/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Tea is for fags

My favorite tea is the Turkish tea

Smoke tea every day

I love this tea brand
Anyone else drink it? I have to go to European/Russian stores to buy it

>>18617592
I would not drink their green tea but ruskies have some of the best black tea on the planet. I had some once that was a different brand that was basically earl grey on steroids - tasted like rocket fuel with heavy amounts of bergamot oil drenching the leaves. Their tradition of sweetening strong black tea with jam/preserves instead of sugar is also quite nice.

>>18617592
You used to be able to buy it on ebay, but i haven't looked recently

What sort of shelf life does tea have? Obviously puerh takes well to aging, but green, white, oolong, black?
I'm about to order a decent amount of tea in a tea sale that's going on and I don't want to get overzealous with it and end up with tea that goes south before I get to brewing it

>>18618030
If it's a tea that doesn't age well (green) you can safely stick it in the freezer.
Realistically, don't worry about the rest.

>>18618030
green tea loses freshness the fastest

The air cooks the tea.

got some liu bao for the first time, supposedly from the 1990s. what should I expect?

any good shengs from Fullchea?

>>18617634
I like how bitter and strong their green tea is, I prefer it over grassy/light green teas
But agreed that their black tea is really good and flavorful

>>18617350
Moroccan mint Thea without sugar for me

>>18618436
update: tastes like beets or potatoes. very earthy, a little bitter. I kind of hate it lol, maybe it'll be better if I brew it lighter

>>18618519
plz help, am new to shengs...

What are some good things to put in tea after steeping? Right now I'm using a teaspoon of desert mesquite honey and 2 squirts of lemon juice.

Any other recommendations?

>>18617350
What are the best materials for heat retention in cups/mugs?
I've looked at the double walled ones but they seem to break if you look at them wrong.
I know ideally you'd gongfu but i really cant be faffed with that most of the time and end up just popping a metal filter in the cup or doing grandpa style brewing

>>18618030
Roasted oolong keeps for several years or more
Green oolongs keep for a year or two
Black tea keeps for about 4 years, stays good much longer but you might not like aged black tea
Green tea keeps for 8 months to a year i wouldn't buy much this time of year. Maybe 50g, best to wait till spring harvest to get some

>>18618436
>what should I expect?
>>18618594
>update: tastes like beets or potatoes.
That sounds like liubao. Mess around with some different brew methods, grampa style, gongfu, maybe simmer 6 grams in 1.5 litres of water on the stove. Its a very earthly tea but it can have some delicious sweet chocolate flavors andnjust be a very comforting tea to drink in cold weather.
Sometimes its also just weird, i have some liubao from 2002 i bought almost a decade ago now that tastes like pencil shavings and even now that im really into those earthly flavors its still a bit of a challenge for me to drink.
The nice thing is you can keep it forever. It won't go bad and you can re try it every year or so to se how you tastes change and if you suddenly enjoy it more

>>18618724
Get a big insulated double wall steel bottle, brew western style with a french press or something and pour the hot tea into the bottle, wa la, hot tea all day.

>>18618814
yeah it was nicer when I brewed it lighter. not as bitter and has some nice nuttiness next to the earthy potato flavor. I think I prefer the sweetness of shu pu-erh, but it's not bad

>>18618724
There are metal double wall cups. The downside is you might not want to microwave it.
I use glass because of the ability to microwave it after adding cold milk. It works perfectly and I learned to be careful after breaking a few before.

Question for tea lovers:

Have you ever used tea in cooking? I have moistened a cake with tea once and it worked well. The cake was a very simple lemon cake.

I remember seeing tea being used to smoke things. I would like to try it, but I live in an apartment.

Japanese have a tea based soup, right? I can see that being very good. Why not?

Ouc unrelated.

big thanks for helping me figure out my order from Fullchea, anons. ended up getting a V93 and two oolongs - I'll give my thoughts on them when they get here

>>18618978
forgot pic

>>18618990
Sure thing anon, i hope you enjoy

>>18616956
go for japenese greens in that case since chinese greens are boring in comparison, O-cha sells greens in nitrogen flushed bags that have a lower chance of being stale since green tea loses flavour fast after harvesting due to oxygen, could try to get autumn teas also but i dont know how to source those.

Someone posted a few threads back about a tea that was very honey-y and very sweet. Can anyone remember what it was?

>>18618519
I enjoy the ones from Tulin but maybe avoid anything from 2007 for now, king tea mall has maybe more interesting shengs for similar prices though. Have had this one and it was pretty good:
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/tulin-2009-tuocha-tea-yunnan-tuo-cha-raw-puerh-250g-p0490.html
Could get a dayi 7542 as i think its a good basis for shengs but i havent tried it, someone posted about mengku young shengs a few threads ago if you want to look at those too. Also consider avoiding smaller/lesser known factories from fullchea.

>>18617352
Wrong. Tea is for lesbians, especially puer.

>>18619151
thanks. I've considered dayi 7542, but it's kind of expensive and they only had the one from 2013 IIRC and I hear they benefit a lot from aging

>>18617352

farmerleaf autumn teas out and 20% sale, cheapest one out of the new ones:
https://www.farmer-leaf.com/collections/yunnan-pu-erh-tea/products/autumn-2022-lao-man-e
maybe more coming during the month though, hoping for more ~50usd cakes like the autumn naka last year.

>>18618724
Heat retention is a meme unless you're in a job that requires a thermos, in which case you should just use a thermos.

>>18619275
2013 is an okay age, another decade wouldn't hurt but it will also make the price skyrocket. I think a decade old 7542 is nice

will w2t have more sale than just 10$ off shipping for christmas sales u think? or should i just order now and be happy wiht 10$ saved

>>18619725
Don't they usually put up some really cheap tea for black friday?

what type of pot is in that picture in the op, it looks cool, i'd like one.

>>18619838
It's just an aliexpress glass teapot. You can get them for super cheap.

>>18619753

>>18619289
Don't fool yourself, coffee is for fags too.

>>18618523
what is “grassy” tea? idk what that means but it sounds nice and it reminds me of grassy gummis from pokemon mystery dungeon 2

>>18618030
where is the tea sale

>>18619725
>>18619735
Snoozers are still up.

>>18617352
>ask a fag what tea he drinks
>drinks the same sweetened milked flavored coffee shit women drink
idk what i expected

r8 and h8 my w2t order

>ripe
https://white2tea.com/products/2020-planetary-shark-feed
https://white2tea.com/products/2022-pretty-girls
>weird
https://white2tea.com/products/2022-horse-girl-clique
https://white2tea.com/products/2022-blood-moon
>raw
https://white2tea.com/products/2022-untitled-03
https://white2tea.com/products/2022-snoozefest
>ools
https://white2tea.com/products/snowflake-dancong
https://white2tea.com/products/stone-sparrow

Who is the James Hoffman of tea?

