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Truck Stop Daddy posted:I have some (most likely low grade) gunpowder tea. How are you supposed to steep this stuff? I find wildly different suggestions. I've tried different temps and brew times, but end up with a cloudy harsh goop regardless. What's a proper amount of gunpowder tea per 1dl? Caffeine amount in this stuff seems very high btw, got all headachy last time I gave it a go... "Gunpowder" is one of the fluffiest descriptions in the tea world, unfortunately--in the West, when unqualified, it generally refers to a middling-grade, tightly-rolled green tea from Mainland China. Cloudiness out of a cheap gunpowder generally means cheaply-produced, machine-rolled pellets. Try ~2 teaspoons in a 16-oz teapot at 90 Celsius and adjust the temperature upwards towards 95 if it's still weak? Don't expect more than 2 useful infusions out of it.
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Jun 4, 2018 10:27
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Reiterpallasch posted:"Gunpowder" is one of the fluffiest descriptions in the tea world, unfortunately--in the West, when unqualified, it generally refers to a middling-grade, tightly-rolled green tea from Mainland China. Cloudiness out of a cheap gunpowder generally means cheaply-produced, machine-rolled pellets. Try ~2 teaspoons in a 16-oz teapot at 90 Celsius and adjust the temperature upwards towards 95 if it's still weak? Don't expect more than 2 useful infusions out of it. Heh, thanks. It just says "Gunpowder China Green tea" on the packaging. Tiny black grain-sized balls of tea. Smells like ashtray. I'll give it another go and see if it's drinkable...
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Jun 4, 2018 10:56
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Truck Stop Daddy posted:Heh, thanks. It just says "Gunpowder China Green tea" on the packaging. Tiny black grain-sized balls of tea. Smells like ashtray. I'll give it another go and see if it's drinkable... Might just be regular gunpowder mixed into it. Unless you like ashtrays, it probably won’t get much better. If you prefer weight, I start with 3g tea to about 200 mL water when I don’t know how I’ll like it. Greens I start around 170F, Oolongs depend on green-roasted (185-195), and black tea I start with water just off the boil. Then I adjust from there.
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Jun 4, 2018 14:25
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Gunpowder isn't the best representative for cheap green tea. I use mint leaves when brewing hot but it makes a very good cold brew for the summer. 11g/L. Drinkable after 6 hours but you should leave it overnight.
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Jun 5, 2018 00:50
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T-... Try lighting it on fire. With one of those long BBQ lighters. Outdoors, with some sort of shielding between you and it.
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Jun 5, 2018 00:54
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Truck Stop Daddy posted:I have some (most likely low grade) gunpowder tea. How are you supposed to steep this stuff? I find wildly different suggestions. I've tried different temps and brew times, but end up with a cloudy harsh goop regardless. What's a proper amount of gunpowder tea per 1dl? Caffeine amount in this stuff seems very high btw, got all headachy last time I gave it a go... I have some cheap green gunpowder tea which makes for decent cold-brewed iced tea. I just put 10 g in a tea bag, chuck it in a 2 liter jug, fill it with water and leave it overnight in the refrigerator. Sweet and refreshing, without needing any sweeteners.
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Jun 5, 2018 11:27
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I want to get myself a gaiwan for those good concentrated teas. Is there anything I should know about or look for in one?
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Jun 11, 2018 16:32
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Strange Cares posted:I want to get myself a gaiwan for those good concentrated teas. Is there anything I should know about or look for in one? I bought the cheapest one I could find and it's great. I've used expensive ones that perfectly fit their lid with no gaps and they're no better functionally, they just feel a little nicer to use.
