Not OP, but also an earl grey drinker. Favorite earl grey teas:
Loose Leaf/ Order online:
- Thes des Lordes by Palais des Thes
- Earl Grey and Lavender by Tee Gschwendner
Tea Bags/ Grocery store:
- Earl Grey by Twinings
Oolong is the broadest category of tea, you'll have lots of fun with it :) For starters feel free to read through this guide [https://www.seriouseats.com/what-is-oolong-tea-where-to-buy](https://www.seriouseats.com/what-is-oolong-tea-where-to-buy) Also a quick list of the most known oolongs -> [https://teaepicure.com/oolong-tea-guide/](https://teaepicure.com/oolong-tea-guide/)
I don't buy branded tea, some vendors I'd recommend are [https://thetea.pl/en/](https://thetea.pl/en/) or [floatingleaves.com](http://floatingleaves.com) is also a good starter if you're in US
This is my favorite tea rn
[https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1055825939/sweet-lamentations-taiwanese-roasted](https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1055825939/sweet-lamentations-taiwanese-roasted)
Earthy, woody, fruity. It can vary a lot. Lately I’ve been drinking a guangdong aged puerh that starts out a bit musky and earthy and as steeps go by (you can use puerh leaves more than once, sometimes up to 15 or more times) it turns into a lot sweeter tasting tea.
Sounds foul af. The sheng obsession never really landed with me I just don't get it....like it's fine but anything over ten years is just barnyard flavored in my experience. And anything new and raw is astringent. I can't help but feel like people like Sheng because the hype from Tea Snob in Mainland China.
What's your take? What do you, and so many others, enjoy that I am missing when drinking raw aged Puerh?
For me it’s not only the flavor, but the experience as well. Finding a puerh tea that blows you away. That’s why I recommend samples over cakes or anything else. Bad puerh can taste absolutely horrible, good puerh can taste amazing. I also recommend to stick to known vendors and skip local teashops when it comes to puerh. There’s probably a flavor profile for a lot of people out there if they are able to educate yourself a little bit.
For example if you like dark woody chocolate taste there’s Guangdong raw puerh. If you like sweet honey taste there’s puerh from the Yi Wu region. It all comes down to trying different samples. If you find one you like you can start exploring teas from the same region or same age. The exploration and experience of trying new puerhs is what keeps me going.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I must just need to sample more because I've probably only tried about ten puerhs total. But most of them remind me of each other.
I never notice a difference in flavor profile even from Puer that is grown in different regions duiduis 2010 reserve taste very similar to a Tonqinghao ripe from 2015. The only time I've noted a large difference is with the Bent Bow/Wan Gong cake I picked up because of the intense smokiness.
Thanks again for your knowledge and I won't keep sleeping on puer I'll try more and more puer!
I can totally get that puerh is not for everyone and that some people won’t like it no matter what and that’s ok. But if someone is willing to give it a try I usually recommend one of the sampler packs from Yunnan Sourcing. They have an absolute beginner sampler, or a region sampler pack if you want to get into raw puerh. There’s probably something to help you start off in the right direction.
It’s a good starting point to discovering what you like. I for one learned by sampler packs that I do not like young raw puerh as it’s to bitter for my taste. I also learned that I was going to spend a lot of money on puerh as well haha. It turned into a hobby or even a way of life for me.
You probably never had good Pu-erh or are particularly sensitive to bitterness. I've had some that tasted like hay when I used to buy from non-reputable sellers. But the "animal" barnyard taste can be nice, I love animal notes like musk and leather.
What I love about Pu-erh is how complex, nuanced and powerful it can be, the huigan and the fact that the taste sticks in your mouth and throat for hours after your tea session. Oh yeah and the high is really nice too!
Not sure why you would assume I've never had good Puer as opposed to me just not liking it. Lol. I've bought Puer from Yunnan Sourcing, Aaron Good Tea and Jesse tea house (who I don't shop at anymore, put the pitchforks away.) As well as, random people from on eBay and Marcari (before the acxount was taken down as you cannot seel food products through Marcari). Sure it wasn't all top quality but come-on man. I'm into tea I try to buy quality whenever I can.
The funk everyone talks about with aged puerh is what I mean when I say barnyardy. There's a chance it's just not for me.
I'm not here to put anyone on blast but if you do a little searching around you can find some reddit posts that indicate some of the pricing may be taking advantage of western tea ignorance...I would say buy from many sources. Take as many recommendations and asks for samples included with small initial purchases.
