So GAF, let's talk about tea.

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morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Joking aside,
PokéKong said:
But I felt validated when I once visited this super classy tea cafe in Portland that served an Early Grey Almost Latte, which was not unlike something I would make at home, but still a step above.

I believe this is called a London Fog (strongly brewed Earl Grey tea with frothed milk and a shot of vanilla syrup). It originated in Vancouver and is indeed quite delicious.

evilgreg said:
So I love tea, especially green tea. But I only drink it in the office at work, so I usually settle for the tea bags that we have here. What's the best way to get a cup of loose-leaf going when you're not at home?
Check out my post towards the begining of the page. I outline pretty much all your options when brewing tea at the office.

Edit: Didn't realize I was starting another page, so here is my post from earlier:
morningbus said:
1) Gravity pot (like: these or this. These devices work by having a trigger at the base to allow the brewed tea to separate from the tea leaves when placed atop your mug. Usually made out of plastic, you can add water, heat in the microwave, then add tea leaves. This might be your best bet for an office situation. Downsides: They can be somewhat of a pain to clean, the mesh filter at the bottom will usually wear out and need replacing after a few years, and the gasket that controls the flow of water will eventually give out on you.

2) Mug with infuser basket (like: this, or, alternatively, your own mug and a device like this). This can be a bit more convenient as it eliminates the need for a separate brewing device. If you go down this road, I'd suggest getting a plastic filter basket as stainless steel is not microwave safe. Downsides: You'll need to place the wet filter basket on top of something. Most baskets come with a lid, which double as a resting place.

3) Tea straw (or bombilla). This is kind of a novelty way of drinking tea. It's as simple as putting the leaves in the mug, hot water over the leaves, then drinking through the straw. This honestly won't work with most teas, as they'll over-steep before you can even attempt to drink it.

4) As has been suggested, French Press (these are pretty universal, so I won't bother with links). This is my go-to tea brewing method for almost all cases. You will not deal with teas finer than the filter in the press, so there's no need to worry about tea passing through it. If you want to be able to put it into the microwave, make sure you get a french press that has a plastic holder. When I started out typing this list, I was initially going to dissuade you from getting a french press. But having thought about it, if you can find a microwave-safe french press, I'd go with that.

There aren't many good electric kettles that also allow for brewing. Many kettles look like they would facilitate it, but the filter at the spout is usually to help prevent scalding.

Now, for my ideal setup: variable temperature electric kettle (my one is this Adagio model, which has been great, but I'd spend the extra money to get a kettle that can be set to a specific, numeric, temperature and not a general temperature via a dial), French Press, and mug of choice (I have this BALLER stainless steel tea cups. They are BALLER.)
 

upandaway

Member
morningbus said:
If you've got them, keep asking questions! We'll get you loving tea in no time.
I got the general gist of things. Thanks man. I'll just go with the bagged stuff until I get some more free time to look into the special stuff.

Still kinda weird that you're saying 1 minute or 3 minutes for the bagged tea. My whole life it was a few seconds of the bag inside the cup (with pulling the bag in and out of the cup a few times). 1 minute seems crazy.

Edit: Okay, I tried water a bit cooler than a boil, and threw the bag in without moving it in and out, for about 45 seconds, with honey... GOD DAMN that tastes so much better.
What the fuck have I been drinking. Yeah I'm genuinely surprised, it's not some psychological difference.

Now I have to find out better brands or something. Maybe this whole leaf stuff.
 

yonder

Member
upandaway said:
Still kinda weird that you're saying 1 minute or 3 minutes for the bagged tea. My whole life it was a few seconds of the bag inside the cup (with pulling the bag in and out of the cup a few times). 1 minute seems crazy.

Edit: Okay, I tried water a bit cooler than a boil, and threw the bag in without moving it in and out, for about 45 seconds, with honey... GOD DAMN that tastes so much better.
What the fuck have I been drinking. Yeah I'm genuinely surprised, it's not some psychological difference.
How come you only let it steep for a few seconds before? Make sure to try steeping it a few minutes more as well and see how you like that.

I've been trying out various kinds of sleepytime teas recently, and this one is the best I've come across so far:

sleepytime-med.jpg


If UK-GAF is interested, it's available at Sainsbury's.
 

upandaway

Member
Yonn said:
How come you only let it steep for a few seconds before? Make sure to try steeping it a few minutes more as well and see how you like that.
I looked into it a little and apparently what I have in my house is black tea. I guess I'll try putting it a few more minutes, but I'm really liking it when it's sitting for a minute or so. At least it's better than what I was drinking before (pretty much everyone I've met my whole life don't know how to steep a tea bag correctly, for fuck's sake).

I can only really find normal bagged tea as far as common outlets go. None of that whole leaf ones. Guess I'll settle with that until I find something more niche later.
 
