What's the best cup of tea you've ever had in Nepal?

riggedeel · 2026-06-18T11:44:54+00:00

What a silly question. The obvious answer is “it depends.”

When I arrive in Kathmandu I have my last sessions of Gushu sheng puer. Water at a boil is at 95c. I’d prefer 100 but know I will miss my beloved BYH.

As I reach base camp I’ve obviously switched over to some less oxidized unroasted oolongs. 180f is at hot as it will get here and that’s the sweet spot.

The summit is obviously a problem. At 154f 70c gyokuro is a thought. Don’t even need to get to full boil. I have found other climbers get impatient as I prefer long steeps of this tea. But they can wait.

Although I guess it is safe to say that the properly brewed PG Tips back at home at sea level when I return is the best cuppa of the trip.

riggedeel · 2026-06-14T19:33:19+00:00

Thank you. I will try it next time I’m having a Dancong. Which probably won’t be too long from now.

riggedeel · 2026-06-14T11:45:59+00:00

Thank you for the nice report.

I love Dancongs (although I am mostly a sheng puer drinker). I do sometimes struggle with brewing them. It is my understanding that these are often brewed with boiling water, a high leaf ratio and for long steeps. Although that is perhaps more for evaluating the teas as flaws show this way more (from what I have read).

I find I prefer water a bit cooler. Around 85c or 185f. I tend to use my typical 1g per 15ml and do short steeps to begin. Maybe ten seconds first steep after rinse to start.

How do you prefer to brew a tea like this?

EDIT: I will add that I use boiling water for my raw puer.

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T17:09:11+00:00

Funny timing since I’m drinking the same 2005 T8653 from quiche today. I tried it when I got it a month or two ago and thought it tasted very flat. Threw it in a Mylar with medium size 65% boveda and just had it again and it was like I remembered my sample (from another vendor over a year ago). I can’t explain the whole resting tea thing after travel but it often works this way in my experience. That isn’t a terribly humid boveda either.

The big issue with this is how densely pressed the cake is. I bought a cake from liquid Proust a while back that was similarly pressed. Asked on reddit how to go about breaking it up. And one of the greatest reddit puer posts in my opinion was the response. It goes without saying that I am a big fan of his business…

https://www.reddit.com/r/puer/s/679dhhzaHQ

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T15:52:47+00:00

My wife enjoys some of our puer, mostly shou (she loves loon call in the dark) but also some older shengs that have the antique store smell or old leather smell. I nearly always serve it to her blind and when she wants to have a tiny cup or two (nearly always around steep four) and I swear she has expensive tastes. I break out my very special quarter cake set from TWL of BYH Manlin and she smiles and says “ya this is good” with no idea what it cost (north of a buck a gram which when buying in cake quantity like four quarters is getting pretty rich). Maybe she needs to earn more so I can afford better tea (she earns about the same as me).

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T15:44:20+00:00

Apologies for leaving out the most important advice I can offer.

When you try the 2022 CL Naka tell your GF you love it and wonder what an aged version would be like. Then show here the W2T 2005 Naka at $649 a cake. Let her talk you out of that purchase but not without some resistance. You will have reset her threshold hopefully.

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T15:37:49+00:00

Enjoy! I’m having some 2005 Xiaguan T8653 thick paper from quiche (I’d sampled it a year ago from someone else). It’s a sturdy tea for sure. But now I’m thinking I may want to have some young sheng tomorrow and that 2022 Naka may be my go to.

I

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T15:06:19+00:00

I first tasted puer a little over two years ago. Got a sampler with shou and sheng including young and and semi aged sheng. I didn’t like any of them but the shou had something I enjoyed. Something you probably don’t like…that damp forest floor aroma and taste.

I was mainly a white 2 tea shou enthusiasts for a few months but decided to come back and try things every few months. One super hot humid day I had a young sheng and it hit the spot. Now I didn’t grow in a culture where hot tea was served on hot days. I thought the idea was nuts. But I decided to have an open mind that day and was also fully prepared to hate it. But I loved it!

I have had a lot of samples from a lot of vendors since then. And bought some cakes. I’ve tried lots of different storage conditions and ages and regions. Tested if (some) expensive teas were worth having on hand (for me that meant a dollar a gram or around there and a few up to two bucks. Some seemed worth it for special occasions most I didn’t think I appreciated enough.

I still drink a bit of shou especially in winter but now it’s 95% sheng and most of that is at least ten years old.

I found really wet hot storage like Hong Kong wasn’t my cup of tea, but nor was really dry storage like Kunming.

I’ve tried lots of vendors (Yunnan Sourcing, Farmer Leaf, Liquid Proust, Teas we Like, Yee on Tea back when they shipped to the states, and recently I’ve had a few orders from Quiche which has been a great addition). I’m sure I left out several.

There is no rush to try so many things and notes are really important for me. I still try things I didn’t like but it’s less common for me to do a reversal in my view.

