Tea.

[Florence]

So, I have to ask out of curiosity, where my E tea drinkers at?

There has to be some more teaphiles among you all, isn't it a law that us artsy fartsy writery types have to love tea?

So... who here loves tea? How does it compare to coffee? What's your favorite kinds of tea?

Personally, I adore tea! Coffee is alright if I need caffeine, but it just can't compare to a nice cup of tea.

For staying up I love Assam, English Breakfast Tea or Prince of Wales.

For relaxing, I love Earl Grey or Lady Gray, or green or white teas in general.

I generally love loose leaf tea, but lately I've been buying Twinings as its just simply to dunk and drink rather than go through the process. Granted, the process if quite relaxing, sometimes, I just want my tea now xD

Also I love bubble tea :Q_____ anyone else here a fan of it? If you don't know what it is, its a popular iced tea drink in Asia, basically its iced tea with tapioca pearls in it and it comes in a variety of flavors. My favorite flavor is either plain milk tea, or honey milk tea :Q_____ I bought Tapioca Pearls so I can make some myself :>

[Beguile's Mistress]

I like flavored teas but more so the ones I make myself.  Apple or orange and lemon peel, berries and other fruits, cinnamon and spices in various combinations boiled in water to get the flavors out and then poured over black or green tea leaves in a good sized mug are what I go for most. 

[Florence]

I like flavored teas but more so the ones I make myself.  Apple or orange and lemon peel, berries and other fruits, cinnamon and spices in various combinations boiled in water to get the flavors out and then poured over black or green tea leaves in a good sized mug are what I go for most.

That sounds really good :o

I'm not a fan of herbal teas by themselves, though. I like my tea to have tea in it, thank you, but I kinda wanna try this some time. :>

[gaggedLouise]

Always liked ginger and lemon flavoured teas, but dark, flowery mixtures too. Any kind of citrus scneting - lemons, oranges, bergamots - work great with tea.

A few old replies in a thread here.

[Oniya]

You can use a vegetable peeler to get thin strips of zest off of citrus for teas.  I do a lot of herbal blends, but in the morning I'll have a standard Orange Pekoe and sometimes treat myself to an Earl Grey later in the day.  The little Oni is fond of something called 'Matcha' blend, which comes in an almost gauze-like bag inside a sealed packet and you're supposed to pour the powdery leavings from the packet over the brewed tea.

[Florence]

You can use a vegetable peeler to get thin strips of zest off of citrus for teas.  I do a lot of herbal blends, but in the morning I'll have a standard Orange Pekoe and sometimes treat myself to an Earl Grey later in the day.  The little Oni is fond of something called 'Matcha' blend, which comes in an almost gauze-like bag inside a sealed packet and you're supposed to pour the powdery leavings from the packet over the brewed tea.

I've wanted to try matcha tea for a while :Q____

I have a friend who swears by it xD

[Oniya]

Costco sells it in hundred-packet boxes.  *checks box*  It seems to be their 'house' brand, so I'm not sure how that compares to what you can get in actual tea shoppes.

[Tsenta]

I don't drink a lot of tea due to bad kidneys and a bad liver, but when I do drink tea I tend to drink fruity stuff cause I only drink tea when sick or with a headache. I have this blueberry blend that smells absolutely divine. If it wasn't so damn hot I'd go make some now. X_x

[Oniya]

Brew it double-strength and pour it over ice (the double strength compensates for the ice-melt).  Sweeten before adding the ice, if desired.

[Madriv]

Boba tea! Taro milk tea is my favorite.

As for actual hot -tea- I enjoy masala chai. Otherwise, I drink herbal "teas" iced and unsweetened. Orange cinnamon and ginger lemon are my favorite blends.

[Oniya]

Chai is marvelous when I can find it.  I've considered making my own, but balancing the number of different spices is a little intimidating.

[Lilias]

The Twinings blend is very well balanced, and easy to find.

What I love most about Twinings is that they sell (off their site) by the envelope. So, if you just want to sample their new flavours, you can just order 1-2 bags of each, before committing to a whole box.

I'm firmly a green and white tea person myself, although any variety flavoured with berries is going to taste good.

[Jag]

*reminds herself that she needs to pick her Tea Blog back up at some point*

I love tea, I just don't have the time to writing about it like I used to. >.< Also, the tea shop by me closed down.

I drink all kinds of tea and make my own when I have the time.

[The Dark Raven]

I have found my favorite tea to be Earl Grey (loose), and sometimes the Earl Grey creme (loose) from Teavana.  It's my writing tea. 

That reminds me, I need to order more before November.

[Jag]

Necessiteas is a nice place too.

[Sain]

Big fan of green teas myself, though I don't mind a cup of something darker and spicier every now and then. Still pretty new to making my own blends, but I'm looking to dive deeper into that business once there's some time to spend.

[The Dark Raven]

Necessiteas is a nice place too.

I'll have to check it out.  I'm just spoiled by Teavana's Earl Grey.  Best I've ever had.

[Jag]

The owner of Necessiteas actually sent me a message on Facebook after Tea Co. closed down asking if I wanted free samples. I got a few and they were really good. I just don't have the extra cash most of the time to spend on ordering tea offline. Tea is usually in the back of my mind when I have extra cash. >.< It was easier when Tea Co. actually had a store I could see and walk into on a daily basis.

[Blythe]

I adore Chai. <3

I also tried Rooibos. It was really earthy and savory, but it was very good. ^^

[Jag]

Saffron got me hooked on rooibos. It's so good.

I melt butterscotch chips in my rooibos.

[Blythe]

Sometimes I put a hint of vanilla in it--I've been brewing Rooibos this week and trying different flavors in it. Vanilla is good--I just have to be very careful how much goes in or it's heinously overpowering.

