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: >>22138325
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymSgls0Ce24
Irish supper.very good approximation of an Irish breakfast blend but a bit more delicate and missing the normal bitterness you'd expect.maybe this can be remedied by boiling it, will try soon.was nice with milk and sugar.very impressive for a decaf
>>22161502my mom made some "tea" from some basil and mint she grew in her garden i told that bitch that's a TISANE not a TEA
>>22161863I hope you threw a scalding hot cup of it in her stupid bitch face for this insolence
Yo guys I read the rentry but I'm kinda tarded and tired and I'm not gonna tryhard with tea. What's some braindead easy method of making it? Like the equivalent of a Hario V60 for coffee. Preferably glass or ceramic. What about a french press?
>>22161914erm.. hario v60 has a fairly high learning curve, bud.you can just put leaves in a cup and pour water over it, you know.
>>22161914You can do it in a french press if you want, it separates the leaf from the brew just fineThe most braindead way is to put a pinch of leaf in the cup and then pour hot water in the cup, most loose leaf teas will sink after a bit and you can drink easily. Adjust leaf to taste and you can also top it up half way down
>>22161489It straight up tastes like an algal fish tank the with pronounced seaweed and fish notes. Normal woody, stone fruit, black tea flavors hiding underneath it. My wife thinks the same of it so I thought maybe the shipping conditions might have fucked it.
>>22161966>>22161974Well most braindead way but not most primitive. Surely there's some cool cheap gadget to enjoy tea.
>>22161914Get a tea ball. Put leaves in ball. Put ball with leaves in hot water. Remove ball. Drink.
>>22162003putting leaves into a ceramic vessel and pouring hot water over them isnt "primitive" to you?
>>22161914>>22162003>tea. What's some braindead easy method of making it?>Like the equivalent of a Hario V60 for coffeeAlso Hariohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caLA6ZgOins
>>22162020is this just the unitasker version of the switch? couldnt you brew tea and coffee in the switch?
>>22162003>gadgetCoffeebrain.You just need a gaiwan or teapot and a cup. Or just a cup like the other anons said.The leaf is what matters.
>>22162023You can't. I can.>>22162012Terrible advice.
>>22162054What's wrong with tea balls? Especially for someone who says they're "tarded and not gonna tryhard".
>>22162060Tea expands. If you're using actual loose leaf instead of chopped dust, you're going to choke it off and end up with shitty tea.
>>22161914grandpa and gongfu are the simplest ways imo.u could even go super oldschool and drink directly from the gaiwan
>>22161914Brewing tea is super easy and doesn't require much gadgetry. You can brew grandpa style straight in a mug. If you want a less primitive method, just buy a small porcelain teapot or gaiwan. Make it 100 to 150ml size and you can brew basically any tea in it with good results
>>22162600I love your enthusiasm! However, I don’t think your focus should be on the mug or the gadgetry. I think your focus should be on the water. The reason I say this is because good hot water is everything when it comes to tea. If you can find good water, you’ll make good tea. I hope that helps, and either way, happy brewing!.,>>22161502
>>22162066>choke it off>shitty teaLess of the flavorful stuff in the tea is going to infuse into the water because there'll be less water circulation around the leaves, it's not black magic.
>>22162600I want something like >>22162020. It has a neat system where you just pour it and then press a button to separate the shit you don't want to drink into a convenient vessel. Just not plastic. I don't wanna deal with no gayass boiling in a pot or pouring water in a mug, then straining that shit manually.
>>22162694I think these devices are a gimmick desu, using a teapot is extremely easy, takes no skill or effort and there are no mechanic failure points, no plastic, no weird moving parts you have to washAnd mug brewing is even easier, just choose a tea that's suited for it (let's say longjing or roasted oolong), apply hot water and drink with no straining
>>22162699Maybe a pot with holes that stop the leaves?
>>22162690Coffeefrogs would be familiar with under and over "extraction". Having wet leaf packed around dry leaf isn't a great, or consistent, way to make tea. There's no reason to recommend shitty tools to new brewers.
>>22162706So a normal teapot? They all have holes on the inside. Just search "gong fu teapot" on AliExpress and buy any one you want
>>22162756I don't use aliexpress and don't want to buy something with a chinese sounding name though. I'll just get some Hario press or brewer or pot with the separate section for leaves.
>>22162764>don't want to buy something with a chinese sounding name thoughAnon stop trying to drink tea right now it's not really what you want.
>>22162764Can also get a kyusu or shiboridashi if you prefer japanese teapot folded 1000 times to china powerBut I'm sure a french press will work fine too
Vietsun is running a -12% promo on all pu-erh (or pu-erh style tea depending on your definition since it's not from Yunnan)
>>22162788>tea is chineseShut the fuck up chinashill.>>22162790I'll check those out. Thanks.
>>22162764>don't want to buy something with a chinese sounding namethe chinese are the masters of this shit though, literally the entire world copies them when it comes to tea equiptement.the go to brewing vessle used by connisours when sampling tea is a gaiwan (lidded cup) in literally every country on earth.the international standard requires one ffs >>22162788yeah lol
>>22162903Don't care. Japan numba wan. I'm buying some hario if there isn't a cooler option with more aura and better aesthetics.
still working my way though all these samples.tieguanyin type c from w2tbit heavier roast than the greener less traditional ones I usually drink but they have left enough greenness that it still has a nice amount of crisp freshness.main thing I'm tasting other than normal wet leaf tastes is plum.its super fucking refreshing and a bit juicy.id probably make this a go to if it wasn't costing >$7 for a single session
>>22162919You can check on artistic nippon if you want maximum aura and don't mind dropping some cash for real jap artisan teapots
>>22162919hohin and larger shiboridashi teapots are practically just gaiwans but japanese in that case
>>22162919>auraick
>>22162919>>22163061see what youve done faggot? youve given her the ick.ur never gonna get a puer lesbian gf at this rate
>>22163061t. no aura
what are some nice herbs to mix with chamomille? Im trying to sleepmaxx
>>22163192I like mixing it with ginger.
Do you guys /alc/? What's the best tea to mix with milk punches? A safe little lavender or some shit?
>>22163192valium
>>22161073>>22161075Thanks for the breakdown, I appreciate it.>You need to have a clear idea of what you're looking forThat's probably what I should focus on, since I'm trying to order heicha which I know next to nothing about. I'll have to do a lot of reading and will take a look at the kind of heicha that's listed on sites like YS or YeeOnTea so I can get a general idea about the asking price (at least what they want westerners to pay), types and producers. This might be the easier way to find trustworthy sellers, instead of randomly going through thousands of listing.I found this blogpost with a breakdown of a certain producer (Cha Yu Lin), but they seem to be more expensive than the level of tea I'm looking for at '11cent/g median':https://waterfriend.substack.com/p/heicha-brands-cha-yu-linSo that's a start.
>>22163210Earl grey
night joe: it tastes like caramel and a hint bicarbonate of soda.weird mix of mostly delicious and a hint of fucking gross.its intriguing
oh oh i know a better way to describe it: its like when ur making this stuff and u add too much bicarb and it has that salty slightly fishy aftertaste.its a little odd but not offputting. its grown on me and im rlly enjoying it now
Aged white tea to fit the autumnal weather today
26 milan 'maocha'its all the things youd expect from a dancong but rather low bitterness and astringency.the liquor is suprisingly dark with a slightly oily texture but still overall quite light feeling
Sipping on some FL hekai. It's nice. It's unique which I cannot say about many FL cakes. Is it worth the money? Probably not, but I'm having a good time.
