/tea/

[Anonymous No.17100986]

/tea/
This thread is for discussing teas, tissanes, and other herbal infusions.
info: types of tea, where to get tea, how to brew tea
https://pastebin.com/80GeeXJV

Previous thread:
>>17025951

[Anonymous No.17100995]

Found a local halal grocer that carries several varieties of bulk loose-leaf.
I stood there for a couple minutes just enjoying the smell.

[Anonymous No.17101001]

>>17100986
Im stuck in a monastery until Sunday and all they have is liston
Help

[Anonymous No.17101019]

>>17100995
Damn that's a lot of tea

[Anonymous No.17101023]

>>17101001
Just drink more off it

[Anonymous No.17101055]

>>17100995
snot nosed kids run their hands through that.
ask me how I know.

[Anonymous No.17101089]

>>17101055
Snot nosed kids are probably working in the factory and packing it into the bulk containers, so it makes no difference if they also touch it in the store.

[Anonymous No.17102122]

damn it's already too late to make more tea today,

[Anonymous No.17102201]

i just used a keurig to brew a cup of sencha... nutty intially? i've read acorn before which may be more accurate, then comes in the acidity. i hate it.

[Anonymous No.17102244]

>>17102201
Was is sencha that came in a kureg cup?

[Anonymous No.17102255]

>>17102244
no, threw some in a reusable k-cup. i hadn't used the machine in ages since switching to cold brew, so i decided to try some tea for science. outside of the acidity i actually enjoyed it. anything that can be done about that?

[Anonymous No.17102265]

>>17102255
No idea, i don't know what the actual temps those things brew at or what the specific cause of acidity would be in this situation.

[Anonymous No.17102303]

Someone on another board mentioned screenshots from /ck/ of an American exchange student who attempted to boil water in an electric kettle, but on a stove… could someone provide me with said screenshot?

[Anonymous No.17102311]

Coffee addict here, how do I make the switch?
I want something strong in the morning. I usually take 2 espresso shots with breakfast and 2 more with lunch.

[Anonymous No.17102324]

>>17102303
Haven't seen it before,
I found this

[Anonymous No.17102341]

>>17102311
It will be rough for a day or two but it's actually not that hard, i would start out with something like ctc assam or irish breakfast if you want something strong and malty. If you want something smother than i would get a Chinese black tea. Where are you i can make some recommendations, there is also some decent info and vendors for most parts of the world in the pastebin.
If you have a thermos brewing about half a litre of strong coffee in the morning and another at lunch, or just making a full litre to last you the day should keep you going.
There are actually some super stimulating teas out there once you get into it but i find the caffeine buzz from tea to be much nicer than coffee, its smooth and less jittery while still giving good energy.

[Anonymous No.17102343]

>>17102265
Not the anon you’re replying to, but..
“Standard” keurig machines heat the water to 192F.
“Nicer” keurig machines sometimes allow a small amount of adjustment. Mine allows me to adjust 187-192 in 1-degree increments. A whopping 5 degrees to play with.

[Anonymous No.17102377]

>>17100995
A lot of it looks like a smidgen above fanning

[Anonymous No.17102402]

>>17102341
Thanks, this seems like a good starting point.
Usually tea "high" is too smooth for me and I need something with a stronger buzz but I'll try the switch again. Coffee is destroying my stomach and I can feel it.

[Anonymous No.17102445]

>>17102402
Yea i switch from coffee about 5 years ago now, i used to make a really strong cup of pourover in the morning. Now i make about a litre of really strong tea instead.

[Anonymous No.17102468]

>>17102311
I switched to morning matcha instead of morning coffee. It worked well for me.

[Anonymous No.17102759]

thoughts on these?

[Anonymous No.17102824]

>>17102759
They work, for brewing in mugs i prefer something reusable like the stainless steel brew baskets from For Life or the mesh ones from finum but if you need something disposable the fill your own bags work fine.

[Anonymous No.17102833]

>>17102377
It’s better than the pic makes it look; The bad focus doesn’t really help either.

[Anonymous No.17102884]

I bought this today. Was not impressed. Weak watery shit. Will probably throw in the trash. Had a few sips then made a cup with a twinings english breakfast tea bag instead.

[Anonymous No.17102944]

I have pic related arriving tomorrow based on suggestions from the previous thread.

Does anyone here have any liu bao brewing tips based on personal experience?
When I search for ideal liu bao brewing methods, I’m finding everything from
>steep for only 7 seconds in a yixing then pour out
to
>A quality Liu Bao won’t be phased by a bit of extra tea leaf, using boiling water, or even oversteeping. On the contrary, it might make it even more robust and delicious. Aim for a really dark, almost entirely black tea liquor. A common preparation method is bringing the tea leaves up to a boil in a pot, then letting them steep while cooling. The hot temperature doesn’t harm the tea or extract any bitterness, instead, this method only enhances the tea’s nutritional value.

I get that it really just comes down to “experiment and make your tea however you think it tastes best”, but with it only being a 25g sample, I’d like to keep “failed experiments” to a minimum.
Also, how many steepings (assuming a strong brew) do you typically get from liu bao?

[Anonymous No.17102974]

>>17102944
The way i usually brew it,
I throw about 5-6 grams in a mug, fill the mug with boiling water, when it gets cool enough to drink i flick out any stems that are floating at the top, drink it about halfway down, then refill with boiling water, i can then drink it halfway down and refill another 2-3 times before it starts to get a bit watery.
If you want to brew it in a more normal way brew about 5g in a mug for about 5 minutes, drink it all, then brew the same leaves again for 10 minutes, maybe you can get. A third 15 minutes brew out of it.
But yeah it's very difficult to overbrew or use too much leaf, its pretty unlikely to get bitter on you no matter what you do to it.

[Anonymous No.17103001]

>>17102944
>>17102974
Also what I do. I don't even measure it desu. You'll figure out how it tastes and how you'll like to dial it in quickly.

[Anonymous No.17103028]

>>17102944
what kind of kike shit tea is that

[Anonymous No.17103046]

>>17103028
Can you clarify what you’re asking?
I don’t understand your lingo as it’s neither Israeli tea nor “shit”.

[Anonymous No.17103060]

>>17103046
He wants to know why it has the jewish star on it
>>17103028
Some chinman randomly decided to use that symbol because he associated it with wealth or something. The brand is called 4 gold coins lol

[Anonymous No.17103083]

>>17103060
>The brand is called 4 gold coins lol
Didn't even see that. That's funny. Wtf is up with this tea.

[Anonymous No.17103108]

>>17103083
Just some name some Chinese tea merchant made up in the late 90s during privatization. Maybe he was from Hong Kong.

[Anonymous No.17103115]

>>17103108
>merchant

[Anonymous No.17103194]

>>17103060
>>17103083
An “equilateral” hexagram, just the same as a “swastika”, were around a hell of a long time before the Nazis or Jews decided to adopt them as symbols.
They both have roots in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism.
In those contexts, the “Jewish star” hexagram is often used to symbolize balance, as it is composed of two triangles in opposite orientations.
Basically the same concept as yin/yang.
So it’s not strange for a Chinese person to use it on a label.

[Anonymous No.17103471]

so anyway
>>17102944
Im interested to gear about that green mark too, it's fairly reasonably priced for something that old.

[Anonymous No.17103606]

Is ctc tea good tea?

[Anonymous No.17103839]

>>17103606
It's not fancy, it's a specific way of precessing that makes it brew faster and makes it brew a stronger cup. If you are into English breakfast style teas that are strong and need milk it's something worth trying. You won't really see super high end premium teas processed that way but that doesn't make it bad. It's better than tea dust that's for sure.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=5653TXCjaw4

[Anonymous No.17103972]

Thoughts on lipton yellow label? Why does it taste and smell less than English breakfast?

[Anonymous No.17104233]

>>17102884
Just made another cup but stronger. It's decent but I feel like it doesn't have very much taste and smell. The leaves also didn't smell as much as when you open a new package of teabags.

[Anonymous No.17104242]

How would you explain being tea drunk to someone who might not understand?

