Tea thread

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Probably know the answer, but does /ck/ favor David's Tea?

Way to pricy and sweet for me. I'm a green tea/earl gray guy and everything they serve seems to taste like hot soda/candy

>>7282705
I'm not even a tea snob and I cannot stand that place.

They try to push these fruit punch teas on everyone and if you seem at all interested in their unflavored teas they swat them out of your hand and force you to sniff their gay fruity bullshit.

Seems like basically the Glorea Jeans of tea shops.

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I had some Jiaogulan today. Watching it uncurl was better than drinking it, though.

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>>7282705
It's shit. I think there is one in my town but I don't even bother going there, I have way better shops than that.

BTW I still can't believe this doesn't exist outside France. Basically the best physical teashop ever.

See pic related? Green tagged boxes are unflavored teas, white tagged boxes are blends and by their standards jasmine pearls is a blend. Also the bottom of the tag color indicate the oxidation of tea. Dark brown is puerh, light brown black, blue oolong, green green and white white. And of course, only loose tea.

All sellers are trained at tea tasting in a tea school from the same company. And when you go to the side of the shop with unflavored tea, they understand what kind of client you are and they don't try to sell you shitty blend. That the only place where I can have discussion like:
>should I try yunnan or qimen first?
>Probably Yunnan

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>>7282642

What are some legit tea vendors, preferably on ebay or something like that?

>>7282787
By the lands far and wide, that is an impressive sight.
I'm not a big tea buff, but I really appreciate the breadth and nuances of fine teas, it is a passion rivaled only by wines.

>>7282801
>preferably on ebay
No. Just, no.

Reddit has a vendor list that is kinda okay:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Fo9L2k3ip6G7V6icE2RbfeLedwoJg2ux-juGLQUuRsA/edit?hl=en&authkey=CJLgu5IL#gid=0

>>7282809
The one in my town isn't that big but still impressive and with a very similar look/feel.

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>>7282642

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I've been really enjoying this tea my dad gave me recently.

I miss having yerba mate in the house..

>>7283301
Don't store it in plastic. It needs to breathe.

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>>7283333
Other fag here. Never heard about puer needing to breath. Could you elaborate? I always use plastic to preserve it in its own "microclimate" and prevent aging (at least to a degree).

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I've never been to tea threads before so excuse faggotry.

How do you guys rate Twinings Earl Grey?
Been drinking pretty much just that for many years until 2013 when I tried some Biglows Lemon Tea and other flavors.

>>7282642
im from the south and all we drink is sweet tea. i am used to drinking coffee but i am getting tired of it honestly. what is a good beginner tea to drink? preferably a "healthy" tea.

>>7282642
Japanese tea ceremony makes sense, wtf is this showboating shit. I don't want my tea squirted by a young Asian boy.

>>7284215

Try green teas, they have the most anti-oxidants. That said, anti-oxidants are a fad, every freaking plant has antioxidants. The only real health benefit of tea backed by research is that drinking a lot of it unsweetened clears up a lot of bacterial dental problems.

I personally hate the way green teas taste, too vegetal. My favorite type is medium roasted oolong, and non-Indian black teas.

I just made a nice cup of very high grade silver needle. It was very good. I like how the little tea leaf hairs float on the surface. It was very sweet and delicate. I have trouble describing white teas.

yerba mate here, all the fun of a green tea without having to deal with the tannins

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>>7282642

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Give me tieguanyin or give me death.
>>7284434
How do you brew it? a friend just bring me some for argentina but i have not clue of how to drink it.

Hey /ck/ I have an electric kettle that works awesome, with variable temps.
However, I was looking at Zohji/Tiger electric "hot pots" to safely keep water hot all day (I drink a lot of tea and coffee).

Are they worth the $120?
My $30~40 black and decker works fine, but i dont feel comfortable with leaving it on "warm" for long periods of time.

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Rate my kettle and pot.

>>7284456

I have one and find it very worth it, but I steep the fuck out of all my teas to get my money's worth. Each 6g gets four resteeps, and I go through two of those on work days, one scoop before work and one right after.

How often do you go to get hot water? If it's only two or three times a day on average, not worth the money IMO.

>>7284210
>How do you guys rate Twinings Earl Grey?

It's one of the better cheap teas you can buy from regular grocery stores.

>>7282809
coffee is objectively better and more complex than both tea and wine.

>>7284472
If I actually am not too lazy I'll make quite a few cups (be it a gaiwan, mug, pot, whatever).
The most annoying thing is having to heat up at minimum 16 oz to make one teacup.

Plus the hotpot could be kept in my bedroom (where I typically drink my tea) vs getting up to go to the kitchen and keep refilling the damn kettle. (good kettle otherwise)

>>7284478

Coffee is nice too. Anything but soft drinks, those can go fuck themselves.

>>7284483

Sounds like you would put it through enough use to warrant spending $120 on it. Make sure to clean it once a month, though, and don't use tap water in it or a lot of muck will build up in the filter thingy at the bottom.

>>7284490
Would running tapwater through a filter be ok?
I'm fine with tap normally.

One thing I do like about my kettle is that i have complete control of the temp between 150-212F.

I tried some "mild" loose leaf tea recently.

Eh. It had no grip on me. I felt nothing drinking it.

I'm guess I'm a brute. I need bitterness and a caffeine jolt in my tea. Back to brewing up strong pots of the bagged Typhoo you can get for 4 bucks from Big Lots.

Maybe I'll try loose leaf again sometime, but what should I look for in a tea that will actually have any body and bracing kick to it?

>>7284497
what did you try to brew? at what temperature? for how long?

>>7284496

Yeah probably. It isn't a taste issue, that's for nitpickers. My heater had a lot of flakey, chalky white shit in the filter whenever I used tap, so I started carbon filtering my tea water and it cleared up.

Your kettle could be for your top shelf shit, and the heater is for daily drinking while working or fapping away at your PC.

>>7284502
It was black tea labeled as being from "Yunnan and Anhui Provinces" suitable for breakfast or afternoon tea.

I don't keep track of temperature. I let my tea kettle whistle, take it off the burner, rinse the pot out with the boiling water, put the tea in, and then pour. I let it sit for 3 minutes initially, and went up to 5 minutes in some later brewings. Still wasn't strong enough. I used a teaspoon of loose tea per cup.

