This thread is for discussing teas, tisanes, and other herbal infusions.

info: types of tea, where to get tea, how to brew tea
https://rentry.org/teageneral

previous thread: >>21453450

>>21471018 (OP)
My rock hard cakes have softened and i can break them with my hands now, bad thing or no?

If anyone takes the plunge from the new USA FDA thing on packages please post if your tea made it through. I'm holding off on buying any unfortunately

>>21471055
i went in recently from dragonteabiz, will let you know

>>21471058
Can you share what they label on the customs forms as well? If they label it tea and it's fine I'll go all in and order a ton from taobao for the next few years

Drinking tea at work

I have a question about gong fu, which I'm interested in trying. When I wake up, before work, I don't really have a lot of time available, but I like having some tea at this point, so I normally just brew a cup of tea in a mug with an infuser basket. From what I've read, I don't think I have enough time for a full gong fu session (though I might be wrong about this since it's possible I'll save time in other ways). Anyway, could I split it up, using the same leaves, doing maybe two infusions before work, and then doing the rest about 10 hours later? Or is there a better option here like using less leaves and then dumping then and starting fresh after work?

>>21471411
>using less leaves and then dumping then and starting fresh after work?
that'll probably work better. how quickly you drink will depend a lot on you but i find i typically take around 4 hours to drink 1.2L or 12 100ml cups but thats leisurely while doing other stuff

>>21471434
>i typically take around 4 hours to drink 1.2L or 12 100ml cups but thats leisurely while doing other stuff
Yeah I definitely can't do that before work. I'm looking at 45 minutes max of time available (including cleaning up etc.)

why does this thread exist
i would *LITERALLY* rather have 10 fast food threads than one of these "tea aficionado" threads

>>21471403
Unless you’re Asian this is highly cringe and you’ll be one of the first to go with downsizing. I drink tea at work, loose leaf I bring from home, but I limit myself to just a pot (1 cup) and a normal mug. This is well adjusted behavior, why people still feel comfortable asking me what I’m drinking and ask to try some. What you’re doing is literally a repellant.

>>21471411
I've never had any issue from leaving it overnight, probably a work day would be fine

>>21471463
Do you just put the lid on the gaiwan and sit it somewhere?

>>21471466
Yeah pretty much. I've heard of people refrigerating it but doesn't seem to be necessary

>>21471447
/tea/ has been here longer than you and we'll be here long after you're gone

>>21471450
>people feel comfortable asking me to try my tea
This is abnormal. Some office denizens drink coffee. Others drink "Coke". No one drinks tea.

>>21471018 (OP)
>tisanes

LOLOL

>>21471552
Nice cartoon, faggot. Rape some more kids.

>>21471569

>>21471556
Maybe if you work in flyover land, most of the civilized world does, in fact, drink tea.

>>21471569
Paedos get the rope.

>>21470756
They do this too and it's called konbucha.
No, not the vinegary shit.

Anyone else like cocoa husk tea?

>>21471022
Idk sounds good to me

>>21471450
I run a 3.7l water distiller for tea water in my office for about a year now lol.
Coworkers and bosses occasionally ask me whats that making that noise. I explain them and they pretend they understood out of politeness. Electrical guy once thought it is a rice cooker. My office mate is also a /tea/ chad so running the distiller is a no brainer. I just use a strainer and a giant mug for my office lose tea. Gong fu would be too autistic at work and it would kinda kill the hobby. (I hope I get fired btw)

>>21471055
I got tea from o-cha a few days ago if that counts.

>>21471777
Did they label it tea?

>Super big pancake old puer

My w2t order came in. The note is blank. Is this a joke?

>>21471569
Anime website.

>>21472166
Back to your containment board.

>>21471018 (OP)
>Hear chamomile is supposed to be a natural sedative
>Try some celestial seasons made according to the box
>Didn't do shit
>Was told I need to use loose chamomile with the big pollen part and steep it for at least 10 minutes
>Fuck it, let's go
>Track some down, shits kinda pricey
>Make it as described
>Sweet as fuck and takes your breath away
>Knocks me the fuck out thirty minutes later

Color me impressed.

>>21471403
I think that's cool, it's just sad that I don't have the storage space or long enough breaks to actually enjoy such a thing. If I ever bring in something heavier than a little tea infuser for a travel mug I'll probably smuggle in a hohin.

>>21472314
>I don't have the storage space
In my case, I made some storage space by buying these inexpensive shelves on wheels which I use to tuck away my tea stuff.

>>21472378

Teaware bro here sharing some sites I like for teaware. Also if you're starting out just buy a cheap gaiwan from yunnan sourcing for like 6 bucks instead of spending hundreds of dollars on teaware.


https://yinchenstudio.com/
https://gushustudios.com/
https://mudandleaves.com/
https://www.lazycattea.com/product-category/teaware/
https://www.bitterleafteas.com/product-category/teaware
https://www.sanguineteapots.com/
https://www.yizisun.com/
https://chasingteas.com/collections
https://schallergallery.com/pages/all-makers
https://saanwu.com/
https://www.forestceramic.com/en-ca/collections/main-series-2
https://www.taiwanteacrafts.com

>>21471569
I will have wet and fragnant sex with my 12 year old tea

Have you anons tried this? It feels kind of degenerate to drink it but I grabbed it when I bought gyokuro. www.o-cha.com/organic-powdered-sench.html

>>21472129
Gods she's pretty
How can I manifest such a girl?

full of matcha

Speaking of teaware, is it possible to drink a lot of tea with a gaiwan?
I grandpa brew literally everything, I have a novelty giant cup that's like 600ml and I usually get 2-3 brews per day in it. It's convenient to have a big cup of tea around to slurp out of.

Getting a gaiwan for "proper" gongfu sounds like it's only really viable for dedicated tea ceremonies where I wanna sit down and brew minuscule amounts at a time. Am I wrong?

>>21473346
You can drink a lot from a gaiwan but it's going to come from doing multiple infusions.

Anon's 600 ml cup

>>21473407
Are you basically constantly re-infusing your gaiwan to down a cup every time you want to take a sip of tea?
How do people manage their hot water for this? I'm guessing you probably need a kettle on your desk with a hold temperature function

>>21473501
yeah, pretty much. you can also use a thermal flask

I didn't want to make a whole sencha order this year, but I asked at a local tea store and they just got their 2025 spring jap greens. Got 30g of two of the teas. We'll see if they're good.

>>21473524

>>21473526
Take pics when you make it, anon!

>>21473501
If you have one that's a big larger you can make more than one cup and pour it into a cha hai

Does tea from India ever get tested for fecal contamination? The idea of drinking tea that's been touched by Indians is becoming repulsive to me.

