Any Tea lovers ?

tonyb

Story time...again.

Since I have a B-day comming up in a few months, I made it known I wanted a juicer. Not any juicer, a nice powerfull one. I love juice, not that sugary crap you get at the store, wholesome fresh squeezed juice. But, seeing that they can get a tad expensive and with money being tight right now, I only thought it to be prudent to offer up an alternative to the wife for a present idea.

One of my other loves is Tea. Since suffering from constant acid reflux years ago, and taking the suggestion of green tea with a tad bit of honey, I haven't had a single episode of acid reflux since. I became a believer in Tea. After going the store bought route of teas, which is kinda powdered tea actually, I fell in love with Dragon well green tea, not that imitation crap, the real deal from China, loseleaf, pan fried. So the wife asked me recently if the juicer was my final request. I said all things considered, I'm going to give you an alternative. She says whats that ?

I said a teapot. Not any teapot mind you, one made of clay,from China. She looked at me as if I lost my frickin' mind. You sure ?....she says....a teapot....really ? I said yeah, a teapot. Took a shower, came out and I'm standing infront of the mirror thinking about what I just asked her for. As I stared into the mirror, I talk to myself sometimes and this time was no different,, out loud, not intending to be heard. "Your a ****" I said to myself, out loud mind you, "What man askes his wife for a frickin' teapot ?" "Not audio gear, a chainsaw, stuff for the car, but a frickin' teapot ?"

At that point all I heard was laughter comming from the bedroom, as I realized I said that out loud. " Well, am I right or what?" I said. After she stopped laughing, she said "Thats why I married you, your not a typical man." I said "Granted....but a teapot ?, I just asked you for a teapot". I need to get my **** out of the house more, hang out with some audio lovin', gun toten', tabacco chewin' men.

That aside, what teas do you guys like ? That is if your man enough to admit it. I'm diggin' the greens of coarse with white tea and Blacks, from India not too far behind.

halo71

I had a friend that after passing out drunk at a party developed.....Teabagaphobia....if you know what I mean.:eek: And no....I was not the "brewer"!


My Mom use to fix Sassafras (sp?) tea when I was a kid. I can not find that in the stores now. Guess I need to look online.

tonyb

http://www.sassafrastea.com/home/

There ya go, lots of home made recipes on the net too.

mhardy6647

Mrs. H and I are big, big fans - mostly black teas from India and China; I have been enjoying some inexpensive and unassuming black teas from Viet Nam. I like oolongs but Mrs. H isn't a fan :-P We haven't cultivated much of a taste for green teas, although I was fortunate enough to participate in the tea ceremony in Fukoka, Japan some years back... and I do like genmaicha.

Here's my favorite source of teas - excellent selection at all price points including a great line of value-priced "Season's Pick" teas:
www.uptontea.com

We also like and patronize John Harney & Sons: www.harney.com

EDIT - as for teapots, we have a nice old(er) Chatsford "Brown Betty" teapot, back from when they were still made in the UK. We both appreciate tea schwag for holidays, too! ;-)

zingo

I also like tea, and these days, have more tea types and paraphernalia than coffee. Loose leaf is the best, and I recently found a shop called Teavana which they have a few locally. I really like tea as there seems to be a kind for any mood, time of the day, etc. Recently I got a tin of real English Breakfast (not the cheap, crappy stuff in the tea bags) and it's amazing what a different tea. I think with tea, like HIFI, most people have tried the cheap, crappy stuff and don't care for it, but I can't blame them. Steeping your own, loose leaf tea where you can actually see and smell the different ingredients; very nice.

polkfarmboy

PJ tips tony, Thats where the flavors @son and typhoo

Oldfatdogs

Tony, I had to read this to my wife.We got a good laugh at that one,that sayed im right there with ya man for my birthday I asked for a coffee pot.Not your Mr.coffee pot but a good one that will last a long time.Being the good wife that's what I got,as we get older its the simple things that make you smile.Your a funny man. Dan

tonyb

You have that right Dan, the simple things. I don't need alot, not into collecting material possesions, but I do prefer quality over quantity. As you get older you realize that quality you missed by chasing quantity your whole life.

