Tea

[𝕺𝖑' 𝕯𝖎𝖗𝖙𝖞 𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖘𝖔]

Any advice on making chai that tastes good? I'm currently trying half hot milk/half hot water, but the flavors aren't coming through.

Youre making it on the stovetop with whole spices, yes? Toast the dry spices by putting them on a plate and microwaving in short bursts like 15 seconds until they smell strong. My microwave usually does it in 30 sec. Then add them to your pot of cold water alongside tea and plenty of chopped fresh or crystalized ginger. Try to slice it pretty thinly so that there's more surface area that'll infuse the water. Bring it up to a boil (i usually boil it for a good 10 min, sometimes longer) before adding milk. I find that evaporated milk makes for creamier and better tasting chai than fresh milk. It also tastes stronger if you leave it in the fridge overnight unstrained after boiling, I normally make like 2 liters at a time so I can do that. Also if it's not sweetened enough it tends to taste flat. It also sounds weird but a pinch of salt can bring out the flavor too

Eta my spice mix other than tea and ginger is green cardamom pods, Ceylon cinnamon (other types are ok too though), black peppercorns, cloves, sometimes star anise, in that order of how much to use.

 

[glass_houses]

I am very annoyed at the world right now.

Matcha is really popular right now and just about every cafe has a matcha latte on their menu, but I've found out the hard way that unless a cafe is run by Koreans or Japanese, the chances of a decent cuppa is zero to nil. Even if I specify "no sugar" I still end up with a hyper sweet monstrosity that tastes like an entire bottle of that ultra fake vanilla essence crap has been emptied into it. A couple of days, I finally discovered why.

It turns out that instead of actual matcha powder, these places are all using a pre sweetened and flavoured matcha-like product, and it is disgusting. Why? Why do that?

 

[NvII iS 8ulLt f0R 88C]

Why? Why do that?

More cost efficient pre-feed to feed the slop hordes.

 

[AnOminous]

It turns out that instead of actual matcha powder, these places are all using a pre sweetened and flavoured matcha-like product, and it is disgusting. Why? Why do that?

Real matcha, especially of ceremonial quality, is really expensive. I don't find those sweet things godawful, but they're not really matcha and more like vaguely matcha-flavored hot chocolate for adults. I.e. only for rare use or they're a trip to beetustown.

Obviously unsweetened real matcha prepared in the traditional way is going to be better.

I'm not generally a huge fan of latte-like beverages.

 

[Super Guido]

I have a container of Rice, Rice Baby black tea, and it's bretty good if you like the flavor of sticky rice.

 

[No. 7 cat]

I do that too. If it's to microwave something hot, I use a two cup PYREX measuring cup (the old kind with the big letters that is actually borosilicate instead of the shit they use now). I've used that cup practically every day for 25+ years.

Except for matcha or more ceremonial teas where I'll use something proper.

I do some sauce making and minor canning and the lids never seem reusable afterwards so I just have a jar. Might as well keep it.

I'm generally impressed with that brand, although I've only had their Earl Grey and Lapsang Souchong.

I use a beer stein (either one got in Turkey or one sold as merch by a priest in the Mid West) or a pyrex cup which has a plastic and gauze insert. Usually it's for a white tea I get in some place that uses its own weird names for the tea. Also maté. I let whatever tea I use draw for a bit and drink over a good while. Also I drink standard tea, black tea in teabags with milk. I'd have about seven over the day including before bed (I cannot sleep without it).

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

One of the upsides to having been sick is that I’ve finished all of my tea stash and get to buy more tea! Any recommendations? What are some of yalls favorites?

 

[Super Guido]

One of the upsides to having been sick is that I’ve finished all of my tea stash and get to buy more tea! Any recommendations? What are some of yalls favorites?

Do you exclusively use tea bags, or do you use loose tea? What have you liked in the past?

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

Do you exclusively use tea bags, or do you use loose tea? What have you liked in the past?

I prefer the bags out of convenience but I do like loose teas as well. I prefer green and white teas as black ones can be a bit too strong for my stomach, but I found that a little bit of milk makes it more digestible. The ones I finished were black chai, green ginger and orange and green herbal. Roibos is absolutely disgusting though.

 

[August Levasseur]

I prefer the bags out of convenience but I do like loose teas as well. I prefer green and white teas as black ones can be a bit too strong for my stomach, but I found that a little bit of milk makes it more digestible. The ones I finished were black chai, green ginger and orange and green herbal. Roibos is absolutely disgusting though.

Try some Oolong. It might be easier to find loose leaf rather than bagged. Note with loose leaf, the traditional Chinese way of preparing loose tea involves a wash steep to start out, pouring hot water over your tea and letting it sit for maybe 30 seconds before pouring it off and resteeping. This is to wash off dust and let the tea open up from its dried state. I’ve started doing that with my loose leaf, and it makes a difference in flavor. It takes out some of the bitterness and opens up the other flavors of the tea. Highly recommend.

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

Hear me out on this one, my friend treated me to some white peach tea the other day. He added some strawberry/matcha flavored oat milk. It was DELICIOUS, but I hate oat milk and I’m not too keen on matcha. So I’m going to make strawberry milk and put it in my tea from here on out, because I’m an adult and I can do what I want.