>>7284511
Never had the build up issue in mine, probably since I dump and refill often.
If I get the electric heater I'll probably give my kettle to my parents

>>7283794
>prevent aging
>pu erh

???

>>7284523

Up to you, but I also have a kettle with temp control and I find it invaluable when I'm brewing expensive tea, usually on weekends.

My boiler stays in my room with my daily drinker leaf, and that arrangement is very convenient.

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I posted a couple threads ago about giving away some bagged Yerba Mate
The person from USA who said they were interested never replied to my email so I'm offering again.
I've got two international stamps all bought out so it's about 4 or 5 teabags per person. They're all wrapped in their own plastic packaging so you wont have to worry about them getting wet

Please someone take this disgusting stuff

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>>7282705
I used to work at pic related and it's very similar. I learned a lot about the process and history behind tea but now I just go to a local shop.
They jack up the prices to insane amounts and put way too much sugar in all of the samples to bring people in.

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>>7282642
>mfw trying to get my friend into drinking tea
>mfw buy them some good quality herbal tea (about $15 worth)
>mfw from Oklahoma
>mfw all anyone knows around here is Lipton/Luzianne iced tea
>mfw "i dont like tea"

>>7284513
Honestly, it sounds to me like you've come to expect a specific flavor from what you think of as tea and anything that isn't that flavor isn't tea. Nothing really wrong with that, but enjoying tea for it's flavor instead of just the caffeine is something you could learn to do if you want to get into tea adn explore what it has to offer.

>>7284677
I don't really care about the flavor as much as the bitterness.

>>7284723
Well, it's easier to make green teas bitter by steeping them in water that is too hot (boiling would achieve this). You honestly aren't going to be getting better tea from lose leaf teas if all you want is the bitter taste. I recommend you stick with what you're doing.

>>7282642
what the fuck is wrong with people who make these videos? Why are there nine million cuts? I can't see what's even happening.

>>7284795
Having the flashy shit on screen all the time looks more impressive, and you probably can't read Chinese anyway, so that's just flair in the video.

I hate it too, but this clip is more about the show of the act than how skilled the man actually is.

>>7284461
>kettle
Target/10

>pot
chinese restaurant/10

>>7282642
I used to get Teavana's Copper Knot Hongcha as my go to black tea but for whatever reason they've stopped making it. I'm glad to no longer have an excuse to go there, but the closest I can get is Yunnan Golden Tipped from a local shop. I think Golden Heaven Yunnan from englishteastore.com is pretty close.

>>7284828

What did the Copper Knot taste like? The only black tea I bother with is Ruby 18, which has a pretty strong camphor taste, definitely not to most people's tastes.

wong lo kat, genmaicha, licorice and green

>>7282787
Very thorough labeling standard. Sadly in Canada when most people say "I like tea" they're referring to Starbucks' stuff.

>>7284513
For tea time =/= strength.
Add more leaves for stronger tea.

>>7284540
Bad wording on my part. I mean tea growing stale. Any ripeing probably wont happen here in europe, since we have dryer climate (than in China) and the tea cake just... get dry. Only change happenin oneward is just negative.

>>7284804
The pot did come from a Chinese restaurant that went out of business near me. They had a sign in the window that said everything for sale so I asked if I could buy one of their tea pots. Got it for $6 and it came with a huge amount of oolong.

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>>7282642

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>>7284461
>self cleaning oven
clearly not

I get my tea from aliexpress.
How fucked i am?

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>>7288487

Try it and report back, if you don't die of melamine poisoning.

I'd just like to tell you something I learned in my health class today. All you tea drinkers out there, who think they are getting great health benefits are idiots. You are drinking leaves, how is that healthy? Your just drinking chlorophyll!

90% of the people who drink tea on this site are just fucking WEEABOOS. You drink tea just because the JAPS do it. Well, the JAPS have you conned. The other 10% are just britfags, and you are excused, because you are naturally fucking morons. Tea is just a LEAF! Japs aren't smart. You see how shitty their Yen is? You think that someone, who can't even keep a good economy, has the intelligence to know how good tea is? Bullshit.

Enjoy your diluted organic particles and chlorophyll, you've all been conned by the crafty, yet idiot NIPS.

>>7288553
Been doing for months.
>>7288557
But im a chinaboo.

I bought the adagio raja sampler, and it was delicious. I've got one of those ingenuitea things, a cheap electric kettle, and I use spring water to make my tea because our tap water makes it taste weird.

btw this is my wife's son's favorite sub

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>>7288577

What type of tea? Do you have a link to the aliexpress page? How does it taste? Take pics of the tea dry and wet and post please.

Apologies, I thought you were trolling, but now you have my full attention.

>>7288557
And coffee is just a bean. I don't really see your point there.

As far as health benefits go, I am pretty darn sure you drink soda or worse.

>>7288557
>health class

You have to be 18 to post here buddy. I drink tea because i enjoy the ritual, and the taste, thats all the reason i need to drink it.

>>7282642
Never try to talk about tea with a fucking britcuck, those fucks don't know shit. Some stupid bitch I gayme with sometimes couldn't tell me what type of tea she drank (kept calling it "regular tea") after telling me how superior tea is to coffee. Took me a week to finally get the dumb bitch to admit that it was black tea what she was drinking but still insists on calling it "regular tea" and didn't know white tea existed.

>>7288734

White tea is clearly superior. I don't have to cross the street everytime I see white tea coming down the opposite way.

Fuck black tea.

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>>7282778
>decantering

>>7288734
Heck, I can't really hold that against the brits, over here tea means sweet black iced tea and that's the only tea that matters, which is stupid for several reasons. What I can hold against the brits is how every single one that I've ever known leave the bag in and burn the tea, making it bitter as fuck.

Anyone have experience with Mingcha's tea?

>>7288734
Yeah brits are pretty ignorant about this kind of thing. Literally every drinks the same blend of Black tea. It's either PG Tips, English breafast, Tetley or Yorkshire and they all taste pretty much the same.

Most of them have genuinely never encountered any other type of tea. "Tea" to them is English breakfast type tea, in every scenario.

>>7288557
Is that a copypasta now?

Because that's still as stupid as the last time it was posted.

