I like tea. Especialy Twinings Earl Grey in the can, lose. It tastes better that way for some reason. Though, by British standards I cannot seem to make a proper cup of tea. Nontheless, it is excellent with a shortbread finger or two.
Posted by Annie (Member # 295) on :
quote:I like tea. Especialy Twinings Earl Grey in the can, lose. It tastes better that way for some reason.
Try steeping it in boiling water - it's even better. Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
Mmmm... tea... which reminds me that I have to get in to school early enough to get my cup of tea tomorrow before first lesson! Earl Grey is good, but I'm also a big fan of TeaDirect (fair trade tea).
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I never liked Earl Grey. I was more of an Irish Breakfast tea person, myself.
Or southern sweet tea. mmmmmmmmmm
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
What's that like? I like English Breakfast as well. Both teas should have just the slightest dollop of milk, no sugar. These folks say you should add tea to the milk, but I like adding milk to my tea so it gets all cloudy.
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
Just a totally different flavor. I guess Earl Grey just tasted funky to me.
Posted by Intelligence3 (Member # 6944) on :
Twinings Irish breakfast is my favorite, too.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
The British Empire was built on tea. When you dashed colonials introduced coffee to the lower classes in 1943-45, why, the Empire collapsed a few years later. Personally, I refuse to drink coffee.
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
I'm a fan of "Belgian Chocolate Rooibos" tea. My sister bought some recently, and it is divine.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
Earl Grey is flavored with bergamot, which is bee balm, the pretty red perennials that grow rampantly in gardens. I love the tast of it.
I like tea, but I like it in the afternoon. In the morning, it is coffee all the way. I like it black, or with just milk, or with milk and honey, whereas coffee is one way or the highway: very hot, with half and half.
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
I like herbal teas, preferably ones with mint in them.
I have an insta-hot (one of the greatest of mankind's kitchen inventions) so I prime my teapot by swishing it with insta-hot water. I dump that water, but the teapot is all nice and warm now. Then I put three teaspoons of tea in my filter and set the filter in the top of the tea pot. Then I fill my teapot by using the insta-hot, poured over the loose tea. I cover it with my tea cozy and set the timer for 4 minutes. It makes a perfect cup every time.
The best tea I've found is from a local tea shop that makes it themselves. Wonderful!
Posted by ReikoDemosthenes (Member # 6218) on :
we have some gorgeous Earl Grey tea...I can't remember what the brand is though, and I'm too lazy to go check...but it's in these beautiful silk teabags...it's almost a shame to steep them, but it tastes just as good as it looks...*dreamy sigh*
*ponders going and making some*
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I could never manage to drink coffee like a grownup--it was ALWAYS too bitter, and by the time I'd put in enough milk and sugar, I'd be asked "Do you want some coffee with your sugar?"
*stabs friends*
I once got handed an entire bag of those little half and halfs from dunkins and asked if that'd be enough.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Sri Lanka - formerly Ceylon - grows the best black tea in the world, or so I'm told. I don't drink it, personally, but hubby does.
He drinks it the local way - milk tea. Which means lots of milk and about 4 teaspoons of sugar. Per cup.
I, on the other hand, drink herbal, which is difficult to find here unless I'm willing to go with local plants that I don't recognize. There's only one place I know of where I can get Rosehip & Hibiscus or Mint, and two places that sell Chamomile. That's it, folks.
Posted by kwsni (Member # 1831) on :
Jamie, me too. That's why i always go to gas stations and get thier cappuchino that comes out of a machine. Coffee flavored sweetened milk. Perfect.
I've been drinking tea at the barn lately, just cause i get so tired of hot chocolate. As soon as I go to the store i'm getting Chai tea and hot spiced cider mix to leave at the barn. and maybe some good herbal tea.
Ni!
Posted by Goody Scrivener (Member # 6742) on :
I like English Breakfast and Constant Comment (Bigelow's orange and spice offering). I greatly dislike the bergamot in Earl Grey, however.
Someday when the kids are older I'll be able to afford and keep intact a good porcelain tea set and start indulging in loose teas. Until then, I'll stick with my Bigelows LOL
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
I LOVE that fake cappucino!!!
Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
Some students drink to much coffee, I drink too much tea. I love it. Tea in the morning, tea at eleven, tea for tea ( ) tea at night. I've been drinking it for forever. Tetley's mostly; Orange Pekoe, I was bred on the stuff. I also have grown to love their flavoured orange pekoes: strawberry and blackberry, mmm. I never used to like Earl Grey, now I am a fan.
(Edit: Goody already listed Constant Comment but I'll leave the link)Constant Comment is a specialty black tea that I love. It smells and tastes heavenly.
I bought my mother banana and chocolate black tea for Christmas, and it sounds crazy but I think she's going to love it. I've never tried it, so I have no idea!
However, I am solely a black tea person, with milk, no sugar. None of this herbal stuff . I think it's the Britishness in me!
*drinks tea*
[ December 13, 2004, 11:40 PM: Message edited by: Teshi ]
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
Do you guys like real tea?
..Jasmine, Oolong, or Dragon Well? Posted by Teshi (Member # 5024) on :
What is this thing called "real tea"? Tea is a British Invention! (kidding kidding!)
Although I've never been a huge fan of un-black teas, and I've never tried any of the teas (at least knowingly) that you listed, I did have green tea of some variety in China town once and it was excellent.
Posted by Mrs.M (Member # 2943) on :
I've been drinking decaffinated herbal teas, since I can't have coffee (fertility treatments = no caffine). They're all well and good, but I sob when I clean out the coffee pot from Andrew's coffee.
Also, why does caffine make Coke taste delicious?
Posted by mackillian (Member # 586) on :
You can't have decaf coffee?
Posted by Verily the Younger (Member # 6705) on :
At the risk of sounding like a snob (which I'm not, really), I'd like to point out that any drink not made from the tea plant, Camellia sinensis, is not tea. Drinks made from the leaves of other plants, but not including tea leaves, are "herbal drinks".
After all, you wouldn't make a drink out of garbanzos and call it coffee because it's made from beans, would you?
[ December 14, 2004, 12:24 AM: Message edited by: Verily the Younger ]
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
esl, last Christmas my sisters gave something called "Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong." They bought it for the name, but I really do enjoy the taste of it.
Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
Yay! Ha, yes, that's a funky name. Right now I'm drinking this Ginseng Root Tea. It's not tea in the strictest sense, herbal tea I guess.
At home I normally have lipton but once in a while we have real tea We get to order real tea at restaurants too. My brother and I like to play these games while we're waiting for food. It's a rock paper scissors sorta game, and whoever loses two in a row hasta down a cup of tea. and it's hot! I normally lose Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
And here's where I'm going to throw in a comment that you may not like, esl.
My grandfather used to drink his coffee like that - very hot - and he ended up burning his insides so often that he got cancer and died.
Okay, so I don't know of any evidence that indicates that the one thing led to another, but no one else in the family has ever had cancer, and he drank a lot of really really hot coffee, so that's what everyone assumed.
In other words, it ain't a good idea. You don't know what it could be doing to you. Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
lol. Sorry about your grandfather.
I usually just take a couple sips and it's okay because my heat tolerance isn't as high as my brother's. requirement satisfied. He gets a tad annoyed, that's all.
Posted by Rappin' Ronnie Reagan (Member # 5626) on :
quote: Drinking lots of tea - particularly when piping hot - also seems to increase risk, perhaps because of the burning effect of the liquid as it passes down the food pipe.
Posted by Choobak (Member # 7083) on :
My favorit tea is "Darjeeling". His taste is strong but what a taste ! I like arabian way of making tea, with leafs of mint (is it the good word ?)
Posted by Anna (Member # 2582) on :
I'm totally found of the mariage freres Lotus Royal tea.
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
quote:After all, you wouldn't make a drink out of garbanzos and call it coffee because it's made from beans, would you?
Seriously? I like green tea. I'm not enough of a connoiseur to know any specifics about it...I just know I like the way it tastes, completely plain. I also buy the Celestial Seasonings flavors, of which I like Honey Lemon Ginseng the best, I think.
Posted by Traveler (Member # 3615) on :
I think I have about 30 teas in the house. I'm particularly fond of green teas - though, I do love Earl Grey.
Sometimes when I'm asked by Claire (my fiance) if I want any tea I get geeky and say, "Tea, Earl Grey, Hot".
Posted by Megan (Member # 5290) on :
I love it! Do you also do the little shirt-tug thing?
