/tea/ - sniffing to Accomplish the Original Flavor

[Anonymous No.19969783]

This thread is for discussing teas, tisanes, and other herbal infusions.
info: types of tea, where to get tea, how to brew tea
https://pastebin.com/80GeeXJV
previous thread: >>19951092

[Anonymous No.19969787]

>>19969783
tea = pee

[Anonymous No.19969816]

>>19969783
Got my puerh storage all set up.

Two 4L CVaults (one for raw and one for ripe) with a Govee hygrometer in each of them. The CVaults came with a 62% Boveda pack and have a built-in pocket for them on the lids. I'll probably swap the Bovedas out for something else (humidity beads maybe?) when they expire.

[Anonymous No.19969826]

drinking some Dayi 7572 from Awazon
got that classic chocolate, cream and cookie dough flavor. body is thicc, as it should be

[Anonymous No.19969837]

jesus, shipping is insane.
i hope it arrives in time for christmas

[Anonymous No.19969842]

test

[Anonymous No.19969843]

>>19969837
i think your odds aren't great honestly, the shipping times get quite bad from china this time of year

[Anonymous No.19969856]

>>19969837
I think those black tea boxes add a bit of price to the shipping. still worth it though, that tea is great for the price

[Anonymous No.19969862]

>>19969856
maybe i should have ordered more for gifts...
but you have to put a stop at spending for tea somewhere. this amount of tea will last me for a while, and i don't know if I'll like them yet.

[Anonymous No.19969896]

What do you do after drinking tea, and having enough for one more infusion, but don't want to drink more right now?
Do I just leave them in the tea cup and resteep later? How long do they last like this before getting ruined?

[Anonymous No.19969919]

I'm curious, how much do you anons think you spend on tea annually? How much product would you say you buy and drink? Is it noticeably different at any specific time of year? I had a turbulent year, so consumption overall practically halted, but I spent over $250 for ~2.9kg of tea during the recent sales. No idea how much I use since I don't really weigh anymore, but I'd wager anywhere from 4-8g/session. So, it should last me through the coming year and then some.

I already spent a fairly large amount, but I hope to participate in the Spring greens season for once as well. That and the next Black Friday should be fun.
>>19969896
I use a gaiwan, so it may differ a little, but I do one of two things:
>Leave it in my gaiwan for infusing later
>Scoop it out into a rolling coldbrew jar I leave to infuse in my refrigerator
I rarely toss my leaf outright. If a teabag, either toss it or leave it to coldbrew. If you mean the tea infusion/liquid itself...I guess you can refrigerate it, but frankly, I'd just toss it.

[Anonymous No.19969958]

>>19969896
I leave it and drink later, but tend to chuck it if its been overnight. Some people still drink the next day though.

>>19969919
I drink aound 4kg a year as a guess. Which is also roughly how much I keep on hand replacing stuff as it runs out and sampling whenever I want. I don't dare find out how much I'm spending yearly but it's most of my entertainment expenses, for BF I spent about $180. I guess my next buy will be oolong in a few months unless william decides to fuck me with some good shit at christmas.

[Anonymous No.19969987]

I have no idea if this tea is good but this peacock looks pretty
https://kingteamall.com/products/2017-xiaguan-kong-que-chuan-qi-legend-of-peacock-banpen-old-tree-357g-cake-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea

[Anonymous No.19969995]

>>19969987
I had one semi-aged tea from Banpen and it was still quite bitter

[Anonymous No.19970039]

What's your favorite variety of black tea?
Of the ones I've tried plain from the local tea shop, my preference is:
1. Assam
2. Darjeeling
3. Ceylon

[Anonymous No.19970043]

>>19970039
Dianhong probably.
Don't like Indian tea.

[Anonymous No.19970046]

>>19970043
>dianhong
>hong
>hongse
...I JUST realized pu-erh isn't black-colored just because of the fermenting process.
No shit, I thought it was originally harvested as green and then became "heise" (black tea) without being "hongse" (red tea) at any point.
Good thing I took up Mandarin in uni :D

Also now I realize lapsang souchong is a black tea as well - but I would put it below ceylon unless I am out innawoods.

[Anonymous No.19970051]

>>19970046
>Good thing I took up Mandarin in uni :D
My unner weebness taught me the wrong moonrunes.
Japs need to get their shit together, start producing something other than green tea.

[Anonymous No.19970055]

>>19970039
Assam is good. If I’m drinking the tea black I would prefer Chinese tea, but if I am drinking with milk for whatever reason I would go with Assam. I don’t drink much milk tea anymore though, it’s too expensive for how much tea I drink.

[Anonymous No.19970057]

>>19969958
Wow, 4kg/y? Is this multiple sessions each day? 4kg/365 would be a little under 11g daily. I used to drink more at once, but even with stuff like shou or liu bao, I've shifted to infusing less material at a time because I find I capture aromas better that way.
>Oolong
I don't have then often, but I did buy some oolongs with my Yeeontea order. Relatively inexpensive, but I got 300g portions of both the shui xian and iron Buddha. When I think of the anons who almost exclusively drink nicer oolongs and deep Japanese greens, I imagine their expenses being easily double mine, if not a little more. Though, I bet their sessions sure are special too. How are William's oolongs anyway? I haven't heard much about them.

[Anonymous No.19970058]

>>19970046
You could try some unsmoked lapsang, it’s actually not bad. I say this as someone who hates the smoked stuff.

[Anonymous No.19970064]

>>19970057
NTA
I could easily go through 15g/day, and when my family humors me I can easily get to 30g per day. I use about 5-6 kg a year.

[Anonymous No.19970071]

>>19970057
Oolong from ailao are really good, I got both the oriental beauty and "classic" oolong both as good as taiwanese renown ones honestly. But of course they are expensive. I put the oolong blacks in another category but the fen shui ling is the best "black tea he's selling.

[Anonymous No.19970081]

>>19970051
>My unner weebness taught me the wrong moonrunes.
私も同人をちょいと読めるだがwww
But yeah without an IME and a dictionary I'm useless in Japanese because the readings are fucked compared to Mandarin
>>19970058
Noted, will do

[Anonymous No.19970091]

>>19970057
Most days I spend working at my desk I have at least two sessions with my 140ml gaiwan, I generally use 6-7g for most things and 10g for heicha. But it's not every day I'm at my desk so I went with 4kg.
I'm still getting into oolong myself, it's a bit of a neglected group for me. Which is why it's probably going to be the next buy because I'm stocked up on everything else once the BF orders come in. The ones I tried from FL have both been very nice actually. It does seem like it can easily get as pricey as high end puer.
I have that iron buddha right here, why not make it the afternoon session.

[Anonymous No.19970100]

>>19969995
I see. I never thought about it this way.
Is there some guide to which region has which characteristics?
Is it more about region or the maker?
Is there some map I could use to check off locations?
The xiaguan maker tea I linked also has some peacock cake from Naka.
Any idea what Naka is know for?

[Anonymous No.19970149]

Is it worth it to pay extra for old/big trees?
Everything with gu shu has a hefty pricetag

[Anonymous No.19970174]

>>19970100
Farmer Leaf on youtube has been making some live streams about puer regions lately, you could check them out if you want to nerd on this stuff
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABY0NRVtI8k

[Anonymous No.19970175]

>>19970100
regional pu-erh flavor is a bit complicated
you have the bigger regions like, say, Mengku or Yiwu that can share some characteristics or have a "stereotypical" flavor profile, but can also vary or have exceptions. thus, there is some disagreement as to how much you should rely on these
and then you have individual villages, those tend to have more of a defined flavor profile, like Banpen or Naka
Naka is supposedly in-between the really aromatic Jingmai teas and the more strong and bitter stuff from most of Menghai. supposed to be quite sweet too and on the fruity side of things
I actually have this Naka brick incoming, can't wait to get my hands on it: https://kingteamall.com/en-pl/products/2022-chenshenghao-na-ka-naka-brick-250g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha

processing also matters a lot and some areas differentiate themselves partially through processing

[Anonymous No.19970186]

drinking piss today

[Anonymous No.19970198]

>>19969816
I use both boveda packs and humidity beads. Both are great however I prefer the humidity beads as they can be put into any humidity permeable container, such as pantyhose. Additionally, rehydrating them is instant whereas boveda packs basically require a second set recharging while the first set gradually go dry.
Don't forget Govee hygrometers have a limited storage. I think two years? Don't forget to export the data.
As for the CVaults themselves, I'm interested to hear how they do in the short and long terms.
>>19969837
>>19969862
IMO if you're going to put in an order from rural China, it should be more than $100. You can beat shipping costs, which aren't that outrageous even here. Amazon has really done some damage to people's expectations on how expensive it is to ship.

[Anonymous No.19970202]

>>19970149
Buy small trees and big trees from the "same" location and do a side by side comparison and tell us.

[Anonymous No.19970206]

>>19969919
>I'm curious, how much do you anons think you spend on tea annually?
Perhaps too much. I think I spend around $600-$700 over the last year.
>How much product would you say you buy and drink?
I always buy more then I drink and I nominally drink 3.3kg a year. I got a large stockpile of tea at this point.
>Is it noticeably different at any specific time of year?
If things get too busy I drop drinking tea on weekdays and go to energy drinks instead.
>but I hope to participate in the Spring greens season for once as well.
I have become such a heicha fanatic that I never end up budgeting for fresh green teas. Someday I am sure I will get some.

