I cringe whenever I enter TenRen because the salesladies there are always hustling, trying to push you to spend hundreds of dollars on tea that, frankly, ain't worth that price.

However, their cheap tea is pretty good. If you stick to the basics, you'll do all right.

Case in point, I just had their Qimen black tea. And it was quite agreeable. There's a honey-wine taste, with no hint of bitterness even with long steeping times. I couldn't have paid more than $15 for 100g—the trick is to not buy the fancy tin, but go for the bulk stuff when there's a sale (which is often).

The congmei white tea is the same story. I bought a 100g cake from there for C$13. For that price, I thought it was going to be junk, but it's got that nice woodsy taste that I enjoy with white tea.

The thing is, the ladies always seem disappointed that I choose the cheap teas over the oolongs and pu'ehrs. But having had their expensive teas... they just don't measure up to the competition.

Obviously, price has little to do with taste itself. But if I'm dropping over $100, I'm wanting something a little off the beaten path.

Which I guess you can't really get from a mass market retailer like TenRen.

Sadly I have been forbidden from having caffeine AND tannins due to a medical issue, for the foreseeable future. :'( I live for my black tea with oat milk every morning and this week has been rough missing out on it. It's the epitome of cosy to me and chamomile, peppermint, etc, are not cutting it. Does anyone have suggestions for good alternatives to black, something that I could put my oat milk in? My very favourite tea is from Murchies and has a combination of Ceylon, Darjeeling, Keemun, and Assam. So those are the flavours I tend to like best. I do like Rooibos but at least the one I've had doesn't really ring the same as a good black tea. I'd so appreciate any suggestions! (Or, if I'm just going to have to suck it up and go without...) Thanks so much!

I have been using rose water & rose syrup in my tea for a while now but orange blossom water is a banger! Pomegranate molasses surprisingly goes well with green tea, too! Game changer! I've created my own spearmint infused water for tea which I've enjoyed! Let's see if saffron water liquorice water, chamomile water, or anise water does anything!

I'm so witchy. My younger siblings 17M and 14F see my tea combinations and say I'm making potions. I suppose I am!

Fun Fact: Food-grade rose water is perfectly fine for your face as a toner! I love using it!

Hi all, first time poster. Hoping someone might be able to help me figure out some teas I had years ago and maybe find something similar in case they're (almost definitely) retired. They were a gift and I had JUST gotten into tea so I didn't bother to write their brands down.

Banana Bread (literally tasted exactly like a warm, buttery banana bread, third fave tea of all time)

Campfire s'mores Oolong

Seaberry Spa

Green Apple Kombucha (this is still my top tea of all time)

I believe the apple was from David's, I think the banana was too? I can't remember, I tried to search in the DM’s of the friend who gifted them (this was ~5 years ago) and she said something about T2 for the banana bread? I know thats so incredibly vague but I have nothing else to go on. I typically shop local (Apothica Teas in Niles, MI !! Their maple taffy is my second fave tea of all time though I believe it's now retired or in-house only, and every blend I’ve had has been so good), so I know next to nothing about online retailers </3 any help would be appreciated.

I don’t mind white, green, and black cheap teabags but for loose leaf/cakes I only like Shou Mei. I haven’t tried blacks because I’m worried about teeth staining. I tried silver needle, oolong, and raw pu-erh. Silver needle is ok. It gives me an intense tingling in my mouth and seems a bit of a weird taste. The oolong and raw pu-erh I like less. Oolong is a crazy flavor. It tastes a bit like coffee to me (I don’t like coffee). Raw pu-erh is too green. I think I like greens the least. Any recommendations? Maybe white peony or gongmei

Halloween hasn't even started but stores such as World Market already have their holiday tea blends & holiday snacks up on shelves! I promised a Swedish friend to get a Swedish sweet treat so if anyone’s Swedish, please, feel free to recommend biscuits and other sweet treats to me! A mulled spiced apple tea seems right up my alley! 👀

Hoping for some recommendations for a great tea pot available in Australia. I have usually used simple glass teapots with removable infuser but hoping to get something a little nicer. I drink primarily green teas, so looking for something where I can remove the tea to avoid oversteeping, for 1-2 people and easy to clean. Thanks in advance!!

I love a roasted oolong or a thicccc ripe puer. I typically use a gaiwan, sometimes I grandpa style.
I’ve tried a few vendors: W2T, West China, YunnanSourcing, CrimsonLotus, Liquid Proust… if there’s anything from these vendors, great, but I’m also curious to branch out!!!

I’m mostly gearing toward roasted oolong right now. What screams “Autumn” to you?

So I’m starting the hobby of trying teas and haven’t gotten my full setup of a tea pot to properly brew but I do have a tea strainer that I am using

I got some white tea from a website I saw recommended on here called adagio and I feel like the tea is bland like I had better flavors from a bag white tea from marshals

Where can i get some solid samples? I’ve used Yunnan Sourcing and The Steeping Room for tons of awesome Chinese black tea and a little bit of Assam. What’s a good site for Darjeeling?

