#steepster

[apoostrotea]

They Mad!!! | White2Tea | Raw Puerh

I am very silly, and bought this mini because the reference on the wrapper made me laugh. I love Documentary Now. Maybe I’ll ramble about it over on instagram later, but for now I will talk about the tea itself. The description of this tea that W2T gives is interesting; they note the tea is made of some older material they were waiting to press. Once again, we are all left to ponder what this material exactly “is”, which W2T always leaves a mystery. Aroma hit me as punchy, at first. I was worried about the bitterness as the aroma seemed young and green. But, it also smells sweet, sugary, and fruity. It smells a lot like Yiwu, but I’m uncertain as W2T is a strange mysterious wizard with its sources. Liquor is gold, crisp, soft. Cloudier and thicker than some young sheng I’ve had recently. This tea is a treat for sweeter young puerh drinkers. It’s quite a special tea. Notes of jasmine, wood, and fresh fruit. Leaning a tad on the floral side rather than the fruity. Give this mini a try if it sounds good for you. Maybe snag a cake if you’re feeling ballsy. It’s a good one.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

[representhoo]

Represent Hoodie

[white2tea]

#throwbackthursday #tbt #dimsumlosesum #letthelightsdimsum #sundayspecial #dimsumlovers #tearrific #zaocha #epsteindidntkillhimself #steamedbuns #flavortown #tealoversunite #steepster #teatimeismetime #yummyinmytummy #white2tea https://www.instagram.com/p/B7qgRGYpz7C/?igshid=hjsnwwfdaa9o

[teawarehouse]

Free Teacup Weekend! Every order on #teawarehouse will receive a free random teacup, no coupon necessary. This weekend only! #teasale #teacupsale #teacup #teacups #teacupcollector #teacupcollection #teaware #teastagram #teacupaddict #teacupcollectors #teacupset #teacupobsession #teacupforsale #teacupsale #teacupsofinstagram #tea #teacuplovers #steepster #rtea #steepstergram #teawarelover #teawarewednesday #teaporn

[lunacha-tea]

Yi Xing Clay- Xishi Teapot 150ml 188 holes built-in ball-shape strainer allows streaming tea smoothly and no spills Only $29.99 #yixingclay #teapot #streaming #150ml #ceramics #finecraft #teaculture #teabrewing #steepster #teasteeper #teaware (at New York, New York) https://www.instagram.com/p/B50RRRLgpeV/?igshid=1dcnhkws99vvc

[peterlista]

Tea Quality and Price

A while back I got into a discussion on  r/tea about how we (consumers) judge the relative quality of tea from different vendors. This is really a two part question: (1) How do we judge the relative quality of tea? (2) How do we judge the relative quality of vendors? I want to focus on this second question.

Take, for example, the price of a Spring 2017 Roasted Tie Guan Yin. Yunnan Sourcing is selling one at $17.00 USD/100g, What-Cha at $14.70/100g, and Rishi Tea at $18.00/100g. Similarly, Camellia Sinensis has an autumn TGY selling for $23.82/100g. I chose these four companies because they are often described as “general purpose” vendors, but are at varying degrees of quality. My point in my post was that companies selling “good quality” loose-leaf tea have similar offerings, but wildly varying prices.

So, how do we judge the relative quality of these vendors, preferably without having to sample the “same tea” four times every season?

I think that for most of us, it comes down to quality and price. The relationship between these two variables, however, is never linear. Thus, I doubt that Rishi Tea’s TGY is really 20% better than What-Cha’s (the cheapest option), or that Camellia Sinensis’ autumn TGY is 60% better. (Though I haven’t tried them all.)

It is also incredibly difficult to compare specific teas across vendors. For one thing, vendors often source their teas from different farms, which themselves have different terroir and climates. Moreover, those teas can be made with different varietals, with wildly different production methods – even year-to-year and batch-to-batch – and different levels of oxidation and roast. There is literally no way to make a direct comparison between teas from different vendors.

