On another thread, Rasputin suggested I share my knowledge of teas. I'm far from a tea expert, but I've tried a number of loose and bagged teas over the years, so I can offer what I know from my own experience. But this is a huge area, and I've only experienced the tip of the iceberg.

I prefer loose tea over bags because it almost always makes a better-tasting cup of tea. It's a bit more trouble to make because you have to dump your leaves and rinse your filter between cups, but well worth it. At home, I always make loose, using a Teela filter, like this: Teela filter
At work, I don't want to walk down the hall to the kitchen to dump out and rinse a filter, so I just use teabags. It's not easy to find a teabag that matches the quality of loose tea, unfortunately.

Loose black teas are my brew of choice. Wikipedia has a fairly good article which lists many of the varieties of black tea, and gives an overview on how it's made: Wikipedia - Black teas

Straight Assam tea is my favorite, hands down. The flavor is described as "malty", which means rich, rounded, and somewhat sweet. For my palate, the maltiness provides a perfect counter-balance to the tannin. Keemun teas have a very different quality. The flavor is harder, sharper, less sweet. To my palate, these "ramp up" the tannin flavor, so they can seem almost acidic.

Both Assam and Keemun are very recognizable as "that tea flavor", yet they're very different. They're both very strong and can dominate tea blends.

Ceylon teas are very well-balanced, kind of half-way between Assam and Keemun in terms of both strength and flavor. Darjeeling is wonderful, very subtle flavors, almost with floral overtones, with a subtle tannin aftertaste. It could easily be dominated in blends, so probably best enjoyed "solo".

Lapsang souchong is a kick... it's the vintage Cabochard of the tea world. It's cured over smokey fires, and - yes - that smokey taste does come through. Actually, you don't have to wait to taste it, it comes out to greet you. I've had a small bag of Russian Caravan (a Keemun and Lapsang blend) for nearly a year now, and as soon as I pull it out of the cupboard, I can smell the Lapsang right throug the bag. Believe it or not, this actually makes a very satisfying cup of tea. One word of advice: for maximum enjoyment, drink it hot. Some teas still taste good when they're cool, but IMHO lapsang ain't one of them.

Tea blends are fun to explore. Like perfumes, changing the amount of a certain tea will totally change the taste/experience.

Here are some teas that fascinate me, but that I haven't yet experienced:
-- Pu-erh. I first heard about these cakes of compacted tea last year, even watched a film showing how it was made, but haven't yet sampled it. I'm itching to try this.
-- Dragon pearls. I got my Teela filter partly because it's large enough to allow these flower-like bundles of green tea leaves to fully unfold. Later I realized you probably don't *want* to do this, because that would prevent you from seeing the unfolding.

Green teas are still largely an unknown for me. I've only tried three or four loose green teas. I want to get into those, but it's a big step down from the rich malty tannin-heavy black teas to the tender hay-like subtleties of green tea. I need to retrain my palate to understand those flavors. I know there's a whole world of Chinese and Japanese green teas out there just waiting to be experienced.

Well, I've blathered enough. I would *love* to hear what other people's experiences with teas have been.

I use disposable teabags which most tea purveyors sell. (eg. http://tinyurl.com/6rsc7h ) That way I can have my preferred teas that I buy in bulk. I have wide ranging tastes. But they're not terribly refined. I am currently drinking Earl Grey green tea from Upton Teas, a most interesting site.

http://uptontea.com/shopcart/home.asp

Victoria is the resident tea expert. Maybe we can get her input here.

I'm a huge fan of Assams. My favorite is Adagio's Assam Melody.

Adagio is my favorite online vendor right now. www.adagio.com
Although Harneys and Uptons are good too.

I suppose my next favorite is just a straight-up Ceylon, like Adagio's Ceylon Sonata. I like their flavored teas too-they're great over ice-my favorites are mango and strawberry.

I've tried several greens but just can't get into them. My favorite greens right now are the "lower grade" greens like Kukicha (it has little pieces of stems in it) and Genmaicha (it has toasted rice in it). I've tried some Gyokuro and top-grade Sencha, but I don't think my palate is developed enough for it. I'm still a black tea girl at heart. It's what I grew up on. I keep trying with the greens, though.

A great online green tea resource is Den's Tea. http://www.denstea.com/


Oolongs are nice, too. I suppose it's what most people think of as "Chinese restaurant tea." But there's such a *huge* range. I haven't even scratched the surface of those.

