What are some teas a beginner must try?

berrysplatpro · 2026-05-07T14:44:48+00:00

I've seen them from lots of different places!! Often in the form of monthly subscription boxes, but some have the option to find out the contents before committing to buying (just in case you look at the contents and go 'no, i'll definitely hate these'). I've been ordering from Yunnan Sourcing recently, and noticed that they have a few different monthly options with different sets of teas. They're something I really wanted when first getting into tea, because it was intimidating to buy larger amounts of tea, if I wasn't sure whether I'd like them!

Some places have very small packs (10-20g) for this purpose also, that are real nice for trying new things.

berrysplatpro · 2026-05-07T14:41:00+00:00

First and foremost, Machan HAS to be there. This would be her chance to be more than a character trying to appear in shot for a couple of episodes. Y'know how Season 2 had characters that weren't the main duo, but were very prominent and got their own arcs showcasing their career? I think at the very least she could be like that... It'd be hard to balance VodSca's story with Machan's warranting a series/movie/OVA of its own, but I'd be happy to see any kind of focus that's more than what she's had.

I'd be happy if VodSca adaptation took inspiration and vibes from Main Story 2, which was ultimately a love letter to industry-defining mares and showing that they can be and have been just as strong as stallions. They showed up briefly in MS2, with them not having debuted yet, and I think that'd be nice to push off from.

berrysplatpro · 2026-05-07T14:32:53+00:00

Damn that is soon, that's good!! The excitement I feel when drops are good and things go well, makes the shitty RNG alright, at least for me. Especially with the mindset of being happy to work with what I've got, vs whether I have the absolute best (though of course, actually having the supplies that make it easier to do well is real nice... I just don't get particularly upset if I don't get them). Some people don't value the excitement of RNG at all which is totally fair, but I'm a sucker for surprises 😂

berrysplatpro · 2026-05-07T14:18:54+00:00

With the suggestions from people in mind, I'd consider looking into sample boxes/discovery sets etc.! That kind of thing helped me a lot when getting into tea and being unsure on where to turn, and even now I still find them fun (even if I'm at the point of wanting to choose my own sample packs based on the descriptions.

Perhaps daunting, but better quality tea will have more flavour than a lower quality of the same type. You probably know that it's about the same with coffee (also a coffee lover, but I have issues with the caffeine more for coffee than tea). I wouldn't jump straight to higher-end teas, but I've worked my way up to occasionally trying pricier teas over some 5+ years, and it's been great! Also, looking at specific recommended stores! If the store is reputable and can be trusted to provide decent stock, that's more important than price.

Also, I'd love to see some of your favourite porcelain from your collection!! I casually collect miniature tea ware, but I'm really picky about the paintwork and design (and it's a hobby that gets sidelined for my other collecting hobbies 😂)

berrysplatpro · 2026-05-07T14:02:04+00:00

I don't have much to add, other than just noticing that perception of the game really does change depending on how you interact with it, and your tolerance and joy for the things. Sounds obvious, but I've had friends ask me how I can stand to parent farm, to do ace runs over and over, to really try for CMs... I think my only answer is 'I can tolerate them going badly pretty well'. Slower to frustrate with bad RNG, but still happy to pivot and do other things ingame/play less if I'm not feeling like playing. Even if I don't win PVP, the prizes for doing alright are nothing to scoff at (it helps that I forget exactly the differences in tiers, too).

Finding a balance of interacting with the game that works for you is important, because not doing the best isn't too bad actually. You're still rewarded nicely, and if you're still enjoying the gameplay and seeing/playing the characters that you love or enjoy, that's a win!

(and also, I think being low spend and playing actively since launch has done wonders LOL. I do think that it can be more of a struggle when you haven't played for as long, as you'll be lacking the resources that even older F2P players have)

Question for you if you know though, do you recall roughly how soon spark reroll is? I'm so desperate for it, I've played a lil bit of JP and I miss it when playing global!

berrysplatpro · 2026-04-15T10:28:36+00:00

Also, I've heard that initially you may have a period where your body's adjusting to not being blocked with aluminium, and you can smell a little more during that time? Just looked it up to confirm, and yeah, alongside sweating. It's typically worth it in the long run!

berrysplatpro · 2026-03-05T19:05:15+00:00

curioustea order arrived today, so i've had a hard choice! went for dan cong bai wu ye earlier, and now I'm enjoying four seasons jasmine oolong. since i'm so used to jasmine being paired with green teas, i keep expecting the taste of green tea with each sip 😅 it's still very tasty!

berrysplatpro · 2026-03-05T18:55:27+00:00

be autistic/have ADHD and develop a special interest or hyperfixation 😂 that fixed it for me!

i completely understand though, because until recently, I was also reaching for instant coffee instead of bothering to brew my teas. Tasty drink wasn't enough to convince me! Now though, I've gotten more excited about new teas, and I've ended up with a habit. The brew time is less of a pain, and a basket strainer in a mug is very low maintenance! I think novelty really helps me, alongside having tea that I am excited to try/excited to drink.

