tee

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I got samples of the expensive new EOT semi aged shengs that an anon posted about here a couple threads back plus some expensive old mulch. Pretty excited to try some of them over the next few days.
Also got the 2010 bulang that I'm enjoying now, it's good shit. The description for it on the eot site is pretty spot on.

>>20433614
Damn im jealous, those teas sound like a fun time

I don't get how people can drink aged stuff.
Young sheng is cool but aged stuff... I can always smell the old, stale wood which immediately spoils any joy.
Same with ripe. Even when it's not fishy(that is instant throw up) it is woody/old/muddy junk.

>>20434590
The old wood is part of the charm
You need to learn to appreciate those aged flavors, or not, more for me.
Try a few quarter cakes from teas we like if you want to try some nice aged stuff. Or grab some old tea from essence of tea. Aged tea shouldn't just be old wood.

>>20434626
>Aged tea shouldn't just be old wood.
You are right, sometimes it's old people smell instead of old wood.
If I get past it(again, shit rings so many alarms in my head) then I'm left with something that taste like white tea.
Funny that I have no problem eating cheese that smells awful but tastes good, but once it's liquid, I just can't drink it.

Thoughts on redbud tea?
My friend's wife was telling me about how she harvests redbuds to dry then out for tea. It seems weird since they just kinda taste like peas to me but she swears they take on a sweet taste and go great with a little lemon.

>>20434590
I also tend to prefer young raw, but I do like ripe a lot too. I occasionally enjoy semiaged raws, but not really as much as young ones.

>>20434639
>You are right, sometimes it's old people smell instead of old wood.
I mean there is a lot of old tea out there and plenty of it is shit. I can't think of a single old tea ive had that smells like a retirement home and ive had a quite a few.
Try some dry stored stuff.
This is a good example of old tea without any wet storage notes. Spent the first 15 years in Kunming.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2000-2006/products/2002-tailian-international-puerh-tea-seminar-commemorative-cake-400g-puerh-sheng-cha-raw-tea?variant=39268582654132

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>>20433454
How much is the gold shit worth

>>20435142
Damn was just looking at that one the other day, went with a changtai cake in the end that's cheaper.

>>20435180
It's an interesting cake, i mean depending on what you are into the Kunming storage can be a drawback. I got a sample in like 2019 and it was good but i would have believed that it was less then 10 years old if i tasted it blind. Some time in Guangdong since then has probably helped it along some.
It was fruity, clean, noticable bitterness. Material seemed pretty decent iirc.
Absolutely worth grabbing some now that he does 50g - 100g samples.
Definitely stands above the mid 2000s factory recipe # cakes ive tried in terms of smoothness, none of that cheap bush tea burlyness. Did have some smoke iirc but nothing overwhelming.

>>20435207
>Did have some smoke iirc but nothing overwhelming.
Another thing I hate in my tea. Hints of smoke.
The naka small trees also had some smoke/leather funk to it and I can't say i was a fan.

>>20435213
Smoke is just the nature of the business when your are buying tea harvested and processed by some tiny ethic minority in a ramshackle village who stores their dried tea leaves in a loft over the fireplace.
That said i like it. I thought it was very subtle in the naka, at least compared to old factory stuff where they intentionally smoke it.
But yeah i guess if you hate smoke you should stick to post 2013 or so teas or seek out producers that don't buy smokey tea.
My understanding is almost all the bulang tea had at least some smoke until pretty recently.
I know the lao man e farmer leaf gets doesn't have any. The farmer he is buying it from probably makes decent money, can afford some kind of cleaner storage setup.

>>20435172
Sounds like a meme. The man long shu they have is decent value, just get that one instead
My biggest recc from that store would be the Huang Xiao yellow yea probably, and the Tanyang Gong Fu. Sanxia Bi Luo Chun is nice too

>>20435253
Thank will check them out
If you pick random shit for lulz I'll haunt your corpse

Is it a bad idea to brew sencha and kamairicha in the same unglazed teapot?

>>20435172
Golden ripe puer is interesting, not sure if it actually tastes any different. IIRC they make it by fermenting the tea in cloth sacks instead of a loose pile, no idea why it ends up with that color, not sure if it's a shorter fermentation or different microbes dominating the ferment or what.
I don't see it very often.

>>20435305
That should be fine unless the kamairicha has really dominant smoke or roasted notes.
If it's just green tea but pan fried instead of steamed then it should be no problem.

>>20435310
I see, thank you, it might be a good idea to have a pot solely for kamairicha then.

>>20435310
>unless the kamairicha has really dominant smoke or roasted notes
Is that a thing though? In my limited experience with kamairicha, none of them have smoky or roasted notes.

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>>20434673
>Thoughts on redbud tea?
Sounds interesting but I have never heard of it before now.

>>20435309
>IIRC they make it by fermenting the tea in cloth sacks instead of a loose pile, no idea why it ends up with that color,
I think they use a high concentration of large buds as well. The hairs give it the color like silver or golden needle white and black teas. Some high end tippy sheng can have iridescent colors as well.

>>20435344
No i don't think its normally like that, those are just the two things that would make me hesitant to use it in the same pot as other greens.
>>20435322
>it might be a good idea to have a pot solely for kamairicha then.
Is yours smokey? When i say roasted flavor I don't mean that mild nuttyness you get in something like dragonswell, i mean that deep dark roast you get from some bancha or hojicha or something like that.

>>20435356
>I think they use a high concentration of large buds as well
Yeah that makes sense, is it not var. assamica? Those big fluffy buds remind me of some of those white tea varietals.

Somewhat disappointed, I haven't changed anything to my knowledge but my gongfu teas haven't been tasting as good as they did at first. New set came in and I tried some new teas people seemed to think tasted fruity, but I'm just getting vegetable/leaf. Guess I'll keep experimenting.

Do you guys have any kettle recommendations? The ones I've seen either have a couple of predetermined temperature holding settings, or are completely holding temp variable but $$$ and designed for pourover coffee

>>20435391
What's your water situation like?
Whats a tea you aren't happy with and what are your typical infusion times with it? Maybe someone can offer some feedback.

>>20435403
+$40
+Temp control
+Keep warm
+Good quality heating unit
+All stainless steel interior
-Controls are a little cryptic, seem to confuse some Amazon reviewers.
https://www.amazon.com/JOYHILL-Temperature-Stainless-Thermostat-Protection/dp/B0B4NC9QT8/
All the pre covid recs are either permanently sold out or now cost $100+ fuck that.

>>20435415
Oh and the temp controls are only preset values but they seem appropriate.
No idea why the german version is in the listing photos lol.

>>20435370
No, not smokey in the way that is described. I am just very new to Japanese green tea and have a liking towards kamairicha, and so I don't know how the flavors of sencha could clash. It's more of nuttiness than anything roasty.

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>>20435403
If you are a euro you can get the xiaomi mijia Temp control kettle on AliExpress for $40-$55 depending on the model.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256806218315848.html?
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256806664569279.html?
Might need a plug adapter but they are 220v

>>20435431
Yeah then i wouldn't worry about it.
The different teapot for evey tea meme is just something pushed by teapot salesman.
You only need to worry about mixing teas that have flavoring added or strong smoke or dark basement fum ripe puer.
I use black teas, oolongs, raw puer and green teas in the same Chinese clay pot and ive never had flavor contamination issues

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>>20435376
>is it not var. assamica?
I think it is just typical puerh plants. Some of them have decent sized silvery buds and most tea plant have at least small silvery buds. It is just less noticeable cakes most cakes include the first several leaves and only a smaller concentration of buds. If you look closely you can find some buds in you typical sheng cake. That XZH cake I posted was probably made of expensive old trees material as well so the buds may be bigger.

