Tea Quest?

[lorrior]

A few weeks ago, I traded in my morning coffee for tea. I haven't been a big drinker of black tea previously, because I've always kept 'tea' as an evening wind-down beverage when I can't have caffeine. Now I am on the hunt for good, everyday black teas for my morning mug. Any of you tea-drinkers out there have suggestions for favorite brands, types

Comments

[kalendargirl]

My standby is the Trader Joe's English Breakfast for my morning black tea (with milk, of course). T also drinks it, although we prefer the Twinnings Gold Label (Or black label? It's the version of Twinnings that is imported, not the usual Twinnings). I like the TJ's brand since it's easier to come by, although a tad inferior, and it's very inexpensive. It still beats the pants off of Bigelow or any of the other American teas on offer.

I wish you luck (salute)

[lorrior]

Thanks! I'll keep an eye out for imported Twinnings. TJs English Breakfast is coincidentally the type that I tried first and I quite enjoyed it. Glad to hear I randomly managed to choose well :-). We just ran out of it and are now trying TJ's Irish Breakfast for comparison. I think I prefer the English though because it seems like it has a slightly fuller-bodied flavor.

[lt_kitty]

English Tea Store is my current favorite source - good prices and variety. They carry bagged and loose teas; I buy loose tea because I like the ritual of using a tea strainer and I think it tastes fresher.

If you're looking for a stronger, everyday black tea, I'd recommend one of the breakfast blends. There's English, Irish, and Scottish, and they're all quite good.

TJ's carries bagged Irish breakfast. I also like PG Tips and Tetley's British blend tea for when I can't avoid bags. (And also for the dude's ice tea habit, since he can go through one pack of loose tea in a week)

For an alternative, try Assam and Darjeeling. Assam is strong and rich and slightly malty, and Darjeeling is a little milder but still bold and flavorful.

Tea shops are a great place to try different kinds of teas; I recommend A Fine Cuppa in Berkeley (College Ave, near Alcatraz), but Pete's will do in a pinch.

[lorrior]

Ooh - excellent. Thanks for the link! I will definitely have to get some good loose-leaf varieties for weekend treats.

[warriorfoo]

You could also go with the American Twinnings English breakfast, which comes in a red box, and can be found at most stores.
(It's Twinning gold label (black box) but you need a British import store for it).

[lorrior]

Check, and check. Thanks!

[flitterkit]

Have you tried chai? Also has caffeine, but kind of spicy. I drink mine with honey and milk or cream. My current favorite is a green tea chai I picked up, but I have found many black tea ones that are great. I can go look at lables at some point if you are interested, or mail you a few teabags. Just let me know.

[lorrior]

Most definitely. I loves me some good spicy chai. I had found one Yogi Tea variety of a black bagged chai a while ago which was excellent but I haven't found it since. The other day I picked up a box of Twinnings black chai which I just tried this morning. Pretty good, but it doesn't seem as robust as the Yogi brand.