Discovering the Right Tea: Rooibos is My Favorite!

[Greg Bernhardt]

Within the last year I've really gotten into drinking tea. I usually drink a cup a day late morning. What type do you drink the most? My favorite is Rooibos right now.

 

[Cyrus]

Iranian tea with earl grey. You can't compare it to any garbage at starbucks or anywhere else. It comes in a little red bag at a middle eastern market. Find it, buy it.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Iranian tea with earl grey. You can't compare it to any garbage at starbucks or anywhere else. It comes in a little red bag at a middle eastern market. Find it, buy it.

You posted faster than I could get the poll up

 

[ZapperZ]

I drink 2 different types of Japanese green tea at work. One is a very good loose-leaf green tea, the other is green tea with roasted brown rice.

At home, I drink either a Malaysian tea infused with Lychee and Rose, or the African Autumn tea that Moonbie gave me for Christmas. Love that one!

Zz.

 

[EnumaElish]

Never heard of Rooibos. I like Iranian tea and almost any other black variety. Except very strong Earl Grey flavor.

 

[rewebster]

caffeinated

 

[Andre]

Definitely http://www.rooibos.com/. One cup every working day morning at 6.20 am.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

Never heard of Rooibos. I like Iranian tea and almost any other black variety. Except very strong Earl Grey flavor.

It's south african
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rooibos

Very trendy right now, great with fruity flavors.

 

[waht]

I drink at least three cups of green tea every day. Sometimes I also drink black tea, or lipton. Never heard of Iranian tea? Is it a variant of black tea?

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

I drink at least three cups of green tea every day. Sometimes I also drink black tea, or lipton. Never heard of Iranian tea? Is it a variant of black tea?

Drinking that much tea, do your teeth get stained?

 

[Moonbear]

What types do you prefer? Strong/bold, mild, black tea, herbal tea?

When I want a fully-caffeinated tea with robust flavor (good for a cold weekend afternoon), I like Earl Gray with some added lavender. For a mild tea, when just relaxing, I like darjeeling (I have some that's an early picking that is extremely mild). When I'm in the mood for an herbal tea, that's when I get out the African Autumn tea that Zz and I discovered while at Disney together. And when I'm desperate to wake up after work when I still have things I need to do at home, then it's chai tea.

In the tea bag department (all of the above are loose teas), I enjoy Stash Teas' Pumpkin Spice. It's a decaf tea. It came as a "free gift" with another order I placed, and my first impression when I looked at the box was, "Yeah, there's probably a reason they're giving it away free," but it turned out to be quite tasty. If you like something like Constant Comment, you'd probably like Pumpkin Spice. It has a bit of cinnamon, but not overwhelming like some others I've gotten.

I'm still working on finding a green tea I like. I like what's served when I go to good Japanese restaurants, but I can never find one that tastes like that when I brew it at home.

 

[waht]

Drinking that much tea, do your teeth get stained?

Not really, I've been drinking it for two years now. Maybe it's because I brush my teeth three times a day.

As far as brand, I like many of them. I'm not in for the taste, but health benefits.

 

[Moonbear]

You posted faster than I could get the poll up

Hmm...is there an all of the above choice on that poll?

 

[Cyrus]

What types do you prefer? Strong/bold, mild, black tea, herbal tea?

When I want a fully-caffeinated tea with robust flavor (good for a cold weekend afternoon), I like Earl Gray with some added lavender. For a mild tea, when just relaxing, I like darjeeling (I have some that's an early picking that is extremely mild). When I'm in the mood for an herbal tea, that's when I get out the African Autumn tea that Zz and I discovered while at Disney together. And when I'm desperate to wake up after work when I still have things I need to do at home, then it's chai tea.

In the tea bag department (all of the above are loose teas), I enjoy Stash Teas' Pumpkin Spice. It's a decaf tea. It came as a "free gift" with another order I placed, and my first impression when I looked at the box was, "Yeah, there's probably a reason they're giving it away free," but it turned out to be quite tasty. If you like something like Constant Comment, you'd probably like Pumpkin Spice. It has a bit of cinnamon, but not overwhelming like some others I've gotten.