>>22164272>autumnalit's 108 degrees
>>22164496idk if that's hot or cold in freedom units. here in central EU it's a colder day
>>22164528NTA but 108F is 42C. Essentially, anon is saying they're in the first circle of hell.
>>22164537Yeah that's pretty bad. I would definitely cold brew yerba mate in that weather myself
can only drink this with lemon juice (and a tiny bit of sugar)turns out if i mask the smokiness i actually enjoy drinking it
>>22164691I mean, that's how they mostly drink yerba mate in Paraguay, cold brewed with herbs or fruitThat's why they have the strong and smoky, powder-heavy processing style, so it cold brews fast and gives a strong flavor that can stand up to all the extra stuff they throw in there
>try to make ice brew sencha in my largish gaiwan>temperature difference weakened it and shattered while rinsing AAAAAAAAAA
>>22164774Should have gone with a titanium unit.
flip city.main thing im getting is apricot and bitterness but the good 回甘 kind.i had just assumed all the decafs would have no bitterness as none of the others had any but this one has a fair amount.may mix this with the irish supper as that was missing bitterness
>>22164868Surely you know the vast majority of your audience can't read chinese
>>22163254Happy to help.>I want something cheaper than 11c/gIf you want to try out cheap stuff to see what you like, you could as well look for a pu-erh sampler from fullchea/health tea house or some such, so that you get a clearer idea of what you're looking for beyond names and tasting notes.Or you could order some samples on Awazon if you want cheap shit.
>w2t free shipping promoany reccs?
I want to put in a tea order but I truly can't decide where I want to order from. So many options, so many interesting things to try, it's always so hard to choose just one provider for my next order. (I like everything. The only thing I've found that isn't for me personally are rock oolongs and Japanese greens. I love white teas, sheng and shou pu-erh, other oolongs, liubao, hell, I even like that godforsaken bitter Holly Ilex shit because something is wrong with me. I love tea and I wish I could buy all the tea, tisanes, and random drinkable leaves. But unfortunately I have a budget, so I have to make a decision. I hope you all have wonderful tea for the rest of your days.)
>>22165648Lumber Slut and Boat Captaindancong chatou was also pretty good value
>>22165675tempted by boat captaindancong feels a bit lootboxy to me
U /tea/men ever brew up other plants? Bout to sip some mugwort I found as soon as its dried
>>22164945>audiencelol only a handful of ppl are gonna read this post, there's no good translation and probably at least half of them know what it means.if you would like an explaination its a type of bitterness that turns to sweetness as it fades, its not actually sweet but the contrast causes almost like an illusion of sweetness after its gone.
>>22164852I went back to my tritan brewer for that. If it didn't look scratched up and covered in dark tanin stains plus it being plastic, I'd probably use it more. Starting to think a little microplastics haven't hurt me yet at this point. I've probably broke more gaiwans than I care to admit and I even have vinyl flooring now. Imagine that
>>22166119Not really. I've tried Chrysanthemums and Camomile and "herbal blends" of all sorts of shit and they just don't hit the same. The only non-tea thing I drink is mate and yaupon (both basically samish holly bush crap) and it isn't my favorite, really.
>>22166119Im always drinking some iced chamomile with honey.
>>22166430damn that sounds good I gotta try it
Friend of mine who is relatively normal tea-wise got some mugicha (barley) tea to try. And since the package said it was good iced, they tried it iced. I can think of few worse teas to drink iced (or is this a thing and I just didn't know?)
>>22166840>(or is this a thing and I just didn't know?)Yes. Iced barley tea is popular in Japan (and Korea) and you can commonly find them in vending machines everywhere.
>>22166840It's roasted, so it's not like it's much weirder than iced coffee.Cold mugicha is actually really good in hot, humid weather.
sipping some moon waffles.its really good but i have no idea how to describe it because it just tastes like exactly what it is
>>22167349I would say straw, milk, oaty, some florals, some brown sugarIt's nice but difficult to open up because of the compression
addin sugar to black tea y/n
>>22161607>XXXTENTACIONRIP nigga...
>>22167447Good black tea doesn't need anything. If you have a cold or making ice tea, then adding a lemon and sugar hits the spot. No situation when tea would be improved by adding milk.
>>22167447do whatever you want for taste.I personally don't do anything.I don't like flavored/perfumed slop either, esp not shit like earl grey even.I'm drinking some yunnan black stuff right now and it has a sort of natural honey and chocolate aroma and flavor.
>>22167541>No situation when tea would be improved by adding milk.what about Chai? it's basically just sweetened milk for the most part, but the assam backing can add some complexity. I'm not the biggest fan, but I can't say adding milk is always wrong.
>>22167556>it has a sort of natural honey and chocolate aroma and flavorthat's why I like chinese black teas. indian ones lack those desserty flavors
>>22167582darjeelings will usually be more melon and vegetable aroma.it's nice for a different reason. I can't fucking stand Assam though. it's basically a flavor nuke of bold raisin like sweetness.
>>22167560>what about Chai?Idk, sounds like snowflake shit>originating from IndiaNo comment
>>22167599it's worth trying. I don't make it myself.you start by boiling cheap ass indian tea in a sauce pan with water+milk+whatever and spicing+sweetening it up to taste. It's really not that bad. It's kind of the same sort of flavors you'd get from boba, without the stupid tapioca pearls, honestly. jeets know how to season they food, however.
I have a really nice Oolong with small orange peel bits in it tastes awesome
>>22167587I like the malty nuke of Assam once in a while
>>22167677I suppose... idk. I use to think that and I'd get a kg of some bulk CTC shit, but every time I try it I'm like, this isn't so bad.... but it also totally sucks.
>>22167363just steep it pretty long it dosent go bitter even if u oversteep but yeah its a little annoying.id say ur tasting notes are fair but idk about floral.still think it just tastes of tea xD >>22167526gone but never forgotted </3>>22167447depends on the tea but its up to u dude, u bought it so drink it the way u like. who gives a fuck what anyone thinks
>>22167363>difficult to open up because of the compressionthis is why I fucking hate tea cakes and shit. it's so annoying why people do this shit.
Anyone tried one of the new FL cakes?Free shipping is now from $50 btw.
Malty raisins :|Root cellar full of beets :O
>>22168015correct.
>>22168015It is such a specific fucking flavor when it's root cellar full of beets. My friends think I'm being flowery until I sit them down and make them drink it for themselves. It's wild how much taste can change depending on how tea is processed, aged, and so on.
>>22168015>Root cellar full of beetsis there a chinese name for this type of aroma?
>>22168091I've heard "chinese medicine aroma" thrown around a lot, maybe it's a direct translation
After years of being lesbian, I just now finally got the fish taste you guys keep talking about, from a fairly young shou, last year's Xiao Fa.I fail to see why anyone would complain though, because tastes like the good kind of fish, mackerel or salmon or something. Delicious!
>>22167933I bought a bunch of samples and the moonlight white cake. Still waiting...
