/ck/ - Food & Cooking

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>>16473657
>comparing Jesus Christ to some street scum who died of meth and fentanyl

Making a cup of Korean roasted corn tea, bros.

Continuing my exploration into raw puerh from my previous post here: >>16464823

Today I had 2005 Xiangming "Big Green Tree" Yi Wu Mountain Raw Pu-erh from YunnanSourcing. This tea was definitely better than the last. It has an oolong-like minerality that persists throughout infusions, and a smoky flavor. In contrast to the 2015 Xiaguan in my last post, I wouldn't describe the 2005 puerh as having a "tobacco" flavor, it is much closer to a simple smokiness, lacking the minty/herbal notes the former tea had. The first brew had a slight bitter aftertaste (I did rinse the tea beforehand), but either it went away on subsequent infusions or it was insignificant enough to get desensitized to it.

For me it's Bojangles sweet tea.
It don't get no better'n'is boys

>>16473773
>sugar in tea

>>16473785
>sugar in tea
more like tea in sugar

>>16473785
>>16473790
Well, I like sugar and I like tea
But I don't like niggers, no siree

>>16473803
Staggeringly based.

What tea this guy drink

>>16473841
gunpowder
no question

>>16473841
Bro do you even watch the show, he drinks Jasmine.

>>16473746
Nice, yiwu teas have an interesting mellow flavor profile.

>>16473746
Do you like the smoke? There definitely is lots of puer out there that isn't smokey as well.

>>16473841
Jasmine and Ginseng
He seemed to like adding herbs and flowers to flavor his teas

>>16473601
I really enjoy tea, but I'm already pretty into coffee and I'm scared of going into another rabbit hole. I've dialed down a bit since the pandemic started, but I've read about one hundred books on coffee, have roasted my own beans, have visited coffee farms and spent a good portion of my disposable income into making a drink people have at work to stay alert and forget about it.
I'm already past the normie level as I no longer buy tea in those little packets, but I'm genuinely a bit afraid about going into it further and obsessing over another drink people just have with their biscuits and forget about it.
I wish I weren't autistic.

I got some Turmeric tea from Numi called Turmeric Amber Sun and it's delicious bros. I put a little natural sweetener in there and the tiniest bit of milk. I do the same thing with the Rooibos Chai from them, godly.

>>16473916
I like the smoke, although I probably wouldn't drink it all the time. Right now I'm in the process of just trying to figure out what is worth buying an entire cake of to drink every day, I don't really crave smoke every day, but every now and then it could keep things interesting.

>>16473960
I dabble in coffee,
Tea is anice change of pace because brewing can never be as precise, too many variables that can't be controlled the way they are in coffee so at some point you have to give up on having total control and just let the tea brew the way it wants too.
I prefer tea over coffee because its less jittery and the caffeine buzz feels smoother, plus i just prefer drinking smokey bitter teas over the taste of the popular acidic light roast beans that are all the rage these days.
Anyway put a small order in for some teas and just let it ride.
Grab a nice cheap gaiwan, the 120cc one
https://kingteamall.com/collections/gaiwan/products/antique-coarse-blue-and-white-porcelain-120-150cc-gaiwan-tea-cup-2-variations-1
Black tea
https://kingteamall.com/collections/black-tea/products/2020-xiaguan-hong-cha-black-tea-300g-yunnan-fengqing-dianhong
Green
https://kingteamall.com/collections/green-tea/products/2021-early-spring-long-jing-dragon-well-a-grade-green-tea-zhejiang-1
Oolong
https://kingteamall.com/collections/wuyi-yancha/products/2019-spring-rou-gui-medium-heavy-roasted-high-grade-wuyi-yancha-oolong-tea?variant=31593062105191
And some puer
https://kingteamall.com/collections/others-puerh-tea/products/2006-lancang-jing-mai-gu-cha-jingmai-old-tree-tuo-250g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=32118371745895
And let it fucking rip

>>16474022
Thank you. I'm mostly interested in what you said about not having complete control of the process, as I believe it might be a nice change of pace from my very precise routine of grinding and weighing and measuring everything. I also cannot stand lighter roasts and love bitterness in my drinks.
I've put an order to 100g of each of the teas you've mentioned, but I'm curious if the gaiwan is really necessary, as O habe way too many cups already

>>16474063
A gaiwan is literally just a cup and a lid for straining your tea leaves in a convenient way, you can do it however you want as long as you have a container large enough to allow the wet leaves to expand and small enough to keep a decent leaf:water ratio.

>>16474070
I was thinking about just using one of my French presses, but the gaiwan seems comfy.

>>16473960
>>16474063
>another drink people just have with their biscuits and forget about it.
There's also plenty of people who drink good traditional tea and enjoy it for all it's goodness. I personally really like tea and just have a casual like for coffee. You may appreciate how tea is a bit simpler as a baseline since all you need to have a good experience is good tea and water, but it still rewards you if you explore deeper.
>the gaiwan
The gaiwan's not only a cup, it can be used as a brewing vessel. You'll probably want it if you want to try gongfu style brewing. Also I'd suggest getting a white one, like this
https://kingteamall.com/collections/gaiwan/products/white-porcelain-gaiwan-using-capacity-70-100ml-for-chinese-gongfu-chadao
Or like this
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/white-porcelain-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-cha-brewing-100ml

I found a local tea shop but it seems meme-ish. Like, they sell rooibos tea with pieces of literal caramel and some other stuff like black tea with pieces of chocolate or nuts.

>>16474063
Nice anon, you should enjoy those, it will give you a good idea of the different types of tea and what you might want to explore further.
Again the lack of control, different leaf sizes, different processing methods, different types of tea makes it very different from coffee, enjoy it casually or get into it.
You don't need a gaiwan, it's for a specific brewing method, if you want to start out more simply just get an infuser basket for brewing in mugs, finum makes good ones.
There is some good info in the pastebin for general ranges of brew times and leaf to water ratios, but you will have to feel out each different batch of tea to decided what the best tasting way to brew is.

>>16474161
Yeah that is usually a bad sign, it sucks that so many tea shops are like that these days, just selling flavored stuff with flowers and random shit mixed in.
Got any asian grocery stores nearby? Sometimes they have some decent stuff.

Oowong tea

There is nothing wrong with oolong

>>16473715
sounds about right

Man buddy Yunnan black teas are so good. I love the bready-tasting type

>>16475446
They are pretty damn good

Is there a proper way to make tea?
How do you do?
>inb4 throw it in the ocean.

>>16475647
there are several. the pastebin in the op (which you should read before you post again) outlines a couple common ones.

>>16475647
you put tea in water, and then you wait
your variables, besides the type of tea, include: the source of the water, the water temperature, steeping time, leaf-to-water ratio, the size and shape of the brewing vessel, speed of the pour, material of the brewing vessel, size/shape/material of the cups, etc

now read the pastebin and fuck off

for me it's Tae Tea

>>16475647
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3103

The iso tea brewing method kinda blows

>>16476956
Okay Ireland.

>>16476996
Look it just isn't very good, especially for green tea

is it just me or is green tea not good

>>16473803
kek

Why are tropical teas so unpleasant compared to subtropical teas?

>>16473746
Same poster here, today I tried a sample of 2007 Bo Nan Mountain "Yun Wu Yuan Cha" Raw Pu-erh from YS. I don't have much to say about this tea. Despite being a 14 year old puerh it was barely distinguishable from the Yunnan black tea I drank this morning. Unlike the 2005 Xiangming I had yesterday, this puerh had no minerality to it, and far less smoke. Brewing it stronger just made it more bitter, however. This is one tea I'm definitely glad I only bought a 25g sample of.

