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>>21857070

>>21857070
>why does my tea taste fishy?
Cause you have bad quality tea
Next question.

>>21857070
Should I get back into /tea/ after not drinking any for 4 years? All my puerh got ruined by mold growing in my college dorm room and I ragequit. I know I still have all my equipment in a box somewhere but I would have to start my tea collection from scratch.

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Sippin ne some 2018 Flapjacks.
Whats in your cup today?

>>21857077
:3

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tfw no trad storage gf

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*SLUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURP*

>>21857176
another Pajarito day, poured some up from my official Pajarito yerba mate storage tin
>>21857087
also, I'm chasing the Pajarito with some Sea Dyke lao cong shui xian from KTM

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>>21857192

>>21857192
Kraus Organico, from my official Kraus Organico storage tin. Also I find the Porongo cup shape a lot easier to maintain a mountain than my Calabash, on the other hand it is much harder to flood the mountain once the lower part is leached out.

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>>21857114
just imagine if one day i meet a cute girl who gives a f for good tea

>>21857114
ordered a portable 2 person gaiwan set, to share tea with my gal on picnics this season

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>>21857084
life doens´t give much more besides sex, good times with people we love and hobbies, also a job. I guess you know the answer.

>>21857176
>>21857192
Rosamonte day for me.
>>21857193
That patina is coming along nicely.
>>21857288
Good shit.

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>fishy taste is good as long as you call it 'funk' or 'dank'
Also, no. There is funk and dank and there is fishy. You know it once you taste real fishy.

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My FarmerLeaf order finally arrived, William threw in a free Spring 2025 Jing Mai MiYun sample, which is nice. I was hoping for a tea knife, but I'll take it.

I'm curious about the yellow flakes and what I hope will be a proper example of Oolong.
Next order will probably be Oolong cheapies from TeaHome.
My record is pretty spotty, the first I have ever tried was a beautiful Muzha TieGuanYin from Taiwan.
The second specimen was a totally overroasted and burnt factory reject mystery Oolong and the third was another mystery product that had a strong artificial peach flavor, pretty nasty stuff.

Anyone tried this GABA oolong at fullchea?
https://www.fullchea-tea.com/products/taiwan-high-mountain-oolong-gaba-tea-gaba-oolong

>>21857558
Although I haven't tried that one, FL's oolongs are pretty nice, should be a lot better than those trashy ones at least

>>21857114
>>21857245
shouldn't be too difficult, it's a very girly drink after all.

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>>21857070
I just had some Japanese tea from Ikkyu. I like it, especially that seaweed taste on gyokuro, but it is absurdly overpriced. 10x the price of Chinese tea.

>>21857070
I hate that weird brown fella from mei leaf: every tea he sells is supposedly from a 6 gorillion year old tree planted by the yellow emperor himself, yet tastes astonishingly average.

>>21857176
South Americans are an absurd people. They should make it all at once in a pot, then filter it, rather than do that, or use a gaiwan; getting clogged up with leaves, passing it around-very, very unhygienic and inneficient. I don't care if it's dey kulcha

>>21857070
Why do Fags like OP hate things that taste like vagina?

>>21857740
>inneficient
honestly yerba mate brewing is the most efficient tea brewing method I've seen
you just pour more hot water from a thermos and keep gulping, you can do this for a long time too with many brews and you don't get leavves in your mouth
it's like the best parts of grandpa and gong fu style combined

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>>21857087
Finishing up this San He bronze tin liu bao this week. Not bad, since I bought it some of the old books smell disappeared, it's a clean slightly medicinal and sweet taste, mild but relaxing.
Gotta figure out which liu bao to try next, been eyeing up a san he brick on chawangshop.

The autumn 2025 Baoshan Beauty oolong is way different than I had expected.
Strong floral aroma at first and in the nose (jasmine? I haven't tried jasmine tea yet but I imagine that's what it tastes like), that gives way for a cocoa/chocolate taste. Slight bitterness, dries out the mouth, sweet aftertaste. The floral taste does linger on.

It's way different than my MuZha TieGuanYin, which has a very delicate vanilla and slight coconut aroma. How odd.

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How many of yall have a temperature controlled kettle? Or are you really cool like me and stick a meat thermometer in to see when the water is the right temp.

Tell me of your water heating methods.

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>>21858113
William said in one of his recent videos that only bitchass niggas stress out about water temperature

>>21858113
As for me, I use the OXO non-gooseneck temperature controlled kettle. I quite like it. It means that there's one less thing for me to worry about when brewing tea.
>>21858135
That's only if you're drinking chink tea (and maybe outside of Dan Congs, since those tend to be temperamental.) Nip tea is pretty sensitive to temperature, and even a couple of degrees off can fuck up the flavor or make it horribly bitter.

>>21857082
Is that it? Cool i thought it was something gross

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>>21858150
That's why Japan invented a separate piece of teaware specifically for cooling the water.

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>>21857698
i will kill you

>>21857740
>I hate that weird brown fella from mei leaf
i love him though, please don´t talk shit about him thank you

>>21857288
Why would handmade be preferable to machine made?

>>21858196
>buy $190 handmade Japanese Yuzamashi instead of $30 temp controlled kettle
based

>>21858387
collectible value, handmade antiques are lot more valuable than machine made mass goods.

