|
Well I just "Accidentally" ordered a bunch of poo poo from David's:quote:Green Geometric Nordic Mug But, see, it looks like I spent more money, but really, by spending more, I got free shipping, so I actually saved money. I'm a savvy consumer. Anyone try any of these before? The coconut and citron are favourites of mine, but I decided to go for the Tie Kwan Yin (which is another oolong) blind.
|
# ? Oct 19, 2014 16:54 |
|
|
# ? Jun 3, 2024 22:02 |
|
Davids' citron oolong is legitimately delicious. I picked up 50 grams of it a while back on a whim and it didn't last a week. I haven't actually tried their coconut oolong -- it's apparently very popular, but I just avoid anything Davids' sells that has artificial flavour in it, which they have an annoying habit of adding to tea blends that literally contain the thing the artificial flavour is imitating. Like, you don't need to put fake coconut into a tea blend that has real coconut as its second ingredient. I've also never had their Tie Kwan Yin, sorry. I'm a fairly regular customer (I'm Canadian enough to have brick and motor DavidsTea stores in my city), but I don't actually drink a lot of oolong. You'll probably do pretty well with that Nordic mug, though. They sell pretty good basic tea ware; I've been secretly wishing that one of my existing tea mugs would somehow break for like a year now, so that I could justify picking up one of the Nordic models ever since I first saw them in store.
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 00:47 |
|
Fleve posted:helpful things, thanks! One of the things I still have is a tin of reasonable Tieguanyin, but I've just found that kind of tea to be pretty hit/miss. Upton's Se Chung is definitely like them, except I ended up liking it much better for some reason. I might've been having darker/roastier Tieguanyins that didn't agree with me, or maybe this is just me being weird and picky. I have actually liked Wuyis when I've had them, though, so I do sometimes like darker stuff. I'll definitely try some Alishan, thanks for that one.
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 04:32 |
|
Gazetteer posted:Davids' citron oolong is legitimately delicious. I picked up 50 grams of it a while back on a whim and it didn't last a week. I haven't actually tried their coconut oolong -- it's apparently very popular, but I just avoid anything Davids' sells that has artificial flavour in it, which they have an annoying habit of adding to tea blends that literally contain the thing the artificial flavour is imitating. Like, you don't need to put fake coconut into a tea blend that has real coconut as its second ingredient. I've also never had their Tie Kwan Yin, sorry. I'm a fairly regular customer (I'm Canadian enough to have brick and motor DavidsTea stores in my city), but I don't actually drink a lot of oolong. Certain Nordics are 40% off on the website right now. I'm sorry if that ends up costing you $50. I'm hopelessly hooked on the coconut oolong. It's the loving poo poo. I couldn't care less if it has artificial coconut flavour in it (I haven't checked). It pretty much singlehandedly got me buying tea paraphernalia and reading this thread and all of the other tea-related bullshit that's now part of my life. I've tried a few more of their other teas with coconut in them and I've been less happy. So many of the less-oxidized teas that they sell are packed full of tropical fruit and what not, and they just all taste the same to me, but the coconut is something completely different.
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 04:59 |
|
Fluo posted:Pyramids don't really make a difference I found unless you're talking decent quality tea. Every day teas like PG tips has pyramid bags, some brands don't. They didn't fully kick off when there was a big marketing effort in the 90s here, general public couldn't really tell the difference. If you're getting whole leaf tea bags though, make sure it's pyramid. Thanks for the tips, I looked through Jing and the shipping fees are a bit pricey, but nothing exorbitant. Why does getting tea here have to be such a pain in the rear end anyway...
