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Tea |OT| Oh, tea.

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morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I enjoyed this Tea documentary. Tea lovers should check it out.

all-this-tea.jpg

It is really good. I think I may have recommended it either earlier in this thread or in the old tea thread. Definitely worth a watch, if you can find it.
 

Minus_Me

Member
This was on Netflix. Made me really get off tea for awhile. Looks like there's a ton of trash quality product out there.
 

Gilby

Member
I'm drinking matcha right now. All other teas are inferior, I laugh heartily at you peasants from my lofty throne.
 

Minus_Me

Member
I'm drinking some Pu-erh tea that belonged to Deng Xiaoping!

Not to kid around, I am havign some rather good Pu-erh that a family friend brought me back. Hopefully it isn't full of ash.
 
Went ahead and tested the kettle out (got to use my fancy infrared spot thermometer, too).

(It's not clear in this photo, but there are clearly defined white "tick" marks between each color. 6 white tick marks between zero and green, 8 between green and orange).

Lowest possible position: 140 degrees. 1 cup of water brought to this temperature in approximately 35 seconds.

Green position: 170 degrees. 1 cup/55 seconds.

Middle position between green and orange: 185 degrees. 1 cup/1 minutes

Orange position: approximately 200 degrees. 1 cup/1 minute, 5 seconds. 2 cups/2 minutes, 5 seconds.

Obviously not super scientific, as I'm measuring the surface temperature of the water, but it is usually close enough within 5 degrees, usually towards the hotter side.

Hope that helps!
That was a big help. I went ahead and ordered the Adagio just now.

Thanks
 

Iph

Banned
Hey, there's a tea documentary on Netflix? I'll have to check that out.

I'm enjoying a cup of Kenyan Tinderet black tea right now and it's fantastic. I've been such a green tea, peppermint tea and matcha junkie lately that I forgot how great a smooth, just-strong-enough cup of quality black tea is. I'm a big fan of Pu-erh as well, having only tried it in the last year. I had a coffee-almond Pu-erh that had almond extract and coffee extract along with some actual coffee beans that tasted like a smoother, less acidic cup of coffee. Really helps me cut out on the caffeine.
 

taskforce

Neo Member
i'd like to second the swedish guy who mentioned dian hong. probably the smoothest chinese black tea. not astringent, really nice to drink.

for green tea, i really like japanese gyokuro. here's a really good one: http://www.chadotea.com/product_info.php?cPath=75_16_20&products_id=108.

i'd also like to recommend any of the wuyi mountain rock teas ("yancha"): da hong pao, rou gui, or shui xian. they are darker and more full-bodied. you might not like it at first but it'll grow on you.
 

Aleph

Member
I have a tea-related question (I started drinking it recently): I normally drink my (bagged) tea with milk, but I don't like using a second cup (or recipient) to heat the milk, so I usualy microwave the milk in a cup, then add a tea bag, and then pour hot water in it, and drink directly from there. Does this affect the overall taste? (Should I pour the milk after the tea is prepared?)
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I have a tea-related question (I started drinking it recently): I normally drink my (bagged) tea with milk, but I don't like using a second cup (or recipient) to heat the milk, so I usualy microwave the milk in a cup, then add a tea bag, and then pour hot water in it, and drink directly from there. Does this affect the overall taste? (Should I pour the milk after the tea is prepared?)

As long as you're putting in the same amount of milk and the base temperature of the steeping liquid (the hot water + milk) is basically the same, it shouldn't matter.

Question for morningbus, does most of the caffeine brew out of the mate in the first brew, like with tea?

I'm unsure. I don't think anyone with the proper equipment has tested it yet. However, I'd imagine it is probably similar to proper tea:

Tea Caffeine Legend #3
You can have a decaf cup of tea by pouring out the first infusion after steeping for about 30 seconds

When you pour out the first infusion after 30 seconds, you remove some of the caffeine but not all so it’s wrong to label this “decaffeinated “.

According to a study done by Hicks et all published in 1996 in Food Research International, steeping a tea for 15 minutes and then flushing it out removes 100% of the caffeine. Personally, I think that will also take away most of the flavour of the brew. Experiments have shown that steeping for about 5 minutes works quite well in retaining the flavour and that removes about 70% of the caffeine.

The data from their finding extrapolated below shows the caffeine extraction percentages within the 5 minutes period.

