What's in your cup/mug ? #4

Time for Part 4, I think!

Today's morning mug was Upton Tea's River Shannon Blend with a bit of soy milk. Sad to say, regular milk and I are no longer on speaking terms. I drink most of my tea black these days, but some blends are still best with a little "dairy."

Saskatoon berry black tea. I always bring some back with me when I visit Saskatchewan.

Opened a new bag of loose tea. Cranberry black tea, to celebrate the first day that I will be able to get some Christmas baking done! :)

Tazo chai, which is nice and warming on this cold morning. It's making my office smell like spices, which is a nice side effect.

Bcteagirl- I'd *love* to see your tea cabinet. Your stash always sounds so yummy!

Monk's Blend (available at culinaryteas.com) -- a comfy old favorite; black tea with vanilla and grenadine.

Yesterday afternoon, my orders from Adagio and Teavana arrived on my front porch! I've never tried tea from either of these companies before. I now have 17 new teas to try.

In my cup this morning was Adagio's spiced apple chai. It was very good-- like a Christmas-y apple taste. Yesterday, I had Teavana's sweet fruit garden which was also very good and had a pretty red color-- a fruity herbal tea.

4: It is quite a sight, 2 full cupboard! That way I can have a section for black tea, flavoured tea, green tea, white tea, and herbal non teas :P

Cranberry orange black tea.

I have so many new teas to try, what fun! Here are my latest:

Adagio's Caramel Black Tea: Steeped 3 minutes per directions, but I thought it was a little bitter. Added a little cream & more sweetener & it was delicious! Leaves a nice buttery taste in the mouth.

Adagio's Chocolate Black Tea: Steeped 3 minutes. I preferred it without milk. Its a nice flavor, but not a strong chocolate taste. I might have never guessed it was chocolate if I hadn't known. Drink hot cocoa if you want chocolate & drink this for a delicious tea.

They both sound nice!

Plain Red Rose tea. I was up late watching the eclipse, and need some strong plain tea to start the day. Thinking of adding milk and honey.

This morning, matcha green with rice milk.
Now, raspberry leaf.

Later, probably dandelion root (roasted) with rice milk.

Jasmine green tea. I don't usually start the day with a green tea, but this morning it seemed to suit.

Lately I have been drinking the Yogi brand teas which are full of flavor. My fave is the Cold Season variety.

audreyl, does the Cold Season have lots of licorice root in it? That's my major beef with Yogi -- I'd love to take advantage of the health benefits, but I don't care for the licorice taste.

Me, I'm enjoying Bigelow's Ginger Snappish holiday tea...hard to find in my part of the world, but was in St. Louis MO area and ginger-snagged some to bring home. Lemony and cookie-y.

I've been doing a lot of Tazo Refresh with lemon and agave nectar. I hate sinus pressure.

Blueberry tea in my mug this evening; fragrant and lovely.

A nice strong cup of Tazo Awake with a little Dulce de Leche Caramel creamer. Smells wonderful and tastes like dessert for breakfast! ;)

Heidelbeere-Vanille (blueberry vanilla) because I'm visiting Germany and the Aldi store has lots of intriguing fruit teas to try.

This morning I had Teavana's Almond Biscotti with my toast. Can't decide if I liked it better with milk or without. Seems like the tea has more flavor w/o milk, and I tend to like most teas w/o milk.

Just finished a cup of Gypsy Cold Care/Throat Coat, since I got a cold for Christmas. :-P

Harney and Sons Paris blend- nice and smooth.

Tazo Awake with Dulce de Leche creamer again! I do enjoy this combination. :)

I have gone back to plain black tea after a week of Cranberry black or Orange black tea.

My father got me a pack of gunpowder tea. I tried it once before and didn't like it, but this is better than I remember, or it's a better brand. Glad I gave it another try.

Drinking some Darjeeling Green Tea. Not sure I like it. More for when I want something with an extremely delicate flavor. Today it was good since I wanted something light.

Happy New Year, everyone!

gmathis - there is a distinct licorise taste to the Yogi Cold Season Tea. A mild tea that is nice is Trader Joe's Bedtime tea :}.

Celebrating the New Year with some Candy Cane black tea.

I started my afternoon off with a nice cup of PG Tips and milk and sugar. Thinking about another but with some Dulce de Leche creamer this time. :)

Pineapple black tea!

Me too! Hawaiian Islands Tea Company. I've been up since 4:30 with jet lag and that was the start to my early day.

Yikes, that is a lot of jet lag! Hope the tea helps! :)

Yum, pineapple tea sounds delicious. I had forest berries black tea this morning (Adagio).

The jet lag is better today - 9.5 hours of sleep and up at 5:30, so I'm sticking with the pineapple tea. :-) And this afternoon I'll treat myself to something from The Tao of Tea at the Chinese Garden. Yum.

Sounds lovely. :)

Flew home today, and feeling lazy and craving comfort food. Since I have no ingredients to cook with I am having black tea with (powdered) milk and honey since I have this on hand :)

I do believe I'll enjoy some Tazo Joy tea while I'm at work today. Much better than Awake.

Awake = blech (In my humble, but accurate opinion)

35: Agreed, although I would put most of the Tazo tea in the blech category :P

A long time friend returned to work today. I brought some fancy meringues halfway across Canada (berry flavoured) and we had a blossoming green tea to celebrate.

Just brewed a hot cuppa Twinings chamomile, after an hour's worth of yard work in 45 degree weather. Just the ticket!

I'm just finishing up a venti cup of Tazo Chai Latte! Feels good on a somewhat sore throat.

Who knew that Bob Evans serves Twinnings teas?!

I was so happy to have a comforting cup of Twinnings English Breakfast with my meal. It's the only time I've eaten out where they actually had a tea that is worth serving.

