Poll of the Day > I'm still obsessed with tea

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eating4fun
10/23/20 12:06:27 AM
#1:


I drink tea, the superior beverage of choice. Post here about it. Ask questions, or just post about having a good cup.

I've been drinking habitually for almost 2 years now. Mostly Indian or Chinese loose leaf black tea from specific renown regions or estates. I only use sugar/milk if I'm making masala chai, or if it's a poor brew.

Like last time, I'll be doing nearly daily posts to diary my tea habit.

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Wanded
10/23/20 12:09:51 AM
#2:


hot chocolate or bust

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eating4fun
10/23/20 12:20:52 AM
#3:


Today's tea: 1 pint of tippy Assam black tea.

Since it's a new topic, I'll debrief some things. Assam is the largest tea producing region in the world, located in India. Renown for it's strong and malty flavor, common component of breakfast teas.

Tips are the fresh buds of the tea plant and are prized for their stronger flavor. There are teas composed of only tips and go for a super premium. Lower quality teas often have no buds for this reason.

I avoid tea bags because it's typically lower quality, and quality tea bags are economically a lesser value than loose leaf.

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JigsawTDC
10/23/20 2:44:37 AM
#4:


I really enjoy tea myself. Blacks, greens, oolongs, whites, pu erhs. My favorite tea like thing is yerba mate, but it's a different plant. But still.

Pu erhs in particular are weird and I'm not sure I'd have gotten into them if it wasn't for this tea spot in Santa Cruz, CA called Hidden Peak Teahouse. The place specialized in pu erhs and they had this traditional Chinese ceremonial option for tea service called gung fu. I had been many times before, but they also had options I was more familiar with and for really cheap (like fifty cents to a dollar!), so I had always gone with that.

But this particular time I was tripping on acid the day after my friend had just died and thought it would be a good place to relax. It was, and the gung fu service sounded cool to us, so we went with it and each got a different pu erh to share and try. It was a great experience. The gung fu ceremony was very cool to learn about and the tea wasn't like others I have had. I didn't actually like it much at the time, but I have grown to like them quite a bit. They have a much deeper and earthier flavor that isn't as immediately palatable as, say, an oolong, but personally I like the complexity in the flavor and the earthiness.

I currently have a couple really good oolongs that a tea shop I used to go to got imported from China. They're very tasty.
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JigsawTDC
10/23/20 2:50:21 AM
#5:


Oh also, another cool tea experience: when I lived in Sierra Leone a very common way to drink tea was called ataya which is pretty much just Gunpowder green tea (or in other cases some other black or green tea) brewed for 8+ hours and then mixed with sugar. Served warm to hot. It's better than it sounds though it's not something I'm immediately itching to make myself. Ataya bars were cool place to meet people though, and particularly good for when I wanted a caffeine fix. I'd go, have a drink, and play a checkers like game with slight rule variation with other people who lived in my town. Ataya bars are mostly frequented by muslims as it became popular in their culture as an alternative social beverage to alcohol.
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fishy071
10/23/20 3:14:43 AM
#6:


I still drink tea almost everyday.

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eating4fun
10/23/20 1:17:07 PM
#7:


today's tea: 1 pint of chinese black tea blend.

I bought a pound of this a year ago because I liked it a lot. Well actually, I bought 1/2 lb of it, and I received 1 lb. Anyways, I'll still be drinking this for a while because 1 lb is a lot of tea. I started drinking this less when I discovered keemun and yunnan black teas which are now my new favorite teas. This tea still stands its own ground.

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eating4fun
10/24/20 12:49:18 AM
#8:


Tonight's tea: 1 pint of chamomile blend.

I felt a strong desire to try new tea, so now I've ordered a pound of tea...

https://i.imgur.com/vjRAPX9.png

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wolfy42
10/24/20 1:01:57 AM
#9:


fishy071 posted...
I still drink tea almost everyday.


Still don't believe you. Something about your posts is always a little fishy.

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eating4fun
10/25/20 12:32:09 PM
#10:


yesterday's tea: no tea

today's tea: 1 pint of keemun black tea

Keemun, (According to Brits back before there was a standard how to anglicize), or Qimen, a small region in China well known for their black tea. I like it a lot. There's a distinct characteristic to them that I don't know how to describe. It's rich without being malty?

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JigsawTDC
10/25/20 3:44:07 PM
#11:


Do you get your teas online or from a local shop that imports teas? I was doing the latter, but recently moved. So if you know of any good websites for tea, lmk!