I’ve been wanting some fresh unprocessed tea leaves (in the Camellia family rather than an herbal tea) for a while now, maybe just to experiment on or just for fun.

I would just want to buy an amount of leaves that was reasonable for personal use. I don’t have much of a green thumb either and I’m not sure how much yield I would get from a couple plants either. It also seems like I would have to wait several years to get a drinkable harvest.

Would my best bet be to ask a local tea farm or is there some other way you all know of to get tea leaves that are fresh picked in the United States?

I add short grain rice or medium grain rice(whichever one i have at hand) to a bowl, and then pour tea into the bowl. Then I add a little bit of soy sauce to it, and lately, I've been eating it with cuts of "meat" that i make from impossible ground beef. I also add some torn up seaweed.

Also, the oi ocha unsweetened tea is just good in general. I know it's bottled, but don't sleep on it.

Waddup,i never blught from amazon teas,i prefer white2tea,teavivre and the steeping room but i was asking if there was any decent brand of chinese teas (for gongfu style)

As a tea fan, scifi nerd, and Magic player, I'm of course adding this card to my collection (along with the few other cards featuring tea), but the flavor text at the bottom had me scratching my head.

I've never had Earl Grey with Lapsang Souchong, or even heard of the combo. Does Picard specify it at some point? And has anyone else tried it? It does sound pretty darn good, actually.

I got it for cheap on ebay and idk if it's fake.

Can I still use it even if it's fake?

He got them on business trips as gifts.

Any info, on what exactly we have here and the best ways to brew it, would be very appreciated.

The ones in the red tins all seem to be black tea at least but we can't figure out the one in the plastic bag. A Jasmine, herb blend maybe...

Hey all,

Is there a caffeine free alternative to matcha? I really enjoy the earthy and strong flavor of matcha but I can only drink it in the mornings or I'll be up all night from the caffeine.

I'm open to any beverage, not just teas but I haven't been able to find anything that hits the spot like matcha does.

Thanks y'all, this is an incredible sub by the way!

Hi everyone, can you recommend teas that are like mao feng tea pigs? I LOVE IT, I feel like it actually has an almost noticeable positive change in my mood that lasts throughout the day and also it doesn't make me feel jittery or anxious, it's just like an energy booster but throughout the day and also a mood lifter. I don't enjoy sharp high caffeine black tea. I got the fullchea long jing tea which is definitely too mellow and I am disappointed in the purchase and it doesn't do anything to my mood, it leaves me clear headed but there is no change in my mood, there is a small burst of energy and when I take double the amount - like 4 tsp of tea instead of 1-2 tsp, my heart rate maybe increases a bit, maybe a bit more anxious but no good feeling descends on me. With the mao feng tea pigs - I am in a good mood almost all day. How does that even happen and I just want more tea variety in my days. I also have a jasmine green tea which I love, which is very floral and very delicious. So these are my tea tastes and I am looking for more mao feng delicious jasmine green tea recs. PLEASE thanks

As a Lapsang lover, this is ticking a LOT of boxes. A great first experience for raw pu ehr.

It’s so strong and aromatic! I love it tho.

Why do places not offer more decaf tea options?
Yes, I know there is herbal tea, but I want decaf black or green tea. I can get it at the store but if I am out and about, it would be nice to be able to grab a decaf unsweet/sweet tea.
You can get decaf coffee at any coffee shop but not decaf tea.
I am currently jittery from drinking tea and have a caffeine intolerance but unsweet tea is a nice alternative to pop.
End of rant

Hey everyone, I'm relatively new to tea. I've been mostly a coffee drinker for most of my time, but I've been considering shifting to tea lately. I do like the taste of tea and am open to all formats.

I was comparing Darjeeling Tea vs Assam tea (black teas) and was wondering if anyone's heard of them and if i can get some recommendations on which to try, which is better, other options.

Thanks in advance!

This clip shows me brewing Xiao Qing Gan, also known as tangerine ripe pu-erh.

It’s a hollowed young mandarin orange stuffed with fermented ripe pu-erh leaves. I place the whole little citrus fruit in a glass strainer on top of my glass pitcher, pouring hot water over it. The amber tea slowly drips through the fruit peel into the pitcher below.

It gives a lovely mix of smooth, earthy pu-erh flavour and bright, fresh citrus aroma. Super fun and satisfying to watch it steep.

Hi! I’m new to tea and saw good reviews about the Cosori Kettle, and decided to try it. I did the first wash like it was instructed on the manual, but after using it a couple times (3 times over the past 18 hours or so) I’ve noticed this discoloration inside the kettle.

Is this normal/is there a way for it to go away? Thank you in advance!