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gamingCaffeinator
Sep 6, 2010

I shall sing you the song of my people.

Sirotan posted:

Tea-adjacent question: I drink a lot of mugicha, and usually just make it with the barley bags you throw in your pitcher. I have been tossing these bags into my compost when I refill my pitcher, the bags themselves feel like they're made of the same kind of paper you'd see in brown coffee filters. Anyone know what this material is? Wondering if I've screwed up and will be fishing out a bunch of uncomposted material come spring.

Afaik it's just unbleached paper, exactly like coffee filters. No idea if they're compostable though.

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Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦

Misty Fog posted:

Attempt 2:

So much nicer, brewed at 70 celcius for 1 minute 30. Now it has this beautiful golden colour and no bitterness at all. I like it slightly stronger than this though so next time will brew it for slightly longer and see.

https://imgur.com/a/r85Sa9h

Before brewing it longer I would try the same method but use more leaf. More leaf gives a wider diversity and richness of flavor while brewing it longer simply extracts more of what's already there. I'm getting more into measuring my tea out and really playing with the water ratio and I've had better results, and I'm also wasting less tea - being too conservative with it makes for worse brews and you end up spending more money on worse tea, and you're only stretching out a little more of what you've got. Better to drink good tea quickly than bad tea slowly.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


Truck Stop Daddy posted:

I've had this strange relationship to tea the last year or so. When I first got into chinese teas, most of the tea I drank was amazing. Everything seemed delicious, and when I made something I didn't like it was usually due to obvious steeping errors. But after the initial highs of drinking great tea, I've had fewer of these experiences. A lot of the tea have seemed to lack taste, seem sort of bland etc. At the same time, I'm fairly certain that I've been drinking pricier and better tea in the same period. Revisiting the stuff i thought was delicious have also been dissappointing.

There are several possibilities: 1. my tea have decreased in quality, 2. my steeping technique has deteriorated, 3. my expectations to the tea have increased, 4. my tastebuds have gone to poo poo haha

It's not that all the tea I've been drinking has been bland, but the magic seemed to dissappear a bit after the initial highs. That said I've had some truly excellent tea experiences lately (great dancong, superb yancha, super fruity yabao), so it might be coming back. I've sort of gone back to basics experimenting with leaf ratios in a gaiwan, and the tea has been more consistant and better. As for the alternatives I've listed earlier, I assume it's been mostly 3, with hints of bad steeping parameters.

Has anyone experienced something similar?

Tonight I'm going to drink a really nice 2002 shou that I finally bought some more of. Autumn calls for puerh

May or may not apply in your case but one other factor to consider is attention - as the whole process becomes more familiar, it's easy for tea (or coffee or anything else really) brewing and drinking to sort of fade into your routine. If you already mostly know what to expect it's not going to grab you, so you really have to make a point of stopping and focusing to experience the same sort of taste you got on first exposure when the novelty pulled your attention on its own. From that perspective it makes a lot of sense that you're getting good results from gaiwan experimentation since that makes you focus on it.

Sirotan
Oct 17, 2006

Sirotan is a seal.


gamingCaffeinator posted:

Afaik it's just unbleached paper, exactly like coffee filters. No idea if they're compostable though.

Yeah that is probably true and I guess I already knew that, the internets seem to say those filters are totally compostable so I will keep on tossing them out there.

Stuporstar
May 5, 2008

Where do fists come from?

value-brand cereal posted:

Teavivre is have a ninth anniversary sale. Anyone pick something up? I blew 49 usd on some Black Dragon Balls and oolong. Fengqing Dragon Pearl black tea is so good. Did they stop giving out samples? I didn't even get that option. If they locked it behind some 'spend XXX amount for samples' I will be sad. Hopefully I'll see this tea before the end of the year.

I’m still mulling over my shopping cart, since I’ve cut down on my tea buying drastically this year. But I ran the shopping cart all the way up to $100 CDN trying to decide (I’ll be cutting that in half to only spend around $50), and no free samples appeared. Seems every tea place I’ve browsed has been tightening their own belts.

