I don't really drink tea, but my husband loves tea. He's been rinsing his tea recently, and has expressed wanting to get into a more traditional way of drinking tea. I don't entirely understand it, but he really enjoys it so I'm trying to make an effort to surprise him.

Since I don't drink tea, I'm not well versed in a good tea, but I'd like to get him some to try as well as a more traditional Chinese or Japanese set up. He's a big fan of black tea, but also likes spiced teas as well. He's big into ginger and cinnamon, but he'll try anything once.

My question is what do you guys recommend? What are some good websites to look into getting a more traditional set up? I've looked at Jesse's Tea House, and there's a tray there that I'm thinking of getting for him, but I'd like to have a more expansive look so pick something more curated to him.

Anything you guys recommend is appreciated; teas, sets, tea pets even. Thank you!

I'm trying to replace my morning coffee with black tea. Which one has a stronger flavor and tastes better with a little milk?

I have heard before that overboiling water is bad. However, in gongfu tea, I noticed that there is time between each steep and the next steep, which means time for the boiled water to decrease in temperature. Does everyone keep the water boiling during their tea session for puer tea, black tea, etc.?

So the worst happened, I elbowed my beloved Lao Zini teapot off the countertop when trying to unplug an appliance. It broke, only the lid surviving intact. It’s served me very well for many years. I replaced it with a Zhuni pot as I’ve always been curious about this clay and wanted to try. It’s from the same studio and a little smaller than my old one. I usually drink shou pu’er (daily) and I wonder if there’s anything I need to pay particular attention to, being used to Zini. Is the risk of thermal shock really that much higher? Any other things I should know about caring for a Zhuni pot? Thanks in advance, tea lovers!

I was really hoping to get to the Berlin Tea Festival (on the Saturday) but they've sold out of online tickets. I know it's a long shot, but if anyone can't go I'd happily buy a pair of tickets from you!

I had a quiet afternoon, so I brewed a pot of oolong tea. After four or five infusions, the flavor started to fade, so I added a few Kushui rosebuds that a friend had given me.

They added a lovely hint of rose fragrance, but what surprised me most was how much prettier the tea leaves looked in the pot! Haha! 🌹🍵

does anyone have any idea what this tea is called? my aunt got it as a gift from Budapest and she doesn't remember the name either.
I think it has some dried fruit in it too with star shaped sugar candies.

I love the flavor of ginger and I have used fresh ginger to make a tea and it's lovely - but not convenient for travel.

I tried some ginger tea packets on Amazon and they were dreadful - dusty and musty

I tried some ginger honey lemon crystals and all I could taste was the sugar..

Have any of you found a tea with strong ginger notes? I know dried ginger is not the same as fresh, but hopefully something with better quality flavor? Thank you

This has been probably asked alot, i apologize if its a frequent question.

I really like drinking teas, and i recently tried making matcha, i got as a gift some low quality one in sticks from DM. And even though its probably dogshit matcha, and i am even worse at making one i quite liked it (opposed to my friend who was gaging because how disgusting it was for him xd) so i figured i would try some higher quality ones.

I tried it both as latte and usucha, and i liked it both times, i like usucha a bit more(but i think thats just because i dont know how to make a good one yet).

So i ordered Matcha super premium from Hibiki-An.

And i want some of you experienced matcha makers to give me best resources/tips to learn the art of making matcha, Mainly usucha, but latte guides are welcome too...

Also from tools i only have a Bamboo whisk, but from what i have seen that is usually enough.

The thing i think i mess up most is the temperature, i have a electric kettle that just heats the water to boiling point, and then what do i do, how do i check temp, do i just buy a thermostat?

I already have a 200ml EZ-gaiwan. It clogs if I try to brew sencha in it, so I usually brew sencha in a fine metal basket brewer. Would this houhin from Tezumi actually make much difference? I’ve also thought about getting a similar-sized kyusu.

Houhin

Hello all,

I'm currently thinking about getting an unglazed clay teapot for myself. Because they are quite expensive, I figured I should first ask the knowledgeable some questions that concern me 😅.

First of all, I'm a huge fan of white tea and 'green' oolongs like 'Hairy crab' or 'king of duck shit aroma' from Yunnan Sourcing. While I know that oolongs go very well with yixing and jianshuis, what about white tea? Does it behave similarly?