>>18620627
>https://white2tea.com/products/2022-blood-moon
Tell us how it is. I wanted to buy it but I also needed to budget.

>https://white2tea.com/products/2022-snoozefest
I bought 2, hope I get a free hat.


farmer-leaf.com has started their Black Friday 20% off sale.
What cheap sheng cake should I buy? I was looking at these two but I am open to suggestions.
https://www.farmer-leaf.com/collections/yunnan-pu-erh-tea/products/autumn-2022-lao-man-e
https://www.farmer-leaf.com/collections/yunnan-pu-erh-tea/products/spring-2022-huey-wa

>>18620798
Cop dat lo man e if you are up for the bitterness

>>18620684
Maybe this dude?

>congested
>hard to taste tea
>trying to enjoy tea on thanksgiving
fml

sneed

>>18621080
that youle ripe looks really interesting, please post notes if you buy it

>>18618030
Shelf life is basically 'endless' so long as prolonged excessive humidity or water damage doesn't cause mold to form. However, peak freshness is another deal. Whites age very well, just like pu'er/heicha. Greens decline the quickest, and should be consumed within three months from opening ideally, possibly up to 6 months, but they can still taste perfectly fine beyond that. Reds/blacks and (most) oolongs can stay fresh much longer, I'd say 2-4 years in my opinion, but there are aged and 'green' oolongs too.
>>18618720
Citrus peel (fresh or dried) is easy. You should just leave it in the mug for your tea, or pour your tea into a mug with some shreds of citrus peel in it.
>>18620944
I'm settling out of a cold myself, so I get it. Besides taking medicine to reduce congestion, while it may sound a bit gross, consider using a spoon to gently scrape away the build-up/film on the roof of your mouth from front to back. Many don't realize it, but the scum that accumulates when you're sick can be a notable part of the inability to discern flavors. I wasn't able to taste my tea much at all while sick until I did that.

>>18621080
Congrats, man!

what's a good recipe for indian masala chai that tastes "pretty good" and is "easy enough" to make?

>>18621148
For authentic indian chai buy a chai mix that is made of preground spices and some black tea broken leaf. Dump in pot and with milk and cook to taste.

>>18621193
Don’t brew the tea in milk. Brew the tea in water and then add milk, usually about 50/50.

>>18621193
I'll look for some good mixes online
>>18621237
50/50 ratio of water and milk? should I pre-warm the milk before mixing it with the brewed tea?

>>18621251
I low boil the tea for about 5 minutes then take out the leaves, add as much milk as there is tea, and then bring it back up to temp. Maybe heating the milk separately is more controlled but I don’t think it helps anything

>>18621251
>I'll look for some good mixes online
Try out vahdam

>>18618724
i think steel mugs are unpleasant to drink out of. i prefer very thick ceramic. if you drink slow, then just pre-heat the mug and it's like a heat battery.

do people find tasting notes like this helpful?

>>18621439
Is this a trick question where im supposed to say its gay because its a screenshot of some discord?
The actual tasting notes removed from the context of their posting seem relatively useful, covers aroma, taste, finish, texture. It Ii relatively short without a bunch of unneeded flowery language and blogposting. Paints a reasonably clear picture of what the tea is like. I vould take issue with the some of the choices of words but i get the idea.

>>18621439
I sort of get what he means, but it's not written well. There's a difference between making meaningful comparative connections and impersonating Don from Mei Leaf. He's doing the latter, except not at least entertaining.

>>18621439
You like the taste of rotten paper and latex?

>>18621470
Old books and bandaids are both fairly accepted descriptors in the world of describing smells and tastes. The problem is that he talks like a fag

>>18621475
Next time I’m at the Kino Vino Vender I’m going to ask for a wine with notes of band aid and musty yellowing book.

>>18621456
not discord, just saw it on reddit. I often see tasting notes written like this, and always have trouble understanding why people write this way. I guess describing taste is always going to be hard.

>>18621486
I mean bandaids can be synonymous with medicinal, disinfectant, things like that. It gets used somewhat often when you get into the weirder more avant garde corners or the fragrance world, or into the middle eastern ouds and other weird smelly stuff. I could see it coming in on whisky tasting and whiskey tasting, not necessarily as a positive aspect.
With wine i could see paper coming up somewhat frequently, maybe not old books specifically and again not necessarily as a positive quality.
Pic related flavor wheel has some other pretty out there ones that ive experienced before.

>>18621500
Don't read R*ddit notes if you want to improve. Garbage website will have garbage user content. The best way in my opinion is to not depend on how others write, but to take your own impressions and distinguish subtleties with the aid of a flavor wheel (at least until you're comfortable without or when needed).

>>18618724
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303029331045

sip from the shiny tea cup

What do we think of these guys? Am I a "noob" to order from them?
Their descriptions of their tea sound so enticing

>>18619987
Light and bright, tastes like how grass smells or spinachy. Senchas are "grassy" green teas.

>>18621935
Almost looks like a motorcycle muffler. How did it turn out?
>>18622105
Don is known to run his mouth with so many specific note descriptors to the point of being questionable, and a lot of people in the thread will criticize him for that. Bearing in mind that I haven't had his products, I'm sure the tea is perfectly fine, if perhaps overpriced. However, a focus of theirs is certainly marketing/lifestyle. I think his videos, while sometimes a bit ridiculous, are still entertaining. Now is not a bad time to order since they have promotions up, but unless you're in the UK and trying to get a few specific teas quickly in between orders elsewhere, I probably wouldn't pick them before alternatives.

>>18622105
Don is a chad with a hot wife

>>18622105
good tea, little pricy, dodgy claims about tree age, easily the most autistic seller. convenient if you live in the uk and dont want to wait for long shipping times.

i've brought a lot from them and ive never been disappointed

>>18619879
no, microwaving puts germs in tea

>>18622181
this chart always seemed like self-suggestion bullshit to me

I store my tea in tins in a cupboard. I opened the cupboard and could smell the tea. Does this mean that the tins are not closing properly or am I getting too paranoid over sealing my tea?

>>18622394
yeah usually people double up their tea containers just to be safe
for example, a smaller tin in a big tin. or two airtight bags in a tin

>>18621080
>12 ripe sample
you could buy a whole nice factory ripe cake for that...

got my hands on my first sheng pu-erh sample. it's from 2020. how do I brew this shit?

>>18617562
Faded on that lapsang souchong.

>>18620798
>https://www.farmer-leaf.com/collections/yunnan-pu-erh-tea/products/autumn-2022-lao-man-e
I bought this, wish me luck.

>>18621935
but why?

