What is a nice tea to drink?

[mhardy6647]

Pedant here.
I love tea, it is by far my favourite drink.
Tea is a plant, Camellia sinensis, so I don't consider herbal infusions which are not tea, or at the very least tea based to be "tea".

I know in the USA it is used as a generic word since I went to a "tea shop" in San Francisco dying for a cup of tea only to find on the multi page menu there was actually no tea at all Not even a flavoured tea - it is one of the great disappointments of my life.

I don't like coffee much and only drink it when out (tea is rarely drinkable in restaurants even here in the UK these days) but drink 5 to 10 mugs of black tea per day.

I never use tea bags and have a tea pot with built in strainer, so I can remove the tea leaves when correctly steeped.

I do have green tea, jasmine tea, Earl Grey and Lady Grey for a change but prefer black blends.

My favourite by far is no longer blended and the nearest I have found to it is this.
I buy a few packets of this too, it isn't quite as strong or refreshing but I like it too.

None of the stuff we buy in the supermarket is as much to my taste as these so I mail order in (large) batches.

I use this tea pot so I can get the infusion just right. I have a tea cosy to keep the pot warm since it takes an hour or so to drink the whole pot.
I brew first thing in the morning and just after lunch

I like Camomile and Red bush infusions too. I stopped sweetening drinks about 40 years ago so don't take sugar in anything (or drink fizzy pop).

I often think the widely available Lipton yellow label tea is one of the reasons so many people do not drink tea. It is vile and in some places the only tea available

There is much excellent information in this post I can "only" add two comments:

1. We've been using a Chatsford pot for decades... but it's a real, British English made earthenware pot. Chatsford offshored* the manufacture of many if not all of their teapots quite some time back... with some fairly disastrous results in intrinsic quality and in QC. Perhaps they've cleaned up their act in the interim -- I will hope so.

2. I note wryly that numerous posts to this thread recommend pu-erh teas. Now, I am not knocking them (!) but I think it's fair to say that they're an acquired taste.

from the aforementioned Upton Tea site:

Named after the town in Yunnan province where this style originated, Pu-Erh teas are fermented during their unique processing. There are two types: Shou (cooked), producing a thick, dark cup of tea with a pronounced earthy character, and Sheng (raw), producing a golden cup of tea, which is both fruity and refreshing... [and, from the description of one of their pu-erhs]...
A sample is suggested for the uninitiated.

source: https://www.uptontea.com/teas/c/pu-erh-tea/

_____________
* EDIT: I just realized the irony of saying that production of an island-made product was "offshored" You know what I mean! Work with me, here!

 

[audio2design]

2. I note wryly that numerous posts to this thread recommend pu-erh teas. Now, I am not knocking them (!) but I think it's fair to say that they're an acquired taste.

I didn't find that at all. I think if you regularly drink a variety of loose leaf, especially Oolong, that you will find an instant affinity for pu-erh, but like wine, not all of them. I have 3 or 4 of them, but all came from China direct so don't ask me where to get them. I had some off Amazon, but gave them away. What I did notice in China is that they will break apart the brick and loosen the leaves up and then package it for you. This stops the process so you have a consistent taste. I do suggest starting with raw.

 

[Chrispy]

Never been much of a tea drinker, tend to agree with Ted Lasso.....

 

[JeffS7444]

There is much excellent information in this post I can "only" add two comments:

1. We've been using a Chatsford pot for decades... but it's a real, British English made earthenware pot. Chatsford offshored* the manufacture of many if not all of their teapots quite some time back... with some fairly disastrous results in intrinsic quality and in QC. Perhaps they've cleaned up their act in the interim -- I will hope so.

2. I note wryly that numerous posts to this thread recommend pu-erh teas. Now, I am not knocking them (!) but I think it's fair to say that they're an acquired taste.

from the aforementioned Upton Tea site:


source: https://www.uptontea.com/teas/c/pu-erh-tea/

_____________
* EDIT: I just realized the irony of saying that production of an island-made product was "offshored" You know what I mean! Work with me, here!

I feel I've only scratched the surface as far as puerh teas are concerned, but they don't all have to have that heavy earthy/umami (almost salty) funkiness: I've had some which had more of a sense of preserved fruit.

Tangerine skins filled with puerh can be a fun and inexpensive buy: I don't know if I was supposed to, but I'd steep a bit of the skin along with the tea. At first I could detect no citrusy notes at all, and when I eventually did, they weren't what I expected, but they were there all right, and it was kind of a cool discovery.

