Support NeoGAF

[morningbus]

I haven't been able to find what people enjoy about Moxie yet. For years it was all there was to drink besides water at one of my friend's houses. Ugh. Moxie is so odd.

For me, there is certainly a little novelty mixed with adopted home town pride. However, it is that old school rootbeer/cola taste that I enjoy the most about it. I hate most root beers (though the microbrew varietals like Virgils are godly and I will defend their honor to the death), but there is something decidedly earthy-tasting with Moxie. It is just something wholly unique in the soda industry.

I don't drink much Moxie anymore, as I gave up high-fructose corn syrup entirely and the only people who make Moxie with cane sugar are based in California, which makes shipping costly.

I'm ashamed to admit that I've been drinking cheap coffee lately. I've been to poor to buy tea. I think I'm going to place an order this weekend -- probably some maté, a couple greens and the most "out there" stuff I can find.

If it helps at all, try to think about it in a per-cup way. Even very expensive teas only cost a few cents per cup!

 

[morningbus]

I finally got my order of Guayusa from Runa in and have prepared a few cups already.

"What is guayusa? I just heard about yerba mate, man!"

Son, guayusa is the Ecuadorian cousin of yerba mate and it is actually one of the rarer teas out there. In fact, I've only found one company currently up and running that sells the stuff.

"You're not my dad. Anyway, what does it taste like?"

Surprisingly, it taste like a mixture of a few strong herbs and vegetables. It is actually really hard to figure out what it is similar to and it barely resembles the taste of yerba mate. I'm still getting a feel for the tea, but overall I'm pretty positive about it.

 

[gregor7777]

Just bought some of this on a whim:

Double Dark Chocolate Mate

I'll let you know how it tastes shortly.

:edit it tastes like dark chocolate :lol excellent

 

[SundaySounds]

Dudes. Teavana's Citron Sonata and Lemon Blast Maté. So fucking delicious. And they're so perfect together. The maté was a bit grassy and the citron sonata was a tad too citrus-y. They balance each other perfectly.

 

[kassatsu]

Fuck yes. Safeway always has the big jugs for $1 each.

 

[Arment]

I drink Nestea instant tea. Just like grandma used to make when I was younger. Can't stand any other tea it seems. Any suggestions? I hate lemon.

 

[Gary Whitta]

Here's all you need to know about making delicious iced tea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSkT77010fE&

 

[SundaySounds]

Here's all you need to know about making delicious iced tea:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSkT77010fE&

... what?

 

[SundaySounds]

Has anyone tried Adagio's Citron Green? And do you know how it compares to Teavana's Citron Sonata?
Adagio's version is so much cheaper.....

Also, If I hadn't just bought 10 ounces of a vanilla rooibos, I would be all over this:
http://www.harney.com/Vanilla-Comoro-Loose-tea-by-the-pound/productinfo/41815/

OM NOM NOM

 

[ShallNoiseUpon]

Has anyone tried Adagio's Citron Green? And do you know how it compares to Teavana's Citron Sonata?

I've had the Adagio Citron Green -- it is pretty good, very natrually sweet. One of my non-tea drinking friends said that it tastes a lot like fruit loops (he put sugar in it...blergh).

 

[morningbus]

That reminds me of an experience I had at a Teavana a few months back. The very nice salesperson offered to make my friend and me his morning wake-up blend, which was a blend of a few teas including mate and some black teas. He used probably 3/4ths of a cup's worth of tea and what looked to have been a full cup of sugar.

When he poured it out, it was a fucking syrup. It was both figuratively and literally insane. My friend and I drank it, thanked him, then left a few minutes later to get a drink of water.

Goddamn my politeness.

He was a nice guy and he meant well, but goddamn that motherfucker drinks that shit in the morning and to wake up?

 

[SundaySounds]

That reminds me of an experience I had at a Teavana a few months back. The very nice salesperson offered to make my friend and me his morning wake-up blend, which was a blend of a few teas including mate and some black teas. He used probably 3/4ths of a cup's worth of tea and what looked to have been a full cup of sugar.

