What are some teas you enjoy drinking whether in an independent shop or at home. What independent/non-mainstream coffee shops do you go to?
I am into white teas such as: shou mei, white peony, silver needle
Is that from Intelligentsia?
>>7534715
Yes, sir. I love their attention to detail
Anyone tried filling their own teabags? I need something quick&easy (=disposable) to enjoy my (pretentious) teas at work.
I'm especially interested in pic related because they seem to be the thing that fills the first couple of pages on ebay when searching for empty tea bags. Anyone got these ones specifically? Do they work or do they explode in your face or something?
>>7535016
Can't directly help you out here, however I know Adagio sells special tea bags that includes virtually all of their loose leaf collection. Thus you could order from them without the hassle
>>7535016
I got these off AliExpress. They work but they're kind of small. I prefer the ones that fold over like coin bags.
>>7535026
thanks for the suggestion, but living in EU backwater it doesn't help me personally
>>7535031
isn't fishing the bag out bit annoying without some string, or am I'm being stupid?
Anyways sounds like some bigger bags might be good idea, pic related are listed as bigger so I might get these instead
>>7535098
I grew up in a culture where it's normal to have teabags without strings so I guess it doesn't bother me. That said, if you're bothered about the string, the strings aren't really long enough for those teabags either in my opinion.
>>7535118
online
So where are some good places to order tea?
I have been using crepes tea house.
I just drink regular black tea that I buy at the grocery store
>>7536819
Instead of being cheap, I'm frugal, so I buy 1/3 kilo bags of loose and spend less than you for better tea :^)
>>7536795
O5 in BS is best I've had by a mile. Try their experimental line if you feelin' adventurous.
>>7534642
mayan buzz is pretty good if you're in grand rapids MI.
I love gyakuro, never found white tea very good.
I've had good results ordering from yuukicha as far as green goes.
>>7534642
Pu Erh
>>7537280
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yt8YIGzMsgM
>>7534642
Is silver needle really worth it?
ah yes. My good man I am sipping on a nice obscure tea. Not sure if you've heard of it but its an underground tea called Leeptaun. Its fragrance is quite arrivederci!
This could've been a nice tea thread. Too bad faggot OP had to call it "pretentious". Guess, it's time to ignore it.
have any of you ordered tea from aliexpress?
was at a tea place in the village called bosies i think. Had some coconut black tea and it was fucking delicious. usually just go to my local shop and get some english breakfast but that coconut was the best I ever had.
So this is a worn out comment but loose leaf is such a change. I couldn't stomach black tea and plain green tea before now, now I love it.
I know everyone's all like "oh its so much better you won't believe it", but I was actually surprised at the difference. The proper brewing time and temp etc also makes a huge difference. The taste of a 80 degree vs a 73 degree brew of green tea are worlds apart.
>>7534642
>be pretentious
>can set the temp of my kettle
>only dring multiple stepped green Oolongs or puers all day erry day
>>7534642
>This could've been a nice tea thread.
This sentence great for some reason
>>7536795
Usually snag some from Adagio. They're fairly solid for flavored teas
Arbor Teas is good too. Like I'll take their chai any day of the week
>>7535016
Try buying pyramid tea bags, they work better than envelope style for quality whole leaf teas.
>>7540499
Patrician as fuck
Move along if you can't stomach tea-cringe:
I normally have Twinnings ordinary English Breakfast. I recently bought a small box of Eng Break but this time it's "extra strong"
How did they make it extra strong without increasing the tea bag volume?
>>7540991
I have no idea, but I know the exact tea you're talking about. It's like the 1706 Strong Breakfast tea, right? That shit comes out blacker than coffee. I haven't been able to find it anywhere around the states, but it was my go to for so long.
What do you guys store your teak
In? I've been using the bags that they came in from Crepes and honestly that's probably not the best long term solution.
>>7541076
Some nice airtight tins are probably the best solution, but to be fair, I just keep mine in the zip bags I get from Adagio.
>>7540991
its that black tea? probably it more oxidate.
>>7540814
It's a shame water has to reach 85°C/185°F at the end if the day, isn't it fellow patrician?
Post your /tea/ gear fampai
>>7541950
Dig that thermos pot there.
>>7541950
>macintosh plus
my nigger
>>7543132
found it in my kitchen (share an apartment) covered in dust and grease, gave it a good wash and kept it, havent been able to take the coffee odor from the rubber seal but it doesnt flavour the water, at least noticeably so
>>7543247
Solid. If it wasn't like 2am, I'd go take some pics of my tea set up. Maybe tomorrow.
Wish I had a bro to drink high quality tea with and shoot the shit about that feel when no gf.
All my guy friends are just alcoholic morons.
>>7544100
Converted a few friends actually, most dont drink it often on their own but come to my house often and we do a few sessions
>>7544100
>tfw no friends
W - wew
Not a big tea drinker. Usually I just drink it when I get sick and add some honey.
