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Fryhtaning posted:Just out of curiosity, what makes loose leaf "not your thing"? Flavor? Effort needed to brew a cup? Cost? There may be some misconceptions you're having on one of those notes. Effort. I drink probably 6 cups of tea at work a day, and we have a shared kitchen/break room area. I'd rather not be known as "the guy who leaves his tea poo poo in the sink all the time". There's actually a wide variety of loose leaf tea equipment tucked away in the cupboards, but not being known as "that guy" & getting promoted regularly > ultra high quality tea. I know myself pretty well, and as much as I hate consumerist, disposable culture, this is one area of my life that I'm OK with making an exception for. I know if I used the proper loose leaf tea, looking at my kitchen sink right now, I'd leave a huge mess in the kitchen at least 2-3 times a month, and that's something I have to avoid. Pre-wrapped tea stays fresh for long periods of time and has a very high convenience factor, which is a major plus in an office environment. Cpt.Wacky posted:Twinnings is decent for bagged. Tazo is OK too but I find the different flavors are hit and miss. Oh brilliant, I've found a use for the $50+ in starbucks gift cards I've accumulated over the years! What are some of the flavors I should avoid with Tazo?
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May 17, 2012 17:50
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Hadlock posted:Effort. I drink probably 6 cups of tea at work a day, and we have a shared kitchen/break room area. I'd rather not be known as "the guy who leaves his tea poo poo in the sink all the time". There's actually a wide variety of loose leaf tea equipment tucked away in the cupboards, but not being known as "that guy" & getting promoted regularly > ultra high quality tea. I use one of these and never leave anything in the sink. I just rinse it out in the morning, fill the infuser with loose tea, and then it's just a matter of swapping the lid for the infuser, going to the break room, filling it up with hot water (and a couple ice cubes since our machine dispenses boiling water), and returning to my desk. I just keep a tiny tupperware container on my desk for storing the infuser section when I have the drinking lid on. The best part is that most good teas can be used multiple times, so I end up using one infuser's worth of tea for 4-5 refills in one day, which saves a ton of money. Just in case you haven't considered one of those before...
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May 17, 2012 18:03
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Hadlock posted:Effort. I drink probably 6 cups of tea at work a day, and we have a shared kitchen/break room area. I'd rather not be known as "the guy who leaves his tea poo poo in the sink all the time". There's actually a wide variety of loose leaf tea equipment tucked away in the cupboards, but not being known as "that guy" & getting promoted regularly > ultra high quality tea. Does your office sink not have a garbage disposal? I guess if it doesn't I can see why cleaning up would be a bit more of a hassle, but if it does I don't see how there'd be much concern. It takes me less than 2 minutes at the end of the day to clean my ingenuiTEA and cup before I leave the office. Saying you won't be promoted or liked because you drink loose-leaf tea is rather silly.
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May 17, 2012 18:17
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If you have a Whole Foods around, check out their tea selection. Lots of variety and the quality is better than most supermarket stuff. Something is always on sale, too. I've been succumbing to bagged tea lately and I honestly regret it. Filling your own bags with loose tea is easy, no mess, and you can get some of the great loose tea that's been recommended here. I've been too lazy and indecisive to bag my own despite having bags and tea. I haven't felt like drinking hot tea lately, anyway. Since I want cold tea and I don't want to lug in a giant pitcher of it at work, I'm using Rishi Sencha Tea Powder. It's just tea, no sweetener or flavor. And it's awesome. I love this stuff. It's pretty strong so I'll add some more water after a while and it'll still be good. It's perfect because it tastes good, is easy to make, and I don't have to have a stash of tea in the fridge. The price is the only downside but I've had one box for two weeks and I still have some left. I forgot about my Aladdin infuser mug! It has the infuser in the lid and you can flip it up or down. Great for teas that you can steep multiple times. I love that thing. Wash it at home and no mess at work. Devi fucked around with this message at 18:23 on May 17, 2012 |
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May 17, 2012 18:20
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I don't know what your budget is like so I thought I'd throw in a suggestion for Tea Forte. It is the best bagged tea I've ever had, but is pretty pricey (I received a huge box of it as an xmas gift last year or else I never would have tried it).
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May 17, 2012 18:34
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Hadlock posted:What are some of the flavors I should avoid with Tazo? I really don't drink much bagged tea so it's usually just sampling whatever is available when I'm out somewhere that only serves bagged tea. The hit and miss part is just a matter of personal preference so you may want to start with a sampler or two if they have them. From the ones I do remember tasting... Zen is a nice minty green tea. China Green Tips was too grassy for me. I had Awake once or twice but can't really remember specifics. Herbals are not really my thing but I had the Wild Sweet Orange recently. It has an interesting natural sweetness, but also has a lingering bitterness that I find in most herbals, so it's probably better with a sweetener.
