/tea/ thread

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Most of the world uses teabags.
Most of the world also drinks instant coffee.
Could you be more inclusive?

PG tips is fine

>>8908186
you can enjoy whatever you like anon but,what's the point in posting into a hobby thread if you aren't into the hobby

>>8908277
I thought I would keep you company.

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>>8908277
>not allowed to enjoy things unless you're an elitist faggot

>>8908381
>you can enjoy whatever you like
learn to read anon

>>8908381
You're absolutely allowed to enjoy it, but just drinking bagged tea straight from the store isn't really a hobby. I do it, but I wouldn't post here about it, I only post stuff related to tea as a hobby. Which teabags are nor.

if england has ever done anything right, it was earl grey

What's everyone drinking today?

How do I make a pot of green tea without it going to shit? I have around 20g of longjing left and I don't want to waste any more of it.
The tea was made in a 3 cup teapot, steeped for 2:30 and used around 6-7 grams of leaf with water around 165F. This proved to be an incredibly bitter and terrible pot of tea.

Less time? Less leaf? What would you guys recommend?

>>8909284
Probably some hojicha when I get home. The smell and taste are prefect, so I usually make a cup every day.

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How dead am i if i drink this?

Gongfu is fucking autistic. Looked up a video on YouTube and the first result made my anus wince the entire time.

"H-hello friend. W-would you like a cup of tee-e?"
>Brings out two pots, boiler, pad, three cups, a fucking brush, chop sticks, tongs, a minature statue to keep you company because you're so alone
Moshi Moshi motherfuckers

>>8908169
What the hell is wrong with tea bags? They are quick and easy, you know like most people's mothers.

>>8909684
The tea they contain is "dust and fannings", which is code for "literally the shit we swept up off the floor"

>>8909693
Fair enough, then what do you suggest to stuff in a water bottle for flavor? Generally just stuff 3 bags in and let it seep till it's time for lunch; I'm a lazy ass motherfucker that likes fire and forget.

>>8909709
If you're not even going to brew it properly then stick to teabags.

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>>8909672
The fuck is a gongfu?

Pre-bagged tea can't even compare to loose leaf. That said, I buy my own empty tea bags from Daiso or one of the other japanese stores where I live, and fill them with my favorite loose leaf teas and put them in an air tight tin to take to work. So if you like the convenience of tea bags, you can order empty bags and add quality loose leaf to them if you desire. They have a decent selection of empty tea bags on Amazon as well. At home I brew the loose leaf traditionally, and use a fine strainer over my cup to keep debris out.

As far as tea goes, I'm an Assam devotee. It's the tea I drink all morning long. Kalami Assam is my all around favorite, it's long leaf with golden tips, and it's nice and strong. Although, this morning I'm drinking "Imperial Blend" which is Assam blended with Darjeeling and Earl Grey, which is very fragrant, still strong, but with some delicate flavor and aroma when brewed. It's pretty boss.
In the afternoons, I alternate betwee pu'erh, matcha, or golden monkey.
After 5 pm, I have to stop drinking tea or I won't be able to sleep at night, since I'm already a chronic insomniac. That's when I break out tisanes, mainly chamomile blends, my favorite being a blend of chamomile, lavender, and lemon balm, but I also like rosehip and hibiscus.

>>8909667
I have that exact same little tin. I keep my son's baby teeth in it.

I actually have that whole set of those particular tea tins, they were my mom's, after she used the tea in them, she kept other tea in them for years until she gave them to me. Those are from the 1970s.

>>8909820
This actually still has the tea in it.

>>8909284
Started with a nice puerh, as usual. Been drinking milky oolong buttertea most of the day at work. Going to make some rooibos with prickly pear before dinner. After dinner I'll probably have some cognac though.

>>8909833
I figured it did by your first post. Tea goes stale, but I doubt it would kill you to brew it, since you'll pour boiling water over it. Unless it smells like mildew or mold, in which case, toss it. But since it's so old, it probably won't taste good. It's 40 year old tea.

>>8909672
People have an autistic need to make it into a ceremony like the japs, when it is actually a fairly recent method and not ceremonial at all. You can do it without all the bells and whistles, only thing you need is a brewing vessel, preferably small, hot water and a cup, all the rest isnt needed, some of it is useful like a small pitcher so you can have a brew cooling whilhe you drink the first one. The logic of it is just to have a high tea-water ratio. This video is pretty good, theres also one on peripheral teaware that's pretty useful
https://youtu.be/vF_-CMzj0tE

why can't i post about tea god damn it

>>8908186
I thought about this and I just couldn't accept that bagged tea comprises most of the tea market in terms of either dollar volume or poundage. I reasoned that bagged teas couldn't possibly have that much market share due to most bagged tea using dust and fanning quality tea (literally the lowest grade leaves, which would not weigh more than all of the higher grades of leaves combined). Public perception (or at least my perception) was that most tea drinkers use bags, which conflicts with the earlier reasoning. So I tried to find some statistics about it and came up with this info (only applies to the USA though):

>>8910806
>>8908186

>In 2016 the canned/bottled RTD tea segment comprised just under 50 % of the market share and is expected to continue to grow an estimated 30 - 35 % (4 - 6% CAGR) over the next five years. The bagged/loose leaf tea segment (DMM/Grocery) continues to lag, showing little to no growth, comprising an approximate 23 % market share. >Foodservice, refrigerated teas and high end specialty teas continue to grow at 7 - 10 % per annum.
The bagged/loose leaf tea segment ... comprising an approximate 23 % market share.

So both bagged AND loose leaf tea lumped together comprise only 23 % of the market. Apparently most people get their tea from cans and bottles.

I call bullshit on the earlier claim that 87 % of millenials drink tea though. There is literally no way that is true. I know not a single person in my age group that drinks tea, and only a couple of asians that drink thai "tea". If they mean "has ever drank tea even once in their whole lifetime" then sure. Plenty of coffee drinkers in my age group though.

>>8910818
link:
http://www.teausa.com/14655/tea-fact-sheet

This shit website won't let me put all of this in a single post god damn it

>>8908186
But the thread isn't about inclusiveness it's about discussing finer tea

>>8909657
gong fu

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>>8908169
>Stop using teabags.
No.
>STOP USING TEABAGS.
NO.