 

[JeffS7444]

I think of Lupicia teas as being more "fun" than serious, though their gyokuro (shade-grown green tea) from Yame Village is pretty good. Nicely appointed shop in Hawaii specializing in fruity blends which can be a fine chilled refreshment on a muggy day. Gotta be using some artificial flavoring though, because some flavors are just too uncanny to be done any other way: Cookie for example, really does taste just like a cookie. But I figure that not everything needs to be taken so seriously, and these can be fine alternatives to fizzy drinks.

 

[escape2]

I've stopped drinking tea as I needed to cut out caffeine, but before then I liked Darjeeling tea a lot.

 

[audio2design]

I think of Lupcia teas as being more "fun" than serious, though their gyokuro (shade-grown green tea) from Yame Village is pretty good. Nicely appointed shop in Hawaii specializing in fruity blends which can be a fine chilled refreshment on a muggy day. Gotta be using some artificial flavoring though, because some flavors are just too uncanny to be done any other way: Cookie for example, really does taste just like a cookie. But I figure that not everything needs to be taken so seriously, and these can be fine alternatives to fizzy drinks.

I have a green tea that tastes like caramel. It is all natural (supposedly).

Another tea I would recommend is Cherry Rose Sencha. It falls into that "fun" category, but also makes a great iced tea.

 

[escape2]

Anyone into matcha tea?

 

[JeffS7444]

Anyone into matcha tea?

A little, but I swear the shelf life of a good matcha is shortest of all the teas I've had to date, and I need to drink it early in the morning because of the higher caffeine content (not jittery or wired, just non-sleepy). I recall the first cups of Ippodo's "Eternity" having a wonderful faint sweetness rounded off with umami and only moderate astringency, but within a few weeks of unsealing the package, I thought some of the magic had faded.

 

[JaccoW]

I've stopped drinking tea as I needed to cut out caffeine, but before then I liked Darjeeling tea a lot.

Not the same as Darjeeling but Rooibos des Lords is a rooibos with bergamot, bringing it close to an Earl Grey. You can probably find something similar.

 

[Bwmr]

Asking about what tea I drink is like asking about what music I listen: it depends on my mood, the time of day, the company, etc.
Here is one great tea boutique for you in Canada, run by a team of tea-passionate. Lots of information on all the different types of tea : https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/

Disclaimer: I have no commercial relations with them.

 

[Doodski]

Asking about what tea I drink is like asking about what music I listen: it depends on my mood, the time of day, the company, etc.
Here is one great tea boutique for you in Canada, run by a team of tea-passionate. Lots of information on all the different types of tea : https://camellia-sinensis.com/en/

Disclaimer: I have no commercial relations with them.

I like! But the price seems exorbitant.
I like that website. It has varying prices for any mood from economical to semi-expensive?

 

[Mart68]

Tea bags?

You can get it loose leaf too but I buy the bags because I drink it black with no sugar and I don't like it too strong. Get three cups out of one bag so it's cost effective.

 

[caught gesture]

My favourite, Jin Xuan tea from Taiwan. Also known as milk oolong. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_Xuan_tea
Only the genuine stuff, not the artificially flavoured.

 

[JeffS7444]

Speaking of Lipton's Yellow Label, here's a video they produced on how they evaluate the individual component teas that go into making it, and how they strive for consistency:

This is very different from your artisanal-type teas, where the rare and exceptional is sought-after.

 

[Doodski]

Well... After several days of tea drinking I drank 1.5 liters (like 1.5q) of water with dinner with 3 limes in it. Thirstyyyy.

 

[Firefly00]

Earl grey with whole cardamom pods and dried rose petals. An friend of mine from Afghanistan recommended this and I love it!

 

[Frank Dernie]

Well... After several days of tea drinking I drank 1.5 liters (like 1.5q) of water with dinner with 3 limes in it. Thirstyyyy.

Most of the time I drink strong tea with a touch of milk and the occasional glass of water. Probably about 2 to 2.5 litres of tea and one glass of water per day.
I have a coffee probably once or twice a month, usually with a glass of water for the thirst aspect.
I used to drink a fair amount of beer and red wine but nowadays hardly any.

 

[Doodski]

I used to drink a fair amount of beer and red wine but nowadays hardly any.

Yes, me too I rarely drink now. I prefer cannabis now that it's legal.

 

[Firefly00]

Yes, me too I rarely drink now. I prefer cannabis now that it's legal.

*cries in New Zealand*