Tea Anyone?

[Roze]

So who here is a big tea fan? My friends call me a tea snob because I only drink tea from tea leaves. There are only some tea bags that I will drink. Mostly the Tazo Tea brand from Starbucks.

I want to hear people's tea stories and tea reviews What is your all time favourite tea? Where do you go buy your tea? What tea are you drinking today? How do you prepare your tea?

My two favourite Tea Shops are DavidsTea and Teaopia. I switch between the two stores and haven't decided which one I like best. Both I believe are Canadian companies but they ship anywhere in North America.

I mostly drink green, oolong and jasmine tea. I simply love white tea, but these are a bit pricey (double the price of the other tea), so I only drink them on special occasion.

Right now, I'm drinking a tea call 'Read My Lips', from DavidsTea, its a black tea with peppermint and dark chocolate.

The tea appearance is very cute and is just a sight for your eyes with the little red candy lips and chocolate chips mixed in with the black tea and peppermint leaves. I was quite surprise to find that the tea was not sweet at all. When you take a sip you don't really taste the chocolate but you smell it. Where the tea shine is the peppermint that has a cool lingering feel in your mouth after each sip. This tea is like a soft kiss that gets more passionate with each sip. I didn't think I'd like the tea with the first sip as the taste was completely new to me. With each sip, the tea got better and better. I could never imagine liking chocolate tea but I must say I really enjoy this one. It has definitely open my eyes to chocolate inspired tea.

Cheers,
Roze

 

[zuben el genub]

I like the stuff they use in Chinese restaurants. It is not what is marketed as Green Tea, and I would like to know what it really is.

 

[gallandof]

I love tea, I need to get a good tea kettle to brew it in as now I just use a loose leaf tea ball. When I live though theres not much in the selection for good loose leaf blends,only shop around is teavana. But my favorite style are green teas with light herbal flavors, there's on from tazo thats a mix of green tea, lemon,hibiscus and rose extract. has a very refreshing taste and is great after a long day to just have a cup and cuddle withthe Girlfriend by the fireplace. Another good one from teavana, is what they call samruai chai matte, http://www.teavana.com/the-teas/mate-teas/p/samurai-chai-mate-tea its great mid day. I just wish it was clsoer to my work so I could get tea instead of coffee all the time .

 

[Sak01]

I drink 2 cups a day every day.

(PG Tips + Milk + 2 sugars) x 4.5 minutes = job done. I don't mind this fancy stuff but it doesn't hit the spot for me.

 

[Roze]

I like the stuff they use in Chinese restaurants. It is not what is marketed as Green Tea, and I would like to know what it really is.

Most of the Chinese restaurant I go to uses Green tea with chrysanthemum or jasmine flowers.

I love tea, I need to get a good tea kettle to brew it in as now I just use a loose leaf tea ball.

I really want a proper tea kettle since normal kettle boils the water too hot for green and white tea. One of the salesgirl at DavidsTea told me this trick, where you put a little bit of room tempurature water and have the tea bag lightly sit in it. When you pour the boiling hot water in, it won't 'burn' the tea, so you won't have that bitter tea taste. Another trick is to turn the kettle off a minute before it boils...or let the kettle cool for a couple of minutes before you use it.

Another good one from teavana, is what they call samruai chai matte, Samurai Chai Mate Tea at Teavana | Teavana its great mid day. I just wish it was clsoer to my work so I could get tea instead of coffee all the time .

That tea has soooo much stuff packed into it! How's the taste?

You can buy a 50g tea laves and make your own tea at work That's what I do.

I have like 5 different tea diffusers. It's hard trying to find the perfect tea diffuser. I also use empty tea bags to put my tea leaves in. I find this the best way to encase your tea leaves. I can't stand free floating tea leaves in a cup.

 

[Sak01]

If you're ever in London you should book an afternoon tea at Claridges.

 

[Roze]

If you're ever in London you should book an afternoon tea at Claridges.

 

[pockings]

I love tea. Yunnan Bonay Tea is my personal favorite. I've been drinking this for years. Usually 1 to 2 cups a day

 

[NYCHitman1]

Tea = gross. Although, I forced myself to have a lipton lemon tea this morning because I am sick.

 

[danaj]

I love tea, but usually can't afford anything but the stuff in bags. My favorite types of tea are Earl Grey, Lady Grey, and Chai. I love black teas. I do have a cast iron tea pot for when I get good loose tea, and I save that for special occasions, or when I am studying for finals. I will almost never turn down tea.

 

[Chrome Cat]

I prefer Tetley (bagged tea). I went on a binge of Tazo teas but tastes wear off for me. I'm a binger/purger (not the eating disordered kind); I binge on things until I get sick of them and then I can't eat/drink those things for a very long time.
Also, I'm lazy, so I don't care for the whole teaball thing.
But tea is nice, I go back and forth from tea to hot chocolate but normally (especially during cold months) I have at least one mug (12oz) of one or both each day.

