Tea. What's your poison?

[ha_banos]

I grew up hating tea. 'Normal' tea with milk or without. Nasty horrid stuff. Never liked infused teas either. Used to occasionally have a green or Chinese tea as I knew them but not often. The only other teas I've ever tried is when I'm sick. Rooibos or mum would insist on tea like anise or mint. And now the occasional herbal tea the wife has lying around, again when I've got a cold.

But after my most recent cold, I kind of enjoy a green or oolong tea in the morning instead of a coffee!

So I finally looked it up. White, green, oolong, black all the same tea plant with different stages of oxidation. Same plant.

Others I class as herbal teas all full of mumbo jumbo if you ask me.

So what's your favourite tea?

Any nice black teas?

This is what I'm currently working through. Cheap but easy to drink. Nice.

PXL_20241214_103641491.jpg

[Niela]

I grew up hating tea. 'Normal' tea with milk or without. Nasty horrid stuff. Never liked infused teas either. Used to occasionally have a green or Chinese tea as I knew them but not often. The only other teas I've ever tried is when I'm sick. Rooibos or mum would insist on tea like anise or mint. And now the occasional herbal tea the wife has lying around, again when I've got a cold.

But after my most recent cold, I kind of enjoy a green or oolong tea in the morning instead of a coffee!

So I finally looked it up. White, green, oolong, black all the same tea plant with different stages of oxidation. Same plant.

Others I class as herbal teas all full of mumbo jumbo if you ask me.

So what's your favourite tea?

Any nice black teas?

This is what I'm currently writing through. Cheap but easy to drink. Nice.

PXL_20241214_103641491.jpg

I sold tea for a few years back in London. If I can give one advise for good tea, DO NOT use tea bags. Much like cigars, tea needs to be stored well to maintain its flavour.

Tea wants to be cool, oxygen free and dark.

Start of from that point, buy good quality loose tea.

Then there's the brewing technique. Don't trust what's written on the packages. I've seen completely wrong instructions before and they will result in horrible brews.

Here's some general guidelines for various teas.

Black tea
Boiling water, 1 - 2 minutes. If too weak, use more leafs. You can often make a second brew, but give it 3-5mins.

Oolong
90-100C water. Use a lot of leaves. Whatever tea pot you're using, it should be entirely filled by leafs after the second brew.
1st. Brew - 60s
2nd - 50s (this is the most flavoured brew)
3rd - 60s
4th 2min
5th 3min
... Some can go up to 10 brews. So use a small pot.

Japanese green teas
60-70C
1st - 60s
2nd - 10s
3rs - 60s

Chinese green tea
90C and 15-20s. Keep it at 20s for the next 2 brews.

Hope that helps.

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[ha_banos]

I sold tea for a few years back in London. If I can give one advise for good tea, DO NOT use tea bags. Much like cigars, tea needs to be stored well to maintain its flavour.

Tea wants to be cool, oxygen free and dark.

Start of from that point, buy good quality loose tea.

Then there's the brewing technique. Don't trust what's written on the packages. I've seen completely wrong instructions before and they will result in horrible brews.

Here's some general guidelines for various teas.

Black tea
Boiling water, 1 - 2 minutes. If too weak, use more leafs. You can often make a second brew, but give it 3-5mins.

Oolong
90-100C water. Use a lot of leaves. Whatever tea pot you're using, it should be entirely filled by leafs after the second brew.
1st. Brew - 60s
2nd - 50s (this is the most flavoured brew)
3rd - 60s
4th 2min
5th 3min
... Some can go up to 10 brews. So use a small pot.

Japanese green teas
60-70C
1st - 60s
2nd - 10s
3rs - 60s

Chinese green tea
90C and 15-20s. Keep it at 20s for the next 2 brews.

Hope that helps.

Sent from my IN2023 using Tapatalk

Ha ha. I should have known this would be another rabbit hole.

Thanks for the pointers. I will have to try something not in a bag just to see!

[Cigar_Addict]

An ex girlfriend's dad used to (maybe still does) supply Whittards so I got to try out lots of amazing coffee (including some beautiful blends they did for stately homes). Was amazed at how much different a properly made coffee tasted.

Her mum was a tea drinker though, so they always had loose tea, and again was amazed by the difference compared to tea bags.

Needs to be made properly though, like Niela says above

[JordanSuth]

Great pointers above.

I have green tea every day at work. I have a flask that has a thermometer on it, so I make sure I'm getting the right temps.

My favourite black tea is eteaket Tomatin Whisky Black Tea.

I always have loose tea these days. Far far better than the bags. You can play about with the amount of leaves and steeping times to get your preferred taste.



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[smokey joe]

I like tea. Would not claim to be an expert or connoisseur. Favourite is hibiscus tea made with dried flowers, just superb.

IMG_1317.jpg

[PeeJay]

Yorkshire Gold every time, even taking it on holiday next week because the hotel coffee is shite!

[ShaazK]

Rabbit hole indeed @ha_banos ;

Had a tea tasting experience in a jewellery store of all places earlier this year. Blew my mind completely - it's an art and the ceremony around it is something special.

Been a bit hooked - there's a nice website called Curious Tea is that has some great sampler packs and bundles.

Definitely recommend @Niela ; recommendations on multiple brewings and steep times. Interestingly you can also apparently eat the leaves that may end up in your cup.


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[smokey joe]

It’s kinda logical that tea pairs well with cigars, with them both being dried leaves

[Niela]

It's kinda logical that tea pairs well with cigars, with them both being dried leaves

I always have tea with cigars. Not all lend themselves to it though. Greens don't fare well against the strong cigar flavours.

Highly oxidized oolongs are great and I also enjoy herbal infusions as they have a bit of natural sweetness that balances any cigar.

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[SHAMZ84]

For me it's a nice Masala Chai



Can't beat it....but takes a while to make when made properly.

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[7kingsguy]

I don't like hot drinks at all. I tried coffee again the other day for the first time in years. Still makes me wretch.

Weirdly i love coffee flavoured sweets and ice cream, and i even like chewing on a coffee bean. Just hate it in liquid form.

Tea though I can't do either way.

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[moteyi]

Start the day with a cup of Genmaicha - sourced from a Japanese friend who travels regularly between Tokyo and London.

I also enjoy herbal teas and have bought quite a few different ones from https://www.tea-and-coffee.com/
They also do some interesting coffee - currently enjoying their Ethiopian Yirgacheffe Coffee.

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[Cigar_Addict]

If it has to be a bag (let's be honest, convenience makes a decent case) I found Punjana makes a decrnt cup compared to PG or (dare I say it) Yorkshire