TIL "sealing fibers" are just plastic. Bags made of "natural fibers" are also plastic (bioplastic). Is there even one tea filter (minimum 10cm wide) that doesn't have plastic or glue in it?Also had a tea filter producer mislead me about the lack of all the other chemicals I asked about while conveniently forgetting to mention it's made of paper and plastic. Fuck this shit.I guess I have no choice but switch to one of those steel baskets, though I'm assuming they'll leak massive amounts of particles from very broken leaf fukamushi. Also wondering how much pain those to clean up, just a simple rinse or does it get clogged and stuck?Trying to determine between ease of use vs drinking billions of plastic particles. The bags were perfect in terms of usability.(Bonus: chink stainless steel in your kettle etc. is commonly contaminated)
>>22168654>I'm assuming they'll leak massive amounts of particles from very broken leaf fukamushiThey won't. I have one with what looks to be laser-drilled holes that are absolutely tiny.Hell, my actual kyusu designed for fukamushi just has a regular fine stainless mesh in it.>Also wondering how much pain those to clean up, just a simple rinse or does it get clogged and stuck?They're easy to clean as long as you don't let stuff dry out and stick to it.
>>22168688Even if you do let things dry out and stick to it (I fell asleep) you can just soak it a bit and things come right off.
>>22168654you can get fine mesh tea strainers, probably soldered with turbo lead but meh. when they block up after a few months just burn the tea carbon off
>>22168654>>22168688Pouring technique also helps more than you think. If I pour slowly and methodically from my kyusu, most of the leaves stay near the bottom, whereas if I try to pour as fast as possible, the leaves smash up against the filter and clog it.
Anyone have experience of a good portable tea brewing set-up?I'm looking for something to use when I'm out of the house and in town. Not for a hotel or office situation where I'd have a kettle. I'm thinking something that can go in a backpack along with a flask of hot water. Something I can use at a park bench for example. There's a great coffee shop in my nearest town, but the price of a coffee in the UK is getting stupid. The price of one flat white could buy me a packet of decent tea instead or a used book or something. It's not even good coffee most of the time. I'm also trying to limit my coffee intake to one morning cup only. Most places selling tea just sell absolute lowest quality teabags at an even bigger markup than coffee.Teabags would probably be easiest - but I'd like better quality than that. I considered one of those titanium gaiwans. Some have a basket, so maybe I could drink straight from the gaiwan. How are these plastic flask type infusers?
>>22169007or an infuser cup like pic
>>22168654gaiwan up.
>>22169007they're fucking awful and retarded. I have one. the silicone seals have obnoxious odor and it isn't more convenient than a basic bitch gaiwan you throw in your backpack or even a generic basket infuser.don't fall for it.
>>22161966>hario v60 has a fairly high learning curveLmao it's a fuckin pour over how hard can it possibly be?? You'reone of those uppity coffee snob aren't you? hahahaha
>>22166119How's the mugwort taste? I never got around to harvesting some
>>22169104he's not wrong though. getting a reasonable result requires some training and effort. I've seen dumb faggots literally just pour boiling water out a sauce pan into one and then immediately dump 2x liquid volume of some shit coffee mate soybean slop with whatever junk comes out. best is when they complain it isn't "strong" enough. even then, you can't just do one continuous pour either.also I hate coffee because it's autism maxxing vs superior flavor you can get with zero effort in /tea/ land.
>>22162694>Just not plasticimpossible. eventually you'll hit silicone seals in any such design. the hario slop posted has a memey glass hopper/brew chamber, but your hot liquid still sits over various plastic parts. if you want one, just google bottom dispensing tea infuser and buy one of those for like 20 bucks, max.
>>22169102Thanks, anon.I thought that might be the case. I hate flasks and drinkware that's hard to clean.
>>22168654fine mesh strainer is more than enough dude u don't need a paper filter for tea.in fact with some teas you WANT the tiny particles as they add to the flavour like those ones that are covered in pollen or whatever that fine dust is that ur not sposed to wash off.hell u dont even need a mesh strainer one of those ceramic ones with holes drilled is fine
>>22169009these can be ok if its tea that tolerates oversteeping but a lot of teas won't work in that shit
>>22169009>>22169007>take metal cup with you>put leaves in cup>apply hot waterthere you go, no need for peripherals when grandpa style brewing is the easiest possible way to brew tea
>hekai white sold outGood thing I have sample on the way I guess
>>22169270I'm sceptical of farmerleaf's white teas desu, I have a cake of the jingmai one and it's just okayish
>>22169327I got the Hekai sample with my second last order. it's fine. It has that bright sweet flavor I'd expect. I'm getting his moonlight in the mail rn, so I'll let you know how it goes.
>>22169327Tbh I've never had a white tea that I would say is great. Everything is meh/okay, I was just curious because it's hekai.
>>22169007Say no more https://crimsonlotustea.com/products/gongfu2go
>>22169550Knowing ceelotee, those are probably $6 a pop on taobao.
>>22169269This is an appealing option. I'm not after after fancy gongfu brewing when I'm out, so it would work. I imagine I'd just be brewing something like keemun. I like it, plus it seems to withstand hapzard brewing while still producing a nice cup of tea. >>22169261It's only for when I'm out and about. And for a cheap hit of tea, nothing fancy. I'd also be planning to find a cup where I can remove the basket after steeping rather than let it sit.>>22169550That's too expensive for me. It also looks like a nightmare to clean. I've had lots of coffee travel mugs and flasks go bad because I could get to certain parts and clean/dry them.
>>22169404I think Fuding whites tend to be better, Yunnan moonlight whites are kind of a modern meme and just a sidegrift for pu-erh producers most of the time
>>22161821where do you buy this from?
>>22169703https://white2tea.com/products/2026-irish-supper
>>22169727thank you, really appreciate it!
>>22169645>Yunnan moonlight whites are kind of a modern meme and just a sidegrift for pu-erh producers most of the timeso you're telling me I got scammed? wtf.
>>22169550this looks way over complicated and I still don't get it.
>>22169583>It's only for when I'm out and about. And for a cheap hit of tea, nothing fancyshould be fine then, my step dad has something similar that works ok.
>>22169550Bros plz I'm telling you. They aren't worth it. The screwing and unscrewing is a pain in the ass since the tea outgasses a bit and could hiss water all over the place, the "food grade silicone" still smellz and it's just not convenient. A coffee mug or glass and a shitty finum basket is 1000x less nuts and you can still "gong fu" with it.
>>22169783i believe u.to me even an infuser mug is kinda insane just get a not steel not plastic travel cup and throw some tea in it
>>22169853Ya, sure that works too.
Forgive my newness, but why do anons here seem to hate Yunnan Sourcing? Is it overpriced or was there drama?
I have what might be an unusual request? Can anyone recommend teas with strong 生津/sheng jin effect, aka, teas that make your mouth water? I have a problem of dry mouth and a love of tea, so if I can kill two birds with one stone that would be ideal.
My problem with travel gongfuing with mug + infuser was spilling tea liquor if I had to move between steeps. Happened many times. A diy solution would have been an infuser that would fit in a jar I could close with its cap. But none of the infusers I own fit in a mug sized jar: they're either too tall or their top is too wide to fit in. The gonfu2go + a small tea towel + insulated 1L flask just solved this.
I hate it here.
>>22169853I guess that a lot of people dislike drinking tea grandpa style. I don't want to get a mouthful of leaves. Plus, they don't want to put a wet, tea leaf filled mug back into their bag.
