/ck/ - Food & Cooking

bought a masala chai sampler set from Vahdam, which should I try first?

>>11282335
I used to drink tea everyday when I was a teenager, what the hell happened I’ve truly fallen from grace

How do you guys break down those tea pucks?

>>11282371
The original one is pretty good, i had it today!

>>11282405
bite into it

>>11282335
boiled up some ginger

added half a lemons worth of juice

wala, asian remedy ala sick as a dog

>>11282507
all non-wh*tes worldwide can unite in love of hot ginger+lemon+honey drink

Drinking the last of a 4 year old pai mu tan I found in a cupboard. Bitter but drinkable.

Tea-bag refugee here, is Don's connoisseur brewer worth it, or should I just get a Gaiwan (will be buying one regardless)?

>>11282335
Simple Earl Grey

I am vacationing in Berlin right now & this is the only one I could understand what it was.

>>11283457
There are a million similar ones on the market no need to pay the camden tax, honnestly you are better off with a 10$ gaiwan from ali or tack one on your next order from whatever tea vendor youre buying tea from next if they acrry one at a reasonable price

>>11283465
>Not ordering the mystery tea and taking a picture of the menu to show us
Missed chance desu. That said, there's nothing like some earl grey.

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/yunnan-pine-needles-green-tea-from-mengku-spring-2018

Had some of this last night. It was pretty good. It almost tasted like a sencha, with a lot of savory notes.

Tea newb here, up til now I've been brewing pu erh, black and oolong teas the western way, 90°C in a glass infuser with a press plunger, steeping for 3-4 minutes.

I decided to buy this gaiwan https://www.aliexpress.com/item//32687825916.html and I'm wondering what to do next.

Can I put black and oolong tea there or should I just buy green and white?
Should I really do the asian quick tea washing technique on the leaves before the actual steeping?

I'm very curious to try the quick multiple steeps, I've never poured tea out of the pot so soon, before.

>>11284288
>90°C in a glass infuser with a press plunger, steeping for 3-4 minutes.
Awful.

>I decided to buy this gaiwan
Nice.

>Can I put black and oolong tea there or should I just buy green and white?
You can pretty much brew anything in a gaiwan.

>Should I really do the asian quick tea washing technique on the leaves before the actual steeping?
Depends on the tea. Certain teas, like sencha, aren't intended to be rinsed. But generally, yes.

>I'm very curious to try the quick multiple steeps, I've never poured tea out of the pot so soon, before.
You'll be amazed how smooth and flavorful the tea is, and also how the flavor of the tea changes throughout your session.

>>11282335
>https://pastebin.com/4ZEuMwBJ (embed)
it says it's been removed

>>11284298
Thank you.
>>11284306
Works for me.

>>11284306
werks on my machine

Any store recommendations for Indian teas? Upton's $23 for 80 grams of Darjeeling seems a bit too much for me, is this the regular price one would pay for this kind of tea? Any cheaper options?

>>11285060
That seems really high. My local tea shop charges that much for like 4-6oz of darjeeling, but I might be mistaken.

>>11285071
All my locals charge a lot too, they market it with this champagne of teas motto like it's the rarest of delicacies, hence why I turned to online shops but I really don't know where to buy stuff that isn't japanese or chinese.

>>11282405
Get a tea knife/pick

What kind of tea can pair with spicy foods? Obviously with the capsaicin, and sweet notes will be lost.

Just got my new gaiwan from lazycat tea in today. Testing it out with their qilan rock oolong sample they provided. Its quite good. Excellent floral flavor and fragrance but rounded and sweet from the roast.

according to their website, qilan means strange orchid. makes sense, its similar to a honey orchid oolong but much less sweet.

>>11285060
VAHDAM

>>11285236
ripe puerh

>>11283465
Send me pic of all and I'll translate

>>11286096
This

>>11282335
I have had a few of those cakes, its a good tea. The first one I got tasted like bananas, the second one was more mineral tasting.

>>11284288
This is a good gaiwan, I own one. Good choice. You can put any tea in it, because it's ceramic. Usually you wash black, oolong and puerh. You CAN wash any tea, it's a few seconds after all. You can also NOT wash any tea, or drink the wash (it's going to be weak). It will take some time for your palette to get adjusted to tasting tea. But the more you do it, the more you will taste. Remember you'll need more leaf, usually 3-4 grams/100ml for green-white and anywhere from 4-8 grams/100ml for the rest. No there is no real specifics, you should experiment. It's better to go more than less, if it's too strong, cut down on time or temperature. You will need temperature control, either via a kettle or a thermometer, especially if you drink lots of greens and whites. The rest can take boiling or close to boiling and are more forgiving.

>>11285236
Strong puerh, probably aged raw or ripe. Genmaicha. You could try something smoked or even silver needles.

>>11287965
Yeah, I have an electric kettle with temperature control. Thank you, I will surely experiment.

>>11284288
ok this guy's post >>11284298 fucking triggered me.
Yeah press plunge tea infusing is stupid
other than that though this guy knows jack about tea

the reason you're asking about green/white black/oolong is because it is common for many gaiwans to be unglazed on the inside. This makes them porous, so previous tea you brew will tend to leave trace flavors within the pottery.
It's common for chinese with such a pot to brew 1 specific type of tea in that pot
The gaiwan you bought is porcelain though so it's sealed and you can brew anything anytime as long as you're rinsing the thing out
yes rinsing is dependent on the tea

multiple steeping tea is interesting and the stages are very distinct from another, I'm assuming you enjoy tea with no sugar otherwise you're a pleb.

all this said I prefer a single steep of my leaves and a full flavored black tea but that's just me

>>11288017
Yup, no sugar, but sometimes I add some korean ginseng extract. If it's too bitter or it's cold outside I will add a quarter of teaspoon of honey.

