/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>18197458
Explain this, tea-swillers

My sencha is arriving tomorrow, bros. This will be my very first time trying this type of tea. What am I in for?

>>18197605
Rich sensuous goodness
also the brewed tea liquid will be green which is kind of cool
Make sure you reference some kind of instructions before brewing it, you don't want to use boiling hot water.

I'm only used to western style tea
What's a green, green tea to try out that isn't matcha?

>>18197605
Seaweed savory grass water with some thickness.
It's more crushed than Chinese style tea, so have a good filter or just be okay with drinking leaf chunks.
I think it's the pinnacle of tea myself, but I really love green tea.
>>18197669
Sencha, Longjing

>>18196502
>Any ideas?
if you are really serious about this in a business sense and not just as a hobby then you should try to do a bit of professional networking. seek out connections with other small tea growers who process their own tea. detailed information and experience on specialty tea production is not the sort of thing that is easy to just look up in a book or online (unless perhaps you know Chinese). additionally, they may be able to help give advice on marketing and selling your tea. unfortunately, i don't think anyone here can really give you that sort information. as much as i abhor mainstream social media from a business perspective i would recommend looking to see if you can find any useful social media groups. just don't forget about us. good luck to you anon.


>>18197052
>Is it safe to leave my used leaves in some water in a mason jar to cold brew overnight? I've never done anything cold wise.
yes, i also regularly cold brew my spent leaves.

>>18197771
God i wish i could stack a few of those tea cakes in my storage

SUMMER REMINDER
if you have a pumidor or some other puer/aged tea storage make sure it's not 70%+ humidity in there. You dosnt want to start a mold farm

>>18197820
>Not wanting free HK-tier storage.
Feel the mold, smell the mold, appreciate the mold, love the mold. Become one with the mold.

>>18197846
picrel

>>18197605
You're probably going to hate it at first. It's frustrating learning how to brew it to your liking since it's temperature sensitive. Just keep drinking it until you start to appreciate it because it's objectively the most useful form of tea.

She finally got here, boys. My first tong. 700 grams of oaky, dark chocolatey goodness.

>>18198112
I remember you posting about this one recently. Strange choice of wrapping material, though it came quickly enough. Going to make some soon?
>Tfw closest I've been to having a monsterdong tong like anon is my 400g brick of Jinggu shou I'm letting age.

>>18198148
I did my usual grandpa mug. I told myself I was going to wait until tomorrow, but I couldn't help it. It was enough of a kick to keep me up. I'm cold brewing my leftover leaves. Here's another angle. It's nice knowing someone did all this by hand.

>>18198112
Hardcore. I don't drink puer but respect the devotion of this nonetheless. You're going to age part of it I assume?

>>18198058
it's really not hard just get a temp control kettle and brew lower than you think, then brew it like a regular green see if it goes bad. You can generally figure roughly how hot you need to brew it from there.

>>18198326
I'll age two cakes. The rest are filling my 8 grams a day addiction. I'd like to take some to the next family gathering and have a nice gongfu session for any that want to try it, but I know none of them would appreciate it and ask if it's Lipton.

>>18197575
Norf

>>18198369
Thats public school rugby union player look, not norf fc

>>18198148
>Strange choice of wrapping material
why? it looks like a normal tong to me besides being 100g mini cakes.

>>18198355
>and ask if it's Lipton.
nobody's going to confuse your shu with lipton.

>>18199446
>why? it looks like a normal tong to me besides being 100g mini cakes.
It looked like some sort of weird grey substitute material in the first image due to the lighting. I saw the second one that looks more 'normal', but then my internet cut out, so I couldn't reply. Looks like a nice bundle of cakes.

>>18198185
>someone did all this by hand
there is a good chance they used their feet as well.

>>18199775
Yup, all the best tongs are wrapped barefoot

How much do you usually pay for a 100g of "good" quality tea?
Are there places where you can buy bulk let's say 1kg for cheaper?
I've bought samples, found tea I like but I would like a better deal than what I can find on ebay.

i am back with more tasting notes:
Tea: no name brand Hekai "old tree" sheng from spring 2018.

Parameters: 12.5g/100ml, 212f, soft water, gongfu style, gaiwan.

Appearance: whole medium to large leaves with tender leaf stems attached, probably a bud and first 3-4 leaves picking, dry leaves are a green orange color, not young but not really semi aged yet, loosely pressed, just a few small yellow leaves and a small piece of grass but no large stems or unnatural foreign objects, nice appearance overall, wet leaves turn orangish green, liquor is dark pale yellow to light orange.

Taste: spicy, juniper, pine, herbatious undertones, cucumber, recently cut fallow field of wild plants that is both spicy and herbaceous, quite astringent, tannic, only moderately bitter though, a bit harsh on account of the strong tannic character but not undrinkable, drying astringent finish, stimulating Qi.

Conclusion: a good enough tea in the budget mid range price point i paid for it but not really above exceptions. if you like spicy astringent sheng add a few points and if you dislike that flavor profile subtract a few. it could probably use a few more years for the to settle down a bit depending on your preferences. right now it still has a lot lot of the astringency of a young sheng but has lost some of its "freshness". i would not at all describe it as boring at this point of its aging process but it is perhaps slightly awkward and rough.

>>18200050
>How much do you usually pay for a 100g of "good" quality tea?
depends on the type of tea and your definition of "good". 10¢/gram is the rough baseline i use for most teas but you can regularly get some types of teas for less and other are typically more. for example western style "breakfast blend" black tea will typically be cheaper whereas a good dancong oolong is typically kind of pricey.

>Are there places where you can buy bulk let's say 1kg for cheaper?
again it depends on the type of tea and if there are any vendors that sell it who give quantity discounts. 1kg is generally not enough to truly get you wholesaler pricing.

>I've bought samples, found tea I like but I would like a better deal than what I can find on ebay.
what kind of tea are you trying to buy more of? its hard to give recommendations without knowing what you have tried and what you want.

>>18200085
>spicy, juniper, pine, herbatious undertones, cucumber, recently cut fallow field of wild plants that is both spicy and herbaceous, quite astringent, tannic, only moderately bitter though, a bit harsh on account of the strong tannic character
Sounds good up untill it gets tannic, i usually have to work around that with very short infusions and it only works out if the material is powerful enough to still be flavorful with such short brews. Also makes grampa style a bit of a poor solution but it's not that uncommon for a raw puer to not work with grampq style very well especially younger teas.
Juniper pine spicy sounds really tasty

>>18200050
What specific tea do you want? Its usually not that hard to beat ebay proces but it depends.
Helth tea house is usually one of the cheapest shops but does require some care in ordering because the sell some mediocre tea. King tea mall usually does discounts up to 1kg on their looseleaf teas but their shipping is a bit pricey these days, still can be a good option especially for some black teas, greens and oolongs.

>>18200141
>>18200190
I've bought 15 samples of Chinese black teas.
So far the one I like the most is "zunyi hong" it says on the label.
I guess it's the golden buds black tea.
It tasted like chocolate and strong apricot or something sweet/floral like that.
I liked it a lot but not sure I want to spend 20usd per 100g

>>18200175
>Sounds good up untill it gets tannic
its not that harsh, just more than some of my other youngish sheng. the tea has the astringent tannic taste that sheng and green teas have and not the acrid tannic taste that some (especially Indian) black teas have which i find to be much more irritating. also do note my aggressive brew ratios (12.5g/100ml). the caffeine/QI made me end my session before any stomach upset would have (i will cold brew the rest). i would describe the tea as more gentle than some of the strong big factory young touchas but its also not as gentile as as some of the "new style" more easy drinking sheng. conventional wisdom would say the strength of this tea makes it have good aging potential. still at this point i would not recommend it to someone who dislikes astringent teas.

