Tea. Because.
Sep. 26th, 2015 02:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lenora_roseThis is mostly of interest to me, AFAIK. I just wanted the list somewhere I could find it, and point people to it.
I drink tea pretty much daily. I try to also drink water most days, (although tea includes herbal and decaf), and sometimes I just have to have some form of absurd flavoured latte thing, but tea, strong black with milk and occasional honey, is the daily staple.
So of course people try and give me tea. And yet they miss as often or more as they hit - popular teas to gift seem to be greens, which I don't drink enough to warrant the amount in the house, and rooibus, which I've mostly decided isn't for me (though -- shock of shocks, if you look below -- I've had better luck with ones with peach or apricot flavour, and it's the only type of tea that blends well with vanilla as a major note.)
I've been considering what my essential tea cupboard would look like -- not least because with the current exchange rate, I am not ordering from a US company, and that's where I get virtually all my biggest favourites, several of which I am OUT of. :( And yet the cupboard looks full, partly because large tins don't necessarily reflect fullness, and partly for other flavours I have tried and don't consider as good.
If I had to start from scratch, and had unlimited budget to buy it all from wherever, this is exactly what I would definitely have.
BORING STAPLES
- one "plain black tea" -- either Orange Pekoe or English Breakfast. Basic Red Rose will do, though I tend towards Twinings. Bagged is fine.
- Min. one "plain black decaf" -- because decaf loses strength, and I have found I dislike decaf orange pekoe, this has to be English or Irish Breakfast. The former tends to be easy to find bagged, but you need two where you'd need one of non-decaf, the latter comes as a peculiarly fine grind that slips through the steeper and leaves grit at the bottom of the last cup but OMG it steeps strong.
Both are drunk with 1/3 tsp of honey (per mug, not cup) and milk most times, also used as a base for a few more complex additives. (flavoured honeys, maple, or a base for spiced or milk tea)
FANCIER BUT UNFLAVOURED
Which usually don't need the honey. Right now, that's:
- a good Darjeeling (currently Castleton via Cornelia Bean). Loose leaf or bust. Needs a generous scoop of leaves, and strict watch on the time as it gets over-tannic if not. What I'm drinking right now, except I did oversteep it and so had to slip in some honey.
- Upton Tea's Finest Russian Caravan, and from experience, only theirs. Which is out.
I have sampler quantities of some other quality blacks, but my palette isn't so refined I can compare them when they're drunk days apart. One of these days I need to make a row of partial cups of several and have a whole tea tasting party - I can think of a couple of friends who'd join in.
One pu'erh:
Which frankly, I need to try a few more to see if I have to buy the stupidly expensive one I really liked, or just a different one from the one I currently have, which is ... ok if I'm really hankering for pu'erh.
FLAVOURED
Black teas, in this order:
- Upton's Christmas Tea - Twinings' Christmas tea in its loose leaf form is very similar, and in fact what I was seeking to replace when I tried this. Sadly, Twinings' Christmas tea is a shadow of itself in bagged form, and that's all I've seen for years. Another close-enough-to-curb-the-urge is Republic of Tea's Tea of Good Tidings, which has a sharp juniper edge instead of a citrus one. Murchies' Christmas tea might be another along the same lines, but I've never had a chance to order it, and not everything named Christmas tea has this flavour profile. (Some are Cranberry, frex, or one with cherry flavour I like but don't consider a house essential.) Christmas Tea is probably the tea I'd drink most after plain black or black decaf, at least when I still have lots. ATM, I'm out (have a bit of Good Tidings I am hoarding for days I need the comfort).
- Apricot Decaf. The Upton Tea one ('with flowers') is my next favourite. Tea Story has a decaf apricot-peach that's pretty good but a bit sweeter and not in the way I want. The Republic of Tea bagged version is good enough to drink while I'm out of both the above, but apricot wouldn't be on this list if it were the only apricot I knew. Why decaf? Well, the apricot is more important than the decaf (And if I end up making an order from a Canadian source, I'll probably have to do regular caf), but it's nice that when i want a decaf cuppa I can have a *few* flavour options besides black and Earl Grey and tisanes.