>>11284288
read the pastebin, it's there for this exact reason

>>11288062
It really needs an update, its garbage (i made it when i was just getting into tea), you guys should really make a new one

>>11288017
>other than that though this guy knows jack about tea
What was actually wrong with the post?

I just finished a small disk of pu erh that my friend gave me. I like the earthy flavour a lot.
Any other recommendation? I got more pu erh in the mail.

>>11282393
Never too late to start again, anon. :)

been waiting on a w2t order since the 18th, mostly stoked for the waffles cake because there is no shou to be found in my area

Am I a faggot for using one of these from Tea Forte? It was pretty cheap and I like to drink a lot of tea when I make any

>>11289156
Nah, I've considered getting one for work, they seem convenient

tried out this smoky paraguayan yerba mate today cause I was feeling drowsy in the afternoon
tasted good and did the job, but I have the feeling I won't be able to sleep well tonight

>>11289156
A little, yeah. At least you're not using a teabag, though.

>>11289144
Good choice. I got a bunch of samples of their cheaper shous a while back and waffles was easily one of the better/more memorable

>>11288076
I updated it once and IIRC someone else updated it as well
what's shit about it now?

>>11289730
My main gripe with it is the vendor list, sorta outdated, some of the shops dont even exist anymore, apart from that theres not a lot added except a more complete brew guide and a few new blogs, though I might be wrong, been 2 years since I last saw it

>>11278456
Scoby from commercial bottle update. after a week and a half starting just from commercia kombucha and sweet (oolong) tea, I think it's ready for action. It's a good 6mm thick or so, and before I disturbed it, it had quite a lot of CO2 bubbles underneath.

I tasted the kombucha itself, and it's still quite sweet, though definitely has that vinegar punch as well. Drinkable. I'm going to try bottling it in some grolsh bottles to get it fizzy.

>>11290139
Side view.

>>11289144
is it meant to be 1 waffle square = 1 serving of tea leaves? how many grams in a square? the waffles is a super interesting concepy

>>11290476
concept*

>>11290476
It's just pressed so you don't have to use a knife or needle is all, I don't think the weight factors into it because it could vary based on what parts of the leaves are in any certain part

>>11289810
Reddit has a pretty robust vendor list updated annually. Literally the only thing I use reddit for it r/tea

>>11290139
interested to hear how the oolong 'booch is, I always thought that sounded good. What kind of oolong did you use?

>>11282335
dragon well and silver needle

>>11290921
Im aware, the pastebin is not for me, I know who to buy from, its for the beginners

Redpill me on “dessert” teas

Went to the store and saw a whole row of teas flavored like various desserts

Is there sugar in them? Are the healthy?

>>11292791
Not sure if most have sugar but they are filled with artificial favourings

>>11282335
Any thermos recommendations? I kind of wanna start making tea in the morning and bringing it with me because I get thirsty and tea really hits me in the best way in the morning.

>>11293046
On a similar note, I've seen those "tea infuser" things, and I'm curious if they're any good or if you just end up with oversteeped tea. Really just looking for minimal effort honestly

>>11290927
I used this "jade" or Tsui Yu Oolong. Honestly I don't know how well the flavor will come across at least in this first batch. I used a lot of sugar to get the scoby to grow, so it's pretty sweet still. Will hopefully make a nice fizz. I'll taste it again after a couple days in secondary ferment.

>>11293063
I've seen double-walled travel mugs with a built in french press before, just a plunger with a mesh screen, and the usual sippy lid. You could brew tea in that without oversteeping too badly, probably.

>>11292791
If they're the republic of tea ones don't get too hyped. There's artificial flavors to make it taste chocolate or banana or something, which isn't bad, but there's no real dessert-like sweetness unless you add anything to do that. Not bad but it didn't really live up to the dessert name, but might be worth a try anyway.

I wish I drank more tea

>>11294286
Hey OP.

>>11294289
?

>>11294289
I' not OP

>>11294670
>>11294289
>>11294286
I am OP. that's not OP

>>11283020
nice color

Hey guys. I'm looking for some tea recommendations with a few criteria/limiters in place. I'm doing intermittent fasting/long term fasts and so I want tea that absolutely won't break my fast.

1. Doesn't have dried fruit, sugar, or a sweetener of any kind in the ingrediants. Basically no ingrediants that would break a fast or cause an insulin response.

2. Not too expensive. My range is $6 max for about how much you'd get for a 18-20 bag box. While that doesn't exclude loose leaf I know that it will probably be unlikely that there's loose leaf out there this cheap at such a quantity.

3. Preferably it is sold on amazon (but still recommend it if it isn't because i'll save it for later). I have a limit on my card and so i'd like to buy all of the tea in one purchase. This is unless there's a big online tea retailer that would have all of these teas in one place.

i'm sure you guys will have a field day with my limits. Thank you for any recommendations.

>>11296174
You're not gonna get teabag recommendations around here, champ. Any teabag is gonna taste like shit anyway, so it really doesn't matter what you buy.

Regarding loose leaf, you can probably get about 2oz of some average quality tea for $6, which isn't very much.

