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Might make a little order from theTea.pl
Mostly for the fresh spring green and Love Forever sample

Christmas Melon Split or not?

>>21964386
Seems like a waste unless they specified you're meant to actually drink that. You could probably make your money back if you sold it as an "experience" in a shop.

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>>21964386
Ai Weiwei's companion piece "Ton of Sugar Cube"

>>21964408
Nah, it's just an art piece some guy made. But I guess drinking the art piece would be an interesting gimmick.

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ToT

I got this cold "tea", it says MEGA DELICIOUS but it ain't. It's.. drinkable.

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>>21964386
finally a use for my sports direct gaiwan

>>21964437
Finally, something sufficient to wake me up in the morning.

>>21964394
>.pl
Nice, I am from poland and gonna try next time

>>21964479
I think it's a pretty good store, though they don't stock many cheap teas so not the place to go for bargains.
There are a few other Polish stores too. Eherbata.pl has a large selection but is less curated and it's harder to know what's worth getting
There's also five'o'clock, which has bad descriptions on their site but has some decent tea and a chain of IRL stores which can be convenient if you leave near them

>>21964386
Usecase for 1 ton pressed cube of tea?

>>21964517
Very large cup of tea to really wake you up in the morning

>>21964386
7 pence per gram, not a bad price

>>21964621
for 2005 leaf no less. a fucking steal.

>>21964437
the heat of the water steeps the tea

>>21964517
Tea party in Boston

>>21964394
>Love Forever
Just buy the cake. There aren't many legendary cakes in English speaking places. Might as well be the superior hobbyist.
>>21964517
Aesthetic af. It's rightfully an art piece and I would leave it somewhere I could see it while drinking my tea.

guys, the melon is actually really good

>>21964437
in awe of the size of this lad
absolute unit

>>21964423
Aren't those pyramid bags the REAL microplastic bombs?

>>21964709
>>Love Forever
>Just buy the cake.
After trying sample I wouldn't.
Overrated like all aged stuff.
If I wanted to drink wood+resin I might as well boil some woodshavings from local pet store.

>>21964709
>Just buy the cake
Idk, it's like 130$, I don't want to blind cake at that price
I hear this tea is a bit love or hate too and not a typical Xiaguan profile
I do highly suggest blind buying the 2005 t8653 for 60$ though, great tea

2026 greens are up on KingTeaMall

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>>21964856
I'm plasticmaxxing. Health science is all about poisoning you, and they are the ones rallying the hardest against microplastics. So the truth is that plastics will make you healthy, maybe even night-immortal, once you adapt to them and incorporate their thousand-year long lifespan.

>>21965394
I'm surprised I haven't heard this take yet

>>21964386
>>21964621
"Ton of Tea" is just the title. There's no indication how much it weighs. 1 m^3 would be a ton of water, and I think packed tea is usually less dense than water, no? Maybe it was hyper retard packed, but even then I'm not sure. There's also no way to know.

>>21965481
Yeah. There's no info as to the actual weight. Could have just compressed super hard to make it fit the dimensions I guess

>>21965486
>Could have just compressed super hard to make it fit the dimensions I guess
More likely they'd have tried to compress it less to save on tea material needed for manufacture
Or even more likely they'd have compressed it as needed for structural integrity. Which I imagine might be pretty hard to keep the large cube stable and prevent it from falling apart under its own weight, or in fact avoid it compressing itself under its own weight and shrinking. So I'd imagine it's probably pretty compressed but likely not hyper hydraulic pressed

what weighs more, a ton of steel or a ton of tea?

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>>21965499
tea, it holds more water once brewed

>>21965501
They are both a ton

>>21965610
But the water adds to the ton

>>21965610
But how are they both a ton if steel is heavier?? Doesn't make any sense

>>21965499
you weigh them both, so you have weighed at least 2 tons

>>21965757
are you calling me fat

>>21965758
you went through the action of weighing the steel and the tea, so you weighed them at a ton each, two tons total
your fatness is a different topic

ordered from ktm and w2t on the same day
ktm won the race and arrived today
w2t tracking to arrive tomorrow, close but no cigar

>>21966121
nice, what did you get?

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>>21966510
trying to find some new blacks and oolongs i like

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>>21966780

>>21966510
motorbike

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Currently drinking the LSBC "2021 Yunnan Old Tree Tea White" from Awazon that I received from the melon anon.

Wet leaf smell has a distinct sourness to it, maybe like tamarind or slightly fermented stinging nettle.
The liquor smells sweet, with notes of hay that I know from a ChenPi in my collection - the only white tea I can draw a comparison to. There's a note of chamomille as well, so much so that I'd guess for this to be a weak chamomille infusion would I not know better.
Taste opens up quickly after only the second short gongfu steep at about 95°C.
It's sweet and coats the tongue. I've heard people use the descriptor 'honeysuckle' before when describing tea and that's what it reminds me of. It's not a honey or sugar-like sweetness, but something more subtle, subdued.
This is accompanied by a hint of bitterness and slight adstringency - mirroring the sour notes of the wet leaf smell.
Overtones of pollen and flower, but more akin to wild herbs than the poignant scent of rose or jasmine.

Overall, it's subtle and approachable because of its tendency for sweetness. Very pleasant to drink and nothing too complicated.

>>21966907
Nice photos and reviews mate.

some new stuff on FarmerLeaf is up

>>21966918
>tfw pinching pennies for a while
tell me how it tastes when it arrives

>>21964386
sigh. steam machine will never be released

>>21966919
I'm also not buying, I need to pick up my Autumn LME from the post office anyway

>>21966915
The photos are from the awazon site, I can't take credit for that.
The gaiwan and wet leaf pic is maybe a little misleading; looks like they're brewing up the loose leaf before pressing. The actual cake is moderately compressed and doesn't come apart too easily.

Caffeine content isn't bad either, I'm pretty buzzed after 4-5 cups.

>>21966907
appreciate the review! I found it the second best tea I tried from Awazon (after the expensive sheng). Little bit of everything, nothing crazy or bad. Wet leaf smell was sweet and exotic I recall.