[Anonymous No.17104396]

>>17104242
I guess i would just say caffeine buzz or feeling relaxed

[Anonymous No.17104401]

>>17104233
To bad it's not good anon. I was hoping it would be alright.
What do the tea leaves look like, are they full leaves or broken pieces?

[Anonymous No.17104454]

>>17104401

[Anonymous No.17104472]

I love my silver teapot

>>17104242
Clean tipsy/ head in the clouds feel but you feel more aware rather than less so

[Anonymous No.17104537]

>>17104454
Damn, i guess it's a bit bigger than what's in teabags but yeah it doesn't look great

[Anonymous No.17104651]

>>17102944
>Does anyone here have any liu bao brewing tips based on personal experience?
its tends not to get bitter very so you can make it multiple ways (basically any way of making tea you want). you can gongfu brew it (5-10g/100ml, short repeated steeps), you can make it "western" style, you can make it grandpa style where you just toss it in a mug like the other anons described, or its a tea that could probably stand simmering a small amount in a pot on the stove. i don't think the taste would work well cold brew however.

i always brew mine gongfu style but some of the other anons here like it grandpa style. those are two ways i would try.

[Anonymous No.17104693]

I have a few roasted oolongs (yancha and tieguanyin) that taste kinda sour. If I let them rest a while, would it get less sour or more?

[Anonymous No.17104704]

>>17104693
Iirc sour flavors in oolongs is from moisture getting to them. I would suggest trying to roast some in a baking pan in your oven at the lowest setting, just untill the leaves feel slight crunchy. Maybe 5-10 minutes but you will have to test yourself to see. That's what they typically do every few years when storing oolongs like that long term. You can try it with a couple cups worth to make sure you like the result

[Anonymous No.17104771]

>>17102343
Mmm, if it's quality Sencha then usually it's brewed at 160-170. That said water that's too hot generally leads to bitter/burnt taste, rather than acidity which I assume is dregs from having brewed coffee in said Keurig machine in the past or some other factor of the machine.
I don't know that I'd really brew tea in a Keurig, even a virgin one, but you do you.

[Anonymous No.17104879]

I'm one week into making my own Kombucha. I got a mature scooby from another person. The current brew has a new scooby forming at the top and it's like 1/3 inch thick.
Can I simply scoop up the first mature scooby and some liquid to start another while the current one "keeps going" or is it likely to stop the process if it isn't mature enough after 1 week?

[Anonymous No.17104890]

>>17104879
I forget what a typical brew time is but you want to wait untill this batch has reached a decent acidity level before using the liquid/scooby to start a new batch.
It should almost be done at this point right? How long were you planning to let it go?

[Anonymous No.17104909]

>>17104890
It tastes interesting, still fresh but also some vinegar. The instructions I read say you should taste it after about 5 days and start to bottle it. However, it also states if you want to make a larger batch you should wait 3 weeks so it has matured. It doesn't seem to take the scooby into consideration here but rather only the liquid itself, as you apparently can make kombucha from any mature liquid, without the scooby. So my thinking is a already mature scooby and perhaps not entirely matured liquid should work itself out.

I could just try but I'm worried I'll kill my scoobys.

[Anonymous No.17104969]

>>17104909
3 weeks seems overkill
As far as brewing yeah the scoby itself doesn't doo all that much, it's mostly dead bacteria, i mean it helps but the liquid is just as if not more important. Anyway i would give it maybe 5 more days and then taste it, as long as it tastes like kombucha at that point it should be fine to use it to start a new batch.

[Anonymous No.17104979]

>>17104909
The biggest concern about digging aroun in the current batch now to start a new one is that you will introduce contamination and it could result in mold growth in the current batch.

[Anonymous No.17105071]

>>17104969
Sounds like a good idea, i'll do that.

>>17104979
I did read you're supposed to use a straw when tasting so yeah, better be careful there. I'll wait a few more days and then do a new one.

[Anonymous No.17105139]

>>17104704
>Iirc sour flavors in oolongs is from moisture getting to them.
I thought that was more of a long term problem than a short term one? I also know some oolongs such as GABA can have a sour taste normally. i don't have much experience with roasted ball oolongs though.

[Anonymous No.17105304]

>>17105139
Yeah i think its more of a long-term thing, but long term might be a year or two after harvest

[Anonymous No.17105317]

>>17104472
>>17104242

I would say it feels like getting out of a long warm bath. You feel relaxed and floppy. Almost high conventionally but not quite.

[Anonymous No.17105337]

>>17105139
> roasted ball oolongs
Any time I’m having a shit day at work, I like to think “at least I’m not a tea-baller”.

[Anonymous No.17105699]

Bought this and it's so good.
Should I buy an electric kettle? Currently using a small saucepan to boil water

[Anonymous No.17105706]

>>17105699
Electric kettles are nice to have, i love mine and use it constantly.
If you are in the us secrua is a decent cheap brand with a totally stainless steel interior no plastic windows.
https://www.amazon.com/Secura-Electric-Stainless-Protection-K15-F1E/dp/B087BRBX4Q

[Anonymous No.17105756]

>>17105699
Electric kettles are great. Not just for tea, but also instant noodles and other things.

I’ve had pic for years and love it.

[Anonymous No.17105763]

>>17105699
if you ever in your life boil water for any purpose, with any regularity, there's literally no reason not to get an electric kettle.

[Anonymous No.17105983]

>>17100986
i got myself a nice tea christmas calendar, it's got a really stylish packaging and some very nice flavor blends. sadly i can taste PTC which means every single one of these drinks tastes like the same bitter shit to me, still it smells good though.

[Anonymous No.17106020]

Why the fuck does my Oolong taste a little bitter?
I brew it western style but my Lapsang has a nice rounded taste with a hint of smokiness while my oolong's taste is "cut" by some bitterness.
I put a teaspoon of tea per mug.

[Anonymous No.17106118]

At one of the massive Asian stores in my area, but they’re disappointingly sparse on tea brewing stuff.
They have a bajillion cups but basically no pots

[Anonymous No.17106124]

>>17106118
This seems to be it for pot-like objects.

[Anonymous No.17106142]

>fell for making real tea meme
>make real tea in a pot
>tastes nothing like bagged tea, it's either too weak or too strong, never right like the bagged stuff
>go on doing this for a half year, surely I will adjust
>nope still prefer the bags
Turns out I hate tea I guess, just love the bags simple as

[Anonymous No.17106150]

>>17106142
>Turns out I hate tea I guess, just love the bags simple as
Then have you considered emptying a bunch of teabags and just brewing a clump of bags by themselves?
If your hunch is correct, it might be your favorite drink ever.

[Anonymous No.17106191]

>>17106150
>Get a bowl from the cabinet
>Put 5-6 tea bags in
>Pour over ~200g of hot water
>Pour into another bowl after around 45 seconds
Gong-fu tea bags.

[Anonymous No.17106215]

>>17106191
how else would you brew them

[Anonymous No.17106249]

>>17106118
But they have sick lidded mugs for pro grampa style brewing

[Anonymous No.17106254]

>>17106142
There's an incredible spread of both "bags" and "tea". Have you tried ripping open a bag to measure the exact weight of tea you like per mug and trying to match?

[Anonymous No.17106255]

>>17106020
Good question, is it a more green oolong? Unroasted? Have you tried brewing it at a lower temperature? Some oolongs taste a bit off when brewed too hot.

[Anonymous No.17106261]

>>17105983
What is ptc?

[Anonymous No.17106268]

>>17106124
How about gaiwans?
Also sweet asian market, it's clean and well lit which immediately puts it in the top 10% of asian grocery stores.

[Anonymous No.17106274]

>>17106215
Based

[Anonymous No.17106288]

>>17106261
Phenylthiocarbamide, it is either completely tasteless or extremely bitter depending on your genetic make up (there is one gene that can cause the molecule to bind with taste receptors). PTC is harmless and is not present in nature, but there are other substances that share the same molecule structure and work the same way. if you ever had a friend who couldn't eat cilantro for example you might already be familiar with the issue.