Pu-erh. The one I tried smelled like dirt and tasted like it too.


I post over on Adagio's forums sometimes. I'm such a tea newb, though. The people over there have a real knowledge of all kinds of teas.

I LOVE Lapsang souchong!! It is like single malt scotch without the alcohol. Truly one of my favorites.
I also drink green tea...Sencha or Matcha and lipton bagged or Trader Joe's is fine for every day as well.
I have darjeeling and white tea and various others. I'm not very tea-savvy, but enjoy it.

I need to try the Adagio ones. I love Assam and Ceylon teas best. For a quick cuppa, I like Fortnum & Mason's Royal Blend. Otherwise I use an infuser basket, most recently with the Kuzmi Assam loose tea.

Believe it or not, I can't stand the higher-end teabag types like Adagio and Twinings, as far as supermarket teas go. They taste really "off" to me. I can only drink the supermarket Bigelow brand's Cinnamon Apple and Pomegranate.

For loose leaf, I love Japanese roasted barley tea (not really a tea, but super delicious and comforting in winter nevertheless), matcha powder, which I drink in shots, and oolong, which is the sweetest unflavored tea I've ever had.

I've tried some of those "blooming flower" teas, and while they're so beautiful, they're pretty much flavorless.

I love tea! And will be drinking more as the colder weather gets here.

I used to drink Liptons with lemon and sugar, then became converted to the "good stuff" many years ago on a trip to Britan. Thats when I dropped the lemon and started adding milk, yum! I understand that milk in tea takes away some of its theraputic properties, but its so good that way:-)

My favorites are the black teas, assam in particular. I prefer the loose teas, they are worth the work. I do like Earl Grey on occasion and sometimes mix it with black tea. Green tea is nice when I want something subtle or with sushi. I also really like Republic of Teas Rose Petal tea, its rather like drinking rose flavored turkish delight!

My grandmother collected teacups and teapots and I've continued the tradition. Nowadays, I only use a plain white teapot from England, the others are mostly just for show. At one point I had sewn up teacup covered curtains and napkins but now rarely use those, but tea will always be a big part of my life.

I heard the guys who pick Pu-er leaves won't drink the tea, it's so lower class! I had some at an excellent tea shop in La Jolla, Infusions of Tea. DH had ordered a mug of it and I had a cup of some rare chrysanthamum tea. DH doesn't really like tea, so he took a sip and handed me his mug. The delicate rare tea transported me. It was like being swept into the hillsides when everything is in bloom. I was hovering over almond trees in flower. Absolutely charming. When I tasted the Pu-er, I burst out laughing. It tastes like the sweat of miners on their way home after a long day digging under salt marshes! It's so earthy - iron ore, salt, sweat, soggy vegetation, the final heat of a long day. Worth trying, but not a fancy flavor.

I drink all sorts of herbal and black teas except Earl Grey or any "flavored" black teas (or flavored coffees for that matter). I like my black tea strong with milk.

I found a great tea at Big Lots, of all places. Yogi Tea Piccadilly Breakfast, a delicious, complex blend of black teas from India, China and South Africa.

http://www.carefreestore.com/yopibrtea.html

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime
" " Tension Tamer

Sometimes Kitimai chai or Earl Grey. This appears to be a local Toronto company. www. kitimai.com Also very keen to try pu-erh tea! Had a student from China who gave me a canister of a prized green tea, and I unfortunately don't have the acquired knowledge and palate to truly appreciate it. Wonderful thread! Great to read of all the brands, varieties, preferences.

I have been an avid drinker of tea for years, and like a variety of types in all colors, and from first flush Darjeeling and down to Lipton's yellow tea bags (find them better than their reputation!) Just now I have been so lucky as being in Paris, and at this very moment I drink one of my all time Parisian favorites; melange Hediard, that is Chinese black tea with a touch of bergamot, lemon and sweet orange oil. It is soo delicious!
When in Paris, do not only focus on perfume, but also tea! Hediars and Mariage Freres, at least, is a must!

The comments about Pu-erh tea are interesting.

