Any Tea Drinkers Here

I love my oolongs, starting to discouver Puerhs, was curious if there were others. I just ordered some really good stuff from some new to me places and if there was some curious people out there id be more then happy to share... this includes gear and tea... and ablotbof it, from TeaHong, JKTea, Dragon Tea House and some ebay sellers (for gear)

anyone intereated, or want to share their teas and gear I know i would love some interest in that

 

My wife loves tea. But I am afraid we are still at the t2 stage. Nice herbal mixes, no proper know how. Will be following your journey closely.

 

http://www.t2tea.com/tea-too/about-us-2/ in case the above did not make sense

 

and also the tea cakes not pictured...

 

for the loose leaf there is all kinds of way to enjoy... traditional a good gaiwan maybe 5 bucks or so plus a decant and a cup... or like Jay likes the modern over cup drop thingys for convenience

then the many many varieties of tea... ill keep you updated on what i got...

 

I went through a phase many years ago where I was picky about every detail and spent quite a bit of money (I live in Taiwan, and there's definitely some tea here) trying to chase the most nuanced aspects of tea and brewing. Realizing that I like cheap restaurant tea more than my most nuanced wulongs and most vegetal gyokuro and most puissant goldtips was a great moment, though it took quite a few months to come to terms with it. Other snobs first told me it was because I was brewing wrong (turns out I wasn't, and when I met with some, it turned out they couldn't do any better), and then they told me it was because I had an undeveloped palate (not for a lack of trying). Ultimately, being a member of the illuminatea was not my destiny. Though I drink tea (anything from bottled fruity green tea to restaurant black to pearl milk tea to high-brow wulong and pu'er) every day, I am happy that options abound where I live and I'm no longer an elitist.

 

oh I'm not about doing the elitist thing... I've seen some of those nutters lol... chasing the perfect kettle for water for each type of tea... then the perfect pot for the perfect water.. then the perfect tea and so on.. i heat, i brew, i drink and enjoy. i gave up on looking up yixing pots... tetsubins and the like. just nice but not outrageous teas although i do get the odd treat. a lot of my tea gear i get as gifts at Christmas usually i use my one white gaiwan.. a strainer and a cup and I'm good to go.

but i do agree in the best way to ruin a great cup of tea for me.. is to over think it.

 

Ok how do I get started, might as well. You guys got me into knives and de blades and all kind of stuff.

 

I grew up drinking loose leaf tea , have had only handful days without it for 18 years . If I go to a somewhere new I make sure I have my travel tea kit with me . It is nothing fancy , it is Turkish tea , without any sugar or milk in it. My kitchen crew know to have it ready when I get there, it is in SOP

 

I love tea, but at the moment I only use an electric kettle and a thermapen to get the temperature right. I was thinking of getting one of these beautiful Japanese teapots next time I go there, but don't know when that will be.

So what do you recommend as a starting point?

 

I drink tea almost every day in the cooler or colder months and iced tea frequently in the warmer months. Over at B&B some years back I dallied in the puerhs as some members had small tea business and were knowledgeable about them. I found that the earthy quality to them was not immediately appreciated. I might have developed a taste for them, but B&B had already lead me down a couple rabbit holes and I backed out. I found that I like black teas better and now tend toward using loose china Flowery Orange Peko's of varying quality steeped in British type pots. For this type I am a firm believer in the Denby 1922 Nevadrip pots.


And their Pullman style ain't bad either.

 

i have a bonavita gooseneck kettle that i can set any temp and hold that i need... best thing i have ever bought tea wise

 

ill give you my thoughts when im not on my phone tonight and can type something more in depth out

 

Tea is the greatest. It sustains me all winter.

 

The puerh tea is definitely an earthy tea. I add a little honey and it makes a big difference.

I typically buy whatever boxed teas are at the grocery. But I went to World Market and got some Matcha Tea. Which is green tea? But it's a powder and was packaged in round small tea bags for brewing. Supposed to be really good for you and packed with antioxidants.

 

Rami are you interested in the whole process, prefer to do things the traditional way, with a gaiwan, and little pitcher and all the tools (this stuff is cheap to buy for the record), or do you just want an easy way to make a great cup of tea, and are not really interested in having all the tea wear stuff, the simpler the better ?, cause knowing that will tell me what kind of gear to hook you up with.

as for tea, jkteashop has lots of sample packs you can work your way through, im not really a green guy, im more of an oolong tea drinker the greens to me tend to be more vibrant, fruity and flowery in scent, and they have aged and darker roasted kinds that will give a much fuller body drink, even this rou gui stuff that smells and tastes a bit like cinnamon

Jas Etea in the USA (he is a vendor at B&B, named steve, really nice guy) has lots to choose from as well and you wont have the long wait of china post with him. to start I would suggest picking off some samples of different types of tea. Green, White, a greener oolong, a roasted one. maybe some black... id skip Puerhs for now as they are a topic all on their own in my opinion

Tie Gaun Yin for oolongs is a pretty well rounded venture into that type of tea and a safe bet
Whites I really am only familier with bao Hao silver needle (Has an apple type fruityness almost a flowery honeyness as well)
rou gui is a good roasted oolong to try out.


as for making this stuff its pretty simple, heat water, add tea leaves to said hot water, remove liquid from tea leaves for drinking and resteeping again

 

I think the simpler the better,
i am more of a coffee guy, so this is for my wife and she likes her things simple.
would get some brownie points

 

Jay, whats the over the mug thing you use and like ?

 

Teavana sells their Perfectea, but I prefer the Teaze.



They work great.

 

Rami once steeped you just place those down on the mug and it strains into that mug out the bottom for drinking.... super simple