If you are interested in Sri Lankan or Thai teas, these guys stock them and have 30% off sitewide today

>>18623046
Oops
https://theteawala.com/

How come most matcha kits have everything made in Japan except the whisk and scoop? Is Japanese bamboo more expensive than Japanese ceramics or something?

>>18623130
Because the handmade Japanese scoop costs $20+ and people wouldn't tolerate the increased price for something like that

brutal

>>18623355
It was expensive even pre covid desu

>>18622811
It's got thick double wall vacuum glass for heat retention and it's cup shaped. Heavy duty quality for 10bux

>>18623397
WTF I typed desu, not desu

>>18623461
Nice try i knew it would say desu

>>18623355
Better be for a lot of product. My barely-under-the-limit order from Chawangshop earlier this year cost less. No idea why people rec YS so much if their shipping and prices blast up so much 1-2x a year.

so I'm kinda into this girl right, and she's been asking to taste some of the "special tea" she thinks i sip on.
what tea do i give her to make sure she never talks to me again?

>>18623735
ayahuasca mixed with your semen

as for me, it's coffee

>>18623740
Coffee is a tisane

>>18623735
Kuding cha

>>18623664
>Better be for a lot of product. My barely-under-the-limit order from Chawangshop earlier this year cost less.
Chawangshop charged me $25 for a 1kg order just earlier this year. Just went to YS right now and they quoted it as $30 for 1Kg. YS is definitely a bit more expensive but I expect the "YS Express" is probably more consistent than EMS or e-Packet right now (last couple times I used China Post it took 4+ weeks). What I don't like about YS's shipping policy is that they claim that if you don't use a service that requires a signature at delivery they won't offer refunds or replacements if the package goes missing. This is unusually stingy compared to other vendors, though perhaps in practice they are more lenient than their actual policy. Also surprised they do not offer China Post as an option in the shipping calculator right now. Perhaps they got sick of normies freaking out and asking for refunds because their package is moving slow and they just don't want to deal with the resulting headache. Becuse YS is so popular and gets so many first time tea buyers they probably get a lot of the worst customers.

>No idea why people rec YS so much
They have a great product selection and you can get just about any type Chinese tea from them.

>>18618909
Irish Barmbrack and Welsh something something (that is basically the same thing) use tea to soak the raisins in.
The best recipe is from the irish times:
https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/food-and-drink/recipes/the-perfect-traditional-irish-barmbrack-1.2842588

>unsmoked lapsang souchong

>>18623664
1050g. The shipping is a lot faster than it used to be but sometimes I don't mind heavily discounted chink shipping either. My first order from them involved over 2kg of product and shipping was $29 but it took 2 months or so for my order to reach me with a significant portion of that being before it shipped.

>>18623810
Its actually really good as long as the base material is good quality and its processed in a wuyi oolong-ish style

>order finally cleared customs (with no duties/taxes)
>post office didn't process it in time so I have to wait another day at least
I just want it now bros, it's a bunch of really expensive teas and I could use something premium after this shitty week.

I forgot, I know an anon did a big review of them months ago and I read it then, was Vahdam considered good?

>>18624028
Yeah, i mean its not expensive tea, but its good for what it is, affordable daily drinker black tea

>>18624024
Soon anon, soon

>>18623985
The entire fucking point of lapsang souchong is that it's smoked, it'd be like selling "uncured bacon" like retard that's just pork belly.
There should be a proper cultivar/name for it, Wiki says "Bohea" is the common leaf used but as far as I understand ANY black tea can be Lapsang Souchoung if it has been smoked with the proper method.

>>18624050
>The entire fucking point of lapsang souchong is that it's smoked,
Then why is the vast majority of the top grade productions of it not smoked?

>>18624065
If it isn't smoked it's not actually lapsang souchong and they're just labeling it as that because "dude it's the same plant that lapsang souchoung is made out of we just didn't smoke it but it's still lapsang"
It should really be called something else but I guess nobody came up with a good name for it or they think nobody would buy it without the name recognition.

>>18624074
Yeah im not suing the right terminology.
Usually the best harvests and grades are used to make Zhengshan xiaozhong and then the summer harvests and such are used to make lapsang.
Same plant, same farms. But you are right that in china the unsmoked stuff isn't generally referred to as lapsang souchong.

why is sencha so comfy bros?

>>18624099
I feel like I need a kyusu but they're so expensive. I also don't know how good they are at filtering fukamushi despite them theoretically being the proper vessel to brew it in.

>>18624105
mine was 50 bucks not too bad imo especially since i'm going to use it for years

>>18624105
Drink the leaves, gaijin

>>18624109
It's not matcha...

>>18624099
I like that pattern on the kyusu.

>>18624105
Got mine for $4 at the local thrift store :^)

yo yo niggas what's the best loose leaf earl grey you got
I can do luxury prices but would appreciate not getting ripped off just for being a gwailo

>>18624157
Isn't earl grey an english thing. And because it's an english thing it probably comes from an indian tea? Uptontea might have something good but that's a really good question I don't have a confident answer to.

>>18624074
>If it isn't smoked it's not actually lapsang souchong
I think that that is more of a semantics thing western vendors have invented to try to distinguish their higher grade tea from the cheap export stuff. Here is a snooty Chinese brand (the originators of jin jun mei) that has no problem calling their unsmoked tea "lapsang souchong" at least on their international store.
https://lapsangstore.com/products/zhengshantang-black-tea-1604-lapsang-souchong

>>18624083
>But you are right that in china the unsmoked stuff isn't generally referred to as lapsang souchong.
Do the Chinese even use the term "lapsang souchong" consistently on the domestic market?

>>18624157
>yo yo niggas what's the best loose leaf earl grey you got
mariage freres
How much it costs depends on where you are in the world
Vahdam is cheap and should be nice

>>18624164
>Do the Chinese even use the term "lapsang souchong" consistently on the domestic market?
I have bought Chinese domestic market tea (wuyi star) that was labeled as lapsang at least i think it was. I threw the box away a while ago i guess it might have just said wuyi black tea, but i agree that lapsang souchong is better known as export branding and i don't know hoe common its used domestically.

>>18624164
>https://lapsangstore.com
I find it interesting that the original very expensive jin jun mei is not particularly golden whereas a lot of other jin jun mei style teas use only showy golden buds.
https://lapsangstore.com/collections/jinjunmei-top-grade-chinese-black-tea/products/jin-jun-mei
only $2.73/g

>>18624433
>https://lapsangstore.com
Here is what they say about it
In reference to one of their cheaper smoked teas where the tea isint from inside the wuyi protected reserve
>Does it belong to Lapsang Souchong?
>No,It belongs to smoked Souchong, which is a kind of black tea different from Lapsang Souchong. The "Lapsang" of Lapsang Souchong means that it is truly "produced in the high mountain tea area", so the black tea produced in Tongmu Village, Xingcun Town, Wuyi Mountain can be called " Lapsang Souchong".
>Its raw materials are collected from the surrounding areas of Wuyi Mountain and made from fumigation, so it has a stronger pine smoke aroma than Zhengshan Souchong, and the price is much lower.
https://lapsangstore.com/collections/lapsangsouchong/products/smoked-lapsang-souchong-500g

Truly the end of an era, no more unintentional avatarfagging with my dirty paper plate.
Just a little pot of 2010 mengku zeng shan tonight

Why isn't iga-yaki used for teaware very often when its very strong and heat resistant?

