Your Favorite Teas

[jat]

I have several favorites. I'll start with Camomile. I buy a bouquet

at the farmers market and leave it on the dining table while I sip.

Chamomile is very relaxi ng.

[cjs]

an excellent tea is a green tea we have when at the local sushi joint. Its called

Gen-Mai Cha. It has toasted rice in it that adds a

nice flavor. supposed be good for you too, though I have to say that has never been a driving force for me when it comes to liking somthing.

[jat]

I used to go to the Tea House after a concert and enjoyed their

Hindu Chai. It was simply Darjeeling tea, milk, ginger powder, a

little cinnamon and honey. Very enjoyable.

[cjs]

sounds yummy

[jat]

Another tea is a blackberry tea I've had that comes loose from England.

You would think you were eating a pie. Scrumptous.

[phaelon56]

Earl Grey is still my favorite - there's a sort of smoky oiliness that I love but it has to have lemon and sugar for me to enjoy it properly.

Just curious - have any of you tried yerba mate yet? It's not really tea and it ain't coffee. There's a new cafe in Ithaca NY that is focused on that as their signature beverage. I'm curious about the taste. I'll be down there in a week or two and will be checking it out.

[GrizzyLemon]

Phaelon, let me know how you like the mate. Being born/raised in Argentina, you can imagine that I've certainly tried it. I was surprised to see it seems to be making a sort of quiet breakthrough here in the states. Definitely not tea, but you either love it or hate it.

;)

[bloviatrix]

In the bagged category, I love Celestial Seasoning's Bengal Spice. It has cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, and other flavors. The scent is wonderful and fills any rooms. And the flavor is heavenly.

[nessa]

Oh man. Anything from Todd & Holland

I hope its ok to post that. They are just outside of Chicago, where I used to live. Thank gawd they ahve a website. I'm addicted to their "Morning Dew" green tea blend of tea, sunflower, cornflower and rose. What a delight to wake up with.

I also love their "Carnival Mate" Which of course is a flavored mate tisane. Scrumptious. They have the best I've ever tasted. Earl Gray, green with lemon and hibiscus, rooibos... The list is endless. White tea, jasmine pearls... someone make me stop!

I'm trying to find a local loose leaf tea supplier that can rival them, but their blends, there are certain ones that I simply *must* have.

Happy Sipping!

Edited December 21, 2003 by nessa (log)

[prasantrin]

I love Mariage Freres' Bolero. It's perfect anytime of the year, but makes excellent iced tea. Most people rave about their Marco Polo, but I think Bolero is much lovelier .

[Mabelline]

Yogi Tea Egyptian licorice & Detox, Earl grey, lapsang souchong,jasmine,roiibos, and English or Irish Breakfast. OOH - and gunpowder.

[cdh]

Fav teas--

Ten Ren's Pouchong

any Jade Oolong

certain Namring Darjeelings

Iced jasmine tea

Twinings' Lady Grey

Li Zi Xiang

Shantou Autumn Bloom

Gold King Anxi Oolong

Re Yerba Mate-

I find that mixing 3 parts mate and one part lapsang souchong makes a really yummy beverage when brewed like normal tea. I've never tried the packed gourd and silver straw mate method, so can't comment on that.

[nessa]

I've never tried the packed gourd and silver straw mate method, so can't comment on that.

Oh, it is *quite* the stimulating experience. I'm not wild about plain mate however, thats why I like the Carnival Mate from T&H.

Pure decadence.

I can't wait for my replacement stock to get here!

[jat]

Yerba Mate. It is supposed to give you alot of energy. I have tried

both the loose tea and the bags. The problem is that it can really STAIN

the teeth. It's one of the worst stain offenders I've ever seen, (as a dental

hygienist) so I don't drink it.

I also love the BENGAL SPICE and the Yogi DETOX. I got hooked

on the detox, must get some this month.

Some new teas to try! (bolero. morning dew, and carnival, I will order).

[jpr54_]

some of my favorite teas include:

orchid oolong- imperial tea court

rose melange-rishi tea

green jasmine-tentea.com

marco polo-mariage freres

the des moines-le palais des thes

the du hamman-le palais des thes

[prasantrin]

some of my favorite teas include:

...

marco polo-mariage freres

...

What do you think the flavours of Marco Polo are? The first time I had it, I thought it tasted like raisins. Others have said strawberries.