Glowrdr

I personally like my tea to be of the Long Island variety.

Sherardp

Green Tea, Herbal Tea, Raspberry Iced Tea, Lemon Tea are a few of my favorites.

tonyb

As long as it's freshed brewed, yeah, Rasberry tea, Pomegranite, good stuff.

I've been reading up a tad on making your own tea from the garden, rose hips, flowers, fruit peels, interesting stuff and supposedly pretty darn good for you too.

shawn474

Wife and I have had tea every day since we have been married (over 13 years). She drinks every kind you can name; my favorite is Chai. We have a loose tea store in one of the malls here and steep it ourselves. Some of the whites have been REALLY good, but also REALLY expensive. Roobios is another favorite of mine.

Syndil

I would like to say that you should never have to worry about feeling like a "****" because of wanting something. In fact, I think it is the people that decide not to do something because they are afraid of what others will think that are the pussies. Taken to the extreme, you've got guys that buy things and do things because they are afraid of anyone thinking that they are anything less than the most "macho" they can be. You know the type, buying a diesel dually not because they need to tow a fifth-wheel trailer, but just to be seen driving it to work, a.k.a. douchebag posers, overcompensators, or homosexuals in denial.

So good call. You want a really nice tea pot? Then get a really nice tea pot, and own it with pride. I put mine on display:



The two clay pots on the bottom left are my favorites, each with their own hand-carved rosewood stand. Bought one from Chinatown in Seattle, got the other from a local tea house owned and operated by Taiwanese. Usually I'm just making tea for myself so they are the perfect size. Favorite blend is genmai cha from Adagio teas.

http://www.adagio.com/green/genmai_cha.html?SID=c68a130de375c5211033ee32f2195754

Check out steepster.com for tea reviews and suggestions, but I wouldn't rely too heavily on them. Someone always has something nasty to say about a tea that I think is terrific. It's just like with beer or anything else that is subjectively judged--don't let someone talk you out of something you really enjoy.

tonyb

Supposedly, the clay pots are supposed to be the best for brewing tea, according to the asians anyway. I guess if anyone knows tea, they do. Now advice on bacon, I'd go somewhere else, but I'm talkin' tea so you have to go to the people that have been doing it for thousands of years.

I order teas from Adagio, like their quality and the prices aren't too bad. Like everything else in this world, you get what you pay for. Even their tea bags, are loosely wooven nylon and the tea isn't smashed down into almost powder like store bought brands. I have to get my brewing down pat for different teas as they varry between kinds of tea. Kinda like a cable debate, you have to try the clay pot instead of reading that it doesn't matter. Since the Chinese know tea, have experience with tea that dates back well before civilized man, I'll take their word for it.

One thing I wish teapots had, a thermometer or some other way of determining the right temp. How are you suppose to know the water is 180 degrees ? Boiling water can ruin certain teas. How about a teapot that changes color for certain temps, like a mood ring. There's an idea, I should shop that one around.

steveinaz

I was a big tea fan, long before coffee. I was assigned to an outpost in Karlsruhe Germany, and the only thing I had access to was coffee. That's when I "converted." Still love tea though. I still have a couple of tea balls I used to use with Twinings (sp?) loose tea leaves.

decal

Tea, anyone?

pitdogg2

yep love me some REAL TEA not that bagged crap. I go through a pound of jasmine pearl a year. Plus I love the oolong's in jasmine and regular and the dark. Any Jasmine white #1 is like my crack just love it. All in all I go through probably 5 pounds of the stuff a year. I order through Tenren and Teavana mostly order on line. Two years ago my wife got me a big cast iron tea pot from Bed Bath and beyond it's a 32oz'er LOVE IT!!!

tonyb

Wow.....more teabaggers than I thought.:cheesygrin:

How about some specifics to try. I like the milder, healthier varieties, with any flavor added or mixed as long as it comes to the tea natural and not an added chemical flavoring.