>>18200203
Oh yoi got it from my man at tea-expert.net, solid choice of an ebay shop that guy is legit.
So according to him it's a tea from Guizhou but it tastes similar to dian hong variatals.
I will say his prices arent terribe and wile i can find cheaper tea i cant promise it will be the same quality as his offerings. It really might be worth emailing him and asking if he will cut you a better price for 300g or something.
It also might be cheaper to order though his website than ebay, just use chrome and translate to navigate but he will ship just about anywhere even though the site is in Russian (he is in china)
https://tea-expert.net/zun-yi-hong-cha-2018
The Russian reviews for this say it has a chocolate character and it's a good bit cheaper
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2019-chinese-tea-dianhong-honey-rhyme-gold-screw-black-tea-red-teas-200g-box-p0552.html
You could also check yunnan sourcing, depending on shipping costs he has severy fruity chocolaty black teas if you take a look through his selection.
Nothing from kind tea malls selection jumped out at me immediately.
Where are you located?
Anyway someone else might have some other suggestions

>>18200396
>my man at tea-expert.net
Yeah I think so.
My friend recommended him to me said he is good.
Thanks, for the suggestions I'll check it out.
>yunnan sourcing
Tried it once but the shipping cost is really unattractive when you just want to buy one tea in a while.
I'm from Europe.

>>18200455
You can order from fullchea through their aliexpress store, they have links on each listing on their website, they ship for a few dollars and if you use their aliexpress listings ali will automatically calculate tarrifs and do customs forms so that can be a good option for europe. There are some good tea shops in Europe but that part of the pastebin isint as well filled out as other regions. Maybe yoi could find something similar on https://www.hotsoup.nl/ but im not really familiar with their selection

>>18200455
>I'm from Europe.
You can try moychay.nl if you're in Europe, especially if in NL or nearby. Wide variety of options and somewhat lower free shipping minimums compared to other vendors. Should be 50 eur minimum in NL, 75 elsewhere in the EU. If you don't want to buy that much product at once, I'd mostly just recommend Fullchea (maybe if something is on sale, too).

>>18200476
>There are some good tea shops in Europe but that part of the pastebin isint as well filled out as other regions.
there are plenty of good tea shops in Europe, the problem with European tea shops is that they tend to be on the more expensive side and therefore don't tend to make sense unless you live in Europe and have to pay import taxes or if they have specific teas you like and can't get elsewhere. similarly due to the price and presumed markup you don't often see people recommending the numerous teashops in California or New York even if they have good tea.

>>18200637
Yeah sounds about right.
The pastebin is at least intended to try to maximize quality per $ as much as possible. Doesn't always work out that way but its reasonable most of the time

Before I forget, here's the sample bag that came with my tong. I'm glad they chose that one, because I thought about getting it for it's price and just to have the cake wrapping. It's cute.

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2022-yunnan-sourcing-tea-time-ripe-pu-erh-tea-cake?_pos=1&_sid=9b820f598&_ss=r

>>18200852
Cute cake
Enjoy your tong, i still haven't gotten around to buying one, im a bit jealous

>>18200852
Nice, let us know how this one turns out if you drink it. Looks like it makes a juicy liquor. Everyone's been getting their shou and other heicha lately, very comfy. Should be especially nice as we transition into colder months.

>>18200887
Trust me, I am. I consider this my life long tea. I love it like you wouldn't believe. I'm going to have to either buy multiple tongs at once or see who else sells it just in case.

>>18200898
I don't know wether to gongfu it or grandpa style. Grandpa is my go-to because I can easily drink 3/4 of a gallon throughout the day and it let's me really see and feel how the leaf turns out in the long run.

>>18200979
>I don't know wether to gongfu it or grandpa style.
I almost always use my gaiwan with any tea, as I prefer the analytical and ritualistic experience when doing gong fu. It's to your preference either way, so I'd encourage you to drink it the way you'd be inclined to do normally. Not like it's some $1/g king of shit mountain gold release big dong oolong, no shame.

I havent used my yixing pot in months. Im just too lazy, i keep using my gaiwan because its a tiny bit less effort

What are some great teas that aren't sourced or provide funds to China?

>>18202713
sencha from japan, blacks from india

>>18202713
try ALL the tea you can find in Japan.

I noticed whenever I have caffeine from energy drinks, coffee, and black tea, I get a whiplash effect that makes me even more drowsy.
But this doesn't occur with green tea. I wonder why

>>18203052
Ever try mate? Curious how that would stack up for you.

What tea should I drink if I want to be immortal?

>>18197458
>tfw tried Yerba Mate yesterday
It's kinda like tea but without any of the subtlety , feels more like a herbal coffee

>>18203870
Jiaogulan

Anyone planning fall orders? What are you thinking of stocking up on for the winter?

>>18204172
I want to get a bunch of yancha but i will probably buy a bunch of semi aged sheng like usual. I have really gotten in the habbit of having some black tea in the afternoon so i need to get some more of that, probably Chinese

>>18204172
>tfw fall already, spring felt like it was a week ago
gonna get some young sheng probably, got enough ripe for the winter

I want to try a variety of teas, should I just use a mug to brew them or a porcelain teapot?
If porcelain where sells nice ones that are pretty?

>>18203052
L-theanine. It's remarkable that green tea contains the antidote to the side effects of its main stimulant. Really makes you think.

>>18204226
If you use a porcelain teapot for a variety of teas, make sure the inside isn't porous, it might retain the flavor from previous teas a bit.
Personally I use modern pyrex or something but I know that's a little soulless.

>>18204226
consider maybe getting a cheap 100ml porcelain gaiwan too.

>>18202713
I'll be ordering from taiwanteacrafts again when I get my bux.
I already ordered 3 times from them. Never got disappointed although I think the greens weren't up par with the mainland equivalents

>>18204226
I just use a mug, if you want a teapot i would get a western style one with a 2cup size and one of those basket stype strainers. Just search 2 cup teapot and you will find plenty.
Porcelain gets a bit more tricky because a lot of them don't have brew baskets for the leaves and don't have filters in the neck, so you need to use large whole leaf teas or pour though some kind of filter to keep tea leaves/dust out of your cup.

>>18204269
I thought the inside of them are glazed as well, is that not the case?
>>18204279
I honestly don't like them that much aside from the art on some of the ceramic ones.
>>18204285
Ive been looking for one that is between 200 or 300ml and pretty, I know it's dumb but I do want one that is a joy to look at as well to use.
Currently what I use is a 450ml insulated double wall snowpeak TI mug and I am sort of sick of it.

