Mastodawn

Hi, I'm Eko!

I've been interested in specialty teas since ~2017, and I'm currently working in a tea house located in Finland.

I'll post pictures & notes on the teas I drink, as well as the tea houses & tea events I attend 🍵

I hope to find other tea enthusiasts on the Fediverse!

#tea #specialtytea #gongfucha #naritea #teabrewing #chinesetea #japanesetea #taiwanesetea #teahouse #helsinki #＃茶

@eko_cha Hi! 👋
Nice to see you here, I think you served me some great tibetan tea at Nari once! I remember the tengwar tattoo as we talked about it a bit then

@lumo@piipitin.fi ahh so it was you! I was wondering if we met when I saw your review of Nari 💚 I'm quite face-blind, so if you come by Nari again when I'm there don't hesitate to mention we talked here to jog my memory 😅 ps: I'm drinking some Nari tibetan dark tea right now 🥰

@eko_cha Sure! Hopefully I get to visit again soon, I really liked the place. It's just than usually when I'm in Helsinki, there's rarely time to properly sit down for tea...

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 22

@eko_cha Hi hi! I've been getting reaaaallly into tea over the past few months and I'm very excited to see what you're gonna post on here

@njion@bark.lgbt ohh nice! If you feel like sharing what kind of teas are your favorite so far, I'd love to hear about it 👀

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 22

@eko_cha I'll consult my spreadsheet when I get home and tell you the specific names but for now I can say that lately I've been enjoying some lightly oxidized, flowery taiwanese oolongs and I've been getting really into quality black teas from China and Darjeeling. Also I love sencha but other japanese green teas I've tried like kabusecha, bancha or gyokuro weren't really my thing. Next time I order tea I'll definitely wanna explore more green teas from other places since as far as I know they're made differently outside of Japan (roasting vs steaming I believe?)

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 22

@eko_cha Oh also I recently got to try a yellow tea and absolutely loved it!!

@njion@bark.lgbt
Ahh yes yellow teas can be so lovely!!! Was it a Chinese one?

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 23

@eko_cha yesss it was Huang Xiao from Anhui, China

@njion@bark.lgbt
Oh lovely!! I recently had a Huang Xiao from Mengding in Sichuan, I wonder if they were anything similar 😍

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 22

@eko_cha Ok so more specifically some of my favorites have been: Da Hong Pao, Tie Guan Yin, Huang Xiao, Cui Yu Oolong, Jin Xuan Oolong, Keemun, Golden Tips Yunnan, Darjeeling FF

@njion@bark.lgbt
Ohhhh super nice, thanks for the detailed answer!! Yeah I absolutely love dark oolongs & yan cha in the winter and autumn, and now that where I am the spring has started, the taiwanese high mountain oolongs are starting to feel lovely too 🥰 Interesting that you only like sencha but not other types of japanese greens, I'm personally a big fan of gyokuro but of course I understand it's not for everybody. I love Chinese greens (which are indeed pan fried instead of steamed) so I hope you'll get to try that this summer!

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 23

@eko_cha Do you have any recommendations regarding Chinese green teas worth trying? Unfortunately I don't have the kind of money to buy the nicest and freshest teas very often so pls not too expensive ^^'
I can splash out a little bit if I get a recommendation for something really good though!

@njion
Did someone say tea spreadsheet?
🤓

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕May 24

@pockets @eko_cha Yes! I keep track of the teas I've tried in a spreadsheet with region of origin, price, store I got it from as well as my descriptions of the aroma, flavor and an overall rating

@njion
I'll show you mine if you show me yours?

Though I don't have region of origin or flavor descriptions, just brewing guides based on previous brews & ratings, and the current contents of each of my infusers.

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕4d ago

@pockets @eko_cha Oh heck sorry I got distracted and forgot to reply. We could do that! Just keep in mind the spreadsheet is super subjective and I'm probably not very good at describing aromas/flavors quite yet ^^'

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕4d ago

@pockets @eko_cha
I still gotta fill some stuff in

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/14K-UiUeBsxYHlpvc2YcQ1rePyPwRLxSiAbDF8eCebec/edit?usp=drivesdk

Public tea spreadsheet

Google Docs

@njion
Interesting.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M-gpbVlcMqsQBNCxEWoowmsHLZ1fHl-brhuRXTfE8n8/edit?usp=drivesdk

tea 0.3

Google Docs

@pockets@beige.party
@njion@bark.lgbt ohh super interesting to look at both of your spreadsheets! I personally take my notes on a notebook, so can't share them 😅
I would suggest also marking down the harvest year if you have access to it, it would help if you buy the same tea from the same brand again and then you can compare how different it got!

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕8h ago

@eko_cha @pockets Sadly the store I buy from doesn't have the harvest year listed for a lot of their teas. If they do, they put it in the tea name so that makes its way into the spreadsheet but they usually only do it for some fancier fresh teas.

I don't think any polish online store lists harvest year on all their teas and definitely none of the physical store chains do at all.

That said I have recently managed to acquire some very fresh teas from this year's first flush and they have been quite tasty :3

@njion @eko_cha
The store I shop from doesn't provide most of that info either. But I also don't really have a discerning enough taste to have regional preferences (or maybe I just haven't noticed since I don't really pay attention to regions or years).

I know my Ceylon tea is from Sri Lanka while my Manuka is from New Zealand, but other than those two... I have no idea.

Njion the Cofftea Dragon ☕7h ago

@pockets @eko_cha I have found that there is a difference in many cases. Like green teas from Japan are very different from those from China.

Black tea from China is generally not very bitter and has a lot of subtle flavors and Assam black tea is more bitter and intense. Darjeeling on the other hand is super flowery and light.

But also I'm able to tell all this because I actively pay attention to origin and try to be very mindful of aromas and flavors when I drink tea. I think that's in large part how you develop a more discerning taste ^^ (I mean that's exactly what I did with coffee and it worked quite well!)

Steffi Jên 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🏳️‍⚧️May 22

@eko_cha Tea fan here too, with dreams of opening my own shop selling teas and tea-related paraphernalia 🫖
Pleased to meet you 👋

DB Schwein May 22

I'm a big fan of teas and other leaves-in-hot-water drinks 😁

We're entering the hot time of year where I am so rooibos is top of my rotation because it makes a fabulous drink both hot and cold, and is one of the few I can enjoy without milk.

@deirdrebeth@mas.to
Oh yes that's nice! I personally really like Japanese greens in summer because I find them so refreshing - and they work well as cold brews too!

Eric Lawton May 22

I'm rather boring with my #tea.

An ordinary Brooke Bond for when I'm not really paying attention to the tea.

Lapsang Zhivago, Pu-erh or a blend of the two, Dragonwell, Ilam estate, Tiger Hill, Soom first flush in my cupboard right now, for when I take a tea break.

@EricLawton@kolektiva.social
Doesn't sound too boring to me! Have you had any Dragon well of this year's harvest yet? 💚

Eric Lawton May 23

Not as far as I know. My tea store doesn't say what the harvest date is.

Doreen32128 ready to rumble!May 24

@eko_cha Good luck!

@eko_cha
You might try following @tea also. It's a group of people posting about tea 😊

@cshlan@dawdling.net thank you, I tried to do so last week but I'm starting to wonder if this is a mastodon thing, and not a Pixelfed thing, because the account (yes I've checked that I have the correct one) is empty and I haven't managed to tag it... I'll try from my computer, maybe that'll work better!

@eko_cha
Ah! You may be right.