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>>21858387
Chinaman sweat is essential to tea's flavour.


>>21858196
>>21858566
>yuzawatahcoolahmashi
I do this but with an ordinary jug.

Anybody have a pure silver teapot? I've been mulling one forever but now I'm FOMOing with the prices as they are.

>>21858938
You want your tea to taste powdery?

>>21857070
>tea tasting fishy is a good thing
Do you niggers really? That sounds like some /wg/ retardation.

>>21858976
No?

>>21858938
No, but I have some experience collecting historic silverware, protip, unless the interior of your pot is gilded you'll get metal taste from tea, tannins will do that with silver.

>>21857740
You see, ierba mate “cerimonial” drinking originated among gauchos, an extremely homosexual ethnicity of country bumpkins native to the northern southern cone. If anything surrounding mate sounds gay, it probably is.
Most of them got killed in the early 20th century and the other inhabitants of the region got nostalgic about them and started adopting some of their customs.

>>21858984
Then don’t use silverware.

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>>21858994
(You)

>>21858990
>>21858996
I thought using a silver teapot was supposed to be a very pure and unadulterated drinking experience. It's extremely inert, isn't it?

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>>21859021
nope, beverages with acids and tannins like in wine or tea will react enough with silver to get a taste. thats why silver cups get gilded on the interior.

>>21858135
did drinking cha cause his hair to start falling out?

>>21859032
That's probably just oxidation, silver turns yellowish when it oxidizes

>>21859053
no, it doesn't.

>>21859053
>>21859066
It tarnishes in the presence of sulfur (along with oxygen, although it is reversible), but I can't imagine that's happening to people's teapots. Just poorly kept heirloom silverware. Thanks. I'm probably priced out anyway.

>>21857729
You get twice the amount of tea per packet from sites like Hibiki-An which is my Japanese supplier of choice after trying things out.
I think you just got to try some other places before you buy
Also you might see better deals around the time of harvest season when there's going to be more available

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Bros, does tea make you smell?
Someone told me I smelled like stinkbug since I started drinking tea again.

>>21859790
Every tea drinker I've ever met has been tremendously smelly.

>>21857740
I tried making tea with a gaiwan and it doesn't come out quite right. The packing and low water at the bottom really brings out that smokey taste.

>>21859021
Tradition says they do impact the water, but in a positive way by making the brew feel softer and smoother.
Another interesting thing to try would be an iron kettle (tetsubin), which are said to create a "silkier" texture and slightly sweeter taste.

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kek, i´m fucked. Decided to buy from https://hayslontea.com as someone here suggested, and bought a 2003 Tong Qing Hao shou. Just now iv learned that Tong Qing Hao was closed in 1948, and this is probably a bootleg or something.

How much iv got ripped off or shouldnt i be concerned?

>>21859823
Same cake is also being sold at purple cloud so personally I wouldn't worry. Seems there's some weirdness with the TQH name, it's not the original company but other entities used it at different times, couldn't find a clear explanation

>>21859823
I think you should be fine. hayslontea looks like a reputable vendor that only sells nicer teas so it should be fine. As the other anon said Tong Qing Hao is an old brand name where multiple producers have used it's name and wrappers especially during the 1990's and early 2000s before more produces established their own unique labels. I would be more leery if this were ebay or taobao or if they made unrealistic claims of age but from a reputable vendor with a narrow selection you should be fine. Honestly, deciphering the exact identity and batch of many early 2000s and older cakes can be quite challenging. Look at all the CNNP style wrappers for example.

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>>21860160
>>21859866
You guys are friend, thank you. It seems to me that the age thing and wrappers getting mixed its a common thing in HK? Maybe it´s just an impression.

>>21860180
this blog post is pretty interesting in regards to mislabeled tea
https://taiwanteaodyssey.com/tales-of-fake-xiaguan/

>>21859790
Lesbians tend to smell bad.

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>>21859790
Does she look smelly?

>>21859790
Stop drinking the rotten fish junk.
How many more hints do you need?

>>21859823
Tong Qing Hao is one of those old brands that gets their trademark used by random producers
this is common in pu-erh, so I wouldn't think of it as getting scammed, just buying a mystery cake
I hear some of those Song Pin Hao fakes from the 90s or early 2000s are actually pretty good

that being said, 80$ is fairly expensive for a cake of ripe, even a 2003 ripe

>>21860373
The only sheng i had chance to taste was a 2003 Thick Paper Qing Bing from Essence of Tea and i really didn´t enjoyed it much. The notes remembered me a lot of green tea and i´m not a really big fan of green tea. So i stick mainly to Shou.

Im i doing something wrong? Maybe temp? I used a porcelain gaiwan, nothing fancy as my Yxing its for ripe.

>>21860634
weird, it's young sheng that's more similar to green tea, 20+ yo should have darker flavors going on
could try Yeeontea's trad storage shengs, those are dark as fuck and more similar to ripe

>>21860634
If you decide to try aged sheng again (you should, it's way different than green tea) try a high leaf ratio (1g/15mL) with short steeps (start at 5 seconds and go from there, increase by 5 seconds if it's too weak)

>>21860634
>>21860666
and use boiling water

>>21860658

But, tell me, in the end ripe and sheng are too really different teas, right? The aged ripe will not give the notes of an aged sheng.

Hate green tea, simple as that.

