Loose Leaf Tea

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

A couple months ago I started getting into loose leaf tea, and after trying it it's hard to go back to tea bags. I've been ordering online because there are no local shops that sell loose leaf.
The sites I've tried are:
Tea Source
Adagio
Tea Guys

All have been excellent with price and quality... Tea Guys being my favorite.
I'm just wondering where you buy your tea from, give me suggestions because I love trying new teas out.

And regardless of if you drink loose leaf tea or tea already in the bag, what is your favorite tea?

kxbrown27 · May 2015

I won't go back to tea bags either.

I live close to an Adagio store so I don't have to buy online anymore. Irish Breakfast is my go to. Occasionally I'll go with the Golden Monkey or Yunnan Jig.

earlnabby · May 2015

Almost all of my tea is loose leaf. I have better control over the strength and the amount of tannins, not to mention allowing the leaves to unfurl in the bottom of the pot gives the best flavor and allows you to re-infuse. Don't use those infuser teaspoons or balls, they cramp up the leaves just like a bag does. If you can't use a pot, use a basket infuser in your cup.

My favorite source is a local shop called The Steaming Cup (they make the best scones!), Dragon Tea House on Ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House?_rdc=1 or Upton Tea Imports http://www.uptontea.com/store/home.asp??afterCart=/store/home.asp&referral=https://www.google.com/

My tea corner (the actual tea is in canisters in the cupboard above):

jennifer_417 · May 2015

There's a Teavana (I think it's the same company that runs Starbucks) that sells some pretty good green tea. You might also want to check into your local health food store.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

kxbrown27 wrote: »

I won't go back to tea bags either.

I live close to an Adagio store so I don't have to buy online anymore. Irish Breakfast is my go to. Occasionally I'll go with the Golden Monkey or Yunnan Jig.

Those are some I'll have to try.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

earlnabby wrote: »

Almost all of my tea is loose leaf. I have better control over the strength and the amount of tannins, not to mention allowing the leaves to unfurl in the bottom of the pot gives the best flavor and allows you to re-infuse. Don't use those infuser teaspoons or balls, they cramp up the leaves just like a bag does. If you can't use a pot, use a basket infuser in your cup.

My favorite source is a local shop called The Steaming Cup (they make the best scones!), Dragon Tea House on Ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House?_rdc=1 or Upton Tea Imports http://www.uptontea.com/store/home.asp??afterCart=/store/home.asp&referral=https://www.google.com/

My tea corner (the actual tea is in canisters in the cupboard above):

I took a tea making class and they said the small balls didn't give the leaves enough room to expand. I do use large paper filters, but I've been looking for a good basket infuser.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out.
Yep, I can definitely tell you're a loose tea lover.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

jennifer_417 wrote: »

There's a Teavana (I think it's the same company that runs Starbucks) that sells some pretty good green tea. You might also want to check into your local health food store.

I've heard of Teavana, I just haven't bought any tea from them. Do you have any personal favorites?

I didn't think about checking my local health food store, they might actually have some. Thanks for the ideas

earlnabby · May 2015

For the second part of your OP, my favorites are:

black tea: a Nepalese darjeeling type (like Upton's Golden Nepal)
oolong: Dà Hóng Páo (aka Big Red Robe) or Tae Guan Yin (aka Iron Goddess of Mercy)
green: I don't drink much of this and don't have a real favorite
white: Silver Needle
scented: Earl Grey creme, Green Jasmine pearls

I also have a couple of Pu-erh, both raw and aged that I drink on occasion

earlnabby · May 2015

ObtainingBalance wrote: »

earlnabby wrote: »

Almost all of my tea is loose leaf. I have better control over the strength and the amount of tannins, not to mention allowing the leaves to unfurl in the bottom of the pot gives the best flavor and allows you to re-infuse. Don't use those infuser teaspoons or balls, they cramp up the leaves just like a bag does. If you can't use a pot, use a basket infuser in your cup.

My favorite source is a local shop called The Steaming Cup (they make the best scones!), Dragon Tea House on Ebay http://stores.ebay.com/Dragon-Tea-House?_rdc=1 or Upton Tea Imports http://www.uptontea.com/store/home.asp??afterCart=/store/home.asp&referral=https://www.google.com/

My tea corner (the actual tea is in canisters in the cupboard above):

I took a tea making class and they said the small balls didn't give the leaves enough room to expand. I do use large paper filters, but I've been looking for a good basket infuser.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out.
Yep, I can definitely tell you're a loose tea lover.

