This is the thread for discussing teas, tisanes, and other herbal infusions.Info on types of teas, where to buy, and how to brew: https://rentry.org/tea-pastebinPrevious thread: >>21925095
First for liu bao
>>21943198> after Shulloween releaseAfter THIS shulloween release. That Big Jacko has been out for several years, both in 200g cakes and dragonballs. An anon and I brewed it up side by side when it dropped a few years ago. Can't remember either of us mentioning pencil shavings.
Drinking 2025 Peak VultureIt's okay. But slightly less enjoyable than yesterday's 2023 Xia Fa, which was 3x cheaper.Reminder that hype and FOMO isn't always right.
>>21943419>Can't remember either of us mentioning pencil shavings.but does it? because in the last thread we've got 3 people saying it does. im the one who did the "intentionally shitty reviews" :(but i've borrowed that term off teadb from a few years back on one of their reviews(not a big jacko iirc) and i've had at least 2 other ripes that all have this 'pencil shavings' taste and googling ripe puer tea "pencil shavings" tastegives reviews for ripes going back to at least 2016
>>21943554>>21943419You lads just need to face facts: ripe puerh is peasant swill. If you spend more than £10 on a cake of ripe you're getting ripped off.
>>21943554Been drinking it since I posted. Getting some moss, some lichen, some petrichor, some vanilla, some mild forest floor. Using empirical glacial water, buffered to taste.>"intentionally shitty reviews">borrowed that term off teadbThis is the type of shit thats poisoning "AI". Shitty input parroted shittily. In a few years you'll have other animetards posting about teas that taste like oldsmobile exhaust fumes running off of Shell 85 octane.
I recently had a meeting with a chinese professor and he had some of the best green tea I have ever had, I'm used to pretty dogshit bagged stuff and have always hated green tea. What are some really good green teas? His had a way lighter flavor than what I'm used to and was more fragrant.
>>21943623White2tea is doing their spring greens preorder until the 31st. Bunch left. Freshest greens you'll get until the jap stuff comes in later. This one is pretty popular around here. I've still got some kicking around in the freezer.https://white2tea.com/collections/latest-additions/products/cloud-mist-green-limited-time-only
>>21943623>What are some really good green teas?Longjing aka Dragon WellBiluochun aka Snail TeaJasmine tea which is green tea thats had jasmine flowers laid on them so they absorb flavourif they go too bitter brew at a lower temp ~80c and best green tea is under a year old while its freshest
>>21943623The yearly harvest of top tier early spring green tea is just beginning. Some sites are already running preorders, including one river tea and white2teaIf it was super floral fragrant it could have also been jasmine green tea
>>21943472>>21943561Right doesn't always mean least expensive, mountains of cheap tea guy. Plus Peak Vulture is the better tea and hype + low stakes FOMO with tea nerd anons is fun.
>>21943643I think ripe has some serious diminishing returns
>>21943650That's true especially compared to raw.
>>21943650i dont see the point in aged ripe, sure after a year or two to get rid of that freshly piled smell but after that
>>21943650Peak vulture is 8c a gram...
The faggot gay dude that was supplying my favorite cafe with the really good tea left the cafe and they're not on good terms with him anymore, so they refuse to stock it. I'm cooked.
>>21943656Ripe hits diminishing returns at 5c/gram
>>21943655Try some very aged or humid stored ripe, it's quite a different experience. If you try the yeeontea ripes, they are quite different from any young ripe
>>21943643>always gives opinion despite low knowledgemany such cases
>>21943643>still buys mostly samplesIt's funny how I was buying cakes the beginning and now I'm only buying samples since I already have enough tea.
>>21943568>moss>lichenAh yes, the well known taste of Lichen.
>>21943775Moss is a plant, lichen is an algae/bacteria colony living on fungi. I guess I could have used geosmin as a descriptor instead.
>>21943775This is hardly relevant, but one time I followed a garam masala recipe calling for lichen (kalpasi). When cooked it has a hard to describe earthy taste, unique and quite good.
>>21943784>I guess I could have used geosmin as a descriptor instead.you already said petrichor
>>21943839Geosmin is one part of petrichor. Lichen produces geosmin.
Pencil shavings is a perceptual blend, Alibaba confirmed.
>>21943872Pencil shavings are mostly incense cedar, with a tiny bit of graphite and clay. Big Jacko certainly isn't a citrus and pine forward tea. Its about as far away from Pine Darts as it gets.https://white2tea.com/products/2025-pine-darts>very aromatic, and refreshing with citrus, coniferous and woody noteshttps://mountaingirlessentials.com/products/incense-cedar-essential-oil-artisan-distilled?variant=39743209766970
>>21943916Have you tried the 2025 Icabod from w2t? That one also has a lot of petrichor to it. Gives it a nice 'summer rain' character, very comforting in a way.
>>21943932Nah not yet. They make it seem like a more refined Lumber Slut(also pretty far from Jacko). Wonder how much material they share. Anyone tried the She Graduates dragonball from black friday? Still unlisted.
>>21943629Does anywhere that is not low-quality sell like tea samplers?
>>21943629biluochun and jasmine pearls are nice, i didnt think much of longjing>>21943985region?
>>21944030God blessed United States of America
Anyone have quality oolong recommendations?I was thinking about trying the mei leaf gaba oolong but I’m a noob I don’t really know if it’s actually good.
Every morning I rip open 4 or 5 bags of pic related into my french press and drink it over ice. I started doing this in place of buying an energy drink every morning. Then at night I double bag a cup of Sleepy Time Extra. Am I tea pilled?
>>21943940>Anyone tried the She Graduates dragonball from black friday?I have. It was pretty good. Had a kind of funk to it.
>>21944048>>21943985For general newbie sampler, you can checkout YunnanSourcing.usIf you want green tea in particular, there are probably better sources
>>21943940>Lumber SlutWhy do they come up with names like this? Who does it appeal to? I'd avoid buying it on principle.
>>21944661Hipster craft beer marketing, it can be cringy. The tea is good though, probably their best cheap ripe.
