Good lord, Tazo blows.

TEAVANA good but prohibitively expensive when buying dry (and fark you & your "no take out" rule during Christmastime).

I love ADAGIO.com, but I think their quality went down after they changed over to the prepackaged ziploc bags

Also a yerba mate fan (which I buy in bulk from eBay distributors). Drinking a yerba mate/rooibos mash-up right now!

You can have my keurig when you pry it out of my cold dead twitching caffeine soaked fingers.

the quality of the tea is only important when its made properly.

there is a reason that it takes 5 to 7 minutes to steep a pot of tea before drinking.

the bag next to the little metal pot of warm water isnt' tea. Even if you give me a bag of PG Tips, its going to suck balls.

rocinante721: Drinking a yerba mate/rooibos mash-up right now!

WANT.

Love me some Teavana, even if they are crazy expensive. Starbucks will no doubt be serving some weak-ass swuzz that they'll label 'fair trade' and will taste like farted-in Lipton.

Rev. Skarekroe: Did you know that for some reason it's Starbuck's corporate policy not to serve you iced tea? If you want your tea iced, you have to order a hot tea and a cup with ice in it and pour it yourself.

??? You mean they don't served iced tea other than the iced black, green, or passion fruit tea they have on the menu?

It's funny, there was Starbucks for coffee and Argo for tea, now Starbucks is as much for tea as Argo and Argo sells coffee.

Will you have to wait in line behind this guy?

DirkTheDaring: rocinante721: Drinking a yerba mate/rooibos mash-up right now!

WANT.

Love me some Teavana, even if they are crazy expensive. Starbucks will no doubt be serving some weak-ass swuzz that they'll label 'fair trade' and will taste like farted-in Lipton.


Mmmmmmmm.... farted-in Lipton

Well, there's only one appropriate response for this.

rocinante721: Good lord, Tazo blows.

TEAVANA good but prohibitively expensive when buying dry (and fark you & your "no take out" rule during Christmastime).

I love ADAGIO.com, but I think their quality went down after they changed over to the prepackaged ziploc bags

Also a yerba mate fan (which I buy in bulk from eBay distributors). Drinking a yerba mate/rooibos mash-up right now!

try Upton Teas- best prices/selection/quality I've seen online and good shipping. Marketspice (a seattle company) also has good prices on its online store.

Capitol Teas for anyone in the MD/Va area has nice tea shops, and decent prices.



I order Tea Lattes at starbucks. I have to stand over top of them, and teach them not to dump the milk in immediately after adding the water, or else you get watered down milk. It is sad. They've only had them on the menu for about 5 years...

SirEattonHogg: Lenny_da_Hog SmartestFunniest 2012-06-21 11:13:56 AM


Giant corporation seizes market established by small business. Again.

Yeah, its gonna put out of business all those mom and pop tea shops in Southern Wisconsin.

Some of my favorite memories are sitting at my favorite tea shop in midwest downtown USA, drinking their home grown Darjeeling (with a bit of Jersey cream) served in their family heirloom silver set, listening to the kitchen banter of Flo, the waitress who worked at the town tea shop for decades.

Who wouldn't want to stand up for all those small town tea shops?

there's no such thing as home-grown darjeeling in midwest USA. Fail.

Rev. Skarekroe: Fromageball: ??? You mean they don't served iced tea other than the iced black, green, or passion fruit tea they have on the menu?

OK, they serve those. But if you want one of their bagged Tazo teas iced, they won't do it.

er.. how exactly do you want them to serve a bag of tea iced, other than giving you it with boiling water and ice?

SirEattonHogg: Katie98_KT SmartestFunniest 2012-06-21 11:38:10 AM


SirEattonHogg: Lenny_da_Hog SmartestFunniest 2012-06-21 11:13:56 AM


Giant corporation seizes market established by small business. Again.

Yeah, its gonna put out of business all those mom and pop tea shops in Southern Wisconsin.

Some of my favorite memories are sitting at my favorite tea shop in midwest downtown USA, drinking their home grown Darjeeling (with a bit of Jersey cream) served in their family heirloom silver set, listening to the kitchen banter of Flo, the waitress who worked at the town tea shop for decades.

Who wouldn't want to stand up for all those small town tea shops?

there's no such thing as home-grown darjeeling in midwest USA. Fail.

Satire is not a strong point with you, is it?

I'm not sure why the rest of that would be satire. I was at a tea shop much like that a couple months ago- Girl set up a small business making tea blends based on what her grandmother had taught her. Served tea, cookies, and you sat on sofas, and felt like you were in her living room. The only thing she didn't have is the family heirloom silver.
Been to lots of shops like that. Not in the midwest, because I haven't been there, but MD, PA, VA and DC.

I'm a tea drinker, and don't like coffee, but can anyone actually confirm that Starbucks raised consumer expectations for coffee? The few coffee drinkers I do know said their coffee is shiat.

Think the show 'Friends' did more for coffee than Starbucks ever did.

Rev. Skarekroe: Did you know that for some reason it's Starbuck's corporate policy not to serve you iced tea? If you want your tea iced, you have to order a hot tea and a cup with ice in it and pour it yourself.

