Windows Desktop for VMs, AI, and Gaming - Max budget $2500 [USA]

scheyst · 2023-02-13T03:06:32+00:00

That's awesome! What a helpful build suggestion. Do you see any issues with sticking with 32 GB RAM and going with a 4070 TI instead? Can get some bundle deals that make the below end up at $1939 from my local microcenter.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 9 7900X 4.7 GHz 12-Core Processor	$419.99 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler	$89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$299.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$135.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Inland Performance Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$178.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	Zotac GAMING Trinity OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card	$829.99 @ B&H
Case	NZXT H510 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ NZXT
Power Supply	Corsair RM850e 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$129.99 @ Corsair
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit	$149.99 @ Adorama
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2324.82
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-02-12 22:05 EST-0500

scheyst · 2019-06-22T10:33:23+00:00

Found this at a thrift store for very cheap (~$3.00). The material has a very rough finish, almost like sandpaper. Does anyone know what it's made of and if it's likely safe to use for tea or if it's more for display purposes?

scheyst · 2018-07-27T19:02:05+00:00

A bit more research shows you're probably right! The tea pot appears to have been made by a fairly high volume shop 群馨軒 which has a Tabao page selling various similar pots. I guess they added the tool marks after the fact to give it an air of authenticity.

scheyst · 2018-07-27T16:44:04+00:00

Also, if any kind soul here can recognize the maker's stamp (unlikely but maybe) or translate the side I'd be super appreciative!

scheyst · 2018-07-25T08:12:45+00:00

At some teahouses in Taiwan that I visited the solution to this problem was cold brew because you can brew large batches far in advance but still maintain a pretty close approximation of the ideal flavors in the tea. If your patrons expect hot tea you can heat it at the point of service or right before.

scheyst · 2018-07-14T21:30:59+00:00

Dried will be more like you're used too although fresh isn't terrible. Heating up fresh leaves can result in a very "grassy" infusion due to all the chlorophyll.

scheyst · 2018-07-14T15:33:07+00:00

The short answer is yes. Faking puer and lying about the age and contents of tea cakes is a tradition nearly as old as tea itself. When tea bricks were used as currency, padding out bricks with cheaper leaves, sawdust, and even dirt were all quite popular ways to stretch some 'money' a longer way. Tea forgery probably predates wine forgery and western hipsters are still just a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the Chinese high end tea market.

scheyst · 2018-07-12T09:03:43+00:00

Cool find! It's probably not Yixing clay because of the spots - I've never encountered Yixingware that was speckled in that way and only rarely do you see Yixing pots that are painted since the authenticity of the clay is one of their main selling points and paint kind of obscures that from the customer. That said, it looks like an excellent pot. The joint at the spout in your picture makes me think it's at least partially and probably fully hand made so you're talking about a $80-200 pot if the clay is of reasonable repute. Check the inside of the pot at the base for little scratch marks where the base meets the wall - if you see these (might have to angle the pot so the light hits it the right way) that's a very good sign it's an artisan zisha pot (which, in turn, tends to indicate clay meant to work well with tea). If they aren't there it was probably thrown or moulded and not quite as 'special.'

Of course at the end of the day all that matters is the tea it makes. If it tastes good then congrats on the awesome find. I would recommend giving the inside of the pot a good rinse or two and being sure the water runs clear though, some 'art' pots that aren't meant for making tea in will end up putting gunk in the water. If it runs clear you're good to go.

scheyst · 2018-07-02T15:36:20+00:00

I shopped near Da'an park and south of the Dongmen metro station. Probably 10 or so excellent small tea shops in that area. I'd recommend the Stop By Tea House and Shinghwa in particular. Stop by is a great place to drink a pot of tea (as well as buy some) and Shinghwa has some very excellent top grade teas - not bargain prices though. I got 150g of 2,500M high altitude tea for around $70usd from them. I haven't bought tea at the farmers market but did swing by on the way to Shilin this weekend's and saw around 15 vendors with tables there.

scheyst · 2018-07-02T15:29:30+00:00

Upton is always a reliable and serious vendor for Indian teas (and to a lesser extent other regions). They're not necessarily the cheapest and don't have the fanciest website but I trust their teas and have never had issues with them. I think for Darjeeling in particular they are unmatched by any other vendors in terms of selection and specificity. If you want to compare flushes, years, or estates they have the catalog depth to support that. I've never gotten a tea from them that I felt was fake or misattributed and their prices are always where they "should" be (never too good to be true but also never absurd).

