/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>20192117
I'm using money picked oolong, I brew it using a device similar to picrel

>>20192339
Thanks for using the rentry

Tried a new tea today. "Cha Guo Ke Liu Bao Seed Shells" from Dragon House. 5.8 grams at 100C for a minute (+30 secs for subsequent infusions).

It had some liu bao character to it, but also something else entirely. On the sweeter side as well.

>>20192510
Shells pre-brewing. One of them looked like it still had a seed in it. Bit into it, but nope, still shells.

>>20192339
More like pees, pissanes, and other urinal infusions

>>20192510
Try boiling them
7.5g in 1.25 litres of water
Bring water to boil, add shells, turn down to low simmer cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Ive seen that suggested a few times for making liubao seed shells
Did they have any noticeable caffeine?

>>20192518
Whatever floats your boat, Anon.

Old Ways Tea is doing their New Year box again
https://oldwaystea.com/products/lucky-yancha-box
These are fun if you want to try unusual teas. They fill them with things that are too limited to be worth making pages for and packages they do not know the contents of.

just figured out my teas have been mediocre forever because my ADHD brain only stirs it like once and now I force myself to stir my teas properly

>>20192339
whats the matcha that has the best bang for your buck. i drink matcha like water.

>>20192972
Matcha and cheap don't mix.
But try ito en
https://www.amazon.com/Ito-En-Matcha-Japanese-Organic/dp/B0CTFV2BF9/
Or sugimoto
https://www.sugimotousa.com/catalog/product/all-tea/organic-culinary-matcha/
Smaller size
https://www.sugimotousa.com/catalog/product/all-tea/organic-daily-matcha/

Saw this on o-chas website, is cheap shipping from japan finally bacj on the menu? Why did it take them so long to figure this out ebay guys got their shipping from japan prices back down like a year ago.
I just tested by throwing like 300g of sencha in my cart and there is now a small packet air option for $14.

>>20192339
I'm a noob and not big fan of warm beverages.
I like jasmine, how do I make it work?

>>20193158
Wait for it to cool down, or cold brew it?

>>20193158
If you're looking for a tea recommendation, this is a white tea as opposed to the typical green but I like it. It's sweet and the jasmine flavor is present but not overwhelming or artificial tasting.
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/jasmine-silver-needles-white-tea-of-yunnan

I have a bunch of dried lotus plumules.

Do they make a good tea? A vietnamese guy gave them to me cause they're good for male health.

>>20193287
Try it and find out
Either make a decoction or cold brew them

Building a tea theme'd guitar

>>20193287
Judt looked up a recipie, looks like steep 3-5 grams in 200-300ml of 90°c water for 5-7 minutes

>>20192740
Thanks, have a small 50ml gaiwan so I should be able to get a lot of tastings with this.

Was hoping my orders would arrive for chinese new year, ah well.

>>20193394
That's cool how did you engrave it?

>>20193747
Just a laser engraving. Friend is a high end jeweler and has tons of equipment and said he wanted to engrave my guitar for me. Tea is important to me so I get tea themed engravings

which gyokuro do you guys buy from?

>>20193158
>>20193171
thanks I'll try cold brewing do you think adding lemon is a good idea? How long can I keep cold brewed tea in the fridge? I'm trying to adopt a routine where I drink like a cup or two everyday.

>>20193865
I like to buy from lokoforgyokuro.jp

>>20193865
ippodo

>>20193865
If you are willing to order from japan try
https://www.o-cha.com/loose-leaf-green-tea/gyokuro/
Or one of the other Japanese vendors in the pastebin
Otherwise ippodo is good but typically more expensive then the stires in japan

>>20193856
That's really cool anon, both your plan, that your friend helped you, and that you love tea so much. I'm just a visitor from /jp/ who's been lurking here for a few threads (I drink a lot of tea, but this thread has inspired me to learn more about it), but I can say this is one of the most pleasant generals I've visited in a long time.

>>20193889
A long time ago this thread used to be on /jp/, so like to think of it as a /jp/ thread in spirit.

>>20192339
I have two teas rn that don't taste very good, one is a chai that is like 3 years old and was kept sealed inside the cheap plastic bag it came in until recently. The other is a new canister of blackberry sage tea from republic of tea (I know this stuff is scented and probably no great quality). They both taste off to me, and I have had the blackberry sage tea before (like a few years ago) and it was fine then. I am brewing them both western with boiling water and like a 3 minute steep. So am I brewing these worng or should I just toss them?

>>20192740
Thanks anon, I've been meaning to try yancha for a while, looks like now is the time.

>>20194013
Did you get an order in? They're already out of stock.

>>20194140
Yeah I did, looks like I was just in time

I wanna try the Maghrebi mint tea... I wonder what they're gonna do with all those garlic cloves.

>>20194177
Apparently it's also known as Moroccan mint tea? So it's gunpowder green and mint? Neat!

I’ve been drinking mostly chamomile teas but it makes me eepy. What do you recommend for making big batches and storing some for later as iced tea?

>>20194211
Yeah, I'd be sipping it right now if I had the mint in. The gunpowder does somehow have a taste a bit like mint without the menthol, I think it'll be a good pair.

>>20194287
You can ice pretty much anything to be honest, go wild. I did iced ripe once and it was a bit funny though.
I particularly like cold brewed longjing, I make that a lot in summer.

>>20194318
I forgot to mention I’m a tea pleb. What would you recommend for something to drink at work for example? I was thinking of mint/spearmint for the minty refresh, but I am so clueless with what else to add it’s sad.

>>20194324
Mint at work is comfy.
>>20194287
A tea without caffeine so you can drink it at any hour.

>>20194324
If you don't want caffeine mint isn't a bad choice, I like it. I haven't tried too many herbs iced.
Since we were just talking about it, gunpowder green (you can buy cheap box on amazon) and mint would probably be good on ice, with sugar if you want.

Does oolong taste okay western style? I want to be lazy today.

