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Tea |OT| Oh, tea.
- Thread starter morningbus
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I've heard Pu-Erh recommended for people that are trying to work their way off of coffee. It's a very dark, earthy tea, somewhat comparable to coffee. As for the caffeine content, I'm not sure. I did make the mistake of drinking it before going to bed one night. For some reason I just assumed that it didn't have much caffeine, or that it wouldn't effect me if it did; I have no idea why I thought that, but I was wrong. I got a couple hours of sleep, and that was in the morning.
Just as a side note, black teas don't necessarily have more caffeine than other teas. In fact, it depends more on the specific tea and how it was grown and what variety of tea plant was used. Here is a great article about the truth and myths of caffeine in tea.
Collete
Member
Tried dragonwell using the "spoon" method.
It's a decent green tea but I prefer sleeping dragon to dragonwell.
Dragonwell has clean grassy taste that indeed does have a dry finish.
There is a faint buttery nutty after taste but it's not worth the 7 dollars in my honest opinion. Perhaps will try gunpowder next time.
It's a decent green tea but I prefer sleeping dragon to dragonwell.
Dragonwell has clean grassy taste that indeed does have a dry finish.
There is a faint buttery nutty after taste but it's not worth the 7 dollars in my honest opinion. Perhaps will try gunpowder next time.
CheesecakeRecipe
Stormy Grey
Sup Oh, Tea. I had a few gifts dropped of to me by a friend of the family's, only they didn't really say what it was besides tea. There were 3 tins awaiting me but I don't speak a word of anything but english so I have no earthly idea what any of it is.
The tall green and pill shaped ones are green tea from what I can tell but they have silvery needles in there and smell sweet. The red box has individually wrapped vacuum-sealed packs and I haven't opened one to find out what's inside yet. Anybody know what these things are?
The tall green and pill shaped ones are green tea from what I can tell but they have silvery needles in there and smell sweet. The red box has individually wrapped vacuum-sealed packs and I haven't opened one to find out what's inside yet. Anybody know what these things are?
VitalNerve
Member
Awesome thanks for the advice!
I will order some by the end of the week and see how my dad likes it.
Second cold-brewed tea of the year: The Birthday Cake blend from David's Tea. A little bit disappointing, but not bad. The tea doesn't have a very strong flavor in the first place, and cold-brewing smooths out the flavor even more, so there really isn't all that much going on. Smells good, though.
A fruity green tea? I haven't gotten in to many of those, but Kiwi's Big Adventure from David's Tea looks good: http://www.davidstea.com/kiwi-s-big-adventure?&TF=D1F7D181D02F&DEID=
As for infusers, go for an IngenuiTea or a standard french press.
A fruity green tea? I haven't gotten in to many of those, but Kiwi's Big Adventure from David's Tea looks good: http://www.davidstea.com/kiwi-s-big-adventure?&TF=D1F7D181D02F&DEID=
As for infusers, go for an IngenuiTea or a standard french press.
Arsenic Yellow
Member
Yay! Robertm was worried you may not like it! So sorry for taking forever to post. We moved and I've been swamped with work. Got my tea package from morningbus on Thursday and omg! Will take pictures and post about it more later this week. ATM I'm feeling sick from an awful caffeine overdoseI received a package from my tea swap buddy.Will take photos and do a write up later because I just moved last night.
If you are using loose teas you can create your own blend. I've been making green ice tea with lemon grass to give it a hit of citrus.
Does anyone have any recommendations for inexpensive but good green and jasmine teas to use for ice tea? I tend to make it strong and end up going through it pretty quickly. I also need to branch out into black teas for this.
Yay! Robertm was worried you may not like it! So sorry for taking forever to post. We moved and I've been swamped with work. Got my tea package from morningbus on Thursday and omg! Will take pictures and post about it more later this week. ATM I'm feeling sick from an awful caffeine overdose
I absolutely love it! Actually, I just ran out of Earl Grey since I just had finals week and was practically living off of it. So perfect timing! I haven't mailed his package out yet but I'm planning on it tomorrow morning. I finished moving at 11 at night and it took the whole day to unpack and organize.
