What Are Your 'Everyday' Teas?

[Yajna Patni]

Two questions..

Has any one tried tea from Peets? and does anyone know of a Russian caravan that they like?

[Naftal]

Two questions..

Has any one tried tea from Peets? and does anyone know of a Russian caravan that they like?

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Hello-Back in the really, really, really old days: Russia did indeed get its tea via caravan from China. These caravans would light a fire each night when they camped. As a result, the teas they were carrying took on a smokey taste. The building of the TranSiberian railroad had two related effects on the tea-trade:it made caravans unneccessary and it brought the price of tea down thus making it an affordable drink for the poor. All this is a long introduction to a simple statement which you may know: most high- quality "Russian Caravan Tea" is really Lapsang Souchong.

Edited May 30, 2009 by Naftal (log)

[Connie Bednar]

Naftal

That makes so much sense, I knew Russia got their tea by caravan but never thought of how modernization would change the flavor profile.

[Naftal]

Hello-I should have mentioned that good Lapsang Souchong does indeed have a "smokey" flavour that it gets as a result of the way it is processed/smoked.I have been told that this is why good Lapsang can only be made in limited quantities and if a tea-seller fails to reserve enough he/she will have a long wait until fresh Lapasang is available.So, the difference is where it was smoked. Once it was smoked "on the trail" and now it is smoked "in a processing plant".

Edited May 30, 2009 by Naftal (log)

[NJFoodLover]

As sad as it is, I grew up on Lipton and have gone back to Lipton to save money. Again sad to say, my tea of choice is Bigelow English Teatime in the bag form. Both my husband and I are out of work.

I wish I knew as much about tea as you folks do. I love tea, hate coffee, and would like to learn about different types of tea. Perhaps I am not as adventurous as the rest of you. But I have learned a lot from the forum.

[baroness]

Visit some ethnic-oriented markets (Asian, Russian, Middle Eastern, etc.) and check out their teas. If you are even a tad adventurous, you'll find better tea bags -- not to mention loose teas -- than Lipton for your money!

[v. gautam]

NJFoodlover,

A very warm welcome to eG. We hope you will stay in touch with this forum, and tell us how your tea explorations are unfolding. Plus we would love to hear from you anyway! Are you from the Northern half of Jersey? Hot dog heaven, Portuguege, Indian, Korean, Brazilian, wow.... we have nothing in Ithaca! Superb Ice Cream only in a place with 9 months of winter & 3 months of tough sledding

I hear you folks have invented a snwich called a Fat Bast..d, which is french fries, and various other combinations of fried goodies slathered with a mayo-cream/hot sauce wrapped in a large pita. Sheer genius from the land of the fried Hot Dog, pepper & onion. Have you ever had one, or both?

As THE BARONESS suggests! Are you anywhere near EDISON, NJ? That is a bit of India transplanted along a mile; even otherwise there are numerous "indian" groceries afflicting NJ. Lipton or Brooke Bond Red Label, the strongest kind, Cut Torn Curled [CTC tea] is about $5/lb. The GREEN LABEL DARJEELING of any of these companies is about $8/lb in a bigger shop. The Green is a color code that indicates to Indians Orthodox Tea or whole leaves just as Red is CTC. There is a Yellow too, but let us treat that as a RED for now.

Mix half & half and you have a decent drinking tea, one most middle class Indians consume; at 1/8 or 1/10 the price you are paying per pound for bags that contain FANNINGS & DUST, the lowest grades.

Incidentally, these grades happen to be just the type that release their essence & flavor soonest in hot water, even when enclosed in paper, as you might guess. They are not called fannings & dust without a reason!!

Thereafter please consider buying an inexpensive infuser, a rigid spoon shaped one you can dip in a cup. I use none, but use a tiny saucepan with a lid, boil water, brew right in it, wait a couple of minutes, decant without a fuss & re-inuse in the same vessel. BTW, you can store 1/2 the tea in the freezer, if you have space.

For <$15, you will gotten a 2lb mix of decent tea. You can buy smaller packs of the RED LABEL, and perhaps the GREEN LABEL, but I am not sure about the latter. So do not give up on LIPTON et al., provided it is the Indian version of the company.

If you purchase dry mint from the bulk bin at the supermarket [Frontier Spice etc.], you can add a pinch, after you are almost done brewing and get a refreshing mint tea. Or grow a tiny mint patch/pot and add a sprig.

When you feel like celebrating some day, below you will find 2 teas for $22/lb, excellent, one recommended by our esteemed Andiesenji upthread, whose taste one should cherish. The Nilgiri Tiger Hill. The second is my favorite. Each half pound is $12. If one cuts these with the GREEN LABEL DARJEELING, one can still get a very decent cup.

People buy a bottle of wine or dinner for $12+. Even at fast food places a burger & fries often add up to $4-5. So a lb of tea for many, many cups costing $22-24 is a great bargain. Try these and you will not be unhappy. Go lower, and some good bargains are mentioned upthread. Prices greatly exceeding this benchmark confuse me.

Organic Makaibari Estate Autumnal 2008- Fair Trade Certified - 16 oz. 1130-16 $22.00

Tiger Hill Estate OP - 16 oz. 1200-16 $22.00

Tiger Hill Estate OP - 8 oz.1200-8 $11.85

http://www.silvertipstea.com/fusionecommerce/browse/

BTW, it has been claimed that the chemicals in black tea liquor, drunk without milk, have a beneficial effect upon cardiovascular health.

Happy Brewing.

Edited July 9, 2009 by v. gautam (log)

[Naftal]

My everyday black is a Ceylon made by Ahmad Tea. My everyday green is Temple of Heaven Gunpowder.  

[SHRIsh777]

Hey, I think I can answer this as I am a hardcore tea lover, even worked as a quality analyst at one of the tea gardens in Easter tea Gardens of India. 

I am currently working in a corporate world, a typical 9 hours job (which makes caffeine a must to stay completely live & awake). 

Thus I have a different set of tea, one for weekdays & other for weekends. 

Weekdays: Early morning I drink a strong Tulsi tea (which I bought online). This helps me get energised and fresh immediately. After this the next cup of tea I consume is the evening tea which is delivered by the local tea vendor in our office. 

Weekends: Weekends I just have one cup if tea for the whole day. I prefer a premium Black CTC tea (again which I bought online from Goodricke Tea).

 

While travelling I prefer to buy ready to drink tea cups which has really helped me a lot save time & energy finding perfect tea for me.

 

I normally don't prefer to drink any beverage after 3 pm & would suggest every one to also not consume any beverage before 9 hours of going to bed.

 

Thanks for your time 

[makeamix41]

I love teas with some flavor. My favorite one is the one I bought when I was in London, it was from Whittard of Chelsea. They have a vast range of different teas, chocolates and coffees, but the one I love is lemonade. It is perfect in cold and in hot version.

[TdeV]

My favourite tea is Assam from Upton Tea. I probably have 8 different varieties of it! 😄

[Kim Shook]

Keep in mind that I grew up with an English stepdad and stepsisters.  I'd have to say PG Tips. 

[Naftal]

green: bi luo chun , green pearls aka "gunpowder"

black: ceylon , pu'erh

oolong: ti guan yin

    These are my 5 everyday teas.