>>21944065If you want the best value taiwanese oolongs and don't mind wonky sites that need automatic translation, teahome.com is a great oolong specialistThey have GABA too. i'm sure their most premium GABA will be a fraction of the price from Mei Leaf and comparable quality
I still have some white2tea green teas that I ordered from last year lying around. I didnt put them in the freezer so they were just chilling in their original packaging all year, should i even bother drinking them?
>>21944706Yes, you should. One year old is not that bad, I think sencha deteriorates faster than Chinese greens. Drink it before it loses more freshness though.
>>21944713>>21944706>One year old is not that badThis. The decline in quality is exaggerated by tea sellers who have a vested interest in getting you to buy more tea.
>>21944706I've still got a bit as well, tastes fine.
WHERE ARE THE STASH PHOTOS
>>21945004Hiding from being scraped.
>>21944695Thank you anon
>>21944695>>21945009Wow yeah you’re talking $7 vs $45 for the same amount.
>>21944341No you're just caffeine-pilled. Might as well just be drinking a glass of espresso.
>>21945019The "legend of tung ting" is also worth a try, seems to be their specialty since they're located in that growing region and have their own plantations there. They are also more known for their roasted oolong than unroasted.On checkout they will mail you a payment link with shipping price added. If the payment doesn't go through, ask them to send a paypal link.
>>21945004It's been a while since we've posted stashes. I'll take a few photos today.
I tried DIY matcha coating some iffy sencha I had and it actually sort of worked. It does significantly change the flavor. Maybe I'll try it with half as much matcha and see if I can add the other half to later steeps.
Thoughts on Adagio?
>>21945216Great place to get some tea. It was my first introduction to puerh tea many years ago. They emphasize blends featuring herbs and flowers and fruit, but they have a respectable selection of unadulterated mainstays. Looks like they've branched out into coffee, spices, and honey, which is interesting. They're for people who want good tea without having to learn too much about it, i.e. not a hobbyist. I've always held them in high regard.
>>21945225I've found I really enjoy their teas quite a lot. I like the iced tea sachets they offer as well. I am quite happy with all the loose leafs I've tried. I also enjoy their gimmicks like the full moon tea they only sell on the full moon. It's actually my favorite blend.
are the green factory sweepings from w2t any good?
>>21945335>tight budget>$6/50gYou can get 2.5kg of good green from Awazon for $50. 0.02/gram vs 0.12/gram.
>>21945004The first stash, the second stash, the good cups stash, the less than good cups stash, or the pots stash (I have to move away from this house I can barely take these arrangements anymore)?
>>21945342I guess it is a bargain compared to their 1€/g (limited time only!) offerings. I'd like to participate in the 'fresh green' FOMO at some point to see what it's all about, but this season is above my budget so far. I'll probably buy some greens off ebay in a couple months instead.
>>21945335>>21945357Bitterleaf sells some Spring 2026 low processing maocha for max freshness.
>>21945335They're all good, though the book cover is probably the least good of the bunch as you might guess. Personally I wouldn't bother if you don't want to fork out for one of the pricier ones.They are quite a different tea to regular cheap green, worth trying, but no need to fomo in. Maybe just get some nice long jing from somewhere instead.
Lets talk about the "Yiwu" Melon Sheng after I had some sessions with it. The last tea in my Awazon stack, which I received from the EU anon. 10g Gongfu, 90°CI wish there was material to write some crazy review about this stuff but in the end it is just a very tame and inoffensive sheng. Toss some extra leaves in to make this do something. Dry leaves are dark and dusty, faint leathery sheng smell. The gentleman I bought this from suggested it could have been open storage, so better give this one a good rinse. Wet leaves show some tobacco but I don't really get that in the taste. Suprisingly there are no murky notes in there or anything else unpleasant, but the interesting bits are also somewhat lacking. I wish it had some more edge. Endurance is mid range. You can unironically drink this for sure but there are propably better options in the Awazon catalogue. The other reviewer was a little more exited about this than I am. Fun fact: the 100g "sample" has the same price per gram as the 7.2kg version at $1.99/100g, so you could just stack samples instead of investing in the full melon.Thanks again to the EU mad lad, who let me have a share in this wonderful pile of mystery leaves.
>>21945335I like it. Cloud mist is definitely a higher tier tea though. Wild huang is a bit too pricey for my palate but theres some fucked up qi coming off it.
>>21945453>The gentleman I bought this from suggested it could have been open storageI'm normally not too fussy about rinsing leaves but you see them lying around in the shop (picrel), and I've never seen one in a box in any context, even in other shops/warehouses, so that was my reasoning. Also it arrived without unique packaging, just a bag.I actually ordered a sample with it. The downside of the samples (at least the one I bought) is that they are half dust. I couldn't send the sample to you, even though it was already packed, since of 100g it was probably only 50g solid leaf. I was interested to see if you'd get that tobacco note-I got it in the taste as well, and a mushroom earthiness, and even chocolate at some point (I think from the sample though.) I think it does have its place. It's more robust than most raw puerhs I've had, but with more going on than most ripes. It's good to get another opinion on it. I think, on the whole, it's decent value for money.
>>21945504Never noticed the melons on that pic lmaoI have some shengs with stronger tobacco than the melon. I'd even say I got more tobacco out of AW93 sheng than from the melon. But it is classic aged sheng flavor in a very mild representation, so some tobacco leather for sure. I got some sweetness every now and then, chocolate idk, not the main character at least. Fun to try
I'm running out of Lapsang so I guess it's time to restock my at work collection. Anyone have any recommendations for decent tea that can translate well to a longer steep time? My limited resources at the office means all I really have access to is a metal diffuser, a electric kettle (Anything less than boil you have to eyeball yourself) anda 12 oz travel mug. Im not expecting anything wild or high end but if anyone has any ideas I'd welcome them otherwise I'll just pick up a decent black blend and maybe some more lapsang.
What’s up, fellow tea niggers? Tea is cool and all, but have you heard of pee?
>>21945749Is that some sort of Chinese tea you're supposed to mix with Coke?
>>21945703>Anyone have any recommendations for decent tea that can translate well to a longer steep time?Just brew western style. I did not yet come across a tea, which didn't work western style. In the office I do mostly black in the morning and sencha in the afternoon.>a metal diffuser, a electric kettle (Anything less than boil you have to eyeball yourself) anda 12 oz travel mugperfect setup
I tried lapsang souchong recently. I didn't like it very much, but at least I tried it.
>>21945703Hello I'm here to evangelise for grandpa style brewing. It's the least fussy type and works well for basically any tea that doesn't turn bitter. Which in my experience includes a lot of blacks, lapsang souchong, and almost all fermented teas - sheng, shou, most heicha I've tried.You don't get the per-steep progression and tasting notes of gongfu, but you'd be already forgoing that with western style brewing, so might as well just go all the way and retvrn to grandpa. No faffing about with a diffuser or steep times, just dump in the leaves, dump in the water, drink to your heart's content, add more water when needed and add more leaves if you've oversteeped it and it's getting weak.I myself am a big liubao enthusiast, it brews perfectly with zero fuss. But I drink a lot of blacks too, roasted oolongs are great, even green oolongs, I don't drink much puerhs but I have tried them and it's almost always fine, etc.The only things I wouldn't drink grandpa style are maybe young and delicate greens, and very expensive puerh that you really want to gongfu to get your money's worth. But for almost any daily drinker I don't see a reason to bother with anything else, unless you love the ceremony.Anyway yeah get yourself some liubao.
>>21946144Did you have a smoked one or a non-smoked lapsang?
>>21946441I'm so annoyed trying to brew dancong gongfu style without it getting bitter. somehow grandpa just works.
>>21946596try it in a bowlwhat greens are coming in the w2t club, any knowers?
>>21945453i read yiwu is considered low grade these days
>>21946441>>21946596hmm i should try that. i have some dancongs sitting around because i tried them gongfu and just didnt care for any of them really
>>21946673No it's not, it's one of the more expensive big regions along with banzhang
>>2194665150g of Cloud Mist probably. Thats what I got a few years ago.
>>21946481Isn't being smoked what makes it lapsang?
Damn this liu bao is really good. Like a cheaper but equally good version of orange box CNNP.
>>21946787The heavily smoked versions are the ones that made lapsang famous, but original lapsang teas weren't smoked or were only lightly smoked (depending on the origin story). If it's the heavy smokiness putting you off of lapsang, try the other versions. Much more mellow.
Why do green tea leaves stand straight up in hot water?
Is anyone selling a spring 2026 jasmine silver needle?
>green tea makes me sleepier more than it makes me alert >but I can't drink it before bed because there's still caffeine which messes up the sleep What's the point of this piece of shit drink REEEEEEE
>>21947830I think one river tea will be selling them? They are included in their white tea presale, but not as a separate item
i blindly trust every post in/tea/ threads, even the ones that contradict each other
>>21947876drink it after the hardest part of your daymake it an occasion, a ceremony, a celebration
just wanted to thank the anon who reccomended the baozhong its really very tasty. thank you <3
is there any good green tea on amazon before my prime runs out
>>21947876Drink it to enter a relaxed, yet alert state. The GDP obsessed utilitarians need not apply.
>>21946596boiling water, very short steeps. you need either a small gaiwan or to use a very large amount of leaves because you want the ratio of leaves to water to be very high.if you still struggle with bitterness you could try like 90°C water but rlly the bitterness is part of the flavour profile and if you don't like it you should drink something else.
>>21947933Nice. Spring is here, time to escape the heicha dungeon and sip on some tasty baozhong.
how many grams of tea do you guys drink a day? im on like 15-30 already less than a week after a month long tolerance break (ಥ﹏ಥ)
>>21947956>30lol damn dude. Typically 7-10, 15-20 (two of my normal sessions) if I'm feeling wild.
>>21947955ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ>>21947960ill probably calm down in a day or two I've been tasting stuff on top of my normal habit so my intake is higher than normal. 15-20 is more usual for me. sometimes as low as 10.can anyone tell me is puer dangerous to have around my birbs? am I correct in thinking its packed with aspergillus niger spores? :/
>>21947939>The GDP obsessed utilitarians need not apply.Wow, rude. I'm gonna go back to coffee then, fuck this grass soup.
>>21947971sensitive much?
Reminder to wipe off your saucer after every session. If you don't it might get sticky and adhere to your gaiwan when you lift it, only to then come crashing down onto the floor. Ask me how I know.
>marco polo rougeanyone tried this?im also looking at the peach cookie genmaicha from mountainroseherbs if anyone is a fruity enjoyer
>>21947993just pour some of the water u preheat ur gaiwan with over everything to rinse it before u start ur session
>>21947956I just eyeball it iunno man
todays 4th gaiwan √((⊙ω⊙;)))\long feng xia.pretty typical green oolong very light and floral but less sweet than the others I have right now.slight hint of muted savoury bean-y-ness like some greens have >>21948019good way to do it.
>>21943643My old friend is the discord user, extremely accurate. Including being from nordic country, how did you know?For me, the closest fit is the 5 years noob, because all the other categories are weirdos and cultists I don't identify with, and I'm not cheap. Basically, the category for normal people who just like good shit is missing.
>>21937526 again, having my first taste of pic related, and also my time trying a shou younger than eight years old. To me, this tastes like the aged ones, and I'm not picking up any of the fishyness I've always heard about.This is good stuff though, and next time I'll take anon's advice and buy a whole sleeve.
>>21948086there's no normal people here lol. there should be a category for ppl that just like tea without making it their whole life though
>>21948089Yeah Xiao Fa is great value
>>21945335I found Book Cover way more flavorful than some of the expensive ones (bamboo green which was just not my type of tea), and also better than Cloud Mist which just tasted like a cheap green despite having fine appearance. Wild Huang was delicious. Mao Jian no.2 I liked, though it tasted more like Biluochun than any Mao Jian I've had.
>>21948086>>21948086You two are on the bottom right.
>>21947876This except that's why I like it. First I get a momentary elevation of energy and dopamine, followed by warmth and relaxation, after which I just lay down and space out. Perfect for a day when you have nothing to do. I've never done weed but I feel like a stoner.>>21944713People who say year old green tea is good never AB compared it with fresh. Yeah, it might preserve surprising amount of the same character (but blunted), but how it makes you feel is completely different. Especially when you have it as the first thing of the day. But since it's almost impossible to gravitate towards old stock if you have fresh tea at hand, this comparison never gets made.
