/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Today I am drinking some 15+YO HK stored shou maocha I got from LP. Strong upfront petrichor and mineral tastes with some bready and loamy undercurrents and a hint of root cellar. Mellow with minimal wet pile or wet storage taste. I think the aging really cleaned the tea up in a nice way. It is very much what I expect of a good shou. Now I want dim sum.

>>19742995
lP always has HK or taiean storage cakes coming in, i gotta jump on it next time he has some cheapish taiwan storage factory cake.

Oolong is gay, put eh is gay.

The only tea you need are greens and whites. Everything else is GAY

>>19743017
>lP always has HK or taiean storage cakes coming in
Yeah it is worth keeping an eye on because his cheaper cakes sometimes sell out fast and he does sales at random times. In this case the shou was actually from my LP beginner pack I bought last year. I think It is probably one of the more premium samples I got in the set. Looking forward to getting another LP puerh beginner pack this year.

>>19743020
You like white tea?

>>19742740
I like that guys shop. I can still see his ebay sampler picture in my dreams.

>>19743056
Yeah, he only chared $5 for shipping from his website, not bad at all considering other vendors pricing.

>>19743063
What’s the website?

>>19743068
Tea-expert.net
Much more selection then the ebay store, better prices too. One catch is that it's all in Russian, even though he lives on an island in the south china sea. But he will ship anywhere, just need to use firefoxes new translation extension, or chrome.

>Lao Ban Zhang arriving Thursday.

Anything I can expect with a tea like this?

>>19743177
no you can basically control it. it's an allergy

>>19743020
white tea makes my stomach hurt for some reason when no other tea types do..

>>19743177
Haven't had LBZ but i love me a nice bulang. Set aside a bit of time for it, eat some food beforehand, keep infusions short untill you get a handle on how bitter it is. That was the 2009 cake that YS had? Should be enough time for some of that bulang bitterness to turn into lasting sweetness.
Says its made by workers for mengku TF, looks like it too, so the processing should be pretty damn nice.

a redditor told me that tea bags leak billions of microplastics into my tea. is that true? how many cups of tea would it take to kill me?

>>19743578
McGill University did a study on this! Basically if it's cotton (classic Twinings rectangle) it's fine, it's it feels too silky and artificial it's slowly killing you.
https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/some-plastic-your-tea-300919

>>19743583
neat, thanks

I'm breaking into my older Xiaguans from my large KTM order from earlier this Summer. I've had the cheap 2008 503 tuo and nicer 2005 8653. This is the 2011 Jin Se Yin Xiang "Golden Image."
These are give or take the first Xiaguan raws I've had. There's clearly a common motif between these teas and I'm pretty sure I could identify other Xiaguans of similar age that I haven't had before. I'm not sure I can accurately describe what that note is except for "semi aged Xiaguan cakes."
Either way, this is my favorite of the three. It's pleasant and crisp with some green apple vibes along side a faint smokiness. The 503 is a little harsher relatively speaking. Feels like it's a little more upsetting to the stomach. It's more of a sensation difference rather than a flavor difference. Maybe that's the cha qi abstraction? Easy tea to recommend if you're looking for something like it.

>>19744130
The big factories love to copy successful recipies from each other. IIRC dayi did a golden image cake first in 2008 or so. I know haiwan did one in 2009, not sure when xiaguan first did one. I think they are supposed to be pressed from somewhat aged loose leaf, i want to say 5 years but that might just be the dayi version.
Anyways i agree that xiaguan blended productions have a distinctive house flavor. Ive seen it described before as a mushroom broth kind of flavor, im not sure if that's quite what i would call it but i see where they are coming from. I didn't try the 2011 golden image but i got another golden blend cake from 2011 the golden legend, i remember thinking it was decent but wishing i got the golden image instead, i think that cake you got is a more premium blend.

R8 my setup. Kettle’s an antique from china, unmarked so I believe it’s 18-19th century

>>19744265
H-How do I delete a post, Gramma says it’s from the 60s

>>19744265
Cute, i like the personal sized teapot

What are some good teas for someone with a caffeine sensitivity? I’ve got some home grown chamomile and some cardamom a friend sent me.

>>19744408
Chamomile, mint, lavender, valerian root (herbal mix i use for anxiety and sleep)
For sweetness: liquorice root or amacha.

>>19744408
>>19744860
Also, since you mentioned cardamom you could also try a turkish winter tea mix. Recipes can vary. I have one with stuff like: orange peels, dried lemon slices, turmeric, ginger, cardamom, lemongrass and some other stuff.

>buy tea from Taiwan
>shipping times ~20 days
>20 days later it still hasn't left Taiwan
oh come the fuck on

>>19742971
i put vanilla extract in my lipton tea this morning. tasted good. will do again tomorrow and reassess

>>19745103
i like putting vanilla extract in my matcha

100g cakes are just glorified samples...

>>19745305
365g cakes are samples, tongs are the real deal.

>>19745305
100g cakes are a great sample size. It's 200 gram that's a weird random size

Drinking some sample of an expensive semiaged gushu cake
It's nice but tbqh I enjoy the cheapo 2006 Spring of Mwnghai cake I have more. I think I like a bit of smoke and roughness.

>>19745397
Yeah. I kinda get why boutique producers prefer 200g cakes, for small batches or whatever, but at that point why not press 100g.

picked up the 2021 jingmai ripe. i wonder can anyone read the chinese? smells not bad, time for a brew.

do any of you anons have a birthday (tea) cake? As in a cake of raw puehr you only drink once a year on your birthday

>>19745443
I wish it was available when I put my order in. Not a bad price for a single origin Jingmai ripe.

>>19745397
I suppose you're too good for 250g bricks too, eh?

>>19745519
different shapes for smaller cakes is fine for me for some reason, a 100g tuo or a larger brick takes up less space and can fit into some corners in the pumi where a 367g cake wont fit because of the length

>>19745519
bricks and tuos are immediately visually identifiable on photos
But with 200 gram cakes I often see them and think "damn, that's some well-proced tea. I'll throw it in my cart!" before discovering that it's half a teacake essentially. It's annoying and seems like a shrinkflation sort of deal

Got some of this china fujian brandy oolong from whatcha. Favourite thing I've tried for awhile - very rich, thick, golden tea that never turns astringent. Has depth but still quite bright. Little expensive for me as an everyday thing but well worth it as a treat.

>>19745443
just a first impression here. wet leaf is all dough.
first thing that struck me was the mouthfeel, it's good. nice n creamy. zero pile taste, just washed it once.
some sweetness and just a little woody bitterness. i guess we're hitting the cocoa profile. a little fruitiness in the aftertaste but not acidic. actually, that fruitiness picks up a little into the later steeps.
it's one to save for winter afternoons. drink it with a slab of some greasy ass christmas cake.
i hope somebody got some of the Mangjing Ripe, i didn't have the brains to add a sample of it

>>19745475
it surprised me when i looked again and it was all gone. i think you could get a nice dayi ripe (maybe 7562) and not be too far off. i'm still a bit of a shou noob just practicing writing notes though so don't take me too seriously

tea anons i know fuck all about tea, but what’s the best one for a cold PLEASEEEEE i’m so sick bros

>>19744408
Barley, soba, toasted rice

>>19745087
That sucks, most of my orders from Taiwan have shipped relatively quickly but i haven't made any recently so i dunnonif there is some shit going on or just typical postal idiocy.