Now if only they can learn to bring you hot enough water....

I'm sipping some Yin Zhen Pekoe white tea, my wife gave me for christmas.
Delicious!

A friend of mine was fantastic enough to bring me some very fresh Marriage des Freres tea back from France. Marco Polo. This is only my second cup. Fantastic. Hope I don't get addicted and have to find a way to order this tea to Canada :P

Marco Polo is great stuff! My favorite Mariage Frères tea is Montagne d'Or, though.

I will keep that in mind. More Marco Polo for me this am. A friend who only drinks green tea admitted that this is a good tea :)

I'm drinking Russian Country (Harney and Sons' version of Russian Caravan). It's got just the right level of smokiness for me.

This morning the postie delivered half a kilo of Whittard of Chelsea's China Eagle Lapsang Souchong. I'd forsaken it for Nothing But Tea's Smokey Caravan (they put the 'e' in 'smoky', not me) but I decided to go back. Just finished my first couple of mugs.

Blissful, it's like meeting an old friend again. I think I could have put a fraction more tea in the pot, though.

Enjoying my first experiment with aged pu-erh tea. In this case Year 2000 Green Pu-Erh from www.grandtea.com.

This is going to take some thinking about ... partly because I'll be reviewing for future posting to www.itsallabouttheleaf.com, and partly because this is a multiple-steep tea that appears to take on multiple personalities.

Tiegester, our Bob Evans brings out Twinings, too --- a whole selection, even! I was pleasantly surprised to discover that on our last visit; most American breakfast-fare places bring you out semi-hot water and one Lipton teabag for you to coddle all the way through the meal.

Incidentally, the pineapple tea referenced above sounds yummy!

Cracker Barrell also serves Twinings. Your choice of Earl Grey decaf, Darjeeling, English Breakfast, or Green. (They don't bring hot enough water either, but I like their little metal teakettles they bring your water in.)

I keep reading about Marco Polo tea on this site, and I found some Mariage Freres Marco Polo online for $20 a tin. Is this tea really worth that much? I'm asking because I'm seriously considering buying some, if it truly is worth it.

What's in my cup? I tried Republic of Tea's Red Velvet Chocolate, but I can't say I liked it.

#48 - Is this tea really worth that much?

I've just put in an order to a seller that lists Yin Jun Mei Souchong at £472 per 100gms - about $734 at the time of writing.

They do a 3gm sample for £15 and I was very tempted. But then I thought, what if it's the best tea I've ever tasted? I can't afford it so I'd rather not know that.

I would say the Marco Polo is worth it :) My first MF tea, so I am afraid I can't tell you about any of the others.

47: I was trying to decide which tea was next, now I think I will go back to the Pineapple black tea which I lugged home halfway across Canada :)

At the Chinese Garden's Tao of Tea I felt adventurous and tried the (Pine Smoked Black tea) which was intense and quite smoky, but also well suited to the 34 degree weather and, serendipitously, the Turnip Cakes I ordered.

>50 Bcteagirl:
I have tried quite a few Mariage Frères teas, and liked most of them. Thé des Fêtes is lovely, as is Eros. If you are a fan of very smoky teas, Tsar Alexandre is excellent. I just finished of tin of Thé sur le Nil, a green tea with slight citrus flavoring. Marco Polo is their most famous blend, but as I've mentioned before, my all-time fave is Montagne d'Or.

P.S. I get my Mariage Frères tea at the local Pasta Shop. If you are in the Berkeley/Oakland area, that would save the shipping costs. Another savings point is to buy it in bags, not tins; or buy the tin the first time and re-use it. At the Pasta Shop they sell it in fill-it-yourself bags, so you can control the price by the volume.

I started this morning at the office with Sencha green tea, and am moving on to Gunpowder green tea.

Sencha is delicious...I started today off with a homemade green tea latte.

1 teaspoon of Earl Grey and 1 teaspoon of green Tea vith a little sugar, ahhhhh.

Started with a large travel mug of Darjeeling tea, and am now drinking rhubarb green tea.

Must go put something in my cup. Now.

The Emerald Path from NourishTea. :D

Tazo Organic Chai, a little milk and a couple of shots of caramel. Yummy on such a cold day!

Duchess of Grey,,,yummmmm

-26 with windchill here today, and they are predicting 5-9cm of snow overnight. Strong plain red rose tea right now, will likely switch to chai later.

Kopili Assam Green from TeaSource. It's taken some fiddling to find the "sweet spot" on this one, but when you're light on both the dry leaf and the steep time, it's quite nice.

Kicking back for a 3-day weekend with Teavana's Rose Marzipan black tea. I love this stuff, and am rationing out my remaining 4oz. as they have discontinued it. I'm relaxing with some snarky British comedy on DVD (Black Books) and making some notes on the books I've recently read and need to review.

Now that sounds like a fun day!

I started off the day with some Darjeeling tea (Puttabong), moved on to genmiacha, and am now drinking gunpowder green tea. A trip around the world today :P

I caved and am having coffee ... so tired ...

I've got a new parcel of teas ...

I'm trying Black Tiger Keemun but I don't think I've made it strong enough, yet. I've been brewing it stronger and stronger and this mug had a teaspoonful heaped up like a baby haystack (the stuff sort of tangles together) but it is still quite mild and innocuous.

It has hints of something between fresh, sweet hay and raw cabbage and something between toffee and chocolate, and, actually, not much of the generic tea taste.

I think I'll try the next mug with two heaped teaspoons ...

68: Ooo fun!

I have been drinking just bags today, but am going to switch to some nice Yunnan tea.

Blue Flower Earl Grey in my beloved Virginia Woolf mug. Just the right thing on a foggy winter evening, especially after a tiring day at work.

Ceylon Lover's Leap Broken Orange Pekoe and this stuff is baffling me.

