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Charmmi
Dec 8, 2008

:trophystare:
How important is getting the water boiling first and then letting it cool vs heating it up to that temp without bringing it to a boil?

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aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
In my experiences, having the water brought to an actual boil is better for two reasons:

1. You will always know how long it takes to cool the water down.
2. Kind of new agey, but it will uplift the 'qi' of the water. This is actually related to how much oxygen is released from the liquid. With tea being composed of really only two elements (the leaves and the water), which may help with the release of chemical compounds for the teas in question. There's a significant difference, for example, between boiling a fresh pot of water versus a reboiled pot of water - after enough reboils, the water will taste 'flat', like a soda or a beer left out for too long.

Honestly though, I will only boil water once or maybe twice a day in my water kettle. Having to constantly boil water is a hassle, but it is doubly the hassle if you're babying the water temperature. By all means, though, anybody is welcome to try and get water not boiling but at a temperature suitable for handling delicate white and green teas that doesn't cook the leaves and turn them bitter or fails to steep the leaves properly, leaving the tea flat and otherwise yucky.

Culinary Bears
Feb 1, 2007

I'm actually on the minimize oxygen loss side of things and will not overheat water, but honestly it doesn't make much of a difference on the first go. The most important thing is to just use water that's as fresh and nice as you could get. Otherwise it's personal preference, babysitting a pot was easier for me than forgetting a timer (until I got tired of that and got something that acts as a very rapid variable temperature kettle).

You can go by the size and intensity of the bubbles in the water. 165-185F is the "crab eyes" range, where you get a bunch of tiny ones (like 1-3mm), and as you get in the 190-205F range these turn into the large "fish eyes" that are like 7 or 8 mm. This all sounds pretty vague, but with a bit of practice you can identify when it's in the range you like for a tea.

Speaking of gaiwan, you can find them cheaper on e-bay as well. Just don't get anything that looks like really thin porcelain (badly made examples of that will overheat and not insulate for crap + burn your fingers), or anything too large. Keep in mind that the kind of teas you drink in these can go to six rebrews and over, so 250ml is going to be way too much unless you're making it for a family.

I'm on the lookout for a nice, seethrough thick glass one. Glass is my favorite aesthetic because it lets you see everything whether it's open or not, and I tend to tell "doneness" by color anyway. They come in all sorts of materials though, even Yixing clay. Sometimes with tiny teacups for sharing/serving tastings/people who just don't like drinking from it.

There's also the good old "ghetto-gaiwan". Ceramic cup + upside down tea saucer.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT
A friend of mine raved a while ago about double walled cups/mugs/glasses from Bodum. Teavana has some double walled cups and one of them claims to keep tea hot for up to 2 hours. I'd just like something that I can sip from for a half hour or so that will keep it from going totally cold in that time. Preferably something that can hold 16 oz. Even the guy at Teavana didn't think the double walled glasses could do that. If the works-on-commission-would-up-sell-a-disposable-cup-lid guy wouldn't back up the two hour claim, it makes me think that double walled is bunk. But my friend said otherwise and there's science there. Has anyone used any double walled mugs they like?

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
There are many different kinds of thermal mugs that work well in heat retention that aren't specifically made for tea but do the job just fine. What your friend mentioned with double-walled glass is that there is a pocket of neutral gas which serves as a buffer zone between the interior and exterior walls.

Ultimately, it is supposed to reflect a large majority of the heat back to the interior wall where it will keep your cup warm. In this case, a double walled serving glass will not keep your liquid warm - nor will it cause you to burn yourself when you grip the cup on the outside, either (which is kind of the main point there).

The main deal here is the amount of exposed liquid surface area at the top. It's unreasonable to think that a cup of anything that doesn't have a cover left sitting out in the open will retain heat - the human body loses a large amount of heat just by not wearing a hat during the winter months or when you have a cold, and we generate our own heat, for crying out loud!

Consider any stainless steel insulated mug with seals and a lid, if not the double-walled glass tea tumbler I linked from Teavana earlier. Again, anything that's designed to keep coffee hot for long periods of time will keep tea hot for long periods of time, too. Making tea in advance and keeping it in a thermos, as mentioned earlier, is also an excellent way to retain temperature and have portable tea when you want it.