>>21473535
Simply don't risk it.

>>21473501
>I'm guessing you probably need a kettle on your desk with a hold temperature function
The Fellow electric kettles can keep water at near-boiling for an hour straight, before the auto-shutoff kicks in, and I think the timer gets reset every time you lift it off the base, for example. Very handy

You could also use a good thermos filled with boiling water, though most thermoses will only have enough water for a handful of steepings, and the water cools a bit each time you open the container, which is bad for teas that need very hot water. You could refill a thermos a couple of times each day, if you have some access to boiling water.

>>21471741
This is very funny to me, for some reason.

>>21473447
I didn't know Sports Direct did gaiwans.

Regarding the teas I got from Awazon:
the 2022 """old tea tree early spring""" raw is really nothing special.
I wish I could tell you more because that's a bit vague, but it just has a characteristic young pu-erh taste without any character whatsoever coming from the leaves rather than the processing.
The 2015 "Menghai spring" raw, sadly unavailable in 357g cakes anymore, is much better and costs a similar amount; more stone fruit-y, fuller-bodied, less dry and less grassy.
The """spring fresh""" bi luo chun is also nothing special.
It's grassy and more sapidic than usual for this tea, it might have been made with the wrong cultivar for bi luo chun, though the leaves look good and proper.
Anyway, nothing special, but I also got some more that are better (I'll review them some time).

>>21473535
I think most colony tea is processed by machines.

drinking Ruby 18 from Teahome
strong leather and meaty flavor on this, kind of unusual for a black tea

>>21473593
But... an Indian touched it at some point

>>21473535
That's why you should drink Chinese teas instead. They are so clean they don't even wear shoes in the house

I bought this.

>>21473658
Content of samplers.

>>21473658
Don't pay a premium for tea that doesn't age properly.

>>21473658
>>21473660
first tea order? if so, 173$ is balling hard but it looks solid
YS isn't the best value or most curated seller, but they do have a huge variety with clear descriptions, so they are good for this kind of broad educational sampling for newbies
once you know what you like, you can switch to more specialized stores for best price/quality

>>21473671
If you mean the two cakes I got, those were the two that were available for free based on how much I spent. I couldn't decide so I just bought the cheaper one and got the more expensive one free.
>>21473673
Yeah it's my first order of Chinese tea. A broad selection like that is what I was looking for, and I was able to buy it from their US store so I didn't have to worry about shipping from China.

>>21473501
desk kettle master race. dont bother with the warm function its a waste of electricity, just reboil

finishing a 250 gram Tulin phoenix tuo (2009) I got from Fullchea
has some nice smoke on it, but it isn't too enjoyable otherwise. thin, bland, astringent. nothing disgusting, but nothing good either. worse than the last two Xiaguan tuos I had. I would rate it 4/10.

>>21473535
According to an Assamese friend, the tea picking is mostly done by Bengali illegal immigrants nowadays, so you've got nothing to worry about

check it out broooosss, bought a cake and some oolong. i was going through the 2025 raws and they all sounded so good i wanted them all lol but I ended up going with the nannuo. maybe later i'll pick up one or two of the cheaper cakes once anons start posting about them.

>>21473804
that's cool, most people here cake the daily drinkers from FL. be sure to report back on it!
I got the 2024 Nannuo as a free sample, I remember it being a balanced tea with good depth, though no huge wow factor

>>21473804
Retard here but what's the point of a cake from literally this spring? I thought puerh needed to ferment for a while

>>21473888
Nah, young sheng is where it's at.
Sure, they are sometimes bitter and rough around the edges, but that's part of the fun.
I've only had a few 10+ old samples, and I found them boring.
I also tried one 20 year old xiaguan, which was OK, but it seems like they used to have some smokiness to them, which I really don't like.

>>21471018 (OP)
My favorite part of drinking tea is the sedating effects the fluoride gives me :) makes me happy

>>21473888
There are two types of pu-erh, raw (sheng) and ripe (shu)
Ripe pu-erh is fermented in the production process, while raw is unfermented and can be either drank immediately or aged for years / decades
Up until the 2000s or so, most sheng was strictly created to be aged, but since then the trends in production styles have shifted towards tea that is not so chopped up and harsh when young. It is often made with high quality material processed in a way that can be very enjoyable when it's young too

Whether you prefer the taste of younger or aged raw puerh is personal preference. And the stuff boutique vendors like Farmerleaf make is definitely meant to be perfectly nice to drink as-is

>>21473937
What makes a young, unfermented raw puerh different from just black tea then?

>>21473888
people buy puerh because its the trendy style and vendors can increase the price every year stock hasn't been sold. either keep it as an experiment to see how it changes over the years or treat it like green tea for a while because it will be bitter like death if you try to treat it like a 7 year old cake

>>21473942
It's untouched by Indian hands

>>21473942
It's actually more similar to green tea. Black tea is left to fully oxidize before it is processed, in green tea and raw pu-erh, the oxidation is stopped with high heat so that the leaves stay green.
The difference with green tea is that in raw pu-erh, the heating process is not strong enough to kill all the enzymes that let a tea age. So it will slowly get darker with time and change its flavor profile from more green tea like to more dark and earthy.

>>21473954
That's pretty neat, thanks anon

>>21473942
its actually green tea that has been pan fried to a lesser extent so than not all the enzymes are 'killed'. usually using the lower larger leaves unlike green which is the top small leaves and sometimes the buds. black tea is rolled to crush the leaves so the plant juices help oxidise it, young puerh will still look green for years but will become darker/browner as the leaves age

>>21473906
>I've only had a few 10+ old samples, and I found them boring
10 year old sheng pu-erh can be in the awkward boring phase where it doesn't have the punchiness of youth nor the more interesting aged flavors
try some more aged sheng sometime. maybe even from yeeontea's compostmaxxed storage, those are fun

>>21473977
can confirm older sheng has more interesting flavor than semi-aged. i used to think i didn't like aged sheng until an anon recommended this one and i saw the light:
https://essenceoftea.com/products/1990s-special-order-red-mark?variant=37574273106077
this other one is younger, but i absolutely loved it as well. it's been a while since i tried the sample and i haven't gotten the cake yet, but iirc it's one of those that just punches you right in the face, but in a good way:
https://essenceoftea.com/products/2011-bulang-gushu?variant=49685612036376

>>21473447
>manly tears brews some tea

>>21473999

>>21471018 (OP)
I will admit that I mad towards tea (except mint tea, oh fucking god-tier mint tea), as a coffee lover, but even I can see beyond this, it's nonsense, you like tea, I like coffee, and that's alright, enjoy, fuckos

>>21473906
I recently had a 30+ yo pu erh, it was basically almost only earthy in flavor, still tasty but boring

What's the oldest tea that's still sold for reasonable prices on the public market (i.e. not a collector's item)
Whether puerh or heicha

>>21471403
Cheers
>>21471450
Yeah dude you’re right I should let the opinions of my coworkers dictate whether or not I drink tea… pour you up a cup and chill out little guy…

>>21474068
Check out the older teas on https://teaswelike.com/ (scroll down on the home page)

Reasonable, or not, depends on the person, but should give you an idea of the price of older stuff?

