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Springheel Jill posted:This Hiroshima-area company just opened a tiny shop here in Seattle (at University Village) Seattle is a pretty big hub for artisan Asian tea shops. I'd walk into all the tea leaf shops in town to drink samples. At that point choose your favorite style (Chinese/ Japanese/ Korean) and buy an appropriate starter pot so you can learn to make it loose leaf.
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Jan 3, 2012 07:58
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aldantefax posted:Don't you live in Chicago? There has to be some Asian supermarkets around there that will sell cut-rate Zojirushi (and other brands of) water dispensers. I hadn't thought of that. Haven't been in an Asian supermarket in months. Partially because I'm afraid of how many cute little teacups I'd come home with. Speaking of Asian supermarkets--as someone with access to nice, affordable, totally great loose tea should I skip the tea aisle at Asian supermarkets or might there be something tasty and new? I'd think that as long as I can get what I want from a tea shop I should stick with that but maybe there's something in the market that my shop doesn't have.
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Jan 3, 2012 08:12
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Devi posted:I hadn't thought of that. Haven't been in an Asian supermarket in months. Partially because I'm afraid of how many cute little teacups I'd come home with. Cute little tea cups? Have you discovered Jindezhen porcelain yet? For less than $100 USD you can get a master crafted set of egg-shell thin porcelain tea ware that looks gorgeous when held up to the light. You seem like you're headed that way so go look at it now. It's up to your palette whether you will still accept supermarket tea. I've bought grocery store tieguanyin, poured it into a basket and picked out the sticks and twigs. I store it back in an airtight container. It's passable with that bit of love but honestly I'll never use it again. Just an experiment.
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Jan 3, 2012 11:15
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Devi posted:Speaking of Asian supermarkets--as someone with access to nice, affordable, totally great loose tea should I skip the tea aisle at Asian supermarkets or might there be something tasty and new? Doesn't hurt to give it a shot. Foo Joy brand is what you're going to see the most of there in terms of loose leaf, and they are respectably priced for everyday teas that you can just go to a store and pick up. If you have a tea store nearby though you probably don't necessarily need to go pick it up. The grocery store in Chinatown Oakland, CA that I go to some times sells a decent variety of their stuff and also sells 5 lb. bags of Foo Joy's jasmine tea (the bog standard Chinese restaurant stuff) for like 10 bucks. So they're hit and miss - their lychee black tea, for example, tastes like rear end. Other Asian supermarkets may stock other stuff since they are usually family-run, so you might see something like Lupicia teas in Japanese supermarkets and suchlike. Go exploring and you'll probably find something!
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Jan 3, 2012 17:57
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ZombieParts posted:Cute little tea cups? Have you discovered Jindezhen porcelain yet? There aren't a whole lot of reliable sources for nice hand painted Jingdezhen available to Westerners. I can think of a few (mostly Chinese) stores that have some pieces, but the selection is pretty sparse, much like high quality yixing pots.
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Jan 3, 2012 18:06
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Devi posted:Speaking of Asian supermarkets--as someone with access to nice, affordable, totally great loose tea should I skip the tea aisle at Asian supermarkets or might there be something tasty and new? I'd think that as long as I can get what I want from a tea shop I should stick with that but maybe there's something in the market that my shop doesn't have. I strongly suspect that any supermarket will have poo poo tea leaves. That said, the supermarket is a sign that there is an asian community in your town. Maybe just walk up to the oldest person working in the store and ask if there are any tea stores in the area? If not, maybe you can find a vendor at a nearby flea-type market? One could go so far as to play around with google translate, searching the name of your town with the word "tea leaves" in various asian languages...
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Jan 4, 2012 02:11
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I know of plenty of Asian markets in Chicago and the surrounding but I have no idea who would sell "cut rate" Zojirushi stuff. I paid $150 or so for my Zoji rice cooker at H Mart.
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Jan 4, 2012 04:01
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I had taken a trip to Niagara Falls Ontario for New Years Eve(I live in buffalo), and one of the stores there had ice wine tea. I couldn't afford it, but my one friend's mom could and she gave me a couple bags to take home. I wish I could remember the name of the company because holy poo poo, is it ever good. I know it's ceylon tea and I think pieces of the grapes used in ice wine, but I'm not sure. Anyone ever come across anything like this? All I remember is that it was in a red box.
