What Tea Are You Drinking Today? (Part 3)

[helenjp]

Rooibos! Because it's good hot, and just as good when it gets cold.

[espresso]

Today I've traded my favourite espresso for a pear tea. Unbelievable!

Edited March 26, 2018 by espresso (log)

[paulraphael]

I grew up drinking lapsang souchong, and then lost my taste for it a bit. Part of it seems like the Twinings brand I used to like now just tastes like dust (I swear it used to be pretty good). Nothing I can find in bags tastes any good. And part of the problem is that while I love the smoke, I miss the body and some of the other midrange flavors of other teas. So for the last couple of years I've been drinking Taylors of Harrowgate Scottish Breakfast. This is a big, sink-you-teeth-into-it cup a tea.

 

So a couple of months ago I had the idea of mixing them together. What could go wrong? (cue Wile E. Coyote mixing two varieties of Acme teas and blowing himself to bits).

 

I mixed a bag of Scottish Breakfast with a teaspoon of Harney & Sons loose leaf lapsang souchong (in a little infusor), and damn if it isn't my favorite tea ever. I'd love to know what someone with a more educated tea palate thinks of this. I'm also curiuos to know how this compares with typical Russian Caravan blends ... I never see these so I haven't tried. 

 

Anyway, that's my odd and boring tea story. Thanks for listening.

 

Edited to add: my girlfriend thinks the lapsang smells like a burning pile of sweaty work boots, so I'm only allowed to drink it when she's out.

Edited March 31, 2018 by paulraphael (log)

[suzilightning]

I have started to drink Constant Comment again.  I forgot how much I liked it growing up.  We are in that shoulder season and hot tea with local honey just seemed to be the thing to have.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 hours ago, suzilightning said:

I have started to drink Constant Comment again.  I forgot how much I liked it growing up.  We are in that shoulder season and hot tea with local honey just seemed to be the thing to have.

 

Brings back memories.

 

[Plonrn]

latte with Brazil Peaberry Pearl

[lmarshal1]

Someone mentioned Constant Comment tea a while back.  Tasty and good memories!

[Naftal]

I recently tried  the yin hao green. It was very good

Edited September 26, 2018 by Naftal (log)

[ksong1189]

I was gifted some wedding green tea from a brand called o'sulloc and finally tried some today. Super fragrant and delicious! 

[BryanQuocLe]

Just learned about tea recently, and been trying to buy high quality leaves. I went with jasmine green tea pearls from a local tea shop (Macha Tea Company for any Madisonites out there), and they were incredible. We bought some for my mother-in-law for Christmas.

 

I then went ahead and bought some on Amazon, the highly rated ones. Can't say I was impressed (they were just decent), I think I've been spoiled

[heidih]

Welcome @BryanQuocLe  My introduction to tea was via the late Barbara Tropp's iconic "The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking".  The concept that the first pour over was not maybe the best was new to me. The differences n the various brews was also a revelation. It served me well  when I got some excellent green tea leaves. It is a  journey and taste is individual. Have fun. 

[Katie Meadow]

My last tea order included a sample size packet of Black Dragon Pearls, which had a lot of rave reviews. I've had it twice now and I'm not impressed. It's very pricey and you need at least three pearls (they are large, and Adagio says to use 2-3 per cup) to make a small cup of tea with some body. Otherwise It is pleasant enough but pretty wimpy. For a straight ahead black tea I'm liking Irish Breakfast these days. 

[BetD]

I own plenty of “ fancy” tea, but somehow it is usually Bigelow Earl Grey that ends up in my mug. It has been thus for years.

[bos]

Green tea

[gulfporter]

Only drinking ice tea here now that it is 80+ daily.  Dried hibiscus flowers are sold as "jamaica."  It is pungent and I need to add some sweetener (which I never add to US ice tea).  

[cdh]

On 3/7/2019 at 7:56 PM, bos said:

Green tea

Me too.  A very nice green tea made of little buds and shoots.  Very sweet, and missing any of the bitter astringency lots of greens present.  Wish I read enough Chinese to understand what is is so I could get more of it.

Edited March 10, 2019 by cdh (log)

[Anna N]

On 3/7/2019 at 7:56 PM, bos said:

Green tea

 Perhaps you would like to expand as @cdh did. 

[teonzo]

20 hours ago, cdh said:

Wish I read enough Chinese to understand what is is so I could get more of it.

 

We can call @liuzhou and ask for help.

 

 

 

Teo

 

[food mom]

@gulfporter:  greetings from Munich. My children grew up on hibiscus mixed with rosehips, mixed 1:1 with fruit juice. It sweetened the tea while cutting the sugar in the juice.

 

The World Tea News just featured a story on hibiscus, so while you're enjoying, you're doing something good for yourself:  https://worldteanews.com/market-trends-data-and-insights/hibiscus-demonstrates-cardiovascular-benefit?NL=WTM-001&Issue=WTM-001_20190305_WTM-001_575&sfvc4enews=42&cl=article_3_1

 

Enjoy!

[cdh]

10 hours ago, teonzo said:

 

 

We can call @liuzhou and ask for help.

 

 

 

Teo

 

If the calligraphy isn't a source identifier/brand name, I'm probably going to have to take a clearer photo of the fine print.   (And I'm going to have to run that infuser basket through a soak in Joe Glo to get the stains off of it... that is not photogenic!)

[cdh]

Today I'm drinking a ginseng oolong.  Tea leaves are bunched up into little balls and some ginsengy coating is applied to them so they look like little greenish pebbles.  Wonderfully sweet with a long long finish.

[cdh]

Today I'm trying a chinese matcha.  The other day I saw this , and decided to take the plunge... I figured that I can bake pretty green stuff with it if it doesn't turn out to  all that delicious on its own.  Anyway, it is actually pretty tasty.  I'm in no way an expert in matcha... that is the one variety of tea I've had the least experience with... largely because it is usually so crazy expensive, and I don't have all the gizmos that you use to make it in the traditional way.  So I find that a half teaspoon of this, with 175F water poured over it, then poured back and forth between two mugs until vaguely frothy makes a nicely vegetal and pretty green beverage.  God knows how long a pound of it will last me, and how well it keeps... but I'm happier experimenting at this price point, rather than dropping $20 on a 1 or 2 oz tin.  

[food mom]

Hi, may I ask what you paid for it? And what brand is it?

 

[cdh]

Click the link.  The "this" in the last post is a hypertext link.

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks cdh. That is a bargain even if it is only culinary grade. I will use it in smoothies and such. It will be interesting to see how it does as traditional ceremonial matcha, too.