/ck/ - Food & Cooking

>>13469597
ok /tea/, I’m looking for a slight caffeine buzz, some flavor, and possibly stress relief from my tea.

I’ve been lurking and posting in the last few threads & asking for advice, but I want to know what you guys drink. I’m still a tea bag pleb, but I’m ordering a gaiwan and loose leaf tea soon, but I need recs on what to get.

I’m almost finished with pic related. I picked it up from Trader Joe’s. I use each bag for 2-3 brews. First brew I steep it for 1 minute 45 seconds at around 70 C. Second brew I steep for 3 minutes at 70 C. Third brew I steep for 5 minutes at full boiling. Am I doing this right?

>>13469974
You're best off getting one of the sample sets from a seller like Yunnan Sourcing so you can try a few things, then try to explore further the tea varieties you enjoy out of that set. If you have no real experience with tea it's hard to know what you like, so recommendations are tough.

>>13470070
good point. I’ll do that then

>>13469974
green tea sounds like what you are looking for

if you are adventurous try some ripe pu erh

its teabag tea, just blast it with a higher temp. Until you get into loose sencha and higher/chinese greens theres no real need to be so careful with temps imo. With the former, the wrong temp and steep time -will- mean the difference between a rich delightful umami brew and a bitter mess

>>13469597
I have a pee pee clay Chinaman thing identical to that one

>>13469597
I drink too much soda. Plain water is too boring. Will tea help me quit? What do you recommend?

I drink tea with a tea bag and sometimes I have it black :^)

>>13470327
drink La Croix. I started and haven’t drank soda in years. The thought of it repulses me actually. For a short while, the La Croix might not taste the best to you, but that’s only because your taste buds are BTFO by soda. But keep pushing, it’s so worth it. Good luck anon

>>13470316
>>13469597
how do you make it pee?

>>13470186
>>13470186
>its teabag tea, just blast it with a higher temp
It’s funny you say that, because I always noticed my brews with much hotter water released a lot more color and flavor into my cup. I’ll try this in a bit. Thanks anon. I think I’ll try out some tea from a supplier in the OP (green tea)

>>13470381
You have to pour warm water on it. The water gets through the porous clay and comes out from you know where

>>13470327
like the other anon said, you need to let your tastebuds readjust to a normal level. After a while of not drinking soda it'll all taste too sweet to you.

>>13470387
i have a feeling manufacturers just assume most people will just brew teabags with boiling water so the tea material inside are adjusted for that. I wouldnt worry about temps too much unless im brewing loose. With gyokuro or chinese greens its a nono

>>13469597
Is there a little girl version of this thing?

>>13469597
holy shit
I remember that little guy, had it like 2 decades ago

>>13469597
Can anyone recommend any safe buys on dragon tea house? I heard their quality can be a hit or miss.

the king

>>13470525
I’ve seen ones with women where the tea comes out of their tits

>>13470327
used to drink soda everyday but now i've switched to tea and i've had maybe 3 cans all (last) year

>2020
>YS order is STILL in China

>>13471408
Hey, I'm waiting on a YS order AND an order from a tea ware sight to get some fancier cups

>>13469974
I don't know about caffeine buzz because even caffeine tablets don't do anything for me but if I want something relaxing with a nice flavour I'll get some oriental beauty oolong tea. It's really fragrant, almost like a lily of the valley kind of smell, and just a excellent tea to sit and sip.

>>13471408
should maybe email them at this point

>>13471457
But I ordered my YS order on new years, got the "its shipping" 3 days ago and it hasn't updated since
And ordered the teaware 2 days ago
So I myself am not worried
just impatient

>>13470327
Came here with the exact same question. I'm just curious are all premade store bought teas just filled with sugar and unhealthy?

Doesn't make much sense to me to try and drink healthier and replace soda with just as much shit

>>13471655
brew your own, zero sugar.

>>13470381
Hold it down and tickle it

>>13470724
Why not the snatch?

>>13471732
why would pee come from her snatch

>>13471747
I guess i see your point.
What about the cunt then?

>>13471685
I do sometimes, but I was just curious about brands I might be able to snag at a super market or gas station

>>13471747
>>13471732
I dont understand about snatch. Where do they get them anyways?

>>13470389
whats the reasoning behind those pour over figurines?

>>13472018
They have snatches i guess? Whatever that is

>>13472018
its a "tea pet", an item to accompany/amuse you as you are brewing tea. It just small figurines made out of clay and they get a tea patina over time.

its probably arose from the teapot/gaiwan sculptors finding a use for leftover clay and to have something else to make besides teaware all the time.

>>13470525
lots of boys peeing and women with breasts but no loli for you, sorry. The rest are all cutesy animals or mythical beasts

>>13470375
Are you talking about that La Croix?

Is Yerba Mate still a thing?
Some years back you'd find them all over health stores in loose tea in tea bags in iced tea bottles and energy drink cans.
I went looking for some the other day and found absolutely 0. I miss it.

