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SeaGoatSupreme posted:No pics of the process because I was also making lunch, but a comparison in color between what I started with and where I ended up. Good to see. I'm gonna have to try that this weekend and see how mine turns out.
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Aug 9, 2022 00:36
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https://www.teavivre.com/40-off.html Teavivre up to 40% off until Thursday. I have bought from them a few times with no complaints. I'm still looking for a daily driver that speaks to me, so I'll take this opportunity to pick up a green tea, black tea, oolong tea, and fruit tea and see how that turns out.
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Aug 9, 2022 04:36
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Everett False posted:This is all really interesting to know, thank you for posting about it! I've tried nicer Thai tea blends before, as well as mixing my own, but it never tasted right. Objectively it probably tasted better, but when I'm craving Thai iced tea I want the taste I'm used to (tea dust and dye I fear this may be my eventual path. Any notes you may have would be appreciated. I found an honest-to-god actual recipe that has spice measures and everything and not "one bag of pantai and a gallon and a halg of water" that I will be using as a base, after I get done with the Yim Tea Co. undyed blend. (I think the first thing I want to find out is if toasting the spices before steeping changes the flavor any.) SwissArmyDruid fucked around with this message at 09:56 on Aug 9, 2022 |
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Aug 9, 2022 06:26
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Just from cooking a lot, I can tell you that toasting anything before boiling it in water will change the resulting flavor. The actual question is how much that flavor will change when you're done.
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Aug 9, 2022 13:47
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So I know yixing pots, being unglazed, have a whole seasoning regime, but I’m looking at my clay kyusu, which is also unglazed, and wondering why I’ve never heard about seasoning them or needing to worry about brewing very different teas in the same pot lest flavors seep in, etc. Anyone know the deal?
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Aug 15, 2022 19:16
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Help please, thread. I have some IRL ambiguity and instead of asking the actual person involved I am asking goons. I met a Mandarin-speaking-only neighbor, who through a translator app invited me over for green tea. No specific time, so two questions: 1. What time of day should I assume she means? I'm out of my cultural depths. 2. I would like to take her up on it, should I continue the process by sending her a "hello! Could I bring _____ to your house for tea?" Where the blank could be a snack or something? Again, not sure cultural practices for tea time and having guests over. Based on previous conversations via app, I believe the invitation is sincere and not rhetorical. I know any broad generalizations will necessarily be stereotypes, I just hope this one is as harmless as saying "Americans drink coffee before noon" or "when in doubt, bring a bottle of wine to dinner". I'll use any advice given to guide the conversation, of course her preferences might stray from the most common.
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Aug 16, 2022 19:13
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After ordering only from Adagio since I started drinking tea about a year or 2 ago, I decided to try Harney & Sons. Today I got my order of- Organic Peppermint -- really freakin' good Organic Rooibos -- Okay, but I think the Twinings teabags I get from the grocery store has more flavor up front Bai Hao Yin Zhen -- picked this white tea at random. the leaves are very soft and silky, and the tea is very delicate. I like it. Japanese Sencha -- haven't tried it yet Milky Oolong -- tasty, but I think Adagio's milk oolong had a silkier mouthfeel Pu-Erh -- haven't tried it. I've only had a 12 year old pu-erh from a random Amazon vendor (which I quite like) Organic Gunpowder Green -- haven't tried it yet Have any of ya'll had these? What do you like from Harney?
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Aug 27, 2022 00:55
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My favorite Harney & Sons is their Paris flavored black. I'll even drink their decaf version, it's so delicious. You've got a good variety there! Keep those notes going and use them to branch out.
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Aug 28, 2022 04:13
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Paris is excellent. I also like their Vanilla and Earl Grey Supreme.
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Aug 28, 2022 05:23
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This past week, we had the Oddities & Curiosities Expo come through town. I found this nice booth there from Morose & Macabre, selling loose leaf tea. There were a few that I was interested in, but I ended up buying a pouch of their Obidiah Steam. It's a blend of lapsang, ceylon, jasmine flowers, vanilla, and cocoa husks. I just had some this morning, and holy poo poo is it good. Sweetly smokey, slightly floral, and nicely earthy. It's gonna make an amazing fall tea once it gets cooler in the mornings.
