/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I just bought this
https://www.sunday.fr/sencha-kirishima-bio-500g.html
Its too expensive as a daily drink but I really don't care. I wanted bulk quality sencha and I know it's gonne be really good. It's a blend of many cultivars and it's not one of their most expensive.
All their teas on this website are expensive but they're all genuinely great. I got some gyokuros and shincha from them before and it was really completely different to anything I had before. If you're a eurofag like me looking for something better as a one off thing or whatever, I recommend them. They have japanese and chinese greens, oolongs, blacks, a lot of variety. This inspired the thread theme.

>>18891730
tea is gay

>>18891741
Nice, that should last you a little while.
Do you mostly drink Japanese teas?

>>18891773
>Do you mostly drink Japanese teas?
what?

>>18891741
I forgot to mention on sunday.de you can put the website in english and it's the exact same products

>>18891773
I used to yeah, I discovered I really liked green tea and the japanese kind was a revelation for me lol. I really got into raw cocoa as a caffeine source recently (it actually naturally contains caffeine), but since I drank all of it I've been drinking guayusa that I bought on matemundo, polish website. It has a green tea character to it that I really like, so it made me want green tea again. I'm probably gonna try mixing the two to see what happens

Gyokuro is delicious but I just can't stand brewing tea lukewarm like that. I'll take a high quality sencha over it any day.

>>18892163
>I've been drinking guayusa that I bought on matemundo, polish website
Oh yeah i think i remember you talking about ordering that. Is it rough on the stomach at all or is it pretry easy drinking? I was debating trying some but some reviews scared me off a bit, saying it gave them an upset stomach

>>18892204
Try ignoring all advice and brewing it at 176 F. It's the same type of plant as sencha, no logical reason it can't be brewed similarly. I tried it and never want to go back to the fussy traditional way.

i ordered https://www.ebay.com/itm/353320019214
got picrel
i have a feeling this is fish city

>>18892844
Probably, some poster order a bag of those last year and tried all the different flavors. He wasn't impressed

>>18891730
I bought a decently expensive earl grey from art of tea and the aroma is wonderful, but the taste is kind of mild in comparison. I think it's wonderful for a mental boost but I wouldn't use it as a normal drinking tea. Same for the jasmine I got from the same place, but much weaker in flavor.

>>18894094
Bergamot smell is potent. It can overpower tea. Whenever I buy Earl Grey that's my thought, yet I get cravings for it and drink it as often as plain tea.

>>18892258
Definitely easy, it's mellow on the mouth, the caffeine high is extremely clean, and I've had no digestive issues at all with it. It's just clean and tasty

>>18895606
Thanks i will check it out, sounds interesting.

>>18891741
>japanese and chinese greens, oolongs, blacks
You tried anything non-green? If so, how was it? Any recs?
I'm curious but don't want to get into greens until this year's harvest.

>>18891730
all me need is a cuppa assam
nothing more, nothing less
as it should be

>>18896656
No sorry, but I assume it would be quality stuff as everything I ever ordered from them was (including supplements). I'd like to try one day but im not sure what to go for. I think however that there is definitely better places to get pu erh than there

>>18896656
also they have shinchas when the harvest comes every year if you're interested

>>18896788
>I think however that there is definitely better places to get pu erh than there
Yeah, little browsing gave me the same impression.

Blacks and oolongs look worth trying at least. Their green selection certainly seems like their strong suit, though. Might try the shincha as well if I end up ordering greens from them.

Thanks, anon!

Best matcha money can buy? Tell me please

>>18897087
Get one of the premium options from one of the Japanese stores in the pastebin. The difference between that and some competition grade matcha that costs $200 for 15 grams isn't something you would appreciate unless you drink lots of matcha

>>18897125
Thanks

>>18891730
just bought my first kettle. any recommendations for a beginner? my mom bought me some sleeping tea for insomnia but other than that I haven't had anything. and yes im reading the sticky but i wanted some other recommendations

>>18898388
The high mountain red ai lao and the black gold bi lo chun from yunnansourcing.us
Some second flush Darjeeling from vahdam
Herbal tea blends (but not tea like black green etc) from mountain rose herbs

Lazy Saturday afternoon tea, featuring the new kyusu I got recently. Also do you guys have any recommendations for oolong? Haven't had some in a while

>>18898431
https://www.tea-masters.com/en/jassid-bitten/1624-1527-2022-summer-oriental-beauty-tradition-from-hsin-chu.html#/1-weight-25_gr
I had a previous years batch and really enjoyed it
https://www.mountaintea.com/collections/roasted-oolong/products/medium-roast-tieguanyin
Haven't had it from this shop but roasted tgy is always a sold bet, very classic good oolong and one of my favorites, also the price is good

>>18898388
what >>18898426 said, i'd pick 1 or 2 different processing types i.e black, green oolong ect here's a quick list all off yunnan sourcing

15 Years Aged Golden Melon ripe puerh
cozy ripe puerh
Jasmine Pearls Yunnan Green Tea
dragonwell (longjing) green tea(better to wait until this years harvest (~2 months time)
Tieguanyin oolong
Da Hong Pao oolong
Fuding "Shou Mei" White Tea Cake
Mojun Fu Cha "Fu Shen"

no need to go insane and dont over think it. there's no point min maxing, this isnt coffee, tea is meant to be relaxing

>>18898426
>>18898558
thanks anons, going on my list

I drank my Chen Sheng Hao "Chen Sheng Jiang Xin" samples a while back but was too busy to post notes. Seemed like a very nice sheng but I am not sure it fully warrants the cost. I think it is a bit more complex and better balanced than many of the shengs I have had but perhaps not enough to justify costing 5-6 times more than my typical fare. Surprisingly despite being premium Bulang sheng I did not find it all that bitter, but that may be because I am used to brewing 10-12g of tea at a time so a 7g sample will seem comparatively weaker.

>>18898901
I thought it had a decent amout of bitterness but it was nothing crazy.
Yeah i thought it was good but not several hundred dollar cake good. Ive had equally interesting teas that were cheaper.
CSH has been a very pricy prestige brand for a very long time, so its not surprising their teas would be more expensive on average. I still might try some of their cheaper teas at somepoint. This naka seems interesting
https://cspuerh.com/collections/all/products/2021-na-ka-raw-pu-erh-tea

>>18899047
>I still might try some of their cheaper teas at some point.
Agreed some of their cheaper stuff looks interesting. Worth keeping in mind that they have a generous referral program were both people get $20 credit. Using that would really knock a good bit off the price and is something I am planning to utilize.
https://cspuerh.com/pages/cspuerh-club-loyalty-program

>>18896673
It's me again.

Today I'm drinking Mountain Rose Herb's Assam – yep, it's pretty good.

