/tea/

[Anonymous No.17264803]

/tea/
Big Brick Edition
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:
>>17236042

[Anonymous No.17264826]

that is a lot of tea

[Anonymous No.17264848]

Just think of all the teagirl hair waiting to be found in that brick.

[Anonymous No.17264944]

what are your must-have or favorite teas? personally mine would be (for black) a good smoked lapsang and keemun for russian caravan blend. not too experienced with black tea so i'd like to test out assam, kenyan, yunnan, etc. teas

green oolong: tie guan yin with substantial mouth feel and at best sour lasting after taste or nice complex high mountain/generally nice oolong like mao xie

for heavier oolongs golden water turtle is my favorite, shui xian, rou gui, etc. are good as well. dong ding roasted or black/coffee oolong are nice as well

and the rest i would spend on sencha

[Anonymous No.17264999]

>>17264944
>what are your must-have or favorite teas?
Semi aged raw puer, preferably from Xiaguan
Ripe puer - any
Liu Bao - preferably from three cranes
Wuyi Oolong - ru gui, three stamp, sparrows tongue, basically all the older varietals are good as well.
Green oolong - a good quality osmanthus oolong, tgy
Black tea - fruity yunan blacks
Greens - whatever
Whites - dunno

[Anonymous No.17265016]

THREADLY REMINDER
Yunnan Sourcing will do their yearly 20%+ price raise on aged teas and old stock at some point in February. If you are planning to order from them make sure you get your orders in before then. Don't be like the anon last year who waited 1 day too long and paid an extra $60 on their large order.
THREADLY REMINDER

[Anonymous No.17265040]

>>17265016
Thanks for the reminder. Getting this shid ordered right now. And they say this place is not helpful.

[Anonymous No.17265073]

My favorite tea is the Turkish Tea.

[Anonymous No.17265078]

>>17264803
>giant liubao brick
based, where from?
ive snagged a lot of shit from chawangshop over the years, been letting it age
have been tempted by the recent w2t bricks

[Anonymous No.17265097]

>>17265078
That picture is from chawangshop.
It's not as good of a deal as it was last year but that 1kilo old tree brick they have from 3 cranes is good stuff if you like chocolatey liubao and don't care that it's young and still a bit bitter. I should have grabbed one when they were still $80

[Anonymous No.17265188]

>>17264803
I have been eyeing a 2kg Fu brick on YS for a while.
kind of want to order it before the price bump, but i have a KTM order piling up.
Fuck

[Anonymous No.17265195]

>>17265016
>20%+
Is drinking tea only for the rich now?

[Anonymous No.17265293]

>>17265195
He does it every year. Has for as long as i have been aware of YS. You people keep buying his tea. It's actually not even enough to break even this year since real inflation is 25% or more.

[Anonymous No.17265464]

>Tfw about to drink my old fishy gong ting again just to taste something different.
It's too late for me, anons. Save yourselves.

[Anonymous No.17265470]

>>17265464
I'm actually starting to like some funky ripes. I don't like the really nasty ones but I'm coming to appreciate xiguans signature funk.

[Anonymous No.17265486]

Been eating these with my tea lately. I like it.

[Anonymous No.17265516]

>>17265470
I get that sentiment; funk can be really indulging if done well. This particular gong ting was a bit "too much" close to a year ago, but I've given it time in an isolated environment, and it seems to be doing quite well. Quite thick and malty, even on a short infusion. I infused lightly (how I prefer shou), and it is still pretty cozy. No real sweetness, but quite smooth, and the brewed leaf smells like a malty syrup. Pic related, casual image of it.

I'll need to do more infusions to see how it turns out, but I'm pleased that it has become more palatable. I'd like to try more wet storage pu'er and heicha sometime. My only experience with Xiaguan was sampling a (very wild) 2009 Xiaguan 8653 Sheng. That one had so much character; was quite the ride.

[Anonymous No.17265552]

>>17265516
Oh yeah that's a very dark ripe, and pretty small material i bet that can get strong pretty quickly on you with a long infusion.
Its definitely worth putting a challenging tea away for a while and coming back to it to see if it mellows out some. I have a bing somewhere in the bottom of my pumi that i heated when i got it but it's pretty decent after i break some up and let it air out for a while. It was just kind of musty originally and with some time most of the must has disappeared.

[Anonymous No.17265553]

>>17264803
Built for small white cups!

[Anonymous No.17265558]

I like bitter raws

[Anonymous No.17265624]

>>17265552
You are quite right. This was the first tea cake I ever got, and looking at my journal notes, I can tell my new parameters are a lot more suitable. I still never liked heavy shou/sheng infusions either. Isn't it nice to experience old tea in your stash when you have gained more experience? One another note, I've only had two light infusions of this so far (rinse and second), but the energy I'm getting from it right now is quite a lot compared to most of my other fermented tea. It's fun to discuss these things with fellow anons. Here's another pic.

[Anonymous No.17265711]

>>17265624
It might be because i tend to use a lot of leaf but i usually find shu to be quite stimulating. Maybe the fermentation makes it easier for more caffeine to soak into the tea soup faster.
It's definitely interesting to look back on my old tea habits as i gain more experience. In retrospect it seems like i didn't know what i was doing the first year i was drinking tea. For example I'm so much more comfortable with breaking up teacakes, to the point where i will just lazily break chunks off with my hands sometimes, where i used to find it frustrating and worry about breaking too many leaves. It's also a bit easier for me to shop for teas now because i have some idea of what im looking for and at least a bit of knowledge about some of the puer brands. Even if in general i still know very little about tea.

[Anonymous No.17265991]

should i get into rooibos or is it a meme

[Anonymous No.17266122]

>>17265991
what do you mean "get into"
what do you mean "meme"
just buy some and drink it

[Anonymous No.17266146]

I'm a simple guy and usually just drink tea for health. 1 or 2 cups of green with matcha powder in the morning to get me started, and 32oz jug of cold lemon or berry hibiscus tea sweetened with erithrytol throughout the day.

[Anonymous No.17266156]

>>17266122
i heard it tastes like dirt

[Anonymous No.17266168]

>>17266156
it also costs about as much as dirt

[Anonymous No.17266355]

Parents gifted me a Hamilton Bach Electric Kettle for Christmas and it’s gone unused for weeks now. Does anyone use electric kettles? Mainly drink Green Tea so the setting for it and the ability to hold the water at that temp seems real convenient.

[Anonymous No.17266359]

>>17265991
lmao just try it.

[Anonymous No.17266369]

>>17266355
You should. It's better than a microwave and faster than the stove. Plus the temperature control is handy since different teas require different temperatures and lengths for steeping.

[Anonymous No.17266382]

>>17264803
>this nigga bought a brick of leaves

[Anonymous No.17266404]

>>17264826
You're a big guy

[Anonymous No.17266555]

Where's the best place to buy fresh green spring tea when it comes out?

[Anonymous No.17266575]

>>17265195
only on the aged stuff. blacks, greens ect seem to stay the same or increase a little due to inflation/conversion rates

[Anonymous No.17266587]

Any opinions on Japanese vs Chinese Green Tea? Like Japan but know they like to suck themselves off and over hype their stuff. But also know how hardcore their tea culture is.

[Anonymous No.17266595]

>>17266587
Your question is kind of retarded.
Maybe you should buy some and try it, rather than perceiving reality through memes.

[Anonymous No.17266605]

>>17266595
Anon are you implying that Japan doesn’t tend to overhype their shit while also taking their tea culture very serious?

[Anonymous No.17266622]

>>17266605
Uh yeah, I’m saying exactly that.
It’s other people who overhype Japanese stuff.
Japanese prefer Japanese stuff because they’re Japanese.
And not sure what you mean by “tea culture”, unless you’re talking like a Kyoto tea house, which really isn’t about the tea.

[Anonymous No.17266655]

>>17266622
Anon you really never seen any of the Japanese media or talk shows where they compare how they do things vs other cultures? And how is a history of making elaborate tea gardens, houses, and ceremonies not taking the act of drinking and experiencing tea seriously? Honestly feel like you’re just being contrarian at this point.

[Anonymous No.17266674]

>>17266655
Anon you really think the “Japanese television” you watch on YouTube isn’t cherry picked?
And again, tea ceremonies aren’t much about the tea itself.
Most people there drink more tea from bottles and vending machines unless they’re tea enthusiasts.

[Anonymous No.17266683]

>>17264944
I just drink Barry's Tea

[Anonymous No.17266694]

>>17266655
Dis nigga watches the tourist trap shit lol.

[Anonymous No.17266896]

Green tea just tastes like grass
how do people drink that shit

[Anonymous No.17267034]

>>17266896
what tasty grass have you been eating?

[Anonymous No.17267037]

>>17264803
lol these tea niggas drinking chinese shit poop tea

[Anonymous No.17267041]

>>17266156
If you're not addicted to sugary drinks, rooibos tastes very sweet. As herbal teas go, it's one of the furthest from dirt.

>>17266555
Last year One River Tea did a fresh green sampler set and all four teas were winners. It was a bit pricy, but I'll probably jump on it if they do it again.

>>17266587
They're not really comparable, imo. In China tea is an art, and in Japan it's a science. Chinese tea is a much bigger and more rewarding world, but there's no replacing a good sencha or gyokuro.

[Anonymous No.17267046]

>>17266655
Most people in Japan will never even visit something like that let alone participate. You want to know how most people drink tea in Japan? Cheap sencha, a spoonful or two in a pot (if they're not using a teabag), hottish water in, pour, slurp.

[Anonymous No.17267076]

>>17266896
it tastes like spinach to me and i like spinach

[Anonymous No.17267081]

i got some rooibos for christmas and honestly i didnt like it that much, the smell of it was really nice but it didnt taste anything like the smell, also the colour went away on the 2nd infusion too which was a bit disappointing but i grandfather style brewed it which may have been why

[Anonymous No.17267290]

>>17264803
I'm starting to think teabags taste better than loose leaf. The tea is grinded much finer in bags, but in loose leaf its big chunks which release less flavor and more bitter flavor.

[Anonymous No.17267333]

I've been drinking tea every day lately. But I still start my day with a cup of coffee. Maybe I should switch to tea. But I tend to get sick when I drink tea on an empty stomach. I sometimes drink tea on its own but I mostly drink tea along with something to eat.

[Anonymous No.17267370]

Anyone tried this brand?

[Anonymous No.17267479]

>>17265016
Oh hey that was me

[Anonymous No.17267521]

>>17266896
>Green tea
Which one?

[Anonymous No.17267612]

>>17267479
Yeah you had just spent a few days figuring out what to order and then *bam*
Glad you still got tea to drink

[Anonymous No.17267624]

I'm pleased to see Hario made another teapot with an extra large basket that fills the volume of the pot. They call this one a "Zen" kyusu. I was worried that I'd eventually break my "Fukami" model. If this one's like my 450ml Fukami then it'll take ~12g of extra bold oolong up to full expansion.

[Anonymous No.17267629]

picrel is the Fukami

[Anonymous No.17267653]

>>17267624
Hario are indeed among the most based of affordably-priced drink-making kit.
They could just as easily take their fantastic functional designs and make them out of “luxury” materials and charge 20x as much, and get away with it because the design itself is so damn good.
But instead they make it affordable, and leave the overpriced material peddling to the brands that inevitably rip off their designs.

[Anonymous No.17267745]

>drink chamomile regularly for months to battle winter depression
>drink full linden tea once
>tastes like very good chamomile
>hear heartbeat pattering loudly in left ear
>effect doesn't really go away
>...
>keep drinking linden tea
In addition, it feels like my dreams are telling me that I'm going to die. I cannot wait to find loose leaf flowers.

[Anonymous No.17267761]

>>17267653
>They could just as easily take their fantastic functional designs and make them out of “luxury” materials and charge 20x as much, and get away with it because the design itself is so damn good.
They did do a collaboration with a Taiwanese pottery studio to make co branded ceramic v90 pour over things. But even those aren't really expensive. And i agree they are awesome, i love how they try to make the v90 available in as many materials as possible.

[Anonymous No.17267804]

>Drink tea with fresh spring water
>Absolutely delicious, filled with delicate flavor
>Drink same tea with "filtered" city tap water
>Only thing that comes through is a smoky off flavor
I'm getting more and more worried that water quality is actually more important than the quality of the tea, past a certain point. Can I get anything shipped cheaply or do I have to go full autism?

[Anonymous No.17267818]

>>17267804
Try a better filter?
And what do you mean by “fresh spring” water?
I grew up with a private spring as a primary water source. If it’s unfiltered, what you’re tasting is minerals.
But chances are it’s been filtered as well.
There shouldn’t be a real difference between spring water and filtered municipal water unless you’re just using a really bad/cheap filter

[Anonymous No.17267825]

>>17267818
Water from a spring, it's not filtered, and it isn't hard or acidic.

>unless you’re just using a really bad/cheap filter
Using a charcoal filter now, is there anything that actually measures better?

[Anonymous No.17267854]

>>17267825
>it isn't hard or acidic.
There’s a million other things it could be, and that affects the flavor.
That’s why most people with wells/springs filter it as it runs into their house if it’s their primary water source; so the flavor will be more neutral.

If it was unfiltered, the flavor you’re missing is probably some mineral that was present in tasteable quantities. My parents’ spring had a unique taste because of the iron content.

[Anonymous No.17267871]

>>17267804
The other anon is wrong, water quality makes a huge difference. Some municipal tap water is okay but most is overly hard or has other issues.
Your best bet is to install an under sink filtration system with a separate tap, if that isn't feasible pur brand filter pitchers usually work well enough if your tap water isn't really garbage. If you live in a house you might consider a whole home water softening system but it's a hassle to keep loaded with salt.
Some people actually use distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water and then add their own mineral blends to it to achieved the exact mineral profile they like.
Luckily there are plenty of solutions at different price points so you should be able to find one that works for you and your needs.

[Anonymous No.17267876]

>>17267871
>The other anon is wrong, water quality makes a huge difference.
When did anyone say otherwise?

[Anonymous No.17267894]

>>17267333
Those are completely acceptable tea habits. Personally I tend to start my day with a gongfu session, some tea is rough on my stomach but I often just drink it anyways. When I want a pick me up it's usually coffee. I don't drink either with meals because I'm vegan and they inhibit absorption of iron from plants.

[Anonymous No.17267924]

Tea so dark imma drink it from a coffee cup.

[Anonymous No.17267993]

>>17267924
Nice

[Anonymous No.17268152]

>I drink cancer inducing communist china black glop, the thread

[Anonymous No.17268156]

>>17268152
Yeah

[Anonymous No.17268477]

I've been using teabags for years, am I really missing out by not brewing looseleaf?

[Anonymous No.17268533]

I have replaced water with herbal tea. In between fresh hot tea I drink dilute tea, brewed with leaves/flowers that are on their 3rd pass. Herbal tea is the best genre of tea because if you did this with black tea you'd go insane.

[Anonymous No.17268568]

>>17267333
Sheng on an empty stomach makes me nauseous, and I'm basically out of shou, so I too have been drinking more coffee in the mornings.

[Anonymous No.17268579]

>>17268533
bro just drink water

[Anonymous No.17268608]

>>17268152
Yeah man it’s so damn good too.

[Anonymous No.17268671]

I just drink celestial seasonings herbals.

[Anonymous No.17268677]

>>17268671
Good for you, bro. Sleepytime is unironically comfy

[Anonymous No.17268684]

>>17267894
>muh antinootrients

[Anonymous No.17268701]

>>17268677
Oh yeah it's great.

[Anonymous No.17268742]

>>17268579
I am, I am just drinking it with phytochemicals. And you know, historically, pure water is a very strange and new drink.

[Anonymous No.17268763]

>>17268477
Some teabags are decent, but the best tea come only as loose leaf.

Nice gongfu ritual is qualitatively different from having good ol' cuppa. I think it is worth it to at least try.

[Anonymous No.17268767]

>the hispanic grocer has run out of $2 ounces of chamomile
Or perhaps he is just hiding them from the gringos.

[Anonymous No.17268793]

>>17268533
>I have replaced water with herbal tea.
Why, though?

[Anonymous No.17268827]

>>17268793
When I wake up in the middle of the night, I cannot make tea. I should not drink tons of liquid at night either. Having a sip of room temperature tea from an athletic bottle is enough to satisfy the want. Plus I don't like having to buy water bottles and I like to boil tap water before drinking it. If I could attach a 24/7 chamomile IV drip, I would.

[Anonymous No.17268871]

>>17265991
Honeybush is better imo

[Anonymous No.17268986]

>>17268767
Damn, thats a solid price for chamomile

[Anonymous No.17269002]

>>17268986
https://mountainroseherbs.com/chamomile-flowers
I just buy in bulk (when it's in stock). Flavor holds up fine over time.

[Anonymous No.17269065]

Ripe “puerh” isn’t real pu erh it’s literal dirt and mud compacted into a block and then aged in a fish market.

[Anonymous No.17269085]

>>17269065
I've had some decent ripes, most of them are like this though. Not really my favorite. They're better if you brew them super strong, but I've never been excited about a ripe puer. They don't taste anything like aged sheng.

[Anonymous No.17269109]

>>17269085
I just get kinda baffled by how much people pay for ripe, like yunnan sourcing charging premium prices for it. I feel like it’s a red herring for people who are just getting into pu erh. I don’t mind a funky black tea brick but it’s so messy and they’re always pressed so tight.

[Anonymous No.17269141]

>>17269109
Looks like most of it is 30-50 a cake, that's .10 to .15 per gram, certainly not premium prices. Are there people actually buying expensive ripe in quantity?

