/ck/ - Food & Cooking

what are good tea brands

>>17156578
How did you guys transition from coffee to tea?
I got a stomach bug once and the first thing I drank before going ballistic on my toilet was some strong coffee, can't even smell coffee now because of it, I adapted to tea and now enjoy it much more than I did coffee

>>17156589
Usually the good stuff comes from small independent distributors instead of major national brands.

>>17154955
>Anybody can recommend actual African teas?
i have not tried any yet but here are some sources i found.
https://what-cha.com/collections/vendors?q=Kenya
https://what-cha.com/collections/vendors?q=Malawi
https://justea.com/
https://www.uptontea.com/teas/c/african-tea/pgsize/12/filter/100000000124eq100000000125/layout/LIST/
https://www.arborteas.com/organic-african-tea/

>>17154971
>So is everyone here a female?
no

>>17155036
>I'm not and I'm friends with a couple of people who post here frequently
there aren't that many regulars here in the first place. so are you telling me there is some sort of secret /tea/ cabal?

>>17156600
I never got into coffee, the acid makes me sick
Tea doesn't do that

>>17156578
Thanks for making a new thread.

>>17156600
>How did you guys transition from coffee to tea?
I never was a coffee drinker.

>>17156589
>what are good tea brands
For a bri'ish cuppa it's a tie between PGTips, Yorkshire, or Typhoo.
They're all slightly different. Try all 3 and pick your favorite.

>>17156600
I'm a caffeine addict, and most teas just don't have enough caffeine to give me my fix like coffee does.

The only thing that really does it for me is a cup with 2 bags of irish tea.
It gives the most "coffee-like" hit of caffeine.

I got my LP puerh beginner pack the other day. mostly younger sheng but there are a few older ones in there too. no shou in mine. the one i am most excited for is a sample of some 2004 xiguan. looking forward to trying them all. hopefully he does it again next year.

>>17156609
You’ve never had tea belly from drinking tea on an empty tummy?

>>17156657
Nah, it's smooth

What are you guys favorite drain-through-bottom type infusers? is there one with no plastic parts? Starting to buy tea stuff so I want everything glass and high quality steel if possible.

Also need a milk frothing pitcher thing, only for single or double servings at a time at most, any recs for that would be nice. Amazon is a huge plus.

>>17156655
Nice, im exited to get mine too.
That old xiaguan looks interesting if it's the one im thinking of. Post your results when you try it.

>>17156679
>What are you guys favorite drain-through-bottom type infusers?
The ingenuitea 2 because you can totally disassemble it to clean
>one with no plastic
Yes but ive only ever seen it on taobao so unless you speak enough Chinese to be able to find it on there i don't really think you could get one.

>>17156687
>if it's the one im thinking of
what one would that be?

>>17156696
>The ingenuitea 2 because you can totally disassemble it to clean

that's a good rec, thanks. i remember throwing away my french press years ago because it was uncleanable

>>17156698
Oh i guess it isint
He bought this 3kg xiaguan cake from 2003 that he wanted as many people to try as possible.
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1010381398/2021-sheng-olympiad
Anyway just about anything from xiaguan in 2004 should be interesting.

>>17156727
i think i figured out what it is. its the 3+1 8653 FT production.

>>17156761
>3+1
Based superstitious asian numerology
>ft 8653
damn i hope i get some of that

>>17156600
Never got into coffee because fuck caffeine jitters and fuck matcha too, make decaf mainstream

>>17154955
"Purple" tea seems to be the African/Kenyan meme tea and what I assume you'd be able to actually buy as a loose leaf "premium" tea.

>>17156679
>What are you guys favorite drain-through-bottom type infusers? is there one with no plastic parts?
Hario switch and eco. Glass steep and release cone with a metal filter bought separately

>>17156767
>ft 8653
the package was just labeled "2004 xiaguan 3+1" so that's what i assume it is.

>>17156891
>"Purple" tea seems to be the African/Kenyan meme tea
there was a recent push by some of the farmers there to plant purple tea varietals in order to try to make their tea more marketable and help them sell it as a health-food (because of the anthocyanins). they hoped this would let them move upmarket and get paid more than what they make from growing tea bag dust.

>>17156971
Yeah that sounds right, kek again gotta love the naming scheme i think they did that with the 2014 cakes too

>>17156578
Any stovetop kettle recommendations? I want something that will hold at least 4-6 cups of water and will keep it hot for as long as possible. Ideally my plan is to brew hot water on the stove top then keep it near my desk so i can make tea while I work.

Id rather not go electric because the sound is unbearable to me and i just want to have on-demand hot water. Open to suggestions outside of kettles, thanks!

Also put in an order a few weeks ago on a chinese tea distribution website, i bought 4 or 5 teas to sample. A few puers, one white, and something else I can't recall. Im looking forward to trying the high quality stuff

>>17157392
>Any stovetop kettle recommendations?
There aren't any great stovetop kettles
Get one that is stainless steel instead of enameled steel
If you can still find them for a reasonable price this oxo good grips one is one of the better options

>>17157424
Thanks. Any idea how long it will keep water hot for?

Or should i go with something other than a stovetop kettle then?

>>17157449
Here is another one that might be good
https://www.vermontcountrystore.com/knapp-monarch-stainless-steel-teakettle/product/77869
No stove top kettle will keep water hot for all that long. I suggest getting a big vacuum insulated bottle and pouring your freshly boiled water into that. I keep one around and it keeps water hot enough to brew tea for at least 3 hours.
Really even my "insulated" electric kettle only keeps water boiling hot for 10 minutes or so.
You could also get one of those Asian style hot water dispensers that keep water up to temp by reboiling occasionally. You can find some electric kettles with a keep warm function too.

>>17157449
>derr how long will this kettle stay warm for
this general is so fucking stupid

My beginner pack is getting here on the 24th, but I won't be here by then. Kind of a bummer to be honest.

>>17157392
>>17157424
Anyone use electric temperature control kettles? I know someone with the fancy fellow kettle but it seems like a stupid amount of money to me. Is there something similar that you guys like and use?

>>17157500
I use the bonavita one. It's pretty expensive, but not as expensive as the fellow kettles and it seems worth the cost. It just works. It feels durable and easy to use. And temperature control is good to have with electric kettles because otherwise it can only do one thing, bring the water to a boil. Being able to maintain water at a specific temperature is nice.

>>17157579
you're an autistic faggot

>>17157500
>My beginner pack is getting here on the 24th, but I won't be here by then. Kind of a bummer to be honest.
gone to visit family?

>Anyone use electric temperature control kettles?
yes i have a OXO Brew Adjustable Temperature Electric Gooseneck Kettle and realy like it. i got it on sale for $80. Unfortunately, they have been out of stock for quite a while most likely due to Covid related supply chain issues.

>>17157579
I'll check it out, I've been working out the best way to buy shit in general, nothing seems to work. I could make most of this but it's annoying as hell, the cheap chinkshit is appealing but it has periodically annoying problems. I bough a "mid range" scale recently that I hate, but is technically functional at this point. It's in "Just ship me the load cell" tier though. One thing you can't take from them, they'll put a shitty plastic case, microcontroller, and some hot glue around all of it for like a dollar extra, it's wild. Basically e-waste from the factory though.