>>19745443
Just use the get the google translate app on your phone and take a picture. Or if you need better quality then that you probably know how to grab the rext with ocr and use deepl or whatever

>>19745469
Its a cute idea but it runs contrary to my plan of drinking good need now instead of saving it for some later that might not come.

>>19745519
250g bricks are fine, 400g brick are fine, hiwan did some 50g bricks once an those can fuck right off. Anyway cakes should be 367g or 500g, tuos should be 100 or 250g, bricks should be 250 or 400g. I bought a 300g cake once and felt scammed. No way im paying $80 or more for 200g. My opinion doesn't seem to matter anyway since the western buyers seem to be eating them up.

>>19745634
Make a hot toddy, black tea + mixed spices + shot of whiseky + egg
https://youtube.com/watch?v=43znGRSy9xU

>>19745602
Looks like it has some nice oxidation on it, imo the best oolongs are good and dark.
>>19745623
Nice, no pile taste is a good sign, always something you gotta watch out for with these little productions.

>>19745696
i wonder why no western focused companies never make 100g tuos, i cant imagine it being much more work than the 100g bings and are more traditional and comfy

>>19745723
Western vendors like loosely pressed cakes so the customer can gently pry off nice full intact leaves and its nice and easy and acessable.
Tuos are sort of the opposite of that, the lightest compression tuo ive had was still about as dense as a standard factory cake, and that was after it had had a good 15 years to loosen up a bit. Tuos are much harder to get into and you will not end up with a nice pile of pretty leaves when you are done.
I don't think the pressing is particularly more labor intensive or difficult, i think it mostly comes down to the presentation, same reason you will never see most western vendors do an iron cake.
I agree that i would rater get 100g tuos then these little baby bings but i get why they usually don't do them

>>19745678
>ocr and use deepl
better than i expected

Can anyone comment on the boxed Xiaguan Hong cha? The price is tempting

>>19745765
>I agree that i would rater get 100g tuos then these little baby bings but i get why they usually don't do them
I would probably still prefer cakes. Not breaking the tea leaves as much is a real advantage. It would be interesting to see a western vendor try to make old school big factory style touchas however.

>>19745789
Lol, god i love auto translated chinglesh.
Im kind of surprised he didn't include the same text in English on the paper.
I think google translate actually did a bit better here, i fed it the ocr'd text
>Taste!
>It is a pure natural green drink for heat and detoxification, unique for improving eyesight and refreshing the brain, good taste, coexistence of clear plant elements, fragrance and flowers, and rich in fermentation. Ancient tea and centuries-old traditional Woduifamai ancient tea are used as raw materials. This product uses landscape

>>19745998
I haven't tried it but ive heard its good, i have had another black tea product from xiaguan and it was quite nice

>>19745789
>>19746087
Shouldn't the text be read right to left? Looks weird otherwise.

>>19746109
Im pretty sure its left to right, but i don't really know shit about Chinese writing.

Why does chinese like to embellish a lot?

>>19746087
nice that's much more coherent.

>>19746109
i think you are right, i've reversed the reading order and it makes more sense. though it's kind of remarkable how understandable it was the other way

>This product uses Jingmai ancient tea as raw material and is fermented by the ancient traditional Wodui method.
>Ancient tea coexists with flowers, contains rich plant elements, has a unique aroma, good taste, clears away heat and detoxifies, improves eyesight and refreshes the brain. It is a pure natural green drink!

>>19746143
>nice that's much more coherent.
Yeah now that im thinking about it im pretty sure deepl is popular for Japanese > English, i dunno if i have ever tried it for Chinese.
So for reading Chinese is it left to right when the text is horizontal and then right to left when it's vertical?

>>19746186
>So for reading Chinese is it left to right when the text is horizontal and then right to left when it's vertical?
Yes, just like Japanese, so deepl is okay.

>>19745634
I always like some lemongrass tea when I’m sick. Most l supermarket ‘lemon’ teas are mostly lemongrass but the loose leaves and stalks are best.

>>19746128
>embellish
It’a called ‘description with Chinese characteristics’, racist.

I ordered a bunch of chinese black tea from what-cha, the brewing instructions aren't really helpful, just giving a vague "1 teaspoon per cup or small teapot". What kind of cup? Mine holds half a liter. What kind of tea pot? An English one that can hold anywhere between 500ml and a liter and a half? Or a chinese teapot, AKA gaiwan AKA less than a hundred ml??
For reference, pic related are my pickings (and yeah there's some white tea mixed in i know). Any double orders are a gift to someone, I wanna make sure I get the instructions right so that he doesn't make the tea wrong.
tl;dr How much leaf would you need to put in a 1.4 liter tea pot for chinese black tea?

>>19746321
Pastebin has western brewing instructions, if you have some infuser to brew in a mug it might be easier. Can you steal the basket from the teapot?
Off the top of my head for 1.4 litres i would use like 7-8 grams, remove the tea after 4-5 minutes don't leave it in the pot with the water. But that would make quite a bit of stong tea, might be a bit much for one person.

>>19746087
>Im kind of surprised he didn't include the same text in English on the paper.
The cake is a re-wrap/rebrand. The ticket was probably made by the original factory.

>>19746358
Ohh, that makes sense, i never read the listing

Finally looked at the new aged cakes farmer leaf added. Damn they all sound pretty interesting, i will at least sample some at some point. Prices are a bit much for my usual spend but if one is really nice i might grab it.

Brewing some jasmine pearls, 76°C 10s steeps with 7.45g.
Very refreshing.

>>19747045
Nice, that's a scented green tea right?
I really wish i had a good spot to keep a kettle right next to where i brew. I have my setup on my coffee table and no good way to run a wire without tripping on it.

>>19745469
I'd like to do this. I've thought about it all year. If I do, I'd want to pick up cake from my birth year, which seems uncommon and not to mention expensive.

>>19747282
I just ordered a 2023 raw because I want to experience the taste change from start to end

Drinking this heartwood Hong shui oolong from floating leaves.
Aroma is very malty, and hints of roasted nuts.
Flavorwise? It tastes exactly like a black tea. Fruity and malty. like green unripe peaches and cherries. But no bitterness even though I'm brewing at 100°C

>>19747321
Haha. Good luck with that. Report back every year.

>>19747137
Just tape over the cable and you won't trip on it or get it tangled.

>>19747321
That's a really fun idea but I have no idea how to pick. The stakes feel really high.

Why does black tea make me throw up, like I literally vomit after the second cup

>>19747453
It's very bitter, I also get stomach aches and the shits when I drink black teas.

>>19747430
Stewed my tea to get it all concentrated. Added sugar and milk.
This tastes incredibly fruity. Like actual black cherries. Absolutely no bitterness at all. This is a fucking winner.

>>19747453
Weird, for me it’s ripe. Instant heartburn and nausea

Gunpowder green tea is pretty good. It tastes familiar. Some of the green tea I've had in the past made for me might have been this kind of tea. But gunpowder isn't a specific type of tea leaf is it? It's more like a category.

>>19747483
Nice, i don't see many posters embracing adding milk to tea so it's cool that someone is doing it.

>>19747552
I like drinking tea with milk and sugar, it's very comforting. Have thought about doing them Tibetan style with butter, but I would rather drink them with evaporated milk instead, or condensed...

