Loose Leaf Tea

2

Replies

  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    Thank you for the great sources! You've given me a lot of knowledge and I have learned a bit more.
    I have a few names I definitely want to try soon, and a couple new websites I can purchase tea on. :) I really appreciate your time and thoughts!

    They also have peppermint loose leaf tea, I've tried it before and loved it. (to the person who mentioned drinking that bagged).

    I am from the midwest, and there might be tea shops in my state but not in my small city. Most likely in the large cities, I will have to look.
    I'll be in Colorado this month, I should look up tea shops so when I'm traveling I can check some out.

    Teavana does seem a bit more pricey than some of the other online stores I've visited. But I will still try it sometime even if I just choose a couple samples. :)

    There is one bagged tea that I still really love to drink - it's the passion flavor from Tazo. I want to find a loose leaf tea that has a similar taste. All I know is that it's a herbal blend with hibiscus, orange, rose hips, & passion fruit flavors. I like how it is slightly tart but also strong and a bit sweet/fruity. I don't know what flavor is the strongest in it but I really do like the tea, even though it's bagged.

    What part of the Midwest are you in? If you are anywhere near my neck of the woods, I might be able to recommend a place or two.

    Never apologize for drinking bagged tea, it is all about what you like. I am not a fan of tisanes or really fruity teas but a friend turned me on to Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos, which only comes in a bag.

  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »

    What part of the Midwest are you in? If you are anywhere near my neck of the woods, I might be able to recommend a place or two.

    Never apologize for drinking bagged tea, it is all about what you like. I am not a fan of tisanes or really fruity teas but a friend turned me on to Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos, which only comes in a bag.

    I'm from Kansas. If anyone knows any good tea shops here let me know... there are none that I've heard of, but I could be wrong.
    I usually don't drink fruity teas often but the passion fruit tea is amazing. :D
    I've never tried the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos, but it sounds delicious.


  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    earlnabby wrote: »

    What part of the Midwest are you in? If you are anywhere near my neck of the woods, I might be able to recommend a place or two.

    Never apologize for drinking bagged tea, it is all about what you like. I am not a fan of tisanes or really fruity teas but a friend turned me on to Celestial Seasonings Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos, which only comes in a bag.

    I'm from Kansas. If anyone knows any good tea shops here let me know... there are none that I've heard of, but I could be wrong.
    I usually don't drink fruity teas often but the passion fruit tea is amazing. :D
    I've never tried the Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Rooibos, but it sounds delicious.


    I only know the Overland Park area back when I worked for Penzey's Spices. That was one of the stores I was regional manager of. The vanilla rooibos can be found at most groceries that carry Celestial Seasonings

  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    my current favourite for the morning is a Ceylon Dimbula BOP, Brunswick Breakfast Tea. When brewed it looks so pale, but boy does it pack a punch!!! As an afternoon tea I'm rather partial to a touch of Russian Caravan - a gentle smokiness not as powerful as the hit you might get from a Lapsang. For me, my tea preferences change throughout the day.

    Don't forget that with high quality chinese teas you should re-use the leaves - as someone else mentioned, the first time you throw water over them you toss that water away, and they are good for another 4 brews or so. And pay attention to the temperature that is recommended for brewing - many people say that green tea tastes bitter but that's often because they have burnt the leaves by pouring too hot water on them. I use an old-fashioned egg-timer for brewing tea.

    I have a lovely Dian Hong red tea which is very comforting, and an entire cupboard of black, red and green teas from all over, and pretty much never have bagged tea. I despair of my fellow Brits who say that nothing beats a cup of PG Tips.

  • dpwellman
    dpwellman Posts: 3,271 Member
    I oscillate between the two depending on whether I'm going to ice it or not and convenience.

    But I buy most mine at The Spice & Tea Exchange of Gatlinburg. They have a coconut oolong that's pretty tasty.

