# What's steeping? A tea thread



## ethompson (Jan 26, 2022)

I've long been an avid coffee drinker (usually 10-15 cups per day) and have recently gotten into tea. I figure there must be a few of y'all lurking around here. 

For those of you who dabble in the world of oolong, loose leaf green, and pu'er, what are your recommendations? Who do you buy from? How do you brew? What are the best resources to learn more?

Some of my favorites so far are:

Sencha sedogawa - this one had a straight up grilled fish aroma... and I kinda loved it?
wild yabao
Ya Shi Xiang oolong
2006 Dayi Laochatou pu'er


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## Troopah_Knives (Jan 26, 2022)

I drink a ton of tea. My personal favorite is called Jin Xuan Milk Oolong. The fermentation gives it an almost buttery odor but the taste is kind of grassy maybe a tiny bit sweet? It's very hard to describe. I get pretty much everything I get from Aroma Tea Shop in SF (they sell online). Steeping temp and time really depends on the tea and I mostly do it by look and smell no timers or thermometers.


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## ethompson (Jan 26, 2022)

I've had one Jin Xuan that I really liked and got as a sample from a friend. What I got at my local markets loose-leaf section was fine but clearly contained a milky additive and I haven't circled back around to finding more. Thanks for the suggestion!


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## spaceconvoy (Jan 26, 2022)

Very fancy selection. I was into boutique Oolongs when I first switched to drinking tea - that's half the fun of a new hobby. Since then I've settled into a routine of having one cup of strong black tea with cream and sugar every morning. I'm basic

I've come to really like long leaf Ceylon because it strikes a nice balance between a typical Ceylon and an Assam. It has the strength and body of an Assam without the astringency, plus the sweetness of a Ceylon without being cloying or weak. And it's dirt cheap at my local Indian market.



ethompson said:


> I've long been an avid coffee drinker (usually 10-15 cups per day)


Good Lord! And I thought my wife was bad


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## Troopah_Knives (Jan 26, 2022)

spaceconvoy said:


> Very fancy selection. I was into boutique Oolongs when I first switched to drinking tea - that's half the fun of a new hobby. Since then I've settled into a routine of having one cup of strong black tea with cream and sugar every morning. I'm basic
> 
> I've come to really like long leaf Ceylon because it strikes a nice balance between a typical Ceylon and an Assam. It has the strength and body of an Assam without the astringency, plus the sweetness of a Ceylon without being cloying or weak. And it's dirt cheap at my local Indian market.
> 
> ...



I'm with you. I start my day with strong black tea. Although the specific tea does vary from day to day.


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## coxhaus (Jan 26, 2022)

I usually start my day with coffee but I drink some tea. Mostly Yorkshire and Earl Gray. Once in a while I drink peach with honey.

PS
When I was young, I drank a lots of ice tea but nowadays it's too much caffeine for me. I do love ice tea especially when it is 100 degrees out.


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## ethompson (Jan 26, 2022)

spaceconvoy said:


> Very fancy selection. I was into boutique Oolongs when I first switched to drinking tea - that's half the fun of a new hobby. Since then I've settled into a routine of having one cup of strong black tea with cream and sugar every morning. I'm basic
> 
> I've come to really like long leaf Ceylon because it strikes a nice balance between a typical Ceylon and an Assam. It has the strength and body of an Assam without the astringency, plus the sweetness of a Ceylon without being cloying or weak. And it's dirt cheap at my local Indian market.
> 
> ...


 
Yeah, I got a caffeine problem and also really, really love coffee. 

I've got a friend who is deep into tea and he lured me in with some heavyweights. Definitely looking for an array of affordable sippers as well as some nice splurges.


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## LostHighway (Jan 26, 2022)

I'm mostly a black tea drinker, primarily Assam. I buy direct from Halmari by the kilo, the most consistent and IMO the best quality of the Assam estates in recent years. I drink smaller amounts of Ceylons, and Keemuns. I also drink oolongs, puerh, green. and white teas occasionally but I try to stay away from the more vegetal varieties - I may be conditioned to avoid it since it is considered to be a fault in coffee, beer, and wine, but I just don't like that flavor profile.


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## Ochazuke (Jan 26, 2022)

Welcome to the club. I mostly drink sencha and blended black teas, though I also do drink the all the other Japanese teas on occasion (kukicha, genmaicha, bancha, etc). 

Like with my knives, I go back and forth between being a total tea snob one week and drinking lipton the next week. 

