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What tea are yall drinking today?
For my daily tea-drinkers: What are you drinking today? Where'd you get it? How would you rate it?
For my non-tea drinkers: Feel free to ask any questions you might have about the most widely consumed beverage in the world (next to water). Share a time you had a good experience or a bad experience.
I was just going to jump in here and write
earl grey, but after reading your questions debated if this might be too advanced for me :P.Earl grey is my favourite and pretty much the one of three teas I ever choose. Currently drinking one from London (not sure what it is it was a gift). However my go-to/favourite blend can be found in Alberta, Canada - Cream of Earl Grey. It's served at the Fairmount Hotels in AB and can be purchased in local tea shops in and around Banff.
Edit to add: I have no idea how to rate tea beyond, I like it, so I'm excited to see more replies to this post.
When you wrote Earl Grey, I was actually going to suggest Cream of Earl Grey, which is one of my favourites. David's Tea sells one as well, and I think it's very similar to the one from the Fairmounts (if not exactly the same). It's one of the teas that I like to drink with absolutely nothing added to it.
I looked in our tea cupboard at home the other day and we have about 60 different teas... but they're mostly for my wife and daughters. I'm more of a coffee person.
Funny, people have told me about David's and I tried it and thought it smelled and tasted like cough syrup. I definitely don't think it's similar to Fairmount's. I think there's some maybe single ingredient that they use that just doesn't work for me. Honestly, though I have a preference, I can drink pretty much anything, but I actually returned that one.
David's does have an almond green tea that they discontinued that I loved (tasted like tofu fa dessert).
Hmm. That's weird - I don't find it cough syrupy at all (though that's definitely something that I find about some David's teas). I have had batches of it that I like more than others; I don't find David's to be the most consistent place. Good, yes, but not super consistent.
I also loved that almond green tea. It definitely tasted like tofu-fa!
I just want to agree that I also didn't like David's version of Cream of Earl Grey. The undisputed winner for the creamy version of Earl Grey is still Fairmont's version, personally. I often find David's blends to be too flavoured for my liking.
I think "too flavoured" is a good way of putting it. I find David's tea are great for gifts, and getting a quick selection of teas, but as for quality, there are definitely better.
I've said it in a few other posts now, but Earl Grey is 100% not my jam. But that's okay!
If you're looking for other suggestions of teas to branch out to from Earl Grey, I'd suggest any kind of Assam, Darjeeling, or Nepalese tea. If you're looking for suppliers, I can't recommend Upton Tea Imports enough (http://www.uptontea.com/). Once you read some of the descriptions of the subtle flavors, find one that suits you, put it in a tea ball or a tea bag, then go to town!
Cool, thanks for the suggestions!
I found out that I can only stand cheap Earl Grey. A lot of the nicer loose leaf Earl Grey have too much bergamot oil in it and it tastes like soap to me. I can see why people like it, but oof... Doesn't work for me :).
Which is weird because I used to think I liked Earl Grey.
I'm far from a tea connoisseur, but have recently made the switch from coffee to tea since the coffee at my job is vile.
I drink Earl Gray in the morning and either Cinnamon Spice or Lemon Ginger in the afternoon. These are Harney & Sons teas. (Any recommendations for new flavors or brands to try are very welcome!)
Not a tea suggestion, but we have flavoured honeys in Canada. Ever try Earl Grey with cinnamon honey? It's a nice little something for every now and then.
I'm not really sure. I'm going to guess they're adding the spice after, just because I know it's local honey and there's not really a strong practice here to limit bees from gathering specific flowers, though that is definitely done too.
Flavour is heavily influenced by the type of flower the bees pollinate, certainly!
Cinnamon honey, specifically, has cinnamon added after the fact. I especially love it on my French toast!
I need to find some jalepeno honey, that sounds amazing.
Time to hit the local honey markets! I have a few bee farms around my city, so chances are high that someone has a jalapeno one! My favourite farm even makes mead!
thanks!
