Hey hey!
It just kinda occurred to me that we don't have a caffeinated beverages thread around these parts. Seeing as how it's the perfect complement to our favorite plant, I figured I'd start one.
I'm a tea head. Drink loose-leaf every day, gongfu style. For those not in the know, that means a very high leaf to water ratio (I usually use 7g of leaves for an 140mL teapot), boiling water, very short steep times, and repeated steepings. I'm on my 8'th steep of a ripe puerh out of a little pot from Jianshui as I write this.
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For most of my life I made and drank Masala Chai, Thai tea, and Earl Grey with milk and sugar as my main caffeine inputs, with the occasional Bai Mu Dan white, but over the last year I've really branched out to roasted oolongs like Dong Ding and Tieguanyin, dark teas like liu bao and puerh, Chinese purple teas, matcha, and all kinds of teas infused with flowers (Snow Chrysanthemum, Osmanthus, Jasmine, and Gardenia) because APPARENTLY I'm an 85 year old grandma. The roasted oolongs have especially been a pleasant surprise and are quickly becoming my favorite things to drink.
I've also started collecting old Yixing teapots and Japanese kyusu. They slightly alter the taste of the tea, reducing bitterness and astringency, and will last forever if they're cared for. They can be over a grand each, but everything I've got has been right around a hundred bucks or less, including one pot from the '70s and one from 1990.
For those that don't know, here's a video on them. Really scratches some of my nerd itches.
I know
@Deebs is a fellow tea nerd, are any of y'all? What do you drink? Where do you get it? How do you make it?
Also I know there are some coffee heads on here! I'm a fan as well, but I prefer the tea buzz because there's less anxiety for me. But let's still talk coffee!
If I'm drinking coffee, it's not Starbucks.
To the shock of none of you that have talked to me, I tend to support smaller coffee companies that source their beans mindfully. I tend to go for light to medium roast single origin beans, preferably from Latin America, and prepare them both via French Press and as espresso. Loooove me some cappuccinos when I need to be awake and punchy for the next 12 hours.
But, like, also I fuckin' love me some Cafe Bustelo, which is on the complete other end of the spectrum. That shit and sweetened condensed milk is worth the impending diabetes. Especially made into cold-brew.
YUP. That stuff.
What do you drink? How do you brew it? Where do you source your beans from?
www.javapresse.com
aeropress.com
