are healthy and worth trying, but not as tasty as the above

>>16994336
Honeybush

What're the best sales going on?

>>16995283
wait a couple weeks for black Friday.

Right now ordering from o-cha or yunnan sourcing is kind of a bitch, right, with the coof going on and EMS shutting down everywhere?
Man I miss the Chinese stuff with osmanthus

>>16995602
>Man I miss the Chinese stuff with osmanthus
Dunno what his shipping costs are like but stuff coming out of hong kong is getting here much faster than mainland china, plus the price is right
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/oolong-tea/products/golden-osmantas-oolong-tea

>>16995629
I'll keep this one in mind. Seems like it'd be damn tasty.

>>16995602
>yunnan sourcing
if you are willing to pay for it, DHL express delivers fast.

>>16995745
Man, I'd rather wait for EMS to return. DHL is way, waayyyy, too expensive and that's before the import customs tax.
They do ship fast, but I can't afford it.

>>16995776
I thought ems was still available from china, i was under the impression it was only shutdown from Japan to other countries. But i haven't ordered from china since march.

>>16996061
To be honest I haven't bothered to check. It's been a year since I ordered tea.
Maybe just disregard it all and I suck cocks.

Drinking Shou, feeling the flow!

>>16996094
Are you feeling angry? Is your lesbian life partner safe?

>>16993306
Forgot to take a picture of the wet leaves today. Not impressed with this tea, it's just okay but it's weak, i guess i will try brewing with a higher ratio than usual and see if it helps but I'm guessing it's just junk material.

tea encounter is running black friday sale right now. good time to try some gushu and not quite gushu from famous yiwu gardens. now that I bought what I wanted that is. puerh . blog and mattcha for blogger reviews if you need those.

one of you ordered from US on my rec, IIRC. is it there yet? which one was it?

Have you read any of these?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_classics

Drinking Darjeeling autumn flush, Autumn Ruby. Smoother & less tannic than the usual second summer flush I typically drink. My bag of Autumn Gold is nearly gone & can’t find more of it.

>>16997767
I don't see a tong of autumn flush Darjeeling at vendors. I'm guessing the processing is similar to second flush?

>>16997814
*A ton of

>>16997814
I think so, it’s just the last harvest of the season. Typically has a subtler flavor than 2nd flush. Usually less tannic too, I find, thought I’ve had a couple autumn flushes which were tannic.

>>16997904
Nice, so a good mellow tea, those are always enjoyable and easy to drink.

There was a piece of bright green glitter in my tea.
I think the government is trying to poison me, I know too much and they want to silence me.

>>16998116
Better than concrete, or rusty bolts

Speaking of rusty bolts
>tea is full of <<<antioxidants>>>
If I drink so much goddamn tea every single day and it's full of anti-oxidants why can't I fucking snort a line of rust and sneeze out a piece of iron

I have a brick of puerh that I've had for years but never used. Is it normal for bricks to have stems in them? If so, do I pick out the leaves for brewing?

>>16998907
>Is it normal for bricks to have stems in them?
Yes
>If so, do I pick out the leaves for brewing?
Just break some pieces off and brew them, don't worry about trying to pick out stems, they are supposed to be in there.

I need to get one of those kawaii little ceramic cups to go with my gaiwan
And also need to replace my gaiwan, the lid doesn't fit properly and it came without a plate
And a kettle with a finer spout for more precise pouring
This is starting to add up...

>>16998932
>I need to get one of those kawaii little ceramic cups
The only thing you need is a pair of coding socks and a sex change.

>>16998998
rude

>>16997742
I've read The Classic of Tea by Lu Yu and The Book of Tea by Kakuzō Okakura , but i don't remember much from either.

>>16993167
Who gives a fuck about shitty chink dirt water? Medicinal is one thing, but gay ass fags pretending oolong tastes good is retarded

>>16994336
i like some of the european ones, like the french and english styles.

>>16999491
>french style tea
What?

>>16999517
you drink tea with your buds and then shag them

>>16997742
i have the book of tea on my shelf. it's a neat little book but not very applicable to my day-to-day drinking.

>>16998912
No I don't wanna drink the heckin stemrinos

>>17000540
>You vill drink ze stems

I drank matcha and got too jittery, so I also took a dose of melatonin. I was still jittery and went to bed at 6pm and woke up at 6 the next morning. Fuck caffeine.

>>17000560
why yes don't mind if i do.

>>17000560
why yes, I don't mind if I do.

For me? Da hong pao

>>17001675
What does it taste like?

>>17001806
>For me? Da hong pao
Absolutely based, don't forget to try other wuyi oolongs. They are truly one of the pinnacles of tea

White tea or malt whisky tonight?

>>17002502
Ive tried to mix tea with whiskey a few times, can't stand it, warm whiskey is too much.
Anyway it's time for whiskey, it's too late for tea.

>>16993167
My sister gave me picrel for christmas and I use it to steep vanilla chai blend in hot milk. Idk if that's traditional or legit or w/e but it's good and I like watching him spin around and bob in my mug :)

>local tea shop is closing its doors and going online only

can we get an F in the chat boys

>>17002991
Those are cute
>>17003017
Yeah it sucks, i lost a good one years ago before i really understood how good it wad.

So uhh, is "Jasmine tea" a gimmick? Drinking some now and it's not very aromatic, the flavor is basically the same as a regular green tea.
Am I missing something or is this the jasmine tea experience, that it tastes the same as green tea and (I guess if it's higher quality than mine) smells good? I figured the jasmine would impart some flavoring.

>>17003318
It varies dramatically depending on the specific Jasmine tea. Some are strongly flavored, some just have a hint of flavor. Some are flavored by spraying some kind of Jasmine flavoring on the leaves before they are dried, some are made by mixing the freshly harvested tea with jasmine flowers to impart their scent to the tea.
I don't drink a lot of jasmine tea but i do enjoy osmanthus oolong and the ones ive tried have a very noticeable flavor.

>>17003471
>osmanthus oolong
Dare I, a poor peasant, ask what that costs you?

>>17003528
It's not that expensive, the stuff i was drinking cost ~$30 for 280 grams or around there.
My man yee has it way cheap
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/oolong-tea/products/golden-osmantas-oolong-tea

All you puer lesbians need to pound sand. /tea/ is for oolong chads.

>>16994336
Mate and Honeybush are worth a try. Mate contains caffeine as well.

Higashiya in Tokyo...best tea I ever purchased...some Chinese yellow tea. Anons please point me to an alternative available in Canada.

>>17003918
I tossed all my loose leaf in the pumi. After a few months w2t's three spot guanyin is smelling ridiculously sweet and floral.

Why do sleepy herbal blends have to taste like hay

>>16993167
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxdt1b2FaW0

>>16994336
>Roobios
Careful, this contains more estrogen than soy

>>17004034
Yellow tea is tough, i don't think anyone here drinks it regularly, it needs to be very fresh, its expensive and good examples tend to be pretty pricey. I don't think there is anyone in Canada that can help you.
I would probably try something from seven cups in the USA
https://sevencups.com/shop-category/yellow-tea/

>>17004727
Oh shit my gf who is pregnant just drank a rooibos tea. What if she's having my son? I'll make her drink a ginger tea and eat a raw red onion right now to compensate

>>17005634
Good catch, keep an eye on her. Roobios is at least estrogenic enough that doctors tell breast cancer patients not to drink it because it messes up their breast hormones. You would not want your son to grow breasts (or worse)

>>17005634
Also
>gf who is pregnant
Marry her you nigger

>>17005756
Oh I don't care that much for marriage, it's a fairly arbitrary ritual to us. I don't see how that would change my commitment to her or anything.

>>17005893
Imagine how pissed your GF will be when you can’t visit her in the hospital because “you’re not family” versus visiting your wife who’s relieved to see you in the hospital and not getting shit from nurses cause you’re married and therefore family.

>>17005908
do americans really?