>>21943643For me, it's the pittance of cheap teaCrane gang and KTM. Still buying samples rather than cakes (let alone tongs) though
>>21947993As someone who frequents both /sumo/ and /tea/, I was very confused where I was for a second.
>>21947993pouring one out for the lost ones
>>21943643Mountains of cheap tea reporting in. I have not bought a sample of any cake or brick in two years
>>21948152How did you brew the book cover? Maybe you get some better results than I did
>>21948474I am the exact same way.
>>21943657remember to nurture your local gayboy, or else you might miss out
>>21945147>DIY matcha coating some iffy senchawhat does that mean?
>>21948556The sencha I used was getting kind of stale. You toss the leaves around in matcha until they're powdered like a donut. Then you brew it as usual.
>>21948534Nah that guy was an entitled asshole.
>>21947918>drink it after the hardest part of your dayAnd that's why I always drink it after waking up.
>>21947496I thought the origin of it was someone drying their tea over a fire because it had gotten wet.
is it worth to get another clay for ripe if you already have a zini?
>>21943655I mainly drink ripe and i can tell you that there are a lot of difference betwen cakes and their age.
>>21948243>>21947993based sumobros
>>21949336Worth it as in>this pot will enhance my tea proportionally to the amount of money I spent on it? Maybe, probably not. I think the whole "this type of tea needs this specific clay" thing is mostly a meme. IIRC firing temp has just as much impact on the porosity of the finished pot as the clay type does.Worth it as in>I'd enjoy having and using a new teapot? Yeah it could be.
>>21948584my tea was bad so I added new tea
>>21949598>I think the whole "this type of tea needs this specific clay" thing is mostly a meme. IIRC firing temp has just as much impact on the porosity of the finished pot as the clay type does.Definitely. The truth is it's hard to understand and predict what effects a pot will have until you try it.
>>21949648Don't those porous pots get moldy if you don't use them atleast every other day
>>21949649No, as long as you don't leave leaves inside for days
>>21949649>he doesnt drink tea multiple times a day
I'm gonna drink some tea right now
>>21949719When summer comes i usually stop drinking tea (hot)
>>21949598>>21949648though iv never tasted any other besides zini, the taste did got better compared to my glazed gaiwans and shiboridashi - same ratio.So you know? It made me wonder. Mostly because the yellow one its so cute.
>>21949782It might make it taste better but it might not, like anon said it's really hard to know until you actually brew some tea in the pot.But if you like the look of it and want it based off of that then I say go for it. I enjoy my yixing pots simply because I enjoy the aesthetics of them and I like using them to brew tea. The difference in taste is mostly pretty minor and is a secondary benefit for me.Yixing does retain heat better than a typical gaiwan so that is a real and practical upside, especially for brewing ripe.
how do you guys brew the orange peel puerh? my small 150ml doesn't have enough space. do you brew it western style?
>>21949874Crush and split it out. Lets you dial back the peel if its a bit too strong.
I'm gonna say it. I fucking hate tightly pressed cakes. I have these small 8g mini discs... outer layer is done yet the middle is still unopened. The only reason why someone would press it this hard is to artificially increase endurance. I want 4 GOOD steeps not 8 bad ones ffs.
>>21949902i'll try cutting it in half since i don't have that. thanks!
>>21949874i'd weight out 5g/100ml of both tea and broken up peel, ended up with weak thin blakc tea and a hint of citrus. i'd recommend using your usual weight plus some peel on top
Drinking gingseng oolong grandpa style but steeped long so it is thick and creamy.
Had my first Fu session today, and good god this stuff smells good.
I wish deliveries from China were faster. I'm low on supplies.
>>21950268Two weeks isn't that long of a wait
This Frankenpu from w2t has a chlorine note. That's a new one for me.
>>21949934I think it's the gimmicky forms like minicakes or waffle cakes that can suffer the most from over the top compression
>>21950301yeah i remember covid days where it was 2-3 months and thats not surface(boat)
>>21950364The ongoing war might also slow down shipping from China to Europe because they used middle eastern countries as a stop on the way
Finally the 2005yr Long Yuan Hao Cooked Teacake from Sunsing arrived and i´m pretty happy with it. The only thing its that i got a bit curious.I can say that their ´´storage smell´´ resambles me A LOT of Yee on Tea, as you would expect of course, as both are HK storage tradicionally. The thing is, after besides Heysolon tea that delivers a more attenuate wet profile, both of their smell and taste felt pretty much the same - a 2005 Kunming from YOT and the 2005yr Long Yuan Hao Cooked Teacake from Sunsing.I know a lot of you don´t see much deep profiles on ripe, but there is and i can taste and smell a lot of difference when i´m tasting the dry ones. So it got me thinking.Does all HK traditional ´´wet´´ ripes have basically the same notes? Or not?
>>21950537>traditionally fixd.
>>21950537I only tried two so I can't help much, but the ones I had were noticeably different. Still I generally have the opinion that heavier storage does make different teas taste more similar to each other.Presumably sunsing teas are more expensive, how do you like it?>deep profiles on ripeI can detect many different shades of dirt, I find it kinda odd when people say they taste the same. But then a lot of young sheng taste the same to me so I guess that's my personal blindspot.
> I can detect many different shades of dirt
>>21950671>Presumably sunsing teas are more expensive, how do you like it?The one i got wasn´t THAT MUCH, but it was around 100$. I do enjoy it, but at the same time it feels a bit like i don´t have many other examples to compare to, so i wouldn´t know.The one i got from Hayslontea may be the best of them, if i stop to think. The first taste felt like any other XiaGuan but after sometime with Boveda the storage appeared, together with many other notes. I´m saying ´´the best´´ because, till now, the only two heavy storage ones i got tasted pretty much the same. I do love it though, just got me confused.> But then a lot of young sheng taste the same to meThey sent me a sheng also, which will be my first try with a HK storage sheng so lets see if i change my mind about it.
The 2004 Biyun Hao Manzhuan that I preordered from TWL in mid January shipped finally (I knew it would take this long I just want to share my excitement and anticipation with anybody who might care)
>>21951169>650$Damn I see /tea/ is balling
>>21951214Nah I'm just lucky enough to have a decent job and no debt besides my mortgage, and no gf/wife/kids to bleed me dry. Tea is one of the things I really enjoy so I don't mind spending a decent amount of money of it.
