tea drinkers

I drink lots of different types of teas, from Earl Grey to Darjeeling to Spiced Chai, though I will admit that I don't really care for the bitterness of most teas. Thus, I have to load my cup with a bit of honey, and make them sweet enough for my palette. There was the one mint tea that I had at a Moroccan joint in Chicago that was divine, and it had its own sort of natural sweetness, but I've never been able to find it anywhere else. Otherwise, I love the stuff, and try to have at least one cup a day.

Frankly, I don't have any suggestions for you at the moment, but I'll definitely keep my eye out for some good teas that I can send your way.

Should I extend my pinkie finger in unison with bringing the cup to my lips or is this considered showing off?

I'm a total philistine when it comes to tea. It has to be Tetley's (breakfast tea), deep orange in colour with a splash of milk. I drink a ton of coffee but actually find tea more refreshing.

Here's my advice.

Don't pay so much for friggin tea! Now I know the chinese tea shops have all sorts of teas at all sorts of prices, but you can get very good tea for extremely cheap. Oolong and puerh are both excellent staples in chinese tea houses and I prefer puerh most the time with my dim sum, but the thing is, good varieties of both can be bought very cheap in your average chinatown tea shop.

I drink a pot of chinese tea everyday. It's healthy and tasty. I would recommend Chrysathemum and japanese gen mai. I love the gen mai as it has roasted rice in it which gives its a strong taste and flavor and also gives you something to chew on.

I guess if you are looking for extreme complexity, it's ok to splurge, but I've found plenty of good stuff for dirt cheap prices. Just hit chinatown up and start experimenting.

I love tea and our cabinet's full of it, but I don't consider myself an expert, by any means. Mainly, I go with stuff by Rishi, who are based here in Milwaukee, but are developing a fairly stellar reputation nationally (in fact, when we stopped in a coffee/teashop in San Luis Obispo, we had a nice conversation with the owner, who stocks Rishi and is a big fan).

I'm pretty haphazard in my tastes, but they do have a few Pu-erhs that I really like - the Pu-erh Classic or Pu-erh Ginger, in particular. Their black vanilla bean is also great, the standard Earl Grey is wonderful, as is the Earl Grey Lavender. I also haven't gone wrong with any of their whites. Not the biggest fan of rooibos, though.

As for greens, my wife's a huge proponent of the Maghreb Mint, which I have to be in the right mood for, tastewise (lots of cardamom), but I have to admit it's the single best remedy for an upset stomach that I've ever tried.

When we were in NY last, we went to the girliest place on the planet, Alice's Tea Cup, which also has this ridiculous tea list and quite a good breakfast (but be prepared if you ever go there - I'm secure in my manhood and all, but this place was designed with both adult tea lovers and 8-year-old girls in mind). I got addicted to their house blend, which is Indian black vanilla mixed with green and rose petals. I have to get around to ordering some more online.

Just a quick word:

The British approach to tea, generally is that tea is black and strong; 90%Assam with a little (5% ish)Ceylon for those who care - we know other varieties exist but generally no Brit would really drink them (I'm sure some will post here on their exotic tastes). UK Tea, like Coke has one flavour and subtley different brands. It's a cornerstone of our culture and former empire. It is served with milk (obligatory) and refined white sugar (optional)

Other countries treat tea more like a wine, with different varietals, countries, plants, adjuncts and preparations.

i understand that Britain is the second biggest drinker of tea in the world (behind those thirsty Irish), however we can be very myopic when it comes down to it. We have access to a large selection but if you're asked if you want a cup of tea, you will get a strong, milky black tea. I was once asked by a Canadian friend what we call this kind of tea. We call it builder's tea (although traditionally builder's tea should be served with 15 sugars).

One of the reasons why Brits (especially) bemoan tea abroad is one very simple fact. For Black tea to work, the water must be boiling. Hot water does not work, it just wastes the tea, you may as well not bother. Quite often the water comes from a v.hot fawcett - water must come from a kettle (electric is best) and be a rolling boil. Milk should not be added until the tea has finished brewing and leaves removed as adding it will reduce the temperature dramatically (it also leeches out bitter tannins from the tea). I've given up asking for tea in coffee shops as I invariably get given lukewarm milk + water with a teabag in a packet separately.

I'm a fan.

What a strange coincidence...

As I perused the forum I noticed this was at the top of the Chewers Catch All... and at that exact moment I had a piping hot mug of tea in my hand. One of my co workers drinks tea, and always offers me a glass when we work on the same day!


PS My favorite brands of bottled tea are:


HONEST TEA (This is also the President's favorite and he keeps it at the White House!)

My favorite Honest Tea


T42 (Which I like to pronounce "T-42")

I first had this when I was in 10th grade when I was doing follow spot on a play

Well, i didn't mean to disparage the appreciation of tea. I'm a tea drinker, not an appreciator.

I love Jasmine Pearl; I drink it fairly often.