I said it somewhere else but I actually can't stand Earl Gray tea. Harney & Sons generally have pretty good tea selections, but if you're a fan of Earl Gray, Cinnamon Spice, and/or Lemon Ginger, I suggest you try looking for some Assam tea (or Darjeeling, Ceylon, etc.; any red/black tea will do ya good) and adding in your own spice preferences.
For example, I when I started drinking tea, I loved any Chai tea bags. Now, I make my own chai masala (tea/spice mixture of cloves, cardamom, cinamon, ginger) to make masala chai (an indian based tea + chai masala + milk) in the winter. Tea can really be a slippery slope!
A friend of mine gifted me her blend of chai masala, and I used it ever so slowly to try and make it last. That was a good winter. I need to start making my own! Do you have a recipe you can share with the rest of us?
That's honestly one of my favorite questions to ask people, because everyone you ask will have a slightly different recipe. One person told me their family never uses cardamom, others use more ginger then I prefer, etc. It also depends on the portions you're making or if you're just making the blend to save for later.
Essentially:
Green Cardamom Pods, cracked open or just the seeds
Bit of black pepper corns
Dried ginger bits (or powder)
Cinnamon sticks, broken up
Whole cloves
Coriander
Nutmeg
As I said, you can either save all these up in a gallon bag and use as needed, or throw over some milk with some CTC Assam and heat to a boil, stirring slowly. Once it boils, you're ready to pour :)
Edit 1: Some people put in anise, which I'm not opposed to, it's just also not my go-to. Same with fennel.
Edit 2: Sadly, I don't really have a good estimate of weights/measurements of each, but that should only encourage yall to try your own blends or ask around for other recipes!
I second the request for a recipe!!
Have you tried the Paris flavored tea from H&S? That's the only one I've tried from them and it is very good.
I'm in the northern US -- I haven't tried Sun Brewing tea but I'd love to!
Any suggestion on the type of pitcher to use? That sounds great!
Why is the sun such an important factor? What if I just let the pitcher sit indoors?
And does temperature matter at all?
Drinking some Lipton while typing this comment!
I've been drinking tea daily for over 10 years and it wasn't until the past three months that I'm slowly coming to enjoy coffee! French press and pour-over are my jam.
Any preferences?
Funny enough -- the only thing that got me into liking coffee was the scientific measuring of it and grinding it myself, specifically because it reminded me of the process of brewing loose leaf tea! It's really a fun kind of practice. Although, I use a krups machine grinder that I specifically only use for coffee (https://www.amazon.com/KRUPS-Electric-Grinder-Stainless-3-Ounce/dp/B00004SPEU), never for spices. Why is a burr grinder better?
Someone just showed me an aeropress last week and it looks intimidating, to be quite honest, but I'd love to try at some point in the future.
And I just looked up what "Third Wave Coffee" is and that's exactly what I look for when I purchase coffee (which is pretty rare, admittedly). Never knew it had a name; that's awesome! I'll absolutely try to go out and get some recommendations from baristas -- thanks for all the suggestions!
Burr grinders crush beans into a uniformish coarseness, whereas a bladed grinder has a spinning blade that pulverizes them. Because of this, blade grinders tend not to create a uniform granular size, and also tend to heat up, which can adversely affect flavours in whatever you're grinding.
Disclaimer: I am not a professional barista, but I do remember reading this when I did my research on coffee years ago.
The really nice thing about the Aero Press is it's very easy to dispose of the grinds directly into the bin without too much moisture in em.
The annoying thing is it only makes a single serving at a time.
Interestingly the inventor is the same guy who made the Areobie Frisbee.
Pour-overs! They're perfect for a single serving of coffee, and I enjoy watching grinds bloom.
I feel like I can never get mine quite right. I'm still trying to play with the right grind of bean for it, I think. Sometimes it comes out bitter/burnt, other times it seems like the water seeps through the filter like there was nothing there at all. :/
Any tips/suggestions?
The formula I was taught was:
With the experimenting I've done, I've found that you get a burnt taste if your water is too hot, or is too concentrated in one spot; starting out by saturating the grounds got me a more consistent taste.
edit: to add one more step
I'm all about the pour overs recently. Makes me a happy coffee drinker.
