tea anyone?

[englandmj7]

Great info. Thanks for schooling me gents........I shall have to check out this pu-erh just to try it. I am sure you can find it somewhere in San Francisco.

They had the 'blooming flower' tea in the film Marie Antoinette; I thought it wasn't real. Sounds pretty neat.

[Icarus]

Green, Chrysanthemum, Jasmine, Oolong, and white teas in the generic tins you can get from Chinatown. They always taste clean and full, I am a big fan. I'm also sort of a lout, I really don't know what I'm looking for and these are basically the generic Asian teas (or so it seems). I will keep my eye out for good suggestions (will try some pu-erh) and book reccomendations.

[mizanation]

pu-erh fans. where is the best place to get entry-level pu-erh? both locally (in nyc) and online?

[xcoldricex]

They had the 'blooming flower' tea in the film Marie Antoinette; I thought it wasn't real. Sounds pretty neat.

blooming flower - are you talking about the jasmine balls that have a flower in the middle that bloom when you steep it in a teapot? those are nice

[englandmj7]

blooming flower - are you talking about the jasmine balls that have a flower in the middle that bloom when you steep it in a teapot? those are nice

Dunno what they are. Basically it looked like a little green bud, but when they poured hot water on it it "opened up" into a little flower.

[mlproject]

i quit drinking cokes about 2 years ago and have been drinking rediculous amounts of tea ever since. i usually drink a pitcher of iced green tea every couple days and a lot of white tea.

i've also been drinking mate a lot as well after a friend got me hooked on it. traditionally you drink it out a wood mug or gourd with a metal straw and drink it cold. you can re-brew it up to 10 or so times cold or 3-4 hot. i usually make it in a french press. i drink it instead of coffee now and mentally i feel the same way when i take an adderal. no shit.

anyone know any good tea spots in new york to buy bulk teas?

[englandmj7]

i quit drinking cokes about 2 years ago and have been drinking rediculous amounts of tea ever since. i usually drink a pitcher of iced green tea every couple days and a lot of white tea.

i've also been drinking mate a lot as well after a friend got me hooked on it. traditionally you drink it out a wood mug or gourd with a metal straw and drink it cold. you can re-brew it up to 10 or so times cold or 3-4 hot. i usually make it in a french press. i drink it instead of coffee now and mentally i feel the same way when i take an adderal. no shit.

anyone know any good tea spots in new york to buy bulk teas?

What kind of iced green tea do you drink? I was making my own but it iwas rather bland. Arizona, etc. uses too much sugar and the ones at the Japanese market by me are too expensive..........

[onemancult]

there is an excellent green tea that i pick up that costs 99 cents per half gallon,

unfortunately for everyone else, it is a supermarket brand - white rose.

not too sugary, not too grassy... perfect stand-in for a soft drink.

[dasman989]

imported Barry's Irish breakfast at least once a day

[Aotearoa]

England, where were you born/spent the majority of your life thus far..?

[mr fluffernutter]

Any brand black chai... I drink that about 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I have chinese green tea, I like the kind with roasted rice in it, I don't really know what it's called.

I used to drink Red Rose Orange Pekoe exclusively but I can't stand the taste of it anymore.

[mlproject]

What kind of iced green tea do you drink? I was making my own but it iwas rather bland. Arizona, etc. uses too much sugar and the ones at the Japanese market by me are too expensive..........

lately its just been the 365 organic stuff from whole foods. its cheap. if you use 1-2 more bags than it says it gets a little stronger. you really have to make sure the water is off the boil so it doesn't get too bitter.

i agree with the arizona stuff. it tastes like its half honey and sugar.

[xcoldricex]

Any brand black chai... I drink that about 2-3 times a day. Sometimes I have chinese green tea, I like the kind with roasted rice in it, I don't really know what it's called.

it's called Genmaicha, I've only drank your run-of-the-mill genmaicha so I wonder how much better it gets...

[mwrenchd]

miza,

You're in NYC, so you should sometime hop over to Roebling Tea Room in Williamsburg. A really pretty & comfy space. They serve something like 200 different types of tea. The food is good too but service is very spotty so don't plan to eat if you're in a hurry.

As for at home, I'm more of a coffee person, but I occasionally will have a cup of english breakfast or earl grey in the morning. And prefer jasmine or a white tea in the afternoon.

[xcoldricex]

Dunno what they are. Basically it looked like a little green bud, but when they poured hot water on it it "opened up" into a little flower.

[onemancult]

Tea Spot on Macdougal is a great place here in NYC.

way better service than Roebling, and their selection is

pretty extensive too. I frequent the place often.

EDIT: you can order online, and the prices are reasonable,

and they have sea anemone- must try, just once.

www.teaspotco.com

[mwrenchd]

Yeah, I agree that Tea Spot has a good selection. My only complaints are that it gets really crowded and the space downstairs smells moldy.

[onemancult]

haha thats true, the downstairs has a funny smell.... they store the bulk of their stock down there though, perhaps that's just the aroma of all the teas clashing in the air.

and fuck do they ever get crowded... i usually go earlier in the day, though, so it isn't so much of a problem. but afternoons can get kind of crazy.

they're perfect for grabbing an iced tea and a sandwich to go and eat in the park during nicer weather, though.

[mizanation]

thanks omc.

[mr fluffernutter]

it's called Genmaicha, I've only drank your run-of-the-mill genmaicha so I wonder how much better it gets...

Thanks

I've probably only had run-of-the-mill genmaicha but I liked it.. and when I was waiting for it to be made I ate the rice.