>>7289528

Do they sell online? I'm up to give them a try.

Anyone know some quialites brands of English Breakfast tea?
Im from south america (argentina) and the only one we get is from a national brand that import it from India

>>7290143
>Anyone know some quialites brands of English Breakfast tea?
Why do you want a quality brand for a tea known as being shit?

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What are some good, low-caff teas? I'm considering not getting shincha this year because drinking anything somewhat high on caffeine makes me feel really weird. Preferably with places to order from; I don't mind importing.

>>7290257

Matcha and surprisingly white tea have the highest caffeine content, the rest vary by farming and production methods.

Roasting leaves tends to lower caffeine content, although if the raw leaves had high caffeine to start with they would still have quite a kick.

The onlyi reliable way to estimate caffeine content is to look at the size of the leaf: pretty consistently in my experience the tippy, small leaves have very high caffeine and the big roundish leaves have the least.

Sorry I can't offer a concrete suggestion for a light tea, these are just observations from my job at a tea wholesaler.

I know I'll get shit on already but why not.

How do you make good "sweet tea"

Like is it really just black tea and sugar?

>>7290287
whenever I want sweet tea I do black tea, sugar and lemon

>>7290291
My brother makes some kindof sugary good on the stove. He heats up sugarwater then mixes it or something.

I drink sweet tea pretty often because Coffee is too bitter for me. and Texas has no shortage of sweet tea

I just wanna see if different teas make it better

>>7290287
yeah, I think southern sweet tea has the sugar in the tea while it's steeping, maybe even boiled on the stove like chai tea.

>>7290088
Yup, just keep in mind their prices are HKD, not USD. I might try them

>>7284628
>Teavana

Is it true that they use artificial flavoring in their blends?

I tasted Oprah's Chai Tea and it honestly tastes like perfume.

>>7282787
I don't know why I had a bad opinion on them, but I stopped by a while ago and realized I had heard from them by a flavored tea drinker. I guess we are lucky here.

>>7290257
Lapsang souchong as very low caffeine.

>>7290429
Yes they do.

>>7290360
At the Cantina I worked at, we would brew the tea(bunn, and used black tea) then get a big as cup of sugar and a whisk to mix it up.

>>7290447
Based François Xavier Delmas is based.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpOl-pj-AoE

>>7290448
Yeah? I was under the impression black tea was supposed to be high on caffeine. Though I never had problems with drinking bagged black tea.

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some OC

>>7282818
>go to rivertea.com
>everything is free

the fuck is going on can i just get all the free tea i want

>>7282705
*too pricey
FTFY

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>>7288585
Sorry for the delay, at the moment i dont have any tea from aliexpress, but most of the time i order from here:
http://www.aliexpress.com/store/1269947

Most of the time i only buy green tea, and some oolong is already in the mail so if arrives and this thread still ups i will post it.

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>>7290257
Gyokuro Karigane has low caffeine and high theamine, but it can be very vegetal. I absolutely love it, but I would only recommend it if you already like green tea. I get it from a local shop here, and they have an online site but you can probably find it elsewhere.

http://teaandchi.com/teas/green/japan/gyokuro-karigane

So I'm a total noob when it comes to tea, but I really like Rooibos tea.

Where can I get some good quality looseleaf Rooibos online, and what are some other flavours I should try?

>>7290802
I had read the opposite and that gyukuro was high in caffeine

>>7290842
Gyokuro superior is indeed high in caffeine. Gyokuro Karigane is basically the waste product of Gyokuro Superior. Karigane is just the stems/sticks of the leaves, whereas the leaves are used for Superior. If you don't believe me, read it in the link I first posted. It's a stick tea like regular Kukicha, which I just learned is also low in caffeine.

http://teaandchi.com/teas/green/japan/kukicha-green

I don't like Kukicha as much as the Karigane, but if you like a roasted flavor you might prefer it. Both are low caffeine.

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>>7290802
>>7290842
For comparison, here's Gyokuro Superior which is just the leaf content.

>>7290914
>>7290919
aye, thanks, anonkun

>>7282787
how does their tea compare to mariage frères?

>>7290721
holy shit, I think their website is broken or something. I'm going to try to order some free tea.

>>7288734
>>7289608
>Expecting every pleb you meet to be an urbane connoisseur of this and that

Plenty of people have shitty taste in all sorts of beverages.

>>7290967
Any luck?

>>7291004
It processed my transaction and I got an invoice saying that it went through. I didn't have to enter any credit card information either. It seems to be free tea. I don't know whether it will actually ship though.

>>7291012
Keep us posted anon

Yorkshire Gold with a tablespoon of cream.
That's all I ever need.

does anyone else almost exclusively use a gaiwan for their nicer teas?

if i am drinking my cheap tea I will use one of those infusers that sit on top of your cup.

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>>7291415
Yeah, I don't brew anything nice in a cup, I don't drink my nice teas in cup quantities either, I usually sit down and enjoy one or two small cups then keep going about my business. If I'm brewing I gotta grind through the work, I use pic related.

>>7291415
I have a special Yixing teapot for every kind of tea, my pleb friend.

>>7291415

Same, I have a 100ml gaiwan for personal use only, and I only drink my expensive teas when I'm feeling very depressed.

All other times I use big glass teapot with infuser, and drink cheap stuff.

>>7291480
Have fun enjoying your tea orgy

>>7291480
Enjoy your mineral poisoning.

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>>7290450

That's fucked up. They're gonna have to change that soon or else Teavana will run into the new organic movement of consumers. Artificial flavoring in tea is about as bad as fast food. Luckily the new health trend is setting the industry straight.

>>7291415

Do you drink directly out of a gaiwan? Or do you poor it in a cup?

does anyone have favorite teabags?

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What ya'll like to drink early in the morning?

>>7291767
tea goes in gaiwan

steep for short amount of time

pour into small cup

drink

repeat and fine tune the water temp, amount of tea, and time to your taste

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Anyone here collect vintage tea cups/ sets?
Pic sort of related, my grandmother has the full 1962 set of old country roses. I think it's one of their worse designs.

>>7291782
>British elegance

Mehh, not really my cup of tea, more into either Asian style or modern new age clear glass.