Wow, then every Sbux I've ever been in has broken corporate policy and served me iced tea.

I don't care if you're a tea drinker or a coffee drinker, I think we can all agree that Keurigs are for douchebags. At the office, they make sense. At home, you're a douchebag.

"hey I know, let's take a simple process and make it much more complicated, all while increasing the amount of plastic and garbage and cost involved!"

I'm a tea drinker. The tea I make at home is just fine. I've lived in different countries the Indian subcontinent for several years, drank a lot of tea, and have been to tea plantations in Sri Lanka and India. It's not magic. Get the right spices, or even teabags that you like, and you can make good tea. Much easier than making good coffee.

I do get a kick out of "chai tea". "Chai", or a close variant, is just the word for tea in most of the world (it's "te" in Sri Lanka). "chai tea" is like "leche milk" or "cafe' coffee". I do understand that most places have landed on just using "chai" or "spiced chai" now and in the US it has now come to mean a tea spiced like they do in India, but I still think it's kinda funny.

If I'm out and want tea and don't mind spending 4 bucks for a cup, I actually order the "chai". If you just order tea (must specify "hot tea" in the south), you get a pot of lukewarm water and a teabag.

This place beat them to it.



And they're amazing. So much delicious tea.

Hebalo: I don't care if you're a tea drinker or a coffee drinker, I think we can all agree that Keurigs are for douchebags. At the office, they make sense. At home, you're a douchebag.

"hey I know, let's take a simple process and make it much more complicated, all while increasing the amount of plastic and garbage and cost involved!"

I was never a coffee drinker. I put in my 20 bucks a year for the office coffee pot, but just couldn't stand the stuff. Then some friends formed a coffee import/roasting business and opened a coffee shop and I found I like it if it's good.

My wife bought me a Keurig for xmas and I have it in my office. It's not as good as the fresh roasted and fresh ground, but it's way better than the office Folgers pot. I bought some variety packs, figured out what I like, and have become a regular stop-in for students (I'm a professor) who want a free cup of coffee and sit down to chat for a few minutes. I'm a big believer. The tiny amount of garbage is negligible and with online deals it works out to 25 cents a cup. I can't think of any coffee making method simpler than dropping a cup in the machine and pressing a button, so I don't know where you're going with that.

At home I use coffee from my friends' place and a french press. The coffee is just amazing within a week or two of roasting and within a few days of grinding, but fades to merely really good after that. It's more expensive and more complicated than the Keurig, but the extra effort and cost are worth it.

ramblemn: the bag next to the little metal pot of warm water isnt' tea.

It's what's left over at the bottom of the drum after they package up their loose leaf tea.

I like to call it "rust tea".

theorellior: Yeah, if they want to be considered a tea shop they'd better have mate. I love the stuff, although I just make it like American iced tea and don't bother with the bombilla and the silver straw. I thought I liked rooibos, but I got some from a local tea place and it did weird things with my head. It wasn't the usual xanthine stimulant feeling.

Sadly, high-end teas are wasted on me, since I usually make pitchers of the stuff and drink it iced. To save on cost I get good tea and then blend it halvsies with Lipton or Tetley. However, every now and then it's nice to sit down with a nice cuppa Darjeeling or Assam or Irish Breakfast.

And am I the only person around who thinks that green tea tastes like drinking grass? I can blend it with black teas if I have to, but I'm not very fond of straight green tea.

I'm not a fan of green tea. Try genmaicha, which is green tea with brown rice (seriously).

Some green teas have a strong grass flavor. I'll also drink gunpowder green tea, which is okay.

Nana's Vibrator: Much like coffee - tea, when done right, is excellent. No Tetley or Rose or any of that tea in a bag crap. Bring the water to a full boil, use loose tea, steep for at least 10 minutes. I prefer the English styles of tea (versus the Asian styles, which are still excellent), and I prefer it to be rich.
But whether it's English or Asian or other, there's no way Starbucks can create an appropriate "tea" atmosphere. It's still going to be people searching for WIFI and a power outlet. Fine for them. I just won't go. The way I use the internet, they don't want me there anyways.

Almost this, but I refuse to steep. The tannins in the tea are part of what gives it its flavor, of course, but not my favorite part of the flavor - there are also oils that coat the leaves, and simply touching the leaves to water is enough to get those oils to break free.

So the way I brew it is to fill a mug with boiling water to heat it, then empty it and pour the tea leaves into it. Then fill it with boiling water again, and immediately pour it through a strainer into another mug. Leaves are out, brewing has stopped, the tea is dark and flavorful, and not bitter in the slightest. It tastes absolutely amazing.

My IngenuiTEA arrived yesterday, and it is simply amazing. I swear, I will never use anything else, period.

Seriously. You like loose tea, go get one now.

Nana's Vibrator: reillan:

So the way I brew it is to fill a mug with boiling water to heat it, then empty it and pour the tea leaves into it. Then fill it with boiling water again, and immediately pour it through a strainer into another mug. Leaves are out, brewing has stopped, the tea is dark and flavorful, and not bitter in the slightest. It tastes absolutely amazing.

