loose tea
 

So, I've recently started drinking loose tea at work. I got a electric kettle and a nifty tea-brewing device called ingenuiTEA. It came with a sampler of black teas (Irish Breakfast, English Breakfast, Earl Grey & yunnan jig). The bergamot flavor of the Earl Grey is so strong, it's best cut with another tea. I'm also planning to pick up some herbal mint tea, oolong jasmine, and a masala chai.

Anyone have favorites varieties? Or favorite purveyors? How about steeping techniques, or brewing guidelines? What's your favorite cuppa?
:morncoff:

This ingenuiTEA seems like a great idea.

I get a tin of English Breakfast every month from Peets Coffee (& Tea) (peets.com), along with two pounds of New Guinea coffee. Peets has an automatic ordering system so that you just sit back and boxes of coffee and tea arrive on your doorstep.

So far, it's working well (I think I've brewed about 8 cups so far.)
If I had an actual sink into which I could wash it, all would be perfect. As it is, I end up with a less than optimally clean teapot.

Oh but that's a good thing - will it take on a tea stain or is the plastic impervious to that sort of thing? I believe you can be proud of a good stained teapot.

PG Tips. Brewed in a warmed teapot for as long as it takes me to get back to it (strong), poured through a strainer, dash of milk added.

Boil the water in an old soup can over a fire of eucalyptus. Throw in a handful of tea leaves and a light sprinkling of dust. Add one fresh gum leaf. Swing the billy (the can) in vertical circles to "settle" the tea.

As good as it gets. Might be hard in the office.

Honeybush and rooibos are my favorites, but I usually drink Dunkin Donuts tea.

as I understand it, to make "proper tea", you need one heaping tsp loose tea to one cup hot water.

Place loose tea leaves into a warmed teakettle, pour warmed water over and let steep, strain and serve.

Seems simple, right? Nope.

It also appears that the type of tea depends on the temperature of the steep. Oolong teas should simmer at 200 deg F, green teas need 180 deg. Irish and English teas should steep at a full boil.

And that's not all! Time is important, too. Black tea should soak for 3 to 5 minutes. Oolong tea should soak for 4 to 7 minutes. Green Tea should soak for 2 to 3 minutes.

I learned more than I ever wanted to know about tea by asking a tea nut. She also expounded on the shape of the pot, serving etiquette, the value of tea balls versus simple straining, bottled water vs tap water, location for tea, frame of mind and the list went on for long time before I begged off and scrammed before brain implosion set in.

Alton Brown does a show on tea here on Youtube. I'd post the video but I forget how.

I hope this helps a bit, even though it doesn't really answer the original question.

Brian

Yerba mate

Hi Brian,
Yep, I got that lecture too, from another tea nut. I'm not a big green or white tea drinker, so I don't need to be too persnickety about the temperature. They're right about the timing, though. It's a fine line to walk to extract the optimal amount of flavor (vice tannin) for the tea in question.
My other strange complication is that I burn my tongue really easily (and get nasty black marks from the scorching, and pain that lasts for days!) so I need to cool my tea down significantly before I drink it. Thankfully, there is a hvac vent right next to my desk that pours out enough cold air to chill a cup of tea in no time flat. :rolleyes:

I have a tim of Mambo tea from TAZO. It was a gift from my mother, but I like it a lot. Flowery. It's past the expired date, but I can't bring myself to throw it away.

PS - LOVE the teapot!

I'm with Monster - proper builders' tea for me. Strong enough to trot a mouse across. Oh and tea stains can always be cleaned by adding boiling water and bleach, and leaving it to sit for a while. I've never met a mug (or teapot) yet that hasn't responded to this treatment.

Rinse well afterwards of course.

Pie: Did your lecture include proper serving etiquette?

I won't go into proper dress for the server....and who it should be.

Nah. It's drunk by me, alone, at my desk. No etiquette necessary, 'cept not spilling it on my keyboard!

Iced!

No sugar or lemon.

I like iced best...with a twist of lemon and mint

Pie, use cold water to cool it down. I do that with Earl Grey, which should not ever have milk added to it.

did you find it?

and under no circumstances buy or eat Green Tea ice cream by Hagan Daz. I've had green tea ice cream I liked, but this--tasted like old socks, ick.

I feel this way about tea/tisanes in general. Makes them undrinkable for me, I love a nice latte...

that's because you don't get real tea here. Only real tea should have milk.

What's a latte?

A very wet cappuccino.

Incorrect.
Of course it works as a statement of your opinion, but in fact the aromatic teas should never, ever be served with lemon, a little milk is acceptable if that is your preference. Of the Earl Grey drinkers here, only one drinks it black, the others all have a splash of milk.

But I do agree that apart from Japanese tea (which is understand is virtually unpalatable to Western tastes) there should be no ceremony whatsoever attached to the making, serving or drinking of tea. Cream tea or afternoon tea have their own guidelines, but no more so than a roast dinner, or morning coffee.

I dunno, perhaps we have enough pomp and circumstance over here that applying it to the nation's most popular drink seems frivolous...

So, does loose tea hang around in bars and chat up coffee beans?

:lol:


Then it settles down, gets married, and turns into an old bag.

:lol: Good one.

:lol: yes, it was of course just opinion, posted in that way because I know many people put milk in Earl Grey which is SACRILEGE! :lol:

Actually, I use teabags for earl grey now, because i drink it so infrequently the loose stuff gets nasty. :p

of course it gets nasty because it's been hanging around in bars waiting to hook up and all the while it's beeen drinking alone....

once it's got over the nasty stage it becomes your best friend, which really puts a strainer on the relationship...

An acquired taste... worth trying .... will bump the energy level (without caffeine jitters) and clear the mind....

So here's what I bought, all still from Adagio:

1. ceylon sonata -- a black 'base' tea
2. masala chai -- gotta have spice, best with a little milk & sugar
3. jasmine oolong -- after-lunch pick-me-up
4. peppermint -- when I'm already jittery, or to add to black teas
5. honeybush orange -- ditto

I still have samples of Earl Grey and three other black teas. And some gawdawful blend with chamomile (ugh! can't stand chamomile!) that I am about to throw away. The Earl Grey is so strong I can add just a pinch to other teas and get all the bergamot I could want. This sample tin will last a lifetime!
I've also started a wishlist of all the really expensive :eek: teas I won't be buying for myself.

I'm not sure any of them count as tea, really.
Can you dunk a Hob Nob in them?

I thought the english didn't dunk?

pshew, we invented it. Just not donuts in coffee.