>>16477825
Likely not making it right

Getting into it.

Was recommended the what-cha sampler, picked up the smallest size of a few of their best sellers in each category to get a general gist of what they all taste like.

This pastebin is very well written.

Any recs for a good infuser mug type deal? Don't want to go all out with a teapot yet, but want to have some convenience when making loose leaf tea.

>>16478107
Just get a ball. When you buy a teapot your fancy mug will be useless but the ball can be repurposed (such as for when making soup, for self-defence, etc.).

>>16478243
Don't get a ball retard, them things don't have enough room for the tea leaves to expand. Probably don't even have enough room for some real fluffy tea in the first place either

>>16478317
>1 inch diameter sphere is too small
maybe to fill your arsehole poof

>>16478454
Have you ever seen how big tieguanyin gets? Have you ever seen how yancha is in the first place? How about white tea or fresh sheng puerh?

>>16478466
>chinee
I only drink English and Japanese tea because I'm not a chinko

>>16474171
Thank you. I've had some green tea tonight after supper and it was great. Honestly a much better experience than having a cup of coffee after eating. I also find the process very relaxing. Once I've boiled my water, it's just a matter of combining properly weighed tea with the water. I've been following the ratio in the Pastebin and no complaints, although I've been favouring going to right to the range in order to extract more flavour. It's going to be an interesting journey. I've found that although I still much rather have coffee during the morning and after lunch, as soon as the sun sets, green tea is the way to go.

Haven't seen anything from this channel before but Modern Rogue did two tea videos with So-Han of West China Tea. If his gonfu tea-cha series was a little too myopic for you this sort of compresses all of that down into a nice little overview of Chinese tea and some of the simple concepts and terminology.

https://youtu.be/6hn9Uw4Lqk8
https://youtu.be/ixlOebAxhbI

Have any EU anons ordered from China since the new custom fees? How did it go?

>>16477455
Well yeah 6 minute steep time on Green Tea is retard-tier but it's obviously a basic bitch standard for a Black Tea blend like English Breakfast.

>>16477873
Thanks for posting the updates anon,
I'm actually quite familiar with that particular tea, i bought 3 cakes of it over the years from him (it used to be way cheaper)
Anyway you are right it's not a very good tea. The taste is 100% camphor and nothing else.
The first cake of it i bought tasted like that artificial bandana candy flavor but neither of the other two did. It seems like the stock of them on YS was water damaged at some point, since if you see a full cake they are warped and misshapen. If you google around some you can find a review from some tea blogger who also trashes it. I'm guessing there was a lot of variation between individual cakes because of the water damage. But most of them just taste like camphor.

>>16478107
Get an infuser basket, i like the ones from finum. You can also find some searching "for life tea infuser" you want the big basket shaped ones that let the leaves have plenty of room to expand.

>>16479341
Seems like a good way to go.

this thread is hilarious I never thought i needed the 4chan take on tea but now I lurk

Are blends a meme?

Never had a Pur'eh tea. Any recs for an entry level one?

Also, are there any half decent decaf options? Want to be sipping late at night so Im not stuffing my face with random snacks

>>16479386
I'm having fun, too.

>>16479406
Blends are okay if you are into traditional English style teas. Upton teas has a bunch of interesting blends. Outside of that blends are kind of a meme. Oh some roasted oolongs from china are blends, da hong pao is usually some kind of blend of different oolongs.

>>16479411
Just gongfu through the day. By the end of it there won't be much caffeine left.

>>16479411
This should be a decent intro, a little bitter, a little smokey but nothing that should scare you off.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xia-guan-2011-tuocha-tea-nannuo-gong-tuo-tribute-tuo-raw-pu-er-tee-100g-p0342.html
And grab one of these to try ripe, this factory is the king of ripes.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/taetea-yunnan-puer-tuo-tea-2018-v93-shu-puer-tuocha-100g-p0592.html

>>16479406
>>16479445
Blending is also a thing with puerh where they typically blend tea from multiple villages in an area so they can process it en masse, but sometimes just blend to make a blend. Unfortunately this is where the westoid puerh vendors usually insert their gay marketing by giving a quirky name and label. They sell it like it's IPA

>>16479475
Oh yeah how could i forget puer.
Blends from the big factories can be pretty nice if they have someone that knows what they are doing making their blends.

>>16479462
Cheers anon.

I can wrap my head around loose leaf stuff pretty easily, but the cakes confused me. But I also want to try everything, might be my new favorite, who knows.

>>16479411
No harm in picking up the $5 mixed sampler from verdant if you haven't already.

https://verdanttea.com/five-teas-for-5

>>16479666
Fuck verdant, why do you keep shilling them when half the tea you bought from them sucked?

Tea has arrived. I think I'll start with Gunpowder, that's a decent mid-day tea to steep a couple times and enjoy over the next few hours I'd assume.

Some 2020 yiwu, this was a freebie from essence of tea. It's not an expensive yiwu, so im not expecting anything too fancy.
First cup was okay, creamy but it seems like it doesnt like water at a full boil, i hate dealing with finicky shit like this.

>>16479738
Second cup is better, not fantastic but good. Creamy, just a hint of bitterness, goes down pretty easy for a young tea, i have kind of a love hate relationship with yiwu teas. I can see why they are so popular but i also think they are overhyped and way too fucking expensive these days. I guess you could say that about most puer regions nowadays.

Give it to me straight- should I buy a Gaiwan, and does quality matter or can I just buy a $10 one off Ali?

>>16479772
Third cup, creamy, stewed vegetables but no umami like with Japanese greens, overall just boring. If you want to try yiwu grab one of the big green tea cakes from xiaguan, your money will go a lot further than playing roulette with these meme cakes from western vendors.
https://kingteamall.com/collections/2017-xiaguan/products/2017-xiaguan-lv-da-shu-big-green-tree-cake-357g-puerh-raw-tea-sheng-cha?variant=30866300895335

>>16479778
Yes, you should buy a gaiwan
You should buy a cheap one, ones off ali are fine, spend 15 minutes and find a plain white porcelain one that is around 100-120 ml, let me see if i have any favorited.

>>16479411
I like the Yunnan Sourcing Gold Pig for fresh sheng and the 2007 Yi Wu Zhi Chun or the 2003 Mengku Golden Melon for aged. If you want shou throw in whatever sounds appealing. The other anons' recommendations also sound good.
>>16479666
>>16479705
Yeah no matter how cheap it is Verdant is a waste, besides if someone tries a bad version of a tea it can give them a bad impression. Why even recommend that to someone who wants to try puerh specifically?
>>16479778
Yes, if you want to try gongfu cha. Read the pastebin to learn about how. Cheap ones should do. It's a nice, simple vessel that works great for the purpose.

>>16479778
>>16479794
here are a few cheapies, make sure if there are multiple sizes you get the size in the 100ml-130ml range
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32860271716.html
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32860463309.html

>>16479810
Thanks for the recs anon.

Gonna try some cheaper stuff just to see if I'm into the genre (and to learn how to make it properly) but i'll keep tabs on those for later.

>>16479705
Haven't tried any of them dipshit. Its $5. The funny thing is w2t has been sending me a free box for 6mo and I don't shill for them either.