Also tea should have basically zero insulin response, unless there's other shit in it, and you wont find people here recommending tea with additives, save for a few natural things like jasmine. Additives and flavorings in tea are usually artificial flavorings. Even if it does have real fruit bits, artificial flavorings are still usually added to make the flavor stronger (because seriously you're really not gonna taste a few bits of dried fruit). So, as a general rule of thumb avoid fruity or flavored teas.

In summary, just buy some cheap shit from the grocery store until you're ready to stop being a poor boy.

>>11289156
I hope not, because I want one

>>11296174
>>11296298
You can certainly get low end loose tea around that range. It's going to be stuff like Twinings tins, CTC black tea, or whatever gunpowder is on the shelf at an Asian grocer. Likely this one https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000CBOR60

$7-8 opens up a few more options I think. Check out stuff from The English Tea Store or Stash. Loose tea can be cheaper than bags per gram, even more so if you get a couple steepings out of it.

>>11296412
Twinings is teabag quality even in loose leaf form, I'm not -that- picky but it I ended up throwing a lot of what I had out and bought far better quality for a similar price

>>11296298
I understand the quality difference between bags and loose leaf, and I understand the need for stressing it when it comes to something that you really love (like tea).

What i'm looking for is just different in this case. I'm not price range of looking for high quality teas that I can savor. While I want to savor and appreciate even my low quality bag tea, I also want to be able to buy a good variety of teas for the price of 2-3 loose leaf teas and drink them daily. I'm in a quantity over quality mindset right now, but I would still like whatever quality I can get for my price range.

I do plan on getting into high quality loose leaf when I have more money.

>>11296412
You're welcome to post $7-8 options, i'll check them out.


These Harney & Sons Cinnamon Spice and Earl Grey caught my eye. Any opinions on them?
https://www.amazon.com/Harney-Sons-Cinnamon-Spice-Bags/dp/B000PGQQFC?th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Harney-Sons-Earl-Black-Bags/dp/B000PGQQES?th=1

>>11296468
most flavoured teas get boring quickly desu, jasmine green is about the only one I can stand

>>11282335
White tea is my jam at the moment

>>11294726
huh?

>>11285816
Very nice!

>>11294286
I wish i enjoy more the tea i drink.

>>11296711
Is it true white teas rose sharply in price this year? Any ideas why?

>>11293046
Pre-steeped tea isn't good in a thermos. Go cold brew.

>>11296654
Any recommendations on bagged jasmine green I can buy in bulk?

>>11297660
not sure i would agree. not the same as drinking it fresh, but "isn't good" is a bit extreme.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxuqKTD0XXk
Get in here tea heads

>>11298039
shes so fucking hot and she even took her meds today too

>>11296174
Look up Davidson's on Amazon. They sell one pound bags of tea, and many of them are between $10 and $20. Their Gunpowder is $9.99 and pretty good for what it is.

>>11298173
yeah, not showing her power levels quite so much today. 9/10 would give her my oolong johnson.

Has anyone tried Vietnamese lotus tea? Is it any good?

>>11298486
One of my favorites, sarsaparilla loveliness and aroma like an angel's snatch. You need to go for a high grade traditionally made one, not artificially scented.

>>11298739
>You need to go for a high grade traditionally made one
Do you know an online shop that sells and ships to Germany?

>>11298779
http://www.postcardteas.com/site/product/lotus-lake-black/

This one is divine. They have black and green lotus tea. Expensive, but it gives lots of infusions. Very nice body feeling.

>>11298858
Thanks a lot g!

>>11296174
enjoy your pesticides you absolute pleb

>>11298448
What do the runes say?

>>11300390
Ching chonk nippon.

what should I do with this? how does it taste? anyone had it before? bought it in Hawaii on impulse since you can only really get it here

>>11294286
solved this problem long ass time ago

>>11302370
oops forgot pic

>>11302374
Caffeine tho :(

>>11302430
lol, I use one bag, so it's almost same as using small cup.
and you could use green tea.

>>11303022
>you could use green tea.
That wouldn't help much for caffeine, green tea is still pretty caffeinated. The only real way around that is to drink tisanes.

>>11303249
drink decaf tea, it literally exists

>>11302374
>>11303022

I can't stop admiring that mx518.

Made some tea with a pad coffee machine. Yeah, lazy goy here

>>11303249
green tea barely has any caffeine, you could easily drink a pot before bed with no issues.

and please don't tell me you buy into that retarded misconception that tea has more caffeine than coffee...

Orange Pekot is the shit.

>>11303711
White/green tea has about 50% the caffeine of coffee. No one said it has more caffeine than coffee, but to say it barely had any caffeine is ignorant.

>>11303729
That package design looks like a feminine hygiene product.

>>11303777
It's decaffeinated, so it might as well be.

>>11303772
>about 50%
you're talking out of your ass.

while there is some variation to all the numbers based on leaf quality, steeping times, and particular blend, an 8 fl oz cup of coffee has on average over four times the amount of caffeine than green tea (108mg vs 25)

you're telling me you can't handle 25mg? the hell kind of Mormon pussy are you?

>>11304133
how much leaf mass for an 8 oz cup? how much caffeine per leaf mass?

>>11303369
And it literally has its caffeine removed through some dodgy solvents, no thanks, there are plenty of tisanes out there

>>11282371
the cardamom one and also if you end up liking that one try coconut chai. my sibling got some and its a nice version that you'd likely enjoy

>>11282335
I had some harney and son's cranberry tea today specifically the one in the picture cause there appears to be 2 different kinds of cranberry tea if i remember correctly

New to loose-leafs, anybody got any recs for tea-tins?

