The first thing that stuck out to me while browsing through the Twisted Forums (aside from the great number of people who like awesome music) is that there are some people who enjoy tea! This is something I don’t get much of in the U.S., as tea is something like only the 7th most drank beverage in the states (mostly iced to boot).  My “tea daze” started about 3 years ago so I’ve still got a long way to go before I’d consider myself a connoisseur.  This forum seems full of interesting people, so I’d like to discuss tea ^^

I would like to learn the following about my fellow Twisted members:
1-  Post your tea! Pictures, descriptions, explanations, whatever
2-  Your preference of type (green/white/oolong/etc) and/or hot vs cold
3-  How you prepare it? 
4-  How’d you get into tea?
5-  Favorite tea of all time (type / brand / etc)

I’ll go first:
1.  Most of them are gathered abroad in east Asia (was a bitch getting this pic to embed for some reason so I’m leaving all the nonsense there since every time I mess with it the pic goes away :/

Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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Uploaded with ImageShack.us

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2.  For me it’s really a mood thing.  Depends on the day, weather, my appetite, how much sleep I got, etc.  Typically I’m a hot tea lover, but on a blistering hot day sometimes a super chilled iced tea is rejuvenation.  For me, though:
  a.  For Green teas, Japanese have the cloudy thick and brewed to perfection thing down to a science.
  b.  I’ve had a variety of good White teas, but a number of them have been Chinese.
  c.  Same for Jasmine, the memorable ones have all been Chinese.
  d.  For Oolong, look no further than Taiwan! That’s pretty much like their water.
  e.  The best Chai tea I’ve had was at Koinonea in Oakland where Ott performed.  Maybe it was just the awesome atmosphere that made it delicious, or maybe it was the music.  Coolest musical event I’ve ever attended by the way.

Don’t have tons of experience with teas outside of those (puereh:( ) besides a few.

3.
  a.  At home, I have a very complex set up.  I put leaves in a cup and pour boiling water on it.  Works much better with large leaves (oolong) so you’re not swallowing bits of leaves
  b.  At work, I use a “Tea Traveler”.  One of those nifty little mugs with a build in screen.  Throw the leaves in with the water, screw the screen on, DRINK! Best 20 bucks I ever spent

4.  My cousin tried to get me to drink tea with him the same time he tried to get me to listen to Shpongle the first time.  I didn’t latch onto either immediately, but I slowly became addicted.  Then I started at a job that sent me places where tea is the drink of choice everywhere you go, so naturally I acquired a taste for it much quicker.  Then I found myself spending hundreds of dollars on tea suddenly (and most of it being relinquished by my cousin).

5.  Unfortunately, I don’t know the names of them.  However, that top right light green package in the pic is a Japanese Green tea that is really wonderful.  Also that one on the bottom right is some sort of Korean tea… something organic or some nuts or.. I have no idea what it is, but they said it was tea and it tastes really good.

OK I’ve said too much already, your turn!
sorry for the sloppy OP, my first thread attempt on Twisted.

EDIT: formatting edits

Here’s a “cha” (tea) logo from my film production company, this is an older one that a venerable Taiwanese calligrapher did for me. My friend’s grandmother also did a really lovely one which is in a Japanese style.

Love chai tea and tai chi (thanks Lisa Simpson). Seriously- both. Love ‘em.

Genmai cha from Japan with toasted rice in it is really good and so is toasted barley tea (though not technically a tea). Oolong is my favourite style of tea.

A challenger appears!

This picture is a bit old…and most all of it has been consumed by now.
Don’t have such a variety anymore.
I’m all about having 2 or 3 really good teas for drinking these days.
Especially been enjoying black tea as of late.

Best tea experience was sipping on houji-cha in my cousin’s old theater room…
We had Ishq and Shpongle playing on their monstrous speak system while we talked and laughed for hours…

Strangest tea I’ve had is Lapsang souchong.  Delicious is moderation….
but it literally tastes like you’re drinking a campfire…

Jahful - 19 July 2011 01:03 AM

Genmai cha from Japan with toasted rice in it is really good and so is toasted barley tea (though not technically a tea). Oolong is my favourite style of tea.

