Hello from New Hampshire, few questions.

[ngower]

Hello all. Recently I cut soda from my diet (not entirely, still drink 3-4 per week, but a drastic cutback from where I was) in favor of tea. I drink it at restaurants and have been upgrading tea-bags (went from cheap Lipton teabags to the silver needle ones). The ipton teas are good, but I can taste the lack of quality, so I purchased the InginuiTEA starter set from Adagio. I'm trying all sorts of teas, but for now I'm just going to stick with the black Adagio sampler. So, onto my questions:

1) Recommendations for getting cleaner water? I just run the faucet for about 20-30 seconds, but I'd like a way to get the best water I can and not a chalky taste I tend to get with it now.

2) Good teas to start off with? I have the black sampler, but I'm willing to try anything (as long as it's affordable).

3) Good "starter" teaware? I have a white ceramic cup similar to the glass one Adagio has, but I want something...umm..."fancier" if you will. I've seen some clay sets that are really nice on the forums here, but don't really kow much else about where to go.

Those are all I've got for now, thanks in advance

[EDIT] One more question, are there any recommendations you guys can give for a tea on the go? I can't always guarantee I'll have the time to sit down in the morning and drink my tea, so is there something like a portable coffee mug (ya know, those tall metal ones you find at Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts etc) I should get for my tea?

[olivierco]

Welcome here

1) For water, I use bottled water, the less mineral as possible. You can also use some filtration system.
2) Yunnan Golden tips is one of my favourite, but you can try Keemun or Darjeeling. I can't help you with Adagio (I live in Europe and shippingcost has refrained me to order from them: I am waiting for them to open an european shop)
3) Teaware for black tea: glass or porcelain are good choices. After it is mainly a matter of aesthetics (and how much money you are crazy enough to spend for it).

I hope this will help

[ngower]

Thanks, I'll definitely look into those teas. However, don't restrict yourself to black teas. Whatever you've got, I'm willing to listen.

[Carnelian]

Some of my favorite adagio teas are Blood Orange, Casablanca Twist, Golden Monkey (my mom's favorite iced tea ever), and pretty much anything else I've ever ordered so I might not be the most objective source.

In terms of tea ware I love the selection at the "Cost Plus World Market" near me, they carry both glass and porcelain tea ware of all types and shapes for what I see as cheap compared to other sources ($18 for a BIG glass teapot)

[hop_goblin]

Welcome!

[ngower]

Just got my starter set or w/e it's called. Trying the Yunnan Jig tonight, will go for one of the Breakfast's (English/Irish) tomorrow morning.

So far, I'm definitely noticing a difference than bagged teas. It's not as chalky and doesn't blend in like most tea-bags do. I can barely tell the difference between a black and green tea from Lipton.

I couldn't quite put my finger on the taste of the Yunnan Jig, but I read a review that said it tastes "peppery". Spot on in my opinion.

Now my search for a great tea cup for home and a travel tea-mug for school. So far I'm lovin' it

[ngower]

I cheated, had the Earl Grey and Yunnan Jig tonight

[Ladytiger]

Just got my starter set or w/e it's called. Trying the Yunnan Jig tonight, will go for one of the Breakfast's (English/Irish) tomorrow morning.

You might want to try some cream and sugar in the irish breakfast.

[ngower]

Any recommendations as to what creams and sugars, or are just some regular ol' 1lb bags of sugar and store brand cream fine?

Anyhoo, I'm assuming it's a very strong taste, and that's why I should be adding to it? I haven't tried sugar in anything yet, so I'll give it a go without anything.

Another question, any good sites where I can get some team gear? Adagio is great, but I'm talking in terms of tea cups and such.

[olivierco]

Some japanese teaware sellers

Hibiki-an

Artisticnippon

O-cha

I don't know much about US stores.

[Trey Winston]

Welcone, ngower

[Trioxin]

I just recently put in an under sink filtration system I picked up at lowes for $40 or so. Seems to do a good job. No more chlorine taste to my water anyways. Might be something you'd want to look into.

As for tea ware, I usually look to antique shops or ebay for most of my things. I picked up a few really nice vintage Mikasa cups at an antique shop for dirt cheap recently.

Onto sugar... I generally use crystal sugar that I picked up over at speacialteas.com. Sometimes I like to add a couple of crystals to my teas, usually brown for un-flavored teas. Not enough to really sweeten them, just enough to add a little somethin when the mood calls for it.