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iams girl

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I switched from coffee to tea a while back, but am now finding myself wondering what is going on with the tea business!

Lipton has been a mainstay here in the U.S. for a long time and now it tastes like watered down whatever they swept up off the floor. I've tried other brands too and it's pretty much the same, Tazo, Bigelow, Twinings. My favorite has been Stash Jasmine (green) tea, but it's lost it's flavor now too. Recently I've also tried Tetley (bland and if I use two bags, then it's too much caffeine), and PG Tips which is better, but still lacks depth of flavor. I bet back in the day PG Tips was great, but judging by comments on Amazon, there are a lot of unhappy drinkers now. Maybe these are good brands elsewhere but stale by the time they reach here, I don't know.

I'm not looking for expensive, gourmet tea. Just a good, flavorful, off the shelf tea bag. Recently I was recommended Marks and Spencer tea. Any other insights as to what is going on with tea, comments, suggestions?
 

bradford

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These are MUCH easier than tea bags and you can buy your tea in bulk.
Screen Shot 2019-09-02 at 12.28.03 AM.png
 

iams girl

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I've used these and you're right, they are handy and allow for much better quality tea to be brewed, but for now, on the go, small packets with no cleaning, no fuss, no muss especially in my purse and at work where I can't use cups without covers seems easier. I may have to break down and make this major lifestyle change though :unsure:.
 

Trojina

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I can't drink ordinary tea it upsets my stomach so since I discovered red bush tea/ Rooibos I only drink that and recommend that.
 

moss elk

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Lipton is only good to make southern sweet tea with. (a sugar bomb drink)

There is a brand called Republic of Tea that has some fine quality teas of all sorts, black, green, hojicha, genmaicha, ... etc

Yogi teas are great for the mild herbal/medicinal type.

st dalfour earl grey is actually great,
for the price.


I used to be a big coffee drinker.
Now, it is more like:
1 cup coffee before work
2 cups green tea throught the work day.
 
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iams girl

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I discovered red bush tea/ Rooibos I only drink that and recommend that.
Yes, Rooibos is good and in my non-caffeine collection. I still need wake up caffeine, so tend toward black tea in the morning.

Republic of Tea that has some fine quality teas of all sorts, black, green, hojicha, genmaicha, ... etc

Yogi teas are great for the mild herbal/medicinal type.

st dalfour earl grey is actually great,
Republic of Tea - I don't remember them coming in packets, but if I get a tea infuser spoon, that's a great suggestion.
Yogi teas - also in my non-caffeine collection and especially like eucalyptus.
St. Dalfour - I haven't heard of it, good, a new one to try.

I also like green tea during the day which seems especially good for concentration.
 

my_key

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In my experience in UK, tea bags tend to be less flavoursome than loose-tea. To get more flavour with tea bags I normally leave the bag in the cup for about 5 mins before drinking, or even leave the bag in the cup until the end. Use water that is left to stand for a while after boiling. Once the milk is poured in I suspect the infusion is lessened in some way too.

From preference I use loose tea and either use a filtered tea pot or have an infusion ball that dangles from the side of the cup into the water. This can be used for antything from 'builders tea' or green tea and beyond, or any other tea leaf size product.

Preferred blends Whittards (bit pricey) or Yorkshire tea,
 

Liselle

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I started to wonder - since I think you're saying you'd come back to tea after a while of not drinking it - if there's any chance something's affecting your sense of taste? Age, medication of some kind...? I've noticed mine's diminished a bit as I've gotten older. :(

But surely you'd have noticed that with other food, plus you said

but judging by comments on Amazon, there are a lot of unhappy drinkers now

Do you notice any change in the amount of caffeine? You said two bags is too much, but do you think you have to let the one bag steep longer to get the caffeine you expect? Seems flavor and caffeine would be bound up together in the same tea leaf...iow if by chance they're putting some sort of filler in the tea bag, there'd be a caffeine difference, too?

Then again there are decaf versions of plain black tea, right, and those still taste like black tea, don't they? So maybe caffeine and flavor aren't bound together? (I don't know anything about it.)

Am trying to decide if it's any cheaper to grow weaker-flavored tea plants than nicely-flavored ones...don't see how that could be, it's still the same growing and harvesting process I'd assume.

(In other words I have no clue and I'd be annoyed as well 😒 )
 
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iams girl

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In my experience in UK, tea bags tend to be less flavoursome than loose-tea.
Seems to be time to get a new tea infuser, will look for one when I go shopping in the morning and also see what teas are available online.
 

kevin

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I switched from coffee to tea a while back, but am now finding myself wondering what is going on with the tea business!