There seem to be real differences resulting from slight differences in quantity used, or thirty seconds one way or the other in brewing time.

The first two mugs I made were really nothing special and I was writing it off as a 'don't buy again'.

Then I made another mug and it was excellent: a proper rich generic tea flavour with tiny hints of chocolate and butter and 'brightness' - difficult to explain that but it reminded me of the kick you get from a sparkling wine or 'pop' ('soda' in the US?). The difference was that I brewed it for three minutes instead of four (the instructions were for 'three to five').

Then I made a pot and that was pretty good, too, but a little strong and, thus, a little harsh.

So I made a pot today with possibly a fraction less tea - but I'm only talking milligrams - and it's bland and characterless again!

It's got me seriously wondering if there's something awry with my taste-buds.

Gyokuro. Trying to finish it off because I've left it too long and its loosing flavour. :( Tragic!

71: Interesting!

I am drinking Gunpowder green tea today. Thinking about Darjeeling tomorrow ;:)

Makaibari Vintage Muscatel 'from the Leopard's Lair' (second flush garden Darjeeling).

This is quite good and I like it - now that I've finally worked out how to brew it. The best way seems to be just one heaped teaspoon to my 'six cup' pot, brewed for two and a half minutes; which I thought would make it quite bland, but doesn't.

It has a fruity bite to it, something like orange or orange peel, and a toffee-like element, but firmer, without the sweetness. Underneath these it has a tiny, perfumed hint, something like eau de cologne. It's decades since I've drunk any sweet wines and I never much cared for them anyway; so I have no idea if it actually tastes like Muscatel.

Tea Forte' English Breakfast. Sometimes "EB" is used as a catch-all for blends of so-so teas. This isn't the case--this is good strong quality Assam with a little spicy thing going on in the background.

(Furthermore, I could play with Tea Forte's little pyramid boxes all day ... fun packaging!)

74: That sounds lovely, Makaibari is one of my favourite estates (Along with Margret's Hope).

Yunnan this morning, although not a particularly memorable one.

With some surprise, I note that Tea Forté's Chamomile is the best I've ever tasted! I got one of their samplers a few years ago.

77: Tea Forte also has a chamomile citron (reviewed here http://www.itsallabouttheleaf.com/1824/tea-review-tea-forte-chamomile-citron/) that's really good.

Rhubarb black tea.

I'm in the middle of this crazy blizzard in the midwest in a house with poor heating. Honestly though, I'm just grateful that we have heat, and a roof, and food, and clothing, and water, and electricity. So many people don't. As cold as I get, at least I'm sheltered.

We've been downing Twinnings English Breakfast all day everyday for awhile in an effort to stay warm. I think it was -10*F last night.

Harney and Sons Decaf English Breakfast loose leaf with some raw sugar. Delish!

Yesterday I had some jasmine tea from a filipino store nearby. It's my favorite jasmine.

'Big Smoke' from Postcard Teas (London).

I had a tin of this off my niece a couple of days ago and it's a revelation: I've never tasted anything quite like it - though it's vaguely similar to a Lapsang - but I really love it and I think it's going to be one of my favourites from now on.

The company describes it as a 'blend of a tea smoked over cinnamon wood and a fine Darjeeling'.

In the mug it smells of charcoal and your basic pizza, with a hint of cherry, and it tastes of chocolate and charcoal with a touch of pleasant sharpness somewhere in between cinnamon and cherry.

Working through a Yunnan from a chain tea store (Davids). Although it is not bad, there is nothing impressive about it. It needs extra leaf and extra time to get some flavour out of it.

#83 - I've been a little surprised at the variations in strengths between different teas. Some are more expensive, but then you find you only need a teaspoon for a whole teapot; while others seem quite cheap till you realise you're using three or four times as much - or more - to get some flavour. I rather object to expensive ones where you need a shovelful per mug.

Having said that, I'm drinking a second cup of Mount Fuji Sencha (another present from my niece) which I made with the same teaspoonful of tea I used for the first mug - that's got to be good for the pocket! Not sure what I think of it, though - there are hints of boiled cabbage, liquorice and, perhaps, the teeniest hint of root ginger.

82 & 84:
Am I still on the tea board, or did I mistakenly hop over to the Bertie Botts Beans board?

#85 - You should taste the China Eagle Lapsang Souchong I'm drinking at this moment - it tastes of fried pork sausages!

Edit: Ah - I've just googled 'Bertie Botts Beans' - I was thinking baked beans in tomato sauce or such. I'll point you towards my Bolivian Cochabamba - that has a definite taste of chocolate.

86: Who has to google Bertie Botts Beans?! Come on! (just kidding)

Actually, a Bertie Botts jellybean in fried pork sausage flavor would be apropos.

Can I get a bacon jellybean? :D

Drinking gyokuro right now. It was a gift from a friend! Tastes like matcha, mmmm.

...mmmm, Snow Orchid Oolong from Essencha in Cincinnati, Ohio. I love my local tea shop!

#89 - I'm curious - are there actual snow orchids involved, or is that just a name they've chosen for it?

Basic, tasty Bigelow Cinnamon Stick--a usual family go-to when our family's freezing (5 below (F) this morning).

88: I have a bacon flavoured tea! More a smokey tea, not a strong bacony flavour really.

Anyway, to start the day a plain strong Red Rose tea to deal with makeup exams and computer issues. Going to change to Assam black tea at the office for marking.

Harney and Sons Rose Scented Tea...interesting. Kind of smells like old lady perfume; not sold on it yet.

Golden Monkey by Teavana. Very nice.

#68 - This tea-tasting business is very confusing. I'm drinking another mug of the Black Tiger Keemun and if I were to describe the flavour I'd use exactly the same words - but now it's really enjoyable, plenty of flavour! Didn't make it much differently. I'm definitely starting to believe there is something erratic about my taste buds.

