#also... earl grey milk tea no ice no sugar is my favourite bubble tea drink to order

[kashmirichaiwithmehr]

Ooh! Can I ask if you have any fave Kashmiri chai brands? 👀 I’m p sure u like coffee and tea (right?) but what about boba? Does caffeine “work” on/for you? Favorite syrup and favorite sweetener? Give me all the random drink opinions plz 🤲🏽

U HAVE STRUCK A CHORD ! ! !

unfortunately i have no favourite kashmiri chai brands bc i just drink what my mom or daadi or naani make for me using tea leaves (we dont like the fake stuff)

and yes i LOVE coffee and tea hehehe. i used to drink boba/bubble tea a LOT in high school and university but i dont anymore bc i just dont like it anymore. im a simple person so i used to like the plain milk tea, or earl grey milk tea, or strawberry (things along those lines). omg but on the RARE occasions that i do want something ill get taro <333 i love taro. ive been buying the binggrae taro milk boxes from my local asian grocery store and yes theyre pricey and hella sweet but omg when i make an iced latte w it or a matcha w it its soooooooooooo good and my moms in love w it too hehe

when i go to tea shops now i just get plain unsweetened/milk-less green or oolong teas (hot or iced depending on my mood). ive been getting hot alishan oolong tea from this one place and omg im in love. and i loveeeeeee genmaicha or boricha <3333333

usually i wouldve recommended st*rb*cks stuff but we are not about that anymore so for ur average coffee shop/cafe i would suggest any type of mocha (regular or white mocha - basic ik but idc), lavender syrup(?), cardamom !!!!!, cinnamon (basic again). im not a biggg brown sugar syrup fan sry to upset the masses. and i dont reallyyyy drink sweet drinks :(( (only once in a while now!). but also any kind of nutty flavours are *chefs kiss*

torani and monin have some reallyyy good syrup/sauce options! and their caramel drizzle is rly good

alsoooo i love using my french press and ive been making masala coffee in it (basically i take everything i would put into my masala chai and add it to my french press w the grounds) and then i add milk (alternatives only 4 me) to it once its poured into my cup

[winterswrandomness]

22 hours late to the ask game but top five drinks or top five bands/artists? (Also hiiii ^_^)

:0 hiii!!!!! :D !!!!! <3 <3

I'll go drinks! because I always rank bands differently cbcbccn

so, in no particular order:

Strawberry smoothie! a really thick one that you eat with a spoon. whenever I have one it's always made at home with frozen strawberries from the ge

peace tea! it's this one brand of cold fruit teas that I absolutely LOVE. unfortunately, price went up from like 89 cents to 2 dollars a can. they're still the length of my forearm and taste really good though, so it's worth it every once in a while

strawberry bubble tea! specifically, with lychee jelly. we've tried a handful of places over the years, but unfortunately. bubble tea spensive. there are a couple really good places though! I also really enjoy mango

this one asian jelly drink my mom gets! the jelly comes in cans, and you have to cut them up, then you boil water and dissolve a lot of sugar in it and mix everything in a pitcher with ice. it's super yummy and always disappears within three days

iced earl grey/iced pecoe tea!! we get tea bags, I boil some water, I mix in sweetener and the tea bags, then I dunk in some ice. it's one of my favourite, relatively low effort, very accessible (for me) drinks to make! we pretty much always have the stuff for it right here at home

and this is also the part where you figure out. anything I drink usually falls into at least two of the following: tea, fruity/strawberry, cold, sweet

also special mentions to: pepsi, sprite, fruittopia, strawberry milk, lemonade, the soy sauce/sugar/sometimes lemon sauce that I make to eat with dumplings and chicken hearts (drank in single sips, don't worry), mango/peach juice, and iced caps and iced coffees from Tim Hortons

[levi-supreme]

My name is Levi and my favorite emoji rn is 🤺

Levi my love my beloved my baby my husband my most precious person my entire world 🥺❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I will give you the moon and the stars and the universe if you want me to <333 also because you're Levi, I'm giving you the best of the best and everything I can 💖💖💖💖 and of course, you're getting more of everything because you're my love <333

Chinese name: 勇安 (Yong An): 勇 (Yong = brave, courageous, fierce); 安 (An = peaceful, quiet, tranquil, safe)

Japanese name: 翔 (Shou = soar, fly, glide)

Korean name: 준용 joon-yong (Hanja: 俊荣 Jun Rong): 준 [俊] (Jun = handsome, talented, capable); 용 [荣] (Yong/Rong = honour, glory, flourish, prosper)

Bubble tea order: Earl grey milk tea, 0% sugar, no ice

Dessert: Lavender cookies // Palmier // Hanami dango

Send me your name and I'll give you three things!!

