TeaStrut

ZEN2

Just got one of these:Currently sipping on some gunpowder; been digging the vanilla oolong quite a bit.What are you drinking? Any favorite summer brews?

elise

green tea with sencha powder...

you can use the sencha powder too for cooking or baking.

bthav

fishmongerfunk

blueberry or vanilla roibos

jaysus

Silver needles all day
Or a custom blend masala chai

Horseleech

Earl Grey de la creme (I think) - Earl Grey w/ mallow flower and vanilla.

Grandfather

doesn't that shit get you all wired up man?

billbradley

Texas Coffee Traders here in Austin makes a Rooibus tea combined with cinnamon, clove and orange peel that is really good. It tastes close to black tea and has no caffeine.

http://txcoffeetraders.stores.yahoo.net/tegoh.html

Kaushik

Elaichi (cardamom) flavored tea... perfection

cove

softness revealed!

onetet

isn't there someone on here whose family is in the tea trade or has a similar expertise? I remember a thread from a year or more back in which some intriguing recomendations were dropped.

alieNDN

yerba mate aint that tasteful but really good for u

billbradley

softness revealed!

Usually when I want a caffeine kick I'll drink PG Tips tea, but my wife can't have caffeine so I've acquired a taste for the Rooibos.

hemol

isn't there someone on here whose family is in the tea trade or has a similar expertise? I remember a thread from a year or more back in which some intriguing recomendations were dropped.

I don't know if there is anyone on here who is familially(sp?) connected, but I got mad knowledge from work experience (worked as a tea buyer at whole foods, worked as a rep for rishi teas).

Right now I'm sipping on some iced pu-erh. I drink a first grade white peony in the mornings, and throughout the day. But, coming into this hot weather I'm all about iced tea. Some info for making iced tea:


1.) start with an excessive amount of tea. about 3 times as much as you would normally use.

2.) put the tea in a container with water and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.

If you hot brew tea, and then cool it, it's nowhere near as good. And cold brewing you'll get at least one more infusion, hopefully 2 more. Black teas work best for making iced tea.

Some other teas I enjoy:

Tung Ting oolong (super oily green oolong. Its like drinking cupcakes)

Golden Yunnan

Buddha's finger oolong (mad raer, haven't been able to find it for a few years. Tastes like orchids)

Genmaicha (great everyday drinker. Green tea, toasted rice and corn.)

Any 2nd flush Indian estate teas (Ceylon, Darjeeling, et cetera. The first flush is more tannic, and earthy, whereas the 2nd flush is more floral)

Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong (Hard to not love it based on the name alone. Nice oxidized roasty oolong).

pcmr

rosepedals and englishbreakfast

onetet

isn't there someone on here whose family is in the tea trade or has a similar expertise? I remember a thread from a year or more back in which some intriguing recomendations were dropped.

I don't know if there is anyone on here who is familially(sp?) connected, but I got mad knowledge from work experience (worked as a tea buyer at whole foods, worked as a rep for rishi teas).

Right now I'm sipping on some iced pu-erh. I drink a first grade white peony in the mornings, and throughout the day. But, coming into this hot weather I'm all about iced tea. Some info for making iced tea:


1.) start with an excessive amount of tea. about 3 times as much as you would normally use.

2.) put the tea in a container with water and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.

If you hot brew tea, and then cool it, it's nowhere near as good. And cold brewing you'll get at least one more infusion, hopefully 2 more. Black teas work best for making iced tea.

Some other teas I enjoy:

Tung Ting oolong (super oily green oolong. Its like drinking cupcakes)

Golden Yunnan

Buddha's finger oolong (mad raer, haven't been able to find it for a few years. Tastes like orchids)

Genmaicha (great everyday drinker. Green tea, toasted rice and corn.)

Any 2nd flush Indian estate teas (Ceylon, Darjeeling, et cetera. The first flush is more tannic, and earthy, whereas the 2nd flush is more floral)

Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong (Hard to not love it based on the name alone. Nice oxidized roasty oolong).

where are you buying your leaves these days, or do you still work in the biz?