>>21860672
I can kinda see what they were going for with ripe. Some ripes have some kinda similarity to some properly aged raws. But ripe is very much its own thing most of the time

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Drinking some LiMing 2006 Shou and playing 100% Orange Juice. No, i'm not gay.

>>21860672
Young raw, aged raw and ripe are three day and night different tea categories. (don't get that much of a difference with age from ripe, other than raw).
Young raw is the most approachable and interesting kind imho.
Aged raw can taste pretty much like anything from tobacco to dirt depending on what it is and how it was stored. It will generally lose freshness compared to the young variant and grow murky notes as the other anon said.
Ripe is full blown soil grime dirt notes from the beginning with questionable tea processing. Difficult to approach but people in this general are happy to tell you otherwise. It can be good for winter moods tho, if you happen to get hands on a non shit one.

>>21860672
ripe was originally made to mimic traditionally stored / wet stored sheng
dry stored sheng is quite different from ripe flavor-wise

>>21861003
>don't get that much of a difference with age from ripe
oh, it really does. A young ripe tastes totally different from a aged one, dude.

>>21861045
Yea but the effect is smaller compared to a raw. Raw goes from green to brown during aging. Ripe mostly remains same color, might lose some of its fishiness and goes more mellow.

Can tea help us cope?

>>21860238
extremely

>buy up some nice cheapies
>resell online locally (no competition here)
>if nobody buys it i have a bunch of tea i like
bad idea?

Revisiting the 2008 8582 once again. Feels nice as a regular drinker. This time, I'm getting green apples, sour grape skins, and a wood-like taste - maybe something antique. Then, it got somewhat a bitter and harsh flavor that kept going (I think that this was because I broke some leaves. Instead of using the pu'erh pick, I just snapped a piece of with my fingers.) Normally, it's more mellow.

When life gives you lesbians drink puer

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Smells

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My Awazon order just came in the mail, first time trying them. I'll be sure to share my thoughts on everything as I sample it.

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>>21861834
And here's everything in a list for those who are interested. I'm doubtful of the age of most of the stuff on the website, and the claims of "ancient" tree leaves is definitely not true, but it all looks decent and I'm still impressed with the price.

>>21861834
Nice, interesting zhongcha cake there
Wonder what you'll think of the bi luo chun too, I drank through a few hundred grams of it now grandpa style, super unfussy about my green tea so curious what someone else makes of it

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>>21861836
Dude, you will have to pay a bit more to get good tea, this price its really suspicious. The only time i bought tea through Amazon was a white one and it was really bad, but i'm here wishing the best an waiting for your review.

>>21861755
Well, tell us the %

>>21861437
I hope so, fren, i really do. Its been working.

>>21861865
>Amazon

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>>21861866
Sorry.

>>21861437
Nah.
If anything once the caffeine drops it makes it worse.

>>21861778
I'll try this cake at some point. the 2010 7542 I have is bretty gud

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>>21857070
Not in order but notes from 40g of the stash melted away in one sitting.

07 12ftm (via tshop) - needed conditioning but was good regardless
05 lbz (via tshop) - some of the best lbz easily available, still, even more so now
Trad roast tgy (tshop) - its tgy…
07 manlin (l2l) - very balancing
02 sph yiwu (of l2l) - vivid cha qi
96 huangyin (l2l) - will redo with flash steeps for a better account of flavor
Yee on best taste (the stepping room) - the one yeon worth its salt
08 suspicious lbz (lp) - my storage made it so strong, I need to air it out

On the next episode of psychotic episodes, we will have the mangzhi, mz broom, basically almost the entire l2l catalog, and some twl samples if I can get hands on them. need reminder to review the 05 wsmp in a fair setting tho.

>>21862308
>vivid cha qi
What makes you say this about one tea in particular when you're having 40g in one sitting?

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trying the 2005 tulin phoenix tuo from quiche, it's somehow very watery and astringent at the same time, kind of a disappointment even for the price
would much rather recommend the nanzhao tuos instead, the 2004 one has nice storage

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>>21860666
So, i´ve tasted the 2003 Thick Paper Qing Bing from Essence of Tea once again and still, greenish as fuck for my tastes. I really think i should give some HK sheng a try, something tells me that my opinions will change. The HKs shous are divine and really different already.

Do we have any specific boutique our factory that focus still on wet storage?

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>>21862308
>40g
i will ask the same thing as him >>21862331

>>21862414
She cute, what do girls like her drink?
>kind of a disappointment even for the price
I had no luck with aged stuff, so in just gave up on it.
Young sheng is where its at. Even on taobao, I just buy young only.

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>>21862438
>Young sheng

>>21862427
eot has really weird storage, most of their teas are from malaysia but they're stored in kunming which gets rid of all the humid notes
i liked their 2005 nannuo gushu and 2004 cnnp 7542 the most, but neither of them blew me away

>>21862438
>She cute, what do girls like her drink?
yiwu gushu apparently

>>21862467
>yiwu gushu
Say no more, she is the one.
Reminds me I need to finish my yiwu samples.

>>21862427
>Do we have any specific boutique our factory that focus still on wet storage?
Yeeontea focuses entirely on that

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>>21862492
I love them but i they send the invoice full price, i literally pay 100% of taxes for that shit. The invoice has to show a price bellow 50$.

>>21860959
Also, wanted to say that this LiMin its really, really precious. Still understading its notes but its so... It feels like a chinese trad wife giving me some love. The Qi its really, really mellow. The last time i remember feeling a Qi this potent was with a 90s Xiaguan brick. For the lovers of Shou, give it a try.


Also, iv been trying to understand a thing. Why does the smell of the tea changes as the cup goes down? Is it merely because of the space for the fragrance to sit better or theres is a specific molecular reason? I love so much the soy sauce note i feel on same shous, but i can only notice them properly once its already in the end of the gong dao bai. Would a bigger recipicient give me that same smell?

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>>21862560
>they send the invoice full price
bad news for my recent 800 euro haul

>>21862582
I´m waiting for this one >>21859823 and they seem to not put it 100% on the invoice. Idk if its as good as Yee but its from HK so i have high hopes. Also, talking with SensingTea they´ve also seemed able to help me with this. Take a look after.

>>21861437
>>21861865
It's been working for me, too. Every day is good day when I can sit down at my PC and drink tea for a few hours.
>>21861796
It's close, but not exactly a joke yet. There's probably something funny there.
>>21861834
I love anons getting Awazon. Makes me want to pull the trigger too.
>>21861865
>this price its really suspicious
It is and without investigating who is selling what, you should not be buying it. However Awazon seems to be reputable. Anons have been mostly neutral to lightly positive on their teas so at that price, it might help with some hard times. I wonder if they have any social medias somebody could look at. I wonder what level of online Chinese marketing they're at.

>>21857729
>absurdly overpriced
Gyokuro maybe, especially with farmers converting their productions to matcha, but that and matcha are unique luxury styles anyway- sencha prices are pretty reasonable, and that's a better daily drinker.

>>21857740
Don really isn't so bad; he's a salesman but he's upfront about it, and while ML is pricey, the tea is actually good so it's not a big deal. I talked to his wife at their London location and she was a sweetheart. Being a Yankee I wouldn't bother ordering from them and paying shipping on top of everything, but the sheng I got at their storefront was quite nice, a happy memory.
Also yerba mate is plenty practical they traditional SA way, though some of them overstuff their gourds. I've only drank it on my own though, can't speak on the social aspect.

>>21860634
I've never found sheng to be very similar to green. My bf can't stand green tea but he loves sheng. Keep trying, it's a big world. Do you like non-shou heicha- liu bao? Fuzhuan cha? Those bridge the gap, kind of.

>>21862762
>Do you like non-shou heicha- liu bao? Fuzhuan cha? Those bridge the gap, kind of.
Iv never tasted! Iv been wanting to, though.
>Fuzhuan cha
How does it taste?

>>21862560
Just writing once again to really pump up this LiMing iv got. I believe its one of the best shous iv tasted. Give it a try.

>>21862762
I hope normalfags never get into sencha.

>>21862560
>love them but i they send the invoice full price, i literally pay 100% of taxes for that shit
yeah that's my problem with Yeeon as a EUfag. really expensive shipping too.

>>21862691
>However Awazon seems to be reputable
They've been producing and selling tea for like 35 years at this point.

>>21862308
> Not in order but notes from 40g of the stash melted away in one sitting.
Why not just light boil your tea then? lol
Would probably get away with 10 grams

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>my bull got my wife pregnant

>>21862875
Is he an indian or a paki? I need to know to adjust the slurs I’m going to use.

>>21862851
Japanese green tea in general got normified because of matcha.

>>21862884
He is Chinese

>>21862887
It's known, but I still don't think it's as popular. Sencha doesn't look as cool on instagram/tiktok and doesn't work as well with caramel syrup. I don't think many black-owned cafes are serving it.

>>21862899
Looks better than moldy shou or mineral wuyi oolong.
>>21862891
Chinese from arunachal pradesh?

>>21862917
I think shou could go viral on tiktok
>Weird looking cakes that you can break in satisfying ways
>Black liquid looks interesting on camera
>Quacky health benefits / supposed fat burning properties

>>21862922
We need to start spreading pictures or literally molded over cakes and claim that’s what shou is about to gatekeep it, then.

>>21862582
>SensingTea
Whats the url? I can't seem to find a shop with that name.

>>21862922
Just start doing milk-shou like we had last thread and say it has more magical properties than regular black tea.

>>21862934
I think anon meant Sunsing

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>>21862934
lol, its sunsing tea i´m sorry. >https://sunsingtea.com/PuerhTea
Before buying i recommend that you write to them asking about those things, tea sellers are good people normally and they will always reply.

>>21862884
>>21862875
>be a good normal father and husband creating good tea content for the internet and selling expensive tea for people who want to pay for it
>gets called a cuck
I forget /ck/ is still 4chan.

>>21862926
And the cakes with cigarette butts, hairs, rat bones, and other miscellaneous debris. I think that would be enough to scare most trend chasers off.

>>21862831
>>Fuzhuan cha
>How does it taste?
Sweet, often with cinnamon or other spices, a little woody in a pleasant way. Not very similar to shou at all.

>>21862995
I think he might be from latin america instead. Peru or something. At least it’s less cringe than a self hating pajeet invader who only drinks chinese tea in spite of his culture.
>>21863039
We need to tell people that chinese tea in general is bad and that they should only drink “english” tea because it has a higher quality control (lmao).

