A Nice Cup of Tea!

[Halk]

I find there's no difference between the tea I drink in teabags or loose. I even cut open a teabag to inspect it and visually it's the same stuff.

Yorkshire tea, Tetley's etc are all just blends of tea. The same as most teas. If you happen to find you particularly like them then I don't see why people have a problem with it.

Perhaps it's the same way with whisky purists. You know the people who wax lyrical about how they like a particular obscure single malt, and pour scorn on anyone who drinks Bells or puts coke in it?

Why someone should be mortally offended by what someone else drinks is beyond me. The only way that it's in any way acceptable is if someone is trying to help someone get more enjoyment from it, most of the time it just comes off as someone trying to look refined.

[Moejoe]

Yorkshire Tea or Death!!

(I think I might be over-reacting again )

[arit]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i like kusmi tea http://www.kusmitea.com/en/ they have all the regular kinds (earl grey, lapsang, various black teas, green...) and also many more "exotic" kinds ; my favourite (so far) is prince vladimir which is similar to earl grey (but better !). they are a bit pricey but they come in gorgeous metal boxes which i'm sort of a sucker for. and it's really good tea. you can buy them in bulk packs which are cheaper than the metal tins, or they sell them in tea bags as well.

1minute reading MR and klicking on it, 30minutes selecting tea, 15minutes thinking about ordering because of 8€ for shipping, 5minutes beeing angry because they seem to only accept credit cards

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by Halk

I probably will do unless I find the site someone else mentioned. Kusmi sell a rather ingenious "spoon" for making tea. It's basically two sieves held together, you put the leaves in the middle, close it, stick it in the teapot and take it out when it's brewed. At the moment I use a seive which is the right size for a mug. I'll be seeing if I can get one of those spoons locally, since their postage to the UK is expensive!

Ah, a tea-egg, tea-ball or tea-infuser. I got one from a local market.

Here's some cheap-ish ones:
http://www.vitaminlifehealth.com/710...B000UZUA32.htm
http://www.greenlife.co.uk/greenlife...tea-egg/41447/
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tea-Ball-Inf.../dp/B001RL36UM

There's an expensive one here andhere


I have a spare cheap one, which I fill with herbs and a couple of peppercorns for a bouquet garni, when making stock.

[fugazied]

I usually just grab tea from the local store. Earl Grey, Green Tea, Lemon Tea and Chai are my faves but there are SO many good teas. yum! Make sure you get a pot, it makes tea nicer I swear.

[toomanybooks]

Right now I'm drinking loose leaf oolong my mother in law sent me from Santa Fe. She bought it in a small Japanese tea shop. The label is is Japanese so I don't know the brand, but its great tea.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

Originally Posted by Halk

I find there's no difference between the tea I drink in teabags or loose. I even cut open a teabag to inspect it and visually it's the same stuff.

It does depend on the tea - some loose tea has larger leaves than those in teabags, and the taste between the size of the leaves does vary. For small leaf tea, I prefer using teabags - much less messy as the small leaves seem to escape through even the smallest filter mesh!

My favourite favourite teas are single estate loose large leaf Assams - there's a couple that Whittard does which I really like - Orangajuli for a slightly stronger, malty flavour; and Harmutty for a bit more refreshing taste.

My everyday tea is a blend - Twinings Every Day teabags.

And I sometimes make my own blends - usually from Assams and Ceylons - especially if I'm making masala chai.

[SpiderMatt]

Douglas Adams taught me how to make good tea:

One or two Americans have asked me why the English like tea so much, which never seems to them to be a very good drink. To understand, you have to make it properly.

There is a very simple principle to the making of tea, and it’s this—to get the proper flavour of tea, the water has to be boilING (not boilED) when it hits the tea leaves. If it’s merely hot, then the tea will be insipid. That’s why we English have these odd rituals, such as warming the teapot first (so as not to cause the boiling water to cool down too fast as it hits the pot). And that’s why the American habit of bringing a teacup, a tea bag, and a pot of hot water to the table is merely the perfect way of making a thin, pale, watery cup of tea that nobody in their right mind would want to drink. The Americans are all mystified about why the English make such a big thing out of tea because most Americans HAVE NEVER HAD A GOOD CUP OF TEA. That’s why they don’t understand. In fact, the truth of the matter is that most English people don’t know how to make tea anymore either, and most people drink cheap instant coffee instead, which is a pity, and gives Americans the impression that the English are just generally clueless about hot stimulants.

