/tea/ general

[Anonymous No.14450138]

/tea/ Raw edition
NEW PASTEBIN
some edits for clarity and added a section for yerba mate vendors
https://pastebin.com/cgHfzUNH
Please recommend some other yerba mate vendors or offer other suggestions for the mate section.
"Suggest tea for me"
>Your country
>What tea have you tried before
>Do you own a teapot, gaiwan etc
Tea bags are OK, but inferior.

previous thread:
>>14404423

[Anonymous No.14450197]

>>14449837
Thank you so much for the clear and direct information. It's really helped clear it up for me.

>>14449777
Unfortunately London has the hardest water in the country. My windows get caked in limescale from water that I try to even wipe it down with.

>>14449711
Thanks for the videos and links; I'll definitely have a look at them when I get the time. I'd love to get involved in what I've always seen as the final esoteric chapter on tea- pu.

>>14449546
I'll have a look at these stores. It'd be great to buy some from someone based in the UK.

[Anonymous No.14450573]

Reposting from the previous thread in case it's helpful to others. Answers to this post >>14447476
>What are aged shengs like?
Depends a lot on storage, dried stored are more mellow and rounded, humid storage transforms the tea into something mellow and sweet over time, woody flavors, herbal flavors usually bitterness turns into a lasting sweetness. The two raws you tried are in kind of an awkward stage they have lost their young fruity floral and green tea flavors that 2 years or less raw has. But they haven't had time to develop more complex aged flavors, especially with dry storage in Kunming.
https://teadb.org/awkwardness-in-puerh/
>How do I go about finding things to buy off of kingteamall etc?
Learn about the factories and storage.
https://teadb.org/big-puerh-factories-menghai-xiaguan/
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f2QTMvc9rOs
https://teadb.org/puerh-compendium/
Also learn about the various major regions, this way you will know what to expect from say a yiwu or bulang cake.
https://teadb.org/puerh/ has a whole collection of articles on the different regions.
Some king tea mall pro tips
Traditional storage = wet, they intentionally stored it very wet for at least a few years.
Natural storage = wetish, stored in a humid area but without adding any extra artificial humidity
Dry storage = still more humid than kunming but less humid than other storage, maybe a third floor warehouse or somewhere with a bit more airflow.

[Anonymous No.14450589]

>>14450573
Part 2
>>14449837
>>What's all this about "famous" recipes from Dayi and Menghai and the numbers and all that?
>Famous recipes have been made for decades. It's important to stress that a 1980s 7542 is not the same as a 2017 7542 mostly they have been watered down over time due to increased demand.
>First two digits is the year the recipes was invented 7542= first made in 1975. Third digit is average leaf grade 7542 = average of grade 4 leaves (leaves are graded on a scale of 0 to 9, 0 is small buds 9 is large rough leaves and sticks)
>>Will I eventually growinto sheng, and did I not like them because they are young and not aged?
>It really depends on your taste, ripe puer was invented because they were trying to mimic the flavor of raw puer that had been stored in very humid conditions (hong kong traditional storage, Malaysia storage) arguably this was a failure but ripe became popular on it's own, initially with the same people who liked these very humid stored cakes.
>>Is there aged shou?
>Yes but it's kind of unnecessary most of the time. There are a few smaller factories that make a sort of half fermented ripe, Scott from YS mentions one in the video I linked earlier that benefit from some aging but generally once a ripe has had a few years to age out and loose the fishy smell it doesn't change all that much. That being said places like hong kong will still store these cakes very wet for a few years (they like a very medicinal moldy kind of flavor)
>>Which is seen as the "better" pu, and what do you like?
>Raw is the king of the hype and the high end market, there are high end ripes like the ones hi lang hao makes but they are few and far between. Ripe is calming comforting old reliable popular in the mornings with breakfast or when you just want some nice tea without a challenge. Lots of the bloggers that like raw puer in their youth age into liking older wetter raws, ripes and aged oolongs.

[Anonymous No.14450623]

>>14450138
Garbage thread. Into the harbor it goes.

[Anonymous No.14450622]

Lesbian here. Anyone else notice increased aggression and hostility from their partner after they drink puerh?

[Anonymous No.14450669]

>>14450573
Part 2 now with proper formatting
>>14449837
>What's all this about "famous" recipes from Dayi and Menghai and the numbers and all that?
Famous recipes have been made for decades. It's important to stress that a 1980s 7542 is not the same as a 2017 7542 mostly they have been watered down over time due to increased demand.
First two digits is the year the recipes was invented 7542= first made in 1975. Third digit is average leaf grade 7542 = average of grade 4 leaves (leaves are graded on a scale of 0 to 9, 0 is small buds 9 is large rough leaves and sticks)
>Will I eventually growinto sheng, and did I not like them because they are young and not aged?
It really depends on your taste, ripe puer was invented because they were trying to mimic the flavor of raw puer that had been stored in very humid conditions (hong kong traditional storage, Malaysia storage) arguably this was a failure but ripe became popular on it's own, initially with the same people who liked these very humid stored cakes.
>Is there aged shou?
Yes but it's kind of unnecessary most of the time. There are a few smaller factories that make a sort of half fermented ripe, Scott from YS mentions one in the video I linked earlier that benefit from some aging but generally once a ripe has had a few years to age out and loose the fishy smell it doesn't change all that much. That being said places like hong kong will still store these cakes very wet for a few years (they like a very medicinal moldy kind of flavor)
>Which is seen as the "better" pu, and what do you like?
Raw is the king of the hype and the high end market, there are high end ripes like the ones hi lang hao makes but they are few and far between. Ripe is calming comforting old reliable popular in the mornings with breakfast or when you just want some nice tea without a challenge. Lots of the bloggers that like raw puer in their youth age into liking older wetter raws, ripes and aged oolongs.

[Anonymous No.14450735]

>>14450197
Glad I could help anon. Teadb.org also has a bunch of articles about oolong that you might find interesting.

[Anonymous No.14451031]

Grabbed a brick of liu bao (three cranes 2014 0222) and a xiaguan number recipe ripe cake off of puerhshop to help shore up my supplies of fermented stuff. I should be able to post some notes about them early next week. I'm really excited for the liu bao.

[Anonymous No.14451767]

>>14451031

[Anonymous No.14452262]

Well anons, I was gonna get into coffee, but decided to go with tea instead. Wish me luck on this journey I'm about to start.

[Anonymous No.14452271]

>>14450622
Is there lead in it?

[Anonymous No.14452304]

Any tea to help me not shit water constantly?

[Anonymous No.14452367]

>>14450138
Can we all agree Yorkshire tea is the best tea?

[Anonymous No.14452396]

>>14452367
For bagged tea I like Twinings chai

[Anonymous No.14452467]

>>14450138
I hope you dont sugar your tea anon. Only ice and milk are allowed.

[Anonymous No.14452807]

>>14452262
Good luck anon.

[Anonymous No.14452837]

>bought a bag of chamomile after fond memories of it as a child
>open it
>immediately the smell reminds me of piss
god damn it

[Anonymous No.14452940]

>>14452304
Extracting with cold water takes longer, but it reduces the caffeine content.