>>11296174
I know you said amazon but invest $8 in this 12 teas sample pack and you'll have plenty of options to choose from for a while. Check out the store's other sampler packs.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/12-Different-Flavors-2018-Oolong-Tea-Including-Tieguanyin-Dahongpao-93g-in-Total-/142725100433?

>>11304703
desu I usually just buy tins off amazon. As long as it's steel and relatively air-tight, that's all that matters.

>>11304916
>>11284288 here, thanks for the recommendation! I've never looked at tea from ebay.

Hey tea boys

What's the best way to get a large amount of loose leaf green tea for cheap

The best estimates I can find are maybe around $6 a pound, and I think I want at least 20 pounds

Should I try buying wholesale from some source?

>>11305471
Can you speak Chinese?

>>11305494
我会说一点中文

>>11305507
>>11305494
喂?

>>11305507
我也会

>>11305554
okay but how do I buy the tea

>>11304703
https://www.specialtybottle.com/metal-tin-containers/tea

I have some of these. Dirt cheap, seal nicely, I'm happy

>>11305557
alibaba boi
i'm seeing $1/kg """tea""" on there

>>11305721
>>11304937
Much appreciated lads

so i've been just heating a kettle of water, then putting loose leaf in a strainer and making it right in the kettle, then pouring the rest of it into a thermal carafe so i can be lazy and drink hot tea throughout the day. What would be a better method for doing this? is the thermal carafe detrimental to the quality long term etc? looking to get a better quality/experience in general but don't want to have to constantly brew tea. largely been getting loose leaf through verdant tea pretty much all the types that they offer so far, probably look at some of the other sites posted here and branch out later.

>>11306927
Nothing wrong with a thermos/double-walled thing, the tea's not going to degrade over a day. You could try gong-fu style, and just keep the kettle on "keep warm" near the teapot. Whenever I want more tea, I pour hot water in, wait for it to steep, pour it in to a cup and enjoy.

>>11305557
我从不喝茶
我只喝瞬间咖啡

>>11304937
>>11305721
not that guy but what kind of size should I get, I have around 100-200g of most of the teas I have.

>>11307413
The one i posted holds ~100g or 4 oz of tea, so you'd wanna get something bigger. They are the only ones I have.

Any recs for a good glass walled thermos? Want something that'll keep my tea warm if i brew it in the morning but won't make it taste like metal

>>11307709
just use a cheap metal thermos for fuck's sake, I use 1 and can't taste metal, it's also a hydroflask

>>11305721
does the one pictured stack?

Hi /tea/ can I get a high caffeine recc, preferably from Amazon. Trying to get off these energy drinks. I enjoy gunpowder green but I don't think that has much caffeine. I'm assuming I have to go with black tea. I've tried yerba mate but I'm not really a fan.

Thanks.

>>11308301
Yes

recommend me a herbal tea that will blow my mind

>>11308892
>recommend me a herbal tea that will blow my mind

Rooibos

>>11308856
black tea has the highest caffeine concentration, but if caffeine is your end game you'd be better served with coffee

I drank some iced green tea once that had a really mellow, kind of fruity flavor to it and was mildly sweet. The best way I can describe it is kind of like Peace Green Tea, but without the metallic taste and much smoother.
What kind of green tea should I be looking for? I'm a total noob when it comes to tea, I tried cold brewing with some green tea in teabags but it straight up tastes like Lipton instant tea.

>>11282335
Certified organic green whole leaf tea, and water only.

>>11307709
Did a metal thermos ever give your tea a metal taste? In my experience, its the thermos that get the taste of it's content (tea, coffee). I use mine to keep my water warm for my multiple steppings and never tasted anything metallic.

>>11308952
that i havent had a million times before

>>11282335
Opinion on T2?

>>11308856
If you're addicted to caffeine and need it, get caffeine pills. Then drink whatever non-caffeinated drink you enjoy. If you want to quit, either cold-turkey or lower dosage.

>>11308952
>>11309788
Greek mountain tea (sideritis).

>>11309428
>mellow, kind of fruity flavor to it and was mildly sweet
Those flavors are not usually associated with greens afaik,, either chinese or japanese. A black or dark, unroasted oolong might be closer.

>>11309428
Maybe jasmine green tea?

>>11308856
Gyokuro. Eat the leafs afterwards

>>11308856
Buy caffeine powder and a milligram scale, then you can boost the caffeine of anything to whatever you want. it's tasteless and dissolves fast, and $10 gets you enough caffeine powder to kill like a 100 people.

should i even use an infuser? best tea i've ever made was just pouring hot water directly into leaves, then straining themout with a strainer afterwards

>>11307821
>>11307709
Hydroflask a shit. I had to throw mine out cuz it got gross.
Get something you can clean easier.

>>11310417
Correct. A gaiwan will simplify not getting leaves in your tea, but this is indeed the best way.

>>11309040
>>11308856
Black tea has less caffeine than whites and greens. How do you think that processing would somehow add more caffeine to the tea?

