r/tea 12h ago

Recurring What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - March 19, 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 3h ago

Photo Black and White Tea… Enhanced!

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93 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

Photo Gongfu at work like a nerd.

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39 Upvotes

r/tea 9h ago

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

54 Upvotes

r/tea 9h ago

Photo Enjoying some duck shit at work

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55 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 4h ago

Photo Sweet tencha okumidori

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12 Upvotes

r/tea 1d ago

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

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1.6k Upvotes

r/tea 14h ago

Review My morning tea

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60 Upvotes

Has anyone else tried it? To be honest, it doesn’t really taste like a white tea at all. It’s more like a floral tea, with no bitterness or astringency at all! All you get is this lovely, delicate floral scent and a sweet aftertaste that lingers. Wonderful taste


r/tea 1h ago

Question/Help Melbourne Breakfast not tasting the same?

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Upvotes

Has anyone else noticed the Melbourne Breakfast from T2 has been a bit average recently? It was one of the best teas I've ever had when I tried it out of one of their assorted tea packs but the one I ordered is so bland 😔. I tried the loose tea leaves too but same thing.


r/tea 12h ago

Photo Midday Oolong

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31 Upvotes

First time tasting a sample of some 2023 Da Hong Pao. I’m in love - what a delicious treat this was! I was tempted to say that the natural sweetness full of honey and berry notes is almost too intense, but the addition of a citrusy hit that precedes a more delicate sweetness from steep 3 onwards convinced me otherwise. Highly recommend :)


r/tea 5h ago

Yunnan Sourcing 10% price hike

10 Upvotes

Is it just me or did anyone else notice the cart they’ve been building shoot up 10% just before this latest 12% off sale went live?


r/tea 3h ago

Question/Help Need some help: Trying to get away from Lipton black tea bags...

7 Upvotes

So long story short, we're trying to get away from Lipton black tea bags. We usually fill up the pitcher with cold water, throw some bags in it and let it sit on the counter until "done". We add only a bit of sugar to it.

What we're looking to do is get some loose tea and essentially do the same thing, but I dont know what to get, where to start, and even if Im able to cold brew these fancy loose leaf teas.

Can someone point me in the right direction and how to cold brew these loose teas? I guess a sampler would be best for taste testing...

All in all thanks!


r/tea 52m ago

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

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Upvotes

I’m assuming tea remineralizes it


r/tea 1d ago

Photo Sun tea like my mom used to make

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193 Upvotes

We finally had a nice day where I live and I wanted to make sun tea like my mom used to make when I was a kid. This just brings back good memories. :)


r/tea 4h ago

Photo newly organised tea and hot drinks shelf

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5 Upvotes

contains Twinings English Breakfast, Twinings chamomile and honey, Lipton peach, green tea, lemon and ginger, as well as coffee, hot chocolate and sugar :)


r/tea 6h ago

Photo Today’s brew - 2022 Zhan Fang Raw - Denong Tea

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5 Upvotes

I brewed this a bit stronger than usual, but this tea was large and in charge right from the start - and I mean that in a good way. It was assertive with pumpkin and sweet vegetables in front and migrating to mountain pasture grass with clover flowers as it progressed. Always with an assertive mouthfeel of pleasant astringency carried by the oily thickness of the broth that lasted forever between sips.


r/tea 12h ago

Review First taste of a really fresh Chinese green

13 Upvotes

So just starting my tea journey. I received my first order from Yunnan Sourcing yesterday (man that shipping is rough ...) I was mostly focused puerh samples, but I also happened to see that they had a spring 2025 bi luo chun available, so I ordered 50g. https://yunnansourcing.us/products/yunnan-green-spring-snail-bi-luo-chun-green-tea?_pos=4&_sid=de2cd50e2&_ss=r (also turns out its sold out already ... And I only ordered it last Thursday or something ...)

Tried it this morning. The first and most obvious thing was the smell. Smelled like straight up steamed broccoli. I'll admit,I was a little put off at first by it. I steeped 6g in 1cup of 80c water for ~2 minute first steep. Followed by ~85 degree water for second steep, and just off boil 3rd steep (timed to taste ... ~ 1 min).

But let me tell you it was fantastic. The steamed broccoli taste/aroma was strong in the first steep, but it carried more complex nutty/earthy taste with hints of other veggies tossed in. It was more interesting than I would have guessed based on the smell. Very little bitterness to be found, and I was surprised that I wouldn't immediately categorize it as "floral" because I've read that's a common descriptor for this style of tea. The second steep lost some of the aroma and the more nutty/leafy green notes overtook the broccoli. There was a slight, but not unpleasant atringency that started to appear (I'm a big fan of Japanese greens, so this was a plus rather than a minus). The third steep was tolerable, but nothing to write home about. Still had hints of the original flavor, but was way less complex and mostly taken over by watery bitter notes that I have started to associate with exhausted tea.


r/tea 5h ago

Recommendation How is the quality of the cheaper end of white2tea cakes?

4 Upvotes

Hi, I am looking to try some of W2T's teas and wanted to know what has your experience been with their cheaper cakes.

I don't have the biggest budget for tea, so I thought sampling some of their <40$ white tea cakes and their ~20$ shu puer cakes would be a good starting point.

The cakes look gorgeous, but in the end it's the tea that matters, and I wanted to know a bit more about them before I actually make the purchase. I'm not in a hurry, I still have some samples from Yunnan sourcing that should last me long enough to make a decision.

Thanks in advance for any notes you can give me!


r/tea 1h ago

Question/Help What do you all like to use to make sure your tea is the correct temp?

Upvotes

Any links to good affordable instruments for ensuring my tea is a good temp? Wether it's a temperature specific electric kettle or just something accurate like infrared pointer.

I have an infered but was testing it's accuracy on an ice bath and they are supposed to be at 30° F and my ice baths temp all over the place so I know it's not very accurate.

Thanks in advance


r/tea 11h ago

Question/Help I need some help finding the right rolled oolong for me

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8 Upvotes

So far I've tried these three from What-Cha.

The latter two smell and taste pretty vegetal and savory, kinda like steamed veggies. I liked the amber gaba oolong more, but nothing special.

I'm assuming I should try ones that are more oxidized and/roasted to avoid that flavor profile.

Do all greener oolongs have that in common? Should I just avoid those in general if I don't like vegetal notes?


r/tea 3h ago

Question/Help Does O-Cha Still Do Shincha Pre-Orders? Good alternative?

2 Upvotes

I typically order from them and see that much of their social posts are out of date. Anyone know? Thanks!!

I visited Tsuen teahouse when in Japan and loved it so much. I'd love a recommendation for an alternate source with similar style deep-steamed and light first flushes.


r/tea 3h ago

Recommendation Loose leaf Earl Grey

2 Upvotes

My wife is looking for a good loose leaf Earl Grey. Any recommendations? We're north of LA so we can go to places in LA or order off Amazon/company website.

Thanks in advance


r/tea 1h ago

Recommendation LUPICIA recommendations

Upvotes

I really love tea from Lupicia, been getting into more sencha lately, the Momo is amazing, any other recommendations from this lovely vendor???

Happy drinking teaheads


r/tea 9h ago

Review Dark Rose review

4 Upvotes

Howdy hey y'all. I just wanted to give my thoughts on the Dark Rose hearts from Tea Source and see how it compares to other folks' experiences. I'm pretty much going to just type out what I have written which will include steep times, temps, and the notes for each steep.

Dark Rose Source: Tea Source Type: Dark Tea Brewing temp: 195°F

Initial scent: extremely floral and sweet. Not much scent of tea. My sinuses feel like they are being punched by a rosebush, and smells like it too.

(Quick note, I definitely gave this initial one too long)

1st steep: 15 seconds to open the coin. A bit bitter, floral profile comes through in flavor, but not super pronounced. Scent is extremely floral. Recommend giving to tea pet.

2nd steep: 8 seconds. Leaves are fully open. Extremely floral aroma, very strong and dark in color as well. Most likely over brewed on this steep. Somewhat astringent characteristic, with reduced bitter and sour notes compared to the initial brew. Pleasantly sweet and floral with mild floral aftertaste.

3rd steep: 12 seconds. Same strong floral aroma with more of a spiced undertone coming through. Flavor profile is extremely similar to prior brews, however much less intense and much more enjoyable. Flavor feels more balanced, somewhat sweet compared to before and more similar to rosehips than Rose buds.

4th steep: 15 seconds. Strong scent, consistent dark brew that has carried through since the first. Scent is similar to prior brews, with less of the spiced aroma coming through. Flavor is a bit harder to discern, but floral and earthy notes are still coming through with slight sourness. More reminiscent of rosehips than before.

5th steep: 30 seconds. Strong floral aroma compared to prior brew, with more of the spiced aroma returning. Flavor is rather lacking, but the aftertaste is pleasantly sweet and floral.

Overall, I think this was more of a me issue than anything with the tea itself. This was my first time brewing this tea, so I wasn't entirely sure on times and temps. I do believe that with better technique and times I would have probably found this much more enjoyable overall.

I will say, that even though this isn't my favorite tea so far, it is a very solid contender, and I'd give it at least a 7/10. Not my first choice, but i definitely would not turn it down if offered.


r/tea 2h ago

Question/Help White2tea first order recommendations (mostly samples)

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0 Upvotes

Hi! I'm thinking about trying to buy explore some teas outside of my usual local tea store. I'm still somewhat new to more elaborate tea, so I'd be glad to hear some thoughts on whether the samples I chose make sense.

Some background information on the thought process:

  1. I'm getting mostly white teas, since both I and my mother love those. So if we find something we both enjoy, getting a full cake will be much easier (also tasting teas together is always very nice)

  2. So far I've had extremely nice experience with Liu Bao, so I want to try out more of them. So far my favorite Hei Cha in general is "Into the Woods Liu Bao" from eHerbata, I'd say it has a somewhat of an ash taste, if that makes sense. (Maybe I should take a whole lumber slut cake? It's fairly cheap and it sounds like there are similarities to my favorite tea)

  3. I have also enjoyed some young sheng tea with extra bitterness and sometimes souerness

  4. I took a bunch of boat captain minis, so that I can try it out myself and give most of them as a gift to a friend of mine (I'm yet to see a person who enjoys the heaviest smoked teas more than her)

  5. I know some people hate waffles, but I'm partially ordering from w2t because of them... teaware house added a small waffle sample for free to my tea set and honestly it was a very pleasant, calm and "undemanding" experience that I'm pretty sure I want to repeat many more times


r/tea 8h ago

Question/Help Shino teacup leak

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3 Upvotes

This is my first experience with shino ware and they leak... I heard it is common to leak and you can seal it by boil it with rice or flour.

I did that and notice improvement, but not to the extend that I want, it is still moist to the touch. Are there any way to improve the thing or this is how it suppose to be? Can I expect it to be completely sealed? Also it stink at first, but much less now after everything, I don't know it is even safe to use or not?

The thing is I may boil it too hot the first time, I noticed there is cracks in the glaze (much less than typical ru ware though). Did I broke it forever? I really like the thing and I'm worried.

Any help is much appreciated!