>>21474068
Depends on your definition of reasonable prices
Probably some old-ass liu bao or other hei cha. You can buy low grade liu bao from the 1980s for quite cheap. Even KTM has huge baskets of the stuff

>>21474095
All of these are from this millenium, meh
>>21474122
Fair point

>>21474068
Taishunhe has this pretty well-priced old ripe brick
https://quicheteas.com/products/late-90s-7581-ripe-brick

Yeeon carry a number of 90s teas I'd describe as affordable (if you've got the budget to even consider buying old ass tea)

>>21474158
Any reccs from QuicheTeas? Their prices look good in general

>>21474381
I just got my order recently so I've only had it once, but my first impression of the 2003 Brown Changtai was that it's pretty damn good. Some nice woody notes and strength while also tasting well aged.

>>21474405
What else have you bought from them?

>>21474424
I've also only had both of these once, so take my opinion for what it is
1980s Liu Bao- I thought it was fine. I've had better/just as good liubao that was cheaper and younger. I had this kind of casually while working, but I think I'll try boiling it next time or maybe just pushing it a lot harder, so my opinion might change.
2001 Xiaguan Yellow Label- Good if you like aged XG, nice and strong and a bit smokey. I liked it but I'm not sure if it's enough better than other similarly aged 8653s to be worth the price at 89¢/g.

>>21474474
>>21474405
nice. I've been thinking of picking up a 2008 8582, 2005 8653 or brown changtai. or maybe their sample set, though IDK if I really want that 2010 7542 quarter, that sounds a little young

longest stem i've seen

imagine drinking POO ERR tea lol couldnt be me

>>21474479
I almost got that 8582. It would be cool to compare it to the '04 8582 I have from yeeontea.
>maybe their sample set, though IDK if I really want that 2010 7542 quarter, that sounds a little young
I was considering that as well but decided against it for the same reason

>>21473942
Puerh tastes like fish and it makes lesbians violent and beat their partners.

>>21474736
>Young, unfermented raw

>>21474752
I don't speak groomer dyke language, sorry.

>>21471022
maybe due to humidity? are you doing anything to try and balance the moisture? probably not a big deal but in the long run i could imagine it affecting your cakes negatively, especially if you store them for a while.

>>21474647
where is that stem only tea an anon sent a while ago?

Look! More webm slop from a poster that's been repeatedly and politely asked to stop or self filter. Wonder how long it'll take him to respond to himself this time.

>>21474838
its okay anon you can just ignore the webm's

When life (forcibly) gives you spearmint, make spearmint tea.
>>21471661
It took me a couple tries to get used to it but I came to appreciate it. There's a point where it goes from "shitty tasting hot chocolate" to "good tasting cacao nib tea"
>>21472232
Interesting. I might have to try this.
>>21473501
I have a small glass teapot that I keep on a mug warmer when I'm doing gong fu sessions.

my tea tastes like tap water, yesterday i made some twinings tea (black tea with french strawberries), it had a very pleasant fragrant scent. but when i drank it it tasted specifically like tap water (the water i use is very mild tasting and makes good stock for example). i steeped for 2-3 mins and used whatever heat my tea kettle gets the water at.

>>21471018 (OP)

>>21475287
What is that supposed to be?

>>21475289
Poo Air tea fermenting

>>21474821
I just threw them in a drawer

>>21475226
that's how it often is with scented tea, it smells good but tastes very bland
won't hurt to steep for 5 minutes or use more tea though

>>21475381
In ziplock bags, should i throw some of those moisture absorption packages in there?

>>21475431
>>21475381
I doubt they are too humid, unless you live someplace that's very humid
dried out cakes are bad, so idk if I would bother with moisture absorption packets

>>21473526
>>21473524
very nice dry leaf scent of tropical fruit on that sencha. hasn't carried over much to the cup, just tastes like typical sencha

>>21471018 (OP)
How long do you anons steep gyokuro for? I tried the instructions in the rentry but it didn't come out right as if the times or temperatures were wrong. It was basically water.

>>21475625
Maybe you didn't use enough leaf?

>>21475650
It was 60 ml so I used 2 grams.

>>21475651
From what I see usually 6 grams per 100ml is recommend. So try it with like 4 grams.

>>21475659
It's weird because it came out green the other day with 2 grams. I'm not sure what I did differently, maybe I timed it wrong the other day but it somehow worked.

>>21475287
>>21475289
>>21475292
Looks suspiciously like this
https://youtu.be/uvZrA5w7f9E?si=lO3O6zUwkxN3DJWV&t=70

>>21471018 (OP)
why did you post a picture of a pecan pie?

>>21475702
it's actually a bunch of tea pressed into a "cake" shape

>>21475714
>into a "cake" shape
Clearly a pie shape, then

>>21475732
I think the russians call it a pancake shape

>>21475734
Nah too thick for a crepe

>>21475453
I thought they store these in dry storages

>>21475793
Taiwan is know for favoring "dry storage", but we're still talking about controlled conditions where humidity is between 60% and 70%, I think, which is more than most places in North America most of the time.

>>21475793
"Dry storage" is still stored in a pretty humid climate. It just means they don't actively try to ferment the shit out of it like in wet / traditional storage.

>>21474405
>2003 Brown Changtai
I assume this is way better than the 2005 Yi Wu Ji Pin from KTM?

having some Yeeon purple mark ripe
it's reminding me of that 2002 6FTM Tuo from Awazon a lot
that makes sense considering they're both aged low fermentation ripes. the tuo was probably also wet stored at some point

the texture is nice, more active than typical for a ripe

>>21475821
>>21475866
Alright think my drawer is fine then

>>21476178
Yes I think so, and I like the Ji Pin. It's definitely stronger and more complex than the Ji Pin

>>21476450
that does sound tempting. Ji Pin was tasty but a little weak

>>21476394
Yeah, it's almost certainly not as humid as the average warehouse in southeast Asia

>>21476946
>diluting with ice? nah man I'll just dilute it in a pint of cold water straight up
at least he spilled some adequately

>>21476946
I've been tempted to try making ice cubes out of Chinese black tea.