- Upton Tea's Melange de Chamonix. Black tea blended with spice and spice-levels of cocoa (Not hot chocolate levels). A reasonably acceptable (easier to acquire) substitute would be David's Chocolate Chili Chai - weaker because the chocolate is (sweetened) chocolate, not cocoa, and cardamom works better to me in tea than the chilis, but has a similar overall impression.
- Disney's Mad Tea Party Tea - Peach, apricot and ginger. So far the best blend of all three that I've met, though at least they're common flavours overall and I hope I can find a similar blend someday. It's 50% cheaper, or MORE, bought AT Disney World than anywhere online, and can only be bought in the tins, not in refills. And I'm running very low. I really feel like I should have bought at least one more container while there.
- Blackberry-sage. A Republic of Tea flavour I've never seen exactly as-is elsewhere, and which works for me in either regular or decaf, though it steeps weak. I've been known to use one teabag of it and one of a plain black, too, when I want more tea taste.
[Dream Addition]
- "Pakistani" tea. In quotes because it's a chai blend purchased in Granada, Spain, and while it bears strong resemblance to many forms of chai or cardamom tea, it's close to unique. I liked it because of the strong cardamom and clove elements, NO ginger, and it's smoother than most chai. I've reproduced the effect by adding the ingredients listed to plain black tea, in approximate strength, but I'd love to have some again to compare with.
Oolong:
- Teavana's Strawberry Rose Champagne or whatever they're calling it this week (it has changed names but not flavours). Pretty much it - as entertaining as it is to watch oolong leaves uncurl, I don't really feel a deep longing for oolong in my cupboard.
Green:
- I'm a heathen. The only one I would count a true must for in the house is Tazo's Zen, or mint and lemongrass. I picked up one in Granada called Secrets of the Alhambra that smells divine and tastes pretty good, but I won't be gnashing my teeth and trawling the internets for more like I did with Pakistani tea.
I think part of it is that usually when I want a lighter drink than black tea, I ALSO don't want caffeine, and so jump past green and white teas and go for herbal.
HERBALS:
- David's White Chocolate Frost. White chocolate, mint, peppercorn. OMG yum. I ended up with three tins the last time they had it out, but it's all gone. I can only say it had better come back this year as one of their winter flavours.
- A ginger-mint mix. Right now, that's David's Le Digestif, which also has fennel seed, and so far is the best of such I've tried.
- Teavana's Cococaramel SeaSalt. Definitely dessert in a cup. Really stretches the definition of herbal. Almost justifies the existence of Teavana on its own (Teavana has a lot of near-misses for me.)
- Cornelia Bean's Pear Garden Ginger Fresh. The pear garden are a whole line of pear based herbals/fruit teas. The Ginger one was just about the perfect balance of sweet and sharp.
And yep, that's my idea of a bare bones tea cupboard.
RUNNERS-UP, or the teas I'd probably end up adding in if I had the budget beyond bare bones.And usually, I do have the budget. (and of course, what with trying other varieties, gifts, and general life, I have a lot not on this list either in my actual collection. But that's reality for you.)
- Ginger-peach decaf - The Republic of Tea loose leaf one was decent, but the ginger was very sharp and there was a slight "Artificial flavour" aftertaste to the peach (especially when first opened; it mellowed a bit just before I ran out). And yes, a similar flavour profile to some above, but not identical; I could live without it, but finding good flavoured decafs is HARD. Finding good Decaf is hard, period.
- A decent Earl Grey or two - right now, that's one good decaf, and Teavana's Earl Grey Creme, which is a particularly nice floral creme. My brother's entire tea collection is almost entirely Earl Grey, but while I'd miss these, I don't consider them absolute musts. Still, Earl Grey is easy and cheap to find.
- David's Honeycrisp - Green tea with apple flavour
- David's Glitter and Gold. black tea, cinnamon and sugars and it sparkles, though I usually still ruin that by adding milk.
- Something black tea and raspberryish, or at least berryish, though the berry often needs to be tempered. David's Fantasy island or possibly Murchies' Princess blend.
- David's Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait herbal.
- Solomon's Seal. Don't drink it often, but kinda like it when I do. Woody, but in a good way.
- Right There!'s plum tea. which I suspect was basically plum juice heated, but where do you even find plum juice? Or plum tea? Especially as Right There! has been closed for 5-6 years or so.
