What is your Favorite Tea?

I recently had to give up drinking coffee so I have been drinking more tea than usual. I drink mostly water though I give myself a treat in the afternoon by drinking tea. A few years ago when green tea was said to be better for you, I started drinking green tea.

What is your favorite tea?

When I drink tea in the morning I like to drink hot yerba mate that I learned about here:

https://permies.com/t/71412/kitchen/Drinking-Tea-Save-Life-Unknown




Afternoons are for iced tea so I make sun tea, like this:

https://permies.com/t/58331/kitchen/Making-Tea-Sun-Tea-Refrigerator




If I am really stress I make a tea with fresh lemon balm.

I usually just have mine with ice.




I like mine sweet.  What do you like with your tea?  Lemons, oranges, or maybe peaches?




What are your favorite teas?

Do you have a favorite tea blend?

I love tea! I've been drinking tea most of my life, and that started with commercial iced tea from the grocery store. I really didn't discover the world of tea until about my mid-twenties, nearly twenty years ago. Since then, I've been a daily tea drinker, usually starting my morning with green tea, but I've been mixing up the start of my day with yerba mate as well for the last year or two. I also drink a cup of tea in the afternoon, usually a black tea but not always. I've tried many different kinds of teas, from japanese matcha that is ground to a powder, to rolled whole leaf pearls of green teas from china, indonesia and india, to different oolongs from various countries, smoked teas, delicate white teas and a variety of black teas from different regions of the world, some flavored and some not. One time I even ponied up some money for a whole pu'erh cake. It was good, but didn't knock my socks off. I love a nice cup of earl grey. After almost two decades of tasting different whole leaf teas, my favorite is a cup of properly prepared oolong. Something about that flavor adds a glow to my spirit and makes me happy.

I very occasionally make tea from Yaupon holly that grows around here.
 Quite a caffeine rush to it
I drink a lot of roselle tea.   Good stuff.   I try to harvest enough calyx's to last all year, usually they just get me through the winter though.

Well timed post Anne. The temperature is warming up and we southerner love tea! Lemon balm is my favorite by a long shot. It takes almost no preparation either. I cut off a large handful of leaves and stems then dunk them into boiling water. Once the tea has cooled somewhat I take the greenery out and add honey or sugar. Drink then or chill. Occasionally I’ll add a garnish of mojito mint for looks and flavor.

My favorite is Lancashire tea. It is very similar to Bewely's breakfast tea, but a little lighter, more flowery. Though I enjoy Bewely's as well, very dark rich breakfast teas. I purchase bulk from teadog online.

herbal, I stick to mints and chickory coffees.

I drink a lot of mint tea.  I've got four different kinds of mint right now, but the best by far is still peppermint.  I like to add a few slices of ginger (fresh or candied) and sometimes sugar or honey.  Mint tea is the one beverage I can drink unsweetened without it feeling like a punishment.

Another drink I made last year that isn't exactly a tea: Fresh strawberry (or strawberry jam) and lemon basil steeped in hot water, add honey and chill.  I tried it with lemon balm too, but I'm not a fan of lemon balm to begin with.

Hibiscus and chamomile (either together or separately) are also nice cold.  

Also not tea, but I use a lot of jam in hot water to make flavored drinks.  Just plop a couple spoonfuls in a pint jar, add hot water and lemon or lime juice to taste, drink cold or hot.  Sometimes instead of jam I'll use dried fruit and some honey.  Ginger, honey, and lime is also a favorite combo.

I've thrown a teabag into all of the above, too.  Green for lighter and citrus flavors, black for deeper flavors like black raspberry, elderberry, etc.  I try not to drink a lot of tea because caffeine can trigger panic attacks for me; decaf isn't really my thing, either.

Tea is not my usual drink (I prefer coffee),  but if I had to pick a tea I would say peppermint.  I like the flavor and I can of course very easily grow the peppermint leaves.

Eric

I love that you have a spectrum of tea throughout the day, Anne!

I think the best thing I can say about my tea collection is that an English friend helped me move house and right before we left he said that he didn't want to comment but he had never seen a person with more tea..... and he had a bit of a collection of his own....

I love all of them. I have never met a tea I didn't like. I've got a horn full of yerba mate on the desk right now (I stretch that out all day), but there was a pot of bancha (fermented brown japanese tea) this morning and there will probably be some mint this evening.