So, if we can’t reasonably compare vendors by their specific teas, then what method can we use to discriminate between vendors?

I like to collect data, so I did. Then I made this nifty Tea Vendor Chart.

Of the vendors in the sample, Teavivre (ranked 9th), Mandala Tea (14th), Whispering Pines (15th), Hibiki-An (16th), and Eco-Cha (18th) had the highest median Steepster rating at 81 points each. Mei Leaf (unranked), Adagio (5th), and Upton Tea (8th) had the lowest median ratings at 71 points each. Whispering Pines (15th) had the highest “max” Steepster rating (91), while Floating Leaves Tea (19th) had the lowest (82). Mountain Tea (17th) had the highest “min” Steepster rating (75), while Harney & Sons (11th) had the lowest (53). Importantly, upvotes (i.e., ranking) in the r/tea list does not particularly correlate well with max rating (0.327), though the association is positive.

The price data also reveals some interesting trends. Yunnan Sourcing had the highest priced tea ($120/100g), but also the second lowest price ($7/100g). Compare those prices with Mei Leaf, which is "lesser quality" than YS  – according to median Steepster rating (77 to 79) and r/tea sentiment – but also have relatively similar prices. Their tea ranges from $109/100g to $20/100g. Alternatively, you can compare YS to a company like What-Cha, which is very popular on r/tea and has the same median Steepster rating as YS. Their tea prices ranged from $45/100g to $9/100g. 

Yunnan Sourcing had the highest "max" tea price at $120/100g, while O-Cha had the lowest at $34/100g. Verdant has the highest "min" tea price at $27/100g, while Crimson Lotus Tea had the lowest at $6.72/100g. Yunnan Sourcing had the largest price range ($113), while O-Cha had the lowest ($14).

For me, there is a clear “winner” from each of the major vendor categories listed on the chart. What-Cha is the best “general purpose” vendor, O-Cha for Japanese tea (followed by Hibiki-An), Taiwan Sourcing for Taiwanese oolongs (followed by Beautiful Taiwan Tea), Yunnan Sourcing for Chinese tea (followed by Teavivre), Upton Tea Importers for Indian/Sri Lankan tea (followed by Vahdam Teas), White2Tea for puerh (followed by Crimson Lotus Tea and YS), and Harney & Sons for flavored tea. (I also like London Tea Merchant for flavored teas and blends.) Between these companies there is no reason why you can’t find good quality, well priced tea.

Try them and see for yourself!

Here is how I did it:

Data was collected for each of the 20 top rated vendors on the r/tea User's Choice Vendor List, as well as three vendors – Rishi Tea, Verdant Tea, and Mei Leaf – often mentioned on r/tea. All data was collected in June 2017.

Data collected from Steepster included, (1) the number of teas with numeric ratings, (2) the rating of the highest rated tea, (3) the rating of the lowest rated tea, (4) the range of ratings (min-max), and (5) the rating of the median tea.

Median was calculated by identifying the midpoint of all rated teas, when sorted by rating, rounding up to the nearest whole number. Occasionally, companies were listed on Steepster multiple times – often because of misspellings – in which case I used the correctly spelled listing.

Data collected from vendor websites included, (6) the price of the highest priced tea (per 100g), (7) the price of the lowest priced tea, (8) the range of prices (min-max), and (9) the midrange.

All price data was taken directly from vendor websites, but only for teas produced in Spring 2017. (Because W2T and Crimson Lotus Tea only sell puerh, I used their max and min puerh price instead.) Prices were calculated per 100g. In cases where vendors did not sell exactly 100g, the closest price below 100g was used. For example, if the price of a tea was listed as $10/50g and $36/200g, then it was recorded as $20/100g. Midrange was used for simplicity, though it is practically useless for comparing between vendors.

Missing values – e.g., no ranking or price information – were recorded as 999.