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Jun 11, 2018 16:34
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The main things to look for in a gaiwan are the capacity that works for you and the thickness of the material. If you're brewing for yourself, an 80-100 ml gaiwan is probably optimal, and if you're brewing for two or more, 150-200 ml is better. Larger gaiwans, I find unwieldy and difficult to pour. A thin-walled porcelain gaiwan will get hotter faster than a thicker-walled ceramic, and will not hold the heat as well if you're gonna push 1 min, 2 min or longer infusions, which naturally is fine for whites/greens/green oolongs. I'd go for a thicker gaiwan for blacks and any kind of puerh. FWIW I really like these ruyao glazed gaiwans from teaware.house. I use this one almost every day. https://teaware.house/collections/gaiwan/products/standard-green-ruyao-gaiwan-100ml
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Jun 11, 2018 16:47
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hope and vaseline posted:The main things to look for in a gaiwan are the capacity that works for you and the thickness of the material. If you're brewing for yourself, an 80-100 ml gaiwan is probably optimal, and if you're brewing for two or more, 150-200 ml is better. Larger gaiwans, I find unwieldy and difficult to pour. A thin-walled porcelain gaiwan will get hotter faster than a thicker-walled ceramic, and will not hold the heat as well if you're gonna push 1 min, 2 min or longer infusions, which naturally is fine for whites/greens/green oolongs. I'd go for a thicker gaiwan for blacks and any kind of puerh. Thanks! I'll grab one of these, then. Is this one thick enough for puerhs?
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Jun 11, 2018 17:04
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Yep yep, I use mine mostly for pu'. The vendor's china based though, so expect the usual international shipping wait (It's a sister-site of twodog's white2tea.com)
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Jun 11, 2018 17:19
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hope and vaseline posted:Yep yep, I use mine mostly for pu'. The vendor's china based though, so expect the usual international shipping wait (It's a sister-site of twodog's white2tea.com) Nice. Just ordered it, now to patiently wait in front of the door for it to arrive. Thanks Hope and Symmetry!
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Jun 11, 2018 17:33
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I've been big on tea as long as I've been a goon, and I can't believe I've never seen this thread before. Canada goons, this is the best tea shop in Calgary: http://www.teatrader.com and they have a decent flat shipping rate anywhere in the country. Their website is pretty early-2000s though. I prefer dealing with them in person because they're always ready to offer samples of brand new/rarer stock and let me know which teas turned out the best each season. Right now I'm loving their Osmanthus Oolong, the Black Lou Cha Snail Shape (tastes a bit like Assam, which is usually my favorite), and their Silver Needle Ceylon is one of the best I've ever tasted. Anyway, is there anyone here into black currant tea? It's my husband's favorite, but I've found the selection in Canada pretty hit or miss. I bought a couple when visiting family on Vancouver island. This one actually tastes like black currant: http://winstonstea.com/loose-teas/flavored-black-teas/ and this one was a totally misnamed red currant tea that tastes nothing at all like black currant: https://www.teadesire.com/collections/black-tea/products/black-currant So I guess what I want to know is what is the most British black currant tea I can get shipped in Canada for fairly cheap that will satisfy my husband's extremely British tastes?
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Jun 13, 2018 04:07
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this is way too late to help, but the other thing to think about with gaiwans (or any other brewing vessel) is whether or not you want a muting material. porous clays will file off rough edges of a tea's flavor, which may or may not be a good thing--generally, if you drink a lot of high-fired oolongs or especailly pu'erh, you might want highly muting clay; if you drink lighter flavored green teas you should probably stick to a non-muting material like glazed clay or straight porcelain. corollary: expensive yixing clay is not a universal upgrade; i probably reach past my $150 zisha pot and grab the $15 porcelain with most of the teas i own highly muting materials are porous, which comes from a variety of factors--you want a low-fired, rough clay which has a high sand/quartz/mica composition. yixing zisha is the classic expensive muting clay. a better generalist option is a less porous clay like jianshui. then glazed earthenware, then porcelain or bone china.
