Anybody drink TEA?

You have to remember, it's Starbucks. They may have once been as good as they currently claim to be, but that'd only be at coffee. They're not a tea house, never were, and shouldn't try to be. I mean, ****, the tea they sell is usually Tazo, which is overpriced junk anyway and you just pay even more for it by paying for the damn cup and hot water. Maybe I'm spoiled by bein' in Portland, OR, but something local that does a good job is almost always cheaper and provides better coffee. As for tea, well, that just ain't gonna happen. Buy Numi tea bags if you don't wanna deal with most whole leaf teas and call it a day.

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Tea which is a camomile blend, is an effective tension tamer and quite tasty, especially compared to other bedtime teas I have tried. For example, Yogi tea is bizarrely sweet because they add stevia root. Sleepytime Extra has a nice herbal taste. In terms of effectiveness, I have varied results. However, I think that is because I'm a hard core insomniac. I would recommend it to anyone who has trouble sleeping.

That stuff really works and tastes so much better than just plain valerian (ugh!). I highly recommend trying it before trying something chemical like Ambien.

BladeRunner wrote:That stuff really works and tastes so much better than just plain valerian (ugh!). I highly recommend trying it before trying something chemical like Ambien.

Too bad Michael Jackson didn't opt for some "Sleepytime Tea" instead of the cocktail of perscription drugs that he opted for.

I'm not big on meds and believe in the natural/herbal route.

Webmaster wrote:I'm not big on meds and believe in the natural/herbal route.

Amen brudda. Just had a glass of vanilla hazelnut iced tea. Yummmm!

This summer I've been downsizing my beer consumption in lieu of
iced tea. Just as refreshing and even more relaxing.

Seriously, the local paper just listed 8 ways to improve your health..
and one of the ways was adding green tea to your diet. The anti-oxidants are a major +.

Mike505 wrote: the local paper just listed 8 ways to improve your health..
and one of the ways was adding green tea to your diet. The anti-oxidants are a major +.

The list I saw recommended a daily glass of red wine.

Are there any anti-oxidants in beer?

Geodome wrote:Are there any anti-oxidants in beer?

Green tea is loaded with anti-oxidants, so I'm assuming green beer must have some?

Skully wrote:

Geodome wrote:Are there any anti-oxidants in beer?

Green tea is loaded with anti-oxidants, so I'm assuming green beer must have some?

When I ate in Chinese restaurants, I remember getting a free pot of black tea (probably Oolong). That's not the case any more. There's a charge. Nothing's free anymore.

Free tea in a Chinese Restaurant? What a concept!

I enjoy experimenting with some homemade blends. When the sun sets over the hill and the new moon dips her silver softness, savour the tranquility in our evening repose blend. It's a perfect toast to the rising moon. And a perfect wife /or date pleaser.

1 part roses
1 part lavender flowers
1 part lemon verbena leaves
1 part chamomile flowers
1 part each peppermint and spearmint leaves
1 part blue malva flowers
pinch of stevia

Tyro wrote:When I ate in Chinese restaurants, I remember getting a free pot of black tea (probably Oolong). That's not the case any more. There's a charge. Nothing's free anymore.

Bring your own tea and just ask for a cup of hot water.

Vincenzo wrote:

Tyro wrote:When I ate in Chinese restaurants, I remember getting a free pot of black tea (probably Oolong). That's not the case any more. There's a charge. Nothing's free anymore.

Bring your own tea and just ask for a cup of hot water.

I believe there would be a service charge for the hot water.

One of the administrative assistants at my office gave me an early Christmas present.
A tin of green tea blossoms. I haven't tried them out yet, but I hear it's visually stunning after it's seeped with hot water. Should open into a spectacular flower. I hope the tea tastes as good as it looks. I'm generally not a tea drinker. Any suggestions for improving the taste of the tea?

The key to good tea is giving the the hot water ample time to seep through.

Wissotzky makes some fine holiday gift packages.

Fellow baldy, the prominant health physician Dr. Andrew Weil has this to say about TEA.
I'm printing this courtesy of Rich. Thanks for this piece of information.