>>20194325
>>20194340
Thanks bros, time to do some research

>>20194460
You can also try freezing some in ice cube trays for the ice cubes instead of water.

>>20194442
Sure does.

>cracked gaiwan lid
le sigh

>>20193889
Join the cunnification and drink young puerh

>>20192339
bros... when will new japanese green teas be out? i wanna pick some up but i feel i ought to wait to get fresher tea

>>20194287
Hibiscus
Ginger
Mint
Ma huang

>>20194287
Lemonbalm
Roasted barley
Honeybush / roibos
Tulsi (holy basil)

>>20194683
Harvest starts early to mid april. Tea soon after. Maybe worth waiting at this point

>>20192339
Do you squeeze your tea bags after you remove them to get all the goodness out of them?

>>20194792
No, you mostly just get more astringency, tannins and other flavors you don't want

>>20192518
pee post best post

>>20194287
>>20194735
I second ginger and mint. Hibiscus is pretty popular too. If anon makes a drink with lemon and mint it will be really refreshing.

can't find a matcha bowl that tickles my 'tism
this is torture that i just cannot handle

>>20194867
When in doubt, go with black Raku. Like in Hyouge Mono...
www.artisticnippon.com/product/teaceremonygoods

>>20194867
If I were to replace my cheap amazon bowl I'd probably get an origami. I've got their coffee dripper and some very nice little cups.
https://roguewavecoffee.ca/products/origami-matcha-bowl-540-ml?variant=40750622507059

>>20194954
>>20194867
Paint it black.

matcha thread!!!!!!!!!!!
I still cant get the foam really right, might get a different chasen and see if its better

>>20195011
Looks good desu I'd be satisfied with that. How long are you whisking it?

>>20195112
>How long are you whisking it?
im not really timing it just whisking it low until it looks right then i raise the chasen a bit and whisk slower to manage the foam

>>20194954
thanks for linking that site i forgot to check it
https://www.artisticnippon.com/product/teaceremonygoods/matcha135.html
i think i like this one but i worry about spending that much because maybe i won't like it once i see it in person. i guess the best solution is to sit on it. we'll see in a month, if it's still around...
>>20194961
i was looking for one without a pour spout but otherwise i do like the look of the white variant
>>20194989
the subtle red made me lol, someone actually did paint black over it...

>that 1950s 210$ / 10 gram liu bao at Essence of Tea
sounds like a great daily drinker

>>20195535
Y'all just losers if you don't drink Da Hong Pao everyday.

Just enjoyed a very nice Oolong
Frozen Summit (Dong Ding Wulong), Spring 2020, Chin Xuan cultivar, origin - Alishan, Chiayi, Taiwan

>>20195918
bought from company called 'meileaf'
highly recommend them and their youtube channel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBG2WhHi6UA

>>20195535
>cheap liu bao exported for the tin ore miners
>let it sit in a mouldy basement and forget about it
>70 years later: Yeah that will be 210 bucks guilao, don't forget to tip

>>20193921
I remember when it was specified in the rules that /tea/ threads were certified /jp/ culture

>>20193889
Yeah the general is both comfy and knowledgeable. Top tier place.
I really gotta restock on jap greens, I love them, much more so than Chinese greens. They have that astringency and savory-fruity balance I love in young sheng too, but in a milder amd more seaweedy way.

>>20196240
What kinda jap greens do you like? Deep steamed? Lightly steamed?

>>20196330
all the ones I got from o-cha this year were deep-steamed, but I'm not sure if I have a preference honestly. they both have their merits. hard to ignore the awesome body on deep-steamed teas though, it's like a goddamn smoothie

>>20196343
Yeah the jap greens definitely have some big texture

>>20195918
Dong Ding is a classic

why isn't your gongfu on this guys level?

>>20196419
Yes, it's nice.
Not one of my favourites but certainly a very nice tea.

Still haven't found anything I like more than Candy Tree Black, Wuyi, Fujian, China

>>20196681
try some more wild black teas then. either yesheng or the taiwanese shan cha. I can recommend the shan cha from Yuchi, it's very fruity and candy-like. you'll have to wait for this year's harvest though

>would you like a taste of my oolong tea?

>>20194177
>>20194211
>The basic ingredients of the tea are green tea, fresh mint leaves, sugar, and boiling water. The proportions of the ingredients and the brewing time can vary widely. Boiling water is used in the Maghreb, rather than the cooler water that is used in East Asia to avoid bitterness. The leaves are left in the pot while the tea is consumed, changing the flavor from one glass to the next. It is poured into glasses from high above to swirl loose tea leaves to the bottom of the glass, whilst gently aerating the tea to improve its flavor.

Traditionally, the tea is served three times. The amount of time it has been steeping gives each of the glasses of tea a unique flavor, described in this famous Maghrebi proverb:

>“The first glass is as gentle as life,
the second is as strong as love,
the third is as bitter as death.”

>>20194211
>>20196755
it's a cool tradition. they make it very sweet though IIRC

What do y'all think of matcha with milk? Been considering it and idk why

>>20196667
because i'm an amerimutt

Hey, I'm the anon that was asking about Old Ways Tea last week. In the end, I decided to place the order, and it arrived super quick.

Pic is my haul, I bought a bunch of random samples. Anything that sounded particularly nice, I bought a 3-pack of samples. Just as a reminder, every one of these little package is 8 grams of tea. The blue packaging on the right is something I decided to take a risk on buying a lot of, because that year's harvest (2021) of that cultivar of tea (Fo Shou/Buddha's Hand) was one of my favorites when I once purchased it from Yunnan Sourcing, and I've honestly been chasing that yancha dragon ever since it sold out. Since I first started looking at the site, ~3 other entries for Fo Shou of different years have sold out, and this one also seems to be heading that route since 200g bags of it are listed as out of stock. I offer this story only to explain why I bought so much of it.

Naturally, it was the first I cracked open now that I'm getting to it.