I am also finding that coffee is problematic for me, and while my tea habit is by no means caffeine free, it doesn't leave me wondering if my heart is going to burst.

I recently found Japanese brown rice tea (genmai cha) with matcha powder, which was different and very flavorful. I also have some really nice green pu-erh tea that a friend gave me, it is amazingly aromatic. then there is cardamom black tea (elaichi) that I pick up from the Indian market when I'm in the US, that is a great base for chai or just a nice warming drink on its own.

Thanks, everyone for the lovely comments.  These comments have brought back a lot of lovely memories of teas I had for gotten about.

For several years, my sister gave me tea for Christmas.  Red Zinger, Sleepytime and an orange one.  And one year is was a ginseng tea.

Though until I found lemon balm and yerba mate, here on permies ... I was sold on just plain old tea.  I have had Earl Grey though I did not notice a difference.

By the way, have a Happy National Tea Day!

Interesting fact about mate. It contains theophylline, a natural xanthine that was one of the first respiratory meds. It works great but has cardiac side effects. The newer drugs are all beta two, which have little cardiovascular effects but will get your motor running regardless! Some of the newer drugs have been around for thirty years but are second generation to the Atropines of the world. It’s now just called Atrovent. So when you have your mate you may notice an extra caffeine like kick but feels slightly different.
PS. I don’t like the smoked mate. Regular cut and a little mint is my favorite.

I keep my herbal teas to things that can be locally harvested and have found my mainstay as a daily tea is a Chaga and Golden Rod blend. I enjoy the rich bold flavour it gives off.

Good afternoon Permies!

I have dabbled but have not been serious about tea in the past. I am finding a lot of calories I take in are through liquids which doesn't do me any favors. I am wanting to get more serious in exploring the world of teas but it is expansive.

What are your favorite teas?

Homemade, purchased, foraged are all good with me! Loose or bagged makes no difference. I am willing to try hot and cold as well! Milk or no milk is just dandy.

I just want some types to explore so I can find some 'daily drivers'.

Let me know and thanks for any help provided!

A cup of tea

Much depends upon my mood. To pick a single one: Earl Grey.  Nothing added.

My own favorites have been the ones that I was able to forage for, or grow, myself.  This of course depends on the region I was living in at the time.  Right now im sipping on a cranberry hibiscus flower tea, which has a nice tartness too it, and is naturally sweet enough that nothing needs to be added to improve the flavor.  This was a very popular plant for us to be growing in Hawaii. The flowers are loaded with vit C, and the leaves can be eaten raw,  In Taiwan we grew a similar plant called Roselle, which was also used  for teas, as well as for all kinds of deserts.  

Occasionally ill make a brew from the dried bark of a Cinnamomum verum tree I was once asked to cut back. Im now wondering what other tree barks can be made into teas?

Oohhh....pine needle tea!  Those are abundant right now!  

And then there are the medicinal mushrooms, such as birch polypore. I know ive seen those around recently.  

Our cabinet currently has dried flowers and leaves wildcrafted earlier this year by family from the nearby meadows. These include goldenrod, raspberry leaf, chamomile, red clover, mint, stinging nettle, and melissa.

Sometimes we like to make teas from dried fruits as well, and honestly these have always been my favorites. Im really missing having these during the cold dark winters.  Here in Poland it is called "Kompot", and can be made from apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, or many other types of fruits and berries.  Next season i will definitely be working on drying more fruits/berries for this purpose.

A little bit of honey from our families bee hives makes it all the better.  

Sip..sip...Mmmm.... So satisfying while sitting here getting lost in the permies discussions.      

When I used to attend a lot of functions at hotels there was always the choice of coffee or a variety of tea bags.

This allowed me to try several different teas.

I could never tell the difference between Earl Grey and what Lipton sells. I find green tea is too weak tasting.

I do prefer iced tea over a cup of hot tea.

One year for Christmas I was given a variety of herbal teas. I still preferred the Lipton variety.