>>17005908
You can get a bunch of paperwork signed that will give you those Rights without being legally married. Of course the people that are too lazy to get legally married are too lazy to do medical and financial contracts that give them the same rights a married couple has. (Ive been "married" for 4 years but have never bothered to register it with the state, i would if we were having kids)

>>17005908
Actually, it doesn't work that way in most countries.

>>17004034
https://www.sommerier.com/?product=jun-shan-yin-zhen-50g
i have not heard of them before but they are in Canada and seems legit. Its pricey though, but "authentic" yellow tea tends to be.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvESIg2VL-OkboEZCt1ZFFQ/videos
they have a youtube channel as well.

as an aside I wonder if his story on Jun Shan Yin Zhen is 100% accurate. there is a lot of uncertainty in the west as to just what constitutes "authentic" for that type of tea. its kind of an odd tea in that it is simultaneously both very famous and prestigious while at the same time being kind of rare and obscure.

more stuff from outside Canada:

https://sevencups.com/shop-category/yellow-tea/
looks good and would probably be my first choice

https://tea-drunk.com/yellow-tea
if you want to get the snobbiest tea

https://pathofcha.com/products/huo-shan-huang-ya-yellow-tea
https://meileaf.com/teas/yellow/
cheaper options. i love it how meileaf of all people is open about how his Junshan Yinzhen is not Junshan island.

>>17005748
>Roobios is at least estrogenic enough that doctors tell breast cancer patients not to drink it because it messes up their breast hormones.

there is rather limited evidence for potential estrogenic effects of Roobios in humans. a lot of plants have theoretical phytoestrogens but the impact in humans is for the most part poorly understood. generally i would not worry too much based on current very limited data.

I don't know where you heard the breast cancer thing but whoever said it was probably just stating it out of an abundance of caution considering the seriousness of cancer. in many cases breast cancer cells grow in response to estrogen, because of that one piece of the standard treatment (for estrogen sensitive cancer) is using drugs to reduce estrogen levels or block estrogens effects. therefore, it is hypothetically plausible that consumption of xenoestrogens may impair the efficacy of treatment.

>>17005588
Anon now that I think about it, it was likely a Japan-grown yellow tea at Higashiya Ginza. Buttery and peachy flavours at first sip. Pity that they don't do worldwide online sales. I ordered some Mogan Shan yellow tea from a local retailer at a price of $20 per 50 grams. About half as expensive as sevencups but claims to be the same source. Hopefully it's decent.

>>17005967
I ordered this, thoughts?
https://worldteahouse.ca/products/yellow-tea
I should really just stock up next time I go to Tokyo. The random teas I got from Higashiya Ginza as souvenirs/gifts all tasted excellent to me...really changed my mind about teas.

>>17006505
You will have to tell us what you think when you get itm

>>17006544
Haha sorry I will! I am just asking what you make of the price discrepancies.

>>17006563
Like i said yellow tea is expensive, seven cups is expensive but they seem to typically sell very fresh premium teas, the site you linked has lots of flavored teas, they don't tell you when the tea they sell was harvested, which i typically try to avoid. That's all i can really say, i hope you enjoy the tea you got. I really don't know enough about yellow tea to comment further, i don't think ive seen it for sale from any of the Japanese vendors in the pastebin unfortunately, im guessing it is a pretty rare production there.

>>17005967
https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/teas/yellow-tea
forgot one but its also expensive ( in Canada though)

>>17006471
>Japan-grown yellow tea
I don't know of any traditional Japanese yellow teas but that does not mean it was not one. i did not seem to find a yellow tea on their site. just to confirm its not on there?
https://higashiya-shop.com/fs/simplicity/c/tea/
if you find out any more info on it i would like to hear it.

>About half as expensive as sevencups but claims to be the same source.
it claims to be the same style of tea from the same location but its not a guarantee its the same producer or grade. its completely understandable not wanting to pay what sevencups wants. i almost never drink tea that pricey myself. you had mentioned getting a fantastic tea from a specialty shop so i was trying to recommend something equivalently fancy.

>>17006505
>I ordered this, thoughts?
honestly, i am not particularly impressed by the looks of most of that shops tea but they do have a few nicer looking ones here and there. i also don't like the lack of harvest dates. I am not really sure what say about their "Yellow Tea" as i don't know exactly what that type is supported to look like. from the picture the material does not look bad but is definitely different from what the most the pictures on the internet look like, the grade is also less consistent. it kinda looks like an almost black semi oxidized tea or a roasted tea but it is likely just the lighting. however, none of this means the tea wont be nice. i would expect it to be at least decent at that price. tell us about it when you get it.

>>16998863
Anti-oxidants only prevent further rusting. Any iron you intake now will no-longer corrode, but it cannot reduce what has already oxidised.

>>16997814
>a tong of

>>16997817
>*A ton of

freudian slip?

>>16998932
>This is starting to add up...
welcome to the club...

>>16999517
>>french style tea
>What?
probably scented black tea. the french really seem to like it.

>>17004562
>Why do sleepy herbal blends have to taste like hay
because that's what a lot of plants taste like if they don't have additional flavorful compounds.

>>17004624
>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxdt1b2FaW0
interesting, too bad the subtitles don't fully work for me. i still have to try some ya'an.

0wgjs

>>17006996
>0wgjs
lol, so thats why it said i mistyped the CAPTCHA.

>>17006821
>if you find out any more info on it i would like to hear it.
Anon I combed through the site, this time looking at every picture of the tea leaves and I think I found it:
https://higashiya-shop.com/fs/simplicity/tea04/1613410
Site states peach aroma and fermented savoury taste which is what I remember distinctly.
The English translation of the Higashiya Ginza tea menu incorrectly labelled it as a yellow tea. It's actually a Japanese baozhong tea?
Looking forward to reading your recommendations on this one Anon.

Picrel is their afternoon tea course. Highly recommend a visit. I prefer this concept with Japanese confectionary over br*tish 'high tea.'

>>17007041
>It's actually a Japanese baozhong tea?
the website does not explicitly state its from Japan so it may actually be a Taiwanese tea like most baozhong. interestingly it looks like Taiwanese baozhong (it apparently was originally a rather different tea from China.) came into popularity during Japanese occupation for export to Japan, which would explain why they would be selling the tea in Japan.

I found a reference to a Japanese grow "baozhong" but it sounds like that was more of a novelty. its certainly not commonly available.

i you want to get a baozhong sold by a Japanese vendor get this:
https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p558-wen-shan-bao-zhong-tea.html
or possibly
https://hojotea.com

otherwise i would look for a low oxidation baozhong from a reputable vendor that specializes in Taiwanese tea:
https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/shop/product-category/tea-by-type/bao-zhong-tea/?v=7516fd43adaa
https://taiwanoolongs.com/search?q=Baozhong
https://beautifultaiwantea.com/collections/oolong-teas/products/baozhong-oolong-tea-taiwan
https://floatingleaves.us/collections/oolong/baozhong
https://www.mountaintea.com/products/baozhong

>>17007102
>Highly recommend a visit.
I could buy an awful lot of nice tea with how much it would cost to visit Japan.

>>17005893
You’re a retard and your kid is going to be a bastard born out of wedlock. That stain can never be washed away. Is your wife a puer drinker by chance? At the very least go to your city hall and get gay married.

>>17007272
Could this be the tea? Minami Sayaka matches the name of the tea on the Higashiya website.
https://yunomi.life/products/oolong-tea-from-miyazaki-single-cultivar-minami-sayaka?variant=32980014268521

The tea producers website
https://en-miyazaki-sabou.com/tea.html#oolong

>>17007414
>Could this be the tea?
very possibly, nice find.