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Jan 4, 2012 05:14
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Captain Stinkybutt posted:I know of plenty of Asian markets in Chicago and the surrounding but I have no idea who would sell "cut rate" Zojirushi stuff. I paid $150 or so for my Zoji rice cooker at H Mart. I was referring more to off brand hot water dispensers, but as long as the idea gets across that they exist there, there should be a range of them, plus cheaper electric water kettles that have a little finer control than a Rival water boiler for around the same price (mostly due to the shape of the spout and such). e: Also if you are actually hard up for cheap tea supplies I can go to my local tea joint and put an order in with them for stuff like heating coils and such.
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Jan 4, 2012 05:18
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^^ fair enough, I guess I just misread. Zojis are pretty dreamy, though!  neogeo0823 posted:I had taken a trip to Niagara Falls Ontario for New Years Eve(I live in buffalo), and one of the stores there had ice wine tea. I couldn't afford it, but my one friend's mom could and she gave me a couple bags to take home. I wish I could remember the name of the company because holy poo poo, is it ever good. I know it's ceylon tea and I think pieces of the grapes used in ice wine, but I'm not sure. Anyone ever come across anything like this? All I remember is that it was in a red box. http://www.culinaryteas.com/Flavored_Teas/Canadian_Ice_Wine_Tea.html http://www.teadog.com/Ice-Wine-Tea-p/mtiw50.htm Neither is a red box but they are both pretty much what you have described. I Googled "ice wine tea"  Sounds tasty though!
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Jan 5, 2012 05:36
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So last year my dad gave me a Teavana gift set for Christmas with some tea and a little glass infuser mug. I loved the poo poo out of that mug and used it all the time. I just went to make a cup and discovered that the basket has a huge crack up the side. Neither I nor my boyfriend remember dropping it or anything, one of us must have bumped it or something. I want another but would like one with a little better quality so it doesn't just randomly break on me. I don't have wads of cash to blow so something nice but not super pricey would be good. Any recommendations? Should I just give up and get one of those little tea balls that annoy me so much? Man I loved my infuser mug, I think I might cry.
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Jan 6, 2012 03:40
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Does it need to be glass? Mug/infuser sets have gotten really popular in the last few years. I got this one for Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Made-Order-Essential-Infuser-Blue/dp/B002CIIFV4/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1325820540&sr=1-2 and it works fine, except 1) I burned the gently caress out of my hand not paying attention to the max fill line and 2) the infuser basket is a little smaller than I'd like. There are many, many variations on the theme though - check the related products on the Amazon link. Don't get a tea ball. 
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Jan 6, 2012 04:31
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Hawkgirl posted:Does it need to be glass? Mug/infuser sets have gotten really popular in the last few years. I got this one for Christmas: http://www.amazon.com/Made-Order-Essential-Infuser-Blue/dp/B002CIIFV4/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1325820540&sr=1-2 and it works fine, except 1) I burned the gently caress out of my hand not paying attention to the max fill line and 2) the infuser basket is a little smaller than I'd like. There are many, many variations on the theme though - check the related products on the Amazon link. Also this. This has served me well and keeps the tea forever hot. (Longer than I would like but does it's job...really well) http://www.amazon.com/Thermos-Nissan-12-Ounce-Stainless-Steel-Tumbler/dp/B00004S1CV
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Jan 6, 2012 04:44
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How has this thread existed for 3+ months without my noticing it? I've been getting more and more into tea lately. I highly recommend the book The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook which talks in excruciating detail about the six different types of tea (black, green, white, oolong, puerh, yellow). Reading that got me to try some yellow tea when I finally found some at Dobra Tea in Madison last weekend. The guys there said it was the Chinese emperor's favorite tea. It wasn't bad, but it was far from my favorite tea, so I'll have to disagree with the emperor on that one. I didn't find it all that different from some green teas either. Since there seem to be a few Chicago people around, I'll give a shout out to the Chicago Tea Garden. The guy who runs it is super nice and has excellent teas, although they aren't cheap. He does cheap or free tastings on a regular basis at his warehouse too. Wish we had a tea cafe in the city that I liked, though. Very excited to have just ordered a Zojirushi water boiler too from Amazon (which has pretty good discounts of MSRP). I've been looking for a new one but hadn't thought to search for "water boiler" instead of "tea kettle" and I couldn't find an electric kettle that had temperature settings and is BPA free.