I wanted to give some tea as Christmas gifts this year to the few family members I have who do drink it often so I was waiting for a thread I could lurk. I ordered a couple of samples from that adagio site to try it out. Can I expect good things?
>>7545478
no is shit, import some oolong from taiwan.
>>7540499
>only drink experimental semi-wild exotic varietals brewed with my PID controlled kettle and hand crafted mineral water in a brew vessel that has thermal properties that suit the tea at hand and a cup with shape and material that most effectively delivers aroma to my truly patrician shnout
>>7545478
It's got some good stuff I imagine. But it's not too well received. Step above teavana I understand.
Take a look at crepes tea house and Upton tea imports if you really wanna go deep. Crepes is a personal favorite of mine since they have good tea at a good price.
>>7546435
I know that feel. Have like 30 different kinds of tea, and they always just ask if they can have some earl grey
>>7546806
"Thanks anon, I like my tea with lots of sugar"
slowly puts away the 1980 vintage pu-erh
>>7541950
>>7546934
>that cock slip
>>7546944
heh, was thinking the same thing
>>7534642
genmaicha. roasted rice really adds something to the green tea. it's a comfy feeling
I'm loving me some oolong. Been drinking Ginseng Oolong today, gonna buy a sample of Iron Goddess of Mercy and Big Red Robe next time I buy some tea.
>>7546993
Where do you buy from?
>>7546993
New Zealand based tea suppliers because otherwise it would be a lot of shipping or a long time. They import a bunch of teas and such.
Anyone know if you can get sample amounts in other online tea shops? The prices here are around $12 per 100g for most of the more common teas, so thats like 8ish bucks USD. The best part about the shop is that they sell 2 buck packs that give you enough for 5-10 teapots worth so you can try out different teas.
>>7547035
100g for 8 bucks is pretty damn good, what kind of tea is that?
I pay ~10-12 usd for two ounces(roughly 55g) but I drink high mountain oolong. Nothing grown at under 1,000 meters is worthy of touching my teapots or gaiwan.
>>7547138
So things like gunpowder green, english breakfast, sencha etc, are all like 7-8 USD per 100g, Big Red Robe and Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong are around 16 USD per 100g, and Silver Needle is around 30 USD for 100g, but there are cheaper whites.
I like white tea that comes in tea bags, but don't know if I can afford being that expensive with my teas at the moment. White Peony is like 18 USD for 75g, so that might be something I try out. They have a ton of different teas aswell.
Link: http://www.tleaft.co.nz/
>>7547196
Hmm, I should try to sell them tea.
If you lived in the states I would send you some free tea, I work for a wholesale tea importer. Shipping is too crazy international though.
Cheers though, sounds like you have patrician as fuck taste
>>7547223
I've liked tea for a while but only just got into loose leaf after I educated myself about how its actually cheaper, tastier and doesn't take that much time. Really loving it. Drinking way more tea, and it'll be cool to invest in new teaware when I have the cash.
Hmm we have a service where you can get a USA address, you get things shipped there, and then I would pay for shipping it on based on weight and size of the package. Would something like that work for you?
>>7547237
Yeah that works for me. As long as my cost to ship is under 5 bucks I can work something out.
Just out of curiosity, how much does this service cost you? I've shipped samples to New Zealand and Australia before and it's cost me ~20-25USD for USPS first class.
>>7547241
https://www.nzpost.co.nz/tools/youshop/youshop-pricing
Its free to sign up for, and each parcel of anything under 500g is $17.25 NZD or around $11 USD.
Drop me an email [email protected]
>>7547253
Email sent.
>>7541950
Tfw just broke the lid of the pot, too ashamed to go to the antique store to buy another pot
How do you make your sweet tea /ck/? How sweet, how much at a time, and do you add anything special? Lemon or no?
Personally I like brewing mine with some spearmint sprigs, but I don't often go through the trouble to buy some.
>>7536795
Simpson & Veil has a good catalog of tea and they're pretty well-renown
can someone describe the taste of puehr?
I bought one and it tastes like my fireplace smells, always thought it would have a more delicate taste, granted it was stupid cheap and is low quality but is it suposed to taste like smoke, im afraid to get cancer or some shit?
>>7548322
this is the PRETENSIOUS tea thread m8, make the pleb one if you want to discuss sweet tea
>>7548710
Get in here pleb bros!
>>7548757
>>7548701
It's supposed to taste like stale paper, but in a good way.
>>7548764
he actually made it, the absolute madman
>>7534642
Hey you co/ck/tease, what sensha should I try in this list?
http://camellia-sinensis.com/en/tea/green?country=JP
Is the Gyokuro worth the price?
>>7541950
This. It doesn't taste like plastic. Easy to use. Eventually I'll buy a thermometer and a balance.
>>7541950
What do you call the silver spoon strainer thing thats on the white jug? I want one.