There's a place near me that sells a Snow-Jasmine that is absolutely to die for. I usually bounce between that an a Gunpowder (or other green tea) depending on how much caffeine I need that morning
I recently began a subscription with Tea Runners, and I'm just finishing my first box of all black teas from them.
I currently have Majestic Earl Grey in my cup: The Majestic Earl Grey was a Global Tea Championship Winner, 1st Place. Apparently created from the highest quality Yunnan black tea and cold-pressed bergamot oil from Italy.
I've watched enough TNG lately that the first mental response in my head to this post was actually:
edit: The other teas included in this box were Nepalese Black, and Ceylon Black.
Nepalese Black: Himalayan beauty from Eastern Nepal, grown in the oldest organic garden in the country. More delicate than Darjeeling, and contains subtle floral notes. Quiet notes of green grass with the astringency of lemon peel.
Ceylon Black: Exceptional Sri Lankan bright and pungent, yet refined, black tea from the Lumbini estate. Brews to a brilliant copper hue, with aromas of roasted stone fruit. This tea was awarded the Gold Standard by the Specialty Tea Association.
That sounds amazing and now I need to look that up :)
Fun fact: Tea Runners is run in part by Jewel Staite, whom I hold near and dear to my heart. I always knew she was a foodie, but tea, now that's a different story. I admit that she was a large part of the reason I wanted to give this subscription box a try. I'm not usually one for monthly loot crates, but the first box did not disappoint. I'm anxiously awaiting this month's Pure Tea box. There's also an Herbal Tea box, but I find that they aren't really to my tastes.
I'm really not a fan of loot crates, but I have to admit, I'm super tempted for this one. And who doesn't love her!
Ohhh man. I think I'm unlike every other Tilder in this thread, but I can't get into Earl Grey at all. I've tried so many different varieties and suppliers over the years that I've resigned that I'll never like it. Give me that straight Yunnan black tea any day.
I will say, some Nepalese black teas have been my favorite teas of all time. Anything golden-tippy is my all time favorite.
Some people just don't like the bergamot flavouring present in Earl Grey and that's totally okay. I'm actually very in love with Lady Grey, a more.. feminine version of Earl Grey. I have a box of the Twinings Lady Grey that I brought back from London last time I went to visit, and oh my, it's quite nice. It sounds like you're more into the pure blacks though, from your other suggestions in this post. Nepalese Black is beautiful!
How do you feel about green or white teas?
I've tried Lady Grey before actually and did like it more than Earl Grey, but still wasn't my cup o' tea (ayyyyyyyyyy)
Big fan of green teas from Japan (Genmaicha, Sencha, Gyokuro (<3), etc.) but haven't explored many greens from other regions really (beyond some Jasmine/greens or gunpowder). Someone gifted me some Vietnamese tea a while back, but I've honestly never opened the box because it looks pretty and I've been drinking other things.
White teas for me are really hit or miss. I like the experience, but flavor wise, it can range anywhere from drinking hot water to drinking water off some damp wood. So, I can't justify the price points for something that I don't get benefits of, really. I have liked some Shou Mei when I was able to get flavor out of it.
Yourself?
My main jam is probably green teas. I love Japanese greens. I brought back a little tiny tin of medium quality matcha powder from a department store in Tokyo, and it tastes divine. Genmaicha and Sencha are wonderfully nostalgic of Japanese food. I love Jasmine green teas too.
I think of white teas, my favourite would be silver needle. I think white teas are harder to brew just right, as they're more finicky with water temperatures and such.
I said it in another reply, but I've never been able to get anything from white tea, sadly. Just tastes like water to me, after trying more than 4 different varieties and multiple different brewing/steeps. :(
One Japanese green I noticed you didn't mention was Gyokuro, which is the highest quality green tea they make in Japan! It's truly a delightful experience (as well as a splurge), so if you've never had it, I suggest giving it a shot. My absolute favorite supplier of Japanese green teas is Den's Tea and I've found their service to be delightful to work with and very upfront and honest. Do you have a favorite place to get your tea?
Mmm Gyokuro. That stuff is amazing. The only time I've tried it was in an upscale French restaurant, and they offered some specific vintage of it. It was an amazing dinner that I'll never forget.
I'd never heard of Den's until now, but that's a glowing review, so I'd be willing to give them a try the next time I need more green!
I understand your frustration with white tea. And if it isn't for you, it isn't for you. Sometimes I brew a pot of oolong and I just.. can't get behind it. Something's off with it, and I just feel terribly guilty that I don't like it. Maybe I should just come to terms with the idea that it just isn't really for me. I've had oolongs I like though, so it's possible that it's just what I've been trying.
How on earth do I buy that Majestic Earl Grey? I see no option on their site or elsewhere for North America. In Canada here.
Also in Canada! I believe Tea Runners ships out of BC. It's entirely possible that they're out of stock right now because it's one of their most popular offers. They send out new stock at the beginning of each month, so you may have just missed it!
Their website says their warehouse is moving and their online shop will be opened back up in July!
I'm only an occasional tea-drinker, but here's a tea anecdote:
Bodhidharma (the first monk to brink Buddhism to China and the founder of Zen Buddhism) created the first tea plants after he fell asleep while meditating. When he woke up and realized he'd fallen asleep, he was so upset that he tore off his eyelids and threw them to the ground. These grew into the first tea plants.
I love it!
I never quite acquired the Camilla sinensis habit, but all the other herbal teas are fun.
I know many people don't care for the bergamot in Earl Gray, but bergamot (also known as bee balm) grew wild around where I lived, and I wasn't going to resist free tea-makings. Also peppermint, raspberry leaf, comfrey, fennel, and rose-hip. In the new tropical digs, mango peel tea (delicious, but avoid if you're sensitive to poison ivy), fresh ginger, hibiscus and rooibos teas.
Japanese roasted-rice and Ethiopian (similar spice blend to chai, but includes citrus peel and cloves) teas are also favorites.
Tissanes are awesome! I've never had raspberry leaf tea -- what kind of flavor does it have? Same question to mango peel tea and Ethiopian!
Fresh raspberry leaves taste tart, aromatic and green with only the slightest hint of berry-like flavor; similar to regular black tea.
Mango peel tea tastes like mango fruit in the same way that apple peel tastes like apple; there's a hint of greener, oilier tastes, but it's generally a potent mango flavor. Sadly, I've become allergic and can't even touch them!
Ethiopian spice teas start with the same constellation of spices as are used in chai - cardamom, cinnamon, clove, ginger. I learned to love Blue Nile Restaurant's variation, which includes rose hips, citrus peel and chamomile - it's sweet-tasting without any added sugar.
That all sounds delicious and I'd very much like to try Ethiopian tea one day. I find that beyond Rooibos and Heuningbos, most tea drinkers in Western countries really ignore a lot of the tea and tea practices coming from African countries.
I've had Chombe, the national tea of Malawi, and I hold it in equally high regard as some of the best tea I've ever had from Nepal, India, or Taiwan.
Tesco Earl Grey.
Normally I drink CTC Assam from Harney & Sons, but I'm out right now.
CTC Assam with a tiny bit of honey is one of my favorites-- from any supplier.
I'm drinking Tazo Vanilla Caramel Chai right now - basically a cookie in tea form, if you add in a little milk and sugar.
That's my comfort tea, it's so dang relaxing and feels like a warm hug.
Surprisingly, this was the tea that dove me straight down the rabbit hole in the world of tea!
I had a cup of strong Irish breakfast + milk in the morning, as usual. I have a nice oolong I'll have later in the day, then usually a cup of chai after dinner.
I want to swap tea-lives with you.
That sounds quite similar to my style. Where do you get your Irish Breakfast from?
I tended to buy Irish and Scottish breakfast teas from Betty's / Taylors of Harrogate (and liked to mix them). But they are harded to obtain these days hereabout.
I order big bulk cases off of amazon, you can get a few hundred in one go.
There's a very good rooibos & honeybush tea under Trader Joe's label, not sure what the actual producer's name is. I have one in the afternoon, hot or over ice. You could add to it, but it is a touch sweet on its own. It's very affordable, and very relaxing.
