/jp/ - Otaku Culture

>>8938875
ｷﾀ━━━━━━━━m9( ﾟ∀ﾟ)━━━━━━━━!!

I bought some Tieluohan recently, while out shopping in Chinatown. It's a fairly unusual type of oolong tea.

<delorean> resbond blease

>My general parameter for green tea is 5 grams of tea, 250-300ml of tap water
Is 5 grams about a teaspoon worth? I don't have anything to measure with, but I have a 1000~ ml teapot and generally just use 2 teaspoons of tea leaves.

Non-Direction !Laser = ticks?

>>8938960

It depends on the type of tea. For sencha, 5 grams is usually a teaspoon. If you can, get a tea or small kitchen scale.

>>8938929

What does it taste like? I've never tried it before.

>>8938983

No. It's Heian_Delorean.

I have some 竹叶青 zhuyeqing tea from Sichuan my uncle brought back from Shanghai. The company is 上海甘醇茶 (业有限公司).
I’m halfway through… ever heard of the company?
I’m wondering if it’s maybe pleb quality. I guess I like it, but I’m no tea expert. Although I’d like to buy good teas more.

The picture attached is of bad quality, I apologise.

>>8939056

>>8939006

I would describe Tieluohan as being very smokey or earthy yet at the same time it has a strong floral idiosyncrasy - almost resembling lemon grass. It's sweet, but robust.

Two pointless requests:
1. Rename the Q&A to FAQ.
2. Add more links.

Why is it so tohnochan in here?

>Q: What about English tea?

As part of the portuguese nation, which introduced tea in England, I feel very insulted.

>>8939056
>>8939069

I have no clue, sorry.

>>8939088

What do you mean by more links?

>>8939153
Well one thing that’s sure is that the tea I have is already pretty old and has oxidated (see the picture of the tea being reddish rather than green). I like it still, but then again I am not a tea expert.

What kind of thermometer do you guys use to take the water temperature? Is it worth buying one of those laser ones? Until now, I've usually just heated the water in the kettle and then turned it off a little before the boiling point since I don't have a thermometer.

Also, would you recommend using an electric kettle or a stove one?

>>8939168
Uh… why not let it boil, then cool a bit?
Kill those bacteria, dude.

>>8939153
> What do you mean by more links?
I mean, are there any good websites to find more information? Perhaps a review site or a blog or something? Maybe add a "further reading" section or something, I don't know.

>>8939174

I figured the kettle would be pretty sterile since I frequently boil water in it, and there shouldn't be any harmful bacteria in my tap water.

Was I wrong in that assumption? I always read that you shouldn't leave water in the kettle for long because it goes bad, so I thought it was better to just heat it up rather than boil it and wait for it to cool.

>>8939168

Buy an electric kettle if you can. It's wonderful. I got tired of having to sprint out to the kitchen when the stove kettle would whistle and drink scalding hot Green tea or wait a half hour for it to cool. Mine heats it to the correct temperature and has an option to leave it warmed if I'm in the middle of something.

http://www.amazon.com/Kalorik-JK-28345-Cordless-Electric/dp/B003FGWA5O/

>>8939174

That ruins tea.

I just go with common tea flavours that I buy at a local herb store.

Drinking lemon balm tea right now; I also have black (broken orange pekoe), chamomile and tilia varieties in my kitchen.

>>8939210
>That ruins tea.
That's stupid. Water heated up to 80°C will be the same as water cooled down to 80°C.

>>8939210
>Mine heats it to the correct temperature

I didn't even know kettles could do that, but that sounds incredibly useful. My kettle is just some cheap piece of shit that takes about 5 minutes just to boil 500ml of water.

>>8939230
Zojis do it too, but they bring the water to a boil first, then let it come down to the desired temperature and keep it there until you're ready for it.

>>8939223

I misread that post.

I'm too busy drinking my tea like a real man for all this classy Chinese stuff.

Also busy being terrible at holding a camera still for a few seconds.

>>8939258
>terrible at holding a camera still
It's probably all the tea.

>>8939258
lmao scottish water xD

>>8939258
Scottish blend with Scottish water?

Does it also come with a Saint Andrew's Cross flag and free pasties?

>>8939283
It comes with a free haggis and is best served alongside the charred remains of a Northumbrian villager.

>>8939174
>>8939210
>>8939223

It makes a difference if the water is chlorinated, because boiling 'boils off' chlorine from water. If your water is not bacteriologically safe, you have much bigger problems than how your tea will come out.

Electric kettles with variable temperature settings are the most convenient. My Salton Zoji clone only has one setting, boiling, and from there I measure the water temperature with a thermometer and let it cool.

>>8939258

That fascinates me. The package, for those who missed it, says: Especially blended for Scottish water. That's interesting, that it was blended with the water of the people who would be brewing it in mind. Smart business strategy.

I have a theory that tea culture tends to develop in certain places and not in others based on the drinking water supply's suitability for tea.

Looking forward to my Shimofuri tomorrow. Pic related.

>>8939834
>it was blended with the water of the people who would be brewing it in mind. Smart business strategy.

Well yeah, the Scottish are still proud of themselves and a little nationalistic. It's all in good fun though. There's been a trend towards things like "REAL BRITISH BEEF" lately too.

>>8939859
Didn't Scotland have designs to leave the union not too long ago? What ever happened with all that anyway?

>>8939834
It's mostly due to our position within the British union, since as England has the larger population by far, teas are generally designed with them in mind, while ours is a somewhat niche market in comparison, so we get things like this a lot here.

The reason for all this is that while England has hard water that is so full of limescale that they have to regularly wash the stuff from the inside of their kettles, Scotland has soft water and nothing of the sort. Whenever I've visited England, drinking their tap water has always been an impossibility for me because I've been spoilt by the stuff readily available in my own country.

>>8939859
>a little nationalistic

That's a bit of an understatement since there's a good chance we'll be independent by 2015. Otherwise you're right though. It's kind of funny to look at different packaging in the shops here these days. For example, the Scottish plain bread almost always has a saltire, lion rampant or tartan design while things like Warburtons have the union jack. The independence referendum is coming in 2014 and even our bread isn't safe from politicisation.

