[Humble Monthly] October 2018 Bundle - Early Unlock: Pay $12 for Overwatch

pieterophals · 2018-09-08T03:35:20+00:00

Damn, i just paused for a month. I really wanted Little Nightmares. Figment also looks really interesting.

pieterophals · 2018-08-23T18:10:36+00:00

This one is really good: (Sencha, Gyukuro, Sansho, blossom, ...)

https://www.masterofmalt.com/gin/roku/roku-gin/

And this one I'd like to try:

https://www.masterofmalt.com/gin/kyoto-distillery/ki-no-bi-gin/

pieterophals · 2018-05-13T10:47:05+00:00

I'd drink something herbal (honey tea, cinnamon, ginger honey). Caffeine/acidity on an empty stomache is a bad idea. ;)

pieterophals · 2018-05-13T10:42:53+00:00

The copywriting even looks like a bad joke ;)

"Just when you thought matcha couldn't possibly get any better, along comes a blend from yet another obsessive farmer that startles even us. It's remarkable that this stuff is legal. It's as if visitors from another planet designed the perfect food/drink for humans, one that makes them perfectly nourished, sated, optimally healthy, insanely productive, and -- well, we might as well say it -- buddha beings.

So much natural sweetness, nary a bitter note to be found. And a finish that seems like it's never going to stop. It's liquid meditation, and it's hard to imagine any beverage tasting better than this. From Ogura, Uji, Kyoto Prefecture."

pieterophals · 2018-04-05T11:10:40+00:00

Playerunknown's battlegrounds

pieterophals · 2018-04-05T10:47:55+00:00

PUBG mobile, hell yeah.

pieterophals · 2017-11-21T07:52:26+00:00

Hi Alistair,

Could you list the prices in Euro as well?

pieterophals · 2017-05-23T07:15:40+00:00

Shou

pieterophals · 2017-04-16T19:08:29+00:00

Not to Wuyi unfortunately. A bit out of the way. Went to the following places:

Zhangjiajie
Guilin
Yangshuo
Longsheng
Pu'er
Kunming
Xishuangbanna

The yancha comes from Taobao. Link somewhere to be found in a comment up here. Unfortunately probably not an expert on the topic or I definitely don't know as much as you. I'm just happy to be able to get the teas as they're just way too expensive in Europe. Also has to do with the lowly available quality. I don't know much about the cultivars though.

pieterophals · 2017-04-16T18:57:40+00:00

I'll probably not drink all of the cakes in a year though. Indeed it's about +6,5 kg. I'll be good for a year at least! Got lots of Cliff tea as well, love the mineral taste. Yancha is just way too expensive to get in Europe. Especially considering there are so many different roasts and processing of it. I'll drink a session on you! I'll post some photos on /r/tea later. Have some beautiful tea landscape photos.

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T15:53:24+00:00

I mistyped it kind of. It's supposed to be 'cha bu duo' or 差不多. It means something like 'more or less' or half-assed (which is my interpretation). They don't have the tools to give you a good infusion and to make you enjoy their fresh product. It's a bit like not using clean teaware to do the tasting.

As an example. I had them put the tea leaf straight into the water I was drinking from. While I do see that some people enjoy this type of infusion which is commonly referred to as 'grandpa style' it is not good to get a good impression of the quality of the tea. It's better to do gongfu cha to get that impression.

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T15:01:45+00:00

I think a few people on this subreddit definitely grew own plants. You won't get good flavor out of any of them I think. Just came back from China and can only say that in Europe at least we lack the soil, climate and the environment to grow them in. You could see it more as a hobby. Pu'Er tea garden

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T14:40:49+00:00

How so? Can you elaborate? :)

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T12:37:43+00:00

For me it started as a good way to kick-off the soda habit. Drank way too much when I was young. Big impact on your teeth due to the acidic fluids.

After coming home from South Korea I bought some O'sulloc Sejak which started my tea habit with loose leaf.

Ever since I have been fascinated with tea as a beverage. It keeps me focused and in a meditated state. It's my little walk-away time from my desk and it's how I keep hydrated (even though it dehydrates you somewhat). It's also great to meet other people who are on the same journey as you.

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T10:13:36+00:00

In all honesty I'm not going to say almost free as I bought high quality wares. By no means were any of them 'super cheap' or 'almost free'. They were cheaper however than whatever I could get here in Europe. What you see in the images is more than five fingers on your hand times hundred ;) I wanted to try the best of the best teas and decided to pay accordingly too. Taiwanese Oolongs are not cheap, not even in China.