>>21477974
>Water is bad
But tea contains water?

I'm running out of good black tea.
Is vietsun my best bet? Their deep forest stuff is one of the best black teas I've had so far.

>>21478232
if that's what you liked then yeah, probably is
personally I only really like very sweet and desserty black teas

As much as I love tea I would still drink a cup of coffee in the morning if it wasn't such a pain in the ass to prepare.

>>21478208
let us n0t be 0btuse with 0ne an0ther br0ther

newbie back with more things i tried. I'm trying to finish the ones i have before buying more. They're all from taetea because im not sure where i go from here. i bought a second 7572. I now regret this after trying the ripe chun pin. It's what i liked about the 7572 but without the tobacco taste. the after taste is tangy and fruity as well like black currants. I really enjoy this so much more than the 7572. The raw one i purchased I have not drank enough but i think im just going to let it sit for a while until i try it again. it still tastes way too bitter.

is there anymore like this chunpin or a direction I should be looking in to? i really enjoy this i've been drinking it 2x a day.

>>21478445
Pour over.

>>21478531
You still have to deal with grinding the beans and all kinds of variables. If you want a single cup of tea in the morning you just put the leaves in the infuser, pour water on it, and wait a few minutes.

Are any of your cats obsessed with your puerh? This fucker is so annoying trying to keep stealing tea. He'll even eat the tea leaves

Today, I received an order from Purple Cloud Teahouse. I bought the 2005 Four Gold Coins Liu Bao, and they gave me 2012 Betel Nut Aroma for free.

My god, I was impressed with the Four Gold Coins Liu Bao. Ungodly complex. Got notes of clean loam, petrichor, forest floor, wet garden soil, walnuts, maybe incense, leather, creaminess, something caramelized, sweetness, vanilla. So tasty, I think I could go for some more. But I want to try out that betel nut aroma next. Very nice and relaxing. I think I like this better than ripe pu'erh

[spoiler]But I found a straight hair at the end of my session. Maybe it adds flavor?[/spoiler]

blak ti wery gut from czajna bat tu macz słit potejto tejst somtajm, derfor not soł macz blak ti in maj dajet naładejs. hołp dis helps. stil, dianhong olłejs gut. fo jo helf.

>>21478569
Your cat has the reincarnated soul of an ancient puerh lesbian, can’t help itself

>>21478462
I haven't had this recipe, so can't comment. I thought Haiwan 9978 had a good bit of that fruitiness too.

>>21478726
Yeah liu bao is a bit more interesting than most ripe

>>21478445
>>21478547
Get a decent coffee machine. I don't drink it but my mum got one and all our guests apparently say it's really good coffee.

>>21479001
What kind did she get?

>>21478569
cats love puer

>>21478726
I'm getting into the 2012 betel nut aroma. This is quite nice. Not sure what betel nuts taste/smell like. Getting slightly bitter like coffee grounds or dark chocolate, very nutty, incense, sweet, maybe clean soil and pipe tobacco. Will report back with more steeps.

Does anyone have any other recommendations from purplecloudteahouse? To re-iterate what I said previously, I really do like this better than ripe pu'erhs.

Any good recommendations for cold brew tea?

Some form of mint is usually my go-to, especially mint and vanilla or black tea with mint, and herbal/floral flavors are preferred, but I’m not picky.

I'm feeling hesitant buying matcha in bulk. Not just because of the price tag but storage. I assume the fridge is the safest for longevity? I might be insane going these lengths for grassy water.

What are some more expensive teas that really stand out from the crowd? I want to sample some fancy stuff to get a taste of what it’s like not to be poor. I’ve tried a couple of pricier aged raws, they were tasty, but they didn’t blow my mind.

>>21479436
I like cold brew yerba mate

>>21479394
The final steeps were really nice smooth, almost like a burnt, woody, caramelized flavor. Similar to that of incense.
>>21479436
I like Japanese greens brewed cold. Also, white teas are really nice for cold brew. Might also try chinese greens (haven't tried that before.) Something light might be nice.

>>21479155
A delonghi. I don't know the model but you put in roasted whole beans, it grinds them for you and you get out a cup of coffee. Also has a steam thingy for milk frothing that we don't really use much.
It's not a bottom tier budget model but it's also not something obscenely expensive, I know that much. Just some decent/mid-range consumer model.

>>21479679
I don't think anything like that exists. Expensive shit is probably somewhat tastier though it's bound to be dependent on preference, and more importantly it's mostly going to be unique and unlike the stuff you can buy cheap. Not that that's guaranteed either, given that tasting is not an exact science, and some stuff might be old and rare therefore expensive but the actual taste might end up quite similar to a much cheaper tea.
I suspect the main draw of expensive teas is going to be very old raws, because you can't speed-age a raw, and as far as I know other younger teas (like ripes) are not really similar to raws. So at least they'll have the uniqueness aspect - you can't buy a cheap equivalent to a very aged raw. But that doesn't mean it's gonna blow your mind; if you like old raws then paying a lot is going to be your only option, but it's not a guarantee that they'll be your favourite tea, let alone mind-blowingly good.

>>21480009
>you can't speed-age a raw
isn't that kind of what hong kong traditional storage is?

>buying young raw
just pick something random from farmerleaf or something bro
>buying aged raw
you bought thin paper 2007 8653 instead of 2005 thick paper traditional characters T8653?
congratulations, you bought literal undrinkable garbage. the prices are 3x different between different websites btw, but fuck knows which one is stored better. have fun!

>>21480054
Tea is fucked.
Even young raw is sketchy if you leave the safe space of FL and dip your toe into murky water of taobao.
It's all random, doesn't matter the year, location, factory, price, specific label...
Life is much easier once you accept this.

>>21480054
>>21480143
Puer sounds rough to deal with.

>>21480223
Young raw and ripe is fine, it's the aged raw that can be annoying to buy, at least if you're trying to valuemaxx

>>21475192
recipe for this 'spearmint tea' you speak of?

I read the words but I'm still not sure what I'm looking at

>>21480400
Tea

>>21480400
hei cha. these are sometimes pressed into pillars, the pillars can be much bigger than this one

>>21480400
>3.6kg for $60
That's wild, I wonder if it's complete shite
>>21480452
I'm confused about the different colours, is the tea only in the black part? What's the beige stuff around? It kinda looks like sawdust. Is just it so cheap because 80% of the weight is sawdust packing or something

>>21480452
damn, this stuff is crazy looking

>>21480460
>I wonder if it's complete shite
I've heard pretty good things about them though it's different to other heicha. There's one anon about who has a slice off a big one and said it's nice.