[Anonymous No.17269155]

>>17269141
I’m talking about the vintage stuff which doesn’t make sense since the aging process ends with ripe pu erh after it’s packed. People buy ripe stuff from 10-20 years ago and it just dries out

[Anonymous No.17269159]

>>17269141
I tried a ripe that was 40¢ per gram. It was a 1kg brick for $400. It was fantastic and if i had money to splash around i would have bought a full brick. It tasted like german black forest cake with the hint of cherry and all. I'm guessing that most expensive ripe isn't anywhere near that good but i haven't really tried a lot of it. I usually buy cheap factory ripes to drink and i have mixed results with them.

[Anonymous No.17269175]

>>17269155
There is allegedly some 90s and earlier vintage ripes that were only half fermented and still benefit from aging. But i haven't actually tasted any. Regardless the vast majority of ripe made after 2000 seems to be fully fermented and beyond giving it a few years to air out any wet pile taste I'm not sure how much if any it would benefit from age.

[Anonymous No.17269179]

>>17269155
>since the aging process ends with ripe pu erh after it’s packed.
No? Why would you think this is true, pressing it into a cake isn't going to stop oxidation or enzymatic activity any more than with sheng. You're not going to get nearly the same results, but aged ripe is absolutely a thing, in that the flavor changes with time.

>>17269159
I've never gotten any fruity or floral notes from a ripe puer, but that does sound good. I drink a decent amount of shitty to mediocre ripe, it's kind of my go too filler tea since it's easy to get something that isn't offensive.

[Anonymous No.17269248]

I don’t drink tea all that often but when I do, it’s two bags of Lipton in the 12 cup carafe of the Mr.Coffee coffee maker and I just leave them in there so it’s really dark. If I don’t finish the pot, I leave the tea bags in there overnight and warm up individual cups of tea the next day in the microwave.

[Anonymous No.17269266]

>>17269248
Sounds awful

[Anonymous No.17269273]

>>17266404
>>17264826
For you

[Anonymous No.17269509]

>>17269266

I’m a coffee drinker, so dunking the tea bag a couple of times doesn’t cut it for me.

[Anonymous No.17269513]

Any anons here ever make chenpi? I have a big basket full of dejuiced peels, and am thinking of giving it a go. However, instead of mandarins/oranges, they're home-grown lemons. Think it could be kind of neat to try.

[Anonymous No.17269541]

I bought grocery store brand black tea bags.
Its like i am drinking hot lightly oily water.
Do I have to go to trader joes or some shit to get half decent tea?

[Anonymous No.17269613]

>>17269513
Go for it, GF dried a bunch or clementines the other year, but just for decorative purposes, i never thought to make tea with them or hold on to them. But they are easy to dry and they should be easy to age. I do enjoy the chempi i have purchased, it's good and mixes very well with tea.

[Anonymous No.17269622]

>>17269541
Just buy pg tips or builders or something instead of store brand. Really you should drink looseleaf instead if you want good tea.

[Anonymous No.17269692]

>>17269179
>pressing it into a cake isn't going to stop oxidation or enzymatic activity any more than with sheng.
i am not the same anon and i do agree with the general point that shou still ages some however shou is likely for the most part "fully oxidized" (in the tea sense but not necessarily the chemistry sense) and it's enzymes broken down after being wet piled so it will not undergo quite the same reactions as aging sheng would. chemistry keeps going on in shou as it ages but its not going to lead to as rapid and dramatic changes as you see in sheng with the possible exception of the one or two year period that many wet piled teas need to "air out".

[Anonymous No.17269776]

>>17269692
>and it's enzymes broken down after being wet piled
Wet piling is enzymatic oxidation, it's not going to denature anything that made it through sha qing
Shou is still gonna age, it's just a fact. Everyone knows, and I've already pointed out,

>>17269179
>You're not going to get nearly the same results

that it's nothing like aging sheng. Doesn't mean it's not going to change as it ages. I absolutely believe that there is 10 year shou out there that has developed new flavors as it ages.

[Anonymous No.17269827]

>>17269248
>two bags in the 12 cup carafe
Faggot

[Anonymous No.17270022]

I don't get tea, man. Every time I try, it either tastes like hot water or bitter, astringent piss that somehow leaves my mouth dusty. There is no in between. I've tried many various ratios of cream and sugar (I don't do honey, fuck your gross bee vomit) and I just can't make it work. Am I doing something wrong? Should I just accept I'm not a tea guy?

[Anonymous No.17270037]

smoking isn't food or whatever

[Anonymous No.17270040]

>>17270022
Why are you drinking tea that needs milk and sugar to taste good? Your problem is that you are drinking tea the way anglos drink it instead of the way asians drink it (in a bottle from the convenience store with sugar added to it)

[Anonymous No.17270049]

>>17270037
Wrong thread mate, this is /tea/

[Anonymous No.17270164]

>London fog was invented in Canada

WTF

[Anonymous No.17270173]

>>17270022
how do you brew it

[Anonymous No.17270316]

>>17269613
I'm looking at trying it now. Do I keep or get rid of the pith to make chenpi? I will post a few image dumps when I'm done.

[Anonymous No.17270348]

>>17270316
You can just leave the pith

[Anonymous No.17270353]

>>17270040
this is an anglo website. go do your gay little chinese larp somewhere else, ken-sama

[Anonymous No.17270373]

>>17270348
Is it any 'better' or 'worse' with it, though? Most chenpi I see online has s9me sort of lightly scraped pith.

[Anonymous No.17270491]

Why the fuck doesn't pg tips have strings?

[Anonymous No.17270504]

I think do ghazal is my favorite tea right now.

[Anonymous No.17270559]

>>17270373
I'm not really sure, you could remove some if you feel like it.

[Anonymous No.17270565]

>>17270491
You just need to sneak up on it.

[Anonymous No.17270577]

>>17270504
Nice, it's always good when chance buys like that work out well.

[Anonymous No.17270609]

Fuck I wish I hadn't watched the do ghazal commercial, kind of ruined it

[Anonymous No.17270634]

>>17270609
They just seem kind of painfully bland
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VsSn7zOZtJ0

[Anonymous No.17270675]

>>17266655
>making elaborate tea gardens, houses
ans brits didn't?

[Anonymous No.17270691]

>allergic to ragweed
>online sources say Chamomile is ragweed-adjacent and I shouldn't drink Chamomile tea if I have a ragweed allergy
FUCK

[Anonymous No.17270706]

Is gyokuro supposed to have a very weak flavor? I picked some up at a local tea shop, and even after steeping it for longer than recommended, the taste was quite faint compared to my sencha. Did I perhaps get a bad batch?

[Anonymous No.17270959]

>Gongfu chamomile is actually fucking great
Damn

[Anonymous No.17271054]

I'm the retard from a while ago, I have a fuckton of meh and probably stale Earl Grey I can't bring myself to throw out due to how wasteful it is; it's drinkable but I know it could be a lot better. Would adjusting brewing times/temp matter and if not what would you do
>>17264999
I currently have sencha, green, jasmine green, mint green, black oolong, English breakfast (gonna get another, different black to compliment it), Earl gay, lapsang, loose pu erh and masala chai

I keep going back and forth on whether the chai is worth brewing black or if it *needs* milk and sugar, or if brewing it with half the water and adding milk after would be possible/worth it

Despite not being a snob I obsess about doing things "properly" too much

[Anonymous No.17271226]

>>17271054
>Would adjusting brewing times/temp matter and if not what would you do
I would drink tea that i enjoy and not drink tea that i don't enjoy.
>chai
I think chai is fine black, but again do what you like, you could for sure brew with water and add milk if you wanted to.

[Anonymous No.17271258]

>>17269776
I’ve heard about the really old stuff as well and I’ve seen videos of people trying it but it’s so hard to find and it’s going to be terribly expensive just to test if there’s a difference. I’ll keep an eye out for samples but I doubt they do that with ones so old. Oldest ripe I’ve seen is from the 80s and I truly wonder if it actually is any different than it would’ve been after a few years. I think people collect these for the novelty of it rather than taste.

[Anonymous No.17271420]

>>17266587

I used to get my senchas from Uji but as of late I started to feel that they taste too grassy for me, so I switched to getting Longjing from my local tea guy.

Never liked gyukoro as well. Nowadays the only Japanese tea I drink is hojicha.

[Anonymous No.17271468]

>>17271258
>I think people collect these for the novelty of it rather than taste
One important thing to remember is that traditional Chinese medicine factors into things for some asian collectors. The simplified version is that they believe that tcm ingredients are more potent simply from being older and more rare, and that is part of what drives demand for old - very old tea in the East regardless of how some of it actually tastes. Of course the stuff that tastes good as well is worth even more.

[Anonymous No.17271477]

>>17271420
I really enjoy the nutty aspects of longing or green teas processed in the manner of longjing teas since i can't afford the stuff from the legally defined longing region.

