Tea?

[jdurand]

I've been going through that BIG bag of Yunnan Black we got, this will take me a while. 

Good tea, but better be for the price of that bag.  I don't add anything to tea.  In cold weather I drink it hot, in the summer chilled and diluted (one strong serving diluted to half a gallon).

As our current winter is pretty warm during the day (T-shirts on some days), I'm alternating between hot and cold.

[DudeFairy]

Yes.
Tea is my very good friend, has been since I can remember; was never a fan of coffees until my teen years but even then it never really grabbed me.
I've had a rather lengthy trial run on finding the perfect tea for me:
Lipton, milk and two sugar was the start, followed then by Earl Grey with milk and two sugar, then it became Bushells with milk and two sugar. Then I discovered organic eating/drinking which led me first to Chai with honey and milk, then to Green teas with lemon and honey, or even ginger and lemon tea.. so much variety!

[cckeiser]

We are about to start on our own "Tea Adventure" trying small packs of different tea blends
We had Lipon and just picked up a package of black tea from our local market. It was ok, but seemed to be missing "something"....maybe in the brewing?
I read through the thread and did not find and brewing instructions as I had received when I first made a 2000 Ml beaker of Lipon tea for the lab some 45 years ago.  The first "tea person" to try it threw it out. He told me "Boiling water should Never touch tea!" Boiling the tea bags in the beaker of water as I did I made tannic acid.....not tea!
Not being a tea person yet....my first observation is that no matter how you heat your water, boiling water should never tough the tea leaf.
How about "Steeping"? How long can you keep it on the warmer before it is too cooked? I take it there will always be a fine line between too much and not enough....all according to you own taste.
I would really like to find a really good tea....something sort of special to enjoy during the different times of day.
Right now we are just going to try 'hit and miss' till we get a better feel for things.
Irish tea's sound interesting....maybe a good morning type tea?
I tried and orange/peco blend but that tasted too much like potpourri. A long time ago I remember trying an earl gray, but I think that was with milk and I did not care for it.
I drink everything as is anymore....no dairy or sweeteners. That may change  depending on the tea of course.
Hey Oliver!? Do you guys have and special teas in Thailand?

[meekon5]

I always boil the water separately then add it to the tea (either in cup or pot).

There are some that insist that you must empty the kettle and re-fill it with "fresh" water each time.

I was always told you should scold the leaves to bring out the most flavour, then don't brew it for too long (or do if you like to stand your spoon up in it).

I did have a Dutch friend who I was the only one who could make tea properly for her. It mostly involved getting the tea bag out of the cup as quickly as possible after adding the water (much pantomime and Ninja skills needed for that).

I will drink it black (depending on the flavour and the company), I used to have the full Japanese/Chinese tea set (pot, warmer stand, cups with no handles).

I mostly drink PG at work (because I'm used to it), but have been known to indulge the more estoric (Lapsang souchong, gunpowder green). I don't drink much coffee so can actually tell when someone near me is drinking a specialist blend (say English Breakfast, or earl grey are some of my favourites).

I did have to travel to a specialist tea shop in Brighton the get some of my teas at one point.

[cckeiser]

This tea thread got me thinking. Could we get together and make a list of "Dudeist Teas"?
Something we each enjoy that feels Dudely while drinking it....maybe a special tea just for breakfast, but Not just the tea dudes, we need the whole routine on how much tea...how much water, how hot to steep it and whether it is better with or without. Just as a recommendation to start out of course.
I have never tried a Breakfast tea....Irish or English...if you have and enjoy it, how would I go about making it the same way you  do?
Is there a special tea you like to drink at night? Any special teas in your part of the world, something the square world wouldn't give 2 shits about, but a dudeist might find right up our alley?
I think you all can guess where I am going here...A Dudeist Tea book for the Dudely Inclined with all the "how tos" for us too lazy to try doing  it all ourselves.

So, any one want to tell us about how to brew the perfect Breakfast tea? What kind is it and where can we get a sample?