I'll take a look around for some actual products to recommend, but provide a price point so we can shop for you, I guess!

QuentinCompson
Mar 11, 2009
My Contigo travel mug from Target keeps tea hot for 3-4 hours, usually. Black tea goes from 'boiling' to 'comfortably hot' in that time frame and green tea becomes a step above lukewarm, but it's passable.

Famine Poodle
Jul 16, 2011

I have seen all, I have heard all, I have forgotten all.
Just wanted to add my provider recommendation. The Granville Island Tea Company (http://www.granvilletea.com/) is really amazing. I highly recommend anyone who lives in the Vancouver area to pay them a visit. Looks like they ship internationally, too.

ohnoyoudidnt
Mar 19, 2005

I was told there would be pie

aldantefax posted:


Abroad, look for oolongs that have "Monkey Picked", "Imperial", or "Premium" in their title. Generally speaking, the first two are to signify that it's the pride of a given tea shop and thus some of their most select products. If you can, try a cup before committing, though, because a lot of the more expensive oolongs tend towards much more subtle differences.

...Is it actually picked by monkeys? Because that would be ace.

bean_shadow
Sep 27, 2005

If men had uteruses they'd be called duderuses.
A Nice Cup of Tea by George Orwell, one of my favorite essays of his.

One of the things he talks about is just dumping some leaves in the pot without strainers or bags, which has been mentioned previously in this thread. I had never heard of it before reading Orwell's essay, but now I like it that way better than with strainers.

My goal is to someday follow all of Orwell's steps to a "tea" (hyuck!). But so far I've only done a couple here and there.

indigi
Jul 20, 2004

how can we not talk about family
when family's all that we got?
What's "the Russian style?" Also how long do tea leaves stay good?

DurianGray
Dec 23, 2010

King of Fruits

indigi posted:

What's "the Russian style?" Also how long do tea leaves stay good?

He might be referring to the fact that the popular style of tea in Russia already has a lot of things added into it like fruits and flowers, so it's pretty sweet to begin with and adding sugar is sort of par for the course (at least as I understand it).

The OP mentions how to keep your tea leaves good longer. It's best to use them within a month or so of getting them, but this can vary a lot with the type of tea. They don't really go "bad" as long as they don't get wet (and therefore moldy), but the flavor starts to leech away after a while. Exposure to air and sunlight is what takes the flavor out of tea the fastest, so just keep it in a sealed container and out of the light.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

aldantefax posted:

...
I'll take a look around for some actual products to recommend, but provide a price point so we can shop for you, I guess!

QuentinCompson posted:

My Contigo travel mug from Target keeps tea hot for 3-4 hours, usually. Black tea goes from 'boiling' to 'comfortably hot' in that time frame and green tea becomes a step above lukewarm, but it's passable.

Whoops, sorry! I meant a cup for using at home that isn't a travel mug. I have a Contigo, an Oxo somethingoranother, and a few others for work and travel that keep my tea hot/warm for plenty long. The Contigo and Oxo do a great job but the one I use most is a travel mug from 7-11 with very little insulating power and there's no chance it won't spill when dropped. But it's my favorite.

At home I use a big ceramic mug and my tea goes from "too hot to drink very comfortably" to cold too fast. Now I get why those cute little tea/basket/lid sets have a lid and I want one. That may be what I need. Except for the basket. I haven't seen any kind of single serving set that has something for you to put the basket in when then tea is done steeping. There should be a cute matching saucer for it!

pork never goes bad
May 16, 2008

Devi posted:

At home I use a big ceramic mug and my tea goes from "too hot to drink very comfortably" to cold too fast. Now I get why those cute little tea/basket/lid sets have a lid and I want one. That may be what I need. Except for the basket. I haven't seen any kind of single serving set that has something for you to put the basket in when then tea is done steeping. There should be a cute matching saucer for it!