I first heard about it in a documentary called "All In This Tea", which focused on David Lee Hoffman, an American attempting to deal directly with Chinese tea-farmers who hand-craft their tea. It was a fascinating film... lots of information about the preparation of tea, how it's grown, as well as Hoffman's struggle with Chinese officials who don't understand why he wants to bypass their factory system of tea growing/selling and buy directly from the individual farmers. Here's a link to the documentary's website: "All In This Tea"

Some rather funny comments about Hoffman and Pu-erh: "The Indomitable Mr Hoffman"

In this recent interview, Hoffman says: "The problem with pu-erhs as they become so popular in the last few years that the quality is actually gone down on the pu-erhs, and every year it's more and more difficult to get a good tasting pu-erh." (I wonder how he would have evaluated the Pu-erhs tasted by posters on this thread? Unless you've sampled a lot of something, how do you know if you've got a good example, or a bad one?) Here's the link to the full interview: "Samovar Tea"

Still reading through and investigating all your comments and links. These are great... keep 'em coming!

I am sipping my tea now -- wonderful cup of black tea with half & half -- and just spotted the tag -- Trader Joe Free Trade Organic Black Tea. The price is right and it's excellent.

To anyone whose only sipped supermarket teabag tea, you have no idea what you're missing! Rather like only trying the fragrances from Walmart.

A great place to learn about the world of tea is a book called The Tea Companion
http://www.amazon.com/Tea-Companion-Connoi...1470&sr=1-3

Like some of the above posters, my favorite teas are Assams and Ceylons, as well as good quality blends that blend some Kenyan in as well.

If I want to pamper myself with a straight cup of Assam I go to http://www.uptontea.com and will usually select from their estate teas of Meleng, Harmutty, Mangalam or Halmari. Though the good folks at Uptons are always buying new estates if they feel it is a good year for them. Thankfully, they have reviews listed under most of the estates to help guide you in finding what you are looking for.

One note! I've found that to really enjoy an Assam you need to add some milk and some raw sugar. Even if it is just a little adding these allows the tea to really bloom and show you what it's got.

I am happy to say that many of the best commercial tea companies now make much better tea bags that are designed to help the water flow through them the way it should and I've found as lovely a cuppa as one would want with the ease of use of bags.

Two great places to find such teas are http://www.britishtea.com/ and http://www.teadog.com

Some of the boxed blends I always have on hand are, for breakfast - Barry's Gold from Ireland, Brodie's Edinburgh from Scotland, and Glengettie, the tea of Wales. These are Assam blends that give a terrific malty rich brew.

Afternoons I turn to - Lyons Gold, Bewley's Regency, and Brodie's Tea Time

Britishtea.com has a very large selection of teas from many countries.

I hope you'll explore the world of tea the way you do the world of scent, you're in for some wonderful times if you do.

The teas selected by the owners at Infusions of Tea are, to a one, impeccable. The shop owners are connoisseurs who left behind careers in university teaching and technology to bring great teas to public attention. Dedicated, you might say. Each tea in their collection is chosen for quality and interest. Sometimes our trust is not misplaced. And the Pu-er itself, while earthy and powerful, was well-balanced in all its flavors. So there's always your own pleasure in a tea to guide you.

This is the second time in as many days someone has recommended All in This Tea to me. It was on Sundance yesterday and a friend called to alert me to it. I don't have Sundance, unfortunately, but it sounds like an amazing documentary.

So true, StAndrewsGirl: both a discerning connoisseur and your own delighted tastebuds are reliable guides. My question was badly put. What I meant to say was... if you've tasted something for the first time and thought it was horrid, was it because (a) it's just not a flavor profile you'd ever care for, or (b ) because you've gotten a poor example of something that you might otherwise like? That's when it's good to be sampling it at a place like Infusions of Tea, where you can safely assume it's not (b ). Thanks for recommending them.


Oh poop, sorry I missed it... I would have gladly watched it again. It was really fascinating. Here's the trailer:
"All In This Tea" trailer

I figured you meant something thoughtful like that BlueCedar, but you have phrased the explanation so beautifully I'm glad we took the conversation a step further.


Thanks for the trailer link!

I'm only just starting to try different tea varieties. In the past, I've always been a coffee drinker but have now stopped drinking it daily. So far, my favourite is Dilmah Moroccan Mint Green Tea, don't like straight green tea but love this mix with the mint. I'm going to try some fruit tea varieties, just bought some yesterday.

