/ck/ - Food & Cooking

First

I like tea threads, very cozy

What happened with purple cloud? They seem to have taken down all their cnnp liubao listings

I'll post the whole section on Packaging/differentiation if there is interest.

>>19218246
been collecting a bunch of maps too and i wanted to try doing something similar (but instead just photoshopping on english names to an already made map) to you but ive never gotten around to starting it, taobao has a bunch of great detailed maps in chinese to use as a starting point maybe

>>19218337
Awesome stuff thanks anon

>>19218337

>>19218341

>>19218330
shows up for me
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/liu-bao

>>19218357

>>19218361

>>19218367

>>19218371

>>19218372

>>19218374

>>19218338
It's pretty low priority for me right now, but it's seriously needed. The one tea map(s) to rule them all. I want to make Hong Kong tea pricks jealous with the quality I have in mind.
Don't let my sloth stop you, though. I'll eventually post a git project. To me it feels like a project to do when it cools off again.

>>19218357
It is interesting how much the puerh market has changed. With current prices anyone with enough money and interest to identify old ambiguously labeled CNNP era cakes probably already knows how to or will just go to a reputable upscale vendor. The beginners are priced out of market.

>>19218377

>>19218382

>>19218381
Yeah and this book is already 15 years old, so it's not exactly up to the most recent shit.

>>19218387

>>19218391

>>19218387
Thanks for the pictures anon. Been wanting to look at that book for a long time.

>>19218396
Final page of the section
>>19218397
Yeah it was free in the trash so I have no problem posting what I can for anons.

Thank you so much anon these are great.

>>19218401
I like how it defines a cardboard box for you.

>>19218387
TongQingHao has an interesting history. I think much of the modern tea bearing that logo is "fake" however.
https://teaurchin.com/blogs/blog/tong-qing-hao-commemorative-puer

pick one of these for me to buy i dont have enough money to try all of them.
https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/2-paris-earl-grey-bergamot-black-tea-TC8010.html
https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/2-marco-polo-classical-black-tin-100g-TC918.html
https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/2-rouge-bourbon-icone-black-canister-100g-TC633.html

reposted from old thread

>>19219158
go with the marco polo, sounds interesting

On Fullchea they have 2023 Haiwan 9978 for around $20 USD, which is a good deal. But on Tuocha Tea, they have 2008 Haiwan 9978 for $17. What's the deal?

>>19219158
Marco Polo, I beg you

>>19219242
$3 sounds like

>>19219364
(You)

Threadly question about learning Chinese
You are learning Chinese to snag the obscure pu-erh and freshest greens for 2024, right anons?
How many Mandarin words do you know?
Since shilling here I've gotten to about 200 words myself. You can too. Next year /tea/ will take the market by storm.

>>19219158
2 answers on previous thread already

As I’ve tried minimising my coffee intake since it was way too much, I’ve taken an interest in tea. I always drank tea but something about the supermarket tea section put me off and I started buy rooibos tea from the little tea shops.

The difference in taste is huge, it’s so good, even adding things like fresh ginger or cloves make it a lovely fragrant experience. Now I was wondering what to try next, there’s so much to choose from and I don’t know where to begin. I want to get a better understanding of tea and it’s flavours.

>>19219783
>Now I was wondering what to try next, there’s so much to choose from and I don’t know where to begin.
There is so much variety in tea, even within each category, that you really just need to try a variety of things and learn what you like. I'm partial to Chawangshop's goods, but Fullchea is also really cheap for some products (if you can find some of the gems). Others in the thread might like something like YunnanSourcing or KingTeaMall. You could get some Wuyi oolongs, a white cake, some loose red/black tea, a cake of shou and one of sheng, et cetera. It's also around the time of year when the freshest green teas are being released, if that's something that interests you.
>>19219658
I prefer to read Japanese (novels are cool). It's nice to have some books on my tea table, though I prefer digital for easier referencing if the need comes. It's kind of ironic to me that I've invested my time and energy into Japanese as a language, but am completely uninvested in any Japanese tea or teaware. I keep skipping this time of year because the costs are just so high comparatively to other picks $:g.

>>19219783
rooibos it made from a different plant to tea actually. you could also try hibiscus and honeybush

as for tea proper, check out a trustworthy specialist store (yunnan sourcing is fine, fullchea is cheaper but worse descriptions and no samples) and get whatever strikes your fancy. an oolong, a green tea (make sure it's fresh 2023 stuff, important for green tea), some nice black tea and maybe even a bit of pu-erh? I'd say those are the very basics in terms of popularity

>>19219846
>>19219851
Thanks for the suggestions and thinking along! I am aware that rooibos is another plant, but we can discuss it like tea, right? And to be honest I never heard of tea cakes before I opened this thread so I'm really curious.

For now, I'm staying in Sweden for a couple of weeks and it's a bit difficult to find my way but I found a small tea shop with a lot of choice, I'll ask if they maybe have some kind of sample package. Else I'll just put something together myself.

Though I am kinda annoyed, at the prices. 68 SEK for 100gr of rooibos is quite much and it was one of the "cheaper" teas also.

>>19219997
yeah tea prices in Europe can be pretty bad and the freshness of tea in small shops can be suspect, so it's usually better to buy online if you can

>>19220030
Ah okay, that's something to look out for then.
I'll give them a chance to surprise me, are there any teas where freshness is absolutely critical?
Or maybe some explanation of freshness in tea, because I have no idea of the scales we are talking about, days, weeks months.

I'll read the OP at least.

>>19220041
>I'll give them a chance to surprise me, are there any teas where freshness is absolutely critical?
mostly japanese greens and, to a lesser extent, chinese greens and lightly oxidized oolongs. the rule of thumb is that the greener it is, the quicker you should drink it
most green tea is only made in spring, and should be slowly hitting the shelves in Europe right now. ask at the store if they have any fresh 2023 greens
freshness depends on storage (if it was kept in factory-sealed bags in the fridge it will be fresher than if it's been sitting in a suspicious non air-tight jar in the store), but we're talking months or years. for most tea a year of age should be fine if it was stored correctly (which is not always a given in smaller shops)

>>19219997
>>19220041
>I am aware that rooibos is another plant, but we can discuss it like tea, right?
Sure, we discuss tisanes too. You could consider it a "tisane", and the discussion of tisanes is accepted here (though coffee is best left to the coffee general).
>I found a small tea shop with a lot of choice
I can't comment on your local offers, but many people find it's easier to order online for better products, especially for freshness or having reputable sources. Not that you can't find good products locally, but it is often harder unless you happen to live in an Asian country with an emphasis on tea cultivation. Most of the places around me for example are "tea beverage" type shops.
>are there any teas where freshness is absolutely critical?
There is a freshness reference and guide in the Pastebin for each one, but you can still drink said teas afterwards so long as they haven't gotten exposed to water and molded or something like that. There are also some teas that are prized and savored more as they age, as is often the case with many pu'er (shou/sheng), liubao, and often whites as some common examples.
>I never heard of tea cakes before I opened this thread so I'm really curious.
They're great fun, especially if you come to like aged tea flavors. Say you get a typical 357g cake (white, shou, sheng, etc), and use ~5g per session, that is approximately 70 sessions of tea which you can infuse over and over. Costs vary, but it's a fun journey, and many of them will just get better with age (provided you have acceptable storage). Of course, there's nothing wrong with getting a quality loose leaf either, and with greens season arriving, you may want to try a bit of both. Just be patient with whatever you buy, because you may need multiple sessions to really begin to understand how to best infuse and appreciate a new tea. Just try to have fun with it and explore whatever sounds tasty to you.