[Anonymous No.17106298]

>>17106255
It looks like it's on the green side yes, leaves are greenish to brown, to my knowledge it's unroasted.
I'll try the lower temperature thing, thanks.

[Anonymous No.17106319]

>>17106298
Sure thing, i would shoot for around 80-85°c
I have a few greener oolongs that are finicky like that.

[Anonymous No.17106326]

>>17106288
Oh yeah is that that stuff they put on test strips for people to check if they are a "super taster" ?

[Anonymous No.17106383]

>>17106268
>gaiwans?
Unfortunately no.
>Also sweet asian market
The building itself used to be a full-size “normal” grocery store, so it’s really big by Asian market standards. Tons of groceries and ingredients.

[Anonymous No.17106460]

>there are people in /tea/ who I ironically settle for mere Chinese “Gong-Fu” preparation.

Behold, the ultimate gamechanger.
It’s Chinese AND Japanese, on top of being brand new AND vintage.
I’m about to get my Kungfu Gongfu on.

[Anonymous No.17106593]

I've heard that Puerh is hit or miss, would anyone mind recommending me a couple good ones to try?

[Anonymous No.17106678]

>>17102884
>Ceylon tea
>”Packed in Ceylon”
>no Ceylon “seal” on the label
I thought it was literally a legal requirement in Sri Lanka to have that in order to label something “Ceylon tea”.

[Anonymous No.17106694]

>>17102255
update: it was the bottled, purified water. switched to tap and the acidic taste was gone. apparently its the lack of alkaline that throws off the balance? anyway, good tea now.

[Anonymous No.17106707]

>>17106593
>puerh
>hit or miss
Don’t make light of the DV situation on lesbian community, please. /tea/ is a thread of peace

[Anonymous No.17106711]

>>17106707
Did you remember your Zoloft today, anon?

[Anonymous No.17106740]

>>17106593
Yeah sure
The benchmark raw and ripe puer
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2012-yr-menghai-dayi-classic-7572-ripe-puerh-100-quality-guarantee-taetea-chinese-puer-tea-for-gift-packing-150g-pc37-aged-puerh-best-organic-tea-p0140.html
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/2012-puer-tea-dayi-taetea-7542-150g-gift-package-china-yunnan-menghai-puerh-puer-pu-erh-raw-organic-health-care-food-chai-aged-puerh-best-organic-tea--p0139.html
If you give me a budget, tell me what region of the world you live in and tell me what kinds of puer you want to try (young raw, semi aged raw, ripe)
I can give you more specific recommendations, also how do you feel about smokey tea, and how do you feel about bitter tea.

[Anonymous No.17106753]

>>17106711
I guess they never miss huh?

[Anonymous No.17106757]

>>17106740
>smokey tea
Not that anon, but what would give tea a smoky flavor? Are there puerh teas that go through a smoking process?

[Anonymous No.17106762]

>>17106753
I would.
No homo.
Still would though.

[Anonymous No.17106764]

>>17106753
Who’s that puerh princess?

[Anonymous No.17106789]

>>17106757
It used to be a byproduct of the tea being fired in wood fired woks, the woodsmoke would flavor the tea some. The big factories actually have some sort of smoking step in processing, at least some of them do. In my opinion it does more and than add a smokey taste to the tea, it also seems to soften some roughness and smooth out the flavor of the tea.

[Anonymous No.17106795]

>>17106789
Sounds good. I know I love some of the toasted/roasted Japanese teas.

[Anonymous No.17106845]

>>17105071
Pictures for reference.

[Anonymous No.17106889]

>>17106845
Looks good so far, what tea did you use?

[Anonymous No.17106929]

finally got a Gaiwan

[Anonymous No.17107090]

>>17102944 finally arrived.
I guess they threw in the little bag of 2012 Wuzhou Yue Liu Bao just to be nice.

The only brewing pot (enamel-lined nanbu tetsubin) I have is still packed from moving recently so I guess it’s time for some grandpa brew.

[Anonymous No.17107094]

>>17107090
Cheers
>>17106929
What are you going to brew in it

[Anonymous No.17107132]

>>17107090
The invoice even has a nice handwritten “thank you for your support and happy holidays; enjoy the tea!” note.
Immediate impression is that Purple Cloud is pretty fukkin based.

[Anonymous No.17107167]

>>17107132
I like them because they sell some really fucking niche teas in the us. They have one of the largest selections of liubao of any western facing vendor, right up there with chawangshop and they are actually in the US, they also have some pretty nice yixing teapots if you are into that kind of thing.

[Anonymous No.17107194]

>>17107132
I've only put in 2 orders but I really like them. Decent enough selection to recommend to people wanting quick us shipping and they usually throw in samples.

[Anonymous No.17107218]

Anyone else think the last few centimeters of the cup of PG tips is always bitter as fuck?

[Anonymous No.17107231]

>>17105699
It's good but English breakfast is better.

[Anonymous No.17107251]

>>17107167
How much free tea do you get for shilling?

[Anonymous No.17107267]

>>17100986
Go to upton tea co's website
get some of pic rel or the darjeeling, irish breakfast is another rec
put honey, sugar, cream.
God tier

[Anonymous No.17107521]

>>17107251
>free tea for shilling
bitch I don’t shill for peanuts.
They send me the finest prostitutes from Beijing and Shanghai.
And not just any generic ones. They adhere to my specified requirements; roughly the same age as my mom, and long slender toes.
Sometimes those prostitutes come with a pack of tea, but that’s just a bonus.

[Anonymous No.17107529]

>>17107218
What is the diameter and geometry of the cup?
The “last few centimeters” could be anything from 3cc if drinking from a test tube to 30cc if drinking from a wide bowl with a flat bottom.

[Anonymous No.17107541]

>>17107251
>noooooooooooooo ccp vendors are now in cali

[Anonymous No.17107951]

>2005 Si Jon Qian (Four Gold Coins) Liu Bao:

This is for the one particular anon who suggested “Four Gold Coins” in a previous thread, and asked I give my impressions because he’s thinks of buying and entire kilo.

Forgive my blogpost; my culinary “expertise” mostly lies in Japanese food and American/European whiskey, and a bit of Japanese ‘green’ tea. I don’t know the proper descriptors for aged Chinese tea flavor/aroma notes.

But the smell of this alone was profound to me. Not the smell of a brewed cup, but literally just the smell of opening the bag and taking in the aroma.
It smelled of “good soil”.
But I mean they in the best way possible. I wish I could describe it better.
So for the blogpost I already apologized for:
When I was little, my parents moved to a rural area because they didn’t want to raise their kid in a major city.
They kept a huge “rotating” garden; meaning after growing things, you’d let that patch of ground grow something else which revitalized the soil, and you’d let it “take a year off” afterward.
The scent of that revitalized soil, especially after a light rain, it had a heavenly comforting scent.
The scent told you “this soil is ready to grow amazing things”.

When I opened this small bag of tea and nosed the leaves as I would a whiskey, it was literally that smell.
Not “similar to” or “kinda like”.
It was, in the most objective sense, the exact same smell of the “good soil” I just described.

[Anonymous No.17107956]

>>17107951
It literally brought tears to my eyes. Because just smelling the leaves sent me back in time 30 years, and I was a child in my mother’s garden being taught how to know when the soil was “good”.

I know that people throw around “earthy” as an aroma/taste description. This aroma wasn’t “earthy”. This didn’t smell like ‘regular’ dirt.
It smelled of moist fertile soil, in the best of ways.
It smelled of comfort and reassurance; it’s a scent I can’t describe in objective terms, but it’s a scent that will make anyone who has ever kept a serious garden feel warm on the inside.
I wish I could describe it better.

I haven’t even brewed it yet; this is purely my thoughts on smelling the leaves.

[Anonymous No.17108155]

>>17107951
Forgive the chemistry glass. I’m only using it to show color.

Pic is a sample from adding 100g of boiling water to 3g of leaves, and letting it sit for 5min before pouring through a strainer.
Figured I’d “start small”.