When he poured it out, it was a fucking syrup. It was both figuratively and literally insane. My friend and I drank it, thanked him, then left a few minutes later to get a drink of water.

Goddamn my politeness.

He was a nice guy and he meant well, but goddamn that motherfucker drinks that shit in the morning and to wake up?

Hey, man. some people just like some sugar in their tea. myself included. I like it sweet.

 

[morningbus]

Look dude, I like sugar in my tea too. I use probably 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey with most teas (excluding white and a few others). This dude used a full cup of sugar.

I mean this literally: he used a full cup of sugar in producing a "cup" of tea.

 

[SundaySounds]

lol. I usually have about 2 level spoons of sugar in my 16ish oz mug of tea. Some people think that's too much. Panda uses that german rock sugar and when he makes tea he puts like, 4 little pebbles in there. :lol Just not my thing.

Also, I don't get the big deal with the special sugars and stuff. I can understand with honey, I mean that's totally different. But sugar is sugar, man.

 

[morningbus]

Sugars can vary greatly, actually. Cane sugar is cane sugar and I wouldn't spend any extra money buying something like that from a specialty shop. However, Turbinado sugar, for example, comes from the first crushing of the sugar cane and has a taste reminiscent of honey. Muscovado sugar is made in a similar way, but has a dark, molasses taste to it.

I'm not sure what goes into Teavana's german rock sugar, but depending on the minerals added to it, it should taste different than regular sugar.

 

[SundaySounds]

Yeah, but then you're adding a new taste to the tea. Most of the times I don't want to change the actual taste, I just want to make it sweeter. you know?

 

[SaggyMonkey]

While I tend to be more of a coffee drinker, this is my favorite tea:

Black Peony from Tao of Tea
http://www.taooftea.com/detail.php3?id=&pid=8&link=L3B1cmVsZWFmdGVhcy5waHAzP2lkPQ==

 

[ShallNoiseUpon]

Ordered a bunch of stuff (including some yerba maté because of morningbus) this weekend. The wait is killing me, currently all I have is either coffee or some offbrand bagged stuff that I found in a cabinet at work.

I've found I'm not a sugar in my tea type of person -- although for some stuff (mostly black tea) it is a nice change. I am still waiting to try maple syrup in my tea.

 

[morningbus]

Ordered a bunch of stuff (including some yerba maté because of morningbus) this weekend. The wait is killing me, currently all I have is either coffee or some offbrand bagged stuff that I found in a cabinet at work.

Excellent! Make sure you stop back in here after you've tasted everything.

I made some Rooibos Brownies tonight, adapting the recipe for yerba mate brownies but using some Rooibos powder I got from Mighty Leaf instead.

They taste pretty good! They have a stronger vanilla taste to the them but otherwise are pretty similar to the mate brownies. These don't have caffeine, though, so you can eat them all night!

 

[ShallNoiseUpon]

Bump to update -

Got my teas from Samovar not too long ago. The Yerba Maté is really good (I'm going to have to try some from the place you recommended Morningbus).

It really is night and day between drinking high-quality loose leaf instead of the drek that I was forced into drinking from tea bags for a couple weeks. Glad to be back in teaform.


Right now I'm drinking some Jasmine White Needle which is absolutely divine and has a gorgeous color and wonderful perfume.


Edit: Quick question about yerba mate -- you're supposed to rinse it off with cold water before infusing it, right? If so, is it just a tiny bit of water to get the dust/powder off?

 

[morningbus]

Nice to see the thread bumped and awesome to see you enjoying your yerba mate, ShallNoiseupon.

I have a few new types of tea to show off, but it'll have to wait for tomorrow!

Quick question about yerba mate -- you're supposed to rinse it off with cold water before infusing it, right? If so, is it just a tiny bit of water to get the dust/powder off?

It is less about the dust and more about preventing scalding or cooking the herb. Even with a variable temperature kettle, I'll add a splash of cool water to protect the flavor.