>Minami Sayaka matches the name of the tea on the Higashiya website.
sounds like Minami Sayaka is the name of the exact varietal of tea plant but multiple people can grow the same cultivar and make different things out of it. however in this it sound like "Minami Sayaka" was developed by a "Mr. Miyazaki" (in Miyazaki prefecture Japan) so you odds are pretty good that the place you linked made the tea for higashiya (assuming there's only one tea related "Minami Sayaka").

varietal info
https://teaepicure.com/minamisayaka/

i also found a blog that mentions what is likely you tea
https://japaneseteasommelier.wordpress.com/2016/01/14/baozhong-style-tea-from-gokase-minami-sayaka-cultivar/

a number of other vendors sell the same tea you listed
https://www.the-tea-crane.com/product/miyazaki-organic-minamisayaka-japanese-oolong/
https://www.curioustea.com/tea/archive/gokase-minamisayaka-oolong/

i feel dumb for missing the "Minami Sayaka" connection. when i originally searched it i saw the results related to the Japanese singer and my brain blanked out the rest. good catch on your part. hope you can find your tea.

>>17007414
>>17007600
Quality tea research anons, good work

>>17007600
also here's the Japanese store Page
https://miyazaki-sabou.shop-pro.jp/?mode=cate&cbid=2585441&csid=0

>>17007698
Am I seeing this correctly?
The JP store page (for JP customers) Minami Sayaka Summer Oolong https://miyazaki-sabou.shop-pro.jp/?pid=149326278
is sold for 540 JPY per 50 g.

On the English/Int version of the website https://en-miyazaki-sabou.com/tea.html#oolong
it is only available for 1000 JPY at wholesale price (50,000 JPY minimum order for wholesale items).

And at Higashiya, the pretentious/hip teahouse, it was sold for 1800 JPY??? What the hell man are tea prices really this inflated?

>>17007780
Brick and mortar tea shops usually have a 200%-300% markup over their wholesale cost. Running a physical store is expensive and tea is a tricky business.

>>17007787
Whelp I ordered 1 kilogram of it (Minami Sayaka Summer '21 Oolong) and the price should average out to about 1000 JPY per 50 grams.

Hope this thread stays around long enough for me to report back. Thanks for the help Anon.

>>17007787
Tea anon do you dream about opening a tea shop as a business and living your life that way? Is tea your dominate hobby? Cause after doing all this research I feel like starting a tea shop is pretty fun and lucrative.

>>17007946
>Whelp I ordered 1 kilogram of it
Haha that's commitment. That should be a fun experience. The thread is a general, it's usually up unless it dies in the middle of the night.
Good job to you and the other anon for hunting that down it's pretty cool you found it.

>>17007987
Tea is one of my favorite hobbies. I don't think i would want to open a tea shop. My favorite teas are puers and other fermented Chinese stuff and to really succeed in the puer business you have to learn at least enough Mandarin to get around and negotiate and spend a few months in china every year buying tea. Also storing puer properly is hard where i live, i would probably need to essentially make a climate controlled storage shed to be able to store commercial quantities of tea.
I really see the opportunities for a boutique tea shop these days to rely heavily on social media marketing and promotion, YouTube videos, instagram, lots of one on one communication and promotion to your whale buyers once you find a few. That's how several of the smaller Chinese tea sellers operate and it seems to work well for them. I think a brick and mortar store would be extremely difficult unless you can afford to open it as a hobby and not really make much money.

Got some matcha from the local Natural Grocers.
I know this is absolute garbage but I wanted some.

Smells like the scent you get when pruning flowers, tastes like spinach I guess.
20$ for 14 servings, waste of money, would never recommend

>>17008179
Oh yeah those little single serving tube they use for flavored drink mix, that's funny.
My local tea shop has matcha and i know the couple tins they have have just been sitting on a shelf for a year or two. No idea if it was good originally but i wouldn't buy it now. It to bad matcha is such a pain in the ass, it would be fun to get into but is has to be so fresh and made with good tea and it's just such a hassle to keep the good stuff around and make sure your stash stays fresh. I guess if i drank it every day it would be fine.

>>17008198
I actually have quality japanese matcha on hand but I really just wanted to try what was available at the store here.
It baffles me how hucksters manage to upsell garbage tea to the plebs who don't know better. The quality for the same price if you know where to look is so much better, but these people settle for this crap and pretend they actually like tea.
It's like saying you're a coffee guy and just drinking folgers, or you love whiskey but just drink jack daniels. You're really depriving yourself for no purpose besides ignorance

>>17008232
It's honestly a good thing for serious tea drinkers. If the public demanded good Japanese made matcha the prices would go through the roof. It does make me wonder why the health fad people buying it at the grocery store keep drinking it, the stuff they buy doesn't taste good so i guess they are just forcing it down for nebulous health reasons, or because it's trendy. Im surprised a fad can get people to drink stuff that doesn't taste good.

>>17008258
I think my problem is more why do they accept the price point?
Bad quality is okay but when they charge the same for decent stuff it's nonsense

>>17008280
They just don't know any better i guess

>>17003017
F

>>17003017
Was it run by a woman? And was she a particular kind of woman if you catch my drift?

>>17008150
Would a boutique shop doing tea service marketed towards rich people with overpriced afternoon tea and confectionary/snacks as well as selling upscale organic single estate tea and tea accessories do better margins and thrive and be profitable? The ingredients are leaves and water and tea only and tea leaf costs you $5 but you sell it for $20? But you would probably have to sacrifice your aged fermented pu'er to serve teas that are 'unique' and wow tea normie guests.

>>16999389
>t. person who drinks Starbucks only with 7,000 tons of sugar

I found a copper teapot in my grandma's basement. Looks like an antique.
It looks cool, but will it poison me?

>>17009109
Is it a teapot or a kettle for boiling water? Is it copper on the inside or does it have some kind of silver interior?

>>17008288
Same reason they're paying $6 a bottle for kombucha kek.

>>17009145
Nevermind, I've given it a good look and looked at some articles online and it's probably not lined, and it's not nearly as good looking enough to give myself heavy metal poisoning, it's just quaint.

How is Mei Leaf as a vendor, anyways? The way they've gamified their site is kinda worrying to me, and prices seem a little high (but maybe they just have genuinely premium teas) but on the other hand the fact they have full tasting notes on their teas and proper sourcing info (Season, Cultivar, location, processing etc) looks promising.

>>16994756
>>16995183
>>17004025
>>16999491
Thank you lads

>>17004727
If true and if the xenoestrogens actually affect my hormonal profile i would be very sad. I used to make a homemade blend of ginger, turmeric, ceylon cinnamon, and rooibos. Sat outside in the deep winter just before sunrise and had a hot cup of it every morning; the comfy levels were the stuff of legends

>>17010005
the general opinion seems to be that they are somewhat overpriced but their tea is generally good. If you live in UK i would recommend to try them out, if you live in EU it seems fine with the fees as they seem to genuinely try to keep them as low as possible. Not sure about shipping to the US or other places in the world.

My personal experience with them: I have bought their oolong and white tasting sets and 3 puerh cakes, alongside some other samplers. This was before the brexit shit fucked shipping up to norway, and i have not ordered since because i expect i will have to pay a lot in customs fees.
I've really enjoyed their 2020 young gushu maocha style tea. As well as their green oolongs (TGY and anxi jin xuan). I also ordered their 2020 "creambun scallywag" raw puer, which seemed to me to be of decent in terms of quality/price. I also have 2 of their shu offerings, "bling rock kingpin" and "milk float nomad". After a bit of time the "bling rock kingpin" has become really juicy and very nice when brewed grandpa style, the other one still needs to lie a bit to mellow the wet hay taste. For the white tea they bring i can't comment on quality since i dont have anything to compare with.

For the tasting notes i think they in most cases are a bit over the top, but if you just add the phrase "hint of" in front of them you get a fairly decent description i think.

People generally dislike Don for two reasons. 1. his attitude and personality is carsalesmanlike and sleek. 2. because of his prior lies about some of his sourcing info, (specifically age of teatrees). But a quick search of the archives can give you a better idea of why he is disliked than i can sum up in one post

https://yeeonteaco.com/ is doing 20% off right now!
should i buy 300g of their cheap Shui Xian? anyone tried any of their other non heicha teas?

teastiest tea to eat? i think it's japan sencha extra fine

>>17007780
>Am I seeing this correctly?
sure looks like, tea is an easy product to mark up because most customers will be unable to accurately compare prices. sometimes there are different grades of the same production so similar looking products may not be exactly the same.

what i don't get is why the official site has different prices on the ENG web store VS the JAP one. seems strange that the wholesale cost is higher than their official retail cost.