>>19747706
The big factories must have machines that do that.
I like how they asseble the tongs with their feet.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=NP4RDYhlgv8

>>19747478
>very bitter
Doesn't have to be. Even grocery store Assams and Ceylons can be only mildly bitter if you lower the temp enough. That said, if it's only black tea and especially.the kind that gets bitter, then the cause is likely tannins. Chinese blacks are definitely less bitter (if at all), but that's not neccessarily the solution if it's tannins that disturb one's stomach.

>>19747483
What do you mean by stewed?

>>19748135
A decent quality Darjeeling is also easier on the stomach then your typical assam or African commodity teabag tea.
I tend to think people who puke after drinking blacl tea leave the teabag in for like 10 minutes and then squeeze it into the cup, it would probably make me sick.

>>19747509
>It's more like a category
it's a style of inexpensive green tea that comes in spirals
I think it tendss to be a good value option

>>19748223
>leave the teabag in for like 10 minutes and then squeeze it into the cup
I tend to assume the opposite because I percieve people who do this can't be helped anyway. If you can't be bothered to read the fucking instructions highlighted on the box, especially after the tea had made you sick multiple times, there's nothing I can do for you.

>Darjeeling
BTW, what's a good source for it? Still haven't tried one. And how much do you think freshness matters? It's a bit lower oxidation usually, no?

>>19748308
>green tea that comes in spirals
I thought the whole point of the name was that the little balls looked like gunpowder grains.

>>19748223
Brother. I drink Sheng puerhs just like that, and they still can't reach the level of bitterness that black teas have.

>>19748192
Basically I fill the teapot with water, and then stick it on top of the kettle with it boiling water so that the steam heats up the water inside, giving me a strong brew of tea.

Anyone know where I can find one of these padded bags for tespots that could accommodate a 350 ml kyusu (12,5 cm spout to rim, 16 cm rim to handle end)? I've been looking on AliExpress, but no luck so far. They're all sized for ~ 100 ml back-handle pots.

>laobanzhang delayed, now arriving friday.

>>19749177
Rip
>>19748545
Sorry i cant really suggest anything but digging around on aliexpress. I wouldn't be surprised if the ones you are looking at are larger then you think they are. I got one with a teapot a bought a while ago and im pretty confident it could fit a 350ml gaiwan. I think that 100ml teapots aren't super popular on the Chinese market so i would be surprised if all the bags you can find are sized for them.
I found this which is probably a bit too big if anything
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805597631727.html?
This looks kina like the one i have size wise
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256804483115389.html?

>>19749177
You are going to be quite lao by the time it actually arrives. Are you the anon that bought the 2009 cake from YS?

>>19749193
Yeah. Also waiting on another order from TWL...

>>19749199
>Also waiting on another order from TWL...
What cha get? I have had pretty good luck with their offerings

>>19749199
Jesus, don't tell me you are also the anon whose order still leave Taiwan. Looking forward to the LBZ review, don't see ban zhang tea very often (for obvious reasons).

>>19748525
Contrary to popular thinking black tea is extremely sensitive to temperature and overbrewing. I wouldn’t go past 90, and 80-85 work better for most teas.

>>19749253
Also if you’re drinking cheap African/Indian stuff you’re just drinking swill that isn’t palatable without milk.

>>19749192
>350ml gaiwan
The one I sent could fit that. The issue is it's a kyusu, the handle sticks out.

The first one looks great, if I don't put cups in there it could work. The second one I'm a bit worried it might lack padding. I like the simplicity of a padded sack, I'll dig a little more for a bigger one.

>>19749211
This is what I got.

>>19749253
Yeah no kidding, they're on the same level as green teas.

>>19749253
>black tea is extremely sensitive to temperature and overbrewing
Are you drinking some particulary astringent leaves or are you really sensitive to bitterness? IME, boiling water for a shorter time (flash steeps if gong fu) absolutely works for most chinese non-shit blacks.

>>19748525
Sounds like a good way to brew a strong concentrated tea. I've been thinking about ways to go stronger for milk tea type drinks since just pouring 100c water onto black tea doesn't really get strong enough to hold up to milk & sugar in a way that I like. Thanks!

>>19749311
>they're on the same level as green teas
As far as fussiness goes, yeah. But the temps are higher. And green tea's supposed sensitivity is way overstated in the first place.

>>19749312
No, I can drink it just fine, but the taste is in my opinion far worse. Especially if your brewing vessel is open-topped, you will boil off the oils.

>>19749312
Also, the effective steeping temperature in a gaiwan is lower than the value of the water you’re heating to because the wet leaves steep as they sit.

>>19749311
Nice, both those quarter cake sets are pretty solid. Im jealous you get to try a 99 xiaguan, all those 8653s with taiwan storage should be pretty sexy.

I've got an autumn flush Darjeeling from Ambootia tea estate, really quite delicious. It's got the spiciness of a summer flush but also the sweetness of a good Chinese black.

>>19748455
>Darjeeling
>BTW, what's a good source for it? Still haven't tried one
Good question, if you want something fancy thunderbolt tea, but the shipping is $$$. Upton has some decent ones. You definitely want to buy a same year production, so stay away from the stuff that doesn't give a harvest date. Vahdamn usually gets a few single estate batches in as well every year. The first flush stuff is typically very lightly oxidized, to the point where some of it looks like green tea, i prefer the second flush stuff myself, closer to a black tea but less malty and sweeter with theat characteristic muscatel flavor. Off the top of my head puttabong estate is a decent one also goomtee.

>>19749452
>you will boil off the oils
Sounds very pseudo-scientific, like when people say the same thing for putting a lid on a stew. Any actual research done on the topic? You will absolutely lower the brewing temp and therefore make the tea weaker, though.

>>19749473
>wet leaves steep as they sit
Yes, a little.
>effective steeping temperature in a gaiwan is lower than the value of the water you’re heating
Yeah, but there's no use measuring that. I personally just always brew back to back so it's not a factor as I don't let the pot sit, but so long as you always let it sit roughly the same amount of time, it shouldn't be an issue either.

You might just prefer weaker tea, nothing wrong with that. At different strenghts, different aromas and flavours dominate. I'm not convinced black teas are that sensitive as a general rule, though. And like I said, greens aren't either. It's just that people aren't used to measuring stuff and greens are never drunk with milk so they always taste their failure.

>aroma with a strong viscous sweetness throughout. I have a hard time putting words to this experience, but I find myself wanting to drink it again and again.

Why does Scott describe drinking teas the same way women describe smelling dick in doujins? Kek.

>>19749550
Not him but i don't think the idea that volatile aroma compounds will be vaporized by heat is particularly controversial, as to what % and if it's enough to make a difference its harder to say.

>>19749560
Yeah, but what does putting a lid on got to do with it?

>>19749573
The lid is cooler so steam condenses on it and drips back into the vessel instead of floating off into the air.

>>19749560
>don't think the idea that volatile aroma compounds will be vaporized by heat is particularly controversial
That's last years espressotek. It does things. I don't have enough vertical clearance on my setup to try it with the tea portafilter but I can definitely pour some teas over cold steel.

>>19749550
All volatile compounds work like water in this case. Get hot > vaporize > hit cold surface > condense into liquid > fall back into vessel. Some volatile compounds have higher vapor pressures than water in this temperature range.
I have tried a lot of black teas and the flavour definitely changes, because certain volatiles are lost more readily, and also because the ratios between the rates at which volatile compounds are exuded into the tea changes with temperature. Therefore temperature has more impact than simply making a brew weaker or stronger. And also, are you really pouring more hot water in immediately after you empty the gaiwan? I don’t think this is standard practice.