 

[koam]

I like to sit and drink pennyroyal tea. I let it distill the life that's inside of me.

 

[morningbus]

So, I finally placed an order with a relatively local tea company, Upton Tea Imports, and have a few things to report on.

1) Upton is great. Good prices; excellent information available on their website; excellent selection; flat-rate shipping of $4.20, which I surprisingly like as I'm insanely OCD about meeting practically any free shipping requirements. Shipping was super quick too, I placed my order early in the morning and had it the next day. Your mileage may vary on that, though, as I'm within an hour's drive of their facility.

2) Roasted Yerba Mate is fantastic. To anyone who enjoys green yerba mate, or likes Teavana's MateVana even just a little, get yourself some roasted mate. It has a natural, chocolaty taste reminiscent of a mellow black tea. It is fantastic hot and with some honey. I haven't tried it iced yet.

3) Heirloom Tea Flowers are really interesting. From Upton's website: "Made solely from Camellia sinensis flowers, carefully plucked from heirloom tea bushes and then sun dried." It tastes a lot like white tea, but slightly sweeter.

Anyway, go out and get your ass some roasted yerba mate. Shit is fly, fresh, and def.

 

[SapientWolf]

So I bought this tea infuser and this Jasmine Pearl Tea and it's like drinking springtime. I don't think I can ever go back to the stuff they sell in the grocery store.

 

[morningbus]

Ah, nice to see a bump.

How well does that infuser work, SapientWolf? I like the design of it.

Let me drop some game I've learned in the past few weeks:

1) Go to Amazon.com's Tea section and find a product that has a "subscribe & save" option (for my example, I'll use Davidson's Hibiscus)

2) Subscribe for recurring deliveries and immediately get 15% off your order (This brings the cost of the hibiscus down from 11.33 to 9.63) and free shipping.

3) Wait for your first order to ship.

4) Immediately cancel. As soon as it ships, cancel it. You'll never get another shipment.

 

[Ignis Fatuus]

I grew up on Japanese green teas which are really excellent when you can get good quality leaf.

I also became very partial to Longjing when I toured tea country in China--I highly recommend it if you can get your hands on a decent sample. It's one of the few teas where you can eat the leaf and it has a very refreshing effect.

I also enjoy black tea with a little sugar and cream to relax with. British style I suppose.

 

[SapientWolf]

Ah, nice to see a bump.

How well does that infuser work, SapientWolf? I like the design of it.

Let me drop some game I've learned in the past few weeks:

1) Go to Amazon.com's Tea section and find a product that has a "subscribe & save" option (for my example, I'll use Davidson's Hibiscus)

2) Subscribe for recurring deliveries and immediately get 15% off your order (This brings the cost of the hibiscus down from 11.33 to 9.63) and free shipping.

3) Wait for your first order to ship.

4) Immediately cancel. As soon as it ships, cancel it. You'll never get another shipment.

The infuser seems to function as advertised. It's easy to use, it gets great waterflow, there's enough room for the leaves expand and it's easy to clean. I did a comparison by just dropping loose leaf tea right into the cup and the brew didn't taste any different.

I might be able to find something better if I searched hard enough but it's good enough for me.

 

[LethaL ImpuLse]

Semi-bump, tea noob here. I've been wanting to get into green tea after trying some of the artificial stuff and fruity green teas at my local tea shop. I tried Ito En green tea and it has a very strong grassy taste. Not repulsive, but kind of an unusual taste to accustom to. I've heard some Chinese variants are a little less strong, can anyone point me to some of these? Or maybe just anything that's just mildly sweeter.

 

[hoverX]

So I bought this tea infuser and this Jasmine Pearl Tea and it's like drinking springtime. I don't think I can ever go back to the stuff they sell in the grocery store.

Rishi tea sells some great teas. Mostly I'll buy my tea from a local place "golden mint" there are 2of them here in Toronto and they have an amazing selection.

 

[Giard]

New tea drinker here.