In terms of purveyors, I like o-cha.com for my green teas. I'm partial to Upton Tea Imports for my blacks.


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## ACHiPo (Jan 27, 2022)

I recently tried green tea from Ujida. Their Sencha Is a nice crisp green tea, and their gyokuro is darker—a little oolongish. They also have an instant matcha with stevia that makes a refreshing iced tea.

I find the world of tea pretty intimidating. I’ve purchased expensive ($100 - $250 for a tin) oolongs in China and Taiwan, but have no idea if I paid a fair price, but they were good to my taste.


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## Marshmallo (Jan 27, 2022)

Hey fellow teaheads. I drink most all Chinese tea but dabble with Japanese green and some Taiwanese oolongs. Raw puerh is hands down my favorite tea to drink, have a nice wenge wood gongfu table in the mail right now I'm super stoked about. Gongfu cha style brewing is the way to go in my opinion if your sitting to enjoy yourself.


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## Marshmallo (Jan 27, 2022)

If your looking for puerh there are lots of resources. For high end, consistency and some easy shopping Denong sells splendid raw and ripe puerh and fermented teas.


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## Troopah_Knives (Jan 27, 2022)

That reminds me. There's something called a sticky rice pu er that I've had a couple times and is excellent. I've never been able to find more.


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## Tea_Hills (Jan 27, 2022)

My go to place to order loose leaf is Harney & Sons. Good tea and not super expensive.


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## btbyrd (Jan 27, 2022)

I get most of my tea from Adagio, which is just fine. My go to hot tea is their formosa pouchong, a lightly oxidized, sweet smelling floral oolong from Taiwan. For iced teas, I brew up jugs of their peach white and peach oolong.


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## Tea_Hills (Jan 27, 2022)

I'll have to check that out. Hate to say it but Lipton black always touch the trick in a pinch


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## Rainman890 (Jan 27, 2022)

Europeans represent! I love tea, but I'm mostly into green teas. My go-to is Genmaicha, that toasted note always warms my soul. No idea where people order tea from here in Europe, I go to a few local tea shops for my fix...


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## ethompson (Jan 27, 2022)

A moment of morning peace in the 20 sq ft restaurant office. 

XiZiHao sheng puerh - some mead like fermented sweetness and almost hop-like piney floral flavors. Think I over extracted a touch as there is a little more bitterness than I’d expect.


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## Alwayzbakin (Jan 27, 2022)

Teachat.com is a great place to fall down a rabbit hole of tea and teaware as deep as the one here goes with knives and stones. I honestly try to stay away because, as with our hobby here, the more you read the more you want to try, and as I work in coffee that currently gets the first priority for my caffeine consumption. My best tea buying experiences have been in shops where you can sample the tea before you buy them; if you go to Penang or Hong Kong it’s a great time to stock up. Also, here in San Francisco (and online as well I suppose), Song Tea and Red Blossom have some really tasty stuff.


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## ACHiPo (Jan 28, 2022)

Damn another rabbit hole...

After this discussion I remembered I had some fancy flower tea-like things from Taiwan I brought home several years ago. I don't have a fancy glass teapot in which to brew it, but the 2L Pyrex measuring cup did fine. I can't remember what it is--smells like jasmine? Not even sure if it's real tea or a dried flower. It smells and tastes good. Anyone recognize it?


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## ACHiPo (Jan 30, 2022)

ACHiPo said:


> Damn another rabbit hole...
> 
> After this discussion I remembered I had some fancy flower tea-like things from Taiwan I brought home several years ago. I don't have a fancy glass teapot in which to brew it, but the 2L Pyrex measuring cup did fine. I can't remember what it is--smells like jasmine? Not even sure if it's real tea or a dried flower. It smells and tastes good. Anyone recognize it?
> View attachment 163142


Well it turns out it is Xian Hua Lan blooming tea from Hunan, so I guess I brought it home from China rather than Taiwan. 

Here's a description I found on a similar tea from Fujian. Any other information would be appreciated.

This amazingly beautiful, green Chinese blooming tea from Fujian is best brewed in glass: inside of its globule there is a lily and above it there is a wreath of 9 jasmine flowers. When blooming, jasmine rises above the lily and forms an arc. The infusion of this "angelic" tea is saturated with the aroma of summer garden. Taste, aroma The delicate jasmine aroma of tea is combined with a sweet taste in which berry and floral notes are distinguishable. Useful properties The effect of Bai Hua Xian Zi is sometimes called healing nectar, it is useful especially for the healing of human integumentary and bone tissues. How to brew For brewing tea, it is better to use glassware. Proportions of tea to water: 1 ball per 150-250 ml, fill with water 90 ° C. After 1-2 minutes you can enjoy your drink.


