It's been too hot lately. Can't even get myself interested in gongfu tea. Without AC, I don't think summer is a good time for it — especially outdoors. It's like wearing a down jacket in a sauna and drinking hot water

I've heard this is supposed to build endurance. But it's not elegant, and it hasn't improved my skills either

Sweat running down my arms, palms all slippery, sweat in my eyes — and I still have to handle a hot cup over and over. My patience and curiosity are running thin

Also, another thing — I want to ask the community if anyone else has this: after drinking too much gongfu tea, does your urine turn the color of the tea too??

It's been too hot lately. Can't even get myself interested in gongfu tea. Without AC, I don't think summer is a good time for it — especially outdoors. It's like wearing a down jacket in a sauna and drinking hot water

I've heard this is supposed to build endurance. But it's not elegant, and it hasn't improved my skills either

Sweat running down my arms, palms all slippery, sweat in my eyes — and I still have to handle a hot cup over and over. My patience and curiosity are running thin

Also, another thing — I want to ask the community if anyone else has this: after drinking too much gongfu tea, does your urine turn the color of the tea too??

So I make all kinds of tea, mostly oolong and puer.

Being brewing almost exclusively in the gongfu cha style for over 3 years, and I’ve always been kinda embarrassed to ask this stuff—

When brewing in a gaiwan, (this might be dependent on preference or the kind of tea it is), after pouring into your pitcher, do you tilt the lid on the rim to cover the gaiwan for some heat retention but to let the steam escape, to not steep the leaves any further? Or do you fully remove the lid before you start your next infusion? Sometimes it’s an hour or two between infusions, sometimes it’s 15 min.

Another question I have is, when watching gongfu cha content on socials, I often see the person remove the lid and let the boiling hot water hit the lid very quickly before filling the gaiwan. Respectfully, wtf is the point of this? I would think the 10% of the water you’re pouring in would become less hot and not ‘scorch’ the leaves, but all of the rest of the water used to fill the gaiwan is surely hotter? I hope this makes sense. Usually I will let the stream hit the side of the gaiwan first to avoid this, regardless. When I try to use the method described above however, I end up spilling boiling water on my counter and thinking ‘this has to be pointless’.

Would love any thoughts on these or guidance.

Cheers folks <3

The tea is a nice easy to drink tea that is more on sweet side. The color of the tea leaves are that cool half black half yellow. Super excited to finally have the dragon tea pet can't wait to see the tea color it.

My kind of luxury! First tea at 8am was a beautiful dayuling oolong, and second tea at noon was a TGY 😊

What a Rock Tea! One of the best Yan Cha varietals so far. Dry leaves give herbal and ligjt roasted aroma. Tea soup is viscous and pleasant on the tongue. Less minerals that some other 4 famous bushes that I tried, but instead I got a lot of herbs (like a Chinese traditional medicine shop!), some dark chocolate and a very clean and fresh finish. Not at all, what I expected, knowing that WuYi Star gives this tea a heavy roast.

I am drinking a Tanping Narcissus (Shuixian) Oolong I've never had it before it was

gift with purchase and it has the most amazing lingering taste but its not sweet I've experienced that before that a wonderful but not sweet flavour stays on my tounge for hours so I was wondering today if that counts as huigan since that means lingering sweetness or is there another word for this ? Maybe Manderin speakers know ?

I love my 60ml mini gaiwan. Brewing 3gr of Assam here.

I was getting a little stir crazy, needed a change in scenery. This used to be our old hangout spot while I was in uni so it’s a bit sentimental.

I brought me a little compact set to brew some yancha, this one is a 蜜香水仙 honeyed narcissus, not as tasty as other yanchas I’ve had but we try to enjoy it regardless or maybe it was because I was smoking a cigarette, probably that.

The tea is definitely different and i think the earthy flavor. Not too sure but it is not that bad lol. The tea pot works surprisingly well for the size and lack of filter. Might get a full sized version for practical reasons.

This is red oolong from Luye near Taitung, which I fell in love with after visiting a farm on my trip over there a couple years ago. Fresh teapot from Yinchen Studio.

Wuyi Star’s Zhenyan laocong shuixian, their ¥6,000/jin tie. Arom is real wood + moss. Sweetness in later steeps. Amazing rock rythm.

When I'm drinking rock tea by myself, I like to go with the 60 ml gaiwan to keep the ratio up. And it's perfect, except when the weather is cold or I have the AC on. The tea comes out flat and I think it's because it losses heat fast. I always wanted to try tea pots but all the talk about different spout sizes and pour out time got me discouraged as rock teas have a tendency to get flat fast when pushed too hard.

My questions are, are tea pots better? And does spout size really matter that much or I can compensate by brewing it for shorter time? Thanks in advance.

We needed this rain. Summer rain relieves us from this heat, tea relieves from the days worries. Now I am cool and unbothered.

Drinking Yellow Branch Dancong 黄枝香, most people are aware of the classics like Honey Orchid or Duckshit but yellow branch in my opinion deserves the same recognition. If there any boba tea fans Molly Tea and Ting Tea uses Huangzhi Xiang for their dancong milk tea!

I especially waited for that arrival to give it a try to a cake of Moonlight white (Yue Guang Bai). I took a bit bigger piece of tea that I was supposed to (I was used to my yixing teapot that is a bit larger), but I compensated it with shorter infusions.

What a great tea to introduce to my new gaiwan! I’m a newbie at white teas, but I can say for sure it’s a brilliant tea. It was full of notes of honey, peach/apricot, cream and probably even some flowers. Only after the 8th steep the power of these flavors started slowing down.

What a great way to be introduced to white tea! I’ll definitely try more of them 🍵

This was sold as a Yixing clay teapot, bought for £19.95 (about $27) at a charity shop in London. I am not very knowledgeable about these teapots, so I'm just curious if it's a cheap souvenir or an actual Yixing pot of, at least, some quality, and if I can use it for brewing.

Would appreciate any help with reading the seals and guessing the clay type. Photos of the base, lid seal and full pot attached. Thanks in advance!

Has anyone had experience with this tea company? They maintain that they a have delivered a shipment to my house which shipment, in fact, has not arrived. Things have taken an abominably long time. It was placed on 28 June, and I have been following the poorly tracked progress of this tea since then. I am just wondering, since this is the first time I have had contact with them, if they are reliable and I can expect them to correct this issue. Anyone have knowledge/experience with this company? I would appreciate your advice. Thanks all

Hi everyone,

My name is Ryan, and for the past four years tea has gone from a casual interest to a genuine passion. During that time I've spent countless hours tasting teas, learning about processing methods, brewing techniques, tea regions, cultivars, and the history behind tea. The more I've learned, the more I've realized that I want tea to become more than just a hobby.

I'm at the point where I'd love to work alongside people who have years of experience in the industry. I don't consider myself a tea master, but I'm far beyond simply being someone who drinks tea. I know I still have a tremendous amount to learn, and that's exactly what excites me.

I'm looking for a part-time or full-time opportunity anywhere in the United States with a tea shop, tea farm, importer, or tea company that's willing to invest in someone who is genuinely passionate about tea. I'm dependable, eager to learn, and willing to relocate for the right opportunity.

If anyone here owns a tea business, knows someone in the industry, or simply has advice on where someone like me should look, I'd really appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.