Loose Leaf tea brewing

Ids

Ids

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1,290
Plenty of proper coffee drinkers on here, so how about the tea drinkers?

I'm starting to get into my loose leaf tea's currently using a mug and tea infuser and am now looking towards a tea pot, I'm seriously concidering a glass tea pot with a built in strainer, are these any good?

I'm currently drinking a lot of peppermint tea as I like the taste and it settles my stomach quite nicely.

So what have we got?

What tea do you like?
What hardware do you use?

Any other tips?
 
I like Wulong / Oolong and Lap Sang what's name - the smoked haddock one.

I've got a simple plastic mesh basket that sits in my mug while the tea brews.

Not had any for a while - worked have barred me!
 
The japanese teapots with the removable baskets work very well (Zero Japan are decent value ones that can be picked up from John Lewis) The more space the tea has to move the better.

Jing is a FANtastic supplier if a little on the expensive side, but their Earl Grey is phenomenal. Also the Yellow-Gold Oolong. (anyone else think of war of the worlds when they hear oooo-long?) I believe amongst others they supplie the Blumenthal restaurants...make of that what you will :D

I would steer clear of the glass...at least the bodum glass pots...had 2 both broke due to the metal chamber getting stuck and then cracking the sides.
 
I use a tea strainer every time. The leaves have to have full and inrestricted movement whilst in the pot. The little infusers just compact the leaves and restrict the brewing.
 
Ids said:
What tea do you like?
What hardware do you use?
Click to expand...

My usual is PG Tips or Yorkshire Decaff, depending on the time of day. However these are bags!

I tend to get Assam, Darjeeling or "Breakfast blends". My main brands are Taylors of Harrogate or Twinings - again this depends on whether I am at a real tea shop or a supermarket.

I use a tea ball mostly, although I will use a pot and strainer if I'm going to have a top-up. We had a Bodum thingy, but fell out with it. The tea was fine, but we didn't get on with the pot itself.

Be careful though. This is a very political area to get into. Whereas coffee drinkers can get the real stuff quite easily we must remember that most tea is illegally imported - as Karl Marx said, "Proper Tea is theft"!
 
I'm a out and out tea drinker all my life, in fact i have never made a cup of tea without the use of a teapot, for your daily cupper you can't go wrong with good old Yorkshire gold, a very refreshing full of flavour tea, my all time favourite with a shadow of a doubt, Tippy Assam, you can get it from Bettys tea rooms in Yorshire, it's the most wonderful flavoured tea imaginable, i always warm the teapot with a swirl of hot water then add the tea, one for the pot and one for the cup give a stir leave stand for around two minutes then pour.

Jamie.
 
I've always used a pot at home alas with a tea bag, i'm going to look at strainers I think one for the pot and for a mug at work, I doubt using a pot would work at work!
 
I have fond memories as a bairn of the Ringtons van in it's black green and gold livery driving around the streets circa 1966 and bringing their teas to the door. Me kicking my football around in the street and the driver telling me to keep practicing...or else I would only be good enough to play for Sunderland!!!! Happy days.
 
Single Estate Darjeeling 1st Flush teas for me! I use a glass teapot for the white ones and bone china pots for the black. Always drunk from bone china - I have three sets so I select to suit my mood.

Day to day, I use a filter basket in a bone china mug and this works well. I don't use a basket in a teapot because I infuse only sufficient water for one pouring - a coil strainer in the spout keeps the white leaf where it needs to be for a second and third infusion.

My special teas come from The Rare Tea Company. Henrietta visits the farms to select her teas and really knows her stuff. Sublime!

Tukdah black and white 1st Flush has to be my favourite tea of all time.
 
Oh dear !!!! It's Tea Bags Only here, we've dabbled in to loose, But this has got me thinking and there is a tea pot in the kitchen.

We converted to Green Tea with out milk or sugar, and only usually buy Clipper Teas. They do some nice ones with hints of flavour. I am on meds as I get a lot of stomach acid and I've found normal tea doesn't help. But green tea I can drink and it doesn't upset me. I think its the milk element that causes it.
 
i use 1 teaspoon of loose tea..tescos at the minute and as i type...straight into mug no milk no sugar and thats the way i like,,,none of yer mamby pamby bags here..wish i kept my old enamel mug from my mining days...turn anyones stomach looking inside it...but i dunno seemed to enhance he flavour

ringtons was a major seller and still is today around my area 6 miles from Sunderland frankieabbot
 
A dedicated tea drinker here.

I try to get the loose tea from India whenever possible and some how I like them better than the ones we get here.
Also I make it the Indian style (The masala chai)

If any of you would like to try I will give the preparation below

For one cup of tea

1/2 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/2 inch piece of ginger crushed (Please dont use ginger paste)
2 green cardamon
Sugar to taste

Put all the above to a saucepan and heat until it boils once it boild reduce the flame so that the team is simmering and leave it like that for another 5 minutes till the 1/4 of the mixture evaporates giving you one cup of rich creamy tea

Need to make one now
 
Frankieabbott said:
I have fond memories as a bairn of the Ringtons van in it's black green and gold livery driving around the streets circa 1966 and bringing their teas to the door. Me kicking my football around in the street and the driver telling me to keep practicing...or else I would only be good enough to play for Sunderland!!!! Happy days.
Click to expand...
Ringtons still delivers around the Mother in laws , still the same livery on the vans and the lad carries a wicker basket with a selection of teas and biccies , the caramel wafers are my favourite
Regards
Derrick
P.S. PG Tips pyramid bags for me , nothing too sophisticated in our household , just so long as its good for dunking
 
The Geordie Shaver said:
Frankieabbott said:
I have fond memories as a bairn of the Ringtons van in it's black green and gold livery driving around the streets circa 1966 and bringing their teas to the door. Me kicking my football around in the street and the driver telling me to keep practicing...or else I would only be good enough to play for Sunderland!!!! Happy days.
Click to expand...
Ringtons still delivers around the Mother in laws , still the same livery on the vans and the lad carries a wicker basket with a selection of teas and biccies , the caramel wafers are my favourite
Regards
Derrick
Click to expand...

Reminds me of when I was a lad. We had the baker come to the door with a wicker basket with loaves and buns. Then there was the grocery van too.
 
A life-saver at the side of the road at a bus pull-in in the early hours of the morning, that chai. The stall holder knew when a bus was due in, kick his chai-wallah awake a bit before and a mayhem of chai in one direction and cash in the other ensued. Always seemed to taste better out of disposable clay cups. Chai dipped out of a big, flat pan bubbling over an open fire - also a life-saver!
 
I like tea a lot. I must have about 14 loose teas at the moment. My favourite is some green tea I bought on holiday in a small Chinese town market for just about nothing. The locals(not the trader) kept trying to get me to buy the good stuff. I still have some left after 4 years and it still tastes great.
 
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