#89,#90 - I've been googling and found that orchid oolongs have real orchids in them. So that's something else I have to sample. I don't know why - I have no idea what orchids taste like - it just sounds great.

It does sound interesting!

Going to make a mug of cocoa cardamom black tea to start the day. Heavy snow on the trees, so it seems like the right sort of tea for this morning.

Upton Tea's Baker Street Blend. I don't particularly care for Lapsang, but this blend has exactly the right amount: just a hint of smoke.

Black Tiger Keemun yet again. I think I've cracked what's going on, now (see #68, #95). I think that sometimes my taste-buds have to have time to 'learn' a new tea!

Whatever, this has gone from being a bit of a disappointment to being one of my favourites of the moment - quite mild and gentle, but with hints of chocolate and toffee, fresh, sweet hay (especially in the smell) and a smooth 'butteriness' - if there is such a word (or a buttery smoothness).

Gunpowder green tea in a travel mug this morning.

I've been drinking some Yogi St. John's Wort Blues Away tea lately. I don't know if it actually works or if I've been abnormally cheerful for some other reason.

Stoned?

Sorry, varielle, I couldn't resist that.

I've just found an interesting bit of info on Wikipedia. Apparently St. John's Wort is more successful at treating depression in German-speaking countries. Are you a German speaker, by any chance?

No, but I've got a bunch of them in my family tree.

That'll be it then - either that or your subconscious is sensing springtime coming.

Trapped in by a blizzard, and yet was drinking green tea most of the day (Under the weather). Took a chance on some black tea with milk tonight... SOooo much better with the snow for some reason :P

Blizzard? Oh my. It's so warm here, I haven't even been drinking tea because I cannot tolerate drinking something hot when the weather is warm. I guess I'll have to start making cold tea. I did have a cup of (hot) Twinings Earl Grey yesterday evening, and though I love many kinds of tea, I just think there's nothing better. Maybe my taste buds are not as refined, I don't know, but I love some Twinings earl grey.

After getting my car unstuck this morning (Needed to dig it out and get a friend to push!) I am at the office with some rhubarb green tea.

Lots of herbal right now, Lemon Zinger this morning, because I have a lovely head cold that's travelling to the chest region.

I've been hearing about banaba tea and all it's various health effects. Has anyone tried this and is it worth tracking down?

I've been doing Elyse's blend from Harney & Sons for the past few mornings...let me just tell ya:

If you have the time definitely start indulging in this ritual...take a tray or cookie sheet and line it with a pretty dish towel. Make up a pot of your tea of the moment. Get your favorite mug or tea cup. Make up a bowl of cereal or find something equally delicious such as mini-muffins or scones or cinnamon toast. (Or have cookies for breakfast). Then set your tray and take it to your favorite spot in the house (bed, living room floor, bay window). And enjoy a favorite show or book.

What a great feeling! I've started doing it and it just makes me feel like a queen at the start of every morning.

That sounds wonderful! After a mug of green tea, I am making a mug of Red Rose tea to go with dessert that someone brought up! (That greek one with all the layers and honey, the name escapes me at the moment).

Baklava?

Ooooh, baklava. Yummy!

= sticky goodness! :-)

Sunday afternoon is my queen-bee tea time when I can have one, including fussy flower-of-the-month china cups my grandma collected for me long before I knew what a tea junkie I would become.

In the meantime, celebrating the end of the week with Thurbo Estate Darjeeling by Lochan Teas ... it is light and has a Sun-Maid golden raisins vibe to it.

112: That's the word! I was bad this morning, went back for another piece for breakfast :P

This morning, in a moment of absendmindedness, I put some loose Windsor Castle blend tea in my pot, added the boiling water and then discovered I had also put some red rose teabags in. Sigh. I caught it before it had steeped too long and it tastes fine.

This morning I had a teapot full of a mystery oolong someone brought me from Taiwan or Thailand...I can't remember. Unfortunately, I forgot about it and let it steep too long. Boo.

The Tao of Tea's Darjeeling Muscatel - very nice, a smooth taste with not much tannin bite.

Finishing up my box of Numi's Chocolate Puerh. A surprisingly successful blend of chocolate and tea flavors; no idea why it works, but it's tasty.

High mountain oolong (organic) from DAVIDsTEA! Yum. I love that the leaves start as tiny little rolled balls, and end up fully unfurled, complete leaves. How do they do it??

Ti Kuan Yin Oolong from Peet's. Very nice.

Tamayokucha by Two Leaves and a Bud. It's a Gyokuro grade green tea; my personal favourite.

Saigon Chai from DAVIDsTEA. Pretty good. Warming me up!

Elyse's Blend again...it's really good. I recommend it.

I've also been digging the Dragon Pearl Jasmine and the Indian Nimbu samples that I ordered from Harney & Sons. I have a much better idea now of what I want to order in larger quantities.

A nice cup of good second flush Darjeeling.

I'm drinking an absolutely marvellous mug of tea.

I'd come to the end of the Big Smoke I mentioned in #82, above, and likewise of my Bolivian Cochabamba, which I think I mentioned in the previous thread. I had not quite enough left of either to make a mug of tea, so I put the two together - which was probably about half as much again as I'd normally use for either.

It's magnificent - cinnamon; woodsmoke; chocolate; a lovely, smooth undercurrent of butter; a little, invigorating 'bite', like root ginger or orange peel, giving a definite 'pick-me-up' element to it.

Since my neurologist has restricted me to herbal tisanes due to migraine headaches, I'm drinking a cup of Cinnamon-Plum Rooibos. Its been over 2 months and I'm still having daily migraine episodes so I'm hoping the tea wasn't a contributor like soy, and I get a reprieve from this restriction. (I miss drinking all of my oolong, green and silver needle teas, and am living vicariously through all of these posts...)