DJ_Enki

isn't there someone on here whose family is in the tea trade or has a similar expertise? I remember a thread from a year or more back in which some intriguing recomendations were dropped.

I don't know if there is anyone on here who is familially(sp?) connected, but I got mad knowledge from work experience (worked as a tea buyer at whole foods, worked as a rep for rishi teas).

Right now I'm sipping on some iced pu-erh. I drink a first grade white peony in the mornings, and throughout the day. But, coming into this hot weather I'm all about iced tea. Some info for making iced tea:


1.) start with an excessive amount of tea. about 3 times as much as you would normally use.

2.) put the tea in a container with water and leave it in the fridge for 24 hours.

If you hot brew tea, and then cool it, it's nowhere near as good. And cold brewing you'll get at least one more infusion, hopefully 2 more. Black teas work best for making iced tea.

Some other teas I enjoy:

Tung Ting oolong (super oily green oolong. Its like drinking cupcakes)

Golden Yunnan

Buddha's finger oolong (mad raer, haven't been able to find it for a few years. Tastes like orchids)

Genmaicha (great everyday drinker. Green tea, toasted rice and corn.)

Any 2nd flush Indian estate teas (Ceylon, Darjeeling, et cetera. The first flush is more tannic, and earthy, whereas the 2nd flush is more floral)

Iron Goddess of Mercy oolong (Hard to not love it based on the name alone. Nice oxidized roasty oolong).

What's the science on sun tea, then?

My day does not officially start until I have a cup of English breakfast tea. Yes, even when it's hot out.

cove

softness revealed!

Usually when I want a caffeine kick I'll drink PG Tips tea, but my wife can't have caffeine so I've acquired a taste for the Rooibos.

Nice. I was just teasing; I think the real softies are the crazy coffee drinkers.

Tektonic_Plates

doesn't that shit get you all wired up man?

Has effectively replaced coffee in my life.

AKallDay

roiboos tea forever!! just got back from mexico and i plan to drink some roiboos for its detoxifying powers for the next week to straighten me out after too many avocados and fried shit i never would otherwise touch.

LokoOne

yerba mate aint that tasteful but really good for u

You can always have a 'mate cocido' to make it more 'tea-like'.

I keep it green or black tea with a spoonful of honey and a touch of lemon.

waxjunky

I just killed a pint of green tea ice cream in one sitting.

jaysus

yerba mate aint that tasteful but really good for u

You can always have a 'mate cocido' to make it more 'tea-like'.

Also mate chai or mate rooibos blends.

Rooibos has amazing sweeting properties mixed with other teas.

DJ_WubWub

hemol

where are you buying your leaves these days, or do you still work in the biz?

I but tea at pearl river mart here in NY. They sell it in bulk. It's not the greatest quality, but it's the most affordable good tea. If I were balling I'd be ordering the super raer shit from Rishi's website (no promo, I don't work for them anymore, but they have the game locked down with a serious reverence for the drink).

Enki, sun tea is mad good, but I would think its equivocal to iced tea in the end. Seems like it might just be a leftover from days when the only other option for brewing tea was boiling water. Although, if you drink it enough I'm sure you'll notice a difference between that and iced tea.


@ the person who drinks silver needles.

jaysus

@ the person who drinks silver needles.

Nothing compared to that monkey picked oolong!

Also, mate drinkers out there, don't buy that guyanaka stuff or whatever it's called, you can get a pound of it in lots of import stores for around $6. That co-op brand is powdery and has a bad flavor compared to the argentinan brands. Look for rosa monte brand or others. Far superior, but probably not organic if that's why you are buying the hippy brand.

ZEN2

Went to the local Asian market the other day and picked up a Pu Erh Beeng Cha:



PuErhraer for $5.99, and it's VG++. I'm sure most specialty tea stores would mark the price up on account of it being Pu Erh but god bless the Asians. I'm getting at least 4 good infusions out of each batch of leaves.