Alice's Tea Cup was something of a novelty for us. We're Rishi people, by and large, when we're going out of way to spend good money on tea. Lately, though, my favorite, favorite tea to drink is PG Tips with an excess of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. So, in short, everything that Mr Adam said.

Others will disagree strongly, but I really feel that southern-style iced tea should be consumed unsweetened. You may squeeze fresh lemon juice into it if you wish, but no sugar! The bitterness is part of what makes it good!

If I find a restaurant that has good, strong iced tea, with free refills, I'm likely to drink glass after glass until I'm chattering away at my companion(s) like an asshole and nearly vibrating out of my skin.

Of all the caffeine-delivery systems out there, iced tea is my favorite.

I'm not a huge fan of most hot teas, but I love jasmine tea with Dim Sum. That's another variety that I'll drink til the palpitations kick in.

Anyone like racism with their tea?

I like colonialism with my tea.

Thank you for reading my post. PG is good shit, that's why the monkeys drink it.

Kid, you shouldn't be getting palpatations from tea, there's very little caffeine in it, even if it's strong and what caffeine is there gets slowed by the polyphenols. You sure it's not just a sugar buzz? ( i know you don't have sugar in your ice tea but...)

If Anyone wants some decent British Black Tea, I suggest Yorkshire tea - from harrogate - strong and tasty to be consumed while Very Hot. Burns so good. Or (not to be outdone) Lancashire tea, which is the same. but better.

Oh, I get the worst caffeine shakes from tea sometimes, too, even green or white. I'm very sensitive to caffeine, alcohol, etc. It's why I started drinking tea instead of coffee - I can't handle it. I had a cup of Puerh ginger one afternoon before DaveB came home from work. After chatting with me for a while, he actually asked me if I was okay. It's not pretty.

Seconded. I've got a box of Yorkshire Gold. I think I prefer PG, but it's still delicious.

GIF's of people clapping aren't really my thing, but if they were...

Guys, I was joking about palpitations. Just exagerrating the amount that I drink. Thanks for the concern though.

Now coffee is another story...I own two French presses, a regular coffeepot, and a Tassimo. I need help. And to not hijack the tea thread any further...

Pu-erh's not a white. It's a fermented green, I believe, but it's super dark in color and, I think, fairly caffeinated. From what I've seen, MissZooey can handle whites and most greens. It's the Pu-erhs and stronger blacks that seem to get her. It's comparable to how most people react to a couple cups of really strong coffee.

Nope, PG Tips. Basically, the UK's (far superior) answer to Lipton. For whatever reason, just not as strong as a lot of the better black teas we get.

I like Milo's real good.

I knew some of you were fancy pants, but goddamn.

I'm currently enjoying Twinnings Everyday. It's got a very strong, clean flavour to it.

I like changing brands whenever I reach the end of a packet to refresh my palette a bit. I tend to cycle between PG, Twinnings and *gasp* the odd supermarket own-brand when it's on offer. I'm a philistine, I know.

Kicked the coffee habit at work this year and switched to chinese oolong tea, which I've been meaning to do for a while now. Bought several boxes of the Bigelow brand on Amazon, but I'd love to hear if anyone knows of brands that are way better as I would love to try them. I kind of hate that I have to put a little sugar in it, but I can't handle it straight up. I use the tea bag version, as I drink it at work and it's the most convenient way for me to make it.

I'm a big fan of Darjeeling and the some of the more floral Oolongs. And then there are the days when I just want a big cup of jet black Tetley with a dash of sugar and a splash of milk. I like my Greens on the less vegetal side and usually prefer a blend with mint or lemongrass.

There's a Teavana in my local mall, but they're on the expensive side, their sales staff are pushy, and their choice of just plain tea (not into all these fruity/spicy blends) is rather weak. My favorite website is specialteas.com. They have a huge variety and you can buy a one ounce sample of anything they have in stock for just one or two dollars. It's great if you're a novice tea drinker or just want to try out a new variety.

The best standard, British tea is Twinnings, delightful stuff and it's got to be good if Stephen Fry drinks it.

I first encountered it in a branch of Costa Coffee of all places and went to buy a box for myself straight away. Goes down well with a tiny splash of milk.

Obama is a socialist and it's time to TAKE OUR COUNTRY BACK!!!!

Oops. Wrong thread.

Twinnings fans should try the Lady Grey if they haven't already. It comes in bags and loose. Both are good, but I think the loose is a bit tastier. It's similar to Earl Grey, but it has a subtle, floral... thing. Yeah, I'm not very good at this. Just trust me.

One of the finest stuff I tasted, Zooey.
I bought some Twinnings at the duty free months ago and I am delighted with the Vanilla one the Coco ones. I love the Lipton White Tea too.
There some local shop that sells 50 gr. bags and some of them are awesome. I will spend some money over there as soon as I get paid.

There are some tea recommendations at the PK thread about 12 steps.