[Anonymous No.17271479]

>>17271054
oops, le reddit spacing from phoneposting
>>17271226
>I would drink tea that i enjoy and not drink tea that i don't enjoy.
Problem is I'd need another earl gay to compare it to. I wouldn't say I don't "enjoy" it but-
>I think chai is fine black, but again do what you like, you could for sure brew with water and add milk if you wanted to.
Mostly asking because I prefer to drink tea without additions, especially without sugar fucking up intermittent fasting. Was wondering if it was a thing to drink black considering everything I read about it says otherwise so iunno

Anyway thanks

[Anonymous No.17271503]

>>17271479
I usually dont keep milk in the house so i make chai with just water. It's absolutely not the way it's made in india but it tastes fine. If anything you get to enjoy the flavors of the spices more because they aren't muted by the milk.
There are some upmarket earl greys. I don't really drink it so i can't tell you if it's worth it. The more expensive ones use real bergamot oil instead of synthetic but I'm not sure if that makes any appreciable difference in flavor. I usually recommended that people look at upton imports for earl grey, and don't get any of their extra strong bergamot flavoring versions unless you don't want to taste the tea at all.
The real expensive option would be that french flavored brand in the pastebin but i absolutely would not recommend buying expensive flavored tea for daily drinking unless you have $ to burn.

[Anonymous No.17271508]

>>17271503
I think my earl gay just got stale, not sure if it was a quality thing but I tend to not buy expensive tea, just "good for its price" e.g. harney and sons. I'm more just trying to figure out whether I should buy more earl gay and if there's anything I can do with the old one without throwing it out

[Anonymous No.17271938]

Tea bros, I'm having a crisis
For a long time I drank mostly black tea. Occasionaly I tried a few oolongs (which I liked) but mostly black indian teas, like Assam or Ceylon or Darjeeling.
Recently I wanted to give green teas a second chance (they used to taste like grass to me).
I tried a mint tea, a japanese sencha, and a chinese green tea (can't remember name). They didn't rocked my world, but I didn't dislike them either.
Except now
>They didn't rocked my world, but I didn't dislike them either.
is my reaction to every tea I drink, including the ones I drank for years.

What do?

[Anonymous No.17272039]

>>17271938
Evaluate:
>Your brew method
Is it gong fu with a gaiwan, western bag in nuked water, grandpa style, etc? How hot, how much leaf, and for how long?
>Quality/form
Are you using bags or low quality leaves? If so, have you tried using whole leaves, whether in loose form or from a cake/brick?
>Is your water of suitable quality?
Do you use hard tap water, or have you used bottled/purified+minerals alternatives?
>Are you a tastelet because your diet is shit and destroying your ability to sensibly discern flavours?

[Anonymous No.17272080]

>>17270022
>buy shit tea
>it tastes like shit
>"wtf i hate tea"
are you mentally retarded by any chance?

[Anonymous No.17272102]

Drinking some of Crimson Lotus' Daydream Sheng Puerh. Very nice

[Anonymous No.17272301]

I'm waiting for a year worth of tea in the following couple months. Mostly cakes and bricks of shou pu er, cha tou and hei cha, first time buying compressed stuff, nothing too expensive. I don't plan to age them decades but I read here some might need to be aired out, or spend some time in a pumidor of optimal palatability.
What %RH and size should I get for some boveda? I'm guessing 62% but no idea of the size.
(already asked for containers a few threads ago)

[Anonymous No.17272355]

oi m8, you got a loicense for that tea?

[Anonymous No.17272449]

>>17271938
How is Ceylon Indian? It's Sri Lanka, a different country.

[Anonymous No.17272457]

>>17271938
Maybe you just don't like tea

[Anonymous No.17272464]

green tea is a meme

[Anonymous No.17272475]

>>17272464
This one got filtered

[Anonymous No.17272556]

What brewing method do you use? I use cilia filters. Not sure it's good.

[Anonymous No.17272593]

>>17264848
>tfw broke apart an entire puerh cake and didn’t find any hair
I’m.. gonna be alone forever.

[Anonymous No.17272599]

>>17272301
>What %RH
i use 65% in fully sealed Mylar (though 62% for shou should be fine as well). i would not go higher than 65% in a fully sealed environment unless you know what you are doing (mold risk starts in the low 70s or if you get dew). in a unsealed environment like a wooden humidor you may need to use higher % pack to make up for humidity loss (the bovedas will also dry out much faster in that case). if you get a lot of large temperature swings in your house you may want to check out a dew point calculator and use use a lower %.

>size
i would get some 60 gram (or the larger 320 packs but the 60s are cheaper per gram) depending on the size of your containers and how many of them you have. i use a 60 gram one in each of my .5 to 2 gallon Mylar bags. besides costing more and taking up a bit more space you cant use too much, having a bit of extra capacity will make the packs regulate better and last longer before needing to be re-hydrated or replaced.

[Anonymous No.17272667]

>>17272556
giant gaiwan for western
smol gaiwan for gongfu.

maybe a teapot with a coil filter in the neck and just throw the tea in the pot.

[Anonymous No.17272711]

20 bags of liptons black, 1.5 qt water, 3/4-1 tbsp sugar (optional) simmered for 30-45 minutes. Strained. Add a 12 oz can of evaporated milk to the pot of bitter tea.
Wa la, hong kong milk tea.

[Anonymous No.17272731]

>>17272449
>How is Ceylon Indian? It's Sri Lanka, a different country.
Other fag here. Ceylonese tea is so similar to Indian tea, that i often just lump them into the same category.
Is that bad?

[Anonymous No.17272761]

>>17272711
It looks very comfy.

How does it taste? Isn't 20 bags bit too much and 1tbs of sugar bit too little?

[Anonymous No.17272832]

>>17270049
>Wrong thread mate
We also drink Mate here, don't let them fool you

[Anonymous No.17272890]

>>17272761
The small amount of sugar isnt really to make it sweet, but it takes away some of the astringency. You can always add more, it's just my personal preference. In hong kong they usually add CONDENSED milk right before serving to the taste of the drinker. So it will have both sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in it.
>How does it taste?
tastes like tea with milk, but the evaporated milk adds a silky smoothness. Its good. Also incredibly caffeinated. I'm saying this as someone who pounds /sips/ and stim forward preworkouts. i got the jitters after a pint of this, one of the few drinks to do this (other ones include a venti cup of sbux drip).

[Anonymous No.17272894]

>>17272890
the hell's /sips/

[Anonymous No.17272915]

>>17272894
please see >>17248139

[Anonymous No.17272965]

>>17272915
you very clearly said /sips/
not /sip/

[Anonymous No.17273176]

>>17272890
Thanks, gotta try this some time.

[Anonymous No.17273317]

Business idea; combination Weed+Tea shop.
Also sell cold brew Marijuana tea (probably tastes like shit, mix with some herbal tea that masks the flavor)

[Anonymous No.17273319]

>>17272599
Thanks a lot. I ordered mylar bags as well, I might get an insulated container according to what the dew point calculator will tell me about my temperature swings.

[Anonymous No.17273329]

>>17271938
Ceylon tea has literally no flavor at all so not surprising

[Anonymous No.17273379]

>>17273319
>I might get an insulated container according to what the dew point calculator will tell me about my temperature swings.
i keep my Mylar bags in a big chest style cooler to be on the extra safe side (slowing the rate of temperature shift gives the bovedas time to correct the humidity) and to keep them organized. you don't necessarily have to if you don't want to though but it wouldn't hurt. I don't want to over complicate things for you.

[Anonymous No.17273622]

>>17273317
I tea + kava bar would be easier. Much less regulation. Tea shop during the day, open mic and bands at night with kava on tap.

[Anonymous No.17273830]

what's a cheap and good quality teapot that ships to the UK?

[Anonymous No.17273832]

>>17273317
>Business idea; combination Weed+Tea shop.
Hello, Amsterdam?

[Anonymous No.17273846]

>>17273622
the hell's kava

[Anonymous No.17273856]

>>17273846
didn't know either
worth looking up
looks interesting

[Anonymous No.17273860]

>>17273856
>The root of the plant is used to produce a drink with sedative, anesthetic, and euphoriant properties. Its active ingredients are called kavalactones.[8] A systematic review done by the British nonprofit Cochrane concluded it was likely to be more effective than placebo at treating short-term anxiety.[9]

>Moderate consumption of kava in its traditional form, i.e., as a water-based suspension of kava roots, has been deemed to present an "acceptably low level of health risk" by the World Health Organization.

...huh. Maybe I can find some regulated stuff that's not too expensive

[Anonymous No.17273872]

>>17272731
Nah, Sri Lanka is basically India anyway.

[Anonymous No.17273888]

>>17272599
>you may want to check out a dew point calculator and use use a lower %
I just found out my sensorpush has an option for this now. Great company, can't shill them enough. Bought one sensor for $50 years ago, had issues, they sent two more.
>>17273846
>>17273860
All the rehab girls flock to kava bars when they're finally allowed to check out for the afternoon.