At first I was disappointed, however, I found out after the session that I made the mistake of using too low temperature of water for what's called for. I used 195F, they recommend 205F. When I made this swap I got a noticeably different, better flavor from my mostly spent leaves. I'm going to let my tongue rest and come back to this style later on, with a proper review that goes according to the instructions given, as that last taste was very promising.


One last thing worth mentioning is that I feel they were fairly generous with the free samples they included. There was no paper invoice or any notation in the packaging detailing what these freebies were, but checking the email invoice shows they gave me some "Tongmu charcoal roasted black tea"
and some old tree "Lao Cong Shui Xian" for free. Very kind, looking forward to trying both of them, amongst everything else.

>>20196667
imagine the qi

>>20196874
Im jealous, i wish i had yancha to drink.
My favorite way to brew it. Stuff 8 grams in a 100ml gaiwan. Use boiling water, keep the infusions real short at first and then push it after the flavor starts to drop off.
Like 4 grams in a mug brewed grampa style is nice too.

>>20196874
Looking forward to hearing about some of them.
I'm drinking through my cheap fullchea yancha, it's drinkable but man it aint the good stuff.

>>20197319
>cheap fullchea yancha, it's drinkable but man it aint the good stuff.
I really need to try the cheap kingteamall yancha
Im hoping its sever steps above the fullchea stuff while still being kinda cheap.
He has a few expensive ones but he also has a few that are $25-$30 for 200g

>>20197340
Some of that A++++++ shit he stocks is next on my cheap yancha hitlist actually. Maybe a rou gui and da hong pao.
If that doesn't hit the spot I'll just have to cave and buy some expensive stuff I guess.

>>20197353
Nice i would love to hear about it

I normally order oolong from Yunnan Sourcing and Verdant Tea, but I wanted to expand my ordering habbits. Another anon here suggested oldwaystea. Anybody have experience with this vendor?
Would this sampler pack me a good first purchase?
https://oldwaystea.com/products/2022-oolong-sample?taxon_id=38

>>20197436
Yeah that sampler seems like a fun time
Go for it
I think you will find it nicer then yunnan sourcings offerings
Lazy cat has a sampler but its $20 more for slightly less tea
Essence of tea has a fancy wuyi collection of samples but it's like $100
Old ways is at a decent price point for yancha and only having to pay for domestic shipping doesn't hurt either

>>20196667
>no tetsubin
>no caligraphy scrolls
>no guqin softly playing in the background
0/10, would no drink

good taobao links for calligraphy scrolls?
can i order one that says powerful penis energy or something from some aliexpress store?

God i love aliexpress
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256802316336734.html?
Any one know any good short phrases about penis energy i can use?
Or should i just be lame and get something like cha qi?

>>20197510
Maybe i can get that shit they used to engrave on the old factory one pots that said "Please Drink Chinese Oolong Tea

>>20197510
陰莖氣

>>20197560
>penis qì
Based

I tried hibiscus tea and it tasted like stomach acid. What gives?

Tea home sent an email out, something that might be a new year sale may be happening.

>>20198111
Lol google translate sucks at traditional chinese

>>20192339
>https://rentry.org/teageneral
When did Upton get removed?
I haven't even seen this, when did you guys change from pastebin

>>20198460
pastebin had a critical existence failure, so some anon moved it to another site

Anyone ever tried Thailand tea?

I'm looking to place a new tea order and an online retailer has a sample selection (8 x 10g packs of variety of black teas)
includes one from Thailand - Wild Forest Assamica

I'm keen to try it.

>>20198475
I really haven't kept up well over the past 2 years. Man I used to be a regular here
I still remember when I seasoned my Zuni Pot while giving updates and an anon yelling at me for being retarded. I miss those days

>>20198482
stay a while, the general is still top quality

>>20198477
I've had a Taiwanese-style oolong from Thailand. I know they have some of those knock-offs, but I wonder what their original tea is like

>>20198485
top quality autism

>>20198499
the best quality

>>20198489
https://tea-side.com/ have a pretty wide variety. Don't know much about them though it's just from the pastebin. They got some old hag liu bao that's not insanely expensive.

my FarmerLeaf order will finally arrive today. shit has been sitting at the customs office for two weeks for some reason

>>20198545
Teadb talked about them a little.
https://teadb.org/tea-side-featured-vendor/

>>20198586
thanks for the link
looking forward to learning about and trying some Thai tea

>>20198477
>>20198489
The oolong I bought from taiwan tea crafts did not impress me.

I have some vacuum packed green tea that will have to be stored for a relatively long time. Should I freeze or refrigerate it or just leave it in the cabinet?

>>20198709
for vacuum packed Japanese greens putting them in the fridge is the standard I think. for Chinese room temp should be fine I think

can /tea/ help me identify a tea?
I've had some very good flavoured (black?) french tea years ago at an event. It came in a black zipper back with at least 250g inside. The name was "le perfum" or something.
The zipper bag opened on the long side
It was the best thing I ever smelled, heavily scented.

>>20198932
maybe something from Mariage Freres?

>>20198081
Hibiscus is very tart, if you're not a fan of it on it's own, it's very good sweetened.

>>20198460
>When did Upton get removed?
It was a while ago now.
Im just not confident that upton is still a solid recommendation. Way too many people got tea from them they found bland. I kinda get the impression they arent doing the kinda sales volume they were 20 years ago and freshness is becoming an issue, or they just got comfortable ordering the same standard teas from the same suppliers and they aren't doing sufficient qc outside of the boutique Darjeelings that they source in the spring.

>>20192339
Looking for a gaiwan grip infographic I ran into here a while ago. It showed around a dozen ways to hold it, IIRC. Not only can I not find that particular one, but I can't seem to find anything similar either; I'm honestly not sure if it's me or Google at this point. So please send gaiwan grip charts, I guess.

>>20199572
I feel like I've seen one like you described, but the only one I have is this.