>>7291782

I'm not sure what teas I own that I would drink out of cups like those, but they're definitely beautiful!

>>7291782
kitsch as fuck.

>>7291782
Bone china or bust, nigga.

Anyone like dandelion tea?

Quick someone post a link to a tea blog so I can learn to appreciate it and not be such a fucking serf.

>>7284497
You can try having Matcha, or oversteep Mei Lü (use really hot water plus twice the account of leaves you'd typically use) and you will achieve that bitter flavour... Personally, I think you're better off sticking with coffee if what you're after is bitter flavour

>>7291279
different anon, but each tea is 50 grams and its all free, anyone else tried this?

>>7290257
Have you tried Rooibos or Jiao Gu Lan? Rooibos is naturally decaff and jiao gu lan has a sweet flavour that goes really well with roses..

>>7290272
White tea has a high caffeine content? I always thought that white has the least amount and Mate has the most amount of caffeine?

>>7290835
I've seen a few retailers on Etsy sell Rooibos. Personally, I like when rooibos is mixed with honeybush or orange rooibos with vanilla honeybush. Tastes just like an orange creamsicle

>>7292066
I've worked for a small tea house and own multiple books regarding tea. Ask me anything

>>7292111
rivertea.com , its all free. holy shit

>>7292116
What do I need to enjoy tea? A taste and opinion on the different kinds of tea probably, but, things like loose leaf vs bagged or the concept of milk. When, if ever, should I add milk? What is a standard cup of tea? Like a table spoon of loose leaf to 250 ml of water? Does water temp really matter. How long should I steep it for?

I feel like I can answer these questions if they related to coffee, but outside of Barry's tea and milk, tea is an unknown world to me.

>>7292116
not that guy but yeah usually white has less and green has the most. obv matcha would have a higher amount as it is both green and concentrated, plus you consume the whole leaf. Mate is not tea.

rooibos is also not tea. not trying to be pedantic or split hairs its just neither of those come from the tea plant so the caffeine and other attributes are irrelevant as they can't be compared with other tea varieties. It would be like asking which egg has more dietary cholesterol, quail or cadbury.

>>7291829
Royal Albert is bone china m8
but I agree, I like the feel of a fine tea cup as opposed to a mug.
I'm thinking of getting into collecting, they definitely fit my style.

>>7290955
I never tasted mariage but mariage is somewhat similar to Dammann if I'm not mistaken and palais des thés is definitely better than Dammann.

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>>7291415
This, exactly. Gaiwan for great tea and pic related for everyday tea.

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>>7290448
lapsang master race reporting in!

>>7292171
You have a point there. I guess I just got so used to having white, black, green, oolong, puehr and rooibos being compiled under the tea category.

>>7292160
I got halfway through your questions and it was already like a novel so I'm going to bite the bullet and ask you for other means of contact. I took a screenshot of your questions so I could answer them more in depth.

This shit is magical but its so gorram expensive.

>>7292892
Whoopsie
http://verdanttea.com/teas/golden-fleece/

>>7282642
What a shittea thread

>>7288765
kek

>>7293006
Hey, don't TEAse OP.

>>7292892
>>7292895
I was in this asian dudes tea shop in San Fransisco once, during a visit. He had one type of tea worth $3200 for a pound. So that would be about $176 for your 25g.
He does free tea tasting sessions for hes "cheaper" teas $60/lb or so I think. So I got to try some different stuff which was cool.

>>7282642
I have a shitty Southern palate and I can't drink tea unless it tastes like Kool Aid. How do I fix this?

>>7283794
most plant-derived foods rot or mold faster in plastic.

>>7293101
Keep drinking normal tea until your palate finally adjusts.

>>7293101
Use honey instead of sugar. Dark honey at first then use alfalfa honey since it's light. Once you've gotten used to that taste, try straight up tea with honey notes. Youll get used to the taste of tea.

>>7284456
Keeping coffee on a hot plate cooks out a lot of the subtler flavors. If you just want a coffee kick in the mouth that's fine, but it's better to keep it in a thermos if you're froo-froo about your coffee.

>>7293140

this. It might taste like ass at first but just choke it down. after a couple weeks you should be OK

>>7284484
Home made soft drinks can actually be an art, too. Originally the carbonation came from fermentation ("soft" drink meant LITTLE alcohol, not NO alcohol). There can be just as much skill involved in a good soda as a good beer.

>>7284478
>objectively better

explain this for me and the other plebs

>>7293142
I have a really nice local honey store, too. Awesome.

Thanks for the advice!

>>7293140
This, I though I had no taste at first. But very soon I wasn't able to drink lipton anymore. And the further I go the more lower grades taste bad to me, even loose tea from somewhat okay stores.

>>7293571
Right? Honestly I find bagged tea to be too bitter compared to how much flavor you get. Everyone seems to think being bitter as Satan's asshole means it's strong.

>>7293583
>Everyone seems to think being bitter as Satan's asshole means it's strong.
And that's wrong as hell. Tea shouldn't be bitter. At all. Never.

The tanins that are responsible for bitterness actually kill the caffeine which is the purpose of those drinkers who don't even care about the taste in the first place. Even them should care a little more and make a proper freaking tea.

Well except Tuareg-style gunpowder, but you put a ton of sugar to compensate and it's a very different purpose than ordinary tea. Not really comparable.

>>7293647
Wait, no. I'm talking shit.

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Tried some Darjeeling tea.

I was surprised how noticeable the taste compared to generic black tea. It's very light bodied, somewhat like Oolong and Rooibos mixed together.

>>7293694

How many grams are you using in how much water? Sounds a lot better than every darjeeling I've ever tried.

>>7294223

It was just a generic teabag from Ahmad tea.

>>7293157
Making your own ginger ale (or strawberry soda, or whatever you want) at home is really easy, actually. Sterilize an empty 2L soda bottle, rinse it well with distilled water, add yeast, flavoring (ginger or whatever), sugar (maybe 3/4 cup or so), then distilled water. Shake well, then twice again after a few hours. Then stick it in the closet and forget about it for 2-4 weeks.

>>7293694
I've heard darjeeling been called as the champagne of teas. It's fruity and floral but has a spice flavour to it. The way they oxidize it re similar to how they would oxidize a green or an oolong, which is probably why it reminded you of that taste. I like the second flush better, desu.