And I know you mostly like black teas, but have you ever tried a pu errh?
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eating4fun
10/25/20 5:38:33 PM
#12:




I've tried puerh twice. One was heavily flavored with something orange, and the other was probably low quality and had a prominent fishy taste/smell that I could just stomach. I'm still a little interested to try it, but I have a hard time thinking I'll find something to prefer over black tea.

I buy my tea online. I've recently moved, and there are some shops in the area that do sell loose leaf tea, but I haven't visited them yet.

Some places to buy tea online, Harney and Sons, Simpson and Vail, Yunnan Sourcing, Mariage Freres.

H&S - sells a lot of flavored stuff (I'm not into it), but also a large variety. Practically every well-known tea, as well as single estate ones too.

S&V - Don't know too much, but I just ordered a bunch from them to check it out.

Yunnan Sourcing - Has a huge variety sourced right from China. Appears high quality and affordable, but probably offset by shipping cost/time.

Mariage Freres - Apparently well known in Europe, renown for their quality and blends.

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eating4fun
10/26/20 5:00:01 PM
#13:


today's tea: 1 pint of floral yunnan black tea.

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eating4fun
10/27/20 3:38:58 PM
#14:


today's tea: 1 pint of keemun+assam.

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eating4fun
10/28/20 7:18:50 PM
#15:


Woo, tea shipment came in.

tonight's tea: 1 pint of tippy colombian black tea. I didn't brew it very strong, but it was pretty strong. Tastes similar to generic black tea (like yorkshire gold), but without overpowering bitterness. Can notice tippy flavors. Decent brew.

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JigsawTDC
10/28/20 9:01:22 PM
#16:


Thank you for the online recommendations!
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eating4fun
10/29/20 1:57:17 PM
#17:


today's tea: 1 pint of new yunnan black tea. Disappoint. Tastes very similar to the chinese black tea blend I already have, but it is smoother.

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eating4fun
10/29/20 5:58:13 PM
#18:


afternoon tea: 1 pint of gyokuro, which is a kind of japanese green tea related to sencha. Pretty good. I don't think I used enough leaf per the intended brewing methods.

Sencha is dried differently than green tea, giving it a remarkably different taste. Gyokuro involves starving tea bushes of sunlight before harvest, remarkably changing its taste.

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eating4fun
11/01/20 12:39:45 AM
#19:


Yesterday's tea: another pint of gyokuro. Reused yesterday's leaf. Definitely messed something up with either temperature or brewing time because it tasted like weak generic green tea. Or maybe the leaf can't overnight well.

Today's tea: unknown oolong. Pretty decent.

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eating4fun
11/02/20 12:16:19 PM
#20:


Yesterday's tea: no tea

Today's tea: 1 pint of longjing green tea

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eating4fun
11/04/20 5:38:38 PM
#21:


Today n yesterday: no tea, but I did some weird beverage with jujubes

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eating4fun
11/05/20 3:41:43 PM
#22:


Today's tea: 3 cups of longjing green tea

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RCtheWSBC
11/05/20 4:12:53 PM
#23:


I just got an order of bella luna herbal tea: a mix of butterfly pea, lemongrass and blueberries.

@eating4fun I don't think I've ever asked: how do you brew your tea? I've been reading into the gaiwan method and I'm curious to try it.

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eating4fun
11/06/20 1:24:35 AM
#24:


I usually brew normal western way. 2 g leafper cup. Leaf in a brewing cup, use boiling water, steep 3-5 min in a tall mug, remove brewing cup. I actually have and use a gram measure scale. I eyeball lower brewing temps for more delicate black teas because my electric kettle ain't that fancy.

When I'm at my parents home and I don't have my apparatuses, I brew grandpa style, the most common style in China. Eyeball some tea leaf, pour hot/boiling water, and drink. Top off cup with hot water when you have half a cup left. Repeat until satiated or when the brew becomes too weak for your taste. This method has the brew at varying strength due to how imprecise it all is. Chinese people traditionally do this with green tea or oolong, where it's hard to brew something too strong. I'm scared of trying it with black tea because it's a pittance when black tea is brewed too weak or too strong.

I do have a gaiwan, but I've only tried gongfu brewing a few times. It's a little too much effort and due to my inexperience, I brew more bad cups than good ones. I probably should try it again. It really is cerimoneous, in a positive way.

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eating4fun
11/06/20 11:33:42 AM
#25:


Today's tea: 3 cups of longjing green tea. I'm a bit curious how it tastes when measured for a standard brew. Probably bring some home.

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EnZo87
11/06/20 12:16:45 PM
#26:


I also go through phases of being obsessed with tea, but I ultimately always seem to go back to coffee.

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eating4fun
11/07/20 9:50:02 PM
#27:


Today's tea: 2 pints of longjing green tea. I don't have access to my typical black tea right now if that wasn't clear.