>>21966928
>pick up my Autumn LME from the post office
Nice! Please post here what you think from it. I had one session with it so far and found it a little underwhelming. Mineral taste and not much else. I had a sample of some different year FL LME, which had a lot more funk and edge going on. However it's still better that Huey Wa lol, but yea theres propably a reason why this harvest is so cheap - the other LME havests cost multiples of that. I'll give it some more sessions before I do a full review.

>>21967125
autumn harvest last year was super cheap in general. I had a 2023 cake before and it was 55$. we'll see if I like this one similarly
I do remember the 2023 as very mineralic and slightly one-note, but with good mouthfeel and longevity

On the off-chance, does anyone have tea/store recommendations on Amazon for Canadians? (I know there are some stores in the rentry, but one is completely sold out and the others are pu-erh heavy.) Asking for a friend. They are dabbling in teas but not ready (financially or personally) to go off the autism deep-end. They like teas with floral and fruit notes like aged white, oolong, and jasmine/osmanthus-flowered teas, but also like rich black tea. Thanks, anons.

Kombucha check in. Hope everyone is mold free. Just lazily drained off a gal into a plastic distilled jug and have a fresh pot of 2013 xg brick cooling.

>>21967772
>Just lazily drained off a gal into a plastic distilled jug
for a moment i read that as "i drained a female"

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>>21967774
They also work for piss.

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Been on holiday and got some loot, bought at a supermarket in Zhufangbei.

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Kuura came in. Kudos for labelling their "mystery tea samples" as actual mystery, so you don't know what you are drinking.
I propably overpaid for mediocre tea but damn I like nice looking things.

>>21968004
Cute teapot. Being able to watch the leaves steep always seemed real nice. I've been on the fence about getting a glass brewing vessel but staying with ceramic for now for the higher thermal inertia.

>>21968004
they do have cool branding, might be my favorite of the hipster craft beer type brands
and I hear the tea is at least not terrible

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I want to see those gaiwans LOADED.

The 3D printed tray bed I use has warped significantly but aside from having to reglue the halves together once, it has held up well.

>>21968976
what's that tea? I had some 'chinese tea gift' tea that looked similar to that.
[spoiler]I didn't like it very much[/spoiler]

>>21969010
It's a cheap dianhong from TeaVivre. Low grade and hits just right at 9 pm.

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FL 2025 Spring Jingmai Tian Xiang Sheng (2 sessions with a sample I received)

8g Gongfu, 90°C
This is supposed to be a blend of old tree leaves and younger trees. Nice large leaf material, faint leathery smell, minor dried fruit. Taste wise this is quite a suprise hit for me. A little bit of everything thats fun in a young sheng, pleasent bitterness, minor burly notes, little fruit, bit mineral. Everything is well balanced out, good endurance too. All these FL young shengs can be a little samey but I'd prefer this one over 2025 Autumn LME (more mineral, not much else), 2024 Yellow Flakes (more bitter, more astringent) and 2023 Bang Wai Small Trees (more burly/tobacco-y). Wish I've gotten a cake.

>>21969265
Have you tried young sheng from other vendors as well?
I say that cause these days the competition is fierce and in my experience even young factory cakes are pretty good.
>All these FL young shengs can be a little
Yeah, I've tried almost all of them (sub $100) and sometimes it's kinda hard to distinguish them.
It's not necessarily a bad thing, since this way you have some certainty that even if you do a blind buy, you will probably like it(I have my personal gripe with few of them, but people seem to like them)

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>>21966907
I bought a cake of this tea about a year ago and didn't like it much right after I got it, it looked and felt like low quality shou mei with no redeeming qualities.
Trying it out again today gives me much of the same impression, it definitely tastes like a nettle infusion more than anything else, some hay, something dry and herbal that doesn't remind me of the somewhat citrusy taste and smell of tea, and the texture is much more watery than oily.
I usually prepare a white tea with 80° to 90°C water, and with a higher temp it tastes a bit more like shou mei and a bit less like nettle but still quite underwhelming.
I guess I saw the moon on the package and expected something closer to yue guang bai, but even considering that, I can't recommend this tea.
>>21969316
I bought some young sheng cakes from a number of more and less reputable vendors over the last few years, and found they can vary widely.
There were a few from something like Dr. Tea, or Dr. something, I found on ebay, a mo lie which tasted vegetal without being sapid, somewhat cooling and every so slightly citrusy, and a 100g one I can't remember the name of which was wildly mineral, like licking a stone and a half with each sip.
Then there were a few from Awazon, the one I described above and another cheap one that tastes nearly like mao cha, or like a muted, less astringent bai mu dan.
Then there was a 9 month old yue guang bai from who know where I got on ebay which tasted high quality, stone fruit and white flowers with barely any malt, little tannins and a good viscose texture.
Then there have been others but they were quite unremarkable.
Overall I find lower quality young cakes are still widely available, but as soon as you go up one step in quality you can find a wide variety of flavors.
On the other hand, a lot of it is gambling because it's hard(impossible) to find reliable info on many of these young blends, especially if they come from less than famous factories and stores.

Speaking of young FL sheng, I'm sipping on this
https://www.puercn.com/puercha/mengkurongshi/27105.html
Very FL-ish.
It has some TFLZ qualities, but sweeter and fruitier.
Not the most interesting or unique sheng I've had, but a solid tea for sure.

I gotta stop drinking sheng man. Every fucking time I'm fine then boom the buzz drops and I feel so depressed.
I can't keep going through this.

>>21964625
bet your bottom dollar, confuscious

I haven't lurked here in a long time. Where do Americans order cheap raw peurh from now?

>>21969931
Awazon.

>>21969941
Last time I wanted to place an order a few months ago the shipping cost was insane. Has it gotten better?

>>21969942
I paid like $60 last around this time last year for ~5kg shipped.

drinking tea is relaxing but it really makes me scatterbrained

>>21969931
QuicheTeas is the hot new puerh store on the block. rare combination of good prices and good storage
otherwise, for young sheng FarmerLeaf is okay, they actually lowered their prices to match falling maocha prices unlike most western vendors that just pocket the extra money

>>21969988
Nice, thanks for the plug. $25-$40 cakes is what I like.

>>21969627
Interesting. This makes me want to try some more whites since I enjoy the LSBC quite a bit, though I have not many comparisons to draw.

>>21970009
this is solid at that price if you want aged sheng: https://quicheteas.com/products/2011-xiaguan-jinse-yinxiang

>>21969878
>>21969986
That's not the tea, my friends.

