Tea and Tea Prep

[porter]

I make about 2 quarts of ice tea a day. When I went to get the tea bag today I noticed all the different kinds and brands of tea in our cabinet. Thinking on this I concluded I only use one on a daily basis but I have enjoyed several of the others on much less occasions. Also I thought about the different ways I have seen tea prepared and would be interested in other peoples comments.

Later,

Porter

[NMDemDist2]

1. try mixing them up, make your own blends! I do that quite often and

enjoy most of the results :rofl:

[lavenderdiva]

2. I also like to brew my own iced tea, rather than use some powder mix...

one of my favorites is to use 2 family size Luzianne tea bags, and 3 jasmine tea bags per gallon of spring water. I tie the bags together and steep them in the water. Then I add Splenda, so I have 'sweet' tea without using sugar. YUMMY!

[Warpy]

5. That powdered stuff is nasty

Since I live in the desert, I manage to do sun tea year round. I usually use Tetley for iced tea, but will switch to Red Rose for an occasional treat.

I'm with you on the Splenda.

[trotsky]

10. I use Splenda in my hot tea,

but UGH I can't stand it in iced tea. Gotta be the real thing - calories be damned!

[politicat]

3. Make any of them double strong and pour over ice.

Worst case? You wasted two tea bags and a glass of ice.

I'm the iced tea drinker in the house, having grown up in hot climates (and hot winter houses - my mother being unable to cope with anything below 75) and I like to mix plain black tea with mint or lemon balm or lemongrass or rose petals. I like green teas with orange peel, mint or ginger and oolongs with roses or lemon peel.

[Neecy]

4. I've gotten hooked lately....

On Adagio teas. I love their Earl Grey, but their oolong and green teas are really superb.

What's best is their gadget they call the IngenuiTEA - it's a single-cup brewing system that has a filter at the bottom. Fill it with water, throw it in the microwave for about 3 minutes, put the loose leaf tea inside and let it steep. When it's ready, you put the IngenuiTEA atop a cup and and it drains and filters directly into the cup. Nifty gizmo.

http://www.adagio.com/

[mike_c]

6. how would you compare them to specialteas...?

Or can you? I've been buying tea from specialteas and like them, but am always on the lookout for good tea suppliers!

[Neecy]

7. I can't...

I've never been much of a tea drinker, but a friend got me hooked on Adagio and now I'm having fun trying the different varieties.

They have some good sample packs at reasonable prices - the oolong sample pack is particularly tasty. It would be interesting to hear how they stack up against other retailers. I'm always on the lookout for fun new foodie stuff.

[Shakespeare]

9. That's who I buy from!

A coworker turned me on to them back in '98, when you'd still get the occasional personalized email from Jergen Link himself (I think he was operating out of his garage at the time, before Martha Stewart noticed him and made him all famous...). My friend had been on a tea quest non pareil after spending a couple of years in London and getting really spoiled for a great earl grey; specialteas.com is where she finally found one that suited her.

They sell absolutely superior quality teas, and some varieties that I've never, ever been able to find anywhere else. My tea of choice is their Yin Hao jasmine green (they also have just about the best price on it). Their darjeeling earl grey is also outstanding.

[porter]

8. Here is a list of my teas

Green (both bag and loose), white, Chai, Thai, Luzinne (decaf and my nost uesd,regular), Nestea power (nasty is right), pinapple/ginger, French vanilla, English Breakfast, Choclet, Lipton, Celestral black, Cinnamon stick, Vanilla Carmel, Jasmine, Mit, Darjeeling, Prince of Wales, Irish Breakfast, Earl Gray, Rasberry, Blackberry and one of the best I have tasted is a black tea from Tunis.

I will try to use some combinations.

Thanks for the replys.

[trotsky]

11. My favorites

Iced tea: JFG. But I am pretty sensitive to caffeine so I usually make Luzianne decaf in my iced tea maker.

Hot tea: A British blend called Typhoo. It's the best black tea I've ever had. Fortunately I can buy it in loose leaf form at a nearby upscale grocery store.

[SoCalDem]

12. I have an ancient little stainless steel pot, with a very tight lid..

I boil some water, toss a few tea bags in and put the lid on.. remove from stove..

Ice & water & lemon in a glass..pour some tea concentrate from the little pot until the color's right..and there ya go..

[demnan]

13. I bought one of these

http://froogle.google.com/froogle_image?q=&size=4&dhm=13513667&hl=en

I buy gourmet loose teas on line from places like SpecialTeas.com and Upton Imports.

You just place the leaves in the jug on the side with the infuser basket. Fill with cold water and place in the refrigerator overnight. In the morning you can lift the infuser basket out and you have perfect tea.

My favorites are White Peony tea with orange slices (from Special Teas) and Castleton Estate Ceylon from Uptons. In a pinch I'll settle for Red Rose Tea bags.

This time of year I drink my teas hot. I use a teapot with an infuser basket like a Chatsford teapot from English. This morning I had Mao Fung Keeman from Harney's and Sons Teas.

But I'm a bit snobby about my tea. You can still get a good jug of ice tea from the Red Rose teabags.