Ahh Tea

I love the idea of loose teas and would like to start exploring them more. MANY years ago (I was in high school), I had about 20 small tins of loose tea from a cheese/gift shop (maybe it was only 10, but it was a LOT of tins). I can't remember the brand (not Twinnings), but they were from England. I had such fun testing. I remember my favorites being Assam and Keemun, but I found things to enjoy in them all. The Lapsang souchong was different and fun, but not something I want to experience very often. My mom bought me a special tea cup and infuser for my collection of loose teas, and I have many fond memories of having "tea time" with her. We mainly had Lipton teabags for hot tea and Nestle powdered for iced tea growing up. Coffee, milk, juice and kool-aid were the main drinks in the house, so tea didn't have much importance.

Skip to today - I try to limit my stock of teas, but I'm always drawn to pick up a box or three when I'm at the grocery or health food store, or checking out Marshalls/TJ Maxx, Target etc. I like pretty much all tea, but I especially like flower blends like rose, jasmine, osmanthus or lavender. Zena makes a lovely black tea with rose, and Numi makes a delicate white tea with rose. I like Tazo's green tea with Jasmine, and Good Earth's green tea with Jasmine tastes kinda like rootbeer to me - kinda weird, but I love it. I enjoy Republic of Tea's Earl Grey with Lavender, and Zena has an herbal tea with Lavender that I also like. Actually, I don't think there's been an Earl Grey I haven't liked. I also like Oolong and Darjeeling. I've tried some breakfast blends from Numi, Zena and Tazo that are well balanced. Not sure I have a favorite. I should really brew them all up at once to test them side by side. I like my tea black with just a drop of Sweetleaf Stevia.

My daughter gifted me with some rose tea from her trip to China last spring, and a couple of boxes of flowering teas. I just bought a glass teapot and a box of Numi's flowering tea. I'm looking forward to checking them out.

Does anyone else here have a problem with drinking tea on an empty stomach? I can handle coffee on an empty stomach just fine, but tea makes me feel violently ill in my tummy - maybe the tannins. The problem goes away if I eat something. I've learned to enjoy my first cup of tea after I've had breakfast.

Then there's mate, rooiboos and herbal teas. I could spend all day making and enjoying leafy brews. It's like drinking perfume

My mother had the same thing when I was a kid. I hated the Lapsang and Imperial Gunpowder. Still do! We only were allowed to drink tea when we were sick, so I assumed it had magical healing properties. Actually, it does, according to scientists!

Yes, smoky teas are hard for me, too. I usually have to blend them with a plain, unflavored tea.

And oddly, smoky teas are more difficult for me to drink *hot,* I find them easier to drink when they're closer to room temp.

I just found two wonderful black teas at Big Lots -- Darjeeling and English Breakfast organic teas by St. Dalfour, which I think is a Swiss company. Big Lots is hit or miss but sometimes you can get some really good bargains in gourmet foods (jams and preserves especially) when they have them in.

I believe St. Dalfour is French - I have several jars of their jams, quite tasty.

I drink most any teas except herbal ones (is mint considered herbal?).
I prefer Earl Grey, darjeeling, assam, ceylon, lapsang souchong, oolong, gunpowder, rose petal and my favorite---jasmine!

Blue, based upon your recommendation here, I went and obtained a pure & unflavored Assam.

Yes! You're right! It's as wonderful as you say.

I love the robust color and the body of the "liquor" (as tea cognoscenti call it).

It kind of reminds me of a costly single-malt whisky: instead of a melange of flavors, you get one huge, smooth, supreme tea flavor.

Most black teas deliver a melange of bitternesses-- interesting, to be sure--- whereas Assam delivers this huge, expansive golden tea flavor... as if you were drinking liquid gold or pure sunshine...

The product I've located is definitely a "boutique" product: called TWO LEAVES AND A BUD, it retails for $8.95. Each sachet comes in a secial netting and a chi-chi looking plastic envelope. Still I'll try to buy this more often.

Thanks, Blue Cedar.

When I can afford it, I buy tea from Chado at their store and tea room. Now you can order online. I wonder if they still offer Brendan's Breakfast, a house blend that is wonderful.

https://www.chadotea.com/index.php

How wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Nothin' like a nice cup of Assam to brighten up a day.

Now... for comparison, find yourself a good-quality Chinese black tea, like a Keemun, or a Ceylon black, and give that a taste test. These have a thinner, more "astringent" flavor than Assam. Keemun and Assam are each recognizable and familiar as "that tea flavor", even though they're very different. They're like opposite ends of the same stick.