[Anonymous No.14452977]

Last night I dreamed one of you told me to put a few shots of Bailey's in my honeybush, I tried it (in-dream), and it was awful.
Which of you was trying to make an ass of me?

[Anonymous No.14453003]

>>14452977
lmao
I once cold-brewed my yerba mate using a cheap lager beer, I heard some people drink it like that in south america
I didn't like it much tho lol

[Anonymous No.14453241]

>>14450138
Been a mate drinker since 12 or so, Ill tell you my choices, for bitter mate: Playadito, for sweet mate verdeflor menta peperina, add some aditional mint for bonus points, other brands that are good: La merced, Taraguí, Amanda, CBSé its a meme and Rosamonte is for apex matero, too strong

[Anonymous No.14453301]

>>14453241
I've got some La Merced Barbacua waiting in the cupboard, I'm hoping it has that deep smoked prune note I sometimes find in smokey mate
for me it's usually the Paraguayan brands like Pajarito, Colon, Kurupi or Fede Rico but lately I've been craving fresher grassier yerba, maybe something air-dried (sin humo)

[Anonymous No.14453319]

>>14453301
Paraguayan yerba is milder because in Paraguay it's mostly brewed cold, tereré, also the cut is a bit coarser compared to an Argentinean yerba, La Merced is good, one of the most expensive brands here in Argentina

[Anonymous No.14453488]

>>14453319
>Paraguayan yerba is milder because in Paraguay it's mostly brewed cold, tereré, also the cut is a bit coarser
funny, I find it's usually the other way around lol, at least in regards to the cut
it's the aged, smoky flavor that usually draws me to these

[Anonymous No.14454417]

This is a stretch, but is anyone in London and interested in gongfu cha in general and pu in specific? I've been looking for hours for societies or clubs that meet up (not right now obviously) to appreciate and to advise each other about the nuances of tea, but nothing at all as shown up online. Meanwhile my tiny ass small hometown in Malaysia has a group of 11k members; no doubt all old men with extensive tea collections who meet up regularly.

I only ask as I think it would be nice to discuss teas and being that pu is so complicated, it could jump start an "education" in tea if enthusiasts met in a group.

[Anonymous No.14454755]

What is the most likely cause of my newly-bought teas not expressing their labeled flavors? I just bought several teas yesterday, and both I have tried didn't have the sub-flavors that were labeled. They both seem to be of high quality (even if they are b*gged), with nice smells and visually decent components. I drank this turmeric tea last night:
https://shop.numitea.com/amber-sun/p/numis-10552
Then this Blue Lady tea just now:
https://www.zesttea.com/products/tea-bags?variant=12757276229719

I can smell the Blue Lady bag right now, and it has a beautifully floral profile and mild sweetness to it. Yet, I could hardly taste anything like that in my cup. The turmeric tea blend tasted...like turmeric. No rooibos, vanilla, cinnamon, or cardamom.

I'm used to brewing loose leaf in modest quantities, so I'm not sure what I am doing wrong. Is it possibly just temps? Neither was really specific about that, but one is an herbal blend, and the other is a black tea blend. Unrelated, the Blue Lady tea is pretty comfy from a caffeine/L-theanine perspective.

[Anonymous No.14454880]

I finally grabbed a gallon of spring water to brew with, to help decide if I should get a water filter.
Fuck me, i can't believe how much of a difference it makes. I'm actually getting some umami notes in a tea cake that I've already drunk half of without ever getting that flavor.

[Anonymous No.14454886]

>>14454755
Looking at the cardamom tea, I'm not sure if roibos would stand up to cardamom and cinnamon.
Regarding the second tea you certainly should be getting something other than black tea out of it. Those teas that have added flavorings are usually pretty strong. I guess you could try a slightly lower than boiling water temp and a 4-5 minute brew and see if that helps without making the black tea brew up too bitter.

[Anonymous No.14454953]

>>14452977
It was me, Old Gregg.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3s9RVg2STY

[Anonymous No.14455026]

>>14454880
Brewing some more with spring water, i do think the tea has slightly less viscosity compared to when i brew it with tap water. Interesting.

[Anonymous No.14455037]

>>14454886
Do you have a temp recommendation for either of these? I set the turmeric blend at a machine-measured 205F since it was an herbal blend. The second one was unmeasured, but it was done a little after boiling in another electric kettle with fresh water. I deliberately left a small amount in the cup for some cooler water to make it tolerable to sip. I think I still taste a trace of tannins in my mouth, so perhaps it was too hot in both cases? Most recommended tea temps in guides I read seem to be way too high, or not high enough, and both teas didn't have a specified temp. The Blue Lady tea just says:
>Steep in near boiling water for 4-5 minutes or to taste
I am almost certain it was too hot considering the outcome, but to not even taste a little of it seems so strange to me.

[Anonymous No.14455068]

>>14455026
Told ya, tea with hard water - into the trash it goes.
Now you will have to calculate bottled water (I assume plastic bottle blehhh, because not every nation uses patrician glass bottles) vs jug with filter.

[Anonymous No.14455074]

>>14455026
What do you mean by 'viscosity' in this context? I usually use filtered water in my teas, but not so much any spring water. Wonder if there would be much of a qualitative difference between the two.

[Anonymous No.14455089]

>>14455026
>>14455074
i use filtered and it makes my water and tea more thicker

[Anonymous No.14455948]

>>14455074
>What do you mean by 'viscosity' in this context?
I mean the tea didn't feel as thick in my mouth, maybe more accurately it felt like it coated the tongue less. It could easily be inconsistency from where I i pried the tea off of the cake. Parts of it were loosely compressed and they aged much faster than the tighter compressed middle of the cake I pulled todays brew out of.

[Anonymous No.14455961]

>>14455068
Yeah I'm trying to figure out what the best way to get filtered water is. Im considering installing a cheap under sink filter since I have a space on my sink for a second filtered tap. I could just get a pitcher but they are kind of a hassle.

[Anonymous No.14456632]

Best tea coming through

[Anonymous No.14456941]

Should I buy a few of these?

[Anonymous No.14457054]

I really want to try one of these purple rhododendron teas that a few puer factories have made. They are expensive and I'm sure they taste awful but they look so cool. The tea is bright pink! The king tea mall guy offers samples of this xiaguan cake but he quadrupled the sample price compared to his average sample price to cake price per gram ratio. Probably specifically because he doesn't want to deal with shipping hundreds of samples of it. I looked into it a bit and apparently its some plant from the rhododendron family that may or may not contain caffeine, cant really find out much else about it.
Sorry for the massive image.

[Anonymous No.14457063]

>>14457054
"Rhododendron pulchrum" specifically

[Anonymous No.14457105]

>>14457063
Actually the samples for this cake aren't that expensive. I must have been looking at an older one. Not really sure its a good idea to drink tea made with random weird plants that are really only used in china. I guess one session wouldn't hurt.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2017-xiaguan/products/2017-xiaguan-pei-zi-purple-te-zijuan-360g-cake-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea?variant=30866798411879

[Anonymous No.14457596]

What brew are you sipping on right now, /tea/? How is it? I just had a pleasant serving of "My Anxiety Tea DAY" from some AU company called MyTTime. Brewed at ~170F for different durations between 3-6 minutes. Really pleasant floral profile, and resulting cheeky aftertaste that is pretty cozy too. I like that the spearmint isn't too pronounced (but still detectable), and that the flowers blend so cozily with the lavender. I think I need to brew it again sometime and give more attention to the floral flavors. Maybe at 165F?

