Tea

[Smashie]

Everyone knows us British cannot do anything without tea 


However, after years of coffee drinking (I stopped 3 years ago) and no alcohol at all for nearly 8 months.


I found a new addiction, Tea. Not the junk you get in a teabag at the supermarket and no fruit flavoured tea either (that's just chemicals when bought in a supermarket).


Anyone else like tea?

[chrono]

Here  here  here 
I drink tea more than water these days. It has been for a few years now. At beginning, I drink pretty much anything: herbal, fruit-flavored, mints, green, black, white... tea. Nowadays, I settle for a few varieties: Japanese green tea, English breakfast, barley tea... I drink Lipton most often because it is cheap  I occasionally buy loose leaves as well, but for everyday needs, I go with teabags.

My daily tea consumption is not measured by cups, but by liters 

[Smashie]

My daily tea consumption is not measured by cups, but by liters 

Yup, my teapot/infuser is 1 litre, 3 of them a day 

[AimlessWanderer]

Teabag user here  Yorkshire Tea tends to be the staple.

I do drink herbal and other teas, but they tend to be teabags too. Peppermint, lemon and ginger, chamomile, and occasionally an Earl Grey.

I have done freshly picked herbal tea a few times too, from herbs in my own garden. Herbs I've used include rosemary, lemon balm, nettle, raspberry leaves, and chamomile. The garden has gone to ruin since the health issues started though 

I have bought "proper" loose leaf tea in the past, but I don't use it quickly enough, and it has gone a bit wayward before I've used it up. I think every time I've bought loose tea, some of it has ended up being thrown out because it either changed, or I just lost confidence in it having lurked in the cupboard for so long.

[Smashie]

Teabag user here  Yorkshire Tea tends to be the staple.

I do drink herbal and other teas, but they tend to be teabags too. Peppermint, lemon and ginger, chamomile, and occasionally an Earl Grey.

I have done freshly picked herbal tea a few times too, from herbs in my own garden. Herbs I've used include rosemary, lemon balm, nettle, raspberry leaves, and chamomile. The garden has gone to ruin since the health issues started though 

I have bought "proper" loose leaf tea in the past, but I don't use it quickly enough, and it has gone a bit wayward before I've used it up. I think every time I've bought loose tea, some of it has ended up being thrown out because it either changed, or I just lost confidence in it having lurked in the cupboard for so long.

You've suffered enough listening to me bang on about it, I'll send you some 

[AimlessWanderer]

Cool!  Thanks mate 

Remember I don't have all the mad scientist gear that you do  If it needs special temperatures or brewing practices, I'll probably screw it up 

[styx]

To help you islanders out, here is another tea lover. Mint, green, Early grey, rooibos...

[Smashie]

To help you islanders out, here is another tea lover. Mint, green, Early grey, rooibos...

Roobois, or Aspalathus linearis, technically not a tea but damn good all the same. Apparently very good for you as well 

[magentus]

Another tea lover here - 'proper' tea (all proper tea is theft  ) peppermint, camomile and anything my herbalist daughter chucks my way after her wanderings.

[kkokkolis]

From October to early April, I drink one at my morning job. Earl Grey or Lemon, strictly with thyme honey. The hot months I drink local coke or orangade (Lux or Epsa).
At night I prefer wild chamomile, collected from the Spring fields and dried under the sun by my mother in law.
We also drink "mountain tea" here (Sideritis), tilia and other local herbs. Salepi (Orchis Mascula) is very exotic and tasty.

[zr0dfx]

Can't beat a good cup of tea

[Syncop8r]

I'm a tea drinker. I'm having one right now.  (pretend they are teacups)

I prefer gumboot tea; herbals tend not to satisfy me that much (occasionally green or peppermint if I do).
My favourite is a strong one in a round bag we have here (I found Yorkshire Tea to my liking when in the UK). I draw it for at least 3 minutes and have with a small splash of milk. I find many people whip the bag out straight away so all you have is very hot water, then they dump loads of milk in to cool it down... 

At my last work tea-making was a laborious process involving pfaffing about with all sorts of silly crap like teapots and milk jugs... took far too much of my work time!

[Steinar]

My wife buys good teas off the net, myself I actually enjoy Twinings Prince of Wales, and PG Tips too, for that matter. Drowning the tea leaves in bergamot oil (Earl Grey) is something I leave to starship captains and people of questionable tastes, though. 

I drink my tea without sugar or milk, I guess that's part why I prefer "lighter" tea than I see a lot of people mention here.

[Steinar]

We also drink "mountain tea" here (Sideritis), tilia and other local herbs. Salepi (Orchis Mascula) is very exotic and tasty.

Interesting! I have tasted none of them, but Orchis mascula is actually not uncommon in Norway.

[kkokkolis]

Salepi is made by professionals, in a bronze samovar.





In the house, we drink these (incomplete list)


Valeriana officinalis

[/size]Ocimum basilikum
[/size]
[/size]Laurus nobilis
[/size]
[/size]Rosmarius officinalis
[/size]
[/size]Mentha spicata
[/size]
[/size]Origanum & Amaracus dictamus
[/size]
[/size]Eukalyptus globulus
[/size]
[/size]Thymus vulgaris
[/size]
[/size]Lavandula officinalis
[/size]
[/size]Aloysia citrodora &  triphylla

Origanum majorana

Melissa officinalis

Malva sylvestris

Origanum vulgare

Τaraxacum officinale

Tilia Cordata & Platyphyllos

Sideritis syriaca

Urtica dioica

Salvia officinalis

Chamomilla

[Grathr]

I usually drink 1-2 cups a day.
Earl Grey, Russian Earl Grey, green tea with lemon and English Breakfast tea are the ones I drink the most. Usually made from tea bags.
I sometimes make it from loose weight tea as well in the weekends. Then its usually a Darjeeling broken orange  or earl grey.