[narcissamalfvy]

earl grey, white tea, honey, chai, coffee! :dani:

send me a tea ask!

earl grey — okay i take my tea with hot water obvs. i don’t usually put milk in it because i’m lactose intolerant!! so usually black tea. but i have to say at the moment my favourite tea is green. so i don’t need milk anyways hehe!

white tea — my current occupation is a part time photographer, and part time music teacher! my aspirations for my career is to eventually become a secondary school music teacher cos i love working in the education sector. but this could change depending on what happens :’)

honey — LMAO if this is from my phone this is a bit embarrassing but “also i might do a practice makeup tomorrow we will see”

chai — i actually... don’t have starbucks. MAYBE ITS COS IM AUSTRALIAN BUT like. i don’t rlly drink starbucks i think i’ve only ever had it overseas so i’ll tell you my go to bubble tea orders instead hehe! taro milk tea with sago and herbal jelly OR lychee green tea with herbal jelly and lychee jelly. no sugar and half ice because i’m one of those bitches.

coffee — skim piccolo latte! again lactose intolerance but also because i just like small coffees they are so cute hehe.

[supermacaroniandsqueezeblr]

I got tagged!

 Got tagged by @wizards1977! I tag @sbongebob @babs-bunnie @attiinovaand anyone else who wants to do it

1. Do you prefer writing with a black pen or blue pen? Black

2. Would you prefer to live in the country or city? Probably the city! You can go to lots more exciting places, it seems, and they’re usually closer than if you were out in the country in the middle of nowhere.

3. If you could learn a new skill what would it be? I can’t do a cartwheel, but it would be cool to. I know, that sounds kinda stupid

4. Do you drink your tea/coffee with sugar? I don’t drink coffee, but when I have tea, it’s usually Earl Grey with milk and sugar.

5. What was your favourite book as a child? I loooooved the Angelina Ballerina books and the Babymouse graphic novels!

6. Do you prefer baths or showers? Showers, because they’re quicker, but bubble baths are so relaxing and nice...

7. If you could be a mythical creature, which one would it be? A fairy!!!

8. Paper or electronic books? Paper books, I like the smell.

9. What is your favourite item of clothing? Ooh, hard to say! I love the Secret Honey dress I got in Japan last year.

10. Do you like your name or would you like to change it? I like my name!

11. Who is a mentor to you? Don’t really know. Are we talking family members or bosses at your job? 

12. Would you like to be famous and if so, what for? I think I’d like to make art that makes people happy. I want to create something that will impact someone’s life.

13. Are you a restless sleeper? It usually takes me a while to fall asleep, too many thoughts circling my head.

14. Do you consider yourself a romantic person? Yeah lol, I love love!

15. Which element best represents you? I don’t know. *shrugs*

16. Who do you want to be closer to? Not really sure, to be honest.

17. Do you miss someone at the moment? My best friend @koko-raccoon, I hate that she lives so far away!!

18. Tell us about an early childhood memory. I think my mom once had a fishtank with small fish inside. I can’t remember how old I was when this happened, but I think I remember at one point accidentally dumping all the water and the fish out from the tank onto my mom. I don’t even know if the fish survived or not, or why I did that, but I still feel guilty about it after all this time. :-(

20. What are you most thankful for? My family and friends.

21. Do you like spicy food? Nope.

22. Have you ever met someone famous? Dan Aykroyd in 2015, and Mark Hamill in 2017!

23. Do you do you keep a diary or journal? Yes! I need to be better about writing in it more though.

24. Do you prefer to use a pen or a pencil? Pencil

25. What is your star sign? Gemini

26. Do you like your cereal soggy or crunchy? Crunchy. I hate soggy cereal, that’s why I don’t put milk in it.

27. What would you want your legacy to be? Like I said before, I want to create something that will impact someone’s life. I also want to be known for being a kind, special, loving person.

28. Do you like reading, what was the last book you read? I do like reading, when it’s an interesting/good book. I used to be a super big reader when I was younger but as I grew up, I stopped reading as much, I guess due to changing interests and the fact that a lot of the books being directed towards my age group in middle school/high school just didn’t appeal to me. I’ve been trying to be better about reading lately, though, and the last book I read was The Rise of Kyoshi.

29. How do you show someone you love them? Through compassion, understanding, texts and phone calls to check up on them, and kisses and hugs!

30. Do you like ice in your drinks? Yes

31. What are you afraid of? Death/my own mortality is my biggest fear. I’m also afraid of natural disasters and someone breaking into my house and trying to hurt me/my family.

