Your favourite teas without additions
..and before you say “every tea! ever!” please remember that you’re talking to a girl who takes pretty much every tea with creamand sugar. So far, I have only liked one tea straight, and that’s blue lagoon from david’s tea. It manages to be sweet and flavourful, and doesn’t feel terribly watery. I don’t think I’m going to divorce myself from milk and sugar forever (because why would I?) and also I really do find it enhances my favourite unflavoured blacks, but I’m wondering how those of you who were addition-dependent ventured out to find some addition-free options. Because it’s also more convenient in the morning when I’m throwing tea together for work. When I first started dirnking loose-leaf tea, I would try all my tea plainfirst, and hten only add milk and sugar if “needed”—the problem was thatall my tea “needed” it because you wouldn’t believe the taste transformation that took place in my mouth when I added that shiz in.
Flavours I tend to like: vanilla and caramel (although, come on—don’t those beg to be milky and creamy? LOL), pretty much all fruit, and florals. Things I don’t like as much: savory teas, earl Greys (well I like them but it’s with milk and cream), teas that taste like coffee, artificial/thin chocolate taste (again, why not just go for hot chocolate?), and vegetables/grass/plants.
So, tell me about your first time…without additions. How’d the magic happen?
And while I’m at it, tell me about the best jasmine pearls ever.
Thanks, steepsterites/steepsterettes!
I grew up in a tourist town that attracted a lot of international students and other foreign travelers. One of the people I met was a very well raised Scott. I belive his father was of the peerage. In any case my friend was really a vagabond with a fabulous accent, perfect manners and was very well educated. I was smitten but he was 20 years older and was pretty much a sloppy drunk. My infatuation with him did not last but he introduced me to my first whole leaf tea. Lap sang souchong. No milk. No sugar. Really with an intro like that I could never imagine adding anything to what is already heaven.
Darjeeling was a sip gift from another foot loose brit, Oolong a sip gift from an older artist woman. No milk or sugar ever.
As a teen I thought that this wa the way is was “supposed” to be done. But now I realize my sophisticated friends were living out of suitcases and back packs…hard to keep milk that way!
Ah yes, our sophisticated friends when we’re younger. Isn’t it quite something. For me, it was the pianist who accompanied me when I sang at my siste’rs wedding.
I haven’t tried ls yet, even with additions. And I couldn’t for the life of me imagine trying a darj without additions, because I find it takes so very kindly to milk and sugar. I am starting with flavoured blacks and will see how that goes.
Love it. Absolutely plenty of teas scream out for cream and sugar. Some that don’t? Milk oolong (they vary wildly – try Mandala’s, which is incredible) and other green/floral oolongs – right now Eco-Cha’s Shan Lin Xi High Mountain Concubine oolong is a favorite.
Oh yes, floral oolongs! I really, really need to learn more about those and get my hands on some to try. I love floral anything.
There are so many great ones. Verdant’s Handpicked Autumn Tieguanyin was like a spring bouquet, but is sadly out of stock. We’ll see what comes out this spring!
I think the one tea I can consistently drink without any milk or sugar is those little cups of jasmine green tea they serve at my favourite Vietnamese restaurant on the outskirts of my hometown. I love that tea.
Its nice to try unflavoured teas to appreciate the actual tea as opposed to the flavour that has been used. I do like a nice milk oolong or a really delicate white tea.
Good blacks are often very sweet on their. own. Well prepared they aren’t bitter. If you get a bitter cup blame the preparation. or tea quality…not the classification.
I should try more unflavoured blacks straight, and although I haven’t disliked the ones I’ve had straight, I really do prefer them with milk and sugar. I’ll probably continue to try everything straight first to see how I prefer it.
I’m with keychange, I try everything straight first, if nothing else then to get an idea of what needs to go in it. It’s too great a risk to dump in milk and sugar and then discover it would have been better with less!
I’m like keychange as well… almost everything gets at least a bit of sugar, but not before I try it on it’s own first. Sometimes milk makes it’s way into my cup as well.
I normally only drink teas straight because AIN’T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR MILK AND SUGAR.
Seriously. I have all my teas out on the table, my papers/reports that need to get written and my kettle right next to me, and a little bowl to collect all the used teas. I don’t get out of that seat except to eat or use the bathroom.
So a lot of the teas I drink are straight, no additions of milk and/or sugar (and because I keep forgetting that it’s totally acceptable to put milk and sugar in teas).
With that being said, DAVIDs Butterfly Jasmine is the absolute BEST jasmine teas I’ve ever had! Trust me, I’ve had a lot. I grew up on jasmine and this one particular tea is truly unique.
(http://steepster.com/jump62359/posts/233437)
Golden Honey Dew from Lupicia is definitely one of my favourites. I just have to overleaf and oversteep it all the time because I want to pull out all the flavour I can :) I haven’t tried it cold yet, but I heard it was way better cold than hot. Sadly, it’s an in-store only tea so it’s hard to get :/
DAVIDs Blueberry Jam is pretty good on its own! I’ve only ever had it on its own, but I do see how a bit of sugar would improve the taste :)
I’m looking through my cupboard right now, and I have to say, a lot of the black teas in there does look like it goes great with milk and sugar. I just haven’t tried it yet? I just need to remind myself that.
I never bother putting milk or sugar in my herbal teas though because I just feel like it’d taste weird? Once I put milk into Bofur (fandom blend, main taste is Mocha Nut Mate) and oh gosh that was the worst thing I’ve ever had. Really good on its own! But it did taste nice and roasted and slightly coffee/chocolate-y I thought it’s go well with milk, but I was wrong haha
What else is in Bofur? I drink Leela blend with milk, and that one’s got mocha nut mate as well, with (if I remember correctly) vanilla oolong and pu’erh, and it’s joyous, but then I’ve got another blend that’s mostly roasted mate with a bit of honeybush and with milk it’s kind of weird. Maybe a ton of roasted mate in a blend doesn’t play well with milk?
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