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>>21863073
>>21863039
>>21862922

I'm 100% all is settled for shou to go mainstream. It's all there. I don't know what to think about it though, cause it looks possible but at the same time why is taking so long? I mean, matcha is easier to sell, to mix, right? If pur erh goes mainstream, will it go as viral as matcha?

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>>21861836
>I'm doubtful of the age of most of the stuff on the website,
Why? I find people scrutinise Awazon a lot more than other places. If YS claimed a tea was 50 years old you'd all pogface and buy it.
>>21861865
>this price its really suspicious.
Again, why? Your baseline for tea prices is overpriced Western tea with immense markups due to importation, acting as a middle man, and knowing that they can do it. Rddtrs talk about spending $100 a MONTH on tea, no wonder they charge so much. Tea in China is actually incredibly cheap. Tea is a a bush native to China, it grows easily and everywhere in the Southern regions, as easily as privets here.

>>21862762
>Don really isn't so bad; he's a salesman
He's a blatant liar. Look at the state of his cakes. He makes the most outrageous claims and his pseudo-wine tasting notes are right out. The Chinese don't even do that. It's just a way of overcomplicating it to bamboozle people and rip them off.

>she was a sweetheart
Because she was making money off you obviously. When you got out the door they probably started laughing.

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>>21863117
>Your baseline for tea prices is overpriced Western tea with immense markups due to importation
No, it isn´t, i buy from King Tea Mall, dude. Iv just never seem a 2010 XiaGuan being sold for 12 dollars, cmon. Also, their Yxing is really cheap, isn´t it strange? But at the same time, idk.

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>>21863123
>Xiaguan
I couldn't find a comparison. The only 2010 I could find is a small tinned export tuo, not an ordinary cake.

This fella has visited and communicated with them and rates them the same as YS
https://teapotnews.blogspot.com/search?q=awazon

According to rddt In China prices are cheaper:
>(Any year) Xiaguan 8663 is a banger. $10-$15 a cake on the chinese markets

>Yxing is really cheap
machine made. Though they should have specified that.

>Kingteamall
Also a reseller called John. So I don't know how much his prices reflect the price on the ground in China.

Of course, it could all be fake, but the point I'm making is that I don't think it any more likely than fakes from other companies.

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>>21861834
>>21861836
Tried the Xiaguan cake today, I really liked it. Taste wise the closest thing I've had which I can compare it to is Menghai V93, but with a subtle smokiness that reminds me of the other Xiaguan cake I've tried before. Very slight sweetness, main notes I get are earth, leather, cocoa, vanilla, new car smell, and a little smoke. The smokiness tastes a bit aged out so I think it really is a 2010 cake. About the same quality as other factory ripes I've had before at a much lower price.
>>21863117
Nothing wrong with a little healthy skepticism, and I was mainly referring to the claims of "ancient" tree leaves. In general I've heard good things about Awazon though, otherwise I wouldn't have ordered. I'm excited to try more tomorrow.

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Anyone wanna buy some tea? Over 400 kilos of tea, actually.
Current offer is sitting at 1€.

>>21863545
Damn awazon has some serious competition

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Interesting...
They also have the "2023 Chen Sheng #1 Raw Pu-erh Tea" for $53 instead of $150...

>>21863123
>No, it isn´t, i buy from King Tea Mall, dude
Kingteamall has mark-ups too, they are a western reseller
The yixing is obviously fake, but that's the standard at most stores

Awazon is a weird store, but I don't think their tea seems fake. Kind of bad storage, barely working website, probably low operating costs and they're just selling stuff they bought / made long ago for low profit margins

>>21863763
Cspuerh prices are not that great compared to taobao even though they are an official vendor
The upside is free shipping and -20$ coupons, so it can be worth min maxing a one cake order especially when they have a sale

>>21863788
I mean, people are whoring themselves here for $20 coupon and are still getting chinked.
Skipping is like $10-12 per cake, and the "free" shipping they have is from $50, so you are getting screwed either way.
Did anyone here have the #1 blend?
I already have the naka and the zodiac, so I'm not interested in those.

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>>21863696

>Go check out my local tea store for something I haven't tasted before
>"Eh, might as well give ripe Puerh a go"
>Brew smells somewhat fishy, faintly earthy
>Tastes like a shitty oolong
The taste I can work with, but the smell is really turning me off. Is it supposed to smell like that or is it just shit quality tea? I've had luck before with that particular tea store when it comes to discovering more pleasant teas, but this one seems more like a mistake than anything.

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>>21864265
Well, there are ripes who will really smell fishy and the ones who will smell funky, but for some people ripes will always smell fish. I mainly drink ripe and i assure you none of my cakes smell fishy, but a friend of mine who drinks mainly black tea was able to drink just the HK one i had, as the smell was far away from the notes that some people may consider fishy.
>Is it supposed to smell like that or is it just shit quality tea?
So yes, it may be supposed to smell like this but without smelling myself i wouldn´t know. But if it literally smells like a real fish, it is bad storaged tea for sure - and it does happen.

>>21864265
fishiness in ripe is usually a sign of low quality or ripe that needs more time to rest
some people are very attuned to fishiness though and find a bit of it in most ripe and it ruins the category for them

it's hard to say which is the case for you. try a well-liked ripe if you get the chance and you will know for sure

>>21864265
Ripe always smells worse than it tastes. Both will grow on ya, though. I never met one I didn't like.