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 05:26 |
VenusInFurries posted:Thanks for the tips, I looked through Jing and the shipping fees are a bit pricey, but nothing exorbitant. Why does getting tea here have to be such a pain in the rear end anyway... You could try Whittard, zone 2 (Germany) for up to 3kg £8.50 [€10.74], 3.1kg - 5kg £11.00 [€13.90] and so on. A bit pricy aswell compared to the £3 delivering within Britain.... but everywhere else its the best going rates if you were to order 3kg of tea :I sucks being an island for sending out else where. If you're only after a small amount (less than 801 grams) http://www.cupoftea.uk.com/ do cheaper shipping to Europe [Up to 400g £4.50, 401g to 800g £6.50] but anything after that becomes more expensive than whittard for delivery. http://www.imperialteas.co.uk/ is another nice site but I can't find at all what the going rates for delivery to Germany are. Fluo fucked around with this message at 11:37 on Oct 20, 2014 |
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 11:27 |
|
Using the post on Imperial Teas for shipping information, I arrive at a 20.35 GBP (VAT is a bitch) quote for a 1kg parcel - which, uh, makes me want for more patience. (They state they use Royal Mail, which redirects me to parcelforce, which gives me that quote for a 1kg parcel) Just looking at all the prices I'm best off sticking to teavivre unless I want something really badly. Goddamn shipping costs. e: Sincere thanks for trying to find something cheaper though. I'm just sad there are no specialized teashops for Germany on the internet. VenusInFurries fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Oct 20, 2014 |
# ? Oct 20, 2014 13:41 |
VenusInFurries posted:Using the post on Imperial Teas for shipping information, I arrive at a 20.35 GBP (VAT is a bitch) quote for a 1kg parcel - which, uh, makes me want for more patience. (They state they use Royal Mail, which redirects me to parcelforce, which gives me that quote for a 1kg parcel) No problem, sorry I was unable to find something. Whittard is cheap if you are buying bulk though but we're talking like, 5kg worth of tea D:. I'm kind of suprised there aren't any in Germany, I've seen other Germans ask about this before too. I guess German a mega coffee country? Fluo fucked around with this message at 13:57 on Oct 20, 2014 |
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 13:55 |
|
Well, a lot of Germans stick to coffee, and the ones that do drink tea are not very often interested in higher quality teas. (I had to explain once that there was more to it than just 'tea', and that things like black and green tea etc actually exist and aren't just marketing.) Personally I would attribute the lack of online teashops to either me not looking hard enough, or the fact that there are relatively many brick-and-mortar tea stores left that stock a lot of variety. (I can think of at least 3 tea shops within an hour of public transport, one of which actually offers more sophisticated teas like Gyokuro or Da Hong Pao. Prices are another thing, sadly.) To be honest, I find the complete lack of online teastores to be rather puzzling as well e: I actually have found a German store online, but it sells Ronnefeldt-branded tea almost exclusively. I do not have any experience with Ronnefeldt at all, can someone help me out here? VenusInFurries fucked around with this message at 14:19 on Oct 20, 2014 |
# ? Oct 20, 2014 14:10 |
|
CommonShore posted:Certain Nordics are 40% off on the website right now. I'm sorry if that ends up costing you $50. Hey, whatever you like. To be honest, that's absolutely why some of their teas have artificial flavouring. Coconut oolong is one of Davids' big summer push items every year -- the seasonal push items they hype up are generally very sweet and/or flavourful. Things like coconut flavouring mean it's going to deliver a stronger flavour than the actual, literal dried coconut could on its own. It's designed to appeal to people who are not already regular tea drinkers/customers who have just wandered in through the door because they had a funny sign out front or something. Then when you're inside, there's this big wall of tea at the front, and a big wall of cool tea accessories at the back, and there's a friendly "tea guide" who is offering you a free iced tea or something and can I help you find something today? This is one of my favourites, here, smell these tea leaves. And that's a valid part of their business and I'm not going to act like a snob and look down on people who like that kind of tea (my sister really loves their pumpkin chai, which has actual like... pumpkin shaped sprinkles in it). I just prefer tea that has natural ingredients in general -- Davids sells a very nice Earl Grey which I buy pretty frequently, and that's more the kind of blend I'm interested in as a customer. I don't need everything I'm drinking to be certified organic or whatever, I just personally draw the line at fake mint and melon flavour in a peppermint based tea that has chunks of melon in it.
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 14:31 |
|
CommonShore posted:Anyone try any of these before? The coconut and citron are favourites of mine, but I decided to go for the Tie Kwan Yin (which is another oolong) blind. David's Tieguanyin is pretty nice. I generally prefer roasted TGYs to green ones, and David's is what you might call a "medium roast" (not sure what the correct terminology for that would be). It has a good flavor, and stands up well to multiple steeps. It's probably not quite worth the price, given that cheaper oolongs are available from places like Teavivre, but it's not hugely overpriced like some of David's stuff is.
|
# ? Oct 20, 2014 22:37 |
|
Most (not all) teas with artificial flavoring is because the desired flavor doesn't brew sting enough to be noticeable. Let's use melon as an example. Melon pieces are there to add bulk, reduce cost, and provide visual appeal. The melon flavor is there to provide the taste. Apple pieces in tea really are just filler--stay away from teas that are mostly apple chunks. Mint flavoring is ridiculous, as it is an herb and brews fine. But most fruit flavors (again, not all) will be artificial. I used to work at Teavana, which is where I learned this. We tried brewing some fruit hunks in their own and they tasted like weird hot water. I generally think it's silly, but I understand why they do it. Sometimes the only way to get a tea to taste like x is with flavoring.
|
# ? Oct 21, 2014 14:34 |
|
milpreve posted:Most (not all) teas with artificial flavoring is because the desired flavor doesn't brew sting enough to be noticeable. Let's use melon as an example. Melon pieces are there to add bulk, reduce cost, and provide visual appeal. The melon flavor is there to provide the taste. Apple pieces in tea really are just filler--stay away from teas that are mostly apple chunks. Mint flavoring is ridiculous, as it is an herb and brews fine. But most fruit flavors (again, not all) will be artificial. I used to work at Teavana, which is where I learned this. We tried brewing some fruit hunks in their own and they tasted like weird hot water. I generally think it's silly, but I understand why they do it. Sometimes the only way to get a tea to taste like x is with flavoring. You don't need to use fake fruit flavour to make tea taste like fruit. Fruit extract or oil works pretty well in most cases, it's just more expensive.
|
# ? Oct 21, 2014 16:29 |
|
I actually wouldn't rank either of those above an artificial flavour, even though I recognise that real fruit stuff can be nicer and more complex than a simple flavouring. The issue is FDA legalese. There are very few extracts, off the top of my head malt and vanilla, that legally have to be what you're probably imagining. There are very few oils, for that matter, that are regulated either - again, specific stuff like olive oil... But there's no legal definition of just an "oil", or an "essential oil", or even a "flavour[ing] oil". You can find plenty of _____ extracts, _____ oils, and so on for sale and in their ingredients they'll usually just specify that they're made from "natural flavours". And "natural flavours" is downright meaningless. "Natural ______ flavour" only legally means "something, derived from any organism (bacteria, beaver butt gunk et al), that we can arbitrarily say tastes like ______". This can be down to the same exact single chemical as an "artificial" flavour that just used another (sometimes cleaner/better) method to get to it. Now, I'm not saying the teas you love aren't using the best parts extracted from the actual fruits on the label... But chances are that you have no way to really know for sure. If you do, I'd love to try some. Otherwise, I think it's best to not even read labels (psychological bias!) for flavoured teas before trying them (unless you have some sort of allergy), and just go with what tastes the best. There's wonderful, synthesized but painstakingly assembled and calibrated artificial flavours out there, just as there are bland and gross natural ones that are about as likely to come from test tubes.
|
# ? Oct 21, 2014 20:58 |
|
Gazetteer posted:You don't need to use fake fruit flavour to make tea taste like fruit. Fruit extract or oil works pretty well in most cases, it's just more expensive. And for places like Teavana, the profit margin is of utmost importance. Hence all the apple bits in their teas. It adds weight without really adding cost, and the consumer is paying by overall weight, not quantity of camellia sinensis. Culinary Bears posted:words This. All of this, but especially the bit where you drink what tastes good to you. Taste first, then read the ingredients. I got a friend to change his opinion of a local beer (Great Lakes Brewing Co's Dortmunder Gold) by trying it blind. Sometimes our preconceived notions get in the way of honest opinions. To be fair, I hate cinnamon flavoring in any form, artificial or natural. Put in pieces of cassia bark, I'm a happy girl. Just enough cinnamon flavor without any of the "heat" that the flavoring a try to add. I still don't check the ingredients when I try cinnamon teas, though, unless I'm sharing with my friend who is allergic to chamomile. Taste, form opinion, check label.
|
# ? Oct 21, 2014 21:36 |
|
IDK what to think about cinnamon in my tea seems unusual to me. But I live in the south and we do tea way different then other places.