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>>20435454
Alright, I can see that logic, thank you for the help, friend.

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I finally did what I should have done a long time ago and got a new brewing basket. My old one was clogged up with, I guess, accumulated tannins, and would barely drain, which fucked up my brewing times.
Now as soon as I lift the basket, it's ready to drink.

>>20435467
>My old one was clogged up with, I guess, accumulated tannins, and would barely drain, which fucked up my brewing times.
Just soak it with some OxiClean and it'll come out like new.
A scrub with Bar Keepers Friend might work too.

>>20435467
You might be able to salvage the old one if you still have it. Toss it in a pot of boiling water enough to cover it and add a few teaspoons of baking soda then simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes.

>>20435406
For the most part I just use filtered water from my fridge. If you want a specific filter name or type I'd have to look around. It's possible when I replaced the filter I had become accustomed to only partially filtered water, or when I took my travel set to work I just got used to using their water bottles. I might've psyched myself out and started using too much/too little leaves or something as well.

The main teas themselves have been my Feng Qing Classic 58 Dian Hong (went from pleasant to downright horrible) and Wu Liang Hong Mao Feng. The latter hasn't degraded too much, but it's noticeable. For both I'd do a wash/rinse steep of about 10-15s, and start at 20/25s for the next, adding 5s for each subsequent steep. More or less what the Rentry page recommends. Maybe I ought to just not drink anything but water for a week and see if my taste buds "reset", because I'm certain it's an issue with me personally.

>>20435415
>>20435446
Thanks for the recommendations
Sadly I'm from canuckistan but I'll look for something similar to what you guys shared. They probably all come out of the same factories anyway

>>20435403
I really like my oxo one, I got it for $74 USD but it appears it's $105 now(?)
Also I think my Canadian friend said they don't sell it there. If you can circumvent those problems then it's worth it, otherwise best of luck to you in your hunt. The budget options are hell and even the >$100 USD options all have major drawbacks imo

>>20433399
thank you so much for this

>>20435519
Just using some kinda filtered water is a big improvement over tap.
>For both I'd do a wash/rinse steep of about 10-15s, and start at 20/25s for the next, adding 5s for each subsequent steep
That sounds pretty reasonable, maybe try like a 30 second first steep and then add +20 seconds each time instead of 5, maybe that will get some more flavor.

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>>20435850
These tetsubin japanese kettles are always marketed as improving the taste of water because of minerals or something since they're made of iron
I wonder if they really make that much of a difference and if they do, how much it affects different teas

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>>20435763
I use the OXO Brew Gooseneck Electric Kettle as well.
https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F

>>20435915
i would like to have a gooseneck kettle but the reality is my 20 dollar one works completely fine and id rather spend more on tea before worrying about that

>>20433614
i ordered the yiwu dragon balls as well and they just came in, super excited to try those. curious as to your thoughts for the rest of them too

>>20436628
I got a single yiwu dragon ball as a free sample, pretty generous of EOT.
I forgot to include it in the picture but I also got a sample of the 2004 Smokey Manzhuhan brick, I'm enjoying some right now.
It has a very nice aroma but it doesn't seem to carry over into the flavor of the soup so well. Interestingly, the aroma of the leaves is quite different than the soup or gaiwan lid.
It's still pretty good though. The smoke isn't super pronounced but it is there, and if I push the brews there's a pleasant bit of bitterness. Nice aftertaste too.

>>20435862
when i was a child we had so much iron in our water it would put rust deposits on anything it touched, it was vile

>>20435467
Get an ultrasonic cleaner

>>20435356
>I have never heard of it before
idk if it's a thing she came up with or something that's fine I'm places where redbuds grow but where we live, they're everyfuckingwhere.
They're perfectly edible. As I said, redbuds taste like peas. So if you've got redbud trees in your area, harvest some.

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My GF‘s father sent me entry tea-samples. What am I in for?

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>>20433454
>English Breakfast (aka the default one) (PGTips if I can because I like the monkey)
>Ten Minutes (or however long afterward I've forgotten it for, in which case, microwave, warm it up)
>Hand squeeze the bag. You know it's done when you can do it without scalding yourself, you learn quick as a kid when you don't know how long that is.
>Milky, 2 Sugars (maybe a bit more of each if it's watery), simple as.
>Best paired with Milk Choc Hobnob (or cheapo alternative) phoarrrr dip the fucker in until it stops breathing (aka bubbling)

On the offchance my gut feeling is on the mark and you're all pretentious foriner hipster twats whose tea count is in the lower two digits and idolise east asian chinkshit because of your animes where they'll eat anything over there so their tea is the equivalent of chicken scrotes or some shit (which considering ctrl+f in your rentry doesn't come up anything for English Breakfast or Earl Grey, I'm confident in that thought); tell me what's wrong with my setup.
Considering I drink nout but the stuff some times, and I've had at least 2+ cups daily for over a decade now, wouldn't mind seeing if the "specialists" know any better than the best it gets. Tried herbal+green tea, tastes of piss, especially without Milk / Sugar, only nice stuff on the level of the best it gets was some old schizo down the road who used to make this proper nice Nettle+Strawberry tea when I was a kid before she killed herself in the local river.

>>20437416
Neat, I think that's a silver needles cake and I guess the vacuum packs are oolong. Seems like it could be pretty nice.

>>20437443
If you like the tea there's nothing wrong with it.

>>20437443
Well, I don't like Earl Grey because I'm not personally a fan of bergamot. But if that's what you enjoy, that's what matters most. If you don't mind my asking, what tastes do you tend to enjoy in your tea? Do you like bitterness and astringency? Do you abhor them? It seems you like strong, punchy dark teas from what I'm reading.

Any hidden gems on taobao?

>>20437635
Sure
There are tens of thousands of different teas on taobao, im sure some are particularly good

>>20437416
Marry that one

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I had a dream a few nights ago in which I met Scott Wilson of Yunnan Sourcing and discovered he was shitposting on 4chan. I think he was making fun of his own shop but I can't remember for sure. Anyone else ever have any /tea/ dreams?

>>20437443
Nothing wrong with your setup, it's just a different experience than plain tea. For what it's worth, I enjoy both the dirt-tasting chinkshit and English Breakfast with milk and sugar. If you are looking to try something different you'd probably enjoy Masala Chai or Hong Kong style milk tea.

>>20437443
I buy bulk amounts of loose CTC Assam from Indian brands. Brew 3-4g for a few minutes and strain into milk. No sugar. Tastes better than anything bagged and it's roughly the color of a cardboard box.

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Drink more green tea. I didn't buy any for the last two years and forgot how much I like it. I'll probably forget again when I run out in the fall and convince myself to wait until spring and then never order.

>>20437909
He should let his sides grow in and wear boonie hats and short shorts, blow up on his wife and shoot teapots

>>20438195
>I didn't buy any for the last two years and forgot how much I like it.
That sounds familiar.
What are you brewing?

Are 200g cakes a scam?
Why are they charging almost 357g prices?

>>20438228
Some cheap Long Jing from king tea mall. Also picked up some Tai Ping Hou Kui as well but don't like it as much.

>>20438233
>Are 200g cakes a scam?
Kinda
>Why are they charging almost 357g prices?
Cakes always came in a wide range of prices. The 200g cakes became common as prices went up to reduce sticker shock. Basically a form of shrinkflation. Some of the vendors are overpriced but it is true the prices have gone up.

