/ck/ - Food & Cooking

For me? Its the han wa

>>16055704
did somebody order a 50kg bag of premium quality soybeans?

>>16055710
Based
thanks for making a new thread, i didn't even notice it was over the bump limit

>>16055704
another cuppa niggers downed

>>16055710
I am partial to Xi Shi Teapots myself.

>>16055549
>what % rh are you shooting for?
65%. I need to invest in a hygrometer to acquire accurate data, but I'm using one 65% RH (size 60) Boveda inside each sealed ziplock bag. Then, each pumi bag sits in a separate box for ease of organization and protection from damage/tearing. I may likely invest in some mylar bags instead if I can figure out what size is ideal for my containers and stacks of tea. Then I can just refer to my personal tea inventory log if I need to know what I have to drink without opening them.
>One trick i leared is if your humidity is getting too high you can put one or more of your boveda packs in a plastic bag inside the pumidor to make them hydrate more slowly
Interesting, thank you for the note. You mean inside a separate unsealed bag within each pumidor, correct? How should I know if it is "too much" without a hygrometer; funky scent or signs of mold? Personally, I think our environment is dry enough to manage without worrying about excess humidity in my pumi, but I will remember this advice.
>You should be able to open your pumidor while you are getting it up to your desired humidity
It really isn't an issue? I thought it took a fairly long time for cakes to adapt to new pumi conditions. I'm prepared to wait if I must for the ideal results. Wonder if one 65% Size 60 Boveda pack will be enough for my eventual 1.5kg white tea collection, though. I have my ~400g dark tea set in its own pumi for reference, which feels a bit silly. I could just move it to my shou, but I was concerned about the shou appropriating 'tobacco' notes as a result, so I have kept off from doing that. Certainly looking forward to witnessing potential complexity and aroma gains in my tea stash either way.

Do you guys also heat your teapots with hot water? If a tea's recommended brewing temperature is 80 degrees for example, I'll just put it into the teapot when my thermometer says 80. Does a pre-heated teapot make that much difference? I mostly drink Japanese teas so my steeping is typically only from 30-60 seconds.

how come my TGY is coming out weak tasting? I've been steeping it, 2 teaspoons in a tea strainer for 2 minutes and 30 seconds

>>16055704
>China: "We have dozens of intricate traditional teapot designs, each with a long storied history of--"
>Britain: BROWN BETTY. SIMPLE AS.

>>16056024
you need about eight tablespoons

>>16055704
For me it's the Tokoname Kyusu. It's not as porous as yixing so you can use multiple teas in it and don't have to have dedicated teapots for every tea. Plus you don't have to worry about poisoning yourself with cheap chinese clay. And they obviously look much better than yixings

>>16056131
>pic related

>>16056043
*It turns out that it was not, actually, simple as.

>>16056139
Pretty oil spot.

First brew in the new meme clay pot
i definitely notice some muting of the flavor, it also seems to taste sweeter. From what i have heard the first several brews tend to be the most muted and it sort of stabilizes after that with a sort of more gentile rounding of flavor. I did get this one in hopes it would be slightly muting so so far so good. I'm currently trying it with a HK "dry" storage 8582 so it's not a particularly funky tea, just well aged and softened with a hint of that root cellar essence that wetter stored puer has. I'm exited to try this with some funky hei cha that i have along with a bunch of different puers of different degrees of funk and a few heavy roasted oolongs. I'm going to avoid using ripes in this and hope i can get away with continuing to use this for a few different kinds of tea.

>>16055840
I'm telling you anon get some turkey bags, they are much more impermeable than regular plastic bags and will help hold the humidity in better. Plus they are cheap and you can get them at the grocery store.

>>16055572
ty anon. I will not be going with that teapot that I thought was a gaiwan. I am going to get pic related. Simple checks all the boxes and can share with friends or use by myself. Litterally 0 reviews on amazon but it looks exactly like the one on red blossom tea company (except a different strainer) and it's pretty basic stuff, not sure how they could mess it up.

As for what tea I plan on using I said earlier in that thread (>>16053617) that I am new to tea and got a sampler from what-cha. I like black tea but that's bagged and I am excited to see what doors loose leaf tea opens up to me. White tea seems interesting but I think I'll wait for the sampler before I start shilling out more money

>>16055852
It's typically recommended to preheat your teapot. The general rule of thumb is that the water will loose 10°f heating up your vessel if it isint preheated so you will end up brewing slightly below the temp you were shooting for. It's not worth losing sleep over but try it out and see if you notice a difference

>>16056139
Great looking pot
>>16056202
Great scan anon, it's really interesting how these early designs evolved, i think i see some influence from the early porcelain that was being imported from china in some of those designs.

>>16056279
Very interesting, would you recommend these even over mylar bags? I do wish to get new bags soon and/or upgrade my cases, but failing that, I suppose I could just double bag. I imagine mylar would hold in aromas and the temperature balance more effectively.
>>16056284
>I am going to get pic related.
Different anon, but assuming that is all porcelain and glass, I'm sure it's fine. It may be weird holding a gaiwan at first, so if you want to build some confidence, try pouring unheated water with your gaiwan at first to figure out what works for you. Personally, I have to use my left hand with my ring and thumb fingers to hold the sides of my gaiwan, and my middle or index finger to adjust the lid. I also pour 'inwards', but without curving so the liquid doesn't reach my fingers. If hot water gets on you, quickly but gently just place it down so you don't scald yourself or break the gaiwan. I've never had serious or even lasting burns from my gaiwan as a result of spills, so I'm confident this method is fine. Just watch a video or two on YT to figure out your own technique.
>White tea seems interesting
I personally quite enjoy my white tea, if not like to drink it more than any of my other varieties. It's been some of the easiest for me to brew, and offers a very delightful balance of flavors and texture that makes this type very pleasant and relaxing to sip. I regularly hear people refer to their white teas as 'comforting', and I agree with that. I even drink it at night, and find it does not negatively affect my sleep cycle like others are sometimes apt to do. Definitely consider giving it a go if you enjoy the teas in your sampler.

>>16056552
Turkey bags work great, that's what weed growers use to keep the smell under control, if that gives you an idea for how effective they are. Like i said, cheap and easy you can just close them with twist ties.

>>16056565
Seems interesting, though I'm not so big on having to use twist ties. Part of what appeals to me with the resealable bags is the easy open-closed aspect of it. I don't doubt the potential effectiveness, though. I may look into getting mylars, or at least double-sealing my zips/cases somehow.

Since hojicha is roasted stems is it pretty consistent regardless of price or can you actually pay for quality? It's like the cheapest tea there is but I don't want to drink a cup of mud.

>>16056202
Brown Betty, all of them. No need for that fancy divisiveness,

>>16056748
They're the right clay for Brown Betty, but they lack the nameake brown glaze and at least one of them is the wrong shape.

>>16055840
Don’t do this, there is a huge Rick of developing unhealthy microbes and, at best, you’ll get the rancid dirty taste of cooked puerh.

Just buy it and plan on aging it for at least ten years. Also avoid the puerh with camphor.

>>16057085
Would you rephrase what you are advising? Buy what, and don't do what? I am unsure what portion of text you are responding to.

I think
https://dragonteahouse.biz/premium-moonlight-white-loose-leaf-yunnan-puer-tea-raw-100g-3-5-oz/
is my favourite tea so far.
What's the equivalent of this on yunnansourcing?

>>16055840
>if I can figure out what size is ideal for my containers and stacks of tea.
half gallon bags will fit 2 (maybe 3?) 200g cakes on their side and 1 gallon bags 2 (maybe 3?) 357-400g cakes on their side. i have not used any other sizes yet. i think i say someone say they manged too squeeze a tong in a 2 galon one once but i have not tried it myself.

>One trick i leared is if your humidity is getting too high you can put one or more of your boveda packs in a plastic bag inside the pumidor to make them hydrate more slowly
boveda packs should not over shoot their rated humidly by very much (barring temperature fluctuations, or over saturation) unless they are defective. typically adding more packs will make the humidity more stable and accurate as they can correct faster and for more humidity change.

>How should I know if it is "too much" without a hygrometer
condensation is a bad sign. mold means that the humidity has mostly likely been out of whack for an extended period. having a hygrometer to double check is helpful especially if you refill bovedas (in case they lose calibration).

>I thought it took a fairly long time for cakes to adapt to new pumi conditions. I'm prepared to wait if I must for the ideal results.
you should be able to open up you pumidor well the tea is hydrating. it may slow the rate initial hydration but should not cause any harm.