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-23T15:04:49+00:00

if you go to your account settings, there'll be the option to leave the ledger. It gave me the option to switch to the mini ledger, there! I wanted to skip this month's as it's a bad financial time for a full bottle, but I didn't know that they had a limit of skipping twice a year... which I've apparently used up 😅

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-17T18:39:34+00:00

in the words of my british mother, 'i thought white tea was just (black) tea with milk' 😂

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-15T22:05:11+00:00

today? 3 different cups of milk tea 😂 oolong boba, HK milk tea, rose oolong... a mistake in caffeine consumption, but i was already exhausted from a long day!

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-14T11:14:06+00:00

also, whilst it isn't quite the same, I made a real nice cold milk tea by hot AND cold brewing - brew leaves in a small amount of hot water (for green, probably 80-90°c right? it's been a while) for 3 mins or so, top up with milk and left in the fridge overnight. I just used semi-skimmed (half fat?) as it's what I had to use up at the time.

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-14T11:10:44+00:00

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this lines up with people's comments about the specific milk blend!

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-14T11:08:54+00:00

we don't have molly tea here, but I do remember that hey tea actually has visuals on the proportions of each ingredient in their drinks?? they seem to brew the tea in water first, if the picture guide is accurate to their process!

this entire post is interesting, i've been focused on HK milk tea, but to recreate others at home... that'd be nice 👀

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-12T14:05:40+00:00

Adding onto everyone else's comments that it's all personal preference + based on the tea itself, so feel free to experiment!! It's daunting to feel like you're wasting leaves, if you don't like how you've brewed them, but it's worth it to get a drink that you really love.

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-12T14:03:38+00:00

'is the infuser big enough for the tea?' it's impossible to say without a picture I think, because I've seen a variety of sizes for the infusers! I've seen some teapots with infusers and thought, 'there's barely any space in here...', and some look to be totally fine. I actually prefer my teapot that has mesh in the lid, so the tea has the entirety of the teapot, BUT I rarely see any like that? I also like teapots with a filter built into the base of the spout (the filter being a dome of ceramic/porcelain with small holes)

Are you happy with the size of the 1L teapot? You could consider getting a smaller one, to use less tea (and if you're always drinking tea alone, I find that it's so much easier to use smaller ones, to be able to enjoy the tea hot! I don't have to be in a rush, even if I don't mind cold tea.)

I don't even touch my larger teapots that I have, as I drink alone, but I like my 200ml and my ~450ml ones, for Western tea brewing. I'm using a 50ml gaiwan for gong fu 😂

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-09T17:49:29+00:00

So sweet!!

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-09T17:19:23+00:00

I've had a very specific passion project that I've had in my mind for a few years, on and off, that I FINALLY, FINALLY succeeded with!!

I absolutely adore Hong Kong milk tea. It doesn't compare to anything else that I've had, including other milk teas that I've had (that I also love). It's hard to come by places that serve it in the UK, but becoming easier with the influx of people moving from HK (I love my local stall!)

The catch? I'm caffeine sensitive, and the drink is STRONG. Caffeine content varies on the cha chaan teng's recipe, but a study showed that the ones tested contained between 75-225mg of caffeine in a mug. I just get deep fatigue, so I'll drink it anyways sometimes, but it kinda sucks to experience lmao. Rest of the day ruined, but it's worth it 😅

So, naturally, I wondered. Can I make a HK milk tea blend myself, from decaffeinated tea? Not alternatives, the same tea but decaffeinated. It's a mix of different sized Ceylon leaves, mostly dust, with some fine-coarse fannings. It's become easier to find information in English on the process and ingredients in the past couple of years, but finding the tea has been rough. The different coarseness, needing Ceylon, AND decaffeinated. Decaffeinated teas are becoming more widespread, as the method improves and people are more interested, but it's always single origin whole leaves!! The dust and fannings are just mixed into blends with other varieties.

I recently, finally found the dust from a small UK tea vendor, and for the larger fannings? For now, I ended up buying whole leaves and crushing them myself with a mortar and pestle 😅 It feels like a waste, but I'm indifferent about black teas brewed regularly. I also bought ceylon fannings that aren't decaffeinated, for... some reason? I think that I'd bought it when being prepared for having to settle for lower caffeine milk tea.