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Jan 6, 2012 05:18
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I own that particular book and I can say that it is quite useful for identifying teas and getting a quick crash course on them and how they should be prepared and some key differences. It does attempt to approach tea similar to wine, using similar terminology, but is on the whole an easily graspable book and well worth the cost. It is shaped tall and shallow for the pages so you can slip it into a bag, purse, etc without too much issue.
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Jan 6, 2012 06:15
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Look Under The Rock posted:So last year my dad gave me a Teavana gift set for Christmas with some tea and a little glass infuser mug. I loved the poo poo out of that mug and used it all the time. I just went to make a cup and discovered that the basket has a huge crack up the side. Neither I nor my boyfriend remember dropping it or anything, one of us must have bumped it or something. I bought a glass double walled infuser made by "sun's tea" through Amazon and it was nearly identical in construction to my coworker's infuser mug from teavana. Maybe you can contact them for replacement parts?
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Jan 8, 2012 00:34
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Just so everyone knows, Teavana is having a 30%-70% sale on some teas right now, there are a lot of blends available for like $2 for 2 ounces. I think I spent ~$14 and got five different kinds of tea and a few free samples I'd accrued over time and never ordered.
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Jan 8, 2012 16:41
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Hummingbirds posted:Just so everyone knows, Teavana is having a 30%-70% sale on some teas right now, there are a lot of blends available for like $2 for 2 ounces. I think I spent ~$14 and got five different kinds of tea and a few free samples I'd accrued over time and never ordered. Thanks for the tip! looks like most of the on sale teas are sold out on the website; do you know if the sale applies to their stores too?
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Jan 8, 2012 19:39
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Not sure, but it says the sales are for discontinued teas so I'd assume so. I don't usually shop there.
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Jan 8, 2012 21:08
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dik-dik posted:Thanks for the tip! looks like most of the on sale teas are sold out on the website; do you know if the sale applies to their stores too? Yeah, the sale is in store as well and lasts until the end of the month. edit: Also worth noting is that even though some of the teas are currently sold out, Teavana has been getting new supply in online and in stores, usually after only a few days of the tea being out of stock.
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Jan 9, 2012 00:23
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Devi posted:Speaking of Asian supermarkets--as someone with access to nice, affordable, totally great loose tea should I skip the tea aisle at Asian supermarkets or might there be something tasty and new? I'd think that as long as I can get what I want from a tea shop I should stick with that but maybe there's something in the market that my shop doesn't have. Sometimes there will be two tea sections in Asian markets, so be on the lookout. They will have foojoy, yamamotoyama, and bagged ten ren stuff in an aisle, then in front, near the fancier liquor, they will have some fancier Ten Ren stuff, which isn't exactly top notch but it is p good everyday tea from what I hear/read. Scored this gaiwan at a chinese sundries store today for 6bux   
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Jan 9, 2012 09:48
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Fantastic OP! Thanks. I'm just getting into tea (I just quit drinking Soda) and the cheap (or overpriced) packety crap at Walmart has begun to bore me and I'd like to order a few cheap whole leaf leaves to get things started. What recommendations do you guys have? Oh here's the important thing: At the moment I really only enjoy it hot and sweetened with splenda. I will eventually try unsweetened tea but I'd like to avoid teas that shouldn't be sweetened or served hot. Caffeine free is also a plus.
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Jan 10, 2012 01:49
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I think you'd have the happiest time at Adagio. They have a very nice herbal tisane section as well as regular tea. I made the same transition and I found that I eventually developed a taste for unsweetened tea. Just try a sampler that appeals to you.
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Jan 10, 2012 01:56
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I second the Adagio recommendation. Huge variety and good prices. Take a look at teas (and tisanes) with fruit in them. The sugar will compliment the flavors and you shouldn't need much to bring out the sweetness.