[Anonymous No.17273893]

>>17273888
Where does one uh, find a kava bar

[Anonymous No.17273900]

>>17273893
Depends on where you live, at least in the US kava is legal so it's sold openly and you can just search your city + kava bar to find one.

[Anonymous No.17274112]

I love china
glory to the ccp

[Anonymous No.17274160]

>>17274112
你已经获得了社会信用

[Anonymous No.17274296]

how do you guys deal with limescale and hard water in general

[Anonymous No.17274337]

>>17273329
Which brand did you try?

[Anonymous No.17274344]

>>17264944
big fan of guan yin/iron goddess of mercy, black tea from the nilgiris, orange pekoe, citron oolong, gunpowder green, matcha, kinda depends on what i'm in the mood for. some nice lemongrass green with citrus on a chilly day. rooibos is tasty too.

[Anonymous No.17274352]

>>17264999
how could i forget puerh (i like both the strong and more mild stuff) and masala chai. chai is my comfort tea, it has always been there for me. not a big fan of all the mixed flavored stuff (though i did have a cinnamon churro masala chai that was 11/10 not too long ago) but get a nice spicy blend with frothy milk and i'm happy.

[Anonymous No.17274504]

>>17274337
Lover's Leap estate.

[Anonymous No.17274520]

>>17274296
I have Brita filter and it helps a lot.

[Anonymous No.17274556]

>>17274504
Never tried it but Do Ghazal is Ceylon and it's good.

[Anonymous No.17274661]

>>17274556
I don't like black tea to begin with so not really interested in trying more bland ceylon tea that tastes the same as bulk teabags

[Anonymous No.17274786]

Best teas to help loose weight
>inb4 eat less
I am already! I'm going to replace my sugar water with tea instead.

[Anonymous No.17274826]

>>17274786
Teas are sort of a double edged sword in that respect, the teas that seem to put my metabolism into overdrive and make my stomach instantly dissolve food also make me need to eat more so I'm not drinking tea on an empty stomach which can cause nausea for some people.
Anyway i would recommend finding a black or green tea that you like and drinking that. And also finding some herbal teas like mint and some of the ones from celestial seasonings to drink in the afternoon or evening, sleepytime is popular.
The best way to use tea to loose weight is replacing sugary drinks like soda and energy drinks with tea. Outside of that, avoid as much sugar as possible, and learn about how to have healthy portion control.

[Anonymous No.17274843]

>>17274786
Also if you want reall ass stimulant tea import ephedra sinica from china. It's completely legal to import for personal use and contains the strong stimulant ephedrine. It's generally safe as long as you are drinking one or two cups a day of regular tea made with the twigs and stay away from extracts or other concentrated forms. Also obviously you should avoid it if you have heart or other circulatory problems or a family history of heart problems.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/133291511327

[Anonymous No.17274862]

>>17274786
>Best teas to help loose weight
They say puer is good for loosing weight, but overall, this Anon >>17274826 got it right.

[Anonymous No.17274866]

>>17274786
if you just want something to drink, drink whatever you like drinking. there's very little evidence that any of the compounds in tea help with weight loss. as long as you're not adding milk or sugar, anything is good.
if you were hoping that tea actually contains chemicals that will help you lose weight, try getting your hands on ephedra. it's 99.9% safe, and legal to own in the united states, just not to sell. doesn't taste great, but i used to mix ma huang into my yerba mate, which was pretty good.

[Anonymous No.17275199]

I got black tea from the Bukit Sari plantation in Java. It's good stuff, but not the best black tea I've had. Juts decent, like a good Chinese black tea.

I want to try out more African teas. I had a Kenyan tea recently that was stunning, super sweet and spicy.

[Anonymous No.17275367]

>>17273317
I believe that herbs like chamomile will get all caught up in the weed craze once it's fully legal. We'll probably get chamomile and peppermint that are bred the way modern weed is. Funny thing is, as the laws stand dispensaries aren't allowed to sell anything other than weed, even tobacco. If they sold a chamomile+weed spliff, somebody would shut it all down

[Anonymous No.17275384]

I think I got the coof lads. What tea do I need to cure it? I'm drinking hot lemon and honey with like a gram of "black gold" bi luo chun.

[Anonymous No.17275410]

>>17275384
I'm just getting over it, as long as you are young and healthy it's not awful, just lasts way too long. I was taking vitamin d 3, zinc, and drinking lots of ginger tea. For a while they were saying to take aspirin instead of ibuprofen, which i did while i was sick to deal with headaches and bodyaches. Again it wasn't terrible, nowhere near as bad as a bad flu, but it lasted for 2 weeks or so.

[Anonymous No.17275434]

>>17275410
>2 weeks

[Anonymous No.17275440]

My favorite tea is poppy seed tea :)

[Anonymous No.17275452]

>>17275434
Started jan 2nd, confirmed with test, still have a runny nose today. Your milage may vary, im skinnyfat.

[Anonymous No.17275461]

>>17275440
Have you tried getting the dried pods? I had to stop ordering them before i got myself in trouble.

[Anonymous No.17275472]

>>17275367
>I believe that herbs like chamomile will get all caught up in the weed craze once it's fully legal.
What? Chamomile is legal right now dude you can buy it anywhere.

[Anonymous No.17275495]

>>17275384
I wouldn't rely on tea for medication. Have cup of something that will keep you in good spirits, instead.
And get better soon.

[Anonymous No.17275501]

>>17275495
Mostly memeing since sometimes I feel like we are larping as chinks sometimes. Thanks for the wishes.

[Anonymous No.17275723]

>>17275410
>saying to take aspirin instead of ibuprofen
where did you hear that? it sounds like strange advice. are you sure you did not mean acetaminophen (Tylenol)? regardless the current understanding is that both NSAIDs (ibuprofen, naproxen, and aspirin) and acetaminophen can be used for COVID-19 (i don't think there was ever really much evidence against NSAIDs in this case). as a additional note i would generally not recommend Aspirin unless you are using it for its anti-platelet effects because its not generally thought to be more effective for pain but is thought to have more side effects.

[Anonymous No.17275760]

>>17275723
Yeah i think you are right and i got Asprin and Tylenol confused.

[Anonymous No.17275798]

>>17264803
Into the ocean it goes.

[Anonymous No.17275809]

>>17275472
Once weed is fully legal and terpene science can be done people will have more interest in modulating their high with other natural herbs.
>>17275501
I am larping as an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, spending my years drinking chamomile infusions while watching laborers construct my tomb.

[Anonymous No.17275864]

>>17275809
I looked briefly into chamomile extracts after your first post about it. They seem to typically be targeted towards cosmetic use. I would have to look into what compounds actually cause sedative/relaxing effects and see if anyone makes extracts targeting those.

[Anonymous No.17275896]

Lemon chenpi (guapi?) in the works. Countless lemons, all slightly baked qt a very low temperature just to headstart the drying/dehydration process. Small portion had the pith removed. Will have to let them dry for quite a while now.

[Anonymous No.17275920]

>>17275896
Nice, thanks for posting pics, I'm interested to hear how this experiment turns out.

[Anonymous No.17275972]

>>17275920
It's going to have to be a very long-term one, I imagine. I don't know when I should test them, or how would be best either. It's quite a lot of work to do by hand the way I did it, so I'm probably done making it for a while. I'll post a pic later on when it looks more naturally dehydrated. Until then, the 30-day taste and aroma test date for my coffee aroma dong ding ooling is coming next week.

[Anonymous No.17276013]

>>17275864
I've been packing a gaiwan full of chamomile flowers, doing a 15 second "rinse" then five second steeps. Amazing sweetness and flavor, you get a strong bitter aftertaste super easily, which I don't really mind, but the middle short brews are excellent. I switch to longer 30-60 second brews after I don't detect and bitterness.

I'm drinking it right now, this is what got me back on the chamomile train. I still probably have a quarter pound of flowers.

[Anonymous No.17276083]

>>17276013
>chamomile
Gay shit. Might as well drink water.

[Anonymous No.17276087]

>>17276013
>gaiwan
you're not chinese, faggot

[Anonymous No.17276103]

Bought some shortbread. Feeling so fucking Bri'ish right now.

[Anonymous No.17276117]

>>17276083
>>17276087
SCHLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP

[Anonymous No.17276139]

>>17275461
Sadly not, I have heard of them that you used to be able to buy the dry pods as a decoration online and that it can be very potent.
And yeah I know what you mean I havent messed with the tea in years. Even taking it a few times in a row can give you some uncomfortable withdrawals, couldn't imagine what you would feel from getting conpletely addicted..