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May 17, 2012 19:56
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I love shopping at Upton but I have a terrible problem: Their smallest bag size that isn't a sample tends to be 100 grams. I am but a mortal man who goes through a cup or two of tea a day. I can get through a bag in less than 3 months if I "try hard", but I feel like I'm wasting a shitload of tea when I'm only partially started on it before it degrades, and it's even worse if I find two nice flavors I really like. How do I handle a ridiculous surplus like this? Find a place that sells in more appropriate quantities? A really, really good preservation method?
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May 17, 2012 21:15
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Hadlock posted:Effort. I drink probably 6 cups of tea at work a day, and we have a shared kitchen/break room area. I'd rather not be known as "the guy who leaves his tea poo poo in the sink all the time". There's actually a wide variety of loose leaf tea equipment tucked away in the cupboards, but not being known as "that guy" & getting promoted regularly > ultra high quality tea. I'm also chiming in to say that I have friends and am respected by my supervisors at work, and I steep loose leaf tea there every night I work. In fact, if you're worried about what your coworkers might think, I actually made a lot of friends at work because I did loose leaf tea; coworkers would come by my desk to watch me make my tea, and they'd ask a lot of questions. As a result, I've converted some of my coworkers to loose leaf, so there's a few of us making loose leaf tea and none of us are hated for it. I use a small kitchen strainer for my tea and set it on a little tea bag holder. Most of my coworkers use the Teavana PerfecTea maker (which is like the ingenuiTEA). Both of these are fairly clean processes, and we all keep our supplies at our desks; I've never seen a mess in the kitchen from tea. edit: I should also clarify that I'm talking about my other job--not my tea shop job I've mentioned before. Everyone drinks tea at the tea shop.  Hadlock posted:Oh brilliant, I've found a use for the $50+ in starbucks gift cards I've accumulated over the years! What are some of the flavors I should avoid with Tazo? I'm not a huge fan of Tazo, but I would definitely avoid the Passion tea... it tastes like stewed fruit. Niemat fucked around with this message at 21:47 on May 17, 2012 |
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May 17, 2012 21:42
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How much trouble is it to clean those ingenuiTEA things? Their video doesn't show that part. I use a strainer that sits in the cup and it's very easy to lift out and whack on the edge of the garbage can to dump out the leaves, then rinse out under the tap and shake dry.Sudoku posted:I love shopping at Upton but I have a terrible problem: Their smallest bag size that isn't a sample tends to be 100 grams. I am but a mortal man who goes through a cup or two of tea a day. I can get through a bag in less than 3 months if I "try hard", but I feel like I'm wasting a shitload of tea when I'm only partially started on it before it degrades, and it's even worse if I find two nice flavors I really like. Option A: Drink more tea. Option B: Invest in some air-tight glass jars and store the bulk of the tea in a cool, dark place. Use a smaller air-tight jar for your daily brewing and refill as needed. This way the bulk of the tea isn't being exposed to air nearly as often.
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May 17, 2012 21:51
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Cpt.Wacky posted:How much trouble is it to clean those ingenuiTEA things? Their video doesn't show that part. I use a strainer that sits in the cup and it's very easy to lift out and whack on the edge of the garbage can to dump out the leaves, then rinse out under the tap and shake dry. Assuming you have a garbage disposal, its just as easy as rinsing it out a couple of times. Maybe once every 2 months I will soak it in a water/bleach solution and then throw it in the dishwasher at home, since the inside/strainer do get stained.
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May 17, 2012 21:54
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Cpt.Wacky posted:How much trouble is it to clean those ingenuiTEA things? Their video doesn't show that part. I use a strainer that sits in the cup and it's very easy to lift out and whack on the edge of the garbage can to dump out the leaves, then rinse out under the tap and shake dry. That's pretty much exactly how you clean an ingenuiTEA between uses. You can toss it in the dishwasher when it needs it. If I'm not going to make tea again for a while, I'll leave the lid open and let it dry some so it shakes more easily into the trash but really that's a needless extra step.