[Aloha]

At one time I was fussy about my teas.  I bought loose leaf teas, fussed about my water, temperature, amount added to pot or cup, and steep times.    I've stopped all that yet still use loose leaf in addition to tea bags.  I like herbals, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and a few others.   I don't use milk in my tea nor do I sweeten most times.  If I do sweeten I use honey.

I can be sporadic in my tea enjoyment and confess I love Iced Tea.  I don't use sweetener in that either. 

 

[styx]

To help you islanders out, here is another tea lover. Mint, green, Early grey, rooibos...

Roobois, or Aspalathus linearis, technically not a tea but damn good all the same. Apparently very good for you as well 

What is it then? I'd like to know what I'm drinking

[Smashie]

To help you islanders out, here is another tea lover. Mint, green, Early grey, rooibos...

Roobois, or Aspalathus linearis, technically not a tea but damn good all the same. Apparently very good for you as well 

What is it then? I'd like to know what I'm drinking

A herbal drink made without the tea plant (Camellia sinensis)

[Grathr]

Speaking of the devil.
My parents just came on a visit and gave me this. Perfect for one tea cup.

And yes, I know its made for coffee. 

[ThePeacent]

another tea fan here! 


Usually 2-3 a day, normally it's an Earl Grey or English Breakfast in the morning



and another of those in the early evening or afternoon





finally depending on my mood I have a Rooibos, Black Tea, Princess tea or Lemon-Green tea not long before going to bed
I also love a nice iced tea in Summer months, now it's coming that time   

[ducttapetech]

I mainline coffee. I like some lose Earl Grey sometimes. No suger or cream. Just like my coffee.

[MusicMen]

I drink loose leaf and baged teas. My bagged tea preference is Constant Comment. I do prefer sugar, but no milk/cream.

Also a reminder for those heavy tea drinkers, the tannic acid in tea can cause kidney stones. (ask me how I know)   

[Smashie]

I drink loose leaf and baged teas. My bagged tea preference is Constant Comment. I do prefer sugar, but no milk/cream.

Also a reminder for those heavy tea drinkers, the tannic acid in tea can cause kidney stones. (ask me how I know)   

Fortunately my kidneys are working perfectly, one of the few parts of me that are 

[Fortytwo]

I don't drink much tea but I was introduced to Genmaicha by a friend and I really like it, goes really well to food (especially Asian) as well as is. The more interesting one I have at home right now however is sprängticka, also known as Chaga in a loan from Russian. It's not really a tea but it seems like other infusions are discussed here anyway. While not super tasty it's nice enough and it helps that I picked it on my own land!

[Yadda]

My daily tea consumption is not measured by cups, but by liters 

+1, but gallons instead of liters. 

[styx]

To help you islanders out, here is another tea lover. Mint, green, Early grey, rooibos...

Roobois, or Aspalathus linearis, technically not a tea but damn good all the same. Apparently very good for you as well 

What is it then? I'd like to know what I'm drinking

A herbal drink made without the tea plant (Camellia sinensis)

Well I'll be damned. Forgot to mention linden tea

[AimlessWanderer]

I received an AWESOME gift today from Mark (Smashie).

Not only did he send me a packet of premium tea to try, but also the kit to brew it in and drink it from. More the contents later though. I'm going to do this write up the long way round....

Mark asked me to do a review on it, and post on here what my thoughts are about "proper" tea. He also knows that despite this being a gift, and a damn impressive one at that, I'll be brutally honest about my findings. I also told him I'd not give him any feedback via PM before I posted the review, otherwise he'd be reading what he already knew.

So before I dive in to the detail, I'll give you a bit of background....

(which has the added advantage of taking longer to get to the verdict, which will make him even more impatient to find out what I thought of it  )

[AimlessWanderer]

I've not bought loose leaf tea for several years, and even when I tried it before, I wasn't very scientific about it. Nine times out of ten, I'll just make a brew with a teabag in a mug. The only decision to be made is usually to choose between a regular sized mug, or a plus sized one.

I will sometimes have a fruit tea or herbal tea (or infusion to be correct about it), but usually it's a standard black tea teabag, brewed quite strong and drunk with milk and sugar. I'll also tend to add sugar or honey to the herbal and fruit concoctions.

The standard stainless teapot comes out every so often, and is generally used with teabags. I only tend to use the infuser basket if I'm doing a brew with herbals picked from my garden. Lemon balm is in plentiful supply again this year.

Long story short, aside from brewing freshly picked herbals, I'm a bit of a heathen when it comes to tea drinking. Teabag, milk, and sugar, brewed on autopilot each and every day. The only time tea I consumed without milk or sugar is when I've already brewed it, realise I've run out of the additions, and it's too late to get some because the shop has shut. I'll grin and bear it rather than pour it down the sink and waste it, but I don't particularly enjoy it.

[AimlessWanderer]

The teapot Mark sent me has got to be the cleverest I've seen. Certainly the cleverest I've used. The tea is placed in the infuser section at the top, and hot water is added much like so many other teapots. However, this one holds the tea in the upper compartment until the brew is made, and then a button is pressed on the lid to dump the tea in the lower section, holding the tea leaves back.

This means that you arrest the brewing process to stop the tea getting stewed, and without having to remove the infuser from the pot. With the stainless one, I'd have to try and fish the strainer basket out without burning my fingers, then put it aside, and hope no flies come through the window and land on it before I use it again (the loose tea can be used for multiple infusions). This will become clearer in later posts/pics.

The cup is impressive too. A double walled glass cup - no handle, but the double wall keeps the exterior cool to the touch, and heat from the tea is only lost upwards.