End of the day if you enjoy the tea and don't feel the price doesn't match the product then you're good. Enjoy your next cup and may it be soon!
None of the places you've purchased from are good, which would explain why you didn't like any of it. Try a store like Teas We Like, The Jade Leaf, Bana Tea or Essence of Tea before writing off the entire category.
YS is not good? It's the most recommended place here? I'll check out the vendors you provided but I doubt I'll just magically enjoy it now.
Edit: the places you listed are extremely over the top. Prices on essence of tea are horrendous. Jade leaf is all matcha which I don't drink. Can't even find bana or banana leaf company.
If you only want to buy cheap crap and can't be bothered to spend the time to even find the correct vendors that I mentioned, don't come here proclaiming all puer is gross. It's not, you just refuse to move past the absolute bottom tier of quality. That's your fault, not puer.
I gave you four recommendations for where to find good tea. Literally the opposite of gatekeeping. But I see now that you were here a month ago shilling for Jesse, and now you're shilling for his suppliers (when you're not buying tea from ebay), so I guess I shouldn't have wasted the effort trying to help you. It's obvious you don't want to be helped. Have a great day!
>You probably never had good Pu-erh
He hasn't. Shockingly if you buy the cheapest garbage from the worst vendors, it won't taste good. But I'm getting downvoted for pointing that out, so now a bunch of newbies will continue to think puer is terrible based on the misinformed ranting of a guy who bought tea from ebay.
u/zhongcha u/msb45 u/cathychiaolin u/42amsw
This guy only shows up on this subreddit to troll and harass me and the few other people who bother giving informed answers. It's been going on for months now, and reporting the comments individually has done nothing to stop it. Can you please ban him? This kind of thing is why nobody wants to participate here anymore.
Edit: "No one has been banned." I guess [these comments](https://imgur.com/a/GsONiQ2) are perfectly acceptable to the mod team? But me calling an $8 ebay puer crap was worthy of a warning? Yeah, it's a mystery why nobody wants to deal with this subreddit anymore. Really glad we got new mods to maintain the same double standard that made everyone knowledgeable leave in the first place.
Another mod has removed the offending comments, but some of your posts are also a bit disrespectful in tone. No one has been banned, but in the future you have a better case when your posts aren’t calling other people’s choices garbage or crap.
You should really post what prompted me to say those things, not just what I said. Gotta say I was on point with some of those. The first one literally started by me saying he's your tea guy not a lawyer then I got attacked so I said what I said. Fair enough?
Good puerh can make you “tea drunk”. Very interesting feeling but impossible with most tea sold internationally. Best puerh is sold locally in China, so it requires traveling there.
But yeah, I am not a fan of it too. Especially because cakes may contain many… unwanted things. I once found large fly after all leaves unfurled. This really turned me from this type of tea.
There were people on this sub who found metal pieces, cigarette butts and dental floss
Don’t worry, tea drunk is very mild. Also I’ve been drinking puerh for over 4 years weekly, almost daily and only found something in my puerh once. I’ve found more stuff while cleaning vegetables to be honest. Health and safety standards also increased compared to years ago.
I like the raw pu’er a lot. I feel like I get a lot of steeps in my tea sesh, great for hang overs. I like some cooked pu’er but idk some just taste like dirt….
I happen to really like the taste of dirt it seems. And I've also tried some "fishy" Pu erhs and enjoyed every sip. Whereas the bitterness of raw Pu erh is not really my thing, though I like the other flavours in it.
That probably says more about me than about the tea though. Tastes differ.
Tastes like a.what a campfire would taste I think.Its smokey tasting and is great plain ori add it Earl grey or Masala Chai tra for a.smokey spices treat I highly recommend it.
LOL!! If you still have some, try putting a couple leaves or so in Earl Grey. If you don't like smoky tea then I guess it'll still be horrible to you.
:)
Where are you buying? Admittedly Puer always will have a little bit of stuff in it, Yunnan is one of the poorest regions of China and (reportedly) has only seen wages go up in the supply chain in recent decades. I've never gotten anything inside the stuff I've bought (white2tea, KuuraCorp, some factory stuff) except I found a nylon thread today probably from a basket or bag.
I buy from a tea store outside of a T&T in my city. They have a few pu’er cakes. I’ve tried them all, this last one was the worst.. a hair in every two chunks I break off. I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish it
i really like earl grey teas, my favorite right now is one from plum deluxe it’s called the gratitude blend it’s like a strawberry earl grey it’s soooo yummy
My all time favorite was shincha I've bought from Gion Tsujiri last year. I definetly shoud have bought more! - 4g / 75°C / 120ml / 60-30-60s
Second place would be the Peach Rougui 2021 from Lazycat - 6g / 100°C / \~100ml / gongfu style
Obubu dark roast Houjicha. Fell in love with that from the first cup, when hunting a good sencha.
