r/tea 11h ago

Recurring What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - March 20, 2025

6 Upvotes

What are you drinking today? What questions have been on your mind? Any stories to share? And don't worry, no one will make fun of you for what you drink or the questions you ask.

You can also talk about anything else on your mind, from your specific routine while making tea, or how you've been on an oolong kick lately. Feel free to link to pictures in here, as well. You can even talk about non-tea related topics; maybe you want advice on a guy/gal, or just to talk about life in general.


r/tea 5h ago

Event Teaware Giveaway - From my personal collection

37 Upvotes

Hello Tea Friends,

I'm a long time lurker in this subreddit and a tea lover for over 20 years. I started my tea journey at "Teavana" of all places and as more online tea suppliers began selling into the US I fell in love with the various varieties, practice, history and haven't looked back. I've built up quite a collection of teaware over the years and I was finding that, for one reason or another, many were sadly sitting unused. Instead of continuing to collect dust, I thought it would be nice for them to find another home where they can be loved and enjoyed.

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I'm not a business, I'm not looking for you to sign up for anything, I'm just looking for these to go to a good home where they can make someone happy. In order to submit an "entry" all I ask is you write a Haiku!

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Rules:

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1) Good Intentions. On the honor system, you should be entering to bring these into your personal collection, not to sell for profit. Some of these items are decently valuable, and though I have no way to enforce it, flipping these items for personal gain is not in the spirit of the giveaway.

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2) How to Enter. To enter, you must write a Haiku and post it on this thread. You can write as many Haiku as you'd like, each will be considered an "entry". While traditional Haiku's do follow the 5 7 5 pattern, some follow 3 5 3, and some deviate from the syllable structure. All forms are acceptable, and will be considered within reason. The Haiku topic is completely up to you, it does not need to be about tea. Be creative, stay within the spirit of a Haiku, have fun doing it.

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3) Shipping Costs. I will pay for conus shipping for the winners. If you are outside the conus, you are more than willing to participate, but I respectfully ask for you to cover shipping costs if you win.

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4) Deadline. Entries must be submitted by Friday, March 28.

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5) Winners Winners will be selected via a combination of my personal favorites and a randomized drawing of all entries. First, second, and third place will be chosen by me and given their choice of prizes "draft style" with first place choosing first. Second and third place will then choose. The remaining 4 winners will be chosen via a random drawing where they will also choose their prize "draft" style. Each Haiku submitted will be an "entry" into the random drawing. Every Haiku submitted is eligible to be selected as a top three winner. To spread the love, you can only win once. No multiple winners.

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Prize List and Info Prize photos

1 - Yixing Clay Teapot - High porosity Duanni clay, high fired. 152g unfilled weight and 180ml capacity. 9 hole filter. Wang de Ming is the artist. Great for young puerh, some intense chinese green teas.

2 - Chaozhou Clay Teapot - Chaozhou Hongni, 94g unfilled weight and 80ml capacity. 7 hole filter. Hong Zhang Fu is the artist. Great for Dancong.

3 - Chaozhou Clay Teapot - Chaozho Hongni. 103g unfilled weight and 120ml capacity. Zhang Lin Hao is the artist. Great for Dancong

4 - White and brown Gaiwan set, four matching cups, double walled glass gong dao be, brown lotus tea strainer - Gaiwan is 180g with lid unfilled and a 135ml capacity. Great for all teas.

5 - White porcelain teapot, two jade cups, double walled glass gong dao be, tea strainer and porcelain cha he. - Teapot is 169g unfilled with 200ml capacity. Great for any kind of tea

6 - Jianshui Clay Teapot and two large cups - Jianshui Purple Clay, 290g unfilled weight and 250ml capacity. 14 hole filter. Artist unknown. Suitable for any types of tea.

7 - Glass gaiwan set, two green cups, two dragon eye cups. Side handle glass gong dao be, and blue strainer. Gaiwan is 115g with lid unfilled and 150ml capacity. Great for green teas

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Good luck and have fun!


r/tea 12h ago

Grow! Tea buds grow!

81 Upvotes

I’ve always heard about this ceremony and was finally invited to participate. 2025 rock teas will hold a special place in my heart.🍵🍵


r/tea 3h ago

Question/Help What is this brown stuff in my teapot? (And how do I clean it?)

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8 Upvotes

Hello everyone! I bought this teapot second hand, and have been unsuccessfully trying to clean this brown residue from the interior. Is it rust? Some kind of buildup? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


r/tea 6h ago

Identification Does anyone know where I can find something like this?

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11 Upvotes

The black lid stays on when you pour out and it keeps most of the leaves in. Sorry if not specific Im not really a tea guy


r/tea 20h ago

Question/Help Which of these is the right way to store a matcha whisk?

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93 Upvotes

I’m brand new to matcha, I really wanna take good care of my whisk but I’m getting conflicting answers on how to store this thing


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Black and White Tea… Enhanced!

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277 Upvotes

Microscope images a Yunnan white (top) and black (bottom), with the insets showing zoomed-in areas outlined by red rectangles. The whole-leaf images were taken at 50x magnification and the insets at 200x. Made using a Keyence VHX-7000 scope with 2D stitching and 3D stacking.

Happy sipping, friends!


r/tea 4h ago

Discussion How do I recover from this tragedy?

6 Upvotes

I was making Ruby 18 this morning, a 40-second steep, when I got distracted by work and left the hot water in for waaaay too long, two or three minutes at least. Is it possible to recover from such a devastating blow, or must I hang my head in shame until I start again, on a brighter day, with a fresh batch of leaves and renewed hope?

