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Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Tea is the second most popular beverage in the world – #2 only to water. Traditionally, the drink is produced by steeping the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant in hot water. If the leaves are not from the Camellia sinesis plant, it is technically not tea, but a tisane. However, considering how most of us do not live in a French-speaking part of the world, calling it “herbal tea” or even just “tea” is fine by me. If you want to engage in that snobbery, do like I do and go to Quebec on vacation. Montreal is wonderful.
The point of this thread is to get you drinking tea if you don't and to get you drinking more if you already do. Oh, and we can like, share stuff with each other and become BFFs.
Bagged vs. Loose Leaf.
The majority of this guide is catered towards loose-leaf tea. However, let me state unequivocally: there is nothing inherently wrong with tea bags. Great quality tea can be put into tea bags and produce a brew just as nice as loose-leaf. The problem is that great quality tea often does not find its way into your tea bag. Instead they give you stuff called “fannings,” the lowest quality, least flavorful grade of tea you'll probably ever encounter, and they'll charge you a considerable mark-up for it. There can be a lot of snobbery associated with tea, but this is not one of them: loose-leaf is just categorically better than bagged.
Some things to consider:
- Loose-leaf is often cheaper.
- Loose-leaf is usually higher quality
- Loose-leaf gives you control over how you brew your tea.
By all means, try out stuff using high quality tea bags. Again, the method of steeping tea using a tea bag is not what's bad. Once you begin to taste the difference, I'm convinced you'll want to give loose-leaf a try.
Hardware. There is no right answer to what kind of hardware you should use. Use what is comfortable for you. I will, however, ram my suggestions down your throat:
- Brewing vessel (or a “teapot” to those of you who speak normally to real people). Teapots are great. I own 3 of them. I love breaking it out and brewing tea with it. But in my day-to-day life, I use a french press. French presses are better than teapots in basically every way: it gives your loose-leaf tea room to brew, it can do a half cup of tea just as easily as it can do 4 (or 8, depending on size), they are very easy to clean, and they effortlessly separate the brewed tea leaf from the brewed tea liquid.
Also, I really like how they look:
- Heating Device. There are many ways to heat water. You can do it using a kettle on a stove, or a container in a microwave, or, hell, even a Keurig (but only if you want to telepathically force me to inexplicably and uncontrollably weep). But once you really get into brewing tea, do yourself a favor and pick up an Electric Kettle. There are many advantages to using an electric kettle: they heat faster than any other option, are more energy efficient than a stove, and, if you buy a good model, can accurately heat the temperature of the water exactly where it needs to be for all the types of of tea you'll be brewing.
I strongly suggest you get an electric kettle with a variable temperature gauge. It will allow you to perfectly brew every type of tea you'll encounter. Some models include a dial, which you adjust for different temperatures. These can be hard to read, but they work fine and it's the style of kettle I use. There are also kettles which will heat to the exact temperatures needed for the major types of tea. These are worth it if you don't want to fuss around setting the right temperature. They're often more expensive, though. There are also some kettles which will allow you to precisely set the exact temperature you want. These are the best of both worlds, but are, again, often even more expensive.
I like these kettles from Adagio.
Brewing Time and Temperatures.
Note: Unless from Teavana, always try your package's instructions first. Some varieties within the same family of tea may need drastically different temperatures to taste their best. Yerba Mate and Green Rooibos are the only herbals I've encountered that do not take boiling water. Roasted Yerba Mate and regular, Red Rooibos can both be treated like any other herbal tea.
(This section is incomplete and U.S.-focused. I'd love to hear your recommendations in this thread or via PM.)
Latest additions marked with an asterisk (*).
Starting points:
Adagio | Adagio is a great starting point as it has a wide variety of good quality teas. They have a product in nearly every category now, from black to green, white to oolong, pu-erh to herbal. Nearly everything is available in sample sizes, too. Prices are very reasonable and they even have some nice customer loyalty programs like earning gift certificates for reviewing teas.
The Tea Table | Similar to Adagio, but less expensive. They offer clear discounts for buying larger quantities of tea. Strongly recommended by our own HiResDes.
Stash Tea | Stash is another good starting point because they can also be found in many grocery stores. They also offer a fairly wide range of teas (including Guayusa, a still somewhat uncommon herbal) and the vast majority of them are available in pre-made tea bags.
Mighty Leaf | Mighty Leaf is fairly similar to Stash. They're often sold in independent coffee shops and the quality is some of the best that's sold in pre-made teabags.
David's Tea | Based out of Canada (ships to U.S.). Great when starting out because they have a nice selection of flavors. Can be a little pricey, but the quality is good. They also offer a few "step up" teas that are great for going deeper in the world of high quality tea.
The Tea Table | Similar to Adagio, but less expensive. They offer clear discounts for buying larger quantities of tea. Strongly recommended by our own HiResDes.
Stash Tea | Stash is another good starting point because they can also be found in many grocery stores. They also offer a fairly wide range of teas (including Guayusa, a still somewhat uncommon herbal) and the vast majority of them are available in pre-made tea bags.
Mighty Leaf | Mighty Leaf is fairly similar to Stash. They're often sold in independent coffee shops and the quality is some of the best that's sold in pre-made teabags.
