Tea
I put this up to prevent the "Bye Bye Brownie" thread from being hijacked.
I drink loose and bagged tea. I have two teapots and a tea press that I am using.
I liked the
Chantal Tea Steep for it's design, especially the locking infuser and lid, but the infuser had very large holes which required me to use a tea strainer.
I also have my
Wagenfeld tea pot, but the glass work doesn't look very good when it's stained with tea, so if I use it I have to clean it each time.
My favorite loose tea is
Ti Kuan Yin "Iron Goddess of Mercy". It has a unique earthy flavor.
I have a very, very cheap teapot. Not quite dollar store, but only a step above ... it's ceramic, has a proper teapot lid, and fits underneath my tea cozy, so teapot it is, even though it's not quite traditionally shaped, it does the job.
One of these days I'll get a proper English teapot.
When I'm being lazy I'll just load it up with five teabags (Stash Double Chai is a current favorite) and do a brew up. I do buy loose teas from the chinese grocer up the street, and will make Jasmine Tea when I'm feeling particularly floral. Rather than fussing about with a strainer or tea ball (I have one ceramic, one stainless) I put the leaves into a "tea sock." It looks rather like a windsock on a short wooden handle, and lets the leaves rest nicely in the water.I can also put this contraption into the top of my really big stainless steel thermos (I broke a glass vaccuum bottle through clumsiness before I even got to use it, so on my next trip to the store I went for "indestructable" as my primary criteria) and just pour hot water in and I can either take it to work with me, or carry it upstairs for consumption next to the computer.
Twinings Earl Grey. With honey.
I like Twinings. I try to keep a box of their Assortment on hand in the Tea Chest. (Irish Breakfast, English Breakfast, Earl Grey (which tradition demands I call Squirrel Grey) and there are two others in the set ... Lady Grey and Prince of Wales, possibly.)
Don't let on to the tea snobs, but I've been known to make a pot of Tetley's also.
Japanese green tea, all the way.
I can drink Red Rose, but Tetley's is too bitter.
Aren't you culturally required to drink only Swee Touch Nee, and to have a collection of those metal tea treasure chests?
I like Twinings--Irish Breakfast and Earl Grey are favorites. I've a proper English teapot, but, alas, no cozy. One of my very favorite treats is to go to the English teahouse we have in Oakwood (Central Perk--don't ask me how they got away with that one) and have High Tea or Elevensies. What fun! I even stick my little finger out while having my cuppa! :)
Numi Bushmen's Brew is one of my favorites along with various brands of Yerba Mate. I've heard that you're not supposed to boil the water -- just get it to a temp where it begins to steam. And it does seem to have a better flavour as I used to bring the water to a compleat boil. Any thoughts on the ideal steeping temperature?
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
:lol:
I like the Tazo Herbal Teas... Passion being my favorite. I have to try to avoid the caffiene as much as possible, so I prefer the herbal tea variety.
Tea? TEA? Don't mention tea. You can hardly see a minute pass in its entirety without the M-I-L plonking another cup in your hand. Remember a two week holiday in Spain a few years back, when she took a 360 bag box of PG Tips tea bags with her and we ran out after the tenth day. All right, there were four of us but that still works out at an average 9 cups a day each!
Tend to go for loose tea brewed in a good sized pot - standard tea-making procedure, Boil kettle, pot to kettle, warm pot with small amount of boiling water swirled around then discarded, two generous teaspoons per person plus a bit 'for the pot', pot back to kettle, top up pot to required level (you get to know this with practice), leave to stand under tea cosy for five minutes, prepare cups (milk in first) and pour through tea-strainer.
Some go for second cup top-up of pot with more water but quallity deteriorates and we make a fresh brew each serving.
We stick with standard breakfast tea - normally PG Tips. That's the Brits for you! Oh, and not to forget the irresistable pleasure of dunking biscuits !!!
PG Tips.
Pissing Gnats????