Anyone know a camomile tea that doesn't taste like shit?

>>7295777
i've got some imported greek stuff, it tastes great. Check your local Mediterranean store maybe?

>>7295783
i live in a remote area, so i don't have access to any stores like that. Do you know any websites that might sell them?

>>7295805
I dont have any off the top of my head, but that rivertea.com place is still broken so you can get free tea, but I dont know if its tea is any good
I'll find some links tomorrow, chamomile is my favorite herbal tea

>>7289379
>iced
u wot?

>>7282787
They have Palais Des Thes in Norway actually. Spend far too much money on that store.

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Who's ready for some prime Silver Needle?

>>7296410
I have a silver needle sample I didn't opened yet. I should try it sometime.

>>7291766
w2c that cup

How u measure the right temperature for green tea?

>>7297213
170~175 F

>>7292125
This has to be a joke right?

I know what the right temperature is. But how u precisely measure it ?

>>7291339
I like you.

>>7297226
Electric kettle that does temperature.

so explain to me scientifically how brewing tea with different methods matters in the slightest? as long as the tea is making contact with hot water, through an infuser or not, how would that matter? coffee I can understand, it is brewed in a much more exact process to get the strength, tea is just the right amount of water to leaves and the right water temperature steeped for a certain amount of time.

>>7297259
>scientifically
Why? I'm not even sure why it matter scientifically.

Just make your own experience. I know from experience that it matter a fucking lot.

When I'm absent-minded and brew my tea at 95°c instead of 75°c. That's just undrinkable.
When that happen, I just throw it away and make another one.

>>7297281
no I am talking about the infusing methods, it seems highly arbitrary

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>>7282642

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>>7297259

When it comes to the infusion process it's important to allow the tea leaves to breath in the water so to speak. Allowing them to be fully surrounded and not compressed will allow for it to release its properties.

Black tea contains tannins but not tannic acid. Like fine wines, teas, especially black teas are often described by tasters as "tannic." This means they contain high levels of certain phenolic flavor compounds, collectively called tannins, that give the tea its refreshingly astringent, slightly bitter taste.

So it's absolutely important to ensure the right temperature and steep times correspond to the potency you desire. It's worth testing this out over time and see what works for you.

Also it's worth drinking out of a clear glass cup to truly see the infusion process take place. It's beautiful!

>>7297284
Oh that. It kind of matter. Less than the temperature and quantity of tea/water but still.

First the gong fu cha vs western methods. Of course it matter, you're changing the time and quantity of tea…

Then there is the space. Tea infuse better when it can move freely and when the leaves can open nicely. I know that also by experience. I have some tie guan yin that takes time to open up. And every fucking time the first 2 or so infusions aren't that great and then after the leaves are actually opened it taste way better.

You could also say that the matter of the teapot can change the taste a little bit. But I use that shit ( >>7292280 ), the infuser is in fucking PLASTIC and it still taste great.


Apart from that, not really. Teapot vs infuser in cup is exactly the same.

>>7297321
>matter
I mean material, sorry.

>Go buy some fancy tea
>Not too worried about price
>Ends up costing me $100 for 100 grams
>Don't want to cancel the sale so I look like a noob

>>7297448
Jesus. Stuff like this always makes me wonder what kinds of jobs people here on /ck/ must have in order to afford this interest of theirs. Are we all just living a quality of life that's well above our means? Or can some of you actually afford to maintain this lifestyle?

>>7297448
the fuck man, is that tea laced with gold or something

>>7297456
I work for the army, not all that decent wages, but it pays for my hobbies and an apartment.
>>7297484
Just some fancy Sencha.

>>7297456
>what is a hobby
Do you want to know how much one can spend on gardening, Model Railroading or Equestrianism?
Well, a fucking lot.

Yes tea can be expensive but it's still affordable. It's not about being able to it's about wanting to spend that much "just" for some tea.

>>7297520
Nice, I'm happy for you.

>>7297528
I know what a hobby is. I know what kind of money can be spent on those hobbies as my grandmother, uncle and aunt respectively have enjoyed those hobbies all their lives. I never said 'just for some tea' by the way. Not minimizing your interest in tea. It's as valid a hobby as any the way I see it. My grandmother also collected tea sets. Fine China, that sort of thing. Anyway. Glad you have something like that in your life.

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>old women who own amazing ornate teapots that sit on top of the kitchen cabinet for 50 years and have never been used even a single time

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>>7282778
>decantering

any word yet on that free tea from rivertea?

>>7297561
Oh they've been used. Plenty. Especially when her husband was still alive.

>>7297621
I'm not sure what you're eluding to. They don't even drink tea.

>>7297543
>>7297561
>>7297630
Sorry, I was talking about my grandmother.

>>7297637
Well my grandma and a lot of other old women I know have two or three expensive and nice looking teapots in their cabinets that have been sitting there for decades.

>>7297661
Hasn't been nearly that long for my grandma, not even close to one decade, but yeah, I get your point. A lot of people do tend to treat them as ornamental possessions. At least from what I've seen.

>>7297582
Their last twitter post is from 2014. They probably went under and the site is just fucked up.

Ok so I need a tea for sleep. Right now I drink the extra sleepy time bear tea (he's like passed out on the ground on the box instead of the chair) I think it's celestial? It kinda makes me sleepy, not like the bear on the box. Am I just drinking bullshit? Is there better sleep tea?

>>7297695
Don't drink tea for health benefits.

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>>7284656
I bought some green tea and a kettle from Harney & Sons for the holidays. Tried Japanese Sencha because I heard it was a good entry tea and it really helped me get through some mornings. I just got an order of Chai and Vanilla Comoro because I wanted something more exotic and the caffeine was worrying me. Do you think I should try more green teas or look into whites and blacks first?

does anybody else dislike rather black oolongs? I can only tolerate rather green ones.

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>>7297259
>>7297315
To put it simply some of the aromatic compounds and give the flavor and smell of tea evaporate/break down at high temperatures for teas like green and white while in other teas those compounds aren't released into the water unless brewed at adequate temperatures.

>>7297735

Oriental Beauty is a great dark oolong, expensive though. I prefer roasted oolongs myself.

>>7297735
I only had roasted and dark ones before but I just put an order in for some milky oolong. Interested in how it tastes

>>7297755

Is it artificially flavored milk oolong or natural milk oolong? Natural milk oolong is based on cultivar and doesn't actually taste milky, it just has a thicker than usual texture.

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new haul came today

>>7297701
>Don't drink tea for health benefits.

What's wrong with you? Why would you say that?

>>7297721

Fuck off with that picture, you're ruining this thread.

>>7297811
He's right you know? Just don't.

>>7297811

Not enough scientifically sound research on the health benefits of tea, aside from some stuff about dental health.

I love love love love tea, but even I know that most of these "health benefits" pushed by tea companies are just snake oil.

>>7297456
You should see what the 40k and MTG guys on /tg/ spend on their hobbies. If you buy some good but still an "everyday" sort of tea, say $40/month, that really isn't too extravagant. Eating a couple of meals at home instead of going to a restaurant easily makes up for that difference. Or having your tea setup at home/work and using that instead of going out to Starbuck's.

>>7297695
Anything with valerian is good for that. However, valerian taste like butts, so most blends will also have mint and chamomile. You can also buy valerian powder capsules at your local hippy bullshit store. Melatonin tablets are good too.

Neither make you groggy like diphenhydramine (benadryl/nyquil).

>>7297856
But eating at restaurants or drinking that shit at Starbucks are things I could never afford to do (or want to do in the latter case) anyway. But I get your point. The tea was only one small part of what I was trying to say. There are a lot of fairly expensive things discussed here. At least for me. And I have to wonder how people manage to live like that. I'd like to. Maybe someday.

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>>7297856
can confirm play 40k. it costs more for my imp guard army than organic tea, groceries, and assorted bills COMBINED.

>>7298138
That's just fucking ridiculous.

>>7289608
>visiting my aunt, who recently married
>new uncle is british
>aunt wants to go shopping to take me to get food and things since they are rarely at the house and it's even more rare that they have company since they both work super demanding jobs
>uncle overhears me saying we should get some tea
>TEA? WE HAVE TEA. HERE IT IS. THE ONLY TEA WE NEED IS PG TIPS

what's with brits and PG Tips? is it like their Lipton or something?

>>7297222
>>7292125
>>7292111
>>7291279
>>7291012
>>7290967
>>7290721
I just called that number they have on their website. It seemed like it was an actual person's telephone number because I got a number that said something like "Ed Holmes [I think that's what it said], leave a message"

>>7298211
I went to their facebook page and it looks like people have been complaining since March 2015 about the defunct website and no one being able to contact the owners. the anon who "bought" tea isn't going to get anything, sadly.

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>>7284461
I've been using pic related for tea, it's perfect because I'm a light (1-2 cups a day) tea drinker. Anyone else use one of these things?

>>7297520
>$1/g of sencha
you got fucked over, hard.

Anyone suggest some good online sellers?

I usually use tealeaves.com.au because aussie and I'm aussie, but some of their teas are not good to say the least. Bought from some jap on ebay a few times, and been keeping an eye on hojo.

Also any good 'artisan' style teaware? Preferably 1-man operations and aussie but whatever so long as it's nice.

>>7283333
How should I store pu erh?

>>7297721
Sencha always taste bad to me. No matter how little leaves, how short the brew, and how cool the temps, it still tastes bad.

Can you post how you brew sencha please? I have maybe 200 grams of this stuff sitting around.

>>7298706
Not him but for my experience you really need to brew it for seconds or it will taste like shit.

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>>7297832
>most of these "health benefits" pushed by tea companies are just snake oil.

The same can be said about every food product including apples, spinach, almonds, or soy.

For all we know all that research could be privately funded by farming companies to make people at more fruits and vegetables.

>>7290257
Caffeine is highly soluble at 100c and only moderately so at 30c. If you want less caffeine just lower temp or buy lower temp teas.

>>7291782
i like how gaudy they look

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Do you use spring water to make your tea? The tap water here makes all my tea taste metallic.

>>7298713
aka around 30

>>7298636
Look for any store that will sell gravity steeps and a clear glass tea pot. Amerifag here so I wouldn't know anything about Aus but it's what I use and I get compliments from guests.

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>>7298900
>clear glass

This.
People should treat their tea like wine, allow the colors to shine as light passes through it.
Swirl it around and inhale the aroma, let it emanate from the cup.

>>7298960
>>7298900
>>7298636

Although I'm from US, I got this clear glass one from Amazon
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007WTBQ0?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s00

Best seller and steeps great. Also glass is microwaveable which helps when it cools down after a while.

>>7284832
It's been such a long time, but I remember it being medium bodied (not too strong of a black tea), having a nice rich but somehow still mellow malty flavor (tasted wonderful but never overpowering), and mild tannins. It was never astringent and I had once over-steeped it by half an hour. It didn't need any sugar or milk either. It was like the perfectly balanced tea. I also remember being able to re-steep it up to 3 or 4 times and still get a very good cup of tea. The best steeping was honestly the 2nd time if I didn't overdo the first.

I've never tried Ruby 18, I'll have to give it a try. Just read some reviews of it online and it sounds pretty awesome.

>>7298960
>allowing your tea to be degraded by excess UV light

oooh boy what new thing will they think of me to purchase next.

maybe some sunglasses for me tea

Look at all you dickheads acting like drinking tannins from a leaf is so good.

>>7290257
Honestly, just steep most any tea for about 5-10 seconds and pour out the first steeping. That will carry away with it 75 - 90% of the caffeine. Then just re-steep and you'll end up with a low caffeine tea. The flavors should still be very much present unless it's a low quality or old and dried out tea (in which case it wouldn't be that good to begin with).

>>7292678
I love Lapsang-Souchong and also Russian Caravan. Similar smokey flavor.

>>7293101
- Get a good quality black tea (holds up to southern palate)
- Learn how to brew it without boiling the water or oversteeping the tea. (made a huge difference in flavor for me when I was doing this)
- Continue drinking this tea but slowly reduce the sugar and try to identify different flavors and aromas in the tea as you drink it with less sugar.
- Reduce the amount of sugar you eat/drink in general.
- You'll soon start tasting the natural sweetness/maltiness in teas without much sugar or any at all.