Steeping for:

30 seconds – 9%
1 minute – 18 %
2 minutes - 34%
3 minutes - 48%
4 minutes- 60%
5 minutes - 69%
10 minutes - 92%
15 minutes - 100%
(http://www.wonderoftea.com/tea-caffeine.html)

So, if mate follows that, I'd say between 70 and 80 percent of the caffeine is expelled during an initial 8 minute brew time.

But again, I'm not sure. I don't know what kind of tea was used in the above research and how it compares to the traditional cut of yerba mate. It is possible that caffeine extraction is much quicker in mate.
 

leroidys

Member
As long as you're putting in the same amount of milk and the base temperature of the steeping liquid (the hot water + milk) is basically the same, it shouldn't matter.



I'm unsure. I don't think anyone with the proper equipment has tested it yet. However, I'd imagine it is probably similar to proper tea:


(http://www.wonderoftea.com/tea-caffeine.html)

So, if mate follows that, I'd say between 70 and 80 percent of the caffeine is expelled during an initial 8 minute brew time.

But again, I'm not sure. I don't know what kind of tea was used in the above research and how it compares to the traditional cut of yerba mate. It is possible that caffeine extraction is much quicker in mate.

Yeah I was hoping it would be similar to tea. I've been doing mate rebrews at night, and also experiencing some insomnia, but I don't think that they are necessarily related. I wonder how I could go about testing it for sure...
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Yeah I was hoping it would be similar to tea. I've been doing mate rebrews at night, and also experiencing some insomnia, but I don't think that they are necessarily related. I wonder how I could go about testing it for sure...
Heh. I know that all too well. I bought decaf black tea just so I could have an Arnold Palmer past 8pm.

You could try some Green Rooibos if you're looking for a similar flavor without the caffeine. Or you can blend one of my favorites: half yerba mate, half chamomile.
 
My Adagio kettle arrived today and I tested it with some white tea which I've only drunk about thrice before. Turned out excellent and temp readings were about 175F on the end of the green bar. The metal and temp controls definitely made for an excellent three cups that blew away the previous results. Can't wait to try some Roobios next. That must be my favorite warm beverage at the moment. Green tea will be the real challenge. I'm pretty sure I was too much of a nub to get the temperatures right with green tea. Thinking of going with Sencha and Genmai Cha.

Thanks for the friendly advice early, morningbus.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
My Adagio kettle arrived today and I tested it with some white tea which I've only drunk about thrice before. Turned out excellent and temp readings were about 175F on the end of the green bar. The metal and temp controls definitely made for an excellent three cups that blew away the previous results. Can't wait to try some Roobios next. That must be my favorite warm beverage at the moment. Green tea will be the real challenge. I'm pretty sure I was too much of a nub to get the temperatures right with green tea. Thinking of going with Sencha and Genmai Cha.

Thanks for the friendly advice early, morningbus.

Glad to be of help!

Enjoyed some Almond Rooibos tonight. Sooooooooo tasty. Almond is freaking perfect for Rooibos.

They do work wonderfully together. I like to sweeten it with a little maple syrup sugar, too.
 

kami_sama

Member
Well, this id the first time I've posted in this thread but I've lurked for some time :p
I was drinking some breakfast tea with milk and I thought I had to post here.

Been drinking lately some spiced tea, I love it!
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
So I am trying to get into tea and having been saving up for a tea kettle, unfortunately I don't of any good electric ones. Are the ones in the OP still worth it? Or have any other better products come out.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
So I am trying to get into tea and having been saving up for a tea kettle, unfortunately I don't of any good electric ones. Are the ones in the OP still worth it? Or have any other better products come out.

For the budget-minded, yeah, the kettle suggested in the OP is still your best bet.

A bit more money will get you this: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005YR0F40/?tag=neogaf0e-20. It has more features, great reviews, and will probably be the kettle I purchase if my Adagio Kettle kicks the bed.
 

Collete

Member
Anyone know where to get good flowering/blooming tea online?
I looked at the links in the first page and it didn't offer much or were too expensive.
 

Cagey

Banned
Oh cool, tea thread. And more items to add to the list of "when I have money pouring out my earholes, I will buy these luxury goods".

I have an affinity for all variants of earl grey. I have some earl grey vanilla creme from Argo Tea in NY, and a chocolate and rose infused earl grey from a place called Tea Embassy in Austin, TX. Awesome find on vacation back in the fall.