:p
Monst... err.. I mean Mother-In-Law
Sweet tea. A couple of quarts of water and a fistfull of whatever teabags are nearest the front of the cupboard (Lipton, Red Rose, Jasmine) and a couple of cups of sugar. Boil. Stir, remove from heat. Let steep while you get a big pitcher and put at least 4 or 5 or more trays of ice in it. Pour the tea over the ice, top off with cold water from the tap. Serve over ice in large plastic cups. Aaahhhhh!
PG Tips are a type of bagged tea... the tea bag is in a pyramid shape for maximum brewage I believe.
Pissing Gnats????
:p
Some people's tea-making does tend to be described as 'gnat's piss' but luckily
PGTips is something more palatable. The site tells you a bit about the name, but surprisingly doesn't mention that the 'tips' comes from the process of using the leaf tips which were originally discarded (I suppose the manufacturer would be worried about that being a negative selling point!)
Monst... err.. I mean Mother-In-Law
right the first time!!
Actually
this is a better part of the site as you can see the ads with the chimpanzees and the newer Aardman (Wallace and Gromit, Creature Comforts, Chicken Run makers) ones
Cute. "Couldn't fit into the dressing room." hahehehehh. Pretty good. Say, Cyclefrance, that wasn't you getting up from behind the little Renault in the 1970s Tour de France ad, was it?
Bigelow Plantation Mint, Stash Chai, Good Earth Jasmine, Good Earth Ginseng (I don't really "believe" in the herbal crap, I just like the way it tastes... Although a friend of mine told me that it'll "balance my male equilibrium." Snort.)
I'm not a huge tea fan, but sometimes I really like to have a cup of Celestial Seasoning's Sleepytime Tea (it's chamomile) before bed.
I strongly believe that tea can only properly be made with the leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.
And that the water should be freshly boiled and poured over loose leaves that have either been fermented (i.e., black) or partially fermented (i.e., oolongs). I do not prefer the unfermented or "green" tea.
I prefer a large mug :coffee: and half-n-half and sugar.
Cute. "Couldn't fit into the dressing room." hahehehehh. Pretty good. Say, Cyclefrance, that wasn't you getting up from behind the little Renault in the 1970s Tour de France ad, was it?
Non, eet woss jerst a distont relatif...
I'm not a huge tea fan, but sometimes I really like to have a cup of Celestial Seasoning's Sleepytime Tea (it's chamomile) before bed.
Beware:
'Take a bedtime cup of tea - :coffee:
Need an early morning wee!' :Flush:
I strongly believe that tea can only properly be made with the leaves of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.
And that the water should be freshly boiled and poured over loose leaves that have either been fermented (i.e., black) or partially fermented (i.e., oolongs). I do not prefer the unfermented or "green" tea.
I prefer a large mug :coffee: and half-n-half and sugar.
Well, technically, an 'herbal' tea is a
tisane.
I was going to say that but I figured I was deep enough into Clavin territory.
:lol:
I like the Tazo Herbal Teas... Passion being my favorite. I have to try to avoid the caffiene as much as possible, so I prefer the herbal tea variety.
I like Passion too, but it stained my teeth purple :blush:. I also have to avoid caffiene, and prefer to avoid the fluoride in tea. I mentioned in the other thread that my favorite tisanes are honeybush (Bushman's brew) and rooibos.
I like Passion too, but it stained my teeth purple :blush:. I also have to avoid caffiene, and prefer to avoid the fluoride in tea. I mentioned in the other thread that my favorite tisanes are honeybush (Bushman's brew) and rooibos.
Rooibos is excellent... I love its color too.
I just picked up some of Republic of Tea's
Good Hope Vanilla Rooibos from Cost Plus World Market.
The vanilla is nice, but they have an artificial cream flavor mixed in. To me this tastes like what you get when you drink water out of a glass that just had milk in it.
So far, the Trader Joes Rooibos is the best version I have tried.
It was $7.99 instead of the $8.75 list price. This was a lot better than the $10.99 another store wanted.
Nice container, though.
Just can't beat a cup of "Yorkshire Tea"
I have been becoming a tea addict over the last several months; it's flavorful, but has less of a caffeine kick (low to no, depending on type) than coffee and isn't loaded with sugar and carbonation like soda, so I can drink a lot of it without disturbing my acid reflux if I don't overbrew it. I drink mostly green, herbal and rooibos, but have some black blends I like and have been fiddling around with oolong lately (and have a friend who's looking for a really good oolong like what they have at a local Chinese restaurant).
