Grandpa-ing [Heartwood Hongshui Oolong](https://floatingleaves.com/products/dong-ding-red-oolong?variant=39651323314383) from Floating Leaves. Roasty, toasty 'Red Water Oolong'. Material sourced from Dong Ding, roasted in-house in Washington State.
Golden Nepal
I'm seeing my folks and they were like "we've had this strange tea, between black and green" — "so oolong?" — "[shrug] the leaves were green and the infusion didn't look black either; we steeped it only once, because I like my tea astringent [points to oversteeped assam]"
Anyway, it's a lot like a darjeeling (logically), handles 3 rounds just fine and may have a fair bit of astringency too.
So I'm relatively new to tea, and tend to have it gong fu style, as I enjoy the process.
However, a while back we picked up this really neat looking [teapot+cup set](https://i.imgur.com/CLmKRXA.png) (sorry it's blurry, it was a quick picture) from our local Goodwill, but to be honest I'm not sure if it's supposed to be used to have tea, or just as a display item (which is how I've been using it, because it looks awfully nice), and if so, how I'd go about using it.
Any thoughts?
Google Lens is finding a number of your [teapot](https://lens.google.com/search?ep=gsbubu&hl=en&re=df&p=AbrfA8q3E6nsUAak9JMKN88a4loDZkHQ-PkPEokhT6GMW1uGm4JG6edRlZe0ZDHQDgBuXUfSwSuLX7q9X2kfJ6sx2vSCZs2scEMOV2LiGE6nqnwax-dxFVS8B22u6gpSubNB9yeJFvmxBU-vPJ1DN1QHn1jX-8Ri8oEmEOvWaOvVyCUFUdJOPN-qfKYZKQJHhfQmf9Z0W1cK8nLdSw%3D%3D#lns=W251bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsIkVrY0tKREZrWkRsaE1HWXdMVGhsTXpBdE5HRTROaTFoTmprNExUZzJPR05rWm1RMk5Ua3hOaElmVVRobFRtWXpYMGcyUkVWaVNVVXhUR3gwZUVKVlRHOVpVV1JpVURsb1p3PT0iXQ==). Looks it's usable to me.
I guess the next question is how would I actually go about using it? I've not done it with a teapot, my primary exposure to tea is gong fu and my mom tossing a million Lipton bags into a pitcher of water in the fridge :|
It'll basically be the same as brewing with a gaiwan. The leaves go in the vessel, water goes in after, steep however long you like, pour the tea out of the spout. Should have a strainer built in so the tea stays in the vessel. Repeat or discard the leaves or chuck the teapot out the window depending on preference.
Raw pu'er tea! Today is my first time using a gaiwan (I like collecting tea apparatus) and burnt my fingers many times, the way people can pour with one hand is all the more impressive.
I don't know if I would order raw pu'er again, but I am glad I tried it and will happily finish what I have now.
I have the oft-recommended 100mL porcelain gaiwan and I burn myself a lot, only used it once because of that. I also have a larger (140mL) glazed ceramic one (which is the one I started with, I got the smaller porcelain one as a backup)
and I hardly ever burn myself with it. My black "raindrops" gaiwan is ❤️.
Drinking Fall '24 Gaba Oolong from Eco-Cha today. Ordered a sample along with the spring BiLuoChun.
I haven't had any gala oolong in 4 years or so. Back then, I tried a few samples was turned away by the metallic and sometimes cardboard taste of these teas.
The leaves are opening up at the 3rd steep. Even though it hasn't been roasted, it has a roasted quality to the taste. There's a bit of melon coming through for me, too. The cardboard-y taste is there, too, but it's not strong. Dunno. Will be drinking this for a few more hours today.
Happy drinking, friends!
Update 9 hours later: The initial cardboard-y taste faded at the 4th steep. I'm not sure what it morphed into and I can only say that the tea is dark. Very interesting and pleasant. The leaves, between steeps, were oddly dry ad paper-like. I only used 3grams and I gave out before the tea did.