>>21480464
The forbidden brownies

>>21480460
No idea what the different colors are about. These are mostly made from cheap rough material with lots of stems, so they tend to be cheap. Much like with ripe, the fermentation does a lot of the work taste-wise.
No idea how these change with age. Probably in a good way.

Made a London Fog, pretty tasty.

>>21480503
Damn that sounds great. Haven't had one in months. Brb.

>>21480527
Yeah I read about it a while back and thought it sounded good. Then I remembered I had a cheap milk frother from back when I drank coffee, so I picked up some vanilla extract earlier when I bought groceries.

>>21480223
>>21480143
>if you leave the safe space of FL
That's all i need desu. fair honest pricing, accurate labeling and descriptions, large curated selection ranging from daily drinkers to baller cakes. I'm pretty much a happy camper as far as young raws go. it's with all the other teas that i struggle with because i still haven't found a go-to site for them. especially greens and whites.

>>21480535
I'll keep that in mind if I ever try puer.

>>21480535
I think one river tea is a white tea specialist, though I haven't bought from them myself

>>21480532
I've had a box of this kicking around so london fogs are really the only way I drink it. Shitty thin oat milk today and a little Magnolia-star vanilla paste.
https://www.hugotea.com/collections/black-tea/products/hugo-grey

>>21480535
FL has a house taste just like every other manufacturer.
If you won't try what others have in stock, you are missing our.
Even FL dude says, "Try a lot of vendors to see what you like."
For example, this year, FL releases didn't catch my eye too much, so if I didn't have other vendors as a back up, I would have to way till next autumn/next year.

>>21480724
True, it's good to try other sites. Cspuerh also has some cool young raws and free shipping. And they do lots of blends, which is something different entireely from what FL does.

>>21480054
>buying young raw
>just pick something random from farmerleaf
>buying aged raw
Just pick something random from teaswelike, or thejadeleaf if you really want small samples.

>>21480800
>Just pick something random from teaswelike
I'd love to do that, but the only things I can afford on that site is the twelve cent brick and the cheap tuos

>>21480822
Then buy samples from jade leaf. It is still expensive though.

>>21480855
I'll probably just buy some factory cakes from QuicheTeas

>>21480400
I love hei cha. This stuff is called qian liang. Qian meaning 10,000, liang being some unit of measurement. Rolled into logs as a group activity like a taffy pull and aged in somebody's attic for a decade or more. It tastes the way Autumn feels on your soul.
>>21480452
They can be HUGE.
>>21480460
They're refreshing and pleasant and a culturally interesting genre of tea, but a little boring if that's all you have available. It's a supplement to a tea collection, not the main attraction. Given how cheap it is, once one becomes aware of it, they should definitely get some. A slice is a sample.
>>21480470
I have a 2009 qian liang slice with golden flowers in it. I hear it calling my name now.

>>21480861
Their collection seems pretty well curated too, that's probably a good choice.

>>21480873
>I have a 2009 qian liang slice with golden flowers in it. I hear it calling my name now.
Can you please post a picture of it if you decide to make some?

>>21480891
Here are some older shots, at any rate. I've chewed through half of it or so and it's not quite as aesthetic any more. Mine has a seed pod jiggling around in it.

good morning I love white tea

>>21480899
Neat, it looks like a slice of a tree trunk made out of leaves. Thanks.

>>21480900
what are your favorite ones?
for me, I love that cheap aged shou mei cake from KTM. so sweet and desserty.

>>21471018 (OP)
How do i into tea? Been trying to get into the habit of drinking tea as im consuming way too much coffee. Where should i start?

>>21481016
try a lot of samples from some popular chinese vendors like white2tea or yunnansourcing to find out what types of tea you like

>>21479350
the cat looks like puerh

>>21481016
First place to start is just black loose leaf you can buy anywhere in the west. You don't have to jump directly into chinese duck shit fermented tea. Start with some decent loose leaf blacks (here in bongland ceylon tea is the most common mass market one that comes in half-decent quality, idk how it is in other places); it's going to be inoffensive and will do the job of being a drink you can brew for a bit of caffeine.

Then try some greens, a couple of different oolongs, and maybe a starter sample pack of puerhs and/or heicha, and/or get samples of various blacks from china and/or india to taste. And if you find you like some type, explore more of that kind or similar ones.

>>21479436
Lemon balm

The glass jug of my water filter keeps developing this green growth/substance on the bottom and I keep ignoring it. What flavor will this be imparting to my tea?

>>21481962
Tasty tasty algae notes

>>21480873
Very interesting thanks.
So Hei Cha is just Pu-Erh style tea, which is made outside the area of Pu-Erh?
Is there a way to see whether a Hei Cha is wet fermented ripe style or raw processing?

>>21482029
>So Hei Cha is just Pu-Erh style tea
Not exactly, it's in the same category of fermented teas, but there are differences
Liu bao often specifies if it's ripe or raw. Ripe liu bao tastes quite similar to ripe puerh

>>21482029
AFAIK heicha is a kind of catch-all for fermented teas that aren't puerh, so there's multiple different kinds of hei. Like the one with the yellow mold for example.

>>21482037
There's raw liubao? I had no idea. Where can I get some?

>>21482050
Thought all heicha was yellow mold bricks?

>>21482051
No, liubao is also a type of heicha for example.

>>21482050
>Where can I get some?
For example here:
https://white2tea.com/collections/heicha/products/2022-raw-spring-liubao
https://teaswelike.com/product/2012-rustic-liubao/

Most of the big factory productions are ripe liu bao, but raw is still being made by smaller producers

>>21482059
Interesting, thanks anon!
>young raw liubao
This feels like the complete opposite of the liubao I've normally seen, fascinating

>>21482063
>young raw liubao
yeah aged raw liubao is not that rare, but the young stuff is not very commonly available from western facing vendors, I think

>>21482068
Would you consider the 2012 one aged or semi-aged?

>>21482079
I have no idea, but considering how much very old liu bao there is out there, I would guess it's more semiaged and has further aging potential

>>21482106
Yeah but most of the very old liubao seems to just be ancient ripe that just never got sold for decades.

2025 Peak Vulture
Simple but intense earthy cocoa flavor with hints of typical ripe vanilla creaminess.
Heavy, thick mouthfeel is the standout feature. Biggest body of any ripe I've had, though I've only had cheap ones.

How do you safely get the tea stains off of the little porcelain gongfu tea pots? I accidentally scratched a bit of the non-glossy part of the lid but this stuff won't come off.