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really liking the blue jiaye GABA oolong from teahome. It's my first time trying a GABA tea. the fragrance of it is really sweet, reminds me of cinnamon apple pie, and rosewood shavings, some other flavors I cant quite place. The flavor follows the scent, apple pie taste, nice sweetness, good mouthfeel, on the thicker side. Really no bitterness, pleasant and easy to drink. Decent longevity, brewing at less than boiling, maybe 85-90c. I cant say I feel the effects of the GABA directly, but I do feel less wired than I felt drinking some of the other teahome oolongs.
Been really enjoying all the oolongs ive tried from teahome.

>>20437443
If that's the style of tea you like and you don't want to explore cool up to you. Maybe try to upgrade from teabags though
They put the lowest quality and most damaged tea into teabags because they can get away with it - stuff that isn't good enough to be sold loose leaf. It's like how cigarettes have all the crappiest tobacco scraps that aren't good enough to be used to wrap cigars

>>20438258
Everything gaba I've tried tasted sour.
From slightly sour to really sour.
>I cant say I feel the effects of the GABA directly
I think it's a big meme. As far as I know there aren't any studies that would actually prove gaba tea does something.

>>20438268
Im not really getting sourness from this one. maybe a slight tartness in the background, but really not prominent, goes well with the sweetness

>>20438233
>Are 200g cakes a scam?
Yes
>Why are they charging almost 357g prices?
Because they figured out they could sell 200g cakes for 357g prices.

>>20438195
I have the opposite problem. I bought way too much green tea from the 2023 harvest. I have to drink it all before it goes stale, so I can't buy from the 2024 harvest until then. But since there's so much, it'll probably be 2025 by the time I'm done.

Do you name your tea pets?
Do you have tea pets?
I bought a cute celadon green rabbit from JTH and I'm not sure what to name him.

>>20438530
I don't really get them, maybe If it had some kind of personal meaning like it was gifted to me or I got it somewhere memorable, but if I just bought it off the internet it feels functionless.

>>20438583
It's just a fun little decoration, adds to the ritual of drinking tea.

>>20438633
Fair enough, just not my kind of thing I guess.

>>20438529
I still have Japanese greens stored from 2020. They're mostly just now starting to fade.

>>20438066
I like this but with Ceylon tea boiled for 10 mins with milk.

Why are most tea brewing instructions for making weak tasting teas? Following their instruction I'd be brewing sencha green tea for 2 minute and it would taste like hot water.

I brew my sencha with 5grams, 475 ml water, for 4 minutes at 75C. You can actually taste the tea.

>>20438979
You're brewing a tiny amount of tea for way too long, I'd check the pastebin.

>>20438979
the pastebin says to do the same but for 3 minutes.

>>20439014
>the pastebin says to do the same but for 3 minutes.
The rentry/pastebin calls for 9.5 grams of sencha for 475ml of water. Did you even look at it?

>>20438530
I have a tiger named Tiger. He shows up to sessions every once in a while. Big fan of sheng.

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>>20439028

>>20439046
Now scroll down to the Japanese tea table

>>20439107
If those are tea types then yes it does say 9,5 g but the site I bought the tea from says 5 grams. There's also no fucking way I'm paying that much to drink tea if its 9,5 grams per 475 nevermind the fact this is a 4chan made chart so who knows how true it is.

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>>20439126
I brew stronger than that, also remember that you're brewing at least three times, I do 6g-7g / 300mL depending on the sencha, and brew it three times, so the end result is around a liter of output total. Try following the table when you do this, 75C is a little warm to start but also not hot enough to get full extraction. Try it at least once, it'll only be a few cents.
>this is a 4chan made chart so who knows how true it is
I am more autistic than you could possibly imagine.

>>20439145
I'll try next time

>>20439028
you brew it 3 times retard, so its 9.5 grams for 1425ml of tea

>>20439818
Maybe he wants to drink a 4L of tea a day desu

>>20437416
chink gf?

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I like the commiecha. Nothing out of the ordinary, but noticably high quality tea. There's no unpleasant notes like you get with cheap ass shu.

>>20439932
And there is not the slightest bitterness

>>20439927
No, pajeet.

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>>20437416
mfw

>>20439964
yuck

>>20438979
The japanese green tea I tasted so far tasted like bitter grass. I don't get how people can drink that stuff. Is that even suitable for gonfu brewing?
And good quality matcha is not affordable for normal wagies.

Looks like 2023 fa zhan he is back in stock again.

>>20440002
if it's too bitter, you're making it wrong
jap green tea is kind of fussy to make compared to most other tea. the japs make sencha with in-between gong fu and western brewing parameteres and for gyokuro they do something like an extra strong, low temperature gong fu

>>20440017
yeah the teas at FL can go randomly out of stock and in stock for some reason
I wonder if we'll see any new areas added

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This was excellent for old ass tea

>>20440051
What flavor notes did you get? It looked like an absolute monster in the dry leaf form.

>>20440076
Lots of mushroomy umami, wood, leather, dried fruit, apricot fruitiness, very interesting tea

>>20439927
yes
>>20439964
no
>>20437829
i might, we already life together
>>20437463
my hope is to have an idea about what kind of tea I actually like since the fish-stuff I got from w2t is not it

>>20440104
>>20440051
nice. what else did you get from the store?
for me it was

pu-erh and liu bao:
>2007 Youle raw
nice. clean with strong and very long lasting huigan. price is not bad for this kind of semiaged purportedly single origin old tree material
>2008 Banpen raw
strong medicinal-walnut bitterness combined with typical semiaged notes. this one kind of filtered me, but it's some strong and distinctive material for sure
>First Grade Duoteli Hei Cha
tasty clean modern liu bao. more on the chocolaty side. has an interesting short sweetness

blacks:
>Tanyang gongfu
big fan of this black tea. reminds me of the Jin Jun Mei from KTM but better (admittedly more expensive)
>Yuchi wild tea
Taiwanese Shan Cha. interesting, fruity, cookie spices, floral honey and a strong, almost artificial sweetness. worth a sample, quite a unique tea
>Ai Lao Yesheng "Blackberry"
kind of boring to me. it does strongly smell and taste of forest fruit, a bit of resin but not much else
greens:
>Sanxia Bi Luo Chun
pretty distinctive green tea with an intense herbal-umami flavor. maybe some lime and spices. tastes almost like some type of soup

whites:
>Nannuo
very oxidized. honey and apple. a bit too close to a black tea maybe
>Jingmai
interesting herbal flavor in this along with more typical leafy white notes, meadow-type stuff. good mouthfeel and the white tea equivalent of "depth" I suppose. quite nice

>>20438195
Is that cold brew?
I used to be big on green tea. Now I'm more of a black tea kinda guy, but I still have half a bag of green left that I need to use up. I'm wondering if anyone has experimented with cold brews before?

>>20440405
Great review anon. I ordered some white and black tea too, from taiwan. Looking forward to seeing how those turn out

>>20437443
Tell us about the old shizo who made nettle+strawberry tea, Anon

>>20440432
nta, but green tea makes a nice cold brew, i like coldbrewing longjing in summer. try 1g/100ml overnight in the fridge

drinking the rest of the 2002 6FTM ripe tuo from Awazon
cigarette-flavored chocolate milk. maybe incense latte? some old wood vibes too

>>20433454
>>20441073
Suntory tea forded 1 mirrion times!!!

