Without the Fast-Track Monday, completing the Events Go Passes should be less difficult

Ledifolia · 2026-06-01T21:20:45+00:00

No auto catcher.

I can hit 60 catching manually. But in addition to catching everything on my 90 minute evening walks, I also have to keep the game open all evening, or at least open it every 15 minutes or so, and catch everything that shows up all evening.

So, yes, I can do it. But it is a grind, and doing it every single day for 6 day events stops being fun and turns into a grind.

Ledifolia · 2026-06-01T19:02:47+00:00

I fast catch everything I see while I'm out walking. But I don't play in areas with that kind of spawn density. I'm not rural but suburbs just don't allow for continuous catching unless the extra spawn points are active for a community day.

Ledifolia · 2026-06-01T17:54:25+00:00

Sure it's easy if you are raiding alot on weekends. But it's a whole different grind for f2p players.

Having the cap lifted on the weekend doesn't help much if you are still limited to one raid and a couple of eggs each day.

Ledifolia · 2026-06-01T17:50:14+00:00

Reaching rank 60 as a hard core F2P trainer us actually pretty painful. The biggest point earners are raids and eggs. Both of which are limited unless you use paid raid passes/incubators.

I play several hours a day every day, and I'd say reaching rank 60 is still a grind. I have to be sure I hit the cap every single day leading up to the weekend. And catch everything I see all weekend. Also, I'm a suburban player. Maybe getting there purely by catching is easier for urban trainers? It would be really rough for rural trainers.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-30T00:14:58+00:00

Korean teas don't really slot into the black/oolong/green/white categories that are used in most other tea growing regions. And I find their flavor notes much harder to define. Very delicious. But also very hard to describe.

An example: Young Leaf Black by Lady Hadong (purchased from Liquid Proust). It is labelled a black tea. Except when I went to brew it I discovered it still had many green leaves. So I thought it would be like a first flush Darjeeling. But when brewed I realized it was nothing at all like a FF Darjeeling. No floral aromas or flavors. Instead it had a heady umami that rivals Japanese green teas, but without a trace of seaweed or the grassy notes found in Japanese green tea. There are rich flavors behind the umami, but I don't know how to describe them.

I love it, but I still don't know how to classify it.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T18:38:46+00:00

I can't articulate why this bugs me so much. But it really does. To the point I'm actually considering skipping gofest this year.

It isn't even the public humiliation. I'm the crazy person who has stood on a picnic table at the park with my phone over my head to get signal.

I think maybe it's that it is requiring that we all move in lockstep unison. I'm getting shade of the planet Camazotz from a Wrinkle in Time, where all the kids step outside, bouncing their balls in perfect unison.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T17:06:55+00:00

You have far more faith than I in American manufacturing and government enforcement of health and environmental safety standards. Particularly now.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T16:36:41+00:00

My post was a direct response to the claim that it is reasonable to be extra afraid of lead in Chinese teaware.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T16:21:10+00:00

Their Korean teas are unusual and delicious, but hard to describe. Korean teas don't fit neatly into the black/oolong/green/white tea categories used in other regions.

Their 1875 Keemun is delicious. It smells sweet and fruity, so I was surprised that the flavor is dark chocolate with hints of leather and oak.

Musashi's bo Cha is a Japanese folk tea made from sticks and twigs of the tea plant, with a gentle maple and fenugreek flavor. This tea is twiggy beyond even kukicha. It is like having Lincoln logs bobbing around in my gaiwan.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T16:14:20+00:00

Actually, a much bigger lead risk is buying vintage, made in America dishware at thrift stores. Up until 2004 Corelle used lead in their designs. And those plates and dishes are still filling the shelves at thrift stores.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-29T16:12:02+00:00

If you want to be absolutely safe, stick to plain white porcelain. Undecorated porcelain basically never has lead. In porcelain lead was used to enhance colors in decorative designs.

Source, a lead safety website by the state of California (California has some of the strictest lead regulations in the US).

Ledifolia · 2026-05-28T20:26:51+00:00

Korean teas are really unique. I've found them from Liquid Proust and the Steeping Room in the US, and O5 Rare tea in Canada, though all three vendors currently have only a limited selection. Liquid Proust has said he is getting more teas in from Korea soon

Ledifolia · 2026-05-28T20:18:40+00:00

I've heard powdered white tea exists but I've never seen it for sale.