I bought chamomile flowers off of Amazon and I'm a little disappointed in how weak they are.

>>20199786
Use more
But i agree sourcing herbs is annoying, lots are stale or not great quality

>>20199518
This kinda annoys me since I did that huge Vahdam v Upton thing a few years ago which proved Upton was of similar quality to Vahdam

Annoying my birthday is at the end of february so it's right before the harvest.
Gonna do a big tea order today so it might hopefully get here by the time I'm 28. I dislike puerh and have more than enough of it, buying greens right now is kinda dumb, so I guess it's going to be a big oolong year.
Which vendor has the best selection of winter oolongs? I've had Taiwan Sourcing oolongs before and they were great, but that vendor rarely updates stocks.

>>20199872
check all the Taiwan specific vendors. Taiwan has the best winter harvests AFAIK

>>20199968
I know the check the vendors, I'm asking someone to vouch for one

>>20199696
Thanks. This might actually be the one, or a part of it, at least. The Illustrations look familiar, though I'm pretty sure when I saw them, they weren't printed on a tea towel.

ree rentry is being slow

>>20200098
I was gonna suggest tea-masters but they haven't been additing many teas lately. I guess if you wanna buy a big bag of Oriental beauty, but they don't have anything from this winter so far.
https://www.tea-masters.com/en/jassid-bitten/1714-1594-2023-summer-oriental-beauty-tradition-from-hsin-chu.html#/1-weight-25_gr

>>20200098
>>20200178
Whoops they do have a few simple winter oolongs. Nothing fancy.
https://www.tea-masters.com/en/35-lightly-oxidized

Where do I get a good tea table/tray? The one I have been using for my gongfu tea sessions is old has seen better days.
Looking on my own, a lot of websites selection isn't great. I don't really want to buy one on amazon or etsy.
So far verdant tea and umiteasets have the best ones. Any other vendors that people here have used?

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2022-yunnan-sourcing-da-qing-gu-shu-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake
Opinions on this tea? I'm sipping through a sample right now, and it's my first time with genre.

>>20200426
Unless you get custom pieces they basically all come from factories in china. Aliepxress can be good if you carefully check customer reviews and photos.
I suggest getting one with a wooden slat top, and an inner removable plastic bin that catches the water, then it's easy to throw in the dishwasher and you dont have any nasty cleanup if you accidentally leave water in one for a few days.
You can also find the clay or tin teaboats on various sites, most of them are pretty small but you can find larger ones as well. With those they have a top removable piece and the base is just like a big bowl.
Kind tea mall also has some stainless steel ones.
Lately ive been into using a smaller teaboat for the cups/pitcher and then a small bowl for the teapot or gaiwan.
Purple cloud has some nice clay teaboats.
Essence of tea has some nice tin ones

>>20200444
What do you think of it? I dont see a ton of reviews of YS raw productions here. I think people find his selection a little overwhelming.

>>20200460
I normally drink 7+ year-olds and wanted to try something younger, and I'd never tried gushu, so my choice wasn't very challenging, since YS only had two or three young gushus in stock at the time.
As for what I think, the early steepings taste smooth and vaguely mushroomy, while later ones are a little astringent and taste more like typical chinese greens, which I don't typically bother with.

>>20200629
Yeah you tend to see some of that chinese green tea flavor seep in with younger shengs. It's more prominent with some then others.
Gushu is interesting. I see vendors insist they can tell the difference between younger trees and gushu and im not sure how obvious it is. I guess its pretty clear when compared to cheeap plantation bush tea but once you get into the more "natural tea garden" territory it gets less obvious to me. Maybe more endurance, maybe different flavor profiles. There are so manny variables that go into puer production it can be hard for me to pin down what causes what in the end flavor.

>>20200444
I haven't ordered from YS since 2019 but I've always liked them. It's a solid operation, but as anon alluded to, they have far too many puerh offerings. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but have you ever been to a restaurant that has a 5 page menu? It all sounds good, but only a relatively few number of items come out great.
I'm going to make another order from Scott this Spring. A handful of cakes here and there, trying a wide range.
Anyway, chances are what you're drinking is a darn fine first puerh to drink. What are your opinions?

>>20200701
See >>20200668

>>20200668
So far I can't claim to have found any "premium gushu-ness" from the Da Qing compared to the factory shengs I'm used to.

>>20200701
See >>20200629

>>20200668
So far I can't claim to have found any "premium gushu-ness" from the Da Qing compared to the factory shengs I'm used to.

>>20200668
YS's strongest thing is having a wife selection of loose leaf that every other western facing vendor neglects. Everyone else focuses toi much on Puerh

>>20192339
For me it's the Bigelow Green Tea 40 pack

>>20200444
I was actually drinking the 2019 version of this today and liked it a lot. Haven’t drank a ton of pu-erh to where I can describe it too well, but mine definitely didn’t feel like it had an overwhelming amount of astringency and not really any green tea taste going on. Tasted more orchard like with bitterness towards to beginning which gave way to more honey notes towards the middle/end

>>20200426
Don't buy a pewter one, pewter contains lead. I wouldn't get tin either but that's just my opinion.

>>20200760
honestly this. i've been scrolling through and i never realized how pretentious tea can get. i'll stick to the classics, especially because they're readily available everywhere

>>20200760
>>20201275
Isn't it more cost effective to drink loose leaf?

>>20201275
I wanna know where do people get the impression of pretentiousness from? You can drink tea bags if you want, the thread is just people talking about stuff they like.

>>20201310
Not that anon but I haven't seen pretentiousness either. Anons sometimes post tea bag tea and no one bullies them.

>>20201281
And its not even close. On the other side of the spectrum, keurigtards are paying $60-$90/lb for some of the worst coffee grown.

>>20201428
I think the problem is people get too caught up in branding of tea fannings.

>>20201275
it doenst taste good and once you start drinking whole leaf tea, you dont wanna drink bags.

