/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I've been drinking gunpowder lately. It's good stuff. I was amazed to learn that you can re-steep tea leaves multiple times, so I start with 1 teaspoon of pearls, make a cup of tea, cool it, drink, and then repeat with the same leaves about 3 times to start my day, each cup looking and tasting about the same. Knowing that, tea is much less expensive than I thought it was

Pic is the tea I got

got this for Christmas. pretty good

gunpowder ftw I use it to make kombucha

>Go into store
>See metal box in background with "Russian tea" on it
>Assume it's Russian black tea
>It's cheap as fuck
>Order 50g for a try
>Cashier packs it and puts a sticky on it, as usuall
>Order few other teas
>Get home, unpack tea
>There is a small writting on each sticky
>Read the Russian one
>"Original mixture of tea from Ceylon, Darjeeling and China"

Price should warm me.

>>6116137
How was it?

>>6115979
>gunpowder
>safe
pick one

>>6115979
>grandma knows I like tea
>decides to handmake an instant chai tea blend for Christmas (pic related)
>doesn't know the difference between instant tea and loose leaf
>mfw make it and take a sip and get a mouth full of leaves

It's not a big deal, since I just use a mesh ball, and the tea itself is pretty good. I just thought it was funny.

>>6116314
Not bad.

does anybody know of a tea bubble that doesn't leave tiny residue in the screen?

Cleaning it off in the sink is a bitch and I don't wanna pop it into the dishwasher every time I drink tea

>>6116430

>>6116435
Thanks. I just got a pound of chai from my trip to San Fran, as well as some good organic teas from berkeley. Fave has to be the white peony

any recs for the best-for-the-money kettle, preferably with a large infuser basket for easy cleanup, but something that wont allow a lot of sediment into my tea?

>>6116674
i guess i mean teapot, not kettle

>>6116137
What varieties of tea is Russian tea usually blended from? I've never heard of a tea growing region there.

>>6116859
In Russia there used to be a lot of tea plantantions, but because of wars and other problems they receded a lot.
Real Russian tea is quite rare these days.

>>6116859
Try google Krasnodar Tea

>>6116865
>>6116885
It's a special day when I actually learn something on 4chan.

Get a large bowl of water, put six or seven tea bags in it, and microwave it for 5 minutes. Dump a few cups of sugar in there, stir, and pour into a pitcher with ice. If y'all want to get real fancy with it you can add some lemon wedges and pour it into a glass instead of an old mason jar, but w/e.

>>6116137
Huh. Growing up, we would keep a dry mix of orange pekoe, orange tang, and powdered lemonade, and we called that Russian Tea.

Is there any downside to drinking too much tea and if so how much is too much? I'll usually in the morning get a teaspoon of Earl Grey or Chai and use it for about 4 or 5 cups and then later in the day i'll get a teaspoon of Gunpowder and use it for about 4 or 5 cups.

>>6117037
how does black tea take to multiple infusions? i used to drink earl grey for breakfast but found golden monkey and really love it, but its a bit more expensive. do the subsequent infusions really taste that good? i've done multiples with gunpowder, and i like the 2nd infusion best, but idk it just seems like black tea wouldn't work as well from all the oxidation

>>6116950
ive had the same thing. its also called friendship tea

its too sweet in my opinion
i like my friendship dry and bitter

>>6117052
The 4th and 5th cups are usually a bit weak, but still have some taste to them. it's definitely good for 2 or 3 good cups of tea though. I'll generally put on an episode of whatever i'm watching at the time and drink throughout an episode and 4 or 5 cups is around how much I drink in that period of time.

>>6117052
>>6117052
ill have to try some

so my roommate and i are gonna be getting a big french press because we like to make a bunch of coffee before we hit the library to study, but will I be able to use it for tea as well? I couldn't see why not. it's not like im gonna smash the leaves with it or anything

>>6117149
Actually, it is going to smash the leaves, so after each brew, you'll need to loosen the leaves up so they can expand and brew properly. What I do is lightly plunge the lever up and down a few times after I pour the water in for the next brew. Also, take the French press apart and soak in soapy water after each use. Coffee flavours in particular stick easily. I would recommend this even if you weren't going to use tea.

Currently trying to drink away 100g of tarry lapsang souchong, burf

>>6116024

i like using gunpowder for cold steeping iced tea. gunpowder obviously rocks hot too.

>>6116137

yeah man as far as i know "russian tea" is a blend of exactly what you just described. they don't grow tea in russia.

>>6117363
how well do the leaves unfurl brewing cold?

>>6117052
>>6117067

see i don't really ever re steep black tea. what i do, on the other hand, is decant a bit into small glasses at thirty second intervals. that way i get to experience a spectrum of full flavors. the second steep is just too weak for me. pu erh is really the only thing i re steep. when i do it i use a gaiwan and pour it off after thirty seconds for the first steep and then a minute for the second and so on.

>>6117370

they unfurl completely. i steep for at least six hours. never longer than 24 though. darjeeling is also great for cold steeping iced tea.