And Rooibos is stunning when a tiny bit of mint is added to it when one has a cold. <3

[Serephino]

I think rooibos is my favorite.  Right now I have creme caramel rooibos, and yum!  I also really like white tea, but it's hard to find in my area.  Chai is also up there on my list of favorites.  The store I get my tea from sells mostly black teas.  I had pumpkin pie flavored that was really good. 

[Oniya]

Pumpkin spice is one that's fairly easy to mix at home.  A little nutmeg and the same amount of ginger, plus about twice as much cinnamon and a pinch of clove.

[Formless]

Tea leaves brewed to a nice amber color. With a drop of honey.

Or ginger mixed with tea leaves. Sometimes with a lemon twist helps with a runny nose for me. ::)

[Serephino]

The pumpkin pie I had also had a hint of maple syrup. 

[Florence]

So much tea talk :D I love this site. xD

About to go make a cuppa myself, after a hard day working :U

[Caeli]

I love buying my leaves from Lupicia, in-store. They have all of their blends available to taste and smell, so it's a good way to test them out before purchasing.

TenRen has the best Chinese teas. :-) One of my friends always has some stocked up at her place, and she'll brew us a pot when we're over hanging out.

[Chris Brady]

Honest question here, but what is Chai?  As in what's in it.

Because the word means 'Tea'.  So a 'Chai Tea' is effectively 'Tea Tea'.  I want to know what kind of flavour it tends to have.

As for what I drink, I prefer White (low acid) teas over Orange or Black.

[Oniya]

Chai masala (I know 'masala' means 'blend' or 'mix') is an assortment of spices to be added to regular tea.  Cinnamon, ginger, cardamon... I think there's some anise in there...  It's usually brewed with hot milk instead of water, and is usually also sweetened, although the bagged stuff from the store stands up pretty well to simple hot water.  The taste is kind of 'baked goods' spicy, like spice cake or gingerbread, but not exactly. 

[Chris Brady]

That sounds divine...  Chai Masala, you say?  Will have to look that up!

[Oniya]

If you have any Indian groceries near you, you'll get the most authentic masala, which would be just the spices to add to your preferred tea.  Otherwise, many of the major tea companies (Bigelow, Twinings, Stash, Celestial Seasonings, etc.) have a 'Chai Tea' which includes the spices in with the tea bag.

[Chris Brady]

Thanks, good to know!

[Florence]

Now I wanna get some loose tea and spices to try making my own, but I'm fairly certain I'd mess it up D:

Still need to find time to make my bubble tea :<

[Jag]

Still need to find time to make my bubble tea :<

;D ;D ;D

[Suiko]

I can't believe I didn't know this thread existed before now.

I can't function without a cup of green tea in the morning. I love tea!

Another couple of favourites are Lady Grey and Oolang, but I also enjoy Chinese Gunpowder tea - guess what's in it.  :-)

[Florence]

;D ;D ;D

.... I can't... breathe... oh my god...

[Blythe]

Chinese Gunpowder tea? I don't think I've actually heard of it; what's it like?

[Suiko]

Chinese Gunpowder tea? I don't think I've actually heard of it; what's it like?

Very good. A bit bitter but refreshing.

[Blythe]

I grow tempted by this tea....where would one purchase it? Is there somewhere online that sells it? *perks up with interest*

[Suiko]

I'm afraid I only had it in a teahouse near where I live... I'm sure somewhere online will sell it though. *nods*

[The Dark Raven]

I can't believe I didn't know this thread existed before now.

I can't function without a cup of green tea in the morning. I love tea!

Another couple of favourites are Lady Grey and Oolang, but I also enjoy Chinese Gunpowder tea - guess what's in it.  :-)

Any idea where to get Lady Grey reliably?  I can only get a small box about once a year or so at my grocery store.

[Florence]

Any idea where to get Lady Grey reliably?  I can only get a small box about once a year or so at my grocery store.

Twinings sells it in the local supermarket near me, if nothing else you might be able to find their variety packs which have Lady Grey in it, of course, you'll also be paying for Earl Grey, English Breakfast Tea and Irish Breakfast Tea, so if you hate those it might not be worth the money.

http://www.twiningsusashop.com/lady-grey.html

Or you can try ordering some off their website. (that's for the US site, I'm not sure if its any different for other regions)

Lady Grey is personally one of my favorites, so anything I can do to help a fellow drinker :3

[Suiko]

Twinings is very good ^^

More love for Lady Grey!

[Chris Brady]

Off topic

.... I can't... breathe... oh my god...

The site is called Kawaiinot.  And it's hilarious.

On topic:  I will second (Third, whatever) the fact that Rooibos is delicious.

[Florence]

Hey E tea-drinkers! I have a question. I used to have a really nifty electric kettle that let me select different temperatures for different types of tea, but... I accidentally got some water into the electronics and... the thing fried. I've been having trouble finding a replacement that I can actually afford, does anyone have any good suggestions. Simple kettles that I can just turn on and off are good and all, but I love green and white tea, and while I've gotten used to watching the bubbles on an open pot for green and white tea, I'm not sure if I'd have any luck making them with an electric kettle like that.

So, tl;dr, anyone know of a relatively cheap electric kettle that lets you select other temperatures for different types of tea?

[Oniya]

When I went searching for electric tea kettle, I found this article from Good Housekeeping that compares several models.

[ladyelizabeth]

i adore tea!   I am a southern girl so black sweet tea is my fav!!!

[Ravensahnk]

I love all sorts of tea.  Iced Tea, I would have to say simple sweet tea or Arizona green tea is great!

As for hot teas, it really depends.

I like the simple black teas, I most often drink organic green tea daily with some honey, it's normally when I'm on lunch with a good book too!  :)  It totally is for us Artsy  Fartsy Writery people lol