tea newbie

[Cook456]

Don't know how they found me, but I received a catalog from Upton, today! :-) WOW what a selection. So many teas to try...

[JohnL]

Don't know how they found me, but I received a catalog from Upton, today!  :-)  WOW what a selection.  So many teas to try...

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I just ordered some tea from them--I have been a customer for a couple of years now.

There are a lot of sources of good teas out there --I find Upton to be among the very best.

I order on line--very easy.

[JohnL]

I think that in order to get one's arms around a fairly daunting world of tea one should most definitely get some guidance--a good book--I recommended Jane Pettigrew's book elsewhere in this thread--the Upton catatlog is good and there are other good resources out there.

Then I would start broad--get small quantities of different kinds of teas--a black tea a green tea, etc and learn the differences.

Then hone in on say different kinds of green teas etc. or blacks--Assam vs Darjeeling for eg. What is probably not the best idea is to start by trying to discern more nuanced attributes ie tasting a number of different darjeelings say.

I also would take a lot of the brewing advice--with a grain of salt. I would learn and try the various methods see if any stand out for you--and always remember--it is important to brew each type of tea in a manner that ensures the best attributes of that tea will shine.

That is amount of tea leaves, brewing times and water temperature are important.

Beyond this--there is often a lot of ceremony involved --some more fun than practical.

I usually have my darjeeling brewed in a single cup infuser using the fine tap water we have here in New York City. Simple --easy--and it works for me!

the main idea is have fun!

[wilsonrabbit]

Don't forget to consider the type of water you're using. I prefer using at least filtered water, preferably something like spring water. I've found that hard water will give you floaties in your tea...like a thin film. For me, I can taste the difference. Supposedly there is a place in London (I forget where now) where if you bring a sample of your water, they will match the best tea for it. Something like that. London has a serious calcium issue in their water and when I drank the same tea in the States, it was much better tasting and no floaties.

I've also found that drinking tea out of a metal container (stainless steel thermos bottles) ruins the taste of tea while plastic will but the type of plastic determines the extent of damage. I prefer glass or porcelain/ceramic. Am I just weird or what? That's what friends and family tell me...

[Ohba]

I've also found that drinking tea out of a metal container (stainless steel thermos bottles) ruins the taste of tea while plastic will but the type of plastic determines the extent of damage. I prefer glass or porcelain/ceramic. Am I just weird or what? That's what friends and family tell me...

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Sounds reasonable. Coffee is better out of real cups, too.

[gini]

I don't want to start a brand new thread.....

I have a cup of tea every morning at work. I've recently decided to stop buying teas in bags and just bring a tea pot with a strainer to work and have some looseleaf tea around. Does anyone have some recommendations for loose green or white tea to buy? I like some of republic of tea's tins, but seems expensive to me. I recently bought a maeda-en sen-cha green tea. Other ideas? Thanks!

[Susan in FL]

Recently I also bought a tea pot with a strainer and some loose tea, to add to the variety of what I drink. I don't really know what this means, but the lady at the Thai market recommended it to me... On the bag it says maeda-en SEN-CHA Green Tea. It was $4.59 for 5.3 ounces. I enjoy it.

[gini]

Recently I also bought a tea pot with a strainer and some loose tea, to add to the variety of what I drink.  I don't really know what this means, but the lady at the Thai market recommended it to me...  On the bag it says maeda-en SEN-CHA Green Tea.  It was $4.59 for 5.3 ounces.  I enjoy it.

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That's so funny. Mine was $2.99 for 5.3 oz. I like it too. Are there any other loose teas that you've tried?

[Sencha]

I don't want to start a brand new thread.....

I have a cup of tea every morning at work.  I've recently decided to stop buying teas in bags and just bring a tea pot with a strainer to work and have some looseleaf tea around.  Does anyone have some recommendations for loose green or white tea to buy?  I like some of republic of tea's tins, but seems expensive to me. I recently bought a maeda-en sen-cha green tea.  Other ideas?  Thanks!

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I applaud your decision to switch from bag to loose! The world needs more like you! I'm a bit passionate about the subject of tea, and hear too many people complain about all the trouble it is to prepare loose tea, choosing to go with grocery store bag teas instead.

As you seem to be concerned with cost, you don't need to spend great amounts of money for a tea for everyday use. Maeda-en sencha isn't a bad choice, as long as you make sure to keep in mind the proper water temperature, as sencha can become bitter if too hot of water is used. Quite likely, you have chosen a normal quality sencha, since you have not specified anything else the package may say about it.