In addition, there's the box of basic Lipton for when I just want some god damn tea.

tumblr_ltfolmHDlW1qdn6yro1_500.jpg
 
My mom hooked it up this Christmas with a bunch of Harney & Sons teas! I've never had anything from H&S before, so I am very excited. She got me mostly green tea, but some white, black, and oolong (yuck) included as well:

yNbhU.png


Bs2N9.png


UXNU9.png


I love how they rate their teas and put some basic information on the side of the tins. The other side has steeping instructions.

e2EWt.png

Here's a little follow-up post with some reviews on these H&S teas I got for Christmas. Please note that I am a relatively new tea drinker (less than a year), so my palette is probably unrefined.

Supreme Breakfast (Black Tea) — Thumbs down. I've never had a breakfast tea before, and my mom told me I was supposed to drink it with cream/sugar. I didn't know that. I drank it straight, like I do with every tea the first time I try it, and I thought it had a weird aftertaste.

Mutan White (White Tea) — Thumbs up. I tried it today, and it's one of my favorites so far. It tastes like a mixture of green and black tea. It has a relatively light taste and goes down smoothly.

Genmaicha (Green Tea) — Thumbs down. It smelled and tasted like seaweed. Thing is, I actually like seaweed; I grew up with many Japanese friends and they used to have seaweed in their lunches, and they'd let me try it. But this was just way too potent. I barely drank half a cup and I started to feel my gag reflex acting up. Not for me.

Kagoshima (Green Tea) — Thumbs down. It had a very "grassy" taste. I was pretty generous with the honey, and it was still too strong for me.

Hunan Mao Jian (Green Tea) — Thumbs up. Nothing spectacular about it; had the "classic" green tea taste that I'm used to.

Yanagi (Green Tea) — Thumbs down. Similar to the Kagoshima tea, it was too earthy for me.

Lung Ching (Green Tea) — Thumbs up. Not bad; the tin described it as having a slightly "nutty" taste, and I agree. It's different, and not too bitter or strong so it's OK with me.

So overall, I guess you could say I've been a bit underwhelmed by the Harney & Sons teas so far. The Mutan White is my favorite. The green teas that I gave thumbs up to were fine, but honestly no better than the Chun Mee Tai Pan Superior that I got from TheTeaTable. I haven't tried the Darjeeling black tea from H&S yet, which I have high hopes for.
 
So someone bought me two leaves and bud loose tea leaves. I am pretty excited b/c this would be my first time trying loose tea leaves. How is the brand? Do they supply good tea?
 
Anybody here like Hibiscus? I can't stand the flavor and have a huge bag of loose leaf that I'm eventually going to throw away. Yuck.
 

3phemeral

Member
Anybody here like Hibiscus? I can't stand the flavor and have a huge bag of loose leaf that I'm eventually going to throw away. Yuck.

I know someone who does. I hate Hibiscus myself because it reminds me of Tamarindo and other flavor-related foods. But my bf loves it.
 

CheesecakeRecipe

Stormy Grey
Got my next order from DAVID's in today, 100g of the Quangzhou Milk Oolong, a refresh 50g of Sweet Dreams and 50g of Mother's Little Helper. I put the oolong in the tin I got for it, and for curiosity's sake I opened the MLH to get a little whiff since the wait til tonight was going to be excruciating.

I probably shouldn't have done that. I feel woozy already haha.
 

Deadly Cyclone

Pride of Iowa State
Hello tea OT. It's that time of day.


I got a bunch of tea and samples from Adagio. I love that you can order samples, and top blends made by fans. They also threw in two free samples for just sharing it on Facebook (which I then deleted). :p
 

gbooster

Neo Member
Here are my favorite teas lately.

Organic Superfine Keemun Fragrant Black Tea
This is really amazing tea, but I only get 2 good steeps out of it and it is very expensive. It's got a fruity flavor and smells amazing. I save this one for special occasions.

Hong Jing Luo Tea
I think this is my favorite black tea. It's also called Golden Snail tea at other places. I can get 4 really good steeps out of it. It has no astringency at all and has a chocolaty caramel thing goin on.

Organic Silver Needle White Tea
This is the best of the best white tea. It is minimally processed and has alot of caffeine. It's very expensive, but I can use one infusion all day long. 6+ steeps.