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>>7299141
Cool story bro.

>>7298677
In the ground, with the dirt.

>>7298753
Tap water here is really good. No loss in using it.

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I'm probably going to get shit on by /ck/ elitists for this, but this herbal mix infusion is my go-to before sleep. It's aromatic, fragrant and has a sweetish aftertaste, perfect for 2am relaxation. During the day I drink some earl gray I ordered from Sri Lanka.d

>>7299464

Herbal teas are good for night drinkin'

Any recommendation for buying tea in Sweden, online or otherwise? Was invited by family to stay with them here for a while but now my tea supplies are running low.
A couple bus stops from Stockholm.

>>7300127
See
>>7296407

If there are shops in Norway, maybe in Sweden too.

>>7282787
There's Palais des Thes in several countries. It's a damn impressive shop and service has always been good, but they are expensive, especially when looking for current-year stuff, and they dropped the ball at least once on properly cleaning the fruity smell out of a can before reusing it for a different tea.

I've had great luck with online shopping so far (just no silly things like an account that came up on an ebay or aliexpress search, no matter how highly rated they are)

>>7297520
I don't think Sencha has any business costing over $35 per 100g, and that's for top-shelf stuff bought at the peak of shincha season. Though that's before figuring in the fancy tea shop markup.

>>7300176
Seriously, he paid prices for nice gyukuro, but for sencha.

>>7300194
Not even gyukuro cost that much. 32€/100g is the most expensive I ever bought but at least it was for jasmine pearls.

>>7300127
I created an online store on etsy for the sole purpose of helping eurofags obtain quality tea. I kinda forgot about it though.. not sure where else you can buy tea, desu.

>>7300127
Last time I had to find a new vendor, I went to Teachat and read through the vendor recommendation threads for the tyes of tea I wanted. Better get fresh recommendations than my stale ones.
For best results I order each type of tea from a respected vendor in its country of origin. Since tea is light, compact and not terribly expensive, you can do this without incurring the wrath of the customs gods.
One vendor per country of origin is usually good enough. China is an exception in that it's worth splitting between different vendors, because there's real benefit in, say, getting pu-erh from a specialist, and also in hedging your bets with dodgy goods or fucked up shipping.

>>7300176
It was Tawaramine Shincha Ichibancha 2015.
http://www.palaisdesthes.com/en/tawaramine-shincha-ichibancha-2015.html

I've also paid the same price for Gyokoru and Silver Needle. Find them both to be well worth it.

Ayyy

Is there a type of green tea that will actually turn the water green?

>have some wonderful green tea I love
>it's starting to run out
>there's no indication of what sort of tea it is anywhere on the box
What am I supposed to do when it actually runs out? It's in small curls, tastes of ginseng and has a mild sweetness to it.

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>>7303117
plenty
if yours is turning yellowish that means you're using boiling water or steeping it for too long

>>7284615
The hell is Yerba mate?

can someone give me some pointers of how to make basic tea with a teabag

whenever i try it always ends up tasting kind of sickly strong and almost aches the back of my throat. oddly enough it still doesnt have much taste, its more like drinking dirty water

i dont get it, i follow all the steps. i boil the water and then pout it over the bag in the mug, it still ends up shitty. is there something i'm missing? do i have to stir the tea so it gets evenly distributed? do i leave the teabag in there or take it out? and its ok if the teabag immediately floats to the top when i pour in the water, right?

>>7303176

also - is it better to pour the hot water over the bag, or to place the bag in the hot water

>>7303160
Impossible, I've tried different temps, and my teapot is made of glass.
I'm thinking the tea might be too old or cheap...
So just normal sencha should be green?
Or should I try gyokuro?

>>7303176
>>7303184
Definitely pour the water over the bag, the bag floats to the top because there's a lot of air trapped inside, not much you can do about that unless you're willing to perforate the teabag and risk the blend floating around in your cup, also, you should use a proper tea cup just because. As for leaving the bag in or taking it out, I believe that's up to you, as in optional, but I might be wrong.

>>7303176
There is no reason to ever use a teabag ever.

Teabag always contain the most shitty of shitty teas.

Get yourself an infuser and some loose tea FROM A TEASHOP (no twinning box or other shit). The first price loose tea is ~5€/100g which is even less expensive than the less expensive teabags, and way better.


>>7303186
I have some sencha ariake, the liquor is green as fuck.

>>7303192
Not that I would really know, but this. I've heard about the difference in quality as long as I've lived, so I have to lend it some credence. I just can't afford tea like that. And I don't think I have a local tea shop.

>>7303204
>I just can't afford tea like that
Can't you read? Loose tea (at least the first price) is LESS pricey than even the shittiest teabag box.

It becomes pricey only when it becomes a hobby and you start looking for new, rare, and better teas. Take a teabag box you would buy, look how many grams you have in it, look the price, make some maths and tell me if you find less that 5€/100g.

>>7303214
I should have specified that I can't afford any tea. Or anything beyond a loaf of bread and a few sticks of butter for food each month. Sorry.

And, in addition to that, I don't have a local tea shop. Like I said.

>>7303190

thanks anon

Any Dutch anons know if Simon Levelt sells good tea?

>>7303156
Post a picture, someone might recognize it.

>>7303221
Dude, do you have a food pantry charity thing in your area? And you should probably also apply for foodstamps, but that might take a while. Or maybe go hang out at a Buddhist/Sikh temple, they have free food at most of their events, and they'd probably let you do general work there for food.

>>7282642
I sure do love me a Muffit of tea everyonce in awhile. Great thread OP, keep it up!

>>7303117
Plenty. But it'll vary with temperature, type of tea, water quality, all sorts of things.

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Feels good man.

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>>7307144
how easy are those metal mesh strainers to clean?

What teapot should I get? I like the look of those 24oz FORLIFE teapots. All I've got now is one of those Ingenuitea infusers that you put on top of your cup.

>>7307227
A kawai one, but not pinku (that's Japanese for pink).

>>7307152
Strainers are never easy to clean. Bought a gaiwan cause fuck infusers and teapots. No matter what leaves get stuck in them and removing them sucks

>>7282642
>this webm

hahahahahahahahaaaah

>>7307243
kawaii*
baka

>>7307537
urusei desu senpai

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Ever since I got back from Afghanistan I've been trying to re create the tea everyone fucking drinks over there.