Yep, I've seen the light. Teabags are good but loose leaf is in fact on another level of flavor. And this is the cheapest tea I ordered, I can't wait to try the genuinely premium stuff I ordered.

>>16479948
>w2t has been sending me a free box for 6mo
How would I theoretically get in on this? I could use some free tea.

>>16479972
Nice, another convert
Enjoy anon!

>>16480006
It's been a long journey.
Amusing to think my initial impression of tea was "this is flavorless dishwater, who the fuck drinks this lukewarm garbage that doesn't even taste like anything?"
Then I spent a while trying to find a tea that had any modicum of flavor, gave it up for a while, took it back up on a lark and got half-decent teabags and decided to go all in on proper loose leaf.

>>16479975
I paid for a month with paypal and i m m e d i a t e l y stopped the recurring payment and I think it fucked their system. I feel bad so I'll probably put in a big christmas order. I want to order shit sooner but I don't want to risk my free tea box kek. I thought he found me out because my july box got here before the june one.

>>16480020
No man, fuck White2tea, they are exactly the kind of shitty western puerh vendor I hate. You did good by screwing them

>try Gunpowder for the first time
>huh I'm kinda feeling this
>google it
>gunpowder green tea contains more caffeine than any other kind of green tea.
Heh. Whoops.

>>16480034
Huh, for the uninitiated why are they bad?

is coffee a tisane

>>16480069
They sell tea like it's IPA. The owner promotes the idea of tea as essentially a drug. I haven't ordered from them so I don't know about the quality of their tea but I'm confident that it's overpriced.

>>16480072
I'm honestly going to say no.
Now, if you steeped the leaves of a Coffee shrub then I would absolutely consider that a Tisane, just not sure what it'd taste like.

>>16480016
Yeah i had a similar experience, the first good cup of tea i had was at some tea shop in the city, i just so happened to go to one that had actual decent quality tea and not flavored stuff with bits of fruit in it. Took me another decade after that to really get into it.
>>16480064
Yeah gunpowder has some kick to it. If you grow mint make sure to try making some Moroccan mint tea while you have some gunpowder around.

>>16480075
>I haven't ordered from them so I don't know
kek.
>>16480069
They're bad because he hasn't decided they're good.

>>16480174
Not that anon
My complaints about w2t
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their teas, sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like yiwu"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell tea. You will see a listing that just says "this tea will sell out by tomorrow, no samples" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors wrapping warehouse finds in new hipster wrappers and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for them.
They do a lot of stupid tea "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced.
If you actually read twodogs old blog posts about puer you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every puer meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in tea.
He is probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre young green puer at extremely inflated prices.

I'm making some abomination experiment right now, wish me luck. Boiling apples and cinnamon in water to leech the flavor, then letting black tea steep in the apple water before adding milk and vanilla extract. I'm making a lot so I'm gonna refrigerate the rest for cold tea

>>16480282
Godspeed anon

>>16479411
I like ripe puerh for night drinking and raw puerh for day drinking

>>16473601
Are the “Tea makers of London” good

So my experiment came out pretty good. I think it would have been better if I either added sugar while the apples were boiling or let the water reduce by half or so to concentrate the flavor. Still good for a first attempt at random shit.

>>16480281
>Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced.

This one? Its fantastic. Basing your tastes on someones blogpost is the biggest puer meme breh.

>>16480343
Haven't used them, they look okay, if you are into english/indian teas and live in the UK they should be fine to order from. Try Margaret's hope second flush if you want to try a darjeeling.
Their green tea doesn't look so great, if you want green tea and are in the UK check out what-cha.
If you aren't in the UK check out the vendor list in the pastebin for good vendors in your region.

>>16480367
>Basing your tastes on someones blogpost is the biggest puer meme breh.
Where did you get that from my post?

>>16480281
>Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced
That is actually one of my favorite teas I've ever tried from any vendor. Completely unique in its flavor (it was almost 1:1 like pistachios for me) and everyone I've ever shared it with was similarly blown away.

Even though I think most of your criticism is off the mark, I don't think W2T is faultless as a retailer, but honestly, nobody in the Western facing market is.

>>16480380
>if you ackchyually read twodogs old blog posts about puer

>>16480382
Its pretty fucking good. I think I like it slightly more than the roasted one.

>>16480439
u dumb, work on your reading comprehension

>>16480453
Parrot some more blogposts gayboy. I'll be sipping on the freshest overpriced raw, free of charge.

Tried the hachijyu hachiya shincha, from Kyushu apparently. Pretty cool, it's my first Japanese green. I steeped longer with each infusion but i never got this one flavor from the first cup back.

>>16480868
Does it have that savory vegetable flavor that Japanese greens often have?

>>16480921
I wouldn't know because I'm a noob, but it tasted extremely "green" to me. Almost seaweedy, i don't know. I did like it.

>>16480955
>Almost seaweedy
Yup that sounds like Japanese greens. Nothing else in the tea world quite scratches that itch when you want some tea with a nice umami flavor.

>>16481020
I'm excited to try more. I might try the jasmine and silver needle. I want to check out some puerh so I just ordered a 12 cent brick an anon mentioned from twl, first time ordering from them.

>>16481692
Nice, yeah that 12¢ brick is a pretty good tea. You should enjoy it.

>>16481692
My complaints about twl
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their teas, sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like yiwu"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell tea. You will see a listing that just says "this tea will sell out by tomorrow, no samples" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors wrapping warehouse finds in new hipster wrappers and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for them.
They do a lot of stupid tea "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making green liubao with what looks like old yellow leaves and then selling it all a month after it was produced.
If you actually read twodogs old blog posts about puer you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every puer meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in tea.
they are probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre young green puer at extremely inflated prices.

I've never in my life been able to make tea right whether it's hot or cold. I like hot tea, and I like iced tea but only if it's prepared by somebody other than me.

>>16481942

>>16482379
Just put the tea in hot water, then take it out after a while

Enjoying a cold brew I made from tai ping hou kui over night. Very floral and slightly brothy with some astringency, but no bitterness

>>16483146
What do the leaves look like once they are brewed?

>>16482379
>bring water to a boil
>let it sit for a minute
>let it sit and cool a bit longer if it's green tea
>steep black tea for 4-5 minutes
>steep green tea for as little as 1 minute, get over the compulsion to steep it longer for "more flavor"
It's pretty simple although it is instinctively difficult to fight the idea I can infuse green tea in under a minute, my lizard brain thinks it should sit for like 3 minutes but my rational brain knows it'll be bitter and disgusting if I steep it that long.

I love tea!

>>16483473
Based enjoyer

I don't have a fancy electric kettle and I'm serious considering buying a cheap thermometer so I can ensure my water is exactly 180f before I pour it.
For the people who actually measure their water to the degree and make tea with a stopwatch, how big of a difference does it make?

>>16483733
Just get an electric kettle it’s so much easier. But to address your question I think the effects of a difference of 5 degrees Celsius are noticeable

I've been doing a rinse with all of my teas, not just dirty oolongs and heicha cakes. Am I wasting tea?

>>16483821
The only kind of tea I don’t rinse is Japanese green tea

>>16483733
It depends on what you drink, if you aren't into Japanese greens and delicate oolongs i wouldn't bother with a thermometer. If i want cooler water i usually just wait 5 minutes after my kettle comes off of boil

>>16483821
I rinse almost everything, i wouldn't stress about it.

