drakesfortune
Directions: Pull String For Uninformed Rant
LOL, no lie, Lipton French Vanilla. It's great! I know, I'm such a fucking turd. I do love Lipton French Vanilla though, it's very soothing.
So GAF, let's talk about tea.
- Thread starter SundaySounds
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morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
SundaySounds said:and it'll be nice and lemony??
Not on it's own, but that is easy enough to add! Either use some fresh lemon juice or buy Teavana's Lemon Youkou and mix as needed.
If preparing yerba mate as an iced tea, mix with 20% to 40% lemonade and brace for orgasm.
I shop at the Tea Centre. It's a brilliant chain of stores with hundreds of different teas.
I keep trying new flavours every few weeks. I currently have Apple Pie tea (apple/cinnamon/caramel chunks etc) and Stockholm blend, which is a very fruity and refreshing tea. I've previously had Chocolate tea, Early Gray Blue Flower, and Australian Daintree Tea.
AqueousTransmission
Member
morningbus said:
lol, well, I found a coupon online for 10 dollars off of a 30 order, so I went and bought 4 oz of the lemon mate, and the rose garden tea is back down to $.60 per 2oz, so I picked up 4 oz of that, and then got some more of the citron sonata green tea, and some more morning mate.
The coupon is "10OFF", and it's good on any order over $30. There's free shipping on any order over $50, and if you buy at least 1 pound of tea, you get 10% off.
www.teavana.com
whoops. This is SundaySounds, btw. Forgot I was at my girlfriend's house.
I might have to have a look at them and see what they're like.mandiller said:
Loose leaf tea is the way to go. ever since I started having it that way about 2 years ago, I can't go back.
I do most of my shopping from Teas Online. Their "White Dragon" oolong is so moorish, it smells incredible and tastes like a more subtle version of its aroma. It looks to be the same as The Tea Centre's "Formosa Dung Ti", give it a try or at least ask for a sample. It's perfect right after a meal.
Dwight Schrute
Member
Favourite tea, but so expensive !
Dwight Schrute
Member
SundaySounds said:My Tea collection.
Does anyone know anything about this tea?
I bought it at a Marchall's once and it's delicious. But it's mostly in French and I can't read any of it. Just curious if anyone's ever heard of it.
Yeah, I used to drink this tea, but I have no box left. If you send a picture, i'll translate the text. (You should try the tea appearing on my above post.)
With all the awesome ideas about tea, would anyone care to provide a good way to prepare tea? How long you should let it steep for, ratio of milk to tea, honey, etc. I just know how to make my familiy's own ancient chai recipe with black tea. The other types mentioned in this thread sound like an awesome change from my usual.
SundaySounds
Banned
Raife said:
Ancient chai recipe? Care to share?
BladeWorker
Member
1. Don't boil water that's already been boiled before (in your own kettle), because that'll sap the oxygen content or something.Raife said:
2. Pour hot water into your steeping pot before you steep the tea, to warm it.
3. Replace the hot water with your boiling water and tea bag (you only need one bag unless you're serving more than about 8-10 people)
4. Let it steep to taste. Some people like weak tea (aka Virgin's Piss). Some people like really strong tea (aka Tar). Have a cup handy where you can test how far along your tea is every couple of minutes.
5. Different kinds of tea are intended for different kinds of settings. Chai teas (and other spiced teas) can taste good with milk, though some folks in England smacked me when I asked for milk with my Earl Grey. Lemon, for that one, is apparently the way to go.
Those are tea basics...if you want to go into conoisseur mode, there's wafting and breathing exercises involved. I just like my tea, man.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Raife said:
It is kind of hard to give clear guidelines, as tea is pretty diverse. Here are some of my general recommendations:
Black Tea: use fresh from tap-pulled water (unless the water quality in your area is really, really terrible), bring to a full boil, and pour over your desired amount of tea (1 teaspoon of tea per cup, usually. Though some will add an extra teaspoon "for the teapot," if brewing in a large vessel.) Let steep between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on desired strength. Anything else is to taste. Pu-erh is the same, but steep times can range to up to 7 minutes, or so.
Green Tea: generally same as above, but use significantly cooler water, approximately 170 degrees fahrenheit. Steep time can range greatly, from 1 minute to 5. If you don't have access to a variable-temperature electric kettle, either wait a few minutes after the water reaches the boil, or pour the boiling water over a little ice to help prevent scalding the leaves. White tea is about the same and, just generally speaking, so is Oolong (though it should be just a tad hotter than 170).
Herbal tea: usually gets boiling water as well. Steep time is also significantly longer, ranging between 6 to 8 minutes.