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Aug 28, 2022 16:24
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Lore Crimes posted:So I know yixing pots, being unglazed, have a whole seasoning regime, but I’m looking at my clay kyusu, which is also unglazed, and wondering why I’ve never heard about seasoning them or needing to worry about brewing very different teas in the same pot lest flavors seep in, etc. Anyone know the deal? Processing and firing of the clay matters a lot for how porous the walls of the final pot comes out as. Yixing pots are typically fired for high porosity, to "mute" the rough edges off of something like a charcoal roasted oolong or a pu'erh. The Japanese don't go in for those kinds of flavors normally, so the red shuni clay you typically see in Tokoname pottery is much more neutral. edit: also, a ton of what you hear about yixing clay is just deliberate mystique building by chinese people trying to milk the rubes or white people trying to sell you the ~~mysterious secrets of the orient~~ or whatever. it's clay. i'm not even entirely sure i could pass a triangle test between my own pots. Reiterpallasch fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Aug 29, 2022 |
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Aug 29, 2022 19:29
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okay i have a really dumb question. i want to make chilled passion tea, and all i have are the tea bags and an old tazo passion tea bottle. if i boil enough water for 3-4 coffee cups of tea, should i also put in 3-4 bags of tea or just one? like how far does one tea bag go? thanks <3
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Aug 31, 2022 18:21
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It really depends on how strong you want it. 3-4 regular size bags would be enough for a pretty substantial amount of water. Are you planning to leave the bags in while it chills?
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Aug 31, 2022 19:03
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Reiterpallasch posted:Processing and firing of the clay matters a lot for how porous the walls of the final pot comes out as. Yixing pots are typically fired for high porosity, to "mute" the rough edges off of something like a charcoal roasted oolong or a pu'erh. The Japanese don't go in for those kinds of flavors normally, so the red shuni clay you typically see in Tokoname pottery is much more neutral. Yeah, my sense is it won’t (well, hasn’t yet) pick up flavors too much, or if it does can just boil it off a bit or something. Thanks.
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Sep 2, 2022 15:36
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I mostly drink alkaline water at home, both for health and also because the tap water has a taste I don't like. Would brewing with alkaline instead of tap water make any difference to the taste of tea? I tried googling this and mixed answers are coming up
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Sep 3, 2022 12:19
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Depends a bit on the tea and how you brew it, but yes. The water makes a difference, even though it might not be a very big one and could get hidden under very strongly flavoured tea. Whether that's a difference you would like or dislike is up to you, but especially if tap water where you live tastes bad to you then there's absolutely no reason not to at least give it a shot.
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Sep 3, 2022 16:34
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Narmer posted:I mostly drink alkaline water at home, both for health and also because the tap water has a taste I don't like. Would brewing with alkaline instead of tap water make any difference to the taste of tea? I tried googling this and mixed answers are coming up You’re likely to get a more astringent drink as a result. Higher alkalinity will extract more tannins and polyphenols. So it’s likely to be more grassy as well especially for green teas. Whether you like it will be up to your taste buds.
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Sep 3, 2022 17:16
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Are there actual health benefits to alkaline water? It's my understanding that it's marketing friendly placebo. Which, if you enjoy the taste, is fine. Just interested in learning if there's new medical info.
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Oct 12, 2022 18:53
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BrianBoitano posted:Are there actual health benefits to alkaline water? It's my understanding that it's marketing friendly placebo. None that I've ever seen. Your stomach is already full of strong acids that normally balance themselves, I can't imagine that it's going to do much, or even have enough buffering molecules capable of changing the pH of your stomach (1.5-3pH). Very open to being wrong, but the math doesn't add up for me. It's also fairly difficult to separate the marketing from the science. From what I have seen a lot of it is "well maybe?". It's not something that's going to be bad to drink If it tastes good to you, then drink it though. And if it gets people who wouldn't normally be drinking water to stay hydrated to drink it instead of sugar water, then that's an immediate benefit too.
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Oct 12, 2022 19:27
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regular water will act as a base when mixed with acids (and vice versa) anyhow
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Oct 12, 2022 19:52
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ulvir posted:regular water will act as a base when mixed with acids (and vice versa) anyhow Yeah. Although this is what I was referring to when I mentioned buffering. Regular water won’t have the capacity to move the overall pH very far with a strong acid due to not having the capacity to do so (unless you can really dilute it). Even moving the pH of water can be complicated if you’re aiming for a specific range and volume due to a whole bunch of water chemistry things. Or sometimes really easy to move for the same reasons. It’s part of the reason why chewing on a Tums can help with heartburn, but for a little while. Same sort of concept. Too much strong acid for it to change a lot and keep it changed for long. A lot of mineral waters will also be on the more basic end of the pH scale just because of the minerals in the water. And who doesn’t like Topo Chico? pH can impact flavor extraction from steeping tea (and making coffee too). You’re just going to get more mileage out of using better tea, and controlling other variables like time and temp first.
