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With all this talk of temperature, I decided to get a thermometer to keep at work to see what our hot water dispenser was giving us. It came today and I immediately tested the water. It turns out the hot water, in which I've steeped hundreds of bags of tea, is 150 degrees. Let this be a lesson to all of you office-dwellers. The thermometer was 12 bucks and my tea is much, much better for it. By the way, I've been rocking a sampler tin of the ginger peach black tea from The Republic of Tea and it's great. Also they don't get much love in this thread, but I've always liked their tea. I ordered some from Adagio to compare and see if I've been missing out.
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Feb 22, 2013 16:00
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PhazonLink posted:Anyone here familiar with Mate? I drink it in the morning instead of coffee. My bag, from Adagio, says 150 and I also don't use a gourd because people at work think it's weird enough that I have a tea thermometer. It does taste like green tea to me -- mine is very grassy. Good with a smidge of honey, though.
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Mar 13, 2013 01:31
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Cromlech posted:Is it heresy to say that I love Celestial Seasoning's teabag tea and I would like some reccomendations of tea produced by them to diversify my palate? I literally just got into tea, so keep that in mind. I drank their Peach stuff and I loved it - but I want to try their herbal types since I can drink a peach anything. If you want to stick with bags, I would recommend Republic of Tea -- they even have a peach flavor (Ginger Peach). I don't know where you live, but you can get them at Whole Foods-y grocery stores around me, although I typically order online and get the full-leaf. I am a fairly recent tea drinker and, to be honest, I still prefer flavored teas. One of the few non-flavored teas I like is Adagio's gunpowder. I still find most green tea too grassy, but gunpowder is mild (and fun to watch unfurl). Keep expanding your taste buds and trying new things!
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Apr 14, 2013 15:44
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platedlizard posted:I'm sure there's a peach flavored green tea somewhere you might like. There is! To be fair, I haven't had the green version of this, but I drink the back version all the time. My husband likes a lot of the Republic of Tea flavors so I tend to just order my full-leaf there when I'm ordering his bags. hope and vaseline posted:If you like flavored teas and are looking to get into loose leaf teas, see if you can find some jasmine phoenix pearls, it's wonderfully fragrant and light and sweet for a green tea. Most chinese grocery stores around here at least have them readily available. Thanks for the tip! I'm definitely going to pick this up when I see it. Sounds like a great flavor for spring/summer.
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Apr 15, 2013 00:41
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Etrips posted:Hey all! Again, it may not be cheaper, but Mighty Leaf Rainforest Mate is delicious. Only comes in bags, but they're full leaf.
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Jul 2, 2013 02:23
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Chicago goons, I'm in town for the weekend and have some free time on Monday. I know there's a good tea store here, but I don't know the name or where it is. Any suggestions? For actual helpful content, Someone suggested jasmine green tea a while back and I got some and absolutely love it. I hate flowery-tasting things, but this just adds a beautiful sweetness. It reminds me of the honeysuckle we used to eat from my backyard growing up.
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Aug 2, 2013 15:30
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Thanks for the Chicago tips! I'll try to get to the Adagio store on Monday and post a trip report! Yerba Mate recommendations, I love Mighty Leaf's (bagged) Rainforest Mate. It's mostly dried fruit mixed in with regular mate, so I may experiment with mixing it myself. Since the full leaf Yerba mate is already pretty crushed, I'll happily drink it bagged, but the cost aspect is a good reason to try recreating the recipe.
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Aug 3, 2013 16:59
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Arcsech posted:Really? I have a Finum in-cup strainer too and I found it to be kind of a pain in the rear end, leaves were always getting stuck in the mesh. With the Ingenuitea I can just bang it against the trash and then give it a swirl of water and it's clean. The in-cup strainer is way smaller and half the price though. I have this guy. Actually two, I just got one to keep at home. I absolutely love it -- I don't like tea leaves being left in the mug and I never get any with this. It is also the right size for any mug and has a nice holder so you can save it for your next infusion. It's my favorite tea thing.
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Oct 17, 2013 05:32
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Tenderloin posted:Has anyone ever used these: http://eng.hsuginseng.com/product/list/120584873.htm? Looking to get into matcha, but would potentially drink it on the go and carrying a whisk with me doesn't always seem practical. I've used them for protein powder and they get things foamy enough that I could see it working for matcha. They also close tight enough that they're good for travel. Let us know!
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Oct 17, 2013 16:51
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Jhet posted:Haha. I know it takes a little longer to heat, but I still prefer my inferior electric kettle to using a stovetop kettle. It's quick enough, and I don't have to worry about burning my hand on the handle. If you drink tea regularly though, it's a good investment, even if it's a $20 kettle. I just got this to keep at work. The variable temperature really seems to just range from 190-212, but I'm happy with it so far. I have a tea thermometer so I can just cool the water to the correct temperature for green tea or mate.