The scent of the brew is exactly the same as the “good soil” I previously described.
The flavor is the same as well; I would describe it as the exact same scent, but being experienced on your palate instead of just your nose.

Purple Cloud’s description includes “Off-putting to some to be sure” but to me it’s an absolute “comfort food” sort of aroma and flavor.

[Anonymous No.17108163]

>>17107951
>>17107956
I think "loamy" is the aroma you're describing. I know it very well, my dad's been an entirely organic gardener for my entire life. Can't wait to see how you like the taste. I'm smiling imaging you with an inky black cup just enjoying the smellz.
I've been drinking this lately trying to free up some room before my w2t order comes in.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/products/3-year-special-grade-loose-ripe-puer-100g?_pos=1&_sid=b558ddeef&_ss=r

[Anonymous No.17108195]

>>17108155
Correction: I made a typo. that was not 100g water, it was 175g.

Pic is steeping #2 with “actual” 100g boiling water for 5min
Aroma/taste is the same.
It’s like drinking that wonderful “good soil”, or I guess “loamy” like >>17108163 suggested.

It literally tastes the same as good fertile tilled soil smells after it’s been rained upon.
First thing in the morning, I’m going to order a kg of this.

[Anonymous No.17108203]

>>17108195
considering that was such a tiny amount of leaves, I can’t wait to try it with more.

[Anonymous No.17108253]

>>17100986
Best teas to calm the mind?

[Anonymous No.17108258]

>>17108195
And steeping #3.
This isn’t a “sample”. It’s all the water I used.
I went full sludge-mode.
10 mins of steeping in boiling water.
Microwaved leaves/water together at the 5min mark to bring it back to boiling.

Aroma/taste is still divine and still as I described, just more intense.
But zero hint of any bitterness.
And this is the 3rd steeping after two 5min boiling brews with only 3g leaves. So I can’t wait to try an actual “strong” brew in the morning.

[Anonymous No.17108260]

>>17108203
Def go stronger next time. If you're already ordering more, just cover the bottom of a mug with leaves and hit it with boiling water and let it stew until you sip. Drink and keep refilling as you taste the leaves slowly change and release all they can.

This is another one he sent me 25g of to try. Very very sippable with that soily fermenty funk right up front. Honestly if you email the owner he can probably tell you exactly what else to order with that kilo.

https://purplecloudteahouse.com/collections/liu-bao/products/8001-wai-mao-lao-mai-liubao?variant=31599680225323

[Anonymous No.17108265]

>>17108258
>Aroma/taste is still divine and still as I described, just more intense.
>But zero hint of any bitterness.
Thats what I forgot to add. Liu bao is very forgiving in my experience. It might be strong, but its never bitter or overpowering. Very good lazy late night tea. Leaves + mug + water and you'll probably be happily sipping.

[Anonymous No.17108269]

>>17108260
>Def go stronger next time
Not a problem, bro.
This stuff is so damn good I’m honestly inclined to grind it into powder and make it like matcha.
The longer and hotter it went, the better it got.
And no bitterness or bad flavor notes. The only difference was that everything good became more intensely good.

[Anonymous No.17108293]

>>17108269
You've got me craving some real soily tea now breh. Almost out of this :(

[Anonymous No.17108309]

>>17108163
>I know it very well, my dad's been an entirely organic gardener for my entire life.
Then you need to order some
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/products/2005-si-jin-quan-four-gold-coins-liu-bao-tea

It’s like all of those childhood gardening memories condensed into a cup.

[Anonymous No.17108336]

>>17108309
>childhood gardening memories
That old fuck still makes me help. Rake and shred all the fall leaves so they decompose over winter, add in early spring grass, alfalfa, cow shit, and keep it watered. Its amazing how quick compost piles generate heat and how similar the reaction smells to these 20 year old leaves. I'm out of space for anything right now but another purpcloud order is definitely happening. You'll 100% need to toss some of this on your order. Right up your alley.

https://purplecloudteahouse.com/products/2002-ye-sheng-liu-bao-803-500g-basket?variant=16282471661611

>it was more mushroomy and more earthy that the shou's i have. its similar but different. its hard to put a finger on it. there was a joke i heard from an onlne tea presenter which said "shou is for people who cant handle liubao" i can see why they say that. the flavor was intense and some how light at the same time. made the shou i had seem very light.

[Anonymous No.17108365]

>>17108336
Sorry man, I meant that in the context of retrospective good memories.
I fucking hatred working in my parents’ garden at the time. If I still had to, I wouldn’t want shit to do with anything that reminded me of it.

[Anonymous No.17108370]

>>17108195
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor

before you order a kilo of beetroot tea I suggest you try some other liu bao. three cranes and chinatea/zhongcha are two big producers. I hate to shill the fucker here since he stopped sending to EU but there https://www.fullchea-tea.com/c/dark-tea-0432

[Anonymous No.17108395]

>>17108370
also
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin
and this shop that was featured in some teadb episodes
https://www.threebearstea.com/collections/liu-bao

[Anonymous No.17108414]

>>17108365
Oh they're all good memories don't worry. I gave him some loose white tea and he said it tastes like grass clippings and he wants to start bagging and selling his yard.
>I suggest you try some other liu bao
Probably not the worst idea. Like I said, just email purple cloud and tell him exactly what you told us. I'd imagine anyone willing to stock that much liu bao probably wants to talk about it and he'd show you exactly what you're after. I've only got those two I linked from ordering a bunch of ripe and writing a note and telling me I'd probably like them. Turns out he's right.

Another lulzy review line from the 2002 I linked.

> It last for many infusions and maintains an aroma throughout reminiscent of a riverside thicket grown up around lichened boulders.

[Anonymous No.17108445]

>>17108370
>before you order a kilo of beetroot tea I suggest you try some other liu bao
I’ll try your suggestion, but I’m still gonna order that kilo. The memories it brought back were even more intense than the flavor.
Can’t have a second “first love”, y’know?
I mean yeah you can, which is why I replaced my ex wife with a newer and more reliable Japanese model. But that doesn’t count.

[Anonymous No.17108463]

>>17108445
>The memories it brought back were even more intense than the flavor.
Lesbians and gentlemen, we've got him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5m7SGjJo7c4

[Anonymous No.17108516]

>>17106889
Sadly I don't know anything about it other than it's a black tea of some sort, it was something I had left over in bag. I did go out and buy some black Ceylon FOP for further brewing though.
I'm really hoping to have a decent batch to share on Christmas with my family. The bottling and carbonation has me a bit worried though.

[Anonymous No.17108518]

>>17107951
>>17108155
Thanks for the write up anon, glad you enjoyed this tea. You did the hard part for us by doing such a good job at describing what you were into. I'm still not sure what made the Chinese to decide to start making liu bao in the first place but I'm glad they did, it's good stuff, one of my favorite teas for chilly nights and whenever you just want a comforting cup.

[Anonymous No.17108576]

>>17108516
>The bottling and carbonation has me a bit worried though.
If you can got those litre glass flip top bottles that they sell lemonade in those are really good for bottling, i wouldn't really suggest adding more sugar after the first ferment for carbonation, the residuals in there should be plenty.
Once you get a few batches going you will have more kombucha than you know what to do with.

[Anonymous No.17108588]

>>17108576
I exclusively did flavored simple syrups for my secondary ferments, but I was bottling around day 7-8.

[Anonymous No.17108701]

>>17102311
why would you want to downgrade ?

[Anonymous No.17108715]

>>17108576
Anon you actually quoted here, I got exactly those types of bottles from IKEA. Now I just pray they don't explode. Been thinking of using plastic ones just to get the feel of the pressure build up first time around.

[Anonymous No.17108822]

>>17108715
They won't explode unless you go nuts, the acidity really cuts back on the yeast activity
When i made kombucha i didn't really even bother with a second stage, after the first one i just poured it off into 1/2 gallon mason jars. Screwed the lids on tightly and put em in the fridge, they would come out pretty lightly carbonated after a few days.
I was brewing in this big gallon glass jar i got online somewhere. After a few brews you will have more scobys than you know what to do with. You will have to get used to throwing them out. I knew some guy that was fermenting in big rectangular tubs and than trying to make "vegan leather" out of the scobys, no idea how that worked out but it seemed pretty disgusting, i best his house smelled terrible.

