Does anyone here brew tea, if so what is their flavors? I would like to try many different types of tea starting with suggestions from you good people.
I've gotten a taste for Peach Mango Flavoured Black Russian Tea by Lipton and I liked it a lot. It also works great as a base tea for Kombucha tea.
Any suggestions for my next steep?
I've gotten a taste for Peach Mango Flavoured Black Russian Tea by Lipton and I liked it a lot. It also works great as a base tea for Kombucha tea.
Any suggestions for my next steep?
Last edited:
Hi,
What about Lady Grey? With bergamote (? not sure), orange and lemon peels. Refreshing. Darjeeling with rose petals ?
Personally, I like Darjeeling "Goomtee", Japanese Sencha, Japanese Genmaicha (with roasted rice), Japanese Hojicha (roasted green tea).
Do not really like Ceylan tea. Not much taste and looks more like floor sweepings than tea
.
Cheers,
Serge
What about Lady Grey? With bergamote (? not sure), orange and lemon peels. Refreshing. Darjeeling with rose petals ?
Personally, I like Darjeeling "Goomtee", Japanese Sencha, Japanese Genmaicha (with roasted rice), Japanese Hojicha (roasted green tea).
Do not really like Ceylan tea. Not much taste and looks more like floor sweepings than tea
.Cheers,
Serge
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
It's all you need, any time of day.
I'll answer seriously. I've been drinking tea at least 5 times a day for the last 50 years. My pattern has gone thru a huge transition over that time.
When I was younger (20s, 30s) I was into Indian food, so my daily cup was "Chai". Ground up my own spice blend, mixed up several pounds of the tea using 3 kinds of pretty inexpensive but good tasting Indian tea leaves. TO THIS DAY, every 3 to 6 months, I make up 20 pounds of this old favorite, divide it into 3 pound bags, and 4 of them away to my kids, my mom and my very old Schoolmarm who loves it.
In my 40s, I happened upon the Tin Ren tea company in old Chinatown, SF. Fell in love immediately, as I didn't know that Chinese teas came in so many types. Wickedly expensive by the pound, "special tea" for contemplating. Or so I told myself.
After a few years, I decided that most of the "high end" tea was hype. The $250/lb stuff didn't really taste wildly better than the $50/lb quality. Oh, a little. But i didn't need to show off to anyone how much money I could waste on hype. Eventually, by the time I was 50, I found that I'd be happy with $40/lb Ti Quan Yin and equally pricy Bi Lo Chun. They actually now get into my other blends.
Now heading toward my 60s, I find that one of my original favorites has become my day-in-day-out favorite again. DARJEELING. Inexpensive "green Indian box Lipton" Darjeeling. Harder'n'heck to find, but worth it. About $15/lb. No, this isn't anywhere near as good as the $100+/lb super-premium Darjeelings (which I own and use!), but it is the BASE liquor flavor-and-substance for my private Best Blend. The one I go to in the morning when I wake up. The one I have at 10 AM for a pick-me-up. And at 4 PM when I'm dragging. I save the totally awesome Darjeeling for that not-too-late-to-wipe-out-sleep last cup around 7 PM. AND, I keep the left-over super-premium and incorporate it into TOMORROW's AM tea.
My point? Even tho' I had a dalliance with the Rose, Bergamot, Lapsang (total smoke), Russian (just Lapsang diluted with other teas), the Queen Mary, the Earl Grey, the Lady Ann and so on, I find myself now offended by the cloying impact of these made-up teas on my tea-as-part-of-life philosophy. It boils (oh, bad pun) down to:
Summer - Ceylon, Assam for tea and ice-tea both.
Autumn - Darjeeling for brekkies. Assam for afternoon. Darjeeling for dinner.
Winter - Darjeeling + Nilgiri for brekkies. Assam + Nilgiri afternoon. Darj. after dinner.
Spring - Assam for brekkies. Mouse-tûrd CTC for afternoon. Super Darj. for dinner.
I'll likely continue on this path for the rest of my foreseeable future. I love the season changes, near the transition I look forward to changing the daily ritual to another one. Life is best lived with planning changes and looking forward to them. But not "cheating". Wait… plan… make… enjoy…
ONE FINAL NOTE - please, pretty please, super-duper-please … figure out how to make a GOOD cup of tea. You don't need to get all ritualed-out about it. You don't need thermometers, timers, special pots, silver spoons, paper-thin cups or anything else. Great tea requires but 4 things.
[1] Absolutely boiling water.
