What is in your cup?

[happy_terd]

a cup of water mixed in with some world peace. *cheers*

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Tried the English Breakfast tea from my TG black tea sampler - very "Lipton-ish" - not a real stand-out - but quite drinkable. Very rich & smooth, with no bite.

Remember that English Breakfast is a blend. Every company blends it differently so the taste will vary tremendously. If you like the 'feel' of English Breakfast tea, try some blended by Taylors of Harrogate or Jackson of Piccadilly. Both are really wonderful. I've recently become a fan of Ahmad English Breakfast tea but I have a feeling that what you get in the US for that, and what I get here in Japan, may be very different. East India Company's 'Royal Breakfast' tea is a very similar blend to Jackson's, and perhaps my favorite of all!

Stitchawl

[happy_terd]

Just water.

[Stitchawl]

Late afternoon... perfect for a Fortnum & Mason's Ceylon tea!

I wouldn't mind some watercress finger sandwiches... perhaps cucumber...

... or maybe a really, really spicy burrito.


Stitchawl

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Late afternoon... perfect for a Fortnum & Mason's Ceylon tea!

I wouldn't mind some watercress finger sandwiches... perhaps cucumber...

... or maybe a really, really spicy burrito.


Stitchawl

Urgh, it's morning here

No coffee today, just a cup of Green Tea Orange & Peppermint and a glass of water (with grenadine)

[desertblues]

Cold Arabica-coffee and a bottle or tapwater.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Fortnum & Mason's

What do you think about teas in General?
I think my wife got an itch in a place that is unreachable to scratch. As a consequence we will go to London in about a month time and she found their shop in London and wants to visit it for teas.

A couple of hours after Assam Mangalam, white yogurt.

[Stitchawl]

Originally Posted by astra

What do you think about [Fortnum & Mason] teas in General?
I think my wife got an itch in a place that is unreachable to scratch. As a consequence we will go to London in about a month time and she found their shop in London and wants to visit it for teas.

Fortnum & Mason was the tea company that got me started in this wonderful hobby in 1991. Prior to this happy accident, my idea of good tea was Twinings in tea bags. I now think Fortnum & Mason to be one of the finest tea houses in the UK!

I happened to be wandering around in one of Osaka's upscale department stores and came across a booth for Fortum & Mason. There must have been 25 different teas for sale, both loose leaf and bagged. I was offered a small cup of their 'Royal Blend' and was transformed! Then I tasted their English Breakfast tea. That's all she wrote. (I never went back to Twinings and have tried to avoid tea bags ever since.)

I bought five or six different Fortnum & Mason teas that very day, and continued drinking their English Breakfast tea and Royal Blend until just a couple of years ago when I was no longer able to find it. The company may have gone through some sort of shake-up in international marketing and no longer exported to Japan. The F&M booths closed in all the department stores, and until just a few months ago, I hadn't been able to find ANY of their teas in Japan.

Then just about two months ago I discovered some Fortnum & Mason tea in a small import shop, in a very different looking tin. Only three or four blends... certainly not their old full line-up. I bought some English Breakfast tea and some Ceylon. I should have bought more at the time, since when I ran out of the English Breakfast tea, I went back but they no longer had it in stock. Only Ceylon and Earl Gray.

That discovery of Fortnum & Mason 20+ years ago led me on to experiment with the other major tea houses in the UK; Jacksons of Piccadilly, Taylors of Harrogate, etc., and Mariage Frères of France. These companies all make their own blends, and they are good. I use McNultey's Tea and Coffee to supply me with unblended teas such as Keemun, Assam (although the East India Company does this very well,) China Black, and some oolongs too.

I envy your visit to Fortnum & Mason. I would love to spend a week or two there just trying out different teas. I hope that you enjoy the experience.


Stitchawl

[Iridal]

Cup of Green Tea Orange.

I've read somewhere drinking tea right after lunch will interfere with the absorption of iron. They say you should wait at least an hour before you drink a cup of tea!

[bjones6416]

Black coffee.

[ProfCrash]

Rooibos Capetown with a banana and an apple. About 2 hours ago I had a Yogurt Smoothie.

