I've ended up on steepster a few times, looking for reviews of teas by others. I suppose that's something lacking from my method - sharing my review with others.
Do you recommend using steepster? I don't imagine it will replace my complex spreadsheet, but I suppose I could copy my review to steepster.
You've got a nice starting kit there! Thank your friend for being so kind by inviting them to a tea session with you!
Here's a few things that I wish I knew when I started trying high quality tea:
Get the water temp right for the type of tea and don't oversteep. I thought all tea was just undrinkably bitter, but I was just steeping everything for too long in boiling water.
Write a few notes about what you think about the tea. For the first year, my notes consisted of "bitter" or "I like this". I can't remember what the teas tasted like, so I wish I wrote down more.
Then, I just advise that you experiment yourself to find what works for you.
How do you track/review your teas?
This post assumes you are as obsessed about tea as I am. If you are not, you have my permission to just wonder, "What's up with this guy?" :D
I find it handy to have a list of the teas that I've tried and my detailed thoughts on them, as I can't remember everything since I've tried so many teas at this point. Keeping a list has helped me avoid re-sampling the same tea accidentally and to learn what styles and regions of tea I enjoy.
I use airtable.com (shown in the screenshot). I started out using Google Sheets, but I was feeling limited. I wanted to dynamically sort, filter, and search my spreadsheet - as if it were a UI form. I also wanted to add tags to describe my teas, again for quick filtering and such. airtable.com seems to be everything I need.
Today's tea: 2022 Tong Mu "Fruit Aroma" from Yunnan Sourcing
Sweet, a good mid body strength, and a strong cherry taste and aftertaste.
Black teas from Tong Mu have become my favorite of all black teas. I love to have them hot and flash chilled.
They're my go-to if I want to introduce people to artisan tea. My family and friends drink iced black tea, so this flash chilled is safe enough to get them to try it.
It's a "Willsense Gooseneck Kettle". https://www.amazon.com/Electric-Gooseneck-Temperature-Aiheal-Stainless/dp/B0B1MLVMY5/
I love it. It has exact-degree setting, can go low enough for the greens I drink, and can hold for 2 hours. Only thing I don't like it that it doesn't hold enough water for my constant tea drinking. :)
Today's tea: 2022 Sour Sap from Mei Leaf
Aroma and taste profile is lightly sour underripe melon, mellowed by a light roast.
I don't drink Chinese oolong very often, and if I do, they are typically more roasted than this one. I think the profile is balanced and ok, but it feels like it is lacking some intrigue. I've been favoring bitey sheng puer lately.
This is my tea setup at work. I pick a tea and resteep it all day long. If I don't use it up fully, I'll take it home and put it in some water in the refrigerator to drink it cold the next day.
Looks tasty. I drank darjeelings and ceylons for lunch for years at work. I used an unglazed ceramic easy-gaiwan, similar to what you have there. The unglazed clay softened the tea, so it didn't feel so harsh if/when I oversteeped it.
No milk for me. Though, I don't care for drinking milk in general, so take that into consideration. Ever since I started buying higher quality loose leaf tea, I've greatly enjoyed the taste and depth of it plain.
Wow! I dream of visiting tea gardens, once my health improves. I want to visit where my favorite teas come from - certain villages in Yunnan, China.
I started out only drinking black, though as I've spent more money on tea, getting higher quality, I've enjoyed the depth of fresher (greener) teas. I'd have to say green, but with the caveat that I enjoy drinking all types often.
Interesting! I've had mixed success enjoying Thai tea. I never considered making it myself. I also don't add sugar to my tea, so this sounds promising for me to try.
I have various loose leaf black teas around at home. I suppose I could try adding condensed milk to a strong brew of one?
Banner: Any pic of tea plants in rolling hills. Here's a free to use one: https://unsplash.com/photos/ySQXoZLAsmc
Icon: A generic cup of tea. Don't want a teabag or a full gong fu setup, as they might feel that they are limiting or excluding ways of drinking tea. Here's a free one to use: https://unsplash.com/photos/v69Rgy8pPyk
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