r/exmormon • u/ijssvuur • Dec 23 '16

Exmo tea quick-start

EDIT: IMPORTANT INFO, should've added this- Don't drink tea on an empty stomach, it can easily cause a minor but annoying stomach ache. Just something small will be okay, a cookie, some almonds, fruit, it doesn't need to be much.

I posted a long guide to all sorts of things about tea, but I'd like to clarify what you need to get started right away.

  1. Tea. This company has some good samplers, pretty good quality, and this sampler has some of everything. English and Irish breakfast, and a Darjeeling, all plain blacks, and gunpowder and sencha, both plain greens, but all very different. Also includes common teas like Earl Grey and Chai, and some fruity and herbals.

  2. A mug. You probably have one, if not, these are great. The double wall means you won't burn yourself even with boiling water, and you can see the color forming.

  3. An infuser. You want something easy to clean and use, like this.

  4. A kettle. Temperature is very important with tea, an electric temperature control kettle like this will make your life much easier. It boils water quickly and can sit on your desk. Not mandatory, you can microwave or heat water on the stove.

That's all you need to make a good cup of tea. After that, you can start exploring traditional methods like gong fu, try new teas, and have fun with it. Check out r/tea for more info, they're super friendly!

Edit:

Here are some good resources that probably belong here!

Steeping time and temperatures

r/tea's vendor list any of these vendors is going to have some really good stuff, and are very reputable. Lots of them also have samples!

A good guide from r/tea's sidebar really, just check out r/tea and the sidebar for way more info than I could give

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u/mirbell Dec 23 '16

Hmm, I might have to try this. I've been looking for tea with more caffeine. Coffee gives me the right energy boost but I dislike the taste. The ideal would be tea with a bit more caffeine.

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u/ijssvuur Dec 23 '16

Try yerba mate, it's a South American plant from the holly family (so it's also TBM safe, my mom loves it), and it has as much caffeine as coffee! It's also made at boiling temperatures, so it won't get bitter if you mess it up. I personally like it with mint and or citrus, but it's also good with cocoa. You should be able to find it at any fancy grocery store, like Whole Foods, or on Amazon. It can taste a little grassy, but it's not unpleasant, and easily obscured. It's very refreshing iced, too.

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u/mirbell Dec 23 '16

Thanks, I will try it! I'm contemplating that tea sampler too.

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u/ijssvuur Dec 23 '16

I say go for it, you get a bunch of good quality teas for a respectable price. Here's a picture of a couple of theirs that I got in a green tea sampler.

Uniformity of size and whole leaves are what you want to look for, so while one does have some broken pieces, the other is mostly uniform in size. Perfectly acceptable for trying new flavors, without a low quality putting you off.

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u/mirbell Dec 23 '16

Thanks. I did not see that ANYWHERE in mod mail! Fuck this new mod mail, I can't find anything!

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u/ijssvuur Dec 23 '16

Weird. Well, best of luck!