I've also brewed a second serving at 175F to see if it changes noticeably in any way. Even if it's the second brewing, I can sense some of the flavors more than before this time. Of note, the lavender is popping up a bit more this time, almost coating the back of my throat and mouth in this cozy, smooth profile. I was feeling quite anxious and stressed, so I'm pleased that it does seem to be noticeably relaxing (even if it could be placebo). I'm not completely melted away, but it certainly took some of the edge off, which is all I can ask for.

I also have their "My Complexion Tea" which I am looking very much forward to since I am fond of both white sage and licorice. I'm thinking of having that one today after I wake up. Though, I don't know if it would pair well with a meal, or if I might benefit more from drinking it afterwards. I'll post about the experience some time after I wake up and eat breakfast, if anyone is interested. I still need more experience in brewing and tasting teas, but I'm glad that I had some nice cups for once.

[Anonymous No.14457611]

>>14457596
>ingredients vervian
>The aerial parts have been used traditionally for many conditions, including stimulation of lactation
based
Glad you are enjoying some tea anon. I'm interested to hear how sage tastes in a tea.

[Anonymous No.14457619]

best black tea with milk for breakfast?

I drink 1/2liter in the morning while eaing bread and marmalade

[Anonymous No.14457627]

>>14457596
Wow you like tea. I'm always dissapointed when I try it. It's like there's too many strong flavor's. I like more subtle flavor and haven't found one interesting enough to try more than once.

[Anonymous No.14457709]

Post your favorite region for tea.
For me, it's the Yunnan province. I love how sweet and fruity their black teas tend to be.

[Anonymous No.14457715]

>>14457611
I'll be sure to make a post about it, then. I have some nice CBD edibles I made that could possibly go well with it, too. Any pairing suggestions for the Complexion tea? The ingredients are on this page:
https://www.organiteaaustralia.com.au/collections/my-organic-tea/products/my-complexion-tea-60-grams-30-serves
>>14457627
I feel similarly to you. I've struggled to 'understand' tea because of the heavy subjective and widely varied claims throughout the community. Supposedly, I'm not supposed to exceed 80C (176F) with this particular herbal blend. I've read charts suggesting 205F or so for most herbals, and been accustomed to to that for some time. Similar issue with simple sencha and genmaicha. I'm almost completely certain that my failures are all because of temperatures that were too high, and steeping periods that were too long. I believe that if the flavor is too strong, lowering the brew temp and/or steep time should help. I just wish I knew of good references on this specific subject.

I'll be sleeping now. Looking forward to describing the new tea to you all soon.

[Anonymous No.14458550]

Coof

[Anonymous No.14458657]

wake up /tea/
what are you drinking now?

me? yunnan black in the mug, good for two infusions, 0.5 liter tea.

[Anonymous No.14458889]

>>14455068
Actually hard water can improve some teas, like strong bodies black teas, and pus

[Anonymous No.14458897]

>>14457619
M&S gold. You'll thank me.

[Anonymous No.14458937]

Is Japanese tea overrated?

[Anonymous No.14459023]

>>14458889
actually, you're talking out of your ass.
let me guess, you're the one that thinks yunnan farmers drink fresh sheng? disgraceful. apply yourself.
while it is true that some bagged blends take into account brewing in hard water, there's no tea that wouldn't benefit from soft drinking water. try for yourself.
which "pus" are good with hard water?

[Anonymous No.14460048]

>>14458937
I don't think Japanese tea is overrated, it's just very divisive. Some people love it, some really hate it, especially Japanese greens.

[Anonymous No.14460334]

>>14458937
yes.
yes it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4Ox0s1DBoM

[Anonymous No.14460340]

>>14459023
Take your head out of your ass, loser. Shous are better with hard water.

[Anonymous No.14461629]

What's the most expensive ripe puer you have tried? Was it worth it?

[Anonymous No.14461797]

>>14460334
Yo that track is a banger

[Anonymous No.14461858]

>>14461629
For me it was a 2009 dayi red rhyme 100g cake. I think I paid about 15¢ per gram. It was good. Very strong and it infused quickly. I dunno if it's worth 15¢ per gram but you can get more recent productions of it much cheaper.

[Anonymous No.14461953]

>>14452467
>milk
That's a latte but whatever man.

[Anonymous No.14462203]

Finally found some mate in my city at the mudslime grocer of all places. Hadn't heard of this brand online but I'm liking it a lot.

[Anonymous No.14462369]

>>14462203
Nice, how do you brew it? Do you use one of those filter straws?

[Anonymous No.14462424]

>>14462369
Nah I've just done it using one of those really fine mesh brew baskets. Works fine for my taste but I'll probably look into getting the proper vessel and straw once shipping is a bit easier.

[Anonymous No.14462564]

>>14457611
>>14457627
I was nauseous and unwell from night towards now, so I haven't yet had the tea I promised to provide feedback on today. I am planning on brewing it in 1, 1.5 hrs from now, and will type my thoughts as I taste it. I hope others will come by and share a tea time with me.

[Anonymous No.14462659]

>>14462424
That's how I used to make it, I think its fine to do it that way. But I must admit the straws look fun to use.

[Anonymous No.14462670]

>>14461797
my ringtone, thanks
>>14461629
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2018-yunnan-sourcing-hui-run-ripe-pu-erh-tea-cake-of-bu-lang-mountain I thought this one at 0,12/g but turns out I have crimson lotus dark depths at 0,24/g, funny how xiao bings lull you into buying too expensive tea.
both are good, but hui run is slightly better. at TWICE less a price, imagine that, twice.
let me spell that one for you, you can buy two cakes of 2018 hui run for $86 (700g) or three cakes of dark depths for 143,97 (600g) and still be 100g short (14 7g sessions). 100 grams is half of your boutique fancy wrapped bing.
what I mean to say - never buy expensive shu, or buy it once to try for yourself and inevitably come back to better value cakes. just to educate yourself and not blindly believe strangers on internet. who knows, maybe you're gud goy and and love to fall for propaganda. seems like there's lot of you even here of all places.

[Anonymous No.14462700]

Brewing up some funky old liu bao I got from yunnan sourcing years ago. I tried it once or twice and then put it away and forgot about it. This is a 2002 tea and it is very rough and rustic. It's not a factory production, it was made by some random villagers and then probably sat in a barn for a decade until a tea dealer bought and repackaged it. It's totally ungraded tea and my order at least was probably half stems.

[Anonymous No.14462702]

I just put together a tea using
Camomile, Blue Lotus, Catnip and wormwood.
Its steeping right now, what should I expect?

[Anonymous No.14462706]

>>14462700
This tea had some serious humid storage for probably the better part of a decade. After giving it a generous 40 second rinse (i probably should have done two) i tossed it in a mug and let it rip. It's a real forest of stems in there. Chawangshop also sells this tea and he describes it as "cotton smooth" whatever the hell that means. It smells like wet wood and damp forest floor.

[Anonymous No.14462710]

>>14462702
Good question, I'm thinking herbal and slightly bitter.