>>6117389
how's the taste compared to hot brewing and pouring over ice? i like to make iced tea for when i study (earl grey and golden monkey) but never tried cold brewing

>>6117394

after like six hours its delicate and sweet. after twenty four it still has a sweet quality to it but it's definitely fully developed. not bitter, but definitely strong. i don't like pouring over ice because the tea clouds. typically at least. where do you get your golden monkey? someplace online? i haven't had any since my adagio days but i feel like a fedora buying from them.

>>6117403
there was a tea thread with a big like spreadsheat someone made on google docs with a bunch of tea places online. i got my golden monkey from red blossom tea, mainly because i wanted to try a new place for tea (got stuff from adagio before) and it was cheaper than some of the other places i saw it (~$14 for 8 oz compared to $20-$30). besides some bagged irish breakfast, it's the first just plain black tea i've really had and it's really great. almost tastes like theres a bit of honey in it.

>>6117424
Not from that thread, but I think this is the list you're talking about.

docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApCZ-sUhC2egdGtTVFNjMzFfZzdDUnVVTVgxQ2RxNVE

>>6117424

yeah from what i remember it definitely had a honey-like quality to it.

>>6116137
Sounds like samowar tea

>>6117457
>docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApCZ-sUhC2egdGtTVFNjMzFfZzdDUnVVTVgxQ2RxNVE


awesome thanks for posting this

Does anyone know why teavana tea tastes differently in store than at home? Sorry if the answer's obvious, I'm new to making tea.

>>6118068
it's probably the ambiance. Hire an interior designer r something

>>6118096
no, it definitely tastes stronger/ sweeter

>>6118068

Hey man I work at a Teavana and we get this question a lot. Okay firstly most of our samples are sweetened with German rock sugar. It's an all natural beer root sugar sourced from Germany and Belgium. It's is a much better alternative to bleached table top sugar because it won't make the tea bitter. Secondly the most importantly hing is steeping temperature. Certain teas are far more delicate for example a white tea needs to be steeped at 175 degrees Fahrenheit where as an oolong or black tea can be steeped at boiling. Also steeping time is important. The gyokuro imperial green tea which is our highest quality Japanese green tea from the Kyoto prefecture in Japan is only steeped for 45 SECONDS where as a similar green tea may be steeped for 4 minutes. Additionally all the steeping instructions are for 8 ounces of water so increase the recipe accordingly.

Now if you like the fruity iced teas that we usually have on sample I'll tell you we sweeten the hell out of those.


I work there and make their teas at home and they always end up just as good. If you need anymore help you can ask specific questions or tell me what tea you're trying to make and I can help.

whats the easiest way to get high quality green tea without buying some weird tea nerd shit? Preferably a variety I can order off amazon

Alright pals. Recovering alcoholic here. I want to start drinking something else aside from water. I'm too lazy to boil tea and want to do cold brewing.

What are the best containters? Pitchers? Pitcher-Infusers? Glass? Acryllic?

What are the best teas for cold brew?

>>6118136
How can you possibly be too lazy to boil water? Do you not have a microwave?

Have you grafted to your couch?

>>6118128
thanks for replying, I bought some jasmine pearls and golden monkey, the pearls were really weak when I made them at home and the golden monkey was bitter and weak. I have a bunch of other teas from teavana (was given a $150 giftcard awhile back) but those are the two I liked the most in store

>>6118146

I'm a work-a-holic. The past 2 months, since I've been sober, I have spent 18-20 hours outside of my apartment and most of that time is in my office. I don't have time to boil, pour, and sip.

>>6118146
>Microwaving water

its like you want him to be a fucking pleb

>>6118172

Well, look at that hilariously epic reaction image he posted. I am sure he is the most patrician on the board.

c-can I plug for my favorite tea room?

it's called house of commons, and it's in denver. you can order tea from their site. they have a really great russian caravan. also they make pretty good sandwiches.

>>6118172
Its like he wants himself to be a fucking pleb. Can't boil water, can't use an electric kettle, may as well just say fuck it.

>>6118179

Cold brewing is not pleb. Go meme somewhere else, kid.

>>6118192
This. Who needs to drink all their tea hot?

>>6118152
http://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-NC-EH30PC-3-2-Quart-Temperature-Selector/dp/B00133WML8/

Fill whenever, dispense when needed.

>>6116330
lel

>>6118192
>>6118219
Cold brewing does not taste as good as hot brewing.

As far as long steep lower temperature methods go, sun tea comes out pretty well but apparently has a chance of killing you.

Best is to use steep your tea in hot water then chill it.

>>6118276

Thanks champ.

>>6118302

Zero sources for anything you said.

>>6117366
see
>>6116885

>>6116137
What did you expect?

I tried tea balls, both the mesh kind and the metal ones with holes drilled in. both leak tea leaves everywhere. What should I use if I want to only brew for myself?

>>6118543
>Zero sources for anything you said.

Well since it's mostly subjective the only thing that can be sourced are the sun tea risks.

http://www.snopes.com/food/prepare/suntea.asp

I'd get you a better source for that but I honestly don't care.

>>6117149
Yeah it works really well, just dont push the press all the way down. Just push it half way, then pour all the tea out so that the leaves don't strew. Then you can infuse it again.