>>17157607
Yup, I'll be visiting family, but only two hours away so I might drive back and grab it, who knows.

>OXO Brew
I'll probably end up buying something like this. $160 is both not a lot for something I use multiple times every day, and an annoying amount of tea I could have bought over a $50 or $60 dollar kettle.

>>17157500
I have the fancy fellow one.

>>17156578
What does /ck/ think of cheap Australian tea?

bruh they puttin popcorn in tea

>>17157846
Pretty much, but it's pretty good so who cares? I love genmaicha, but not as a replacement for sencha, but as a way to stretch out the sencha I have, as it was intended. It's still good tea, good sencha is good sencha, mediocre sencha with rice isn't the same, but it's enjoyable in it's own way. That's enough.

Tried some cheap green tea and cheaper sage. Maybe I should stick to mint or buy good sage.
HMATT

>>17157392
I also need a stovetop but I just need to find one that isn't ugly, which hasn't been easy.

>>17157853
So how do you prepare the rice for genmaicha? I have sencha and rice, but I don't have an oven. I have a stove, though.

>>17158718
Oh, and the types of rice I have are jasmine and long grain. It seems like jasmine would be best because of the nutty taste of jasmine.

>>17156600
drink black tea. simple as.

guys, I was looking at Yunnan Sourcing's newest products and I noticed a lot of .999 silver teapots and stuff. Is there something special about tea and silver?
they all have blurbs in the marketing info like:
>It is believed that silver provides the best possible medium for water and tea to meet.

>>17158811
Something to do with the way the ions work. It's all mumbo jumbo to me. One thing I do know is that consuming silver with the right kind of genetics can turn your skin purple.

>>17158836
>consuming silver with the right kind of genetics can turn your skin purple.
whoa. this sounds like a super power.

>>17158811
No that's all bullshit, it's just a teapot made out of silver. Not that I have one, but it's like, I've eaten with actual silver silverware before and it doesn't make a taste difference. The teapots do look nice though.
>I was looking at Yunnan Sourcing's newest products
Today I did the same thing except I noticed they listed a teapot that I already own, for triple the price I bought it at. It's weird.

>>17159013
>for triple the price I bought it at
supply and demand I guess.
only reason I looked is I broke my gaiwan like a fucktard and I was thinking of getting one of those smol teapot ones instead for gongfu

>>17158900
The only skill that I imagine turning your skin purple would help could only be pimpin.

>>17158718
>>17158737
I have a coffee roaster, I just use that, probably not that helpful to you.
https://hiveroaster.com/
I use short grain rice too, but you could certainly try different kinds.

I still can't decide if I like indian tea or chinese tea more.

Indian Darjeeling is kind of like tangy and nutty, but it doesn't do so well for multiple steeps.
Chinese teas, basically all of them have a good distinct flavor that brews well gongfu or western style for a lot of steeps.

hmm.

>>17159080
Chinese tea is obviously superior.

>>17158836
>One thing I do know is that consuming silver with the right kind of genetics can turn your skin purple.
You have to be one of those nutjobs that drink huge amounts of silver saturated water every day, using silver teaware all day long would never do that.

>>17159132
Purple hands typed this post.

>>17159132
>>17159137
It's actually blue.

>>17159013
>they listed a teapot that I already own, for triple the price I bought it at.
which one? are you sure its not just a similar one?

>>17159148
What color is this crayon?

>>17159222
It's not a crayon, it's a pen. And it's purple.

>>17159240
Holy shit! You're right! Why is it labeled a blue crayon then?

>>17159187
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/new-products/products/da-hong-pao-clay-shui-ping-yixing-teapot
I have a teapot just like it from KTM (now out of stock)

>drinking out of a silver teapot
lol

>>17159080
>Indian Darjeeling
Indian teas are generally teabag-tier, Darjeeling is only competitive Indian tea.
And it is grown using the Chinese variant of tea plant.

Silver teaware seems like overkill. They should have used sterling silver imo. Maybe buy a gilded teapot at a lower price...

>>17159602
Sterling silver is 995 instead of 999 it's not really a significant difference

Has anyone else taken the Barley pill? Iced barley is fantastic.

>>17159672
I buy bagged mugicha

>>17159672
>Barley pill?
yes, i always keep both roasted barley tea and roasted corn tea from the local Korean store on hand. i normally drink it hot though.

>>17159602
There's a silver teapot in my family I'm eyeing on. I'm the only 'serious' tea drinker so it should be mine one day. I tried it once with my stuff and the mouthfeel was definitely different.

The last of my tian jian
This was okay, but i hope the next batch i get is more smokey

I spilled green tea on myself

Does Japanese green tea, the stuff that brews up really emerald color, stain fabrics like black tea does?

>>17159602
>Silver teaware seems like overkill.
i think that's part of the appeal. its supposed to extravagant and look expensive. the funny thing is that i find most of them to be too "blingy" and overdecorated for my tastes. it makes them kind of kitschy to me. i don't get the appeal of spending $100's or $1000's of dollars to get a teapot shaped like a lumpy squash. if you like pumpkins so much grow a garden. my preference is for more plain and simple geometric shapes. I find a lot of the classic Chinese teapot shapes to be quite appealing in and of themselves without any added ornamentation. that's not to say i never find any decoration to be tasteful though.

Germanbros where to you get your tea from? The Zoll confiscated my last 100€ worth of Japanese tea.

>$64/25g of Darjeeling
wtf

>>17160283
Why would they confiscate it? Unpaid taxes?
Anyway here
http://www.millepins.ch/

>>17160283
Yank here, can someone explain to me why shipping to Europe sucks so much? I have seen so many requests online for people trying to only buy stuff from within the EU in order to avoid shipping hassles or taxes even if it means paying egregious markups (100%+) at stores with vastly inferior selections. Here in the USA its really easy to get stuff shipped internationally so long as you are willing to pay the shipping costs and customs almost never bothers you.

On a related note the funniest time i saw this play out was when someone in the EU bought $2000 of premium matcha and had it shipped to some relatives in the states and were going to pick it up and take it with them when they came to visit. the problem is that it went missing during transit and they had somehow managed to have it shipped without insurance. Suffice to say they were having a massive meltdown.

I understand green tea pills have the possibility to give your liver acute hepatitis, although it's rare. But what about Matcha powder? Is it equally dangerous to consume that powder in high amounts? I want to put a scoop in my protein shake for its benefits, but the liver toxicity thing scares me sorta

I know it's probably filled with crap, but it's just too good bros....

>>17160529
If you are buying cheap "matcha" powder from the grocery store or amazon it's going to be the same cheap Chinese green tea they use to make pills. Buying matcha that's worth consuming would be ludicrously expensive to just put scoops of it in your protein shakes.
>I want to put a scoop in my protein shake for its benefits
What benefits?

>>17160555
>Buying matcha that's worth consuming would be ludicrously expensive to just put scoops of it in your protein shakes.