Has anyone tried their Keemun Imperial black? https://www.teavivre.com/keemun-imperial-black-tea.html That’s one I’m mulling over that I’ve never had a sample of. Currently it’s a better deal to buy 50g than a 10g sample. I’m wondering if it’s worth the price compared to the less expensive Keemuns.

Irony.or.Death posted:

May or may not apply in your case but one other factor to consider is attention - as the whole process becomes more familiar, it's easy for tea (or coffee or anything else really) brewing and drinking to sort of fade into your routine. If you already mostly know what to expect it's not going to grab you, so you really have to make a point of stopping and focusing to experience the same sort of taste you got on first exposure when the novelty pulled your attention on its own. From that perspective it makes a lot of sense that you're getting good results from gaiwan experimentation since that makes you focus on it.

I’ve been going through the same thing, consuming tea without much ceremony or attention, and it really does make a negative difference. I don’t even drink The Good Tea when I don’t have the headspace to appreciate it, so I’ve been sticking to cheaper staples while my head’s in an apathetic fog.

Sirotan posted:

Yeah that is probably true and I guess I already knew that, the internets seem to say those filters are totally compostable so I will keep on tossing them out there.

I bought a 300 pack of paper filters from China late last year and did a burn test on them to make sure they weren’t plastic-infused. Set an edge of one on fire and blow it out right away. If the burnt edge is flaky and not curled up in plasticky blobs, it’s compostable.

The Postman
May 12, 2007

All of my stuff arrived today! I ordered a ton of stuff from Yunnan Sourcing and got some free pu-erh so I decided I'd start with the thing I know literally nothing about.

The aroma is... earthy, which I wouldn't say I'm used to, but it doesn't actually carry that into the flavor like I would have expected. I actually get a hint of sweetness, but overall the most striking thing to me is the way it actually feels to drink. It's got a thickness or something to it that I didn't see coming. It's cool noticing how the flavor develops with each steep.

I think I did okay with the gaiwan but I definitely need to find a way to enjoy a session at a table or something. The cord on my electric kettle isn't long enough to reach any of my tables so I just hung out in the kitchen drinking tea for a while. I'm sure I can just get up and reheat as needed but I like having the kettle right there keeping a temp as needed.

My first instinct is that I went light on the leaves, but I weighed them so that will be easy to adjust next time. Definitely a fun first experience. Thanks for all the recommendations and advice!

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦
Yeah, Pu'erh is thicc. The earthy smell is due to the action of the microorganisms that ferment it. This guy explains the whole process. I love his videos, he does a good job breaking down the chemical processes.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oI4yDyH1oUM

Repaired Radio
Nov 13, 2017

The Postman posted:

All of my stuff arrived today! I ordered a ton of stuff from Yunnan Sourcing and got some free pu-erh so I decided I'd start with the thing I know literally nothing about.

The aroma is... earthy, which I wouldn't say I'm used to, but it doesn't actually carry that into the flavor like I would have expected. I actually get a hint of sweetness, but overall the most striking thing to me is the way it actually feels to drink. It's got a thickness or something to it that I didn't see coming. It's cool noticing how the flavor develops with each steep.

sounds like a shou? do you have the actual tea name / a link to it on their store?

The Postman
May 12, 2007

Repaired Radio posted:

sounds like a shou? do you have the actual tea name / a link to it on their store?

Yup! It was this one.

Truck Stop Daddy
Apr 17, 2013

A janitor cleans the bathroom

Muldoon

Irony.or.Death posted:

May or may not apply in your case but one other factor to consider is attention - as the whole process becomes more familiar, it's easy for tea (or coffee or anything else really) brewing and drinking to sort of fade into your routine. If you already mostly know what to expect it's not going to grab you, so you really have to make a point of stopping and focusing to experience the same sort of taste you got on first exposure when the novelty pulled your attention on its own. From that perspective it makes a lot of sense that you're getting good results from gaiwan experimentation since that makes you focus on it.