How do you store your teas at home? glass containers?

not retarded, just curious

>>16058089
In the paper carton it came in.
t. TyphooCHAD

>>16058077
Not him but the pressed white tea cakes. Along with the loose white teas that arent silver needle
At around the same price/weight as the one you posted i bet this is pretty good.
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/compressed-white-tea/products/2019-cha-nong-hao-meng-song-village-white-tea-cake
For a cheaper cake this one sounds decent
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/compressed-white-tea/products/2019-yu-da-aged-aroma-shou-mei-white-tea-cake

>>16058089
The bags they come in, ziploc bags. Jars work too just try and store them out of direct sunlight.

>>16056552
>I imagine mylar would hold in aromas and the temperature balance more effectively.
A mylar bag should be more effective than a turkey bags but you cant usually buy ziploc mylars in store. I don't think either will do all that much for temperature control though.

>>16057094
>Would you rephrase what you are advising? Buy what, and don't do what? I am unsure what portion of text you are responding to.
i am really not sure exactly what they are saying either.

>>16058077
>I think
>https://dragonteahouse.biz/premium-moonlight-white-loose-leaf-yunnan-puer-tea-raw-100g-3-5-oz/
>is my favourite tea so far.
>What's the equivalent of this on yunnansourcing?
these are all likely similar:
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/white-tea/products/yunnan-yue-guang-bai-air-dried-white-tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/imperial-grade-yue-guang-bai-white-tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/certified-organic-yunnan-moonlight-white-white-tea
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/imperial-grade-yue-guang-bai-white-tea-mini-cake

can i just throw a whole puer cake into the bathtub and turn on the hot water for some mega batches, then just save it and throw it in the microwave when i need to re-heat?

>>16058214
always best freshly brewed, drink at once

>>16058214
You would lose some flavour, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.
If you do it, you should definitely keep the prepared tea frozen though.

>>16058214
Why would you do this? a cup of pu-erh is ready in under a minute, hot or cold.

>https://essenceoftea.com/collections/porcelain-teacups
How are the capacities usually measured, is it up to the rim or usual filling amount?

>>16058504
It kind of depends on the vendor unfortunately
The descriptions for the gaiwans say usable volume, with the antique and vintage cups i would guess the listed capacity is filled to the brim unless she specifies otherwise.

>>16056552
Thanks for the tips on using the gaiwan, I'm going to practice with it so I get comfortable before actually making my first cup. Any other tips you can think of for someone new? Also with my work schedule I plan to drink most of my teas in the mid afternoon or evening, except on weekends. Is there any tea you might recommend for drinking in the evening that doesn't interfere with sleep? Either in general or specifically

Just made a quick teabag rooibos since I have no time and it's cold as balls. Last tea of the day.

>>16059178
Hojicha is a Japanese tea made with roasted stems and some leaf bits that is fairly low in caffeine. Genmaicha (the kind without matcha powder) is also usually pretty mellow, it's a tea with toasted rice puffs mixed in.
You should be fine to drink any tea in late afternoon. I just wouldn't suggest drinking any strong tea after 8pm or som

>>16058214
Would it be possible to bathe in a tub of puer or could that possibly disrupt the delicate micro biome of my lesbian’s vagina?

>>16059380
DO NOT DO THIS!
Can't even imagine the results, some horrific combo of retard strength and powerful rage.
You would become the equivalent of an entire pissed off roller derby team after some guy hit on the cute teamate.

White tea vs oolong, which will become the next /tea/ meme?

>>16060262
they are both already memes
all teas are memes actually
just drink water

>>16060262
I've only ever had one white tea that actually tasted like something, and I can never remember the name of it.

>>16059178
>Any other tips you can think of for someone new?
Don't be afraid to experiment with brewing parameters outside the typical ones shown in the pastebin. Go by the taste, aroma, and texture you want to achieve. Too weak? Consider going hotter and/or longer. Too harsh? Consider going colder and/or reducing your infusion times. This can depend not only on the type of tea, but how much you have used, and should be adjusted by instinct over your session.

I personally have never used a timer, just a simple head count and temperature-adjustable kettle is fine for me. I use a milligram scale to measure the leaf too, since I'm a stickler for consistency. All said, remember not to stress too much about the process. Just tune in to your senses when sampling something, and reflect on ideas for how you can change your results. Eventually, you will just know what to do for a pleasant cup every time with your favorite teas. This is when you'll develop the confidence to make some great tea. It was like that for for me, at least.
>Is there any tea you might recommend for drinking in the evening that doesn't interfere with sleep?
All true unmodified tea (camellia sinensis) will contain caffeine. So, they can affect your sleep cycles. That said, I've found that my shou mei white tea is easy to sip on, and does not hit with much caffeine. Many whites may be the same in this regard, but you might consider giving that, or a more bud-heavy white a try from your preferred vendor.

>>16059178
Forgot to mention, to add onto the other anon's notes about light teas, while I have not tried it yet, I hear kukicha green tea may be a good option due to containing high concentrations of L-theanine (also with many stems). May help calm you more than other greens.
>>16058083
Thank you for these notes. I checked on my cakes today without opening them up, but they seem to be doing fairly well. I may taste one soon, but I figure it would make more sense to wait until the weekend to give it some time to itself.

>>16060502
Odds i drink more tea, evens i sleep

>>16060925
Nice, what are you going to brew now that you got odds?

>>16060951
Some 2019 shui xian

>>16060980
I got this from essence of tea. This is my first shui xian and a moderately premium yancha. Very good, strong roast but not as intense as i thought it might be. Absolute boat loads of minerality. I have really been enjoying the mineral aspect of wuyi oolongs, it's a cleaner sweeter mineral flavor compared to the ones i frequently get in puerh.

>>16055704
Had some loashan green ooling from 2015. Still good. Its basically just a slightly more complex version other their loashan green tea. I miss the very early batch that had pineapple noted. Was a good choice to get me through second covid shot symptoms.

Also I love this image and I have a fang gu.

>>16055704
is there really only one non chinese tea pot?

>>16061126
There are lots, the Japanese make at least a few distinct shapes and there is an absolute load of different western designs.

>>16059380
>>16059408
i got a chuckle from that so have a (you)

>>16060698
>Too weak? Consider going hotter and/or longer.
to add to what they said you can also try adding more tea.

white tea still has significant caffeine. a lot of mass market western vendors try to downplay the caffeine content as a sales tactic.

>>16061126
>is there really only one non chinese tea pot?
no, that picture only lists Chinese tea pot designs. Japan has a large number of styles as well.

>>16061087
>>16060980
Looks pleasant, thanks for sharing. I don't think myself personally rabid for higher roasts, but I do appreciate respectable minerality. How was the aroma?
>>16061341
>white tea still has significant caffeine.
Yes, I'm aware of this, and that is why I made mention that all tea has caffeine. That said, something about the lightness of my shou meis I've had seems to lend to a perceived less aggressive caffeine hit, even when infused for a long time or at highwr temperatures. I don't get as hot when drinking them either, but that may just be subjective bias. Seeing as shou mei is almost entirely leaf, I am very interested in seeing how more bud-heavy productions fare in comparison. I am certainly looking forward to exploring these topics and discussing my findings going forward. Where are my white tea-brewing /tea/nons to sip with in the meantime, though?

>>16061805
The aroma was toasty nutty, sort of baked goods .

>>16060980
looks nice, i bet it smells nice

A lot of sales on yunnansourcing, what would you recommend from their spring 2021 green teas?

>>16060262
Puer is the next big thing I hear. All the chatter in tea shops when I eavesdrop on the counter ladies is always puer this and puer that.

>>16062412
>always puer this and puer that.
Is this before or after they scissor violently in the janitor's closet?

Chinafriend sent me a bunch of picrel, but I'm in a hospital for a while and don't have access to a gaiwan. How can I still make the most of it and thoroughly enjoy these? Crumble and put in a loose leaf bag? Leave the tangerine as-is but take off the 'lid'? Something else entirely?

>>16062262
just remember that those sales only count for green teas from older years, so a bit misleading

having said that I am currently sipping this, it's pretty nice especially for the price, fresh and seaweed-vegetal

https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/spring-2021-loose-leaf-teas/products/yunnan-early-spring-silver-strands-green-tea-of-simao?variant=39464069497031

>>16063040
slice in half, brew with the orange

if you're limited to western style use half of one per mug, in a teapot or gaiwan use a whole

>>16063040
Crush and brew.