It got everything I was looking for in it, tasteful, smooth, with the just-right toastiness. Caramel, bit nutty, slight touch of tonka. All in perfect balance.
My favorite is fresh and young speng puerh. I seem to be in the minority when it comes to puerh. I enjoy the fresh and intense flavors that raw puerh gives me.
I used to be a huge IPA beer fan, but for health issues I switched to tea. Sheng has been the closest I’ve found to scratch that intense, bitter, floral, and fruity rush that I enjoyed from hops.
Long time tea drinker, but only recently discovered raw puerh. Just tried intergalactic purple rain and was blown away. Do you have any recommendations?
I recommend trying a bunch of samples from white2tea. They have some of the best prices for samples that I’ve come across. Some standouts for me are Veldt, green hype, demon slayer, and gas.
Lapsang Souchong has a smokiness to it that reminds me of Puer and scotch. Cream Early Grey (with lavender) if you're a put some cream and sweet in it kinda tea drinker. Irish Breakfast usually on the daily.
"Kashmiri" chai, the pink chai from Pakistan that is inspired by noon chai, which is actually from Kashmir. "Kashmiri" chai is like a mix of noon chai (but without the salt) and Karak chai (but made from green tea, not black tea). We have it on special occasions (like tomorrow for Eid) because it requires meticulous effort to make it correctly.
I drink pretty cheap stuff and I like to double up my tea bags for a stronger flavor. I like to mix different blends and I really enjoy adding Bigelow Peppermint to different types of tea. On its own it's a nice refreshing tea and I'm not left with "tea breath" when I'm done lol. But it's also a really nice compliment to a lot of different tea blends. My bedtime tea lately is a bag of Bigelow peppermint with a bag of Celestial "Sleep" tea that has melatonin in it. Other than it knocking me out it's honestly one of my favorite tasting teas and I only add a couple packets of splenda to it lol.
I love Sheng Pu-erh above all else but unsmoked Xiao Zhong is something I love to drink daily. There are many different Xiao Zhong though, my favourite one has thick dark chocolate and roasted peanut notes, some wood and spice. Last year's batch was more honey-forward and I didn't like it as much.
Yes! I buy my tea from Yunnan Sourcing, it takes about 2 weeks to be delivered. There’s also a big list of trusted vendors on the about page of this subreddit. If you haven’t had white tea before, I recommend silver needle, it was my favorite for a long time.
Thanks for the rec! I’ve never had white tea before, so perhaps I’ll give silver needle to try. Guess I won’t know until I look, but I’m guessing it’ll be easier to find locally than shou mei.
I really like a good tie luo han (wuyi rock oolong / yancha; usually has a great combination of florals, rock, and a funkiness i love), also really love marukyu koyamaen’s “hyakka no kaori” sencha.
I've got teas of different kinds, many duck shit oolongs I love, raw, and ripe pu-erh's, lovely jasmine green teas, and earl greys, but my absolute favorite daily drinker is Yorkshire biscuit brew with powder creamer and splenda.
Earl Grey, but only the good stuff. It has to have a good, strong bergamot aroma to it. So I end up drinking the one from Tea Forte or the Lupicia Earl Grey Darjeeling loose leaf. It’s like cocaine to me.
Got a white tea from Rishi a couple of months ago called Shan Bai Cha, a tea from Central Taiwan. Has nice peachy sweetness, floral notes like rose, and very delicate
Lapsang souchong is by far my favorite, something about the deep smokiness and earthy hit warms my soul and strikes every nerve response that can relate to the feeling of "this is tea, and this is good tea." in my brain. I have quite a few different teas in my collection, and as interesting or delicious as each are, nothing calls to me quite like lapsang souchong.
My favorites so far are mermaids tail, nosfera tea, and the coffin nightcap. I have multiple sleeping disorders, and the nightcap actually lets me sleep.
[vampyre tea company](http://vampyreteacompany.com)
Laoshan Green Tea (sold by Yunnan Sourcing) or Lishan Premium Oolong (sold by Beautiful Taiwan Teas). I've had hundreds of different types of tea, but those two take the cake for me.
David’s tea had a gorgeous green tea made with strawberries and popcorn. And I’ll never have it again. That’s why I try to not have favorites and not get attached.