[Anonymous No.14462711]

>>14462710
might add some manuka if its too harsh

[Anonymous No.14462725]

>>14462702
>what should I expect?
a girthy cock ripping your anus, if not, you're doing your "tea" wrong, wanker, lowkey baka desu senpai
>>14462706
liu bao =/= liu bao, some are dank, some are weak, for me it's always an adventure.
that said I have some LIU AN in the mail, chawang, let's see what's all about. I'm guessing something between liu bao and fungus cha, we will see. not much of those baskets turns out to buy in the west, may as well try it. you brew it with a piece of bamboo wrapper, but imagine mixing that with chenpi. btw where's my chenpi mr ching chong, 13 days already.

[Anonymous No.14462736]

>>14462670
>both are good, but hui run is slightly better. at TWICE less a price
In my limited experience, expensive shous can take worse water better than the cheap ones. But the cheap ones can be equally amazing and sometimes better with filtered water.

[Anonymous No.14462739]

>>14462706
So far so good. It's much better than i remember, very woody, loam, maybe even so faint chocolate notes. I don't think it's a particularly good example of an aged liu bao but it's drinkable. I have read that the village productions usually have pretty poor quality and inconsistent fermentation compared to the factory stuff. I definitely would not offer this tea to guests. Brewed up a fairly dark red brown. Surprisingly I'm not really getting any off wet storage taste. Decent longevity of the flavor, not a lot of sweetness so far.

[Anonymous No.14462743]

>>14460340
Enjoy wasting your money

[Anonymous No.14462744]

How are you mixing tea into your self care routines, anons? I decided to have a mini spa experience this very early morning. Bathed, facial mask on, just bath robe, lights set to sexy colors, water boiling, and loose leaf herbal blend about to be made. I should do this more often, it's rather nice. Might light my scented candle I've been saving if I find a lighter somewhere.

[Anonymous No.14462746]

>>14462725
Nice, i have been eyeing those liu an baskets on chawangshop for a while now. I actually got a sample from puerhshop of some 2003 liu an supposedly from the good factory, the same as the ones chawang are selling. It has some pretty humid storage and a bit of that pencil shavings on the first brew but that turned into loads of rock sugar sweetness, very tasty.

[Anonymous No.14462748]

>>14462744
Very nice. I upvote. Pls open vagene.

[Anonymous No.14462770]

>>14462746
aha! so not far from >fungus cha sweetness I'm expecting. but maybe with a dark tea twist. cool. I'm getting excited. sounds like a good mug brew or big pot style. Wang, please send quick.
also you sound like a good goy, wanna her my secret chawang tip?

[Anonymous No.14462776]

>>14462739
Second infusion, some sweetness creeping in. Dryrot wood more darker more heavy notes now, chocolate like notes. I guess the "cotton smooth" sort of makes sense, it really coats the tongue and mouth with a drying sensation. I still probably would not recommend this tea, but I'm glad I can actually wrap my head around it now. Plenty of more accessible and just better liu bo from both yunnan sourcing and chawangshop for less money.

[Anonymous No.14462779]

>>14462748
I'm not female. Some self care is a relief when you neglect your well-being for too long. For me, tea is going to be a center of that experience tonight. I invite you and everyone else here to relax with me, sipping on some pleasant brews.

[Anonymous No.14462783]

>>14462770
Sure, i haven't ordered from them yet but I really want to.

[Anonymous No.14462792]

Sipping some 7¢/g shou that was underwhelming to the point I ordered nearly 40 samples during containment because it was the last tea I had. Now my daily tea since I tried it with filtered water. Feels like the parable of finding a treasure in the basement after traveling around the world.

[Anonymous No.14462797]

>>14462783
since I have a tong already - Myanmar Jingdong
it was $14 a xiao bing when I bought it. fresh sheng done right. description about blending is on point, about bitterness was valid few years ago.
to the lurkers in this thread, don't buy it, 2dogg, scott and glenn have better wrappers and village names. curated.

[Anonymous No.14462843]

Looking forward to briefly discussing my tea experiences with you lads soon. Spa day, smooth funk classics, great tea.
>>14462792
What was so bad abou it before, and why do you like it so much now?
>>14462797
To clarify, who are you saying I should avoid and who I should support financially?

[Anonymous No.14462893]

>>14462797
Based thanks anon
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=d-x3ojOGWa8

[Anonymous No.14462938]

>>14462776
Still sipping on this, 4th or 5th infusion now. Getting a bit more sweetness as the wood flavor starts to fade a bit. This has more energy then I expected from such aggressively stored material. Maybe a bit of aged flavor but not a real bold old tea taste, some camphor but not as much as I was expecting. I seem to remember some pencil shavings flavor and some metallic taste last time I tried this but I haven't gotten any of either this session. If you want some early 2000s liu bao then Kingteamall has some 2004 sanhe (three cranes) that I'm sure is worth the extra 2 1/2 cents per gram.

[Anonymous No.14463112]

Perhaps a tad late to comment this, but I tried three full brews of the My Complexion Tea from Organitea earlier. Not bad, though I had difficulty since there were no temperature recommendations to judge from. I tried one pour at 170F, then one at 165F, and another at 180F. Certainly, what stands out most in each is the lemongrass, almost too much. It isn't a bad flavor, but I kept hoping for the other flavors to pop out more. I sensed a hint of the licorice at 165F, but eventually, the taste just devolved into a 'rounded' lemongras flavor. I'm guessing the qualities of the other components contribute to that more sophisticated lemongrass taste.

I'd like to know how to brew this one better, so I think I will drink it every day (as it suggests), and figure out what works best. If anyone has temperature or duration recommendations, i'd be pleased to hear them. This was a pleasant activity for me to experience before bed. Hope you all have lovely brews as well.

Here's the link for refetence:
>https://www.organiteaaustralia.com.au/collections/womens-tea/products/my-complexion-tea-60-grams-30-serves

[Anonymous No.14463171]

Packed up to go have some backyard morning tea with a friend before it gets to be 100 degrees out. Gonna bring the dog too. I'll let y'all know how it goes. I'm bringing 2019 Kamejirushi Gyokuro and 2018 Smoove Cocoa shu.

[Anonymous No.14463197]

>>14463171
Looks comfy as fuck. Enjoy.

[Anonymous No.14463198]

>>14462843
>What was so bad abou it before, and why do you like it so much now?
It wasn't really bad per se, it was just not particularly enjoyable, on the contrary to some more expensive ripes I used to get from a store before I moved. Now it easily takes 1L for 5-6 g and I get notes of classic menghai ripes I identified among my multiple samples.

[Anonymous No.14463250]

>>14461629

Probably the 2016 Cang Jiang sample I got from Kong Mountain Tea, which runs at 66 cents per gram. It was really unique, tasting like baked pastries - animal crackers and shortbread cookies, but being a relatively young sheng it was still pretty finicky. I wouldn't buy it at this point, but it was damn good.

[Anonymous No.14463278]

I need some caffeine free tea for the night. I tried chamomile, but I'm not a fan of the flavor. Any recommendations?