>>22170280Overpriced for aged pu-erh, pretty bad for some categories like green tea, hit or miss selection in other categories. Good selection of fu zhuan supposedlyAnd yeah, there were some dramas too, Scott was accused of having shill puppet accounts on reddit and more recently had some heated argument with a blogger about the processing of his sheng and how much input he has in his own brand of sheng (apparently not much)
Gongfu means you have an underdeveloped palate. Let it "oversteep" (no such thing irl) and enjoy the fullness of the aroma and taste. Gongfuing the tea is the equivalent of chicken nuggeting the meat. Makes it palatable for children.
>>22170900You know you can brew however long you want with gong fu, right? There are no rules, you're supposed to brew to taste
>>22170305nah but if u just wanna get rid of cottonmouth get some sour apple candy, it rlly helps at least if said cottonmouth is chemically induced ;)
>>22170661get better tea that opens up into whole leaves and just dump them out when ur done.not rocket science.if u rlly must have a seperate brewing vessel and mug then a metal teapot or gaiwan would be a fair shout.if u want it all in once package then this sorta thing>>22169009 would be preferrable to one of those multiple chambered contraptions
>>22170661You can just throw the leaves out and dry it with a tissueGrandpa brewing works best with teas that have sinking leaves, I brew roasted oolongs and Chinese greens like this all the time even at home
>>22170912No I don't I thought it was below boiling and maybe dump first 5-10s steep etc
>>22170944Nah, it's just about big leaf to water ratio and making multiple brewsMost people use boiling water with gong fu and there is no set timing. You don't have to do the rinse either, I only bother for aged or strongly compressed teas
>>22169007You could buy some empty teabags and put your chosen tea inside of those. Then just use a normal hot water flask for the water.Good whole leaves need a lot more room than an average teabag, even the 5x7cm ones are a tight fit with a teaspoon of leaves. You should look at 7x8cm as a minimum
>>22170918>get better tea that opens up into whole leavesI agree with most of your points, but being whole leaf does not mean a tea is better. >seperate brewing vessel and mugI thinking more mug + basket, i.e. some way to remove the leaves. >>22170972>You could buy some empty teabags and put your chosen tea inside of thoseAre you talking about the reusable cloth bags?
>>22171040>being whole leaf does not mean a tea is better. certainly not always. you are indeed correct, especially with black teas ect but I've rarely encountered a rlly bad oolong or green that opens up into intact leaves.>I thinking more mug + basketthat's just gonna be even messier on the go I think. certainly if its the kind where u gotta remove the basket to drink the tea, that'd be a fucking pain.>reusable cloth bags?that cannot be good. would also make a fucking mess tryna carry around the used bag therefore defeating the point. I'm pretty sure he meant those paper ones.
>>22170661I use the stupid yerba mate straws for that.
>>22170280He short changed me on a tea one time and didn't even give me some extra samples. I'm done with YS personally, but they are noob friendly with good sampler packs and very attractive wrappers. I wouldn't dissuade somebody from wanting to try.>>22170661Anon has that cool mug with a filter inside that catches any leaves as you sip. It's not necessary, though, whole leaf tea will sink eventually.>>22170900You have it backwards. Flash brewing allows for tasting the dynamic nature of a tea rather than the blunt soup from a singular, Western brew. You're chicken nuggeting.>>22170953>no set timingThere is bliss in not measuring anything.>>22171075Try using a taller, thinner mug (with a handle) for grandpa brewing.
Drinking some Xiaguan 2006 Ye Sheng and it's very smooth on the tongue, with an aroma of frankincense like it was stored in a catholic church. I wonder if it has sat out in a tea shop that also sells frankincense or if this is a common sheng aroma.
>>22171270It's a somewhat common aroma in aged sheng. These aged Xiaguans can be good, they usually have that dark woody-smoky profile
>>22170280About as expensive as a vendor as you can get. Doesn't actually "source" the YunnanSourcing house cakes, just rewraps tea from Zheng Si Long and jacks the price skyhigh. Owner is extremely defensive towards negative feedback and has been for a decade+. Used to live in China where he could be a bit more hands on, no longer does though. Treat him as a tier above dropshipper. If theres anything you're interested in from him, post here and someone can likely point you towards a better price or a better tea.
>>22171305>About as expensive as a vendor as you can get.It's not Mei Leaf
drinking tea always makes me horny, is that normal
what's the most expensive tea you've ever tried, anons? (samples count, obviously.)
>>22171528This one: https://kingteamall.com/collections/dark-tea/products/80-s-liu-bao-nen-jian-liubao-young-bud-s-grade-loose-leaf-dark-tea-wuzhou-guangxiI got 7g for $16, or about $2.30/gramIt tasted basically the same as a good liubao. I'm still drinking their cheap 80s basket version which is basically equally enjoyable for me and was $0.20/gramAnd which I just noticed is SOLD OUT FUCK FUCK FUCK I only got 100g and procrastinated on getting more because "I have a lot of tea". Shit, I was planning on getting a basket at some point.I guess I can always source old liubao from elsewhere too
>>22171576any beetroot liu bao recommendations?
>>22171725I'm not a big fan of beetroot myself, I prefer the dirt taste. But the most beetrooty one I've had I think might be the 2005 Liu An from yeeon
>>22170676>Good selection of fu zhuan supposedlyYS is still a good source for non-pu'er heicha, they have tons of options for FZ, LB, &c.
>>22171528I'd much rather end up with a pile of tea for $1.60 than a gram of this.https://essenceoftea.com/products/2018-spring-eot-10-year-anniversary-puerh
>>221715282005 Bangwai Single Tree puer from essence of tea, $4.40/gram. It was good but not that good.I wrote a lot more words about it when I had it if you're interested >>20457488I have samples of 1980s 7542 and 8582 that I bought from yeeontea but haven't drank yet. $7 and $17.50 per gram respectively
>>22171305>as expensive as a vendor as you can get>YunnanSourcingThere are countless way more expensive shops. It's more of a question if you are willing to browse obscure Chinese shops such as Awazon, Qiche, TaoBao etc for cheaping out. YS is a good entry point for a wide variety of teas but for specific teas there are mostly specific vendors which are better.>>22170280>why do anons here seem to hate Yunnan Sourcing?It's a normie reddit tier choice, since the products are presented nicely. People don't like normie shit on this website
>>22172528>It's more of a question if you are willing to browse obscure Chinese shops such as Awazon, Qiche, TaoBao etc for cheaping out.I mean, there is not much of a difference between browsing YS and Quiche, they are both accessible English websitesYS is simply more popular because it's bigger and older
>>22172528>There are countless way more expensive shops.They all sell way better teas than YS :)
Trying XG love forever again. It has been about 6 since and... I still don't like it at all. I'm so glad young sheng exists, this aged stuff is a meme.
>>22170927Protip: Any leaf will sink if your water is hot enough. Twigs on the other hand...
>>22172833I daily drink grandpa liubao and twigs are my fucking bane, it's true
Does anyone else avoid talking about tea to other people? It's not because I think it's embarrassing or anything. It's because people are very well-meaning, and they think "oh, anon likes tea, let's gift them some "fancy" tea as a present!" Which is very kind and appreciated, except the normal idea of fancy tea versus the reality of fancy tea are incredibly far-removed from one another, and I just know I would wind up with artificially-flavored sawdust (not that there's anything wrong with that as a treat, but I don't want people wasting money on it for my sake.) My closest friends are well aware of the tea autism, at least.