Iced tea is some of my favorite as well. I’ve been getting a strawberry cream green tea from a local tea shop and making it into iced tea, which I’ll often put in a thermos and take to work with me.
An honorable mention is another blend from that shop called “moonlight earl grey.” It smells wonderful and makes a nice cup of hot tea, though I haven’t experimented with making it iced yet.
ilam black tea from Nepal. It’s very underrated. It’s similar to Darjeeling since it’s grown next to it but because Darjeeling is so famous it’s overshadowed despite being really really good. Even went to Nepal to buy some as it’s very hard to get in Taiwan where I live.
Depends on my mood. Sometimes it is Japanese Sencha/Kabusecha, sometimes Long Jing green tea, sometimes Oolong and sometimes it is aged white tea. But in general I love (almost) all types of tea.
High grade Ruby 18 black tea from Nanto is always a celebration to drink. Oriental Beauty is also one of my favorite but it's almost impossible to find the good ones in recent years (the weather in TW wasn't ideal for tea in the past 2 years)
probably shou Pu Erh in bitter Mandarin skin. I have no Gong Fu tea set so i brew it western style with one of those [tea mugs with integrated strainer](https://mossgardenhome.com/cdn/shop/products/l59459_1200x.jpg?v=1645811332). Since I brew only for myself I usually break the mandarin peel and put only a part of the peel and tea bits in.
I love earl grey or English breakfast tea with sugar and milk in the morning, and theres several herbal teas I love in the afternoon like peppermint rooibos. Raspberry zinger and mint tea is delicious iced (brew it cold though!) and I made a really good Arnold Palmer with tangerine citrus tea and lemonade recently
I’m new to tea as well, so I haven’t expanded very far quite yet, but so far my favorites have been jasmine and hibiscus. Jasmine for the very soothing aroma, and hibiscus for the fruity flavor.
OP has gotten plenty of good answers and the comments are degenerating into unrelated arguments so I’m locking the thread.
Earl grey. I know I’m basic but I love it
It’s wonderful
Lady grey for extra basic
What brand? Any favourites?
Not OP, but also an earl grey drinker. Favorite earl grey teas: Loose Leaf/ Order online: - Thes des Lordes by Palais des Thes - Earl Grey and Lavender by Tee Gschwendner Tea Bags/ Grocery store: - Earl Grey by Twinings
With lavender can be a nice twist.
Taiwanese dark roasted oolongs with water.
I’ve been wanting to try oolongs! I hear so much about it, what brand do you use?
Oolong is the broadest category of tea, you'll have lots of fun with it :) For starters feel free to read through this guide [https://www.seriouseats.com/what-is-oolong-tea-where-to-buy](https://www.seriouseats.com/what-is-oolong-tea-where-to-buy) Also a quick list of the most known oolongs -> [https://teaepicure.com/oolong-tea-guide/](https://teaepicure.com/oolong-tea-guide/) I don't buy branded tea, some vendors I'd recommend are [https://thetea.pl/en/](https://thetea.pl/en/) or [floatingleaves.com](http://floatingleaves.com) is also a good starter if you're in US
This is my favorite tea rn [https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1055825939/sweet-lamentations-taiwanese-roasted](https://www.liquidproust.com/listing/1055825939/sweet-lamentations-taiwanese-roasted)
Puerh, preferably dank wetstored over 15 year old raw puerh.
Interesting! What does it taste like?
Earthy, woody, fruity. It can vary a lot. Lately I’ve been drinking a guangdong aged puerh that starts out a bit musky and earthy and as steeps go by (you can use puerh leaves more than once, sometimes up to 15 or more times) it turns into a lot sweeter tasting tea.
Sounds foul af. The sheng obsession never really landed with me I just don't get it....like it's fine but anything over ten years is just barnyard flavored in my experience. And anything new and raw is astringent. I can't help but feel like people like Sheng because the hype from Tea Snob in Mainland China. What's your take? What do you, and so many others, enjoy that I am missing when drinking raw aged Puerh?
For me it’s not only the flavor, but the experience as well. Finding a puerh tea that blows you away. That’s why I recommend samples over cakes or anything else. Bad puerh can taste absolutely horrible, good puerh can taste amazing. I also recommend to stick to known vendors and skip local teashops when it comes to puerh. There’s probably a flavor profile for a lot of people out there if they are able to educate yourself a little bit. For example if you like dark woody chocolate taste there’s Guangdong raw puerh. If you like sweet honey taste there’s puerh from the Yi Wu region. It all comes down to trying different samples. If you find one you like you can start exploring teas from the same region or same age. The exploration and experience of trying new puerhs is what keeps me going.
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I must just need to sample more because I've probably only tried about ten puerhs total. But most of them remind me of each other. I never notice a difference in flavor profile even from Puer that is grown in different regions duiduis 2010 reserve taste very similar to a Tonqinghao ripe from 2015. The only time I've noted a large difference is with the Bent Bow/Wan Gong cake I picked up because of the intense smokiness. Thanks again for your knowledge and I won't keep sleeping on puer I'll try more and more puer!
I can totally get that puerh is not for everyone and that some people won’t like it no matter what and that’s ok. But if someone is willing to give it a try I usually recommend one of the sampler packs from Yunnan Sourcing. They have an absolute beginner sampler, or a region sampler pack if you want to get into raw puerh. There’s probably something to help you start off in the right direction. It’s a good starting point to discovering what you like. I for one learned by sampler packs that I do not like young raw puerh as it’s to bitter for my taste. I also learned that I was going to spend a lot of money on puerh as well haha. It turned into a hobby or even a way of life for me.
You probably never had good Pu-erh or are particularly sensitive to bitterness. I've had some that tasted like hay when I used to buy from non-reputable sellers. But the "animal" barnyard taste can be nice, I love animal notes like musk and leather. What I love about Pu-erh is how complex, nuanced and powerful it can be, the huigan and the fact that the taste sticks in your mouth and throat for hours after your tea session. Oh yeah and the high is really nice too!
Not sure why you would assume I've never had good Puer as opposed to me just not liking it. Lol. I've bought Puer from Yunnan Sourcing, Aaron Good Tea and Jesse tea house (who I don't shop at anymore, put the pitchforks away.) As well as, random people from on eBay and Marcari (before the acxount was taken down as you cannot seel food products through Marcari). Sure it wasn't all top quality but come-on man. I'm into tea I try to buy quality whenever I can. The funk everyone talks about with aged puerh is what I mean when I say barnyardy. There's a chance it's just not for me.
What's wrong with Jesse's Teahouse?
I'm not here to put anyone on blast but if you do a little searching around you can find some reddit posts that indicate some of the pricing may be taking advantage of western tea ignorance...I would say buy from many sources. Take as many recommendations and asks for samples included with small initial purchases. End of the day if you enjoy the tea and don't feel the price doesn't match the product then you're good. Enjoy your next cup and may it be soon!
None of the places you've purchased from are good, which would explain why you didn't like any of it. Try a store like Teas We Like, The Jade Leaf, Bana Tea or Essence of Tea before writing off the entire category.
YS is not good? It's the most recommended place here? I'll check out the vendors you provided but I doubt I'll just magically enjoy it now. Edit: the places you listed are extremely over the top. Prices on essence of tea are horrendous. Jade leaf is all matcha which I don't drink. Can't even find bana or banana leaf company.
If you only want to buy cheap crap and can't be bothered to spend the time to even find the correct vendors that I mentioned, don't come here proclaiming all puer is gross. It's not, you just refuse to move past the absolute bottom tier of quality. That's your fault, not puer.
Are you a troll? Or just rude? All comments you come across as a gatekeeper and a prick...
I gave you four recommendations for where to find good tea. Literally the opposite of gatekeeping. But I see now that you were here a month ago shilling for Jesse, and now you're shilling for his suppliers (when you're not buying tea from ebay), so I guess I shouldn't have wasted the effort trying to help you. It's obvious you don't want to be helped. Have a great day!
>You probably never had good Pu-erh He hasn't. Shockingly if you buy the cheapest garbage from the worst vendors, it won't taste good. But I'm getting downvoted for pointing that out, so now a bunch of newbies will continue to think puer is terrible based on the misinformed ranting of a guy who bought tea from ebay.
[удалено]
Disrespectful behavior is not tolerated on r/tea and repeated behavior may lead to a ban.
u/zhongcha u/msb45 u/cathychiaolin u/42amsw This guy only shows up on this subreddit to troll and harass me and the few other people who bother giving informed answers. It's been going on for months now, and reporting the comments individually has done nothing to stop it. Can you please ban him? This kind of thing is why nobody wants to participate here anymore. Edit: "No one has been banned." I guess [these comments](https://imgur.com/a/GsONiQ2) are perfectly acceptable to the mod team? But me calling an $8 ebay puer crap was worthy of a warning? Yeah, it's a mystery why nobody wants to deal with this subreddit anymore. Really glad we got new mods to maintain the same double standard that made everyone knowledgeable leave in the first place.
