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Tea Gadgets?
Nov 3, 2009 at 3:21 AM Post #76 of 95
Ah, no tea gadgets here, but I do enjoy drinking green tea.
 
Nov 4, 2009 at 5:52 AM Post #78 of 95
Good Evening JP11801,

I am buying tea from Vital Tea Leaf, just up Grant Street from Red Blossom, and have been delighted. Walked into Red Blossom on my last trip to Frisco, very impressive. Any thoughts on the differences between the teas on offer at both shops?
 
Nov 6, 2009 at 12:06 AM Post #79 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by DanielCox /img/forum/go_quote.gif
It's a pity you Americans can't use proper electric kettles to make the stuff.


Hot water is just hot water, yeah? What exactly is a proper electric kettle?

Oh and upton tea, great company, those foil bags they ship in keeps the tea fresh for quite a while!
 
Nov 6, 2009 at 3:19 AM Post #80 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by vagarach /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hot water is just hot water, yeah? What exactly is a proper electric kettle?

Oh and upton tea, great company, those foil bags they ship in keeps the tea fresh for quite a while!


I have never seen a proper electric kettle. For me, they don't exist. There are only a few kettles that even have temperature control but then they are uninsulated and will lose heat quickly. I just use an airpot. You can get them in a variety of sizes, preset temperature controls and insulated. I can fill it up in the morning and have properly heated water all day without having to reboil the water and lose all the oxygen.
 
Dec 12, 2009 at 11:18 AM Post #81 of 95
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I made another round at the tea shops today. I wanted to check out the Lok Cha shop branch in Hong Kong Park, but turns out they are closed for renovations. Not a loss though, I spent a good deal of time at the teaware museum that is next door and they had 10% discount coupons outside the door. So that was nice after I went by their main shop and picked up three more teapots (gifts, I swear, although I think I will keep one of them... which means I have to go back and get another one...). I also went into the tea shop below them. I picked up a porcelein gaiwan set, some oolong and black puer teas. Mmmmmmmm....
 
Dec 15, 2009 at 3:42 PM Post #82 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by Born2bwire /img/forum/go_quote.gif
DSC01223.JPG


I made another round at the tea shops today. I wanted to check out the Lok Cha shop branch in Hong Kong Park, but turns out they are closed for renovations. Not a loss though, I spent a good deal of time at the teaware museum that is next door and they had 10% discount coupons outside the door. So that was nice after I went by their main shop and picked up three more teapots (gifts, I swear, although I think I will keep one of them... which means I have to go back and get another one...). I also went into the tea shop below them. I picked up a porcelein gaiwan set, some oolong and black puer teas. Mmmmmmmm....


You lucky Hong Kong people...I actually order a decent amount of my tea stuff from Hong Kong (from FunAlliance.com, usually...Kam is pretty reliable, and his prices don't break the bank like American importers). I'm currently drinking a very nice Ti Kwan Yin straight from the gaiwan with a Chinese electric kettle heating the water (yes, that thing pours beautifully...one of the few electric kettles I've seen with a good spout). I've also got a beautiful travel set my girlfriend got me for my birthday as my secondary office setup...all my YiXing pots and good gaiwans are at home.

Since I can't find anything that pours as well as my electric kettle, I've been looking at stovetop kettles for home. anybody have any recommendations? I'm looking for a nice spout, clean, dribble-free pouring, and not giving the water any odd tastes.
 
Dec 16, 2009 at 3:36 AM Post #83 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by aristos_achaion /img/forum/go_quote.gif
You lucky Hong Kong people...I actually order a decent amount of my tea stuff from Hong Kong (from FunAlliance.com, usually...Kam is pretty reliable, and his prices don't break the bank like American importers). I'm currently drinking a very nice Ti Kwan Yin straight from the gaiwan with a Chinese electric kettle heating the water (yes, that thing pours beautifully...one of the few electric kettles I've seen with a good spout). I've also got a beautiful travel set my girlfriend got me for my birthday as my secondary office setup...all my YiXing pots and good gaiwans are at home.

Since I can't find anything that pours as well as my electric kettle, I've been looking at stovetop kettles for home. anybody have any recommendations? I'm looking for a nice spout, clean, dribble-free pouring, and not giving the water any odd tastes.


