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Tea |OT| Oh, tea.
- Thread starter morningbus
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I believe it does, but I wasn't sure if it's a myth or not. I think black tea is the only variety I'd ever add milk to- actually tastes quite delicious.
Honey is great though, especially if it's raw (adds even more benefits).
They do have Gunpowder (and Organic Gunpowder whatever that means), no Dragonwell. I'll try it if it's a safe thing to try.
I remember liking Earl Grey (the standard on the site is called "Earl Grey Finest") and Chai teabags so I guess I'll try those too.
Aren't there places that use milk for tea instead of water? I never used milk with tea in my life but I remember hearing about that before.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I know you don't need volume, but I think a french press is still the way to go. Here is a relatively smaller, 17oz (a little more than 2 cup) press: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000YYQCOU/?tag=neogaf0e-20 This will basically cover you for whatever you want to do.
As for specific tea suggestions, the gunpowder another person recommended is a great choice. I'd also suggest a Sencha (another green tea) and Darjeeling (a black tea).
For the UK I recommend http://www.mysteryteahouse.com. They even have a tea room where you can try different teas and have a bit of lunch too! Was only there last week for some lovely Green Apple Black Tea
Thanks! I'll add it to the list during my next pass of the OP.
Great! Make sure you check back in with your thoughts.
Thanks! I'm glad people have been liking the thread. Maybe Nabs can convince me to make another Teafilter episode after all...
That title...
I like to have iced tea every once in a while with a meal to mix it up from the regular water, but I never really go out of my way to get it. I always hear that there are health benefits of drinking tea; is that true?
It really is one of the best titles in a while.
And yes, there are numerous health benefits to drinking tea. It varies by type of tea as well. Here is just a beginning source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_effects_of_tea
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Let me preface this by saying that I'm not intending to squash the conversation about the health benefits of tea.
Are there health benefits to tea? Sure, it's a much better choice than soda or energy drinks. That's basically as far as I'm willing to go in the discussion, though. We should drink tea because it tastes good, not because we think it'll let us live forever.
It's a problem endemic in the tea industry and it's an aspect that I absolute hate. It seems every time I happen into a Teavana, there is an overzealous clerk telling a customer that this will "totally help with your memory" or "this will help clear up your skin." The Government even had to step in because of the kind of claims companies like Rishi Tea were making.
Tea is not patent medicine. The antioxidant count does not matter. The only chemicals that matter are the ones that make it pleasurable.
But, for the record, when it is measured in labs, all varieties of tea have similar antioxidant and caffeine levels. There are ranges, for sure, but those ranges can be present within the same variety.
Are there health benefits to tea? Sure, it's a much better choice than soda or energy drinks. That's basically as far as I'm willing to go in the discussion, though. We should drink tea because it tastes good, not because we think it'll let us live forever.
It's a problem endemic in the tea industry and it's an aspect that I absolute hate. It seems every time I happen into a Teavana, there is an overzealous clerk telling a customer that this will "totally help with your memory" or "this will help clear up your skin." The Government even had to step in because of the kind of claims companies like Rishi Tea were making.
Tea is not patent medicine. The antioxidant count does not matter. The only chemicals that matter are the ones that make it pleasurable.
But, for the record, when it is measured in labs, all varieties of tea have similar antioxidant and caffeine levels. There are ranges, for sure, but those ranges can be present within the same variety.
Cjdamon042
Member
There's only one
No. Just no.
Hell yes.
Snkfanatic
Banned
I cannot live without Ginseng Oolong. Ever since my friend went to China and brought some back I am addicted. Best I have found so far is from enjoyingtea.com
Anyone else a fan?
Anyone else a fan?
hoverboarder
Member
perryfarrell
Member
Great job on the OP.
I'm a fan of Chinese green tea, with no frills. No pan fried or steamed stuff. It can get expensive, tho. Usually get it from tenren.com
I'm a fan of Chinese green tea, with no frills. No pan fried or steamed stuff. It can get expensive, tho. Usually get it from tenren.com
anonymous_abc
Member
Cool thread, subscribed.