>>18204300
Honestly what I really want is this or something similar:
https://www.artisticnippon.com/product/arita/tanshin/seigaihakyusu.html

>>18204300
>Ive been looking for one that is between 200 or 300ml and pretty, I know it's dumb but I do want one that is a joy to look at as well to use.
Thats actually a super easy size range to find. Go on aliexpress and search porcelain teapot and check specs you will find tons, those usually have a strainer built into the neck too which makes it easier than older European porcelain.
https://aliexpress.com/item/3256802836950731.html
https://aliexpress.com/item/3256803279317367.html

>>18204332
Not that anon, but what kind of clay pot would you recommend for ripe puerh?

>>18204332
Thanks I'll take a look.
Since you seem so knowledgeable would it be that bad to test many teas, a mix of blacks, greens, oolongs, and white teas with the same clay teapot, one without glaze on the insides?

>>18197575
Based Gary Busey getting off the drugs and into tea.

I've never really gotten into tea but I really like gin and making my own, and i was wondering how is making a batch of tea (is that how you call it?) vs making a batch of gin (like picking the botanicals). Could I use my recipes for gin for tea and vice versa?

>>18204343
This would be nice especially for the more funky ripes or those with aggressive storage.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/yixing-pottery/products/benshan-luni-hanwa-yixing-teapot-120ml
https://mudandleaves.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/benshan-luni-shipiao-yixing-teapot-本山绿泥石瓢壶-140ml
For cleaner ripes and more premium productions something like this would be nice
https://mudandleaves.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/lao-zini-shuiping-yixing-teapot-老紫泥水平-120ml
Its really a question of personal preference with the first two being more muting and the third one being moderately to mildly muting.

>>18204363
>Since you seem so knowledgeable would it be that bad to test many teas, a mix of blacks, greens, oolongs, and white teas with the same clay teapot, one without glaze on the insides?
I have a singpe zini clay teapot and i use it for all teas except ripes, hei cha and hong kong or other wet storage teas, those teas are so pungent they will change the flavor of other teas you brew in the teapot but i have no problem using raw puer, roasted oolongs, black teas etc in my single clay teapot. Vendors try to sell you on different pot for every tea but really you need one pot for skanky funky teas and another pot for everything else.
Or you could always just get a porcelain pot and use that for everything

>>18204411
*I have a single zini clay teapot

>>18204392
Are you talking about making mixed herbal teas or some kind of alcoholic beverage. We are talking about tea like pic related

>>18204343
I should add my usual speech that clay teapots are expensive and buying clay teapots is essentially its own separate hobby from buying and drinking tea. I enjoy the one that i have but you aren't missing out on some game changing difference in flavor or enjoyment by just using porcelain. I can try to look for some more budget options if you like but the cheapest yixing pots ive seen that i feel comfortable recommending are around $100.

>>18204411
Well I won't be putting any puer through it if I got one but I guess maybe I should just get a porcelain pot to make it easier

>>18204454
It's really up to you, clay pots have this kind of mythical status in the west that is overblown but they still can be fun. But porcelain always works for everything and is easy to clean so it has some pretry clear advantages.

>>18204428
I know but I was wondering if herb mixes for tea and gin could be similar like if I could mix recipes that would work in both

>>18204492
From my breif reading juniper berry is a strong diuretic so i wouldn't drink it daily, by i don't see any reason why you couldn't just take a spoonfull of your herb blend for gin and brew it in a mug, it would probably taste pretty good if a bit astringent.

>>18204492
Do you use chamomile in your gin?

>>18204226
I use hario glassware for tea. Looks nice, you can see your tea brew, easy to clean etc.

Anyone know where to get some decent priced
whole leaf tea in large quantities. Also how to store tea long term. I'm very worried the next 10 years is going to kill the chinese export market and i want to be prepared.

>>18204511
I'll have to look more into juniper then but I've been trying to drink less so I'm trying to make my own version of my favorite gin and also my own mix and see if i can use it for tea, plus I've heard there's quinine extract so imma look into seeing how i can use that to replace G&Ts.
>>18204523
I've been using this tea mix I bought in it with some other botanicals that I have and it's been pretty good: Green Oatstraw, Burdock, Cardamom, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Orange, Lemongrass.

>>18204300
ah are you going to do western style brewing? i was recommending a 100ml one for gong fu style, try to be wary of cheap unglazed clay teapots because they sometimes have slightly toxic additives to make them look like real yixing. Stoneware and porcelain should be fine i think though.

>>18204713
Well up until now I have been using a big mug to brew all my tea in so I guess grandpa style is what I've been doing.

>>18204660
>plus I've heard there's quinine extract so imma look into seeing how i can use that to replace G&Ts.
I have a bottle of quinine extract i bought at some point because of some possible health benefits i cant remember anymore. It doesn't always nail the flavor perfectly. Also taking it regularly in the recommended dosages caused elevated heart rate and angina. That said you can buy quinine bark and make your own tea tinctures etc with it so that might be an option. But from what ive read you would have to drink several litres of quinine water that you buy at the store to equal to the amount in a dropperfull of the extract. You are probably better off just buying diet tonic water and drinking in over ice with a twist of lime (and no booze)
>Green Oatstraw, Burdock, Cardamom, Lemon Balm, Peppermint, Orange, Lemongrass.
Sounds like a pretry tasty blend, there are really no rules for gin so you can do whatever you want. Something like juniper, pine needles, maybe a few black pepper corns, and some bergamot woupd probably taste pretty good

Friendly remind to refresh your bovedas.

>>18204784
Funny you talk about pine needles since it's always the first botanical that I use in every recipe I've made. I actually haven't heard of the bark being used and I'll definitely have to read about that. Maybe I'll just buy gunpowder tea instead of the Drumshanbo sounds like a good starting point too.

Would a gaiwan be good to also brew indian black teas in or do they mostly do better with more eastern teas?

>>18205125
I haven't brewed black tea in gaiwan but other posters have. Talking about gongfu style brewing, You certainly can do it, it might be interesting and give you a different impression of the flavors of the tea, it especially might be nice with a good Darjeeling or something like that.
You could also get a 250-300ml gaiwan and then use it the brew black tea with the regular western technique (4-5 grams, brew for 3-5 minutes and then pour into a mug or whatever) if you wanted to use one in place of a teapot.

>>18205162
I just have a 120ml stoneware one coming in the mail, I guess I will try it and see how it works out.

>>18197605
Are you me? My sencha arrived yesterday too. It's my first green tea. It was wonderful. I disregarded instructions and let it steep from steaming hot to in my stomach over the course of 45 mins. It only got a tiny bit bitter at the very bottom. Then I ate the leaves with a little fork. Not appetizing, but not bad. I ended up lying down in the grass in my back yard for an hour. My head felt saturated and my muscles and bones were melting. Likely a lot of placebo going on but I don't care. Next I'm going to try it with sugar, and then boiling raw ginger in the kettle water first, and then sugar with the ginger. Feels good man.

>>18205225
Based tea enjoyment
>>18205183
Yeah give it a try, like i said it should give you a different kind of flavor profile then webstern brewing if you do short steeps. Should be fun

>>18205183
Well I think I will return the gaiwan when it arrives.
The teapot I wanted was just restocked so I got one and a sencha cup with it.
picrel

>>18205906
Sweet pot, love that grains of rice effect or whatever the proper name for it is

>>18205997
I am very excited, should look super cool while using it.
Artistic Nippon has some pictures with tea in the sencha cup and it looks really nice, it's under the arita wear section.