>>19749580
>>19749596
The vaporizing volatile compounds thing is new to me. Looks like I'll have to read up.

>temperature has more impact than simply making a brew weaker or stronger
It for sure makes different stuff more or less pronounced, I assumed it was just temperature (as far as it relates to detecting smells) and strenght, but now I'm curious.

>are you really pouring more hot water in immediately after you empty the gaiwan
I usually don't brew gong fu, that's why I said it shouldn't matter so long it's always roughly the same time. Back to back would be neither traditional nor practical for a typical gong fu session.

>>19749632
The amount of volatile oil lost is (to simplify) Vaporization rate * Time - Condensation.
Vaporization rate is influenced by temperature, surface area (brewing in an extremely shallow vessel would theoretically maximize loss but such a vessel would lose heat faster, which complicates the analysis) and most importantly the chemical properties of the compound. Some aromatic compounds are lost very quickly, others not so. Condensation is not as simple but basically if the concentration of a gas exceeds the maximum vapor pressure at a certain temperature you have condensation. Therefore the cooler the gas becomes before it is lost to the environment the more will be restored by condensation to the brew.
Now because more oils are extracted at higher temperatures the total oil level is probably more than compensated. However the oil profile (because what we really care about is the ratio) will be different in the high-temperature brew and the low-temperature brew. My opinion is that in many Chinese black teas the taste is noticeably different and subjectively for me worse at higher temperatures - nevertheless you may prefer the high temperature oil profile.

think I might finally try some xiaguan productions. I think I like smoke in my sheng. I just hope breaking them up won't be too much of a hassle

>>19749558
ur brain is broken m8

>>19749815
Its not too hard to break them up, they aren't like a few tuos ive gotten where i legitimately needed a hammer. I just open the tuo, place it right side up on a surface and then push down about an inch from the edge into the meaty outside pieces, then stab in a few more times working your way around the edge and they come off pretty cleanly. The center part is probably the most stubborn but it usually seperates into two thinner layers once you get poking at it. As always always make sure you aren't pushing the tea pick towards your hand and dont pry at tea on a nice table because you will probably stab it at some point. Pic related

>>19749494
Speak of the devil, my TWL order arrived today...

>>19750033
Sexo, that 2010 7542 was pretty good, grabbed on of those when they first listed themm

Started drinking the 1999 Xiaguan. Very smooth, clean palate taste with moderate astringency. Like a wet forest floor with mushrooms. Got me drunk off the first cup surprisingly.

Stewing it, will make milk tea.

>>19750118
Taste of honey/molasses with a woody note on the background. A veery faint hint of astringency in the aftertaste.

>>19749340
BTW, here's how it looked after a minute of stewing it.

>>19750114
Sound good, lol somone is going to have a meltdown when you make milk tea with LBZ

>>19750118
What are your actual stewing parameters? You just empty the leaves from the pot into the kettle and turn it on?

>>19750141
Lel, still continuing to brew it the normal way, I'm very drunk right now.
I just do milk teas to discover the other flavors that get drowned out and need that glucose to stick to the tongue. I do a little sip without milk, then after that I add the milk in to get rid of the bitterness.

>>19750197
No, I fill the teapot with boiling water. Then place the teapot on top of the kettle and let the kettle boil some water, so that the steam hits the teapot and keeps the water inside the teapot hot.

You can leave it on for as much time as you like.

>>19750211
So it's an improvised samovar then?

>>19750284
Never heard of it, searching through Wikipedia it seems like this method has been tried and tested before. So yeah I guess.

>>19750137
>>19750139
Very nice. So you're brewing into little 150ml cups I'm assuming? So not a lot of milk + sugar?

>>19750317
120ml cups.

Approx 1 1/2tsp of cane sugar, and a dash of milk.

>>19750033
>>19750114
That looks and sounds so good. Glad it arrived.
Also, seeing a clay teapot on a kettle made me lol. I actually thought you were using one of those turkish kettles.

>>19750137
heresy...

is tuochatea's storage even drier than awazon's?

I went to the best sushi place in my city in the US. They served an amazing genmaicha. They poured it from carafes like coffee.

What brand is it likely to be? Any ideas on which brown rice green tea a good sushi restaurant is likely to serve?

>>19749452
>>19749721
>you will boil of the oils
Do you have any resource that details this in relation to tea?
Because the concept you're mentioning makes perfect sense, but it's impossible to say whether this is at all relevant to (black) tea, in which the aromatic compounds might all have a boiling point so high that the difference between 90°C, 95°C and 100°C, which water won't even reach above sea level, might well be negligible, and the differences you're detecting might be caused by something else.
>but green tea is definitely affected by this
I believe the reason for that is a number of the flavorful and aromatic compounds that make up the taste of green tea are denaturated at boiling water temperatures rather than the good smelly stuff evaporating, in which case you would also detect a very strong smell of green tea when pouring boiling water over the leaves, while, at least in my experience, the smell doesn't change very much at all.
Maybe you're just steeping the leaves for too long for the temperature and leaves/water ratio you chose?
Also, as far as I'm aware, tea contains little to no oils, and the taste and smell come from phenols, amino-acids and minerals.

>>19751787
>any resource that details this in relation to tea
there should be some literature, because industries that produce instant tea and similar products want to preserve quality so it seems to be a topic of interest for them. this paper has a list of volatile compounds on page 26 but i couldn't find information about boiling points or denaturing yet.
https://sci-hub.st/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2015.08.051

Recently discovered smoked tea when I wondered into a spice and tea exchange store and now I have a crippling addiction. Is there somewhere that sells smoked tea for less? I really like the intensity of the Russian caravan tea, is there something more brutal out there? I also really like thier bohea tea as well, these flavor profiles are so much more interesting compared to what I used to drink.
>t. Islay scotch drinker

>>19751996
Lapsang Souchong. This tea has a complicated history, but in the West and in this particular spelling, it's usually heavily smoked Chinese or (if cheaper) Indian black tea. Most modern Caravan blends have some sort of smoked tea they usually refer to by this name. Be vary when browsing fancy stuff, though, as traditional Lapsang is not very smoky. I haven't found any particular one worth recommending so far, so no recs from me.

Also think the cheaper stuff you'd find in tea shops in the West (the ones selling fruit mixes and spices and the like) are likely not truly smoked but flavoured with extracts or smth. I need to to some research on that.

If you ever end up ordering Japanese tea, though, yunomi.life has some good (albeit not cheap) smoked blacks - i tried and liked the whisky oak one. IIRC, they smoked it using wood previously used for ageing whisky.

That said, all the smoked teas I had so far (arguably not many) were big on aroma and small on flavour and mouthfeel. I would probably make my own blend with another non-smoked black tea if I ever got a bigger amount.

>>19752030
Damn dude your gonna bankrupt me. But this is the kind of wired stuff that piques my interest. Sucks that the don't have a size between 50g and 1kg.

>>19752046
Not sure about this one, but I think some of them had 100 g packs; I know there were 250 g packs for the whisky one. I only had 10 g as I don't like to buy blind if I can avoid it. Will probably grab a pack to play around with next time I order from them.

>>19752046
>>19751996
You could also look into Xiaguan's raw pu-erh productions if you want something smoky but different to black tea.

