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Coffee or Tea?

njmac said:
I found another tea company -Upton Tea that has a lot of info about tea and a huge selection... but they are US based importer so I'm guessing they're more expensive than getting tea packaged in the country of origin - but easier to order and find!
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When say from the country of origin, I just mean packed there instead of blended and labeled with a brand name in the UK or US. Here's a few more tea importers:

http://www.bambooteas.com/

http://www.portorico.com/

http://www.Harney.com/
 
hmmfe said:
I have to disagree with you on the boiling water, in part. Some "varietals" are best with boiling water and some not. I assume you are a black or Pu-erh tea drinker, hence the boiling water. I drink mostly green and white teas these days so your advise would be incorrect in my case.

It is satisfying to know that tea drinking in the US is getting more popular. There are several places in my area (Denver) that do a respectable job with
tea these days. I agree that properly prepared tea is still a hard find in the US.
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Yes, this point is well-taken. Black teas demand boiling water, but some non-black teas should be steeped with off-boiled. When I make these teas, I turn off the kettle just as it comes to a boil and let it sit for a minute before pouring.
 
itcheroni said:
Anyone here watch the Good Eats on the Food Network? They did an episode on tea. In regards to the bag vs. loose teas, the main concern is the quality of leaves, not the actual bags, although that does matter if you want the tea to expand as much as possible. If you open up a tea bag and compare it to loose teas you'll see what I mean. Tea bags are usually comprised of leaves that are too small (or are just crumbs) or low in quality to make it into loose tea products.
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It's a great show, for sure: a true cooking show for nerds. Some of their humor is a bit corny but tolerable given the amount of great info they pack into every episode.

We broke down and bought the complete set of DVDs. The alternative was recording hour after hour after hour of episodes off the Tivo, and I just don't have that kind of free time.

They also had a really good episode on coffee, just to bring things full circle.
 
iGav said:
both make me spew... coffee more so, but tea's just not very good for your insides so I avoid that too.
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huh? Tea is excellent for your insides :).

Try a ginger tea, it should keep you from spewing :p.

e
 
crdean1 said:
Recommendations?

You should try Mariage Freres tea, from France. It is the absolute best tea I have ever consumed. Since it is fairly expensive, I only have it periodically.

The "Vanille Des Illes" (sp?) and "Eros" are two excellent flavors, along with their black tea.
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I will try that tea, thanks! I googled it and it did get great reviews.

I tried white tea this morning. I like it better than green tea, but is still taking some getting use to.
 
The fancy flavored teas aside, I think you'll get much more value buying quality generic varietals and blends instead of spending huge sums for expensive brand name like Mariage Frères (their prices are truly outrageous!). They are after all only buying good tea leaves, which you can do yourself straight from an importer for about 1/4 the price.
 
IJ Reilly said:
The fancy flavored teas aside, I think you'll get much more value buying quality generic varietals and blends instead of spending huge sums for expensive brand name like Mariage Frères (their prices are truly outrageous!). They are after all only buying good tea leaves, which you can do yourself straight from an importer for about 1/4 the price.
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You should go into the tea business ;)
 
I've been trying new tea's for the past month and I'm really starting to get hooked.

My favorite so far: Chai tea. I was considering going dairy free for my diet but decided against it. So now I have a cup of Chai tea with milk and a teaspoon of honey. I like it alot.

white tea with nothing in it is growing on me... no calories, tons of antioxidants and the taste is better than green tea.

Mint tea in the morning is nice, lemon ginger tea is good after dinner...

who needs coffee anyway :p

I already like black tea with milk and may start to have that again since I'm not going dairy free.
 
you should try some oolong teas, njmac. They are usually pretty deep and earthy, so you might not like them if you like white teas, which tend to be sweeter and lighter in taste. But they are very filling and they'll keep you from over eating. I try to drink a cup of oolong tea before eating :).

But if you like light teas, I recomment the following:

rishi's green mint tea - yummy loose tea. Kind of woodsy mint with a hint of green tea.
winneram international's green tea - hard to find, but you can buy packs of 100 for about 4 bucks on the internet. Very light, very good. Simple green tea, no subflavors.
Tazo's Zen Green tea - another good green tea. A little pricey for it's quality, but still tasty.
Whole Foods' 365 branded green tea - cheap and tasty. I drink this one a lot. Very plain, but I like my green tea plain.
Stash's Organic Cascade Mint - more spearminty than pepperminty (like celestial seasonings).

Oh, and as for Chais, I think Stash makes good chais. They have a double spice chai which does very well with milk and honey. They also have a green tea chai which is very good by itself, but I'm sure it's good with milk and honey too. The regular spice chai is good, as well.

e
 
Tea, with leaves, usually.

But I'm a lazy cow so if I'm the only one in the house then its Tea Direct. bags. I drink coffee sometimes, but I don't know how to work those funny silver things you use on the hob, so I can't make it for myself.

Thicko.
 
Can't beat a nice cup of Earl Grey with milk really! :)

Although, I'd highly recommend Rooibos as an alternative, especially in the evenings as it doesn't contain any caffeine and is very nice. In fact, think I'll make myself a cup now :)
 
Tea. I can't stand Coffee.

English Breakfast is probably my favorite, but I like Earl Gray, too.

But I don't put anything in it--no cream, sugar, milk, or anything. Straight up like a man! :)
 
I try not to have any dairy products, so I don't have milk in either tea or coffee.

I usually start the day with a black coffee with two sugars, but as too much caffeine can trigger a migraine, I won't normally have any more during the day. If I want another hot drink, I will have green tea or mint tea, but I usually just drink gallons of water.
 
Coffee all the way, none of that tea bollocks:p

One sugar and milk, sorted, instant pick-me-up. Plus coffee has such a great taste!! lol

Cheers
 
I'll only drink Arizona Iced Tea. Green Tea, Sweet Tea ect... that stuff is awesome and for 99¢ it's such a bargain! :cool: All that Arizona stuff is awesome.
 
njmac said:
You should go into the tea business ;)
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I was actually for awhile. I imported from a tea company in London and tried to set up distribution over here. But this was in the '80s when it was difficult to sell the "tea concept" to Americans, and I was learning the import business from scratch. I was ahead of my time, as it turned out. ;)
 
My daily routine at my current company
Upon arrival - Mandarin Orange Herbal Tea
Mid-morning snack - Hot Cocoa
After Lunch - Lemon Herbal
Mid-afternoon snack - Hot Cocoa

The teas are taken plain - no milk or sugar. Normally I wouldn't drink them, but we have one of those Keurig things, and they are fun to play with...I mean use.
 
KingYaba said:
I'll only drink Arizona Iced Tea. Green Tea, Sweet Tea ect... that stuff is awesome and for 99¢ it's such a bargain! :cool: All that Arizona stuff is awesome.
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psh... that doesn't count :).

Sugar Water :).

e
 
KingYaba said:
I'll only drink Arizona Iced Tea. Green Tea, Sweet Tea ect... that stuff is awesome and for 99¢ it's such a bargain! :cool: All that Arizona stuff is awesome.
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It's not bad but their green tea is brown.
 
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