Roobois is by far my favorite tea, plain or blended... it's super earthy which I love and has no caffeine so is perfect for me, since caffeine makes me have panic attacks. I am Canadian so haven't been able to try any Trader Joe's varieties, but David's Tea makes some really fantastic blends. The Coco Chai is a really nice and has cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, pink peppercorns and cloves so tastes similar to mulled wine and is perfect for a cold, winter day.
I wish I was Canadian : )
A rooibos + honeybush blend is what I've been drinking all day: I'm sick with a cold so I don't need the caffeine to dehydrate me, plus I can add some manuka honey to it for extra throat-soothing :)
I hope you feel better!
Many thanks, I feel a bit better than yesterday but still have a scratchy sore throat. Gonna have a lot more Rooibos with honey today!
I only just thought of this: kombucha counts, it's just mildly fermented!
We will call that tea for this thread!
What flavors are you drinking? I've got a really good raspberry I've been all about recently.
Lots of places here have been aaaaall about having kombucha on tap. Straight green tea kombucha is a great everyday drink, but the most popular flavours I see are ginger and orange! I love raspberry anything and would love to try it in kombucha form!
Oh, I like green tea, and I'm drinking Yuhua, a fresh green tea with a tinge of nutty flavour.
Oooo where's that from, if you know?
It's a Chinese variant local to Nanjing. I don't know if it's possible to find at your place.
Oooo that sounds awesome!! I'm jealous!
Update — I got a new supply of green leaves. And I forgot to mention the recommended brewing technique. Pour hot water first, then put in the leaves. Let the dry leaves absorb water and sink.
Ooo how long do you leave the leaves in for?
I didn't pay much attention... The fresh and delicate green teas don't go well with long brewing time. I just drink it when 1) most of the leaves sink and 2) I'm comfortable with the temperature.
This morning I'm drinking a mint green tea. Might switch to a hot cinnamon black tea soon, though.
What are you drinking, OP?
Just replied to someone else, but I've had probably 5 cups of rooibos + honeybush today, with some manuka honey. Got a slight cold + sore throat, so I don't wanna drink any tea with caffeine!
If you ever get your hands on just pure mint tea (if you never have), I highly suggest it! Moroccan Mint Tea is what I would be drinking if I still had any left.
I used to make mint tea out of our garden as a kid! I haven't had it in years, now! I admit I do love the caffeine of the green, though.
I should try it again.
There's a delicious mint blend that I love from Adagio. This one blend creator made it originally to represent Loki, but had to rename it when the lawyers came knocking, so now it's simply named "Adopted".
Loki is trademarked?? I thought he was part of the original Norse Mythology!
Ehh, what can ya do when Marvel comes knocking on your door? /shrug
I think it's because it was an obvious reference to MCU Loki, what with it being about him being The Adopted Son. It's this one: http://www.adagio.com/signature_blend/blend.html?blend=19842
That makes sense on both accounts.
Also, that tea looks amazing! I want to try it now!
Update: I bought some. Along with two other samplers. :-|
Please please let me know what you think of it when you get it (and the samplers too)!
Are you the "this one blend creator"?? Haha.
I really like it! It's a subtler flavor than smell, but I had really hot water, so I didn't steep it for long. I'm not a huge Marvel fan, but I had to get it because it had both spearmint and jasmine, which I love!
I got one Doctor Who sampler (not sure which one off the top of my head) for a friend, and I got the Magic Potions sampler for me. They're definitely more toasted, buttery blends than I like, but it's really fun to try new things!
If only I were so skilled!
I hope it was a good experience, even if the teas weren't quite to your taste.
(Also, apologies for this very belated response. It has been a busy couple of months and I've had to cut Tildes out to make time for life.)
It was a great experience! And Adagio put in a sample for a whole pitcher of iced tea! It was so nice of them!
Cold-brewed green tea. I'm not fancy enough to care much about the brand.
Hey! No need to be fancy here. Everyone has their tastes preferences.
Do you brew your own cold-brew green tea? If so, whats you're rough process?
