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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.
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Cyrus said: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.
EnumaElish said:Never heard of Rooibos. I like Iranian tea and almost any other black variety. Except very strong Earl Grey flavor.
waht said: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 said:Drinking that much tea, do your teeth get stained?
Greg Bernhardt said:You posted faster than I could get the poll up :rofl:
Moonbear said: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.
Cyrus said: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.Cyrus said: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.
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:scorpa said: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 said: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.
scorpa said: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.
jimmysnyder said:We get all kinds of tea at work, but I don't drink it. It keeps me awake.
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.Moonbear said: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.
scorpa said: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.scorpa said:I'm trying really hard to make myself like green tea but I haven't succeeded yet :(
Moonbear said: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).