>>22172974My mum sometimes tells people I like tea with no further context, and yes we've received shitty overpriced "fancy" tea gift boxes as a result.I don't usually mention it simply because it's not something that comes up very often naturally, but when it does come up it's not like I say "oh I like fancy tea" or whatever, I just describe it honestly which basically boils down to "yeah I often order tea from china, they got all kinds of interesting fermented teas for example". Anyone who's not interested in the autism just tunes the details and all they get from it is that I buy weird-ass teas from china, and I haven't gotten any high street gift boxes from that yet.
>>22172974Yeah pretty much. Few of my friends know I'm into tea, but I keep it to myself. I don't have the need to correct "tea"(read Macha) people or anything like that. You do you. If eventually some will want to learn, I'm always happy to show them basics and let them taste my stash.
>>22172994I've definitely been receptive to people asking if they want to know more. I am a hypocrite because the one gifting tea most of all is mea. But, people deserve to know that the internet allows us to drink much better-tasting leaves for not much more, and sometimes comparable cost, to store stuff.
>>22171528The Farmer Leaf Lao Man E Sweet Gu Shu was just under $300 a cake and it was the best tea I've ever had in my life.
>>22172765XG love forever is kind of mid to meI much prefer my cake of 2005 t8653 thick paper and it was less than half the priceI would also rather have one of those yeeon raws at that pricepoint. maybe 2007 8531 or 2008 7542
How do you actually make good tea. So far i put hot water into a cup (cool it a bit down if its a green tea) and then add tea in a tea ball or tea net and leave it for a few minutes and take it out.I feel i am missing something
>>22173146Depends what you want. Depends on the tea too. Try gongfuI usually just throw leaves into a cup and pour water and that's that, but I specifically drink dark teas that can be brewed forever with no issues
>>22172974recently my aunt gifted me a yellow tea from a local store. it's actually quite good, though only my second yellow tea ever. kind of tastes like a sweeter less vegetal take on longjing a little
>>22173146what flavors are you getting and what flavors are you expecting?
>>22173297I dont really know how to explain tastes online. I guess if i leave it in too long it gets bitter
>>22173345>too long>bitterok. so do less. most people do like ~3 minutes for greens. may be easier if you do cold extraction. cold water -> leaves -> fridge over night.
My favorite tea is the Turkish tea.
>>22172974No, nobody ever buys me gifts so I'm not worried about that. I just tell people that I drink Chinese loose leaf tea because it's the best and usually nobody cares beyond that. When people are polite enough to ask a follow up question about what kind/what it's like, I'll give a brief "oolong, it's kind of inbetween green and black tea" or "puer tea, it's kind of like wine in that it changes and gets better with years of aging" or whatever.
>>22173353>>22173154Its me again. I had luck and the mandate of heaven and found a gongfu set hidden in a shelf somewhere that friends from Taiwan gifted us once. One with a mini teapot (Yixing?).Worked very well with the greenish oolong i had. Very nice. Will do again more often in the future
>He isn't sleeping on a tea pillow
>>22172765Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong (sample from theTea.pl)Mineralic, woody, tart, hint of fruit maybe. Decent texture. No smoke and tastes like Menghai area but rather mellowed out.Overall it's ok but seems like bad value to me. My cake of 2010 7542 is less mellowed out, but more flavorful and with the same general profile and it only cost me 50$. Even the 2006 7542 is cheaper at 105$ from Quiche, I haven't had that one but I bet it's even better.
help, I don't like my shou anymore after buying a bunch of semi-aged sheng. how do I revert this development?
>>22176026I felt the same that it's overpriced, enjoyable though>>22176456Drink more liu bao
>>22176456buy aged shou. I also got bored of young shou but I enjoy drinking best taste ripe from yeeon a lot. liu bao also has a similar appeal usually
I genuinely prefer sheng to shou... I love both. But I don't know, something about the sharpness of sheng does it for me.
>>22176557Aged sheng > aged shou = young sheng > young shou
>>22176489>Drink more liu baounderstood, sipping as we speak
How much tea do you think you go through in a year?
>>22177052Maybe 2 kilos because I'm pretty consistent and can't really drink more than one session a day.
>>22177193I put in my yearly order of around 3 kilos (some daily drinkers I already know I like,, some new stuff to try) and we'll see how much of that I go through in a year. I work in a role that requires me to use my voice a lot, so I am constantly sipping tea grandpa-style most days of the week.
What are the little things you found in your tea, anything unusual? I had long black human hair, sticks, rocks, plastic strip from bags, tiny piece of paper and a little piece of what most likely was a bamboo basket.
>>22177632Found a cow tooth in my coffee beans.
>>22177632tea seed pod, some sticks, a plastic strip, nothing too weird
>>22169645>>22169770>side griftCome on, that makes it sound like you're getting scammed.(highly) Oxidized whites were nearly non existent since recently, but they can be very good and yue guang bai in particular is inexpensive anyway.There's also white jade/red jade made in Taiwan with the T-18 cultivar that was developed and is currently mainly used for red tea, the one I got from taiwanteacraft is the white tea I liked the most.Fujian whites are certainly different, but I don't think they're any better or worse.
>>22171528Mi lan xiang from a local tea shop for 0.55EUR/g; it wasn't as high quality as the price suggests, and it was nothing special overall.Local shops and their mark up aside, there was the aforementioned red jade, which cost 0.37EUR/c and was worth all of it.I might get around to placing an order on that HK site where they sell small samples of comically expensive pu-er, I think there was a 30g sample of one year old lao ban zhang for just around 60USD.>>22172974I'm very glad to share my interest for tea with others and more than one person has said they were envious of my porcelain cups.I've gotten bad tea as a gift but I appreciated the thought, who cares about the tea itself, I can always give that as a gift to someone who will appreciate it.I also discovered that my boss likes tea, he asked me for some pointers about how to store the pu'er he got while working in China and I gave him some Lumber Slut as a gift once.
>>22177769not scammed but yeah, they are a side-thing for pu-erh producers to make. I think there is less know-how on average compared to fuding white production where it's done by specialists with generational knowledge
>>22171528some 1$ / gram Tie Luo Han yancha, I haven't had that much very expensive stuff
I've been brewing sencha in a pot of ice water over a few hours. I think this is the best way to experience it. Not sure why people (normgroids) claim to like sencha so much.
>>22177870sencha is good and normies drink matcha nowadays, not senchait just has a cool balance of a lot of flavors, grassy, vegetal, marine, fruity, sweet, tartit's also quite refreshingChinese greens are much more hit or miss for me, while I've never had a Japanese green tea I really disliked as long as it wasn't stale supermarket shit
Can someone recommend me a good decaf black tea? I bought a bunch of different kinds off of vahdam and enjoyed the Assam the most, but they don't have any decafs beside herbal teas which I'm not really into. Thanks.
>>22177034It's going to be a liu bao Autumn. I can feel it.>>22177052Four kilograms, give or take. >>22177632Plenty of plastic threads from bags, Chinese hair. One time I found a tea flower and a tea seedpod in my Fa Zhan He. Fortunately, nothing gross.
