So many choices

Many tea stores and websites offer a "Sampler" manytimes a Black Sampler.. Green Sampler.. Herbal Sampler... and so on. You may look inot some of those

I would reccommend Irish Breakfast for a black tea that is strong. Its different enough for Earl Grey that you may enjoy it. I also enjoy Darjeeling and Ceylon Teas for black teas.

For Green teas I enjoy a Japaneese Wild or Sour cherry tea I really enjoy Hibiscus tea (this is an herbal infusion, not really a Tea) It is wonderful to mix with other teas like black teas

Really All I can say is just go buy some more tea, experiemnt, buy small ammounts (2oz or so) of alot of teas and see what you like and don't like, mix them and match them, try new things. Tea is not that expensive untill you become more of a connoisseur and go looking for a specific first flush darjeeling from your favorite estate which may happen to be 30-40 dollars for 4 oz rather than maybe 5-10 you spend for various teas you are sampling.

I used to like to shop at Teavana

now I am expand> I'm new to loose tea. There are so many choices, it's just crazy. >

Another thing that vasty broadened my mind and had fed my being a connoiseur of tea is a book given to me as a gift called (perfectly fititng) :

The Tea Companion a Connoiseurs Guide by JANE PETTIGREW

It is a good history of tea, and guide to different types and styles > Many tea stores and websites offer a "Sampler"

Alex,

Let me compliment you on your good taste in rejecting Earl Grey tea. In my book, you're half way there. Now, since you drink Tetley (shudder), try an Assam and/or a Ceylon tea. These go into the making of Tetley, but you will find them of far better quality. African teas also go into the making of Tetley.

Here's a recommendation. Go to the Nothing But Tea site which is based in England, but will ship anywhere.:

Look at the teas from Sri Lanka (Ceylon), India, China, and so on. Pick out a bunch of samples, and perhaps a couple larger amounts. Give them a shot. I recommend this site for several reasons: They are at the forefront of tea manufacture throughout the tea world, they sell teas from Africa and from countries not well represented elsewhere, they sell small samples at very reasonable prices, and their service is excellent. You can follow the brewing directions they provide with confidence.

Let us know what you decide.

Incidentally, each tea has a different flavor, but don't confuse this with flavor additives, which are also very common. A Chinese black tea and an Indian black tea will taste very different intrinsically; and to these might also be added different flower and fruit bits and oils, but please avoid the additives until you have accustomed yourself to the taste of the teas themselves.

Hope this provides a bit of guidance. Sorry for length and verbosity.

Michael

It can be daunting for sure, the biggest thing to remember is not to rush it. Many of us have been drinking and enjoying tea seriously for decades. There is no fast track, and in fact trying to speed it up artificially will probably result in you overlooking or missing some key teas.

The first thing is to start cheap and buy a lot of different tea. Go to a Chinese/Asian Market and buy as many $1/box teas as possible. Realize that these are low-end tea and are not really indicators of the real deal but they do give you the basic flavors of each category: White, green, oolong, black, herbal, puerh, jasmine, etc. After this you will see that you naturally gravitate towards certain ones. Pay attention to those teas and finish the boxes of them. Now, go online or your next trip to a market and buy a better grade of those few teas. Drink those and note the differences, and what makes them "better." Now you should have a pretty good idea of the class of tea you like initially. Start exploring, asking questions, and learning.

But... keep those other boxes of cheap tea and revisit them in a few months. You may find that some you didn't care for initially are now enjoyable. Then start branching out and exploring them too. This gives you a solid base to build on. Slowly move up to the higher grades of tea too, going from a cheap teabag to the best you can buy will not accomplish or prove anything, to appreciate the better stuff you have to know and taste what makes it better otherwise its a waste. Also, don't be surprised if you return to those cheap teabag brands after having better stuff, sometimes they are nice and good for what they are. You skills at brewing will get better, your palate will get better, your knowledge will grow, and you'll enjoy it a ton more.

Best of luck! Dominic

Adagio has great sample sets, they got me hooked, then I realized that Pu erh is the best and pretty much stick to that.

alex wrote:

How do you know what is a better grade tea? Is price the only factor or is there a grading system used with loose tea that distinguishes one grade from another?