I'm not much of a tea person, do any of you guys drink tea for substituting coffee? I know some tea has caffiene but from what ive read it is in smaller quantites so to get a cup if coffees worth you would need 3 or 4 times the volume. I havent tried it I assume the store brands are weak

[Anonymous No.17276153]

>>17276139
>I'm not much of a tea person, do any of you guys drink tea for substituting coffee?
I wake up and have some tea, then have ~3 cups of coffee until around 1, then I have tea again, then I switch to tisanes. If I'm away and I only have either tea or coffee it's fine, but then again, I barely even get withdrawals. It's just a mild tightness, the only reason I'd even notice is because I then remember I haven't had caffeine in a few days.

[Anonymous No.17276168]

>>17276117
you will never be chinese

[Anonymous No.17276177]

>>17276013
>chamomile
>longer 30-60 second brews
I don't consider it ready until it has steeped for 2 hours with loose leaf in a kettle. Chamomile never becomes bitter and it's pretty unique in that regard.

[Anonymous No.17276180]

>>17276139
> I know some tea has caffiene but from what ive read it is in smaller quantites so to get a cup if coffees worth you would need 3 or 4 times the volume.
Common doses of coffee are often more potent than tea, but in the end, the dose is up to the individual. You can get a hefty amount of a musty shou pu'er infused at a high temperature for several minutes and get completely blasted very quickly, just like you can have a small amount of some green/white tea infused at a low temp for a short time and have drastically less. The dose is the decider, and you'll learn how to do it as you learn to make tea to your preference. Try some aged shou pu'er in a gaiwan or mug, and you'll get a nice, thick liquor that could theoretically 'replace' coffee.

[Anonymous No.17276200]

>>17276177
I'm literally brewing 1:1

[Anonymous No.17276208]

>>17275896
>>17275972
godspeed anon. look forward to hearing your results. i have been wanting to make some chenpi myself.

[Anonymous No.17276248]

>>17276180
>Try some aged shou pu'er
Aging is actually going to cut caffeine content, so if you're looking for that you should go for the young stuff.

[Anonymous No.17276250]

>>17275972
When i brew chempi i just rip up 3-5 grams of dried peel and toss it in a mug. Fill it with water and drink once it's cool enough. All the peels sink. I guess i would first try it after the peel seems dry so you can get an idea of how ageing changes the flavor.

[Anonymous No.17276255]

>>17276013
Damn that's a lot of chamomile, i don't drink it that often because it seems to give me heartburn but maybe i just need to mess with how i brew it some.

[Anonymous No.17276259]

>>17276255
I just threw a pound of it in to an order because I wanted to drink something hot that didn't have caffeine. It's pretty nice, I've definitely brewed it in ways I like and ways I don't like.

[Anonymous No.17276340]

>>17276248
I mentioned aged shou because I think that would fit the flavor/texture profile of coffees more than younger shou and arguably be easier to infuse, though you may certainly be correct regarding straight caffeine content. My decently-aged 2014 gong ting I didn't care for when first getting into tea has become rather nice in around a year's time of storage and experience, giving me that 'coffee' feeling in a way that I think anon may appreciate.
>>17276250
Thanks for the notes, I'll give that a try. Do you do just the chenpi, or mix it with your tea? Unsure about brew parameters either, but I'll experiment some time after my coffee aroma experiment's first phase. If any other anons are experimenting with tea in any way or have other fun content to drop, now is a great time in the thread.

[Anonymous No.17276515]

>>17276340
>Do you do just the chenpi, or mix it with your tea?
At night i will just brew chempi, or i will throw a gram or 3 in a mug of ripe im brewing. It's good either way. I can't really speak to brew parameters i always just make it with boiling water grampa style.

[Anonymous No.17276527]

Is tilia flower tea an opioid? Herbalists seem to suggest that it is a muscle relaxer and anti-epileptic and as a foolish cretin who has abused those drugs in the past, that checks out. But I do not understand how a plant could do specifically that. Unless they discovered the effect in the plant and aren't telling us? I wouldn't put it past Central Europeans. There is a scarcity of published research on tilia compared to, say, chamomile.

It being a really low dose opioid would have precedent in kratom and california poppy. I guess it does not matter. Even if somebody here knew, it would only be because they work for big linden, so I doubt they'd be forthcoming.

[Anonymous No.17276647]

>>17276527
take your meds

[Anonymous No.17276660]

>>17276087
>>17276168
And you will never impact the thread besides being an annoying prat. The majority will still gong fu

[Anonymous No.17276671]

>>17276515
based

[Anonymous No.17276680]

>>17276340
Nah if you want a coffee esc tea, go for a roasted and aged Oolong. Had one that tasted exactly like a high quality mocha once.

2008 Songboling Organic Aged Oolong Tea, from taiwan tea crafts. Only got 25g of it, so it was gone like a snap

[Anonymous No.17276685]

>>17273317
Nah, smoking dulls your tongue. Last three days if you only smoke once and don't repeat. It'd be a waste of good tea to sell it to stoners, desu

[Anonymous No.17276692]

best tea coming through

[Anonymous No.17276710]

>>17276692
>All natural

This grinds my gears, cause no one fucking cares about tea they just straight up fucking lie on domestic tea bags and loose leaf. My poor sister tried to get some tea once, not wishing to buy from chinese sights like I do, heard from me about how great milky oolong and black tea are
and got swindled by a shitty mall store that sold her black tea that tasted like fucking vic's vapor rub (Only black tea listed in ingredients, which was clearly not true since it tasted like a chemical spill) and "Milky" oolong that tasted like plastic candy apples. Whole store sold chemically flavored teas that tasted like booty and had crap like godamn chocolate chips mixed in

And what really pisses me off is the store replaced one that was actually good. Sold chinese tea before it was hip

[Anonymous No.17276711]

>>17264803
WE'RE GOING TO FLAVORTOWN BROTHER

[Anonymous No.17276718]

>>17276711
I wish guy would drink tea with me. Hearing him react to it bombastically to it would be a treat

[Anonymous No.17276740]

>>17276680
Quite the costly option, but that looks like some excellently baked leaf. How was the minerality on it? Taiwanese oolongs are frankly out of my price range, but the little I've tried was pleasant. I remember one that was kind of like a smoky loaf of bread notes-wise. Wonder what would happen if I oven roasted some cheap leaf I have on hand.
>>17276710
>Chocolate chips
The needless tisane blend menace must be stopped. I am doing my part to get a few people into decent sites for loose leaf and teaware; I think that is all that can be done. In-store is just too unreliable in my experience. I seem to recall a local market having some interesting picks though, may double back and check in the near future.

[Anonymous No.17276750]

>>17276685
>It'd be a waste of good tea to sell it to stoners, desu
Exactly. They are already wasting oxygen, why waste tea too.

[Anonymous No.17276775]

>>17276740
Like I said, tasted exactly like a premium mocha. Chocolate and coffee were the dominant flavors but I have trouble recalling it in detail since it was ages ago since I had it.

[Anonymous No.17277243]

>>17276139
>I know some tea has caffiene but from what ive read it is in smaller quantites so to get a cup if coffees worth you would need 3 or 4 times the volume.
Tea caffeine "feels" different. More gentle, sure, but also it feels like it lasts longer.

>I havent tried it I assume the store brands are weak
Yes.

[Anonymous No.17277291]

How do you drink your oolong /ck/? I usually have it plain, sometimes with lemon and sugar or honey.

[Anonymous No.17277302]

>>17277291
>oolong ... with lemon and sugar or honey.
Please, tell me you are trolling.

[Anonymous No.17277316]

>>17277302
Ok I'm trolling. Why am I trolling?

[Anonymous No.17277323]

>>17277316
>Why am I trolling?
Are you this gu? >>17275501

[Anonymous No.17277400]

>>17266683
same. barry's is godtier.

[Anonymous No.17277443]

>>17264803
Tea advice request: I’ve drunk my fool self into an ulcer and I’ve had to give up booze and caffeine. Are there any teas that help manage pain in the throat/esophagus/intestines?

[Anonymous No.17277533]

>>17277443
lemon honey ginger is good for the throat. stay away from greens as until you get used to them they can give you stomach cramps

[Anonymous No.17277760]

>>17276647
Linden is one of my meds, I was lindenposting.

[Anonymous No.17277768]

>>17277443
Chamomile for intestinal pain, peppermint and honey for throat pain.

[Anonymous No.17277782]

>>17277323
No, now can you tell me why putting sugar and lemon in oolong is wrong?

[Anonymous No.17277838]

>>17277782
>can you tell me why putting sugar and lemon in oolong is wrong
Oolongs are quite delicate (so any additives would disrupt and ruin flavor of the tea).
Oolongs are also pretty well rounded, they do not need improvments, they are fine as they are.

Why do you need to improve your oolongs in the first place?

[Anonymous No.17278202]

>>17264803
>info: types of tea, where to get tea, how to brew tea
>https://pastebin.com/80GeeXJV
Does this still hold up?

Or is there a new/better site that isn't mentioned in here, preferably for someone living in the EU
plz reply

[Anonymous No.17278410]

Ban the words "calm focused energy" from tea listings. Matcha is NOT calm. 1 gram and I'm still tweaking after 10 hours

[Anonymous No.17278437]

>>17278410
What's the difference between only the effects of, matcha and mate?

