Hon, I've got some DEPAKOTE for ya....

I only drink tea when I'm in bed with a flu, and then I'll add so much rum and sugar that it doesn't matter which tea it is. However, this thread has made me a little curious.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10...ice-kettle.html

It's comforting to know that we aren't the only ones with wasteful government.

my absolute fave (especially in the winter) is Barry's Irish Tea...two bags, steep one minute, add sugar....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Is this one of the Irish blends based on Assam? There is something so fuzzy-comforting about Assam. It is the reward of living in a colder climate.

I just read that the health benefits of tea are negated by putting milk in it. Too bad! It's childish, but I do like the milk and sugar approach to tea. In Assams, it's especially tasty.

I had some Tension Tamer Tea (Celestial Seasonings) last night with honey. It really does work to calm my nerves.

Andy, I don't believe it for a minute!

Oh, good! That's reason enough for me, Fiver.

I had a cup of Wissotsky's Rose Chai with a friend this afternoon. It's nothing short of ambrosial. Only problem is, it's one of those six degree of separation things. You have to know someone who knows someone who knows someone who has a friend in Tel Aviv. Other Wissotsky teas can be got hold of in the U.S., though not easily, but the Rose Chai is exclusive to the tea shop in Tel Aviv. It's worth expanding your circle of friends to get hold of some, really.

This time of year is when I stock up on Celestial Seasonings Candy Cane Lane decaf green tea and Sugar Plum Spice herbal tea. I'm not crazy about flavored black teas, though.

I found some Riccola instant herbal crystals tea at the Big Lots yesterday.
Talk about bracing! All the herbs and such make me feel like I've just come down from a snow encrusted Swiss mountain with my trusty team of team of sled dogs after dodging an avalanche on the slopes...with yodelers calling out the epic journey...in embriodered shearling hats.
I'm not sure if I like this stuff or not.

Sounds like a must! Love the imagery, Imatchgrl!

As mentined, Darjeeling is my favourite. Darjeeling can vary enormously as to quality and taste, even if you buy the same brand all the time. Sometimes I get a chocolate note from the Darj. Sometimes it has an animalic hay note like the elephant house in the Bronx Zoo. Every once in a while, such as this morning, I get a bit of a taste that reminds me of Fracas, or a tuberose note similar to the one that was in Tangee lipstick. It's not a perfumed tea at all but when it's a good batch it can have the most entertaining "notes."

I don't either, I've read numerous studies that say just the opposite. Milk isn't going to do anything to the bioflavonoids that are the healthy part of tea.

Here's sort of a vague article I found, concerning the possibility of milk messing with tea's antioxidant properties:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6241139.stm

Flannerygrace, if you have links to reports disproving this theory, I'd be happy to learn!

And all this time, I thought I was helping my heart and bones with my milky tea each afternoon and evening...

Doesn't caffeine also dilate blood vessels as well as catechins? That seems to be the benefit.

You know how most of us have pet peeves about how words are used and such?
I've always had a thing about herbal tisanes and infusions being called "tea".
I know it has become the norm and it's easier to say...but...it bugs me.
There's nothing like being at someone's home...and you're offered a cup of tea and you gladly accept...and the host then asks if you want one of about ten different blends of herbs...
I'm not big on the herbal tisanes, except for a few, which I use for medicinal purposes...but I do realize that many people do love the taste of some and embrace drinking these brews for both pleasure and health. I just can't think of them as "tea", though.
I have a friend who grew up in a family which only drank herbal concoctions and she loathed what she had been brought up to think of as "tea".
Well, she was staying in my home for several weeks and I do have an afternoon tea every day and she would always wrinkle her nose when I offered her a cup.
She finally broke down and had a cup of plain, old Lipton's with me, with milk and sugar...and she practically moaned with pleasure with each sip she took.
I found it amusing that she had never had the "real" thing...and that she was hooked from that very first sip.
I now get at least three tins of tea from her every Christmas -- fancy stuff, too. She has really branced out into the wonderful world of teas...and has become quite the little tea snob these days. I love it!

I am much like your friend Catie , the very thought of boiled water and herbs just brings back a childhood full of sick and infusions, I skip calling them by their proper names and to me all are just "medicine" from age five to this day .... now hand me a mug of nice proper brew of the usual suspects with sugar and milk and its pure blisstonia.

Ambrosial is right! I emailed and called Wissotsky's like a mad stalker and all I could get out of them was that they don't sell that tea in the States. I was like, um, yeah, you see, that's why I'm calling ... Very frustrating! But they're not giving it up.

Happy to do so!

