TEA! (because coffee is so western european)

[ambrosian]

Anyone have "chain" tea stores in their country? Dunno about the rest of Aus, but in Perth we have a great one luckily. Been trying some Rose Jasmine tea recently, never thought I'd like a white - I'm more of a green tea person.

Can we talk about tisanes in this thread too?

[BlacknWhite]

The one tea that really stands out to me is chrysanthemum tea. Home made in a kettle with the flowers, (and branches if I recall). It's the one tea I enjoy cold, or warm, sweetened or unsweet. Other teas are nice too, but nothing is more relaxing.

[Senpai]

Anyone here into Lapsang Souchong? Currently one of my favorite teas but wouldn't consider it to be an everyday tea. Wasn't aware of it until I started baristaing at my current cafe, but it's slowly become an obsession of mine. Its a black tea smoked over pine needles which provides an incredibly smoky taste. A good dinner, or hearty lunch alternative to more common choices.

[Ahimsa]

^ Palais des Thés has a good variety of Lapsang Souchong with varying degrees of smokiness. I recommend cooking with it.

[Senpai]

^ Thanks for the recommendation! Ill have to look into that. How exactly are you cooking with it? Grinding down the leaves and using it as a rub, or making a tea infused butter?

[kamsky]

Just got one of the nicest Oolongs I've had; it's the San Lin Xi Winter Sprout from Song Tea in SF. On the lighter side, very sweet, floral and stone-fruity.

Barely starting to scratch the surface of teas, so was pretty excited to have come across it.

[Ahimsa]

^ Thanks for the recommendation! Ill have to look into that. How exactly are you cooking with it? Grinding down the leaves and using it as a rub, or making a tea infused butter?

You can basically do with it whatever you can imagine. Brewing it and using it in sauces or broths, soaking things in it, adding it into a frying pan...You can make a decent barbecued meal by using it to give that smoked flavor and then just adding the barbecue sauce.

[Bodique]

I was obssesed with Lapsang Souchong before i quit smoking, but i never tried coocked with it . Also it tastes really good with halfzware tobacco.

[Ahimsa]

Been in the mood for hot tea again after the NYC heat has broken a bit.


(my own)


(Japanese tea house)

[ahn]

After I quit sugar I never found I enjoyed tea the way I used to. For some reason I adjusted very quickly to drinking my coffee without sugar but tea always tasted sad and hollow without sugar.

My partner is mainly a coffee drinker but loves Lapsang Souchong. I was a dedicated Earl Grey drinker but I haven't been enjoying it anymore (for almost a whole year now) so I decided to switch it up a little in the hopes that a different tea will re-pique my tastebuds. I picked up a Pu-erh Earl Grey which I do enjoy a lot although I'm certainly not drinking it in the quantities I used to drink my regular Earl Grey with one teaspoon of sugar .

I miss the ritual of tea drinking that I'd created for myself. I am hoping I will eventually adjust the way I did with coffee.

[fncyths]

/ \

totally understand this. I had to part ways with my beloved affair with coffee and find a new fix. while spending some time in Mexico I had an Argentinian girlfriend turn me on to the ritual of yerba mate. I really loved the process of drinking it in the morning and in the afternoon. paired with a few games of backgammon or dominoes and steeped in conversation and couple cooing --- la vida romantica.

anyho might be something to try out.

[Ahimsa]

After I quit sugar I never found I enjoyed tea the way I used to. For some reason I adjusted very quickly to drinking my coffee without sugar but tea always tasted sad and hollow without sugar.

My partner is mainly a coffee drinker but loves Lapsang Souchong. I was a dedicated Earl Grey drinker but I haven't been enjoying it anymore (for almost a whole year now) so I decided to switch it up a little in the hopes that a different tea will re-pique my tastebuds. I picked up a Pu-erh Earl Grey which I do enjoy a lot although I'm certainly not drinking it in the quantities I used to drink my regular Earl Grey with one teaspoon of sugar .

I miss the ritual of tea drinking that I'd created for myself. I am hoping I will eventually adjust the way I did with coffee.

I've never really had sugar in my tea so I can't quite comment on what might be a good substitute for that taste. However, I used to really enjoy something of a dessert tea as a substitute for sweets.
I highly recommend Tay Tea's 'Better Than Sex', a blend of vanilla Rooibos, Belgian dark chocolate, and peppermint.

[Faust]

Here are the ceramics I brought from Japan, along with some amazing sencha and genmacha. They really do give another level of appreciation of tea drinking as process. You simply pay attention, are present in the moment and it's beautiful.

[Chinorlz]

Hoping to resurrect this thread as I recall quite a few serious tea drinkers on here (hope they're still here). Over the last several months I have gotten more serious about tea... Built up a bit of an aged pu-erh collection with bricks ranging from 1960 to 2005. I love the change in flavor profiles as it ages where the cleaner, sweet finish morphs into a more glycerine mouthfeel and more forest floor/woody components that come with aging. Right now, I'm working through a brick of 2005 that is so enjoyable to have almost through the entire day.

Picked up quite a bit when I was in Taiwan. Have to walk by all the overly fancy shops to find the good places where you get high quality, aged pu-erh (and other teas) at fair pricing, but I got my places now :)

Would love to hear about people's experiences (Trentk?) with your Yixing teapots and how/where you can source out authentic aged Yixing teaware?

I enjoy the entire formal gongfu tea presentation process even if it is just for myself and would like to work on getting appropriately aged ceramics. Any truly reliable online source (even if shipped from China/Taiwan etc.) for aged pu-erh in brick/cake form would be much appreciated.

Would love to learn more about the different producers/tea masters and pu-erh styles (I keep reading about qi levels from different masters, regions etc.... fascinates me) if anyone on here knows about it!

[augustinn]

Seeing this thread reminded me of my trip years ago to Boh Tea Plantation in the Malaysian Highlands. The tea fields were so beautiful. Actually sitting among the plants and drinking their black tea was a memorable experience.
Like hanging out at a vineyard but getting a different kind of buzz/clarity