I'm not sure. While I had certain expectations due to routine, I have also been experimenting with/breaking in new clay pots. The attention has has certainly not been an issue. My routine might have been faulty however, that I had landed on parameters that did not consistently result in nice brews.

Was not in puerh mood last night, had some delicious lao cong ba xian instead. Chipped the lid of my favorite gaiwan in the process however :/ I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later

effika
Jun 19, 2005
Birds do not want you to know any more than you already do.
The brain likes novelty, and begins to ignore common sensations.

The solution is to keep a variety of teas in rotation!

Repaired Radio
Nov 13, 2017

Looks like a really nice one. shou calms down as it ages (I think any shou needs a couple years to really get the funk out) but in my experience it doesn't really hit the sort of major transformation that sheng does.

shou can get kind of same-y but if you like what you had, you can get a whole lot more of it, at surprisingly low prices for still drinkable quality. you could want to look into a younger shou like 5ish years old for a bit of a different experience.

Quiet Feet
Dec 14, 2009

THE HELL IS WITH THIS ASS!?





Hi tea thread. My wife is a tea drinker but I am not. I'm thinking of getting her a tea sampler for her birthday but not sure where would be a good place to get it from. I know she likes Earl Gray, green tea, vanilla chai and something called Ambrosia that has orange peel in it. She's not picky on loose leaf vs bagged fwiw.

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦
First: if it's all the same, get loose leaf imo

Second: what country are you in?

Third: what's your budget?

The Postman
May 12, 2007

Figured out a pretty comfy setup that doesn't leave me standing in my kitchen the entire time. Is there any rule to using teas within a certain period after opening them up? Or is it pretty much down to proper storage for the most part?

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦
Depends on what kind of tea it is, but for the most part it takes a good long while for most teas to start to lose their edge, with greens and whites being the shortest shelf-life. Any green should be used within 6 months for the best flavor, but it will still be fine to drink after that.

Quiet Feet
Dec 14, 2009

THE HELL IS WITH THIS ASS!?





Heath posted:

First: if it's all the same, get loose leaf imo

Second: what country are you in?

Third: what's your budget?

US on the east coast if it matters. Not looking to spend more than $50.

Anonymous Robot
Jun 1, 2007

Lost his leg in Robo War I

Quiet Feet posted:

US on the east coast if it matters. Not looking to spend more than $50.

I’m a fan of MEM tea. If your wife likes earl grey, they sell a “duchess grey” that contains rose and lavender that I quite enjoy.

DisDisDis
Dec 22, 2013
Hey I'm a big coffee freak but it's been a little heavy on my stomach lately for everyday drinking so I'm looking to get more into tea. Figure I'll just vomit out some prior experiences and things that caught my eye reading this thread and maybe people can give me some pointers.
I've been drinking tea all my life (by boiling water in a regular pot and brewing bags in a cup natch) and it's good but it doesn't do what coffee does for me. All black teas that aren't flavored (chai and earl gray) just have this vaguely the same black tea taste to me that's... fine but kind of weak, and you can't really make it 'stronger' without just oversteeping ime. It also just can't achieve the same body that coffee has but maybe looking for that with tea is missing the point.

(Key context here, I'm an American) An English friend of a friend served us some breakfast tea that knocked my socks off, I forget what but it was bagged, it was kind of... spicy tasting, not actually spicy but sort of prickly I guess. Like it had bitterness that was an exciting flavor element and not just 'oh this is oversteeped.' I ended up with a box of PG tips because of them, which may or may not have been what they served, and it did have that punch to it but recently it's been kind of whatever. I don't know if I've just gotten used to it or it's just stale (had been sitting around for a bit before I started drinking a lot of it and now it's been sitting around even longer). Definitely interested in recs for "punchy" black teas of whatever variety, I've had both blends and single assams or w/e and could never tell the difference but would love to develop a palette. Also interested in chinese varieties and what the differences are. I like mine with just a dash of milk/cream because I like the mouthfeel better but down to try stuff that's better black.