First day trying out cold brew with leaves from morning tea, gotta say, kinda enjoying it. Chose a weird tea to do it with, and didn't use cold cold water but its pretty nice to just sip through the day.
>>7549042
Gyokuro is thicc as fuck, it's like drinking broth.
So good.
>>7549367
Tbh its not very good, not nearly thin enough, got a gaiwan set today in the mail which came with a better one, just search for tea filter or strainer on aliexpress and youll find some cheap ones
>>7549056
I have the 18 Oz version coming today (along with their second flush da jeering which I hear good things about)
Been getting sick of floaties in my tea so pretty hype. Thought about buying the bigger one but I figure if I ever needed multiple tea cups I could just break out my cup infusers
Will post results later on.
>>7541950
>>7537526
Of course.
>>7540499
I'm a bit new to oolong, but so far, I really don't enjoy the subsequent steepings as much as the first (although I rinse the leaves in hot water for a few seconds before the first steeping, so some wouldn't consider it the "first").
It's legit oolong tea from good companies, and the temp and times are right on I think.
>>7541026
you can order it on Amazon. I was about to try it or the Twinings Assam, but went with Harney and Sons bagged keemun English Breakfast.
>>7541950
>>7541950
This is some of my stash with my pot
>>7552521
>Literally drinking tarantula legs
>>7552809
>wasting the rest of the tarantula instead of gulping it down too.
>>7552821
You can and should eat fresh, high quality tarantulas after being done steeping them.
>>7552598
I find that if your doing it western style then its only good for 2 steeps before its over for me. Starts to taste a little weak and unappetizing after that.
Has anyone tried tisanes? Pic related, this is a tisane called King Crimson and it is a hibiscus blend made out of roseships, lemongrass, licorise root, and citrus flavor.
Any other tisanes recommendations?
>>7552598
What are your ratios? Try brewing it gongfu style if you can, that is usually how the chinks do it to get their proported "five to six resteeps."
3-4grams in a 95ml gaiwan, water 3c hotter than you would normally use for that tea, flash it at 30-40 seconds and drink.
>>7553753
Ugh, purported, I hate misspelling shit
>>7552922
flor de manzanilla, chamochille i think is called in english.
also yerba mate
Is it possible to buy really cheap tea from China just similarly to how it works with electronics? Or do they export to a higher standard?
>>7554064
China exports to all levels of standards. They're the biggest producer in the world.
>>7554069
Any good sites to buy cheap shit from? I drink mostly bagged with some herbal loose leaf here and there and really want to expand my tastes without breaking the bank.
>>7554080
Just buy a box of 100 bags off Amazon or similar site. It'll be five bucks at most.
>>7554085
I figure I can get better quality Cheap shit from China then anywhere in the US, or is that complete Bullshit?
I guess what I'm really looking for is a place to buy the same tea that poor/middle class Chinese plebs buy.
Got some first flush darjeeling, tried it in a cup with infuser and in gaiwan, cup tastes like nothing compared to the gaiwan.
>>7554091
Do you have any chinese/asian groceries around you?
They usually sell cheap big bags of chinese tea - the same kind of stuff that you would normally get in a chinese restaurant.
>>7554219
Nope, live in bumfuck nowhere flyover state US. Hoping to find an online option.
any good brands my grocery store might have? Currently drink 'steep' by bigelow, the green tea line in that. It's good, but I'd like to try some other ones
Any recomendations for a budget Jasmine tea?
My supermarket only carries the Lipton brand, but its weak shit.
>>7554436
Celestial is good for bagged tea, don't get the hype about Bigelow, tastes nasty imo.
>>7554249
dragon tea house on ebay
some sellers on aliexpress
taobao if you feel brave
>>7553824
How would you describe the taste of it? Is it as light as white tea? It's $6 a cup so I want to try it if I know I would be able to drink it
>>7554506
it's chamomile. Manzanilla translates to chamomile, flor de manzanilla would transliterate to flower of chamomile or flower from chamomile.
have you never had chamomile before?
How do I into higher level brewing? I have had tea that was amazing at some restaurants and cafes, but I can seemingly never replicate it at home.
>>7554532
what are you triying to brew?
>>7554545
I'm not sure exactly, I bought a starter pack from my mall's tea shop and a little tea-pot that has space for loose leaf teas. It might sound sacrilegious, but I thought you just boiled water and poured it in the tea pot.
>>7534642
I buy herbs in bulk and blend my own herbal teas. I drink loose leaf black tea otherwise.
>>7554557
>I thought you just boiled water and poured it in the tea pot.
that is probably the problem, depends what type of tea you are brewing they has a different temp and stepping time.
can you post a photo of the kit?
>He only drinks tea from teabags
>He adds sugar
>laughinggirls.jpg
>>7554568
This my kit I guess, plus a generic kettle to boil water in. The little basket goes in the pot, but I am not sure what the black thing on the right is for.