Then I tried Yerba Mate and fell in love.

i like a good black tea. some of my favorites are chinese black teas. i’ve been growing and processing true camellia sinensis tea for a few years now, and am really enjoying the black teas i produce, too.

i really like unroasted oolong teas, as well, but the process isn’t very achievable for me so i do buy those. especially taiwanese ones, like li shan, ali shan, or da yu lin.

as far as foraged options, some of my favorites include young fir tips, or mugwort (mugwort with some ‘boughten’ rooibos added is a household staple). also twig teas: spicebush, sassafras, and/or birch twigs, left to simmer on the wood stove for a while. same with a nice deep dark chaga mushroom, stewed on the stove the same way.

i have a bit of a tea problem (never thought it was an issue til an English friend helped me move my kitchen and commented that I might need professional help...). What I drink comes and goes depending on season, tastes, and where i've been traveling, I love to explore.

Do you like green or grassy tastes? Dark and smoky tastes? Caffeine or non? non-tea flavors in your tea (vanilla, flowers, mint, spices)? sweet or not? with milk or citrus or something or not?
It can be fun to hear people's favorites when you're exploring certain areas.

I'm a huge fan of the unroasted oolong and kuanyin teas, any kind of japanese green tea, various kinds of basil, plain black English and Irish tea, and a bunch of roasted grain or chicory teas (barley, corn). Right now drinking the last bags of a commercial green/matcha blend with peach that someone gave me, makes a lovely iced tea. In fact in summer we drink pretty much every kind of herb tea you can imagine iced.

Many years ago I was into ayurveda and started making spice teas to drink, and found i really enjoyed them. i still make a blend from my spice drawer: fennel, cumin, and coriander seed, great for digestion and really refreshing.

Dandelion root, chocolate mint (any mint really), Kava Kava, and I for whatever reason really enjoy the 'Herba Tussin' or 'Throat Comfort' teas with Slippery Elm bark.

Black tea. Lots of! with milk.
We did a bit of research into loose leaf teas for our shop and have come back to a Yorkshire blend as our favourite; smaller leaves mean we can use a smaller volume, it brews a little quicker, with a good strong flavour that doesn't get too much tannin as it brews. We can refresh the pot with more boiling water and get a second brew almost as good.
I'm wanting to try growing Tea Camellia again - lost my plants due to wet compacted soil I think. However whilst they lasted I got the best green tea I've ever had with no bitterness.

I have been caffeine free on occasion, redbush isn't too bad, I liked peppermint and a home blended 'fourwinds' tea. Having black tea without milk seems to be a no-no for me. I'd rather not drink tea than have it without milk.

Hi Tim, it is good to hear you are ready to get serious, because tea is serious business. It would help us to know what you have been drinking that has all the calories, before we can give you a proper tea sommelier opinion.

In general, beer drinkers will want something soothing. Hops strobiles should be simmered in milk for about five minutes, with or without cardamom and cinnamon, and sweetened with a low-profile honey. Technically you should brew the cinnamon separately in water for 30 minutes first, which can be done ahead of time and stored in the fridge for 2-3 days. Skullcap, mint, and chamomile are also mellow, but most people do not like them for day-to-day, because they have things to do. They are better evening herbs, where they can, for many people, replace a night cap if brewed strongly. Watch out for the skullcap if you have blood pressure issues or take prescriptions. Another really great nighttime cup is firefly chai. Brew the cinnamon chips in simmering water for 30 minutes then add ginger chips or fresh ginger for 5-10 minutes, then add cardamom and nutmeg for another 1-2 minutes, then cream and honey. Some people add tulsi, which is a kind of basil brewed as tea.

Green tea, in large quantities, is a good all around daily tea, both for people who like sedatives and for people who like stimulants, and for people who like sugar, you can add honey. It has theanine and other relaxing constituents, which suit many people because they calm without sedating, and the caffeine provides pep. Some people also like tulsi for this purpose, which does not have caffeine. There are a huge number of kinds of tulsi to try. I like the flavor but I can't get into it. I find it too drying and not peppy enough.

Green tea differs from black tea, coffee, and chocolate in not containing constituents that strongly alter sulfur metabolism in the liver, not strongly altering endocrine balance, not causing detoxification-retoxification cycles, and not draining vital essence (jing) as much. It is difficult for people who consume any of these three substances to enjoy green tea because green tea is similar enough to tickle their addiction, but they don't get a big hit off it, so they generally do not like it.