>>21482111
It wouldn't be a bad thing if Peak Vulture was everybody's first ripe.
>>21482200
I use a melamine sponge once a month or so.

>>21473909

>>21479350
>>21478569
disgusting

>>21478765
nikt oprócz mnie nie zrozumiał
>>21479436
gunpowder's smokiness can get nicely pulled out through a cold brew

>>21481134
You are what you eat

>>21482422
ja zrozumiałem, ale nie rozumiem
>>21482279
it's pretty good

>>21482579
ja też
tekst zrozumiałem ale nie mam pojęcie kogo referencjuje

>>21482579
>>21482422
I wonder if mfs who don't speak English and have to speak publicly get their notes in this format, just phonetic in whatever their native lang is. Łórks ełri tajm.

>>21482624
presidents can usually speak at like b1 or b2 level
but I would not be surprised if lower placed officials did get notes like that
if it's stupid and it works it's not stupid or something

Friend just got back from Beijing, and brought these to split and try, among others.
Anyone tried and knows what we're in for, beyond what can be searched online with translator etc? He bought it after trying it, but tested so many that day it's become a blur, apparently.
Also got a shitload of free stuff in smaller quantities (notably white tea chenpi tuo [??] and 2024 灵芽 wild white), so much so that even if the odd 古树熟茶 label wasn't really true I wouldn't be too mad. Very curious to try, might post my thoughts after I get my hands on the stuff.

>>21482459
you wouldn't brew a cat.

>>21482661
But a cat would eat the brew

>>21478765
the fuck is slit potato taste

>>21482624
>>21482629
How often do a lower ranking official from a non-English speaking country need to make speeches in English, anyway?
It's fucking awful to read in both directions by the way, because none of the words make sense so it's just gibberish. If you absolutely have to make a speech in a foreign language, the only way is probably to just rehearse endlessly. It's not like phonetic spelling in one language can map 1:1 to the phonemes in another, so even if you practiced enough to read notes like that fluently, you'd butcher most of the pronunciation anyway and it'd sound horrible; you really just need to learn the actual spoken speech by heart.

>>21482668
>How often do a lower ranking official from a non-English speaking country need to make speeches in English, anyway?
in the eu bureaucracy they can speak in english but don't have to and any meeting/trade deals is when

>It's not like phonetic spelling in one language can map 1:1 to the phonemes in another, so even if you practiced enough to read notes like that fluently, you'd butcher most of the pronunciation anyway and it'd sound horrible; you really just need to learn the actual spoken speech by heart.
not quite

a phonetic spelling will just sound like a bad accent (which is forgivable for ESLs) and reading a phonetic spelling is easier than memorizing a few dozen words
if it's going to be anything it's rehearsals combined with a phonetically spelled note

>the fuck is slit potato taste
sweet potato taste the ł is pronounced like a w in words

>>21482682
>the ł is pronounced like a w in words
That's retarded

>>21482683
łorks on my machine

>>21471018 (OP)
Are bumpy cakes that much more pleasurable? How exactly can you use the bumps?

It's about time to do a round of fixes on the Tease extension, does anyone have any request for sites to add? I feel like I could add some japanese vendors but I don't drink that myself.

>>21482878
Some of the JP sites would be nice!

>>21482878
What extension is that

>>21482878
if i can make a recommendation: please don't add matcha producers. I never added them to the guide because prices are already up 50% due to the shortage. Don't need more people to compete with

>>21482900
>Don't need more people to compete with
>14 Users

Which yerba mate brand is good?

>>21482965
depends what you like
>grassy, mild, not smoky
Cruz de Malta, Kraus, most Brazilian and Uruguayan brands
>smoky, darker, punchier
any Paraguayan brand. I like Pajarito, Kurupi, Fede Rico, Indega (this one is earthier than others)

>>21482889
Any favourites? I hear hibiki-an mentioned a bit.

>>21482896
You can find it on your browser's extension store, it's for adding price per gram to tea sites.
>>21482900
I feel like that rules out the popular ones. Not sure my 20 odd users will make a difference either. I could leave the names out of the description I guess.

>>21482972
What about argentinian brands? seeing these the most

>>21482900
>I never added them to the guide because prices are already up 50% due to the shortage.
Isn't that every site from Japan though?

>>21482975
Cruz de Malta and Kraus are Argentinian.
I find that Argentinian brands vary the most, you get some mild ones and some smoky ones. IIRC Rosamonte and Amanda are a bit smokier, and then they have some full on smoky like La Merced Barbacua.
They all tend to be less dusty / finely ground than Paraguayan brands. Makes them a bit more convenient to drink, though I tend to like that darker, smokier dark herbal-woody Paraguayan flavor the most.

>>21482878
>round of fixes
It works on the yunnan sourcing .com site but not the .us

>>21482990
Never had mate before, i'm thinking of just cold brewing it, might get a pajarito (cool bird on package)

>>21483001
Oh shit i just found messi on a mate box

>>21483001
True, I even have a Pajarito brand tin can I keep yerba mate in
You could get that + something less smoky cause not everyone likes smoky mate

>>21483020

What's the right way to cold brew mate? I tried it once and as I recall it was all bitty and dusty and fucked up. But I'm retarded.

>>21483026
>Fill teacup with yerba mate (halfway through is okay, depends on the size of cup)
>Put in bombilla (drinking straw with filter)
>Add ice cold water (ice cubes work well too)
>Wait like two minutes or however long you want
>Slurp
>Add more water, slowly lenghten brewing time
>Slurp
>When the leaves seem spent, you can add hot water to extract more out of them

>>21483024
Looks nice

>>21483035
I see. I dumped it into my pitcher and put it in the fridge like I would with tea. That makes way more sense, thanks.

>>21483042
This is what i planned on doing
>>21483035
Do i really needa filter straw for this

>>21483065
>Do i really need a filter straw for this
I think a french press also works well. Tea strainers usually struggle with all the dust.

>>21483035
I would add to this:
Step 1. Once you filled your cup or gourd with mate, but before adding the water, cover it with your hand and flip it, shake very gently, then flip it again. Your hand will have a green dust circle on it, which you can wash off. This is essential so that you remove the finer dust particles that the straw can't filter.

Also important:
Once the straw goes in you never move it. You don't stir it. Or shake it. You just plant it deep in there and it's never moved again until you are done drinking the mate.

If you are going all in like this, trying it out the traditional way, I would try it hot since that's how it's consumed. If you are going in hot, remember it's not boiling water, but just hot. (70° C, not 100° C)

If you just want cold brewed mate then you can also buy "mate cocido", which comes in litte tea bags. That one is meant to be drunk cold.

