# Do you like tea and which kinds?



## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Which teas do you enjoy and why?


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2015)

Whilst I continue to vote "Beethoven" whatever the poll (PetrB put me up to this as a sort of bromide against the more spurious types), I will say that I like any tea that is organically produced and under fair-trade conditions. I've been to China, India and Sri Lanka and have had some knock-out teas. Nilgiri comes to mind, but that could have been the drugs.


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## Morimur (Jan 23, 2014)

I've never heard of these names. I just drink green or barley tea from the local Korean market.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

There are a lot more teas one of my pals and I have been exploring.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Tea_varieties

I only here try to get a cross section of the ones which are the most elegant.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

I mainly drink Rooibos tea. It has an earthy taste and is full of antioxidants. Of course, at Starbucks, their decaf teas are limited, so I'm usually stuck with their Passion tea.


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

I voted for 'Assam'. About thirty years ago, I was very ill with gastroenteritis, and when I recovered - we had booked a dancing holiday at St Andrew's, so I *had* to recover pdq - I just couldn't drink coffee, for about 3 months. Taggart bought some Assam and made me some tea every morning in the University Hall of Residence at St Andrew's. I never drink any other sort now if I can help it. It is not a scented tea, but it has a sort of fresh fragrant quality about it, and it is very wholesome and light. (Whispers to ad-organiser, Can I have my money now, please?)

PS After posting this, I just had to go and make myself a big mug of steaming Assam while we sat and watched the Lord of the Rings DVD material about sound effects etc.


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## MagneticGhost (Apr 7, 2013)

I love the summery taste of Earl Gray
And then I love the evening-sat-round-a-smoky-woodpile-with-friends taste of Lapsang Souchong


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

I prefer Assam for its strength and Earl Grey for its lightness and aroma (bergamot is like catnip to me), but I'm not particularly fussy - usually anything will do as long as it hits the spot.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Don't drink fermented black teas, usually go for some form of Chinese Jasmine Tea, most often "Dragon Pearls" of good quality! (the purer the better, I really hate flowery/sugary flavoured teas that seems to be the fad in northern Europe, it is as juckily repulsive as cinnamon flavoured coffee... ut: )

/ptr


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## Levanda (Feb 3, 2014)

My tea should be black and with lemon that how I used from my mum.


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

I abhore tea and don't know how anyone can drink it. Strong black coffee for me.


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

I wish there were a tea store somewhere near me.  I'm not sure if I've had baihao yinzhen, but I think I've had some that were close. 

The last time I was in Tampa, Florida, I bought some loose leaf Oolong with blueberries and coconut. 

Earl Grey is one of the few things I like "black with no sugar"; there is just nothing like bergamot. Sometimes, when I've reached my caffeine limit for the day, I'll put a drop of bergamot oil in hot water, I like it so much.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

I love any teas and now as the weather is getting much warmer here I am switching to iced green tea... straight up. No sugar added.

But I'm trying to explore which other teas can be iced as well.


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

I am astounded that Darjeeling is not one of the choices. I drink PG Tips, just plain old black tea, with milk and sugar.


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

I am fond of most Oolongs, particularly Tie Guan Yin and Big Red Robe. I also like Green teas. I am most familiar with Japanese Sencha and Genmai Cha (brown rice tea), as well as Chinese Pi Lo Chun and Long Jing. I also enjoy Red teas (Hong cha, known as Black tea in European languages), particularly Keemun, Yunnan and Indian Darjeeling. I also like Puerh tea, but I avoid the ripened (accelerated ageing), due to the propensity to oiliness and fishiness, and prefer the raw (naturally aged).

I am not especially fond of flavoured teas, although Jasmine and Earl Grey are fine. Lapsang Souchong is too smoky for my taste, but it's okay once in a while. The Milk Oolongs are okay, but I am averse to the flavoured ones.

I think you can ice (or drink chilled) any tea. Just take a look at the many fancy bottled beverages these days. They contain oolong, black, green, ginseng, herbs, fruit juice, etc.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

I don't drink tea often, but I like smoky ones, which I think is Lapsang Souchong.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I drink herbal tea.


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## pianississimo (Nov 24, 2014)

I used to hate tea - I'm English but hate milky tea. Milk in tea is foul!
Then I discovered milk free tea and I do drink some now. If I need a hot drink without the jittery effects of coffee then I have tea.