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 02:30 |
|
Agenta Khaulan posted:IDK what to think about cinnamon in my tea seems unusual to me. But I live in the south and we do tea way different then other places. I don't know about teas specifically, but in other foods 'cinnamon flavor' usually means Tabasco, at least a little. That said, my fiancee had some old cinnamon-based teas that were gifts she never tried (due to a pepper allergy, and the above factoid) that we found she could have. One was delicious and really potent, the other tasted like medicine (I think it has an excess of clove). It also definitely has huge chunks of apple in it. The good: Harney and Sons's Herbal Hot Cinnamon The bad: Teavana's Spiced Apple Cider flavored rooibos
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 03:32 |
|
I pretty much only look for teas that are spicy. Chai's, cinnamon, clove, ginger. Rooibos market spice is my favorite.
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 05:33 |
|
Comic posted:I don't know about teas specifically, but in other foods 'cinnamon flavor' usually means Tabasco, at least a little. I just tried the Teavana blend a few days ago and thought it was horribly over-cinnamon-y. I was really hoping for something like Adagio's apple chai, which is more apple and less cinnamon.
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 18:26 |
|
gamingCaffeinator posted:I just tried the Teavana blend a few days ago and thought it was horribly over-cinnamon-y. I was really hoping for something like Adagio's apple chai, which is more apple and less cinnamon. It's better at home. Samples in store are brewed 5-15+ minutes and is heavily sweetened. The sugar just kills the flavor. I like it brewed for 2-3 minutes at oolong temps, no sugar, much better.
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 18:53 |
|
milpreve posted:It's better at home. Samples in store are brewed 5-15+ minutes and is heavily sweetened. The sugar just kills the flavor. I like it brewed for 2-3 minutes at oolong temps, no sugar, much better. Hmm it's possible I overbrewed it then, because it definitely just felt 'too strong' and not in a good way. I'd never gotten that from a rooibos so I didn't really think of that possibility. It's not like we threw it away so I'll try it again sometime soon at a lower temp and time, without subjecting the fiancee to it.
|
# ? Oct 22, 2014 19:26 |
|
Oh man, I just got into this Four Seasons Oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts and it's kind of blowing me away. Intensely floral aroma with notes of melon and vanilla, clean crisp taste, rich finish. If you dig more floral oolongs on the green side, this one was a knockout for me.
|
# ? Oct 23, 2014 18:57 |
|
Thoht posted:Oh man, I just got into this Four Seasons Oolong from Taiwan Tea Crafts and it's kind of blowing me away. Intensely floral aroma with notes of melon and vanilla, clean crisp taste, rich finish. If you dig more floral oolongs on the green side, this one was a knockout for me. I haven't ordered from TTC but 4 seasons is my favorite affordable green oolong. I like the occasional dayuling and lishan but god can those get pricey. What-Cha has a 20% off all teas sale running, by the way. They have some interesting oolongs from Nepal and India and an eclectic selection of whites and yellows.
|
# ? Oct 23, 2014 23:06 |
|
My tea from China arrived. They properly marked the package as samples so I've had no additional costs at the border. I've only tried one of them yet, but I've opened, looked at and smelled them all. What struck me was the difference in fragrance between these teas, and those I had ordered in Europe before. These all smell incredible, almost overwhelming, and with far greater complexity; grass, hay, fruits, flowers, even sometimes like coffee. The teas I've ordered in Europe smell stale in comparison, often more like the paper bags they were delivered in. The first tea I've tried was a first grade Tieguanyin from Fujian. Before steeping it smelled like freshly cut wet grass, ash wood, floral tones and a hint of something sour, like white wine or lemons. Most of that continued in the taste, with a leafy taste of green tea being the strongest; with Tieguanyin this strangely always hits me as if drinking a kind of clear swampwater, which sounds awful but really isn't. The woody and sour hints turn into a taste as if poured from a metal or copper pot (all glass, actually) but also kind of sweet and not interfering or acidic. The floral is mostly noticeable as an aftertaste, after a while joined by something akin to peaches. Overarching I get the same sense of fuzzy, warm well-being, with what I usually get from genmaicha, a sense as if drinking ambrosia made from wheat and other grains. When I was first steeping it, I was sceptic of the quality. The leaves didn't seem to be very whole but fragmented. That was actually just the leaves taking longer to unfurl, most of them turning into proper leaves, and with hardly any stalks. If I'm going to go through with ordering larger quantities, this is definitely a keeper.