>Dandelions are growing
It's the time of year where I say I'm going to make some dandelion tea, but I end up not doing such a thing.

what 2023 are you buying, anons?
I'm planning to buy some shincha
and maybe try some chinese greens too... I don't like long jing, but there's got to be some chinese green tea I'll like. the only one I've really enjoyed so far was lu'an gua pian

>>19220508
>what 2023
*what 2023 spring teas

>>19220508
>>19220510
I want to finish the remainder of last year's greens before I order more to not let it go to waste
Likely gonna order some more sencha and longjing, maybe some jasmine too. Outside that I tend to be disappointed (though sencha is a wide enough category in itself), and matcha is too expensive for me right now.
Got a lot of reds still, and a lot of puerh still, which hold pretty good, so this year is probably going to be a stock up on oolong year for me.
Stocked up way too much on reds last year doing that whole Upton vs Vahdam comparison for /tea/, then got diagnosed with cancer and wasn't allowed to drink tea for a few months until they could stage me (it's bad for metastatic cancer growth), so I'm a few months behind my planned tea consumption when I made my orders last year. Sadly gonna miss this year's fresh shincha's because I need to clear the back catalogue of sencha (got about 50 grams left)

>>19220508
I think I am slowly turning into into a bona fide puerh lesbian so I am probably going to shun the fresh green teas again in order to buy more heicha, Looking to get some aged mulchy looking fu zhuan for my next order.

>>19219725
im greedy

white2tea's 2021 Waffles in the gaiwan this morning. I'm genuinely shocked how good it is. It has a custard and vanilla note that really hits the spot. I wonder if it might feel a little too rich at the end of the session. I hope not because this is fantastic. It will make me second guess spending too much cash on a shou puer ever again. Make sure this is part of your first white2tea order.

>>19220522
good luck with your recovery anon, I wish you the best of health
maybe I will pull the trigger and finally sample some more chinese greens. I've never even had a proper top grade bi luo chun. or that funny taiwanese version of bi luo chun, that sounds interesting

>>19220508
i ordered some fresh yiwu maocha that should be coming next week, havent had yiwu tea before so maybe not the best choice but it was pretty cheap anyways

>>19220755
sounds fun, where did you get it?

>>19220763
from bitterleafteas, seems like they stopped selling it now probably to press it into cakes

LP just dropped a bunch of new teas

Think I should pick this $40 Yiwu cake up?
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1472016729/2007-yiwu-400g

>>19220889
It looks like a $40 yiwu cake
That said i would grab it for the taiwan storage.

>>19220088
>>19220065
Thanks for the elaborate replies, I think I just need to experiment a bit now. The cakes seem interesting, will definitely want to try those in the future. Though right now, after reading a bit about kettles, water, heat sources and different teas I feel like I'm falling down a rabbit hole of tea.
Thanks again.

>>19220889
These two aren't really in the budget category but they are the most interesting of the new (since the last time i looked) cakes to me
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1447631361/2004-yiwu-raw-puerh-357g
https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1447637805/2016-longxiang-raw-puerh-360g

What's a good size gaiwan to get? and what should be the first tea i make in it? I've been making tea only in a teapot for years now, and i still plan on doing that, but i feel like I'm missing out on the more expensive teas without a gaiwan as well. Favorite tea currently is ceylon, haven't had much green, white, or oolong tea, but I have had all of them in the past and enjoyed them well enough. Unless anyone has any suggestions, I'll just work my way through teas brought up here.
Also, I don't understand the purpose of a pitcher when just brewing tea for yourself, unless your cup just doesn't hold the same volume of tea as your gaiwan does. Thank you I love you.

>>19221171
Start with this

https://www.amazon.com/Gaiwan1-Teacup4-Gongfu-Ceramic-Tureen/dp/B083ZCRM8B/ref=sr_1_18?keywords=gaiwan&qid=1682878120&sr=8-18

This is the one i've been using since 2017, and it's perfect for one person. Can't go wrong.

Also, get a gooseneck electric tea kettle, temperature controller if you really want to dial in the customization. There's really no need to be fancy for Gongfu brewing, in fact the more simple the is the better. It's a humble experience.

>>19221171
>I don't understand the purpose of a pitcher when just brewing tea for yourself

If your leafs are large in size, then there's really no need for a pitcher + strainer to capture any falling out leafs. However, once you go midgrade, the leafs tend to be smaller which pass through the lid of the gaiwan easily, especially at first when first brewing before they fully expand.

Do you guys also drink your tea like this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN--uJ0Jnlc

>>19220522
Hope you get better Anon be strong

>>19221387
Charcoal is way too much work for daily sessions. I do pre heat my gaiwan, pitcher and cup (only 1 cup) usually do 1 rinse and then brewing until it has no more taste.

>>19221171
>What's a good size gaiwan to get?
100-120ml don't go bigger, don't size up because you might have guests or something, just get one in that size range.

>>19221387
I have the clay tea boat, love it, but i don't do the three cup thing.
I just use one big cup

>>19221387
It really annoys me to see people fuck up their gongfu session by spilling tea all over the place, and literally wasting it. They just end up making a fucking mess and it seriously annoys me. Not to mention that some of them even do that disgusting slurping sound as they drink it.

They honestly make people who drink it humanly like myself look like a total faggot.

>tea

>>19221885
You never "waste" a rinse and slurping it actually make a difference anon but i'll mark it 0 i don't want to enter a world of pain.

>>19218282
why isn't the french press the best brewing vessel for cheap tea steeping?
I see gaiwans and finum-style steepers recommended all the time but no mention of loose leafs stuck in a nice cheap frenchpress

>>19221387
>Evenly pours tea between three cups so that one cup isn't brewed more strongly than the other, clearly for drinking
>dumps all of the tea for going in for another brew
WHAT THE FUCK

>>19221906
ive literally never even seen a french press in my life so im using this picture but the answer is just because this is literally like not even a cheap method if you want cheap just grandpabrew it or strain the leaves with a strainer

are there any tea discords
im lonely af

>>19222031
you always have us

>>19221906
it works fine, but it's just not necessary. a brewing basket is good enough and easier to clean, smeller etc.

>>19221906
You could do that I guess, but it's less convenient than simply buying one of those tea brewers that strains directly on top of your mug. And the amount of water in a french press isn't suitable for gong fu, so unless you own a french press already and *don't* own a cheap teapot/gaiwan (which can run you less than $10) there isn't really a strong reason to brew tea this way.

>>19220708
Follow up: I'm starting to feel a little skeptical about there only being tea in here. It's a little more oily than any tea soup I've seen before. There's a little dried streak after leaving my gaiwan to dry for the afternoon. It looks and feels a different than what I would expect. It's gummier, textured. I'm not sure how to explain it better than that.
Is this maybe a higher fermentation than anything I've had so far? Is it possible there's an external additive? Again about the w2t Waffles.

Has anyone has this white tea cake from KTM?
https://kingteamall.com/collections/white-tea/products/2010-kingteamall-lao-bai-cha-old-white-tea-cake-357g-fuding-white-tea-baicha
I'm thinking about getting it

>>19222069
higher fermentation ripes can have some sugars resulting from the fermentation, which can make the liquor really thick and leave sticky streaks. I doubt there's anything added to that cake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4EXieu7HJw

>>19222071
I got a small free sample of it with my last order. I can try it tomorrow if you'd like, but my experience with white tea is extremely limited, so not sure I'd be of much help

>>19221885
i like splashing :^)

How long do you guys rinse your teas and do you do multiple of them? i do a single 30s rinse for all teas that need it and flash rinse for blacks, but ive heard 30s is excessive, should i do two shorter rinses instead?

>>19222142
If it's old and fermented I'll just give a quick 10 second rinse, I don't bother for most other teas though. I usually use a mesh strainer unless it's a really high quality tea and I might be filtering out some "good stuff," but for daily drinking it doesn't affect the taste in my experience.