>>16483821
>Am I wasting tea?
A little bit. I don't see a reason to rinse anything besides compressed and rolled tea, which is just to help them open up.
>dirty oolongs
Also why is it oolongs are one of teas considered liable to be dirty? I'd assume they're some of the cleanest teas and also ones besides tieguanyin have some of the most flavor in the first brew, try drinking it instead of dumping it. Yancha is practically ready as soon as water hits it. It is pleasing.

>>16483860
I don't usually rinse oolongs, myself. I don't think they're particularly dirty - not more than, say, black tea, anyway. But I do sometimes rinse roasted oolongs. Cheap ones (like Sea Dyke's shui xian) can have an intense roasting taste in the first infusion or two, so a rinse can take the edge off it, slightly.
Not really necessary, but the tea is so cheap that I think it's fine to just skip an infusion and get to the better parts of it.

>>16483860
I used "dirty" only because it was the word used in the pastebin.

>>16484344
Hahaha i will take a look at that. I was probably thinking of what this anon is talking about
>>16484178
Where the roasted ones usually need a quick rinse

>>16483856
>if you aren't into Japanese greens
90% of what I drink is Japanese greens

>>16484462
Then it's worth it to either get a temp control kettle or a thermometer. The ThermoPop from thermoworks is very highly rated and will be useful for cooking as well.
You could also learn the autism of Japanese water cooling bowls, they have this whole elaborate setup where they pour boiling water between several bowls or cups or whatever you want to call them to get the temperature down to the right level.

Are herbal teas like hibiscus, lemongrass, chamomile, etc. better loose or are bagged alright?

>>16484539
Usually the bagged ones have flavoring added to them. If you are in the US mountain rose herbs has really well priced herbal blends, just don't get their tea plant tea. If you don't mind the bagged stuff celestial seasoning is usually decent.

>>16473773
Based.
Spicy Chicken Filelt Combo, or a 4 piece supreme, with a large seasoned fry and a large sweet tea are my go to orders.
Love good puer both shou and sheng, but I also love sugar laden sweet tea.

>>16484606
My complaints about mountain rose herbs
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their herbs, sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like lemongrass"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell herbs. You will see a listing that just says "this herbal blend will sell out by tomorrow, no samples" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors wrapping warehouse finds in new hipster wrappers and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for them.
They do a lot of stupid herb "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making Heavenly Mandate with what looks like old withered sprigs and then selling it all a month after it was produced.
If you actually read Shawn's old blog posts about herbs you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every herbal meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in herbs.
they are probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre young green lavender at extremely inflated prices.

>>16485308
Calm down twodog

are there any puer vendors that use anime girls on their wrapper art?

>>16485308
>sometimes he will say something vague like "tastes like lemongrass"
kek

I've just started brewing loose tea. I've been steeping it in my aeropress and pushing it through the filter.
I feel like this isn't right. when I just mix the tea leaves loosely in water, they all sink to the bottom, and when I think of all the tea preparation tools I've seen, none of them let the tea sit on the bottom. Tea-bags float on the surface, mesh-balls have a chain you can use to suspend the tea, pitchers with an infuser built-in keep the tea above the bottom, etc etc.

In terms of french-press brewing, I've heard that coffee that has sunk to the bottom is not taking part in the brew process anymore. Is it the same for tea and should I avoid mixing loose tea and hot-water to separate via filter after steeping?

>>16485514
You are over thinking things a bit. The best way to brew in mugs is to use a basket like pic related from finum. Tea balls are not optimal because they are too dense and the leaves can't properly expand and have water circulate around them. The issue i think you would have with the aeropress is squeezing the leaves, you generally don't want to do that as it can release bitter or other undesirable flavors. Tea sitting on the bottom of a brew vessel isint really a big deal as long as the tea has room to expand and swirl around.
>should I avoid mixing loose tea and hot-water to separate via filter after steeping?
No the tea being loose in the water is usually the best way to brew. If you want to use a french press that works pretty well for tea. Just push the plunger down only about half way and don't squish the leaves with the screen. Also pour all the tea out immediately after the brew time is up, dont leave water in contact with the tea leaves as it will get bitter/overbrewed/taste off

>>16485549
Thanks.
Also, I don't squish the leaves physically with the plunger in the aeropress. Since the cylinder is sealed in an aeropress, the compression of the air above the water is what forces the water through the filter. All the water can be forced out before the plunger gets near the leaves.

>>16485456
Make it boys and cakes of heicha other than puerh and I'd buy the hell out of that

>>16473773
My complaints about bojangles
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their brews, sometimes he will say something vague like "it comes from a box"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell sandwiches. You will see a listing that just says "Bojangles’ Legendary Iced Tea is freshly steeped and brewed every day" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's from.
They pioneered western vendors pouring in pounds of white sugar and charging a 10x markup over what they paid for it.
They do a lot of stupid sandwich "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making biscuits so dry you NEED their overpriced tea.
If you actually read RunningOnEmpty's old blog posts about chicken you can tell he is a hipster that has fallen for every spice blend meme out there and doesn't actually have good taste in herbs or sandwiches. they are probably more responsible than any other single vendor for teaching western consumers to buy mediocre greasy food at extremely inflated prices.

>>16485823
I know this is the new hot meme but
>They do a lot of stupid sandwich "experiments"
is blatantly false.
Bojangles rarely ever runs special menus or changes things.

>>16485866
>They run dumb "specials" consisting of random combinations of normal items+ a gallon of tea

>>16478911
This was surprisingly nice to watch. 90 % of the time So-Han is talking so you don't get annoyed by the obvious soy banter of the two bearded-glass stereotypes. Learned a bit so I can impress next time I have a PAAG over.

I dont drink a lot of types of tea but I love peppermint tea. I drink it just about every night before bed. I dont put anything in it.


In the past I grew my own mint and made tea out of that as well.

>>16487204
>bearded glass stereotypes
Elaborate? They do look like faggots but I don't know what bearded glass is, and searches just pull up drinking glasses with beard decals on them, which is pretty gay.

>>16487458
Do you have a beard? Do you have some kind of eyesight retardation and have to wear glasses? Maybe both?

>>16487204
Where do you find PAAGs that like tea? (Asking for a friend)

Waiting for my big first tea order to arrive is suffering.

>>16487532
Oh, glasses, not glass. That makes sense. And yes to both.

>>16479411
Don’t drink puer if you’re a natal woman.

>>16487747
>My complaints about natal women

>>16487204
>>16487650
>PAAGs
What

>>16487251
Based, i fucking love mint tea, grew up with it basically (doctors always told me to drink it because of my IBS). It's easy to grow in the garden too.

>>16488004
PAXG - Phat Ass X Girl
It's a monkey term, the original is PAWG which you should be able to guess.

>>16487920
My complaints about Natal women
They refuse to list origin info for the majority of their brews, sometimes she will say something vague like "I got it off Etsy"
They use obnoxious hipster advertising and hype to sell pussy. You will see a listing that just says "I got a WAP" with zero description of what it actually tastes like or where it's been.
They pioneered western women pouring on pounds of makeup and charging a 10x markup over what they're worth.
They do a lot of stupid sexual "experiments" that should never end up on the market. Like making you eat their ass.
If you actually read their blogs about tea you can tell they are hipsters that have fallen for every bagged tea meme out there and don't actually have good taste in tea. they are probably more responsible than any other single gender for teaching western men to buy mediocre pussy at extremely inflated prices.

>>16480281
I haven't read twodog's blog but I see him from time to time giving advice in reddit threads and he's always saying dumb and unhelpful things, and with asinine humor thrown in. Don't know why people object to saying twodog is bad. By the way redditors are the worst people about every hobby including tea.