I was at "Sugarplums and Tea" yesterday, a tea shop/tea room tucked away in the Rockvale Square outlets in Lancaster, and picked up a few ounces of loose-tea blends that turned out to be very nice (they had a good variety of available flavors). However, that's a bit of a drive for me on a regular basis.
So if I was here in the southwest Philly burbs and wanted to buy a variety of loose tea blends by the ounce -- not in bags, not on grocery shelves, not prepared in a tea room with scones and sandwiches, but small quantities of large numbers of teas for experimentation purposes -- where should I go?
King of Prussia: the mall (plaza side) now has a place selling only loose tea and tea-related items. Prices for loose tea are in 2oz increments. I tell you this so you don't crap yourself like I did when your order of "a half pounda this, quarter pounda that" comes to $57.
Downtown: if it's still open, The House of Tea. Just south of South street, a selection that is awe-inspiring. I have not been there in 6 years or something.
http://www.houseoftea.com/Oh yeah, and there's GOTTA be a place in Chinatown, although I've been all through Chinatown and I don't remember one.
The place in the Reading terminal that sells [real] Jamaican Blue Mtn coffee also has an impressive tea assortment.
Having looked over the house of tea website, it does appear that they are still open. The prices there are half what they are in King of Prussia. I'm going soon!
This weekend we went to the Constitution Center and afterwards had dinner in Chinatown.
As usual, I visited the
Chung May market on Race Street and picked up a box of 100 individually wrapped tea bags.
A lot of Asian markets have the inexpensive green and black teas in the 100 count boxes. Chung May is the only one I have found in the area that sells Kuan Yin oolong in the 100 count box.
Having looked over the house of tea website, it does appear that they are still open. The prices there are half what they are in King of Prussia. I'm going soon!
I visited House of Tea about 8 or 9 years ago. If I remember correctly, I wasn't carrying a lot of cash and he offered to sell to me on credit.
The shop looks like something from the 19th century.
If I go I will report back. When I go.
If I go I will report back. When I go.
Consider getting the
Rooibos Cinnamon & Orange Spice, I have the same flavor in tea bags from Trader Joes and it's great. It's also an 'herbal tea'.
On thing though. I just looked at the IPIX and when I zoomed in on the antique scale, I didn't see an inspection sticker.
Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf's Lemon Jasmine Green Tea -- this is particularly good done like a chai, with milk and sweetening to taste. Do follow the directions on the canister; they mean it when they say don't steep this tea more than 3 to 4 minutes -- it will go quite bitter.
Try seeking out a double-strength Earl Grey with twice the bergamot. Celestial Seasonings used to market one under the name Earl Greyest. Zowie.
Our tea-cozy sees particular use in brewing Rooibos red tea, which takes long stewing: Rooibos in the Melita 6-cup drip-pot, boiling water in, lid on, pop the cozy on, leave for twenty minutes and more.
MIL's also a Russian helicopter design bureau.
Stash Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea is
excellent. I make it by the pot. With just a little sugar, the aroma and the bite make a for unique taste experience.
For the bergamot junkies in the room, I recommend
Double Bergamot Earl Grey Tea. Needs less (or no) sugar--highly aromatic and very indulgent. Yum!
:tips cap:
You're welcome.
The Spice Smuggler in Lansdale has a reasonably decent selection of teas. There has recently been an explosion in tea houses lately ... tons of them cropping up, offering you too little food for too much money, but a proper high tea with all the trimmings.
I got a gift certificate to one of these places for Yule. I will report back.
Stash Lemon Ginger Herbal Tea is excellent. I make it by the pot. With just a little sugar, the aroma and the bite make a for unique taste experience.
For the bergamot junkies in the room, I recommend Double Bergamot Earl Grey Tea. Needs less (or no) sugar--highly aromatic and very indulgent. Yum!
To quote Wolf, "I didn't need to see that". I followed your link to the Stash website and ordered a catalog.
