/tea/

[Anonymous No.17409111]

/tea/
Pure Bud edition
This thread is for discussing teas, tissanes, and other herbal infusions.
info: types of tea, where to get tea, how to brew tea
https://pastebin.com/80GeeXJV

Previous thread:
>>17379709

[Anonymous No.17409133]

>>17409111
tea trips. those fuzzy guys are pretty

[Anonymous No.17409154]

>>17409133
I agree, OP's choice of tea to visually promote is a good one. That said, I haven't had silver needle. Had several whites though, and the the most bud-heavy one was a slightly aged moonlight white. I wonder how most silver needle whites will compare. It is comfy to see the furs either way.

[Anonymous No.17409195]

>>17409154
I'm just starting to get into tea myself and haven't had any white that isn't bagged, I ordered some jasmine-infused silver needles the other week and am excited to try it. :)

[Anonymous No.17409209]

I'm a noob when it comes to tea, Is it supposed to taste watery? I've been drinking lipton black and I've let it steep for 2 minutes.

[Anonymous No.17409225]

>>17409209
Its Lipton, try steeping in 4 minutes, if you have a huge mug try 2 teabags. I've found that pgtips is thr strongest bagged tea.

[Anonymous No.17409226]

>>17409195
Nice; my moonlight white I'm referring to is already pretty floral, so that might be a nice combo. Let us know how it turns out.
>>17409209
Increase the amount of leaf used. Use another bag and/or increase infusion time slightly. If you want more texture, try delving into whole leaf stuff. I guess you could toss in loads of bags too, but it's not going to be great.

[Anonymous No.17409255]

>fall asleep before forgetting to replace lemon balm with chamomile in kettle
>wake up with lemon balm tea instead of chamomile
It's not the same... It feels like I'm wearing somebody else's clothes. All my organs are in active revolt, refusing to digest anything. It doesn't taste good at all. I feel inflamed.

I'll also file a bonus complaint in mentioning that the bag of chamomile I opened up today was literally filled to the brim with stems, aside from near the bag's window that shows you what's inside. I have seem stems sold separately, but that is not what is going on here. I was scammed. I did not buy manzanilla en rama, there is no mention of en rama on the whole bag. I had to take a large amount of stems out to get to the dust, but I still used them in the brew. Not sure what I'm expecting since they were thicker and bigger stems that I have ever seem come with chamomile, maybe that means they are fresher...

But they weren't even full stalks or attached to any flowers, they were just chopped up and thrown on top of on chamomile dust completely hidden. I am excited to try, as different parts of the plant are radically different. That is the whole basis behind true tea, anyway...

[Anonymous No.17409269]

>>17409255
Is this Chamomile Matrix dreamstate anon? How do you plan to plot your revenge against the market villains who have slighted you?

[Anonymous No.17409279]

recommend me tea that tastes like mengku black

[Anonymous No.17409282]

>>17409111

Good stuff.
Far too sweet and fruity for me to drink daily though.

[Anonymous No.17409289]

>>17409282
pile of mink pelts

[Anonymous No.17409299]

>>17409282
Fluffy tea
>>17409279
What did it taste like anon?

[Anonymous No.17409310]

>>17409289

[Anonymous No.17409328]

>>17409299
tasted good. kind of like chocolate and apples

[Anonymous No.17409351]

>>17409269
This chamomile chamomile stem tea is actually quite tasty. It was supposed to be the higher grade supermarket chamomile and it lives up to that expectation.

[Anonymous No.17409356]

>>17409328
At this point you should probably just wait for yunnan sourcing US to get their spring teas in and buy something that he describes as tasting chocolate or fruity. Some kind of Chinese tea is you bestbbet for those softer blacks that aren't malty.
Or i guess something like this might fit the bill
https://kingteamall.com/collections/black-tea/products/2021-early-spring-xiao-zhong-jin-mu-dan-souchong-golden-peony-a-black-tea-hongcha-fujian
Or this, this is made with a very similar varietal of tea to the mengku blacks.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/black-tea/products/2021-xiaguan-hong-cha-black-tea-300g-yunnan-fengqing-dianhong

[Anonymous No.17409652]

can someone recommend me some xia guan tuochas from fullchea? or do i just buy whatever, they all seem pretty good

[Anonymous No.17409745]

>>17409652
Yeah i got ya, let me pull some up real quick

[Anonymous No.17409781]

>>17409652
For toucha i would go with
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xia-guan-2011-tuocha-tea-nannuo-gong-tuo-tribute-tuo-raw-pu-er-tee-100g-p0342.html
And or
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2012-tuo-cha-jing-mai-ancient-tea-raw-puer-cha-100g-pcs-p0341.html
You could also go for this which is probably a pretty easy to drink tea made for most people to enjoy
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/tulin-phoenix-2011-raw-puerh-tuocha-quotkai-men-hongquot-box-tea-puer-tea-250g-p0550.html
Or this which is again going to be somewhat mild and somewhat black tea like
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2011-sheng-tea-cang-er-fangzhuang-brick-aged-tea-250g-p0332.html
None of the standard toucha are old enough to be worth getting, they really need some time because they start out pretty smokey and bitter, though i have heard the onew made in the ladt decade or so aren't as potent as they used to be.
You could get this but i wouldn't, it's the lowest grade roucha from the year they were watering everything down as much as they could to sell as much tea as possible, it's probably incredibly bland
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2006-raw-pu-erh-tea-quotda-zhong-tuochaquot-aged-pu-erh-tea-100g-p0498.html
Somw other tea that has a bit of a xiagun feel to it
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/tulin-2009-aged-pu-erh-tea-yunnan-phoenix-tuocha-sheng-puer-100g-p0497.html

[Anonymous No.17409816]

How do I make tea with psilocybin mushrooms?

[Anonymous No.17409827]

>>17409781
Thanks man, ill get those first two you linked then, im gonna save up a bit and make a baller order and maybe get a new gaiwan too, kinda wanna try a white tea cake now also looking at the replies above.

[Anonymous No.17409832]

>>17409781
>You could also go for this which is probably a pretty easy to drink tea made for most people to enjoy
>https://www.fullchea-tea.com/tulin-phoenix-2011-raw-puerh-tuocha-quotkai-men-hongquot-box-tea-puer-tea-250g-p0550.html
>Or this which is again going to be somewhat mild and somewhat black tea like
>https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2011-sheng-tea-cang-er-fangzhuang-brick-aged-tea-250g-p0332.html
not the same anon but where are you getting those tasting profiles from?

>You could get this but i wouldn't, it's the lowest grade roucha from the year they were watering everything down as much as they could to sell as much tea as possible, it's probably incredibly bland
>https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2006-raw-pu-erh-tea-quotda-zhong-tuochaquot-aged-pu-erh-tea-100g-p0498.html
is 2006 really that bad? i have had some cakes from 2007 that are pretty good and my understanding was that year was even worse as the puerh boom was at its peak. i just have a hard time imagining a XG toucha being "bland". i figured it would at worst it would simply be generic semi aged sheng that's perhaps a bit boring.

[Anonymous No.17409845]

uhh, bros? I don't feel so good

[Anonymous No.17409853]

>>17409282
does that scratch your throat? holy jeezes. just see the floaties on the top of the tea is enough to make me run and gag

[Anonymous No.17409877]

>>17409853
Nah, most of the hairs stay attached to the leaves. Any that end up in the drink are so small you won't notice them.

[Anonymous No.17409890]

>>17409832
>is 2006 really that bad?
Its 2006 and their cheapest lowest grade tuo, on release there was a big price delta between Da Zhong and ja ji / te ji
I just finished off a sleeve of 2007 te je and i wouldn't want to drink something cheaper from the same time period.
>where are you getting these tasting profiles from?
That big tuo in the big red box is a gifting tea for Chinese new year or some other Chinese holiday and those teas tend to be intended to be easy to drink for a wide audience of people.
I looking at the cang er brick i was wrong, im not sure about the cang er teas, i got it confised with the Nanzhao teas that xiaguan makes, the ones wirh pic related logo.

[Anonymous No.17409901]

>>17409845
Dont boil breack of tea stems for hours at a time before drinking the liquid and it's not a problem. The only two documented cases in the US were elderly women that were brewing literally hundreds of dollar store black teabags in a giant pitcher every day for a decade +.

[Anonymous No.17409941]

>>17409901
>citations needed

[Anonymous No.17409979]

>>17409941
I was wrong about her being 80
https://www.medicaldaily.com/too-much-tea-overdose-leads-skeletal-fluorosis-rare-bone-disease-244716

[Anonymous No.17409997]

>>17409979
So yeah don't brew 100-150 of the cheapest black teabags you can find per day, or do what the Tibetans do and boil huge bricks of old tea leaves and mostly stems, which have the highest concentration of flouride, and you will be fine.

[Anonymous No.17410251]

>>17409827
>Thanks man, ill get those first two you linked then
do tell us how they are when you get them.

>>17409845
skeletal fluorosis from tea is rare in the west enough to be a medical curiosity. its so rare that many of the cases get written up in the medical literature. in the west it almost exclusively occurs in postmenopausal women who have been drinking copious quantities of cheap teabags or instant tea for decades. i really would not worry too much about it unless you plan to drink tons of cheap teabags, instant tea, or boiled brick tea daily for decades.

>>17409890
>Its 2006 and their cheapest lowest grade tuo, on release there was a big price delta between Da Zhong and ja ji / te ji
that makes sense i guess. i was not aware that there was a large price differential between the two when they first came out. where should i go to find historical prices/original MSRP? the material itself doesn't look that bad (by cheap XG standards that is) but its definitely not fancy. they are only 25% cheaper per sleeve now on KTM though so it probably makes sense to pay a bit more for the higher grade if possible.

[Anonymous No.17410283]

>>17410251
>they are only 25% cheaper per sleeve now on KTM though so it probably makes sense to pay a bit more for the higher grade if possible.
Yeah, i would agree, on KTM i think the 2009 tuos are a good year. I have a whole bunch of them stashed away. I would love to get some 2003 or 2004 tuos but they are way too expensive now.

[Anonymous No.17410536]

What are some good caffeine free teas?
I know nothing, I am totally new to all of this

[Anonymous No.17410553]

>>17410536
You could try some herbal teas. Chrysanthemum is nice.

[Anonymous No.17410562]

i really like jasmine pearl tea, what are some other similar tasting teas?

[Anonymous No.17410651]

So I actually watched Mei Leaf's video on this stuff (having read up a lot on clay before) because I wanted to hear him talk his shit. Way more confusing than I thought it would be. I definitely understand how this can confuse people because it's weird and esoteric. Some of it actually makes sense and is consistent with other stuff I read. The thing about minerals though? I'm skeptical as hell because I don't get how a clay pot can consistently just add minerals. If it readily leeches enough minerals to the tea that you can taste them I'd think they would get washed out fast.

Also, I think the "Yixing Zisha" category is just talking about zini. Looking at the chart though made me think, is zini really just terrible with everything except puerh? Does anybody actually use zini and can say if that's true at all?

[Anonymous No.17410684]

>>17410651
Mei Leaf guy is also a believer in Chinese medicine and all the mystic mumbo jumbo so I'd take anything he says with that in mind.

[Anonymous No.17410785]

>>17410651
>I don't get how a clay pot can consistently just add minerals.

It can't. It's all pseudo-scientific bullshit.

[Anonymous No.17410821]

>>17410553
What about chamomile or hibiscus?

[Anonymous No.17410871]

>>17410651
>Does anybody actually use zini and can say if that's true at all?

I dunno, I tried brewing >>17409282 in zini and porcelain pots and couldn't tell the difference despite the yixing pot supposedly muting all the high notes.

[Anonymous No.17410957]

I love birch bark tea so much brothers..
Its so sweet and tasty. It has such a pretty pink colour too..

[Anonymous No.17410970]

>>17409877
>Nah, most of the hairs stay attached to the leaves
not my experience, the all come off intot he liquid
>>17409853
you could use a fine mesh filter but you wont notice them, if anything it will just give a thicker mouthfeel to the tea

[Anonymous No.17411158]

>>17410651
I have a cheapish zini teapot from essence of tea.
I thought it was noticeably muting the first 10 to 15 times i used it. After that it's become less so, i don't really think it makes a dramatic difference but it does seem to slightly round out the flavor of teas. Ive used it for puer, mild hei chas and roasted oolong and it seemed fine for all of them, outside of the first few sessions which were too muting it don't think it's hurt the flavor of anything. If i was going to buy a teapot now i might get a different clay instead like Qing Shui Ni. But ive only tried the one clay pot so i cant really say how much of a difference the different clays make.

[Anonymous No.17411164]

>>17410970
Might be different for what you have, but the hairs on mine are definitely still there after the leaves are brewed out.

[Anonymous No.17411369]

>>17411164
i have Jinggu Sun-Dried Silver Needles cake and the buds are smooth after a finished session, some of my white leave teas still have them after im finished. ive also got a few blacks that are still hairy and the day after the dried fluff is in my strainer

[Anonymous No.17411387]

>Well over two days, almost weekend in Kunming, still no Chawangshop invoice.
HOOOOONZAAAAAA!! Don't make me buy Japanese instead, Honza! I know they cost more, but I'll do it! I will make this Chinese NY into a Japanese NY, Honza! I really will, aaaaaaah!

[Anonymous No.17411427]

>>17410821
Chamomile is a great night time tea, if you like it you should also try linden and verbena

Hibiscus shines when iced, apparently it's popular in central America. Most recipes say to add sugar but personally I prefer it without. But hey, you are the Tony Montana of your agua de jamaica

[Anonymous No.17411464]

[Anonymous No.17411556]

>>17410970
>thicker mouthfeel to the tea
I doubt this very much. it'll be like fuzz in my mouth if any bypass the filter

[Anonymous No.17411566]

>>17411369
>Jinggu Sun-Dried Silver Needles cake

Same here. No clue then, chalk it up to something else I guess. I get minimal hairs in the liquid and nothing stuck in the mesh strainer. My leaves definitely retain their hairs after brewing. They just need to dry out a bit and then the hairs puff up again.

[Anonymous No.17411637]

>>17411387
I don't know what the specific two weeks they take of for Chinese new year are but i dont think the package will go anyway for a couple more days anyway so try not to worry about it.

[Anonymous No.17411758]

>>17411637
It's fine, I'm just making light of it for laughs. I imagine it will take a while in shipment anyway. I'm not worried.

[Anonymous No.17411996]

Honza has heard my call, lads; invoice received and fulfilled. I will have some Anhua heicha and relax now. What is everyone else drinking tonight?

[Anonymous No.17412174]

Drinking Xie Shimen Shui Xian in my local teahouse, nice way to start the day

[Anonymous No.17412248]

I bought some nice high mountain taiwan tea for a prsent, it was delicious and still is. those little balls are becoming big leaves in the teapot but still very tasty after couple days. didint know tea could cost that much tho

[Anonymous No.17412616]

Pic related is called Marva (Lippia alba). This plant is divine. It is rich in citral and limonene, two compounds that give lemons their flavour.

Tea of this shit is so fucking good. I like to chuck in some elderflower cordial and dear god that drink is the nectar of the gods. The leaves also look incredibly beautiful in the water.

[Anonymous No.17412773]

Whew lads
I forgot when I last changed the cartridge of my Brita pitcher and found scale while inspecting it. I don't know how long I've been drinking hard water muted tea. Replacement made a huge difference.

[Anonymous No.17412855]

>>17412773
What kind of perceivable differences were readily noticeable afterwards, exactly? I have exclusively used bottled water for well over a year in my kettle to avoid such issues, wonder if I might have to do any maintenance too.

[Anonymous No.17413118]

>>17411566
brewing some up now, even from the 1st 15sec brew theres a small amount of hairs

[Anonymous No.17413169]

>>17413118
did it produce an unpleasant sensation in your oral orifice, sir?

[Anonymous No.17413174]

>>17412855
>What kind of perceivable differences were readily noticeable afterwards, exactly
The kind I observed when going from hard tap water to filtered water. Not much difference on expensive/quality teas. However, cheaper ones do taste stronger, aromatic notes are better defined, some notes appear with filtered water and some cheap teas end up tasting better than expensive ones.

I mainly drink Shou but have also observed the muting effects of hard water on other types of tea.

[Anonymous No.17413184]

>>17409111
Thanks for this thread anon. I always want to drink my high caffeine teas but remember too late in the day.
Gonna go make a pot of it now

[Anonymous No.17413202]

>>17413169
no, they're far too fine and short, its not like you're drinking a bowl of eye lashes, most bits of leaf you'll get in your cup are far larger

[Anonymous No.17413357]

>>17413118
2nd brew 30sec (85c)
a lot more hairs, btw im using the light from my phone pressed against the outside of my cup, you're not going to see them by just looking but they reflect/catch light
pic is 7 brews increasing 15sec each time
looking most hairless but i'll leave them dry out for a few hours and check back

[Anonymous No.17413379]

>>17413184
>high caffeine teas
what's this then
I thought black tea had the highest but was still very variable and if you're looking for a caffeine fix coffee is much better

[Anonymous No.17413449]

>>17413357
get a new tea vessel before I puke or that finally implodes into a sharp, hot disaster. both are imminent.

[Anonymous No.17413466]

>>17413379
It's all pretty variable across the board I think.
The tea I'm drinking now is a 2020 red jade tai cha #18.
I'm not usually looking for a caffeine fix with tea mainly because I resteep it a bunch of times to make the most of it and end up with a large amount of tea to drink.
It used to be fine when I had more people to share it with, but right now it's just me drinking it. I usually end up real tea drunk.
I suppose I should stop being dumb by brewing like I always have and just use less tea too brew with. Next time.

[Anonymous No.17413470]

I am running out of tea, only have a little black tea+flower cake left - rate my order from Verdant

[Anonymous No.17413505]

>>17413470
Their cheapest whites and Wuyi oolongs are alright (I really liked the mildly aged shou mei white cake they offered). I didn't especially like anything most teas I tried from them though, and I've sampled many of their goods. I don't think their prices match appropriately the value of quality or quantity of most of their leaf. I advise against buying from them unless you are desperate for something, and in that case, just buy a few budget cakes and get another order from another, better vendor. Fullchea would arguably be better both in quality and price.

[Anonymous No.17413525]

>>17413505
I liked some of their stuff several years ago, I remember a jin jun mei maybe around 2018 that was great, but didn't love my last order from them either, it's been a while since I bought tea and I didn't feel like comparing competitors, but I will give fullchea a try next time, thanks

[Anonymous No.17413533]

Opinions on white2tea?
I've tried a lot of his stuff and haven't had a bad experience yet.

[Anonymous No.17413640]

>>17413357
Yeah that's how they'll look when wet since the hairs are transparent. You'll be able to see the hairs puff up again once the leaves dry out.

Pic related, wet then after drying

[Anonymous No.17413766]

>>17413470
i cant comment in great detail on most of verdant's offerings but i have generally liked all their laoshan "he family" teas that i have tried. all the oolongs and black tea i got from them were at least decent but i am not well enough acquainted with those styles to give a good comparative review vs other vendors.

as per rating your order specifically i did get a sample of an older vintage of their jasmine silver needle and it was nice if you like jasmine scented teas, though i think it is perhaps a touch pricey. the thing i would consider changing is the aged tiegunyin. you can get it if you want it, and it should be fine but i suspect the taste wont live up to the price. at almost a dollar a gram my (personal) expectations would be very high.

here are some other recommendations if you have not ordered yet. i have had a previous years version of this: https://verdanttea.com/spring-laoshan-roasted-oolong that i really liked and i would be willing to cautiously recommend it. also the laoshan herbal teas: https://verdanttea.com/tea/by-tea-type/herbal are fun if you want some caffeine free tisanes to gongfu brew.

have you done their five for $5 deal yet?
https://verdanttea.com/five-teas-for-5

>>17413505
>just buy a few budget cakes and get another order from another, better vendor. Fullchea would arguably be better both in quality and price.
i have not seen many reviews of Fullchea's loose leaf section (though it is really cheap). usually i see people recommend Yunnan sourcing for Chinese loose leaf tea which is were i would probably go myself. still i do agree with you that verdant tea tends to be a bit pricey for what you get (especially when not on sale). presumably you are paying extra for the US based inventory and quick free shipping (plus they seem to base their prices on the fact they do frequent sales). not my favorite vendor but i don't hate them.

[Anonymous No.17413789]

>>17413533
>Opinions on white2tea?
in short: annoying hipster marketing, poor transparency, probably a bit overpriced on average (though they still have some ok deals), but they make some cool experimental teas, and price aside the quality of their tea and curation is generally good.