Now I'm going to try some Silver Needle Pekoe

[isdenn]

strange how today is the first day in a while ive had some genmaicha, then i sit down and this is the first thread i see...some awesome links in here too.

i think tealuxe (http://www.tealuxe.com) deserves some love - they dont seem to have many locations (ive only been to the one in providence) but if every starbucks was replaced with a tealuxe i would not mind at all. i dont know how their offerings rank on the elite tea scale or whatever but they have a huge selection and ive always been happy with what ive gotten from there.

[ringring]

I also have a penchant for genmai tea. There's something akin to a warm embrace that the aroma of toasted rice imparts to this tea. It reminds me a little of the cafe d'orzo you get in Italy.

coldrice and ringring - pu-erh connoisseurs. i should have known.

fake pu-erh makes me nauseous. i've had some good stuff before though, and it's great.

good to see you ringring, i'm sure you've had some great tea on your travels around the world.

Always good to see you too Miz.

I must declare that I'm not a pu-erh connoisseur at all, although whilst travelling, I met a serious collector who told me that investing in this tea was better than putting money in the bank. As he was telling me this, I noticed men wheeling in a large trolley stacked with pu-erh discs into his office. On my departure he gave me a disk of the stuff, like a heavy solid wood frisbee. I laughed and joked with him that this gift would be too expensive to drink and he told me to go ahead and drink it as that what tea is for. Possibly foolishly, I gave it away to someone who would be more appreciative, and later realised that the frisbee was probably worth a Rolex

Incidentally the same gentleman told me, with a chuckle, that the pu-erh tea sold in dimsum restaurants wasn't the 'real deal'.

I'm not really an active tea aficionado. I'm quite contented with a pot of PG Tips (a common english tea - and absolutely the best drink with fish & chips). Or a quick mug of that luminous Matcha. Earl Grey with a slice of cake is an exceedingly good way to spend an afternoon

Have you ever tasted or rather observed the pouring of Babaocha? Eight Treasures Tea - it's sometimes served as a showpiece to a meal (Sichuan, Beijinese, Huiyang etc), and poured kung fu style out of a metal kettle with a yard long spout by a suitably athletic young lad.

As a spectacle, it's kind of like a posh, herbal cousin of the Teh Tahrik - Malaysian Pulled tea,as mentioned earlier in this thread - whose preparation is also quite something to behold. Fun, albeit very sweet with it's lashings of condensed milk.

I've observed many times, people ordering half-tea-half-coffee mixed, which is endearingly eccentric. Speaking of which, there's Taiwanese bubble tea. Hot and sweet with those tapioca pearls, a drink you can chew

I've found continental europe to be somewhat less interesting for tea. Usually, you get a yellow sachet of Liptons and water from an expresso machine, which makes a metallic tasting brew which is abominable.

That said, I had a nice cup in a cafe in Amsterdam recently, which left me curious enough to buy a whole selection - Thiem's Echte Thee was the name if you're interested, and I believe they sell them in NYC too.

Otherwise, I'm quite fond of the sweet mint tea you find in north Africa and southern Spain. Also without the sugar.

I'll have to grab a box of Drakkens next time I'm up in Norseland and a tub of roiboos from the Bodum shop in your Meatpacking district

[mizanation]

damn ring, you get around, man!

thanks for the tea world tour. i have now officially added another thing to look out for while travelling--along with clothes, shoes, denim, music, books and martial arts gear. i'm sure my wife will be thrilled.

[xcoldricex]

I

I've observed many times, people ordering half-tea-half-coffee mixed, which is endearingly eccentric. Speaking of which, there's Taiwanese bubble tea. Hot and sweet with those tapioca pearls, a drink you can chew

I was very addicted to the half-tea-half-coffee - "yuanyang" concoction while i was in hong kong...

there's also thai iced tea "chayen" which is black tea with lots of condensed milk. mmmm.

[englandmj7]

Yeah, it definitely looked like that coldrice. Very cool stuff. How much does it cost? And does it taste decent, or is it just for novelty?

England, where were you born/spent the majority of your life thus far..?

I was born in Taipei. I lived in New Delhi, Hong Kong, Karachi (Pakistan), London, and Cairo for most of my life, as well as spent time working (internships mostly)/visiting family for several months in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok/Pattaya, and Dublin.

I always have a hard time giving people a straight answer when they ask me where I am from, so I usually just say "LA" since that is the longest I have ever lived anywhere (4.5 years)............

[mlproject]

i'll second roebling. i usually end up there on the weekend for brunch and have always had decent service. their menu is definitelyhuge.

[englandmj7]

What's the tea that is supposed to be very good for weight loss? Is that just hollywood bullshit, or does it work somewhat (maybe decreases your appetite a little)?

A chick at my work was asking me about it a couple of months ago.........

This Pu-erh on e-bay says it is the tea for weight loss:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pu-erh-Tea-cake-2005-Weight-loss-Award-Winning_W0QQitemZ300084808606QQihZ020QQcategoryZ38181QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[mlproject]

i always see stuff about white tea and green tea promoting weight loss, especially lately with that enviga green tea soda (tastes like the inside of an ass, btw).

there's gotta be some crazy ass tea mecca somewhere in chinatown. i need to go on a hunt for it.

[mlproject]

what is this tea? does the flavor come from the buds or is it a visual thing...

[kauflust]

sort of related to this topic, a bunch of photos of girls drinking tea: http://teabirds.blogspot.com/

where are the cute tea drinking photos?!?!