The Tea Thread

[rousseau]

Looks like my local shop has Hojicha, might just get some.

 

[Under the Rose]

While in Edmonton a month ago, I had opportunity to peruse a David's Tea shop for the first time.

I purchased a caffeine-free sampler of loose teas, a couple of flavored Pu'erh teas and a few boxes of their best sellers in bagged teas for convenience at home.

(My overall impression after reading a lot of labels was that they are catering to a demographic.)

We have a small specialty tea corner in a shop in my own town which is quite excellent and I think I shall defer future purchases to my local shop though I did enjoy checking out the Edmonton venue because I had heard considerable about the brand.

 

[gmbteach]

I have quite a few teas here that I am wanting to get back into - but as the weather is warming up, I cannot see it.

I have not really been a fan of iced tea, so am resigning myself to the fact that I will not be enjoying my teas for a while.

 

[rousseau]

While in Edmonton a month ago, I had opportunity to peruse a David's Tea shop for the first time.

I purchased a caffeine-free sampler of loose teas, a couple of flavored Pu'erh teas and a few boxes of their best sellers in bagged teas for convenience at home.

(My overall impression after reading a lot of labels was that they are catering to a demographic.)

We have a small specialty tea corner in a shop in my own town which is quite excellent and I think I shall defer future purchases to my local shop though I did enjoy checking out the Edmonton venue because I had heard considerable about the brand.

When I started drinking loose leaf I asked for one of David's 12 tea samplers for Christmas. It was very good at the time, and they make great gifts for people with a sweet-tooth. Eventually I ended up gravitating to sugar free teas, though, I rarely even drink the dried fruit teas from my local.

If you ever get another crack at a David's take a look at their glassware, the mugs/infusers are great.

 

[tantric]

i've decided to investigate tea recipes from around the world. i'm holding out tibetan yak butter tea for last. chai, morrocan mint tea, bubble tea all come to mind...but first, i want to make my own thai iced tea. this is the recipe i'm considering....

4 cups (960ml) water
4 organic black tea bags
3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
2 anise stars
1 green cardamom pod, smashed
2 whole cloves
about 1 cup (240ml) half and half (some folks also use coconut milk, whole milk, sweetened condensed milk)
ice

Bring water to boil and add the tea bags, sugar, anise starts, cardamom pod and cloves. Stir until all the sugar disolves. Gently boil tea for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
Allow tea to steep for at least 30 minutes and allow it to cool. The more concentrated the tea flavor, the better the Thai tea tastes. We prefer to allow the tea bags to seep for about 2 hours for maximum flavor. During this time, the thai tea can cool.
Remove the tea bags and spoon out the anise starts, cardamom pod and cloves. If tea is still warm, we will refrigerate it so it can be chilled.
You can make this ahead of time and have the organic Thai tea chilling in the fridge.
Fill glasses with ice and pour in organic Thai tea leaving enough room to fill in your half and half (or other creamer). For an 8 oz. glass we like to add about 2-3 tablespoons of half and half for a creamier flavor.

if this works, i'll move on to Cha Ma-Nao, thai iced tea with lime, which sounds incredible

 

[tantric]

thai iced tea, first salvo

no star anise, but star anise extract
no green cardamom, so powdered black cardamom

i used ceylon tea

i put the spices [1 tspn cardamom, 1/2 tspn anise extract, 2 whole cloves] and four ceylon teabags in 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil. added 3/4cup sugar and let boil 3mins. then i took the pan off the stove and put it in my freezer for two hours.

then i poured about 1cm of sweetened condensed milk in the bottom of a glass, filled with crushed ice and poured in the tea

frankly, it was better than what i get in restaurants.

 

[tantric]

thai iced tea with lime

same but skip milk and add lime juice

the combo is a flavor all its own, and unspeakably delicious

 

[rousseau]

My local talked me into buying Yakushima Black Tea, a rare black tea grown in Japan.

It's likely not much different from other high quality black teas, but I need to get some novelty somehow.

 

[rousseau]

thai iced tea, first salvo

no star anise, but star anise extract
no green cardamom, so powdered black cardamom

i used ceylon tea

i put the spices [1 tspn cardamom, 1/2 tspn anise extract, 2 whole cloves] and four ceylon teabags in 4 cups of water and brought it to a boil. added 3/4cup sugar and let boil 3mins. then i took the pan off the stove and put it in my freezer for two hours.

then i poured about 1cm of sweetened condensed milk in the bottom of a glass, filled with crushed ice and poured in the tea

frankly, it was better than what i get in restaurants.

I tried a cinnamon/black iced tea once, wasn't the biggest fan of the spice in a cold tea, not sure why.

