Tea Thread

I will admit I could be doing better, but at the same time I could be doing a whole lot worse. Sorry to be so mediocre.

> Select all images with Tea
CAPTCHA KNOWS!

It's okay, I was just being vitriolic to drive up conversation. I know bagged tea is convenient, but definitely be sure to check out other teas; the sheer global variety in both types and methods of consumption make tea drinking a fun hobby.
I think we were working on a tea wiki page that had a list of recommendations a few months back when /tea/ general was a thing. I wonder what became of it.

Fortnum & Mason British Tea, Royal Blend, 25 Count Teabags (1 Pack) - Model Id Rbsfl098b - USA Stock amazon.com/dp/B012P9LSTU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_2p9Jxb5VDPWWC

Received a few of these boxes as a gift, what do you guys think? They seem expensive.

Need especially a guide on different ways to prepare the loose tea, whether to get a filter tube or whatever

>I know bagged tea is convenient, but definitely be sure to check out other teas; the sheer global variety in both types and methods of consumption make tea drinking a fun hobby.
Oh I know, had a tea infuser (or whatever) back in high school and my folks would buy different teas now and again. It's just that I'm on my own now, and have been a bit of a cheapskate lately. It's definitely something I'd like to get back in to once I've saved up a tad more.

bought some expensive high mountain oolong when I was in taiwan, what is the most autistic way of brewing it?

Like the Chinese traditionally would.

In a gaiwan.

Earl Grey from coffee bean ain't bad

Used to drink tea a lot a few months ago; spent over 100 bucks in a month I remember. I had a friend who was into it too, and we would talk tea over a cup every once in a while at uni. Da Hong Pao was my favorite. Now I barely drink at all, Assam if anything.

milk (lots) and two sugar pham x

I prefer using only a little milk and sugar with it. At some point you're just drinking warm milk with sugar instead of tea.

Tattle Tea Organic Earl Grey Black Tea, 5 Ounce

Best tea I've ever tasted.

Been drinking some Pu Er from Mandala tea. Really love Autumn Song and Mu Ye Chun.
Also got their pu er sampler, really like the rice scented pu er.
Also recently signed up for the White2Tea monthly tea club.
I determine how much tea I can get by the tins I have if some are empty I can enough tea to fill the empty ones up, it's a pretty good system or I'd blow all my money on tea.
Tea is the only thing that keeps me from killing myself these days.

My favorite tea is white tea but I enjoy green as well.

>tfw wife is Chinese and her mom brings a pound or two of loose tea in her suitcase every year. It lasts.

If you guys ever go to Yunnan province in China, buy tea. Shits so cash.

is the picture of the indian woman still on the box? My granddad used to make derogatory comments about her

That's a nice tea tumbler user. Is it yours? How do you like it?

>getting a kilo of dry green leaves in a bag through customs

Kek

what's your favorite milk tea recipe?

I wish I was the small the small breasted woman

Not a problem once they discover it's not anything illegal. The exception is Australia where they're really anal about bringing plant/animal matter into the country

Which of these decline in freshness the fastest?

Mo Li Yin Zhen
Jin Xuan
Hou Kui
Huang Shan
Mao Jian
Liu An Gua Pian
Long Jing
Tan Yang Gong Fu
Keemun
Dian Hong
... Mao Fengs, ... Tips

I noticed the thread was about to die and I wanted to bump it. Didn't really have anything to say.

Now that I think about though. I haven't had tea for a few days maybe a week. My problem is I'm a sugar addict. And I ran out (I'm also poor) I usually drink cheap black tea bags. Kinda bland without milk and sugar.
About a year ago I went to the tea shop in the mall and bought a small sac of some lovely tea. I think it had some pineapple and some flower blossoms and may have said green tea on the steeping instructions. It was great but my jaw dropped seeing the prices!

I really went there looking for a tea that I could try my hand at tasseography (reading tea leaves) the young gal didn't even know that is/was a thing and kept trying to sell me the special pot they brew in.

My question is, is there a good and cheap spot on the net to buy tea.
Also any of you folks read tea leaves or have stories of the subject?