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/petit_teapot.html?SID=f8dc1f97cbfd8f52c6cbab32e07af636
Assuming you drink alone... MSRP is just barely out of your range, but you can probably find a deal somewhere on the web.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I got my package in from Arsenic Yellow nearly a week ago, but I still haven't found time to go over everything she sent. I'll do it soon I promise!
My recommendation will always be a french press. Do you live near an Ikea? They have two models both under $20 that work great (they're different sizes, but I'd go with the larger one for the sake of versatility).
If you need something off the internet, then here are a few good suggestions:
$12.99, 12oz press by Grosche Zurich: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00654PGA4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
$17.70, 8 cup (actually 32 oz or 4 real cups) press by Bonjour: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VTZ78M/?tag=neogaf0e-20
If you're looking for a more traditional glass teapot, these are some good considerations:
2 different 13.5 oz pots by Rishi for about $15: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZK70WO/?tag=neogaf0e-20 & http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YDOKL0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
My recommendation will always be a french press. Do you live near an Ikea? They have two models both under $20 that work great (they're different sizes, but I'd go with the larger one for the sake of versatility).
If you need something off the internet, then here are a few good suggestions:
$12.99, 12oz press by Grosche Zurich: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00654PGA4/?tag=neogaf0e-20
$17.70, 8 cup (actually 32 oz or 4 real cups) press by Bonjour: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VTZ78M/?tag=neogaf0e-20
If you're looking for a more traditional glass teapot, these are some good considerations:
2 different 13.5 oz pots by Rishi for about $15: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002ZK70WO/?tag=neogaf0e-20 & http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YDOKL0/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Collete
Member
Judging from the picture of a french press, doesn't in a sense work the same as an infuser (like the one I got that only mixes the tea in a certain area and makes the rest of the tea taste like water)? I could be wrong...
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I'm assuming you're using something similar in design/function to this, which does feature a somewhat similar plunger design:
A french press is different because the tea is always touching as much of the water as is possible. With teapots like the one above, the tea is constrained to a small area to brew, which can leave the finished tea inconsistent or weak tasting.
A french press functions like this: tea is placed in the glass carafe, hot water is poured on top of the tea, the tea is allowed to brew for a certain amount of time, the metal plunger is then depressed, separating the water from the tea, allowing for the brewed tea to be poured into a cup.
The plunger mechanism on some teapots isn't as good as a french press because 1) it doesn't allow the water to touch all the tea and 2) when you press the plunger down, it traps the tea in a chamber filled with some water, which means the tea is still brewing. A french press has neither problem and makes rebrewing teas very easy.
Train of Midnight
Banned
Does anybody else use a milk frother for their matcha? So much better than whisking.
I just finished off the Gold Rush tea from David's tea that was sent by my tea swap buddy. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes caramel and coconut flavors. I'm not big on coconut, but the taste of it was not overwhelming and actually gave a natural sweetness to the tea. I found myself drinking it whenever I got hungry for a snack. I'm trying to lose weight for my wedding gown so it's a big deal that I try to sub the snacking urge for something better.
StarCreator
Member
Congratulations!
I feel bad about not trying my tea swap buddy's stuff yet, but it's been ridiculously hot T_T
I'm so glad! I wanted to get something unique to only California.
Shrike_Priest
Member
I've got a question about multiple brews and brewing in traditional teapots.
I got a nice little kyusu to replace my french press as my brewing vessel for japanese teas. However, I've got a question that arose now that I'm doing multiple brews in a pot as opposed to multiple brews in a french press.
With the press, it was single-serve, so it was small, fairly thin and I didn't much care about the temperature loss from being poured into the glass, as it ought to be fairly negligible
However, now with the clay kyusu, I'm worried that the temperature is lowered significantly if I do a second brewing an hour or so after the first one. How does one approach this problem? Since the leaves are still in the pot, I can't heat it up internally, and heating it externally feels cumbersome.
I tried using slightly warmer water with my sencha for a second brew in a cold pot (80 instead of 70), but that was a BAD idea, it definitely tasted like I scolded it, compared to the brews I did with 70 in a cold pot. It's not that the second brew is bad, per se. I'm just wondering if maybe heating the pot up somehow would give a better result.
I imagine that multiple brew teas like sencha or gyokuro are intended to be consecutively drunk in quick succession? But for gyokuro, I can easily get 4 good infusions (and one decent), and I don't want to drink all that in a single session.
So, if there are anyone not brewing EVERYTHING in a french press, how do you do it?
I got a nice little kyusu to replace my french press as my brewing vessel for japanese teas. However, I've got a question that arose now that I'm doing multiple brews in a pot as opposed to multiple brews in a french press.
With the press, it was single-serve, so it was small, fairly thin and I didn't much care about the temperature loss from being poured into the glass, as it ought to be fairly negligible
However, now with the clay kyusu, I'm worried that the temperature is lowered significantly if I do a second brewing an hour or so after the first one. How does one approach this problem? Since the leaves are still in the pot, I can't heat it up internally, and heating it externally feels cumbersome.
I tried using slightly warmer water with my sencha for a second brew in a cold pot (80 instead of 70), but that was a BAD idea, it definitely tasted like I scolded it, compared to the brews I did with 70 in a cold pot. It's not that the second brew is bad, per se. I'm just wondering if maybe heating the pot up somehow would give a better result.
I imagine that multiple brew teas like sencha or gyokuro are intended to be consecutively drunk in quick succession? But for gyokuro, I can easily get 4 good infusions (and one decent), and I don't want to drink all that in a single session.
So, if there are anyone not brewing EVERYTHING in a french press, how do you do it?
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
The Sweethome (The Wirecutter for household stuff, appliances, etc) did a nice piece on electric kettles for tea. Check out their recommendations:
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-home-kettle/
http://thesweethome.com/reviews/the-best-home-kettle/
Shrike_Priest
Member
Not sure if you're replying to me or someone else. I already have an Electrolux EEWA7500 that goes in ten degree increments from 50-100C, which I love.
I'm not asking how to get the temperature right in my kettle, that's settled. I'm wondering about getting temperature right in clay teapots for second-third-fourth etc. brewings. First brew I just add some of the water I've heated to the pot and let it sit for a while. But when I'm going for a second infusion the teapot is usually cooler, and I can't let it sit with water because it's already full of tea
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
Not sure if you're replying to me or someone else. I already have an Electrolux EEWA7500 that goes in ten degree increments from 50-100C, which I love.
I'm not asking how to get the temperature right in my kettle, that's settled. I'm wondering about getting temperature right in clay teapots for second-third-fourth etc. brewings. First brew I just add some of the water I've heated to the pot and let it sit for a while. But when I'm going for a second infusion the teapot is usually cooler, and I can't let it sit with water because it's already full of tea
Oh no, I was just posting it for all to see : ) Sorry for the confusion
If anyone is interested in some direct-trade Kenyan black tea, JusTea is taking orders even though their Indiegogo ended some time ago. I don't know if the prices are the same as on their Indiegogo page, as their email to me specifically said this:
'All of our rewards are still available! If you or anyone you know missed us the first time and would like to place an order, please email justea.kenya@gmail.com.'
'All of our rewards are still available! If you or anyone you know missed us the first time and would like to place an order, please email justea.kenya@gmail.com.'
The office I'm working at only has horrible tea bags. How do some people brew loose leaf at work? Our hot water is limited by the coffee maker so there's no temperature control. I've tried buying the bags at lupicia since they're local, but having no control over the water kills the taste.
I have too much tea. I get it as gifts, I buy it on a whim if it's on sale or smells good, etc. I have various opened and unopened types of tea I want to give away. PM me if interested. I'll edit this post by the end of the day with the list of everything I'd like to give away.
I'll make a limit as to how much each person can take, as I need it to fit in a certain size bubble mailer envelope to keep shipping costs down. :3
I'll make a limit as to how much each person can take, as I need it to fit in a certain size bubble mailer envelope to keep shipping costs down. :3
I have one of these to use at work. I use it to infuse and pour the steeped tea into another cup, though you needn't do it that way.