Drinking tea is relaxing but then I piss out like five liters over the rest of the day, and I feel like that can't be healthy for my kidneys

>>21970155
You're probably severely overweight and on medication if you're pissing out more than you drink. Or your father has that cancerous condition where he has to pump up the balloon placed underneath your skin to stretch it out for the graft operation.

Alienist was good

>>21970510
Nice! Never had it but I've got the towel :)

>>21970515
damn i want that towel every time i look at the shop but its been sold out since i've been ordering from them

>>21970213
I heard that it was normal for tea to stimulate pissing. Alcohol also makes me piss up a storm too. 5 liters is obviously an exaggeration but still
I'm slightly overweight and unfit but definitely not severely and I have no other health conditions so idk

My Autumn Lao Man E cake just arrived
With another sample of Huey Wa. I thought the first one was okay, but I've had more exciting samples

>>21971944
The pouring technique doesn't matter as much with dry material. It doesn't matter all that much anyway. I still find myself pouring delicately in most cases except for ripes which I blast.

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tired of always making tea. This should last me the whole day tomorrow. I like how viscous peppermint tea gets when it steeps long

Post your gaiwan

>>21971944
ah I see, it's the ancient 'making shit up for social media content' technique

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>>21972270
my entire teaware
being poor is no joke

>>21972270
I don't have one, the lid broke and I can't be assed to replace it
I prefer using teapots anyway. Or my testing cup

>>21972270
I drink out of a mug like a normal person

>>21972503
Then post it

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>>21971709
>>21967125
>>21967142
First impressions with 2025 Autumn Lao Ma E after one session
Quite different than what I remember of the 2023. This is more citrusy, with the bitterness it reminds me of grapefruit. I think there is a bit more sweetness and less bitterness. Good competition for the likes of Fa Zhan He, it's even cheaper too

We'll see how my thoughts change later, but this first session tasted more like a normal balanced Menghai sheng than the savory bitter olives I remember. Might be because this one is mostly sweet varietal and the 2023 had more bitter varietal in it

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Following the suggestions from the last thread I made sushki, but I found them too hard to be enjoyable, so I experimented a bit and arrived at these, which are about halfway between sushki and bagels.
I also reorganized some drawers and cupboards and now all my tea's in the same place.
Moving things around I also found 2-3g of GFOP I'd bought some ten years ago and some samples from health tea house from back when they were sold on ali.
I finished the GFOP and it's better than I remembered, but then again, I think today's been the first time I prepare it the gong fu way.

I know that what differentiates most teas is their processing- drying, fermenting, and so on- but how are white teas and green teas differentiated? Is it the point at which the leaves are harvested?

>>21972785
>how are white teas and green teas differentiated?
The same way you mentioned above.
White tea is left to dry naturally(either in sun or shade) while green tea use heat to stop any future oxidation(either steam or roasting)

>>21972785
It's a processing difference
Green teas are subjected to high heat right after they are picked, usually either on a wok or with hot steam. This stops enzymatic oxidation and preserves their fresher greener look and flavours.

White tea is not subjected to heat, but just left to dry. It's like the simplest processing possible. It also means that they can oxidize more with time and change their flavour, some white tea is aged on purpose in recent years.

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>>21972785
These charts get posted sometimes, they cover enough bases for 95% of tea.
>>21972751
That looks fantastic man. How were the sushgels? BTW how old is that tea, i.e. when was Heath Tea House on Ali?
>>21972477
It's a good looking set any way you slice it. I'll take a shot of my corner with all my teaware sometime this weekend.

>>21971944
Where's the part where you have to spill half of your water outside the gaiwan
It's crucial for getting authentic chinese flavor

>>21972798
>>21972801
>>21972860
Thank you anons, I understand better now.

>>21972477
All you need, more is just aesthetics/clutter

>>21972860
Thanks, I'm calling them donuts despite their mixed heritage and they were good, like softer and chewier and slightly sweet bagels with a bit of a crust.
That tea is nine or ten years old, I believe ali stopped selling tea around seven or eight years ago, Dragon Tea House and many others were on there as well.

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>>21972477
I just bought this teapot on AliExpress
Hopefully it's a good one
100ml, offwhite "plant ash glaze", looks like the spout should pour fast, right?

>>21972751
I should call her

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More loot

>>21972751
>about halfway between sushki and bagels.
You might be close to making bubliki

>>21973044
ooh, fancy pulltab. how is it?

>>21973044
3============================D

>>21973071
I've never had one so I can't say for sure, but based on online descriptions it seems like bubliki are tougher than bagels, while my odd donuts are a bit softer than those.
I only have one eastern european friend and she's not into cooking so I don't think we'll ever know for sure.

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I've always enjoy Sleepytime Tea, but have just run out and decided to buy the Twinings Speep+ tea, which includes valerian root.

Idunno bros, I think I like this better and I think it's as relaxing but I seem to have gone into a deeper sleep than normal. Either way I enjoyed the tea anyway.

What's your favourite relaxing/sleepy teas?

i have drunk tea for 20 ish years with a tea ball, as i have been taught by dad.
well, i tried tea with one of those big infuser baskets. there is actually a difference in taste, noticable too. same tea leaves, smoother taste.

>complimentary hotel teabags (Twinnings)
>drinking the stuff for days now
>realize the spots on them probably aren't little leaf flakes, but mold
>no good tea on hand, just have to keep drinking it
the struggle is real. but it's better than nothing.

>>21973838
>just have to keep drinking it
Fucking hell man, can't you get some coffee or something instead? Anything other than literally moldy teabags?

>>21973846
coffee makes me feel icky

>>21973837
Yes, the more space for leaves to unfurl, the better
Doesn't matter that much with most western black teas, but it can matter a lot for teas with whole leaves

>>21973000
Nothing like a little bit of cadmium to flavour the tea.