32. What is your favourite scent? Sweet things(fresh baked cookies, cakes, etc.) Also flowers!

33. Do you address older people by their name or surname? Name

34. If money was not a factor, how would you live your life? Hmmmm, I don’t really know....probably take nice vacations to faraway places?

35. Do you prefer swimming in pools or the ocean? Pools

36. What would you do if you found £50 on the ground? Probably take it to a lost and found.

37. Have you ever seen a shooting star? Nope.

38. What is the one thing you would want to teach your children? I don’t want to have children.

39. If you had to have a tattoo, what would it be and where would you get it? I don’t know! Maybe Sean the fairy king? Lol, don’t know where I’d put it, maybe on/near my shoulderblade? I don’t want tattoos, I hate needles.

40. What can you hear now? My mom and older sister talking.

41. Where do you feel the safest? My house, more specifically my bedroom.

42. What is the one thing you want to overcome/conquer? My inability to make decisions.

43. If you could travel back to any era, what would it be? Probably the 70′s, I’d love to see Star Wars in theaters(and track down young Mark Hamill)! 

44. What is your most used emoji? Heart eyes!

45. Describe yourself using one word. Caring

46. What do you regret the most? Doing some stupid crap back in my younger days and being so cringey

47. Last movie you saw? Shrek 2

48. Last tv show you watched? The Simpsons

49. Invent a word and it’s meaning. 

[rasoir-national]

@ghostplantss​  tea is such a fine luxury to have! i never know where to start with teas. which ones do you like? oolong is awful lovely i don't think i knew it was blue before

Oh boy, I am as glad you asked as you’re about to be sorry you did. I humbly present to you :

A GUIDE TO MOTHERFUCKING TEA

By Raz

A Very White European

Part I - Basics

Okay the great thing with tea is that you can take any of them and make them taste like crap. It’s like a superpower that everybody has. I’m not going to make a lecture out of this, but there are two basic rules to respect if you want to actually taste what you bought.

1) THE WATER MUST NOT BOIL !

Fun experiment : put a teabag in cold water. Nothing happens. You’ve wasted your time. Tea works because oxygen trapped in hot water opens up the leaf which frees odouring particles. But if you boil the water, then there’s almost no oxygen left. It will still sort of work, but it won’t even be close to the actual taste of the thing. If you’ve had a oopsie, just had a bit of cold water into the teapot.

2) Respect infusion times

I used to think I was too good for those. If you go over, it will still taste like tea, but most of the secondary flavours will be gone, and it will be much more bitter. You don’t have to buy fancy hourglasses like *some* people, but still respect the basic guidelines : 2 min max for white, 3 min for green, 4-5 min for oolongs, 5-6 min for black, 7-10 min for infusions.

That’s it. Contrary to most purists, I’m not opposed to teabags. Yes, loose tea tastes better, but you know, I’m on a budget too. Onto actual recommendations.

Part II - Brands

Look, I may lose my french citizenship over this, but I’m the most basic shopper when it comes to “gourmet” products. To me, there are only four wines (fruity red, bitter red, fruity white, sink-unclogger white) and three cheeses (gruyère, gooey and gross). Tea is the only thing I’m willing to spend money on, because really, if you don’t aim at least a little bit for quality, you might as well be drinking hot wet garbage. Do yourself a favour and stay away from Lipton, which is owned by Unilever - really, all you need to know.

The upside is that it really pays off to go to an actual tea shop and pick something you really like. Also, one of the rare socially accepted opportunities to go around sniffing everything like a goddamn pervert.

When it comes to luxury brands, I don’t know what will be available to you where you live ; personally, I’m most familiar with french brands, of course. My favourites are L’autre Thé, le Palais des Thés, Mariage Frères and Damann frères.

If you don’t want to spend objectively way too much money on loose leaves, there are plenty of middle-range brands : Kusmi Tea, Lov, Clipper. I’m personally not a fan of their blends but they’re perfectly fine.

And if that’s still too expensive, my advice is to look into green/fair-trade brands. In my own experience they have the best quality/price ratio. Also, the mysterious tea from the quote unquote “ethnic foods” aisle of the supermarket with google-translated info on the box ? The one you’ve never seen anybody buy ? It’s good, actually.

Part III - Actual recommendations

I tried to make a ranking of my favourite teas, but that quickly proved impossible, so instead I’m presenting these in increasing order of how insane you’d be to trust me and try them. I’m a stranger on the internet. Remember the PSAs.

0) Infusions !

This one doesn’t really count since it doesn’t actually have tea in it, but for that reason it’s a good entry point into hot beverage + taste. You have classics, like my personal fave apple&cinammon, and less so, like thyme, which feels like chugging a sunday roast. Also, contrary to popular belief, they’re not just for sleeping : I’m fairly convinced those pills they give US seal teams so they stay awake are just concentrated hibiscus infusions. It’s what I use when I do an all-nighter.

