Been drinking a lot of tea...need help finding the best brand(Brits please help!)

a reply to: TrueBrit

Absolutely 100% true I am a tea drinker and have tried many many teas in my day.
Grant you they have mostly been from our local stores which have a pretty great selection I don't get around to much
my all time favorite is Twinings English Breakfast Tea the taste is hard to explain, but it is so satisfying IMHO nothing compares
to it.
My other go to teas are Twinings Earl Gray and Stash Earl Gray Black which has a hint of bergamot and anise really rich tasting.
I also love Chai Green Tea made with warm milk. LOVE my tea and I enjoy tasting new flavors from different places which seem to come out
every week.

a reply to: starlitestarbrite

There is but one sort of tea, that I really cannot stand at all, and that is Earl grey. Something about its flavour puts me in mind of what one would expect from strained out gym shorts!

long time tea drinker myself. started out very young with simple black tea. but, grown to like a lot of different kinds.

it really depends on the type of mood i am in though. because each tea has it's own benefits, flavor profiles etc

Earl Grey
Lady Early Grey - has a wee bit of an orange flavor
Yerba Mate - great for energy
Coca Mate - also great for energy and upset stomach
White Tea - made from the young bud tips of green tea plants, it's like green tea on steroids as far as health benefits go it has every benefit of green tea, but multiplied by 1,000, such as

Antioxidant
Lower Blood Pressure
Lower Cholesterol
Heart Protection
Stronger Bones
Antibacterial & Antiviral
Healthy Teeth and Gums
Healthy Skin

if i'm sick, i'll go on a white tea binge and it definitely helps recovery time in my opinion. probably the most delicate of all the teas.

Sometimes if I'm looking for something different I'll go with oolong, rooibos or chai.

And then there is a whole host of herbal teas. If I'm having a little bout of insomnia I'll go with a Valerian root tea (an acquired taste for sure) or chamomile, which is great for upset stomach and calming down.

there's a million different brands of all of those tea types. i always liked twinnings as others have said. but, regardless i love using a tea ball strainer and steeping fresh bulk tea as opposed to buying boxes/bags of tea, which in general seem to be less fresh to me.

Great song:

Tetley Pure Green Tea bags almost every time.

No milk or sugar, just pour on hot water, leave for 2 mins, take out bag, and drink.

Apart from being very pleasant, it's also very healthy as it's packed with antioxidants.

I've recently been making half-hearted attempts to get into Clipper Organic White Tea bags, but it could be a long process. It's quite a sweet, woody, planty type of taste, almost not recognisable as tea.

But if you can acquire the taste, it's the king of the teas, being the healthiest (ie the leaves are the youngest and undergo no oxidisation).

Since it looks like from the replies that very few here know their tea here, I had to add to this thread.
I am not a Brit, but I know my tea, currently keep stocked up with almost a dozen varieties of white, green and black tea. I also collect, ferment and dry my own herbal teas during the summer. A whiff of summer in the cupboard waiting for those cold winter nights with a hot cup of tea in the hand and a fireplace blazing...

There are many grades of tea, the first cut (smallest leaves) of the season normally being the finest in flavor and most prized of the teas. White tea is the most delicate in its flavor and aroma, no-one mentioned that here yet. Green teas from Japan and South Korea are splendid. Personally I like green tea best spiced with jasmine flower petals. Black tea also has some great varieties worth testing, love this one, Lapsang souchong, black tea smoked with fir tree roots.

The best black teas I have tasted are Darjeeling and Assam teas. Oolong tea is also great. Check this site for a variety of brands.

Try for instance "2014 Lopchu Golden Orange Pekoe Darjeeling Black Tea" and you will never again buy the cheaper varieties.

Tea Trekker

originally posted by: TatTvamAsi
Since it looks like from the replies that very few here know their tea here, I had to add to this thread.

White tea is the most delicate in its flavor and aroma, no-one mentioned that here yet.

Tea Trekker

Ahem.... look-up a couple posts

though i don't think darjeeling was mentioned yet, that is definitely another good one.

a reply to: CallmeRaskolnikov

You're right now, but it wasn't there when I was composing my reply...

a reply to: TatTvamAsi

haha, awww, i hate when that happens. good to see another white tea fan in here though. i love that stuff. literally bought a 2lb bag of raw tips. mmmm mmmmmm.

oh and jasmine was a good mention too. that was also left out previously.

a reply to: ColeYounger

I was thinking more along the lines of



one of my favorite all time tea drinking albums. lol

originally posted by: TrueBrit
a reply to: starlitestarbrite

There is but one sort of tea, that I really cannot stand at all, and that is Earl grey. Something about its flavour puts me in mind of what one would expect from strained out gym shorts!

I am the opposite, I really enjoy the occasional earl grey although I am one of the few Englishmen that does not like standard tea in any form.

I also can't stand fish and chips.

Maybe I'm adopted?

I was gonna say PG tips but if you want a loose tea.. hmm.. not sure what would be best. I like unflavored teas myself and am addicted to the PG tips haha.
Enjoy!

Ty all for your input. It has been very helpful. How are the PG tips green tea bags? And what should I use to supplement the flavor? I got my black tea covered w the Yorkshire loose tea, might invest in some twinings english breakfast teas as well. On the hunt for some good white tea as well. Thanks again.

Best black teas I have tasted come from China. That tea is called Keemun because it originates from Qimen County. Chinese teas are hard to find and expensive, but they beat Ceylon, Darjeeling and others easily. That tea is deliciously smoky and fruity. Prince of Wales by Twinings is pretty close to that taste, but its still a blend. You need to find pure, high quality Keemun tea.

But I prefer green and white tea. Remember that NEVER use boiling water for them, only use boiling water for herbal teas and black tea. White and green tea need to be steeped in lower temperature. Highest quality white tea can be even steeped at 60 degrees Celsius (120 Fahrenheit). Any higher than that and you kill the taste.

If you like the taste of black tea, but want the benefits of green tea, get some Chinese gunpowder tea from Zhejiang Province. They also usually have higher amount of caffeine than other teas. It has smoky taste. They are very popular in North Africa, where gunpowder tea is spiced with spearmint, creating the famous "Moroccan mint", which is delicious!

a reply to: TrueBrit

Many moons ago before i stopped drinking tea, A freind of mine used to mix earl grey and plain typhoo leaf tea 50/50 and it actually didn't taste half bad on it's own though I most heartily agree that it tastes rank!

Peace,

M.