Bagged Teas

[Pan]

How Zen.

[Mabelline]

I too like Yogi teas.At the moment I've been drinking their Egyptian licorice tea, and one they call Detox, which has good flavor. For a readily availabletea I like Stash Earl Grey. Good and strong. But the majority of mine is from a neighborhood co-op that's got a very good variety of loose teas,and sell enough to be very fresh. While this topic is going, does anyone else like the flavor of black peppercorns in their chai? I've had chai mixes with and without, and I like black pepper in it.

[Schielke]

The Republic of Tea products are very good. They have a great White Tea that has a very subtle headiness to it. I love it, but it is 15 bucks for a tin of the stuff.

I recently got some toasted rice green tea bags from Leaves Pure Teas that is pretty nice.

Ben

[tanabutler]

Oooh, I had some of that gorgeous White Tea last year at the Fancy Foods Convention in San Francisco. What a bouquet!

[hillvalley]

There's a pretty good drink out here (Bethesda, Maryland) called Honest Tea.  It's marketed as an alternative to Snapple; a cold, refreshing drink that's healthy and not sweet.  When you try it, it'll be a shock to the system first because you'll be looking for the initial sweetness, but after the second or third sip, it grows on you and is actually quite good.  Cold tea, with interesting flavors, low sugar, served in bottles.  I like the word play with the name, too.

I am completely addicted to the stuff, especially the peppermint. Every once in a while our local grocery chain (Giant) has a two for one deal and I stock up. In the past few months they have started selling their tea bags at Whole Foods. At last year's Race for the Cure in DC they had more than they knew what to do with (it poured during the whole race) so they offered my Grandmother, who is a survivor, a whole case. They would have given us more, but we couldn't carry it.

I drink most of my tea at work so I have to use the bags. Lately it has been Honest Tea's peppermint.

Does anyone know the shelf life of bags and loose tea. Does one last longer than the other?

[tanabutler]

I would think the shelf life would vary according to the type of storage.

Bigelow teas are in foil envelopes, as are Trader Joe's. Those would keep better than any kind of tea in paper envelopes.

Republic of Tea uses tins, which are tightly sealed. Given that tea in tea bags uses smaller leaves, I would think the larger, looseleaf tea would keep better in those tins than the bags.

[edemuth]

btw we are beginning to appreciate teas of the world, and have set up this space especially to relax while having a cuppa.

heheh a peek into our home, any suggestions on how to decorate? tea motifs on the wall?

Cool space... love the low table. For decoration, I'd add another bonsai-type plant or two and an Asian calligraphy scroll--they look great on a wall. Incense would be a nice touch if you like scents. You might also want to get a couple of sets of zafu/zabutons for your sitting comfort. Who knows, between that and the tea, you might even drift off into a nice, calming meditative state!

[Mabelline]

Tryska: Get another tea ball, keep them in separate places. When I bring home loose tea, I put it into wire-bail top jars. I like the dark blue glass. Try some loose jasmine tea, and you'll like it, I think.

[jpr54_]

Please everyone one try to get more sophisticated in your tastes-

try

www.specialteas.com

www.uptontea.com

www.rishi-tea.com

www.tentea.com

www.imperialtea.com

some of these sites sell bagged teas but as i stated b4- all you need is an infuser basket or paper teabag

joanne

[tanabutler]

Are you serious in telling people they/we are unsophisticated?

"Sophisticated" comes from the same root word as "sophistry," and both have in common falseness and corruption of the natural.

[jat]

Spaghettti, Very nice tea for two. I suppose over the years I have developed

a feet up on the couch position...

What have been your favorite teas in your tasting. (tea bags excluded) Also

you have a pretty avatar if that's you.

[jpr54_]

Are you serious in telling people they/we are unsophisticated?

"Sophisticated" comes from the same root word as "sophistry," and both have in common falseness and corruption of the natural.

Perhaps my use of the word sophisticated-was misunderstand as a put down-

I would like to encourage people to expand their adventures in the tea world-

joanne

[jat]

Oops tryska, I didn't mean to put tea bags on the tea topic I started,

I really meant loose tea, sorry. I am going to think of a few more teas I

like in bags. I grew up on Constant Comment. I still like it today.

[tryska]

haha...thanks jat!

[jat]

When I go out to eat I get the Tazo teas. A nice assortment.

Edited December 27, 2003 by jat (log)

[lala]

While I absolutely enjoy loose teas, in the morning, when I'm stumbling into the kitchen, it's all I can do to put a bag into a mug.

If you can get it, PG Tips is a good strong tea. If you can't, try Tetley's British Blend. My friends and family who used to drink Lipton's, Red Rose, etc now use these bags and love them. Still strong tea, but a fuller flavor, and less bite.

[kitwilliams]

I like the Taylor's of Harrogate line, in particular their Yorkshire Gold for everday drinking. I think the teas come bagged and unbagged. The bags make 2 cups and the Yorkshire Gold is on the strong side.

My new favorite bagged tea is Taylor's of Harrogate Scottish Breakfast. It is gorgeous and strong and has real body. Especially with good, whole milk.

[jm chen]

When I go out to eat I get the Tazo  teas.  A nice assortment.

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I have sampled quite a few of the Tazos and enjoyed them all; but the one I'm completely addicted to is the Passion. No caffeine, lovely hibiscus flavor, not quite sweet. I gave up coffee for Lent so I went through several boxes of the stuff.

[kguetzow]

For asian style teas Ten Ren is my absolute favorite. They also have some nice herbals as well.

http://www.tenren.com/

[Blair P. Houghton]

If you're going to do bag tea, go the do-it-yourself route:

Get a really good whole-leaf tea and a box of T-sac teabags.

The trick to a T-sac is to put a coffee stirrer in it with the tea, to keep the top open so that it doesn't seal shut in the water and constrict the leaves. You can also use the stick to stir it around, to get out air bubbles and improve the water flow.

And because you just throw the whole setup away, it's actually a lot less trouble than dealing with a pot or a tea-ball or one of those reusable cup-filter things.

Filling them can be a bit of a three-handed trick, but it's learnable.

[kaneel]

I'm a big fan of The Republic of Tea (yes, brought to you by the very folks who gave us Banana Repbulic) vanilla almond flavor.  Yum.

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I love their tea, cold and bottled served at some restaurant here ...hmm the mango flavored is good and i usually don't like ice tea.

I have home right now kiwi pear green tea ...it is so good. I get them locally here at a store called Costplus.

Ashiana