I love a good hot extra sleepy time tea with honey and milk. Looking to broaden my tea selection.

I'm losing my mind. I've been brewing loose leaf hibiscus flowers with cinnamon sticks in a french press, then transferring it to a pitcher to store in the fridge. I also have been mascerating black plums in sugar and lemon juice and using the syrup it produces to sweeten the tea. It tastes perfectly normal and exactly like the TAZO passion tea blend for the first day, but literally one night passes and it tastes like PICKLES!! I'm so lost can someone explain to me what's happening here!!

Edit— The syrup is stored in a jar separate from the tea, and I add it to my glass when I pour the tea! Sorry if that was confusing, I just thought it was relevant information

My S.O. and I are in Japan for one month, and we’re just leaving Kanazawa, sometimes called “little Kyoto”, where we had some matcha tea at a traditional teahouse. We were surprised to find the matcha not bitter at all. According to our hostess, it is not a matter of preparation but of quality. It was delicious.

Short version is I've gotten pretty deep into coffee and I want to experiment with doing tea the "right" way, i.e., buying nice raw materials and paying attention to the brewing. So I've tried reading through the wiki and there's just a lot of info in there that's not super easy to digest. So I have a few questions.

• Is there any good US vendor that will have a good selection of sample sizes and hopefully have an inexpensive gaiwan I can pick up as well? I see there's a ton of vendors but trying to find a decent "one stop shop" for an initial order.
• Recommendations for good teas (either exact specific ones or varieties)? I've been told that people that like coffee should check out pu erhs for the earthiness and oolongs for the complexity, and I've also liked stuff like Irish breakfast blend and the classic PG tips as a "regular" black tea, but totally open to trying other stuff especially other black teas. (I've had good green teas but I don't seem to enjoy them as much).

Thanks in advance, there's just a ton of vendors on the list and it's hard to tell how good they are, and I don't necessarily need to get into the $65 for a few oz level of tea yet either.

Hi all! I just started drinking herbal teas this month and have fallen in love with the flavor profile of Celestial Seasonings ‘Sleepytime Detox’ tea. I’m unfamiliar with the different individual herbal flavors and would love to drink something similar throughout the day that doesn’t knock me out (if that exists)! Can anyone advise a similar flavor of tea (loose leaf or bagged, doesn’t matter)? It smells a little sweet/fruity to me; not too grassy or spicy. I have tried plain chamomile and plain spearmint teas (which I thought were the main teas used) but these aren’t the notes I’m getting from the blend.

Their ingredient list shows (in no certain order/amounts given): chamomile, dandelion, green rooibos, lemongrass, and aloe vera; plus inactive ingredients of spearmint, aloe vera natural flavor, and tilia flowers.

TIA!

I found this tea at an import store near me. I can’t find any actual information on this particular product. Is this Gyokuro/Yamecha or is this just Sencha from the Yame region?

Can I eat tea leaves? I would like as much info on this as possible because it really starts to get deep. For example, do I even NEED to filter my tea? Can I eat a whole tsp/tbsp at once, multiple times per day? Can I eat rooibos and herbal teas as well?

And when I say eat, I literally mean to chew and swallow them.

My concern does not come from a question of toxicity but rather from eating that type of leaf, and the fiber that likely comes with it. Will it stop me up? 😂

Thanks in advance!

Stash Tea has discontinued their Super Mint bagged tea. I loved this tea - I went to my local tea shop that I buy from frequently that sells many wonderful lose-leaf teas, and they said they had an equivalent. It smelled really good so I bought some, but, now, after trying several cups over the last few days, I realize that it's no different from most mint teas. To my pallet, most pure mints often taste like what I can best describe as hay, which I don't particularly like.

The reason I gave it several tries is that the appeal of teas to my pallet varies so much - am I thirsty, do I want relax or have an excuse to linger in front of the TV while I finish my cup, how many cups in a row or did I drink the same tea for many days... the Super Mint was one of those teas that always tasted good, especially later in the day when I wanted to avoid caffeine. In the morning, I'd often add it to one of my black teas for variety.

Anyone tried the Super Mint so you know what I'm looking for and can suggest a replacement? The company list the sole ingredient as "wild mint", whatever that means.

I am trying to buy my partner a birthday gift. They are very passionate about tea and have a lot of loose leaf tea. But, they don't have a way to store it.

Whenever I look online it seems like most of the tea storage options are for tea bags or that they are a bit difficult to transport. They are going to leave to grad school soon, so I feel that giving them a bunch of mason jars or something would be complicated.

I was thinking like a tea chest with tins inside it, but I haven't been able to find one.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I want to get them something nice (not too cheapy). Anyone have any good methods for storage?

My wife’s birthday is coming up in about a month and I want to throw a tea party for her and have friends. She is not a tea connoisseur by any means, she is more interested in the party itself. I’m going to be making the snacks and when I plan something I don’t like to do it half way. I went over the introduction article and vendor list and quickly became overwhelmed by the options. I think I want to do one Camellia tea (something more mild) and two herbal teas for the party (one of them lavender mint) and I was wondering if anyone has recommendations for a higher quality brand/vendor that I could test?

I recently got a yellow tea from a little shop for my Birthday. It was fantastic. Sadly they don't have an online shop. So now I'm on the look for high quality yellow tea that I can get to Germany without dealing with customs. I think yoshien and nannuoshan have some, but i have never ordert from them.

Does anyone have experiences with them or other recommendations? Any help would be appreciated.

Hey all,

Just wondering this brown copper looking bottom is normal for a fairly new kettle? I have only got this like a month ago and used it atleast 2/3 times a day.

Thank you

I have this exact Lego plastic mug but can I drink tea from it or will it like make it toxic because it's plastic

Hey all! I am traveling to Japan in the fall. I am super excited to explore Japanese tea shops and tea houses but does anyone know of any Chinese or Taiwanese tea shops there? I will be staying in Tokyo (Taito City and Shinjuku areas) and Kyoto.

Hi everyone,

I came across this tea at a store and noticed it’s quite affordable. I’ve attached a picture of it here. I’ve heard that even less expensive Chinese teas can be better than many Western options, and I’m curious if anyone here is familiar with this brand or type of tea. Could you share your experiences or opinions about its quality? Would you recommend trying it?

Thanks for your help!

I've been using it twice a day and I love it. Hopefully the first of many 😊

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.

My morning tea today. Ran out of my Oolong I was using so decided to try the tea I bought from a local shop last week.

The brand is Justea. It's farmed in Africa by small groups of female farmers. Overall I like the flavor. A bit bitter on the first wash, more so than I expected, but by the second the flavors had really mellowed out.

I steeped twice last night then put the leaves in a jar in the fridge with boiling water overnight. I like to do overnight tea when the steeps are getting weak. To get a little extra for my morning drink.

Added a bit of lilac from my garden. Though it already had a floral hint from the lavender, the lilac brightened it up especially through the overnight soak. It is now very light, floral, and smooth.

(Image slightly edited for more accurate color and to remove glares)