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Happy International Tea Day! Today, I will drink tea...as I do pretty much every day. But today it's posh, and the internet is full of clickbait articles promoting the health benefits of "herbal" green teas etc.
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Dec 15, 2015 13:13
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| # ? May 12, 2024 15:37 |
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Enfys posted:Happy International Tea Day! Health Benefit: Hydration. Good stuff.
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Dec 15, 2015 22:21
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Jhet posted:@Cymbal Monkey Danke!
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Dec 18, 2015 20:41
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Comb Your Beard posted:Wow the Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe) Wuyi rock tea oolong is amazing. I've had bagged oolong before that was really meh. This stuff brought me back to when I did a summer internship with this Chinese professor and her grad students, the tea we'd drink at meetings. Amazing to find that same taste that again, I wasn't even looking for it. There is a huge variety of quality with DHP. The majority of what is marketed as DHP in the west in either a generic Wuyi yancha labeled as DHP or a 5th generation+ clone, sometimes called "Little Red Robe". I always keep a bit of it on hand as the high level of oxidation helps it keep longer than green tea and light oolongs. It is even suitable for making cakes, although this damages the final product and produces dust. As with most Chinese tea, if you are using a reputable dealer (I don't personally consider Teavana, Upton or Republic of Tea to be reputable dealers in Chinese Tea. Teavivre seems acceptable.) you can tell what you are getting by price. Anything less than $200/lb is likely not authentic DHP. That being said, Wuyi yancha, of which DHP is the most famous cultivar, has many outstanding varieties for more reasonable prices. The prices of DHP in China are artificially elevated as the tea is considered a sign of social status. Here is a good yancha from a trustworthy dealer. http://www.silkroadteas.com/wuyi-yan-cha/ For those of you buying loose Green/White/Yellow/Oolong tea in December, if you are spending a good amount of money (more than say $100/lb), inquire from your vendor the year and time it was picked. I've not seen it mentioned in this thread, but high quality tea (not black/pu-erh) goes bad and the higher quality stuff tends to go stale pretty fast. If it wasn't picked in 2015 and they are still asking full price, they can get hosed and are not a reputable vendor. The best tea is picked in the spring, next best is fall, then summer for most varieties. Green and Yellow tea can retain acceptable flavor for about 15 months. White stays good for about a year. Oolongs are too variable for a good rule here, but generally the more oxidized the longer they last. So anywhere from 12 to 30 months. Black tea, if stored properly can last up to 5 years. Pu-Erh even longer. I would also like to apologize for forgetting about this thread for so long because 2015 was one of the best years for the Chinese Tea crop in a long time, allowing cultivars that normally never make it out of China to be available for export. I'm about 1/2 way through a pound of the following varieties, all spring harvest 2015. Hopefully I won't run out again this year before the next spring harvest like I did last year. http://www.silkroadteas.com/drunken-concubine-zui-gui/ <- this is hands down the best tea I have ever had, and pretty forgiving of mistakes with temperature and time. 5+ steeps http://www.silkroadteas.com/green-snail-spring-bi-luo-chun-first-grade/ <-high end green tea, not at all forgiving of mistakes in preparation. 2 good steeps, 1 weak one. http://www.silkroadteas.com/fragrant-sprout-xiang-ya/ <- a delicious yellow that can provide 3+ steeps and keep flavor. http://www.silkroadteas.com/wuyi-green-wu-yi-qing-cha/ <- a very curious green I took a chance on as it was inexpensive. It has a more plant-like flavor than more common greens like Dragon-Well, very mellow and earthy. Made from the same cultivar as the yancha, but pan fired like all Chinese greens. As far as teaware, I've mostly used pyrex gaiwans except for the Zui Gui which has a "married" yixing pot. However this year I got one of these on amazon. http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QOOCGRQ Its a gaiwan+cups set that closes up for steeping then comes apart to serve. Works great for one or two people. Pot is easy to clean and enameled so it doesn't absorb flavors of previous teas. I'm pretty much converted to this for almost all of my Chinese Teas now. As far as bagged British teas are concerned, I've yet to find one that can tempt me away from Yorkshire Gold. It really sets that standard for me w/r/t blended teas from England. fake edit - I'd like to add, if you are interested in exploring the higher end green teas, please ignore every steeping instruction for green tea you have ever read in the internet or box of tea bags. The competition grade Bi Lou Chun I've linked above steeps at about 74c for about 40-50 seconds. Any hotter and longer and you get a cup of nasty astringent yellow water. When in doubt, cooler and shorter. You can increase the time and temp a little bit for subsequent steepings.
