Free-for-all tea thread!

[IsmiLiora]

I read this thread on another message board, and I thought it would be fun to follow suit and post it here. I got a lot of recs for tea from those threads, and I enjoy reading about other people and their opinions of tea.

So, do you love tea or hate it? What are your favorite types and brands of tea?

Hot/iced? Sugar/milk/none of the above? How often do you drink it?


---
As a child, I never liked tea. I would have to choke it down when I got sick. Thanks to my hippie freshman-year college roommate and my husband, I drink tea on a daily basis now. I'm still kind of a newbie to drinking it, but I've tried a lot of teas in the past few years.

I can only drink it hot. I really don't like sweet tea (AND I'm in the South, too! It's practically blasphemy). For anything cold, I can only stomach the sugary sickly sweet Lipton's tea.

My current favorites are any brand of peppermint and ginger tea (probably because I'm nauseous constantly, but I love the taste, too), Stash Double Bergamot Tea, Twinings Lady Grey, Tazo Passion Tea (My go-to when I meet someone for a coffee date at Starbucks), Archer Farms Fruit Sangria, and Teavana Strawberry Lemonade. I'll occasionally sweeten black tea with a sugar cube or honey, but I usually don't like adding sugar or milk to tea.

I'm not a big fan of green or rooibos tea at all. I only drink Yogi's Super Antioxidant Green Tea because it tastes like Fruit Loops, am I right?.

I generally stick to herbal and black tea. I also drink health teas for digestion, female issues, and colds. I feel like it does make a difference and provide some immediate relief.

Besides tea shopping at the grocery store, my husband and I buy stuff at local farm markets and health stores. Last year, someone introduced me to Kungaloosh (Kungaloosh Tea - http://kungaloosh.com/), and I order their sampler packs every once in a while. It's a great way to try several kinds of tea at once! 

We also have a Teavana locally, but their aggressive salespeople are just horrid. I applied there for a job once and I got to know their sales model. I always have to be on the defensive when I go in. Even though the sales clerks know me and my preferences, they STILL try to sell me the $200 tea machine every time I go in. I normally would never even give such a place my business, but their tea is so stinkin' good.

I'm always open to recs! What kind of tea do y'all like?

[biro]

I like tea a lot. I haven't been to Teavana in a while. I have a metal and glass brewing thing I want to use.

I like strong flavors, the more roast-y the better. I don't like Rooibos, though.

Did you look for a Teavana website? If you can order online, maybe you won't have to deal with the clerks.

[FormerReformer]

I enjoy a good cup, especially when I can get loose-leaf.  My standard go-tos are Earl Grey or Lapsang Souchong, no sugar or cream, though I also enjoy other blends.  I occasionally like what is called in my family "Indian tea" as my grandparents brought the recipe back from their missionary trips to India- standard orange pekoe brewed with half water half milk and a bunch of sugar.

As far as cold tea goes, that's gotta be the one good thing about living back in the South- when I order a glass of ice tea it's automatically made the way God intended- with sugar!  When I lived in a studio in Chicago for a little over a year I had a tea lounge literally right next door to me that I frequented about every day (not kidding, if I didn't make an appearance I'd get friends I'd made while hanging out there knocking on my door wondering what was wrong!  Being broke was no excuse), the employees got so used to me drinking my hot tea without sugar that when summer rolled around and I requested iced tea (they brewed it on the spot and then ran it through a martini shaker with ice) that I just about blew their mind when I not only requested sugar but that the sugar be put into the shaker!

[biro]

Just did a search. You can indeed order tea from the Teavana site. Saves you a trip to the store. 

[Iconodule]

Teavana is way overpriced. I urge you to look for other loose-leaf vendors in your area. Maybe if there's a Chinatown near you or something.

[ozgeorge]

Turkish Apple Tea is my favourite.
Must be served in a glass though!

[akimori makoto]

I'm not a big fan of green [...]

Anathema!

(Joking).

[akimori makoto]

Turkish Apple Tea is my favourite.
Must be served in a glass though!

Surely you mean Greek apple?

[FormerReformer]

http://www.serendipitea.com/ was the supplier for my much missed lounge.  Though if teavana is considered overpriced these guys are about the same.

[ozgeorge]

Turkish Apple Tea is my favourite.
Must be served in a glass though!

Surely you mean Greek apple?

LOL! No such animal! Tea and coffee were popularised by the Ottomans.

[bogdan]

Not a big tea drinker but I do enjoy these:

[Iconodule]

I enjoy most varieties of wu long. I also love earl grey and the Moroccan style mint tea.

[IsmiLiora]

Even though I knew that Teavana had a website, I never thought of buying there because I like to be very specific about my oz amounts and they always try to sneak in extra ounces (while saying with a sugary sweet voice, "Oh sorry! My hand slipped. Is 5 oz okay?") so they can jack up the prices.

I guess they wouldn't do that online, though! Duh. (Neurons misfiring again, apparently).

Ozgeorge - Turkish Apple Tea is awesome! I misplaced my box, though. (Found it in a gourmet shop in Atlantic City, haven't seen it before or since.)

FormerReformer - I agree, who can drink ice tea WITHOUT sugar? I don't get it. And thanks for the serendipitea website! They have.5 oz sample sizes, which is fabulous. I think my next paycheck is probably going to them...


My hometown is smack in the middle of Asian-town, NJ, and I am just too scared to try the tea there because many of the words on the tea boxes are in Chinese! I have no idea what I'm drinking (sometimes the English translations are just as confusing as the Chinese characters), and I am not quite that adventurous yet. I should pick up a few small sizes and just sample them, though.

[IsmiLiora]

I enjoy most varieties of wu long. I also love earl grey and the Moroccan style mint tea.

Moroccan mint tea was the first type of tea that I actually enjoyed drinking. Which brand do you prefer?

[Achronos]

None of that herbal garbage.

[David 2007]

I enjoy peppermint tea sweetened with Stevia.

[Cognomen]

I love tea.

No offense to some, but green tea is about as appealing to me as green meat.  

I'm pretty traditional with my teas, drinking a lot of iced (no preferences other than unsweet really, it's iced) and hot teas.  My favorites tend to be the Ceylons, Assams, and various blends containing them.  I drink a lot of Taylor's of Harrogate Yorkshire and Yorkshire Gold (a wonderful, full English blend with Ceylon).  Unlike the South Yorkshire English football club I support, Taylor's Yorkshire actually puts out a quality product.

I also like an assortment of the Ahmad Classic Tea range, particularly their English Tea No.1, Afternoon Tea, but also an occasional Earl Grey or Darjeeling.

Edit: Had to clarify that I can't do the sweet tea thing.

[Asteriktos]

[IsmiLiora]

^ Get off this thread. 

 

[akimori makoto]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian but now I can't even look at black tea.

[GabrieltheCelt]

I brought this up a few years ago... Heck there's even a fun tea poll to participate in!  Ain't much changed except the Romanian g/f. 

[Asteriktos]

Ok, I'll stop, I'm just bored tonight

[IsmiLiora]

HEY! 

Go join the toll house thread if you are bored. 

[Iconodule]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian

Do you do this with your face painted yellow and a kimono on?

[akimori makoto]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian

Do you do this with your face painted yellow and a kimono on?

Teeehee.

They need to make skin-yellowing cream and offer nose-flattening surgery for us transracials.

Ideally I would be half-asian, I think.

[Alpo]

LOL! No such animal! Tea and coffee were popularised by the Ottomans.

Or even worse, by *gasp* a pope!

Coffee aficionados often claim that the spread of its popularity is due to Pope Clement VIII's influence. Being pressured by his advisers to declare coffee the "bitter invention of Satan" because of its popularity among Muslims and it being a sort of antithesis or substitute for wine (which was used in the Eucharist), upon tasting it he instead declared that, "This devil's drink is so delicious...we should cheat the devil by baptizing it."

[Iconodule]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian

Do you do this with your face painted yellow and a kimono on?

Teeehee.

They need to make skin-yellowing cream and offer nose-flattening surgery for us transracials.

Ideally I would be half-asian, I think.

Look, it's cool that you enjoy our culture and all that, but please don't make it into a fetish.

[akimori makoto]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian

Do you do this with your face painted yellow and a kimono on?

Teeehee.

They need to make skin-yellowing cream and offer nose-flattening surgery for us transracials.

Ideally I would be half-asian, I think.

Look, it's cool that you enjoy our culture and all that, but please don't make it into a fetish.

I'm not as bad as I make out, I promise.

(I'm sure you realise I was joking about the skin cream and surgery?)

[FormerReformer]

I admit I kept up my green tea drinking in an attempt to appear more Asian

Do you do this with your face painted yellow and a kimono on?

Teeehee.

They need to make skin-yellowing cream and offer nose-flattening surgery for us transracials.

Ideally I would be half-asian, I think.

Look, it's cool that you enjoy our culture and all that, but please don't make it into a fetish.

Waitaminute- a bad haircut, a little skin darkening, a kimono, and squinting doesn't make one look convincingly Asian?