>>20198568
What did you get?

>>20201446
Fukkin love that bear.

>>20201526
I used to drink this as a kid.

>>20201281
i only drink loose/pressed tea and havent had a single tea bag in years and the answer is absolutely not for most people, not because it does not cost more to pack the tea into bags, because it does, but just because you are exposing yourself to a higher quality level of tea that you are willing to pay more fot.

Good tea is like good headphones. You don't even notice the difference until you try something high-end, but once you do, you can't go back without being harshly confronted by the differences.

>>20200735
>YS's strongest thing is having a wife
indeed, Scott is a lucky man

>>20197340
>>20197353
I'm a newbie to yancha, but I've liked the Rou Gui and Tie Luo Han from KTM

I'm addicted to tea. I drink daily 5 cups of tea, sometimes more. In the morning I drink 2 cups one after the other. Lately it was all strong black tea, I used to drink strong green teas though. Any tips how to slown down and make the tea a treat agian? I sometimes drink herbs or dried fruits infusion, almost never coffee.

>>20201855
buy more expensive tea

>>20201855
Yeah, I have my daily drinker cheap tea, and some pricier good shit which I take my time with.

https://www.arborteas.com

I buy nearly all my teas from them. I dropped coffee, mostly, and now drink good teas. I had been so hopped up on caffeine I was using booze to come down at night. Tea restored my balance. Tastes great, too.

>>20192740
>>20194140
FUCKING SHIT
I wanted to buy this but I forgot. God DAMN it.

>>20201855
Become really poor

>>20201628
>good headphones
No such thing. IEMs for life.
>until you try something high-end
In teas just like in audiofoolery, price doesn't matter.
There are cheap tasty teas as well as teas costing 3x as much and tasting much worse.
No I will not buy your 1000x folded shincha.
No I will not buy your $1/g poojeet shit.
No I will not buy your kilobuck technicalities.

>>20201917
>https://www.arborteas.com
>organic decaf black tea
What the fuck is this shill post?
Fuck off with this overpriced garbage

FarmerLeaf order is here!
Got some cool bonus samples this time, the Zhu Tang that an anon was asking about and a generous slug of Nannuo Gushu! Feels like a thoughtful choice because of the La Man E cake I bought, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

>>20202130
Forgot photo whoops

>>20202130
>>20202134
Whole haul

do you guys ever feel the urge to bite into tea cakes

>>20201917
Glad you're enjoying tea, it's an amazing leaf. Make sure to branch out some time, there's a lot of good stuff out there.
>>20202117
The prices are not really that high (less than 10 cents a gram for every tea I looked at). I don't know if it's 'worth it' or not but one could do a lot worse.

Had the Takamura Kamairicha sample from Tezumi yesterday (and one last infusion from the same leaves this morning). I liked it. Sweet and very low bitterness and astringency. Would be a good daily drinker or breakfast tea. Here are the brewed leaves.

>>20202173
I also ate the leaves afterward. By themselves, they're mildly sweet and a little chewy. I tossed them in with some leftover noodles for breakfast.

>>20202181
This is the perfect opportunity to confess that lapsang souchong is a key ingredient in my dry spice rub for ribs.

>>20192510
Does it help with getting boners?

>>20192515
What does the power on button do?

>>20202203
Drink ginseng tea.

>>20194177
>foamy
Mmmmmmmm!

>>20202136
Nice! Let us know what you think about the zhu tang.
I'm also interested about the 2023 tang fang liang zi since I've sample of the 2021 version which I like a lot.
The pictures of 2021 and 2023 look significantly different so I'm not sure if I should save some money on the 2023.
Lao man e could be also interesting I guess, but so far I'm not a big fan of autumn samples.

>>20202206
I got ginseng pills.

>>20202210
>zhu tang
Does
it
help
you
with
YOUR BONER?

>>20202117
hello fellow /iemg/fag
enjoying the fotm pos are we?

>>20202238
I've found a peace and left that place.
It's all sipping fotm memes from now on.

Hello /tea/. I have been drinking pic rel for the last half a year or so every morning with collagen and organic honey. Is there anyway that I could be getting more out of my green tea experience? I drink it for some caffeine content and as something easy to enjoy as I don't usually like coffee.

>>20201700
Thanks

>>20202210
The autumn Lao Man E got a bit of hype here last year, so I thought it's worth a cake, especially since I tend to like agressive teas with higher bitterness and lower astringency

the Tang Fang Liang Zi sounded like a standout cake for value too, so I got a sample. I understand it's a softer, fruitier profile?

>>20202136
Nice
I wanna hear what you think of the zhu tang
I need to brew the last of my sample

>>20202327
>I understand it's a softer, fruitier profile?
All I gonna say is it put smile on my face.

>>20202250
>getting more out of my green tea experience
It's a bit of a vague question. Usually with tea the simplest thing to do is to get some higher quality leaves, you can check out some vendors in the OP rentry.

>>20202348
I guess I'm referring to caffeine content and flavor. Will either of those be heightened with better leaves?

>>20202396
Definitely so for flavor, possibly for caffeine. Depends on the exact type of green tea.

>>20202245
glad to hear, because i was going to say the same exact thing. that whole board has gone too far downhill for me to handle even satirically. what iems did you land on in the end?

>>20202430
My goto is p5.
But I also have good single DD and quedlix 5k so.. technically I've them all.
Tea2 was tempting but another $200 is just too much, I would rather throw it at FL.

This thread has a lot of /g/ overlap I've noticed. Lots of guys with mechanical keyboards too

>>20202438
Mechanical keyboards are more common now than they were years ago. You're also on a site where we do a lot of typing. I have a mechanical keyboard as well.

Who also /waterdistilling/ here?

>>20202459
Thx for the reminder. I could use an extra gal.

>>20202459
>>20202465
I'm torn between a home distiller and an RO system. If you wanted to blogpost about your experiences with a home distiller from the perspective of a tea drinker, I would be happy to consider it.