That is often the use for the lids once done steeping. they keep the tea warm while steeping, then you put the basket on the inverted lid!

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'

ohnoyoudidnt posted:

...Is it actually picked by monkeys? Because that would be ace.

There was a myth (and who knows, it could actually have been true at one point) where in the high mountains in Yunnan where oolongs were first developed, tea trees were well nigh inaccessible because of the climb. They were visible, sure, but nobody had ladders or anything like that, so the legend goes that villagers would taunt the monkeys that lived in the tea trees, and in reply, the monkeys, frustrated, would use their tiny hands to pluck the leaves and throw them at the villagers - who, of course, would then collect, prepare, and drink the leaves.

In today's parlance, though, "Monkey Picked" is effectively one of the top teas of a given shop. Some places like to abuse it or label their teas as such without really knowing the story or meaning behind it, so sadly it is more of an advertising move than anything else in today's market.

indigi posted:

What's "the Russian style?"

Drinking tea in the Russian style is drinking an extremely strong, bitter tea (black tea that's been boiled and steeped for approximately 10-15 minutes) that is usually taken by the spoonful at a time with a sweetener such as jam or sugar. The tea is usually prepared via a special two part boiler apparatus called a samovar, which you can learn more about here!

The style of drinking extremely strong tea through a spoon with sweetener has some dark history to it, though, as rations were slim in prison camps during wartime. Prisoners that were afforded tea at all in gulags would be able to stretch the tea and get some energy via taking tea in this method.

To some, it remains as a reminder of a time when the only thing that a person had to drink was but a single teaspoon of the most bitter liquid you could find. However, the samovar is considered a communal tea dispensary, and many people would be able to feel welcome as part of a family by taking tea served in the Russian style.

indigi posted:

how long do tea leaves stay good?

With proper containment you can keep most teas upwards of two to three years. Don't keep them out in the open, use a fairly airtight neutral container. Keep them away from temperature fluctuations and direct sunlight. While tea is best consumed sooner rather than later, with proper care many teas can be stored longer than a few months.

In addition, tea isn't really a perishable good, but do be advised that mold can result as a result of poor keeping and humidity factors. This is especially troublesome for sheng (green) pu-erh, which are meant to be aged for several years prior to drinking! With pu-erh, you will want to remove the tea from its protective container and use a fine brush to gently dust the leaves once a year or so.

If you think it silly, I did post the Buddha's Hand oolong from Spring 2010 that I was drinking in October of 2011, so after a full year and change, the flavor was quite agreeable to the palate!

bean_shadow posted:

orwell tea essay

Oh, neat. I don't think I've read this until now but steeping in the cup itself without using a strainer or with a bag is the classic way of brewing tea (see the post on the previous page I made about gaiwan, which are precisely designed to do such an activity). While I don't agree with some of the opinions Mr. Orwell sets forth (teas only from India being the only 'proper' tea, for example), they are opinions. I would encourage anybody to actually try a variety of teas from different regions and come to their own personal opinions about what teas they prefer!

His guidelines for tea (save pouring directly from the kettle while trying to maintain on the flame - that's dangerous) are the generally accepted standard, though. Preheat the pot and use the correct temperature of water, etc.

Devi posted:

a cup suitable for home use that can keep teas warm for 30 minutes or longer and other concerns

There are two ways you can go about it; either keep your teapot warm and use a smaller cup, or if you're looking for a single serving self contained solution, any mug will do that comes with a lid. Check your local Asian grocer if you have one available, as there are plenty of lidded cups that they sell in their table wares, in my experience.

If you want a filter that you can reuse that comes with its own coaster, I recommend Finum filters (company link here. Not to be an odd duck, but your profile says you live in Chicago, so I'm sure you should be able to scare up a local tea shop somewhere around there!

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT
But then how do you keep your tea warm?

All the sets that aren't packaged or bound together do have a basket that fits in the lid. But now I have other plans for the lid. And most lids have a knob on them and can be easily tipped over. I love tea, but I don't want wet tea leaves everywhere.