>>19751996
If you have an asian grocery store near where you live go and look for the metal cans of lapsang Souchong, its exactly what you want.
Here is a guy selling them online, i haven't tried him, and prices are cheaper in store. But it should do as long as the cans aren't ancient.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/382896516437
You can smell them as you approach the shelf.
Vahdam an indian tea company also makes a smokey assam that someone here said was good.
Sorry no idea about western brands, you could try out these guys, they make a smoked Taiwanese tea
https://marktwendell.com/shop-by-tea-type/hu-kwa-tea
Now if you want to really explore the world of smokey tea i couldn't recommend this enough, its a rock hard brick of compressed puer tea. Smokey, sweet, mellow, rich, thick. This to me is really one of the shining examples of a smokey tea. Mayne a little less accessible, you might have to stab it with an awl a few times to get some tea of but man this is the stuff.
https://yunnansourcing.us/collections/xiaguan-tea-factory/products/2013-xiaguan-chen-yun-fang-cha-raw-pu-erh-tea-brick

>>19751787
As the original oil poster I think that I should clarify that when I said 'oils' I should have said 'volatile compounds'
Nevertheless, in most black teas you can see the shiny organics floating on top of the water

>>19752330
>Asian grocery
Good idea, I've only ever tried green teas from those places, I've quite liked the ITO EN teas.
>brick of puer tea
The concept of a brick of tea is kino as hell, I'll have to try it

Straining out the tea leaves is for women.

>>19752675
>I've quite liked the ITO EN teas.
As far as green tea in a teabag you can buy in a supermarket ito en is a decent offering, it's a produxt you would also see on shelves in a supermarket in japan.
Tea bricks are super fun, you gotta be a bit careful about where you buy them, the ones made out of black tea powder with big designs on them are more decorate then anything, also lots of the cheap puer on ebay/amazon is fake or low quality. But there are plenty of trusted vendors in the pastebin, and even a few official storefronts on amazon. That one i linked in a really good jumping in point if you have been enjoying smokey tea, its one if the teas that got me into puer years ago and if i was smart i would probably be hoarding a few of them. Brewing can be as easy as prying off a chunk, tossing it in a mug and adding boiling water.

>>19752485
>in most black teas you can see the shiny organics floating on top of the water
I lot of that is minerals in hard water binding to compounds in the tea and separating out. You get far less tea scum with soft water.

So ive had 4-5 sessions with this 2021 tea spirt cake from mengku tea factory. The tea spirit recipe had been around since the mid 2000s as a yearly production, it was discontinued in 2017 and replaced with "good flavor great accomplishment". That was supposed to be a tweaked and improved recepie, but im guessing they became less selective about materials used, and tweaked it to present as a modern boutique style production. I guess not all consumers were happy with that at in 2021 they brought back tea spirit while keeping the other line as well. I had the 2020 good flavor great accomplishment and it was probably my favorite tea last year, good bitterness and astringency, beautiful contemporary processing, nice floral fruity tones etc. The 2021 tea spirit is a very different beast. It seems like they really made a point with this cake to prove they could make an old school production, it doesn't have smoke, or not much, but it has that clasic factory tea thick broth herbal flavor, the sweetness lasts and lasts on the tongue, maybe the tiniest hit of char, as if they just included it to prove they could. Heavier processing, more rolling, a bit higher compression. To be clear this is not a mid 2000s xiaguan number recipie, this lacks the harshness and rough edges of bush tea. But this is very much a beautiful clean example of more classical puer processing with some quite decent material. Unlike some modern mengku TF productions this is supposed to be all sun dreid and i believe also all wok fired, instead of being loaded into sha quing machines. Not quite the tea i was expecting but a damn nice change of pace since all ive been drinking lately are modern greenish boutique raws and single village productions. Now i need to pick up a more recent good flavor great accomplishment cake and see how it compares.
~12¢ a gram shipped from tea-expert, not too shabby.
If i had any complaints i wouldn't mind a bit more punchy bitterness.

>>19752842
Organic, volatile compounds?

>>19752875
This isn't Mengku Rongshi, right?

>>19752977
It is mengku rongshi. Calling it mengku tea factory is technically correct but i probably should have just stuck with rongshi since that's what all the vendors call it.

do I have TO BUY BAGS for my earl grey and english breakfast since there's crumbs that pass through my reusable steeper?

>>19753292
Just sieve with your mouth like the Chinese do

>>19753310
the fuck are you talking about?
clench my teeth while I sip?

>>19752875
that sounds amazing for 12 cents a gram. I might just add a sample to my next KTM order

>>19753049
Is there a semantic difference or is it just an alternative name?

>>19753347
Yes actually, but you use your lips more so than your teeth. Many of the the leaves will sink to the bottom out of the way as well. Also, if your cup has a bit of a lip and you drink carefully you can use the shape of the cup to catch the leaves. Note that all of this applies primarily to Chinese tea, you are not going to get a good result with something like CTC Assam "breakfast" tea.

>>19753385
Im just retarded

>>19753385
>https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/shuang-jiang-mengku-tea-company-1
>Yunnan Shuang Jiang Mengku 云南双江勐库 : Shuangjiang Mengku is a company that was established in 1999 in the city of Shuangjiang, which means Double River, in Mengku county of Lincang 临沧 prefecture. The predecessor was a state-owned Shuangjiang Factory that was established in 1974. Their teas have become renowned for both their distinct crisp tastes and reasonable prices. The name of their factory is Rongshi (戎氏) and so they sometimes also produce teas under the Mengku Rongshi label. Presently, they have become one of the top tea producers in the country. Mengku's classic recipes include "Mu Shu Cha", "Wild Arbor King", and "Spirit of Tea" and are typically produced each and every year!

Multiple names are correct depending on the exact semantics. Kind of like how Dayi has multiple names.

>>19753413
I should call it Rongshi tea factory to be really annoyingly obtuse

>>19752875
so the "great tea good job" cake is greener in processing and taste and the "tea spirit" is darker and brothy?
have you tried th arbor king cake? I found it very hongcha like and thrown it under the pile. maybe it's time to take it out and try after 3-4 years. thanks for reminding.

>>19753493
>so the "great tea good job" cake is greener in processing and taste and the "tea spirit" is darker and brothy?
Yeah exactly.
Haven't tried arbor king, i think that's the other cake from them that is still supposed to be 100% sun dried.

wow, the tea-expert is something else.

from the review of picrel

Кaк cкaзaл cтapый eвpeй пepeд cмepтью, "Клaдитe бoльшe зaвapки".
Чтoбы шy нopмaльнo oтдaвaлcя пpи быcтpых пpoливaх, нa 260 мл нyжнo клacть, кaк минимyм, 13-14 гpaммoв; тo ecть, в 2 paзa бoльшe, чeм y Bac.

I'm stealing the first line.

I remember I wanted to try mushu cha from MKRS (to add to confusion) but never got around to it. I've dug out my arbor king and it's from 2012, I'll try to brew it tomorrow, but it's long weekend for me and those tend to get hectic.

>>19753591
lolol

>>19753591
Haven't tried that one either. Wish i bought kilos of their cakes when all those 2009-2013 productions were $50 a piece on king tea mall.
My favorite tea from them was the 2011 88 tribute brick, best 7542 ive ever had. No idea how the 88 bing is supposed to taste or if its supposed to be comparable to a 7542 recipie but either way that's what it tasted like and it was great a tier above any of the ones ive had from dayi. I think i paid $80 for a 888 gram brick. I really should go digging on taobao and see if anyone is still selling them.

