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I'm just wondering if I could add phosphoric acid to home brewed tea. Has anyone tried it? I am trying to cut sugar out but can't stand plain tea or tea with lemon. I am a soft drink junkie but think its the tartness I like about them.

Hi all, I'm looking at starting a new coffee/tea bar and I could really do with your help! I want to focus on a large variety of high quality tea, instead of focussing on coffees, like most other places do. Having said that, I love coffee too and will also be serving the usual americano, cappuccino etc. Tea is the second most popular drink (after water) in terms of amount consumed per day, yet costa and starbucks etc serve much more coffee than tea. What I would like to know is what would make you buy a tea (or derivative of tea) drink, or what's wrong with tea? Thanks!

I think I am about to enter my tea/tisane nerd phase. Got some good suggestions from our herbal tea topic http://forums.egullet.org/topic/119376-herbal-teastisanes-what-are-your-favorites/?hl=%2Btisane I noticed the post on Serious Eats about Steven Smith the guy who started both Stash and Tazo and now has another tea company.- http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/08/steven-smith-interview-tea.html?ref=excerpt_readmore Some sound quite appealing. Has anyone tried them ad if you have tried Stash or Tazo or the new company and how would they compare?

It's not that I don't care about tea at all. But my standards are pathetically low. The teas in my cabinets are old, having just come out of a year in storage in the Bronx. I took a tea-appreciation class in Singapore but didn't appreciate it enough. Richard Kilgore has given me some of his tea and it has been great, but I've quickly reverted to crummy tea. Ditto for when White Lotus and Dance bring tea to the Heartland gathering. What can I do to claw my way toward tea respectability? I need a program.

I picked up a 'tin' (round tube with two vacuum-packed bricks within) of JustMake King Hsuan Oolong, a semi-fermented formosa tea recently. The literature included the chart below, with suggested amounts of leaf and steeping times. However, there is no indication of the amount of WATER. Any ideas?

A True Tea Pot Confession I swear I have never done this before. I always dump leaves and rinse a pot before returning any teapot to it's perch on a teapot shelf, lid off for a day. Always. Except a week or so ago. I had too many pots going at once and moved my smoothest brewing Japanese Banko back to it's perch with the leaves still inside with lid on, planning to do the dump-and-rinse before going to bed. You guessed it, two days ago I picked it up again to use it and...greenish mold covered the leaves. After dumping and rinsing it definietly smelled musty-moldy. Afraid I would have to do something drastic like use a denture cleaner to strip it and then go through re-seasoning it. But I treated it with boiling water a few times and then added baking soda with boiling water and let it stand for a couple of hours. The next day the moldy aroma was gone, but the first two sessions with the Banko left a faint baking soda slick in my mouth. Today, eureka! Back to normal for the most part. May have lost a very little seasoning in the process, but that's okay. Anyone else have any tales of teapot neglect and redemption?

I just saw Richard Kilgore's latest tea tasting thread, where he asks tasters to brew in a gaiwan or kyusu vs a Western-style teapot. I pretty much only use Western-style teapots or brew directly in the mug (I have a gaiwan but I find it a pain for every day use). How do different vessels affect the tea differently? I would imagine as long as the water can be kept hot while brewing, it's all basically the same. Anyone care to explain?

I have one of those Russell Hobbs electric kettles. I fill it part way with water, run it until it boils, and pour some of the water into a mug for tea. When I go to boil more water, I pour out the remaining water, refill the kettle, and go again. Several other people I know, by contrast, leave the water in the kettle and boil it again. I somehow feel that reboiled water is going to be somehow inferior. Is this completely in my imagination or is it for real?

So I've been brewing a lot of green tea in a pyrex measuring cup and straining it out into my mug (my tokoname kyusu is en route). I've been using measured amounts of tea and water, and precise timing. Until a couple weeks ago, I never did this, I just threw tea in a pot or in a strainer inserted in my mug, waited a minute for water to cool down a bit, then splashed water in. With the more measured approach, I've noticed that the leaves hold on to a LOT of the water. This never seemed to be an issue when brewing with a strainer directly in the mug. I'd say from 200ml of water put in, about 150ml came out only, just 75%. So if the instructions for the tea say add 4g leaves for 200ml water, would you add more than 200ml and the same amount of tea to get 200ml of final product, or would you add more of both?

Tonight I went to a Japanese restaurant. At their bar was a container holding a very interesting looking tea. The owner said that this was called Romance Tea. We tried it and we really enjoyed it. Although I can't say exactly what is in the blend, there are rose buds and violets. It definitely had floral notes in the taste but I also tasted notes of honey. On my way out I asked the owner about the tea and she said that I will not be able to find this tea anywhere. I asked, "even online", and she said that she doesn't think so. She said that they get this tea directly from Taiwan. I'm not even sure if the proper name of this is Romance Tea or if this is a rough translation. Has anyone ever heard of this? If so, any one know a supplier? Or, can you suggest a tea that may be similar? Again, I'm not sure of the entire blend, but there were clearly rose buds and violet. Maybe some lavender. It had a light floral taste. Appreciate your help. Thanks very much.

So, I took the plunge into "real" espresso machines and ordered a brand new Silvia V3. On the prodding of Sam Kinsey, I'm also going to buy a PID for it. However, the question is WHICH PID kit to get. The two cottage companies that offer them are PIDKits.com and PIDsilvia.com. Both of these are side mounts, but one uses the Watlow PID (more expensive, but supposedly higher quality devices) and the other uses Auber PIDs. Auber Instruments also offers its own PID kit now as well. However, the Auber PID kit is an undermount near the steamer wand and the espresso spout and I'm not crazy about that So far, I haven't gotten either of these cottage businesses to answer emails. I guess whoever eventually gets back to me will get my bussiness, but I would rather know about some other choices if I have any.

