Let's boil leaves: Tea and things that aren't technically Tea

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Let's boil leaves: Tea and things that aren't technically Tea

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Sometimes you'll get used tea repressed as the center of the cake, while the outside is regular leaves. That's only for the really cheap cakes, though - $5 for a "1992" or whatever.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2016 21:23

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 09:49

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

I can recommend this snow chrysanthemum very highly.

# ¿ Jan 12, 2017 07:52

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

CommonShore posted:

Gluten-free shortbread should be easy, because the idea with good shortbread is preventing the formation of gluten strands. Any simple gluten-free flour should make nice shortbread. In fact, if you make some shortbread from rice flour, it might end up being the best and lightest shortbread you've ever had.

I made shortbread with 50% almond flour and 50% cake flour (and lots of extremely creamed butter) and it had the most amazing texture, light and melty. I'm going to have to try it with rice flour instead of cake flour.

# ¿ Mar 3, 2017 21:36

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

I discovered guayusa tea recently in the form of Runa iced guayusa. It's sort of like yerba mate, but with an interesting sweetness (even brewing whole leaves unsweetened) and much less bitterness - but it's still earthy and a "dark green" flavor. It's pretty caffeinated, and seems to have other components that give it a very uplifting energy, but not jittery or "dirty" feeling at all. I brew it hot, then toss it in the fridge after mixing with a little hibiscus and some sweetener (I've tried honey, agave, and sugar; they're all great, but my favorite is palm sugar). I barely sweeten it, just enough to take out the tartness from the hibiscus and tone down the earthiness just a little bit.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2017 23:36

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

8-Bit Scholar posted:

Hello everyone, I have purchased a tea kettle and wish to engage in the world of tea to provide myself a wholesome drink to help relax my increasingly neurotic self.

What is the best tea to induce a soporific, Zen-like calm?

Pu-erh makes you high in a way that's completely separate from the caffeine. Aged pu-erh especially, but the flavors can be a little offputting at first (mineral, dirt, mushroom flavors, among others).

# ¿ Jul 29, 2017 23:00

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Gaiwan are absolutely the best way to brew puerh. There are a few downsides (more fines on the first few steeps, mainly) but the low volume, ease of pouring, lack of mess, and convenience make up for it.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2017 02:13

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Steadily becoming teadrunk on a 2008 Shuangjian Mengku 'Ming Qian Chun Jian'. Dry, umami, savory, but there's a back note of wood and some slight bitterness. A little astringent, but not overwhelming at all, more like a plum. Delicious! Powerful, too - I felt it on the first steep, but I'm four steeps in and I'm already spinning a little. Lots of flavor.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2017 02:28

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

QuarkMartial posted:

That sounds delicious. I need something to find the void giving up cigars left.

Later steeps brought out more of a light, floral flavor and the woody/earthy tone receded dramatically. These teas change so much over time. This is a good hobby to replace cigars with - and similarly expensive, if you get into the high end stuff.

# ¿ Jul 30, 2017 04:54

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

RandomPauI posted:

What's a good electric tea kettle that can control temperature and that costs under $50?

I'd just save up for the Bonavita gooseneck, personally. It's only $67 and has dropped down to $60, which is only a little bit over your budget, and it's absolutely fantastic. The only problem is that it doesn't have boil-dry protection, but that's a small price to pay - when you notice it getting light, top it up.

# ¿ Aug 3, 2017 22:05

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

futurememory posted:

Tried my first young sheng pu'erh (white2tea's Smooch) and I've never tasted anything like it. It was all wildflower and honey and an almost... hay taste? It almost tasted barnyard or feral, with a slightly Chinese medicine undertone and bitterness.

I know this is a pretty big tea category for some people; I'd say I'm definitely not hooked yet, but intrigued. I'm still amazed all the time at how the same plant can produce so many different flavor profiles without adding additional flavor.

How'd you brew it? That sounds really delicious.

# ¿ Aug 8, 2017 14:55

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

ulvir posted:

5s steeping is more than enough, imo. if you want to explore further on I can recommend 2016 Daily Drinker, Tyler and Poundcake from W2T. all available as samples so you don't need to dive right into a cake blindly. also might want to mess about with different ages as well if you can. aged sheng tastes different to young sheng, and so on. and then there's ripe

Daily Drinker lives up to its name, and Poundcake is excellent. W2T is one of my favorite vendors, because I can blind buy almost anything and it'll be good.

# ¿ Aug 15, 2017 22:29

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

EKDS5k posted:

Oh poo poo I can't believe it never occurred to me that there would be a tea thread. I love me some Japanese green teas, houjicha, genmaicha, and probably my favourite is jasmine pearl tea.

First off, gently caress kettles, what you people need is a hot water dispenser. I have one, it's always full, and provides instant hot water whenever I want it, so no waiting for a kettle to boil. And even the cheap ones have temperature settings, though I leave mine on the 98 degree setting so I can also make coffee whenever I want.

I also have a cast iron pot, and the trick I've found is that it regulates the temperature for you. If you fill a cast iron pot with boiling water, and let it set for about 20 seconds, you're left with water that is the perfect temperature for green tea. To make tea that needs near-boiling water, preheat it once, throw the water away, and fill it again with boiling water.

For anyone looking for something relaxing to drink in the evening, I highly recommend houjicha. It's basically leftover stems and some leaves, roasted until they're brown, with zero caffeine content. Pour boiling water onto tea, let it sit for 30 seconds, and you're good to go. You can even reuse it a bunch of times, and it's basically impossible to screw up. I mix it half and half with something called mamecha, which as far as I can tell is just dried black beans? A nice simple flavour, with zero effort.

I don't know if this has been covered in the thread or not, but every set of instructions in English I've found, both on packages and online, for making green teas are way off. Use 80-85 degree water, and steep for somewhere under 3 minutes. But according to the one tea shop I went to in Nara, the tea capital of Japan, which clearly makes me an expert, the way to do it is to "steep" it once with 80-85 degree water for about 15 seconds, and then throw that water away, since it's considered more of a rinse, and a way to sort of "wake up" the tea. Then steep it once more, for about 30 seconds, and then pour. If you plan on steeping again, take the lid off the pot and let the leaves sit uncovered. The tea comes out much clearer, and the subtle flavours are brought out more.

I thought this might just be a Japanese thing, but I went to a couple tea shops in Vancouver's Chinatown, and also another one in Seattle, and in each one an old Chinese or Taiwanese man made green tea the same way, stressing how important the first rinse is. If you're having trouble getting green tea to come out right, this is probably why. It takes like 3 times as long to prepare, but man is the extra effort worth it. Same thing goes with jasmine pearls: they need to be steeped just long enough for the pearls to open up, then that water discarded, and the leaves steeped properly, again for only about 30 seconds. And actually, most of the time I've found that it's the *next* steeping that has the best flavour and aroma.

I'm not trying to be a snob, the best cup of tea is the tea you enjoy, but I've never found instructions like this in English. I don't know if manufacturers/retailers think that people would be put off by how much of a pain in the rear end it is, and it can be a pain in the rear end (the Taiwanese places even had a special tray just for catching all the water that gets spilled from pouring and repouring). But I feel like, at least for the teas I make, once you get it down it becomes almost automatic, and so it becomes like 5-10 minutes of some kind of zen, where I'm not really thinking about making the tea, but I'm also not thinking about anything else, either. For me the process of making is almost more relaxing than sitting and drinking it afterwards.

Oh, and on the topic of cast iron pots: before you buy one, check the bottom. Quality ones will have the name of the manufacturer cast into the bottom, if not then it likely came from a lovely factory in China. The tea will probably taste the same, but for me, it adds something that the teapot was made by someone who cared about what they were doing enough to put their name on it, even if it is the company name.

That method of preparing tea is called gongfu, and it's my preferred way to drink tea. Try using a much higher leaf to water ratio, you can resteep many times that way. Some teas will go to 10-20. I like to use a 100ml gaiwan that ends up loosely packed with leaves after they all fully rehydrate.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2017 12:08

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Trabant posted:

Good green tea prep is my white whale. If I'm making tea in the office, is this:

my best bet? Keep in mind that I'm limited to a mug, Finum basket, and an adjustable electric kettle (which is excellent but may be a goner if my new employer catches wind of it).

You can do gongfu in anything. Larger batches just make a ton of tea over the resteeps, so you might want to consider getting a gaiwan or small teapot. I keep an adjustable kettle (Bonavita gooseneck, my go-to) on my desk along with a bunch of different tea, so I have something to drink all day long.

For reference I usually go with 6-7g of tea in a 100ml container. It really is a lot of leaves compared to any other method.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2017 21:51

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

taters posted:

Gong Fu preparation ranges from extremely formal ceremonies to two cups with a strainer and everything in between. If you are just preparing it for yourself, something like this is pretty useful.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01JVYOSIK/

You brew in the bottom and the cup is also the lid. I use a simlar one at work with an electric kettle at my desk.

You don't really need to do a wash on green teas, the first steep can be drank just fine. You should on Oolongs tho, especially the darker ones; the first steep can taste pretty bad.

Also Poo Erh is gross.

The point of puer isn't really the flavor. They can taste quite nice, but on flavor alone I'll usually pick an Oolong or darker green.

It gets you high. Puer is drug tea that doesn't show up on a piss test and won't get you fired.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2017 06:21

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

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.

# ¿ Jun 11, 2018 16:34

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

bitprophet posted:

I'm still firmly in the "TRY ALL THE THINGS" phase

That doesn't really go away. At least, it hasn't for me.

# ¿ Jul 24, 2018 04:33

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Don't forget j tea, which I am lucky enough to live near. The owner Josh goes to Taiwan and China and sources the tea himself from farmers. The selection isn't massive, but it's consistently great, and if you want recommendations you can just call.

# ¿ Aug 5, 2018 17:28

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Agrinja posted:

Does anybody here ever actually throw booze in their tea? Hot tea, I mean? It just kind of dawned on me that I've only ever really seen or thought about hard iced teas.

A malty Assam is great with a little Irish whisky. Rum works too.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2018 21:38

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

neogeo0823 posted:

So, day 2 of some general experimentation yielded mixed results. On the one hand, I can say that I prefer a ratio of 2:1 milk to tea for a cold london fog. Also, the double strength cold steeped tea was definitely needed over the regular strength. But on the other hand, I can also say that after a couple of days, the pre-steeped LF milk ended up with muddled flavors that were still ok, but not nearly as pronounced as the day I steeped it. This means I'm either gonna have to find a way to know a day ahead of time when I want a london fog, or I'll have to find a way to distill the flavors into something that I can just add to either the tea or the milk as needed.

Progress in one direction, setbacks in another.

Earl grey is just black tea with bergamot, so bergamot oil would be the thing, but a London Fog also has vanilla syrup. You could make vanilla-bergamot syrup.

# ¿ May 23, 2019 03:24

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

tokenbrownguy posted:

I'm a tea drinker that likes dumping milk into pretty much everything. I'd also like a thermos to bring said milk-abominations everywhere. Problem is, most thermoses are pretty hard to clean, and milk build up gets :puke: pretty quick. Can anyone recommend a thermos / hot drink dealio that's VERY easy to clean?

Aladdin makes bottles that are as easy to clean as any glass you have in your kitchen. The lid comes off, and the entire top unscrews.

# ¿ Sep 28, 2019 20:54

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

ShallNoiseUpon posted:

Things-that-technically-aren't-tea question -- anyone have a good mint source they like? I wanted to make something the other night that was warm and tasted good, but didn't have caffeine and was all out of my usual mint from Adagio and I'm curious if there's much variation in quality from source to source with mint and would be willing to give a goon recommendation a shot.

Mountain Rose Herbs. They have a few varieties. Mix them up!

Might as well get a few other herbs too. I really like chamomile and mint together, or mint and lavender.

# ¿ Oct 16, 2019 01:32

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

I'm lucky enough to live in the town where Mountain Rose Herbs and J-Tea are both located :smugdog:

# ¿ Oct 16, 2019 05:14

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Kaiser Schnitzel posted:

Got some just chamomile tea and it was pretty foul and a very disconcerting color with milk in it. Kind of an anise taste and I really don�t love anise. Gonna try some decaf Irish breakfast next and see how bad it is. Thanks for all the ideas!

Milk in chamomile???? wyd

# ¿ Oct 27, 2019 04:48

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Booyah- posted:

With tea you can also use more leaves (or equivalently less water) and decrease the steep time by a lot. The idea is you use exactly as much water as will fill your cup then expose it to the leaves for only 20-30 seconds, then strain. You can repeat usually up to 4 or 5 steeps with quality tea.

I forget the chinese name for this style but it's how a lot of pu'er teas are prepared. Definitely worth trying with greens and oolongs.

Gongfu

# ¿ Nov 1, 2019 06:04

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Death Vomit Wizard posted:

Interesting. Do you know if the system re-mineralizes the water at all, or leaves it akin to distilled water? Pure RO water for tea gets a lot of hate, due to the polyphenols not having anything to latch onto for extraction.

Here are a couple articles that attempt a scientific/ mythbusting approach
https://kuura.co/blogs/dispatch/tagged/water

Another question. Anyone here boil tea? It's a popular technique in China for getting the most medicinal value out of aged puer/ shou puer/ dark tea. It's also a good way to get the max flavor out of white tea. I even do it (for a shorter time) with young sheng puer sometimes, just for a uniformly strong batch. You can simmer it in a pan if you don't have one of those electric glass "tea cookers". Or similarly, do a long steep in a thermos. Or on the opposite end of the brewing spectrum, are there any teas you like to cold brew? I think about these things a lot because I don't have time every day to do my meditative "tea art" sessions.

Sometimes I fill up my travel mug with ice after putting in some jasmine pearls and let it sit overnight and it's really good

# ¿ Mar 21, 2020 19:18

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

virinvictus posted:

What’s the best green for cold brewed tea? I can’t imagine my Sencha would transfer well in cold. The steamed spinach doesn’t sound as pleasant when cold, lol. A Chinese green?

I like tgy, but only after a rinse, otherwise it's weird and sour. Also it's not a green

# ¿ Mar 23, 2020 18:40

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 25, 2024 09:49

SymmetryrtemmyS: Jul 13, 2013; I got super tired of seeing your avatar throwing those fuckin' glasses around in the astrology thread so I fixed it to a .jpg

Not green, but the hippy store near me has this stuff (for less than direct from Solstice, at that) and it's incredibly fruity and wonderful, either iced or hot. Steep it for like a minute or 1:15 though if you steep hot

# ¿ Mar 23, 2020 19:38

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Goons with Spoons > Let's boil leaves: Tea and things that aren't technically Tea