I just fill a pitcher with tap water, add a half-dozen tea bags, attach the lid, and stick it in the fridge overnight. When I'm ready to drink it, I'll pour it over ice. Most of the time I don't bother to add anything to sweeten it, though I'll occasionally mix in half a cup of cranberry juice.
I've never been a huge fan of cold green tea, but with the green tea I have, I might wanna give it a go.
Thanks!
You're welcome. If you have a relatively small (16-20 US ounces) bottle, you can experiment on a smaller scale with just a couple of tea bags.
Earl Grey, hot, loose-leaf, brewed to specifications. Except it's just a Lipton's Tin of loose leaf, nothing fancy. I'm not home for about two months so I have to make do. Otherwise I'm usually drinking this black tea with lemon extract I get from a local shop. I'm very fond of citrus-y black teas.
I like citrus-y black teas too! Have you tried Lady Grey? It's a more orangey-tasting version of Earl Grey!
I have! Depending on where you get it it can be pretty hit or miss though. I've had incredibly flavorful Lady Greys as much as dull one which were only slightly different from a regular Earl Grey.
My current favourite maker is probably Twinnings. Was their formula one of the ones that fell flat for you?
Yeah Twinnings in general I was not enthused about. Maybe it's different here, as Twinnings is pretty much the 'other' loose leaf tin that's commonly available next to Lipton.
Interesting! I can't get down with loose-tea leaves with extracts/additives, personally. I'd much rather have the leaf and brew it myself then just add lemon.
Heh, I think I'm just lazy enough not to want to figure out my own additives. Maybe I should since I'm on a perpetual quest for the perfect black/lemon tea
I've got Lipton's at work. Definitively not good but I still drink them.
Ito en green tea. Free at the office. I don't drink coffee and it's a much better choice than soda. I rate it 4.5/5, only because it's bottled and I don't know if they add any preservatives to it compared to brewing my own cup.
Oh wow! That's pretty awesome to get that for free
Genmaicha!
I loves me some Genmaicha!
Seriously, my favorite tea ever. I fell in LOVE with it about 2 years ago and now I can't stop drinking it.
Wish I could find some in the UK that isn't so expensive.
I only drink it as a treat.
Maybe we could set up some sort of tea exchange? Might be way down the road for Tildes, but if we're looking to foster a community, some sort of item exchange program could be really cool and bring people together.
Chamomile, plain and simple nice and caffeine- free
Got it loose-'leaf' from Morrison's, brew at ~90C for 6 or so mins.
Pretty good overall :)
As I said I'm sick right now so Chamomile would be perfect for me. It's got a ton of anti-histamine properties!
I'm not from Canada, but I love King Cole tea. It's pretty cheap, but I'm a big fan. It's a fantastic morning coffee replacement.
As far as widely available brands go, reminds me of PG Tips, which seems pretty good!
Yeah, I've heard that that's the major competitor, but I've never had it. King Cole is definitely my favorite mass-produced tea I've ever had, so I'll have to check out PG Tips the next time I'm up in Canada!
Not sure where you're from (I'm not Canadian) but PG Tips isn't a Canadian exclusive thing, just fyi :)
Huh, good to know. I'm from the US, not too far south of the border and I've only heard of the brand in comparison to King Cole and thus in the context of Canada. Thanks for the heads up! I'll keep my eye out.
Twining's Morrocan Mint Green tea with a teaspoon of honey. Delicious with a couple biscuits and some butter..
Earl Grey every day. Hot with nothing added.
I find it too hot for hot tea, so I'm drinking cold brew Tetley orange pekoe. Normally my daily tea Ahmad Tea brand cardamom black tea with a little almond milk, but I don't really enjoy it cold.
Oooo that reminds me I need to get started on my cold brew game. It's extremely hot in the NE US right now that I'll just drink my tea 20 minutes after brewing anyway, but in my office, the AC is on full blast so I get the best of both worlds.
I've never heard of Ahmad Tea-- what're your thoughts? Cardamom black tea + almond milk sounds delicious
I cold brew in the laziest way possible by just sticking a tea bag in a mason jar of water every evening and waiting overnight! Definitely an easy way to get a summer tea fix.
I enjoy their teas, but they're nothing fancy! It's quite cheap here and available in lots of grocery stores.