>>17007946
>Whelp I ordered 1 kilogram of it (Minami Sayaka Summer '21 Oolong) and the price should average out to about 1000 JPY per 50 grams.

where did you end up getting it from at that price?

that's quite the leap of faith, good luck. because you got so much you may want to look into using oxygen absorbers and possibly even refrigeration if you want to keep it as fresh as possible (unless you expect to use it up fast (next several months) or gift it). its a lightly oxidized oolong and so it is probably better fresh like green tea is. at very least i would separate out a limited portion into a smaller container for day to day drinking and leave the rest in a larger sealed container that you only open to refill the smaller one. if its prepacked into 50g bags then i would just leave them sealed until you need to open a new one.

>Hope this thread stays around long enough for me to report back.
we should still be here. i look forward to hearing about what you got.

>Thanks for the help Anon.
no problem i like helping, it was fun, and i learned some new stuff.

>>17008232
>It's like saying you're a coffee guy and just drinking folgers, or you love whiskey but just drink jack daniels. You're really depriving yourself for no purpose besides ignorance
most people buying this stuff aren't enthusiasts though and don't claim to be.

>>17008258
>the stuff they buy doesn't taste good
I think cheap "culinary grade" matcha has its place so long as its at least decent. i have had some stuff that was quite decent iced and shaken. i don't see it as a replacement for traditional matcha but more of its own thing.

>Im surprised a fad can get people to drink stuff that doesn't taste good.
i am sure some people would say the same for puerh. Young sheng can be brutal like cheap matcha and its hard to argue that "dirt" flavored heicha is not an acquired taste. perhaps some people actually enjoy their cheap matcha.

>>17009394
>Same reason they're paying $6 a bottle for kombucha kek.
If you don't drink it often $6 a bottle may still be cheaper than making it yourself after you factor in your time. not everyone wants to keep scoby cultures going in perpetuity.

>>17008789
good retail space costs a lot, employees are expensive, and you still have a niche audience. I know a store that fits your description perfectly but i doubt they are making it big. high end retail tea shops are also probably only viable in larger more affluent areas. i think >>17008150 is right about how to go about things though i still think its an uphill battle. its something to do because you love tea not because you intend to make it big.

>>17010480
The grumpy euro got some of their shui xian and didn't say it was bad, i would probably go for 100g as it's just too cheap to be a high grade wuyi oolong.

>>17010930
>cheap
that's the whole reason i wanted it though. most wuyi oolongs are too expensive for me.

>>17002991
>Plastic
It will turn you and the frog gay.

>>17010726
>not everyone wants to keep scoby cultures going in perpetuity.
I was buying the nicest turbinado sugar I could and my costs were still under $1 a gallon.

>>17010964
>my costs were still under $1 a gallon.
see
>>17010964
>after you factor in your time.
yes the materials are cheap i don't contest that. if you drink it regularly it will be cheaper to make it yourself. if someone only drinks it occasionally buying it at the store may not be all that bad of a deal.

>>17011014
>factor in your time
>Put water in pot
>Turn burner on
>Turn burner off
>Add sugar and leaves off boil
>pour tea into jar
Its about 4 minutes of actual work and 4 episodes of whatever you want to watch on netflix. Just like baking. You may be working on a 72hr ferment pizza dough, but its no more than 20 minutes of effort.

>>17011112
>72hr ferment pizza dough
Based, i usually do 24hr ferment and then 24-48 conditioning in the fridge.

I'm drinking an Ambootia Monsoon Flush. Might be one of my favorite black teas ever. It's got this super spicy sweet taste that is just intoxicating.

>>17011112
>20 minutes
and that time is worth more than buying a bottle of kombucha.

also, don't you have to keep doing brews regularly if you want to keep your culture healthy? i though you do not want to just leave it siting for months without "feeding" it.

again, I am not trying to against brewing your own kombucha i was just giving a devils advocate take on how buying it may not always be a bad deal.

well we are on the subject whats your kombucha recipe? what tea do you use? i actually have been intending to make it. however, its not something i would drink all that often so i never get around to it.

>>17011112
>20 minutes
and that time is worth more than buying a bottle of kombucha.

also, don't you have to keep doing brews regularly if you want to keep your culture healthy? i though you do not want to just leave it siting for months without "feeding" it.
again, I am not trying to against brewing your own kombucha i was just giving a devils advocate take on how buying it may not always be a bad deal.
well we are on the subject whats your kombucha recipe? what tea do you use? i actually have been intending to make it. however, its not something i would drink all that often so i never get around to it.

>>17010616
>where did you end up getting it from at that price?
https://yunomi.life/products/oolong-tea-from-miyazaki-single-cultivar-minami-sayaka?variant=32980014268521

The 1000 JPY per 50 g was estimated with all the costs added together ($14 DHL shipping, import taxes). Ordering a whole kilo was the cheapest price. I thought dried tea does not expire :/

>>17011241
>I thought dried tea does not expire :/
It keeps reasonably well, i think most oolongs keep okay as long as they are stored sealed. They will change in flavor over time. I have some bazong that is 3 or 4 years old that i think is good.

>>17011241
>The 1000 JPY per 50 g
i see now, i just misread the price earlier.

> I thought dried tea does not expire :/
it doesn't normally spoil outright but it does change over time. sometimes for the better or for the worse depending on the type of tea and storage conditions. in general tea (except special teas intended for aging) likes it cool, dry, dark, away from smells, airflow, and for peak freshness of not fully oxidized tea oxygen.if you keep your tea sealed it will be fine. if it comes in one big bag i would use the two container trick i described earlier.

>>17011225
https://www.kombuchakamp.com/scoby-hotel-maintenance

You can force them into "stasis" and not touch them for like 6mo. Covid sugar shortage killed my last 8 gallons because I'm a cuck and never set up a long term backup.
>whats your kombucha recipe? what tea do you use?
I was using random chinamarket loose puer and biluochun for the longest time and it was delicious. As long as you don't have too overpowering of a base(probably skip anything overly smokey), you can fuck around all day with your secondary ferments. I'd bottle after about a week with different simple syrups and have a constant batch ready to drink. Super easy to make up a batch of ginger, lavender, and mixed berry and mix them individually with a little lemon juice when you bottle.
>i actually have been intending to make it.
Best advice I can give you is grab a scoby off that site I linked and go to sprouts or whole food and get some imported sparkling lemonade for the cheap swingtop bottles that'll hold pressure.

>>17011241
The great christmas /tea/drop of 2021 incoming.

>>17011355
thanks for the advice

>Covid sugar shortage
i didn't realize there was one. i almost never buy any.

>get some imported sparkling lemonade for the cheap swingtop bottles that'll hold pressure.
good tip, that's a great way to reuse them.

>>17011447
Well it was more that I don't use white sugar for anything and didn't want to buy a 50lb bag of it just to maintain my scobys. Precovid I'd go get some bulk turbinado sugar once a week when I'd bottle and rebrew.

oh, kombucha mushroom people are here.
I have a question. two days ago i put the scoby in sweetened black tea, as per instructions. today it sunk to the bottom and there is some residue on the bottom as well, not coherent mass, just dregs.
is my scoby kill? what could go wrong? the tea was room temp. when I put the fucker in. what do?

How the fuck do you drink this

>>17011695
Mmm, leaf soup...

>>17011629
Its fine. As the yeast(floating dregs and residue) eats the sugar and produces carbon dioxide, bubbles will get trapped in the growing layers of the 'shroom, making it float to the top. Give it a few days. Since the temps are dropping just make sure your jar is sitting somewhere warmish. If a new batch sits cold for too long it has trouble "recolonizing" the liquid. That's when you're at risk of mold. I had mine next to my windows when the season turned last year and shit went south :/

>>17011695
you wait for the leaves to drop down, which they will do, or you just filter with your teeth along the lip of the cup

I have two teapots which have been filled with tea for two months. I assume they are now host to many forms of life I would rather not come into contact with. How do I best clean this up? I do not have a dish washer.

>>17011695
you dont. grandpa style is a meme, use a gaiwan or small tea pot. even if you insist on drinking grandpa style do it in a gaiwan and use the lid to keep the leaf away(still a pain)

>>17011629
Yeah like the other anon said mine would usually sink right when i moved them to a new batch and then float after a few days. Did you add some of the liquid from the last batch as well? I found that was more important than adding the actual scoby. Also if you are worried about contamination you can add a few teaspoons of white vinegar to a new batch to drop the ph and make it harder for it to get moldy.

>>17011695
The water you used wasn't hot enough, if you use boiling water all the leaves will sink, it does make it so i don't usually brew lighter oolongs that cant handle the heat grampa style. When you use hot enough water only some stems and one or maybe two leaves will float and i just flick them out with a fork before i start drinking.
Pic related, my grandpa style brew ive been drinking this afternoon.

>>17011745
>>17011781
thanks guys, I feel reassured.
it's 20 C (68 F) in the room where it sits right now. I'll move it closer to the radiator.

it came with starter liquid, I dumped it all in.
i thought maybe due to the shock of the new environment the mushroom crapped out all the living cells to the bottom of the jar and an heroed.
it smells vinegary right now and I like it. should i taste test after 2 days?

>>17011241
The story on this guy's e-comm company selling and promoting Japanese tea is pretty interesting desu
https://yunomi.life/pages/matcha-latte-media
https://kimberleyskyusu.com/2021/07/12/matcha-monday-masterclasses-an-interview-with-ian-chun-of-yunomi-tea/

>>17011836
Wait a week. You can always sweeten to taste afterwards, but you need to make sure what you don't bottle is strong enough to start the next batch.

>>17011895
oh, seems like a good tip. so the shroom and leftover liquid should be not too far gone into vinegar if I want to start the next batch? do i understand correctly?

and let me ask a followup question about bottling. should I add some sugar to the bottle for second ferment (like in homebrew beer)?
what's your procedure?

>>17010005
When I was in London I hit up their store (and chatted with Celine) and bought a few things. I didn't really like the dan cong, but the sheng (Monocle Boss) was really good. I also enjoyed the sample of "Sour Sap" she threw in for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhIsWYuayxk

>>17011931
Other way around. Leftover liquid should be real vinegary to start the next batch. It should be alive and waiting for fresh sugar to convert.
> should I add some sugar to the bottle for second ferment (like in homebrew beer)?
what's your procedure?
You can. I was making simple syrups to flavor or buying frozen fruits and muddling them down and adding to the bottle. Just experiment. I have a bunch of growlers from granite city and other breweries, so I've done whole berries and bigger chunks in those. Make sure to leave a little head room in your bottles. I'd fill up to the top band in this pic.
>>17011355

>>17011996
>Leftover liquid should be real vinegary to start the next batch.
gotcha.
as for the bottles I have access to almost every known shape and volume. swing tops or not. I had to google growler.
https://www.systempack.de/en/glass-bottles/beer/siphons.html
they call it siphons here.
I'm bottling my first 1 liter (bit more than a quart) batch in three of those https://www.systempack.de/en/glass-bottles/swingtop/steinie-3.html
picrels without the swingtop attached.

>>17010480
>https://yeeonteaco.com/ is doing 20% off right now!
>should i buy 300g of their cheap Shui Xian? anyone tried any of their other non heicha teas?
bumping my question. i know someone here has had it before.

>>17010480
>huh these prices look reasonable
>put $50 worth of tea in cart
>check shipping
>$22 (40-70 day surface mail)
>premium shipping literally costs as much as the order
Why must it always be like this

>>17012303
Yeah it blows, i have stopped ordering unless im getting around a kilo or spending at least $100 on tea or both.

>>17012375
I'm almost tempted to eat the shipping and place an order anyways, but I've already got enough tea in the cart for it to go stale.
Then again I guess if I add some Puerh that doesn't actually go bad with age. I guess I have time to mull it over.

>>17012384
Just know this place has a distinctive wet storage aroma, think root cellar, loam, earthyness, that sort of thing.
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2008-raw-puerh-tea-brick-jiang-cheng
Or if you want a somewhat smokey ripe
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2008-ripe-puerh-tea-brick-jinggu-factory

>>17012198
Ah gotcha. I was referring to

https://www.systempack.de/en/glass-bottles/beer/siphons/traditions-siphon.html

can someone recommend me good honeybush/rooibos tea to buy?

>>17012667
also, while i'm here: are metal ball strainers a good idea? i don't need to be super fancy, i just want to be able to try a good tea from ys or wherever without swallowing down a leaf/totally fucking up the brewing process.

>>17012667
We deal only in "to rent" teas, beat it.
>>17012688
No, use full mug strainer at least if you want to taste the tea that you're drinking.

>>17012667
Something like 80% of all exported rooibos is literally the same. It's bought up by a wholesaler and fermented, then exported. The grades are basically, from shit to good, dust, crumbs, broken bits, strands, long strands. Get whatever is cheapest for the grade you want. Strands and up for drinking tea.

https://mountainroseherbs.com/red-rooibos-tea
If you just want a link.

>>17012708
thanks, i was looking at mountainroseherbs but wasn't sure if it was good or not.

>>17012699
gotcha

>>17012733
Not that anon, ive also bought rooibos from mountain rose herbs and it was good.

>>17012688
The Chinese leaves glow in the tea. You can see them if you're drinking. You just eat 'em, that's what you do.

Any refreshing and sour teas to try?

>>17013081
Good question, im also interested in some sour teas

>>17013119
you might be thrilled to know this thing called "literally making tea and splashing some lemon in the goddamn thing"

>>17013686
That's not really the kind of tanginess im after.

>>17013081
lemongrass?

>>16993167
i want to bite that so bad

>>17013081
>>17013119
>>17013743
Add a tablespoon of distilled white vinegar

Yuzu oolong

Placed an order with Yee for basically everything but their Puerh (I know, I know)
It probably won't be here before the Black Friday sale ends, and I'm not exactly an experienced taster, but I'll let you guys know what I think when it gets here.
I got Longjing, Iron Buddha II, Shui Xian, Golden Osmantas Oolong (I believe someone else here recommended it,) Bai Mu Dan and Shoumei.
I also got their best taste ripe loose as a personal intro to Puerh, but I imagine most people here have already tried it.

>>17011769
Depends on the kind of teapot. I had forgotten my brown betty since I only use it for big western brews and it grew some fuzzy friends. I scraped the leaves out with a spoon then rinsed it with boiling water until the water poured clear. If I had one of those pipe cleaners I'd probably scrub the spout too.

>>17013743
The answer is obviously kombucha made with whatever fucking tea you want.

>>17015346
Kombucha is pretty good yeah

Stupid question but if you're only serving yourself, do you drink directly from the Gaiwan?

>>17015970
yes, with a lid off usually and using the saucer.

may I just say that I respect those guys work in cataloguing western tea/puerh scene. god damn, some fun episodes too https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NSvGK0z6rM

Anon has bought all of the teas off tuochatea for cheap. (And why it is a good thing).

>>17016005
>with the lid off
Wouldn't that defeat the purpose and leave you drinking grandpa style? I figured you could use the lid to filter like you would when you pour, but instead of pouring it into a cup you'd just put your lips on the rim and drink normally.
I just don't know if it's awkward to hold the lid in the right position while also drinking from the Gaiwan, I'm not worried about taboo/breach of etiquette.

>>17016099
How massive is your dick. Can it still be measured in inches or does it have to be measured in feet?

>>17015970
nah, I pour it still. Sometimes when I use my tea pot I pour directly into my mouth when I'm not brewing too hot. Like whites or greens

>>17016099
>tuochatea
hoping to put in an order with them when shipping prices come down. they have some deals but are not nearly cheap enough to make up for current shipping costs and their dry storage. plus i have other things i want more. what did you get from them?

>>17015970
>Stupid question but if you're only serving yourself, do you drink directly from the Gaiwan?
no i bought a second gaiwan to use as a same sized cup.

