SunDay--->TeaDay, 3/30/08

[Victoria]

I have tried tisanes but they are not my cup of tea.

This morning's brew: A nice Ceylon from the New Mexico Tea Co.

Have a nice Sunday everyone!

[olivierco]

Matcha kaoru supreme and Dong Ding for a nice sunday afternoon.

[scruffmcgruff]

I don't know why I have an aversion to them, but they just don't seem all that interesting. If I were to hazard a guess, though, I would say that I'm not as attracted to tisanes because while growers and producers of camellia sinensis take great care in creating a product, growers of herbs/flowers/spices aren't necessarily as concerned with their end use as a tisane.

Sorry, that was a bit of a run-on sentence.

[TimeforTea]

I like tisanes and have them more days than not. My favorite tisane is foxtrot, followed by peppermint and finally, chamomile. I also enjoy ROT's Zen (from a bag! )

I have a new tin of lemongrass to play around with. I'm not sure what I will mix it with.

This morning, I enjoyed a cuppa apricot green.

[TimeforTea]

Yes, it's very annoying. I don't mind if people drink Celestial Seasonings TEA but when they say they like the fruit tea.. and that is the tea they are drinking, I just bite my tongue a little bit.

I mean, if you told a wine drinker, "I love wine! My favorite is sparkling grape juice" they would laugh at you for hours. How come other people can get away with similar stuff when it comes to tea?

Personally, I don't find it annoying in the least. I will smile, and take that as an opportunity to share my new tea knowledge with people. I will politely mention that "tea" is actually from a particular plant, and that "tisane" is what is referred to anything brewed from herbs, other plants, or dried flowers. People usually find it very interesting that there is a distinction. When one buys "tea" in the supermarket, this distinction does not exist so there is no way of knowing.

Folks on this listserv have always been so warm and welcoming, as well as patiently explain that "herbal tea" is not "tea".

[scruffmcgruff]

I generally get looks of disdain when I try to explain the difference.

[TimeforTea]

I generally get looks of disdain when I try to explain the difference.

That's too bad. At least, perhaps, they will keep what you said in the back of their mind. It might just all click the next time they go to the grocery store to buy their "tea".

[skywarrior]

I chose other because there wasn't a good choice about "they're ok and I have them occasionally". But tea is really where it's at.

[scotty X]

i'll occasionally have peppermint, spearmint, lemon balm, or rooibos at night. and of course one can't forget about mate, but delicious as they are, these don't inspire the same excitement as camellia.

i've also found that tisanes are very nice to blend with white wine, especially when i'm out of the daily grind, i.e., hiking, travelling, etc.

[olivierco]

Already the end of the day here. Xue ha (quite the end of the package: I am making room for new harvests) to close a five tea teaday.

[Cinnamon Kitty]

Until I found actual loose teas, I enjoyed a mug of peppermint tisane almost daily. I still have a drawer full of various herbs to make tisanes with. My favorites are peppermint and chamomile. We even grow some herbs in our garden that I make into tisanes. They aren't my favorite hot beverage, as I definitely prefer a nice cup of green tea over pretty much everything else, but they are still something that I enjoy every so often.

Today, I've only gotten as far as a travel mug of Russian Caravan for the drive back to school.

[Chip]

Truth be told, many true tea drinkers drink tea for the caffeine boost as well as the enjoyement of true tea. Caffeine is a "drug" I suppose, and the body does become physically "addicted" to it, thus the caffeine withdrawl headache we get.

I suspect there is also the psychological habit forming capacity of caffeine as well.

Thus, tea drinkers do not derive the same satisfaction from tisanes. Since I have more than a slight addictive tendency, I am definitely drawn to TEA...and not to tisanes.

But I am not a doctor, but I think I speak from my own personal experience.

I voted it is not my cup of tea. I used to drink a lot of mint infusions. But I sensed it aggravated my acid reflux, it is the only thing I have eliminated from my diet and it seems to have really helped. I think tisanes are interesting, but I am just focused on tea...at least for now.

Fukamushi Superior so far, but I need to brew.....

[chocolate]

I started the day with some Keemun tea.

I later made some silver needles white tea. First infusion for 3 minutes, second for 4 minutes. I was very pleased with the second; I greatly prefered it to the first. This was my first time trying multiple infusions.

Right now I am having a second cup of Keemun. Keemun was my favorite a few months ago, but it has not been doing much for me lately.

[Victoria]

MMMMMMMMMMMMM I am having a most delicious Orange Blossom Oolong right now from the New Mexico Tea Co. Amazingly good. I was just discussing with another teachatter how much enjoyment can be found when your expectations are somewhat lower and the brew turns out to be exceptional.

[henley]

I've been curious about the orange blossom & apple oolong mentioned in another post. Will have to search those out when I make my next tea order.

The only tisanes I've had are peppermint & spearmint which I use to make my vanilla mint tea (of which I & the family just finished a pot--it's turned cold today). I've never had tisanes on their own but did fix a cup of mint "tea" for hubby when he had a stomach bug. Also tried a TeaChef recipe for mint hot chocolate by making mint tisane & adding in the hot coccoa mix. It was actually good.