>>21943358someone ever been tea and teapot shopping in Maliandao?I'm in Beijing next month and have a day offthough about getting a few cakes for agingseems like the easiest, cheapest and safest way to stock up from therei don't speak Mandarin (other than a few basic words and phrases)so kinda worried I'm setting myself up to getting scammed
I have a normie chink friend going back to china, he's offered to bring me some tea back as a souvenir. I don't think he's gonna be visiting rural areas or anything, and I also don't want to impose by asking him to go find some specialist shop or whatever. Is it worth asking for anything in specific? The fact that we can just order from awazom and KTM and the like makes me think that there's not much point in getting anything from a normie in china, if it's not someone who's specifically gonna go to tea provinces or whateverLike is there any weird heicha or something that's common in mainland China but hard/rare to buy online?
>>21951239https://marshaln.com/2014/07/guide-to-buying-tea-in-china-part-i-where-to-go/It's a bit old now, but probably worth reading this series by marshaln
I bought some Gyokuro in a fancy tin. What do I do with it?
>>21951281drink it
>>21951275Aged oolong is hard to buy online. So are some types of hei cha.But he'd probably need to visit a specialist store for those anyway.If he's visiting soon you could just tell him to get you some fresh spring green tea.
>>21951281Try traditional gyok brewing. Low temperature with a lot of leaf for that thick brothy experience
>>21951291KTM has some aged oolong, and I think so might teahome. But you're right, the selection is actually pretty small. I might mention it, and heicha, just in case he comes across anything interesting.>fresh spring green teaI'm not a big green guy so I probably won't bother.
>>21951296If he's in hong kong, he could grab one of those trad high roast oolongs like Fukien. Those are not super available in the west
>>21951348I forgot where he's going, I'm pretty sure it's mainland though.Thanks for the advice though I'll check up and ask him to look out for this shit if he happens to come across it
>>21951279ah didn't knew that onewas a good readthanks anonthough the information really seems a little outdatedchina 10y ago was a very different place than it is today and I'm much less worried about getting scammed tea wise in terms of origin or "backstory" (Yixing teapot is another story)and accidentally overpaying for the 2 or 3 jins I'll be buying won't be the end of the world as I'm not expecting to spend more than 2-3k RMB
After a few warm days spring buds are just starting to emerge. Now it's brisk again and I'm drinking a mediocre shou down by the river. what about you
>>21951403re-enact the leaf brewing webm
>>21950792Ok, maybe thats it, i´m not a sheng guy. Tasted the Sunsing 2006 MengKu they sent me as a sample and it just felt like an aged white with shrooms notes.
>>21949040>be tongmu>harvest green tea leaves>soldiers occupy village>everybody hides>soldier leaves>oh fug our leaves went bad>try to salvage it by smoking them>sell it at market to at least make something back>dutch traders love it>everything went better than expected.scroll
Don't know what to drink tonight, so...0-2 shui xian, 3-5 random shou dball, 6 break up 512 Jin cake and drink it, 7-9 bancha.
>>21952222Shui xian from Yeeon.
>>21952227How is it? Better than Seadyke or Wuyistar?
>>21952299It's alright. Mild roasty sweetness, clean, and light. Average endurance, easy on the stomach and palate. It was also a good value years back during one of their annual sales. I've had it many times, but for some reason, I never wrote a journal entry for it (including this time).>Better than Seadyke or Wuyistar?I know of them, but I haven't had Seadyke/Wuyistar to compare to, so I can't say. Overall, it's nice as, say, a daily drinker, but I liked Yeeon's other stuff better. Taste of HK kind of reminded me of liu bao for instance.
I've been making a lot of mantou and manju these last few days.It's not easy finding good snacks to eat with tea that aren't so sweet they overpower it, so what do you like eating when you drink tea, if anything?
>>21952535Nothing. I've never bought into food/drink pairings. When drinking tea, the only thing I do is keep some water on hand to cleanse my palate at the end, or between tasting different teas. I'll drink tea when eating a meal, but it serves like water does when drinking tea, with the added use washing food down.
>>21952535There are some south american yerba mate snacks that are neither very salty nor very sweet, those could go well with teaGrissini are kind of similar to the savory kind
>>21952535I drink sencha almost every time I have sushi. I'm also quite fond of sheng and chocolate cake.
>>21952535For me it's dry roasted salted chickpeas>>21951403Looks comfySome point this spring I'm getting a table and chairs in at the allotment, along with a ghillie kettle it'll be not a bad setup for somewhere relaxing to go
>>21952535What do you put in those
Okay, this is the second time I've broken a gaiwan lid too much to use. And the one I was using had already broken in half at one point. I have a lid from a freebie from Yunnan Sourcing still but it's one of those with just a raised portion in the middle that you can't actually grab onto and it's more unwieldy than the one I'd been using.Thinking of getting a small teapot instead. Are they actually a pain to clean? Most of what I'm seeing have pretty short necks. I'm thinking of the one herehttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B08N589GFXWhat I'm most worried about is just leaves (especially like ripe puerh tend to be small bits of leaves) slipping through the neck. I already do use my own filter but I'd still have to put the leaves back in the pot. This one also doesn't seem to have a lit locking mechanism.Is there any benefit to the more round ones over the flatter ones? I would think the rounder ones might let the leaves expand more but I don't know how much that small difference would matter.
>>21953026Rounder ones have more heat retention. Probably doesn't matter that much. Filtration shouldn't be a problem for most pots. They are a bit less convenient to clean than a gaiwan usually.If you want more of a medium point between teapot and gaiwan, there are "easy gaiwans" out thereAlso, tea cupping sets, I use one of these a lot. Very easy to clean like a gaiwan
>>21953053I was thinking stuff like this should exist. I'll have to see if I can find one that looks good. I need a retard proof one with a locking lid (or at least one that fits into a slot or something) so I stop breaking them.