I ordered a black tea sampler from Adagio, my favorite among them has been Yunnan Jig. Love the very light malt taste, light peppery finish. I've tried some from DAVIDsTEA as well, but their Yunnans don't compare to Adagios. I've also tried some flavored teas, and I've never smelled something as good as their Forever Nuts. Tastes good as well, but smells like heaven.

I'll be ordering Yunnan Gold from Adagio soon.

 

[Valkyr Junkie]

Glad I found this thread as I had some questions myself.

Does anyone have any secrets to making a strong cup of chai (masala)? Earlier this year I discovered Tazo's chai concentrate and while I love the stuff, I wanted to start making my own brew to see if I could make something similar, better, or more economical. So far I've tried grinding my own spices (the standard chai sort) and brewing a large batch using black tea, as well as order some pre-made chai varieties from Adagio. The problem I've had with both is..... well, they taste like tea leaves, spice, and water.

I don't know if the Tazo stuff (when mixed with 50-60% milk) is the equivalent of "McDonalds chai for non-tea drinkers," but nothing else seems to have quite the same full flavor. It's like comparing coffee to tea on the strength/flavor scale. With the Adagio brews, I've added as much as 3 heaping teaspoons of the loose mixture, and let the tea steep for almost 10 minutes. It still tastes really diluted

At least I've discovered that I prefer stevia to honey for sweetening.

So does anyone else have any words of chai wisdom to share with me for a really strong cup of chai? Thanks.

 

[Alucrid]

What sort of teapot should I be looking for? I plan on just heating the water in an electric kettle and just pouring that into the teapot since I don't have a stove in my room.

 

[leroidys]

What sort of teapot should I be looking for? I plan on just heating the water in an electric kettle and just pouring that into the teapot since I don't have a stove in my room.

It depends on what kind of tea you will be drinking out of it. If its going to be a variety, pretty much any large ceramic tea pot will be fine. If you an find one that strains at the nozzle, all the better.

 

[AtomskEater]

This thread made me go make a cup of tea. Delish. Mom and I went through a tea phase a while ago, so we have lots of bagged and loose-leaf stuff. My favorites are the ginger peach from Adiago and honey lemon ginseng from Celestial Teas.

I also have some of that Japanese powdered green tea. It tastes a bit strong, so in addition to making tea with it I sometimes put it in vanilla ice cream or smoothies.

 

[morningbus]

What sort of teapot should I be looking for? I plan on just heating the water in an electric kettle and just pouring that into the teapot since I don't have a stove in my room.

French Press. FRENCH PRESS.

FRENCH.

PRESS.

I know it's not a traditional teapot, but it is much better at brewing a wide variety of teas. They can be had for as little as $5.

Now, if you really want the teapot form factor, go for this one.

It looks really nice and, most importantly, has an easy to remove filter basket so your pot of tea doesn't over-steep. You might also want to get a trivet/teapot warmer of some kind, with tea candles, if you want to keep the pot at a good temperature.

I'd suggest the french press if you see yourself doing individual servings (as in only 1 cup at a time or a few cups all at once). Teapots are great for holding multiple cups of tea that you'll drink slowly over an hour or so.

 

[Alucrid]

It depends on what kind of tea you will be drinking out of it. If its going to be a variety, pretty much any large ceramic tea pot will be fine. If you an find one that strains at the nozzle, all the better.

I was planning on mainly green tea...my favorite is gunpowder tea. Mainly asia types of tea...if that really differs from...well other tea. Or something.

French Press. FRENCH PRESS.

FRENCH.
http://www.ikea.com/PIAimages/0111733_PE262676_S4.JPG[IMG]
PRESS.

I know it's not a traditional teapot, but it is much better at brewing a wide variety of teas. They can be had for as little as $5.

Now, if you really want the teapot form factor, [URL="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FA9B5K/?tag=neogaf0e-20"]go for this one[/URL].
[img]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41S%2ByjL%2B65L._SS500_.jpg[img]

It looks really nice and, most importantly, has an easy to remove filter basket so your pot of tea doesn't over-steep. You might also want to get a [URL="http://www.adagio.com/teaware/teapot_warmer.html"]trivet/teapot warmer[/URL] of some kind, with tea candles, if you want to keep the pot at a good temperature.

