What are good starter black teas

Fully oxidized tea leaves for a robust cup.


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What are good starter black teas

by teachat » Jun 7th, '05, 15:15

Hi :D

For most of my life I believed that black tea was nasty (I had only been exposed to tea bags--yuck). Since I've started using loose tea, I've found it is wonderful. As of right now, I've only tried the flavored black teas (which I love). I would really like to try some good black teas without added flavoring, and just don't know where too begin. Can anyone make some suggestions?

Thanks and best wishes,
Stephenie

Stephenie Sasse

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by teachat » Jun 7th, '05, 15:16

Stephenie--

In Zen Buddhism, there is a phrase called "satori." That is what they refer to as sudden enlightenment. Glad to hear you've experienced this with the acknowledgement that good tea really does taste great!

Anyway, my best suggestion would be the black starter set. We specifically chose these for beginners so help their tastebuds easily adapt to the taste of black tea. It comes with 4 samples of these teas as well as the amazing 16 oz ingenuiTEA teapot. Here is the link:

http://www.adagio.com/misc/no_risk.html

Enjoy,

Chris
Adagio Maestro

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by teachat » Jun 7th, '05, 15:16

here are my tea prefs:

morning: irish breakfast blend or straight assams with a splash of milk

afternoon: a leafy darjeeling

night is ALL about rooibos. i look forward to trying some of the blends from adagio.

John

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by teaspoon » Jul 9th, '05, 15:04

Stephanie,

I second John's tea picks, especially the Darjeeling. Keep in mind too that there are different types of Darjeeling; a first flush will be more delicate than an Autumnal. I don't know if you have problems with caffeine, but if you do be careful about breakfast teas. Irish has the most caffeine, followed by Scottish, with English having the least of the three.

Another black you might want to try is Ceylon. Ceylon teas are often used as the base of a lot of blends and flavored teas.

Good luck, and enjoy your tea!
"My sister and I have this wish before we die...
Tea in the Sahara with you."
~The Police, "Tea in the Sahara"

I am the size of 1 tsp.

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by Sarai » Aug 6th, '14, 03:35

I'd say some good starter black teas would be the two most standard ones: English Breakfast and Earl Grey.

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by hopeofdawn » Aug 6th, '14, 08:25

Sarai wrote:I'd say some good starter black teas would be the two most standard ones: English Breakfast and Earl Grey.
Don't both of those have flavorings, tho? I know Earl Grey has bergamot. Not sure what English Breakfast has, but if you're looking for 'straight' black teas, I'm not sure I'd recommend either one of those....

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by Tead Off » Aug 6th, '14, 11:38

hopeofdawn wrote:
Sarai wrote:I'd say some good starter black teas would be the two most standard ones: English Breakfast and Earl Grey.
Don't both of those have flavorings, tho? I know Earl Grey has bergamot. Not sure what English Breakfast has, but if you're looking for 'straight' black teas, I'm not sure I'd recommend either one of those....
I'm of the same mind as Hopeofdawn. In fact, I am asking myself what IS a starter tea? No such thing, IMO.

If you want to experience whole leaf black tea and not a blend, in order to see what the taste is all about, every tea-producing country has several to choose from. All have different flavor profiles. The only way to experience is to buy some and try. Chinese black tea (called red tea in China) is the most plentiful and varied. The Yunnanese black teas are quite sweet and malty. They might be a good 'starting' point. Inexpensive, too.

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by Sarai » Aug 6th, '14, 12:56

hopeofdawn wrote:
Sarai wrote:I'd say some good starter black teas would be the two most standard ones: English Breakfast and Earl Grey.
Don't both of those have flavorings, tho? I know Earl Grey has bergamot. Not sure what English Breakfast has, but if you're looking for 'straight' black teas, I'm not sure I'd recommend either one of those....
English Breakfast is straight, Earl Grey is not. This fact doesn't make Earl Grey any less of a great starter black tea, however.

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by hopeofdawn » Aug 8th, '14, 00:54

Perhaps--though I've never enjoyed Earl Grey, personally--but given that the OP was specifically asking for black tea recommendations without flavoring:
teachat wrote:I would really like to try some good black teas without added flavoring, and just don't know where too begin.
I don't think Earl Grey would be a good beginning point for them. I would point them at some nice first flush Darjeelings or a good quality Dian Hong first.

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Re: What are good starter black teas

by drinking_teas » Aug 8th, '14, 07:56

holy **** this thread is almost 10 years old

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