A Nice Cup of Tea!

[columbus]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I like tea with milk, and see no reason to "force myself" to learn to like it without .

seconded!!

[BearMountainBooks]

I ONLY like my hot tea with milk/cream!!! I am an American so our tea selection isn't the same as in Europe (I was amazed at the tea selection we saw in some stores in London a few years ago when I visited. There was a particular dept store we went to--can't remember the name at this second. The first floor was chocolates, tea, snacks--it was GREAT)

I LOVE tea with cake or a chocolate. I used to like Earl Grey...I find myself leaning towards the less strong Lady Grey these days.

In the US: Luzianne tea is the best "bulk" tea and the best for iced tea. This is my morning tea in the winter. A nice clear brew, though not necessarily with special notes, this is my standby, good sturdy cup of tea, better than all the other "brand" names. Comes in decaf, which is especially nice when I need that tea for the end of the day!!!

I get my Jasmine and Chinese type teas from a China market. They carry a better selection than a regular grocery store, although my Chinese friends inform me that I can only get quality Jasmine by buying it direct. Yes, uhm.

I did find this great tea sold by Glandeves in France. It's a peony, saffron, wild blend:
http://en.glandeves.fr/index1.html It reminds me of some of the very best green teas that I have ever been lucky enough to drink (I do have a friend in Japan that takes pity on me and sends me some wonderful green tea now and then.) Anyway this white peony tea was one of the best green type teas I've had. The saffron that I got from the same store was really excellent as well (although I am now getting way off topic...)

There is nothing like a good cup a tea, a selection of chocolate (here in the US that would be See's candies!) and a wonderful book!!!

Now I need tea. Or hot chocolate my other favorite...

Maria
Sage (multi-formats)
Catch an Honest Thief (Kindle Only)

[ahammer]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

I ONLY like my hot tea with milk/cream!!! I am an American so our tea selection isn't the same as in Europe (I was amazed at the tea selection we saw in some stores in London a few years ago when I visited. There was a particular dept store we went to--can't remember the name at this second. The first floor was chocolates, tea, snacks--it was GREAT)

I LOVE tea with cake or a chocolate. I used to like Earl Grey...I find myself leaning towards the less strong Lady Grey these days.

I get my Jasmine and Chinese type teas from a China market. They carry a better selection than a regular grocery store, although my Chinese friends inform me that I can only get quality Jasmine by buying it direct. Yes, uhm.

you can get a good tea in the us.

my grocer used to have like diffrent 50 teas from stash tea. (now I just order from them online. http://www.stashtea.com/. that are based in Portland,Oregon)
but it must have only been me buying them becuse they stop having tea but
ice tea. also I think ice tea was started in the states if I recall right.

you said you like Earl Grey and green tea. maybe try Earl Grey
one of the many types they dont sell in bags.

they also have Yamamotoyama tea. should be very good tea.. have yet to try it but it is on my list.
jasmine

[astra]

Originally Posted by HarryT

If you buy cheap rubbish, yes, but not if you buy a decent brand.

I think I have to google, cannot argue about it.

I tried at least 5 different Twinings teas, 2 Yorkshire teas, Lipton, 2 teas from ASDA and Tetley tea bags.
My opinion about their quality is in my first post in this topic
The only one I wanted but I didn't try yet is Ahmad tea bags. They are very pricy for tea bags
I have their loose tea when I want a good black tea and I usually add 5-6 small leaves of Ahmad's Earl Gray (that I normally don't like except in very tiny proportions).

What I find as oddity is that Lipton(black) and Ahmad teas you cannot buy in high street supermarkets such as Tesco, M&S, Sainsburys, Waitrose etc. They are made only for export and considered to be one of the best English teas but you cannot buy them? You can find them only in T&K Maxx, Duty Free or souvenir shops.