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you Taylor. And maybe throw in a prayer to the great tea god. ;D

#129 - I second those two.

Oatmeal is in my mug right now. ;) Soon to be followed with either Saigon Chai or High Mountain Oolong. The oolong is too tempting - I'm going to run out fast at this rate.

>128 BookDivasReads:
So sorry to hear that, Taylorm8den; I'm in a similar boat, but for stomach issues. Best of luck.

I decided to give the Lipton chai in the pyramid bags a try. Yesterday, it was really great! This morning, it tastes funny. What happened?

Adagio Teas Chocolate Chip, which, oddly enough, I don't like as well as their plain chocolate. Still drinkable, though.

A pot of Constant Comment mixed with plain tea. I have a cold and the Constant Comment tasted strong so I added regular loose leaf tea to smooth it out.

Sichuan Zao Bai Jian, Spring, from Imperial Teas.

This is a real find - excellent: a proper basic tea taste plus touches of malt and chocolate and the tiniest hint of the lovely, black, crusty bits you get on the outside of a good roast joint of beef. The seller's tasting notes mention Turkish Delight - I think I can taste what they mean but I don't think I'd have picked it up if I hadn't read about it. A very smooth, soothing sort of cuppa.

This morning I had India Breakfast Tulsi Tea by Organic India. I picked up a sample at my health food store. It was very unique, and very good. Had a slight spice taste, but not too much.

134: I completely agree about the Adagio chocolate chip tea - the plain chocolate is much better.

A strawberry white tea, light and fruity for our creeping spring.

Apparently, Lapsang can be an acquired taste. I'm really starting to like the Russian Caravan tea that I got as a sample from Harney and Sons.

#139 - Yay, a convert. You'll be an addict before you know it.

I've just made a pot of Nothing But Tea's Smokey Caravan.

139: Double yay!

Drinking some second flush Darjeeling at the moment.

Currently drinking Tetley Classic Blend Decaf...I like the British Blend better. It has a much better flavor and takes milk and sugar like a champ. I had to beg my mom to go on a treasure hunt for it...now we have to finish the Classic Blend before she'll let me open the British.

Also...I think I'm a Taylors of Harrogate Yorkshire Tea fan now.

Pecan flavoured black tea. Trying to use up some odds and ends before I travel to Sask for a month.

Gunpowder Green Tea. Delish!

Yorkshire Tea (loose leaf) here too. Not quite so far off the beaten track for me as it might be for tiegster, however. Moved to that when PG stopped doing the picture cards (although I thought PG was getting a bit dusty too, at the time).

#143 .. pecan sounds great. Wonder what it'd be like with a little maple syrup.

Today here -- Big Red Robe Oolong (chinese-teashop.com). Light and pleasant; a little like unsweet honeysuckle. It's purported to go nine steeps without losing character. We'll see...seven to go!

Making do with Lipton White Mango and Peach...

Can't wait to finish some of these teas up so the rest of the household will let me buy some decent stuff.

I love Star of India, a perfect blend of the 3 teas of India - Darjeeling, Assam, and Nilgiri. I'm also enjoying Ceylon Silver Tips White Tea - amazing! And a very smooth single estate Niligiri from the south of India. All brewed as loose leaf and taken straight.

Tiegster, I like the white mango/peach ... I think it's my favorite of the "upscale" Lipton pyramid bags. Have you tried it iced?

This morning I combined two scraps --- Kusmi Spicy Chocolate (which wasn't, very) and 52 Teas Mayan chocolate (which was) to get a combo that's sweet, but peppery enough to dissolve the gunk in my head (spring cold).

pukka herbs's harmonise tea (rose flower, camomile flower, hibiscus, licorice root, vanilla)

Two cups of Tetley British Blend so far as it's a delightfully, gloomy, rainy morn. In an actual tea cup no less...

China Golden Downey Pekoe

A Chai from the local supermarket. As tea it is crap, but it's nice and warm on a cold morning.

Iced tea brew Lipton Raspberry. It's Texas- it's June- it's 98 degrees out.

Good ol' Constant Comment is steeping away. It is such a comfort tea to me!

.. And it must be a Bigelow day because I'm now onto Green Tea with Lemon. There's something that I don't quite like about it -- but I keep drinking it because of the health benefits green tea is supposed to provide. I am not a pretentious tea drinker, but maybe it's the brand?

English breakfast today. It has been too cloudy/rainy to make iced tea, and too warm for a lot of hot tea. Grrr!!

It's been cloudy and rainy here...at the moment it's pouring down! I still picked up and Iced Chai Latte from Starbuck's, tho. The humidity was just toooo much!

oh, yummy. I love iced chai! Unfortunately, the Starbucks near where I work makes the chai so spicy that it burns my lips. I didn't know that was possible until it happened!

Vietnamese Imperial Oolong.

This was in a box of oolong samples I've recently received. Never before tasted anything like it and I'm in love.

Near where I grew up there was a 'tropical bird house' and I thought it was wonderful. You walked around it with the birds flying free around you. It was planted up with all sorts of exotic bushes and was always kept hot and damp (constant mist sprays). The system they had for feeding the insectivorous birds was to have some fruit rotting in the bottom of a mesh-covered dustbin: the insects breeding on the fruit flew out through the mesh for the birds to hunt. So, imagine the aroma in there: a combination of warm green vegetation, warm moist soil, warm rotting fruit and, no doubt, a hint of warm bird-droppings. and that's the aroma and flavour (plus basic tea taste) of Vietnamese Imperial Oolong. Love it.

