Tea Drinkers

[deadohsky]

Are there any fellow tea drinkers here? I have recently got back into it as a change from coffee.

Have yet to try the loose/loose leaf varieties. Any recommendations (where to purchase, tasty varieties, etc). One my favorites is Earl Grey.

[lxskllr]

I like tea, but I'm not a gourmet by any stretch. Earl Grey is my favorite. I also like Irish Breakfast from Twinings. My daughter got some loose heather tea from Scotland for Easter, and that's pretty good, but I don't remember the brand.

[DLB]

In the southwest

I drink iced tea at virtually every meal. My wife drinks hot tea everyday and has about 30 varieties in her stash.

[WickedKitchen]

As far as the mass produced brands I find Twinings and Stash to be pretty good. I'm an earl grey or just plain black tea drinker. I always like it hot even in the summer...just like coffee should be IMO.

Bewley's makes a good tea too. It's probably the most common tea in Ireland I think. Other than that I go to a quirky store from time to time and buy loose tea. I can't say that I know enough about it to make a good post to the loose tea point but I do know that they tend to have a heavier body to them and are a bit more aromatic. I use a stainless steel tea ball to steep it.

Of course, I prefer my tea with a spot of milk and often with sugar too. I think there's a science to making it and I'm somewhat particular about that ritual. I'm curious to read what others will post on this thread.

[Monkey]

I am particular when it comes to coffee, when it comes to tea I am not...

I drink Tetely, hot, no sugar and no milk. Usually when I am sick.

[Randall]

I drink up to a 1/2 gallon of iced tea a day.

[tom502]

If you ever take just standard ole tea, and roll it up in a cig paper and light it, it smells just like pot. I have fooled people like that way way way back in the day, and other than no buzz, they didn't know.

[Roo]

I'm a big fan of Chinese loose leaf tea. In particular I like jasmine pearls (green tea balls flavored with jasmine flowers that unfurl while they steep), Yunnan Gold, and good black tea, or as the Chinese call it, red tea because when it's brewed up it's more red than black. It's fascinating to me how all tea, if not herbal tea, is from the same species, just picked at different stages and processed differently. I also like a good pu'er from time to time. As to where I buy it, there are some specialty shops here that are of no significance to anyone anywhere else, but Whole Foods usually has bulk loose tea, they just rape you on the prices.

[lxskllr]

I'm a big fan of Chinese loose leaf tea. In particular I like jasmine pearls (green tea balls flavored with jasmine flowers that unfurl while they steep)...

My daughter got some of those from Target, and they are pretty good. You reminded me... I've been getting a lot of tea from BigLots lately, at very good prices. Mostly bagged stuff, but I like that fine. They've had Prince of Peace brand from China, and I have a bunch of 100ct boxes of Green and Oolong teas for $3.20 a box. I sometimes drink them hot, but they make a very good iced tea also. I'll take 2 of those, and 2 flavored Celestial Seasonings(or other brand) teas for a pitcher, and it turns out pretty good.

[Bigblue1]

I like iced tea, hot not so much. But to be fair I no longer drink hot coffee anymore either. I like to make my own Iced tea with a bit of simple syrup and fresh mint if i have it. If not I will use some fresh lemon. But I always keep a big bottle of gold peak unsweetened in the fridge, it's pretty good and I can make it my own with a little manipulation.... I can usually buy it in the refrigerator case at Jewel foods (Albertsons) for a couple bucks on sale for the 2 litre (approximately) size.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

I was raised on coffee (morning, day, and night), but I got my coffee intake down to just a big cup in the morning. I switched that to tea less than 2 years ago. Now I enjoy black tea in the morning, and sometimes green (usually genmai-cha) at lunch. I use mostly loose and so far like Twinnings (irish breakfast, or the red one ?english breakfast), Harney & Sons (their earl grey is great), and Yorkshire Gold. For bags I used to like TAZO's Awake.

All in all, I'm still a tea totaling newb, so things could change...

[GoVegan]

Tea is what you drink when your out of coffee. Anything with caffeine in it will do.

[MGX]

PG Tips with a bit of honey and a little milk.

[Frosted]

Tea must be made with fresh milk.

[teeotee]

I am british, so yeah i drink tea. When i moved here i got into coffee mainly for the reason of convenience. Then last year i went back to England for a week and was staying at my mum's house. Now i'm back into tea. I'm not into gourmet teas at all though. My tea of choice would be PG tips but can't find any locally. Recently i found Tetley "British" blend bags in our local Superwalmart, 80 for less than $3.00. I make mine with milk and maybe 1/2 tsp of sugar.
We also use the british blend to make our ice tea.