I’m an earl grey with honey man, but if I’m being honest, I’ve never really tried much else.
TL;DR
- Green: Gyokuro
- Black: Darjeeling
- White: Pai Mu Tan (Bai Mu Dan)
- Yellow: Yinzhen
- Pu-Erh: Sheng over Shu
- Misc: Yerba Mate (Instead of Coffee)
I’ll just boldly split that answer into some categories :D
Black teas: As my personal favorite I prefer Darjeeling teas, because of their flowery and mild taste.
As for my daily driver I mostly find myself drinking stronger black teas, like english breakfast or ceylon teas.
Green teas: My personal favorite for green tea is the Japanese Gyokuro, because of its strongly present umami flavour and general taste. This green tea gets its flavour from being hidden from the sun by huge black tarps some months prior to harvest. This procedure stops bitter substances from forming within the flower.
But because Gyokuro is a very pricey tea I find myself buying a Chinese green tea called Pi Lo Chun. It’s nothing like the Gyokuro that I love, but it has a flowery flavour to it.
I also love drinking and preparing Matcha. You shouldn’t waste money on cheap Matcha, only if you like to drink Matcha Latte.
Whites: For white teas I love to drink a tea called Pai Mu Tan (sometimes called Bai Mu Dan). It tastes somewhat fruity sometimes.
I’ve also tried a more expensive white tea called Silver Needles but I couldn’t really make out a difference to other white teas I’ve tasted. But that might also just be an error of mine.
Oolong: I really like Da Hong Pao. I haven’t tasted many other oolongs.
Yellow teas: It’s been a while since I’ve had my last yellow tea, but I remember buying a Yinzhen. It had a malty taste, that I really enjoyed.
Pu-Erh: I like the earthy taste of a good Shu Pu-Erh. Riper Shu Pu-Erh might even taste like chocolate. But when first drinking a Shu you might connect the taste and the smell to fish or algae.
Sheng Pu-Erh is more like a conventional green tea. With time passing, this tea will ripen and unlock new flavours.
I prefer Shengs over Shus.
Misc.: When talking about other kinds of tea I like substituting coffee with yerba mate. It keeps you energized longer and when drinking it correctly you can also drink it for quite a long time. My longest session was about 4 hours long before the taste vanished.
I’m no huge herbal tea guy, but I do like my camomile tea in the evening to calm myself.
I think I got three recommendations you might enjoy.
- Green: Yutaka Midori No1 - slightly cheaper alternative to Gyokuro; deep green and very aromatic cup, sweet, slightly astringent but no bitterness ( shaded for about a week before harvest)
- Oolong: Thai Ruby Red - more on the fermented side, very aromatic red cup with flowery notes reminiscent of Darjeeling, no smokiness like e.g a formosa
- Black: Benifuuki Black - a very intense and complex black tee with a nice sweetness ( usually made into a high grade green tea)
Thank you for the recommendation. I will definitely try them, with my next bigger tea order.
Earl Gray. Hot.
the only tea for me, it will surely be
it’s from a pot, it’s piping hot
It’s
edit: I also enjoy a rare London Fog sometimes
Orange Pekoe
My go-to hot tea is Twining’s Irish Breakfast, stronger flavor than your typical English Breakfast. I prefer it with half-and-half and sugar, but can go with full cream or milk depending on what’s available.
As a southerner, I also like sweet iced tea (“sweet tea”) but was shocked to find what they serve at Chipotle is my favorite. It turns out the tea they use (S&D iced tea blend) comes from a provider in Concord, NC (just outside Charlotte) and they used to sell it for people to brew at home as well, but the company was bought out and don’t anymore. After some trial and error I discovered the secret was to put about half as much sugar in as I normally would. The tea blend itself is excellent, though, much better than you find in grocery stores.
I used to pride myself on my tea snobbery, sampling green tea varieties from the farmers market and using a ceramic infuser.
Then one day I stopped having time for all that and found that Constant Comment was actually quite lovely and available everywhere.
Black tea with orange zest and spices. Simple, but everything I really want from a tea. Lady Grey is good too.
Maturity
High mountain oolong tea from Taiwan. Taste like sweet light leafy vegetable tea
2nd is dong ding oolong. Taste like literal boba balls
To quote Al Swearengen: “I like that fucking darjeeling black. Oops.”
Go to Turkey. Visit the shops in Istanbul where they sell carpets. Be invited in for a beer and a meal.
They will serve delicious apple tea.
But really, it’s the whole experience. And that’s the best tea.
Went there as a kid, great mint tea. Some of the most inviting people I’ve ever met. Sat with nomads hocking black wool from their herd.
To be fair, i think most people are like this if you take the time to talk to them. However, their tea may be less good.
Lapsang souchong
This is my go to. It’s a lot, but I love it. If you want a tea that isn’t afraid to be bold, this is great. However, anyone around will think you’re cooking something with all the smoke smell.
Tastes like old leather and tobacco. Fabulous.
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Y’all are actually into specific teas! I just like anything fruity, lol. Usually decaf, because my body despises caffeine.
The local Polish grocery store has a selection of eastern European herbal teas, herbs which I’d never heard of, and it’s such an interesting experience in tea. One is a type of moss and it makes such pale tea, it’s so unusual. I’m loving trying them all.
I also love lemongrass spearmint tea, and rooibos and honey bush teas from South Africa which a friend sends me.
Learning about old people drama, its so interesting to find out about a 30 years old beef that never gets squashed
I love strong black teas. English Bteakfast is my go to, but I love a good PG tips now and again.
Pu’er (fermented black tea sold in big solid disks or chunks) it’s nice and dark, reminds me of coffee. I also enjoy iron goddess(Tieguanyin) oolongs and white peony.