>>13471459
Thanks for the rec anon, I’ll check it out

>>13472170

Biko

Bumpa

>>13469597
>tfw
You're getting sick of flavorless brick coffee, so you brew up some CTC assam milk tea and stroople for actual flavor

>>13472018
For fun. There are also frogs that spit water and some color changing ones.
>>13469974
What tastes good to you? Are you asking how it should taste?
>>13475654
Comfy

Can anybody recommend me alle good evening tea? Something without caffein. I habe roisboos and some Belarus herb tea. Both are good, but can anybody recommend Something He really Likes? Im from Germany, so Not Something i have to Import from the usa.

>>13475669
If you can get fresh peppermint. It is infinitely better than the dried stuff. I uasally get one maybe two good sized leaves plucked, roll and bruise them, place in a mug with boiled water and let it sit for 5 minutes. It's so fresh tasting. It's not too hard to grow. Big thing to know is you need a long box style planter and it can grow out-of-hand if not watched.

>>13475669
houjicha if you can get it. It has a really nice roasted, autumn-y flavour and nearly zero caffeine.

another thing you can do is ginger tea with honey, basically just boil sliced ginger in a pot and then add honey to your cup. Its very soothing and good for throat too. If you dont want to boil, you can probably just have the thinly sliced ginger in a cup and pour boiling water over it.

>ywn drink fresh tea while sitting in a comfy japanese dojo
h-hold me, /tea/

>>13470389
This is utterly wrong. You soak the pee pee boy in cold water until it's half filled. Pouring very hot water on it causes thermal expansion and air pressure pushes out the water in proportion to the difference in temperature.
Isn't that obvious?

>>13471408
>>13471457
>>13471473
I put in an order Nov 28, last delivery update was Dec 6. What the fuck is taking it.

>>13476712
>ginger tea with honey
this but also add lemon, my go to when i have the flu

>>13470525
>tfw no loli pourover clay

>>13477980
maybe they're having trouble getting one or more of the items your purchased
Or some postal goblin took one and they keep replacing it only for it to be dragged into the goblin's nest

>>13478068
fucking commission one coward

>>13469974
>possibly stress relief from my tea.
Give poppy seed tea a try, 500g of seeds combined in cold water + lemon juice will surely take the edge off

my tea is always too weak. I have to double the recommended amount to taste anything, even when I use bottled spring water at the right temperature

>>13478492
What kind of tea? Western or gong fu brewing? How much tea in how much water?

>>13478221
but anon, isn’t that basically liquid heroin?

>>13479145
Is morphine and hundreds of other opiates. Not quite heroin but plenty good enough to ruin your life.

Bump

>>13479172
opiates suck, i did 30mg oxy once and it felt like nothing but warmth and vague calmness, doesnt match the euphoria of speed

I love berry teas, r8 my current brew
1 bag of forest fruit and vanilla
1 bag of strawberry and vanilla
1 bag of cherry
1 bag of plum
bottlecap of rum
bit of ground vanilla
2 tbspn honey

Any tips on making sweet tea? I've heard of putting in baking soda you start, which supposedly kills the bitterness for better or for worse, and I find 1 part saturated tea to 2 parts water to be a favorable ratio. I just use the cheap kind of black tea, though.

>>13481080
*before you start

>>13481080
I'm not american so I don't know if ice tea and sweet tea are two different things but when I make ice tea I cold brew it to avoid bitterness. Basically just put the leaves into some cold water and let sit in the fridge for 6-8 hours and then use the same leaves again but brew for 12-16 hours. Usually I start a batch in the evening, change the water in the morning and combine and drink in the afternoon/evening. Use the same leaves to water ratio as you would with regular tea, sweeten with a simple syrup (1 part sugar, 1 part water) to your liking after brewing. You can also add lemon juice afterwards or brew it with something like peaches or whatever to add flavor.

>>13472170
Do those ones have holes to spit water out?

>>13481213
Sounds good anon
Lots of people throw a bunch of teabags in boiling water and then dilute with ice after a few minutes, the bitterness is from cheap tea bags getting over brewed

>>13481240
Probably not, most don't.

Huang Pian is underrated, it gets priced down because it's seen as a trash tea, but every decently priced one I've had has been excellent.

>>13483100
their smug aura offends me

>>13483201
They just want to be your friend.

>>13483100
Those look like they do. I think I want one that does. Wikipedia says the strength of the stream works as an indication of the water's temperature, which is pretty cool.

>>13485427
I just stick my finger in the water to see how hot it is

I got a bag of Vadham Teas High Mountain Oolong for Christmas. The package says 4-5 minutes, but every time I steep it that long it ends up super bitter and gross. I'm using filtered water, making sure it's in the right temperature range, etc. Using an infuser, since I don't have a teapot at the moment.

What's the deal? Are their package instructions just wrong? The oolong I've had in the past has been like a quick 30 second rinse, nothing like this. At 4 minutes, it ends up super dark and plant-y tasting, almost savory.

Please help, oolong is my favorite but I can't drink it like this.

>>13485481
I just set my kettle to the temperature that I want it to be. Not really the point, chap.