[Anonymous No.17413794]

>>17413449
crazing is normal, its just the glaze and it being a thicker vessel

[Anonymous No.17413881]

>>17413766
>i have not seen many reviews of Fullchea's loose leaf section
I have not had much loose from them outside of maybe a sampler or two. That said, their cakes/tuos have all been respectable for the money (notably their whites and shous). YS is probably much easier to shop from considering the more transparent info and greater number of actual reviewd (instead of Slavs going "haven't tried, nice stuff"). They have a US site for quicker shipping too, but I have heard many varied responses to their inventory as well. So, considering the low costs even down to shipping, I think Fullchea is a good option for fattening up a stash inexpensively of someone with very little leaf on-hand. If I didn't have specific goods I wanted from other vendors, I'd probably just buy from Fullchea forever.
>Verdant
They have fast shipping and very good customer service in my experience, though their pricing is horrendous, credibility of certain listings are questionable, and consistency of products not great. As mentioned before, their whites and oolongs were decent, but the other categories either sucked or just wasn't very good considering the value in my experience. Their 5-for-$5 and low-end 100g options and basic teaware have a convenient place in enabling newcomers to get into gong fu quickly though, which I think is notable. That is how I got started; samplers and cheap cakes, beginning with a goofy oolong that was straight up cannabis, DUDE WEED note-heavy from Verdant. That will always be a memorable experience for me.

[Anonymous No.17413896]

>>17409195
By far my favorite kind of tea. It's smooth and mellow and floral has this almost buttery quality that's hard to explain. I adore it.

[Anonymous No.17413937]

I enjoy tea

[Anonymous No.17414136]

>>17413533
My complaints about w2t
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their teas, sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like yiwu"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell tea. You will see a listing that just says "this tea will sell out by tomorrow, no samples" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors wrapping warehouse finds in new hipster wrappers and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for them.
They do a lot of stupid tea "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced.
If you actually read twodogs old blog posts about puer you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every puer meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in tea.
He is probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre young green puer at extremely inflated prices.

JK literally everything I've got from him has been great. Have a few new cakes resting that I haven't busted into yet.

[Anonymous No.17414216]

>>17414136
LOL, you had me there.

[Anonymous No.17414278]

>>17413794
nobody will want to drink T with you bro. even a plastic Tupperware is more convincing

[Anonymous No.17414345]

Having some 2006 nanquio bulang today.
Not bad, definite bulang character, nothing super premium, i had a 2004 nanquio bada nannuo cake last year that was much nicer.

[Anonymous No.17414385]

unabashed shilling here but teas we like has a xiaguan quarter cake set with a bunch of old 8653 for $225. If you have the money to toss around it's a pretty decent price for old xiaguan and its getting quite hard to get these older xiguan cakes for that little and they would be good to either drink right away or hoard for another decade.

[Anonymous No.17414409]

>>17414345
which one? the overhyped lions cake?
I'm drinking noilly prat with vodka made with water from lake Baikal martini. I'll try not to post anymore. It's weekend here.
>>17414385
I almost pulled the trigger, but went with yeeon, ktm and chawangshop orders instead.
I can confirm yeeontea has two 2010 dayi shengs for about $40 each. you need to email them. mine are on the way.
happy sipping

[Anonymous No.17414435]

>>17414409
>which one? the overhyped lions cake?
It was some tea from the liquid prost sample set so I'm guessing something cheaper.

[Anonymous No.17414438]

>>17414409
>I can confirm yeeontea has two 2010 dayi shengs for about $40 each. you need to email them. mine are on the way
Shit, What a time to be broke, enjoy those

[Anonymous No.17414452]

>>17414435
oh gotcha, how's that nannuo cake treating you, anything outstanding in terms of taste, aroma, feeling?
>>17414438
thanks anon. acquire currency and spend it on hobbies, we're gonna make it.

[Anonymous No.17414490]

i just finished off the last of the harry crab i got from Scott Wilson awhile back. would do again.

[Anonymous No.17414534]

>>17414452
>that nannuo cake treating you
It's been a while but i thought thought it was pretty good, juicy, above average endurance. Decent middleground storage, much more ahed feeling than kunmin but not really getting any of the hk or humid storage aspects. It was very clean tasting. Cake seemed like it was priced fairly but i didn't feel like i was getting a real bargin.

[Anonymous No.17414537]

>>17414490
Were you just drinking the herb on it's own or was it mixed with tea? What did it taste like?

[Anonymous No.17414544]

>>17414409
>you need to email them.
do they have anything else on the secret menu? how did you find out about it?

[Anonymous No.17414557]

Here's my Yee on Tea order. I haven't had any HK puerh in a while and his CNY sale was going till a few days ago. What do you think?

[Anonymous No.17414563]

>>17414557
Also ordered this a little after the fact. Heard it's a good cake.

[Anonymous No.17414577]

>>17414557
>>17414563
Nice

[Anonymous No.17414592]

https://sevencups.com/shop/da-shan-tian-sheng-puer-2015/
does this young puer seem fine or am i scamming myself for the price for a 200g cake, cant seem to find much more info on it

[Anonymous No.17414604]

>>17414537
it was just camellia sinensis:
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/anxi-hairy-crab-mao-xie-fujian-oolong-tea
tasting notes:
very creamy, perhaps some yogurt
deep herbaceousness, a little spicy
very floral, aromatic
cooling, menthol
overall a nice anxi oolong for less than 10¢/g.

[Anonymous No.17414615]

>>17409111
I thought it was those dried fish Asians eat.

[Anonymous No.17414678]

>>17414592
sevencups generally has a reputation as an good vendor overall but they would not be my first choice for puerh because they don't have a reputation for selling it and at 33¢/g you got plenty of options from more heavily reviewed puerh vendors. my hunch is that its probably a fine tea though but it may be a bit marked up. if you for some reason really want to go with them i would get this instead: https://sevencups.com/shop/zijuan-purple-tea-buds-2020/ because its on sale a bud only yesheng cake is something kind of unique (but its not going to be representative of typical sheng). if you are brand new to puerh the anons here can probably can put together a better "starter pack" list of recommendations for you.

[Anonymous No.17414685]

>>17414563
proper first order! if you had HK puerh you know the ballpark, the only thing missing is their Best Taste ripe but this brick will reward you with interesting savoury sweet brews, trust me.
>>17414544
the way he said it, they indeed have more. I emailed after being somewhat of a returning customer and their champion on here. I'm not that much into back and forthing with my dealer, mind you.
>>17414537
haha, I love how the mentions of crab leg parasite confuses anons

[Anonymous No.17414695]

>>17414678
>its on sale a bud only
should be
its on sale and a bud only

[Anonymous No.17414701]

>>17414604
Oh okay, at one point he was selling that crabs legs parasitic plant, pic related

[Anonymous No.17414715]

>>17414685
this fucking post lmao. need to go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-vR-JJazpA
cheers

[Anonymous No.17414827]

>>17414592
get this one instead https://www.farmer-leaf.com/collections/yunnan-pu-erh-tea/products/autumn-2021-naka-small-trees
>>17414534
it's a taiwan storage iirc, so no cellar, just hot and humid island. love juicy, longevity I also seek in aged teas, sometimes after a litre of water through leaves you find very interesting nuances in the "sweet water" phase. love that aspect. combine that with still noticeable feeling from the first caffeinated steeps and I am content and smiling.
good to have a cake, pull it out in a few months and compare mental notes, also a lots of fun.
I switched to bourbon and coke, so I really need to be going this time.
long live /tea/

[Anonymous No.17414934]

>>17409255
Chamomile is pretty popular and grows where I'm from (central Yuro), even the shitty supermarket loose flowers are pretty decent. Literally never saw any stems in chamomile until I fell for the egyptian chamomile meme. The flowers are double the size of local ones, but they smelled sort of stale+rancid and were full of stems.

While transfering it to a glass jar and still debating whether I should just throw it away I saw a cigarette butt inside. Made me nauseous as fuck and I'll always stick to the local stuff.

[Anonymous No.17415030]

>>17414604
Bought it once cause it was the cheapest option and I was broke at that moment. Hated it at first but after a few steeps it became my favorite. Too bad their shipping to EU is way too expensive now

[Anonymous No.17415097]

Anon those are anchovy

[Anonymous No.17415296]

When will Spring 2022 teas start coming in on YS? Around March-April?

[Anonymous No.17415409]

What tea should I make tonight

[Anonymous No.17415476]

>>17415296
Probably.

[Anonymous No.17415714]

>>17414934
>I saw a cigarette butt inside.
i once had a cigarette butt float to the top of my gaiwan while i was brewing some FuZhuan. i pulled it out and went back to my tea. at the point i had already had a couple cups so i figured drinking the rest wouldn't be any worse. for whatever reason i still have the cigarette butt sitting at the edge of my tea tray. I guess its my tea pet now.

[Anonymous No.17416379]

So my cute little etsy teapot and my YS order showed up at the same time! Man this thing is adorable, everybody wants to hold it and look at it. Tonight was my first foray into whole leaf tea and Gongfu. Everything was true, it really is on a completely different level than teabags and gave none of the usual stomach discomfort I get from drinking tea without milk. I tried a Dancong oolong and black tea(pic related), each around 5g/100ml. Probably got 6-8 steeps out of each. I drank a lot of tea tonight. The dancong kind of tasted like... A mummy? But it was interesting and not off putting. It was like an antique taste, I can't describe it well. The black was smoky and smooth, getting sweeter with each steep, supremely satisfying and easily my favorite of the two. I can't really give good tasting notes yet but I liked them both.

Above all, it was a very relaxing and meditative process. I've been going though some horrible life stuff lately and this was the perfect thing to calm me down and provide time to reflect. I can see myself doing this every day just to relax and get off the computer for awhile. The caffeine buzz isn't unpleasant either hehe. I have been converted you could say. I can't wait to try new varieties. I still have a green tea to try so maybe I'll drop some (novice) thoughts on it tomorrow.

Dammit 4chan, you convinced me to make a positive change in my life yet again. Happy sipping frens.

[Anonymous No.17416382]

>>17416379

[Anonymous No.17416389]

>>17416382

[Anonymous No.17416419]

>>17416379
>>17416382
>>17416389
Oh yeah, one question: Do you guys throw your kettle back on the base during a session? Or do you just kind of let the water cool a little each time you steep? The water stayed hot but probably dropped 20-30 degrees by the time I got to the last steep and I'm wondering if people just let that happen or bring it back up to temp after a set amount of time.
Last blog post I promise. Thank you all.

[Anonymous No.17416484]

>>17416379
Cheers anon
I haven't had many dancong oolongs, the last ine i had was heavily roasted and had that baked charcoal flavor.
>>17416419
I use reboil the water after 15 minutes or so. I don't mind if it cools of a little but i don't want it to cool down to much.

[Anonymous No.17416525]

>>17416484
>I use reboil the water after 15 minutes or so.

That's about what I figured, good to know. I know its not an exact science but wasn't sure if I should be bringing up to temp for every steep or something exhausting like that.
Cheers to you as well.

[Anonymous No.17416541]

>>17416379
>>17416419
Nice, seems like it turned out quite well for you. Welcome to the tea party, anon. The splashes of colour (light green?) are easy on the eyes. Reminds me a bit of a frog or lilypad.