I'd suggest the french press if you see yourself doing individual servings (as in only 1 cup at a time or a few cups all at once). Teapots are great for holding multiple cups of tea that you'll drink slowly over an hour or so.[/QUOTE]

French Press looks interesting and artsy. :lol But yeah, it's pretty much solely for me so one cup at a time is about the serving size I'm looking for. I was also looking at Japanese cast-iron kettles, how are they at brewing tea? The only thing I'm slightly worried about is that the gunpowder tea expands and shit, now I don't know if that has any bearing on the quality of the tea, but it probably won't happen in the french press.

Also, an electric kettle should work fine, right? I don't have a stove near me, or at least one close enough that I'd want to walk down there every time to get a drink.

Oh, dunno if this has any bearing on what I should use but I don't use any sugar, milk, cream, nada, I just drink it plain.

 

[hoverX]

French Press. FRENCH PRESS.

FRENCH.

PRESS.

A french press is a great idea until you have to pick out all the tea leaves from the filter.

 

[RevoDS]

A french press is a great idea until you have to pick out all the tea leaves from the filter.

Yours might just be bad...running water is usually more than enough to take care of the leaves.

 

[yuna55]

Thanks for the bump, never saw this before. Used to drink hot tea with my grandma as a kid all the time and recently got back into it.

My favorite (it could taste awful and I'd drink it for the smell alone, but it tastes soo yummy):

Also love a jasmine tea they have at the Chinese restaurant we grew up going to, and they ended up giving us a huge box. Does that shit ever go bad? Because it's going to take forever to go through. :lol

 

[rykomatsu]

Didn't know there was a tea thread

I usually drink Tetley black tea or some organic Chai tea at work. On special occasions, I'll have loose leaf Earl Grey Creme from a local teahouse.

If you like tea and live in San Jose, CA and vicinity, go here...great tea house in downtown SJ

 

[HiResDes]

Been drinking Masala Chai, Buckingham Palace Garden Tea, and Holiday Dream pretty much daily.

I use this bad boy for tea:

 

[morningbus]

French Press looks interesting and artsy. :lol But yeah, it's pretty much solely for me so one cup at a time is about the serving size I'm looking for. I was also looking at Japanese cast-iron kettles, how are they at brewing tea? The only thing I'm slightly worried about is that the gunpowder tea expands and shit, now I don't know if that has any bearing on the quality of the tea, but it probably won't happen in the french press.

Cast iron kettles are great, especially at holding on to heat. However, you'll have to deal with how to actually brew tea in it and separate the leaves from the liquid. If you're using large leaf tea, like oolongs and some green teas, it won't be too much of a hassle. But finer teas, like some blacks, whites, and most herbals, will be a major pain in the ass. Also, cast iron kettles are expensive and can be hard to clean.

I'd say wait on it until you have more space/develop a much harder tea habit.

As for the french press, the leaves will have plenty of room to expand, just don't push the plunger down all the way. I brew oolongs in my french press all the time, and they expand much more than any gunpowder I've encountered.

Also, an electric kettle should work fine, right? I don't have a stove near me, or at least one close enough that I'd want to walk down there every time to get a drink.

Electric kettles are preferred actually! Especially if it is a variable temperature kettle that lets you dial in specific temperatures to heat to. But generally, they are much quicker at brining water to a boil than a stove.

A french press is a great idea until you have to pick out all the tea leaves from the filter.

I use a french press at least 4 to 5 times a day and this isn't really a problem if you have a sink nearby. Just unscrew the bottom part and run water over the filter. This only applies to finer-leaf teas, too, like yerba mate or CTC-style black teas. Otherwise, my tea leaves are fairly large and intact.

I'd also recommend not pushing the plunger all the way to the bottom, either. Leave enough headroom for the leaves to naturally bump up against the filter (this also helps in giving the tea enough space to brew).

