Tuesday TeaDay 9/29/09 Blends?

[Chip]

Good TeaDay everyone. Please due drop in and share what is in your cup throughout the day.

Yesterday we discussed our towns, you can still vote and discuss yesterday's topic.

Today's TeaPoll and discussion topic. Seems my personal prejudice has prevented me from asking this one. Blends, whether it is a classic blend, a personal blend, or a Signature Blend, do you partake of blends? Please share your preferences. Also, did you create any Signature Blends?

I am looking forward to an integrated blend of teas today with everyone ... ? Bottoms up.

[Ebtoulson]

I do drink blends on occasion, mostly signature blends that have really good reviews like the zodiac series. I'm very skeptical about purchasing blends though, spending 10 dollars on a blend that I might not like is a tough decision for a limited income college student. This brings me back to the topic of samplers for blends, I loved the idea when adagio offered a sample from every zodiac blend, I know its not efficient to do samples for just the everyday blend but I would love to see samples of some of the more popular blends or the ones that are featured on Adagio TeaV.

I have made a few blends in the past but kind of lost interest when I wanted to blend with certain teas that weren't available (ie. genmaicha).

[depravitea]

Blending for me is throwing a bit of homegrown mint in with some tea leaves. Not big on blends. I really enjoy tea, and try to keep my tea from becoming something... not tea.
Not really a fan of mixing different teas either, I've tried a green and black "fusion" wasn't really impressed. Seems like a good way to ruin good black and/or green tea is to mix them together lol

I know there is always an exception, and there is probably an excellent "fusion" out there, but I'm not too interested at this time.
My pu craze is just getting going

[Victoria]

No I don't drink blends. I made a black blend at one time, but I should take it down since i haven't had it in forever. I just don't care for them not even English Breakfast anymore.

[Trey Winston]

I haven't ordered any blends specifically, but when I get a blend sample with an order from Adagio, I both drink and usually like them. They can be excellent teas to serve to tea novices who find greens too grassy and whites too watery.

Today enjoying Green Jade oolong, which is a blend of tasty and yummy.

[Drax]

I very rarely drink blends, and usually they are a gift. The one exception might be genmaicha -- that counts as a blend, right?

This morning, I am continuing with the pot of "silver tuocha," which has shaped up to be a sheng with a pretty good kick once the super dense chunks of leaves have finally begun to relax a bit. Mmmmm.

[rabbitsib]

I Drink Signature Blends but they are mine I really haven't see one I liked by others. I get these blends and flavored to have Iced tea. Outside the blends and flavored teas they stay hot.
At this moment I am drinking Iced Peach tea but every other day its been going to Butterbeer Tea

[CynTEAa]

We need an "all of the above" choice. While I gravitate toward single harvest teas for personal enjoyment, I'm quite willing to try or make any of the options. My favorite blend is an unflavored black tea base tea of a decent quality, blended with a small amount of silver needles. Art of Tea has a nice one, I believe.

Today will be filled with follow ups, phone calls and perhaps some cupping, blending etc as time permits. And I really should soak my Hagi.

Wishing you all a great Teaday!

[Chip]

I very rarely drink blends, and usually they are a gift. The one exception might be genmaicha -- that counts as a blend, right?

Definitely, and these types of blends are just about the only blends I ever drink, I also enjoy Mugi (barley) and roasted corn ... often blending all kinds of these roasted grains with green tea. So, I generally do my own blends.

When I receive a free blend in an Adagio order like a fairly recent blueberry Signature Blend, and I open the box and this "flavor" has getten into everything, I get ... upset!

We need an "all of the above" choice. Today will be filled with follow ups, phone calls and perhaps some cupping, blending etc as time permits. And I really should soak my Hagi.

You can vote for up to 4 options today!

Yes, you reallllly need to soak that Hagi!

[CynTEAa]

for up to 4 options today!

Yes, you reallllly need to soak that Hagi!

You are right on both counts!

[brlarson]

`Other' for me. I prefer unblended tea, but I will blend unexciting teas together to make them drinkable. I am new enough to drinking tea that I still have loads of exploration ahead. Eventually I'd like to be able to distinguish which village each tea comes from by tasting it, and that's the kind of detail that is obliterated by blending.

I'm finishing a package of last year's Tie Luo Han from Jing this morning.

[Victoria]

Started the TeaDay with Tao of Tea Neela. A very mild Nilgiri, one of my favorites.

Have a nice day everyone!

[ASUnurse26]

I definitely drink signature blends, only I haven't tried anyone else's but my own. (which will soon change!) I love blending teas and I've created 61 blends so far. My favorites are PMS, Falling Star, and Rainy day. You should check them out!

[geeber1]

I started out my tea journey with Irish Breakfast, and while I don't drink it as much as I did at first, it is still enjoyable. In fact, I'm having some now to shore myself up for writing employee evaluations - I need a lot of strong tea for that task!

Hot, I also drink Three Brothers (TeaSource - keemun, peppermint leaves and rosehips) and Genmaicha on occasion.

Other blends I usually drink iced, such as Ginger Peach and Raspberry Lime Rickey. They are way too flavored for me to enjoy hot.

It's nice to mix it up once in a while but I still gravitate toward the single estate blacks, especially Nilgiris.

[Intuit]

Clarification is in order.

A blend, in my experience, is a mixture of two or more standard tea types, typically green and black teas, sometimes oolongs are added. More recently, white teas blends have surfaced too, as production volume has increased in India and China. They are comprised of one or more base teas and smaller amounts of 'accent' or top-note teas. Blends may be simple, just 2-3 teas, or may comprise a complex mixture of 5 or even 6 teas.

'Classic' blends are well known 'everyday' (cheap enough for daily drink) teas usually denoted by time of day : breakfast, afternoon, evening, special occasion blends. Classic breakfast blends include Irish, Scots, and English mixtures of Assam, Ceylon and much more recently, cheap African and Indonesian teas. Alternative breakfast blends may include smokey Keemun and peppery Yunnan teas as top-notes. Afternoon teas usually include delicate Darjeeling and Keemun on a Ceylon base that provide a caffeine kick. Evening, or after-dinner teas are stronger flavored mixtures of smokey (Russian Caravan blends, Lapsang Souchong or rich estate Ceylon and tippy Assam teas).

Famous 'signature' or custom trademark blends usually are black-tea based but sometimes have green teas added. Famous 'signature blends have been enjoyed for many decades to more than a hundred years, like Prince of Wales tea, may also have a very light touch of natural flavor added.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_of_Wales_tea_blend

If you want to try some first class blends, you need to look to UK (usually London) retailers and Canadian companies that have been producing quality custom blends for a long, long time.

These high-end custom blends are crafted with top-notch teas and are far different than standard black/green 'everyday' (inexpensive) blends that are produced from relatively cheaper estate orthodox or rapid-infusion CTC teas.

Flavored teas are generally lower quality blender type teas, often CTC produced, that have one or more natural or artificial flavors added. Earl Grey is a classic flavored tea.

Herbal teas are just that, a blend of herbal components sans tea. Some companies sell 'custom blends' that are nearly all 'herbal', with a scattering of green tea meant to serve as antioxidant source for health reasons.

Our hosts Signature Blends are customer-created mixture of flavored teas offered by Adagio.

Empress Afternoon, from Murchies in Victoria, is one of my longtime favorites, and there's a Scots company that makes a custom signature breakfast blend that I've drank on and off for more than 30 years.

Used to drink a lot of herbals, during a period of extreme caffeine sensitivity and when water quality was the pits and bottled water far less common than present day.

Tippy Assam estate tea blend in my cup. Spendy, but worth it.