Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hey folks, I may not be British (I'm an American citizen, but I'm Polish by birth), but I'm a very big tea drinker. I generally tend to gravitate toward two varieties of tea: 1) Earl Grey - A black team spiced with bergamot, an oil derived from orange peels that gives the tea a good bit of bite. 2) Oolong - A rather gentle tea with a very pleasant. but very subtle flavor. If you go to a Chinese restaurant, this is the tea you usually get served there. I generally stick with those tea varieties, what I'm wondering is what tea varieties others drink, and why? I want to expand my tea drinking repertoire, but I don't want to do so blindly. 4 RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Pu-erh is my favorite. It's a hand selected Chinese tea that's left to age for years and has a rich, fermented taste profile. If you go to a fine tea shop in Chinatown, be sure to to ask the shopkeeper to open up a cannister for you to examine. You can immediately tell the difference. I take this tea as is -no milk, sugar, or lemon squeezes. But for lower quality, or everyday tea, then I'll mix it up. "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoch Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I may be an American troglodyte betraying my unrefined tastes, but Ceylon teas are the best. Earl Grey is particularly loathsome. As far as I can tell from the taste and smell, those awful Greys take a perfectly fine bit of black tea and mix it up with a crock of stale potpourri. Ghastly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Earl Grey is particularly loathsome. As far as I can tell from the taste and smell, those awful Greys take a perfectly fine bit of black tea and mix it up with a crock of stale potpourri. Ghastly. Heathen! Burn him! Burn the unbeliever! 3 RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadySands Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I'm a pretty novice tea drinker but here are my top 3 1. Chai (with a black tea base) 2. Oolong 3. Rooibos I'm with Enoch on Earl Grey and now I'm dying to try pu-erh Free games updated 3/4/21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Maybe ya'll been tryin' some bunk-ass counterfeit Earl Grey tea. Ya'll need to try some Bigelow Earl Greay team. Maybe it's just proximity, since Bigelow teas are made right here in the overpriced state of Connecticut, though all the packets are individually sealed, which leads me to believe that Bigelow Earl Grey teas are just higher quality. Regardless, I've tried other brands, and none of them came even close. Bigelow Earl Grey teas have a nice sharp bite that hits you hard then fades away clean, leaving you with the nice smooth, yet pronounced, black tea taste. Edited May 27, 2014 by Keyrock RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agiel Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Owing to my East-Asian ancestry, I've been of the belief that the use of additives of any type is for barbarians. Hot, straight, and "strong enough" is the way to go. Unless one were to count Xing Iced Tea, which has enough cane sugar in it to cause a diabetic coma. But in my mind it counts as a soft drink and not actual "tea". 2 Quote “Political philosophers have often pointed out that in wartime, the citizen, the male citizen at least, loses one of his most basic rights, his right to life; and this has been true ever since the French Revolution and the invention of conscription, now an almost universally accepted principle. But these same philosophers have rarely noted that the citizen in question simultaneously loses another right, one just as basic and perhaps even more vital for his conception of himself as a civilized human being: the right not to kill.” -Jonathan Littell <<Les Bienveillantes>> Quote "The chancellor, the late chancellor, was only partly correct. He was obsolete. But so is the State, the entity he worshipped. Any state, entity, or ideology becomes obsolete when it stockpiles the wrong weapons: when it captures territories, but not minds; when it enslaves millions, but convinces nobody. When it is naked, yet puts on armor and calls it faith, while in the Eyes of God it has no faith at all. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize the worth, the dignity, the rights of Man...that state is obsolete." -Rod Serling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I may be an American troglodyte betraying my unrefined tastes, but Ceylon teas are the best. Earl Grey is particularly loathsome. As far as I can tell from the taste and smell, those awful Greys take a perfectly fine bit of black tea and mix it up with a crock of stale potpourri. Ghastly. Ceylon tea? Bwahahahahhahah! You know, there is a reason why people add (milk/mint/sugar/etc.) with their "chai" teas right?? Earl Grey? Completely agree. I had my doubts first time I tried it, but then again Captain Picard surely knows what he's talking about...bah! "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManifestedISO Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Where do you think Picard gets the heavy clangers to deal with murderous alien devilry ... yes, Earl Grey, hot. 2 All Stop. On Screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 In hindsight, I realize I shouldn't trust a man who likes his tea replicated and blended with all sorts of rubbish. "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) I'm beginning to think that I simply get highly superior Earl Grey than all you poor, unfortunate, downtrodden serfs (I pitty all you underpriveleged, uneducated barbarians). Do yourselves a favor and splurge for Bigelow teas. I, as a member of the glorious, highly priveleged, Connecticut class not only get Bigelow teas fresh (they're in seales individual bags so they'll be fresh anywhere), but get them cheaper than other, far inferior peasant brands. On a serious note, I will eventually move the **** out of Connecticut because I'm tired of going through ****ty winters. Hopefully wherever I move (likely Virginia or Tennessee) I can get Bigelow teas. If not, I'll have my folks send me several cases at a time so that I can drink the best, like the beourgeoisie member that I am. I cannot allow myself to drink inferior teas like the common plebian folk. I want all you, highly inferior, peasants to know, I feel for you and I'm praying for you to get halfway decent teas into your miserable lives, because that's the kind of magnanimous, charitable man I am. You're welcome. Edited May 27, 2014 by Keyrock RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enoch Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I may be an American troglodyte betraying my unrefined tastes, but Ceylon teas are the best. Earl Grey is particularly loathsome. As far as I can tell from the taste and smell, those awful Greys take a perfectly fine bit of black tea and mix it up with a crock of stale potpourri. Ghastly. Ceylon tea? Bwahahahahhahah! You know, there is a reason why people add (milk/mint/sugar/etc.) with their "chai" teas right?? Not sure what you mean by the "chai" bit. I was referring to black tea that happens to have been grown (and aged etc.) in Sri Lanka. I find it more satisfactory than comparable products from Assam, Darjeeling, or the various Chinese source-points that I have tasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) I am pretty dismissive about tea from or about the East Indian subcontinent (and am grouping Ceylon/Sri Lanka) whose tea drinking traditions include mixing spices, herbs, milk, and sugar into a "chai" tea. *edit* although to be fair, I actually do enjoy chai, especially when it's offered by my in-laws and at Indian food establishments. But generally speaking, the finest East Indian tea leaves can't compare to the higher grade Chinese or even Indonesian teas. Edited May 27, 2014 by Leferd "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you're mixing copious amounts of sugar and/or milk into you tea, OBVIOUSLY your tea is not palatable to stand on its own. A real, refined gentleman drinks their teas either straight or very lightly sweetened. /raises nose to signify superiority 1 RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you're mixing copious amounts of sugar and/or milk into you tea, OBVIOUSLY your tea is not palatable to stand on its own. A real, refined gentleman drinks their teas either straight or very lightly sweetened. /raises nose to signify superiority Salud. Though like Picard, I don't know if I can trust a man who champions blended tea from the New World served in *shudders* tea bags for convenience. This is akin to serving pre-ground coffee or frozen orange juice concentrate. 2 "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you're mixing copious amounts of sugar and/or milk into you tea, OBVIOUSLY your tea is not palatable to stand on its own. A real, refined gentleman drinks their teas either straight or very lightly sweetened. /raises nose to signify superiority Salud. Though like Picard, I don't know if I can trust a man who champions blended tea from the New World served in *shudders* tea bags for convenience. This is akin to serving pre-ground coffee or frozen orange juice concentrate. I understand yor reservations, Leferd, and you are right to doubt. I cannot presume you would take my truths... I am sorry, awfully presumptious of me, my teachings, as fact without trying the deliciousness, the glory, NEIGH, THE SPLENDOR of Bigelow Earl Grey tea for thyself. I do not doubt that the old country has teas to not only rival, but maybe even surpass what the fine folks in Fairfield, Connecticut put together for our refined drinking pleasure. However, us colonists can only strive to duplicate the sublime, fragrant, splendiforous bouquet of true Earl Grey flavour known... NEIGH, FAMOUS, throughout the old world. Here is the url. They may be new world, but the attention to quality is nothing short of the highest the old world has to offer. 