Do I dare?

>>17016782
its good stuff but a little sour so dont buy a massive amount encase you dont like it

>>16993167
does the glue from the label improve the flavor?

>>17015970
no cuz the reason i use a gaiwan is to stop the brewing, if i wanna continuously brew i do grandpa style in a bigger cup, since its less annoying with refills etc.

Recently I got my tea from Old Ways Tea. I got a 2020 oolong sampler and a couple black teas. It's been bangin, I was wanting to try a specialist in Wuyi tea after having only tried YS ones and it's been worthwhile. Like one that struck me was their teji rou gui. It has a thick, sweet raisin bread type taste and notes reminiscent of spice, as well as a balanced roast, which was nice because the only rou gui I had before seemed over roasted. I also had their "Wuyi black tea" today. I think it's a xiao zhong type tea, and it's the best I've had so far, very good for a sample that cost 1 buck. Very smooth, no astringency. It had both hay-like and floral notes, plus maltiness but that didn't dominate the taste.

what does apple tea taste like?

>>17016841
It's not glued on its compressed into the tea when the dry tea leaves are steamed and them formed into a cake shape.

>>17016932
Sounds nice anon, i need to get some more wuyi oolong

>>17014990
>I'm not exactly an experienced taster, but I'll let you guys know what I think when it gets here.
don't sweat it, you get better by practicing and paying attention, look forward to your notes.

>I also got their best taste ripe loose as a personal intro to Puerh, but I imagine most people here have already tried it.
i know at least one anon got it and liked it. i have not had it yet myself but i may get some with my next order from them.

>>17016128
>I just don't know if it's awkward to hold the lid in the right position while also drinking from the Gaiwan
depends on the gaiwan. you could definitely make it work with the right one. i am pretty sure i have seen some pictures of old Chinese men doing it that way and i am sure i have seen pics of them drinking right out of a teapot as well.

Just bought a $2 "appetizer" bowl from Walmart that is almost exactly 125ml by happy coincidence.
Decided to make some tea "grandpa" style in it and I'm sold on a Gaiwan now, letting the leaf spread out in a wide cup genuinely makes a massive taste difference compared to a shitty strainer basket.

>>17017193
Based, i suggest getting a cheap thin porcelain gaiwan.
https://aliexpress.com/item/32860463309.html

Is buying tea on Ali express a good idea? It's super cheap but I might also die.

>>17017449
All the Gaiwans on Ali are surprisingly expensive. There's a nice Porcelain blue one with a design I like it but it's a small fortune. I'm really tempted to get it anyways because it'd probably look really nice on my desk, I just wish I could find it for a more reasonable price because at the end of the day a plain white Gaiwan for like 1/3rd the price will brew the same tea.

>>17017775
Here are a couple decent aliexpress shops for teaware. I would not suggest getting clay teapots from them but gaiwans cups etc are fine just click on the link for the store page and they should have a gaiwan category, it's annoying to link to an ali storefront directly.
https://aliexpress.com/item/1005001965144876.html
https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32580527777.html
I don't know how much his shipping would be for just a gaiwan but this shop has some reasonably priced ones.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/gaiwan
If you want to order from US shops check out
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/

>>17016932
Nice. Did you get any of their "Masu Wild Style" black? It's my favorite OWT offering, as well as my favorite black tea.
One day I'll bite the bullet and spring for their JJM, it's gotta be good.

>>17013081
Hibiscus tea

I'm not really a vegetarian but I've been cutting down on meat to the point I only eat it like once a month, and I've just found out that drinking tea near meals inhibits iron absorption. As a 6-cupper in the morning while working at home, that is alarming and explains some things. If your diet is low on non-heme (from vegetables and cereals) iron, keep that in mind, don't drink tea unless a couple hours have passed from your last meal!
This has been a /tea/ PSA.

>>17003017
Good tea is far too expensive inside the stores you can actually visit here. I can find the same quality stuff for way cheaper online, in the links on the pastebin. I went to the only tea store nearby once. The lady had some orange sencha that looked like mulch and smelled like Tang and she would have charged me 16 dollars for 40 grams of that stuff.

>>17019782
Yeah there have been plenty of case studies on iron deficiency anemia in tea drinkers, especially prolific green tea drinkers.
I personally take iron supplements in addition to eating a relatively meat-rich diet.

>>17020118
Tea stores are a mixed bag. I have a pretty decent local tea shop. Decent prices, decent selection. Something like $27~ for 250g of proper Sencha.
They have a ton of herbal and meme blends too, but their prices are reasonable since they're not trying to gouge yuppies/hipsters.

>>17020182
I've got an elderly herborist in my town that is somewhat like a druid.
He's an very nice to talk to 80something dude that heredited his father's shop, makes all his counts by scribbling on a ledger and he still goes every week to gather the herbs himself in all sorts of places he knows along the mountains. He's got a ridiculously huge selection and it's all very high quality, but sadly he also charges out of the ass.

This shit is outrageously good

What can I buy absolute piles of? Just fucking stacks. I'm talking tongs on tongs on tongs. I don't want to spend even one second of the day without some tea in my hand, and I don't want to go over 2c/g 20 smackaroonies per kilogram. Only interested in camelia sinensis, there will be no "tisanes" around these parts.

>>17020360
>2c/g
Do you have a business license? You're going to want to go through wholesale channels if you want any hope of getting remotely drinkable tea for that kind of price (and you're still probably going to end up drinking a mediocre tea) and most distributors want to see a valid business license for wholesale.
t. own a shell business with a license so I can buy stuff wholesale

Does anyone have good experiences with Ceylon? I've only tried the one, but it might be the blandest most inoffensive tea I've ever drunk. I've tried it Western style, I've tried it gong fu to see if that'll bring out more flavor, everything. There is nothing I can do to bring out any flavor other than "malty breakfast tea"
If someone who drank English Breakfast teabags every day asked me for "Black Tea" I would probably serve them this Ceylon and they would notice almost no difference.

>>17020396
>t. own a shell business with a license so I can buy stuff wholesale
can you tell me about the process and what you used it for? i was considering doing that one day if i ever want to hoard a bunch of heicha. i do find it kind of funny that even if you want to spend a a bunch of money if you are a "customer" businesses wont give discounts but the moment you become a "business" they will cut you a deal. I guess they are hoping for repeat sales and expect to have less customer service issues with other businesses.

>>17020396
Unfortunate, can I really go no lower than 5c/g without serious autism? Do you do group buys or something? Or do you just drink a ton of tea?

>>17020471
I haven't actually bought tea with my business license, mostly because I doubt I could drink something like 5kg of tea before it goes off.
>>17020466
I don't know what the process will be like in your country/state, but for me it was as simple as applying to the city for a license, paying the fee and done. No physical storefront required, no proof of sales/income or anything, you just fill out a form describing your business and pay the licensing fee and you're in business.

>>17020545
>I haven't actually bought tea with my business license,
Wait, so you have absolutely no idea, and just assumed that you'd need a business license to buy tea?

>before it goes off.
Storing tea isn't actually that hard.

>>17020457
>There is nothing I can do to bring out any flavor other than "malty breakfast tea"
That's basically all there is.

>>17020557
I mean, maybe you can find a tea wholesaler who will sell it to you wholesale without a business license. Maybe tea is different and Chinese sellers don't care.
But every other vendor I bought wholesale from wanted my license number for wholesale purchases.

>>17020557
>Wait, so you have absolutely no idea, and just assumed that you'd need a business license to buy tea?
we were talking about getting wholesale discounts not just buying tea. also there are some wholesale only providers and they may want some sort of proof of "business".

>>17020360
Well there is the Xiaguan Bian Xiao Zhuan on KTM, it's only like 1 cent per gram
https://kingteamall.com/products/2017-xiaguan-baoyan-bianxiaozhuan-brick-250g-5-1250g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=30875783135335

>>17020997
I'm still sipping on that. Got it for like $24/1.25kg shipped a few years back.

