The Tea & Infusion Thread.

[Lou]

Ok, so here is something I don't know much about. And maybe someone can fill me in.
I've only been drinking hot tea regularly for about a year. and only recently have I become interested in the different kinds.
But I remember reading stuff about the dark side of the tea industry.
With coffee I have been mostly buying organic, free-trade, and shade grown coffee. Ethical and environmentally friendly.
I imagine that there must be parallels in the tea industry. Just a quick google I found out about The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), and also the Ethical Consumer, which ranks tea companies. There are also Fair Trade and Organic certifications.

I was planning on making the Republic of Tea my next purchase. and it seems like an Ok company. According to this page its pretty good.

6 Ethical Tea Companies Perfect For Your Morning Cup

These 6 tea companies are ethically sourced options for tea lovers.

www.greenmatters.com

FYI

Tea | Ethical Consumer

Finding an ethical and eco-friendly sustainable tea. Ranking the ethical and environmental record of 45 tea brands. We look at fairtrade and organic certification schemes, workers' rights, plastic in teabags, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Tata (Tetley and Teapigs) and give our recommended buys.

www.ethicalconsumer.org

Home - ETP

ETP (formally Ethical Tea Partnership) is a global membership organisation catalysing systemic change to benefit everybody who works in tea.

www.ethicalteapartnership.org

I'm also a little confused about Unilever and its environmental and ethical score. It seems like a lot of tea companies are owned by Unilever.

 

[silva]

So our tastes haven't changed. I also loathe it as it reminds me of cumin. Give me a bramble and blueberry infusion any day.

So our tastes haven't changed. I also loathe it as it reminds me of cumin. Give me a bramble and blueberry infusion any day.

Rooibos reminds you of cumin? I don't get that, and I dislike cumin a lot!
To me it's like a mellow black tea, I can't say I could describe the taste, but nothing harsh, nothing that earthy!

Has anyone had green rooibos? I have the feeling it would be too grassy, like hemp milk

 

[silva]

Ok, so here is something I don't know much about. And maybe someone can fill me in.
I've only been drinking hot tea regularly for about a year. and only recently have I become interested in the different kinds.
But I remember reading stuff about the dark side of the tea industry.
With coffee I have been mostly buying organic, free-trade, and shade grown coffee. Ethical and environmentally friendly.
I imagine that there must be parallels in the tea industry. Just a quick google I found out about The Ethical Tea Partnership (ETP), and also the Ethical Consumer, which ranks tea companies. There are also Fair Trade and Organic certifications.

I was planning on making the Republic of Tea my next purchase. and it seems like an Ok company. According to this page its pretty good.

6 Ethical Tea Companies Perfect For Your Morning Cup

These 6 tea companies are ethically sourced options for tea lovers.

www.greenmatters.com

FYI

Tea | Ethical Consumer

Finding an ethical and eco-friendly sustainable tea. Ranking the ethical and environmental record of 45 tea brands. We look at fairtrade and organic certification schemes, workers' rights, plastic in teabags, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Tata (Tetley and Teapigs) and give our recommended buys.

www.ethicalconsumer.org

Home - ETP

ETP (formally Ethical Tea Partnership) is a global membership organisation catalysing systemic change to benefit everybody who works in tea.

www.ethicalteapartnership.org

I'm also a little confused about Unilever and its environmental and ethical score. It seems like a lot of tea companies are owned by Unilever.

I do check for ethically sourced teas- why I chose the South African rooibos I got

 

[silva]

Just had a cup of the rooibos, and I highly recommend! It's been a while since I've had it, but I remember the last I had I would use two bags, this one was much stronger.
I guess it's just me, but I would compare it to black tea without the things I dislike about black tea. It's very mellow, very smooth

Amazon.com : Rooibos Tea, USDA Certified Organic Tea, MY RED TEA. Tagless South African, 100% Pure, Single Origin, Natural, Farmer Friendly, GMO and Caffeine Free (80) : Grocery & Gourmet Food

Amazon.com : Rooibos Tea, USDA Certified Organic Tea, MY RED TEA. Tagless South African, 100% Pure, Single Origin, Natural, Farmer Friendly, GMO and Caffeine Free (80) : Grocery & Gourmet Food

www.amazon.com

 

[David3]

 

[Chryssie]

I chilled the hibiscus tea and it is better cold though it is more tart than most teas I am not that fond of it but I will try to drink it a few times a week.

 

[Lou]

I just had a decaf herbal Sweet and Spicy. and a cookie. as an afternoon pick me up.
I bought some Rooibos at Trader joes, Blood orange, decaf. Its really good.
I ordered the Chocolate Tea Sampler Pack from the Republic of Tea. The have a loyalty program and there are discounts. Plus they threw in a few extra teabags of some tea for my to try.