>>19222033
im tired of talking to anons, i want to put a voice to a name

>>19222092
I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on it. I suspect it probably at least decent. Cheap low grade leafy white tea seems to be surprisingly good for the price. At worst it tends to be kind samey tasting to other cheap leafy white tea of the same style. I have a cheap moonlight white cake right now but no shou mei so I was looking to grab this cake.

>>19222223
You can call me Anon :)

is there anything special with thai tea leaves? can i make thai tea if i just have regular black tea and add certain spices?

>>19222031
The community here doesn't really have a need for a private Discord. Fracturing our small, niche group is not especially ideal. Just post engaging /tea/-related posts and ooh-ahh at tea and teaware with us. If you jive with an anon, I suppose you can extend your Disc.
>>19222142
I usually drink my 'rinse' anyway, and just treat it like an ordinary 1st infusion. Not even filtered. It doesn't really impact my experience in any meaningful way. Only time it may differ is if I'm messing with clearly low-grade, kind of funky stuff.

>>19221906
>why isn't the french press the best brewing vessel for cheap tea steeping?
Because it allows lots of room for user error. People leave the tea in with the leaves once its done brewing or even worse they squish the leaves down with the press and just leave it there.
Using a frech press properly is just an awkward teapot with a leaf filter. You add the leaves, add the hot water, push the press down just an inch or so and then after the tea is done brewing you immediately pour all the liquid out of the french press without pushing the press down at all. 90% people don't do it that way.

>>19222071
Don't, i got a sample of it years ago and it was awful.

>>19222142
How long to rinse depends on how compressed the tea is. If it's rock hard 30 seconds is good. If the leaves are pretty loose and a separate easily i usually just do a few seconds.
There are a lot of people that do longer rinses just to skip getting an initial weak cup of tea from a short forst brew. Im usually not in a hurry.

>>19222223
Go hand out with that liquid prost guy, he has a discord. (Ive never looked at it)

>>19221171

I didnt use a pitcher for a while, and just filled 3 small cups or one big cup instead. I really like using a pitcher now though. Having a pitcher helps the tea cool down a little so I can drink sooner after brewing. It also holds the extra tea and I can pour more into my cup as needed. I find the tea remains more consistent in temp from the first cup to the third, when I use a pitcher. With 3 cups alone, by the time im at the third one its much cooler. Its also nice to see the color of the tea if you are using a clear pitcher.

>>19220889
Dang it, the cake already sold out. I had finally made up my mind to get it and now its gone. It sold fast, I think LP had like 30 in stock when he released it this morning.

>>19222768
you snooze you lose.

>>19221912
Isn’t the first brew meant to “activate” the tea or something like that?

>>19223311
It's not anything like charcoal. The main reasons people do rinses is to clear dust/debris from messy leaf, to open up the leaves, to heat the teaware, and so on. You can get the same experience from just putting the infusion in a pitcher before serving, or not bothering otherwise and pre-heating with plain water.

>>19222435
Nta
They don't but you just gave me an idea:
>press filter halfway in empty french press
>add leaves, pour water, infuse
>pull filter and leaves out when it's done
Still less optimal than mesh filter, though, not to mention the french press must never have touched any coffee.

>rinsing the tea so it opens up and you don't have a weak first infusion
I just reduce cake chunks to loose leaf before infusing and have a longer first infusion.

We have been brainwashed and nobody even noticed!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6en-O5yF0o

>>19223540
>the teapot is put on the stove like a kettle
>but it clearly looks like teapot
>the liquid pouring out from the teapot is clearly already brewed tea
>but it's poured into cups with teabags inside them
such a short video, but so many questions

>>19222230
sure, I can try it. any tips on brewing shou mei?

>>19219658
Made an Anki deck with the video about radicals that you shared and started to learn them few hours ago. 15 or so radicals in and continuing right now. So far I enjoy remembering them as pictures and imagine it helpful to break down characters into several pictures but I’ll see how that will turn out in reality.
Btw searched for text/workbooks and it seems like the HSK Standard Course 1 by Confucius Institute are the way to go but I can only find the old HSK version. Do you know if there’s an updated one or is the update still to recent? My idea wasn’t to buy them but to download the pdf on z-lib or whatever and do it on my iPad.

Is there any worthwhile decaf tea or should I stick with white tea?

>>19223698
never had a good decaf tea, but you could try GABA tea. it's supposed to be more calming

>>19223664
> Do you know if there’s an updated one or is the update still to recent?
Update is still pretty recent, not even all (or most iirc) the testing centers rolled out the new HSK. It doesn't help the US banned funding to schools with a Confucius institute in 2021 so like 95% of America's Chinese learning centers got closed down which screwed up implementation in the west.
Just do HSK 1-3 for now and that'll get you to 500/600 vocab words, if they update the test in your region before you finish it won't hurt you.

>>19222142
>How long do you guys rinse your teas and do you do multiple of them?

I used to years ago, then stopped after realizing how much tea i'm wasting over time. The hot water kills off any bacteria that may harm us.

As for pesticides, well, that's a bit of a conundrum isn't it? Try to aim for reputable organic farmers at high altitudes where bugs don't chew on their leafs as much.

>>19222438
What was wrong with it?

what are /tea/ anons opinion on Qian Liang tea? I kind of want to buy a slice of it.

>>19224162
>Organic
A lot of farms that would be considered organic cannot afford to pay for certification. Even 'organic' isn't a clear line against pesticides. "Organic" is basically just a tax on your tea.

>>19224277
Tea farmers really need to make Youtube channels promoting their farming ethics to show people their process and build trust with them, especially for people in western societies.

Sort of like this guy with his tea farm in China.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnxIbdV4q2Q

>>19223385
takes longer

>>19224164
>What was wrong with it?
I gotta preface by saying i don't drink a lot of white tea, but i do drink a lot of puer hei cha etc.
Got a samole with an order, tossed it in a mug to brew grampa style, tasteds like bland dried leaves, no real sweetnesses, no real black tea aspects, no aged tea taste just bland dried leaves, one of the most bland teas ive had.
The most recent white tea like that i tried was a sample from farmer leaf, it was younger tea sure but it was vibrant sweet, fruity, had some hints of black tea/oxidized flavor, just a completely different experience.

>>19224239
>what are /tea/ anons opinion on Qian Liang tea?
Still havent gotten around to trying it, sounds like its kinda fu brick esqe. Its probably worth trying, sounds like you need a fucking chisel to seperate the leaves, im not sure if chunks will actually open on their own in a gaiwan.

>>19224365
>sounds like you need a fucking chisel to seperate the leaves
Should be doable if you go along the grain. I suppose you could always pull out a hand saw if you need to.

>>19224365
>im not sure if chunks will actually open on their own in a gaiwan
It probably can be done really long rinse. I have done it before with other tightly pressed teas though it is annoying to wait for it to open.

What does the linkage of tea and lesbianism connote and how does tea function within representational economies of lesbianism? On the one hand, tea functions as prelude to eroticism and codes for the opacity of lesbian sex. On the other hand, it also works to consolidate stereotypes about lesbianism.

>>19224383
I usually use pruning shears for iron cakes and really compressed fang cha. But the slices of Qui lang are too thick for that. I would probably just use my metal tea pick and give it some gentle taps with a hammer. Like you said as long as you go with the grain it should split fairly cleanly

>>19224517
I recognize that abstract

>>19223385
Results in a greater degree of leaf damage

>>19224529
You do not. Those are your delusions again, child.

>>19219658
Memorizing words doesn’t matter to me, you can just install the chrome add-on which tells you what every character and compound word means. Currently I can only understand simple sentences, Chinese grammar is not so simple. That’s the real achievement.