>>17020997
Super helpful, thanks

>>17021032
What do you think about it? I'm not afraid of strong or "off" flavors, but I'd like to avoid something that's very offensive in some way.

>>17020360
None of these are quite as cheap as you want, you should have bought them last year when they were all 50% cheaper, anyway these are cheap but wont be as funky as those xiagaun bricks for Tibetan peasants the other anon linked.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2018-xiaguan/products/2018-xiaguan-8853-brick-250g-4pcs-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2012-xiaguan/products/2012-xiaguan-fu-lu-shou-xi-4-fortunes-brick-250g-4pcs-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea-1
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2014-xiaguan/products/2014-xiaguan-jin-gua-golden-melon-tuo-1000g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2015-xiaguan/products/2015-xiaguan-nan-zhao-zhen-cang-valuable-brick-1000g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2015-xiaguan/products/2015-xiaguan-lv-da-shu-big-green-tree-brick-250g-4pcs-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2017-xiaguan/products/2017-xiaguan-503-hong-yin-red-markk-tuo-100g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea-1

I'm considering buying a tea tray for the sake of completing my tea set, is it worth it for the price of about 40 USD?
I'm a bit hesitant to buy one, from what I've seen there are some decently priced trays, but from the reviews many seem to be of atrocious quality, often quite literally falling apart due to inadequate manufacturing or whatnot.

>>17021120
thats the exact one i have it cost i think ~£20 off aliexpess when i brought it 4 years ago, its cheap and the chipboard with soak up water and peel so i try not to get it wet but it is nice as it holds all my tea stuff on my desk and fits nicely to the side when im not drinking also it will catch any spills, i'd use a waste jug for actual washes/end of cup dregs but i find mine worth having even if i dont use it for its intended purpose

>>17021120
If you can try and get one with either a ceramic base, or a plastic tub on the inside to catch liquid. Like the other anon said the wood ones tend to soak up water, if you get one with a plastic tray it should last for a while.
If you are in the us take a look at the tea trays on purple cloud tea house they have some nice ceramic ones in the $40 range.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/tea-boats/products/ceramic-soda-glaze-tea-boat
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/tea-boats/products/chaozhou-hong-ni-tea-boat-2
King tea mall also has some cool stainless steel trays and i think they have some ones with plastic bins

Thoughts?

Stupid fucking question but where do I buy tea tins

>>16993167
For me it’s Lipton Cold Brew

>>17021075
Its so good I had to fill a pumidor with other shit so I didn't drink through it all.I used to go to this little chinese mafia run restaurant for all our family birthdays/events when I was a kid. Great food and a lively atmosphere from the guys playing poker next to the tv. That brickweed tier tea strangely reminds me of the tea they used to serve.

>>17021120
I just have a shitty etsy tray for busting up super compacted shit like this and use a big matcha bowl for rinse/wastewater.

>>17021289
Sweet gaiwan, is it vintage? It has that look to it. Side handle pitcher is cool too.

>>17021380
Yeah you practically need a hammer and chisel to break up some of those super dense xiaguan cakes. I keep a pair of heavy duty pruning shears around for them.

>>17021487
Well, it's 'vintage look' certainly.
Bought it on AliExpress for around 15$.
Thought that crude blue pattern and it being clay kinda matched my pitcher...

>>17021499
I'd like to send a chunk to a friend but that seems like a fucking mess. I need like a jewelers saw to cut clean.

>>17021551
Yeah it's very classic looking, like something you might see in a Chinese teahouse in the 80s, i dig it. Your strainer is one that uses a piece of mesh screen attached to it? Is it hard to clean?

>>17021584
If i was going to send some of that to someone i would probably just break it into smaller brewable sized chunks and mail those.

>>17021596
Yeah. I also like it very much. Don't like those super fancy looking gaiwans with those elaborate patterns. Like this guy >>17017775 Looks kinda cheap, but to each their own, I guess
>is it hard to clean?
Its some kind of cloth. Never replaced it or anything and it looks still fine after several years of regular use. I just use a regular brush sometimes and I don't care much about the tea soot anyways

>>17021380
Cool, I'll pick some up, pretty sure this is exactly what I'm looking for. I have 15g of tea left total, and my order is delayed, so it's become clear that I'm going to run out of tea. I want to make sure this doesn't happen in the future.

>>17021603
The real solution would be to send him an entire brick but fat fucking chance that's happening.
>>17021679
Shipping from ktm has like tripled since I ordered that jsyk.

Got this for 25$ new. Think it would make a great present

>>17021743
Haha yeah i remember you posting back then that the shipping was more than the tea and being annoyed about it lol, how things have changed.

>>17021743
>Shipping from ktm has like tripled since I ordered that jsyk.
I'll pick out some nice stuff too, looks like they have a good selection. I'm happy to do an order of nicer sheng I just can't afford to drink it all the time. I might clear 25g of tea on a big day.

>>17021658
>fancy gaiwans with elaborate patterns look cheap
what

How many /tea/ posters are actually chicom agents shilling for their online stores? It seems like a goodly number.

>>17022048
My complaints about w2t
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their teas, sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like yiwu"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell tea. You will see a listing that just says "this tea will sell out by tomorrow, no samples" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors wrapping warehouse finds in new hipster wrappers and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for them.
They do a lot of stupid tea "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced.
If you actually read twodogs old blog posts about puer you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every puer meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in tea.
He is probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre young green puer at extremely inflated prices.

>>16993167
I switched to this and have continually bought it ever since, as I quite enjoy it. It's smooth while retaining a full flavor.

>>17022048
None, if you actually look at these threads enough every shop gets criticized for their flaws, nobody claims any of these places are perfect. I post half the recommendations in these threads and i don't have any loyalty to one or two specific stores, i might suggest any of a dozen shops depending on what people are looking for. I have seen one post that actually looked like some passerby shilling and it was so awkward, it read like.
>hello American friends, all your tea from shops is stale and bad, i found tea from "brand" that is vacuum packed fresh in india, you should order their tea if you want good fresh tea friends

>>17022040
Yes. Do you think this is a luxury car?

>>17022083
No company would bother to actually pay someone to come to 4chan to shill their tea.

>>17022081
Ah, a fellow Twinings of London English Breakfast Tea enjoyer. I spent time, like many of you, drinking "Pu-erh" tea, but I always finding myself returning to the aroma and depth of flavor that Twinings has cultivated over their 300 year history of tea production. You can really taste the depth and complexity that is present in each cup of Twinings of London English Breakfast Tea that is developed from their unique blend of black tea from Kenya, Indonesia, Assam, Malawi and China. For me, you couldn't call it the morning without a nice cup of Twinings of London English Breakfast Tea.

Damn, ChiCom tea defense force out in full force. Longposting about how there aren’t shills here is the shillest and most transparent tactic ever. There’s even a Shakespeare quote about this sort of thing but I don’t expect chinamen tea vendors to know it.

>>17022209
Wow i just cant wait for you to make thousands of posts saying this over and over again man i really love this website.

>>17022104
You're cherry picking but yes I would consider that car more of a "luxury" car than a plain white Honda Civic.

where to get/try one of those tea bricks you see in places like central asia and middle east?

every single one of these is a lie. they taste the same.

>>17022209
Thank you for saying this, the behavior in this thread has been truly reprehensible. I find when I get angry it's nice to relax with a mug of Twinings of London Calm. It's a blend of Ashwagandha, Fig, and Vanilla. The tender and soothing aroma of these carefully selected ingredients simply wafts my worries away. Rough day at work? Someone called me a schizo online again? I'll be sipping Twinings of London Calm and forgetting all about it.

>>17022269
forgot to mention the flavor is "hot water flavor" across all of them.

>>17022259
Those are pretty nasty most of the time, these days they are really only made as decorations for tourists.
Here are a couple on ebay if you want one for decoration, give me a few minutes and i might be able to find some cheaper.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/321717154164
https://www.ebay.com/itm/274405114895

Found these old puer disks in my cupboards probably been there for several years now. Puerfags are these any good? Or are they completely unrecognisable
Inb4 >not enough sandy loam

>>17022269
>>17022281
works on my tongue

>>16993167
Is that chink shit weeb tea? Looks like a cow patty, chang.

