/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>3951508
Also how does /ck/ feel about Teavana?

>>3951518
Hipster but the do know their stuff.

>>3951654
I hate their sales tactics. Like, the tea is fantastic, but it's like they abuse you just to make sure that you know you're their bitch.

>>3951518
Overcharging jews. They feed you lies to convince you to buy their shit like those terrible overpriced tins and their tea quality isn't even that good if you go beyond "loose vs. bagged".

>>3951838
Where do you shop?

>>3951839
You'll want to get into contact with some of your local tea importers. Know who you're buying from. Make contact with the owner if you can. Just about everyone in this world wants to make a buck.

Look, I'm not saying Teavana is absolutely 100% terrible. If it's all you've got then it's fine to shop there. Just know that you're paying way more than you should be for the standard of quality you're getting.

>>3951850
>local tea importer
OP here, that sounds good, but I don't know how to find that. And even if I did, I wouldn't be able to taste the difference between bagged and quality. How do I develop my taste for tea?

>>3951854
>I wouldn't be able to taste the difference between bagged and quality

Why wouldn't you?

>>3951518
Personally I favor going to an Asian store rather than Teavana. When I go to Teavana and buy tea, it's incredibly overpriced and on top of that they don't give you whole delicious glorious tea- they have TONS of dust in the tea and the tea parts are often so fine that when I set a wire mesh ball of tea into my tea cup it immediately begins to sprinkle dust into my cup in large amounts.

At a nearby Asian grocery they have 1lb tins of tea for $3-5 and the flavors are phenomenal. Also, the tinned tea I get from the grocery is often in larger pieces so no dust or tea parts come out through any mesh balls. Teavana over here is ridiculously overpriced.

>>3951857
I don't know the difference. I mean, I could tell bitter from well-brewed, and I could tell flat from complex, but I don't think I have the expertise to know good from bad. I haven't had enough of either with someone telling me which is which.

bump.

>>3951518
Tao of Tea and Adagio are p good, teavana is shittier

>>3951957
What tea do you recommend from either? Have you tried either of the genmaichas? I'd love to try something new.

>>3951518
99% shit, they have a good black tea called Copper Knot Hongcha and thats about it. Their price for Iron Goddess tea is ridiculous, and most of the 'teas' there are just oversweet fruit blends.

>>3951967
i have tried adagio's genmaicha, it is tasty. pick up a sampler and just try shit out, you won't like shit I'll like just because I like it.

>>3951992
Yeah, I'm going to get a sampler. The price looks good and quality looks good too.

I get loose leaf from Harney and Sons
Also I have gotten some cheap pounds from Davidson's but the quality is kinda of inconsistant

>>3951508
Anything Japanese green tea related- dens tea. They have a sampler pack that costs $3, free shipping, and included is a $3 off coupon for your next order over $15. It includes their Genmaicha Extra Green (genmaicha with added matcha) which is top notch. I have not tried the Eden Organic stuff, but I can guarantee you that dens will be better. First off, dens is whole leaf. Secondly, the base tea for genmaicha is bancha, a lower grade japanese tea (as opposed to sencha/gyokuro) but dens uses a higher grade than most, as it is picked during the first flush (harvest) vs the second.

>>3952048
Harney and Sons is fantastic. Yeah, Davidson's really seems to have become inferior (I buy gunpowder green in bulk on amazon every so often- the temple of heaven/coffee bean direct stuff is much better imo).
Adagio is pretty decent- very reasonably priced, but if I was buying japanese green tea I would go with Den's every time as they specialize in it. Btw, if you like genmaicha I'd definitely recommend houjicha.

question:
why is there a huge difference between yogi tea choco in teabags and yogi tea choco that is not in teabags(it's cheaper).
they have different ingredients which is why the one in teabags ends up tasting a lot better.
(it has noticably more licorice)

>>3952085
Didn't you just answer your own question? If not, what exactly are you asking? Not trying to be a dick.

>>3951854
>How do I develop my taste for tea?

Samples. Tons of sites have sample sizes for cheap, usually a buck or two. Start with one or two of each type.

>>3952106
well it could be cheaper for different reasons for example they need less packaging material or something.

i don't get why they both have the same name, different prices and ingredients.
i would expect them to be exactly the same content-wise

>>3952135
If you're gonna do samples I highly recommend Upton Tea Imports. Most samples are $1 a piece. Their selection is insane though, and browsing through the different types of tea can be confusing. Just stick with stuff in your price range.