>>22177806>pu'er producer side thingFar as I know that's mainly because yue guang bai is nearly the only kind of white tea they make in Yunnan, and you'll mainly find pu'er producers there, but there's nothing preventing anyone in Fujian from making it, it's just not the local style in the same way pu'er isn't.They do make highly oxidized white tea in Taiwan as well, where I don't think there's a single pu'er producer.>specialists with generational knowledgeWhite tea requires the least processing of any tea, I don't think there's anything to suggest it's a matter of know how so much as it is a matter of culture and style.
>>22171528I've had some $1/g black tea(I still have 8g sample sealed somewhere).It was made from the oriental beauty cultivar and I remember it being really fragrant.
>>22177888Irish supper from white2tea.was sampling all their decafs recently and was pleasantly suprised.I'm sure theres other companies that make good decaf but that's the only one I know
I'm waiting for my tea to come in the mail. I'm drinking a tea I like in the meantime- it's the only cake I have left- but it's been the only one I have left for a while. I am so ready for other teas... and it's going to be a while before it gets here, too... not sure if I'm going to make it this cake is only 250g. It was nice knowing you, anons.
>>22178430Thanks
>>22178549I'm always here for you, anon. Always reliable, dependable.
>Get covid for the first time, deal with it for about 12 days>Even 6 days later, the anosmia has yet to resolve itself properlyFeels bad, anons. It's not totally lost, but it's like my sense for aromatic detail was clocked down a notch or two. Some tastes are subtly altered in general too. It's like cranking up motion blur in a video game. Tea just isn't the same...
>>22179065Smell coffee beans, essential oils, strong and distinct ones it helps regaining your ability to smell correctly. Smell your tea more before brewing it, if you have multiple teas smell them a few times and do associations in your head for the smells. The sense of smell need to be exercised more than usual after having any form of alteration, short or long. It will come back but take times.
>>22179065I had it for a month or so when I had the coof. It's freaky, you just don't smell anything even if your nose is not stuffy
>>22179083I just drank cheap ripe and black tea with honey btw. helps with sore throat too
Good afternoon subject matter experts and connoisseurs, I'm wanting to introduce some variety to what my coworkers and I drink at work. Is any Amazon pack like this acceptable or should I only buy from certain brands
>>22179554Lookin good anon.
I have ordered 600g of various teas
>>22179554if u were buying it for urself id advise against bags and flavoured stuff but for the office this is pretty ideal as theres something for everyone
The farmer-leaf Hekai Moonlight White is ok. The other white cake he has is honestly about the same, flavor-wise, to me and it's a cheaper. Lot of leaves, not a lot of buds... But it tastes like almost every other white tea I've had.
>>22179700that's moonlight whites for yaI'd rather spend that much for a good bai mu dan personally
>>22179700>But it tastes like almost every other white tea I've had.Yeah, white teas are meme. Literally wasted material. Last year there was autumn white vs spring white... I would say the autumn was better while being cheaper just because it was a year older. Feels like the only thing that matters with white teas is age.
>>22179726what white teas have you tried?
>>22179708>bai mu danI will investigate. Thanks. >>22179726They seem ok. Very subtle. Feels like the natural sweetness of blacks (reds) but more floral and melon like. I kind of like it, but it's also kind of dumb I agree. My white tea experience is pretty limited though. I had the "Sweet Ya Bao" but looking at the YS page, it's harvested somewhere in Jinggu...
They're arguing about Asian desserts in the coffee thread
>>22168015based
>>22180025Sounds fun to spectate, thanks. What should we argue about. Biscuits vs cookies?
>>22180179I don't feel capable of arguing in the tea thread.Is a biscuit a scone?
>>22180179What is there to discuss? They're the same thing
>>22180273American biscuits are kind of like a scone, but generally fluffier and softer. >>22180299Do you have a favorite biscuit (and/or cookie) to have with tea, anon?
>>22180376No I'm new to tea, just trying to expand my caffeinated horizons >>22179554
tracking update says my tea has entered my country. anons i'm gonna make it
Did anybody post about the farmer leaf teaware drop? I don't remember seeing anything here. Anyways I bought a cup and some of the Spring 2019 Roasted Ailao Oolong that he sells too. I think I remember anons saying that William's oriental beauty is good, but I can't remember anyone discussing this one.
>>22180419The oriental beauty this year is from a new garden, I have it and its pretty good but the best oriental beauty farmer leaf got on the website was the one from ailao because he doesn't produce any if there's not any bugs. I wondered if I should buy one of the cups of teapots, everything sold so fast, little expensive for my taste because I can't hold it in my hand or see them for real before buying it, would make me sad if it arrive broken at home too. Hope it will make your tea taste even better be careful and take good care of it. Didn't want the gaiwan to go with the cup?
I have ordered: 3 Oolongs, 2 Green tea, 1 White tea
>>22179726Buy some Fujian white tea from more of a white tea specialist like one river tea or the sweetest dewNot all white tea is browned moonlight whites
>didn't sleep well, woke up at 5AM and couldn't go back to sleep>This means I get to have a full gong fu session before workInstant mood lifter. 2005 t8653 feom Quiche got me nice and qi'd up
>>22179554Half of these are tisanesBut yeah as the other anon said, while these are mediocre teas, normies will probably be scared of anything imported from china and bagged tea is what they'll be most comfortable drinking, so might as well>>22180299Biscuits are hard, crumbly, and come in a variety of shapes and sizes and coverings or layered contents (e.g. chocolate like on digestives or leibniz, or jam filling like jammie dodgers though technically I'd call those two biscuits, etc.)Cookies are specifically those large, round, chewy american-style ones, often with mixed-in chocolate chips or raisings etc., rarely dipped in anything.Americans have a totally different meaning for both of those words, but they still don't mean the same thing over there either.
>>22180549I've tried a couple oriental beauties but they're too black/red for me.I do wish I could see it in person first, but I trust William enough to go for it. Overseas shippers have in my experience always been good with wrapping things well enough that they arrive intact, and I always take a video of the unboxing just so I could prove it arrived broken if it did. I have a few nice/old cups already, idk why but my cheap gaiwans are fine with me, I'd never really considered buying a nice one. I usually use yixing anyways. I don't think tea will taste better but nice cups are just nice to look at and use.
>>22180694I ordered pots and cups before too didn't had issues but holding it for the size in my hand and how nice it look to my eyes would be a big plus it would help me put down the money for it. The first ever black tea from fen shui ling released was the best same as the first year of oriental beauty this year isn't the best mojiang is better in my opinion but the ailao one was always better, maybe you wouldn't like the last one from few years ago because it had a light roast, but I believe in 2022 there was an ailao oriental beauty and it was the best I got from any chinese shops to this dayn not overly processed and the strong characteristic taste of oriental beauty. I like to have a "set" to brew with, not a problem with the cheaper kind of cups and pots but if I want a matching set with an expensive gaiwan and 3 cups it can quickly go up. Not changing the objective taste of the tea but making the experience of the session better with the appreciation of the art and quality of the materials. Nice to associate a cup to one kind of tea or specific mountain if you drink a lot it feels extra special.
>>22180419Some of the dark pots look really nice. I was considering it, but I can't be bothered with anything unglazed. Most of the nice stuff is unglazed for some reason, just do a thin glaze on the inside. My $10 gaiwan will do until the end of times.
>>22177632In my roughly half-decade of drinking bottom-shelf stuff, I've only found a single seed pod so far.