Addition of Milk Does Not Alter the Antioxidant Activity of Black Tea

Addition of Milk Does Not Alter the Antioxidant Activity of Black Tea
Vijayakumar C. Reddy, G.V. Vidya Sagar, D. Sreeramulu, L. Venu, M. Raghunath

Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Institute of Nutrition, Indian Council of Medical Research, Hyderabad, India

Tea is a polyphenol-rich beverage like wine and catechins are its chief polyphenols. Catechins have cardio-protective effects as they can scavenge free radicals and inhibit lipid peroxidation. Epidemiological studies indicate an inverse relation between tea consumption and the risk of cardiovascular and other chronic diseases. Addition of milk to black tea has been reported to adversely affect its beneficial effects, but the data are not unequivocal. Therefore, we assessed the effect of the addition of milk to black tea on its ability to modulate oxidative stress and antioxidant status in adult male human volunteers. Although the area under the curve of plasma catechins was lower on the consumption of tea with milk compared to black tea, it did not affect the beneficial effects of black tea on total plasma antioxidant activity, plasma resistance to oxidation induced ex vivo, and decreased plasma and urinary thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels. The results suggest that addition of milk may not obviate the ability of black tea to modulate the antioxidant status of subjects and that consumption of black tea with/without milk prevents oxidative damage in vivo.

I think they know their beans about tea in India

I'm right there with you, Catie. I've always loved that Hercule Poirot is careful to point out that what he drinks is a tisane and not tea!

It is also difficult to watch someone insist on drinking tea with nothing in it, then they tell you how bad it tastes, well duh!

It's worth pestering! You know who introduced me to the Rose Chai? Our own beloved Susan Winters. A fabulous tea from a fabulous perfumista.

How did you encounter it, Red?

I drink tea with nothing in it (well, sometimes a tiny bit of sugar in strong, black teas) because I think it tastes bad with milk or lemon it it. Another taste is in the taste buds of the beholder!

Whatever floats your boat

I should have been more clear, I was talking about people trying true tea for the first time. I doubt many coffee drinkers started out with it black and most tea drinkers at least develop their taste by starting with sugar and/or milk.

And some teas such as Assam just will not reveal their full flavor without some milk.

If I recall correctly, some time between 2002-2004, someone from the BPAL forum sent me a couple of tea bags as an extra with a swap. I raved about it here on POL, on the old board. Voila, La Winters sent me a box, too! That was a of couple years ago. I haven't had any since.

Okay, I think you guys can handle this--

I posted this funny "tea rap" video on the Adagio TeaChat website, where I post every now and then. It's a little, um, odd, but very funny if you like tea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eELH0ivexKA




One of my favorite lines:
"When I say 'herbal,' you say 'no thanks.'"

LOL, personally I liked, 'keep your sordid coffee'.

Methinks he could use more decaf though.

Riotous!

Tisanes are okay once in a while (like if you can't get anything else), and I'm sure they have medicinal benefits, but I prefer tea tea. It may not be the fault of the tisanes themselves that I shy away from them but the way they're marketed, as if drinking them makes you superior to other people. That makes me want to "stick up for" real tea!

You got that right. "Eighty cups a day, I haven't slept for 80 years....my hands are shaking. " LOL





I agree! Sure, a cup of peppermint or chamomile is fine if you have tummy troubles, but for everyday, give me a high-test, so-strong-the-spoon-stands-up Assam or Ceylon!

Abandoned by our pusher! The indignity, Red!

Yeah, yeah...that's it!
It's like when the people are offering me some of their herbal "brews" from the boxes which are older than dirt...they're sort of judging me and smugly thinking to themselves, "She just doesn't realize that nasty brown stuff is just not good for her like my 'all-natural' herbal "teas".
Poor thing."

Yeah, it IS like *some* of the herb pushers think they're drinking the healthier brew.
LOL
I'm being a bit cheeky, here.
I really do have a rather common palate when it comes to tea. I love the hearty breakfast teas, strong enough to part the hair on my chest (I *am* being silly!)...and with lots of milk...and Sweet-n-Low ('twould be sugar if I weren't diabetic).
And the only cold beverage I drink, other than water (I really drink that at room temp), is iced tea...with a bit of sweetener. No milk in that...so it MUST be healthy...and the antioxidant properties wipe out the fact that I'm using an artificial (oh, the humanity!) sweetener.

I don't get why it has to be either herbal or black tea. I like both.

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

The herbal concoctions aren't tea.

I was going to say I've been loving Tazo's Passion tea lately

Tea being its own species (it's a tree), it makes sense that the herbal/fruit/spice infusions are mistakenly referred to as tea.