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Oct 23, 2013 17:40
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crazyfish posted:I love my electric kettle. I did a test where I timed how long it took the exact same amount of water to boil in my electric as well as a stovetop kettle. Even with our Just tried mine (the one I posted earlier). Boiled 1L in 3:15! Go tiny kettle, go!
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Oct 23, 2013 22:33
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voltage, the electric took about 6 minutes to boil 1.5L of water, and the stovetop one, at full blast, took 10. Saving four minutes off my tea water boiling time has added up massively over the years.
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DontAskKant posted:What temp are you using for mate? I typically use around 150. Is that too high/low?
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Oct 24, 2013 05:45
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I just posted my infuser of choice a couple pages back, but I second the all-metal mesh. I just did an Adagio buy since it's getting cold out and I need to get some winter teas. This gift code is good for 24 hours and is a $5 gift certificate: 7650789117. Waiting on a chocolate chai from SA Mart. Anyone tried it? Any tips for maximum chai-ness even with soy milk?
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Oct 27, 2013 05:05
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Enfys posted:Was the pumpkin chai only available for a little while? Everyone who loves David's Tea seems to go on about this one every winter, but I can never find it on their site. Somehow I must be missing its limited availability window? I'm not all that fussed about most of their teas or flavoured teas in general, but I do like chais and am curious about the raves this one seems to inspire. If you can't find that, I'd recommend Adagio's apple spice chai. It's like drinking apple cider without the teeth-rotting sweetness. The SAmart's chocolate chai is also delicious.
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Nov 16, 2013 00:35
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milpreve posted:Well, I fell off the don't-buy-more-tea-until-you-drink-what-you-have wagon. I'm still on the wagon, but for anyone who uses these, the apple spice chai is amazing.
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Dec 3, 2013 05:26
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Here's more coupon codes for Adagio: 9249091693, 6509453856
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e: ^^ beaten! Find yourself a red tea. Tannin posted:I was given an awesome tea infuser for Christmas that will amuse me to no end every time I use it: My friend got this:  It's adorable, plus she used it for a new tea that ended up being red, and as it steeped it looked like blood was pouring out of the manatee. I have never laughed so hard at tea. Christmas tea update: I got a blood orange rooibos from my sister. I don't usually like rooibos, but this has a super strong orange smell so the rooibos is probably overpowered. I also got a teapot from my mom that is unfortunately designed.  It has razor-sharp edges on the design, and one hits exactly where I need to put my thumb for leverage when pouring.
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Dec 27, 2013 06:00
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Boris Galerkin posted:Are there any other companies that make tea in sachets like Harney and Sons? I already fuss enough with my coffee as it is, and I really like the simplicity/taste trade off of being able to pour a rolling boil of water into a mug and throw in a black tea sachet for a few minutes vs having to measure everything. Mighty leaf has some good bags. However, you seriously don't need to measure anything. Just put an amount that looks right in an infuser. It's pretty hard to mess up tea. Today I accidentally steeped some black tea for 5 minutes because I forgot about it. Was it delicious? Not especially. Was it good enough to drink the whole pot? Yes. I like Adagio's samples because they last for about 20 cups. I have the herbal sampler set and have a cold, so I've been mixing half chamomile and half peppermint, then adding a pinch of lemongrass. It's perfect.
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Jan 8, 2014 03:59
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Thoht posted:For tea at work I would either do a mug with a basket strainer and a little saucer to rest the wet strainer on or a tea tumbler. Agreed. I use this one. I've linked it in here a few times and have bought two for myself and at least 2 for family members. If they don't give me a free one soon, I'll be pissed.
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Jan 9, 2014 03:32
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ReptilePicasso posted:Hey guys, I am trying to jump into the world of tea and was wondering where to start. Some quick information about me: I enjoy coffee right now and wanted to get into tea for the late afternoons when I don't want that extra caffeine. I am currently planning to use my trusty french press to brew tea until further notice, with the water coming from my Bonavita variable temp kettle. I've tried oolong before and I quite enjoyed it. I'd love to stay with light and floral might be a good scent/taste that I might want to get into. For light and floral I would grab some jasmine green tea.
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Jan 16, 2014 06:13
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I just ordered some Cascara, too. Excited to try it -- I usually hit up Yerba mate for the in-between caffeine level.
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Jan 18, 2014 01:01
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WanderingMinstrel I posted:So I got a really nice electric kettle and an ingenuitea for Christmas and now that they both live by my desk my tea consumption has tripled, which is great, but the problem is that its increased late at night as well, making my sleep schedule look like a meth addicts. I need a decaf tea for late night, but I tend to not like most herbal blends. Does anyone have a good recommendation for a decaf oolong (on the amber side if possible) that's not going to taste terrible from the decaffeinating process? Most of the one's I've found cover up for the flavor loss by combining with some kind of fruity nonsense, I've heard some good things about decaf ceylons though. Green might be low enough caffeine for you, but what is it specifically that you don't like about herbals? Maybe there's one or two that can slip by. Rooibos might be a good thing to look into as well.