    I also have a tea cruche:
    bodum-biasca-ice-tea-cruche-1-2-l.jpg
  • 7lenny7
    7lenny7 Posts: 3,498 Member
    I've tried Teavana but find them to be way overpriced. The best place I've found for quality and great prices is Indigo Tea. I get 75% of my loose leaf tea there. My favorites from Indigo Tea are
    For the very best Japanese Sencha teas, I've found no better place than O-cha.com and the best of the best is their Shincha, which is the very first tea harvest of the year. The tea is expensive but can be steeped many times. This type does not go into storage so it's only available for a limited time each year (May to June, I think).

    The Tea Source is another great place, but generally more expensive than Indigo Tea.
    I don't do flavored teas, generally, but occasionally I'll have an Earl Grey
  • girlinahat
    girlinahat Posts: 2,956 Member
    oh and another thing to add - if the caffeine in tea is a problem, then pour boiling water over the tea, throw that away, THEN steep the tea. The caffeine is mostly washed away with that first rinse of the leaves.
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    girlinahat wrote: »
    oh and another thing to add - if the caffeine in tea is a problem, then pour boiling water over the tea, throw that away, THEN steep the tea. The caffeine is mostly washed away with that first rinse of the leaves.

    That's awesome, I did not know that!
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    7lenny7 wrote: »
    I've tried Teavana but find them to be way overpriced. The best place I've found for quality and great prices is Indigo Tea. I get 75% of my loose leaf tea there. My favorites from Indigo Tea are
    For the very best Japanese Sencha teas, I've found no better place than O-cha.com and the best of the best is their Shincha, which is the very first tea harvest of the year. The tea is expensive but can be steeped many times. This type does not go into storage so it's only available for a limited time each year (May to June, I think).

    The Tea Source is another great place, but generally more expensive than Indigo Tea.
    I don't do flavored teas, generally, but occasionally I'll have an Earl Grey

    The prices are decent there. Thanks for the suggestions!
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    I'm really surprised at how many of you also drink loose leaf tea and how you all had so many different suggestions, I didn't expect this many replies. You guys should have a loose leaf tea group. :)
  • JenSD6
    JenSD6 Posts: 454 Member
    Thank you for the great sources! You've given me a lot of knowledge and I have learned a bit more.
    I have a few names I definitely want to try soon, and a couple new websites I can purchase tea on. :) I really appreciate your time and thoughts!

    They also have peppermint loose leaf tea, I've tried it before and loved it. (to the person who mentioned drinking that bagged).

    I am from the midwest, and there might be tea shops in my state but not in my small city. Most likely in the large cities, I will have to look.
    I'll be in Colorado this month, I should look up tea shops so when I'm traveling I can check some out.

    Teavana does seem a bit more pricey than some of the other online stores I've visited. But I will still try it sometime even if I just choose a couple samples. :)

    There is one bagged tea that I still really love to drink - it's the passion flavor from Tazo. I want to find a loose leaf tea that has a similar taste. All I know is that it's a herbal blend with hibiscus, orange, rose hips, & passion fruit flavors. I like how it is slightly tart but also strong and a bit sweet/fruity. I don't know what flavor is the strongest in it but I really do like the tea, even though it's bagged.

    If you like tart hibiscus fruit teas, David's Tea uses it a lot in their herbal blends.
  • carakirkey
    carakirkey Posts: 199 Member
    Teavana is SO expensive! and deceiving as they list their prices per 50g rather than the standard per 100g (In canada anyways). I usually would get my loose leaf from health food stores otherwise.

    I really like t-sacs (fill your own tea filters) for on the go tea.
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  • kdcancan
    kdcancan Posts: 40 Member
    I rally enjoy a good cup green tea. My favorite for a while was Rishi Earl Green. But I drank so much of it I've been drinking a variety of unflavored Japanese green teas. It's hard to drink paper bag tea after loose. I'll be trying somE Chinese green tea for comparison
  • lindamc721
    lindamc721 Posts: 2 Member
    I like to get mine at Market Spice in Seattle. One of my favorites is their signature "Market Spice Cinnamon-Orange" They have an online store and quite a variety.
  • mbaker566
    mbaker566 Posts: 11,233 Member
    a great source of loose leaf is Etsy. Kamala Perfumes has some nice ones. I like to stop by her booth at Bristol Renaissance Faire
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    lindamc721 wrote: »
    I like to get mine at Market Spice in Seattle. One of my favorites is their signature "Market Spice Cinnamon-Orange" They have an online store and quite a variety.

