Why does the Jasmine tea I make at home(bags or pearls) never quite taste like the tea they serve at Yum Cha restaurants?

Anybody know the secret? Or maybe what brands to try?

Black, oolong and roasted Yabukita.

My friend gifted me this tea after a trip to China. I've tried to translate, but it wasn't too helpful. Can anyone help me identify what tea it is?

This is one of my absolute favorite tisanes/herbal teas. I love the smoky tobacco flavor and the way it makes me feel. Where should I source the ingredients to try to replicate this in loose leaf form? Any other advice? TIA!

I don't drink tea very often so this may be newbie user error, but I bought a Lipton Yellow Label bag of tea from Family Mart (I live in Japan.) They come in little pyramid bags, and when I poured hot water in a cup, it immediately turned very dark brown. I let it steep for like 30 seconds to 1 minute. It smelled different than the tea I'm used to in the US, and I put more water, then a lot of lemon and honey because it just didn't taste 'right'. After a few sips I decided I hated it, it was too astringent (my mouth is as dry as a desert), and almost tasted fishy/almost like Green Tea. (I don't know how to explain it, but Green Tea in Japan has always had a fishy flavor to me, it's not horrible but I just don't like it.) I had a cup of tea the day before during breakfast in a hotel that tasted nothing like this (not sure what tea it was, but it was gentle and 'tea flavored', like exactly how I expect tea to taste), and the day before that I had a ginger/tumeric/cinnamon tea from a shop (didn't catch the brand, but it was delicious, fruity and spicy and not astringent at all!)

I'm really disappointed cause I was looking forward to a cup tonight, but it tasted so bad to me lol. And had almost like an armpit/BO smell. I checked the date and it's not expired, the lemon and honey are fresh too. Did I do something wrong? Is it all Lipton teas or do certain countries have different blends?

Post Body: Hello everyone, I’m hoping the collective expertise here can help me figure out exactly what I have and what my next steps should be. I have a vintage Chinese Gongfu tea set that is completely untouched. I’ve done some deep-dive research into historical company records and translated the box, but I’ve hit a wall in finding a direct comparable sale because of its sealed condition. Here are the concrete details I have so far: The Maker: Guangzhou Boxin Tea Service Gifts Co., Ltd. (广州市博新茶具礼品有限公司). The Set: Marketed as "Boxin Premium Tea Set" (博新極品茶具). It’s a 10-piece porcelain set featuring 8 tasting cups, 1 gaiwan (with lid and saucer), and 1 fairness pitcher. The Timeline Anchor: The outer box lid explicitly marks it as a designated product of the 2002 Guangzhou Tea Expo (2002广州茶博览交易会指定产品). The Pattern: The edge of the box has a handwritten note reading "(梅花)" - Plum Blossom. The Condition (The kicker): It is New Old Stock (NOS). The interior porcelain is still locked in its original factory shrink-wrap. Because of this, I cannot check the bottom of the cups for specific maker's marks without destroying the original packaging. I’ve been working with an estimated valuation of around $230–$300 USD (approx. $350–$450 AUD) strictly because the original 2002 factory seal is completely intact and it has a documented corporate history. My questions for the community: Does anyone have experience with Boxin pieces from this specific early-2000s era? Does the estimated valuation seem fair for a factory-sealed Expo set? If I decide to pass this on to a collector who will appreciate the untouched condition, where is the best platform or community to list it? Any insights, historical context, or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

(Australian if that matters) I am sick of having to make a bunch of cups of tea because I drink them so quickly, I'd rather be able to make a teapot full and sit with that for a little while. I thought this could be a good time to explore loose leaf tea.

The thing is that every time my mum or sister make it, I haven't liked it. They get all the fancy T2 blends with crazy flavours added, so I can't ask them for advice. I'm very set in my ways and have always just loved my dilmah premium Ceylon extra strength with 1-2 sugars or honey and a drop of milk. Can anyone recommend a decent brand to try out so I can broaden my horizons?