Yesterday I baked scones so naturally had to accompany them with some tea... I chose Buckingham Palace Garden Party tea. This morning I think I may go for some of the Holiday Winter Tea I bought just before Christmas. It's a sweet spiced tea and the smell reminds me of gingerbread. Yum! Also we've been having rather dull, gloomy weather for the past couple of days so a nice warm holiday tea will be just the thing.

That sounds lovely!

I managed to get some loose Keemun tea on a short trip. It is nice and will tide me over till Canadapost ends the strike and I can order from my regular place.

>161 rabbitprincess: - the Holiday Winter tea sounds fantastic!

Going back to the good ol' Constant Comment!

I'm currently nursing a cup of Earl Grey. (I feel like Jean Luc Picard. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.)

@162, 163 (and anyone else who's interested): this is the Holiday Winter Tea I was drinking on Sunday: http://www.culinaryteas.com/Flavored_Teas/618B-088.html

Thanks for the link, rabbitprincess!

Sipped down a mug of Harney and Sons' Tower of London. Had to boil the water in the microwave. Still delicious. I'm running low on tea, since I could only pack so much for my temporary move.

Loved Tower of London! Giving a cup of that to my sister moved her to want to go back to London, which resulted in my best trip ever last year...powerful stuff. And it tastes nice too...

A tea friend supplied me with a care package of samples, which I am loving ... today's taste test was Upton Tea Imperial Golden Monkey -- nice and light with, according to the description "a hint of apple peel" which is subtle, but definitely there.

tonight, an Imperial from Ceylan! :)

Hm, trying Twining's Traditional Afternoon Tea. So far, tastes like cat urine. Might leave this one in the kitchen for workmates with fewer tastebuds. :P

Stash's English Breakfast Black because it's Saturday and I'm the Person In Charge at work until 1:00 and have to be somewhat awake.

In about 5 min. it will be a nice, stong, hot cup of PG Tips. :) Can't wait!

Supping my way through a pot of Nothing But Tea's Smokey Souchong - gorgeous.

This is not the same tea as their Smokey Caravan (see above somewheres) and I think it's much nicer; but I'm pretty sure this is exactly the same tea as Whittard of Chelsea's China Eagle (see above somewheres else). So I've got two lots of the same tea.

A friend sent me her hand-concocted melange of several loose leaf berry teas. Reminds me of the "suicides" we used to order at church camp (one shot of everything in the pop machine). And, surprisingly, it's flat tasty! Especially iced on a 99-degree afternoon. Kind of a berries and cream feel to it.

Probably the best black tea I have every run across is DILMAH brand English Breakfast Tea. You have to steep it longer than a standard blend but it tastes worlds better

China's Keemun. I am hoping that it clears up my sore throat. If not, I will switch to my favorite - Assam Gold.

I'm sipping a first flush Darjeeling (2009) bought a couple of days ago at a Fortnum & Mason sale. And looking out on my garden where the swallows are attacking my cat using dive bomber tactics.

I'm about to make my second cup of good old PG Tips. One wasn't enough and I'm really needing a perk me up!

Republic of Tea's "Sweet Tea". Their blend really is the best sun tea I've ever made. And apparently it's sugar free - so there must be stevia in the mix.

Good old PG Tips for me today! :)

I'm going with Yerba Mate.

Organic assam that I bought in bulk at earthfare. Very nice. I don't know what I'd do without my daily cup of tea. It feels sacred, in a way.

Susan Gabriel
author of Seeking Sara Summers

Twinings Earl Grey. A decent basic tea.

Nothing yet, but in about an hour, a nice cup of PG Tips again! Just got to finish up sorting all our general fiction Hardcovers first!

I worked from home today and had some Prince of Wales tea brewed in an actual teapot, for just the right amount of time, with milk and sugar. At work I tend to drink tea black, with the bag put directly in my travel mug, and it's inevitably overbrewed because I tend to forget it in the morning-routine bustle :P So having a proper cup of tea in the morning was nice.

Batavia tea bags this morning.
I just tried to drink some forgotten back of the cupboard golden monke from adagio, but it was too old.

Now I'm sipping on Yogi Egyptian Licorice with milk, which I consider the best evening drink, so I'm happy.

Cloudy dank day.. started of with an English Breakfast, now to the stronger Red Rose. Trying to use up some odds and ends before cracking open my newly ordered Assam and Darjeeling! :) :)

Right now i am drinking English Breakfast. I also like drinking Lung Ching or China Gunpowder. Sometimes i put peeled ginger to the leaves in the can.

Saturday morning at work, so I'm using Stash's Ginger Breakfast Black Tea to help wake up.

I've got Tetley's new BOLD in my cup this morning. I quite enjoy it. Very much a really good cup of tea!

Today's flavor was a treat from a friend--Nougatine Plum Rouge from SpecialTeas. Dried fruit bits (mmm) hibiscus (not so much), vanilla and almond (double mmm). The hibiscus tart hits you first, but you get this lovely cookie-sweet aftertaste that stays with you.

More and more of Tetley's BOLD. Needing the pick-me-up today!

I am drinking peppermint tea. Sadly i can't get fresh mint leaves. Tea brewed of fresh mint leaves has a delicious taste and aroma!

Gunpowder green tea! :)

Tetley's new BOLD! I think I'm liking this one even more than Tazo Awake! :)

Hmmm good to know, I had not even heard of it! :)

Keemun, two minute brew, no milk. I used to drink it stronger with milk but find myself preferring it otherwise now.

The Emerald Path from Nourish Tea. Yum!

I made a large pot of Cocoa Cardamom black tea to share at the office :)

Sounds delish! :)

I take a satay-stick and break it in two to shorten it, and push the pointy end through the cup-sized paper filter before I place the stick-and-filter in my mug. Then I take a good spoonful of the Darjeeling TGF BOP1 that my brother bought in Darjeeling for me during his pilgrimage there, and finally I pop over to the water boiler to pour over water that is too hot. But still: heaven. Soon I'll run out. Sic transit gloria mundi.