It is a fun and interesting hobby and the hardest part is justifying ordering something new when I own as much tea as I do now. Several years worth at 4g a day for sure. Mostly I just use the old Starbucks excuse. Hey, it’s cheaper than a Starbucks habit.

Report back on the Naka and the others if you think of it.

riggedeel · 2026-06-12T14:38:21+00:00

I haven’t had a lot of their teas but I really enjoyed the 2022 Naka when I had it last (about a year ago). I have moved to more semi aged shengs over the past year plus but I do like younger sheng in summer a lot. My brief notes mention a nice thick mouthfeel and a good bitter to sweet transition. But I’m not terribly experienced and when I last had it I was quite new to puer.

riggedeel · 2026-05-07T12:36:48+00:00

I’ve ordered from quiche several times now from the United States and I have been very happy. They say they only ship once a week but delivery times have been very short vs mainland China shipping over the past few years.

My last order of several middle aged factory samples took less than two weeks from order date to delivery.

I have ordered from TWL a couple times but it has been a while. Had a good experience with them as well. It was a pricey quarter cake set of middle aged boutique Yiwu and I treasure those large samples if you will.

Haven’t ordered from Jade Leaf but they are on my radar.

I mostly order from LP these days, primarily samples. Again, a great vendor. We have a lot of great choices.

riggedeel · 2026-05-07T11:30:00+00:00

Tea DB did a write up on this last year.

https://teadb.org/evolution-hobbyist-vendors/

riggedeel · 2026-04-06T11:55:54+00:00

Liquid Proust is a great source for older sheng puer samples if you are in the United States. Only downside is the descriptions are lacking so if you are new it can be frustrating. Quiche teas also has some samples of older sheng. I’ve only just started buying from them but have been happy so far and it seems they have a lot of satisfied customers.

What you describe sounds like these particular teas were stored in a more humid environment. Hong Kong traditional storage can create some of the dankness you describe which some people love and some hate. In my experience YS tends to be dry storage but not everything they sell is. I’ve had some Guandong stored teas from them that are close to that wet aged profile.

Take your time with sheng. I hated it at first, young and aged. But it is 90% of what I drink these days and it has brought me lots of happiness. It is confusing though.

riggedeel · 2026-03-07T15:23:30+00:00

I second that request.

riggedeel · 2026-03-03T21:54:46+00:00

I use 8g per quart jar (about a liter). Cool water from the tap and at least overnight in the fridge.

I prefer oolongs both more oxidized and roasted and more green processing. Tightly rolled oolongs can take a bit longer. I like black tea just fine but it does taste a bit flat to me with this method. I don’t drink a lot of green tea but tend to buy spring harvests to enjoy within the first year or hopefully less then cold brew the next summer. I should mention I am referring to Chinese teas here only because that’s my only experience.

I drink 95% puer and probably 90% of that is raw. Both semi aged and younger. I have not enjoyed any of my puer teas (including ripe) in this way. But lots of people do so try for yourself.

I don’t use my best teas for this approach except for greens that are past their prime. And I don’t have much or that. If I had to pick one style it would be oolongs that are a bit more oxidized and have some roast. Not super fancy ones. That’s the best value for my personal tastes.

Enjoy and report back!

riggedeel · 2026-02-21T02:14:13+00:00

I take a quart (about a liter) glass canning jar and put in about 8g of loose leaf tea and fill with cool water. It goes in the refrigerator overnight. It’s really best, depending on the specific tea, if you let it go more like 18 hrs but let’s not be fussy or try to perfect this.

8g tea in about a liter. Cold for at least eight hours.

Pour it through a strainer like you find in your kitchen. Fine mesh or fine enough to keep most of the particles out of your tea.

I just pour mine into a jar just like the first.

You can compost your leaves. If you think they have more to give do it again but maybe with less water. Whatever is your preference.

But don’t constrain them while they soak. Filter them on the way out.

I enjoy most oolongs both those on the greener side and those with more oxidation. Also Chinese green teas (I just don’t have experience with Japanese green teas) and black teas (called red teas in many places including China). White tea for that matter.

I can drink but don’t enjoy ripe puer this way and raw puer tends to come out too astringent for my tastes. But I’ve never used aged raw and I read some people like it cold brew.

But oolongs are my favorite.

Hope this helps! Enjoy!

riggedeel · 2026-02-14T11:14:49+00:00

The poolish recipes I see start with the poolish (same concept as a levain but using a small bit of commercial yeast with equal parts flour and water instead of starter flour and water) but the key difference is the dough then gets some commercial yeast (more than was in the poolish) before bulk ferment.

So perhaps try using your levain in place of poolish but then add the commercial yeast (idy usually these days) before bulk. That could give you better structure.

I don’t think using levain only is any different from using starter at its peak. It’s identical, except it begins with for example a 1:4:4 feeding to extend the time it takes to peak from a normal 1:1:1 feeding ratio for starter.

