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Wandering Orange posted:Here's one vote for the IngenuiTea from Adagio along with their Earl Gray Bravo (loose leaf). It is a bit of a gadget but I like it better than the basket strainers I have. Also, the Tattle Tea Earl Gray Black Tea on Amazon is decent but does not have as much bergamot flavor as Adagio's, for better or worse. I have an IngenuiTEA that I really like too, but it can be a bit of a pain to clean sometimes, as liquid can get trapped inside. I haven't really used mine since I got this little glass teapot from IKEA: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/40297848/ They also have a larger model here: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90150071/
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Mar 13, 2016 04:14
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It's not really that hard to clean. Just push on the side of the plastic post for the mesh till it pops then poke out the stopper at the bottom, both should come right out. Wash then leave it apart till it dries.
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Mar 13, 2016 15:43
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goodness posted:I'm looking to get a gift for a friend and I know he likes green teas. I wanted to get a gaiwan? and maybe a pot, along with a couple teas or a good variety pack? Budget ~50-100 Reposting for new page
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Mar 13, 2016 16:29
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It looks like idestea, a fairly new vendor, is doing 75% off first month of their subscription service (coupon code: ides75sub). Given that it makes the first month of the highest level $9.75 for a total of 210g of tea, I'm definitely trying that out.
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Mar 14, 2016 20:38
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kirtar posted:It looks like idestea, a fairly new vendor, is doing 75% off first month of their subscription service (coupon code: ides75sub). Given that it makes the first month of the highest level $9.75 for a total of 210g of tea, I'm definitely trying that out. Can you just cancel after the first month?
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Mar 14, 2016 20:45
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Ineffiable posted:Can you just cancel after the first month? I plan to. They use Paypal for payments  , so worst case I can delete the recurring payment from that end.
kirtar fucked around with this message at 20:53 on Mar 14, 2016 |
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Mar 14, 2016 20:50
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Is there a thread favorite for matcha? I love matcha and want to start making it at home, but I feel like there are so many options, or they're like $70 for a tin. I was looking for something more towards the sweeter side to make.
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Mar 15, 2016 14:21
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I bought this a few months ago http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00IMBSGNW/ref=mp_s_a_1_5_a_it?qid=1458129031&sr=8-5&keywords=matcha+green+tea It's culinary grade and I do plan to use it for cooking, but it's not bad for making a cup every now and then. I've always sweetened it a bit and it tastes fine to me. I'm not an expert with matcha at all though, so it could be total swill compared to the crazy expensive ceremonial grade stuff.
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Mar 16, 2016 12:57
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aldantefax posted:It's coming next week (I thought it was coming two weeks ago, then it was updated to come this week, but now instead it's coming next week). I will certainly share pictures! So, it's coming in another week, here is a picture though:  The moving company is incorrigible.
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Mar 20, 2016 17:08
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So it's some kind of super awesome dedicated tea table?
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Mar 20, 2016 17:25
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It used to be the table that was at the Aroma Tea Shop in San Francisco (the one in Chinatown). The owner's wife said that the table was too big for the storefront, so their loss is my gain (even though I had to get it shipped). It has dedicated drainage for preparation, which I fully intend to leverage pretty much constantly while I'm drinking.
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Mar 20, 2016 17:43
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Oh my god i know that table. Please tell me that Aroma isn't closing up shop or hard-up for money or anything.
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Mar 21, 2016 09:14
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Reiterpallasch posted:Oh my god i know that table. Please tell me that Aroma isn't closing up shop or hard-up for money or anything. No, but they wanted to replace that table since it was too big for the Chinatown storefront and I said "ooh, give me that" and they obliged along with some of the matching stools. I also found out that the granite countertop version of that weighs somewhere close to a ton and cost about ten grand before shipping from China. The owner mentioned he'll probably just replace the table with an IKEA one or something.
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Mar 21, 2016 16:16
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aldantefax posted:So, it's coming in another week, here is a picture though: Oh poo poo. I remember that table. I hope you have a lot of guests because that thing always made a great impression when people visited me in the city and I took them there.
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Mar 21, 2016 20:57
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What even is that table?
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Mar 21, 2016 21:03
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I've been addicted to loose Jasmine Green that I got pretty inexpensively at the asian grocery store. Do 3 brief steeps with under-boiling water. Any way to kinda elevate this? I do enjoy green tea that is kinda oceanic tasting, maybe I could do a 50:50 blend with something. 
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Mar 21, 2016 21:30
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Futaba Anzu posted:What even is that table? It's basically a casino poker table but for tea.
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Mar 21, 2016 21:35
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Once I have it in my possession (the actual ETA should be this Thursday) then I can certainly do a demonstration of it. However, basically it is for gongfu preparation and has drainage in the middle which empties to whatever you would like to run a hose to, typically a bucket. This is mostly important for drinking a lot of tea in high volume but it's also a handmade piece of work that is meant to last basically forever with proper care, even under constant usage.