>>20202459
Ive been tempted to get one of those to distill booze.
Are you brewing tea with distilled water? You should check out the water mineral recipies in the rentry.

>>20202475
>blogpost about your experiences with a home distiller from the perspective of a tea drinker
Can do.
>Had jap distiller from the 80s sitting around
>found a regular usecase
>????
>profit
Its mostly for making coffee/espresso water. +potassium bicarb +calcium chloride. I haven't played around with dialing in multimineral tea water autism yet, I just use leftover "holy water" most of the time. Its a constant fan drone for 4+hrs to distill a single gallon so I run it in my garage as needed. Not the most convenient, but its more convenient than not having a source of distilled. I keep 2-3 gallons on hand.

Been using some really old gifted teavanna black leaves to make this booch. I probably make like 3L at a time with 6 teaspoons of dry leaves.
I've never really into tea before so can I just buy these fancy leaves you guys like and dump the same amount of leaves into my big pot and keep making tea the same way or do I NEED the little small pots?

>>20202475
if you really want pure water you need both, because distillation does not produce perfectly clean water, there's a lot it won't get.

>>20202510
What is booch?

>>20202438
>guys with mechanical keyboards
>guys
anon…

>>20202510
>do I NEED the little small pots
Nah you can brew it any way you want. There's some info in the rentry if you scroll down for brewing in western style.

Does the japanese style of tea pot have any benefits over a regular tea pot?

>>20202516
Not that anon but I've found that western style makes my tea have more of that tannins taste.
>>20202515
ywnbaw

>>20202510
I made a stockpot of "fancy" leaves for booch on saturday. Like 14g/2gal. Hot bloom cold brew sheng. (Old)pic rel.

Trying to buy a brewing vessel with a specific volume is a gamble.
>buy 150 mL gaiwan
>functional volume is actually around 100-110 mL, 150 ml is up to the rim (description didn't mention this).
>in the cup end up with around 80-90 ml of brewed tea

>>20202528
Yeah I prefer it with higher amount of leaf too, but for kombucha it's not an issue I guess.

>>20202510
Thinking about it, the ferment might destroy some of the qualities of the tea, so maybe don't use anything too expensive.

>>20202475
anon with the first image here
My tap water calcium content is north of 200mg/l which makes it unusable for anything /tea/. What you want is something below 30mg/l. Normal charcoal filters do poorly on calcium and distilling is about the same cost of buying water from the supermarket but with less waste so I took the distilling route. Often usable water isn't available at the supermarket, they change their sources all the time. Happy with the decision.

>>20202476
>You should check out the water mineral recipies in the rentry.
Thanks for the hint, didn't look at that yet.
I cut my distilled water again with about 10% tap water to get some remineralisation.
Pure distilled water can taste a bit sour with tea since calcium acts as an acidic buffer.
>Ive been tempted to get one of those to distill booze.
Yeah people do that. Get a temperature controlled one for that. I don't want to try with mine since the booze taste is probably impossible to get out of the machine afterwards.

>>20202203
I don't need the help. ;)

>>20202199
Sounds like it could be good. I bought an oolong/green pepper mix that I use with some other spices as a seasoning salt.

What's the full rub recipe?

>>20202204
It's a digital scale.

>>20192510
Funny enough the Dragon House website has directions close to what you wrote, but the bag has different instructions. I'll try boiling it next time.

>Did they have any noticeable caffeine?
I didn't really notice much. If it does have caffeine, it's on the lower side.

>>20202551
I do.

>>20202518
>Does the japanese style of tea pot have any benefits over a regular tea pot?
They typically have a fine mesh filter which is good for the heavily steamed Japanese green teas which tend to have lots of small broken pieces. Beyond that not really, some people might like the ergonomics more but that's really subjective.

>>20202557
Try horny goat weed tea.

>>20202577
What does it do?

>>20202577
>>20202588
Also want to know.

>>20202541
I'm stupid and relatively new here. Would you mind explaining what I'm looking at, anon? I'm curious!

>>20202605
That is a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast. A SCOBY. Its what ferments tea and sugar into kombucha. Kombucha is an anaerobic ferment, so the first thing a new batch does is form a big pellicle/skin at the top of your container to prevent any outside contaminants from getting in. You're looking at the top of that pellicle in a 2gallon crock.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCOBY
https://stonewareoutlet.com/2-gallon-crock/

>>20202626
you ever eat the scoby?

>>20202654
NTA but yes, it's got a good, chewy texture although it doesn't taste like much.

>>20202654
>he doesn't eat the Scobysnacks
NGMI

>>20202660
coat that fucker in egg flour and breadcrumbs and spices and fry it.

>>20202528
Western style definitely extracts more tannins, but you can compensate by reducing temperature. I have found that a reduction of about 5 degrees gives similar astringency between methods.

>>20202654
People make fruit leather out of them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsJEiWadC_I

from a book "the art of fermentation", cool book.

>>20202719
I remember some dudes were trying to make "vegan leather" out of scobys, not sure it it ever worked out. Seems like it would just make some bizzare dried slime

>>20202437
which single dd?
i settled on katos since they don't have qc issues, and i love how they look which is bonus points
>Tea2 was tempting
was it the name...
>>20202438
i've noticed most autism generals have /g/ overlap, it's probably because if you have one autistic hobby you're bound to have at least a few more

>>20202734
Looks like some human skin serial killer shit

>>20202736
>which single dd?
Aria se because I didn't know what I was doing when I started.
However It was an entry point to the world of graphs where I eventually chosed the p5 since I liked it the most.

Anons, what's your favorite tea/s to cold brew? I'm trying to quit sugar and I'm really starting to miss my sugary sodas and ice teas.