>>18624696
Its just a fancy name for earthenware ceramic. Most teaware is made of some sort of ceramic.

>>18624504
It's okay anon, I still carried my tea over in a paper plate today...for now. Sipping some 2006 Myanmar "Kokang Mei Hua" sheng myself. I broke it up a bit much, but it's good.

>>18624789
How has that tea been treating you? I need to grab some more next time i order from chawang

Ebay auctions end

>>18624805
Interesting, im guessing the winners were different for each auction? I know it doesn't show the full name but it does give you the first and last letter.
I figure they are making some kind of profit if it sells for over $5. Which is a feat in itself.
Its still weird, i get setting a low auction with now reserve to entice bidders but they can't be making much profit on each order with ebay taking 20% + shipping costs and actually buying the tea cakes.

>>18624835
Selling at a loss (liquidation) is preferable to not selling at all for most businesses.

>>18624839
I didn't check that seller specifically but i assume they are just middlemaning some drop shipping service and they don't actually have inventory.

>>18624858
That's probably it. I guess they make enough money on their other listings that they can afford some "promotions"

>>18624864
Maybe the break even point is just way less than i think it is and they somehow are shipping a 356g teacake to the us for a total cost of $4.

>>18624795
The material itself is really compact (get a pick/hammer) and clearly chopped. However, the qualities are interesting. Rather cooling in a minty way, with a juicy, savory+bitter initial impression, going to a (very subtle) sweet herbal huigan. Pretty smooth, nice thickness, some astringency.

I'm hesitant to use the word 'strong' when not referring to concentration, but every time I've had this specific tea, it gets me surprisingly wired. Nice one to sip occasionally (especially at its modest price), though for my preferences, I wouldn't get a whole tong/stack since I'd drink it less frequently. That said, I think anons who want a juicy sheng with a nice cooling quality may enjoy it. What were your impressions of it?
>next time i order from chawang
A bit off-topic, but if you're interested in reds/whites, I'd recommend you try some of their Bada stock. Some of my favorite teas I've had. It would be really neat to see how other anons perceive those productions too.

>>18624504
What are these little things and why are they so popular? Both for holding tea and coffee beans.

>>18624949
They are called a Cha He (presentation vessel) i think traditionally they are used in some versions of the tea ceremony to show the guests the tea and to scoop the tea into your teapot without touching it with your hands in front of guests. But the reason they are popular is because they are a easy thing to use on scales for weighing out tea or coffee beans and they are cheap (i got that for $3.97 shipped on aliexpress)
Usually those little scales come with a square plastic tray that is akward to pour from and using things like the paper plate i had before just looks kind of messy.

>>18624460
I really don't get why they include that bit. Arguing it is not "true" Lapsang Souchong because it is from outside the preserve but still nearby is a bit silly and pedantic in the first place but really it odd they bring it up on an made for export listing (its not a product they sell domestically, at least not in that package) where it is unlikely the customers would care and if they did they they could just read the "origin" section. Despite this they still call it Lapsang Souchong on the tin.

>>18621507
Nigga, band aids taste like straight latex. There’s no antiseptic medicinal scent it taste, it’s just latex. Haven’t you ever put a rubber on your finger and sucked it a little bit to see what it tastes like?

>>18625002
I usually just put the Gaiwan onto the scale and then start adding leaf, if I bother to measure it by weight.

>>18625152

>measuring tea
>using a thermometer
>setting a timer
>not just going with the flow
cringe and not-taopilled

>>18625194
I usually spoon it out with a little measuring spoon and eyeball it.
For really high quality teas yeah I'll measure the weight, make sure the water temperature is perfect and time my infusions but if you think I'm bothering with that for a daily drinker you're out of your mind. Spoon two scoops of that shit into my Gaiwan, get the water up to temp and then wait an approximate amount of time before pouring. Quality cup every time.

>>18625194
I'm thinking of getting a temperature controlled tea kettle. I wouldn't bother with a timer though, most gong fu steepings are like 15-20 seconds

>>18624099
why drink sencha when gyokuro exists

>>18625354
Sencha has a brighter grassiness to it, gyokuro is like drinking chicken broth

>>18625360
mind boggling post

>>18625360
I fear the gyokuros that gave you that experience

>>18625354
Cheaper, different taste. I have a very straw-like Sencha that I don't think any Gyokuro would ever taste like.
There are a lot of different taste niches that you get with Sencha/Shincha, Kabusecha, a Kukicha etc. There's an appeal to everything to some degree and the stuff that's more mediocre also tends to be much cheaper so you can afford to drink it every day.

>>18625383
It's designed to be extremely savory. That's the point of gyokuro. It's not just a better version of sencha, they taste very different.

>>18625407
Yeah I know that but chicken broth ? There is complexity to gyokuro its based around the umami but it's not the sole purpose. I'll have to try more senchas tho

>>18625394
Straw-like sounds interesting. Ive had shincha before and it was great, but I felt like I was missing something. Maybe I need to search for flavor profiles that are more my thing then. Also I can't stand the mediocre green teas it defeats the purpose to me idk

>>18625415
I believe it's an Akaike Sencha but I can't really give you much more than that. It's supposed to be "organic" as well and I'd say it's an Asamushi.

>>18625014
I hear true traditionally smoked lapsang is very different from the mass produced version, maybe that's why

>>18622811
Never had lao man e sheng, I don't like sheng. But all shou I had (five of them, maybe) are among my favorites. I wouldn't worry.

>>18625194
Sorry i have to weigh tea, my brain can't deal with the massive variations between compression from one cake to another.
I don't bother with any of those other things THOUGH

I'm fucking obsessed with this grocery store shit it's so good.

>>18626520
Sounds pretty good
I usually buy the lemon ginger stuff

>>18624504
Soul Vs. Soulless

>>18624795
>2006 Myanmar Kokang
>How has that tea been treating you?
Not same anon but I just found a hair in one of my disks. Should I brew it for good luck?