Each Cuppa Chocolate Assortment includes 24 individually wrapped tea bags:

6 - Red Velvet Chocolate Rooibos Tea
6 - Coconut Cocoa Herbal Tea
6 - Peppermint Chocolate Rooibos Tea
6 - Banana Chocolate Rooibos Tea

 

[silva]

I chilled the hibiscus tea and it is better cold though it is more tart than most teas I am not that fond of it but I will try to drink it a few times a week.

I loved hibiscus iced! I like tart. Lowered my BP too much so I avoid it!
Around here hibicus grow like crazy! not the nice bushy ones, but tall and kinda spindly

Lou those teas sound awful

 

[shyvas]

Rooibos reminds you of cumin? I don't get that, and I dislike cumin a lot!
To me it's like a mellow black tea, I can't say I could describe the taste, but nothing harsh, nothing that earthy!

Has anyone had green rooibos? I have the feeling it would be too grassy, like hemp milk

It's because it has an earthy taste. It has something to do with one's tastebuds. Some people really like the above and others dislike the strong taste. However, I really like curry powder which contains cumin but I can't taste it due to the other pungent spices that the blend contains.

I had a slice of pizza made with cumin the other day and I forced myself to eat it. I also had a cup of rooibos a few times at various friends' places and there too, I forced myself to drink it. It looks like both are very popular and sadly, I'm doomed to come across these ingredients quite often.
Rooibos tastes nothing like tea and to my mind tastes like a herbal infusion.

 

[KLS52]

I do like rooibos tea but I don’t drink much tea at all. I love strong black tea in general, but like coffee, I add creamer and sugar.
I am an anomaly, me thinks. Nothing tastes good in its natural form.

 

[shyvas]

I do like rooibos tea but I don’t drink much tea at all. I love strong black tea in general, but like coffee, I add creamer and sugar.
I am an anomaly, me thinks. Nothing tastes good in its natural form.

It just proves that we all have different tastes.

I really dislike strong black tea and like it weak with milk and sweetener. I dislike tea bags and only like loose tea.

Coffee has to be extra strong with milk and sweetener. I can't stand weak coffee.

 

[Raven]

6 - Peppermint Chocolate Rooibos Tea

I think that one sounds nice. I doubt you could taste the Rooibos tea underneath.

I don't remember Rooibos tea having a strong flavour, just a slightly strange taste.

 

[Raven]

I'm having a cup of turmeric chai tea.

I am going to buy some hibiscus tea. I am going to take my blood pressure now, actually. I haven't done it in a while.

 

[shyvas]

Happily, we are not all having a meet up. What a pitn it would be with all the different requests for tea, coffee, infusions etc.

 

[shyvas]

This is the one I buy at Lidl's ; it's a cherry & hibiscus infusion. It also contains raisins, elderflower and morello cherries. At 1.40 € for 20 pyramid bags it's really great value for money.

 

[Lou]

So I don't know if it was coincidence, or perhaps attentiveness (or maybe my news reader being really smart) but I found this in my news feed this morning.

The #1 Best Tea for Fat Loss, According to Nutritionists

To get the biggest fat-loss benefit from tea, pick your favorite from these tea types recommended by dietitians—and you'll begin to see results.

www.eatthis.com

I like the fact that the author starts off with, " The best tea for fat loss is any plain unsweetened tea that you choose to drink instead of some other unhealthy beverages ..."

then goes on to say, " Drinking tea alone is no more effective than any other fat-loss technique if you don't combine it with other healthy eating practices. In other words, a cuppa plain tea won't cancel out the tea biscuits."

The author gives a good list of teas to drink and why.

 

[KLS52]

Ok so I was inspired to have tea today.

 

[Raven]

I ordered some hibiscus tea from Amazon. I'm going to try it hot and chilled tomorrow.

 

[Lou]

This was short lived series on HBO. You can watch the whole thing on YouTube.

but I found this clip - if you don't want to watch the whole thing just watch from 1:19 to 1:29

 

[silva]

I'm having a cup of turmeric chai tea.

I am going to buy some hibiscus tea. I am going to take my blood pressure now, actually. I haven't done it in a while.

Hibiscus lowered my perfectly normal BP enough to get someone to drive me to an urgent care. It was in the 80's over 50 something, and I was quite faint! I'm surprised she even thought to ask, or know about, what I was recently eating or drinking! That was a glass of iced hibicus a day. I was only drinking it because I liked it, I had no idea it lowered BP.
I may be particularly sensitive though, when I went off adding salt and wfpb it dropped too much