I didn't "force myself" to like tea the way I prefer to drink it (in daily life I still use tea bags, I cannot afford to brew tea at work ). Just like I don't "force myself" to drink coffee, because I dislike its taste. It is more a matter of learning a bit of the drink you like and try it the way other people drink, especially people who actually grow it up and produce it. I don't want to say that tea with milk is not a yummy drink(although, I don't really like it, only when I have fever). However, it is definitely not a tea drink as it was devised many generations ago by people who discovered it. So, when you start adding milk, sugar, honey, lemon etc., it is just a nice drink but not tea as Tea as I understand it.

[astra]

Originally Posted by ahammer

they also have Yamamotoyama tea

I tried Genmai or Genmaicha loose tea. Very original and unusual. Depending on my mood I brew it from time to time.

A Japanese delicacy. Gen-mai Cha means brown rice tea. A blend of Bancha tea and partially roasted brown rice.

[astra]

I completely forgot to mention another new experience with black tea.
I was in Turkey on my summer holiday (a week ago). I always thought that they drink Turkish coffee all the time. How wrong I was! Apparently, Turkey is Second biggest tea market in the world
Drinking black standard tea is an integral part of Turks’ life and culture. Local trade press reported that 90% of the Turkish population drinks tea at least once a day, with 33% of the population mixing different teas in order to create their own blend. Turkish consumers drink tea at home, at work, when visiting friends and at school. In every work place, there is at least one tea maker employed solely to make tea and coffee. When visiting friends, the first thing that guests will be offered is tea in small traditional tea glasses.

Their traditional tea is fantastic. Never drunk a tea so tasty!
I tried to brew it at home and utterly failed. I think there is a special and very long process to brew it properly.

And another interesting article The demise of the great tea-drinking tradition?, a bit dated though.

[ahammer]

Originally Posted by astra

I tried Genmai or Genmaicha loose tea. Very original and unusual. Depending on my mood I brew it from time to time.

it is a brand and not a type. like genmai or genmaicha.. from what you have said.

Founded in 1690, Yamamotoyama is one of the oldest family run tea companies in the world. More than 300 years of experience go into the selection and processing of Yamamotoyama teas, among the finest in the world

[astra]

Originally Posted by ahammer

it is a brand and not a type. like genmai or genmaicha.. from what you have said.

Yamamotoyama is a shop name but Genmaicha is a tea name.

[BearMountainBooks]

quote:
A Japanese delicacy. Gen-mai Cha means brown rice tea. A blend of Bancha tea and partially roasted brown rice.
End quote

I've had that tea. I didn't like it very much. It's quite strong and was not a familiar comforting tea. It wasn't bad, just not something I necessarily would go out of my way to obtain.

[astra]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

I've had that tea. I didn't like it very much. It's quite strong and was not a familiar comforting tea. It wasn't bad, just not something I necessarily would go out of my way to obtain.

Not everyone's cup of tea. I agree
Just a small note. You have to brew it exactly as they tell you. 80C for 2 minutes, then remove the leaves from cup or pot.

[LDBoblo]

I live outside the USA now, but when I did live in the USA, I really rather liked ordering my preferred teas from Essencha. It's been some years since I ordered from them, but they were quite good when I was a customer.

I have, as a general practice, stuck to wulong teas and whites, rather than greens and blacks, but sometimes a good black tea really hits the spot, or a green tea can soothe the nerves without being too light.

I practice Chinese tea ceremony passively as a hobby, but I've learned that I can handle even cheap bagged tea without going into snob-mode and demanding a proper gaiwan and loose-leaf baihao (Taiwanese wulong) or gyokuro (Japanese green). I've been known to kick back to a mug of Lipton Yellow Label with a little sugar without gagging. It doesn't have the romantic style of sitting in a small pavilion on a mountaintop sipping expensive pu'er whilst reading Tang dynasty poetry (been there done that), but it's a hell of a lot more convenient.

It's fine to develop a fine taste, and to appreciate and enjoy and prefer quality. I know types who won't touch tea that costs less than $20 an ounce. It just seems like such an arbitrary kind of snobbery...only expensive hot leaf water (or bean water for you coffee folks) will do. I'll just try to enjoy the process of making it, deeply smelling a good cup of tea after emptying it (if you've never used smelling cups, just stick your nose into the cup after it's empty and smell. It's delightful), and getting on with whatever it is I'm supposed to do while drinking my tea.