[Anonymous No.17108833]

>>17107951
Oh yeah if you are going to get a kilo of that tea ask them wheat packaging in comes in and either order a big resealable mylar bag or get a few new half gallon mason jars and clean them out really well. Storage for those kinds of teas is pretty easy but it does require a little bit of effort, you want to maintain 50%-55% humidity and not let it dry out too much. If you keep it in glass you could probably just toss a small 50% boveda humidity pack in there.

[Anonymous No.17108851]

>>17108822
>When i made kombucha i didn't really even bother with a second stage, after the first one i just poured it off into 1/2 gallon mason jars. Screwed the lids on tightly and put em in the fridge they would come out pretty lightly carbonated after a few days.
When you say after a few days, does that imply it would keep carbonating with any kind of significance if left for longer? I might not drink my kambucha right away but rather store it for a week or two. Guides seem to imply the cold should effectively stop the carbonation.

[Anonymous No.17108880]

>>17108851
I think the carbonation was limited because i had the tea in mason jars, it doesn't seal very tightly so pressure could not build up, i assume if i had used fliptops they would have carbonated more. I would be pretty careful about doing a secondary ferment outside of the fridge, especially if you are adding more sugar to the equation.

[Anonymous No.17108882]

>>17108851
Also there is a homebrew general on /diy/ that might have some helpful tips or pointers for you. Its a slow thread but there are some knowledgeable people there.

[Anonymous No.17108900]

>>17108880
I'm going to be very careful with leaving them in room temp. If your experience with mason jars that don't seal too well is "lightly carbonated" by directly sticking them in the fridge I'll probably do the same with my flip top bottles just to be safe.

>>17108882
I was wondering where to turn for that kind of stuff, maybe make my own on /ck/ but I'll check that out instead thanks.

[Anonymous No.17109415]

>>17107951
Where did you buy this tea?

[Anonymous No.17109419]

>>17109415
USA based shop
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/

[Anonymous No.17109424]

>>17108309
Why is that tea so fucking expensive?

[Anonymous No.17109435]

Redpill me on charcoal stoves

[Anonymous No.17109511]

>order still hasn't left Hong Kong
I'm going insane

[Anonymous No.17109524]

>>17109424
It's 17 years old, it's a fairly collectable tea among people that like old tea that tastes like a root cellar. It's also a US based store so they have much higher overhead and employee costs than a store overseas.
The 150g option is 30¢ a gram, not terribly expensive when you get into fancy teas, the oolongs i like tend to be 50¢-60¢ per gram and stuff just gets more expensive from there. If you buy a kilo it's only 25¢ a gram which isn't bad at all, one brew session costs about $2 which is the price of a cup of coffee at a cafe.

[Anonymous No.17109532]

>>17109435
Kinda cool meme i guess, you really should not burn charcoal indoors but if you have a nice screened in porch or you spend a lot of time in your yard it might be fun, pair with a clay kettle for maximum memes.
I have never used one, its seems like a bunch of hassle but if guess if you are one of those people that likes to turn drinking tea into an elaborate ritual it would probably be a fun accessory to have around.
I wouldn't expect it to make any difference in the taste of your tea unless you got a sketchy clay kettle that made the water you boiled in it taste worse.

[Anonymous No.17109543]

>>17109511
I was watching the chink shopping thread on /g/ and 11/11 stuff people ordered from aliexpress seemed to be arriving overseas in the last week or so, that's honestly much faster than i expected. I usually have HK orders come faster than stuff i buy from the mainland so hopefully your tea will move pretty quickly once it gets going.

[Anonymous No.17109557]

>>17109511
my order from august has just arrived in the uk 7 days ago

[Anonymous No.17109634]

>>17109557
Don't say this my current tea will run out by late January at latest.
I'm probably actually going to have to buy some more from a local store, I was hoping this order would arrive in 40-50 days but I'll probably need a stopgap.

[Anonymous No.17109650]

>>17108900
I suggest putting the kombucha in plastic bottles when you want to carbonate them, soda bottles work just fine. Add a spoonful of sugar and flavourings like frozen fruit/berries/ginger and burp every day, it easily gets as carbonated as soda although it's not completely consistent.
Plastic bottles are nice since they won't explode into shards of glass, and you can easily see the pressure building up from how much it bulges, they are made to contain pressure.

[Anonymous No.17109667]

>>17109650
this, also you can compress the bottles when you fill them up so they'll expand as they ferment

[Anonymous No.17109720]

>>17108195
>It literally tastes the same as good fertile tilled soil smells after it’s been rained upon.
it probably has some Geosmin in it then. its one of the main chemicals responsible for the scent of petrichor.

[Anonymous No.17109751]

>>17108370
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petrichor
>>17108395
>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geosmin
i guess i should have read the whole thread before posting.

>>17108336
>"shou is for people who cant handle liubao"
my experiences have been kind of the opposite. i have had more funky off shou then liu bao. i think the lighter ferment helps.

you guys are making me miss helping with my parents garden. i like gardening. I really miss the fresh vegetables as well. unfortunately, I am collage student now so i don't really have the time or place to do it. when i finally get out and get settled in i intend to have enough land for a large garden and small orchard. will definitely grow some herbs for tea as well.

[Anonymous No.17109947]

>>17109650
Reading a lot about "burping". Some are hell bent you shouldn't, others say it's borderline necessary. Is it just to release some pressure from the carbonation?

[Anonymous No.17109961]

>>17109947
It's to release pressure, the bottles can burst if you don't. You don't really want way too much carbonation either because it will all spray out when you open it.

[Anonymous No.17110193]

My local Publix is out of the matcha I normally get.
Fuck this gay earth.

[Anonymous No.17110249]

>>17109524
>collectible tea
oh fuck right off with that nonsense

[Anonymous No.17110335]

>>17108715
>I got exactly those types of bottles from IKEA
I said get imported sparkling lemonade bottles. Ikea are chinese glass not rated for pressure. You bought decorative bottles homie. GL. Hope they don't turn to dust when you pop them.

[Anonymous No.17110374]

>>17110249
Anon he didn’t mean “collectible” in the same sense as you and your funkopop collection.

It’s no different than a rare whiskey or particular vineyard/vintage of wine in the sense that the older it gets, the more that people who like a particular one will buy larger quantities of it to hoard when they see it available somewhere.
Not because “omg collectible” like how you seem to automatically think.
But because they *like* drinking it, and want to continue drinking it, and they know it’s not as if more can be made, and that a day will come where there simply isn’t any more available anywhere, and what they have at that point is all they will ever have.
It shouldn’t be a difficult concept.

[Anonymous No.17110606]

>>17110374
>Anon he didn’t mean “collectible” in the same sense as you and your funkopop collection.
Unfortunately, i am pretty sure some people do treat heicha in the traditional "collectible" sense. see current Dayi and people collecting different mountains. also the same mentality of conspicuous consumption.

[Anonymous No.17110617]

Is kukicha just a scam to rip off foreigners by selling them stems and other waste parts?

[Anonymous No.17110777]

>>17110617
Are sausages just a scam to rip off foreigners by selling them offal and other waste parts?

[Anonymous No.17110781]

>>17110777
It'd be more like selling bones as "hard meat"

[Anonymous No.17110790]

>>17106118
those lidded cups are probably more commonly used in China than gongfu cha brewing.

[Anonymous No.17110795]

>>17110617
not everything is an asiatic conspiracy to swindle the white pigs

[Anonymous No.17110796]

>>17110795
or is it

[Anonymous No.17110811]

>>17110374
>consoom

[Anonymous No.17110849]

>>17110811
Yes, retard. You have to buy food/beverage to eat/drink it.

[Anonymous No.17110859]

>>17110795
Spoken like a true asiatic conspirator

[Anonymous No.17110863]

>>17110859
I did date Chinese girl in college so I guess I’ve been compromised.