I've gotten close by using gunpowder green tea, cardamom seeds, cinnamon, and saffron, but its just not quite the same. Any ideas?

I know some afghanis put milk in theirs, but this one looks like a glass of hot piss. Pic related.

>>7307780
try /int/ perhaps, maybe you'll find someone from afghanistan

>>7307783
>afghaniland
>internet

>>7307795
I sometimes find people from some of these shitholes on /pol/ and /int/. Maybe not Afghanistan I guess?

>>7307780
Well it's obviously gunpowder, but I don't know how they do it apart from that. I've never managed to make the tea as they do it in Tunisa either, despite trying quite a few times.

>>7297582
I am unable to track my order so it probably isn't shipping at all.

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>>7307796
IDK if I told >>7307780 a secret ingredient in slightly imperfect english and claimed to be from afghanistan do you think he would have went out to try it?

Anon, never trust anon.

>>7307825
you'd have to find an afghani proxy first, those two boards have flags

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>>7307830
I suppose that makes it much harder, I sit corrected. Most proxies I use are banned on the chan. I never go to /int/ and /pol/ is a hitler youth VS communist VS edgelord clusterfuck last I checked.

>>7307810
Have you tried gunpowder tea with a shit load of fresh mint and sugar for Tunisian one? Don't take the leaves out of the pot either, it is supposed to get more bitter with every glass. If you had some outside, they were probably sitting for a while and way more over brewed than whatever you will try at home.

>>7307780
Don't the Afghanis load their gunpowder with mint?

is lapsang souchong supposed to have an earthy taste to it?

Still pretty new to all of this. But I'm taking a liking to tea that are, for lack of a better term, strong in taste. Lapsang souchong is my personal favourite. What other teas do I go for if I want strong taste?

Also, should I get a gaiwan? I more or less know how to use one.

>>7307810
Mint, m8

>>7311016
deeply steamed (fukamushi) kabusecha maybe
though it isn't really anywhere near lapsang

>>7311016
You know it's called Westerner tea in China right :). Try roasted oolongs and any Chinese black from a good source really.

>>7311020
Of course mint. But it's hard to make it as good as in Tunisia.

>>7311027
Thanks, Anon. I'll note that down and see if I can find it at the local tea shop.

>>7311030
>You know it's called Westerner tea in China right :)
Ha, I believe it. It's delicious though.
It's kind of funny, I don't know anyone IRL who drinks it, but I see it mentioned very often whenever I stumble over tea discussions online.

>Try roasted oolongs and any Chinese black
I like Oolongs, but I'm not sure if I've had much roasted. I'll look around for it. I just recently moved, and I don't know the local tea shop that well.
Thanks, Anon.

>>7311016
Kukicha is a pretty decent one.

Nothing wrong with using a french press to brew tea, right senpaitachi?

>>7284615
i've always wanted to try Yerba.. but thats a lot of postage homie

I really like genmaicha, don't bully

>>7282787

is there a special name for that wood stand in the 4th quadrant of this pic?

>>7311563
It has multiple names. From tea tray to tea boat.

>>7297721
your a faggot for posting that picture.

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>>7284615
Why would you bag mate? Chimarrão tastes better in bulk

>>7311377
It's perfectly fine, keep in mind though glass will cool down faster so maybe preheat it. You should keep the brew time short for most tea anyways.

why do instructions always give you such obscene amounts of leaves per ml of water? like this lapsang said to use 8 teaspoons for 1l of water and I put in 4 and it was more than enough
and for my green teas it often says 1g per 1oz fluid but that would be like 33g for a liter of tea, an absolutely ridiculous amount of leaves

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Can I start drinking for under $30-40? i mean teapot, loose tea, infuser, tea spoon, teacup, saucer, AND napkins?

I'm unsure how to start....

>>7284615

I'll take some

[email protected]

>>7311689
Your tea must be weak.

>>7311731
not at all, not even when I brew small quantities

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okay, what the shit. so i just drove to teavana. for a teapot and some loose tea it's $68.42

>>7311863
Because Teavana is a cash grab, buy online (or at an Asian market if you don't care about quality)

>>7311698
Including the tea pot? That's a stretch if you want high quality, but if you don't give a fuck you can do it sure.

>>7311904

okay... i'll buy online stuff.....

still don't really know what stuff to start off with... i guess that's the real benifit of a store, someone will all but hold your hand and set you up completely

>>7292116
I've tried rooibos mixed with honeybus. I like it. I know it says decaff but it seems like it keeps me up. would buy again.

>>7290835
trader joes

>>7297815
not that adnon growing up always here its a myth, its a joke, nobody does that.

then one day watching national geo and its true.

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Okay, so I went back to Teavana. This cute hippie-chick helped me get

1 Perfectea Starter Kit
http://www.teavana.com/us/en/gifts/starter-kits/teavana-starter-kit%3A-gray-dw00179.html

With a $4 big-ass bag of Rock Sugar
http://www.teavana.com/us/en/tea/tea-rock-sugar/belgian-perfectea-rock-sugar-011036329.html?navid=xsellYMAL


--------The Loose Tea's--------
3oz of Serenity
http://www.teavana.com/us/en/tea/wellness-tea/serenity-wellness-tea-33047.html?navid=search&start=1

2oz of Strawberry Lemonade
http://www.teavana.com/us/en/tea/herbal-tea/strawberry-lemonade-herbal-tea-31336.html?navid=herbal-tea&start=1

2oz of Strawberry Grapefruit Xue Long Green Tea
http://www.teavana.com/us/en/tea/green-tea/strawberry-grapefruit-xue-long-green-tea-31834.html?navid=search&start=2

The Strawberry Lemonade and the Strawberry Grapefruit mixed together is called Winterberry. I sampled some in the store and it was fucking delicious (just way to concentrated.)

My total bill for all that horse-shit was $61.51

I'm really digging the fruit chunks in the tea because america, but this price is way too america. Where do I less money for the really good, fruit teas?

>>7313213
I would exhaust box of tea in the grocery store first. Then one of those hippy whole herbal vitamin stores. Buy your own dried fruit throw it in. Also real drugs are cheaper than that