>>7554557
The heat of the water and how long you let it steep is quite important for best results.
Generally, hotter water and longer steeping is more likely to produce a dry bitter tea, regardless of what type of tea you are brewing.
Different teas have different sweet spots for temperature and time, but as a general guide if you bring water to a full boil, then let it sit for a minute to cool before pouring over the tea and then steep for 3 minutes you should be pretty safe for good results.
>>7554584
Looks like a pot warmer - you put a tea light candle in it and use it as a stand to keep the pot warm
>>7554572
>Teabags
>sugar
>milk
>'muh builder's tea'
Why are British so horrible at tea?
>>7554584
Comfy kit, that teapot looks like a bitch and a half to pre-heat though.
Whats your tea preference? I'm guessing green
>>7554992
The worst teafag is still 100 times better than the most cultured coffeefag
>>7555622
Pour in hot water to heat up the teapot/gaiwan/whatever, pour out hot water, add tea leaf, pour in fresh hot water at desired temperature.
Think of it this way, as soon as you pour hot water into a vessel, the vessel heats up and the water cools down. So say you have instructions that say to use 90c water, but you pour it into a cold pot. That water temperature will drop to below 85c before it has a chance to steep tea.
>>7555631
Will 5c really make that much of a difference? Do I need a thermometer for my kit?
>>7555633
Depends on the teapot. For my standard 95ml gaiwan the temp diff is around 2c. Bigger vessels made out of different material(anything iron leeches an insane amount of heat) will drop the temp even more.
>>7555633
No need for a thermometer, but if you had a kettle with temperature control it would up your tea game a lot.
The difference in taste is pretty significant for higher quality teas if you fuck up water temperature.
![Ruby%2018-3055[1].jpg](https://i.imgur.com/wP4KW3J.jpg "Ruby%2018-3055[1].jpg")
I just spent a lot expensive tea
>2 oz Bourbon Puer
>4 oz Bourbon Ceylon
>1 oz Ruby Black Tea from YuChi (pic related)
>4 oz Breakfast
>4 oz Genmai Cha
I don't really do oolong
>>7555691
How much did the Ruby 18 cost? I have some and I disliked it, but 3 people who's opinion on tea I respect think it's top tier.
It definitely has a very unique taste, can't really be mistaken for anything except a Ruby. I think it tastes like camphor and vicks vapor rub th ough.
>>7555695
it was $16/oz, but they made some for me to try and I liked it.
>>7555700
Yeah that's about right. Stuffs fuckin' expensive.
>>7554584
nice set m8, what kind of tea are you brewing?
>>7554517
nope, I never had. Is it worth trying?
Does anyone prefer getting their tea made by trained baristas versus actually steeping the tea yourself? It just feels more special I guess
>>7555912
Every time I have had cafe tea they made it terribly, or used tea bags etc. So no, hate it.
>>7555912
I like it for the atmosphere, but it the long run, the cost and convenience mean I don't do it much.
>>7556041
I wouldn't do it at just a coffee shop though, they fucking botch it, but tea shop in my town also function as a tea bar, I go in there as often as I can afford.
>>7556049
We don't really have 'coffee shop' vs 'tea shop' type stuff where I live. Its all just 'cafe', so its a catch 22.
>>7554992
sugar is inexcusable but a splash of milk is alright if you brew it quick and strong like teabags do
drinking teabag ceylon without milk is horrible
I recently tried cold brewing tea. First attempt is Dragon Mountain green tea with a small pinch of Gunpowder. Steeped in cold water for 4.5 hours, then added a tablespoon of raw cloverfield honey diluted in hot water. Second attempt is a tisane, a mixture of lemongrass, blackcurrant, raspberry, dried ginger, strawberry, cranberry, hibiscus and rose hips. Steeped in cold water for 2.75 hours, dumped in some chia seeds and freshly quartered strawberries, in the fridge for an extra hour. That may have been my best attempt yet. I'll add a whole sprig of mint leaves next time and a lemon and see how that will go.
Who here coldbrew?
>>7556671
I have been. Just brewing my morning tea and then putting the leaves in a drink bottle and filling it with water. Tastes good and is quick on the go tea.
>>7556688
Sounds like a good way to reuse tea leaves. I don't know about quick though, it usually takes a few hours for flavour to infuse. Do you use warm water or live in a warmer area?
>>7556698
Chilled water, and its gets flavorful enough in about 30min. Its not like drinking hot brew tea but its nice in its own way.
>>7556741
Neat. I've got to think of ways to reuse leaves more, I usually get 2 or 3 resteepings on it when I know I can get up to 5 or 6 for some of them. I usually take them for granted, working for a tea house and all. It's wasteful
>>7556752
Long jing leaves I just eat out of the pot when I'm done steeping - they're delicious. Puerh leaves I toss into my stewpot to add flavour.