>2 or 3 tea threads ago
>finally learn how important brewing temperature is, especially for green tea
>christmas, receive a double enveloppe glass mug and an electric kettle from gf
>tfw I can set the temp from 60°C to 100°C with 10°C steps

>>6118568
Just a small teapot or French press should be okay (use the instructions >>6117195 if you use a French press).

>>6118726
I want a teapot, but I live in a shoe box so imagine my kitchen space. Unless I find an awesome tall narrow one some day. P.s. I think I'm done with French presses

Has anyone here ordered or bought in-store from The Tea Centre? The next nearest tea place I know is T2 but I want to know how it weighs up.

Oh yeah, I know nothing about tea and quality.

>>6118128
how good is the gyrokuro?
was thinking of getting some, but that teavana record

>>6118068
they put sugar and shit in it

>>6118177
been wanting Russian tea, looked that up...blend of Chinese and Indian teas ;;

Anyone familiar with this? http://us.kusmitea.com/our-teas/russian-tea.html

>>6118151
Sounds like you might be having the issue of underportioning your tea. Recall that the recommendations for a cup imply an 8oz cup.

I usually have a 12-16oz mug and adjust accordingly; even then sometimes I adjust quantity based upon my personal tastes.
Steep times are usually reasonably accurate, although upping quantities usually means an extra 45-90 seconds of steep wouldn't hurt

Taste and adjust

Which of these is easiest not to fuck up?
>green + jasmine flowers
>pinhead gunpowder
>white + green + cornflower petals
>white + rosepetals
>sencha
>dragonwell
Also recommended seconds/Celsius please. Don't want to mess them up since gf got me them for xmas. I'll use a small glass infuser/mug.

>>6119774
Just fill your cup with water, pour into kettle and boil, pour back to cup, wait until it hits 80 Celsius then add leaves. Taste every 30 seconds to find the duration you prefer. Remove infuser at that moment. Drink.

>>6119774
All of those are delicious. For green and white teas I'd go 65 - 80 for 1 to 2 minutes.

>>6118134

fuck amazon just get samples from upton tea dot com. theyre cheap.

>>6118302
>Best is to use steep your tea in hot water then chill it.

yeah only if you want cloudy tea. i have been cold steeping for years and frankly i think you're full of shit.

Anyone use a "podstakannik" for tea?
Found out about them through amazon, and they seem awesome.
Only thing is that they all seem to be crystal (ie leaded glass), but apparently this type of use will leech negligible amounts of lead.

>>6116037
what I'd do for some Harney and Son's plum tea.

>>6119808
You won't extract the full flavor from your tea that way, but do whatever you want.

>>6118821
that's what russian caravan tea is

Drinkin' some iced green tea right now. And gasp of gasps, I made it with teabags. And what's worse, they're from the dollar store!

A café owner I know makes her iced tea using dollar store tea bags so I picked it up from her. It's surprisingly good. $1 makes over a gallon of iced tea. Good deal, I'd say!

Who puer here? I have been drinking it recently, I got a decent yixing as well, I am just trying to figure out if I want to dedicate it to shu or sheng right now.

Out of the samples I have got, I like sheng better. I have had about 4 of each at this point, but it is not like I dislike shu either. If I had two yixing pots this wouldn't be a problem, maybe I should just stop being cheap and get another.

>>6120006
Tried misty peak's sampler, was nice. They threw in some of this years harvest. Liked that.

Also headed here sometime soon: http://tiffanysteacrafts.com/index.html
Was thinking of trying gyokuro and dragon's well.
Any other recommended types?
I like sencha, so I might grab some.

How would you go about making cold tea with tea leaves like you would with tea bags?

>>6120060
I really like Chun Mei (I think that's Jin Jun Mei). This website doesn't seem to provide much information about their teas, though, e.g. year and province, which makes me doubt the quality. Since you're going there IRL, though, I guess you can have some tastings or ask them about it. Dragon's Well especially suffers from age more than other teas, I would say.

>>6119955

While you're not wrong, I feel compelled to point out that I am extracting plenty of flavor with my six to twenty four hour cold steep time. Does it taste like a chilled version of hot brewed tea? No. It's not supposed to. Its flavor is more delicate, light, and sweet when it's cold brewed.

>>6120060
>>6120325
>>6120006

I get my pu erh cakes from Bana. They do list year and they're all from Yunnan province. I have only sampled a few and have only purchased one cake, but damn was it a good one.

>>6120345
Which is fine... I just prefer the taste of hot brewed tea chilled.

I tried cold brewing a couple of times but wasn't a huge fan of the results. Is there a variety of tea you would recommend to do it with?

>>6120325
according to the few reviews online they seem good, adding it to my list. Wish I had my water heater with me.

>>6120352

I have had great results with gunpowder green, white, and darjeeling.

>>6120345
I've read that with coffee, you need to use a lot more coffee when cold brewing. Is it the same with tea?

>>6119774
Drink Dragonwell first. Every day you don't drink it loses 5% of its flavour.

I feel like I can't taste the subtle flavors in tea, am I taste retarded or is my tea bad? I buy from adagio and I can taste the difference between tea strains but never anything complex.

