Tea

jeepie

Back from a lovely holiday but during the first three days suffered from a terrible caffeine withdrawl headache. Guess I'd been hitting the free ground coffee vending machine way too hard at work. I felt ropey as, but this was quickly remedied by a swift trip to Costa....

So I'm ditching coffee, bit of an extreme reaction perhaps but I fancy a change from the brew of darkness. Any tea drinkers in the house and what's your preferred brew? Bags, loose, black, blue, white or green? Any recommendations appreciated helping me make the leap!

Headhuunter

White and green tea are lower in caffeine than black tea but have much higher levels of antioxidants and other good stuff. Black tea's not bad but not as good as green/white tea. Even coffee in moderation (up to about 2 per day) has a detox effect on the body...

Fireblade96

Give up coffee :shock:
I'd rather cut off my twitching hand...oh, must be time to get another pot on.

thistle_

I drink tea black and not very strong.
Anything above supermarket value range (dust off the floor in the tea factory) tastes good and fresh water freshly boiled always seems to taste better.

Pyramid tea bags brew faster. Apparently some manufacturers ship different versions to your local shop depending on your local water.

Kieran_Burns

Yorkshire Gold

best tea since.... errr..... Tea was invented.

Gets you a strong flavour without needing to be brewed for ages.

t4tomo

ever thought about decaff coffee? we have nespresso machne in work and teh decaf taste just as good as the other stuff but without the drugs

cyclingprop

Wean off all caffeine for a month to six weeks, have fruit tea if you must.

Then go for a double espresso. THAT is a caffeine kick.

rjsterry

For everyday, I quite like Sainsbury's TtD Kenyan, but Yorkshire is fine too. Of course freshly drawn and boiled water. For best, I have a selection of Chinese and Japanese leaf teas from Teasmith in Spitalfields, which I brew in a proper tetsubin.

Oh, and teapots should really be just rinsed out.

Kieran_Burns

I have to say: using the filtered water does make a difference (at least to me)

vermin

You're all talking nonsense. Here follows the recipe for the perfect cup of tea:

Boil kettle, using whatever water is already in it. Pour boiled water into mug to about half full. Hold teabag (any will do, so long as it's not value range sawdust, something queer tasting like darjeeling or something polluted like Earl Grey) above mug between thumb and forefinger. Dunk teabag in water for about 3 seconds (until fingers start to scald). Remove teabag and place in bin. Fill mug with cold milk.

rjsterry

vermin wrote:

You're all talking nonsense. Here follows the recipe for the perfect cup of tea:

Boil kettle, using whatever water is already in it. Pour boiled water into mug to about half full. Hold teabag (any will do, so long as it's not value range sawdust, something queer tasting like darjeeling or something polluted like Earl Grey) above mug between thumb and forefinger. Dunk teabag in water for about 3 seconds (until fingers start to scald). Remove teabag and place in bin. Fill mug with cold milk.

That, sir, is an abomination!

Not to mention what must be like drinking dirty lukewarm milk.

Reane_Machine

vermin wrote:

You're all talking nonsense. Here follows the recipe for the perfect cup of tea:

Boil kettle, using whatever water is already in it. Pour boiled water into mug to about half full. Hold teabag (any will do, so long as it's not value range sawdust, something queer tasting like darjeeling or something polluted like Earl Grey) above mug between thumb and forefinger. Dunk teabag in water for about 3 seconds (until fingers start to scald). Remove teabag and place in bin. Fill mug with cold milk.

You must be from the South!

You need to learn the sacred technique of the Yorkshire 'Mash'.

Namely stick the teabag in and forget for about four minutes.

Then squeeze it to death with a teaspoon/garlic press then add a capful of milk.

Lovely.

cjcp

With the exception of green, camomile, peppermint tea and the like, tea - be it Redbush, PG Tips, Earl Grey or whatever - is rancid stuff. It smells revolting and doesn't much better.

I can, however, make a good cup of tea. I seem to adopt the same method as Reane_Machine: the teabag needs to "develop", or "stew" as Mrs CJ says.

But it's still foul stuff.

veronese68

rjsterry wrote:

vermin wrote:

You're all talking nonsense. Here follows the recipe for the perfect cup of tea:

Boil kettle, using whatever water is already in it. Pour boiled water into mug to about half full. Hold teabag (any will do, so long as it's not value range sawdust, something queer tasting like darjeeling or something polluted like Earl Grey) above mug between thumb and forefinger. Dunk teabag in water for about 3 seconds (until fingers start to scald). Remove teabag and place in bin. Fill mug with cold milk.

That, sir, is an abomination!

Not to mention what must be like drinking dirty lukewarm milk.

That is baby tea, made so small children can develop a taste for it.
Two of my colleagues drink worse however. Their tea is made by putting some milk in a cup, introducing a teabag briefly and from a safe distance (waving it from the far side of the room would seem to suffice) then adding hot water. If I manage to make a drink the same colour as the cup I consider it a success. Utterly ridiculous.
I like a proper cup of tea, with flavour and colour. None of this fancy tea. Mind you, proper tea is theft. Oh dear, IGMC.

Rigga

+1 for yorkshire gold, also Knightsbridge gold from Lidl is luuurvely. Leave to brew for 5 mins then just a drop of milk so it's nice and dark. Hate milky tea!

Twostage

I gave up caffeine for a year, no coffee, tea or coke (cola). Day three was the worst I could see mugs of coffee in front of me ( day two headaches weren't too bad). I used to drink fruit infusions and camomile which my colleagues referred to as camal's p!ss. When I decided to come back I started with a cafetiere on a Saturday mornings. My wife would say "you've had a coffee haven't you, you're jabbering". I still only drink freshly ground coffee. With tea I much prefer tea leaves not tea bags. 3/4 of a spoon in a BIG mug, let it brew for a minute then add milk. The leaves stay at the bottom so no hassle.

