On a trip to Banff in 2013 at a Tim Horton's I had the best cup of tea ever. How do the British do tea? I currently buy Tetley's and PJ Tips. Any other products out there I need to try?

I'm a fan of The Republic of Tea.

I drink their Earl Greyer.

I have been buying tea from One Love Tea. Their Earl Grey was fantastic. But the last purchase was well below standard.

Tea Forte has been pretty consistent for me.

http://www.teaforte.com

I’ve got English in laws. Find a tea you like, but the trick is definitely boiling water. Get a proper electric kettle. It all tastes better if sufficiently hot water is used. Also half and half with a little sugar.

PG Tips and an Electric Water Kettle.

Pour over and let it steep for 5 min. A silicone lid will help keep in the hotness.

Hope that helps..
Andrew

hard water is another factor. they have hard water over there for the most part.

PG tips, a good kettle, and a teapot with a tea cozy to keep it warm, let it brew and then pour and enjoy. also- try not washing the inside of the pot for a while. Ours looks like coffee grounds covering the entire inside of the pot. the outside should be nice, but the inside forget about it.

Here's a good recipe for you:
https://www.food.com/recipe/so...sweet-iced-tea-63785

(The only real way to drink tea, I do declare!)

This is a very difficult question to answer by getting others’ opinions. There are innumerable types of teas and innumerable personal tastes and preferences.

I’ve found it generally best to follow the specific brewing recommendations by the providers of a particular tea. For example, when I first had green tea I tried it in the traditional English manner with the amount of tea and length of brewing time. The result was horrible: far too strong and bitter, and put me off green teas for years thereafter. I have talked with other people who had the same experience.
Much later, however, I found something that discussed green tea as being different from the syrupy concoction loaded with sugar and milk/cream the British tend to like. I followed those instructions and have drunk green tea almost exclusively since. The most common exception is Lapsang Souchong with its heavy smoky flavor, and I like that as strong as I can brew it.

At one time I liked honey in tea, but no longer. I also don’t like most teas with any other added flavorings such as jasmine, Earl Gray, or even with milk or sugar, so I’m different from many other people that way. I actively dislike iced tea, but commonly drink leftover tea cold (room temperature, actually).

The only firm advice I give people other than to experiment with different types is to not limit yourself to tea bags that are usually filled with finely ground leaves. Also start with smaller quantities of tea per volume of water and shorter brewing times; increase as one’s tastes dictate.

Buy a good ceramic tea pot, and get high quality loose leaf tea leaves. Then all you have to do is boil some water, and let the tea leaves steep in the ceramic tea pot for 3 or 4 minutes, and then pour off the tea into pre-heated mugs, and viola!!! you have your tea ready for drinking. Do Google search for Upton's Tea Imports , they are in Massachusets, and they have the widest selection of tea leaves and other things like teapots etc. Best of luck.

I've enjoyed teas from Elmwood Inn Fine Teas. They're out of Kentucky. I've mostly stuck to just the unflavored black or oolong mixes. I have particularly liked the "Mayor's Cup" & "Kentucky Blend" offerings.

I also regularly get PG Tips, Tetley, and Typhoo tea from the local international market (so the actual UK / EU packages).

The water quality (filtered is best - just meaning you do not want chlorinated tap water) and temperature is very important.

Black teas (& tisanes (herbal "teas")) you want 212f (boiling) before you steep (though I think now days 205f is the common recommendation (same as coffee)). Oolongs I think are 195f, greens are 175f.

After you have good water and the proper temp (+ quality tea) - you will have to figure out your personal preferences - meaning you'll have to play with the amount of tea you use, the temp, and the steep time. This all varies depending on whether you use cream &/or sugar.

This is the best black tea that I know of:

www.peets.com/ml-ancient-trees-puer

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
This is the best black tea that I know of:

Interesting tea I am unfamiliar with.
I do not understand the brewing instructions, though; what is the process with a pressed tea?

quote:

Originally posted by sigfreund:

quote:

Originally posted by Pipe Smoker:
This is the best black tea that I know of:

Interesting tea I am unfamiliar with.
I do not understand the brewing instructions, though; what is the process with a pressed tea?

As served at Peet’s Coffee and Tea, the pellet has hot water poured over it. The pellet disintegrates to small bits. Then like common loose leaf black tea.

Pu-erh can be made with black, green, or oolong tea leaves, but in any of those cases, I wouldn't call it black, green, or oolong tea. Pu-erh is an aged and fermented style of tea that is really its own category.

I like Pu-erh a lot, but it has a very strong, earthy flavor that a lot of people find offensive.

Traditionally, Pu-erh is mostly available in large bricks, the little pucks seem to mostly be a way to make it more accessible in Western markets (not many Americans are going to go buy a 1kg brick of some random Chinese tea).

Either way, you separate the correct amount of tea from the brick or puck. The traditional tool for this is basically a metal skewer but you can use a fork or your fingers. Then you break the tea up into loose leaves or crumbles depending on how aged it is.

First, steep the tea for ~15 seconds in boiling or near-boiling water, then dump out the water. Then steep the tea for 30 seconds to a minute in boiling or near-boiling water and pour it.

Unlike most teas, Pu-erh can be brewed repeatedly, depending on the Pu-erh, maybe 5-10 times. You add 30 seconds to a minute of steeping time for each rebrewing (so, e.g., the fifth time you steep the same tea, you might brew it for 3 or 4 minutes).

When we visit Vancouver or Victoria, I bring home tea from Murchies. Very good quality. You can order online as well. A purist will only drink loose tea, but I just buy the bags.

https://www.murchies.com/store...format/tea-bags.html

Prices quoted are in Canadian dollars.

For black tea, we normally order Irish tea online and use an electric tea kettle. Our favorites are probably Barry's Gold and Lyon's.

Twinning Earl Grey and Lady Grey are two current favorites of the caffeinated variety.

Never leave your water in the pot. Empty it every night. Boil, let sit 20 seconds, then pour into cup (or add tea bag). TIME the steep.

TIME AND TEMPERATURE is just about all you have to control, besides the quality of the water. Two-three minutes for novice black tea drinkers.

I use a digital timer EVERY time with caffeinated teas, and usually with herbal teas as well. Too long and it gets bitter.

We already have the electric pot. I like black tea without cream or sugar. Like I said that cup I had at Tim Horton's was magical. What a wicked caffeine high.

quote:

Originally posted by bobandmikako:
For black tea, we normally order Irish tea online and use an electric tea kettle. Our favorites are probably Barry's Gold and Lyon's.

I have a box of Barry's Gold in my desk at work now,


Barry's Irish is good,

PG Tips, as well,


Yorkshire is about the best I have had recently,