>>6119438
Yes, Russian Teas are fuckin awesome, try to get some samples

>>6122023
Sometimes only certain flavours come out at certain temperatures. Look your tea up and the relevant temperature. Your tea might also just not be that great in quality. Some also say that you should use filtered water but I'm not sure I can tell the difference when it comes down to that.

Anyone ever have tea from a tea house in Japan? Anyone ever have tea from a tea house in England?

I ask because this summer for my birthday I plan to take a trip to either England or Japan and definitely want to get/try some good shit there. The only tea I've had direct from japan is Ippodo tea in NYC

I used to buy tea from the Chicago Chinatown location of Ten Ren Tea & Ginseng, which closed a while ago. They still have online ordering at tenren.com, what looks good to /ck/? Chicagofags, where else in Chinatown has a good selection of tea?

>>6116320
It's actually quite safe if you store it properly.

>>6122103
I've had tea in a 'teahouse', as in for afternoon tea before. What did you want to know?

Anyway, regarding tea in English teahouses, they're really teas that are meant to suit eating afternoon tea. I've been to a few places and they don't really seem to take much consideration over steeping time and temperature, they just provide you a pot of a chosen tea full of not boiling hot water. They also tend to have a selection of typical English teas (blends, Earl Gray, Darjeeling, Lapsang Souchong) and Chinese tea (white, jasmine and green tea, never seen pu'er and oolongs aren't common).

>>6122233
What music do they play?

>>6122713
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN9EC3Gy6Nk

>>6122719
>God Save the Queen
shit tier national anthem. Haydn's is best.

what's with the gunpowder green tea meme?

>>6123181
What meme? Gunpowder tea is the name of an actual Chinese tea in which the leaves are rolled up tightly into balls which makes it look like gunpowder. Usually it's green tea, every now and again oolong.

>>6118610
pls post name of boiler. That sounds like a good investment

>>6123265
No, it's like brown-brown only they cut tea with gunpowder instead of cocaine.

>>6123367
You're an idiot.

>>6123265
Actually, if you mean oolongs like tieguanyin, those are also often characterised as green tea (actually, I've only ever seen Chinese people call those green teas - oolong is typically associated with the deeper roasts).

>>6123334
not him but I got this for Christmas. It was on sale for $35 and goes from 140-212 F in 1 degree incraments

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008YE3RNG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944687502&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B005YR0F40&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1ZHZJMQ4X19WN4ZR4MMF

>>6123452
Thank you, anon. You were truly blessed for christmas

>>6123452
There's also the Japanese kettles which hold a temperature efficiently/indefinitely.

>>6123452
I have something similar from black and decker, you can set it to "warm" and have the 1 degree increments, and it'll hold it at that.
There's also presets for tea, coffee, hot chocolate.

>>6122127

whoa hold the phones ten ren closed? when did this happen?

>>6123388

there are lighter and darker strains of ti kuan yin. i just picked up some that looks like a green. i have had others that have been waaaay darker.

>>6123388
>>6124010

Based Iron Goddess, best oolong.

>>6122127
>tenren
shit these are nice prices

>>6124010
As dark as hojicha? Because that is the typical tea when common Chinese people talk about 'oolong'.

is Yixing clay placebo?

How long do I microwave tea for?

>>6124728
I don't believe it.

>>6126667
For the leaves I have, a tablespoon of dry gunpowder green tea turns into about 1/4 cup of leaves after brewing.

>>6123265
i mean, what's so special about it? i see it mentioned in every single tea thread multiple times.

>>6126760
really? i'm >>6116037 and i always ask about it and nobody ever seems to know, or at least never responds. luckily i got some for Christmas and now I don't have any questions. I like it because it doesn't have any leafy/veggy taste to it like some other green teas i've tried. and it's a little smokier

>>6126760

it's just a very different green tea that's usually pretty inexpensive. if you're paying top dollar you're getting snookered. its flavor comes on strong whereas most other greens are super delicate.

>>6126760
The little balls its rolled into help prevent the leaves from breaking and help it hold its flavor longer.

It's just a particular way of processing the tea that produces a slight variation in flavor, I wouldn't really call gunpowder tea special compared to a similar grade of green tea.

It's fun to watch the little balls expand into full sized unbroken tea leaves though.

Would it be alright to use a Yixing teapot that had mold growing in it? I cleaned it out with boiling water and a couple paper towels, but haven't used it since.

>>6126879
You should have killed anything living in it, so give it a try and see if you get any off flavors. If you don't continue to use it.

>>6126760
It's one of the entry points into exploring Chinese tea beyond just 'green' and 'jasmine' and one of the few that actually has a well known name that's been translated into English. As another poster said, it's also inexpensive and I would say one of the better cheaper Chinese teas.

I just got an inexpensive dragonwell sampler. How long should I infuse it for? How many reuses?

>>6120060
I'm back.
Got some sencha, gyokuro, smokey russian caravan, and lady grey.
Will report back later about the sencha, probably gyokuro tomorrow.

I'm not an expert on this at all, and designating various tastes is a weakness (ie vegetal, grassy etc)

>>6128670
alright, digging the sencha, don't ask me about flavor notes.

