Tea drinkers/tea lovers- teas you have known and loved (or not loved)

**Kimberlina** · 07-10-2005, 12:13 PM

Hello, tea lovers- I thought it might be fun to have a thread where we share teas we like/don't like and why. Since nobody was really interested in a tea swap, this might be a good way to discover new teas- o figure out which ones we might want to steer clear of.

**Michelle** · 07-10-2005, 12:15 PM

I really haven't tried anything too extraordinary. I'm trying to get away from drinking coffee and drinking more tea. The only ones I've tried are regular Lipton, Earl Grey, sleepy time, and chamomile. I also tried vanilla Hazelnut. I didn't like it, but Gina (gkp1031) did.

**Kimberlina** · 07-10-2005, 12:18 PM

Monk's Blend tea- I disliked this tea. I bought it on Friday after so many people said they liked it. However, it just wasn't for me. I wouldn't absolutely say no to it if it was offered, but it wasn't my thing. The grenadine reminded me of some candy from the Carribbean I had when I was a kid- I liked the candy, but i isn't good as a tea, IMHO. I drink my tea with soy milk and a little sweetener, and that just made this taste like juice. I might try it one more time without the milk/sweetener.

Celestial Seasonings Teahouse Chai Honey Vanilla White Chai- I really like this tea. I am a chai lover for sure, and this is a nice chai. The more spicy the tea, the better. This one is actually a little delicate for a chai, because it is a white tea mix, and the flavor is really good.

**many houseapes** · 07-10-2005, 12:52 PM

I would have to say that a mix of red raspberry and red clover is a favorite of mine...dh likes earl grey and our local store brand of regular tea also luzianne. I very much dislike valarian and white willow...very bitter, but good for headaches.(valarian smells like dirty gym socks...eeewww!!!)

**Kimberlina** · 07-10-2005, 01:04 PM

Oh, yes, valerian tea is digusting. My former boss gave me some, and it was awful. It stayed in th cupboard until we bought our house, then I tossed it. Yuck!

Speaking of which, Mother's Milk Tea by Traditional Medicinals is also yucky. I think I've decided I don't want to drink my herbal remedies in tea form, thank you very much. Give me a little capsule any day!

**forestdale** · 07-10-2005, 03:38 PM

I don't like any flavoured teas. I do like to try various regional black and green teas though. Twinings has a good range. My favourite so far is Queen Mary tea which is a stronger than normal black tea, and Darjeerling. The tea I drink every day is organic black tea produced in Australia. It's delicious!

**waterlover** · 07-10-2005, 05:26 PM

I like Ty-Phoo which I buy at Cost Plus and Earl Grey by Twinings. I like my tea strong.

**many houseapes** · 07-10-2005, 08:45 PM

lol...valarian stinks even if its not in tea form...dh & i went to the herbal store here and i opened the jar to take out a few ounces...it stunk up the whole aisle..dh couldn't get to the other side of the store fast enough!

**Michelle** · 07-11-2005, 09:00 AM

Originally posted by Kimberlina

Celestial Seasonings Teahouse Chai Honey Vanilla White Chai- I really like this tea. I am a chai lover for sure, and this is a nice chai. The more spicy the tea, the better. This one is actually a little delicate for a chai, because it is a white tea mix, and the flavor is really good.

I'm going to try this one. I've never had a Chai tea, and this one sounds really good

**Kimberlina** · 07-11-2005, 10:27 AM

Sara-
Was that plain chocolate caramel that you said you tried and weren't crazy about? I just bought a chocolate caramel chai yesterday. I like it, but of course, I realize it is more a chai drink than a regular tea, and I think that is a crucial point.... Just wondering, because I saw the plain chocolate caramel. I recenly got some belgian choclate tea in a swap, and I didn't think much of it. Add spices, and bam! Much better.

**Kimberlina** · 07-11-2005, 10:36 AM

Angel Falls Mist Tisane- This is a VERY fruity hebal tea. I bought it planning on having it iced. I don't think I would like it at all if it was hot. Cold, though, it is pretty tasty. It is a strawberry lemon flavor, and it is pretty astringent (dry) so it needs a tiny bit of sugar to keep it from being a little too "much." It brews up a nice bright red color- it has apples and strawberries in it, so that must be where he color is coming from.

Celestial Seasonings Teahouse Chai- Chocolate Caramel Enchantment- this is definitely more a chai drink than a tea, like most chais are. This was pretty tasty with soy milk and sweetener. Of course, I JUST realized that I bought the wrong soy milk yesterday- I always get plain but accidentally picked up vanilla yesterday (I was wondering why all of a sudden there were 10 more caloies per cup.)

So that probably threw the flavor off a little. It will take me forever to use up all the vanilla soy milk, so it will be a while before I know for sure what this stuff tastes like, but it is spicy chocolate caramel. Yum! It smells great, too.

**canadian gardener** · 07-11-2005, 12:00 PM

I like English Breakfast. My father loves smoky tea, called Lapsang Souchong and I like it once in a while but it's hard to find. Murchies of Vancouver BC carries it. http://www.murchies.com/

They are a specialty tea store that you can mail order with. They used to supply all the ranchers and farmers in BC back in the early pioneer days too.

**Kimberlina** · 07-11-2005, 12:30 PM

My MIL is a huge English Breakfast and Earl Grey fan. I just bought her two teas on vacation- on is called English Evening tea, the other is called Bunkingham Palace Garden Party. They are take-offs on English Breakfast and Earl Grey, respectively. I don't know if she'll like them, though.

I definitely need flavor in my tea. I like plain green okay, have never had plain white, and definitely don't like "plain" black of any variety, and Earl Grey is close enough to plain for me that I don't like it.

I think it CAN be a very cultural thing- countries that are still more anglo-based, like (obvisouly) Great Britain, Canada, and Australia- tend to have more tea drinkers in general, and most of the people I personally know from these places prefer "plain" teas. My MIL, whose mother was an English war bride, grew up with the plain teas, and definitely doesn't like flavored. She drinks tea like you wouldn't belive. I, on the other hand, didn't grow up with a tea habit, so I like what tastes good to me now, which is flavor, flavor, flavor. (Yes, I know plain teas have flavor, but that isn't what I mean.)

I think I actually have some of that smoky tea around here somwheer- someone sent me some in a tea exchange, IIRC. Obviously, I haven't tried it yet.

**Michelle** · 07-15-2005, 11:34 AM

Kimbery sent me some of the honey vanilla white chai tea, and it is delicious! I really love it.

She also sent me some of the chocolate chocolate caramel enchantment. I haven't tried it yet, but it smells wonderful

Thanks Kimberly!

**Kimberlina** · 07-15-2005, 11:57 AM

You're very welcome! Glad you liked it. I have been drinking no other flavor but the chocolate since I got it, which is so funny, since I couldn't stand the super-expensive Belgian chocolate tea I got!