I'm still working on finding a green tea I like. I like what's served when I go to good Japanese restaurants, but I can never find one that tastes like that when I brew it at home.

Tea BAG?! My ears!

 

[jdg812]

Do not have a dinner at dinnertime, have a dinner when you are hungry!
Does not have a drink when all around are drinking, have a drink when you are thirsty.
Do not have a tea when "it_'_s_five_o_clock", have a tea ONLY WHEN YOU WISH TEA!
Do not have sex when you go to the bed, ...
...
And so on...
...

 

[Evo]

I like Celestial Seasonings Green honey Lemon Ginseng and Stash Black Breakfast Tea.

 

[rewebster]

I like a lot of bag teas too, MB (and Evo)

 

[Cyrus]

Go find this tea.

http://img502.imageshack.us/img502/4417/pict0077wc3.jpg​

[/URL]

Get a spoon full and add it to a small pot of water. Heat the water for about 10 mins. Then pour it into a small tea glass about 1/3 of the way. Fill the rest of the way with hot water. If you want sugar, you have to use a sugar cube between your teeth.

 

[Moonbear]

If you want sugar, you have to use a sugar cube between your teeth.

Now you just want to see if you can trick any of us into drooling our tea onto our shirts!

 

[EnumaElish]

Get a spoon full and add it to a small pot of water. Heat the water for about 10 mins. Then pour it into a small tea glass about 1/3 of the way. Fill the rest of the way with hot water. If you want sugar, you have to use a sugar cube between your teeth.

Here's how I'd brew it: put 1-2 teaspoons of loose leaves into a porcelain teapot (like the ones they have in Chinese restaurants) and add just 3-4 drips of water so it's not completely dry.

Heat water in a separate pot.

Add boiling water on top of the tea (and this is the tricky part) very... very... very... slowly, so that the leaves are not flooded or drowned in water, and at least some remain afloat.

Brew for 10-12 mins.

Then follow Cyrus's instructions.

 

[scorpa]

I always just drink Red Rose black tea but I've become more of a tea drinker lately so I am going to go and try to find some good loose leaf tea. I was at a tea place awhile ago and they had these neat tea pots that had a plunger in them so that when it was brewed to the strength you wanted you pushed down on the plunger and then the tea leaves were separated from the liquid and you didn't get the gross bits of the leaves in your tea. I want to find one of those things.

 

[EnumaElish]

I always just drink Red Rose black tea but I've become more of a tea drinker lately so I am going to go and try to find some good loose leaf tea. I was at a tea place awhile ago and they had these neat tea pots that had a plunger in them so that when it was brewed to the strength you wanted you pushed down on the plunger and then the tea leaves were separated from the liquid and you didn't get the gross bits of the leaves in your tea. I want to find one of those things.

Sounds like a French coffee press. My "corner" coffee shop uses them to infuse tea. A much cheaper alternative is to get one of these:

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/30/tea-stick-makes-loos.html

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOaccessoryUse.asp

Also there are clear plastic brewing/draining cups. You brew tea in one, then place it on top of a regular cup. When it comes to contact with the cup's edges the liquid drains into the cup below.

 

[ghost02]

I like my darjeeling blend in the morning. Loose leaf of course.

 

[scorpa]

Sounds like a French coffee press. My "corner" coffee shop uses them to infuse tea. A much cheaper alternative is to get one of these:

http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2007/11/30/tea-stick-makes-loos.html

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/information/INFOaccessoryUse.asp

Also there are clear plastic brewing/draining cups. You brew tea in one, then place it on top of a regular cup. When it comes to contact with the cup's edges the liquid drains into the cup below.

I just googled French Coffee Press and you are right that is exactly what it was! I had no idea what they were called I just think they are neat. That tea stick thing looks interesting to.

 

[Moonbear]

I just googled French Coffee Press and you are right that is exactly what it was! I had no idea what they were called I just think they are neat. That tea stick thing looks interesting to.