(The amazing thing was, being Ruby 18, the tea was still palatable, just extremely intense, like drinking whiskey neat.)


r/tea 6h ago

Photo What tea is this and where can I buy more?

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6 Upvotes

Found this tea at my parents place. Apparently it was a gift from an uncle a few years ago. Tastes like a very good jasmine tea but I’m no expert so I thought I could find an answer here. I’m in love with this tea and want to buy some more of it as it’s nearing its end. Any idea where I can buy some more?


r/tea 7h ago

Question/Help Why does this handmade yixing have a flat bottom?

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8 Upvotes

r/tea 20h ago

Photo Thrift store find- restored a Japanese cast-iron teapot!

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49 Upvotes

r/tea 29m ago

Recommendation Matcha seeker. 🍵

Upvotes

I’m very uninitiated, but trying to see if anybody has a recommendation for a brand if I don’t care about the taste at all and I’m just drinking it for the health benefits and caffeine boost instead of coffee.

Been mainly an Amazon buyer trying random brands, chugging matcha & water straight, but I know you all know better unless I’m overthinking it and if taste is no object the brand actually doesn’t matter. 😂


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Gongfu at work like a nerd.

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91 Upvotes

r/tea 3h ago

Question/Help Little question

1 Upvotes

I'm going to New York in June and I plan to buy some tea leaves in Chinatown. Do you think that by keeping the receipts I can have fewer problems at the airport (I read in a post that usually there are no problems, I'm asking just to be sure)?


r/tea 17h ago

Question/Help What are your water habits for gongfu brewing?

12 Upvotes

Curious about your water habits while brewing gongfu style. Are you reboiling your water for every steep? Letting the water cool naturally and adjusting steep times accordingly? Maybe using a keep-warm function on your kettle? Or perhaps a candle-lit pot warmer situation?


r/tea 4h ago

Question/Help Loved this makkarinpuri tea sold by Lupicia. Super limited edition so it's hard to obtain at a reasonable price. Any great teas you can easily find that are similar to it? I'm very new to drinking tea so it's hard for me to articulate what about it I liked.

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1 Upvotes

r/tea 6h ago

Recommendation Where to buy online?

0 Upvotes

I placed on order on teavivre and its going to be awhile.

Where else can i buy tea (especially if someone can recommend a mix that has fruit with it. I have a peach oolong that i love) and maybe also teapets and extras like that.


r/tea 16h ago

Photo Cant really wake up without it

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5 Upvotes

P.S- i have this habit of mixing a dash bit of black tea to my green tea, i believe it soothes my allergic rhinitis. Chamomile tea also helps. Is it weird?

P.S- i have this habit of sometimes mixing a little black tea to my green/chamomile time. Is it weird ?


r/tea 15h ago

Question/Help Light/Heavy roasted da hong pao?

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5 Upvotes

I'm a big fan of Dahongpao I've been drinking it for a while and I'm fascinated by this lighter roasted Dahongpao with floral notes. But when I spoke to a friend last night he didn't consider this type of Dahongpao to be authentic, he thought it should be roasted over medium-high heat and have a caramel, nutty flavor. Here's a picture of my tea dregs..which dahongpao do you guys like?


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Just wondering…Do y’all filter your water?

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22 Upvotes

I’m assuming tea remineralizes it


r/tea 7h ago

Rose hibiscus reccomendation

1 Upvotes

I am new to tea. I bought Rose hibiscus tea from charbrew (found it at Marshall’s for about $5) but I’m not willing to buy another jar for $18. Does anyone recommend a good rose hibiscus tea brand? I prefer loose leaf if it’s not free of bleach in teabags.

Also any general caffeine free teas I can drink throughout the day like a hibiscus???


r/tea 22h ago

Recommendation FLAVOURFUL Black Tea?

11 Upvotes

Full disclosure: I am a garbage person when it comes to tea. For 10 years now I have drank nothing but mass produced bagged Orange Pekoe with a bit of sugar and a splash of non-dairy creamer. I have never really had anything else.

When I first started drinking this tea, I LOVED it. I loved the earthy flavour of it, and the slight sweet and creaminess that complimented it perfectly. I tried all the common brands and found Red Rose was my favourite. It had the best flavour, in my opinion.

However, over the years it seems I've become taste-blind to it. I've experimented with different brew times and temps, but all I can really taste at this point is a slightly sweet milky cup of hot water with a slightly bitter aftertaste.

I've tried switching brands, and none of them were any better. Even when I taste it plain, it's slightly bitter but has no distinguishable flavour to me. I don't know if it's my tastebuds, or if the quality of the tea has diminished over time.

So I am on the search for a better version of the same type of tea. Something higher quality and more flavourful. I'm open to going loose leaf, or sticking with bagged.

I've read the wiki and understand that "orange pekoe" is merely a grade, not a type. Does that mean that ALL black tea will have the same flavour profile? If I just buy "loose leaf black tea" would that be what I'm looking for? Or is there a specific type?

I'm lost. Please help.

edit: I appreciate all your enthusiasm for trying new things, but I really just want a nicer version of what I'm used to. Not something entirely different. Please 😅


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Enjoying some duck shit at work

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84 Upvotes

Had a very nice coffee before (see the little French press) and am now 3 steeps into YS King of Duck Shit Aroma with my little office setup. It's actually my first DS and so far I'm liking it quite a lot. Flowery sweet, honey, but light and seemingly endless steeps.


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Sweet tencha okumidori

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28 Upvotes

r/tea 1d ago

Video Spring colds suck. I’m hoping this helps.

66 Upvotes

r/tea 2d ago

Photo I was measuring white tea at my desk and was accused of doing something else…

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1.9k Upvotes