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
I'm a tea lover too, from linden, mint, camomile or apple-cinnamon to stronger teas, like Irish Breakfast, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, etc. There's a "Green Tea with mint" from a French company that I find absolutely perfect! I've also had the chance to drink Arabic tea on a trip in Turkey and another time from a Tunisian friend of mine, and it's excellent. I once drank Japanese tea: they served some sweets before it and then you drink what looks like some green slime, but is actually quite delicious.
One thing I DON'T like is that I don't have enough words to describes a specific flavor... When talking about visual or audio stuff there're a lots of adjectives one can use, but just try to talk about smells and tastes and you're in trouble... Posted by esl (Member # 3143) on :
That might be a deficiency in the English language. I'd be interested to learn about a language that has more smell and taste adjectives than we do.
English tea's aren't bad. I'm just very unaccustomed to putting milk and sugar in it.
There's this bitter tea that I've tried a couple times at tour group tea stops. We had one cup of tea and one cup of hot water after it. The tea's taste was such that the water was actually sweet after drinking it. Twas very neat.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
quote:What is true tea? Tea is the dried leaf of the Camellia sinensis plant. Indigenous to both China and India, the plant is now grown in many countries around the world. Teas that do not contain flavorings or additives, we call ‘true’ teas.
What is herbal tea? Herbal tea is not actually tea, but rather an herb or a mix of herbs. Only in the United States are these herbal mixtures called tea. They are usually referred to as an infusion or tisane in other parts of the world.
What is medicinal tea? Medicinal teas are tisanes made from specific herbs, flowers and extracts that may be beneficial. A wide variety are available – some have significant scientific backing to their claims, others do not. True teas have been widely studied for their health benefits. Green tea contains polyphenols, researched for their antioxidant and other healthy properties.
What is the difference between Green and Black tea? Both green and black tea come from the Camellia sinensis plant. The difference is in the amount of time that the picked leaves are allowed to oxidize. Green teas are minimally oxidized, whereas Black teas are fully oxidized.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
esl, well, me not being English/American/etc. I wasn't really talking about the English language. I have the same problems in Romanian. Basically, I can say if it's bitter, sweet, a couple of other things if I strain my mind, but have no idea how to express the difference between English and Irish Breakfast, for example.
As for your "bitter tea" experience, the opposite happened with my Japanese tea tasting: after eating the sweets the taste still lingered while I was drinking a totally unsweetened tea.
What I usually do when I drink a bitter tea is take some sweets along - not before. Honey, chocolate, biscuits, anything will do. I really enjoy the bitter/sweet combination. Hmm, maybe that's why "Bittersweet symphony" is one of my favorite songs?! Ok, I'll stop now! Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
You'd probably like this song called bittersweet featuring Ville Valo and Lauri... It's by a group with a hard to spell name.
Posted by RackhamsRazor (Member # 5254) on :
mmm...I like the breakfast teas. Namely, English Breakfast, Irish Breakfast and Ceylon Breakfast. I like to put a little honey in mine- makes it sweet.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
A couple of days ago I bought a Lipton Russian Earl Grey, and it's much more aromatic then the "usual" Earl Grey-s. And it's good. [deep voice] It's goooood. [/deep voice]
Posted by Christy (Member # 4397) on :
Stash tea all the way. They have sampler boxes that are great if you do tea bags.
Matte latte is a favorite of mine -- tastes kind of like cocoa
Ginger peach -- from that tea company you can get at Borders (Republic of Tea?)
Green tea is so flavorful and light -- very relaxing. Chammomile and/or Sleepytime tea is also a favorite.
I'm just now getting back into tea after losing all taste for it while pregnant. I also only like my tea lightly steeped and mostly drink it "black" -- no sugar and only occasionally milk.
Chai, now, that's another story. Mmmm!
And Indian "butter" tea with pepper.
Posted by Mr.Funny (Member # 4467) on :
[British Accent] Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. [/British Accent]
Posted by ctm (Member # 6525) on :
Mmmmm...tea! Twinings Ceylon breakfast tea is my current favorite. I also like their Prince of Wales tea. I loved Stash's organic breakfast blend but can't find it anymore. I bought Stash's Irish breakfast tea but like Twining's Irish Breakfast better. Darjeeling is good too. I guess I like almost any tea, but I'm not too fond of earl Grey, don't like that bergamot.
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
You know, for years I thought that Picard was saying "Tea. L-Grade. Hot".