>>3952141
Ah. I didn't realize that by huge difference, price was implied. I pulled up both products on their website and it appears the loose variety is marketed as a chai, while the teabags aren't. It's rather misleading that the rest of the packaging is exactly the same, the pictures and everything. Just drink what tastes better I guess.

>>3952146
yeah.
the one in the teabags is the better one(and noticably more expensive).
in fact yogi tea is quite expensive where i live

The thing to keep in mind about teas is how it is stored, Most "bagged" teas, stored in paper Envelopes, go stale really quickly, and lose flavor. if the tea is in a bag, but is sealed in foil, you are more likely to get a better tasting brew. Loose leaf teas in tins are okay, but unless you have a teaball and know brewing times for the individual teas, its not worth it. If you want the best tea, take a risk and grow your own tea leaves, dry them yourself, and make it yourself, you can also at this point add any other things for flavor (dried mint, or Citrus Zest for flavor) and brew your own specialty tea for your self/friends.

>>3952537
>tea bag filled with worst tier teas better than loose left because you're too lazy to add hot but not boiling water

>>3951508
do you people re use your teabags after the first use?

>>3952537
you will not get the best tea by growing it yourself. any more than you would get the best wine by growing the grapes yourself and making the wine. it'll be cool and interesting and you shld try it, but it's not going to be the best tea.

>>3952537
If you're buying loose tea, chances are you are knowledgeable/care enough to know that one of the great things about tea is that it tastes different depending on where it is grown and also on what variant of the camellia sinensis plant it is from. Hence Sri Lankan teas, Assam teas, etc. This is what makes it interesting, in my opinion. Growing one's own tea would take the fun out of it. Not to mention, where are you going to learn all the different steps to make tea such as gunpowder green or japanese sencha? It's actually very difficult to process some types of tea. Also, teaballs suck. Get a Finum brewing basket, they're only 8 bucks on amazon. And really? Why would you not know the brewing times? Not to mention brewing time is a personal preference. Trial and error.

>>3952762
Agreed 100%. Wine is the perfect relation.

>>3952730
Ehh, depends on if you are using a regular tea bag or a full leaf (basically loose grade tea in a bag, sometimes called a sachet) tea bag. Resteeping a regular tea bag will yield mediocre results, personally I'd never do it. Also depends on the tea. Green teas hold up to re steeps better than black. But honestly, buying full leaf tea bags is going to run you like 7-8 bucks a box, why not just order some loose tea? It's actually cheaper.

>>3952782
thx for the answer.
just asking because i know someone who would resteep a normal teabag up to 3 times

>>3952861
Wow. Yeah, I can't think of why someone would want to do this, I mean regular quality (twinings, bigelow, lipton especially) are not at all expensive.

>>3953388
Any green tea bag can be used twice, maybe thrice with no problem.

Green tea importer here; I import from Japan, but mostly only distribute to restaurants. It's probably silly to say given my business, but I wouldn't suffer anyone I know to drink any green tea they buy outside of Japan for the most part, particularly anything you find in a chain market. Unfortunately, there are so many variables that go into tea production and distribution (it can be shady) that I cannot tell you where to consistently get high quality tea.

That all said, there are some things you can do to maximize the flavor of the tea you can get.

1. Water quality.
Don't skimp here. The steeping process of green tea is greatly hindered by hard water and added chlorine will mask subtle flavors. Buy bottled spring water if at all possible.

2. Temperature
As the grade of tea goes up, the steeping temperature goes down. Tea like houjicha can be steeped at 100C, sencha between 65-85C, gyokuro as far down as 40C. These are rough numbers and they're complicated by how oxidized the tea is and the hardness of the water. You will have to experiment with whatever batch of tea you get and the water you have.

3. Steeping
With the exception of heavily roasted teas like houjicha, the Japanese steep twice for the same cup (one drink). A kyusu (small tea pot) is most often used because it facilitates this technique. The steeping is very quick with green tea, the first steeping is said to be "for smell" and is only for a minute or less; it's then poured into the drinking vessels. The second steeping "for flavor" is very fast, usually around 15 seconds. The vessels are then topped off; if everything went well, you'll have a beautiful emerald cup of green tea.

Hope this helps anyone who is confused by all the hipster fandom that surrounds such simple pleasures. Enjoy the journey.

>>3954056
This.

>>3954056
I rather use rain water.

I make my own water out of raw hydrogen and oxygen. Good quality leaves deserve nothing less.