Tea Drinkers: Need help selecting tea bag brands

[Tesaje]

A teapot and strainer with a kettle to boil pure water is all a purest needs to make tea. Tea needs boiling water at a full rolling boil (unlike coffee which is best made with water just below the boil point). The lazy or on the go cheat with tea bags - includes me. Gadgets to make tea are a waste of money and space. The hot shot water heaters don't get the water hot enuf to make good tea.

I like lapseng souchong tea but some really don't like it at all. It has a strong taste.

 

[kevink]

For caffeinated (real) tea, the best readily available brands are Peet's (available online from them and in their stores) and Tazo (owned by Starbucks).

For herbal tisanes, by far the best is Traditional Medicinals, which uses very high potency herbs and packs them in individually sealed teabags. They are a bit more expensive than others, but try, say, their Chamomile or Peppermint against any others and you'll never go back.

Like others here I drink only loose tea whenever possible - no comparison in the flavor or value, since with teabags at least 75% of what you are buying is packaging, not tea. The best tea pots (and coffee pots, for that matter) are made by Bodum (http://www.bodumusa.com

 

[Orchidflower]

Do I have this straight: You boil water then put in tea leaves loose in a pot--and then you pour the tea in a cup with a strainer over the cup you drink out of? Is that the concept? (Yes, I know...I really do not have a clue.)

Is there a certain type of teapot that is best? I really like the look of the tea infuser FIREdreamer has.
And I did check out the Bodum suggestion in the previous post, but which one is best by Bodum? Is it important you use glass only as I see there are plastic tea pots also?

 

[kevink]

Get a tea pot with an integral infuser - either one of the Bodum ones or the Chatsford sold by Upton (America's best source for loose leaf tea - http://www.uptontea.com).

Here is a link to the classic Bodum Assam:

www.bodumusa.com - the Bodum online shop

You preheat the pot with boiling water, add the tea, pour on boiling water (for black tea - a bit cooler for oolongs and greens) and steep for 3-5 minutes. Press the plunger (Bodum), remove the infuser (Chatsford), and pour.

One-cup infusers that work on mugs are available from the same sources. Once you get the hang of it, you'll wonder why you ever used trees to brew tea (i.e. wasted your $ on tea bags).

Good luck!

Kevin

 

[Orchidflower]

You mean this Chatsford one?

Upton Tea Imports: Teaware - Chatsford Bone China 4-Cup Teapot (AP64)

Infuser tea pot that's okay?

http://www.amazon.com/LaCafetiere-T...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1267758821&sr=8-1

Boy! I had no clue how many choices you had with tea when I started this.

 

[Orchidflower]

A teapot and strainer with a kettle to boil pure water is all a purest needs to make tea. Tea needs boiling water at a full rolling boil (unlike coffee which is best made with water just below the boil point). The lazy or on the go cheat with tea bags - includes me. Gadgets to make tea are a waste of money and space. The hot shot water heaters don't get the water hot enuf to make good tea.

I like lapseng souchong tea but some really don't like it at all. It has a strong taste.

Well, cr*p! I already ordered the Hot Shot from Amazon. It will just have to do as a gift until Xmas when I give them a tea pot as per posters suggestions.

I wouldn't dare give the Lapson Souchong tea as a gift as I have a feeling it's a particular flavor only some like like me. That smoky flavor makes that taste more different than any of the teas I've read about the past few days. I just lucked into buying a box of it when I was a starving college student and really liked it and haven't had it in years either. Obviously, I am motivated to start drinking it again after all this tea discussion.

 

[Focus]

I prefer black tea, but the quality differs wildly from one brand to another. I find the Stash and Tazo versions almost undrinkable, with all due respect to those who mentioned they like them. And forget Lipton or Tetley. Once you try a brand like Typhoo (my favorite), with its smooth richness, you'll never go back. It's hard to find in U.S. brick-and-mortar stores, but Amazon carries it.

 

[Martha]

I just use a french press to make my tea. I make a pot of chai tea in the morning and put it in a thermos. I drink it with milk and sugar throughout the day. Nummy.

 

[BigMoneyJim]

The attached photo shows my favorite tea. I found it at a local international grocery store for $6-$8. I haven't found it online or at a big store yet. If someone knows a web source please let me know in case my local store goes under.

I used to have an iced tea maker, and I have a french press, an electric kettle and a bodum teapot, but really a pot of stove-boiled water and a fine mesh strainer is all that's needed and all I use anymore. The cleanup is much easier.

I mostly brew this straight, but if I want flavors I'll toss in a Bigelow flavored tea packet or some mint. It makes great hot and iced tea.

 

[mh]

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.

+1 on the tea strainer. it's actually less hassle
than a tea ball (at least i think so)

bodum teapots (with the plunger / infuser chamber gizmo) are nice too
and fairly inexpensive