I had a friend smell the Black Cat cake pretty soon after I got it. First thing she said was it smells like fish. I did not hint this or gave any clues in advance so this was her real reaction. I think I adujsted to that smell over time and don't realize it so much anymore but it's there. Still like it. Propably like people who are into stink cheese which smells like fresh dog shit.

>>21864347
It certainly has an odd smell but I wouldn't call it fish. And I know I can detect the fishy wo dui smell
But, a lot of this stuff is about your own associations, some people perceive a broader set of smells as fishy, I guess.

>>21857070
I am looking for chai tips and tricks.
recently I have a mix that I bring to boil in water, then add milk, bring to another boil, then let steep. it's good.
I wanna up the game though, how do I get it really good?

>>21864335
We're talking about tea right?

>>21864844
https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/masala-tea-chai/
I've always used method one on this page. Actually I'm interested if there's better methods out there.

anyone doing the w2t tea-club? is it any good?

>>21857070
5 or 6 spoons of sugar?

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>>21861834
>>21861836
>>21863442
Tried the white tea cake this morning, somewhat disappointing. Very weak flavor compared to cakes ive tried before. Tastes sort of like you took a nice white tea and diluted it with 50% water. Pushing the heat didnt really help either, just made it bitter. Ill probably save this one for cold brew when it heats up this summer.

>>21865716
thank you, that made me a lot less miserable since I can never have this cake

>>21865716
I wasn't super impressed with the whites either, though the silver needles are alright

>>21865741
Does king tea mall ship to you? They have that very cheap shou mei that's nice and has some character

>>21857077
I want to lick mrs kitty

>>21865452
I did it for about ten months before I got laid off. I was impressed. Experiments, good write ups, plus whole ass cakes sometimes. Getting regular shipments of tea is very fun.
>>21865716
That seems to be the case with Awazon whites. I wonder if the chocolate bar bricks are better.

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yxing noob question.

Yesterday i had two sessions with the same tea, a LiMing 2006 Shou. After the first time, as i was going to use the same tea, i didn´t gave that quick rinse of water to wash all the leaves alway, what made the tea so much more rich in my opinion. All the notes that i love, of soy sauce and pungent ripe. Today, after rinsing, solely with water, as yesterday i drank a XiaGuan, that same cake tastes much less pungent.

I´m supposed to literally just take the leaves out without rinsing?

>>21865749
>I wonder if the chocolate bar bricks are better.
pretty much the same

>>21865760
Well, still on the first session of the day and it seems that its mainly because yesterday the first one i drank on the balcony and the second, as im doing right now, was in the office. I didn´t knew that the air could that the air flow could affect it so much.

>>21865749
>chocolate bar bricks are better
They refuse to break up. Might be perfect for all day long thermos brewing though.

>>21865823
yeah those little things are dense as fuck. thats a good call though i should try one in a thermos

I got a Shui Xian and a Mi Lan Xiang from a local tea store.
The Shui Xian is the only one I've tried and I'm not finding it to be anything special, it said on their website that the oxidation level is about 40% but it feels like much more with how malty it is, and it's not particularly fruity or fragrant.
I remember someone in here saying they thought roasted, baked and friend oolong tea was best after at least 12 months from processing, but this feels more like an average quality tea picked in the middle of summer.

>>21865745
>They have that very cheap shou mei that's nice and has some character
Can confirm, I was drinking it today before a technical interview and it calmed me down
Tastes good too. Better than the FL and white2tea whites I have which are more than twice the price. Though maybe I just prefer aged fuding shou mei over unaged yunnan whites.

>>21865891
Shui xian has a huge range of quality from cheapest charcoal out there to expensive award winning core area old bush stuff
I have a Seadyke shui xian that I think is tasty for the low price I got it for

>>21865745
>They have that very cheap shou mei that's nice and has some character
Yea its on my list for a while now but didn't get to order there yet.

After trying that Puerh I bought for the third time, I've come to the conclusion that I either really dislike Puerh, or the bag of Puerh I bought was really shit quality.
The taste itself is fine, but it wasn't anything truly special. What was special however was the smell. Maybe I'm just too used to pleasantly fragrant greens and oolongs, but I really can't get over this fishy stench. I've had strong oolongs before, but at most they smelled like drenched forest ground, not like I just visited the fish market at noon.

>>21866143
Did you ever tried sheng? If green its your thing, i´m pretty sure sheng will suit you. Also, i love ripe but i dislike green and oolong.

>>21866143
Sounds like trash bad ferment to me

>>21865891
Gay coded post

>>21865716
That's one of my favourites. I boil it at 95 degrees, leave it overnight sometimes-never bitter. I find it is quite strong and fresh, it's just not floral.

>>21865741
>I can never have this cake
Why?

>>21866458
>Why?
because it's already been used by that other anon

>>21863081
I don’t want shou to go mainstream.

>>21866510
I want tea drinkers to all die.

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Witch's broom in a bowl is quite good. Very comfy.

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>>21866510
If you stop to think, there would take a few years for it to really go down. Look >>21866143 for example. Maybe its easy for people who enjoy shou to get into it, but maybe its strange for the mainstream taste. Who knows though.