>>16480490
you do know twodog is the guy behind w2t?
i want summer to end already.

How much better is gongfu?

I'm still pretty new to this whole thing, and It just seems like a bit of a pain in the ass. Is there a somewhat convenient way to do it?

If I wanted to drink some tea during my workday I just feel like there is no way I'd be able to go through the hassle of all off those steps. Would need a kettle on my desk to do all of those refills.

Curious if there is a somewhat modern more convenient piece of kit that folks use, or is it Gaiwan or bust

>>16487650
Taiwanese. Or certain regions of China.
Unfortunately most of them will be into bobba tea instead but if they are from a fancier background..

>>16487458
Yeah I was tired typing that.

>>16488053
Love to drink a ginger mint mix in the evening when I ate too much and feel bloated.

>>16488408
brewing gongfu certainly is nice, but for pure convenience id just put leaves in a cup and brew grandpa style, though i guess a kettle on your desk would be nice for that too. you could bring warm water in a thermos or something too so you dont have to go to the cafeteria for every single refill or something like that.

>>16474022
Did you try those KTM teas? I heard their stuff is very hit or miss and don't know where to start looking for the "hit" teas

>>16488317
Well aware, and I've been shitposting in these threads since fall 19. I assume I'll be fucking with you next thread as well.

>>16489064
>i was only pretending to be retarded!

>>16489067
I mean, I'm not the one who bitched about green liubao without trying it and immediately got btfo. You think he's got a squad of posters waiting in the ranks of /tea/?

Why is Pu Erh so popular here? All the ones I've had tasted like fish with sauerkraut. Interesting, but I don't get ot.

How do you guys deal with tea staining your teeth? I only drink a few times a week and even then I have a hard time preventing any staining.

>>16489315
Buy a good toothbrush. I like my oral b 8000. Same brush as the 9600 without paying a fuckload for extras you dont need. I'll swap the battery out in a few years when it dies

>>16488793
Other than that oolong they are all teas that either I or another poster tried and liked. I have pretty good luck with KTM, it is just completely overwhelming to look for through all their puer if you arent already familiar with the major factories and what to expect from their teas. At least listings he has added in the last few years usually have some kind of description and tasting notes.

>>16489536
I forget what I have but it's a decent quality electric toothbrush. My dentist is pleased with me so I would think I'm brushing and flossing well enough. Says that some people just stain more. Is my only option to buy whitening strips or end up with britbong teeth?

>>16488118
I lol’d

>>16477873
New tea update, today I tried 2015 Yi Pin Xuan "Ye Fang Shou Mei" Fuding White Tea from YunnanSourcing. This is my first aged white tea, and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. The initial taste when it hits your tongue is more dark/mellow, like a smooth black tea, but after swallowing there is a pleasantly sweet aftertaste which is the "white" aspect of it coming through. I was a little worried since I ordered a 350g cake of it without trying a sample, but I got 7-8 good brews out of this tea and it's an easy drinker, good for any time of day IMO. It does bother me that I can't scientifically parse what aspects of the taste are due to being shou mei (which I've never tried unaged) and what aspects are due to being aged (I've had Bai Mudan fresh, but not aged). Overall though the tea tastes good and it's cheap, so I'm happy with working through this cake for the next year.

Russian caravan kind of night.

>>16489237
Puerh is popular with western tea likers in general. I don't know why myself. I think it might stem from tea vendors who got introduced to puerh in the late 90s and 2000s and marketed it to the west as something special compared to other tea like black tea and oolong. How it usually comes pressed in cakes and how there's a practice of aging it might have something to do with that. I think of it as just a category of heicha, but it's the most popular heicha by far. That being said, I like puerh.
>All the ones I've had tasted like fish with sauerkraut
I'm guessing you got shou puerh, which is fermented via wet piling. A fishy taste isn't considered normal, rather it's an undesirable result of the fermentation. You may want to try some that's higher quality or some that's older, as fishiness or other funky tastes can fade with age. The other type of puerh that shou is distict from is sheng puerh, which is pressed unfermented and stored to allow it to age and ferment over time instead. That's the type that's older and responsible for most of puerh's popularity, shou puerh was invented recently as just an imitation of aged sheng. Both fresh and aged sheng is definitely worth trying if you want to get to know it. If you do so, just buy it from a reputable vendor and be aware that a lot of it is overpriced.

>>16473601
Ginseng meme yay or nay. I’m interested if mixing it in the tea I drink.

>>16490019
Making tea with dried ginseng root is pretty good, you might like it on it's own with honey. You can either buy chopped roots (look for ginseng farms and try to buy from their website for the best prices in the us) i usually buy whole ginseng root and then cut them up some with pruning shears to brew. I haven't tried mixing it with tea, and i haven't tried any of the ginseng oolongs where it's they are coated in that mysterious brown powder. I can't see why ginseng wouldn't mix well with a black tea or darker oolong.
Also if anyone has tried asian red ginseng I'm interested to hear if it tastes different than the American stuff. I know it's processed in some way to make it red.

Recommend me your absolute THICCEST shou.
Or just whatever you've enjoyed recently.

>>16490559
Best shu i have ever had, tastes like german black forest cake with that dark chocolate and cherry flavor. Maybe a tiny bit of wet pile flavor but it has probably aged out by now since i had it early this year. I was very close to buying a full kilo brick.
https://tea-expert.net/magazin-kitajskogo-chaya/puer/00135-mengku-bojun-2020

>>16490559
>>16490591

On the other end of the price spectrum i have gone through a couple of these, they are very good for the price, dark chocolate.
https://www.puerhshop.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=9_24&product_id=382

>>16489603
I had the same problem with staining - last visit my dentist also planned a dental cleaning appointment and the difference was huge. Cleaner used some sort of high pressure water cleaner and suddenly my teeth were pretty clean again. It was worth it and I was surprised with the results! Also doesn't destroy your teeth like shitty strips do.

Maybe also rinse your mouth more often with water, especially after a heavy session.

I might have to start doing the pour from cup to cup thing, it takes forever for tea to cool naturally since I don't adulterate it with another cold liquid.

I love watching the leaves change from infusion to infusion.

I'm in dire need of a really small/mini fork to eat my sweets when I enjoy my brewed tea. Any /tea/ bros can help me out? They're all too big to my liking. Pic related is a good size but flimsy as hell.

>>16491968
Oyster fork?

What types of green tea are great for overall wellbeing? I've been drinking kukicha and gyokouro for the past month and the effects have been insane, both from the tea itself directly as well as on my overall mental and physical health. Are there particular types of green tea that are the most known for affecting general wellbeing?

>>16489752
Next tea: 2012 Tai Lao Shan"Ye Sheng Lao Bai Cha"Fuding Shou Mei White Tea Cake from YunnanSourcing. I bought this as a sample to serve as a more aged comparison to the 2015 cake from my previous post. They aren't the exact same tea but my hope was to notice the longer aging's unique qualities.

Overall this tea is pretty similar to the 2015 tea, despite being 3 years older. The main difference I noticed is that the sweetness is present the moment it hits my tongue, vs. the 2015 which was more of an aftertaste. Otherwise the flavor profile and balance is pretty similar. I think I prefer this one slightly more, but it's not a huge difference, I like both. While I'm usually pretty skeptical of tea marketing, the "7 years treasure" meme is possibly accurate, I don't know if more than 7 years really makes much of a difference for white tea.

>>16493302
One thing to be aware of is that teas tend to age pretty slowly in Kunming where Yunnan Sourcing stores their teas and also where most of the older teas they buy have been stored. Depending on who you ask the more mild climate conditions might be a good thing for white tea, where it's generally agreed that it makes puer age too slowly. Anyway that probably explains why the three years old tea doesn't taste much older.

>>16492994
Just drink nice quality green teas and don't worry about the health benefits so much. The Japanese vendors in the pastebin all have good quality fresh teas and are all a pretty good bet. Also take a look at their brewing recommendations to ensure you are getting the most out of their teas. If you don't want to order from japan there should be at least one vendor per region in the pastebin that specializes in Japanese teas. Feel free to ask if you have questions
Some might say matcha because you eat the leaves, but from the studies ive seen it looks like most of the good stuff brews out of the leaves when you make tea anyway. Also most of the matcha on the market id trash and you should really only order it from trusted vendors who specialize in Japanese teas.

>>16493403
>If you don't want to order from japan
Unfortunately you can't if you live in Canada.

>>16494010
Is this virus shit or did they just get sick of Canada's shit postal service? Im sure dhl will shill do japan - canada.
Anyway capital tea in the pastebin.

>>16494010
That's bullshit, stop making things up.

>>16494037
It's COVID shit and it's STILL ongoing
>>16494044
>stop making things up
Unless you want to pay $$$ for Courier fees, it is. Japan Post won't ship any sort of parcel to Canada. If you're placing $500 orders for multiple kilos of tea that's fine but if you're just trying to place a $50-80 order for a personal supply of tea paying courier fees is a lot less tenable.

>>16494118
It's $20 for dhl
It's not ideal but it's also not untenable.

>try to make tea
>think about her and start crying again
>can't finish gongfu session
Teas for this feel?

>>16494424
Something bitter and smokey

>>16494529
I haven't tried this tea yet but it should fit the bill.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/xiaguan-2011-sheng-puer-cake-bulang-old-tree-since-1902-puercha-357g-p0340.html
You could also get the 2010 version for a bit more on KingTeaMall, it's probably a bit nicer but i don't know if it's 2x better like it's priced.

>>16473601
I drink two teas a day is that too much? I know it causes kidney stones

>>16494560
You will be fine, if you are worried about kidney stones ditch the tea bags and switch to higher quality loose leaf tea. It will taste way better too. Lots of good options in the pastebin.

>>16494579
Thank you brother. Have a good day.

Hey if our grumpy euro friend is lurking i just noticed this on fullchea. Its looks promising since you had great luck with that other haiwan raw recently.
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2019-haiwan-sea-of-clouds-raw-puer-chinese-tea-yunhai-sheng-puer-chinese-tea-400g-p0806.html

I ordered from www.chawangshop.com and the order is still "processing" after one month. Did anyone buy there and ship to Europe?

>>16494560
>I drink two teas a day is that too much? I know it causes kidney stones
What the fuck? I drink like four liters of tea every day. I don't drink water

>>16495037
Have you contacted him? Did he send you an invoice? Both times ive ordered from him he has shipped and given me a tracking number within a week. I know there is at least one posted from continental europe who has ordered from him a few times.

Trying to convince people to switch from bags to loose leaf, what are some of the cheapest loose leaf teas that are decent?

>>16495259
Literally anything could convince them. My first experience with loose leaf teas was a shitty broken leaf English Breakfast blend, and it was still enough to convince me to get into tea more seriously. If you really want to solidify people's opinions, I would get one reasonably priced black tea and one green tea (preferably Chinese). ~10 cents/gram is the sweet spot, but cheaper can be good too.

>>16495259
vahdam is pretty good for indian, sold on amazon but a little cheaper on their own website. indian tea is closer to tea bag brewing so there'll be less inertia to get them to try

>>16495541
>Indian tea is closer to tea bag
Don't say this I've been considering buying some Indian loose leaf.

>>16495982
by that i mean the brewing method vs chinese gong fu. the jump in quality vs tea bag is still there. it is a little more broken up compared to chinese though, but still ~whole leaf vs the dust you get in bags

For the past six months I have been drinking various types of oolong, puerh, and chinese black tea. Suffice to say, Japanese green teas will always be my main tea. No tea can make me feel as happy and comfy as a good fukamushi sencha can.

>>16496060
Do you have any strong opinions on Indian/etc black teas?
i.e. Ceylon, Darjeeling, Assam etc
I'm primarily a green drinker but I'm considering grabbing a full order of varied black teas.

>>16491968
Why not use chopsticks?

>>16496183
Where do you get your Japanese green teas from?

So far its my favorite too, looking to try more.

Bought some cheap loose genmaicha from a local asian market and noticed a proposition 65 warning on the package about lead. These warnings are usually meaningless but I don't want to get any more braindead than I already am. What's the consensus on warnings about lead content in tea?

>>16495541
>My complaints about vahdam

>>16496359
>What's the consensus on warnings about lead content in tea?
Can be safely ignored unless you drink literally 5 gallons of tea a day for every day of your life. If you haven't noticed, just about every restaurant in california has the prop 65 signs up, so unless you're willing to give up restaurants too I wouldn't think too much of it. I'd sooner worry about radiation from japanese green teas or pesticides than I would lead content from (i assume) the soil it was grown in.

>>16496890
>Can be safely ignored unless you drink literally 5 gallons of tea a day for every day of your life.
Yeah, like all contaminants and health hazards in tea, the highest concentrations are always in the lowest quality bagged teas, think too cheap to be in the supermarket. If you are drinking the kinds if loose leaf we usually discuss, and drinking a variety of different teas instead of buying 3 kilos of a single batch of tea and drinking it for two years straight, you are very unlikely to have problems with lead, pesticides, fluoride etc.

>>16496890
Thanks for the response! I figured as such, I'm not from california so I wasn't sure. Probably there's more lead in the drinking water used to brew tea than the leaves themselves, anyways.

>>16496187
Darjeeling is floral, Assam malty. check out masala chai as well, its black tea with spices. dont think i've ever tried Ceylon

Been an avid tea drinker for years (English blends and Japanese greens. Some puehr) but never really dived into Chinese tea at large. Going to make a large purchase on yunansourcing, $150 usd or so.

Any suggestions on samplers or specific teas? I’m open to anything interesting, illuminating, or complex. Will be going gongfu style with it.

>>16497305
Black Gold Bi Luo Chun (skip the green, its insanely bitter)
Drunk on Red
High Mountain Red Ai Lao Mountain Black

YS's Cozy Ripe Puer, had a sample very nice, wish i brought a whole cake
Gao Jia Shan Wild Fu Zhuan Hunan Brick
Gao Jia Shan Guan Gong Fu Hunan Brick (similar to above but less creamy and with 'golden flowers' aka yellow mold)
Xiaguan Jinbang GAN Puer Ripe (cheap ripe that i thinks very good for the price)
Jinggu Sun-Dried Silver Needles White Cake

Nothing beats an ice cold kombucha after a hard workout on a hot summers day. This week I tried flavoring with fresh kiwis, strawberries, and limes. Definitely the best i've made so far. Still wish the weather would cool off though so I can go back to hot tea.

What are the best ways to pair tea with food?
I've become aware that Matcha and green teas, as well as general tea, inhibits iron and protein absorption -- I'm not sure how I should use tea in my meals now.
I assume fish and many other meats are a bad choice with tea...

