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Thoht
Aug 3, 2006

Their oolong sampler is indeed a good place to start I think because it covers most of the spectrum of types of oolongs (as much as 4 teas can anyway). Once you've decided which of the general styles you like you can start getting deeper into it trying more varieties.

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Canadian Bakin
Nov 6, 2011

Retaliate first.
Thanks again, guys! I've bookmarked everything to show my sister later. I get the feeling the tea cupboard at the house is going to be well stocked soon.

Ghost of Reagan Past
Oct 7, 2003

rock and roll fun

Thoht posted:

Their oolong sampler is indeed a good place to start I think because it covers most of the spectrum of types of oolongs (as much as 4 teas can anyway). Once you've decided which of the general styles you like you can start getting deeper into it trying more varieties.
Sweet. I'd order the Upton oolong sampler right now but I have a lot of other tea that I want to go through before I order it. I actually just got the Adagio Formosa oolong sample with some other stuff and it's pretty tasty on multiple brews. Going to try it gongfu style sometime this week, which I've never done, so it should be interesting.

And when I was looking for a gaiwan to buy online (I used one all the time at my favorite Chinese restaurant when I lived in Houston, which has sadly closed, and still want one), I saw this, so gently caress it, let's do it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8FMHudkfU0

ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS

I went out and bought some organic Spartan apples and a plant that says "Peppermint Variegated" on the caresheet. The apples are sliced thin and drying out in my oven (the lowest setting for almost a couple days now).

Am I missing anything? Are the apples or peppermint I chose the right varieties? The plant nursery had a shitton of varieties

Any suggestions?

ante fucked around with this message at 06:46 on Jun 21, 2013

breaks
May 12, 2001

No experience with david's specifically but most flavored teas are sprayed with extracts of whatever (ie "natural flavors") and the bits and pieces are really more for show. There are some exceptions for things that infuse in a similar way to tea, like mint. In general though you will probably need to blend some extracts and then spray a base tea with that to truly replicate these sorts of teas.

I don't mean to discourage you from trying whatever, it may well turn out great, just something to be aware of. If you aren't using extracts you'll probably have the most luck with other leafy material.

breaks fucked around with this message at 08:26 on Jun 13, 2013

milpreve
Feb 29, 2012

breaks posted:

...but most flavored teas are sprayed with extracts of whatever (ie "natural flavors")...

This is actually why I stopped drinking a lot of flavored teas. I'm really sensitive to their (over)use at Teavana, where they use smell to lure you in. I have returned several bags of overpriced potpourri, and now I always taste in a cup to go before buying.

Anyway,

ante posted:

From internetting it, it's made of raspberry leaf, apple, juniper berries, peppermint, and natural flavours.


I went out and bought some organic Spartan apples and a plant that says "Peppermint Variegated" on the caresheet. The apples are sliced thin and drying out in my oven (the lowest setting for almost a couple days now). Sometime next week I'm going to go to a local raspberry farm and ask if I can pick some leaves, even though I don't think it's raspberry season for another month or two. I'll sundry the raspberry and peppermint leaves maybe. Dried juniper berries should be available locally, I'll be checking that out tomorrow.

Remember that ingredient lists go in order of content. Let your mint leaves and raspberry leaves dry completely after being washed for the best infusion. The variety you got is likely fine. As they are herbs, they are usually done in pieces instead of whole leaf, but I don't think that matters.

Raspberry leaves are the basis of your tea. There are more apple pieces and juniper berries than mint. Juniper can get strong, but apple pieces seem pretty mild. Mint can overpower, so use sparingly at first. Usually I see them in cube-ish shapes, but thin slices should be fine. Forget about the "natural flavors," you don't need to add them. If you want to, though, maybe just spray the apple slices so you can bin them if they are terrible. If you have any teas with dried apple pieces, taste one to see and go from there.

You can infuse each ingredient separately to get a sense of their steeping strength. Just do them all at boiling for the same time (5 mins?), since they will infuse that way once blended. Mix your liquids as desired, and then you know the proportion by which to blend your tea.

Good luck!

ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS
Thanks guys, that helps a lot.

platedlizard
Aug 31, 2012

I like plates and lizards.
Who makes the best Russian Caravan? I used to drink it all the time but it was so long ago that I can't remember where I got it.

