# Any (proper) tea drinkers?



## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

On a side note from my coffee hobby (addiction) I thought I would put my tea pot to good use and have bought some fresh tea leaves. Is this going to be a new hobby that will cost me a fortune in upgrades? Is there any important basic rules I need to adhere too? What's the best tea to start with? (I've got some English breakfast to have a go with later).


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

I got some Assam and China Breakfast from Hasbean before christmas. Very tasty! I'm sticking with two teapots, small and big. Can't see there being much point in upgrading to other bits as there is really only a brew method.

Alot of equipment is transferable between the two hobbies anyway.French press can be used to brew tea. Pretty sure an aeropress would work as well but have not yet tried it.

Fresh tea is much tastier than the teabags. Only realised how bitter teabags actually were after using fresh!


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I'm just getting into teas. Hario do a lot in that market, unsurprisingly


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

I want to try proper teas, but I'm scared i won't be able to have tea round friends houses if i do haha. I used to happily have coffee round a friends house if it was French press, moka, nespresso etc, but since i found a hobby in the beautiful world of fresh roasted, freak ground, well prepared coffee....well i haven't had coffee not made by myself (or Harlequin in York) for ages.

If i discover that my trusted Workman's brew is actually really naff, then I will run out of hot drinks I can take when offered lol.


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

Aeropress with tea is an interesting idea. I'll have to read to see what Harold mgee says about tea to see if the theory behind it would work and then see what results you could get from it. I would suggest pour over wouldn't be effective as it needs time to infuse. French press should work quite well though.


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## funinacup (Aug 30, 2010)

My girlfriend is quite into loose leaf, theres a great supplier in newcastle called Quilliam Bros. They deliver and usually pretty quickly. Definitely worth a try if you like tea! http://Www.quilliambrothers.com

Sent from my Galaxy S using Tapatalk


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## onemac (Dec 15, 2011)

Somebody told my wife that a cup of Nettle Tea and Honey once a day was a cure for rheumatoid arthritis. I have another form of arthritis but she made me drink it anyway







It's worse than bad......

I do favour a good Earl Grey and am even quite partial to Chai or at a push Vata. Given the choice it's espresso for me though.

Al


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

I notice hasbean also now does tea. I'm not sure whether Steve has quite the same interest so whether it's as good I don't know. I will have to try some and see what's what.


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## fatboyslim (Sep 29, 2011)

I saw Steve has Hajua. I've tried this at work and it is a fantastic Assam. Really full bodied.

For a more subtle leaf experience go for a Ceylon such as Dimbula.

These are tea estates so I imagine most UK suppliers buy from the same importers.

The irony is I'm a fully trained tea taster but I don't like tea


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## Monkey_Devil (Jul 11, 2011)

fatboyslim said:


> The irony is I'm a fully trained tea taster but I don't like tea


Hahahaha! You just gave me my first laugh of the day


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

French press will be no problem.

Aeropress needs to be tested.

As you say, drip will definitely not work.


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

I enjoy my teas a lot. I'm still fairly new to being a tea geek, and lots to learn.



seeq said:


> On a side note from my coffee hobby (addiction) I thought I would put my tea pot to good use and have bought some fresh tea leaves. Is this going to be a new hobby that will cost me a fortune in upgrades?


Surprisingly, it can be. I've picked up various brewing bits, most notably a Yixing teapot. Next on my list is a gaiwan.



seeq said:


> Is there any important basic rules I need to adhere too?


It depends on the tea. I think the most important issue with teas is temperature. As a general rule:

Black teas - 95C

Pu-erh - 100C

Oolongs - 70 - 95C

White/green teas - 60-70C

It can be amazing the difference the right temperature can make to the flavour. After that, you can play with extraction time and dose to get a result you're happy with.



seeq said:


> What's the best tea to start with? (I've got some English breakfast to have a go with later).


I think it's worth trying at least one of each group:

A black tea

An oolong

A white/green

A pu-erh

Personally I'm not very fond of pu-erh, but I enjoy good examples of all the others







Oolongs in particular are quite varied, so worth trying a few (a more oxidised and a less oxidised)



Monkey_Devil said:


> I want to try proper teas, but I'm scared i won't be able to have tea round friends houses if i do haha. I used to happily have coffee round a friends house if it was French press, moka, nespresso etc, but since i found a hobby in the beautiful world of fresh roasted, freak ground, well prepared coffee....well i haven't had coffee not made by myself (or Harlequin in York) for ages.
> 
> If i discover that my trusted Workman's brew is actually really naff, then I will run out of hot drinks I can take when offered lol.


I was kind of worried about this - thankfully I still enjoy a cuppa


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## a-j (Nov 6, 2011)

RolandG, glad to see I am not the only tea buff on this forum!