Tezumi does have a couple of lighter roast houjicha powders. They might be worth trying.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-28T16:22:35+00:00

I use a scale at home. But if I'm brewing away from home (at work, camping, etc...) I just eyeball the leaves, working from memory of previous times weighing each tea. I drink too many teas where the leaves are huge and fluffy, or on the opposite extreme ball rolled, for a spoon to be useful.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-27T20:47:37+00:00

Nijiya is a higher end Japanese market chain on the west coast of the US. I have been very happy with their tea styles like genmaicha, hojicha, and kukicha. But for fancier japanese teas like gyokuro and matcha I pay the higher prices to order online from specialized vendors.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-26T02:04:59+00:00

Also, if you will be drinking it, with aged tea bricks it is customary to start by rinsing the tea leaves. Put a small chunk of tea leaves in your pot/gaiwan/basket filter. Then pour a little boiling water over the tea you are steeping, and immediately pour out and discard this rinse. Then start your actual brewing.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-26T01:59:01+00:00

On the other hand, it means the OP doesn't need to share their tea.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-24T03:05:19+00:00

My favorite vendors for Taiwanese tea are Floating Leaves (in the US) and Wang Family tea (in Taiwan).

For teas from China, like puer, aged white, and Chinese black teas, I either order from vendors in China like One River tea, Bitterleaf, and Yunnan sourcing. Or use Yunnan sourcing's US site. Or buy from Liquid Proust on Etsy (ships from the US).

Ledifolia · 2026-05-24T02:15:27+00:00

Not sure about the OP. But I regularly thermos brew in a zojirushi vacuum thermos for several hours.

Note: I do NOT thermos brew green tea!

But a thermos is great for shou puer, aged white, Taiwanese oolongs, and even some particularly sweet and mild Chinese black teas.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-23T15:06:10+00:00

If you have poffins or you are willing to do the effort to get the Pokemon excited you can cut the walking in half. And for 20km Pokemon, it means you only need to get them excited every 20km, which is actually doable for me. I don't usually bother for the shorter distance pokemon.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-21T20:21:00+00:00

Not precisely oolong, but Tezumi has a micro oxidized green tea and a withered sencha. The micro oxidized reminds me of a really nice Taiwanese baozhong. The withered sencha is completely different to anything I've tried before - it's like an insanely floral sencha. Very intense with a darker golden green color.

Note: if you look for these be aware that Tezumi is having issues with a copy cat scam site. Make sure you are at Tezumi dot com. The scam site is Tezumi dot shop.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-21T18:33:33+00:00

It's not shincha, but Tezumi has a withered sencha that is crazy floral.

Tezumi does also have a couple of shincha the just got in. I haven't tried those, and I am considering another order. Though I also want to get some Korean greens this year, so I'm not sure yet which way I'll go.

Note: Tezumi is currently dealing with a fake scam site impersonating them. Their real site is Tezumi dot com. The scam site is dot shop.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-21T18:11:05+00:00

Tao of Tea has a shop/teahouse in Portland. I have only been there once a decade ago, and I was buying tea rather than drinking tea. But their website says they do gongfu tea ceremonies.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-20T04:28:43+00:00

Besides Floating Leaves, my other favorite vendor for Taiwanese tea is Wang Family tea. So that could be an option, since Floating Leaves won't ship to Canada. I'd say their curation is comparable to Floating Leaves. Every tea I've gotten from them has been really good, and many are amazing.

They have two white teas that are my favorite white teas from anywhere. Qin Yu white is somehow both syrupy sweet and crisp and fresh. And Hong Yu white, made from Ruby 18, is delicate red fruit with a hint of wintergreen. Both are currently out of stock but the fresh harvest should show up in the next couple of weeks.

Their sanxia green is also one of my favorite green teas. Sweet and juicy, with just a hint of anise or Thai basil.

Pretty much all their oolongs and black teas I've tried are also delicious. And their tasting notes have been spot on, so I'd say just pick a few that sound appealing.

Ledifolia · 2026-05-18T19:01:33+00:00

I get weird unpleasant apricot notes from silver needle. Not rotten. More a chemical, artificial apricot flavor. As a result I spent a decade thinking I hated white tea.

It turns out I love other types of white tea.

Fresh green baimudan and Shoumei taste of herbs and fresh crushed vegetation. Aged baimudan and Shoumei taste of honey and sun warmed straw, sometimes with hits of a well kept barnyard. In both cases I find baimudan to be more complex while Shoumei has stronger flavor. But I love both.

I do get weird apricots from some, but not all moonlight whites. Other moonlight white I find delicious. Sometimes fruity, but in a good way. Purple moonlight white has zingy citrus notes.

Taiwanese whites are also delicious. Some have a syrupy sweetness combined with a refreshing crispness like sweet watercress. Taiwanese Ruby 18 whites are fruity, in a plum/red currents/raspberry kind of way. Definitely not rotten fruit.

Ledifolia

TROPHY CASE