>>19742971
what are the best teas for fall comfymaxxing?

i think im probably gonna get a bunch of smoky tian jian or oolongs (since ive only had wuyi). might pick up a few other teas though i was thinking a green tea

>>19753670
also why do people prefer shou puerh in the winter? is it just the mouth feel of it? seems like itd be way better in the summer especially when you grandpa brew it. green tea i get in the summer but why shou? sheng (at least xiaguan tuos) seem great for this time of season though

>>19753670
Fall season, fall teas! YS has Autumn Mang Fei that I think is particularly good. Checking recent prices, eh, it's a little expensive for autumn tea. If there's a reasonably priced 2023 version I might pickup a cake or two.

>>19753616
I'm tempted to impulse buy '23 7572, never had it "fresh", shipping is $14 though for one ping cha tuo pu ar shou cha from Guangzhou to my door.
KTM10 code from tomorrow, shipped after the holidays, we'll see.
I wonder who is Amy, lmao, John is a rascal.
That leaves 2dog without apparent china girl. Even a beard. God damn.
Have a nice weekend /tea/

>>19753670
>what are the best teas for fall comfymaxxing?
Liubao is #1
This is getting a pittle pricey these days but still worth grabbing a box, smooth, chocolatey, rich, no musty basement vibes.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/products/2015-2008-200g-black-box-liu-bao?

It has arrived.

>>19753779
Nice, post a pretty picture of the cake when you unwrap it

>>19753719
>That leaves 2dog without apparent china girl.
I am pretty sure he is/was married but I don't know to who. He tries to keep a low internet profile so who knows.

>>19753719
Simply put if these guys didn’t have a Chinese wife they wouldn’t be able to be 24/7 in China.

Trying the 2008 shou puerh I got. It has an interesting taste. I've long known that my tastebuds or at least my ability to discern tastes isn't very good but how strong should any of these "flavor notes" be? Like Red Blossom says this one has chocolate mint, which I don't taste. I don't really know what a malty flavor is but earthy sounds right.

The Red Blossom instructions are generally a lot different than the ones in the pastebin. Part of it is that I generally don't get enough leaves to use the instructions in the pastebin with a sample, but for instance it says 6 g per 100 ml, so it would be over 7 g for my 120 ml for under a minute. The Red Blossom instructions are 5g for like 140 ml for 1 minute. The sample had almost 6 g and I just used it all for the 120 ml. The temps are slightly different too, 212 F for RB vs iirc 205 in the pastebin.

I want to try Xiaguan for the first time. Is Awazon's selection any good, or are there better places to get it?

>>19754072
It's not something that can be answered beyond "drink more tea." You need to have a dozen other shous to compare it against. It's easier to discern notes when it's relative to another similar tea.

>>19751996
Unrelated, but my Islay-loving father hated tea until I explained lapsang to him, and made him try some.

>>19753670
Genmaihojicha, for me.

>>19754137
They should be fine and their prices are great, though some people would prefer hotter more humid storage. As a warning some anon got book lice (little insects that like to eat mold) on their tea from Awazon. The book lice themselves are harmless and can be killed by freezing or desiccation but you may want to avoid if squeamish. If it were me I would go for it. I plan to order from them eventually.

I went to the best sushi place in my city in the US. They served an amazing genmaicha. They poured it from carafes like coffee.

What brand is it likely to be? Any ideas on which brown rice green tea a good sushi restaurant is likely to serve?

>>19754137
Yeah go for it, you get to experience 2007 tea prices which will really accentuate the xiaguan experience.

>>19754206
Cant help you as far as brand goes but for genmaicha you should be well served ordering a basic genmaicha from any reputable Japanese tea specialist.

https://yunomi.life/search?type=product&q=genmaicha*
https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/?search=genmaicha
https://www.hibiki-an.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=genmaicha
https://www.yuuki-cha.com/index.php?route=product/search&search=genmaicha
https://ippodotea.com/search?q=genmaicha&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
https://www.chadoteahouse.com/search?type=product%2Carticle&options%5Bprefix%5D=last&q=genmaicha

>>19754137
I like those bricks alot.

For anons who have a clay teapot (more specifically, yixing), do you it's worth it? I don't really mind the prices, but i don't see how they would improve my experience compared to my $10 gaiwan.

Has there been a recent increase in vomit posts? It seems like
>earl grey fags
>blarrrghhhh
>puer chad lezzies
>delicious hard sips

when does shipping from china start getting really slow? thinking about doing an order for christmas gifts soon

>>19753678
shou is like drinking hot chocolate or cake. thick and warming, not particularly refreshing

>>19753779
>450$ LBZ cake
tell us how it is

>>19754137
some people seem to prefer the xiaguan tuochas with more humid storage

>>19754877
For example?

>>19754961
just anything not in Kunming. Kingteamall has a large selection of Xiaguan productions and while their storage varies, it should still be more humid as it's in the more tropical climate of Guangzhou
Teas we like also has some malaysian stored tuos, though they are more expensive. and if you want the most humid, Yeeontea has some supposedly really good though much more pricey older Xiaguan tuos put through their dank traditional storage

Taiwan Teacrafts has 15% off until Oct. 11
Coupon code MOONFEST23

Any other moon festival/mid-autumn festival deals?

>>19755167
-10% on kingteamall

grandpa style shou for the hangover

>>19752875
oh no i'm going to order tea again

drinking some Tie Luo Han for the second time ever. three times the price of that one in the small blue minipack I got from KTM, but I wouldn't say it's three times better. the aroma of the liqour is more interesting in this one, with some sweet strawberries and butter cookies, but the taste seems similar enough. and they both had the highly pleasing, long cocoa and mineral aftertaste
I'll still do more brews of this later though

Good morning. I'm drinking W2T Camphornought. It's been too long since I've gone back to it. Such pleasant flavors that diverge from the usual rich flavors of equally young factory shou.
It's going to be a great day.

>>19754675
Clay teapot collecting is basically a separate parallel hobby to actually drinking tea. They do change the flavors of teas by doing things like making cerian teas taste sweeter, or rounding out some of the edges.
You are spending at lest $120 for an acceptable yixing pot, you can't be sure exactly what teas its works best with till you use it.
Basically buy them if you like them and want to own them, they are cute, they look nice, they are pleasing to use in terms of tactility. You don't need clay teapots, they aren't better or worse then using a gaiwan, just different.

>>19754776
Vomit posting has overtaken the previously popular, "tastes like hot leaf water" posts

>>19754788
Soon, stuff will still be here before Christmas but the longer you wait the slower its going to be.

>>19755326
Thanks for taking the plunge to try those ktm yanchas. They seem like they are in a decent spot in terms of price/performance. Some yancha i can actually afford to drink regularly.

>>19755489
Thanks anon. Yeah i think they look nice, but i always think "How much puer could i buy with that money?". I think i'll get one eventually, but much later. For now I'm focusing on trying out as much puer as i can (and go down the aged sheng rabbit hole i guess).

>>19755513
>and go down the aged sheng rabbit hole i guess).
Check out some of those quarter cake sets from teas we like. That $99 into to puer set they have right now is a good price.
The Nanqiao quarter cakes are also worth considering

>>19755506
yeah I also haven't explored yancha much because of the prices

>>19755615
Chawangshop, the website is ass, the shipping is too expensive but he usually has a nice little selection of good price to performance yancha.