Milk Oolong Tea
This is my favorite oolong. It's like toffee candy tea. It's all natural and has no added flavors amazingly. This one comes from Taiwan.
 

thcsquad

Member
So this morning I had a problem with my usual French Press routine. I had people over, and wanted to make a big pot of tea for all of us, but the problem is they hadn't woken up yet. So if I just brewed and drank mine, and left theirs in the press, it would oversteep. So what I ended up doing was pouring it into cups right after brewing and hoping the tea was still hot when they got up. But then I saw on reddit the idea to put the leaves in the top section of the press and then pour the water in, so you can just take it out when you're done brewing.

I tried that out tonight, and it kinda worked, but is a little bit of a pain. It didn't occur to me that I could just leave the plunger on and pour the hot water through the spout. So I was awkwardly pouring it while the plunger was half on. And really, maybe I should just try putting the hot water in first, and then adding the plunger+tea. But there's something satisfying about pouring hot water directly on your tea leaves.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Excellent posts, everyone! I always enjoy coming in and reading some impressions.

So this morning I had a problem with my usual French Press routine. I had people over, and wanted to make a big pot of tea for all of us, but the problem is they hadn't woken up yet. So if I just brewed and drank mine, and left theirs in the press, it would oversteep. So what I ended up doing was pouring it into cups right after brewing and hoping the tea was still hot when they got up. But then I saw on reddit the idea to put the leaves in the top section of the press and then pour the water in, so you can just take it out when you're done brewing.

I tried that out tonight, and it kinda worked, but is a little bit of a pain. It didn't occur to me that I could just leave the plunger on and pour the hot water through the spout. So I was awkwardly pouring it while the plunger was half on. And really, maybe I should just try putting the hot water in first, and then adding the plunger+tea. But there's something satisfying about pouring hot water directly on your tea leaves.

That is the one downside to the french press (which teapots don't necessarily prevent either). What I do is pour off the brewed tea into a teapot and use a trivet with a tea light to keep it warm. It's a little silly sounding, but it's the best of all methods.

I'd also recommend an insulated carafe of some sort.
 
D

Deleted member 12837

Unconfirmed Member
So this morning I had a problem with my usual French Press routine. I had people over, and wanted to make a big pot of tea for all of us, but the problem is they hadn't woken up yet. So if I just brewed and drank mine, and left theirs in the press, it would oversteep. So what I ended up doing was pouring it into cups right after brewing and hoping the tea was still hot when they got up. But then I saw on reddit the idea to put the leaves in the top section of the press and then pour the water in, so you can just take it out when you're done brewing.

I tried that out tonight, and it kinda worked, but is a little bit of a pain. It didn't occur to me that I could just leave the plunger on and pour the hot water through the spout. So I was awkwardly pouring it while the plunger was half on. And really, maybe I should just try putting the hot water in first, and then adding the plunger+tea. But there's something satisfying about pouring hot water directly on your tea leaves.

That is the one downside to the french press (which teapots don't necessarily prevent either). What I do is pour off the brewed tea into a teapot and use a trivet with a tea light to keep it warm. It's a little silly sounding, but it's the best of all methods.

I'd also recommend an insulated carafe of some sort.

What about a french press like this?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K53W0A/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's what I have. I can twist the plunger once brewing finishes and it seals off the tea leaves from the brewed tea so it stops brewing but stays warm in the press.
 

thcsquad

Member
What about a french press like this?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000K53W0A/?tag=neogaf0e-20

It's what I have. I can twist the plunger once brewing finishes and it seals off the tea leaves from the brewed tea so it stops brewing but stays warm in the press.

That sounds like it would work as long as you have enough tea leaves. My press only goes down so far, and there is usually a decent amount of tea (not just leaves) below it. However, I usually make single cups and I don't have this problem with single cups in the first place, as I drink it immediately. So if I was making a full pot like this, I might have enough tea leaves to stop from losing a large amoutn of tea in the resulting bitter quarantine.

Coffee hounds probably don't have this problem because you have to use much more coffee grounds to make the same amount of liquid.
 

Baraka in the White House

2-Terms of Kombat
I'm not a tea conniseur or anything but I figured this was as good a thread as any to state that I now pretty much drink all my teas straight with no sugar, even green tea.

Am I weird?
 

darthbob

Member
I'm not a tea conniseur or anything but I figured this was as good a thread as any to state that I now pretty much drink all my teas straight with no sugar, even green tea.

Am I weird?

Not really. I rarely drink my tea with additives.

On occasion, I'll put some cream and sugar in my Assam or Earl Grey, but everything else is loose leaf and water.
 
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