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Mar 22, 2016 00:47
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Was gifted a certificate to Teavana for Christmas, and finally went in yesterday to spend it and finally re-remembered why I hate getting tea there. The sales person was super pushy, they were way overselling the health benefits, and honestly their tea was incredibly expensive. I do enjoy getting to smell the tea before I buy it and there were a lot of unique flavored variants (including the lime herbal I bought, which'll make a bomb cold tea), it's too expensive for the amount I drink. Also, the person just would not take my word that I knew how to brew tea.
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Mar 22, 2016 17:08
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Sanguinary Novel posted:Was gifted a certificate to Teavana for Christmas, and finally went in yesterday to spend it and finally re-remembered why I hate getting tea there. The sales person was super pushy, they were way overselling the health benefits, and honestly their tea was incredibly expensive. I do enjoy getting to smell the tea before I buy it and there were a lot of unique flavored variants (including the lime herbal I bought, which'll make a bomb cold tea), it's too expensive for the amount I drink. Also, the person just would not take my word that I knew how to brew tea. The person who gave you this gift card doesn't really like you. Take them off your 'christmas card list. I bought a bunch of loose hibiscus for brewing beer. Anyone have pointers on finding the right ratio for blending it into some black tea or maybe some dragonwell that's starting to get past it's age?
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Mar 22, 2016 18:41
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Here is that thing that I bought: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_Bsx53viMc I'm determining what to do with the spigot stuff. I'd like to use it for dispensing freshwater, but more likely I will probably just cap it off. I'll also probably replace the power strip with a proper voltage one and figure out what to do with the switch block (all of these things will make more sense if you see the video).
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Mar 31, 2016 23:44
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I shot two more videos, mostly for self reference but I'll throw them here in case anybody wants to see more of this table: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_DUuYYhqOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grnAbZm_c80
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Apr 2, 2016 04:35
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aldantefax posted:Here is that thing that I bought: This thing is insane and awesome. My wife will let me get away with putting a bar with kegs inside in my living space, but I doubt I could get permission for something like that.
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Apr 2, 2016 23:02
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Just tried brewing some Chun Mee in the Moroccan style with dried peppermint, and it worked really well. I think I might even prefer the Chun Mee to the traditional Gunpowder.
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Apr 3, 2016 01:39
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Went to a tea tasting at a local, tiny shop and now I am hooked. Ditching the coffee mug and grocery store tea bags, just ordered a gaiwan and cups online plus a sampler from what-cha. Time to become obsessed with another random hobby.
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Apr 5, 2016 08:14
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Ptolemaeus posted:Went to a tea tasting at a local, tiny shop and now I am hooked. Ditching the coffee mug and grocery store tea bags, just ordered a gaiwan and cups online plus a sampler from what-cha. Time to become obsessed with another random hobby. On the other hand, it can be a hobby for life. You'll always have to drink some form of liquid for the rest of your life.
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Apr 5, 2016 08:21
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That's the plan, I am trying to get away from monsters and sodas or sugar in general. I've been at it for a few weeks with just a kettle, old coffee mug, and numi tea bags, but having her make pu-erh in a gaiwan from loose leaves just made me realize how poor my tea life is. I really enjoyed the oolong and Chinese green tea she made as well, but not the white as much as it was just too light and subtle for my terrible palate. I am hoping the sampler from what-cha gives me a few more first experiences, but I am probably going to order a handful of small gram samplers of various pu-erhs as well from Yunnan sourcing or someone similar. Unfortunately considering the tiny store is what started this, their prices are astronomical compared to online and I can't really justify spending money there.
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Apr 5, 2016 08:52
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That's the sad thing about local stores. I've never seen there prices as good as most online favorites (Yunnan, Upton others). They probably already know there's not enough local people in the same area who will buy tea in order for them to sell it at those low prices online. I'm sure if the tea drinking population increased, they'd be able to sustain business at lower prices.
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Apr 5, 2016 09:17
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I agree, and once I know what I actually like and won't waste money, I plan on at least getting a bit from them just to support the local livelihood, especially since I am stationed in a foreign country and it seems wrong not to. I just fear spending a premium price on teas I won't even like. I may go back and ask for that same pu-erh that was sampled once I get my hardware in, but I feel it'd just be wasted currently in a coffee mug with just the leaves in.
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Apr 5, 2016 10:03
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This is totally some fuzzy, back of the envelope math, but at least where I live, a lot of the teas even at the (slightly overpriced imo) upscale tea shop in town cost the same or less per ounce than the somewhat decent bagged teas like Numi. Probably not the same everywhere, but I've almost always found bagged tea is way overpriced for the quality and quantity you get especially compared to how far your dollar goes with loose leaf. (Numi costs about $6 an oz. here and most good loose leaf I can get locally is more like $6-15 for 2-4 oz.)
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Apr 5, 2016 12:52
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Ineffiable posted:That's the sad thing about local stores. I've never seen there prices as good as most online favorites (Yunnan, Upton others). The only reason my local store from when I was in Minneapolis/St Paul had prices like that was that they also did online sales (Tea Source). I still buy from them for most of my general needs and they have a commitment to not talk about this month's "health" benefits of drinking tea. The only benefit they suggest it has is hydration. They don't do a lot of the really expensive teas, but they have a few. Good quality daily drinking tea can be found there and I like a few of their black tea blends for warm drinking and iced drinking. I'm really glad they do online ordering too, because I would miss them otherwise and would call them to beg that they ship me tea. They're the people that turned me onto pu-erh initially and dark teas as well. Their cheapest one, the Hunan Dark Tea is one of my favorite daily drinkers. Great for multiple steeps and I used to make a gallon of it and take it with me for refereeing soccer tournaments in cold conditions. It's 6.50 for 4oz. Take that Twinings.