>>16055704
i have a budget of $35
what's a good starter setup
(tea, pot, etc.)

>>16063968
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/products/lubao-gaiwan?_pos=3&_sid=95b1e680b&_ss=r

https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/puer/products/lao-cha-tou-old-tea-head-2012-malaysia-stored-yunnan-puer

>>16055715
Go and fuck yourself

>>16063968
Finum brew basket and some russian caravan from upton tea. You might be able to sneak their intro to fine tea sampler into that budget, if not finest russian caravan and some yunnan black tea

Citrus notes, extra sweet~
Black Darjeeling, fujian province imported chá.

>>16064134
good but I can only handle a liter at a time, 2 just feels gluttonous

>>16064134
The thinking mans /tea/

How do I clean all the flavour out of a clay pot and make it a "clean slate"?

>>16064681
heard a lot of people use citric acid to clean teaware

>>16064134
for me,

so my bombilla broke at the neck and that one was a gift from argentina from one of my uncles from like 5 years ago and they don't sell anything like it here
So I just fucking stuck a heavy duty nut in the middle because fuck you if it works it works

New teapot came in the mail today, perfect for small sessions when i don't have the time to drink through a whole 5-7 grams of tea. Got some new tea as well so perhaps ill review one in a bit

>>16064837
gonna have some puer today?

>>16064839
Maybe, im currently sipping on the same green tea as this anon
>>16063049
The teapot is tiny so i could try a few today if i wanted, its really nice not having to commit to a large amount of one kind

>>16064837
link to the teapot?

>>16064886
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/ru-yao-celadon-miniature-qin-quan-teapot?_pos=1&_sid=134af98fa&_ss=r

>>16064681
You should be able to find directions for "resetting a clay teapot" online, from what i have seen people use white vinegar or a dilute bleach solution. Both of those sound scary but both will completely evaporate at room temperature. Just make sure you use a pure bleach solution and not the thick easy to pour bleach or a scented bleach.

>>16064805
Kek nice
>>16064837
Nice anon, i love the ru kiln style crackle glaze

>>16064905
70ml, awesome, that's perfect for that insane oolong technique that some people do where they completely fill the pot with dry leaf

>>16064905
what a tiny fucking teapot

>>16064837
How does it pour, without an internal sieve?

>>16064986
Not him but i have a tiny pot with a single large hole to the spout, it hasn't clogged on me yet but occasionally a small leaf will come through it.

>>16064961
It is comically tiny, but you can get a very flavorful leaf/water ratio without having to use much leaf so I enjoy it a lot for that reason alone.

>>16064986
The spout gets very narrow at the end so I don't get much debris coming out, it does pour quite slowly though. I'll try it with something flakier like a shou mei next and see how it handles that.

>>16064765
>>Three ingredients
Tea, sugar, carmine?

if my gaiwan is 150ml does that mean I should use 1.5 times the grams recommended in the pastebin? also I'm still waiting around for my loose leaf sampler to get here could I use bag tea in a gaiwan to get some practice or is this just retarded?

>>16065052
yes, measure the usable volume though. 150ml might be the total max or larger than the vol you'd typically use just eyeballing it. i think mine's ~120ml but i usually under fill a bit and treat it as if its 100

>>16065052
>if my gaiwan is 150ml does that mean I should use 1.5 times the grams recommended in the pastebin?
Generally speaking, yes. You could probably brew less and have less leaf in there too if you don't want as concentrated of a solution. Go by whatever you find working for your setup and taste in the end.
>could I use bag tea in a gaiwan to get some practice or is this just retarded?
Not necessary or really too helpful. Just practice with room temp or plain low-heated hot water to get a feeling for it if you want to build some confidence. It isn't too tough, and you will eventually make a very casual brew form out of it.

More roasty oolong today, this one is a Rou Goi or however the hell it's spelled. This variety is supposed to have a sort of cinnamon flavor to it

>>16055704
Hey everybody. I drank tea all my life but never really gave it much thought. I just preferred it over coffee. I got myself 2 teas whiles stumbling upon a small tea shop while on vacation. A jingmai Pu er tea (harvested in spring of 2013) aswell as some amazing handrolled Jasmine tea. They were both incredible in their own way. The pu er weirdly was the best green tea i had ever tried before and i never had a more intense flowery tea as the jasmine. Unfortunately both are nearly empty by now and I would really like some recommendations on where to go from here. The tea was pretty expensive so I would rather avoid making some costly mistakes regarding it. For example some overly smoky lapsang souchoung or pu er tea so long fermented it developed a life of its own.
Any other tea recommendations would be fine I think. What are some safe choices? What tea are you currently digging?

>>16065331
This one is fantastic, beest oolong ive had yet. It's sweet, spicy and the roast is perfectly balanced. I need to try brewing this one in porcelain to compare to how in brews up in clay.

>>16065364
Yunnan sourcing is probably a decent shop to try out, something like their 2015 impression puer cake and a few loose leaf teas that strike your fancy, they also have some white tea cakes in the $10-$15 range and you would probably enjoy one of those. Was the puer green (raw) or brown (ripe, fermented) ?

>>16065387
I guess more on the raw (?) Side. It was either dark green or silver. It was so weird because I expected pu er just to be this really deep and rich black tea but then I got a pretty good green tea instead. Kinda looked like pic related.

>>16065369
What is this style of pottery/glaze called?

>>16055704
I drink MarketSpice Orange Spice tea

The stuff is like cinnamon whiskey without the alcohol, would definitely recommend

>>16065414
Yeah that's raw, there are two different kinds of puer, a raw like you had that is aged and darkens over time, and ripes which are pile fermented to a deep brown color before pressing. I still say the Yunnan sourcing 2015 impression would be a good puer cake to try, he does have some pure jingmai cakes but they are all pretty expensive.

I can also recommended this older jingmai tea. It's going to have more age on it than the one one you had and have some darker more fermented notes but i still found it juicy and quite pleasant to drink.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/others-puerh-tea/products/2006-lancang-jing-mai-gu-cha-jingmai-old-tree-tuo-250g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha
If you order from that guy i would also suggest some of this longjing style green tea, its got a savory umami flavor and some nutty toastyness
https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea/products/2021-early-spring-long-jing-dragon-well-a-grade-green-tea-zhejiang-1?variant=39518147215540
And then maybe some lychee black tea to get you something with a bit of natural flavor added
https://kingteamall.com/collections/black-tea/products/2020-early-spring-li-zhi-hong-cha-lychee-black-tea-hongcha-guangdong-canton

>>16065419
It's wood fired "Huaning Pottery"
I got it from here
https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardware/huaning-pottery.html

>>16065369
Really great tea, i hope most of the other oolong samples i got are this good

>>16056264
Did you boil it in water for an hour or two before you drank out of it? Because if not, you're tasting finishing wax.

>>16065419
Raku.

>>16066452
I boiled it for an hour or so after i soaked it in vodka overnight :^)
But seriously i did my research buying that, it's not fully handmade with 60 year old factory 1 clay or anything but its good enough quality wise. No wax, not shined up with oil or any of that shit.

>>16066471
Just never put cooked puerh in there or it'll never be the same ever again. And avoid any raw with camphor, you can smell it easily. That too will color the vessel until you smash it under your heel.

>>16066471
>60 year old
QC was shit until the last decade or so after the commies took over. If it's not 19th Century or earlier, or post-2005-2010 it's garbage.

>>16066498
I know the 80s to 2005-2010 was shit, but i thought the 60s and 70s stuff was okay. I'm not going to start collecting antique pots anyway, ill take my chances with the new ones

>>16066485
Thanks i will keep that in mind

What are the best green teas in terms of budget to quality ratio? Not looking to skimp out but want to try out green tea before splurging.

>>16066521
>i thought the 60s and 70s stuff was okay
Ya fell for chinese memes.

>>16066559
Good to know

>>16066557
I don't know about the best but the two that i would recommend are a decent grade longjing style green, since the real west lake stuff is at least $65 per 100g
If you arder from this guy i would also recommended getting a sample portion of 2-3 of his other 2021 green teas so you can try severy varieties.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea/products/2021-early-spring-long-jing-dragon-well-a-grade-green-tea-zhejiang-1
For a Japanese stuff i would say a fairly affordable grade of sencha
I would try something like this
https://www.o-cha.com/shincha/asanoka-sencha.html
And compare it to their daily drinking grade sencha
https://www.o-cha.com/loose-leaf-green-tea/sencha/daily-sencha.html

>>16066626
Thanks for the recommendation; gonna start with the Chinese stuff.