Her work is pretty comfortable to hold and gaze at, isn't it? I've gotten used to using my new cup from her over the past few days of ownership, and my drinking experience feels improved by it. I think people who drink tea often enough should consider getting nice teaware too.
>I can't really give good tasting notes yet but I liked them both.
It comes with experience. Try to pay attention to the parameters of each infusion (heat/pre-heating, amount of leaf, infusion time). Then, make associations with the outcome of texture/thickness, astringency, direct aroma, retronasal aroma, flavor, bitterness, and so on. It really helps you not only learn how to make the tea in a way you like over time, but also deepen your appreciation of it and make it perhaps more meditative. These are things I find useful; in the end, just do what helps you enjoy it most.
>Do you guys throw your kettle back on the base during a session?
I have an electric kettle with temperature adjustment options, so this is a negligible concern for me. Higher temps will enable you to more rapidly extract essence from the leaf, which has a variety of potential effects from increased catechins and caffeine (dry, bitter) to thicker texture and body. So, as you get to later infusions, and the leaf has been used up some, it may take longer and/or hotter infusions to get more essence out.

If you don't have temperature adjustment, I hear some people like to use a thermos so they don't have to go back and forth. Regardless, slight cooling for a few infusions is fine for most teas in my opinion. You can always compensate some with infusion time if necessary. It is a balancing act you'll figure out intuitively, so just chill and drink good tea. Have fun with it!

[Anonymous No.17416564]

I've been drinking a ton of white tea recently, silver needles are extraordinarily floral, but they're kind of a fun unique experience. I like bai mudan more than than bai hao yinzhen as something to have around, I think the leaves add the body that the buds really need to be balanced. I bought a few samples of cakes that were ~6 years old, I don't think aging really adds too much to the tea. I have a fuding gong mei cake that's around a year old, which is what I think I like the most. It has barely any aroma but has a very deep rich floral flavor, which is generally what I want from white tea. The best of all worlds, basically, not cloyingly sweet, but very light with no bitterness.

[Anonymous No.17416616]

>>17416564
I'm inclined to agree about the leaf-bud balance, though I think aging does impact the flavour well. In my experience, ignoring florality, young whites are more herbal and vegetal instead of buttery or berry sweet as with slightly more aged ones. That is of course a very generalized view, but it's a trend I see. Gong mei is underrated either way.

[Anonymous No.17416681]

>>17416541
The green towel probably wasn't the best choice photography wise, something contrasting would really bring out the beauty and details. Next time I spose. The woman actually lives very close to me, I could have driven an hour to her and picked it up if I really wanted to. So not only did I get something wonderful, but I got to support a local small business as well. Talk about a win-win, I'll have to leave a nice review.
I must say thanks again for dropping that link, and the informative post as well. I'll probably get a regular old gaiwan at some point, but this thing is quite special and I like it a lot. If I still have it in 40 years when I'm an old man, I'll still think of anon and his little cup when I use it. Cheers!

[Anonymous No.17416765]

>>17416681
Oh yeah and I also wanna get a proper Cha Hai ASAP. For one because I want to see the pretty colors better, and two because using the gravy boat for tea just feels wrong LOL

[Anonymous No.17417057]

>>17416379
That's epic, I'm glad you have discovered good tea. Your teapot looks very nice.
>The dancong kind of tasted like... A mummy?
That's very interesting. I love dancong, which one was it? Also you should totally try Chaozhou style brewing parameters with it, you might like the results. Basically you use a high tea ratio, like 1 gram to 15ml, and do flash brews for the first few infusions, where you pour the water in and out as fast as you can.

[Anonymous No.17417087]

Was wondering where my old Fullchea tosser teas and sample of buckwheat were for many months. Ended up finding them hiding with my white tea cakes. Don't think it is worth properly reviewing them, but I thought it would be fun to try the questionably-labeled '2003' pu'er mini tuo. Pic related, in its cool wrapper.

It is pretty flat and doesn't have much flavour to be frank, but it faintly smells of 'BBQ' for some reason in the brewed leaf. Maybe it is some sort of low sweetness and roasted quality causing this impression? Smooth otherwise, with no real bitterness. Oddly cozy despite having very little personality. Will be fun to write up some proper journal notes again someday in the future.

[Anonymous No.17417124]

>He doesn't drink low-tier pu'er of questionable origin while gazing at a sachet of questionably-labeled buckwheat.
Don't you guys want to have fun?

[Anonymous No.17417243]

I just recently bought my very first white tea and I like it so far. The brewing instructions are a bit autistic tho. Is it really necessary/beneficial to do the 1/3 cup swirling or is there a shortcut?

[Anonymous No.17417313]

>>17417243
This is probably severe autism for the purpose of opening them up, which regular infusion will do anyway. Are you doing gong fu or western? You wouldn't need nearly that long if the former. Either way, once the buds are open enough, you're good to go, so it doesn't matter at that point.

[Anonymous No.17417324]

>>17417313
More of western brewing, the more hands off the better for me most of the time.

[Anonymous No.17417341]

>>17417324
Using a gaiwan is pretty simple, but even a larger pot and pouring it out would be easier than this swirling nonsense. Do what makes it comfortable for you either way; whites are very easy to appreciate both lightly and strongly infused.

[Anonymous No.17417413]

farmer-leaf.eu restocked, tfw in norway so cant even buy anything there

[Anonymous No.17417421]

>>17417413
.fr not eu im dumb

[Anonymous No.17417454]

>>17417124
That leaf looks almost black in color
I had one of those litte chunks labeled 2003, i didn't end up drinking it and my cat took it to play with.

[Anonymous No.17417509]

>>17417454
>That leaf looks almost black in color
It pretty much is jet black in person. Maybe it is roasted? It isn't bad enough to give me flashbacks of the Fullchea mini tuo bag super tasting spree, at least.
>Cat
I remember you saying you gave it to your cat. Don't worry, you didn't miss out on anything notable. My small stash of teas are pretty similar, so even having a cruddy tea like this occasionally helps give a greater sense of variety in my sessions. I hope my nicer stuff isn't degrading. My Haiwan shou doesn't have as much depth or sweetness as I recall.

[Anonymous No.17417519]

>>17417124
dis nigga drinkin embroys lmao
>>17417413
came to post that, wtf norway you were in the EU last time I checked, did they throw you out already for being basically middle east on the streets or is there some other cucking going on? explain yourself. for shame.

[Anonymous No.17417527]

>>17417519
norway was never in the eu, we didnt want our oil to get stolen by the fucking frenchies, luckily only sweden turned to allah so far so i think we are safe for maybe a few more years.

[Anonymous No.17417540]

>>17417527
by allah, I'm pretty fucking american tier dumb. Norway indeed was never in the EU, good for you my friend.
how are things importing from EU vs China? is every parcel scrutinized? or if you have a last name sounding like Abdullah they turn a blind eye?
how are your alcohol prices, I have so much to ask.

[Anonymous No.17417562]

>>17417540
>how are things importing from EU vs China?
from china theres never really any issue other than long shipping times, the VAT from anywhere international is fucking insane though at like 25% (for some reason i have to pay more sometimes? i think its for the in-Norway shipping). shipping from other EU countries is just higher shipping prices but i've never had an issue with customs.
>how are your alcohol prices
not terrible but kinda pricey though i dont drink that much so not sure, cheapest red wine for cooking is prob around 12 dollars so ig its a bit pricier, i mostly drink ciders made in Norway and they are at around 15-20 dollars for a 750ml bottle.

[Anonymous No.17417619]

>>17417562
jeezus you're expensive. no wonder you staved off third worlders so far.
let me show you German state of things so we both walk smarter out of this thread.
VAT is 19% base
>There is also a reduced rate of 7 percent which is applied to the following goods and services, among others:
Groceries
Books, newspapers and other products of the graphics industry (however, not E-Books)
Entry tickets for theatres, concerts and museums
Short-term rental of residential and sleeping premises
"groceries" however have both rates, drinks, even mineral water is 19% not 7, alcohol and tobacco similar. tea is 7% but teapot is 19, which fucks up for example yunnansourcing orders because Scott can't play like other chink merchants and labels everything too correctly so everyone gets fucked in the process. others just slap a label with pu-erh tea ($10) teapot ($5) written on it and it gets past customs quickly.
here's the other thing, they scared us that from 2021 on every parcel will go through customs, even under 20 bucks, but the fact of the matter is that my chink purchases come as easly and fast as before. sometimes, and I mean sometimes there will be like 8€ vat surcharge for a parcel. so I'm still golden, but I'm buying more and more, who knows how long the good times will last.
>cheapest red wine for cooking is prob around 12 dollars
fucking hell
I get good regional wine for about 4€. not cooking, single variety or two varieties coupage. very good wine is 7€, anything above is a meme for me, cooking is 1.99 but it still beats boxed wines like franzia or carlo rossi. german wine is a sleeper btw, I hope it won't get too recognized in the world before I had my share.
spirits are about 10€ for a 700ml standard bottle.
case of 20 0.5L bottles of beer is anywhere from 7-17 €, mostly 15€ in 2022 like a casual schwarzbier I'm drinking right now. so a 0.75 cents for a half litre of fresh beer in the bottle.
minimal wage is 9.82€ per hour.

[Anonymous No.17417630]

anything on this order from farmer-leaf.fr i should change or does it look good?

[Anonymous No.17417640]

>>17417619
just double checked and it seems like its 15% vat rate on foods and drinks but im not sure if teas get that rate.
>jeezus you're expensive. no wonder you staved off third worlders so far.
Oslo is kind of overrun by blacks but luckily they dont stick to small towns like where i live.
maybe im scamming myself with the red wine i buy i can try to look for something cheaper lmfao, if i wanna get drunk though i usually just eat some dxm cough tablets that my friend in usa shipped to me (somehow passed customs fine).

[Anonymous No.17417682]

>>17417630
I have a cake of that Ao ne me blind bought last sales from china and it's very solid, would blind buy again, but now I'm coming up with an order myself. I nee to try their premium offerings so I'll sample. Fucking frenchie, I have 3 orders on the way and he comes up with this shit. Budget for 2022 blown in February.

[Anonymous No.17417992]

>>17416419
I boil water and transfer it to a thermos bottle like this. It's 0.75L which is usually enough for one session and stays the same temperature throughout.

[Anonymous No.17418016]

Yuropoor here, no money for the expensive cake but these sounded pretty good from the description. Not interested in aging them since I actually only like the flavor of young sheng, considering that fact is this a good order?

[Anonymous No.17418045]

Drinking lemon verbena. Not a fan. Tastes lemony but also tastes like dishwater soap.