 

[Alucrid]

Cast iron kettles are great, especially at holding on to heat. However, you'll have to deal with how to actually brew tea in it and separate the leaves from the liquid. If you're using large leaf tea, like oolongs and some green teas, it won't be too much of a hassle. But finer teas, like some blacks, whites, and most herbals, will be a major pain in the ass. Also, cast iron kettles are expensive and can be hard to clean.

I'd say wait on it until you have more space/develop a much harder tea habit.

As for the french press, the leaves will have plenty of room to expand, just don't push the plunger down all the way. I brew oolongs in my french press all the time, and they expand much more than any gunpowder I've encountered.



Electric kettles are preferred actually! Especially if it is a variable temperature kettle that lets you dial in specific temperatures to heat to. But generally, they are much quicker at brining water to a boil than a stove.



I use a french press at least 4 to 5 times a day and this isn't really a problem if you have a sink nearby. Just unscrew the bottom part and run water over the filter. This only applies to finer-leaf teas, too, like yerba mate or CTC-style black teas. Otherwise, my tea leaves are fairly large and intact.

I'd also recommend not pushing the plunger all the way to the bottom, either. Leave enough headroom for the leaves to naturally bump up against the filter (this also helps in giving the tea enough space to brew).

Well...I'm having so much trouble that I think I might get both. I found a nice reasonably size and priced cast iron one on Amazon and I think I'll leave that solely for my green tea and pick up a cheaper French Press for other varieties of tea I'd like to try and coffee if I ever start to drink it. Thanks for the info.

 

[Metalic Sand]

So i just tried some Earl Grey tea for the first time and im craving more. Would anyone recommend this?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4H5G8/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Its on sale real cheap. Or if you have another reasonable priced brand lemme know.

 

[morningbus]

I have a soft spot in my heart for Twinnings as I really started my tea drinking habbit thanks to them. So yes, their Earl Grey is at the very least a great starting point.

If you're looking for other options, check out Stash tea's Double Bergamot Earl Grey (also available on Amazon). I have a friend who really enjoys it. If you are ever looking for loose leaf tea, I personally enjoy Adagio's Earl Grey Bravo (they also sell bagged versions, but they can be kind of expensive).

 

[HiResDes]

Oh man I forgot all about this glorious thread, it got me hooked on tea and I've never looked back.

Currently I have in stock: Natural Keemum, Masala Chai, Buckingham Palace, Yorkshire Gold, and Chinese Three Monkey

 

[Natetan]

Anybody hear shop from ippodo? I bought some of their tea, it's really good

https://shop.ippodo-tea.co.jp/shop/en/;jsessionid=904D894081106F6D28606B8533BF5824.ipd1

Teas I've been drinking a lot lately are

Lady Grey, Oolong, Jasmine, Iribancha, and this guava leaf tea

 

[AlexMogil]

I visited a Teavana for the first time last month. My kind of place. I've been drinking loose teas for about three years, but it was really nice to get to see such nice samples and get to smell them before I bought them. Very nice chais and I got a dragon pearl tea which is strangely reusable.

 

[iamblades]

So i just tried some Earl Grey tea for the first time and im craving more. Would anyone recommend this?

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000F4H5G8/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Its on sale real cheap. Or if you have another reasonable priced brand lemme know.

As far as supermarket available teas, I like bigelow, although stash is another good brand as mentioned by the post below yours.

Both of those brand's Earl Grey has a much stronger citrus flavor, which I like. Twining's earl grey is very very subtle, but they are also about as good as you can get in bags at the supermarket along with the other two brands, if that kind of subtlety is what you are looking for.

 

[vulva]

Hi tea thread, I love you.


I don't know a whole lot about tea, but I really love the stuff. My go-to tea, as of late, has been genmaicha. That said, I'll drink basically any green, white or oolong tea. I had a delicious kabusecha yesterday that really hit the spot. I think I might buy some leaves tomorrow and really get in to the habit of drinking it more.


Also, morningbus, how do you think those brownies would taste with matcha?