 

[Super Guido]

Hear me out on this one, my friend treated me to some white peach tea the other day. He added some strawberry/matcha flavored oat milk. It was DELICIOUS, but I hate oat milk and I’m not too keen on matcha. So I’m going to make strawberry milk and put it in my tea from here on out, because I’m an adult and I can do what I want.

I think you'd really like milk tea - especially if you have a store near you that makes it. Not sure how you'd feel about the tapioca pearls, but that's optional in a lot of places, iirc.

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

I think you'd really like milk tea - especially if you have a store near you that makes it. Not sure how you'd feel about the tapioca pearls, but that's optional in a lot of places, iirc.

I love boba tea but ever since it became trendy they made it ridiculously expensive. The tapioca pearls are weird but the other syrup filled balls are good.

I felt particularly uninspired when I bought tea yesterday. I wanted Russian Earl Grey since I haven’t had it in ages but couldn’t find any. Apparently we’re still boycotting anything Russia adjacent. Instead I got lemon earl grey and some vanilla chai, none of which will go with my strawberry milk idea

 

[Super Guido]

I love boba tea but ever since it became trendy they made it ridiculously expensive. The tapioca pearls are weird but the other syrup filled balls are good.

I felt particularly uninspired when I bought tea yesterday. I wanted Russian Earl Grey since I haven’t had it in ages but couldn’t find any. Apparently we’re still boycotting anything Russia adjacent. Instead I got lemon earl grey and some vanilla chai, none of which will go with my strawberry milk idea

Maybe get a black tea with rose? I have a Harney and Sons black tea with rose, so I could get back to you on that if I buy strawberry milk. They do sell bags of 50 sachets on their website, so you're not limited to loose tea if you really don't want to use a strainer.

Lychee is often paired with rose and sometimes strawberry, too, so that's another option you could try. However, Harney's Lychee does not come in sachets, so you might be better off using lychee popping boba. I imagine it would end up being way too sweet, but I usually get my milk tea with half sugar.

 

[Valstrax]

My mom who used to dislike green tea is starting to like it and asking me to make it for her more. I see this as a win for us teabros!

 

[Super Guido]

I put strawberry milk into black tea with rose, and yeah, it works. Helps that this strawberry milk isn't super-sweetened.

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

I put strawberry milk into black tea with rose, and yeah, it works. Helps that this strawberry milk isn't super-sweetened.

Glad I could inspire you!

I just made myself a cup of strawberry/gooseberry hibiscus tea, not rose but still floral! I’m not entirely happy with it though. I couldn’t find any strawberry milk since apparently children where I live aren’t allowed to feel joy. I had to make my own from some sort of granulate filled straws that you’re supposed to chuck right into a glass of milk and drink straight out of. I tried dissolving it in a glass of milk instead and it doesn’t taste strong enough to me, even with 2 of the straws. I’ll try to look around for pre-made strawberry milk, in worst case I’ll have to settle for the oat one.

 

[Super Guido]

Glad I could inspire you!

I just made myself a cup of strawberry/gooseberry hibiscus tea, not rose but still floral! I’m not entirely happy with it though. I couldn’t find any strawberry milk since apparently children where I live aren’t allowed to feel joy. I had to make my own from some sort of granulate filled straws that you’re supposed to chuck right into a glass of milk and drink straight out of. I tried dissolving it in a glass of milk instead and it doesn’t taste strong enough to me, even with 2 of the straws. I’ll try to look around for pre-made strawberry milk, in worst case I’ll have to settle for the oat one.

I don't typically buy strawberry milk, but I did it for you.

Do you not have strawberry syrup where you are? In the US at least, it'd be in the same aisle as the ice cream. The brands I remember seeing are Bosco, and Hershey's.

It's surprisingly hard to find lychee popping boba around here, however. I only found mango, passionfruit, and strawberry.

 

[Me•cha•ni•cal]

I don't typically buy strawberry milk, but I did it for you.

Do you not have strawberry syrup where you are? In the US at least, it'd be in the same aisle as the ice cream. The brands I remember seeing are Bosco, and Hershey's.

It's surprisingly hard to find lychee popping boba around here, however. I only found mango, passionfruit, and strawberry.

Well the I thank you for your sacrifice

Strawberry syrup is a good idea! Not sure if we have it in store but I can order it online.

Would it be retarded to add a spoon of strawberry ice cream? It’s kind of like frozen strawberry milk…

 

[Super Guido]

Well the I thank you for your sacrifice

Strawberry syrup is a good idea! Not sure if we have it in store but I can order it online.

Would it be retarded to add a spoon of strawberry ice cream? It’s kind of like frozen strawberry milk…

You could, but I haven't tried that since I'm not a huge strawberry ice cream fan. Also might depend on how good your brand is - some brands have a weird texture, imo. If that's all you have, it might be worth a shot.

If you're committing to the rose black tea, you can get rose water to try and preserve the flavor of the rose. I'll have to try it myself next time I mess around with the tea. Be aware that rose essence is way more concentrated than rose water.