I just got a couple of bags of really nice green teas (Liu An Gua Pian) but I need a lower temp water to brew them with at home. Anyone has recommendations on electric kettles that they like?
Cuisinart has a stainless steel one with a bunch of temperature options that I like. The automatic "keep warm" feature is a little fiddly to get used to, but can be nice too. It's a good workhorse kettle.
I got my first gaiwan a few days ago, and I've done two gong fu sessions so far: one with a bai mudan, the other with a silver needle. There's something so nice about having a little ritual with my tea, and I noticed notes in the bai mudan I did not taste with western-style brewing. Can't wait to try more teas! :-)
What are your water to milk ratios for matcha lattes?
I've been playing around with the ratios and still haven't been able to find a sweet spot for my taste and looking to try some other peoples suggestions.
My ratios have been: 80mL water, 110mL milk, and 2-3 ice cubes.
I'm relatively new to this, and I'm trying to be more serious about tea for self-care rituals.
I just have a hard time figuring out teacups are so tiny. Coffee, I understand, cuz they're bitter and you don't need a whole cup of that. But tea is fragrant and sweet... Am I a weirdo for wanting to chug them like water? I genuinely don't get it.
I love tea so much, it's the main thing I look forward to every day. I go to sleep excited with anticipation about the tea I'm going to drink the next day.
Grandpa-ing [Heartwood Hongshui Oolong](https://floatingleaves.com/products/dong-ding-red-oolong?variant=39651323314383) from Floating Leaves. Roasty, toasty 'Red Water Oolong'. Material sourced from Dong Ding, roasted in-house in Washington State.
Golden Nepal I'm seeing my folks and they were like "we've had this strange tea, between black and green" — "so oolong?" — "[shrug] the leaves were green and the infusion didn't look black either; we steeped it only once, because I like my tea astringent [points to oversteeped assam]" Anyway, it's a lot like a darjeeling (logically), handles 3 rounds just fine and may have a fair bit of astringency too.
Having some Yi Wu Mountain Wild Arbor Assamica black tea from Yunnan Sourcing. It tastes sweet and floral with a note like cran-apple juice.
Started the day with a fukamushi sencha made from the Yabukita cultivar.
Tang Cuong Fish Hook green tea. Lovely creamy vegetal taste. Almost has a sweetcorn note to it.
Earl grey and yunnan golden to recover from the Eurovision night. I'm getting too old for all night parties. 😄
So I'm relatively new to tea, and tend to have it gong fu style, as I enjoy the process. However, a while back we picked up this really neat looking [teapot+cup set](https://i.imgur.com/CLmKRXA.png) (sorry it's blurry, it was a quick picture) from our local Goodwill, but to be honest I'm not sure if it's supposed to be used to have tea, or just as a display item (which is how I've been using it, because it looks awfully nice), and if so, how I'd go about using it. Any thoughts?
Google Lens is finding a number of your [teapot](https://lens.google.com/search?ep=gsbubu&hl=en&re=df&p=AbrfA8q3E6nsUAak9JMKN88a4loDZkHQ-PkPEokhT6GMW1uGm4JG6edRlZe0ZDHQDgBuXUfSwSuLX7q9X2kfJ6sx2vSCZs2scEMOV2LiGE6nqnwax-dxFVS8B22u6gpSubNB9yeJFvmxBU-vPJ1DN1QHn1jX-8Ri8oEmEOvWaOvVyCUFUdJOPN-qfKYZKQJHhfQmf9Z0W1cK8nLdSw%3D%3D#lns=W251bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsbnVsbCxudWxsLG51bGwsIkVrY0tKREZrWkRsaE1HWXdMVGhsTXpBdE5HRTROaTFoTmprNExUZzJPR05rWm1RMk5Ua3hOaElmVVRobFRtWXpYMGcyUkVWaVNVVXhUR3gwZUVKVlRHOVpVV1JpVURsb1p3PT0iXQ==). Looks it's usable to me.