My Life With Tea, Part One & Two
Dr. Andrew Weil


I have written about the health benefits of green tea for more than 30 years, and it is possible that in some small way I have helped this wonderful beverage become popular in the United States. I hope so, because today, thousands of scientific studies confirm what the ancient Chinese knew through simple observation - green tea is perhaps the most healthful beverage human beings can consume. Studies either strongly suggest or confirm that the antioxidants in green tea can reduce LDL cholesterol, promote fat burning, reduce the risk of several forms of cancer, and alleviate depression. But tea is much more than the healthful compounds in it. It is an experience, and for me, a personal story of discovery that continues to this day.

When I was growing up in Philadelphia in the 1940s and 50s, my parents drank coffee exclusively - black and unsweetened. I did not like it (and still don't). The only tea we knew about was Lipton, in bags. Old and sick people drank hot tea. My parents and I drank iced tea in the summer, much sweetened.

Then, after graduating from high school in 1959, I had a life-changing experience. As part of a remarkable institution known as the International School of America, I traveled around the world in nine months with a group of fellow students. In Japan, I was exposed to sencha - the everyday green tea drunk by all Japanese. More significantly, I experienced matcha, the powdered green tea, as part of a true Japanese tea ceremony. Many Americans have heard of, or even taken part in, this ceremony today, but in 1959, it was virtually unknown to most of the western world. The idea of using a food - tea - as a ceremonial object of focus and meditation fascinated me and made a strong impression.

Later on that same trip, I had a chance to drink tea in other Asian cultures as well as in middle Eastern and European countries, and by the time I returned to the U.S. to attend Harvard College, I was a confirmed tea aficionado and experimenter. In the early 1960s, I recall in particular a period of enthusiasm for lapsong souchong, a Taiwanese tea that is smoked over pinewood fires, imparting a rich, dark color and a complex, satisfying flavor.

In the 1970s and 80s, I became concerned about widespread coffee addiction in America. Many of my patients had longstanding disorders - such as chronic stress, insomnia, or gastrointestinal conditions - and had been to dozens of doctors, taken many medications, but found no relief. I was nearly always the only doctor who 1) asked them if they drank coffee, and 2) told them in no uncertain terms to stop drinking it for at least two months to see if the problem resolved.

This simple counsel was amazingly successful. My files are full of accounts of chronic health problems that resolved completely when people stopped drinking coffee. In many cases, these patients became tea drinkers, and found the experience satisfying and healthful.

Also in those decades, I went to Japan many times, and was fascinated by the true depth and richness of the green tea culture there. I became familiar with some of the finest varieties of green tea, and soon began to drink these daily.

My tea consumption is both formal and informal. Both have their rewards.
On the formal side, I have a bowl of matcha - made from powdered green tea that is the focus of the Japanese tea ceremony - every morning after breakfast. I certainly don't conduct a true tea ceremony every morning, but I take some care to prepare and consume my matcha in accordance with tradition as I have learned it in Japan.

First, I take out a beautiful, traditional hand-thrown tea bowl (chawan). I put the bamboo tea whisk (chasen) into it and pour in some warm water to soften the whisk and warm the bowl. I pour out the water, dry the warmed bowl, and use a bamboo scoop (chashaku) to put three scoops of matcha into the bowl. Then I add about a quarter cup of water warmed to 180 degrees - hot, but not boiling.

Finally I whisk the mixture to achieve what the Japanese call, "the froth of green jade," and to completely disperse the matcha. It does not take me long - perhaps 20 seconds - because I always pre-sift each new container of matcha upon opening to break up any lumps (I then store the matcha in my freezer to preserve freshness). Then I drink it, making audible slurps, as the Japanese do.

I take the act of drinking matcha seriously - or perhaps I should say, I take the pleasure of drinking matcha seriously. So when I have my morning matcha, I don't simultaneously read the newspapers, surf the web, or even talk much with guests who may be present. The flavor of good matcha is subtle, nuanced, a harmony of gentle vegetal, floral, fruit and bitter notes that takes undivided attention to fully appreciate. There is a wonderful interplay here, because matcha contains psychoactive compounds - notably, caffeine and L-theanine - that promote calm, focused alertness, precisely the qualities required to appreciate the taste of good tea!

When I drink green tea throughout the day, it is more informal. I usually have a good quality sencha - the daily, ordinary brewed green tea that is drunk throughout Japan - or gyokuru, a higher quality green tea that is shade-grown to both sweeten the taste and increase the L-theanine content. I also sometimes enjoy genmaicha, a combination of green tea and roasted, puffed brown rice that features a deeper, more earthy flavor. I brew these using loose tea, never bags, as I believe most teabags restrict some of the transfer of flavor and color. I variously use a small basket or a metal "tea ball" to hold the loose leaves. I drink these hot in the winter, and iced in the summer.