Can you go into detail why? But I guess it does make sense that the green tea pills are just crushed green tea leaves

>What benefits?

the well documented health benefits that come from the EGCG chemical, only found in green tea and not other tea

>>17160529
>green tea pills have the possibility to give your liver acute hepatitis
a quick search shows that this is very rare, mostly happened to people taking high does of green tea extracts, and the people who had trouble may have had some underlying genetic susceptibility.

>Is it equally dangerous to consume that powder in high amounts?
you would have to have add an awful lot to have any sort of real risk. i would not worry about it at all. I cant guarantee that is effective for anything but it should be safe the way you describe using it.

>>17160569
Yeah i guess im wrong, green tea pills appear to made with the byproducts of decaffeinating green tea so it more of a tea extract instead of just ground up tea press into a pill.
I would suggest trying to find matcha that's actually from japan, since so much of it isn't these days. You should be able to get away with whats known as "culinary grade" matcha, it's cheaper stuff intended for cooking foods and whatever else white women do with matcha. But again i would try and find some that's actually made in japan with Japanese tea. Nothing wrong with Chinese tea in general but the "matcha" that comes out of china is usually the cheapest low quality green tea they couldn't sell to anyone.

>>17160569
>Can you go into detail why? But I guess it does make sense that the green tea pills are just crushed green tea leaves
not the the anon you were replying to but authentic high grade matcha from japan is made a special way involving shading the plants and because of that is never super cheap (they do make some cheaper "culinary grade" stuff that is unshaded and meant for using as flavoring). think of proper Japanese matcha as a premium or luxury good. most cheap "matcha" is just ground up cheap green tea from China and it would taste poor if you tried to make traditional matcha from it. its perfectly fine for what you use it for though.

as a word of warning mentioning Chinese green tea powder as "Matcha" or the potential health benefits of tea tends to trigger some of the spergs here because regular green tea powder should debatably not be called matcha and because no one wants to do your health research for you.

>>17160662
>Nothing wrong with Chinese tea in general but the "matcha" that comes out of china is usually the cheapest low quality green tea they couldn't sell to anyone.
I doubt that's the case for the most. it is probably mostly grown on plantations dedicated to making it (most of it is organic but most Chinese green tea is not). I don't see any reason to believe that Chinese green tea powder (especially not the certified organic stuff) is any less safe than the typical Chinese green tea. its not authentic and does not taste great plain but should not be harmful when consumed in reasonable quantities. it would be an expensive waste to put good quality real matcha in a smoothie or latte.

>>17156971
I drank the "2004 xiaguan 3+1" sample from LP today. it brewed up to a nice clean dark red liquor. it very much has the classic xiaguan house taste and is what you would expect a well aged XG cake should. its got the aged flavors: old leather and tobacco, some umami: mushrooms and a perhaps a hint of dried kelp but no off musty or fishy notes, a bit of nice smokiness, it still has some pleasant but stern bite both of bitterness and astringency, somewhat drying, nice long aftertaste, good Qi, good longevity, well rounded. it doesn't do anything super novel but what it does have it does very well. I wish i had something like this in my pumidor.

>>17159585
If you can't beat them... I'm drinking one of my many samplers I got in my last Indian tea order and it is definitely good. The "assam" ones are more like a stronger English breakfast teabag though.

>>17160301
Literally where lmao?
The one I mostly drink and the one the wagies at my work like is the Teabox Roasted Darjeeling blend and it's literally like 40 to 60 bucks a kilogram. Tastes great.

>>17160922
Damn, i really hope i get some of that. That's exactly what i want an older XG cake to do. They are really good at making a good old factory style cake. Hilariously according to the grumpy old codgers 2004 is the first year that CG "watered down" their cakes compared to the even older productions but in the context of 2021 cakes i bet the stuff from 2004 is pretty damn good.

>>17159585
>Darjeeling is only competitive Indian tea.
>And it is grown using the Chinese variant of tea plant
I find that really confusing, so the plants that were taken from china to india to start the plantations are supposed to be assamica varietals, but it seems like inside of China the only tea that's really made from assamica varietals these days is puer. And even when black tea is made from puer trees it tastes nothing like Indian Assam
Is the difference entirely in processing? Or is the assamica that was taken to inda different from what is now referred to as assam?

Castleton moonlight summer white darjeeling. Very smooth.

>>17161022
It's probably more the soil, moisture and sunlight. Hell I imagine most these tea shrubs also get pollinated by the local wild cultivars too.

>>17161022
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/297988/for-all-the-tea-in-china-by-sarah-rose/
Good read. I'll post an ebook of it here when I track it down.

>>17160538
>Assam
>Chinese guy
I'm so confused. Why isn't there a smiling turban grandpa?

>>17161029
>Hell I imagine most these tea shrubs also get pollinated by the local wild cultivars too.
named tea plant varietals are propagated via cuttings which are inherently genetically identical to the parent ("clonal"). you breed or find a plant you like and then duplicate it via cuttings. terior may play a role but Indian tea definitely gets a lot of its taste from the plants they chose to grow and how they chose to make it.

>>17161080
14 days, get it while its hot.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/s4h8xe9trmp410n/For_All_the_Tea_in_China%252C_How_the_English_Stole_the_World%2527s_Favorite_Drink_-_Sarah_Rose.epub/file

>>17161183
Thanks anon

>>17160990
Some super exclusive meme estate first flush that only produces a few kilos a year or some shit a local tea store has, I've talked about it a few times with the owner and he always seems to have this thinly veiled disdain for the people who are willing to pay that much for it.

>>17161183
here is my contribution:
https://a.cockfile.com/fzYNkg.zip

>>17161547
>319MB zip file
Yeah I'm not downloading that until you tell us what's in it.

>>17161575
fzYNkg.zip
hot_tea_sip_now
The_Tale_of_Tea.djvu
AllAboutTeaV1.pdf
AllAboutTeaV2.pdf

>>17156578
anybody here grow chamomile bushes?

I tried to gongfu some gyokuro and royally fucked it up. I basically wasted all that premium leaf... I gave up half way and just tried to brew the remnants western style and most of the flavour is gone.

I can't drink tea first thing in the morning without eating anything. Makes me sick. Coffee is fine though.

>>17161080
I don't read female authors

>>17161850
then check out the books i linked to.
https://a.cockfile.com/fzYNkg.zip
i will be kind of annoyed if no one looks at them.

>>17161994
This feels like entrapment officer.

>>17162001
cowards the lot of you. download them in a virtual machine or sandbox if you that paranoid. i swear that to the best of my knowledge they are exactly what i stated them to be. they are just big books so the filesize is large. one of them is a vintage history of tea and the other one is modern. unfortunately, you will need a program that read .djvu files for the modern one because i cant find a .pdf of it.

>>17161994
Okay fine i will download it
I hope it's dolphin porn

>>17161547
>>17161994
Okay i looked, it is ebooks about tea and not dolphin porn.
thanks anon

>>17162119
>Okay i looked, it is ebooks about tea and not dolphin porn.
>thanks anon
you sound disappointed.