>>19219658
Looks like a god damn ancient alien language.

We really have no idea what the Chinese are up to, let alone cultural references.

>>19224624
You could probably understand more complex sentences with learning words. Grammar would make more sense if you didn't try to inset english into chinese grammar

I know next to nothing about tea, and the online selection doesn't look great in my country. But if I'd want to buy like three or four very different types of tea to get a sense of what I like, what should I be looking at? Just pick a random green, black, oolong or are there general recs when it comes to newbie teas?

>>19224730
depends on the store you're buying at
I'd pick something mid-price. you don't want to risk getting put off a type of tea by a cheap, bad representative but you also probably don't want to spend 4$ per gram or whatever
if you want to try greens, check to see if they have this year's harvest already. greens are best when they are fresh. could do something like a long jing and a sencha if you want the biggest classics from China and Japan
for oolong, almost anything from Taiwan should be good, or some good quality tie guan yin. Wuyi and Dancong oolongs are worse for novices IMO, less accessible and harder to brew right
for black tea, it's whatever sounds good to you really. if you want something quite different from what you get in teabags though, try some Chinese blacks, they tend to be noticably sweeter

remember you can also buy from abroad. once you know your preferences and want to make a bigger order, ordering straight from China or wherever can be a good option

>>19224239
ive had one off ys, its just like a fu but the leaves seem more intact? its a novelty but id rather buy a brick of Gao Jian Shan's guan gong
>>19224365
nuggets break off surprisingly easy compared to smaller tuos or pucks, i guess the large 36kg log size means that it isnt as compressed

>>19224287
While trusting Chinese people not to put heavy metals in their products is a bit like trusting a skunk not to spray you if you run at it, I’ve come to accept that the Indians and the Kenyans aren’t really that much better so I’ll just accept my fate.

>>19224658
I don’t think so. For example take the sentence ‘I’ve never seen you here before’
我以前没在这里看见过你
Might as well be
I before 没在 this place see-meet 过 you
This is the true beauty of analytic languages, which are the only languages worth knowing.

>Just refilled the Subaru Forester
>Birkenstocks are on
>Xena: Warrior Princess reruns are playing
Yep... it's puer time...

>>19224345
Doesn't bother me

>>19224530
Never seen a difference in the infusion. Admittedly, I don't like sheng (never seen a difference either).

>>19219658
According to an online test I just did, I only know 1655 words, equivalent to an 11 year old. I think it’s time to seppuku.

>>19220508
I’m most excited for some nice Japanese greens and oolongs. I keep trying to get into Chinese greens but nothing’s really clicked for me yet.


>>19224730
For black teas, look for an Indian Assam. Get whatever’s reasonably inexpensive. Also, for greens and oolongs, it’s definitely a bad sign if the store doesn’t explicitly say what year the tea was harvested in. Unfortunately, you probably want to buy from different suppliers for different types of tea as different teas are produced in different parts of the world and have almost completely separate supply chains. No one stop shop will have high quality and good prices.

>>19220708
This sounds so good anon. I’ll have to pick some up!

>>19223664
Seriously, don’t waste too much time on radicals. They can help you break down the character into chunks, which is good for memorization, but learning radicals in and of themselves will not improve your Chinese comprehension and will give you a false sense of confidence when it comes to reading new characters.
For textbooks, I recommend integrated Chinese for your first textbook. It’s solid and there are a lot of resources available if you have questions. You don’t need to focus on HSK until you’re at the intermediate level.

>>19219783
None of the things you just mentioned is tea, anon.

I cannot understand the desire for Indian or Sri Lankan- grown teas. Aside from a spiced masala chai, Indian teas are always roughly shredded and powdered. They are full of tannins and give me a headache. I tried a Ceylon the other day gongfu style and it was literally the worst tea I’ve ever had in my life. Are there any whole-leaf Indian teas out there that you would recommend?

>>19225373
have you tried darjeeling? it's pretty different from most Indian teas

>>19225380
I have the problem is it’s always poor leaf quality. I don’t mind the flavor but it’s always so roughly cut I can’t enjoy it the way I want to.

>>19225373
They’re cheaper

>>19225373
Try teas from laos border to china you can find teas better than anything in the west for a fraction of the known chinese mountain production. India produce a lot of tea you have good and bad usually need to put a higher price than chinese standards to get the same quality. For Ceylon i have tasted some decent black but nowhere near the quality of chinese top ones either. I think it's mostly the price or people that don't know better or want to taste something new.

Tsushima black tea mini-review.

>fruity and floral.
>roasted version is similar but less astringent
>roasted flavor comes out more with longer infusions.

Tsushima black tea mini-review.

>fruity and floral.
>roasted version is similar but less astringent
>roasted flavor comes out more with longer infusions.

>>19225602
Nice double post anon where did you find the cat box?

Tsushima black tea mini-review.

>fruity and floral.
>roasted version is similar but less astringent
>roasted flavor comes out more with longer infusions.

>>19225606
The cat canister is from the same tea farm. The cat is an indigenous and endangered species that is sort of the mascot for many Tsushima products.

>>19225373
>Are there any whole-leaf Indian teas out there that you would recommend?
Higher end Darjeeling can be quite good, though is is better brewed western style than gongfu and is rather pricey. As a note first and second flush are quite different teas, with first flush being rather lightly oxidized for a black tea. You can get Darjeeling from a number of vendors, try to get a notable plantation like Margaret’s Hope or Castleton. Most Assam or Ceylon tea is very tannic and unpleasant to drink without milk and sugar in my opinion. While I have not tried them I have seen some indian/Sri Lankan/nepalese teas that seem to be more like Chinese tea and look interesting. https://www.ketlee.in/ sells such teas.

>>19224287
that tea sold out in a couple of days
i vow to succumb to tea fomo every time

I bough a bunch of aged tea mulch (Fu bricks) from KTM, hope it turns out good. Yolo

>>19225616
Kitty caddy

I need to find a place to buy nice tea cannister in europe.. i don't want to buy 40e each or have as much to pay for shipping than the cannisters themselves...

>>19225683
Feels like a little bit of yolo in every KTM order. Part of the charm.

/ck/ tourist here. I was going to make a new thread but I saw this one. Sorry for shitting up your wholesome tea general.
I have heckin covid and I can't smoke or vape without huge coughing fits. I just made some cannabis tea for the first time and drank a cup. What am I in for? I hope I didn't fuck it up.

>>19225818
THC needs lipids to bind to so really you should make weed butter and add it to your drink.

>>19225675
>though is is better brewed western style than gongfu
Is this true of all Indian teas? I got some Assam tea sometime ago and I've always found it mouth puckering or watery. I've tried western brewing Assam and the results were alright, definitely better, but nothing special. Maybe that milk is really the game changer?

>>19225826
The butter is melted in the tea. Simmered for 10 minutes with a bag of peppermint tea.

>>19225880
should be fine then, incredibly hard to dose with any degree of accuracy though.

Your best bet is to make butter with a known weight and add weed with a known weight and do the math to work out how much THC is going to be in the butter, and then you can specifically make it so 1 teaspoon = 1 dose for you.

But yeah that would require a fair bit of trail and error as well as just effort in general.

>>19225904
Thank you good sir

What's your favorite black tea to drink guys? I'm looking for new ones to try.

>>19225840
>Is this true of all Indian teas?
To preface things I will say I am not an expert on Indian teas, I mostly drink Chinese tea. I would say as a rule of thumb, yes most Indian teas are probably better brewed western style than gongfu. I am sure there are exceptions though and with the right ratios you can probably make a lot of teas work well gongfu style. Darjeeling should be easier to gongfu than the typical Ceylon or Assam black tea. The problem is a lot of Indian teas are both very tannic and fragmentary which tends to lead them over brewing when made gongfu style. Additionally a lot of Indian tea cultivars were likely developed with milk and sugar in mind. Hence they are so aggressively tannic. I have never been a big fan of strong Indian black tea. I find "breakfast blend" teas tend to be some of the hardest on the gut.