I'm really tempted by the tea chests. My desk at work has a pile of loose tea canisters and tea boxes. A tea chest would at least take care of the boxes.
Found in Paoli: <a href="http://www.enjoyteamoments.com">Tea Moments</a> tea room and gift shop.
Enjoying Honey Mint Rooibos now, with Lemon Rooibos and Jade Ti Kwan Yin Oolong for later. (I must refrain from calling it Ti Kwan Leep.)
My current SO and I pretty much based our relationsip on tea culture. We saw the brewing, the smelling, the selection, the peaceful cup of tea and a biscuit scene etc all something that we were ready for. We saw our young, hooligan life getting older, and saw each other as our "tea partners". It was nice, even on my 21st Birthday card in 2004 he wrote "ps. i'll go put the kettle on now". So tea has a special place in my heart.
We got into Hazelnut and cookies & cream transfusions. I very much enjoy Chai tea and also Chai Tea Lattes. But my favourite is Vanilla Tea, even as soon as i can smell the steam coming off a nice freshly brewed pot it reminds me of cuddles and daisies and soft kisses and picnics in the mountains. ahhhhhh
I just remembered, we used to get these aweome teas in Sydney when we lived there in 2004.. i think they were called Pearl Teas. asian variety.
They were like a milky tea, with flavoured tapioca pearls in the bottom that were squishy and tasty to much on as you sucked them up your straw with the tea. I enjoyed combinations like hazelnut tea with peach pearls, or green tea with kiwi fruit pearls etc etc. I forget the name of the company though. damn i wish i had never of thought of them now i'll be cravin for days!
Found :
http://www.whatscookingamerica.net/BubbleTea.htm
Seriously if you ever get the chance, have some. YUM!
Bubble tea is very popular in the Philadelphia Chinatown area. I've had one and it was interesting. The straw is made extra large to accomodate the tapioca pearls. Still, having chewy bits in your drink requires a bit of adjustment.
For me it was the color. I had imagined the tapioca pearls to look like the tiny clear versions found in tapioca pudding. The place I used to get my bubble tea had opaque cups and straws, so it was months before I discovered that they were actually dark brown. Yuck. But I eventually got over it.
(I must refrain from calling it Ti Kwan Leep.)
Ain't that a kick in the head? :rolleyes:
Bubble teas are around here too; the usual venues are oriental and Philipino places. Drunk through these twelve-bore straws that conveniently pass the tapioca pearls through.
Why doesn't McDonalds offer those straws with their extra thick shakes?
Why doesn't McDonalds offer those straws with their extra thick shakes?
Speaking of tea...Because 20-gauge is enough for a McDonald's shake. ;)
Trip report: Checked out the Teavana at KoP Court with friends, while recovering from the bad Bahama Breeze experience in my other thread. High prices, but good blends, and I took home a few ounces of this and that and their 32-ounce <a href="http://store.teavana.com/brewandtouch.html">Perfect Tea Maker</a> gadget. (I had a 16-oz one already under the IngenuiTea brand name, but hadn't seen a 32-oz one before, and that's more convenient for brewing for my wife and myself simultaneously.)
Brandywine Gourmet on Gay Street in West Chester has some good looseleaf brands, as does the <a href="http://www.teamap.com/tearooms/special_teas_tea_room_499.html">Special Teas tea room</a> in Chadds Ford.
as does the Special Teas tea room in Chadds Ford.
They do a fantastic job on tea parties too - had my daughters first birthday there.
Just wanted to share a new tea I have become addicted to, Hibiscus Mint Tea from
Nile Valley Herbs. I first encountered it in several local restaurants, and only recently discovered that the guy sells individual boxes too. He's one of those do-gooders who sends proceeds back to his home village in Nubia for clean drinking water, education, etc. so I get to feel good about buying it too. Anyway, I've gone through at least a cup a day since I bought it, so I highly recommend giving it a try if you're looking for a new tea.
No charity as far as I know, but Mighty Leaf makes a mighty good Earl Grey.
Rooibos (a red tea) with honey is my favorite, but I cheap out Luzianne.