>>17162075
>you will need a program that read .djvu files
windjview takes care of it np. I've got olllllld copies of pihkal and tihkal still packed up in that format. Thx pal. We should get some deeper reading archived into the pastebin.

>Tfw no dolphin porn to appreciate as I drink my gong mei.
How are everyone's infusions tonight?

>>17156609
>>17156618
That's really strange because I've never gotten a tummy ache from caffeine but j can't seem to go 2 cup without feeling nauseous with tea. Unless it's made in a restaurant. Maybe I'm preparing it wrong, I'm definitely preparing it wrong.

>>17162251
What tea are you drinking? How do you make it? Try some light sessions in a gaiwan. Moderate temps, short infusions.

>>17162251
I have a weak constitution and lots of types of tea gives me varying degrees of nausea or stomach pains. I usually just drink tea on a full stomach and that takes care of most of it. Tea with lots of tannins like black teas seem to cause the worst issues, also fresh green teas. The easiest stuff for me to drink is ripe puer, liu bao and other fermented teas.

>>17162294
I wish there were spoilers on /CK/. I'm not a regular on tea I just opened the thread because I was curious. This is what I got. Literally just instant. I only have myself to blame. I'm pretty much drinking microplastics lol

>>17162299
Me too! My stomach lining is more delicate than a $2 condom. I can't eat beer many things.

>>17162247
you could always order a novelty silicone dolphin sculpture to elevate your tea drinking experience to the next level.

>How are everyone's infusions tonight?
i don't normally drink tea proper this time of day. had some nice sheng earlier today though.

>>17162322
the key thing i would remember is to try not to oversteep the tea; longer is not necessarily better. also green tea often does better at with water temperatures lower than boiling. having food in your stomach really helps as well. i normally only drink tea with a meal, though a cup or two other times of the day would not bother me.

>>17162411
That's remarkably helpful information! Thank you, I'll keep that in mind. Do you have any suggestions for instant tea brands?

>>17162322
>Literally just instant.
It's okay, we all start somewhere. I don't recommend instant tea products or most tea bags for minimizing any kind of stomach disruptions/nausea. Cost to entry for basic gong fu teaware and some leaf is very minimal, so I would encourage you to read about that in the sticky and consider giving it a go. Try some mild whites and/or greens brewed gently in a gaiwan. You may like the results both in flavor and in how your digestive function is affected.
>>17162359
Looks cute. Shame I infuse with a gaiwan and drink with rather tiny cups. I would like to get more charming teaware someday. It would be lovely to own some tianjian works.
>Sheng
I've been having trouble with my pu'er lately. It's not terrible, but I think it may need more air than I provide it. In a relatively cool environment 24/7, sealed in some plastic containers and bags with Bovedas. I can tell there is some development, but I think there is too much cross-aroma transfer from the bigger portions of leaf. I wonder how some enthusiasts deal with that in their pumidors. Any advice? I am always open to trying a new strategy.

>>17162460
>I would like to get more charming teaware someday.
same i really like Jian ware/Tenmoku

>I wonder how some enthusiasts deal with that in their pumidors.
i just do sealed Mylar bags with 65% Bovedas at room temp. i think they get enough oxygen just from me opening the bags occasionally. the tea is not going to age fast under these parameters but it should at least stay fine.

>but I think there is too much cross-aroma transfer from the bigger portions of leaf.
i don't follow. you do keep the ripe and raw separate right?

>>17162525
>you do keep the ripe and raw separate right?
Yes, I keep them separated just by sheng/shou classification. The issue I'm seeing is that because I have some smaller portions of certain tea compared to much bigger chunks of other, especially with regards to sheng, the aroma begins to leech a bit from nearby tea. I've been thinking about how I want to store my white cakes for the same reason too, since I want to achieve as distinct of flavors and aromas as possible. I'm not opening these as often as I should, but then again, the bovedas wouldn't really be able to develop them effectively if left in an open air environment (would likely lose humidity).

Weighing loose white is kind of a pain with how big it is

>>17163049
Liquid is thick and smooth, almost slimy. It tastes like a berry bush, sorta reminds me of picking wild raspberries.
Tea is Bai mu dan

drinking some Ning'er "Golden Honey Aroma" off ys, its nice, little less malty and bitter than Black Gold Bi Luo Chun, the aroma didn't blow me away. overall its a less intense BGBLC only all leaves instead of a leaf and a bud. its nice and fluffy with hairs but i filtered them, i'll have to remember to drink this with no filter

>>17161839
Am I the only one?

>>17160538
I like this too

>>17161839
you'll get used to it, green tea and raw puerh used to give me terrible stomach cramps that would keep me up at night, now my body has adjusted

>>17163845
What do the hairs taste like?
Does filtering vs not filtering actually change the flavor of the tea?

Can you tell what tea this is based off the liquor?

>>17164245
Asamushi sencha?

>>17164247
You're part correct.

>>17164240
i doubt they add any taste but i think they'll give a thicker mouthfeel. there's a few teas that use tea fuzz as a selling point, probably because it shows the tea hasn't been heavily handled that could rub them off or that the fuzz is only prevalent on the buds and 1st leaf down the stem vs cheaper lower leaves

>>17164272
Yeah some varietals of tea also seem to be particularly fuzzy.

>>17161641
I do. Or rather, I planted a seed once and now it reseeds in random beds every year. I don't even really like chamomile.

>>17163845
>only all leaves instead of a leaf and a bud.
thsoe teas are both 1+1 picks though.

>only all leaves instead of a leaf and a bud.
those teas are both 1+1 picks though.

>>17164572
you are right(i didn't look very hard)

is it just me or does cold sheng tea never taste right. i often put partially spend tea in the fridge for cold brewing if i am unable to finish it off fresh but i find that heicha does not tend to work particularly well this way.

what's a good site to buy from when I just want one small testing thingy? I'm in germany by the way

>>17164765
>is it just me or does cold sheng tea never taste right.
Eh, sometimes its okay, sometimes it's kind off
>>17164999
Check the pastebin for EU vendors

White tea tastes like berries or somethinig

>>17165487
If you don't mind flinging some dosh over it, the "Masu Wild Style Black" from Old Ways Tea is the berriest tea I've tasted. Rasp in particular.

What's a strong tea? Some say Irish breakfast is strong. But this one says medium strength.

>>17165551
Scottish Breakfast is stronger than Irish Breakfast

>>17165580
I just read the opposite online

>>17165551
Find a ctc irish breakfast or a ctc assam, that will do the job for ya.

>>17165628
>the job
what kind of job?

>>17165638
The job of being a damn strong tea

bunch of weirdos here, what happened?

The grumpy anon hasn't been here often enough to bully the weirdos

>>17165696
tetley/twinnings discussion kills threads and sends lesbians to discord.

>>17165551
>>17165628
>>17165684
second ctc assam, tea india is excellent

>>17165753
>tetley/twinnings discussion kills threads and sends lesbians to discord.
move over grandma, this thread is now for dolphin loving tea drinkers only. we have broken though the dikes and now us Baiji can swim freely again.

why did powdered green tea catch on but not other kinds like black?