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Jun 13, 2018 23:35
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Stuporstar posted:I've been big on tea as long as I've been a goon, and I can't believe I've never seen this thread before. Murchie's has one: https://www.murchies.com/store/fine-tea/tea-type/black-tea/black-currant-tea.html I haven't tried it, but their stuff is usually good quality. I'll have to check out that store if I'm ever in Calgary. If I didn't have so much Teavivre stuff left I'd probably order a few of their Chinese teas.
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Jun 14, 2018 07:25
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Juaguocio posted:Murchie's has one: https://www.murchies.com/store/fine-tea/tea-type/black-tea/black-currant-tea.html Looks like I should hold off buying tea in Nanaimo before making a trip to all the Victoria tea shops this summer. Anyone know any other shops on the island that are good? I heard the Tea Farm did their first tea harvest (around Duncan? I can't remember exactly), so I'll definitely try some of theirs in the little cafe thing they've got going. I went there the first year they opened and tea had just been planted. I'm curious how the taste of tea would be affected grown on Canadian soil.
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Jun 14, 2018 19:22
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I got the oolongs from Teavivre. They were ok. Neither floral-bombs like the tieguanyins I've had nor anything like those awful synthetic milk-flavored varieties. The Ali Shan and the Qing Xiang Dong Ding were both mostly like green tea, with the Ali Shan being my preferred of the two, having a slightly more creamy texture to it and more of a floral note. My favorite is the Moderately Roasted Dong Ding. Roasted Oolong just brings up a lot of nostalgic memories of discovering Dim Sum. This one is as it says, very moderately roasted, which just gives it a nice nuttiness and a hint of honey. It blends really well with the green/floral aspects. All of the teas are pretty restrained in both flavor and aroma though, which was somewhat disappointing, as the tea looks to be of good quality otherwise.
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Jun 14, 2018 20:18
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I just finished a sample of the Assam Hand Rolled Silver Needle from the Tea Trader, and strangely it tastes so close to Darjeeling I'm thinking I should just save some money buying more Darjeeling. I can get more steepings out of the white tea, but I have to use twice as many leaves to get the same amount of flavor.
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Jun 15, 2018 05:02
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Recently received my 2018 early spring sampler from yunnansourcing. Haven't tried all the stuff yet, but the feng qing silver needles were great and I'm definitely going to order some more of the Dianhong Imperial Mojiang Golden Bud Black Tea. Very nice honey vibes and mouthfeel. The character of the tea changed completely in the later steeps. Great stuff. Thanks for the tip!
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Jun 15, 2018 08:46
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Can anybody recommend a good source for a fruity and/or green tea for cold brewing? I looked at harney.com and I was overwhelmed by all the options. I've only ever tried hot teas from Trader Joes (which I find ok) and pre-bottled unsweetened cold green tea from "Pure Leaf" which I fond delicious.
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Jul 1, 2018 22:51
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theHUNGERian posted:Can anybody recommend a good source for a fruity and/or green tea for cold brewing? I looked at harney.com and I was overwhelmed by all the options. I've only ever tried hot teas from Trader Joes (which I find ok) and pre-bottled unsweetened cold green tea from "Pure Leaf" which I fond delicious. Green and fruity? I'd probably go with a Biluochun. https://www.teavivre.com/bi-luo-chun-green-tea-pi-lo-chun.html
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Jul 1, 2018 23:07
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theHUNGERian posted:Can anybody recommend a good source for a fruity and/or green tea for cold brewing? I looked at harney.com and I was overwhelmed by all the options. I've only ever tried hot teas from Trader Joes (which I find ok) and pre-bottled unsweetened cold green tea from "Pure Leaf" which I fond delicious. If you want to make a pitcher at a time, Adagio has pre-measured packs that you chuck in a quart of water and steep overnight, just like Lipton. All their green tea ones seem to be flavored, so that probably isn't a good option. I will say that their White Peach is delicious for what it is. Biomute posted:Green and fruity? I'd probably go with a Biluochun. Pi lo chun owns for iced tea; I got a big shipment of white monkey instead of it this spring and I am missing it. It's going in my next order for sure.