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Oct 12, 2022 22:46
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I've enjoyed this chai recipe a lot recently: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxLm0jmazq8&t=72s (timestamped to the "real deal" recipe; I personally prefer leaving out cloves and instead adding cinnamon and nutmeg) However, it's a faff to make when you're dealing with Zoom calls and a profoundly needy/ancient dog, esp. given the multiple boilings that need attention so the stove doesn't turn into a complete disaster area. Is there any somewhat respectable chai "just add hot water" concentrate out there anyone could recommend? I have no delusions about a concentrate being as good as the real deal, esp. because the real deal involves evaporated milk which is a total cheat code. This would be more of a "satisfy the craving" kind of substitute. And despite asking for concentrate suggestions, I highly recommend making this when you have the time. It's a delight, if potentially ruinously caloric... like all good things in life 
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Oct 19, 2022 16:42
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Trabant posted:I've enjoyed this chai recipe a lot recently: So the cheater version of chai for me is taking the spice blend and mixing it into a can of sweetened condensed milk and storing in the fridge. After the first day you can just add a spoonful to your strong tea and it will hit that chai fix without taking all the time. The Tea Source shop sells a spice blend for this, but I make my own to suit personal spice profiles now. If you use only clean spoons into the milk+spices in the fridge it'll keep for about a month easily.
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Oct 19, 2022 17:09
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Oh, that's clever! What spice quantities do you use when making that? I usually need a starting point to adjust from, kinda like the YouTube video I linked.
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Oct 19, 2022 18:11
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I went to the Russian grocery store and picked up a jar containing a "blend of Indian-Ceylon black tea and green sencha tea with the addition of flowers and rosebuds, jasmine, sunflower, mallow, pieces of papaya and mango". It's actually pretty good if you want tea that tastes like everything. I've also been enjoying kukicha, Japanese green tea made from stems and twigs of the tea plant. I think I prefer it to "normal" Japanese greens.
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Oct 19, 2022 18:40
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Trabant posted:Oh, that's clever! What spice quantities do you use when making that? I usually need a starting point to adjust from, kinda like the YouTube video I linked. I suppose just take a bunch of spices, toast them, and grind them will not be helpful then. Because that’s honestly what I do. Cardamom, ginger, cloves, cinnamon are all things that tend to make it in, but I just reach into the cupboard and pull out the ones that I want to be using that day. You can use preground spices too, no one will judge you. Other spices I’ve used are black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, mace, hot chilies, star anise. They’re all supporting notes to the main four for me. The good news is there’s not really a wrong answer, just do what you think might taste good. I’m sure there’s a hundred different blends out there on the internet already too.
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Oct 19, 2022 21:11
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Those are good tips -- thanks! I was thinking more along the lines of how much (for example) cardamom you use per a can of evaporated milk, but it's also most likely a matter of personal preference. It's the kind of thing that's tough for me to gauge since I'll crush 4-5 pods to use when doing the hot brew version, so to me  how much that would translate to when doing the cheat version.
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Oct 19, 2022 22:20
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Trabant posted:Those are good tips -- thanks! I was thinking more along the lines of how much (for example) cardamom you use per a can of evaporated milk, but it's also most likely a matter of personal preference. Yeah, I mix up a bunch of spices by eye and then add about 1tsp per can of condensed milk? It’s uhhh… very scientific. You want the mixture to go a tan color.
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Oct 19, 2022 23:28
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Anyone know where I can get Ringtons Tea in the USA? That's not Amazon? I have a bunch of fancy teas, but sometimes I am lazy, and a simple pot of Rington's just hits the spot when I'm working. Out of all of the UK teas I've tasted, I think this is my favorite. I have plenty now, but I've only gotten it at tea festivals. And my local one was still canceled this year due to COVID. Well - never mind! I found this link! https://finestenglishtea.com/tea/ Qu Appelle fucked around with this message at 21:10 on Oct 20, 2022 |
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Oct 20, 2022 21:06
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Hello tea nerds! My wife and I have been having a lot of tea lately after not having anything worth mentioning for a decade+. We've always just made it 1 cup at a time using my stainless steel infuser and microwaving water however we would like to get a pot. What are the kids doing for a pot that can make ~32-40oz of tea in a go? Basically we want to make our morning pot, remove the infuser, put the lid back on, then pour cups as we go. We're making green tea if it matters. Also amusingly my old (~2007?) adagio account stilled worked and had $2.50 in rewards on it.  I have my very old utilitea kettle that lost its ability to make anything but boiling water back in the aughts, as well as the infuser that's similar to the ones below:https://www.adagio.com/teaware/utiliTEA_kettle.html https://www.adagio.com/teaware/porcelain_cup_and_infuser_chocolate.html It's a shame this seems to be garbage for not at all surprising reasons, it jams with silt after a few weeks of use according to the reviews: https://www.adagio.com/teaware/velociTEA.html
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Oct 23, 2022 21:14
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I went looking for a teapot myself a few months (?) ago, forgot, but started circling one of these: https://www.amazon.com/Bodum-1801-16US4-Teapot-Stainless-Filter/dp/B00E99MPRO/ There are also a few other possibilities listed here: https://www.thespruceeats.com/best-teapots-4154706 But given that I haven't actually pulled the trigger on any of them, buy at your own peril
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Oct 24, 2022 15:59
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Thanks, I went with the one at the top of the list on spruce eats because it comes with a cozy for the pot. We'll see what we get! https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B074N9NGCP/
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Oct 25, 2022 01:52
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Vivian Darkbloom posted:I went to the Russian grocery store and picked up a jar containing a "blend of Indian-Ceylon black tea and green sencha tea with the addition of flowers and rosebuds, jasmine, sunflower, mallow, pieces of papaya and mango". It's actually pretty good if you want tea that tastes like everything. That just seems like it'd be a hopeless cacophony of flavors. Did they clash or somehow harmonize?