>>8939892
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_independence_referendum,_2014

Thig ar Latha.（´∀｀ ）

>>8939908
>>8939920
Off-topic but we're on a tangent anyway:
Did you steal some Chewits a few months ago?

>>8939944
No, I don't believe I did. I'm not exactly poverty-stricken.

What a strange question.

I normally always drink Asian teas. But I had some earl grey at an English restaurant and it was good. What website has the best earl grey??

White tea, not as nice iced.

>>8940017
(･ิ_･ิ)っ sup 馬鹿

From what I've read, soft water is best for green tea, but I live in England which apparently has harder water than most other countries.

Is there a way to soften the water to make it more suitable for tea?

>>8940554

Most people drink Earl Grey with a slice of lemon, but I find that it tastes delicious with a teaspoon or two of honey.

As for where to buy it, I can't be of much help. I very rarely drink black teas, and when I do it's just from teabags.

It's grey, rainy, cold and I'm tired today. I think I'm going to save my shincha for tomorrow.

These are perfect days for houjicha, however. Pic is Miyazaki Gosake Town kuki-houjicha. The brewing guidelines from Yuuki-cha are borked. If you buy their houjicha, try half the recommended amount. Their parameter was so bitter and overly-concentrated it reminded me of the pictures posted in past threads of like ten teabags brewing in one cup.

>>8942630

You could use a filter like Brita. That will remove some of the minerals, although it may remove too much or not enough of certain minerals. If your tap water tastes reasonably good for drinking after you've boiled it (try it plain), then you can use that. If all else fails and you can afford it, use bottled spring water, preferably with a ppm of dissolved minerals of less than 100.

Tapwater that comes from a spring, fuck yea.

Does anyone know the cost for shipping a kyusu from Artistic Nippon (which I assume is based in Japan) to Britain? I can't seem to find any information about shipping costs on their website.

Where can I get a good Yunome for <$20 (including tax and shipping)?

russia tea is best tea

>>8943828
Also one that's of fine quality. Price isn't too important for this one as long as it's not too ridiculously expensive.

>>8943809

Disregard this, I found the info on the site. I thought they'd have a specific page for shipping costs but the info was right at the very bottom of the teapot page.

>>8942630

I have a three-stage filter under the sink I mainly use for tea and preparing food and it works well. The water where I live normally tastes like dirt out of the tap.

>>8943828
>>8943838
$20? Walmart, you plebe.

You're going to be spending around 80$ for anything decent.

>>8943889
>Plebe
Learn to spell before you use /mu/ memes.

>>8943949
Capitalization is a grammar error, and not an issue of spelling. Don't criticize people when you have no idea what you're on about.

>>8944011
>Capitalization is a grammar error
Not what I was talking about. You should really take your own advice.

>>8944041
What on earth are you complaining about? There's nothing wrong with "plebe."

>>8944052
You keep telling yourself that.

>>8944052

It's "pleb" or "plebeian", not "plebe".

>>8944052
Actually the way you spelled it is incorrect. The shortened form of plebeian is pleb.

>>8944060
>>8944058
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/plebe
Also
>/mu/ meme
I hope nobody really thinks this.

>>8944064
>(at the U.S. Military and Naval academies) a member of the freshman class.
You were calling him a freshman at a military academy?

>>8944069
I'm not that guy, but you might note definition #2.

Now go on and complain about it being obsolete, like anybody cares.

>>8944074
No, that shit doesn't fly around here.

>>8944064
Before tripcode user Cannabis-Loving Tripfag !NhfK9up1rg, the use of "plebeian" as an insult was missing from every board on 4chan.

>>8944076
Yes, we here on /jp/ must absolutely maintain rigid and unvaried American English publication standards.

>>8944082
I meant using a term incorrectly then getting lucky by seeing it listed as an obsolete version on an online dictionary. I highly doubt he's seen "plebe" in any legitimate source before since it's obsolete. He probably either decided it was the correct shortened form by himself or saw someone else incorrectly use it.

This is all unless he's hundreds of years old.

>>8944078
That's fucking fascinating, but it doesn't change that both pleb and plebe as terms pre-date 4chan by a great span of time.
>>8944092
It seems appropriate to call someone looking for something on the cheap as a plebeian, not sure what the problem is. And I don't believe it matters in the slightest if he just got lucky or saw it in a legitimate source. It's not like you can confirm that either way.

I just wanted some cheap yunomi for guests. Jesus fucking Christ.

>>8941247
Well that is me, yes, but I'm not sure where the Chewits thing came from. I mean, I have money, I don't leave the house very often, and I prefer Opal Fruits anyway.

On a more related note, I am currently drinking lapsang souchong. It feels weird to read anything, from VNs to comics to physical novels, without this stuff or jasmine tea at hand. It's also good as a sort of starter if you plan on drinking Islay whisky. This is of course assuming that you like the idea of drinking liquid smoke, be it in tea or alcohol form. I know I do.

http://www.ginnotvodka.com/2009/08/sometimes-dumb-ideas-are-best.html

I thought of trying this before but never got around to it. I'm scared that I won't like it and I really don't want to waste my Laphroaig and Lagavulin. It seems like it might be really good though, considering how similar the two drinks are in a lot of ways. Has anyone here tried this before?

I dont suppose anyone knows of a site that still carries Sakura Sencha? i kinda forgot about it this year.

>>8944224
I think Den's still has some.

>>8944224
Dunno why, but O-cha has had some in stock since last year's harvest. It's a kukicha.

>>8943828

The closest thing I can come up with is http://www.yuuki-cha.com/japanese-teacups/hana-mino-yaki-teacup If you want cheaper than that, you'll need to make a trip down to your local Chinatown for teaware.

>>8944224

Den's may still have some, and I'm pretty sure Ito-En does too. Ito-En only ships to the US though.

>>8944179

Yyou may also like Da Hong Po (Big Red Robe) as well.

>>8943828

The closest thing I can come up with is http://www.yuuki-cha.com/japanese-teacups/hana-mino-yaki-teacup If you want cheaper than that, you'll need to make a trip down to your local Chinatown for teaware.

>>8944224

Den's may still have some, and I'm pretty sure Ito-En does too. Ito-En only ships to the US though.

