Tea, anyone?

[Ghost]

I can't believe I'm behind on this tread but that's because I'm a bad brit, unpariotic even. I don't like tea urgh!!!!! Give me coffee, coffee coffee coffee. I do enjoy the odd fruit tea but the only time I ahve proper PG Tips tea is to dunk my rich tea biscuits. That being said I ahve just recently discovered Whitards of chelsea and I'm starting get interested in tea. I brought a bag of loose moroccan mint green tea, I haven't tried but I will tomorrow in hournor of this thread - heres a link to the tea http://www.whittard.co.uk/store/catalog ... 273086.raa

You Americans don't know how blessed you are with the vast amount of things you have available to you

We do have aisles and aisles of tea, but a proper cuppa is tough to come by. I never quite understood why the Brits were so into tea, and then one of my mother's friends sent us a box of PG Tips. It was a serious revelation in my life....world of difference between that, and the anemic stuff we get over here.
There's nothing like feeling restored, and ready to face the world after a good cup of proper British tea. We have to order it online, or pay a small fortune for a box of it in a specialty shop. The tea aisle of a Tesco is heaven to me!

All you really need is a box of PG Tips (there may be better British teas, but this is the one we can get here). I do like just a good cup of simple black tea most of the time, but I also like the Stash Wild Raspberry. Rooibos is yummy too. For loose tea I brew it in a French press- which may be blasphemy in tea circles, but it works. Ginger tea makes it possible for me to leave my house in the winter...my toes are always cold and ginger tea is the only thing that works. For chai I boil 2 cups of water, 2 cups of milk, and 1/4 cup of sugar- then add 2 bags of PG Tips, and a few cardamom pods- it's so luscious we have it as dessert.

Oh Karen I know what I'm getting you for xmas!!!!. Yes tesco's is great and if you can pick up a packet of Rich Tea biscuit to dunk in your PG tips tea, yum

You know this is quite strange, nearly everything I like is american - shows, books by american authors, make up lol hell I even want to visit alaska (I don't do hot and sunny) and I would love to try that serendipity chocolate drink thing. Guess I never thought it could go the other way.

[Ghost]

Actually...Europeans don't know how blessed you are with the historic buildings and general lack of unsightly corporatized shopping centers and strip malls in your cities and towns...

But you're right... we do have more choices here in terms of what to consume. The "melting pot" is pretty great like that.

I love our historic buildings, they have such history and charactor. In fact I live in a town which has a cathedral which was built in 1100, me, my mum and my sisters make sure that we walk around every xmas (while doing xmas shopping) to appreicate it's beauty (and light a candle for my Gran). In fact a funny story a friend of mine was walking around the cathedral and admiring a stain-glass window when she over heard two american tourist saying "I wonder if any of the people who built this is still alive", I had to smile when she told me. Also parts of the first two harry potter films were at Gloucester cathedral.

Also a work colleague went to america a couple of years ago (forgot where) to visit her daughter who married an american. She was in a cab and she said the cabbie was doing the whole 'sight-seeing' thing and point out old buildings. Apparently at one point he pointed at a build and said "this is the oldest building around, it's 200 years old". My friend started to laugh and said "my local pubs older then that", thankfully the driver took it in jest and laughed too.

[Ghost]

I suppose it's a bit like chocolate. American chocolate like Hershy (sp?), not that I've ever had any, reputedly has about 10% cocoa in it. British stuff has 25%-40%. Nip over to Belgium and they have endorphin-fests with 70% + pure cocoa.

Aye, when ye need the good stuff, nothing else will do the job.

Would you believe that I won't eat American chocolate unless it's the gourmet kind? It's mostly made of wax, and I find it atrocious, plus I refuse to eat corn syrup or any of that other corn-based additive stuff.

So... if anybody with access to "real" chocolate... you know, the kind made with cocoa, milk, and sugar, and *that's it*... wants to work out some kind of trade for American stuff... let me know.

OMG 10% cocoa in chocolate, 10 bloody percent!!!!!!! pfffff I don't get out of bed for 10% You poor things, you don't know what you're missing. I take my chocolate very seriously (like any good, mad women)

[JenW]

A quick review on some teas at Trader Joe's......