I drink tea pretty much daily. I try to also drink water most days, (although tea includes herbal and decaf), and sometimes I just have to have some form of absurd flavoured latte thing, but tea, strong black with milk and occasional honey, is the daily staple.
So of course people try and give me tea. And yet they miss as often or more as they hit - popular teas to gift seem to be greens, which I don't drink enough to warrant the amount in the house, and rooibus, which I've mostly decided isn't for me (though -- shock of shocks, if you look below -- I've had better luck with ones with peach or apricot flavour, and it's the only type of tea that blends well with vanilla as a major note.)
I've been considering what my essential tea cupboard would look like -- not least because with the current exchange rate, I am not ordering from a US company, and that's where I get virtually all my biggest favourites, several of which I am OUT of. :( And yet the cupboard looks full, partly because large tins don't necessarily reflect fullness, and partly for other flavours I have tried and don't consider as good.
If I had to start from scratch, and had unlimited budget to buy it all from wherever, this is exactly what I would definitely have.
BORING STAPLES
- one "plain black tea" -- either Orange Pekoe or English Breakfast. Basic Red Rose will do, though I tend towards Twinings. Bagged is fine.
- Min. one "plain black decaf" -- because decaf loses strength, and I have found I dislike decaf orange pekoe, this has to be English or Irish Breakfast. The former tends to be easy to find bagged, but you need two where you'd need one of non-decaf, the latter comes as a peculiarly fine grind that slips through the steeper and leaves grit at the bottom of the last cup but OMG it steeps strong.
Both are drunk with 1/3 tsp of honey (per mug, not cup) and milk most times, also used as a base for a few more complex additives. (flavoured honeys, maple, or a base for spiced or milk tea)
FANCIER BUT UNFLAVOURED
Which usually don't need the honey. Right now, that's:
- a good Darjeeling (currently Castleton via Cornelia Bean). Loose leaf or bust. Needs a generous scoop of leaves, and strict watch on the time as it gets over-tannic if not. What I'm drinking right now, except I did oversteep it and so had to slip in some honey.
- Upton Tea's Finest Russian Caravan, and from experience, only theirs. Which is out.
I have sampler quantities of some other quality blacks, but my palette isn't so refined I can compare them when they're drunk days apart. One of these days I need to make a row of partial cups of several and have a whole tea tasting party - I can think of a couple of friends who'd join in.
One pu'erh:
Which frankly, I need to try a few more to see if I have to buy the stupidly expensive one I really liked, or just a different one from the one I currently have, which is ... ok if I'm really hankering for pu'erh.
FLAVOURED
Black teas, in this order:
- Upton's Christmas Tea - Twinings' Christmas tea in its loose leaf form is very similar, and in fact what I was seeking to replace when I tried this. Sadly, Twinings' Christmas tea is a shadow of itself in bagged form, and that's all I've seen for years. Another close-enough-to-curb-the-urge is Republic of Tea's Tea of Good Tidings, which has a sharp juniper edge instead of a citrus one. Murchies' Christmas tea might be another along the same lines, but I've never had a chance to order it, and not everything named Christmas tea has this flavour profile. (Some are Cranberry, frex, or one with cherry flavour I like but don't consider a house essential.) Christmas Tea is probably the tea I'd drink most after plain black or black decaf, at least when I still have lots. ATM, I'm out (have a bit of Good Tidings I am hoarding for days I need the comfort).
- Apricot Decaf. The Upton Tea one ('with flowers') is my next favourite. Tea Story has a decaf apricot-peach that's pretty good but a bit sweeter and not in the way I want. The Republic of Tea bagged version is good enough to drink while I'm out of both the above, but apricot wouldn't be on this list if it were the only apricot I knew. Why decaf? Well, the apricot is more important than the decaf (And if I end up making an order from a Canadian source, I'll probably have to do regular caf), but it's nice that when i want a decaf cuppa I can have a *few* flavour options besides black and Earl Grey and tisanes.
- Upton Tea's Melange de Chamonix. Black tea blended with spice and spice-levels of cocoa (Not hot chocolate levels). A reasonably acceptable (easier to acquire) substitute would be David's Chocolate Chili Chai - weaker because the chocolate is (sweetened) chocolate, not cocoa, and cardamom works better to me in tea than the chilis, but has a similar overall impression.