>>13485563

>Vadham Teas High Mountain Oolong
>"High Mountain Darjeeling Oolong Tea"

maybe people tend to add milk and sugar to this....? this is indian tea after all /shrugs

or try ignoring the "instructions" and brew it the normal way, you are the drinker after all. Adjusting steep times and temp is normal

>>13485696
I'm mostly worried that I'm missing some step or some piece of common knowledge

>>13485786
You didn't mention temperature, so if the instructions don't specify a temperature your water could be too hot.

>>13485786
hmm i dont drink indian tea so beats me
maybe some other anon can chime in
good luck

>>13485563
Just brew it the way you want. I would probably try 90°f for 3 minutes. But just do whatever works normally for you for oolongs

I’ve been trying a shitload of chinese green tea samples in an effort to find a cheaper/better alternative to longjing since I thought its high price was due to its fame. Turns out it really is the best chinese green unfortunately.

>>13487807
ever tried taiping houkui? ive always been curious about that

>>13487844
yeah it was ok. most seaweedy chinese I’ve ever had, almost like sencha.

anyone here any recommendations on where to buy good gyokuro? or is it just for posers and i should stick to my tasty sencha

>>13488116
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/gyokuro.html
https://www.o-cha.com/loose-leaf-green-tea/gyokuro/

>>13472221
A long time ago, this is 3d porn

>>13488116
get ready for vegetable soup

>>13488130
thank you

>>13488454
is it that different from sencha (considering you take some typical sencha and typical gyokuro)

>>13488628
it tastes different from sencha and its lukewarm

very vegetal, grassy, thick. Texture felt like one of those soupy pu-erhs, not quite water

for me its too much but some people probably like it

I'm curious what you guys do with the leaves after you've steeped them, but don't want to throw them out so you can re-steep later (especially when doing so not until the next day). Do you just leave them in the tea pot all the while or do you store them somewhere else more sealed and then put them back in the pot just before brewing?

>>13488867
For most infusions of actual tea, there's no room for a second infusion. It will be unpleasantly bitter. The same as oversteeping. If you're doing it Yixing style, the pleasure is in experiencing the different infusions in close succession and there's no good reason to stagger the experience.

For tisanes, the best option is probably to put it in the fridge. I've always just thrown out the tisane if I don't want to immediately reuse it, so maybe somebody else knows better.

>>13488867
i just keep it in the teapot with the lid on all the while. Have made tea with 2 day old leaves and even 3 day old leaves a few times.

Obviously use boiling water and if it smells funny toss it, but I've never had any issues so far. The very last steep I sometimes fill the teapot with boiling water and then go to sleep and drink the tea in the morning.

>>13488935
also, this is doable with black tea/puerh but with actual greens it would become very bitter.

>>13488901
>For most infusions of actual tea, there's no room for a second infusion. It will be unpleasantly bitter.
What the fuck is "actual tea" to you?

>>13489089
i think he means a whole session and not steeps

>>13488867
western brewing i brew at least 3 times, gongfu obviously more, i then usually cold brew those leaves overnight for my water bottle i bring to work. after that compost

>>13485481
Based

I got a bunch of supposedly high end oolong samples and they are all disgusting. I like puerh and lapsang souchong but this stuff is undrinkable, tastes like spoiled butter and cigarettes

I got this stuff called magnesium citrus. I started putting it in my girlfriends and my tea instead of sugar. It gives it an orangy taste we like.

for those who like dragonwell/longjing, I got to my sample of
https://m.teavivre.com/product/view/organic-chun-ya-green-tea.html
today. It’s pretty good gongfu style, reminds me a lot of a solid dragonwell for a low price.

Anyone have advice on tea selection for making kombucha?

>Have 400g of tea coming in
>already Wanna order more tea already even though my tea and teaware have yet to arrive
Kill me

>>13490728
Weird. Was it Taiwan oolong? They are really focused on super green teas these days. I mostly drink Chinese oolongs with more traditional heavy charcoal roasting.

>>13491163
Pretty much anything that tastes okay as tea works. I was using looseleaf lipton and it tasted fine. Basically the cheapest stuff you can get that tastes okay. Avoid flavored teas as that can fuck up the fermentation.

>>13491533
no they’re all chinese. I think I just don’t like oolongs. I read somewhere that they have a lot of a particular chemical in them relative to other teas that some people react poorly to based on genetics, like cilantro. Everybody writes about cream and floral notes and all I get is spoiled dairy and ash

>>13491577
Weird. I can see spoiled dairy and ash as flavors you might get. I like ash so it works for me. Only thing I can think of is oolong's tend to get a bit sour tasting as they age. You could try lightly toasting some in a pan on the stove and see if that helps any. Traditionally oolong that is stored long-term is roasted over charcoal every few years to refresh it.

>>13491487
lol same, got 1kg from xmas and i still have some left from September but i still want to buy more

>>13491973
There is always more tea to get. My list of puer to buy is over $1k at this point. Too bad I'm broke.
I'm probably just going to to get a kilo brick for my next order and hope it's good. My blind buys have worked out pretty well so far.