Lipton has been a mainstay here in the U.S. for a long time and now it tastes like watered down whatever they swept up off the floor. I've tried other brands too and it's pretty much the same, Tazo, Bigelow, Twinings. My favorite has been Stash Jasmine (green) tea, but it's lost it's flavor now too. Recently I've also tried Tetley (bland and if I use two bags, then it's too much caffeine), and PG Tips which is better, but still lacks depth of flavor. I bet back in the day PG Tips was great, but judging by comments on Amazon, there are a lot of unhappy drinkers now. Maybe these are good brands elsewhere but stale by the time they reach here, I don't know.

I'm not looking for expensive, gourmet tea. Just a good, flavorful, off the shelf tea bag. Recently I was recommended Marks and Spencer tea. Any other insights as to what is going on with tea, comments, suggestions?
Chuckles - You are so correct.
The price of tea is rocketting for a number of reasons. Chinese tea, the quality stuff, is being consumed more in China as the 'middle class' wealth grows. My favourite Chinese tea has moved from £80.00 per kilo to well over 1000.00 a kilo over the last 20 years... It is no longer affordable for me. Secondly, climate change is knocking hell out of production in China. So I assume that is happening elsewhere too.

Best way to go is to shop online. The U.S. have a number of very good online teas sales companies, and like everywhere even more rubbish tea sellers.

I would recommend a decent Ceylon tea if you drink tea without milk. Buy it loose (much cheaper) and if you make it only one cup at atime brew it in a mug and then pour it into another mug through a tea strainer. Having said that a decent Ceylon tea can be brewed in the mug and the leaves allowed to settle to the bottom and then simply drunk off the top leaving the leaves in the bottom of the mug. This is the traditional way of drinking tea in China. The reason you can't do this with cheap teas in the West is that the quality is so damned awfull. (too higher level of phenols.)

Do not use any of those 'metal eggs' which you fill and put into the cup. They stop the water circulating and restrict the brewing.

Yes, I am a tea junky... So sad... I have speant thousands of hours researching the subject... There, I have finally come out! lol

If you get stuck P.M. me andI will give you some tea vendor links.

Hope this helps.

Be well.

P.S. When I was in Canada last there was a company selling Roses tea... It was a good Ceylon.
Liptons in the States used to be a decent Ceylon by the way.
 
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iams girl

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Sorry, just seeing this, my internet during the week is rather spotty. Thank you so much, Kevin, I appreciate your information and validation that something is going on behind the scenes! I'm also glad you're back having joined after you took a break, but enjoyed reading your posts, especially the unbelievable ocean tale.

I was visiting family recently and went to a qijong demonstration and tea tasting by someone from Smith Co. here in the NW, so know what you're talking about with the pouring. This seems to be the beginning of a tea journey for me. Kicking back, taking the time to brew a nice cup of tea isn't in the cards where I work, but I could do it at home.

Will PM (if I can figure out how to do it).
 

iams girl

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Ok, so have ordered Marks and Spencer and Whittard's jasmine green tea online. I was going to order Republic of Tea, then saw that Whole Foods market has some jasmine white tea locally which I'll try first.
Will report back.
 
L

legume

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i get me loose leaves and they usually fill half of my cup that i dilute about 3 times for first half a day ;) i also buy it in bulk about twice a year from abroad, so wouldn't know much about the usual choices...

but as alternative to a solid infuser i believe you can just buy empty tea bags, they should come up online in search as tea filters, though i also saw some in supermarkets just next to teas (ironically, there were no leaf teas available only prepacked baggy ones)... anyway, maybe that's another option to prep it for on the go? :)

and i recommend a french press travel mug - works great for leaf tea and even yerba, so can almost always grab it with me.
 

kevin

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Sorry, just seeing this, my internet during the week is rather spotty. Thank you so much, Kevin, I appreciate your information and validation that something is going on behind the scenes! I'm also glad you're back having joined after you took a break, but enjoyed reading your posts, especially the unbelievable ocean tale.

I was visiting family recently and went to a qijong demonstration and tea tasting by someone from Smith Co. here in the NW, so know what you're talking about with the pouring. This seems to be the beginning of a tea journey for me. Kicking back, taking the time to brew a nice cup of tea isn't in the cards where I work, but I could do it at home.

Will PM (if I can figure out how to do it).

I've replied to you elsewhere

Kicking back with a cup of tea sounds perfect.

:)
 

iams girl

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but as alternative to a solid infuser i believe you can just buy empty tea bags, they should come up online in search as tea filters, though i also saw some in supermarkets just next to teas (ironically, there were no leaf teas available only prepacked baggy ones)... anyway, maybe that's another option to prep it for on the go? :)

and i recommend a french press travel mug - works great for leaf tea and even yerba, so can almost always grab it with me.

I never heard of empty tea bags, thank you for the information, will add it to my list of things to try.
And I was thinking about a French press myself for the loose tea, great suggestion.
 
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becalm

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I use Twinings as I find that has the strongest taste for me. I've been saying it for many years Lipton Tea is made of dust, it's rubbish and that's why as far as I know it's the cheapest tea to buy.
If I visit someone and they offer me tea I decline if it's Lipton.
 

iams girl

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These are the results from a tea tasting of store bought jasmine green teas (before moving on to Ceylon). Most were found at a retail store called Whole Foods here. One (David's) came from a specialty tea shop in the area:

#1 was Numi brand - the best blend of the lot of both jasmine and green tea flavor
Mighty Leaf brand - strong flavor, but a bitter aftertaste
Allegro brand - overall light flavor, but the jasmine came through
David's - very light in both green tea and jasmine flavor
 

ronbracale

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I have been a tea drinker for many years and favor organic fine teas, mostly from China.
I have transitioned from Green Tea to Puer and Black Teas.
Here are two sites I buy from, though they are American, you can see some of the finer teas:


Look on Amazon as well.
Peace.
 

iams girl

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Thank you, ronbracale! I may be a little slow, but hope to check them all out. It's already been great drinking better tea just from the new samples.
 
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Freedda

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Not sure if it's been mentioned but you might also want to try Barry's Tea (Classic Blend), from Ireland. I got it at Big John's in Seattle, but I expect it might be available from more places. In bags, not loose leaf.

D.
 

Liselle

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This isn't about why tea doesn't taste like it used to, but - turns out there's an international standard for making a cup of tea. :rofl: Who knew?


 

iams girl

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Thanks again to all,

Per last trial test with friends, the top 3 in various order were:
Mark & Spencer jasmine
Republic of Tea white jasmine
Numi jasmine

For some reason, in the above tasting, Whittard's jasmine from the second box I'd purchased tasted harsher, a little burnt even, so didn't make it into the top this time, but was good the last time.

Rishi's, The Tao of Tea, and Barry's are on the way to try next...
 

iams girl

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@ronbracale, I loved both of your suggestions, both new favorites and purchased on Amazon (Rishi tea bags, Tao of Tea loose leaf). I was fortunate enough to get what seems to have been the last batch of the old Rishi jasmine in grey packs. As noted by a couple of new reviews when I reordered, things seem to have changed though. The new batch is in a green pack and by comparison much lower quality, less tea in the bag and less jasmine scent, so sad. I'm still enjoying the Tao of Tea though, what an amazing jasmine fragrance when opening the can.
 

Olga Super Star

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Halloooo I am tea obsessed 🤩

I also like green tea during the day which seems especially good for concentration.
Oh really? Then I should be superconcentrated 🤭 as I drink around 5-10 big mugs a day. I only drink green tea though and loose, so I can't help out with brands. I prefer to get them into organic stores so it's mostly unknown stuff.

To get more flavour with tea bags I normally leave the bag in the cup for about 5 mins before drinking, or even leave the bag in the cup until the end.
Oh you know, I leave both teabags and tea leaves forever (even hours!) - do you think it is risky?

From preference I use loose tea and either use a filtered tea pot
Me too, I love my filtered teapot ^_^

I agree with Liselle that they may be producing less tasteful teabags nowadays.
Fruit is not as it used to be when I was young, and that affects pretty much everything.

Am trying to decide if it's any cheaper to grow weaker-flavored tea plants than nicely-flavored ones...don't see how that could be, it's still the same growing and harvesting process I'd assume.
I once bought a very expensive type of tea which grows so high on the mountains that only monkeys can pick it. But I guess monkey labour isn't that costly. There certainly isn't a lot of it around. I think it was Chinese.

My favourite Chinese tea has moved from £80.00 per kilo to well over 1000.00 a kilo over the last 20 years...
😮
May I know what your favourite tea is?

Do not use any of those 'metal eggs' which you fill and put into the cup. They stop the water circulating and restrict the brewing.
I have noticed that too. They are nice to look at, and come out in different shapes, but I have the feeling the tea tastes different!

Per last trial test with friends, the top 3 in various order were:
Mark & Spencer jasmine
Republic of Tea white jasmine
Numi jasmine

For some reason, in the above tasting, Whittard's jasmine

Rishi's, The Tao of Tea, and Barry's are on the way to try next...
I ve never bought tea online, I want to try and see if these brands you are mentioning are available also where I live. Life has been such a misery, at least I could spend some money on good super wonderful tea! :teapot:
 

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