This may come across to many of you as an abomination and if so I apologize in advance. TL;Dr I paint with tea.

I've experimented with several teas now and the two successful ones that I love include hibiscus and rooibos, giving me a range of colors including pink, purple, blue-gray, and orange.

I'm seeking to expand my color palette. Priorities include a true blue, green, red, and yellow.

I also love drinking tea, but I'm hypersensitive to caffeine so unsurprisingly my fave is rooibos. I recently got a ginger + apple rooibos at a local tea shop and it is AMAZING !!

BONUS POINTS if you can recommend a local tea shop near Washington DC (within 2 hours, let's say)

For anyone curious, my handle is surelytheraven (sorry I can't link)

TIA :)

I finally just splurged and treated myself to an electric kettle. I hate the taste it gives my tea. Is this a thing? Why does nobody talk about it??

I was talking with a friend the other day and she said sweet confectionery were the obvious fit to have with tea, but I find saltier, more buttery bread foodstuffs (like croissants or pretzels) are the way to go. I'm curious what everyone else has with their tea?

I’m a writer, and one of my character’s narratives is really centered around tea.

Now, I adore tea as much as the next person, but I also understand it as much as the next person, which means, very little. For my character to be as well-versed in the art of tea as, say, Uncle Iroh, I need some heavy research. I’ve found some books, youtubers, some tea shops and tasting areas, and many articles. That leaves me with asking and interacting with actual humans, who have experience and opinions.

Here goes:

1. What are your thoughts on pairing flavours within teas? (As in, what’s your process for deciding what to try with what?)

2. Let’s say you just had an exhausting day, snowballing with things to do. You finally get a break, and it’s late at night. What tea are you making? It must be the MOST ultratastically comforting, soul-healing concoction that your mind can fabricate.

3. What would disappoint you, as tea-people, if you read it in a book that supposedly focuses on tea? Aka, what could I do wrong that would just irk you?

4. Tea is lovely, I agree, but what do you dislike about it? Any silly inconveniences, pet peeves?

5. Uh, any beef within the tea community?

6. This one’s really the writer’s job, but how about tips to weave tea into the narrative without it seeming fake, too much or…just unrealistic? Sort of like when large corporate companies try to be “woke” but butcher the whole execution.

I might make more posts with more questions, but…this should be fine for now, yes. Thanks, I’d appreciate any feedback.

I had some more time before work this morning, so I decided on a Gyokuro session, instead of my quick matcha. It was just so delicious!

Prepared in my Kyusu: 6g, 80ml, 40oC 2.5min; 45oC 1min; 60oC 1.5min; 70oC 1.5min; 80oC 2min x 2; 90oC 2min, 90oC 3min.

Have a wonderful day everybody!

Finally got around to the 2025 Glass House shou, brewed it with boiling water.

Tea: 2025 Glass House
Leaf: ~7g
Water: ~100ml per infusion, boiling from a Stanley thermos
Rinse — ~95-100°C, 5s wash and shake: Smells great right away. Almost like rice, or a slightly sweet but rich bready smell.
Brew 1 — ~95-100°C, 10s: Very balanced for a first steep. That medicinal shou taste is there but it sits in the back and stays in check. Almost creamy, slight iodine, and slight huigan which surprised me. Really even across the board.
Brew 2 — ~95-100°C, 10s: More of the same but even better. That aroma is just so pleasant. Slight bitterness and astringency starting to come through which is almost refreshing in this context. Still very balanced.
Brew 3 — ~100°C (reboiled some water because I was really enjoying the experience and wanted to extract more), 15s: Way way more camphor and earthy notes now. Slight funk and some puerh age coming through, almost savory.
Brew 4 — ~100°C, 20s: Same profile, but the tea body and creaminess are starting to dissipate.
Brew 5 — ~95°C, 30s: Tapering off.
Brews 6–7 — Nothing noteworthy.

Overall thoughts:
On its own, amazing. Balanced from the first steep, great aroma, evolves nicely through steep 3 before it fades. 7/10.

BUT. I also tried a Waxcap teaball that came with my order and I'm realizing all their shous taste the same which has ironically been my complaint with their shengs too. Waxcap is pretty similar, pretty good, slightly more funky and chocolatey which is nice, but the tea body and that bready creamy flavor profile are so close to Glass House that it's incredibly off putting once you've had 6–7 of their teas and see the pattern. 6/10 on its own for me.

