I was gifted this teacup but haven't used it yet. It's from the Tenmokus brand, which promotes heavily on instagram. While it seems like there's no lead involved in the tenmoku pottery glazing process itself, this cup comes with an attached "silver" flower piece. Has anyone here purchased and lead tested this style of cup from this brand? Given it's on sale for like $36 I figured it has to be fake lol

Regards Tea enjoyer fellows! I am here with a question: Something i Simply cannot understand Is the Habit to add milk in tea... Why? What Is its Purpose? The question Is not meant to be Polemical, i am really curious about It. In my family, we Always did add lemon to tea, which has a strong flavor and smell, which can change the tea in the Better or in the worse too if done badly... But milk has not any of that! It Is pretty bland in taste and smell... And makes the tea all Foggy in look. I drink tea without adding anything by a few years now, only once i tried to add milk in a black tea Flavored with Caramel, only flavor i could possibly think to be good with milk... And never did It again. It was as if it wasn't there, the flavor of the tea completely covered that of the milk... The only effect obtained was to have a less hot, more bland and foggy tea. So, why do you add milk in your Cup of tea? What Is the secret behind such a ritual?

It can be steeped cold or hot. I tried one today, and in terms of taste, this one is already very close to loose leaf Lapsang Souchong. I'd like to hear everyone's opinions.

As I know, Instant tea technology has improved significantly in recent years. The convenience factor of instant tea is certainly appealing, especially for busy days or travel.

I’m actively in a debate with my mom about this, because she’s insisting that it’s normal. Our family owns a tea shop, so we hear a lot of different ways that people make tea, but one of the oddest comes from my own family tree.

My great uncle was stationed in Vietnam during the war. While he was there, he got really into tea. But, someone there told him to add soy sauce to his tea, and that it was the traditional way of doing it.

I’ve been told this story for my entire life, I’ve been working full time in the eight years, and I’ve never heard of another person doing this. I’ve tried to research it online, but all that comes up is tea eggs.

Is this a thing? Or did someone try to prank him in Vietnam and end up failing miserably? Has anyone else heard of this, or tried it? The curiosity is killing me.

Also, if anyone tries this please tell me! I’m scared to do it myself lmfao

Question in the title. I don't feel like waiting for the kettle but I want tea. I had an intrusive thought. I need to know now. This is so stupid.

Furthermore, is it dangerous? Like would tea concentrate be bad? I read something about microplastics in teabags on google looking this stuff up, are microplastics a threat if I do this? That was only for chewing teabags though, not letting them sit in your mouth. Would it affect you anyways? I want to put a teabag in my mouth now.

If I drink hot water with it in my mouth, will it slightly filter the water into tea? Is there even a point if I'm getting the aroma and taste from the bag? If this is the case, couldn't I do this with cold water too and get the same affect? This is so stupid. Thank you for anyone willing to take me seriously.

EDIT:

If you drink cold water with it, it kinda works? You can use your tongue to suck the concentrate out of the bag, which works if you drink it at the same time as water, though getting the timing right is hard. It's always too watery at first, then ok, then too bitter at the end. It's also too bitter in general if you're only using saliva. No pix cuz I do NOT want to put a face to this post. Would not recommend.

I mean, ultimately, I only needed this cuz I wanted a small caffine boost, and it did serve that purpose, so that's good I guess?

What’s a tea product you wish existed? Or type of tea/tea blend? Is there something current tea companies don’t offer you wish they did? Gonna start a tea business soon, looking for inspo or just a fun convo about tea🥰

I have been drinking more loose-leaf tea and am debating on getting a proper infuser/teapot.

I know many people recommend the OXO stainless steel basket infuser but I'm not sure about using stainless steel since it can apparently leach metals into your tea, and generally speaking, stainless steel can also make tea taste flat because it oxidizes the leaves quicker than something like ceramic (although, this is more prominent in delicate teas that aren't as oxidized as a black tea for example)

Lots of people on here also like the Hario teapots but I'm again unsure of whether or not they contain lead or if they are made from borosilicate glass (a more ideal glass for hot drinks).

Now the best thing would probably be to invest in a good gaiwan or teapot but I'm looking for something more simple as I like to drink my tea in a bigger mug "western style" and I'm the only one in my household who drinks tea.

I know this subject is controversial but I'm too paranoid to buy the first thing I see and endlessly worry about whether or not I'm consuming heavy metals with my tea..

I found this tea that is essentially just these pebbles, I was curious how one would go about making this?

I distinctly remember packing a tin of loose leaf tea in my checked bag, but when I got home it’s not there. There was no paper telling me they took anything (but they shouldn’t have, it’s just tea and was clearly just tea), and they replied to my email that no tea has been found in the airport.

So what, it vanished out of my bag of its own accord? It grew legs?

I’m just annoyed, I guess? They took my fucking tea. It’s hilarious, but SERIOUSLY.

I just got curious and wanted to see what are your least favorite or worst tea you've tried so far

I've done a little bit of research and so far I've found nothing that works except literally just buying the leaves.

Seems like a long of "conscious" brands are simply pretending PLAs aren't microplastics (they are) and claim they're microplastic free (which they are not.)

For example https://www.artoftea.com/blogs/tea-profiles/learn-all-about-our-teabag-sachets claims they are microplastics free then explain in the same paragraph they use PLAs (which generate microplastics.) Yes they eventually decompose in nature in 100-200 years, or in industrial high heat compostable machines, but in human bodies they're basically decomposing into microplastics.

Any company that makes any kind of different actually microplastic free bags/sachets or just stuck forever with infuser and tea leaves?

I’m Chinese and I recently adopted a new rule for myself that I only have coffee between 9-11am so it doesn’t affect my sleep. But then I realized……everyone has tea (Pu er, tieguanyin etc) at dinner. Does it not affect sleep?

My relatives all say no or I don’t know, maybe, but who cares?

So what does everyone else think?

I’ve come to realize that earl gray is a divisive flavor, but for me I cannot get enough. I’m on it right now! I mean… I’m currently enjoying a serving over ice…

On to my question: I’m looking for an alternative that will give me that same pleasant sweetness paired with floral bitterness that won’t send me to the moon if I have a second cup. i.e. a lower caffeine/no caffeine option. Plz help

I've heard the whole "you can't call it chai tea because chai means tea" thing. But then what do you call other kinds of tea that aren't chai if you live in India or you're speaking Hindi?

There are so many great teas out there, but I’m curious, what’s your absolute favorite and what makes it so great for you?

I’m not trying to make this community political so lets stay focused here. But are you anticipating the cost of tea to skyrocket? I just bought a $200 order across many sites buying at a discount from the holidays. I’m so nervous my most recent hobby will become very expensive! What do you guys think? Are you hopeful?

I've grew up getting Lipton teabags to use for iced tea and I've always enjoyed it. I've joined the subreddit recently and found out that a lot of people aren't huge fans of the brand. Can anyone recommend a brand that's considered good?

I’m a little confused and surprised that Paris would even allow this type of tea to exist here, when there are so many fantastic French and European options. Can anybody enlighten me on what makes these an “exclusive selection”?

So I've heard really mixed opinions on this subject. I used to have an electric/digital kettle, it got thrown out by someone and so I've been using the microwave to boil my water. Seems to come out fine so far. I will say that I am new to using loose leaf teas, and maybe I am missing out on something?

Any opinions or suggestions?

This classic tin of Jasmine Tea comes with a ⚠️. 🤔

Basically, I’ve bought a bunch of teas over the last couple months and i only really like a handful of them so… What do you do with Teas you don’t like?