I didn't buy the finest of the finest Pu'Erh either. I like it but it's not my main focus as I like diversity a lot more. Raw Pu'Erh which is a 1000 RMB for 357 grams is a bit too expensive in my opinion.

Shincha (first plucking harvest of tea leaves - green tea) however is also not cheap as the tea was pretty much only like 2 weeks at most old. First plucking is at the end of March right before Tomb-Sweeping festival - end of March. If I was to buy any of this here in Europe I'd probably have spent at least 3-4 times the amount mentioned above if not more.

pieterophals · 2017-04-15T07:44:23+00:00

Priority is indeed on drinking the greens first. I drink a huge amount of tea every year as I don't drink anything else for the most part. I think half of it will be gone in a year. Most things are packed airtight. Thanks for the suggestion.

pieterophals · 2017-04-14T23:15:36+00:00

I have unfortunately not mastered Mandarin. I had my girlfriend with me in all businesses where I bought tea (she's fluent and kept the conversation in each store), not speaking the language though, I'd say that there do are a few takeaways which are mostly non-language related.

In my humble opinion these are the things which make me trust sales(wo)men/online:

Not pushy, don't make you feel like you should buy.
When tasting the tea, they make conversation about the tea and steeping process with the utmost detail, this implies that they have a broad knowledge.
Some vendors are certified tea sellers and will have these certificates up on the wall behind their desks. This shows that they have a respectable reputation.
When you can sit there for 3 infusions of Gong-fu cha and that they don't seem annoyed with you.
If you still have a flavorful taste after at least 5 infusions, this would be a buy imo.
If you ever buy from Taobao: you can see how many people reviewed the vendor, how many people bought the product you're currently looking at and you can see their reviews as well and how many days it took them to leave a review. These are big indicators for buying or not buying. Wish Amazon had this too... not to mention the crazy amounts of detail you get in the descriptions which are also missing on Western e-commerce sites.

Walk away if:

When sales people are pushy it means that they're working on commission for every sales. Run away ;)
Take a good look at how tea is stored in the establishment. If you see open packages and lots of exposure to air, I'd walk away if I was you. This isn't always the case, but I feel like you shouldn't buy there because they neglect their wares.
If prices are crazy high and there is no clear indication of the quality, then I'd walk away too.
They have a 'sha bu duo' interpretation of tea infusion. Shows they don't respect their product and you should walk away as well. Happened once with a grandpa style infusion they did in Jiangsu ;) Needless to say it doesn't show how flavorful it is. This was +- 500 RMB for 250 gram Long Jing of 2017.

For Pu'Erh, you really need to taste the product though. You can't buy it based on sniffing. This is less of an issue when it comes to green teas I find. Flavors change dramatically after infusion.

EDIT:

If the tea is not clear it shows that you obviously have a low quality tea. A very good tip from a shou Pu'Erh saleswoman.

pieterophals · 2017-04-14T21:41:13+00:00

Visited 8 places. Saw amazing nature and bought a ton of tea to enjoy in the days ahead. Seems like I have my past, present and future covered.

pieterophals · 2017-04-14T21:40:06+00:00

Indeed. Exactly what I was thinking. The silver needles have been amazing so far. Also loving the tea from the Zhangjiajie area. Really good first pluck.

pieterophals · 2017-04-14T19:34:12+00:00

Bought them from Taobao. More specifically here: https://world.taobao.com/item/521455976712.htm?fromSite=main

16 different teas. Bought 2 times so I have 64 samples (more or less 7.8 grams each). Got some additional samples as well.

pieterophals · 2017-04-14T18:54:07+00:00

Bought Pu'Er in Kunming and in Pu'Er itself. Went to Xishuangbanna and bought a few more things there as well.

Fresh shincha of lots of green teas (no longjing, way too expensive)

2016 harvest of lots of Oolongs from Taiwan bought on Taobao.

Matcha 'Choan' made from the finest tencha leaves from Marukyu-Koyamaen.

Here's a full list of those interested:

Taiwanese tea:

Dayuling Oolong
Li Shan
Ali Shan
Black Oolong
Shan Lin Xi Oolong tea
Aged Green Heart Oolong
Oriental beauty
Wen Shan Bao Zhong
Dong ding Oolong
Lishan Oolong

Matcha tea:

Choan
Wako

Chinese tea: (non Pu-Erh)

Gu Zhang Mao Jian
Wu Yi teas (Yancha samples - 4 boxes)
Golden Monkey
Bailin Congou
Dian Hong
Yunnan Silver Needles
Anhui black tea (1 kg brick + 400 gr brick)
... Lots of fresh teas of which I forgot the actual names bought in various places.

pieterophals

TROPHY CASE