Tea drinkers unite

Minarchist wrote:
tuffalobuffalo wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Maybe I should get an electric. Do tea enthusiasts frown upon this new technology?

Pretty sure that's how most people do tea outside of the US. If you really want to be an enthusiast, you would probably want to grab one that heats to an exact temperature.

Yeah, electric kettles are far superior. I have one of the "to temp" ones on my Christmas wishlist, as I am starting to keep a lot of oolong and white teas that steep at 195º or even 180º instead of the typical 212º.

I have one that has a color coded system but not actual numerical read outs. I love it and use it all the time. I still have not tried steeped at one temp vs another to see the difference. Maybe someone could suggest a good tea that makes the difference obvious.

I believe the green teas are traditionally the ones that people get obsessive about temperature and steeping time. As Minarchist mentioned, the oolong and white teas are also supposed to be steeped at a lower temperature. I really like jasmine green teas. I've never done a taste test, though. I usually just let my water sit for awhile before pouring whenever I do green teas. If I had one of those super duper zojirushi kettles, I would totally try a taste test.

I got an unexpected bonus last year and used a portion of it on a $90 Cuisinart electric kettle with six preset temperatures. It really seemed patently ludicrous to me to be spending that much on something to boil water with, but I love this thing. It makes everything so dang easy, just push a button and a couple minutes later it beeps.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Maybe I should get an electric. Do tea enthusiasts frown upon this new technology?

Pretty sure that's how most people do tea outside of the US. If you really want to be an enthusiast, you would probably want to grab one that heats to an exact temperature.

I had a conversation in a hostel while I was traveling with some English backpackers about how I had never seen an electric kettle before. They asked me "How do you boil water, then?" and were baffled that I owned a stove-top kettle.

It's like telling someone you churn your own butter.

I believe that electric kettles are also more energy efficient, if that matters to you. I'm also coveting a "to temp" kettle because I can't handle water as hot as some of my fellow tea-drinkers, so I usually dilute it with a bit of regular water or wait it out.

I ended up getting this thermos (recommended by The Wirecutter): http://www.amazon.com/Zojirushi-SM-KHE48AG-Stainless-Steel-16-Ounce/dp/B005PO9T44/

It's pretty great, and so far it's leak-proof. I've had tea in there for hours and it's still seems as hot as when I poured it. I actually burned my tongue this morning.

I hear water on the stove in a kettle. I hear that Britons find us strange for not using an electric kettle.

That's because they have 220V kettles, which boil water fast.

tuffalobuffalo wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

Maybe I should get an electric. Do tea enthusiasts frown upon this new technology?

Pretty sure that's how most people do tea outside of the US. If you really want to be an enthusiast, you would probably want to grab one that heats to an exact temperature.

If I ever get more space in my kitchen, I will have ALL THE ZOJIRUSHI APPLIANCES!

Filthy skimmer skimming here...

Anyone have any luck transitioning from coffee to morning tea? I've been toying with this idea lately. I used to really enjoy it, but once I discovered cocai - I mean coffee, I never looked back.

Get a good loose leaf, go from there? Probaly want a more robust black, if you're used to coffee. Something like this.

I'm just going to leave this right here...
IMAGE(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PkWBNbgJcag/UosBaNG0ksI/AAAAAAAAEE4/Q8cjM4_MqGE/w400-h543-no/IMAG0749.jpg)

I will vouch for this particular device. It is a change to the way many things happen in our house. Not only is there always water available to make tea, it is also there for easy mac, ramen, etc...

Needless to say, having a 3 year old and a 6 month old, this thing saves quite a bit of time.

This is the first breakfast tea I can drink without milk and sweetener. It's way too freaking expensive though. I kind of regret getting it, because I love it, but I can't afford to drink it as much as I would like.

EverythingsTentative wrote:

This is the first breakfast tea I can drink without milk and sweetener. It's way too freaking expensive though. I kind of regret getting it, because I love it, but I can't afford to drink it as much as I would like.

Maybe try this? If you buy it a pound at a time, it's like a 70% discount over the teavana version, plus you don't have to give your money to teavana! Win-win.

Minarchist wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

This is the first breakfast tea I can drink without milk and sweetener. It's way too freaking expensive though. I kind of regret getting it, because I love it, but I can't afford to drink it as much as I would like.

Maybe try this? If you buy it a pound at a time, it's like a 70% discount over the teavana version, plus you don't have to give your money to teavana! Win-win.

Agree, and I like the Yunnan Noir from Adagio that you also recommended very much.

My electric kettle has temperature settings, which are really handy. The model is by Black and Decker and I'm not sure it's made any more. New it was about $60. Zojirushi makes really nice stuff, so even though it would be more expensive, it would be a very safe bet.

Minarchist wrote:
EverythingsTentative wrote:

This is the first breakfast tea I can drink without milk and sweetener. It's way too freaking expensive though. I kind of regret getting it, because I love it, but I can't afford to drink it as much as I would like.