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>>21973828
That's interesting that it contains hawthorn, I never see that in herbal blends. I've been liking TM's nighty night extra. It has me sleeping heavier with stranger dreams than usual and provides a pretty nice mild anxiolytic effect which is a small mercy while sober. Might throw some loose chamomile in there too, which I usually just like to drink chilled on its own. I'd like to try some other mild psychotropes sometime like skullcap or hops and see how they compare

>>21973938
Wouldn't be afraid of that with a simple glazed porcelain pot like this

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crazing driving me crazy, oh!

i am drinking gaba oolong

>>21973838
anon, walk into any hotel in the morning, take the elevator, all the way to the top floor, ride it all the way back down, and then as long as you walk like you know what you're doing, you can literally rob the breakfast station and they won't notice or care. please do not live like this. also post the tea? at least let me see what kind of mold this is.

moldy tea, west :|
moldy tea, china :O

>>21974210
it truly depends on the mold. some mold is friendly and some is deadly.

>>21974210
Hypocrites will eat camembert but refuse a 2 month old molded sandwich, baka

>>21973333
Fair. Yes, I don't know the precise definition of a bagel, but a bublik is quite tough that's true. I always thought of it as a giant sushka that isn't dried.

>>21973838
You oughta be able to complain and have them get you new tea. Also take detailed photos (and, if your country allows it, record your complaining so there's clear evidence that these are indeed the hotel's teabags and not something random you just brought in yourself to false flag them) and, if they don't get you new tea, you can submit a health complaint to whatever local authorities.
Unless you're in some dysfunctional third worlder shithole in which case rip.

I unironically always travel with my own tea these days, unless it's a very short trip and the space my tin would take is not worth it.

>>21974178
How/which one is it? I've had two GABAs so far, one was nice but a little mild and the other was just absolutely terrible.

>>21974475
its the unroasted GABA oolong from thetea.pl, ive had it for a long time and im just finishing it off now, i think its really good and it has a nice sweet potato taste

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>>21974183
this is how it looks roughly (not my photo, it's from reddit, and the redditoids seem to agree that it's mold.) only some of them are like this.
the stuff doesn't taste or smell out of sorts (as far as cheap black tea is concerned)
>>21974353
meh, this place is a shithole anyway. them having tea in the lobby at all is a surprise frankly. I'm sure it's the least of their concerns. what's complaining gonna do? they toss it out, then there's no tea. just makes a whole new problem.
and ya know, they say not to look a gift horse in the mouth. sometimes you gotta take the good with the bad.

>>21974532
This could be machine oil stains for all I can tell from the picture. Think of it this way, drinking household mold is pretty fucking bad for you. Especially if this is just cheap hotel tea anyway, what even is the point of drinking it? Go without. Or find some cheap teabags in a local shop, I've never seen a shithole that didn't carry Lipton or something in a local cheapo grocery or convenience store.

>>21974511
I had this exact one lol
it's solid I think. not that I've had that many GABAs, I think I had like five

You have a birthday tea cake, right anon?

A puehr you only drink one day of the year, marvelling at how the flavor changes as you grow older, right?

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>>21974664
No, I gave up on aging tea myself after I looked up climate data in Kunming, which has notoriously dry storage, way too dry for my taste.
The average RH is >70% 7 months out of the year, and everybody online says >70% RH in a pumidor is how you get mold. So maybe that simply isn't true, but I don't really care to test that theory since it would take 15 years to age tea to my liking anyways. I'll just keep buying tea that's already aged.

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I have been sick for over a week but j think I'm finally over the worst of it. Just in time for work tomorrow.
Oh, well. Im celebrating with my first proper tea session to round off the night

Hey anons I want to get a sampling pack, are there any good ones I can buy in swedenland? otherwise inte probably better to buy from china because eu shipping is expensive for small shit

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>>21974899
You have a nice tea setup. I'm not much of a teaman but I do enjoy an afternoon black tea and an evening sleepy tea.

Glad you're feeling better but sorry it's just in time for work. Classic.

>>21975147
Tecentralen packs their own sample packs as teascovery on their site. They're good

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>>21972477
All I use is pic related and a mug.

>>21975160
got one of those
is it the best tea store in Sweden? any other you recommend

>>21975201
Don't know. I just live nearby and have heard good things about them online after the fact. I just go to the store, chat with the owners about what to buy, and smell some samples before deciding myself.

>>21975201
Which one did you get by the way? The country specific ones looked the best when looking at what they contained.

>>21975238
I got the middle kingdoms one it seemed to have the most variety

>>21975262
Good pick. The Long Jing, Yellow Needle, Tie Guan Yin and Top Tippy Golden Yunnan all taste great. The Pu'er not so much. I tried the slightly cheaper King of Pu'er rather than emperor. Which smelled much the same. Tastes like stable, don't get it. Haven't tried White Paklum Yinzhen Tips.

Anyone have a usecase for spent tea leaves?

>>21975335
Compost

>>21975178
you are missing absolutely nothing
[spoiler]except ton of dishes[/spoiler]

>>21975335
I throw it in the toilet so sewer rats can enjoy it too

>>21975335
Sometimes I'll dump them in a mug and try a 12+ hour cold brew in the fridge.

>>21975351
>>21975376
>>21975383
My 2 min google told me some people eat them, anyone try?

>>21975389
I eat spent green tea leaves on rice with natto sometimes. Also used a green oolong once and it was nice. The flavor is very mild if you even notice it at all, just kind of a generic vegetable taste.

/tea/ anons, what are you using to boil your water? I've been using a stovetop kettle often enough that an electric one would probably suit me better.

>>21975571
Stagg EKG for like 6+ years now?

>>21975571
I have a dedicated tea machine, which I mostly only use as an electric kettle with temp control and keep warm feature. I occasionally use the tea feature for western style brewing.
When you are looking to buy an electric kettle, make sure it has temp control and a keep warm feature, so you don't have to re-heat the water all the time during a gong fu session.

>>21975574
Thats a high price point. The water doesn't meaningfully cool after traveling through that long skinny gooseneck?
>>21975579
Wery nice, thanks for the tip.

>>21975403
How do you prepare the leaves

>>21975603
Hasn't been an issue. They've also got the Corvo Ekg if you just want a beak.

>>21973125
It is very much like a white tea. The first brew is light green and the subsequent ones are an amber colour. Slightly astringent on the back of the throat, it is very subtle.

>>21975634
No prep, I just dump them out of my gaiwan onto the rice.

>>21975389
yeah, the greener leaves can be pretty tasty. I snack on my spent Long Jing and it's mildly sweet and bitter.