Bcteagirl, can I come work in your office? That sounds like some fantastic tea.

Please do!! It is a wonderful tea. I do love unflavoured teas (Darjeeling, Assam and Yunnan especially) but also drink flavoured tea.

Today I made a batch of a new tea this fall, 'carrot cake' tea. It was alright but falls prey to the 'too many bits of stuff, not enough tea' so while my office mates adored it, I felt it tasted 'water' (Or not enough like tea I guess). So next time I make it I will be mixing in some Assam for good measure.

My favorite tea at the moment is Bengal Spice Tea (Celestial Seasonings). Love it because it is naturally sweet & doesn't need any sugar/sweetener added.

I love Bengal Spice, especially when I have a cold or sore throat! It's got just enough bite to make a sore throat feel better. Nice on a cold winter's day, too.

I do enjoy it as well, especially before they changed the formula (years ago).

Red rose tea! I did make some strong Assam to help get me through the morning.

I have the dregs of a packet from Upton in my work bag: Premium Blend Earl Grey Supreme from Germany. It's pleasant for sipping at my desk during the day, but not too nice for work.

Bigelow's lemon lift.

Mixed the end bits of a Darjeeling and a black snail tea (coiled) to make one complete pot. Hope it turns out! :)

I've been doing Tazo Zen for a week now because of a stuffed-up nose and bad sinus pressure. I'm excited to get back to some good ol' black tea blends.

In other news...I work at Wal-mart and had to redo our tea shelves. I don't think they should let tea addicts be around the stuff all day. I was in my element, talking about tea to anyone who would listen. I wanted to buy it all and try all the new kinds we had gotten.

I like to invent my own herbal teas. My latest is strawberry-ginger tea.
Here's the recipe:
chop up two fresh strawberries and a lump of ginger root (the root should be about the same volume as the strawberries)
boil together in two cups of water until it's reduced to one cup of water
strain into your favourite tea cup and enjoy
This tea taste a bit like chai and it has a lovely pink colour. Very refreshing.

212: Sounds delicious. One of my favourite homemade herbal teas is lemon & ginger. Combine 15 ml (1 tbsp) of fresh lemon juice and 2 thin slices of unpeeled ginger root in a mug. Pour in boiling water and let steep for 3 minutes. Remove the ginger root and sweeten to taste with honey.

Today I'm drinking Hot Apple Cider:
Pour 300 ml (1 1/4 cup) of unfiltered apple juice into a mug and add 1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) ground cinnamon, 0.63 ml (1/8 tsp) ground cloves, and 0.31 ml (1/16 tsp) ground coriander seed. Place in the microwave and heat on med-high heat for 3 - 3 1/2 minutes. Let stand for a minute or so before drinking.

A strong Assam tea to start the day, and coconut flavoured black tea to round it out. Later I may switch to some of the not-teas, but not quite yet ;P

Today I discovered matcha lattes at Starbucks. Just match powder and steamed milk. Yum!

Hi LovelyPride
I'm going to try your recipes. Thanks.

Started the day with Assam, and now some plain Red Rose @ the office :)

I like strong, black tea. So, I love Assam tea made by Taylors of Harrogate. Their Scottish tea is pretty good too. Sugar is all I need if it is a good tea.

I also love strong black tea! :)

Ginger black to start the day here :)

I'm a black tea guy, although I agree with 205 and 206 re: Bengal Spice. Lovely.

Yesterday, at my favorite local coffee shop, I selected a tea I'd never had before: Harney & Sons Caribe, which is a blend of black and green, with strawberry and guava flavors. Delightful.

#220 ncgraham - funny you should mention Bengal Spice. I've just now put the kettle on to make a cup and looking forward to that heavenly aroma!

I love the naturally sweet/spicy flavor of that tea. No sugar required, that's for sure! (I sometimes have a teaspoon when I'm drinking other blends. Not always, though.)

I like the bite of the ginger and black pepper in it! Feels good when I've got a scratchy throat and is my go-to tea whenever I have a cold. :)

I like a very strong mug w/milk & 1 sugar. I find that varying the brands makes them all taste better. So today I've come to the end of a box of Co-op Indian Prince and have just made a mug of PG Tips special blend. So good. And in the wings are boxes of Barry's and Yorkshire Gold. I've been bringing a year's supply back home with me from the UK but have recently found all except the Co-op brand available in the US. So glad.

Strong milk with tea and honey can be such an elixir sometimes :)

Just plain ol' Red Rose tea on this rainy day.

I am drinking Dung ti (green tea) this morning, because the leaves can be brewed up several times and i brewed those leaves yesterday evening for the first time.
Today i will look for Super Special Gunpowder here in town in western Germany. I know one Asia-Shop, they should sell it.

Margret's Hope Darjeeling.

I have yet to try Dung ti green tea, how did you find it?

And what makes the gunpowder you are looking for super special? I am curious now :P

I have googled Dung ti, it seems it is an Oolong, not a full green tea. Dung ti can be brewed several times and each time it tastes different. It tastes mild and relaxing, but with different strenght if the leves are brewed up more than once, of course. I like to drink it when i'd like to calm down or in the late afternoon, when it's ok for me to get tired slowly. Dung ti does not make me feel tired, but it isn't tea drinkers coffee: it keeps my mind clear in the evening without the feeling of being pushed up.
Gunpowder tea: Super Special Gunpowder was the name written on the package, but i do not know why it is so super special. The name on the new package is only "Special Gunpowder", but it's also from another producer. The former package was from El Taj. I found this site to be more informative than the wikipedia article on Gunpowder: http://www.green-tea-health-news.com/gunpowder-green-tea.html . In fact, it says that Gunpowder is recommended for coffee drinkers who are trying to reduce their caffeine intake. :-)

Thanks!