>I need to grab some more next time i order from chawang
Unfortunately, it looks like Chawangshop just hiked the price. It was only $8 a disk earlier this year but now it is $15 a disk so it is not really a bargain anymore.
https://www.chawangshop.com/2006-myanmar-kokang-mei-hua-bing-raw-puerh-tea-100g.html

>>18626520
i went to the grocery store to buy more tea today and i seen this so i bought some

>>18626854
>Unfortunately, it looks like Chawangshop just hiked the price. It was only $8 a disk earlier this year but now it is $15 a disk so it is not really a bargain anymore.
Damn i waited too long that was a great price before

Okay you guys sold me on yerba mate. Will post some notes on it when it comes in and i have had the chance to try it a few times

I have a question - a friend likes hot drinks but doesn't like when they are too hot. He drinks both tea and coffee. Would getting on of picrel be a good way of stopping him from going to the sink and switching mugs or putting ice in his tea?

I guess my question is do double walls really stop the drink from cooling down that much? And how much faster will a hot drink get cooler n a vessel like picrel given that the actual liquid has more surface in contact with the air?

>>18627659
That quantity of tea with that much surface area would cool off nearly as fast as a thin porcelain cup. If there's a lot of liquid, like 3/4 cup or greater, it will stay hot twice as long. I use one myself. Highly recommended for Western style brewing.

>>18627273
enjoy your mate anon
which one did you buy?

is there a lot more discussion of good tea online in chinese?
seems hard to find people talking about anything other than bagged tea and earl grey in english

>>18627811
Sometimes feels like gweilos here talk about nothing but Chinese tea

>>18627712
>enjoy your mate anon
Thanks
I ordered the mate & co Molienda Especial
It has embarrassingly hipster branding but it is supposed to be a very good quality yerba and the shop selling on amazon it had it on sale for close to its msrp in Argentina for black friday.
Next time i will probably get something very different. I have a short list of different no stems yerbas that i want to try like kraus gaucho and kalena

>>18627915
I was looking at the tea thread on a popular russian language chan and i found it hilarious that they had one thread for Chinese tea and another for western tea brands because the two groups couldn't get along.

>>18627947
why only no stems?

>>18628032
Ive read they tend to be stronger caffeine wise. Also i just like the idea of them more, i drink enough stems in my tea, i don't want to buy yerba thats half stems. I will get around to trying a whole variety eventually though im sure some of the brands i really want to try like la merced don't offer a no stems version

I'll review my two $7 357g ripe ebay cakes when they get here

>>18628426
Kek best of luck

>>18628061
I have no stems and with stems, imo there's not much of a caffeine difference, especially when you automatically drink to comfort level like I do. Stems add flavor complexity, and a bit of sweetness.

btw https://www.amazon.com/Merced-Campo-Yerba-Mate-units/dp/B078SDGRJ6

>>18628061
>i don't want to buy yerba thats half stems
This is "Suave"

>>18628560
Nice price, good find
>>18628606
Yeah i know the suave ones are lighter and less caffeinated

>>18628662
I think Suave only has one difference, more stems.

>>18627950
Based based based based based

I just got some oolongs from mountain stream teas, including some picked just a few months ago. How should I store them, and should I avoid opening all the packs at once if I won’t finish them for a while? I know that oolongs are nowhere near as delicate as Japanese greens, but will the flavor decrease over a few weeks to a month’s worth of exposure to air?

Aged white or puerh?

4 7g balls are cheaper than a 25g sample, by the way. Or maybe they aren't and I'm retarded.
I decided to go for the white teas because the few black puer i had wasn't great. But those were wipe puers so I don't really know. This site's a little expensive or maybe I'm just cheap, but I'd like to find something I can have as often as I have tea (4 16oz cups a day) and not be spending a lot of money.

>>18629111
Your tea balls show as 3*7 each in the cart, so 4g less total. W2T isn't the cheapest vendor if you're looking for a bargain, but there are much worse offenders, and there are anons who like their goods, so you'd probably at least like them. White tea is comfy, enjoy the ride.

>>18617350
Do people drink this for any reason other than sleep? It taste like Egyptian Lotus, but less bitter.

>>18629747
pic related

See brickhair in mug, lose it while trying to fish it out with a spoon, it hits my tongue 3 mugs later.

>>18629747
It's basically like any other 'sleep inducing' herb, you get very mild effects you can't really separate out from the calming effect of a hot beverage in general. The only good sleep inducing plant is opium.

>>18629438
I knocked 1 off of each just because, but I think 4x7 is marginally cheaper per gram. You're right, W2T isn't very cheap at all and I shouldn't cut corners every time I try looking for tea. I have some things from fullchea coming that I'll see whether I like.

>>18628865
just keep then in something airtight like you would any other tea

>>18629981
>I shouldn't cut corners every time I try looking for tea.
Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with trying to hit a preferable deal or game a cart to your benefit. I do think there's a low end where tea can be "drinkably-not-great" and ideally avoided, but beyond that, buy what is within your means and excites or intrigues you. If you want to buy some tea that is slightly expensive, then at least you will get the unique experience that tea production will offer you and learn more about what you like. If you're one of the anons who bought the inexpensive Fullchea moonlight white I posted about some weeks ago, then maybe that will hit a good middle ground for you. At the risk of sounding like a Mei Leaf rep, nobody deserves bad tea.

flowers

>>18629962
On the bright side the farmers daughter who owned the hair is now destined to wed you.

>>18630279
what tea has the best chance of containing errant hairs of virgin chinese farmerr's daughters? asking for a friend

>>18630295
Sorry friend you can't minmax fate. You must find it on your own

>>18629111
>This site's a little expensive or maybe I'm just cheap
W2T trends a bit on the more expensive side. Perhaps they are shomewhat overpriced but part of it comes from the fact they mostly sell nicer teas and not many budget ones as well as the fact they hide some of their shipping costs in the item prices so they can advertise $10 flat rate shipping. No shame in being frugal either. I always try to look for bargains myself.

>snoozefest
Past years cakes have been very good for the money. I bought one this year as well.

>W2T's white and black teas
I am very interested in hearing your impressions on "Moon Bear", "Blood Moon", and "Hot Brandy" in particular. I have been interested in trying some of W2T's more experimental productions.

