Favorite Black Teas

[chrl42]

I don't follow Black Tea too often, but Keemun and Darjeeling are among the greatest teas I've ever had.

[Intuit]

I've recommended Silver Tips Teas as a dependable retain source here in the past. Their estate Darjeeling is quite nice and fairly reasonable in price, especially when it goes on sale. I discovered STT quite a few years ago and have been a consistent customer since. Their Tiger Hill Nilgiri Kenilworth Ceylon OP teas are wonderfully flavorful 'everyday' teas.; I occasionally splurge on their better tea blends, and that led me to retry Russian Caravan and Keemun teas after a long hiatus.

The owner personally answers the phone, provides ready answers and suggestions and has thoughtfully included samples of other teas mentioned by phone when my orders were shipped.

I would love the opportunity to visit their tearoom.

[sneakers]

Silver Tips is 25 minutes north of me and I visit as often as I can afford. . The food is wonderful, the tearoom is charming, and we agree on Kenilworth Ceylon and Tiger Hill Nilgiri. My friends are all Luddites regarding tea. javascript:emoticon(':?') But I DO NOT go at lunchtime, as they have only about 8 tables. javascript:emoticon(':roll:' Are you near Tarrytown? We can meet. PM me if so.

The owner's brother-in-law owns the Makaibari Estate in Darjeeling, BTW. And she emailed me several times when I inquired about teas through the website. A charming, intelligent woman. The staff at the counter gives you samples if you want to try something new and aren't sure.

[depravitea]

I just purchased some Lapsang Souchong from Adagio, and man, it's SO interesting. I've gotten a couple friends interested in tea, and they came over to try it the day I got it in the mail. The three of us like it a lot, and I was able to get a few steepings out of the leaves, which changed the taste every time. I would have to say that right now, that's one of my favorite blacks - though the smell and taste is so powerful I don't think it's something I would want to drink every day.

[Eric Forman]

well, i'm kinda new to tea. i mean..i have preffered it over coffee ever since tasting both as a kid but i live in michigan so i don't have a lot of exquisite teas. The only place that carries tea locally is a Meijer. i don't know proper ways to prepare it, and the only tea pot i have is the one my mom bought me (from Meijer) which is made in china. and not the good chinese ones. i mean that tin and plastic one nobody really wants. but..even with that i still enjoy my tea. bigelow tea is a nice tea that i enjoy from time to time and meijer teas aren't horrid. but i have to say Twinings is my abselute favorite brand. my very favorite black tea from them is their Earl Grey. i'd like to try and order the loose version in a tin online but am broke at the moment. (i spent my few dollars on the tea bag version) My second favorite black tea by them is their Irish Breakfast Tea. i have to have milk with that one. normally i take my tea plain or "black" but this one is robust. i love how rich and strong that tea is. perfect for those sleepy mornings when you need to wake up. The Earl Grey tea is a wonderful one. the only complaint i have is that if it's steeped for just a tad too long it becomes bland and looses it's mild citrus flavour. but when steeped correctly...it's abselutely wonderful.

[depravitea]

Eric, I started out drinking Bigelow too. Then moved on to Twinings, and then mostly to Tazo, but I still have some Twinings rolling around somewhere. I mainly switched from Bigelow because I burned out on their Earl Grey and their English Teatime.
If you can find Tazo, give them a shot, their Earl Grey and their Awake (which is a black) are really good.
I've been moving over mostly to loose teas now, but I still need bags for work, and sometimes if I'm feeling overly lazy. I'd watch out buying loose Twinings online though. I bought a tin of their loose English Breakfast, and it wasn't leaves, it was just a tin of ground tea. Basically what's in the bag, but now in a tin. It still had an ok flavor, but I was pretty disappointed.
If you're interested in trying loose tea, I would start on Adagio, for the price of a tin of Twinings Ground Tea you could get about 2 sample tins at Adagio.
There is a Borders Bookstore in my neighborhood that has a Seattle's Best coffee shop in it, they sell Tazo tea, loose, in one pound bags, for about 18 bucks. Not a bad way to go either. Let me know if you have any questions, it hasn't been that long ago that I was a fellow Bigelow fan.

[spot52]

I too started with Bigelow earl grey. I still drink it in the break room at work, when I don't bring in my own tea. It is good grocery store tea for sure.

[mgovani]

I have tried many brands and types of Black Teas. The best I have come across is Five Roses from South Africa. It's not that easy to find in the US. I've only been able to order it from South African specialty food sites. In South Africa its as common as Lipton in America. Despite how common it is, it is better than most premium brands that I have tried. It has a rich full flavor without being harsh or bitter. It hold up to milk very well; doesn't become cloudy, rather it turns a warm red shade of tan. No bitter after-taste, even if you leave the tea in the water for longer. It's inexpensive and even with shipping and handling from a South African foods site I think it's a real bargain. Give it a try.

[Victoria]

I guess I have a new favorite black - the Japanese Black from Yuuki-Cha their Organic Kagoshima Koucha. I have been drinking a lot of it and sharing a lot of samples, because I am really quite taken with it. I guess it is my new favorite black*.

http://www.yuuki-cha.com/Organic+Black+ ... 77a6ab7680

Black* regular black, non-Darjeeling that is. Nothing beats a good Darjeeling, sorry. (IMHO of course)