Yonn said:
How come you only let it steep for a few seconds before? Make sure to try steeping it a few minutes more as well and see how you like that.

I've been trying out various kinds of sleepytime teas recently, and this one is the best I've come across so far:

sleepytime-med.jpg


If UK-GAF is interested, it's available at Sainsbury's.


Love it. Right now I am trying their Vanilla Sleepytime tea.
 

thomaser

Member
I had a tea-dream last night. Some kind of wizard, a man with a thin, pointed beard, presented me with several glass beakers. Each of them had a tiny amount of liquid. He asked me to taste them. I tasted one with a shiny, golden liquid, just a drop on my tongue, and my whole mouth filled up with a wonderful flowery, pleasant taste that lingered on and on. I asked him what on earth it was, and he said that it was a VERY expensive tea. I can still almost taste it, it was that good.
 

OnkelC

Hail to the Chef
I was a big friend of Bewley's Clipper Gold, but it's been discontinued or so, at least none of my outlets sells it anymore:
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P1040325.jpg


Since then I switched to Bewley's Irish Breakfast and the wife appreciates Prince of Wales tea, but it's not the same.
 

CortanaV

Neo Member
I have massive amounts of tea at my fingertips at the Starbucks I work at.

Earl grey with cold soy milk poured in [lactose intolerant. :mad: ] and nothin' else. On occasion I'll get vanilla rooibos with a little bit of steamed soy on top. Vanilla rooibos is sweet already, so I don't need anything else.
 

itwasTuesday

He wasn't alone.
I keep at 100 count box of lipton pekoe tea bags at work. Usually have one of those every day around 1:00. If I am home I might add some honey to it.
Haven't much adventured to different flavors though.
 

DiddyBop

Member
I drink loose leaf organic Japanese sencha from david's tea. No honey or sugar. They also have a seasonal green tea with bits of coconut in it. jamesfrancosogood.gif
 

Alucrid

Banned
Does anyone want four packets of Roobios tea? (Orange, Mango, Vanilla and Regular) I bought the sample pack from Adagio and found that it's not suiting my tastes very well. So instead of it going to waste I figured I'd offer it up here. Two of them are open, two close, and uh, I guess shipping to the US only, don't want to pay a lot to send it overseas or something.
 

EvilMario

Will QA for food.
I can't really stand fruit/flowery flavored teas. I rarely drink black tea, and mostly stick to my organic green. Occasional use of honey once in a while for a treat as well.

JEO8M.jpg
 

HiResDes

Member
My current tea collection:

itMqR.jpg
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pAlCZ.jpg


[Tea Table Collection: Golden Monkey, Masala Chai, Angel's Dream, Keemun Natural Panda 1, Yorkshire Gold, Bourbon Street Vanilla Rooibos, Buckingham Palace Garden Party - All Amazing]

Oh and Tea Table's Masala Chai > Adagio's Masala Chai
 

I Am Now

Banned
I love the Tea Table. That place is fantastic! Also, to people who have never ordered from them before: With every order from the Tea Table regardless of the size of your order you can get 3 free samples of almost any of their teas. Some of their more expensive teas require like, 50 cents for a sample. Each sample brews maybe 3 cups. Customer service is great and very personal as well.
 

OneEightZero

aka ThreeOneFour
What are everyone's favorite oolongs? I tried Tazo's version "Joy" the other day and loved it, but they only sell it during the winter as a seasonal blend. =/
 

I Am Now

Banned
Teavana's Raspberry Riot Maté + their Citron Sonata green + extra maté = a fucking delicious way to get the day started.

They label their raspberry riot tea as a maté tea, but there's like, barely any actual mate in it.
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
cup of black tea with a small dash of milk in the morning, while at work I get most of my water intake through cups of green or lemon tea. I continue to drink it until I'm pissing clear every 30 minutes. then I have another cup and suffer on the bike ride home.
 
morningbus said:
Against better judgement I have gone and made a video about tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BofkLPwWOgc

I focus on hardware in this. If I do another, it'll probably cover much funner topics like alternative methods of brewing tea.
So.. A French press and an electric kettle. Sounds good.

I already have an electric kettle, I definitely need to get a French press though.

Is it better to buy a more expensive one or will any French press work?

Great video btw! :)
 

ameratsu

Member
loose leaf bancha or sencha brewed in my kyusu. perfect way to start the day.

cheap black tea (loose leaf or bagged) mixed with boiling water, sugar, and lemon, chilled and served with ice in the summer. This is my go-to iced tea recipe, and it beats the pants off of any bottled iced tea I've ever had.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
7echnicolor said:
So.. A French press and an electric kettle. Sounds good.

I already have an electric kettle, I definitely need to get a French press though.

Is it better to buy a more expensive one or will any French press work?

Great video btw! :)

Thanks!

