Where to go?

Hi Dave,

Maybe you can try some Darjeeling?

I think Upton is as good a place to start as anywhere. After all, they do have a very wide selection of many teas from Indian/Sri Lanka.

I think for bang for the buck, it's much, much cheaper to buy loose leaf than bagged tea. The processing to make the bags is not free! Something has to give, obviously, and it's usually the tea's quality.

How are you going to brew your loose leaf?

MarshalN

Do you drink your tea black or with milk?

If you like it with milk you, your choice choices seem quite good. You might also like to consider a Nilgiri (India) or Golden Needle (China) black tea.

If you drink your tea black then a Golden Monkey (China) or Darjeeling would be suitable. If you prefer strong tasting black teas, stick with second flush darjeelings as first flush teas tend to be very light.

Adrian

Ok, sorry if this comes out wrong, this is my first reply and I'm not used to this type of format. Anyway, Marshal asked "What would I be brewing my tea in?"

Well, I know this is going to be a "faux pas" but for normal "every day/personal" brewing I'm looking at the "Tea Drop" tea maker by Sunbeam.

I realize that I'm in the company of expert tea connoisseurs and I just ask for forgiveness. :)

I do take sugar and milk in my tea. Sometimes though I drink it black, it just depends.

I do plan on buying a good teapot and an electric kettle for when I have guests over, but the Tea Drop seems to be able to the job on a daily use.

So Do you all think that if I buy some good quality loose leaf tea from Uptons that I would notice a difference between it and bag tea from Stash and Twinings in price and taste?

Any other comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

Dave.

MarshalN Wrote:

Hi Dave!

Welcome to rec.food.drink.tea in all its shapes and colors. Like you, I was a coffee drinker before coming to tea. After I found the joy of steeping camellia sinensis leaves in hot water, I turned my head forever on afternoon cups of coffee. Now it is just something to have when I'm in the middle of a bad morning.

You'll find that there are many different blends, types, kinds, and classes of tea out there, and just as many ways to brew them too! I think I am not the only one here who is ever-vigilantly seeking that "holy grail" blend. I think you'll soon find your new found enjoyment turning into quite a hobby.

I've noticed some people offering you some suggestions on blends. While I am in love with oolongs, I see you prefer blacks.

I adore Lapsang Souchong. Upton's offers a few blends, my favorite being their Black Dragon. Mark T. Wendell

has a blend called Hu-Kwa, which is the flagship tea of their company. Not a bad cuppa. It is bold and slightly smoky. A very good starter for those who want to take that cautious step into the realm of Lapsang Souchong.

Other types of blacks to consider if you like coffee are yunnans, keemuns, and congous. Upton has an Organic Yunnan Dao Ming (ZY62 in their paper mail order catalogue) which has a molassy, sweet, spicy note. It isn't my cup of tea, but you might like it.

Stash and Twinings are pretty good if you like a particular blend of which that company provides. Like most of the popular loose tea providers out on the market, Stash and Twinings are fairly consistant in their product, albeit mediocre. You know what you're getting when you pick up a tin of Twinings Earl Grey or Irish Breakfast. Therein lies Twinings and Stash's success - providing consistency to their patrons.

When it comes to variety, you have to look some place else. Upton's is a great place to start. Their prices are reasonable, and they provided what I like to call "picks of the season," offering teas that can only be bought at certain times of the year (tea is a crop, therefore it is subject to season, weather, and human interaction). There are also a few blends at Upton's that are truly exquisite and truly EXPENSIVE. So if you feel bold and ready to spluge by treating yourself to some fine grades, you have the luxury of doing so.

Mark T. Wendell

is also a good place to look. Though I still think their prices cannot match Upton.

Adagio Teas is also a good place to look at, though I find the quality of their product as well as the variety to be subpar when compared to Upton's. I really only shop there for tisanes (herbal infusions).

Tenren.com is pretty cheap too. Unfortunately, they don't put their tea in little caddies. When I do buy something from them online, I utilize ceramic black gasket jars.

Take a gander at local opportunities as well. There might be a local tea shop near you. Or, if you live in a city with a Chinatown, go there too. Many tea connoisseurs askew online buying altogether, going to local establishments where they can look and smell the product in the flesh. Many tea shops will even offer you free samples of what they have; many shops even brew a cup of your choice right there.

As a rule, I tend to avoid shops like Teavana and companies like The Republic Of Tea. I started out drinking Republic of Tea's blends. Then I came here to rec.food.drink.tea and found out that I was spending WAY TOO MUCH for what I was getting. RoT and Teavana sell "image." You aren't really buying the tea inside a RoT cannister, but you are purchasing the pretty little artwork on the cover. Like most companies trying to sell a designer image, they have perspicacity - they know what the unknowledgable public will buy. This is not to say that RoT has some good blends. I drink their Gu Zhang Mao Jian (Sky Between the Branches) green tea occasionally. But I don't religiously buy their product unless I have to. The prices that Teavana and RoT have compounded with the quality of their product seems to borderline connivance imho.

