Black tea vs orange pekoe tea?

[aquariuscsm]

What's the difference between 100% black tea vs black and orange pekoe tea mix? I was out of tea bags to make my iced tea and the store was out of my usual Tetley 100% black tea bags. The only ones was some $3 organic stuff. All the others ingredients read "a mix of black tea and orange pekoe tea". Is 100% black tea the best of the best?

Also,what's everyone's favorite brand of tea to brew iced tea?

 

[Quattro Pete]

Typically, orange pekoe is a generic term that describes basic medium-grade black tea.

You can read more about tea grading system here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_leaf_grading

I like Darjeeling loose leaf black tea, but I drink it hot.

 

[slug_bug]

Sadaf Special Blend Tea Earl Grey is my favorite for both hot or iced tea. Bonus, it is now sold by Amazon.com

 

[Leo99]

Green tea is basically just tea leaves.
Oolong are slightly oxidized tea leaves.
Black tea is more oxidized.

They all are leaves of the same plant. But just like tomatoes, there are varieties and the dirt it grows in and the climate...just like wine grapes, makes a difference to the educated palate.

The Chinese drink it loose leaf tea. Meaning you take a pinch of tea leaves, drop them into your cup and pour hot water over. They'll eventually sink. They are into tea the way some of us are into oil or coffee.

 

[SZR48207]

I think this will trigger the tea connoisseurs, but my understanding is that tea is tea is tea (excluding herbal).

It's all the same plant, but the variants of it are just based on how the leaf was processed.

I can definitely tell the difference between green tea and black tea, but the differences between black teas is lost on me. If you are going for that 'classic summer iced tea' flavor, then something like Cain's or whatever bulk box would work great. I couldn't see myself spending big bucks on black tea that was just going to be consumed cold.

I think a common brand of iced tea in my parts is called Luzianne or something? It all tastes the same to me LOL

 

[aquariuscsm]

I almost bought this:

https://www.heb.com/product-detail/h-e-b-organics-ready-to-brew-black-tea/1788055

This is what I usually buy:

http://www.tetleyusa.com/our-teas/products?id=40&priority=1

 

[andyd]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I think this will trigger the tea connoisseurs, but my understanding is that tea is tea is tea (excluding herbal).

It's all the same plant, but the variants of it are just based on how the leaf was processed.


I think a common brand of iced tea in my parts is called Luzianne or something? It all tastes the same to me LOL
Small world, I dug out a baggy full of Luzianne to make the first ice tea of the season.

 

[Bronco1]

If you check out that link Quattro Pete posted earlier you'll see that Orange Pekoe comes in a wide variety of forms and price points. It is a variety of black tea. Lipton regular, the kind that's been around since I was a kid (you know, back before we discovered the wheel) is a orange pekoe tea/black tea. So are English Breakfast Tea, Irish Breakfast, Assam and a hole bunch of others. I find a good Orange Pekoe is smooth with kind of a copper color.

I make iced tea from a variety of types depending what I have a taste for, I usually use Twinings or occasionally Tazo Awake. Hot tea is usually Twinings Orange Pekoe, English Breakfast or English Breakfast Decaff I can't do the green tea thing without sugar and a lot of lemon. Otherwise it tastes like grass clippings to me, no matter how good the brand is supposed to be.

Pinkies up!

 

[Sierra048]

I gave up coffee six years ago. Hot tea is all I drink now. I'm no expert on the different kinds of tea. I just drink the black and green teas my bride gets at the grocery store. I did notice a difference in taste between the regular black tea and some Earl Grey tea she brought home one time.

 

[copcarguy]

Red Rose!

 

[earlyre]

Many years ago, Mr Lipton decided that there needed to be a standardized grading system for tea.
his system relied on passing the leaves through progressively smaller screens.
his nomenclature makes mostly no sense, but is still in use. (there are more than these, but these are the "main" grades)
from smallest to largest:
Dust - pretty self explanatory, finest particles from the sieving. used in some brands low end tea bags
Fannings - bigger chunks, lots of surface area, used in most teabags
Broken Orange Pekoe - larger, broken sections of whole leaves
Orange Pekoe - Whole unbroken leaves.

info taken/paraphrased from the "Good Eats" Episode - "True Brew II: Mr Tea"
*


* This was the only copy of the episode i could find that wasn't behind a paywall, apologies for the weird cropping and AB's voice pitched up. not my video.

 

[earlyre]

into my mid 20's, I was a Lipton man. that's what i had grown up drinking, but at some point branched out.
at first went with Twinnings, back and forth between their English breakfast, and Darjeeling, then one day i paid attention at work (I'm a cashier at a grocery) and noticed all the Indians(and I mean Indians, from India, not Native Americans) were buying Tetley's "British Blend" bought a box, and it's been the go to for me since.(brewed for 5 minutes, cream and 2 sugars)

the other main tea I get(and lately drink more of than the tetley's) is Jasmine Tea (Green Tea, with Jasmine Flowers)

Mom used to get This Stuff in canisters, loose leaf from a Chinese grocers here in town when i was a kid(they have long since closed)

I Still have a partial canister, but found the same brand in tea bag form at another short lived Asian grocery, and after they closed, on Amazon... ...

now yes, Technically, the Stuff in the canister is "Sunflower" brand, and the Tea bags are "Sprouting" brand, but they are both branded by the same Tea Import/Export company in China.

 

[sleddriver]

It's definitely Tea Time in Texas. Already made several batches. Plan on another gallon this evening. I brew mine on the strong side so it'll stand up to ice melting + outdoor heat/humidity. As to brands, it depends.

I like to shave some orange peel using a Micro-plane into the hot concentrated brew before diluting it in a gallon jug.

 

[Garak]

Originally Posted By: Reddy45
I think this will trigger the tea connoisseurs, but my understanding is that tea is tea is tea (excluding herbal).

The processing and origin matter in a big way. When it comes to iced tea, I'd probably want something fairly strong and cost effective. When it comes to drinking hot tea, though, I only buy proper loose leaf black tea. If you compare a cup of tea made properly and with good loose leaf tea and compare it to dipping a tea bag full of dust in lukewarm water, you'll see a big difference.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Garak
If you compare a cup of tea made properly and with good loose leaf tea and compare it to dipping a tea bag full of dust in lukewarm water, you'll see a big difference.

+1

 

[c502cid]

I travel to China quite a bit. Once when I was on an Air China domestic flight they brought out their tea "menu". It was a choice of six different teas to drink. The menu was all in Chinese but the nice person next to me translated it all and helped me choose. 5 of the six varieties were green tea. I had three of them on the 2 hour flight, it was a great experience.

 

[UG_Passat]

morning tea for me is: Jiaogulan tea, steeped for about 1/2 hour.
rest of the day varies: Tulsi, green tea w/ matcha and Longjing