Secret Languages: Tea Houses

[@ModernRogue]

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[@levigriffin5553]

Just wanted to share with y’all how impactful those first Gong Fu Cha videos have been on my life. I love tea, and I’ve been able to taste so many amazing new varieties and share those with friends. I even won over my fiancé on our first date by showing her pictures of my tea set up. I invited her over for a session (I brewed an aged white tea), and the rest is history. We sit down to just drink tea and talk a few times a month, and it’s our favorite stay-at-home date night. Thanks!

[@westchinatea]

Wow thank you for sharing this I love this story

[@VintageFenrir]

19:51 I had a friend who was Mormon. He said he wasn't allowed to drink tea because it contained caffeine, and as a Mormon he was not allowed to consume any kind of stimulant.

[@thebrownhat1]

Always love when So-Han is on the show! People who haven’t see it need to check out the Tea House Ghost channel he hosts.

[@westchinatea]

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[@TimHoekstra]

Ever since discovering gong fu tea a few years ago it has been life changing. No more (coffee) anxiety. Life has become more relaxed, mindful and connecting and actionable.

[@westchinatea]

🫖🎉

[@legoobi-wankenobi3080]

They brought So-Han Fan back!

[@carbon_bomb]

W

[@whatsupdog1761]

Strip Teas 🤌

[@ObservantPiratePlus]

Sounds like a great combo business name.

[@tiagobelo4965]

​@@ObservantPiratePlusnah, it's best if you just make it a good teahouse whilst staying consistent with the strip mall's aesthetic

[@RobWVideo]

There used to be a lingerie boba tea place in Vegas Called Milk Teaze. Got killed off by the lockdown.

[@Crushanator1]

i love these episodes. its so cool how every person who has a hobby full of what feels like secret knowledge wants to share their passion and love for that hobby with new people

[@orangeoranges11]

your first tea house video was actually why i started drinking different teas so i'm glad to see more about it

[@cocobutter3175]

I was already into loose leaf tea, but thanks to these tea videos, I went down the rabbit hole and now have a tea shelf with every tea variety in existence, a chao style gong fu set, and a tea pet named Wú Xiá. I almost went with Batman, since he's a bat, but I went with Wú Xiá instead. He's pretty cool.

[@robgibbons1139]

Holy crap yall! I saw your first episode on tea years ago, went and visited that tea house and then had my wedding there! So Han officiated my wedding :)

[@westchinatea]

lol hey buddy give my love to Mei Mei! Glad to see you hear in the comments 💗

[@Fittiboy]

I've been self-medicating with tea since when I first found the Understanding Tea video you guys did, and then earlier this year I got my ADHD diagnosis. Been trying different ADHD meds, but the stimulants haven't helped me so far, so now I'm back to tea. It doesn't address most symptoms, of course, but getting tea drunk allows me to read a good book and just feel nice. It lowers stress and tension more than anything else, and I'm very grateful to have found the world of tea through these videos!

[@ModernRogue]

It’s really remarkable how much the ritual matters for this stuff. It’s like you’re sending a press release to your body that “hey: we’re gonna settle down and enter flow state for a bit.” So glad it’s been working for you. -Brian

[@Fittiboy]

@ Yes, exactly! The ritual is a massive part of it, as it puts the mind into the proper state. Before I got into tea, a friend introduced me to pour-over coffee through a James Hoffman video, and that ritual has a similar effect. I still do both daily: Gong fu cha and pour-over coffee! (Matcha too!)

[@alexengelman8568]

Your first video with So-Han has been a huge impact to me, I’ve been practicing gong-fu tea ever since then. I now volunteer often at West China’s sister teahouse in Portland and the community and friends I’ve made there mean so much to me. I hope to see more tea videos from you guys so other people can learn and experience too

[@jasonedson4632]

My wife and I sat at that exact table after last year's Bastard's Ball and it was an amazing way to recharge and yes - lots of conversation with new people!