[Anonymous No.19970207]

>>19970149
depends on your definition of worth it
it's probably a bit overrated in general. I'd take shengtai from a great location over gushu from some random unremarkable place any day, and they're likely to be a similar price

[Anonymous No.19970214]

>>19970175
>Naka is supposedly in-between the really aromatic Jingmai teas and the more strong and bitter stuff from most of Menghai.
I have a cheap small/unknown brand naka cake that fits that description. Tastes floral and bitter.

[Anonymous No.19970251]

>>19970091
>I have that iron buddha right here, why not make it the afternoon session.
Nice, Iron Buddha II, right? It'd be cool to hear your thoughts on it if you feel up to sharing them. I rarely have oolong, but I am hopeful that it'll be decent.

[Anonymous No.19970297]

>>19970251
>but I am hopeful that it'll be decent.
Not same anon but the "Iron Buddha II" TGY from yeeonteaco is good. I drank a lot of it grandpa style while studying last year.

[Anonymous No.19970328]

>>19970251
>Iron Buddha II
Yep. I can't really compare it to other TGY because I'm a colossal TGY noob, but it's nice and has an interesting fragrance.

[Anonymous No.19970358]

>>19970297
What kind of notes did you pick up with it? It's been so long since I've had any oolongs. Not sure if Iron Buddha is another name for tieguanyin or not either, but I'd like to have some while I read too. The TGYs I have tried have differed hugely in profile, so I have no idea what to expect.
>>19970328
Is that it there? So refreshing to see whole leaf that isn't just brown, black, white, or beige. Cute cup animal(s) too. I'll have to post tons of pics and tasting notes of all the things I get like this.

[Anonymous No.19970497]

>>19970358
>Not sure if Iron Buddha is another name for tieguanyin or not either,
It is, "Tieguanyin" translates into "Iron Goddess of Mercy" but is also sometimes translated into "Iron Buddha". Its a reference to the legend of the teas creation.

[Anonymous No.19970742]

Why the fuck are these raw cakes so expensive?
Every interesting cake on KTM is like $70+ and you will be raped by shipping and tax man.
And why are ripes cheaper than raws even though they are the same age?

[Anonymous No.19970769]

>>19970742
raws change more with time
also, they usually use better material

[Anonymous No.19970890]

>>19967899
it is and still it's not worth it
the gaba shu puerh they have is really good though, not fishy but kind of earthy with a really cozy vanilla fragrance

[Anonymous No.19971039]

>>19969843
>shipping times get quite bad from china
My black friday w2t order has been bouncing between the exchange station, exchange bureau, the carrier, and then returned through security 4 times now :/ I'd imagine the gaiwan has been turned into dust.

[Anonymous No.19971049]

>>19971039
mine has supposedly been handed over to the airlines, but no update on that for a week now
shit's annoying, usually I can see some progress

[Anonymous No.19971052]

>>19969843
>the shipping times get quite bad from china this time of year
Shipping in general apparently has long covid. Even outside of the holidays packages from China sometimes get randomly delayed for months.

[Anonymous No.19971075]

>>19971052
It’s better than Vietnamese shipping.Once I had a package delayed for a month and a half and when I received it it had a hole ripped in the side with a piece of paper tucked in saying the package ‘passed health inspection’.

[Anonymous No.19971130]

>>19971049
Can take almost 2 weeks without updates after leaving the country. I had 10 days of nothing and i'm in eu. Just have to wait.

[Anonymous No.19971349]

>>19971075
>when I received it it had a hole ripped in the side with a piece of paper tucked in saying the package ‘passed health inspection’.
kek, I am glad that US customs is typically pretty chill. Never had them mess with a package before.

[Anonymous No.19971421]

hello teafriends. i have a buddy who loves blue lady earl grey tea. are there any decent/good brands easily accessible on amazon that i could buy for him this christmas? thank you.

[Anonymous No.19971630]

>>19970890
>not fishy but kind of earthy with a really cozy vanilla fragrance
anythings thats not rich, creamy and cherry and red date flavor is a no for me.

[Anonymous No.19971635]

>>19970039
its nice to create your own black tea blend for milk tea. Ive been doing jin jun mei, ceylon black and ahmad special blend recently. The ceylon black i bought this time is shit, thinking of throwing out the whole bag and replacing it with just tetly orange pekoe.

[Anonymous No.19971640]

>>19970043
ceylon is from sri lanka.

[Anonymous No.19971715]

>>19971421
Bagged tea or loose leaf?
Regardless my answer will seem contrary to expected norms. I would go to Reddit r/tea and use their vendor list, it has vendors who don’t exclusively sell single-tree high mountain gushu boutique productions. In order to become a /tea/ regular you’re obliged to imbibe the Tea of Lethe and forget your past drinking experiences.

[Anonymous No.19971735]

>>19971421
Something like this if you can get it shipped to you. Decent gift for someone who drinks earl grey, can add another one I don't know your budget https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/2-earl-grey-provence-classical-black-tin-TC8003.html

[Anonymous No.19971900]

I regret not buying a few extra Fa Zhan He on Black Friday. The more I get acquainted with it, the more I like it.
>>19969919
I spend a good bit, but I also sell to friends and coworkers and I'm also trying to start up a (very) small scale business retailing. As a result, I'm working on building up my collection/inventory. I personally drink around 5-6kg annually. This year I got a little excited and ended up buying just under 30 kg of tea at about 9 cents per gram. Skin in the game.
>>19970206
>I always buy more then I drink
Exactly.

[Anonymous No.19971912]

>>19971900
>I regret not buying a few extra Fa Zhan He on Black Friday. The more I get acquainted with it, the more I like it.
Drinking it granpa style right now, it's great this way too. I'm not sure if I want to stock up on it or wait until spring, in theory we're not too far out.

[Anonymous No.19972053]

>>19971900
>This year I got a little excited and ended up buying just under 30 kg of tea at about 9 cents per gram.
Sound exciting. Is it mostly just single cakes or did you hit up any teas hard? If so what teas did you stock in bulk?

[Anonymous No.19972116]

>>19972053
Both camps. This year I've been trying to learn as much as I can. Some orders were about getting a broad variety of puerh. I yolo'd some cakes of stuff I've been curious about for a long time. There were a couple of studious listings this year I really appreciated: KTM's Project #1 with the single aged tea stored three different ways. Also Farmer Leaf's Jinggu Single Tree sampler was very interesting. Things like that always catch my interest. When I eventually open an online storefront, I'd like to offer educational comparison packs similar to those.
I also went hard on some tried-and-true factory ripes that have proven to be a good entry point for people who don't have any idea what tea can be. V93, 7572, Xiao Fa, Lumberslut. Basically /tea/core puerh.

[Anonymous No.19972190]

>>19972116
>I yolo'd some cakes of stuff I've been curious about for a long time.
I am hoping to do the same in the near future. Anything you would recommend in particular?
>When I eventually open an online storefront
I will check it out someday if you ever open for business. More tea vendors is always a good thing.
>I also went hard on some tried-and-true factory ripes
A very sensible choice even though I'm not a big shou drinker myself.

When I finally start making better money sometime later this year I am going to buy so much tea. I got a lot of things I have been waiting to try. It's going to be fun.

[Anonymous No.19972417]

I'm still new to pu erh. I'm just brewing it in my teapot. The teapot is 400ml. How much tea should I use? 8 grams? Or more or less.

[Anonymous No.19972487]

>>19972417
When people use a gaiwan, 5-8g/100ml is normal. You can get by with more if you want.

[Anonymous No.19972489]

reporting on these

No fancy pouring, just put some leaves in bowls, poured boiling water over them, then removed them after ~12 minutes.

Both of them have quite pleasant flavour, earthy and I think I smelled honey. Nothing exotic, nothing strong, just comfy and pleasant.

Shan Cha pretty underwhelming taste, muted and safe, not what I expect from mid-high tier wild tea. Not really any surface kick but more like a creeping rising wave in background. 5 minutes after I started drinking it felt like there's too much anxiety and at that point I switched to Autumn Bridge. Autumn Bridge taste is also earthy and pretty safe but that's to be expected from this kind of tea. Little to no acid nor pungency in both teas, aftertaste is good.

I have now finished both bowls. Pretty good high at this point, feel like I'm sweating, waves going through my body, feel like stretching, skin is more sensitive and pleasant to touch. Hard to say how much anxiety is in background. Autumn Bridge seems good bang for the buck but would be hesitant to say the same about Shan Cha.

[Anonymous No.19972678]

I did some digging because I had the sneaking suspicion that anons were getting chinked, and I think I was right.
Pic is the /tea/favorite xiaguan hongcha and just look how much of a difference there is.
Don't believe these "shipping charges", it's an absolute scam.
Let this be a lesson for anons to shop around before making hasty 5 AM purchases.

If anyone is interested here is the page
https://dragonteahouse.biz/xiaguan-brand-dian-hong-yunnan-black-tea-300g/
0.05 usd/g seems pretty good for something that anons here are frequently recommending, probably will order one.

Now, is anyone familiar with this cake? Could be cool and it doesn't cost that much
https://kingteamall.com/en-cz/products/2022-xiaguan-da-xue-shan-big-snow-mountain-357g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha

[Anonymous No.19972711]

>>19972489
>Shan Cha pretty underwhelming taste, muted and safe, not what I expect from mid-high tier wild tea
that's too bad. does this one not have the strong corn syrup sweetness?

