Superheating can definitely happen. Both Snopes and Mythbusters confirmed it. Although Mythbusters said it’d only happen with distilled water, thatdoes not seem to be the case . But they stopped when their control started boiling so I didn’t agree with their test methodology anyway.
No, I can distinguish them… but I’ve been drinking tea for almost 50 years now so I’ve had some practice. I would not expect someone new to tea to have much ability to identify tea by taste.
It’s a little like wine - there is a difference between different types and qualities, and there are a fair number of “tea snobs” out there, but like wine you probably want to start on the low end (but not rock bottom) and progress gradually up the quality ladder until you find a sweet spot for yourself that involves a balance between personal preference/cost/convenience.
Sure.
Like non-alcoholic cocktails there is a certain lack of a kick there, but that’s not an inherently bad thing. Certainly, decaff is better than suffering health problems due to caffeine intake. YMMV.
Because I’m getting older I have to cut back on the caffeine. Sometimes I’ll brew a small pot of half-decaf half-caf so I can drink more tea without consuming more caffeine.
My personal preference is black tea, currently favoring English and Irish breakfast. I long had a thing for Earl Grey, still do, except some companies have taken to over-doing the bergamot flavoring which I don’t care for. I also prefer NOT to have fruity flavors in my tea, but hey, if you like lemon/orange/peach/whatever in yours that’s fine, drink what you like. I also dip into Darjeeling, Ceylon, and the occasional green-tea-with-jasmine.
I like loose-leaf tea not only because I think it has better flavor but I can also adjust the strength of my cup - sometimes I want it stronger, sometimes weaker. I’ve been buying Stash brand by the pound the past couple years because I can get a pound of loose-leaf for a less than crazy price. Not that bags are always terrible - my sister gave me some Harney & Sons Early Grey in “sachets” (fancy bags, basically) that was far superior to many loose-leaf teas I’ve had in the past, but, again, like wine, there is a certain cost to quality.
I will also drink grocery-store level tea bags like Red Rose, Lipton’s, or [insert name of store] House Brand, typically for things like ice tea or as a mixer with something else but not all tea drinkers will do that. I prefer higher quality but I can still derive some enjoyment (and caffeine) from lower-class teas.
Hot water over loose leaves - I have this little spoon-shaped infusers that hold just enough loose leaf for one cup. Sometimes I’ll brew a pot of 2-3 cups. I use an electric kettle to heat the water but let it cool briefly before pouring as having the water slightly less than boiling works better. Some people get very, very fussy about temperature, using different ones for various teas but my kettle isn’t that fancy.
Start with bags because they’re easier than the paraphernalia and measuring needed for loose leaf.
Twinings is a good brand to start with and they sell variety packs, which lets you try several different sorts. Bigelow is another that’s decent to start with. Both also sell some decaff varieties. Feel free to experiment a little - some people like sweetening, some don’t, some use cream, some don’t, etc. Find what you like. You can either stay there, or buy higher quality of the same flavor/variety and see if it’s worth the greater price to you. Drink what you like.
And… what the hell, why not: Teeny Tiny Tea Rant (with Lemon)
@OP I recently ran out of good tea and decided to try some nasty teabags I had in the pantry. No tannins, no snobbery; it was just plain bad, and would have put me off tea for good if I thought that was what it was all about. So, do yourself a favour and follow any of the excellent suggestions in this thread, and buy the best quality tea you can afford even if it means you have to ration it. (Good, fresh tea should not cost that much, though; I am not talking about rare vintages.)
That depends on what teas you’re trying to distinguish. I still don’t think I could tell the difference between English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast, unless maybe I had two cups in front of me at the same time… but even someone who’s never had tea before should be able to tell any sort of black from oolong.
And yes, DPRK, there’s definitely such a thing as genuinely bad tea. I had some in a cafeteria once, the brand was something like “Foodservice of America”, that tasted like it was not only floor sweepings, but floor sweepings of oak leaves, not tea. American Lipton’s is pretty bad, but I’ll still drink it if politeness demands I do so… but that stuff, politeness only goes so far.
That depends on what teas you’re trying to distinguish. I still don’t think I could tell the difference between English Breakfast and Irish Breakfast, unless maybe I had two cups in front of me at the same time… but even someone who’s never had tea before should be able to tell any sort of black from oolong.
And yes, DPRK, there’s definitely such a thing as genuinely bad tea. I had some in a cafeteria once, the brand was something like “Foodservice of America”, that tasted like it was not only floor sweepings, but floor sweepings of oak leaves, not tea. American Lipton’s is pretty bad, but I’ll still drink it if politeness demands I do so… but that stuff, politeness only goes so far.