>>20435862
>since they're made of iron
>>20436746
>iron water.
people literally /ck/ with an "iron fish" to get more iron in their diet.

>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28049274/
TLDR: it just werks but don't boil water with 2 iron fish.

>>20437443
>tell me what's wrong with my setup.
im a SEA chink and i hate milky runny shits.
i suggest soya or oat milk.or fake creamer.

>>20441262
U are not aryan 'nuff

>>20441331
Persians are brown and didn't suck cows either.

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>>20441208
>cigarette-flavored chocolate milk. maybe incense latte
Alright you have my interest. I really need to put in an Awazon order this Spring.

>>20439932
>>20439935
Have you noticed any sudden urges to join a union?

>>20441369
Sintasha and Andonovo sucked plenty of cow booba and were not brown.

>>20437443
You live the live of a peasant. Replace your milk with cream if you love yourself.

>>20440002
Try something harvested in summer or fall. Much deeper, warmer flavours.

>>20441432
Is there a name for those stacks of variously-sized tuos? I've been trying to find more pictures of them.

>>20441745
NTA but I don't think I'd go past whole milk. Too much butterfat just buries the flavor.

>>20434639
try a 100g 7572 taetea off amazon. those are lovely imo and quite mellow and comforting compared to other ripes I've tried. I haven't found any raw I like, and mostly dislike ripe but 7572 is very nice

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>>20441755
In Yunnan, stacking puerh melons is a time honored tradition.

>>20441755
Golden melon or something else melon related usually, melon tribute tea.
I'm pretty sure they mostly get made for retail displays so i dunno how often they are actually made with nice tea.
There are a few melon tuos up on king tea mall but not the stacks, just single size ones.

>>20437416
looks like good stuff, you should gift him something nice soon

>>20438672
any tips for storage? I usually just leave teas in the bags they've come in, but seems there may be some better options

>>20441818
We need to send Michael Grab to the tuo stacking olympics.

>>20441809
so you haven't tried butter tea?

>>20441755
There's a whole section about them in I think the puerh caravans book, I don't have time to find it right now though.

>>20441910
I wouldn't unless it was the real yak stuff. Even then I was under the impression the tea isn't really one of the big flavors in it.

I'd probably make an exception for masala chai as well.

>>20441926
just tbsp or so of butter to regular tea, trust

>>20441884
Japanese teas are usually bagged pretty well. I use a gallon zip for organization and put them in the fridge. Freezer might make them last even longer but I haven't compared.

Let it warm up before you open it and keep it in a good airtight container after that. I sometimes pour out half of a bag to use and vac seal the other half to go back in the fridge/freezer. I use it up after I'm done with the first half though. Once they're exposed to air the clock is ticking.

They print 1 year on the bags, but I think 2 is pretty easy to accomplish. Past that they do start to get old, but it takes a while.

A bit of an unusual request, but does anyone know a good distributor of herbs and tisanes in Canada? A good buddy of mine is sick and I want to ship him some feel-better juice. (I'm good for normal teas, but I was hopping to get some peppermint and so on.)

>>20441965
Etsy let's you filter sellers by county. Maybe look for some herbal cough and cold tea blend or some elderberry syrup or something.
These guys have a Canadian store
https://www.tealyra.ca/mint-tea/
Also found these guys, looks pretty promising
https://northrootsherbfarm.ca/shop

>>20442030
Thank you very much anon, I completely forgot about Etsy. Cheers!

>>20442040
>, I completely forgot about Etsy. Cheers!
It's easy to do, site is on a long slide to being complete garbage, but you can still find some good sellers on there occasionally if you are willing to take the time. It's a lot easier in this case because filtering for Canada removes a whole lot of the spam and chinese plastic crap

>>20441965
ginseng oolong is great for that if you can find some. usually has some licorice root in it as well which is really nice on the throat
I've found it on amazon in the past from Oriarm

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chonkers

>>20442388
I would drink that one, looks okay

https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea/products/2022-early-spring-tai-ping-hou-kui-shou-gong-taiping-houkui-kowkui-handmade-a-grade-green-tea-anhui

Where can I find more like this? The whole leaves are so fun and this tea tastes lovely.

>>20442665
it's really that specific tea that's made like that, the Japanese might also have something similar but its uncommon.
yunnan sourcing has a 2024 batch of that tea.
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/tai-ping-hou-kui-green-tea-from-anhui

>>20442714
thank you very much anon, i appreciate it. the whole leaves make me happy.

>>20442714
While I'm on yunnan sourcing, I would like to ask for recommendations for Liu Bao! I tried it for the first time recently and was very taken with its complexity.

>>20442729
That's what i like to hear, liubao is my favorite fermented tea, i think is usually better then ripe puer.
This should be a good reference point, has some age on it and spent enough time stored in the local humid region to give you an idea of the classical liubao flavor. I really feel the humid aging is an important aspect of the final product. These use slightly more premium material and the level of initial fermentation might be lighter for some but the storage difference should still be noticable.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea/products/2014-three-cranes-45007-recipe-traditional-liu-bao-hei-cha-of-guangxi
And then maybe try something younger without the humid aging so you can see that what the time spent in Wuzhou brings to the table. Whichever jumps out at you.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea/products/2019-three-cranes-75117-high-mountain-liu-bao-tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea/products/2019-three-cranes-old-tree-liu-bao-cha

I found a decent looking Czech tea shop. The puer is meh but everything else looks on point.
If anyone feels like taking a look and giving their take on it.
www.obchodcajem.net

>>20442759
Thank you very much anon!

>>20442759
NTA but I have been curious since I'm still learning, what's the difference between dark tea like liubao and pu-erh?

>>20435391
Over the years I learned that when my tea becomes less enjoyable (mood taken into account), it's time to replace my water filter. Also, not rotating enough or getting too much of the same type of tea can get boring. There's no way I know what your problem is but the reset you mention is a good idea, I've found myself getting from 10 to 15 and now nearing 20g/day.

>>20442763
Looks alright I guess.
The teaware is overpriced as usual, and some of these loose tea prices also seem to have the classic "Česká přirážka" since it's always 50g.
I will stick to the poorfag combo of fullcha and tea-expert for something more premium but still cheap shipping(I don't mind waiting a bit, I have too much tea already)

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>>20431724
here's my terrible openscad code https://files.catbox.moe/tv1zx2.scad
and the stl file https://files.catbox.moe/hj02rg.stl

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shoutout to dong fang mei ren fr, got to be one of my favorite oolongs

>>20442790
Liu bao uses the small leaf Sinensis tea plant, pu-erh uses the big leaf Assamica in local yunnanese varietals. They're also made in different regions. Other types of heicha are made in other regions still and are much less popular. Fu Zhuan is a characteristic one usually inoculated with a fungus.
The ripe pu-erh fermentation process was based on liu bao. IMO Liu Bao more often has the beetroot and old wood funky ageing flavors, maybe because it's still aged in intense wet conditions. I feel like the taste is more "dry" too compared to the wet earth of ripe pu-erh.
Other heicha is a lot more different from those two.

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Liu bao is my favourite tea for hangovers

mfw never tried dark tea other than puerh
this one looks compelling https://tea-expert.net/magazin-kitajskogo-chaya/tyomnyj-chaj-hej-cha/30014-myanmar-kokang

>>20444082
Looks like a big label border tea. What is it, anon?