>>17165910
that MUD\WTR drink is powdered black tea with spices and extra shit, never tried it looks like a dumb hipster meme

>>17165902

>>17165910
>why did powdered green tea catch on but not other kinds like black?
here is my guess. for nice teas like matcha making it out of black tea would probably be too bitter and for cheap tea powder green tea is generally purported to be healthiest. you could always try to make some yourself:
https://yunomi.life/collections/stone-mills
https://www.porlexgrinders.com/products/porlex-tea-mill
http://www.sharpusa.com/forhome/homeappliances/teamakers.aspx
https://cuzenmatcha.com/

>>17165910
Because there's a myth that tea, especially green tea has magical healing properties so more concentrated green tea obviously means more magical healing.

>>17165960
>too bitter
maybe you really have to mix it with other things then

>>17165910
Adagio sells black and oolong matcha

>>17166140
yeah but that doesnt mean it's a popular thing like matcha is

>>17165910
i think matcha is just more weaboo obsession. black tea is super popular, has been for centuries in the west, india and other parts of asia. matcha costs an arm and a leg, meanwhile i can drink so much affordable assam that i am literally intoxicated while you guys barely feel the stuff

>>17166147
The current popularity of matcha in the west has nothing to do with weebs. It's huge with Instagram fitness bloggers, womens cooking blogs and other assorted heath related bloggers and shills. People are drinking it because they believe it is healthy and healthy living and "natural" foods a re a big trend right now. Sure the people that post here a probably weebs but they aren't responsible for matcha suddenly bring in every supermarket in the west.

has anyone ever bought from the Michael Jackson of pua 'r tea sanhetang_xzh?
not here, right?

>>17166147
>>17166250
I unironically love anime and manga, and I don't drink matcha. I drink sencha.

>>17166250
good point
>>17166269
even weebier lol

>>17166258
Is that an Instagram name or a wechaat name? Does he do his own tea productions or is he a merchant buying and selling teas?

>>17166258
>XZH
i am familiar with them but I have not bought any of their tea. they are not really in my price class.

>>17166350
Xizihao is a high end boutique Taiwanese puerh seller. think $200+ per bing with many teas even being more than a dollar a gram.

>>17166350
>Does he do his own tea productions
i forgot to mention yes they do their own productions.

as an aside does anyone here know whats the story behind the explicit artwork they use in some of their logos?

>>17166391
Oh yeah i recognize the name now, i haven't tried their teas but ive heard good things, there are a few westerners that organize group buys to order cakes from them directly.

>>17166391
My complaints about sanhetang_xzh
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.

>>17166429
>there are a few westerners that organize group buys to order cakes from them directly.
they sell direct as well.
https://sinkingleaf.com/xzh-xizihao-sanhetang/
looks like LP has also has one of their "budget" cakes in stock. i am kind of surprised its only $81 as they are known for being very pricey.
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/898188210/2016-xizihao-jinggu-400g

>>17166433
is this a copy pasta now or did you just goof? we were talking about XZH not W2T.

>You will see a listing that just says "this tea will sell out by tomorrow, no samples"
this is not even a valid complaint about W2T. the only "no samples" i remember seeing from them was for their $15 dollar black Friday special cake. they sell samples of just about everything else they have.

>>17166433
Actually is this the same brand or is it a different one? I got a pack of samples of these teas from this vendor a whole ago and i was pretty sure "tong quing hao" was a weird translation

>>17166507
It's been a while but I'm pretty sure a couple of those teas he had up where the description was
>this tea is too expensive you shouldn't buy it
Also didn't have samples available.

>>17166516
Actually is this the same brand as Xizihao or is it a different one? I got a pack of samples of these teas from this vendor a whole ago and i was pretty sure "tong quing hao" was a weird translation

>buy new tea sample
>don't like it
worst feel out there

>>17166545
thank you idiot

Privyet friends,
I love my vintage sheng puerhs, but it’s Christmas time! Pull out your Samovars and make a nice chai.

>>17166543
>Actually is this the same brand as Xizihao or is it a different one?
its different. tong qing hao is one of the oldest brands (originally founded in Yiwu in 1736). they are not very common these days though. i think they mostly sell higher end stuff now. be aware that there classic wrappers are often faked when you se suspiciously cheap tea claiming to be aged:
https://www.amazon.com/1996yr-Yunnan-Tong-Qing-Hao/dp/B00MIC0JPY

>>17166605
Yeah i know there are a load of fakes of TQH cakes out there. I got those samples from that one dude on ebay that is actually okay, it was funny i had to sort through all the fakes to find his listings.
Anyway the samples i got had a few different ripes which were okay and then a 2016 and a 2019 yiwu definitely on the cheaper end of the yiwu range but they were nice.

>>17157853
I really can’t stand sencha it’s so astringent I don’t know how the japs can stomach it.

>>17166507
Its pasta I was too lazy to actually edit.
>this is not even a valid complaint about W2T
which is why I meme on that guy whenever possible with various vendors. I really should save them but usually half the fun is typing out a new madlib.

>>17166696
That may not be a valid complaint about w2t but the stuff about vague descriptions, perpetuation of overpriced mediocre puerh, and the bullshit hipster marketing is all correct. I seriously dislike them as a brand. Tea is a good thing and they sell it like just a trendy street drug, a crappy fad. And I see no indication their tea is even worthwhile except ironically the green liubao, I want that.

>>17161359
I almost would buy it just to see lmao.

>>17166764
>And I see no indication their tea is even worthwhile
There's your problem. Quit trying to taste with your eyes. The 2017 xg Bian Xiao Zhuan raw is unironically better than 90% of the cakes I've ordered from YS yet far cheaper. I wouldn't know this without tasting.

>>17166605
here are some other notable boutique or old brands (most are new though) in no particular order:
Yang qing Hao
Bi Yun Hao
Chen Sheng Hao
Wistaria teahouse
Vesper chan/Best Tea House
Yee on tea
Hong Tai Chang (old brand, commonly faked)
Song Pin Hao (old brand, defunct?, commonly faked)
Ding xing Hao (old brand, defunct?, commonly faked)
original Zhong Cha and its factories (reorganized, old wrappers are commonly faked)
sunsing tea (not sure if they press their own tea though but they certainly sell really old stuff)

other (higher end?) brands:
Zheng Si Long
Bao He Xiang
Changtai
Hai Lang Hao

already mentioned:
Xizihao
tong qing hao (old brand, commonly faked)

Did i miss any?
I think i am forgetting some high-end HK tea houses

>>17166764
opaque on details yes, tacky marketing yes, warehouse finds price gouging yes, overpriced probably quite often, but i disagree with their tea not being worthwhile. the limited amount of stuff i have gotten from them was all good.

>>17166990
>opaque on details yes, tacky marketing yes, warehouse finds price gouging yes, overpriced probably quite often
Sounds like your standard tea vendor to me.

>>17166993
>Sounds like your standard tea vendor to me
W2T is really worse about it though compared to other puerh vendors.

Are tisanes any good? Someone I know drinks echinacea and chamomile. I don't care about the fake news health benefits, I'm more interested in flavor.

>>17167005
>Our pressing is entirely gong ting grade tea leaves, which is the smallest leaf size (and arguably the most potent).
>This brews up a thick tea soup with tons flavor and strong mouth-feel. Hard to describe this one, other than to say it's very special!
Supposedly lincang material. Classic vague w2t listing. Oh wait it a YS branded cake...

>>17167087
The w2t Listing would be the same except it wouldn't tell you the material is from Lincang

>>17166993
These people will sell you hay and call it sheng pu erh from 2004

>>17167087
you left out a bunch:
>We are happy to offer this unique tea cake pressed entirely from Gong Ting ripe tea wet-piled entirely from Mang Fei mountain tea leaves. Mang Fei mountain is located in Yong De County of Lincang and provides an optimum environment for tea cultivation. 2018 Spring harvested tea was wet piled and then graded into various leaf sizes. Our pressing is entirely gong ting grade tea leaves, which is the smallest leaf size (and arguably the most potent).
>This brews up a thick tea soup with tons flavor and strong mouth-feel. Hard to describe this one, other than to say it's very special!
>250 Grams per cake (7 cakes per bamboo leaf tong)
>2021 Pressing from 2018 Harvested tea

>>17167131
Meanwhile the w2t listing would read
>We are happy to offer this unique tea cake pressed entirely from Gong Ting ripe tea
>Hard to describe this one, other than to say it's very special!
>2021

>>17167163
Oh i almost forgot
>micro batch artisanal fermentation

>>17167131
Meanwhile the w2t listing would read
>We are happy to offer this unique tea cake pressed entirely from Gong Ting ripe tea
>This tea has a real Menghai vibe to it
>micro batch artisinal fermentation
>Hard to describe this one, other than to say it's very special!
>2021

>>17167097
Staring at w2t "lincang" right now.
>>17167131
Now see, I deliberately left that out because its unverifiable and tells you very little about the taste. Much like every other fluff description on every other tea vendor to try to get your jimmies rustling. KTM says shit like
>Tea flavor goes deeply into throat.
>Totally an easily acceptable tea.
Real informative. Taste with your tongue, not your eyes or wallet.

>>17167201
You seem to be arguing that vendors shouldn't even bother to tell you where the tea is from because it's unverifiable.
I don't think W2T excludes this information because he has really strong convictions about terroir not being useful information for the consumer.

finally got my jap tea

>>17167239
No I'm arguing most marketing is bullshit but we believe it from some vendors. A businesses explicit goal is to fuck their customers for money as many times as possible.
>he has really strong convictions about terroir not being useful information for the consumer
so why the fuck does he have a
>Tea Terroir Ripe Puer sampler
? To be clear I don't give a shit. He accidentally sent me 8 months of the sampler for $35. Everything I got was great, even the weird roasted/unroasted old liubao. So I kicked him $100 for the holidays and expect everything I get to be great.

>>17167399
nice, be sure to tell us how the set is. i've been eyeing getting it myself. I actually have not had proper matcha yet.

>>17167403
>so why the fuck does he have a Tea Terroir Ripe Puer sampler
because he does not actually believe the concept of terroir is useless just like the anon you were replying to (not me) said. the reason w2t does not share much info is both to help hide markup but also so that he can sell "mystery" and "hype".

Tea newfag here, is Twinings a good brand? I like their irish breakfast tea in the morning, and their chamomile is nice before bed

>>17167071
Plenty are both tasty and healthy. Try rooibos and honeybush if you haven't. I have dozens of herbal components lying around and it's fun to experiment with blends. Something like peppermint + dandelion root is very nice, especially after a meal.

>>17168206
It's one of the better tea bag brands, but you'd do better to switch to loose leaf.

>>17167470
>the reason w2t does not share much info is both to help hide markup but also so that he can sell "mystery" and "hype".
Sounds like a business to me. Are you spergs actually under the impression these vendors are your friends? They just sell tea. They don't have any convictions. Drink the tea and relax.

>>17169012
Do you think when twodog buys tea he is okay with some merchant with a bag of leaves that won't even say what province they are from?

>>17169012
>don't ask questions just consume products
No thanks nigga. They may not be my friends but there are vendors who sell you on good
tea, not hoopla. Tea that tastes good.

>>17169012
conversation does not go the way you want:
>"ha ha, you guys suck, I'm better than you"
don't be disingenuous.

>Sounds like a business to me.
different businesses have different levels of transparency and different marketing.
>Are you spergs actually under the impression these vendors are your friends?
no, and nobody said that.
>They just sell tea. They don't have any convictions.
i am under no illusion that the vendors don't generally do things for their own benefit. however personal opinions definitely do impact business decisions. for an extreme example look at LP.
>Drink the tea and relax.
I intend to.

Any o' y'all tried kuti/coffee leaf tea? The Ethiopian supermarket sells it (also green coffee, but that's another thread) but only in gihugic sacks the size of bedroom pillows. I don't wanna buy one such sack only to hate it and have to find a way to use up or give away such a huge amount of it.
Any opinions?

>>17169314
Never tried it, it sounds kind of fun. If the idea of making huge batches of spiced slightly caffeinated tea and sipping it all day sounds appealing to you maybe give it a try. I'm not sure how close the preparations are to something something like chai so i would look up info on how it's traditionally prepared and see if the ingredients sounds good to you. I would guess the leaf brewed on it's own will just taste like green leaf water.

Finally got a matcha kit

>>17169253
>for an extreme example look at LP
For all the black friday intro samplers he sells, you actually believe its all labelled correctly kek. Just imagine how much his margins improve by misleading a few $5 buyers without emails on record. There's no lsd avengers checking if puer is legit and shaming vendors.

>>17169464
Rate my foam

>>17169469
What are you a commie or something? Not all commerce is inherently evil and exploitative and not every businessman is a complete lying dirtbag. Sure being a greaseball bastard like Mei Leaf is what's lucrative, but not everyone is that low. Are you just uber blackpilled? Or is being depraved and wicked all you know, so that's what you see everywhere?

Today, I found a chicken feather in my tea for the first time ever!

>>17169614
The ladyshills doth protest too much, methinks. You drink teas, not vendors. Don't forget that. "Good" vendors can sell shitty teas, "shitty" vendors can sell good teas and you've got zero way of telling which is which without tasting it. I've just got an issue with people who haven't tried something calling it overpriced. Its all overpriced compared to xg taiwan export cakes.

How many of you know Chinese? As that seems to be the hurdle for quietly lurking the thread.

>>17156600
>How did you guys transition from coffee to tea?

I'm actually the opposite, was super into gong fu tea before I ever tried coffee.
Started shift work and coffee came with it.
Dont drink quite as much tea as I used to now but still take it more seriously than anyone in my circle.

Can anyone recommend a good vendor that sells Da Hong Pao oolong and ships to the UK?

My previous supplier dried up when Covid rolled in and I've yet to find one that is as good. Plus there seem to be alot of fakes/really low quality being sold..