What everyone needs to know to fully enjoy tea is that it isn't sufficient unless it's brewed to sufficient strength. Eight tablespoons is the rule of thumb. Half tea, half soymilk.

Let's set up a devata for our viewing pleasure, this is a Dakshinakali of Phalaharini Kalipuja. Isn't she ominous?

>>16067108
I recommend these for anyone considering drinking a seriously large quantity of tea.
https://www.kkdiscount.com/temple-of-heaven-china-gunpowder-green-tea-1000g/
https://pravasicart.com/tea-india-mamri-8989
https://www.ebay.com/itm/114339398960?hash=item1a9f28c530:g:ybsAAOSwQbFfW61s

I need the ultimate bergamot. I need the anisey flavor to saturate my being. I need to come within a single throat spasm of projectile vomiting from a brief, solitary whiff of what bitter poison is steeping beside me.

Any recs?

>>16065046
water, dumbass

>>16055704
wow it's really cool how there are so many types of pots

>>16065046
>carmines

A place for steaks?

>>16067314
>anisey
It's a distinct flavor from anise, totally. Bergamot is actually a temperate citrus.

Anyway even though I hate them in general Harney has a really good and powerful one.

>>16067108
In Russia, prison inmates boil tons of tea for a long time and drink the liquor to get high as a kite. It's like turbo-meth. Not even memeing.

>>16067886
I hope they enjoy it

>>16066452
why do you have a tin can letter opener
do you stir your tea with it or something

going to make cold brew TGY will report back on how it came out

>>16068170
'TGY'?
>Tfw also made cold brew many days past and wanted to make a breakfast tea latte, but out of milk.
Suffering.

>>16068170
That’s gross, tea is only good freshly brewed

>>16067881
will give their earl grey supreme a try, cheers anon

Thank god for a cuppa niggers

>>16068170
throughout the summer I make that everyday actually, my favourite type of tea to cold brew

How are you supposed to make tea with a ~120mL teapot?
Do you pour it into a large cup that can hold that amount of tea or into a pitcher and then pour it into a tiny 30mL cup and refill it when empty?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tvu3Y14m5tA

>>16068654
that's up to you really

for me, when I'm trying new teas and really want to focus on taste-testing them I use multiple smaller cups, as it cools down faster and you're more focused, but when I'm drinking a daily brew I go for the 1pot 1cup method

Hey /tea/, I've been branching out into loose leaf teas lately and bought a box of pic related. It was super cheap, so I'm guessing it's considered to be fairly shit tier? Also I noticed that when brewing with a strainer, the tea is often not as strong as when I make it with a teabag, like the tea will taste more watery. I brew it straight in the cup as I don't own a teapot, just wondering if there was any way to remedy this? I've been leaving it in for about 5 minutes, I think any longer and the tannins would make it too bitter? I'm a tea noob obviously but I wanna learn how to do good

>>16069035
Forgot pic

>>16068226
TieGuanYin

>>16069035
You're supposed to add a tiny little pinch of salt to your tea or else obviously it's gonna taste watery.

>>16069295
i know im not as experienced as the people in this thread but please dont be mean to me :(

>>16069042
North africans use that cheap shit to make their tea.

>>16069310
You're gonna make it, anon. Hate to break it to you but the tea might be cheap shit if it even takes 5 minutes to steep. I've never steeped green tea longer than 2 minutes per infusion. Rather than steeping longer, maybe use double the tea for the same water volume.

>>16067314
Upton tea makes and extra bergamot earl grey where people frequently complain that it has too much bergamot naturally flavored
https://www.uptontea.com/earl-grey-tea/loose-leaf-flavored-black-tea/p/V00823/

>>16069035
Temple of heaven green isint great tea. You can look up some vidoes on how to make Moroccan mint tea and try that out.
Check out the pastbin in the op, it has some decent info on brewing

>>16069035
Still better than your basic teabag dust tea but if it tastes good to you fuck it. If you wanna try better shit look at the pastebin links

>>16069035
>>16069042
I've seen that exact stuff an an Asian grocery store, assuming you bought it from one of those it'll probably have been sitting on the shelf for a while so it'll be stale. Green tea is only really good fresh.
>>16069573
Nigger tea? Gnross

When the fuck does second flush start?

>>16069958
>Asian grocey store
that's exactly where i bought it lmao. I guess i'll look for some fresher stuff

>>16070032
end of may early june

>>16070055
You can sometimes get good stuff at asian grocery stores. If you see Sea Dyke brand teas they have some nice roasted oolongs that taste like baked goods.
If you want some small quantities check out this guys ebay store, he has decent prices with shipping included and i have been pretty happy with loose leaf i have grabbed from him
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303158141980

What teas do you all do or do not rinse? I've seen some people rinse just puerh, where it seems to be to help open up the cake and perhaps get any dust off it, but some people rinse everything and I don't really see why.

>>16070603
Usually when i rinse a tea it's just 10 seconds and i do it just to get the leaves opened up so the first brew is good. I hate starting out my tea sessions with lightly colored leaf water with no flavor.
When i do an aggressive 20-30 second rinse it's for specific teas that have some funky fermented flavor or other off taste im trying to get rid of.

>>16070603
you should probably rinse everything to wash off dust and wake the tea up. i drink the wash anyway so meh, it is weaker but its not like im selling or serving it to guests

>>16070603
Depends on the individual tea. I drink most of my 'rinses' unless they're notably dusty or obviously of a particularly low grade tea (like pu'er mini tuos). Some people do it just to open everything up before tasting for a more 'true' initial experience. I think much of it has to do with tradition more than anything, though. I believe they rinsed more in the past as they had dirtier leaf to deal with in general.

>>16070603
I never rinse my tea, don't care never will.

Why are they all chinese teapots? I do not trust their quality
>>16055704

Buying some other things on amazon and I'm looking at getting some Indian black in bulk for cold brewing this summer.
Anyone got any recommendations for something thats not total shit but also cheap?
Or are my only real choices on amazon Vahdam or Ahmad.

>>16070883
i like Vahdam, its cheaper through their own website more range too i think

>>16070883
Whichever one fo the two where the seller is the tea company themselves, don't trust third party sellers on amazon, especially not for perishable goods

>>16070603
I usually attempt to rinse, then forget and drink it anyway.

>>16070603
i always rinse my tea, first infusion is never worth it and can alter your perception for the duration of the whole session because of the dust and particulate which stays on your tongue and blocks more subtle flavor changes that occur during repeated flash brewing aka gongfu. I'm not talking about the trichomes from the buds, it's the tea dust that I'm against. the darker/roasted/fermented the tea there's more of it.
i've tried some greens without wash, namely longjings, houkui and various bud only type of greens and flash rinsing them always resulted in more flavorful brew.
i'm a frugal type of drinker and bargain hunter, mind you, but i throw back my head in a cackling laughter every time i see some poor sod collecting the tea dust to drink or boiling spent leaves to extract last bit of flavor. have some dignity. please.

>>16070603
nope, however i do give very tightly compressed teas a bit of a soak so they open up before brewing them though. for less tightly compressed but still compressed tea i use an extra long first steep.

Aside from issues caused by teas leeching aromas from other nearby teas, are there any reasons why teas inside pumi setups may taste more bland or flat instead of more aromatic and concentrated? In what scenario(s) might bovedas/hydration sources affect teas in a negative manner? Perhaps air flow may have something to do with it? Still working on and testing my pumi setup. It hasn't been active for long, but the smells either don't seem right, or too impotent. Trying to do some troubleshooting to improve my results; any input would be appreciated.

/tea/ is pleb and always was, but where do I go if I want to talk tea more in depth? seems like the discord or reddit is the answer but degenerate userbase of those websites keeps me out. do I start to lick the anuses of my vendors now? I feel lost on a lonely island.

>>16072157
It shouldn't really negatively effect flavor. It's possible its a little dull due to the changing humidity conditions as it acclimates. Like how it can taste a little dull out of shipping.
I'm not really and expert i just have a cooler full of tea.
I would suggest checking out the storage articles of teadb.org if you haven't already, guy gets really into it.