 

[Roze]

Tea = gross. Although, I forced myself to have a lipton lemon tea this morning because I am sick.

If you drink the right tea, it makes the world of a difference. I was never into tea until recently. Was the Lipton tea in a pyramid sachet? Those aren't that bad tasting. They are on the same level as the Tazo tea. I think they are Tetley actually.

 

[batgeek]

if it's generic southern sweet tea, i'm good.

i'm already enough of a beer and scotch snob, i don't need to add any more drink snobbery.

 

[Khatmandu]

Big tea drinker, both iced and hot. I get most of my stuff from Adagio. Great site, even lets you make your own blends.

Possibly my favorite black tea is their Black Dragon Pearls. They also have some pu erh teas which are definitely not for everyone.. some say it's like drinking dirt but I acquired a bit of a taste for them on occasion while dating a girl from China back in college.

You can't go wrong with any of their masters teas either.

For your green teas, they have a super nifty kettle, the utiliTEA kettle that can heat water to the right temperature without resorting to any tricks, can also get it to the proper temp for black teas as well.

 

[Roze]

if it's generic southern sweet tea, i'm good.

i'm already enough of a beer and scotch snob, i don't need to add any more drink snobbery.

I am a vodka snob and an aspiring wine snob, lol.

For your green teas, they have a super nifty kettle, the utiliTEA kettle that can heat water to the right temperature without resorting to any tricks, can also get it to the proper temp for black teas as well.

Thanks katmandu for the link. So, do you use that tea Kettle? I am going to put it on my wish list

 

[saptech]

But of course...

 

[Khatmandu]

I am a vodka snob and an aspiring wine snob, lol.

Thanks katmandu for the link. So, do you use that tea Kettle? I am going to put it on my wish list

I do, works great. Had to get my niece one so she would not steal mine.

 

[Roze]

I do, works great. Had to get my niece one so she would not steal mine.

Nice That's the great way to get someone else to buy you an item

Trying out Green and Fruity. It's a unoxidized green rooibos tea that's caffeine free. It smells nice. Taste is a very subtle, too subtle for my liking. There's a very light fruity sweetness. I think I might have underseeped the tea at 4 minutes. I'm reading the reviews and it said 5-7 minutes. Most of the reviews say that this tea is best served cold, so I might try that another day.

 

[Roze]

I am having a lovely cup of Genmaicha today I love the sweet roasty feel and almost nutty taste of the green tea and roasted brown rice.

I am trying not to ...but I want to deface my tea with honey, lol. I love love honey, especially the unpasteurized farm honey I have <3 Though honey and lemon taste better with English tea (Earl Gray, English Breakfast etc) versus green/white tea.

And tea drinkers, you need to post what you're drinking for the day

 

[BabyBlues]

When I have tea I usually just go for the bags. Its not as good as the loose leaves but I don't have the patience for that. I love Lady Grey. But I recently found Stash Chocolate Mint which I really enjoy.

 

[pockings]

And tea drinkers, you need to post what you're drinking for the day

I'm drinking my fav today in teabag.

 

[Khatmandu]

Today's cup of tea in the morning was Golden Monkey Tea. Very subtle black tea, though naturally sweet. Definitely not a bold blend by any stretch of the word. Bit of a departure from my normal 'wake up' cup of Irish Breakfast Tea.

 

[melim]

Every day:

Several times a week:

I know, not really tea, but I can't do caffeine.

 

[olbriar]

I'm a huge tea consumer but no connoisseur. I brew tea from bags and it's been Lipton's, Cains, and lately Luzianne. I brew my tea by the gallon and wife and I consume that daily.. iced. I have been on this consumption rate for over 40 years.

On another note, have any of you tried sassafras tea? I read about the tea in a children's novel when I was in grade school. I often thought about trying it. A decade ago or so a good friend of mine graced me with some sassafras roots to make some tea. It is quite good and oddly enough... a piece of root can be brewed many many time. I'm now down to my last piece of root which still produces tea as well as the other parts a decade ago. I don't think the root can be purchased over the counter so I suspect a trip to the woods for more roots will be forth coming.

 

[Granite1]

I was drinking Red Rose tea with my mum from a young age. I met a few folks in college that turned me on to some very interesting teas, the most noteworthy was Yerba Mate (pronounced yerba ma-tay). It's not really a traditional "tea" but it's produced for drinking the same way. As Roze stated earlier, I also steep the tea bag in cool water before adding the hot, not boiling, water for a good 5min steep. Then I add just a touch of local honey or agave nectar. Mate has a little after taste, but if steeped properly it's almost unnoticeable.
High in antioxidants, and it gives you a kick in the behind. I love it!

@ olbriar, one of the old neighbors in my neighborhood brewed sassafras beer, it was awesome!! I've heard of using the roots for tea, but I've never tried it. I'll have to find some, and give it a go!! Thanks for bringing up a topic that brought back an awesome memory from my childhood!