Some more crazy-ass heat waves, so I've been drinking cold-brewed tea almost exclusively, and making herbals so I don't overcaffeinate myself. Yesterday I downed about a half gallon of Spearmint tea ( http://www.tealuxe.com/component/pa...category_id,6/option,com_virtuemart/Itemid,1/ ). So good. Today, I'm on track to down another half gallon of David'sTea's Birthday Cake blend ( http://www.davidstea.com/birthday-cake ).
Also, because we have a few people who live in or occasionally come to Boston, a heads up: there's a new tea shop opening in Somerville's Davis Square this September. I can't remember what they called themselves, but it seems like they'll be making a lot of their own blends. The ones I tasted were fruity iced tea blends, but given the fact that it was outside at a street festival in 95 degree heat, I wouldn't expect anything different. They mentioned they're going to have a lot of looseleaf. It's going up right next to Johnny D's on Holland St.
Also, because we have a few people who live in or occasionally come to Boston, a heads up: there's a new tea shop opening in Somerville's Davis Square this September. I can't remember what they called themselves, but it seems like they'll be making a lot of their own blends. The ones I tasted were fruity iced tea blends, but given the fact that it was outside at a street festival in 95 degree heat, I wouldn't expect anything different. They mentioned they're going to have a lot of looseleaf. It's going up right next to Johnny D's on Holland St.
Easystride
Member
I've been drinking a ton of iced tea lately as well. I use a combination of this pot from TeaDistrict and Adagio's Huang Jin Bolero oolong tea. Tastes just like Ito En's iced tea. No sweetener or anything. It's nice to be able bring it to work without cleaning up tea leaves.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I have a French press at work. I also have no hot water control, but I just kinda improvise I wait like 7 mins after the water boils and then I pour it over my loose leaves.
So im new here, trying to switch off of coffee to green tea.
Question: does anyone use the Toddy cold brew system to prepare tea concentrate, and/or what are people's opinions on this method? I love the toddy for coffee concentrate, and the manufacturer says it can be used with tea as well.
This would be for use in making iced tea.
Question: does anyone use the Toddy cold brew system to prepare tea concentrate, and/or what are people's opinions on this method? I love the toddy for coffee concentrate, and the manufacturer says it can be used with tea as well.
This would be for use in making iced tea.
So, David's Tea is having a web-special sale! Teas and mugs etc. 40%+ off.
http://www.davidstea.com/web-specials
http://www.davidstea.com/web-specials
empressdonna
Member
I love Whittard's Strawberry and Orange green tea that they do, but I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for other orange flavoured teas?
Any other fruity teas recommendations would be good too.
Any other fruity teas recommendations would be good too.
Arsenic Yellow
Member
Ok guys, I'm officially the worst tea swap buddy. So sorry that it took me so long, morningbus. After the move, my work doubled my hours. That coupled with grad school prep made me completely lose track of time. Anyways, I havent had time to test everything out yet, but what I have tried has been amazing!
Lemon Rooibos Sample: I made a huge jug of the stuff and served it iced. Super delicious! Normally i dislike lemon teas, but the rooibos mixes with the lemon wonderfully.
Sweet Sakura Tea: These were in little pouches, small moist petals. Sadly, I could barely taste the tea, but my boyfriend said it had a very sweet, candy like taste. A little disappointing that I couldn't taste it
Red rooibos mix: Ok so this was super surprising. Red powdered rooibos. Do they make any types of tea like this? It was super strong and worked just fine in my David tea steepster.
I cant wait to try the other samples you gave me!
Lemon Rooibos Sample: I made a huge jug of the stuff and served it iced. Super delicious! Normally i dislike lemon teas, but the rooibos mixes with the lemon wonderfully.
Sweet Sakura Tea: These were in little pouches, small moist petals. Sadly, I could barely taste the tea, but my boyfriend said it had a very sweet, candy like taste. A little disappointing that I couldn't taste it
Red rooibos mix: Ok so this was super surprising. Red powdered rooibos. Do they make any types of tea like this? It was super strong and worked just fine in my David tea steepster.