1 RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoraptor Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I have a shelf of chinese teas that I get for being a good sport and eating things like chicken feet, tendons, some sort of deep fried tripe and 7 year egg. I don't know what most of them are though as I cannot read mandarin and know I would spend a huge amount of time diving through wikipedia looking for what they are if I started, but I do rather like the ones that make a sort of floral arrangement when infused as that rather tickles my fancy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManifestedISO Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hay, like neigh, and possibly chai, is for horses. All Stop. On Screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 If you're mixing copious amounts of sugar and/or milk into you tea, OBVIOUSLY your tea is not palatable to stand on its own. A real, refined gentleman drinks their teas either straight or very lightly sweetened. /raises nose to signify superiority Salud. Though like Picard, I don't know if I can trust a man who champions blended tea from the New World served in *shudders* tea bags for convenience. This is akin to serving pre-ground coffee or frozen orange juice concentrate. I understand yor reservations, Leferd, and you are right to doubt. I cannot presume you would take my truths... I am sorry, awfully presumptious of me, my teachings, as fact without trying the deliciousness, the glory, NEIGH, THE SPLENDOR of Bigelow Earl Grey tea for thyself. I do not doubt that the old country has teas to not only rival, but maybe even surpass what the fine folks in Fairfield, Connecticut put together for our refined drinking pleasure. However, us colonists can only strive to duplicate the sublime, fragrant, splendiforous bouquet of true Earl Grey flavour known... NEIGH, FAMOUS, throughout the old world. Here is the url. They may be new world, but the attention to quality is nothing short of the highest the old world has to offer. Lols. It's finally come out! Keyrock is a West India Company man! 1 "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyrock Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Lols. It's finally come out! Keyrock is a West India Company man! I am only a messenger, Leferd. Just a simple, humble, unassuming messenger. Is it so wrong of me to spread the word about high quality teas to the masses so that they, even the lowliest of the low, may enjoy the delicious, refined, sophisticated, taste of high quality teas? Is it so wrong of me to try to empower the downtrodden plebians to enjoy the exquisite pleasures of the gentiles? I only wish to empower the masses, Leferd. I only wish to empower the masses. Do not misake me for a prophet or a God, I am but a messenger of good taste. RFK Jr 2024 "Any organization created out of fear must create fear to survive." - Bill Hicks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oerwinde Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 We have all sorts of tea shops here that sell a multitude of blended or specialty teas. One I liked was a winter blend that had dried apple and almond, it tasted like christmas. The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leferd Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Ok. Blended teabags are receiving far too much disproportionate amount of attention in this thread. "Things are funny...are comedic, because they mix the real with the absurd." - Buzz Aldrin."P-O-T-A-T-O-E" - Dan Quayle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sensuki Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 My favourites are: Southern Sunrise (Fruit Tisane) Senscha Sensation Oolong (straight or flavored) Gen Mai Cha Bancha Rooibos Raspberry Vanilla Cinnamon Apple Chamomile and others I forget There's lots of good tea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oerwinde Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 (edited) Tetley had an Orange Pekoe with added caffeine to match the levels found in coffee, called Perk. Our house lived on it. Then they took it away from us. Edited May 27, 2014 by Oerwinde The area between the balls and the butt is a hotbed of terrorist activity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sensuki Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I bought a really nice Orange Pekoe Earl Grey from a Chinese tea shop in Melbourne last year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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