>>21866143
what sou was it?
you will only answer your question if you try a good ripe pu-erh. any Dayi production should not be fishy

>>21865922
I paid €7 for 25g, the leaves look fine and not broken up and I had good experiences with the same tea shop before, so I certainly hoped the quality would be higher.
Hopefully I'll be luckier with the rest of what I got.

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Has anyone here ever had a chance to taste a earlier than 90s ripe or sheng? Like, 70/80.

>>21867262
I've had 3 shengs that old, two from two different tea shops I visited in Taiwan and one from essence of tea. As an aged sheng lover, they're very good and unique too. Definitely worth a try if you get the chance. They were all loose leaf, and there's no way to really verify their age, but since all three were from different sources and share a common "fully aged, I can see what the people who invented shou were going for" taste I'm inclined to believe it.
I also bought the really expensive samples of 80s 7542 and 8582 that yeeon sells but I haven't gotten around to drinking them yet.

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Canarias Tradicional for the first time, I like this one, albeit it is a bit prone to clog the bombilla.

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>>21867365
Its been a few years since i sipped some yerba, good times though. Show us your set up.

>>21867365
Yeah, the ones made for the Uruguayan market (in Brazil) are quite finely chopped compared to your average Argentinian mate.
The processing differences make yerba mate way more interesting to me than other non-teas. Still doesn't compare to the variety of tea overall, but maybe to one type of tea in particular like black tea or ripe pu-erh.

>>21867405
>>21857176

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>>21867365
do you get problems with digestion? drank kraus for about half a year and realized i really shouldnt drink the stuff daily

>>21867620
I find yerba mate easier on the stomach than, say, sencha or sheng pu-erh. still should eat something before drinking so much caffeine though

>>21867620
nope, if any my digestion got better, also i lost a bit of weight.

>>21858387
They aren't unless you're an pseudo-antiquarian which would be like preferring candles to electric lights. Machine-made kitchenware is more durable, cheaper, lighter, more available everywhere, made in more various shapes and matters etc.

>>21867710
Oh stop. Pottery is an art form, not purely utilitarian.

>>21858387
Snobbery. Literally doesn't matter.
I would like a nice handmade cup tho, finding new imperfections every session seem like a fun.

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rate my gongfu setup. handmade cup btw

>>21867749
You're the type of utilitarian who tells his wife that foreplay isn't required to conceive a child.
>>21867767
You're the type of utilitarian with a creative soul and chip on his shoulder.

Is there a unified teacup theory? Theres all kinds of different shapes and I have no idea when to use each one. I imagine bowl cups are meant to be used with white and green tea to see how translucent they are?
And via experimentation I have figured out that thin cups are better than thick ceramic cups for brews that go to a boil, as it takes too long for them to cool down to drinking temperature.

>>21867771
The fuck is your problem?
I just said that I would appreciate hand made cup.
No, this cup won't make the tea taste any better.
You are the type of person that uses unglazed pots to mute the flavour, but looks down upon people with hard water.

>>21857740
I've bought one tea from Mei and it was his "young" 2021 liubao, because I was right out of liubao just before a trip and needed fast shipping. The description hypes it up with muh tasting notes but it was definitely shit, there's a reason normal liubao is generally aged.
I could've paid double for some of the older ones and it's on me for cheaping out, but the pricing is still way high and honestly if you spend multiple paragraphs hyping up a cheaper option when it's objectively shit, I no longer have any confidence in the more expensive options either.

>>21867767
How much are you spilling that you need to serve it over a pot?
Just lay a towel down and serve over that. As it is it's much too cold for my liking but your cup is nice. I like the wobbly ones like that.

How is the 2013 Xiaguan Love Forever Paper Tong?
Worth $100?
Does it have the smokiness of old xgs? Hate that.

>>21867915
I hear it doesn't really taste like a typical Xiaguan

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How is Brazilian green chimarrao different in taste from lets say Uruguayan. Also do you need to keep it in a sealed container in the fridge to keep it fresh?

>>21867844
>I no longer have any confidence in the more expensive options either.
Checked. He's just a bullshitter, and people feel bad saying it because they view him as part of some imaginary 'tea community' rather than a salesman; If a Chinaman did what he does they'd be lambasted as a scam artist taking advantage of Westerners.

I can't find the exact tea I bought a few years ago, but it was a Wuyi tea, and the closest one to it, to illustrate the point, is described thus:
EYES - DRY LEAF
Light and twisted olive black and raisin brown leaves with a slight sheen.
NOSE - DRY LEAF
Salted almond caramel, leather, sticky dates, wood varnish, cranberry flapjacks and raspberry jam.
NOSE - WET LEAF
Cherry cordial, fondant icing, mangosteen, guava, fig leaves, gardenia, kombucha and antique woods.
EYES - LIQUOR
Burnt orange.
MOUTH - TEXTURE
Thick, mineral and very vaporous.
MOUTH - TASTE
Almond brittle, polished leather, dried cherries, cannabis, mangosteen, pomelo and milk candy.
NOSE - EMPTY CUP
Dried cherry flapjack and frankincense.
MOUTH - FINISH
Rich and cooling Yan Yun, flooding juiciness and long, vaporous orange caramel aroma.
EYES - WET LEAF
Dark khaki and russet brown large leaves.
BODY SENSATION
Chilled out and conversational.

I let about five different people taste it. All of them just said 'chocolate'. It's just nonsense.