Enfys
Feb 17, 2013

The ocean is calling and I must go

I still can't figure out if I like sencha or not, or if I am doing weird things making it sometimes, or what. The first couple of times I made it, I really didn't like it. Then I decided to try it again, and it was absolutely fantastic. It seems like it's a total hit or miss tea for me - either I can't stand the taste, or it is perfectly lovely, and I have no idea what it is as I'm keeping the water temperature and brewing time the same :confused:

DurianGray
Dec 23, 2010

King of Fruits
How closely are you monitoring your tea leaf to water ratio? Other than time and temperature, that's the one other metric I can think of that can seriously effect how your tea is turning out.

I'm going to go an head and segue that into mentioning that some teas are more dense than others because of the techniques used to cure or "roll" them. Like a Dragon or Phoenix Pearl sort of tea is going to be super densely packed compared to something like say this http://www.adagio.com/green/earl_grey_green.html?SID=9f1f4898c4c8f1b9931062347846f4ae green tea where the leaves are hardly compressed.

This is a reason why some people use kitchen scales to measure out their tea instead of a tea-spoon. Personally, I just eyeball things and use trial and error to figure out what I like, but if you've got something that you really want to make sure you're making consistently, a reliable measuring system is a good idea.

Eeyo
Aug 29, 2004

Anybody have a favorite lapsang souchong? I like mixing a little bit into other teas for a slight smokiness kind of like russian caravan (I've been putting some in my turkish tea). Occasionally I'll have a cup 'O smoke by itself. The stuff I got was mystery brand from the bulk bin at my local hippy grocery store, so I don't know who made it.

milpreve
Feb 29, 2012

Eeyo posted:

Anybody have a favorite lapsang souchong? I like mixing a little bit into other teas for a slight smokiness kind of like russian caravan (I've been putting some in my turkish tea). Occasionally I'll have a cup 'O smoke by itself. The stuff I got was mystery brand from the bulk bin at my local hippy grocery store, so I don't know who made it.

I was going to ask this same question. I got a sample from Upton, and I loved it so much I've drank it all.

Editing to add: I enjoyed the Lapsang Souchong Imperial. (Steepster wouldn't load before, so I couldn't check until now.)

milpreve fucked around with this message at 15:47 on Jun 20, 2013

ntan1
Apr 29, 2009

sempai noticed me

Enfys posted:

I still can't figure out if I like sencha or not, or if I am doing weird things making it sometimes, or what. The first couple of times I made it, I really didn't like it. Then I decided to try it again, and it was absolutely fantastic. It seems like it's a total hit or miss tea for me - either I can't stand the taste, or it is perfectly lovely, and I have no idea what it is as I'm keeping the water temperature and brewing time the same :confused:

Loose Leaf? Sencha is one of the harder teas to make. This is why I'm really really picky about the specific pot I use for Sencha and times/ratios. Here's the best way to make Sencha

You want about 1-2 tbsp of leaf. It depends on the specific area the leaf comes from, but 1.5 is usually my starting point (translates to about 8grams of loose leaf). You want about 210ml of water (close to half a cup).

Preheat the tea vessel. Meanwhile, take boiling water and put it into a cup. Wait 10 seconds, then poor it into another cup. You can save time by using the tea vessel as the first cup you pour the water into (This will bring the temperature of water down to 68C-75C, if you want to measure it out). Put tea leaf in the empty tea vessel now.

Pour the water over. Wait 1-1:30, depending on taste (1:30 is pretty bitter, 1:00 is mellow). Pour all of the tea out quickly at this point.

Remember, with loose leaf Sencha, you want a fine mesh filter for the tea as you're pouring :).

An Apple A Gay
Oct 21, 2008

I'm looking for suggestions to replace my 5th tea ball. I've tried several from amazon, one from target, and none have held up to constant use. I use a medium sized ceramic tea pot, add boiling water. I don't mind some floaties, but I'd like something that will last. These 5 dollar balls aren't cutting it.

I'm wary of anything plastic, but I'm open to anything besides the single mug tea spoons. Thanks guys.

Ghost of Reagan Past
Oct 7, 2003

rock and roll fun

DJ BK posted:

I'm looking for suggestions to replace my 5th tea ball. I've tried several from amazon, one from target, and none have held up to constant use. I use a medium sized ceramic tea pot, add boiling water. I don't mind some floaties, but I'd like something that will last. These 5 dollar balls aren't cutting it.

I'm wary of anything plastic, but I'm open to anything besides the single mug tea spoons. Thanks guys.

Don't get a tea ball! Get a mug infuser!

Here's one, and I have this at my office. Works fine.