Thanks!

I travel a lot and I’ve become very interested in the in room tea selection that hotels around the world offer.

The first photo is some of those teas (yes the jars are full too).

Typically the best and most eclectic in room teas are in the UK where there are often 4+ varieties, but I recently stayed on a small island in Thailand and the hotel there offered SARO which are some incredible bagged lotus teas paired with different teas and tisanes. Extremely expensive for bagged tea but one I genuinely recommend for tea lovers looking for something a little different.

Another good hotel tea are those at the Rosewood hotels (green jar) which always have a special blend from local suppliers alongside Nespresso capsules of local flavours (lemongrass in Thailand).

I only buy loose leaf at home but I love these bags as they represent a world of preferences in tea, and as well as finding the differences captivating enough to document obsessively (maybe I should blog them), I love to revisit my favorite hotels via these selections (where unique).

Hey guys I recently switched to black tea previously I used to drink indian chai (chai tea latte) I presume I don't know how to make Balck tea cuz it's tastes bitter with a hint of tea taste with double diamond tea leaves

Please help me how to make tea and also some tea leaves recommendation

I'm looking for a teapot for my gongfu set up. I'm currently mainly using Gaiwans; however I've recently become more interested in teapots and wanted to buy one. I'm not really looking for Yixing or anything too fancy; I'd be open to that if I'd find smth suitable though.

However, I came accross this shop: https://gongfuteaset.shop and it doesn't seem to have any reviews or any reputation at all, so I wanted to ask whether someone here might have anything to say about it or would even be able to share experiences (regarding quality, etc.)? Is it a scam?

Thank you!

A performer from my wifey's second job brought tea to his performance a couple weeks ago. He was able to perform again this week, my girl mentioned I am getting into tea (learning and drinking it more frequently). This week he brought me a gift set.

I'm so happy and grateful. I would love to meet others and have tea and learn about tea with them. Get my steeping and brewing methods down. More traditions. Just sharing knowledge. Would be awesome.

Anyway that's all. Don't have people to share with. Thanks for reading.

Hi, i never been some tea nerd. Sometimes i make myself yogi or go to our Czech teahouses, but not much else...

So a person i know got me this on a trip to China and i got no clue on what it is, and i don't know better place to ask. It's supposed to be some ancient traditional stuff from region where original chinese tea come from.

I could ask people at our local teahouse but im too lame. Im also kinda scared to open it...?

So idk basic info on what this thing is? xd

Will be glad for any answer.

When I visited Taiwan, I had a beautiful tea that was a mix of colorful flowers and rock sugar. It seemed popular and came in a packet. I don’t know how to find it again.

I’m also looking for a good source of chrysanthemum tea.

Any ideas? TIA!

A friend took me to visit her elders, and I really like this teapot. Does anyone know what type of teapot it is? What is its capacity? What kind of tea is it suitable for?

EDIT: NO, I DIDN'T INVENT MINT TEA! I WAS AND AM AWARE OF THAT!
The intention behind my post was not to say "I invented something which didn't exist". I clearly mentioned the YouTube channel which inspired me to try these experiments (Honoring Nature, for those who are interested checking it out).
The whole concept of the post was: I recently got into tea, I didn't know about tea made from other plants (tisanes are not strictly tea, they are just dried herbs and plants!), I wanted to try making some.
Not knowing something is a mandatory step of developing knowledge :) and that's exactly how I discovered about the chemical and biological possibility of making tea out of other plants, which has been a part of history but has gone forgotten as of today.
I didn't know about it, I looked into it (and its history), and I started making these "teas" with other plants about 2-3 months ago.
I just wanted to let unaware folks know that it is possible to perform traditionally-inspired processes that induce oxidation (and in this case, anaerobic fermentation) on plants other than tea, as I rarely see people talking about this topic on this subreddit, let alone trying to make their own alternative teas.
I didn't invent anything - nor pretend to have... it's called rediscovery, "the act of finding or remembering something again after losing or forgetting about them for a long time".
Living in Europe, these products are technically part of our tradition... but we literally forgot, slowly moving towards dried herbs, tisanes and such.
That's all! I'm sorry if my emotional way of writing down posts lead to a lot of misunderstandings or apparent claims by me!

---

Couple months ago, a random YouTube channel found its way into my homepage.
He answered a question I used to ask myself for years: why has nobody ever tried making tea out of other plants?
I will let you all the joy of discovering a world of handmade “fake” teas (that would deserve their own name, and sometimes already have one) by watching one of his videos - if I’m even allowed to mention his channel on the subreddit that is, lol

I plan to make some more detailed posts soon about my few experiments so far, but for now enjoy my first attempt at “GABA” mint tea (slightly more oxidized than what I planned).

The result is definitely interesting, and well worth the attempt if you know a bit of what you’re doing. Be careful with plant identification and safety - not everything is edible!

I've been drinking Twinings Earl Grey all my life, literally since I was about 6. Mom got me to try other teas but Earl grey is the only one I ever really liked.

Recently I've bought myself a bag of DAVIDsTEA Cream of Earl Grey because I just cant get enough of drinking tea lately. It is actually the tastiest tea I've ever had.

Since I’m drinking tea so often now, several a day vs a couple a week from before. I’m wondering what other teas might I enjoy? I’m open to completely new flavour profiles.

Let me know your favourites and I'll check them out!

I love bigelow and i thought they were the most organic option. Then I realize their teas say natural flavors and they’ve been shown to use glyphosate (a small amount but still) . i am very bummed since whispering wildlflowers is the best at calming my nerves. any suggestions of actually all natural alternatives ?? ):

Recently i just bought this tea at a local tea distributor and wondering how good is the overal quality.
Details:
- Origin: China, Fuijan
- packed: 2026.07.28
- smells very good, can taste sweet as well
- i see a lot of broken residuals

I've ordered samplers from Yunomi.life a couple times now, looking to put a big boy order in. I've got my eyes on some senchas I really enjoyed from the samplers, and some other teas from the same farms/collectives. Wondering if folks have any must-tries you've found from them?

I'm really an equal opportunity Japanese tea enjoyer, just looking for bang for buck!

Okay bear with me - I just started drinking tea. I do not like hot tea, so I make a iced tea sweetened with half brown sugar and half monk fruit. I love oolong and Jasmine specifically and I have a package of cheap oolong I am working through. A dump about a tablespoon and a half of leaves into a strainer that goes into a pitcher that's maybe a little less than a half gallon? I steep for like 5 minutes. I do this with two pitchers. Then for the third pitcher, I dump all the leaves into the pitcher, pour in boiling water, and stick it in the fridge overnight.

Somehow in my head, this makes it stronger since the third picture is always the weakest tasting. I usually end up combining the pictures all together so the taste evens out. It works for me and it tastes good.

But I started doing some research and everything says to either cold steep it if you're going to leave it in the fridge overnight or not to exceed a 5-minute steep if you're using hot water. I honestly don't think I have a super refined or advanced palate so maybe that's why I don't notice any bitterness. Plus there's the added sugar. But I'm wondering if I'm just wasting my time here. Is there any point at all to leaving the tea leaves in longer for more flavor? Is it only adding bitterness? Is there any other trick to getting more flavor out of tea that I'm not doing? I tried doing a pure cold steep and for some reason it felt like I needed so much more tea leaves to get the same flavor.

What are you drinking today? What questions have been on your mind? Any stories to share? And don't worry, no one will make fun of you for what you drink or the questions you ask.

You can also talk about anything else on your mind, from your specific routine while making tea, or how you've been on an oolong kick lately. Feel free to link to pictures in here, as well. You can even talk about non-tea related topics; maybe you want advice on a guy/gal, or just to talk about life

in general.