Search the Community

I just picked up a huge bag of kukicha (roasted twig tea) and I'm feeling very wealthy as a result. Tea rich. Tea chamilionaire. Tea bajillion-heir. This stuff is soooo strong and roasty! It's amazing. It gets stuck in my tea sieve due to its low quality construction of metal. I'd like to buy some nicer tea accoutrements. Maybe somebody can share some tea stuff they like. I also really like jasmine tea, but I have a really hard time brewing it consistently well. Very finicky tea. Its floral and feminine, and I like to drink it after a heavy meal or if I eat anything strong tasting to balance me out. The first problem I solved in dealing with jasmine was the water. I had always been a fan of my tap water, but I noticed in the last couple of years something just wasn't the same. This bad taste really was amplified when drinking jasmine tea. It was like drinking a cup of chlorinated water. Really nasty. So I switched to spring water. All of my tea tastes so much better with spring water. Its amazing stuff. Price per cup increased a lot too, but I highly value health, tasty water, and tasty tea so its worth it for me. If I had to use it for a whole family...that would get expensive really fast, but even then the health benefits may be higher than the health bills long term from doing this. I think the next issue with Jasmine tea is the water temp. I know theres an ideal temp and I don't have a thermometer for my kettle. Which is probably the 3rd issue. I think boiling water in a pot is really the best, and then having it boiled on gas or fire even better. I've also tried different cup materials and that has affected the taste as well. Still unsure what the best cup material is.

As this is my only connection to the eastern world paradigm, I have a question for those whom happen to be of eastern descent. I have heard that the lotus flower is sacred in eastern culture, and reserved for the esoteric among us. Foolish as a fool will claim to be wise, does this commercial product: http://www.tazo.com/green-tea/decaf-lotus-blossom-green degrade the status of the lotus flower?

Hi! I have been thinking about creating this thread for some time now. I think it would be nice if we could share our knowledge and insight into the art of tea making here. Be it drinking tea and its health effects, effects on chi, effects on our mind, personality or anything. Really anything. Also good place to ask questions about tea, or just share stories of tea appreciation. I hope it catches on.

( I copied this from a post I made on reddit's /r/taoism in case it looks familiar to you Also, since it was dealing with Instagram, and a project elsewhere, I wasn't sure I should put it in Textual Studies - besides it didn't seem quite a "Study" enough...more fun oriented...) Greetings Tao and Tea lovers (and anyone else interested)! I just wanted to invite any Tea lovers and Instagram users to this little enjoyment of the Tao Te Ching. It started with a user in the IG tea world, @augustmoontea, as she began posting the chapters with her daily tea photos. Each day, the next section with tea. I've joined in and posted a different translation, maybe a bit of commentary from other writers, or our own. We're on chapter 4 as of today, so still plenty of time to join in if you'd like. Add some commentary, or thoughts on existing posts. Or join in and post on your own page a different translation, version, interpretation, language, etc of that day's chapter with your Tea photo and tag it with #TeaWithLaoTzu and #TeaWithLaoTzuDay4 (where 4 is replaced by chapter / day). It's not the best platform (that's probably here) for discussion, but we're making do. It's more about the "spirit" of sharing... Anyhow, check it out if you like! https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/teawithlaotzu/ yours in the way, 9thousandthings