KingColliwog
May 15, 2003

Let's go droogs

DJ BK posted:

I'm looking for suggestions to replace my 5th tea ball. I've tried several from amazon, one from target, and none have held up to constant use. I use a medium sized ceramic tea pot, add boiling water. I don't mind some floaties, but I'd like something that will last. These 5 dollar balls aren't cutting it.

I'm wary of anything plastic, but I'm open to anything besides the single mug tea spoons. Thanks guys.

yeah, go with mug infusers. Most options will be fine. My girlfriend has a David's tea one and it's extremely well made, much better than my lovely mesh one. (it's like the first link of the poster above, mine is like is second link. Get the first one if you can afford it)

Also, a mug infuser will give more space for your tea to expand which is great for some teas.

Molten Llama
Sep 20, 2006
If anybody else is interested, Verdant Tea's currently running a 5 for $5 special for new customers.

Five bucks gets you 10 gram samples of their Laoshan Black, Laoshan Green, Hand Picked Tieguanyin, Yunnan White Jasmine, and Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong. USPS shipping and a $5 coupon are included in the price.

I've been receiving their newsletter for about a year but never bought anything because I couldn't make a decision (or it sold out before i did). Five teas for no dollars and no choices to make was an easy sell.

Hummingbirds
Feb 17, 2011

Molten Llama posted:

If anybody else is interested, Verdant Tea's currently running a 5 for $5 special for new customers.

Five bucks gets you 10 gram samples of their Laoshan Black, Laoshan Green, Hand Picked Tieguanyin, Yunnan White Jasmine, and Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong. USPS shipping and a $5 coupon are included in the price.

I've been receiving their newsletter for about a year but never bought anything because I couldn't make a decision (or it sold out before i did). Five teas for no dollars and no choices to make was an easy sell.

Hell yeah, thanks for this.

Tambreet
Nov 28, 2006

Ninja Platypus
Muldoon
Sadly I'm not a new customer (I'm still a member of their tea of the month club), but that's definitely not a deal to pass up... Verdant is one of my favorite online tea retailers.

milpreve
Feb 29, 2012
I got mine a few days ago, I saw the promo on Steepster. The Tieguanyin is the autumn, in case that matters to anyone. I haven't tried any yet, so no tasting notes, but I'm looking forward to trying them! It was a good mix, all teas that I expect to like.

Jared592
Jan 23, 2003
JARED NUMBERS: BACK IN ACTION
Going to buy some matcha soon to give it a shot. Anyone know any particular stuff to avoid? From what I've read, food grade is not good for actual straight drinking (best for other stuff like smoothies) and ceremony-grade is what you want.

ntan1
Apr 29, 2009

sempai noticed me
You really need a whisk.

Oh, and good matcha is very expensive.

Hekk
Oct 12, 2012

'smeper fi

I am looking for a cost effective and tasty loose leaf tea for cold brewing iced tea. I know there are a million and one different types of tea and some are better suited for drinking iced. I've tried drinking the Harney and Sons CTC Assam iced but it's too strong and overpowers everything without heavy sugar. Right now I have been using an inexpensive green tea I bought off of Amazon that's served it's purpose ok. I'd really like just an unblended and unflavored black tea that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and makes a nice traditional iced tea. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thoht
Aug 3, 2006

Ceylon's pretty classic for iced tea. You could give this one from Upton a go.

platedlizard
Aug 31, 2012

I like plates and lizards.
I've been rocking some nice peppermint suntea with all this hot weather.

Jared592
Jan 23, 2003
JARED NUMBERS: BACK IN ACTION

ntan1 posted:

You really need a whisk.

Oh, and good matcha is very expensive.
Nah I'm just going to rail lines of the stuff. ;)

Yep, the problem I'm encountering is that, since all matcha is very expensive, I want to make sure the stuff I'm buying is decent. Whole Foods had zero straight matcha, but rather had a bunch of blends of matcha and other stuff.

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'

Hekk posted:

I am looking for a cost effective and tasty loose leaf tea for cold brewing iced tea. I know there are a million and one different types of tea and some are better suited for drinking iced. I've tried drinking the Harney and Sons CTC Assam iced but it's too strong and overpowers everything without heavy sugar. Right now I have been using an inexpensive green tea I bought off of Amazon that's served it's purpose ok. I'd really like just an unblended and unflavored black tea that doesn't cost an arm and a leg and makes a nice traditional iced tea. Any suggestions are appreciated.

I used some Hime brand bancha, 5 US bucks for like 4 oz means you can brew roughly 50 liters of tea (like 10 grams for 2 liters). Pack into some type of holding device like a tea sock or disposable open fill tea bag, fill with cold filtered water, let sit in fridge for a few hours. Cheap sencha is also good, and barley (mugicha) is a classic familiar drink.

Try also reducing the amount of leaf if you're using a CTC or dilute prior to service, add lemon and a touch of simple syrup or fresh juice to taste.

Sirotan
Oct 17, 2006

Sirotan is a seal.


My favorite kind of iced 'tea' is mugicha. It's just roasted barley but a staple drink during hot Japanese summers. You can probably find it at any Asian grocery store, House brand is pretty good though there are probably plenty of varieties to choose from:



It should already be in a ready-to-use bag, just drop it into your pitcher, add water, and wait ~4hrs. You can leave the bag in when it's done too.

Etrips
Nov 9, 2004

Having Teemo Problems?
I Feel Bad For You, Son.
I Got 99 Shrooms
And You Just Hit One.
Hey all!

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a "fruity" type of mate (I think this is the right terminology?) The one in particular I really like is from Teavana, Samurai Chai Mate. However I wanted to see if there was anything out there that would taste better / be cheaper.

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS
Dec 21, 2010
Sorry if I missed this somewhere in the last 33 pages, but is there a good place to get Japanese-style green teas (sentya, genmaitya, gyokuro, etc.)? I've ordered from Adagio since Dragonwater stopped selling most regular teas but man, I was in Kyoto and got some really good genmaitya and well... the stuff on Adagio is nothing like that.

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS fucked around with this message at 04:21 on Jul 2, 2013

Rawrbomb
Mar 11, 2011

rawrrrrr

Etrips posted:

Hey all!

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a "fruity" type of mate (I think this is the right terminology?) The one in particular I really like is from Teavana, Samurai Chai Mate. However I wanted to see if there was anything out there that would taste better / be cheaper.

David's Tea has a nice fruity mate: http://www.davidstea.com/main-squeeze?&TF=A3D8A15D878C&DEID=

It is pretty awesome.

Edit: not sure its cheaper though.

defectivemonkey
Jun 5, 2012

Etrips posted:

Hey all!

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a "fruity" type of mate (I think this is the right terminology?) The one in particular I really like is from Teavana, Samurai Chai Mate. However I wanted to see if there was anything out there that would taste better / be cheaper.

Again, it may not be cheaper, but Mighty Leaf Rainforest Mate is delicious. Only comes in bags, but they're full leaf.

breaks
May 12, 2001

RICHUNCLEPENNYBAGS posted:

Sorry if I missed this somewhere in the last 33 pages, but is there a good place to get Japanese-style green teas (sentya, genmaitya, gyokuru, etc.)? I've ordered from Adagio since Dragonwater stopped selling most regular teas but man, I was in Kyoto and got some really good genmaitya and well... the stuff on Adagio is nothing like that.

I usually order from Hibiki-an these days. O-cha is good for fukamushi. I've ordered from Yuuki-cha before and it was alright, but not as good as what I've gotten from Hibiki-an or O-cha. There's also Maiko but I've never ordered from there. I'm sure there's others also...

breaks fucked around with this message at 02:45 on Jul 2, 2013

Devi
Jan 15, 2006

CYCLOPS
WAS RIGHT

Molten Llama posted:

If anybody else is interested, Verdant Tea's currently running a 5 for $5 special for new customers.

Five bucks gets you 10 gram samples of their Laoshan Black, Laoshan Green, Hand Picked Tieguanyin, Yunnan White Jasmine, and Shui Jin Gui Wuyi Oolong. USPS shipping and a $5 coupon are included in the price.

I've been receiving their newsletter for about a year but never bought anything because I couldn't make a decision (or it sold out before i did). Five teas for no dollars and no choices to make was an easy sell.

Just got mine today. Haven't tried any yet since I just got home from work. It's a good amount of tea for $5. Especially since you get a code for $5 off an order with it.

But now I have to watch the water temperature and pay attention. I got a Breville One Touch Tea Maker from Woot and I quickly got used to dumping things in the pot and letting the machine do all the work. I've only used a kettle maybe twice when I was making black tea and wanted an exact amount. There's not enough in the Verdant samples to make the smallest amount in the Breville but I can at least use that to get water at the right temperature.

This was going to be my research project tonight (Friday nights in a library tend to be quiet) but I actually didn't get a chance and this would be a good place to ask. I have a lot of travel mugs and most of them are scented now from tea. I make tea in the morning and drink it over an 8 hour period (I need to drink faster). I usually come home and rinse the cup out but sometimes I don't do that until the morning. Now most of the cups smell like whatever tea I was drinking a lot of when I last used them. They don't smell rank but mint or berry or whatever clashes with other tea. Does anyone have any good ways of getting smells out? Or recommendations of travel mugs that don't absorb odors?

Shnooks
Mar 24, 2007

I'M BEING BORN D:

breaks posted:

I usually order from Hibiki-an these days. O-cha is good for fukamushi. I've ordered from Yuuki-cha before and it was alright, but not as good as what I've gotten from Hibiki-an or O-cha. There's also Maiko but I've never ordered from there. I'm sure there's others also...

Wow, Hibiki-an gives a lot of tea for the price :stare:

Edit: I was looking at the Sencha category and it's all like 200g bags aaaaaa

Bees on Wheat
Jul 18, 2007

I've never been happy



QUAIL DIVISION
Buglord

Molten Llama posted:

If anybody else is interested, Verdant Tea's currently running a 5 for $5 special for new customers.

I got mine yesterday morning and so far I've only tried the tieguanyin. It's pretty good, but I don't think I used nearly enough for my pot. One of these days I'll get some sort of scale and actually measure my teas properly.

Hummingbirds
Feb 17, 2011

Mizufusion posted:

I got mine yesterday morning and so far I've only tried the tieguanyin. It's pretty good, but I don't think I used nearly enough for my pot. One of these days I'll get some sort of scale and actually measure my teas properly.

The only thing I've tried of my Verdant samples was the Yunnan white jasmine and drat, it is good. I am absolutely going to buy some. It's so perfectly floral and sweet and smells amazing.

Enfys
Feb 17, 2013

The ocean is calling and I must go

I have a couple oolong and yixing questions. Would Oriental Beauty tea be catagorised as a high mountain oolong or more of a roasty variety like dong ding? It says it is non-roasted, but then it is also apparently grown in lower elevations. I'm mainly asking because I was given a few yixing pots, and I was thinking of dividing my oolongs into high mountain and roasty varieties - or would there be a better way to do it?

Also thanks to DurianGray and ntan1 for the advice about the sencha. I wasn't really paying that much attention to how much leaf I was using. Using a bit less leaf and preparing it as ntan1 suggested has resulted in consistently lovely tea :)

Enfys fucked around with this message at 03:37 on Feb 22, 2014

aldantefax
Oct 10, 2007

ALWAYS BE MECHFISHIN'

Enfys posted:

I have a couple oolong and yixing questions. Would Oriental Beauty tea be catagorised as a high mountain oolong or more of a roasty variety like dong ding? It says it is non-roasted, but then it is also apparently grown in lower elevations. I'm mainly asking because I was given a few yixing pots, and I was thinking of dividing my oolongs into high mountain and roasty varieties - or would there be a better way to do it? I've never used yixing pots before. For instance, would it be ok to use the same pot for tie guan yin and dong ding?

Also thanks to DurianGray and ntan1 for the advice about the sencha. I wasn't really paying that much attention to how much leaf I was using. Using a bit less leaf and preparing it as ntan1 suggested has resulted in consistently lovely tea :)

It's a matter of personal preference - I just use whatever oolongs in my yixing that I've been using, and I'm sure that terrifies/angers some people. At the very least, though, I would say to keep whole categories separate - don't brew puerh and black teas in a pot you're seasoning for oolongs, etc.

You may find this guide useful which I came upon recently: http://teaguardian.com/yixing-teapot-feature.html

edit: here's a direct quote.

quote:

one pot one tea variety

Because of the micropores of the material, which giving Yixing clay its "breathing" property and potential to render fine infusion, the taste matters of tea also very gradually build up into the pot too. This is good and bad for the user. The good part is that with repeated use, the infusion itself actually improves. The bad part is that you cannot use the same pot for a different variety of tea to avoid conflicting taste substances from different tea blending together. For example, a green style tieguanyin cannot be steeped in a pot that has been used to make golden tip puer, or even a bouquet style Phoenix oolong. If you ever made such mistakes, re-prime the pot all over again, but boil it with water two times in the cleaning step instead of once.

aldantefax fucked around with this message at 15:50 on Jul 11, 2013

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ante
Apr 9, 2005

SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS
What's the deal with traditional looking cast iron kettles?

From what I've read, you shouldn't boil water in cast iron teapots because you'll ruin enamel coated inside. But there are kettles that you can use on the stove, right?

What should I look for in those and where would I get one? I'll be in Kamloops or Vancouver area in B.C.for the next little bit. Places like teavana only seem to have teapots for sale with warnings not to heat their poo poo directly

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