>>19755540
Thanks, seems like shipping from Taiwan finally became cheaper so i'm adding those to my wishlist.

Cracking into some of this yunnan gabba oolong from tea-expert, ripping into the packet im getting a fat wiff of honey, with more honey and maybe some dark sugar syrup. Will brew some up western style and see how it goes.

>>19754072
Please buy 100g something, at last 50, you need room to experiment and practice brewing with the same tea so you can adjust parameters, change temps and brew times etc and get a feel for how it changes the taste. Its fine to get samples before buying a lot of some particular tea but once you get a chance to try lots of different things with the same leave you will get a much better understanding of brewing and feel much more confident about it.

>>19755761
Did ~4g in a mug, slightly below boiling for about 4 minutes. Freshly brewed tea smells of honey, maybe a bit of a floral honeysuckle aspect and that gaba oolong smell, a bit of chinese black tea vibe as well.
Taste is straight yunnan black tea with some hints of greener floral dancong or something sprinkled in. Finish is also yunnan black tea.
Overall i give it a meh, the smell of the dry leaf had me excited but this comes off as half baked. The older set of yunnan oolongs he brought in a few years ago were pretty impressive, those were actually oolongs, i think he still has a sampler up of those teas.
I wonder if that gaba sheng will be any more interesting.

>>19754072
I agree with the other anon that 5 gram samples aren't all that useful and you need several sessions at least to get to know a tea. you get better value too if you buy a larger portion or, even better, a 100 gram tuo or minicake
a lot of shou pu-erh has some similarities to dark chocolate, especially if you brew it strong. I'm guessing the mint they're referring to would be the cooling menthol-like effect that sometimes occurs with aged pu-erh. but don't expect it to literally taste like mint and chocolate ice cream, sometimes those flavour notes western stores give are overly ambitious

>>19755761
it does look kind of odd for a GABA. I'm used to the taiwanese rolled GABA oolongs.

>>19754072
>>19755776
It doesn't need to be anything fancy or expensive or weird either, grab like 2 oz of some black tea from yunnansourcing.us so you have some cheapish tea to mess around with.

>>19755829
>>19754072
for ripe pu-erh in particular it's a great idea to grab larger amounts of some cheap factory productions to mess around with when you're just starting. they're often very good value
the one you got from Red Blossom is very expensive. you could honestly get 100 grams of quite tasty ripe for the price of that 6 gram sample if you look around a bit

>>19755776
>>19755821
Yeah, I'm just trying to see what stuff appeals to me first. I'm definitely going to buy a decent amount of some puerh at some point. I didn't want to spend a bunch of money on a large amount though just to find out I think it tastes like shit.

>>19755829
I did buy 2 oz of Tung Ting, Mi Xiang, which I'll probably drink while waiting for my next order of stuff to get here. I need to buy a large amount of gunpowder at some point too since I liked that. It seems like higher temps increases the amount released in a given time, using more leaves increases the concentration, and time also increases the concentration, though while you could I imagine keep increasing the amount of leaves without much issue, steeping for too long causes bitterness.

>>19755852
Good looking out

>>19755856
>It seems like higher temps increases the amount released in a given time, using more leaves increases the concentration, and time also increases the concentration, though while you could I imagine keep increasing the amount of leaves without much issue, steeping for too long causes bitterness.
Yeah sounds about right
>I did buy 2 oz of Tung Ting, Mi Xiang, which I'll probably drink while waiting for my next order of stuff to get here
Awesome cool, that will give you a solid chance to fuck around and see how things go.

>>19755856
>Yeah, I'm just trying to see what stuff appeals to me first.
Yeah the amout of tea out there is totally overwhelming, ive been drinking for years now and i barely wander out of my comfort zone of puer and heicha. It definitely doesn't hurt to keep trying new things, you might find some that really speak to you.

My favourite tea is the Turkish Tea.

>>19755924
Care to elaborate?

>>19743583
Eh, it depends. With more press and consideration being given towards microplastics, some companies have switched over from using nylon plastic sachets to plant based alternatives. Harney and Sons for example uses sugarcane fiber almost exclusively.

>>19744408
Chamomile, elderflower, mint, and rooibos are all good

Has anyone here tried shaded bancha? How does it compare to regular, or to shaded sensha?

>>19756672
The idea of premium bancha is kind of weird but also kind of appealing. Most bancha is like 4th flush summer tea when they go in with trimmers and chop the tops of the bushes off to keep them waist height for next years harvest. It would be pretty interesting to see how that compares to bancha from first flush shaded bushes. That said isn't there already some type of tea that is basically just everything they sort out while prepping to make matcha?

>>19753802
>>19754865

L-l-lewd!!!

>>19757071
Yup, looks good

>>19757071
>>19757105
Damn

>>19756106
It’s a pre-2012 /clean/ meme. You had to be there.

how does the Dayi 7562 brick compare to the classic 7572 cake?
I'm thinking of throwing one into my next KTM order as the 2022 is quite a good price for KTM's Dayi selection
or should I pick up some Haiwan production instead?

I don't like pu-ehr tea.

>>19758138
your spiritual inadequacy is showing...

>>19758138
says every person who tried some stinky ripe from noname factory sold by local asian store or teashop specializing in "menstrual cleansing" blends

>>19758085
you have to try the classics, what can I tell you. gotta catch them all.

>>19758211
>you have to try the classics, what can I tell you
yeah, I don't know if I'll ever find this brick for cheaper and it seems to be one of the more popular numbered ripes from Dayi. guess I'll chuck it in there

Made a quirky westernised gong fu setup for two people. What do you think? Tea tasting cup, Rosenthal teacups, Ikea measuring cup as cha hai.

>>19758394
I have thought about grabbing a demitasse or some western teacup for gongfu before, its a nice change of pace

>>19758085
i have both and prefer the brick, but my 7572 needs to air out a bit so might not be a fair comparison

Does KTM declare full package value?

>>19758507
my last two KTM orders were declared low by an order of magnitude
John's a lad.

>>19758394
>quirky
Sounds gay and woman like.
The flowers are adorable though.

>>19758507
They lower it

>>19758511
>>19758543
Cool, thanks.

>>19758394
bit of a mismatch between chink bambu and german porzellan, aka kitsch. 5 years a noob tier. I'm just joshing, those cups are nice, they belong with tall mother porcelain teapot though, not on a kungfu tablet beside a yancha cupping cup.
Where did you get the lab pitcher with that specifically asian font that they use? Seems rare.

thoughts on this KTM cart? anything I should replace?

>>19758813
fucking micromanaged to a t, g, not a bad thing in sight, anyone?

>>19758813
Looks good to me

there you have it. good luck with the shipping. what's the total after coupons?

>>19758839
>>19758844
thanks, I guess that's the order then. I do like to micromanage my orders
haven't tried any black teas from KTM yet, but the Xiaguan seems like a great value for a whole pack, so I'm blind buying it
>>19758860
87$ without coupons and shipping

any young sheng recommendations from essence of tea? i'm tempted to just blind buy that singularity gushu cake they have on sale

>>19759142
I would suggest just picking something that sounds good and going for it.
That singularity sound fun if the idea of some powerful qi appeals to you.
I haven't tried much of their house pressings but ive been pretty happy with the older cakes he has offered so im happy to assume he has good taste when it comes to picking out material to press. For stuff in that same $$$ range the yiwu qween of the forest might me fun too.
Im also obligated to tell you to as least get a sample of one of their house yanchas if you are putting an order in. I got the first issue of that wuyi masters tasting set he did and it was pretty special, im guessing the current one will be great as well.