Speaking of things to put tea in--Argo Tea has iced teas that come in really great bottles. I got one about a year ago and held onto it since it's perfect for bringing a drink with me to work when I have lunch or dinner there. I just put some genmaicha in the fridge for tomorrow. Much tastier (and cheaper) than buying bottled tea.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
Keeping a teapot warm usually involves putting it on a small raised surface with a tealight underneath it keeping it warm, or being placed in a tea cozy (do not do both, fire hazard). With keeping cups passively warm, I'd suggest to use a coaster of some kind and any lid at all.

The Finum tea filters noted earlier have lids without knobs on the top - they instead have tabs on the edges which allow you to pop the lid off, which then doubles as an actual coaster. With a filter like that you have minimal risk of getting leaves everywhere, as once you're finished steeping, it's intended to be removed and set aside.

Now that I think about it, some Japanese teacups are very thick-walled which helps keeps the heat from being released too quickly. Instead the outside of the cup becomes mostly warm to the touch. This particular Japanese mug was from a New Zealand web store, but it's mostly to illustrate the thickness of the actual cup.



Honestly, though, if you're concerned about the durability of a cup plus you want to keep your tea hot, I'd recommend a tea tumbler with insulation. They often have screw on lids, an additional filter section, and are intended to keep teas warm for longer periods of time than a traditional mug or cup. Plus, as they were originally designed for travel, they are also made out of stuff that can take a few bangs and drops such as stainless steel and reinforced glass.

This one here's a Thermos brand Tea Tumbler. The larger size doesn't have an actual filter, though.



neongrey actually showed me a pretty neat looking little Japanese-style teacup with a lid and a strainer. You can take a look at the product here; For Life actually retails to many tea stores, so it shouldn't be too difficult to obtain something like this.



edit: added images for clarification

edit 2: added extras

aldantefax fucked around with this message at 03:26 on Oct 29, 2011

axolotl farmer
May 17, 2007

Now I'm going to sing the Perry Mason theme

When you drink green tea that's good for several steepings, what do you do with the leaves between servings? You don't really drink 5 cups of tea in a row.

Do you just let the wet leaves sit out in the strainer or pot or put them in the fridge?

angor
Nov 14, 2003
teen angst

axolotl farmer posted:

When you drink green tea that's good for several steepings, what do you do with the leaves between servings? You don't really drink 5 cups of tea in a row.

Why the hell not? :colbert:

QuentinCompson
Mar 11, 2009

axolotl farmer posted:

When you drink green tea that's good for several steepings, what do you do with the leaves between servings? You don't really drink 5 cups of tea in a row.

Do you just let the wet leaves sit out in the strainer or pot or put them in the fridge?

You don't?

I let them sit in the strainer usually when I'm not willing to do that, though.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
I tend to reuse leaves upwards of 6 to 8 times in a consecutive sitting, but just letting the leaves rest in whatever container they happen to be in is perfectly fine. Just don't try to reuse the same leaves over multiple days.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT
I leave mine in the infuser. I try to plan out when I'll steep the leaves again so I don't brew something late at night that I won't drink again for a while. I'm drinking the third infusion of some white tea now. and i'm pretty sure i burned it on the second infusion

Culinary Bears
Feb 1, 2007

Yeah letting the leaves sit out is fine as long as you use them up that day, though it is possible for them to go off since it is a hot and moist environment. I've tried sticking them in the fridge a couple times and the results were gross so I do not recommend it - if you have to fridge your tea, brew out your last brew(s) and stick those in there instead. You can then drink it cold or reheat it. It's not as good as fresh, but it's still no lipton teabag.

Otherwise though, tea is going to be the best as fresh as possible, so this is exactly why people use stuff like gaiwans for greens and oolongs. You just make a few tablespoons at a time and drink a total of two really good cups (or however much depending on how much/what you started with) by the time the leaves are spent. Super economical for the more expensive teas.

You can take that concept further and use a lot of leaves, little water, and lots of very small steeps (think 15-20 seconds, and a bit more on each subsequent rebrew) to get a delicious concentrated flavor. Sort of like little tea "shots". That is "gong fu" style tea. That's for stuff that doesn't get bitter/astringent/super vegetal when concentrated though, so you can't really do that with most blacks or some greens. But it's how you really get the most out of e.g. a fine oolong.