[jgiffin]

I'm a big fan of oolong teas - seems the best are whole leaves dried into tiny balls. It's stronger than green tea but, to me, has the same general flavor profiles.

[cckeiser]

My first run at the Irish Breakfast Tea.
We didn't make it to the one speciality shop I had in mind but stopped by a high end supermarket that carries a lot of the most popular coffees and teas. Probably nothing a real tea connoisseur would look at though....too soon for me to be actually making that judgement though. I picked up Twining's Breakfast tea and Twinings English Breakfast tea, along with a Harney & Sons Japanese Sencha tea. It says it's a traditional green tea hand picked in the spring. Can't wait to try that one, but that will be next after the English breakfast tea.

Did not know exactly how to start out so I heated one cup of water to just bowling then let itsit till it just stopped bubbling. I transferred that cup of water into my teacup and then added the tea bag. I started dipping right away and kept it up till the tea look golden brown. I did Not add sweetener of and dairy this time.
It was ok, but missing a lot of "body" I think....needs to be stronger for m taste. I will try steeping it longer next time of use 2 tea bags to boost the flavor and "essence"  of the tea. I'll stick with the Irish Breakfast tea for now just to see if it can be improved or if what I got is all it's ever going to be. Maybe it does need a little honey? Maybe a different blender will have a better product?
I got 20 bags of each, so after the Irish I will try the English. Holding off  on the Japanese till later, maybe as an evening tea?
If anyone has any suggestions please feel free to submit them.

[BikerDude]

I've worked with a great many people from China who do take their tea very seriously.
They actually make it in a coffee maker.
They use the whole dry leaf type of tea and they run a pot of water through the leaves, dump it and run another pot through the same tea leaves. They say that is the way to do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony

[cckeiser]

I've worked with a great many people from China who do take their tea very seriously.
They actually make it in a coffee maker.
They use the whole dry leaf type of tea and they run a pot of water through the leaves, dump it and run another pot through the same tea leaves. They say that is the way to do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony

Are you saying they make a pot of hot tea with a coffee maker and just throw it away? The use the same leaves and all and brew a second pot with hot water threw it?
I'm not sure, but that sounds like the are trying to leach out the caffeine with the first brewing.
Any special type or blend of tea that you know of....anything we can get here in the States?
My special lady thinks the Irish Breakfast tea needs sweetener. She prefers artificial sweetener, I cannot stomach any of the artificial sweeteners....sorbitol gives me stomach cramps and projectile shits!
I may try a little brown sugar or a drop or so of honey. but I'm hoping to find a real good tea that needs nothing but to be brewed the right way with only water.

We received a Tea Service on Chinese New Years some 35 years ago from our local Chinese restaurant...we used to eat there quite a lot back then....it was close and they were cheap.
We still have it packed away....just may have to get it out to see if it does make a difference in brewing? I do like the coffee pot idea though....a whole lot less trouble brewing!

[cckeiser]

I've worked with a great many people from China who do take their tea very seriously.
They actually make it in a coffee maker.
They use the whole dry leaf type of tea and they run a pot of water through the leaves, dump it and run another pot through the same tea leaves. They say that is the way to do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony

Thank you BikerDude for this and the wiki link.
After reading it I caved in and decided to give the Harney & Sons Japanese Green SENCHA tea a try tonight.
The instructions are to use on cup of less than boiling water and let steep for 1 to 3 minutes.
I am happy surprised! It is light green but doesn't get much darker on steeping.
It's packaged very well (it looks as if they been doing it awhile and know what they are doing)
It stays  on the mild side. It's not a bodied type of tea....I guess a green tea should not be...I'm still just mostly guessing here, but it does have what I am calling an "essence".
I'm like it just the way it is as an afternoon or evening tea and would not play around with it much....maybe a spot of honey, but No dairy. I think milk/cream would ruin it.

