Spot of tea anyone?

[zooropamofo]

I drink coffee, usually 2-3 cups per day. I'd like to think I have a pretty good sense of what embodies a "great coffee", at least in my opinion. However, I know very little about tea, other than your basic Orange Pekoe, English Breakfast, Earl Grey, or Green Tea. I do know that I enjoy the lemon zinger that my girlfriend sometimes drinks.

Are there any tea experts out there? What constitutes a great tea in your neck of the woods? Do you have any specific brewing methods that your recommend? I know some people pour the hot water right over the bag or leaves, while others drop the tea into the cup, or the pot. Any insight?

[trev333]

Morning...just having a hot mug of tea as I type... mmmmm strong, double bags....

bags in the cup and pour the boiling hot water on... let it sit for 5 mins..mash the bags with the spoon on the side of the cup before withdrawal.... add some sugar and a splash of full cream milk... bewdy... Nerada aussie grown tea...

I find tea more refreshing than coffee and cleaner on the palate....

[OtherTom]

I've taken to a blueberry infused green tea throughout the day. Still having one or two coffees in the morning, but trying to kick that too. Electric water kettle, pour it right onto the bag.

[Mid Life Crisis]

All I will say is that if you wish to make a hot beverage worthy of the name "tea" then don't even think about making it with a tea bag in a cup. Tea is a drink made by infusing tea leaves or bags in a tea pot with boiling water, leaving to brew for five minutes then poured into a cup or mug (personally I much prefer a mug, none of this cup and saucer namby-pambyness) and adding milk. Whether the milk should be added to the cup before or after the tea is a subject of intense debate of course. Being of humble origins I always put the milk in first.

[otterhound]

Can't stand coffee .
I love tea , hot and cold/iced .
My hot tea ritual always involves honey unless it is not available .
Tea should be allowed to steep for 5 minutes , more or less .

[spikypaddy]

I drink A LOT of tea. Twinings' English Breakfast loose leaf is my tea of choice, but in these times of poverty I make do with Tetley's tea bags. Bag in mug, add boiling water. Leave for several minutes. Gently squeeze bag against side of mug (has to be gently or else in danger of bag splitting) and throw away. Add the tiniest dribble of full fat milk, no sugar. Job done.

When I have a cold I drink green tea with lemon, with honey for throat soothing. Perfect!

[brewwagon]

a nice chai tea with milk

[Bush Wiebe]

I drink yerba myself. It's a South American green tea. You drink it in a cup made of a hollowed out bull's horn and drunk through a metal straw. It's strong and bitter and awesome. Highly recommended.

[Bush Wiebe]

http://www.latinoyes.com/product.php?productid=132

Like this!

[awesomeadam]

The best recipe I've come up with is the strongest tea they sell at the grocery store I'm shopping at, 2 bags for regular mug or 3-4 depend on size of larger mug, wait 5 minutes then push spoon against the bags against the side of the mug, then fold the bag over itself and squeeze all remain tea juice out of bag by squeezing it against spoon, then 1 1/2 spoonfuls of sugar and a bit of milk. Hope I helped

[boneyguy]

PG Tips.

[Twangasaurus]

Russian Caravan or Rooibos if I'm feeling all herbal like.

[w3stie]

Originally Posted by Mid Life Crisis

... leaving to brew for five minutes then poured into a cup or mug (personally I much prefer a mug, none of this cup and saucer namby-pambyness) and adding milk....

Mug! Milk? And you call yourself an Englishman?

I prefer tea black, served in bone china. A delicate vessel for a delicate beverage. Ceylon Tea is my favourite, Dilmah brand if you can get it in the US.

[Theorage]

Definitely NOT an either/or situation.

Rich earthy coffee in the morning (Seattle's Best French Roast); complex uplifting tea in the afternoon (loose tea, e.g. Twinings Russian Caravan).

SUBLIME!

[Jupiter]

Originally Posted by Mid Life Crisis

All I will say is that if you wish to make a hot beverage worthy of the name "tea" then don't even think about making it with a tea bag in a cup. Tea is a drink made by infusing tea leaves or bags in a tea pot with boiling water, leaving to brew for five minutes then poured into a cup or mug (personally I much prefer a mug, none of this cup and saucer namby-pambyness) and adding milk. Whether the milk should be added to the cup before or after the tea is a subject of intense debate of course. Being of humble origins I always put the milk in first.

I read somewhere that you're a loser if you don't warm the pot up first. I'd be interested in hearing the explanation of why tea is better when you brew it in a pot.

[chrisgblues]

In the opinion of many tea drinkers, an important part of the experience of drinking tea is the ritual of brewing it. Sure, you can throw a bag in a cup and pour hot water over it if you want a cup of tea. But it's very enjoyable to bring a pot to a boil, place in the tea leaves, and brew the perfect pot. The aroma that fills the room is part of the experience, even if you don't finish off the whole pot.

I'm sure coffee drinkers also have their rituals. I've heard that some recovering alcoholics use the tea brewing ritual as somewhat of a replacement for their drinking ritual. There is something to be said for humans and their rituals, it gives us something to do when anxious, bored, or otherwise prone to engage in odd behaviors.

I actually find the aroma of coffee to be just as pleasing, if not more so than tea, however I drink tea because coffee gives me horrible cramps and indigestion. Tea is quite the opposite, it actually calms down my stomach, and puts my whole body at ease. I drink Orange Pekoe (which is quite similar to English breakfast tea).

JMHO.

[schecter]

When I gave up smoking 14 years ago, I also gave up drinking coffee as I had associated having a smoke with coffee.
I took up drinking black tea, no milk & no sugar being a healthier option.
Tea is apparently an anti-oxidant as well as being good for cleaning out your system as such, but now I have advanced to green tea and I'm now totally addicted to tea. I leave the bags in the large mug and have a large flask of hot water on hand to top up when required, often getting 3 refills with the same two bags, only because I can !
.
Getting tea leaves seems to be getting harder to acquire these days as the bags are so much more popular.
What brand ? very little choice here, so whatever is available, not had a bad batch yet.
I have at least 6 boxes of 100 bags of Lipton, Tetley or Twinnings at a minimum in the cupboard all the time and buy bulk when it is on special.
.
I cannot survive without drinking tea all day long, if I have a coffee it would maybe happen once every 2 months...maybe......And BTW, I have never wanted to start smoking again.
When I can I get leaves from a specialist import store up in the the city, but the green tea bags do the trick just as well.
.
Tea is a cheaper and mostly more refreshing alternative to soft drink and beer, although I still like a beer even if a beer costs me $2 and a large mug of tea cost me 7 cents.
We are expecting a heatwave of 40 deg C or more here this week and a hot mug of tea will still be on the table and will still be very refreshing.
.
Oh, I forgot to say that green tea makes me play my telecaster much better, believe me it's true !
.

[brewwagon]

spot of tea wasn't that a monty python skit?

[qwerty95]

I like coffee. Tea is a little weird tasting unless it's iced and super sweet.

[mr natural]

I gave up coffee many years ago as I was drinking it all day long and it was eating up my stomach. Now, I bring a small thermos of Twinings Earl Grey with honey and a little lemon juice to work every morning and get 1 cup, plus about a half cup later on, out of it. On the weekends, it's a large mug of Lapsang Suchong, also with honey and lemon juice, in the mornings. Lapsang is not dried but smoked over a pine log fire. Really smoky tasting, it's an acquired taste. Kinda like the Lagavulin of tea. I found it disgusting the first few times I tried it but now I'm totally hooked. It's very hard to find around here, so I stock up at this one shop which carries it whenever we go up north.
-Mr. N.