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Tea flavor for beginner

Hi,

I just visited The Republic of Tea website and got interested in trying tea. The only tea I've ever had was prepared by my art teacher, I believe it was mint. On the website they don't have a guide that help you select a flavor or kind of tea based on recommendations, etc. So I am asking you experts. What flavor or kind of tea should I sample. Green? Black? Etc.

Thanks,

Edgardo

Reply to
Edgardo Jimenez
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Hi!

A few things. Technically, mint isn't tea- it's an infusion, or a tisane. Most people would call it 'herbal tea', though. If you are getting started in tea, I'd recommend Holy Mountain's website

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They have samples of a wide variety of tea, and sampler packs, too. If you've tried mint, look for the jasmine and green scented teas in the rare tea section. Under the China greens, look at the green sea anemone (lu mudan). It's fool-proof. You might also want to take a look at the oolongs.

Good luck!

Reply to
Tea

Edgardo,

Do you live in a city where there are good tea-houses? In other words, establishments where you can be served different teas, properly prepared. If so, this might be a good first step for someone who is unfamiliar with the various types of tea.

If you mention where you live, perhaps some people on this list can recommend good places close to you.

Joe

Reply to
Joseph Kubera

Sorry, not luck. I live in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Its Coffee country here!.

Thanks,

Edgardo

Reply to
Edgardo Jimenez

Hi Edgardo,

I'm relatively new to tea myself, having "seriously" started drinking it about 4 years ago.

I would say the biggest difference in flavor comes from loose-leaf, well-packaged tea, and cardboard-box teabag (awful). You can choose the same type of tea, like Oolong, and the looseleaf kind will taste much different, and much better, than the bagged kind.

(The only exception I've noticed is for rooibos; the looseleaf kind is just a bit better. But for regular black, green and oolong teas--looseleaf is the best)

Personally, I also like the "unflavored" versions of teas, those without added vanilla/fruit/other flavors. I think they're usually used to mask poor-quality teas. The exception is good Jasmine green tea, where the Jasmine complements the green tea base.

I also suggest trying sample packs--I've had good luck with teasource.com and uptontea.com.

Also, I *hated* green tea and pu-erh when I first tried them. Like wines, you "grow" into green tea, and now I'm addicted to it. Pu-erh is still a bit strange for me...

Buena suerte, Jason

Reply to
Jason in Oakland

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