Posted by rivka (Member # 4859) on :
I, OTOH, promptly went out and bought a box. Very nice flavor.
Posted by WheatPuppet (Member # 5142) on :
Mmmmm. Tea. I think I'm going to make some tea. Right now. Before bed.
Coffee is awesome, too. I like spiced coffee.Cinnimon, ginger, cayane pepper, that kind of thing. Coffee isn't for everyone, and it wasn't until I started drinking it out of necessity that I actually started enjoying it.
I still wonder if I'm actually enjoying it, or just pretend I'm enjoying it. By all objective accounts, it's a vile black substance that contains a most-sinster stimulant. Posted by Nato (Member # 1448) on :
I'm going to make some Chai. And if that's not enough to satisfy me, some Earl Grey will follow.
(I like it because I'm a Picard junkie mostly.)
Posted by Synesthesia (Member # 4774) on :
+The Twinings homepage has good deals on their tea. But, even better t han tea is homemade hot chocolate.
Posted by Shigosei (Member # 3831) on :
Nato, weren't you the one who told me that you play the trombone because Riker did? *bows to Nato's ultra-geekyness*
Posted by ketchupqueen (Member # 6877) on :
You know who has the best tea? Peet's. Peet's Irish Breakfast used to be my absolute favorite. Ten Ren has some pretty good teas, too, for bag teas.
I miss tea. My grandma is from England, and taught me to appreciate (and make) a proper cup of tea. It's the one thing I still long for sometimes since becoming LDS.
Posted by amira tharani (Member # 182) on :
I tried Twining's Chai recently at a friend's house, and it's a pretty good approximation to what I think of as the real thing (i.e. the way my grandma makes it). There are lots of variations on Chai that I don't like, but the Twining's one is pretty good, so I might buy that. Does anyone know if Twining's has gone fair trade yet? I'd hesitate to buy it if not.
Posted by Corwin (Member # 5705) on :
It's tea time again!
"New" teas that I like:
-White Tea from Lipton: not at all in the same strength class as the Earl Greys, much more delicate, also contains apricot flavoring -Twinings Lady Grey: has almost the same ingredients as Lipton's Russian Earl Grey - bergamot and citrus (?; "agrume" in French) - but adds lemon and orange flavors and what comes out is a totally different taste; not that I'm complaining -Twinings Brazilian Baïa: tea leafs, cocoa, vanilla and coconut. Really strange taste, I've just had my first cup and I think I like it...
Posted by Evie3217 (Member # 5426) on :
Have any of you ever tried white tea or red tea? They are completely different. Red tea is made from the bark of a tree, and white tea is a specialty made from only one kind of plant that blooms for a very short time. I don't have time to post a link, but I will when I get back. White is is supposed to have the most caffeine of any tea. It's potent, let me tell you.
I personally prefer Orange Pekoe, or English Breaksfast. I've never been a huge fan of green tea though.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
I've discovered, from Fahim's family, that I evidently don't add enough milk and sugar to the tea I make for them. Four teaspoons of sugar and 1/4 cup of milk...
So. I think I'll start filling the teacup only half full of tea and the rest will be, well, the rest. Posted by theCrowsWife (Member # 8302) on :
Someone on the first page said that the bergamot in Earl Grey was an herb. While there is an herb called bergamot, it acquired that name because it smells like real bergamot, which is a citrus. Earl Grey tea contains real bergamot oil, although the cheap brands use other citrus instead. My favorite Earl Grey is organic from Stash. My favorite Earl Grey variation is Earl Grey Lavender Tea by Revolution (bought at CostPlus World Market).
I also really like Harney and Sons tea, although I've only tried one of them: Chinese Flower Green Tea. They're really expensive, though.
I'm a tea snob, as is probably obvious. Liptons, Twinings, and Celestial Seasonings have no place in my house. Well, I'll occassionally use plain Liptons to make a gallon of sun tea, but I hardly think of that as tea. More like "slightly caffeinated flavored water."
--Mel
Posted by Artemisia Tridentata (Member # 8746) on :
Its not tea, but Yerba Mate is great stuff. I enjoy it cold as Terere. (That needs some accent marks to look right. But I'm technologicly challanged and can't do them.)
Have any of you tea people ever tried Terere?
