Tea

[RAPEMAN]

I just wish we could do the Roman salute again.

[Kugelfisch]

Is there any preferred material for teapot or gaiwan? Other than the special clay they use for Oolongs. I do know about that.

Yixing pots come in four different kinds of clay. Zhuni, Hogni, Zini and Qiu, for the most part. Don't worry about that.
A good Yixing pot is anything from 70 to 500 bucks. If you want to focus on Oolong mostly, Hogni is the preferred clay, which is what I have.

The others are far cheaper and simpler ones. The point of a gaiwain however is to be neutral. Porcelain is the choice material. As for pots you can never go wrong with something neutral, such as glass either.

Yeah, a dedicated Hogni Yixing clay pot just for Oolongs is going to yield better results but that's like worrying about the nuances of different tube amps and wood compositions of guitars when you can't even play an E-chord.
A porcelain gaiwan is also always going to be great as a neutral tuning fork kind of tool.


Bagged tea is straight up trash. You won't get around ordering online, unless one of those tea shops happens to be close by.
But loose leaf tea is specialised stuff. Unless you want super baseline black tea, you'll never find it in a super market. It's not like coffee, where you can get locally roasted specialty shit around the corner.

Grab a basic gaiwan and, if you can, either a sample set or look for Taiwanese high mountain, bug-bitten or high GABBA Oolongs.
Balled up or plain leaf make no difference in quality. You'll just have to give the balled ones a few more seconds for the wash to unfold.

Again, don't worry too much. It's just tea. Get into gong fu and you'll figure it out. Watery tea will never be a problem again.

[VoiceOfReasonPast]

Do you guys believe in cold brew? I kinda dig it. Certainly beats commercial "iced tea" (aka "sugar water with coloring and way too much artificial flavor"), or this weird fad regarding flavored water (which is literally just water with chemicals).

[rabidtictac]

The tea flavors I try and end up not liking are going to be cold brewed. So far, I've found that cuts out some of the nasty taste. Cold brewed tea is certainly better than paying money for pure sugar diluted by a little water.

[ebin namefag]

My dad drinks "sweet tea" like a nigger.

[Kugelfisch]

I've never actually tried cold brew.

[Le Redditeur]

Do you guys believe in cold brew? I kinda dig it. Certainly beats commercial "iced tea" (aka "sugar water with coloring and way too much artificial flavor"), or this weird fad regarding flavored water (which is literally just water with chemicals).

My mom brews some tea specifically to drink ice cold, it bretty gud - although a bit bitter.

[Kugelfisch]

Cold brew isn't tea brewed hot meant to be drank cold, it's "brewed" with cold water over hours.
It shouldn't be able to be bitter at all.

[Le Redditeur]

Cold brew isn't tea brewed hot meant to be drank cold, it's "brewed" with cold water over hours.
It shouldn't be able to be bitter at all.

Oh, I see.

[rabidtictac]

Had a very nice loose leaf Assam today. I've been trying a few different teas.

Rose Scented Black Tea: Bleah. Tastes like artificial rose perfume. It's supposed to be Keemun but I can't taste tea with the overpowering rose scent. Pretty fucking bad.

Jasmine Green Tea: Bleah. Tastes a bit off, kinda rancid. It wasn't expensive loose leaf so it's probably ass quality.

Dragon Well Green: Meh. Mild flavor, kinda watery. A very nothing tea.

"Royal Phoenix" Oolong: Watery again. I tried over-brewing this one deliberately to get flavor out of it. Ironically, it tastes much better cold brewed. Kinda has that "oolong" flavor I love in the cold brew that was lacking with the standard brewing.

Breakfast Blend: Enjoyed this one a lot. Very strong and full of flavor. I could see milk mixing well. I didn't brew it for long but it was still quite bitter. Not unpleasant at all though. It's called a blend but the only ingredient is Assam, so I guess it's a blend of different Assams. It's loose but definitely not "leaf." More typical CTC style, very finely chopped.