>>19222071
I have a cake of this arriving soon, actually. I haven't had any white teas and wanted to throw in a cheapie cake as a baseline.
>>19222438
I'll keep this in mind. However, I don't feel bad about ordering it as my first white since it wont discourage me from getting more.
I'll report back eventually.

I've been contemplating getting a nice teacup or fairness pitcher. I got a handmade nixing teapot a while back, and I've enjoyed brewing with it, and as a piece of functional art.

Any anons have teaware they're thinking of getting?

>>19225840
>Is this true of all Indian teas?
Probably, i never really got jnto gonfu brewing black tea

>>19225925
Second flush Darjeeling, Chinese dian hong, lapsang souchong (smokey)

>>19222071
I almost grabbed a cake of it with my recent KTM order but I was at a weight cutoff point so adding the cake would have added $12 to my shipping cost. Perhaps next time.

>>19225997
>I have a cake of this arriving soon, actually.
Look forward to hearing how it tastes. My experience with leafy low grade white teas has been positive. I find they taste a bit like how you might imagine Fall leaves to taste like in a positive sense.

>>19226053
I want to get a nice plate to put my teapot/gaiwan on, was looking at some yixing ones and some wood fired ones.
I also need more tea towels, and maybe a table runner to make things look a bit nicer

>>19226082
I've heard oriental beauty kinda taste like second flush darjeeling is that true? Which dian hong do you like i had plenty already. ALready had lapsang too and tried other smoked ones.

>>19226082
>>19096803
im guessing you two are maybe the same person but i got second flush darjeeling from vandam after seeing the latter anon's post and it arrived today and is pretty good. definitely the most unique tasting tea i've ever had. drank my usual liter in one sitting of it and i liked how drastically the flavor of the tea changed as the leaves steeped for longer periods in less water. thank you for the suggestion. i am neither of the people you replied to by the way. also my first darjeeling tea.

>>19225925
https://www.amazon.com/Alwazah-Pure-Ceylon-14-1-Ounce/dp/B00886E4K0

Thoughts on hojicha?

>>19226503
It's fine, good for drinking at night due to lower caffeine. Nothing special in my experience but pretty cozy. Decaf coffee or hot cocoa works as well though.

When are the non-bleedingly-expensive greens supposed to start being sold? I was thinking of trying JP greens for once, but shincha is just so expensive, it's hard to justify over another order grams-wise.

>>19225373
Black teas from there are better drunk with milk.

>>19226105
oriental beauty & darjeeling are both bug bitten, the leaves produce flavour compounds in response which is why its better to get second flush i.e summer pickings instead of spring as there's more insects about. cant say they taste the same but there's something extra about them compared to other black teas
>>19225373
>I tried a Ceylon the other day gongfu style
for some reason non-chinese teas always seem to go insanely bitter when gongfued, maybe because they're not hand picked but mechanically clipped and that makes more broken up leaves

My 'charing cross' has been sitting with border security for almost a week. I think Paul mixed up the orders and sent me fentanyl *sigh*

>>19225925
shan cha, georgian black tea

>>19227021
Going to knock on your door in the coming days i would move just to be sure.

ordered some shincha for the first time
I was considering taking the express shipping, but saving 15 euro on the epacket sounds like a better deal... let's hope it does actually get to me within "7-14 days" and not two months or something

>>19223818
Good advice, Anon.
I downloaded the HSK 1 here: https://mandrinacademy.blogspot.com/2021/10/1download.html

I think you are the Anon who shared the video about radicals and it encouraged me to start with at least somewhat of a plan where to start. But I understood that I shouldn't take them too seriously.

>>19225293
>According to an online test I just did, I only know 1655 words, equivalent to an 11 year old.

Good job, Anon! Sounds about good enough for most things to me.

>but learning radicals in and of themselves will not improve your Chinese comprehension and will give you a false sense of confidence when it comes to reading new characters.

I want to make sure I understand what you mean. I talked with my GF (mother tongue Chinese) about it yesterday and she told me that characters are made up of compounds and only one of them functions as a radical. Others can give a hint about pronunciation for example or no hint at all. So I understand that I cannot remember characters by stories like (made up example) tree compound + human compound = to chill character.

My initial idea however was that after finishing the radicals (50 radicals in because no Uni yesterday) I will be able to recognise compounds in characters, break them down and have already kind of a relationship towards the character like "Why is that compound there?" or "Ahhh, makes sense." and both reactions are better than just unrelatable strokes for me. I want to finish the other 50 radicals today and maybe tomorrow and then start with the book. I think I found the pdf of the book you mentioned (ISBN 978-0-88727-644-6) for download as well.

>quit ripe puer cold turkey for a week
>dosing: halved
We, do I build a tolerance easily. Note to self: reset tolerance when replacing the water filter. Going through all the other styles I have at hand again was a nice trip.

>>19227083
i have a spreadsheet with the dates i last drank a tea, helps me cycle through my collection. also stops me holding a tea in the back drawer for over 2 years...

>>19222071
>>19222230
trying my sample of this cake right now. never had a semiaged white before and not big into white teas.
it's alright if a little bland. very mellow with a noticable sweetness. I can see the similarity to autumn leaves, it actually reminds me a bit of unroasted GABA oolong in that respect oddly enough, but without the sour fruity part. not much more going on except for that and the slight honey-like sweetness. it definitely tastes more "oxidized" than fresh bai mu dan, I guess that's due to the ageing
pleasant enough, but I think I'd get bored before going through a whole cake of this

>>19227096
>stops me holding a tea in the back drawer for over 2 years
Luckily, those on the greener size were still tasty but I know I have to be careful.

Really starting to enjoy drinking tea in smaller quantities, I used to drink from this 400ml cups but now I’m drinking almost a quarter of that size and enjoying it way more.

>>19221182
Are you niggas really drinking 50ml of tea at a time?

>>19227292
Yes, that's why gongfu tea cups tend to be 40-90ml

>>19227292
If you have good tea, it’s worth savouring. That being said, I still drink a litre of Yorkshire Gold each workday morning.

>receive newsletter from moychay.nl
>macha on sale
>no mention of the years
>other jap greens are 1-3yo

>>19225925
Ahmad Kalami Assam. Laoshan blacks and oriental beauty are also good, especially if you know you'll never be putting in milk, but not quite as cost effective. I also like Thai tea, but that's obviously not a standard black.

>>19226503
A place near me does hojicha floats with ube ice cream and it's so good. I've never really liked it in non-powdered form though. Maybe I just need to make it stronger?

>>19227699
I thought it wasn't really that big of a deal if your matcha is a year or two old though as long as it was stored properly? 2023 matcha won't be ready for months anyway.

>>19227074
> I will be able to recognise compounds in characters, break them down and have already kind of a relationship towards the character
This is fine. It keeps the characters from looking like chicken scratch. The issue is when you expect every single character to have a cute little story to go with it. You end up with mnemonics that are longer and harder to deal with than just memorizing the character itself. It's just not feasible to do that process with every single character you want to learn. You should have already come across 爱 for example. The top radical in it is 爪, which means claw, but there is literally no point in memorizing that, because it almost never actually lends it's meaning or it's pronunciation to the characters it's in. It's just kind of there.

>>19227936
>I thought it wasn't really that big of a deal if your matcha is a year or two old
Maybe, I don't know. I was just a little disappointed I guess.

>>19228005
the sale is probably to offload old shit, like most sales are

>>19227073
Epacket is pretty fast

>>19219846
>learn Japanese because anime
>get into tea
>sencha becomes my favourite
Just lucky, I guess.

