Favorite Kind of Tea?

[Brown Eyes]

On our recent adventure in Wyoming, Sister-Mod Lee bought me a pretty little wooden box filled with Huckleberry Tea (we also had Huckleberry flavored ice cream in Ten Sleep!).  And, it's so delicious that it inspired me to start this new poll.  Also, having the box unwrapped from it's outer plastic wrap is making my whole kitchen smell fragrant.


I'm also quite a tea lover.  I love coffee too, but I've always enjoyed a good cup of tea and my parents have given me some really interesting and exotic teas over the years.  So, I feel like I have a somewhat good understanding of tea at this point.  It seems like wine a little bit to me... it's sort of a specialty.  Also, my Mom collects teapots (she probably has over a hundred now) so, it's a very home-y association for me.

My favorite kind of black tea is hands-down Darjeeling.  And, I also quite enjoy Oolong.

[David In Indy]

I love tea too Amanda!

This is sooooooo 80s I know, but I make sun tea all the time. I have two large glass jars which I fill with water. Then I place about 15 tea bags in each jar and set them out on the back deck in the morning sun. By the end of the day, I bring them in and place them inside the refrigerator. Later that night they'll be ready to drink. Unsweetened ice tea in the summer is the best! I love it.

I'm not sure what kind of tea I use though. I just use those Lipton tea bags when I make my sun tea.

[Brown Eyes]

Hi David!

I love sun tea too.  It's a great way to brew iced tea.  But, sadly, in an apartment I really don't have any outdoor space where I can do that.  I often order iced tea (unsweetened) at restaurants during lunches out.

And, like I mentioned, my Mom is a big tea person... in fact she's way more of a tea person than me.  She doesn't drink coffee, so tea is her hot beverage of choice.  And, of all the fancy black teas she's tried, she often or even usually still gravitates back to Lipton's on a daily basis.  She refuses to drink herbal and decaf tea for the most part.

Lipton's basic black tea is made out of a Orange Pekoe and Pekoe tea blend, which are standard kinds of black tea.

[mariez]

Another tea lover!  In the summer I like unsweetened iced tea, but in the cooler weather I usually have a cup of green tea every night.  I like to put some fresh mint in it. 

David, I used to love to make sun tea!  Maybe I'll make some this weekend now that you've reminded me. 

My mom collects teapots too, Amanda!  I just got her another one for her birthday in July.  It's fun to hunt through small gift and antique shops for unusual ones.

 

Marie

[Brown Eyes]

My mom collects teapots too, Amanda!  I just got her another one for her birthday in July.  It's fun to hunt through small gift and antique shops for unusual ones.

That's cool Marie!  It is fun to shop for them.  My Mom really likes the unusual ones too... teapots shaped like funny things, etc.  It's actually getting hard to find cool teapots of interest to her now because she already has so many.  My Dad built little bookshelves up the expanse of one wall in their kitchen and her teapots are displayed there.  It almost looks like 3-D wallpaper, it's pretty cool.  But, my Mom's one quirky thing is that there's only one teapot that my Mom will actually use to make and serve tea.  It's the one my Dad gave her the day I was born!  All her other teapots are just decorative.

One time I found a tea brick for my Mom as a gift and it's now one of her prized tea-possessions.  It's a compressed "brick" of dried tea leaves and in the process of compressing the leaves into a brick shape a mold was used so that there's a really pretty little design on top of the "brick."  Apparently, in the olden days they used to ship tea in brick form.




And, more on the Huckleberry tea from Lee... I should qualify this by saying it's black tea flavored with Huckleberry, which is ideal for me.  I like strong and caffeinated tea.  I'm not usually a fan of purely herbal teas.

[mariez]

My Dad built little bookshelves up the expanse of one wall in their kitchen and her teapots are displayed there.  It almost looks like 3-D wallpaper, it's pretty cool.  But, my Mom's one quirky thing is that there's only one teapot that my Mom will actually use to make and serve tea.  It's the one my Dad gave her the day I was born!  All her other teapots are just decorative.

Oh, I love how you describe it as "3-D wallpaper."  That sounds awesome! My mom's teapots are all decorative, too - she doesn't have nearly as many as your mom, but she has them on shelves and in a little curio in her kitchen.   And what a sweet story about the day you were born.      Thanks for the info about the "tea brick"  - a great gift idea!

Marie

[David In Indy]

Hi David!

I love sun tea too.  It's a great way to brew iced tea.  But, sadly, in an apartment I really don't have any outdoor space where I can do that.  I often order iced tea (unsweetened) at restaurants during lunches out.

And, like I mentioned, my Mom is a big tea person... in fact she's way more of a tea person than me.  She doesn't drink coffee, so tea is her hot beverage of choice.  And, of all the fancy black teas she's tried, she often or even usually still gravitates back to Lipton's on a daily basis.  She refuses to drink herbal and decaf tea for the most part.

Lipton's basic black tea is made out of a Orange Pekoe and Pekoe tea blend, which are standard kinds of black tea.

Amanda, I had that problem in an apartment I was living in, and I found that a window sill works just fine! Or you can set it in front of a glass door on a table too.

You know what? Somebody once told me the sun tea really doesn't need any sunlight at all. The sunshine will make the tea brew faster, but it will work even if you just set it on the kitchen counter. So you can still make it if you want to.

[Brown Eyes]

Thanks for the tip David!

[Meryl]

Good topic, Amanda! 

I never liked tea much growing up til I had some Earl Grey, which I drank for years until I had some Assam tea from Taylor's of Harrowgate.  Now that's my tea of choice. 

[Katie77]

Tea is my choice of hot drink to wake me up and have after a meal. I just use extra strong tea bags, and have milk and sugar.

Often when I mention to someone from America that I am having a cup of tea, I get a "la de dah" reaction. I'm sure some of you think we still drink tea out of a little teaup and with our little finger poking out. Not the case at all, most people I know drink tea out of a large cup or a mug.

I also drink Camomille tea. It is a great relaxant and can also settle an upset stomach.

I collect teapots too. Look out for odd ones when I go to a market or second hand shop. Have them sitting all over the place, on widowsills, on top of the fridge and microwave.

I have a beatiful bone china tea set (cup, saucer and plate setting for 6) which my mother in law bought me for an engagement present over 40 years ago. It has been in many removals over those years, and has just one little chip out of one cup.  I have never used it, but have always had it on display whever i live.