[Anonymous No.17418331]

>>17418016
i cant comment on those specific cakes but i have generally only heard good things about farmer leaf. i have one of his cakes that is even cheaper than those and even it is quite nice. if you like young sheng i imagine you would be happy with that order.

[Anonymous No.17418400]

whats everyone sipping today?
i had some of this:
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2008-raw-puerh-tea-brick-jiang-cheng
tasting notes:
aged taste, old books, old furniture
somewhat fungal, slightly musty, perhaps a pleasant mildew taste
a bit earthy, geosmin, but not over powering
brothy mouthfeel
mild character, its lost its sheng edge, still a touch of drying astringency though
well balanced, easy drinker, but no particularly standout characteristics either
overall its a pleasant example of Hong Kong cellar storage that's reasonably priced.

[Anonymous No.17418503]

>>17417057
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/oolong-tea/products/classic-mi-lan-xiang-dan-cong-oolong-tea

This one. Most of the reviewers say floral and honey which I didn't really get, one says toasted pumpkin seeds which might be more along the lines of what I was describing.
I'm curious, everything I ordered is from Spring 2021 and we're almost to Spring 2022. How 'old' is an unfermented tea that has sat around in a bag for a year? Will the Spring 2022 teas be noticeably fresher?

[Anonymous No.17418663]

>>17418503
>How 'old' is an unfermented tea that has sat around in a bag for a year? Will the Spring 2022 teas be noticeably fresher?
its should be fine if stored sealed. some people will say green teas in particular are noticeably better closer to picking time but in general most teas are still fine for at least a couple years if stored in good conditions.

[Anonymous No.17418689]

>>17418663
For sure. For some reason I was expecting the tea leaves to be slightly moist, kind of like fresh tobacco leaf or something, but that's just me being ignorant.

I made the black tea again this morning, Western style with an infuser. Added a teaspoon of honey and squeeze of lemon. Freaking delicious. Absolutely no stomach discomfort either, meanwhile black tea bags on an empty stomach will literally make me vomit all over the place. Winning!

[Anonymous No.17418772]

>>17418689
>For some reason I was expecting the tea leaves to be slightly moist,
no, the tea would mold pretty fast if they were that wet. you generally want to keep tea dry, sealed (away from oxygen or outside odors), dark (away from UV light), and cool (but don't go sticking your tea in the fridge) in order to keep it as fresh as possible as long as possible. for some types of tea that people intentionally age such as puerh having humidity, warmth, and oxygen is desirable but that is not true true for most teas or even all teas that people age.

[Anonymous No.17418918]

what does /tea/ think about Chrysanthemum tea?

[Anonymous No.17419222]

>>17418918
Tastes nice.

[Anonymous No.17419227]

>>17412616
Okay anon you convinced me i will try and find some.

[Anonymous No.17419233]

>>17412616
Oh i see it's related to lemon verbena, i agree that that makes good tea.

[Anonymous No.17419619]

>>17409997
>>17409979
>150 teabags per pitcher
What the fuck

[Anonymous No.17419669]

How long does it take for tea to go stale?

[Anonymous No.17419683]

>>17419222
it is settled. I will go to the chinese supermarket and pick some up

[Anonymous No.17419769]

>>17418689
>meanwhile black tea bags on an empty stomach will literally make me vomit all over the place.
i really don't like most "breakfast blend" stye black teas either. I don't get the appeal of making tea so acrid you cant drink it plain.

>>17419669
>How long does it take for tea to go stale?
depends on the tea and the storage conditions. tea generally doesn't really spoil (unless you get it wet) but it may go "flat". assuming the tea is stored dry and well sealed most teas may be considered reasonably fresh for two to three years. the exception being that green tea is generally considered best drunk in the first year or so. after that add at least another couple years before the teas is likely to go truly stale. even then the tea doesn't automatically go bad though it will likely have started to change for better or worse.

[Anonymous No.17419900]

>>17418918
meh, chamomile tastes better and is 5-6x cheaper where I'm from

[Anonymous No.17419990]

just bought a Stagg ekg for coffee purposes and I'm fucking loving it, is there any real usage for it in tea applications? i only really drink earl grey, both in loose and bagged forms

[Anonymous No.17420014]

>>17419990
Yeah, quickly boiling and holding water at a specific temperature is ideal for tea. If anything, the temperature control is less useful for coffee.

[Anonymous No.17420039]

>>17420014
wonderful, and in all honesty, I just fell in love with the design of the stagg, well worth the money even if I could get 80% of the value with a smaller budget.

[Anonymous No.17420044]

>>17420039
I've been thinking about buying one for a while, I've used one, and it's nice, but it's annoyingly expensive.

[Anonymous No.17420059]

i dropped my milky oolong a week or so ago. scooped up what i felt wasn't totally lost to the carpet into the tin, but i'm wondering: is it drinkable? can i just rinse it off beneath cold water nd keep things trucking ?

[Anonymous No.17420072]

>>17420059
Lol, that wasn't the first time your tea has been on the ground. Don't wash it, that's what the rinse is for anyway.

[Anonymous No.17420077]

Aside from the taste of your favorite tea, does anyone here drink for effect? I've been a long time drinker of green tea blends and the occasional black tea (used to make dandelion tea when I was living with my grandparents as a child) but I've recently been interested in trying a tea that has an actual sedation effect.
Has anyone here tried a tea that actually calmed/relaxed them? Maybe even stopped their hands from shaking after something stressful? Or is it just a placebo effect?
(I'm not looking to buy pic related specifically, it's just for having the sake of a post related image)

[Anonymous No.17420082]

>>17420044
yeah i know how you feel but outside of my necessary monthly expenses, i really don't spend much money at all, so throwing £150 at a product that makes my mornings easier and keeps me happy is well worth it. If you can spare the cash then go for it.

[Anonymous No.17420093]

>>17420072
>that's what the rinse is for anyway
the rinse?

[Anonymous No.17420283]

>>17418400
>whats everyone sipping today?
nobody else sipping today?

[Anonymous No.17420374]

>>17420077
Kratom was marketed along with other herbal teas by legitimate sellers on the internet in the 00s, so I was really impressed by the effect when I first tried it. I was like, "Holy crap, I found one that actually works." But at the end of the day, it's an addictive drug that will probably make your life worse. Not to mention it tastes like death.

I've tried some GABA teas that had a noticeable calming effect, but who knows maybe its placebo.

[Anonymous No.17420413]

>>17419619
I don't know, but my mom used to drink tea like that. Boiled for an hour in a huge pot with a bazillion tea bags, sweetened to hell. I don't know if they get used to the overbrewed tons of tannin taste and want it super strong or it's about getting the maximum caffeine or whatever.

[Anonymous No.17420424]

>>17418400
>>17420283
peppermint tea, just like every other day, lonely sipping nigger

[Anonymous No.17420429]

>>17420283
Most days I just drink this shit, nothing fancy or interesting.

[Anonymous No.17420443]

>>17420283
Sometimes I buy tea because of the pretty packaging

[Anonymous No.17420670]

How does Harney and Sons rate in the grand scheme of things? Everything I’ve had from them seems to be quite good (albeit a bit pricy) and I like the idea of supporting an American company.

[Anonymous No.17420722]

>>17420424
>peppermint tea
good stuff, I need to get some more peppermint. I used to drink it regularly.

>>17420429
>Sunflower brand jasmine tea
that stuff is surprisingly decent for its price. I like that they have used the same packaging for a long time.

[Anonymous No.17420728]

>>17420077
Kava works. I think that yogi brand sells some kava tea bags. Buying the ground kava root and brewing it yourself is a hassle but it is calming.
I would recommended chamomile mostly, maybe lavender

[Anonymous No.17420738]

>>17420283
Some random old puer sample i had sitting around, i think it was a 2005 "organic bulang" it was a smoke bomb which ia fine with me.

[Anonymous No.17420785]

>>17420670
they are considered to be pretty good as far as "western" style black teas and tea blends go. however, in general they would probably not be the best source to buy other more traditionally "eastern" types of teas like sencha for example.

[Anonymous No.17421134]

I'm drinking green tea with chilli peppers. It's actually spicy and smells strongly of peppers. I bough it knowing it's gonna be a sin against creation but couldn't help myself.

I don't even know if it's bad or good, I'm too focused on the fact im going to hell for drinking it

[Anonymous No.17421141]

>>17418503
>How 'old' is an unfermented tea that has sat around in a bag for a year? Will the Spring 2022 teas be noticeably fresher?
That's not too old, there'll be a difference but don't worry. It's a roasted oolong and those have a long shelf life, ones that have a year or two on them can even be preferable if it tastes heavily roasted, because the roast flavor mellows over time.
>>17420077
Admittedly I kind of get a good feeling just from drinking a lot of ordinary tea and it's something I look forward to. I think I just like tea so much that it's mildly euphoric.

[Anonymous No.17421145]

Also this tea is very good and i really recommend it if you can somehow find it, it's very delicate but the scent is so unmistakably lotus'y its so nice to drink

[Anonymous No.17421149]

>>17420077
i did drink herbal teas to calm down but im pretty sure just the act of preparing it and drinking something warm did most of the work here.

I sometimes drink very, ridicolously strong tea instead of coffee in the morning to wake up, it works just as well.

[Anonymous No.17421167]

>>17418400
>Whats everyone sipping today
Today I had some Mengsong raw puerh from Bitterleaf. It tasted pretty bold with peach notes, also nice bitterness.
>aged taste, old books, old furniture
somewhat fungal, slightly musty, perhaps a pleasant mildew taste
That sounds cool.
>>17421134
That really exists? That sounds like it could be either kinda based or really cringe. Reminds me though of this one time I made a "cayenne pepper tisane" by mixing a spoonful of cayenne in a cup of hot water. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. I drank it all though, it was pain.

[Anonymous No.17421192]

>>17421167
i expected it to be very lightly chilli flavored but it's actually spicy. At first i thought the strong smell of green pepper would clash but it actually maybe sorta works? the tea actually doesn't get overwhelmed by the pepper because you feel the spice few seconds after you drink it so you still have time to appreciate the green tea, which seems fairly high quality.

I got the tea at a market at a huge discount because no one wanted to buy it, which is understandable, i wouldn't without the discount, but it was so cheap i figured i might as well sate my curiosity and throw it away if it was terrible.

[Anonymous No.17421508]

>>17420039
just brought a bonavita for £95, essentially the same as the stagg but slower,(full boil takes 7.5mins). only real problem for me is the 1L volume when i really wanted something around 1.7L. very smooth pour compared to the cheap glass kettle i used to have

[Anonymous No.17422199]

There's no way an uninteresting loose leaf menghai everyday drinker ripe becomes more interesting if aged in a pumidor, is there?