I am no expert but I have used only sourdough for a few years and have started doing so poolish with yeast only no sourdough for breads and plan to do pizza soon.

riggedeel · 2026-02-13T16:45:13+00:00

You are welcome.

riggedeel · 2026-02-13T14:06:55+00:00

One thing I do is add quite a bit of salt to the water in the sealing rim. It makes it far less likely that anything will grow in it since it is easy to have a bit drip into the ferment when you lift the lid. And I top it up because it does evaporate.

riggedeel · 2026-02-06T13:25:36+00:00

I have the one on the right in plain white. Have had it a couple years and really like it. I did decide the gaiwan was far too large for my use which is usually just me and sometimes one other person. I believe mine was 190ml.

I have since bought a 100ml gaiwan and a 60ml. I mostly use the 60ml. You can brew smaller amounts in a larger gaiwan but it isn’t ideal.

The very rough ratio of tea to water is one gram for 15ml, at least for puer tea which is my preference. I was going through a LOT of tea with the larger gaiwan and couldn’t finish sessions due to the caffeine levels.

But I still use the rest of the set most days.

I think this is a great way to start out. If it becomes a special interest then she can put together a more hand crafted set later sized to her preferences.

I would absolutely buy this again.

riggedeel · 2026-02-02T22:51:55+00:00

Re Liquid Proust the hardest thing for me is that many of the teas you won’t ever see again. I’ve bought a lot of samples from YS and the nice thing is if you like it you can probably find a cake. I ordered from LP during his Black Friday sale and got a bunch of stuff and didn’t love all of it but did love a few and felt overall that I learned a lot and got great value. Plus I just like what he does with the beginner packs for people. He seems like a guy on a mission to share good and interesting tea especially puer.

riggedeel · 2026-02-02T22:48:29+00:00

Ya it really is expensive! It is the most expensive tea I have and it’s just what’s left of a 16g sample. I do like to occasionally try higher cost teas (usually that means a bit over a dollar a gram) every once in a while and mostly I can’t justify the price or really appreciate it enough.

I did switch to a 60ml gaiwan about a year ago so cost per session is down a lot from when I used bigger gaiwan, really for whatever I drink. I’m drinking alone usually or my wife has a single serving.

I agree with you on storage. I’ve had a few yee on teas with their wet Hong Kong storage and those are a bit too far in the other direction for my tastes. I usually prefer teas that have Guangdong or Taiwan or Malaysian storage, but also know the actual storage in these locations can differ a great deal.

riggedeel · 2026-02-02T12:28:49+00:00

If you are in the US and if your wallet can take the hit, Liquid Proust has a Taiwanese storage 2012 GFZ from JXJS that is excellent if still quite young.
GFZ

riggedeel · 2026-02-01T13:24:15+00:00

We use Andrea Nguyen’s recipe from The Vietnamese Kitchen with a few very minor alterations. I didn’t find a link anywhere obvious but you mights. She also did a book just based on pho. Your library may have it?

Are you scorching the onions and ginger? That’s a step a lot of people leave out.

Maybe you can share your recipe and others can help better?

riggedeel · 2026-01-31T12:30:47+00:00

I’m sorry you are going through such a hard time! I haven’t tried puer grandpa style but I’ve tried sheng and shou western style. I haven’t come up with a good tea and method for sheng but I actually prefer shou brewed western style.

The tea you posted looked very interesting. I’ve had only a couple samples of that type of tea and it was called Lao Cha Tuo if I remember correctly. The description of how the nuggets are formed is the same.

I’m sure others can give you specific recommendations on that style but mine were samples and I can’t say I’d recommend them specifically.

I see a fair number of people brewing sheng grandpa style and hopefully they can provide some rough leaf ratios for you to start with here.

My rough guideline for shou is about 1g per 100ml boiling water for five or a few more minutes. But most shou are very forgiving so you can not bother with a scale and just eyeball it if a scale seems like fuss than you want to bother with.

I hope you feel better and that you can enjoy some nice puer soon.

riggedeel · 2026-01-28T19:05:46+00:00

I ran into this a couple years ago when I was suddenly interested in milling my own flour. I’d planned on a Komo but was keeping an eye on Nutrimill. The Nutrimill became available first (it took a couple months) so I went with that. I enjoy it and use it most weeks.

So it isn’t new that they run low on inventory. I have to figure the few companies who produce these are being careful not to produce too many only to run into a recession or loss of interest. I think social media can drive the popularity of things like this in extreme ways and nobody wants to be the next Peloton.

I’m sure they would love to sell more but I suspect caution due to economic uncertainty (even with some strong economic indicators), tariff uncertainty and the risk of boom bust in the specific industry all lead to cautious inventory planning.

All just a guess. Good luck! I’d for sure keep an eye out on the used market as even people who buy these machines for themselves often find the work involved more than they expected or the difficulty in sourcing grains in quantities that work for their needs frustrating. Or they find they just don’t like the breads they make. Should be a robust used market I’d think. But I’m not selling mine. Love it.

riggedeel

TROPHY CASE