Culinary Bears fucked around with this message at 00:12 on Oct 29, 2011

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
Yo Devi, I added some extra bits for your at-home cup question. Hopefully you find a decent cup!

johnly21
Sep 30, 2006
I recently went to Vietnam and had some Lotus Tea there. It is probably the tastiest tea I have had in quite some time. I normally drink jasmine green tea with a little bit of blacks and oolongs every once in awhile for variety. I tried to find some that I could order on the net somewhere but only came up with this site

http://trung-nguyen-online.com/tra-tien-tea-order.php

I'm going to give it a try and hope it tastes as good as I had over there. Sadly, I bought one bag while I was there and it isn't as good as the stuff they serve in the restaurants I had it at. Anybody seen this type of tea on any other sites?

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
Neat! Perhaps it is due to export restrictions that we don't see floral blends like that abroad. More commonly, aside from Jasmine tea, you'll see other flowers blended in like orchid or cherry blossoms. My guess would be that lotus doesn't travel that well, or nobody has taken advantage of that market. You could probably make your own if you had the essential oils or the flower petals blended with a green tea of your choice, but I doubt it'd be the same...

Do provide a trip report, though! The company you linked appears to be a large distributor in Vietnam, and the price per unit is pretty decent, too, at least for sampling.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

aldantefax posted:

Yo Devi, I added some extra bits for your at-home cup question. Hopefully you find a decent cup!

Thanks! I love that last cup!

I'm thinking I should start using an insulated travel mug or Thermos at home. I brought tea to work in a Contigo yesterday and after 5 hours it was still nicely warm. Large vessel, small cup might work well.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
for anybody that actually reads my posts in this thread i also added some pictures to the gaiwan post a few posts back. check it out!

Featured Creature
May 10, 2004
Tomatoes

aldantefax posted:

Hi! Some people were talking about genmaicha and such and because this is a thread that needs some love I figured I would say hello.

:11tea:



Brew temperature: 179F, or roughly freshly boiled water cooled for 5-7 minutes
Steep time: 90sec - 2 minutes, adjust to taste
Suggested serving size: 2 tablespoons per 4oz of water in the teapot
Longevity: 5-8 steeps, increasing the steep time by 15-30sec each time

Overview



Genmaicha is a low to medium grade green tea blended with roasted and popped brown rice kernels. White rice is used in place of brown rice sometimes too, but "genmai" translates to brown rice. It is designed to be a cheaper alternative to the often much more expensive and more carefully cultivated grades of green tea in Japan. Because there is less actual tea leaf by volume, the overall cost tends to be significantly cheaper. A good poor man's tea.

That's not to say it's a bad tea!

Taste

Genmaicha is a very robust tea that takes to multiple steeps well. The flavor profile is a little on the sweeter side accentuated by the planty/vegetal flavor profiles of sencha. The roasted kernels provide a very "toasty" liquor (the robustness from earlier). With the right amount of genmaicha, you typically don't have to worry about oversteeping. The most important thing is to make sure you don't brew the leaves too hot.

In the hotter seasons it's great to have iced. Very refreshing!

Doesn't really take well to honey/sugar in my opinion, but that's personal taste.

Food Pairings

Anything dry savory/salty will work well. Try rice crackers, potato chips, nori senbei (Japanese rice crackers w/ seaweed). Both dry and 'fluffy' sweets work well too such as crumbly cookies, cakes, and biscuits.

Pricing and Availability

Genmaicha, being a cheap tea, is found in plenty of places. The brand I typically drink is HIME Brand genmaicha since it's available at my local grocery store (Lucky's in the US) - 10oz for $3.75 + tax.

Provided you have stuff to brew with already, you get about two to three months of genmaicha if you used the brewing suggestions above if you brewed once a day and dumped the leaves after one steep for every day of the week at 7 cents a cup. Money well spent? Maybe!