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Jan 10, 2012 02:07
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Hummingbirds posted:Just so everyone knows, Teavana is having a 30%-70% sale on some teas right now, there are a lot of blends available for like $2 for 2 ounces. I think I spent ~$14 and got five different kinds of tea and a few free samples I'd accrued over time and never ordered. If anyone's planning to buy $30 or more of stuff at Teavana in the next week (I think), be sure to use this discount code to get $10 off: RMN10OFF30 E: okay so since upton has a ballsload of tea samples for super cheap, I'll probably buy like 10-15 different kinds and try them out. What are some ones you guys recommend? I'm planning to buy a few oolongs, a few greens, a few blacks. Any specific teas I should try? Left to my own devices I'll probably just buy a few of the bestsellers in each category, but if anyone here has a favorite Upton tea I'd love to try it. dik-dik fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Jan 10, 2012 |
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Jan 10, 2012 03:10
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I know I just made this recommendation myself, but has anyone tried the herbal tisanes from Adagio? I have their peppermint tea and it is great. I'm a little interested in their fruity blends. I get home late on weekdays and caffeine really fucks up my sleep, so I don't get to enjoy tea as much as I'd like. 
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Jan 10, 2012 04:10
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Hawkgirl posted:I know I just made this recommendation myself, but has anyone tried the herbal tisanes from Adagio? I have their peppermint tea and it is great. I'm a little interested in their fruity blends. I get home late on weekdays and caffeine really fucks up my sleep, so I don't get to enjoy tea as much as I'd like. I think I tried the blood orange and it was delicious. So is wild strawberry. As long as we're talking caffeine-free, the honeybush mango is the best flavored rooibos I've had.
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Jan 10, 2012 05:11
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I don't want to get into the green has more caffeine then black debate. I simply want to know what green and black tea's should I pick up that are guaranteed to pick me up? What do you guys recommend? Also, is there enough L-theanine in tea to actually boost mental alertness, or is it too insignificant to actually matter?
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Jan 10, 2012 05:50
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Dick Smegma posted:I don't want to get into the green has more caffeine then black debate. I simply want to know what green and black tea's should I pick up that are guaranteed to pick me up? What do you guys recommend? I'm also interested in this. I'm trying to slow down on all the energy drinks I consume at school, so I just ordered this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001Q3L9PA/ref=oh_o00_s01_i00_details I've been enjoying oolongs quite a bit, but I would definitely love to know what teas can give me the biggest boost.
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Jan 10, 2012 06:50
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dik-dik posted:If anyone's planning to buy $30 or more of stuff at Teavana in the next week (I think), be sure to use this discount code to get $10 off: RMN10OFF30 I really love their Hubei Province Keemun Ji Hong. So good, so cheap. The Yunnan Rare is also worth checking out, and they have a pleasant Irish Breakfast. Baker's Street Afternoon is good if you like smoky teas. Also, this isn't really tea, but their tins and especially their super cheap resealable bags are excellent for keeping herbs/spices/etc.
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Jan 10, 2012 07:32
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dik-dik posted:If anyone's planning to buy $30 or more of stuff at Teavana in the next week (I think), be sure to use this discount code to get $10 off: RMN10OFF30 oh man, awesome, I just got five different teas (6oz/4oz on most of them) and a pound of rock sugar for $26 shipped to Anchorage, that's insane. thank you for the code, and thank you to Hummingbirds for the headsup.
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Jan 10, 2012 15:09
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Dick Smegma posted:I don't want to get into the green has more caffeine then black debate. I simply want to know what green and black tea's should I pick up that are guaranteed to pick me up? What do you guys recommend? This is my favorite article on caffeine in tea and it lists some general types of tea that are more likely to be higher in caffeine.
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Jan 10, 2012 16:16
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Would it do any harm to brew enough green tea for a few cups and stick it in a thermos?
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Jan 12, 2012 05:31
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I don't see the harm in it. Just make sure that when you're done with the Thermos at the end of the day you clean it out well.
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Jan 12, 2012 05:36
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TRIP REPORT Passed by a fantastic tea shop in Oakland's Chinatown that aldantefax recommended to me in irc (#tea-chat on synirc, come on in). (Lilly's Golden Tea Shop) Picked up some teagear:  And a couple of teas. They were very helpful and prepared a few infusions at their tea table in the back to sample the teas I was interested in.  Walked away with a ti guan yin and a looseleaf sheng pu erh.
