Whats favorite tea and how do you prepare it? (1 Viewer)

[Neil Middlemiss]

Jacob, I just happened to be visiting HTF for the first time in months and saw your post. I own a well established online tea retail business, theteatable.com, so I can give some feedback.Electric kettles are great. I recommend getting one. By far my favorite is the Cuisinart CPK-17, which sells for $90-100. It's the only one I've tried with temp controls that actually work. We don't sell those, BTW, so it's an honest suggestion. With premium teas, temperature control is extremely important.Tetsubin (cast iron) teapots are impressive (and expensive), but for something practical that you can actually use, I'd go with a nice, functional, ceramic teapot with a good infuser. The good infuser is the toughest part, since a lot of them aren't great. Actually, it's best to have at least two teapots, for flavored and unflavored teas. Never clean them with detergent, BTW.One retailer you mentioned is a great place to lighten your wallet, but if you prefer not to pay 3-5X what their tea is worth, there are dozens, even hundreds of better options.

The Cuisinart kettle is the one I use. I'm an English breakfast tea man. Grew up drinking PG Tips and so the preference has stuck although I love a good Earl Grey and Green tea from time to time.I tried K-cup tea for my Keurig but I'm not a fan.I will explore your website for my next restocking!

 

[Stan]

I did not notice Keith's location before my last post, but now I see what's going on!

Took me almost two weeks to understand your post, but now I finally get it. Very subtle, yet unintended bit of humor.

 

[JohnRice]

The Cuisinart kettle is the one I use. I'm an English breakfast tea man. Grew up drinking PG Tips and so the preference has stuck although I love a good Earl Grey and Green tea from time to time.I tried K-cup tea for my Keurig but I'm not a fan.I will explore your website for my next restocking!

Neil,

We have a basic, inexpensive English Breakfast, which is our best seller, but we also have several breakfast blends we developed and blend ourselves. Our Supreme Breakfast and East Fresian are two examples, plus we have a relatively new ultra premium blend, Ultimate Breakfast Tea. It's a little on the pricey side but it's incredible. We have several custom afternoon blends as well, but our Five O'Clock Tea is my favorite.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Neil,

We have a basic, inexpensive English Breakfast, which is our best seller, but we also have several breakfast blends we developed and blend ourselves. Our Supreme Breakfast and East Fresian are two examples, plus we have a relatively new ultra premium blend, Ultimate Breakfast Tea. It's a little on the pricey side but it's incredible. We have several custom afternoon blends as well, but our Five O'Clock Tea is my favorite.

Thanks - I just placed an order for the Ultimate Breakfast Tea. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Aaron Silverman]

I just acquired a large French press, specifically for loose tea, not coffee. Any tips on using it?

 

[Stan]

John,I'm a big customer of yours. I drink iced Casablanca like it's my job. We also love your black teas and oolong blends.I make my tea in a 1.5L Bodum French press and use a digital thermometer for water temperature.

Never have understood the appeal of a French press. I like my tea or coffee nicely filtered. No coffee grounds or bits of tea leaves left behind. When you have to pour the liquid through another filter to remove the excess 3D stuff, it kind of defeats the purpose of using a French press.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks - I just placed an order for the Ultimate Breakfast Tea. Thanks for the recommendation!

Neil, I had a sample of Supreme Breakfast put in your order as well, just so you can try our mid-grade blend. I made some Ultimate Breakfast yesterday and it really is a unique tea.

 

[Dave Upton]

John,
What's your take on French Press vs Filter? I always found in my limited experience that the french press has a more full taste and steeps better.How do you make your own?

 

[JohnRice]

Dave, I'd say the main benefit of a press is it guarantees the tea is not constrained while it steeps. I generally use ceramic teapots with a good, generously sized infuser.

 

[Northgun]

Hi John, my wife's favorite tea is from teavana so thats why I ordered from there and we ordered tea from enjoyingtea.com as well since we were getting out teapots from there. Our next order we will try teas from your website.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Neil, I had a sample of Supreme Breakfast put in your order as well, just so you can try our mid-grade blend. I made some Ultimate Breakfast yesterday and it really is a unique tea.

Thank you! The parcel arrived today and I am eager for the morning to arrive. I use a ceramic teapot and have what we always referred to as a tea strainer, a cup sized strainer that sits atop the cup as you pour.Excited. Thanks again.