Sean Connery lied to us.

[Gamliel]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2h2a7N2zJfY

[orthonorm]

Teavana is way overpriced.

Nice understatement.

[orthonorm]

I love tea.

No offense to some, but green tea is about as appealing to me as green meat.  

I'm pretty traditional with my teas, drinking a lot of iced (no preferences other than unsweet really, it's iced) and hot teas.  My favorites tend to be the Ceylons, Assams, and various blends containing them.  I drink a lot of Taylor's of Harrogate Yorkshire and Yorkshire Gold (a wonderful, full English blend with Ceylon).  Unlike the South Yorkshire English football club I support, Taylor's Yorkshire actually puts out a quality product.

I also like an assortment of the Ahmad Classic Tea range, particularly their English Tea No.1, Afternoon Tea, but also an occasional Earl Grey or Darjeeling.

Edit: Had to clarify that I can't do the sweet tea thing.

Have you prepared green tea properly? And there are many varietials. With some varietials, you only steep for 45 seconds maybe at 165F.

With your non-fermented teas, you do need a decent thermometer (better yet a thermocouple) to get a knack of how long it takes the boiling water to cool (and yes cooled boiled water is better than water heated just to the right temp) and a careful eye on the clock.

I've disabused many of their distaste for the greens by proper prep and using less "grassy" varietials.

[orthonorm]

I don't like Rooibos, though.

This could go into the irony thread. There is no Rooibos tea nor any "herbal tea". They are just boiled plant matter of some sort, unless they are actually mixing it with leaves from the tea plant.

Tea snobbery over.

[orthonorm]

FormerReformer - I agree, who can drink ice tea WITHOUT sugar?

Me.

And it is a great way to make great tasting tea with much fuss over temp and time, especially for the whites and greens.

Some of the greens when cold steeped are fantastic and when cold steeped you can get two or three infusions from them. With quality blacks 4-5.

[IsmiLiora]

I do have to admit that I am not at thermometer stage yet. My friend's mother actually caved at Teavana and brought her one of the expensive automatic tea kettles. Not going to lie, the tea was absolutely amazing -- I drank 5 or 6 cups a day. Still, too much money, despite the time it saves. You don't have to pay attention, just put in the number and voila!

[orthonorm]

You don't have to pay attention, just put in the number and voila!

It would be one less outlet for my neurosis if I had one.

I don't use a thermometer anymore, you just know. Westerns just are going to over-steep whites and greens (and Americans make blacks too weak) because of having not grown up preparing the stuff.

Thermometer is needed at first for most. Again a thermocouple is better. Every kitchen should have one or two.

[sainthieu]

My favorite green tea is Gen-mai cha with roasted brown rice. I also like cranberry, cherry, and peach teas--hot or cold. In the summer, sun tea brewed out in the sun, on the back steps, with sugar and plenty of lemon. I also confess a weakness for iced Peach Raspeberry tea with sugar.

[genesisone]

Yerba mate. There are several ways to prepare it. In a few minutes, I'll be enjoying it as tereré (cold) while sitting outside reading.

Good in the morning prepared as mate cocido (boiled a bit) then sweeten (I prefer honey) and add a bit of milk.

[elijahmaria]

I don't like Rooibos, though.

This could go into the irony thread. There is no Rooibos tea nor any "herbal tea". They are just boiled plant matter of some sort, unless they are actually mixing it with leaves from the tea plant.

Tea snobbery over.

Tisane or ptisan for the herbal snob.

[deusveritasest]

I like many kinds. One of my favorites is called "monkey-picked", a variety of oolong tea.

[deusveritasest]

Genmaicha is another favorite.

[deusveritasest]

Ceylon black tea is a new favorite.

[primuspilus]

Tea...Earl Gray....Hot 

primuspilus

[orthonorm]

Nice varietals and pics deusveritasest!

[NicholasMyra]

My favorite is Green Pu-Erh tea.

[deusveritasest]

Nice varietals and pics deusveritasest!

 

[deusveritasest]

My favorite is Green Pu-Erh tea.

Interesting. I've tried black pu-erh but not green pu-erh.

[orthonorm]

My favorite is Green Pu-Erh tea.

Pu-Erh is the beginning of tea neurosis and leads one down the same road of madness of oenophilia.

[NicholasMyra]

Pu-Erh is the beginning of tea neurosis and leads one down the same road of madness of oenophilia.

But it makes you feel hip and foreign.  

My favorite is Green Pu-Erh tea.


Interesting. I've tried black pu-erh but not green pu-erh.