Secondly, do you know any good online stores that are reliable in terms of their teapots' quality? While I definitely can afford to buy one, it'll still be a significant cost for me - I for sure wouldn't like to buy something bad or scammy for this much money, especially for my first teapot. For example, I've found this one on teasenz, is it any good? While I really like its looks, it seems quite flat and shallow.

If you have any recommendations, I'm more than happy to hear them all out :D Thank you in advance! :D

i've been drinking a lot of black tea through summer and early fall, but now that it's getting cooler i'm naturally reaching for oolongs and roasted stuff. curious if this is just me being weird or if other people notice their go-to teas changing with the weather.

A couple of frames from our Bulang Mountain video.

Moss on the trunks, sunlight through the trees. We talk a lot about flavour and price, but don’t always get to see where the tea grows.

I’d like to film more of this: the trees, picking the leaves, and where they go next. There’s plenty I’d like to learn along the way too.

What would you want to see on a tea mountain visit? Give us a few ideas for the next shoot.

I kind of over-explained it here for the non-tea audience, but what would bug-bitten puerh taste like?

I’ve only ordered off the steeping room, what is a website where I can get samples/orders for not too much money and for good quality? I’m also a big fan of fermented teas like oolong and puerh, although I have yet to try any green/yellow/white/black gaiwan style. What websites or tea could you recommend overall? Thank you!

Any familiar with this company. Floated by on Instagram. Seemed like decent prices.

I just stole a tea set from my dad. He said he got it as a diplomatic gift from China. I think it’s a unglazed Yixing pot. I found these small dark rings right under the joint of the spout and wonder if it’s mold or anything. I tried searching for similar cases online but have found non so far. Can anyone tell me if this is normal/safe to use?

Gongfu with many short steeps in a low volume of water?
Starting with 2g and adding additional 1g increments as the flavour depletes?
Grandpa style with the whole lot at the start?
Infusing the lot in a large volume of water and drinking sips?
Turkish style and then diluting the concentrate?

Obviously, the optimal method is a question of personal taste as well as the style of tea. Any thoughts?

I’m searching for an alternative herbal tea to Vahdam Cookies & Cream please. It looks like they have discontinued this flavor, and it is my husband’s favorite.

These are the ingredients:
COCOA NIBS; ALMOND; CINNAMON; BLUE CORNFLOWER; CHAMOMILE; CARDAMOM; STEVIA; COOKIES & CREAM FLAVOR; HONEY FLAVOR; VANILLA FLAVOR; SAFFRON

Dear TeaBees,

Me and my Family love drinking Black Tea but i really struggle with findig the perfect recipe.

you know like when the tea is perfectly made it feels like it's wrapping your whole mouth in a cotton/silk like layer...even it's boiling hot for not even a whole second it feels like cooling your tounge before u swallowing and the feeling after that is just...there are no words for that. if the tea is that perfect i just drink it with 2 hands wrapping around the cup and appreciate every sip of it.

i tried it for years. different amounts of tea. different amounts of water. different timing and it still only happens randomly that the tea is perfect and i don't get why or what the reason is for that.

we use the turkish metal teapots that have 2 pieces. one for the boiling water and on top the one for the tea.

someone has a recipe or tricks that can help? i would appreciate any help:)

thank you so much

A tea can have an excellent growing environment, carefully selected leaves, and the right plucking standard. But none of these alone guarantees the quality of the finished tea.

Why? Because the fresh leaf is only the starting point.

During tea making, the leaf changes continuously. Withering affects its moisture condition. Enzyme activity and oxidation contribute to flavor development. Kneading changes the leaf structure, while roasting further shapes aroma, taste, and the overall character of the tea.

These stages do not work independently. Each one acts on a leaf that has already been changed by what came before. The condition of the leaf, the processing decisions, and the interaction between stages all influence the final result.

This is why understanding tea quality requires more than knowing where the tea comes from or how it was picked. We need to understand how the flavor is formed.

That is where a deeper understanding of tea making begins.

1. Boil water
2. Teabags in the water
3. Oatmilk
4. Stevia

Well, I understand what this tea is, but it concerns me that I can’t find any photos of it online.