I started drinking tea seriously a few years ago when I gave up coffee (!) after a health scare (heart-related). Now I am back to about 1/4 of my former coffee consumption (no, don't ask) and still lots of tea. Probably about 20 different ones in the cupboard at the moment, but they keep very well.

As RolandG says, you can buy fancy teapots (I also hanker after a Yixing) but after spending a few £100 on espresso gear it seems pretty cheap. You can get away with just a teapot, infuser basket (essential for teas like darjeeling, which really suffers if overbrewed) and a timer. You can do some simple sums to figure out what mixture of boiling and cold water gives you the right temperature.

Tea itself might seem expensive - e.g. 1st flush darjeeling is around £25-30/250g, but for a 1/2 litre teapot I use about 6g so it goes a long way. The oolong and green teas are good for two or three infusions, so are more economical than may appear at first sight. Of course there are ridiculously priced teas (aged pu-erh at over £3/1g! - look at http://www.essenceoftea.co.uk/tea/puerh-tea/aged-puerh.html) but lots of nice teas (esp. black) are quite inexpensive.

Last time I looked, supermarket whole-leaf tea was pretty much all rubbish (esp. the green tea) but if you have a Whittards locally you can find reasonable stuff there, otherwise shop online. I've used various suppliers, but my favourite so far (despite their somewhat retro website) is Nothing But Tea http://www.nbtea.co.uk. Also used greysteas.co.uk, which have a very good (if pricey) selection of green teas. You can get small quantities, or even samples to try lots of different sorts.

Some of my favourites:

Black: Ceylon - Kenilworth

Darjeeling: autumnal is great for breakfast, a 1st flush is a very refined afternoon tea (try Maharani Hills)

Oolong: Ti Kuan Yin; Ding Dong

Green: Japanese Sencha Fukujyu - for a special treat, Sencha Gyokuro Asahi is amazing.

White: all kinds

I never liked Pu-Erh much (and have yet to meet someone who does) but my chinese student just gave me an extremely beautifully packaged box of it, so I think I am going to acquire the taste...

I also find I can still tolerate "normal" tea (as my friends call it) without pulling a face, so your social life should not suffer!

Enjoy! Tony


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## Glenn (Jun 14, 2008)

A little later tonight the tea section of the forum will be up and running.

teaforums.co.uk will point to this area (at present it is in a separate forum)


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

Glenn said:


> A little later tonight the tea section of the forum will be up and running.
> 
> teaforums.co.uk will point to this area (at present it is in a separate forum)


I like this


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

I was a bit sceptical of the reaction of posting a tea article on the off topic forum, however I'm pleased there are tea lovers amongst us. I want to learn about tea, as i often have guests that ask for tea and don't drink coffee. I end up giving the coffee drinkers a cup of artisan fresh brewed coffee, and the tea drinkers get PG tips. That must change.

Of course for the cafe / coffee shop owners or future owners, tea generally is on the menu, and it would a shame to let a poor cuppa let down the reputation.

Anyway, is there a magic time for brewing tea? am I looking around 3 minutes? (I do have absolutely no idea, 3 just seems like a good number). I'm sure it depends on the leaf and of course preference, but any rough guide?


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## gazbea (Jul 11, 2011)

I signed up a while a go Glenn but there isn't many people on it at the moment


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

seeq said:


> Anyway, is there a magic time for brewing tea? am I looking around 3 minutes? (I do have absolutely no idea, 3 just seems like a good number). I'm sure it depends on the leaf and of course preference, but any rough guide?


My experience is that some experimentation is needed, and it's a little less critical than coffee - tea extracts much less easily than coffee anyway, so parameters can be a bit wider to still get tasty results









Anyway, assuming a western style of brewing (will post a thread on Chinese/gongfu style in a min), I'd say 2 - 4 minutes, depending on dose, tea type, infusion, leaf type, etc. is a good starting point for me.


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

I very much enjoy my tea, infact - I have a pot of Bishops Blend from Char Teas (http://www.charteas.com/home/shop/product/1-0-177.html) sat next to me at the moment. I am down on my selection at the moment though, only having the following here at work:

Whittards (I now know there is better!)

Lemon Flavoured Leaf Tea (black)

Breakfast Earl Grey

Darjeeling

Char Teas (http://www.charteas.com)

Bishops Blend

Lemon Tea

Gunpowder Tea

Russian Caravan Smoked

Lahloo Tea (http://www.lahlootea.co.uk/)

Breakfast Tea

Calming Chamomile

Waterloo Tea (http://www.waterlootea.com/)

Wuyi Oolong Organic


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## MikeHag (Mar 13, 2011)

I think you do need to be cateful with the brew time of time delicate teas. A good green tea needs a low temperature (70C, although I've never tried the 60C that Roland mentions) and if I recall correctly, no more than 90 seconds of brewing... no stirring the brew. The result is light, but overbrewing makes it sharp.