>>19219997
>>19220041
I usually end up paying around 100:-/100gr for mid-tier chinese tea online, so be warned.

>>19221171
>>19221774
Seconding 100-120ml. I started out with 100, then replaced it with a 120, which I am happy with, but I wouldn't mind going back to 100 either. I have no need for anything bigger, and don't see the point of anything smaller.

>>19222142
I only do a single rinse, 5-10 seconds, and I usually drink the rinse anyway, because it can produce pretty unique flavours.

>>19219846
I got into japanese teaware because of anime (Hyouge Mono)
I highly recommend this series to anyone interested in Japanese matcha ceremony, teaware, wabi aesthetics or that particular period of Japanese history. it's good stuff

>>19228335
yeah I also prefer sencha over most chinese greens I've had. it just seems more complex and intense to me than something like a long jing
ordered some supposedly high grade bi luo chun though, maybe it will change my mind for chinese greens

>>19219846
Japanese tea has much less variety than Chinese tea, but Japanese teaware can be really nice. I love the way they use glaze in Hagi and the flashy, unglazed Bizen pottery. very interesting and varied ceramics in this island nation

Late review of these teas I got last month.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2015-yr-raw-puer-tea-lao-tong-zhi-9948-batch-151-old-sheng-pu-er-tea-yunnan-cha-chinese-famous-thee-357g-shen-puer-cake-pc03-aged-puerh-best-organi-p0274.html
Bought this to replace my 2011 7542, which it is doing a perfectly acceptable job of, considering how much cheaper it was. Not quite as interesting, but similar taste, and worth drinking.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/125g-anxi-tieguanyin-premium-green-tea-spring-chinese-tie-guan-yin-1725-tikuanyin-best-oolong-tea-p0046.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/250g-premium-ali-mountain-high-mountain-tea-fresh-taiwan-oolong-organic-tea-with-flower-fragrance-best-oolong-tea-p0057.html
These are my first oolongs, and I honestly can't tell the difference between their tastes. While not as strongly flavourful as I'd like, they're both smooth and refreshing.

>>19223698
Decaffeination doesn't make tea taste worse, but for whatever reason people only ever do it to bad teas. Stay away from decaf until they start decaffeinating good tea.

>>19225925
I've honestly replaced all of my black tea with aged sheng, because it just does the same thing better.

>>19226053
I'm all set, honestly. I'll probably just get more gaiwans for when I inevitably shatter my current one.

>"English Breakfast Tea"
>It's 100% keemun

>>19228465
thanks for the reviews, I've been considering getting some more oolongs from fullchea. the Jin Xuan was good
those oolongs seem to both be the same general style of rolled, unroasted and lightly oxidated, so no wonder they taste similar. I find tie guan yin is usually more refreshing while taiwanese oolongs are more creamy, but it can vary

>>19228546
sounds like a good thing to me desu

>>19228492
Based and correct

>>19228546
I would rather have keemum then 2% indian assam 98% whatever was cheap from Africa

>check Reddit
>It's pleb shit mixed with pictures of people's gay gaiwans and serving trays
>>19228546
Based?
>>19225925
Autumn flush Darjeeling shit is tangy and weird, but good.
Honestly good Yunnan red is nice and peppery and a bit chocolatey.
Most red is just all assam tier crap though, though not all of it is bad all of the time. Most of them are very raisiny to me though and it gets boring after awhile.

>>19228624
>>19228737
Yeah, keemun is the premium component of English breakfast tea. I find the flavor a bit boring, though.

>>19228546
More like 100% semen, am I right?
I'll be here all week! Tip your waitresses.

>>19228746
Last time i check the tea rebbit a few years ago it was pretty bland. No separation between enthusiasts and people that just bought a teapot that looks like a frog, or posting about some flavored teabags they just bought.

>>19228802
The enthusiasts generally hang out on the dedicated subreddits like puer, matcha, etc. But even so, they end up becoming circlejerks over vendors like Liquid Proust. Not worth checking out. I hear the zoomers on Discord are the same.

>>19228815
having lurked in such places before several years ago that was very much true, I have no idea how true it is today, but it wouldn't surprise me if it's still exactly the same.

I have just had to accept that tea is best for me myself and I.

Are there fancy yerba brands they only sell in South America, or is it the opposite where the expensive organic brands are only bought by gringos?

>>19228815
>they end up becoming circlejerks over vendors like Liquid Proust.
I don't remember r/puerh being a Liquid Proust circlejerk but I have not been there for a long time. It could have changed since then. LP's home turf is discord. I actually remember r/puerh being small enough of a subreddit to be decent. I just prefer being here.

Why don't you plebbit users stay on plebbit, why must you come here?

i am so fucking hydrated right now

Give me the quick rundown on boldo leaves

>>19228959
You can’t use two websites at the same time. Therefore you can’t be a user of two websites at the same time. Anyone who is browsing 4channel is a user of 4channel. Anyone who is browsing 4chan therefore cannot be a Reddit user. Therefore there are no Reddit users on 4chan.

>>19228959
I am primarily a /tea/ anon, have been for years, I just sometimes happen to check other places for information. However, I don't touch discord on principle. I hate how discord has dramatically reduced the amount of publicly searchable information. It has become something of a black hole for hobby discussion. 10 years from now and it will all be gone whereas I can still look for information on decade old blogs or forums right now.

>https://tastecooking.com/what-if-you-actually-cared-about-tea/

Really good read about the undertow of tea culture in America. It's the 2nd most consumed beverage, yet why are there so many wine bars & coffee cafes? You'd think by now tea bars would have sprouted up, especially since the rise of hipster culture overtook the youth.

Teavana was supposed to be the rise of that culture, but Starbucks literally destroyed any opportunity for tea to try and overtake tea. It's fucking pure evil what they did.

>>19229283
Lesbians gate keep the fuck out of tea culture. If you’re not a BIPOC, a homosexual, practice the wrong sort of politics, or some kind of gender nonconformist then you’re not welcome in tea spaces.

>>19229316
All I see is an unserved market. I'm trying to get my foot in the door.

>>19229283
Tea is an unwinnable position culturally speaking. Western style tea culture is associated with imperialism, eastern style tea culture is considered a protected cultural piece of heritage that non-Asians shouldn't partake in (and the white people who try are seen as weird yellow fever sexpats or new age types).

>>19229395
>western style tea culture is associated with imperialism
I see where you're coming from, but I feel like I don't associate that with normie tea drinkers in USA. Asking genuinely, maybe this is more of a European perspective?

>>19229395
Sadly, this is probably true. I never talk about my gongfu tea brewing unless it's with my best friend. It's such a private thing like masturbating that even the slightest hint makes people cringe.

>>19228399
Just started watching this a few days ago. It's nice to see a bunch of people cooming over teaware and trying to obtain masterpieces like they are religious relics. Hard to follow some of the plot (I know it's just historical fiction) but the dry humor is great.

>>19229553
The only tea culture areas are generally in places like Seattle and Portland, which are very liberal woke areas of people. But as a result, those people are very open to new cultural styles which is quite nice.

>>19229560
Yeah it's pretty taboo. One time a girl told me she thought I was gay after seeing my tea set and I had to explain what gong fu was and that I'm just a cringy tea snob, not a homosexual. It's better off just not being brought up.

>>19229597
Almost better off just saying "I brew it eastern style" to avoid confusion, and if they are genuinely interested then say it's really called Gongfu. Not even worth explaining unless they directly ask how it's performed. And this applies for most things in life, including our hobbies.

I often find that avid tea drinkers are generally very sensitive people and are introvert types who stay on the sidelines of society. People who don't mind being with their own mind for an entire days worth, which most people tend to struggle with in life.