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eating4fun
11/08/20 5:25:17 PM
#28:


Today's tea: no tea.

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JigsawTDC
11/08/20 9:52:18 PM
#29:


I used to have a gawain that I used fairly regularly, but I didn't grab it in my last move. I need to get a new one!
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eating4fun
11/09/20 4:31:34 PM
#30:


today's tea: 1 pint of longjing green tea

Didn't quite have the time to do this earlier. October totals:

5 Keemun
1 yixing
1 chinese black tea blend
1 Nilgiri
2 Camomile
2 floral Yunnan
1 Tanzanian
3 Assam
4 budget keemun+assam
4 tippy keemun+assam
1 Darjeeling
1 Thai
1 tippy Colombian
1 generic yunnan
2 Gyokuro
1 generic oolong

31 pints total.
467 YTD pints = 58+3/8ths gallons

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eating4fun
11/10/20 12:26:40 PM
#31:


today's tea: 1 pint of Ceylon

First tasting of this new Ceylon I have. Pretty decent. Slightly malty taste. Feels full and strong, which I do like, but I desire more rich flavors. Guessing, it might be because it didn't appear tippy. Though, the same tea in a different store online does appear tippy.

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eating4fun
11/11/20 10:22:28 AM
#32:


today's tea: 1 pint of Georgian black tea

It's ok. The leaf looks just like the Uva Ceylon and the American charleston tea that I've had, which I guess is broken orange pekoe leaf grading. Got me scared, because I really didn't like those two teas because its bitterness overwhelms weak flavor. I brewed this for 2 min instead of my usual 4 min, which I found it odd for it be labeled with this shorter duration. Anyways, it tastes pretty similar to the tanzanian black tea that I have, which really suggests that the two teas must have a similar harvest time/style and leaf grade?

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eating4fun
11/11/20 2:46:26 PM
#33:


still today's tea: 1 pint of Darjeeling

Pretty good. Now I've got an urge to buy the same Darjeeling from when I just started exploring teas, because I got lucky and it was all really good.

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eating4fun
11/12/20 11:30:51 AM
#34:


today's tea: 1 pint of japanese black tea

Interesting! First impression, flavor a little similar to generic black tea but has richness and smoothness of more regional-defined teas (I'm guessing because it didn't have its tips separated out). Has it's own distinct character that stands out. And most interesting, I could sometimes taste the unami richness that defines typical japanese green teas. I didn't notice it right away.

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eating4fun
11/12/20 3:02:18 PM
#35:


still today's tea: 1 cup of rebrewed japanese black tea

Not good. Black tea's usually don't resteep very well. The floral black teas usually rebrew decently enough, but everything else, not so much.

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eating4fun
11/13/20 12:54:54 PM
#36:


today's tea: 1 pint of fancy yunnan black tea

Exquisite. Not. I thought I was in for getting my expectations exceeded, but it wasn't met. It was on the expensive side. Anyways, It's flavor reminded mostly of the Uva Ceylon, but tasting much better because the minty flavor was subtle, but still prominent. I might have brewed it too strong. I guess I like naturally sweet teas, but I refuse to add sugar..

At least I made a small order of more yunnan black tea.

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eating4fun
11/14/20 11:11:52 AM
#37:


today's tea: 1 pint of Indonesian black tea.

Pretty decent. Unpretentious. Main characteristic is a slightly malty flavor typical of Assam, but more balanced.

I've got 3 more black teas to try, 2 oolongs, and 1 green tea.

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eating4fun
11/15/20 2:49:35 PM
#38:


Today's tea: 2 pints of formosa oolong. Formosa, Portuguese etymology, but British imperial name for Taiwan. Outdated term, but still used to market a distinct tea characteristic (like english/irish breakfast). Taiwan is famous for oolong. Oolong is partially oxidized tea, more or less halfway between black (oxidized) and green tea (not oxidized). This one is too generic to have an estate or associated area of Taiwan attached to its labeling.

Pretty decent. This is the darkest oolong I've had. It has a subdued toasty flavor (common in oolongs) that allows other flavors to come through. But the other flavor I notice reminds me of the chinese black tea blend that I have, which isn't my favorite.

2nd pint rebrewed, not bad. Retained a good amount of flavor and strength, but still noticably weaker.

Now I'm curious to try jade oolong, a taiwanese oolong style that's lightly oxidized, giving strong green tea characteristics.