Let me see your set ups

I really like sleepytime tea

>>13493695
The one with the bear

>Noooooo you can't just grandpa style brew sheng pu'er

anyone tried making kombucha with brewed leaves?

>>13487807
Have you tried Anji Bai Cha? The ones I've had were like a more subtle longjing.

Gyokuro and leftover mochi

Discussion of kombucha is not allowed in /tea/.

>>13495715
absolutely based post. Kombucha can get the fuck out.

>>13495682
how big is that hohin? I want some gyokuro but I think I’ll fuck it up if I try to brew it in my 240 ml kyusu

>>13495768
I don't know, I have a measuring cup but wasn't using it, I just measure by eye since it's such little water.
240ml is very large but you don't have to fill it up all the way

>>13495390
yeah you made me have some. it’s really good, nice mouthfeel and deep vegetable/asparagus flavor. I just prefer more nutty and sweet notes in my chinese greens

>>13494243
Yeah the bear

Matcha bros where we at?

>>13475654
based vi mug

>>13496091
Where do you get your matcha? Everytime I look into it it seems like it all tastes like ass unless you buy shit that costs almost $1 per gram.

>>13496899
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/matcha.html
good intro kit:
https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/kyoto/shopf/goods/index.html?ggcd=846883

>>13496899
I get mine while in Japan. Usually from different tea shops in tokyo, and last time I went I got some from here from an acquaintance's recommendation for a specific brand they got before.
茶寮 都路里 Japan, 〒100-0005 Tokyo, Chiyoda City, Marunouchi, 1 Chome−9−1 大丸東京店

Flavors and quality of matcha varies widely. You can get really cheap stuff, but won't taste very good if you try to drink it. There are drinking grades and food grades. And, like wines or other things, you can spend a bullshit amount of money if you like or you can get by with the standard fare. Generally, though, you'll be spending around $15 or more per 30 gram container, so assuming 2g/drink, it's about $1/cup of tea. It isn't exactly a cheap way to enjoy tea but damn I like the taste. I wouldn't go any cheaper than that.

>>13495682
what that furry ass lookin motherfucker?

I need my new tea ware, why must shipping be so slow

>>13495682
Now I need to go buy some mochi...

>>13497166
Funny, I will be in Tokyo for a few days soon and I've been planning on finding a tea shop. Cool

>>13497491
I'd recommend the ippodo in Ginza.

Bump

>>13469597
>boil water
>pour over tea bag
>it creates an air pocket
can't believe i fell for the microwave meme

>>13494243
Extra points if drink it all on one go. .
No, wait! get two cakes, a few generous spoonfuls of toothpaste between them, and call it oreo. And eat it. That’s, like, 100 points.

>>13498851
I don't know what I'm reading, but while trying to figure it out I lost the game.

>>13497491
Go to OMOTESANDO CHACHANOMA, I don’t have a proper photo so here is this from google. It is amazing, high quality and is where I learned to love tea in the first place. Get the tea tasting set, they have sencha so good brewed multiple ways, it’s so nice they brew it like gyokuro and it’s delicious and thick and brothy. It will be a great experience even to someone with 0 interest in tea. Still tladitional but not ..boring... like a matcha ceremony. >>13498680
They have great desserts and kakigori etc. but save that for your second trip.

>>13497491
>>13499001
If you make it to Kyoto go to Toraya Karyo, the real one not the cheap one it is worth it
Anmitsu and matcha

>>13498924
GAME OVER
*Continue from last save
*Load save
*New save
*Settings
*Quit

first time i drink a well made sencha tea and i love it. i thought i didn't like green tea until now. i love how sweet it tastes. anything else i should try that goes into the same direction?

Bump

>>13499340
white tea is sweeter

>>13499340
well there's a variety of sencha. check out the high grade stuff from ippodo, yuuki, o cha, etc

if you could have any kind of tea pot, gaiwan or cup made of any material or from any time period/ style.
What would you have? I'd want a set made of jade to dab on the Chinese

>>13502658
I can’t imagine a better kyusu than my left handed banko yaki from ippodo. mostly because it’s the only left handed one out there

>>13502762
pics?

>>13502658
I would want a 140-150ml kyusu with a really well made built in screen made out of solid silver. Pretty thin but not thin enough that my retarded self can easily dent it.
I would just buy one of the solid silver pots on yunnan sourcing but all the ones that don't have retarded dragon or bamboo motifs sell out instantly.

Will I regret buying this cheap electric tea kettle on Ebay?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F352582580600

I think temperature control is a meme, so I just need something quick and easy. Any of you use something similar?

Mind you, I want to buy a gaiwan, some tea leaves & a couple cups as well.

>>13502852
Well, i went to target and found a kettle with temp control with an option for Celsius and Fahrenheit, a keep warm option, and an auto shut off if there's not enough water in it. isn't gooseneck, but it works real fine.
cost like, 80 bucks at most. And temp control does seem to matter to me, as watching bubbles makes it a pain in the dick and accidentally using boiling water on a green once made me realize how much it can fuck up a tea if its too hot. So get a cheap kettle if you want now, but do keep in mind temp control is a good feature unless you can correctly guess the temp or have a thermometer that can get wet.