On green tea -- does it have caffeine? If so, is it more or less than coffee? I can't get a straight answer from anyone.
Unless it's been decaffeinated, all tea (not herbals or tisanes) contains caffeine. A cup of green tea has a little less than a cup of reg coffee, a little more than instant.
According to the Celestial Seasonings "Authentic Green Tea" box, drip coffee has 90 mg of caffeine and their green tea has 30 mg.
I sure am glad I'm buying that "authentic" green tea. I'm sure the fake stuff would be horrible.
My mother visited a sort of tea museum once, and one of the things they told her was that all the caffeine is leeched out of a tea bag within 30-45 seconds. So if you want a cup of decaf tea, just steep the bag for half a minute in a separate cup of hot water, then put it in the "real" cup and steep for 2-3 minutes as usual.
I sure am glad I'm buying that "authentic" green tea. I'm sure the fake stuff would be horrible.
The fake stuff is Darjeeling with green food coloring.
You want some caffeine get some Yerba Matte. Got a good kick.
I have a lot of tea.
Should take a pic of my tea/coffee cabinet.
Believe it or not, since they have changed their buyer, Lipton has really good green tea.
I buy gold seal quality for home use but take Lipton on the road with me.
You guys made me...
Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos from
The Metropolitan Tea Company. I teaspoon of honey from our groves in it, orange flower with a touch of clover flower only goes into that honey.
It has ruined me, almost all other tastes like crap to me. Fortunately we get cases for free.
I have a lot of their stuff, some of my favorite. The Met tea company, I mean.
Edit:
Does anyone else nuke their water and use the big, lidded, coffee mugs? I love those things for my tea and have separate ones for my coffee.
Just read this thread for the first time and I feel so .....B...British!
The stuff you describe isnt Tea! Tea is the stuff I drink by the (British) pint, and then some. It's loaded with caffeine (don't fool yourselves), it needs to be made with boiling water, and it needs a daxh of milk. none of that honey crap.
We use PGTips. The best. Loose leaf. (I use to use bags, but beest converted me). I have a pint and a half before I take the kids to the bus in the morning ... and anothe pint and a half when I get back (I like huge mugs), then it's 8am and time to start my day..... When MIL is visiting, I brew up pretty much once an hour.
I drink a lot of Earl Grey and Irish Breakfast, but I don't drink milk. I only put honey in about half the time, almost never in my dark teas. I drink them straight and strong.
Coffee in the morning, tea in the afternoon and evening.
We use PGTips.
I just had a look at their web site, monster. Love the monkey.
Where do you get PG Tips in the US?
I just had a look at their web site, monster. Love the monkey.
Where do you get PG Tips in the US?
Mostly, MIL imports it when she visits. She keeps clothes here, and instead brings suitcases full of tea :D
Mostly, MIL imports it when she visits. She keeps clothes here, and instead brings suitcases full of tea :D
Bringing bags full of a leafy green substance through customs must be fun. Does she enjoy the strip searches?:p
teaspoon of honey from our groves in it, orange flower with a touch of clover flower only goes into that honey.
It has ruined me, almost all other tastes like crap to me. Fortunately we get cases for free.
You have your own groves and get free cases of tea? Who are you really,
Somerset Maugham?:cool:
Free cases of honey.
Family has groves, I don't.
Has anyone tried Bigelow Chinese Fortune? It's an oolong. How about Trader Joe's Jade? Is there another oolong you'd like to recommend?
Apparently,
The word oolong means "black dragon"
*snort*
Now I know why decaf tea tastes so insipid! All the best flavors have already been leached out with the caffeine. :(
Since I had to cut out caffeine I've almost stopped drinking tea. Used to love several of the Jackson's of Piccadilly (loose leaf) teas. And Tazo green tea with ginger and pear ... yum! (I still sneak a cup of that once in awhile.)
Try
this. Srsly.
Thanks! I'll look for it.
My favorite is mint tea. I drink tons of it, both hot, and cold, and the best I've found is Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic. I also like the herbal spice teas, Bengal Spice being my favorite. Both of those have enough natural sweetness not to require any added sweetening. I like to buy them by the 12 pack from Amazon.