I only ever drink tea when I am under the weather.
Imagine drinking tea while you're healthy

>there is a generic loose assam tea in my supermarket that's 1 eur for 100 grams
I am overcome with morbid curiosity. Should I? I mean, how bad could it be?

>>18899852
Femoid poster moment

I started browsing the tea threads a little bit ago and decided to go out and buy some puer tea because it sounded really good. I look up a shop nearby and i go there and the lady recommends me one and I see two others that sounded interesting. I didn't have my glasses on and I thought they were $18 a box so I ask her for all three. She rings me up and says "your total is $285" what the fuck but it's too late I have my card in my hand so I insert it like a fucking idiot and say thanks and leave. What the fuck do I do now /tsg/? Pic rel

>>18900254
lmao anon...
are these loose leaf or pieces of pressed cakes?
I guess you'll have to drink them. might want to get some (much) cheaper stuff too so you can better appreciate that pricy aged lao ban zhang or whatever

>>18900301
Pieces of pressed cake I believe. And yeah that's what I did for a bit I've been drinking a mix of tea that my grandma makes and I've been drying clementine peels and steeping that and it's amazing but I'm too nervous to use the tea in the boxes but I don't wanna let them just sit there forever. Should I just use them like I'd use anything else (but for multiple glasses ofc). Is there anything special/different I should do?

>>18900323
you can try to gong fu brew it (big leaf to water ratio, small vessel, lots of very short steeps). that's how pu-erh autists tend to drink the more expensive raw pu-erhs
you can also get some cheap ripe and aged raw from some online store like king tea mall or whatever if you want to learn to appreciate pu-erh better before tryring the expensive shit

>>18899908
Is it actually tea from india? Go for it, if its African "assam" don't bother.
You can get 466g boxes of assam from a brand like ahmad for $10 so the price isn't too insane

I burned my throat trying to drink grandpa stye Houkui at 80C and now I'm paranoid of like larynx closure from scalding which is super super rare and I didn't even aspirate but I'm still a hypochondriac. Any of you guys ever burn your throat drinking super hot tea and having a sore throat feeling after hours later?

>>18900254
Well if its what it says on the tin then you bought some interesting and probably good teas. Get a cheap gaiwan if you don't have one already and grab a $10 tuo of puer from a brand like xiaguan from ebay or fullchea to practice brewing with.
I would save that stuff for special occasions but don't hoard it forever, at some point ya just gotta enjoy it.

>>18900474
I burn my mouth/throat drinking too hot tea more often then i would like, it's never caused an issue other then temporary discomfort. Im sure you already know but it's probably still feeling irritated because you are focusing on it. 80°c isn't even THAT hot.
If you want to do something you can stir half a teason of salt in a few oz of tap water and gargle it, that helps relieve discomfort with sore throats

Best tea I've had in a while. Highly recommend.

>>18900443
Could I still gong fu brew it with a gawain like
>>18900478
said? Apparently I'd need a Yixing pot for that style. I'll try getting all the stuff necessary to brew it right and try finding some cheap puer to practice with then.
If i keep the boxes I have closed and outside of light they should last a long time right?

>>18900511
Huangpian is super underrated, I'm a big fan.

>>18900636
yeah you can just do it in a gaiwan, don't worry about yixing autism

Has anyone ever tried شاي الكبوس (al-Kbous tea)? It's apparently this brand from Yemen and the first time I saw it was recently at the grocery store.

>>18900687
Yeah the yixing does sound cool but I switch often so I don't wanna invest in it (or at least just yet). Would just a simple gaiwan do my puer justice (after practicing ofc).

>>18900705
They apparently also make coffee.

>>18900712
>Would just a simple gaiwan do my puer justice
it will, don't worry about it

Follow up to>>18900254
Is an electric kettle with a temperature setting where it can keep the water at a certain temp necessary? I just boil water in a saucepan

>>18900463
Speaking of Ahmad, is it a decent brand? Thinking about getting 100g of their loose english breakfast. I wanna see how it compares to Twinings.

>>18900474
You should be fine, just don't make it a habit. There was a study on how hot people like their tea in different countries, and, to no one's surprise, the nations which like their teas really hot (like Turkey) had the highest incidence of throat cancer and shit.

>>18900636
Seconding what the other anon said, don't worry about yixing autsim. You absolutely don't need fancy clay teapots to enjoy aged puer, in fact when I'm drinking something old and fancy i usually opt for a plain white porcelain gaiwan over my meme clay teapots

>>18900764
>Speaking of Ahmad, is it a decent brand?
They use only tea from asia which puts them ahead of most English breakfast blends these days that are all African tea. Worth trying for sure

>>18900511
I had that tea quite a few years ago, was disgusting and strange

Felt and tasted like battery acid

>>18900733
>Is an electric kettle with a temperature setting where it can keep the water at a certain temp necessary
it's not necessary. it's convenient, especially for japanese green teas, but it's not necessary. and you should probably use boiling water for pu-erh anyway

kek

>>18897087
The very best tea is never for sale, it's only given to important and powerful people as a gift. The rest of the very high end tea isn't sold publicly at all.
The best you can buy from a public vendor in the west is probably the limited run stuff from Kettl.

>>18901197
Impressive.

>>18900254
Did you buy from here?
https://www.tshopny.com/shop/2005-lao-ban-zhang-raw-puerh
https://www.tshopny.com/shop/1998-shou-puerh
https://www.tshopny.com/shop/2005-wild-big-snow-mountain-raw-puerh
if so, they look like they should be good. Those teas are kinda the puerh equivalent of buying up-shelf liquor or wine. Shop looks nice enough. If those are what they say those should be expensive premium teas (legitimate Lao Ban Zhang tea is $$$) though they may be a somewhat marked up on top of that. Shops in NYC seem to be expensive in general.

>>18900636
>Could I still gong fu brew it with a gawain like
A cheap porcelain gaiwan is all you really need. Yixing maybe makes a slight difference but it is not work worrying about when starting out.

>If i keep the boxes I have closed and outside of light they should last a long time right?
Those teas should be fine indefinitely if they came sealed up well. You could stick the boxes in a ziplock bags for additional protection if you want. How did the tea come stored in the boxes?

>>18900733
>Is an electric kettle with a temperature setting where it can keep the water at a certain temp necessary?
For puerh boiling or just off boiling water is what is typically used. An electric kettle that you can set to lower temperatures is nice for green tea and being able to keep the water hot is convenient but you don't need one starting out.

i have been on a kick of grampa brewing cheap xiaguan tuos, it's nostalgic for me i used to do this a lot a few years ago. Something to be said for a strong cup of cheap smokey-sweet puer. I wish that avoid smoke complelty wasn't the current trend for any sort of premium puer.

>>18901632
Fuck sorry for the huge image

>>18900511
ive had that, did not like it but i generally dont like raws
>>18901197
we need to increase our lesbian memes, i'll beat my wife as soon as she gets home

Where does the lesbian poo-air joke come from? Does it taste like fish? Does it have the texture of carpet?

>>18901687
Puerh is extremely popular with lesbians for some reason, this leads to disastrous consequences as drinking puer sends them into fits of violent rage and usually their partner is on the receiving end of this violence.

There are numerous articles studies and pop culture references to lesbians love of tea and it's involvement in foreplay and their mating rituals. The reason for their love of puer is less clear, though its relationship with health claims and Eastern mysticism types probably plays a role, while some have theorized it has to do with the fishy odor found frequently in ripe puer. Of course the rates of lesbian domestic violence are well documented.

>>18900511
I would be interested if it were still in stock and if the price were better. Also a great example of a tea YS's really raised the price on. It was $95 back 2019 which was already kind of pricey (otherwise I would have bought a cake) but perhaps not unfair. Now it is $160 and I don't think 4 years is enough to justify the price difference or that the increase is reflective of Chinese domestic market. Moral of the story is that if YS brings on something you want better to buy it the first year because you never know if Scott is going to jack up the prices unreasonably.

>>18901485
Yep that's where I bought em!
>A cheap porcelain gaiwan is all you really need.
I went to the one Asian store in my town today after my earlier posts and the lady that worked there looked at me as if i was crazy and talked about how she hasn't seen or sold any for years if not decades... So I'm looking online for one
>How did the tea come stored in the boxes?
They were in a sealed plastic wrapper, and I opened one of them, although I forgot which one, to try it (although it's been some time that I did).
>you don't need one
Saves me an expensive amount of money, nice

>>18902539
https://aliexpress.us/item/2255800009058970.html
The go for the larger of the two gaiwans
Or this is the one i use and its pretty nice, but it doesn't come with all the other teaware
https://aliexpress.us/item/2255800474078862.html
If you get one somewhere else you want 100-140ml or so, no bigger than 150ml
A cheap gaiwan on its own
https://aliexpress.us/item/2255800579693638.html

>>18902586
>Ships in March/April
Good prices, and the travel case is pretty cool too, but I'll try finding something that'll come a bit quicker

And pic rel is unrelated but it's clementine and orange peels I'm currently drying. Don't let them go to waste!

>>18902846
Nice, that stuff is great. The Chinese dry and age those, fullchea sells some
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/c/tangerine-peel-0439
Makes good tea, mixes well with ripe puer

>>18902871
Interesting, they keep all the pith? I've been trying to scrape all the pith I see off my peels since it makes it bitter.

>>18902902
Yeah, but they also age them for at least a couple years before drinking, so they probably taste different then freshly dried

>>18902908
True, and it does sound good too. I'm going back to New York soon so I'm sure I'll be able to find something similar to try it out.

>>18902931
Im guessing Chinese medicine shop type places would have it, but i haven't looked myself

Brewing some chempi since i was thinking about it

>>18891730
Anyone drink the semen tea??

>missed pic related at a local auction
GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!!!!!!!

>>18903053
Some interesting pieces in there for sure but im not sure i would feel comfortable using any of them if they are as old as i think they are.
That's a really cool collection
Ya think that center one in the back row is Japanese or European?

I got my sister TWG's gold tea buds -- the most expensive tea in the world -- for her birthday. I must admit, that it was fun as a novelty, and the tea was excellent. Probably not worth the price, but you could actually taste the metal and see the gold shimmering in the light. If you're a tea enthusiast, I recommend doing it once; just to say you did it.

>>18903121
> -- the most expensive tea in the world --
It's not even close to the most expensive tea in the world, it's only $12/g. This doesn't even get you in the door for expensive tea, middle-tier "well aged" puerh starts at $40/g. You paid $600 for taidi with a few dollars worth of gold sprinkled over it.

>>18903121
Next time order some of this
https://essenceoftea.com/collections/liu-bao-tea/products/1950s-pu-tian-gong-qing-liu-bao

>>18903163
>>18903184
You guys are telling me that Google lied to me? That sucks. Well, I don't know anything about tea. My sister is the tea enthusiast.

>>18903200
Don't worry about it, if it was a nice experience then that's what matters.
/tea/ is very opinionated and very blunt about it

>>18903200
>>18903213
Your sister probably wouldn't enjoy old brown tea that tastes like dirt much anyways

Help me /tsg/ what's the name of these cups tea houses have where they never have 2 of the same one and you get to pick one when you go to use

got one of the tea club samplers from yunnan sourcing last month, wondering what teas to try now? ive looked at their other samplers and i havent heard too great of things about them. the sampler i tried was all dark tea and one puerh, all quite enjoyable. ive found i really like stronger or more earthy tasting teas, any ideas?

>>18903406
If you want to explore more dark teas just pick some from YS that sound good.
Liu bao, tian jian, maybe some fu brick
Try some ripe puers
You might like some darker oolongs like wuyi oolongs
I think just trying to find some stuff that seems interesting and testing it is a solid way to go.
If you liked anything you got last time maybe buy 100g or so so you can drink more of it

>>18891730
Does anyone have lesser known floral teas for me to try? I’ve tried the other easier accesable ones and throughly enjoyed them.

>>18903579
You mean actual flowers or teas that taste floral/have flowers added?
Osmanthus oolong is great if you can find some

>>18903641
Mostly actual flowers but florals with additional stuff like baboon and white tea are great. I’ll look into what you recommended.

Does anyone have a loose leaf recommendation of something that is buttery, creamy, and grassy. I'm looking for something light and refreshing that you can drink everyday gongfu style.

>>18903673
>buttery, creamy, and grassy
sounds like lightly oxidized taiwanese oolongs to me. had some cui yu / jade oolong the other day that tasted exactly like this with a floral aroma, but other cultivars can taste like this too

>>18903673
>buttery, creamy,
Gao Jia Shan "Wild Fu Zhuan" Hunan Brick Tea off yunnansourcing but its not grassy

Do you tea dudes ever do apples in your tea?

Feels good man.

>>18903348
Shameless bump

>>18904696
Mulled cider is good. It's a sort of tea.

>>18903348
Random tea cups?
Mugs?
I don't think ive seen something like that but it seems like they just pick up a bunch of random cups from a ntique store or something to use

>>18905587
I mean just dip apple slices in your tea. It makes the apple taste good and lightly sweetens and cools the tea.

Greetings, lads. I just got Lady Grey and how different will it be from an Earl Grey?

What oolong should I buy before spring? I need some more interesting teas to carry me through the winter.
https://oldwaystea.com/products/2022-oolong-sample
Thinking about buying this, but I drink a shitload of tea so I need something else with some more bulk.

>>18903200
It's cool. Stick around and learn about tea, mate.
>>18903213
We're just efficient.
>>18907542
I feel like there has to be a clever punchline here.

>>18907542
As far as i can tell it's the same thing. Maaybe lady grey uses a less malty black tea, but im not even sure if that's generally the case

>>18907567
Order a bunch of cheaper yancha from king tea mall
https://kingteamall.com/collections/wuyi-yancha/products/spring-tie-luo-han-medium-heavy-roasted-a-grade-wuyi-yancha-oolong-tea?variant=43408226156774
https://kingteamall.com/collections/wuyi-yancha/products/spring-que-shesparrow-tongue-heavy-roasted-a-grade-wuyi-yancha-oolong-tea?variant=37560903762100
https://kingteamall.com/collections/wuyi-yancha/products/spring-shui-xian-a-grade-medium-heavy-roasted-wuyi-yancha-oolong-tea?variant=32925965484135
Maybe some dan cong
https://kingteamall.com/collections/fenghuang-dancong/products/2022-spring-fenghuang-dancong-mi-lan-xiang-honey-orchid-fragrance-a-grade-medium-heavy-roasted-oolong-loose-leaf-tea-chaozhou?variant=43031498195174

Anybody use a silver teapot or cup? Trying to figure out if it'll improve my tea, or just turn me into papa smurf. Also, how do you deal with tarnishing?

>>18892204
>>18892274
Kek, I started cold brewing sencha because I'm too much of a poorfag for gyokuro.

Tea bros I’ve been drinking fancy expensive tea from H‑E‑B for a while now, but my roomate loves espresso and I tried some, it was way better than any tea I’ve had. Is coffee better than tea?

>>18908059
No but it's fine

>>18907605
Okay. So basically I bought the same thing? It isn’t an issue cause now I have extra Earl Grey but why call it something different. It would be make more sense to state it as light or not as that strong. I know the name ‘Lady’ can indicate that but I thought it was something similar but still different rather than the same thing altered.

>>18891730
>>18891741
Why is tea expensive, isn't it just a bush picked by Chinese serfs?

>>18908383
They pick it not enjoy it. They’re machine not man in that regard. Tea was fought in wars over for milleniums for its benefits, properties, taste, presidge, and economic profit.

>>18908383
Yep. Then some western sinoboo buys it and sells it at a markup after making up some tasting notes and origin story.

>>18907767
No noticeable difference with nonporous vessels imo. It gets seasoned here so I won't papa Smurf I guess.
>tarnish
Rub with wet baking soda.

>>18908059
coffee is good, but truly great tea is better. if H-E-B is some sort of supermarket, then you likely haven't had great tea in your life, so not really a fair comparison to your roomate's minmaxed specialty grade espresso

>>18908224
>>18907542
the one Twinnings makes has orange peel in it AFAIK, which makes it taste a little different

>>18908676
did you mean 'prestige', you fucking dumb shit? pretending to be clever on the internet? won't work, you're too stupid

>>18903039
i drink my boyfriends semen tea all the time if u know what i mean

>>18904576
>>18904610

I was suggested a sencha and gyokuro blend as well so I'll eventually try all three. Thank you, lads.

>>18909092
Why do they blend teas with different brew temps? I know that temp autism is a relatively new thing, but still. Bonus points if they don't even tell you which temp to use.

>>18909170
Im guessing the gyokuro they are using in such a blend can handle sencha temps and brew times just fine. Brew temps do make a difference but you are either at a temp that scalds these flavor compounds or you arent so once you get below that temp it matters a lot less

>>18909170
I assume they are more in the business of selling their Firebelly Tea Strainer™ and "blended artisan" teas to middle to upper class women than actually caring about the correct brewing method or temperature.

>>18909219
Kek. Funny how with pretty much everything "blended" usually means lower quality. I guess if you put "artisan" in front it's easier to sell.

>>18909170
>>18909215
you can make gyokuro sencha-style if you want, it's not as bad as mixing, like sencha and pu-erh or something

>>18909215
>Im guessing the gyokuro they are using in such a blend can handle sencha temps and brew times just fine.
Yeah, that'sd be my guess too if i though they knew what they were doing. Still, methinks I'd rather have some Kabusecha.

>>18909219
>Firebelly Tea Strainer $20
Eh, at least its a good design even if it's twice as much as competing products.
I think the finum model is $12 same with the oxo, and generic no name models run about $8
I use a similar strainer for my looseleaf herbal teas
Their teas are typical flavored fair and don't really appeal to me.

>>18909242
Yeah wasn't expecting much. I'm probably going to buy a bag and just use a thermos with 170° water or as close to it as I can get and gongfu brew it during my work day so I don't need anything too extravagant in that regard.

finishing the sample of mystery 2005 lao cha tou I got (supposedly menghai area)
flavor is mellow, nutty and creamy, maybe slightly mushroomy. surprisingly, there is a bit of bitterness. the tea leaves a strong and lasting aftertaste of bitter walnuts and a bit of vanilla. it steeps much slower than any other ripe pu-erh I've had, but also lasts for way more steeps. it's pretty nice though was probably a bit overpriced

does this sound typical of lao cha tou? it's the first one I've tried. ordered some Dayi ones as well, something tells me they'll be pretty different

>>18909325
>ordered some Dayi ones as well
Im interested to hear your thoughts on those

>>18891730
what's the best Earl Grey on the market?

>>18909437
One of these
Probably the jardin premier
https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/1-earl_grey.html

>>18909473
Sorry the paris earl grey.
Or maybe the earl grey d'or

how do i learn about tea

>>18909497
What do you want to learn?
Some decent info in thr pastebin about brewing and the different types of tea.
Get some looselaf tea, a mesh brew basket from finum or one of the random stainless steel ones on amazon/ebay, look up brew times/temps in the pastebin and make tea.
Its good, it's easy to drink, it mostly tastes nothing like teabags.

>>18909497
teadb.org is a pretty good source of information about pu-erh and some types of oolong

Hibiscus dried leaves third brew was practically water but good while it lasted

>>18900813
Pulled the trigger on some Ahmad teas, should be here tomorrow.

>>18909906
they were probably my favorite supermarket brand before I really got into tea. decent quality daily indian tea and tends to be cheaper than Twinnings and Dilmah

>>18909922
That's pretty much what I'm looking for, a cheap daily black tea. And yea, even with shipping included, this is cheaper than any of the Twinings stuff at my local supermarket.

>>18909955
Its brutal, if you like it look for the 454g boxes, they should me much cheaper per gram than the smaller tins

>>18909955
I've been looking for the best deals too but haven't tried this brand yet. Are those loose leaf or bags?

>>18910030
Those are loose leaf. They have bags as well tho.