I found a lovely Russian tea room style cafe not far from where I live, and being a new Russophile, I gave it a try. They sold only tea made from loose leaves and served it properly in a pot with hot water available to adjust the strength of the tea in the cup.
I re-discovered tea this way (also I found that I totally hate Russian pop music! They played it in the cafe to add 'ambiance' I did try to explain that they have arguably the greatest music in history and could well do without plasticised pretend-American trash-pop. They didn't get it- Even when I exclaimed in exasperation YOU'VE GOT TCHAIKOVSKY!!! - never mind. un-ploughable field!)
So I discovered Russian caravan tea and Ceylon and blends of black-leaf tea which are so lovely and mellow and work so well with a teapot which allows the flavour to develop. 

Sadly the cafe closed down when the owners went back to Moscow. 
I have learned to love tea from them though and drink it at home. (Whittard of Chelsea sell some lovely tea)

Did you know that Russians don't ever have milk in the tea but often add honey or even JAM! 
I tried the jam, but it took a bit of experimentation to get it right. Don't add it when the tea is very hot or it boils. Then it goes grey and slimy. Let it cool a little bit, then add a spoon of jam and stir it in (this is in place of sugar, obviously).
Drink the tea, which will be less sweet than tea with sugar - but, at the end you get this awesome shot of hot, tea-infused fruit syrup. Sublime!

Pushkin said “Ecstasy is a glassful of tea and a piece of sugar in the mouth.”
Perhaps he didn't know about raspberry jam!


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I drink tea most days; sometimes I will have multiple pots.

Working from home has been great for having tea. I can use my kettle, tea pots, and loose leaf teas quite conveniently.

During the week I will generally have a pot of a green or a white in the morning, right now I most frequently have a Gyokuro or a gunpowder but Baihao Yinzhen is one of my favorites.

On the weekends I am more likely to have a black tea with (coconut) milk and biscuits, scones, etc. There I like a Lapsang Souchong, an Assam, or related blend such as an English Breakfast or Irish Breakfast. I do not do Earl Grey or similar flavored blends, in part because I cannot take the citrus.

In the evenings I am more likely to drink a Rooibos or some other herbal.


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

*Taylors* English Breakfast Tea, "a blend of the world's best teas".


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

English breakfsst tea standard .


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## Posie (Aug 18, 2013)

pianississimo said:


> I used to hate tea - I'm English but hate milky tea. Milk in tea is foul!
> Then I discovered milk free tea and I do drink some now. If I need a hot drink without the jittery effects of coffee then I have tea.
> 
> Did you know that Russians don't ever have milk in the tea but often add honey or even JAM!
> ...


I've also never cared for milk in tea, especially after watching someone try to flavor milky tea with lemon. (The milk curdled.) I'm off to try the jam-tea.


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## Huilunsoittaja (Apr 6, 2010)

Regular Chai, which isn't on that list.


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## Rhombic (Oct 28, 2013)

I love Pu'erh tea. Its rather full-bodied flavour, together with its earthy aftertaste... definitely a favourite.


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

I see that *Builders* isn't on the list so I've voted Ceylon. Anything you can stand your spoon up in is my kind of tea.


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## Guest (Mar 19, 2015)

I am a tea addict and drink mostly green teas. My mother is a native Japanese which is where I got that from. She prefers genmaicha and matcha on occasion. I do love lapsang souchong and always have a tin of it on hand. But most of the time I drink sencha or genmaicha. And whip up some matcha maybe once a week. I also have a variety of Chinese green and black teas which I keep at work because I drink tea throughout the day. There is a Chinese teahouse not far from where I live which also functions as an internet cafe so I go there a lot on weekends and on Fridays its open mic night and I sometimes show up to play guitar or uke or fiddle or double bass--and drink tea, of course.

Btw, I only drink tea straight--no flavorings, no nothing.


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## Pantheon (Jun 9, 2013)

pianississimo said:


> I used to hate tea - I'm English but hate milky tea. Milk in tea is foul!
> Then I discovered milk free tea and I do drink some now. If I need a hot drink without the jittery effects of coffee then I have tea.


Ah, FINALLY an English person like myself who doesn't like milky tea!

I personally love Earl Grey with a little honey. Lady Grey is one of my favourites.
Darjeeling is a personal hit at the moment, followed by Tulsi's Green Tea.


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## Saintbert (Mar 12, 2015)

My regular cup of tea is Assam. It keeps me off coffee. I still drink coffee but it's the difference between having two cups and a dozen.


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Huilunsoittaja said:


> Regular Chai, which isn't on that list.