>>7549056
Okay. Holy shit am I a believer now this thing is fucking amazing. Pure, filtered tea right in my mug. I could just as easily steep another cup with it too. Cleaning it is okay, I can probably just toss some vinegar in overnight to clean stains when they come up
My only regret is not spending a little more on the bigger one but I have no friends to drink tea with so it is okay.
The second flush da jeering from David's tea I had was alright. My pallette is kind of shit, so I should probably have steeped it a bit more. Very earthy though.
>>7556950
>puerh in stew
Not sure if trolling, but intrigued.
>>7541950
Just got my gaiwan set on the mail the other day, pretty happy considering it was dirt cheap
>>7552504
i'm a newbie tea drinker, but reading this thread and looking at this picture...i'm going to get into tea. considering starting with gear like this
>>7549056
can't wait to sip nice quality tea in a cozy environment : )
>>7560058
Make sure to grab a novelty strainer off aliexpress for a buck or two for when you're in a /plebtea/ mood
>>7560089
Cute
recommend a Ginseng tea?
Got a Ginseng Green from Adagio but found it only has "natural Ginseng flavor".
I just want to try Uncle Iroh's favorite tea.
>>7562459
>ginseng
>pretentious
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIyhjOBe3lI
Broke my fourth teapot today.
Fuck it. I'm sticking to infusers directly in the teacup from now on.
>>7562477
You have awful taste in TV shows lol.
You should do a little research on Ginseng, ya redneck hick-ass hillbilly.
>>7562523
Do you find it has a similar effect on the libido as licorice? Because for a day after drinking ginseng I tend to find I'm not much in the mood for rumpy pumpy.
>>7562532
i have no idea, i'm still trying to find some lol didnt u read my post xDD
>>7562459
I'm confused, do you want stronger ginseng flavor or less ginseng flavor? Are you looking for artificially flavored ginseng tea? Or a ginseng tisane(no tea leaf.)
>>7562556
Well I'm guessing when someone says "Ginseng Tea" they mean green tea + ginseng, same as when they say Jasmine Tea.
I'm just looking for some Ginseng Green Tea.
I thought I bought some, but it turns out it's just ginseng flavored green tea.
>>7562565
ah I see so you want actual pieces of Ginseng + tea leaf.
The company I work for briefly sold something like this, but it turned out to be too much of a hassle to grind and blend the tea until it was acceptable for sale. It tasted pretty good though.
I would suggest sourcing your own ginseng, grinding it in something like a coffee bean grinder and adding it to your favorite tea. American ginseng tastes better and is cheaper than red ginseng(this is the stuff found in china and korea.)
>>7562580
Is that something a grocery store would carry?
Good infos.
>>7562643
Yes, most asian super markets will have an area devoted just to ginseng. Red ginseng is typically $30-40 for 100g and white ginseng is $10-20 for 100g.
Get the dried stuff, perfect for grinding right out of the bag. If you want to ghetto it you can use a mortar and pestle.
You don't need a lot of ginseng, the ratio should be maybe 10-20g per 100g of tea. 20g is probably too much, you won't be able to taste the tea flavor much at all.
>>7562663
sweet
i live in the biggest asian super market
they call it houston
today, anon was not a fag
he even gave me a recommended blend ratio
>>7562500
How in the sweet fuck do you break one teapot, let alone four?
>>7562683
1. make tea for friend
2. they ask for lots of milk and sugar
3. smash teapot over their head, kick them in the balls repeatedly
4. ???
5. buy a new teapot, repeat
>>7562691
you know when you've got a really good joke going but then one guy just keeps making it and everyone just kinda winces.
>>7562706
>britbong being cunty while paki cucks him
>>7562710
just keep rolling around in your own shitpile i guess then
>>7562459
Get Korean panax ginseng granules.
>>7562683
They're made of breakable material and I'm a rough and ready blue collar worker with no time for delicate gestures.
I enjoy Wizza tea with sugar and cream. It is just about the only tea I have liked so far.
>>7563118
Why are you yelling?
I'm right beside you, it's unnecessary.
Where's a good place to buy a tea pot?
>>7563123
It's the same damned material that all of your mugs, bowls and plates are made out of.
There's indelicate and then there's flailing like a retard.
>>7562459
taiwanese ginseng oolong
>>7556671
I always cold brew if I only do one regular hot steep with my morning greens. I just put it in a glass bottle and put in in the fridge. Then I drink it the next day or so. I really like it.
>>7562565
Dont know about ginseng but good quality jasmine tea doesnt contain jasmine flowers, the flower pelals are layed on the tea(green normally) leaves to infuse them with the aroma overnight, they are then picked off, this process is repeated several times.
>>7563381
You seem like a shitty person, stop being a disappointment to your parents
>>7555700
Try this and see if it's even close to your current batch of Ruby? It's fuckin' 6 bucks per ounce with fast shipping if you have prime
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CROX72O
>>7563123
Get a fucking cast iron teapot and break the floor instead.