>>16072188
>It's possible its a little dull due to the changing humidity conditions as it acclimates.
You make an interesting point, though how long would you anticipate this to last? From my short-term results, it appears that fully enclosed, no-boveda storage may have been the most potent so far. As an example, when I stored my whites without anything but a reasonably sealed metal tin, the aromas concentrated well without distorting, though the flavor wasn't exactly 'there' and pleasant as my earlier tastings. I thought that by adding humidity, my inventory as a whole might start to express its character traits more, but it simply seems danker in aroma without exactly improving the flavor or aromatic concentration. I find this dichotomy of developments (found throughout my entire collection) to be strange, but I will continue to experiment with this.

Of course, I'm not expecting an abundance of changes in so little time. However, my current experience with my teas suggests that the big changes begin to show as hints early on for development. I'm using my 2016 shou mei as a benchmark for this as I am reasonably familiar with it now. The leaves themselves seem almost wider and looser now, with a more 'bready', yeasty character rather than a "buttery cracker" as it used to be. It tasted flatter and less concentrated when I had it recently, but perhaps I should have some again to get an updated impression on it.
>teadb.org
I've read some of his stuff, but I haven't benefitted much from it in managing my existing stock. He made some helpful points regarding odor transfer that I took into consideration, but beyond that, I'm still left unsure of a few things. After I finish drinking my tian jian, I will brew my shou mei to get a more recent understanding of its character, and report back to the thread with my findings.

>>16072188
>It's possible its a little dull due to the changing humidity conditions as it acclimates. Like how it can taste a little dull out of shipping.

Word for word cigar knowledge. Crazy how leaves are leaves lol. Typically people rest new stick in their humidor for ~2 weeks after a new delivery. Some guys will toss boxes in ziplocks so they can put them in the freezer to kill any chance of beetles ruining the stash.

>>16072330
ahaha i forgot about cigar beetles, nasty fuckers

>>16072384
Haven't heard about tee beetles, but I'm just a dirty pleb.

Finished my tian jian earlier, been sipping my 2016 shou mei for analysis of the effects of boveda-influenced closed storage. As suspected, both the aroma and taste seem flat and muted. The shou mei is not absolutely tasteless, but certainly more bland than it was historically (even with more aggressive brew parameters). It is similar to my tian jian in that regard, which had hints of its original honey notes, but was much depreciated and depressed. I am curious if this could be due to the surrounding teas within each pumidor, or as one anon noted, a potential temporary side-effect of the humidity transition period (despite multiple days allotted). I remain uncertain if air flow (the absence of), or something else has impacted my tea the most. I won't act prematurely, but I believe it likely that I ought to change something for proper development of my stash. More research is needed.
>Inb4 everything sucks because I got covid and haven't realized it yet.

>>16072187
well us plebs wouldnt know would we

>>16070603
I rinse all teas except Japanese greens or bagged tea

>>16072384
I've thrown out so much fucking hot hungarian paprika because of those fuckers.

>>16072904
wait, are you storing your whites in humid storage?
have a read here https://teadb.org/aging-whites-aged-whites-what-i-learned-from-char/

>>16072547
There are tea beetles that eat the bamboo and paper wrappers on puer, but luckily they don't eat the tea itself. So you just even up with these cake wrappers that look like a piece of driftwood.

>>16074979
>You get the tea cake out of storage, then unwrap the cotton paper, and find some tiny white bugs dance underneath. What a surprise!What are these bugs? Is this good old tea cake gone? Don’t worry. These bugs are harmless other than leaving some holes on the wrapping paper. They look like miniature crickets, love to eat and only eat the cotton paper wrapper. That’s why they got the nickname ‘paper bugs’.Although they won’t affect the quality of the tea, their appearance is a sign of humidity. You may want to store your tea in a drier and more ventilated environment to make the bugs go away.

>You may want to store your tea in a drier and more ventilated environment to make the bugs go away.

Again, word for word cigar advice. They say above 70f and ~72%rh is the prime environment to wake them up. Luckily I've never had to deal with them.

>>16075234
I know this is off topic but if flavored cigars get banned is that the end of Acid brand??? I love those fuckers

>>16074979
>>16075234
>paper eating bugs
do you know what the species you are talking about is is called?

>>16075385
I'd imagine Drew Estate will figure something out. Try a liga privada nasty fritas. They took a high end blend and shaped it like their acid nasty. If you can tolerate a bit stronger nicotine, their liga privada uf13 is a fucking winner.

Im looking into buying one of those essence of tea's shuiping pots, I have a yixing with a 7hole config filter and im wondering if I should get a 1hole filter or would that really get clogged too much, anyone with experience or interest please send it my way, ty

gongfu is really relaxing

>>16075534
I'm the anon that just picked one up recently, i have had any issues with clogging but i have mostly been brewing tea with big leaf so far.
If you are really concerned you can made a stainless steel mesh filter and install it, i will link the article in a bit.

>>16075534
>>16075559
Found that article
You can buy small pieces of stainless steel mesh and probably small bits of wire on ebay
https://www.kyarazen.com/installing-teapot-filters/
I ended up buying a few premade ones from chawangshop
https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardware/zisha-teapots/stainless-steel-strainer-for-single-hole-zisha-teapot-b-two-in-pack.html
Or
https://www.chawangshop.com/tea-hardware/zisha-teapots/stainless-steel-strainer-for-single-hole-zisha-teapot-two-in-pack.html
That being said i have them but haven't felt the need to use one, i would only be concerned if you plan on brewing really broken up teas or very small super fine teas like all but blacks or that eyebrow tea.

>>16075905
very interesting, I will keep this all in mind

Purple cloud has a decent price on some 2004/dayi ripe bricks. Not incredible but worth checking out if you are into old ripes
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/new-arrivals/products/2004-dayi-ripe-pu-er-brick

>>16075928
Sure if you would prefer one with a filter here are a few options, they are a bit more expensive but what can you do.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/yixing-pottery/products/zhuni-shuiping-yixing-teapot-120ml
https://mudandleaves.com/collections/teapots/products/small-zhuni-shuiping-yixing-teapot-朱泥小水平-90ml
https://mudandleaves.com/collections/teapots/products/zhuni-shuiping-yixing-teapot-朱泥水平-140ml

>>16076162
Oh and this little 80ml, which is only $130
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/yixing-pottery/products/small-dicaoqing-shuiping-yixing-teapot-80ml

>>16075928
Update, i did actually just have a clog during my brewing session, it was easy to clear with a narrow woden skewer, but i didn't have anything at the ready so i ended up oversteeping during the brew where it clogged. I still probably wont use a screen for now but i guess i will have to keep a tool handy in case of clogs

sex gifs

>>16076447
yeah ive thought about that and in videos have seen a specific bamboo skewer that they use sometimes, with my filtered teapot ive had clogs and a trick ive figured out to stop clogs is to pour in the back of the teapot and dont disturb the tea ball (something ive heard referred to as the gall of the tea, dont want to pour straight into the clump to reduce bitter/astringency as well as mixing up the finer leaves with the more whole ones)

>>16076644
Yeah that makes sense, ive also seen that suggested, sort of let the tea stay near the nozzle instead os shaking it around between brews

Still waiting on my shipment from what-cha (probably be here sometime next week) but I got some Genmaicha from Ippodo as this anon >>16059225 suggested for later night brews. It came in yesterday and I used my gaiwan for the first time. The first steep I went a bit too long (didn't start the timer until I finished the pour) and let it go for like 35-38 seconds. A lot of bitterness, and the really could only taste the toasted rice. The second time around I let it steep for about 20 seconds and it came out a lot better. Bitterness was dimmed way down, still a lot of toasty flavor but could actually taste some of the green tea as well. By the third steep (I think I did 20 seconds again) I really started to enjoy it. Almost no bitterness and the flavor felt very balanced between the toastiness and green tea. I did a fourth steep but the flavor was much more dull at this point so I called it quits there. I really enjoyed the whole experience and look forward to using some proper tea for the gaiwan in the future.

>>16076851
Nice anon, it's really fun to get into the ritual of brewing with a gaiwan, it's very hands on and enjoyable to do. Did you let the water cool slightly before brewing? With japanese greens you probably want about 70-80°c , even lower for some of the more delicate ones. If you don't have a thermometer or whatever you can just let the water cool for around 3-4 minutes after it comes to a boil

>>16076956
Yeah the whole process is appealing to me as a way to sort of transition from the work portion of my day to the time off portion, plus I can get some good tea out of it which is great too. No I didn't let it cool down, on Ippodo's website said to brew with boiling water for 30 seconds. Steepster also had the same suggestion, although I am realizing now that, that is just from one person. I think I am going to let it cool to at least 80C today and go for 30 seconds to see how that turns out. Not sure how good ippodo's stuff is compared to other genmaichas but I am happy with it.

>>16077007
I think their tea has a good reputation, the complaint about them that i see is their prices for their us store are higher than buying from japan. But considering you have to pay $20 minimum for fedex to get any tea shipped from japan right now the pricing works out a lot better.

>>16074148
Thanks for the article link, it was insightful. I was under the impression that whites should be stored in similar conditions to pu'er rather than oolongs. Do you think it would be reasonable to not only cease use of the boveda in my white tea storage, but perhaps individually seal all teas within it going forward? I could then resume its sealed container storage. I am not well-versed with the intricasies of oolong storage outside the typical "cool, dry, sealed" mantra, so I hope I interpreted the article effectively.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xRuxuHjBY4
\

Tried a private label 2004 7542 today fron essence of tea. It was pretty good. I need to have another session with it but it is probably cake worthy.

About to have some 80's liubao
What are you drinking?

>>16077860
Tea that old is fascinating. Does it taste any good or just like dirt.
I'm just brewing some licorice root, too late for me to have more caffeine tonight

>>16077879
No, aged tea shouldn't taste like dirt btw

>>16077893
Can you describe the ruckus?

>>16078066
the ruckus?

>>16078088
I'm just takin the piss mate
how was the tea?

>>16078152
very good

>>16069035
>>16069042
Brew it in a teabag, wring the tea out of the teabag when you remove it. Add sugar and milk. It's good as a strong milk tea.

cool thread

How are you supposed to store different types of tea?
Kinda wondering which I should keep under tight seal, and which in cans or paper bags.
If we get a step further in autism, what about humidity and temperature?

>>16080089
There is some info in the pastebin about storage.
For most tea you want to keep it sealed in mylar or some other low permeability plastic. For puer you want to create an environment with stable humidity roughly around 55% and store it in there.
There isn't really any tea you want to store in paper bags unless you know specifically what you are trying to accomplish and understand how your environmental conditions will effect the tea. For example airing out some puer that was in heavy humid storage.

>>16055704

I've got a lot of ginger to use up - what sort of teas do you lads use it in?

>>16080443
Ginger makes a really good tea itself. Try it with honey.

>>16080443
Grate ginger, simmer in water for 10-30 minutes, sweeten with honey to taste, keeps in the fridge for at least a few days

>>16080089
look up specialty bottle anon

>>16080443
ginger beer
https://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A634664

Trying some of my 2009 8653 iron cake in the clay teapot. It's pretty good, very sweet, the clay takes a bit of the edge off

>>16080443
I just make ginger water with it and use that for my herbal tea at night, it helps mask the bitterness and settles my stomach after a large meal.

what is some really obscure underground tea i should try out to be a hipster?
This "2009 Xinhua Qu Jiang Bao Pian" is probably the weirdest tea i have, but i haven't gotten around to trying it yet.
https://www.chawangshop.com/hei-cha/hunan-hei-cha/2009-xinhua-qu-jiang-bao-pian-250g.html

white chinese green teas should i try other than longjing?

>>16055704

got a question: how does a nigga learn the terms and vocab to describe the flavor of the tea liquor? pic sort of related.

I am looking to find and learn the standard terms so i can better appreciate tea sipping

>>16083429
Just describe all the flavors with colors

>>16083429
https://www.wine-tastings-guide.com/wine-flavor.html

Tea nugget a cute

>>16083709
Qt nugget, how's the sipping?

>>16083744
Very earthy and smooth,
it feels less intense than the liu bao i got with the same sampler.
Will report back when it has opened up more.

>>16083827
Compared to the liu bao ive tried this tea is very mild and much easier to drink.
It tastes like a rooty dirt cellar with a herbyness that fills the mouth and nose similar to mint but completely different.
Nice amber color with a silky mouthfeel.
This is the nicest aged tea ive so far, looking forward to the rest of the sampler.

>>16055704
I only drink ITO EN, fuck hot tea kys niggers

>>16055715
It's called bushel, ESL-kun.

>>16084157
I'm not sure what to make of "rooty dirt cellar" other than to presume it is somewhat dank. I've only tried one liu bao, but it was also earthy and just barely sweet in my case. Curious how it tends to vary otherwise. Thanks for sharing.
>looking forward to the rest of the sampler.
What else did you get? Any whites or heicha?

>>16084207
I got a heicha sampler, long jing, ning'er, black gold and 2 white cakes.
I decided to get a gong mei cake after a anon said it was good a couple of threads ago.

The nugget i posted is really holding up strong even after a lot of steeps.

>>16084259
Seems like a well-rounded haul. Which gong mei? I ordered some whites (which will come in a few weeks or perhaps a month), including a cheap gong mei, so it will be nice to compare if you decide to post more about what you've picked up.
>The nugget i posted is really holding up strong even after a lot of steeps.
Do you not unfurl the leaves much after infusing? I tend to manually release mine when brewing such pieces. I thought that was common. Maybe I'll have the rest of my liu bao tomorrow.
>Tfw want to drink tea with anon, but it's late and you need to sleep.

>>16084376
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/2018-fuding-gong-mei-white-tea-cake?_pos=1&_sid=9ada1bced&_ss=r
is the gong mei, its exactly what i want when i crave white and ill probably get a biger cake when i finish this one.
The nuggie held up well in flavour, it was pretty much loose after 4-5 steeps without prying.
Sleep well anon, there is always time for tea tomorrow.

>>16077197
>so I hope I interpreted the article effectively.
the article does not really provide any definitive answer as to the best way to store white tea. as far as i am aware there is not a generally agreed on consensus as to how to do it (at least on the English speaking side of the internet). i suspect there are multiple "correct" ways to go about it.

the author suggested dry sealed storage because there friend had said they had some potential issues with tea that was too humid and tea that had to much airflow. therefore the author suggests dry sealed storage based on limited data because it avoids those two possible issues and is simple. this is a perfectly reasonable take on things however i do think there are reasons to go the other way as well.

water can help catalyze a number of chemical reactions and therefore may help accelerate or change the character of aging regardless of whether or not there is any microbiological component to to it. Fujian where most white tea is grown is a very humid place and therefore even if it was stored sealed there (and I doubt they store all of it sealed for aging) it would have a lot of humidity in the bag unless they seal it right after oven drying or putting desiccant in with it.

I am still deciding what to do with my white tea in the long run but in the short run i may skip the bovedas in the white tea because its simpler and is not likely to permanently harm the tea (and i am out of bovedas anyways). I do think having at least some humidity (not less than say 40%) is probably a good thing though and am going to try and make sure it does not completely dry out.

>>16082529
>chawangshop Qu Jiang Bao Pian
i really wanted to try that but they are out of stock right now and i don't think anyone else carries that type of tea.

>>16083429
>I am looking to find and learn the standard terms
there is no one set of standard terms and people sometimes use them differently. just drink tea and try to describe everything you can taste. you can use vendors descriptions, other peoples tasting notes, and flavor wheels to learn new terms and get an idea as to what they mean. if you compare with others enough you will get a good idea as to what they mean when they use certain words.

>>16084259
>I got a heicha sampler
is it this?
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/hei-cha-samplers/products/hei-cha-sampler-guangxi-liu-bao-and-hunan-fu-brick
I still need to try some hunan Qian Liang as well.

I'm new to tea... What do you think about this? I looked up how to correctly brew it online, I've tried with a little milk and honey but my go-to is still tea by itself. I'm really digging it

>>16085731
Try and get a larger thing to hold your leaves while brewing, you want something big like pic related so the leaves have plenty of room to expand.
Good brewing info and shops in the pastebin in the OP, check it out

>>16085731
Those tools limit the amount of surface area the tea leaves can present to the water. I'd suggest just brewing in a mug then pouring in to another mug using one of those to filter out the leaves then dump them back in the brewing mug. I'd suggest using the guidelines under the gong fu section on this image.

>>16085833
Thank you anon, next time I'll try what you suggest, I did think about that surface area thing but I thought what I had at home were good for brewing tea, I'll check it out

>>16085731
Nice stompers, bro

Today im brewing 2006 tea horse road puer from essence of tea. It's a really fantastic tea if you can get past the Kunming storage. Explosive complex sweetness on the pallette after a sip. Absolutely worth a sample. A very easy to drink and pleasant tea.
I don't even think the storage is a dry as he makes it out to be, ive had older Kunming stored teas that tasted younger than this.