>>6128129
http://www.letsdrinktea.com/types-of-tea/green-tea/dragon-well-tea/

>>6128129

i would do two minutes at 180 F

i dont re steep so cant help you there

>>6129318
nice site until I saw the review for teavana.

>>6129444
>http://www.letsdrinktea.com/types-of-tea/green-tea/dragon-well-tea/

they dont even mention pu erh. fuck this site.

>>6129493
wow, didn't even notice that.

Can anyone explain to me, a simple pleb, why teavana is so awful beyond it being pedestrian and somewhat expensive?

>2015
>drinking the fluorinated jew

Seriously?

Ausfag here.
Where do I get tea from?
T2 is woefully overpriced but they're the only place with range. Woolies and Coles is all teabags and while some of them are fine... Eh.
Green Valley Spice is pretty limited but they're cheap.
Asian grocers are super limited.

Do I just go online? Recommendations?


Also can someone reccommend me blends in general?
I tried rooibos today and it was nice. I like greens. Oolongs alright. Most of the fruit ones I've tried aren't very good.

>>6130399
What? Tea is the healthiest drink after water and has the most refined history, being practically an art form (like what those plebeian IPA/REALALE scenes claim to be) for centuries in Asia.

>>6130420
>dried plant matter tainted with jewish poisons
>healthy
top lel

>>6130430
wait, is water considered jewish poison? i guess if you prefer alcohol it would seem that way...

>>6130432
Tea leaves bioaccumulate large quantities of fluoride. Enjoy your brain damage.

>>6130436
[citation needed]

>>6130383
Bad quality for the price and they mostly subsist on selling shitty flavored/scented teas.

Am I a dirty pleb? I've got a teapot, and I'll brew mostly english teas, preferably with milk, one or no sugars, but I haven't experimented much out of there.

I've tried black teas, only brewed for 2-3 minutes, and they are nice but I think the fact it's essentially hot flavored water gets to me, it's nice but I'd prefer to make iced tea if I'm going to do it black. Or maybe I just need to add some more lemon or citrus or something. Though admittedly I've messed up a few times and had something like English breakfast, black, instead of a tea designed for it like earl grey

I've tried some berry tea's, but I have the same approach, they go down much better as a cold tea.

Is there anything I should try out? Is the brewing at specific temperatures really that big of a deal or is it whatever if I'm just drinking english teas?

What about the multiple brewing with a set of leaves? I generally just leave my leaves in if I'm making a pot, though I haven't tried brewing a single cup with a strainer thingy. I usually leave my tea bags in as well, unless I'm having it black.

>>6130605
One thing about English teas is that they're often blends. This makes ascertaining particular complexities more difficult. Berry teas also tend to have simpler flavour profiles. Try looking into Chinese red teas if you want to try more complex teas that are similar to English tea.

Temperatures are very important and you can look up guides for particular teas online. It still matters if you're drinking English tea but it's more difficult to discern if it's a blend but you definitely don't want to draw so much bitterness that it covers up the teas more subtle flavours.

Overbrewing can also kill more subtle flavours, even if there's no added bitterness. It's rather that the added richness hides the more perhaps floral or fruity notes. It also draws more flavour out, allowing less brews (and it also means you're getting less value too).

>>6130640
Would you say I should consider trying more black teas? I feel the milk might mask things a little, which is why I like to overbrew and pull out as much flavor as possible.

I'll look some stuff up about temperatures and see if I can grab any chinese blends. Is there anywhere I want to look particularly for white teas?

Are white tea's pleb in the tea community?
And yeah I definitely understand losing the subtle flavors that you mentioned.

>>6115979
Personal favorite is Iron Goddess, a type of tea from China. I'm not too in depth of the details of the tea's history and localization, but it is the sweetest oolong I have ever tasted. It's hard for me to describe as I'm not an avid tea promoter, but just trust me on this one. Also, gonna check out the one you're ordering when I get money

I drink Earl and Lady Grey
Of course the Earl Is a Blend of tea and Bergamot aroma/flavour, The Lady is a Bergamot, Orange and Lemon. I used to drink a blend called Lady Grey that was Bergamot and lavender. Another I used to have often was Cream Grey/Cream Earl Grey which was Bergamot and vanilla infused.

>>6130699
If you're not aware, it's also called tieguanyin (and varities such as tiekuanyin), and also called Iron Buddha. It's quite a popular tea and if you want to learn more about it, you can use these as search terms in the archives. There are many differing types of Iron Goddess, some more sweet, some more floral, some more 'clean' or 'light'. Gunpowder can also be quite similar. As long as you don't use too hot a water, I think you should enjoy it.

>>6130654
If you enjoy black teas, I think you should certainly consider trying them more. The Chinese red teas (I say red, but they're actually black teas but the Chinese call them red instead) aren't actually blends, they're a single type of tea. It's kind of like whiskey. Blends can be lovely but to discern all the complexities, single malt is better, but they do both taste like whiskey. Also, most people will say that you should add milk like adding salt at the dinner table. Always try it black first, then if you want, add the milk later. And white teas aren't considered pleb in the tea community, no, but they do seem less popular, perhaps because they're more delicate.