>>8909284
Going through my cupboard and drinking up packs where I've just got a pot or two left at the moment. Found a few grams of last years Mt Fuji sencha for today.
Basically waiting, making space and saving up for the new season spring teas to hit the stores.

>>8908186
>Could you be more inclusive?
fuck off subhuman pleb

>>8908186
most of the world shits on the street too

>>8909657
>steeped for 2:30
>green tea
nigga what the hell are you doing, 60 seconds is too much

>>8909907
>when it is actually a fairly recent method and not ceremonial at all
>18th century
faggot

So if I'm not supposed to be drinking tea bags
1. What is the process of making loose tea, because I assume I'm not supposed to be consuming the tea leaves with the tea
2. Where can I get this tea, not online

>>8911684
1. Loose leaf is typically brewed using the Gong Fu method. It basically involves more tea, multiple infusions, and less steep time compared to the Western method. You don't need autistic sets to do it. Basically all you need is a kettle, at minimum two cups, and a way to strain the leaves.

Here's a ghetto version of it without a gaiwan:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8FMHudkfU0

2. Local Asian supermarket. The better stuff are usually available online unless you live in a city with dedicated tea stores.

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Can anyone recommend some good plain looking cups for pretty cheap? I'm looking to buy a couple and prefer they be at least around 200ml. I'm gonna gongfu into them.

>>8909657
Gongfu brewing is your answer

>>8911684
>What is the process of making loose tea
1. pre-heat a teapot
2. put tea in the teapot
3. pour water in the teapot
4. wait
5. pour tea out of teapot

>Where can I get this tea, not online
Grocery store
Dry goods store
Asian grocery store
Dedicated tea import store
Hipster garbage store (Teavana, David's Tea(don't do this))

I'm a puer and oolong drinker here, looking to broaden my horizons. Is matcha really that good or is it just a meme? What makes it so special?

>>8912392
They say that whenever you make something yourself it usually tastes better, matcha takes a bit of effort to make, so that might be the case.

On the other hand, the foam is a pleasant texture to drink and if you get decent matcha the whole ordeal is pretty good.

Someone please advise:

What is mate? I've seen little gourd cups of tea, is it a special brewing method?

Where do you recommend to buy teapots? Like in OP's pic or some simple iron/clay/etc utilitarian ones?

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>>8912877
>What is mate?
Not tea.

>is it a special brewing method?
Yes. They pile the leaves up in the cup and sip through a filtered straw. Some of the leaves are left dry to soak through over time or something.

>Where do you recommend to buy teapots?
Literally any teapot is fine. You can import a fancy yixing clay pot or you can get some dead grandma's china at the thrift store, they're all functionally equivalent.

If you want an iron pot specifically, make sure it's enameled on the inside. Rust in your tea is no fun.

>>8912945
I see, thank you

>>8909657
Your using gong fu quantity of leaf but western timings. By 3 cup pot, do you mean chinese cups? I.e. about 150 ml total? Cut the time to 30secs, maybe reduce leaf as well.
I brew long jing western style though, with probably about a heaped teaspoon for 250 ml cup and start out brewing for about a minute. Swirl the water to get the leaves moist to start with or they just float on top.

>>8908169
What's the most basic gong fu method for making tea without all the ceremonial aspects? Hot water into gaiwan with tea leaves, let steep 30~45 seconds first cup, successively longer. Speaking of, where's the best place to get a basic gaiwan? Do you need specific leaves for this method? There's a local tea shop that sells a pretty big variety of loose leaf tea, and I'm not sure how to discern the quality.

>>8908186
Kill yourself

>>8908169
Best <$100 electric kettles with temperature control? Mostly concerned budget ones won't actually hit the temps they claim to.

>>8913394
>temperature control
ear drum it with a cheap one

if you're gonna get autistic over water temp then i hope you're calculating the actual boiling temp based on the day's humidity and elevation, how much heat is lost as you pour the water from kettle to cup and how long you take before/during pouring, how much heat is lost to the cup for the total duration of your steeping time and determining the temp range based on this heat loss over time along with deciding whether you want to use the recommended steep temp as an average temp for the duration of the steep or as a maximum temp, and the heat loss to the cup also depends on how fast the cup itself loses heat and the cups' current temp which depends on what steep number you're on, how fast the cup is losing heat, and how much time elapses between steeps, oh and don't forget to shock the tea leaves with cold water right after each steep so they don't oversteep from the leftover moisture

>>8913333
you can buy plain white gaiwans of various sizes for under $10 at JK tea, I have one on the way

>>8913333
You can brew anything gongfu style

>>8910851
I probably should, but western style is sometimes helpful. Especially when I'm making tea for family members, as they don't really appreciate gong fu.

>>8911603
The instructions on the package (what-cha's long jing) say to steep the tea for around 2-3 minutes, which I'm starting to think is too long. Assuming that this is for a single imperial cup, I figured I needed to increase the leaves for the whole 3 cup pot.

>>8912996
Imperial cups, which should be around 680-ish ml. I'll cut the leaf down to 2-4g and see what happens.

Thanks for the advice.

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Shit guys. I'm spending all my money on weeb stuff.

>>8913702

it's a chinese green tea you fucking pleb, brew it gongfu style

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>>8909667
I decided to smell it to see if it retained its smell.
It smelled like ass and my stomach has been hurting since.

>>8913447
you sound like a woman

>>8913791
>$200~
How do they look?

>>8913702
Don't follow the instructions on the package and always brew your tear gongfu. Hard to find a tea that doesn't taste better gongfu.

>>8914761
I find indian teas work best western, well not western, somewhere in between, like 30s-1min 300ml 5g, usually use my glass pot so I go by colour rather than time but it ends up in that range

>>8914488
not him but its really too much of a hassle, anon. always heat your water to boiling temp and just transfer it to other pitchers. transferring it into a glass pitcher and waiting around 7-10 seconds drops it to about 90 C. doing the same thing with a clay pitcher drops it to about 80 C. just play with the time and you'll eventually be able to have the intuition for it.

however, if you want a temperature controlled one then get a kamjove t-22a. it does precisely this, boiling into 100 C then cools it down to either 90 or 80 C. like other anon said though, there's too much other factors and imho its really just an added expense when you could be using that money on more tea.

