Tea -

[AnOminous]

I agree with the Earl Grey sentiment. However, I find that most Earl Grey's are too weak in bergamot. But that's probably because I've been drinking Russian tea. Royal tea is seriously strong in the bergamot flavor.

Also a lot doesn't even have real bergamot any more.

 

[A Potato Named Vodka]

Also a lot doesn't even have real bergamot any more.

That's true. Bergamot is an endangered plant. And the synthetic stuff sucks in flavor. Always has a tin-y after taste.

 

[CottonKitty]

I really like to drink Earl Grey or Chamomile. The Orange teas from Twinnings are also pretty good in my opinion. I will soon be upgrading from tea bags to actual leaves!

Question: Is the taste of loose leaf really that much better/different from teabags?

 

[FBongRizzle]

I really like to drink Earl Grey or Chamomile. The Orange teas from Twinnings are also pretty good in my opinion. I will soon be upgrading from tea bags to actual leaves!

Question: Is the taste of loose leaf really that much better/different from teabags?

Yes, it's significantly better. I mean if you're going to drown it in milk and sugar like the idiot Brits, don't bother; but if you actually like tea it's the difference between powdered eggs and the real thing.

Red Blossom Tea company based out of San Francisco has a great selection and they ship. I used to use them when I lived there and occasionally order from them still.

 

[CottonKitty]

Yes, it's significantly better. I mean if you're going to drown it in tard cum and sugar like the idiot Brits, don't bother; but if you actually like tea it's the difference between powdered eggs and the real thing.

Red Blossom Tea company based out of San Francisco has a great selection and they ship. I used to use them when I lived there and occasionally order from them still.

I like to use a small spoonful of honey, does that count? And is Red Blossom Tea better than Twinnings? I've only had Twinnings and Celestial Seasons tea so I wouldn't know.

 

[FBongRizzle]

Red Blossom isn't a brand, it's a tea import company that sells very high quality loose leaf at reasonable prices. www.redblossomtea.com . Bag teas are basically giving you the trimmings and "shake" from the actual tea. This shit is the real deal. Go with the green, white, or jasmine teas for your first go at it. I doubt you'll need to add anything but a touch of honey is a great way to do that.

 

[Un Platano]

Tea is something that I've never been picky about. I prefer straight black tea with nothing else in it, except maybe lemon. Even trash tea like Lipton is fine for me. I also like it iced more than hot.

 

[ADN_VIII]

Irish breakfast tea is my usual. Green tea if I'm feeling off and need something different.

 

[sparklemilhouse]

I made the mistake of buying the bigalow chai tea because the store didn't have tazo. I think they dumped some vanilla in it?

 

[Abortions4All]

Oolong with some jasmine flowers added, mm, heaven.

 

[snuffleupagus]

I found this tea shop while working in Oklahoma that has some of the best teas I've ever tasted. I used to be a die hard fan of a small local shop in my hometown, but since I happened upon that OK store I've abandoned them entirely and order online. They have this tea called Cloud Catcher that is a cup of happiness, I'd never imagined coconut flakes would work with tea, but it is amazing. They also had a ton of different types of oils in their store that looked interesting, but since I was traveling through I didn't get any.

http://teaoli.com

 

[Xenomorph]

I drink something called "Chinese Restaurant Tea" by Dynasty its a mix of oolong, jasmine and green tea. I love it and reminds me of the exact tea I used to drink when I went to this Chinese restaurant as a kid hence the name.

 

[FuckBitchesGetRiches]

Im not an avid tea drinker, however I got a cabinet full of it, but my favorites are from Davids Tea. They're overpriced imo when it comes to getting their containers, but they got some nice blends like "Forever Nuts" which makes the tea smell like nuts and apple pie with a tad bit of sweetness and turns the water pink. I'd recommend drinking this with honey than sugar as honey seems to taste a bit better with a nutty and apple tea than pure sugar.

Another by the same company is called "Cold 911" and it's been my lifesaver in my house when you got a raspy throat from a cold. It's super strong in mint and has dried juniper berries so it coats your throat real nice. But i would not recommend adding sugar or honey in it. It tastes awful if you do.

Forever Nuts is one of those blends that several different companies sell under different names. Urbane Tea Company sells it as Almond Apple Bake, and Capital Teas (overpriced as fuck) sells it under a different name that escapes me. When I used to get it from Urbane, I'd eat the product after steeping. Good stuff.

I like genmaicha and jasmine green teas, but the jasmine flavor has to be somewhat strong. A lot of tea bag ones don't get it right so I typically stick with loose tea when buying that kind.

White tea with elderflower is pretty good but hard to find. I tried an elderflower tea from Republic of Tea and it didn't have enough elderflower flavor.

 

[Dysnomia]

I like the toasted rice green tea. Genmaicha. It's hard for me to get though. It has a nice toasted flavor. I normally drink tea plain.I hate sugar. I only put cream in chai tea sometimes.

 

[Sadcake]

Loose vs bagged really does matter. I use this guy for my brewing:

http://www.gemfound.com/teavana-perfecttea-maker/
Does anybody else have one? I absolutely suggest it.

The only time i ever put sugar or milk or lemon or anything in tea is either chai, or "my throat hurts gimmy that mint honey lemon brew"

 

[CottonKitty]

Ok, I went to a tea shop near where I live and I had some loose leaf tea. It is SO MUCH BETTER than bagged tea!!! I didn't feel the need to add anything to most of the teas I got to try. I even got some tea to make at home I really liked the oolong tea and an herbal mix I got there

 

[Holdek]

@Dynastia told me that if you have low T you can cure it by pushing the T bag against the cup to get more out of it.

 

[DangerousGas]

Historically I've been a coffee drinker, but I decided to give a tea that we'd had in the cupboard for ages a go. It's a ceylon/assam loose leaf blend, and it's lovely. Doesn't have the hideous tannin flavour of standard English black tea (lactose makes me really ill, so I have to drink it black), and is generally very pleasant. Wondering what to try next now.

However, I feel like I'm betraying my roots a bit - I've gone all middle class and started using a tea infuser.

:edit: dat word filter

 

[wifflypuff]

Twinings Lady Grey is excellent either hot or iced with a touch of sweetener.

 

[Fareal]

That's true. Bergamot is an endangered plant. And the synthetic stuff sucks in flavor. Always has a tin-y after taste.

Actual bergamot is in demand enough for fine fragrances to cost actual money, so your bog standard Earl Grey is likely to either be light on quantity or quality of it.

Twinings Lady Grey is actually very nice, if the tea equivalent of one of those mocha locha extra cream fandabidozi things from Starbucks. But frankly, if you accept that you're trash for drinking it, it is very enjoyable indeed.

Have been drinking various brands lately of tea with cacao in it and I must say it is surprisingly nice.

I would also like to give a shout out to Yorkshire Tea for making your standard normal milk and two sugars tea. It is much better than Tetleys as it actually has a good strong flavour. I buy the Yorkshire Gold blend because I'm an arsehole. They also sell enormous fucking mugs for those of us who like a correctly sized vat of tea.