>>8944179

You may also like Da Hong Po (Big Red Robe) as well.

>>8944475
Thanks for the recommendation, I'll definitely try it out. I do like oolong tea but I've never tried this in particular.

http://www.chinesetea.org.uk/the-big-red-100g-fine-grade-oolong-tea/

Does this stuff look alright to you? It seems a bit cheap to me but I don't know how much it should cost exactly. The description makes it sound rather impressive though.

If you ever go to Teavana, get some of this shit. Its great.

http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/rooibos-teas/p/zingiber-ginger-coconut-rooibos-tea

>>8944516

I haven't the foggiest, chum. It looks fine, although I tend to be a little wary of vendors who do not openly disclose the specific harvest dates and town/area the tea was grown in.

>>8944539

One thing I will say about Teavana is that I'm curious how their Phoenix Oolong compares to the real stuff, which starts at around a dollar a gram and only goes up from there.

I have a $10 coupon to spend (not at Teavana, though) only some black or oolong tea. I have little experience with black tea, so I'm considering Lapsang Souchong.

>>8944628
Lapsang Souchong is nice but I dunno how it'd be for the summer. For cold days it's great, because of the smokiness. My whole room smells like a campfire whenever I steep a cup.

>>8944646

That makes it sound very unappealing...

>>8946302

Is that Remilia I see?

It just so happens that I took my own advice today. I was at an Asian supermarket today stocking up on ramen ;_; when I noticed they had a kitchenware aisle. I found a collection of very nice teaware, including an English-style teapot, and it was all shockingly cheap. I got yunomi made in Japan (they even had stickers with the price in yen), as well as some Japanese style Chinese cups. If I recall correctly, nothing was over $3 except the teapot, which was $7.

>>8947008

Just realized I forgot my trip.

>>8947144
It is.

>>8947008
It just has a strong smoky flavor, that's all. Not a gross smoke either.

(っˇ◡◡ˇ)っ

>>8947338
Tea and DT880s, two things that are great together. I have fond memories of drinking iced green tea and nibbling on shortbread cookies while listening to Casiopea during the summertime.

Don't forget to take it easy.

>>8939168
Candy thermometer.

>>8938875
I smile everytime I see that Patchouli.

>>8951092
Wait?
Why is Marisa so much bigger?
Arent they both toranoana vinyl fig?

>>8951106
the box is like 50% bigger too.

>>8951092

Feels mukyuu, man.

Best picture I could take today, unfortunately. It was storming and the flash on my camera is harsh, but I did what I could.

This was my first taste of 2012 shincha, and I was very impressed. It was Yuuki-cha's Shimofuri, although later this month I will be able to compare it to the other shincha I will be ordering from Zencha.

This is why shincha is so unique... there is a flavour in it that isn't in any other tea, including shincha more than a few months after harvest. It's a kind of flavour I am not sure how to describe, other than like toasty-warm orange citrus if it were exploding like fireworks in your nose and on your palette. This orange citrus-type flavour is one I recognize as being unique to shincha.

It's also very intense, in terms of the effects on the body. I broke out in a sweat and felt flushed from the potent concentration of natural stimulants in the tea (EGCG, caffeine, both of which are more abundant in first-harvest tea than later harvests).

>>8952871
I'll have to wait until the end of this month for mine ;~;

>>8952914

Were you the Anon who ordered it early in the morning and forgot about release dates?

>>8952925
Nah that was not me. The teashop I usually order from gets their Shincha end of May it looks like. Seems kind of late. Maybe next year I'll order directly from Japan. I'll most likely will have to pay customs but I'm sure that it's worth it. Especially since it's only once a year.

>>8952943

Whether it's late or not depends where in Japan it was grown, and dates can be deceptive... the taste of tea does not necessarily improve if its picked at an earlier date, although it is usually more expensive. Tea isn't grown in eastern Japan, but in west-central Japan (Shizuoka, Uji, etc) June shincha is not unusual. Kyushu tea (Kagoshima, Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Yame, etc) tends to be ready by early May.

The harvest seems like it's a bit ahead of schedule this year too, so you may not have to wait until the end of May.

>>8952977
I've had one from Yame, one from Kagoshima and 88yanotsuyu in mind.

As I'm getting ready to make an order from Zencha, there are two things I've noticed that might interest /jp/.

The first is that shipping on tea items is free, and the second is that there is a sencha called 'Moe'. Just figured I'd put that out there.

I'm going to be trying:

Sencha 'The Ultimate'
Gyokuro 'The Ultimate'
Sencha Takumi
Sencha Moe

A sencha, yes. Sencha Moe~.

>>8952871

>palette

that is what painters use

the word you are looking for is 'palate'

i enjoy your tea threads

>>8954121

So much egg on my face ;_;

>>8953717
What's up with the Gyoukuro being cheaper than Sencha there?

>>8953717
I’m guessing Sencha Moe is made from young leaves?

>>8955405

No stop being ignorant. They're 18 years old, they just look kind of young.

>>8955405
>>8955413

Right, I dropped by /jp/ for my once-a-week giggle at something silly. Instead, I find this.

This is the tea and coffee shop just down the road from me (http://www.thecoffeehopper.com/).). They're more about coffee than tea, and admittedly so am I, but their tea selection is damn fine.

Lapsang is my usual thing, along with green gunpowder when I fancy something less smoky and russian caravan when I fancy something with a bit of honey mixed in.

Tea consumption is on top of my two plus caffetieres of strong coffee a day, though, usually when I want to relax.

I'm rather glad to have this store less than ten minutes from where I live. Even just going in to buy stuff is wonderfully indulgent.

>>8955467
oh yes, and while I'm here - for lapsang, what's the ideal amount of leaf per cup, temperature for the water, and steeping time? Do you just let it sit or actively stir in any way?

I am uneducated in these matters. Pass on your wisdom.

>>8952925
That careless anon here.
I actually got that sorted right after I made that post.
The yuukicha people were really good about the whole thing, and lightning fast with their response time.

Only cost me a buck to have the second preorder to be shipped on it's own when it gets there too.

I was not expecting shincha to be this caffeine-rich. Word of advice, especially for those who don't tolerate caffeine well: try to limit yourself to 4g servings at a time, otherwise you might be up all night.