>>18909396
I'll definitely comment on them when I get them, probably in a few weeks. also ordered a cake of Haiwan 9978, since a few anons recommended it and the price was right. hope it does have some molasses / maple syrup type flavor or at least noticable sweetness

Discord:
>Liquid Proust
>TWL
Reddit:
>white2tea
>Yunnan Sourcing
4chan:
>Fullchea
>Farmer Leaf

>>18910733
Yunnan Sourcing is run by a bunch of shylocks. Never buy their sale items. They won't give you what you ordered, then you can't prove shit because it's been removed from the site and they don't ship it with an invoice.

I forget the full details on how they scammed me, but it pissed me off and they didn't even apologize for their crap. Instead they just acted smug as fuck.

>>18910757
Lol
Anon you ordered a sample instead of a whole cake and then pissed and shit yourself when you got a sample

>>18910757

>>18910733
to expand on this worthless shitpost further:
>the Discord user loves to feel like xe's "in the know" and "part of an elite community", so uses small, curated vendors
>the Reddit user loves accessible sites with lots of reviews and cakes with epic wrappers that will get him tons of upvotes
>the 4chan user just wants cheap shipping man, why is it so expensive ahhhh

>>18911257
So what you're saying is the Discord user wants an ego boost from thinking he's part of something important, the Reddit user wants validation from the community, and the 4channer wants affordable tea?

>>18911337
You could also say 4chan users are broke

>>18911341
The tourists, sure. I could easily afford some nice tea, but I don't piss away money and I'm hesitant to just randomly buy shit only. I'm not buying shit with my parents money. Which actually sounds like more of a reddit thing.

>drink tea
>teeth are extra sensitive for the next 24 hours
what the fuck

What do you consider essential tea equipment?
I have a stove top kettle that keeps temperature for a long time, one of those strainer/diffusers that can pour directly into the cup and I've been mostly enjoying myself some herbal tea along with some smoked black teas for the morning.

Also I've been curious about trying Rooibos, any recommendations for something that isn't mixed too much? I'd like to try it as close to straight up as I can but most places sell it in a chai mixture or something'
.

>>18911528
cup

The only essential tea equipment is something to hold hot water and tea.
Mountain rose herbs sells both rooibos and honeybush, I'd try both.

>>18911528
Strainer and a mug. Everything else is superstition. You're all set.

>>18911528
gaiwan, pitcher and a small cup

>>18911528
Just buy rooibos
Shouldn't be too hard to just find it loose on it's own, honeybush is good too.
I see half a dozen brands selling 1lb bags on Amazon for $15. It all comes from the same farming collective so as long as it's not stale or damaged by improper storage you can basically buy it from anywhere
It's good, very easy to drink, surprisingly sweet, if you find it brewing bitter on you cut the brew time way down, try like 90 seconds with boiling water.

>>18880148
I opened up my first 2018 Taetea V93 tuo tonight. Bought it on Amazon via the official store for pretty cheap. $35.99 USD for 500g.
It pried open easily, despite feeling more compressed than the typical DaYi cake. I've been enjoying it all night. Not in any particularly scientific way, but just enjoying it casually as I would for a daily drinker like I'm hoping this to be.
The first few brews are solid. It's mild and earthy flavor with a hint of roasted nuts. Maybe a little flat to a fault, but it could also be the recent transport through a damn cold winter. I also inexplicably brewed it with a little less material than I usually do. Either way, the flavors of the tea are what you'd expect from a shou of its age, but dialed back compared to a 7572.
From the smell of the leaves, perhaps there's just a little bit of sweetness trying to come out that I haven't found yet. Been playing around 190-200 degrees F.
Not a bad tea at all! Given the price and shipping availability from Amazon, I could see it being a daily work beater. Given the nice little 100g tuos it comes as, it's also the tea I would give to friends getting into the hobby.

>ceylon kandy silver tip
maybe I should have added more sweetener. Or it's just not for me.
Also, can you brew oolong with the same leaves twice? starting to think not...

>>18912073
Nothing wrong with adding sweetener to that stuff

>>18911487
What type or just any tea?

>>18909640
What do you mean mostly water? Hibiscus has and tangy and tarty and sweet.

First time buying loose leaf earl grey, what do?

>>18912007
The last steeps, which were at cooler temps, had much more pronounced sweetness. I need to increase the grams for next time, but I absolutely wouldn't mind drinking this daily.

>>18912138
any

>>18912007
Nice, glad you are enjoying it.
I have had good luck with tae tea ripes over the years, there is a reason why they have the reputation of being the best at fermenting puer

>>18912214
Put some in a teapot or a brew basket or whatever infuser you have abd brew with boiling water for 3-5 minutes. Adjust the amout of tea used and the brew time to get the best taste for you out of the tea

>like coffee, i browse ctg all the time
>get bored and come over to the tea thread
>anons recommended london fogs, i go out and buy some earl grey
>make london fog
>2 packets steeped for 4.5 minutes in 4 oz of hot water
>add 4oz of frothed hot milk and some vanilla extract and vanilla syrup
>tastes super weak
>no bitterness, can hardly drink it
im going back to coffee

pic related

>>18912581
Don’t put milk in it and drink it as is. The bergamot is fantastic in Bigelow’s Earl Grey.

>>18912620
ok

>>18891730
what do yall think about the tea center? its an aussie tea store very poggers

>>18911528
>essential
gaiwan
fine mesh strainer
tea cloth for spills
temperature control kettle if you like green or white bud teas
>good to have
£5 micro scale
chinese tea tray(good for catching spills and all my gear fits on it)
tea pick and tray if you buy a lot of cakes/bricks
waste jug, for spent leaves or rinses

>>18912073
you can usually brew oolong more than once, but it depends on the tea and your brewing parameters
rolled oolongs are usually stronger on the second brew

>>18912647
>aussie tea
Do aussie’s have a specialty tea? Do Australians even drink that much teas like the people in the British Isles?

>>18913281
>Do Australians even drink that much teas like the people in the British Isles?
Maybe.
Tea and coffee is always given together at places that give them.

I’ve basically tried every tea and here’s the top 5
1- Abu jabal tea
2- Al kabous
3- Najdiya tea
4- Qualitea
5- Al Wazah tea

>>18913296
Yeah, but that’s true in Canada and America. I thought they were like North Americans where they appreciate both but have more preference for coffee. Unlike Turkey which consumes heavy amounts of both which shock foreigners.

>>18913314
Is this a type of room for tea preperation and maybe muslim worship? The biggest surprise in the pic other than the tea boxes everywhere on the ground is the red trucks/cars from what appears to be central USA on a specific shelf.

