Tea Drinkers?

[HomesteaderWife]

So I have never in my life been a tea drinker. A handful of times I've taken a cup of plain Chamomile, but truthfully I am a coffee drinker more so than anything. But I feel like I'm missing out, particularly in regards to herbal teas. I think I've simply just not had a good cup of tea.

How do you take your tea? How much milk or sugar or honey goes into it? How do you brew/steep your tea, and what type of tea do you drink? I want to learn more and really give tea a chance, not just overly-sugared Southern sweet tea I am used to!

Thanks for any input!

 

[HomesteaderWife]

So a small update, I finally put a bit of my learning to the test. I didn't have a great brand to use, just what was on hand, but I did put a bag of black tea in my cup. Brought filtered water to a rolling boil, poured into the cup with the bag, and sat for 5 minutes.

One of my biggest mistakes in years past was not knowing any better, and squeezing the tea bag after I steeped. Apparently, this causes it to be quite bitter - no wonder I didn't enjoy it!

Had a sip afterwards and I was thrilled to not find that bitterness. Added 1 Tbsp sugar and 1 Tbsp milk and made myself a pleasant drink. I am going to try again tomorrow with Stevia perhaps instead of sugar. I can generally use less of it for a sweetness.

 

[Nabiki]

I'm a tea snob. I mostly drink high quality green teas, but I occasionally like a good black tea.

If I drink black tea, it is with milk and sugar, or it's iced tea. A good English Breakfast or Earl Grey (bergamot, not lavender) are my black teas of choice. Green tea I drink plain.

 

[MTKitty]

Oh, my goodness! I start my day with coffee, but switch to tea by midmorning.

Do you want caffeine free? Herbal teas. Loose, dried, from a specialty store is my fave. But I will drink bagged from grocery stores, too. For loose, I steep 3-5 minutes in a pot and strain the leaves out when I pour. Bagged is easier - like regular bags, 3-5 minutes.

Caffeinated, I like black, white, oolong. Green tea, I only like from the local tea shop (loose). Bagged, brand name is too bitter.

I’ve learned brands make a huge difference. I hate Lipton, tolerate Tetley or Lusianne, and prefer Bewley’s that I order from teadog.com or other online shops.

Try bunches: english/irish/scottish breakfast or afternoon, earl grey, flavored, all the colors. Try them with honey, sugar, milk, black. Find your favorite and enjoy!

 

[MTKitty]

Another thing I do that’s different from coffee prep is warming the cup or pot with hot water (tap hot is fine). When the tea water is ready, dump warming water out. Put tea in your warmed cup/pot and add the hot water to steep.

Adding the tea water to a cold cup or pot cools the water too much for optimum steeping.

 

[MTKitty]

@MTKitty - Caffeinated is perfectly fine for me, I just mainly would like to find an enjoyable tea. I've tried a few types but I firmly believe I am making the tea wrong, and the lack of knowing what amount of milk and sugar would be tasty also sort of threw me off.

Ah. My personal favorite is Bewley’s Irish Afternoon tea, black. Steep for 3-5 minutes in water brought almost to boiling. If it’s in a bag, don’t squeeze - that releases excess tannins that can be bitter. On occasion, I’ll add a teaspoon or two of cream and/or sugar.

The milk and sugar really are a matter of taste. I take my coffee w/cream or black, but don’t care for sugared coffee, at all.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@MTKitty - thank you so much! I'm definitely going to look into it more; as I said, I truly feel I am missing out and just haven't had the right cup of tea. I fear I've made it wrong all along, as often times I end up leaving my tea to steep until it turns quite dark and bitter and I think I've just made it wrong all along

 

[Isadora]

I pretty much only drink tea for medicinal reasons. If I was sick and had a sore throat, I would drink Traditional Medicinals throat coat or something. Maybe echinacea to boost the immune system. If I were to drink tea recreationally, just to enjoy the taste, I really love hibiscus. It's great as an iced tea and a spoonful of honey balances out the tangy flavor.

 

[HomesteaderWife]

@MTKitty - Caffeinated is perfectly fine for me, I just mainly would like to find an enjoyable tea. I've tried a few types but I firmly believe I am making the tea wrong, and the lack of knowing what amount of milk and sugar would be tasty also sort of threw me off.

 

[Nabiki]

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My favorite tea since I was a young girl. Steep for only a minute or so. I put in 3 teaspoons of sugar. Because I like it sweet...

The tea snob is going to come out here. Bigelow's is some of the cheapest, crappiest tea around. They hide poor quality tea under spices and artificial flavours.

Teavana (Starbuck's tea division) does the same thing and overcharges for mediocre tea mixed with fruit and other things to hide the quality of the tea.

Edit: There's nothing wrong with you liking it, but you're probably liking the stuff they add to it rather than the tea itself.