>>16085798
Fuck forgot picture
>>16085844
Try and find a big basket like this, you should be able to find all metal ones too.
This is called a Finum brew basket
But you can search with terms like brew basket, tea basket, and tea filter

>>16085833
>I'd suggest using the guidelines under the gong fu section on this image.
i don't think gong fu style brewing always works better for western style black tea. i think some Indian, Ceylon, or Nepalese tea only really comes out right when brewed "western" style.

>>16085986
Yeah i agree, western brewing does not get enough love ITT. People are always quick to suggest gongfu but i think you can make great cups of most teas western style. Especially for people just getting into tea i think having them brew western style and introducing them to the concept that they can rebrew their tea leaves is a good way to ease them into gongfu

I have a big bag of pic related. Can I just toss this in with my shitty cheap teas to make them taste like nicer jasmine tea? Or does the tea have to be prepared with jasmine at an earlier state?

>>16086277
I don't see why it wouldn't work, give it a shot and report back

>>16086277
i think it has to be done before the tea is dried? could try brewing with the flowers but i think jasmine goes super bitter quick

coof

>>16055704
Had a sudden craving for rock oolong. Switched out my giawans for my shorter wider one; pic related. Going to brew up some old Verdant tea Shui Xian Wuyi in it.

>>16087720
>Shui Xian
So good

>>16086140
>People are always quick to suggest gongfu

Its a $10 investment that hopefully gets them to slow down and focus on the brew.

finishing off some "2020 sheng" from god knows where. It's pretty good for young sheng, nothing special but pretty tasty.
If i had to guess i would say maybe from somewhere in Lincang, but that's a total shot in the dark, it's pretty sweet, fruity, juicy, maybe some sort of citrus notes, not a lot of bitterness for a young sheng.

>>16087724
Indeed, I'm smelling it in the bag now, and I'm getting similar smells like this anon >>16061914 though with some honeyed florals. This type of rock tea was the first time I found brewing tea in a giawan to taste better than a teapot. The fact it dumped the water quicker let a lot more subtleties come through. Other wise I find they can unsurprisingly taste like rocks.

>>16087720
I've tried loads of Verdant's wuyis, but not that one. How did it turn out? Curious why you opted specifically for a wide gaiwan as well.
>>16085433
Thank you for your feedback. When I read the article you linked me, I decided to remove the boveda from my whites storage and try sealing each white sealed from now on. I have my tin dedicated to whites next to me here now, and will report back soon on the aroma and flavor as I explore and infuse my subject shou mei, which has been sealed without additional hydration since your earlier post.

>>16087816
I haven't brewed it yet. That's for tomarrow. It's a very old unopened bag pre 2015; maybe around 2013-2014. Used to have their tea of the month club and still going through stuff. I want to try roasting some old tieguanyin from around 2015 to see what flavors I get out of it. Pic related is them.

SUPPOSEDLY using a short wide giawan is great for shu, black tea, and roasted oolongs cause the shape and thermal dynamics brew it better and hotter. The taller bowl one is for greens, rolled oolong, and other delicates cause the shape helps brew them cooler. How much of that is a gimmick I dont know. I bought 2 from verdant years ago on sale and I dont need anymore.

I can't wait to have some tomarrow. I checked their site to check brewing parameters. It's like I remembered: lots of leaf and extremely short brew times, even by gaiwan standards.

>>16087884
Nice, I'm still trying to get the feel of age on roasted yancha. The youngest ones I have are from 2020 and the oldest are 2017. From what I've heard they need time after the roast for it to subside some and for the tea flavors to reemerge so it's typically rested for six months to a year and a half before sale. It would be interesting to try one right after it was roasted

>>16087884
>SUPPOSEDLY using a short wide giawan is great for shu, black tea, and roasted oolongs cause the shape and thermal dynamics brew it better and hotter. The taller bowl one is for greens, rolled oolong, and other delicates cause the shape helps brew them cooler.

I've heard the exact opposite.
Shorter wider shapes expose more of the tea to the air, thusly it cools faster.
While a taller skinnier vessel will brew hotter.
This is part of the idea behind japanese teapots for sencha being exceptionally, wide and flat with large open tops.

How much of this actually makes a difference though? Who knows.

Reporting back on the 2016 Shou Mei I've been messing with. I am inclined to think the time in a higher humidity environment with the boveda packs was a bad choice, as an anon suggested it may be earlier. I think it certainly contributed to some 'dankness', though this moderated slightly with exposure to the air. Each infusion seems blander, lighter in color, and less savory and buttery than it used to be. The base flavor isn't completely lost, and I can still sense some faint minerality in it, but I think it needs time in a well-sealed environment with minimal air in the bag. Unfortunate that a cake I used to enjoy greatly has fallen so much over so little time, but it has been valuable as a draw of experience. I will see about improving the sealing a bit and leaving it to recompose itself for perhaps a week or so, and report back whenever I happen to test it again.
>>16087884
Looking forward to hearing your results. I have very mixed feelings about Verdant's offerings, but they do have a few gems and fun oddities.

I've always liked tea but I have 0 equipment for it (used tea bags, a kettle, and a mug), what is some cheap equipment that would vastly improve the quality of my tea?

>>16088335
Cheap porcelain ~100ml gaiwan and smaller porcelain serving cup. That won't cost much at all (maybe $8-$15). Then you can just grab some simple Chinese loose leaf of your choice from the vendors in the pastebin for easy brewing. Sure, a temp-adjustable kettle and milligram scale can be very helpful, but they are not absolutely necessary. Alternatively, you can just look into grandpa style brewing of loose leaf tea.

>>16088335
A brew basket from finum pic related
a scale that does tenths of a gram (0.1g) would also be nice.
Then you can brew just about anything in the mugs you already have.
And then like the other anon said find a vendor from the pastebin in your region and pic some teas that sound good.

Do herbal teas like pic related (Peppermint, chamomile, lavender, and valerian root) hold up well across multiple steeps? What amount of time would you guys add per additional steep? First one was done in a brew basket 1.5 tsp with boiling water for 90 seconds. Came out really well. Not bitter, nothing really overwhelmed things, although the peppermint was very strong for like the first second in the mouth before dissipating. I might add a bit more, say 2 tsp, next time I make it.

>>16089125
You forgot your image, so I have no idea what you are describing. It depends on the individual material in question, and can vary widely. Just experiment, it is easier and more revealing in the end. That said, I don't find most common tisanes lasting a load of infusions. Some do, but it does vary.

>>16089223
Yes I did. Yeah I didn't think it would last super long but I'll experiment and see how it goes
>>16089125
Pic here

>>16088335
>equipment
Fuck that. Just put loose leaf in a mug and pour water over it.

bought this
it's honestly really good, not expensive either

>>16031094
>>16030781

>>16031589
>>16031774
>gaba green tea
It tastes very strongly like strawberry. sweet. kinda lacking in other flavors. would get tiresome to drink all the time, I think.
Still interesting for the small sampler package I got.

I drink basic black tea. The kind you can find loose in a huge bag at ethnic stores. I either add sage or mint to it. Anything else ends up too fancy for me. I like my tea boring as fuck

>>16089535
Seems neat, thanks for sharing. I bet it would be a delightful pairing with some creamy fruit tarts or buttery biscuits. I could sure go for a fruity tea right about now...

Going to have some 50's 4GC liubao

what are you having?

Been thinking of growing tobacco to make "tea". I know it isn't exactly tea, but an infusion or whatever, but the process is surely the same. Is there going to be any difference between cured and raw tobacco leaves in brewing? It would be nice to try it in a few months. Seeds only cost $5 and will supply me for a lifetime.

>>16089664
Today it's a 2020 Ruu Gui from Wang Shun Ming

>>16089710
Nicotine is fairly soluble in water and even though nicotine is less active when consumed orally vs smoked you need to be very careful with that kind of thing. You can get a really nasty dose of nicotine just harvesting tobacco leaves as well since it readily absorbs through your skin.
You will probably want to cure tobacco before you do anything with it. Freshly harvested tobacco has a very unpleasant green taste with lots of chlorophyll flavor. You will need somewhere you can hang up the leaves to dry.
That said don't be discouraged, it's pretty fun to do. Make sure you buy the seeds from a website that actually sells a big variety of tobacco plant seed types and isint just selling a generic "tobacco seed"

>>16086140
>Yeah i agree, western brewing does not get enough love ITT.
to be fair i drink most of my tea gong fu style i just wanted to point out that some teas work better "western" style. someone was trying to recommend another anon make their Ceylon earl grey gong fu style which i doubt is the best way to make that tea.