SimonAH

Boggo standard workaday tea is mahoosive mug, pyramid bad, kettle still bubbling, pour the water in a thin stream directly onto the bag - keeping it there as the bag floats up with the water level thusly percolating it without mashing it. Quick squeeze with the spoon, the clever flick we all know how to do that propels the bag with the accuracy of a blow dart into the bin, and then a slug of semi skimmed. Thirst quencher to the gods.

I get through about eight of them on an office day.

Green is good too - especially if you're feeling over-beered. Got to be leaves and a pot for them though.

DrLex

Twostage wrote:

[...] fruit infusions and camomile which my colleagues referred to as camal's p!ss. [...]

"Lesbian teas" in this domicile.
Vermin - that "tea" is an abomination; you'll be posting next that you use Camp Coffee or Birds Mellow for "coffee", with a dash of UHT. Only upside is that a tea bag should last for about a dozen cups of what sounds to be homeopathic tea.

BelgianBeerGeek

I'm with cj. Tea is the work of the devil. I can make a decent brew, however. Got to keep the boss sweet
Having been in the army for a while and seen it made in a giant thermos-type bucket, where it comes out bright orange, cured me forever. Even putting rum in it (gunfire) doesn't help.

davis

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Yorkshire Gold

Wise words. Dorset Tea is pretty good too.

il_principe

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

veronese68

Il Principe wrote:

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

Ha ha. That made me chuckle. When I saw you'd posted in here I thought you didn't strike me as a tea drinker. I avoid coffee in any shop in this country. Only really drink espresso in Italy.

rick_chasey

Il Principe wrote:

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

I'm intrigued to know what your criteria is for working out what is coffee and what isn't.

clarkey cat

I like Twinings Everyday. Really does make a most agreeable cuppa.

Kieran_Burns

I broke my tea cup at work.

This means me looking at the drinks machine in disgust.

I must remember to bring a new mug in tomorrow...

il_principe

Rick Chasey wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

I'm intrigued to know what your criteria is for working out what is coffee and what isn't.

It's pretty simple. Does it taste nice, or is it bitter, over extracted, and bland? Try an espresso from Costa/Starbucks and then try one from somewhere that gives a crap - Prufrock, Flat White, Flat Cap, Monmouth. Incidentally places like that tend to be cheaper as well.

Oh and coffee isn't a shot of watery brown stuff topped off with a pint of scalded milk, which appears to be what Starbucks sell.

clarkey cat

There really is no excuse for drinking bad coffee in London. There are loads of places to get good coffee.

Here is a (slightly out of date) map.

http://www.worldbaristachampionship.com ... e-map.html

rick_chasey

Il Principe wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

I'm intrigued to know what your criteria is for working out what is coffee and what isn't.

It's pretty simple. Does it taste nice, or is it bitter, over extracted, and bland? Try an espresso from Costa/Starbucks and then try one from somewhere that gives a crap - Prufrock, Flat White, Flat Cap, Monmouth. Incidentally places like that tend to be cheaper as well.

Oh and coffee isn't a shot of watery brown stuff topped off with a pint of scalded milk, which appears to be what Starbucks sell.

Yeah.

Starbucks is filth, though it has improved.

Costa isn't all that bad. Certainly wouldn't call it bitter. Bland, sure.

Nero? Too bitter and thin for me.

But only starbucks is genuinely horrific.

Though I do have enormous objections getting about 3 litres of liquid when you order a cappuccino.

Never had much problem with the milk itself in Costa, though I've never ventured beyond a macchiato. They too suffer from enormous-itus.

For sure, it's not something a barista has given a sh!t about but it's alright if you stick to the small stuff.

pangolin

Notes is good, by Trafalgar Square. And Love in a Cup in Aldgate.

I don't mind tea, but barely drink it any more. There was a tradition of making tea 2 or 3 times a day in the office, that once you were in was really hard to get out of. 'It's your turn' etc. Don't like it enough to be bothered with all that!

twist83

Rick Chasey wrote:

Il Principe wrote:

2 things:

1: Nothing sold by Costa can accurately be described as 'coffee'
2: Tea (in all its forms) is an abomination.

I'm intrigued to know what your criteria is for working out what is coffee and what isn't.

Probably something that hasnt been roasted god knows how long ago and left sat around and then made into a cup of coffee by some monkey in Costa/Starbucks/Cafe Nero (Delete as needed). There ideas of a Latte or Flat White usually involve about 4 times the amount of milk needed to hide the bitter taste of the stale over pulled shots that get dumped into their coffees.

Decaf Coffee is like alcohol free beer.... Pointless. I grind my own beans from the like of Hasbean etc and bring them into work daily with my lunch and use with the Aeropress at work. At home I have an Espresso machine.

I am not a tea drinker. But I can make a cup of tea. The women in my office make tea as follows (and instant coffee!!) loads of milk then topped up with boiling water, they then add the teabag and/or coffee.....

veronese68

Il Principe wrote:

[It's pretty simple. Does it taste nice, or is it bitter, over extracted, and bland?
Oh and coffee isn't a shot of watery brown stuff topped off with a pint of scalded milk, which appears to be what Starbucks sell.

I agree with these bits. Don't drink enough coffee to search out a good place.
Although I haven't tried I will still guarantee it's impossible to find a decent espresso in Feltham/Hanworth.