Don't bother with an expensive French Press. They are usually always just two components: a glass beaker and some kind of base to hold the beaker (there are entirely stainless steel options, but you miss out on actually seeing the tea brew). There's no reason for those two components to cost a lot of money, so you won't be buying an inherently inferior product if it is cheaper.

Ikea makes a great french press that's under 15 bucks.

One thing I should have touched upon in the video, however, is that French Presses use coffee terminology when referring to "cups." A "coffee cup" is typically 6oz, whereas a tea cup is usually 8oz. So, a french press that advertises itself as "8" cups has a 48oz capacity, which is actually 6, 8oz cups. I suggest going with an "8 cup" model as it has the greatest versatile.
 

I Am Now

Banned
morningbus said:
Against better judgement I have gone and made a video about tea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BofkLPwWOgc

I focus on hardware in this. If I do another, it'll probably cover much funner topics like alternative methods of brewing tea.
I think a lot of people would benefit from a video about the tea itself. The difference between the different types, as well as the best places to get it. Just my two cents.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
I Am Now said:
I think a lot of people would benefit from a video about the tea itself. The difference between the different types, as well as the best places to get it. Just my two cents.

Yeah, I'd definitely want to do a video on that. I want to get a lot of things settled first, though, like the style and tone of the show. I also want to get better equipment.

But yeah, that's definitely in my sights.
 

upandaway

Member
Question: regarding storage..

Right now it's basically all the tea bags stuffed inside one closed plastic box. Half of 'em are wrapped in paper enclosures so those are fine but the other are bare. Does this do anything like should I keep the box open or is it fine?
Obviously I'm talking about different types, there's green in there, a lot of different flavored Earl Greys which were on discounts, normal black..
 

I Am Now

Banned
upandaway said:
Question: regarding storage..

Right now it's basically all the tea bags stuffed inside one closed plastic box. Half of 'em are wrapped in paper enclosures so those are fine but the other are bare. Does this do anything like should I keep the box open or is it fine?
Obviously I'm talking about different types, there's green in there, a lot of different flavored Earl Greys which were on discounts, normal black..

When storing tea you need to make sure to keep it away from 4 things:

Moisture.
Heat.
Light.
Air.

If the tea bags are individually wrapped then they're easier to store and are usually fine kept in a drawer. But if the tea bag is out in the open, you should keep it in a zip-lock or something and keep it in a drawer. Loose tea should be kept in an air-tight tin of some kind. This is what I use:
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$20 on Amazon with free shipping
 

swoon

Member
OneEightZero said:
What are everyone's favorite oolongs? I tried Tazo's version "Joy" the other day and loved it, but they only sell it during the winter as a seasonal blend. =/

http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/iron-goddess-of-mercy-oolong-tea.html

is my favorite.

http://www.rishi-tea.com/store/wuyi-oolong-organic-oolong-tea.html

is my everyday though.


edit. for making most teas french presses are great - but with oolong i like a gawain or my tetsubin so the leaves have more room to unfold.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
leroidys said:
Does anyone have recommendations on a legit yixing teapot? I think I'm ready.

Oops. Didn't realize this thread had been bumped a few weeks back.

I don't have much experience with Yixing pots, really. I have a yixing mug that I brew white tea in and I'm struggling to find the ways that it improves the flavor. It could just be the mug form factor or that I haven't given it enough time to set up, though.

For as much crap as I give Teavana (and I'll be giving them even more crap now that one has opened in my local mall), I really like the designs of their yixing pots. Don't listen to them when they try to upsell you, though. I had a salesperson claim that I wouldn't even need to use tea after using my yixing pot for a while. Which is either a boldfaced lie or insanity.

If you're looking for more of a traditional aesthetic, I like Rishi's teapots:

d_918.jpg


Hope I'm not too late to help!
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Hatredcopter said:
I used to love Thai iced tea, but I don't drink caffeinated tea anymore. Is there a comparable herbal tea I could use instead?

I'd imagine rooibos would be pretty tasty in a Thai iced tea. I'd double the strength, though.
 

morningbus

Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
upandaway said:
So hey, is there any good preferred way/trick to make iced tea (preferably using the same ingredients/tools as hot tea)?

The easiest way to make a single serving:

1) Brew your tea exactly how you would normally (same temperature, brew time, everything) except use half the amount of water.
2) Fill a large glass with ice and pour hot tea over ice. Stir and enjoy.

You can scale this up a bit, too. For example: use 1 cup of water but twice the amount of tea and split between two large glasses filled with ice.
 
So I tried different Asian teas recently:

Viet. Reishi: 8/10 .. rich in flavor
Viet. Bitter Gourd: 4/10 .. just plain weird
Korean wheat: 7/10 .. unusual but fairly good taste

/not much of a tea connoisseur
 
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