When switching from energy drinks to green tea or from coffee, black tea, or chocolate to green tea, the trick is to switch to yerba mate first. Mate does alter sulfur metabolism, but it alters endocrine hormones in a completely different way than the above four substances (which tend to involve dopamine whereas mate involves other neuroendocrine hormones also.) It also doesn't cause detox-retox reactions, and doesn't drain jing as much (energy drinks drain it quick, stay far away. Far.) The step down from mate to green tea is much smoother. Or you can keep up a pretty expensive mate habit for a good long time. Take a look at elderly Argentinian statesmen, they usually still have their teeth. Some people keep their teeth on coffee, too, though. Fat soluble vitamin content plays a large role. But I think people age better on mate than coffee, personally.

For people who love diet sodas, mate can also be a good choice, especially the fizzy canned mate. You get the pop top and the fizz, and the diversity of effects on neurochemistry can be a good substitute for the phenylalanine in diet sodas. For high fructose corn syrup sodas, black tea with a lot of honey is a good step down, because black tea spikes blood sugar almost as much as coffee, but is less hard on the teeth and less pushy on the liver.

If, on the other hand, you like a good elbow to the liver, especially true of people who drink coffee to be regular, a dandelion root and chicory root blend might be a good drink to switch to, but do not consume daily, because the detox-retox can be very hard on the optic nerves for some people, and lead to vision loss. They will also alter some prescriptions. Milk thistle is a better daily liver antioxidant, but does not make a great tea. It is better as a sprinkle over oatmeal, in my opinion, but I would love to be wrong, if anyone has a blend that makes milk thistle palatable as a tea. Another thing to consider is that maple syrup contains vitamins and minerals and acts as a mild laxative.

For wildcrafted daily tea, I'm experimenting with fermented fireweed tea, which grows in abundance where I live. It is used daily in Russia, but there isn't enough data, in English, in my opinion, to call it safe for daily use yet. It is tasty and brisk with a lot of aromatics and body. I also like fermented red blueberry leaves. A relative of Camellia, they do something like black tea, but not as strongly.

For a sturdy nutritious tea in between caffeinating, an herb tea like alfalfa (for people who are not sensitive to saponins,) raspberry (for people who do not have dry skin,) oat straw, and nettles (for people without kidney concerns) are full of minerals, and wonderful ways to add more honey to your diet. Honey is sweet but contains vitamins, minerals, and local pollens. Energetically, honey is neutral and dispersive and nutritious, whereas white sugar is very damp. These are esoteric Chinese terms so please consider that very few people truly know what they mean, and I am not one of them, but in general it is important to know that the oldest extant continuous system of medicine makes an important distinction between these two forms of sugar, and considers that they contribute very differently to weight gain.

If you haven't tried the bulletproof coffee trend, it is an interesting way to extend nighttime fasting. Not for the frail, a tablespoon full of coconut oil (or a derivative like MCT) is added to a cup of coffee or tea, something caffeinated, upon waking up, allowing the brain to digest the fat and run on ketones, theoretically, until lunch. Many people enjoy this trend and find that it helps them maintain a weight that they like, decreases inflammation, and various other claims. It's not my cup of tea, though, because it makes me grouchy. My cup of tea is an Indian or Japanese green tea of any variety except matcha.

Fresh sprigs of rosemary, dried Bee Balm and a few cloves.  Spicy and healthy.  Unfortunately can’t grow the cloves here.

I prefer sweet and fruity teas, raspberry, blueberry, peach.  And chai can be nice too.

I have to apologize, I think I have underestimated the tea world and the many configurations that go into it.

I'm a juice guy, I really like juices. I do enjoy a good cup of coffee as well!

I have picked up some Blueberry Hibiscus tea by Tiesta to try out.

I have also acquired some Orange Pekoe Black Tea a friend recommended to try out.

I'll have to report my findings...

hibiscus is great, blueberry hibiscus sounds delightful.

sounds like you might like fruity tastes in your tea. Earl Grey is classic, with the bergamot citrus taste in black tea, or Lady Grey adds in other citrus tastes.
Cardamom brings a nice citrusy taste with it too. (if you like coffee, surely you've tried it with cardamom, it's a great experience)

We try to eat organic as much as possible, so when we can get organic citrus, esp. lemons or oranges, all those peels are saved and dried.  Plunk a portion in tea and it gives great flavor.   Put it in early before simmering to get the max flavor.  

You can also add berries or fruit juice to any tea for more of a flavor burst.  