Yes, that's what I use most of the time for brewing tea, a French press. It's just as easy as a teabag, and so much better tasting. they also make inserts for teapots, as well as wire mesh teaballs that you can put your loose tea into so you don't have bits of leaves getting into your tea. Of course, the "traditional" way to do it is to pour through a strainer to catch any leaves before they go into the cup. If I just want a single cup, I have a small teaball that I add the loose leaves to and brew right in the cup like you would if it was a teabag. While in desperation for a cup of tea at work, and while the French press was at home (forgotten when I took it home for a more thorough washing than is possible in the break room sink), a coffee filter held shut by a paper clip and dangled on an elastic band works well as a tea ball too.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

We get all kinds of tea at work, but I don't drink it. It keeps me awake.

 

[Moonbear]

We get all kinds of tea at work, but I don't drink it. It keeps me awake.

Yeah, wouldn't want to be awake at work. Hmm...that sounds like a Dilbert-type comment.

 

[turbo]

While in desperation for a cup of tea at work, and while the French press was at home (forgotten when I took it home for a more thorough washing than is possible in the break room sink), a coffee filter held shut by a paper clip and dangled on an elastic band works well as a tea ball too.

I have used a clipped (clean) handkerchief or rag (from a cotton T-shirt or equivalent) to brew teas, too. I never had a tea-ball in the house until I met my wife 35 years ago, though that may be a product of my make-do attitude. (Don't spend money on tea-balls when there are other ways of getting the tea into the water and getting it back out.) I had a lady-friend from Armonk in college that insisted on making teas from busted-up white pine needles and other stuff that I might not have considered. They were usually quite good.

I have gravitated toward green teas lately, but since most of the green tees showing up in the US are grown in China, you might want to Google on "green tea" and "DDT". It's getting hard to decide what is safe and healthy. I may have to grow all my mint, etc, on my own soil and rely on home-grown herbal teas. I would prefer not to do this, since I enjoy a hot unsweetened cup of green tea, but since China is still producing and using DDT, I have some issues with the integrity of the tea coming to market.

 

[scorpa]

I'm trying really hard to make myself like green tea but I haven't succeeded yet :(

 

[Math Jeans]

I mostly drink Mixed varieties of English tea. Basically, English teas without a real name.

With milk (cream. whatever) and sugar.

 

[Moonbear]

I'm trying really hard to make myself like green tea but I haven't succeeded yet :(

If you don't like it, why make yourself drink it? Though, I've noticed that there is quite a variety of green teas, just as there are black teas, yet many people seem to treat green teas as if it's just one variety. So, you may have just not found a variety you like, just as someone who doesn't like Lipton tea might enjoy a nice Earl Gray or darjeeling. I have had green tea I really like, but have not found green tea leaves to buy that I like (mostly I've been searching among the Japanese varieties, not the Chinese, so hopefully there's no issue like turbo mentioned of those being contaminated with DDT).

 

[OmCheeto]

Does no one drink peppermint tea anymore? It grows wild in my garden. My mommy used to try and get me to drink linden baum tea, but it always tasted like dirt when she made it. Other than that, I drink Earl Grey, but only because I'm a trekky.

 

[Evo]

I'm trying really hard to make myself like green tea but I haven't succeeded yet :(

Green tea is one of the mildest teas. It needs to be brewed with water that is not boiling, and you cannot let it steep for more than a minute or two or it becomes astringent. You are probably brewing it incorrectly. Also, Lipton green tea is horrid, I can't drink it.

 

[ZapperZ]

If you don't like it, why make yourself drink it? Though, I've noticed that there is quite a variety of green teas, just as there are black teas, yet many people seem to treat green teas as if it's just one variety. So, you may have just not found a variety you like, just as someone who doesn't like Lipton tea might enjoy a nice Earl Gray or darjeeling. I have had green tea I really like, but have not found green tea leaves to buy that I like (mostly I've been searching among the Japanese varieties, not the Chinese, so hopefully there's no issue like turbo mentioned of those being contaminated with DDT).