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Dec 25, 2015 01:45
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Yep it's generally accepted that most DHP out there is a kind of generic blend of yancha. Teadb goes a bit into the different famous bushes and some reliable vendors. This is thankfully not one of the tea rabbit holes I've fallen into yet... http://teadb.org/wuyi-oolong-compendium/
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Dec 25, 2015 02:19
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I bought a hagi ware teacup from a japanese shop called Thés du Japon, and they were kind enough to send me a free sample of a Sencha which was pretty good http://www.thes-du-japon.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=374
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Dec 29, 2015 00:11
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I've had YS's rou gui and mi lan xiang dancong and while nowhere near top quality, they're good affordable selections. Also, white2tea opened up a new shop for gaiwans and teapots, all free shipping for the next month or so I think, some really pretty pieces there.
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Dec 29, 2015 01:48
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Anyone have experience with ecoteas yerba mate? http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Teas-Organic-Unsmoked-16-Ounces/dp/B001E5E0IS I got their cheaper one with stems and thought it tasted like seaweed, is it the stems that cause that? Otherwise, what's a good bulk yerba mate? I recently ran out and have been drinking coffee but it doesn't give me the energy that yerba mate does.
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Dec 29, 2015 20:02
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Thanks for the Oolong DHP writeup, that's interesting stuff. Anybody have some good jasmine recs? I got the Jasmine Bi Luo Chun Green Tea from Teavivre. Brewing a straight cup of it seems a bit too strong, but I love it in DIY blends. The little balls look beatiful unfolding in the water. I got good results mixing it like 25% 75% with some other green tea. One thing I found is the jasmine flavor fades way faster than the tea flavor on a second and third brewing. I resorted to adding a few more in each time. Comb Your Beard fucked around with this message at 20:49 on Dec 30, 2015 |
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Dec 30, 2015 20:42
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That's kind of the drawback with using flavored teas. Generally the flavor is just going to be there on the first steep, barely any in the second (steeping longer) and gone after that. I like jasmine silver needles. You get the jasmine the first time, it fades on the second and your third cup is a usual silver needle. That's if you like white tea though. Anyone ever try redleaftea? They have a huge selection of matcha and have like 50 flavored variety of matcha.
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Dec 30, 2015 21:16
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I've been looking to find this fairly fragrant and pleasant drinking green tea that I got from one of my Taiwanese friend's parents. I've tried asking the friend for more info but to no avail as it turns out that this was part of the large collection of gift teas around their house. I really enjoyed it and tried to keep it as air tight as possible but it's been over a year and the flavor has started to fade. Any tips on name/maker would be most appreciated.  
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Jan 2, 2016 06:03
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The white letters at the top are "gao shan cha" / "high mountain tea." I can't actually read Chinese, I've just picked up a few tea-related things over the years, so I don't know the rest of it. I guess it was probably rolled into balls like this? If so, in the event you can't track down the source of this particular one, any decent quality Taiwanese high mountain oolong would probably be similar. They are most all very green though there are occasional ones with some roasting or more oxidation done. I can recommend some good vendors if you want.
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Jan 2, 2016 12:22
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I asked someone that could read Chinese, it says Taiwan - high mountain tea. Near the bottom it says something like top quality. So yes like the above poster said, just get any good quality high mountain that has a similar color. Keep some tea leaves so you can compare.
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Jan 2, 2016 14:48
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Teavivre and Beautiful Taiwan Tea have some nice entry level affordable gaoshan. The price tends to go up exponentially for the really good stuff though. The key to gaoshan seems to be the higher in elevation, the more refined and delicate the flavor of the tea will be. Gaoshan technically starts at 1000 meters above sea level. Dong Ding/Tung Ting is usually grown around 800+m, and is still quite tasty and cheaper, and one of the few mountain teas that is more commonly processed with traditional roasting instead of being kept as green as possible. hope and vaseline fucked around with this message at 15:24 on Jan 2, 2016 |
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Jan 2, 2016 15:06
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Thanks for the helpful analysis and recommendations; I'll poke around on those sites and see if I can find something that at least looks like the tea I have left. E:  
Furious Lobster fucked around with this message at 20:43 on Jan 2, 2016 |
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Jan 2, 2016 20:06
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Well, usually Taiwanese and green and twist-shape means it's baozhong. A lot of those leaves look like they are smashed flat which would be unusual, but maybe it's just the lighting? Baozhong is usually pretty 3D rather than flat. I think there is a small amount of high mountain stuff made into a twist instead of a ball, but it's rare enough that I think it's more likely that whatever shop sold this tea just uses that bag for all their teas.
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Jan 2, 2016 21:45
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Yeah that's a little odd. I've only seen vacuum packed bags used for rolled teas. You're probably right on it being baozhong.
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Jan 2, 2016 21:54
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Yeah its most likely that the store used this bag to seal it for the gift set. That's definitely not a traditional oolong so it's probably not high mountain. Can you help describe the taste or smell?
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Jan 3, 2016 01:13
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Ineffiable posted:Yeah its most likely that the store used this bag to seal it for the gift set. That's definitely not a traditional oolong so it's probably not high mountain. It has a strong, flowery fragrance that still holds up even after a year and a couple of months. I steep it for a couple of minutes, throw it out and then will start drinking from the second steep. I get the same flowery fragrance but it's a lot more muted; it feels pretty light and the flavor will remain for a minute or so that ends in a slight metallic bitterness. I'm not really good with flower tastes so another way I can describe it is that it tastes like the tea that one will often find in this kind of restaurant but richer, smoother and more aromatic. 2nd steep:  3rd steep: 
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Jan 3, 2016 03:53
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After several years of furious and often continuous use, my Russell Hobbs water boiler+kettle combo's kettle side heating element seems to have eaten poo poo. It still is too hot to touch, but cannot keep water over maybe 105-120 temps - perfect for leaving it going for a day and a night with some sugary herbal tea concotion, and find something alien has begun life inside of it. (stay away from cold pomegrenate tea that's been sitting out more than a few hours imho!) Looking around it seems like these kettle+boiler combo sets are kinda hard to find. Does anyone have a like, just plain old hotplate recommendation for a hot plate that would fit a coffee carafe and keep my tea out of the  ??? I'm not really interested in getting another hotplate and boiler set for 70+ bucks right now, since I've got at least 3 other free-standing water boiler and tea contraptions, not to mention lord knows how many teapots..I really like having a carafe to keep my tea warm for long periods, and am not interested in a boiler that I can throw teabags into and keep to temp, because I don't want to wash out my boiler and have it short out like this one's hot plate element seems to have done.. 
coyo7e fucked around with this message at 01:27 on Jan 14, 2016 |
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Jan 14, 2016 01:24
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Hey tea thread. I got gifted some tea from a coworker on their way back from india. This tea specifically. Just dropping into the thread to say WOW I wish I had ever actually given masala chai made w/ milk a chance sooner in my life. Even with my almost botched first batch ( locate your tea strainer before having everything ready to drink  ) and my completely winged combination of water/milk/random amount of chai until it looks about right it was a delicious cup of tea. Although I guess I shouldn't have been surprised if some of my favorite ways to enjoy tea is "Earl Grey, lots of milk and sugar" or "London fog!". I'm a dumb dumb. I wish someone would put together a flow chart of things like "If you like Black Teas with Milk then you should try --> Masala Chai made w/ milk, not just sip some masala made with water then decide you don't like it". Or maybe I should use more critical thinking, who knows...
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Jan 16, 2016 02:31
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Have I misunderstood, or does masala chai not contain milk by definition?
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Jan 16, 2016 03:01
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Ras Het posted:Have I misunderstood, or does masala chai not contain milk by definition? I was also under the impression that masala chai should always be made with milk, but the Indian guy who gave it to me still referred to it was masala chai even though he drinks it without milk? I'm no expert. I have now come to think "masala chai" just means that the tea is spiced, not necessarily that it's going to be prepared with milk, but it almost always is (?). Based on some cursory reading in Wikipedia I think that's the case-- masala chai does not by definition contain milk, it just usually does. But someone with a better understand than me should probably weigh in...
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Jan 16, 2016 06:44
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Well I mean you can of course have spiced tea without milk (I drink black tea with cardamom all the time), and obviously "masala chai" doesn't mean a specific spice mix any more than "garam masala does" - I'd just think that the term itself signifies "spiced tea with milk".
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Jan 16, 2016 12:33
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hello milk oolong I love you
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Jan 18, 2016 18:20
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Why don't the sites I usually buy from sell Earl Grey Green? Don't they know I need it for recreating a very nice blend?  Edit: but also maybe I shouldn't be buying more tea...
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Jan 19, 2016 17:54
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Is it just me, or do all the flavored teas from Adagio have a weird chemical-y aftertaste? Almost every variety I've tried, they'll always have this offputting tinge that reminds me of bug spray. All of the pure mixes have been fine, so I'm hesitant to place the blame on my water supply or the leaves themselves. So it's either the flavorings or something messed up about my palate, which admittedly is entirely possible since I have a history of not tasting things as they should. e: and this is all assuming proper steeping temperatures and times. And the flavor persists even when I try a less intense brew at a lower temperature or less steeping time. I'm really hoping that I just managed to luck out on bad batches like five times in a row, because the initial flavors of those flavored teas were all great until the aftertaste hits. Futaba Anzu fucked around with this message at 08:02 on Jan 20, 2016 |
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Jan 20, 2016 07:59
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I did get a batch of their Earl Grey Moonlight once that would always either come out delicious (not often) or tasting like straight dishsoap (more often). I think the only thing that sort of helped was brewing it weaker on purpose (less leaves, water not up to boiling, etc.). Most of their flavored stuff I've had was fine though. Out of curiosity, which teas did you have the problem with exactly?
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Jan 20, 2016 14:05
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Is there such thing as a kettle you can put on a hob, preferably induction, that has a little thermometer on the side for proper boiling of certain teas? If this is a thing that doesn't exist it was my idea please don't steal it. e: I guess hob kettles will have a whistle, is it somehow possible to "tune" the whistle to go off at different temperatures. I'm guessing since it's just steam passing through that it wouldn't be.
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Jan 20, 2016 15:27
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sharktamer posted:Is there such thing as a kettle you can put on a hob, preferably induction, that has a little thermometer on the side for proper boiling of certain teas? If this is a thing that doesn't exist it was my idea please don't steal it. Cuisinart PerfecTemp Kettle, though the reviews don't look all that promising for build quality. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B001D1GN7O/20140000-20
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Jan 20, 2016 15:45
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DurianGray posted:I did get a batch of their Earl Grey Moonlight once that would always either come out delicious (not often) or tasting like straight dishsoap (more often). I think the only thing that sort of helped was brewing it weaker on purpose (less leaves, water not up to boiling, etc.). Most of their flavored stuff I've had was fine though. I've tried the peach and almond oolong, the pumpkin spice blend, chestnut, and the vanilla rooibos. The aftertaste was strongest in the oolong and pumpkin spice.
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Jan 20, 2016 21:47
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I've only had a few flavored samples from adagio from way back when I first started getting into tea, so I don't really recall if it's something different now or what, but chemical aftertaste seems to be a common thing in steepster reviews for their flavored teas.
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Jan 20, 2016 22:45
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I've had a lot of (fandom) blends from adagio and have not noticed any chemical taste in the blends which contained any amount of flavored tea. Seems like something where YMMV would apply.
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Jan 20, 2016 22:51
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It is typically pretty hard to make actual flavored tea so often you'll see that some flavoring, aka chemicals, will be added.
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Jan 20, 2016 22:51
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Someone gave me decaffinated tea yesterday and said it tastes pretty much like normal tea. The only way I could really describe the taste was "burnt water", but I didn't want to be rude so added lots of milk and drank it down.
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Jan 22, 2016 21:53
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Buddy at work gave me a steeper full of this: It's pretty good! Anyone ever had it? He says that his mother brought it from Taiwan when she came for a visit.
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Feb 4, 2016 21:57
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Enjoy, dong ding is usually the entry point to high mountain gaoshan. Is it green or lightly roasted?
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Feb 4, 2016 22:41
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hope and vaseline posted:Enjoy, dong ding is usually the entry point to high mountain gaoshan. Is it green or lightly roasted? I'm not sure how to tell. The leaves themselves were pretty dark - twisted and balled, closer to black than to the green of a TKY. It was mildly sweet and mostly earthy tasting. Beautiful smell. That does it; I'm moving to Asia.
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Feb 4, 2016 23:35
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| # ? May 12, 2024 15:37 |
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i made a big tea mistake i'll post about it when the mistake gets to my new place
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Feb 4, 2016 23:42
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