The White Pomegranate tea is pretty good. It comes in bags that are individually prewrapped, but the wrappers are clear. (Not the greatest if you are trying to protect the tea from light.) I tend to make large mugs of tea, so I use two teabags. I think it is 20 bags for $2.99.

The Candy Cane Decaffeinated Green Tea is exactly like Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane. It is a little cheaper, though, and they had this out seasonally last year. IMO the packaging at TJ's is much cuter then CC's. They added a new seasonal tea this year. It seems to be TJ's label of Celestial Seasonings Nutcracker Sweet. It is simply called Vanilla Cinnamon Black tea. It has the cutest package with a cartoon lemur wrapped in holiday lights and there is an iguana on the box flap inside. Both are good in my book. I tend to like the peppermint tea in the summer, though. I was pleasantly surprised at the Vanilla Cinnamon, and may need to pick up another box before the season is over. (I thought I had become a loose tea snob, but apparently not!) Again, I make large mugs, so I use two bags. I also liked the Vanilla Cinnamon with a little skim milk and sweetener....it was like dessert. Both teas are 20 bags (not individually prewrapped) for $1.99. I think the Celestial teas run pretty close to $2.99 around here.

I am really thinking the reason tea did not seem that good to me in the past was that I did not know the proper way to brew it. Or the proper ratios for water to tea/teabags. It has made a huge difference learning those basic things!

[zus]

A month or so ago I had a pretty intense stomach flu and basically lived off earl grey tea (my absolute favourite) for a couple of weeks and kind of ruined it then every time I drank my regular old earl grey it reminded me of being sick, so I've been on a hunt for a the ultimate earl grey lately! I used to just buy tea bags at the grocery store but it just doesn't taste right anymore. Luckily just this weekend I got a couple of tiny tins of Kusmi tea in Paris and it was deeeeelicious! Too bad it's quite expensive and I can't really go to Paris every time I run out, but still a nice surprise. I have another little tin left so I should really ration it... it'll be enough for me to go on until I can find a suitable replacement here at home. Mmm, yum.

[JenW]

I am not sure I have ever tried Earl Grey, so I ordered a sample.

Reporting back on one of the other places I ordered.... Design a Tea is quite fun, but not something I would order all the time. It works out to be a little on the pricey side and I do have questions about how they flavor (which I will ask before I oder again). In some of my samples there was some powdery looking stuff, and I wondered if that was the flavoring?

And I put a small order in at Harney's.

[JenW]

I will go on record to say, Harney's is very impressive. It will definitely be near the top of my list!

[cait]

I'm intrigued by Harney's now! I've been drinking Jasmine variants the past few weeks, and I am wanting to try a good rose tea. Harney's looks to have a good selection of jasmine AND a rose. Well, a good selection period. I'll have to place an order soon to try them out

[JenW]

I definitely found another winner. This one definitely fits the kind of place I like to shop..... You can buy tea in any amount by the ounce which is a bonus, and they ship it out very quickly. And the prices are good. Plus you can get three free samples with each order. They are a small operation. Shipping is not as good as some other places, but I usually like to make small orders, anyway. It is on a scale by price with free shipping after $75 mark.

www.theteatable.com

Next up is Culinary Teas, and then I am about done trying new places unless something really piques my interest. I know that I like sampling, and teas in smaller amounts (2 oz is perfect), and I have a few staples. On-line places I recommend without hesitation are Adagio, Harney & Sons, and The Tea Table. I will review Culinary Teas at a later time.

I have been getting recommendations from reading at the Cuppa Tea? group on Ravelry.com.

[LT16]

I've actually tried Trader Joe's Candy Cane Decaffeinated Green Tea awhile ago. I didn't really like it because I think they put some sort of spice in it? Maybe cinnamon? I don't recall now since I don't have the box anymore. I'd rather have just straight candy cane and green tea without all the other "spices" in it. I love their green tea and mint though, but that one is prepared in a big jug and not tea bags.

I just recently picked up a Fruit Tea Sampler at my grocery store and I'm pretty happy with it! Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea fruit sampler. Raspberry Zinger, Country Peach Passion, Wild Berry Zinger, True Blueberry, and Black Cherry Berry. Each packet contains 5 bags of each flavor. 25 bags! Pretty good.

Sorry if someone mentioned it already. This thread is long and only read the last page of this thread.