And of course those are just the start... there are many many teas with a myriad of strengths and flavor profiles. And - like wine - tea harvests vary in quality and quantity from year to year. They're affected not only by soil and the weather, but by the skill of the pickers and all the processing that happens after the tea is picked.

Your analogy to a single-malt whisky is a good one... a non-blended tea allows you to understand the distinctiveness of teas from different geographic areas. It also makes you appreciate those tea-blenders who know how to weave these threads together to create a satisfying blend. Kind of like good perfumers.

Well, I'M sold.

Hunting this one down this weekend.

I can't do caffeine, unfortunately, even in teas. So I usually have to go for decaffeinated teas, and unfortunately most of them taste like grass clippings. I don't know why they still haven't created a decent decaffeinated tea. But hope springs eternal; I just bought a bunch of small boxes of different decaf leaves from the Vermont Liberty Tea Company. (We were there recently.)

I also bought some rooibos tea there, which I like far more than I thought I would. Much more body than the usual herbal stuff. I got a bunch of different flavors of this as well, and some of them are great. Apparently some people steep this stuff for DAYS, creating something quite concentrated. I need to try that. (It doesn't get bitter, like overly steeped tea can do.)

And I bought a couple of these "ingenuiTEA" dispensers, which DH and I are enjoying:



You throw your loose tea into it, pour in boiling water, steep. Then you just set it on top of whatever cup you want to fill and it "pours" the tea from the bottom into the cup. Very handy if not elegant.

Late to the thread and I enjoyed reading all the tea talk. I like Darjeeling and Keemun the best, drunk with milk, one each of India and China tea. These two seem to have delicate flavour nuances and are "lighter" black teas. I also like a good Russian Caravan, which is a blend of these teas with lapsang souchong, smoky and well balanced. Green tea doesn't seem to go with my chemistry. It makes me a little queasy, but black teas sit very well. I grew up in a coffee family where, as PerfumeMe mentioned, tea was used mostly in medicinal situations. Today I associate tea with lemon and sugar with illness and I avoid it. I still like coffee a couple of times a week, but tea has become my daily hot drink of choice, loose leaves, brewed in a pot. The one thing I do that would probably horrify Queen Eliabeth is I put the milk right in the pot of tea.

Her Majesty is having the vapors, LOL!

Where did I once read that the Connaught Hotel, when serving tea to the Royal family, would, kitchenside, insert a little tube into each cup and oxygenate the tea to give it extra "sparkle"?

Supposedly, boiling water causes it to lose oxygen and become somewhat flat or metallic-tasting?

Anyone know more about this?

I don't know about that particular anecdote, but I've heard that you should heat the water until just before boiling point for best flavor.

What I have learned from varous tea books and instructions is for green tea you infuse just before the water boils, as caz noted. For black tea the water is brought to a boil but not for too long. If you pour the water on the tea when it has just started boiling the oxygen is still in the bubbles but if you let it boil too long, the oxygen goes out and the water goes flat, as mentioned by rasputin, and the tea instead of taking the proper time to steep, gets bitter very fast and sort of dies. I've tried these methods and they have been proven out.

I'm a supermarket teabag fan. Too busy and too poor to go on a quest for tea blends I can't even pronounce. I like green tea, earl grey and the occasional caffeine free herbal fruity blend. Right out of aisle 6, next to the powdered creamers and paper coffee filters.

The point is making tea with water that has been sitting for some time, say in the kettle, is not going to give you the best cup of tea. That is why it is important is to let the water run for a bit out of the tap in order to oxygenate it.

Then bring it to the boil and the only caveat about letting it boil too long is that you'll evaporate a lot of it, but the tea leavs will release their flavor best in a good hot brew.

Some supermarket teas can be quite good, the point is that there are many out there that don't cost a lot more whose quality in taste and aroma are vastly superior. Why be satisfied with 'ok' when something spectacular can be had?

Like I said... too busy and too poor. Happens to the best of us!

Well send me your info and I'll send ya a sampler pack

No thank you, though I appreciate the offer.
I was only making a point, that's all. Maybe one day I'll be able to devote more time and attention to these things, but for now my coffee is Folgers and my tea is whatever's on sale at the supermarket.
It still wakes me up, so I'm not missing out on what I really need!

'Tis true: the 100% pure Assam I've found is out-of-this world....