>>17022259
Here is one that looks kinda cool that you can actually drink, it's pressed in a birds nest shape, you might need to stab it with a screwdriver to break it up but it's made with good tea.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2012-tuo-cha-jing-mai-ancient-tea-raw-puer-cha-100g-pcs-p0341.html

>>17022292
they all smell incredible but don't deliver on flavor at all. i'm boiling water and steeping the bag for 5min (max time recommended)

>>17022291
I don't immediately recognize them, the middle one might be some brand called dr puer or kungfu puer but im not totally sure. If you don't mind could you take them out of the wrappers and show the front of the cakes?

>>17022209
>There’s even a Shakespeare quote about this sort of thing but I don’t expect chinamen tea vendors to know it.
"The lady doth protest too much, methinks"
now go be a nuisance somewhere else.

>>17022326
It's not hard for me to believe that flavored tea would be bad but do you have really hard water?

>>17022249
Like clockwork

>>17022326
>I'm boiling water and steeping the bag for 5 minutes
:|

>>17022291
if you type out or take pictures of the QS codes i can look up the factory info.

>>17022209
115 word post
>longposting
You ngrs don't read or write do you?

>>17022254
>You're cherry picking but yes
It's an imitation of luxury by someone who has absolutely no understanding of what makes something nice or luxurious. A clean white Honda civic is absolutely a more luxurious car. That car handles like shit, looks like shit, and rides like shit but it's a luxury car because it's shiny? Retarded take, sorry. You can like what you like, I don't even really hate donks, but yeah, it looks cheap, tacky, etc.

>>17022347
that's what the instructions say nigga damn
>>17022344
yeah but I filter it

For me, it's YunnanSourcing. The best Puerh site on the internet. I even ask for samples and the guy is so friendly and more than willing to oblige. One time I asked for samples with my order and they gave me three. I said "Wow, three for free!" and the nice friendly YunnanSourcing guy laughed and said "I'm going to call you 3-for-free!"
Now every time I place an order I ALWAYS get three samples for free. It's such a fun and cool atmosphere at Yunnan Sourcing, I order from them at least 3 times a year.

>>17022369
you are arguing over a cheap ceramic cup and attempting to say that a cup that is glazed/painted on the exterior is somehow inferior to the same cup with a simpler pattern or even completely plain, as if the extra cost of the paint and labor devalues the product
you might have managed to make an even worse analogy than the average food analogy made on this board

>>17022394
This argument is retared but he isint wrong that cheap ceramics with big applied graphics baked on them can in many ways look cheaper than a plain white ceramic object, certain applied prints like that have the feeling of cheap asain export ceramics form the 60s and a certain level of tackiness or datedness too them.

>>17022394
>as if the extra cost of the paint and labor devalues the product
Yeah

>>16993848
Still waiting for an answer btw

>>17022336
>>17022359
If I take the wrappers off how am I supposed to re-wrap them without it falling apart or looking like shit?

>>17022408
>>17022415
this is an insane level of cope to justify owning a plain gaiwan
literally all you have to say is "I don't want to pay more when a plain white gaiwan brews the same tea"
I get that you're probably a boomer who was raised on milk and white bread and having anything out of the ordinary scares you but you don't have to shit on people with actual aesthetic sense who buy colored gaiwans with birds, dragons or other assorted patterns on them.

>>17022364
>ngrs
Shill spotted. Genuine posters just type “nigger”.

>>17022428
Bro are you ok?

>>17022440
I'm not the one having a seizure, shitting himself and posting pictures of cars covered in anime (and not even a modern Itasha because he's too much of a boomer to know what that is) because someone dared to post a picture of a Gaiwan with what, a lakeside village at night on it?

the only liquids I consume nowadays are water, milk, and blue raspberry pre-workout
I want to try replacing the pre-workout with tea for caffeine purposes

please recommend a starting point for tea
I've grown up in the American south and have always found the ice tea to be bad, sweet and unsweet

>>17022453
>I'm not the one having a seizure, shitting himself
Consider switching, puer might be a little much for you buddy.

>>17022453
Dude, relax. It’s just a fucking teapot.

>>17022471
I accept your concession.

>>17022434
Its a vince staples quote. You're just not worth the xtra keystrokes h0mey. Point stands.

https://www.reddit.com/r/theJoeBuddenPodcast/comments/d65icl/you_nigga_dont_read_or_write_huh_vince_staples/

>>17022427
Its impossible, don't worry about it anon, really the only way to determine if it's any good or not is to try it.

>>17022470
imagine drinking tea out of a bag like some sort of fucking canadian

>>17022453
>covered in anime
Bro did you just call Caramell Girls anime? Don't ever let me catch you slippin again fool.

>>17022487
>h0mey
>reddit
you have to go back, you stupid fucking nigger.

>>17022473
This is my second post in the thread and my first time engaging with you, you schizo. Are you here from /x/?

>>17022504
Yes? They are animated characters from a music "video", I think most people would consider them Japanese Animation or "anime"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SeMXa5lBGYc

>>17022506
Find a better link for that clip faggot. And start posting about tea.

>>17022487
Point stands that you’re a shill who can’t even type out a no no word, nigger.

>>16993167
Thoughts on kusmi tea? I like it

>>17022521
This fool thinks painted gaiwans are fancy and swedish pop music is anime. Next your dumb ass is gonna tell me up is down

>>17022550
You can't even name the vendor I'm shilling for. Likely because you don't read. Or write. Nigger. Happy now? Is my assessment that you're a fat white faggot more credible because I typed out a nonoword this time?

>>17022459
please

>>17022589
>referring to the characters
>Durr the music is Swedish so it's not anime?!
Guess I really am arguing with someone who is mentally challenged
Pic rel; the fanciest Gaiwan money can buy, and it only costs $8

>>17022648
Ironic shitposting is still shitposting

>>17022656
Alright, is this teapot gaudy and cheap looking?

>>17022623
You’re tilting at windmills, Chang. /tea/posters aren’t fat white McChicken neckbeards which you would know if you weren’t such an obvious ccp shill. Your song and dance probably works better on leddit so I suggest you go back. Free my Tibetan niggas.

>>17022671
>Free my Tibetan niggas
The only tea I've posted in this thread is for export to Tibet you stupid fuck.

Tibet is not a country it is an autonomous region belonging to China.

>>17022671
>>17022685
>>17022686
>Tibet
You guys mean 西藏 (xi1zang4) right?

>>17022664
>>17022648
this is like michelangelo versus google globohomo
>captcha: joows

>>17022671
>I'm not fat and white thats the redditors
You're going to have to come to terms with it sooner or later.

Can I use less tea if I just steep longer?

I can't believe how red this bay leaf infusion gets once you let it steep long enough
it goes from transparent, to amber, to a lightish pink to this, which is sort of roiboos red.

goddamnit I wish I knew what the fuck was going on that gave it this color, if it's bad, if it's good, if it's not a big deal.

>>17022459
>pre-workout
>caffeine purposes
You might have better luck with yerba mate for that.
But for proper tea, try some Yunnan black, something like Yunnan Sourcing's "Drunk on Red." Indian tea is a meme and Japanese is an acquired taste; start off with Chinese or maybe Taiwanese stuff. You can get a gaiwan real cheap, and otherwise you really just need a way to heat your water.

>>17024400
>Japanese is an acquired taste
I don't believe this, you can start off drinking Japanese greens no problem. I wouldn't necessarily recommend them for caffeine purposes, but getting into a quality Genmaicha or Sencha is really not that difficult. I would say Gyokuro is an acquired taste, because I didn't enjoy it the first time I tried it, but very few people can afford to drink quality Gyokuro as a pre-workout anyways.
All that said I would echo your sentiment for either Yerba or a decent black tea since those tend to be both affordable and high in caffeine. A green tea option I'd put forward is Gunpowder/pearl tea since it tends to deliver a decent caffeine kick at an affordable price.