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## RolandG (Jul 25, 2010)

MikeHag said:


> I think you do need to be cateful with the brew time of time delicate teas. A good green tea needs a low temperature (70C, although I've never tried the 60C that Roland mentions) and if I recall correctly, no more than 90 seconds of brewing... no stirring the brew. The result is light, but overbrewing makes it sharp.


I've found that using too hot water is why I used to dislike a lot of green teas - it produces a kind of vegetal type taste, kind of reminiscent of celery to me. Thankfully, lots of good tea suppliers seem to have recommended brewing temperatures advice on the packet!


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

I haven't yet dared move onto green teas. I have my basic black teas to a point I'm happy with so I might see what I can do with greens, I'm going to end up PIDing my kettle, I can see it already!


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## garydyke1 (Mar 9, 2011)

Prior to my coffee interest I did dabble with a few teas from nbtea (I love their cheap sample packs).

I would literally use 1/4 teaspoon in a cup & brew 2 mins at 70/80c depend on if green, yellow, white etc. Very clean light drinks, refreshing. No idea what I was doing tho!

I need to give them a try them again I think. Brewsmiths in brum do loads of different teas


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

Wow, only just spotted the Tea section. I buy fine Teas from Boston Tea Party but i'm afraid, while I love my Tea, I don't apply the same level of science to it that i do my coffee, all i take special care on is temperature and brew time, mesurements come down to a very rudimentary formula that I apply unquestioningly to every tea I drink, which is, 1 teaspoon per cup +1 for the pot! I do feel slightly bad that I basically have a shrine to Coffee(my little bar) and begin each day by kneeling before the Coffee Gods, while Tea, just does not get the respect it deserves! I think I will devote a little time to learning the ways of Tea. This isn't to say I don't have some gorgeous Teas in the cupboard, Margarets Hope First Flush Darjeeling, High Quality Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong, Assam and Boston's House Blend, I just don't know right now how best to brew them! I think a good start would be to get a funky Hario glass teapot just to let the Tea know i care!


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

I have just had a green tea (Pouchong) from Canton Teas, which is lovely as far as Green Teas go, but has proven to me that I'm not a green tea person. I brewed that at about 80C as recommended.


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

I've never had green tea, how do most people get the correct brewing temp? Boil a kettle and let it cool down? I was wondering whether I could PID a mini water boiler! Taking it too far?


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

You can get PID kettles







I brew in a teapot so can just stick my milk thermometer in it


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## seeq (Jul 9, 2011)

So do you put the water in, wait for it to come to temp before you add the tea?

I want a apID'd kettle!


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

Mostly I'm lazy and I know that if I don't preheat my pot it will settle to near enough 80C (which is recommended for most of my green teas) when it comes out of the water boiler at work (all I have access to here - the desk sockets can't come with a kettle). I then drop the infuser basket in the top and give it a swirl before letting it brew. If I'm doing black tea then I will preheat the teapot properly and pour the water down the side of the infuser to fill it up. My oolong I tend to preheat the pot, fill it with water and wait 30 seconds or so before putting the infuser in (although I've never measured the temperature of that to be totally honest, but it will be in the right region).


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## cjbailey1 (Jan 17, 2011)

seeq said:


> I want a apID'd kettle!


They do exist...

http://www.auberins.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=6&products_id=48

(Not the cheapest out there, and their other PIDs can be used with a sensible sensor anyway)


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## hyperactivemind (Mar 1, 2012)

onemac said:


> Somebody told my wife that a cup of Nettle Tea and Honey once a day was a cure for rheumatoid arthritis. I have another form of arthritis but she made me drink it anyway
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well if it tastes horrid, then you know it's good for you! Hope your rheumatoid arthritis improves.

I would say I'm a tea lover but probably not a geek. I have a cheap electric kettle at the moment which is useless for tea brewing (hence why I'm all about the coffee at the moment). I do love all kinds of green teas - except the bottled cold stuff you find at Asian supermarkets, now that stuff's disgusting). I remember having this tea once (jasmine maybe?) and once it was in the tea cup it would unfold into a flower. Would like to buy some because they were really pretty. If anyone could give me a heads up on that, that would be great.

Also, can't go wrong with a good Earl Grey in England.


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## Outlaw333 (Dec 13, 2011)

It is a kind of jasmine tea you are refurring to, they do them in my local 'high-end' chinese resturant and sell it for home use aswell. here is a link to their website, you could ask them where to buy it maybe. http://www.fullamrestaurant.com/


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## Pedro083 (Nov 16, 2011)

They are a green tea wrapped around Jasmine or other flowerings tea cream supplies have them


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## yorkio (Feb 29, 2012)

Jing does a number of flowering teas: http://jingtea.com/tea/type/flowering

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD


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## Suraj (May 29, 2012)

In regards to brewing time, It really depends on the person. If you wish to look at it scientifically, most of the flavonoids are released at the 7minute mark. For a black tea, I suggest anywhere from 3-7 minutes, with hot water (95-100 celcius).