I've tried and tried to like green tea, since it's supposed to be so good for you. It's okay, but not something I love.
Funny, when I was sick as a kid, my mom would make me tea with milk and sugar (Earl Grey or Constant Comment) and toast or crackers.
Oolong: find the tea dealer in your local Chinatown and ask for the high-grade stuff. It may be pricey. It will look less like what you think of as tea and more like the top picture at the
Wikipedia page on oolong. When you brew it, the rolled leaves will unfurl.
Cloud, I'd get a similar dosing from my mom -- invariably Lipton's. That, and light feedings like chicken soup or poached eggs on toast. These were invariably spoken of, Scottishly, around our house as "dropped" eggs.
My favorite is mint tea. I drink tons of it, both hot, and cold, and the best I've found is Celestial Seasonings Mint Magic. I also like the herbal spice teas, Bengal Spice being my favorite. Both of those have enough natural sweetness not to require any added sweetening. I like to buy them by the 12 pack from Amazon.
I've tried and tried to like green tea, since it's supposed to be so good for you. It's okay, but not something I love.
Funny, when I was sick as a kid, my mom would make me tea with milk and sugar (Earl Grey or Constant Comment) and toast or crackers.
I like one of the CS Mint Magic, or Spearmints and one Chamomile before bed sometimes.
Tension Tamer and Sleepytime both have a lot of mint and Chamomile in them too.
I do drink Green tea from time to time, but mainly I drink ordinary tea: PGTips or Yorkshire Tea. I use bags not loose leaves, I don't have a tea-pot I make it in the mug. Lot of milk, no sugar:)
I think I was about 3 or 4 when I first had tea. My whole family are big tea drinkers.
Drank a lot of Irish Breakfast yesterday. Good stuff.
Mint + chamomile together, Rzkenrage? Sounds kinda yucky.
Oolong: find the tea dealer in your local Chinatown and ask for the high-grade stuff. It may be pricey. It will look less like what you think of as tea and more like the top picture at the Wikipedia page on oolong. When you brew it, the rolled leaves will unfurl.
In my first post here I mentioned Kuan Yin tea. It is by far my favorite oolong. The high quality stuff is usually sold as 'estate tea'. Most tea, although it's the same variety, is blended from many sources. An estate tea is the equivalent of single malt scotch.
Ok, I was doing my daily clicks on the
Hunger Site, and decided to click through to
their shopping section. I did a search for tea, and now I am considering going back to loose teas at work. I figure if I buy from the hunger site, they will buy 20-50 cups of food for someone, I get my tea, and everyone wins.
I stopped drinking loose tea at work a few months ago. I still had some loose teas that were over 2 years old on my desk, so I cannot buy too much tea. I was only thinking about spending $20, which would be one tube or bulk pack. I would need to buy the wooden tea spoon to go over $20 and get the free shipping.
The problem is that I don't know whether to get tea I know (Kuan Yin, Rooibos, Lichee) or go for something new. If you read the descriptions, they all sound good. Exotic locations, dried in woks over smoky fires, etc. I'm still waiting for someone to throw in a 'hand picked by virgins' line.
For example:
Lapsang Souchong -- features the dominant scent and flavor of campfires, overlying the flavor of the black tea itself. Fitting, as this classic tea is prepared over pine or cedar fires before being fully dried.
It all sounds good and I'm in information overload. If I buy the kilo packs, I'll be drinking it for a while, unless someone in the Philly area buys some and we do a tea exchange. Does anyone have any opinions?
80 gram (2.8 oz) tubes with bamboo scoop
Ti Kwan Yin Oolong Tea
Silver Needle White Tea
Green Petal Jasmine Hand-Tied Tea
Lichee Black Tea
Bulk 250-500 gram packs (8.8 - 17.6 oz)
# Assam Estate
# Keemun Panda
# Lapsang Souchong
# Nile Delta Camomile
# Peppermint
# Rooibos
# Spearmint
# Tibetan Wild Lavender
# Darjeeling Estate
# Earl Grey
# English Breakfast
# Genmaicha Japanese Green
# Irish Breakfast
# Jasmine with Flowers Green
# Pai Mu Tan Chinese White
# Pi Lin Gunpowder Green
# Sencha Japanese Green
# Kenya Estate
# Malawi Estate
# Nandi Safari Kenyan White
# Nuwara Eliya Estate
# Rwanda Estate
If you get the Lapsang Souchong you may throw it out after the first cup, requiring another purchase and thus more funding for hunger. On the other hand, if you lick your fireplace and find it has "intriguing ashy notes", you might like it.