Hot water and leafs. End of the thread.

>>19759429

Trying out the 2009 LBZ from Yunnan Soucing. Wet leaf aroma of watermelon with chamoy and topsoil. Interesting.
Smooth to drink, with moderate astringency. Starts off sweet, but then turns smoky.

Started to get drunk on the 2nd steep.

>>19759456
Milk tea LBZ.
It numbed my tongue on the first sip, it tastes creamy/cheesy? Alongside is the flavor of candied yams with a mushrooms. Or maybe it's squash...

>>19759473
Well I guess you don't see that every day.

>>19759477
Would It taste good if brewed with coke instead of water?

>>19759456
Nice, hows the pot treating ya?

>>19759506
what's so futuristic about the flavour? also do it

>>19759473
>>19759506
>buy expensive LBZ cake
>mix it with milk and coke
I think this might be a crime punishable by death in China.

>>19759512
It tastes like how you would expect a clean urinal with that flowery scent.

>>19759508
Very good. Unfortunately one of my nephews decided to play with it and chipped the spout of the teapot. :/
One complaint I have with it is the pour. It sucks ass. Other than that, it doesn't take away much from the flavor.

>>19759506
you're not actually going to pour coke into your yishing pot, right?

>>19759512
AI designed it

>>19759523
I won't do it on my chazhou teapot. But I will do it on a glazed gaiwan.

>>19759506
Cold brew Sprite and young sheng may be fun.

>>19759534
It's happening. Rn I'm boiling the coke.

>>19759553

>>19759520
Eh they always chip eventually

>>19759556
Not gonna lie, it smells good.

>>19759553
>>19759556
>>19759563
lol

>>19759563

>>19759573
And here's the finished product. Coke-milk Lao Ban Zhong.
It tasted sweet and not astringent at all prior to adding the milk.
But with the milk, it tastes like squash with mushrooms.
It is a little bit duller, but not that bad desu.

>>19759581
>The puerh lesbian caliphate has issued a fatwa for your head.

>>19759581
>>19759599
oh shit

welp

Can I just throw these in a mug of boiling hot water and let it soak all day in my mug?

>>19760206
Sure

>>19759506
>>19759553
>>19759556
>>19759563
Hot cola with ginger and lemon juice is a home cold remedy in Hong Kong, so making tea isn't super farfetched.

>>19760206
Yes.

t. guy whose parents have a jujube tree and has multiple tubs of dried jujubes

For those of you that have big teapots, more than 150ml and such.
How many grams of tea do you use per session?

>>19760616
Put too much at first. Then put too little the second time. By the 4th time yuo'll get it perfeect for your pot.

>>19761271
lmao

>>19761271
Sprite is R*ddit, IIRC. The rest is accurate. You get a chuckle from me.

>>19760616
You go by the amount of water actually in the pot, not pot size. I'm the 350 ml kyusu anon and most of the time I just put 100 ml in there, 200 if I have a guest, 300 if I have two etc. Typically I do 5g/100 ml, but that's not gongfu.

What are we sipping on, /tea/? Pic related Yi Wu Zhi Chun for me (shortly). Haven't had it in a while, but thought about breaking into some sheng recently.

>>19761440
Damn, 20$ for a Yiwu cake sounds too good. How is it?
I sipped on some Mengku 2006 ripe, the hui gan was orgasmic.

>>19761271
Fucking kek.

>>19761448
This one has a nice "grape skin" quality, and a bit of subtle hay-like sweetness. Seems 'roastier' and sweeter than I remember somehow. Some prickly texture and astringency. Pleasantly thick and smooth in the mouth. I don't know about cost or where to get it, but it's some 2007 Yi Pin Tang leaf.
>Mengku 2006 ripe
What kind of notes in the sip and huigan? Retronasal aromas and a good huigan are my kind of thing.

>>19761492
It's got a pronounced woody character that first hits you, combined with a very slight bitterness that goes away quickly. The hui gan then follows, it starts in the back of throat and then fills your mouth.
Problem is, the tea is quite finnicky. You need just the right brew parameters to get that huigan. If you overbrew you just get an overpowering woody bitterness, without any huigan. Also it's doesn't have a lot of strength, by the 4th infusion you can already feel it losing it's power. A 5th infusion is useless, even left for 30 minutes, it just tastes like slightly flavoured water.

>>19759506
You broke your cup? that's really sad anon... that's why you want to hurt it with some coke...

>>19761551
Sounds refreshing; woody and bamboo-esque notes are great for that feeling, aren't they? A coating huigan like that just melts me. That said, I wonder what kind of parameters you're working with. Based off what you're suggesting, perhaps either lowering the water temperature and infusion time or splitting up the amount of leaf used into two separate sessions would be better since it's so finnicky. Though, maybe that wouldn't be as gutsy as you'd like. Flash infusions at high temps, perhaps? Sounds like it's worth experimenting with, anyway.

>>19761271
Yep

Almost out of my Black Pearl I bought a kilo and after reading about the lead content in chinese black teas what should I drink next instead?

>>19761855
Plutonium tea

>>19761855
It's a negligible 'issue' so long as you don't buy absolute garbage [???] tea. Picking something 'organic' and so on won't really change this much if at all, and just cost more. No region or country is perfect. Just buy good leaf from a decent source like the ones listed in the pastebin.

>>19761855
Not a true tea fan, many such cases

>>19761855
I reqd up a lot on this shit when I was starting out and I circled back to YOLO. I've never drank more than 10 g a day and I'm never getting pregnant either. Basically Chinese blacks are the worst offenders apparently, but the studies are usually done by people who don't get tea so you get stuff like cups/day as a metric. What's a cup? How many ml? How many grams of tea? Do you only use the leaves once or do you resteep?

But here's the kicker, coffee and cocoa are affected too by both lead and cadmium. There's mercury in fish, arsenic in rice, plastic in the fucking air. It's all poison. And I guarantee you, we'll discover even more of this shit as time goes on. It's all fucked and there's no going back. The whole diverse diet thing is your best bet at keeping the amounts of various poisons below harmful thresholds, but it's hard to say what's in what so stressing about it is probably going to be worse for you then just letting the poisons slowly get you. Death is inevitable; you'll likely live longer than most your ancestors anyway, just don't go schizo with this stuff.

>>19762483
>I've never drank more than 10 g a day
What are you doing? 14g should be the bare minimum, 22g for an average day

>>19762710
>22g for an average day
NTA but I'd brew 4L with that and no way I'd drink it all in a day. I guess you like it strong af but such a tolerance is both expensive and wasteful IMHO.

>>19762778
Roughly 3 7.5 gram gongfu sessions, works out to 3-4 litres of tea depending on how hard i push it

Tea

>>19742971
new
>>19762875
>>19762875
>>19762875

Had some xin gong yi white tea today. I thought white tea was supposed to be even lighter than green tea but if I hadn't known better I would have thought this was a black tea or at least a highly oxidated oolong. Was completely different from what I was expecting, even after I kept lowering the steeping time because it seemed like it kept getting bitter.