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Oct 26, 2022 01:32
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Hello! My throat is sore. What’s a good tisane/blend to try so my throat doesn’t hurt so much?
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Oct 27, 2022 06:32
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FAT BATMAN posted:Hello! My throat is sore. What’s a good tisane/blend to try so my throat doesn’t hurt so much? Most anything with a little honey in it can help, at least for me. If it's a dry sort of sore, something with slippery elm bark can make it less dry (iirc, it's either a bit mucilaginous itself, or it can help promote some helpful mucus. But if your throat is already gunky, skip it.) Ginger, mint, and chamomile can be nice, too (plus they just taste good, especially with honey). I personally hate the flavor of licorice root but it's supposed to help sore throats some, so if you find you like it, enjoy.
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Oct 27, 2022 12:46
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H110Hawk posted:Thanks, I went with the one at the top of the list on spruce eats because it comes with a cozy for the pot. We'll see what we get! Awesome! Post a review when you get a chance please  FAT BATMAN posted:Hello! My throat is sore. What’s a good tisane/blend to try so my throat doesn’t hurt so much? If you do like licorice (I only do when I'm sick because... ) I found that the hideously-named Throat Coat works well.
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Oct 27, 2022 16:12
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Trabant posted:Awesome! Post a review when you get a chance please Initial hot take - they are 100% accurate that it's packed to survive shipping. Someone thoughtful designed the box and there is at least a centimeter if not 2+ of molded low density foam around the whole thing. They realized that an extra dollar on packaging would save them a huge breakage % which costs them way more than a dollar. It definitely has manufacturing... Something on it. Ran it through the dishwasher last night and it survived. No more funk. Brewed 16oz of tea this morning and am going to try to do the full 32oz this afternoon. It seems to work. I haven't personally tried the tea yet. One downside is no little tray to put the tea infuser when you remove it leading to a little puddle on the counter. Just have to remember to toss the leaves immediately not leave it for future me.
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Oct 27, 2022 16:27
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H110Hawk posted:One downside is no little tray to put the tea infuser when you remove it leading to a little puddle on the counter. Just have to remember to toss the leaves immediately not leave it for future me. I have a little dish specifically for this because I don’t like throwing tea leaves in my compost when they’re super wet (and also some leaves can be resteeped). They make cute little tea bag dishes that also work for infusers, but I just went to a Chinese import store and bought a nice sauce dish for a dollar
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Oct 27, 2022 16:50
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Stuporstar posted:I have a little dish specifically for this because I don’t like throwing tea leaves in my compost when they’re super wet (and also some leaves can be resteeped). They make cute little tea bag dishes that also work for infusers, but I just went to a Chinese import store and bought a nice sauce dish for a dollar We are using a ramekin now. We have tons. We made some "stick tea" ( https://www.adagio.com/green/hojicha.html ) and it tastes great! The cozy keeps it warm enough for the second cup. Communication mistake means we only tried 16oz again but it's pretty easy. The cozy has a bit of a motion to get it "on" but it works decently. I think it's a keeper. I'm not huge on nuance when it comes to tea, but this doesn't taste bitter or weird in any way.
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Oct 27, 2022 21:48
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I have a couple of interesting little odd-sized dishes I picked up at thrift stores that I use for used tea bags and strainers. You could also just designate a small plate or bowl you might already have for it. Lots of good options!
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Oct 27, 2022 22:23
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