Posted by Silent E (Member # 8840) on :
The article quoted earlier in the thread was wrong -- the U.S. isn't the only place where infusions are referred to as "tea". In Central America, herbal infusions are very popular, and are universally called "tea": cinnamon tea, lemon tea, lemongrass tea, and several others.
Posted by aretee (Member # 1743) on :
Elizabeth! Thank you so much! As a LDS I never knew if I could drink Green Tea or not. We can drink herbal teas and your post has cleared up that mystery. THANKS!
Edit: Stupid typos never cease with me.
Posted by oolung (Member # 8995) on :
anyone here likes pu er? Needs some accustoming (you can start from flavoured pu er), but nothing slakes thirst better.
no 2 : japan genmaicha. it's green tea with rice, very delicate.
no 3: yerba mate. I know it's not really tea, but who cares.
Apart from that: Earl Grey and chai for cold days Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Hot chai with milk, no sugar.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
Every day I brew at least a 1.5 litres of tea, and carry it in a nalgene bottle. Always green tea. I like japanese looseleaf varieties for their flavor and delicateness, but I also like black teas, like vanilla black. Plus earl grey or mint teas are excellent, and red vanilla flavored teas are good too.
Proper way to make your tea according to Douglas Adams (Englishman Extraordinare)
1. Boil a kettle of Water 2. Put boiling water in the pot for a moment 3. throw that out, and bring the kettle back to boil (this warms the pot and ensures tea strength) 4. choose your tea, and put just enough in the pot, then add a little more than that 5. Take the boiling water and pour it as fast as humanly possible into the pot and close it. 6. Wait 7. If you want milk, put it into the cup FIRST. This is the opposite of the "proper" way, but the "proper way scalds the milk. 8. Pour tea and drink, repeat until you run screaming for a bathroom.
I can attest that my time in England taught me a vast appreciation of a proper cup of tea. I recommend the small and comfy little Brahma Tea Museum near the globe theatre for an excellent cup of any tea imaginable. I can say that the American stereotype of tepid weak teas can be applied to many peoples. I also spent a summer in Catalonia, where the prefered method of making tea was to microwave a cup of water (DEAR GOD IN HEAVEN WHY?) and then put in one tea-bag, and three tablespoons of white sugar (even in green teas). The result: horrible.
Posted by Orincoro (Member # 8854) on :
quote:Originally posted by Corwin: esl, well, me not being English/American/etc. I wasn't really talking about the English language. I have the same problems in Romanian. Basically, I can say if it's bitter, sweet, a couple of other things if I strain my mind, but have no idea how to express the difference between English and Irish Breakfast, for example.
The English seem to prefer not to talk DIRECTLY about flavors in tea like Americans do. Americans invent silly official scientific sounding taste adjectives and jargon like top note, hint, breath, overtone, undertone, sustain, afterwash, afterbreath, etc and its ridiculous. (Read "Fastfood Nation" for more on flavor)
The English though, will more likely tell you how the tea relates to a feeling, a mood, weather, geography, art or music, something analogous but not like tea. In fact Douglas Adams played on this subject in "Hitchikers Guide" by saying that the food maker on the Heart of Gold made "a substance, almost but not quite entirely unlike tea"
Posted by Eaquae Legit (Member # 3063) on :
Current favourite is a green tea and jasmine blend from the local teashop. Simply heavenly.
Posted by imogen (Member # 5485) on :
As long as it's not in a tea bag, I like it.
I went mad for vanilla tea a couple of years back, but I think I'm slowly getting over it.
And I'm not human 'til I've had my mug of English Breakfast in the morning. I also like Lady Grey, but that's for afternoons.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I just had a cup of Tazo Zen Green Tea and Herbal Infusion (vile brew!). Here's what it says on the back of the package:
High in the Kunlun Mountains of China, monks spend days chanting and meditating in hopes of reaching complete enlightenment. Periodically they stop for a cup of tea quite like this.
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
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) tea at night. I've been drinking it for forever. Tetley's mostly; Orange Pekoe, I was bred on the stuff. I also have grown to love their flavoured orange pekoes: strawberry and blackberry, mmm. I never used to like Earl Grey, now I am a fan. ![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Grumble]](graemlins/grumble.gif)
![[Eek!]](eek.gif)
![[Laugh]](graemlins/laugh.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
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My grandma is from England, and taught me to appreciate (and make) a proper cup of tea. It's the one thing I still long for sometimes since becoming LDS.