>>21868289
Most of that shit he wrote could simply be covered by saying "stone fruit." Which I'd sort of believe because chocolatey teas can have that sometimes.

But yeah
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhGPdXDi4ws

>>21868041
Brazillian is milder. Argentinian has a bit more body and adstringency. Uruguayan is the most different out of the bunch. At least from the ones I've tried.
>Also do you need to keep it in a sealed container in the fridge to keep it fresh?
Nah.

>>21867844
Damn, I feel bad for suggesting it, I thought it'd at least be alright in a pinch even if it's overpriced.

>>21868512
Nah it was still better than nothing in a pinch, it was a good suggestion because I'm not aware of any other local shippers of chinese tea at all. I still drank it, I just wouldn't drink it outside of specific circumstances with no other options like this.

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Babe, are you okay?

You haven't touched your berserk brew.

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Comfy 2021 Sun Fu, peak smug mellowness.

>>21867915
Teadb just released a vid involving the love forever cake, could be worth a look

>>21868748
Yeah that has been mei leaf's primary use case for me as well. It's a shame what-cha shies away from chinese stuff a bit

Is Dong Ding oolong supposed to smell like weed? Not that I'm complaining.

>>21869273
The one that I had both smelled and tasted like Christmas cookies.
Almost overly sweet for me.

>>21869280
Roasted or not roasted?

I never knew tea could taste fishy.

>>21869286
Roasted, but not too heavily.

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>>21867915
>Does it have the smokiness of old xgs? Hate that
>Hate that

>>21869373
I mean, it's almost like going to White Castle and asking if their sliders have that onion taste that you hate.

anyone ordered from craftedleaf-tea before? They have a BOGO sale going on but I haven't heard of them before

>>21860238
Yes.
>>21860306
I gave up on pu'er. It just doesn't seem worth it. I prefer greens and blacks. Sometimes lighter oolongs.

>>21861003
I only like ripes over ice in summer. I think the cold helps reduce the smell though.

Any us anons ship any cups/gaiwans/teapots recently with FedEx, DHL, or ups? How has the new FDA clearance been for you? Have you had any troubles with customs? What carrier was better?

>>21867880
I get a little crazy with my pours when I'm off da shou

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having a sample of the 1990s ginseng aroma shu from essence of tea today, it almost tastes more like liubao with those tangy pickled vegetable notes, kind of interesting if you're into that but it's not particularly thick or enduring

Anyone ever try teests valley darjeeling?

>>21870778
was thinking about getting it but idk if i enjoy ginseng notes on my tea.

>>21870999
check it

>>21869373
>>21869432
I just hate smoke in my cup.
Same with fish funk and leather notes.
It makes me gag.
I like the "sweet wood" direction of aged stuff, but there has to be always something that ruins it for me.

>>21870942
lol teats darjeeling

>>21871046
I love the leather notes, so i believe you are more into sheng indeed. I´m a ripe guy.

>>21871084
Teests and bajeene darjeeling

>>21867771
>You're the type of utilitarian who tells his wife that foreplay isn't required to conceive a child.

implying anyone here has a wife..

>>21858113
I have a chinese gooseneck one and I really like it :)
I don't care that much about water temps MDOT of the time but being able to keep water hot at ur chosen temp is really handy
>>21859790
I don't think so unless ur drinking an insane amount in a warm environment and the caffeine makes u sweat.
>>21865823
>>21865863
I find the stainless holds onto tastes. maybe if u got an oldschool glass vacuum one it'd be better.
>>21866516
:(

>>21867767
very handmade

I think I fucked up
When I'm done with tea I normally just grab a clean towel and after rinsing it I let them dry face down on it.
Apparently the new detergent I use is a lot stronger and halfway through a cup I realized I am currently drinking soapy tasting tea. How can I get this shit out of there so I can go back to enjoying tea. If I have to buy a new gaiwan set I am going to fucking neck myself I loved this one

Looks like Heartfelt Industries for humidity beads is back up and operational.
>>21871476
Soap generally rinses off with water.

>>21871398
Idk what is an insane amount? I think I had like... 1.5L of tea today.

good goyim enjoy your fluoride you cattle

>>21871572
Huh?

>>21871570
what's that in grams of tea? I doubt its the case unless you were noticeably sweating after in any case.
tea dosent effect body odor so the only way it could make you smell bad is if u were sweating like you'd been smoking crack.

>>21871589
Idk like 30g?

>>21871610
I guess that's quite a lot but if it didnt make you sweat then I doubt it has anything to do with it.
maybe they were just being mean or you need to make some small changes in ur personal hygiene routine and diet

>>21867915
Goddamn delicious, in my opinion. It is not a typical Xiaguan. I'm a big XG hater and I tong'd that shit.

>>21871576
Tea is rich in fluoride relative to other beverages. You could, in theory, experience negative effects from drinking too much tea, and there are reports of this happening, especially in areas where people drink tea habitually for many years. They're just being schizo though, I doubt they knew that. The vast majority of people will never drink enough tea for this to be a a problem.

>>21871794
shut the fuck up reddit youre the mentally ill tranny
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4808922/

>>21871798
Take your meds. The # of reports of people experiencing negative effects from tea relative to the amount of tea the planet consumes are tiny. Stop shitting up the thread with your schizo rambling.