[2] Pre-heated teapot.
[3] Sufficient steeping time.
[4] Flavorful tea leaves.
That's it. All the talk about “don't stew the tea!” just belies the fact that some people instinctively add TOO many tea leaves to their pot. The talk about “use 90°C (195°F) water only” is also on the same line. Too much tea, too bitter at boiling. But PLEASE learn to make a good, solid cup of something that makes people happy. If you religiously need rituals, then fine. Ritual yourself out. But remember the endpoint: if you spend too much time ritualizing you'll gain respect only from similarly minded friends. Most of the rest of your friends will secretly believe you're becoming a nut. Avoid that.
Yours,
GoatGuy
When I was younger (20s, 30s) I was into Indian food, so my daily cup was "Chai". Ground up my own spice blend, mixed up several pounds of the tea using 3 kinds of pretty inexpensive but good tasting Indian tea leaves. TO THIS DAY, every 3 to 6 months, I make up 20 pounds of this old favorite, divide it into 3 pound bags, and 4 of them away to my kids, my mom and my very old Schoolmarm who loves it.
In my 40s, I happened upon the Tin Ren tea company in old Chinatown, SF. Fell in love immediately, as I didn't know that Chinese teas came in so many types. Wickedly expensive by the pound, "special tea" for contemplating. Or so I told myself.
After a few years, I decided that most of the "high end" tea was hype. The $250/lb stuff didn't really taste wildly better than the $50/lb quality. Oh, a little. But i didn't need to show off to anyone how much money I could waste on hype. Eventually, by the time I was 50, I found that I'd be happy with $40/lb Ti Quan Yin and equally pricy Bi Lo Chun. They actually now get into my other blends.
Now heading toward my 60s, I find that one of my original favorites has become my day-in-day-out favorite again. DARJEELING. Inexpensive "green Indian box Lipton" Darjeeling. Harder'n'heck to find, but worth it. About $15/lb. No, this isn't anywhere near as good as the $100+/lb super-premium Darjeelings (which I own and use!), but it is the BASE liquor flavor-and-substance for my private Best Blend. The one I go to in the morning when I wake up. The one I have at 10 AM for a pick-me-up. And at 4 PM when I'm dragging. I save the totally awesome Darjeeling for that not-too-late-to-wipe-out-sleep last cup around 7 PM. AND, I keep the left-over super-premium and incorporate it into TOMORROW's AM tea.
My point? Even tho' I had a dalliance with the Rose, Bergamot, Lapsang (total smoke), Russian (just Lapsang diluted with other teas), the Queen Mary, the Earl Grey, the Lady Ann and so on, I find myself now offended by the cloying impact of these made-up teas on my tea-as-part-of-life philosophy. It boils (oh, bad pun) down to:
Summer - Ceylon, Assam for tea and ice-tea both.
Autumn - Darjeeling for brekkies. Assam for afternoon. Darjeeling for dinner.
Winter - Darjeeling + Nilgiri for brekkies. Assam + Nilgiri afternoon. Darj. after dinner.
Spring - Assam for brekkies. Mouse-tûrd CTC for afternoon. Super Darj. for dinner.
I'll likely continue on this path for the rest of my foreseeable future. I love the season changes, near the transition I look forward to changing the daily ritual to another one. Life is best lived with planning changes and looking forward to them. But not "cheating". Wait… plan… make… enjoy…
ONE FINAL NOTE - please, pretty please, super-duper-please … figure out how to make a GOOD cup of tea. You don't need to get all ritualed-out about it. You don't need thermometers, timers, special pots, silver spoons, paper-thin cups or anything else. Great tea requires but 4 things.
[1] Absolutely boiling water.
[2] Pre-heated teapot.
[3] Sufficient steeping time.
[4] Flavorful tea leaves.
That's it. All the talk about “don't stew the tea!” just belies the fact that some people instinctively add TOO many tea leaves to their pot. The talk about “use 90°C (195°F) water only” is also on the same line. Too much tea, too bitter at boiling. But PLEASE learn to make a good, solid cup of something that makes people happy. If you religiously need rituals, then fine. Ritual yourself out. But remember the endpoint: if you spend too much time ritualizing you'll gain respect only from similarly minded friends. Most of the rest of your friends will secretly believe you're becoming a nut. Avoid that.
Yours,
GoatGuy
I've enjoyed this book:
The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook by Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss | PenguinRandomHouse.com
So far my limited experience has been that no country offers the sheer variety of tea types and flavors as China, and some of these can be very very expensive, but a lot of good stuff can be had at pretty reasonable prices, especially when you figure the per-cup cost and the fact that many can be steeped multiple times.