But it's also $8.95 a box (like 18 teabags). A little steep...!


[Ha-ha, get it? Get it? A little "steep" ?]

I love tea!

This morning I am drinking Whittard's Christmas tea - black tea with orange peel, cinnamon, clove and vanilla. I drink it lightly brewed and black. Very warming and spicy.

I also like to drink English Breakfast tea with milk during the day at work and weak black Earl Grey or Rooibos in the afternoon. I love Lapsang, but drink it at home - the smoky aroma is off-putting to some people.

I prefer white tea to green tea - slightly less bitter. I love herbal blends as well - Lemon and Ginger being my all time favourite, but I also drink peppermint to aid digestion and have a blend called 'Love tea' that I drink before bed (rose, lavender, chamomile).

On the question of water - I always refil the kettle, twice boiled water does not make a good cup of tea. Just boiled water for black tea, just off the boil for green otherwise it tastes too bitter.

Off to put the kettle on now!

I get it! Good one!

Rasputin, forget the teabags; loose tea made in a pot will provide you with better "liquidity!"

I notice that TWININGS ENGLISH BREAKFAST is mostly Assam tea... I also know from experience that T.E.B. is the tea Britons prefer when they are in the USA (that is, if they can't find some authentic TY-PHOO or PG TIPS or FORTNUM & MASON'S stateside).

Britons I have known despise LIPTON'S and even Bigelow's ENGLISH BREAKFAST.

I'm sipping some Celestial Seasonings Black Cherry Berry...which is really a tisane, not a tea...but very fragrant and delish.

I really like Lipton's, with sugar and milk.

But I like tea, period. Any kind, any time.

Aw, Woodland, I love my Twinings Irish Breakfast Tea just fine. It's strong and hale and fit for peasant taste buds.
Love it with Sweet-n-Low and milk...make it with fresh tap water and bring that just to a boil.
I'll take their English Breakfast Tea in a pinch, but the Irish blend really makes me feel my oats.
I've tried just about every tea known to man...but always go back to that one.
When I was just a wee thing I copied my grandmother and cultivated a taste for tea and when I was older my mother went out of her way to stock one cabinet full of exotic teas just for me.
I didn't drink coffee, really, until I was in my thirties...and now I'm hooked on that. Cheap old local stuff -- Community Coffee.
Pleasing to the palate and the pocket.

A kindred soul!
I like my tea with milk and sugar if it's earl grey, or by itself if it's any other kind.
Coffee? Yes: The canned stuff. Black as night, please. Maybe my taste buds are hopeless, but coffee is coffee is coffee is coffee. It's about the caffeine that kicks my sleepy butt through all nighters.

Catie, you'd be pleased to know that at least 3 different blends of Community Coffee are available at Kroger Grocery Stores as well as Publix up here in ATL. Community Coffee is no longer a rarity. Back when it was (in the 1980s) my hub ordered it from Baton Rouge. He is the coffee fanatic. He can't live without NOLA coffee. I drank coffee regularly because he does. But I was always more a tea person, even when everybody in my family drank strong black coffee and had introduced me to cafe au lait.

Katrina sort of gave me the break I needed to be me again. DH wanted his coffee? Fine. But I took my comfort with tea. And nothing fancy. Up here in ATL one can find PG Tips at Whole foods and krogers. $3.49 or $3.99 for 40 pyramid bags. And it's good hearty stuff. Like you my fave tea is Assam, which is preferred by the Irish. Catie, if you ever see PG Tips, buy it. You'll love it. It's dark and clear, brisk and malty.

Woodland, I wish I could still "hold" my caffeine like I used to! LOL
If I drink more than one giant mug of a caffeinated beverage a day...I'm positively manic and prone to buying big-ticket items we don't need.








Morticia, I've been surprised when friends from across the country are familiar with Community. Apparently it's all over the place, now. LOL
I definitely can relate to being a tea drinker and getting into the coffee "habit" because my spouse was a four-mug-a-day drinker. LOL
I was quite...er...old...when I started drinking it...and I really only enjoy the flavored variety. I'm really hooked on Community's hazelnut, French vanilla, and chocolate almondine. I buy the whole beans and grind it myself.
But...I still have quite a stock of tea, plus some herbal concoctions for my touchy tummy.

Well...off to get a freshly brewed cup right now. Cheers!

Oh, and I'll be on the lookout for the PG Tips! Thanks!