Hi everybody.
I'm Rohan from Hyderabad, India, and a tea drinker since I was a wee lad.
Sadly, my experience is limited to Indian Chais (love my milk!), but I'm hoping to fix that. I have dabbled with chamomile & white tea in the past, and I quite liked them. Green tea... not so much, but I think that was just some bad tea.
Oddly, finding gournet tea here is proving difficult. You can find 'fancy' darjeelings in stores, wrapped in velvet or in a rosewood box, but I'm not sure if it's worth it. There's actually a lot of tea vendors near my house, but I'm kind of intimidated to try them out. Honestly, I wouldn't know where to start. I'd appreciate any pointers I could get. Problem is, you generally need to buy larger quantities from these vendors, and I'm not sure how to figure out what to look for.
The vendors deal in Assam, Nilgiri, and Darjeelings.
A couple of doubts:
1. How are Darjeeling green teas? Worth it, or should I spring for the Chinese?
2. How important is age? Do teas go bad? How is this different for black and green teas?
3. Flavoured teas.. what do we think? There's a vendor here who sells Chocolate flavoured Nilgiri!
I know it's a lot of questions to pack into an introductory post. I appreciate any help you wise folk could offer me.
P.S: The proud parent of a brand new ingenuiTEA! I had to pay through my nose to ship it here, but I'm loving it.
Jun 19th, '10, 09:17
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Re: Namaste from India
Welcome Rohan to TeaChat. I hope to see you around the forum.
Remember, you can post questions in the appropriate forums here, such as green tea questions under Green Tea. Typically those forums will illicit much better responses to specific questions.
However, we will try to help you here as well ...
It is said that interestingly the best teas from India are often exported. This is very different from most tea producing countries where the best teas are not exported, such as China and Japan.
You should be careful to not over buy. Tea will go "stale" over time, ESPECIALLY greens and whites. I typically buy in 100 gram amounts of one particular green tea.
And I have had some pretty good Darjeeling greens, and some not so good. It is hit or miss unfortunately. But this happens with Chinese greens as well. You will have to educate yourself, find good sellers, taste many teas ... but even then there is no guarantee. But if you buy very fresh tea from a reputable seller who can tell you harvest information (when and where the tea was harvested, only buy the most recent harvest ... of course a seller can mislead you), you can more likely get fresher greens.
People either like or dislike flavored teas, I prefer straight tea and would pass on the flavors.
Remember, you can post questions in the appropriate forums here, such as green tea questions under Green Tea. Typically those forums will illicit much better responses to specific questions.
However, we will try to help you here as well ...
It is said that interestingly the best teas from India are often exported. This is very different from most tea producing countries where the best teas are not exported, such as China and Japan.
You should be careful to not over buy. Tea will go "stale" over time, ESPECIALLY greens and whites. I typically buy in 100 gram amounts of one particular green tea.
And I have had some pretty good Darjeeling greens, and some not so good. It is hit or miss unfortunately. But this happens with Chinese greens as well. You will have to educate yourself, find good sellers, taste many teas ... but even then there is no guarantee. But if you buy very fresh tea from a reputable seller who can tell you harvest information (when and where the tea was harvested, only buy the most recent harvest ... of course a seller can mislead you), you can more likely get fresher greens.
People either like or dislike flavored teas, I prefer straight tea and would pass on the flavors.
Re: Namaste from India
Welcome Rohan to TeaChat.
+1 to the moderator's advice on not over purchasing and using quality vendors. You will be glad you took this advice.
Glad you joined us, enjoy your TeaJourney.
+1 to the moderator's advice on not over purchasing and using quality vendors. You will be glad you took this advice.
Glad you joined us, enjoy your TeaJourney.
Re: Namaste from India
Welcome!!
2 comments - first, that my IngenuiTEA has been worth every penny (though since you paid more for yours, that may take a little longer for you) - the only thing I would say about them is that I prefer not to put it in the dishwasher: the filter came out and I had to order a replacement. But washing by hand works just fine for me. Oh, and don't worry, the filter will get a little tea-stained. Doesn't bother me a bit, but you can put baking soda and vinegar into it occasionally (or I hear bleach works too) if you want to keep it more pristine.
Second: I do enjoy some flavored teas, I'd say don't ignore them completely, try it and see if you like them, don't be afraid! Some can be not-so-good, but I've had some very nicely done flavors!
2 comments - first, that my IngenuiTEA has been worth every penny (though since you paid more for yours, that may take a little longer for you) - the only thing I would say about them is that I prefer not to put it in the dishwasher: the filter came out and I had to order a replacement. But washing by hand works just fine for me. Oh, and don't worry, the filter will get a little tea-stained. Doesn't bother me a bit, but you can put baking soda and vinegar into it occasionally (or I hear bleach works too) if you want to keep it more pristine.
Second: I do enjoy some flavored teas, I'd say don't ignore them completely, try it and see if you like them, don't be afraid! Some can be not-so-good, but I've had some very nicely done flavors!
Re: Namaste from India
Welcome, sir!
I would say that before purchasing, definitely see if your tea vendor will let you taste/sample a variety of their wares, so you can decide what you like.
I would say that before purchasing, definitely see if your tea vendor will let you taste/sample a variety of their wares, so you can decide what you like.
Jun 19th, '10, 14:31
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Re: Namaste from India
Hi everybody! Thanks for the warm welcome!
I appreciate your help, and thanks to Chip and the Mrs, I'll keep my eyes peeled for fresh teas in small batches. Unfortunately, the tea vendors here sell only over 250 gms. I'll see what I can manage, though.