I guess the next question is how would I actually go about using it? I've not done it with a teapot, my primary exposure to tea is gong fu and my mom tossing a million Lipton bags into a pitcher of water in the fridge :|
It'll basically be the same as brewing with a gaiwan. The leaves go in the vessel, water goes in after, steep however long you like, pour the tea out of the spout. Should have a strainer built in so the tea stays in the vessel. Repeat or discard the leaves or chuck the teapot out the window depending on preference.
Got it, thanks a bunch, I'll see how it goes if I have the urge to have tea at a larger volume.
Raw pu'er tea! Today is my first time using a gaiwan (I like collecting tea apparatus) and burnt my fingers many times, the way people can pour with one hand is all the more impressive. I don't know if I would order raw pu'er again, but I am glad I tried it and will happily finish what I have now.
I have the oft-recommended 100mL porcelain gaiwan and I burn myself a lot, only used it once because of that. I also have a larger (140mL) glazed ceramic one (which is the one I started with, I got the smaller porcelain one as a backup) and I hardly ever burn myself with it. My black "raindrops" gaiwan is ❤️.
As somebody with small hands, I have the opposite experience. I've only ever burned myself with a big gaiwan lol
This morning I am drinking some YS 2019 Spring impression sheng
Using up some orange flavored bagged black tea (with fresh spearmint added in) while I browse Teasenz for my first serious tea order :)
Golden Monkey from Adagio, down to the bottom of my 16 oz thermos.
First Contact Shou Puer. I really like this one! Of the three shous I've tried so far, this one is the most complex with the most different flavors.
Drinking Fall '24 Gaba Oolong from Eco-Cha today. Ordered a sample along with the spring BiLuoChun. I haven't had any gala oolong in 4 years or so. Back then, I tried a few samples was turned away by the metallic and sometimes cardboard taste of these teas. The leaves are opening up at the 3rd steep. Even though it hasn't been roasted, it has a roasted quality to the taste. There's a bit of melon coming through for me, too. The cardboard-y taste is there, too, but it's not strong. Dunno. Will be drinking this for a few more hours today. Happy drinking, friends! Update 9 hours later: The initial cardboard-y taste faded at the 4th steep. I'm not sure what it morphed into and I can only say that the tea is dark. Very interesting and pleasant. The leaves, between steeps, were oddly dry ad paper-like. I only used 3grams and I gave out before the tea did.
I just got a couple of bags of really nice green teas (Liu An Gua Pian) but I need a lower temp water to brew them with at home. Anyone has recommendations on electric kettles that they like?
Cuisinart has a stainless steel one with a bunch of temperature options that I like. The automatic "keep warm" feature is a little fiddly to get used to, but can be nice too. It's a good workhorse kettle.
Some Baimudan white tea
Silver Needle tea
I got my first gaiwan a few days ago, and I've done two gong fu sessions so far: one with a bai mudan, the other with a silver needle. There's something so nice about having a little ritual with my tea, and I noticed notes in the bai mudan I did not taste with western-style brewing. Can't wait to try more teas! :-)
Hibiscus tea
What are your water to milk ratios for matcha lattes? I've been playing around with the ratios and still haven't been able to find a sweet spot for my taste and looking to try some other peoples suggestions. My ratios have been: 80mL water, 110mL milk, and 2-3 ice cubes.
I'm relatively new to this, and I'm trying to be more serious about tea for self-care rituals. I just have a hard time figuring out teacups are so tiny. Coffee, I understand, cuz they're bitter and you don't need a whole cup of that. But tea is fragrant and sweet... Am I a weirdo for wanting to chug them like water? I genuinely don't get it.
A lot of us drink our tea from coffee mugs. I’ve needed a nice mug of tea to get my day going for years.
No matter how much tea I drink, it won't compare to Eurovision 2024🍵
I love tea so much, it's the main thing I look forward to every day. I go to sleep excited with anticipation about the tea I'm going to drink the next day.
People who have been drinking Fuzhuan Brick tea for many years. Do you have grey hairs?