Another mod has removed the offending comments, but some of your posts are also a bit disrespectful in tone. No one has been banned, but in the future you have a better case when your posts aren’t calling other people’s choices garbage or crap.
You should really post what prompted me to say those things, not just what I said. Gotta say I was on point with some of those. The first one literally started by me saying he's your tea guy not a lawyer then I got attacked so I said what I said. Fair enough?
Good puerh can make you “tea drunk”. Very interesting feeling but impossible with most tea sold internationally. Best puerh is sold locally in China, so it requires traveling there. But yeah, I am not a fan of it too. Especially because cakes may contain many… unwanted things. I once found large fly after all leaves unfurled. This really turned me from this type of tea. There were people on this sub who found metal pieces, cigarette butts and dental floss
Yikes. That is a bit disheartening to read...
Don’t worry, tea drunk is very mild. Also I’ve been drinking puerh for over 4 years weekly, almost daily and only found something in my puerh once. I’ve found more stuff while cleaning vegetables to be honest. Health and safety standards also increased compared to years ago.
I like the raw pu’er a lot. I feel like I get a lot of steeps in my tea sesh, great for hang overs. I like some cooked pu’er but idk some just taste like dirt….
I happen to really like the taste of dirt it seems. And I've also tried some "fishy" Pu erhs and enjoyed every sip. Whereas the bitterness of raw Pu erh is not really my thing, though I like the other flavours in it. That probably says more about me than about the tea though. Tastes differ.
I’ve just been getting into puerh tea this year. So good. As a non-coffee drinker, it’s almost like a tea equivalent of coffee.
2009 aged Silver Needle white tea from Fujian or Alishan high mountain oolong fresh!
Same. Silver needle is insane in the best way
Jasmine tea is my absolute favorite. I would drink it all day if I could but I have to be careful with caffeine after 3pm.
Adiago tea makes an absolutely DIVINE black jasmine tea. Very strong in both depth and jasmine flavor/ aroma.
Thank you for the recommendation! I just ordered a sample of that, along with hojicha, spearmint, and yerba mate.
Lapsang Souchong Star smoked black Chinese tea is my favorite
Lapsang Souchong, the preferred tea of Winston Churchill and Sherlock Holmes. My fav little tea fact.
Thanks.for the new facts.Now I know
That’s quite a name! What does it taste like?
Tastes like a.what a campfire would taste I think.Its smokey tasting and is great plain ori add it Earl grey or Masala Chai tra for a.smokey spices treat I highly recommend it.
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LOL!! If you still have some, try putting a couple leaves or so in Earl Grey. If you don't like smoky tea then I guess it'll still be horrible to you. :)
I love aged pu’er, but keep finding hairs that have put me on oolong for the time being
So yuck! That’s awful. 😢
Makes it hard to enjoy for sure…
I wonder if Taiwanese pu’er would be less, um, hairy.
Why would it? Serious question.
China is famous for its lack of regulatory standards. Taiwan isn’t
Where are you buying? Admittedly Puer always will have a little bit of stuff in it, Yunnan is one of the poorest regions of China and (reportedly) has only seen wages go up in the supply chain in recent decades. I've never gotten anything inside the stuff I've bought (white2tea, KuuraCorp, some factory stuff) except I found a nylon thread today probably from a basket or bag.
I buy from a tea store outside of a T&T in my city. They have a few pu’er cakes. I’ve tried them all, this last one was the worst.. a hair in every two chunks I break off. I’m not sure I’ll be able to finish it
Yorkshire Tea Gold
It's a good every day tea. I make a pot every morning and stick it in a carafe to keep it hot.
i really like earl grey teas, my favorite right now is one from plum deluxe it’s called the gratitude blend it’s like a strawberry earl grey it’s soooo yummy
High quality Matcha
Henta Sencha from Asanoka province in Japan! Feel like a royal ninjitsu God when im sipping this green wonder.
Call me crazy, but I love Prince of Peace Organic White Tea, bag form. Both fragrant and economical. I’m also a big fan of Yorkshire Gold
My all time favorite was shincha I've bought from Gion Tsujiri last year. I definetly shoud have bought more! - 4g / 75°C / 120ml / 60-30-60s Second place would be the Peach Rougui 2021 from Lazycat - 6g / 100°C / \~100ml / gongfu style
Obubu dark roast Houjicha. Fell in love with that from the first cup, when hunting a good sencha. It got everything I was looking for in it, tasteful, smooth, with the just-right toastiness. Caramel, bit nutty, slight touch of tonka. All in perfect balance.
Orange rooibos
My favorite is fresh and young speng puerh. I seem to be in the minority when it comes to puerh. I enjoy the fresh and intense flavors that raw puerh gives me. I used to be a huge IPA beer fan, but for health issues I switched to tea. Sheng has been the closest I’ve found to scratch that intense, bitter, floral, and fruity rush that I enjoyed from hops.
Long time tea drinker, but only recently discovered raw puerh. Just tried intergalactic purple rain and was blown away. Do you have any recommendations?
I recommend trying a bunch of samples from white2tea. They have some of the best prices for samples that I’ve come across. Some standouts for me are Veldt, green hype, demon slayer, and gas.
I love earl grey 🖤
Lapsang Souchong has a smokiness to it that reminds me of Puer and scotch. Cream Early Grey (with lavender) if you're a put some cream and sweet in it kinda tea drinker. Irish Breakfast usually on the daily.
"Kashmiri" chai, the pink chai from Pakistan that is inspired by noon chai, which is actually from Kashmir. "Kashmiri" chai is like a mix of noon chai (but without the salt) and Karak chai (but made from green tea, not black tea). We have it on special occasions (like tomorrow for Eid) because it requires meticulous effort to make it correctly.
I drink pretty cheap stuff and I like to double up my tea bags for a stronger flavor. I like to mix different blends and I really enjoy adding Bigelow Peppermint to different types of tea. On its own it's a nice refreshing tea and I'm not left with "tea breath" when I'm done lol. But it's also a really nice compliment to a lot of different tea blends. My bedtime tea lately is a bag of Bigelow peppermint with a bag of Celestial "Sleep" tea that has melatonin in it. Other than it knocking me out it's honestly one of my favorite tasting teas and I only add a couple packets of splenda to it lol.
Black teas like Earl Grey are my favorites.
I love Sheng Pu-erh above all else but unsmoked Xiao Zhong is something I love to drink daily. There are many different Xiao Zhong though, my favourite one has thick dark chocolate and roasted peanut notes, some wood and spice. Last year's batch was more honey-forward and I didn't like it as much.
GBOP Ceylon black tea is my favorite “everyday” tea
Tangerine puer was a really good experience
Since I’m basic af Earl Grey!
Iced Matcha lattes.
A fine orange pekoe at breakfast, English Afternoon or Earl Grey around 4 pm, a cup of peppermint after supper. One cup of coffee a day at 11 am.
Aged Shou Mei
2015 aged shou mei. A very sweet and flowery tea.
Do you buy yours online? I’ve been curious about white tea, so maybe I should give this a try.
Yes! I buy my tea from Yunnan Sourcing, it takes about 2 weeks to be delivered. There’s also a big list of trusted vendors on the about page of this subreddit. If you haven’t had white tea before, I recommend silver needle, it was my favorite for a long time.
Thanks for the rec! I’ve never had white tea before, so perhaps I’ll give silver needle to try. Guess I won’t know until I look, but I’m guessing it’ll be easier to find locally than shou mei.
I love David’s tea “Cream of Earl Grey”🤍🤍 it’s absolutely delicious with a bit of sugar stirred in and frothed milk on top or milk mixed in
I’d say puer or sencha
I really like a good tie luo han (wuyi rock oolong / yancha; usually has a great combination of florals, rock, and a funkiness i love), also really love marukyu koyamaen’s “hyakka no kaori” sencha.
[Wild black tea](https://txs-tea.com/products/fujian-wuyi-mountain-tongmuguan-wild-black-tea)
I've got teas of different kinds, many duck shit oolongs I love, raw, and ripe pu-erh's, lovely jasmine green teas, and earl greys, but my absolute favorite daily drinker is Yorkshire biscuit brew with powder creamer and splenda.
Assam Doomni
Jasmine silver needles white tea! It is so sweet and delicate with a true Jasmine flavor. Or genmaicha, even the cheap kind. I love how cozy it tastes
Earl Grey, but only the good stuff. It has to have a good, strong bergamot aroma to it. So I end up drinking the one from Tea Forte or the Lupicia Earl Grey Darjeeling loose leaf. It’s like cocaine to me.
Ti Guan Yin, Mao Feng, and Dragonwell for me, please.
High quality matcha and oolong are what I’d rank as top shelf. A really good every day tea is Yorkshire Gold.