There is definitely a difference between Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea. I should have brought you over to Toguri when you were here. It was only a block away from your hotel. They have a very nice collection of Japanese green tea.

You will just have to come back for a visit.

Zz.

 

[hypatia]

Wow I am the only oolong tea drinker here I just love the stuff, its as good iced as it is hot.

 

[Lisa!]

Iranian tea with earl grey. You can't compare it to any garbage at starbucks or anywhere else. It comes in a little red bag at a middle eastern market. Find it, buy it.

I hope that would be the last time that I'd agree with you!

 

[EnumaElish]

I used to drink tea with lots of sugar. At some point I experimented with milk (plus sugar). (I was young.)

Nowadays I think if you add anything into coffee or tea, you are diminishing flavors innate to the brew. So I drink it black.

 

[EnumaElish]

Lipton green tea is horrid, I can't drink it.

Their black tea is just about drinkable, though.

 

[scorpa]

Green tea is one of the mildest teas. It needs to be brewed with water that is not boiling, and you cannot let it steep for more than a minute or two or it becomes astringent. You are probably brewing it incorrectly. Also, Lipton green tea is horrid, I can't drink it.

Oh yeah I am definitely doing it wrong then. I'll have to try it again. I'm only trying to like it because it is fairly good for you, plus i was given a bag of green tea leaves as a gift so I want to use it.

 

[Moonbear]

There is definitely a difference between Chinese green tea and Japanese green tea. I should have brought you over to Toguri when you were here. It was only a block away from your hotel. They have a very nice collection of Japanese green tea.

You will just have to come back for a visit.

Zz.

Is that the tea shop or something else? I did stop at a tea shop one afternoon, and thought it was the most WONDERFUL idea since I was not at all in the mood for coffee, but needed something to perk me up mid-afternoon. I assume the green tea served in Japanese restaurants is Japanese green tea, not Chinese (but who knows, in the US, they might do odd things). It's the tea in Japanese restaurants that I like, so I'm pretty sure it's Japanese tea I want, but I've found there are quite a number of varieties. After paying close attention to the flavors when I was in a Japanese restaurant last month, I figured out that part of the problem is I was brewing the tea too strong. I think adjusting the strength will help a lot.

I think this is the year the Neuroscience conference is in Chicago. I have to check their website. If so, I'll make sure I get an abstract in, and will book that same hotel early since I really enjoyed your neighborhood. The conference will be downtown, but I don't really want to stay there when I know the neighborhood you're in is so much nicer of a place to relax at the end of a busy day, and so convenient to the EL.

 

[Moonbear]

Wow I am the only oolong tea drinker here I just love the stuff, its as good iced as it is hot.

I like oolong, but it's not my favorite. I've even adventured and tried some Lapsang Souchon (sp?) tea...very different from any other teas, it has a smokey flavor to it that is definitely an acquired taste...that I seem to have acquired. When I first tasted it, I thought it was disgusting, but somehow have begun to like it.

I also like Assam tea (that's what you use to make chai tea with all the added spices, but I think it's very nice without the spice too).

 

[turbo]

I must be an oddball. I like green tea steeped for several minutes using boiling water, and I generally use 2 teabags to make one cup of tea, though I generally brew it in a coffee mug, so that's not too out of line. If I used a thin porcelain cup, preheated with boiling water before adding the teabag and boiling water, my results would be different, I'm sure. Heavy ceramic mugs cool the steeping-water quickly, which may be helping me get tea that I like.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Green tea is one of the mildest teas.

It depends. I had the pleasure of attending a tea ceremony at the Japanese House and Garden in Phila. Drinking the tea is incidental in this long drawn out procedure. The hostess used a green powdery tea and after adding water, she used a wooden whisk to froth it up. When I took a drink, it threw me back it was so strong. Not just the flavor, but the caffeine which was over the top. I was reeling from the experience. On the other hand, you can get hoji-cha a kind of brown colored green tea (I'm not kidding). This is quite mild.