One tea I did really love for a while was Earl Gray, I got this "choice" brand that I ended up cold brewing and having with milk in the mornings which made it really mild and nice. Last box I got just tasted like weak soapy roibos though so I wanna look for something that won't have duds like that. I think the bergamot makes up for whatever I don't hugely enjoy about the vague general black tea taste I have in my head. The one I liked was really typical I think but if there are any kinds with stronger tea that would be interesting to try.

Green tea I think I've had the same "generally tastes the same" experience with. It's probably been a bit more diverse but I don't really seek it out the way I would black tea. Properly prepared matcha is really special but not something I'd make at home I think. Might be sacriligious but I always hated jasmine tea (probably had it horrifically oversteeped as a kid once) until I got a cold jasmine milk tea at a boba place. Wouldn't expect that to be a good combo but it's really mild and refreshing. Great for hangovers.

Oolong I've had in little cans from the grocery store and in highballs and it was nice but not notable (the highballs were great though). I think I had it mentally categorized as 'special green tea' til reading this thread. Seeing all the different varieties is really cool. The description of this kind someone posted in here really grabbed me:
https://yunnansourcing.com/products/charcoal-roasted-gan-de-village-tie-guan-yin-oolong-tea-of-anxi?variant=32343991189607 That brings me to another question though. I can't visualize tea in grams at all, what's a good like "small box of tea" amount to get? The stuff about multiple steepings I've seen in here really interests me but do you need the special gear for that? I've got a small basket strainer that fits a mug laying around, would using that in a smaller cup work well enough? I'm mostly afraid of buying a bunch of stuff straight off and having it lie in a drawer unused. Will probably get an electric kettle for convenience.

Finally the talk about pu-erh having funky flavors and mouthfeel and also that it comes in weird compressed pellets is really interesting to me. Seems really diverse so are there any kinds that might match what I want out of black tea better than regular black tea would? That seems like a decent starter point. Same equipment question as with the oolong.

I'm pretty adventurous so if there's anything that doesn't fit what I've asked at all but you have a hunch about it please do recommend, and sorry for the essay haha.

DisDisDis fucked around with this message at 09:20 on Sep 17, 2020

Repaired Radio
Nov 13, 2017
ngl reading the whole post and this is what I got out of it:

You've had cheap bagged black tea and it's just okay. a nicer bagged tea blew your mind. You've probably tried some other stuff here and there and you don't really say where you got them from but it's all just been okay.

what I really suggest you do is just go ahead and find vendors that offer sample quantities of loose-leaf stuff, and make a full-scale in dollar amount tea purchase of only sample sizes of all kinds of crazy poo poo. maybe run it by the thread first so you don't buy anything too stupid but still. like, really, I do a lot of $50+ purchases that are entirely samples and not a bulk or even moderate amount of a single tea. take honest-to-god notes and write out what you had, how you made it, what you liked and didn't like, like a lovely sommelier or something. you'll eventually see the patterns and can start narrowing your tastes down.

tea is all over the goddamn place, and you seem pretty aware of this. even after like 5 years of putting too much effort into tea drinking I still haven't started on some stuff.

now i'll answer you more specifically:

black tea: spicy/prickly is new to me. interesting if you've had single-estate pure assam and didn't notice anything about it since i've had some assam estates that completely kicked my rear end with strong malty taste. darjeeling is another indian tea that's usually black tea but not quite as oxidized and is very different in flavor. yunnan black teas aka dian hong can get a little malty too and imo get more honey or chocolate. drink stuff plain before you add your milk and such.

greens: have you looked into sencha or gyokuro, since they have the same umami element of good matcha. karigane is lesser so but can have some. may look into hojicha.

oolongs are loving crazy and go all over the place from nuclear radioactive green barely oxidized bullshit to ultra-roasted almost charcoal bullshit. its such a broad category that i really have no idea how you'd introduce someone to it because it seems like just drat near anything could be considered an oolong if you squint hard enough.