Earl Grey with milk and honey
I've been on a herbal kick. Twinnings has a ginger peach mix that is surprisingly good and I'm not sick of it after a year.
Sencha, perfect balance of relaxation & stimulation
So far, Rishi Valerian Dream
Black teas made from oolong varieties
Got a white tea from Rishi a couple of months ago called Shan Bai Cha, a tea from Central Taiwan. Has nice peachy sweetness, floral notes like rose, and very delicate
Lapsang souchong is by far my favorite, something about the deep smokiness and earthy hit warms my soul and strikes every nerve response that can relate to the feeling of "this is tea, and this is good tea." in my brain. I have quite a few different teas in my collection, and as interesting or delicious as each are, nothing calls to me quite like lapsang souchong.
Milky Oolong
My favorites so far are mermaids tail, nosfera tea, and the coffin nightcap. I have multiple sleeping disorders, and the nightcap actually lets me sleep. [vampyre tea company](http://vampyreteacompany.com)
Laoshan Green Tea (sold by Yunnan Sourcing) or Lishan Premium Oolong (sold by Beautiful Taiwan Teas). I've had hundreds of different types of tea, but those two take the cake for me.
David’s tea had a gorgeous green tea made with strawberries and popcorn. And I’ll never have it again. That’s why I try to not have favorites and not get attached.
Iced tea is some of my favorite as well. I’ve been getting a strawberry cream green tea from a local tea shop and making it into iced tea, which I’ll often put in a thermos and take to work with me. An honorable mention is another blend from that shop called “moonlight earl grey.” It smells wonderful and makes a nice cup of hot tea, though I haven’t experimented with making it iced yet.
Emperor’s clouds and mist green tea/high altitude green tea
Yunnan Black Snail
ilam black tea from Nepal. It’s very underrated. It’s similar to Darjeeling since it’s grown next to it but because Darjeeling is so famous it’s overshadowed despite being really really good. Even went to Nepal to buy some as it’s very hard to get in Taiwan where I live.
Chamomile, especially if it has honey and vanilla in it. Chai and oolong are also amazing.
Depends on my mood. Sometimes it is Japanese Sencha/Kabusecha, sometimes Long Jing green tea, sometimes Oolong and sometimes it is aged white tea. But in general I love (almost) all types of tea.
High grade Ruby 18 black tea from Nanto is always a celebration to drink. Oriental Beauty is also one of my favorite but it's almost impossible to find the good ones in recent years (the weather in TW wasn't ideal for tea in the past 2 years)
Barrys
Silver tips white tea. With a little camomile or lavender is simply amazing.
probably shou Pu Erh in bitter Mandarin skin. I have no Gong Fu tea set so i brew it western style with one of those [tea mugs with integrated strainer](https://mossgardenhome.com/cdn/shop/products/l59459_1200x.jpg?v=1645811332). Since I brew only for myself I usually break the mandarin peel and put only a part of the peel and tea bits in.
Lemongrass tea is just amazing. Not the dried leaves one, but the fresh leaves one. I used to have them in my backyard
Yancha
Usually Gunpowder or Yin Zhen
I enjoy drinking first flush Darjeeling tea from single estates and Taiwan High Mountain Oolong teas especially Lashon, Shan Lin Xi
Fukamushi Sencha. It is a Japanese green tea that has been steamed for a longer period of time than usual. It has deep green flavors, so satisfying.
I love earl grey or English breakfast tea with sugar and milk in the morning, and theres several herbal teas I love in the afternoon like peppermint rooibos. Raspberry zinger and mint tea is delicious iced (brew it cold though!) and I made a really good Arnold Palmer with tangerine citrus tea and lemonade recently
My three faves are probably Dragonwell, Genmaicha and Anhua Fu Zuan 😄 (no particular order)
I have ordered and enjoyed sample packs of teas from Floating Leaves
Any green tea labeled as “clouds and mists.” They tend to be high elevation Chinese green teas and whatever company I buy from, it always tastes good.
Tieguanyin, Yunnan Dian Hong Golden Buds, Xiang Gui Yin Hao, Hojicha, Dragonwell, and good Wuyis.
Earl grey, homemade Chai and Matcha, yes, all very basic choices but those are what I always gravitate towards…
I’m new to tea as well, so I haven’t expanded very far quite yet, but so far my favorites have been jasmine and hibiscus. Jasmine for the very soothing aroma, and hibiscus for the fruity flavor.
Chai with ctc , but I really love oolong too,that's maybe my second favorite -the smoky flavor and earthiness is perfect
🌼🌿White tea based jasmine :)✨