- Disney's Mad Tea Party Tea - Peach, apricot and ginger. So far the best blend of all three that I've met, though at least they're common flavours overall and I hope I can find a similar blend someday. It's 50% cheaper, or MORE, bought AT Disney World than anywhere online, and can only be bought in the tins, not in refills. And I'm running very low. I really feel like I should have bought at least one more container while there.
- Blackberry-sage. A Republic of Tea flavour I've never seen exactly as-is elsewhere, and which works for me in either regular or decaf, though it steeps weak. I've been known to use one teabag of it and one of a plain black, too, when I want more tea taste.
[Dream Addition]
- "Pakistani" tea. In quotes because it's a chai blend purchased in Granada, Spain, and while it bears strong resemblance to many forms of chai or cardamom tea, it's close to unique. I liked it because of the strong cardamom and clove elements, NO ginger, and it's smoother than most chai. I've reproduced the effect by adding the ingredients listed to plain black tea, in approximate strength, but I'd love to have some again to compare with.
Oolong:
- Teavana's Strawberry Rose Champagne or whatever they're calling it this week (it has changed names but not flavours). Pretty much it - as entertaining as it is to watch oolong leaves uncurl, I don't really feel a deep longing for oolong in my cupboard.
Green:
- I'm a heathen. The only one I would count a true must for in the house is Tazo's Zen, or mint and lemongrass. I picked up one in Granada called Secrets of the Alhambra that smells divine and tastes pretty good, but I won't be gnashing my teeth and trawling the internets for more like I did with Pakistani tea.
I think part of it is that usually when I want a lighter drink than black tea, I ALSO don't want caffeine, and so jump past green and white teas and go for herbal.
HERBALS:
- David's White Chocolate Frost. White chocolate, mint, peppercorn. OMG yum. I ended up with three tins the last time they had it out, but it's all gone. I can only say it had better come back this year as one of their winter flavours.
- A ginger-mint mix. Right now, that's David's Le Digestif, which also has fennel seed, and so far is the best of such I've tried.
- Teavana's Cococaramel SeaSalt. Definitely dessert in a cup. Really stretches the definition of herbal. Almost justifies the existence of Teavana on its own (Teavana has a lot of near-misses for me.)
- Cornelia Bean's Pear Garden Ginger Fresh. The pear garden are a whole line of pear based herbals/fruit teas. The Ginger one was just about the perfect balance of sweet and sharp.
And yep, that's my idea of a bare bones tea cupboard.
RUNNERS-UP, or the teas I'd probably end up adding in if I had the budget beyond bare bones.And usually, I do have the budget. (and of course, what with trying other varieties, gifts, and general life, I have a lot not on this list either in my actual collection. But that's reality for you.)
- Ginger-peach decaf - The Republic of Tea loose leaf one was decent, but the ginger was very sharp and there was a slight "Artificial flavour" aftertaste to the peach (especially when first opened; it mellowed a bit just before I ran out). And yes, a similar flavour profile to some above, but not identical; I could live without it, but finding good flavoured decafs is HARD. Finding good Decaf is hard, period.
- A decent Earl Grey or two - right now, that's one good decaf, and Teavana's Earl Grey Creme, which is a particularly nice floral creme. My brother's entire tea collection is almost entirely Earl Grey, but while I'd miss these, I don't consider them absolute musts. Still, Earl Grey is easy and cheap to find.
- David's Honeycrisp - Green tea with apple flavour
- David's Glitter and Gold. black tea, cinnamon and sugars and it sparkles, though I usually still ruin that by adding milk.
- Something black tea and raspberryish, or at least berryish, though the berry often needs to be tempered. David's Fantasy island or possibly Murchies' Princess blend.
- David's Strawberry Rhubarb Parfait herbal.
- Solomon's Seal. Don't drink it often, but kinda like it when I do. Woody, but in a good way.
- Right There!'s plum tea. which I suspect was basically plum juice heated, but where do you even find plum juice? Or plum tea? Especially as Right There! has been closed for 5-6 years or so.