>>21975571
I've been using the Cuisinart PerfecTemp 1.7-Liter kettle from Amazon for seven years. The spring on the open button is pretty loose and I have to fish the lid open after I press it, but it's otherwise been fantastic to have. I also opened it up and put glue in the speaker to mute about 75% of the volume. I highly recommend it. Either way, you need an electric kettle you can keep right by you.

I see it's $109, which is ridiculous. I paid $70 in late 2019.

>>21975571
Stovetop kettle. It's pretty, shiny and has a good pour. And if it really had to. I bet it can sit on a fire and still do the job.

>>21975571
This kettle
https://www.amazon.com/COSORI-Electric-Gooseneck-Variable-Stainless/dp/B07T1CH2HH

any gaiwan reccs for a bonganon with 40 gbp?

>>21976084
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AUSUAYA-Ceramic-Chinese-Traditional-Ceremony/dp/B0BTYC1J7Z
I rec this one primarily for its shape, I use it a lot and its comfortable compared to some other gaiwans I've had.
If you just want the cheapest possible, or more variety in designs go for something on aliexpress

>>21976084
Honestly check your ebay listings. There's a lot of neat stuff on there from people who have been collecting for ages just looking to make room for more purchases. Profit off their addiction
It's where I got mine from

Aged white teas. Recommend a brother some aged white teas, they're my favorite (ordering from within the 'States, probably will order from Yunnan but I'm flexible.) I'm also down for a good raw pu-erh (and is purple tea anything noteworthy to try?)

Working myself through the mystery sample stack from Kuura. The sheng and the ripe were nothing special but the oolong is great. I believe it is the 2024 Taiwan Dong Ding.
It is very floral, fruity, sweet, exotic. Only light roast compared to a Dancong, very pleasent. I'll definetly try to find me some Dong Ding. Any recs? (the Kuura one is sold out)

>>21976245
Lao bai cha from KingTeaMall. Very cheap, very tasty
I might also try something from Sweetest Dew, I heard good things about their whites

>>21976479
Lao dong ding / legend of tung ting from TeaHome.com is probably the best value medium roast dong ding out there
Beware that the website needs automatic browser translation and can be annoying to navigate

>>21976091
tempted to get the whole tea set desu
>>21976141
will have a looook

>>21976589
Forgot to mention I meant the first white one. The one in the set looks like a different 150ml one, it doesnt look bad though seems to be missing a saucer

>>21976084
Gaiwans are glazed ceramic, they're not expensive to make and don't do anything to the taste of the tea, so get the cheapest one in a nice shape you can find on ali.
>>21976245
I haven't tried this but by all accounts it should be fire: https://quicheteas.com/products/2016-fuding-white-tea-sun-dried-gongmei
Or this if you want something more oxidized: https://www.ebay.com/itm/156611738391
There are a few different types of white tea that get pressed and aged, so if you have a more specific idea what you want, like, something lighter like a bud-only white, something stronger like an older sheng... that'd help us give you relevant suggestions.
>>21976479
https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com/product/dong-ding-high-mountain-heritage-oolong-tea/?v=0d149b90e739
They also offer a cheaper option I haven't tried, it should be alright if you want something lighter.
If you want something in the same vein, lightly roasted, a bit more floral and less bready, you should try some of their Alishan qing xin (they're having discounts on last year's spring stock so you get a good excuse to try a sample) or some other Taiwanese high mountain oolong, a lot of them are sort of like a dong ding if it were lightly roasted but didn't lose any flowery and citrusy notes.

A friend of a friend's is in Shanghai, and according to my friend knows his shit.
I has asked for some good quality da hong pao within a budget of €25, and I just recently discovered the majority of tea sold as da hong pao is a blend of different, cheaper wuyi oolongs that should approximate the right balance of the real thing, though I figured he might find something real for €1/g at most, especially in Shanghai, and especially if he knows his shit.
The friend's friend sent my friend a message today saying, in his second or third language, he got "five-ten small packets" each containing "about... double dose".
Anyone wanna bet on what mix of burnt shui xiang and rou gui is inside those packets?

>>21976737
The real da hong pao trees are government protected, so "da hong pao" functions kinda like a house blend. but supposedly qi dan is propagated from them.

>>21975571
Any kettle with temp control and double walls
I use the bosh sky-something series it's nice

>>21975574
I don't get the point of a $250 kettle that fits barely 1L and has no particular features that aren't present on most chink kettles

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anyone use one of these instead of a kettle?

>>21976805
yes. I grew up with one in my family so I have one now too. super handy if youre someone who would enjoy hot water on demand. i drink alot of tea throughout the day and sip hot water for fun so it works for me. if thats not you then a standard kettle would probably save you space.

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>>21964386
I love that it's exactly scaled to the size of a minecraft honey block.
tea and honey, anyone?
kek

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>anon discovers cubes
salutes to that.

I'm trying the awazon white brick at the moment (AW95 2019 Yunnan Old Tree Tea White Brick).

Compression isn't too bad, it's compact but I didn't need any pliers to break it apart like another anon reported. The ShuBar from w2t is way worse in that aspect. It does take some time to open up in the gaiwan - next time I'll increase the steeping time of the first couple steeps so it brews up more consistently.

It's more mellow than the 2021 LSBC ( >21966907) and missing that sour tinge/astringency. There's also little floral overtones going on, maybe a bit of herbal aroma.
Hay, nettle, honeylike sweetness. Bitter - this one might benefit from a lower temperature than the ~95°C I'm targeting, though it's not overpowering.
Caffeine hits good, it's no slouch.
There's some hui gan going on, it leaves a sweetness in my throat.

It's not good, but it's also not terrible. So 2 cent per gram will get you something drinkable that wakes you up in the morning and tastes (debatably) more interesting than plain water.
I could not ask for more than that.

>>21976822
Thanks chatgpt.

Shincha soon
Shincha so very, very soon...

>>21976494
>>21976737
thank you for the recs

>>21976941
My experience was somewhat similar, however LSBC is the clear winner for me.
>ShuBar from w2t is way worse in that aspect
Yea I use pliers for that one too. Shubar is 50% twigs anyways. However I somehow don't hate it, its pleasantly mild.