>>8914488
I wish
But trying to precisely control the temperature of the water in the kettle is rendered pointless if you're not also going to figure out what your actual steeping temperature is based on all of those other factors. At that point you might as well just bring the water to a blind boil and wait a few seconds or add a bit of cool water.

>>8913702
Sounds like you are following the recommendations right, and checking against the one i use (mei leaf) they say 1g per 100ml as well, brew 120 secs. However i know if i did that, it would be bitter.
I think you've got the right plan, try 2-3 g for 120 secs and see how it works out. Remember the second brew is always best, and you can steep that longer if the first wss too weak.
Ignore these gongfu only fags - most chinese dont gongfu long jing, they are either western or grandad style.
Personally i usually gong fu oolong and puerh, never sencha or long jing. Other greens it'll depend. It's about making it so you are going to enjoy it.

>>8913997
that's pu-erh my lad
people would pay big money to have some tea that's so heavily aged
enjoy

Can I get an intro to pu-erh?
What's the difference between ripe and raw?
What does aging do?
Shopping on white2tea and have no clue what to look for.

Harney & Sons makes decent bagged tea (way better than Twinings and other supermarket stuff). I suppose it's just because they use actual leaf in the bags, rather than "fannings."

Can anyone recommend a good loose leaf English breakfast on Amazon? (Or an Assam/assam blend?) I'm about to do a bulk order on Amazon, so it'd be convenient to re-up black tea there. Although if there's nothing good enough there, I'll just get Canton's Eng breakfast tea, my usual.

>>8915189
I always just drank twinings loose leaf english breakfast. Its cheap, and when I drink it its right after I wake up and right before I go to work so I hardly care about the quality.

>>8912392
Imagine a really old puerh, dark, woody, intense, damp cave-like minerality.
Matcha is the complete opposite end of the spectrum. Young, intense grassy, vegetal flavour shot. High caffeine and theanine because you consume the ground leaves. Good for alertness and concentration.

>>8913447
I actually do most of this. It's why I don't use a temperature controlled kettle and just rely on a separate vessel with a thermometer in it. Really I just tend to aim for a consistent temperature of the water for brewing. If you're always using the same equipment and preheating your pot the loss over time isn't going to matter much. It's only going to go below your maximum and probably not by much in the <5 minutes you're steeping most teas for.

That shocking with cold water sounds like bullshit though. You can just leave the lid off of your pot. After you pour out the brewed tea the leaves should only be damp. That small amount of hot water will quickly saturate with anything left in the leaf. Because it's hot water it will also evaporate quickly. That reduces the amount of water on the leaves even further while also cooling them down. When you go for another steep any leftover saturated solution will be diluted in the fresh water. You might just need to adjust for the cooler pot on later steeps.

>>8908186
Its a weeaboo shit.
>MUH SUPERIOR NIPONESE TEA

>>8915291
nigger

>>8915037
Bump

>>8915237
Matcha can definitely have some minerality to it too. It just tends more towards oceanic or even slightly chalky.

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my aunt got me some winter tea for christmas and its nice
heres a quart of it

>>8916107
ITS MAY

>>8916113
yes and the weather is cold

>>8915037
literally wikipedia

raw is traditional pu-erh that utilizes high ambient humidity wherever its stored to undergo a slow microbial fermentation and partial oxidation since most but not all the enzymes in the leaves were destroyed/denatured right after harvest
loose leaf matures/ferments faster than compressed cakes but compressed cakes are more resistant to changes in the environment

ripe is basically raw that undergoes a fast-fermentation method that's basically the same as composting and smells/tastes fishy unless you give it time to air out; if you want to air it out break up the cake into loose leaf form
ripe is supposed to mimic aged raw but not really

aging makes the tea taste less green and more dank

just buy samples of whatever "looks" good or has a cool label (like how you'd buy craft beer based on the label alone)
ignore tea blog recommendations because they over-exaggerate all the different flavors or just make up random bullshit, because they have an incentive to do so in the form of free tea and other kickbacks
aging your own pu-erh is a fucking meme unless you live in a tropical rainforest

Everyone here advising to gong fu every single tea and to be super finicky with temperature clearly hasnt been going at it for very long, dont get me wrong, I gong fu most my teas but if the leaf is good quality it is super hard to fuck up, I've had vendors straight up advise me to just boil their tea in a pot on the stove for 30min and just add water throughout the day, once you drink more tea you will be able to see how far you can push each tea instead of being autistically dogmatic about it

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weebs

>>8916155
>literally wikipedia
>just buy samples of whatever "looks" good or has a cool label (like how you'd buy craft beer based on the label alone)
>ignore tea blog recommendations because they over-exaggerate all the different flavors or just make up random bullshit, because they have an incentive to do so in the form of free tea and other kickbacks
>aging your own pu-erh is a fucking meme unless you live in a tropical rainforest

See anon? There's merit in asking a forum over just wikipediaing everything.
Also thanks.

>>8916227
fuck you little autistic homo

>>8915291
>MUH SUPERIOR NIPONESE TEA
Anon, where do you think tea comes from?

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Do any herbal teas actually have any health benefits or is it just a case of "this herb is really good for your health, but only if you condense 20 pounds of it into a cup"?

>>8916227
honestly that gallon container of tea is probably better than dust/fanning grade bagged tea, since they probably use higher grade leaves to bulk brew that tea at a consistent temperature

Dear tea hobbyists,

I recently got my hands on a rather precise cooking scale (0.00 g) for free. I already have a fine kettle which let me set its temperature. I have black and green teas, a few pu ers and wu longs of various oxidations (I prefer low oxidation ones).

I am not very knowledgeable in the different brewing methods yet and the pastebin is rather light on the subject.

I am looking for guidelines regarding g of tea per L of water, temperatures and stepping times according to types of tea and brewing methods. Where should I look?

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>>8917070
Something like that?