Notable exceptions: Green Yerba Mate should get water at the temperature of Oolong and should get a dash of cold water on top to help prevent scalding. Roasted Yerba Mate, I've found, can deal with boiling water and doesn't really need the cool water. You should steep either for about 8 minutes. Red rooibos can be be brewed like black tea, but must steep for 7 minutes or so. Green rooibos should be brewed like green tea and steep for 7 minutes.
I'll be back later with some drink/food recipes I personally enjoy.
SapientWolf
Trucker Sexologist
I'm trying to wean myself off of sugar by drinking tea but I haven't found anything that's really "bursting with flavor" so to speak. So what are some flavorful teas that aren't bitter? What else can I put in my tea besides sugar? Bud suggested cardamom so I'll try that.
SapientWolf said:
Pretty much all tea is somewhat bitter, that's just how things go, either you learn to like it or you just don't like tea.
I would suggest something with citrus flavorings like earl grey. Citrus oils do a great job masking bitterness with aromatics.
Also, I know you are trying to cut out the sugar, but don't get discouraged if you have to put a couple sugars in, because no matter what there is no way you can even get close to the amount of sugar in soft drinks. If you start with a couple sugars and gradually decrease, it won't be long till you get used to the bitterness.
SundaySounds said:
I'll call my mom and get the specifics, but we add the tea, green and black cardamom, a stick of cinnamon, a couple other spices to the water, bring it to a boil, add in about an equal part of milk, bring to a boil again and then let cool for a couple minutes before straining the spices out. Add sugar to taste., We usually use these fat sugar crystals my mom gets from the Indian store. These look similar, but I'm not sure if they are any good:
http://www.adagio.com/pantry/white_sugar_crystals.html?SID=b65ef1b1838d3c863a35be3a65fb613d
At home we use loose leaf tea, but at my parent's restaurant we just use Indian bagged tea, probably cause of cost. It works fairly well with regular Lipton black tea too.
The other teas seem really cool, I ordered some white and oolong tea from adagio. After letting the tea leaves steep for a the amount of time people recommended I should just remove them from the pot entirely correct?
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Here is one tea recipe that I really love: Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies.
They're really easy to make and taste surprisingly great.
They're really easy to make and taste surprisingly great.
If I don't get my black tea with milk and sugar (or sweetener thse days) in it every morning my day doesn't start.
Been probably drinking it since I was like 2
Also love me some green, white or mint tea in the evening
Been probably drinking it since I was like 2
Isn't chai = tea? Or do you mean the Indian/Pakistani stuff? I hate that unless they're served with some Cake Rusk. Then it's awwwright.bud said:
Also love me some green, white or mint tea in the evening
SundaySounds
Banned
morningbus said:
:O
God I can't wait to make that.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
This is probably my favorite tea recipe of all: Yerba Mate Brownies.
While incredibly easy to make, it can be hard to secure a source of powdered yerba mate. The brand I use is Matefactor, but as far as I can tell, they've discontinued the product. However, I have seen Wisdom of the Acients yerba mate powder at vitamin stores and on Amazon. I can't vouch for its taste, but I'd imagine it is pretty close.
Anyway, onto the recipe, which is borrowed from http://www.yerbamateteagourd.com/recipes.php
These are absolutely delicious and even people that do not like yerba mate can enjoy them.
I'm currently looking into a way of producing mate brownies using strongly brewed yerba mate, but I haven't had much success yet. I'll probably get more desperate once my supply of powdered mate runs out.
While incredibly easy to make, it can be hard to secure a source of powdered yerba mate. The brand I use is Matefactor, but as far as I can tell, they've discontinued the product. However, I have seen Wisdom of the Acients yerba mate powder at vitamin stores and on Amazon. I can't vouch for its taste, but I'd imagine it is pretty close.
Anyway, onto the recipe, which is borrowed from http://www.yerbamateteagourd.com/recipes.php
These are absolutely delicious and even people that do not like yerba mate can enjoy them.
I'm currently looking into a way of producing mate brownies using strongly brewed yerba mate, but I haven't had much success yet. I'll probably get more desperate once my supply of powdered mate runs out.
SundaySounds
Banned
This is relevant to my interests.Fatalah said:
morningbus said:Here is one tea recipe that I really love: Earl Grey Shortbread Cookies.
They're really easy to make and taste surprisingly great.
Those are BOSS!
sadaiyappan
Member
I drink cheap Lipton yellow label loose tea that I boil then filter myself. I add sugar and honey to it. Tastes great.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Fatalah said:
It depends on what you're looking for. If you want a high quality, mostly traditional Earl Grey, Adagio's Earl Grey Bravo is pretty excellent.
