loose tea?

here's a selection of strainers/infusers.

http://www.theteatable.com/category/Infusers.html


I strongly second the notion that loose leaf teas, by and large, taste better than bagged...

I love Oolong. I'd say the taste is somewhere in between green and black tea. I have an Earl Gray flavored Oolong, which I drink all the time, and a high end "plain" Oolong. But it depends on the individual tea, of course- some are good, some are bad, some are delicious, just as with green, black, white, and herbal teas...

I really enjoy oolong tea. Jasmine, too, but I often mix the jasmine with a black tea.

Lipton, IMO, is good for iced tea, but for hot tea, my sachet of choice is Tetley.

There is a lovely tea shop in St Joe. So many varieties!

Has anyone found a way to make green tea taste... well... good? I find it leaves a funny taste in my mouth, but maybe I've not yet found a good one.

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Use honey, a natural sweetener for a natural drink. I've gone through a lot of tea in my life and the same goes for honey.

Martin

Try Upton Tea. They offer sample-size packages of their teas so you can try a bunch without breaking the bank. All their tea is loose, and I've always had great customer service from them.

ETA:I don't mean the sampler sets linked from the main page. Those are small tins of a related group tea in each set. If you go to the listings of the individual teas, one of the sizes will be marked as a sample.

I don't much care for sweetened tea, but I have found a local source for raw honey.

Couldn't hurt to try it, and the honey will add to the green tea's benefits.

Thanks, Martin.

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teasource.com is my favorite place to buy loose tea. They are based in the twin cities, I would sometimes go to their store, but now I order online. They have an herbal blend called Evening in Missoula that is just amazing!

green tea sometimes tastes bitter if it's steeped with boiling water, I find that using water that is a little shy of boiling makes for a better cup of green tea.

I have a nifty strainer container that you steep the tea in, and then you set it down on top of your mug and it dispenses tea through a filter, thus straining as you fill your cup. I got mine as a gift from my sister, she got it at Teavanna.
http://www.teavana.com/tea-products/...rfect-teamaker

Teavanna has some nice teas too, but I find they are more likely use 'flavoring' in some of their teas, so check the labels before you buy.

I'm a tea snob. I've tried it all, and come back to my original... lipton brisk. I use the single serving bags, three at a time to quart of finished tea... steeped for only a minute, slightly sugared, iced immediately and served in glass. I throw it away if it's not right.

Amazon sells tea on a subscription basis, cheaper than the stores and that includes shipping costs.

I'd just as soon ask for water at someone's home, for the odds of runnin up on a Marilyn are slim. I do my tea strong and iced, with just a tad of sugar... most folks oversugar and that's insufferable... tea that's too weak is just a waste of time... If I can see clearly through it, well, I'm not wasting my time.

When it's just right, the world can be crumbling down around me, and I'm at peace... if it's wrong, I'd just soon launch the ICBM's...

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I thought there was ' Whole Leaf ' expensive and then there is ' Lose Leaf ' like Lipton more reasonable priced.

Seems almost as if there are many different way to process tea as there are teas. It's a little more complicated than merely picking and drying.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_processing

Every year I get a few more odd ones that I've never heard of but haven't found a truly bad one yet. Latest was rooibos which is quite good. Some of the herbal ones may be lacking in taste tolerance but a spoon of honey adds to the health benefits.

Martin

I used to despise hot tea. It just tasted like hot water to me, LOL.

Then, on sale at the grocery, we bought Lipton Pyramids.

Wow! That stuff is good!!!!

We normally get two large mugs of tea out of every bag, sometimes more.

BUT, what's the pyramid made from? I've got Bavarian Wild Berry which is darned good. The bags look like something that I may find in my garden 20 years from now and still be intact. Supposedly they are the same food grade plastic which is used in juice and water bottles.

Martin

Wow! You haven't been around good tea for your whole life while having it just across the Sound for longer than you have been living? Hop on the ferry and get over to Seattle. Go to Pike Place Market. Look for Market Spice. I've been there and came away with a lot of super teas. You'll find an awful lot of macerated type teas which are that way on purpose. You are missing a great deal of tea enjoyment by insisting on only the simplest forms. A non-HT friend from Freeland is waiting for a chance to get over and send some in return for seeds. 318 options and none are floor sweepings!

www.marketspice.com/store/category/tea

Martin

Bavarian Wild Berry is my favorite. I think I could drink my weight in that stuff!!!

Wish I could help on what the bag is made from...it does feel like a plastic mesh.

Check it out! You recycle it with a scissors. The contents are dumped in the compost while the bag is recyclable PET non-biodegradable plastic.

Martin

I learned about Yerba Mate, years ago when we had an Exchange student from Brazil. She loved it and had her parents send her some of it.She called it "Mate" (ma tay).
It was okay, kinda spicy in flavor, and pretty high in caffeine. And it was very bitter, if not brewed just right. I drank it a couple times with her, out of a silver straw, IIRC. Traditionally, they always share it.
That was many years ago, over 30.
I like Tea, regular tea, brewed in a pot and sipped from a cup or a small bowl, with a little honey, or sorghum added.

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I second Goat Lady's suggestion of Herbalcom.com. I make my herbal tea in a 1/2 gallon mason jar. In a pan with water I add a handful of hibiscus flowers for a lemony flavor and a pretty red color, then 1 heaping T of any tea (oolong, Irish breakfast etc), then 2 heaping T of green tea, a handful of nettle, and some passion flower and heat to just boiling, cool, strain thru a tea strainer into the jar to which I have added 1/2 teaspoon Stevia, fill the rest of the way with cold water. I drink this winter and summer. Lots of antioxidants from the hibiscus and the green tea.

We have two tea bushes, and a couple small beds of mint [regular, apple and chocolate].

Plus I harvest a few medicinal herbs for my tea [Birch polipore and knotweed].

Don't forget willow leaves.

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If you want straight green tea leaves, no flavoring, no decaf, try an Asian store. You can usually find decent loose green tea of several varieties. The better teas should be brewed with water that is cooler than boiling; boiling water is for low grade teas. The best teas can be ordered over the internet, but they're expensive.

I confess, I am a SWEET TEA addict! I don't use any ice. Warm or room temperature is fine. I drink about 4-5 quarts a day but I only make a gallon at a time usually. Tender Leaf Select is the one I like best. I get the bags, 96/1oz. per case.