(I want to redo this analysis with a fuller data set, but that would take significantly more effort or someone who knows how to scrape data from Steepster and vendor’s websites. If that’s you, let me know.)

EDITED 09/02/2017 (Added “secondary” vendors.)

[shennong]

Double Scoop 2021 Winter Wuye Dancong Oolong

Brewing dancong with my current setup unleashes the stingy old man inhabiting my soul. "You want me to use more leaf? More, in this economy!?" He whines. My 120 ml gaiwan is just too wide for Chaozhou style brewing without breaking the bank. Luckily for him, Bitterleaf's Double Scoop played nice using a more conservative leaf-to-water ratio. The dry leaves smell strongly of baked goods and flowers.

Using 200°F water, I cautiously increased brew time by 5 seconds each time to avoid getting pounced by astringency. This tea is thick-bodied, with a buttery feel and lingering aftertaste. It packs a punch of floral flavor. I didn't pick up on any of the caramel tasting notes listed on the vendor's website, nor does it remind me of ice cream. Could be my brewing method. Perhaps I'll add another scoop.

Side note: Good oolong always makes me crave cheese for some reason. If anyone knows a good pairing, do tell!

Tea source My steepster Askbox

[artsycooky13]

Can Steepster begin slowly developing Steven's powers, but because Steebster and Connie's relationship is so much better, he developed them much more quickly than Steven did (in turn, explaining Stevonster) this causes Steven to become somewhat more jealous of them and a lot more proud. Steebster eventually surpassing Steven's level of skill and power. And connster doesn't feel the need to wield a sword to catch up. This makes Steven and Connie spend more time together out of jealousy.

here

*aggressively throws, burns, and rips up scripts i had*

you can write this story now

[apoostrotea]

15 Years Aged Golden Melon Ripe Tuo | Yunnan Sourcing

This aged ripe has a strong energy and thick flavor. It’s now one of my favorites from Yunnan Sourcing! The wet leaf smells of wood, chocolate, and mashed berries. I may have a bias for aged shou, but the flavors are very pleasant. A nice broad wet wood flavor with hints of vanilla at the forefront. Behind it, there are notes of brown sugar and rich earth. This tea lasted me many steeps, however the tuo is tough to break apart. You will need a strong tea pick for this one! I found this shou to be a perfect example of what an aged ripe can be. If you’re planning on making a Yunnan sourcing order, and have never tried aged shou, this is the tea for you. It’s affordable, but is a lovely goalpost for new sippers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

[white2tea]

All of our traditional tieguanyin oolong teas are back in stock, after Black Friday tea friends sacked our reserves. What makes our TGY traditional? Most modern TGY is made in a green style, geared towards a high, fresh fragrance, that became popularized in the mid 2000’s. Our traditional style TGY is made with an older method of processing that leaves the leaves bruised and oxidized, you’ll notice the redness on the leaf in this image. The teas may not be as shockingly fragrant as some other tieguanyin teas, but the body and depth of the tea are excellent and they have a nuanced complexity. We hope you have a chance to try them - we have four different types with varied material quality and processing. #white2tea #tieguanyin #tieguanyintea #oolongtea #oolong #wulong #wulongtea #wulongcha #wūlóngchá #irongoddess #irongoddessofmercy #irongoddessgoodeats #iguess #irongoddessfitness #whynot #tikuanyin #tikuanyintea #steepster #rtea #teastagram #instatea

[teawarehouse]

Tea Tray: 9 glazes. Teapot: 7 glazes. Teacups: 5 glazes. How many color combinations can you make? Play around and build a set of your favorite colors #teawarehouse #steepster #gongfutea #gongfu #gongfucha #gongfuteaware #teaceremony #teaboss #teaceramics #teawares #teaware #teaware_addict #teawareaddict #teawareporn #teaporn #teablends #teablog #teablogger #rtea #everydaytea #siptea #brewtea #teabrewing #teabreaktime #teabrand #steepstergram

[charles-wachsberg-blog]

Charles wachsberg