TeaChat

I'm pretty new to tea.

Why is that flavored teas tend to be cheaper than non?


Such as White Peach vs. Silver Needle.


Is it because the tea used in flavored is of lower quality?

Short answer: yes.

The slightly longer answer: if you're going to heavily flavor the base tea, it doesn't really matter how good the tea tastes (to a certain extent, of course), so its just more economical and practical to buy cheaper stuff for flavoring purposes.

By the way, welcome to Teachat!

Ok, thanks for answering.

You might try some of the better quality non-flavored teas, especially oolongs. There are plenty that pick up scents from surrounding plants (fruit trees, flowers, etc.) while growing on the bush. These can provide a lot of flavor much more naturally, and be an overall better experience with more complex and varied flavors and textures. The jade (green) oolongs most commonly have floral qualities (and sweet, compared to other teas), dancongs are noted for being fruity (peach and nectarine, especially). Some of the Wuyi rock teas have various flavors such as Rou Gui (has a cassia bark flavor), Lao Cong Shui Xian (fruits), Shui Jin Gui (floral, although not the same as other types of tea), and other various types and combinations, along with a nice deep roasted flavor. Some green teas can have floral or fruity characters as well, although usually not as pronounced.

There's a whole world of tea out there. Enjoy

ABx is right on. I've had some oolongs with strong, impressive flavors of chocolate or peach that beat anything you could get in flavored teas.

I also agree with ABX and SpaceSamurai...I used to love flavored teas because I didn't like the taste of tea leaves on its own. Of course, I didn't know any better because I was having cups of Tetley and other low-grade teas. Now, I love my tea plain, (with the occasional flavor once in a while), and I've discovered lots of teas that have that nice note of chocolate (like Golden Monkey) and citrus (like White Peony.) Enjoy and welcome!

I tertiarally agree with ABx, SpaceSamurai, and Xine. The reason many people don't like unflavored teas at first is because they might be bitter, or lacking a pleasant taste. With time, however, many people learn to appreciate the nuances of different unflavored teas, it does take some time though. My suggestion is to try a lightly oxidized jade oolong because they carry with them a salivation-inducing sweetness that is very hard to resist.

Rage

Also companies can buy larger amounts of their 'base' teas for flavoring and therefore negotiate better pricing. Having said that, if you have a truly excellent tea, you wouldn't want to add a flavor to it. ...No!

But flavored teas can be fun. Great way to lure people from their sodas and the like. (Hehe)

Of course, they don't come near the complexity of a really great high-end tea! An experience not to be missed and well described above!

Rage of Angels wrote:I tertiarally agree with ABx, SpaceSamurai, and Xine. The reason many people don't like unflavored teas at first is because they might be bitter, or lacking a pleasant taste.

Which reminds me that most Americans don't know that most teas aren't supposed to be bitter in any way. A lot of people get turned off of green teas because of the stale crap in teabags that usually gets over-brewed into a bitter mess with no redeeming qualities. A good fresh green, however, should actually be relatively sweet. Granted, it's not going to be as sweet as something with sugar in it, but then tea is a good way to start cutting down on sugar intake without much effort

ABx wrote:...most Americans don't know that most teas aren't supposed to be bitter in any way. A lot of people get turned off of green teas because of the stale crap in teabags that usually gets over-brewed into a bitter mess with no redeeming qualities. A good fresh green, however, should actually be relatively sweet. Granted, it's not going to be as sweet as something with sugar in it, but then tea is a good way to start cutting down on sugar intake without much effort

Precisely.

Yeah, I'm a flavored tea luddite here.

I like flavored teas. They're more interesting than a lot of the junk out there. And, quite honestly, if I just want a familiar cup, I'll go with something I like.

That being said, I've delved into the realm of different teas without flavors. I'm very annoyed that I like Golden Monkey because I'm going to have to buy it once I get done with the samplers. I'm trying to decide if I like Dragonwell or if I'm brewing it too strong. But that is probably a green tea discussion and not a flavored discussion. I love Oolongs, so I suspect trying different ones will make the difference.