[wayrad]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

I've not tried it, but I've been told that decaffeinated tea is actually pretty good.

On the few occasions I have drunk it by mistake, I thought it must have been the model for Advanced Tea Substitute ("almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea" - I can't remember if that line was in HHG or just the Infocom version, but it has always stuck in my memory).

edited to add: Although from the context, perhaps you were talking about herbal tea? Around here you can buy tea (or what purports to be tea) that has actually been decaffeinated.

[BearMountainBooks]

Decaf...leaves a lot to be desired (Leaf pun intended...sorry!) It's not quite as bad with an earl grey because of the bergamot, but I've had undrinkable decaf green tea. Black tea has a kind of aftertaste. I don't know how they process it (some coffees use formaldehyde) but it doesn't taste very good. With coffee, I know there's some very good improved processes (husband roasts his own green coffee beans and he says the water decaf method provides a very good decaf). Maybe something similar exists for tea and you have to search for the right ones.


Maria
Sage: (multiple formats; Amazon or Smashwords--$1.00)
Catch an Honest Thief (Kindle only format: $1.99; a cozy mystery)

[GeoffC]

Matcha ... wonderful ......

Powdered Green Tea

[Andural]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Has anyone purchased tea from Upton Tea? The company advertises in two magazines I subscribe to (Smithsonian and The Atlantic), but I've never bought from them.

I am a regular upton customer. They are the best importer in the US that I have worked with so far. The shipping costs are quite reasonable. They have a nice wide range of quality (and cost). If you take the time to read about each tea, it's like a fine wine catalog with good tasting info. I do purchase some of the expensive stuff, but that is more for guests or when I need an emotional boost. My morning cup does not need to be as good, since the taste buds are not any more awake than I am. Check out upton's "season picks" which are their high volume products and, as such, are reasonably priced. The Tindharia estate that they are selling at the moment is pretty nice. (smooth, delicate flavor and a wonderfully aromatic finish)

The trick to making the jump to loose tea is in the making. Make sure you have a good teapot that holds heat well. You MUST preheat the pot, so that the water temperature, when you go to actually make the tea, remains constant so you don't lose 10 degrees into the walls of the pot. Different kinds of tea require different temperatures. Black teas should be right at the boiling point. Oolong about 190-200, Green about 180. (sorry about the Fahrenheit) This is not just some snob thing. There are so many compounds in tea. If the extraction happens at the wrong temp, an unappetizing blend of muck is all that emerges in the cup. Also, watch the time. Experiment with different lengths (black 3-5, oolong 2-4, green 2-3) of time. An over-extracted cup is just terrible (particularly from the "stronger" tea regions like Assam). It will be bitter, and require way too much added sugar. Oh, and let the tea float loose in the water. Don't constrict it with a device that makes cleanup easier.


What most companies offer are blends of tea. Blends have their place, because they are designed to be consistent. You know what you are going to get. However, no blend can have the ultimate subtlety of a single estate. (same for wine too) I will say that you Brits have much nicer blends in the shops than we do. That is mostly because the majority of American tea drinking is iced, which is almost always served extremely sweet. (and since it is cold too, flavors are not as subtle) When I visit the family in Dundee, I am always blown away by the fact that the cheap store bags are actually drinkable!

The worst part about tea is the lingo and the snobbery that goes with it... (check out the info about tea grading some time!) My tea snob friends (I am not too bad) like to refer to an FTGFOP (a pretty nice grade - fine tippy golden flowery orange pekoe) as "far too good for ordinary people." Don't let the snobs turn you off from making the jump to extraordinary tea. And the fact that tea regions are still referred to with the colonial names...

Last thing: If you do go decaf, expect to pay A LOT more money for it. Just as with coffee, the process of removing caf from the tea is expensive and complicated. It also removes quite a bit of flavor. Since it is more expensive to make, often, cheaper leaves are used. Not a good combo. There is good Decaf out there, but it has to start out as really good tea to stay good tea after the processing.