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May 17, 2012 21:54
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Twinning's Prince of Wales is surprisingly nice for a bag IMO. Can't really think of others. As for Upton, I'd have to suggest not using a glass jar. In fact, you're probably best off leaving them in their bags. Their bags are awesome, they close tight (their sample sizes don't have a ziplock thing but the normal bags do), they're a bag so you can push most of the air out before closing, and they're not clear - this is important because UV rays in light make tea (and many other sensitive herbs/spices) go stale faster. Upton bags are so good that I ordered a 100-pack to use for all my other teas and spices. If you want to do that, don't get anything bigger than the 125g size, it's already huge. Anyway, I think you should be alright as long as you don't get ahead of yourself and order like fifteen packets. If you drink only one english teacup of tea per day (that's 6oz, not a big coffee mug, those little porcelain things), that's around 2.25g of tea a day, and you'll finish a 100g bag in almost exactly a month and a half. A more standard 8 oz cup takes about 3g of tea, so you get around a pack a month. Properly stored tea should easily go 6-12 months before it gets stale enough to really taste "old" as opposed to maybe just a bit weaker than it used to be. Edit:  My reading comprehension sucked on that one (and I didn't take into account that you'd drink other stuff). Well, the basics still apply, keep them in their original bags (unless you've got some super awesome tin maybe) and squeeze as much air out as you can. Maybe yeah separate the bulk amount from a smaller weekly amount or something. And make sure they're in as neutral of a place as you can get. They should still last pretty decently - I'll go ahead and admit that I have poor self control about tea and have way, way too many large unsealed packets going around at once. They're still decent for a long time with a splash of milk; I don't start to worry about keeping optimal quantity until the tea gets into really aromatic and/or expensive ranges.Oh, if you like Earl Greys, their Earl Grey Creme Vanilla is worth checking out. Nice and mellow. Culinary Bears fucked around with this message at 07:33 on May 18, 2012 |
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May 18, 2012 07:18
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With regards to bags, Mighty Leaf sells pretty a pretty decent brew, but I'd recommend a straight tea tumbler with a strainer as mentioned earlier since it's reusable and you can save your loose leaf for compost if you're into the 'waste not' philosophy and also for practicality's sake since you just dump the leaves at the end of the day. Teavana sells a few that are double walled and glass so they're well insulated and look pretty good, I did a writeup earlier in the thread about tumblers I believe. As far as the ingenuiTEA pots and their like, I wouldn't recommend 'whacking' them on anything since they're somewhat fragile and can crack (or the top hinge breaks, etc), but rinsing and air drying is perfectly fine. Most of them tend towards having removable mesh filters at the bottom for easier cleaning.
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May 20, 2012 21:31
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aldantefax posted:As far as the ingenuiTEA pots and their like, I wouldn't recommend 'whacking' them on anything since they're somewhat fragile and can crack It's pretty easy to break off the plastic feet on this style of brewer. This makes it almost impossible to use because the valve mechanism depends on the brewer sitting on the feet, so it can be pushed partially open if one is missing.. Ask me how I know...
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May 20, 2012 21:34
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You can use some putty like Sugru to repair that, I actually used some of that stuff to make a knuckle guard for where my huge sausage fingers would contact a very hot teapot when pouring. I also used it to replace the little knob on the top lid when it broke off one day. I also used a bunch of it to repair a lazy gaiwan that was broken into 5 pieces - it's water tight and back in one piece again, and can take hot water, though I can't say whether or not I can brew anything in it (or if it makes the water iffy, it was more of an experiment). Basically, ingenuiTEAs are a step up from your bog standard teabag, but a solid tea tumbler probably works out best for 95% of people. When I was working in an area that didn't have any hot water hookups anywhere I would bring a thermos full of boiling hot water from home and use that throughout the day in conjuction with a tea tumbler (acrylic and now fubar, sadly). An 8 hour day at a call center where I'm talking all the time, I'll use the same leaves over and over and go through 1.3L to 2L of water, and I can dump the leaves into compost when I get home.
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May 20, 2012 22:01
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aldantefax posted:As far as the ingenuiTEA pots and their like, I wouldn't recommend 'whacking' them on anything since they're somewhat fragile and can crack (or the top hinge breaks, etc), but rinsing and air drying is perfectly fine. As a counterpoint I have been whacking the same ingenuiTEA against a plastic bin three times a day, five days a week, for a year and a half and its still intact.
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May 21, 2012 02:17
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Yeah I mean a 'whack' is more of a 'tap it lightly a couple times and stick your fingers in to shake out anything that gets stuck' for me. I also have good results in a workplace situation with just a pack of fill-your-own teabags.
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May 21, 2012 02:26
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neongrey posted:Yeah I mean a 'whack' is more of a 'tap it lightly a couple times and stick your fingers in to shake out anything that gets stuck' for me. I personally go for the "try to destroy the trash bin with force of the smash". Did I get some special transparent adamantium teapot?
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May 21, 2012 02:46
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OnceIWasAnOstrich posted:I personally go for the "try to destroy the trash bin with force of the smash". This is definitely also my technique whenever I've used one of these devices, regardless of brand. V  V I have yet to break one (but now that I've announced that...)Bob_McBob posted:It's pretty easy to break off the plastic feet on this style of brewer. This makes it almost impossible to use because the valve mechanism depends on the brewer sitting on the feet, so it can be pushed partially open if one is missing.. I'm game, and this sound like an interesting story, so how do you know?
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May 22, 2012 13:14
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I just had a birthday recently, and my brother and sister-in-law bought me ThinkGeek's Tea Sampler. It's a bit costly for what it is, but the teas are actually produced by Adagio, so they're quality. It's a really nice gift for the geeky tea drinker in your life, or for yourself if you're just now exploring the world of tea because you get four different varieties- Early Grey, Jasmine Green, Blood Orange, and Chai.  Right now, I'm loving the 1UP Green Jasmine. 
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May 23, 2012 18:10
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discoukulele posted:I just had a birthday recently, and my brother and sister-in-law bought me ThinkGeek's Tea Sampler. It's a bit costly for what it is, but the teas are actually produced by Adagio, so they're quality. It's a really nice gift for the geeky tea drinker in your life, or for yourself if you're just now exploring the world of tea because you get four different varieties- Early Grey, Jasmine Green, Blood Orange, and Chai. I see only one legitimate geek tea reference there. Since when do zombies drink tea?  The tins are pretty cute though.
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May 23, 2012 21:26
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Has anyone in the US ordered from T2? A friend and I were curious about some of their flavors, but I didn't want to get customs on my case.
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May 27, 2012 05:13
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Aerofallosov posted:Has anyone in the US ordered from T2? A friend and I were curious about some of their flavors, but I didn't want to get customs on my case. No, but looking at their site, what is it that attracts you to them more than US-based sites? Their prices seem really high and I'd imagine the shipping will be a beast.
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May 27, 2012 22:42
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I really like some of their blends, especially the chocolate ones. But I'll see if there's something closer.
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May 29, 2012 02:32
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Aerofallosov posted:I really like some of their blends, especially the chocolate ones. But I'll see if there's something closer. If you haven't check them yet, Adagio has a lot of flavored blends.
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May 29, 2012 13:58
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Hadlock posted:Effort. I drink probably 6 cups of tea at work a day, and we have a shared kitchen/break room area. I'd rather not be known as "the guy who leaves his tea poo poo in the sink all the time". There's actually a wide variety of loose leaf tea equipment tucked away in the cupboards, but not being known as "that guy" & getting promoted regularly > ultra high quality tea.
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May 29, 2012 22:43
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Lhet posted:You don't really need any equipment. I just put leaves and hot water in a cup, sometimes use a spoon to press leaves and make them sink, and drop the leaves in the trash when finished. Probably even lower effort than bags. But then he'd be "that guy who drinks loose leaf tea" and be shunned by his peers and become a penniless, alcoholic drug addict vagrant within six months. Eight months tops.
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May 30, 2012 01:56
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Sirotan posted:Assuming you have a garbage disposal, its just as easy as rinsing it out a couple of times. Maybe once every 2 months I will soak it in a water/bleach solution and then throw it in the dishwasher at home, since the inside/strainer do get stained. Is that Tritan plastic stuff safe to bleach? I went to clean my moms ingenuitea with bleach the other day and she started flipping out about bleach degrading the plastic and leeching chemicals into her tea.
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May 30, 2012 04:05
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a handful of dust posted:Is that Tritan plastic stuff safe to bleach? I went to clean my moms ingenuitea with bleach the other day and she started flipping out about bleach degrading the plastic and leeching chemicals into her tea. That's a good question. I just...assumed it was. I always run it through the dishwasher after I bleach it too, and it soaks in probably a 10% bleach/water mix. Doing some googling, the makers of Tritan say it will stand up to bleach without causing any wear/damage. Google also gave me a page where people advise you not to use bleach on Lunapads. So yeah, thanks for this.Edit: You could probably use vinegar and baking soda for the same purpose too, then there's no worry about 'chemicals'. But then you might smell/taste the vinegar. Sirotan fucked around with this message at 04:36 on May 30, 2012 |
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May 30, 2012 04:30
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Sirotan posted:That's a good question. Dammit! I should have researched before bleaching my Lunapads in my DreamSteeper. I was so impressed with myself for doubling up on tasks, too! I've used vinegar and water to clean a plastic water bottle and a metal one. Once each. The smell lingered past repeated rinses. I got rid of the plastic bottle and eventually gave up and started using the metal one. The smell went away after a few uses and it wasn't that bad but it was there. I stick with really hot water and soap now. Went to a French market Saturday and there was a tea vendor that I've never heard of. It was all of three blocks away from my favorite tea store but the place at the market sells 1 oz bags and the smallest quantity the tea store has is 2 oz. The small bags were all around $2.50 and I couldn't resist getting one. I got organic Keemun--my first plain black tea. Also the first tea I've had with milk and honey. Rosemary honey (also from the market) and coconut/almond milk to be exact. The Keemun on it's own is boring. With the milk and honey I can understand why plain black tea is still sold.
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May 30, 2012 06:10
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Baking soda's great for getting stuff out, and if it's something stubborn (like you forgot milk in there for a day or something) leave it to soak full of water with baking soda. If it's something really hardcore like months' worth of tannin buildup, barkeeper's friend solves everything. ...Plain black tea boring? Pff, next time you've got a spare ten bucks (okay 13-something with shipping), head over to uptontea.com and grab a sample of the hubei province keemun, the yunnan rare, and the doomni estate with lots of letters and the big gold leaves. They can all go straight, no nothing, and all kick the crap out of just about all the flavored teas I've had (and I like flavored teas). Everyone's got their preferences though. Most of the time I like to brew on the strong side and add just a touch of milk to kill the tannins. (obligatory upton disclaimer: their 2.25 g/cup is per 6 oz english teacup, it's an even 3g for 8 oz typical mugs, and uh... 3.17g per 250ml but no one needs to sperg that hard) Culinary Bears fucked around with this message at 22:13 on May 30, 2012 |
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May 30, 2012 21:54
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I'm looking for tea stuff to write articles about. Any suggestions?
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Jun 1, 2012 00:49
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Japanese tea ceremony, kombucha, tea leaf reading(?)
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Jun 1, 2012 01:57
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I bought two bags of loose leaf tea for the first time a few weeks ago. The first batches were good, but now both of them are completely flavorless. I stored them in a dark closet, but the bags weren't completely sealed. Is that it? Stupid tea.
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Jun 1, 2012 02:53
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Hmm...Can't say I'm thoroughly interested in those but I'll take a look and see what I can do. At least I can make a kombucha mother with stuff I happen to have already, it looks like!
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Jun 1, 2012 03:35
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aldantefax posted:I'm looking for tea stuff to write articles about. Any suggestions? You've talked a bit about matcha in the thread but is there anything more to say? Different teawares? Like samovars, different infusers, that mug that holds the leaves in one part and you tip it to stop the brewing that probably doesn't work well at all but seems really cool...
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Jun 1, 2012 04:08
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I actually did talk about samovars earlier in the thread. I'm counting on Bob to talk more about matcha since he just got an order in from Ippodo and has been constantly saying "matcha" in the channel for the last few weeks. Though, as slow as he is, I guess I can do that too, but I don't have the appropriate equipment so I'll have to use stock images and the like. The infusers thing I did go over a little bit but I can elaborate more when I pick the one I've been waiting to get as a demonstration piece.
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Jun 1, 2012 05:38
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Vogler posted:I bought two bags of loose leaf tea for the first time a few weeks ago. The first batches were good, but now both of them are completely flavorless. I stored them in a dark closet, but the bags weren't completely sealed. Is that it? Stupid tea. My guess would be that it was that they weren't sealed. Air, light, and moisture are bad for the tea.
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Jun 1, 2012 19:26
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I have heard people having success with the resealable bags from Upton tea - they seal very well, are cheap, and are opaque (the outside is light blocking). Other companies use a similar type of bag. There's also a recommendation from someone I know to look into bartender storage equipment under the "Pour N' Store" brand - they are airtight screw top lids, do not leach plastic taste or anything to the tea, and are also opaque. They are more durable than the bags since they're designed for heavy use, and can be found at most restaurant supply stores for pretty cheap. Then there's all the stuff with ceramic and metal containers that have double seals and blah blah blah i'm going to eat lunch bye
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Jun 1, 2012 20:02
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Vogler posted:I bought two bags of loose leaf tea for the first time a few weeks ago. The first batches were good, but now both of them are completely flavorless. I stored them in a dark closet, but the bags weren't completely sealed. Is that it? Stupid tea. What type of tea was it (black, green, etc.)? The more delicate teas, like white, lose flavor faster than ones that have already been oxidized (and especially ones designed to age, like pu'erh). Still, I've had some loose leaf green teas for months that still have good flavor... make sure to keep them airtight in the future and you should be able to fix that problem.
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Jun 2, 2012 18:49
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