>>20202829
A nice roasted tieguyanyin oolong
Second flush Darjeeling
You can always just get a big box of ceylon black tea and coldbrew that
https://www.amazon.com/Alwazah-Triple-Traders-Loose-Ceylon/dp/B07DZ4M75Z/

>>20202551
meant to tag >>20192537

>>20202829
Longjing

>>20202438
autismo consoomer hobbies tend to go together. I'm sure we have some overlap will perfume guys too

*SIPS*

Aaaah that really hits the spot

I have to stop drinking it now, but I want to get the most out of my tea leaves.

Would it be better to put the leaves in the fridge and continue brewing tomorrow or brew a last strong infusion and put the cup in the fridge to drink tomorrow?

>>20203186
Dont put wet brewed tea leaves in the fridge. Leave them out overnight or put them in the frige in cold water to make some overnight cold brew

>>20203170
/fa/ used to have a pretty good perfume thread. There was a lot of DIY stuff and half the people there were obsessed with cb I hate perfume. I doubt any of the people post there anymore.

>>20203333
/fa/ hasn't been good since it became a typical incel board. Same with /fit/. Nobody is interested in fitness/fashion as an artform/hobby anymore.

I bought a Darjeeling monsoon flush from Ambootia tea estate and Japanese green kukicha. Good stuff. I especially like the Darjeeling, the monsoon flush could be my favorite of the flushes. It's a rich and luxurious taste.

>>20203352
>monsoon flush
What time of year is that? Fall?

>>20203371
I think august/september. Second flush is june/july, then comes monsoon flush, then autumn flush.

>>20203340
It seems like a lot of this site has lost what used to make it worth coming here for. There are still good discussions to be found, but I feel like much of the internet in general has become a place for hot takes and clap-backs and black-and-white viewpoints where even the most minimal nuance or room for discussion is unwelcome, on literally any topic at all. It's exhausting. Not to blogpost, of course, but it's nice to find a thread where people still share information and actually discus the topic at hand. I feel like a tea novice after spending time here, but that's nice. It's nice to learn new things from the posters here. I hope all of you have perfect steeps for all your days to come.

>>20203417
Funny how things ended up isn't it.
I'm pulling out some shit from the crypt. Only just getting around to trying this brick actually, I got it after somebody here recommended it. I think I aired it out for a while, it doesn't carry much yeeon storage smell. Smells like fuckin nice dirt.

>>20203530
Yeah i enjoyed that one, nice and smooth

I just keep on sipping.
Probably the best and definitely the cheapest of the few raws I had from yeeon so far. Really hitting the spot. A little on the astringent side but I won't complain for this price. You can push it hard as well.

>>20202438
>>20202736
>>20203170
It's fucking over lmao.

>>20203417
>>20203530
Cheers

>>20202898
>>20203065
Thank you anons I'll check if my local tea shop has this tomorrow. For now I just got some regular supermarket green tea and cold brewed it, it's pretty refreshing.

>>20203710
Enjoy, greens on ice are always nice as they say (I made it up).

>>20203710
If you have any local asian markets they usually have big bags of black tea. The tins of flavored black tea they have are decent too

Damn i actually burned my hand pouring a gaiwan. I haven't done that in years

>>20203710
What's the wooden thing?

>>20200426
I'm also wondering about tea trays because I stained my counter with tea, oops.
>>20200454
I guess I'll check some of these sites.

>>20203333
a lot has changed. it's not a great general nowadays, it's mostly noobs asking which Eros to buy and opinionated cocky shitposting. no OC or DIY of course. but it's still better than some other generals, at least the resident schizos aren't always online

>>20203624
at least you're not into fountain pens

>>20204412
H-Hahaha... fuck...

I bought these viet tan cuong teas at a local online asian shop, and they are surprisingly nice.
Payed only like 5 euro for 500grams, so i got the tan cuong lotus and tan cuong jasmine teas too. (those were only approx 10 euro per 500g)

Does anyone know any other similar nice cheap teas like this??

>>20202130
>>20202136
really enjoying my first session with the Zhu Tang. it's really fragrant stuff, both upfront and returning fragrance in the throat, strongly floral. has some of that green and citrusy taste like the Fa Zhan He too

>>20193856
>simplified chinese

>>20204412
As a dollfag, your people have my sympathy. Would you mind telling me more about why fountain pens cost so much? I don't know much about them.

Just woke up. Think I'll start the day with a nice loose oolong I have, the origin of which I have no idea. I turned into a teafag because a friend gifted me a bunch of tea from adagio and I'm still going through it all. But I think it's fun to drink leafwater, yet taste rocks.

>>20202210
didn't the description for 2021 Tang fang Liang Zi say it was processed really on the green side? and I think William mentioned this year's is more on the red side. maybe that's where the difference comes from.

I've come to the conclusion building the mound for yerba mate is a waste of time.

>>20204723
sovlless

>>20204678
>Would you mind telling me more about why fountain pens cost so much?
99% of it is branding. you will get a very similar experience with a $25 big brand one. I'd only buy something more expensive if you want properly working extra-fine nibs, but you still need the appropriate ink.

IMO, Fountain pens are gimmicky and neat if you write a certain way and don't write too small; otherwise, just buy a gel pen like a sane cunt and call it a day. Gels are smooth in all writing directions and can be made very fine tipped.

t. retard who fell for the consooooooom meme and even had meme pens like a Lamy 2000 until I ended up spilling ink everywhere and destroying some drywall and carpet like a retard.

>>20204393
It's some reusable bamboo straws I found at local market a little while back. They're nice but sadly last time I went to the same market to get more they didn't have them :(

>>20204678
>As a dollfag
BJD or love doll?

>>20202438
I'm not a /g/ user but I built all the PCs in my house, use expensive headphones with a DAC and pre-amp, and have a mechanical keyboard.
I'm more inclined towards just wanting to spend my money on something good than making several purchases on subpar cheap stuff I'll have to replace. Same mentality goes with tea, I want good tea I can enjoy.
My autistic hobby outside /ck/ tends to be guitar autism but /mu/ is unusable so I keep it to myself

>>20204588
Never tried a vietnam tea, is it like chinese?
Always nice to get some decent cheapo stuff.

