arsenic--in the pot of tea

[cyrano]

I don't like tea. I find the taste unpleasant--perhaps 'bitter' would describe it. I've tried black teas, green teas, white teas, red teas... I don't think of any other colors offhand that I've tried. The latter two were good, as far as teas go, but still quite tea-ful.
I drank Cityspice for a while. It was a very strong black, with prodigious amounts of clove and cinnamon and other spices that completely overwhelmed the taste of the tea. It was great for if you were feeling sick or cold, but it was awful once it got cold and was disposed to give one's stomach the knock-about if you didn't eat something first.
I'm generally disappointed by herbals--they taste like somebody dropped lawn cuttings in a mug of hot water. Which I suppose should not surprize me because technically that's what they are. When I went looking for a 'mint tea that wasn't a tea' (A tisane, technically, or an infusion, rather than a 'tea') Tazo was the first brand I came across that met my requirements. All Oregon harvested peppermint and spearmint leaves, with a hint of tarragon. No tea to be found. I'm still not certain if I'm crazy about the tarragon. But it's a fine blend of mints, and the coffee shop at the remote terminal in the airport where I worked sold it. (Alas, the new owners carry another tea line.)
And today I tried my first mug of Wild Sweet Orange; I'd grabbed a bag from one of the panels at OryCon. It's definitely not a pekoe. Lemongrass, blackberry leaves, rose hips, spearmint leaves, orange peel, orange essence, hibiscus flowers, ginger root and licorice root. I am tremendously pleased with it. I went from there to the Tazo website and am now quite keen to find a box of the Cinnamon Spice infusion to try. They say I can find their fine teas at Safeway and Albertson. Bully for me.

Comments

[aberrantvirtue.livejournal.com]

I also reccomend some of the ones by, of all places, Celestial Seasonings. Many of their "herbal teas" are actually infusions.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

Actually, yeah, that's one of those things about 'tea' that I'd originally planned to mention up top. I'm generally disappointed by herbals--they taste like somebody dropped lawn cuttings in a mug of hot water. Which I suppose should not surprize me because technically that's what they are. (:
I've tried some of the CS line--Lemon Zinger and Chamomile, at least--but I'm always open to making the same mistake over and over and over. It's one of my endearing qualities.

[aberrantvirtue.livejournal.com]

I like the Peppermint (although I think Stash's is better) and the sleepytime (which is mint and chamomile and stuff), but I was raised on them. ;)

[goth-hobbit.livejournal.com]

Stash Lemon Ginger.

TRY THE CINNAMON

[(Anonymous)]

Definitely try the Tazo Cinnamon -- it smells like cinnamon rolls and tastes great.

I stock up at the local health food store during one of their twice yearly sales.

I also like their China Green Tips but not the Envy. The Envy is too woody a flavor for my tastes.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

Well, more tea for me then! :-)

As far as mint infusions go, just get yourself some mint leaves and hot water and infuse away (honey is optional). If you need mint, remind me next time I'm in your neck o' da woods and I'll chop some of Mom's for you. It also freezes really well.

There's a very snooty tea purveyor in Portland that will sell you things to infuse like rosehips and hibiscus flowers. Latter is highly recommended, although a bit pricey.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

So how hard is it to bag (or somehow otherwise contain) the leaves, if I were to just pick leaves, dry them and then throw them in a mug? Or would I dry them? Either way, the whole 'floating loose in my mug' thing lives on.

Red tea clarification

[tersa.livejournal.com]

FYI, 'red' tea is also not actually from the tea plant, but a South African plant called rooibos, and so is therefore technically also a tisane like the herbals.

Black, green, and white tea all come from the tea plant, and has, yes, that 'bitter' quality to it.

So, if you object to red tea, it's for different reasons than it being 'tea'. :)

Re: Red tea clarification

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

No, this is true, the red 'tea' did not suffer from that bitterness. I just didn't dig the taste. It was not quite the same as whisky in the 'I am drinking dirt' department, especially without the alcoholic content.

[miss-friday.livejournal.com]

I would get myself a tea ball and stuff them into that. Tea balls run about $2.50 new, and $0.10 if you find the right garage sale. I've never tried drying the leaves. Usually I make a big batch with fresh leaves and freeze it in ice cube trays for later.