Read the pastebin, want to make some iced tea.

They cover ratios and time, but do any kings here have a recommendation for a pitcher or brewing vessel?

Having some iced tea in the fridge sounds fucking lit. Any tips and tricks are also welcome.

>>16497630
I use half gallon mason jars. You could use empty one or two litre bottles. Anything that you can close the top of, at least loosely.

>>16497739
How much tea do you use per half gallon mason jar? I think they recommended 8-12 g per quart. Does that work from your experience?

Thinking I'd use green tea.

any tieguanyin bros?

>>16497872
I would start out with 7-10 grams for a 1/2 gallon size container.
That article is a little trigger happy on the tea

>>16497950
It's pretty good stuff, i haven't had a ton but ive had a few, a good one that has that creamy milky flavor makes a pretty top tier oolong. I tend to prefer the more old school style that is more heavily roasted and fermented. I'm still looking for a good place to buy it if you have any suggestions.

>>16473601
i have $20. point me in the right direction.

>>16499365
Black tea
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303627527887
Green tea
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303849835659
Oolong
https://www.ebay.com/itm/303614778608
Your choice

>>16498050
Appreciate it, that's a pretty substantial difference.

I'll give it a try when my various orders finally come in. Want to keep some iced green tea in the fridge.

Had one coming from the US, one from the UK and one from CN.

The one from China (YS) against all odds is showing up first.

The other two have to go through USPS, which I guess is my primary mistake.

Have you guys tried Grandma Towler's tea? How good is it?

I think I may be a tastelet...

Okay nevermind crisis averted, I brewed it too cold and short the first time. I can actually appreciate the flavors in the second infusion.

>>16500186
Nice anon, what are you drinking?

>>16499868
That is surprising, YS orders always seem to take forever. The USPS is going to shit right now, it was good for years untill around January of this year it shit the bed and never recovered, priority is still fast but first class randomly will take a week and half to show up now sometimes.

>>16499916
I haven't used em, they don't look like anything special. Are you in the UK? Just order from what-cha.

I have some "Tap Ping Hou Kui" which is some kind of green tea. How should I brew this? I'm finding mixed results on the net

>>16500471
It works really well as a cold brew (see >>16483146). I used 5 grams of leaf and 1 liter of water and let it sit overnight. For brewing it hot I’ve had good results doing it grandpa style (just put it in a mug and pour hot water over it). This is also nice since the size and shape of the leaves make them difficult to brew in small teapots.

>>16473715
Americans worship black people, come on we all know this.

I'm back again blurring the lines between /tea/ and /ctg/. How dumb is it to "replace" my gaiwan with one of these?

https://decentespresso.com/portafilter

I was planning on getting the w2t gaiwan set, but this is like half the price and pretty unbreakable from my view. It would be on a flair 58 so I've got a fixed water volume of 90-100ml to work with. Steep, pull, refill as needed. Am I missing something ?

>>16500814
Interesting. Trying how the instructions on old ways tea said. It is pretty nice

>>16500982
You can give it a shot but it's very unexplored territory. There has been at least some interest in taiwan in stone milling tea and then brewing it in a modified pour over style brewer but again it's very niche. Just get a cheap as fuck gaiwan, i linked a few in this post. No need to spend money on fancy ceramics unless you want to.
>>16479824
If you do decide to mess around with portafilters post your results, im curious about what would happen.

>>16500982
Don't use the same one for coffee you do for tea btw

>>16500982
>>16501094
here is the link to that stuff for grinding and brewing tea i mentioned. I have no idea if this is a common practice or just something this studio came up with.
https://www.taurlia.com/products/a03z41000
https://www.taurlia.com/products/a03z42000
while you are over there they have these cool clay pour over filters they make in collaboration with Hario
https://www.taurlia.com/products/g03h14001g03h15001
https://www.taurlia.com/products/g06h01002
anyway you cant order internationally from them directly but there are lots of proxy shopping services for taiwan and they do have some limited international distributors.

>>16501094
I've got a cheap gaiwan. I'm trying to theorycraft out how puerh or anything else I've got stashed back would work. I don't really think I'm going to "extract" more under pressure like you would by tightening your grind in espresso, I'm just intrigued by it. Pulling shots of puerh sounded hilarious last night when I was real stoned.
>>16501097
No shit. I was looking at getting a 10g decent basket for more flexibility in my espresso ratios(since I'm limited by the flair 58's fixed volume), and came across that tea specific portafilter with the adjustable valve.
>I just think its neat

>>16501136
It sounds interesting. I think you could probably get a decent head of foam off some puer. Might not be as elegant as crema

Finally got my big shipment of Puerh tea.

Excited to give it a try.

Is it okay to store the tea inside of the opaque cartons I get it in (from Yunnan sourcing if that helps)? I noticed that they tend to leak smells once opened. Unsure if that is going to effect the tea if I store them in a cabinet together, even if they're re-sealed.

>>16501203

Self reply dear god I took a look around and the autism required to do things properly is insane.

Given I just have a bunch of 25g samples to work through, going to get some airtight lil' jars to store things in and say its good enough.

>>16501203
Toss them in a tupperware(or anything with a good seal) and a boveda pack.

>>16501195
I'm ordering it. Motherfucker got me for $189 since I can't steal his 2nd book on coffee roasting.

>>16473601
is it good bros?

>>16501203
The puer samples come in resealable bags right? Those will be fine at least for the rest of the summer and fall. You can just throw all the bags in a big turkey bag and that's more than good unless you want to keep them for years.

>>16494010
just go with chadoteahouse they are canada-based and have decent selection. I live in the states but order from there regularly
Picked this up earlier this year and making my way through it.

Fuck I love tea so much

>>16501356
some of them do, and have a clear zip lock.
Others (the tea included in the "sample" pack) are in these kinda just heat sealed pouches that don't look resealable.


>>16501329
What percent for the boveda pack?

My current plan is to, as I open the samples I can't re-seal, chuck them in an airtight jar and put them in cupboard. How long do I need to be storing them for before I need to start worrying about humidity regulation?

Side note, drinking my first cup of ripe puerh, and I'm really thoroughly enjoying it. They threw in an extra sample of the Menghai "everyday drinker" which is excellent as I didn't have to fiddle with a cake. Very smooth and fruity.

I love white tea so much its unreal
what are some solid options that arent your standard pai mu-tan or such

>>16501443
>as I open the samples I can't re-seal, chuck them in an airtight jar and put them in cupboard
Yeah that's good, put each open sample in a ziploc and stuff them all in the same jar. They should be fine like that for quite a while. 12 months or so at least.
If you want to get a boveda i would suggest 55%. But i wouldn't bother desu. You really don't have to worry too much about the storage autism unless you are planning to keep stuff around for years, or you live somewhere with below 40% humidity year round.

>>16501472
Ever tied an indian white tea? Unfortunately they are usually pricey but it seems like it would be fun to try some.
Also yellow tea if you can find some decent quality stuff.

>>16473841
anything but dirty leaf juice

>>16501473
Thanks anon figured I was overthinking it

i have a ninja coffee brewer that also has a tea function
is the receptacle for the tea big enough for the leaves to expand?

hi im drink pic related tonight
2007 ripe

Trying the organic spring dragonwell tonight.