I drink loads of tea usually some form of black tea,
Be it Darjeeling, earl grey, ect..
But lately I've been getting heartburn alot, in the afternoon/early evening, I believe it's from the tea, any suggestions?
I drink loads of tea usually some form of black tea,
Be it Darjeeling, earl grey, ect..
But lately I've been getting heartburn alot, in the afternoon/early evening, I believe it's from the tea, any suggestions?
I love me some Rice Green Tea. I need to bring a bunch in to work sometime, but I usually head down to Alexandria to get some. I really need to find a cheaper place nearby though. Just that with either a little bit of honey or stevia and I'm gold.
http://www.spiceandtea.com/kyoto-rice-p-236.html
http://www.spiceandtea.com/kyoto-rice-p-236.html
I like "number one brand" Thai tea. Even just the tea bags smell really nice. You can make milk tea by boiling a large amount of water on the stove, add about 4 tea bags, at least half a cup of sugar, and leave it cooking for at least half an hour. Put it in a jug and leave it in the fridge, then when you serve it at least half the glass should be milk, and you should add a lot of ice cubes.
Used to drink Chinese green tea, normal loose leaves and also English black tea in tea bags, but i don't really like them much anymore. All i can drink now is either Thai tea or milk tea or bubble tea from places like chatime or easyway. Green tea frappes at Starbucks aren't bad either.
Used to drink Chinese green tea, normal loose leaves and also English black tea in tea bags, but i don't really like them much anymore. All i can drink now is either Thai tea or milk tea or bubble tea from places like chatime or easyway. Green tea frappes at Starbucks aren't bad either.
What makes you think its the tea? I went through a 8-12 month of getting afternoon/evening heartburn and it turned out to be stress and vitamin deficiency. I worked out more and started a daily vitamin at my doctor's instructions and i have not had heartburn in years. I also changed jobs, so its more relaxed.
Doesn't a french press require maintenance though? How much of a pain is it between each cup?
Kitsunebaby
Member
I've got these two awesome shops in my city, Capital Teas and The Spice and Tea Exchange, which have some awesome selections.
To me, there's nothing better than a cup of strong black tea with some caramel sauce and milk. I can't stand milk or sugar in my coffee, but for some reason it goes so well with black tea.
I'm a big fan of matcha, as well.
To me, there's nothing better than a cup of strong black tea with some caramel sauce and milk. I can't stand milk or sugar in my coffee, but for some reason it goes so well with black tea.
I'm a big fan of matcha, as well.
That place is soooo awesome.
anonymous_abc
Member
Well I seem to think there is a correlation between me drinking lots of tea a day and getting heartburn. and google tells me black tea can be the cause of heartburn.
Is it wrong that I grew up with the Harney's and I dont really care for tea all that much? I really only care for basic teas like Earl Grey, doesnt matter if its Harney or even generic Lipton tea, its all fine by me. Though I do really like Chai tea, but only one specific local blend.
Theres a tea/brunch shop in my town called Chaiwalla, Salsibury Ct, where the owner blends it all herself and goes to India regularly, and its unreal and simply perfect, not too sweet not too spicy. People come from all over to have her tea, as well as her soups and tomato pie and stuff. She makes bank and can run her place at the hours and times she wants because its always packed. If you're ever in the area, its definitely worth a go, not really any other good reason to be in this neck of the woods otherwise.
And its funny because its the same town the Harney's live in and started their business, right across the street actually, and while they are the kings of tea, I think most everyone still likes the Chai tea from Chaiwalla best.
Theres a tea/brunch shop in my town called Chaiwalla, Salsibury Ct, where the owner blends it all herself and goes to India regularly, and its unreal and simply perfect, not too sweet not too spicy. People come from all over to have her tea, as well as her soups and tomato pie and stuff. She makes bank and can run her place at the hours and times she wants because its always packed. If you're ever in the area, its definitely worth a go, not really any other good reason to be in this neck of the woods otherwise.