BeefJerky

I don't think I'd call myself a tea lover, but I drink these like they're going out of style:
http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/product.jsp?productId=114691&navAction=

I figure it's (at least slightly) better for me than soda, and as far as pre-made teas go it's quite good.

tonyb

Rick88 wrote: »

I've recently been on a health kick, and have been drinking a lot of tea on the weekends (instead of alcohol). Nothing too fancy, just various flavored herbal teas from Celestial Seasonings. Some of them are very good!!

Drink some tea after a heavy meal, helps with digestion which is important as you become older.

Red wine, coffee, tea, fresh juice, my personal choices over sugary soda's. Thats just me though. Red wine was probably put in my baby bottle for all I know....might explain the brain damage, I dunno. Funny thing, as you get older your more aware of what passes your lips. When I was younger, well, safe to say we didn't give a crap then.

jon s

The best green tea is Japanese green tea. You might be able to find them at Asian shops, but the good brands are expensive, about $30/oz... They use only the tips of the green tea (the leaves), they throw away the stems which makes the tea bitter. Good teas are packaged in metalized packages that is either vacuum packed or sealed with nitrogen to prevent the tea from oxidizing. It is best to brew the tea in water almost to the boiling point. Boiled water makes the tea bitter as well.

Read more here

jon s

A bit more info... the best teas are from the first harvest of the year (there are usually three or four)...

When looking for a teapot, look for one with a spout that extends farther out. Some pots have the spouts close to the body. When the spout is loser to the body, you have to tip the pot more to pour. Potswith spouts that extend out do not have this problem. You do not want to have to tip the pot too much and have the lids fall off. Learned this the hard way. I also prefer ceramic pots over metal, as metal pots dissipate heat quicker, meaning your tea gets cold faster...


Good teapot design...

Bad teapot design below...

Sci-fi Polk Guy

As you can see by my name, I am a science fiction fan. I have been a Star Trek fan for more than 40 years. Like Captain Jean-Luc Picard of the Enterprise 1701-D, I enjoy Earl Grey tea.

steveinaz

Alrighty, then. :cheesygrin:

pitdogg2

Tony have you looked at any of these places?
tenren.com
teavana.com
both have great selections and as far as flavoring I'm just a Jasmine guy no fruit flavor's for me.

Oldfatdogs

decal,your brewing the good stuff.Hang on its gonna be a long ride.

tonyb

Oh yeah, have teavana by me so if not buying online from Adagio, or some obscure chinese joint, Teavana is fairly good. Tea varieties and quality,along with prices differ greatly. The ones by me have tastings on occasion, nice to get your taste buds flowing at these things and narrow down some preferences.

Ist flush teas being the most expensive, which Dragon well first flush is btw. Not so sure I'd buy Japanese tea these days, unless I needed a few extra rads of radioactive material in my body. Call me over cautious, but given the island is not that big, I'll pass.

Man, Jon, you must not like me or somethin'. Kinda like suggesting veggies grown outside of Cherynobel, no ? Just bustin' your nuts bro.

vcwatkins

jon s wrote: »

A bit more info... the best teas are from the first harvest of the year (there are usually three or four)...

When looking for a teapot, look for one with a spout that extends farther out. Some pots have the spouts close to the body. When the spout is loser to the body, you have to tip the pot more to pour. Potswith spouts that extend out do not have this problem. You do not want to have to tip the pot too much and have the lids fall off. Learned this the hard way. I also prefer ceramic pots over metal, as metal pots dissipate heat quicker, meaning your tea gets cold faster...

I'm confused. Isn't that a cast iron pot?

tonyb

Thats why clay pots are better, they hold the heat longer than ceramic or iron. I think they figured that one out around 1200 BC. Could be wrong though, it might have been 1280 BC., not sure:cheesygrin:

Though Clay pots are more one dimensional in that your only supposed to use one type of tea in them. The iron ones you can use more of a variety of teas.

jon s

vcwatkins wrote: »

I'm confused. Isn't that a cast iron pot?

yes... I was using the photo as an example of the spout design...

vcwatkins

Gotcha, thanks Jon. I like the cast iron ones personally. Seem to retain heat well and, to me, are better ergonomically than clay ones I've used (esp when the tennis elbow is bad). Lemon grass and Dragonwell for me.