>>20444102
"Puerh" from Myanmar https://tea-expert.net/magazin-kitajskogo-chaya/tyomnyj-chaj-hej-cha/30014-myanmar-kokang

>>20444076
Looks pretty rustic, its just ripe puer made over the border but that processing is kinda.... Looks like they never rolled the leaves before drying them.

>>20444076
I almost bought that the other day. Would be pretty fun to try but the cake looks a little sus

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Anyone else order any of FL's smoked black tea?
https://www.farmer-leaf.com/products/spring-2024-jingmai-black-special-processing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIdN8PZgWtM

>>20444197
Not yet but i will for sure if he still has some when he lists cakes

>>20444076
>mfw never tried dark tea other than puerh
I would strongly recommend liubao.
A box of this and some other samples from ktm would be a good start.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/home-page/products/2020-sanhe-liu-bao-cha-liubao-tea-1st-grade-loose-leaf-100g-tin-boxed-liu-pao-tea-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxi?variant=44404963868902
Or the stuff on YS i was talking about earlier.
>>20442759

>>20444197
Nah don't like FL black teas.
Shai hong can fuck off

>>20444197
I did, will see how it taste when I get them. I hope i'll receive the package before the addition of the new teas too. >>20444303
They are sold out, the only one left is the gush black.

Dear /tea/, are you concerned your tea consumption would cause you iron deficiency? I'll let you know that I've been drinking 2L/15+g of ripe pu er a day for over 5 years (drank half that before) and my blood tests for iron came back totally normal a few days ago.

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>>20444309
Very interdasting, anon. I put it on my list

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>woke up and pounded white tea on an empty stomach
What now? Am I supposed to try poetry?

Went back to using a Gongdaobei after being annoyed by slow cooldown. Flat cups also help with increased heat dissipation

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Ran out of da hong pao and at the moment don't have money to get more from Yunnan Sourcing so I went to a local teashop to see if they had any. They had one just labeled "Wuji Rock Oolong" which im giving a go since that should mean its either da hong pao under a different name, or something similar. It's got a similar taste to the Da Hong Pao and Shi Jin Gui I've gotten from YS but the flavor and smell isn't quite as strong, and it seems like it lasted one or two more brews less before losing its flavor. Still though, it's good tea, hoping to buy a lot from YS soon but just don't have much money at the moment.

They also gave me a sample of some milk oolong and some pu'er, there's no specific pu'er variety its just "pu'er". Reminded me that I still haven't actually tried any pu'er in the year or so that I've been drinking a lot more tea.

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remind me to this on my ereader to read later https://cmjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13020-022-00571-1

>>20444391
Don't buy that "milk oolong". It's just artificially flavoured shit. It tastes sickeningly "chemical". (I'm missing some proper adjectives here but you get the idea) The local tea seller literally told me they'd put the leafs in milk which is bullshit.
And as for the "Wuyi tea" I found that is the most common oolong and chinese tea in general sold in europe. Can't go wrong with that, though the ones I had so far were not really suitable for gonfu since they loose taste quickly and aren't very "complex". The unpleasant notes of cheap teas are often exaggerated with gonfu brewing.
But still great everyday tea.

>>20444197
yes, but accidentially. I ordered all new blacks and saw that one was smoked afterwards. It's not here yet

>>20444413
>Don't buy that "milk oolong". It's just artificially flavoured shit. It tastes sickeningly "chemical".
not all milk oolong is like this, the cultivar itself, jin xuan just has a milky taste to it, you can get it without additives from stores like taiwan tea crafts. its probably one of my favourite taiwanese oolong cultivars, tbdesu the texture of it is much closer to milk than the taste

>>20444042
nothing like a good cup of dirt water

>>20444197
I did too. Figured if it's smokey and/or roasty, I'll probably like it, successful experiment or not.

why does my silver needle tea seem to become more bitter as it sits? I remove the tea after brewing, not grandpa style or anything

>>20444710
Bitterness maybe becomes more prominent as the cup cools, try brewing with slightly cooler water

>>20444413
>Don't buy that "milk oolong"
It's just a sample and I'll probably try it at some point this week, don't really have any intention of buying it but I've heard mixed things about mixed oolongs and the tea at this shop seems like pretty good quality, albeit pretty unspecific in the varieties, so I figure I should give it a try.
>the ones I had so far were not really suitable for gonfu since they loose taste quickly and aren't very "complex"
Ehhh yeah that seems to be the case with this tea. It doesn't have the same almost chocolate-like hints that were in the YS Da Hong Pao that I had before which is kind of disappointing. I still have just a bit of Shi Jin Gui and Honey Orchid left from a sampler though, so I guess those and this new stuff are gonna have to tide me over next week since I'm going out of state.

>>20444848
if you like chocolate aroma, try this one from YS, it nearly tastes like cocoa
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/zheng-shan-xiao-zhong-of-wu-yi-fujian-black-tea

I was thinking of getting the Pu'erh sample from Yunnan - as I've gotten into sencha/gyokuro over the last two years and want to try something new.
Only problem is my current pot is about 30-40ml, and I'd like to get something bigger for my Pu'erh - I'm looking at the sticky and it's a little intimidating, any suggestions? Thanks

>>20444906
purists may crucify me but pu-erh works great grandpa style in my experience, especially ripe

>>20444906
From ys? Try this
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/new-products/products/2013-golden-bamboo-garden-village-raw-pu-erh-tea-tuo
Haven't had it myself but signs point to a nice semi aged raw.
No idea what to suggest for ripe sorry.
A nice cheap plain porcelain 100ml gaiwan would probably come in handy as well.
You also might want to try kind tea mall if you are the poster talking about wuyi oolongs earlier. They have a range from some more premium offerings to some really cheap ones and the fact that you can buy 50g and 100g portions of most of the puer cakes makes things a little more accessible for sampling. Yeah the selection is overwhelming but if you are interested some posters here can recommend some puer to try

>>20444915
I don't think that's really controversial. I might not drink young bitter raws grampa style but it's great for ripes and aged or less aggressive raws

>>20444906
I'd suggest getting a cheap gaiwan with a capacity around 100mL. Something like this
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/white-porcelain-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-cha-brewing-100ml
>>20444915
I think puers can be good grandpa style, some more than others. I like a few puers better grandpa than gongfu, but others I don't think are very good grandpa'd. It's definitely worth trying though.

>>20444941
>>20444942
any recs for someone who enjoys most ripe pu-erh but hasn't been able to find an enjoyable raw?

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>>20444980
Try old tea, with some proper storage on it
https://teaswelike.com/product/twelve-cent-brick/
Or maybe HK storage raw
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2008-raw-puerh-tea-brick-jiang-cheng

>>20444980
Softer tea like Yiwu is a decent bet too, depends on why you don't like sheng.

>>20444980
Without knowing what kinds of raw you've tried, I would say something aged at least about 15 years somewhere other than Kunming.
YS isn't a great place to find aged sheng imo, but I tried a sample then got a cake of this one because I really enjoy it.
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2004-millenial-old-tree-big-snow-mountain-mengku-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake?variant=12075945918532
KTM has these for pretty cheap and they're great for the price imo.
https://kingteamall.com/products/2006-changtai-si-pu-yuan-tong-an-hang-65s-year-of-hk-tongan-tea-cake-400g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=31996465086567
https://kingteamall.com/collections/sheng-puerh-raw-tea/products/2004-changtai-chen-hong-chang-yi-wu-yiwu-cake-400g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=44452371562726
Traditional HK storage such as yeeontea's offerings is something to try for sure.
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2000-second-millennium-sun-withered-raw-pu-erh-tea-maocha?variant=31237481726023
I would recommend these too, unfortunately you can't buy samples.
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2001-xiaguan-grade-a-pine-crane-raw-toucha-tea
https://yeeonteaco.com/collections/puerh/products/2004-yunnan-import-and-export-corporation-8582-concept-raw-pu-erh-tea-cake

>>20444349
If I have to die, I hope it's tea that kills me.