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Alright everyone. A while ago I asked for recommendations of smokey teas. I ordered the white2tea recs besides some other stuff from there. I haven't gone through them all yet:

Boat Captain 2022 smoked raw: The first steeps tasted bitter rather than smokey. Later on it settled and I could taste the leaf and the smoke properly-both are fairly 'simple' but the combination gives it some depth. I did not find it nearly as hard hitting as was advertised. I preferred the later, more complex brews, flavour-wise. Got a few good steeps out of it. At 24 cents/ 18 pence a gram (14p if you buy the cake), I think it overpriced.

Chapo-Mid (heicha liu bao nongjia.) So, a rustic style wet piled smoked dark tea aged in bamboo baskets. This was by far the cheapest (though not Awazon tier) and I actually really like it. It has a superficial roughness to it but the body is quite a savoury taste, tomato approaching fish. The smoke is mild but consistent. Clean taste, didn't linger. Got a few steeps out of it.

About 8 cents/ 6 pence a gram. A fair price, if a bit too high for me to buy in bulk. I wouldn't rule out buying another brick.

>>21977280
I'd be interested in what you have to say about the Sun Fu on your pic.
I think the Chapo Mid technically isn't smoked, it's just coal roasted. I once had the smoked "special processing" black tea from FL, it was very smokey.

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>>21977280
I also tried blood moon 2025. Not smoked. This was advertised as a half oxidised white/black mix. Upon tasting it, I immediately recalled Awazon's BS06 golden bud. Yet there was an added and distinctive sweet 'red wine' taste to it, and in later steeps the similarity declined as this fruity taste took over. unusual, and pleasant. I've seen people break this down into particular fruit flavours-I only got the general flavour.

20 cents a gram (15.5 pence) if you buy the cake. I think this acceptable as something to drink once in a while, as it is quite unusual, even though the constituent flavours can be found elsewhere. black bud teas seem to be the closest thing I've had though, and would serve as a cheap replacement (even 1/3rd price), albeit missing some notes.

>>21977284
Just checked. You're right about it being roasted. I'll try the Sun Fu later. 7p a gram for a brick-that will be interesting; up to now the cheaper teas are holding their own.

>>21976941
Aren't you supposed to steep whites at like 80 C

>>21977306
Not that anon, but I use around 95c. Sometimes I'll fill up a pot and go to bed, then drink it cold in the morning. It might be a problem for some white tea, but I've never had one from high temperatures with Awazon's.

>>21977284
>Sun Fu
Just tried it:
2021 Sun Fu heicha [wet fermented microbial with Eurotium Cristatum 'golden flower' fungus]- 12c/9p /g $3.10-

started off as though it was going to be like a chocolately puerh, but quickly transitioned into a lighter, sweet plum flavour. Not too complex, not extremely strong, but hits consistently.
Nice smell to it as well. Some slight bitterness came through (I used 95c water) but nothing unpleasant. Really a solid drink.

it's a fair price I think, as non-Awazon dealers go. 10c/7p gram if you buy the 1kg brick.

>>21977254
>LSBC is the clear winner for me.
Oh yeah, I prefer that one as well if I had to chose between the two. They're not miles apart, but the LSBC has a bit more going on.
>>21977306
>Aren't you supposed to steep whites at like 80 C
Perhaps. I don't have a temp controlled kettle, so my brewing temps do vary a lot. I'll probably brew it up low and slow the next time I get around to this tea.

>>21977306
The "white tea is delicate and should be steeped at 80°C" is a meme someone started to promote in the western facing tea market and somehow it took over.
The reality is that white tea is not only the simplest tea to manufacture (as you can see on the processing chart that this anon posted >>21972860) but it is also super easy on whatever way or method you chose to brew it. You can brew white tea at 100°C no problem. It's also not a bad idea since white tea can be quite slow brewing and mild otherwise.
Personally I brew it like most my teas at 90°C so I have some headroom to push it (and it's the max temp my kettle continuously holds)
But as always try what works best

Consider the following:
we exterminate all Japanese green tea then
1) nothing of value will be lost
2) from now on ALL tea will have recommended 100C brewing

>>21977537
>from now on ALL tea will have recommended 100C brewing
And 212F in the USA.

>>21977537
I've done some experimenting and figured I prefer Japanese greens on 100°C. Lower temp will shift the flavor towards umami but higher temp makes it taste fresher with some bitterness edge, which I actually like more.
All thats left to say is sorry, please don't commit machakiri for my heresy.

>>21964386
test

>>21977439
I got both the Sun Fu and the Inverse (which is supposed to be a fu processing heicha but made from puerh maocha) and like the Inverse quite a bit more. The Sun Fu has some nice butteryness to it but also some weird flavor components that put it off. The Inverse gave me more of a burly tobacco puerh flavor, which I found more harmonic. Yea Sun Fu is quite cheap, even if you just stack samples instead of going for the kilo, but Fu is generally piss cheap also outside Awazon.
Good to hear you liked the Blood Moon tho. I went for Hot Brandy instead (the other white/black mix they have) and did not really like it.

>>21977617
>Hot Brandy instead (the other white/black mix they have) and did not really like it
Hot Brandy just tastes like a hot Arizona Arnold Palmer. Its very odd and I kind of dig it.

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>>21976747
I'm aware but even after having a good look I couldn't find any reputable place that sells qi dan by itself, and only a few that sell bei dou that might or might not be reputable.
Does anyone have any experience or suggestion about these two teas?
>>21976941
Do you find the nettle note stays there from the first to the last infusion?
I feel like it's there in maybe the first infusion but it goes away quickly, and that for the most part it tastes like the typical soft citrus from white tea, white flowers and honey.
I steep mine in a pot at 100°C give or take and I don't find it very bitter, so maybe try steeping it for a shorter time if you have some room for that, or use a bit less, the bricks are fairly big even for my biggest teapot.
>>21977254
Anytime xoxo

>>21977294
>Blood Moon
Oh that's cool, I was wondering about that just recently.
Have you by chance tried any other highly oxidized white tea like yue guang bai or t-18 red jade/white jade?
>sweet red wine taste
Red wine's distinctive taste is tart and grapey, are you perhaps thinking of berries?
The big families of fresh fruit are stone fruit aka drupes, such as peach and plum, berries, such as raspberry and grape, pomes, such as apples and pears, and citrus fruit, such as lemon and orange, they're a good starting point if you want to categorize notes and smells.
>>21977306
I'd brew a bud heavy or light green tea at that temperature, but most white tea can easily take higher temps without becoming (more) bitter.
Try it out and see what happens.