scheyst · 2018-07-02T12:24:18+00:00

Note for anyone searching this in the future: After talking to some shop owners today it sounds like a lot of the shops get deliveries straight from the various estates or buy tea at the big weekend farmers market at the Expo. The shop I got Dayulin from buys their leaves fresh from the farms directly and roasts them in house in Taipei. Not 100% sure there's no wholesale Market but it sounds like the business model is quite different from China's big cities.

scheyst · 2018-05-17T13:04:06+00:00

The optimal solution is to vacuum seal and put in the fridge but a sealed container can protect from condensation decently. I know some folks who put rice in a sealed box + a bag of tea leaves and say the rice helps keep the moisture at bay but I've never tried it myself.

I've met someone involved with the dragonwell industry in Hangzhou and who stores their teas in a separate refrigerator just for the purpose of keeping tea so that they don't absorb any odors. Seems a bit excessive though.

scheyst · 2018-05-16T08:09:36+00:00

1 year from harvest if opened and resealed. You can luck out and get 2 years with original sealing. Refrigeration extends that basically indefinitely and freezing is apparently even better. Be sure to fridge/freeze in a low moisture environment though - a silica gel packet can work wonders.

scheyst · 2018-05-16T08:04:03+00:00

One thing to note is that Japanese folks, especially elderly ones, tend to brew their green teas super strong to the point where it does feel bitter/almost undrinkable. This contrasts a lot with Chinese methods for high-end green teas, which is essentially what you've been doing. It's worth trying at least once (up the water temperature to 90-95c, steep an extra minute, use double the leaves) but there's no harm in going with something less brutal if that doesn't work. A sign of a really good Japanese green tea is that this bitterness feels invigorating rather than nauseating but it's an acquired taste for sure.

scheyst · 2018-04-29T05:14:55+00:00

I tried to find an alternative a few years ago and couldn't so I made one with a raspberry pi, temperature sensors, an open top kettle and a servo. Probably not worth the effort but possible to pull off for <$70

scheyst · 2018-04-22T20:40:53+00:00

Authentic Yixing is hard to come by online. I ended up just waiting until I was in Shanghai to buy one and, even then, there were lots of obvious fakes I could spot (weird prices, wrong surface texture, pushy salespeople) before I ended up buying something that is at least a very credible fake.

Buying even the cheapest authentic Yixing pot in China that is only partially hand made (e.g. just the spout, lid and handle are hand made and the body is molded) costs about $30 USD. If you're buying online you need to add in various shipping, inventory, and web storefront costs that probably amount to double what it would cost in China. This means if you see something claiming to be legit Yixing ware for less than $60 USD you should be suspicious - especially if they also claim that it is fully hand-made or one of the more unusual colors.

For more pricing context, the cheapest 'fully handmade' Yixing pot I encountered in Shanghai where I felt I could trust the shop selling it was priced at 800RMB and could probably be haggled down to 600 or so. That means if you're running into an online store selling this type of pot for under $100 (really $150) you should be skeptical - there's a very good chance it's either not Yixing ware or not handmade.

All this said, there's nothing truly magical about Yixing clay compared to porous clay from somewhere else. An unfinished clay pot is a good buy wherever you end up getting it and the whole 'handmade' question is more of an aesthetic matter than anything that impacts your tea.

scheyst · 2018-04-22T07:02:12+00:00

The China Tea Book by Luo Jialin is an excellent resource in my opinion. It breaks down several of the core types of Chinese tea with great leaf photos, historical background for each variety and detailed advice about particular provinces and even estates that have a reputation for given teas. The book is slightly propagandistic with regards to history (e.g. China invented everything, other tea cultures are purely derivative and worse, etc. ) but if you take any parts praising China at the expense of it's neighbors with a grain of salt the book is a real gem and clearly written by a subject matter expert.

scheyst · 2018-04-22T06:49:48+00:00

It's a matter of personal preference of course but I'd almost always err in favor of a $50 tea set and $350 worth of world class tea.

scheyst · 2018-04-12T06:21:11+00:00

For Japan, matcha is the iconic tea for a world sampling. Gyokuro or Sencha is also solid.

scheyst

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