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So I want to start brewing loose leaf tea
Khaczor
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I don't know really where to start though I've seen some youtube videos to start me out.
I mostly drink green tea and was interested in a Japanese style tea set. Is there any big differences between stoneware, cast iron, or porcelain tea sets? Also does anyone have any tips or good websites with information for beginners. I just really need a list of essentials to buy and hopefully the website with the cheapest online loose leaf tea products.
Thanks.
I mostly drink green tea and was interested in a Japanese style tea set. Is there any big differences between stoneware, cast iron, or porcelain tea sets? Also does anyone have any tips or good websites with information for beginners. I just really need a list of essentials to buy and hopefully the website with the cheapest online loose leaf tea products.
Thanks.
Khaczor on
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I'm a huge fan of the Perennial Tea Room if only because it's local and I love walking in and sniffing different teas for hours, but their online presence is pretty good and they're very very helpful. I've also ordered from Adagio Teas iun the past and been very pleased. Teavana, though it's a chain and tends to have much less knowledgeable people working there because of that, does have some good selection and you may have one local to you.
Other things you'll need will be an electric tea kettle, preferably with a thermometer so you don't scorch your delicate green tea leaves, some honey for sweetening, and a thick mug. Whatever you do, don't buy a teaball, they're worse than useless for brewing good looseleaf tea and almost impossible to clean.
Part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrqBe9sWHsk
http://www.adagio.com/teaware/utiliTEA_kettle.html?SID=d175c503fa597dbf160aee8bae4fa734
It can brew at a lower temperature for optimal green tea taste
Adagio also do samplers which I highly recommend - you never know what you may like!
Apart from that and Teavana I also like http://www.redblossomtea.com/
That is the tea pot I got. It's small so I use it for 2 or 3 people when brewing tea. Altons suggests putting the leaves right into the pot but it's hard to reuse them since you have to drain the pot out, find a place for the leaves and re heat the pot. It's easier to use the metal basket that comes with it.
Steam Username:Glirk_Dient
Honestly if you drink a lot of tea an electric tea kettle is worth getting, especially if it has adjustable temperatures for different teas. I use a stainless tea kettle and, while I have a ceramic tea pot, I never use it.
As far as materials go: Cast Iron will require more upkeep than a stainless or ceramic pot. Ceramic/stainless will be easy to clean. Cast Iron isn't as expensive as has been previously mentioned. Just like everything else, higher quality will cost more.
For steeping I just use a little glass pot with a plastic handle bolted on; I think it might've come from Target. There's a little mesh strainer that came with it. You don't need anything fancy--just make sure you get a strainer that's pretty fine. Some teas (even good ones) have some smaller particles mixed in and this will keep them from escaping. I find this to be especially important for japanese green tea.
I also have never had any complaints about using tea balls. I mostly use an actual pot now, but I could never tell the difference between tea brewed in a ball or otherwise. As long as you get one with a fine mesh and don't overfill it you'll be fine.
The one thing you'll have to do is get a handle on your water temperature and steeping times (time that shit), as this will have a huge impact on how it ends up tasting. You can nuke some water in a microwavable mug, drop in a teaball, and still make an excellent brew if you use the right temperature of water for the right duration.
As far as getting the actual tea goes, I've tried tea shops large and small. None of them come close to the quality, selection, or price that you can get online. Nowadays I order from The Upton Tea Company pretty much exclusively. They've got a bazillion different varieties at whatever price point you feel like and everything is much better than what I used to be able to get in stores. Their shipping is also really quick here (Denver) although I have no idea if it's true elsewhere.
or English Tea Store.
Loved ETS's blends and I have one that I use pretty much only for writing (Buckingham Palace Garden Party).
Now that I'm not in the states I'm going to need to find something different, but I'll get around to that.
I owned one of the Amsterdam ceramic pots from Stash and it never steered me wrong. Also, I had no problems with a tea ball, so long as it wasn't too full and you didn't oversteep it.
green tea water should be just under boiling and should steep ideally for 3 minutes. You can go longer if you like a stronger flavor, but then it gets bitter. Good quality tea leaves should be capable of at least 2-3 brews.
don't be afraid to experiment with other types of teas! Once you get the system down, it can be fun to try new things.
also, there should be tea filter bags for individual cups, just in case you don't want to make a full pot.
second also, Stash has for sale the new Bodum french Presses. I was skeptical of them at first, but after going out for sushi the other night and the sushi place was using the french press, I got a good look at it. It kept the tea warm, and did a good job of separating the leaves from the water so that it didn't overbrew.
I'm seriously looking into getting myself one. As soon as I find one...
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www.lupicia.com
These are seriously the best quality teas I've ever experienced in my life. I don't really buy tea from anyone else now. Before I ordered a lot from www.teavana.com.
Oh! And Lupicia has this great newsletter you can get to from the website and go through back issues... they have quite a few that talk about the proper way to do different types of tea. They also have this thing where if you spend 30 dollars you get the newsletter sent to your house and a tea of the month sample free for a year. It's seriously like heaven.
they have an aussie site.
which means i might be able to get some from them.
and have it here to kiwiland.