>>19229590
I suppose you're right. These places disinterest me and I've never been to them. Fortunately being a tea trader doesn't require being also a teahouse.

>>19229283
Who leaked kuura to the Americans? this is an act of treason under the crown.

>>19228478
Do you happen to know more about the decaf process?

>>19228861
>is it the opposite where the expensive organic brands are only bought by gringos
this is the case pretty much
there are some fancier yerba mate brands for the south american market, like La Merced or La Rubia or whatever, but they're not that much more expensive than normal yerba mate. expensive yerba mate mostly exists to scam gringos out of their money because they don't know how much mate should cost

>>19229655
>I often find that avid tea drinkers are generally very sensitive people and are introvert types who stay on the sidelines of society. People who don't mind being with their own mind for an entire days worth, which most people tend to struggle with in life.
I bet Starbucks didn't want this image associated with them through Teavana consumers. I'm more or less like you described and would never go out of my way to have tea in a place I consider 'hostile' and sensorially overloading. Not to mention they would have to correctly prepare all the styles they cater. Hence the flavored tea crowd, I guess.

>>19229655
>>19229597
lmao. you guys are from the US, right? I think Americans still have some subconscious distrust of tea left over from the Tea Party or something

>>19230070
Unfortunately not; that's just my takeaway from having drunk a few decafs.

hello! i come from a country where tea is preferred over coffee but it never grew on me (yes we were colonized by the brits fuck u guys)
anyways im still willing to give it a shot and see if anons could reccomend a nice kind of tea. i have no specific requirements desu i will make anything anyone reccomends

>>19230408
what's the country? look for a local specialist online tea store, or buy directly from China if it seems like a better deal (it often is)
anyway, a classic noob package could be something like:
>any decent Chinese black tea
>any Taiwanese oolong or decent quality tie guan yin
>some longjing or other green tea if they have fresh 2023 spring stuff

and there you go, three nice noob-friendly teas. you can add like a bai mu dan or good shu pu-erh or something if you're feeling more adventurous

>>19230408
Some tea cultures were tea cultures before the British colonized them.
Anyhow, Really would need to know your pallet to really convince you, but I'd recommend a Taiwanese Si Ji Chun Oolong a Tie Guan Yin Oolong as a tea to generally show you how different tea can be from what you likely think it is without delving into the weird funky territory.

>>19230448
Or a Tie Guan Yin*
I just woke up, I shouldn't be typing

>>19230438
im from p*kistan but importing tea from china shouldn't be too difficult given we're neighbors and all. ill be trying these, much thanks for the suggestions. i just hope they're flavorful? idm anything from sweet to bitter but i just like nice, prominent flavors

>>19230448
i truthfully don't know what my palette is because i eat just about anything from spicy to sweet to bitter to sour things. im not picky in the least, its just that the tea ive mostly drank seems lackluster in comparison to coffee (though i never blamed the tea itself, mostly just the places ive had it from). if it helps, the best tea ive ever drank is authentic kashmiri chai its just absolutely out of this world.
anyways tysm for the reccs anon!

>>19230473
>i just hope they're flavorful?
yeah oolongs especially can be really flavorful. and easy to brew stronger if you like

>>19230473
>>19230479
that being said, i checked rq and ill have to wait a while if i import the oolong tea cause its not easily available here. are there any other alternatives that are more readily available cause unfortunately i live in a south asian shithole

>>19230484
IDK what the pakistani tea market is like, so idk what's available locally. I'm sure the shipping from China to Pakistan shouldn't take too long
you could look for some high quality Darjeeling maybe if your tea culuture is more British?

>>19230484
Indian teas that are likely available there aren't typically anything spectacular. They tend to over process so that it brews stronger to go with milk, but it makes it not great on its own. I'm also on the line of though India doesn't have the best cultivars. Maybe a Muscatel Black Tea, but I wouldn't call that spectacular or anything, just something from India that's kinda nice on its own.
If you're going down the spiced tea route, grab some Gunpowder green (this stuff is everywhere I'd be shocked if you can't find it) and mix with some mint and sugar to taste, or grab some straight Earl Grey, or if its available to you, some Jasmine tea. Just note the Jasmine and Gunpowder need to be brewed around 80 Celsius instead of boiling or they get weirdly bitter.
Otherwise I don't really know what you could likely get there without importing from China, Japan, or Taiwan.

>>19228399
I have zero experience in proper matcha, and have basically ignored all of Japan's tea culture, unless you count using a cup crafted by an American who studied the art directly in Japan. How do you feel about your JP teaware versus that of other nations, if applicable? I considered getting a Korean gaiwan once, but ended up finding one I liked from Chawangshop instead. I wish JP tea was as easy and price-friendly to get into as with Chinese vendors.
>>19228437
I like some of their works. I don't mind some wabi sabi, but I prefer it to not be too heavy personally. I'm more interested in trying Japanese greens and such, but trying to figure out when/where to shop is a bit of a chore, even with the Pastebin. Shincha in particular seems so costly, so I'm waiting to see how sales are in a little, but then I'm also skipping the year's matcha, yet I have no matcha teaware, so it just goes up in a cycle. I hope anons will post some deals or at least some pretty pictures this year.

>>19230144
Yes, of course I'm American lol. Even drinking green tea bags regularly each morning is considered a little abnormal, like you are a more "sensitive" type v. a coffee drinker (but still acceptable).

>>19230566
>How do you feel about your JP teaware versus that of other nations
well, I don't have that much of it because shit's expensive. just a Bizen yunomi and a Kyusu
I'm a sucker for the wabi-sabi styling and I find stuff like yixing teapots a little plain for my tastes. I'm sure many people appreciate the "function over form" understated nature of them though. I'll definitely explore more Chinese and Korean pottery though in the future
and I bet experimenting with a houhin or shiboridashi for gong fu could be fun, I've seen the guys over at TeaDB use a houhin for lots of non-japanese teas

as for Japanese tea, O-cha seems to have decent prices and not too expensive shipping with ePacket

Why did yerba mate energy drinks and beers become cool outside of LatAm but actual yerba mate is still fringe

>>19231000
I can buy loose yerba mate in most grocery stores in the northeast US, i would call that pretty successful.
As far as canned drinks being more popular that's true all over the world, even Japan and china drink more bottled tea than loose leaf

>>19229655
what pitcher is that

>>19231005
Is it really just tea in a bottle? Seems quite odd to me.

>>19230408
How was your country doing pre-Empire colony?

would refreshing leaves in the oven affect the qi at all? a year ago i bought some white bud puerh from the local tcm shop and it had an incredibly comforting feeling. i bought the same one just recently and now its just kinda numbing

>>19231608
i dont understand why an oven would make it any better, you would just dry it out wouldnt you, which is kinda the opposite of what you want.

>>19231537
>Is it really just tea in a bottle?
Yeah, often with sugar added

>>19231537
it's actually a good idea. generally none of it is particularly amazing, but it's convenient and fun to just buy some tea at a convenience store and have it on the go for those times you're craving tea but aren't home

drink more cheap raw seimiaged factory tuos

>>19231867
I've got a wad on the way.

>>19232029
Based, i always try to keep a kilo of xiaguan nests on hand. Love me that sweet and smokey flavor

>>19231867
>>19232063
what's the best site to buy these kinds of teas?

>>19232071
Used to be king tea mall
I guess it still is to some extent
I think fullchea sells some rolls of tulin tuos and lots of individual xiaguan and tulin tuos i think they have soome other brand tuos as well.
For xiaguan make sure they are at least a decade old or they will be kinda rough.