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## Hockey3081 (Jan 30, 2022)

I’ve had good luck with Harney & Sons. Their Paris tea with a little milk is a favorite of mine. Recently ordered their dragon jasmine pearls and really enjoyed it.


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## sansho (Jan 30, 2022)

ethompson said:


> I've long been an avid coffee drinker (usually 10-15 cups per day) and have recently gotten into tea. I figure there must be a few of y'all lurking around here.
> ...
> Some of my favorites so far are:
> 
> ...



nice! i'm drinking some high roast yancha right now.



ethompson said:


> For those of you who dabble in the world of oolong, loose leaf green, and pu'er, what are your recommendations? Who do you buy from? How do you brew? What are the best resources to learn more?



hard to say what to recommend. there are good examples of every style of tea.

same with vendors. it's probably easier to recommend a vendor for X tea. thés du japon is one of my favorites for japanese teas. while we're in japan, hojo tea is solid in general (even for chinese and taiwanese teas). hojo also has a malaysian store.

wistaria is a tea house in taiwan that has a lot of good offerings. their boutique puerh pressings are all pretty good. i just got some oriental beauty and aged dongding from them, and both are very good.

i mostly brew gongfu style. i've been collecting pots, cups, and other teaware for years. most of the time though, i just use an 80mL thin porcelain gaiwan and pour directly into an appropriately sized cup.

i'm not really into fb or ig, but if you are, people talk about tea on there. i suggest teaforum though for learning about tea and teaware.









TeaForum.org • Tea Knowledge & Friendship


In-depth discussion of tea, teaware, art, and culture.




www.teaforum.org


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## sansho (Jan 30, 2022)

some pots hanging out in the dark. just for fun.






these are some older ones (1900s-1960s)


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## sansho (Jan 30, 2022)

ACHiPo said:


> Damn another rabbit hole...
> 
> After this discussion I remembered I had some fancy flower tea-like things from Taiwan I brought home several years ago. I don't have a fancy glass teapot in which to brew it, but the 2L Pyrex measuring cup did fine. I can't remember what it is--smells like jasmine? Not even sure if it's real tea or a dried flower. It smells and tastes good. Anyone recognize it?



looks like a 'blooming tea' thing.

who knows what the flower in the middle is, but the tea is probably jasmine-scented green tea since you say it smells like jasmine.


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## sansho (Jan 31, 2022)

Alwayzbakin said:


> Teachat.com is a great place to fall down a rabbit hole of tea and teaware as deep as the one here goes with knives and stones. I honestly try to stay away because, as with our hobby here, the more you read the more you want to try, and as I work in coffee that currently gets the first priority for my caffeine consumption. My best tea buying experiences have been in shops where you can sample the tea before you buy them; if you go to Penang or Hong Kong it’s a great time to stock up. Also, here in San Francisco (and online as well I suppose), Song Tea and Red Blossom have some really tasty stuff.



SF has a pretty good tea scene. i've been to both of those places and remember liking song tea's selection more, but both were cool.

teachat used to be cool but is basically RIP. its corporate owner (adagio) ran it into the ground.
most extant users moved on to teaforum.org


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## ethompson (Feb 1, 2022)

Nice oolong I got with my regular coffee order since the company started carrying a few teas as well.


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## sansho (Feb 1, 2022)

tw white tea


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## ACHiPo (Feb 2, 2022)

ethompson said:


> View attachment 163669
> 
> Nice oolong I got with my regular coffee order since the company started carrying a few teas as well.


Is "Champagne" in this case the same as the term used to order jasmine tea at Taiwanese or Chinese dim sum? No idea of the correct spelling, but phonetically it is pronounced "shom-pon"


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## ethompson (Feb 2, 2022)

ACHiPo said:


> Is "Champagne" in this case the same as the term used to order jasmine tea at Taiwanese or Chinese dim sum? No idea of the correct spelling, but phonetically it is pronounced "shom-pon"



I don’t think so. From what I’ve gathered it’s just a alternate name for dongfang meiren used by some western purveyors who’d prefer to avoid “oriental beauty.” That said, I’m no expert and am still trying to get oriented on all the terminology and classifications.