Yunnan sourcing has a cheap cup and gaiwan combo, but shipping from there won't start till feb 8th (chinese new year shit apparently) same with teaware.house. so amazon will be your friend in getting a gaiwan unless you get a set from like Verdant tea which currently has 3 sets for sell. either way, no need to get anything fancy, get what looks nice

of course for leaf you can go to any of the sites in the pastebin for some good leaf.
Yunnan sourcing has a US site with less product, buuut it will get you your leaf faster (especially with the chinese new year)
if you're willing to wait there are teas I'd rec for each type for beginners.
Or you can look around amazon and other sites, find something that sounds good to you. just be aware of cheap pu-erh, it will give a bad impression on it .

>>13502882
thanks anon. I’m settling with cold brewing some tea bags for now. The semester is starting, so I’ll have to stay pleb for a few more weeks.

>>13503082
no worries man, always glad to help.
But as a NEET myself I can splurge on tea more often. But if you wanna up your cold brew game, Harney and sons has flavored teas, which would be better than tea bags and should be a bit better until you can gong fu some real stuff. pretty cheap and is good for the price, but...not comparable to good leaf.

or Upton tea, they also have good prices on tea for cold brewing.

But Yunnan sourcing is the one most talked about here for a reason, and if you can spare a hundred, the US version of the site has free shipping

>>13503082
When on a budget, I buy from fullchea to make cold brews and they're pretty good for the price.

https://www.fullchea-tea.com/

I had their big sample and the only really shitty ones were the oolongs except the tie gua yins and the taiwans, and the puers but I regularly don't like puer all that much so don't trust me on that one.

The best ones from their site for cold brews that I've done are the cheapest longjing and biluochun from the greens, the alishan and milky oolongs, and one of the golden from the blacks but I forgot the exact one.

Shipping does take months for the tea to arrive to my third world country, but it might be different for other ones. Good luck.

>>13470327
You try carbonated water?

Anyone recommend a good teapot. No plastic.

>>13504607
One you like the look of and has the volume you like.

You can't really go wrong with a teapot, it's primarily aesthetics.

>>13504607
As long as you don't mind bare clay. No plastic, good built in filter. This is a good size for gonfu brewing.
http://www.yuuki-cha.com/teaware/japanese-teapots/mini-shudei-tokoname-teapot
Also search hohin on eBay and Amazon for jap meme pottery

>>13469597
i just had hibiscus tea.
this is the worst fucking tea ever, tastes like bitter lemon juice

>>13505291
>all tea is created equal

>>13505235

Amazing teapot.

>>13505291
Which is why it's nice when sweetened. Or just make Jamaica with it.

>>13505804
i only drink water besides tea. and i dont want to add anything to it except for other tea and herbs.

>>13505905
Try it with ginger then.

>>13505235
Is unglazed clay still a good choice for something you plan to brew many types of tea in?

>>13506888
nope

What orders are you waiting on?
For me its
400g of tea and a cup from Yunnan sourcing ordered at the end of last month
A Ruyao tea set minus a pitcher and with only one cup (cause I just wanted a gaiwan, a single cup and a pot) ordered four days later than the first
and
200g of pu-erh and a pick ordered from Yunnan sourcing USA last night

Wonder which one will arrive first

>>13502882
Yeah, for tea, you really want something with temp control if possible, lot less fussing to hit the green tea button and let it go than having to watch it. Pic related is the one I have and I really like it.

Bump

Sometimes I like to steep Earl Grey tea in hot milk and drink it with a bit of honey like a fatty.
If not then I like it white as a cloud in heaven and sweet as sin.

>>13507714
I've been waiting on a Nov 28 order from Yunnnan Sourcing. At this point I think I will drink the tea in less duration than the shipping. Kindof a goof. It's mostly all puerh with a tie guan yin and lapsang souchong as well as a tea needle and little tray. I should have put some nicer teaware and a pot in there. I'm just using my ingenuitea, but it's so fucking convenient and basically can do gongfu fine.
Ah well, lesson learned.

>>13507748
Am I retarded or are those buttons in a goofy order?

>>13508840
you're not retarded, but buying a kettle with only a few preset temperatures is.

>>13508828
Your package could've gotten lost, might wanna contact Yunnan sourcing about that, before 3 months have passed.

Cause if it was small parcel it should've arrived in like 2 or 3 weeks, so something has probably fucked you. most likely a post office gremlin

>>13509284
>>13508828
the shipping thing also says expect delays from early november until 2 weeks after chinese new year

>>13509294
This is why I always shell out for EMS when ordering from China. IIRC it's way to expensive from YS for for some reason. You should definitely send them an email. No tracking you can check? It won't show up on usps tracking till it arrives in the states but you can check it on china posts website.