>>6130731
Ah ok, that's a really good example, thank you. I'll definitely look into trying a variety of teas, I've had friends yelling at me to try more middle eastern teas as well, so I'll try grab both those and chinese.

>>6130436

>>6130731
You're making me wish I had some right now man

>>6128968
the gyokuro is pretty good.
Flavor is stronger then most greens I've had. and seems a little grassy.

>>6118821
You'll poop your pants once you find out about English Breakfast!

>>6130917
Not a fan of english breakfast, prefer irish.

Will tea dehydrate me? I hear it does a little, but the amount of water you're genuinely drinking outweighs the dehydration right?

>>6130970
http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140402-are-coffee-and-tea-dehydrating
Basically, it seems like tea doesn't dehydrate and caffeine only a mild diuretic.

>>6130440
i just googled it and the other guy has a point, some teas pose health risk because of fluoride content according to the Fluoride Action Network's website. It looks like they have a significant body of scientific literature to support their warnings

>>6131034
http://store.infowars.com/Propur-King-With-ProOne-G20-Filters_p_1258.html
Just buy one of thses

>>6116137
Kusmi I assume?

>>6128670
You probably shouldn't be drinking Gyokuro as a beginner. It's wasting money really..

>>6130605

Tea with milk. Yes you are a pleb

>>6130970
Nope tea is as healthy as water as long as you dont overload on caffeine.

>>6131329
this gyokuro shit is good.

>>6131369
It's supposed to be good. I hope you're making it the right way so at least you get your money's worth.

>>6130436
Enjoy your tooth decay...

>>6131302
Nope

Offtopic but coffee also has caffeine.

When I have people visiting and they would like some coffee, I always ask if they want normal or extra caffeine and then give them caffeine free coffee.
(I only have 1 kind, and it's caffeine free.)

>found large tea ball for extra leaf freedom
>favorite cup is too narrow

;_;

>>6131602
get a small teapot and pour it through the teaball like a strainer.

>>6131049
>Alex Jones
Fuck you guys.

>>6131730
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVoVIyL-ERU

>>6121971
This is true. I had to throw my last 2oz out the other day.

To be fair, I did have it for like 6 months, so it was about time.

can anyone explain yellow tea?

i'd just like to know what it is, the difference between it and green and the flavor.

>>6133137
its piss.

the only tea produced in europe

>>6131562
>decaf

You monster!

>>6119925
No one in Russia uses them anymore, but they're cewl. Fun fact, podstakannik literally means "thing under cup." So, the podstkannik is just the holder (sometimes made with lead), and the glass is just a glass (maybe leaded glass, I dunno).

Go find a cheap holder in a thrift store, and put your own fancy glass in it. You'll be happy.

>>6134959
I read they still used them on trains and shit.

>>6124006
few months ago i think. fucking tragedy, every other place in chinatown that sells tea either has absolutely nothing in english or is totally bizarre in general

I am planing on starting into tea to decrese my coffe consume, I am a complete newbie, What do I have to buy? What type of tea( easy to find ) do you recommend?

>Anything other than Nambarrie
plebs

>>6119925
Leaded glass is okay to drink out of. It's just not fine to store things in, especially anything that's acidic and will leach the lead out. I guess pregnant women or people in poor health probably should avoid it in any case.

The Romans used to store sour wine/vinegar in lead jugs because the lead would create a very sweet-tasting compound, I think they called it syrup of Jupiter.

>>6135164
Read as much, still seems...odd.

>go to teavana
>seems cool
>get a pound of 4 different teas
>as in a pound combined not of each
>plus tea spoon
>$134
Why is tea so expensive? It's fucking dry herb.

How much tea am i supposed to put into a pot?
How long should I steep it for?
How many times can I re steep before it loses flavor?

>>6136057
I got several teas as a gift from Teavana. Based on what I got, I'm assuming Teavana makes overly complicated blends and overprices it to trick rubes into thinking it's good.

>>6136148
I mean, they aren't bad, but damn son.

Do you know of any good sites to order from?

>>6136057
>Complaining about $134 for 4 pounds of tea
Ha, get back to me when you are paying $35,436 per ounce. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong_Pao

>It's fucking dry herb
On a more serious not, Tea is an ancient beverage that, throughout it's long history, the process of producing has practically become an art form. Tea is serious business. Wars have been started because of tea. Huge decisions have been made while drinking tea, people spend their entire lives, even in modern times, dedicated to growing, producing, or even just making and drinking tea.

That being said, Teavana is overpriced shit, fine for absolute newbies as an introduction to the fact that there is more to tea than bagged shit but ultimately not good.

>>6136057
Do you have any idea just how much tea 4lbs of tea will make?

>>6136180
there's a massive compilation on google docs linked somewhere ITT. not that guy but i got some great golden monkey from red blossom tea, and some good gunpowder green from harney and sons (also have gunpowder green from red blossom but didin't like it as much as harney and sons). plus i prefer plain teas to flavored stuff

>>6136183
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_Hong_Pao
I had some cheaper variety of that and it was like Pixie Stix: The Tea.