This is my everyday (all day!) tea. It's the one food and drink item I can't be without. Apparently Twinings are discontinuing it.  Thankfully I found the improved Asda version isn't so different.









No chai on the list, so I had to vote for my next favourite, Earl Grey.


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## TurnaboutVox (Sep 22, 2013)

I like to blend light astringent Darjeeling with fuller bodied, maltier Assam.

I always use a warmed pot and loose leaf tea, and brew it for 5-6 minutes (except at work when there's only time for builders tea made in a mug).

Coming from a family of Scots 'Tea Genies' I prefer tea strong without sugar and with just a 'spot' of milk.

For variety I'm quite happy to drink any decent black tea, Chinese, Sri Lankan or Indian. 

Green tea I drink mainly in the summer or with Asian food.


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## Jos (Oct 14, 2013)

I'm no tea-drinker at all, but as a dilletant-anthropologist I recently came across an interesting social class discussion regarding tea.
Milk in last or milk in first was the debate, and this can actually define your place in the social strata.
Now how about drinking "builders tea" but putting in the milk last, and drinking it with an uplifted little finger.
Society is not as clear as it used to be ! Perhaps our British friends here can shed some light on this pressing matter...


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## Don Fatale (Aug 31, 2009)

Milk in first, for practical reasons...

Firstly: If you don't take sugar then there's no need to stir as the tea blends with the pre-added milk.

Secondly: If pouring tea first, there is a small risk of filling the cup a little too much, making it awkward to add the desired amount of milk.

But these days even in the fanciest company you'll find people who will do it differently. 99% of the time it makes no difference which comes first. Your social strata is likely to have been judged long before you've sat down for tea.


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## ptr (Jan 22, 2013)

Just had a cuppa of Mulberry tea, quite green & very mild!

/ptr


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## sospiro (Apr 3, 2010)

Jos said:


> I'm no tea-drinker at all, but as a dilletant-anthropologist I recently came across an interesting social class discussion regarding tea.
> Milk in last or milk in first was the debate, and this can actually define your place in the social strata.
> Now how about drinking "builders tea" but putting in the milk last, and drinking it with an uplifted little finger.
> Society is not as clear as it used to be ! Perhaps our British friends here can shed some light on this pressing matter...


:lol:

I don't know what tea drinking etiquette used to be but before the advent of tea bags, I'd put the milk in first. Now I can't be bothered to faff about with loose tea, teapots and strainers and I only ever use tea bags. The tea bag _always_ goes in first otherwise the milk reduces the temperature of the boiling water and flavour isn't so good.

Never did stick me finger up neither! :devil:


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## mountmccabe (May 1, 2013)

I think the last time I made tea in a cup with a tea bag I put the milk in after brewing. That makes sense. I typically will make a pot, though, so the tea is already properly brewed and gets poured into a cup with milk.

Making tea in a pot is something I never quite understood until my recent trip to London and Dublin. If I buy tea at a shop in the US it comes in a large cup and it's 20 minutes before it cools enough to be drinkable. But at a shop in London you'll get a teapot and a cup and you can pour it out in little bits which cool quickly while the large pot stays warm.

I realize that this is something people around the world figured out hundreds to thousands of years ago, but putting this into effect has really increased my tea enjoyment and consumption.


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## mtmailey (Oct 21, 2011)

SORRY i drink only herbal teas the tea list here most i never heard of.


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## CDs (May 2, 2016)

Enjoy Earl Grey. 
One of my favorite teamakers is Steven Smith Teamaker out of Portland, Oregon


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## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

This thread began in 2015. They actually had tea Bach then?

Earl Grey for me.


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## Bettina (Sep 29, 2016)

My favorite teas are Earl Grey and ginseng green tea. I love drinking tea! However, I don't hold my teacup in the sophisticated manner with an outstretched little finger - that kind of finger tension would be bad for me as a pianist! I try to maintain a relaxed finger position throughout most of the day, so that I don't develop any bad habits that might affect my piano playing.


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## Klassik (Mar 14, 2017)

Here in Texas, you only have two options. Texas tea and sweet tea. I'd go with the latter. Petroleum has a bad aftertaste! :cheers:


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

I have gone over to the Bigelow brand of herbal teas. My favorites are Orange and Spice, and Lemon Ginger. I still like the Celestial Seasonings lemon too. But the nice thing with Bigelow is each bag has a string with a tag, easing removal from the hot water, and is individually packaged.


