Post your brew, questions, sources, teaware reviews, etc. P

>>8968853
>- Kamjoves exist and are arguably the french press of gongfu.
what did he mean by this

What's the main difference in taste between loose puerh and cake puerh?

>>8969556
there is no difference, it's just a form. but the best pu-erhs are generally pressed into cakes, so there's that

Friendly reminder that there is literally nothing wrong with microwaving water.

>>8970869
superheating
that's pretty much it tho

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Anyone else try cold brewing?
Cold peppermint and lemongrass tastes like liquid candy.

>>8971021
What leaf to water ratio do you use? How long do you brew it?

>>8971570
For herbal teas like spearmint that dont cost much at all, i'll fill about 1/3 of the jar with the tea and top it off with water and dilute it when its ready.
Black tea id say about 4 or 5 spoonfuls.
The only thing you have to worry about is making it too light, if you make it too strong then just add water.

8 to 10 hours should be long enough but i let them brew for around 24 hours so they're extra strong.

>>8968853
What is teavana and why not buy from there?

>>8971021
We do a strange home grown herbal concoction that we keep in the refrigerator and I take a cup of every morning. Echinacea, ginger, lemongrass, jujube and turmeric tea. Who knows, but I feel a burst of energy when I drink it. Haven't had a cold or the flu in the 5 years I've been taking it though, so I'll keep it up.

>>8971883
It's the starbucks of tea, essentially. You overpay for the quality of product they provide.

>>8972221
it is literally owned by starbucks

>>8972310
Well there you go.

>>8969920
It is said to age better in cake form but who knows, usually loose leaf puerh from the chinese grocery store is absolutely disgusting though, stay away

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I spent too much on Taiwanese tea this month AMA

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>>8973706
there's more too!

>>8973706
>>8973711
Why didn't you waste more money on 2017

>>8973711
Did you even reach 100 dollars? Step up nigga

>>8974044
They only had two 2017 harvests and I wasn't particularly interested in either.
>>8974214
It was $120 total. I spent $150 on a huge sale at YS earlier this year.

Watch for my ""reviews""" on them once they get here.

Just started brewing some water kefir, does it mix well with tea in a second fermentation?

>>8973711
I'm gonna buy some of that bug bitten stuff of theirs

>>8974433
OH NO IT'S SOLD OUT

>>8974433
>>8974456
I think I've seen some on both What-cha and YS that might still be in stock.

Also, here's an informative article on Oriental Beauty: https://worldoftea.org/oriental-beauty-bug-bitten-teas/

Which brings me to ask, why isn't World of Tea in the pastebin? There's a ton of great articles and knowledge on that site.

>>8974821
Anon who made the pastebin here, feel free to alter it as you like, it has been changed a few times by anons so far, I agree that wot is a good resource, there is a lot missing regarding stores and blogs and stuff that should be removed as well(I took some recs from anons that have been a mistake), I was pretty new to it all when I created it, I just wanted discussion to be a bit more organized.
Ive been really busy lately so no changes will be made by me for the next few months so be the change you want to see.

>>8974902
Alright, I've been planning on gathering info/links on things like sources and types of teaware, as we really don't have much on them. Articles and methods of tea production and storage would be something I think a lot of people would like as well.

I fell in love with tea a few years ago, and really got into it when I became friends with the elderly Japanese owner of a tea shop, he taught me everything I know.

I used to only drink loose leaf teas, but I have gotten lazy recently. Sometimes I just want a quick cup of strong black tea. I think I appreciate the ritual of brewing it properly more when I'm not doing it every day.

I'm in desperate need of a new pot. I have been using a tetsubin from teavana, and I just haven't been getting the flavor I want out of the tea - I have to wash the inside often, because I don't have separate pots for different teas. I'm considering just a glass tea press (pic related), but I don't like that I have to transfer it to a different vessel. I love gongfu, I think it makes it really easy to get the right steep; it just prepares so little, I like to drink a whole pot. I'm very open to suggestions on pots and brands to look at.

My favorite tea will always be black, but lately I have really been enjoying white; its has plenty of flavor, but its still so delicate, and not as astringent as greens, so I can drink more of it. I wish I could still get my hands on this silver needle pu-er I had once... divine.

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>>8975581
forgot pic

>>8970869
except you have to stick a thermometer in it to know when its the right temp.

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>>8972019
>>8971021
>>8971850
friendly FYI - if it isn't camellia sinensis, it isn't tea. Its a tisane.

>>8975581
>>8975586
>a glass tea press

That's literally a coffee press.
Pressing the plunger stops coffee from brewing.

A coffee press can still be used to make tea, and arguably pumping the press will stir the leaves up better than stirring a pot with a spoon, but don't ever actually press down on the leaves like you would for coffee.

Also stop giving Teavana your money, they represent everything wrong with the mallrat pandering tea industry.

>>8973706
fan of the oolong I see. I appreciate the complexity of flavors in oolong, but they have never been my favorite... too... flowery? maybe? idk, I love jasmine so maybe thats not it.
I prefer the darker, more oxidized oolong when I do drink it.