[Anonymous No.14463283]

>>14463278
Dandelion root

[Anonymous No.14463288]

>>14463112
Try cold brewing it. 1 teaspoon in a litre of water overnight in the fridge. I'm surprised you don't get more licorice, it's a pretty strong flavor and it doesn't take much material.

[Anonymous No.14463292]

>>14463278
Nettle leaf
Lemongrass/Lemon Verbena/Lemon Balm
Rooibos/Honeybush
Ironwort, if you can find it
Lavender
Tulsi
I hear good things about chaga and mulberry leaf but I have yet to try them

[Anonymous No.14463301]

>>14463250
Damn that's an expensive shou. I kind of want to get a sample of that Lao Banzang shou by Hi Lang Hao that YS sells just to say that I tried it since as Scott says it's probably the only ripe labeled Lao Banzang ever made that actually uses LBZ material but I would never pay $700 for a brick of it. Might be fun to try a yiwu ripe as well.

[Anonymous No.14463312]

>>14463278
Try
>>14456632
But seriously licorice, raspberry leaf, ginseng root, spearmint, mullen, if you want something coffe like there is this stuff called "Dandy Blend" that has a bunch of roasty tasting stuff in it.

[Anonymous No.14463481]

not sure if tea is a hobby I want to get into, seems kind of autistic but also fun. I like most green teas, the oolong tea they serve at most japanese restaurants and whatever tea is in the pots you get at yum cha. the cold (barley?) tea they serve at ippudo in japan is also oddly addictive. in australia, don't have anything other than a kettle really. anything I should try to get my feet wet? keep in mind I'm a tastelet that can barely tell the difference between beef and pork

[Anonymous No.14463719]

>>14463481
Tea does not have to be autistic if you don't want it to be. Not many tea shops local to Australia so your best bet is ordering from china.
Get a infuser basket for brewing in mugs or one of the little kamjove easy teapots like this one.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/kamjove-press-art-tea-cups-and-pots/products/kamjove-tp-160-portable-gong-fu-tea-brewing-mug-500ml
You should be able to order one from China or find one you can get in AUS on eBay.
Check out some of the vendors in the pastebin, ive been a fan of Kingteamall recently, also fullchea-tea.com
Try some oolongs, dan cong and dahong pao, maybe a roasted tieguanyin.
Some black tea and some green tea. Maybe some ripe puer something like this, or really anything from dayi, as long as it's from one of the known good sellers.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2014-dayi/products/2014-dayi-hong-yun-yuan-cha-red-flavor-round-tea-cake-100g-puerh-shou-cha-ripe-tea

[Anonymous No.14463743]

>>14463719
>Not many tea shops local to Australia
Nigger they've got fucking T2 tea
They're not amazing but they'd probably be the best intro to tea given they're hyper convenient.

[Anonymous No.14463746]

>>14463481
>the oolong tea they serve at most japanese restaurants
Get a box of this, authentic Chinese restaurant oolong taste, you can probably find it at your local azn market too if you are lucky.
https://dragonteahouse.biz/sea-dyke-brand-at202-nong-xiang-tie-guan-yin-chinese-oolong-tea-125g/

[Anonymous No.14463751]

>>14463746
Tastes abhorrent IMO

[Anonymous No.14463809]

>>14463751
Harsh, i have a box of one of their even cheaper oolongs and it's fine, it's absolutely nothing special but it has a nice roasted flavor and no off tastes.

[Anonymous No.14464091]

Cowfee.

[Anonymous No.14464765]

Does anyone here just enjoy plain green tea with some lemon juice for added tartness? It’s all l like and I’m loving it so far.

[Anonymous No.14464774]

>>14464765
Nope, I'd never add lemon to my tea. Sounds American.

[Anonymous No.14465562]

>>14464091
This is Gween tea ma'm.

[Anonymous No.14466027]

I bought some longjing from my friendly local tea shop and it fucking sucked. Fuck local tea shops.

[Anonymous No.14466659]

>>14466027
Local tea shops can be hit or miss. Mine is decent but expensive.

[Anonymous No.14467619]

Coof

[Anonymous No.14467628]

Time to brew up some more ripe for the night. Man these threads really die on the weekends.

[Anonymous No.14467804]

When I drink Yerba mate it feels like crack. I love that shit. I used to drink coffee but the acidity has been messing with my stomach so I switched to mate and I’m so glad I did.

[Anonymous No.14467861]

>>14467804
I thought yerba mate was some new-age bullshit judging from the people who go on about it but I genuinely feel on top of the world after drinking it. Makes me think there must be a huge downside to it.

[Anonymous No.14467874]

>>14467861
You should try guarana too.

[Anonymous No.14467910]

>>14467804
There are some low acidity coffees you can buy. But you should just switch to tea instead. Mate is a good choice. Ripe puer is good as well, tastes like caramel and chocolate and wood.
This
https://www.amazon.com/TAETEA-Brick-TEA-Anniversary-Organic/dp/B07FTHKZVC
Or this if you want easy to break squares
https://www.amazon.com/TAETEA-Amber-TEA-Organic-Black/dp/B07FTLM5CZ

[Anonymous No.14467913]

>>14467874
I'm guessing its much more pleasant as a tea than the stuff they put in energy drinks? Is that something you can buy loose like mate?

[Anonymous No.14467927]

>>14467910
I’m gonna buy some of that puer. That sounds really intriguing.

[Anonymous No.14467933]

>>14467927
Please don’t. For your gfs sake.

[Anonymous No.14467990]

>>14467927
Based it's a pretty good introduction to puer, that is a famous factory that makes the best mass market ripe. It's really cool that they have a storefront on Amazon now that ships from Amazons us warehouse. Makes it easy for people to give it a try. Brewing instructions in the pastebin in the op, it works great for grampa style brewing.

[Anonymous No.14468018]

>>14467927
>>14467990
Also a quick heads up, the dry leaf or the first brew can have a tiny bit of a funky ripe smell to it, this is totally normal for basically all ripe puer and you shouldn't actually taste any it the cup, so don't let is scare you.

[Anonymous No.14468495]

>>14464091
Gawd, I wanna cum inside animay imouto's cunny

[Anonymous No.14468506]

>>14463719
>>14463743
>>14463746
>>14463751
thanks for the suggestions friends. pretty tempted to give this a go now. will pick up a few and see how I like them.

[Anonymous No.14468644]

>>14463288
I will give this suggestion a try and let you know what I experience sometime tomorrow. I have made cold-brew green tea from bags and had great results, but never with loose leaf. I wonder if the portion I brewed was too uneven as well. I am still trying to learn effective temperatures for my brews in general, cold or hot. No idea why so many companies do not make much mention of what should be a very important detail.

[Anonymous No.14468894]

>>14468644
Usually with herbal teas i use boiling hot water and steep long 5-10 minutes. This mostly works with the different herbal blends i buy or make but not always.

[Anonymous No.14468898]

>>14468506
Good luck anon

[Anonymous No.14468950]

>>14468894
Yes, I usually do the same by setting my tisane brews at 205F for 5-10 min. Yet, I now think one must take into greater consideration the blend as a whole. For example, the tisane I tried before the Complexion blend recommended a specific temperature limit of 80C/176F, much lower than the typical 205-212 range (though that was only on the site's page and not on the label itself). If I did it at 205F or higher, I can easily that one becoming bitter and too astringent. I wonder if I should just email all of the tea companies I've bought from and ask for their advice like an autist. Looking forward to trying the cold brew tomorrow either way. Time for some comfy mint tea and sleep.