Anyone happen to have any recommendations for non-floral Oolongs? The ones i've tried have been way too perfumy.
>>7555772
I'm not sure exactly, I bought a mix called samurai chai cause it smelled good.
>>7537283
>8 grams for that little water
It's like you want to waste your money and tea.
>>7565417
you realize he infuses it up to 20 times? in a 100ml gaiwan that means about 2 liters of tea
>>7565330
I've been into mountain teas Special Reserve Dong Ding- It's a medium roast so it's not to floral and fresh. It's got a great honeyed flavor and spice notes to it. It leaves a fresh, spicy cinnamon-clove after taste.
If you want a very strong cup try their dark roast tie guan yin, Its a little to heavy for me as its oxidized heavily and very heavily roasted.
Also bought their Gui Fei oolong but haven't yet opened it.
I like their green tie guan yin and Jin Xuan, but you've stated you don't like the more floral teas.
Bottom line is if you don't like floral oolongs go with something a little more oxidized, or with a light-medium roast.
>>7565585
I see, thank you very much. So both oxidization and roasting makes the tea less floral?
Mountain Tea does seem really good...
I don't live in the US so ordering directly from them seems out of the question unless i'm buying bulk.
The place i usually buy from stocks a medium roast Dong Ding from Mountain Tea though.
Guess i should try that.
>>7565618
It really depends on the style, but yes that is a general rule of thumb. More oxidized tea is closer to a black tea, which will bring out those fruity funkier tastes. Not to say it can't still have floral qualities.
A good roast should bring down the floral qualities, as the tea will no longer be so green and "fresh". Roasting tends to add those spice notes to a tea. A heavy roast will taste downright smokey.
>>7565683
Sounds like i would enjoy a roasted one more then.
I am really more into green tea than black tea and i'm really curious about Oolong. It interests me how Oolong can be so different from both black and green tea.
I enjoy grassy greens by the way so it isn't the green taste that is the issue.
It's just the floral quality that i find hard to cope with.
>>7565538
Not that guy, but I'd rather use 2-3g and get 5-6 high quality brews than dump in that much tea and have the flavor get janky after the 12th infuse onward.
Even the most hardcore gongfu style tea enthusiasts don't use more than 3g-4g max.
>>7565725
The taiwanese are absolutely insane about floral teas, if that isn't your thing best to stick with japanese and to a lesser extend chinese stuff.
Iron goddess tends to be grassy, almost pine-like. Only buy Iron goddess grown in china, the higher the elevation the better. Pouchong is probably the least floral taiwanese green oolong, but it's still there. Some pouchings ive tried were grassy, but still not bitter.
>>7565845
I too dont use 8 grams, I use, depending on the tea, 3-6g, was just trying to debunk that mith that gong fu=less cost effective and less tea to drink
>>7566059
mfw fellow gongfu patrician on /ck/
Ten Ren is a Taiwanese importer that carries excellent teas. I recommend the Oriental Beauty. It makes a superb (sugarless, dammit!) iced tea to boot.
http://tenren.com/
>>7566156
>It makes a superb (sugarless, dammit!)
You had me hooked until you showed how immature you were with this.
>>7566345
have you bought from this seller before? 357g of 23 year old Pu'Er for 8 bucks makes me feel like they're full of shit.
>>7566372
Don't buy ginseng oolong that's coated in powder, usually means the leaf is pretty bad quality.
Definitely full of shit, the pu-erh industry is full of thieves and frauds. Shortened history: raw pu-erh aged tastes like heaven. Unscrupulous tea producers that wanted to take advantage of an exploding market for pu-erh in the late 70s started using a new technique to make a fake aged pu-erh. We call this "cooked" in the west and "shu" in chinese. You can cook pu-erh and create something that tastes kind of similar to third-rate aged pu-erh in less than 4 months.
If you see an "aged" pu-erh at that price, I would bet my life that it's cooked, and probably badly at that.
>>7541076
This guy here. Wanted to post about it earlier but was banned.
I did some researching and found these on spoiler: leddit. Ordered a couple and they came the other day. For the price, they seem like a pretty good deal. Appear to be air tight and I have some dry erase markers coming I'm gonna use to label them.
Might be worth looking into if you buy a lot of tea.
http://www.specialtybottle.com/metal-tin-containers/tea
What do I look for if I want a spicy tea?
Something similar to that leaves you with a burning aftertaste from eating chilis.
>>7566674
>Buy favourite tea
> Brew
> Add siracha
>????
>Profit.
>>7566674
Maybe some sliced ginger would work for you
I'm clearly a huge weeb so I make myself pitchers of Mugicha in the summer and have Japanese-Green tea either powder or loose almost every day.
Powder is my favourite as it reminds me of the stuff you get in restaurants over there.