I didn't find any teacups at my local car boot sale today anons, I feel so sad, I woke up super early too... It on the bright side I found someone selling a shitty display cabinet on ebay for pennies that I'm gonna sand down and repaint and put in all of my kettles teas and teacups etc.

How do you anons like to store your tea?

I had a nice picnic on my own, I'll post some pics

coconut and lime cake

I wish you anons were here with me

>>18204660
There's non-alcoholic gin. I haven't tried it, I've just seen it exists.

>>18206099
I like that teacup. Looks like Royal Albert.

>>18206114
Few sights hit like a cliff edge cluttered in lush, verdant shrubbery. I imagine the air alone made the tea taste better. The atmosphere of setting for a tea session is truly of great impact to the overall pleasure derived, isn't it? I hope we can all find a peaceful space for our sessions, even in spite of outer stresses.

Regarding your cabinet post, I most keep my tea stored in separate bags within stackable plastic tubs within a closet. I do have some loose scent-impermeable bags in a small box too, and a separate repurposed metal tin just for my white tea. It may sound like an elaborate setup for a lot of tea, but it's a fairly modest supply and inexpensive arrangement overall and takes up little space. I like to keep teas separated by type to ensure unwanted aroma transfer does not take place.

>>18206304
Why not store them in glass or metal jars?

>>18206372
Width for full size cakes (say, 357g) is a pain for glass and metal (besides wide tins). I'd have to break them up just to fit through the lid, and most would only fit 1-2 cakes worth anyway.

>>18206464
Ohh puer, that makes more sense.

>play and enjoy all heavy classes
>play and enjoy 2/3 light classes (but I haven't given the third a fair shot so that might change)
>very much dislike the mediums except for thief, which I am currently maining and loving
>have a few ascended boxes to use for him but that would mean getting 1/3 of the value out of the item itself
hmmmmmmmmm... i've got to use my head and think.......

>>18203219
>Ever try mate?
No, what is it?

>>18204264
Interesting

Is this heresy?

>>18206903
Are there chinks who drink their tea with milk?

Quite disappointed by this tea. Bought it from FullChea for around 12€ for the whole bag including shipping. Didn't expect much, but still got disappointed. The cheapest Indian tea for like 4€ a bag still tastes better. This one has just a slight smoke aroma and an uneasant, astringent aftertaste. Not worth it.
I'll make sure I get some good black tea for my next TaiwanTeacrafts order.

>>18206969
*back of whole leafs

>>18206969
*500g Bag of loose leaf tea

>>18206878
Yerba mate, the South American caffeinated herbal drink. It's not for everyone but it's cheap, easy to brew, and supposedly great for you. I happen to love the taste and I have some every morning.

god i love green tea

>>18206988
Any site reccs? I'd be interested in trying it. Can you brew it Western style?

>>18207023
I got my gourd and straw + a few bags of proper SA brands from these guys:
https://yerbamatero.com/
and recently placed an order from MyMateWorld; it hasn't come in yet but it seems to be the go-to for most in the US at least. You don't *need* the gear setup, and you can use a ceramic or metal gourd instead of the traditional hollowed-out plant, but it's practical and aesthetically pleasing. You should know it's very fine, to the point most people shake out the dust before proceeding to brew, and that fineness could cause trouble in normal teaware. Certainly wouldn't want it in a gaiwan, say.
It's a smaller world than tea or coffee, and there's going to be some variance in the product but most taste pretty similar as long as they're of decent quality. "Rosamonte Traditional" is my favorite of those I've tried so far but again, they're fairly similar.

>>18206099
Thinking about it, brewing tea outside sounds pretty comfy to me, just being far away from my computer and all that crap, just thinking about my tea...

What do you use to brew your tea outside like that?
what do you use to make hot water? I thought about an alcohol stove or an insulated can.
For vessels I thought about semi gonfu using a ~400ml pot that I can easily carry around or a small gaiwan right away.

>>18207736
Nta but I just bring my /out/ cooking stove if I want hot water and I use a snowpeak double wall insulated mug for my brewing vessel/drinking needs for hot beverages.

>>18205125
I've gongfu'd:
Plain indian black tea: meh, no endurance
Darjeeling: ok
Both weren't of particularly good quality. I mainly drink ripe puer.

Good place as any, is there any good alcohol cocktail which uses black tea as ingredient ?

I think I put bad milk in my tea bros I don't feel so good

>>18206095
Sweet display cabinet, nice find anon

>>18206969
It sucks that fullchea can be hit and miss like that. I figured that bag would be a safe bet since the Russians seem to love it

>>18207873
Hot toddy

>>18208001
>the russians seem to love it
Maybe if you put it in a samowar and drink it woth lots of milk, it'll be fine. But pure gonfu brewing: nada

>>18207736
i use canister stoves but im considering switching to alcohol since theyre quieter

>>18208591
adding to this, you can fill an insulated flask with boiling water before leaving. also not to shill but trangia sells a really cute and small 600ml kettle for camping

>>18208591
>alcohol
Do you want to waste 20min boiling water or do you just do everything alone so no need to worry about time spent doing basic stuff?
I'm not sure how your canister stove heats water but it takes mine 4 min to boil a liter of water at most compared to 16 with my trangia.

>>18208657
i just think theyre neat

>>18207736
I just take boiling water with me in a thermos

How do your local tea shops compare to the quality and cost-efficiency of the tea you brew at home?

>>18209130
I'm lucky to have a local shop with half decent tea. Prices are high, quality is okay, i buy there rarely. I never actually buy cups of tea there. Sometimes i will sit down and order a pot of tea to hang out but the bratty teenagers that work there will let you sit at a table for 20 minutes before they come take your order.

>>18207736
To brew outside what I use is
100g primus powergas
SOTO amicus
Trangia kettle 0.6L
totals about
Maybe a super cheap folding wind shield if needed

This all fits easily into a very small backpack and totals about £40

I second just bringing an insulated bottle of boiled water. Obviously it doesn't help if you are going out all day but easy enough if im making tea in the back yard. Plus i bought a 64oz insulated bottle fore some reason so i need to use it for something

drink more green tea

>>18207736
I use a little multifuel setup. Stanley makes a cheap small 18/8 pot that drops into the boil plate to get it directly above a spirit/gel burner, but I've also just used pellets and twigs as well. Firemaple has a very nice kettle I use when I want to keep a bit more water hot.
https://www.fireboxstove.com/5%E2%80%8B-g2-firebox/5-inch-folding-firebox
https://www.stanley1913.com/products/adventure-the-nesting-two-cup-cook-set
https://firemaplegear.com/products/antarcti-stainless-steel-kettle

Has /tea/ ever had an outting or anons meet? I'm not really suggesting it, I just thought about it after reading a few of these /out/-esque posts. The distant sips setup is nice as it is.

>>18210102
Unless we will be reading delicious cake and drinking tea I don't want it.

>>18204172
Nah, coasting off my green until it gets cold enough to switch to red and puerh

>>18210102
Not yet, ive been thinking about asking if anons want to do a secret santa but not sure how myself or others feel about giving out their addresses

>>18210133
>Reading cake
I agree, I was just curious. Though now,
>tfw no cake to read while anon drinks his tea.
Suffering.