[Anonymous No.19972729]

>>19972678
on the subject of getting chinked - Dragon Tea House prices can be pretty fucking weird
didn't know they offered free shipping though

[Anonymous No.19972816]

>>19972678
>>19969837

[Anonymous No.19972824]

>>19972816
well, i got screwed over, but thats ok. i hope the tea is atleast really good

[Anonymous No.19972850]

>>19972824
desu the sussy economy shipping at DTH would probably take a few months to reach you. I'll have to try out that store anyway at some point
when ordering from China you usually just have to deal with the shipping costs

[Anonymous No.19972855]

>>19972850
>desu the sussy economy shipping at DTH would probably take a few months to reach you
We will see.
So far every free shipping from ali the past year took 2-3 weeks to get to Europe, while it has been 3 weeks now and I'm still waiting for my FL order, it got stuck again.

[Anonymous No.19972868]

>>19971630
I don’t know what red dates taste like

[Anonymous No.19972904]

Tried some smoked lapshang today.
Probably the worst tea experience I've ever had.
It had strong tobacco, smoke, leather, and gamy flavors I wanted to vomit.
I'm so glad it was only a small sample.

[Anonymous No.19972910]

>>19972904
How did you make it? Haven't had it myself, but if you wanted to reduce such notes, I imagine short infusions would work fine. It's well-known to be smoky regardless.

[Anonymous No.19972912]

>>19972711
>strong corn syrup sweetness
thats not how I would characterize it. more like mellow I guess. I drank only one bowl of it so take my impressions with grain of salt

[Anonymous No.19972913]

>>19972910
It was a very quick infusion, first rinse and then maybe 3-4s.
Upon opening the small bag, I immediately knew this one would be not to my liking, but I was brave and tried it anyway.

[Anonymous No.19972919]

>>19972912
I remember it actually didn't taste as good when overbrewed, so maybe try it shorter next time
it wasn't exactly the same production as this one though, so maybe this one is different

[Anonymous No.19972926]

For me it's Luzianne in a gallon jug with 2 cups of sugar, iced

[Anonymous No.19973031]

looking at Dragon Tea House, their selection of Dr. puerh looks tempting
anyone tried these?

[Anonymous No.19973146]

>>19972919
yeah next time will definitely do short steeps
a less intensive wave just surfaced fucking 7 hours after I finished this

if this novelty persists even after repeatedly drinking it's pretty good shit

[Anonymous No.19973152]

What the fuck is tea drunk?
Probably the only thing I've ever felt after drinking a lot of tea was the caffeine overdose which was not as terrible like you would get with coffee where you suffer quite a lot but it still was getting unpleasant and I couldn't sleep.

[Anonymous No.19973157]

It's finally here. Tea time this evening. A sample of jinmudan came with it, not sure if I want to use that to break it in.

[Anonymous No.19973158]

>>19973152
Drink this >>19972926 and it will just taste good and not give you any problems :)

[Anonymous No.19973226]

>>19973152
It's something of a colloquial phrase for the feeling when you're feeling a relaxed, perhaps somewhat euphoric feeling from a tea session. Someone who's drinking quality tea, focusing on the present experience of drinking it, and embracing relaxation overall may experience it. Tea is technically a psychoactive beverage after all, so it's not entirely unbelievable. I've experienced states like that myself. Even more pronounced when you stack with L-theanine and meditate like I've done sometimes.
>>19973157
Is this the replacement for that broken Ghibli pot someone posted? Seems like it should pour well, though I'm curious if it is comfortable to hold or not since the top doesn't seem very flared.

[Anonymous No.19973295]

>>19973226
It's easier to hold, no gaiwan weirdness or issues with accidentally covering the carb. Much smaller than the last one and I do wonder how it will handle cakes and hold heat compared to a yixing.

[Anonymous No.19973344]

>>19973295
Neat, that should be pleasant then. Unglazed inside, right? Planning on restricting it to specific type of tea, or just whatever? I've only used glazed stuff, but I imagine it'd be good for harsher material. Nice MT3/SA caps, by the way.

[Anonymous No.19973356]

>>19973344
Haven't decided, I'm not even sure what lizella clay will do. I'll probably be seasoning it with samples of shou for now that aren't quite big enough for a larger pot. It's smol and I don't think it needs the full 7 grams a 180ml requires, but I haven't measured the capacity. Or I'll gongfu some cheap red that gets strong and complex when overload the pot.

[Anonymous No.19973374]

>>19973356
Lucifer: Princeps, I ching and astrology anon? What else are you reading?

[Anonymous No.19973414]

How bad of an idea is to make /tea/ discord

[Anonymous No.19973458]

>>19973414
Not bad, but it should be gatekept at all times. Too many fags infesting that app.

[Anonymous No.19973465]

Im newfag in this thread and noticed OP pasta is pretty low-effort considering how many active anons appear to be here. Why is it so?

[Anonymous No.19973466]

>>19973414
nah. don't bring discord drama into a perfectly drama-free thread. a thread that's really slow too, just a bad idea all around
if you want a tea-related discord, use one that's already around

[Anonymous No.19973467]

>>19973414
it's a thumbs down from me

[Anonymous No.19973475]

>>19973414
Do whatever you want anon.
I will not join.

[Anonymous No.19973478]

>>19973374
Autobiography of Red and Paradiso.

[Anonymous No.19973488]

>>19973414
very good idea indeed, take other undesirables with you there and chat under your unique username. don't forget to verify the phone.

[Anonymous No.19973490]

>>19973414
No. They'll just shit up the thread when some tranny autismo gets buttmad.

[Anonymous No.19973495]

>>19972678
>Don't believe these "shipping charges", it's an absolute scam.
Many of the teas on DTH are overpriced even western tea shop standards. The shipping is in no way free. Its good to know that they have some reasonably priced teas that you can take advantage of now. I think they have actually dropped some of the prices since I last checked. However it is weak proof that other vendors are intentionally gouging you on shipping.

[Anonymous No.19973496]

>>19973465
It's all that's needed.

[Anonymous No.19973515]

>>19973495
that store is really weird
some of their prices are downright horrible, others are totally reasonable. for example, semi-aged Xiaguan tuos cost what they would on KTM. but on the other hand, a 2023 Haiwan 9978 costs 55$ for some god-forsaken reason

[Anonymous No.19973535]

>>19973515
I came across them a few years ago when I was looking for the bo jun.
https://dragonteahouse.biz/mengku-brand-bo-jun-pu-erh-tea-cake-2019-500g-ripe/

[Anonymous No.19973549]

>>19973465
>Why is it so?
Because nobody wants to update it and we are all very busy drinking tea. Personally I have been considering writing a new beginner focused vendor guide.

[Anonymous No.19973564]

>>19973535
>I came across them a few years ago when I was looking for the bo jun.
I think they actually used to be in the paste bin but were removed because they had so much wildly overpriced tea and nobody really ordered from them. Also they are probably just a pure drop shipper so the quality of the teas storage and whether the tea is authentic is a bit more suspect. In comparison KTM posts pictures of many teas, tell you where they were stored, and has a good reputation built up. Now that it has been discovered that DTH has some fairly priced tea with free shipping it would not surprise me if they end up becoming /tea/core over the next couple years.

[Anonymous No.19973571]

>>19973495
>The shipping is in no way free
I was looking at xiaguan stuff and all of it costs the same or less than on KTM.
Sure maybe they jew you out on some other cakes which in aggregate pays for the "free" shipping that in reality costs maybe $4, but that doesn't give the other sites the right to charge $20+ for the cheapest 1-2 months shipping.
Don't know why would anyone defend these sites.
It literally doesn't cost you $20+ to ship 300g of tea to anywhere in the world, let alone civilized world.

[Anonymous No.19973581]

>>19973549
it'd be nice to have something to point to when someone asks for beginner puerh recommendations

[Anonymous No.19973612]

>>19973465
Getting started with tea isn't that costly or too demanding in terms of basic technique. The best deals not only shift often enough, but can vary widely by region and preference too. Furthermore, if you want specific guidance on niche things, it's better to ask around. The guide does a fine job of directing people to basics, and anons fill in the rest well.
>>19973414
It would only serve to divide the small community here and promote unpleasant dialogues. Those who actually want to interface outside of the thread for special reasons can, have, and may do so, but not as a collective, and it's better that way. I like both the culture and people here, and hope it stays as it is for a long time. In a way, we are more united as anons than we would be as Discord shitposters anyway.

[Anonymous No.19973613]

>>19970297
i tried it grandpa style today and it's very nice, this is the better way to drink it i think.

[Anonymous No.19973630]

>>19973613
Nice, did it change much for you as a result? I rarely grandpa style something, but I may give it a go eventually with this one.

[Anonymous No.19973674]

>>19973630
the profile is different usually with grandpa, it's a bit hard to describe. the sweetness is up but florality is down.
i top it off with cold water once the leaves sunk and i want the brewing to slow. then it stays around drinking temperature as i add hot water. so you can think of it as a 50-60c brew which i'm guessing explains the difference.
it's quite comfy anon you should try it out.

[Anonymous No.19973707]

>>19973674
That's something I sometimes forget doing grandpa style. The temperature drops because you usually have water already in there and can hit it with boiling water after the first steep.