So after doing a bit of tea cleaning, tossing a few teas I have had for years and not touched and then some teas I have had for months and not touched, I ended up with 6 tea tins that sit empty at my house. I am a bit baffled as to what to do. I have the teas that I like to drink on a regular basis at the office. I don't need any more there. I have the teas I like to drink at the house and I really don't need any more there.

Empty tea tins? Who would have thunk.

For the record, I have 37 total tea tins in use so I really don't need any more teas.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

Fortnum & Mason was the tea company that got me started in this wonderful hobby in 1991. Prior to this happy accident, my idea of good tea was Twinings in tea bags. I now think Fortnum & Mason to be one of the finest tea houses in the UK!

I happened to be wandering around in one of Osaka's upscale department stores and came across a booth for Fortum & Mason. There must have been 25 different teas for sale, both loose leaf and bagged. I was offered a small cup of their 'Royal Blend' and was transformed! Then I tasted their English Breakfast tea. That's all she wrote. (I never went back to Twinings and have tried to avoid tea bags ever since.)

I bought five or six different Fortnum & Mason teas that very day, and continued drinking their English Breakfast tea and Royal Blend until just a couple of years ago when I was no longer able to find it. The company may have gone through some sort of shake-up in international marketing and no longer exported to Japan. The F&M booths closed in all the department stores, and until just a few months ago, I hadn't been able to find ANY of their teas in Japan.

Then just about two months ago I discovered some Fortnum & Mason tea in a small import shop, in a very different looking tin. Only three or four blends... certainly not their old full line-up. I bought some English Breakfast tea and some Ceylon. I should have bought more at the time, since when I ran out of the English Breakfast tea, I went back but they no longer had it in stock. Only Ceylon and Earl Gray.

That discovery of Fortnum & Mason 20+ years ago led me on to experiment with the other major tea houses in the UK; Jacksons of Piccadilly, Taylors of Harrogate, etc., and Mariage Frères of France. These companies all make their own blends, and they are good. I use McNultey's Tea and Coffee to supply me with unblended teas such as Keemun, Assam (although the East India Company does this very well,) China Black, and some oolongs too.

Pretty much in-depth reply.
Thanks a lot, I am going to copy&paste it onto my USB stick, just in case

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

For the record, I have 37 total tea tins in use so I really don't need any more teas.

I guess I have less than 10, but many many silver foil small bags with food bag clippers from IKEA on them [all samples]

Pu-Erh aged.
Although after drinking Toucha, it is like going to middle class friends who would meet you with a good cup of tea, then coming home and...not the same
Then again, I need plenty of time for Toucha. I also cannot drink a lot of the same tea. I must swap the flavours/cups. So, I am not a tea pot person.
Toucha is for weekends then. Probably I will try cakes and bricks later too

P.S.
Pu-Erh aged tastes good

[astra]

Originally Posted by Stitchawl

I envy your visit to Fortnum & Mason. I would love to spend a week or two there just trying out different teas. I hope that you enjoy the experience.

Maybe I misunderstood or got confused but my wiser/better/smarter 2/3s told me yesterday that you have two big stores Fortnum & Mason in Japan. It was her guess why you know this brand.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by astra

I guess I have less than 10, but many many silver foil small bags with food bag clippers from IKEA on them [all samples]

Pu-Erh aged.
Although after drinking Toucha, it is like going to middle class friends who would meet you with a good cup of tea, then coming home and...not the same
Then again, I need plenty of time for Toucha. I also cannot drink a lot of the same tea. I must swap the flavours/cups. So, I am not a tea pot person.
Toucha is for weekends then. Probably I will try cakes and bricks later too

P.S.
Pu-Erh aged tastes good

The scary thing is that I end up refilling just about every one of those tins in a 6 month time period.

I am glad that you are enjoying th Pu-Erh Tuocha. My first Pu-Erh experience was a loose leaf version which was good but not something I wanted to immeidatly try again. I ordered the Tuocha after you kept raving about the Pu-Erh. It was all TG sold and I wanted to go with a company who I knew.

I loved the Tuocha. I will end up filling up those tea tins with bricks of Pu-Erh down the line. I think there are varients of the Tuocha as well. So far I have avoided getting drunk off of my tea but I will have to remember that as a possibility when I am at work. (grins)

[Iridal]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

For the record, I have 37 total tea tins in use so I really don't need any more teas.

Hmmmm, I have a grand total of two tins

Orange juice, part of my new healthy diet