yssah said

teas with the most value for money

i know this sounds so unlike tea (meaning this is so utilitarian and unromantic) but gotta ask you guys…

from the cheapest to the most expensive, what are your most cost-effective teas?

like for example the really cheap but very good wine at trader joes….but applied to tea.

and for expensive ones like mariage freres is sooo up there but totally worth it. if you had to choose just one, which tea would you recommend?

and tea recommendations for the in-between price ranges too, please :)

i may be willing to swap part of the ones i do end up getting :)

58 Replies
Novi said

My best non-sale value is culinaryteas.com. Some of the flavors (especially cherry cordial) are really incredible, and plain rooibos is barely $1/oz. Sadly, because the stuff on this site is mostly this cheap, you’re also bound to find things you either don’t like at all, or are just okay.

yssah said

nice

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SimplyJenW said

My favorite tea for the price is Rose Congou from Upton Tea. It is under $5 for 4 ounces.

yssah said

im still new to rose tea..would like to try that :)

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When I first started drinking tea, I think I drank my way through every sample Adagio orders. If you’re just looking to try different flavors and see what you like, they are the best! For some reason, though, when I got the 3oz bags as part of a year subscription, however, I can’t seem to make them taste good! I heard I was over-brewing them, though, so I’ll have to try to cut it down to maybe TWO minutes?!

yssah said

maybe your electric kettle needs cleaning? if used daily, they recommend cleaning with 50/50 vinegar-water solution 4x a year :) – got the idea from K S’s blog _

VeryPisces said

Yssah: is that true even if you only use bottled water in the electric kettle?

yssah said

if you see white sediment (that is from the calcium/alkaline stuff in the water) then you may want to do this. or use lemon juice in the water instead of vinegar

I’ve found that my Adagio is best when I steep 2min at 180, even for blacks. Any more than that, and I feel like they get bitter.

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You can try Tropical Tea Company, they have 2oz of tea for $3 and a bunch that are $1 an oz. They aren’t like stunningly awesome but some are good. Similar to Culinary Teas, you kind of have to try a bunch and pick what you like and just be prepared to find some that you don’t like too.

yssah said

ok ^^ which ones are your favorites there?

I would say the Maple Black tea and the Apple Crunch. I’m a dessert tea lover though! It would be worth it to sign up for their email list, you get 40% off your first order and that way you can try a bunch for very little money, if you don’t like them, chances are someone else will!

yssah said

ooooh, thanks Jackie! following you ok

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Puer Tea, hands down. A Bing, like we have available, for less than $6o, nearly a pound of tea, that will last you atleast 500-700 cups! Thats less than a penny, $0.01, per cup!

But more than that, it is most valuable because of its lifespan. Other teas will go bad usually within 6-12 months, Pu’er, by then , will only be BETTER. It will last longer than most of us will.

That is value :)

yssah said

clap! clap! clap! :D

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besides pur eh, I would simply suggest anything likely resteepable for cost effectiveness

my Kenyan white and green, any oolong (including the Kenyan I have)and some Chinese greens and blacks I have tried. Genmai, though in my opinion has less resteeps, is/was designed to extend sencha as it became more common, as a way for everyman to afford.

recently I did discover that one of my herbal teas, in bagged form had a solid 8 steeps in it too.

I do have (and experince with) other resteepable teas, but if you want value, you might consider discovering through samples what you consider resteepable, and limiting stocking your stash with only those teas you deem so.

yssah said

8 steeps! _

you sell tea too?

no, I do not sell tea

yssah said

where do you get those teas?

the http://www.majaniteas.com/ is where I got the kenyan ones, amazon is where I got the lavender

Yeah, good advice Kasumi. I would stay away from Japanese teas though in this case because they are not good for resteeping, at all. THey are wonderful teas, just do not hold their flavor and elegance throughout the fusions.

right. was just pointing out the reasoning behind the genmai as it- in its own way is in context.

VeryPisces said

Misty Peak Teas – I resteep my Japanese senchas and they’ve held up quite well. I’m sure it depends on the type and quality. I love Japanese greens!

good point about the type of sencha, as well as other Japanese greens. My experince with resteeping Japanese green tea is very mixed.

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Zeks said
yssah said

another tea category? i am falling deeper and deeper into the mystery that is tea….

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Della terra and upton tea seem to have the best cost/‘average steepster score’ which i think is what you are looking for.. also persimmon tree

yssah said

nice observation. i never would have noticed with all the many different companies. any specific teas you would recommend from della and upton? persimmon has a thread going on already but you can put your faves here too :)

I know yappychappy loves Oatmeal Raisin and Swiss Mountain! I also love Oatmeal Raisin, Smores, Eight Candles, Grandma’s Pumpkin Pie, and Classic Apple Pie. Those are all Della Terra Teas

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I forgot to mention, frequently I have noticed, with the exception of silk/milk oolong, flavored teas do not hold a consistent flavor or quality through more then a single steep.

I have found each steep to be individual in characteristics in any resteeping, but what I am speaking of here are drastic changes. I do have one tea I love that changes greatly after the first steep, but into another kind of flavor I love, but this seems to be a one time thing. Others who have delved into “dessert teas” may be able to weigh in more here, my experience with flavors is mostly classics, (florals, some fruits)

just wanted to point this out.

yssah said

hmmmm, yea..i kinda noticed with some fruit flavored ones but EGs are fine so far (thank goodness). thanks for mentioning this and also the milk oolong phenomenon. that will be in my list :)

Novi said

Dessert teas do not re-steep well unless the flavoring elements are things that don’t dissolve (coffee beans, cacao beans, dried fruits, etc). Any other type of flavored tea might still taste good as a plain tea, but all of the flavoring elements will be gone.

I have had a few very re-steepable florals, which by some definitions are consider flavored. I did not think to mention these at first, and I personally think of them in the “scented” not “flavored” tea genre. sorry about that.

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I love Della Terra – good quality, great price and you can infuse multiple times – at least twice, often more. I find with David’s Tea I can usually get a second infusal (?) from a serving, and definitely with Voila! in Frederick teas – but these are from my local tea shop, not yet available online. Teavana’s can sometimes be reinfused, but it’s not always reliable. And sometimes I feel dirty for using Teavana tea! :-P

With good tea leaves you shoudl be getting atleast 5,6,7,8 re-infusions

I’ve never gotten more than five! But I really like to let them steep, often for the length of the cuppa or more.

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