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Do you like tea? What kinds of tea? Post ITT
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Date: November 12th, 2024 9:51 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I just made a pot of organic oolong tea from Thailand (loose leaf, never bags) that I'm going to drink over the next hour while I work; I'll steep it 3-4 times. Later I might make some nice smoky Russian Caravan or some nice rich malty Assam. Any other tea drinkers here?
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Date: November 12th, 2024 9:54 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen What's up cb Tea expert here Thais don't produce much tea at all and what I've had from there tends to be Chinese style (pan fired) green; weird to see them branching out but it is big business in the region. It may just be exported from Thailand but produced in China, check the label |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 9:59 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) the Thais do some great oolongs, this tea farm https://thaiteasuwirun.com/en almost as good as the good Taiwanese oolongs |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:04 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen I mostly drink Taiwanese oolongs, a lot of Darjeeling, some Japanese greens here and there. Enjoy cheap Assams in the mornings and after dinner as well. I'll check out your link when I have discretionary income again One of my favorite pot/steeper combinations broke not too long ago and so haven't been able to partake as much and you really notice the lack--fatigue, brain fog, digestive issues, disrupted sleep, and more. Stuff is a magic elixir ime A favorite although it is hard to find is Dongfang meiren ("Oriental Beauty"). It's a blackish oolong made from a certain type of aphid eating at the stems and giving it a unique and otherworldly sweet/astringent sort of taste reminiscent of the scent of good bourbon finishing up in the barrel |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:11 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) All good stuff. I'm sorry for your loss, replace your pot asap, magical elixir indeed, much better than coffee. I have been drinking Keemuns lately as an alternative to Darjeeling, was snooping around an oriental tea store earlier this year and got upsold a Keemun-like tea called (I'm reading off the tin here) "dian hong jin ya", and also a dark oolong called "wuyi species rou gui", really delicious even if I got way overcharged like a good powergoy. Go get a new pot! |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:21 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen Keemun is good but trends towards too sweet for my tastes in tea these days. Darjeeling has that muscatel astringency that makes it especially good as a digestive beverage. II have spares but it's mostly cheap glassware and I am a firm believer in traditional "purple clay" (although any trad clay is a huge step up) for good bud and leaf. Been drinking a lot of the ito-en sencha bags that they sell in bulk at Costco and I can't recommend that stuff enough for veterans and amateurs alike, it's the best value in convenience tea atm. I have a sampler of a few different "Wild tree" varietals from my main tea guy, breeds that were picked from non-cultivated plants growing out there (this is getting popular for connoisseurs I guess) and they vary between excellent and very mid. One in particular is "purple tea" from Autumn 2017's harvest (mediocre experiment in controlled aging on my end. Darker oolongs and pu'ers get better with time sometimes) and it has a hard to place but fairly strong eucalyptus taste and almost menthol-ish flavor and very thick mouth-feel that makes it one of the more interesting teas I've had (and a nice sinus clearer to boot) Don't recognize the first one but re the 2nd typically love Wuyi oolongs so that's probably a good choice Nobody does repairs here so I'll have to get a new one when I have the $hekel$ for it |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:30 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I've never invested in an expensive clay pot, I know people swear by them and you can easily spend hundreds on them in specialty oriental stores but I'm too stingy, I mostly use a glass tea pot with a steeper and a plunger so that I can plunge down and stop it steeping. I also use a gai wan, one of those mug-and-lid pots: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaiwan (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326672) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:35 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen It's a natural progression in the hobby from collecting leaves to teaware. Happens to everyone who gets deep into it The thinking is that the clay imparts a particular type of mineral flavor + builds up a very nice patina from the tannins and phenols that gives you a richer taste with even more mediocre teas. Experts will have a pot for green oolongs, blacks, black oolongs, etc. The purple clay ones in particular are highly prized for being mineral rich and leaching well & heavily I have a gaiwan shaped sort of like a Western mug that I use for oolongs with an unfinished purple clay interior (glazed exterior) and it's very nice despite having a few chips from wear and tear |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:39 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I have heard the ideas about different clay pots, but I have never yet had the visceral taste experience to see the difference (quality of water yes, teaware no). If I ever do, I'm sure I will suddenly start lurking around small stores in back alleys of Chinatowns and oriental cities looking at clay pots. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326716) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:43 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen It's what I do at tea shops and even thrift stores---esp. if the area has a sizable Asian population, you can find really good deals on high quality teaware. Traditional English bone china sets in particular are stupid cheap atm at places like Goodwill (nobody has whole sets for tea anymore; this is something else that will be lost, i fear, when the Boomers go) and for traditional Azn clay stuff you would be shocked at what you might find There's a whole science to the mfg stamps on the bottoms and you need a teaware expert to decode it, I know a little about it but not enough to bloviate on. There are forums where you can post pics of the mfg info though and they can usually tell you pretty quickly what you have/if it's prized/if it's counterfeit (lot of the latter, especially with stuff claimed to be authentic purple clay/zi sha) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:46 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) this sounds dangerously like the kind of thing a mild autist like me could suddenly be spending way too much time thinking about :) (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326748) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:54 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen The teaware side of the hobby, if you're buying direct from vendors, gets expensive very quickly so you have to be careful I have lots of cups and a good number of pots but not many clay steepers and for oolongs especially do not love using gaiwans without a dedicated filter (too much hassle; can be too messy. no easy way to remove the leaves at the ideal time without pouring it into another cup) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:42 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) how much did you spend on your fancy unfinished purple clay gaiwan? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326729) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:47 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen No clue. It was a gift from a family friend who goes to China regularly for business nearly a decade ago now. I didn't ask and probably don't want to know. Probably under 150-170 I have a set of two zi sha tasting cups that I got at a Presbyterian charity's resale store for ~30-35 and the autists on a tea blogger I read's comment section appraised those at a few hundred at least. There are very good deals to be found out there in the thrift jungle if you have a vague idea of what to look for They are actually works of art imo albeit strictly for tastings and much less practical than the cup mentioned above. I may be persuaded into poasting some pics of these if you want to see these fine clay vessels 😎 |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:12 AM Author: Just your average poaster Yes. Really enjoying yerba mate recently.
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:30 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) that's good shit, the Argentines know what they are doing (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326673) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:06 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen Mate is good especially in the mornings. Brewing it as they do in South America makes something roughly as strong if not stronger than coffee. Unflavored it tends to have an extremely earthy rooty taste though and I find it unpalatable at night I've had it out of those weird bubbler pot looking things with the integrated straw and wow does it get even stronger then. Reminded me of my experiments with making zavarka---has this overwhelming head to toe pulsating caffeine buzz that almost makes you want to just lay down |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:33 AM Author: Just your average poaster I have it before coffee and brew it either as they do in Argentina or as I would loose tea. Whatever is in it really smooths out the caffeine buzz from coffee. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326980) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 1:52 PM Author: Basque man, US citizen Wider variety of chemicals L-theanine theophylline etc in mate but also regular teas all help provide a smoother rounder buzz than coffee |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:19 AM Author: lex I switched from coffee to tea a while ago in the hopes that it would help lessen insomnia. It didn’t, but tea is pretty pleasant imo. Drinking some basic birch earl gray (harney & sons bags) at the office now, tend to make a couple pots of weak, loose leaf black tea when I have long mornings and/or afternoons at home. Any advice on stepping up my game? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326638) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:26 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I like that you get caffeine but without the jolt or the jitters of coffee (there's some science to this apparently, I had it ELI5 that some natural compounds contained in tea make the caffeine kind of slow release or something). If you like the flavor of tea (I do), just try different ones to see what you like. Don't steep it for too long otherwise it gets bitter and ruins the flavor. Try a couple of different black teas (darjeeling, assam, others) and try a couple of other non-black teas like greens and oolongs, and go from there. jafar tp knows a lot about tea, he will have things to add. |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:30 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen Harney and Sons bags are typically not good but for roughly the same price per weight you can get their loose leaf which is better. I enjoy their "Paris" earl grey loose leaf blend with a little lime squeeze (it is quite sweet but goes well with a piece of toast or similar) A direct step up for a European style Earl Grey (using Indian blacks) would be Kusmi, they have a few but I like their Anastasia blend which is a slight twist on a regular Earl Grey https://www.kusmitea.com/us/anastasia-organic-ANASBIOMASTER.html?v=21642A1070 I give a few of these out for Christmas gifts as they're extremely accessible flavorwise and the tins are lovely. Extremely bougie and probably not the best value but that is fine On average though Western-market offerings are not as good as buying directly from Asia although Europeans do make for good blends, especially with blacks and flavoreds |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:35 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I have never come across a tea bag that didn't disappoint. Even the "luxury" tea bags by TWG (Singapore), while comically expensive, are pretty bland - I've seen them a few times in various airport lounges and grabbed a handful but always been disappointed (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326688) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:38 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen Some brands know this and have come up with ways to get around this---muslin pyramids, non-paper alternatives, and so on. I've had better bagged tea from ~2015 and on but on average it's subpar. Doesn't mean I still