If you don't know what to get, get English Breakfast, which is a fine hearty "regular" tea.
The Darjeeling is one of the best teas from India. Assam is a particular tea of India, Keemun is a particular tea of China. Each has its own distinctive flavor, and some you will surely like more than others.
I don't know anything about the African teas and don't know that I'd trust a tea from where Madonna goes to adopt children.
Camomile and Peppermint and such are not real teas. Earl Grey is an English Breakfast-style blend of black tea infused with oils from the bergamot fruit, which gives it a mild citrusy kind of flavor.
Rich it's all down to personal taste.
To me, "proper" tea (a stronger version of English Breakfast Tea) flows through my English veins. Even if I have to drink de-caff now on my GP's advice - it's not as grim as de-caff coffee, but I miss some of the flavour.
Different teas for different times of day and different reasons. My Mum is a heavy tea drinker, but she has Camomile and Lemon. She can't bear Nettle at any price but I love it. We both like Earl Grey but she drinks it with lemon (sacrilege! like putting Diet Coke in a fine malt!)
From that list:
# Assam Estate - I like Assam
# Keemun Panda - nope, no idea
# Lapsang Souchong - to delicate for me, an aquired taste
# Nile Delta Camomile - not for me
# Peppermint - love it, great diet tea, fills you up and gives the feeling you've just cleaned your teeth. Refreshing too.
# Rooibos - again - great on diets, a good afternoon tea
# Spearmint - never tried. Sounds grim
# Tibetan Wild Lavender - perhaps worth a punt, will be aromatic so depends how you feel
# Darjeeling Estate - yup. Good standard tea
# Earl Grey - yes, yes. Black for me but can be served with a dash of milk. Never lemon.
# English Breakfast - yes, yes, yes. Make it strong enough to trot a mouse across. Pref with milk
# Genmaicha Japanese Green - not sure - have had green tea - don't know if this is the same though. Traditional Japanese tea isn't suitable for Western palates
# Irish Breakfast - that's Guinness isn't it?
# Jasmine with Flowers Green - lovely & aromatic
# Pai Mu Tan Chinese White - no clue
# Pi Lin Gunpowder Green - I like gunpowder tea. Nan used to take us to Chinese restaurants to drink it. An acquired taste, but a real palate cleanser.
# Sencha Japanese Green - see above re Japanese tea
# Kenya Estate - no idea
# Malawi Estate - no idea
# Nandi Safari Kenyan White - no idea
# Nuwara Eliya Estate - no idea
# Rwanda Estate - no idea (prob all specific blends, but with colonial influence may have a similarity to English tea)
Thanks for the response UT and SG. I do know that any 'herbal tea', or tisane, is not 'real tea', but I still do like a nice rooibos.
Some teas, like gunpowder, I had 10 years ago but forgot what they were like and so listed them as 'unknown'.
I love Kuan Yin tea, but I might be ready for an adventure if someone can give me at least a clue as to what I can expect.
I think I remember trying sencha a while back, but it was a very delicate tea. English and Irish breakfast are good teas, but I can get them in tea bags anytime.
Some of the African teas sound exotic. I love malt and nuts in general. I'd better because 1.1 pounds of tea is a 6 month commitment.
BTW, I assume 'Peoke' is 'Pekoe
Rwanda Estate -- presenting their Rukeri broken Peoke tea. Features a bright and lively flavor, with hints of a malt and macadamia-nut finish.
Each variety comes packed as 1.1 lbs. of loose tea (0.5 kg).
