Loose tea

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JHZR2

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Hi,

I like to drink a cup of tea every now and again. Green tea is what I usually drink, but I like white, red and good old black tea as well.

I usually make it in teabags. But, I have always wanted to make 'real tea' from loose leaves.

One issue that I have is that a lot of the Asian green teas supposedly even the ones that are 'organic' and what not, have high levels of heavy metals and other junk...

Lipton and barlow are always good, but Id like to try some new stuff.

Is there any place with good, high quality teas, of all sorts of varieties, at reasonable prices, online?

Thanks!

JMH
 
Longjin (Dragon well) is my favorite green tea. I love the stuff. I used to bring a kilo or two home from each of my China trips. I am now into my very last stash bag. I save the very best grade until I was done with all the other grades. It was vacuum packed and is still very excellent. Dragon well tea is actually very high in caffeine. Quite amazing - I have kicked the bottoms of some coffee drinkers with a tea, green to boot! Anyhow the tea keeps me very disease free.

quote:

Longjing (Dragon Well) Tea is most famous for its unique fragrance and flavor; flat, slender strips of tea leaves in bright green liquid. Furthermore, Longjing tea aids one's health in many ways regardless of your age. It is used to deter food poisoning, refresh the body, stop cavities, fight viruses, control high blood pressure, lower the blood sugar level, and to prevent cancer. Hence, Longjing tea is regarded as the elixir for health and is widely sold and accepted all over the world.

The name Longjing is from a small village on the Fenghuang Hill, in Hangzhou Zhengjiang Province. It is said that residents in ancient times believed that a dragon dwelled there and controlled the rainfall. As a result, people went there from all the surrounding areas whenever there was a drought to pray for rainfall, from as early as the Three Kingdoms Period (221-280).

Longjing tea is grown in the Longjing mountain area of Hangzhou, southwest of the West Lake. The fertile land is both rich in phosphorus and sub-acidic sand. This region prevents the cold current from the north and holds back the warm current from the south, thus the growing area of Longjing tea can be coated by cloud and mist for long periods of time. With such favorable growing conditions, needless to say, Longjing tea is considered the best tea in China.

 
I drink Billy Tea (brand name), and usually with some green tea chucked in.

I recently planted a camelia sinesis out the front of the house.
 
sorry, dragging this off topic (suprise), I was looking for some labels online and found this. this.

It appears that my favourite brand changed Aussie culture, with "product placement" 100 years ago.
 
I see no mention of India's finest and probably world's, that is Darjeeling, Orange Pekoe or Assam or Nilgiri.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Shannow:
sorry, dragging this off topic (suprise), I was looking for some labels online and found this. this.

It appears that my favourite brand changed Aussie culture, with "product placement" 100 years ago.


I always assumed the "billy" was what you Aussies called the container the water was boiled in.
 
I drink Darjeeling and Irish breakfast tea daily. I don't like Orange Pekoe or other flavored tea. I like my tea tea strong, either plain or with sugar and milk or cream. I despise lemon in black tea (I hate lemon in iced tea, too) and will not drink such swill. I also drink a fair amount of green tea.
 
Bergamot is what gives Earl Grey its flavor. I really don't like it. Bergamot oil is good at repelling insects, though. Does that mean I'm a bug?

Come to think of flavored tea, I don't think Orange Pekoe is actually flavored tea. It just has a funny taste.
tongue.gif
 
quote:

But where do you buy the loose leaves from???

Exactly. I know it does you no good for me to tell you I used to buy my tea in China. What I will tell you is some of these guys on the web have really HUGE margins.

For typical example you could get a pretty good grade (but not the best) of LongJin in China - $20 for 500 grams. I have had some better deals, sometimes worse (yes I would pay more for a pretty shop keeper or mom with family). I mean once I scored above putong quality 1 kilo for 100rmb (about $12). Ok now shop stores in your area or the web. I have seen the same quality tea $20 for 4 grams!!!!!!!!!!

I found this place with sorta OK prices Ten Ren I have been to their store in Anaheim, Ca few years back and the prices weren't as low then - I cannot say much about the quality, just average.

Click here for some good photos of the tea leaves: Dragon well

This seems like an OK deal, Long Jin
 
Can't you buy loose tea at the supermarket over there ?

we've got a section 2 metres wide, full height just for the loose tea.
 
Tea is not quite the beverage of choice here, Shannow. Some metro areas have some loose tea in the market, but not a huge selection. I think your proximity to Asia and your more "Britishness" is in your favor.

Now you should see our coffee selection!
 
I get Windsor Castle brand (The Castle Tea Company, London) Darjeeling for about 8 Euros per 250g bag. That's about the same price as loose tea sourced online for ca $18 per lbs. I don't trust them with loose online tea...
 
Earl Grey (bergamot) is my favorite tea, but I usually drink green tea (sometimes iced) daily.

I find Tazo teas very good. It would definetly be a step up from Lipton and you can finds it locally as well as online. I usually wait until my market has a sale and stock up. When I use loose leaves with company, I'll usually use a stainless steel tea ball.
 
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