[Anonymous No.19973723]

>>19973571
Anon, that's just the reality with these western facing sites. They get the tea cheap domestically and then increase the price however they see fit. That xiaguan red tea is around 8-9$ on taobao.

[Anonymous No.19973739]

>>19973414
>How bad of an idea is to make /tea/ discord
Discord is not anonymous (they need a phone number) and is an information sinkhole. It would also likely bring in the sort of outsider that would try to subvert the community to their wants instead of joining it as it is. I wont use Discord and I think it would divide and damage the community if it took of. You know I actually found /tea/ when google searching something tea related. Something that would not have happened if /tea/ were a discord.

[Anonymous No.19973744]

>>19973723
How hard is it to buy things from taobao and what is the shipping?
I bet you could save some serious dough on them cakes

[Anonymous No.19973758]

>>19973744
I'm actually trying to buy tea from taobao for the first time(using a shipping agent). These days i've spent way too much time looking for nice looking shops to buy from.
I'll post my thoughts after i get my first order.
>I bet you could save some serious dough on them cakes
Jesus, stuff is so cheap there. You can get some factory cakes for 2 or 3 times less than western facing stores. You can get a Mengku Bo jun cake for 60-80$.

[Anonymous No.19973777]

how do I caffeine max with tea since it has less caffeine than coffee?
>inb4 drink more tea

[Anonymous No.19973780]

>>19973744
>pic
Focus on the part where anon greentexts about Russian friend cheaping out and buying steel from China. It's the same with tea. Trust is value-add.

[Anonymous No.19973793]

>>19973780
I know this greentext but we are already buying chink cakes.
It shouldn't be hard to buy a cake a send it to non chinese guy and not fuck it up.
Unless of course they really want to scam you.

[Anonymous No.19973803]

Got my kino teaware and they also sent a waffles sample.

[Anonymous No.19973804]

>>19973744
>How hard is it to buy things from taobao
Not super hard but taobao is known for randomly banning accounts outside of china and you should not expect the same level of buyer protection that you would have on say Amazon. Your money is not as safe and there is a lot more fake tea. Also everything is in Chinese and machine translation from Chinese is still often kinda rough.
>what is the shipping?
Not cheaper as far as I am aware plus for tea you are generally going to have use a third party forwarding service because you can't order tea outside the country directly and the service will tack more fees on top. The fashion "replica" (bootleg) communities on Reddit typically have the most info on forwarders as well as referral links with discounts.
>I bet you could save some serious dough on them cakes
Depends on what you want and how much shipping+fees adds up to be. As usual bulk orders are likely better value. The official brand stores on Tmall are often still kind of pricey and frequently don't sell aged tea. On the other hand using smaller third party taobao vendors is very much uncharted territory from the western buyers perspective. The best deals on brand teas are still only available in person because top brands enforce MAP on their distributors. I think there are lots of great deals to be had but there are also valid reasons why the tea community does not all just use taobao. Where I think ordering from taobao really shines is that you get a much much wider selection then you can get from western vendors alone. I did a bunch of research on ordering from Tmall a while back but still need to commit to an order. Personally I am looking to grab a bunch of uncommon heicha that is practically unavailable from western shops.

[Anonymous No.19973807]

>>19973674
Interesting...maybe I can replicate something like this with a white I have on hand. I'll try it this week and see if I can round out the flavor profile similarly.
>>19973777
If you want to maximize caffeine, use a ton of leaf with high temperature water for a long period of time...maybe a shou pu'er since they tend to take well to that sort of thing. So, it isn't ultimately more tea liquid so much as a more concentrated one.

[Anonymous No.19973811]

>>19973758
>You can get a Mengku Bo jun cake for 60-80$.
Dang really? I guess I need to accelerate my taobao plans.

[Anonymous No.19973817]

>>19973803
Nice, they're looking pretty, anon. Are they also from W2T, or another vendor? I like that dark gravel-like finish.

[Anonymous No.19973824]

>>19973817
Teaware.house
The white cup has a cracked glaze, so I'm going keep that as my shu cup.
Got a picture where you can barely see the cracks.

[Anonymous No.19973856]

>>19973817
>Are they also from W2T, or another vendor?
>>19973824
>Teaware.house
I think Paul "2Dog" Murray owns both stores.

[Anonymous No.19973858]

>>19973356
>>19973374
I think /tea/ may be the very first presumably male-dominated community on internet I stumbled upon which does not disdain astrology

[Anonymous No.19973907]

>>19972678
Holy shit something is actually cheaper at dragon tea house? Ive used them before and they are fine, they basically proxybuy shit from taobao and ship it out to you. But usually they have a 100%-200% makeup over taobao prices so i don't bother with them too often.
Anyway in general i don't really suggest ordering a single item from ys or ktm, you should be ordering at least a kilo of tea or a little less to really make it worth it for either.

[Anonymous No.19973921]

>>19973031
Dr puer is a brand ive been interested in for a while but haven't tried. A lot of the origin claims are a little too good to be true with the prices attached but ive read positive things about their tea. I would say if your expectations are adjusted accordingly you might find some fun teas. Grandness tea aslo has a few of their cakes, not sure how prices compare to dragon tea house.

[Anonymous No.19973950]

What's up with manufactures making uninteresting packagibg in a year 2023?
Some of these xiaguan cakes have such a pretty wrappers I want to spend those $100 just for that.
Meanwhile dayi and others have just white paper with some numbers, maybe it comes in 10 cent can.
They should step up their game desu.

[Anonymous No.19973972]

>>19973515
You can find 200g of Xiaguan Hongcha o. DTH for 50$ as some sort of beginner trap.

[Anonymous No.19973974]

>>19973950
They have to keep it bland so 4chammers don't boycott and constantly remind us that they would drink the tea if it weren't so hipster.

[Anonymous No.19973983]

>>19973974
Just look at it. So simple yet so pretty.
W2T/YS have nothing on this.

[Anonymous No.19974012]

>>19973465
Pastebin anon here.
I like the OP pasta being as simple as possible for two reasons.
1. If its much longer then nobody will read it.
2. I can't think of any short 1-2 line additions to add to it.
Also personally i like the tread not being too general thready. There weren't even thread titles for years.

[Anonymous No.19974017]

>>19973824
Nice, using crackle glaze cups and watching them slowly stain is really fun.
I recommend not doing a forced patina by soaking the cup in strong shu brew, it works but it ends up with a different look then if it stains slowly from use.

[Anonymous No.19974024]

>>19973974
#1 for marketing
#22222 for quality and transparency

[Anonymous No.19974031]

>>19974012
>>>/qst/5813480
>>>/biz/56876743
First is very slow, second blazingly fast but both have better OP templates than here. idk it makes quite bad impression if OP is so nglected doesnt it? I mean why not put effort into it.

[Anonymous No.19974036]

>>19973983
ngl I prefer simple packaging. just feeling uneasy when its too fancy. its like wearing loud socks.

[Anonymous No.19974046]

>>19973414
>discord
maybe an IRC can work, but its really not a good idea.

[Anonymous No.19974066]

>>19974024
At least kuuracorp has the decent to not succumb to hipster faggotry like pic rel.
>Use boiling water. Drink tea. Quit your job. Abolish all hierarchies. Love yourself. Love everyone.

[Anonymous No.19974087]

>>19974036
My socks don’t usually make very much noise.

[Anonymous No.19974143]

>>19973858
I guarantee that no one here is interpreting it as pop psychology. My own interest is pretty negligible and more for understanding historical and occult perspectives.

[Anonymous No.19974156]

>>19974031
Jesus anon, we're drinking mycotoxins here, not studying the stock market. I agree with pastebin anon, i don't think there is a point in having a bigger OP.

[Anonymous No.19974223]

>>19974031
The pastebin contains all the relevant info, don’t need it spammed every thread.
>but what will outsiders think???
Who cares

[Anonymous No.19974245]

Pine buds smell exactly like having a christmas tree in your house. Which isn't surprising but it surprised me anyway.

[Anonymous No.19974262]

Let's boil some liu bao.

[Anonymous No.19974264]

>>19973571
https://dragonteahouse.biz/xiaguan-brand-dian-hong-yunnan-black-tea-100g-2/

[Anonymous No.19974277]

>>19973950
they want to emphasize that it's traditional and old school, just like in the good old days when the factories were state-run
it makes sense in a bussiness where these old cakes in simple wrappers are valuable

[Anonymous No.19974296]

>>19974262
That's a healthy fucking pour.

Tastes like really, really boutique dirt you have to drive out into the country to get, the kind golf courses use. Complements my mood nicely. I think I liked that tibetan mulch more but we'll see how this one develops. Strong petrichor and minerality.

[Anonymous No.19974338]

>>19974296
Looks like a perfect blowing pot.

[Anonymous No.19974431]

>>19974262
Which kettle is that anon? I'm looking for a new one.

[Anonymous No.19974456]

>>19974245
Look at those fuzzy boys
>>19974262
Hell yeah, finally somone is tooth patinamaxxing

[Anonymous No.19974463]

>>19974431
Like a Bogen or something. Wouldn't recommend, it's fucking tiny.

[Anonymous No.19974467]

what's the laziest/cleanest way to brew tea?
using an eletric ketttle and pouring it into the mug you're using and brewing it there?
what tea brewing apparatus would be easiest to clean?

[Anonymous No.19974475]

>>19974467
>pouring it into the mug you're using and brewing it there
yep doesn't get any lazier. people call it grandpa style

>what tea brewing apparatus would be easiest to clean?
a gaiwan

[Anonymous No.19974482]

>>19974467
Laziest is probably either grampa style or brewing in a mug with a stainless steel mesh brew basket.
Actually laziest is buying a box of 100 paper fill your own teabags so you dump tea in the bag, stick it in your mug, brew and tos the used teabag in the trash. Get these long tall ones

[Anonymous No.19974535]

>>19974463
Small is good I drink alone.

[Anonymous No.19974543]

>>19974535
I had to refill it 3 times and could probably do a fourth if I didn't get bored.

[Anonymous No.19974544]

>>19974467
Tea bag hot water.

[Anonymous No.19974634]

Really pretty coloring on the glaze already. Drank the waffles sample. Some nice huigan, but not a whole lot of flavor though.

[Anonymous No.19974722]

>>19974543
Refilling it is fine I already do it with mine. Maybe taking a "keep warm" could be nicer for me. I usually fill just enough to keep the temperature right then refill and heat it up again to continue the session.

[Anonymous No.19974789]

>>19969783
Serious question, aren't you guys afraid of consuming tea grown in China?

[Anonymous No.19974815]

>>19974789
I only drink chinese and taiwanese tea because I don't enjoy green too much so removing japan from the list. China has agruably the best tea in the world outside of greens from japan. I'm not scared to drink the best you can get. People scared of china products is only based on ignorance especially for high end teas.

[Anonymous No.19974849]

>>19974789
Nope, the Chinese government actually does a pretty good job of managing the tea industry over there.

[Anonymous No.19975052]

>>19974789
No. It's the birthplace of tea, and so they take it seriously. They aren't as autistic about it as Japanese, but whatever.
>Inb4 pesticides
Not every plantation owner can afford organic/etc certification, as that only cuts into profits and raises the price for customers. The gov has some oversight on them too, so they have to watch out or Mao will dropkick their fields from Heaven.

[Anonymous No.19975557]

>>19974789
Cheap teas from china can be pretty shitty, pesticides heavy metals, etc. But the same is true for cheap teas from everywhere else Just buy good tea and its not a problem.

[Anonymous No.19975594]

>>19974789
aren't you afraid of consuming tea grown in India or Kenya?

[Anonymous No.19975595]

>>19974634
Waffles always struck me as a cake that people just buy because it's cheap and easy to break apart and it has the funny packaging
flavor-wise, cakes like Lumber Slut seem more worthwhile from what I hear. can't wait to try the one I ordered this BF

[Anonymous No.19975632]

>finally found a fruity tea that doesn't taste like piss
>In the ingredients it only says natural fruit flavors
What does that mean

[Anonymous No.19975691]

>>19974024
speaking of that, my little order of one Snoozefest and one Lumber Slut just arrived in my city and is undergoing customs! if all goes well, I should have my tea soon

[Anonymous No.19975727]

>>19975691
Already? Did you order earlier or later? I bought two Snoozefests an hour before they sold out, so not sure how quickly it'd get here. It'll be neat to compare notes with everyone else who bought them soon.

[Anonymous No.19975730]

>>19975727
I think I was one of the first to buy it, as soon as I saw it on the site. They shipped out my order on friday already.

[Anonymous No.19975740]

>>19973414
Kill yourself

[Anonymous No.19975743]

>>19973414
About as good of an idea as starting a tea plantation in Chernobyl.

[Anonymous No.19975772]

>>19975730
Hm. For mine, Shop tracking says they dropped it off on the 27th and had it handed over to the delivery partner on the 28th (Thursday). Maybe I'll be lucky and get mine soon too. Also curious about FL's shipping times. Already expect Yeeon to take a long time, probably getting here next year.

[Anonymous No.19975792]

at one of my last sessions of the Dayi Spring of Menghai sample from Awazon (100 grams, as all samples should be)
this could serve as a nice example of Kunming storage. despite being from 2006, it's still pretty green. the standout part is probably the perfumy aroma, which has some rich white florals and is overall very nice
the flavor is more grassy than woody, a bit of fruit in the prune or dried apple category, nice upfront sweetness, some minerality and a tasteful amount of smoke that comes out more if you push the tea.
body is medium, aftertaste is nothing to get excited about, although some of the nice aroma does come up my nose when I swallow the tea

a nice tea overall and IMO pretty good value at 10$/100 grams

[Anonymous No.19975828]

>>19975632
In theory it should be either dried pieces of actual fruit or perhaps a concentrate from actual fruits without any additives.

In practice you got for example boots advertised as waterproof which are not, in fact, waterproof at all; or "organic" milk from cows in industrial farms which is "organic" due to some obscure loophole in law.

Let's hope for the best..

[Anonymous No.19975963]

Taobao order is going great for now, they took pics of the first packet to arrive to the warehouse.

[Anonymous No.19975969]

Might not be the right place to ask since you seem to be mostly talking about actual tea, but has anyone tried making their own herbal tea mixes or herbs + black tea leaves?
I have really good access to a lot of wild/medical herbs, so I'm just curious if anyone's made their own crazy recipes that I could try.

[Anonymous No.19975988]

drinking a 2002 6FTM ripe tuo
damn the ripe + aged combo is bretty gud. it's like I'm drinking hot cocoa with a shot espresso while sitting in some rustic as fuck cellar

[Anonymous No.19976009]

>>19975963
what did you order?

>>19975969
herbal teas get discussed sometimes. i don't really do anything crazy with mine though.

>>19975988
nice, i better grab one of those next time i'm ordering from awazon.

[Anonymous No.19976026]

>>19975969
you'd probably have to brew tea leaves and herbs separately, because if you brew tea leaves as long as you brew herbs it'll make them bitter
but otherwise seems like a good idea. later today i might try some chamomille and cheap black tea and see what i get.

[Anonymous No.19976051]

What's the best caffeine free tea?

[Anonymous No.19976054]

>>19976026
I tried some lavender + cheap bagged earl grey, and it I enjoyed it a lot that's why I was curious.
Having teabags is really convenient for this.
Inspired by this post I tried some chamomile with some cheap green tea (leaves, not bagged), but it's not very good. Clashes a bit too much. Maybe there is some third herb you could add that fixes it. Maybe white tea + chamomile could work, but I don't have any on hand right now.

[Anonymous No.19976071]

>>19976054
i think white and chamomile would probably be pretty good, white is pretty gentle.
my mind's tongue is suggesting rooibos and ripe puerh.

[Anonymous No.19976082]

>>19976054
A nice sweet green tea with lemongrass might be nice. I haven’t tried it myself mind you.

[Anonymous No.19976084]

Did anyone have jingmai teas?
For example jingmai miyun?
As far as I understand, jingmai tea should be fragrant, sweet, not as bitter as other regions.

[Anonymous No.19976086]

>>19976009
>what did you order?
A little bit.

[Anonymous No.19976087]

>>19976054
try chamomile + yerba mate if you can
I bought a yerba mate herbal mix with chamomile released by a yerba mate producer (Colon) and it's very tasty
mixing yerba mate with various herbs is very popular in Paraguay. most of the bigger brands have an herbal mix version, usually with mint and various other shit. you can check them out for inspiration. I'll say that IMO adding fresh mint and then cold brewing it along with mate makes a killer summer brew

[Anonymous No.19976095]

>>19976086
7572 for 10$? damn, maybe I should get on the aliexpress grind too
although I'm guessing the shipping and agent fees bump up the price a bit?

[Anonymous No.19976105]

>>19976095
For all that tea the agent fees were like 20$ (they get the money during the Yuan --> USD conversion). Shipping does end up being more expensive, but it varies by country (they have many shipping options, my country usually gets the short end of the stick when it comes to shipping). I'll be sure after everything arrives at the warehouse, but after doing a rough estimation i think i'll end up saving saving money this way

[Anonymous No.19976205]

What should I steep in this shitty vodka then? Should I heat it or cold brew?
My brain keeps telling me shu but I think it'll be gross.

[Anonymous No.19976225]

>>19976086
Please keep us informed, cause this is getting ridiculous.
If I can get all of these fancy cakes for a third, I could contact a few friends, and we could drink the good stuff for cheap.

[Anonymous No.19976353]

>>19976084
I just cracked into my Jingmai Miyun along with Fa Zhan He and Huey Wa. I'll eventually do a write up on the three, but I'm not ready yet. Maybe this weekend.

[Anonymous No.19976371]

>>19976086
Dying to hear a comparison of the Xiao Fa vs. the Xiao Fa blue label
>>19976095
>>19976225
Makes me a little nervous. Difficult, could be scammy, could be fakes. All sorts of alarms in my head.

[Anonymous No.19976392]

>>19976084
I only had some samples of Jingmai Miyun 2022. I thought it was pretty boring desu, with no real outstanding features. I'm sure the higher tier offerings are better though. They are also way more expensive, so I'm not really in a hurry to explore that terroir, maybe it's just too soft and understated for me.
I also had the Yellow Flakes, but that's not really representative.

I thought the Bangwai was similar but better and the Fa Zhan He was also sweet and not too bitter but much more interesting and attention-grabbing.