>>8917290
Also https://www.reddit.com/r/tea/wiki/faq

>Reddit
Just get over yourself if your not going to go by what's in the paste bin

>>8917290
Yes, but with added concentrations: mass of tea to volume of water ratio. I guess ratio differs according to the brewing method and steep time.

>>8917305
Tea is traditionally measured by volume: whatever amount of tea fits onto a scoop from a teaspoon.

Experiment for yourself the exact mass of tea that you prefer, there's no hard rules.

>>8917332
However,
>https://pastebin.com/SWNA0rLX
>FAQ
>How to make tea
>1. Get a scale
>Scales are better as the density of teas vary widely. A rolled oolong, for example, is quite a bit more dense than a silver needle tea (not to mention silver needle would be quite hard to measure with a spoon).

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Whisked up some matcha, pretty tasty.

>>8917497
I really want to give matcha another try. I had some years ago but I didn't have any tools to properly whisk it so I was never really sure if I got what I was supposed to get

>>8917502
You might just have gotten shit grade matcha, pretty hard to find decent matcha outside of specialised stores and Japan.

Typically avoid all matcha that mentions health benefits.

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>>8917508
nah it was from a store that sold generally good quality tea so I trusted them that the matcha wasn't poor quality.

I had to whisk it with one of these though and yeah...

>>8917510
Ah, no wonder.
I use one of these, works really well.
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=901009&cid=utensils

I almost exclusively drink black tea.

If I am feeling fancy
>buy some on-line
usually lapsang and Darjeeling/Nepal
>brew it loose in a french press, pour it into a different pot and drink that for a couple of hours, reheating

If I don't give a fuck about cleaning the french press
>buy bagged Akbar tea or Impra from my local fruit market (not some hipster shit, literal market with normal prices)
>drink 5 cups a day.

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I got some puer that smells like wet dog and tastes like feet. Fair enough, I'm an idiot. I can't afford the kind of bullshit import prices imposed on my country so I thought I'd be able to get something not utterly terrible locally. Mistake.

But I also got some oolong (god knows which kind) which when brewed, stinks a bit like fish oil or something. Doesn't smell like anything dry. What the fuck is wrong with this thing. Help.

Is yunnan sourcing's matcha any good? What's the best place to buy on a budget?

>>8917546
Just cave in and buy some puer cakes from Yunnan Sourcing

>>8918162

Name what it costs and then double or even triple it. That's how much imports are taxed around here.

>>8918256
Scott will declare them in a way that minimises the risks of getting charged import fees if you ask iirc

>>8918263
Thanks for the info, but the fuckers here are wise to that. There's not much more you can do than label the shipment as a "gift" and stay under a certain price. But most of the time they'll simply ignore that and charge you regardless. If you want to complain, all you can do is file a complaint and if you don't like their response (which you will usually never actually receive), all you can do is hire a lawyer and go on a legal battle against the state over a cake of tea. Which you won't win.

>>8918317

But hey, at least you have "free" healthcare!

>>8918336

Hey, how'd you guess.

>>8917546
I don't know too much about puer, but I've never had an oolong that smelled like to fish oil. If you know you're brewing it correctly, I'd recommend trying to find similar varieties of oolong and comparing them. It could be that your local vendor just has low quality tea. Or, you bought a very odd oolong.

>>8917497
Looks tasty. I think I might take the plunge and buy some matcha / matcha utensils soon.

>>8917510
I take it that it's a pretty shitty whisk?

>>8914963
Thanks anon. Also, how's grandad style with less dense teas? I'd think it be a bit difficult to drink longjing without consuming most of the leaves. The dancong and black teas I have mostly settle to the bottom of the cup, and are very easy to drink in this way.

>>8918390

I own a small business that ships a lot of orders overseas so I get to talk to a lot of customers who beg me to declare low values on the customs paperwork so they can avoid paying these taxes.

They always get either mad or disappointed when I explain that:
1) It's illegal
2) If I were to declare a low value then that means I couldn't insure their shipment for the full value of the merchandise.

It got so bad with some countries (Italy, I'm looking at you) that I simply refuse to ship there. It's just not worth the hassle.

>>8908169
>STOP USING TEABAGS.

They are not all bad. Well alright, they are 99.9% all crap. But it really all depends on what the bag is filled with. I often drink this bagged sencha that I acquire through nefarious means which is actually pretty goddamn good, but that's because it's loose leaf stuffed in a bag rather than teadust that you'd expect from a teabag.

>>8918427
>Italy, I'm looking at you
True that, Italy has some of the shittiest postage service, once I got some tea from a guy there because he was on vacatoin there and I figured it would be cheaper/faster than chinapost to yurope and it took as long as if I bought it from his store in china

>>8918694

They also have a MASSIVE problem with mail theft. Before I changed my policy to refusing to ship to Italy at all I would only ship via either "registered mail" or a high-end courier service like FedEx Priority. Using standard air mail shipments through the post I would say about 50% of them simply disappeared whereas I've never had that problem shipping elsewhere in the world. Out of 10+ years in business I had dozens of Italian shipments go missing but beyond that there were only two: one to South Africa and one to Ukraine.

>>8918410
Some shitty greener oolongs like chinatown tgy have kind of a fishy seaweed smell especially the wet leaf

Actually longjing leaves tend to sink pretty fast unless there are a lot of stems, I guess they dont sink very well either if the water is too cool, but i've tried discussing that and people seem pretty adverse on trying higher temps

>>8908169
Can anyone recommend me a tea that tastes like pipe tobacco(unsmoked)? I don't mean smokey flavor like lapsang, but of a more woody/vanilla aroma of fresh tobacco. I read a review that empress oolong has tobacco notes, is that true?

>>8918719
Italy has problems? I live in a shittier neighboring country and I've never had a delay or a lost package.

>>8918748
I can't speak for Italy in general as I've never lived there. But I can tell you that posting things to Italy is a nightmare, and I've known several other people who own online businesses to say the exact same thing.

I never had a problem with private companies like FedEx or DHL, but the standard post was horrible. I have shipped packages all over the world including many tiny countries in Europe, all over Asia, South America, etc, and the only countries that I've ever had problems with are:

Italy: roughly 50% chance of the package never arriving

France, Australia, and NZ: Very reliable, but also very slow.