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Apr 5, 2016 16:39
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DurianGray posted:This is totally some fuzzy, back of the envelope math, but at least where I live, a lot of the teas even at the (slightly overpriced imo) upscale tea shop in town cost the same or less per ounce than the somewhat decent bagged teas like Numi. Probably not the same everywhere, but I've almost always found bagged tea is way overpriced for the quality and quantity you get especially compared to how far your dollar goes with loose leaf. Oh for sure, but I feel like you get a better quality at a cheaper price on average online. And mostly a bigger variety too (well that's not fair if I compare the variety of all teas online to one local store)
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Apr 5, 2016 17:18
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Well yeah, having a storefront must really cut into profits vs just shipping from a warehouse somewhere. Not to mention when people think tea in this US, its either european blends like english breakfast, earl grey, etc or poutpourri stuff like teavana and davidstea. Making a profit in a traditional tea shop must be rough.
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Apr 5, 2016 17:22
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Is there some place I can get a good sampler of black teas (like the aforementioned English breakfast, Earl Gray, etc)? I just want to try new stuff. Loose or bagged is fine.
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Apr 5, 2016 17:46
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Flash Gordon Ramsay posted:Is there some place I can get a good sampler of black teas (like the aforementioned English breakfast, Earl Gray, etc)? I just want to try new stuff. Loose or bagged is fine. Upton!
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Apr 5, 2016 17:58
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Yeah, if you're in the US, Upton is a great supplier even if their catalog is somewhat intimidating if you're new to it/to tea.
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Apr 5, 2016 19:05
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Just ordered a couple sets from Upton. Thanks! Edit: Is their tea from 1998 or just their web site? Edit 2: Just saw they sell an extra bergamot Earl Gray. Next time, I guess. Flash Gordon Ramsay fucked around with this message at 19:12 on Apr 5, 2016 |
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Apr 5, 2016 19:09
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It's been a month of poor tea decisions. First, the Teavana experience, and then I bought some tea from David's Tea for the first time. After disliking three bags of tea, I have a deeper appreciation for Adagio selling sample bags. All of the teas seem to have a really weird texture to them, like the flavor is really muddy. It's hard to describe. It's probably the flavoring that makes the tea so weird. I'm going to try the weird teas iced or maybe with a little milk, just to try and not waste anything. Next time I'll just stick with Upton and Adagio.
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Apr 5, 2016 20:08
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Sanguinary Novel posted:It's been a month of poor tea decisions. First, the Teavana experience, and then I bought some tea from David's Tea for the first time. After disliking three bags of tea, I have a deeper appreciation for Adagio selling sample bags. All of the teas seem to have a really weird texture to them, like the flavor is really muddy. It's hard to describe. It's probably the flavoring that makes the tea so weird. I'm going to try the weird teas iced or maybe with a little milk, just to try and not waste anything. Next time I'll just stick with Upton and Adagio. I have a hard time with anything that has flavoring that isn't present in flower or leaf form. They all leave a sort of chemical taste/feel in my mouth, and that's even with water through a carbon filter. I do mess with my water chemistry for brewing beer and I know that it's not from the water, so it must be something that's in the blend. Basically then I don't ever buy anything from Teavana (ever), I only get blends from Adagio, Upton and Tea Source because I'm comfortable and familiar enough that I can pick good ones without the extracts. The good suppliers will tell you what's in the bag. I stay away from anything that says oil or extract and I can do really pretty well with variety still. I don't do David's because it seems overpriced compared to so many other places. Samples are still the best, especially when you can buy a bunch of them and then order what you really like.
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Apr 5, 2016 20:23
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I hope someone can help identify this because I have a random, strong craving for it. In Kuwait, we worked with the Kuwaiti military a lot as training aids, and all their officers had this unripe yellow melon colored tea that was mostly opaque prepared in a metal kettle usually on coals. It was very flavorsome and they usually took it plain or with a bit of sugar in very small cups. I remember it tasting a bit zesty maybe? I really wish I remember more about it, I used to drink gallons of that stuff sitting in their tents waiting for people to actually show up. If anyone has any clue at all, I'd be very grateful. Edit: Actually found it by just googling the most random of partially related words. What I had was Arabic Qahwa coffee and tea, both prepared the same way with cardamom and saffron strands. If anyone ever decides to make or has the opportunity to try it, definitely do. What is really odd is that due to the use of green, almost no roast coffee beans, it all has the appearance of tea. http://www.qatarliving.com/forum/qatari-culture/posts/qatari-kahwa-coffee Ptolemaeus fucked around with this message at 22:10 on Apr 5, 2016 |
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Apr 5, 2016 21:40
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