Tea

it is thin so it burns your fingers when you hold the top on to pour

poetically fitting

Yeah, the majority of their selection is like that, but they have a small selection of “the classics” that are generally surprisingly good.

remember when starbucks bought teavana and then they opened 9 billion more retail locations and also phased out all their actual teas for strange spice and flower melanges and now

now all their retail locations are closed

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I have been really disappointed by chain coffee shops and their teas. It’s been nearly universal in my experience that I get something that’s too hot and the municipal water they use drowning out the taste. Like they’ve got all this time and effort to making their coffee process streamlined to the point they are serving millions worldwide but tea is this dangling afterthought.

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coffee is macho
all that pumping and steaming and grinding

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I discovered about two years ago that I like what Starbucks refers to as Emperor’s Cloud and Mist® Green Tea. It costs like $2.50 for a cup and tastes better than the hot tea from the boba shops outside of chinatown. Handy for road trips. I just ran out of gift cards from holiday party games though so who knows when we will meet again.

There’s this one local place that has what they purport to be an Alishan for what ends up being $5+ and it is real lame every time, never again.

I like genmaicha the most, couldn’t tell if you seek the popcorn or not victor but it is extremely popcorn

also a big chamomile head and that “grated ginger in a cup” tea they serve at Ethiopian restaurants

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I seek the popcorn, but I guess in my head is more of a buttery mouth film thing than a toasty flavor. I’ll drink some genmaicha if somebody gives me a glass, but don’t ever buy it myself, maybe it is time to give it another shake.

I’ve wondered silently to myself if there are hardcore chamomile enthusiasts who know all the good shit about flower brewing.

I buy these organic store brand shiny cellophane-y wrapped stringless bags that seem a little better than the other available boxed stuff, it’s good it’s fine. I’ve also tried buying, like, dried whole stuff from the mexican spice section and put most of it in hot water and that shit came out…rough tasting. But I don’t know if there’s like a Considered + Serious world I’m missing out on.

Black Tea gives me a headache!! It is the only food that does.

I drink Mugi-cha (barley tea) about a liter a day! Less now that it is cold outside I just buy houji-cha.

This thread makes me feel like I am wasting my life not sourcing out the best green tea on earth that costs 50 dollars a cup and causes enlightenment instantly!!

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the only good thing to ever come out of Connecticut is Bigelow chamomile

I love a good genmaicha, nice and toasted

this was my go to when i lived in singapore:

nowadays i am not employed so i drink bigelow earl grey (peppery)

and i make chai the way my poor harried mother does: nuking lipton in some 2% milk and adding a bunch of tea masala, cardamom, and sweetener

it’s basically soup idc idc

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Microwaving water for tea is the worst thing about America

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join me friends on my “buy a proper not-enameled tetsubin for boiling water then never use it because you’re lazy or in a hurry” journey

Personally, the dark path I’m most drawn toward begins with purchasing a yerba mate gourd.

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water doesn’t care what it’s heated in you homeopaths

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I think the main problem is that it’s really hard to get water to proper tea temperature in a microwave. It’s usually going to end up either way too cool or way too hot.

Target usually sells surprisingly cheap (I think like $30-40) electric kettles that allow you to set a temperature to heat your water to, so you can easily brew green tea and oolong at the proper temperatures. This was the best money-to-quality-improvement ratio of any tea-related purchase I’ve made, I think.

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that’s fair

Also “overboiling” is a real thing

Also seconding rudie’s mention of mugicha, it’s the most delicious iced tea-like thing in the world, get some.

Cold brew it and sweeten to taste and drink in the summer time, it is perfect

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