After seeing Alton Brown’s show on tea, I was thinking about getting a cast iron tea pot. Crate & Barrel has a small one for about $35, and I have a gift card there with about $30 left on it.
Anyone have a cast iron teapot? Ever use one?
That’s probbaly because a proper cup of chai is brewed for a while. None of this “pour boiling water over tea leaves and spices mixture”, but rather:
Put water, and milk (to taste) into a saucepan. Add tea leaves and spices. Heat on hob until boiling, and leave simmering for a few (about 2 or 3) minutes, until the tea develops to the strength you want it at. Serve immediately with sugar to taste.
My, I’ve seen all kinds of cast iron utensils, but I’ve never heard of a cast iron tea pot. Now I have to keep my eyes open for them.
Twinings… Stash… Bigelow… others…
In that order.
And yes, served HOT.
I’m kind of partial to the 2nd Earl Grey, actually…
You probably do not want to waste good loose tea by cramming it into a tea ball. In order to release their flavor, the tea leaves need to be able to unfurl.
Try super-big tea bags or a reusable filter like a Swiss Gold (both available at specialty tea sellers). Bodum pots are transparent and come with a transparent filter, and adagio.com has clear mugs with a clear plastic filter also. The last two options are nice because you can watch the tea leaves swirl around as they steep, which is just lovely!
Another vote for Twinings. You can buy it at Giant grocery stores in our area (i’m in Baltimore), in the ‘foreign’ foods section - not with the tea. With marmalade and L’Petit Ecolier cookies.
I’m only a recent tea drinker, and I’ve only tried the major store brands, but I prefer Bigelow to Twinings (at least in our grocery stores, Twinings is always on the shelf next to Bigelow). I don’t like Stash, for some reason. Can’t quite explain why.
I, too, saw the Good Eats tea episode and may at some point get fancy and try loose tea leaves. But it seems like kind of a pain to have to wash both a strainer and a mug, and dump tons of loose leaves, especially at work. The bags are just so much easier.
As a slight hijack, how do you all take your tea? I make a mug of tea with two tea bags, add half a sweet ‘n’ low packet, and then add a shot of Coffeemate French Vanilla. Mmmmm.
That would be close to unique.
I like it strong, with about 1/3 of the milk most people use. No sweetener ever.
I’m surprised nobody’s mentioned Jackson’s. It’s damnably hard to find, but worth it. As far as I know, it’s pretty common over in England. Their Earl Grey is my favorite.
I find Twinings Earl Grey to be kind of bland, but decent enough. I love their Lady Grey. (And if you’re looking for a more delicate non-flavored tea, try Prince of Wales.)
Trader Joe’s Earl Grey is not the best, but their decaf version is better than other decafs I’ve tried.
Bigelow is not good at all, IMHO. I find their teas to be generally inferior. Constant Comment is nice every now and then, however.
I am allergic to bergamot, so I am uniquely unqualified to post in this thread. In general, I prefer Twinings, but my cousin gave me a bunch of Stash tea for Christmas, so we’ll see about that.
Dalfour Organic is sweet, but not horribly perfumy.
Trader Joe’s is mild, soft, and slightly spicy when it’s oversteeped.
Twinings is breakfast tea with perfume. Good in a pinch.
Bigelow is bitter heartburn.
(Nods to Green Bean)
Twinnings is by far the best I’ve tried, but I admit I haven’t tried very many.
Unfortunately, the local WalMart stopped carrying Twinnings so now I’m stuck with Bigelow. sigh
I agree with Green Bean , **Jackson’s ** is definitely the best but it’s getting quite hard to find. Twinings is my fallback but it’s just not the same. Do they use real Bergamot in Twinings? BTW am I unusual in liking my Earl Grey with milk?