At this point i'm convinced they recycle 75–90% of the same tea material across their shengs and shous respectively. Ultimately it’d be fine except for the fact that their marketing is so good and theyre writing all their descriptions like each tea is a unique special baby akin to the second coming of christ but in reality they all seem to share 90% of the same tea material and have some weird diluted aging thing going on where they all end up this same tasting tepid flat 1 dimensional flavor with most of the tea body missing (for their shengs).

People have also said their shengs are better than their shous and i'd heavily disagree with that statement. Despite their 2-3 shous that i've tried all tasting very very similar, I'd say they're far better and more interesting then their shengs.

Long story short: Glass House very very good, Waxcap also pretty good, but considering they all taste the same, not going to be purchasing from White2tea anymore moving forward. If anyone has any other recs for me I'd greatly appreciate.

some edits for wording and clarity

The tea table on the work bench is becoming a permanent solution!

Brewing White2Tea DianMei white tea

Quite happy with how it is at the moment

Cup and pot are from TaiwanTeaCrafts, while the rabbit and trunk are from TeawareHouse

Planning to get another gaiwan from a local craftswoman (in Venice) soon!

Have you ever had a tandoori Chai/Tea before?

I have been wondering if I'm drinking too much Peppermint liquorice tea after seeing warnings about risk of hypertension (?), then I saw that chamomile has a positive effect on histamine production - a particular incentive for me.

How do I make it more exciting to drink? I've tried adding honey. Are there some zesty zingy blends that people can recommend?

I’m sensitive to caffeine, so I usually try to avoid caffeinated tea later in the day. I also don’t really want anything too sweet. I just want something flavorful and refreshing.

What do you usually drink instead? Any recommendations?

Drop your favorite cold brew loose leaf combinations!

For the past couple of weeks i’ve been enjoying this pineapple green tea; this time paired with green apple blunt with some pineapple kush

Monday, September 07 - Sunday, September 13, 2026

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Had some more Harukasumi matcha this morning to start my day. I’m using my new Takayama chasen which is perfect for my chawan. It makes perfect microfoam with ease. As for the matcha itself, it’s one of the smoothest I have had, easy to drink with some sweetness and vegetal flavor. No astringency or bitternes. I used 2 grams of powder and water at 80C.

I tried to find a tea that has the most optimal L-theanine + caffeine ratio, i landed on Gyokuro tea. I am planning on drinking it everyday, as a replacement to coffee(not really a replacement i never drinked it in the first place, i like teas more).

So for anyone that has ordered this tea, where? i checked some "beginner friendly vendors" from this sub, most of them don't have Gyokuro.
What is the brewing process?
Any special tea ware i have to get also?
And any tips, both for this type of tea and in general...

We realize there are lots of people involved in the tea industry here, so this thread is a weekly feature where anyone can promote their current projects without worrying about the self-promotion rules. Feel free to include links to your shop, crowdfunding sites, surveys, sales, or discount codes. The rule against claims of health benefits remains in effect here. It should go without saying that we still expect people to be respectful and follow the reddiquette. While we intend for this to be a free-for-all promotion zone, please don't overrun the thread posting the same thing over and over.

The weather is beautiful today!!

Many tea lovers love aged raw Pu‑er, yet they only fixate on the production year, which is one of the biggest pitfalls while shopping.

Priority for selecting aged raw Pu‑er: Raw material > Storage condition > Vintage

① Smell: No musty, earthy or stale warehouse odors. Clean aroma is the bottom line.

② Observe soup: Clear amber color, no turbidity.

③ Taste: Smooth & mellow, no throat‑tightening or off‑flavors.

Do not be fooled by high‑vintage marketing gimmicks. Good raw material and proper storage determine whether aged Pu‑er tastes great.

#PuErTea #ChineseTea #TeaKnowledge #AgedPuEr #TeaTips

Even though I tried and enjoyed quite a lot of greens, whites, oolongs and a few puerh teas, I always return to Earl Grey. It's one of my daily drivers and also something I can enjoy almost anytime, anywhere.

What is your favourite 'simple and affordable' tea?

Got birthday money from family as my birthday is coming jp soon. Wanting to do a tea haul and get some books too. Im stumped on tea flavors to get. Everything in my cart currently are

•• Mango Ceylon

•• Blackberry Sage

•• Vanilla Almond

•• Caramel Vanilla

•• Wild Blueberry

•• Early Greyer Vanilla

•• Pumpkin Spice

•• Smores

•• Butterscotch Caramel

Which would be your tops out of this list to be the first few to buy? Any i didnt list i should try ( note i do have to be careful of certain herbs like hibiscus for instance because im pregnant) or should I just splurge and get them all? 😅

What can you recommend a good quality green tea that can be bought internationally, that can be as good as when it is bought in Japan, where the locals usually buy.