The Green is not fermented very long and has an almost citrusy taste, while maintaining the ridiculously high caffeine content and potency of Pu-Erh.

[IsmiLiora]

What does the black pu-erh taste like?

[NicholasMyra]

What does the black pu-erh taste like?

Old bark or forest floor, the first time you try it. 

[deusveritasest]

What does the black pu-erh taste like?

Earthy. I get in the mood for it sometimes but not all that often. It's pretty eccentric.

[IsmiLiora]

That's pretty hardcore! I once tried a bark tea (can't remember what type) and I couldn't take a third sip.

Oh wait, slippery elm bark tea is pretty great, though. At least it is very soothing for a sore throat.

[NicholasMyra]

That's pretty hardcore! I once tried a bark tea (can't remember what type) and I couldn't take a third sip.

Oh wait, slippery elm bark tea is pretty great, though. At least it is very soothing for a sore throat.

[orthonorm]

What does the black pu-erh taste like?

Varies widely. Depends how the region, fermentation process, year, how long it has been aged. Some general comments can be made, but it really is like oenophilia. It starts to approach something you do not drink "to drink" but to appreciate, even if that appreciation is something that tastes like moss-covered cedar with hints of clay and three day old raccoon carcass.

But what you are going to get for less than hundreds or thousands of dollars per ounce ain't going to be too complex .

[vamrat]

Jasmine, jasmine, and every once in a while I'll have jasmine.  I also like Thai iced tea (don't know exactly what it is but its red-orangeish and has some form of sweet condensed milk in it.  I also like very heavy black tea with cream and sugar some times.

[NicholasMyra]

Jasmine, jasmine, and every once in a while I'll have jasmine.  I also like Thai iced tea (don't know exactly what it is but its red-orangeish and has some form of sweet condensed milk in it. 

Ah, that's the good stuff.

[orthonorm]

Milk and tea = weird. Or any dairy for that matter.

[orthonorm]

I consort with none who imbibe "bubble tea". There ain't much I won't eat, but that stuff is of the devil.

[Carl Kraeff (Second Chance)]

I like most teas but am fascinated by the Indian Masala Chai that I get at my favorite Indian restaurant.

[akimori makoto]

Green tea frappuccino?

[deusveritasest]

I'm drinking this right now:

[dcommini]

I usually drink green tea with some agave nectar added for sweetness. Some mornings I do the Irish Breakfast tea as posted above...
Also, I got hooked on chai while I was in Iraq. One of the Iraqi Police chiefs would always bring out the chai any time I showed up at his station, mainly because I was the only one who would actually sit and drink the stuff with him - the rest of my squad thought it was too hot to drink tea 

[NicholasMyra]

I like most teas but am fascinated by the Indian Masala Chai that I get at my favorite Indian restaurant.

I have some Nepalese (probably identical) chai powder... it's awesome. You can cook with it or put it in drinks, either way, it's good!

Plus, the only good drink that has black pepper in it. 

[Fr. George]

We drink a number of different teas; despite their variety of flavors, sources, and presentations, I still gravitate back to Constant Comment as my favorite (with honey, and sometimes Metaxa).

[Quinault]

I like earl green and earl white teas a great deal.

My kids are big tea fans as well now. They aren't given straight juice real often. Normally I mix half juice with half green and earl grey tea for them. This drastically cuts down on the sweetness and it tastes wonderful. It also nips any sugar cravings in the bud very quickly.

The Vashon Monks now offer tea AND coffee if you are looking for an Orthodox source for good tea.

http://www.vashonmonks.com/

[IsmiLiora]

Quinault, mixing tea with juice sounds amazing. I need to replace my Pepsi craving, but I finish juice way too quickly. Cutting the juice with tea should do the trick!

[username!]

This time of year my tea must be iced.  Anymore I like it unsweetened and cooled.  The one fancy grocery near here sells loose teas of mass varieties, one smells like a campfire and I like it, can't remember the name...
I like roobis, not tea but herbs and good!

[Michał Kalina]

Most brands of Earl Grey (black tea more generally, no green, red, white...), sugared, no lemon.

[FormerReformer]

This time of year my tea must be iced.  Anymore I like it unsweetened and cooled.  The one fancy grocery near here sells loose teas of mass varieties, one smells like a campfire and I like it, can't remember the name...
I like roobis, not tea but herbs and good!

Most likely Lapsang Souchong, one of my favorites, especially suited to crisp autumn days as the perfect pick-me-up.

[akimori makoto]

[Cognomen]

No offense to some, but green tea is about as appealing to me as green meat.  

