What are you drinking today? What questions have been on your mind? Any stories to share? And don't worry, no one will make fun of you for what you drink or the questions you ask.

You can also talk about anything else on your mind, from your specific routine while making tea, or how you've been on an oolong kick lately. Feel free to link to pictures in here, as well. You can even talk about non-tea related topics; maybe you want advice on a guy/gal, or just to talk about life in general.

I have my masala chai worked out- cardoman, cinnamon, ginger, clove. But I do like teh Tarik.

Some recipes include evaporated milk.
So I'm wondering how you make it. Thanks and cheers

Hi,

Friend is going to Malaysia , I have asked them to buy me instant 'pulled tea' I saw an option of AIK CHEONG but don't know much about brands, which is the best one out in Malaysia that they can bring me back?

Sorry for if this has been asked before just never found the answear to this

Also some of the coffee people said you can use moka pot as a tea type of maker

what is your thoughts on this ?

I’ve got wild lettuce which is great, I’ve also got Valarien for anxiety but just wondering if there’s like a good serotonin or dopamine or anything kind of boosting tea that makes you just feel good!

Thanks :)

I'm pretty new to L.A. and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for great tea places (either to grab a cuppa or buy some nice loose leaf...)

Recently I've been really interested in Chinese tea culture, so I bought my first gongfu cha set and a few different kinds of tea and herbs to try out. I bought Pu Erh, green tea, as well as dried rose buds and dried Chrysanthemum flowers, since I wanted something without caffeine for the evening.

All of the other teas and herbs were great, and so I went on to try the Chrysanthemum flowers. I've drunk ready made Chrysanthemum tea from a can before, so I thought I knew what I was in for.

First I tried brewing it gongfu style in a gaiwan, I used maybe 8 flowers or so. I could only taste the bitterness, I felt a sharp bitter flavor in the back of my tongue and to the sides.

I was convinced that I had brewed it wrong (to be fair, gongfu cha probably does nothing for pure Chrysanthemum), and so I did a lot of research about the preparation of Chrysanthemum and tried again with ONE flower in a tea pot after washing the Chrysanthemum, and after all that, it tasted JUST AS BITTER. It tasted a lot like Dipyrone, for reference.

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For some context, I actually like a lot of bitter tasting things. I drink a lot of Uruguayan smoked mate, which might be too bitter for a lot of people. So when I say it's too bitter, I mean it's probably the most bitter thing thing I've tasted in my adult life.

So my question is: Am I doing something wrong, or did I somehow end up with some bad Chrysanthemum tea? The tea is imported from China, and I live in south America, and so I'm wondering if the tea could have gone bad in shipping or something like that.

I remember enjoying ready made Chrysanthemum tea in the past, and so I really tried to make this work. Any tips and suggestions would be appreciated.

Has anyone been? Does anyone know when tickets go on sale for 2024?

Decided to sit outside and draw for a bit, thought you guys might appreciate my tea set. It’s all just mismatched pieces I’ve been gifted or I thrifted. The tea is blood orange black tea, and I’ve added some clove, honey, and rosebuds to it for fun :)

Does anyone have any recommendations where to buy loose leaf teas in the United States? It can be online or at a local shop that ships. I don’t have a problem with any teas, but I love a nice glass of breakfast in the morning, and I can’t find anything where I am except tea dust which is not tea at all.

I have been into brewing coffee for a quite a while and am now exploring into tea. A brand I am considering is selling tea for 7 ounces for $26. Is this a common price as it seems a little high for $3.71 per ounce. What is the average you typically pay for a decent tea?

I'm thinking of growing chocolate mint, some sort of strawberry, and possibly blueberries(and/or black raspberries) for drying for tea. Are there good varieties best for this or other good ingredients. I'm going for herbal/fruit basically. Unless something else is that convenient/caffeine free.

I'm actually hoping to make a no sugar added tea. I'm hoping the ingredients provide natural sweetening to replace added sugars.

I'm getting more and more into fancy teas, and want to make sure I'm appreciating them the right way.

Basically I've moved past the "grandpa style" of dumping tea leaves in a mug and refilling throughout the day to a glass gaiwan with a very small class cup. I'm basically just taking a portion of tea that seems right -- maybe a teaspoon and a half of leaves? -- and then after it steeps for a few minutes pour and start drinking. So I'm not using a fairness cup or anything. Is this...right? Don't want to drink tea like a 野蛮人.

I brew my sencha with 5grams, 475ml, for 4min30 at 80 celcius and mix it with a spoon. That's how I prefer it otherwise it tastes like drinking hot water.

I have a job where I’m in a different place every day and it’s basically random whether I’ll have access to hot water, so afternoon tea was always hit or miss before I bought this little Sekaer travel kettle and Sama Doyo infuser. I’m really enjoying the setup so far. Currently brewing some Buddha Hand oolong from Floating Leaves.

Do you have a 5 pm tea routine where you check the newspaper or your emails or read a book?

Hello!

I’ve always had matcha as I know it has health benefits, but never really enjoyed the taste. I was getting them mostly off amazing, in the $15-40 range, and they were fine…. But I more or less forced it down and it never really replaced coffee bf I didn’t enjoy it.

Until I tried this and now I LOVE it, look forward to it and it’s totally replaced coffee for me. It tastes so much better than all the other ones I’ve tried - even the fancier ones.

I know very little about tea and more or less stumbled upon this one at a cafe and now spend $120 every month or two ordering it - love it. Makes me wonder if anyone has tried this one and then found one even better? I don’t know what I’m missing I guess and am willing to spend a lot for a superior taste.

https://www.bluewillowtea.com/products/matcha-shohaku

Hey everyone: I own a small business, Open Book Chocolates, which I’ve run for about 7 years now. We specialize in handmade, bean-to-bar chocolate bars with literary-inspired flavors. We’ve also made literary-inspired teas in the past, but I wasn’t 100% satisfied with the tea company we worked with to create our teas. Right now, I’m searching for a fellow small business (independent tea company) that could work with me on creating a few custom blends for Open Book Chocolates. I’ve been looking through Google, Facebook, etc. but haven’t had much luck finding indie tea companies who make custom blends with low minimum orders. I’m seeking some advice/suggestions on indie tea companies I could work with. Any help would be extremely appreciated! Thank you so much! —Geri

I'm fairly new to loose leaf tea, so far I've got Yunnan black tea, Darjeeling black tea and Genmaicha tea. All three taste much better for me if I brew them in colder temperatures than recommended by the vendor - at 75 degrees celsius.

When I brew hotter, they all fill a bit more bitter and off. When I use the colder brew, they taste sweeter. Even if I decrease the soak time of the hotter brews or increase the soak time of the colder brews, it doesn't change and the colder brew is much better.

Does it sound like I'm doing something wrong that when using hotter water as suggested by the vendor the tea tastes bitter and off for me? The tea I have is from Tao of Tea if it matters.

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Finally upgraded to one that is 100% no plastic!

sick (🤒) and making questionable tea choices

Hello everyone!

Yesterday I bought a new Tokoname teapot. I did post here a few months ago to show you my other teapots, but this one... I think this is special. It is a fully handmade in a family workshop in Tokoname, by Shoji Umehara.

In the box, I found a short message from Mr. Umehara, saying:

"This item was created after many years of trial and error when I came across a pattern that I had dreamed of for many years."

A lot of things have happened in my life since I first saw this teapot. For a while, the desire to own this piece was the only constant thing I had in my life. Slowly saving money to buy it over the months was what brought me some semblance of peace. This teapot was my promise for a better future... it sort of kept me going through it all. It sounds so stupid, but I remember saying to myself "I'll go buy that teapot when all is good and settled, and I'll gift myself a good cup of tea."

Now that I am having that cup of tea, I realize that nothing is settled yet. I am still in the dark. I find myself asking what is that pattern I want to build in my life, the one I dreamed of for may years.

This teapot... it really looks like someone's life work. It makes me feel proud and hopeful.

If I can quote Kakuzō Okakura:

“True beauty could be discovered only by one who mentally completes the incomplete.”

This is the best way I could describe the beauty of this piece. It also incapsulates the same broken beauty that I find in my own life. If I did not have the ability to add imagined things on top of what there already is, existence would be a truly dreadful thing.

Tea is what truly makes it less dreadful, and the fact that it is real, it brings me so much joy. Thank you for reading my post :) See you later tea heads!

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Here it is guys, my new teapot, in its full splendor!

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The new teapot goes so well with my small golden tea cups!

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Guyssss, do you guys know the best city for Matcha in Japan? All signs point to Uji in Kyoto on Google. However, if you guys have any other obscure places let me know. 😄

I usually use harney and sons but their website hadn’t been working for me this week. I want loose leaf tea with good shipping in US. I’m looking for decaf or caffeine free teas, and prefer oolong and black teas. Can people give me recommendations.

I love harney and sons Paris tea for reference.