[Anonymous No.17422233]

Has anyone tried Greek mountain tea? Bought some because it sounded interesting.

[Anonymous No.17422509]

>>17421145
its on my to try list. hatvala sells a premium version of it.
https://hatvala.com/flavour-tea-vietnam/lotus-tea/
https://hatvala.com/flavour-tea/lotus-two-tea/

>>17421167
>somewhat fungal, slightly musty, perhaps a pleasant mildew taste
>That sounds cool.
its definitely a unique experience. that tea tastes a bit musty because it is a bit musty. the tea spent more than a decade in Hong Kong cellar storage where it is as the name suggests actually kept in a dank cellar.

>>17422199
>There's no way an uninteresting loose leaf menghai everyday drinker ripe becomes more interesting if aged in a pumidor, is there?
probably not in any reasonable amount of time. give it a decade or two and you may get something unique but in the shorter run aging shou mostly just smooths out the tea and cleans up the funk. Its not likely going to gain complexity.

>>17422233
>Has anyone tried Greek mountain tea? Bought some because it sounded interesting.
yes, i really like the stuff.

[Anonymous No.17422548]

>>17421508
>(full boil takes 7.5mins
bro what the fuck, is this due to american wattage constraints or something? here in the UK kettles don't take longer than two-three mins for a full load, stagg included

[Anonymous No.17422758]

>>17422548
im an fellow bong, its a 1k watt kettle, British kettles are usually around 3k. im guessing they're made for america and cant be bothered to change for other countries

[Anonymous No.17422838]

>>17422548
I use a US kettle that has an official listed maximun of 1.7L (can go slightly higher). It doesn't take me nearly as long as 7, 8 minutes. Maybe a third of that time. I don't think it's just a regional difference.

[Anonymous No.17422842]

>>17421134
Nice. People call me crazy for cracking black pepper into my later sencha/gyokuro brews, but spiciness pairs really well with greens.

>>17422233
I love it but don't drink it often since I share most of my teas/tisanes with my boyfriend, and he says it "tastes like acid reflux." Can't say I've ever made that connection though.

[Anonymous No.17423352]

Had the idea to mix 1/2 yue guang bai and 1/2 gong mei into my gaiwan and do flash steeps just now at 205F. Developed an overwhelming honey aroma to the lid that slowly shifts floral, and the liquor itself is kind of buttery in flavour. I really feel like the initial infusions being done well or not dictate the majority of how the rest of a session may turn out, at least from a personal experience perspective. Flash steeps may not give the best body/texture in my experience, but regarding aroma, they seem to be rather pleasant. I have no idea why I don't just do this more often when aroma is a big part of the experience for me.

[Anonymous No.17423514]

Good morning

[Anonymous No.17423583]

>>17423514
good morning sir

[Anonymous No.17423593]

The white man's beverage holder

[Anonymous No.17423603]

>>17422758
My stagg ekg is 1200w. Are you brits getting gypped?
>With variable temperature control, 1200 watts for a quick heat time, and a world of features for ultimate control, this is the pour-over kettle perfected.

[Anonymous No.17423657]

>>17423603
mines a bonavita not a stagg, apparently it slows down so you get an anally accurate set temp but sacrifices speed

[Anonymous No.17423691]

>>17423657
You know, I read that statement two ways and decided on the incorrect one lol. You're not a Fellow bong, you're a fellow bong.

[Anonymous No.17423704]

>>17423514
>>17423583
based and birdpilled

[Anonymous No.17424126]

>>17423691
my fault, forgot it was called 'fellow stagg'

[Anonymous No.17424152]

>>17420670
I like their Chinese green and darjeelings. Paris blend is GOAT

[Anonymous No.17424558]

>sipping good tea
>listening to new Animal Collective album
>playing shitty mobile games

Yes, I am comfy.

[Anonymous No.17424653]

How do you brew heicha with golden flowers? Got a sample of it laying around, not sure what to do with it.

[Anonymous No.17424676]

>>17424558
>Sipping good white tea
>Coasting on L-theanine and noopept
>AC on, Newpipe active playing Vitas, about to read a book.
Truly, we are comfy.

[Anonymous No.17424694]

>>17424676
Hellz yeah.
That's what Sundays are for.

[Anonymous No.17424942]

Decided to finally break out my mini sampler sachet of buckwheat "whole embryo black pearls". Instantly, I will say that the dry aroma is very pleasant. Surprised how sweet it is. Any anons have advice about making it in a gaiwan? I rarely infuse tisanes like this.
>Pic related, buckwheat in my gaiwan.

[Anonymous No.17425072]

>>17424653
>How do you brew heicha with golden flowers? Got a sample of it laying around, not sure what to do with it.
Fu Zhuan i presume? if so just gong fu brew it.

>>17424942
>Any anons have advice about making it in a gaiwan?
a gaiwan is probably not the ideal way to make it though i am sure you can make it work. i would use longer steeps and brew it more "western" style. in my limited experience with grain based tisanes (i like rousted barley tea) they usually take awhile to brew because they are so dense that it takes the water longer to fully permeate.

[Anonymous No.17425210]

>>17425072
Thanks for the notes. I rarely make any grain tisanes, so this is a fun treat. Infused lightly at first to just get the aroma, and then at a higher temp for perhaps around six minutes. It didn't seem to change colour much, just becoming a light murky yellow, but it has a mild sweetness and is quite smooth. I get a tiny snack in the remaining buckwheat too, which is convenient and fun. I bet it'd be best if boiled on a stove, though (like with oats).

[Anonymous No.17425457]

kids are making tea out of oats these days, crazy if you ask me. I will stick to brewing tea leaves thanks

[Anonymous No.17425478]

What is a tea you don’t like? Rooibos for me, it has a copper metallic taste to me and I just can’t get over it

[Anonymous No.17425542]

>>17425478
Try brewing it for exactly 60 seconds, no longer. I always hate the way it comes out when it's brewed longer

[Anonymous No.17425571]

reminder to loose leaf chads to hold off on purchases until first flush hits
reminder to puerh lesbians to buy now before the price hikes

[Anonymous No.17425580]

What do we think of matcha?

[Anonymous No.17425585]

>>17425571
I haven't bothered to buy any good Japanese tea since I'm not the biggest fan of green tea, and it seems incredibly overpriced for what is ultimately plantation tea. I want to give some of the better stuff a shot this spring though, what should I buy? Hibiki-an is kind of the big meme right?

[Anonymous No.17425588]

>>17425580
It's expensive and you have to buy the utra premium sun shaded stuff hand ground 100x by an elderly Japanese man or it tastes like shit. But assuming you buy the good stuff from a good Japanese vendor it's pretty nice. Not for people with sensitive stomachs.

[Anonymous No.17425593]

>>17425585
You might be surprised by Japanese greens, they are so different from most Chinese greens pr anything you would find at the grocery store. Any of the Japanese vendors in the pastebin are good. I would suggest getting some genmaicha (the kind without matcha powder) with your order since it is really tasty and easy to drink

[Anonymous No.17425799]

How many kilograms of tea do you use yearly? Last year, I used three kilos.

[Anonymous No.17425876]

>>17425799
warm year last year so I went through less, maybe 700 grams or so?
I'm buying 1.7 kilograms for this year's loose leaf shipment and not buying more puerh or fu since I have a lot left over.
Hoping I can share more this year so I burn through my bricks, I much prefer loose leaf 80% of the time, especially when its hot

[Anonymous No.17425934]

>go to local tea shop, sort of a chain with 3 locations
>leave with 4oz of Earl Grey
>looks bretty gud
>smells divine
>tastes bland, mellow, and flat

What fuckin gives? I followed temp and time instructions. Really doesn't seem stale at all, either. Am I used to shitty supermarket Earl Grey loaded to the gills with bergamot oil?

Also, where I live bergamot grows wild. Anybody try making a tea with freshly foraged bergamot before?

[Anonymous No.17425942]

>>17425934
May have been english earl grey, it's much subtler than American or Russian blends

[Anonymous No.17425944]

>>17425478
Rooibos on its own reminds me of cough medicine. However, I think it's a great addition if you're making tea blends. It goes well with most black teas, especially if you add a little cinnamon, ginger, or turmeric.

[Anonymous No.17425952]

>>17424558
I share your comfyness
>holy basil + silver needle blend
>meal prepping a bunch of chicken wraps
>listening to new Biosphere album

[Anonymous No.17425999]

>>17425799
Something like 2.5 to 3.5 kilos depending on how much tea i drink in a day

[Anonymous No.17427400]

>>17425799
I'm not sure how to measure my consumption too well because my tea drinking is sporadic and varied. I can go drinking three full servings of tea one day and none the next. That said, seeing as there are 365 days in a year, and I often have at least one 5-7g serving of tea most days (we'll say 6g), shaving a few weeks off for innactivity, 6g(340d)= 2,040g, so ~2kg. If we want to establish a wider scale, we can double the 6g to 12g for two sessions in 340 days total, which is 4,080g, or ~4.1kg. The mean and median between these numbers is 3,060, or 3.1kg. I wonder how much I really do drink, but I don't need the stress of obsessing about such data.

[Anonymous No.17427744]

why did no one tell me that you have to wait for the tea to cool down before you add milk
it legit tastes good for the first time

[Anonymous No.17427835]

>trying all week t figure out why my recent bag of linden looks funny
>find out it is "linden star"
This is better than normal linden but there is no info on what it is compared to it. Drinking tea made from 0.25oz and chamomile. Darkest herbal tea I have ever tried.

[Anonymous No.17427856]

>>17427835
Looks strong

[Anonymous No.17427857]

>>17427744
That actually makes a difference? I'm surprised

[Anonymous No.17427867]

>>17427856
It's very strong. Before I positively ID'd it this morning I thought it had caffeine in it

[Anonymous No.17427987]

>>17427857
try it pham
Ibeen pouring milk straight after brewing and it always tasted like ass
I've got a bigass mug so I guess the high temp was denaturing the proteins or something like that idk

[Anonymous No.17428094]

When should we expect fresh Jap greens to come in? Will it be about the same for matcha/gyokuro as for sencha? And how do you guys store your greens?
Still enjoying some of last year's harvest, but I know the fresh stuff will be worlds better.

[Anonymous No.17428122]

>>17428094
End of march beginning of april, it will all start showing up roughly around the same time. I think you will see sincha and gyokuro a week or so before anything else.

[Anonymous No.17428140]

Found the same yellowish dust twice today: in a 2014 liu bao brick and in a 2011 lao man e I recently purchased. Looks like the kind of insects I sometimes find in dry cured hams and cheeses. What is it?