I personally have found that loose tea is much cheaper than bagged tea. I drink a lot of tea, and considering that, loose tea gives me a lot of freedom and luxury. With loose tea I can control the strength and flavor of my cup, whereas with tea bags I don't have that much freedom. Also, as you might have noticed, bagged tea is certainly substandard compared to loose tea. Though, suffice to say, there are a good many excellent bagged teas out there. I drink Good Earth China Black on ocassion when I am "too lazy" to deal with the entire loose tea brewing "process." However, making good tea is a labor of love. Like cooking, what you put into it is what you get back. Saying that, a good cup of tea is well worth the effort.

I wouldn't buy an entire pound of tea unless you plan on drinking that amount in three months. That's my rule, other people have different ones. Some don't even worry about this at all.

The humbug is this: tea leaves begin to degrade and go stale after a while. I would suggest that you buy several different varieties of tea that you can consume in three months. Don't stick to one blend. You'll get bored, and in all honesty, going back and forth between blends allows your palate an opportunity for variety. You can appreciate a blend after having a few cups of something else in between. Then again, that's my opinion.

In closing, nota bene: The best advice I can give you is this - drink what you love. There are people here who enjoy consuming expensive pu-erhs in yixing clayware. Then there are people here who just like plain old liptons with ritz crackers. Anything's cool. As long as you like it, that's the only thing that matters.

I apologize for my ramble. I hope this helps.

Cheers!

Mike

I can't *really* tell the difference between loose leaf and teabags. However I prefer it when I brew loose leaf tea. For quickie I do teabags. I haven't been let down by any Stash tea I've brewed, and really like their Chai. I brew Ahmad's Earl Gray. It has been at the top of my list because it is affordable and tastes good. And try some Lop Sang tea like drinking a campfire in a good way. But loose leaf is far superior to any Lop Sang teabags I've tried.

A comment on the Twinnings loose tea, don't do it. The tea is so small that it seems to have been ground. The reason for loose leaf tea (in general) is to have larger leaf contributing to the brew.

When you get around to it give a Marriage Freres a try. Wedding Imperial or Marco Polo are awsome and may remind you of some coffee flavors.

Andy

It doesn't get hot enough to make regular black tea.

Yes, but if you buy loose Twinings from the supermarket, you'll find it tastes different than Twinings in a bag also. The Twinings Prince of Wales blend is what I usually have when I am out in places that serve English style tea. It's not exciting, but it's a pleasant blend of Chinese teas.

Drink tea. Use boiling water for black teas. Use loose teas in some sort of arrangement that allows water to circulate well. I like the brewing baskets, which are only a couple dollars. Other people like other gadgets but the important part is good circulation and the right water temperature and how you get it doesn't matter.

Loose teas will almost always be much cheaper than a comparable tea in a bag, as I discovered a couple decades ago as an impoverished grad student.

--scott

On Nov 29, 4:53 pm, The Tea Monk wrote:

snip snip, Hello to you, and welcome to the group, I agree with some of the authors above as well, But to me although I like a good darjeeling it is light and almost lemony and many many places to choose from can be quite overwhelming. So goes with other areas. Someone said black dragon, Good choice qimens from china are the burgundy of teas I have heard and I have had 9 bend dragon and other black/reds from china congou very nice,too. which I prefer over the blends or Indian. But Nilgiri is a good dark Indian tea after trying some single teas you can notice some of the components found in your ususal blends as I did. . So many places rename their teas and you really dont know what you are getting until you try it. Most places have blends with fruit or spices added and if this is your thing well most places have it. Also I agree with the others that trying small quantities in small sample sizes you may find there is one just for you. google black teas or chinese tea or wherever you want to begin, look at the sites see if they have sample sizes and take notes or book mark. Your story sounds like mine alot. do your research on blogs and shops online dont buy lg quantities till you know what you want, and a cupsize strainer and any cup you have is a good place to begin. Later you can look into teapots that are best for your needs. I am not an expert but this is how I found my way thru the tea world, self study and internet. You will be amazed at the choices....The first place I bought samples from was grand tea shop, lots of samples sizes but it takes along time to get here from china. I shop at upton, special teas, Jings tea shop, Teasource. hou de fine teas, Seasonally from grand tea , and I have bought some really great red robe from yunnan sourcing and other china blacks. golden monkey is great. Oh well thats all my 2 teacups worth. have fun on this incredible tea journey , it will take you many places. Jenn