Thread: Another Relaxing Hobby.... Tea

Anyone else spend way too much money on tea? I have several cast iron tea pot both at home and work and I drink tea all day long. I have many different "favorites" depending on the time of day and my mood. Below are some of my favorites (Mostly from Teavana). What are yours?

Favorite White Tea - Silver Needle
Favorite Black Tea - Black Dragon Pearls (Runner up is Golden Monkey Black)
Favorite personal Blend - Black Dragon Pearls and Silver Zen Pearls
Favorite Mate Blend - Samurai Chai Mate
Recent Found Favorite - Toasted Nut Brulee (Oolong)
Favorite Green - Imperial Matcha
Another Great Black Tea - Golden Imperial Lotus Tea
Favorite Rooibos - Ginseng Vitality

I LOVE Teavana teas, and i bought my first teapot from them, until i found the exact same pots at a local asian import store for about 1/3 the price, with the teacups. I also use their perfect teamaker almost every day. I typically brew my first cup or whatever i'm in the mood for in the tea maker and then i keep a pot going all day.

this time of year i usually drink a boatload of iced tea, but when the weather cools down, the hot tea will flow again, i have given up on coffee, and feeling somewhat better about it.

Originally Posted by wvloony

this time of year i usually drink a boatload of iced tea, but when the weather cools down, the hot tea will flow again, i have given up on coffee, and feeling somewhat better about it.

I love peppermint iced tea when the weather is warm/hot... Very refreshing. Congrats on giving up coffee. My wife prefers her iced tea with about 1/2 cup of sugar per cup... i prefer mine natural.

I've thus far managed to avoid getting caught in the grip of tea pot acquisition disorder. I too am a hopeless tea addict though. I start each day with a cup of hot tea and then, much like wvloony, proceed to drink copious amounts of iced tea throughout the day. When we go out to eat I do everything in my power to ensure it's at a place that has fresh brewed iced tea (IMHO the stuff from powder concentrate should be outlawed and cans of Lipton Brisk should be labeled as poison). I would even go so far as to say that, if I had to choose between giving up an nice cold beer or gin and soda in the evening for the rest of my life... or tea for the rest of my life... as tough as the choice would be I'd probably keep the tea and loose the beer.

Despite having tried many whites, reds, oolongs, and greens I find that 98% of my favorites are in the black tea family.

I was fortunate to have lived in China for a year, so of course I had lots of amazing green teas. In fact I don't even think I ever saw anyone in China drink black tea. My favorite is jasmine green tea, mostly because that's what restaurants in China serve. I suspect because the jasmine masks the low quality tea. So for me it's a nostalgia thing, since whenever I have it it reminds me of China. Chrysanthemum tea is another one served at restaurants a lot, supposedly for its digestive aids I guess. Goes well with roast duck! I spent about a month living just outside of Hangzhou, which is a tea growing region. You could bike up the hillsides and buy fresh tea from little old men by the side of the road.

I was given as a gift some kind of tea, I think it may have been the silver needle tea. It looked like pine needles. It was a lot, though, in two tubes roughly the size of two 12 oz. cans of soda. But it was amazing stuff. Unfortunately when I moved I forgot to bring it with me, now it's someone else's. Hopefully they realize what good tea they have.

Originally Posted by ChesterCopperpot

I was fortunate to have lived in China for a year, so of course I had lots of amazing green teas. In fact I don't even think I ever saw anyone in China drink black tea. My favorite is jasmine green tea, mostly because that's what restaurants in China serve. I suspect because the jasmine masks the low quality tea. So for me it's a nostalgia thing, since whenever I have it it reminds me of China. Chrysanthemum tea is another one served at restaurants a lot, supposedly for its digestive aids I guess. Goes well with roast duck! I spent about a month living just outside of Hangzhou, which is a tea growing region. You could bike up the hillsides and buy fresh tea from little old men by the side of the road.

I was given as a gift some kind of tea, I think it may have been the silver needle tea. It looked like pine needles. It was a lot, though, in two tubes roughly the size of two 12 oz. cans of soda. But it was amazing stuff. Unfortunately when I moved I forgot to bring it with me, now it's someone else's. Hopefully they realize what good tea they have.

What a great story. Sorry to hear you left the silver needle. It is fantastic tea. And what a great experience that must have been, living in china. Jasmine tea makes great iced tea too.

And malacoda.... I agree. I cannot stand pre made "store" teas or the kind that come out of soda machines at restaurants.

My grandmother used to make, what I thought, the greatest sun tea in the world. She used green tea leaves, fresh rose petals and honey and left it out on her back porch for several hours. Add a little ice and it was extremely refreshing on a hot summer day. Might have to make some of this tomorrow.

I do love a good glass of ice tea, though I prefer mine on the southern side of things. Though I'm normally just a Lipton guy I do enjoy the Sleepy Time brand of tea and had the fortune of touring their plant as a child.

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