>>21952535I never drink sweet tea but I actually have a huge sweet tooth so sometimes I eat chocolates or candies or something with teaOtherwise, tea biscuits are actually good
whats the cheapest, fishiest, most bitter shou you know from ys/ktm? love that fishy taste and want something cheap to just keep piling into my gaiwan and drink for hours without worrying about the price. ive had dozens of farmerleafs shou and its all too weak, meanwhile w2t tends to be too sweet with their selections.
Thanks for the input everyone.>>21952560>mate snacksI looked this up and found a whole lot of options, is there anything in particular that works especially well for you?>grissiniBooo I want something at least a bit sweet.>>21952871Chunky red bean paste this time, but anything goes. I've made them with smooth bean paste and a savory tuna filling in the past, and the ones I've enjoyed the most were the plain, unfilled ones.
>>21953653These were pretty good. They had a variant with brown sugar too
>>21952535>>21953653Russians often eat sushki with tea. Sounds like they'd be right up your alley.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sushki
>>21949746best time to drink tea, great way to cool off (as long as its dry heat, if its humid it'll only make you hotter)
how many infusions do you guys get out of green oolongs?I get between 4 and 6 but it feels like 10 grams of tea should make a lot more thank like a pint of tea before its flavour and effect are mostly gone.
>>21953854I get more out of my TGY than any other tea. I start around 70 degrees, get a couple brews out of that, then move to 75, and so on.
>>21953903>TGYiron goddess?>I start around 70I keep my water at 90 and just increase the brewing time.ill try doing it your way, thanks
>>21953635defrost some prawns in water then brew tea with it.
>>21951288>>21951292Yeah alright, this stuff is pretty good. I did the low temp, little water, lots of leaf, long steep thing in a Kyusu for the first brew and it was very intense 'umami!!~~', as the japanese would say. Thick on the tongue, brothy.It's a bit hard to get used to the lukewarm drinking temperature, I think I'd prefer it hotter.I got it for around half the price that's listed on the La Via Del Tè site, 15€/50g instead of 30€/50g. Definitely too expensive to drink on the regular, but I can get behind it as a special treat.
>>21953653Give me some recipes for these
>>21953851>great way to cool off (as long as its dry heatThat makes no sense whatsoever. Drinking hot drinks makes you hotter.>but it makes you sweatBecause it made you hotter.
>>21954283ppl in hot dry climates have sworn by this trick for hundreds of years.I can personally attest that it works better than cold drinks
>>21954283drinking hot drinks makes you sweat which evaporates and makes you feel cool. especially in the dry winds of the steppe. it's a deep turkic wisdom - i don't expect caucazoids to understand it the first time.
>>21954320It's simply not true. This isn't a matter of opinion. It is physically and biologically impossible. >>21954327Being hot is what makes you sweat. If you were hot enough to need to sweat, then you would sweat anyway. You're creating a problem, offering the solution, then pretending it solved a different one (that didn't exist). You might as well jump into icy water so that when you get out you shiver yourself warm (as opposed to not doing it in the first place).Not only that. There is direct evidence that the intuitive thing (drinking cold drinks) reduces heat by creating a heat sink:https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12366So you are categorically wrong, and believe the complete opposite of what is true.
>>21954365I dont care what you data says it feels like it cools you down so it is good if u are feeling uncomfortably hot.it dosent matter if it actually heats you up first it feels better and that's why ppl do it not because its the most efficient or scientifically valid way to cool down.
>>21954406Except it doesn't
>>21954406>you are right>you are logically, scientifically, undeniably right>BUT>BUT>BUT>it was real in my mind.I fully believe that you are, indeed, a non-European.
>>21954410have you tried it?>>21954417who are you quoting?its always funny when americans call people who live in europe, who are native here and who's familys have been here since forever "non-Europeans"
>>21954422I was detailing your thought process as it appeared to me. You admitted I was right, but simultaneously denied it. >Non-EuropeanThat was in reference to:>i don't expect caucazoids to understand it
>>21954422yes
>>21954423that wasn't my thought process though.it was more like"well it feels like it works so ill keep doing it because i like hot tea.this guy probably hasn't even tried it anyway">refrence tothat's a different anon. you are talking to at least two different people
>>21954424is it humid where you live? its humid as fuck here so I only rlly do it on holiday ect. I still drink tea when its hot here but not to cool down just to drink tea.
>>21954425Well it doesn't matter anyway. You can do what you want obviously. But no doubt there's someone who has heard that, believed it, and come to harm by acting on it. That's why I knocked it on the head.
>>21954429they'd have to already have heatstroke already or something for it to do any real harm but yeah ur right it probably has happened.
>>21954014
>>21954482ew
>>21954482I wish you didn't remind me of this.
>>21954482add milk to make it a freshly brewed chowder
>>21954482Peak umami
>>21952535the coarse peanut butter you grind yourself at an upmarket grocery store
>>21954365There is also direct evidence that drinking hot drinks cools you down.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22574769/
>>21954947he can't keep getting any more based
Mmm, delicious chinese mystery tea. The price is right and the flavour is acceptable.
>>21954945>Methods: Nine malesNot a serious study
>>21955380meanwhile, the article you linked:
>>21955387i have strong circumstantial evidence that drinking tea tastes good
Got this as a gift. Does anyone know what this is?
>>21955406
>>21955387Fucking got his pseud ass.
>>21954417Not him but unironically yes. There are two problems with being hot: it feels bad, and at a certain point you can die from overheating. So if you're not close to actually dangerous levels (it's rare for people to be), then the only issue is that it feels bad, which is entirely in your mind. So if the tea or whatever cools you down in your mind, and makes the hotness no longer feel bad, then it works.
>>21955598>You have to gaslight yourself for it to workUh, ok
>>21954482this seriously looks so fucking good
>>21955622the anon youre replying to just either doesnt go outside or has never even tried this and is just guessing since it does sound counter-intuitive at first. i can attest to tea cooling you down since on hot days and hiking trips ive always drank sheng to cool off and never had to psyop myself into conviction that this works but at this point this guy already realized hes wrong and is just same fagging to try and recover
>>21955635is that mate?
>>21955387>>21955413meta-analysis.
>>21955635>>21955652mate-analysis.
