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My advice:

Taylors of Harrogate for Ceylon and Earl Grey.
Twinings for English Breakfast, Assam and Lapsang Souchong (the latter a shade robust for some, but it was good enough for Churchill).

Those are all I drink, so can't comment elsewhere.
 
Twinings for English Breakfast, Assam and Lapsang Souchong (the latter a shade robust for some, but it was good enough for Churchill).

Ah, got some of that. Smells like a kipper in a cup. I do like kippers.

I know some people associate coffee with cake, but it has to be tea with cake surely?
 
Maybe Yith. can obtain Twining's leaf version of Lapsang, which used to be fine; in fact, it was practically the only version you could find back in my student days.

Now it has disappeared from mainstream shops and only the larger stores have even the tea-bags, which are awful!

It requires a trip to some specialist tea-emporium to obtain the real stuff now. It's a while since I bought any and I have a seasonal yen for its twiggy bonfire aromas. Nostalgia for the autumn of way-back, when I decided to be a tea connoisseur, armed only with Twining's Assam, Darjeeling, Earl Grey, Lapsang Souchong and something called Nectar Tea, which was probably a version of Ceylon.

That stirs a memory - as well as the pot. In those days the poshest tea on the market was reputed to be Orange Pekoe from Ceylon. "Broken O.P." was a version which sounds a bit like damaged china but it seemed in great demand! When Ceylon became Sri Lanka, the quality was said to have declined drastically and it was no longer featured in the delicatessens. Something political inconveniently impinged on our commodities - 'twas ever thus. :rolleyes:
 
Maybe Yith. can obtain Twining's leaf version of Lapsang, which used to be fine; in fact, it was practically the only version you could find back in my student days.

Now it has disappeared from mainstream shops...

Has it? My parents send consignments of tea out to me and there has been no interruption of delivery previously, although like you, I tend to drink Lapsang in the darker months and don't have any in the cupboard at present.

I've had both the bag and the leaf and I confess, James, that I haven't noticed much difference.
 
Suprised to see no fans of African tea. Kenyan is my very favourite tea, though neither Morrissons or Tescos stock it. I keep meaning to pop into M&S and see if I can find some.

I bought some Tescos value teabags recently out of curiosity. 40 for 25p! They're pretty weak and rather dusty tasting. I find most blended teas too weak, though.

I can't be having with Earl Grey. That's for refined old ladies with yappy lapdogs.
 
What's that Rooibos(?) stuff - 'red tea' that isn't actually tea. I have one friend who serves it whenever I visit his place and it's drinkabke enough. He also has something which, IIRC is labeled 'gunpowder' and is a kind of tea or herbal infusion - it's been a while and I'm a little hazy on the details.
 
What's that Rooibos(?) stuff - 'red tea' that isn't actually tea. I have one friend who serves it whenever I visit his place and it's drinkabke enough. He also has something which, IIRC is labeled 'gunpowder' and is a kind of tea or herbal infusion - it's been a while and I'm a little hazy on the details.
Gunpowder is a green tea and is a staple in my tea armoury. Whittards do a lovely Lapsang Souchong. It isn't cheap but you can brew the leaves twice. Finally, Earl Grey is lovely and anyone who doesn't like it is wrong!
 
Some of these posts are dangerously enthusiastic for a Whinge Thread. Do we need a separate Tea thread?

Didn't we have one at some point?
Perhaps my memory playing tricks...
 
My old flatmate's girlfriend brought him some tea back from Turkey .. I wish I could remember what it was called but it was great, it tasted a bit like it had milk and sugar in it without any needing to be added .. best tea I've ever tasted.

.. here's a load of videos telling you how to make Turkish tea should you wish to try it ..

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=turkish+tea+making
 
My old flatmate's girlfriend brought him some tea back from Turkey .. I wish I could remember what it was called but it was great, it tasted a bit like it had milk and sugar in it without any needing to be added .. best tea I've ever tasted.

.. here's a load of videos telling you how to make Turkish tea should you wish to try it ..

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=turkish tea making
'çay' (pronounced 'chai') is the black tea drunk by everyone and although the Turkish coffee is OK once in a bit, I drunk the tea non-stop whenever it was offered, it invariably arrived in a little glass.
IMG00147_o.jpg
 
Gunpowder is a green tea and is a staple in my tea armoury. Whittards do a lovely Lapsang Souchong. It isn't cheap but you can brew the leaves twice. Finally, Earl Grey is lovely and anyone who doesn't like it is wrong!

Then I shall be eternally wrong Min, as alas, it does not resonate at all with me - its taste, to me, is...too pothery.
 