Cool lookin logo they made for you ^^

I’ve had a couple different Genmai cha during the couple times I was fortunate enough to make a trip to Japan.  Twas a great experience

And there are so many types of random “teas” that I’ve found.  In fact, in Korea, they seem to have found every item on earth that can be mixed with hot water and drank as tea.  Since I can’t read Korean, I have come to commonly refer to them as “Random Flavored Something Teas”, or “Mystery Teas”.  It’s quite an adventure! Barley, nuts, dried fruits, flowers, etc etc etc.  Anything + hot water lol

I am also a huge Oolong fan

Cloudwalker - 19 July 2011 02:46 AM

A challenger appears!

Best tea experience was sipping on houji-cha in my cousin’s old theater room…
We had Ishq and Shpongle playing on their monstrous speak system while we talked and laughed for hours…

Strangest tea I’ve had is Lapsang souchong.  Delicious is moderation….
but it literally tastes like you’re drinking a campfire…

A nice collection you have there, sir! 

A couple things caught my eye… It appears that we both have the same orange tin of Chinese Jasmine… and, the white cylindrical container looks like it has chocolate bars on it..?

Cloudwalker the Campfire Drinker.  Sounds brutal

what about mushroom tea! id have to say thats my favorite lol, but then agian theres always DMTea as well.

i approve of this thread!

tea and thc might be my favorite combination.

here’s my most favoritist that i’ve had ever (not sure where the pic goes, i’m not good at embedding html-wise..)

so it is a Gyokuro i got while in Japan several years ago, there are still a few dregs left cuz i hated to “finish” it, tho i’m sure what’s left is dead now..  i’d love to get more!!  but i don’t see me getting back to japan anytime soon and i can’t read the durn thing to try to order online.  of the japanese persuasion, i also enjoy gen-mai-cha quite a bit.  other than that, lately i’ve been into home brewed chamomile, lemon balm, and lemongrass teas.  and beyond THOSE, i like english breakfast and anything that has the words “sleepytime” or “bedtime” in them!

—->shoot, i can’t get the file to upload, too big, and i’m a sucker.  oh well!!  it was gyokuro, anyway.

also I like Kava tea, its very calming and almost gives you a nice mellow buz if you use a few teabags in a cup.

Tokapelli - 21 July 2011 01:53 AM

also I like Kava tea, its very calming and almost gives you a nice mellow buz if you use a few teabags in a cup.

i’m going to try that, i have serious sleep problems that even ambien and lunesta don’t help…

Tokapelli - 21 July 2011 01:53 AM

Kava tea

You know those big termite nests you find in the woods…?
and they have that stinky, spicy, putrid insect smell?
Now imagine taking that…. and blending it with wet yak hair and dirt…into a muddy slurry….
Now imagine trying to drink/gag-down that slurry…

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you….Kava.

^ woa ive never had Kava tea like that! that sounds almost as bad as drinking some cactus tea, but i dont think anything tastes as bad as cactus tea.  The Kava tea i get is made by a company called Yogi, its kinda minty, has a weird slightly numbing effect on my mouth and throat and tastes great with a little sugar.

slamminsalmon - 20 July 2011 07:24 PM

i approve of this thread!

tea and thc might be my favorite combination.

Certainly, the 2 feelings at once are zen!
However, I’ve tried grinding up some buds and putting them in with a green tea… didn’t like the taste.  I haven’t gotten too experimental with that since buds are expensive, but I just know there’s got to be some heavenly combination with the right type of tea… Have you found any such success?? Or do you just mean smoking while sipping on a cup of tea?

sister.blackleg.herring - 21 July 2011 12:05 AM

  i’d love to get more!!  but i don’t see me getting back to japan anytime soon and i can’t read the durn thing to try to order online

Try using imageshack or some other file uploading site, then copy the forum code and hopefully your luck is better than mine (see sloppy OP lol).  If you are able to get a pic posted, there may be a friendly Twisted member who knows enough Kanji to help you out (I’m lookin at you, Mr. CW )

Just order some gyokuro off any online tea shop?

the best way to make TeaHC is probably to use some cannabutter, I think it would taste best in Chai tea.  You need a double boiler pan, and you just simmer the buds in the butter for a while, the heat will break release the thc into the fatty butter (cuz thc clings to fat cells) without burning the plant material. You should google it first or something though to get the specifics, Id hate for you to ruin some sacred buds because of my bad advice!

yea, that stuff probably tastes like death, but makes for one amazing spiritual experience