David's Tea | Based out of Canada (ships to U.S.). Great when starting out because they have a nice selection of flavors. Can be a little pricey, but the quality is good. They also offer a few "step up" teas that are great for going deeper in the world of high quality tea.
Advanced:
Harney & Sons | A well respected tea retailer founded by Mike Harney and in business for over 25 years. The quality of many of the teas here are noticeable steps above any of the teas from the companies in the starting point category. Of course, with that bump in quality comes a bump in cost. However, Harney and Sons is still one of the most reasonably priced sellers of higher quality teas and, honestly, it's easier to pay a little more when you can taste the difference.
Upton Tea Imports | One look at this website will tell you all you need to know: these guys are old school tea importers. In business since 1989, Upton has a huge range of teas, including varieties that no other tea retailer has. Prices are more competitive than even some in the starting point category.
Davidson's Tea via Amazon.com | While the quality of many of the teas here are a little lower than others in the Advanced category, the prices are sometimes impossible to beat. I've put them in this category primarily because you'll have needed to develop a serious tea drinking habit to make buying their bulk teas worthwhile. Now, let me share with you some game I picked up: when buying from Amazon, select the Subscribe & Save option. This will save you an extra 15%. As soon as your order ships, cancel the subscription and you'll never be charged again.
Upton Tea Imports | One look at this website will tell you all you need to know: these guys are old school tea importers. In business since 1989, Upton has a huge range of teas, including varieties that no other tea retailer has. Prices are more competitive than even some in the starting point category.
Davidson's Tea via Amazon.com | While the quality of many of the teas here are a little lower than others in the Advanced category, the prices are sometimes impossible to beat. I've put them in this category primarily because you'll have needed to develop a serious tea drinking habit to make buying their bulk teas worthwhile. Now, let me share with you some game I picked up: when buying from Amazon, select the Subscribe & Save option. This will save you an extra 15%. As soon as your order ships, cancel the subscription and you'll never be charged again.
Other/Exotics/Speciality
Matefactor | This is my go-to website for buying fresh green yerba mate. Quality and price is fantastic. As you can tell by this picture of the 11 pounds of Mate I buy at a time from these people, I am obsessed.
Samovar | Based out of San Francisco. A lot of super-high quality stuff here. You can even snag some teas grown in Hawaii. You will pay dearly for the luxury, though. Most expensive retailer in this list by far.
Samovar | Based out of San Francisco. A lot of super-high quality stuff here. You can even snag some teas grown in Hawaii. You will pay dearly for the luxury, though. Most expensive retailer in this list by far.
U.K./Europe
Mystery Tea House | U.K. based. LordAlu says, "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 
"
Adagio Europe | Same as the American Adagio above, but is sold and ships from the U.K. They have less choices, but are still a good option for trying different types of tea.
"Adagio Europe | Same as the American Adagio above, but is sold and ships from the U.K. They have less choices, but are still a good option for trying different types of tea.
Please read this part with this on in the background: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bfzWj5a_Y4. If the song ends while reading please chase it with this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kr0tTbTbmVA
The majority of tea consumed by Americans is served ice cold and, with warm weather approaching, it's time to learn to make your own iced tea. A lot of people turn to pre-bottled teas, like those from Honest Tea, Harney & Sons, or Snapple, and at least 2 of those are perfectly fine if you're out and about without access to your equipment. But at home? You can do this.
Basic Iced Tea
- Prepare your equipment as if you're brewing a normal cup of tea.
- Fill a large glass with ice (a 18 to 20oz beer glass works wonderfully).
- Instead of putting a cup of water over your tea leaves, half it. Use 4oz of water.
- At this time add any sweetener you may normally like in your tea. Stir to disolve
- Brew for the standard length of time.
- Pour into glass filled with ice, stir, and enjoy.
It's as easy as that. There are other methods of producing iced tea, but this is the quickest.
Next Level Procedure
- Purchase 1 can of frozen juice concentrate.
- Consult packaging of frozen juice concentrate to determine how much water you need.
- Half that amount of water and brew double strength tea of your choice with that amount of water. (E.G. packaging says to add 5 cups of water, brew 2.5 cups of tea using 5+ teaspoons of tea leaves.)
- Mix together juice concentrate, cold water, and double strength tea.
- Realize you've wasted your life having not done this sooner.
#GAMECHANGER. My favorite combination is Yerba Mate + Welch's White Grape Peach.
Drink Suggestions.
Half & Half / Arnold Palmer | 50% iced black tea + 50% lemonade.
Iced Lemon Mate | 75% iced yerba mate + 25% lemonade.
Boston Iced Tea | 75% iced black tea + 25% cranberry juice.
Lime Chiller | 75% iced jasmine green tea + 25% limeade.
Of course you can mess with the ratios to tailor it to your preferences. I'd love to hear if you have any other interesting combinations.
Iced Lemon Mate | 75% iced yerba mate + 25% lemonade.
Boston Iced Tea | 75% iced black tea + 25% cranberry juice.
Lime Chiller | 75% iced jasmine green tea + 25% limeade.
Of course you can mess with the ratios to tailor it to your preferences. I'd love to hear if you have any other interesting combinations.
Pictured: Iced Lemon Mate