[@devilbub8709]

Andrew Heaton is a good sign, so this'll be pretty good

[@tysongilmore659]

Super excited for a full Tak video!

[@ModernRogue]

Coming soon!

[@wesh3338]

so glad to see so-han back on the channel

[@LukasTheTerminalKiwi]

FINALLY A TEA EPISODE!

[@caseymakes]

I went here with a few new friends a couple weeks back, it was great! Leeland led us through a tea journey for an hour and a half that flew by in a blink because we were having so much fun! I'm glad to see y'all going back and giving this place some love!

[@hayliep]

So happy to see more videos with west china tea! Miss Jason though...

[@elijahp.3720]

You had me at Heaton

[@koda_pop]

aight im gonna have to find and go to some local tea shops now lol i've always been a huge tea drinker, and never thought to go to a tea house!

[@josephschubert6561]

Glad to see another teahouse video!

[@larunaaxthemischievous9762]

Ever since the first episode on tea I was awakened to one of my daily practices and west China tea has been my number one place I get my tea from. By the way, I have become a collector of the mysterious purple varietal teas and purple grace on their website is an excellent first choice

[@blkgravido]

Nice, just saw the two other episodes aboute tea and now find another one. That's just lovely.

[@sellitbetter]

I am glad to see you back in the tea house

[@sashas3332]

Awww I love So-Han Fan

[@RizenST]

Please do more videos with So-Han!

[@westchinatea]

Thanks fam! Love doing these

[@TeapotDaddy]

Always happy to see another tea video ^^

[@jonathanchoo540]

8:30 the nervous sip heh heh

[@mysteriousdeath14400]

I really want to go down that science rabbit hole! Please do a tea science rabbit hole video!

[@westchinatea]

I’m down, we can do it…

[@NinaCohen-dl4hm]

​@@westchinateaI discovered the health benefits of oolong tea through a book. Although its about rituals, foods, drinks that optimize health and quality of life, [and incidentally about weight (obesity) management.] There are a few chapters about the history, crafting, making of roasted oolong and raw green tea, and a LOT about the science of tea. The book is called "The DNA Diet", (how foods and drink protect your DNA: so its an anti-cancer diet as much as a weight management diet.) and the author traveled to Taiwan to interview tea scientists there. That's a great source to start a podcast about the science of tea.

[@justinwilliams7148]

Since the server has to drink the tea to monitor the quality, do they get an equal portion or a smaller portion?

[@westchinatea]

More or less the same. If I’m serving a large group I’ll just pour myself a tiny sip to taste but make sure everyone else gets a full cup

[@staindnirv]

Making sure to comment for the content I subscribed for. Just wish I could find a place like this near me. The communal aspect seems lacking near me.

[@JP-th8sq]

You guys need to make chifir, basically a crap ton of tea that you brew like coffee. You boil it until the leaves drop to the bottom. Extremely bitter but also massive amounts of caffeine, guanine, and adenine. It kind of gets used as alcohol in russian prisons and when gulags were around, there too. It's actually just nuts to drink, like an energy drink but it has the tea drunk effect without drinking multiple cups.

[@westchinatea]

Tell me more…

[@JP-th8sq]

@@westchinatea it’s usually 100-ish grams (basically any amount) of black tea leaves, quality doesn’t really matter, per person. One unit of measure used is match boxes and 5-8 boxes worth of black tea (iirc I’m going off a video I saw years ago of a Russian dude smoking cigarettes in an apartment making it), boiled until the leaves drop to the bottom of the container. It honestly could taste a lot worse, granted I eat like a Neanderthal, but it is legitimately bordering on a drug in terms of how it makes you feel. I’ve never been tea drunk but from my understanding of it, I guess I’ve been chifir drunk. It’s definitely interesting to try.

[@Heartwing37]

I need a tea shop for introverts. Maybe that’s just called “staying home.”