I think I love you, rad.
edit:: oh.. no.. it doesn't look like it.
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For chinese green tea yes, but most japanese green teas (which i'm assuming the OP is interested in since he mentioned a japanese tea set) are brewed at 75 or lower, if you brew a good quality sencha for example at over 75 you'll burn it and it'll taste terrible and Gyokuro should never be over 60 C
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Very true. Steeping just right is important for getting good tasting tea. If you don't steep long enough the tea will be weak. If you steep too long it will release tannins and make the tea bitter. Too low of a temp and it won't steep properly and will taste off. Steep too hot and it burns. Look it up online or the tea might come with instructions. This is part of the reason cast iron is so popular. You can heat up the water and the cast iron pot so that it doesn't wick heat away and will retain the steeping temperature for better tasting tea.
Steam Username:Glirk_Dient
And once you figure out green tea, check out pu-erh
The only fancy tea that I've bought was through Samovar, when Kevin Rose sponsored a discount starter sample set. One thing I really really like on that site is how much information they provide for each tea. Ingredients, flavor profile, "tea story" (history, traditional use, etc.), food pairing (very helpful), a video, and brewing instructions (some doesn't seem to have this on the site, but they seem to all ship with it). So, if nothing else, it seems like a good place to browse before finding the most cost effective place to purchase.
I love Good Eats.
http://www.enjoyingtea.com/spooninfuser45.html
Also I've read that putting your used tea leaves in your houseplants is good for them. I've done it quite a bit, and while I can't say if it's actually good for them, it hasn't killed any of them.
On the other hand, I'm going to make ecco take me to the tea shop near here (they have a book store too that sells only romance novels) and i'm going to pick up some loose lavender.
lemme tell you, you need to relax, take your infuser and do half chamomile and half lavender. But only for about 2 minutes, maximum with just under boiling water.
the scent alone is enough to send you to heaven, the taste is so subtle. A little sugar, or maybe some honey, and you're good to go.
The only thing with the lavender is that if you oversteep it, it starts to smell and taste like your grandmother's bathroom.
and that's never pleasant. or relaxing
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that enjoyingtea site will ship to me!
Lupicia won't.
but i can find more!
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https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B_3qdwBmwAejOTU4MjhmODQtNDk4My00MTcyLWIyMWMtNzc0MDYxOTFlNjk0&hl=en&authkey=CLL6tJIB
I haven't tried chamomile with lavendar, but loose chamomile is like, the best stuff. I should probably order some new teas, my roommate started using my french press to make coffee (ick!) so I haven't used it in a while, and the best local tea place near me closed down
They had this awesome strawberry green tea, but their chai was way to cardamom-y for me so I've got a whole bunch of it sitting around that I don't really want. I normally keep my cast iron pot at work, but I may bring it and my electric kettle home so I can enjoy some hassle free tea this evening, and maybe put in an order somewhere.
As far as recommendations to the OP goes, I would recommend that if you wanna go somewhere and sniff around some teas Teavana is a pretty good option since they're all over the place. They aren't going to be the best quality tea you can get, and most of their pots/accessories are going to be overpriced, but as far as getting a good idea of what you might like I'd recommend them highly. My only experiences in the stores have been good, and the staff was fairly knowledgeable and very friendly.
Also, if you do stop in to the Teavana and see something you like, snag it and get some of their self fill tea bags. They're pretty reasonably priced (I think it's like, 5 bucks for 100) and they're really convenient if you just want to make one cup of tea without fiddling with to much stuff. Just fill the bag with whatever you want, fill a mug with appropriately hot water, let steep for a few minutes. No tea pot and mesh filter to clean out, just toss the bag when it's done.
twitch.tv/tehsloth
My tea-drinking friends look at me like I'm a war criminal, but I'm learning. :P
I'm looking at you the same way I look at my Dad after he has finished shaving with his disposable shaver that he is using for the 9th time... never cleans and this is all compounded with his rough scratchy beard.
shudder
Ohman.
shame I'm not in the states anymore, or I'd buy that chai off you and ship it to me. I love cardamom. It tastes like fruity pebbles.
So, went through one of the asian grocery stores today and almost picked up some of the dried chrysanthemum flowers, but then realized I had no place to store it.
so instead, I got 2 drink boxes (like Hi-C) of Assam Milk tea (one black, one green), and a cold bottle of Damask Rose Tea.
Ecco took the black milk tea as payment for picking me up, but I finished the green tea and the rose tea and just WOW.
I love the rose tea. love love love love love!!!!
I had a Harney & Sons blend back home of their Valentine's tea. Chocolate tea, which yes sounds weird) and rosebuds. So good.
Also, around Valentines day, Republic of Tea has their Queen of Hearts tea which is a black tea with rose petals. Also very good. but RoT is kinda expensive.
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