Looks like fullchea has a big sale. What should I get from them? Like YS it's a pain to navigate such a large selection, and a lot of the prices seem too good to be true.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804601852533.html

>>18630568
idk if it's that big, it's only -7%
fullchea seems like a good place to buy factory ripes. I just bought a 2018 taetea v93 + some "top grade" oolongs, will see if they're any good. the russians seem to really like that one haiwan ripe cake

>>18630700
classy

>>18630295
Bi luo chun is imbued with their breast sweat

>body only wants to shit after doing a gongfu session
>dont shit that day if i dont do gongfu session
help what do

>>18630911
eat prunes, drink yoghurt, take psyllium husk. caffeine isn't the only way to improve your shitting experience

>>18630911
>>18630934
switching to whole grain bread should help too btw

>>18630934
no i think its mental not because of caffeine, if i drink tea normally like grandpa brewing or sencha in the morning i dont need to shit

>>18630568
Puer
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/haiwan-2019-yr-pu-er-cha-9978-batch-191-shu-puer-te-357g-p0473.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2017-shu-puerh-lao-pao-ripe-pu-erh-cake-357g-p0402.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xia-guan-2011-tuocha-tea-nannuo-gong-tuo-tribute-tuo-raw-pu-er-tee-100g-p0342.html
Black tea
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/yunnan-black-tea-with-honey-sweet-notes-fengqing-dianhong-tea-red-brick-250g-p0700.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2019-yunnan-old-tree-black-tea-dianhong-feng-qing-red-tea-cake-357g-p0593.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/jibian-high-mountain-black-tea-loose-leaf-from-yunnan-tengchong-dianhong-tea-red-china-cha-168g-p0699.html
Liu bao
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/zhongcha-liupao-tea-dark-2019-dark-tea-loose-leaf-8003-areca-aroma-250g-p0674.html

>>18630911
Drink more tea

>>18631098
could you describe this xiaguan tuo cha? I've been meaning to try a semi-aged sheng but most of what I see is either fullsize cakes or overpriced samples. this could do nicely

>>18631118
Its reasonably balanced, its not super smokey like some of their teas. Its more on the fruity bitter side, but aged has tempered the bitterness, nothing unpleasant. Also some sweetness of course. I have always been a fan of those special production tuos, they use the leftover broken leaf from making a batch of premium cakes and make tuos with them and they are usually pretty good.

>>18630700
puerh

>>18630568
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/anhua-baishaxi-2013-yr-classic-1953-fucha-dark-tea-yu-pin-fu-tea-brick-tea-royal-fucha-318g-p0397.html
This is good if you like smoky foods. I own this same production, same vintage but I got it from a different vendor (who no longer has it in stock). Fullchea has some younger ones for a few bucks less but I suspect a bit of age is beneficial to this tea.

https://www.fullchea-tea.com/anhua-baishaxi-2017-yr-tribute-tianjian-dark-tea-loose-tea-200g-p0394.html
This is also good though I may have have a slight preference towards the fu brick. Nice toasty, smoky flavor. Distinct tasting from fu zhuan like the one listed above. I bought this from Fullchea.

Anyone found any last minute black friday deals?

>>18631405
Yunnan sourcing is 13% off of everything with code sitewide13

>>18631481
Isn't this usually worse of a deal or equal to most of their bogos or free shit if you want what you're being offered? I always thought that was a little funny

>>18631511
Yeah its not amazing but they usually do sales for only a few categories of tea at a time and not everything. Also they are offering it for their US shop too which they dont always do

A little afternoon "four gold coins" liu bao
Easily the most ginseng tasting tea i have tried
I have found this one works best boiled or grampa style.
Maybe it would work gongfu style if you overleafed in clay and pushed it hard but with normal parameters is not that exciting.

>>18631511
Depends on if they have a BOGO deal you want or if you have a bunch of loyalty points saved up. But yeah YS's sales are not always better deals than what you can typically get because special offer codes don't stack. The US site tends to have worse BOGO deals (but does have free shipping over $100) so the sales are perhaps more useful there.

>>18631645
I have one liu bao but it just tastes like beets or potatoes to me. should I try boiling it?

>>18631679
Give it a shot. Do 6 grams in 1.25 litres of water
Bring the water to a boil, throw in the liubao, reduce temp to a low simmer, cover if possible and then simmer for 15-20 minutes
It should really emphasize some of the deeper woody aspects and reduce the soil type flavors a bit

I don't want to spend $300 in this Mei Leaf tea sale, but I want all of their puerh cakes

>>18631920
I would rather get puer from just about any other vendor.
That guy still selling 600 year old tree tea cakes for less than $100?

>>18631957
If you can ignore the fact they lie about tree ages and the fact that they are on the pricey side I don't generally hear people say bad things about their tea itself. That said I have never felt compelled to try them myself. To many other options.

i got two cakes from w2t with the snoozefest and sale but im tempted to get the lao man e cake from farmer leaf also before the sale ends how do i stop my consooming or do i feed into it..

>>18632066
>do i feed into it..
If you buy both we can compare tasting notes...

>>18632090
please dont tempt me you dont know how impulsive i am

>>18632154
ok well whatever i ended up getting the cake only ill get the samples another time i guess..

>>18632189
kek, you don't have to get it if you really can't afford it though. Personally I am hoping the Lao Man'e cake is good. Never had Lao Man'e sheng before but I did have a black tea from there which was quite good.

>>18618909
i make chazuke but i only use the shitty bagged green tea for it. no point using good tea.

>>18630279
>>18630295
Well this was xiaguan bxz so it was probably racist old lady pubes to meme on tibet.

whenever i see the words "grandpa style" the first thing that enters my mind is lemonparty

tea

>>18632329
I think of gangnam style

The tuo cha ripe puerhs at Upton Tea have a wood and smoky profile. Pretty complex yet easy to like.
I have a bag of them from many years ago that I ordered when I was new.

can I inject buddha blend

Does puerh continue developing flavor after you buy it, or is it settled at the time of pressing?

>>18632224
ill just take it out of next month's budget lol, i've been eyeing down other lao man e shengs for a while so i think i would've really regretted not getting this later if i didnt now anyways.
This one was on my list which is bitter varietal only but was much more expensive and also sold out right now:
https://tea-encounter.com/product/te-2022-laomane/

>>18617634
>Their tradition of sweetening strong black tea with jam/preserves instead of sugar is also quite nice.
Breddy based, tovarich.
Also, I kinda want a samovar.

>>18633476
sheng (raw) puerh continues developing after it's pressed, though it will probably not age as quickly in your cupboard as it would in some humid malaysian warehouse
shou / ripe puerh will not develop as much but might lose some harsh fishy off notes after a couple of years

Does this tea come with a sexy tea slave or something? Why is it so expensive?

>>18633504
how are the Russian lessons coming along, little one?

>>18633847
Not taking any languages right now bro, too busy with violin, archery, and getting my business going. Russian is waaay down the list anyways - below Sumerian, if that gives you any idea.

>>18617350
Thoughts on Lions Mane tea?

>>18633735
Expensive puer is a completely insane and broken market. Basically the Chinese have money to spend and like their gifts to be expensive, so popular prestigious gifts like rare tea become even more expensive because expense = prestige.
Don't get me wrong some expensive puer is worth it. But once you get into teas that are over $1,000 per kilogram you tend to be paying for a lot of things that are unrelated to the quality of the tea.

what do you guys think about giving green tea as a christmas gift? i feel like its too late into the year and the tea wont be as fresh anymore, should i gift oolong instead?