>>18210288
Might be a troublesome thing to orchestrate. Tea often takes a long time to ship from many popular Asian vendors with varyingly-high shipping costs. Very multinational group here too, and that can further complicate it even before discussing anonymity. That said, seeing comfy infusion pics and reading tasting notes is cozy enough for any season. Maybe we can make some nice spiced tisanes/etc when the holidays roll by in a few months. Pumpkin tea...

>>18197458
Bros. How do i make matcha tea taste good? I finally got a good quality japanese one but i still don't like the taste much, i have my brush and all and i prepare it according to instructions. Should i just put some sugar or prepare it in a different way? I mostly care about the benefits but i still want to enjoy it if possible

Does anyone know how to ask for tea as gift?
My birthday is coming up but if i just ask for tea ill get the first sampler box that comes up on google. However just sending them a list of teas i'd like to try they'll end up spending too much on the wrong teas.

>>18209538
I will look into propane. Alcohol just takes too long. Otherwise I still have a thermally insulated pot which works for teas that don't need boiling

>>18210079
Hpw long does it take for the alcphol stove to get your water boiling?

>>18210102
>Has /tea/ ever had an outting or anons meet? I'm not really suggesting it
No, when the topic came up last time it looked like none of the regulars really lives in the same place. and I doubt everyone would want to do a meet up anyways. For sake of comparison I am from the great Lakes region.

>>18210303
A man of taste and culture

>>18210102
lol
are u this horny? :^)

Coming through ~

is yamamotoyama a good brand on a budget? does anybody know where their tea is grown?

>>18210635
Try these directions and see if they help any
https://www.o-cha.com/make-matcha.html

>>18210659
Just ask for a girft card from a store you like. Or ask for specific teas from one store

>>18211805
Haven't heard of them before, could be worth a shot. I wish they specifically said their tea was from this years harvest but some Japanese sites dont do that.
On their sencha listing it says their tea is from their own gardens.
Give it a shot it would be great to find a budget Japanese tea dealer in the us.

>>18210820
Less than 10min for the smaller Stanley + boil plate. More than 10 for the kettle sitting up top. I just use yellow heet in a soldered trangia burner.

>>18210288
>Not yet, ive been thinking about asking if anons want to do a secret santa but not sure how myself or others feel about giving out their addresses
I like the idea and would be interested but I think it would be difficult to orchestrate.
Problems:
Maintaining some level of anonymity or finding enough people who don't care.
Dealing with potential scammers who sign up but don't intend to deliver.
We are a small group and even smaller if we separate by continent for shipping purposes.
Current shipping costs.

The third problem is probably the biggest. If we have enough people interested I would be down to at least try to make things work.

What is the Vim of tea?
What is the Emacs of tea?

>>18212633
Yeah i don't think its happening this year. If it did it would probably be limited to north America but shipping is so screwed up righr now you would need to start in in February

>>18212633
Just not practical, frankly. Easier and perhaps more interesting to share tea-related recipes and experiments. Maybe some wacky stuff during the holidays just for the laughs. I'm not doing the Fullchea mini tuo bag again, though.

>>18213153
Emacs would be oolong, its an overly broad category that contains a bunch of completely different things that should be in their own category
(Vi)m would be cheap black teabags because they are everywhere, frequently they are the only option and nobody would prefer to use them

>>18213153
工夫茶 or 茶道

>>18213336
>but shipping is so screwed up righr now you would need to start in in February
It's not nearly that bad, things should get here from china in less than two months (often faster) unless you picked shipping by boat. Though you basic point is correct, if we want to do a Secret Santa we should start early.

Started drinking matcha, got the whisk and shit. 10/10 would recommend.

>>18213599
Rad. Is it easy to get the hang of?

>>18213599
What does it taste like?

Got a german made tea pot.

>>18214266
unfortunately it doesn't have a lid. I wonder if I can buy a fitting gaiwan lid...
I measured around 5.5mm

>>18214269
Cute size. Where did you get it? Could probably just get a typical cheap white gaiwan on Ali/etc and use the lid to cover it.

>>18214269
*5.5cm ofc
>>18214286
Yes it's a very good size. The 100+ ml gaiwans are just too much most of the time.
It surprises me gongfu teaware beig produced here since it's quite nieche I guess.
I got it as a present. It's from some local porcelain shop apparently. They comission these thing themselfes.
It came with a fitting tea egg you're supposed to put the tea in, though that doesn't make much sense since it's also made of porcelain and takes up way too much volume and the vessel is so small that the content will fit into most single ~40ml cups anyways.
It bothers me that gaiwan lids aren't sold seperately or very rarely.

>>18214313
Perhaps you could commission a lid to cover it. Maybe even a cup or gong dao bei if you want to match it.

>>18214335
Yeah. Maybe I'll do that. Though only a lid. For everything else I have more than enough teaware and I don't really care about things matching up.

>>18214348
Fake milk oolong. Keeps the milk aroma for several brews not that bad desu.

>>18214286
>>18214335
Where can I buy ~50ml gaiwans on ali or ebay?
I figured their lids would have about the right size.

>>18211805
i have their houjicha, while i have nothing to compare it to, i think it tastes alright. only says produced in the US but tea not grown there. pretty sure they would mention it if it was grown in japan so maybe china?

>>18214589
I don't know about such a small size. 80ml is not impossible, and I'm sure there are smaller ones than that, but they are not nearly so common. What should be considered is just the lid diameter and not the cup size itself, as the shaping can differ a lot regardless of ml capacity. Maybe one of those tall and thin gaiwans would work, but those are probably more expensive than just commissioning a lid. If just Ali, you can always ask the vendor.

I ordered a teapot from artistic Nippon on Saturday night and it's going to be delivered today, I'm kind of amazed by the speed of it.

>>18215072
Post pics when it arrives. I've had my eye on a yunomi for a while but i just cant justify £100+ for a cup

>>18215322
Which one did you want to get?

>>18215447
Nezumi Shino yunomi by Higuchi Masayuki #060

>>18214269
Its a teapot that doubles as a mug

>>18215501
Better example than many i see of this style. I still dont "get it" personally but im sure you will enjoy it

>>18215501
I like the overall shape of it but I'm not a fan of that glaze, it looks like the skin of a water logged corpse to me.

>>18215568
wabi

what's the best place to buy tea in the EU?

>>18215501
nice yunomi, anon
Artistic Nippon does have way nicer stuff on average than a lot of what you'll find online, but it's all quite pricy as well
I myself got a really interesing Bizen yunomi from eBay recently, I'll post it tommorow

>>18215568
I think with time I've come to appreciate this style. Elaborate designs like my cup in >>18214269 really can be distracting from just enjoying some nice tea sometimes.

>>18215873
i like moychay.nl and hotsoup but i mostly use moychay, shipping is a bit high though. Check out local tea stores in your country too, you might be lucky and have a knowledgeable seller but its likely only one out of all the sellers in your country who will actually care about quality and sourcing

>>18215501
sure do love me some japanese ceramics. too bad most of the good stuff is so expensive

>>18216262
another from the same potter

This is the teapot and sencha cup I order on Saturday night from Artistic Nippon.
It was packed really well and all arrived without any problems.

>>18216318
Please ignore my girlfriend's filthy tablecloth.

>>18216324
I am very excited to use it later.

>>18216324
>>18216333
is the sea-through stuff glass or is it super-thin ceramics?

>>18216339
According to the Japan man it's secret glaze material that fires clear.