>>21955387>>21955413https://www.sciencefictions.org/p/hot-drinksWhy you're wrong, from someone else.TLDR:>It’s people getting off on being contrarian and counterintuitive, relishing the boggle reaction they get when they tell people that “actually, drinking hot drinks is the best thing to do in hot weather”This is (you).>>21955635>let's trust a bunch of circumcised goat herders who think wind is caused by Jinns flying around the desert, rather than common sense, physics, and all evidence. You clearly just want this to be true. I've explained the subjectivity of it above. I've explained why it's simply a matter of perception. I've explained why the cooling is relative.
>>21955678https://www.sciencefictions.org/p/hot-drinksHere's why you're wrong, from the article you linked but didn't read.
>>21955678>look this androgynous soy human says I'm right!
>>21955678its impressive how you manage to make yourself look like a complete dumbass every time you send another link. this level of contradictory cherry picking is so extreme i have to assume youre some brainrot addled zoomer who cant even read below size 30pt font>>21955652yep
was all this autism really necessary
I'm not the autist linking studies and shit, but i have tried hot tea on a hot summer day and it does not cool you off in the slightest, it just makes you even hotter and sweatier, why would i want this?
I just drink tea at all timesI don't see the problem
>>21955690That's an embedded quote in the article, not by the author himself. >>21955699>>21955700I'm right because I've proven myself to be right. You suppose you're right because you've been brainwashed by >well actuallytype people. Picrel is the sole "scientific" claimant of this. That's it. You believe this because picrel told you to believe it, not because he proved it. You believe the EXACT OPPOSITE of reality because someone told you to. slavery=freedom type stuff. I'm glad you never met Jim Jones or you'd have drank a double dose of Kool-Aid. >>21955735>I'm not the autist linking studiesThis sort of conversational compromise is why people feel emboldened to say these things. You know it's absolute nonsense by your own experience, so don't give an inch to them.
>>21955750>drank a double dose of Kool-AidWould this warm me up on a cool day? Or cool me down on a warm day? I eagerly await your links good sir.
>>21955746There's my brother. All day every day. Good for me? Bad for me? I don't even care.
i prefer rooibos
*oversteeps some fresh green tea*
>>21953635I have a solution.>>21954947>Pictures not in file shown>Yaetea insead of Taeteasus
>>21953653Thanks again for the input xoxo>>21953703Yeah you're right these look right up my alley, I'll make some one of these days.>>21954262I used the recipe from modernist bread for the bread and a mix for the bean paste.I'll post them if you ask nicely :^)>>21954895Never heard of this, I don't think it exists where I live, but isn't peanut butter typically very sweet?
>>21956102Commercial peanut butter often has salt + sugar added because it was made for an american palette. The stuff I'm referring to is ground much coarser and has no additives. You can make it yourself by grinding roasted peanuts in a blender or food processor. For extra points I suggest buying raw peanuts from the Chinese market and toasting them in a pan yourself.
>>21956176roastibg peanus without salt and sugar is elite
Bought these at the Japanese store for $4 each. Hmm.
>got new ceramic teapot>everything has a weird taste to it nowtips on breaking it in?
>>21956567>pour boiling water in it>wait 15 minutes>pour out>repeat if funky tastes persist
>>21955935delete this
>>21956300whats the toasted rice for? to snack?
>>21956716It makes the tea taste like buttery popcorn. Originally it was a way for poors to stretch their tea.
>>21956102Ok looked it up, is this a better recipe than some random granny in china tho??
>>21956727ooh neat, i need to toast some rice my piles of cheap tea will last last longer
>>21956176I see, I'll look into it, thanks.>>21956733Even if I had a strong opinion about it you'd have the issue of whether you can trust the opinion of some random poster on a mongolian flipbook teleconference.Also it's just low hydration sweetened bread, try any recipe and adjust it to taste the following time(s).
Attention Cam/bros/My local Sams club has 5 gal NSF buckets with lids right now 2/$8. Ridiculous price and handy to have around for big awazon orders. Keep your eyes peeled.
>>21957459So you're the reason the oranges are out of stock? .
>>21957492I sell them for $5 a pop :3
Roasty inaka bancha in the early morning. Room under gentle reddish lighting like a drug den, but calm and quiet. Cool breeze from the window. Ahh.
how strict are you with gong fu steeping times?I miss my mark every single time
>>21958409I never measure and always feel it out by gut. Worrying about tea is silly.I never miss my mark.
>>21958409Outside generally minding my temperatures, not strict. When I got into it, I was very careful, but you end up developing a sense for it with enough experience. Unless I am journaling about a new tea, I go entirely by feeling. Taste and aroma, astringency/bitterness, whatever it is, you can just adjust your technique after each infusion if needed anyway.
>>21958254nice>>21958409just go by color mainly. sometimes I pour the contents of my gong dao bei back into my gaiwan if I pulled it too early. it doesn't really matter
>>21958489NOOOO NOT MY PRECIOUS 3º OF BREWING TEMPERATURE
>>21958409As strict as you make them.It makes sense to be strict to a point, for example if you have gotten your favorite preparation of your favorite tea down to a T, but most of the time three degrees or three seconds aren't going to make a significant difference.
>>21958409>>21958842I find that lowering the temperature gives you a lot more leeway. Sometimes I'll put leaves in cold water and leave them a few hours. None go bitter like this.
>switched to new teapot>only get 2 and a half cups out of itthis sucks
Doing a comparison between the 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever cake and 2006 Liming Yushang Qiaomu, both from quicheThe Liming is substantially older, but I felt there was some similarities in these cakes, so I decided to A/B. Left is Liming, right is XGIt seems the Liming might have been stored a bit wetter, the wet leaf has heavier smell and closer to old furniture. The Xiaguan has a dried fruits type smell, light in comparison.The XG reminds me of sweet smelling rolling tobacco. There is no smoke, but it's almost incense-like. It's quite intense with a deep, pleasant bitterness. Although it lost its strength faster than the Liming.Comparatively, the Liming is less complex. It has a bit of a mushroomy, storage quality to it, and a touch of astringency which isn't present in the XG. Less aromatic, more papery. The scratchy astringency is definitely a bit of a flaw.The XG is better overall, but the Liming wins out in the last steeps, and keeps its flavours longer.It probably comes off as if I'm dogging on the Liming, it pales a bit next to the XG. But in isolation it's a nice enough tea if you don't mind a little astringency, and $30 for a cake of that age is pretty remarkable. I think this one is worth a try if you don't want to fork out for an expensive cake, but want to try some of this style of intense aged puer.