[BikerDude]

I've worked with a great many people from China who do take their tea very seriously.
They actually make it in a coffee maker.
They use the whole dry leaf type of tea and they run a pot of water through the leaves, dump it and run another pot through the same tea leaves. They say that is the way to do it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongfu_tea_ceremony

Are you saying they make a pot of hot tea with a coffee maker and just throw it away? The use the same leaves and all and brew a second pot with hot water threw it?
I'm not sure, but that sounds like the are trying to leach out the caffeine with the first brewing.
Any special type or blend of tea that you know of....anything we can get here in the States?
My special lady thinks the Irish Breakfast tea needs sweetener. She prefers artificial sweetener, I cannot stomach any of the artificial sweeteners....sorbitol gives me stomach cramps and projectile shits!
I may try a little brown sugar or a drop or so of honey. but I'm hoping to find a real good tea that needs nothing but to be brewed the right way with only water.

We received a Tea Service on Chinese New Years some 35 years ago from our local Chinese restaurant...we used to eat there quite a lot back then....it was close and they were cheap.
We still have it packed away....just may have to get it out to see if it does make a difference in brewing? I do like the coffee pot idea though....a whole lot less trouble brewing!

Yeah that's what they do. Dump the first pot then use the same leaves.
I'm not sure about the caffeine.

[cckeiser]

Yeah that's what they do. Dump the first pot then use the same leaves.
I'm not sure about the caffeine.

I cringe at the thought of all that waste, but then they have been doing it for awhile and I must assume they know what they are doing. It did say in the wiki article something about washing the leaves with the first water.

jut a quick up-date on the Irish Breakfast tea....I made it in the coffee pot by placing the bags in the bottom of the pot....I let it steep twice as long as well since it was on a warmer and I didn't worry about it getting to cool.
It was better....still not the body of a Black tea, but the extra steeping helped with the essence. I added a drop of honey after my first tasting and that did help a little. My special lady said it brought out the taste of her milk and Equal.  So it looks as if the Irish Breakfast tea is one to hve with maybe a small cake....maybe toast and jam?

[BikerDude]

To be clear....
I drink Coffee. Dark Roast usually. Cream, no sugar.
Two larges every morning. One on the ride to work. One while I stand around scratching my balls in the morning.

[cckeiser]

To be clear....
I drink Coffee. Dark Roast usually. Cream, no sugar.
Two larges every morning. One on the ride to work. One while I stand around scratching my balls in the morning.

I'm with you here BikerDude... I like nothing better  than a real good cup of black coffee...lots of body and lots of essence, but Not bitter.
My problem is I can no longer find that real good coffee we getting It was a New England 4 star Hotel and Restaurant blend...it was actually the only coffee my special lady would drink....and of course we had to brew it at home. I absolutely Loved that coffee, but the old man died or something....and his kids or whoever took over stopped making that blend.
We jumped about looking for another coffee of that quality and  came across a second choice...almost as good, but it did not measure up to the 4 star blend. That was a Diamond Station Restaurant blend as well, but after just a few years they have also stopped making  that blend....actually it hard to find their coffee anywhere around here at all.
I really do want my 4 star coffee back and when I get the chance I pick up a sample of what I hope will be my new coffee. It's been years now and have not found anything even close to that New England 4 Star Hotel Blend.
I have tried a lot of on-line blenders, but they don't seem to have a good understanding of the roasting and blending process. Of course it could just be they cannot get the quality beans that are needed to start with. You cannot roast a good quality coffee fromshit beans...and I understand the whole world wide coffee trade is having big problems.
Most of the local roasters try to give bad beans more essence by over roasting them which ruins the whole thing and just makes for a bitter nasty tasting concoction I would not call coffee.
All  this dude ever wanted was to enjoy a really good cup of exceptional  coffee like I once had.
But since that seems to be on the verge of impossible anymore I'm going to see if I can find something in tea that I may enjoy as well.
But at heart I am a coffee drinker.

[jgiffin]

When we get high quality whole-leaf teas, one serving is good for about four steeps unless you let them sit too long in between. Maybe that's part of the "throw out the first batch" concept. I think the first or second steep is the best; my palate can't really tell them apart. The third steep is good; but the fourth is kinda weak for me. The wife likes the later steeps more.