>>11309798
looks like birb seed

>>11286096
seriously this. bloody ceo keeps spamming me with emails but the cheap good tea is worth it

>>11288017
>Yeah press plunge tea infusing is stupid
how so? its just removing the leaf from the water, i'm assuming its not a coffee press

>>11293046
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B079DSCV8K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
this works well for me, but watch out for a vacuum forming and cracking the lid

>>11293063
>or if you just end up with oversteeped tea.
take the infuser out... seriously. steep for the correct amount of time with inversions then take it out

>>11310752
he's asking for something vacuum insulated, brainlet.

>>11310762
>>11310752
>>11310757
It's cool, I just bought a contigo instead. Probably will just use it for hot drinks and the likes, maybe drink things grandpa style even

>>11308892
Unironically nettle.

>>11310958
Not him, but is there a good place to buy it? Is the bagged stuff fine? I've wanted to try nettle tea for a while.

>>11310973
I got a bunch of it cheap from Mountain Rose Herbs, that's a good resource. Don't bother with their actual tea though. Nettle is wonderful with mint, green rooibos, lemon balm, and/or lemongrass.

Drinking some spring 2018 snail bi luo I got off YS. I was kind of skeptical, but it really does have a corn flavor to it, especially in the aftertaste. Sort of went away after the first 2-3 infusions, but still. Weird.

>>11310984
can't i just go in my backyard and pick some stinging nettle

>>11310593
no it doesn't. look it up if you don't believe me.

>>11311227
yea but how does oxidation increase caffeine content

it's magic, I don't have to explain shit. do your own fucking research. just know that factually it goes white>green>black>coffee in terms of caffeine per cup

>>11311283
I looked it up and apparently the caffeine content isn't determined by the type of tea but rather changes depending upon the plant that it's harvested from, what part of the plant it came from, and the amount of time the tea is steeped.

The only tea that consistently has the highest caffeine content is matcha, since you're ingesting the whole ground leaves.

>>11312321
the stuff about black having the highest caffiene was the results of some old study that a lot of people disagreed with, from what I've heard

>>11312396
>>11312321
>>11311321
>>11311283
>>11311227
>>11310593
>>11309040
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7jQ1uFoJXY

>>11312409

>>11312409
wow nice vid

>>11309828
wow ok thanks

the 5$ gunpowder from my local chinese guy is based af and theres no way you can convince me otherwise

Englishman here
I regularly drink 2-4 cups a day depending on my schedule, the more places I go where people live, including myself in that the more I generally drink, it's good manners.
Have noticed after a couple of days without a cuppa now though I'm getting much less icky spit and less plaque & colouration of my teeth when looking at my brushing residue and my breath is generally fresher during the day.
I drink a brand called Yorkshire Tea which is a tasty rich black tea, with a splash of milk and honey so it's a rich clay colour and have done for some years now. I notice when having to drink off brand red label supermarket blend for a while, when I come back to Yorkshire Tea the flavour is immense but after a while of being back on the good stuff you don't notice it so much if at all.
So I'm thinking of trying to get something less strong, that has added health benefits, less tannins and less if any fluoride.
Recommends please please

rate my order

>>11313090
>duck shit aroma
What? is this real? everything else sounds real

>>11313101
>It's called "duck shit aroma" because in the Ping Keng Tou village area the soil has a somewhat yellow brown look to it and is unique to that area. With all teas the soil type is a key element in the tea's taste. Villagers wanting to guard the uniqueness of their tea bushes told outsiders that the color and uniqueness of the soil in their village was due to copious amounts of duck shit and began to call the their Dan Cong "duck shit aroma". True or not it's an entertaining story which reveals why the tea has such a gross name.

>>11313101
Yes, it's real and it's just a specific type of oolong.
http://helloteacup.com/2017/06/30/ya-shi-xiang-duck-shit-tea/

>>11313090
I had some of that wild da hong, feeling envious of the you 3-4 weeks from now

>>11313119
got that one based on a recommendation. Getting back into the game after a while away from tea. New tea ware, second order of tea, falling in love all over again :)

>>11309798
Low quality, high price. 'Fancy' bullshit for wine-mums imo

>>11312931
Good taste bro. The $2 broken leaf and stalks green from my local chinese guy is based af and theres no way you can convince me otherwise

>>11312429
based and redpilled.

>>11312429
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhIsWYuayxk

>>11314718
thanks a million for this

>>11312996
just go with any green/white/unoxidized oolong no additives

bump

What's the best site to order sencha from?

>>11316005
There isn't a best. Most are in the pastebin.

why does adding milk to tea make it taste so good? been drinking it without for months and just adding a little makes it good

>>11316335
Tannins

>>11315098
glad you like, you inspired me to start work on another

>>11316005
O-cha is probably the best, I also like yunomi

Is this a good seller?
I'm really considering their 35 kinds of tea offer for 14$ and free shipping. It looks too cheap to be good, but they have a very good feedback rate.

>>11318220
Forgot link: https://www.ebay.com/str/healthteahouse

>>11311227
"""""black tea""""" only has more caffeine because assamica naturally produces more caffeine. It has nothing to do with being black tea, but rather indian tea vs chinese tea.

For a single plant, white tea will have the highest caffeine content due to the fact that the planet produces high amounts of caffeine in young leaves as an insecticide to protect those young leaves from insects.

Instead of a shitty infographic from a company known to have no fucking idea what they're talking about with information based on junk science that was debunked decades ago, you can have multiple articles with actual citations. Oxidation *reduces* caffeine content in the leaf. It actively destroys caffeine molecules.

http://chadao.blogspot.com/2008/02/caffeine-and-tea-myth-and-reality.html
https://ratetea.com/topic/caffeine-content-of-tea/21/

>>11316005
I've had good luck with ku cha, ships from Japan

>>11316335
I put milk in cheaper bagged black teas and it makes the taste a lot smoother, especially with sugar.