My memory's better than I thought. Bought a good teapot in London the year after that thread -- even managed to get it halfway round the world in one piece!

Edit: posts moved to existing tea thread.
 
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In those days the poshest tea on the market was reputed to be Orange Pekoe from Ceylon.
Lovely stuff, I had forgotten all about this. Must get some.

Bought some of this yesterday from Whittard (I always thought it was Whittard's), not cheap at £5.50 for 25 bags. Must hunt that teapot out and dust it off.
I'm finding it difficult to give my opinion as I am on my second cup of the day, which is EG and to review one kind of tea whilst drinking another is beyond me. What I will say is that it's maybe not as good as I remember, although I might have previously had it loose.
 
Must hunt that teapot out and dust it off.

Haven't used a teapot for years. Used to have a big aluminium teapot which lasted for aeons. I'd make a new cosy for it now and then.
However, there was a scare about aluminium being linked to dementia around the time the whole family seemed to leave home at once so it fell into disuse.

Its replacement was a large steel vacuum flask. I stopped using that when something so awful happened to the family that I couldn't even plan far enough ahead to my next brew. :(

These days I make brews in big mugs with one of those one-cup fast-boil hot drink makers. They're great. I gave my mother one. She has about 100 brews a day so it saves her money.
 
PG Tips English Breakfast tea was half price in Morissons this morning. I'll see how that pans out. I notice they now have own brand Assam but not Ceylon or Kenyan.
 
I used to visit the Chinese supermarkets quite often and I would seldom leave without one of those compact and inexpensive green boxes of jasmine tea. The foil wrapping inside usually kept the fragrance fresh. I was also delighted to discover the range of cheap crockery. I still use my simple rice-bowls with a blue painted fish on the sides; many millions of these must have been turned out over the years. I have also owned several of those compact, round teapots with wire handles. Beware of the bamboo-handled ones which have a nasty tendency to rot through - the potential for a very nasty scalding is real! I had a close call with one.

Chinese stores are wonderful for browsing and they have many mysterious infusions. I can't say I ever became a fan of chrysanthemum tea, which is supposed to have medicinal qualities though I often bought some intriguing soup-kits with various pieces of fungus, lotus and red dates etc. I am tempted to get back in the Chinese supermarket habit, though I fear it will not be so cheap any more!

Back to tea! Perhaps the name Pu-erh, suggestive of a Latin child or excremental bear, has hindered the fame of this fermented tea. The stuff I used to buy was large leaf in style and very red. It contained a lot of vanillins and was quite similar to Rooibos, which is from a different plant. I see Yith mentioned this caffeine-free alternative above. I quite like it occasionally; it has a natural sweetness, though, which can be cloying.

Pu-erh tea in China is a cult commodity! This is bought and sold like fine wine, the compacted bricks of it stored in tea treasuries, where it is said to improve with age. The finest vintages fetch eye-watering prices. :oops:
 
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Well I'm very disappointed with PG Tips Breakfast teabags. Even when infused to the point of stewing, they're weak and lacking flavour. I think I'll have to use two at a time.
 
We often cycle to a canalside cafe for breakfast and usually order a pot of tea. It comes with two teabags which are about as weak as you could get.

The food is really excellent but the tea lets the place down. I may take my own teabags next time.
 
Earl Grey and Assam leaf blend for me, every morning. Warm the pot (and mug) in Winter. 3 mins (timed) brewing. (If I forget my phone/timer I sing "Old Maid in the Garrett" quietly to myself and that seems to do the trick) Pour one mug then top up with hot water for the second cup (can't leave the house without having had two cups <black, no sugar>.... well, I can but it's better if I drink two)
Oh, and it has to be freshly drawn, freshly boiled water. If I get distracted by something shiny and don't get the water freshly boiled I WILL pour it away and start again!

When I lived in Hong Kong I often came across a local brew that was leaf tea put into a huge kettle and boiled up, kept on the heat and topped up throughout the day. Evaporated, not fresh milk, added. I called it tea soup and it was great for a hangover.

When I lived in Japan I discovered the pleasures of green tea. A great digestif after a meal. I recommend "Genmaicha" green tea with roasted rice
 
Has anyone tried those ornamental tea-flowers, which open as they brew? I have got an electric glass tea-pot but it keeps the leaves in a central infusion-chamber, where they would be effectively invisible! I have been tempted by the novelty aspect but I suspect they may be nothing special flavour-wise. :confused:
 
That reminds me, in a Shanghai hotel they provided tea which was the whole leaves furled into a tight little ball and they uncoiled as they brewed. You could also get (in restaurants) hot black tea with plum juice which was really quite nice.
 
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