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Jul 1, 2018 23:26
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Biomute posted:Green and fruity? I'd probably go with a Biluochun. It doesn't have to be green and fruity. The bottled green tea doesn't list any fruity components and I like it, but a fruity addition is cool too. Thank you for the recommendation. I'll try to pick up a sample.
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Jul 1, 2018 23:48
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Can someone help me identify a pu erh I've had for over ten years? The only English is on the lid, Yunnan Palace Pu Eru Tea. I'd like to know what kind of pu erh it is. It's a cheap one, I know that much, and was unbearably fishy when I bought it, but it's mellowed out since and is quite drinkable.
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Jul 2, 2018 02:24
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Biomute posted:Green and fruity? I'd probably go with a Biluochun. So I tried it and it takes very bitter, nothing like "Pure Leaf" unsweetened green tea. However, I also got a package of their Sweet Peach Fruit Tea, and it smells heavenly. It's brewing right now.
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Jul 11, 2018 03:57
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theHUNGERian posted:So I tried it and it takes very bitter, nothing like "Pure Leaf" unsweetened green tea. However, I also got a package of their Sweet Peach Fruit Tea, and it smells heavenly. It's brewing right now. Biluochun is extremely delicate, and very easy to over-steep. I usually ignore the instructions on Teavivre's packets because I find their suggested brewing times are way too long. If you have any left, trying letting your water cool down longer, and steep for around 40-50 seconds.
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Jul 11, 2018 04:52
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Juaguocio posted:Biluochun is extremely delicate, and very easy to over-steep. I usually ignore the instructions on Teavivre's packets because I find their suggested brewing times are way too long. I was cold brewing, putting ~4 tablespoons in 32 fl.oz. of cold water and leaving in the fridge for 12 hours. I still have some left, so I am more than willing to give it another shot.
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Jul 11, 2018 05:14
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theHUNGERian posted:I was cold brewing, putting ~4 tablespoons in 32 fl.oz. of cold water and leaving in the fridge for 12 hours. I still have some left, so I am more than willing to give it another shot. Try cutting the steeping time in half. I have a prickly pear green tea I've been cold brewing because it gets very bitter, and on a first steeping I only give it six hours. To get enough flavor I use twice as many leaves I would brewing hot. Even then the first brew is kind of bitter, so I cut it with a slice of lime.
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Jul 11, 2018 05:39
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I bought a french press so I could make cold brew tea easily. Are there any teas that taste vastly different between being hot and cold brewed?
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Jul 11, 2018 05:54
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Stuporstar posted:Try cutting the steeping time in half. I have a prickly pear green tea I've been cold brewing because it gets very bitter, and on a first steeping I only give it six hours. To get enough flavor I use twice as many leaves I would brewing hot. Even then the first brew is kind of bitter, so I cut it with a slice of lime. I'll give that a try although I am skeptical because the raw tea already smells bitter, so I don't think it's the brewing that brings out additional bitterness. But I have nothing to lose, so I'll try it out next Saturday. Edit: And the sweet peach tea is amazing. Am I being too much of a noob for liking a sweet fruity tea? I don't even care. It's refreshing, so mission accomplished. theHUNGERian fucked around with this message at 04:06 on Jul 13, 2018 |
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Jul 11, 2018 06:02
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RandomPauI posted:I bought a french press so I could make cold brew tea easily. Are there any teas that taste vastly different between being hot and cold brewed? some japanese teas--gyokuro in particular, but also good kabuse--do quite well with the kouridashi method, where you just leave ice cubes on top of the dried leaves and come back later. chinese black teas, which are already sweet and floral compared to the CTC indian/kenyan stuff most people are familiar with, tend to expose earthy honey and chocolate notes when cold brewed overnight. jin jun mei and bailin gongfu (the latter is often sold as golden monkey in english, for reasons that escape me) are great when prepared this way.