>>18913281
>Do aussie’s have a specialty tea?
We have billy tea. Technically that refers to how it's made (in a billy), but you typically chuck in a gum leaf or two for billy tea. There are also some upstart herbal tea brands that are using native Australian plants.
The company T2, which I think can be found worldwide, started in Australia.
>Do Australians even drink that much teas like the people in the British Isles?
As the other poster said, tea, but a preference for coffee is a pretty accurate description; I reckon so, at least. If you go over to someone's house, it's highly likely they have tea.

>>18913336
It’s historical cultural room it looks like a tent and it’s a room for smoking shisha and drinking tea
>red trucks
It’s popular in the gulf especially Saudi Arabia

Not him

really like oolong but safeway grocery store only sells green black and herbal grossness
faggot grocery store faggot

>>18912007
how would you say it compares to 7572 or some other factory ripes?

>>18909906
The tea is here. It's a decent daily drinker. Pretty much what I was looking for. Will probably order more in the future.

>>18909486
thank you

>>18913314
Powerful image

>>18914134
Drinkable without milk/sugar?

>>18914521
most black tea is IMO, especially for the really shitty low grade stuff like lipton and below

>>18914134
How does it compare to Twinings in your opinion? Cause I'd rather have the latter

>>18913314
I like your vintage truck models

>>18914521
Yea, I had it plain. I rarely add anything to my teas. I like my tea mild though (~1g of leaf per 300ml), so your mileage may vary. I prepared it my way and enjoyed it. I actually made a second cup just now, I guess I could try adding a dash of milk. Again, the tea is very mild, so I'm only adding the tiniest amount, less than 1% of total volume. Would have made it a bit stronger if I knew I'd be adding milk. Anyways, I just finished it as I was writing this and I'd say it's decent either way. Again, your mileage may vary depending on your expectations and preparation method, but it works for me.

Also, I would never put sugar in my tea.

>>18914556
I lack the vocabulary to describe the differences, but it feels like Ahmad uses higher quality material and has more of an "oomph" to it. Twinings is still okay though. Highly likely I'll keep both in my cupboard for my daily Indian black tea needs.

>>18914538
I only ever had some local tea&spice store's Ceylons and Assams which were quite astringent so that's why I'm asking. I drank them neat, but everyone in my household though I was crazy. Definitely more pleasant with a dash of milk, though. I guess with the grocery shop stuff it's that 6hey are weak that's the main fault.

>>18912007
I tend to get doughy, woody, creamy vanilla flavors from v93, with a slight burnt wood type bitterness. not bad but not amazing. nice that it comes in 100 gram tuo size

When a green tea says it’s “Jasmine scented” does that mean they added the fragrance of the flower on the tea or it actually has some jasmine in it?

>>18914602
>I lack the vocabulary to describe the differences, but it feels like Ahmad uses higher quality material and has more of an "oomph" to it.
seriously? I'd say the complete opposite, especially recently I feel that Ahmad has gone down in quality. but hey different folks. wanna try Basilur though. Haven't had their blacks yet

>>18913314
I want to try those teas on the left that look like paint cans.

>>18914134
Did you try both? How do they compare? I'm curious which is your preference.

Posting this so i can sort the screenshot and reference it later

>>18914602
>I like my tea mild though (~1g of leaf per 300ml),
Not that anon but i think that probably wouldn't hold up to milk very well at that concentration, which is fine usually people add milk to tea when then make it strong and malty to smooth it out a bit.

>>18914783
I just realized I was comparing Twinings teabags to Ahmad loose leaf, which is not fair.

>>18914848
Only tried the English Breakfast so far, might open the Ceylon in the next couple of days.

>>18914896
here’s a better screenshot

>>18915048
Thanks
Im not sure if any of these brands are easy to find in north America but im interested to look.

>>18911528
I spent $90 on everything you see here and $130 all together for the tea sampler and I'd say it's well worth it if you're interested in tea and plan to drink it often. Everything was from Yunnan Sourcing us aside from the tea tray which is some cheapo off of Amazon.

>>18915441
Dropped pic.

i love dong fang mei ren so much

Tossed some chempi in with some ripe puer for my after dinner tea, i keep meaning to do this but forgetting. I pulled out some of the peel before brewing because i thought i grabbed to much

>>18915775
Well its okay but i used way to much chempi, about two or three of those pieces would have been plety

What variety of tea has the highest caffeine and theanine content? I believe the highest for theanine is matcha, but I could be wrong. It's hard getting a straight answer for caffeine though. And I have found articles that contradict each other claiming that young sheng has more then young shou, and vice versa. It doesn't help that most resources are trying to sell me something.

>>18916543
We have much better artificial sources for both, I'd personally drink whatever you want and simply supplement whichever you want more of. For both theanine and caffeine, I believe it's matcha since you ingest the whole leaf. It's difficult to measure because what you actually care about is how much your body absorbs when you drink it. The most L-theanine will be in young shoots harvested in the spring that are steamed. Sencha, gyokuro, and matcha are comparable in this case, puerh seems to have a lower l-theanine content, maybe because of the kill-green. Having said that, the differences are a fraction of the total amount of L-theanine present in the leaves, it doesn't really matter. Having said THAT, we don't actually even care, because how much L-theanine is present in the leaves doesn't really tell us anything. Again, matcha wins here (gram for gram) because you eat the whole leaf. However, I drink thirty or so grams of tea a day, and I doubt you will be consuming an equivalent amount of matcha.

tl;dr too many confounding factors just take L-theanine or caffeine if you want more of either. If not, just drink tea and stop worrying about it

>>18916543
Caffeine content in tea is all over the place, impossible to say one type has more caffeine then others, varietal, harvest season, and environment probably have the largest effects on caffeine content. How the tea is processed (black, green etc) doesn't change the amount of caffeine in the leaves

>>18916583
Thanks for your answer I was just interested because I had 14 grams of young raw puerh and was wondering how much that may have been, because I ended up quite twitchy. Very interesting post, how did you become so knowledgeable?
>>18916648
Thanks for the reply.

Do you guys like my yixing teapot? It makes yummy T.

>>18916688
The roundest shape

>>18916701
I spent the last 15 years of my life saying milk in tea is an abomination, trying it all different ways, even from actual bri'ish people, always hated it, always said chinese tea is the best (still is tho)
but now I've put cream in very strongly brewed masala chai and I get it, it works when the tea is spiced af.

>>18916701
Thank you.

What foods and smells should I try in order to appreciate tea better

>>18917045
I say go broad Asian, but authentic. Hit up some Korean or Thai place if you have it. Wouldn't hurt to find a middle Eastern shawarma place and see if they serve tea. No wrong answers except for cheap "Chinese" buffets.

At first I thought ginseng smelled and tasted like shit, but I like it a lot now

>>18915073
You can find it at any grocery store I used to buy al kabous when I was in america

>>18916793
One of my brothers spent a lot of time in India. Most people he observed there went ham on milk and sugar, and think it's retarded not using it. It could have been a local thing though.