[Anonymous No.17428167]

>>17428140
Weird I don't think ive seen that before.
Ive seen insect droppings from the paper beetles or whatever they are before but i think they were larger and black in color.
Usually the bugs that end up in old puer eat the paper wrappers but leave the tea alone. Is it all on the outside of the tea cakes? Maybe you can juat brush the outside thoroughly to get rid of most of it.

[Anonymous No.17428178]

>>17409111
I steep my teas a bunch of times then let them air dry.
This morning I'm having a mix of two dried batches I saved.
Still tastes very kino. I feel like I found a real life cheat ocde by the number of resteeps I get.
Feels good man

[Anonymous No.17428362]

>>17414934
Central Europe is chamomile and linden heaven. I have tried Egyptian chamomile too and they did smell different and the tea had a green hue. In America I think the store stuff is grown in Mexico, but they don't seem to be obligated to specify. A lot of the chamomile in teabags states the origin as Central Europe. I have found unrelated herbs which I am collecting and hair, but no free cig yet

[Anonymous No.17428773]

Settle an argument for me
Is Earl Grey a perfumed tea ala Teavanna or is it just a flavored tea like Maghrebi Tea

[Anonymous No.17428831]

>>17428773
What's the difference? It has (usually artificial) bergamot oil added to it which both perfumes the tea and adds a flavoring. Earl gray frequently gets a pass as an acceptable flavored tea but it's still flavored tea.

[Anonymous No.17428841]

>>17428178
Drank three liters of resteeped tea today. I think these leaves have given it their all.

[Anonymous No.17428849]

>>17428831
what about higher end earl grey with actual bergamot peels in it?

[Anonymous No.17429031]

>>17428178
How many times do you re-steel your tea? I find I only get two steeps before it’s not really worth it.
I steeped some Scottish breakfast for the second time yesterday, ended up mixing in lemonade for anArnold Palmer. The tea was still warm though, and drinking warm Arnold Palmers is kinda weird.

[Anonymous No.17429090]

>>17429031
Chinese tea resteeps better. Today I got 1.5L out of 7.5g of liu bao with 100-120 mL steeps.

[Anonymous No.17429116]

The Bulang Boys have challenged the Puer Lesbians to a race tonight on Dike Hill.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=19tJRo1TVXQ

[Anonymous No.17429132]

>>17429031
I'd say bagged teas get one full; infusion, and it's a crapshoot from there. Maybe two. My experience with whole leaf is that I can make several gong fu infusions, hold all remaining leaves in a jar, and let it infuse slowly, passively in water at room temperature or within in a refrigerator. I did this with multiple portions of tea from yesterday, and after pouring it off, I have a well-infused, fragrant, and gentle bottle of tea chilling in my freezer for a short period before I will take it out and consume it cold.

[Anonymous No.17429182]

>>17423352
Sounds great, wish I could enjoy the whites that much. They all taste the same to me

[Anonymous No.17429220]

>>17429182
What do you think is preventing you from fully enjoying your whites? Have you used a gaiwan or tiny tea pot? What kind of water temperature or infusion durations are you doing?

[Anonymous No.17429241]

Hello lads. I think at one point someone said Yorkshire Gold was a good bagged tea brand. Is that true? It's not as good as the loose leaf I've had, but it tastes alright to me.

[Anonymous No.17429251]

>>17429241
It's okay, no bagged stuff it that good. I thought pg tips was the best of the bags I have tried, i used to brew them real short, about 1 1/2 minutes only. Anyway you should try to drink looseleaf if you can. Even at work you can make some teabags with those disposable fill your own teabags and bring them with you in a little altoids tin or something.

[Anonymous No.17429258]

>>17429251
Oh that's absolutely the plan. I've got a good batch of looseleaf arriving today in the mail. I've just been using Yorkshire gold to get me by. I've had looseleaf years ago, so I'm very excited to try some of it again and get into actual decent tea.

[Anonymous No.17429269]

>>17425210
>I rarely make any grain tisanes
you should try some Korean roasted barley or roasted corn tea sometime. its pretty cheap at my local Asian grocery store.

>>17425799
>How many kilograms of tea do you use yearly? Last year, I used three kilos.
probably about the same. i would use a bit more but i don't drink tea everyday (sometimes i am too busy).

>>17427835
i need to try making some basswood (Tilia genus also known as linden or "lime") tea sometime. how is it?

>>17428140
no clue, if it really is insect frass i would dust if off and make sure you have no live insects munching on your tea stash. the frass itself should be harmless besides being potentially unappetizing.

[Anonymous No.17429301]

>>17429220
I have a gaiwan and do gongfu teas - I've tried several types of Bai Mu Dan so far, 2 types of Yue Guang Bai, some Shou Mei and Gong Mei and some aged Shou Mei. I don't autistically record temperature and brewing parameters, but I remember that they all tasted pretty bland and couldn't really discern any special flavors. These were all higher quality teas either ordered from reputable vendors or tried from some Chinese tea enthusiasts' private collections.

I can notice the difference in color, aroma and thickness of the liquor. But for some reason just don't get any special flavors, they all taste like hot water and cardboard except the YGB which tastes a bit sweeter than others.

Maybe my taste receptors are somehow fucked or have some weird genetics, I've noticed I taste sencha and some YS teas differently than people around my. High roast and oxidized olongs are usually my favorite, have 30 or so right now and I'm slowly drinking through the colleciton

[Anonymous No.17429310]

>>17429269
>>17428140
Maybe freeze it for a couple of days to kill the insects if there's even any?

[Anonymous No.17429319]

Having some generic "winter tea" - apple, hibiscus, rosehip, cinnamon, spices and aroma. Usually prefer muh true gongfu tea, but I'm not a snob and this tea tastes comfy

[Anonymous No.17429350]

wish me luck for today i shall drink the Chong Shi Cha...

[Anonymous No.17429353]

>>17429258
>so I'm very excited to try some of it again and get into actual decent tea
Cheers, enjoy anon!

[Anonymous No.17429367]

>>17429350
Oh shit (literally)
You said this is one that chawangshop used to sell? I remember joking about those listings before.
I had a hard time finding what was actually in it. Most descriptions i saw online said something like a basket with tea and medicinal herbs is left so bugs eat it, than they fry the insect droppings in sugar or honey in a wok.

[Anonymous No.17429370]

>>17429353
Thanks Anon!

[Anonymous No.17429438]

>>17429269
>Korean roasted barley
Interesting, is it much different than other varieties? Should I get stuff specified as being for tea, or is whatever is used as a foodstuff considered fine? I will have to remember this next time I go to my local Asian grocer too.
>>17429301
In my limited, but focused experience with whites, a few points stand out:
>Initial infusions can stand out quite a bit if you follow flash infusion procedures or try not to overstew.
>There is a significant range of depth and texture with heavier infusions which may obscure the finer details of gentle aroma notes, which can also of course be perceived as flavour.
I have multiple cakes I've tried many times over, and the same cake can be drastically different across sessions just because of how I allow aroma to develop. If you try to infuse too long or hot with many whites from the get-go, you may not pick up the brighter notes so well because they can get such roasty, buttery depth. So, what I like to do is flash infuse or do a short, gentle rinse for the first few infusions, and very slowly increase my infusion durations. I make sure to smell the lid, gaiwan, and leaves each time to really hone in on and identify the bright notes. Generally speaking, I find bud-heavy whites to be more floral or even chocolatey, whereas leaf-heavy ones (think shou mei) may be more buttery/cracker-like, and middle-grounders like many gong mei could even be a bit berry-honey like.

These are generalizations from my experiences, but hopefully they will give you an idea of how I perceive my whites so you can figure it out for yourself, too. I'm no master (I suck with shengs), but I'm pretty comfortable with whites these days. I will go make some gong mei after this post.
>>17429350
Nice, mind sharing a picture or some tasting notes? I wanted to get some from my latest order since it seemed so bizarre, but it was OOS. Cool that everyone is getting to try some unusual stuff this week, how fun.

[Anonymous No.17429629]

>>17429367
>You said this is one that chawangshop used to sell?
the very same:
https://www.chawangshop.com/2005-sichuan-chong-shi-cha-25g.html

>>17429438
>Nice, mind sharing a picture or some tasting notes?
yes i will, that was always my plan.

brew parameters:
western style 3.3g/380ml for 2 minutes 1st brew, 150 seconds 2nd brew, and 10 minutes for a 3rd somewhat lighter but still tasty brew, the 4th brew is still steeping.

tasting notes:
a clean earthy taste, a nice sandy loam, not like shou but perhaps a bit more similar to a light liu bao, its surprisingly clean tasting compared to some of the wet piled tea i have had.
something woody like chicory dandelion root, some sweet flavored traditional Chinese medicine vibes, licorice root?
an aged herbaceous element that is hard to place, almost as if the "spiciness" of the plant had been striped of much of (but not all of) the "green", like damp fallen leaves on the forest floor.
low bitterness but quite drying and astringent in a pleasant way, mouthfeel overall sharp and dry.
sightly cooling almost minty aftertaste that lingers for a good awhile.
possibly a bit stimulating, perhaps it may contain some tea and therefore caffeine?

conclusion:
its honestly not half bad. its not going to be a regular drink for me but i will absolutely consider getting some again. the only thing that makes me a bit leery is the lack of knowledge of exactly how its made and what it is made from.

[Anonymous No.17429648]

>>17429629
Those tasting notes are intriguing. I thought it would be more savory or deeper otherwise, but some refreshing chicory, liquorice notes sound like a unique experience. Nice to hear the 'green' is toned down, since I'm not big on heavy vegetal notes. I agree that the origin is a bit odd, though people drink kopi luwak and don't bat an eye, so I guess it must be fine. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[Anonymous No.17429651]

>>17429438
Thanks Anon I'll give white tea another chance

[Anonymous No.17429663]

>>17429438
>>17429629
god you are so autistic. you will never be a real chinaman, the best you can do is your buck tooth tea routine

[Anonymous No.17429692]

>>17429438
>Interesting, is it much different than other varieties?
no clue, i know other counties such as japan make it to but i have always gotten the Korean stuff because it was what was available. i currently have some of both corn and barley tea from the same brand as the pic i posted earlier but mine came in big teabags suitable for making a liter (or quart) of tea. it supposedly meets the Korean standards for organic as well for whatever that's worth. previously, i also have purchased from the brand shown in picrel which was also good (and organic as well).

[Anonymous No.17429698]

>>17429692
forgot picrel

[Anonymous No.17429843]

Got a decent tax return since the government forgot to send me my stimulus
Looking for a nice teapot, been doing more western brewing than gong fu lately. I have a glass infuction pot but a good serving pot would be nice?