>>11312996
I'd like to try some Yorkshire tea. As far as bagged teas go, I've heard it's top-tier. Anyone know where I can get some for not much money?

>>11316335
The fats in the milk bind to tannins in the tea, which reduces bitterness and astringency.

However, bitterness and astringency aren't a problem if you're using high-quality loose leaf and brewing your tea correctly, instead of steeping tea bags full of dust in boiling water for 5 minutes like an idiot barbarian.

>>11282335
I want to get into drinking tea. I'm drinking chamomile tea at the moment. It's all right, but I'd something a bit more flavorful. I like black coffee. I typically drink dark roasts, like as dark and burnt as I can find. What would you recommend for me?

>>11319455
roasted oolong
i have a heavily roasted """tieguanyin""" that's basically just charcoal

>>11319455
dark roast oolongs are kinda nutty/smoky and can be made pretty strong. ripe puer is also something I brew as heavy as I can. try to not get anything that gets bitter easily, like green or green oolongs. yunnan sourcing sells a 357g of ripe for $15 (I think it's still there anyway) which is a pretty decent deal for some beginner stuff.

>>11319455
try yerba mate, it's smokey, herbal and bitter and is a great coffee substitute
be sure to get prepackaged south american brands and not generic tea store yerba
paraguayan brands tend to be strongest and most smokey

>>11319469
>>11319479
Oolong it is then. Thanks guys.
>>11319503
I've heard of this stuff. Do you actually drink all the leaves or do you just try to avoid it?

>>11319518
>Do you actually drink all the leaves
you drink it through a filtering straw called a bombilla, so that the leaves don't get into your mouth

>>11319539
That makes sense. I always wondered how people drink that stuff. I'll definitely give it a shot if I get a chance.

>>11319455
>>11319469
Probably a bad recommendation. Not that oolong isn't delightful, but they are generally only lightly roasted and have a more delicate floral and nutty flavor. Tie guan yin is traditionally not roasted; you can find them, but if it tastes like charcoal, they are probably trying to cover up the fact that its poor quality leaf with a strong roast.

For coffee drinkers and people who like strong, rich flavors, I always recommend they start with black tea. Its the most heavily oxidized which brings out malty and sweet flavors, often chocolaty, nutty, dried fruits, etc. As for the burnt, smokey flavor, you'll want something strongly roasted.
Lapsang Souchong is a black with a robust and smokey flavor, but like mentioned before, the smoking process can be used to hide bad qualities.

Look for an Assamica varietal black tea, maybe something Indian.

>>11319615
true
the smoked TGY i have is definitely not drinkable by itself, works ok to add some body/char to other tea though

>>11319615
Hk style tgy and shuixian are very roasty and I definitely recommend some for that anon and for you too

>>11318224
Health tea house is legit, if I remember correctly you're getting less than 50 grams total in that 14 samples pack so it's fine.

Does tea made from another plant in the Tea Tree family counts as tea? Silky Camellia tea? Franklin tea?

Yerba mate master race reporting for duty

Best way to brew a large portion of tea? Should I just get a bigger tea pot with an infuser?

>>11318776
>being so assblasted as to write a cringy tl;dr post no one replied to

here's your (you)

>>11321220
I would say french press, gives enough room for the leaves to expand. Just dont press the leaves, and transfer it to a different vessle once its steeped.
Also dont use one that has been used for coffee.

>>11321220
You can brew tea in literally anything that can hold tea leaves and water. A vessel that retains heat is preferred.

Just strain the leaves out when it's done.

>>11318776
great post, thank you

want to get into teas properly and stop using teabags etc

live in a ridiculously hard water area so a fruitless endeavor

>>11322442
a Britta filter will mitigate that. you could also get bottle water jugs specifically for tea.

>>11322442
just buy bottled water my dude

>>11320666
I would count camelia taliensis as tea for example

>>11318220
>>11318224
I've gotten their oolong sample, it was OK. It's good to get a feel for the different types of tea and their general profile. However, I think most teas are medium quality, so I'd advise not to rule out a specific tea just because you didn't like it in the sampler.
>>11318776
Based facts poster
>>11319455
I'd recommend fixing your pallette. Besides that smoked lapsang souchong.
>>11321220
Literally a pot
>>11322442
Cheapest bottled water you can find.

>>11320666
tea-sane

normally i drink black tea, maybe some gay bagged flavored shit youd get at a normal grocery if im lazy and just want hot leaf juice but im looking for a suggestion of a tea i drank a long time ago.
didnt make it, buy it, or learn the name, but it was a darker oolong tea that was just the best shit iv ever drank. on its own, it tasted somewhat sweet but what threw me off was rather than tasting dark and roasted or green leaf shit, it tasted very wheaty? like, if i was to add a ridiculous amount of sugar like a peasant, it would have been the result of pouring a lighter black tea over a bowl of frosted mini wheats. im not a huge fan of green tea, and most oolongs iv tried since have been closer to that end so iv never found a good replacement/match

>>11319503
>>11319539
c-can i make yerba mate in a gaiwan? I used to have a beautiful bulls-horn guampa cup and silver bombilla like this from Argentina but i lost it while moving, sadly it never got the usage it deserved because i treated it as more of a decorative piece instead of drinking from it

>>11324290
Hmmmm, could be something close to a middle roast Taiwanese milk oolong.