And have you ever tried Bolero? I actually prefer it to Marco Polo--it's much lighter and has a very nice floral fragrance. I think it makes a far better iced tea than Marco Polo, too.

[texesser]

Some of my favorite teas:

Imperial Tea:

Puerh (some of the reserves)

Ito-En (New York):

Chrysanthemum blossom

Upton Tea:

Formosa Nantou Oolong

My friend who travels to China:

Long Jing, in the springtime

Me:

Chai-type spiced tea. I take some of Gulabi Indian black tea, add cinnamon stick, cloves, black peppercorns, fresh ginger, fresh lemon & orange zest, cardamon pods, and when brewed, honey and lemon.

[innocente]

My birthday present from K. was a China oolong Jasmin Cheung Hao.

It's so so so good in the late evening when it's time to sit back and read.

And the scent is intoxicating too.

[KatieLoeb]

My favorite place to buy tea is House of Tea which is ever so conveniently located all of a couple of blocks from my house. I really love the fruit flavored loose teas for iced tea (Four Red Fruit or Paradise Green Tea is awesome) and for regular sipping I'm fond of the Russian Caravan and the Earl Grey with Violets. I'm really more of a coffee drinker, but when I'm having a jones for a good cup of tea, nothing less than the good stuff will suffice. Regular Lipton or supermarket bags just don't cut it.

[mrbigjas]

Puttabong first flush darjeeling is currently my favorite tea. Unfortunately it's also ridiculously expensive--at, for instance, Tealuxe in Boston it was about $20 for 50g. It was 10 euros/pot at Mariage Freres. So I'm drinking a similar but much cheaper darjeeling right now--Makabari or something like that, second flush.

Anyway, when brewed right, though, it's a pretty amazing tea.

Edited to say it's $14 for two oz. here at House of Tea--Katie, if you like darjeeling, you should give it a shot.

Edited December 23, 2003 by mrbigjas (log)

[KatieLoeb]

Edited to say it's $14 for two oz. here at House of Tea--Katie, if you like darjeeling, you should give it a shot.

I do like Darjeeling and I will give this a try sometime soon. You should go snoop through House of Tea sometime if you haven't had the pleasure. It's right across the street from that big health food store (brain freeze - can't think of the name) on 4th Street just above Monroe, I think. The smell of that store is positively intoxicating. You can sniff to your hearts content and Jessica Litt who runs the shop, really knows her stuff.

As an aside, House of Tea also has a lovely selection of tea cups/saucers and tea pots to make up a lovely gift basket for someone who's hard to buy for. I always thought of this as sort of a "grandma present", but I think a really nice porcelain tea cup for one and a nice pot, a tea ball and a few selections of tea would be a nice gift for almost anybody.

[mrbigjas]

I have, but not recently. I just don't get down to that neighborhood as often as I should...

Speaking of cool tea-related gifts, a couple of years ago someone bought me this thing which is a plastic mug with a lid and a strainer mechanism on the bottom. You fill up the mug with water, microwave it, put in loose tea, and steep--when infusion time is up you set it on a teacup, which releases the tea through the strainer. It's a great way to make a decent cup of tea at work, using loose tea. Of course I can't find it on line now.

[JLN67]

A few of my favorite teas are:

* Earl Grey by Grace Tea Company

* Prince Wladimir by The Kousmichoff

* Christmas Tea by Betjeman and Barton

* Cinnamon Plum by Republic of Tea

* Darjeeling by Golden Moon

[live2eat]

I'll second the Genmaicha. Green tea with roasted brown rice. It's served at a lot of sushi restaurants. And now from the teapress at my desk. Chinese Jasmine tea is excellent as well.

Loose tea over bagged, anyday.

[goyatofu]

must surf egullet more...a whole new forum and I didn't even know.

My favs:

Chai (any way I can get it; unfortunately here in Paris I can't find any, have to resort to making own very soon)

Royal Milk Tea (finally figured out how to use Assam without it being too bitter; plus I just got some Assam leaves from Fauchon)

HK style Milk Tea (made with egg shells and nothing less!)

Cold Golden Oolong Tea (I think it's made by Itoen....maybe not; a japanese brand anyhow)

and in the summertime, I have green tea ready in the fridge (Japanese brand from Uji: Geon TsuJili) . the best!

Any chinese tea really...although I never cared too much for Dragon-Well.