Any Tea Drinkers Out There?

[Green_Fairy]

I drink Luzianne black tea (http://www.luzianne.com/) in the red box. Other than that it's generally Celestial Seasonings (http://www.celestialseasonings.com/). I like their herbals and the Cold Brew Peach is pretty good for a cold brew.

Lipton tastes like coloured water. But then again, it's personal opinion, so be free to ignore it.

i second the Celestial Seasonings. they're good for bagged teas. they have a fantastic green tea with white tea ("for a smooth taste!") that i drink with a little honey.
as for loose leaf...i tend to steer clear of store bought ones. there are enough "organic" type people around here that at any street market, there are a handful of people that sell tea. i had a black tea with vanilla not to long ago that was fantastic...

[Dave1982]

"Tea, Early Grey, hot."



OK, now that I've gotten that out of my system.....

I've never actually cared much for tea (or coffee for that matter) aside from commercial iced teas that are about as far from real tea as you can get.

That having been said, Celestial Seasonings makes a sweet raspberry iced tea called "Perfect Iced Tea" that is extremely good. It actually comes in Keurig K-cups. I just checked their website and they do have non-Keurig raspberry iced tea. I don't know if it's the same stuff but I'd be surprised if it wasn't at least as good.

[Stormraven]

I'm a heretic, I guess. I'm not a big fan of hot tea at all, and I don't tend to go for anything other than black. That's currently Lipton, which I actually like, though I haven't had an opportunity to try many others.

For iced tea, I can't see working loose, and for my location and situation, Lipton's is available. Maybe, if I had access to other teas, I might find that it's not very good, but I can't even buy Luzianne where I am.

[Whiskey]

I'm a heretic, I guess. I'm not a big fan of hot tea at all, and I don't tend to go for anything other than black. That's currently Lipton, which I actually like, though I haven't had an opportunity to try many others.

For iced tea, I can't see working loose, and for my location and situation, Lipton's is available. Maybe, if I had access to other teas, I might find that it's not very good, but I can't even buy Luzianne where I am.

I was alerted to this thread. You are a heretic.

edit: you realize you are a heretic and are still a heretic. Convert, heretic.

[ZumZum]

At work we use http://www.revolutiontea.com/index.html

I love their organic green tea.

[Mr. Anubite]

The Republic of Tea site linked earlier in the thread has an amazing blackberry tea. Mmmmm.

[Magpie]

You sound like you're mostly interested in black tea. I can't tell you a lot about that, because I used to always drink it with milk to cut the bitterness. Back when I could have milk it was always Darjeeling with a bit of milk. (About a teaspoon, it actually makes a big difference). When I had to cut out milk I switched to Lady Grey - it's very mild and smooth. As far as I'm concerned it's like Earl Grey, but without the sharpness. If you don't like Earl Grey you're probably not going to like Lady Grey. I've mostly stopped with the black tea (and even green is rare), but when I do have it I drink it Indian style. My husband and I were given some pre-mixed masala chai in bags as a wedding gift, so I drink that when I do have black tea. The trick for making the chai is a) you put the tea in the water and boil it. I know this goes against all the advice you've ever been given, but it's they way that my mom's Indian friend taught me to do it, and my friends who did a workterm in India confirm this. b) it's a milk tea, so heat half a mug of milk to drinking temperature and have half a mug of the boiled tea. Normally you use water that just boiled for black tea. (i.e. pour boiling water over the tea leaves, but do not boil the tea).

If you're looking for something lower in caffeine I'd suggest that you stick with green tea. It's really easy to make. Chinese green tea is normally jasmine tea, it should be brewed at 150-160 F, and do NOT leave the tea in the water. These two together result in a much less bitter tea. If you don't have a fancy tea maker or a thermometer, watch the water as it boils. It should have just started steaming consistently - the entire surface should have steam coming from it. Japanese green tea is brewed about 20 F warmer, which is the same temperature as for oolong tea. If your office has those "hot water" taps those are at about the right temperature. (Don't rinse your mug to pre-heat it, the cooling from putting it in your mug should bring the water to the right temperature).