the typical "standard size" i see often is 100g, which is about 4oz, which is anywhere from 20-40 sessions depending on what I'm doing with it. gongfu uses more tea per session than western brewing. my western brewing uses more like 3-5 grams and gongfu anywhere from 6-10 grams. scales own btw, get one.

you do not need special gear to brew gongfu (the multiple steepings thing). you just need a way to get leaves in water, then very very quickly get leaves out of water. your basket will work fine and is probably an easier more comfortable life than loving around burning your fingers on a 200 degree gaiwan anyway.

puerh comes in two types: shu/ripe/cooked (which is known for being funky but has unique flavors) and sheng/raw (which starts green and bitter and gets awesome with age). you could live to be 200 and still not know a goddamn thing about puerh and it's insanely hard to "suggest a puerh" because of how age and storage and original material gently caress with things. i wouldn't feel comfortable recommending anything here but i could point to specific products and be like "i thought this tasted good" without claiming it to be representative.

DisDisDis
Dec 22, 2013

quote:

You've had cheap bagged black tea and it's just okay. a nicer bagged tea blew your mind. You've probably tried some other stuff here and there and you don't really say where you got them from but it's all just been okay.


yeah this pretty much sums it up i think. i should say i had something labeled as just assam (vs english/irish breakfast) but probably not anything impressive. might look for actual single estate then.
reading the thread more yeah pu-erhs seem like something to investigate another time. probably going for the charcoal end of the spectrum with oolong, milk oolongs mentioned a bit up thread sound really cool too though. i'll go with the sample method, thanks!

Anonymous Robot
Jun 1, 2007

Lost his leg in Robo War I
Milk oolongs are great! Lately I’ve been enjoying one that smells like buttered popcorn and tastes like milk tea.

Foxtrot_13
Oct 31, 2013
Ask me about my love of genocide denial!
PG Tips is garbage tier tea not much better than supermarket own brands.

The decent mass market British teas are either Twining's English Breakfast or Everyday (but tend to be overprice due to the name). Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Tea Gold are the best you can usually find on shelves in British supermarket and are the best everyday teas you can find. At home it is normally Yorkshire Tea or something a bit special.

Assam teas tend to strong and malty but vary in quality due to being a popular "brand" so range from barley better than regular tea all the way to malty ambrosia. I have had Harmutty Assam tea and it is good and not that expensive (for specialty tea)

African teas from Kenya and Rwanda are also in the strong category and are worth a look if you want a heavy flavour but might be difficult or expensive in the USA due to not being popular.

Repaired Radio
Nov 13, 2017

Foxtrot_13 posted:

PG Tips is garbage tier tea not much better than supermarket own brands.

The decent mass market British teas are either Twining's English Breakfast or Everyday (but tend to be overprice due to the name). Yorkshire Tea and Yorkshire Tea Gold are the best you can usually find on shelves in British supermarket and are the best everyday teas you can find. At home it is normally Yorkshire Tea or something a bit special.

hot take all of these ratings and debates about twinings and pg tips and poo poo are all just competing for the whatever metal a 4th place medal would be made out of, below bronze.
people can like what they like
but let's not act like these are anything but dust made from "we need quantity over quality to meet demand and keep poo poo consistent" productions with a teabag packet not being A+ storage in the first place

its such a weird pissing contest because you have to know it's not really high or even medium quality

Repaired Radio fucked around with this message at 03:03 on Sep 18, 2020

Jhet
Jun 3, 2013

Repaired Radio posted:

its such a weird pissing contest because you have to know it's not really high or even medium quality

Yeah, this is entirely true. Extend that to basically every bagged tea and you’ve hit it home. They’re all bottom of the quality barrel tea and are not at all special. Those things are all chopped up and processed to being nothing special at all.



That said, I prefer the thick and smooth taste of Yorkshire Gold, when I just want something hot that isn’t just water. PG Tips doesn’t stand up to milk or lemon for me. But if you’re drinking mass market crap, drink whatever you want.

