Tea Drinkers: Need help selecting tea bag brands

[Orchidflower]

I don't really drink hot tea except rare occasions, so have no clue as to what is good and what isn't. From my brief homework on Amazon, I understand Taylor's of Harrogate is supposed to be a top brand? I can order directly from them as I wrote them and obtained their website and they do ship.
Are there any other brands that are tops? From my reading, Twinings isn't supposedly a top tea--at least, that's what some of the British nationals seem to say on websites--although in America it seems to be our best (go figure?).
Are there any flavors of teas that are really wonderful and I should include in this package?
I'm researching this for a birthday gift for a tea lover, so any help is appreciated.
I'm strictly buying tea bags and not loose tea, by the way, as this would work better for this particular person.

(Ooops! Just noticed I put "Tee" in the title instead of Tea.)

 

[RonBoyd]

The only Tea that I can stand is the kind with Chamomile as a primary ingredient. Therefore, my consumption is pretty exclusively the Celestial Seasoning's offerings -- Sleepytime, Tension Tamer, etc. (I have a daily cup during my noon meal when at home.)

 

[Orchidflower]

What I read about this Taylor's of Harrogate tea is that it won't get that strong flavor so many teas get. Naturally, Taylor's ain't cheap either....quelle surprise!

Hey, I just found out you can order Celestial Seasonings from the company. 90 choices! Hubba-hubba!!!
http://celestialseasonings.elsstore.com/view/category/5041-bagged-tea/

However, for this gift I think I will try another brand that might be higher quality...altho Celestial Seasonings I love, personally. Red Zinger...mmmmmm, for iced tea.

 

[Tesaje]

For plain tea, Taylors is very good. I like flavors in mine. Favorites are Zhena Gypsy Tea passionate peach, coconut chai. Rishi makes good tea. Numi. I like mango vanilla too.

Like coffee, wine, beer, individual taste vary widely so it is easy to get it wrong for someone else. Good luck.

 

[Orchidflower]

Prices really, really vary in teas I found:

Based on 20 tea bag boxes--

Bigelows $17.75 (yikes!)
Celestial Seasonings $2.99
Taylors of Harrogate $5.49-6.49 (altho they have plainer teas 50 bags for $6.99)
Twinings $2.99

Then you have usually a $6 shipping +/- added depending on how much you buy.

 

[FIREd]

I am surprised that a tea lover would ask for tea bags instead of loose tea leaves. It's kind of like a coffee lover drinking instant coffee.

Twinings is kind of a mass market, mid-level brand. Not bad IMO, but certainly not the best.

Among teas, I prefer black teas as I don't care for the grassy flavor of green teas. I also like herbal teas (chamomile, verbena, linden flowers, mint), though they contain no actual tea leaves.

Among black teas, my preference goes to Ceylon Tea. I like its smooth taste, mild flavor and citrusy accents.

But as Tesaje said, tastes vary and your friend might prefer a full bodied tea...

 

[Orchidflower]

This person is single and a grab and go type. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate me making them actually do some extra work to make just one cup of tea. I guess this is called "knowing your audience."

I wonder if anyone has tried a "Lapsong Souchong," which you will find spelled all sorts of ways? It has a smokey flavor and is one of the teas I just love. I think they smoke wood or something with it, but it's very different from any other tea I've ever had. Not for ice tea, tho, but a great hot tea if you like a smokey flavor like I do.

 

[FIREd]

This person is single and a grab and go type. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't appreciate me making them actually do some extra work to make just one cup of tea. I guess this is called "knowing your audience."

I see!

Another kind of tea I like very much is Chai Tea which is a mixture if tea leaves and spices. My favorite brand is called "Stash" and you can probably find it at your local supermarket. I usually buy Stash's "Chai spice black tea" (tea bags).

 

[Bestwifeever]

I've bought tea from:

TeaGschwendner - Tea merchants since 1978 and Teavana Teas: Green Tea, Oolong Tea, Black Tea, White Tea, Herbal Tea and more

I wonder if tea accessories might be a good gift instead of tea? These sites have some cool things, like travel tea tumblers.

 

[Life_is_Good]

My wife and I each drink a cup of Stash Tea most days.

They are very flavorful and are priced reasonably. Some of our favorite flavors are:

Breakfast Tea
Green Tea
Pico Orange
Peppermint

Also, we found that Bigelow makes an Apple Cider Tea - yum yum.

 

[Orchidflower]

I got a Sunbeam Hot Shot Dispenser for $20 + $8 shipping as part of the gift. I read reviews and bought the older model 3211 as it is supposedly better made than the new model.
You put 2 cups of water in the machine that's plugged in and you get instant hot water (again, I know my audience...). How ez can you get?

Now I just have to find the tea brand that's best for the money...the quest is still on. Doing lots of checking today... Amazingly, I haven't found a good rating system on the net for tea bag brands (not loose tea, but tea bag brands).