>New Age activities
If there is anything at all that the British managed to do right with tea, it's that they totally separated any mystical philosophy from the aesthetic enjoyment of the product. But then again, Japan had already done that, mostly.

Indians like black tea with milk too. Except sometimes they add cardamom and e coli.

And they got that tradition from the British. Anyway, the new age stuff is the "reading" of tea leaves, not adding milk. Mystical stuff like that belongs on .

>chai wa la
why are they such a meme country?

I like the Chinese/Japanese mystical philosophy; a balance of forces, enjoyment of the moment, ect. Reading leaves is fun to do, but believing the leaves is another thing.
I dabble in Tarot cards and tasseography, and from my understanding a lot of it comes from individual interpretation. There are widely held patterns and everything, but whatever shapes strike your eye can be read. I see both as a way to discover and address anxieties of which you may not be aware, so it's better to do it yourself. Most fortune tellers try a cold read and end up telling you the same thing anyways.

My best friend's wife's best friend is from Taiwan and owns a very, very popular milk tea bar. We had breakfast at hers one morning before she opened for business. She prepared things while we were talking and enjoying breakfast, one of which was the vat of black tea concentrate for making milk tea. She used, no joke, bagged tea from the dollar store brewed using an automatic drip machine, which is how I brew my tea now, too.
To serve hot, she adds a little hot water, sugar and non-dairy powdered creamer to it and shakes it up.
For iced, she pours the concentrate over ice, sugar and non-dairy powdered creamer, shakes it up and pours it over more ice.

"This is how we do it in Taiwan," she says. Having never been to Taiwan, I'll have to take her word for it. My best friend's wife is from Macau, though, and she nodded knowingly.

When I make it, I mix the concentrate with either evaporated milk and sugar or just condensed milk because I don't buy non-dairy powdered creamer.

>My best friend's wife's best friend
JUST

Would it have been better had the post said "my best friend's wife's son's best friend's mom's husband?"

Get fucked you pair of Summer fags.

Would you do the honours?

I've been to many milk tea places, and they all used concentrate (though I don't know how it was brewed). The powder creamer is certainly common, but the better places will use actual dairy cream.

>a lot of it comes from individual interpretation
This is what I read and thought it would be fun.

Still hoping some anons tell me a great online tea deal. I have a Amish place near that has good deals on loose tea, but the net might be better

This is the tea I found from the mall tea store. It is pretty tasty anons. Y'all ever try this stuff ?

>blends

is it like tea they grow themselves or something?

No the Amish door restaraunt has a gift shop with teas as well. I don't think they grow it themselves.

Any brand recommendation on Black tea brands, I have shit taste and drink Twinings Black Tea and Numi Aged Earl Grey, whats better than this?

Ahmad and Do Ghazal for ceylon

thanks senpai

It shouldn't matter if you're keeping them in the fridge.

Do you think those ziplock bags they come in are worth refrigerating if I'll be away for a month?

This is incorrect. Fridge temperature fluctuates too much, it's not cold enough to keep the tea fresh, and it's too humid - the tea will mold and go stale anyway.
A dark cellar, pantry, cabinet, or basement would work so long as there's low humidity, heat, and light.
Keep your tea in airtight tins - metal, ceramic, etc so long as it keeps light out (if you keep it in a room with the lights off you can use glass too but plastic is not recommended).

Just keep it in a cabinet, or whatever you have available in airtight containers. I store my tea for quite a while before going through it and that's over the course of months and it doesn't go stale.
I'd also recommend you try pu er - raw or ripe, whichever. It gets better as it ages as long as it's stored properly.

Haven't tried that one, but the tregothnan Classic tea (grown in Cornwall ) is good. You can even get fresh leaves picked at dawn and couriered to you for a couple of hundred quid if your in southern England .

Not for human consumption

yeah, i love that shit

Why would you be worried about fridge humidity if the tea is stored in an airtight container? I'm hesitant to trust your advice since my relative in China who spends thousands on tea is the one who gave me the tea and told me to store it in the fridge.