>>8918739
I always found the smell of pipe/rolling tobacco to be chocolatey, so maybe a dian hong would remind you of it, personally I prefer the ones that arent bud only, even though they are pleasant I find them sickly sweet without something to balance it

>>8918739
>>8918782
There's also unsmoked lapsang
Heard good things about https://oldwaystea.com/products/wild-black-tea
And tried http://www.lazycattea.com/product/zheng-shan-xiao-zhong/
Some of the best hongcha i've had but a little on the expensive side

>>8918782
Yeah, I guess it's more chocolatey. I have some low to mid grade vanilla rooibos bought in Müller around a year ago that smells almost like Karelias tobacco. If I don't find anything else I'll buy more of that.

>>8916581
I've been drinking qing qian liu for a couple weeks now. I haven't needed headache meds and I dropped a few pounds. I think it really helps.

i just drink tetleys green lemon tea

is it bad for you

Anyone here drink poppy sea/pod tea?

>>8908169

I don't use teavana, but I did get a sample of their Maharaja/Samurai Chai mix and it was actually really good as far as Chai teas go. I'm not too experienced with Chai since I mostly drink greens and oolongs, but I haven't found anything similar. Any brand suggestions? It was very cinnamon and clove heavy and made great Chai lattes.

Also, where can I find some good pu ehr tea?

>>8918719
holy shit
not even my third world shithole is that bad
>>8919287
make yourself

Found some Puer in a Chinatown and brewed it in kyusu this morning. Not too aged judging by the taste but I am glad I was able to find it.
This weekend I am going to a tea plantation on a trip put on by my uni. I hear they will let students tour the factor and hand pick tea leaves from the field so I am very excited.

>>8919287
Do you have to ask? Yunnan Sourcing

>>8918739
Wss the review for mei leaf empress (da hong pao)? I tried that recently and would say it has tobacco/whisky barrel type notes, at least for the first few steeps, then becomes lighter and fruitier.

>>8919232
Drink whatever makes you happy, anon.

>>8920347
*except bagged shit

>>8917546
do you have any pics of the dry/wet leaf of those teas? any description or label that comes with it?

>>8919261
no
does it taste good

>>8920171
is YS really the best for pu-erh? what about white2tea or whatever that website with tons of premium (read: $$$) pu-erhs is called

>>8912295
literally anything

>>8917070
>asking 4chan
>tfw getting reddit
>tfw wikipedia has complete answer in my own language
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pr%C3%A9paration_du_th%C3%A9

>>8920998
YS can be a bit hit or miss because of the big catalog but it has aged stuff and not only it's own brand, w2t has mostly young pu and it's own brand which can be kind of limiting for someone say getting a wide variety of samples. No matter how clean w2ts shous are i'd rather get something 10+yrs old (and you definitely can for relatively cheap), for sheng the young stuff is interesting too but to get the full scope of you need something older too preferably gz or hk stored

>>8919261
No, but I've ground fennel seeds and steeped them for tea. It's pretty good, kind of a spicy-sweet taste and kind of similar to black licorice. Adding sugar to taste makes it a bit more palatable too if black licorice isn't your thing.

How's poppy seed tea though?

tfw you spend all day autistically trying to fix your brewing parameters to find out why it didn't taste like the way it did before

>>8922200
For me the worst is with yancha, I swear every session I have different results, unless it's more high end stuff which is less blended, that shit can go in a pot of water boiling water and still come out great, not cheap though

What are your favorite ingredients (or combinations thereof) for herbal teas? Googling basically just gives me info about health benefits; that's nice and all, but I want to know what actually tastes good.

>>8922339
Linda Gaylard's book in the pastebin has a section with about a million different recipes for teas and tisanes, separated from the "health" section

>>8920990

Puer looks like what you'd expect of a non-raw puer, quite dark. Not caked.

Oolong once again looks like what you'd expect of an oolong. Rolled up into balls, green/black color. Said it's proper Taiwanese oolong on the website, package says it's from China, fantastic turn of events right there.

Can't take any photos now, it's too dark for my lumia. Thing doesn't even have a flash.

>>8919261
Yeah, PST. It's been weak lately though, if you're getting it from the major suppliers. Not a bad thing though if you should really be taking a break. Hope the stock improves soon though.

Do you drink PST? Where do you get the S from?

>>8922339
Check out Canton's herbal teas as examples of good things to mix: http://www.cantonteaco.com/loose-leaf-tea/type/herbal-infusions.html

I haven't tried any of these, but have given a few as gifts and they loved the teas. Canton's other teas are first rate as well, so I'd trust using these as examples of what to mix yourself.

Does anyone have a list or can give me an idea of some cheap-ish shit to start? I'm not really sure of what things I'll actually need

Can all tea be kept in a thermos or whatever and still be good, or should I only drink it right then and there?

>>8923668
You just need something to boil water with (a pot, teapot, kettle, a pan, anything), a cup or two (even plastic disposable party cups can work), and maybe something to separate the leaves from the water like a strainer.

>>8923718
Thermos is fine
Brewing temp is more important, serving temp depends on personal taste. But personally I just don't like the mouthfeel of room temp or lukewarm tea

Can anyone vouch for mei leaf, it seems expensive and how can they really know if they're using 500 year old gushu, seems like a scam sometimes. That being said I like their content on youtube and I wanna know what experiences people have had with them compared to say YS

>>8925370
They cant, to me the worst is the way they shill their yixing as something special when it's a super run of the mill half handmade pot that you can get in a ton of other sites. Their format is always list some arbitrary set of characteristics something should have(that are the ones the ones they sell has) and compare them with some others, when they can procure early spring material, early spring is an absolute necessity for that specific tea, when they procure some tgy with low amount of stem then low amount of stems is a sign of quality.
That said I dont know if their tea is actually good or not but I'm not about to reward that kind of marketing

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Anyone else had w2t's White Whale? To me it smells exactly like a very old book, and tastes similarly. It's the oldest tea I have had, and it seems like a fine introduction to aged raw pu.

>>8925994
no, the price is pretty appealing though, have a cake of the smokyLEE that is also featured on this vid and is similarly priced, like it a lot but it doesn't have that aged character some even less aged pu have, after the smoke subsides it has a lot of sweetness and all around interesting flavours so it is not as it hasn't aged, it's just doing it in a different way if that makes sense
vid:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QJCGMNlGvA

Any way I can reduce the bitterness of tea to use in cooking?

I am making tea rice and using fukamushi sencha which gets super tender during the first infusion so I figure I might as well use the actual leaves but then it gets bitter as it sits in the bowl since it is still steeping.

>>8926820
Steep it more times maybe

>>8925413
Nice to hear from you again, allan k.

>>8925994
>To me it smells exactly like a very old book, and tastes similarly.
I love the smell of books. But are you sure that it's not just aroma absorbed from the wrapper or from storage? Did you let it air out?

>>8925994
HOLY

>>8926820
Anon, it sounds like you just invented a problem where none exists.
Just leave the leaves out of the dish, the brewed tea is enough for flavoring.

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New to drinking loose tea, anybody have experience with buying empty tea bags and filling them with your own leaves?

What size should I get?

>>8925370
I cant compare them to YS because I 've never bought from them. I can't tell you how old the trees their gushu comes from are. I can tell you that I've bought a lot of their tea and never been disappointed. I buy from them face to face in the shop where i can sit and try a pot of the tea before i commit to buying. They're completely genuine. You may find better tea elsewhere if you're looking for single estate or rare aged tea at a premium price, but as a mid market supplier you won't find much to complain about.

>>8927131
seems like a lot of hassle. wouldn't it be easier to just use a metal infuser or a small teapot?

>>8927131
Well the bigger the better since your tea would have more room to move around and expand in but its still worse than not using a teabag.

what about a teabag that expands in water

>>8927557
literally no need, teapots were invented already, loose leaf being a hassle is a meme

>>8920998
>>8922123
It tastes absolutely atrocious.

>>8923167
I got mine from SN and they're alright. They're not the strongest I've ever had but they aren't bad either.

>>8925994

I have 2 cakes of this. It used to be $15, at which point it was ridiculous value. At its current price it's still a good value for 15 years of age.

/tea/ what's your?
>Taiwan supplier
>Jap green tea supplier

It's shincha season so I preordered a bunch of samples from different farms. I'm pretty excited about it since I've never tried shincha before.

Would it be a stupid idea for me to start a website where I share my thoughts on different teas after tasting them? I guess it would be a blog type thing, but I could accompany each segment with a video in which I'd briefly cover the history of each tea variety or blend, followed by relevant information.

It's something I'd be interested in doing for fun, but I feel as though no one else would really care for it.

>>8928328
i dont see why not, i have seen other doing something similar and there is always some interest

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Any of you have experiences with FengHuang DanCong? I got a little bit today and tried brewing it like my regular oolongs ( 194F 5g on a gaiwan steeping 1-2 minutes)
And holy shit it came so bitter.

>>8908169
Is it true boiling tea makes it bitter and sun tea AKA waiting tea is not bitter because of that?
Had some cold tea I made in a cheap boiler brewer and it was bitter.

>>8928477

Try steeping less. Some would argue your brewing time for oolongs are too long too, but I don't mean to imply this is some sort of objective truth or anything.

>>8928477
As >>8928562 said dancongs are usually brewed with short steeps, its not like a ball oolong that takes a while to open up(even those are brewed pretty short after the leaf has opened up)
https://youtu.be/LqUFY6SpJZU

>>8909284
Strong Assam chai
Fight me

>>8908169
Green tea leafs and cold water. One piece of tea on 5 times water changing. First water for a pigs.

Can I put some sugar to green tea? It tastes too bitter.

>>8929929
No, you brewed it too long/too hot.

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Drinking the best toasted mate we have in Brazil.

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>>8929929
You want sweet iced tea, try that

>>8908169
is drinking 2 cups of green tea a day okay?
been drinking 2 cups for over 2 years now.
also, i feel ill sometimes when i drink it. why?

>>8929997
On an empty stomach? It's common

I usually drink my tea very slowly so I was wondering for how long can I keep leaves for re-steeping considering I have not re-steeped them enough times yet?

>>8927131
If you have to get it, get the biggest size that will fit in whatever you're using it with

I would recommend getting a teapot with a strainer or just a standalone wire basket for a more compact setup(just put in your cup for a bit)

I would recommend getting a cheap gaiwan too but maybe later

>>8930438
A day or two.

>>8929929
Green tea should be light and grassy, what are you doing wrong?

>>8930438
Either let your leaves dry or maybe put them in the fridge. Leaving a warm moist vegetative mass sit out over night could lead to bacterial growth or mold.

>>8930675
I mean sure, but you will blow it up with boiling water the next day.
Personally I let it sit for about a 24h or so with no issues sometimes a bit more, just do a quick rinse with boiling water before proceeding.
But you do you, I live in a pretty dry environment so mold takes ages to form, I'd be more careful if my situation was different.

>>8930916
>how to get botulims

>>8911765
>>8912301
What if I want to brew tea, but don't want to use this weeaboo autistic elitist Gook Fu method.

What is the inferior Western method?

>>8931792
I'd get a cheap glass or ceramic teapot, like 300ml or 400ml, if you get decent tea you will be able to resteep it even western style (not so many times though) so getting those large 1l pots isn't worth it

>>8931764
clostridium botulinum doesn't produce toxins in the presence of oxygen

>>8909284
>Purple needle black tea of Jing Mai
>Li Shan from Taiwanese coworker
>Traditional Roast Da Hong Pao

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I got the night off so Im running another four gallons through the still.
I should have a two gallons of 180 in about twelve hours.

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Anyone here has pic related? How is it? I'm mainly looking into something small for gong fu brewing

>>8932700
Wrong kind of brewing, bro.

>>8933011
Oops.

>>8933011
kombucha tho

What size is your gaiwan anon?

>>8933217
What's a gaiwan?

>>8933104
literal poison
>>8932929
just get a gaiwan

>>8932929
I have one. It's pretty cool but I'm going to buy a regular gaiwan again.

>>8930675
How would dry the leaves? I just leave them in the gaiwan with the lid off overnight and I haven't gotten botulism yet.

>>8927109
GRAIL

>>8932929
it's ok, personally prefer a normal gaiwan or a standard glazed shibo, a lot of people burn themselves alot with gaiwans though, I probably would just get a small ceramic pot it that was the case
found these: https://teaware.house/collections/teapots/products/that-little-celadon-teapot-90ml
the build quality is probably not excelent but it's probably pretty functional
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/hua-ning-pottery-peacock-feather-on-white-clay-gaiwan-140ml
qt shibo, not super cheap but looks pretty cool

2bh none of these are trully worth it because of shipping unless you are already doing an order and tack them on

>>8925994
have you had old bear 2006?

>>8931792
its chinkshit and not gookshit get it right

>>8932929
get a hohin with a filter its easier for beginners to use

>>8935763
Just tip them onto some kitchen towel and spread them out in a flat layer

>>8927102
I waited a few days after the WW arrived, but I didn't really air it out. Having had it a few times now, it's almost certainly the tea.

>>8937690
Haven't had that one; only placed one W2T order so far. Got the whale, 2016 Poundcake, Fade, and Hot Brandy. HB and White Whale are my favorites, though I'm still pretty new to sheng and am still figuring it out. Old Bear, that one's supposedly "for pipe smokers and whiskey drinkers" or something, right? Sounds good to me.

I'm considering getting a decent Yixing piece next time I'm financially stable, for shou. Is YS a good place to begin? I have ordered tea from them in the past and been pretty satisfied. What should I look out for?

>>8938803
I have one of those cheap half handmade ys pots, its functional but if you're willing to spend a bit more, maybe 100-200$ will get you an 80's or 90's pot that is actually handmade and actually made of more standard yixing clay. I'll post some links to some sellers once I get on my pc, also advise you to browse some teachat threads about yixing if you intend to get into it, no account required to lurk

I'm toying with the idea of starting some sort of tea blog, though it would be a while before anything were to materialize. Are there aspects of the tea game you believe aren't being covered enough, or that you would be particularly interested in seeing? Seems like there's a place for someone who talks about tea more scientifically, getting really into health benefits and the like, without cheerily recommending Lipton like a dingus or shilling hippie shit like so many nutrition-oriented sites do.

>>8938846
Nice, thanks anon

Is mei leaf for pretentious fuckboys or are their teas good quality?

>>8938929
Whoops I just saw the comment above. I did get their ruby and amber gaba and tried ruby today, gotta say it's fucking amazing. I never tried anything similar from other vendors so I have nothing to compare it to tho.

>>8920287
Yes, it was that review. Only place I've seen that mentions tobacco as a tea flavor. I'll order a sample as soon as it's back in stock.

>>8938803
>>8938846
Links:
https://www.essenceoftea.com/teaware/clay/yixing.html
http://www.sampletea.com/catalog/teawares/teapot
http://www.lifeinteacup.com/teapots
http://www.lifeinteacup.com/vintage
https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardware/zisha-teapots.html?p=1&product_list_limit=all

these are the ones I've seen mentioned as trustworthy by people I consider trustworthy, obviously buy at your own risk, also keep in mind that older factory pots don't always have perfect craftsmanship, so read the descriptions, some don't have perfect fitting lids or leak a bit from the top but are usually pretty functional, there have been these memes around that a pot has to be airtight and have a perfect lid and whatnot to be good, that is shilling by vendors that sell those half-handmade pots, obviously those always have super well-fitting lids and are otherwise perfect, but desu the only reason to get into yixing is the clay quality, as long as most of the tea falls into the cup you're set

I ordered sweet ya bao from YS and it came today, tastes light and like it's flavored with fruit. I still like it though, it's a refreshment after strong black teas I've been drinking for the last year.

>>8938952
forgot to mention, keep in mind yixing actually has a pretty large effect on the taste, especially lower fired pots, you might buy one for shou and just realize it mutes the flavours you are after, the one I have I bought for yancha but it muted the high notes pretty severely, ended up using it for aged sheng and it works much better, be sure to experiment with different kinds of tea

>>8939004
Noob here, what's the difference between yixing clay and normal clay?

>>8939011
yixing is a place, yixing clay is clay from yixing, there are a few different types, I'm in no way an expert so don't know a lot of details, but thats about it, people seem to like teapots made with that clay, and it definitely tastes different if you compare it with porcelain or other clays

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yixing_ware

>>8939064
So that clay has a reputation just like real Champagne from Champagne region? I get it, but I'm wayy too new to all this to buy it any time soon. Maybe in a few years.

I drink a lot of tea. I really mean a lot. Like 4 liters or so every day.

Recently I noticed I started pissing slightly green instead of completely colorless.

Is this normal or should I be worried?

>>8939554
What tea do you drink? I've never experienced this with your typical range of Chinese teas.

Green is a sign of excessive niacin, I think. You can Google that part but on the tea side, I don't think it's related.

>>8939711
I drink sencha.

I checked it out, doesn't seem to be too related. It's kinda spooky, so I guess I'll have to do a urine test ASAP.

>>8939554
chlorophyll

>>8939554
4 liters of tea daily will make you piss out all your hydration, stop it.

>>8940297
What the hell are you talking about?

>>8940768
Caffeine is a diuretic. You piss out more than you hydrate.

>>8940932
The amount of caffeine in sencha is pretty small. 30mg per cup.

>>8940942
Well yeah, I don't think OP would piss out more than he hydrates, I just said what I think guy above was talking about.

>>8940950
Still doesn't make sense. Some people drink one or two liters of coffee each day. That's the equivalent of roughly six to twelve liters of sencha.

>>8940952
Coffee doesn't make you piss a lot though, tea does.

>>8941240
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21450118

>>8941240
>Coffee doesn't make you piss a lot

False.
Coffee poops are also a thing.

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>>8941246
It certainly does.

>>8941240
So go to the bathroom

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>>8941242
this. also tfw you'll never be paid to drink tea for science.

>- Start brewing gonfu, even just to try it. You can do it with a spare cup. No excuses. You won't want to go back to western brewing when you gongfu a good tea.

I went back. Gongfu is a pain in the ass for anything save the premiums and I disagree with washing the leaves as a necessity.

>>8942316
>bagged tea

>>8942327
what about pesticides

>>8942327
>pain in the ass
mongoloid

>>8911765
I think I got second hand autism after watching this. If I tried this, most people would just call me a gook, so I think I'll stick with just leaving the tea leaves to steep in the pot

>>8942675
You're not going to wash the pesicides off with 10 seconds of hot water, they're already in the leaves.

>>8942327
I like that Japanese green teas can be made with a method somewhere between gongfu and western. Like 100ml of tea, steeps under a minute, and only around four infusions.

Boy GABA oolongs are GREAT. I love that charcoal chestnut taste.

A question? Is Japanese sencha an acquired taste? I ordered some without actually ever trying it (Chiran sencha from O-cha) and it says it's supposed to be vegetal and grassy, however I smell and taste seafood/algae. A quick google search says that's the "umami" taste some jap teas have. My brother and friend can't taste it though, they say it's only a fresh taste, no fishiness.
Is there anyone who also found sencha to taste like algae but got used to it after a while? I don't wanna waste the tea.

>>8942327
w/e I like gongfu.

>>8944218
washes vegetables
>pesticide free now!
rinses tea
>pesticides are stuck in the leaves!

For real, it's only common sense. Even without pesticides it's probably a good idea to rinse off dirt/dust/etc.

>>8944807
I've been meaning to try some. Where'd you get yours? I've been eyeing the Taiwan Sourcing GABA oolongs. I'm skeptical of GABA supplementation in general https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594160/ especially since we're taught that it can't cross into the brain. I figured I drink tea all the time without worrying about health benefits, might as well try these teas out too.

>>8942327
w/e I like gongfu.

>>8944218
washes vegetables
>pesticide free now!
rinses tea
>pesticides are stuck in the leaves!

For real, it's only common sense. Even without pesticides it's probably a good idea to rinse off dirt/dust/etc.

>>8944807
I've been meaning to try some. Where'd you get yours? I've been eyeing the Taiwan Sourcing GABA oolongs. I'm skeptical of GABA supplementation in general https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4594160/ especially since we're taught that it can't cross into the brain. I figured I drink tea all the time without worrying about health benefits, might as well try these teas out too.

about senchas, I feel the same way. they are intensely fishy. maybe try some different varieties and/or ease up on the infusion time.

>>8939554

you don't NEED to drink that much, for a healthy human being, 1-2 liters on an average day is enough. However, if you enjoy the tea that much, than it's perfectly fine. Just make sure to take in a little bit of salt once a while, you can kill yourself if you keep drinking on a hot day, without taking in a little salt as well (but we are talking about a few gallons worth).

Other than that, drink if you are thirsty.

>>8927131
>>8927136
I use these every now and again. Like the others have said, obviously bigger is better. Stuff like tieguanyin straight up would be a waste.

I like these a lot for trying to get my coworkers to try tea. Whenever I get some tea I like and want to share, but know no one else drinks tea with teapots, I'll make a few teabags and hand them out. And sometimes I'm just lazy and don't won't to use a teapot.

>>8944807
Love the GABA oolongs i get, but does the nitrogen processing actually affect flavour/aroma, or just increase the GABA level?

>>8944807
>>8945078
GABA teas are a meme & even if it has weak permeability across the BBB the high efflux rate and 17 min half life means whatever "high" you get is gone like the wind. You may as well sprinkle phenethylamine powder on it and pretend you're getting an amph high too. If you want gaba buy picamilon from a noot site.

>>8944807
Good sencha does have that umami taste to it. I loved it the first time I tried real sencha. I could definitely see how it might not be for everyone though.

It can be kind of brothy/swampy but generally in a brighter way than seaweed is. I find it pretty hard to describe. You see some people mention buttery or nutty flavors. There's an almost citrus element to the ones I like. From my limited experience, Kagoshima teas tend to have more of this. Possibly because of the region, but also because they tend to be deeper steamed.

Generally the deeper steamed stuff will have more umami while the lighter steamed will be more astringent. The kind you got appears to be medium, so it could still be on the heavier side. You can judge by how broken up the leaf is.

But anyway, it depends on many factors. Your leaf ratio and water temperature can affect it more than you might think. Experiment with your brewing parameters to see if you can get a taste you prefer. Also, try cold brewing some and see how it is that way.

>>8945546
Even if the psychoactivity/healthiness is way overblown, at the end of the day it's a tasty oolong.

>>8945546
Brah I'm not drinking it for the "health benefits", I just like the taste and I didn't taste anything like that before.

>>8945564
I tried steeping it 3 times - 2nd and 3rd brews were pretty drinkable, even had some sweet taste to it. First brew appears to have most of that umami taste. Someone also mentioned putting a few drops of lemon juice in, I'll try that too.

>>8946015
>>8945546
Pretty much every health benefit of tea is overblows, I'm not even gonna start talking about chinese tisanes. Shit if you could "literally burn fat" just from drinking green tea or "cure asthma" with licorice tisane, I'd be a fucking skeleton running marathons every month.

>>8947495
What temp were you using? when I get those sea flavours I tone it down as far as 60°C sometimes

>>8947491
yes but sub-consciously you probably think it tastes good in part due to the supposed health benefits

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I just received the following samplers for my first time brewing loose leaf, which should I try first?

>>8948201
>flavored teas

>>8947596
Nah. I'm a biochemist so I was skeptical about it from the beginning, just like with any of the health benefits from tea that someone above mentioned. It's just that it tastes like roasted chestnuts. But shit, if someone thinks GABA will make you more relaxed or something, you don't have to shit on it, placebo is a real thing.

>>8948201
Adagio?

>>8948925
But surely the flavour is from the tea and the roasting, not the GABA-enriching nitrogen processing itself?

(Not a chemist, just a tea fiend).

>>8949129
Well shit, I'm a tea noob and read somewhere that chestnut flavor comes from GABA. I'll try to order regular heavily roasted tea and see if it tastes the same.

>>8949086
yea