Have you prepared green tea properly? And there are many varietials. With some varietials, you only steep for 45 seconds maybe at 165F.

With your non-fermented teas, you do need a decent thermometer (better yet a thermocouple) to get a knack of how long it takes the boiling water to cool (and yes cooled boiled water is better than water heated just to the right temp) and a careful eye on the clock.

I've disabused many of their distaste for the greens by proper prep and using less "grassy" varietials.

Don't tempt me.  I have enough time/space consuming, eccentric hobbies and interests as is.  A thermocouple?  Was that what was broken on the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive?

Plus, I'm pretty content with my black teas.  That said, I'll plead ignorance on the green tea front, and refrain from saying anything else bad about them.  Perhaps if I make it to the S. Ohio meetup, I'll take you up on the lesson.

[NicholasMyra]

This time of year my tea must be iced.  Anymore I like it unsweetened and cooled.  The one fancy grocery near here sells loose teas of mass varieties, one smells like a campfire and I like it, can't remember the name...
I like roobis, not tea but herbs and good!

Most likely Lapsang Souchong, one of my favorites, especially suited to crisp autumn days as the perfect pick-me-up.

Mmm, Campfire in a Cup! 

[Quinault]

Has anyone tried any of the blooming teas? They look so beautiful, but I can't justify the expense for our family of 6.

[IsmiLiora]

^ They are very beautiful in the pot, but to me, I feel like I am drinking perfume. Some of them are very strong. Jasmine is my favorite, though. I recall even seeing some of them in Target for about $15 for 10 or so. Not too bad for a novelty thing, especially if you brew a glass pot of tea when guests are over or when you are celebrating something.

[deusveritasest]

I'm guessing the tea type of the flavor is matcha?

[deusveritasest]

I was just drinking this:



It's a black tea infused with cardamom.

[akimori makoto]

I'm guessing the tea type of the flavor is matcha?

Yes, and it's good and sugary!

[IsmiLiora]

The color looks unreal!

And the whipped cream = sin.    That's somewhere in the Bible, but I'm too busy to find and cite it right now.

[akimori makoto]

Good-unreal or bad-unreal?

[IsmiLiora]

Just unreal. I would totally try it if I wasn't lactose intolerant -- there's milk in it, right?

[akimori makoto]

Yes, but they could do soy for you, I'm sure!

This is a happiness-inducing thread, haha.

[IsmiLiora]

Mmm, now I am craving iced Tazo tea from Starbucks.

Tea is always happiness-inducing. Nothing like a hot liquid searing your internal organs!c

[Marc1152]

When it was available I liked Vietnamese. When that dried up Mexican or Domestic.

Then when I got older in my mid thirties, it just made me paranoid and I coughed a lot so I gave it up.

Now I drink coffee

[deusveritasest]

I'm guessing the tea type of the flavor is matcha?

Yes, and it's good and sugary!

Yeah, I love matcha flavored sweets too.

We have Peet's Coffee and Tea here and I think they do an even better matcha frap. 

[deusveritasest]

I was just drinking this about an hour ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Ceylon-Zarrin-Loose-500g/dp/B000LQOJ9G

[NicholasMyra]

I was just drinking this about an hour ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Ceylon-Zarrin-Loose-500g/dp/B000LQOJ9G

The box makes it look quite enticing. I'd like some, as well.

[NicholasMyra]

I heard there was such a thing as Green Rooibos; that's Rooibos that hasn't been oxidized and looks like grass clippings.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=green+rooibos&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=933&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi

still want to try it someday...

[Cognomen]

I was just drinking this about an hour ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Ceylon-Zarrin-Loose-500g/dp/B000LQOJ9G

How does it compare with Ahmad's Ceylon (which I love)?

[deusveritasest]

I was just drinking this about an hour ago:

http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Ceylon-Zarrin-Loose-500g/dp/B000LQOJ9G

The box makes it look quite enticing. I'd like some, as well.

I got it at a local Middle Eastern food market.

[deusveritasest]

I was just drinking this about an hour ago:
http://www.amazon.com/Pure-Ceylon-Zarrin-Loose-500g/dp/B000LQOJ9G

How does it compare with Ahmad's Ceylon (which I love)?

Sorry, I don't know. I haven't tried Ahmad's yet. I just started out trying their brands. I got their Cardamom tea and their Green tea at the same time and place I got the other Ceylon tea, and that's all I've tried from Ahmad so far.

[deusveritasest]

Now I was just drinking this:



It tastes to me a fair amount what I've tasted of the "gunpowder" variety except more mild and less bitter. It's quite nice.

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