But I don't drink green tea exclusively. I have recently been exploring the world of oolong tea, which most Americans know only from the little pots of low-quality stuff offered in Chinese restaurants. Representing an intermediate stage of oxidation between that of green and black teas, oolong has a mystique and culture in China that is as rich as that of green tea in Japan, and the better qualities are delicious. I find many people in this country cling to green tea exclusively because they believe it alone is healthful, but oolong has similar antioxidant properties - explore!

I am often asked for specifics regarding the brands and types of the teas that I drink. This can be challenging, as I am by nature an experimenter and seldom stay with one drink - or food, for that matter - indefinitely. For that reason, I suggest exploring and tasting on your own. A particular aid in the quest for a personal favorite tea can be the tastings held periodically at quality-focused tea shops that are springing up in many American cities such as San Francisco's Samovar Tea Lounges.

Having said that, here are some of my favorite brands and types:
Prepared green tea: Ito En of Japan is the largest green tea company in the world, and since 2001 has been selling bottled and canned teas in the U.S. Its products represent excellent quality at a reasonable price. I partnered with Ito En to create "Sencha Shot" and "Oolong Shot," 6.4-ounce cans of unsweetened tea that are easy to take along in lunches or on hikes. (I donate all of my profits from royalties from sales of Ito En products directly to the Weil Foundation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting integrative medicine through training, education and research.)
Bagged tea: Ito En also makes a line of teas that use a unique, flow-through large-mesh bag.
Loose-Leaf sencha, gyokuro, genmaicha and oolong: I recommend sampling the various offerings of Ito En, In Pursuit of Tea and Japanese Green Tea Online.
Matcha: I buy Zuisen No Shiro - the name means "Joyous Spring" - from Matcha and More, in economical 200-gram containers.
For more information for tea neophytes, I recommend: I "How to Get Into Tea" on Samovar's website. For more about matcha, see "Making Matcha Tea" by Kevin Rose, tea aficionado and founder of Digg.com.

Above all, make your tea drinking a happy affair, not another opportunity for stress and worry about "getting it right." Tea is a gentle, forgiving drink, adaptable to Zen monasteries and vending machines alike. Experiment, explore, enjoy!

Logan wrote:Thanks for this piece of information.

A "piece" of information. Reads more like a "book".

This is how my grandad makes his cups of tea. He's in his seventies now and drinks whisky like he'll never get hold of it again. This drink is very relaxing and a great way to sedate family members and friends.

Ingredients
1 cup boiling water
1 tea bag 1
A jigger of Irish whiskey
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon white sugar

Directions
Pour boiling water into a mug, and place the tea bag in to steep for about 1 minute. Remove and discard the tea bag. Pour in the whiskey, milk and sugar as desired. Stir, drink, then relax.

McGrath wrote:This is how my grandad makes his cups of tea. He's in his seventies now and drinks whisky like he'll never get hold of it again. This drink is very relaxing and a great way to sedate family members and friends.

On the subject of Tea, this is my classic Friday afternoon jazz music...

Kick back, listen and enjoy.
The lyrics are a lot of fun and if you listen closely you'll notice he's got more than half of [The Crusaders] as his "backup band".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B00000EY85/ref=pd_krex_listen_dp_img?ie=UTF8&refTagSuffix=dp_img

Sweet tea!

Tazo Zen Green Tea is one of my favorite teas and I drink it almost daily now that it's available at my local Starbucks.

AtomicGleam wrote:Tazo Zen Green Tea is one of my favorite teas and I drink it almost daily now that it's available at my local Starbucks.

I tried their Tazo Peach tea and that one is good too.

Timpac wrote:If anyone is interested in a really good informational book on tea, check out The Harney & Sons Guide to Tea. Really, really useful. I've learned more out of it about tea than I'd learned in a few years prior that I've been really interested in tea. Not very expensive and it'll tell you what to do with basically any sorta tea you pick up.

I just got a copy. Very informative.

Tea & Whiskey

RemingtonSteel wrote:Tea & Whiskey

Do you drink that hot or iced?