Basic instructions for oolong are the same as for the Japanese tea. I recommend Iron Goddess, it's quite popular and generally fairly reasonably priced. For any oolong or green tea you really want to make more than one pot of tea. The leaves are good for multiple batches. The first pot will be a little too strong, the second is excellent. The third would be the best, but it's a little weak at that point. The traditional way to do tea would be to make three pots of tea, and pour them together into the same pitcher. (Or so my husband explains our tea/sake set to me).

If you want caffeine-free, I'm going to agree with Celestial Seasonings. My only comment would be that while I think they're excellent, they're sweeter, fruiter flavours. I like this, my sister-in-law likes this, my husband dislikes it. However, they're an excellent company with a good philosophy. The bags come in a reasonably airtight bag to keep the tea in good condition without requiring individually wrapped tea bags. They also have a very responsible attitude to artificial additives in their tea. The colouring agent they use is paprika.

Finally, if you're using a porous pot (which makes the best tea, like a Brown Betty, or a traditional Oolong pot), do NOT use soap on it. I repeat - NEVER use soap on a porous teapot. There's a lot of room to get really really into tea as a hobby, and the better you get at brewing it the better it is, and the more you will be able to appreciate the fancy (and really expensive) teas. My husband says there's no point in buying him the monkey-picked tea ($42/100g) until he's developed his palette. He's also scared that if he could appreciate it that he'd lose his taste for the regular stuff.

[dawnfire]

In black teas my favourate is Irish breakfast, followed by earl grey. i drink my tea white with 2 sugars.

I'm currently drinking green tea due to trying to cut cafffine out of my diet due to pregnancy and it's good for high blood pressure.

[AdminAssistant]

I'm like Stormraven. I make Southern-style sweet tea, and I use Lipton's. I have tried other teas (one of my friends loves to study at a tea place) and honestly....I still like Lipton's.

[Magpie]

I'm currently drinking green tea due to trying to cut cafffine out of my diet due to pregnancy and it's good for high blood pressure.

Are you decaffeinating it first? And how are you brewing it? The only reason it has lower caffeine is because of the brewing method, it has just as much if you use boiling water on it, and leave it in for as long.

[dawnfire]

Are you decaffeinating it first? And how are you brewing it? The only reason it has lower caffeine is because of the brewing method, it has just as much if you use boiling water on it, and leave it in for as long.

i get low caffine tea and i'll admit to using the same bag all day. I'll keep it in a travel mug and just keep retopping up with hot water.

[Solumina]

You should get one of these: http://www.adagio.com/gifts/holiday_...77fc2c3805f993

Jake and I each have one since we like very different teas, he likes really strong black tea and I like more delicate teas (except when it come to chai as I want those spices to be the background for my tea, not the other way around).

You could also get some friends together and go to a tea house and share a couple of different pots. Personally I don't think there is a better way to spend the afternoon than at a teahouse for high tea (doesn't hurt that I love tea sandwiches and mini pastries).

[Treasure]

Island Rose makes a Vanilla Rum Tea (black) that I drank in college - i would sweeten it with honey and add a dash of cinnamon - it was heavenly! unfortunately Island Rose is not one that you can buy off the shelf @ the grocery, but i did find the website you can order it from: http://www.island-rose.com/teaporium/island_rose.php

[Mytical]

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?

[Red_Dazes]

I am a Earl Grey fan, I have at least 8 different kinds of Earl Grey in my tea cupboard (my favorite being my loose leaf Vanilla Earl Grey)). But I love my Earl Grey with just a splash of milk and about a teaspoon of sugar.

Twinnings also does a premium black tea "lemon twist" that is pretty fabulous. However it is not lose leaf... which makes me slightly sad.

I would also recommend Celestial Seasonings "Chocolate caramel enchantment Chai" and "Bengal Spice" both are very fabulous teas, I'm not always big on Celestial Seasonings but once in a while they surprise me.

And, always, I recommend ANY rooibos tea you find. It is wonderful stuff. and most of it has no caffeine in it so it is good stuff for afternoon tea.

And if you like mint tea, Twinnings also makes a very nice Peppermit ^_^ Quite yummy for your before bed tea, since it doesn't have caffeine in it so it won't keep you up.

I would also say, if you can find it, and don't mind spending a few extra minutes on your tea, buy lose leaf if you can... the quality of the tea is so much better than the pre-bagged stuff.

....I could rant for pages about tea. The Beau and I are kind of tea nuts... it is pretty much all we drink, aside from water....^_^ But I'll leave you with that for now.