I cant wait to try the other samples you gave me!
biosnake20
Member
Hey what's up guys. I'm tea noob and have recently picked up a ingenuitea and some green tea samples from adagio. I'd like to know some of your guys recomendations for the best teas on adagio and/or amazon and why you like them.
you don't need to stress too much when it comes to perfecting the second brew since it's the first brew that is the most important when it comes to japanese greens, both in opening up the tea leaves and releasing the flavors of the tea. either way, clay doesn't do a great job in retaining heat.
also given how sensitive sencha's are, each and every single one requires a lot of patience and experimentation to learn how to brew the tea to your liking. the general guidelines for the first infusion is that you either preheat the kyusu or you use slightly warmer water than you otherwise would to compensate for the loss of heat. with every subsequent brew you need to increase the temperature by 5-10f and the most important step is that the 2nd brew should either be poured out immediately or within a span of 30 seconds. this is where i feel your troubles come from since i know exactly how bitter and astringent sencha can taste when overbrewed during the second infusion. i can't stress it enough, learning to brew sencha can be a very frustrating experience depending on how forgiving the tea is but once you get the basics down, you'll understand each misstep and with each following session you'll be one step closer to bringing out all the qualities you desire from the tea leaves maybe by the time your half way through with whatever it is that you're drinking -- this holds true for me to this very day.
and on the question of timing between brews, i usually i do the first three to four brews in a span of an hour or two and whenever i clean the teapot using boiling water (usually the following day) i just dump it all in a large glass and drink from that.
Shrike_Priest
Member
That's one in-depth reply. But I think you missed my key question (and I guess that's on me, for making a weird question). I think you might have touched on it when you said "With every subsequent brew you need to increase the temperature buy 5-10f". However, is this regardless of the current heat of the kyusu?
Hypothetical:
first brew: heat kyusu with 80°c water, pour out, put tea in, pour in 70°c water, pour out nice brew.
second brew 15-20 minutes later: kyusu has cooled significantly, should I opt to pour "hotter than ideal brew temp-water" (say 80°c), and hope to "hit" an ideal brewing temp once the temperature evens out, or should I just use 70°c water in order not to scold the tea?
Generally, from experience, I think the latter has worked in my favor. Like, if I subjectively judge how the tea tastes, I'd rather have low-temp tea brewed for slightly longer than tea that tastes "burnt". I was just wondering if there was a "correct" way to approach the problem.
Hypothetical:
first brew: heat kyusu with 80°c water, pour out, put tea in, pour in 70°c water, pour out nice brew.
second brew 15-20 minutes later: kyusu has cooled significantly, should I opt to pour "hotter than ideal brew temp-water" (say 80°c), and hope to "hit" an ideal brewing temp once the temperature evens out, or should I just use 70°c water in order not to scold the tea?
Generally, from experience, I think the latter has worked in my favor. Like, if I subjectively judge how the tea tastes, I'd rather have low-temp tea brewed for slightly longer than tea that tastes "burnt". I was just wondering if there was a "correct" way to approach the problem.
Easystride
Member
I love Adagio since their teas are very affordable, and you can buy in large bulk. My favorites:
Huang Jin Bolero - I drink this iced. It has a nice nutty flavor. It taste very similar to the iced tea bottles you can buy at Whole Foods, like Ito En's.
Ceylon Sonata - Just an ordinary black tea. It goes great with breakfast food, and it can be pretty tasty iced.
Earl Grey Bravo - what more can I say really. Cheap and tasty Early Grey. Only $19 for 16 oz.
I'm not really into flavored teas, but I do also enjoy their Black Mango tea. The mango flavor is not too strong or sweet.
I've tried some of their more expensive teas, but I don't taste much difference over the cheaper stuff.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Teavana - Free Shipping (3 days only) - No promo code.
Harney - Free Shipping (1 day only) - Promo code: BDAY83.
Mighty Leaf - 25% off (3 days left) - No promo code.
Oh, I meant to respond to this earlier!Ok guys, I'm officially the worst tea swap buddy. So sorry that it took me so long, morningbus. After the move, my work doubled my hours. That coupled with grad school prep made me completely lose track of time. Anyways, I havent had time to test everything out yet, but what I have tried has been amazing!
Lemon Rooibos Sample: I made a huge jug of the stuff and served it iced. Super delicious! Normally i dislike lemon teas, but the rooibos mixes with the lemon wonderfully.
Sweet Sakura Tea: These were in little pouches, small moist petals. Sadly, I could barely taste the tea, but my boyfriend said it had a very sweet, candy like taste. A little disappointing that I couldn't taste it
Red rooibos mix: Ok so this was super surprising. Red powdered rooibos. Do they make any types of tea like this? It was super strong and worked just fine in my David tea steepster.
I cant wait to try the other samples you gave me!
Glad you like the stuff! The lemon rooibos is one of my favorites (I need to reorder some now, actually). The Rooibos "mix" is really interesting: it's actually rooibos that has been cut to work in espresso machines. If you have access to coffee equipment, you can treat is just like coffee.
I'll come back a little later to do a write up of the stuff you sent me.
Justea shipment came. Hoping this google+ link will work, if not I'll imgur it.
Review: Super smooth! Loved it. I don't know if Kenyan teas are generally this way but I like this one. Reminds me a bit of Golden Monkey, a Keemun. I could see it being a go-to breakfast tea.
It came with three smaller packets for me to give to people and help advertise their mission; a piece of paper is attached, with diagrams. The tin is pretty standard, but a good touch is that it comes with two sealed packets, so I only have to open 200g of the tea at a time.
Review: Super smooth! Loved it. I don't know if Kenyan teas are generally this way but I like this one. Reminds me a bit of Golden Monkey, a Keemun. I could see it being a go-to breakfast tea.
It came with three smaller packets for me to give to people and help advertise their mission; a piece of paper is attached, with diagrams. The tin is pretty standard, but a good touch is that it comes with two sealed packets, so I only have to open 200g of the tea at a time.
D
Deleted member 12837
Unconfirmed Member
What do you guys do when you want to prepare enough tea to drink throughout the day or evening but prevent oversteeping or the tea from getting cold?
I've got a french press, but it doesn't really keep any remaining tea warm for very long and even when fully pressed down it will still eventually oversteep. The french press even has this "locking" mechanism that's supposed to separate the tea from the water, but it's definitely not water-tight so it doesn't really work.
I was thinking my options are probably:
- Make single servings in the french press and just re-steep when I'm ready for my next cup
- Make a big batch in the french press and buy a large thermos to keep it warm
- Use some other device that I'm not aware of that handles these issues
I've got a french press, but it doesn't really keep any remaining tea warm for very long and even when fully pressed down it will still eventually oversteep. The french press even has this "locking" mechanism that's supposed to separate the tea from the water, but it's definitely not water-tight so it doesn't really work.
I was thinking my options are probably:
- Make single servings in the french press and just re-steep when I'm ready for my next cup
- Make a big batch in the french press and buy a large thermos to keep it warm
- Use some other device that I'm not aware of that handles these issues
Train of Midnight
Banned
I'd recommend option 2. Brew two or three cups worth, and get some thermoses to keep them in. THESE are the best thermoses I've ever seen, I kid you not, they will still be too hot to drink an hour or two later if you cap them immediately.
Or you could brew them individually at the same time in those little mesh baskets, take the baskets out when they're done, and then store them that way. Whatever you want.
Or you could brew them individually at the same time in those little mesh baskets, take the baskets out when they're done, and then store them that way. Whatever you want.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Speaking of French presses, my mom broke mine lol. She's gonna buy me a new one, but 404Ender's post brought up an issue I had with my French press as well: I felt like it was overkill. I only brew 1 cup of tea at a time, and if I'm gonna have another cup it will be hours later. So I'm thinking that an infuser would be a better idea. Anyone got a recommendation for a good quality tea infuser? Bonus points if I can buy it off Amazon.
I like the ForLife infusers. The holes are some of the smallest I've seen in infusers. I actually use their mug and infuser set which I bought on Amazon.
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Thank you. You're definitely on to something, as this infuser has amazing reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001JPA3Y8/?tag=neogaf0e-20
I'll probably get that one.
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