 

[Evo]

It depends. I had the pleasure of attending a tea ceremony at the Japanese House and Garden in Phila. Drinking the tea is incidental in this long drawn out procedure. The hostess used a green powdery tea and after adding water, she used a wooden whisk to froth it up. When I took a drink, it threw me back it was so strong. Not just the flavor, but the caffeine which was over the top. I was reeling from the experience. On the other hand, you can get hoji-cha a kind of brown colored green tea (I'm not kidding). This is quite mild.

True, there are more delicate teas and the processing and the steeping can greatly alter the experience. I had some great teas while in Japan. That's where I also had my first taste of real sushi at the four star Hotel Okura and thought I was going to die. It wasn't anything like the Americanized version I was used to. Those were some POTENT flavors. I actually had to spit one out into a potted plant when no one was looking. We were being served in the Grand Ballroom by waiters walking around with platers of sushi.

I know you have much more experience with Japanese food and drink.

 

[ZapperZ]

Is that the tea shop or something else? I did stop at a tea shop one afternoon, and thought it was the most WONDERFUL idea since I was not at all in the mood for coffee, but needed something to perk me up mid-afternoon. I assume the green tea served in Japanese restaurants is Japanese green tea, not Chinese (but who knows, in the US, they might do odd things). It's the tea in Japanese restaurants that I like, so I'm pretty sure it's Japanese tea I want, but I've found there are quite a number of varieties. After paying close attention to the flavors when I was in a Japanese restaurant last month, I figured out that part of the problem is I was brewing the tea too strong. I think adjusting the strength will help a lot.

No, it actually is a family-run Japanese gift store. They have some really wonderful Japanese plates, tea pots, platters, ceramics, etc. Of course, they also sell Japanese food and drinks, which includes a variety of Green teas.

I think this is the year the Neuroscience conference is in Chicago. I have to check their website. If so, I'll make sure I get an abstract in, and will book that same hotel early since I really enjoyed your neighborhood. The conference will be downtown, but I don't really want to stay there when I know the neighborhood you're in is so much nicer of a place to relax at the end of a busy day, and so convenient to the EL.

When is the conference? It would be nice to have you back. That place where you stayed is certainly very convenient and it is certainly a lot better than saying downtown. At least you get to eat and stay where the "locals" are and not the touristy spots. Besides, I think you have a good idea on how the trains work now so getting around will be quite easy. If you have more time, we should walk to the lake.

Zz.

 

[_Mayday_]

Within the last year I've really gotten into drinking tea. I usually drink a cup a day late morning. What type do you drink the most? My favorite is Rooibos right now.

South African? I think it is, my mum drink that the taste is quite nice, both with and without milk. I just prefer a cup of tetleys =]

 

[scorpa]

Wow I just made green tea the right way (not in boiling hot water and only steeping it for a minute) and what a difference! Now I like it! Right now I am drinking a kind called "Fancy Melange - A nice blend of Chun Mee, Gunpowder, China Lichee and Rosetea".

 

[Evo]

Wow I just made green tea the right way (not in boiling hot water and only steeping it for a minute) and what a difference! Now I like it! Right now I am drinking a kind called "Fancy Melange - A nice blend of Chun Mee, Gunpowder, China Lichee and Rosetea".

I'm glad that worked for you! A long time ago I read about how the heat and steeping time affected the astringent qualities of green tea and was curious if that was what was wrong. I know that if I let my green tea steep too long, or the water is too hot, I can't drink it. Some teas, like black pekoe, need boiling water and a longer steep time to reach optimum taste. All in all, it's a matter of preference though.

 

[HallsofIvy]

I like "Tea- Earl Grey- hot"!

Actually, I've always thought it peculiar that the pecular that Captain Picard had to say that. Yes, I know that it gives him more "personality" that he insists on a particular type of tea, but a computer wouldn't have to be as advanced as "StarTrek, the New Generation" is supposed to have to be able to recognize his voice and, if he says nothing more, give him his "default".

 

[Math Is Hard]

I've got a few varieties of Rooibos that I like. Sweet and spicy red tea from the Good Earth is the best.

I also like English Breakfast tea, and this vanilla caramel truffle tea from Lipton: