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/ck/ - Food & Cooking

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4965948 No.4965948[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Hello /ck/,

I'm a first time poster (I hail from /k/ and my cooking experience is limited to steak and Ramen), and I would like to know more about tea.
Everything tea, really. The best ways to prepare it (from what I understand tea bags are somewhat frowned upon?), what's in your opinion among the best teas, the "culture" behind it maybe, all of that.
So if anyone of you would be nice enough to educate me or just send me over to a website that can, I'd be most happy.

Thanks in advance,
Anon

>> No.4965957
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4965957

Anyone itt know of any good loose Oolong tea?

>> No.4965964

>>4965957
OP here,
I don't think there's anyone ITT.

>> No.4965966

>>4965948
Before I help, I need you to answer a couple questions. First, to what degree of doneness do you cook your steaks? Second, what sauces do you use with it?

>> No.4965977

>>4965966
I like my steak blue/rare normally, and if I use any sauce it's Sauce béarnaise.
Is that just board culture?

>> No.4965987
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4965987

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/information.asp

and obviously the tea page on wikipedia.

there are shit tons of different kinds of tea out there. upton, my personal favorite online retailer, will ship out samples of any and everything from meh quality to TGFOP1. if you have a 16 oz + pyrex measuring cup, a small plate, and a very fine mesh strainer just lying around then you can hold off on the teapot purchase until you're ready. don't microwave your water. boil it on the stove. something about pockets of cool spots in the water affecting flavor.

in terms of "best ways to prepare" you'll receive steeping instructions with anything you order online. if you're in a brick and mortar store then don't forget to ask. failing that you can always reference the internet. frankly, i prefer to experiment with steep times, decanting every thirty seconds until i find a time that works for me. also don't disregard water temperature. it's pretty important.

there is no "best" tea. that is a highly personal thing that's going to vary considerably from person to person. also, there are so many teas in the world that you may never find the ultimate best thing for your palette. for me it's the journey that's important.

welcome to tea. have fun.

>> No.4965991

>>4965977
>Is that just board culture?

>>4965966 is just being a dick. if you like your steak well done i will think you're a faggot, but what's important is what YOU like.

>> No.4965996

>>4965987
That's very helpful, thank you kindly.

>>4965991
>if you like your steak well done he will think you're a faggot
Yeah kind of thought it'd be something like that, 4channers are the same on every board.

>> No.4966047

Well I guess that's it, thanks to the posters, I'll always remember my /ck/ vacation.

>> No.4966113

wellcome. put some sunglsses on, some earplugs in, and a filter. people on ck tend to be nice, some times visious, and kant spell ( emanuel kant or casting spells or speals. or squeals of laughter I forget) most on this board ain't got much(wisdom) but occasionally try to impart( give) and 'member, not evvverone everyone, er'body ( damit had it right the second thyime) just funky froends. I did ger banned 'ce apon a time. but for espousing too much poloitical, racial, sexual thiings. ir spam. of the electronc variety. actually real spam is not bad, ya... see. not bad. if i hadsaid it with intent, i think that willl get you banned. and try and stay on topic a bit. everyone drifts, but at least mention food, casually dont think the mods are strict but cp( not chesse or cheappizza)would get a pema ban. and realize it is a sfw safe for work board. including kids. need not be sesame street, but not xxx. i come to learn and laugh. corect me if wrong aside from the obvious misspellings.

>> No.4967655

>>4965948
>can cook ramen

Yup. You should fit right in here at /ck.

>> No.4967741

The basics that really helped me out when I first started drinking tea:

Tea is basically broken down like this, depending on how the tea leaf is processed:
http://theteaspot.com/about-tea.html
(Whites, greens, blacks, oolongs, pu'erh, etc.)

They are also then broken down by where the tea leaves were grown. Where they are grown has a huge impact on taste, as the soil, weather and even water used to grow it will vary the taste.

Each kind of tea should be brewed at its correct temperature. For example, water that is too hot will make green teas bitter, while yerba mate or pau d'arco should be as hot as you can get it.

The health benefits/risks of over consumption will vary with each tea. Research specific types for more information.

You'll learn the most by just starting to drink it. Of course, you can buy tea that comes ready to steep in the bag, or you can buy loose leaf tea. In my opinion, loose leaf tastes better (but you'll need a steeper of some kind).

So...yeah...go drink some tea.

>> No.4967801

>>4965948
Ave Nex Alea

>> No.4967957

>>4967741

Yerba mate should NOT be brewed with full boiling water. Are you talking about mate cocido, maybe?

>> No.4968361

>>4967957

Granted I am not a brown person living in second string spanish speaking America, but the yerba mate I have procured from well established tea retailers has always come with instructions to use 100 degrees C water. So yeah, if you're authenticity police please go.

>> No.4968388

>>4968361
I have some yerba mate from South America and nothing on the packages say to use boiling water. They all suggest 65-70C. I've used boiling water on yerba mate before and it tasted mediocre. Who are these "well established tea retailers" btw?

>> No.4968411

>>4968361

There are a lot of people from the Southern Cone of South America who are very much not brown. I was told by Argentines I interacted with that full boiling water is too hot; that it will make the mate too bitter. This has also been my experience when making mate. If you prefer it more bitter that is fine, but to imply the normal method is to use water 'as hot as you can get it' is not accurate. Granted, I do not know the traditions in Southern Brazil, Paraguay, or Uruguay, so I cannot speak accurately to them.

I mostly am interested in if you are using 'bagged' mate or if you are using a mate gourd and bombilla.

>> No.4968459

>>4965957
There's a lot of different oolongs. Tie Guan Yin, Wuyi, etc. Also the standard blended oolong.

>> No.4968461

>>4965987
people microwave water ever?

>> No.4968469

>>4968461
My microwave can boil a cup of water a hell of a lot faster than my shitty stove can

>> No.4968478

>>4968469
man I just use a kettle if I need hot water for a drink

>> No.4968474

>>4968469
Have you tried using an electric kettle?

>> No.4968497

>>4968474
Actually I'm planning on buying one, but only because they're so cheap. Contrary to what that guy says, boiled water is boiled water, it doesn't matter how you make it.
>>4968478
You say "just use" like it's somehow simpler than putting water in a cup and putting it in the microwave. Simplicity wise they're the same, but obviously a kettle has certain advantages depending on what you're drinking and how you make it.

>> No.4968508

Anyone else in this thread like Harney & Sons?

>> No.4968556

>>4968508
I have their Formosa Oolong and Organic Darjeeling, but haven't tried anything else. Stopped buying H&S for a while because my roommate would drink it all.

>> No.4968696

>>4965987
Too expensive for me.

>> No.4968708

>>4968696
fucking pleb. If you can't afford a menghai 7572 cake from 1960 get off the board

>> No.4968714

Are kettles not very common in the US or something? I can't remember ever seeing a household without a kettle...

>> No.4968727

>>4968714
Tea is not very common in the US at all.

>> No.4968737

>>4968714
Probably depends a lot on the generation. The average young and fresh out of college type of guy probably won't have one, but his mother and grandmother will. If you have one you'll have one for life since they basically never break, but it isn't something a lot of people will go out and buy if they don't have one. There's just too many other ways of making water hot, plus a lot of people have electric drip coffee makers for coffee, make tea in a cup rather than a big batch, etc.

>> No.4968749

>>4968727
How about coffee?

>>4968737
>they basically never break
God I wish that was true, I'm so sick of lids fucking up on my kettles

>> No.4968752

>>4968749
Coffee is extremely popular, but I'd say that making coffee at home is on the decline. A lot of people go out for coffee these days, or make it when they get to work or something.

>> No.4968757

>>4968714
I'm an Americunt and I have a wonderful whistling copper kettle, it's just about priceless to me.

>> No.4968761

>>4968749
Yeah, America runs on coffee.

>>4968752
Some of my friends swear by the K-cup thing. But most of them buy French presses and then never use them.

>> No.4968768

>>4968761
I've gone through three french presses and I've managed to break every one of them. I just stick to paper filters and a funnel these days, there's no mess, no sludge, it's quick and it makes better tasting coffee than anything I can get outside.

I still drink so much more tea though.

>> No.4968780

>>4968768
How do you break a french press
I've managed to lose and replace the stopper three times over five years, but never broken it.
I might lose sleep over this

>> No.4968788
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4968788

>>4968780
Two of them were had glass beakers, I'm a klutz and I managed to throw them across the kitchen whilst trying to take them apart to clean them, the third was made of plastic but was cheap and the stopper just kind of broke apart after a few months of use.

>> No.4968867
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4968867

>>4965948

The are two main types of tea.

There's the traditional definition of Tea which comes from the Camellia Sinensis plant (White, Green, Oolong, & Black)

Then there's Tisane which is classified as "herbal tea". Which pretty much means anything plant based.

Most people just call all of it Tea because it's all pretty much the same thing ---- putting dried plant matter into water for a beverage.

The Tea Elitists out there will argue about this because they highly consider Tea to only be reserved for the Camellia plant.

>> No.4968874

>>4968867
It's you again
And still no one wants your boiled dirt and still no one gives a shit about expanding the definition of tea

>> No.4968877

>>4968867

I do like the idea of tisanes in general. I had a Morrowind mod that used the term extensively. Reminds me of alchemy in general.

>> No.4968887
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4968887

>>4968874

It's not my fault the British at the time were only aware of one type of plant to call Tea.

Times have changed during the past few centuries. The variety has expanded immensely.

>> No.4968908

>>4968887
Sorry but I just don't understand how someone can be so fervent about something so stupid. Why are you trying to convert people to your hippie "anything can be tea if you want it to be" world?

>> No.4968935

>>4968908
stupid westerner who dislikes "elitist" culture

>> No.4968980
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4968980

>>4968874

>> No.4968988

what are some good places to buy tea in canada?
online or brick+mortar

>> No.4969011

>>4968988
camellia-sinensis tea house if you're in monreal is good, they also have an online store with a good, varied selection

You should always be skeptical when buying online but there are a good amount of well established online general shops, like adagio, and specialized shops, like jingteateashop, yunnansourcing, norbutea, mountaintea, etc.

>> No.4969060

>>4968988
brick and mortal will of course depend on what city you live in, but avoid DavesTea at all costs. they're basically Starbucks.

>> No.4969068

>>4969060
I don't know if teavana is thing in Canada, but avoid them. They actually are owned by starbucks

>> No.4970640

>>4965948

It basically goes:

90 for black
80 for oolong and jasmin teas
70 for general green and white teas

Taiwanese teas tend towards the sweet, Japanese towards the fresh with a hint of cut grass, Chinese are.. I dunno, to me they're baseline, but the ones I had usually aren't as sweet as the Taiwanese ones... and the Koreans I had showed a pretty good blend between chinese and japanese aromas.

>> No.4972428

Green tea is superior to black tea inasmuch as it has a relative absence of mouse droppings.

>> No.4972501

^^^ White tea is superior because it's picked in the spring time when the plant is just riping.

>> No.4972503

>>4972501
learn how to quote a post.

>> No.4973686

How do you know if the tea you're buying is shit or the good stuff?