And its funny because its the same town the Harney's live in and started their business, right across the street actually, and while they are the kings of tea, I think most everyone still likes the Chai tea from Chaiwalla best.
Skellig Gra
Member
I honestly can't get enough of this. So good.
If only real tea tasted that good.
Joe Prodigy
Member
It's delicious! That's how grandma drinks her tea.
I gotta go check out Captal Teas. I keep forgetting there's one at National Harbor nearby.
How much black tea do you drink a day? And is it on an empty stomach? I drink several cups with and between meals with no issues. Are you like the guy in the coffee thread who has 10-12 cups of strong black coffee a day and is worried about ulcers?
Good god, I never even thought of using my french press to brew loose leaf tea! Will do it today. I played around with loose leaf and a tea ball for awhile but got tired of the effort and went back to tea bags.
I love spiced chai with almond milk and sugar, as well as chamomile, and the best ever tea for when you're feeling sick is the Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat. It has licorice, cherry bark, cinnamon bark, and orange peel. I hate licorice but I love this tea. Right now I'm drinking some sort of blueberry flavored green tea that is nice, even though I don't usually like fruity teas.
I love spiced chai with almond milk and sugar, as well as chamomile, and the best ever tea for when you're feeling sick is the Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat. It has licorice, cherry bark, cinnamon bark, and orange peel. I hate licorice but I love this tea. Right now I'm drinking some sort of blueberry flavored green tea that is nice, even though I don't usually like fruity teas.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Pictured: Tippy Yunnan
I have brewed tea in practically every way imaginable (I still haven't gotten around to trying the Russian Gulag Prisoner method yet, though. Too scary.), so I can say with some authority that the french press is about the same amount of trouble as any reusable brewing method. At worst, the filter will require a brief, 5 second rinse to dislodge any fine particles. Rinsing the filter is as easy a slightly twisting the bottom of the plunger to allow just enough room for water to pass through. You usually won't have to even do that, though.
Make sure you give it a good cleaning between sessions of coffee brewing and tea brewing. Coffee leaves an insane amount of oil and gunk on a french press. I had to buy my girlfriend a separate, coffee-only press just for that reason alone.
Teavana gets a lot of hate. Some of it undeserved, a lot of it totally deserved. I'll go through some of my problems with the company:
- Overly expensive. We all know that there is markup. Some of their stuff is 2 to 10 times more expensive than what it should be, even including markup. It is the definition of a rip-off.
- Too much filler. Dried apple pieces look nice, but they are dead weight and do nothing to add or improve flavor. Same with corn flowers, which they put in nearly all their blends. Couple this with the fact that you're already paying more than you should, and you're basically being scammed.
- Staff are trained to lie to you and decieve you. They are actually trained to tell you anything you want to hear to make a sale. I had a Teavana employee try to convince me that, "after a while, you won't even need to use tea with your Yixing pot anymore." They are also trained to trick you into buying more than you want. Go into Teavana and ask them for 2 ounces of anything. You are nearly guaranteed to have them initially scoop a portion that weighs at least 3 to 4 ounces. Again, this isn't a mistake: they are trained by corporate to do this.
- As a company, they treat their employees terribly. Employees are constantly up for review and insane demands are often placed upon them. If you're interested, I've read some seriously terrible first-hand accounts of how high pressure and awful the place is to work at.
Those are some of my problems. I like one or two of their blends, but I avoid the company at all costs.
This is sugar, not tea.
I honestly can't get enough of this. So good.
Yeah, Teavana employees always try the upsell etc... I only get Earl Grey from them so no problems with fillers in my blend and it is one of the tastier Earl Greys I have had. I will say that the employees seem to be the ones who were too much of hipsters to work at the Apple store (if that is even possible).
I'm taking your word for it then. And having a french press can't be that bad I guess.
Anyway I saw what Darjeeling they had and dang those are a lot more expensive than the rest. They also have Earl Grey Darjeeling which sounds good but maybe later.
