Talk to me about tea

[Leros]

My experience is that it doesn't really matter what quality black tea you get. Black tea is crappy tea by definition. I get the Wal-Mart 100 pack of black tea for $2.

For green tea (or other types, oolong, white, etc), quality matters quite a bit.

 

[lxskllr]

Earl Grey!!

Earl Grey is one of my workhorse teas. That, and Twinnings Irish Breakfast are my goto black teas when I want just a plain cup of tea. I'm primarily a coffee drinker, but I go through kicks with tea. *Always coffee in the morning, but I like tea at night, both herb, and real tea.


*Hmm... That's a song somewhere... Mississippi John Hurt? Whoever it is, it may have been a different tea that was being referred to :^D

 

[IAteYourMother]

My experience is that it doesn't really matter what quality black tea you get. Black tea is crappy tea by definition. I get the Wal-Mart 100 pack of black tea for $2.

For green tea (or other types, oolong, white, etc), quality matters quite a bit.

You're kidding about the black tea bit right?

 

[Leros]

You're kidding about the black tea bit right?

Nope. I'm quite a tea snob when it comes to green, white, and oolong tea. But I buy the cheapest black tea I can get. Granted, I'm not buying flavored black tea. I buy decent flavored black tea. But for just plain old black tea, I get the cheap crap.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Nope. I'm quite a tea snob when it comes to green, white, and oolong tea. But I buy the cheapest black tea I can get. Granted, I'm not buying flavored black tea. I buy decent flavored black tea. But for just plain old black tea, I get the cheap crap.

well I like buying quality Darjeeling and ceylon teas. Also, powdery shittier teabags tend to taste more bitter/worse.

 

[lxskllr]

well I like buying quality Darjeeling and ceylon teas. Also, powdery shittier teabags tend to taste more bitter/worse.

I use the cheap stuff for iced tea. I like it well enough. Good tea would be better, but not worth the extra cost for iced imo.

 

[destrekor]

I once had a tea that was not your ordinary tea.

Aside from that, the only tea I can tolerate is iced tea - scratch that. Sweetened iced tea.
mmmmm Maybe some of that not real sweet tea, but sweetened with lemon. Like Lipton's. That's pretty good too, but an entirely different flavor. Quite drinkable though.
But sweet tea. Oh sweet jesus that stuff is the shit.
And no, I am not a southener. I love me some sweet tea while living in Ohio.
Raising Canes (a chicken strip box meal place) has some of the best sweet tea this side of the Mason-Dixon line. Brewed fresh and proper daily. As a bonus, all of their chicken is fresh, never frozen.

 

[Born2bwire]

Tea, huh?

 

[StageLeft]

Mrsskoorb drinks caffeine free tea sometimes now. I won't get the brand for you because you shouldn't bother with it. The stuff tastes like bile or water runoff from your taint if you haven't showered in a week, it's just nasty nasty stuff. She says she can hardly tell. But then, she doesn't like Coke Zero so something is clearly wrong with her.

 

[destrekor]

Tea, huh?

[pics snipped]

what exactly am I looking at here?

 

[destrekor]

Mrsskoorb drinks caffeine free tea sometimes now. I won't get the brand for you because you shouldn't bother with it. The stuff tastes like bile or water runoff from your taint if you haven't showered in a week, it's just nasty nasty stuff. She says she can hardly tell. But then, she doesn't like Coke Zero so something is clearly wrong with her.

Don't blame her there.
Diet beverages, regardless of their claim, are just foul, foul creations.

 

[Leros]

what exactly am I looking at here?

You're looking at pu-erh. Fancy aged tea.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pu-erh_tea

 

[Leros]

Tea, huh?

What kind is that? And more importantly, how much did it cost you?

 

[Born2bwire]

What kind is that? And more importantly, how much did it cost you?

That's the cake that is in the picture above. 2004 Yunnan Chi Tse Beeng Cha, a ripened pu-er 340 g cake. Cost me $120 HKD, so about $15 USD. It's not bad, a bit subtle. I have a 2007 and 2008 cakes of green pu-er that I plan to age. The 2008 one I am so so about, it's still rather astringent but the 2007 cake I really like. It already has a decent taste but I paid about three times more for it than the other cake so that would account for the better quality.

EDIT: This is a 2005 version of what I showed: 2005 "Zhong Cha" Brand "Chi Tse Beeng Cha" Ripe Pu-erh Tea Cake 357g http://www.pu-erhtea.com/RipeCake.htm Item: ZC61
Hard to say, I can't read the Chinese to know the exact factory but the labels are the same. I just buy my tea locally at the tea shops around the Island.

 

[idiotekniQues]

berber whiskey

 

[geno]

Funny I just noticed this thread. I just made a cup of Kirkland green tea and it smells like swamp water It doesn't taste much better. Oh well, I'll have to go with a fruity Bigelow tea instead.

 

[sdifox]

Funny I just noticed this thread. I just made a cup of Kirkland green tea and it smells like swamp water It doesn't taste much better. Oh well, I'll have to go with a fruity Bigelow tea instead.

err, green tea should never smell like swamp water...

 

[JohnCU]

mcdonald's sweet tea :awe:

 

[geno]

err, green tea should never smell like swamp water...

Exactly. I hate to waste stuff, but this cup is going down the drain. Something ain't right.

 

[Pliablemoose]

That's the cool thing about tea, so many to try.

I like a cup of black tea in the evening.

 

[sdifox]

Exactly. I hate to waste stuff, but this cup is going down the drain. Something ain't right.

waste and kirkland green tea are not allowed to be in the same sentence.

 

[Madwand1]

I like to have a good black decaf tea before bedtime. Its all relaxing n stuff.

Black "decaf" tea has enough caffeine to disturb my sleep at night, and caffeine has several hours of effect after consumption. If you still want something "decaf", I suggest Twinings Earl Grey decaf -- easy to find, and not bad. Too bad Tazo doesn't make an Earl Grey "decaf".

 

[thedarkwolf]

Can't remember who posted it but thanks to whoever mentioned Big Lots. Went out and bought a few to try.

 

[The Stig]

William S. Burroughs says Tea is about $5 a stick

edit: on topic - Yerba Mate owns joo mang

 

[rudeguy]

So far I have loved the sleepytime tea and am drinking a cup of Twinnings Earl Grey right now. I'm thinking this would be better suited for mid afternoon than right before bed.

Keep up the suggestions guys!