[Anonymous No.14469108]

>>14468950
>mint tea
Nice, if you get the chance try to get spearmint specifically, it's my favorite mint tea.

[Anonymous No.14469750]

>>14462843
>why do you like it so much now
I checked today and find better than 2016 Hai Lang Hao "Lao Man E" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Brick.

[Anonymous No.14469935]

>>14451031
Oh hell yea. I have one on order as well and it will be here Wednesday. Really hoping it has that taste of betel nut. It's something I've been looking for since I first tried that nut last September. Good luck on your brick man. Hope you enjoy it.

[Anonymous No.14470619]

>>14469935
I think it should it's the 2014 0222 and someone posted a review for the same brick on health tea house saying it tasted like another cake I tried with that classic liu bao flavor but stronger. So I have high hopes. Really ill be happy either way as long as it's tasty.

[Anonymous No.14470675]

>>14450138
Since it's summer, and my herbs are going nuts, I've been mostly drinking fresh herbal teas. Mostly just mint (I made the retarded decision to plant some in the ground years back and it went insanely invasive and hybridized). Since it hybridized it's got a lot more herby flavor to it, with the menthol flavor going to the back. Did a mix with some of my lemon verbena, good stuff. Wish I had some sage this year, one of my favorites to throw in. Need to try my tarragon to see if it's lost all of its licorice flavor yet, since I heard it can lose it from coming back year after year.

[Anonymous No.14472157]

Coof

[Anonymous No.14472293]

>>14469108
I had "Moroccan Mint" from NUMI Tea last night, which I believe is spearmint. Was a bit weak, but I prepared with too much liquid and accidentally left the lid open. What kind of temp and time do you like to use for mint/spearmint?
>>14469750
Do you think you've just grown a fondness for that flavor profile, or just that it has changed over time somehow? I haven't had pu'er in a while. I've got a Mighty Leaf "Organic Ancient Trees" that I received years ago and only tried maybe once. I remember it being quite good even though I had low-end hardware and little experience at the time.

I also have some Chinese market brick pu'er from earlier this year that I have yet to unseal. Last time I tried some of the same brand, it was extremely strong and upsetting to my stomach. Thinking of using my bulk teas in a huge pot and boiling them heavily to make a new base for my kombucha to feed on.
>>14463288
Did my cold brew, but it did not seem very strong. That said, the lemongrass flavor was more subdued this time, so I detected a faint bit more licorice and other herb despite the weakness. I think the refrigerator I used this time was not cold enough for the process. I used a fair portion of the product and barely 0.5L of liquid, so I would have expected it to function better. Might have been my particular vessel of choice, too. Not sure if I should pour into something else and try longer, or just sip what I have and try again.

[Anonymous No.14472301]

I visited here

https://www.tinyteashop.com.au/

A few days ago and bought a nice haul. Currently drinking their "Berries of the Forrest" blend. Can confirm, it is delicious.

[Anonymous No.14472324]

>>14454755
Herbal teas I usually steep at higher temps, much higher than your usual green tea temps. Helps to extract more flavour especially out of teabags.

[Anonymous No.14472354]

>>14472324
I heated the turmeric blend at 205F, but the turmeric flavor was so strong that virtually no trace of the other components were detectable. I could try 212F, but I suspect that will only result in an equal or worse result. Thinking of going low, maybe 170F or 175F with that tisane next time I drink it.

[Anonymous No.14473077]

>>14472301
That's a lot of fruit

[Anonymous No.14473255]

I haven't been "into" teas since wuflu. Is YS shipping again? I probably ought to get an order going to it will get here by the time it starts coiling off.

[Anonymous No.14473266]

>>14473255
Based racist tea drinker

[Anonymous No.14473281]

>>14473266
?

[Anonymous No.14473626]

Anyone ever go to an Asian market and come out with decent teas you can barely find info on? I have some pu-erh and goddess tea from "ABC Tea" or JT & Tea Inc. Also some huge bags of roasted dong ding oolong and jasmine green tea from "Good Young Co. Ltd.". I had tried barely two of them a while back, and they were so strong and seemingly high in caffeine that I never went back to drinking them.

I wonder if they were/are bad, or if I needed to just brew them properly. Yet to try the oolong or goddess tea. Was thinking of using a bag of pu-erh or my jasmine green tea (if the jasmine wouldn't mess it up) for my kombucha. Anyone have input on this? I still have the tea, and there is simply so much to go through that I can't imagine finishing it all that soon.

[Anonymous No.14473696]

>>14472293
>Do you think you've just grown a fondness for that flavor profile, or just that it has changed over time somehow
That flavor profile I always liked simply wasn't there with the hard water from my tap. I'm thinking about telling to the store to advise the use of filtered water for this tea (not a tea shop, they sell vegetables and stuff).

[Anonymous No.14473915]

>>14473696
That makes more sense. Even water can go 'stale'. Though, couldn't some other factors have changed as well? Heating time and temp for example.
>(not a tea shop, they sell vegetables and stuff).
You mean you just bought your teas in some misc market or supermarket? I got a pu'erh from one that I used to think was shit after trying once and didn't use until tonight. It smells like dirt, so I did two quick hot water rinses on the leaves and discarded the water. I'm making a devilish brew with a bunch of it just tossed in with water and tons of cane sugar which I will use as a base for my next kombucha brew.

It looks so dark and menacing in the pot, but I tasted the reddish amber liquid, and it was crazy smooth despite boiling the hell out of it. Not the best idea to taste high sugar pu'erh at 00:05 in the morning, but at least my end product should be solid. I hope it comes out alright.

[Anonymous No.14474375]

>>14473255
Yeah YS is shipping again, stuff is moving but it's slow, people in Europe seem to be having better luck in the last two months or so. I'm in the US, I got 3 packages shipped at the end of may, 2 have arrived and the third hasn't left china yet.

[Anonymous No.14474581]

>>14473626
I bought a ripe puer cake at a local asian market that just had generic CNNP branding. It was pretty nasty, tasted they way an Asian market smells and was salty for some godforsaken reason.
It's tough because so much stuff just has generic cnnp branding and dozens of factories use it. Pic related is the cnnp logo.
Keep an eye out for sea dyke branded teas. They make a lot of decent stuff, i got some ripe puer teabags they made that weren't anything exciting but actually tasted fine and drinkable. They also make lots of oolongs

[Anonymous No.14474765]

>>14474581
I have a sheng teabag but never knew what I was supposed to do with it. Are they intended for gongfu?

[Anonymous No.14475018]

>>14474765
You are just supposed to brew it like a teabag. As long as it's not bitter use boiling water and steep for 4 or 5 minutes.