won't drink a lot of it as, especially as I get older, sometimes I cba to set up my pot and rinse and multi-steep loose leaf. The traditional comment is that since you can't see the leaves and the people who buy bagged tea are convenience drinkers the Asians and Indians put all the factory floor sweepings in there while selling the premium buds and leaves as loose leaf. Doubt that's actually the case for Western products but apparently it does remain a real issue in the pu-erh field where sanitation and professionalism is often poor and there is a quasi-accepted market for "good counterfeits" on certain pu'er cakes (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326711) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:42 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) TWG (I think they must be the most expensive teabags in the world) are muslin pyramids, and while they definitely beat Twinings or Lipton bags, they still aren't great. I think the floor sweepings theory is surely right. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326727) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:52 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen iirc There's a hippie couple that runs a stand at a farmer's market here and I've gotten these handwoven good-for-a-couple-uses flax or maybe hemp teabags from them and they have enough structure/give to them to be used with black or green loose leaf pretty reliably. Have purchased similar products at local tea shops and I think off of Amazoid even They can be good if you get ones that aren't bleached and don't have a natural flavor and fill them yourself. Bag flavor doesn't come through with the most common type of tea people drink out of bags, CTC assams, are usually very tannin-y with thick, impenetrable flavors but outside of that you notice the issues with bags quickly |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 1:46 PM Author: lex tyft (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48327502) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:21 AM Author: ...,,..;...,,..,..,...,,,;.., I like TT tea (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326649) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 10:31 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) I never got into it much, I bought some a while ago and made it a couple of times but then let it go stale. I have enjoyed it in India where it fits but I don't really think to make it at home. Will try again. (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326677) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:07 AM Author: Basque man, US citizen TTTea, dbg? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326841) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:08 AM Author: Trump is the Lib Killer (TDNW) just shred some ginger into a French press and add lemon and hot water (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326846) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:10 AM Author: butt cheeks (🍑 Pronouns: Ausländer/Raus döp dödö döp) delicious (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326854) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:23 AM Author: Trump is the Lib Killer (TDNW) Cr
never get amped up from caffeine and gives dat immune system a big BOOST |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:35 AM Author: screenman Genmai-cha - Japanese brown rice tea with matcha powder (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48326989) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:37 AM Author: fetch made baguette Spill all the tea op YAAAAAS (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48327000) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 11:38 AM Author: but at what cost Green (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48327002) |
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Date: November 12th, 2024 1:58 PM Author: Metal Up Your Ass enjoy cancer (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48327551) |
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Date: November 13th, 2024 2:13 PM Author: Basque man, US citizen The fear with that is overrated especially if you stay away from the cheap stuff. Heavy metals have been a problem in the past but China and India have better certification and quality control than in the 90s and a lot of importers will test for this before packaging it for the Western market. It's also something you get exposed to at both ends of the quality scale---low quality tea (cheap; low quality fields) and high quality tea (old family farms where the soil has some special terroir quality but nonetheless have taken a beating in purity from air and water pollution) is where you're most likely to find problems. If it's a big issue for you just stick to Japanese tea, their safety standards are better than China or India Mid-market teas from China (the real problem country) have improved in quality bigly. The real fear with this is fluoride overexposure which lowers bone density in the long run. More of a problem for women than men though and it is over a long time of regular drinking. I don't remember what the mechanism of action is exactly but it's something to do with the way the soil and how tea absorbs it disproportionately from the soil |
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Date: November 16th, 2024 12:53 PM Author: luke screenwatcher (luis) Jafar, what’s a good reasonably priced oolong to buy? (http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5632611&forum_id=2...id#48345207) |
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Date: November 16th, 2024 1:02 PM Author: Basque man, US citizen Tie guan yins (Iron Goddess of Mercy) are probably the most popular oolong varietal in Asia Accessible at a variety of price points, massive variance in flavors, and generally "clean" tasting (for comparison, pu'er and darker oolongs can be thought of as "dirty" or "muddy". Sometimes this is very nice, especially after a heavy meal) Wuyi oolongs are similar but thicker and usually have a mixture of sweet and creamy tastes. Taiwan grown (for any oolong, I mean) is your best bet. Mainland oolongs can be really nice but are also a crapshoot as to quality and what you're actually getting (mislabeling and passing mediocre stuff off as quality are the MOs with mainland Chinese teas. The people of Formosa have lots of certification processes, in comparison) All the same always do a hot water rinse before steeping to remove dust/dirt/excess tannins and also to open up the leaves |