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eating4fun
11/16/20 1:10:55 PM
#39:


today's tea: 1 pint of a different tippy Colombian black tea. When I was shopping and deciding on what to try, there wasn't too much description on how they're different, so I got both. They're both from the same tea estate, except one has large leaves and the other with wiry leaves. This one, the wiry one, is better than the other. Slight malty taste like english breakfast or Assam, but the sweetness of the tippy leaves comes through. I just love that sweet and honeylike flavor so much. This is what I chase for.

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eating4fun
11/17/20 12:07:32 PM
#40:


today's tea: 1 pint of original tippy yunnan. Not as good as I remembered it, but still pretty good. I think it must have been a harvest issue. I can taste just a hint of the minty flavor that's normally prominent in the Uva Ceylon, which is a thing tea plants do to defend against pests.

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eating4fun
11/18/20 11:29:15 AM
#41:


today's tea: 1 pint of golden tips Yunnan. Wow. So this is the real premium stuff. Incredibly rich, almost too rich for its own good. This tea is predominately tips, instead of no tips or some tips. if you harvest tea to make white tea, but processed it into black tea instead. If rich black tea are an IPA, this is a double IPA.


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eating4fun
11/18/20 1:47:36 PM
#42:


still today's tea: rebrewed 1 pint of yunnan golden tips. Now it's really mellow and tastes pretty similar to the thai black/white tea.

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EnZo87
11/18/20 2:38:32 PM
#43:


Do the tannins in tea ever make you nauseous? I think that's one of the main reasons I always go back to coffee. It forces me to only drink tea with food in my stomach.

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eating4fun
11/18/20 3:34:57 PM
#44:


No, never nauseous, but sometimes when I drink my late morning pint on an empty stomach, I get a mild stomach ache for a very short while, but the tea feels so good, I never regret it. If I moderated myself and drink only a cup, I doubt that I would get that stomach ache.

Do you drink a pint of coffee on an empty stomach?

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EnZo87
11/18/20 5:11:55 PM
#45:


eating4fun posted...
No, never nauseous, but sometimes when I drink my late morning pint on an empty stomach, I get a mild stomach ache for a very short while, but the tea feels so good, I never regret it. If I moderated myself and drink only a cup, I doubt that I would get that stomach ache.

Do you drink a pint of coffee on an empty stomach?

Ah, okay. Everyone's different, I suppose. I can't make it through 1 cup of black tea without getting nauseous if I haven't eaten anything. Green tea is a little less frequent. Adding milk also lessons the effects.

I can drink as much coffee as I want on an empty stomach without getting a hint of nausea. However, it does make me have to go poopy cacka sometimes.

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eating4fun
11/19/20 12:02:06 AM
#46:


ah, forgot to mention these. Late night brews so I can go to sleep very warm.

late yesterday night: 1 pint of mint+lemon verbana. Was freebie sampler from Harneys. Really minty, I still don't know what lemon verbana tastes like.

late tonight: 1 pint of decaf ceylon. Was freebie. First time having decaf black tea. Not bad. Think I brewed it a bit weak. I don't think these teabags are meant for a pint.

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eating4fun
11/19/20 11:08:27 AM
#47:


today's tea: 1 pint of tippy yunnan

can still taste just a hint of the weird mint, but it becomes unnoticeable after a while. Still just a decent pint. Still desire a little more flavor

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eating4fun
11/20/20 1:36:50 PM
#48:


yesterday night's tea: 1 pint of chamomile

today's tea: 1 pint of vietnamese black tea. Appears pretty broken, so I only brew 3 min. Not bad. Unpretentious. Tastes like indistinguishable generic black tea, but better balanced flavor/richness/body. No unique flavors jump out. There definitely is some, but hard to perceive.

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eating4fun
11/20/20 4:53:27 PM
#49:


still today's tea: 1 pint of kukicha, a Japanese green tea. Wow, that's really nice and interesting. This is what I love about trying new teas, new things are exciting. Kukicha is made with partly with stems, which normally don't add any flavor to tea which is why they're sorted out. So anyways, it's good. Seems like all japanese green teas have a similar flavor, but this is both milder and richer at the same time. The typical vegetal flavor is lighter, but it's rich with this other flavor that is described as creamy/buttery/nutty (with similarities to white tea).

Might rebrew it again later tonight. Apparently it has low caffeine, which I don't trust. When I drank that decaf black tea right before sleeping, there was some difficulty.

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eating4fun
11/20/20 6:32:21 PM
#50:


Still today's tea: 1 pint of rebrewed kukicha. Now it tastes similar to an oolong in strength and character, but without the toasty flavor. Both the white tea qualities and Vegetal qualities of typical japanese green tea are now very subdued. I don't like rebrewed tea that much because the second infusions are always subdued, but it fared much better than rebrewed black tea.

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