I want to be a qt girl and have a tea party

OH YES PLEASE

I mentioned the big three (light, heat, humidity) for anyone else in the thread. Also they responded with "are ziplocs fine" so it was aimed at that too.

If your place isn't too hot, storing in the fridge won't really do much, or rather, it won't do MORE than storing the tea in ANY cold/dark place.
A fridge works just as well as a cabinet, or a cellar, or a pantry, except that the door is constantly opening and closing which causes temperature fluctuations which isn't good for the tea.
Hence, although it's about the same effectiveness as other places, the temperature fluctuations give it a minus compared to other options - plus a lot of people have fridge space limitations.
And just because someone spends thousands on tea doesn't mean they're knowledgeable in everything about the topic. They could have easily gotten some bad advice from someone else who got it from someone else... etc. It happens a lot more than you might think.
Anyway, do your own independent research and see what you come up with.

For me, I came up with (besides personal experience and discussion amongst other tea drinkers, which doesn't really count here) multiple sources saying NOT to store in the fridge, most recommending cabinets, etc, and none being FOR storing tea in the fridge.

Upton tea imports recommends against storing in the fridge due to fluctuations in humidity (even with their metal tins which are airtight
uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOstoring.asp

Not a tea importer, but this again recommends against storing in the fridge except for green teas (which degrade more quickly) and it still suggests against long-term storage (for the same reason) for greens
coffeetea.about.com/od/teaandtisanebasics/a/TeaStorageTips.htm

Although I would mention avoid cabinets above the stove - too much steam and heat.

This is probably most relevant to the conversation.

luhyutea.com/main.asp?page=storage

Here it explains that teas in china are often stored in the fridge/freezer because of extremely high humidity however humidity in the US is pretty low so there's no need.
It is regarding special circumstances, and trying to deal best with the environment they have - not the best storage method (more emergency circumstances than anything).

So, if you live in an extremely, extremely, high humidity environment comparable to China... maybe. But it's not the best solution.
Low humidity? Don't bother.

Sandwich look alright except the fact they have sprouts over them leads me to believe they came ON the place rather than a proper tiered stand.

For the place this setup appears to demand they should at least serve a proper tea.

Also what is that nasty watery shit you are drinking? Black or GTFO.

TIL, thanks.

It's a good idea on paper, but in reality having both ends like this makes it more prone to leakage. That's what most complaints on Amazon say. It also holds too little, literally a cup of tea.

Thanks for the info.

How do you guys brew your tea? I use infuser mugs but I found some nifty gaiwans at an asian mall and I'm thinking of buying one.

I have a nice porcelain gaiwan. It's fun to use.

>blends with other shit in it besides just green tea

I have a whistling tea kettle. Steep 4 minutes

Infuser mugs are great

Pic related: my favourite mug

Gongfu-style with a clay teapot dedicated to only that kind of tea. Also, if you didn't buy the tea directly from a farm, the actual high-mountain tea has been mixed with lower-quality stuff from elsewhere.

The only blend you should ever drink is earl grey or derivatives.

Nothing worse than adding dried fruit cacao and rose pedals to a fucking tea.

Who the fuck is retarded enough to refrigerate their tea?

Seriously what is up with this giant meme of refrigerating everything? Refrigerating tomatoes, refrigerating bread, refrigerating coffee grounds ffs people

I think you guys just hate having your shit last.

I bought a cake of pu-erh when I was in China, it's pretty nice.
Also I'm slightly embrassed that I only now realise that pu-erh is basically the missing link between tea and coffee flavour-wise.

Huh?

I hope this thread isnt kill

What's the best loose leaf tea to make sun tea/iced tea with? I've tried a bunch of flavors from this one site but all my tea tastes like shit or is bland. I think the brewing method was bad too

Just finished my usual morning pot of golden-tipped Assam, and just started the water boiling for some herbal Detox tea (because I drank last night). I'll have a couple cups of that, and then later this afternoon I'll make a pot of Fukamushi Sencha (I like green tea in the afternoons). At night, I switch to chamomile. Other than water throughout the day, I pretty much just drink tea (unless I'm boozing it up like I did last night).