[Anonymous No.17278458]

>>17278202
>Or is there a new/better site that isn't mentioned in here, preferably for someone living in the EU
>plz reply
The information for EU vendors is least complete because it was compiled by and English speaker. If you want you can also try searching in your native language for tea vendors in your country. The easiest way to filter tea shops if to skip the ones that have lots of flavored teas with things like flowers or fruit added to them. I also try and look for shops that give you the date of harvest of each tea so you know it's fresh.

[Anonymous No.17278483]

>>17278458
>The information for EU vendors is least complete
Hmm that was the one thing I did not want to hear

[Anonymous No.17278488]

>>17278410
Sounds like you might have some sort of sensitivity, bro.

[Anonymous No.17279023]

>>17278483
If you find some shops you like i would be happy to look at adding them. Before covid we typically suggested that people order directly from china and Japan. Unfortunately international shipping is much slower and more expensive than it used to be and now many are hesitant to order from overseas.

[Anonymous No.17279331]

>>17277443
>ulcer
virtually all ulcers are caused by bacteria or NSAID use. Literally every doctor would want to do an endoscopy and give you a proton pump inhibitor or "triple therapy" which is basically the former + antibiotics.

[Anonymous No.17279591]

>>17279023
I have unironically spent 4-5 hours looking through ~80 sites, what they offer and how their shipping prices are.
I really should post that info once I'm done otherwise It would be a waste.
But
I am also a total newfag and have no idea about tea so I'm not sure if the info is of any worth..

[Anonymous No.17279601]

>>17279591
>4-5 hours
It's 6 hours.. maybe I should get a gf or something instead

[Anonymous No.17279632]

sazen vs ocha? esp for beginner matcha (both have cheap ceremonial and high grade cooking matcha that can be used for drinking)

[Anonymous No.17279989]

>make ny usual tea the same way I've been making it forever
>tastes terrible
why does this keep happening to me

[Anonymous No.17280076]

>>17279591
Ive done that a few times, i found some massive list of online tea sites and went through most of them at one point.
Anyway if you see some stores you want to order from a think look good feel free to post a few in the thread to ask for others opinions.
If you have notes/thoughts on a ton of sites throw them up on a pastebin and post the link here i will go through it when i get the chance but i might take a day or two.

[Anonymous No.17280090]

>>17279632
I would basically pick based on which one has teas you want to try. I kind of like sazen for their cool selection of teaware but i haven't tried a bunch of teas from either site to compare.

[Anonymous No.17280098]

>>17279989
Sometimes tea just tastes different for no apparent reason. Maybe you have a cold, maybe your city water was flushing the pipes and tasted bad for a minute. Maybe one of the specific leaves you brewed tasted weird for some reason.

[Anonymous No.17280155]

>>17280090
ye i've had one order from o-cha spring 2020 and nothing from sazentea so far, it's just i like getting the one big order when the spring flush teas are just getting in and i don't want to be spending $150 and ending up wasting half of it or more on shit i won't be enjoying enough to drink regularly or on special occasions. seems like they raised prices? idk mostly just hoping someone has more info/experience with japanese greens

[Anonymous No.17280170]

drinking a sample pack of this. smells like a mix of spinach soup and sweet matcha. not as bitter as I was expecting which is nice

https://www.sazentea.com/en/products/p19-uji-karigane-wakatake.html

[Anonymous No.17280568]

Why does green tea taste so bland?

[Anonymous No.17280581]

>>17280155
just drink coffee like everyone else you autistic larping faggot. If anyone offered me tea irl accompanied by a sperg rant I would laugh in their face

[Anonymous No.17280702]

>>17280581
nobody offers you shit irl retard

[Anonymous No.17280857]

>>17280076
Here is my retard list, please let me know what is shit and what isn't.

https://pastebin.com/x67jQEfN

[Anonymous No.17281094]

>>17280857
real quick i can tell you that cajovydom.sk is good
tee-kontor-kiel also looks good, ive looked at them before but forgot about them
tea4you has a bunch of flavored stuff and fruit teas, not really my thing. Their other loose leaf looks like nothing exciting
chado looks good
lemonimport has an osmantus oolong that might be good oherwise they dont have a large selection
i dont like paperandtea, dont like their presentation, really don't like that they dont list the weights of tea in each package, better to buy as a nice gift for your mom than regular tea drinking
I will check out the others tomorrow

[Anonymous No.17281134]

Business idea; tea-fed livestock

[Anonymous No.17281143]

>>17279023
I'm going on two fucking months from Hong Kong and starting to get concerned my order is never showing up.

[Anonymous No.17281287]

>>17281143
Did you check the tracking number on https://track-chinapost.com/
I have heard that china froze some postal traffic out of HK about 2 weeks ago. But from what i read it was only between HK and the US.

[Anonymous No.17281498]

>>17281287
Yes all it says there is "POSTED" and all it says on the other website is "Process completed and awaiting shipment Hong Kong Post"

[Anonymous No.17281503]

business idea: bringing back chinese opium dens

[Anonymous No.17281527]

This is the question that gets asked probably the most here, but... I dont like tea. And I would like to start drinking tea. I neither drink coffee, of any sort.
In my country we have mate, but I don't drink it either.
What can I have? What is the best tea for the people that don't like tea?

[Anonymous No.17281574]

>>17281498
Jeeze i have never had tracking like that.
I know we have other posters in Europe and maybe the US that have ordered from YOT before.
I just checked out the HK post website, not looking good, i don't think this has happened other than maybe the very beginning of covid.
https://www.hongkongpost.hk/en/about_us/whats_new/notices/index_id_1108.html

[Anonymous No.17281576]

>>17281527
Why don't you like tea? If you can't answer this, try different kinds of tea until you find one you like. If you don't like any of them, then why would you drink something you don't like?
Darjeeling seems to be pretty popular.

[Anonymous No.17281582]

>>17281527
South America?
Give mate a really good try.

[Anonymous No.17281593]

Is there such a thing as Japanese Oolong?
How are they? Where do I find them?

[Anonymous No.17281604]

>>17281593
Yes, there are some small productions of Japanese oolong. You can find them if you dig around some.

[Anonymous No.17281640]

>>17281527
why do you want to start drinking tea

[Anonymous No.17281665]

>>17281527
>This is the question that gets asked probably the most here but... I dont like tea.
You might be surprised to hear that most of the people going to a thread about tea actually like drinking tea.

[Anonymous No.17281701]

>>17281574
What worries me is that it's been like that since Nov 23rd, when shipping should have been (relatively) normal. I honestly don't know if I'll ever order anything from Asia again, it seems like you have to be spending thousands to make it worthwhile because if you don't pay $100+ for a courier like EMS you simply won't receive anything at all. I'm certainly never ordering Chinese/HK tea again, I'll just pay local mark-ups for mediocre tea and let the businesses absorb the EMS costs on their large orders.

[Anonymous No.17281753]

>>17281701
Oh did you get it shipped via sea freight? They usually takes a couple months and there were big backups in December. Even before the pandemic sea freight took forever.

[Anonymous No.17281772]

>>17281753
Air freight isn't really an option anymore (it quite literally isn't an option at the moment) and if I paid for air freight/courier I would have literally paid more for shipping than I did for leaf. As is a third of my order cost was shipping and that's for sea freight that is apparently going to take half a year to even arrive.
If I lived in a better climate with better soil terroir I would just start my own tea plantation at this point.

[Anonymous No.17281843]

>>17281772
Huh, I'm not familiar with that guys shipping but that seems expensive for EMS. I ordered 1kg of tea from king tea mall last month and EMS shipping was $35.

[Anonymous No.17281849]

>>17281843
My tea hasn't arrived either if it makes you feel better

[Anonymous No.17281855]

>>17281576
>>17281640
The teas I had all lacked the punch. I know I may be foolish, expecting the taste of something like juice or soda, but the more greenish are too bitter, and haven't gone too far from there.
The only thing I liked was those lemon teas that dissolve on water lol. But I guess that is not even a tea.
I want to have something to drink that give me "something" with no sugar. I've heard of the properties of some teas that help you get through the day. I work from home and could really use something that is not soda, has taste unlike water, and makes me company through the day.
>>17281582
Yes. And trust me, mate here has a whole social meaning, probably not now with covid, but everybody cherishes the mate and are almost desperate to have one, when somebody on the group brings their. They pass it along as you would with a joint or a beer, and I always skip it. I just don't like it. And I've tried, mostly for the social experience of not being the only one on the group rejecting it, but I just can't. It's either too hot, or too bitter, or simply I don't like it. I've made the effort. I wanted the whole paraphernalia of going around with your "matera" and having your own mate, your engraved "bombilla" but I can't.