>>6136232
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0ApCZ-sUhC2egdGtTVFNjMzFfZzdDUnVVTVgxQ2RxNVE&authkey=CJLgu5IL&hl=en&authkey=CJLgu5IL#gid=0

>>6136183
>>6136314
I'll be straight up and say i'm a newb.
This was me >>6136134

What is the best tea you've ever had?
As odd as it sounds, mine was Copper Knot Hongcha from Teavana. They don't sell it anymore though. You could re-steep that tea about 4-5 times and it would still make an amazing cup. I'm guessing this is why it was discontinued. Has anyone here ever had this tea and have you found something similar since?

r8 my little tea counter

not pictured: a lot of my teas/teaware in storage

pictured: a pot of charcoal roasted tung ting

>>6136482
>making tea in a carpeted area.

>>6136427
I can resteep my oolongs and blacks 15+ times and still end up with decent tea.

>>6136134
Depends on the tea. The higher the quality, the more times you can steep it (generally speaking). I usually start at 30s to 1min steep time and increase in increments of 10-30s. As for the quantity, usually 1 tsp per cup of water.

>>6126879
Boil it in bleach or a citric acid solution and then boil it in normal water until the taste seems fine.

Does glass or ceramic take temperature shock better?
There's been a couple times that i've cracked some glass on cold days.

>>6136552
... Or just warm the thing up with warm tap water first.

>>6136482
weeboo

>>6136772
uh i'm chinese

>>6136775
wei ah bu

>>6136057
That's like fiddy cents per cup, and you can resteep some teas.

>>6120006
>puer
I do. According to my findings, it pairs awesomely well with any food exhibiting a noticable fat content or fatty/creamy taste: cheese, chocolate, pastry, avocados, tarama...

>>6136183
>expensive because of some idiot myth

I rarely spend more than three bux / 50g. In fact my usual gunpowder comes at 3.50 / 250 g and it's good. Overpriced tea is as artificially overpriced as it gets.

>hur muh speshul bush that's not special at all

Hey guys tea n00b here, I got my mom's kettle and put 10 bags of the extra horny tea in it but some of them broke open what should I do?

I spent $80 for a box of 20 bags so I dont want it to go to waste

>>6136183
I've had some of the Da Hong Pao tea and its not very good. Its very heady and has a unsophisticated mouth feel and I was thirsty 20 minutes later.

>>6137201
Jeez anon. Obviously it is overpriced due to some crazy Chinese myth I didn't say the price was warranted at all, I wasn't being serious when I compared Teavana prices to it you moron. I don't know why you are being so confrontational.

Also Tea is in fact much more than some random bush, I don't think you actually understand the history and the relevance of it.

>>6137225
I am not defending the ludicrous pricing of some Da Hong Pao tea, but your line of logic is horrible.
>I had some Tieguanyin once it wasn't very good. I guess all tieguanyin is bad.
No, Tieguanyin is a style of tea, just like Da Hong Pao, or a Phoenix Mountain/Guangdong Dancong. There are lots of farmers growing their own versions or renditions of these teas and the quality can greatly vary.

>>6137225
>I've had some of the Da Hong Pao tea
No you didn't

>and its not very good
Quite likely, given that its price is just dictated by folklore

>>6137248
Why are you acting like you know what you are talking about? Yes, he technically did. Lots of farmers grow tea with the same exact genetics in different places in Wuyi. Obviously it isn't the exact plant that the myth is based off of, nor is it exactly the same in quality or taste due to differences in the quality and mineral composition of the soil and the water that differs in wherever the tea is grown, but technically, anybody can have tea with the same genetics grown elsewhere in Wuyi.

Also, like any other Chinese oolong that has been grown and consumed and respected for a long time it is obviously not inherently bad somehow just because there is a myth surrounding it. Of course, I haven't had the real deal either, but I have had two different renditions of it from two different farmers and one was mediocre and one was great.

>>6137258
>Why are you acting like you know what you are talking about?

I'm omiscient

What's a good U.S based tea site with acceptable prices I can order from?
Don't wanna pay internation shipping and wanna stop buying from teavana.

>>6137459
see:
>>6136314
could also check out:
>>6120060

>>6137499
Oh cool, missed that.
Thank you m8.

I've had some Da Hong Pao before as well; it's ok, I prefer tieguanyinin general.

>>6130731
>And white teas aren't considered pleb in the tea community, no, but they do seem less popular, perhaps because they're more delicate.

who the fuck considers white tea to be pleb?

>>6135004

yeah the last time i even went to look inside a different place in chinatown the fucking chinese lady stood like a foot behind watching me the entire time. needless to say i chose not to patronize their business. fucking chink bitch.

>>6136180
>any good sites to order from?

lately i get everything from upton tea. they have cheap samples that are good for a couple cups each. you cant go wrong with these guys. their website is reminiscent of the 90s but its effective. dont let that turn you off.

>>6136482

6/10 too narrow

>>6116024
>organic
I always assume organic is an excuse to charge you extra

>>6116931
>microwave
>water
have fun with cancer

>>6133137
I've never heard the term 'yellow tea'. Do you have any examples?