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Jan 12, 2012 05:54
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GrAviTy84 posted:Awesome tea shop stuff. I really wish I could find a place like that around me (Fort Worth, TX). Oh well, I've enjoyed most of the teas I've bought from Adagio so far. Been pretty much just buying the sampler packs. The only tea I've found so far that I absolutely loved was an oolong called formosa bai hao (http://www.adagio.com/oolong/formosa_fancy.html). Unfortunately it's fairly pricey, and I haven't been able to find it any cheaper from the other websites listed in the OP.
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Jan 12, 2012 06:15
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Dick Smegma posted:Would it do any harm to brew enough green tea for a few cups and stick it in a thermos? The only "harm" I could see would be if you left the leaves in and even that might not be so bad since it's green tea (and you don't use boiling water). Time doesn't hurt tea--especially a couple of hours or a day. I accidentally left some green tea steeping for an hour. By the time I realized I'd left it, it'd already been 16 minutes and I was too embarrassed to tell my boss I needed to go deal with tea. After an hour it was still drinkable. The flavor (cinnamon toffee) was gone but it wasn't bitter or anything. I didn't try rebrewing it later, though. Figured the leaves had given their all and I have some bagged tea at work from before I became a tea snob. Monday I had some Strawberry Paraiso at a friend's house. It's really good. Good enough to get me to get over my dislike of Teavana enough to go tonight. I picked up 2 oz of it and 2 oz of Golden Jade since it's 75% off. The salespeople were annoying but not enough to get me to walk out. I did want to smack one guy with a cast iron teapot for not getting the hint that I wanted to look, but that was a common theme at the mall today. I got a cup of Amandine Rose to go and now I want that, too. Thankfully the saleslady tried to sell me a pound of the Golden Jade (it'd be such a bargain! The tea is guaranteed for one year with one of their over priced canisters!) and that kept me from buying more. My friend who had the Strawberry Paraiso also has the Zojirushi Gold Hot Water Dispenser and I saw that at Teavana. That thing is wonderful. If I had more counter space and $150 I could harmlessly spend on something I don't need, it would be mine.
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Jan 12, 2012 06:27
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Most hot water heater/dispensers like that are made with similar technology to one another. I don't have a Zojirushi, I have a Sunpentown which is a few bucks cheaper. What they'll do is boil the water and then cool to the desired temperature and keep it there. I have seen ones that are quite cheap, but it just takes a bit of shopping around. I got a 4L Rosewill brand one that does three temperatures for 35 + shipping, I think they normally go for 45-60 these days. edit; also, as gravity mentioned, there is a channel to talk about tea on synIRC: #tea-chat! Feel free to stop by.
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Jan 12, 2012 19:03
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GrAviTy84 posted:TRIP REPORT Thanks for the nice pics/ report. What kind of pot do you plan to brew the Pu Er in? The reason I ask is that its strong smell will completely "take over" the pot. I'd recommend one pot for aged teas/ pu er/ black tea and a separate pot for oolong/ lighter teas (this includes your Tie Guan Yin). This way, your "lighter" type teas will begin to taste better and better as you season the pot through successive brews of only lighter teas. Of course, like all things tea prep, this is not the one and only opinion (but the majority of Taiwanese mostly drink light oolong and have a specially relegated pot for it). I also know a tea farmer who told me that that's all bullshit and I may as well just brew anything in anything. One view of pots that's a little more universally accepted is that Pu Er is best brewed in a thick walled vessel (I think most Zi Sha pots fit this description), whereas oolongs are better brewed from the thin walled variety. This has something to do with water temperature, but I don't really know more than "oolong should be brewed hot-as-poo poo and Pu Er shouldn't." Also, what is your opinion of sheng vs. shou Pu Er? And how many brews can you get out of the Pu Er you bought before the leaves are spent? The best thing about this kind of shop is sitting and bullshitting about tea all afternoon until the boss has gotten you tea-drunk. I recommend going back to the same guy again, cause he will know that you're a real customer and hopefully make even more tea next time.
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Jan 13, 2012 02:24
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