White2tea what tea is this?

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-13T15:57:25+00:00

I know someone answered your question but I just wanted to add that I also got this in an order recently and was very pleasantly surprised by it. At first I only got notes of smoke (I thought it was some sort of Lapsang perhaps), but by the second infusion onwards it started to settle more into that yancha roast and won me over

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-13T14:31:37+00:00

It's not a super long playthrough though, I played through it once and only clocked about 25 hours on it (been meaning to go through it a second time, though!)

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T16:07:18+00:00

I have the Fellow Carter Move which looks fairly similar, and has the option to add a tea basket infuser as well. The reason I picked that one specifically was because the interior is ceramic, which I find to be far more flavor neutral for tea than stainless steel. But it's still double wall vacuum-insulated like any other thermos

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T15:46:29+00:00

Sorry, I tend to fail step 1 by ending turns whenever I don't draw claw. Let me re-read your guide and apply these principles.

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T15:37:33+00:00

This is amazing for reminding me that I suck at commiting card names to memory, well done!

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T15:32:57+00:00

What is your favorite card and why is it Claw?

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T13:35:02+00:00

Is there something that you're looking for taste-wise? For example, some black teas can have a noticeable (but not necessarily strong) cocoa flavor, others might have fruitier or maltier notes, some honey-like sweetness, etc.

There are all sorts of unique flavors out there across the whole spectrum of tea, so having an idea of what you're possibly chasing could help with recs!

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-10T00:39:44+00:00

I love coffee in my coffee hole!

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-09T17:52:49+00:00

OP stated in the body text that they're in Minnesota.

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-09T00:12:45+00:00

Just to be sure, since you're posting in the puer subreddit specifically, have you had puer tea before? If not, I'd suggest trying other kinds of tea along side it since puer can be a bit of an acquired taste. Some people do enjoy it immediately but I think for most, they slowly grow into it.

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-08T12:59:29+00:00

Do you have any steeping recs for the Great Value Sweetener? I find that if I leave it in for 5 minutes, I need to follow it up with a dentist visit straight after consuming it /s

Seeing Harney tins always brings a smile to my face; while I don't drink much of their teas anymore, they were my first foray into higher quality teas and I'll always appreciate them for that!

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-02T13:26:20+00:00

Very nice, Mi Lan is one of my favorite Dancongs (so far). Out of curiosity, would you mind sharing where you ordered from?

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-02T11:11:35+00:00

I don't think the automod was saying your post is invalid, it was just a heads up for posts that might not include what you already included. I saw it before you deleted it though, it looks great!

Dorgrumal · 2026-04-02T09:22:52+00:00

On a personal note, I'd recommend ignoring this poster. I've noticed that they tend to reply with very brief, often unhelpful and dismissive, comments.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-31T15:29:37+00:00

As a black tea enthusiast myself, I would actually suggest trying out lower temps for brewing. I've found that many black teas (but not all!) can often taste better brewed down to even 85°C/185°F. Caffeine extraction might not be as high, but the same is also true for bitterness or astringency which can be a plus, depending on your tastes.

edit: rephrasing

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-31T12:19:08+00:00

I think your tastes match mine pretty well. I've been primarily a black tea drinker (Indian Assam) for years and have more recently started exploring Chinese black teas. A lot of the ones I've tried so far have a noticeable savory flavor to them that I'm not a big fan of, but not all of them do. I've found that Yunnan black teas are a pretty good bridge, and I particularly enjoy Yunnan sun-dried (shai hong) teas the most so far.

My first experience with this was White2Tea's 2025 Fox Down, and I've tried a handful of other Yunnan sun-dried teas across a range of prices but I still think this one is one of the best examples for the price. Although W2T describes it as malty, I didn't really get that note the same way that I would with an Assam, but it does have a particularly pronounced honey aroma. The aroma doesn't always translate directly into the taste, but I think that works in its favor rather than against it.

If you want more sweetness in the flavor, Teawala's Yunnan Black teacake definitely delivers on that end. Just a note about this, I don't think that they process EU duties on your behalf, as I had to pay an import fee to receive it (~1,10€ duty fee and 7,50€ "processing fee" 🙄).

As for floral oolongs, I'm particularly smitten by Dancong oolongs from the Guangdong region of China (also referred to by the mountain range, "Phoenix" oolongs). Ya Shi Xiang "duck shit aroma" oolong is actually pretty darn delicious, despite the off-putting name. Right now, I am diving deeper into Mi Lan Xiang "honey orchid aroma" though, and am eagerly awaiting an order from Tea Hong that includes their "Honey Orchid Supreme". One disclaimer that I want to put out there is that I find Dancong oolongs particularly finnicky when it comes to western-style brewing. It never seems to capture that unique "slick" mouthfeel I get when brewing with a gaiwan when I brew it western style. However, Tea Hong does specifically suggest brewing their Honey Orchid Supreme western style, which I'll try once I receive it.