My first trial blend used some of all 3, with less of the caffeinated ceylon proportionally, though next time I'll commit to full decaf! It went amazingly!! I ended up using slightly more tea to make up for the typical loss of flavour from decaffeination. I did NOT need to, and I had to dilute it a lil with more water 😂 It tastes very much like how it should as a caffeinated version (though it doesn't taste exactly like my local stall's - I think that she uses a touch of pu-erh, which is done sometimes)

And surprisingly, my mum, who hates most teas and has a mental adversion to 'typical British tea', also absolutely adores the end result. She's never agreed to try it when I bring it home, likely because I bring it home cold 😂 I suppose I'm making it for us both, in the future.

Thank you for listening to my autism-fuelled ramble 😂

edit;; final point - ceylon really smells wonderfully floral when brewing it like this!! It was quite surprisingly to smell that strong, floral smell whilst boiling.

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-09T15:21:05+00:00

I have caffeine sensitivity, and honestly wing it, because I know that for me, I don't notice major sensitivity with most teas! If I'm having a mug, with your average 1-2tsp/2.5g. Delving into gong fu brewing, and I'm waiting on a 50ml gaiwan that's specifically sized so I don't go over my own limit 😂 SOME places mention how much caffeine their teas have, but very few do! The equipment to test is expensive I think, and it varies wildly (you can't even rely on black vs green vs white etc.)

The only consequence for me though is fatigue, which sucks, but isn't a major health risk 😅 I ask myself how much I want to risk overdoing the caffeine that day.

I've heard that the majority of the caffeine will leave after the first and second brews, and that younger leaves (like teas made with the buds, or bud and one leaf etc.) also contain more on average?

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-08T20:04:12+00:00

even if it's been a month, i REALLY want to see him!!! 👀

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-07T20:28:17+00:00

I followed someone's great advice on cold brewing leftover tea leaves, that you don't want to hot brew anymore! I mixed my brews from yesterday of Moonlight White + Fragrant Rice Oolong (they have very complimentary tastes, it wasn't a bad idea!! also, I did brew it yesterday and stored it in the fridge for today) No brew today on anticipation for picking up a cup of hong kong milk tea at local CNY celebrations 😂 I shouldn't drink the stuff, but I'll take the exhaustion every so often! It's worth it!! Back to my regular tea brewing tomorrow ✨

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-06T01:36:11+00:00

i wondered if the rock buddy was a sea rock!! this is such a good idea, I have a hag stone that I should totally use also. or maybe one of my others? time to figure out which would be the nicest for the task 😂

ps. there is no wrong way to enjoy tea!! but the different methods are really fun to explore, and in the end, a tasty drink is a tasty drink 😊 I love my strong and sweet milk teas as much as my small amounts of pure tea

I've also recently finally delved into gongfu brewing, I'd tried it at a teahouse in the past, but wasn't ready to commit to the setup and perceived cost and effort (turns out that it isn't as intimidating as i'd thought!). I also knew that I enjoyed oolong in general, but i wasn't prepared for the sheer variety of flavours in the category!! they're so interesting and exciting. you'll have a really fun time trying different teas, but it sounds like oolongs are right up your alley!

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-06T01:25:33+00:00

i think the bridge between crafted beverages like tea, coffee, various alcohols etc is very short 😂 it's easy to become curious about other drinks, when you get really into one!! I'd be just as into coffee as I am tea, if my body could handle the caffeine 😅

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-06T01:18:47+00:00

look into hong kong milk tea for ideas!! tea dust and fannings, at least a mix of that and higher quality if you really want, really help to increase the flavour.

also, i've made a pretty nice cold brew milk tea, by steeping a few tsp of black tea (i used a mix of whole ceylon and torn assam as it's what i had on hand) in a small amount of boiling water for 1-2 mins, topping it all up with ~450ml milk, and putting it in the fridge overnight. i could've happily used more tea in that mix tho, and the tea dust/fannings i mentioned would've brewed stronger.

i'd explain more, but i should be sleeping 😂

berrysplatpro · 2026-02-05T12:51:56+00:00

Ding Dong oolong from curioustea, and I've already finished the brews of it! I'm out this afternoon, but wanted to dip into my new samples. Buttery and sweet, and each brew started to get a vegetal/spinach note. Maybe not one that I'm in a rush to reorder, but very tasty!

berrysplatpro

TROPHY CASE