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London Zoo: Tea

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      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008 edited
     (854.1)
    So, I'm going to prove how much a pussy I am by, instead of posting frequently in the beer and whiskey threads, I'm going to start one about tea.

    Currently my favorite tea is the Tsar Nicholas II, a Russian black tea that has never yet failed to make me feel like a competent human being. This is tea that some hard liquors are afraid of. Mix with a pinch of cayenne pepper for a jumpstart in the morning, or for a good cold remedy.
    • CommentAuthormunin218
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.2)
    A good chai tea is heaven, in my opinion.
    • CommentAuthorNecros
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.3)
    Ahhhh, do I love a good tea...

    I guess if I have to pick favorites:
    Green-- Dragonwell
    Black-- Monkey Pick (a delicious China Black Tea with golden leaves)
    Oolong-- By far my favorite category of tea..I guess I would have to go with Golden Dragon (a wonderful high quality formosa oolong)

    My favorites do rotate though partly based on what is available, and partly based on the season...for winter a Russian style smoky black tea...summer Iced Black Current tea...

    Chai is also wonderful when properly prepared.
    •  
      CommentAuthorARES
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.4)
    There is nothing pussy about tea. I've always enjoyed it but didn't get highly involved until I began dating my Persian woman. Now I have about 20 different teas at my disposal, at any given time.

    My current favourite is a raspberry black tea by Ahmad Tea.
    •  
      CommentAuthorzoem
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.5)
    I'm not a big tea expert, but I like the flavored black (Orange Dulce) and herb/fruit blends (Chamomile Citrus) by Mighty Leaf. They are good if you have a taste for sweet drinks. Their Organic Earl Grey is also good.

    Lapsang Souchong (also affectionately called "the bacon tea" by me) is something I enjoy occasionally.

    I probably have no fewer than 4 different green teas in my pantry, none of which I'm satisfied with. I don't know enough about them, so if anyone has a good pointer to a resource (or a recommendation), I'd love that.
    • CommentAuthortulpa
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.6)
    Lapsang Souchong is overall my favorite tea in the world, just for how strong it is.

    I enjoy Yunnan Gold tea for my not-smoke flavored black tea. It too has golden leaves.

    There are many oolongs I enjoy, though I don't have anything of interest in my pantry.

    I really like Barley Tea, though it isn't actually tea. It tastes better than coffee.

    I also enjoy Green Tea that also contains brown rice. I don't like green teas in general otherwise.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeFeb 4th 2008
     (854.7)
    Zoem, I will have to try that organic Earl Grey you mentioned. I've always had a soft spot for that particular blend.

    Does anyone know a brand that makes particularly good Irish Breakfast tea? I'm looking for one that's a little creamy to start with, with less of a watery taste.
  8.  (854.8)
    Stomach's upset, so I'm on a chamomile tea binge, alternating it with a ginger and lemongrass blend or peppermint.
    Green tea usually makes me puke. I've tried several different brands and my stomach just doesn't like it.
    I also dislike most black teas. call me a sissy- I am.
    •  
      CommentAuthorzoem
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.9)
    Aertemis - I like the MightyLeaf one because it doesn't have that astringent taste that Earl Greys often seem to.

    Also, tea is awesome because there's a ritual aspect to it. My simple alchemy, documented as I made bedtime tea:



    End result: the aforementioned Chamomile Citrus. Yum.
  10.  (854.10)
    Breakfast tea myself. Usually Twinings via my Keurig gadget thing.

    And, exactly the Tea I am having now via the hotel breakfast room. Nice that.
  11.  (854.11)
    I adore tea, and I seem to be building a stash of interesting/good blends. In front of me at the moment is a green tea with mint from Jackson's, which has such a gloriously clean taste, and wakes me up after getting into the office at 7-fucking-45. I'd heartily recommend it to anyone. I've also got a bunch of Covent Garden Tea Shop flavoured green teas with me at work - cherry and vanilla, which are both really nice, and a packet of their looseleaf (or really, loosechunk - it's mainly dried fruit, not the dusty leaf stuff you get in most fruit teas) strawberry and kiwi. I need to make another trip there soon.

    I've never really been a fan of black tea, though I've not really tried too many good types. Way too much boiled-orange, overly milky Tetleys put me off it. Suggestions for good things to try?
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.12)
    JTraub: Twinnings makes some good tea, do they not?

    Papervolcano: While I agree a lot of black teas are overly bitter I rather like the milky flavors. But since you're trying to get away from that, I'd suggest a Chinese-style blend, or the Russian tea I mentioned at the beginning of the thread. Really, for me the greatest part of black tea is making it your own by adding ingredients - crystallized ginger in the boiling pot, while kind of a bitch to clean out afterwards, gives a very nice aftertaste to most black teas. A few drops of apple juice are very nice as well. I will have to sample that vanilla green tea - I've always been a little skeptical of flavored green, but that sounds intriguing enough to try.
    •  
      CommentAuthorzoem
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.13)
    Artemis: Never occured to me to adulterate my tea with anything but the very occasional milk and sugar - now I will have to experiment. So many, many possibilities... Thanks for the idea!

    I have a couple of tea shops nearby that have a huge selection, but sell mostly loose-leaf... But the mess of it makes me crazy. I have tried various strainers and tea-balls... anyone have a better solution?
    •  
      CommentAuthorroque
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.14)
    in summer I like barley tea; in winter, yuzu tea. both probably easiest to find either in Asia or your local Asian grocery store.
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008 edited
     (854.15)
    Happy to be of inspiration! Let us know what concoctions you're particularly proud of.

    I've had pretty good luck with aluminum tea-balls, the more strawberry-shaped the better, but an alternate solution is these sports-bottle-looking things with a built-in filter. It's not too complicated to set up, and any good-sized looseleaf tea should be too big to fit through the holes in the filter. I got one of these for christmas, and it has worked alright so far.

    tea filter

    Here's what a screw-on filter would look like, in this case the H2jO filter. It apparently brews coffee as well, but coffee is of no use to Truly Heroic Humans.
    •  
      CommentAuthorzoem
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.16)
    Brilliant! I will look for one. Coffee grinds my gut, and the form of caffeine in it makes me way too jittery. Hooray tea!
    •  
      CommentAuthorAlan Tyson
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.17)
    Indeed, good sir!
    •  
      CommentAuthorxutraa
    • CommentTimeFeb 5th 2008
     (854.18)
    Haihai, saw this thread, remembered love of tea and accoutrement thereof.

    My favs are definitely Russian Black, chai (in the latte form...I'm such a fuggin yuppy) and nettle tea. Especially the nettle tea that comes in the forms of flower tea. Just the way those flowers open up in the water...magic...

    Interesting filter up there! I use one of those little sieves that sit on top of your cup for my stuff. Fiddly.
  19.  (854.19)
    I'm with zoem and tulpa - Lapsang Souchon all the way - with a dash of fructose. Black, of course. There was a particular blend I used to get in Edinburgh, LS Formosa - exquisite.
    I am partial to a drop of Oolong or some jasmine tea if I'm eating in a Chinese restaurant.

    I still can't grasp what it is about Earl Gray that makes it so popular - I find it like drinking dilute perfume!

    There's also this herbal teabag I have a friend export from the US to me... it's honey, mint and ginseng. And it doesn't skimp on the ginseng - this'll keep you up all night if you have too much in the afternoon! (I'll dig out the brand if anyone's interested.)
  20.  (854.20)
    And how about the milk/sugar ratio, for those that indulge in such? My ex-army mates invariably take their tea "NATO Standard", defined as 'too much of everything' - two sugars, loads of milk, stewed to buggery.

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