>>21482636
>A good cake of tea
I appreciate the straight forwardness.
Anyway, you have a good friend. Let's see a photo of the white tea tuo with chenpi.

>>21483035
I would add to this:
Step 1. Once you filled your cup or gourd with mate, but before adding the water, cover it with your hand and flip it, shake very gently, then flip it again. Your hand will have a green dust circle on it, which you can wash off. This is essential so that you remove the finer dust particles that the straw can't filter.

Also important:
Once the straw goes in you never move it. You don't stir it. Or shake it. You just plant it deep in there and it's never moved again until you are done drinking the mate.

If you are going in hot, remember it's not boiling water, but just hot. (70° C, not 100° C).
If you are going in cold (which is called terere) you can also add some lemon or citrus to the water.

You can also buy "mate cocido", which comes in litte tea bags.

>>21482983
Some suppliers haven't raised their prices much because they're more domestic focused than those that sell directly to overseas.

>>21482974
I wasn't sure the reach you had honestly.

>>21471018 (OP)
>any place that sells lots of flavored tea that isn't french.
Why's French tea an exception?

maybe im late to this bros but i just watched a meileaf video where he takes 12g of ground up tea and brews it into a shot with an aeropress and adds frothy milk... i kinda like the idea ngl. I've made milk tea before because it's a great way to use up teas that i didn't really enjoy gongfu. the milk makes it smooth and luxurious, but it's true that this method takes a long time boiling the tea and you end up with like half a liter of tea that's not really thaaaat strong. this aeropress method seems like it makes a much stronger shot which should lead to a more flavorful drink after adding the milk. I might just get an aeropress to try it myself. My only concern is getting tea dust into the final cup since it's all ground up. maybe using those paper aeropress filters might fix it?

>>21483437
dont do it anon itll come out like shit tea isn't coffee and should not be brewed like coffee.

>>21483440
hmmm why not? this just seems like a faster way to make a stronger milk tea. matcha with frothy milk is really nice, you just have to make sure the matcha shot is strong enough so it still tastes like matcha, just creamier. Of course regular roasted/dry tea that's been crushed to dust probably won't easily incorporate into water as well as matcha does, so i think this aeropress method does make sense to get that strong shot out of it.

>>21483457

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiVl3sR3ZIQ

Thank me later

>>21483465
b-but... this just looks like the same thing but slower desu

>>21483437
I do this semi often.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QU88iVD8yUA

>>21483141
I guess I fucked it up and it was never a tuo, just a mini-brick, however it does say Yunnan chenpi white (right?)
Curious about that one too, though idk how many of those he has. Should have the teas by next week so I can start cracking them open very slowly

Trying out the butterly tea from KTM, grandpa brewing obviously because I'm not gay. It's my first time trying a chinese black tea.
It smells really good, like a very very nice black. The taste is very unusual though - indian teas do have some differences (e.g. darjeeling vs ceylon vs. assam) but they're still all clearly similar, whereas this one tastes starkly different. I'm not even sure how to describe it, it tastes kind of both mellow and slightly acidic at the same time.
I'm wondering if I might have overbrewed it. Since I drink everything granpa I'm no stranger to strong teas but usually they just become very strong and eventually a little bit bitter, not so much acidic, but like I said I've never had a normal chinese black before. Maybe I also didn't put in enough leaves for a strong flavour - later I'll try more tea in a smaller cup and see how that goes.

>>21483437
>My only concern is getting tea dust into the final cup since it's all ground up. maybe using those paper aeropress filters might fix it?
Nothing solid is going to get through one of them.

>>21484138
Is it the tanyang gong fu you got? Can you take photos of the leaves? I'd really appreciate it, as there is no photo on the site and I think there might be different grades of that tea.

Yeah, chinese black teas are different. They tend to be more chocolaty, or cocoa like and sweeter, though there are lots of varieties.

>>21483829
Ah. I've only seen tuos for puerh. It would have been interesting to see a chenpi white.
>Yunnan chenpi white tea
Let me know how it is when they show up.

>>21484212
Yep that's the one.
Here's a shitty photo of the leaves after infusion. They're medium sized pieces, and rolled into tubes in the tin, I can get you a photo of that later if you want.
Also I tried a second infusion and it barely infused at all, so I definitely didn't use nearly enough leaves, I can normally get two cups even from a darjeeling.

>Yeah, chinese black teas are different. They tend to be more chocolaty, or cocoa like and sweeter
Makes sense. Considering there are a whole bunch of indian varieties and a whole bunch of chinese ones, I didn't imagine there'd be such a big difference between the two - Darjeeling (the province) is right on the border to China, for example. Well I got a small handful to test so I'll see how I like them.

>>21484361
>can get you a photo of that later if you want
I'd like that!
hmm, doesn't really look like the tanyang gong fu I had. maybe it is a lower grade, that would explain the much lower price. the other one was 25 cents per gram

>>21484389
And later is now. I'd believe it if it was a low grade considering how cheap it was, I only threw it into my order at the last minute based on a quick rec by another anon (maybe you kek).

>>21484389
>>21484403
Closeup.
The tin says "Grade: 1st grade" by the way kek.

>>21484406
>>21484403
yeah, the one I had was fancier and looked more like a jin jun mei. and cost 4x as much lol
but CNNP is a well known brand so I'm sure it's a decent daily drinker

>>21484427
Yeah that's totally different, even the colour of the leaves huh.
It's not bad so far, I'll need to make a properly strong cup later since like I mentioned I'm pretty sure I underbrewed it significantly today. But I got a ton of teas in my order so I might try some others before I get back around to this one. I actually got some jin jun mei too, I'll probably try that one tomorrow.

>>21484434
The golden part is a young tea bud and usually signifies a more expensive tea

>>21483065
>Do i really needa filter straw for this
They're cheap and also very nice for grandpa brewed tea so I recommend getting one anyway

>>21484560
Should i get a flavored one?
So far i'm thinking of getting 1 argentinian 1 paraguayan and 1 brazilian, all unflavored

>>21484696
The flavored ones can be hit or miss. Some are good, some are a little fake tasting.
An herbal blend could be a good idea though. I like Colon Completo, which has a lot of chamomile. But there are also lots of blends with mint and other herbs.

>>21484709
Some of the unflavored ones seem to have added sugar, think i'm going to avoid those.
Added a mint one

>>21484742
This is what i'm thinking

>>21484745
Note that chimarrao is very finely ground and can be hard to filter

>>21484768
Yeeah all of the coarser cuts are out of stock so i went with this for brazil

heicha really is the best tea type bros... there's puer of course which we all know is great, but aside from that, fu bricks and raw liu bao are so good and comfy, why are they so neglected?