[Anonymous No.14475831]

for the fans of lyu bau cha ITT, here a chink reportage/propaganda piece from 2015
http://tv.cctv.com/2015/03/12/VIDE1426149603583483.shtml
enjoy comic sounding language and solid footage or processing the tea leaves into beetroot tea

[Anonymous No.14476092]

>>14474581
I'll keep your notes in mind. They may likely be fake, but I have some loose leaf bags labeled as pu-erh and goddess tea. The pu-erh smells much like dirt/earth, and it made my stomach feel poorly in the past. I brewed it incorrectly, so I can't say if it is real or not. I just hope it's not actually just dirt and twigs. I'll take some pictures of my weird bulk teas if you want to see.

[Anonymous No.14476355]

>>14475831
Nice, that's a long video.
Pretty wacky stuff going on there. I'm not sure that the people doing the hand processing demonstration had any idea what they were doing. The lady in the purple shit seemed on point and the rest of them just looked like they were faking it.

[Anonymous No.14476430]

>>14475831
That big fermentation barrel machine is pretty cool. This whole video is bizarre in the way that all Chinese state tv stuff is. They did a really bad job with making all the staged scenes look natural. Like at one point they just dumped a bunch of tea on the floor and some random workers were pretending to shovel it around as if they were turning a fermentation pile.
Good shit, thanks for sharing.

[Anonymous No.14476437]

I've been feeling mentalliy drained and exhausted. I need some rest.
There's not a lot to talk about with matcha, but doing a dumbed down version of a traditional matcha ceremony has been helping me taking my mind off of things.
I finally recieved my 2014 7572 pu'erh in the mail after four months of waiting, preparing that also helps.
I love all the little rituals that come with preparing tea. Thanks for reading my blog.

[Anonymous No.14476442]

>>14476092
The puer teabags that i have taste almost entirely like dry wood, dirt earth is on the spectrum of expected flavors. If it bothers your stomach when you try it again don't drink anymore and toss the rest.

[Anonymous No.14476486]

>>14473281
The real crime is most teafags continuing to buy from Chinese sellers when they could just be supporting Tawainese, Vietnamese, and many other choices that are leagues ahead of the bullshit China peddles.

[Anonymous No.14476493]

Oh boy another faggy thread where you can only talk about puer/tea cakes.
Reminder that gaiwans are shit and you're an elitist idiot if you think a sensible teapot with a screen isn't the way to go.

[Anonymous No.14476662]

>>14476493
this puerh is good but fuck puerh discussions

[Anonymous No.14476768]

>>14476662
Are there any puerh support groups for women trying to escape their violent puerh drinking partners? There are too many stories of nice relationships that take a dark and violent turn when one woman starts drinking puerh. It seems to happen to tea house lesbians who are introduced to puerh by a coworker only to be completely consumed by what can only be described as drunken Irish spousal bloodlust. We’ve all heard the horror stories of a puerh drinker deep in her cups constructing slings from double headed dildos that are then used to launch a barrage of moon cups, cat feces, butt plugs, and succulent house plants on an unsuspecting and often sleeping partner. There has to be something in the fermentation process of puerh that causes homosexual women to become violent in bizarre ways towards their partners.

[Anonymous No.14476840]

>>14476493
Yeah puer is way too mainstream these days, it's getting played out. That's why I'm switching to liu bao and liu an. It's much more hip and underground.
Puerh was on dr oz for fucks sake
https://youtube.com/watch?v=MVIyazPAc8E

[Anonymous No.14476957]

>>14476840
>2013
at least that means it never really caught on in those circles

[Anonymous No.14477017]

>>14476957
Yeah, i do see plenty of weight loss and health claims thrown about, especially from some of the more sketchy eBay vendors. But puer never really caught on in the west besides some people in the crunchy crowd and tea nerds.

[Anonymous No.14477045]

Is Taiwanese oolong any good? Is it all processed super green or can I find some with deeper roasts? Is it true that they use metric fuck tons of pesticides on it? What are some good vendors? I should probably add some Taiwanese vendors to the pastebin.

[Anonymous No.14477153]

>>14477045
Look for dong ding. It's basically Taiwan's take on Wuyi oolong. Oriental beauty is another good one.
Taiwan Sourcing is good, have mostly just had jade oolongs from them though.

[Anonymous No.14477350]

>>14476486
All I really want is shou puer. Do Vietnam or Taiwan produce such a style?

[Anonymous No.14477357]

>>14476768
lmao

[Anonymous No.14477454]

>>14476355
looks like some kind of open-air museum type of thing, the womaan seems to be showing how it was done in ye olden days.
second half of video is pickled mushrooms, lol
>>14476430
you're welcome

here's more concise one with some historical methods too
sannong.cntv.cn/program/nongguangtd/20110805/109776.shtml

[Anonymous No.14477607]

>>14477350
There might be a small amount produced in taiwan, there are post fermented teas made in Korea but I had a hard time finding good prices. There are also anaerobic fermented teas made in Japan. Give me a few and I will grab some names and links for you.

[Anonymous No.14477678]

>>14477350
>>14477607
The Korean post fermented tea is called byeongcha. I could only find it for sale here last time I looked but I think its probably available other places. The description says cedar a bunch but I think thats a name for the variety of tea trees they use. Its not made of pine needles.
https://www.koreanmuse.com/tea/44-korean-osulloc-byeongcha-cedar-tea.html
The japanese tea, which sounds like it is essentially pickled. Is called GOISHI-CHA
I found this place that sells it.
https://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_130_114&products_id=728

[Anonymous No.14477699]

>>14477678
I found a cool video about them making the Japanese pickled tea.
https://youtu.be/92mEGbHQ3xg

[Anonymous No.14477813]

Found another Japanese tea that is pile fermented like puer. This one is pile fermented in the traditional way, not compressed in barrels like the previous one.
https://yunomi.life/collections/furyu-bancha-specialty-shop/products/furyu-batabatacha-rare-bancha-tea-30g

[Anonymous No.14478821]

>>14477678
Actually that Korean tea might actually have cedar in it.

[Anonymous No.14479194]

>>14478821
I think cedar is toxic.
>>14477678
Goishi are what go stones are called in Japanese. I wonder if the tea is names after them.

[Anonymous No.14479338]

>>14479194
>Goishi are what go stones are called in Japanese. I wonder if the tea is names after them.
Yeah one of the articles I was reading about it said exactly that.

[Anonymous No.14479347]

Should I get some?

[Anonymous No.14480028]

>>14477153
Different anon. I have a huge unopened bag of dong ding, and never brewed it before. How would you describe it? Do you think its flavors would be suited to a breakfast or lunch meal? Any specific temp/time recommendations, or just something typical?

[Anonymous No.14480038]

Just earl for me

[Anonymous No.14480371]

>>14480038
Disgusting

[Anonymous No.14480629]

Tried a bit of Gunpowder tea.
The rolling of the ball is a meme, but it looks fancy.
Its a shame it doesn't extract properly unless the leaves are floating free. Both bag and reusable cages where limited. Free floating where pretty good. So I might have to visit a flea marked and see if I can find a pestle, to see what experience that brings.

[Anonymous No.14480857]

>>14480629
get a gaiwan they're cheap, also watch out with that brand apparently its full of pesticides and honestly its tasted the worst out of every green i've ever drunk

[Anonymous No.14480874]

>>14480857
>brand apparently its full of pesticides
Its from China, so thats a given.
Do China even have agriculture laws related to human consumption?