If you're not sweetening it, Gunpowder green is a good with ice, and that's the one I see most often in iced teas. It's sometimes mixed with mint.
You might also want to look into tisanes. Mugicha and spearmint are both good iced teas for hot days.
Do you like anything in your black tea? My friends take it with honey or milk, but I like it straight, especially good black teas like Assam.

I never sweeten any of my teas, but depending on my mood, I'll sometimes put a little milk in my black teas. The Assam I drink in the morning is really nice all on it's own, doesn't need a thing, but if say, I'm skipping breakfast, I might put a little milk in it just as a bolster for my stomach. If I end up drinking a pretty poor black tea, I might add some milk anyway, to make it more palatable, like when I'm staying in a hotel. Why do most hotels always have shitty tea?

Is kompot tea Veeky Forums?

My mandala tea order came in.
Got:
>Milk Oolong (1 oz sample)
>"Cinnamon" Oolong (1 oz sample)
>Heart of the old tree (1 oz sample)
>Autumn song (100g cake)
>Bamboogie (sample)
>Cang Jia Shuffle (sample)

I'm in heaven.

Wow all great points, I never thought of it like this. The whole time I drank this rather than the crap tea bags, I was so wrong. I can't believe I thought it was tasty, maybe I was somehow mesmerized when the tea girl waved the lid of the container. How can I make sure I don't fall for this again. Shades ? Just close my eyes and smell it ?

But I love flowers so much and pineapple is my favorite fruit.

But seriously is there no better website to get tea cheaper than teavanna in the mall ?

Like everywhere?
Upton tea imports, adagio...

What the fuck why is tea so expensive, thanks for the name drops, I didn't realize cheap tea sites are "like everywhere" on the net.

I mean teavana is one of the most retardedly expensive, especially considering the quality is shit.
Tea ISN'T expensive. Especially when you get into multiple steeps.
15g sample from upton is generally about one dollar, and I use 3g of tea per 8oz so that gives me 5 cups of tea.
That's already 20 cents per cup, and then you get into multiple steeps (usually at least 4).
Extremely cheap drink.

Crepes tea house is another one, free shipping if you're in the NY/NJ/MA area.

For slightly more expensive, but specialized, tea you could try Yunnan Sourcing, Mandala Tea, or White2Tea.

For tea shops in your area check out Steepster's "places" feature.

For reviews check out Steepster and Oolong Owl.

If you're new to unflavored tea and want to try it just ask the thread.

How to brew tea

>Have rolled up green oolong from local tea shop
>probably shit, but who the fuck cares
>Heat up the french press I use for coffee with water
>put tea in
>fill with as much water as called for
>pump the press a couple of times to speed up the unfurling

God please don't pump the press

If I just grow some mint plants and what not can I just sort of boil the leaves and have homemade tea? I know it probably won't be as good but then that's something I can tell people I do. I'll look so cool.

Mint steeped with some cheap gunpowder green and a teaspoon of honey is pretty good. You could get a whole morrocan thing going. Maybe buy a fez.

i love mint tea, dont boil the leaves, pour hot water over them.
i used to put honey in it, i just drink it straight now. definitely one of my favorite teas.
it's easy to grow, but it will take over your garden if you let it, like catnip.

and yeah, you will look pretty cool

My Mandala Tea order came in.
Drinking Heart of the Old Tree right now, it's like a punch in the throat. Fantastic. Clear taste with a bit of sweetness on the second steep.
Only got a sample which I'll probably go through quick so next month I may have to order more.
Also got a 100g Autumn Song cake. Lemony and fresh tasting.
Fuck I love tea.

Just noticed my pic is extremely blurry because my camera is shit.
Here's a pic of autumn song instead.

What is the cheapest green tea? Gunpowder?

I just want something I can brew grandpa-style no-fuss on holiday but is still serious tea. Maybe an oolong would be better?

Also, something that's just as good for cold-brew.

Sencha can be had pretty dang cheap.

Sencha isn't good for grandpa style though, since it's more dusty.

I buy tea at the asian markets and Fujian Company has never failed me. Don't you get it in the USA?