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Originally Posted by Gatto /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Also for people who buy loose leaves where do you get them?
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I'm a life-long tea drinker -- definitely the oddball of the family, since everyone else drinks black coffee by the gallon.
I'm fortunate to live two blocks from a shop that supplies loose tea to the high-end restaurants in my neighborhood. They sell a lot of it, so while the selection is a bit limited, it's always fresh.
Favorite black teas:
Keemun
Assam
Orange Pekoe
Darjeeling (Only buy this occasionally, when I want to treat myself to something expensive. Some of the single-graden varieties are jaw-droppingly pricey. My local sells a lower grade which I don't buy.)
Favorite greens:
Gunpowder (have to source that from a different shop; my local doesn't sell it.)
Sencha
Dragon Well
Oolongs:
Formosa Oolong (can't afford the high-end grades, but my local has a nice, relatively inexpensive offering.)
As for paraphernalia, I use a glass mason-style jar (with measurement markings) to brew. Then decant into a cup. I like glass because you can watch the leaves swirl and unfold.
I've long been curious about Xixing pots, but the curing of the pots seems like a hassle, not to mention that I've seen about ten different methods for doing it. Of course every one is the "correct" way according to the person giving the instructions. Also the brewing method is a mystery to me. I know you are supposed to use more tea than you would in a standard pot, and brew time is supposed to be short (30 secs to 1 minute), but again, descriptions of how to do it leave me confused. Various YouTube vids of the method haven't helped.
I thnk I'll stick with my humble glass jar; makes a good cup of tea, and that't the point, no?