>>18917291
I think the longer a nation has access to sugar, the less sweet they like their stuff. Not sure how the US would fit into this, though. I guess most of your sugar is kinda hidden.

>>18917291
>Indian water
You would have to be mad not to. Their water is so great that if your body isn't accustomed to it you'll be bed ridden for a week.

>>18917341
Is boiling not a thing in India? Is fuel so expensive?

>>18917350
Sirs, boiling not make poopoo move out of water.

>>18917355
Sure, it still tastes bad, but you've just sterilized it. And if you're making tea, you're going to boil the water anyway, so maybe the rest is just to cover the shit flavour up.

So this is like 7 inches by 4 inches or something. How many of these do I need to make a cuppa?

>>18917386
Depends on the thickness. Probably 4-6 per cup of tea.

>>18914769
if its cheap it might just be sprayed on but the real stuff the tea leaves are laid on jasmine flowers so they absorb the sent, i think you can get ea with added jasmine flowrrs also other flowers like snow chrysanthemum

>>18917411
It's cent, moron.

>>18917386
whats the weight? also some of those tea bricks arent meant to be drunk but are ornamental as they use glue to hold them together

>>18917291
>sugar
What possesses someone to do such a thing to tea? If they simply disliked tea, they would just not drink it. Ruining it with sugar is beyond mere dislike. It requires a burning hatred of tea. You would only do something like that out of spite.

>>18917417
try again sweetie

>>18917422
Ye mum calls me sweetie when I help her cross the street.

>>18917428
ya dad calls me sugarplum when i cumdump in his bum

>>18917434
Imagine seething this hard because you got assblasted by a superior speller.

Ye mum was so impressed with my ability to help decrepit geriatrics across the street she let me sodomize her wrinkly and sagging holes behind the nearest dumpster. That's where her nickname dumpster came from.

>>18917421

Im wondering why anyone puts tea in their sugar. It's a disgrace to sugar, which should be respectfully enjoyed on its own

>>18917440
>cent

>>18917468
Oh look, a horse typing on a computer. Based.

>>18917473
Deaf, blind, and dumb.

>It' s cent.

My way is so powerfully efficient, and advanced you can't help but make a fool of yourself. Oh so very typical for "averages".

>>18917239
Where are you getting it and how are you brewing it?

>>18917411
Thanks. I was wondering since it doesn’t exactly specify even on the back of the boxes.

>>18917386
You can drink tea from those but i wouldn't.
They are typically half kilo or one kilo bricks so enough to make several hundred cups of tea. They used to be readily available for about $15 for a brick but prices seem to have risen dramatically lately. I might buy one to put on display on a shelf but i probably wouldn't drink it.
Here is some cheapish brick tea but made from much higher quality material
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/yunnan-black-tea-with-honey-sweet-notes-fengqing-dianhong-tea-red-brick-250g-p0700.html

The heat of the tea cooks the mug.

to the anon who ordered the 2022 Jingmai Miyun from Farmer Leaf:
have you tried it already? how is it?

I drink sencha every day. It’s not expensive if you think about other things you’d be spending the money on.

>>18918127
true, it's similar in cost to drinking a single energy drink a day and probably cheaper than getting coffee at starbucks or whatever. tea can be a pretty affordable hobby if you don't go overboard on the hyper premium stuff

>>18918127
https://www.amazon.com/Oigawa-Sencha-tea-plantation-business/dp/B008RHF7XS/

>>18918184
Thanks for reminding me, gonna make some today.

>>18891741
I received it and it is in fact fucking great. Mildly bitter and acidic, idk how to describe the flavor I guess it's grassy but it's not green tasting like leafy greens or whatever, it kinda has a sweetness to it if you can call it that. Very satisfying, obviously not savory like their shinchas and gyuokuros I've tried, but it's fresh and the flavor lingers in your mouth.
It's the taste of quality japanese green tea, it's worth its price in my mind, especially knowing there is a ~30% cheaper option that isn't a blend of cultivars, they just didn't have it in stock when I ordered.

>>18918234
Bro that's just a bag.

>>18918234
The caffeine high is somewhat mild but also stimulating, I guess from the other compounds that compliment caffeine. It paces you down while making you focused, the calmness contributes to that effect. I feel like it's good at giving you energy as it cuts off hunger fairly well. My whole body gets relaxed, anxiety decreases. I missed that feeling not having green tea for a while.

>>18918243
ok

>>18918234
Nice, glad it's good.
I like that that site actually gives harvest dates for thier Japanese tea. Makes it much more trustworthy then most when you actually know you are getting fresh tea and not some sencha that's 5 years old.

>>18918184
Cheers

>>18918258
Ok? It's just insanity to be writing paragraphs about a friken white bag, bro. Like wtf wouldn't you show us a little more than that? Is it for suspense? Are you being a tease? What's your deal, guy?

Ps. Ok looks like a little man if you turn your head to the left. Look: OK--------- o^: That ones pissing in your open mouth. Lol.

>>18918234
cheers. I don't know too much about sencha, but I've really enjoyed the ones I've tried, more than chinese green teas. I feel like they're pretty intense and complex for a green tea. grassy, yet fruity, sweet yet savory

>>18916670
I just drink a lot of tea and read a lot about tea, I'm also sort of into nutrition for other reasons so I know a bit about that too. There's very little hard data, a lot of statements on effects are total guesswork. I'm not into any of the mystical tea nonsense, but subjectively I would say that young sheng, especially forest tea (of any age) has a stronger feeling than most other tea. This is broadly what people mean when they talk about Cha Qi, literally the Qi of the tea. It's not reducible to simply caffeine + theanine, I've taken exceptional amounts of both in isolation, and with other tea, and haven't been able to duplicate the effect. Whatever it is, it seems to affect people differently. Some people are really into it though, and you'll see people look for and pay a premium for tea with good "Qi".

If you're not used to drinking high quality tea, 14 grams of sheng is a fair bit, I built up tolerance pretty fast, but some people seem to not ever build up much tolerance at all.

>>18891730
i really love ceremonial grade matcha but shame its so pricey

>>18918588
You fuck with koicha, bro?

>>18918501
>Some people are really into it though, and you'll see people look for and pay a premium for tea with good "Qi".
that always seemed a little silly to me. you don't see coffeefags or winefags paying for stuff that will fuck them up the most
but maybe at some point I will drink some really good gushu and my chakras will open or some shit

>>18918605
If you really want wide open chakras you should get your hands on some mumcum tea.

>>18918595
i havent had it thick nah. i like to have it iced

>>18918605
Eh, I kind of get it, it can be pretty pleasant. Tea can make you feel very warm and focused in a way that's different from pretty much anything else. I don't think it's too far of a stretch from hyperfixating on mouthfeel or whatever we would think of as secondary to taste. I think it's silly to take it to the hyper-tea snob "Taste doesn't matter" navel gazing, but it's something I think about when I think of how much I enjoy drinking a tea.