>>17169697
我的氣墊船裝滿了鰻魚

What should I drink today?
Still patiently waiting for my big order with a bunch of new types of tea to show up.

>>17169749
>Can anyone recommend a good vendor that sells Da Hong Pao oolong and ships to the UK?
https://oldwaystea.com/
https://www.wuyiorigin.com/
https://www.teamania.ch/oolong-tee/china/wuyi-yancha/

>>17167403
He's being sarcastic/facetious, the only reason you would conceal terroir/location is because you don't want the end consumer/other vendors knowing where you're sourcing from because then there's the risk they cut you out.

>>17169826
thanks friend, I'll check them out.

>>17169697
>How many of you know Chinese? As that seems to be the hurdle for quietly lurking the thread.
i don't think any of the regulars actually know Chinese but we don't generally need it either. most of the Chinese phrases used here are proper nouns that refer to specific things or nouns without a commonly used English equivalent. you can learn them from context like you learn any other word. you don't need to know Chinese to use them any more than you need to speak French to use the words Champagne or Roquefort. if i do need to translate something (such as a website) i will just use machine translation which is usually good enough. is there anything in particular tripping you up?

>>17169662
>tibet
woops

>>17169662
>I've just got an issue with people who haven't tried something calling it overpriced.
Listen, I don't need to try the random white tea my local tea shop is selling just as "white needles" for $2.00 a gram to tell you it's overpriced. Their puerh section is a single product, labelled "puerh", but it's only .60 a gram so relatively reasonably priced. They don't do tastings.

>>17166545
Well, that's what samples are for.
At least now you know.

>>17166583
I'd love to experience samovar tea one day. It seems so comfy!

>>17170512
>Well, that's what samples are for.
the 400g brick is the sample

>>17170531
>the 400g brick is the sample
That's a hell of a sample.

>>17170531
whats the tea?

>my chinese proxy for tea producers would NEVER lie to me :')

>>17170593
not >>17166545 but i got 250g of
2012 Gao Jian Shan "Qian Liang Cha" Hunan Hei Cha off ys and its petty meh
and i've gone off 2009 Gao Jia Shan "Wild Fu Zhuan" Hunan Brick after i found a bg lump of concrete in the middle of the brick
yunnansourcing com/products/2012-gao-jian-shan-qian-liang-cha-hunan-hei-cha-tea
yunnansourcing com/products/2009-gao-jia-shan-wild-fu-zhuan-hunan-brick-tea

>>17170712
you could try selling, trading, or giving away the tea if you really don't like the tea. that fu brick is a pretty fancy one, other people certainly would want it.

>lump of concrete in the middle of the brick
i hate to say it but If you drink a lot of heicha you are going to find weird stuff in it occasionally. its not a matter of if but of when and how often. a bit of concrete is still better than finding a cigarette butt floating in your gaiwan like i did.

>>17170911
Ive posted about this before but i got a rusty bolt head in a tin of looseleaf liu bao

>>17169464
how do you like the kit?

>>17169471
looks nice

>>17169471
How does it taste?

>Tfw may never unlock the secrets to perfect pu'er infusion, but feel compelled to drink it when it is very cold out.
Sipping on my 2017 Taetea V93 shou tonight. Goes down smoothly and smells pleasantly sweet, like a low syrup or caramel. I tend to make my pu'er rather lightly since I prefer a gentle and clear aroma over a sharply powerful, thick texture. Listening to a downpour of rain barrage my dwelling walla, catching the light chilling puffs of air as I bundle myself in a blanket and infuse with my gaiwan. Come be comfy with me, lads.

>>17156578
YOU TEA DRINKING FAGGOTS WILL NEVER BE AMERICAN. WE WILL DUMP YOUR SHITTY LEAVES IN THE BOSTON HARBOR

Had some 2021 purple voodoo earlier, very fruity
Reminds me a bit of dan cong but with less nectar

>>17172600
I'm descended from a state founder. Coffee is good and tea is better.

>>17172591
sounds nice, i am just about to sip on some "2015 wang long" sheng from my puerh beginner pack. did you get a beginner pack this year?

>>17173541
>wang long
lol

>>17173624
there's also Man Gang which is located near Bang Dong.

How am I supposed to brew a cuppa of black tea. I find 5 minutes of brewing perfect for milk tea but it becomes too bitter after a minute if I don't add milk. I tried both Tetley and Yorkshire.

>>17171594
Kit has everything I need, the whisk works well, the whisk stand is nice, the bowl is a bowl, the little matcha spoon is cool, came with a nice card and cloth.
>looks nice
thanks
>>17171617
Creamy and like roasted nuts desu

>>17173824
You need to use different kinds of tea. Black tea bags are designed to be brewed up and have milk added. I had some luck with buying pg tips and brewing it for exactly 60 seconds but that's not how that tea is intended to be brewed.
For straight black tea i prefer Chinese loose leaf blacks like yunnan. Check the pastebin for vendors in your region and find one that sells looseleaf Chinese black tea that they describe and fruity and not malty.

>>17173946
Awesome, i still haven't had a chance to try actually good matcha. Some day i will order a tin from japan.

Webpunk and Qihong Xiangluo Hong Cha are now sold out apparently

what do I get instead

>>17173960
I just got this from Ippodo from their US store, got here stupid fast (I've had it for a month but decided to save it for christmas, but my family ended up not being able to do Christmas so I just opened it early)

>>17173962
A bunch of their herbal bricks

>>17156578
>tfw lost my job and will have to live with half the income for the next year
Good thing I stockpiled tea

>>17173993
that's very unspecific. is there something special about those?

>>17174017
Not really, they just seem interesting, i haven't tried any myself

Made a cup of really strong ceylon tea. Tastes very bitter.

>>17174085
How does it smell?

>>17174153
Well I'm almost done plus I diluted the last few centimeters with new water up to a full cup. But this tea doesn't smell very much. If you make it strong it smells a bit like yellow label, a bit sour, not the earthiness of pg tips.

>>17174085
Brewing method was cilia tea filter almost full with loose tea. Just about took up the whole cup. Poured more water after removing the filter from the cup because there wasn't much liquid left in the cup, it was all sucked up in the tea.

>>17174186
Whats your favorite tea of this type? Do you drink a lot of it?

>>17174226
No, don't drink it often. I just bought this packet in a grocery store but I'm not very impressed.

>>17174246
Oh yeah i saw you post about that, too bad it's not great. There must be some speciality tea shops in the major cities that will ship to you.

What's the idea temperature to store tea at? I have it in a room that's roughly 13C to 15C. It isn't heated, so it could get as low as 10C probably.

Google-fu says about 20C to 25C, but I want to make sure. The tea is packed as I bought it, in mylar. Some are vacuum packed.

>>17174085
I didn't know it was possible to make tea this black. Jesus.

>>17174695
Depends on the tea, for regular blacks greens oolongs etc cool is fine as long as the tea is sealed up well in foil or mylar type bags or anything else that will retain moisture, as long as they don't actually get down to 0°c. I know Japanese and Chinese vendors with super fresh green teas will frequently store them refrigerated.
For teas like puerh, hei cha, other weird Chinese teas that you want to age, keeping them at room temperature is probably preferable mostly just because you want the humidity to be higher and with high humidity and low temperature you run the risk of hitting the dew point and getting condensation on your tea that could become mold.