>>18216262
Do you care if the cup is made specifically by a Japanese artisan? I use a cup from an older American craftswoman on Etsy who (if I recall correctly) studied the art in Japan, and it's solid. Her cups aren't $100+ expensive (maybe $30 - $45+sh), and have lovely glazes and very comfortable forms. Another anon got a beautiful light green tea cup/pot set from the same person after I recommended her works, and loved it. Maybe you'd like something of hers:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/flyingplumtreestudio
Not trying to shill or whatever, I just think good artists should be given the spotlight from time to time. I don't like all of her design influences, but she has some works that have very charming glazes if you dig a bit.

>>18216553
thanks, I'll check them out

first tea purchase in a long time from a newbie. what should I expect?

>>18216577
A comfortable variety of different teas to explore what your preferences are. Better than only getting pu'er like I did when first starting. Make sure to consider how hot your temps are if anything seems too harsh in any way.

>>18216339
>is the sea-through stuff glass or is it super-thin ceramics?
in this case its a type of glaze. the style is typically called rice grain ceramics.

>>18216324
Damn that rules, sweet pieces

>>18216553
i wish i could get this style japanese cups but in a smaller size like 50ml for gongfu, never found any under 100ml

>>18216750
You could try sake cups

>>18216761
this, there are lots of ceramic sake cups out there. usually more expensive than the bigger cups for some reason though, I think because they're a bitch to make since they're so tiny and you can't use a potter's wheel

>>18216750
She sells a few 'guinomi', which are typically meant for sake, but should be fine for tea. They're slightly smaller (she says 3oz, so I'd guess ~80ml).
https://www.etsy.com/shop/flyingplumtreestudio?section_id=29431102
Not many of them available at the moment (being one-offs), but I think all of her cups vary slightly in capacity. You can just read the descriptions or PM her if uncertain.

>>18213606
Yeah, way easier to make in the morning than even coffee.

>>18213735
like grass heaven

>>18213735
bittersweet and very green. the foam is great, makes the drinking experience different. reminds me a bit of the crema on espresso

>>18216621
sure, excited to get back into tea more seriously. I've mostly been into yerba mate for years now, but tea definitely beats it in terms of variety of flavors

>>18217010
>reminds me a bit of the crema on espresso
Nice, i miss crema, haven't had a good espresso in ages

>>18217019
Nice, tea has never been easier to get into, shipping is mostly normal again after the coof and there is just such a huge variety out there

How does one go about cleaning porcelain?
Also I cleaned this out of a new electric kettle I got off Amazon from the top rim on the inside of it.

>>18218478
>How does one go about cleaning porcelain?
same as glass or anything else really. it's not porous or anything

probably the most unique yerba mate I've had so far. noticably earthy, which I haven't really noticed in other mate ever. maybe it's because they season it for so long, I think I remember reading 36 months?
the polar opposite of all the fresh, green mate sold in most tea stores

I remember getting some super floral taiwanese oolong as a gift and enjoying it a lot, but I forget what it was. any ideas or suggestions for something similar?

>>18218869
nevermind, I think it was four seasons spring

>>18216203
here is my Bizen yunomi by Takeshi Takahara
do you guys think I should reserve it for one type of tea only? it is unglazed after all, but not all not all that porous from what I know

>>18219384
the other side features this interesting coarse effect. pretty flashy for unglazed ceramics

>>18219384
>>18219393
is it stoneware or tokoname/ some other pourous clay? stoneware is not really pourous so i would drink all types with it but i'd maybe be careful with stinkier teas if it was pourous clay

>>18220005
Bizen ware is high temperature fired, so definitely more stoneware than something like Tokoname, should be much less porous as far as I know

>>18219393
Nice cup

>>18197575
I love those mismatched mugs, the quintessential spirit of Britannia.

It's been a month my l-theanine has been stuck in London. Fuck, it's like I'm one of those anons who waited months for their delivery from china. The channel is not that wide, is it?

Why does tea give me energy but coffee make me sleepy? Is it the L-theanine? Anyone tried to add extra l-theanine to their tea?

black tea with breast milk

>>18220711
Don't add it to your tea it tastes gross
Either take it as capsules or powder or if you are brave dumb some under your tongue and let it soak in sublingually.

>>18220711
L-theanine is not a stimulant, so it is not likely to be directly related to the cause of this effect. However, it does pair well with stimulants like caffeine, and may improve/'stabilize' your caffeine focus due to its anxiolytic properties. You can add it to a beverage without noting much of a flavor change (it is mild), but for best absorption, sublingual consumption is ideal. I take it under my tongue daily with a touch of liquid.

I will note that I also become sleepy with a lot of caffeine, despite it obviously being a stimulant. An average serving of plain coffee will have more caffeine than typical servings of tea, so it is understandable that it affects me this way, and perhaps the same for you. L-theanine pairs well with either beverage anyway.
>>18220492
Why are you ordering L-theanine directly from China? You can just buy it online from a typical site like Amazon and get it rapidly, bulk or not. Bought 2x500g bags of 99.99% pure powder little over a month ago, and it wasn't even that costly.

Alright fine you have shilled it enough i will buy some l-theanine
Will report back eventually

>>18197458
Covid sucks, even with strong smoky tea it tastes like thick hot water. My taste better come back when this fades...

>>18218478
citric acid or vinegar to get the calc residue off water kettles. For tea remnants just scrub it good with a regular kitchen brush

>>18220978
>Why are you ordering L-theanine directly from China
I'm not, I'm guessing it's some Brexit delay.

>>18220718
what does it taste like?

got from local tea shop, got my gift coupon redeemed. on average ~6€ per gram. Also some chinese tea.

Wonder if the indian stuff is suitable for gonfu.

>>18214348
I was mistaken about the usage of that tea pot. It's only intended to store the tea egg.It makes for a good small gonfu pot anyways, so I'll see if I can obtain a fitting lid somewhere.

>>18214266
>>18222658
*

>>18222658

>>18222641
Human breast milk is surprisingly sweet but also thin too.

>>18222713
How did you obtain it?

>>18222658
>on average ~6€ per gram
I hope you either mean 6€ per 100 grams or that you bought weed, not tea

Has some roast aroma. Bit weak overall. But not bad. Good enough for small gonfu sessions

>>18222719
I meant 6ct, my bad

snacks that go well with tea? i was thinking maybe pineapple or soft flour cake or senbei crackers or something

>>18222717
One of my ex's lactated pretty often so I would get it sucking on her titties while railing her.

>>18222733
grissini goes really well with yerba mate for some reason

Just drank my first cup of stinging nettle tea, hope I don’t die

>>18206095
Sweet cabinet
>Arbitrary price hike if you make too much money
Do Euros really?

>>18205906
>>18216324
Sweet kyuusu looks nice

>>18208591
/out/door tea time is a treat

This gyokuro has me vibing. Yame white label. Highly recommend

>>18222488
Yeah you will be fine, took a few weeks and i was back to normal

>>18222694
Ahh the classic formossa oolong
Its sort of a classic presentation of taiwan oolong but its still in demand so it still gets made. Im not surprised a lot of it end up in Europe

>>18222721
I really did the shape of that teapot anon. It seems good for brewing, and i haven't seen one like that before

>>18223724
Serious tea bowl action there anon
Do you pour multiple brews in it at once?