Thanks - I'm going to try this. Just so I know I'm reading this correctly - the mug is hot but free from water, the leaves go in, the boiling water goes in again, and is strained into another mug right away...and all done - as in the tea brewing process is merely seconds? How much tea do you use? More than usual? Does any particular flavor of tea work best?

I've tried it with several different flavored oolongs... with green tea, you want to let your kettle sit off the heat for 1 minute before attempting it (to bring down the temperature).

I use just one teaspoon for every 6 ounces (I usually make 12 ounces, so 2 teaspoons).

SirEattonHogg: Lenny_da_Hog SmartestFunniest 2012-06-21 11:13:56 AM


Giant corporation seizes market established by small business. Again.

Yeah, its gonna put out of business all those mom and pop tea shops in Southern Wisconsin.

Some of my favorite memories are sitting at my favorite tea shop in midwest downtown USA, drinking their home grown Darjeeling (with a bit of Jersey cream) served in their family heirloom silver set, listening to the kitchen banter of Flo, the waitress who worked at the town tea shop for decades.

Who wouldn't want to stand up for all those small town tea shops?

Err, Home Grown DarjeNana's Vibrator: Much like coffee - tea, when done right, is excellent. No Tetley or Rose or any of that tea in a bag crap. Bring the water to a full boil, use loose tea, steep for at least 10 minutes. I prefer the English styles of tea (versus the Asian styles, which are still excellent), and I prefer it to be rich.
But whether it's English or Asian or other, there's no way Starbucks can create an appropriate "tea" atmosphere. It's still going to be people searching for WIFI and a power outlet. Fine for them. I just won't go. The way I use the internet, they don't want me there anyways.

You are doing it wrong if you are steeping loose leaf black tea for 10 minutes, unless you are a very bitter person and like your tea to be the same.

Anyway I don't have high expectations on this Starbucks thing, Unlike Espresso, it's dead easy and cheap for the average idiot to make a good cup of tea, even with loose tea, You don't need to worry about grinding stuff or 'when to pull' or which multithousand dollar espresso machine to get. All you need is an ingenuitea, water, a kettle, heat, some good tea, a cup and a watch, dead simple.

Teavana is a terrible company.
They force their employees to sell you more than you want or need.
It's often usually overpriced, and their employees aren't real knowledgeable about tea.

Just order your tea online. You don't need to go to a goddamned mall to buy good tea.
Try Upton Tea Imports or any other reputable tea merchant online.

You can enjoy really good tea simply, without a lot of fancy equipment.
Teavana just wants to make money. They don't really care about tea.

theorellior: Yeah, if they want to be considered a tea shop they'd better have mate

Mate isn't tea... So, while mate is enjoyable and it's nice if tea shops have it, they can certainly be considered a tea shop without having mate.

onestar: My IngenuiTEA arrived yesterday, and it is simply amazing. I swear, I will never use anything else, period.

Seriously. You like loose tea, go get one now.

I have the Teavana one. Absolutely love it.

shivashakti: Teavana just wants to make money.

No doy. They're a business, not an NPO.

Rev. Skarekroe: Did you know that for some reason it's Starbuck's corporate policy not to serve you iced tea? If you want your tea iced, you have to order a hot tea and a cup with ice in it and pour it yourself.

If they seriously tell you this at your local Starbucks, you need to complain to the corporate office. It's not corporate police and to my knowledge never has been. Even when I worked there over ten years ago, we had brewed tea in the fridge for iced tea.

Now, if you want a kind of tea they don't normally keep cold -- such as the orange blossom tea or whatevs -- that might require pouring hot tea over ice.

DirkTheDaring: No doy. They're a business, not an NPO.

Yes, but some businesses actually care about their product and its quality. Others don't and often sell low-quality products just to make a profit. As a way of making more money.

In my experience, these sort of businesses are to be shunned. I don't mind giving my money to businesses in exchange for their products or services, but only about if they care about what they are selling or what services they are providing.

You generally won't find many quality businesses in shopping malls.

Teavana doesn't care about tea. As such, I'd rather give any money that I spend on tea to people who actually do care and know about tea.

shivashakti: Teavana doesn't care about tea.

That hasn't been my experience with them. I really enjoy the teas I've gotten from them, and the people I've spoken to there are enthusiastic and well versed in tea knowledge.

I may switch to Adagio, though. Their prices are way better.

Nana's Vibrator: mikemil828:
You are doing it wrong if you are steeping loose leaf black tea for 10 minutes, unless you are a very bitter person and like your tea to be the same..

You may be right, because 5-7 minutes just doesn't do it for me. Still tastes like dark-flavored hot water.
/I know how good it is. When Bonnie goes shopping, she buys shiat. Me, I buy the gourmet expensive stuff because when I drink it, I want to taste it. But you know what's on my mind right now? It ain't the tea in my kitchen...

Hmm, if that's case, you probably should use more tea per cup instead of increasing steep time, more flavor, not as much bitter. Also your tea pot may be too small and not allowing the tea to unfurl. Those Ingenuitea type pots don't have that problem.