 

[JohnRice]

Hi John, my wife's favorite tea is from teavana so thats why I ordered from there and we ordered tea from enjoyingtea.com as well since we were getting out teapots from there. Our next order we will try teas from your website.

Jacob, if you tell me what she likes from them, I can give some suggestions.

 

[JohnRice]

Thank you! The parcel arrived today and I am eager for the morning to arrive. I use a ceramic teapot and have what we always referred to as a tea strainer, a cup sized strainer that sits atop the cup as you pour.Excited. Thanks again.

Neil, that's fine so long as you don't leave the tea in the water too long. If you pour out the entire pot once it is done steeping, you are fine, but the irony with most better teas is they get nasty if steeped too long.

 

[Northgun]

Jacob, if you tell me what she likes from them, I can give some suggestions.

Her two favorites are herbal teas: Wild Orange Blossom and Peach Tranquility. My favorite from there is a white tea called youth berry. I really enjoy their caramelized rock sugar as well.

 

[Neil Middlemiss]

Neil, that's fine so long as you don't leave the tea in the water too long. If you pour out the entire pot once it is done steeping, you are fine, but the irony with most better teas is they get nasty if steeped too long.

Hi John - I tend to pour enough water in the pot to fill my large CNN mug, then I reheat the kettle and pour in enough for the second mug full (I put in 4 teaspoons of tea for that since the mug is quite large).

I tried the Supreme Breakfast tea first and it was smooth and delicious. I will be putting in a larger order for some of that. It's the perfect morning tea.

The Ultimate Breakfast Tea is quite something. A very distinct taste and a delightful one at that. I would choose that tea for the occassional enjoyment rather than an everyday tea. But it's slightly peppery taste is excellent.

I've yet to try the Earl Grey sample, but with the 6-10 inches of snow expected over the next day or so, and me stuck working from home, I think that I'll have ample opportunity to brew up plenty of tea.

Thanks again for the wonderful tea!

Neil

 

[JohnRice]

I'm glad you enjoyed them, Neil. You might get a sample of Five O'Clock Tea sometime. It's lighter, but one of my favorites. Be sure to follow the steeping instructions though, it is easy to over steep, and use a little extra if you are measuring by volume because the leaves in it are large. I'm so picky that I use a digital scale (needs to be accurate to 0.1 gram) instead of measuring by volume.

 

[Dougofthenorth]

We use an electric tea making device that has a ceramic pot & a variable strength lever, takes bags or loose tea
Had it 10 years?

It is a Mrs Tea & on the box it stated "Mrs Tea a division of Mr Coffee" thought that was humorous

I like mid-elevation Orange Pekoe tea from Sri Lanka (hand picked) Brand name Premium Ceylon

We only rinse it, never wash it or descale it

 

[JohnRice]

BTW, Doug, Ceylon is actually a "type" of tea, not a brand name. Several teas are named for where they are grown. Most of the time, it is a region of China or India (such as Keemun, Fujian, Darjeeling, Assam, etc.) but in the case of Ceylon, that just means Sri Lanka, which was previously known a British Ceylon. Also, contrary to what Lipton commercials have implied, Pekoe is also not a type of tea, but is part of a very general and rather unspecific grading system. It's mainly used with Ceylon and some Darjeeling teas. Orange Pekoe is a mid grade level, though there are far more grades above it than below, so "mid" may not apply.

You can see more Here.

If you ever want to try the finest grade of Ceylon, we do offer This One. Since it's the absolute finest grade, it's not cheap, but our prices are very reasonable compared to the big commercial sellers.

Since tea prices go up quickly as you reach the highest quality, we also have This One, which is a little less than half the price, but still near the top of the heap.

 

[Dougofthenorth]

Mid as in mid-elevation - 6.000 ft

"picked from the bushes once per moth, (2 leaves 1 bud, put on drying racks 18-24 hrs, hand twisted - another 3 hrs fermentation etc etc)"

I truly love this mellow tasting blend & it comes in vacuum sealed foil bags - in 4"X4" tins - which I use in my shop!
Guests have also expressed delight. I have tried many types/brands of different prices over the years & have settled on this.

I must state that we are on untreated filtered well water which definitely affects taste & as for me I use sweetener & cream in my tea & coffee - I absolutely hate the taste of both without these... So to be fair, those would also skew our preference

Tx for your info!

 

[JohnRice]

Ouch. Any good, unflavored tea should never need sweetener or dairy. Of course, a country full of Brits would probably disagree.