>>13472366
This
+ anyone got a good and safe brand ? not some macaco shit full of chemicals and heavy metals ?
can i prepare it like normal tea to extract the most minerals and stuff ?

>>13509579
Some place did testing on major brands and published results. Google around for it.

>>13495682
I can't tell how big anything is in that picture, like the mochi look almost 3'' wide, but my brain knows that can't be right. It's like buying shit from china and they somehow make anything in the pictures look bigger and when you get it it's tiny.

>>13507714
Waiting die my honeybush fruit Tea, pure fruit Tea and my light houjicha i ordered.
I really needed some evening tea without caffein.
But i must say the honeybush is a Bit of a let down. Straight rooisbos and Green roisboos is way better

>>13469597
For me, it's Ito En loose leaf green tea imported from Japan

If I'm in the mood for black it'll be PG Tips.

Fun fact: the Twinnings you buy in the US is not the same as the UK one. They ship different shit, and just think to yourself, Brits hate bongs. Those fuckers in the packing facility are probably like ah who gives a fuck a rat crawled in there, it's going to the fat fucking americans anyway

that's why PG Tips>Twinnings, because the PG tips in US grocers and in UK are the same.

>>13509741
Good luck buying pg tips in the US that hasn't been collecting dust on the shelf for years.

>>13495682
>>13509674

ive never seen mochi that big..
or maybe they are normal size and the cups just look big...?
the tiny cat figurine is not helping with scale

>>13469597
>>13472170
thanks for making me look up 'tea pets'

a few clicks later...

>>13507714
Some assortment and a teapot from yunnan
A $.01 tea needle from ali

>>13508871
What I regret about my many temp kettle is every time you take it off the base you have to reset the temperature you want it to stay at by holding the button down from 212

>>13469597
why come people use tea kettles as opposed to boiling water in a pot

>>13510167
Try it sometime, carefully pouring boiling water out of a pot to do things like fill a small teapot or brew coffee is a tremendous hassle, bordering on impossible or dangerous when you are half asleep in the morning.

>>13510167
Why would you boil water in a pot instead of in the microwave...

>>13510295
cause then i have to come back in exactly 3 minutes and steep my tea instead of just at my leisure with a small pot of water that will keep boiling till i'm ready

>>13509424
I did contact them. They said it's still in route. Last tracking update Dec 6. Here I am.

>>13510571
Well they will probably make it right if there is a problem. Email them again in another or week or two.

Bump

Kurra's VECTOR is really good shit, would recommend. Kinda wanna try his more expensive stuff.

>>13510167
Pouring water from a pot to a gaiwan sounds like a good way to lose your fucking hands.

>>13469597
Someone please explain tea for me. I'm a soda drinker, I do it to sate a craving. I have tried teas, but they always have this strange texture to them I cannot properly describe that makes me gag a bit.


I also drink them straight from the bag/diffuser etc. No additives. What do?

>>13513852
The concept of acquired taste may come into play here. However, and I don't mean disrespect saying this, just facts: if you drink soda often and regularly, it massively contributes to sugar addiction. It's an unusual psychological condition that doesn't work like a craving for nicotine, it's more like it tricks you into thinking anything not loaded with sugar tastes bad. It's all sorts of fucked, but you literally can break your addiction to sugar and retrain you brain to enjoy subtler (more like normal) flavors.
If that doesn't sound like you, then don't bother convincing us, but perhaps tea simply isn't your (haha) cup of tea. Make sure you try a broad variety of teas, preferably not from 5¢ bags, before you make that decision though.

>>13513906
I never had to "acquire" a taste for:
Milk
Chocolate milk
any sugary drink.
water

why is it that one has to "acquire" a taste for:
beer
wine
whiskey or any hard liquor
tea (of any kind)
kombucha
sucking the snot from a dogs nose.

>>13513924
Milk has plenty of sugar, and not to be that guy, but at some point you literally did have to acquire a taste for water.
If you're asking me the psychology of sensory preferences, I don't really know. I'm an addictions expert, not a tea expert. I also am not good with dogs, but I wager you shouldn't suck snot from their nose.

>>13513948
>did have to acquire a taste for water
hmm that would be about when I was about 4, I remember drinking the water that came out of the evaporative cooler on the side of the house. tasty.

>>13513958
Yeah there's something about drinking water outside that just makes it great. I'm partial to hosewater myself.
They should bottle and sell that shit. There's your next million dollar millennial fad.

>>13513906
So interestingly I actually stopped drinking soda for a very long time, but once I started working I started buying it in loads because it helped me relax. I assume tea can do the same for less of a health issue.

I still have sweet cravings though. Love suckers and all that... I bet I could get into it. We have a coffee pot we use to boil water and a tea strainer at work (One of my coworkers is a tea drinker). I'll just have to get used to it maybe?

>>13514086
boiling tea bags and expecting them to taste good is dumb. what you are drinking is not tea, it is the dust left over after tea has been sorted

>>13513852
>Someone please explain tea for me

You will never know what you're missing unless you get high quality loose leaf stuff. You would probably never know you're drinking the same kind of beverage if you compared what you get from a grocery store teabag to 3g of good quality properly stored and packaged first flush tea directly from Asia. That's the secret. If you want to know what the fuss is all about, you have to try the good loose leaf stuff.