>>21977617
>The Inverse gave me more of a burly tobacco puerh flavor
Maybe that's why I like the Sun Fu-I've got piles of that sort of Puerh here, so it makes a change.

What was the hot brandy like?

>>21977649
>perhaps thinking of berries?
I'll have to try it again to confirm but I think you might be right-I think it brought to mind some particular Port I had so I went to wine from there. But plum/berry was probably the taste at the bottom of it all. That sort of deep sweetness.

>>21977537
>we exterminate all Japanese
yeah sure, sounds like a good idea

>>21977635
>Do you find the nettle note stays there from the first to the last infusion?
I'll try to pay attention to that the next time I brew it up but I think you're right that it's only present in the early infusions. Might be one of the more volatile aromatic compounds.

>>21977667
>What was the hot brandy like?
It just taste like a mid-tier white tea, I get zero of the black tea that is supposed to be in there. Others reported the same. When I drink it I add about 35% Keemun leaves, and that way it's actually really good.

>>21977649
>highly oxidized white tea
nta but the FL Jingmei Moonlight White is strongly oxidized. It's very dark for a white tea (and good)

>>21977667
Good to know, thanks.
>>21977797
I don't think it's about volatility since it's always there in the 2021 white cake you wrote up about earlier, rather it's more about bigger and older scarcely processed leaves, and you can detect the same note quite clearly in a lower quality shou mei, especially if you steep it for a long time.
If I find it in a higher grade white tea I typically chalk it up to finer broken leaves and dust, hence why it's reduced after the first infusion.
>>21978005
>FL yue guang bai
Thanks for the input, though I was hoping for a (more) direct comparison, that's why I asked the blood moon anon.

Anyone know a nice earl grey loose leaf? Getting tired of the tea bags.

>>21978392
I know one, the same one that did your teabags, but loose.

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Massive tea leaf.

>>21977649
>Have you by chance tried any other highly oxidized white tea
the nannuo white tea cake from thetea.pl is very oxidized and black teaish, kind of tastes like black tea with honey

>>21977505
>>21977306
I think silver needles are actually supposed to be steeped at lower temperatures? for leafy whites and anything aged, blast it with hot water

>>21978560
That's my understanding too, anon. It's mostly just young, delicate little buds that haven't been fried or steamed or roasted or oxidized or whatever, where you may want to explore lower temps by default. Before the most delicate of plant compounds break down, ideally. Teas with any age, rough processing, or maybe even just lower grade pickings (i.e. 1 bud two leaf) are usually fair game to blast with boiling water. Of course you're always welcome to experiment. It's usually best to disregard tea dogma and do whatever you want at all times.

>>21978392
cut the bags open :)))

>>21978392
I sip on this. Its just their house yuunan black + italian bergamot oil.
https://www.hugotea.com/products/hugo-grey
https://www.hugotea.com/collections/black-tea/products/gao-wen

Has anyone tried oolong or puerh they bought off of amazon? Is it any good?

does anyone drink like, normie tea? I get adagio... made a pot of their Minty Comfort tonight and last night I made a pot of Pina Colada

both are very very tasty

why does everyone in this thread drink like 20 year old ass tasting bougie tea

>>21979511
Plenty of people do, and some people here do as well. There just isn't really that much to discuss about it, is there? How much more is there to say other than something like what you said, very very tasty?
Also most of the tea discussed here is pretty cheap, not bougie at all. Just very niche.
I drink 20 year old weirdo niche tea because it's interesting and complex on top of being tasty. Comparing and contrasting the storage between different old ass puers, the degree of steaming of different senchas, or the roast level of different yanchas is fun- plus all of the other little differences and similarities between them.
But mint tea pretty much just tastes like mint, and earl grey like bergamot, right?

>>21979511
Lucifers been busy at shartmart. His special can of green tea, all year long, has been covered in jizz. Every can is sticky and it’s obvious that he jizzes all over the cans. Literally for over a year, I keep trying to buy some fucking green tea and every single time I’m like “oh shit Lucifers been cumming on the green tea so we can’t drink it anymore”. Hes probably so pissed off at us to do that. Theres another brand of green tea, which is also pretty good. I forgot about that tea I should’ve bought it. That’s probably why actually he’s trying to upsell this other can of tea to us. Because there’s not much competition in the green tea market. Green teas actually like decent because it’s carbureted and also tastes like something. Not like carbureted water which almost tastes like a Champaign. Which is also decent. But yeah im not gonna be making my own tea for awhile dude, it’s too much work. I dont have the tools necessary to produce a quality cup of orange pekoe. I hate when they name the food after peeing or pooing, they also did this at kfc and now I can’t even go there because they named the food after pooing good.

>>21979523
>mint tea pretty much just tastes like mint

but that's not true, this particular mint tea has juniper and lemongrass and tastes very different than my morrocan mint tea

early greys also all have totally different ingredients and flavors, not all just taste like bergamot

and saying "early grey like bergamot" is exactly like someone saying and pu erh like pu erh

>>21979511
I didn't like tea until I went to a tea shop and bought some expensive loose leaf Long Jing. So no.

>>21979534
Yeah I get what you're saying.
To me, the nuances between different puers/yanchas/senchas/etc. are much more subtle, interesting, and worth devoting my time to.
Of course mint, juniper, and lemongrass tastes different than gunpowder tea, mint, and sugar. You could drink those one time each months apart and remember the differences, right? Same or similar to earl grey with different flavorings added to it, it's gonna taste like those flavorings. I don't find that interesting.
But with puers or yanchas or any other given subtype of camellia sinensis tea, if you have one yancha(for example) one week and a different yancha the next, you would probably think they tasted the same. To really appreciate the little differences you have to drink them over and over, think about them in comparison to the other teas you've drank, drink some side by side.
The more niche enthusiast teas discussed here are also just higher quality than anything you can get from a grocery store or somewhere like adagio. The flavors and aromas are more complex, they're more balanced... they're just better. It's like craft brewery vs cheap macro lager, or single malt scotch vs jack daniels.
It's also just so much more fascinating because the differences in taste are caused by little differences in processing, or terroir, or varietals, rather than "cheap tea + herb X tastes like cheap tea + herb X while cheap tea + herb Y tastes like cheap tea + herb Y".
I'm not saying you shouldn't like what you like, just trying to answer your question. But really, you have to be open to the idea that tea could be something more and then experience the difference yourself to get it. And if that isn't something you want to do, then of course that's fine.
But really as for why normie tea isn't talked about here, if you're going to be a tea autist like me, you're more likely to end up here than the people who drink normie tea. Most of them probably stay on reddit or wherever.