>>21959732Here's the spent leaves, left Liming right XG
>>21959732I should try Love Forever at some point
what;s capacity of your gaiwan? is 150 too much?
I am deeply disappointed. I got samples of both of the big pillars from KTM, the 580g one and the 3.6kg one, and they are both extremely middling. Not terrible, but thin and with little flavor. I find them dissatisfying to drink.My dream of ordering a 3kg pillar to daily drink will never be realised..
>>21960012Get a 7.2kg melon. It's the latest thing.
>>21960012I push the amount of material I use with hei cha. Stuff a teapot.
>>21960012Buy the big art piece cube of 2005 puerh
>>21960016From what I've heard it's just middling shou and I don't like shou either>>21960027Might have to do this, but still not great
>>21960034It will grow on you!
Whats something nice and refreshing to gongfu in the warm weather? Something white? Chrysanthemum?
>>21960827Fresh chinese greens.
>>21960836Ohhh. I've yet to try, looks like the perfect time to order some.
>>21943358Any website out there that does custom blends? I want an herbal night time blend with lavender, chamomile, lemongrass, mint, and butterfly pea. If not, then how do I get started with making my own blends?
>>21960897>how do I get started with making my own blends?>buy bulk lavender, chamomile, lemongrass, mint, and butterfly pea>mix themYou are now a certified blending master.
>>21960904A nice little scale would help them too.
>>21960897None of those websites can beat the value of buying in bulk quantities. Sounds like a nice blend, maybe start out with an equal amount of each and then adjust the ratio to taste.
FL spring discount order came. Gave the Bulangshan black a whiff in the bag and it smells really burly, I had to confirm it wasn't smoked afterwards. Excited to try that, always been a big fan of the Yingpanshan.Drinking the 2025 Jingmai Tian Xian free sample now.
>>21961180>Yingpan is more expensive and down to 200g instead of last year's 250gI see you William, don't you fucking play this game with me.
I need tips for doing black tea in gong fumotherfucker turns sour
>>21961250Does the sourness also appear western style or only gongfu?Sour black tea is in my experience mostly an issue of the tea brand itself. Strong assam style blends for the EU market can be a bit sour, but a lot of people drink these with milk anyways.These type of teas are also not so good for gongfu, they brew ultra fast and get really tart in later steeps.Gongfu black tea works well with slower brewing large leaf chinese teas imho. Never had an issue with sourness with these.
>>21961273I tried it western like monday and it was okay it felt a touch of honey evenIt's [spoiler]ceylon op1 sarnia[/spoiler] I've chosen something relatively cheap because I am new to this thing and I know I will fuck first 10 batches
>>21961285Yea thats a cheap Sri Lankan black tea, wouldn't really bother doing gongfu with this, although the leaf cut should be large enough. If you like this one western style, just drink it that way, nothing wrong with that.I you want to go a little deeper, try to find some Chinese Yunnan Black wherever you buy your tea. Every tea store should carry some Yunnan black. Even the Twinings Yunnan black isn't bad.
>>21960904There's a solid chance I might be retarded.>>21960914Is there a good source for quality dried herbs? I know some of the herbs like lavender come in varieties that aren't food grade.
>>21961496I guess if I'm blending my own stuff too then what's the best herbs for snoozemaxxing?
>>21961497Valerian root. You'll probably want to heavily cut it with lavender and chamomile. Shit stinks.
Is there a story behind the smokiness of 00s Xiaguan? I'm a couple sessions into my 2008, and actually a little surprised that you guys didn't just make this all up somehow. This is rather pleasant acually; better than any lapsang I've had before.
After one session each (two at a time side by side grouped by closest in age) of the aged oolongs I bought from thetea.pl:1989 Lugu TGYProminent roast but mostly balanced, some of the aged caramel/brown sugar sweetness, some sourness. It's not bad. The roast might be too heavy though.1999 Dry Stored Pinglin BaoZhongMostly young floral oolong, maybe some aged sweetness, still some slight floral bitter notes. Meh, not aged tasting enough at all.2003 Banyan Lao YanchaSome fruitiness, nice body, sourness that's tart and pleasant. More complex than avg2006 Shanlinxi Charcoal Roast Bi YuAlright, pleasant chocolatey spice. Pretty good and simple.70s Nantou "Wuyi"Maybe a bit thin with not much going on besides a hint of roast and sweetness. Most reminiscent of a classic aged oolong profile imo.70s Dry Stored PinglinThick, dark, remarkably almost puerish aged taste, cacaoish slightly bitter mineral background. Interesting and pretty good.I forgot just how expensive they were, and checking to find that the only one appreciably below $1/g (@ 68¢/g) hardly tastes aged at all was kind of disappointing. I've got a couple more sessions with each, but so far I think I'll probably just buy more teahome aged oolong since it's 20% of the price of these.I ended up brewing some just now since I had it less than a week ago and felt like I enjoyed it about as much as these, so I wanted to try it side by side with the Nantou.Teahome Aged Oolong Tea 35yrsThat aged oolong plummy brown sugar sweetness, old wood, hint of roast bitterness, less rounded and complex than the thetea NantouSo, all of the thetea aged oolongs were better than the one from teahome, but I usually drink aged oolong more casually and I'd rather have a puer if I want to have a more focused session with something complex/expensive, and $1/g aged puer is way better than all of these imo.
Have any of you anons actually cultivated/tended your own tea plants? I'm sure it's not worth the hassle, and the yield is probably cruddy in most western countries, but I remember a site selling a handful of cultivars already sprouted/potted. I just wonder what it's like more than anything, kind of like how tobacco smokers might have their own plants.
>>21962513I should get the aged one next time I order from teahome
>>21962657Yea you can pull this off. There are also strains which are matched for colder western climates, even frost proof ones.Before you can do the first "harvest" it needs to grow to a respectable bush. But if you have a yard I don't see any issue.
>>21962664Yeah it's pretty good for the price, like most things I've had from teahome.