 

[Elixir]

Not listening to any UK tea connoisseurs, and here's why:
Years ago, I spent a few weeks holed up in some rich guy's mansion in San Francisco, helping a British author edit/re-write a book. He was VERY picky about his "tea", which was black tea with a ton of milk and sugar. One day, I made him some tea, and intentionally left out the tea. Just hot water with milk and sugar. He got almost to the bottom of the first cup before remarking "this tea tastes funny". When I let him in on what I'd done... let's just say I've never seen an Englishman so totally lose it.

Personally, it's coffee in the morning - black and strong from fresh ground beans. Evenings, it's chamomile or Sleepytime. Daytime hours are tea and coffee free, except in summer when southern sweet tea is REALLY good.

 

[rousseau]

Not listening to any UK tea connoisseurs, and here's why:
Years ago, I spent a few weeks holed up in some rich guy's mansion in San Francisco, helping a British author edit/re-write a book. He was VERY picky about his "tea", which was black tea with a ton of milk and sugar. One day, I made him some tea, and intentionally left out the tea. Just hot water with milk and sugar. He got almost to the bottom of the first cup before remarking "this tea tastes funny". When I let him in on what I'd done... let's just say I've never seen an Englishman so totally lose it.

Personally, it's coffee in the morning - black and strong from fresh ground beans. Evenings, it's chamomile or Sleepytime. Daytime hours are tea and coffee free, except in summer when southern sweet tea is REALLY good.

For the most part, my palate can handle black, green, white, and oolong teas, sans milk/sugar. Basically, bitter tea.

I've been really getting into blacks for the last year, having sampled everything from the cheapest to the finest I can get from my local, and between Chinese and Indian black teas.

No doubt, the finer teas go down better than the cheap ones, but the variation is so small and subtle that it's hardly worth buying the very best of the best, as is often the case with most things. For that reason my tea consumption mirrors my whisky consumption. I drink a lot of cheap to mid-grade blacks unashamedly, and save a nicer cup for every now and then.

Through all that, though, I tend to like the flavour of Indian teas over Chinese, and find the mid-grade ones are usually pretty good. The one I go through the most of is Shakira.

So you might not be able to listen to UK connoisseurs anymore, but you could consider Canadian ones

 

[rousseau]

Usually start the day with a freshly-ground coffee with either milk or cream, usually within a few weeks of roasting from my other local.

 

[rousseau]

Latest hangover cure: Genmaicha

Hōjicha (Houjicha) (ほうじ茶?) is a Japanese green tea. It is distinctive from other Japanese green teas because it is roasted in a porcelain pot over charcoal, whereas most Japanese teas are steamed. The tea is fired at a high temperature, altering the leaf color tints from green to reddish-brown. The process was first performed in Kyoto, Japan in the 1920s and its popularity persists today

View attachment 8382

i like houjicha better, but not by much. i just buy the yamamotoyama brand tea bags. ja, mada

I did end up getting some of this, btw. Might be one of my favourite low-caf teas, now.

 

[Angry Floof]

Just got my final xmas gift: teas and a 1-cup tea/coffee maker for my desk. I get tea related gifts every year and birthday. Today's tea gifts are peach honey white tea and berry trifle black tea. Also got a mug that says "NERDS RULE" on it. I'm guessing that must be this year's ironic gift as nerds most certainly do not rule. Unstable bullies, meatheads, and loonybiscuits rule. Not nerds. Not by a long shot. Maybe the cup meant Canada.

 

[rousseau]

This morning's tea:

Golden Yunnan, a premium Chinese black.

 

[rousseau]

GABA Oolong, the chill-out and focus tea.

 

[Philos]

Trying out my "extra caffeine" black tea. It's good, but I was hoping for stronger flavor as well as extra caffeine. For as cheap as it is, it's great.

Floof,

We had a Russian meal last night, but couldn't find black tea locally. Had to make do with green tea and lemon. Not a strong flavour, like yours, but this was made up by the pickled herrings, gherkins and sauerkraut!

A.

 

[Angry Floof]

Trying out my "extra caffeine" black tea. It's good, but I was hoping for stronger flavor as well as extra caffeine. For as cheap as it is, it's great.

Floof,

We had a Russian meal last night, but couldn't find black tea locally. Had to make do with green tea and lemon. Not a strong flavour, like yours, but this was made up by the pickled herrings, gherkins and sauerkraut!

A.

Green tea and lemon is what I have every day, but not with pickled herrings, gherkins or sauerkraut. Those seem more like foods for black tea.

 

[fromderinside]

...or maybe black sea.

 

[LordKiran]

My tea of choice is a syrupy sugar filled iced tea made from dollar store off-brand tea bags that were left to sit in an open cabinet for several months.