>>8975618
Yes I realize they are essentially the same thing; this one from hario happens to be called a tea press however, plunger doesnt reach very low to prevent squeezing the leaves. Plus its a e s t h e t i c. I like presses for tea because there is plenty of room to float around and expand, and like you said, you can stir it around with the plunger; i think the make very good tea.
I've only ever bought my teaware from teavana, but yes, I agree.

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>>8975680
If we're going full A E S T H E T I C S then you gotta get a samovar my dude

>>8975732
im a modernist.

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>>8975742
That complicates things but not overly so

>>8975770
better, but I really hate brass. Got a silver one?

>>8974902
What are the mistakes anon?

>>8974433
fuck, I forgot that too.
>>8975647
Wuyi and Dan Cong oolongs are my other two favorites. Roasted = cold weather drinking for me, so I wanted greener oolongs. The TGY I had was great but I was really craving that sweetness in TW jades oolongs.

>>8975581
I have a super cheap 300ml glass pot from aliexpress, it works great for a halfway point between western and gong fu, if you use like 5g of leaf and shorten the steep time to like a minute you can still get great resteep value and have a bit more to drink

>>8977516
Ok after a quick look on chinkexpress I noticed said glass pots are a lot more uncommon and a lot more expensive, the cheapest I found was 12euro, when I bought mine there were many available for under 5euro

For the past few years I've exclusively drunk coffee, but I quit entirely about 6 months ago after I realised I was drinking a massive amount and couldn't function without it (3-4 cups a day, sometimes 5). I'm considering drinking tea but I don't know anything about it. What would you recommend for a newcomer on a somewhat tight budget? What's wrong with teabags? It seems a bit over the top to bother with loose leaves and probably is too much effort for me.

>>8977677
If you want bags just go to the supermarket and get whatever, its going to be trash, but hey, no effort
For loose leaf just get samples and one of those mug infusers, or use a teapot if you have one (a kettle is not a teapot), the what-cha sampler is pretty good and is free shipping

Why does tea taste like shit unless you add milk?

>>8977821
Because you are drinking shit tea

Bought myself some jun jin mei. What would be good brewing temperatures and amount for gong fu brewing?

>>8978046
3 or 4 finger pinch, depending how strong you like it. 200deg.

>>8977677
The thing about tea bags is that it is ground up to dump all its flavor in the first steep. Whole leaf tea can almost always be steeped multiple time, as it released flavors slowly, thus there is more subtlety and distinguishable flavors with variation between steeps.

Most coffee drinkers will like black tea; it has the most caffeine and the richest flavor, often with nutty, smokey, or chocolaty notes. You can buy cheap loose leaf tea in some stores like world market, but most tea shops have a wide range of quality and pricing. Start with something that is
about $5/oz.

Amount of tea, steeping temp. and time is different for every kind of tea; it will usually have a recommendation on the bag, or ask a worker - There are some general rules of thumb for this.

You can use a well cleaned french press, cloth bags, wire meshes, or buy specific pots, but ultimately, you want room for the leaves to have room to expand and float around.

All tea (white, green, black, puerh, etc.) comes from the Camellia sinensis plant, and very in the way the leaves are oxidized, roasted, rolled, etc.

I was alternating between a Menghai ripe pu'er and What-Cha's "Nepal Silver Oolong" earlier today, but unrelated nausea has me sipping on an herbal concoction now that's easier on the gut: green rooibos, nettle, lemon balm, and mint. It's doing the trick pretty well. Green rooibos does not get the attention it deserves.

Just got my Shincha. Fucking a bitches.

>>8979206
I got mine a few days ago. I'll probably order some more once I open it, but I still have some older stuff that I'm trying to use up first.

>>8979202
what dayi do you have? I have a 2016 0532 I havent touched in a while myself, still too young but pretty drinkable, dayi teas don't have a lot of wudui, I broke it in small chunks to accelerate the process.
Usually I go for an '02 7581 as my daily ripe

reminder that teabags are for sub humans

is the anti teabag stuff here actually justified, or just something to feel smug and superior about?

>>8975586
THIS.

>>8979887
Both, teabags are only used for convenience. Anybody selling high quality tea wouldnt bother to grind it in to a tea bag regardless of how it changes the flavour.

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>>8980230
>>8979887
There are some sellers that use higher quality tea bags not made of paper.

>>8980314
Checked out the ones in your pic and they are super expensive, for that price you could get some at least decent loose leaf
For example the silver needle bags are 10$ for 37g on sale and doesnt even have info on the harvest year
http://www.teavivre.com/silver-needle-white-tea/ is a lot higher quality and not that more expensive per gram
Note that im not reccomending either, no point in buying 2016 silver needle with the 2017 one close to being avaliable

>>8981387
$0.5-$1 per bag is about what you can expect to pay for teabags from a reputable tea shop. To keep prices low, try ordering tea from the country of origin and buy large packages.
If you like Japanese green tea, you're going to have the easiest time sourcing cheap teabags.

>>8981460
The point I was making is that if you're buying those 'premium' bags you are still better off buying loose leaf from a quality-price standpoint