Got any specialist tea shops in your area? The ones I've visited typically would also sell by the cup, so you can sample without much of a cash outlay.
Here's a Japanese green which I enjoyed:
Gyokuro Yame | Buy Tea Online | LUPICIA Australia
Probably not something that you want to be blending with other ingredients though! I found it smooth and faintly sweet with a gentle astringency.
The Tea Enthusiast's Handbook by Mary Lou Heiss, Robert J. Heiss | PenguinRandomHouse.com
So far my limited experience has been that no country offers the sheer variety of tea types and flavors as China, and some of these can be very very expensive, but a lot of good stuff can be had at pretty reasonable prices, especially when you figure the per-cup cost and the fact that many can be steeped multiple times.
Got any specialist tea shops in your area? The ones I've visited typically would also sell by the cup, so you can sample without much of a cash outlay.
Here's a Japanese green which I enjoyed:
Gyokuro Yame | Buy Tea Online | LUPICIA Australia
Probably not something that you want to be blending with other ingredients though! I found it smooth and faintly sweet with a gentle astringency.
Last edited:
PS… a few terms…
mouse tûrd CTC - is the intentionally derogatory description I give to Indian's now ubiquitous great shame in tea leaf processing. Turns out that the average housewife of Indian culture just wants to boil up a pot of milk, toss in some tea, and have results in a few minutes. Mouse-tûrd CTC (cut, torn, curled) is granular tea like broken up mouse tûrds. Get a standard brand, don't expect much. But it is STRONG, dark, and very "average tea" like in aroma. It has a place.
Darjeeling - its a region in India. Fairly high elevation, with a unique mango-ish musk. Lovely stuff. The "Indian Green Box Darjeeling Lipton" is from the same lipton company we all know. Only exported from India tho', and never targeted to the more well heeled Caucasian/British community. India's best commonplace tea for the Indian national. Find it.
Lapsang is a smoked tea from the steppes of someplace that herds yaks. It is a grey-black (dry) tea, which will make everything close to it smokey. But if you come to like it, and I do, it can be quite a different and helpful change-of-pace. I do not recommend drinking it straight tho: most lapsangs are rather poor quality teas. It is best blended with better-bodied base stock. Nilgiri (40%) + Assam (50%) + Lapsang (10%) is pretty darn good.
My Chai - I'm not overly protective about this. I start by going to a well stocked Indian spice market. It is important. Nothing (in spices) you can buy in American or British spice isles is as … Indian … as bulk-purchased spices from an Indian market. The corpus of the recipe is this:
× 4 oz whole clove
× 8 oz whole stick cinnamon (use the thin/flakey Indian kind)
× 4 oz black pepper, whole
× 3 oz green cardamom, whole pod
× 3 oz whole allspice berries
× 8 oz crumbled dry ginger root (you can make it)
× 1 oz wild orange oil (check amazon)
Technique: leaving out the orange oil, mix all the spices in a large bowl. By hand. You are going to be using your hands, just just dig in. Next, one handful at a time, put spices into a ZIPLOCK bag, gallon-size. Put it between a folded, heavy kitchen towel. Using a HEAVY mallet, pound the crâhp out of the spices. Keep pounding until you are sure you've pounded the crâhp out of it. The poor bag will get totally perforated. No matter. Empty the pounded handful into another bowl. REPEAT WITH SAME BAG until all is crapless. Now mix in the orange oil. In drops while vigorously mixing.
PUT INTO A GLASS SEALED JAR. Use some immediately, but let the rest sit (for months to years) and gradually add to your blend-of-black teas to make Chai. You'll love it. You'll adjust it. You'll make it over, and over, and over again.
IN FACT… before I read this blog article, this very morning I am making the chai-spice mix again. The house smells wonderful. Even Dog is salivating. Just saying.
GoatGuy
mouse tûrd CTC - is the intentionally derogatory description I give to Indian's now ubiquitous great shame in tea leaf processing. Turns out that the average housewife of Indian culture just wants to boil up a pot of milk, toss in some tea, and have results in a few minutes. Mouse-tûrd CTC (cut, torn, curled) is granular tea like broken up mouse tûrds. Get a standard brand, don't expect much. But it is STRONG, dark, and very "average tea" like in aroma. It has a place.