Then drink the good stuff when you want to drink good tea. I couldn’t drink my good teas every day or they wouldn’t be as much of a wonderful and relaxing break from the world.

Bees on Wheat
Jul 18, 2007

I've never been happy



QUAIL DIVISION
Buglord
Yeah, a friend made fun of me once because I occasionally drink Lipton. Then my husband joined her in teasing because I don't know, I guess he doesn't like living or breathing or having kidneys. :shrug:

Then when she moved out of the area she gave me a bunch of tea, and there was a whole box of Red Rose stashed in there. Honestly it wasn't any better, it just doesn't have the stigma of a certain brand name attached to it. They still sell it in packs of 100 for less than $5 at the supermarket so get over yourself.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
You can drink any tea and it's gonna be fine. People just like being snobby or picky because tea was the province of aristocrats originally, pomp and circumstance comes along with it.

Lipton for me tends to be a bit too bitter these days, but I normally just drink Prince of Peace and very rarely Foojoy in bags because using a basket filter or doing gongfu tends to be somewhat time consuming. There are actually many good and affordable bagged teas out there, and if Lipton's good for you, then go for it and if you're curious you can branch out.

Anonymous Robot
Jun 1, 2007

Lost his leg in Robo War I
Harney and Sons makes an earnestly good bagged tea.

Quiet Feet
Dec 14, 2009

THE HELL IS WITH THIS ASS!?





Anonymous Robot posted:

I’m a fan of MEM tea. If your wife likes earl grey, they sell a “duchess grey” that contains rose and lavender that I quite enjoy.

Just wanted to say thanks for the suggestion. I ordered a few things from MEM and they've arrived but my wife's birthday isn't until Tuesday. It's driving me nuts because I got something for myself in there (the herbal "coffee") and I can't have any yet because there would be questions if she saw me with it. :mad:

Anonymous Robot
Jun 1, 2007

Lost his leg in Robo War I
Nice, I hope she enjoys it!

If you’re a drinker, here’s a pro tip: put a quarter cup of that tea in a 750ml bottle of gin and wait four hours, and you’ll end up with delicious earl grey gin. Shake 1.5oz of that over ice with .75 oz of lemon juice, 1oz sugar syrup, and an egg white for a real treat.

neogeo0823
Jul 4, 2007

NO THAT'S NOT ME!!

Anonymous Robot posted:

Nice, I hope she enjoys it!

If you’re a drinker, here’s a pro tip: put a quarter cup of that tea in a 750ml bottle of gin and wait four hours, and you’ll end up with delicious earl grey gin. Shake 1.5oz of that over ice with .75 oz of lemon juice, 1oz sugar syrup, and an egg white for a real treat.

You watched that How To Drink video as well, huh? I made it. I used Twinnings as he suggested, because consistency, and also test batch, don't use the good stuff. While I definitely enjoyed it, I agree it needed a more bergamot forward tea. Honestly, maybe something like Trader Joe's earl grey. I wouldn't use good quality loose leaf in an infusion unless it was for something I was trying to perfect, instead of a neat drink to whip out at fancy parties.

Anonymous Robot
Jun 1, 2007

Lost his leg in Robo War I
Yeah! It was extremely good, rocketed right up to one of my favorite cocktails. FWIW I think the rose works very well in it.

CeramicPig
Oct 9, 2012
I’m slowly putting together my wedding registry and I want an electric kettle or something I can use to get different temps for different teas so I can make things correctly instead of generic “hot”.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a device that is going to be affordable so I might actually get one? Also any tea accessories would be awesome. Like a bamboo tray. I have more mugs than my cabinets can hold.

Irony.or.Death
Apr 1, 2009


The Bonavita (https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B005YR0F40/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) is by far the best kettle I've ever had.