>>17174085
strong tea calls for milk and sugar

anyone busting out some special tea for Christmas?

>>17176010
I got gifted a 9 pack of tea samples for Christmas. nothing crazy like what you'd find here but I did have some peppermint tea and rose petal white tea. Felt Christmassy to drink.

>>17176082
Nice, peppermint tea can be fun

>>17176123
It's nice. It has a sweet flavor without having nearly the same amount of calories as say a candy cane.

>>17172600
https://youtu.be/UFLiuaEtvdo

>have century old teapot that is forming cracks
>get a new one as a gift from someone
>weird shape opening doesn't fit my tea infusion basket and it is too tall.
>loses heat too fast (too light).

T-thanks.

>>17176010
Not really. I made this tea that I got from Teabox as a gift. Singell Malt. It tastes malty. Is that special?

>>17177330
Pic related.

>>17177330
You're putting far too much energy into your tea. Just get a normal kettle.

>>17177367
Too much energy? I mean, I don't do a whole lot. That century old one is literally some mediocre wide pot with blue hatching paintings of boats on it. It is glazed so it isn't like some fancy yixing or cast iron thing.

>>17177364
jesus.....

>>17177388
Pic semi-related. The teapot is the same style and hatching patterns as this. I have the teapot buried in some boxes right now because I don't know what to do with it.

green tea isnt good

>>17177364
I can't decide, whether it is cute or cringe.

>>17177364
Based

Merry Christmas /tea/!

>>17174818
>keeping them at room temperature is probably preferable mostly just because you want the humidity
its a bit more complicated than that. temperature will also effect the rates of most chemical reactions both abiotic and biotic. for example oxidation of tea happens faster at higher temperatures and chilling it will slow it down. high humidity can both catalyze some chemical reactions and make the conditions more favorable to microbes.

>low temperature you run the risk of hitting the dew point
its going from a higher temperature (where the air can hold more water) to a lower one (where the excess moisture is forced out) that causes dew. the key to avoiding dew in sealed containers is to keep the temperature stable. that said i don't think high humidly low temp is a good idea for aging tea.

merry Christmas /tea/

>>17177364
Suitable for a real chad

It's finally time to order a bunch of tea now that I'm done buying gifts for the holidays. I have such a long list of things to get. Liu bao, wuyi oolong, old puer. Im sick of how expensive shipping from china is these days so I'm going to order as much from USA vendors as i can. Anyone order roasted oolongs from US vendors, i have a few in mind but i would love some recommendations if you have some to you have picked up recently that you enjoyed.

>>17177364
Just Bee yourself

>>17177364
Forgot to add. That flat edge literally cucks my stupid Finum tea basket.

>>17177987
What this guy said.

>>17178110
most modern western teapots have this

>>17156578
is brewing yerba in a regular mug bad?
i never cared enough to get a gourd for yerba so i always used a regular coffee mug to prepare my yerba in

>>17178257
>is brewing yerba in a regular mug bad?
It's fine

>>17178230
Fucking why? Jesus it's so gay.

>>17178257
there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever, but gourds are pretty cheap.

>>17178438
are gourds bigger than the regular cup?

>>17178486
most are smaller than a mug, but wooden ones you can probably find at pretty much whatever size you want if you look hard enough

>be me
>mother gets me “pu erh” for Christmas
>I can tell where on Amazon she bought it by the shape of the package before even seeing it
>Wet pile yunnan pu erh tea Chinese black leaves one year wet pile 茶 ripe aged ripened pu erh 2018 bamboo traditional packaging pu erh cha yunnan detox tea
>smells of fish
What do I do with it anons?

>>17178711
Milk tea, cook with it, etc, assuming it's literally undrinkable. Tea eggs or millenium eggs or whatever they're called would probably be fine with it.

>>17178715
Eggs I can do, I wouldn’t risk using it in milk tea

Just bought this.

>got an electric kettle w/ temp control for Christmas
Feels good, I finally have everything I need
way more convenient than boiling water on the stove and having to babysit it
I think my next purchase is a Kyusu in the New Year so I can make Japanese teas like Fukamushi Sencha that don't brew well in a Gaiwan.
After that I'm not sure what I need if anything. Maybe some fancy cups if I ever socialize enough to host a tea ceremony, maybe a "proper" Chinese tea set at that point too.

>>17178715
not that anon but please advise me on cooking with tea

>>17178921
>>17178715
Different anon. I also would like any especially good recipes you have using teas in cooking.

>>17178943
Tea eggs are popular in Taiwan 7/11s. You hard boil eggs then crack the shell all over with the back of a spoon to marble the egg. Marinade it in dark black tea, soy sauce, and five spice and bring it back up to a boil. Marinade it overnight when you peel the eggs you’ll get a fragranced dyed tea egg.

>>17179051
Oh that looks fairly striking. Is in mostly the flavor the egg comes through or is the tea prevalent after soaking overnight?

>>17179065
NTA, but it depends on how strong you make the mixture. In my experience it's normally pretty mild, but tasty.

>>17179089
This is a wild shot in the dark that you would know but I have a lot of rose bushes in my backyard. Have you ever encountered these tea eggs with rose tea flavoring?

>>17179107
No, the standard is oolong or black tea, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for experimentation.

>>17179089
I can't imagine something marinated in five space and soy sauce being mild.

>>17179115
Thank you for the answers. You've been fantastically helpful. I'm going to have to buy some extra eggs next grocery trip. :D

>>17178875
I have a kyusu but almost never use it, it makes more green tea than I would want at any given moment (granted, I don't really drink fukamushi). My shiboridashi on the other hand I use often. You'll be brewing it just for yourself?

>>17178711
Have you tried it yet?

>>17178748
And? What does it look or taste like?

>>17178711
Take a liter of water in a pot on the stove throw in 10-15 grams of mystery Chinese tea, but first rinse the tea. To rinse it break it up as finely as you can, try to separate most of the leaves don't worry about breaking them, put it in a mug or small heat proof cup add freshly boiled water, let sit for 30 seconds to a minute, dump rinse water out and collect tea in strainer.
Now put the tea in the water on the stove, put the pot on medium heat, bring to a simmer and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Then drink tea.
Yeah it's a huge hassle but its the best chance you have to make a drinkable beverage out of fishy ripe puer.
Or just thank your mom, put it on a self and forget about it. Ive had to do that before when my mom bought me loose leaf puer, i just ended up telling my family not to buy me tea or teaware .

>>17178875
>way more convenient than boiling water on the stove and having to babysit it
Yeah i love my electric kettle. My last one broke and i was stuck boiling water in a pot on the stove while i waited for the new one i ordered, it was such a hassle and made me love electric kettles even more.
I still want to get a kyusu at some point, i love the side handle shape so much.

>>17179327
Haven't tried it yet.

new thread:
>>17179866
>>17179866
>>17179866