>>18918081
maybe not the anon you're referring to but i got a sample of it but ill drink it tmrw because i stunk up my house with this stew i made kek, will post about it

>>18918618
Get some of that good good and make koicha, bro. Trust me. It's fire.

could go for an evening cuppa, but not sure what to choose. what should I drink out of:
>really nice shan cha (fruity, sweet black tea from a wild taiwanese varietal)
>some hong shui (tastes like caramel / honey, roasted notes and aftertaste of strawberries)
>wild tea buds (sweetish and coniferous)

I just buy cheap black tea at the grocery store and drink 3 or 4 cups daily. Am I retarded?

>>18918706
Really late reply but hong shui.
Really any of those sond fitting for an afternoon cuppa.
>>18918745
The important part is enjoying tea.
Thw two strongest arguments for switching to loose leaf from teabags are
1 its cheaper
2 the tea is usually better quality
In the us at least you can get a 1lb box of ahmad assam for $10 on amazon. A reusable tea filter basket like pic related for about $8 and make a lot of tea that will taste a bit better than most teabags.

>>18918888
yeah ended up going for the hong shui myself. hard to beat a comfy roasted oolong in the evening

>>18918637
comfy. agreed

>>18918661
it does sound good, i'll have to try that sometime

>>18918745
i buy cheap green and i put 4 bags in my big thermal cup

>>18918888
Checked and thanks I'll look into it. I was never much of a tea drinker but a couple of weeks ago I had no coffee and drank black tea for a couple of days before going to the store again. I usually drink it pure no sugar and it's amazing.

>>18918283
pay for my onlyfans if you want a peek at what's inside

>>18919302
Tea is great, i drink boatloads of it. From the cheap stuff to the fancy stuff it's all tasty. I like the caffeine buzz more than coffee too, it doesn't feel as jittery to me

>>18918426
>grassy, yet fruity, sweet yet savory
basically that, thanks for taking the words out of my mouth

>>18919308
I spend all my money on ye mum's onlyfans already. Maybe do a guest appearance over there. Can you ask her while she posts so many dirty butthole pictures? I prefer sexy pics with her face in them.

>>18919321
my mother is a fat old digusting pedophile and child rapist, I doubt this is your kind of fetish

>>18919371
hoott

>>18919319
I find this describes a lot of decent quality sencha. I really like this balance of characteristics. it really benefits from being brewed pretty strong too

I'm about to try Assam for the first time. What can I expect as a frequent puerh drinker?

>>18918745
I’ve been drinking 5-7 cups of tea a day of various teas, mostly herbal.

>>18919917
Malt

>>18919917
>What can I expect as a frequent puerh drinker?
beatings
>>18919979
try pure malt and return to me with that note.
dont expect much from the indian tea. which assam?

What other mint teas are there besides spearmint and peppermint?

>>18916793
I almost never drink flavoured tea, but I'll always make an exception for Earl Grey with cream. It's a magical combination.

>>18917045
Smoking cigars for the first time had that effect for me somehow.

>>18917045
you mean as a reference for tasting notes? I'll definitely have to try jujube and betel nut at some point lol

>>18912007
I'm not blown away by it, but I can't stop drinking it for some reason. I guess that's the magic of a well-balanced factory ripe

>>18918657
thanks anon, I'm looking forward to it

fu niggas really be drinking mold... some nasty shit right here, no cap

>>18922173
>not mycomaxxing
but it looks so yummy....

My whole life I only ever drank fannings in teabags from companies like lipton and bigelow.
I ordered and tried premium loose leaf for the first time (pic related = jasmine green tea) and HOLY FUCK I have been missing out. The aroma and flavor is literally five times better--if not more than that!

Any recommendations for herbal tea? (nothing fruity pls)

>>18921600
Lemonbalm
Its from the same family and makes great tea

>>18922380
Osmanthus oolong if you can find it
Jasmin tea is the big one, you can find it mixed with many different types of tea beside those drgon pearls.
Chai (spiced tea) is also really popular
Get some looseleaf from vahdam, learn how to simmer it on the stove with milk, great stuff
Lychee tea is another popular one
Milk oolong too

>>18922173
Funniest part is that fugus/mold whatever it is doesn't really taste like anything. Anyway fantastic tea, try some if you havent

>>18922380
>The aroma and flavor is literally five times better--if not more than that!
yeah, it's shocking how good and varied tea can be if you venture beyond supermarket stuff

if you like jasmine pearls you'd probably like teas that have a naturally floral aroma by themselves too. try some good quality greener oolongs like tie guan yin or some of the greener taiwanese stuff

>>18922422
so I've heard. I actually have a sample coming with my KTM order

>>18922504
Nice, its good stuff, let us know which one you got and if its any good after you have a chance to try it
Ive probably said this to you before but YS has a fantastic selection of fu brick and solid pricing, better than his puer. Its earned him a lot of points in my book

>>18921810
I feel like that's the direction I'm heading in. Not as flavorful as a 7572, but I keep drinking it trying to find a secret that will make it better, but it's really not there. All things considered, it's a darn fine tea. Nothing wrong with it at all. At the price range, a safe and affordable daily drinker.

>>18922548
would you say 7572 is worth the current prices? shit is like 2x the price of other numbered Dayi recipes a lot of the time
I also have a Haiwan cake coming soon, will be interesting to compare it with the v93

>>18922380
I'm pretty sure jasmine dragon balls from Adagio is what first made me realize that tea can be good. I tried damn near everything I could. Keep reaching, anon.
>>18922607
That's always a tough decision, is something worth it. If you haven't tried a 7572 or haven't had one recently, then yes it's worth the price. IMO it's an important measuring stick to have around when discussing shou puerh with others. For whatever reason, that's the standard. Is it worth getting a few cakes or tongs? Maybe. It's never a disappointing cake, but the prices tend to be a little overinflated because it's an ol' reliable cake.

>>18922687
>I'm pretty sure jasmine dragon balls from Adagio is what first made me realize that tea can be good
for me, the breakthrough teas were two taiwanese oolongs I received as a gift. made me realize that tea can be floral and vegetal and not at all like what I'd been drinking up to that point

>>18922607
What are "current prices"
https://kingteamall.com/products/2022-dayi-7572-cake-1st-batch-357g-puerh-shou-shu-cha-ripe-tea
I haven't bought one of these but this is about what I would pay for it.

>>18923064
Yeah i agree that's about what you should pay, ignore 7572 cakes that are more expensive then say $35, they aren't worth it and the increased price probably isn't related to quality

Tea

Drink tea
New thread incoming

>>18891730
new
>>18923215
>>18923215
>>18923215