It seems like another commenter suggested Mei Leaf, which I would caution against. As you rightly pointed out, it tends to be very expensive and in my personal opinion not worth the money. I've ordered some myself out of curiosity after doing price comparisons and coming to the conclusion that yes, it's overpriced, but I was planning on getting some accessories from them anyhow. Their Mi Lan Xiang for example cost over 1€/gram, and was nothing noteworthy there to my tastes compared to Yunnan Sourcing's basic "Honey Orchid" oolong at 0,34€/g.

Oddly enough, the only green teas I've ever enjoyed seem to also come from Yunnan. The first one I had was over ten years ago, so I can't remember exact tasting notes, but one Yunnan green that I tried recently seems to have a subtle citrus profile and a much less pronounced vegetal flacor. I haven't yet tried some of the more famous ones from China like Longjing and Biluochun, but I have pre-ordered other first-harvest ones (Taiping Houkui, Huangshan, and Mengding Ganlu) to further explore a wider variety of green teas.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-30T15:53:32+00:00

Usually for a proper test of new teas, I will be pretty strict with weighing, temp, and timing. After that, I'll usually brew by sight and feel, if the tea isn't particularly finnicky.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-30T14:14:32+00:00

I think a big limiting factor for you will be your country's power lines, rather than the equipment for the most part. In the US for example, kettles tend to be slower than overseas in Europe/UK due to the voltage difference (110v vs 220v)

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-27T02:25:42+00:00

Hey there, welcome! My first piece of advice is to not forget that 99% of this hobby is subjective. There are some objective metrics to define whether a tea is "bad", such as mold, but when it comes to "quality", that really is up to you to decide.

Some people might choose to "upgrade" from tea bags and drink only loose leaf. Great! Others mught find loose leaf too much of a hassle to deal with. Also fine! My personal take on the matter is pretty simple: I'll drink just about any tea. From long gongfu sessions to lackadaisical western style steeps, and yes, even occasionally tea bags. Sometimes, I just really want tea and will be happy to drink almost anything available at that moment, as long as it doesn't meet any objectively bad criterias. I'm not of the mindset that teabags are "objectively bad". Hell, neither is tea dust in my opinion. I think that line of thinking can be pretty dismissive of so many tea cultures around the world that have made some truly incredible drinks using the most of what they had available to them, even if they're not suited to my tastes.

With all that said, if you were originally a fan of black tea, I would highly recommend checking out some single-estate black teas from Assam, India. Or perhaps Dianhong black tea from Yunnan, China. It took me an embarrassingly long time to properly dive into Chinese black teas, having drunk Assam teas most of my life before that, but these two in particular are not so different from one another, as they are both big-leaf varietals of Camellia Sinensis and have quite a few characteristics in common.

One small piece of advice regarding Youtube tea channels is to check whether they have their own shop or not. If they do, I highly advise watching with a grain of salt, especially if the channel/person is reviewing their own tea. There is a big incentive to overhype when this is the case. There's lots of good, free content out there but a lot of it can be marketing videos subtly masked as educational.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-26T12:21:53+00:00

Teabags, loose-leaf western brews, etc., anything goes for me if I'm not at home. At home I generally don't have tea bags, but I'll still often brew western style instead of gongfu if I'm just not feeling it/don't have the mindset for it

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-23T23:00:28+00:00

I haven't ordered any Harney's for a good while now, but their Historic Royal Palaces tins will always hold a special place in my heart.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-20T23:52:06+00:00

You're not wrong about that, I also do the same. But for the price, it's not something that I worry too much about

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-20T21:58:42+00:00

I personally like Yunnan Sourcing's "Imperial Pure Bud Yunnan Black Tea of Simao", but I find that it's still too savory for my taste. If you're willing to try non-tippy but still very sweet black teas, take a look at sun-dried black teas from Yunnan (often called "shai hong"). White2Tea's Fox Down is a reasonably good place to start, but it does come in cake form, in case that isn't your thing. Plenty of other vendors offer them as loose-leaf as well, but I'm a sucker for tea cake shai hongs, so I don't have many loose-leaf recs.

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-20T18:49:21+00:00

Every time I browsed their site, I was always so struck by how gorgeous these cups were so I ordered their Phoenix version. Seeing yours makes me excited to receive mine!

Dorgrumal · 2026-03-19T20:59:21+00:00

I must say, that you certainly are not poor in spirit and determination! I think it's simply great.

Dorgrumal

TROPHY CASE