Other Notes

Try brewing cold! Use a disposable tea bag and pack it with 4-5 tablespoons in one pitcher (3L or more). The longer you let it steep the better, overnight is good.

Blending genmaicha with other green teas will make the brew milder overall. Try 2 parts genmaicha to 1 part gunpowder green tea. You can probably steep that up to 10-12 times with the extra 'strength' the gunpowder gives to the cup! (note: please do not use actual gunpowder. that is dangerous and probably tastes terrible)

I'll throw some pictures up later!

This is my preferred brand. I get it at a local Asain grocer and really like it.

On the note of Adagio, they are good for beginners that don't know what they want because they have sections for everything, being oolong, green, black, and flavors. Good descriptions and reviews. Once I was taught by my ex (lived all over the world and loves tea) I learned more of what to look for and went to upton.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
HIME Brand is pretty solid. They have a bancha that I'm quite partial to as well.

In DIY news there are things that are basically hotplates or trivets designed to have a tealight set under them (nominally that is why it is called a "tea light", but whatever); you put a pot or a cup on top of it, and then the tea light underneath the trivet, and boom, instant keep-warm action!

Instructables sent me this pretty solid design but I'd worry about the actual metal plate on top being too hot. Other designs like the one I have are made out of a glass flower brick with the tea light in a recess, so there's no accidentally burning yourself.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

aldantefax posted:

In DIY news there are things that are basically hotplates or trivets designed to have a tealight set under them (nominally that is why it is called a "tea light", but whatever); you put a pot or a cup on top of it, and then the tea light underneath the trivet, and boom, instant keep-warm action!

Instructables sent me this pretty solid design but I'd worry about the actual metal plate on top being too hot. Other designs like the one I have are made out of a glass flower brick with the tea light in a recess, so there's no accidentally burning yourself.

World Market has cast iron teapot warmers for $10. I almost got one last night but I don't know if something wider than a cup would work so well. Personally, I'd buy that one before I'd try to build one but I don't have access to the right tools.

I went to World Market for a cup and I found one with a cover and basket. As expected, the basket let a lot of small bits of tea out and I shouldn't have used genmaicha. The lid didn't help retain heat at all. I'd be okay with that because it's a pretty set and I could just use the basket with larger leaf teas but the handle gets really hot where it meets the mug and because of the shape of it, that's where my fingers are when the mug is full. I might end up with a pretty pen cup. Back to searching for my Thermos.

A couple of people have mentioned PG Tips. I've seen them at World Market and the supermarket I go to. Are they worth picking up to try if you have access to a fancypants tea shop? I don't have any black tea except for old Lipton bags.

Cpt.Wacky
Apr 17, 2005
I've been seriously considering getting an electric cup warmer for work.

I like PG Tips but I find the flavor can vary a lot from box to box. I'd say it's worth trying. If you can, get a small box of the regular and of the special blend.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
Bummer, Devi! Fine mesh or cloth strainers tend to be the best kind for a wider variety of teas that have a lot of particle matter like genmaicha does. I typically go with the teapot method for those kinds of teas and I have a hand held strainer that removes a lot of the gunk that would make the cup bitter and otherwise let you enjoy drinking a cup of tea rather than eating one.

Devi posted:

A couple of people have mentioned PG Tips. I've seen them at World Market and the supermarket I go to. Are they worth picking up to try if you have access to a fancypants tea shop? I don't have any black tea except for old Lipton bags.

I'm of the general opinion that any loose leaf is better than 80-90% of bagged teas, and the price comes out to be the same if you already have a teapot and a strainer. People in the thread appear to like it, though, and ultimately it comes down to personal preference, so if it works for you, by all means go ahead. Bagged teas have the primary advantage of "no muss, no fuss", and easy to discard, too.

pork never goes bad
May 16, 2008

aldantefax posted:

I'm of the general opinion that any loose leaf is better than 80-90% of bagged teas, and the price comes out to be the same if you already have a teapot and a strainer. People in the thread appear to like it, though, and ultimately it comes down to personal preference, so if it works for you, by all means go ahead. Bagged teas have the primary advantage of "no muss, no fuss", and easy to discard, too.