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Jan 21, 2014 05:10
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Comic posted:Got my cascarra today, drinking my first cup- if I had to describe it as anything I'd say 'sour cherry'. Had someone else try it and they listed off citrus fruits. Calling it coffee cherry tea is pretty apt. I like it though. I'm trying it without anything added, wonder if sugar/honey/milk will bring out any flavors or just mask them. I got mine today, too! I haven't tried it but it's also Verve so I'm glad to hear you like it. I also ordered two custom blends from Adagio. Chamomile/peppermint/lemongrass (apparently the same as their cha cha but I don't put much lemongrass so I'll pretend it's different) and Irish breakfast/cranberry/orange. I think my favorite thing about Adagio is how easy it is to get samples, then mix them up into something even more delicious, then have them make you a big pile of that.
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Jan 24, 2014 04:53
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areyoucontagious posted:I usually leave my tea bags in (I've been doing the Twinnings thing for a while) so both my breakfast and earl teas steep for probably 10ish minutes, but to tell the truth I don't find them that bitter. They're actually pretty delicious! Maybe I'm just ignorant of how delicious tea can be? For adding milk, do you guys put in skim, 2%, whole, half-and-half, cream? Also I had a coworker bring in some smoky tea (what he called it) and it smelled delicious. Are there trusted varieties that have that flavor? Do you add anything to smoky tea? It was probably a Lapsang Souchong. You can find varieties through most sellers, but I don't personally like it so I'll leave recommendations to others. I prefer weak black tea and stick to about a minute or two for steeping.
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Feb 2, 2014 00:03
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Entenzahn posted:Could use a kettle recommendation. I tried the Cloer 4950 and it's not bad, but when I shell out 90€ for a water cooker that lets me "pick a temp between 40-100°C" it leaves a sour taste in my mouth when I can only select in 10° increments and the display isn't reliable. I have this kettle and absolutely love it. However, if that's not available I would say just look for a thermometer that beeps when it gets down to a certain temperature. I've been looking for one myself for work, but for now I just stick with black tea there.
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Feb 4, 2014 16:38
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Archer2338 posted:What are some US vendors that have decent gift sets for sale? I've looked at adagio and Davidstea, but I wouldn't mind a few more options. Things like the Cold Weather Survival Kit that Davidstea has is pretty similar to something I want (plus in the same price range) but ideally I want something Valentine's day themed. I know they have "love tea sets" or whatever, but I'd prefer something just wrapped nicely that contains a starter kit (ie tea bags + green loose leaf or something). Republic of Tea probably has what you're looking for. I've gotten some good gift sets from them. E: Had some time, so I took a look. this looks similar to what you want, right? They have a lot of other custom sets so you can pick some more tea or honey or stuff. defectivemonkey fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Feb 5, 2014 |
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Feb 5, 2014 00:20
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Niemat posted:Does anyone have any blooming teas they enjoy? Might be a bit of a silly question, but I got a clear glass teapot as a gift with a few starter balls, and I've grown to like watching my tea bloom. Adagio has a whole blooming tea section, but gunpowder green tea is fun to watch, too!
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Feb 27, 2014 04:02
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I also couldn't remember if anyone had this asked before.
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Comic posted:I've actually been meaning to try it, but I suffer from too much tea in my pantry as it is. Maybe if I didn't also drink coffee it'd run out faster. I'm convinced my father would love it though, so maybe I might just order some 'for him' next time I can take advantage of that. I also don't actually have a tea strainer, I mostly make use of an ingenuitea type pot. I've mentioned this strainer a few times on this thread, but I really like it. I use it for all of my looseleaf, and for chai I make in a pot I just set the strainer on top of the mug and pour it through.
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Mar 4, 2014 03:04
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My daily morning tea is a flavored Adagio blend of cranberry, orange, and irish breakfast. My daily bedtime tea is another Adagio blend, but chamomile, lemongrass, and peppermint. I save the Yerba Mate for when I really need it, partly because my favorite that I've had is MightyLeaf and stupidly expensive.
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Mar 5, 2014 05:44
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Massasoit posted:I just made my first loose leaf tea in a teapot I got that came with a ceramic infuser. I noticed that some of the tea leaves got through the holes in the infuser and ended up coming out into my cup. Is this normal or did I do something wrong? I don't love stray leaves but I've learned to accept it. However, the strainer I've posted about a thousand times in this thread because it is my best friend is good at keeping the leaves where they belong.
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Mar 11, 2014 05:33
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gamingCaffeinator posted:I know someone in the thread had mentioned trying it, but can anyone tell me anything about coffee cherry tea? My boss is obsessed with weird coffee stuff and I thought it'd be cool to get her some to try. I think it'd be a good gift for her but it doesn't taste like coffee at all. Mine is from Verve Roasters.
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Jul 19, 2014 19:25
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