(p.s. white tea close second, everything else can fight for third)

>>21486197
any reccs for fu bricks?

>>21486198
i've only had a few, but i really liked the 2018 version of this one. looking for reccs of anything similar myself. otherwise i'll probably just grab the same one again.
https://yunnansourcing.us/products/mojun-fu-cha-1368-fu-brick-tea

>>21486197
Give me some recs for raw liubao. I know another anon posted a couple of links above but I'm curious to hear your opinions since you like it so much
Up till now I've been enjoying ripe liubao a lot so I wanna try some good raws

thinking of ordering from QuicheTeas
which of these raws would you buy? I'm not getting all of them, probably one or two
leaning towards the 8582, as I hear it's a good batch and well-aged
there is also a cheap 2007 Mengku cake

>>21486433
Damn, less than $60 for a cake of 17y.o. 8582 that's supposedly well aged? That sounds like a pretty good buy.

Trying the jin jun mei from my order now. Man, it is VERY nutty and tastes even less like the "normal" black teas I'm used to than the butterfly tanyang I had yesterday. It also smells equally unusual - almost cloyingly sweet to the point of being unpleasant, it tastes better than in smells though.
As I'm letting it (over)brew longer I'm noticing more notes of normal (to me) tea bitterness coming through which is making it tastier because that's what I'm used to. Otherwise I'm trying to convince myself that I like it. It also looks like it'll be plenty strong enough for a second grandpa brew so I'll see how that goes later.

>>21486448
Yeah, the guy resells from some Taiwanese puerh specialist store with quite small markup. So no Kunming dry-ass storage.

>>21486481
I recall getting a "dark bread with honey" kind of flavor from the KTM Jin Jun Mei. With a honey fragrance. I also liked it more when brewed strong, I thought it was very nice that way.

>>21486533
Yeah I bought from them recently
>>21474405 (me)
>>21474474 (me)
I think I passed up on the 8582 because I wanted to try the changtai since I've only had a couple teas from changtai, but now I wish I just said fuck it and got both.

>>21486564
Any in-depth review or comparison for the Changtai cake?

>>21486573
Sure, I'll do it tomorrow.

>>21480904
I bought a bai mu dan cake a while ago and it's amazing, it has a very potent and clean white tea taste

>>21486573
Other anon here, I'm getting my quarters set in today.
I'll report back on the changtai when it comes in.

>>21486573
>>21486723
nice, can't wait.
would love to hear about the other cakes in the quarter set too, as I am mostly choosing between the 8582, T8653 and Changtai Brown

>>21486730
>would love to hear about the other cakes in the quarter set too, as I am mostly choosing between the 8582, T8653 and Changtai Brown
Why not just order the quarter set then, since it has all of those and more.

Trying grandpa style for the first time. Used some black tea with smaller leaves so I was a bit worried it wouldn't work, but they all settled at the bottom of the cup. Taste isn't quite strong enough so I'm going to add some more leaves when I refill. That being said -- the only cup with a lid I have a steel mug so it's not the most pleasant vessel to drink tea from, lol.

>>21486734
I might, but I kind of like having a whole cake. A cake is a sample after all.

>>21486323
i can +1 the white2tea 2022 spring liubao that anon posted before.
it's like drinking a bunch of different tea types a the same time, super nice.
for something super cheap i also like this one
https://white2tea.com/products/2021-chapo
$0.08/g is literal walmart tea bag cheap and i think it's a pretty cozy tea, tastes like what I'd imagine a pile of fallen autumn leaves taste like. or maybe like old book lol idk. definitely not as complex as that 2022 spring one but at that price I can't complain.

>>21486750
Isn't a quarter enough? But anon... it's cheaper...

>>21486723
Also, how do you guys suggest I brew this?
I was thinking about hitting it with boiling water.

I don't get why people call ripe pu er fishy. I just tried macha for the first time (granted it's a cheap store bought one hence probably horrible). I expected the seaweed and some bitterness but it's the fishiest tea I ever had by far. The empty cup smells almost like the herring tin I just put in the bin.

Anyway, it's nice to have escaped neetdom and have dispensable money again to spend outside of ripe daily drinkers.

>>21486842
Boiling water, gong fu style. Look up a guide if you're new.

>>21486852
>gong fu style
No shit, nigger. I meant recommended (specific) steeping times, since I know it can vary.

>>21486806
Whole cake of anything in the quarter set is 60$ + 15$ shipping, comes out cheaper than the 100$ per gram. Though of course, you're paying for the variety, which is a goos trade off too.

>>21486853
I think this is something you have to get a feel for yourself with the particular tea. I'd probably go quite short on the 2010 7542 as it might still be punchy.

>>21486847
You know, I've had a suspicion there's a fairly wide gamut of sensitivity to fishiness. I typically think of myself as somebody who can pick out notes in tea, beer, food, whatever. Keen nose. However fishy notes in ripe puerh, especially young ripe puerh, is not something I notice. Sure there's a strange ripe aroma that's a little tough to place. I don't deny others may interpret that as fishiness. I've had kilos and kilos of the stuff, mostly fresh ripe, and I've never thought of it as fishy. I this as a /deenz/ enthusiast.

If I'm wrong, link to me the worst, dankest, nastiest, fishiest ripe puerh you've ever heard of and I'll try it. Until then, the worst raw I've had was far more terrible than the worst ripe I've had.

>>21486847
>nice to have escaped neetdom and have dispensable money again
Good on ya, anon. Keep at it.

>>21486873
>However fishy notes in ripe puerh, especially young ripe puerh, is not something I notice.
Same here. The only ripe I ever perceived as fishy was one I bought at the grocery store years before I was into tea.
I agree that some people are probably way more predisposed to getting fishy aromas from ripe.

First time trying ding dong from teahome, great stuff I gotta say.
For some reason all the outlets selling oolong here treat it as some kind of hyper fancy speciality tea and charge huge markups, and apparently I've been a fool for ever even trying those because you can get it from taiwan, and it's just as good, for the same price as a random cheapo black or ripe - literally 5-6x cheaper than what you'd pay here for a "specialty" one. At least I never bought a lot of it so now I know it's basically the same thing. And now I can make oolong my daily drinker if I want to without feeling like I'm pissing away money.

>>21486764
Nice, I'll check that out then. I just ordered like two dozen teas so I might not place any other orders for a little while but I'm keeping it in mind.

New thread:
>>21487095
>>21487095
>>21487095