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## lasagna pe (Feb 2, 2022)

This is a great thread topic! I'm currently drinking Ti Guan Yin Oolong. I was a fellow 12-15 coffee cupper, but doc said I had to get the blood pressure down. So, I still drink coffee, just not in the same volume. 

Was raised drinking tea growing up, so wasn't a big deal. I'm excited for summertime in the Sacramento Valley when it's going to be +110F. It's all barley tea all day long.


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## KingShapton (Feb 2, 2022)

I really love my coffee in the morning. But later in the day I really enjoy sencha or sometimes taiwan gunpowder.


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## NameAlreadyTaken (Feb 2, 2022)

I’m really enjoying these jasmine tea pearls at the moment, very delicate and floral:



My wife is loving the hipster blends of French earl grey with the peel, corn flowers, rose petals and lavender.


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## ethompson (Feb 4, 2022)

Afternoon sencha.


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## kidsos (Feb 26, 2022)

Got a bit into tea as of lately, after working in coffee and a bit into wine it is a real nice change in flavour and technique!

I have two chinese greens atm:
Song Zhen Lü cha
Emeishan Yinzhen

One great oolong:
Tie Guan Yin Nong from south Fujian

And one great Sencha but have ordered some more and a better kyusu because Japanese greens are for sure my favourite:
Sencha Hachijuhachiya-tsumi tokujou


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## KingShapton (Feb 26, 2022)

kidsos said:


> Sencha Hachijuhachiya-tsumi tokujou


That sounds promising


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## Marshmallo (Feb 27, 2022)

We had a little online tea conference the other day. Hopefully next year it will be in person. Was a sort of meet and greet for a few people that run tea businesses in Texas.


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## ethompson (Feb 27, 2022)

Marshmallo said:


> View attachment 167649
> 
> 
> We had a little online tea conference the other day. Hopefully next year it will be in person. Was a sort of meet and greet for a few people that run tea businesses in Texas.


If any of those businesses are in Houston, let me know! I’d love to find and support a great local tea business.


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## Marshmallo (Feb 27, 2022)

There was one or two, but I didn't write them down. If one pops in my head ill let you know.


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## PNWanderlust (Feb 27, 2022)

Anything from:

Steven Smith Teamaker
Fortnum and Mason
Ahmad Earl Grey (buy this in a big tin)

Steven Smith is a local maker, and I frequent the shop.


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## NameAlreadyTaken (Feb 27, 2022)

Apologies for the dumb question:
Does anyone know anything about Japanese Yunomi?
If so, PM me please as I’d love to learn more about the different styles of pottery, different potters still making traditional tea cups, different clays and glazes used, and which are recommended for tea. 
School me!


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## MOTiger (Apr 13, 2022)

Reviving this thread with a twist. I'd be curious what tea pots people have been using. The variety displayed in everyone's posts of their favorite teas has me curious given the variety. Thanks!


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## MOTiger (Apr 13, 2022)

I'll start. I'm currently using a Kinto Pebble and a Kinto Leaves to Tea. Certainly not as fancy as some in this thread, but they get the job done.


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## sansho (Apr 13, 2022)

NameAlreadyTaken said:


> Apologies for the dumb question:
> Does anyone know anything about Japanese Yunomi?
> If so, PM me please as I’d love to learn more about the different styles of pottery, different potters still making traditional tea cups, different clays and glazes used, and which are recommended for tea.
> School me!



yes. they are like guinomi except too big for gongfu. 
PM'd!


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## ethompson (Apr 24, 2022)

A delightful Wuyi oolong for this afternoon


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## Skylar303 (May 16, 2022)

Hello, So for the life of me I cannot remember what these type of strainer/diffuser this is. I'm looking for a replacement, it has a 2.5" ring and sits inside standard US pots perfectly.

I'm sure someone here knows the correct terms because searching tea strainer for loose tea brings up pretty much every type but these. A lot of them have 'wings' which I can't use with my pot.

Thanks!


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## ethompson (Jun 26, 2022)

Delicious.


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## KingShapton (Jun 26, 2022)

ethompson said:


> View attachment 186064
> 
> Delicious.


Funny name..


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## ethompson (Jun 26, 2022)

KingShapton said:


> Funny name..


Apparently it’s given that name because the soil where this tea is grown, while exceptionally nutritious, is a yellow brown that looks like…


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