Any Tea Drinkers Out There?

[Magpie]

White tea is about the only kind I can stand, and you know how hard it is to find White Tea that doesn't have extra flavors like Raspberry in it?

Actually I don't... granted, I'm currently drinking white tea that was a wedding gift, brought back from Darjeeling by cousins who were travelling there (at the time of the wedding). However I'm fairly sure the tea shop has several plain white teas. In addition to that, I know I've seen plain bagged white tea at the grocery store.

[Whiskey]

White tea is about the only kind I can stand, and you know how hard it is to find White Tea that doesn't have extra flavors like Raspberry in it?

http://www.imperialteagarden.com/White_Tea.html

http://www.whitetea.com/buy-white-tea.php

http://www.teanavigator.com/teas/white-tea.html

??

I googled "buy white tea"

[tropicsgoddess]

Lipton is good for hot tea, but if you want iced tea, Luzianne is the way to go..IMO.

[Stormraven]

I'd be more than happy to try it, if I could find it. It doesn't get sold out in CA that I've ever found.

[Amusement Gal]

If you're craving something REALLY sweet, but want to stick to your tea, try Sweet and Spicy Red Tea. It's very cinnamon-y, but it really does kill any inclination for sweet cravings. All the black and green teas so far suggested are good as well, but why not try making your own? For example, some fresh Chocolate Mint in a tea ball, crushed, tastes so sweet and minty, and then there's spearmint, chamomile, and other (edible!) herbs you can try to put in the mix. Or maybe I'm just too creative.

[Eireann]

I recommend Traditional Medicinals. It's herb tea, and there are many different flavors. Detox tea would be a good start, to get the soda crap out of your system.

I go to tearooms fairly often (they're very popular in this country) and order jasmine green tea. Gorgeous. Just make sure that it doesn't sit around steeping, because then it'll be too intense, and you'll have to add more water to your cup. I far prefer green tea to black, and like others on this thread, I drink it "straight" (no sugar).

I bought some green tea crystals at Trader Joe's a few years back, but they stopped selling it.

[Pedersen]

Wow. I posted that original little topic, thinking it would generate small interest, and maybe, if I was lucky, I'd get a few new suggestions to try. Right after doing that, I got hammered with a big project at work (11 hour days for 3 days straight), so didn't have time to sift through this thread and gather up what I could.

I've finally copied everything out to a google doc that was an information blast (lupo, maggie, and a couple others). That's 3 pages, printed. I've made a spreadsheet which lists tea brands and flavors to try. That's got 50 rows. The other worksheet in that file is flavorants, and that's got another half dozen rows.

Wow. You guys are awesome. I'm about to order that IngenuiTea tea pot, along with a mug for work, and figure out what else I can do for some home stuff.

Thanks guys. And now I just have to figure out how I'm going to order 50 different types of tea, and try them all out

[Whiskey]

Oh and Huckleberry tea, if you can find it. I only buy the stuff that comes from Montana.

[lupo pazzesco]

Oh yes, the IninuiTEA pots are wonderful. I have two. the small one, and the large one. The large one is great for blending your own iced teas, or making a large batch for yourself and friends (or just yourself...).

I forgot about the Celestial Seasonings as well, but I don't drink them as often. However, I do second the Bengal Spice. Madagascar Vanilla Red, and Powerfully Plum White tea are two more of the flavors of that brand I drink. Especially the vanilla red. That and the Bengal Spice are caffeine free and make fantastic after dinner drinks, or something soothing just before bedtime. My mom and my sister like them, though, and have a lot of different flavors they drink back home. I just can't remember any of them. It's late.

[Pedersen]

Oh and Huckleberry tea, if you can find it. I only buy the stuff that comes from Montana.

For not-green tea, I have some huckleberry tea I purchased out west last year. It's pretty good.

Oh yeah, Irv got that one onto my list already

More info always welcome, though.

[Amina516]

Wow.

I am continually impressed by the mass of knowledge that this board represents. So many amazing things about tea that I didnt know before!!

I love you guys...

And now I want some tea....

[Eireann]

Traditional Medicinals has a marvelous ginger tea that's just right for cold days. Ginger is marvelous for the digestion and, I think, for the metabolism. I've never tried it in warm weather, though.

[Magpie]

If you're looking for ginger tea, Twinings has an excellent one. Just don't use it if you can't take spice. It's incredibly strong (and most excellent.)

Additionally, if you like gadgets, it just occured to me that I should let you know about tea makers. My landlords one workterm had one. It wasn't working quite right, so I poked at it, and can tell you how it works. You set the kind of tea you're making. (Japanese green tea should be selected as oolong). You put the tea into a little bucket that floats on top of of the water. The water is heated to the correct temperature for the tea you selected. When the water reaches a high enough temperature a mechanical valve opens (trigged by the heat). This lets the now-hot water in to the tea. After a set amount of time, the water is drained from the tea-making area into the pot. It just takes the guesswork about temperature and time out.

You're not going to get as good a pot of oolong out of this as you would if someone who knew what they were doing made it in a traditional pot that had been used lots of times and never washed. However, you'll get a good pot, and it'll be better than if you poured boiling water over the tea.

[Mikkel]

Has anyone recommended Keemun? It's not as bitter as most other black teas. I seldom drink tea, but when I do I prefer Keemun.

ETA Adagio teas has several kinds.

[Pedersen]

Additionally, if you like gadgets, it just occured to me that I should let you know about tea makers.

Wow. Just looked up the price. USD 175 on Amazon. I saw the TriniTEA over on Adagio for $100 ($160 if you got all the replacement stuff right away). I might be able to justify the TriniTEA, but don't think I can justify the Zarafina.