Anything described as having Yiwu character should also be on your radar, like the Huey Wa (which I haven't tried).

[Anonymous No.19976413]

My Viet Sun sampler came in yesterday. I tried the Hoang Su Phi black tea first. The price is 22$/100g, which is fairly high for a black tea but not insane. My impression was extremely good. Endurance was high, the flavour was very interesting with a pronounced sweet, somewhat sour (in a good way) honey flavour which transformed into a warm peppery/cocoa variety of flavours at later infusions. I would say it beats pretty much every other black tea I’ve had at that price point.

[Anonymous No.19976414]

>>19976371
>Dying to hear a comparison of the Xiao Fa vs. the Xiao Fa blue label
Will do. Curious to see if the anniversary edition is also different.
>Makes me a little nervous. Difficult, could be scammy, could be fakes. All sorts of alarms in my head.
It's not that scary. You can check some stuff to make sure: the age of the store, the rating, the number of cakes sold and most importantly the reviews. I like that many chinese like to add photos and videos to their reviews.

[Anonymous No.19976513]

>>19969787
I also call my gf's(male) piss tea

[Anonymous No.19976833]

You know what, my first order hasn't even arrived but I want more.

[Anonymous No.19976866]

>>19976833
your first serious tea order? welcome to the addiction
but do pace yourself and wait for another sale. 2kg is a fair amount of tea to work through

[Anonymous No.19976869]

>The order got stuck AGAIN
I'm sick of this shit.
All of Shanghai can go fuck themselves.

[Anonymous No.19976885]

>>19976869
Stop checking. It's much easier to wait it out when you aren't obsessing over it.

[Anonymous No.19976890]

>>19976869
I think the exchange station/bureau is sick of getting my package returned so now its just sitting in the corner :(
>2023-11-27 09:54Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Station] Return
>2023-11-27 15:50 Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Bureau] return, note: return through security inspection
>2023-11-29 11:44 Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Station] Return
>2023-11-29 23:12 Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Bureau] return, note: return through security inspection
>2023-12-03 14:09 Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Station] Return
>2023-12-03 22:17 Guangzhou City, [Guangzhou International Exchange Bureau] return, note: return through security inspection
>2023-12-04 03:25 Guangzhou City, the mail has left [Guangzhou International Exchange Bureau] and is being sent to [Guangzhou International Exchange Station]

[Anonymous No.19976897]

Drank some 2015 naka that I got from a LP beginner pack last year. A lot less green and somewhat less floral and bitter than young naka but also sweeter and more well rounded. Good stuff.

[Anonymous No.19976914]

>>19974066
What’s the problem with pic rel? I get that it’s not useful to the tea autism sufferers itt but imagine you’re a new drinker who got some white2tea because it’s shilled constantly on Reddit or whatever, a guide could be very useful, especially the gongfu instructions.

[Anonymous No.19976918]

>>19976897
Nice. I'm waiting for dat CSH Naka brick myself. Hoping for an intense experience but without really nasty long-lasting bitterness.
However, it's looking like the Snoozefest will get here first, maybe even tomorrow. I'm also excited to see if it's worth the hype a great value tea.

[Anonymous No.19976920]

If I steep my shou at 95°C instead of 100°C, will that decrease the quality?

[Anonymous No.19976924]

>>19976920
just looked up the elevation of pu'er and water boils at 95.5°C there

[Anonymous No.19976937]

>>19976914
I'm just memeing on the w2t/kuura disparity from a few anons.
>White2tea is way too hipster for me with their wrappers and 200g cakes I just can't order from them I'm going to check out kuraa instead
Meanwhile kuura is also selling 200g cakes and mailing out posters that tell you to brew everything at boiling, abolish hierarchies, and to love everything.

[Anonymous No.19976954]

dubs and i brew the ripe puer that had bugs on it last summer

[Anonymous No.19976960]

>>19976937
I mean, brewing everything at boiling is pretty based advice. As a newbie I kept seeing suggested temperatures like 95 or 90 degrees for random shit like oolongs and white teas. It's good advice to generally brew shit at boiling when you're starting out.

[Anonymous No.19976967]

>>19976954
Do it. Which ripe was it?
The 12$ Fuhai cake is probably the best value ripe I got so far btw. Brews up stronger than 9978 and had a Dayi like flavor with a hint of forest floor / old wood added to spice it up. The 7572 and 6ftm to are good too.
No bugs on mine.

[Anonymous No.19976996]

>>19976954
Gonna jump on this train. Dubs and I get out of bed and brew some 2010 Welcome Spring from Liquid Proust.

[Anonymous No.19977001]

>>19976920
It's all preference. I like lighter infusions of most things (even shou) because I find I capture aromas more clearly that way, and prefer a lighter texture. Don't take temps/duration notes as dogma, but as general starting points for deciding your own preferences/methods.
>>19976954
Rolling to push anon to try his bug tea and post pics.

[Anonymous No.19977025]

>>19976967
w2t 2022 camphornought, pretty sad it got bugs on it because it was really tasty
just opened the box the cake was in and no living bugs so i might consider brewing it in the future but them being dead in the cake dosent make it sound much nicer...
i find it a little funny though since the ripe piles in the factory are probably filled with bugs and other shit but when its in cake form and i dont see the bugs im fine drinking it

[Anonymous No.19977037]

>>19976954
I've been drinking it the whole time kek.

[Anonymous No.19977073]

>>19977025

[Anonymous No.19977093]

>>19977025
I ate some oatmeal with live bugs in it recently. only found out when I ate most of the bowl already, went to do something, came back and saw them crawling out of the bowl.
I think tea bugs would not freak me out as much

[Anonymous No.19977106]

>>19977093
Were they little red ones?

[Anonymous No.19977151]

Can you rate different tea manufacturers or is it that each does their own thing?
Dayi, xiaguan, lao tong zhi, mengku rongshi....
It's all the same, packet in the same white wrapper.
The description is usually missing or generic enough to not give you much of an idea.
It's always some blend.
Reviews are non existent.

[Anonymous No.19977195]

>>19977151
Laotongzhi >>> Dayi

[Anonymous No.19977214]

>>19977151
you can't really rate them
out of those, mengku rongshi tends to focus on more premium productions using a lot of material from the mengku region. so if you like that region and want slightly upmarket tea, that's what they do
xiaguan presses a lot of tuos and "iron cakes", so things with heavy compression. many of their teas are known for a characteristically smoky, intense flavor, but that's not all they do. they tend to use more northern material
Dayi is the most famous factory. their ripe is considered the standard by which all other ripe is judged. they're sort of the coca cola of pu-erh in a way. their raws vary from fairly cheap to very expensive and prices are subject to market speculation with some tea being overpriced because it's popular with investors. they tend to use a lot of Menghai area material
lao tong zhi is a lot like Dayi, but with less speculation and, usually, lower prices. their ripe is especially popular

as for the teas, you can find good reviews for some of them, just not on the sites they're sold at. and when you try a recipe once, you'll know what to expect from it in the future

[Anonymous No.19977236]

>>19977214
Could I get tldr on regions?
Yiwu vs menghai etc?
I'm lost looking at the by region selection on KTM

[Anonymous No.19977248]

>>19975988
Yeah those were nice, i wouldn't mind grabbing a few more with my next order. Very distinct aged tea flavor.

[Anonymous No.19977251]

>>19976054
Chopped licorice root and black tea is probably pretty good. Green tea and lemon balm would probably work well

[Anonymous No.19977255]

>>19976086
Lol those 80s bricks looking sus, otherwise looks good, im pretty sure i had the 20th anniversary version of that cnnp ripe brick and it was pretty nice, lighter on the fermentation.

[Anonymous No.19977266]

>>19976371
>Difficult, could be scammy, could be fakes. All sorts of alarms in my head.
You can get a pretty good feel for a while about what gets faked and what doesn't, old famous cakes get faked, modern dayi cakes get faked. But random mid tier modern xiaguan productions? Probably don't get faked, not worth the effort.

[Anonymous No.19977273]

>>19976413
Awesome thanks for trying that shop out, it seems like vietnam is making some nice teas these days.
I really want to try one of their fishook greens, sounds like its some potent stuff

[Anonymous No.19977276]

>>19976937
>that tell you to brew everything at boiling
I just don't bother drinking tea that can't stand up to boiling water

[Anonymous No.19977284]

>>19977236
The very short and incomplete version
Yiwu, soft and contemplative "straw/hay flavor" but in a good way
Menghai, potent burly
Jingmai, floral
Mengku/lincang, fruity with sometimes some bitter kick
Bulang, strong upfront bitterness in good examples it changes to long lasting sweetness.

[Anonymous No.19977288]

>>19977236
Yiwu is sweet, more delicate, lower bitterness
Menghai is more intense and bitter on average
These are broad stereotypes for large regions and not all teas from the region will conform to them. Menghai especially is a big-ass region with a good degree of variation

[Anonymous No.19977305]

Anyone have the factory histories from that book saved?

[Anonymous No.19977335]

>>19977273
I’m not usually a green tea drinker but the company did send me a green tea sample along with the rest of everything, I’ll drink that tomorrow and let you know how it is. For exactly 100 dollars I got 3 25g black tea samples, 1 25g green, 1 25g moonlight white, 1 25g oolong, 2 25g ripe, 5 25g raw, 10g of huangpian, and a 100g chunk of white cake. Works out to about 25 cents a gram which isn’t too bad considering every tea is around 15- 35 cents a gram in bulk. Overall I think the format is cool, mystery sampler is very fun, although it would be more unpredictable (and more fun for me) for a store like YS with a huge catalogue. I am intentionally refraining from looking at the tasting notes to keep it exciting.

[Anonymous No.19977383]

>>19977335
Nice, 25¢ a g is pretty reasonable for premium teas. I will be keeping an eye out for your notes on some of the other teas.
Im excited that a /tea/ is exploring a new region.

[Anonymous No.19977401]

>>19976890
>>19976869
My package took 5 days for the airplane to leave the country it's going great!

[Anonymous No.19977654]

>>19977305
this one?

[Anonymous No.19977661]

>>19977654

[Anonymous No.19977672]

Potentially a bit off topic, but I got a wooden tea tray in the mail today and the thing has an insanely strong smell of glue on it. Was wondering if this is just a manufacturing thing with cheaper trays and if the smell can be taken off, or if the tray is just fucked. I've tried scrubbing it with soap and also soaking it in a bath of boiling water and vinegar but the smell is still there.

[Anonymous No.19977795]

>>19977654
>>19977661
Yeah thats the one. tyty. Good newfriend info.

[Anonymous No.19978063]

>>19977672
Haven't experienced that with a tea tray but my general experience with cheep Chinese stuff that smells is that you should be able to put it in a sunny window for a few days and the smell should get better. If after a week or so it still reaks then i dunno i might just be fucked.
They probably package it immediately after gluing so it might just be residual odors from the adhesive. It's also possible that whatever glue they used just reaks and it will keep stinking for a while.
Sorry anon that's annoying to deal with.

[Anonymous No.19978310]

The brit tea ans tisane sister are totally pwn'ing us puer lesbians!!! https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/comments/18c8x44/trash_pieces_in_puer_cake/
They're going to be calling us trash drinkers from now on!

[Anonymous No.19978354]

>>19978310
Why should I or anyone here care what normalfags on R*ddit think or say? That said, I don't even buy from YS, so I double-don't-care. Also,
>All these plebs complaining about free treasures
>Not just infusing it anyway like a Chad
Tsk.

[Anonymous No.19978365]

>>19978310
>That is NOT normal. I mean ive only bought cakes from white2tea and so far only opened like 2-3 of them but

[Anonymous No.19978486]

>>19978310
The cake in question. Reddit being drama queens as usual. I'm pretty sure an anon here had a cake that had a carton's worth of used cigarette butts in it and he still drank it.

[Anonymous No.19978497]

>>19978486
I unironically would still drink it.

[Anonymous No.19978502]

>>19978310
>Don't recommend KTM because it's a gamble what kind of storage you'll get
>Don't recommend YS because you'll get trash and bad customer service
That subreddit might as well change it's name to white2tea.
>>19977255
There were several vendors with sussy looking old teas like that. I couldn't help myself, it's somewthing about these that intrigue my adventurous soul.

[Anonymous No.19978515]

>>19978502
>sussy looking old teas like that.
Sometimes they are actually ok teas even if mislabeled. Just don't ever overpay for sus tea.

[Anonymous No.19978630]

>>19978486
>String does nothing
>Twigs are basically just flavor at best and dead weight at worst
>Plastic is easily visible most of the time and removed, and probably from the original container anyway
>Sunflower seeds are the same as twigs
Big nothing. Sad thing is he might listen to the retards on there and not drink it. He's fortunate he didn't get cigs, floor tiling (I have), or teeth/bones.

[Anonymous No.19978639]

Confirmed that the black Magda glaze is muting my tea. Spent a couple of minutes licking my gaiwan and cup just to find my tongue really parched and with an earthen stoneware taste. Should've noticed it when the water started absorbing into it at first. Reserving it for my shu.

[Anonymous No.19978730]

>>19978639
We got people in here licking their gaiwans now
Thats a wild looking glaze i like it

[Anonymous No.19978734]

>>19978639
Looks nice tho :(

[Anonymous No.19978759]

>>19977672
mine had a similar smell when it arrived, i put it in a container with baking soda on the tray and left it like that for 1 or 2 weeks and the smell went away

[Anonymous No.19978765]

>>19978502
I wouldn't recommend either for much simpler reason.
They will absolutely scam you on shipping.
>j-just make big orders
Fuck that. They still will charge you $30+ which is still at least 10%.

[Anonymous No.19978835]

>>19978734
>>19978730
>>19978639
It actually makes puerh really muted. idk whether to season it or just keep it as an ornamental piece. ..

[Anonymous No.19978911]

>>19972489
Had Autumn Bridge again yesterday. Not much of a high, seems like Shan Cha does all the heavy lifting. Not sure whether I would pay 85 bucks for that brick again.

[Anonymous No.19978934]

>>19976353
If you also got the Dong Guo we ordered exactly the same.

[Anonymous No.19978953]

lol what do you think will end up happening

[Anonymous No.19978958]

I consoooomed too hard and bought more tea than I can drink in a reasonable timeframe. Is there an anon who wants a boatload of tea for free to help lighten my stash? Preferably US based but might be willing to ship international.

[Anonymous No.19978962]

least unhinged youtuber
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkCvvIjnrU

[Anonymous No.19978966]

>>19978765
You’ve obviously never had to ship anything internationally. I order a package with 300 g of tea, and a higher true weight, and it costs me 17 USD to ship. That is exactly in line with Epacket fees. Additionally, if you’re on YS just to buy Xiaguan products or whatever you’re just paying Scott to buy that product, ship it to Kunming, and then ship it back to Guangdong, and expecting it to be cheaper. Ridiculous.

[Anonymous No.19978974]

>>19978953
consider finding one with a deeper basket so you're not forced to brew minimum 1L each time, i dont really see anything wrong with it so long as the basket isnt plastic or anything
remember than china is has a pop of 1 billion and everyone there drinks tea, thats why generic mass produced teaware is so cheap

[Anonymous No.19979002]

>>19978063
Going to second this suggestion. Most glues have a secondary hardening and curing process that can last a long time. Exposure to warm & hot air can speed the process up, but a freshly glued and assembled piece can be as long as several months for the glues to reach their "final form". Source: past wood faggotry. Also, lots of light exposure can change the wood color

[Anonymous No.19979074]

Look what the cat dragged in...

[Anonymous No.19979109]

>>19979074
They mad? I'M mad. Enjoy pal.

[Anonymous No.19979110]

>>19979074
nice. i got a sample of that 941 as well but wasn't sure how i felt about it with just one session. what's that other sample there?

[Anonymous No.19979118]

>>19979110
>wasn't sure how i felt about it with just one session
yeah I find a single serving is not enough for me to make up my mind too
the other sample is Veldt. don't really know what I should expect from that one, the description is very generic and I didn't find any reviews

[Anonymous No.19979184]

>>19979118
>yeah I find a single serving is not enough for me to make up my mind too
I kinda like the FL approach.
Their samples might not be the best value, but 20g is like 3-4 sessions which should give you an idea of what the given tea is about.

[Anonymous No.19979246]

>>19979074
brewing up some of the Lumber Slut for some quick and dirty first impressions. it definitely has a bit of that forest floor / dirty wood vibe, maybe even a hint of beetroot. but also combined with some really nice vanilla and rich creaminess with a surprisingly strong sweetness. aftertaste seems above-average
overall, it reminds me a bit of the cheapo Fuhai 7576 I got from Awazon, like a Dayi but with the extra forest floor funk. leaves look really different though. despite the edgy marketing, I wouldn't say this is all that inaccessible, it's far from some dirty wet-stored liu bao or something

[Anonymous No.19979253]

>>19979246
I got a smoky but not peated scotch like a Cragganmore out of it. Tastes like a dry attic room in an old house. Not bad but it'll take the whole cake before I get a more complete impression.

[Anonymous No.19979268]

>>19979253
yeah I also prefer to only judge a ripe after I had a significant amount of it already. the differences between them can be small enough that it's difficult to judge which one I prefer unless I get lots of reps in

[Anonymous No.19979498]

>>19978958
Sussy anon.

[Anonymous No.19979573]

>>19978958
What kind of tea? I would be down if the tea interests me. I am located in US and if you want you can email me at:
between1refresh (put the AT symbol in) proton.me
I will be away for a bit but will check back later. Thanks anon.

[Anonymous No.19979776]

Is buying bottled water for my tea worth it or is using a Brita pitcher good enough?

[Anonymous No.19979781]

>>19979776
>buying (((bottled water))) for anything other than water outages
A Brita pitcher should be fine.

[Anonymous No.19979786]

>>19979253
I wonder if it tastes more rowdy when fresh. The one I just received is from 2021.

[Anonymous No.19979848]

>>19969919
I get gifted about 30-50k USD in tea each year. I have an entire cabinet of white tea thats 6-10 years old rn, its unironically an asset and its beaten inflation by a lot hahah. Im trying to dial back my wild red tea consumption because im running too low for my liking.

[Anonymous No.19979860]

>>19973803
Awwwww that bing is adorable asdfghjkl

[Anonymous No.19979861]

>>19979848
>I get gifted about 30-50k USD in tea each year
Wtf?
Where do you store it? Warehouse? How did you get into this position?