>>20205054
>is it like chinese?
I'd argue it's more taiwanese. they have a lot of natural tea jassids and shit in Vietnam and the climate is vaguely similar.

>>20205004
I come here by way of the /jp/ BJD General, an anon there mentioned this was a cozy general as well, and so far, I concur.

>>20204808
Oh okay! I have some metal boba straws but I barely use them.

Currently enjoying a cup of lemon balm, burdock & dandelion root.

>>20205054
It tastes pretty different, i usually drink mostly chinese stuff normally.
It tastes a bit more floral(?). I'm not sure how to describe it. It kind of reminds me a little bit of chun mee tea? but still pretty different.
can't compare it to taiwanese teas since i've only had taiwanese oolong teas.
But if you happen to see it at your local asian shop/online for a good price, i recommend it.
Cheapo is the best.

Are gaiwans worth it?

I usually just use a cheap cast iron teapot for everything, or even a french press.

Is the gaiwan brewing method that much better?
What are all of your preferred brewing methods?

Is the Xiaguan TeTuo better young or old?

>drinking hydrophobic Ya Bao again

>>20205054
There is massive variety in Vietnamese teas nowadays, processing knowledge is rapidly flowing southwards. A lot of good stuff at good prices regarding black and green teas, other tea types it is more hit and miss.

>>20205555
most people would definitely say old

>>20205502
The gaiwan is nice for the finest control over your parameters. It's also very easy to clean and take care of and even replace. If a step up in that direction seems nice to you, then you can easily find a gaiwan that will fit your budget. If not, then you're happy with where you're at and you're already good to go.
>>20205555
Checked. The core XG sheng puerh offerings are cheap enough that you should buy a tuo of both and make your own decisions. That said, while I enjoy both, I prefer them around 2010-2015 where they have some age, but not as much house smokiness.

>>20205502
It's less better more different. Depends on the tea which way I brew it. but gong fu does get you tighter control over stuff like rough shengs.

>>20205502
Get a gaiwan if you start drinking young shengs. That way you can flash steep them better.

>>20202327
>Lao Man E
this tea is a good coffee replacement.

>>20205797
Had two sessions with it so far, sure is distinctive. Very mineral and savory, no floral or fruity elements really. Low astringency, bitterness is on the higher side but not overwhelming to me.
Not sure how I like it yet. Maybe I'll push it more tomorrow, hoping for more returning sweetness.

Oh yeah baby.

>>20205887
nice chunk. looks like driftwood

Going through some more of my Viet Sun sampler. Lao Cai Big Tree Black Spring 2023

>>20205112
A lot of Vietnamese tea gets exported to Taiwan as well.

>>20206055
Looks tasty, how is it?

>>20206507
Quite pleasant.

Strong dark chocolate taste up front with some honey, plum, and malt. Mellows out and gets more of a cacao taste with some mineral-ness with later infusions. Fair amount of legs too.Pic was taken around infusion 8. Would buy again.

I spend all my money on teapots and never anything on tea, sadge

Which Chinese tea can't be oversteeped?

>>20207344
powerful sheng. also dancong, which can get too astringent

>>20207344
Do you mean "which tea is impossible to oversteep" or "which tea should not be oversteeped"?

>>20207366
Impossible I guess.

>>20207368
Most ripe puerh and other heicha is tricky to oversteep, though I've had the odd one that get a little bitter.
I find white teas can often be simmered and are pretty resistant to it also. But I haven't tried this on a huge range of them yet.

Having some of that Autumn Lao Man E grandpa style. Some long stems in there

>>20207400
Is grandpa-style literally just putting leaves in a glass and pouring hot water over it all day? I might've found my new favorite brewing method.

>>20207400
Nice, I'm often surprised how well those young shengs stand up to grandpa style, I didn't try anything as strong as a lao man e yet though.

>>20207495
Yes pretty much, I just leave a bit of headroom when first adding the hot water, so you can top it up with a little cool water when the leaves sank to slow the brew. Then keep topping it up with hot water.

>>20206055
What other teas have you tried from there? I'm especially curious what others think of their raw pu'er.

>>20207400
It's not really a grandpa style. I guess for a redneck who has never traveled outside his homeland but I've known multiple Chinese girls who just dunk the leaves into a big gulp and drink from it throughout the day. It's the most standard way of doing green tea.

>>20207751
Isn't it called grandpa style because someone popularized it with a story of their grandfather doing it?

been too lazy to respond
>>20202754
ehh it's a good pick so long as you get lucky with the paint, did you? i find spring tips very comfortable so that helps.
what tips do you use on the p5?
>>20204412
i've been into mechanical pencils, does that count?
>>20205169
that was i, i see you've found your way. welcome!

>>20205169
>not /ona/

>>20207890
>so long as you get lucky with the paint
I didn't
>what tips do you use on the p5?
Sancai wide. These and spring tips are my top 2 and I've tried a lot of them.
It's just that the spring tips won't stay on the p5 so I had to look for something else.

>>20207901
actually an above-average quality general last I checked... can't say I get the appeal of being a regular or ehh, serious hobbyist though

>>20207941
lmao I wasn't being serious. Anyway, I'm drinking some Black Gold Bi Luo Chun. I'm on the final brews and it's fairly weak even at 40 seconds.

>>20207545
>I didn't try anything as strong as a lao man e yet though.
it's less hardcore than I thought it would be actually. the bitterness isn't that hard to control in this one at all. it will still be there on some level though

>>20207910
>I didn't
lol'd
sancai wide seem nice though, are they as similar to spring tips as they look? they really have to stop making smooth nozzle iems like that though, such a pain

>>20207890
>>20207910
Using anything other than azlas. Ngmi.

new thread coming up

>>20192339
NEW
>>20208338
>>20208338
>>20208338

>>20208348
literally me