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## SiegendesLicht (Mar 4, 2012)

Ingélou said:


> I voted for 'Assam'. About thirty years ago, I was very ill with gastroenteritis, and when I recovered - we had booked a dancing holiday at St Andrew's, so I *had* to recover pdq - I just couldn't drink coffee, for about 3 months. Taggart bought some Assam and made me some tea every morning in the University Hall of Residence at St Andrew's. I never drink any other sort now if I can help it. It is not a scented tea, but it has a sort of fresh fragrant quality about it, and it is very wholesome and light. (Whispers to ad-organiser, Can I have my money now, please?)
> 
> PS After posting this, I just had to go and make myself a big mug of steaming Assam while we sat and watched the Lord of the Rings DVD material about sound effects etc.


Two years ago you must have had a most wonderful evening. Big mug of tea and LOTR - what can be better?

I am a big tea drinker. If I stay at home all day, the cup count can go up to nine or ten. And whenever I go for a hike in nature, I take a liter of tea with me in a thermos bottle. Out in the woods it tastes even better, especially in cool weather. I prefer either plain black tea (out of a teapot with leaves - no teabags for me), Earl Grey or all kinds of herbal mixtures: peppermint, cinnamon etc.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Klassik said:


> Here in Texas, you only have two options. Texas tea and sweet tea. I'd go with the latter. Petroleum has a bad aftertaste! :cheers:


This must be a nomination for post of the day. :lol:


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## Marinera (May 13, 2016)

Nothing from the above. I am more of a DIY tea drinker.. My top three teas are made from personally handpicked fresh ingredients, mostly. Sometimes from fresh they become dried ingredients. I like tea with ginger, honey and lemon, or tea with fresh thyme ( favourite is with lemon thyme), honey and lemon. The third tea is with fresh mint, lemon and honey. If I buy teas I like herbal, and I look in ingredients for hibiscus.


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## classicorbust (May 18, 2017)

earl grey, builders brew style


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## eugeneonagain (May 14, 2017)

The lack of decent tea is one of the worst things about having left England (I've lived in the Netherlands for nearly 18 years now). Honestly, the Dutch brought tea to Europe, but it's like they don't know what to do with it. I can't buy it at a café because the water is never hot enough and when the waitress finally arrives it's ever cooler and the bag is not even in it. No-one seems to appreciate that the water needs to be boiling as it hits the leaves. The water is often hard and full of magnesium and calcium deposits (like the south coast of England). The general tea bags are just bags of tea dust.

Apologies to any Dutch folks here.


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## Xaltotun (Sep 3, 2010)

I like almost all tea except cheap and plain bad tea, like I answered on a previous tea thread some years back. But this time I'll share a small tea story.

I was a boy of 12, on a language course for young people in England. I was staying at a family with a single mom and two young children. On the first or second night, I was offered a cup of tea.

Single mom: "Do you want milk in your tea, dear?"
Me: "No thank you, it's good like this."
SM (eyes widening in amazement): "Really?!? You don't want milk in it?!?"
Me: "Yes, this is how I drink it at home."
SM: "But no milk?!? Are you sure?!?"
Me: "Well..."
SM: "I'll pour some milk in your tea!"
Me: "Yes madame."


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

Iced Tea ... A combination of: Orange Pekoe and Pekoe Cut Black teas.

Hot tea, only when eating out at an Asian restaurant.


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## ArtMusic (Jan 5, 2013)

There are a lot of names I don't know in that list. I like normal breakfast tea, Camomile and Earl Grey.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

The tea I have at my home are teabags of the budget brand Eldorado. I only drink tea when I need something stopping.


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## Pat Fairlea (Dec 9, 2015)

I'm an English Breakfast man, so went for Assam on that list. I'm game to try most other teas once in a while except Earl Grey. I find the scent and taste of bergamot quite disgusting. So it's a mug of strong English Breakfast for me, milk and no sugar.

This causes disharmony with Mrs Pat who, being partly of Russian origin, takes her tea dilute and black, and loves Earl Grey, Darjeeling and the lighter Ceylon teas such as Nuwara Eliya. How we have stayed married for 41 years is quite beyond me!


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Green tea, selected by my wife (a bit of an expert), leaves not bags of powder.


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## MarkW (Feb 16, 2015)

Any good black tea that has flavor (i.e. not commercial American tea bags (and _never_ Lipton)). An English Breakfast type is fine. Most of the subtleties listed above are beyond me.

But all coffee is absolutely ghastly.


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