Darjeeling - its a region in India. Fairly high elevation, with a unique mango-ish musk. Lovely stuff. The "Indian Green Box Darjeeling Lipton" is from the same lipton company we all know. Only exported from India tho', and never targeted to the more well heeled Caucasian/British community. India's best commonplace tea for the Indian national. Find it.
Lapsang is a smoked tea from the steppes of someplace that herds yaks. It is a grey-black (dry) tea, which will make everything close to it smokey. But if you come to like it, and I do, it can be quite a different and helpful change-of-pace. I do not recommend drinking it straight tho: most lapsangs are rather poor quality teas. It is best blended with better-bodied base stock. Nilgiri (40%) + Assam (50%) + Lapsang (10%) is pretty darn good.
My Chai - I'm not overly protective about this. I start by going to a well stocked Indian spice market. It is important. Nothing (in spices) you can buy in American or British spice isles is as … Indian … as bulk-purchased spices from an Indian market. The corpus of the recipe is this:
× 4 oz whole clove
× 8 oz whole stick cinnamon (use the thin/flakey Indian kind)
× 4 oz black pepper, whole
× 3 oz green cardamom, whole pod
× 3 oz whole allspice berries
× 8 oz crumbled dry ginger root (you can make it)
× 1 oz wild orange oil (check amazon)
Technique: leaving out the orange oil, mix all the spices in a large bowl. By hand. You are going to be using your hands, just just dig in. Next, one handful at a time, put spices into a ZIPLOCK bag, gallon-size. Put it between a folded, heavy kitchen towel. Using a HEAVY mallet, pound the crâhp out of the spices. Keep pounding until you are sure you've pounded the crâhp out of it. The poor bag will get totally perforated. No matter. Empty the pounded handful into another bowl. REPEAT WITH SAME BAG until all is crapless. Now mix in the orange oil. In drops while vigorously mixing.
PUT INTO A GLASS SEALED JAR. Use some immediately, but let the rest sit (for months to years) and gradually add to your blend-of-black teas to make Chai. You'll love it. You'll adjust it. You'll make it over, and over, and over again.
IN FACT… before I read this blog article, this very morning I am making the chai-spice mix again. The house smells wonderful. Even Dog is salivating. Just saying.
GoatGuy
I like Assam, Ruken Rwanda OP1, OP2, and Earl Gray amongst many others. These are what are currently on hand at home. I also like some Russian Caravan teas, and Oolongs.
For those in the U.S. Upton Teas here in Massachusetts does a brisk internet mail order business in loose teas. This is where I get mine.
Loose Leaf Tea From Around The World - Upton Tea Imports
I'm lazy and often brew it right in the cup, even so it is better than any of the other bag teas I like.
If I am highly motivated I will preheat the pot and it's one teaspoon (slightly less than heaping) for each cup and one for the pot. I steep for about 5 minutes and remove the tea after that. I need to get a new tea pot.
For those in the U.S. Upton Teas here in Massachusetts does a brisk internet mail order business in loose teas. This is where I get mine.
Loose Leaf Tea From Around The World - Upton Tea Imports
I'm lazy and often brew it right in the cup, even so it is better than any of the other bag teas I like.
If I am highly motivated I will preheat the pot and it's one teaspoon (slightly less than heaping) for each cup and one for the pot. I steep for about 5 minutes and remove the tea after that. I need to get a new tea pot.
Wow, lots of ideas GoatGuy, if time allows, I'll do more looking-around next time I'm in the SFBA. Never been to India, but my sister has: She took us to Vic's Chaat & Market in Berkeley.
Do you drink your chai with milk & sweetener?
One point I'd take exception to however!
Do you drink your chai with milk & sweetener?
One point I'd take exception to however!
Maybe with Indian black teas, but not with good Japanese greens! Makes them too bitter and astringent.
I drink Sainsbury’s Red Lable by the pint (no joke). I regularly VC with American colleagues and they think I’m strange. I do like Ceylon and Lapsang too, when I’m feeling exotic.
I'm more of a coffee drinker but one of my sisters is a bit of a tea snob and introduced me to a few decent ones.
A Darjeeling first flush is now my usual drink when coming back home from work. There's a nice tea shop around here (comptoir Florian in Brussels for anyone passing by) which has a few good ones for 12€/100g (for the sftgfop 1 grade).
A Darjeeling first flush is now my usual drink when coming back home from work. There's a nice tea shop around here (comptoir Florian in Brussels for anyone passing by) which has a few good ones for 12€/100g (for the sftgfop 1 grade).
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.