By the way their cheapest Darjeeling is:
Morningbus you said Darjeeling is black, what up!
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Well, Darjeelings are named for the region of India in which they are produced and they are historically black. They've started producing green and white tea fairly recently there though. Always assume a Darjeeling is black unless otherwise specified, like how the seller described it.
Picked up some of this last week it's called Check Mate it's a mixture of black and white tea it is really good.
http://www.davidstea.com/check-mate
Yea. When people in general say Darjeeling they mean a black tea. But there are green and white Darjeelings. They are ok in my experience.
And I wanted to also confirm that a french press is superior to most any other method. Both in results and ease of use/cleanup.
anonymous_abc
Member
No no, not at all.
I dunno maybe up to 5 cups between 7 and lunch.
And 2 afterwoods.
I should also mention that I prefer my tea weak so i usually don't drink strong tea
And I love my loose tea strainer from WMF, the best I've come across so far
Great post.
I am a huge fan of tea because it is an inexpensive, delicious drink that is very versatile. The whole process involved in tea preparation is great, from changing brewing parameters, to creating new blends, to enjoying an expertly brewed cup using precise measurements. Making a good pot of tea to start your day or to enjoy with friends is simply great.
When people jump on the tea bandwagon because of supposed health benefits, it just feels like just another stepping stone in their journey through health fads. Replace tea with some random miracle supplement, a new kind of diet, or magical food that burns calories as you eat. It's all interchangeable and fleeting to them.
/rant
I don't give a shit. It's tea.
Herbspiceguy
Member
Got a whole bunch of fresh organic herbs in pots from my work today including 2x Moroccan mint. I'll mainly use it to brew one of my fav tea's.
Simple version is just tea leaves and sugar.
For a special version I add cinnamon and some cloves.
Also got verbena and lemon balm plants which I think can be used for tea also, but I haven't tried it yet.
Simple version is just tea leaves and sugar.
For a special version I add cinnamon and some cloves.
Also got verbena and lemon balm plants which I think can be used for tea also, but I haven't tried it yet.
MentallyCritical
Member
Anyone Into Chay Tea or Green Tea?
I make the ingredients for the Chay Tea at home (other then the tea leaf obviously). I use tea bags for green tea because i don't really know how its meant to be consumed(plain hot water i assume?) and i don't have the Loose-leaf version available in my locality ; is there much of a difference between bagged and Loose-leaf when it comes to green tea?
I make the ingredients for the Chay Tea at home (other then the tea leaf obviously). I use tea bags for green tea because i don't really know how its meant to be consumed(plain hot water i assume?) and i don't have the Loose-leaf version available in my locality ; is there much of a difference between bagged and Loose-leaf when it comes to green tea?
Head of Vengarl
Banned
I'm sorry to quote myself, but nobody has answered this question. I do appreciate the OP's iced tea post, which is what I will be doing from now on. That sounds delicious! I'm kind of a minimalist, so I'd probably only sweeten it with honey. Does honey go well with iced green tea?
jetpacks was yes
Member
anonymous_abc
Member
surly iced tea is always just tea flavoured water...
I doubt wether it makes a difference thoug.
Just try as for sugar, I would probably go of no sugar first, and see how that is, but then again I'm not at all fond of sugar in my tea.
Honey you would definitely want to add to the tea while it is still hot, but it might well go hard again while cooling down, not sure about that though.
So in summary go for it try out all the diffent options and report back
Personally I hardly drink any iced tea so I'm no the go to guy, just trying to be helpful
Head of Vengarl
Banned
Thanks man I really appreciate it.surly iced tea is always just tea flavoured water...
I doubt wether it makes a difference thoug.
Just try as for sugar, I would probably go of no sugar first, and see how that is, but then again I'm not at all fond of sugar in my tea.
Honey you would definitely want to add to the tea while it is still hot, but it might well go hard again while cooling down, not sure about that though.
So in summary go for it try out all the diffent options and report back
Personally I hardly drink any iced tea so I'm no the go to guy, just trying to be helpful
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