...if that's a problem.

I was getting serious hot flushes today off my Sencha. I had to strip.

>>8958554

Too lewd. I got the same thing, but I didn't disrobe because that would make it awkward for Patchouli-sama

What does /jp/ like to do while drinking tea? I've taken up reading again. My inspiration, of course, is the Girl of Shadow and Knowledge.

I like Pu-Erh and Russian Caravan tea. Can anyone recommend something similar?

>>8958578
Wow, I wish I did such exciting things. Instead I browse /jp/ or do similar things on my computer.

I've also thought about ordering from Zencha. Can you maybe answer >>8955396 this? Although I'm not really sure if I would even order Gyokuro right now. I'm the anon that is getting his Shincha end of this month; thought about trying two different ones; 50g of each and if I also ordered some more tea from Zencha it might end up being too much.

>>8958578
>What does /jp/ like to do while drinking tea?

Create a complete atmosphere

> Tea
> Music
> Book / VN / LN / Mange
> Incense

Need to match everything together. For example:

> Earl Grey
> Fields of the Nephilim
> Ai Ren
> Jasmine

>>8958578
Playing shmups and Hisoutensoku, mostly.

>>8958607
Good taste.
I haven't found much that's very similar, but rishi's Earl Grey is almost kinda like that sort of thing. It's not very Earl Grey-y, though, strangely.

Pic related, it's Youmu sitting on my tea.

>>8958607
I like jasmin heung pin.
To me Pu-er is too dark and too strong for my liking.

>>8958695
>too strong

I have a pretty high threshold for strong. Ever have chifir?

>mfw boiling water for tea when I found this thread

>>8958607

Sounds like you like strong flavours. Perhaps Lapsang Souchong would be for you? I don't drink that or either of the two you mentioned personally though, although I'm sure someone else can give you more recommendations.

>>8958631

Missed that one.

Like any tea, gyokuro comes in a variety of different grades. At least for Zencha's Sencha The Ultimate, it's a competition grade tea, which means it's what they use to enter into various annual tasting competitions. Why specifically that particular sencha is more expensive than that particular gyokuro, only Zencha's staff could probably answer.

>>8958669

Virtual virtual reality?

>>8958670

>2012
>still buying mass market tea
>I seriously hope myonmyon stops doing this

>>8958723
W-well, technically I did buy it last year...

>>8958542
Buds and younger leaves have the most caffeine for their size.

>>8958723
>Virtual virtual reality?

The best way of masking my failure of a life is to occupy my phenomenal senses with other things, overwhelming my sense of self with a fictional story in which to self-insert.

>>8958732

I'm probably going to be trying a few Korean teas next month that might be up your alley.

>>8958749

Indeed.

>>8958754

Senses become more acute in response to deprivation. Also, ;_; .

Do people read fiction, watch anime or read manga/doujins for any other reason than for escapist fantasy?

>>8958789
> Senses become more acute in response to deprivation

But I'm not depriving them, I'm flooding them. My eyes, nose, tongue and ears are all occupied by the medium I read, the incense, the tea and the music, respectively.

>>8958929

What I mean is your senses are probably phenomenal because of deprivation from real stimuli, as opposed to simulated.

You probably experience examples of this every day. For instance, if you listen to loud music on your computer at night, and then put that music on at the same volume the next morning right when you wake up, it'll seem much louder, won't it?

Anyway, I also have a tendency to match tea to whatever I'm doing. If I'm reading 19th/early 20th century literature, it seems like a much better idea to drink black tea with milk English-style than sipping green tea from a wabi-sabi pot.

Not sure if my last post makes sense or not. If only I could get more sleep ;_;

>2012
>They aren't drinking hojicha

>>8959104

It's too early for most 2012 houjicha. I've been drinking last year's though, and I am of the opinion that houjicha keeps perfectly fine after a year. I think if I was poor and couldn't afford good sencha, I would probably just drink houjicha and karigane as my Japanese teas instead of cheap sencha.

>>8959122
I want to touch Patchy's boobs.

>>8959091
> senses are probably phenomenal because of deprivation from real stimuli, as opposed to simulated.

I'm using phenomenal in phenomenalist terms, that is, referring to sense-perceptions and empirical experience of things, as opposed to the noumenal things-in-themselves. I'm not using the colloquial definition of "phenomenal" that equates to "fantastic" or "overwhelming".

Has anyone found a good source of Taiwanese high mountain blacks? Short of flying there myself, I've always had trouble getting my hands on it.

anyone know much about fragrant teas?

there's osmanthus shrubs growing around my apartment and they smell really wonderful so I was thinking of trying guì huā chá--I'm not really much of a tea connoisseur but it feels nice sipping jasmine tea in a small room with woodblock prints

it'd be nice to hear about what snacks people pair with tea

having vanilla wafers

>>8959331

Phenomenal post~

>>8959705

I'd be careful about picking wild flowers grown in public places. If it's on your apartment grounds, they may be sprayed with god knows what to kill weeds and whatnot.

I don't usually have tea with snacks. One of the reasons I got into tea was because it almost takes the form of replacing snacking. Highly flavourful, yet it burns calories instead of imparting them.

I have it on good authority though that Pocky goes well with houjicha. I would never consume such an un-/jp/-ly treat, however.

Five Stars Stories style Patchy unrelated.

>>8959705
Scones or biscuits if I don't feel like baking.

>>8959761
thanks for the reminder, I was thinking of ordering it online with some other teas. any suggestions?

dark chocolate covered biscuits does sound good for a treat; come autumn mckintosh apples and peaches will be in season--it's past satsuma season but there are still tangerines; white sapote would really be wonderful I think, but I have no idea if they're still available.

I was wondering what might go well with a dark chocolate ganache cake, strawberry chiffon or napoleon with fresh cream--madeleines are timeless too I suppose.

i imagine patchy has a decadent full tea everyday; reimu a very spare tea with a distinct wabisabi aesthetic; yuuka, roast tea out in the flowerbeds; marisa, mushroom tea.

>>8960036
What about these matcha chocolates?

>>8958578
>What does /jp/ like to do while drinking tea?

