TvTropes Tea Drinkers (TTTD)

That's a tough one. I maintain that personal taste is everything; the best tea is simply a different one for each individual. If Bob considers dust and fannings the pinnacle of black tea, that's fine - more of the good stuff left for me.

Perhaps we could agree on what is the "most refined" tea instead. I nominate SFTGFOP first flush Darjeeling from one of the established gardens, for instance Makaibari or Margaret's Hope.

Chai. Or Earl Gray. Something I can put milk in. -Le shrug-

edited 18th Jun '13 6:24:12 AM by HamishGundry

Since someone mentioned Twinings last page and I just finished a cup of one of their breakfast blends, have some links. The actual tea is so-so, in my opinion, but Stephen Fry could sell anything. Curse you, advertising.

In an attempt to reduce my (frankly outrageous, and probably a little unhealthy) consumption of caffeine, I have been trying to replace coffee with tea whenever possible.

So far, I seem to favour green tea with mint and a good amount of milk; but I should probably buy myself a proper tea pot and do some experimenting with loose leaves, instead of relying on tea bags.

Are there any important dos and do-nots that I should keep in mind?

ASSAM. I've never looked back.

So I tried some "chocolate tea" yesterday, courtesy of a tea café. It was not chocolate-flavoured tea, per se. It was more like "tea with a chocolatey aroma". Very nice it was, too.

Green tea with milk? I didn't think that was a thing.

edited 11th Nov '12 10:58:24 AM by pagad

I don't know if it is, to be honest. I'm messing around in a most ignorant and flailing way

A couple of things off the top of my head:

1) Cast a wide net. Try every blend, flavour and brand you can get your hands on. Usually, tea shops will be happy to include a sample with your purchase. I've gotten some excellent teas I would never have tried otherwise that way.

2) Flavoured black teas and rooibos make for good "entry-level" teas. They are also usually cheaper than, say, fine darjeeling or shaded Japanese green tea.

3) Pay attention to the water temperature. Green teas are usually brewed with cooler water than black ones, for good reason. When in doubt, consult the instructions, but note that they are mostly guidelines. Which brings me to...

4) Steeping. Let the tea steep until it tastes right to you. Green and white teas are usually steeped for a shorter duration than black ones.

5) A useful rule of thumb regarding milk: The stronger the tea, the more likely it is to be improved by the addition of milk. Do not use condensed milk. I am not touching the "milk in first" vs "tea in first" debate with a ten foot long pole.

6) Sweetening is controversial. Some teas are enhanced by sugar or honey, some are ruined by it. It's usually a good idea to try it without sugar for your first brew and then go from there.

7) Some teas, especially green and white ones can be brewed twice or more before changing the leaves. Later brews can bring out hidden flavours and are more delicate. Generally, do not try this with black teas.

Have fun!

edited 11th Nov '12 12:15:29 PM by Farnion

Not sure if this counts, but a little store near my house sells absolutely glorious canned luo han guo tea.

rebrewed black teas are sort of rubbish usually.

Thanks for suggestions!

My mum recently received some hibiscus tea as a gift, and I just tried some. It's very sour - I really couldn't drink it unsweetened. I'm pretty familiar with rosella/roselle jam, and this tea was basically that in hot liquid form.

I'm not sure I like it enough to try it again, but you can apparently drink it cold, which sounds like it might be better.

edited 25th Nov '12 4:26:17 AM by Gaunt88

Quite a few hibiscus teas include rose hips from what I've seen. I've always liked them myself, but then again like tart things.

I've found that fresh spearmint leaves [especially the so called "chocolate" cultivar] make an excellent drink. I'll have to remember to hunt down a variety of seedlings this next spring.

I've been hooked on tea ever since my mom brought home a tin of this German brand of tea called Thiele Tee. It and some masala chai syrup are a great pick-me-up after school. This, however leads to another problem. My tea supplies are running dangerously low. Since my town lacks a dedicated tea shop, are there any brands that might sell loose leaf in a supermarket, or will I have to contend myself with bagged tea?

In my limited and euro-centric experience, it's not hard to find decent, if not great, loose leaf tea at the average supermarket. Your best bet would probably be ordering it somewhere, though, especially if you're after a specific blend or higher quality teas.

TeaGschwendner is a great store that should ship almost anywhere. They also cooperate with Thiele, so you might be able to replenish your stock if you're lucky. If not, these two blends might be reasonably close in flavour.

Rise, thread, as my unholy caffeine-infused servant!

So I've been on a quest vacation last week and I'm very glad to report that I found if not the Holy Grail of tea, then at least a reasonably close approximation. If you ever find yourself in London or if you're ready to pay for shipping, go here. You're welcome.

Big fan of yogi tea's licorice (not liquorice, that would be weird!) tea, and their chai's good too. I tend to like my black tea strong, black and with maybe a bit of lemon. I detest tea with milk in it, which is unfortunate as Ireland's tea zealots are worse than British ones. We have an even larger black-tea-with-milk culture than the British, and that means that every time I ask for tea, I either get funny looks for asking for it without milk, or I say nothing and end up with milky tea . Most lemon herbal teas I like, especially twining's lemon and ginger. Feeling a bit intimidated here; everyone seems to have tried every single variety of tea in with various different additions, some even making the tea themselves! I'm a bit broke at the moment, and live nowhere near a dedicated tea shop so I can't really do that myself; Superquinn supermarket chain seems to have the best tea selection in my area. Unfortunately, they're all bagged teas.

edited 28th Apr '13 1:52:56 PM by Vincentquill

Right now I'm having a Forest Fruit Lipton tea with honey. Sometimes I put sugar instead, but honey is what I really like with my tea.

Other favourite flavors of mine include mango, lemon (and lemon balm) and verbena.

Tea and lemonade, a lovely combo, especially during the summer.

Which tea?

Presently enjoying some Assam because I'm low on Darjeeling, and Oolong isn't for everyday use.

I wish I'd remembered to buy some more of the first two yesterday.

Hello! I'd like to join in here, if I may. :)

I only really started liking tea a few years ago. When I was a kid, I drank that Lipton powdered stuff, but now I prefer Earl Grey, double strength (two bags), with an ungodly amount of sugar (though I'm trying to cut back on that!). I also really like the Twinings English and Irish Breakfast teas. Never really liked white tea. For some reason (has anyone else experienced this?), green tea makes me feel physically sick if I drink it, so I've learned to avoid it.

Anyway, I think I will like it here, and thanks for letting me pop by.

-Ursula

Well, green tea does have a certain... taste. I've found that drinking it on an empty stomach is a bad idea. That said, if that makes you queasy, don't try maté tea, then. Its taste is really strong.

Doing it on an empty stomach might have been the cause, I'm not really sure. I've just never had the same problem with black tea to start breakfast with, you know?

I also find tea hurts my stomach if I drink it on an empty stomach so there's always some little food stuff or meal to go along with tea. Not that I mind since its goes well with cakes, biscuits, cookies, etc.

Another reason could be you've been brewing the green tea for too long. It can taste really bitter, even a bit rubbery if you steep it for too long. Green and white tea have shorter brewing times than black teas. 30 - 45 seconds is long enough for brewing time and the water temperature should be just hot enough that you can see the vapor coming from the kettle. Another way is to look at the bubbles as the water boils. If the water has small bubbles then its good for green and white.