My all-time favorite tea is green tea...hot or cold. I also enjoy hot Chaga tea, and like all the herbal teas alone or mixed together hot or cold. Only thing I will add to certain teas is local organic raw honey. I do wander my 16 wooded acres to forage some of my roots, leaves, berries, and flowers for tea.

I'm a coffee addict, but I like the occasional cup of tea for variety, but not enough to make a fancy blend myself (hats off to those who do).  In the grocery store, there's a brand called Harney's that makes a "hot cinnamon spice"-black tea with cinnamon and orange peel. Enough cinnamon to punch you in the face in a mid-afternoon slump in front of the office computer.

I also liked the Republic of Tea's Spring Cherry Green Tea. And, oddly enough, there was a variety in the foreign food section called "Chinese Restaurant Tea" that was very drinkable (an oolong tea).  Other kinds were the herbal teas Raspberry Zinger and Orange Zinger (my husband likes both of those, though his preference is the old standby Lipton for ice tea, done as sun tea).

Where I work, we have many visiting scientists from around the world. One woman from China brought green tea from home and shared it.  The leaves were rolled into little balls as they dried (maybe kept it fresher as it dried?).  It had much more complex flavor without the astringency than most of the other green teas I had tried.  Maybe you could go to a Chinese grocery store and ask which tea they liked? Or just try their teas at random until you find one you like. Maybe invite people over for a tea tasting to make the ones you don't like find a home with someone else ha ha ...

White-tea drinker here.  I brew a 1/2 gallon pot each morning and drink it at room temp throughout the day year round.  When my peppermint plant isn't buried in snow, I  bruise fresh leaves for this pot.  Otherwise, I include a healthy pinch of dehydrated peppermint.  After dinner most nights, I enjoy Pea Flower, which produces blue tea, or Hibiscus Flower, which produces shades rosy to red, dependent on flower variety.  Both are delicioius hot or cold to fit the season.  And, although it isn't tea, two or three times a week, I skip the evening tea, opting instead for Golden Milk.      

Chocolate tea (made from husks).  I have it every morning before breakfast as it also is naturally caffeinated.

I second it for Golden milk which I make w fresh, grated turmeric.
For tea my store bought go to-s are:
Baltimore Tea & Coffee’s Black Raven tea
Twinings Lady Grey or English Breakfast tea & my latest fav Peppermint-Fennel
All Organic India teas
Yogi tea Mango ginger
Homemade - rosemary & sage, and mullein tea

I like honey vanilla chamomile, vanilla chai, earl grey, Thai Tea, orange spice, foraged herbal teas with or without honey, preferably with milk....like a latte.  Yum!

I have a whole shelf of teas. My favorite is a cold brew ground pure roasted cacao beans. "Crio" brand is pure and fresh in my experience

Rooibos tea. Pleasant taste, high in anti-oxidants too. We often make ours with multiple tea bogs in a gallon jar of water, placed in bright sun during summer months.

To any pregnant women out there, raspberry leaf tea is not recommended to be taken in early pregnancy. It is said to shorten labour but most articles I have seen say you should not begin to drink it until you are 32 weeks pregnant and then begin with one cup per day. There are several studies into its use but I will leave reading them up to anyone who is interested rather than trying to précis them here.

Agastache  (I like the licorice flavor)
Chocolate mint
Lemon balm
Echinacea with bee balm
Raspberry leaves with bee balm
I grow all these over the tile bed.
If I have a hankering for black tea, it's the cheap bulk stuff my kimbucha eats
No sweetener and no creamer

Rooibos, Pu-erh, Flowering oat straw, Kudzu flower, English Breakfast, all with nothing added.

Roasted dandelion root. Nettle with cinnamon and ginger. Oat straw, again with cinnamon and ginger!

I found out that any tea works as long as I have a few leaves of dried stevia. Earl grey, chamomile, agastache hyssop, orange, elderberry, aronia, peppermint [I have lots of peppermint in my garden], whatever I am in the mood for.
Unfortunately, I have a sweet tooth, and some teas just won't go down without a bit of help. Stevia or honey [preferred by my taste buds but at 60 cal./ teaspoon it gets to add a lot of calories, I could easily go over.]
I prefer loose tea, either with the  2 half balls that screw together or the special cup that has essentially a stainless steel cup with tiny holes all over, inside of a big ceramic cup. [I really like that one because if I have a tea with not much flavor, I can pack the stainless cup full].