I have this one (available almost anywhere that sells tea supplies): http://smile.amazon.com/Finum-Brewing-Basket-large-black/dp/B000J3JFJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1433075378&sr=8-1&keywords=brewing+basket

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

earlnabby wrote: »

For the second part of your OP, my favorites are:
black tea: a Nepalese darjeeling type (like Upton's Golden Nepal)

oolong: Dà Hóng Páo (aka Big Red Robe) or Tae Guan Yin (aka Iron Goddess of Mercy)

green: I don't drink much of this and don't have a real favorite

white: Silver Needle

scented: Earl Grey creme, Green Jasmine pearls

I also have a couple of Pu-erh, both raw and aged that I drink on occasion

Thank you!

earlnabby · May 2015

ObtainingBalance wrote: »

jennifer_417 wrote: »

There's a Teavana (I think it's the same company that runs Starbucks) that sells some pretty good green tea. You might also want to check into your local health food store.

I've heard of Teavana, I just haven't bought any tea from them. Do you have any personal favorites?

I haven't seen it lately, but they used to carry Himalayan Majestic, which was what got me to really enjoy the Nepalese darjeeling-type black teas. Their Earl Grey Creme is my favorite from them.

I wonder how the earthquakes will affect the tea coming from Nepal

kxbrown27 · May 2015

I took a tea making class and they said the small balls didn't give the leaves enough room to expand. I do use large paper filters, but I've been looking for a good basket infuser.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out.
Yep, I can definitely tell you're a loose tea lover.

I have this one and it works great. Let the tea steep, then set it on top of a mug and it drains while holding onto the leaves. Makes a second brew nice and easy.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

earlnabby wrote: »

ObtainingBalance wrote: »

jennifer_417 wrote: »

There's a Teavana (I think it's the same company that runs Starbucks) that sells some pretty good green tea. You might also want to check into your local health food store.

I've heard of Teavana, I just haven't bought any tea from them. Do you have any personal favorites?

I haven't seen it lately, but they used to carry Himalayan Majestic, which was what got me to really enjoy the Nepalese darjeeling-type black teas. Their Earl Grey Creme is my favorite from them.

I wonder how the earthquakes will affect the tea coming from Nepal

I don't think I've tried any Darjeeling tea. I've been ordering a lot of flavored black and herbal teas from these sites. I will have to try some of the suggested.

Yeah, the recent natural disasters are horrible.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

kxbrown27 wrote: »

I took a tea making class and they said the small balls didn't give the leaves enough room to expand. I do use large paper filters, but I've been looking for a good basket infuser.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out.
Yep, I can definitely tell you're a loose tea lover.

I have this one and it works great. Let the tea steep, then set it on top of a mug and it drains while holding onto the leaves. Makes a second brew nice and easy.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

It looks cool.

earlnabby · May 2015

ObtainingBalance wrote: »

kxbrown27 wrote: »

I took a tea making class and they said the small balls didn't give the leaves enough room to expand. I do use large paper filters, but I've been looking for a good basket infuser.

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll check them out.
Yep, I can definitely tell you're a loose tea lover.

I have this one and it works great. Let the tea steep, then set it on top of a mug and it drains while holding onto the leaves. Makes a second brew nice and easy.

http://www.adagio.com/teaware/ingenuiTEA_teapot.html

It looks cool.

I have one of those too. I use it at work where a teapot is impractical.

taentea · May 2015

I buy mine online from yunnansourcing and occasionally some small local companies that hand pick their teas in China and import only good stuff. I find that mass market teas and especially the kind they sell in supermarkets are full of meh.

You've been already advised Dà Hóng Páo and Tae Guan Yin. Those two oolongs are very safe and widely popular choices. People who drink tea at my place for the first time always fall in love with Tae Guan Yin and keep asking for it later. Long Jin is famous as far as green teas go and I like it but you have to be careful with green teas as unlike oolongs, they get bitter if brewed for too long. For a white tea other than Silver Needles, Bai Mu Dan is quite safe and pleasant. If you feel a bit more risky, this pu-erh cake is a pretty decent offer for its money. Ripe pu-erhs are not for everyone and I couldn't tolerate my first one but the sample of this cake tasted fine and I suddenly found myself addicted enough to buy a whole cake that I still greatly enjoy.

jldeinert · May 2015

I love Teavana. My favorites are Javavana for a stronger dark tea and the Sakura Allure for a flavorful green tea. I tried David's Tea, but found their teas to be too weak.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

taentea wrote: »

I buy mine online from yunnansourcing and occasionally some small local companies that hand pick their teas in China and import only good stuff. I find that mass market teas and especially the kind they sell in supermarkets are full of meh.