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New 2024 teas on Viet Sun
https://www.vietsuntea.com/

>>20445096
You want the mold to kill you or to get crushed to death by crates full of tea?

>>20444393
reminder

>>20444915
grampa style is the ideal way to drink ripes

>>20445071
>>20445029
thanks much anons, will be trying some of these

>>20445045
as in like pu-erh from Yiwu or there's a specific variety from there?

I've tried a few different ripe/raw from YS, namely
ripe cozy 2023 (enjoyed and ordering more of)
raw cha qi 2023 (way too bitter and astringent)
raw heavens door 2023 (not too bitter and somewhat enjoyed but didn't really get the supposed taste notes from it)

also really enjoy taetea 7572 (just ordered 350g cake of this one) and to a lesser extent 7542

I'm mostly drinking them grandpa style, about 7-10g per 400ml of water but also sometimes tried a strainer and less water for the more bitter ones without much luck in improved flavor or complexity

>>20445124
if youre rich. i just want to do short steeps to squeeze the most out of the tea i can.

>>20445107
Either or.

>>20445127
>as in like pu-erh from Yiwu or there's a specific variety from there?
Puerh from Yiwu, different mountains generally have a different character. It's not exactly as straightforward as you might think, since there's a sort of feedback loop of mountains being known to have a certain character, so tea with that character from there is more valuable, so it's produced to be that way. Lao Banzhang tea needs to have Banzhang taste for example. The second sort of confounding factor is that around 90% of tea labelled Yiwu tea is not actually from Yiwu, so the counterfit tea must mimic Yiwu taste. I thought about writing a quick tea precession of simulacra post but that's pretty much all of it there. There is a nebulus understood "Yiwu" taste and so tea that is labelled "Yiwu" must be made to have that taste.

But yes, Yiwu is generally considered softer.

>>20445143
interesting, that makes sense. thanks for the explanation. will be looking for some labelled Yiwu

>>20444882
Huh, neat, I might get a little bit when I place an order next time. Thanks for the recommendation, anon.

>>20444309
nta but maybe you can help me as well, I recently tried a sample of this from YS:
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2002-aged-aroma-collector-liu-bao-tea
I really enjoyed the sort of 'fresh rain' flavors present. It's way too expensive for me to order in larger quantities to drink regularly though, so I was wondering if there might be something similar available for less money. do most liu baos have a similar flavor in general or would that be unique to particularly aged ones? I've tried some ripe pu-erhs which are somewhat similarly earthy but don't seem to reach the flavor I can only describe as fresh rain.

>>20445197
I would say that Petrichor flavor you describe falls in the realm of aged tea taste. You can find those aged tea tastes in a good amount of liubao. Not always with the same kind of clean storage he describes. I would try some liubao that has spent some time aging especially somewhere humid, I can't promise it will taste the same but it should be good tea.
Maybe try some of this and see how it compares
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea/products/2014-three-cranes-45007-recipe-traditional-liu-bao-hei-cha-of-guangxi
King tea mall also has these cakes that were aged as loose tea in the factory for 6 years before pressing, those might hit some similar notes.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/home-page/products/2014-sanhe-chen-nian-bing-liubao-aged-cake-400g-liu-pao-tea-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxi-province

>>20445277
>Petrichor
ahhh that's the word
>Not always with the same kind of clean storage he describes
I'm not so sure what this means, does clean storage refer to like a lack of fishy tones or other maybe unwanted flavors?
thanks for the suggestions, will be trying these

>>20444915
>>20444936
>>20444941
>>20444942

Thank y'all so much! I'll be sure to try grandpa style

>>20445296
Okay so with liubao, it's often stored in the hot and humid area where its produced. Sometimes if it's too humid it will pick up wet storage flavors, Scott describes that as musty which is maybe appropriate. I find a lot of liubao with good humid storage will have a sort of dirt root cellar full of beets smells and flavor range. Which to me is usually good some times it's kind of intense, I haven't had much i would call musty but maybe that's because the vendors don't usually buy it.
In my opinion at least some humid storage is an essential part of the character of liubao.
Anyways im assuming this tea you tried has that "aged tea taste" without excessive wet storage that tastes like something that was in a moldy attic or something. But maybe Scott is saying it doesn't have any of the humid storage aspect at all its hard to say.
Im thinking what you are looking for is going to be in the realm of aged and semi aged liubao with some humid storage. The younger teas that didn't spend much time in Guangxi tend to be more of the dark chocolate side of things and can still be bitter, they don't have the mellow aged woody soil notes as prominently.
Sorry if im rambling here.
So would you say the tea you are drinking now has a kind of root cellar full of beets / soil kind of thing going on? Or does it have none of that at all?

>peppermint
>chamomile
based

>camellia sinensis
cringe

>>20445499
>sort of dirt root cellar full of beets smells and flavor range. Which to me is usually good some times it's kind of intense
I think root cellar is a good descriptor, and I'm there with you in how I feel about it. at first I didn't think I liked it, but the familiarity or maybe some nostalgia for the specific earthy scent keeps bringing me back to it
>Sorry if im rambling here.
not at all, I'm glad to learn more
>would you say the tea you are drinking now has a kind of root cellar full of beets / soil kind of thing going on
I believe so, but I haven't been in many cellars, I think my best description would be when you turn over a rock in the woods and it's moist beneath

>>20445518
but have you tried camellia taliensis

>>20445528
Okay yeah i got ya. So you can find those sort of flavor profiles in a lot of liubao, you don't have to buy stuff that's that spendy to get those kind of tastes. Just look for the stuff that says it's been aged in Guangxi or the factory for several years like 4+.
For ys this should be a good bet i think
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea/products/2014-three-cranes-45007-recipe-traditional-liu-bao-hei-cha-of-guangxi
Or again that red box on king tea mall
But please try a smaller portion of tea before you buy a kilo since i haven't tried either.
Also maybe not the best for buying lots of tea but chawangshop has a really solid selection of liubao and usually stocks good stuff.
Purple cloud tea house in the us is also pretty solid but they are kind of flaky on having teas available lately.
Anyway good taste, i think liubao is really great stuff and to me it surpasses at least cheaper ripe puers in a lot of ways.

>>20445549
>says it's been aged in Guangxi or the factory for several years like 4
awesome, will look for this, and have the two you recommend in my carts hah
thanks a bunch for the detailed explanation and recommendations, I look forward to trying more of these

>>20444554
Yes, I know. I was talking about myexperiences with shit from local stores.

>>20445101
Interestinf.finna boutta try sum vietnamese teas soon. thanks for sharing, anon

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where my 6am sippers at

>>20445673
right here son. did you sleep

>>20445756
not yet. it's time for some yerba

>>20435796
Let me know when you get it printed. Would ve interested how that turns out

>>20445805
i didnt use anons design specifically but him making it inspired me to design and 3d print an entire tray itself. ill send pics on tuesday.

>>20433454
recommend me some east frisian tea, i am curious about the taste.