1) Perfumed green tea !

It’s light, usually fruity or flowery, and it’s great for everybody. I’m partial to Jasmine and Lily of the Valley, but you really can’t go wrong with green tea.

2) Green mint tea !

I’m putting this one separately, since it’s the only case in which I take sugar in my tea. I was lucky enough to have an Algerian friend who showed me how to make it : you take basic Chinese gunpowder tea, put it in water, then throw the water away to wash away the bitterness, pour again, then put fresh mint leaves in it, and then just a BUTTLOAD of sugar and you don’t stir. Then you pour it by doing the fancy trick with the teacup super high that my friend did perfectly and that I’ve never been able to reproduce.

3) Perfumed black tea !

We’re starting to get in the zone. You can basically make any flavour with those. Sweet, fruity, flowery, spicy, woody, musky... I personally prefer those last three categories, but there are all sorts of fun blends you can find. This is where we find Christmas teas, the best thing in the universe : they usually have a sweet/fruity base with spices (usually cinammon & cardamon). Since it’s the time of the year, I really encourage you to try those. They’re a good indicator of the sort of flavour you might like.

4) Oolong tea !

This is actually my favourite kind. It’s not usually blue, but it’s recognizable by its slightly burned taste, usually coupled with a secondary flavour like roasted chesnut, fried rice or hot milk. My favourites are from Taiwan (especially the Dong Ding) and Vietnam, but the Chinese ones are great too. I’d say it’s a good entry point into tea that mostly tastes like tea, it’s really easy to like and it goes great with any meal. It’s also quite good iced.

5) Rooibos !

This kind of tea has a fun rust colour and comes mostly from South Africa. Its base is very woody, with secondary flavours that are usually “exotic” fruits. It’s caffeine-free, and a good entry point into “harder” flavours.

6) Raw black tea !

This is where you find all the classic British breakfast types : Earl Grey, Ceylan, Darjeeling, Assam... I personally prefer the last one for its spicy taste. Ceylan and Darjeeling are a bit too bland in my opinion, but I do like a good bergamot Earl Grey. If you’re looking for something a bit stronger, I recommend Chinese varieties : Yunnan and Qimen are my favourite.

7) Smoked Chinese tea !

I’m putting this black one separately because I love it so much I could cry. There are a few different varieties, but you gotta try the Lapsang Souchong. It’s what it says on the tin : very smokey, very excellent.

8) Korean Maesil-cha !

I only tried this one recently. You know how I said green mint tea was the only sugary tea I drink ? This one does it one better by adding fucking plums and leaving the skin in the cup. It probably gave me diabetes, but it’s quite amazing.

9) White tea !

This is tea with minimal processing that is only left to infuse for a very short time, resulting in a strong grassy scent. I recommend working your way up to those, but they are of course excellent. I’m basic : my favourite is the Baihao Yinzhen.

10) Raw green tea !

The only reason I’m putting this so high on the insanity list is those freaking Japanese green teas. You know macha ? That thing every white person loves ? Well real macha is thick as hell, it has weird bubbles, sticks to the bowl and tastes like fish. I’m not kidding. I’ve been a vegetarian for 5 years and it gave me whiplash. It’s not my favourite thing in the world, but I’m gaining more of an appreciation of them. I fell in love with the Sencha Yabukita variety last year. Taste the sea.

* I should note, if you’re a vegetarian as well, a lot of those (as well as some black teas) did indeed involve animal products at some point in their making. This is personally the one exception I give myself in my diet, but do check your tea ingredients if that’s a problem for you.

11) Pu Erh !

Technically speaking, Pu Erh is tea that’s rotting in dirt. Now that that’s out of the way, let me tell you about Pu Erh, the best thing in the universe. It’s mossy, it’s heavy, it’s powerful, it costs 25€ for 100g. The one I own (Mariage frères’ Pu Erh Supreme) is more expensive than most of my clothes, but it’s really the kind of thing you have to try once. Plus, if you’re that high up the insanity scale and you still trust me, you owe it to yourself to see this to completion. Every single person I forced to try it hated it. It delights me. I’m not hardcore by any means, by the way, I just have very white friends. Also it looks like this :

So that’s my unnecessarily complicated recommendation list ! I know you probably didn’t want something that detailed, but talking about tea is one of the things that make me happiest in the world. Thanks for indulging me !

Also, if I didn’t make it sufficiently clear at this point, I’m very white and therefore open to any and all corrections/additions by someone who didn’t just fall into tea when they were 16 the same way white girls get way too much into hip-hop.