>>13514104
we use a hand strainer for some kind of rose and apple something stuff that I got as a gift. Wasn't quite able to get into it. I guess I need to keep trying.

>>13472366
>>13509579

Fucking gringos.

>>13514209
That's herbal tea/ a tisiane. Or its flavored
You want that real shit

>>13514109
Loose leaf can be just as bad as stuff in bags. And most of the best quality tea doesn't actually come loose, it's in cake form.

Teabags are bad, granted, but using the medium a tea is presented in as a marker for quality is dubious.

>>13513852
>texture

?
most teas are just like water
its only some pu-erhs that tend to have this..thicker soupier consistency

do you mean taste?
some tea bags have a disgusting metallic taste, its very prominent if you cold brew it.

>>13514779
>Loose leaf can be just as bad as stuff in bags
That's true, but that's also why I made sure to say good quality, properly stored, etc.

>And most of the best quality tea doesn't actually come loose, it's in cake form.
If you're talking about pu'erh, it's a niche, even in China.

>Teabags are bad, granted, but using the medium a tea is presented in as a marker for quality is dubious

I even mentioned where this teabag tea would come from: the grocery store. Do you think good quality tea comes from grocery stores?

>>13513924
>I never had to "acquire" a taste for any of these things that have a lot of fats, sugars or are literally mandatory for staying alive but don't immediately like things that are quite literally poisons or luxury items that don't have much nutritional value
Fats and sugars, i.e. foods loaded with energy, are a cornerstone of survival for animals and was for humans before society as we know it formed and you didn't need to wake up fearing how you'll wake up tomorrow. You're biologically programmed to want foods with sugars and fats through evolution and that's why you don't need to acquire a taste for them. That's the gist of the current prevalent theory anyway.

There are some that argue that alcohol has the same effect because the ripest and thus most sugar filled fruits are often a bit fermented and contain some alcohol leading to a connection of alcohol sting=fruit has max nutrients=good eating. Why it's not universally liked like a stick of butter is because alcohol is a poison and your body is rejecting it to defend itself. As you grow with age the same amount of alcohol that disgusted you as a child has less of an effect and you start picking up tastes from it beyond just bitter and burney.

Tea is along the same lines as alcohol except that it's not actually bad for you but it has a lot of chemical compounds that taste bitter. A lot of things that are bad for you also taste bitter and so your basic survival instinct is to avoid them. Same as with alcohol your taste develops as you grow with age and you become more tolerant of the "poison" and pick up other things beyond the bitterness, things that you might like depending on your personal taste. Interestingly the bitter is bad effect can be seen in women who love coffee normally but find it disgusting to the point of nausea while pregnant because bitterness could mean poison that would be harmful to the baby.

>>13514797
Puerh isn't the only tea that comes in cake form. Plenty of high quality blacks and whites do too.

>>13514829
yes but thats not their usual form. Most blacks and whites are loose.

>>13514825
>Tea is along the same lines as alcohol except that it's not actually bad for you
Excess caffeine intake is 100% bad for you.

Granted, you'd have to drink a fuckton of tea to get there.

>>13514825
>>13514833
Why do tea threads always attract dorks who want to tell you about how dangerous tea is? What do you people do when you see someone smoking? What happens when you're in a restaurant and you see someone about to take a bite of something deep fried? Do you rush over like in a slow motion movie scene complete with a stretched out 'NOOOOOOOO' and slap the cigarette out of their hands, saving the day heroically?

>>13514829
If it comes in a brick, it means it's been steamed and pressed together with moisture. This lowers the quality of white tea significantly, and black tea slightly.

>>13514857
No, but if someone was smoking a cigarette and said "this isn't actually bad for me" I'd probably point out that they're either misinformed or an idiot.

My post wasn't even aggressive in tone, why do you have your hackles up like this 2hu poster?

Caffeine is bad for you in excess regardless of the form you take it in. It's easier to overdo in coffee or energy drinks, but tea can have similar effects depending on how much you're drinking, what varieties, etc. Although caffeine from tea tends to effect the body differently due to some other chemicals present in tea leaves.

>>13514857
>Why do tea threads always attract dorks who want to tell you about how dangerous tea is?
Except no one here said that tea is dangerous? I said the exact opposite in >>13514825 and >>13514833 was talking about caffeine. Too much caffeine is bad for you, that is a fact. To actually have the noticeable negative effects of caffeine from tea you would have to drink a lot of it to the point where I think you would first suffer from the effect of overhydration.

>>13514825
>A lot of things that are bad for you also taste bitter

but a lot of things that are good for you are also bitter, this is such bro science to say everything bitter = bad. Most veggies are naturally bitter its just humans have engineered them so much over thousands of years they have lost a lot of their bitterness

there are many healthy bitter foods like dark leafy greens(kale etc), bittergourd, cacao, wild veggies etc

>>13514869
>To actually have the noticeable negative effects of caffeine from tea you would have to drink a lot of it to the point where I think you would first suffer from the effect of overhydration.
Eh, your average cup of shitty black tea has about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee. People can and do fuck themselves over with caffeine overdose on coffee, so it's achievable with tea, albeit twice as hard.