    I love Market Spice and have tried a few of theirs...that said though...I HATE the cinnamon-orange. Lol.
  • faegirl22
    faegirl22 Posts: 60 Member
    I love love Adagio. Harney and Sons has some really good teas too, especially around the holidays
  • abetterluke
    abetterluke Posts: 625 Member
    There is a farmers market every Sunday during the summer near me and last year (and hopefully this year...i haven't been yet) there was a girl who sold tea there. She grew all the ingredients herself and put all the different flavor combinations together herself. It's soooooo good. Expensive but delicious.
  • danprin1
    danprin1 Posts: 17 Member
    I use Teavana tea.... I love Youthberry, it's awesome!
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member

    Where in Colorado? If you're staying near Boulder, be sure to check out Ku-Cha and the Dunshanbe Tea House. There's a few tea places out here in Denver, but most of them are out in the suburbs and ridiculously low quality.

    Colorado Springs. I think boulder is a bit of a drive from where I'll be. Thank you for the suggestions though
    That sucks that some of them around Denver are low quality :(
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    carakirkey wrote: »
    Teavana is SO expensive! and deceiving as they list their prices per 50g rather than the standard per 100g (In canada anyways). I usually would get my loose leaf from health food stores otherwise.

    I really like t-sacs (fill your own tea filters) for on the go tea.

    When I go to the Teavana website the price reflects a 2oz package (and you can change the size).

    t-sacs come in handy but I use them quickly!
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    lindamc721 wrote: »
    I like to get mine at Market Spice in Seattle. One of my favorites is their signature "Market Spice Cinnamon-Orange" They have an online store and quite a variety.

    I looked up their website, it looks like there is a wide selection of teas. I've only been to Seattle once, but if I'm ever in WA again I know where to go :)
    In the future I might buy some samples from their site to test the tea out (when I'm running low on tea).

    Thanks :)
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    There is a farmers market every Sunday during the summer near me and last year (and hopefully this year...i haven't been yet) there was a girl who sold tea there. She grew all the ingredients herself and put all the different flavor combinations together herself. It's soooooo good. Expensive but delicious.

    That's awesome!
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    The most recent package I ordered from Tea Guys included a small sample of Pu-erh, so I tried it today. It was pretty strong, but I have to say that I liked it. I added a small amount of stevia to it (as I usually do with my teas) but I didn't add any cream because I felt like I wouldn't experience the full flavor with add-ins.

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  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    edited June 2015
    AppletronX wrote: »
    What is a good loose leaf tea to try for someone just getting into teas? I never used to drink much tea but trying to change that.

    Have you tried loose leaf tea at all?

    For someone just getting into tea, if you don't even know what type you favor (black, white, green, oolong, herbal, chai, etc)
    I would suggest going to one of the websites suggested and ordering samples from a few different categories. Just trying them out can help you discover which types you prefer most. The samples don't usually have more than 2-3 servings and they're pretty cheap.

    If you have any questions feel free to ask, it seems like there are a lot of loose leaf tea drinkers on MFP =)
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  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    moyer566 wrote: »
    a great source of loose leaf is Etsy. Kamala Perfumes has some nice ones. I like to stop by her booth at Bristol Renaissance Faire

    Come out to Waukesha. Downtown has a great little tea shop called The Steaming Cup. They have a nice cafe and serve tea and coffee along with sandwiches and baked goods, but they also sell their teas in bulk so you can take a selection home with you. http://www.thesteamingcup.com/ They have a separate tea room where they will do a high tea for a group.
  • JennieMaeK
    JennieMaeK Posts: 474 Member
    I love DavidsTeas. Haven't tried Teavana. Also, Bulk Barn has loose teas.
This discussion has been closed.