topic Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel in Kitchen

The Tea Flavor Wheel

lolakimono — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 14:27:13 GMT

I saw this online and I thought it was a good visual for picking the right flavor of tea to match your preferences.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

house_cat — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 14:50:30 GMT

Yum! Gotta love tea that tastes like rotting wood, compost and peat 😬

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

Desertdi — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 15:14:04 GMT

Afraid DH and the kids would think it's a dart board...............

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

house_cat — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 15:22:06 GMT

Currently, my favorite tea is Lady Grey. It's sometimes hard to find. I had to switch to decaf and it's not as good, but overall, it's still my favorite variety.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

godi — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 15:56:08 GMT

That’s cool thank you @lolakimono

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

Bridgegal — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 17:37:27 GMT

I can see how that is a good thing but for me it's:

Lady Grey

Earl Grey

Lemon

Peppermint.

That's it and no spice in that lemon.

All decaf because I only drink tea at night.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

colliemom4 — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 18:17:04 GMT

Very interesting @lolakimono.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

house_cat — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 18:21:26 GMT

@Bridgegal

My list is the same, though I can't drink the lemon all by itself. I make iced tea every day, using two parts decaf Earl Grey to one part lemon. I drink the entire two quarts every day. Peppermint is my after dinner treat just about every evening.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

aroc3435 — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 18:31:05 GMT

@house_cat Guess you escaped "unscathed from your hall closet cleaning yesterday--yay for you! It always feels good to tidy up, doesn't it?

I am also a tea lover. My favorite is Lavender Earl Grey. I do like Lady Grey as well. I am a tea "snob" since I prefer to brew tea leaves. So far caffeine doesn't bother me, thankfully. Decaf just doesn't satisfy me in the taste department.

For many years I have been getting most of my tea from a firm called Culinary Teas. If you subscribe to their e-mail newsletter today they started an event of 20% off (with a code they provide in the e-mail) and free shipping for $39.00 in purchases now through the 24th of this month.

Warning for folks that don't like anything related to Christmas in July--this sale is their CIJ promo! It is the one time in the year when the percentage off is sitewide and one of the few times the minimum for free shipping is this low (usually it is $75.00 I think) and they keep track of how much you spend with them and at a certain threshold some rewards kick in.

They also offer the tea they sell in tea bags, metal canisters, and resealable foil bags in weights of your choice.

They are the only consistent source I've found for blackberry tea which I enjoy. Other unusual teas and standard blends, herbal, etc. are offered as well. A few years ago they had a blend that was a tea that George Washington preferred and it was quite good.

They pack carefully and ship fairly quickly. (I think years ago I posted about them in the Coffee and Tea Lovers subforum here.)

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

house_cat — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 18:35:38 GMT

@aroc3435

I certainly agree that caffeinated tea has a better flavor, I simply can't tolerate it at this time. I order my tea from Amazon most often, but I'll enjoy checking out the company your recommended. It sounds so lovely to brew it from loose leaves, but I never seem to have the time to do that. Does it make that much difference in taste?

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

aroc3435 — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 19:19:51 GMT

@house_cat Absolutely there is a differnce in flavor. If you keep it sealed tightly so air doesn't get into you will definitely notice the difference in flavor. You can actually smell the notes in the tea akin to when you do a wine tasting.

A lot of the typical boxed commercial teas, like Lipton's, are more "powdery" than whole leaf loose tea is and aren't the best of the crop, so to speak. Just put your loose tea in an "over the cup rim" strainer or in a tea ball.

You have to boil the water anyway and the brewing or steeping time is the same. Just pour some boiling water in the cup or pot first and swirl it around to warm the vessel and then pour boiling water over the tea in the strainer and let it steep.

I have a little two cup size stainless steel tea pot that I use (looks like the kind they use in a fancy hotel restaurant) so I can do two servings at a time. You can also buy empty tea bags that you can fill with your favorite bland and take for "on the go" so you can always have good tea.

I also have a larger four cup silver plated pot for when there is company. I have a spoon sized especially for tea--one measure for one cup, two spoonfuls for two, etc.

Hope you have fun experimenting. And since you can't tolerate caffeine you might like some of the herbal or fruit teas.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

Bridgegal — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:20:59 GMT

@aroc3435

Thanks for your article. I went to their website and plan to order from them.

I see that they do sell tea bags. Do you know/think that their tea bags are good quality? I know that commercial teabags are usually the dregs of the tea leaves but wonder if that is true of theirs.

The website also reminded me that I love iced mango tea and also iced apricot tea. Those are on my purchase list.

Interesting that they say to squeeze the tea bag . I've always read and been told (esp. when we lived in England) to never squeeze it.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

aroc3435 — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 20:44:28 GMT

@Bridgegal Glad my post interested you. Their bagged tea is the same quality as the loose tea they sell.

As to squeezing tea bags around the spoon after brewing I don't do that. Makes a bitter taste in my opinion. And the taste of tea, as you may have surmised, is important to me. I don't add cream or sugar to my hot tea and rarely add sugar to my iced tea; sometimes a thin slice of lemon or a sprig of fresh mint if I'm feeling festive.

Now that I'm a DC transplant I have to remember when I order iced tea that I specify that I don't want what they serve around here in many locations "sweet tea" which must be at least half a glass of granulated sugar.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

ScenicMaine — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 21:22:41 GMT

good for all the tea drinkers.

when I do have tea, I fall under the fruit & spicy categories.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

ECBG — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 21:45:14 GMT

@house_cat wrote:
Currently, my favorite tea is Lady Grey. It's sometimes hard to find. I had to switch to decaf and it's not as good, but overall, it's still my favorite variety.

@house_cat It's on amazon.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

Bridgegal — Sun, 14 Jul 2019 23:00:20 GMT

@aroc3435 wrote:
@Bridgegal Glad my post interested you. Their bagged tea is the same quality as the loose tea they sell.

As to squeezing tea bags around the spoon after brewing I don't do that. Makes a bitter taste in my opinion. And the taste of tea, as you may have surmised, is important to me. I don't add cream or sugar to my hot tea and rarely add sugar to my iced tea; sometimes a thin slice of lemon or a sprig of fresh mint if I'm feeling festive.

Now that I'm a DC transplant I have to remember when I order iced tea that I specify that I don't want what they serve around here in many locations "sweet tea" which must be at least half a glass of granulated sugar.

Yes, because of the tannins that make the tea bitter. You are exactly correct.

If I have hot black or Earl/Lady Grey, tea I may put a bit of sugar in it or lemon but NEVER sweet iced tea. Just lemon or mint or neither. And nothing if the tea is fruit flavored or peppermint. As you can tell, I'm picky about my tea.

Re: The Tea Flavor Wheel

house_cat — Mon, 15 Jul 2019 01:02:44 GMT

@ECBG wrote:
@house_cat wrote:
Currently, my favorite tea is Lady Grey. It's sometimes hard to find. I had to switch to decaf and it's not as good, but overall, it's still my favorite variety.
@house_cat It's on amazon.

Yes. Thank you. I just received a 6 pack of boxes last week 👍🏻