>>18634012
For me i prefer chaga tea
For lions mane you are probably better off eating it, or finding some good quality powder of it and taking that.

>>18634032
If its someone that doesn't drink a lot of tea i would focus on teas that are easynto drink.
Ones that hold up to full boiling water, tolerate long steeps etc. So yeah i would opt for oolongs over green tea. Or some Chinese black teas.

>>18634055
I have the powder mix technically but it seems to work

>>18618909
Earl grey shortbread biscuits are pretty good

>>18621251
>I'll look for some good mixes online
look no further

>>18621500
As an unironical autist, I love descriptions like those because I can imagine very well what the tea tastes like. McDonald's apple pie broth gives me more of an idea what the flavor is like than just generic "fruity" or "stone fruit" or whatever.

>>18634058
Are you drinking it as a tea? Do you add anything to it? How is it?

>>18634032
oolongs are a good gift I think because they can be really interesting and different to black tea while being easier to brew and keeping fresh for longer usually

You all ever mix tea and alcohol? What's a good combination and how do you like to marry them? I'm thinking of making a bevvy with tea and wray and nephew rum.

>>18634390
Oh shit, I actually have something for you. I can't remember the name of it, gimme a few minutes to cook my brother's supper and look it up for ya.

>>18634390
Mulled gin w/tea

1/2 part apple juice, 1/2 part generic sweet-ish oolong, shots of gin (1 shots per person). Season with cinnamon, ginger, star anise and cloves. Sugar to taste. Simmer for 10 minutes wa la

>>18634390
https://youtube.com/watch?v=43znGRSy9xU

>>18634390
>>18634407
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvados
First thing I thought of when I saw your question was seeing this stuff in Aldnoah Zero. Mind you, I've never tried it, but it seemed intriguing.

>>18634032
You people are worrying too much. There’sa big difference between optimal freshness and expiring. Your green tea will still taste great possibly right up to next spring

Ripe pu er goes really well with Pringles. Even the most basic ones. Definitely has to do with how greasy those things are. I'll have to try crisp as well. And something with olive oil maybe.

ripe puer and runescape!!

>>18634536
Good calvados has a kind of diesel note, I wouldn't put it in tea. Normal cognac might be worth a shot though. I don't necessarily think combining stuff is the way to go in this case, on cold mornings I've had an earl grey tea, a glass of cognac, and some cheese before breakfast, and that's pretty pleasant. I don't think any of those things should really be mixed together though.

I could see a 50/50 mix of dark rum and shou puerh if I felt like courting death though. You'll want super strong tea for it to not be overpowered by the alcohol. Or brew some gyokuro over ice and add a splash of sake from the freezer, or something like Zubrowka, also ice cold.

>>18634632
You sound significantly more acquainted with the topic, so I'm gonna defer to you.

Finally got an electric kettle at work and had a pot of oolong going grandpa style the other day. It was nice, although I need to get a new pot that retains heat better than the glass one I was using. Also I had to piss every hour, so I'll have to skip it on busy days.

>>18634632
I could see GABA oolong and zubrowka working desu

Dirt cheap tea came. They're both delicate: the tea cakes have an easy time coming apart compared to the YS cakes, the flavor is also a lot lighter, and the color of the teas are very light as well. They certainly aren't bad, though, and I'll have a lot of it to drink between the expensive stuff. I'll try the samples later, they're a dark brown and heavily compressed but don't smell fishy at all. It took 18 days to get to me from reception, so not too bad either for China.

>>18634390
I'd take the whitest and most flavorless alcohol and try to make tea tinctures out of it. You'd have to settle for a style of tea and screen different mass:volume. For maceration duration, I'd start with 4-6 weeks. As water:ethanol is less polar than water, I'd expect greater extraction of heavy molecules like tanins, catechins etc, but I could be wrong.

>>18635091
Nice, what were your impressions of them? I know at least a few people went ahead with trying that yue guang bai cake I recommended, but it is neat to see it come so soon. The comments about lightness, easiness of opening and faint color seem right for the yue guang bai. I hope everyone who tries it enjoys it. Also, go easy on their freebie mini tuos, they can be...odd, to say the least.

>>18617350
reposting this pic from years ago, mostly doing capsule coffee now, too old and tired to bother with much, not sure if this is blasphemy but i recall from my younger days how i would actually prefer cheap tea brands, black as tar, with lots of sweetened canned condensed milk, loved it

>>18635136
They're both fairly similar. I like the silver needle more, it's easier on the palette and will go very well with food, while the moonlight white has a sort of odd flavor that curls around your tongue.

>>18635162
>the moonlight white has a sort of odd flavor that curls around your tongue.
Odd how? Is it bad, or just unusual? If not ideal, it may benefit from lighter temps/shorter infusions. From my journal, a range of 190F-200F/88C to 93C and infusions of 12-15s may be optimal. I used 5.5g/100ml for my testing at that time, though I may use slightly less these days to allow the leaf to open up better.

If it starts tasting oddly "herbal-bitter" and losing subtle notes instead of tasting more floral and smelling a bit jammy, then you're probably pushing it more than you need to. Even then, it isn't harsh at all. These are just my old notes anyway; I hope you at least think it was a worthwhile buy. Cakes can always use some time to 'rest' and adjust after shipping too.

>>18635150
>with lots of sweetened canned condensed milk, loved it
SEA?

>>18635186
>infusions
That could be an issue, I do western style as I generally make a cup and get back to what I'm doing. In this case I brewed 2g of both, roughly 8oz, with 85C water for 3 minutes. I suppose I should get a gayjuan or just figure it out with the tools I have available. Then again, I also found 2 of the 3 cakes I got from YS to not be very enjoyable until I was a third into the cakes, then I started to really enjoy them.
Both cakes were packed together and with the tuos in a single plastic bag too, so maybe they just need time. And also, I just have a hard time describing tasting notes, the tea wasn't bad but it just had something that made me like it less than the other.

Anyone had the 2022 YS Tiger Clan ripe yet? There's only one review for it but I got sent a sample with my order. I'd offer to post tasting notes but despite my best attempts I am ultimately a tastelet.

>>18635546
Tasting notes are hard. But you can usually get some general tones
Bitter or sweet?
Chocolate or woody?
Strong or thin? (I guess this is pretty brew dependent)
Did it have some fisy fermentation tastes or smells?