Oolong tea, 85ish celcius for around 2-3 minutes

Green tea at around 70celcius, from anywhere to 1-3 minutes.

I once spoke to a Japanese green tea farmer. He produces Gyokuro, which is amazing. He actually suggested that it should be brewed at body temperature, for a longer time. Then slowly sipped over a long period of time. I've yet to actually try this, but I suspect it would get quite cold by the time you got around to drinking it. I will let you all know when I have!

Also, a Honeybush farmer recommended that it be slowly stewed, on a low heat for around 8-12 hours! Because it is not from the tea plant (Camellia sinensis), it doesn't get bitter if brewed for too long. Again, I've yet to try this. But I will. Infact, I'm going to try it now! Again, I will update you on my findings!


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## Guest (Dec 2, 2013)

seeq said:


> I was a bit sceptical of the reaction of posting a tea article on the off topic forum, however I'm pleased there are tea lovers amongst us. I want to learn about tea, as i often have guests that ask for tea and don't drink coffee. I end up giving the coffee drinkers a cup of artisan fresh brewed coffee, and the tea drinkers get PG tips. That must change.
> 
> Of course for the cafe / coffee shop owners or future owners, tea generally is on the menu, and it would a shame to let a poor cuppa let down the reputation.
> 
> Anyway, is there a magic time for brewing tea? am I looking around 3 minutes? (I do have absolutely no idea, 3 just seems like a good number). I'm sure it depends on the leaf and of course preference, but any rough guide?


Normally, Black teas like the ones from Darjeeling, loose leaf graded as FTGFOP1 requires roughly 2 and 1/2 minutes to 3 minutes to be brewed at water temperatures of 90 degrees centigrade.

It depends on the size of the leaves. Fuller the leaves more time it requires for brewing.


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## Daren (Jan 16, 2012)

guyfromdarjeeling said:


> Normally, Black teas like the ones from Darjeeling, loose leaf graded as FTGFOP1 requires roughly 2 and 1/2 minutes to 3 minutes to be brewed at water temperatures of 90 degrees centigrade.
> 
> It depends on the size of the leaves. Fuller the leaves more time it requires for brewing.


Do stop going on about Darjeeling! PG Tips is where its at! Mmmmm Monkey Tea


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## CFo (Aug 25, 2013)

Don't you know that proper tea is theft? (Pierre-Joseph Proudhon)


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## Zooter (Aug 27, 2014)

Tea has no rules as such. And don't get caught up in the milk-first, milk-after debate. Drink it to suit your tastes. The great thing about tea is that you can make your own blends. A really nice blend is to mix (loose leaf tea) 1/3 Lapsung with 1/3 Keemun, and 1/3 "regular" Ceylon tea. smokey and delicious and one of my favourite blends invented by my grandma.


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## YerbaMate170 (Jun 15, 2015)

Go on then, proper tea drinkers - help me out. I want to start getting into loose leaf tea, I want something flavourful for late afternoons/after dinner to enjoy, when it's far too late for the caffeine in coffee. I know very little about teas so I'm confused (I don't know my Assam from my Darjeeling etc) - help!


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## WilliamPiper (Oct 6, 2014)

Look at the All About Tea website. I'm working my through their offerings which are well priced and good value too: http://allabouttea.co.uk/


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## coockiechase (Sep 26, 2015)

i drink earl grey during the day and rooibos at night when i can't take any caffeine. milk works well with both for me


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## TastetheTea (Feb 14, 2016)

seeq said:


> On a side note from my coffee hobby (addiction) I thought I would put my tea pot to good use and have bought some fresh tea leaves. Is this going to be a new hobby that will cost me a fortune in upgrades? Is there any important basic rules I need to adhere too? What's the best tea to start with? (I've got some English breakfast to have a go with later).


Hi there Seeq,

If your just starting to get into drinking real tea (loose leaf) it's not too hard especially as (I assume) you have a lot of coffee equipment.

Strong teas, such a black teas, can be brewed through a coffee filter. If you have something like an aeropress you can easily brew tea through one of these.

Alternatively you could buy a tea basket or a infuser which cost around £10 to buy.

There are also many loose leaf supplier that will do samples (anything from 10g to 50g) for between £1 and £4. So trying out new things doesn't have to be too expensive.

Hope this helped.

If you need any tea inspiration, check out my blog, http://www.tastethetea.co.uk


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