What is your Favorite Tea?

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!

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].

Hi Cherrie,

Welcome to Permies.

I was an Earl Grey tea guy (only Twinings will do) until in university I discovered coffee and the joy of the all-nighter.

But I still make tea when I'm trying to hydrate at home or when I'm roughing it in some campsite (tea doesn't make a mess!) a hot, tasty cuppa is welcome. No milk or sugar -- this is camping tea.

I use the rooibos that my wife loves (I still can't spell it -- I call it rooey, dewey, huey and louie), two bags for 1.5 litres. Or my favourite, a Celestial Seasonings brand called Bengal Spice which I always keep on hand.

Wow..all these trick questions!!!  I recently was given a pouch of tea my cousin brought up for the holidays.The ingredients listed are not quantive but you can get an idea.  Green tea, rose petals, marigold petals, natural passion fruit, mango and grapefruit flavour. I don't have anything that is "favorite"!

Turmeric ginger from Mountain Rose Herbs. I also drink a lot of medicinal teas. In summer, I like fruity Hibiscus tea, iced. And Kombucha. I also like Youpon tea for caffeine,which on have to buy on Amazon.

Ethel Ebanks wrote:Green tea, rose petals, marigold petals, natural passion fruit, mango and grapefruit flavour. I don't have anything that is "favorite"!

Wow, I'm not sure if I should brew that or sprinkle it on my salad. Kidding!

I passionately love tea of all kinds. I buy whatever tea catches my eye (so soo many) and will grow any plant that can be used for tea (so soo many), and have indeed been told, as Tereza above, that I may need "professional help" haha.  Large quantities are consumed daily: hot and iced, herbal, black, green, white, a mind-boggling array of different blends, so I have a really hard time choosing a favorite. I just love tea! But when asked to recommend something interesting, Yogi tea (not the brand) always comes to mind. Gotta like spicy (as in, cinnamon ginger black pepper spicy), but if you do, this will not disappoint. Particularly excellent during the cold months, but also good hot or cold year-round. Not too arduous a process for permie-type folk, but definitely more work than pouring water over a teabag. My recipe below is a good example but ingredients can absolutely be (and usually are) adjusted to taste. Quality of ingredients does make a difference, but don't let that stop you from making it with what you have on hand.

Yogi Tea

2 quarts water (preferably filtered)
20 black peppercorns
15 whole cloves
3 sticks of cinnamon
20 whole cardamon pods (split)
8 fresh ginger slices and (if desired/available) 8 fresh turmeric slices. No need to peel!
1/2 teaspoon of black tea, or one small bag

While the water is heating in a large pot on the stove, count out the spices. Split the cardamom pods by pressing on each one with the flat side of a butter knife. Slice the ginger and/or turmeric.

When the water is at a gentle boil, add the ingredients, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or so. Turn off the fire and allow the pot to cool down. You can sample from the hot tea, if desired.

When ready, strain the tea into its container and discard the used spices. Keep refrigerated for up to a week. Serve hot or cold; milk and/or honey to taste, if desired.

Lemon Verbena leaves dry very easily, keeping their flavour and make a wonderful tea with good colour, best served hot I think.
Cinnamon Basil makes a delicious sweet tea, possibly best as ice tea. Leaves should be left to steep for as long as possible (keep covered).
Rooibos is my favourite bought tea, good hot or cold, with or without milk. It is very satisfying in spite of no caffeine.

I like green tea the best but Chamomile tea is nice.  Sometimes I like tea with Peppermint and I always have some throat coat tea around, it has licorice in it.

Post #2
I neglected to say, oh fellow tea lovers, that I ALWAYS start my day with 2 strong, fresh roasted cups of hot coffee to get my lungs going! (I have asthma & coffee helps!)
Then I make cup after cup of all sorts of teas - black, herbal or homemade which I sip on throughout the day. Helps my allergies & crazy sinuses AND it just tastes great! ☕️

I have two recommendations:

1) Regardless of the type of tea, use loose-leaf; bagged tea typically contains the dregs.

2) If you like green tea, get yourself a glass Chinese style tea tumbler. The idea is you put loose-leaf tea inside the tumbler, fill with hot water, and then you drink through the strainer at the top. Throughout the day, you keep adding hot water. The first cup is strong, and then it gets progressively weaker until by the end of the day you're just drinking water. It has to be green tea, because it retains flavor across seepings, while black tea only lends itself to one seeping.

Today's Tea



Tiesta Tea - Palm Beach Punch

Amazon

I give this tea 8 out of 10 acorns.

A citrus scented and fruity tasting tea, it is enjoyable with an addition of honey. It is a pleasant tea that is easy to drink with a mixture of pleasant tastes to please the palate. I enjoy it for what it is, what can I say. I know that there are other teas I enjoy more but I wouldn't say no to a cup of this.

I drink different ones throughout the day. Green tea  and black tea are my daily favorites for their antioxidants. But, recently ginger/lemon herb tea.  Also rooibos sometimes. Peppermint tea is good for digestion.  A little almond milk, but no sweetener.

I have received this Blueberry Wild Child blend tea off of a recommendation.

I give this tea 10 out of 10 acorns.

Amazing. I'm really impressed with this tea! A little honey and its golden. Very blueberry-ee but very palatable. I could drink this all day.