Maybe try this? If you buy it a pound at a time, it's like a 70% discount over the teavana version, plus you don't have to give your money to teavana! Win-win.

Wow! That's much cheaper. Thank you!

Now I'm miffed, at myself. I always check online prices before I buy anything. Why did I assume tea would be any different?

concentric wrote:

Agree, and I like the Yunnan Noir from Adagio that you also recommended very much.

It has become my favorite daily workhorse tea, and super cheap to boot.

I've fallen in love with this, too. It's now one of my mostest favoritests. Unfortunately, it's definitely on the pricier side, at $68/lb. It's a "sometimes tea."

I have an order in with Republic of Tea, but I can't give any reviews on their product yet. Gotta find time to drink all this tea…

We used to exclusively sell RoT at my old coffee house. I like their teas a lot. The Ginger Peach makes awesome iced tea.

This may interest some of you here.

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/finum-t...

Nicholaas wrote:

Filthy skimmer skimming here...

Anyone have any luck transitioning from coffee to morning tea? I've been toying with this idea lately. I used to really enjoy it, but once I discovered cocai - I mean coffee, I never looked back.

Is it just the caffeine level? Maybe try a mate tea?

Mate also has the advantage of tasting kinda earthy. I'd actually try Celestial Seasonings' Morning Thunder.

Everyone I know who has gotten into Mate has burned out on it in months. It jacks your caffeine tolerance up very high, very quickly, and you end up with a cup and straw at your side at all times. Then they have to detox...

Just a thought.

Robear wrote:

Everyone I know who has gotten into Mate has burned out on it in months. It jacks your caffeine tolerance up very high, very quickly, and you end up with a cup and straw at your side at all times. Then they have to detox...

Just a thought.

True, but if your caffeine tolerance is already high, due to being a coffee drinker...

sometimesdee wrote:
Robear wrote:

Everyone I know who has gotten into Mate has burned out on it in months. It jacks your caffeine tolerance up very high, very quickly, and you end up with a cup and straw at your side at all times. Then they have to detox...

Just a thought.

True, but if your caffeine tolerance is already high, due to being a coffee drinker...

Or downer of energy drinks... (my case)

I easily hit 200 mg of caffeine some days and really am not useful without 100 minimum.

IMAGE(http://img690.imageshack.us/img690/4681/9ek0.jpg)

Minarchist wrote:
concentric wrote:

Agree, and I like the Yunnan Noir from Adagio that you also recommended very much.

It has become my favorite daily workhorse tea, and super cheap to boot.

I've fallen in love with this, too. It's now one of my mostest favoritests. Unfortunately, it's definitely on the pricier side, at $68/lb. It's a "sometimes tea."

I have an order in with Republic of Tea, but I can't give any reviews on their product yet. Gotta find time to drink all this tea…

I ordered some Yunnan Noir when Adagio had their free shipping weekend. Yum. It had been a while.

Have any of you tried Turkish Tea (or Cai)? When I've been over there I have it quite often and it's really nice.

Since moving here to the US I am missing my PG Tips though! Got my family sending some over!

Reiben wrote:

Have any of you tried Turkish Tea (or Cai)? When I've been over there I have it quite often and it's really nice.

Since moving here to the US I am missing my PG Tips though! Got my family sending some over!

You might be able to find Tips in the larger supermarkets; it's in quite a few of them around here.

If all else fails - http://www.amazon.com/Tips-Black-Tea...

Tanglebones wrote:
Reiben wrote:

Have any of you tried Turkish Tea (or Cai)? When I've been over there I have it quite often and it's really nice.

Since moving here to the US I am missing my PG Tips though! Got my family sending some over!

You might be able to find Tips in the larger supermarkets; it's in quite a few of them around here.

If all else fails - http://www.amazon.com/Tips-Black-Tea...

Nice, thanks!

I received a sample of Darjeeling Arya Ruby Tea in my last Tea Trekker order. So tasty, and (naturally) so expensive. Seriously, this was incredibly delicious tea.

Wife is sick, so I have been making a lot of mint tea with honey. Anyone have suggestions for a good strong peppermint tea? The bigelow is just weak compared to this other stuff we picked up at a random booth at a Revolutionary War re-enactment. (I know random... but it smelled so good.)

Also taking suggestions for anything related to soothing the throat and sinuses.

Thanks.

The Republic of Tea's Moroccan Mint is particularly potent.

manta173 wrote:

Wife is sick, so I have been making a lot of mint tea with honey. Anyone have suggestions for a good strong peppermint tea? The bigelow is just weak compared to this other stuff we picked up at a random booth at a Revolutionary War re-enactment. (I know random... but it smelled so good.)

Also taking suggestions for anything related to soothing the throat and sinuses.

Thanks.

Get some real live mint, if your supermarket sells it. Organic Throat Coat is good for the throat, if she can stand the taste and sliminess of it.