Looking to order from teahome, any recommendations from knowers?I think I like the darker roasts and higher oxidation oolongs more than the green, floral stuff. My favorite oolongs from those I have tried have been a Mu Zha that tasted very smooth and like roasty vanilla caramel and a Fen Shui Oolong from Farmerleaf that had a nice, bittersweet chocolate note together with some faint floral...ity.Mostly looking for a good bargain, but I wouldn't mind trying some competition grade Oolong or whatever, should the price not be sky high.
>>22180889legend of tung ting / lao dong ding is their most popular one I think. mid roast oolong, kind of cookie vibes
>>22180909>legend of tung ting / lao dong dingNoted, I'll definitely get some of that since I hear it mentioned here a bunch.They also offer a bunch of (semi) aged oolong for which I'm not sure the price increase is really worth it. Makes me feel like this is mostly unsold stock, but I really don't know much about aging oolong.
>>22180942I've only ever had one kinda aged oolong and it's 2008 roasted something something from KTM. It was good, I also had fresh roasted something something and the 2008 one was notably more tasty, but I don't remember for sure if they were identical or even comparable.Anyway yeah I don't know what my point is but if I were you I'd probably try one just to see if I like it
>>22180942it's like one of very few options for inexpensive aged oolong that's possible to buy in the westI heard it recommended, I will buy some if I ever buy from teahome again (I probably will at some point)
>>22180942I haven't had the wuyi ones (and I wouldn't expect them to be good) but the "aged tea in jars (35 years)" is good.I wouldn't say it's better per se than their other non-aged oolongs, but it is properly aged oolong and so it tastes unique and imo is really enjoyable. I've never seen oolong that old that cheap sold anywhere else.I've reviewed it here before but the short version is that it's a relatively simple, unique, and comfy flavor profile.
Nice little cup of malty dianhong tonight :)
My tea has been stuck in Ohio for so long that my sheng's gonna turn into shou.
Maybe not the right place to ask, but since I saw them around and am curious: I use buckwheat hull pillows. Are tea-filled pillows a meme or do they offer anything over a buckwheat roll in terms of support/comfort/etc. What kind of tea do they put in there, anyway? Seems like a waste of good tea to me, but maybe there's something I don't get.
>>22181728seems like a stupid idea imo.aspergillus niger likes to grow on tea and u don't want that in ur pillow lol.saw CBD pillows in lidl the other day that's gotta be the scammiest shit I've seen in a while
>>22181728It's literally just leaves. Buckwheat at least has a specific shape which might work particularly well as little balls for filling. Tea is just a normal ass bush/tree, you get the leaves, or you can even take the fucking branches if you want, none of this sounds good in a pillow.Or if it were, you could do it with almost any kind of leaf or bush, for way cheaper than tea most likely. You can unironically probably try by going to your local park at night and brutalising a few tree branches for their leaves and stuffing them into a pillow, or maybe experiment with drying them or whatever. I personally wouldn't bother because I don't see it ever being particularly comfortable.
>>22181930>>22181942Yeah that's what I figured, thanks anons. Buckwheat is good in that it provides a lot of support without feeling like a brick, or being hot as a block of foam, and it essentially never goes flat. Keep it clean and dry and it'll last forever... and if you do need to add more filling, it's literally fucking buckwheat hulls, just order more on amazon. I figured tea pillow was a meme, so thanks for confirming that.
>>22182013I'd also think bugs might eventually be interested in eating tea. Buckwheat hulls being basically inert material is what makes them nice as a filling.
How common is it to drink tea grandpa-style? I got into a discussion with a friend who thinks I'm ridiculous for not using a strainer.
Loving the purple mark 2009 ripe from Yee on Tea, it really gets better after some weeks with the boveda. Also, thinking about getting a new Yxing. Knowing that i notice a difference for the better from it to the porcelain Gaiwan, should i stick to the zini or get another clay? I drink mainly shou.
>>22182441It's the only way I drink tea.A while ago an anon posted about a business trip to china and apparently most tea he was offered when meeting people was grandpa style. I'm not sure but I have the impression that in china they don't really use strainers, it's either gongfu for formal sessions or delicate teas, or grandpa for quick and easy daily drinking.
>>22182505That was my assumption as well from what I've read. My friend argued that oversteeping can make some teas (black, oolong) bitter but I've only ever had it happen with especially fresh green tea, personally.
>>22182520Yes some teas can get bitter. Greens in particular, but some non-roasted oolongs are worse grandpa brewed too. Probably some blacks too, though most are almost certainly fine.Some teas are also really best enjoyed gongfu, especially any sort of more expensive puerh would probably be wasted if grandpa brewed. Not that it would be bad, but you wouldn't grandpa brew a $1-2/gram tea for example, as at that point you're almost certain to be able to find a cheap daily drinker that tastes almost the same when overbrewed this way.tl;dr is that different teas are best brewed in different ways. A lot of darker teas are completely fine with grandpa if you're not looking for fine tea tasting.
I bought some "detox tea"; is it going to help my liver, or is it going to make me sweat all night as I'm trying to sleep?
>>22182567What is it actuallyVarious teas, and tisanes (i.e. non-tea plant infusions) may have vague health benefits. None of them are miracle cures or instant detoxers or whatever.
>>22182567What in particular did you get? If it's shitty green tea it's probably not going to do anything that any other shitty green tea wouldn't do. If it's Holly ilex, have fun drinking the most bitter thing you can put in your mouth.
>>22182585>>22182789
>>22182585>>22182789>>22182935And the ingredients.Years ago I tried a completely different brand (can't remember which) and trying 1 bag a day for 3 days made me sweat like a racehorse while trying to sleep.Weird vivid dreams too.I'm trying to detox myself because I drink too much and aren't able to quit yet, I'm not overweight so I don't need 'detox' tea for that.
>>22182935>>22182946Probably won't do anything for you health-wise but it probably tastes good. Best thing you can do for actual "detoxification" is dialysis, a function your kidneys provide for free so long as they are supplied with sufficient water content. Good luck out there anon.
behold, the perfect tea brewing tool (couldn't get the AI to generate the bottom seam so I drew it manually)
>>22182946I see no reason this would be any more effective than drinking water.if theres something u wanna flush outta ur system then fasting, exersize and increased water intake are pretty much all u can do and they aren't a whole lot more effective than just waiting for ur body to excrete whatever it is
>>22182946Anything labelled "detox" is a meme, it's some sort of snake oil dieting term that doesn't mean anything.
>>22181724Did they try to Fanum Tax it?
>>22183708>a meme
>>22183212Explain yourself.
>>22182946Some of these are probably good for you. As in they have antioxidants and stuff, maybe vitamins too idk. They say eating/drinking ginger is healthy and supports the immune system for example. Obviously you wouldn't use it as actual medicine but it's likely moderately helpful in vague ways.But it's not gonna detox your liver or anything.
>>22182488give a nigga a hand sirs
My dad has requested interestingly flavored tea for his birthday, and I’m hoping i can get some cool suggestions. He likes Earl Grey, and particularly Bigelow Constant Comment. I don’t think he’d be into actual loose leaf tea, he’s very old.I’ve been browsing adagio, and was thinking Spring Darjeeling from them could fit his preferences?