This
site has more extensive info
Hot Tea Brewing Method:
As with all top quality teas, scoop 2-4 teaspoons of tea into the teapot, pour in boiling water that has been freshly drawn (previously boiled water has lost most of its oxygen and therefore tends to be flat tasting, steep for 2-4 minutes (to taste), stir (virtually all the leaves will sink), pour into your cup, add milk (do not use cream) and sugar to taste - sit back and enjoy a fleeting moment in Kenya - maybe you’ll catch a glimpse of a cheetah! (An interesting note - This tea can be enjoyed with or without milk - milk tends to mask a few of the delicate floral nuances but adding milk highlights the malty flavor.)
So if I want to do it English style and add milk, I would gain something instead of just masking the flavor.
BTW, this is a high caffeine tea. I would also be doing some good, since I just heard on NPR a few nights ago that Rwanda is still recovering. So maybe this would help.
Rwanda report from Oct 10, 2007
KAI RYSSDAL: The Rwandan genocide 13 years ago left almost a million people dead. When it was over, 70 percent of the people left in the country were women. Most Tutsi men had been killed, most of the Hutu men had fled.
Rwanda report from 2003From my notes and an old post from another board...
Tea Lapsang Souchong:
Chinese
http://www.englishteastore.com/noname.html
http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/catalog.asp?begin=0&categoryID=12
http://www.marktwendell.com/Hukwa.htm
http://www.aspipes.org/tea/tea03.html
Lapsang: Hailed by All,
Drunk by None?
Lapsang Souchong, that magnificent tea savored by connoisseurs, both real and literary, and according to industry sales receipts, apparently drunk by three people (grin).
To digress, what is Lapsang Souchong? At its most basic, it is a black tea that has been cured by smoke. According to a tourist brochure that I once saw "Lapsang gets its distinctive taste from the mineral rich soil in which it is grown". (ahem) Unless you have actually seen this tea produced in Fukien, sans smoke, you have "'Da Bear's" permission to consider this TWADDLE! Lapsang is made, initially, pretty much like all quality black (or as the Chinese refer to them "red") teas. Plucked, withered, rolled, and allowed plenty of time for oxidation, it is then placed in bamboo baskets and hung over *just* smoldering pine wood.
Lapsang is a fantastic outdoor tea. It is my sole gardening tea, and in the Summer, I love it iced with a sprig of fresh mint. Another digression: Norwood Pratt has a great story about Lapsang and the Great Out of Doors. He used to be fond of sailing with a friend of his, Lyle Bongee. Lyle, precisely at 4 pm, would always appear from down below, with a piping hot cup of Lapsang. Combined with the bracing sea air, it was always an outstanding experience. One day, out of nowhere, a terrible storm moved upon the little sloop while it was far away from shore. The ship pitched, rolled, and nearly capsized a couple of times, Pratt was sure that they were goners. At 4 pm, Bongee appeared from down below, with the Lapsang. Pratt savored the cup as he had never enjoyed it before. For, if Bongee made tea, he (the captain) *knew* they were going to make it. Later Bongee confided that he had no such confidence. It was just that 4 o'clock was Tea Time, and some traditions you just don't screw with.......
Lapsang Souchong may well be considered the "Scotch" of teas. Like Scotch, it isn't for everyone, and is rarely appreciated on the first taste (hence, its light sales). Like Scotch, over repeated exposure, a taste can be developed. Brewed properly, it has a delightful orange-reddish liquor that is reminiscent of Scotch, and has that smoky goodness associated with the likes of Oban, and Laphoraig. You already know that ya like smoke, so give it a shot, what? Brew with water on the full boil 5-6 minutes of steeping.
Yours in "Tea Life, Tea Mind",
Bear
I haven't made it to Chinatown yet. But in the mean time, I've found Twinings China Oolong to be very nice.
The hot brewing instructions forget to mention the strainer, but I'm sure you knew that. The Rwandan sounds interesting. "English breakfast tea" (which is closest to the stuff Brits drink) is very strongly flavoured and the milk dulls thebitter edge. I'm not too fond of milk, so I have the tinyest dash and it works. I wouldn't say it accemted anything, though, so I would think that the Rwandan tea may well be very bitter and very strongly flavoured when drunk black.