amateurtea said

Tea Recommendations for a Newbie

Hi everyone, I just joined Steepster and I am a ‘newbie’ at tea. I want to start drinking more tea, specifically green tea, but I am very unfamiliar with flavors and recipes. If anyone has any recommendations I would love to hear them. Thanks!

8 Replies
Hezo541 said

Maybe you could try the Longjing green tea or Maofeng Tea of Green Tea. Afternoon is a good time for tea.

amateurtea said

Thanks for the tip!

Login or sign up to post a message.

nycoma said

https://yunnansourcing.com/collections/green-tea

lots to chose from and they’re all on sale. make sure to buy various sample bags instead of lots of one kind. if you’re new, try lots of green tea if you want, but also try white tea and oolong.

amateurtea said

Awesome! I’ll be sure to check it out :)

Login or sign up to post a message.

Rasseru said

Also try some tie guan yin (green oolong) and bai mu dan (white peony). They appealed to me when I started on this whole Asian tea thing years ago. They are generally good and not expensive

Login or sign up to post a message.

If I could make a few recommendations, I would suggest some of the Laoshan green teas. They tend to be approachable. Also, I would recommend Bai Mao Hou, Gunpowder, and Yunnan Mao Feng. Really, Yunnan greens, in general, tend to be readily available from a number of reputable sources and offer a great way of easing into other styles and types of tea. Oh, and I also second Longjing as it makes a pleasant cup. Lu Shan Yun Wu and Liu An Gua Pian are others to consider. If you’re interested in oolongs at all, Tieguanyin, Four Seasons, Ben Shan, and Huang Jin Gui all make good starting points.

amateurtea said

Thanks a lot for the recommendations! I’m interested in trying the oolongs now

Login or sign up to post a message.

I would second that lighter oolongs and even mid-roasted oolongs might work well as an entry point, along with green tea. I pretty much only like Longjing as green teas go, since it tends to be less grassy. You might consider this source for a traditional Vietnamese green tea and light and roasted oolongs from Vietnam, or sit it to the side until it makes sense later (following). Vietnamese green tea (the fish-hook or Thai Nguyen style) tends to be a bit mineral intensive as greens go, nice enough, and still a little vegetal. If you do order from that source you might also consider an Oriental Beauty and jasmine black tea from there, some really unique offerings. I’ve reviewed them, if a neutral party description is of interest, but it works well to read more than one person’s take on any tea if you can since your personal preference and theirs could be different. That source (Hatvala):

http://drinksbeansandleaves.com/Vietnamese-Tea/Vietnam-Oolong-Tea/Oriental-Beauty-Oolong-Tea-Vietnam

Login or sign up to post a message.

Login or sign up to leave a comment.