Usually listen to music and browse the internet. Sometimes I watch some anime though (Aria is always a good choice when enjoying some tea).

Also, has anyone here tried Earl Grey with two teaspoons of honey as well as the usual lemon slice/wedge? It's delicious.

>>8959761

Bitch why aren't you in #jbcs?

>>8961651
what is that?

Well my shimofuri is on the way. How is it?

>>8960036

If you mean you can order Pocky at the same place you can order tea, I'd consider ordering tea somewhere else. I recall Hibiki-An stocks traditional Japanese sweets, so you might want to try there.

Also, >mushroom tea

I guess that explains a lot.

Generally with sweet pastries and confectionaries, you want to drink strong, even bitter teas. Japanese or Chinese black tea is usually the best choice because it offers a much more neutral flavour than green tea. With green tea, you want subtle, slightly sweetened flavours. Chinese bakeries often make tiny almond and lightly-sweetened pineapple pastries specially for this.

>>8961820

You might not think much when you open up the bag. It's a very subtle aroma, and the only thing that lets me know it's shincha is just a hint of a scent like peaches. It really shines in its drinking flavour though. I have no idea how to describe it. Maybe you can describe it to us when you try it.

>>8961820
Mine just arrived today, and it's excellent. I think I might buy more, just to make sure I don't run out.

The after taste is actually so good that I'm not drinking as much as I'd like to, to better sit back and savor it.

Also, I'll echo the sentiments about shincha's added kick. For a green tea, you really do feel wired after a few cups. It doesn't really feel like a caffeine buzz like you'd get after a couple double brewed black coffees though, so I'd say that while caffeine is definitely involved, the main culprit is something else.

>>8962154

That would be the catechins, including EGCG. It's been hyped for years by the diet and supplement industries as a fat loss agent. I suspect its more potent in its fresh, naturally extracted tea form than in supplements.

I'm drinking Shimofuri right now, and there's no longer any doubt for me... any more than 4g per pot is too much. It's too potent to drink like sencha.

Pic related. Also the cups I picked up for $2 each at the local Asian supermarket. If only I could find a MajiMaji Kaguya.

I finally tried the sakura sencha I got from Den's.
The tea itself seems to be from last year's harvest, but it's still reasonably fresh all things considered. I hadn't expected the cherry flavor to be so prominent, and this may end up being the first flavored tea I actually enjoyed.

Next year I'll have to try it again from a more reputable source, becuase even as a novel thing the sencha itself tastes very bland and lifeless.

(っˇ◡◡ˇ)っ

Who mugicha here

>>8965669
What a cute ケーキ and what cute headphones.

Do you guys enjoy green gunpowder?
How about the Lipton one?

It's just hot flavored water.
Boil water and put stuff from your garden inside finished.
That's all you need.

why nobody told me this bancha hojicha thing was so soft before?
if i drink gunpowder i feel like im on speed, but i feel like i can drink bancha endlessly and not get excited
great stuff

>>8966124

Soft...?

Houjicha kind of afternoon today.

>>8967186
男を知った顔

>>8967447
My houjicha usually looks darker/browner, yours has a pretty strong color.

My zhuyeqing is gone so now I am drinking Lipton (Black and Morocco [Cinnamon+mint and other spices]).
Feels like a ＲＥＢＥＬ！

>>8967545

It's Houjicha from first-flush leaves. I'm guessing the effect that has is that it brews a little lighter than most normal houjicha, which is made from later harvests.

I tried an experiment today. I tried blending 2g of houjicha with 2g of 2012 Meng Ding Gan Lu. It's a very interesting flavour that seems to combine the best of both worlds. I think the simplest way to describe it is that it takes away the harshest flavours in both and they moderate each other, giving something like the drinking flavour of MDGL with the roasted aftertaste of houjicha. It also seems to rest much lighter on the palate* than ordinary houjicha, which can eventually become bitter if you aren't eating a snack with it.

*Not like a painter's tool

Haven't seen any mate cocido's pictures, yet.

>>8967807

I've read that it's carcinogenic. I have no idea whether or not it's true, however. I've only tried it once years ago in some sort of 'Aztec Chocolate' styled blend... didn't like it very much.

>>8967874
All hot tea is carcinogenic.
Drinking a lot of hot tea increases chances of throat cancer.

>>8968493

so, I ordered the novice's package from Den's Tea and I'm honestly kind of surprised. The Sencha was not that great, I may have brewed it wrong but I did not find it very appealing. The bancha and Genmaicha, however, I found very good! I guess I just have a thing for roasted tea!
Anyways, I was hoping to purchase some more from Den's Tea, to try Gyokuro, but I'm kind of curious. What does it mean when it is "Gyokuro Suimei" or "Gyokuro Kin?" The first is more expensive than the latter and I was wondering, it seems to be separated in this way for most of the other teas as well. Thanks in advance!

>>8965849
Thanks, it was just a big cookie though.

>>8969327
There's stupid names, and there's stupid names.
I just wanted to congratulate you on being the worst I've seen all week.

>>8969327

Sencha is something that can be bitter and unsatisfying if it's not really good. It can be very hit or miss, which is why I've said recently that if I couldn't afford good sencha, I would probably drink the other, cheaper types of Japanese tea instead (karigane and houjicha for me). You should probably reserve your judgement on sencha until you can try something from this year's harvest, or at least something better. Den's mid-range sencha left a lot for me to desire too.

I would suggest holding off on trying gyokuro for now. The only gyokuro I have ever found worth drinking is gyokuro that is too expensive to experiment with, meaning you'll want more brewing experience before this.

From Den's, I'd suggest Guricha. It's my favourite tea from there, and what I generally serve to guests. It will give you a very good sencha-like flavour without a very good sencha-like price. Although if you want to try a good sencha, I would suggest going straight to the top and buying their Zuiko, which I remember is very good. However, since it's shincha season, if you have the money to spend, forget everything else and just get some shincha instead. If you don't like shincha, then you'll probably just want to stick to roasted teas, Chinese etc. instead.

>>8969327
I've now tried all of the teas from the sampler and I think the sencha ('fuka-midori') was my favorite. I definitely brewed this fukamushi sencha wrong, though, so I'll have to give that another shot. The extra green genmaicha is good, but I found a 350g bag of almost-as-good extra green for less than $3 in a local store, so I think i'll just stock up on some of that instead for everyday tea.

Just ordered a little shincha to see what all the fuss is about. Figure I'll wait until the new year's tea gets cycled in to buy any other tea.

>>8970054
>>8969759
thanks guys, I guess I will buy some Shincha if now is the time to do it! on the Den's page it says that they only have the first harvest right now, should I wait until Den's other shipments?

Bampu pantsu.­­­­­­­

I just picked up my shimofuri and magokoro at the post office.

Was compactly boxed and they put the magokoro package in a gift wrapping. No idea why haha.

Mk so I also just tried to brew a cup of shimofuri. First thought: I'm doing this wrong. I'm not a tea connoisseur(as of yet) but all it did was taste like water with a slight hint of grass. Now, it wasn't terrible. But I'm led to believe that its not the right taste.

What I did: boiled water, transfered it between cups two times, which supposedly gets it down to 70c. After the first transfer I put a teaspoon, not bulging, of tea leaves in the cup and put the water in the second time. I had a little too much water in the cup, around 40~% too much, so after letting the tea sit for about 1m 30s I took a quick sip, but it had very little taste, so I let it sit for another minute before removing the leaves. This did give it some taste but its very unlike tea from bags. I did expect that, and I'm glad of it. But I still think I've brewed it totally wrong, in wrong order, or whatever.

Tips, scoldings, anything is appreciated.

>>8972192
First two thoughts are that you let the water get too cold, try it again at around 85-90, or that your water is too soft.

If you can afford it, go get a bottle of the expensive mineral water and try with that. If the results are positive then you can move on to cheaper spring waters and see how those work for you.

>>8972405
Mk. What's strange is that our tapwater comes from a mineral water source. So it shouldn't be that. But I'll try that tomorrow anyway.

I'll try another cup soon and let the water cool less. Is one teaspoon enough? Should be, right?

>>8972488
You could try adding a little more. If it's too light, it certainly won't hurt to as much as double the amount of tea used, though that's understandably not an ideal solution.

If adding more tea and steeping it in hotter water doesn't right things, then it's either your mineral content in the water or something has gone horribly wrong.

What's the liquor looking like, by the way? Is it properly green, and not too light or thin looking?

I can't tell very well because its from an extreme angle but its kinda like

>>8962267

but maybe a little lighter. I just brewed a cup again with very hot water, but using the leaves for the third time. I left it soaking quite a long time, 2 mins? and it was a little stronger now, but as much as I want it to be since it was still pretty water.

I'll try either tomorrow or maybe later this night to make a better cup yet again. Also how many grams is your average teaspoon's worth of tea?

Thanks for the tips.

>>8971725

>Den's page it says that they only have the first harvest right now, should I wait until Den's other shipments?

See left.

>>8972192

It's difficult to troubleshoot brewing without exact parameters. Teaspoons can vary considerably in size. How much water did you use? Depending on your sea level elevation and the water hardness, your boiling might be significantly above or below what the people who wrote those guidelines intended in Japan, with Japan's soft water. The best way to do it when you're starting out is to make sure everything is measured. Measure out a certain mL of water, use a thermometer to make sure the temperature is what you're intending it to be, and weigh your dry leaf. You can think of it almost like a science experiment, which, in a way, it is. If you don't record your exact parameters, your peers will have no way of understanding it, and you may have difficulty achieving a reproducible result. I know that all sounds very complicated for tea, but you may find that becomes part of the enjoyment of tea.

>>8973076
Don't try to steep at boiling point or anything, if the water is too hot the flavor also won't impart properly, and it'll be astringent to a point you won't even want to drink it.

I use the hurr murika system of measurement, so I can't really offer any advise on exact temperatures to aim for without being totally off the mark. But generally if 175F doesn't give a good steep, I move up to 195F and that usually handles the problem. The problem with green tea is that it "bruises" easily and doesn't handle extreme temperatures or extended steepings very well at all, this is especially true with Japanese greens.

If jumping to brew temperature up by 20 (do F and C come out to about a 1:1 ratio?) degrees didn't cut it, don't try going any higher. The first thing you ought to do is try again with water from a different source. At least then you'll know if it's your process that needs to change or your materials. On that note, your brewing vessel, the cup you drink from, and those that your pouring it into to cool (pouring the water will also impact taste too, but that's not really a big deal in this) may also be effecting the taste some too.

(っˇ◡◡ˇ)っ

>>8964420
>>8974483
I do not know why this face makes me laugh.

Some iced sencha from last year's harvest. Trapped in iced tea mode.

>>8974683
Sugoi DT880s, あねき．

I'm drinking Pepsi Max.

Hey guys, I'm just about to buy a Zojirushi CD-WBC and the thing is the difference in price between the 3 litre and 4 litre models is only $7.

So I was wondering what /jp/'s opinion on this would be. Should I go for the 4L simply because the price difference is so minimal or is 4L an overkill in the first place? I probably brew a couple small pots of tea a day and might use hot water for a few other things too. Also I'm just one person living alone but I kind of like the idea of being able to entertain guests if the situation ever arose.

So yeah, I'm leaning toward the 4L but if the 3L is already more than capable of all of the above I suppose I should go with it instead.

>>8975362

If it's only $7, then it's probably worth the possibility of sparing yourself doing a refill every day. I'm waiting warmly for the day Zojirushi makes a water dispenser with all-stainless steel internals.

>>8975565

That's a good way of putting it, I went with the 4L, thanks!

I use organic jasmine green tea from the grocery store and powered green tea from Yamamotoyama with filtered water.

Just got some of this in cold water with ice. It tastes pretty great, had to add almost three times the serving size to get it sugary enough though.

Had no tea cups so used one of those Fast food restaurant large plastic cups I saved.
I feel pretty fancy now being an official tea drinker.

>>8978166

>>8977980
Sir, there's flowers inside your tea.

>>8978166
Fucking pleb.

Is green tea good or not?
http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/2005/ucm108452.htm
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/detail.cfm?id=13772
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/Plantox/Detail.CFM?ID=14876&utm_campaign=Google2&utm_s
ource=fdaSearch&utm_medium=website&utm_term=tea carcinogenic tannins&utm_content=2

>>8978166
Nice. Epic. I like it.

You sure showed those elitists who's boss

>>8977980
What kind of monitor is that 2412?

>>8978194
I have all kinds of things in my teas.

>>8978205
2312hm

Fuck, I can't fucking take this faggotry. Looking at all your posh pictures, I'm just reminded once again how fucking poor I am. I can't fucking help it but feel jealous of your material possessions.

I don't even have enough money for a fucking keyboard that doesn't skip every 5th keystroke.

Your fancy DSLRs, headphones, amps, mechanical keyboards, mice, may it all fucking burn in hell.

>>8978235

>>8978235
Revolution soon, fellow proletariat.

>>8978235
no need to be jealous of some homos sipping tea out of their weeaboo bowls.
Out of everything on /jp/, this has to be the most homosexual thread of them all.

I'm impressed anyone can be such an anal faggot about dirty leaves dipped in water.

>>8978263
Well, summer is about here, your ilk should be arriving en mass any day now.

Though these threads used to be a lot nicer before OP tried to make them a circle jerk.

>>8978288
sieg hail, dude. white power will prevail.

>>8978288
I get that you want to discuss tea, that's not what angers me.

What fucking makes me mad is that you're making it more about posh paraphernalia like expensive china sets rather than the tea itself.

Fucking cunt.

>>8978319
No one is making that. You just perceive it that way.

>>8978263
>>8978288
>>8978319
This thread is to post food from around the world to build a mutual understanding of each others culture.

Do not talk about racial discrimination.
Don't slander a poster.
In deference to a rule of 4chan, let's make a pleasant thread.

>>8978337

Look at all that tea
>>8947338

Whenever pictures are taken, you guys just can't help getting all your stuff also in the shot.
Makes me think of that 2 panel comic of women taking pictures of stuff with them in it. Fucking homos.

>>8978319
>>8978356
You'll notice that there is a significant population that is not taking any pictures at all, much less ones showcasing their wealth. Teaware is fine, as it's a part of the process, and a huge part of the hobby, I'm sorry if that part upsets you. But I do agree with you that people needn't show off their computers in every shot, and so on.

>>8978356
I took that picture on a much earlier date and not for this thread or board. When he asked me about the wallpaper I didn't want to take a new picture just for that.

Even so, it's just one picture out of many. Don't get so upset over something so small. Take it easy, remember?

>>8978400
>not for this thread or board

Go back to >>>/g/ where you belong, with your circlejerky friends. You can show off you SIIICK BATTLESTATION there all day.

>>8978420
Actually it wasn't even for this site or any other site for that matter. Grow up.

>>8978400
>Take it easy

I can picture you sitting there in your first world country, in absolute comfort, with a smug, self-satisfied grin on your face, typing it out on your mechanical keyboard, looking at your 300$ monitor, in a riced-out Firefox window telling me to "take it easy".

Well, let me ask you: what the fuck do you know about taking easy? You've had it easy your whole fucking life, starting from the moment you were born into a first-world country, as an only child in a family that can support you. Everything you have, was handed to you on a plate.

You don't know what it's like to be poor.
You don't know what it's like to be hungry.
And you don't fucking know how hard it can be, so don't fucking tell me to take it easy.

Is there any good way to mix alcohol with tea?

>>8978485
Life's not fair, more news at 10.
Shit happens, what do you want us to do about it?
Go eat some bugs while we tend to our first world problems.

>>8978496
Rum goes pretty well with black tea.
There's also the method of letting brown rock candy soak in rum for some while and then use that to sweeten your tea, I've had that once. Was quite good.

>>8978485
Looking at how you have the time to type out shit like this on /jp/, blaming others for your problems, you can't be that hungry either.

>>8978515
How much rum, how much black tea? should I add sugar?
Rock candy with rum sounds awesome.

>>8978485

>You don't know what it's like to be hungry.

Yesterday my mom forgot to buy hot pockets so I had to spend an entire 20 MINUTES cooking up scrambled eggs with ham, blue cheese and onions. Don't fucking tell me I don't know hardship nor hunger.

>>8978512
I haven't eaten since yesterday, what's an extra 20 minutes going to do?

And where did I blame anyone? I just told him to keep his fucking mouth shut about taking it easy.

>>8978525
Dunno. Experimenting won't hurt, I guess? Whatever strikes your fancy.
The rock candy thing basically goes like that: put the candy in a jar, fill it up with rum, close up and let it sit for a week, done.
Never tried it myself, but I guess it's not that hard.

>>8978503
>Life's not fair, more news at 10.
Doesn't change the fact that he's right in that you're embarassing yourselves by stealth bragging about your setups "lol tea thread look at my sweet ps3z and cans guyz"

>>8978548
Stop blaming others for your problems.

>>8978552
Kinda hard for me to care, as I have a better setup than most of you, I was just pointing out your faggotry.

>>8978567
Yeah well thanks for that amazing discussion.

>>8978574
Stop blaming others for your problems.

What a shitty thread.

>>8978597

>>8938875
why haven't you been on IRC lately? We all miss you...

if its because of that "kick" a certain someone did, he claims it was a joke. Regardless you're always welcome there, If you want I can get the owner to make it so no one can kick you from that channel.

I'd like to start drinking tea but don't like bitter (or overly sweet) drinks. What kind should I try?

>>8979572
Start with your own cum. Eat celery and pineapple.
Avoid meat, it makes it bitter. Wait 72 hours for it to refill to get the largest amount.

Here's a pro-tip: Fap like you usually would, but when you're about to finish, stop fapping. Do something else for 15-20 minutes (without touching your dick). Maybe watch a single episode of an anime you've been putting off.

Then, once 20 min are up, start masturbating again, sort of fast and to something you really enjoy. If done correctly, a small amount of cum will come out, but you won't orgasm. That way you'll be able to eat it without feeling disgusted like you normally would. Repeat as necessary.

I'm drinking Earl Grey while waiting for my pu-erh assortments to arrive from a Chinese ebay seller. There seems to be a fire sister in my tea.

>>8978346
This seems awfully familiar...

I've never really had tea before... what kind would be good to start with

>>8980388
It was discussed earlier in this thread but that Den's tea shop has a very cheap sample thing going, may want to check that one out.

This is the best tea, imo.
/endthread

>>8981342
I recently tried sweetened tea for the first time since I was a child and I didn't mind it. Seemed like it'd be nice on a warm day.

>>8979835
please respond.

I didn't spend 15 minutes on it just to let it go to waste.

>>8982398
I don't have the patience to do all this, so I just fapped and tried to taste my cum, i dipped the tip of my tongue but it was kinda gross so I decided not to

>>8982446
You're not supposed to orgasm. You only feel disgust afterwards. What you need to do is taste in before cumming.

You can either save some up for later, or do the thing I described earlier.

: : : : :

Perhaps the meido has been busy. Please try your best, meido-san!

>>8978166

We all start somewhere.

>>8980048

What appeals to you about pu-erh? I have never been able to get into it.

Perhaps the meido has been busy. Please try your best, meido-san!

>>8978166

We all start somewhere.

>>8980048

What appeals to you about pu-erh? I have never been able to get into it.

>>8984678
Not who you're asking, but I like pu erh becuase I associate a lot of the tastes it offers with baked goods.
I'm not sure if this is strange, but my favorites taste of blueberry muffins and butter cookies. Obviously these are treated as "dessert" teas and can't be enjoyed with the same regularity, that one would with say, for example, sencha.

I also like "smoky" blacks, and there's also certainly a market for that in certain pu erhs too. Which is the other side of that coin.

I live in Uji, the tea capital of Japan.

http://paulstravelpics.blogspot.jp/2008/08/savouring-tea-capital-of-japan-uji.html

Many of the oldest and best tea companies and their original stores are here. I have also lived in tea producing regions of China.

If anyone wants tea or tea accessories from these regions maybe I can help.

>>8986274
Well, color me jealous.

>>8984678
Not that guy, but I like pu-erh because of the earthy flavor.

> I cannot think of an activity more homosexual than drinking tea, especially ritually drinking Japanese tea like a gigantic weeaboo faggot.
How do you respond to such accusations?

By the way, I'm quoting myself.

Back home over the weekend so no nice tea for me again ;~;

>>8988597
depends, drinking tea is nice and healthy.
But its strange if a person makes a ceremony every time while he/she drinks tea.

>>8988597
I'm pretty sure having sex with dudes is at least partially more homosexual than drinking tea.

>>8989079
I don't think anyone does a ceremony here.

>>8986274

Seriously? Have you enjoyed sencha while viewing sakura? If so, I'm jelly as HELL


Tea ceremonies are not really worth it for drinking tea alone. If you are drinking tea with others and you want to make it the focus of your morning or afternoon, then it's worth it, but even then, it's something that takes a lot of practice and specialized, expensive equipment and training, so it's not even really practical to do occasionally. Unless you live in Japan like Uji-Anon up above, it's probably not worth it.

ooooh I see

>>8989702

we had the sakura matsuri a few weeks ago by the river.
half the booths at the festival were selling tea ware.
you could get sencha macha or sakura-cha to drink in the tea room or outside on cushions.
i didn't remember to charge my cameras batteries before the festival though!

>you could get sencha macha or sakura-cha to drink in the tea room or outside on cushions

>>8984678
The guy here you asked from. I haven't tried pu-erh before, so I just bought a small assortment pack for myself, another for my bf. I got them yesterday, and so far... the taste is pretty strange. Not my favourite kind of taste, vaguely reminds me of wet dog.

I'd like to know what the mini-cake paper wraps say about the taste, but I can't read Chinese. I've tasted two different kinds now but the fermented taste is so overpowering that I can't tell the difference between them.

>>8992573
>Not my favourite kind of taste, vaguely reminds me of wet dog.
I'm not going to question why.

>>8992573

>pu-erh

Is that named after the Taoist master, or is that just a coincidence?

Having Sencha Takumi from Zencha this morning.

It brews shockingly green for chumushi and has a very high caffeine content. I did not brew it strong enough though. I used 4g, but as may be indicative of a higher grade, it seems to require more per brew. Requiring more leaves, not less, is a mark of quality with Japanese tea.

I'm going to hold off on direct comparison with YC's Shimofuri until at least tomorrow, when I try brewing it the same way I brew the Shimofuri.

My second brew today of Takumi, this time with 7g, yielding something which I feel is a lot closer to the true nature of the tea. This is a very strong, rich tea with deep flavours, and it is not sweet in the way most Japanese green teas are. There is very little umami. It's a Gokou cultivar tea, and its flavour tastes like a richer Asatsuyu. It is worth noting that Gokou is often used in high-end gyokuro blend, which may explain the richness, though because it is grown in full-sun, it does not have the characteristic strong umami of gyokuro.

In fact, I don't think a direct comparison is needed. They seem to offer drinking flavours that are so different from one another that comparing the two is not really useful. Yuuki-Cha's Shimofuri is light, sweet and peachy, while Zencha's Takumi is very rich, strong (think of green tea ice cream but without sugar) and bitter. Drinkers of Chinese tea may prefer Takumi to typical Japanese tea for this reason.

Personally, I'm a little disappointed, because my tastes are more towards the sweet and floral. But I'm sure there are other drinkers it would be perfect for.

This is what the second steep looks like.

>>8994898
>>8994890

Aren't you worried you might knock your tea over onto all those wires? I stopped drinking tea by the computer since I tipped a pot of tea all over my keyboard and mouse once.

>2012
>They still aren't drinking hojicha

>>8995067

Using a teaboat minimizes that risk, and so does using wide (as opposed to tall) teaware. I don't have any other space in my room to have tea, though. My keyboard and mouse are on a sliding tray arm that is extended while I'm seated however, so they wouldn't be affected by a spill. The tray is only tucked in at night or when I have to stand closer than I type at in order to take a picture.

Something else about the Takumi: it doesn't seem to give that flushed, 'body buzz' that the Shimofuri does. I am guessing this is due to the different way in which it is grown.

Are teavanas teas any good? I havnt tried anything from them, save some fruit stuff my mother once made as iced tea. It wasnt bad, I suppose, but I cant know about their other stuff...