Hello tea bros,

I have a fairly decked out coffee bar but I would like to add tea as well. I already have a tea tray for spills, a good scale and a stagg ekg for temp controlled water, do I just need a gaiwan? Which tea's should I buy first?

>>18224014
>do I just need a gaiwan?
Sure, 100-120ml usable capacity is ideal, don't go bigger.
If you want to brew western style like you would with Indian teas English breakfast blends etc you should grab a finium brew basket for brewing in mugs.
>Which tea's should I buy first?
Where in the world are you located? Do you have any experience with tea? Anything you have tried and liked in the past?

>>18224014
In general i would suggest starting our with Chinese black teas, probably some dian hong variety. Some tie guan yin oolong, maybe some Chinese dragonwell style green tea (make sure its this years harvest)

>>18224133
>>18224143
>Which tea's should I buy first?
Any non-chinese recommendations please? I like boricha (mugicha), green tea, jasmine, etc but am open to new things as well

>>18224014
just start with a sample (30-60g) of every type, green, white, black, oolong, ripe puer, and raw puer. Preferably chinese teas if youre starting but you can get a japanese green if you want instead.
this way you get a general idea of what type you prefer

>>18197575
Biggest psyop in the history of humanity

>Sweet herb tea

Fenugreek
Fennel
Mint
Honey
Cream

>>18224173
Put fenugreek and fennel seeds in a pan and bring to boil and simmer for 2 minutes before adding mint leaves, removing from heat, covering and allowing to stand
Strain and add cream and honey

does it matter if i get a gaiwan or a kyusu or a shiboridashi? they're all similarly shaped and sized so i can't imagine there'd be any real functional difference between them aside

>>18224155
>Any non-chinese recommendations please?
Second flush darjeeling
Japanese sencha, but make sure you get it fresh, has to be this years harvest
If you can find Japanese black tea its really good.
Taiwan oolong maybe four seasons or orienal beauty
Taiwan black tea
Indian assam

>>18224227
No it doesn't matter other than ideal sizes might be different for different teas. For Japanese green a personal pot might be 170-200ml where for gongfu you want something in the 100-120ml range. But you can absolutely get a Japanese teapot and use it for gongfu or vice versa

>>18224227
just be careful about the clay, with tokoname you cant really use it for shu puer but its fine if its glazed

do you find handmade teaware to be worth it, for you personally?

>>18224323
I love nice ceramics personally, but of course it's just an additional thing. it feels nice to drink tea from an artpiece

any opinions on Enshi Yulu? found a fresh one at a local store at a nice price. should I cop?

>>18224155
you're cucking your tea experience by avoiding chinese teas imo, even in china using pesticides is shunned on in the higher end teas so its not a massive problem. Puer is the biggest thing youre missing out on. But if youre in europe, hotsoup.nl sells lots of teas from less common tea producing countries like georgia, nepal, thailand

>>18224560
pesticides are the least of my concern, more worried about ground water/rain contamination, low food safety standards etc.

i understand my options will be limited but ordering food products from china is a hurdle i won't be able to overcome.

>>18224535
I haven't tried it but you should, its interesting and doesnt seem very common so it's something you should jump on the chance to try

i wish i had infinite money so i could spend it on random aliexpress teaware

aren't tea portions too small? what do you do when you want bigger cup of tea?

>>18225082
you buy loose leaf and you add however much you want to the huge mug you use

Does this store look any good? prices are high but i can't tell if the quality is high enough to justify them.
https://easternleaves.com/
Trying to find more shops that ship from the EU

>>18225089
how much quality do you lose when you brew grandpa style vs in a gaiwan? immersion is immersion so i can't imagine the difference would be too drastic

>>18225126
Its different, i reqlly depends on the tea, i wouldn't call it loosing quality so much as enhancing certain aspect of the tea you might not want. For example gramapa style eith a really tannic tea will probably result in a very tannic mug of tea, especially after the first refill or two. Same with bitterness and things like that. So if its a tea that you find overbrews if you steep it too long you might not get the best results with grampa style. For many teas it works fine and you will have to experiment to decide what works for you.

>>18197458
Is ceylon tea any good?
what is a ceylon anyway?

>>18225175
ceylon is the name of the island AKA sri lanka, anon...

>>18224323
Functionally, you can of course make excellent infusions with basic low cost porcelain or glass teaware alike. However, for someone who intends to drink tea regularly, being able to engage with beautiful and comfortable teaware only serves to enhance the overall experience. Mindset is an important thing when it comes to how your senses interpret something. A visually pleasing environment and beautiful teaware give you something lovely to experience alongside every session, which sets you into a mindset that is better able to appreciate the details of the tea. That is my viewpoint.

If you know where to shop, you can find artisans and vendors who sell brilliant one-off handmade pieces from experienced craftsmen. So, it isn't like it is a huge investment considering you would probably use it regularly, if not daily.
>>18225082
>aren't tea portions too small?
Do you mean gong fu with a gaiwan? Not really; more material is used than with western teabags, and multiple infusions are made progressively as desired. Infusions do not take long, and help avoid an off-temperature serving. It adds up quickly.
>what do you do when you want bigger cup of tea?
Either make multiple infusions from your gaiwan and hold them in your gong dao bei, or just infuse in a mug ala grandpa style. Both work.

>>18225175
Its cheep and cheerful, it works, gets the job done, doesn't taste bad

>>18225217
>sri lanka
where the fuck is that? thailand?

>>18224732
yeah I think I will. it's quite cheap for a 2022 spring harvest and the description sounds enticing. like an interesting halfway point between chinese and japanese greens

so if i were to get just one vessel i most likely be best served by a glazed kyusu right? it performs best with green teas but can still do oolong/puer okay. if i get a gaiwan sencha and genmaicha will be a pain

why does my tea taste so awful? i must be doing something that results in the equivalent of setting my oven on fire

i have these rolled up loose leaf balls i don't know the details of besides it being "green oolong"
i drop some in this brown teapot about the size of my fist so that it mostly forms a bottom layer
i boil water, wait for the bubbles to no longer rise, then wait another minute
i fill the teapot with water, wait 10 seconds, then pour it out to discard
then i refill the teapot with water, wait about 60 seconds and pour some for myself

but it tastes like i'm drinking boiled water without anything in it. it doesn't help that i can't see the tea's color since the cup is also brown. i repour some more and now it tastes like i'm drinking something... sour, or i guess extreme bitterness? what the hell is going on here

>>18225580
Yup sounds good to me, just keep the size down if you want to use it for gongfu.
If you want to use it for Japanese greens and western brewing go larger.
Or just get a kyusu you like and a cheap $12 gaiwan on aliexpress for those times when you want a different vessel

>>18225642
Its okay anon you are pretty close you just need to tweak a few things. Instead of waiting 1 minute after the boil wait 5 minutes, you are shooting for 80-90°c for oolong.
Then its sounds like you are using about the right amout of tea.
Pour water over it than wait 30 seconds, dump that water
Then pour in more water and wait 30 seconds or so, try that. If its weak then pour more water in the teapot and go for about 45 seconds or so.
Basically whats happening is the tea balls take some time to open up, before they are open you don't get much taste out of the tea, after they first open you get a lot of flavor pretty quickly.
See how that goes and then add 20 seconds or so for each additional brews.
Eventually to tea leaves will get huge and fill most of the pot.
Anyway oolong can have sort of a tangy sour flavor to it but im guessing your water is too hot and that's making the oolong taste off. That's why you shoild let the water cool for 5 minutes instead of one.

>>18225697
thanks, i will try this next time

>>18205906
It reminds me of that gaming mouse with all the holes.

is it fine to buy a 300ml kyusu if i'm often going to be making less than that?

dear reddit,

I am very perplexed. My shou puerh lost 90% of taste and smell over the past two days. I last drank it two days ago, at home, in my usual setup. It was delicious as normal. Yesterday, I drove ~7 hours to my parents' house. I brought tea with me, kept it in the trunk of my car, with a bunch of other stuff. However, all my shou was in sealed mylar bags, so I did not think it would interact with its surroundings. It was maybe 30 degrees outisde during the 7 hours, but I am not sure about the temperature inside the trunk.

Today, I drank my shou. It had no significant taste. The colour of the liquour was the same as usual. I noticed that the cake did not smell like anything, despite being pretty dank before. I smelled my other teas - sheng, blacks, greens, all had their usual smells. I did not brew any of them to verify their tastes. My other shou cake, which I did not brew, similarly appeared to lose its smell. I can smell and taste all sorts of things, I do not have covid. I did not drink/eat anything beforehand that would significantly affect my tasting of the tea.

The humidity and temperature are higher slightly at my parents' house than at home, but the effects of these parameters I would expect to have an effect over a more significant amount of time than one or two days, and would affect more teas than just the ripe.

The water at my parents' house is softer than at my home. This does not explain the lack of smell. I even ran to get a water bottle from my car that I filled up back home, with the hard water, and boiled that. The result was not any different.

Reddit, please help ,I've been laying awake for about 4 hours, I can't figure out why my shou is kill

>>18226225
Its probably fine, stuff can survive sitting in a hot humid wharehouse for years i don't think a few hours in a car is going to hurt it.
Sometimes puer is weird about traveling and quck changes in temperature and conditions.
Let it sit around for a few days and it should be back to its normal self

>>18226134
You can but i don't recommend it. It's annoying to have an oversized teapot. You want to buy one that's the right size fore your regular tea sessions

I have $30 to spend, should I fall for the puer meme, yancha meme, matcha meme or yerba meme?

what are the most kino non-caffeinated teas?

Is yaupon worth trying?

>>18226617
you could fall for a few of them at that price. yerba mate especially is rather inexpensive, like 10$ per kilo

>>18226617
>>18227477
regarding yerba, remember to buy the packaged kind made for the south american market, not the loose stuff sold in tea stores, it's overpriced

>>18224231
>>18224143
should I always buy this year's green tea? is freshness less important with other teas?

>>18226617
Pick one
I suggest the first of these two puers
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354186591716
https://www.ebay.com/itm/133745596262
Or some yancha
https://oldwaystea.com/products/shui-xian-2017?taxon_id=1
https://oldwaystea.com/products/tie-luo-han-2020?taxon_id=4
https://oldwaystea.com/products/ban-tian-yao-2020?taxon_id=4
https://oldwaystea.com/products/da-hong-pao-2020?taxon_id=4
Or get a sack of wuyi star oolong
https://www.ebay.com/itm/354029538091
https://www.ebay.com/itm/363407768680
Or talk about you te preferences a bit and maybe i can make some more personalized suggestions

>>18227706
>should I always buy this year's green tea?
Yes
>is freshness less important with other teas?
Yes, most other tea keep fine for years if stored sealed in an airtight bag. The onky other one you really have to worry about being this years harvest is really green Taiwan oolongs.

beginner looking for an easy to prepare, floral taiwanese oolong
any thoughs on Dong Ding vs Jin Xuan vs Bao Zhong?

>>18225239
Yes, in Thailand, which is right next to Minnesota

>>18227955
Minnesota is next to Laos. Common mistake.

I've been thinking of buying one of picrel to do large batches of cold brewed sencha as a way of replacing my itoen addiction with loose leaf. good idea or bad idea? Also, does genmaicha work for cold brew?

>>18223953
No just one at a time. That bowl looks bigger than it is, the bottom tapers in pretty sharply compared to others. That kyuusu brews ~210ml at a time, and that's one pour.

>>18197458
>purple hair social justice warrior farming tea in malawi
And I thought I've seen it all

>>18228559
I don't think those are social justice weaves. Looks like a brightly dyed knit hat. If you look below, you can see her black/brown hair.

Upton sent me a catalog. They list Colombian and Mozambique tea in it. Wondering if I should get samplers of them since I'm bored.
Has anyone tried Liquid CO2 decaf extracted tea? Upton apparently sells those too. Would really like to have tea for like 4pm drinking.

>>18229570
Co2 decaff tea is an interesting process. There are some vidoes you can look up on YouTube. Funny enough the byproduct from the Co2 extraction is where they get the "green tea extract" that you see in multivitamins and energy supplements.
I don't actually know how it tastes. In theory the liquid Co2 would pick up a lot of the aromatic compounds but the end result still should taste like tea.
Colombian tea seems interesting, probably worth a sample, they have a pretty good climate for it. Mozambique im not sure about, africa makes the majority of thw bulk commodity tea that gets used in things like Lipton teabags. They are just sort of starting to get some higher grade products on the market. Might be interesting, might be pretty similar to a cheap indian assam.

>>18222733
Crackers, they absorb your tannin-contaminated saliva removing the astringency. It's a secret I took from wine tasters. Underrated GOAT tea snack.

Let's say I put my ripe puerh in a big mason jar with boiling water and put the lid and ring on. How long could I keep it in the fridge after that? It'd seal the lid and keep it air tight. I've never had my tea be older than just a night of cold brew after doing grandpa style all day.

>>18229621
Cool. I'll get some and report back I guess. I heard something similar with Africa tea basically being some cost saving bs so that makes sense.

>>18229650
That isn't really normal cold brew. I strongly recommend you just leave it in there with room temp or cool water, and it will infuse naturally. I do not recommend sticking any filled vessel, especially glass, in the refrigerator. You can keep it in there for several days with ease.

>>18225175
It's nearly always orthodox processed and they grow a hybridized tea tree (C. sinensis var. lasiocalyx AKA Cambod type) so the baseline quality is higher than other competing breakfast tea styles. It's standard issue black tea, just slightly nicer.

>>18229570
I saw the Colombian stuff that seems interesting for the novelty of it. Next time I order I'm getting a sample. The African stuff doesn't interest me as much since they don't even drink tea down there.

>>18197575
What's there to explain? This looks like the most literal example of "based" I've ever seen.

Alright. Convince me to purchase one of these bad fuckers.

>>18223948
I got it as a present. It's german made. Though it isn't really intended for gonfu brewing, but just for storing those 'teaeggs'.
see: >>18214266 >>18214348

>>18223941
Yeah. Its doesn't say any specifics about the tea origin, just Taiwan. But that's something I've noticed with most local non speciality tea stores.
I've never had this specific tea, but it reminds me of of wuyi rock oolong, and I guess it goes pretty far back in european tea tradition since those teas where the first to be imported into europe in the 18th century, as far as I'm aware.

pros and cons of a wide flat kyusu vs a bulbous one?

New thread momentarily

>>18197458
new thread
>>18232094
>>18232094
>>18232094