>>6136552
I've never had ceramic crack on me, but like the other Anon said, warm things up with warm tap water first.

And since dahongpao has been brought up. Firstly, some types of dahongpao can be considered 'fakes', in that they come from plants that have been cloned from the original. Some are also actually blends of dahongpao combined with other teas. If you just buy 'dahongpao' without thoroughly investigating what it actually is, you may not be getting a 'true' dahongpao experience. Some taste like a bland English blend, but the better types have a deep flavour, slightly fruity like other red teas, and sometimes are even almost chocolatey.

>>6138940

>tfw live in the southern side of northern america
>only 'tea' available is dish water with a pound of sugar
i am uncultured. what is a good tea to import? seriously the only tea i have found down here is marketed as sweet iced tea and it tastes awful. i enjoy the bitter flavor of green tea. i have had it before and it was nice, but it was at a relatively expensive restaurant that i dont even remembers name. i am really interested in trying something new but dont know any other types of tea. so what is a good type for just general relaxation?

>>6140095
I'd say look for cheap samplers by online tea sellers so you can try various different styles of tea before you commit to buying a big bag.
I've used these two, but you can probably find others:
http://www.denstea.com/bnew-to-dens-teab-c-377.html
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/16-flavors-oolong-black-tea-dahongpao-tie-guan-yin-puer-sencha-jasmine-white-green-bi-luo/1932710068.html

Look up some suggested brewing for each kind before you try it, since most are best with plenty of tea, less-than-boiling water and not very long steep times. (I'm lazy and just use a pot set to 85C for everything, though.)

>>6140139
thank you very much
i will be sure to get me one of these.

Hey guys, could you suggest a good boiler with temperature regulation that won't cost me too much, considering I'm in Europe?

>>6140063
That's interesting, thanks!

bump

>>6126667
I've got a lot of oolong that does that. it's ridiculous.

>>6142837
the only tea type that I've had actually open up is pu-erh.
Not even sencha or gyokuro seems to do that for me.

>>6143797
that image is gunpowder tea, which does open up ridiculously as it is whole leaves rolled into tiny pellets.

>>6126667
Habeeb it.

>>6143809
I really need to try better gunpowder.

>>6143797
Sencha and gyokuro shouldn't. Only leaves that are rolled up should.

>>6142837
>>6143797
>>6143809
Any low oxidized rolled oolong will do this, see Tieguanyin or Formosa style oolongs. Pu'erh is obviously going to do a lot of expanding too since it is often made with large leaf variety wild plants and it is also compressed and compacted quite a lot. Gunpowder isn't really anything special.

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1958-year-old-raw-Puerh-Tea-250g-raw-brick-meng-hai-antique-leaf-wild-camphor-wood/1189193485.html?s=p
Wouldn't...this be terrible by now?

>>6144048
Why would it? It's dried.

>>6144048
Well they say good raw Pu'erh is still young until it has 20 years on it. Though that extremely low price for an 250g brick is sort of off putting, it must be past it's prime. I have seen 10-15 year old sheng go for much, much more for a brick/cake than this. Not that price = quality but still, it is weird.

>>6144059
looks rotted and there's webbing on it.

>>6144198
pu'erh is fermented bruh.
it ages, like wine and scotch.

you actually want an older pu'erh, it tastes fishy when it's young.

>>6144247
My young stuff didn't taste fishy, surprised me (misty peaks).
But shit looks like it's molding as well.

I got some Earl Grey for Christmas and it smells like licorice. Where's the bergamont? Does it even COUNT as Earlg Grey if it doesn't have bergamont? Am I drinking lie tea?

>>6144518
I didn't see anything like that. Could you draw some circles or something to point it out?

>>6144613

>>6140095
>bitter flavor of green tea

yeah... green tea isnt supposed to be bitter. someone is doing it wrong.

>>6144857

yeah thats definitely fungus. do NOT drink that shit.

>>6144939
that's what I'm saying.
Shit looks like old rotted leaves plucked from someones lawn.

>>6144944

i mean, a pu erh brick is probably going to look like a piece of mud you just dug out from the bottom of a ravine, but holy shit is it going to taste wonderful. i dont know how yours got moldy. mustbve been stored someplace damp/humid and warm.

>>6145004
Nah that ain't mine, thats the pic from aliexpress.
I just found that shit funny.

>>6144934
There are many varieties of green tea and some are definitely meant to be bitter. There are also certain flavours that are better named 'bitter' in English but in Chinese are more specific, like 'wei ku'.

>>6144857
Kind of looks like it was stored poorly in a damp area so that the outside has molded but the inside is probably fine since it's so compacted.

>>6146043
Can you explain 'wei ku'? The only response I get from google is as a name or name component, at least within the first couple of pages.

>>6146267
'味苦'. It's not exactly a term but is used sometimes when talking about tea, sometimes in a negative way, sometimes in a positive way, but it's kind of the same way a wine can be tannin-y, and that can be good or bad. I would say when referred to positively, it's maybe a combination of 'ku/苦/bitter', 'shuang/爽/strong and refreshing(?)', and 'qing/清/light and refreshing(?)'.