 

[donheff]

I got into tea for a while a few years back and tried all kinds of loose leaf teas and specialized brewing apparatus. I never liked any of the herbal teas or flavored teas. I ultimately settled in on green teas and plain old earl gray type black teas as my "cup of tea." I drink it black with a little sugar. As time went by I concluded that I am happy with a simple old Lipton tea bag and the heck with all the muss and fuss.

 

[Janet H]

I drink a lot of tea so here's my 2 cents...

A lot of 'herb' teas have fruit flavors .. apple cinnamon, peach sunrise, etc, and I dislike these. I prefer ginger, chamomile, mints and in the black tea arena, scented teas like earl greys, lapsan souchang, and for daily drinking plain old darjeeling .Taste for tea can be seasonal. I prefer the herby stuff in the winter but not so much in summer.

One of my very favorite teas is an herb blend called cardamon cinnamon which has a anise back bite.I think that these folks do good tea The Republic of Tea - Leading Purveyor of Premium Teas

 

[Alan]

We drink a wide of teas. We like chai spice teas and some of the fruit and herbal teas. For our standard English tea that we drink regularly we use Taylors of Harrogate (Hassam and Darjeeling) and PG Tips.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

I prefer rather bracing teas. I have a box of PG Tips in my cupboard at the present time. Also a brand called Typhoo. My son is appalled that I drink tea made from tea bags which he refers to as "tea dust". Whatever.

 

[Orchidflower]

We drink a wide of teas. We like chai spice teas and some of the fruit and herbal teas. For our standard English tea that we drink regularly we use Taylors of Harrogate (Hassam and Darjeeling) and PG Tips.

Aren't these the two most popular brands in England or do I have that wrong?

Does anyone have an idea about ice tea makers or containers made specifically for ice tea? My girlfriend in the pool said she has an ice tea maker and uses it all year around and loves it. I've never seen one, but I was thinking of also getting something for my friend to use for ice tea, too. (I'm just tea-ing it up here I guess!)

Also I learned today that tea bags need to be in a container and will last then for a year. I guess I can buy a jar of some sort to give also...or maybe I can find some sort of tin as a container.

 

[Alan]

Aren't these the two most popular brands in England or do I have that wrong?

Does anyone have an idea about ice tea makers or containers made specifically for ice tea? My girlfriend in the pool said she has an ice tea maker and uses it all year around and loves it. I've never seen one, but I was thinking of also getting something for my friend to use for ice tea, too. (I'm just tea-ing it up here I guess!)

Also I learned today that tea bags need to be in a container and will last then for a year. I guess I can buy a jar of some sort to give also...or maybe I can find some sort of tin as a container.

I think the most popular brands in England would be PG Tips, Typhoo and Ringtons, but have absolutely no data to back that up

 

[Khan]

My wife and I each drink a cup of Stash Tea most days.

They are very flavorful and are priced reasonably. Some of our favorite flavors are:

Breakfast Tea
Green Tea
Pico Orange
Peppermint

Also, we found that Bigelow makes an Apple Cider Tea - yum yum.

I agree Stash has good stuff. The local grocery store (Kroger) has some good stuff.
I experiment, but usually come back to English breakfast tea.

 

[Orchidflower]

This whole day has been devoted to searching for tea and tea makers. Boy! There surely are lots of wonderful teas out there.
You could spend weeks and weeks on this if you wanted to. I had no idea before...

 

[Urchina]

Easily available in the supermarket, I give +1 to both Taylors of Harrogate and The Republic of Tea.

Chi-chi loose tea, we're fans of Murchies, in Victoria BC. Website here: Welcome Murchie's Tea & Coffee Ltd

My mom and dad lovelovelove their mango tea. I'm more a fan of the Queen Victoria (jasmine-scented, I adore it).

 

[Glo]

This winter I've rediscovered tea made with loose tea. As a matter of fact, I've been replacing my morning coffee with black tea; the tea is even more satisfying. Now when I drink tea-bag tea, it tastes rather flat. The poster that said tea-bag tea is like drinking instant coffee is right!

Yesterday, as I was unloading the dishwasher, I broke my teapot. Have to buy another soon as I'll be missing my morning tea.

 

[Orchidflower]

Y'all have convinced me that the next time I give a gift to this person it will be one of those egg-looking loose tea leaf holders and a teapot. I got the message loud and clear. Maybe by Xmas they will be willing to do drink better tea.
Guess you could call this breaking them in slowly...

 

[Glo]

Orchidflower: This is just a suggestion: don't buy a teaball; buy a tea strainer, which will cost under $2. I think putting the loose tea directly in the teapot really gets all the flavor out of the tea since its not constrained in a teaball. I may be all wrong about this, but IMO the tea taste better if its loose in the pot.

 

[Urchina]

What Glo said. Also, tea strainers are far prettier and far easier to clean than teaballs. And don't even start on the tea socks -- impossible to clean, utter pain.

 

[FIREd]

I have this kind of infuser tea pot:

I also use this pot to prepare herbal teas since I make my own tea mixtures using bulk organic dried herbs. I think it does a reasonably good job. The tea leaves are not as confined in it as they would be in a tea ball. Clean up is pretty easy too.

If I have company, I put the loose tea directly into a silver tea pot and use a silver tea strainer.