I believe both Maeda-en and Yamamotoyama (two companies whose Japanese tea can be found in the US, if that is where you are) sell a type of tea I like to buy from time to time called fukamushi-cha (深蒸し茶). It's a type of sencha which is steamed a bit longer in the production process than normal sencha. The ending result is a rather smooth tea with a wonderful green color liquid. The infusing time is typically slightly less than that of normal sencha as well.

Of course, other companies sell fukamushi-cha too, but I'm just mentioning those two companies, since they are good brands one may find in the right store.

As with all sencha, fukamushi-cha has higher grades as well, and prices will reflect that.

As for white tea, an affordable white tea I enjoy at times is shou mei. However, shou mei is a lower grade of white tea (although, that does not necessarily mean bad). Some people may complain about the the delicate flavor of a higher grade white tea (as in lacking depth), but shou mei has more depth, so may appeal to some people.

Of course, if you prefer higher grade whites, go for something other than shou mei. I was just trying to keep cost in mind.

Well, those are just a couple suggestions for some everday teas...

[Susan in FL]

Recently I also bought a tea pot with a strainer and some loose tea, to add to the variety of what I drink.  I don't really know what this means, but the lady at the Thai market recommended it to me...  On the bag it says maeda-en SEN-CHA Green Tea.  It was $4.59 for 5.3 ounces.  I enjoy it.

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That's so funny. Mine was $2.99 for 5.3 oz. I like it too. Are there any other loose teas that you've tried?

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Wow, a much better price.

No, this is all I have tried so far, but I'll get more. First I have to drink up more of my supply of this and all the bags I have. I can see that I am at risk of getting carried away with this.

Maeda-en sencha isn't a bad choice, as long as you make sure to keep in mind the proper water temperature, as sencha can become bitter if too hot of water is used.

I noticed that, and I noticed that it became too bitter if I let it infuse for too long. I was used to some teabags that I've kept in the water for a long time.

[gini]

I don't want to start a brand new thread.....

I have a cup of tea every morning at work.  I've recently decided to stop buying teas in bags and just bring a tea pot with a strainer to work and have some looseleaf tea around.  Does anyone have some recommendations for loose green or white tea to buy?  I like some of republic of tea's tins, but seems expensive to me. I recently bought a maeda-en sen-cha green tea.  Other ideas?  Thanks!

←

I applaud your decision to switch from bag to loose! The world needs more like you! I'm a bit passionate about the subject of tea, and hear too many people complain about all the trouble it is to prepare loose tea, choosing to go with grocery store bag teas instead.

As you seem to be concerned with cost, you don't need to spend great amounts of money for a tea for everyday use. Maeda-en sencha isn't a bad choice, as long as you make sure to keep in mind the proper water temperature, as sencha can become bitter if too hot of water is used. Quite likely, you have chosen a normal quality sencha, since you have not specified anything else the package may say about it.

I believe both Maeda-en and Yamamotoyama (two companies whose Japanese tea can be found in the US, if that is where you are) sell a type of tea I like to buy from time to time called fukamushi-cha (深蒸し茶). It's a type of sencha which is steamed a bit longer in the production process than normal sencha. The ending result is a rather smooth tea with a wonderful green color liquid. The infusing time is typically slightly less than that of normal sencha as well.

Of course, other companies sell fukamushi-cha too, but I'm just mentioning those two companies, since they are good brands one may find in the right store.

As with all sencha, fukamushi-cha has higher grades as well, and prices will reflect that.

As for white tea, an affordable white tea I enjoy at times is shou mei. However, shou mei is a lower grade of white tea (although, that does not necessarily mean bad). Some people may complain about the the delicate flavor of a higher grade white tea (as in lacking depth), but shou mei has more depth, so may appeal to some people.

Of course, if you prefer higher grade whites, go for something other than shou mei. I was just trying to keep cost in mind.

Well, those are just a couple suggestions for some everday teas...

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Thanks for the ideas! I actually really enjoy the flavor of white tea. Do you have any other suggestions?

[AnnieTea]

Gini, I used to be a true English Breakfast Tea addict but had to cut down on the caffeine. I switched to Genmai Cha, a green tea with brown rice in it. I buy it at a local Asian store and it's about $3 for 7 or 8 oz, not sure, it's a good sized bag. You might want to check out natural food stores like Whole Foods, New Seasons or the like (depending on what is in your area) for loose leaf teas and buy small quantities to try.