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Jul 14, 2018 01:23
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I'm not new to loose leaf tea, but I have a couple of questions because I'm trying to up my game. As is, I'm making use of a regular if-a-bit-large teapot and an adjustable kettle to make what I personally regard as pretty decent black tea. I've been picking my way through Adagio's selection, and I like their Golden Monkey best when I feel like springing for it. Based on that, I'm not sure what else to try, I did pick up a sampler of their Chinese blacks, and am about to start on that. I've already gone through their sampler of Indian blacks. I plan on picking up the oolong sampler next. As is, I'm not sure what to do about green tea. The few times I've done it, I've mostly created a sea-weedy mess that gave me a stomach ache. I'm probably brewing too hot. Anyway, I picked a cheap gaiwan up off of Amazon, it arrives tomorrow, and I've been reading how to use it. They all seem to agree that you fill the gaiwan about a quarter full with leaves, but I've been finding some conflicting recommendations for how long to do each infusion. Some sites are putting infusion steep times down as little as 7-10 seconds, others are pushing more into the 1 minute territory for a first steep. Does anybody have a recommended how-to-gaiwan guide, or advice? I'd like to get this right. I've also got a Ti Kuan Yin sample from Adagio that I've tried, but I think I'm screwing it up somehow as well, and I'd like to make it 'correctly.' Agrinja fucked around with this message at 21:24 on Jul 16, 2018 |
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Jul 16, 2018 21:16
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with brewing tea, there's three variables you can control that affect/make the brew: time, temperature and water/leaf ratio. the more leaves you have, the shorter your steeping times should be, whereas temperature dictates the taste (higher temps for greener teas means more bitterness). when you steep for as short as 5 and even 10 seconds, you generally have way more leaves in the vessel than when you’re brewing a cup for 1-3 minutes. I use a pot that’s around 150ml and have around 5g of tea and start my brews at 5s, and add around 5-10s per steep after the 5th cup, giving me anywhere from 10 to 15 cups in total. the only kind of tea I don’t brew this way is green tea. I suppose british blends like earl grey might not be that well suited either, since they lose a lot of the flavour really quickly past the first steeping (in the regular 1+ minute-way) as for specific tips for using a gaiwan, you could check this old video from teablogger MarshalN https://youtu.be/gqP3lFPd1bw. I think TeaDB.org's youtube channel might have a howto-video as well. ulvir fucked around with this message at 21:40 on Jul 16, 2018 |
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Jul 16, 2018 21:34
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theHUNGERian posted:Edit: And the sweet peach tea is amazing. Am I being too much of a noob for liking a sweet fruity tea? I don't even care. It's refreshing, so mission accomplished. Perhaps a little. I mean, like what you like, but it's not the tea that is fruity, it is the fruit they added to the tea. If you were more specific in that you were looking for flavored teas you would likely have gotten better advice.
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Jul 17, 2018 08:17
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Agrinja posted:As is, I'm making use of a regular if-a-bit-large teapot and an adjustable kettle to make what I personally regard as pretty decent black tea. I've been picking my way through Adagio's selection, and I like their Golden Monkey best when I feel like springing for it. Based on that, I'm not sure what else to try, I did pick up a sampler of their Chinese blacks, and am about to start on that. I've already gone through their sampler of Indian blacks. I plan on picking up the oolong sampler next. As is, I'm not sure what to do about green tea. The few times I've done it, I've mostly created a sea-weedy mess that gave me a stomach ache. I'm probably brewing too hot. It depends a little on the tea, and a lot on how much tea you use. I drink mostly Chinese black teas and I find that even with pretty high quality teas super short steepings don't always make for the kind of cup I want. I generally do a 10s wash, mainly as insurance that the tea will open up. The first actual steeping is generally 30s, maybe as much as 40s if I am not getting the extraction I want. I have had teas where I can keep adding 10s to the subsequent steepings and go for broke, but generally I go for a minute with the second, and then two for the third and final steep. Kind of a hybrid of gong fu and the western method, I use less leaf then most would recommend for gong fu.
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Jul 17, 2018 08:32
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I've mostly been doing gong fu brewing with super short steep times myself, and I feel that I'm starting to get the hang of it. I'm a bit unsure what sort of teas are suited for what sort of brewing though... My greens and whites have a tendency to get incredibly sweet (too sweet for my liking). I guess the trick is to try different things every time you brew until you' find something that works. --- On the topic of gaiwans, I've been trying to find a white and blue Gaiwan (100-150ml), to match my white and blue flower pattern cups + some black/dark cups with a white/bright insides to match my black gaiwan... I've found a couple that I like in different shops, but nothing perfect so far. Anyone got any recommendations for teaware shops? Something like this. Size seems perfect, but I'm not completely sold on the print. https://www.teavivre.com/landscape-painting-porcelain-gaiwan.html#reviews same for this: https://teaware.house/collections/gaiwan/products/rose-pattern-petite-porcelain-gaiwan-110ml This one is gorgeous, but seems a tad too small :/ https://teaware.house/collections/gaiwan/products/high-heel-prussian-landscape-porcelain-gaiwan-85ml Also, got a new clay teaboat yesterday: 
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Jul 17, 2018 11:13
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I was gonna recommend Yunnan Sourcing, but it seems most of their white and blue gaiwans are mostly too big (probably?) being over 150ml, for the most part, plus their stuff isn't quite as nice as Teaware.House's. This one is gorgeous, though. If I didn't have small hands or it was a tad smaller, I'd almost impulse buy this + some tea to balance shipping costs https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/jade-porcelain-koi-frolicking-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-tea-1
ulvir fucked around with this message at 14:37 on Jul 17, 2018 |
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Jul 17, 2018 14:19
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Can any of you lovely people give me a decent ratio for cold-brewing loose-leaf tea in a 2-quart pitcher? I used to use pre-measured Tazo packs but apparently they don't sell them any more. I bought some La La Lemon from David's Tea because it smelled super good but when I asked the associate how much to use to cold-brew she looked at me like she had no idea.
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Jul 17, 2018 16:43
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gamingCaffeinator posted:Can any of you lovely people give me a decent ratio for cold-brewing loose-leaf tea in a 2-quart pitcher? I used to use pre-measured Tazo packs but apparently they don't sell them any more. I bought some La La Lemon from David's Tea because it smelled super good but when I asked the associate how much to use to cold-brew she looked at me like she had no idea. General rule of thumb is twice as much tea you'd use brewing normally. I go for 2 tsp to 1 cup, so 2 quarts is about 16 tsp (and more for the stale teas I'm trying to use up). ulvir posted:I was gonna recommend Yunnan Sourcing, but it seems most of their white and blue gaiwans are mostly too big (probably?) being over 150ml, for the most part, plus their stuff isn't quite as nice as Teaware.House's. This one is gorgeous, though. If I didn't have small hands or it was a tad smaller, I'd almost impulse buy this + some tea to balance shipping costs https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/gaiwans/products/jade-porcelain-koi-frolicking-gaiwan-for-gong-fu-tea-1 OMG I've been searching all over for a large gaiwan to match my white and blue fish cups. Thank you for linking that
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Jul 17, 2018 17:35
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gamingCaffeinator posted:Can any of you lovely people give me a decent ratio for cold-brewing loose-leaf tea in a 2-quart pitcher? I used to use pre-measured Tazo packs but apparently they don't sell them any more. I bought some La La Lemon from David's Tea because it smelled super good but when I asked the associate how much to use to cold-brew she looked at me like she had no idea. I use at least 0.5 oz for 2L/2qt pitchers. This is measured by weight and varies up by the tea I'm cold brewing. You can double it for concentrated tea that you'll end up diluting a lot, but do not add ice and just drink it straight from the fridge, so adjust my weights accordingly for your tastes.
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Jul 17, 2018 18:09
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