Alternatively a nice Kyusu, flatter the better

[Anonymous No.17429894]

>>17429843
There is a great selection of vendors for Japanese style and Chinese style teaware in the pastebin, it's under the list of tea shops

[Anonymous No.17430313]

good sencha i can order online? I'm running low

[Anonymous No.17430327]

>>17430313
You should probably wait a few weeks for the spring harvest.
One of the best deals is the daily sencha from o-cha
https://www.o-cha.com/loose-leaf-green-tea/sencha/daily-sencha.html
They also have more fancy stuff if that's what you want
https://www.o-cha.com/loose-leaf-green-tea/sencha/
Anyway it's about a month before the new 2022 spring harvest so it's best to wait to order untill then

[Anonymous No.17430521]

>>17429894
Yeah but that's not western style
Also jap sites are awful web 1.0 crap

[Anonymous No.17430561]

>>17430521
>western style
Get a two cup brown betty
look at used french and English porcelain on ebay
Vintage hall china
Vintage wedgewood
Teapots made in limoges
Bone china
https://www.ebay.com/itm/334149842485
https://www.ebay.com/itm/294814127456

[Anonymous No.17430799]

I'm almost out of muskeg and balsam tea. I can't wait till its summer to go tea picking again.

Do you fags pick your own tea as well? If so what are you looking for?

[Anonymous No.17430984]

>>17430799
I have picked raspberry leaf before but i haven't quite figured out how i should process it. I need to read up on it more for this year. I have lots of wild vines around

[Anonymous No.17431016]

>>17429301
For me it just clicked at some point after drinking a lot of white tea, often I would get no new flavour notes, then maybe one new note during a session and it would build.
Silver needle is often a bit too delicate but I get a lot of different notes from Bai Mu Dan now.
I don't even like aged white tea that much anymore because it's less elegant and fresh Bai Mu Dan has more than enough flavour for me. Usually I just drink the MeiLeaf Bai Mu Dan, I think it's pretty good and easy to get here in the UK.

[Anonymous No.17431149]

Brewed up some fox puer from moychay
(pic related) in a thermos for sipping all day at work. Had it since 2019 and it has gotten a bit better with time


>>17425799
Around 2kg, didn't measure exactly

>>17429319
Kot

>>17430799
Yes - chamomile, birch, lungwort, nettle, fennel, elderflower, dandelion etc.

[Anonymous No.17431153]

>>17431149
I'm a tard

[Anonymous No.17431833]

>>17430313
This guy is right on the money:
>>17430327
the Daily Sencha is indeed great for the price. I'd also recommend the Sae Midori and the Organic Kurasawa Sencha (and the Yame if you're into goykuro).

[Anonymous No.17431864]

Out of water. Finding out how much liquid is in the stomach so I can make tea by swallowing the proportional amount of leaves. Starting with peppermint.

[Anonymous No.17432030]

Anyone can share their favorite Aliexpress cheap teacup?
I'm looking for a small one not "coffee" size.

[Anonymous No.17432043]

>>17428178
I'm back boys.
Finally wised from here >>17413466 and used fewer leaves. Now I have a reasonable amount of tea to drink.

Bad news though, my Oxo adjustable kettle stopped heating water randomly yesterday midway through heating a pot. It got to around 175 F and shut off.
I never let it run empty and I unplugged it yesterday to see if it would reset.
No dice, it refuses to heat the water now, despite turning on and reading the temp of the water.
I've only had it for about two years, bought it feb of 2020. Anyone have experience with these/know if they're fixable? It's been a great kettle otherwise.

[Anonymous No.17432092]

>>17432043
that sucks i have the same kettle and i really like it. you cant even buy replacements right now due to covid supply chain issues (it was my go to recommendation). if it is still in warranty i would contact oxos support. as a long shot, is the spot where the kettle makes electrical connection with the base clean? I don't really have a good guess why it would still read the water temp but not heat.

[Anonymous No.17432100]

>>17432030
I have always avoided Aliexpress because I'm convinced even non-metal alloy products will be laced with lead and mercury. Is it ever actually worth buying things through there?

[Anonymous No.17432116]

>>17432092
It looked clean, I couldn't see any debris, but I went around with a slightly damp q-tip with 95% rubbing alcohol on it. No luck.
I wanted to crack it open but it has the Y-type/tri-wing screws so I'd have to order a bit.
>you cant even buy replacements right now due to covid supply chain issues
Darn, I didn't even think of this.
I don't think it's under warranty anymore, I'll have to dig out the box and double check though. Either way I'll send an email to OXO today to see if they have any recommendations.

[Anonymous No.17432118]

>>17432100
I kinda like it. It's really a russian roulette. I got some great deals and complete shit but it's dirt cheap and takes such a long time to receive the item that you almost have time to forget about it and it's like receiving a small gift by mail.

[Anonymous No.17432181]

>>17432116
>I wanted to crack it open but it has the Y-type/tri-wing screws so I'd have to order a bit.
not a bad idea if you are dedicated. if you are lucky it could be that some solder cracked and a wire fell off which should be pretty easy to fix. someday i want to get one of those ifixit universal security bit driver sets as i like fixing things myself.

[Anonymous No.17432201]

>>17432118
frogshit opinion lol

[Anonymous No.17432270]

>>17431153
how is it? ive avoided moychays own brand puers but idk if theyre actuslly good or not, some of their cakes are very cheap

[Anonymous No.17432430]

>>17432181
I've got that ifixit kit. Pretty based. I need a small but thick flathead to adjust the tea portafilter and ifixit provides.

[Anonymous No.17432621]

LOL

[Anonymous No.17433044]

>>17432100
Aliexpress is fine, sure there is garbage on there but there is plenty of totally fine cheap product on there too. Especially things like teacups gaiwans etc. Those lead glazes aren't even around anymore and would cost more to use than generic standard glazes and paints thry make everything with. Unless you are buying crockery to ferment foods in i wouldn't worry about it. You can buy lead test sticks for a few dollars if you really want to and use them to test anything you buy.

[Anonymous No.17433086]

>>17432030
I have one of these and really like it, i love this style of thin porcelain.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001354566622.html
a few bonus other cool cups
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001343735365.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4001270511559.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003085055340.html?
and of course you have to have the cheap chicken cup replica this store has a bunch of other cool teaware stuff if you look around
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000062585952.html

[Anonymous No.17433107]

>>17433086
this store also is worth looking around, they focus more on ceramics and more contemporary designs. Lots of cool teaboats and things of that natrue
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000038508057.html

[Anonymous No.17433172]

>>17433107
one more shop
these guys have a ton of reproductions of old antique pieces, prices could be better but nothing outrageous
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32856735908.html

[Anonymous No.17433209]

thoughts on oriental beauty?

[Anonymous No.17433246]

Okay how much black tea is too much? I want to drink multiple pots of it a day but I limit myself to only 2-3 cups.

How much tea does everyone drink in a given day?

[Anonymous No.17433302]

>>17433209
I like the old school style that is moderately fermented and lightly roasted. The modern stuff that is lightly fermented i don't like as much. It's a nice tea overall. Definitely one of the better taiwan oolongs in my opinion.

[Anonymous No.17433316]

>>17433246
I drink 8-16 grams of dry tea a day or about 1.5 to 3 litres of liquid
Tea isn't as caffeinated as coffee so you can get away with drinking more as long as it doesn't bother your stomach. My biggest issue with drinking lots of tea in a day is that i end up eating a bunch of food to go with it.

[Anonymous No.17433318]

>>17433316
THat's a good point. I'm honestly trying to cut back on caffeine and tea is a good, healthy way to get my fix, and I can drink lots of it.

>i end up eating a bunch of food to go with it.
Kino. What's your favorite tea snack? I like fresh fruit, or maybe some scones.

[Anonymous No.17433364]

>>17433318
>What's your favorite tea snack?
A nice croissant from the local bakery

[Anonymous No.17433367]

>>17433364
For me it's a chocolate croissant. But regular butter ones are perfect as well.

[Anonymous No.17433381]

>>17433367
Oh yeah those are pretry good too

[Anonymous No.17433629]

Update: my looseleaf (black) arrived and it's fucking delicious. Surprisingly refreshing and way less bitter than the bagged stuff. Almost floral, in a way.

[Anonymous No.17433649]

>>17433316
Tea hits me way harder than coffee does. I also drink 1.5~3 liters a day, but if I so much as try to drink a cup after Noon'o'clock I'm stuck unable to fall asleep at night.

[Anonymous No.17433705]

>>17433246
Two pitchers of herbal tea, if I am competent in producing it each day.

[Anonymous No.17433840]

>>17433629
Yeah looseleaf black tea is (usually) shockingly different from your standard teabags. You can get bitter malty looseleaf if you really want to but i certainly would rather drink a nice Chinese black tea or a good second flush Darjeeling instead.

[Anonymous No.17434267]

I'm having a skullcap moment. Does anybody have a favorite species and source for bulk skullcap? I'm using teabags with cinnamon in them and I really want the earthier taste of just the herb.

[Anonymous No.17434284]

>>17433840
This is entirely new to me. I had looseleaf before but I never bothered with looseleaf black because I wasn't into it back then. It's still got some of the bitter/malty flavors, but not so much. Instead there's this pervasive flowery taste, making it quite refreshing. Also there's hints of dark honey at the end, making it slightly sweet. Normally I'd put a squirt of honey in my bagged black tea bags, but not with this stuff. This is excellent.

[Anonymous No.17434349]

>>17434284
What tea?

[Anonymous No.17434400]

>>17434349
I don't know if DAVIDs is liked around here, but here's the tea I got:
https://www.davidstea.com/us_en/tea/tea-by-type/black/honey-black/10530US01VAR0022775.html?cgid=black-tea#start=25&sz=24

Could I have done better for less? Probably. But I wanted to try this, and I'm a huge tea noob so this was the only place I knew to go for looseleaf

[Anonymous No.17434415]

Another spring, another tasty spring matcha season

[Anonymous No.17434419]

>>17420670
Mostly everything you get from them is pretty good quality at a slight markup but also likely won't be the best example of each blend, though a few of their teas are outstanding. It's an economical way to experiment with different Western teas and get good examples of everything

[Anonymous No.17434452]

>>17434400
I'm sure the tea is fine, but yeah $20 for 50g is a lot. I would check out yunnan sourcing's US site. Cheaper and much more variety to explore. Enjoy the tea you have and consider putting in an order in a month or two when the fresh harvest comes in. All the sites in the sticky are good too.

[Anonymous No.17434558]

>>17430561
Just need a nice serving pot for guests

[Anonymous No.17434560]

>>17434452
Thank you for the advice anon! I'm looking forward to trying some fresh teas.

[Anonymous No.17434618]

new thread:
>>17434610
>>17434610
>>17434610