So the best advice I can give to an American arriving in England is this: Go to Marks and Spencer and buy a packet of Earl Grey tea. Go back to where you’re staying and boil a kettle of water. While it is coming to the boil, open the sealed packet and sniff. Careful—you may feel a bit dizzy, but this is in fact perfectly legal. When the kettle has boiled, pour a little of it into a teapot, swirl it around, and tip it out again. Put a couple (or three, depending on the size of the pot) of tea bags into the pot. (If I was really trying to lead you into the paths of righteousness, I would tell you to use free leaves rather than bags, but let’s just take this in easy stages.) Bring the kettle back up to the boil, and then pour the boiling water as quickly you can into the pot. Let it stand for two or three minutes, and then pour it into a cup. Some people will tell you that you shouldn’t have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon. Screw them. I like it with milk. If you think you will like it with milk then it’s probably best to put some milk into the bottom of the cup before you pour in the tea.* If you pour milk into a cup of hot tea, you will scald the milk. If you think you will prefer it with a slice of lemon, then, well, add a slice of lemon.

Drink it. After a few moments you will begin to think that the place you’ve come to isn’t maybe quite so strange and crazy after all.

MAY 12, 1999

*This is socially incorrect. The socially correct way of pouring tea is to put the milk in after the tea. Social correctness has traditionally had nothing whatever to do with reason, logic, or physics. In fact, in England it is generally considered socially incorrect to know stuff or think about things. It’s worth bearing this in mind when visiting.

[Halk]

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

My favourite favourite teas are single estate loose large leaf Assams - there's a couple that Whittard does which I really like - Orangajuli for a slightly stronger, malty flavour; and Harmutty for a bit more refreshing taste.
.

That was the shop I was looking for! Thanks a ton!

I've ordered some Orangajuli, which is what I believe I looked at previously. They have free delivery at the moment if you order over £20.

[HarryT]

This is socially incorrect. The socially correct way of pouring tea is to put the milk in after the tea. Social correctness has traditionally had nothing whatever to do with reason, logic, or physics. In fact, in England it is generally considered socially incorrect to know stuff or think about things. It’s worth bearing this in mind when visiting.

The reason it was always considered "polite" to put the milk in the cup first, and then pour in the tea (contrary to the above quote) was simply that, when tea was first introduced into the UK, most pottery was not made to cope with boiling liquids, and a cup was liable to crack if you poured boiling water into it. Hence the "safe" thing to do was to pour the milk first, and then add the tea to it.

[Halk]

Douglas Adams hits the nail on the head with boiling water vs boiled water. In America I don't often get a nice cup of tea.

One place I do get a very, very enjoyable cardboard cup of tea is Joe Muggs in Books a Million. They sell "Republic of Tea" tea, and the British Breakfast is very pleasant with whatever water they're using.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Halk

Douglas Adams hits the nail on the head with boiling water vs boiled water. In America I don't often get a nice cup of tea.

It's even worse in most of Continental Europe. If you ask for a cup of tea, you get a cup of luke-warm water with a tea-bag on the saucer .

At home I drink nothing but tea, but on the other side of the Channel I stick to coffee - it's a lot safer!

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by SpiderMatt

Douglas Adams taught me how to make good tea: - "Some people will tell you that you shouldn’t have milk with Earl Grey, just a slice of lemon. Screw them. I like it with milk."

Nnnooooo!!! Milky bergamot - yuk!

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

Nnnooooo!!! Milky bergamot - yuk!

Haha... Admittedly, I've never actually had milk in my tea. It doesn't sound appealing but I figure I'll eventually let my taste buds be the judge.

[astra]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Yorkshire Tea. If it's not Yorkshire tea, it's not tea
And I'll take both with teabags, not loose.

That's what I was told about one week ago. Boy! Was I disappointed. Then again, what did I expect? A guy who advised me on Yorkshire Tea drunk his tea with milk...

Re: Halk

IMHO:
Teabags - ASDA Organic Teabags. You can actually smell tea and feel the taste despite it is in teabags.
Another good one is regular Lipton teabags if you can find it (probably only in T&K Maxx or souvenir shops).

If you are feeling more adventures then nothing can be compared to loose tea --->Nothing but Tea

Good range of blue teas (oolong), white teas such as Georgian Old Lady etc.
My latest addiction is Black tea flavoured with almonds