[Anonymous No.17281886]

>>17281855
Well it's good you tired to enjoy mate, sorry it didn't work out.
What kinds of tea you should try kid of depends on what you can get easily. One herbal tea that has a good fruity, slightly sour kick to it is hibiscus.
Oolongs might also do it for you.
You might have better luck with green tea if you brew with cooler water (70°c to 80°c)
Their are some somewhat fruity black teas but they aren't the normal ones you will find most places, a decent amout of Chinese black teas can be fruity or chocolaty instead of malty and bitter like more English style black teabags with Indian or African tea.
You may be able to find a specialty tea store in one of the cities that can ship to you where you live.

[Anonymous No.17281902]

>>17281855
>It's either too hot, or too bitter
Yeah I dunno, I'm not South American but I had this problem when I was making Mate with boiling water like any other tisane.
Apparently though it's meant to be made with water around 65-70c, like a delicate green, and I found that makes it both drinkable pretty much instantly (which seems to be the idea, it would oversteep and it would be hard to pass it around if it's not at a drinkable temperature) and that helped to eliminate the bitterness. If you haven't already tried that, I'd try making Mate with water at 65-70c and drinking it shortly after adding the water to the bombilla.

>something that'll get me through the day/has punch
Gunpowder green tea. Somewhat sharp and smoky flavor, good caffeine content, tends to resteep decently well. Again as with the earlier comment, green tea being "too bitter" is usually an issue of using water that is too hot for too long. Either take the water off the heat when decent sized bubbles start to come up to the surface, or let it cool for a while if you're using a kettle you can't see through. Don't let the green tea steep too long - less is more. You would be surprised how little time it takes to get a flavorful brew.
I can't speak much as to black teas because I don't drink a lot of it.

[Anonymous No.17282120]

>Suffering from early spring allergies, choking on snot
>Have two sessions of gong fu back to back.
>First white, second black
>go to bed, wake up, feel right as rain

Just like my shitty cultivation novels!

[Anonymous No.17282235]

>>17281902
Not that anon, but am I doing it radically wrong if I use ~50C water for drinking mate? It seems way too low according to the internet but 70 is already too hot for my mouth, I can drink it but it's not as enjoyable and all the tastes go out of the window.

[Anonymous No.17282466]

>>17280568
Either you're using wrong tea, wrong brewing bethod, or you are tastelet.

Try different tea, different brewing method with more tea leaves/longer steeping time/hotter water, or stop drinking/eating foods with overwhelming flavor.

Or just accept green tea is not for you and stick with black/puers/certain oolongs.

[Anonymous No.17282675]

>>17281094
>I will check out the others tomorrow
Thank you so much anon <3

[Anonymous No.17282712]

>>17280857
>tea4you.nl
Seems their selection for a large part is teas blended with fruit and flowers. Prices look good but I'm not able to get a good comparison. Their gyokuro is 34 cents per gram for 100g, if that means something to someone.

I can also add moychay.nl, which has a good selection and a bit better prices than the .nl site I got from the current pastebin (hotsoup). I've been happy with my order from them. They are based in Russia with many more stores, but for some reason have one here.

[Anonymous No.17282745]

tea bros were we the soyboys all along?

[Anonymous No.17282753]

>>17282712
No personal experience with them, but I suggested Moychay's NL site to tea noob I know, and he really liked the products. Said shipping was fast too, with nice freebies. I'd order from theiir other site if I was looking to buy hindreds of dollars worth of leaf, seeing some of the cool specialty regional teas they offer.

[Anonymous No.17282756]

>>17264803
Where do I buy good tea in Germany? Ho do I into /tea/ enjoying?

[Anonymous No.17282822]

>>17282745
>Ancestral diet
>all that meat
ya ok. come back when you replace 90% of the food at the bottom with bread.

[Anonymous No.17282830]

>>17282745
Only if your tea has caffeine in it

[Anonymous No.17282840]

>>17282830
>caffeine is soy now
fuck, bros...

[Anonymous No.17282846]

>>17282235
It's fine if you need to brew mate at a lower temperature, there is some research that suggests that regularly drinking very hot liquids might increase rates of throat cancer. I'm sure people that drink it frequently have just gotten their mouth used to the higher temperature.

[Anonymous No.17282867]

>these anons naming tea unironically and must-haves
it's just tea, faggots. Buy teabags and enjoy it with 2 sugar cubes. Literally taste the same.

[Anonymous No.17282917]

>>17282867
>sugar
oh no no no
look at the top of his head

[Anonymous No.17282923]

>>17282867
it's all ken-sama faggots larping as chinese

[Anonymous No.17282934]

>>17282867
>>17282923
SCHLLLLLLLLLLRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRP

[Anonymous No.17283166]

>>17281094
>cajovydom.sk is good
uh.. how do I pay bros? it

[Anonymous No.17283307]

>>17282840
Exhausting your brain and body with nitrogenous wastes for a system that hates you is pretty soy. Drink herbal tea, lie down flat.

[Anonymous No.17283318]

>>17282756
bumping this

[Anonymous No.17283336]

>>17282756
Read the pastebin for introductory tea information.
Try ordering from
https://www.tee-kontor-kiel.de/tee/
I haven't used them myself but they seem decent

[Anonymous No.17283347]

>>17283166
Weird i don't know why it is like this. I'm pretty sure they used to accept regular credit card payment.
I guess you should look elsewhere and i will probably take them out of the pastebin sorry anon.

[Anonymous No.17283349]

>>17283347
>you should look elsewhere
but I liked what they had to offer :(

[Anonymous No.17283362]

Drinking this tea right now and it's giving me an urge to shit in the street

[Anonymous No.17283361]

>>17283349
Try emailing them and asking, maybe they can email you a PayPal invoice or something.

[Anonymous No.17283455]

I want to get an electric kettle but they all seem to have some plastic element inside. After looking around I got a glass one and that one for some reason also stank and made the water taste like plastic. What’s the alternative? Standard kettle mad of iron? I have induction burners.

[Anonymous No.17283581]

>>17283455
Are you in the US?
This brand has some that are 100% stainless steel on the inside with no seams
It's also nice and big
https://www.amazon.com/Secura-Electric-Stainless-Protection-K15-F1E/dp/B087BRBX4Q/

[Anonymous No.17283605]

>>17283581
Thanks. No I’m in Germany and unfortunately this one costs the equivalent of 120 dollars here lol.

[Anonymous No.17283630]

>>17283307
>dude just don't work
enjoy dying on the street I guess?

[Anonymous No.17283642]

>>17283605
Just look around with search terms like stainless steel interior or seamless. All the ones with glass sides will have a gasket around the base so avoid those. You should be able to find some.

[Anonymous No.17283643]

>>17274296
Love me hard water
simple as

[Anonymous No.17283649]

>>17283630
If you have been a regular 4channler for any amount of time and aren't a crypto rich NEET you are doing it wrong.

[Anonymous No.17283658]

>>17282120
>two sessions of gong fu
>going to sleep
bruh how

[Anonymous No.17283676]

>>17283649
you can't get rich off Crypto it's a fucking scam

[Anonymous No.17283703]

>Would you like a cup of gasoline?

[Anonymous No.17283863]

>>17283630
>thinks he will die on the street without his favorite insecticide
Typical caffeine tweaker logic. You can only see it from the outside, unfortunately.

[Anonymous No.17283902]

>>17283863
I don't know what to tell you retard you won't be able to afford herbal tea without a job either, to say nothing of housing.

[Anonymous No.17284031]

>>17283902
You are implying that you need caffeine to work any kind of job. Trump doesn't drink caffeine.

[Anonymous No.17284041]

>>17283658
Watched star trek next gen, got half way through the first season before sleep took me

[Anonymous No.17284042]

>>17283703
I love all this crazy Ceylon tea packaging people have been posting lately, it's a nice change of pace from Chinese branding

[Anonymous No.17284043]

>>17282867
Really doesn't though. That'd be like "WOW JUST EAT A PILE OF FRESH DOG SHIT! WHY BUY A CHOCOLATE BAR!

[Anonymous No.17284074]

Having some Yee On Tea "taste of Hong Kong" today. Strong beet cellar taste with a tannic backbone. Overall a nice tea with unique storage on it. Very unlike most other sheng out there. I quite like it as something different to have once in awhile but I think I prefer dryer storage overall. Something about wet piled or aggressively post-fermented does not always quite sit perfectly with me. consequently, I have have developed a taste for young sheng whereas when I first started off I though shou would be my favorite and thought sheng to be too bitter. I guess learning is part of the experience. Still its definitely worth trying Hong Kong cellar storage if sounds up your alley. I keep a bit of everything in my pumidor.

[Anonymous No.17284226]

>>17284031
le system

[Anonymous No.17284247]

having some strong iced milk mamri this afternoon, shit's amazing. people are foolish to neglect the baseness of this beverage. as much as people love their gongfucha in here this is what keeps china moving, i.e., actually effective, medicinal tea.

[Anonymous No.17284585]

The tea that killed /tea/