I was curious as I enjoy gunpowder tea. Looks like it may be a sort of brand name.

Ironically, I am drinking Gunpowder green tea this am :)

Stolen from Wikipedia: "Gunpowder tea (珠茶; pinyin: zhū chá) is a form of green Chinese tea produced in Zhejiang Province of China in which each leaf has been rolled into a small round pellet. It is believed to take its English name from the fact that the tea resembles blackpowder grains. This rolling method of shaping tea is most often applied either to dried green tea (the most commonly encountered variety outside China) or Oolong tea."

I remember the first time it was described to me, in the '70's by a friend who said it was his grandmother's favorite. So, while there may be one so named, it is as described above and not historically a brand.

I mean the 'special' part. Gunpowder tea itself I am familiar with ;)

For example I love genmiacha green tea. There are some 'special' versions that aside from just rice or popped corn contain matcha, green peas, etc. Since I am always looking for new versions of tea I thought it might be a new gunpowder. I have seen gunpowder flavoured with mint quite a lot, but am interested in non-mint variations. :)

A yummy Citrus Earl Grey from Bar Harbor Tea Company - my one indulgence each year that we visit Bar Harbor!

Just plain green tea on a fall day :)

Irish Breakfast, which I made at breakfast time but in the busyness of my morning kind of forgot. Fortunately I brew tea in an insulated carafe and it stays hot for a long time.

Comforting Casablanca Twist from Adagio Teas!

I've been drinking green tea with honey by the gallon this weekend. It's my fall back comfort drink when things aren't going so hot.

I hope things turn around soon, Mareofthesea.

I just finished a simple cup of Earl Grey by Twinings. Although not fancy, it is definitely my go-to cup.

This morning I had another Casablanca Twist and now I'm nursing Earl Grey.

Lindaannstrang: Hope you enjoy them.

I just recently discovered Jade Snow by Teaopia. It's a blend of green and white teas. Delicious!

Mojito Mint from Stash after a lazy morning.

Red Rose Tea. I just discovered they have little treasures in each box - one for each month of the year. Yes, I did buy the box of tea for the 'toy' but am quite pleased with the tea too! And, for anyone out there that is collecting these little porcelain miniatures, my first is the stack of books and a graduation cap for the month of June.

#241: I didn't know there were prizes in Red Rose Tea. I think I will buy a box now!

I'm wasting time with wonderfully easy Earl Grey by Twinings!

Trying out some Murchie's Afternoon Blend, which one of my co-workers was kind enough to bring back for me from Vancouver. And yes I am aware it is evening where I am, but it's still afternoon in BC as I type ;)

It's ginger green tea for me this morning. I steeped a couple of thin slices of ginger in my green tea and added a little honey.

It's very chilly out this morning and a nice hot cup of tea seemed just the thing! I'm now indulging in a second cup of Twinings Winter Spice..."A comforting apple flavoured camomile tea spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and cloves"...almost like dessert! :)

245: I've never tried the Twinings Winter Spice, but the description sounds similar to Adagio's Spiced Apple Chai, which is one of my favorites for winter.

Got a parcel in the mail yesterday from a friend that included two bundles of tea. This morning I had the new-to-me one, Cream of Earl Grey. I am quite partial to standard Earl Grey and liked this one as well. (The other tea was Scottish Breakfast, which I've had and also like.)

Mmmm... the ginger and the twinings winter spice both sound wonderful! No tea for met yet today, I had a steaming cup of coffee, but I anticipate a warm cup before the day is over due to lots of schoolwork that needs to be done!

Gong Fu black by Zhi tea ... gift from a friend. It's deep and cocoa-y and burgundy; sweet on its own without need of sugar or milk. Excellent.

Tumsong 'Moonlight Delight' Second Flush Garden Darjeeling from Imperial Teas of Lincoln.

This really is 'delightful'. My favourite Darjeeling so far.

The aroma is part yeasty and part new-mown grass. The flavour seems to me a little more intense than most Darjeelings I've had: it has basic tea, a firm, fruity element somewhere between orange-peel and gooseberry, and an element somewhere between new-mown grass and good, sweet hay. There was just a hint of a floral perfume element – or possibly vanilla.

The trouble is that I only had a sample, I'm down to the last couple of teaspoons, and this is quite expensive at £19/100gms (a little over $30 at this morning's rates); but it's so good that I think I'll get 100gms and keep it for special treats.

Incidentally, am I the only one who always finds Second Flush and Autumnal Darjeelings preferable to First Flush (so far, anyway)?

Today's been a mixture of Lapsang and Rosebud tea, both from Harrod's in London. (I think I began the day with a pot of Ceylon, actually - but the others took over my teapot for the rest of the day)

Tried some of Adagio's caramel tea with about 3-4 drops of real vanilla, and it was very good.

Usually I have Rose Red (they have little collectible things!), but today I had Coconut Chai from Zhena's Gypsy tea. So relaxing!

Also, lately I've been putting honey in my tea instead of cream and sugar. I like it a lot better than sugar now.

I don't usually have any kind of sweetener in my tea, but if I do, it's always honey. Perfect if you're feeling under the weather.

I'm drinking Yorkshire Gold. Is anyone else surprised by how easy it is to get through a box of 80 teabags? It takes hardly any time at all and I'm the only one drinking it! 80 seems excessive, but oh, so good.

Time for a new thread! I'll open if no one objects.

Sorry folks, but due to my own stupidity and the mystic powers of the Internet, I somehow posted duplicate threads #5, then rankamateur and I deleted our posts in one of them, not realizing that it was the one that this thread automatically links to that one. So please, if you could post here for consistency's sake, that would be wonderful:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/127091