>>20445549
Have you had EOT's Liu Bao before? If so what do you think of it?

https://essenceoftea.com/collections/liu-bao-tea/products/2007-essence-of-tea-signature-grade

>>20446111
I bought a box, i have had a few standout sessions with it but overall its just not that interesting for the $. Wouldn't really recommend.
He doesn't mention in the listing that its all fall tea.

>>20445101
interesting, I'd love to try some, any recommendations for which teas?
thanks for sharing

>>20446140
>All Fall Tea
Well that normally isn't a deal breaker for me, the price of it is definitely something that drives the expectation that it is Spring material. I saw your earlier recommendations and will probably go for one of those, it did look interesting as a person who has never had liu bao before.

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AAAAAAAAAHH
>no updates in almost 2 weeks
I already lost a package from Taiwan in transit last year. how fucked am I?

>>20446172
not very fucked (yet), you're still in the normal range of waiting

>>20446154
Not him but the 2023 version of the green tea (Lai Chau 2024, there is only one) and the black tea (Lao Cai 2023/2024) were both good. The Giang Pang ripe pu'ers really do have a melon taste, it's quite interesting in a raw. I myself am holding off on ordering in hope that the Huang Su Phi black tea is restocked for the 2024 year.

He also does a 'Viet Sun Sampler' now, where you pay however much money and he sends you a bunch of samples, the value is better than buying samples individually but you may not get a sample of whatever specific tea.

>>2044434
Make sure to pair your plant irons with a vitamin C source and it isn't a problem.

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>>20446172
Hopefully your luck is better than mine, it's over.

>>20446291
post guy drinking your tea, sorry bro

>>20446291
Had the same thing happening last year. Also issued a search warrant to the shipping company without any avail. Taiwanteacrafts refunded me the amount.

>>20446291
I just noticed I posted my fucking tracking number on 4chan lel

>>20446172
My first FL order took almost 3 months and there hasn't been update for over a month.
Sometimes you lose the shipping lottery.

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After a month
At sea
At last, I got
My tea

>>20446334
what did ya get?

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>>20446339
Sipping on the black right now. Smells and tastes a lot like a certain vegetable, which I haven't been able to identify yet.

>>20446316
Good for you anon. But my shipping method shouldn't take more than 13 days and it's almost past that. And that there are no tracking updates is clearly abnormal.

>>20446316
And past orders I placed never took more than a week.

>>20446312
You fucked up, I'm flying to Germany to raid your pumidor now

>>20446341
I figured it out. This black tea tastes almost exactly like fresh-off-the-branch tomatoes. This is the wildest tasting note I've ever picked up.

>>20446473
Damn, really wasn't expecting there to be anything notable about it.
Would be cool to know how that xiaguan cake is when you get around to it

>>20446516
Will do.

>>20446341
How come that stuff is so cheap?
2$ for 100g of that "old tree" tea?

>>20446473
>This black tea tastes almost exactly like fresh-off-the-branch tomatoes
Yeah i can see that. I get the tomato leaf flavor in teas sometimes.
Sounds nice

>>20446557
That store is in its own little world, it's sort of a snapshot of a tea shop from the mid 2000s price wise that exists outside of time. That said don't expect gold for pennies.
Their house brand teas haven't been explored that deeply at least by posters here, a few have tried the cheap whites and said they are decent for cheap whites.

>>20446557
Don't expect stores like these to be be honest about "old tree". Awazon has good prices, but don't expect a miracle.

>>20446473
I got that tomato flavor from the Yingpan Shan black from Farmerleaf
I get it in sheng too sometimes

would brewing tea in a Aeropress work?

>>20446618
I put tea in an espresso machine once. it makes it very very bitter.

>>20446574
Whatever it is. 2$ for 100g is amazingly cheap. Do they get kids to slave away at the farms or how is that even possible? It's almost the same price as the indian black teas I get in the local russian store which propably is of much lower quality. I'll give it a try.
What does the 3$ sheng taste like?

>>20446786
>What does the 3$ sheng taste like?
Like $3 sheng

I have Awazon money, perhaps one day I will have Essence of Tea money.

>>20446791
So bitter as fuck?

>>20446791
I already love that dodgy ass site. Looks like it came straight out of the early 2000s.
And 100g is considered a sample lel

S O V L

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Did someone try this cake?

>>20446834
>So bitter as fuck?
Cheap bush tea, rough, probably weak, more harsh then bitter

>>20446855
I will by the end of this week I hope.

Iced tea season now.
Jasmine Green tea seems to work well iced. doesn't have enough tannins or whatever that cloudy up and the jasmine goes well to impart a nice sweetness.

>local tax jew already send me invoice
Zhu tang sample will be here soon.
Kinda excited ngl, I have a high hopes for this one.
Kinda hoping the 2024 cakes won't be that special so I can save for a while, since there is always BF and I have bunch of cakes already.

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ice up niggas.

>>20446798
>Essence of Tea
sheesh, they want more for some of their samples than I'm willing to spend on several cakes...

>>20446919
do you brew hot and ice it or cold brew?

>>20446986
hot over ice. "cold" can be challenging since different tea reacts differently and extracts differently. Some cold will be bitter maxxing which isn't that horrible, but it's not great, especially greens that are known for "acid" like chun mee, the stupid Starbs Teavana Emperor's clouds and mists, etc. for some it just tastes, meh.

Hot extract immediately over ice consistently works for most all sans the most tannin maxxing teas like Indian teas.
for tannin heavy, I just let it "cool" down before dumping over ice.

>>20447001
for instance, I tried Mao Feng cold brew and it tasted like mildly flavored water. but mao feng over ice, hot still has its disctinct "hot" flavor.

ice is easy anyhow. prepare like hot, but basically just double up the leaf ratio to water. that pitcher in >>20446971 was basically 8g tea / 250ml of hot jasmine green + a shitload of ice in a 600ml double walled container.

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>>20446971
Gunpowder Green with Fresh Mint, Unsweet. Simple as.

>>20447028
>Unsweet
based and same.

>>20447004
>>20447001
you've convinced me. I normally cold brew if I want cold tea but I will have to try the iced hot tea method soon.

>>20447028
It's still too cold here for iced drinks to feel right but man I want some of this

>>20447028
Damn I still have some 2014 pudgy monsters kicking around. Might have to burn one later.

>>20446944
I quite liked the Zhu Tang sample I got. Good soft sweet raw with a nice aroma.

>>20446841
100 gram is the perfect sample size tbqh
8 gram samples are evil

>>20446841
The best part is when you place an order it just goes to an error page that's all in runes, then you hope your tea shows up.

any recs for a good tea knoife? I've been using a flathead screwdriver but thinking the proper tool might be easier to break clean pieces off with

>>20447281
king tea mall for all my basic tea ware needs. teaware house for bit more overpriced w2t

>>20447302
will check those, thanks

>>20447247
To be fair they do confirm it via email
But yeah, I was pretty scared when I saw that lmao

>>20447281
This is my favorite design of the different ones ive tried.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805816265965.html?
The steel is kind of soft so it might bend a bit if you drop it but it works great. Push into the cake with the flat side down. Make a few pushes before trying to pry the leaves up to minimize breakage.
Make sure to never push towards your other hand so you don't stab yourself.

>>20447281
I just got a pair of these a few weeks ago. Highly rec.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805615829687.html?

>>20447322
Second this, but extra warning on the stabbiness, if you're a clumsy retard like me then you should blunt it.