When I don't want caffeine but need a warm drink, I love a steaming black licorice brew, that always puts my head back in order. The actual herb blends remind me of my childhood and the old wives remedies that were dispensed for minor ailments. For that reason, right or wrong, I always associate chamomile with upset stomachs.
The more exotic fruit and spice concoctions smell nice, but I find them rather blah.

HAHAHA!! All a bunch of Indians. We do love our tea. In fact thanks to my recent trip, I've managed to acquire a tea habit since I drank it for breakfast for two weeks and I had managed to get through thirty-six years without.

Sgupta, hooray! The long drought is over!

You are so right, anything that is not from a camellia sinensis plant is NOT 'tea'.

No one is criticizing anyone for drinking herbal infusions, they can be great, just please don't call them tea, they are herbal drinks, infusions or tisanes if you like.

I live in an area where there is a thriving Chinese community, both from the mainland and Taiwan. Tea shops abound. One of the things I've learned that has been valuable is around the intricacies of brewing tea: how hot (green tea is steeped in water that is not directly off boil), how long (about 2 minutes), and how much (less than English style). Loose tea is my tea of choice. In my kitchen, I currently have among my nonherbal teas tea from Iran, first harvest Japanesen green tea, tea from Peking, genmaicha, and chrysanthemum tea b.a.l.l.s. There are more.

When deciding on an electric kettle, I purposely chose one with a temperature dial: most kettles go to full boil. This one will click off before then if I want to brew green tea. Green teas become bitter with boiling hot water. A tip I learned from my Japanese friend.

My S/O refers to tea as "pansy @** stuff" and he thinks infusions are old women's revenge on the young.
Of course he drinks Turkish coffee and slurps the sludge at the bottom of the cup like a kid slurps a milkshake.

Woodland, your s/o wouldn't be Hungarian, would he? Several years ago, when I visited in Hungary, my relatives laughed at me for drinking tea. They considered it sissy stuff, only suitable for the sick. The drink of choice was also strong coffee. I also love coffee but I still believe there's nothing sissy about a good, brisk cup of tea!

No, he is homegrown from the US, of middle eastern and Scottish descent. Completely addicted to strong coffee, lol.

Interesting! I've been considering getting a kettle too and wondering how to control the water's temperature. Would you mind sharing the details of this electric kettle?

Long-time tea drinker here. Black, white, decaf, flavored, rooibos or tisanes - I love 'em all, but it's got to be loose leaf for me. I've been buying from www.specialteas.com lately. Excellent selection and great customer service. I'm drinking their Holiday Dream today: "Fine China and Ceylon black teas with citrus peels, cloves, rose petals, almond bits and genuine Bourbon vanilla."

Happy to! When I go home, I look at the brand and post.

Magdalene, this would be the highly laudable scientific method! Consistent result ensured. I tend to use the intuitive method and the result is hit and miss. Sometimes the tea comes out the way I like it and sometimes...

I can't have caffeine after noon, or it will keep me awake at night, so I enjoy rooibos (red tea, which has no caffeine). My favorite is the vanilla-infused variety.

Sgupta, as promised, here is the link:

http://www.uptontea.com/shopcart/item.asp?...new&begin=0

That internet special is the same as when I purchased 2.5 years ago!

I'm not sure how it is in Louisiana, but in other parts of the South all soft drinks are "Coke." Now, THAT gets confusing.

Back to tea. Merriam-Webster now lists this as their third definition of tea:

"Any of various plants somewhat resembling tea in properties ; also : an infusion of their leaves used medicinally or as a beverage."

I realize that won't make it bug you any less. The very fact they had to use the word "tea" in this definition of "tea" tells you something.

Unfortunately, it feels too hoity-toity to ask for herbal tisane up here in the Big Mitten. "Hairball *what*?" Nobody said we had class.

oh , that caused a spew of coffee on the screen and I think I hurt myself laughing

much the same up here , asking for a tisane would get you some looks , and lord knows what they would actually serve you

Being in a French-speaking society, this is "tisane" country, no problem! The only problem is I rarely have occasion to use the word because I hardly ever order them or buy them.

i drink a lot of japanese and korean teas. green variations, white tea, oolong, ginseng, and barley. i love those dragon pearl "flowering" teas too. there's even this tea made out of yuzu (citrus) marmalade. you take a spoonful of it and mix it in hot water.
a great tea company from tokyo that has opened up shops in the US is called Lupicia. (www.lupiciausa.com) I've been to their stores in CA and own several of their teas. you can purchase teas from different regions. really neat if your interested in green and oolong.

others i love: chamomile, rosehip & hisbiscus (both pompadour brand) and twinnings english breakfast.