|
# ? Oct 24, 2014 15:33 |
|
Fleve posted:
This is not an unusual reaction to quality oolong. Looking at your first photo you can tell that these leaves have been hand twisted in the traditional manner, an expensive and labor intensive process compared to the machine rolled 'pellets' of lower quality tea. The fragmented appearance is actually because the leaves are significantly smaller then lower quality oolong, as they are probably first flush leaves taken from the top of the tea bush, as opposed to the later larger leaves from the lower branches. Without tasting it, just based on your photos, it looks like pretty good tikuanyin. Another indicator of quality to look out for are small amounts of 'singeing' on the very edges of the leaves. This is another sign of the traditional, manual curing process not found in the mass produced oolongs. Here is what the beginning of that process looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5lXf0AW-MY
|
# ? Oct 25, 2014 18:41 |
|
Any tea companies that make special thanksgiving or x-mas teas out there? Looking at 1-3 oz for under 50$ us.
|
# ? Oct 26, 2014 09:54 |
|
Pretty much any chain tea store. Teavana and David's Tea. David's always has seasonals.
|
# ? Oct 26, 2014 17:05 |
|
Agenta Khaulan posted:Any tea companies that make special thanksgiving or x-mas teas out there? Looking at 1-3 oz for under 50$ us. Upton's Christmas tea is pretty delicious.
|
# ? Oct 26, 2014 18:44 |
|
Seconding the upton blend, its one of the teas I tend to always keep on hand because its so delicious and the price is so low.
|
# ? Oct 27, 2014 04:51 |
|
milpreve posted:Upton's Christmas tea is pretty delicious. Is it better than their god-awful Monk's Blend?
|
# ? Oct 27, 2014 22:22 |
|
XBenedict posted:Is it better than their god-awful Monk's Blend? I haven't tried that one, and I will avoid. But I served Christmas last year to many compliments.
|
# ? Oct 28, 2014 00:18 |
|
whitey delenda est posted:Someone recommend me a strong as gently caress plain ol black tea? I'm tired of all these subtle flowery blends with fruit and cardamom or whatever I want to assault my taste buds so I wake up faster and I love strong tea in the morning as a complement to fruit and yogurt or whatever. In the US and preferably not too pricey. http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Pure-Tea-1-1lbs-Loose/dp/B004DFBWLO/ref=sr_1_2?s=grocery&ie=UTF8&qid=1414551964&sr=1-2 Kenyan CTC will kick your teeth in. I pick up a half kilo of this from the Somali grocery every time I go up to Seatac. Also seconding the Assam and Keemun. As much as I love shu puerh, though, the way I understand it it has a pretty low caffeine content. I may be wrong about this.
|
# ? Oct 29, 2014 04:10 |
|
I picked up some of this last time I was in China. Do you guys eat the tea leaves after drinking the tea? With Oolong the leaves are kinda tough and not delicious.
