Tea Anyone?

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
One of my favorite lines in the movie The Hunt for Red October by Sean Connery after telling his defecting officers that he had told such to his superiors:

Captain Ramius: You're afraid of our fleet. Well, you should be. Personally, I'd give us one chance in three. More tea anyone?

Tea plays a supporting role in a number of scenes in that movie. So I thought we have a discussion about teas we love.

My recent favorite which I now drink in the morning is the Ahmad Earl Grey.



What I like about it is that you can make it as strong as you want and won't get bitter. It also is not too aromatic. I don't care for aromatic tea in the morning as I drink it with my breakfast and I find that strong scent can be odd in that situation.

I actually make it light as I don't want too much caffeine. It gives off its flavor and color very quickly. I can make tea in less than 15 seconds. I use 208 degree water from our Zojirushi hot water pot.

It comes in two versions. The one in foil which keeps forever. And the boxes without. Tried the latter recently in a 100 pack and it seems just fine with expiration date of 3 years from now. I will be finishing the box in 3 months though :).

The tea comes from London but it is widely available in local ethnic grocery stores and Amazon where it has almost perfect review scores.

So what are your favorite teas?
 

WLVCA

Member Sponsor
Nov 2, 2012
3,911
2,374
1,395
Tucson
I am a coffee guy so I don't drink much hot tea. I do drink a lot of iced tea, mostly made with good old Lipton tea bags. Make a Celestial Seasoning flavored iced tea every once in a while just to change things up a bit.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I love cold japanese green tea. The kind that has toasted rice in it. I wish I could read Japanese so I could tell you the name. It's great for a hot and muggy evening. Very mild green tea flavor with a hint of flavor that reminds you of freshly husked corn.
 

Ronm1

Member Sponsor
Feb 21, 2011
1,745
4
0
wtOMitMutb NH
I'm both a coffee and tea drinker. As I have mentioned before I was into varietals light roast particularly Cen & So Amer(north) for their citrus overtones. Black only
A fan of EG and mild green tea.
Nothing flavored that's verboten. Always straight up;)
 

carolkoh

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Sep 17, 2010
907
226
955
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
I love cold japanese green tea. The kind that has toasted rice in it. I wish I could read Japanese so I could tell you the name. It's great for a hot and muggy evening. Very mild green tea flavor with a hint of flavor that reminds you of freshly husked corn.

Gen Mai Cha - Tea with toasted rice. :)
 

Asamel

Well-Known Member
Jan 22, 2012
578
1
263
Philly
I sometimes mix jasmine and Earl Grey.
 

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
2,542
31
385
NY
I enjoy very strong black teas and Darjeelings brewed so if you looked at it and didn't know it was tea, you would think it was coffee.

I use 20 grams of tea (I'm anal so I weigh it) for a one liter pot and brew it for five minutes. I take mine with a bit of half and half.

When I was a teenager and in college (long ago :p ) I used to enjoy Twinings Earl Grey before they decided to add bergamot oil to it. Now it seems all the Earl Grey teas have bergamot oil added.
 

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
2,542
31
385
NY
That may be the case, but in the early 1970's, I don't remember there being any bergamot oil because I liked their Earl Grey them. It may have had much less then.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I am no expert on tea but I am in China each year I often buy local teas from the area I am in that year. I can sit on my porch at home watch the river go by and remember the area I brought that tea home from. I make tea the traditional China way it is a great drink and as simple or strange as you want to make it I likely have a hundred teas stored.
Good post/thought :). I too used to buy teas from Asian countries and when drinking them at home, it would remind of my travels in ways that nothing else could replicate. Just now, your post made me relive those great experiences again. Like buying Shiso tea (same leaves you see with Sushi) in small town in Japan, sampling it there in the streets. Or the Korean tea which almost had no color but very nice flavor.
 

BobM

Well-Known Member
Feb 5, 2014
169
9
150
64
Long Island, NY
I find it interesting that many of my tea drinking friends really don't know how long to seep any of their teas. They will often let them go for 5 minutes +. I generally find that most teas taste best when seeped for 2-3 minutes, except herbals and chai which need 4-6 minutes. If you want a stronger cup then use more tea, but don't extend the seeping time or things will bet bitey and bitter.

Does anyone also find that wetting the leaves first, then throwning out that water (essentially the first 1/2 - 1 cup) before adding more water to seep makes a big difference?

I also use a tetsubin metal pot. I like the ceremony of it, but don't know if it really matters to the taste over a tea ball.
 

amirm

Banned
Apr 2, 2010
15,813
37
0
Seattle, WA
I find it interesting that many of my tea drinking friends really don't know how long to seep any of their teas. They will often let them go for 5 minutes +. I generally find that most teas taste best when seeped for 2-3 minutes, except herbals and chai which need 4-6 minutes. If you want a stronger cup then use more tea, but don't extend the seeping time or things will bet bitey and bitter.
Well said. Coffee drinkers have their tricks, we have ours with Tea :). Nothing is more strange to me than seeing someone walk around with a tea bag sitting in their mug all day! The only thing worse than that is it being American Lipton tea bag! I go by color of tea and am ready to immediately take out the bag when the time comes.

Does anyone also find that wetting the leaves first, then throwning out that water (essentially the first 1/2 - 1 cup) before adding more water to seep makes a big difference?
I like it when done in front of my in Chinese establishments :). Fun to see them go through the process. For myself, I only do it to remove the caffeine some with the first soaking.
 

carolkoh

[Industry Expert] Member Sponsor
Sep 17, 2010
907
226
955
Seattle, WA
www.genesisloudspeakers.com
Does anyone also find that wetting the leaves first, then throwning out that water (essentially the first 1/2 - 1 cup) before adding more water to seep makes a big difference?

Depends on the tea. On the densely packed Pu-Erh that you break off, you are essentially washing off the dust and then allowing the remaining leaves to absorb the water and moisten before you pour more water in to get your first drinkable cup.

I'm a tea snob. I do have some tea-bags for convenience - when I travel (all nicked from various hotel tea-caddies when I buy refreshments for the show suite), but I make my tea from loose leaves - and time of steeping depends on the tea.
 

GaryProtein

VIP/Donor
Jul 25, 2012
2,542
31
385
NY
I find it interesting that many of my tea drinking friends really don't know how long to seep any of their teas. They will often let them go for 5 minutes +. I generally find that most teas taste best when seeped for 2-3 minutes, except herbals and chai which need 4-6 minutes. If you want a stronger cup then use more tea, but don't extend the seeping time or things will bet bitey and bitter.

Does anyone also find that wetting the leaves first, then throwning out that water (essentially the first 1/2 - 1 cup) before adding more water to seep makes a big difference?

I also use a tetsubin metal pot. I like the ceremony of it, but don't know if it really matters to the taste over a tea ball.

I use a hard glazed ceramic tea pot for brewing.

I never wet the leaves, throw out the water and then make the tea. It seems that would be like brewing the tea for a longer than usual time and throwing out what could be the best part since you say 2-3 minute brewing with more tea leaves is better than 5 minute brewing.

I will try more tea instead of five minute steeping, but I already use a lot of tea leaves.

I always laughed, at least to myself, when people saved their tea bags for making their tea, cup after cup all day long!
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing