I've always loved tea but I live in Texas and all we ever have is black peach tea. I've tried green and white tea bags but nothing else. I'm interested in oolong, sun tea, loose leaf tea, and more. I eventually want to try everything all the way to dandelion tea. I love the taste of tea, even more than soda and such, but I also want the health benefits.
So my questions are:
1) What is a quality yet affordable tea sampler?
2) What tea should I drink every day for health benefits?
3) What is your favorite type of tea and why?
Hi sharkieshe! Welcome to the amazing diverse world of tea. The health benefits you are probably referring to are going to really come from a healthier life without processed crap the you get from soda/sugar beverages. Tea is a drink, not a miracle. With that in mind, I would suggest mountaintea.com for a good starting place. They have green tea or oolongs a good price. They are not the best out there but they are a great everyday tea!
2) I mentioned this above but I think cutting the extra drinks will help. The key is finding a tea you love.
3) for me it is Darjeeling first flush in the mornings or a strong oolong(maybe a high roasted). My overall favorite style of tea is oolong for sure. It covers such a large array of tea it is mind boggling.
Have fun!
2) I mentioned this above but I think cutting the extra drinks will help. The key is finding a tea you love.
3) for me it is Darjeeling first flush in the mornings or a strong oolong(maybe a high roasted). My overall favorite style of tea is oolong for sure. It covers such a large array of tea it is mind boggling.
Have fun!
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
I recommend this online store: http://www.jkteashop.com/
They have several samples. This for instance would be a good place to start trying oolongs: http://www.jkteashop.com/jk-oolong-teas ... p-206.html
They also have reasonable instructions on how to brew the tea, you can find the information if you look at the pages for the specific tea types. For instance, to see how to brew the Shui Xian you can go on this page: http://www.jkteashop.com/zheng-yan-wuyi ... p-257.html and click on "how to brew".
They have several samples. This for instance would be a good place to start trying oolongs: http://www.jkteashop.com/jk-oolong-teas ... p-206.html
They also have reasonable instructions on how to brew the tea, you can find the information if you look at the pages for the specific tea types. For instance, to see how to brew the Shui Xian you can go on this page: http://www.jkteashop.com/zheng-yan-wuyi ... p-257.html and click on "how to brew".
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
Steanze and Poseidon have good recommendations for tea. You could also try our forum host Adagio Teas. They have a few sampler sets for different tea categories. Rishi Tea might also be worth looking at. Most of their teas are organically grown. You probably also need something to steep the tea in. A small metal infuser that will fit in a small mug or cup would be good to begin with. Rishi and Adagio sell them.
Brewing some teas requires a bit more attention to water temperature than others so you should ask the forum when you get a new tea. We'll be happy to help!
I wouldn't worry about drinking a certain tea everyday for health benefits. That's mostly a marketing ploy to entice people to buy crappy tea. Not that tea isn't a healthy beverage; it is, but it's not something that will transform your health overnight. Enjoy tea as it is.
My favorite tea depends on the season. In hotter weather, I prefer lighter teas. Chinese and Japanese green tea and greener oolongs. In colder weather I like darker roasted oolongs.
Where do you live in Texas? Norbu Tea is in Dallas and HouDe is in Houston. They are both a little bit more specialized in higher end stuff, but they are worth looking at to familiarize yourself with different teas.
Brewing some teas requires a bit more attention to water temperature than others so you should ask the forum when you get a new tea. We'll be happy to help!
I wouldn't worry about drinking a certain tea everyday for health benefits. That's mostly a marketing ploy to entice people to buy crappy tea. Not that tea isn't a healthy beverage; it is, but it's not something that will transform your health overnight. Enjoy tea as it is.
My favorite tea depends on the season. In hotter weather, I prefer lighter teas. Chinese and Japanese green tea and greener oolongs. In colder weather I like darker roasted oolongs.
Where do you live in Texas? Norbu Tea is in Dallas and HouDe is in Houston. They are both a little bit more specialized in higher end stuff, but they are worth looking at to familiarize yourself with different teas.
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
Check out Yezi Tea's 3 sampler promotion they have going on where you get 3 samples of tea for $2.95 in total to cover shipping.
http://www.yezitea.com/pages/free-tea-samples-promotion
I have 7 or so of their teas but I haven't opened them all yet. I'm now finishing up the wen shan pouchong at this very moment and it has a lot of butteryness with more floral flavors as one goes through the infusions. The Li Shan is tasty with a lot of honey notes and reminds me of a graham cracker/gingerbread with a green oolong floral backing. The Qing Pin black tea is very toasty with some dark chocolate and pear and is something I may buy again. I don't recommend necessarily getting the Qing Pin as a sample though because it is actually their cheapest tea on the site, so you could buy that and get three more samples (they give three samples with every purchase as well) to try out some other things if you're interested at a later point if you like their tea.
I also have the dong ding, bai mu dan, and various pu-erh, but I've yet to try them. If you do try Yezi, it would probably be a good idea--if you're going for all oolong--to get one of the tie guan yin. I haven't had theirs, but tie guan yin is an extremely popular tea in general. One other one you might be interested in is the Dragon Well, which is a famous Chinese green tea. They had two types of Dragon Well up for sample and I tried to get one of them but instead got sent bai mu dan instead, and I see they pulled the particular Dragon Well. Oh well, I'll take the white. Still, they do have the other one up there at the moment.
Overall, a lot of their teas can be quite expensive... but the $2.95 for the three samples was well worth it, I feel.
http://www.yezitea.com/pages/free-tea-samples-promotion
I have 7 or so of their teas but I haven't opened them all yet. I'm now finishing up the wen shan pouchong at this very moment and it has a lot of butteryness with more floral flavors as one goes through the infusions. The Li Shan is tasty with a lot of honey notes and reminds me of a graham cracker/gingerbread with a green oolong floral backing. The Qing Pin black tea is very toasty with some dark chocolate and pear and is something I may buy again. I don't recommend necessarily getting the Qing Pin as a sample though because it is actually their cheapest tea on the site, so you could buy that and get three more samples (they give three samples with every purchase as well) to try out some other things if you're interested at a later point if you like their tea.
I also have the dong ding, bai mu dan, and various pu-erh, but I've yet to try them. If you do try Yezi, it would probably be a good idea--if you're going for all oolong--to get one of the tie guan yin. I haven't had theirs, but tie guan yin is an extremely popular tea in general. One other one you might be interested in is the Dragon Well, which is a famous Chinese green tea. They had two types of Dragon Well up for sample and I tried to get one of them but instead got sent bai mu dan instead, and I see they pulled the particular Dragon Well. Oh well, I'll take the white. Still, they do have the other one up there at the moment.
Overall, a lot of their teas can be quite expensive... but the $2.95 for the three samples was well worth it, I feel.
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
I would also like to add that if you end up getting into oolong tea, it is important to keep in mind that they last through a lot of steeps. Last night the tieguanyin I was having went through 46 oz of water and probably could have kept going. The pouchong I'm currently on has been through 1 liter/34 oz and could surely keep going as well. You can get a lot of mileage out of less tea with oolong and various other tea as well, although that may vary. One may want to factor this in when thinking about price per gram/oz, but only if you feel you would take advantage of this trait.
If you go for oolong, please do not buy a metal infuser and throw the leaves in there. These things can be quite massive and need room to unroll/expand. Please let them breathe in order to get the best out of them. Throw them into a pot and strain through a metal strainer into a cup if need be, but don't constrict them!
If you go for oolong, please do not buy a metal infuser and throw the leaves in there. These things can be quite massive and need room to unroll/expand. Please let them breathe in order to get the best out of them. Throw them into a pot and strain through a metal strainer into a cup if need be, but don't constrict them!
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
Another vote for Adagio. The link is in the upper right corner of every Teachat page, since they are the ones who provide a home for our forum.
Their samples are the largest i've ever seen, large enough to try different steeping methods and really determine if you like a tea. They also come well packed in reclosable bags for convenient storage. While I've moved on to specialty suppliers for some teas, I still turn to Adagio for chamomile, rooibos and black teas (for my guests that don't appreciate green tea). I'm always impressed with the quality and freshness of the tea.
A glass mug or cup with a large infuser basket can work well for a lot of different teas in the beginning. The baskets are much more spacious than tea balls and its fun to watch the tea unfold as it steeps. Even if you end up moving on to more specialized tea ware, as you refine your taste in tea, they're useful for very fine teas, and for guests who want something different than everyone else.
Their samples are the largest i've ever seen, large enough to try different steeping methods and really determine if you like a tea. They also come well packed in reclosable bags for convenient storage. While I've moved on to specialty suppliers for some teas, I still turn to Adagio for chamomile, rooibos and black teas (for my guests that don't appreciate green tea). I'm always impressed with the quality and freshness of the tea.
A glass mug or cup with a large infuser basket can work well for a lot of different teas in the beginning. The baskets are much more spacious than tea balls and its fun to watch the tea unfold as it steeps. Even if you end up moving on to more specialized tea ware, as you refine your taste in tea, they're useful for very fine teas, and for guests who want something different than everyone else.
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
If you're near Houston, there are several tea shops in Chinatown or near the Galleria. Path of Tea has some really great oolongs. Tasting tea in person will really help you figure out what you like.
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
Hey and welcome,
Do lots of research, always try to find better quality tea (doesn't mean expensive), always question the who what where and when about your tea, and enjoy the trip! it's an incredibly enjoyable part of my day when I make tea.
Do lots of research, always try to find better quality tea (doesn't mean expensive), always question the who what where and when about your tea, and enjoy the trip! it's an incredibly enjoyable part of my day when I make tea.
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
I'd like to mention that you should check out Dragon Tea House. They have a .biz site and an ebay. You can find both by searching Dragon Tea House in google. They should be the top two hits. They have a lot of cheap oolong and free shipping. Really there are so many great places to get at least decent tea.
Edit: Also, I can back up the claim that Adagio's samples are LARGE. Very worthwhile just to order samplers on that site, honestly. Their kukicha is pretty good and you should check it out...
Edit: Also, I can back up the claim that Adagio's samples are LARGE. Very worthwhile just to order samplers on that site, honestly. Their kukicha is pretty good and you should check it out...
Re: New to exotic tea, need advice.
And now adagio has online chat with customer service, at least during the day. I'm waiting for the 2014 harvest chamomile to arrive, and I was able to find out within minutes that it's been delayed. Could be that it comes from Egypt, but last year's was so good that it's worth the wait. Since adagio doesn't post harvest info this is a convenient way to check up on your wish list.