[Anonymous No.19979870]

>>19979848
>I get gifted about 30-50k USD in tea each year

[Anonymous No.19979900]

>>19979848
we got CPC officials posting in here

[Anonymous No.19979919]

>>19979861
Just a normal cabinets anon. Its expensive stuff so it doesnt take much space.
> How did you get into this position?
Being honest idk but im fortunate to be in my position, im just a kawaii white boy who likes tea and when i went to china everyone wanted to get my approval, its a status thing for them. Usually its politicans and business people who gift me stuff. In june i got some green tea that was worth 1k per gram, i didnt even like it lmfao.
>>19979900
I get it from them but am not one of them

[Anonymous No.19979927]

>>19979848
Kek, people don't understand what it's like to work with Chinese. I drink Moutai like it's water because people keep giving it to my father, I've mentioned trying to drop hints that he'd like tea instead but it hasn't worked so far.

[Anonymous No.19979928]

>>19979919
Damn, someday I will have to visit China.
Yunnan mountains seems cool, just don't want to get kidnapped, or die due to questionable cuisine.

What's the return on cakes anyway? Does it beat inflation?

[Anonymous No.19979942]

>>19979919
Don’t you have to return the gift? Obviously I have a very western mindset about this, if someone got me something really expensive I would refuse to take it because I couldn’t reciprocate. But then again when I got birthday presents my old man used to brag about the sales he managed to find on them.

[Anonymous No.19979977]

>>19979927
>I drink Moutai like it's water
:') the parties favorite. Your father must be connected with some corrupt people hahaha.

>>19979928
I can sell aged white tea for 10x easily but i got its a gift so it doesnt sit right with me selling it. Fucking yunnan wild red tea is shit, you have to try.

>>19979942
I give them my time and + its a status symbol in their network so they get their value. Some of them just want an indepth conversation with a westerner, some middle aged women just want a fantasy experience. Ive never felt like there was an inbalance.

[Anonymous No.19980024]

>>19979977
I have some EoT wild red, it's breddy gud.

[Anonymous No.19980070]

Yo, I drink boiled ginger and turmeric tea daily. What's another spice or herb I can add to take this to the next level? I've tried chamomile, lavender, peach flowers, chrysanthemum, mint, peppercorns, and green tea, but none of them really go that well. I wonder if there's another Chinese root or Indian spice that I can stick in there.

[Anonymous No.19980128]

>>19980070
Thyme?

[Anonymous No.19980136]

>>19979927
>>19979848
The downside to this is you have to fly to China and interact with Chinese people

[Anonymous No.19980152]

>>19980070
That's a pretty great combo already.
Try lemongrass
Or if you are really bold a little bit of horseradish
American ginseng could also be a good addition, you can buy a small tub of ginseng slices or the small side roots pretty cheaply directly from a bunch of the Wisconsin ginseng farms.
You shoud also look up a recipie for fire cider for the winter. Basically you dice garlic, onion horseradish, and macerate it in apple cider vinegar with a few pinches of cayenne pepper, leave it in in a cabinet or the fridge for a month or so then strain out all the plant matter and add a bit on honey to taste. Then you just drink a spoonful or a shot after meals, its great for colds and i enjoy the taste quite a bit personally.

[Anonymous No.19980192]

Threadly Reminder
King Tea Mall's prices for a lot of xiguan and dayi stuff are too damn high. They used to be much much cheaper. Im not saying don't buy those teas from them, and many are at market price, but at the same time don't use KTM prices as a reference for cheap prices or current market values. The place where king tea mall currently shines in the value department are random semi aged shengs from the other category.
I still like KTM but they used to be dirt cheap and now many of their prices are just okay and some teas are quite overpriced. Always try to reference prices at other vendors if possible to get a feel for the market. It's also time for /tea/ to start embracing taobao.
I still buy more tea from ktm then anywhere else but it's something to be aware of.

[Anonymous No.19980205]

>>19980192
KTM just has the best selection, and they don't do the idioticaly highly yearly markup that YS has

[Anonymous No.19980214]

>>19980192
If the other anon has good experience and writes basic guide what to look for, I'm ready to pull the trigger on this >>19976225
I want those xiaguan cakes.

[Anonymous No.19980226]

>>19980128
>>19980152
Lemongrass and thyme, both smart. Gonna try these ideas today. Thanks

Oh another thing I've done that was good is adding onions and boiling it all in bone broth, but that is basically getting into soup territory rather than tea.

[Anonymous No.19980266]

>>19980226
I make a thyme, ginger and peppermint tea (lung health). Just kinda figured the thyme would pair well with the ginger.

[Anonymous No.19980274]

Where to go for cheap tea?

[Anonymous No.19980279]

>>19980274
You're local Chinese supermarket

[Anonymous No.19980298]

>>19980279
Don't have one

[Anonymous No.19980374]

>>19980274
https://www.amazon.com/Xiamen-Sea-Dyke-Roasted-TIKUANYIN/dp/B07QQ3XV5D/

[Anonymous No.19980450]

>>19979776
I use bottled spring water for the good stuff. A Brita filter is fine for a few days to a week.

[Anonymous No.19980483]

doing a cheeky lil order before the holidays. trying out some new cakes, never had a factory ripe before too, but ive heard nothing but good things about them so Im excited

[Anonymous No.19980488]

>>19979919
Wait a moment.
Are you a male prostitute?

[Anonymous No.19980490]

>>19980483
Based enjoy that mengku cake
The specific one i had was the 2020 version but im guessing the 2019 will be up to the same standards

[Anonymous No.19980572]

As promised I tried the ‘Lau Chai Deep Forest Green’ from Viet Sun today. I was once again quite happy with the tea. No bitterness or astringency at all. At the beginning the tea displayed very good mouthfeel and sweetness, with herb-like flavours (I really don’t know how to describe it, I’m not a green tea guy). Surprisingly it wasn’t vegetal at all. The mouthfeel and sweetness diminished near the end, instead there was a mellow fruit flavour and a tobacco-like flavour, it was very much like drinking maocha at that point, except gentler. Leaf quality appeared very good as well with nice full leaves - very little breakage. I think it’s a pretty good tea but I am not an expert on green teas.

[Anonymous No.19980580]

https://us.palaisdesthes.com/en_us/tea-from-around-the-world-advent-calendar-z506n22.html
This sounds like a jolly old time, but it's already a week into December.

[Anonymous No.19980642]

>>19980572
Sounds good, thanks for posting notes on these teas. Sounds pretty good to me, i tend to enjoy greens on the les vegetal side. Hopefully it inspires some more posters to try Vietnamese teas. It would be really interesting for one of our Japanese green drinkers to try a few Vietnamese greens and see how they differ.

[Anonymous No.19980650]

>>19978958
>Half Life tea
I'm curious, what did you end up buying that your stash got overfilled? Anyway, I'd be interested in it if you're trying to lighten your stash. I enjoy trying new teas and writing about them. You can reach me at [e-mail] if you're open to discussing this further.
>>19980483
KTM, right? I know it's one of the cheaper items in your cart, but that liu bao looks mighty tasty.
>>19979074
Wow, it already arrived? You just posted about it the other day. I think the Snoozefests I bought barely left a day or two ago. Though, I haven't bought tea from W2T before, so I've no idea what their shipping times are like.
>>19979848
Quite fortunate. Would you be open to showing a picture or two? I wonder what a stash of that calibre would look like. I can only imagine how your sessions turn out. Does a favorite come to mind?
>>19980274
Many people like Fullchea for cheaper offerings. If you want something a bit better, you could get a cheap cake and some red tea from Farmer Leaf since the shipping minimum is low. The last sale just ended, but maybe he'll have one for Winter/Christmas too.

[Anonymous No.19980780]

>>19980488
KEK nah but ngl if crypto doesnt do well i might become one. Rich middle aged chinese women drool over younger white men.

[Anonymous No.19980793]

>>19980780
Post some tea anon, want to see what you got.

[Anonymous No.19980843]

>>19980793
Small section of what i have where im at rn, file size limit of 4mb kinda fucks me a bit here. Fyi i cant read chinese so youre shit out of luck if you want more info kek. Im having the silver and orange packet rn, red tea, gud shit. The larger box is full of that white tea, its expensive as hell but kinda meh. Got some tibetan pu er that i havent tried yet, i dunno what the packets are at the front, i got them recently. Apparently the pu er in the center is top notch shit but im kinda turned off by pu er for a while. Yeah, not a bad collection considering its all gifts.

[Anonymous No.19980865]

>>19980843
Man the chinamen go hard on their gift packaging

[Anonymous No.19980888]

>>19980843
>All this primo-looking packaging and whole-looking material
>"Small section"
Damn. What's that "JINYUNSHANLU" stuff?

[Anonymous No.19980909]

>>19980888
Checked. I have an entire column of white tea disks from 2016 but its a motherfucker put it back in the cabinet kek.
> JINYUNSHANLU
No clue but ill ask, i think green tea? Ill let you know when i find out.

[Anonymous No.19981268]

>>19980888
Yeah its a brand. I dunno whats inside tho. Might try later.

[Anonymous No.19981279]

>>19980843
>i will never be the tea gigolo

[Anonymous No.19981443]

>>19980780
>ngl if crypto doesnt do well i might become one
If I made my life choices based on my portfolio performance I would have been plowing old ladies long time ago

[Anonymous No.19981615]

new thread
>>19981614
>>19981614
>>19981614