>>22184050Does he want actually flavoured tea? For someone who is used to drinking Earl Grey rather than straight blacks, a darjeeling will probably taste the exact same as a breakfast or an assam. If you want him to try out an interesting black, I would advise small samples of some chinese blacks - these will at least be different enough that he will notice the interesting flavours. It's definitely not a given that he will like them so I wouldn't make it the main part of the gift.I haven't tried much flavoured tea myself but the standard recommendation around here is Mariage Freres, if they ship to where you are; they have a bunch of high quality flavoured blacks. No idea about adagio but maybe other anons can comment, I think they have various flavoured teas too.If I were you I'd get a mix of samples of citrusy ones (since he's into earl grey and constant comment) as well as various random ones (fruit, vanilla, whatever looks interesting), and a promise to restock whichever one(s) he likes the most.Darjeeling is kind of halfway between indian and chinese blacks, and I just don't think it's interesting enough for someone who wants flavoured teas.
>>22184050Adagio is the perfect bridge for fancier teas that won't scare away the normies. If he likes Earl Grey, the flavor he likes is bergamot, so he should like anything that has bergamot in it. Citrussy teas are probably up his alley. Earl Grey Moonlight, for example. (Earl Grey Bella Luna as well, but you can only buy it on the full moon. Next full moon is the 26th.) Beyond that, as far as Adagio goes, you can try him on some of their other weird teas; their pu-erh is... not like normal pu-erh and often artificially flavoured, but that might appeal to him. Their Pu Erh Hazelberry is quite nice. Looking at the tea bags they have... maybe try him on Juicy Slices (which is a sampler of fruit-flavored teas,) Fiery Cinnamon (it's just got cinnamon in it lmao,) and then either/or Irish and English breakfast teas (both black teas, but highlights the differences between Assam and Keemun teas (not much, admittedly.)Branching out from Adagio though, Mariage Freres is where to get the fancy shit. You might also look into "flowered" teas like Jasmine, Chrysanthemum, and Osmanthus, if he doesn't hate the idea.
Thanks for such detailed responses!>>22184063I don’t think he knows what he wants, he’s probably just bored of what he’s got. I think he’s been drinking constant comment for 50yrs lol He’s about to be 76.I think I’ll include a Darjeeling to be safe, because it sounds like he’s guaranteed to find it enjoyable. I’ll check out Mariage Freres for sure though, and include pu-erh at least since it’s one of my favorites. >>22184074Cool, i had their moonlight on my list!Mariage Freres sounds very interesting, and i just remembered he also likes chamomile and white teas. I think he’d be into a flowery tea.As a joke I’m including pic rel He actually specifically asked for “sexy” tea flavors
>>22184195>he’s probably just bored of what he’s gotDarjeeling is probably the best of the indian teas, but I will still suggest getting him a couple chinese blacks to try.
>>22184261Will do! I’ll post the order later
>>22184261>>22184074>>22184063I did not realize how expensive teas can get! i had a strict budget of $50, and decided to go with variety Got a bunch of sample sizes from Full Leaf. They seem to be very “wellness” focused.. tons of blends for various organs looked very scammy.
>>22167625I know an Indian woman who’d make ginger chai. Cheap tea, milk, and ground ginger infused into the water used to make tea prior to adding leaves/powder, then adding milk. It works well.
>>22185242>I did not realize how expensive teas can get!It helps if you think of tea the same as wine. >They seem to be very “wellness” focused..1st redflag>organic2nd redflagAgain think of tea as any other luxury product. "Organic tea" has about the same meaning as "real leather".They have nothing else to say about it. "Quality" tea usually has info like the year, location and spring vs autumn harvest. Flavored tea/blends etc. made from the good stuff afaik so you shouldn't be paying premium. There are plenty of teas with interesting flavors without being flavored.
>>22185242>I did not realize how expensive teas can getIt can get way more silly if you're looking for aged teas that collectors hunt for
I'm once again here to curse the inventor of mini discs. I don't think I've managed to do a single proper steep out of this bitch. 8g of good tea in the bin and my afternoon ruined.
My FU is ROCK HARD
bought my local tea house's earl grey :D
>>22185727Do they not even open with a bit of time to sit in the gaiwan after rinse?I had some chocolate bar style stuff that might as well have been glued.
>>22185733>Do they not even open with a bit of time No. Five steeps deep and it's still tight little shit. Outside has no taste and inside still isn't getting enough action.
I can recommend 8531 from Yeeonteavery nice active texture, lots of minerals, still a bit of pleasant and sharpness bitterness left. definitely tastes small leaf like a 7542. typical yeeon flavors are there too but it is not as fully aged as the pine crane tuo or 2009 chunksI think a little smoother and better than the 802 7542
>>22185727You could try steaming it for a few minutes, that's a technique that they use to break up compressed cakeshttps://youtu.be/OFnAxY6nw6Q
>>22162600Sorry for making yet another tealet question post but what's the difference between using a proper porcelain teapot to brew loose leaf tea vs just adding the leaves into a non-electric kettle like this after boiling the water?
Friend bought this and wanted more info. QRD?>copped a high quality batch from HKI sent him to the vampire in the meantime.
>>22186178Fuk.
>>22186107Mostly that water kettles are huge and annoying to cleanAlso, they generally don't have a built in filter to filter out the leavesSome teas also benefit from short brews with several or more infusions, which is not really doable in a huge kettle but very easy with a small teapot (or gaiwan, or houhin or shiboridashi or whatever other contraption you get)Tea brewing devices are cheap in general as long as you don't want to pay for fancy handmade pottery. Can just get an infusion basket too
>>22185413I didn’t see sample sizes at the other places, but maybe i donked up not looking hard enough. Once he gets this, I’ll definitely talk to him about what he liked and hopefully get him The Good Stuff(tm) for Christmas. >>22185445Yeah, that’s a good point. My dad got me into tea at a young age but I’ve never branched out much from bagged store bought tea. I’ve tried pu-erh and the Irish breakfast from adagio, but i never ordered more for myself. Thanks everyone!
I cook and eat my spent tea leaves.
>>22186107>>22186178additional to what anon said; stainless steel holds onto tastes. u don't wanna put anything other than water in a kettle.also loses heat very quickly
Might make another QuicheTeas order. Will probably buy an 8582 and some aged ripe.Any reccs from the site in general?
Hi ladies
>>22171075This post made me cave in an finally buy a bombilla, and this works nicely actually, so thank you.
anxi fujian 2025 tieguanyin.don't rlly see how this is a tgy its more reminiscent of one of those very low oxidation taiwanese oolongs like long feng xia (if memory serves)very floral or perfumey the soup is only very lightly coloured and green not orange like id expect form a tgy
>>22188382there is a lot of of super green tie guan yin made nowadays
>>22188392yeah I thought I was into that but i didn't realize they were making them THIS green.what makes it a tgy if it dosent taste like one? the cultivar used and the region?
>>22188416>the cultivar used and the region?yesthere is no processing standard, you get both super green and vegetal TGYs and super dark and roasty ones like the classic Seadyke productions
>>22188431I see, I thought it was probably that but expected at least some consitency in processing.I was looking for greener stuff because I dont enjoy shit like sea dyke but this shit has gone too far lol.luckily my local chinese supermarket sells some stuff that's a happy medium the leaves have some greenness but the liquor colour and taste are still what id expect form a tgy.its also cheap, was gonna link it but the company dosent seem to have a website
Did FL guy seriously not source FZH or is he being cheeky and waiting for BF release?I don't even like that cake, but it's weird.
>>22189748He said he won't press it this year, dunno why
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