[@TheBigburcie]

Maybe have it set up like some Japanese sushi restaurants where you sit in a cubicle with a pull down shade in front of you. Your food is passed through a window then they close the shade until you ask for more

[@westchinatea]

You can come be an introvert at our teahouse, we have lots of introverts. They just come and sit at the table and drink tea and say nothing for like 4-5 hours, but they’re still part of the community

[@smokinwoodz]

pleaaase, i need more tea episodes

[@alecdamsell46]

I love West China Tea’s teas!

[@Mistwolfss]

Did they end up moving to 7th Street? When I look them up online they are just on I35

[@alecdamsell46]

@@Mistwolfss from what I can tell, they are in the process of having everything moved over to 7th street and it should be done by September. In fact, this Modern Rogue video takes place in the new tea house. (I don’t live in Austin but this information came from the WCT instagram).

[@GREEVIP]

love the tea episodes!

[@richardamiro8266]

Thank you❤

[@asloan193]

I love seeing that Tak board knowing I played on it in Vegas.

[@helloimzane]

TAK!!!!! Ahhh I love that game.

[@gryphonprovenzano3156]

It’s a beautiful game (ZING!)

[@RyanStonedonCanadianGaming]

Wait a minute, I'm a tea drunk 😆

[@kilo3989]

Okay I'm glad they introduced the new guy I was like "oh wow, he looks different..." 😅

[@billy91011]

I wished I lived in that area because I would love to go in and find out if there is actually a tea I like because I haven't liked anything I get from the store

[@MrKevins39]

Andrew Heaton has an awesome dog

[@ModernRogue]

accurate

[@daymianhogue1634]

Is there any easy way to search for a "3rd place / gong fu cha" tea house? Rather than finding a normal one?

[@westchinatea]

There’s not a lot of them but come visit ours! If you can’t do that serve tea out of your house or a park or whatever it’s basically the same thing

[@daymianhogue1634]

@@westchinatea id love to, but I'm a Midwesterner and that's more than a weekend trip. But fair enough.

[@svedfgrgeerhwehgr]

Thought that was Matthew McConaughey for a second

[@marpheus1]

Me too!

[@westchinatea]

I get that all the time

[@svedfgrgeerhwehgr]

@@westchinatea I'm so disappointed I didn't come visit your business while I was in Austin haha I lived there for about 5 months last year and didn't think about it. I hope to visit my friend there soon and convince him to go with me.

[@westchinatea]

@@svedfgrgeerhwehgrdo it!

[@bsgaming3773]

I keep passing by this place.

[@charlestravis9604]

where's Uncle Iroh?

[@HighTotally420]

11:00 Mormons can’t drink tea because they aren’t allowed to have caffeine but otherwise this is a very good point

[@Cmcmillen77]

Now we’re getting back to the good stuff. 😊

[@marpheus1]

I want a video about Tak!

[@ModernRogue]

hang in there. We teased that one on purpose!

[@Mrmoocows99]

Oh im super early, I thought this was uploaded the other day, hell yeah.

[@julienlebamoff1224]

I like the Geiger counter clicking in the background

[@jonathanauffarth5646]

You’re playing Tak! Great game!

[@gryphonprovenzano3156]

You can play it online as well.

[@RossGoodman]

What is the board game you were playing at the start?

[@gryphonprovenzano3156]

It’s called Tak (a beautiful game)

[@gryphonprovenzano3156]

please make a Tak video!!

[@ChrisMcDonough]

It's Heaton!

[@adamtpeterson]

Waiting for the ScamStuff link to buy a copy of Tak!

[@ModernRogue]

working on it!

[@Castheknotted]

Im actually missing the old ontro. Damn

[@MansMan42069]

CAUSE I'M A MODERN ROOOOOoooooguuuee...

[@LiquidCandyMedia]

Bring Jason back 😢

[@bullishgroup8304]

How is it when i start to get back into tea after all the drama of the past year you come team up again lol like on que i order more tea and you post a video

[@westchinatea]

There’s a word for that in Chinese it’s called 茶缘 “tea destiny”

[@bullishgroup8304]

@@westchinatea hey quick question, I want to try aging and treating tea in my own is there any way I can buy undried or cooked leaves?

