What is in your cup?

[GeoffC]

Air at 11C ....

[astra]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I'm having this:


it tastes worse than I imagined

Long time ago (read: many years, as in 10-12 years), my brother told me that Ahmad's English Breakfast loose tea is a very good tea and I should try it one day. About half way between then and now I tried it and it was the first time I felt a difference between tea bags and loose tea. (Still a tea bag person, I am.) Since then I was used to buy beautiful tins of the tea in tea bags as gifts/souvenirs for my parents and their friends, they don't brew loose teas, so tea bags in the only option and surely it cannot be too different from the loose tea I liked. The tea is quite expensive, but I usually buy a few tins in TKMaxx for 1/2 price and last summer I decided to try the tea myself. Along the lines like I sort of earned the privilege to try those exquisite Ahmad English Breakfast Tea (in bags).
One of the worst tea in tea bags I have ever drunk I could not finish the tin
So, I think I can imagine how bad it is.

Originally Posted by beppe

I am going to try that Lapacho thing.

astra, are you sure that this is a good thing? I'll tell if it is any good. Incas did not do a great show anyhow.

The process, as you describe it, of brewing the tisane is too sophisticated for me
I am a simple man.
I put 1 heaped tea spoon (really heaped, because the bark is not dense, so the tea spoon looks funny, it almost disappears under the heap of bark shavings ) into the tea stainer, pour just boiled water and leave to steep it for 12-15 minutes. Then I drink the tisane, or in a peasant language, tea

Joking aside, it is a simple brewing, like any other herb such as camomile etc.
A full tea spoon of the shavings per cup, 100C water, steep for 10-15 minutes.
Look at the last picture below


Just finished a cup of delicious Assam Harmutty.
The next cup is going to be..........Taylors of Harrogate's Ceylon tea.

[Latinandgreek]

Ahmad Earl Grey tea (from a tea bag)

[maianhvk]

I'm a tea bag person, too. it's convenient for me. too bad you claimed that English breakfast tea from Ahmad is poor, astra, I have one box in the drawer and I want to try it tomorrow and now you made me not wanna try it anymore.

[Poppaea]

astra, K. for you! Some of the tins in your photos are moneysaving boxes. Which they are anyway given the price of a good tea

[maianhvk]

I want to have those 'money saving' tins too, but they just don't sell them here!!
(and I can't buy it from overseas)

[wannabee]

Originally Posted by astra

they don't brew loose teas, so tea bags in the only option and surely it cannot be too different from the loose tea I liked.

Works for me.

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by wannabee

Works for me.

I find those too constricting

[Pinecone]

Coffee.

Costa Rican Tres Rios.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I'm a tea bag person, too. it's convenient for me. too bad you claimed that English breakfast tea from Ahmad is poor, astra, I have one box in the drawer and I want to try it tomorrow and now you made me not wanna try it anymore.

I love their Earl Grey tea, and was thinking of picking up a box of their English breakfast tea tomorrow.

[beppe]

Originally Posted by astra

The process, as you describe it, of brewing the tisane is too sophisticated for me
I am a simple man.
I put 1 heaped tea spoon (really heaped, because the bark is not dense, so the tea spoon looks funny, it almost disappears under the heap of bark shavings ) into the tea stainer, pour just boiled water and leave to steep it for 12-15 minutes. Then I drink the tisane, or in a peasant language, tea

Joking aside, it is a simple brewing, like any other herb such as camomile etc.
A full tea spoon of the shavings per cup, 100C water, steep for 10-15 minutes.
Look at the last picture below
.

And if there is something that I really like is to follow the advices and examples of simple man you.

Thanks a lot. This evening that will be my tisane/tea.

[maianhvk]

Originally Posted by Latinandgreek

I love their Earl Grey tea, and was thinking of picking up a box of their English breakfast tea tomorrow.

I'll find Earl Grey next time...

(Getting all the strength I might need to try English breakfast tea tomorrow.)

[beppe]

The tabasco is there just to give a reference to size. The little egg is something that already my grandmothers used ... (Note the plural). The net thing is rather large, but Prof considers those sinful -worst, evil- so I do not use them anymore ...
If one asks for the opinions of someone that is more knowledgeable than one does not have other choices than to follow the advice. Or not?

[astra]

Originally Posted by maianhvk

I'm a tea bag person, too. it's convenient for me. too bad you claimed that English breakfast tea from Ahmad is poor, astra, I have one box in the drawer and I want to try it tomorrow and now you made me not wanna try it anymore.

Sorry about it
We are all different, some people buy an enjoy it, so you might like Ahmad's English Breakfast. Who knows?
When you try it, please let us know what you think.

I was tea bag person 95% up till October 2010. So, I am relatively a newbie in a loose tea drinking Moreover, I understand the convenience of tea bags. Astra hides behind a pack of I still drink it on weekdays with breakfast and lunch. It is not only convenient to buy it once, save lunch time for reading, drink and forget, it also would be a waste of good tea on my part if I were to drink it with a toast in the morning or a lunch (whatever I have). I don't taste the flavour. The food smothers it anyway. Only if the tea is too bad, then I feel it.

Originally Posted by wannabee

Works for me.

Ah, you see, you have overcome the most difficult hurdle. You use something to brew your tea and you don't feel like it is a huge inconvenience. You have crossed the line. There is no way back. Which path you choose to follow after that is less important. You know the difference by now.
Look at beppe. All the tea pots, strainers, different tea types, visits and chats with the local tea pusher
I have chosen another path (an easier one, a path of least resistance). No tea pots for me. No truly traditional tea drinking. Convenience and enjoyment are the foremost things for me. As long as my new hobby doesn't alter my usual routine. So, I will never be a true Master Teaist, I will stay an apprentice Teaist forever and be happy with that
My parents would never be bothered with it.

Spoiler:

Back in xUSSR, we used to put a few tea spoons of Georgian black tea into a small tea pot, fill it with boiling water, then pour a little bit of the content into a cup, like 1/8 - 1/6 of the cup, fill the rest with hot water and add sugar. It sounds not too bad? Ah, but then the same small tea pot with the same tea leaves would be refilled 3-4 more times over a week? Later, when I lived on my own as a student, sometimes my tea would acquire a new flavour if I let the tea pot to stay a bit too long. If you were to open its lead, you would notice that the nature is an artist who likes green and white colours on a black background.

I am surprised I managed to do it. I tried quite a few times over the last 15 years. Never succeeded. I guess my late health issues have changed me a bit. If I don't do it now, I might never have another chance.

Originally Posted by kindlekitten

I find those too constricting

Too labour intensive to empty it and clean properly.
Tea cup/pot strainers are my line.

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Some of the tins in your photos are moneysaving boxes. Which they are anyway given the price of a good tea

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by wannabee

Works for me.

evil, evil, evil thing.

Look for a infuser basket. Something that allows the tea to open up fully.

I am trying the Pu-Erh mushroom again. I increased the amount of tea in the infuser this time. It is still just ok. A bit stonger but not the best. I am going to try a few more infusions and see what happens.

Later today, I will try the block.