They also offer Earl Grey Moonlight, which adds vanilla and creme flavors; An Earl Grey made with Green Tea; and a rooibos-based Earl grey, too. I haven't tried these blends yet, but I'm usually pretty happy with the quality of Adagio's teas.
BowieZ said:
They're super easy to make, man! JOIN US.
balladofwindfishes
Member
A chinese resturant my family used to go to years ago had some of the finest Oolong tea I had ever had. I don't normally like tea, but this stuff was magical. We were regulars, they knew our orders as soon as we walked in, and treated us very well.
On our last visit, they gave us this big tupperware of ground tea leaves, since we always told them how much we loved their tea. They closed down the next week. They must have known, and wanted to send us off with something. I swear we were their only customers since they were hidden basically behind a strip mall.
We held onto the tea, since we had no way of cooking it. Later that year, my mom got a tea thing that lets you make fresh tea. So we drank that tupperware's tea, and again, it was awesome.
Then we ran out.
And we've never been able to find a flavor of Oolong that matched that stuff.
It was probably magical Chinese tea or something.
On our last visit, they gave us this big tupperware of ground tea leaves, since we always told them how much we loved their tea. They closed down the next week. They must have known, and wanted to send us off with something. I swear we were their only customers since they were hidden basically behind a strip mall.
We held onto the tea, since we had no way of cooking it. Later that year, my mom got a tea thing that lets you make fresh tea. So we drank that tupperware's tea, and again, it was awesome.
Then we ran out.
And we've never been able to find a flavor of Oolong that matched that stuff.
It was probably magical Chinese tea or something.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Can you describe some of the flavors of the tea? Was it smoky, grassy, or nutty?
balladofwindfishes
Member
Probably, if I had to pick one, grassy, with a slight sweetness. It wasn't very bitter, as some of the other teas I've had. Very mild flavor.
The leaves were also pitch black, and the resturant used to advertise it as Oolong. However, I've since picked up a box of fresh Oolong, and it tasted nothing like it.
The leaves were also pitch black, and the resturant used to advertise it as Oolong. However, I've since picked up a box of fresh Oolong, and it tasted nothing like it.
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Did it taste woody or earthy? The only grassy oolong I've come across is this one: http://www.taooftea.com/detail103-Green_Dragon.html
Joe Prodigy
Member
So good.morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
If you find yourself getting more into tea and need to keep track of what you're drinking, might I recommend Steepster.com?
They make it fairly easy to log the teas you own and are currently drinking. They have fields asking you the temperature and length of the brew, as well as a general approval rating. You can also friend and follow people on there and get updated on their recent activity. You can find me on there under the same username as here.
One other nice thing they do is run a thing called "Steepster Select," which highlights a new tea deal every day. Today's deal is a professional tea tasting set from Art of Tea for $7.00 (the coupon code is at the website). The coupon is also good for $5 off anything at the website.
Want to see how seriously some people take their tea tasting? Check out this motherfucker (or: here for our international friends).
They make it fairly easy to log the teas you own and are currently drinking. They have fields asking you the temperature and length of the brew, as well as a general approval rating. You can also friend and follow people on there and get updated on their recent activity. You can find me on there under the same username as here.
One other nice thing they do is run a thing called "Steepster Select," which highlights a new tea deal every day. Today's deal is a professional tea tasting set from Art of Tea for $7.00 (the coupon code is at the website). The coupon is also good for $5 off anything at the website.
Want to see how seriously some people take their tea tasting? Check out this motherfucker (or: here for our international friends).
morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
Alright, against my better judgment over appeasing you Teavana-loving folks, here is a coupon code for Teavana's website:
I may pick up some MateVana, actually.
I may pick up some MateVana, actually.
SundaySounds
Banned
How can I pass THAT up?morningbus
Serious Sam is a wicked gahbidge series for chowdaheads.
It looks like you can mix and match up to a pound, so don't feel obligated to get all one kind.
SundaySounds
Banned
morningbus said:
*bites lip*
I think I might pick up some of the Samurai Chai Mate, as well as some matevana. We'll see what else I get based on the tea I have at home that I haven't tried.
AqueousTransmission
Member
I'm a very casual tea drinker, not as
e
lite as you guys, but these are some of my (cheap) favorites:
t
a
SundaySounds
Banned
Nabs said:
Have you had tea before? What do you like?
Or do you know what kind of tea you want? Fruity, vanilla, citrus, chocolate, mint, the list goes on. Black, White, Mate, etc.
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