[@SirFrederick]

that reminds me, my tea chest is a bit sparse

[@mrcactus_jones]

That is a cool giwan.

[@ThePWNDR]

Andy Dick is such a sad story. Dude has been strung out for 15 years straight.

[@DMMatt]

Since when does Professor Heaton leave the house without a tweed jacket?

[@OnIiKa]

I miss Jason.

[@nrvanderpoel76]

3

[@cebsaid2932]

I prefer tea homes

[@WhisperingWinds0]

while some things ring true, comparing Tea Houses to Starbucks as the direct comparison with Coffee, it's not fair. a Local Coffee shop would be the correct option.

[@Verpabobz]

This whole intro talking about Starbucks is so funny to me because that’s exactly how it is. However, I used to work there and they actually train baristas the opposite of what you saying claiming that it’s a place to connect and do work and spend time. Lots of corporate brainwashing.

[@spencerlloyd7378]

First?!?

[@charlieolsson1326]

Holy shit im early

[@empteenet]

Wonderful stuff, tea. The medical effects are no joke and you should check with your healthcare provider if you are on a prescription, and chart the tea you drink if you are not, and you drink the tea regularly, as some herbs will affect your body in ways that can conflict with some medications. Just putting this out there. Some common things are valerian root and chicory for instance, or, say, mint if you have GERD and other tea herbs that have an affect on your body that could interfere with medication. If not, go wild. If so, be cautious, but caution is not exclusion. Tea therapy comes with caution because it is effective, and should be treated with respect.

[@FusionDeveloper]

First and foremost, I let my body tell me what is good and bad for me. I use science and general health recommendations to help make my decision and I am always willing to change my stance. One example is "fat". Fat in a diet is 100% necessary to be healthy. it is not poison and not deadly and not the cause of all poor health. Eating extreme excess of fat and/or extreme excess just about anything, will throw your body out of balance and cause health issues. Even drinking too much clean drinking water too quickly will kill you, but not 1 person will ever suggest a "no water diet". If consuming too much of something is causing you health problems or causing you to feel like it is putting a strain/stress on your body, then listen to your body and don't go so extreme on it. If consuming even a small amount of something causes you severe cramps or (insert many unpleasant things here), then you probably shouldn't consume it at all, unless you discuss that with your doctor and the doctor tells you that if you don't consume it, the outcome will be far worse. If you feel strongly enough that a doctor is suggesting you do something harmful, you can always check with other doctors. All I am really trying to say with this, is that if you consume something that makes you feel harmed, you maybe shouldn't do it. However if it adds value to your life and seems to boost your health, well... don't ask me, I'm not a doctor.

[@otherrestrained4405]

Actually mormans used to not be allowed to drink any caffeine. It was considered a drug but during campaigning Mitt Romney got caught drinking some, and so the mormans officially announced they do NOT consider caffeine a drug

[@aSipOfHemlocktea]

It is a misconception that Mormons are not allowed to have any hot beverages or caffeinated beverages, the pearl of great wisdom says that all things can be done in moderation and is all right every once in awhile as a treat Source: ex-mormon from Utah

[@aSipOfHemlocktea]

Yes I know this is an oversimplification and will upset current practicing Mormons

[@westchinatea]

@@aSipOfHemlockteathank you! I know lots of practicing LDS folk who drink tea like maybe a disproportionate amount… makes sense cause it’s not alcohol at least!

[@zhernandoz43]

damn, did the webcomic hat guy die or was he just (not?) racist? rip

[@Shards-of-Narsil]

Mormons can't have caffeine either.

[@shanleyshoupe7873]

rolling my eyes at the 'nobody talks to each other anymore theres only phones' shut up

[@infectedrainbow]

"coffee houses are about people getting together and talking, making new ideas." I can't get coffee outside of my house because of people like you.