>>16087816
>Thank you for your feedback. When I read the article you linked me
i was not the one who originally linked it, i was just sharing my own commentary on the matter as it is a subject that interests me as well. sometime i would like to try aging some oolong and black tea as well.

hows the shipping on your fullchea order coming along? has it left china yet?

Not my problem.

For me it's tieguyanyin form taiwan
Sweet and fruity

>>16087946
When I used my horoku to make hojicha, it also said to let the tea sit for a few days before drinking as well.
>>16087963
Ok, no I need to look into it. Only thing I've read to support it is stuff going over thermal dynamics of teapots and how short wide ones maintain even, and hotter heat distribution, where as taller skinny ones make heat thermals cool down faster cause they heat goes up and down more causing it to lose heat. Then again like with soups a wider bowl let's more heat escape. The wider giawan does fit the leaves better.
>>16088069
The biggest thing I've noticed over the years with them is inconsistency. Sometimes when they launch a new product or tea type its amazing, but the next batch isnt as good; when they first did loashan green oolong which had amazing pineapple taste, but the next batches turned into complex version of its green tea version. They do get experimental stuff, and stuff is priced right. I always recommend them to newbies who want to get fancier into tea, but dont want to go full yunnan sourcing.

>>16087720
As for the tea it was good. I should say I put 1 gram of old verdant shui jin gui wuyi that was mostly broken pieces cause fuck it. Other 6grams was the Shui Xian; 200F water early infusions where about 4-6 seconds, then 8-10. First infusion was not worth mentioning the second ones were great. Stone fruit with, nectar sweetness and whisper of orchid. Left a vauge baked good flavor in my mouth. It's all subtle though. The later 3-4 steepings change dramatically. Turn into this dark, vegital woody spice; not a cinnamon spice. Maybe also hints of licorice or fennel? The later steepings I'd put two infusions in a cup. Going to have some more later.

Not bad considering how old it is. Lots of tea energy on the tounge; course it should with 7 grams of tea in a small amount of water. Might brew this more western style, just to confirm me remembering how rocky tea like Shui Xian taste basically like rocks brewed this way.

>>16091378
I got a free sample of this with some other stuff
https://verdanttea.com/dark-roast-15-year-aged-tieguanyin
It was really fruity and good. I was surprised since every tieguanyin i've had before was floral with no fruitiness.

>>16090668
>hows the shipping on your fullchea order coming along? has it left china yet?
Didn't take too long. Went through acceptance and processing over three days. Was marked as preparing for dispatch since mid-day yesterday. Assuming there are no customs issues from this point, it should be sent off soon.

>>16084259
lol, i was not expecting anyone to repost my pic. thanks

I really need to order more liubao

>>16085849
lmao you mean my sandals or my feet?
>>16085959
I'll see if I can find one anon, I tried what >>16085833 suggested and the brew was better
>>16089356
I have that brand's black tea, it's really good

I want to drink cold tea.
What's the best way to prep that?
Brew hot and chill? Brew cold overnight? Some other option?

>>16092624
Glad that worked better for you anon

>>16092626
Brew cold overnight in the fridge approx 6-8 hours
1 teaspoons of tea per litre of water for you first try, 1.5 teaspoons if you are going to add lots of ice when you drink it.

>>16092626
Brew hot and chill? Brew cold overnight?
both work but they will taste a bit different.

I want to buy some more liu bao
where should i order from?

>>16092626
Brew it at room temp

Trying some oolong tea (Autumn 2020 Tie Guan Yin of Anxi Iron Goddess) in my new teapot, rolled teas seem to work really well in it. When the leaves expand it fills every nook and cranny of the teapot, and gives a rich flavor. Usually not a fan of oolong, especially green oolongs but this ones not bad, basically just tastes like straight orchids with not much else to it. Might end up trading it for something else with one of my friends who likes oolong more than me.

>>16093935
Teapot packed to the gills
nice anon, that's what i was hoping to see when you got that lil guy
i probably wouldn't do it with teas other than oolongs but it's fun

My very first HK traditional storage raw
Looking nice and brown

>>16094171
>>16094171
This one got two generous rinses. Probably a bit overkill but the seller did recommend two rinses.
Smooth, mellow earthy, the two rinses were totally overkill, no funk at all, at least brewing in clay, just smooth sweet and earthy, if i didn't know it was a raw i would probably think it's a ripe

Sipping on w2t's 2021 spring raw liubao. God damn is it strong grandpa style. 4.5g in a ~10oz mug. Probably drop it by a gram next time.

>>16094346
Does it taste earthy or is it totally different from other liubao?

>>16094360
Incredibly densely green. Like, dark. I'm on my third refill and its starting to settle down a bit. I'll def drop the dose and try not to blow out my palette next time. Maybe just gongfu it.

Coof

>>16093099
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/guangxi-liu-bao-tea
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/liu-bao
https://www.threebearstea.com/collections/liu-bao

>>16056139

Where do I buy decent quality loose leaf tea?
t. retard

2 years ago today was my second and currently last visit to Osawa, in the mountains of Shizuoka city. About 25 households are there, all of which produce tea. Two Sundays a month they open their porches in a kind of cafe, ¥300 gets you a cup of that household's tea with a small plate or two of food.
Its absolutely wonderful.
http://tsunagari-osawa.com/

>>16096139
fuck off shill

>>16096339
You think I'm getting paid for this, bro? You think I really think you are going to take a trip to Japan at some nebulous point in the future to sample lovingly made sencha from elderly families in the mountains of a city that isn't even a popular tourist spot?

>>16093935
>straight orchids with not much else to it
This is why I don't like most green oolong. Unless you find a good one it's just veggie flowers. Other anons have mentioned the good ones have fruit flavors to them. Had one once with apricot notes, and that shit was good. I find light roasted teiguiain yields better flavors. Though I've had some heavy roasted aged ones that where dank; like drinking incense spice, but not like other rocky dark oolongs.

>>16096353
fuck off shill

Is milk oolong a meme?

>>16097845
I don't like it, even the supposedly 'good stuff' I've tried just tastes artificial
Obviously maybe I've just been getting crap from supposedly reputable sellers but there you go

>>16097845
It is almost always artificially flavored

>>16097845
Anything advertised "Milk Oolong" is usually Artifical mass-produced trash

but there are Milky Oolongs out there

what is your favorite tea for when you need to focus on a project?
For me i think its puer

>>16055704
I drink three cups of hibiscus a day.
>feels calm man.

>>16098575
Do you put anything in it?

>>16094171
which one is it?
dry leaf looks like toad skin galore.
but also too much sticks for a sheng.
I bet it's slightly overpriced.

>>16098598
hot water?

>>16098623
who are you asking zoomer?

>>16098611
I got the dads hk storage raw from tealifeHK.
Its an aged loose puer, lots of big leaves and sticks.
Absolutely overpriced, that's why i didn't bother to name drop it.
I just grabbed it because he had a decent sale and i was getting some teaware.

>>16098639
fair enough, newcomers observe how to shill.
I was asking because some anon was praising essence of tea $180 cake, which seems like too much of a lottery to me, even for a sample. in a world where teaswelike 30 bucks brick is still available and still $30.
tea masters guy have a great one on offer. after initial disappointment and about 2 weeks in my neutral storage this minty cake really surprised me with how mature and enduring it was. proper stuff. well worth the money in the current climate.
as I mentioned before tuochatea is a puer freezer storage but god damn if it's completely different from hk trad storage, the fucking fragrance on those dry stored teas god damn. bamboo menghai and cnnp fangcha seem like the stars to me. ready to answer questions if you have some.
all the while I'm waiting for another yot order.

>>16098723
Yeah I'm planning on grabbing a cake or two from spooky tea vampire next.
I think it was me praising that EoT cake. Worth trying but i would absolutely sample any of those before buying.
Are you talking about that cnnp vake from tea-masters.com?
I'm drinking some of that right now, super smooth almost vanilla notes. Very good for the price they are asking.
Now that you have put in your emergency order with the vampire do you have any specific puers from your first order you would like to praise?
My plan of attack is one of their green liubao bricks plus that broken bulang cake but I'm thinking the broken bulang might be more money than i need to spend to get something i like from him

>>16055704
NEW THREAD
>>16098804
>>16098804
>>16098804

>>16098629
it was a joke you dip