>>11324512
of course you can. the lid itself probably wont strain a lot of the leaves though, so use a strainer or one of those straw things.

Do any of you guys have a water boiler/hot water dispenser/whatever you want to call it? Do you put fresh water in it daily or am I going overboard doing that and not just refilling it when it gets low? I'd say I use about 1/2 to 2/3 of the water in it each day.

Some local 'english breakfast'. Definitely adding milk and sugar to this.

>>11326094
>local
where tf you from?

>>11282335
Anybody got a rec for a loose leaf tea distributor? The guy I used to get mine from moved.

Drinking some sencha I should have used up a long time ago. Somehow it's still really good. It just mellowed out instead of tasting stale.

>>11325833
those have plastics and other bad shit in them, anon. just boil water on a stove, using a stainless steel pot. not too hard. and it's hotter than these lukewarm faggot dispensers

>>11326366
where do you live dude
there's people all over the world in this thread

>>11324512
a bombilla is all you really need anyway

>>11326842
Us Flyover sadly, but a guy I met had a hookup for chinese teas. But he moved so I was thinking about an online distro for decent tea.

>>11327326
Try Upton.

>>11328186
>>11327326
Updog is better, imho.

Anyone here make their own flavored teas? Which tea do you use as base? What do you use to flavor it? Combinations? Now it's almost winter but anything interesting from nature you can grab during summer?

>>11328372
I occasionally toss some combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves, or spearmint in whatever I have on hand.

>>11328372
cold brew yerba mate with mint is great for the summer

>>11328372
backyard stinging nettle

>>11326131
I meant something my local tea shop sells, no idea where they source their stuff from.

I can't wait to get off work and drink some tea

>>11328297
Not falling for that one.

>>11328297
what’s updog?

>>11296468
If you're still here, the Harney and Sons Cinnamon Spice tea is really good. It's not really as spicy as you'd think from the name and is slightly sweet from the cloves in it. However it does have dried orange peel. I don't know if that technically counts as fruit since it's not the flesh of it. It will also be cheaper for you to buy it loose leaf.

Winter is coming, and I've been debating on getting an electric kettle/water boiler for quick access to hot teas and soups/broths. Anyone have good recommendations? Been after one that can do variable temps so I can try specialty teas in the future. Was eyeing the Zojirushis for a good while, but they seem a bit pricey and an actual kettle would let me keep it close if I ever wanted a second or third cup. Also the stainless steel ones seem to have issues with rust so I might go for something with a glass body.

>>11330013
Nothing much, you?

What the fuck did I buy?

>>11296174
Got the Sleepytime. Love it.

>>11332248
a Syrian dried ginger tisane with honey flavoring (pretty evident just from the packaging even if you don't know arabic)
it's much tastier, just as cheap, and just as easy to make ginger tea with honey on your own using real ginger and real honey. you bought a waste of money

>>11333010
Yeah, thought so.
Also says 'no added sugar' so it's got some bootleg Idlib aspartame in there too.
I have a Turkish shop not to far away that does random ramen pots & some pretty good sauces, as well as a selection of tea - suppose I should take a picture of the selection next time and see what the informed of us think

>>11329801
me too

Kashmiri masala chai with green tea from Vahdam! It has a super interesting flavor unlike any tea I've tried. Don't dox and lynch me for adding milk and sugar to green tea, it's delicious this way.

>>11335394
Are you the anon that bought the variety pack? How are you finding the rest of them?

>>11335508
I am. I'm somewhat disappointed honestly, turns out besides the Kashmiri green and the Assam (and some turmeric tisane thing) they are all low quality broken crush-tear-curl leaf. I've only had time to try the full-leaf Kashmiri and Assam which were excellent, and original (CTC) which I didn't much enjoy. The variety pack was only 15 dollars though, and even though it's CTC I am still excited to try the rest, so I'd say overall I'm glad I bought it.

I just fucking spilled all my tea leaves on the floor doing ghetto gongfu with two mugs FUCK

>>11336035
>ghetto gongfu
sounds like a new wu-tang clan project

>>11335573
Are you sure they are all ctc or are they just broken leaf, indian tea isn't like chinese tea where the leaf comes all neat and whole(for the most part), even expensive darjeeling is broken leaf, you can see leaves when hydrated but nothing whole like even the cheapest chinese tgy

>>11282335

Today I drank kukicha, red rooibos, pu'er tea, then at night I had spearmint, chamomile and lemongrass tea to relax.
I want to buy some lapsang souchong but I don't want to waste money when I already have a bunch of tea it'll take me years to finish drinking.
I'm obsessed with tea lately. Yesterday I drank some hibiscus tea, love the color.

>>11336104
good taste

I'm usually able to reverse my sleep schedule from baker's hours to normie hours over the weekend but wasn't successful this time around, so my sleep schedule is fucked and I'm awake at 5 AM after only getting a few hours of sleep.

I'm going to make this here hojicha and then maybe reheat some stew from last night, probably prep a salad to work through some greens I have in the fridge and then head into the bakery to grab all the paperwork I need to start my invoicing for the day. If I'm going to be awake I should at least be working.

>>11282371
Where can I find that saffron tea? Sounds really good.

>>11335573
>>11336484
nvm, it says so on the packets, im retarded

A Pu Ehr came with the Verdant tea 5 for 5 and all the videos I watch say it only needs to steep for 5 seconds.
Now I'm looking at all the packages and they all say only 10 seconds.

Have I been steeping tea way too long? I'm trying to determine what's what online but I can't tell what's actually useful and what's just pretentious extra stuff

>>11337048
No, flash steeps are a meme with puer

>>11337054
How long do I steep it for? Water/tea ratio?

>>11337048
Continuation of this post
Is rinsing the tea a meme too?

>>11326828
Or get an electric kettle with temperature control and a keep warm function.

>>11337048
Steeping times are pretty personal and will vary from tea to tea. Experiment, and steep however long tastes best to you.

>>11337083
No. Some teas should be rinsed, and some teas shouldn't, but generally speaking yes rinse your tea. Even high-quality leaf will often have some small bits of broken leaf or dust that will make your first steeping very bitter. Rinsing also helps open up the leaves a little bit.

>>11337064
Depends on the tea and what you want to bring out of it, i use anywhere from 6-10g for 120ml, i dont measure times but I like to push it a bit in the first few steeps, maybe 30s or even a more for the first then adjust based on taste
And yes, do rinse

>>11337123
that seems like a lot of leaf, for 120 ml i'd usually put only 3-4 grams

>>11337156
I like it like this, for less leaf I brew it longer even, I do that from time to time when I dont feel like a full on session, but its really something you should experiment with for each different tea, something that aged into mellow and sweet I feel like ot needs a bit more leaf to make it more intense whereas something with a lot of bite might need less leaf or shorter steeps, adjust, taste, adjust, adjust

>>11337083
gotta rinse off the pesticides man

>>11337083
Yes
>>11338272
>it thinks some hot water will make the scary bad chemicals go away

>>11338292
yes some of the bad chemicals will rinse off
if you eat the leaves nothing is going to change

>>11338308
>this placebo will surely make the nasty nasty badchemicals the blogspot told me I should avoid go away
whatever helps you sleep at night kid loll

>>11338319
not sure why you're being so defensive, unless you grow and sell pesticide-laden tea you have no stake in this argument

>>11338341
You really don't have to rinse them, unless you're ordering from chinks.
Any store based in a real civilized nation will sell you tea with pesticide levels under the legal limit, and the legal limit is usually far lower than it needs to be, and applies even to substances that aren't even dangerous.

you rinse to get rid of dust and broken leaves from processing you dumb fucks

>implying i don't want to drink dust tea

>>11338470
that's hot

I'm quitting monster (the last non-natural component of my diet) and shifting to green tea. I just brewed up two gallons of lipton green tea to get me started but what's the best green tea and how can I buy it in bulk? Ideally I want low caffeine content and decent flavor.

Rising is also useful with tight rolled oolongs and pressed puers.
Helps them start to open up.

Earl Grey all day.
Leave the teabag in the cup.
The stronger the better.

>>11339259
>best green tea
>in bulk
Not how it works

>I want low caffeine content
Then drink chinese black tea, hongcha.

>>11339649
bitter != stronger

can anyone recommend a tea similar to silver needle? preferably something slightly stronger though

>>11339718
white peony is a common white that's pretty good. favorite white I've had was the taiwanese red jade. really unique flavor that tastes like some weird fusion of black and white. the counterpart of that is the black tea version which is similar but with a black tea taste.

>>11339718
also w2t has a pretty cheap sample set of just white teas that I've had a few of

>>11339651
>Not how it works
That sounds unreasonable. There's good green tea, there's probably large quantities of it, I'd like to buy it a pound or five at a time rather than individual bags.

Also I'm talking low caffeine content as compared to monster (140mg/16oz). 35mg/8oz is pretty good but if I could find something in the 10mg/8oz range that would be perfect.

>>11340259
>Individual bags
That's where you fucked up assuming teabags are good tea. they're not.

>>11338361
This is 100% not true especially in the us, customs are incredibly lenient

>>11282335
barley tea

Anybody have experience with Don's teas?

I would prefer to go with YunanSourcing, but the shipping to Australia seems like a pain

>>11341239
just use YS china

>>11283465
>milk
Out.

>>11341655
fuck off
let people enjoy what they enjoy it's shitty hotel tea anyways

Surprised this thread is still going, usually /teagen/ doesn't get so many posts.

>>11339718
>>11339751
Seconding white peony, sounds right up your alley. It's more robust than silver needle, and noticeably cheaper.
>taiwanese red jade
Ooh that seems nice, I'll look for some.

>>11340259
Green tea won't stay good forever; it's the last tea you'll want to buy a ton of. Invest in some decent loose leaves, not that Lipton shit.

>drinking leaf water

>>11340259
Caffeine content in tea is a dicey subject, read >>11318776

>>11341761
I found the red jade from whatcha. it's described as a menthol taste which I'd definitely agree with. leaves are pretty broken up though so I wouldn't recommend it with a gaiwan.

>>11282335
Some sencha with ginger. Nothing better to keep beeing healthy

>>11341762
Uh, leaf soup

I'm sick so I'm drinking Twinings Ginger lemon tea with some honey

New thread when

>>11282335
Ah, the homo thread

>>11341762
>>11342492
The proper term is "hot leaf juice"

Can I put cum in my pu-erh

>>11343214
only if it's not someone else's because that would be gay

>>11343271
What if that anon is a femanon?

>>11343585
well lesbians drink puer so it checks out

>>11341761
What's a decent loose leaf green tea?

>>11343629
Not him but I like genmaicha and sencha

>>11343214
it's recommended