[Anonymous No.17110927]

Producers always like to talk about how long their tea lasts, how many brews are anons doing? Obviously it depends on the tea a lot. I'm getting around five on this shou, but I'm doing longer brews. After that it's just hot tea-like water.

[Anonymous No.17111194]

>>17110193
>Publix Matcha

[Anonymous No.17111248]

W2T is now selling fuzhuan, Tianjian, Raw Liubao, and Liu'An. none of it looks particularly completing to me compared to what can already be got at other vendors but but i suppose more options is nice. maybe i will try some next time they run a good sale. what do you guys think of it?

[Anonymous No.17111393]

>Woke up with a migraine

Tea for this feel?

[Anonymous No.17111414]

>>17111248
>Raw Liubao
Sipped some of the raw 2021 earlier. Its bretty good.

[Anonymous No.17111416]

>>17111414
spring*

[Anonymous No.17111576]

>>17111414
the fall raw Liubao was actually the one i found the most interesting looking. the pictures make it look to be of decent quality and its fairly reasonably priced (20¢/g). also fresh raw Liubao is almost unobtainable from other western vendors.

[Anonymous No.17111830]

>drink tea for 3 months
>lots of chinese oolong, indian black tea, and then some unusual tea just to try
>feel like coffee is better

>drink coffee for the next 3 months
>americano with my moka pot like mom teaches
>experiment with pour over since americans swear by it
>feel like tea is better

I don't get it

[Anonymous No.17111844]

>>17111830
I drink both, why pick?

[Anonymous No.17112433]

>>17110617
No the Japanese are just obsessive about using avery even remotely drinkable part of the tea plant. See their obsession with massive old leaf bancha from the 6th harvest of the year. Probably is a result of them living on an island and doing what they cool to make tea last in times of scarcity.

[Anonymous No.17112599]

ok weebs, look what you made me do.
looks ok? initially I wanted just the matcha kit to try what that powdered tea is all about.

[Anonymous No.17112745]

>>17112599
Nice, enjoy anon.
Pls post about your experiences trying matcha we never get any posts about it here.

[Anonymous No.17112777]

>>17112599
you'll need a bamboo whisk or you can use a milk frother if u have one

[Anonymous No.17112816]

>>17111194
>implying Publix has jack shit to do with the growing/processing
Tastes the same as almost all of the matcha I have when I’m in Japan, because it comes out of the same fields/factories.
Weirdly enough, English on the container doesn’t affect the flavor.

[Anonymous No.17112831]

>>17112816
post it

[Anonymous No.17112881]

>>17110617
Considering it costs as much as real fucking tea, yes.
Why the FUCK would I buy Kukicha when Bancha is the same or cheaper?

[Anonymous No.17112884]

>>17112831
Happy now? Not sure what this has to do with matcha though.

[Anonymous No.17112887]

>>17112777
What's the point of buying Matcha?
Just buy Sencha and put it in a blender LMAO
saved you 10bux

[Anonymous No.17112897]

>>17112777
https://global.ippodo-tea.co.jp/products/gift911016
>>17112745
sure

[Anonymous No.17113549]

>>17112887
If only it was that easy

[Anonymous No.17114155]

>>17110849
But it’s for collecting, not drinking.

[Anonymous No.17114313]

I made another tasting note today:

YS Bai Lin Gong Fu (Spring 2021)
7 grams in 140ml gaiwan
Dry leaf smells like sweet potato, chocolate, and fruit. Wet leaf has tangy, mild smoke smell reminiscent of barbeque.
1st brew: 10 seconds at 208f. It has a thick cocoa-like taste alongside acidic tanginess and slightly savory, smoky notes. In the background are notes of fruit, flowers, and malt but these are overshadowed by the dominant taste. Oddly it had little in the way of body or aftertaste.
On the next few brews I added increments of 5 and the taste remained fairly consistent, if a bit more astringent.
During the mid-late brews the acid and smoke flavors began to fade allowing the floral and fruit notes to become more apparent, and an aftertaste of cocoa gradually built up. This continued until the last brew which was the most full-bodied-bodied and complex with a long-lasting savory (kinda meat-like) aftertaste. I got 11 brews in total.

What I wrote probably makes it sound better than it really is. Somehow despite liking heavy smoked lapsang souchong, I hate the slight smoke taste in these normal Fujian black teas. I assume it's there because they still get exposed to a little smoke during processing. I hope it fades as the tea ages.

[Anonymous No.17114320]

>>17110927
13, more if its shou nuggets but i am starting at 10sec and adding only 5sec each time

[Anonymous No.17114335]

>>17114313
I
>>17114313
>Somehow despite liking heavy smoked lapsang souchong, I hate the slight smoke taste in these normal Fujian black teas
Yeah its pretty frustrating to get smoke when that's not what you are after.

[Anonymous No.17114343]

>>17114320
What ratios are you brewing? I'm doing 5g for 80mL. I brew waaaay longer though, I do 40s, 20s, 40s, 60s, 80s, 120s

[Anonymous No.17114411]

>>17114343
5g/100ml longer steeps will extract more my 13th is usually around 120s

[Anonymous No.17114438]

How do you guys keep your teaware clean and stain free? I've been able to wipe most of the tea staining off with hot water+cloth but I'm curious if there's a more efficient way.

[Anonymous No.17114459]

>>17114438
Magic erasers wipe tea stains right off, just wake sure to wash the teaware thoroughly after using them.

[Anonymous No.17114491]

>>17114438
i use a glass cloth once its build up enough, some people use citric acid to wash their stuff

[Anonymous No.17114520]

>>17114438
>How do you guys keep your teaware clean and stain free?
i dont. (¬ ‿¬)

[Anonymous No.17114531]

>>17114459
why not just wash the teaware thoroughly in the first place

[Anonymous No.17114545]

>>17114531
It's annoying to spend several minutes scrubbing the inside of a heavily stained mug with a sponge vs two seconds to wipe it off with a magic eraser.

[Anonymous No.17114547]

>>17114545
dude the chemicals are in your tea

[Anonymous No.17114551]

>>17111248
>Raw Liubao
Is there a place to get this really fresh that's not w2t? I have the urge to impulse buy a whole basket of that but I don't want to give twodog money.

[Anonymous No.17114552]

>>17114545
but you still have to thoroughly clean after using the magic eraser anyways

[Anonymous No.17114630]

>>17114551
>Is there a place to get this really fresh that's not w2t?
not that i am aware of, hence it being the most interesting of their new offerings. its a long shot but i suppose you could email the main liu bao vendors and suggest they try and source some.
https://purplecloudteahouse.com/
https://www.threebearstea.com/

[Anonymous No.17114648]

>>17114552
What's your point? If you feel better about yourself for standing around for 5 minutes scrubbing tea stains off a mug be my guest. Some of us would rather not.

[Anonymous No.17114927]

>>17114648
but you're gonna be standing around for 5 minutes scrubbing out the magic eraser stuff

[Anonymous No.17115007]

My girlfriend cleans my teaware. Some of it was dirty once, but only once.

[Anonymous No.17115060]

>>17114520
Black cup and gaiwan masterrace.

[Anonymous No.17115065]

>>17114927
No, you arent

[Anonymous No.17115087]

>>17115065
you have to thoroughly wash it

[Anonymous No.17116238]

Hi /tea/. I'm kind of a coffeefag but I want to try some Sideritis/Tsai tou Vounou because reasons. Has anyone had it before? What equipment, if any, would I need?

[Anonymous No.17116253]

>>17116238
>What equipment, if any, would I need?
Water, something to heat the water, something to hold the water and the tea.

[Anonymous No.17116261]

>>17116253
Do I need like an infuser or a filter or anything?

[Anonymous No.17116262]

>>17116238
>Sideritis
>Has anyone had it before?
yes, i have a bag of this on my shelf right now.
https://kliotea.com/shop-greek-mountain-tea
i really like it and can wholeheartedly recommend it.
>What equipment, if any, would I need?
nothing special besides a fine strainer assuming you don't already have one.