Honestly though I do not know how much I am getting for my money. I have seen a number of teapots but usually the Lok Cha shop has ones that I think look and feel better than most. However, my friend chides me on the price when compared to other pots at the flea markets or what he could get in the Mainland (but this isn't the bloody Mainland so I can't expect to pay bloody Mainland prices). As for teas though, I think Hong Kong is a bit disadvantaged. Without any local teas, all the tea is brought in from the Mainland and Taiwan so it carries a premium in price. And being gwailo, I have to go to the fancy tea shops so I am spending a lot on tea. Most of my local friends are of no help in this regard because they either do not care that much about tea or they get all of their tea from their hometowns in the Mainland. One of these days I will have to find a place to try out a 10 year old green Puer tea. The last shop I was at recomended that the green style tastes better than the black after it has aged for a long time. I still find the 5 year old green Puer to be too astringent for my tastes. I haven't sampled the older ones because I have no intention of paying such high prices for a cake. I'm happy with my 5 year black Puer cakes. I did splurge on a nice oolong, I am saving it until after I have used my new teapot that I got for oolongs has been used several times on a cheaper tea.
 
Dec 16, 2009 at 3:58 AM Post #84 of 95
51121-a-detail.jpg


Just picked up one of those and it's insanely convenient. You place the tea bag in and fold the tag through a slit, and when you're tea is brewed you pull it and it stops the tea from steeping by pulling the bag away from the water. It's rather pointless for loose teas (unless you have the empty bags that you use), but great for on the go.
 
Dec 17, 2009 at 2:12 AM Post #85 of 95
Dec 17, 2009 at 5:03 AM Post #86 of 95
Dec 17, 2009 at 6:51 PM Post #87 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by MCC /img/forum/go_quote.gif
I was just going to post this exact thermos. It works great in a dorm setting, but the infuser could be a little finer.


Yeah, the fine dust from some teas are able to get through this thermos's diffuser, but it's fine for me since I usually quickly rinse tea with brewing temperature water (maybe 15-20 seconds of swirling it around) to remove some of the fine particulate in tea.
 
Dec 18, 2009 at 1:51 AM Post #88 of 95
Quote:

Originally Posted by Born2bwire /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Honestly though I do not know how much I am getting for my money. I have seen a number of teapots but usually the Lok Cha shop has ones that I think look and feel better than most. However, my friend chides me on the price when compared to other pots at the flea markets or what he could get in the Mainland (but this isn't the bloody Mainland so I can't expect to pay bloody Mainland prices). As for teas though, I think Hong Kong is a bit disadvantaged. Without any local teas, all the tea is brought in from the Mainland and Taiwan so it carries a premium in price. And being gwailo, I have to go to the fancy tea shops so I am spending a lot on tea. Most of my local friends are of no help in this regard because they either do not care that much about tea or they get all of their tea from their hometowns in the Mainland. One of these days I will have to find a place to try out a 10 year old green Puer tea. The last shop I was at recomended that the green style tastes better than the black after it has aged for a long time. I still find the 5 year old green Puer to be too astringent for my tastes. I haven't sampled the older ones because I have no intention of paying such high prices for a cake. I'm happy with my 5 year black Puer cakes. I did splurge on a nice oolong, I am saving it until after I have used my new teapot that I got for oolongs has been used several times on a cheaper tea.


You could always try ordering online from the mainland. It's generally cheaper to order from Hong Kong or the mainland from the US, so I imagine things could only get better without the Pacific in the way. Of course, what you consider ridiculous I might think is incredibly cheap...Americans pay through the nose for good tea.

If you're looking for really good stuff, you could do worse than JinYuXuan (it's on the mainland; teahub.com)...I've gotten some of the best pu-erh I've ever drunk from there. They're also insanely expensive (but worth it). I've also ordered from pu-erhtea.com (another mainland outfit), but they weren't nearly as memorable. Way cheaper, though. Funalliance.com would be local for you, I guess...Kam's a great guy, his prices are good, and his tea/teaware is often great (and equally often mediocre, but...).
 
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