Heath
Apr 30, 2008

🍂🎃🏞️💦

CeramicPig posted:

I’m slowly putting together my wedding registry and I want an electric kettle or something I can use to get different temps for different teas so I can make things correctly instead of generic “hot”.
Does anyone have any suggestions for a device that is going to be affordable so I might actually get one? Also any tea accessories would be awesome. Like a bamboo tray. I have more mugs than my cabinets can hold.

1) What constitutes "affordable?" There are good, cheap kettles that are very utilitarian-looking, and there are decent, expensive kettles that look cool.

2) This is the tea tray I use. It includes a bamboo scoop, bamboo tongs, and a nice microfiber tea cloth. Very good for the price, but it's basically a single-serving tray - it's fine if you're brewing alone, but carrying more than a teapot and one saucer and cup on it for multiple people is difficult. I use it in almost of all the videos I made here, if you want to see it in action. For the price I think it's very good, but if you plan on drinking with your spouse you may want a bigger one.

Truck Stop Daddy
Apr 17, 2013

A janitor cleans the bathroom

Muldoon
I used a tea table for a while. Still have a round clay tray that I use from time to time. But for a long while now I almost exclusively "dry brew" with a plate and a waste water recepticle. Setting up, managing space and cleaning up is all less of hassle if dry brew :)

Been making a lot of boring and flat teas lately. 2019 dancongs that it's been really difficult to get any taste out of for example. Yesterday I got tired of trying these newly acquired dissappointments and returned to a truly delicious tea instead. A sweet and spicy hong shui oolong. It's reassuring to have some safe teas that always impress, whenever you've been drinking bad tea and begin doubting your brewing technique...

I also did a small bargain recently. Picked up a teapot that looked vaguely like yixing for 5$ on facebook. Turned out it was a genuine factory pot from ca 1980. A similar pot is listed for 500$ on ZAG

Amp
Sep 10, 2010

:11tea::bubblewoop::agesilaus::megaman::yoshi::squawk::supaburn::iit::spooky::axe::honked::shroom::smugdog::sg::pkmnwhy::parrot::screamy::tubular::corsair::sanix::yeeclaw::hayter::flip::redflag:

I've said as much in this thread before, but I generally love my Bonavita, with the caveat that it's pretty slow to heat water in my experience. If you don't mind waiting a couple more minutes for your water to heat up it's unbeatable for the price.

graybook
Oct 10, 2011

pinya~
Picked up some fillable bags to use for the loose leaf stuff I have. Used one for my Hibiki-an houjicha and it worked like a dream. I've been out of my usual routine for a little while so I'm trying to restore it bit by bit.

Eeyo
Aug 29, 2004

For gooseneck kettles, I got the oxo one a while back (https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F). 50% more expensive, and I bought it mostly for aesthetic reasons. I have no idea if one will perform better (either temperature accuracy, kettle power, or convenience features).

I will say though that the oxo kettle made the lights in my apartment visibly flicker when it was boiling, but that may be more of an indictment of my apartment's electrical wiring than anything. I think it used a pulse-width modulation scheme (basically turning on/off the element to full power) to adjust the heating element power when it neared the temperature. I bought it for my work office though and there it's not been an issue, but I just wanted to make that note. It could be that other gooseneck kettles do that and it's only noticeable because the mains in my apartment is not up to the task.

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The Postman
May 12, 2007

Eeyo posted:

For gooseneck kettles, I got the oxo one a while back (https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F). 50% more expensive, and I bought it mostly for aesthetic reasons. I have no idea if one will perform better (either temperature accuracy, kettle power, or convenience features).

I will say though that the oxo kettle made the lights in my apartment visibly flicker when it was boiling, but that may be more of an indictment of my apartment's electrical wiring than anything. I think it used a pulse-width modulation scheme (basically turning on/off the element to full power) to adjust the heating element power when it neared the temperature. I bought it for my work office though and there it's not been an issue, but I just wanted to make that note. It could be that other gooseneck kettles do that and it's only noticeable because the mains in my apartment is not up to the task.

I have this one! I actually read up on it a little and apparently this thing heats very quickly compared to other kettles and as a result draws a lot more power than others too.

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