Was at Findlay Market over the weekend, and stopped in at Churchill's Fine Teas. Have never really used loose leaf tea before, but figured I'd give it a whirl. Picked up three different types, a Sencha green, a White Raspberry and a flavored black tea, Lemon Drops.

 

The green tea is okay, but nothing too exciting taste-wise. The Lemon Drops is very good, but the White Raspberry is simply GREAT!

 

I'm glad they included some brewing instructions for newbies like myself, so I didn't ruin this experience. Will definitely be trying some more.

 

Anybody else brew their own? Or does everyone else stick with Lipton?

I drink Lipton's Tea by the gallons. Always wondered about loose leaf tea, but would need instructions too. Were your choices hot or would they be good cold?

I brew tea all the time. Start with fresh cold water and bring to a boil. Pour over tea in a pot and cover . Steep for 5 minutes. You can put loose tea in a ball or strain it thru a tea strainer from the pot. Leaves settle to the bottom of a pot, also. I prefer to leave the tea loose while steeping. Yes , cold tea should be made this way ,too.

I heard this is how Moses got his tea

 

HeBrews it himself.

My wife buys tea off of Ebay all the time. She likes the stuff from China.

I drink Lipton's Tea by the gallons. Always wondered about loose leaf tea, but would need instructions too. Were your choices hot or would they be good cold?

 

They pretty much said anything there could be made for iced tea, as well. You still prepare it hot, though, then add the ice. In fact the guy in front of me was asking about one of their mint teas. The girls behind the counter were practically drooling over how well it was last summer when they iced it. I doubt that I'll ever try it, as I'm not a big fan of mint. But, they did have several other choices that I think I will try that way.

I heard this is how Moses got his tea

 

HeBrews it himself.

 

He'll be here all weekend.

I brew tea all the time. Start with fresh cold water and bring to a boil. Pour over tea in a pot and cover . Steep for 5 minutes. You can put loose tea in a ball or strain it thru a tea strainer from the pot. Leaves settle to the bottom of a pot, also. I prefer to leave the tea loose while steeping. Yes , cold tea should be made this way ,too.

 

The instructions they gave me said that some teas you can mess up by either a.) having the water too hot, or b.) leaving the tea steep too long. In fact the teas I got, you're supposed to heat the water til it starts to boil then then let it cool for 1-2 minutes. (They said you're looking for 180 degrees or so.) Then, when you steep the tea, only to do it for 1-3 minutes. From what they say, if you go too hot, or too long, there's a chance the tea can taste bitter.

http://www.harney.com The best tea you can find!

 

I blend the Paris and Tower of London, everyone that tastes it loves it!

Edited February 14, 201412 yr by SportsGuy41017

The instructions they gave me said that some teas you can mess up by either a.) having the water too hot, or b.) leaving the tea steep too long. In fact the teas I got, you're supposed to heat the water til it starts to boil then then let it cool for 1-2 minutes. (They said you're looking for 180 degrees or so.) Then, when you steep the tea, only to do it for 1-3 minutes. From what they say, if you go too hot, or too long, there's a chance the tea can taste bitter.

 

Exactly correct. I have a Japanese great-aunt who is (surprise surprise) very particular about tea, and after living in Wales for a year, my wife became very particular as well...so add that to the fact that I've always generally preferred tea to coffee, and I've ended up being a fairly snobby tea drinker.

 

Loose tea can be tricky, particularly depending on the quality of the infuser that you have. In general, the infusers made out of mesh work better than the metal ones with small holes in them. Loose tea, if left whole, is easy to deal with, but it's generally the most expensive and difficult to come across. The "fanning" loose teas - the loose teas with smaller sized pieces of tea leaf - are cheaper and easier to steep than the whole leaf teas, but the tea snobs out there will tell you that they don't give you as sophisticated a taste. I say screw that, haha. The problem with the fanning teas is that the pieces will often be too small for the holes in tea infusers, and you'll end up with floaties in your tea (and stuck in your teeth).

 

I prefer just getting the slightly more high-end tea bags. I go for Twinings most times when it comes to across the board quality. My favorite is Irish Breakfast Tea - again, I prefer Twinings to most brands that are easily available in the US. It's a fairly strong, but straightforward black tea. Jasmine Tea is a nice change of pace. I always make a batch of Jasmine Tea and drink it over ice when I cook any kind of Asian or Indian food. If I've got a sore throat or a cold, I usually switch off to Earl Grey because of the hint of bergamot orange oil in the tea...although there are some Earl Greys out there that have too much bergamot and can come off a little bitter. Earl Grey is a tea that can taste particularly bitter if it is steeped too long or if the water is too hot. Also, Earl Grey goes great in a hot toddy (mixed with some honey, lemon juice, and a little shot of bourbon).

Didn't want to be presumptuous, but was wondering if you'd be chiming in, CWB. Great info! Thanks!

I'd love to but haven't really took the time to look at the best tea brews and don't really have time to brew it because I'm always on the go. Because of that I am faithful to Lipton in a can/bottle and when buying from a convenient store I always go with Gold Peak (which has that home brewed taste). I drink sweet tea like I'm uncle Si and I've loved it my entire life, always what I order when I'm at a restaraunt. With that said my goal is to one day brew my own and dabble in different blends, brews, etc.

One of the ladies here at work gave me a box of Kroger Simple Truth Organic green jasmine teabags. She said she got it in a gift basket, and that she doesn't drink tea, but knew I was "into all of that fancy tea stuff". :lol2: For a relatively cheap little box of teabags, I've got to say, it's not that bad at all.

Picked up a different type of tea infuser a couple weekends ago at the Teavana store at the Florence Mall. It REALLY, REALLY allows the tea leaves to bloom much more than the little tea balls. Love it.

 

Mrs. CWB picked up a box of Twinings lavender Earl Grey tea bags not too long ago from somewhere or other because she liked the smell of the box. Apparently there's also some kind of something-or-other about lavender being "calming and anxiety reducing" too, but I don't know about how much I believe any of that stuff.

 

Anyway...I'm currently getting into my change of seasons sore throat/cold, and I decided to make myself a hot toddy this evening. Decided I'd give it a try with the lavender Earl Grey, and it actually ended up making for a really solid hot toddy. I used my usual Old Forester signature, tablespoon of honey, and went a little lighter than usual on the lemon juice due to the bergamot oil in the Earl Grey leaves...and it was really really nice. Decided to have a second one even, haha.