>>7566156
I'm always reluctant to try buying from companies whose website is made for 800x600 and looks pre-millennium.
I mean, if they care that little about their website, how much do they care about the tea they sell.
So Sears has this electric kettle with temperature control for like 30 bucks, and my mom always offers to get me something from sears.
Is this a good deal? Only options I have for heating water is my tea pot + thermometer combo (not really a big deal but slow) or my room mates electric kettle which has no thermometer, and I don't think heats it quite up to 205 F.
>>7537701
Very pretentious post! Well done, Anon. You're alsmost, i dare to say, meta-pretentious!
>>7546435
Well, obviously. Most people who arent already gourmets in other area cant appreciate. You need to hook them up with some simpler, easier-to-appreciate tastes. I like to suggest Keemun or something - its big difference than common black tea trash found in tea bags, but its still somewhat familiar kind of taste.
>>7567555
>and my mom always offers to get me something from sears
Your mom is very nice
>>7567672
She tries. She's kinda sick as hell now and suffered from a lot of problems lately, and I think she feels bad that she really can't do more for me now that I'm in college. I had a bad relationship with her when I grew up, but I honestly try to forgive her now because it isn't worth it and now that I'm older I understand.
Sometimes I struggle with the fact that my parents won't be with me in the future and thar scares the living shit out of me that I will have to deal with that in my lifetime. Really puts things in perspective. It will probably be the first death in my life that isn't a pet to really affect me.
Anyways that's enough blogging. I hope you are having some quality tea time anon~
>>7568882
Downvoting.
>>7567257
Sometimes the hole in the wall aesthetic is what you need to look for. Asian and Hispanic food I've found, the shadier it looks the more delicious it is.
>>7567555
i have one, they are pretty good for the price.
>>7569272
For 220V areas the single cup water dispensers are hard to beat, 3 kW of power gets a cup fast enough that a kettle becomes mostly superfluous.
>>7569837
Hmm, I use a bona vita gooseneck kettle with temperature control. It was around 100, if I could go back in time I would probably buy a cheaper kettle with temperature control.
>>7568949
Can't downvote a shill,,,kid
>>7569272
Thanks anon, you're alright. Don't go to Steak n Shake tomorrow.
>>7569837
>>7570027
Honestly, it kind of surprises me how expensive something that boils water is. I would have expected to find a bunch of really great options for around 50 bucks, but the Kenmore is honestly the only one I've found and even it seems to have some issues.
What's up with that?
>>7570056
Yeah it's kind of bullshit. My set up has the bona vita for high quality tea, and a zojirushi 4 liter water boiler for my daily drinking. The kettle was 100, the boiler was only 60. What kinda bullshit is this....
>>7570056
Saw this crazy like tea machine where it lowers the basket for a set amount of time and then raises it, all preprogrammed for different teas. Has a wakeup timer so it steeps your tea at the same time every morning and has variable temp control and all this other crap. The whole nine yards.
Was like $400 dollars.
>>7570371
Honestly though that sounds fucking awesome. What if you could just fill it with all your favorite teas, press a button, and get nice hot tea of your choice?
To be rich...
>>7570371
>>7570908
If you guys are referring to teforia, I've tried it at a tea wholesaler's expo a little while back.
Works well, but I can brew a better oolong. The nice thing about it is that it can take any type of tea you throw at it and spit out a decent to good cup. No need for specialized equipment. I tried a matcha and it came out nice and frothy, even had an option for usucha/koicha style. Tried high elevation indian blacks, genmaicha, pu-erh, and oolong of course.
That said, I'd never spend that amount of cash for it. Doomed to fail.
>>7571772
Nah this just looked like a big teapot (almost like a coffee percolator), with a raising up and down basket that raised and lowered based on times you program and its all temp controlled for the water.
>>7534642
My most expensive tea is Chinas State Guest House tea, also I collect rare puerhs and have some that are over 40 years old.
Here is a small sampling, .50BMG for scale.
t. oldfag tea snob
>>7572991
Why do you have such old puerh? I hear most don't even age that well after more than 10 years.
Anyone here drink different teas for different times of the day? Or just your favorite all day every day?
>>7573427
I like to drink comfy English breakfast/ or generally British style blacks with some milk in the morning some Chinese or Japanese green before eating at around 12:30/13:00 and some gong fu oolong(just started getting in to gong fu) or perhaps a lighter black or masala chai if I am bored or need some more caffeine
>>7573502
Also just bought some English breakfast that said blend of Chinese Indian and Ceylon (pretty cheap ) and also whole leaf unlike most broken leaf breakfast blends and you really can feel a strong keemun aftertaste guessing they use a relatively weak Ceylon like OP1 some keemun and a tiny bit Assam its pretty comfy and not too strong
c-can I post here? I'm pretty non-picky about my tea, but I do like tea.
I brew cheapo Ahmad Ceylon OPA ($8 for a 1 lb box at the local grocery store) a pot at a time through my drip coffee machine; I load the (loose-leaf, I'm not a complete plebeian) tea into those disposable paper baggies. It works better than you think, I promise.
I'm pretty happy with the Ahmad Ceylon; it's fuller leaves than most of the other cheapo loose leafs I've tried. Brews a great strong liquor quickly, without too much bitterness.
It's a good thing my taste focuses more on the strong, black side of things, because without temperature control it's all a bit of a crapshoot. Still though, it's nice.
Green tea is nectar from the gods. So many benefits. Then it get's fucking gross at the bottom of the cup. Anyone know how to brew herbal tea so it's equally strong at the top and bottom?
>>7573898
What do you mean? Do you not take the leaves out? Or you do but it just gets cold?
>>7573427
Green early in the day, Oolong in the afternoon/evening.
>>7573898
What did he mean by this?
>>7574672
this desu, also black in the afternoon
Man english breakfast is bitter. So far I haven't wanted to add sweetner to any teas I have tried except for this one. I'm gonna try Irish Breakfast next but thinking of going back to New Zealand Breakfast for my black fix.
>>7572362
Like this right?
>>7575916
http://www.briscoes.co.nz/kitchen/appliances/breville-the-tea-maker-kettle-15-litre-1066189
And its even on sale. I'm kinda tempted.
>>7575297
You're brewing it too hot or steeping it too long if it's bitter.
>>7575916
this is cute as fuck
this is gonna be the first year where I order some other first flush tea instead of shincha for various reasons
what's a good time to order dragon pearl tea, yinzhen and long jing to get them fresh and all at once? may-ish?
>>7541950
>Macintosh Plus
nice
>>7573612
>Drip coffee maker
Shit man. Just buy a $1.50 tea ball off amazon. A drip coffee maker will never get you the right steep if you're loading your tea in the filter like it's coffee grounds
this will make me sound like a degenerate but oh hell scew it
i'm from Indonesia and i want to know, do people on other countries drink their tea with sugar?
in here people always drink them with lots of sugar and honestly i'm not used to drink a sugarless one
and added by the fact that the most common tea brand in here (by the courtesy of my friend from china) taste like piss, it's just an acidic mess of liquid i still don't know why it's popular
i don't even know which tea brand is good, but i know for sure which one is bad
>>7534642
Gf & I bought some herbal teas from teavana last week. Super pricey white girl shit but man its delicious
It looks like it's just dehydrated fruit so can't I just buy fresh fruit when it's in season & cheap then dehydrate it my oven at like 200F for a few hours & use that for the same result & save myself a ton of cash?
>>7580165
https://youtu.be/pTIyVNQGtX8
>>7580294
heh I like that guy. when he drinks good tea I could watch him all day; he's just so happy.
in other news I got my first gaiwan senpai
>>7580339
got mine a few weeks ago, feels nice
>>7580139
Depends on the country.
In the UK the 'traditional' cup of tea is plain black tea, with a splash of milk and a little sugar.
Although, like you, that's mostly to disguise the shit-quality of tea leaves and the terrible brewing technique most people have. Even if historically the use of sugar was a sign of wealth.
Black tea from most super-market teabags is literally undrinkable, you need the milk and sugar to cut through the bitterness.
>>7580165
>>7580294
didnt write anything apart from the link because I was on my phone, yes you can dehidrate your own fruit/herbs, but you probably wont reach the same flavour as the artificially 'charged' ones, you'll get a better one (or worse depending on your taste).
Also I dont know how acurate the video is or how common artificially flavoured teas are, personally I only drink tea with no aditives, natural or otherwise, so I just dont really know, maybe there are good quality teas with fruit around.
Also was able to track down the company don mei was reviewing in the video, maybe someone here has had their tea and can share some input
http://www.t2tea.com/
>>7534642
i like green tea with jasmine
>>7540499
dick waving contest?
>my gf making tea
>bought her oolong directly from an organic tea plantation when she was in thailand
>kettle can set temp, of course
>water is filtered before it's used
its the best oolong (and the best tea) i've ever had in my entire life. for some godforsaken reason whatever tea she brews always tastes fucking better than mine. she gets her sencha from her jap relatives, too :/
>>7552504
PATRISH AS FUCK
>>7567257
Tenren is legit.
>>7554446
go to any asian grocery market and buy it there. if you don't have one in your city, take a fucking train to a bigger one.
>>7556671
I like your experiments my dude. How was the strawberry one?
>>7559490
whered u buy?
>>7580888
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/3pcs-Fine-Bone-China-Ceramic-Tea-Set-1-Tea-Cup-120ml-1-Teapot-175ml-Novetly-Items/1334976224.html
here you go
>>7581022
tx boss
>>7580406
try dragon pearls tea, it's divine
>>7535016
Are tea bags even pretentious?