I've been a fan of the bancha and hojicha at Norbu for some time, but it appears that Greg isn't carrying them any more. Are there other options out there to recommend? I particularly like the roastier, woodsier varieties. Thanks!

Well, so now, you have one of the best qualities of tea from an of the best suppliers possible. Will you loosely store it in a cupboard full of spices or maybe the refrigerate (you think that is a great idea?). You may be wrong. Here are some tips for proper tea storage: · First and foremost, never buy tea in bulk unless you are the shopkeeper or a whole seller. If you are a family unit and want to buy tea for yourself or for your family, restrict yourselves to smaller quantities. This will ensure freshness and retainment of aroma · Many of us think that if we keep stuff in the refrigerator, it will be fresh and intact! But tea will prove you wrong. The last place you want to store your tea is in the fridge. This is because a typical fridge has many food items inside and tea can absorb all sorts of flavors and aroma. Also, the moisture inside the fridge is really bad for the freshness of the tea · If at all you are buying from a tea supplier in your area, make sure he/she has stirred the tea properly in an airtight container on a dark shelf. This is because light and air is bad things for the tea. It loses its aroma and freshness · At all times, keep it away from moisture other than actually brewing it. Tea leaves tend to absorb the moisture quickly and it will spoil the taste and the texture Just make sure you take good care of your tea so that you can enjoy it to the fullest!

I've recently learned about a type of tea popular in certain parts of China, where oolong is stuffed into a hollowed-out pomelo and allowed to age. Might this have been the style of tea the Earl was trying to have replicated by his English tea blenders? During the time period when Earl Grey was developed, I believe that Europeans had yet to make a distinction between a heavy oxidized oolong and a black tea. Thoughts?

I have made several purchases from them and have been happy- My last purchase was finally successful-I purchased a small glass teapot and pitcher- the first order was lost on way to usa but second was delivered via usps and royal mail registered signed for- customer service was excellent. I was impressed with their professionalism.

eGullet Society member Greg Glancy at norbutea.com is contributing free 10 gram samples of each of three interesting Japanese teas for this Tea Tasting & Discussion (TT&D). Sets of the samples will go to up to three eG members active in the forums: if you have at least 50 posts anywhere in the eG Forums in the past 12 months, or if you have at least 10 posts in the Coffee & Tea Forum, and are interested in receiving the free samples and participating in this TT&D, please read on (this post and the three following soon) and then PM me. The first Japanese tea is a Sunpu Boucha - 2010 1st Harvest Hon Yama Kuki-Hojicha. Text and image used with permission by norbutea.com. The next two posts will describe the second and third Japanese teas for this TT&D, and the fourth one one will provide additional important information on how to request the three free teas. Stay tuned!

Sha-li-shian, Yu-shan, Nantou, Mu-zha, Li-shan... Where do I find them? What are the borders and boundaries for these designations? Maps would be great. Similar information for Anxi, Wuyi, and Pu-erh would be fantastic as well. Thanks.

So lately I've been noticing the price of coffee is going up, up, up. At the specialty shop where I buy my freshly roasted beans, we're talking $16 for 12 ounces of Stumptown, in a lot of cases. Is there a point where you'll just switch to tea? And, what kind of prices are you all seeing?

It's time for me to re-stock a few Assams as I am just about out. Which ones from which tea merchants do you like the best? They vary, so what characteristics do you like in an Assam?

Anyone have any pointers for discovering more on the history of kombucha? The internet so far has been less than helpful, either pointing to Japan (this is a mistake based on the fact that Japan has its own kelp tea named kombucha), or to a mythical past in North East Asia going back thousands of years (despite the fact that black tea was not invented until the 1600s). I suppose kombucha could have originally been made with green tea, but that's not the way I typically encounter it. I've also heard that the drink originated in Russia in the 1800s (teakvas), which sounds a bit more plausible, but am at a loss for where to go from there. Any help?

I am wondering what others here drink when they have a cold, fever, flu, or just feel lousy. Do you drink it because it makes you feel better, or due to a homeopathic benefit? Thanks!

I'm trying to figure out how to figure out the appropriate number of tea infusions based on prior infusions, time, exposure to air, and who knows what else. Take today. I put a few leaves of Norbu Ruby Black Tea into the pot this morning and made a nice brew. I'm now about to make the second pot: it has been only four hours; I left the leaves in the pot wet and covered (though air gets in through the spout). But then what? Tomorrow morning? There's a storm on the way: Thursday? Covered? Uncovered? Exposure to light? Sound? And please don't say "trial and error." Surely there's some guidance that's less hit-or-miss out there!

I am curious about what teas everyone discovered the past year and what you want to explore this year. New categories of tea? Teas from new countries or regions of countries? Teas processed differently? So what did you try in 2010 and what are you looking forward to for 2011?

I bet we'd learn a lot about culture and caffeine if everyone shared a photo and brief description of their coffee or tea set-up at work. After all, the Society is international, and surely we can learn something from the works we all use to satisfy our addictions. You game? Lousy phone photos will do the trick here. Nothing fancy needed.

So I was at a tea shop at the mall today and looking for a nice decaf black tea for my father, who is trying to cut down on his caffeine intake. The woman at the shop said that if I steeped the (caffeinated) tea in hot water for 30 seconds, then took it out and steeped in a different cup of hot water for the correct brewing time, the resulting cup of tea would have no caffeine, but I'm not buying it...has anyone heard this? Have I just missed out on some well-known fact by spending most of my time drinking coffee? Or was she just trying to make a sale?