>>20447322
>Push into the cake with the flat side down
do you do that from the inside or outside of the cake? I've been starting at the little divet in the center and working outwards, but lost now that the divet is gone lol

>>20447335
oh wtf how do you use such a thing, seems it would tear up the leaves

>>20434590
I agree, but I do really enjoy aged oolongs. A good one will develop a rich taste reminiscent of prune, or the aroma you get from a really good cigar before you light it.

>>20447350
>do you do that from the inside or outside of the cake?
I usually start from the outside edge, with the cake binghole side up. Then once i remove a good chunk i work around from wherever i pried the last chunk off.
Once i have removed about half the height of the cake i usually just work chunks loose from the sides if it's loosely compressed, or just pry chunks off however works.

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>>20445096
>>20445107
>>20445130
>be me
>be over 98 years old
>live outside in a run down unheated trailer
>house overflowing with heicha
>multiple sheds full too
>just going about my daily routine
>reading news headlines on some random forum
>”missing hoarder found dead under pile of tea…”
>”…coroner noted extensive skeletal fluorosis…”
>”...mycotoxin induced liver damage...”
>“… likely cause of death is dehydration”
>look closely at the article’s pictures
>instantly recognize a piece of broken teaware
>”hey doesn't that belong to someone on /tea/?”
>frantically try to contact anons next of kin
>gotta be fast to beat the other /tea/ anons
>sweat dripping down my brow as the heir picks up
>tell them that I’m one of anons old friends
>say that I’d like to buy anons stuff
>my hands are shaking as I speak
>”you really want that trash?” they start but cut off quickly
>”actually, we were hoping to sell the property”
>it’s on the other side of the country
>also condemned
>no matter, I still need it
>”yes yes, I’ll take it all” I blurt out ecstatically
>feel a wave of relief when they agree
>get a fantastic deal on anons former estate
>”suckers” I think, they didn’t know what they had
>now proud owner of TWO derelict houses full of moldy tea
>finally get back to business
>return to browsing 4chan
>sip tea directly out of my xishi yixing pot
>be happy

>>20447420
gem

>>20447420
Meanwhile I've been trying to air out the fishiness out of this random ripe cake for the past two weeks and it still smells like something I won't ever consume.

>>20447350
Grab and wiggle. You don't need to hamfist it, but you've definitely got leverage to bust up super compressed stuff if you need to. Great for bricks you need to bite a chunk off of and split into layers.

>>20447449
>Meanwhile I've been trying to air out the fishiness out of this random ripe cake for the past two weeks and it still smells like something I won't ever consume.
Just leave it out on a shelf for the summer, or break it up and stick it in some jar without the lid on

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I always put my spent leaves into my houseplant pot and now there's mold forming. How do the chinks do it that the ripe puerh doesn't get moldy when they basically compost store it in a wet room for several weeks?

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I have to write about 25 pages of graduate level work by Friday and have written zero (0) of them as of now
Tea for this feel?

>>20446892
Pls report back when you do

>>20447510
It seems to be pretty tricky work. From what I could gather it's important that the pile is seeded with the right microbes, by adding cultures directly or them being present in the room from earlier ferments.

>>20447510
They turn it a lot, and control the humidity carefully.

>>20447247
My favorite part is logging in over HTTP. Hope you aren't reusing passwords.
>>20447510
Wo dui is a very skilled process.

>>20447526
yerba mate

>>20446154
I was going to recommend exactly the ones that >>20446283 mentioned.

>>20446341
What store is this?

>>20447666
http://www.pu-erhtea.com/

>>20447744
Holy geocities Batman. Any must-see teas while I'm here? Was looking for something relatively cheap I could get in bulk to make sun tea with, so this'll be fun.

>>20447510
They don't get the leaves that wet and they turn the pile. You really want to compost the leaves before putting them on your houseplants.
>>20447753
I don't think people have tried much of the loose leaf of awazan brand tea outside some of the whites.
Mostly people have been using it to buy cheap ripe from well known factories.
Doesn't mean the other stuff is bad but again don't expect amazing tea for $20 a kilo.

>>20447753
It's cheap tea and nobody really knows what a lot of the stuff they sell is like. My experiences are generally pretty positive for cheap daily drinking teas. And I think their ripes specifically are just fine, no complaints at all.
Do you use black tea for sun tea?

>>20447780
I will be a brave new pioneer. (And no worries, sun tea is typically made to have something to offer company if they drop by -- I'm happy to use less bombastic tea for it.)

>>20447786
Get a xiaguan raw brick or 5 while you're at it.

>>20447792
Smart man, this one. I'll dig through the site after I make dinner, cheers everyone.

>>20446283
>>20447651
sweet, will give those a try. thanks anons

>>20447753
the 2002 Fuhai ripe tuo and the 2006 Dayi Spring of Menghai are good if you want some more mid-range tea. they have some dirt cheap raws too like the Xiaguan tibetan flame

>>20447780
Oh, I didn't see the second part of your message -- yes, black tea is what's typically used, but I've done it with all sorts of things.

Any sales or deals on tea anywhere right now?

>>20447886
what sort are you looking for? or maybe just to try something new?

>>20447912
Sencha but I'm willing to try something new

Do you think the Awazon people will kill me if I order a 100g sample of every single tea on the site so I can compare them all? It's so cheap. Why is 3kg of tea only $38 USD? What would I even do with 3kg of black tea? (I tend to drink other teas.) It's very tempting.

>>20447959
that's kinda absurd. I doubt they'd care though, those are the prices they've chosen and you are paying shipping. I've made several orders like that on other sites without issue, and gotten coupons in return on occasion.
I can't believe it could be particularly great tea at that price though, I wonder if they are pressing CTC tea or something

>>20447959
someone here claimed the 8$ Menghai sheng cake they have is actually pretty good

>>20447171
8 grams is more of a tease than a sample. I have quite a few free samples that have just been laying around for a while.
>>20447322
>Make sure to never push towards your other hand so you don't stab yourself.
I stabbed myself kinda bad when breaking apart some aged puer, I was kind of afraid that I was gonna get some horrible Chinese infection.

>>20447983
>horrible Chinese infection
very dangerous, it is called tea addiction

Actually, on that topic, I've only ever used loose-leaf tea. Do I need a special tool to pry pieces off of the brick/cake? Can I use a kitchen knife? Thank you anons, lovely general here.

>>20447992
see
>>20447281
>>20447302
>>20447322
>>20447335
>>20447387

>>20447998
I should have backread, thank you anon.

>>20447992
>Can I use a kitchen knife
if it works, it works. mostly you just want to get nice whole pieces and avoid making crumbs.

>>20448001
flathead screwdriver works alright. and oyset knife is god tier

>>20447983
>I was kind of afraid that I was gonna get some horrible Chinese infection.
I have managed to avoid stabbing myself so far but i have skinned my knuckles on heavily compressed tea cakes several times.

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got one of these random w2t samples i cant find any info about, anyone ever seen this?

>>20447991
>>20448029
Well I have also skinned my knuckle on a cake, and I definitely am addicted to tea so I guess I did get infected

>>20448060
looks like one of their mini tuos hard to see the wrapper though

>>20447028
I see that ammo in the background, guns cigars, and tea? We could be friends.

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'Morn /tea/

>>20448060
it's possible that it's a new one that hasn't been put up on the website yet. there was one that came in the most recent tea club that hasn't been posted yet but i've seen other people get it as a freebie in their orders

What's the best vendor for trying out Chinese green tea classics? I'm in the EU and I'd prefer not to go over 30¢/g.

Yeeontea is running a sale. Good time to stock up on some HK mulch.

>>20449193
>>20449193
>>20449193
>>20449193
>>20449193