It is possible to find nicer Darjeelings and the sort here, but that's in big mega stores, so I can't try them out. I also feel nobody buys them
so they might be sitting on the shelves a long time. Which brings me back to my old question: How old is too old? 6 Months? A year? Or a few months, at best?
There is in fact a speciality tea dealer in Hyderabad, Finjaan (finjaan dot com), where I've had Roiboos and the like, and I did buy some Darjeeling, but to my embarrasement that day I ran into a friend whos family is in the tea business in Darjeeling, and he found the labelling as generic Darjeeling too suspicious... he shamed me into not going there again!
I appreciate your help, and thanks to Chip and the Mrs, I'll keep my eyes peeled for fresh teas in small batches. Unfortunately, the tea vendors here sell only over 250 gms. I'll see what I can manage, though.
It is possible to find nicer Darjeelings and the sort here, but that's in big mega stores, so I can't try them out. I also feel nobody buys them
so they might be sitting on the shelves a long time. Which brings me back to my old question: How old is too old? 6 Months? A year? Or a few months, at best?There is in fact a speciality tea dealer in Hyderabad, Finjaan (finjaan dot com), where I've had Roiboos and the like, and I did buy some Darjeeling, but to my embarrasement that day I ran into a friend whos family is in the tea business in Darjeeling, and he found the labelling as generic Darjeeling too suspicious... he shamed me into not going there again!
Jun 19th, '10, 16:02
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Re: Namaste from India
Your friend is wise. There is much more tea sold as "Darjeeling" than is produced, must be some kind of miracle! 
How long will depend on too many factors for generalizing effectively. But ...
Black 1 year
Green 6 months
Oolong ... forget it, just drink it!
How long will depend on too many factors for generalizing effectively. But ...
Black 1 year
Green 6 months
Oolong ... forget it, just drink it!
Re: Namaste from India
Thanks Chip.
That was the only place in Hyderabad I'd seen Oolong, Roiboos or blooming teas, though.
I'll go tea hunting soon, once the weather clears up... the monsoons are on!
That was the only place in Hyderabad I'd seen Oolong, Roiboos or blooming teas, though.
I'll go tea hunting soon, once the weather clears up... the monsoons are on!
Jun 19th, '10, 23:21
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Jun 19th, '10, 23:42
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Proinsias
Re: Namaste from India
I'm a big fan of Lochan Tea for Indian teas, they look to be pretty far away from you, but then again they're much further away from me than the are from you.
Some Japanese green from O-Cha and a few 25g packs of whatever you like from JIng Tea Shop might be a good idea.
I don't like flavoured teas.
With some tea you pay for freshness, like green tea and some oolongs. With some other teas you pay for good storage. Many teas get better with age and many degrade with age, what you like is the biggest factor.
An order from Lochan, O-Cha and Jing tea shop should at the very least give you a good idea of what to buy next.
Some Japanese green from O-Cha and a few 25g packs of whatever you like from JIng Tea Shop might be a good idea.
I don't like flavoured teas.
With some tea you pay for freshness, like green tea and some oolongs. With some other teas you pay for good storage. Many teas get better with age and many degrade with age, what you like is the biggest factor.
An order from Lochan, O-Cha and Jing tea shop should at the very least give you a good idea of what to buy next.
Re: Namaste from India
Thanks pro.
Lochan seems interesting, and I'll definitely try them out.
After much reading, I've realized tea is such a subjective thing, and there's no substitute to actually rolling up sleeves and brewing.
Also, given how expensive high quality teas can be, I think I need to work my way up to them. Since I'm so used to chai, no milk no sugar will take time. Since I'm more familiar with black teas, I'll start with some cheaper Darjeeling and Nilgiri, and sample the greens and Oolongs they have to offer.
Lochan seems interesting, and I'll definitely try them out.
After much reading, I've realized tea is such a subjective thing, and there's no substitute to actually rolling up sleeves and brewing.
Also, given how expensive high quality teas can be, I think I need to work my way up to them. Since I'm so used to chai, no milk no sugar will take time. Since I'm more familiar with black teas, I'll start with some cheaper Darjeeling and Nilgiri, and sample the greens and Oolongs they have to offer.
Jun 21st, '10, 04:26
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Proinsias
Re: Namaste from India
If you buy from well known stores even the cheapest of teas should be good. Jingteashop's everyday teas are excellent value.
Not sure if you know already but what we call black tea is often referred to as red tea when buying from China.
Might be worth keeping an eye on the OTTI section of the forum, could be a good way to try new, high quality, teas along with everyone else for next to nothing thank's to our moderator Chip. He's just done 3 at the same time so he'll probably need a recovery period before the next one starts.
Not sure if you know already but what we call black tea is often referred to as red tea when buying from China.
Might be worth keeping an eye on the OTTI section of the forum, could be a good way to try new, high quality, teas along with everyone else for next to nothing thank's to our moderator Chip. He's just done 3 at the same time so he'll probably need a recovery period before the next one starts.
Re: Namaste from India
I've got some teas from Golden Tips (goldentipstea.com) and have yet to try them out all out.
As suggested, I've stuck to 100 gms, and they're packed in June 2010
Darjeeling Broken Orange Pekoe Black tea
Darjeeling Flowery Pekoe Green Tea
Nilgiri black tea
I'm still not very clear on how much tea to use, or how much water. Any pointers?
As suggested, I've stuck to 100 gms, and they're packed in June 2010
Darjeeling Broken Orange Pekoe Black tea
Darjeeling Flowery Pekoe Green Tea
Nilgiri black tea
I'm still not very clear on how much tea to use, or how much water. Any pointers?