You've been already advised Dà Hóng Páo and Tae Guan Yin. Those two oolongs are very safe and widely popular choices. People who drink tea at my place for the first time always fall in love with Tae Guan Yin and keep asking for it later. Long Jin is famous as far as green teas go and I like it but you have to be careful with green teas as unlike oolongs, they get bitter if brewed for too long. For a white tea other than Silver Needles, Bai Mu Dan is quite safe and pleasant. If you feel a bit more risky, this pu-erh cake is a pretty decent offer for its money. Ripe pu-erhs are not for everyone and I couldn't tolerate my first one but the sample of this cake tasted fine and I suddenly found myself addicted enough to buy a whole cake that I still greatly enjoy.

I was looking up Tae Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao but I don't think Tea Guys has that kind. Adiago might,
Tea Source does... but they use the names they're known for like Iron Goddess of Mercy and Big Red Robe (I'm glad those names were mentioned or else I probably wouldn't have found it).

I just bought a lot of tea recently but when I decide to shop again I'm going to try these suggestions... I was kind of hesitant with ones like that because I'm not familiar with the names or taste.

I've never seen a tea cake like that?? Could you explain why they call it a cake and make it like that?

I definitely have a lot to learn about tea lol. I'm looking forward to broadening my knowledge on the origins and trying new types.

ObtainingBalance · May 2015

jldeinert wrote: »

I love Teavana. My favorites are Javavana for a stronger dark tea and the Sakura Allure for a flavorful green tea. I tried David's Tea, but found their teas to be too weak.

I've been cutting back on coffee a lot and my caffeine tolerance isn't as high as it used to be. I'm considering just totally dropping coffee and going to tea... but I don't know. Right now I still have coffee occasionally but I'm finding I like tea better now (after switching to loose leaf).
That sounds like a good one.. Javavana

earlnabby · June 2015

ObtainingBalance wrote: »

taentea wrote: »

I buy mine online from yunnansourcing and occasionally some small local companies that hand pick their teas in China and import only good stuff. I find that mass market teas and especially the kind they sell in supermarkets are full of meh.

You've been already advised Dà Hóng Páo and Tae Guan Yin. Those two oolongs are very safe and widely popular choices. People who drink tea at my place for the first time always fall in love with Tae Guan Yin and keep asking for it later. Long Jin is famous as far as green teas go and I like it but you have to be careful with green teas as unlike oolongs, they get bitter if brewed for too long. For a white tea other than Silver Needles, Bai Mu Dan is quite safe and pleasant. If you feel a bit more risky, this pu-erh cake is a pretty decent offer for its money. Ripe pu-erhs are not for everyone and I couldn't tolerate my first one but the sample of this cake tasted fine and I suddenly found myself addicted enough to buy a whole cake that I still greatly enjoy.

I was looking up Tae Guan Yin and Da Hong Pao but I don't think Tea Guys has that kind. Adiago might,
Tea Source does... but they use the names they're known for like Iron Goddess of Mercy and Big Red Robe (I'm glad those names were mentioned or else I probably wouldn't have found it).

I just bought a lot of tea recently but when I decide to shop again I'm going to try these suggestions... I was kind of hesitant with ones like that because I'm not familiar with the names or taste.

I've never seen a tea cake like that?? Could you explain why they call it a cake and make it like that?

I definitely have a lot to learn about tea lol. I'm looking forward to broadening my knowledge on the origins and trying new types.

Pu-erh tea has been around for about 1500 years and was the main form of tea that was traded from China. The tea was pressed into cakes or bricks by the traders because it was easier to transport by pack animal than loose leaf and it was found that the flavor changed over time from fermentation (instead of just oxidation like most loose leaf teas) so it became the preferred type of tea in China. You separate how ever many leaves you want from the cake (my favorite is pressed into a rectangular brick) and brew your tea from that. It tends to have an earthier flavor than loose leaf and some find it a little too much. A good raw pu-erh can be stored and allowed to ferment and age for 20-30 years before using, kind of like a fine wine.

ObtainingBalance · June 2015

Pu-erh tea has been around for about 1500 years and was the main form of tea that was traded from China. The tea was pressed into cakes or bricks by the traders because it was easier to transport by pack animal than loose leaf and it was found that the flavor changed over time from fermentation (instead of just oxidation like most loose leaf teas) so it became the preferred type of tea in China. You separate how ever many leaves you want from the cake (my favorite is pressed into a rectangular brick) and brew your tea from that. It tends to have an earthier flavor than loose leaf and some find it a little too much. A good raw pu-erh can be stored and allowed to ferment and age for 20-30 years before using, kind of like a fine wine.

I was reading about the Pu-erh online and saw an article mention that mold and bacteria will sometimes attack the tea during the long aging process. Isn't this risky?

Loose Leaf Tea

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