Ahmad is a pretty decent brand. I find their Ceylon to be really good value for price. Dilmah is another good (better) source of Ceylon, but I have to more research to do ;)
Vahdam’s Rohini Classic Darjeeling First Flush green tea
In short: like a fresh cucumbery Oolong.
As it is a green tea, I did not put any sugar in it and steeped it for only 2'. Still, I followed the recommendation on the package and heated the water up to 80-90°C.
While I never was a great fan of green or white Darjeelings, this one is quite interesting. It tastes more of a light Oolong than a green tea. It is fresh which together with the full mouth feel reminds me of cucumbers for some reason. There is a floral aftertaste, which rounds it up really well.
Very very interesting! I can't say I've ever had a green or a white Darjeeling, only red (or black, whichever classification of tea colorings you prefer). Would you say it has a dry taste at all?
It is quite resfreshing, but with that sweet mouth-full taste that Oolong and Darjeeling tend to have. If you over-brew it, it might be a bit tart, but that's to be expected.
Works well cold-brewed as well.
I'm currenty trying out two big samplers of Vahdam's: one of Darjeelings and the other of masala chais.
White Berry Tea by the Jasmine Pearl tea company is a long time favorite that I keep coming back to. A tiny bit of chamomile but not overpowering and a wonderful berry smell. Still trying to find a pure black tea that had the best color and flavor, bought it once but couldn't find it again which made me very sad.
The leaves look beautiful there!
Do you remember anything about the 'pure black tea' that can help identify it? Do you know the region it might have come from, what variety of black tea it might have been, or some of the flavor notes that you remember? I'd love to help you find a comparable!
It was one that I found maybe 8 years ago so the details are fuzzy at this point.
What I do remember about it is that the tea leaves were much longer than what I usually find, each individual one was about 3/4-1 inch long. The resulting tea would always be dark even if the steep time wasn't particularly long. I don't believe it was an Assam or Darjeeling variety, some Keemun varieties was the closest I've gotten.
Regarding the White Berry Tea, I agree with the leaves comment. My favorite part is how the leaves look during steeping.
Only time I've seen leaves that long is when they were twisted, do you remember if they were? If so, that would suggest that they're on the higher quality end (i.e. not broken).
When you say the tea would always be dark, how dark are you talking? Formosa Keemun can be twisted and it is a dark-er tea. Maybe try to look at teas from Ceylon? There's also Pu-Erh that can sometimes be rolled (when it's not in a cake form) that produces a dark red tea, but extremely strong (and sometimes offputting) flavor.
Do you happen to remember anything at all about the flavor profile?
The leaves were twisted and a search for Formosa Keemun does look similar to what I remember. It wasn't a Pu-Erh either and not as dark as a typical Pu-Erh (in my experience they've been almost as dark as coffee).
The thing that stood out the most was what I would describe as a strong typical black tea flavor, not subtle like a darjeeling but not as strong as a pu-erh. It wasn't smoky at all and had an almost floral aroma to it. I know it's not a lot to go on so I'm not really expecting to find it again but I make it a point to grab a few ounces of loose leaf black tea whenever I am someplace new in hopes that it will be the one.
Hmmmmm, that's actually not a bad description.
I'd say continue to try out different variants of Keemun. You might also want to look at individual estate level variations as, say, an Assam from individual estates might take on different flavor profiles than other Assams you might have tried.
If you've got the time/patience, you might also look for a site that sells samples, or that allows you to contact a person to describe some of those flavor profiles to you, as well as the color variations. If they're a really good, caring website, they'll generally help you out!
I have matcha, I know how to make it, but I never sit down and think "I'm gonna drink this matcha today". I don't know, there's always something about it that makes me just grab other teas first.
How do you choose which tea you want to drink?
Ginger Peach Black Tea and later today some Lime-coco black tea.
Can't live without it.
had some pukka oatflower & lavender 'sleepy time' tea, very nice oaty with some floral notes
want to have more of this style of tea with flowers in it generally
Earl Grey. Pretty bog-standard boring. But probably still my favorite. Tried and tested.