>>18635566
Haven't tried it yet and probably won't for a while unless people here are genuinely interested, then I'll line up a cup of it for tomorrow's gong fu session. My only real frame of reference for Puerh is Yee on Tea's "best taste" loose Puerh which is a smooth woody flavor that has a lingering thickness to it but is relatively sharp and full on the tongue with what I can only really describe as "clarity"

>>18635602
Oh i thought you had tried it already.
Anyway that's a decent description of the YOT ripe

>>18635605
I would say I am okay at tasting it but I don't always get the subtle notes other people taste (even using bottled water)
One of the best teas I've had was something a local vendor told me was yellow tea (but it's almost certainly a green based on the region it came from, Anhui Huo Shan Huang Ya) that had very rich stonefruit notes, I would say apricot. I got a very good price on it even at a green tea rate. That's probably the first tea where I started to really appreciate that yes, these tasting notes exist and they're not just bullshit people are making up.

>>18635448
i am not familiar with SEA, is it a brand of condensed milk?

>>18635661
He's calling you a South East Asian, potentially in a derogatory manner.
Drinking tea with condensed strikes me as very odd, but a google search say it's not uncommon in South East Asia.

>>18635671
ah thank you for clearing that up, i lived in Africa for a long time and we had condensed milk in our tea over there, nowadays, were it not for diabetes, i would have opted for a somewhat lighter black tea with lemon and brown sugar, milk in strong black tea is nice though

>>18624170
based freres poster

I just visited Paris for the first time and the Mariage Freres store has about 100 flavors. Cost about half as much as it usually does to ship it to the US. Not sure yet what the difference is between their 6 types of earl grey.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/284761364136

>>18635759
Pls don't buy this
This is like a laundry list of the red flags you should avoid when shopping for puer.
>says its from 2002 but obviously isint
>says its made with Lao Ban Zang tea but doesn't cost at least $1 per gram when LBZ is one of if the most hyped villages with prices to match
Pic related is the price of a 2011 LBZ brick from a known brand

>>18635759
If you want to take a chance on some cheap raw puer i hear good things about this brand
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/shudaizi-2020-mo-lie-yunnan-raw-puerh-tea-cake-spring-tea-shen-puer-200g-p0702.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2021-spring-dawn-sheng-pu-erh-yunnan-jingmai-mountain-arbor-orchid-scent-raw-pu-erh-tea-357g-p0730.html

>>18635789
Cute rabbit :)

Speaking of Chen Sheng Hao didn't some anon get a few squares from KTM?
How was it?

>>18635789
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275341192280

>>18635928
Poor quality forgery of a famous production

Where should I get matcha from as an American? Looking for something that's a 7/10 in terms of both flavor and price

>>18635789
>>18635965
thx

Seeing people making pumidors and whatever to store their tea makes me worried, am I fine just storing them inside a drawer? Here it's humid most of the year and temps never go beneath 10ºC even during winter.

>>18635968
Japanese shops in japan (see pastebin)
For a seller in the US https://ippodotea.com/
Their teas are more expensive but you don't have to deal with international shipping
Avoid everything on Amazon, in grocery and health food stores, and from tea shops that dont specialize in Japanese tea.

>>18635978
If if stays over 50% humidity you can store them anywhere you want

>>18635981
They're $18 for 20g meanwhile Amazon is selling some generic matcha for $8 for 28g
>https://smile.amazon.com/Jade-Leaf-Matcha-Green-Powder/dp/B00PFDH0IC/
Is there going to be a significant difference in taste?

>>18635988
>is there going to be a significant difference in taste
Absolutely, Matcha is probably the most adulterated tea beverage as it is a meme drink for the most part and Americans are obsessed with "Matcha" flavoring so they slurp down cheap culinary grade Matcha with syrup/sugar.

>>18635988
Yes
Its going to be two completely different products
Look i drink cheap tea, im not a snob, but the popularity of "matcha" in the west has caused issues where there are massive amouts of powdered green tea sold as matcha that is just total junk.
Matcha is an expensive tea that needs to be fresh and properly handled. Basically anything sold as matcha that's not from a specialty store is just ground up low grade green tea.
If you want to make smoothies or cupcakes or something get the stuff on Amazon. If you actually want to drink and experience matcha the stuff they have in japan then pay up

>>18635978
I just put mine in a drawer. I previously had a bag of thai tea mix so I have a charcoal sack in there to take that smell. YS cakes were packaged with desiccant packets so I thought that was the way to go so the two cakes I got today I put in a ziploc with a desiccant packet in each too. I don't know anything about tea storage but I know the humidity here is at most moderate.

>>18635978
>Seeing people making pumidors and whatever to store their tea makes me worried, am I fine just storing them inside a drawer?
If the humidity is OK (>45%ish but not so humid it molds) and you don't have any strong smells near it than it should be fine. A drawer is good to keep the tea away from light and excessive ventilation. There is more than way to store puerh though it will age differently in different conditions. If you don't care about aging or storing long term just putting it in a plastic bag or container will do for most people.

>it's humid most of the year
What is your typical indoor humidity % like?

>>18636001
>YS cakes were packaged with desiccant packets
>I put in a ziploc with a desiccant packet in each too
They only do that so to protect the tea from molding due to extreme humidity or condensation during shipping. I doubt many people store there puerh with desiccants. Desiccants and oxygen absorbers are good for regular teas you want to keep fresh but not for ones you want to age.

>the two cakes I got today
what did you get?

>>18635988
>Amazon is selling some generic matcha for $8 for 28g
that is "culinary grade" aka not shaded tea like real matcha. More goes into traditional matcha making than just grinding up up tea leaves.

Jade Leaf even sells some "ceremonial grade" matcha which is more in line with typical matcha pricing. They are probably one of the better "culinary grade" matcha sellers on amazon but I would go elsewhere for the nicer stuff. Not buying off amazon will likely get you fresher better stored tea as well.
https://www.amazon.com/Jade-Leaf-Matcha-Green-Powder/dp/B0842DQ561/
https://www.amazon.com/Jade-Leaf-Matcha-Green-Powder/dp/B09HQ3K5DB/
https://www.amazon.com/Jade-Leaf-Matcha-Green-Powder/dp/B014LT0712/

>>18636191
>They only do that so to protect the tea from molding due to extreme humidity or condensation during shipping. I doubt many people store there puerh with desiccants. Desiccants and oxygen absorbers are good for regular teas you want to keep fresh but not for ones you want to age.
Bingo. I'll take the desiccants away from the tea cakes then, I dunno how much they'll age in ziploc though. What about the charcoal? I just figured I'd stop the thai tea mix from imparting artificial vanilla flavor into them but once it's gone I should probably take it out.

>>18636217
Keep em in plastic, its probably better that way. Plus it keeps all the loose crumbs and tea bit contained.
Yeah take out the charcoal once there is no odor in the drawer.

>>18617350
New
>>18636261
>>18636261
>>18636261

>>18630537
>>18629111
Maybe I'm crazy but the Moon Bear I got from the club where it originally was tastes like sausages in tomato sauce and some flowers. Need I say that I like it?

>>18636321
Sounds fantastic