|
# ? Oct 30, 2014 21:08 |
|
taters posted:This is not an unusual reaction to quality oolong. Looking at your first photo you can tell that these leaves have been hand twisted in the traditional manner, an expensive and labor intensive process compared to the machine rolled 'pellets' of lower quality tea. The fragmented appearance is actually because the leaves are significantly smaller then lower quality oolong, as they are probably first flush leaves taken from the top of the tea bush, as opposed to the later larger leaves from the lower branches. Without tasting it, just based on your photos, it looks like pretty good tikuanyin. Another indicator of quality to look out for are small amounts of 'singeing' on the very edges of the leaves. This is another sign of the traditional, manual curing process not found in the mass produced oolongs. That's awesome and really informative, thanks! I love learning more about the teas I drink. I've made that tikuanyin a few more times and the leaves indeed have slightly singed edges. I can't get enough of the stuff. I've had an Alishan that tasted similar, but that one just seemed like it was strangely full of stalks? Not loose twigs, just almost every leaf comes with a pretty noticeable stalk. It still tastes good, just wasn't used to the look. Solartide posted:I picked up some of this last time I was in China. Do you guys eat the tea leaves after drinking the tea? With Oolong the leaves are kinda tough and not delicious. Oh they're not on a plate for eating, that's just a thing I've started doing to visually compare teas I've been buying, tasting and testing. Helps me remember how teas I really liked or disliked looked, before and after steeping. Also fun for comparing quality as a reference. But, on the topic of eating tealeaves, whenever I don't have a sieve and some leaves slip through while pouring I don't mind munching them. I'm not going out of my way to actively eat them though, and some...some are just not fun to even munch on.
|
# ? Oct 30, 2014 22:04 |
|
upton x-mas one got it, just trying diff stuff this winter since I have money from the summer to use.
|
# ? Oct 31, 2014 15:05 |
|
I've been curious about teas that can be left in a cup to steep. There's a travel mug meant for that with a strainer that keeps the leaves back that every place sells (this one: https://chachatea.net/cups/tea-traveler). I've used oolong like this and topped it off with hot water one time and it worked pretty well. I'm wondering if any other teas would work with this kind of brewing and if any adjustments should be made (cooler water, less time). I have a travel mug from Ikea that is kind of like the one I linked but it's not insulated. I'd like to replace it with a better one but want to know more about the whole leaves-left-in-the-mug thing. Does that kind of steeping have a name?
|
# ? Nov 4, 2014 04:22 |
|
I never considered a special mug for doing that. The way I typically drink my green tea at evening is I boil a kettle of water, wait until it hits 70-80°C, put a teaspoon in a (rather large mug, I'd use less tea for regular or smaller mugs) mug, top it off and then drink and refill until the kettle is empty. It's not the finest way of drinking tea, but it's definitely the least effort. So far it hasn't even turned bitter on me, but that might just be me drinking fast enough. The leaves typically stay at the bottom of the mug aside from a few floaters (which I just eat or manually throw into the bin). The only name I found for it is "grandpa style". (because apparently it comes from some blogging dudes' chinese grandfather who drank his tea like that)
|
# ? Nov 4, 2014 08:56 |
|
Devi posted:I've been curious about teas that can be left in a cup to steep. There's a travel mug meant for that with a strainer that keeps the leaves back that every place sells (this one: https://chachatea.net/cups/tea-traveler). I've used oolong like this and topped it off with hot water one time and it worked pretty well. I'm wondering if any other teas would work with this kind of brewing and if any adjustments should be made (cooler water, less time). Like VenusInFurries said, it's basically Grandpa style to go. I have 2 mugs that allow steeping on the go that don't do that, the Aladdin flip lever mug and the T-free hourglass tumbler. I dislike Grandpa style, so I offer these as alternative options. T-free is better for low-temp teas, as it lacks a pressure release and it's not double-walled. I also like the Teavana Contour tumbler, because it has a double cap and can keep tea hot for an entire shift at work, but that's better for brewing at a stationery place because you have to take the basket out to drink. milpreve fucked around with this message at 16:00 on Nov 4, 2014 |
# ? Nov 4, 2014 15:58 |
|
http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/tea-makers-infusers/p/teavana-red-perfectea-maker I use one of these, makes 2 decent sized coffee mugs worth and I just add more loose tea in the top every new brew. I can use about 1 TBS and hot water and its good to go in a few mins.
|
# ? Nov 4, 2014 17:15 |
|
|
# ? Jun 3, 2024 22:02 |
|
I have an Aladddin mug (my second one, actually) and a steeper thing that goes on top of the mug. And a Breville One Touch Tea Maker that I use most mornings. I'd just like to try something new. But it looks like the kind of mugs I was looking at don't retain heat well. Someday I'll find the perfect mug. Until then, I'll stick with a big Kleen Kanteen.
|
# ? Nov 6, 2014 03:23 |