Tea, Earl Grey, hot.

[cruddybuddy]

i dont drink coffee, even though i probably should, im too tall.....

the real reason i came here to to say that:
"Patrick Stewart, perhaps even better known as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek, has been named as the next Cameron Mackintosh visiting professor of contemporary theatre. Based at St Catherine's College, and succeeding the director Phyllida Lloyd, he will make his inaugural lecture in April."
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/car...1997598,00.html

I like Patrick Stewart as an actor but I will NEVER go see him speak somewhere again. He just kept talking in one long incredibly unbroken sentence moving from topic to topic so that no one had a chance to interrupt him. It was really quite hypnotic.

 

[BlueStar]

Started drinking green tea recently, love it. Good for hangovers.

 

[Veho]

Go here, and read the rant. You might learn a thing or two about tea

And then stay for the comic, if you want. It's nice.

 

[mthrnite]

Slight update:
I think I'm learning how to appreciate tea a bit; don't expect a POW!
I was triple-bagging and had the misfortune of trying Irish Breakfast Tea that way... YUCK! but I tried it with one bag and it wasn't too bad, I guess I'm not as hairy-chested as I thought.
Still.. so far..
Favorites are: (in no particular order)

Vanilla: double bagged w/one sugar (drinking it right now)
Green Tea: double bagged plain (my next door neighbor gave me 3 boxes of the stuff, luckily I liked it)
Lady Grey: triple bagged w/one sugar and milk (and pinky extended)
Earl Grey: double bagged w/one sugar (still my fave really, I drink this the most)
Chamomile: double bagged plain (like dreaming of drinking flowers... huh?)
Mandarin Orange: triple bagged w/three sugars... ON ICE! (I am a southerner after all)

I still haven't tried Oolong, but I want to, cuz it reminds me of Dragonball

And there we are!

 

[Arm73]

What a coincidence...I found this topic while I was waiting for my tea to be ready...
I don't drink tea that often, usually I have coffee with milk in the mornig and that's it, but sometime I enjoy a nice cup of herbal tea at night.
I had for about a year a box of 'Sleepytime" from celestial seasoning and I enjoyed it pretty much, but just the other day I bought some Lipton orange flavored herbal tea.
I' m having it right now, it's really tasty, I just added a tea spun and half of pure honey.
I was actually interested to hear about the difference between sugar and honey, I mean if it's better to use one or the other, beyond personal preference of course(some might like one or the other) but in terms of calories or how they affect the flavor of the tea and your body.
I was surprised to read that most of the people use sugar in their teas, well maybe honey is a bit expensive but is there any other reason ?

 

[tshu]

The best tea I have had was at some little cafe here in Toronto. It was Ginger & Lemon tea. No milk, just a bit of sugar (the way I like all my teas).

 

[Mangofett]

All this talk of teabagging is making me feel uncomfortable.

And stick with coffee. Go buy some French Vanilla, that stuff is the shit.

 

[Psyfira]

I was surprised to read that most of the people use sugar in their teas, well maybe honey is a bit expensive but is there any other reason ?

My housemates told me honey in tea was good for colds and sore throats, but apart from tasting absolutely vile I couldn't say if there's any truth in it.

 

[mthrnite]

I haven't tried honey in tea yet, but on occasion when I've run out of sugar I've put either honey or confectioners sugar in my coffee.
Of the two, honey is actually better...
..but that's like saying you prefer rat over roach in your pie.
..or something like that.

 

[111111111]

Assam
Ceylon / Sri Lankan
Darjeeling
Earl Grey
Gunpowder
Keemun
Lapsang Souchong
Rooibos /Redbush (Technically not a real tea - no caffeine).

Were my favourites. I used to drink around 8litres of tea a day before I gave up caffeine.

Using more bags of earl grey won't help you as it is supposed to be a delicate tea. If you like a fuller bodied tea then you are probably best trying assam/ceylon/keemun teas as they are easily available.

There is a huge difference between brands and I would definitely recommend a good fair-trade organic tea over generic fodder such as twinings or store own-brands. Also get loose-leaf tea rather than teabags - teabags are the result of the factory brushing the floor.. =]


As for honey, it's very commen to use it in tea (especially amongst hippies), but being vegan I always used sugar (which I gave up at the same time as caffeine). If you can train yourself to drink it unsweetened then that would definitely be the best.

 

[mthrnite]

@111111111
Cool, hey thanks for the tips...
..the adventure continues!

hmmm, I think I actually have some gunpowder around here somewhere...

 

[Veho]

I don't think he was referring to actual gunpowder there...

I think he meant the tea leaves dried into tiny pellets that turn back into tea leaves (and delicious, not to mention strong) tea in hot (scalding, boiling) water.

 

[mthrnite]

I don't think he was referring to actual gunpowder there...

I think he meant the tea leaves dried into tiny pellets that turn back into tea leaves (and delicious, not to mention strong) tea in hot (scalding, boiling) water.

- NOW you tell me..

 

[Veho]

 

[chimpton]

if you like earl grey give lady grey a try. pretty similar but with an orangy citrus twang

 

[mthrnite]

I do like the Lady Grey quite a bit.
I'm really interested in trying some of 111111111's suggestions though, if I can find a place that sells more than the pre-packaged stuff. Raleigh only pretends to be a metro city, so it might be tough, but hopefully not impossible.
In the end, I think it's likely I've found a favorite in the "Grey" family though.

 

[OrR]

Buying tea in teabags is like buying wine in tetrapacks... Go to a real tea shop and get it loose. Try lots of different kinds to find three or four you like. When I drink the same kind of tea for a longer time, it gets boring fast.
Milk, no sugar is what I do. Lots of milk, too, since I don't like my tea hot. When there is no milk, I sometimes use cream which tastes ok but is somehow irritating to my throat. It's a special custom in northern Germany to put cream and rock candies in your tea.
Most of the time I don't drink black tea, though. I prefer rooibos teas in many different flavours. If you don't need the caffeine, you should try them, too. My favourite flavours are red currant (called Pearl of Nile) and lemongrass which comes in the variants Capetown, Kalahari (more lemongrass) and Limbo Queen (an awful lot of lemongrass).