>>21979566
holy god this is exactly the type of comment i was expecting
literally all the things youre saying can apply to "regular" teas as well
have you ever had anything from adagio or are you just commenting out of your tea autist ass
a tea doesn't have to taste like dirty socks and wet asshole covered in half digested twigs to be interesting or complex

>>21979566
also the autistic assumption that because someone hasn't tried the thing you're obsessed with or is inferior because they are saying they don't like it

>>21979589
*that they haven't tried the thing you're obsessed with or is inferior because they are saying they don't like it

>>21979583
>>21979589
Learn to read or go troll somewhere else
>have you ever had anything from adagio
Yeah, it's low quality crap. Like I said, jack daniels vs a single malt scotch. Frozen tv dinner vs a high end steakhouse.
>taste like dirty socks and wet asshole covered in half digested twigs to be interesting or complex
Jesus christ, are you the same guy that posts the same shit like this every once in a while? Seriously, even if you aren't, just go to reddit and I'm sure they'll be happy to discuss adagio with you.

anyone tried sugimoto’s japanese greens?

I only buy tea I can throw into a mug and have them fall to the bottom while staying whole.

>>21979511
Depends what you mean by normie tea
I used to buy loose leaf indian blacks locally, english breakfast, ceylon, darjeeling. I still like black teas, but now I've tried ordering some random chinese ones and I like them better. Plenty are cheap too. The only difference is that you have to order from John Kingteamall or Farmer Leaf or whatever and wait 3 weeks for shipping, rather than just walking in and picking some up at Fortnum&Mason's or the local Mariage Freres whenever I'm around the area. So in terms of obscurity it's just as "bougie" as the 20 year old rotten teas that John Kingteamall also sells, but in practice it's the same kind of tea as the normie loose leaf black you can get in a physical store around here, just from a different area and therefore tastier to me.

If by normie teas you mean bagged supermarket tea then it's usually either just plain bad, or at best if you buy "premium teabags" it can be pretty decent decent but 5x-10x overpriced compared to a similarly decent loose leaf.

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Could anyone help me please? I really enjoyed pic related when I visited Japan but it's really hard to find (and expensive) in my country.
Is there any type or brand of tea that would give me a similar taste?

>>21978557
Good to know, thanks.

>>21980011
good post

>>21978392
stop drinking tea with added flavoring

>>21978431
>>21977667
Following on with the white2tea stuff.
I've just tried firebat. For comparison (up to now) I've had Boat Captain, which I reviewed above. Fundamentally there seems to be more similarity than difference with these smoked teas. They seem, by nature, fairly one dimensional: a taste of smoke with some leaf coming through. However, firebat was less bitter, had a more lingering taste, and tasted more like food that had been cooked on a fire, rather than the ashes of the fire itself, the aftertaste also has an interesting spiciness to it. I prefer it.

The only smoked tea left is camphire. That is a ripe.

>>21980048
>Purified Water, Green Tea, Ascorbic Acid(Vitamin C)(E300).
Mix all of the above. Or make a gallon of green tea and squeeze a lemon into it.

>>21978392
I may be a pleb but I've tried a bunch of premium high street loose leaf earl greys here and honestly they all tastes the same to me
F&M, Harrods, Whittard. They're all, like, good, if you want normal earl grey, and I trust the quality of their tea. But also typically the loose leaf is in pretty small pieces - I'm guessing large leafs are aren't going to flavoured teas in the first place.
Just buy whatever's available around you.

>>21979511
It all started with normie tea for me. My grandma used to serve me earl grey. I disliked it and thought all tea was bad for years. Then I had a student friend that didn't drink alcohol and drank tea instead that made me try Darjeeling and I realized tea could be better. I don't remember how I got into Ceylon but it was my daily drinker for quite a bit. Then I tried Yunnan black, and holy shit was it an upgrade from floor sweepings teabags. That was it: I left normie tea behind. I had some normie mystery black tea recently. It was weak and tasted of hay: totally uninteresting. Quality tea is so much better, especially since my palate is now quite trained. It's a bit like wine: different styles and varieties for different moods and occasions. To each their own tea journey. Not every coffee drinker gets into specialty stuff. There's decent affordable stuff and overpriced underwhelming shit. Enjoy what you like. Know your tastes, try things and maybe train your palate.

>>21980142
I think tea really gets the short end of the stick because teabags are basically the equivalent of instant coffee, but coffeefags all know that that is intentionally utter shit and that normal coffee is better. And it's not hard to get normal coffee around. Even cheapo coffee made from actual beans is plentifully available.
Winefags also generally have large selections in stores and even people who don't drink know that there's a difference between budget swill and decent quality wine, and you can easily get decent wine anywhere. Maybe if you're a connoisseur you will be hunting rare bottles in specialty wineries, but most supermarkets at least carry shit that's above the bare minimum budget tier and quite drinkable on an average day.

But mass market tea is for some reason entirely composed of teabag dust and the normie consciousness is not even aware of quality tea, most people don't even consider loose leaf as being possible. Acceptable quality tea is not even expensive, far cheaper than wine, and even just a loose leaf average ceylon is going to be way better than a budget teabag - it's basically the equivalent of a decent pack of coffee or a slightly up-market bottle of wine that any supermarket will cary 50 different kinds of, but for most people said loose leaf ceylon feels like a specialty item you need to hunt for in special stores, no, heck, most people might not even know it exists and not realise anything other than teabags is a thing.

>>21980137
I read somewhere that earl grey was developed as a cheaper substitute for expensive teas by the British. There might be something to it. If so, expectations can't be too high.

>>21980154
>teabags are basically the equivalent of instant coffee
I agree with everything you said, but this. So much this.