>>16501572
Maybe, might as well try it and see what happens

>>16501871
That tea in your pic is a raw. Ive been wondering about it, it's been a best seller on yunnan sourcing for years, i like the tulin tea factory and tea from Dali and the storage is not too dry. Should be an enjoyable tea.
>>16501882
Nice, my favorite type of Chinese green, i love the nutty flavor

anyone ever try solstice tea traders?
i bought a sample pack and some vanilla black off amazon

>>16501908
>nutty flavor
The leaves smelled almost buttery after the rinse, I'm on my first cup now. Pretty liquor but not much flavor, I did 10 seconds at 175. Gonna go for 30 next.

>>16501920
Yeah i really need to rework the brewing instructions for greens in the pastebin, seems like every kind of green needs it's own specific parameters. Ive had really good luck brewing dragonswell grampa style in a tall glass with 80-90°c water, it didn't scorch or get over brewed on me like some greens can. If you are doing gongfu i would probably try something like 45 seconds then 1:30 then 3:00

>>16501914
Haven't tried them. Their prices are okay, nothing fancy. If you want to try other vendors we have a pretty good list of them in the pastebin.

>>16501949
Thanks for the tip. I'll revise my gongfu times tomorrow, after going to an Asian jerky place for the first time, maybe that'll cultivate my qi properly.

>>16501949
I did longjing gongfu style with boiling-hot water by doing a quick brew, then adding a few seconds each time. It lasted a bunch of brews and only slightly bitter at first.

Drink pine tea

>>16502982
It's okay, kinda sweet but otherwise not all that much flavor to it in my experience. But then I harvest my own needles so I can't speak to the quality of the Terroir.

>>16502982
What are your top five pine varietals for tea?

>>16497470
Thanks for the suggestions. Added to the cart. How would you describe the cozy ripe puehr?

Anyone have any suggestions on Chinese greens to try? Not a fan of super vegetal/chlorophyllic profiles, but open to try anything.

>>16501920
Drinking this right now as well, got a sample with my last order.

Doing western style like a pleb, but buttery is a great description. Very smooth and airy, but with a little bit of funk.

We'll see what comes on the second, my leaves haven't fully come loose yet despite the long first steep.

Kinda surprised about how much puerh tastes just like a more complex green and a more complex black. Was expecting more of a punch in the face, but they're both quite pleasant.

Had the YS 2003 golden melon this morning, and then contrasting it against this aged raw.

Im a heavy black coffee drinker, so maybe I'm just used to getting punched in the face more.

I don't have much of a frame of reference for these teas, so maybe I'm just brewing them completely wrong.

First time ordering from Yunomi and it's bizarre that almost every tea on their website gets added to my cart as a pre-order. It says that it's in stock, however when putting it in my cart, its "added as a pre-order". Is this a weird quirk of the website not working correctly or are they really out of stock constantly?

It really puts me off ordering from here, which is disappointing, given the huge variety of teas compared to where I usually order from.

>>16504179
the shit the grows outside my house friend, which is red pine.

Is there such a thing as too much tea? I haven't drank any plain water in the past three days, only tea.

>>16504327
>Kinda surprised about how much puerh tastes just like a more complex green and a more complex black. Was expecting more of a punch in the face, but they're both quite pleasant.
There are some real punch in the face ones but they aren't a great starting point. Something like a really young bulang or Lao Man E will be intensely bitter, too much for most to want to drink. Some young factory teas are kind of rough bitter smoke bombs. Or at least they used to be, in the last decade or two lots of teas have mellowed out a bit from how they used to be blended.
However for the most part a more complex black or green isn't an unfair description.

>>16504274
Normally i would recommend dragonswell, it's got a nice slightly toasty nutty flavor, but i heard this years batch at Yunnan Sourcing isint that great.
Instead give this a shot. I haven't tried it but i sounds good and i like Mengku
https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/green-tea-spring-2021/products/yunnan-pine-needles-green-tea-from-mengku

>>16504594
Probably but i haven't gotten there yet. I routinely drink 16-24 grams of tea a day without issue.

>>16504612
>16-24g a day
This must cost a fortune

I just had two cups of Earl Grey and now I'm not feeling so good

>>16504617
Eh i try to stick with teas around 10¢ per gram so it's about the cost of buying a cup of coffee every day.

>>16504632
Eat some food

>>16504645
I had steak an hour before, the thing is that a new batch arrived in the mail and I couldn't wait to try it.

>>16504643
I guess I'm just a perma-poor, I want to drink more premium teas but when I see a tea that costs like 20c/gram or more I grimace a bit. I can't seem to justify buying the stuff that's probably really good but costs like $15 for a 20g package.

>>16504682
>I can't seem to justify buying the stuff that's probably really good but costs like $15 for a 20g package.
There is affordable good tea out there still, i would never shell out for stuff that expensive either.

Speaking of expensive tea, i eatch the prices on KingTeaMall somewhat closely and I have noticed a lot of stuff increasing in price by 50%-100% in the last six months or so. Is it just another puer price bubble? Is it rampant inflation of USD? Is the owner getting greedy and raising his prices? Lots of teas are up 300% or more vs their 2017-2018 prices.
Pic related was $20 per roll last year when i bought some.

>>16504780
Pic related was $40 this spring

Is Taetea puerh actually drinkable? It would be nice to get some cheap tea quickly from amazon since I usually order from YS and it takes a while but all their teas have a lot of negative reviews.

>>16504811
Just make sure you only buy the stuff that is sold by the official store, it's good, prices are a bit higher than ordering from overseas but not terrible. Anyway yeah very drinkable, they didn't send particularly challenging teas over for westerners.

https://www.amazon.com/stores/TAETEA/page/91046670-3A5F-4476-BDBD-65B074995548

>>16504811
More specifically Dayi Tae Tea is the biggest and most popular puerh manufacturer in china, the 7542 cake is considered the benchmark of raw puer and they are considered to be the best manufacturer of ripe puer. Typically their teas are a very safe buy and the biggest issue is that they are very popular with collectors and their prices go stratospheric during puer price bubbles.

>>16504811
>all their teas have a lot of negative reviews
Haha i took a look at one and they were complaining that the tea was "expired" or more than a year old. It's really tae tea's fault for not educating consumers better but if those are the negative reviews they are getting i wouldn't worry about it.

>>16501908
yeah i meant to say raw, i don't even remember writing this last night. i feel asleep mid session. im drinking the same leaves today. it still has a nice flavor ~12 steeps in

>>16505127
Nice, i also fall asleep drinking tea.

Whats the best milk oolong y'all have ever had?

I find it very comfy and great for relaxing in the evening. Got the one from what-cha and its pretty dang decent.

bros i thought green tea was bad because of the garbage i had in tea bags... its actually really good...

Which black tea is the strongest?

>>16505962
Strongest caffine level? Not sure
Strongest flavor CTC assam then regular assam
Upton tea has one

>>16505948
Yeah, its amazing how green teabags taste completely different to a decent quality loose leaf green.

just made some a cup of bigelow constant comment

>>16504594
You need to drink water, anon. Don't be a weirdo with organ problems.

>>16504811
When you buy young dayi sheng with kunming storage
yes it is

stop being a kike and ordering from YS & Amazon for these things

>>16506760
The stuff in the dayi store on amazon is mostly from around 2014. It's not ideal but some people are obsessed with amazon and i would rather send them to the amazon tae tea store than ordering from some random third party store full of fakes.

>>16506210
I don't like water it doesn't taste good or have health benefits

The tranny janny deleted my post so please tell me what this guy is doing that takes 30 minutes? He wouldn't elaborate beyond "You've obviously never made black tea before", he said it like three times