[Anonymous No.14480998]

>>14480874
possibly, yunnansourcing does give testing results for pesticides for some/most of its teas

[Anonymous No.14481079]

>>14450622
lesbian relationships have the highest recorded rate of domestic violence so you're probably experience the normal ebb and flow of your unnatural lifestyle.

[Anonymous No.14481484]

>>14477045
I'm personally a huge fan. I'd say a lot of what I see is pretty green, as I think that is the current trend there (especially for colder drinks like cold brews and milk tea made with oolong). However, you can find some more roasted or aged stuff as well without really any difficulty. I have a large amount of an extremely charcoal roasted oolong that is such a treat to get into. Even cold brew. Can't speak to their pesticide use, though.

What the other anon said about Taiwan Sourcing is good. Eco Cha is another iirc. And you can also try searching a local tea master from around Taipei, the website is just called Tiekuanyintea and while simple, carries really nice teas. And if you ever decide to go to Taiwan you can even visit this master and tour his workshop thing. What-Cha also seems to carry a decent offering from Taiwan as well.

[Anonymous No.14481623]

>>14467861
Raises dht like nobody's business, but if you don't care about baldness or don't have gene it's literally one of the best beverages you can have on this earth

[Anonymous No.14481784]

>>14454417
That would be nice.
You should start one.

[Anonymous No.14482547]

>>14481484
Thanks anon. I will start working on adding some stuff to the pastebin.

[Anonymous No.14482812]

My first time having non lipton green tea.
Ordered Sencha, Genmaicha and Bancha.
I heard the first two are good, I hope I'll enjoy them.
Any tips on preparations? I live in Sweden so the water here is probably hard.

[Anonymous No.14483057]

>>14482812
Consider getting of those britia style filter pitchers for your water. It's definitely worth it.
These guys have some good green tea brewing instructions, they make it sound very autistic but the important things to get right are water temperature and leaf to water ratio.
https://www.o-cha.com/make-green-tea.html
You can just brew your tea in a mug with a filter basket like pic related from finum if you don't have any other teaware (you should be able to get generic stainless steel filter baskets on lots of online shopping sites if you don't want one of the finum ones), western style teapots also work fine as long as they aren't too big.

[Anonymous No.14483961]

I followed the temperature and settle times listed for oolongs on the Mei Leaf guide, but the flavor was mostly just mildly bitter. I did a quick preliminary warming wash (and poured out the excess), then brewed a 20s first infusion at 210F. Subsequent infusions were around 5s at presumably 200-210F.

There was a scent of smoked wood and cannabis once brewed/wet, but it is a very sweet-smelling dong ding when dry. With this in mind, I think there may be flavors I'm not catching. Any thoughts? Perhaps too much leaf, or brewed too hot/long? I'm trying to experiment and improve my technique, but I think I may be missing something.

[Anonymous No.14484079]

>>14483961
I would try pushing the brews longer. Especially with a rolled oolong infusion times will take a bit longer.

[Anonymous No.14484191]

>>14484079
>I would try pushing the brews longer. Especially with a rolled oolong infusion times will take a bit longer.
I certainly considered this, but the flavor was too bitter and acidic at longer brews of 20-25 seconds (yet not exceedingly astringent). I'm wondering if 195-200F may work out better, since the 200-205F range seemed less harsh. I'm not sure how I would scale infusion durations to that, though.

I did about five infusions around the time of my post. Still have the pot, wet leaf, and equipment out since I was thinking of giving it another shot. Almost certain I used way too much leaf for the amount of water. Yet, I would think that leaf:water ratio (at the right temp/brew duration parameters) would not prohibit a lighter result. I have no idea how Don from Mei Leaf detects all those notes when brewing longer. I have a dreadful sense of smell, so perhaps that impairs my sense of taste too. At the very least, my sensitive stomach isn't feeling too bothered from all of these drinks.

[Anonymous No.14484242]

>>14484191
Oh yeah if it's too bitter try dropping the temp, loss of sense of smell can definitely effect sense of taste but i have been stuffed up all spring and I still get decent flavor.
Try 90°C and the same length infusions, then push them longer if the tea is coming out weak.

[Anonymous No.14484252]

>>14484242
I should add I brew all my oolongs grampa style as explained in the pastebin in the op but I usually only drink the heavily roasted stuff so I'm not an expert at brewing the greener oolongs.

[Anonymous No.14484557]

Do the japanese even make oolong?

[Anonymous No.14484649]

>>14452367
I love Yorkshire gold through a French press.

[Anonymous No.14484692]

>>14484242
>>14484252
Thank you for spending some time to provide these useful recommendations. I only just saw this message now, and realized just how late it was, so I won't be drinking the dong ding right away. I'll give it a shot at 90C sometime tomorrow and post again with my results. Planning to do ~20s first infusion and 5s for each one thereafter (as I did today), but let me know if you think those times may best be adjusted somehow.

[Anonymous No.14485083]

TEA NEWS
>The first workshop staff skill competition of Guangxi Wuzhou Tea Factory was successfully held
>On the morning of July 3 , the "Guangxi Wuzhou Tea Factory First Workshop Staff Skills Competition" organized by the Wuzhou Tea Factory Trade Union was successfully held in the Wuzhou Tea Factory Packaging Workshop. Skills Competition is divided into individual competition and team competition, individual competition is divided into "brick tea bag" games and "package tea cake" contest
http://www.wz-tea.com/news/647.html

[Anonymous No.14485095]

>>14485083
>coofs on your tea
We need to get the Changs out of the global tea network and source from other nations. They literally use slave labor so us white ghosts can enjoy a cheap sippa. I ask y’all, is it worth it?

[Anonymous No.14485180]

>>14485095
>I ask y’all, is it worth it?

[Anonymous No.14485905]

Shipping inside the US is fucking terrible right now. It's been pretty much fine since this virus shit started and just in the last two weeks or so it's going to shit. Packages taking days to get through regional processing centers, missing multiple scans per trip. What a mess.

[Anonymous No.14486375]

>>14485905
Too many people protested and now we're locked down again.

[Anonymous No.14487420]

>>14485095
this is a tea thread, stop politicsposting you fucking spook

[Anonymous No.14487467]

>>14487420
Asking questions the ethics of food (or tea) sourcing is valid and not “politicposting”.

[Anonymous No.14488041]

First time i made cold brewed tea, started out with some probably lower quality jasmin tea, but it turned out quite alright, the flavour is refreshing while still having a hit of bitterness.
It also tastes good with russian condensed milk

[Anonymous No.14488216]

>brew tea well
God DAMN, this some serious gourmet shit!
>brew tea again but not as perfectly
Tastes like bland, bitter dogshit water

Do I just need to invest in a controlled temperature kettle or what? The inconsistency kills me

[Anonymous No.14488707]

>>14488041
All condensed milk is almost exactly the same. But good that it worked. I only tried really dark black tea with it, with a twist of mandarin. It felt unholy to do but tasty.

[Anonymous No.14488724]

>>14476840
>liu bao
>liu an
TEA IS TEA YOU NIGGER

[Anonymous No.14489005]

>>14488724
He's being a mondo hipster, but for laffs. Those two seem to be very very underdocumented, with blurry production methods. I'm sure I some years it'll be more streamlined like puerh and then worth bothering with.