>>13514866
>>13514869
Because you're trying to sound smart by nitpicking, and tea threads deserve better than that. There must be something better you can do with your time.

>>13514886
They deserve better than touhou avatarfagging too but here we are.

>>13514895
If you want to sound smart, you're not doing yourself any favours.

>>13514886
I don't think you know what nitpicking is.

>>13514886
>"Tea is not actually bad for you"
>A lie
>Someone points out this is a lie
>Accuse them of nitpicking

There's nothing wrong with consuming things that are bad for you. Plenty of food products we consume are in high volumes. Doesn't mean we should pretend they don't have harmful impacts on the body and the brain.

>>13513924
>why crack good but shit with no crack bad

>>13469974
I generally steep flavored green tea for 3 minutes in not boiling water. It's the more expensive ones you want to steep multiple times. Be prepared for loose tea everywhere, or buy bags. And if you're looking for caffeine, green tea is pretty low.

>>13514825
>As you grow with age the same amount of alcohol that disgusted you as a child has less of an effect and you start picking up tastes from it beyond just bitter and burney.

I'm 53 and that has not happened yet.

>>13516055
guess you’ll always be a bitch then

>>13516055
There are outliers to everything and when talking about taste it's even less predictable.

>>13492908
All your really need. I have another gawain but don't feel like dragging it out.

which 2hu would u fug?

>>13516292
I honestly don't think this would be that terrible. I would be willing to try this

>>13517956
I've had bancha that reminded me of green pepper, so maybe it would work better with a green tea. Red peppers are sweeter anyway.

Bump

>>13519338
I think a pu-erh put in a big enough spicy pepper could work. Hey maybe you could wrap and age some in a dried on

there's a very real chance both my Yunnan sourcing orders will come in today. sure I ordered the later one on the US site and the chinese one just happened to reach the states before the US one shipped, but I'll get one of them today for sure and if not both today then both by tomorrow

>>13520060
Things I have seen puer aged in
Tangerines
Pomelos
Bitter melon
Bamboo
I've only tried a ripe puer aged in tangerine, it was pretty meh quality tea but brewing with a few chunks of the citrus did taste pretty good.
>>13520114
Exciting

>>13520125
I've seen puerh aged in whiskey barrels, really wanna try that sometime.

>>13520125
>>13520140
what about Pu-erh aged in a coconut?

>>13520154
Could be interesting. I've also seen a tea seller on Instagram using cinammon boxes, which could be cool.

>>13520140
Aging in a bourbon barrel could be lovely if it means it would get those caramel and vanilla notes.

>>13520185
>>13520140
https://crimsonlotustea.com/products/2019-rum-barrel-shou-puerh-tea-with-jianshui-zitao-storage-jar-free-shipping

>>13520193
sold out

>>13520210
Yeah, I just think it's cool.

They want to make more though, just gotta wait for spring.

>>13520215
oooh

>>13471732
>He wants to drink fish tea

>>13520233
Plenty of people ITT drink ripe puerh, anon.

>>13520237
I do, its flavor is soothing when it isn't badly made.

>>13520237
I saw its kind of a big meme in this thread yes but i never tried it so i didnt know it would taste that different.
I would never trust chinese with any food tho. Japanese bancha for me atleast they have strict standards

>>13520268
I was making a joke about how ripe puerh tastes like fish.

Honestly if the risk of contaminants in Chinese tea is that offputting to you, there's probably a lot of things you should cut from your diet first. No one is going to pretend the processing is sanitary but a bit of dirt (which you rinse off anyway) is a lot less harmful than a lot of mainstream Western foods.

>>13514866
Except green tea contains a fraction of the caffeine a coffee does. If you are not drinking matcha caffeine is not an issue. Green tea is one of the healthiest beverages on the planet

>>13520274
Its not only about contaminants. The chinese are about as trustworthy as the jews. I dont know if it was true but there once were reports about fake rice from china even if thats not the case if anyone would poison other countries like that it would be the nose people or the chinese. A country who has an issue with organs beeing harvested cannot be trusted.

>>13520291

I trust yunnan sourcing and scott.

>>13520268
>bancha
>not drinking at least sencha

all tea regardless of country has pesticides. Only niche stuff like 'oriental beauty' is pesticide free as they encourage a certain insect to feed on the tea plant and promote the plant to produce chemicals that alter the taste of the tea.

I always rinse or discard 1st steep

>see local brand while browsing supermarket
>only $3 for 250g
>eh why not.jpg
>it says tea leaves at the side of package
>has another product that comes with bags so I assume this must be the loose tea
>buy it and bring it home
>open it up
>its all cut up teabag shit

what the fuck
im feel so cheated now

I just brewed it and its just flat and characterless like all teabag teas