PG Tips is an excellent bagged black tea for drinking with milk when convenience matters. I drink about 8-10 cups of tea per day at work, and the convenience bagged tea gives me is worth the slight trade-off in taste, for me, and especially in this context.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

aldantefax posted:

Hi! Some people were talking about genmaicha and such and because this is a thread that needs some love I figured I would say hello.

Try brewing cold! Use a disposable tea bag and pack it with 4-5 tablespoons in one pitcher (3L or more). The longer you let it steep the better, overnight is good.

Set this up last night. I made one serving in the glass I use to bring tea to work, a disposable tea bag, and a little more than 1 tsp of genmaicha. Very tasty and a very pretty green. This is great. No worrying about putting hot tea in glass in the fridge.

Are there any teas that shouldn't be cold brewed? Any that are really good this way?

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
I'd say any cheap green tea would work wonderfully for the purpose, as any black tea. White teas are a little more finicky in general so I never tried them, but I'd imagine Silver Needles or Bai Mudan (White Peony) would come out quite refreshing. Pu-erh is right out, though, no matter how cheap it is. Oolongs are a maybe - try an entry grade Tie Guan Yin. Maybe I will try it next summer!

Basically, if it's cheap enough, you can't really hurt by giving it a shot. The shortlist:

* Cheap Japanese green teas (helps avoid the bitterness)
* Cheap Chinese black teas (Yunnan, Keemun, etc. - as long as the leaves are mostly whole)
* Various tisanes?
* Flavored black tea blends like Lychee or Raspberry

Thus far I believe genmaicha and sencha have been the two I've tried, and they turned out quite well. Very refreshing.

neongrey
Feb 28, 2007

Plaguing your posts with incidental music.
So I haven't placed an order to see (since I just buy at my local shop), but David's Tea's website now says they have $5 shipping within North America.

So, if you've thought about ordering from them but high shipping to the States has held you off, now's your chance! The new winter collection is in, too. Chocolate chili chai is a returning tea from last year and is yummy if you like such things.

I mostly shop there for the crazy fruit blends because I am a ~girl~ but a friend swears by many of their more ordinary teas as well.

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

neongrey posted:

So I haven't placed an order to see (since I just buy at my local shop), but David's Tea's website now says they have $5 shipping within North America.

So, if you've thought about ordering from them but high shipping to the States has held you off, now's your chance! The new winter collection is in, too. Chocolate chili chai is a returning tea from last year and is yummy if you like such things.

I mostly shop there for the crazy fruit blends because I am a ~girl~ but a friend swears by many of their more ordinary teas as well.

The mugs and samplers are making me consider cheating on my tea store. The only holiday mugs I go for are Halloween ones, but I really want the Space Invaders sweater-style perfect mug. And some samplers. Dammit, I just got three new teas a few hours ago!

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'
I was e-window shopping last night and I saw that Teavana has a yixing thermal tumbler on sale for 30 bucks US. This prompted me to consider writing up a post about yixing, but I don't have much good photos considering the single teensy yixing pot I have is chocolate black and small as heck!

Anyway, if I can get some halfway decent yixing images I'll consider putting up a post about it. In the meantime, BAM.

Sirotan
Oct 17, 2006

Sirotan is a seal.


aldantefax posted:

I was e-window shopping last night and I saw that Teavana has a yixing thermal tumbler on sale for 30 bucks US. This prompted me to consider writing up a post about yixing, but I don't have much good photos considering the single teensy yixing pot I have is chocolate black and small as heck!

Anyway, if I can get some halfway decent yixing images I'll consider putting up a post about it. In the meantime, BAM.

Well drat, that's really kind of brilliant. Though I really have no idea which symbols are supposed to mean which kind of tea.

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atomikdarling
Apr 29, 2007

Pouring one out for my Ohmies.

Sirotan posted:

Well drat, that's really kind of brilliant. Though I really have no idea which symbols are supposed to mean which kind of tea.

It doesn't matter which tumbler you get. Literally the only difference between them is the symbols.

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