[Anonymous No.17116373]

>>17116261
I don't have one, but I've thought about buying one. You don't need it, you might want it.

[Anonymous No.17117117]

>>17116261
Infuser/filter/gaiwan is convenience, Chinese peasants have been drinking "grandpa" style for centuries.
It's just that you might not want to deal with tea leaves while you're trying to drink the beverage.

[Anonymous No.17117250]

>>17116261
Finum filter basket
Perfect fro brewing any tea in your mug, easy to clean

[Anonymous No.17117349]

for me it's tetley with a dash of milk

[Anonymous No.17118008]

>>17117349
how does it taste?

[Anonymous No.17118023]

>>17102311
drink coffee in the morning and tea in the afternoon
you don't have to choose one or the other

[Anonymous No.17118027]

for me it's fancy oolong mixed with cheap black tea

[Anonymous No.17118038]

>>17118027
How does it taste?

[Anonymous No.17118216]

>>17116238
I love sideritis but my boyfriend hates it ("it tastes like acid reflux"). It's super cheap so it's worth trying in any case.
Just throw some leaves in a big teapot with a filter, boil water, and brew for ten minutes or so. It won't get bitter.

[Anonymous No.17118220]

Do you leave the teabag in the cup or do you take it out?

[Anonymous No.17118680]

drinking some Lao Cha Tou from kunming tf
http://www.tuochatea.com/cnnp-pu-erh-cha-tou-p295/
yes, the price isn't a typo
it's a standard laochatou fare, thick, sweet and comforting.
I love this nuggers.

[Anonymous No.17118746]

>>17118680
I can't believe that website still ships things when you buy them, it's very weird that they haven't added any stock or changed prices in a decade but are somehow still operating.

[Anonymous No.17118751]

>>17118220
Take it out, always

[Anonymous No.17118795]

>>17118746
they are pretty fucking professional too. they answer emails in timely manner and don't go "ey buddy buddy fellow teahead" on you.
look at the product pictures with subtle photoshopped shadows.
despite absolutely no shilling on forums and ((social)) media they still operate. they were getting some flak for "bone dry kunming storage" earlier but as it turns out for me at least, the cakes are very fragrant and retain much of the original strength this way.
they added some teas in the last few years but yeah, not much.
shipments arrive after two - three weeks. if you're on the fence, I'd say give them a go. they still carry some interesting outliers, like the cha tou canister, bamboo sheng (in my storage right now) and also a cake with Pang Xie Jiao (crabs legs parasite similar to mistletoe which grows on tea trees and has been historically added to puerh cakes).
btw my nuggers got me sweating and cleared my sinuses. nice energy.

[Anonymous No.17118850]

>>17118795
>btw my nuggers got me sweating and cleared my sinuses
Nice, i love a good stimulating ripe
>crabs legs parasite
I'm kind of hesitant to try that. I did some limited research about it a few years ago and there seemed to be some concern that it was related to other plants that would cause cardiac issues if consumed regularly. Out of an abundance of caution i usually try to avoid herbs and herbal products that are completely unknown in western literature because im afraid i would be SOL if i managed to poison myself with one.

[Anonymous No.17119184]

Wow it really is incredible how fucking bland Ceylon tea is. Nothing I do imparts any semblance of flavor whatsoever. Not Western style, not oversteeping, not gong fu style. Tap water, filtered water, spring water, nothing changes. This is the most bland tea imaginable, if white people drank tea this would be it.

[Anonymous No.17119227]

>>17119184
But how does it taste?

[Anonymous No.17119246]

>>17119184
I am white and I don't drink that shite.

[Anonymous No.17119258]

I have a small cast iron teapot with a fairly big net for brewing tea in. I always have a devil of a time getting the leaves out once I've done a few good steeps. Any tips? I've considered ditching the basket, but that doesn't work out well either.

[Anonymous No.17119333]

>>17119184
Did you really post all that just to make a whypipo joke?
Try some better Ceylon.

[Anonymous No.17119385]

>>17119184
Black tea matter

[Anonymous No.17119472]

>>17118746
there is nothing more based than a site that has escaped the centralization of the net

[Anonymous No.17119735]

>>17119258
shake as much out as in can then hold it upside down and run the faucet on it. That's usually gets most of the fine stuff out

[Anonymous No.17120396]

Do people really do 2 minutes for black tea infusions (western) ?
I brew mine 3 to 5 minutes, am I missing out?

[Anonymous No.17120587]

>>17120396
Using more leaf and a shorter brew time usually gives a better brew.
I do this with my unscented blacks, but tea with flavoring oils tends to get kinda soapy when increasing the amount.

[Anonymous No.17121529]

My wife got me a Vahdam tea advent calendar. And just figured out I do not care for Assam.

[Anonymous No.17121571]

>>17120396
This chart sucks for western brews and needs to be redone. Whatever works for you is good

[Anonymous No.17121863]

So I need help with something and I don't know where else to ask. I drink pic related because I find it as an incredibly satisfying Arnold Palmer alternative. Arnold palmer/arizona for whatever reason is borderline disgusting to me now. Me and my friends used to enjoy it only a few years ago but now the only way we can drink that shit is to dilute it with tons of ice. It's like liquid syrupy sludge. The nest tea is surprisingly clear by contrast.

I'm looking to make my own without buying a pre-powdered blend and just diluting that. I don't drink anything carbonated or with a "fizzy taste" and I know iced tea like the kind I drink is hardly classified as "real tea" because it's got so much extra shit in it but I really like this stuff.

Looking for a sweet, lemon taste that's also a bit lite (but not flavored-water lite)
The nestea is only available in canada, unfortunately.

[Anonymous No.17121903]

>>17100986
Have it with dim sim. Yum cha!

[Anonymous No.17121926]

>>17121863
I don't know about adding lemon or peach, in fact I know very little about cold brewing tea.
However I used to do cold tea by making regular tea and adding ice.
Indian black tea, something cheap like assam ctc or ceylon. I saw people doing it with tea bags.
I used to do 0.8g or 1g for every 100ml, so for 1L that would be 4-5g. But I used to boil only 500ml, and add 500 ml of ice once the infusion was complete (5m) and I had removed the leaves.
Then I guess you can add sugar if you want it. and you could try google for how to go about adding peach or lemon.
Check the pastebin in this thread too, maybe there's something about cold brewing, not sure.
And maybe if someone more competent in cold brewing shows up he can give you better advice.

[Anonymous No.17121937]

>>17121863
Take a plastic drum, fill with tapwater, put like 10 lipton bags in there, put out in sun for a few hours or alternatively, in fridge for like a day or two, then take out bags and toss, afterwards just mix that and picrel till it's the right balance and presto bingo you got it son.

[Anonymous No.17121941]

>>17121937
Another alternative is using club soda and country time if you feelin fancy

[Anonymous No.17122011]

I used to be a black tea drinker, and it was all I drank. But, for the past year I've been trying out all kinds of teas and I can't stand black tea anymore. Gunpowder green tea is primarily what I drink now. I'll go days just drinking nothing but that. If I'm feeling groggy I'll drink some puer. If I want a treat, I'll drink oolong.

The only way I can drink black tea anymore is with milk.

[Anonymous No.17122015]

>>17122011
Oh, I forgot sencha. I drink sencha more than oolong.

[Anonymous No.17122016]

>>17121926
>>17121937
Thanks anon(s)!

[Anonymous No.17122018]

>>17121941
Not into carbonation, but appreciate! I'll do something for my guests!

[Anonymous No.17122044]

Actually bothered to drink something other than my usual daily drinkers today, this is some white wrapper puer from laos or burma somewhere over there. It's good, fruity and creamy.

[Anonymous No.17122057]

>>17122044
Damn this is pretty nice, im getting some spice aspects to it as well.

[Anonymous No.17122062]

>>17102884
>pootea
Wow

[Anonymous No.17122355]

Received this when I ordered some teaware. Is stuff like this generally safe to drink or should I take some precautions?

[Anonymous No.17122391]

>>17122355
Haha it should be fine.
If aged tea is bad it will have visible green and black mold on it and smell and taste horrific.
King tea mall is legit, i have consumed kilos of tea from them with no issues. I think i got a sample of that same tea this spring, i can't really remember what it was like

[Anonymous No.17122461]

>>17122355
I had that exact tea, shit's good. It's an aged white tea, which ages through a different process than tea like puerh. Not risky at all, there's not even the same mycotoxin risk as puerh.

[Anonymous No.17122477]

>>17122391
>>17122461
Alrighty. Looking forward to trying it.

[Anonymous No.17122643]

If Black people drink Black tea, White people drink White tea and Yellow people drink Yellow tea, who the fuck drinks Green tea?

[Anonymous No.17122674]

>>17122355
the lower grade white tea that tends to get pressed into cakes and aged can taste quite good even if it looks like it was raked off someones lawn. less stems and twigs is still preferable though.

[Anonymous No.17123153]

>>17120396
>>17121571
people have been complaining about this chart for a while also vahdam still needs to be added to the indian section
>>17120587
>Using more leaf and a shorter brew time usually gives a better brew.
not for indian teas
>>17121529
yeah i only like it smoked
>>17122643
aay lmao he's on to us

[Anonymous No.17123618]

what do you guys think of these as gifts?
https://www.hotsoup.nl/nl/advanced-oolong-tea-explorer-2-1.html
https://www.hotsoup.nl/nl/advanced-green-tea-explorer.html
the teas seem fine to me but kinda unsure

[Anonymous No.17123722]

>>17123618
They seem fine, if they are gifts for people that arent into looseleaf tea consider teabags of something from https://www.mariagefreres.com/UK/welcome.html
Instead, i find that just needing to deal with looseleaf is enough of a barrier to keep non tea drinkers form ever getting around to drinking the tea.

[Anonymous No.17123919]

Hi, first time posting on this board.

I'm looking to buy a Christmas present for my mother and I thought something tea related would be nice, but I'm uninitiated in the world of tea and I thought this Serbian basket weaving forum would be a good place to ask (since you guys usually aren't trying to shill me things).

I live in Australia, willing to spend up to $150AUD. I know that mum likes green tea and some variety of French tea, but not much more than that. Something like an exotic tea tasting set would be perfect.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[Anonymous No.17123955]

>>17123919
Jasmin tea is green and pretty exclusive

[Anonymous No.17123966]

>>17123955
Are there any particular brands of Jasmin tea that you'd recommend?

[Anonymous No.17123993]

>>17123966
Not really. Haven't had it that often.

[Anonymous No.17124016]

>>17123919
>French tea
if she likes french style scented teas i would look for shops in Australia that carry mariage freres teas. Marco Polo is there signature blend. unfortunately i cant more specific recommendations because i have not actually had their teas myself, i just know that they are one of the go to french brands and have heard good things about them.
for example you could grab a few tins from here:
https://www.labellemiette.com.au/collections/tea
https://www.labellemiette.com.au/products/marco-polo

[Anonymous No.17124054]

>>17124016
Thanks for the pointer, this looks perfect!

[Anonymous No.17124388]

>>17123919
Some first flush sencha if she likes green tea. It's Japanese green tea but steamed and that really brings out the umami flavour of the green tea. And first flush is the most quality sought after pick. To me, sencha is the most quality of green tea.

https://yunomi.life/collections/green-tea/products/kurihara-tea-hachijyuhachiya-shincha?variant=8660325040233

The default price for 20g really isn't much. You'll have to pay $30 for 100g

Maybe somebody else can recommend a better shincha.

[Anonymous No.17125739]

tea

[Anonymous No.17125871]

Fuck
I need to stop drinking black tea, it makes me feel so fucking sick
God damn

[Anonymous No.17125913]

I lived on a property that had large amounts of stinging nettles that grew naturally everywhere. Made for some really good tea. Almost feels like a mild Kava as a tea.

[Anonymous No.17125929]

>>17125913
shoulda made yourself some pants for the +10 survival

[Anonymous No.17126103]

>>17121903
>Yum cha
Opens lid in teapot for refill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTtv9ADzdxE

[Anonymous No.17126351]

>>17126103
Nice

[Anonymous No.17126640]

So Puerh tastes like fish, but what tea would you say pairs well with fish? How about (beef) steak?
People pair wine with meals so I'm curious what tea pairing is like.

[Anonymous No.17126654]

>>17126640
Raw puer doesn't taste like fish, ripe puer isn't supposed to either the ones that are really fishy are typically low quality productions that haven't been fermented or aged properly prior to sale.

[Anonymous No.17127135]

God I fucking love kukicha. But is there any site in the world doesn't sell it for the same price that gyokuro would be sold at? It's all backwards.

[Anonymous No.17127145]

My LP puerh beginner pack just shipped. i cant wait to get it.

[Anonymous No.17127294]

>>17127135
Where does it cost Gyokuro levels? Like I get it's more expensive than twig should really be, but usually I see it for slightly less than a proper Sencha and about on par with a Genmai/Bancha.

[Anonymous No.17127343]

>>17127145
Nice, im excited to see what's in them this year.

[Anonymous No.17127362]

Anyone have an idea what this tea might be? My friend's parents got it from a Chinese family they know, yet they can't identify it.

[Anonymous No.17127409]

>>17127362
It's a fucking package you moron, where's the tea? Show us the tea. The state of ameritards...
But anyways, it's probably generic tieguanyin oolong. Google.

[Anonymous No.17127446]

>>17127409
T-thank you.

[Anonymous No.17127493]

Real root cellar tasting tea hours

[Anonymous No.17127504]

>>17127446
Do you have a speech impediment?
You're welcome friend. Remember, tea is for drinking. If you haven't had loose leaf tea before then even generic chink stuff may be eye opening. Have a good one.
>>17127493
Is it liu bao o'clock already?

[Anonymous No.17127946]

>>17127504
Yes im getting into the liu bao early today, actually been making it since i got up this morning. I needed a change of pace and i love how easy to drink it is.

[Anonymous No.17128096]

>>17127362
its probably some Tieguanyin (铁观音)

[Anonymous No.17128275]

>Matcha

[Anonymous No.17128333]

>>17128275
How does it taste?

[Anonymous No.17129025]

>>17128333
gween

[Anonymous No.17129077]

>>17127493
Show root cellar. I need some comfy scenery to enjoy my tea with.

[Anonymous No.17130455]

>>17126351
I thank you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POk_jmH9QC0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_VsxGdECYI

[Anonymous No.17130488]

Green tea or black tea?

[Anonymous No.17130569]

>>17130488
For me its oolong
But i prefer black over green

[Anonymous No.17130741]

>>17130488
I never liked green tea. Always taste like grass to me.

[Anonymous No.17130859]

>>17100986
just got 25lbs of soybeans in the mail, 8lbs of mamri on the way, bout to be tea central in a bit, going absolutely to heaven with the stuff

[Anonymous No.17131228]

>>17130859
Soymilk?

[Anonymous No.17131233]

Tea time

[Anonymous No.17131251]

How do I pour a Gaiwan
It feels stupid even asking but I keep getting tea dripping down the side of the Gaiwan/not pouring cleanly. Please tell me there's a secret technique I'm missing and that it's not just an inherently "messy" way of pouring tea.

[Anonymous No.17131290]

>>17131251
Hold the lid firmly in place, tilt it quickly when you start pouring, you are probably tilting it too slowly. Just try with cold water and figure out what angle you need to hold the lid to get it to pour cleanly, see if you can find some videos on YouTube and watch them if it will help you get a feel for it. I think pouring from my gaiwan is less messy than my little teapot. You really just need to get some practice and you will get the hang of it.

[Anonymous No.17131301]

tea

[Anonymous No.17131304]

>>17131251
You just need to sneak up on it

[Anonymous No.17131324]

>>17130859
But what are the beans for? Natto?

[Anonymous No.17131331]

New Thread
>>17131329
>>17131329
>>17131329

[Anonymous No.17132193]

>>17131324
nah, homemade soymilk