>>19232119
any particular tuos you'd recommend? xiaguan jia ji seem to be easy to get with some nice age on them

>>19232154
Xiaguan jia ji and te je are the classics if you want smokey and sweet.
The dayi ones from like 2010-2011 are nice if you can get them for a reasonable price (no more then $10 each)
Stay away from the xiaguan mushroom shaped tuos until you understand what you are getting into (most of them are made with very low quality tea, occasionally they make more premium ones)

Made some Boba, /tea/

>>19218282
Does Valerian root really smell bad to most people? I thought it was a really good smell but my girlfriend said it smelled like a locker room or her shinguards after field hockey. And Ive heard that if you drink/eat a lot of it you will start to smell like it. Is this true??

>>19232255
It smells herbal and the smell is somewhat strong. I wouldn't worry about starting to smell like it unless you are eating multiple grams of dried ground up root a day. Think about how much curry indians have to eat to smell like cumin

>>19232265
Im probably eating 5-10 grams a day. I usually steep it 2-3 times and then just eat the roots after Im done. I was sitting in a meeting today and am not sure if I started smelling it or if I was just imagining. If someone did smell this would most people think I smell bad? I heard they used to use it in perfumes and I think its a lovely smell

>>19232255
Does she drink puer?

>>19232250
I appreciated the hanzi, anon!

>>19232250
Nice calligraphy (assuming you’re a 白鬼子)

>>19232365
I don't really know, i can say if it is an issue you are probably consuming enough to have it happen but i dunno if it will actually make you smell. Get sweaty and then ask your girlfriend to sniff you

Have you ever tried Plum flower tea before?

>>19232605
I haven't but it sounds pretty good. You should try it and report back with your results

Okay so seay you want to sell puer and heicha in the west, what's the marketing angle? Go after people who are in to eastern mysticism? Vague health claims? Could you market to hipsters by being all elietest about it and calling it the apex of teas and a true tea experience?
How do you get exposure in the market? Is there a western Instagram tea community you can make posts towards? Shilling on plebbit with giveaways? Giving free samples to tea bloggers (are there any active tea bloggers left? Have they moved beyond blogs?)
Obviously sourcing is a massive undertaking and navigating actually buying tea and getting it shipped back to the us is huge but then what do you do with the tea once you have it?

>>19232630
Set up an online site and shill on this very general

>>19232598
I was just on the phone with her. She actually did say she thought I smelled bad in bed last night. Its over isnt it?

>>19232818
I wasnt even sweaty yesterday too. Took a shower earlier in the day and just sat around all day. But she had her nose basically in my armpit so what do you expect?

>>19232504
No she barely drinks anything. Even water. Im honestly not sure how shes alive.

>>19232630
Sell good tasting product for a good price. Good luck anon

Morning golden monkey love the smell so much never gets old

>>19232630
You'd think with all the times this has been asked over the years, someone would have put up another vendor by now.

2021 Bada white from Chawangshop.

>>19231507
>https://www.amazon.com/Mozentea-China-Quality-Gongfu-Pitcher/dp/B00RT3UIKI/ref=sr_1_11?crid=1FH5NFJMRRCFA&keywords=double+wall+gongfu+picture&qid=1683179520&sprefix=doubled+wall+gongfu+picther%2Caps%2C132&sr=8-11

>>19232825
If you smelled like it, cats would be all over you I guess. But the taste/smell isn't for everyone: I was instructing some friends about the antidepressant/mood properties of valerian, a couple of them were interested, bought some, and I ended up receiving all of it because they couldn't drink it.

>>19232630
I plan on carving out a more casual, educational experience. It's new and exotic, but it's also just tea, to drink it all day every day. I sort of loathe social media, but I like photography, so I'll maybe use Instagram, a little YouTube for discussion and such. I honestly don't want to be that big. Just a good hookup for US shipping of damn good teas. Only things I like or find interesting. Maybe run some experiments, definitely age teas and play with pumidor designs. Basically what LP does with a little more effort and polish.
Honestly, unless you're planning on making it your only job, it's not so massive of an undertaking. Buy thing, sell thing, make connections, repeat.
>>19232637
Yep.
>>19233406
I may be fooling myself, but I'm going to give it my damnedest effort. Anon earlier posted that article I thought was pretty motivating. Tea could absolutely have a Renaissance in the West, but culturally speaking it is an uphill climb.

>>19218282
Why do these teas warrant a published book, yet the labels look like dog shit?

>>19233517
pu-erh wrappers hail from commie times and they are mostly just meant to identify the tea as an authentic product. they tend to look a bit higher quality nowadays
plenty of wacky hipster pu-erh packaging out there too if you'd prefer that

>>19232630
>Go after people who are in to eastern mysticism? Vague health claims? Could you market to hipsters by being all elietest about it and calling it the apex of teas and a true tea experience?
why not all of those? although I wouldn't mess too much with the health benefit crap if you just want to have a small curated store like LP. the soccer mom crowd is unlikely to buy pu-erh at some small obscure site

I want the pdf but cannot find it to pirate. Someone interested in kik and sharing?
https://www.outlier-linguistics.com/products/outlier-semantic-components-poster

>>19233696
Nvm I thought you get both posters for 10$. Unless we can divide by a big number that’s too ridiculous.

>>19233517
>Why do these teas warrant a published book, yet the labels look like dog shit?
I like the look of the classic CNNP era labels. Part of the reason it warrants books (there are multiple) is because back in the classic era a lot of the productions used semi generic labels without much information or the date of manufacture. You had to buy a whole crate to get a sheet with that information. So collectors had to figure out other ways to identify batches of tea.

>>19233618
>pu-erh wrappers hail from commie times and they are mostly just meant to identify the tea as an authentic product.
They actually pre date it. For example one of the classic liuan produces used to include 3 different paper tickets in each basket to make it harder to counterfeit. Plus stamps and seals (even fake printed ones) hold a special place in Chinese culture.

>>19233618
If the Chinese tea industry was smart, they would target the western hipster culture directly to lure them in. That's how you get gongfu tea to the masses, so it can go somewhat mainstream.

>>19234026
To target western hipster culture well, you need to not be completely disconnected from that culture. That's why kuura and white2tea are doing well but, say, Chen sheng hao is just too "Chinese" to get big in the west.

>>19234026
Nah nah nah you gotta target the alternative medicine women. That's what yogi tea did (an actual cult) to get their tea popular

>>19233460
Pretty tea

Is real tea bitter? To what extent?

>>19234861
Nice, fucking love the crane (xiaguan)

>>19235407
What do you mean by "real tea"?
Tea varies a lot. Something like a young Bukang raw pu-erh will fuck you up, while a white tea or light oolong is unlikely to have any bitterness to it
But I would say that most tea, when properly brewed, is not bitter

>>19235436
>Bukang
*Bulang

>>19235436
>>19235442
Alright. Thank you, anon.

Where are the fancy group buys happening? How do I get in on some exclusive teas? Plebbit?

>>19235600
Are thry still doing group buys? The big ones were for that one teahouse house cakes. I think it was wisteria.
They had a website but i can't find it right now.
If they are anything like the other gtoupbuys i see in small communities like the keyboard guys you only get the shit you paid for half the time and a year after you were supposed to.

>>19235600
Email that liquidprost guy

>>19236003
>like the keyboard guys
I feel personally attacked

>t. waited 2 years for $180 keycaps

>>19236066
I still go to that old keyboard forum desk********* (name is blocked as spam because one of the mods is a keyboard autist) to look at people posting in 4 year old groupbuy threads thinking they still might get what they paid for.
I think i waited a year and a a half for a gmk group buy to show up and be completely different colors from the samples.

>>19235600
didn't global teahut used to do group buys?
>>19236066
yeah I regret getting a hotswap. bloody thing keeps doubleclicking, hasn't happened with my prebuilt before

new thread:
>>19236313
>>19236313
>>19236313